#weapon is only implied but its pretty clear

[erendur]

While I agree with the overall point about the moral responsibility over the 1st kinslaying and its importance and weight, I would also add that as far as the text goes, it also says :

"But the Teleri withstood him (Fëanor), and cast many Noldor into the sea. Then swords were drawn, and a bitter fight was fought upon the ships, and about the lamplit quays and piers of the Haven, and even upon the great arch of its gate".

The text uses the passive form "swords were drawn", so we do not know exactly who is armed with swords and who is not. Now, the text told us earlier on that because of Morgoth's lies, the Noldor had been preparing to fight one another, and had armed themselves with swords, so we know for sure that they have them.

But the Elves during the Great March also had weapons, and the Teleri are the last ones to have arrived in Aman. They are the ones who stayed for longer in Middle-Earth before their arrival in Aman, so it's not completely crazy to imagine that they could also have weapons left over from their time in Middle Earth.

When it comes to actual combat experience, I would argue, for the same reasons, that they are not actually at a disadvantage against the Noldor, but quite the opposite.

Note that the text also talks of "a bitter fight", all over the harbour, which implies that both parties are able to stand their own when it comes to fighting. It's not the Noldor pursuing relentlessly and massacring everyone in sight.

"Thrice the people of Fëanor were driven back, and many were slain upon either side."

Pretty clear here, until the host of Fingon arrives, the Noldor and the Teleri are actually pretty evenly matched : three times the Teleri manage to push back the Noldor, which would be quite a feat for people with neither weapons nor experience of fighting.

The Teleri might have the numerical advantage - that depends how many people you imagine were present in Alqualondë at that point, but the text also says that they are "many" casualties on both sides, which just doesn't fit the idea that the Teleri have zero idea about how to fight and no weapons.

"Thus at last the Teleri were overcome, and a great part of their mariners that dwelt in Alqualondë were wickedly slain. For the Noldor were become fierce and desperate, and the Teleri had less strength, and were armed for the most part but with slender bows."

The decisive moment comes when the host of Fingon joins the fight, and even then we are basically told that the Noldor only prevail because of their "fierceness" and "desperation", the same emotions that will later on push Fëanor to fight Balrogs on his own and Argon to blaze through column of orcs.

Here we are also told that the Teleri are armed with 'slender bows', which might mean that their bows are not strong enough to inflict enough damage through the maybe armour or protective equipment worn by the Noldor, but they are certainly not just armed with fishing nets and bows are certainly a very effective weapon on a battlefield.

The lesser strength of the Teleri might either be a reference to the fact that when Fingon joins the fact, they are finally outnumbered (which would mean that only a small proportion of the Teleri were present in Alqualondë at that point, given that we also know that the Teleri are the most numerous of the groups of Elves in Aman, and that even Fëanor's +Fingon's host is but a fraction of the total number of the Noldor), or a reference to the fact that as people, they are less strong physically than the Noldor.

Sorry, but I've got to contest the concept that either of the first two Kinslayings were Totally Fine And Chill or that there were totally few civilian deaths or that the people getting killed gave as good as they got (which even if they did! the responsibility for starting a murder party remains with the aggressor!) Alqualondë is especially egregious because do you know what only one side of that fight had? Swords. Since, you know, murder only got invented last week but Fëanor was canonically brainstorming about it for years beforehand. The Noldor and specifically the Sons of Fëanor were the only people with arms made for slaughtering other people and a whit of experience using them. And while yes, you can do some damage with a fishing spear or a a harpoon, there's a reason why fishing spears are not regularly brought onto battlefields. I cannot see Alqualondë as anything but a slaughter; if it has fewer casualties than later Kinslayings it is only because of the shortness of its duration and the confusion that defined it.

[lets-try-some-writing]

i love it when people apply the whole “humans are space orcs” idea to transformer humans.

jack, miko and raf just doing regular, average day things that make the bots both extremely worried and unsettled gives me so much brainrot.

I got you here. I love this kind of lore/reaction ask.

Each of the children have a particular habit that bothers the team more than anything else. Can it be explained? Not really. All humans do the things they do. But for the bots, it is strange and out of sorts all the same.

Miko always carries around a bottle of sparkling water. She adores the stuff. The team, despite knowing it is not what the name implies, are still horrified with her drinking habits. Not to mention, they can't help but wonder where all the liquid goes. She drinks up to three whole bottles of water a day. In her own words "Hydrate or die." That in it of itself is concerning since the team, while well aware that humans need water, do not know how much they need exactly. The team are down right terrified of her ability to down water like a dry sponge. How can such a small fleshy even consume that much? They aren't entirely sure. Not only that, but if she drinks that much, then are Jack and Rafael getting enough? They can't be.

Not only does Miko down water like a bone dry houseplant, she also drinks just about anything else too. The team have seen her chug sodas which contain Primus knows how many strange chemicals and compounds. They've observed her willingly drink things that no other would on bets, including food that has been blended and watered down just because Jack wanted to see if it was possible for her to down hotdog cafeteria milk cheeto apple slurry.

Yes the team are terrified of humans and their ability to put anything inside themselves and walk it off. But more than any other, they fear Miko. Who knows what she's consumed.

All the kids do it, but Jack is the most notable since when he needs to go to the restroom, he makes it loud and clear mainly so that someone knows to keep an eye on Miko. The team are aware that organics have a need to manually handle removing waste since their systems are rather inefficient, however there is a certain level of mysteriousness surrounding the restrooms. The bots don't want to watch or even know HOW the humans get rid of waste, but they do know that THINGS happen in the restroom that seem to either be painful, emotional, refreshing, or aggravating. No one can really be sure what reaction will follow those who enter the space. Sometimes Jack or one of the other kids will go in there seemingly to just be alone.

It is a strange and almost sacred location where strange happenings occur. Miko went in once with bloody clothes and emerged with a fresh set before Ratchet could figure out what was wrong in the first place. Jack went in once and came out an hour later looking like he'd gone to war after he convinced Arcee to let him stop and get takeout the night before. Rafael took his charger and computer in there and hogged the space for a while to get away from the others once. The team does not know what happens in there, but it is mildly concerning since it either repairs or breaks a person.

Bulkhead theorizes that its a pocket dimension like the shadow zone. Ratchet refuses to think about it. Optimus will say nothing about whatever he knows. Arcee and Bee assume its a safe haven or sorts and Wheeljack is almost certain they keep weapons in there. Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen both agree that the restroom is simply a quiet space where a human can deal with personal issues in peace.

No bot is willing to try and confirm anything since humans flip out at any attempts to view the supposedly sacred ground.

Rafael is generally pretty good about flying under the radar most of the time, but he has a habit that has caught the team's attention. Humans have been noted doing what they can to clean themselves on their own. Its rather ineffective to clean one's own venting openings with digits considering the sheer amount of germs involved, but it is not out of the question to do so when a cleaning cloth is not available. Rafael occasionally and quietly trying to clean his nose is not what bothers the team.

No what horrifies them is the goop that he pulls out after his attempt at cleaning. What Ratchet has studied states that the goop is referred to by a number names, but is commonly called snot. Its the natural germ catcher humans have, but it still unsettles the team whenever Rafael quietly blows a few or when one of the others grabs a tissue and makes a rather disgusting sound as they try to clear their airways.

The goop reminds the team of any number of horrible things. But the sheer amount of GROSS within a small amount of the stuff has left the team all gagging whenever they find the stuff around base. Rafael is usually good about being clean, but sometimes he gets lazy and will use his chair to hide his cleaning attempts. Bumblebee has almost purged a few times seeing the marks on the chair from where Rafael may or may not have wiped his fingers.

Is he twelve? Yes. Is he fully mature? No. That much is evident just by looking at his chair.

[2-dsimp]

Monster rule 101: Don’t play with fire around your Mothman!—————-:—:————

Mothman! Dabi x monster hunter! Fem reader

—————-:—:——————:————:————-:——

🔞MDNI🔞

C w: Humiliation, asphrodiasic, slight mind break, degradation, praise, NFSW, monsterfuxking, overstimulation, breeding, impregnation, usage of cunt

—————-:—:——————:————:————-:——

You were on a mission.

A very dangerous mission that was a code gold also known as Legendary. Meaning that the monstrous threat was equivalent to a whole country being wiped off the map. However, due to certain circumstances only one solider could be dispatched to deal with the golden threat.

The reason for that being because of how hyper sensitive the Mothman is to overcrowding within its territory. The team dispatch leader decided to proceed with the utmost caution lest they trigger its frenzy mode. Which would ultimately result in the loss of lives country wide, burning underneath the raging pure blue flames of the otherworldly demon.

<< Have you located the Mothman? Over >>

“Yes I’ve got eyes on the area sir, permission to proceed?”

<< Permission granted. Over >>

You were chosen out of a select few individuals for being the cream of the crop, to carry out this dire mission to save all of mankind. If you could succeed then you’d be set for life! Having the fame and the riches that come along with it, all in exchange for exterminating the deadliest bug humanoid in existence. You’d say that’s a fair trade, since it was high risk high reward type situation.

But as you approached the abandoned cave you could feel a sense of dread wash over your entire being.

You were being watched.

You could feel the sweat accumulate upon your lush chocolatey skin littered in goosebumps. Then you heard a sharp chuff that echoed off the walls, seemingly the Mothman enjoyed watching you squirm from his focused attention.

Venturing even deeper into the unknown you tightly grasped at your equipment, a tool of reassurance you could say. That happened to be a flamethrower. Yes, out of all the weapons you chose a hazardous contraption that resembled a dragons breath.

Why? Mostly because you thought it’d be cool to go out in a blaze of glory should you happen to fail in your conquest to get the target in check. But it was also strategic in a way, since moths were attracted to light. You’ve had to find some kind of way to draw them out.

Too bad you didn’t get the chance to use it before you’re snatched into furry arms that secured you to the monsters chest. Which vibrated from his snarky greeting.

“You took too long enough for my liking doll, now shall we get down to business already? “

You could feel his bulge press up against the your ass, rubbing between your cheeks.

“I’m feeling a bit pent up”

He rasped impatiently into your ear, boy did his voice do wonders as it spiked your arousal. But you had a job to do, unfortunately. Gathering your composure you asserted yourself to the monster.

“You already know why I’m here right? Mr. Mothman.”

You could feel him chuckle darkly against your neck, highly amused by your sense of professionalism. Even while having his dick steadily grind against your back, covering you in clear fluids. Making your thighs shake in excitement.

“Obviously, but just call me Dabi, dollface. You’re gonna wear it out in a few moments might as well get a lil practice in ya?”

You were dumbfounded. Could he be implying what you’re thinking—

“Judging from the look on your pretty face, I’m guessing your little agency didn’t fill ya in on our little inside deal huh?”

He purred

You could feel his loosened grip completely leave your body. Allowing you to be able to face the Mothman hunched over in all of his 7ft glory. He had tuffs of black fur covering his toned ripped chest, arms, and legs. His overall body type was lean and slender. The dark colored wings sprouting at large from behind, before being folded back neatly into place. To avoid you from seeing his jagged scars littered across them.

“All I can say is that you’re in for one hell of a ride once I get my hands on you Baby. So Outta the kindness of my heart I’ll give you a 5 minute head start—”

He paused, as you gave him an warm embrace of your own. Grinding against his bulge that continued to grow even further against you. He looked down at you in disbelief, but it wasn’t before long until he connected the dots.

“ Don’t tell me, You’re one of those monster fanatics aren’t ya?”

To be quite frank yes. You were an absolute fan of monsters, you fantasized about getting close and becoming friends with one. But now you were gonna be the mate of a code legendary?? You couldn’t believe your luck. Plus it was the mission you were given, so as the loyal solider that you are. You gratefully accepted your fate with no questions asked.

The Mothman merely laughed in the irony of it all, a monster hunter wanting to be fucked by a monster it was so priceless. A devious smirk planted on his face As he bended over down to your height charred lips barely touching the shell of your ear only to whisper darkly of a precautionary warning of what you’re getting into.

“ You do realize that I’m in heat right doll?”

He reached his hand down running his tempered claws down the fat of your thick ass giving it a tight squeeze before hooking your leg up to leave some room for him to freely press his huge twitching bulge against your moist mound.

“I’m barely hanging on by a thread, so Don’t hold anything against me if I lose control got it?”

It wasn’t long until you were on the brink of being fucked to death by the Mothman of your dreams. face pushed down into the cocoon like nest he prepared in advance as his extended feeler limbs sprouted out from his sides, to grasp at you from behind hooking onto your waist. Keeping you grounded on his intrusive dick. While his primary arms wrapped around you tightly to play with your breasts that jigged violently from his ruthless thrusts from behind.

“You’re sucha pretty lil thing for me aren’t ya?”

The strong pheromones that wafted off from his wings made you feel so vulnerable and helpless within his smoldering embrace. You couldn’t keep count of how many times you’ve came alone from him just penetrating your cervix. It was as if you were on cloud nine enjoying the way his cum covered cock kept digging even deeper inside your snug snatch trying to ensure that you’d get pregnant with his brood.

“Your slutty pussy just can’t seem to get enough of my dick, don’t worry doll I’ll make you take all of it”

He murmured eyes staring down dangerously at the way your pliant body bended to his ministrations. He payed close attention to the way his dick continued to be devoured by your juicy cunt. That sucked and messaged his thick cock inside the hot mesh of your inner walls determined to be flooded with his baby batter.

“ Mmh D-Dabi please I can’t—!”

You babbled dumbly with drool hanging down from the corners of your fucked out plump lips. As the intensity of his rapid heavy thrusts began to increase its assault against your quivering quim.

You tried to crawl away from yet another approaching high that was dead set on crashing down on your senses. But his firm grip on your neck yanked you back into reality.

“ Aye Dollface don’t ever try to fuckin crawl away from me again, you’re mine you got that?”

Dabi hissed, giving you a sharp tug on your butterfly locs and a harsh bite on your shoulder as a fair warning.

The cave was emitting loud strange sounds from the inside, alerting to anyone from around the area to vacate the premises immediately. In case the Mothman were to come out of his home and start wrecking chaos. But little did they know that Stowed away deep inside the cave for a whole week did you lay beneath the Mothman in all your naked glory.

Freshly fucked all the way to Sunday during his still ongoing heat cycle. Where the only thing covering you was his semen that painted your caramel skin from your breasts down to your overused cunt stuffed to the brim with his cum that trickled out from your puffy pussylips. Only to be pushed back in by his long veiny dick just to ensure that the next of his kin would live on inside your womb.

Hey At least you prevented a worldwide tragedy, right?

[starwikia]

suicide cw

look i have been in this area before mentally. it sucks and i wouldn’t wish this on anyone. but, and this is going to sound callous, but i don’t feel any sympathy for james somerton. even if i hope he’s like. not dead. But thats all the amount of goodwill im willing to give him. The more i think about this really, the more angry i am. 

ngl this entire situation is another example of how white people weaponize their mental illness to avoid consequences. Im seeing it in real time.

this man has a continuous habit of using self-harm as a get-out-of-jail-for-free card. in both of his apologies, he has worded his supposed attempts in ways that were clearly meant to guilt people who displayed his plagiarism and overall horrendous history of racism and misogyny. i say supposed because, while i’m not saying those are lies and this would he such a fucked up thing to lie about that i don’t want to think he has, unfortunately, it’s been proven again and again that his word can’t be trusted, as he’s known to lie to try get out of consequences. Hes a proven liar. him lying about this is actually the best case scenario, because no one should go through this entire situation, wouldnt wish this on anyone, but you can only do this so often before people stop sympathizing with you. is this callous? Yeah, but like. I’m actually fucking angry he cant straight up take no as an answer. that this is how he reacts realizing he cant be one of the Cool Kidz™️ on youtube anymore. he acts like he DESERVES a career, like its not a privilege hes lost due to his own actions.

He lied about apologizing and forgiving people, he lied about giving the money to hbomberguy to give to ppl he ripped off (yknow, instead of doing it himself), he lied about the jessie gender situation and rewrote the narrative to make it so he isnt the bad guy, and hes the victim all along actually!

you can’t tell me that supposed last message of his isn’t meant to be a 13 reasons why esq attempt to deflect the blame “look i’m going to kill myself and it’s all YOUR PEOPLES FAULT for not letting me achieve my DREAM of being filmmaker IN PEACE!!! I just wanted Nick’s (the guy who I have thrown under the bus again and again) portfolio up!! Im just being a good friend dont you all FEEL BAD” he refuses to take ANY ACCOUNTABILITY of any of his actions and he IS STILL trying to shove the blame over to other people again.

it’s also pretty ironic people are like “uhhh well hbomber’s fans harassed him!!!” like hbomber outright told people NOT to HARASS JAMES!!! ALSO acting as if james doesn’t have a very real documented history of STRAIGHT UP sending his fans to harass and threaten smaller creators, more notably women, trans, and bipoc creators. especially after he’s stolen typically very personal anecdotes so he could profit from them. so why can he do it but the second people are like “hey this guys an actual piece of shit.” and he can’t handle it suddenly people are trying to white knight his shit? like no he doesn’t get that. he doesn’t get that at all just because he couldn’t handle the consequences of his actions. 

what? were supposed to stay quiet about a man profiting off of other minorities because he wanted to be the spokesman for all gay people? people tried to solve this on a smaller, more private scales for YEARS and he kept doing it. it was clear that the giant public video was the ONLY way to get people to notice. HE WOULDVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH STEALING 87 FUCKING THOUSANDS WORTH OF DOLLARS. HE CANT HANDLE THE FACT HE CANT GET AWAY WITH IT. 

am i supposed to feel bad for the guy who basically threatened a trans woman with the police? i don’t care what anyone says, it’s so fucking obvious that he threatened jessie by implying he was getting the police involved in their conflict. what am i supposed to act like that didn’t happen? are we supposed to pretend like he didn’t glorify nazi’s and outright said that gay people made up a good chunk of the nazis? That he didnt say america joined ww2 bc they were jealous of the NAZIS. WHAT WOULD POSSESS YOU TO FUCKING SAY THAT. but then? He gives women (not even women most of the time, he misgenders nonbinary ppl constantly) shit for writing mlm. are we supposed to act like he doesn’t straight-up sees himself superior and better than people of color and steals their works to put himself on a pedestal? Are we supposed to act like he didnt spit on our elders by saying “only the boring gays survived aids” like man! Fuck you! He BLANTANTLY MAKES UP HISTORY TO PUT HIMSELF ON A PEDESTAL!! HE ACTIVELY TRIED TO REWRITE LGBT HISTORY TO SUIT HIS FUCKED UP NARRATIVES!

yes this sucks ! no one deserves this but no one should be making him a martyr. Thats what he fucking WANTS! He wants to be immortalized as a victim!! (again, supposedly, it was reported hes alive but its not confirmed).

The shit he got isnt near the amount of fucking callous behavior hes done again and again. Again, to drill this point, EVEN IF HE DIDNT CALL THE POLICE HE THREATENED A TRANS WOMAN INTO THINKING HE DID!!! The fact he tried to use a head injury to justify years of the outright ghoulish shit fucking astounds me. Why the fuck did anyone in his life thought it was a good idea to let him TRY to come back. in the end, he had options. he didn’t need to try to make a comeback. HE DIDNT NEED TO FUCKING LIE OR IGNORE THE SHIT HE WAS CALLED OUT ON the reality is, he wanted to come back thinking he could shove it under the rug, was told that no dude, you’re not allowed to be a youtuber anymore. you’re done. you need to move on and went full nuclear. it’s not on anyone’s hands but his own. HES BEEN DOING THIS TO HIMSELF!! But nah man we cant call his shit out bc hell may or may not kill himself. Fuck the other minorities who have the same issues but worse and sometimes BECAUSE of him. This is going to SUCKKKK so bad when other ppl, specifically white gays, are going to weaponize this shit to get away with their stuff.

[running-with-the-feels]

okay, just had a thought but like

nothing Kuai Liang has ever done has actually been his choice prior to like, maybe, the second half of MKX.

I mean, think about it, he's kidnapped by assassins as a child and tortured and brainwashed into becoming a weapon. He's told that he can't leave or he'll be killed and even if he could he has no one to turn to in the outside world bc they killed everyone else and his knowledge of it is limited by the fact that he's not been in it since he was a child and is only allowed out for missions. If he doesn't do what he's told, they will kill either him or his brother, that is the very definition of Under Duress.

And then he's cyberized and Literally has his autonomy taken away, along with his body which is Horrifying, and when he gets his autonomy back, he's in the middle of a war and has no real choice but to fight for his life no matter what he wants.

Then he dies, and becomes a revenant and while its unclear exactly how much control Quan Chi had over them, it's pretty heavily implied that it was a lot, kinda like a semi-autonomous puppet situation, and is again made to fight and kill for someone else.

Then he's resurrected, and almost immediately possessed by Havik who canonically took full control of Kuai Liang and made him kill a bunch more people.

Even once he's freed, going after the cyber initiative might count as his first choice, but they are also hunting him and constantly trying to kill him so idk if that counts and then he's just sitting in his temple, minding his own business, when Raiden sends him a bunch of people to train and we have no indication that Kuai Liang intended to reform his clan at all until this happened, Raiden made that choice for him.

the man has never had any true freedom to choose in his life.

Meanwhile,

Everything Hanzo has ever done has been fully his decision.

We know that Quan Chi lied to him about who killed his family, and I will give him a pass bc nobody would be thinking rationally in that situation, but also, why on Earth would you trust the fucking necromancer? why would you not try to ask literally anyone else if he's telling the truth EVERYONE KNOWS THAT QUAN CHI IS A LIAR. but hey, maybe Hanzo doesn't know that, so we'll give him a pass.

But then, he still choses to serve Quan Chi rather than seek Bi-Han out on his own, he still kills Bi-Han even when he has a Massive incentive (the elder gods bringing his family and clan back) to leave him alive, and he chooses to keep serving Quan Chi after getting his revenge.

He even admits in the MKX comics that he was never controlled, though we know he was manipulated and he's probs not taking that into account, so at the very least the majority of the blame for his choices is on his own shoulders.

He also chooses to try and kill Kuai Liang in those same comics even as the cryomancer is kinda begging for his life and pleading his innocence. And he kills Quan Chi even knowing that it will damn the rest of the revenants to staying in hell forever.

Like, I'm not saying Hanzo is evil, I find all of his choices Very easy to understand even if they're the wrong ones, its clear why he does what he does, but he still makes a lot of bad choices that hurt the people around him.

And it's just like, do you think they ever talk about that? Does that affect the way they see and understand each other? Do they bring it up in fights and then regret it immediately?

Idk, I just think it's a really interesting parallel between their two characters.

[soursvgar]

hii !! i have been absolutely obsessed with your writing every since i found your blog 💖 the way you write each character is just oshshqjs SO good (especially lucifer!!i see him as a hard character to write but yours is just *CHEFSKISS*)

if its okay i would like to request the brothers reacting to an mc who strongly reeks of their sin, i would like to think that the brothers sense their sin on humans so them coming across of one who is just bathing in it would be interesting, whether mc acts on it or not its up to 💖💖

The brothers with MC that matches their sin ♡

A/N: thank you so very much, this is a huge compliment 🥺 this is actually such an incredible prompt and i love this idea so much, it was challenging but really fun! i really hope i managed to convey your intentions with this request ;v;

Pairing: demon brothers x gender neutral reader

Warnings: Since this inherently revolve around the topic of sin there are some warnings, so please read at your own discretion! (food mentions and implied ED to some level in beel's part, as well as insecurity and mental health themes in general, also just basically demons being demons?)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Lucifer ━ ෆ

Pride is the sin used to weaponize the devil himself, a deceitful perception of the self that led to the downfall of many━ but not yours. Adversative to the concept of humility, you exult in your achievements and flaunt your success; you've always believed that preeminence should be celebrated. Needless to say, you did not draw the same praise from others, judging you as arrogant and vain. Thus, a new beginning in a new place was exactly right for you. But what happens when two entities harboring hubris are put together?

The moment you walk in, Lucifer has you all figured out, or so he believes, at least. Your conceit is so prominent it tugs on every cell in his body. But to his dismay, the act you put among demons is the antithesis to the image you exude. You portray a clean, humble image of an innocent human, ready to cleanse a rotten world. He will force it out of you, though, there is no need to be modest, not with him. And it will be exceptional, a beautiful display of your sin.

"There's nothing more attractive than a corrupted soul." He exclaims when he finally earns a scarce chance to be alone with you, signaling you to join him on the couch. "Us demons..." He trails off, eyes skimming over your features. "We can't resist the temptation to taint a pure soul, but when we sense a human with a sin already ingrained in them, it's even more impossible to defy our instincts." Explaining, he pulls you closer by your collar when you take your seat next to him. "Will you be good and start acting upon yours━ or shall I say, mine? Or do I have to provoke you to do so?"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Mammon ━ ෆ

For anyone who is familiar with you, or even just spent a couple minutes in your company, it is clear that you are ambitious, and always strive for the most. You need to present yourself in the best luxurious brands, you absolutely have to acquire the most advanced, cutting-edge technology, and you would never be caught with a cheap knock off of anything, down to the smallest, most mundane items. Throughout your entire life you had been insatiable, forever on the pursuit for the next big thing; careers, relationships, you always desired something better than what you already had, which was going pretty badly for you. That is, until you reached the devildom.

When Mammon meets you it’s like he finally finds his partner in crime. It's your visuals that speak to him first, your glamorous attire was the first piece to a puzzle that piqued his curiosity. However, it's only when he delves deeper, picking your brain during your time spent together, that he realizes how deep the sin runs within you. But is it morally wrong to feed into that sin? Will he break some kind of a promise to Lucifer or Diavolo for tainting your delicate soul if he only fosters an already existent feature? And is he even a demon if he wouldn't at least try?

"Oy." He calls out to you from the further corner of the room. "I'm about to sneak out and hit the casino, do ya wanna- like, y'know, join maybe? First few rounds are on me- unless ya end up losing." He examines your body language as you listen intently, and by the looks of it, it tells him that it's game on.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Leviathan ━ ෆ

Veiled under the surface, lies a thin layer of covetousness under your compliments. It's not that you are unable to genuinely flatter, it's just that you are certain it is your wishes that should be coming true, your efforts coming to fruition, not others'. It had been a bad habit that you were unable to shake, forever to be concealed in the depths of your wishful, jealous heart. Unless?

When you first arrived, Leviathan was unfazed; you were just another human, a species he was well acquainted with, and found pretty boring - faultless, innocent normies with their rules and integrity. Once he makes the effort to step out of his room and actually meet you, though, something immediately clicks in him, you are different. Leviathan sees through you, your sin glows in his eyes, responding to his presence as it engulfs you in its aura. He had never perceived a human beautiful before, not until he senses the envy waiting to ooze out of you, and he can't wait to release it, wanting to see your malice shine in its full glory.

"Hey best friend." Leviathan grins at you, hand delicately caressing your cheek as he speaks, his tone soft and mellow. "Remember when I beat you in your favorite game? Over and over again? And completely crushed you? Aren't I so good at it?" He merely laughs as your face flushes, enjoying the anger visibly seething within you at his attempts to make you act out on your envy. Strangely, you didn't mind, and you have never felt more validated in your life. No one in the human world prepares you that being in love with a demon means they absolutely bask in anything you ever viewed as your shortcomings.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Satan ━ ෆ

You didn't want to call it anger issues, but everyone else did. In your opinion, it was everybody else's problem for trying you. You were aware that your patience has its limits, and said limits are plainly easy to cross; it doesn't take much to provoke you and your reactions are far from being controlled and passive. You choose to live by it, though, as your wrath is a beast even you couldn't tame, and you wonder if anyone out there were to prevail it.

He wants you as his project. Satan mentally exclaims. His own little feisty human who's troubled with the burden of a short fuse and fails to command it, just like he used to be. Teaching you to contain and channel your power is an achievement he'll be able to brag upon, something within his department, that only he can master, and Lucifer could never. Except, he did not expect the outcome - Satan finds himself fascinated by you, your reasonings, and most of all, the passion that fuels your intense emotions. Without realizing, his plan backfires as he ends up wanting more of your fire, more of your ferocity, becoming a little too tangled up in enabling your wrath, and reviving his own in the process.

"I said I don't have it!" Your brows furrow, shooting daggers at the blonde. "It's alright if you took it, just let me know next ti-" His expression is calm, even condescending while he accuses you in vain. "I didn't take it!!" You don't allow him to complete his sentence, your nerves quickly getting the best of you as your voice is raised by a couple octaves. Satan smirks, he knows you didn't take his belongings, but he also know you're one popped vein away from turning the situation into a steamy, temper filled makeout session.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Asmodeus ━ ෆ

Viewing the world through a pink lens, you were one infatuation away from losing your mind. No one could quite understand your deep attachments, or support your confidence; perhaps it was all because you are the one putting the emphasis on your wrong attributes. There is no doubt that you are breathtakingly beautiful, and people notice it from a mile away, letting you have your way with them whichever form you like. But then, why do you constantly feel so empty?

There is no way a human can be this beautiful, maybe- even more than himself? No, this can't be, can it? Asmodeus finds himself in a state of consternation. He resents it at first, he used to be the one drawing everyone's attention with his unimaginable beauty; it's not until your eyes finally meet that he's struck with the same bewilderment. But something seems off about this human, do they seem... sad? For some reason, it cheers him up. Maybe it's because it makes you more approachable, or maybe it's because he finally meets someone who shares a similar problem, one that no one else can see past the initial vibrant attitude. No one, but Asmodeus.

"Do you like this outfit on me?" Patting out your clothes, you bashfully seek for Asmodeus' approval. "Sweetheart, with your gorgeous face you would look good wearing even a potato sack." His eyes soften as he scans your roseate cheeks. "You do look good in it though, but... you know that that's not where your charm lie, right?" He frowns when your eyes widen with surprise, are you truly not aware of your good measures? Because they are so obvious to him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Beelzebub ━ ෆ

Food is among life's greatest pleasures - satisfying, comforting and delicious. You label yourself a curious connoisseur, admiring the different stages your food goes through before ending on your plate, tingling your tastebuds. You truly love, appreciate, and cherish the different types of cuisines in the world, however, society viewed your food adoration as disgraceful, consequently causing you to suppress a meaningful chunk of your personality for the sake of acceptance.

Beel is desensitized to the inkling that washes over him when he initially sees you. He's used to receiving this warm, familiar feeling from food all the time, so he's mostly indifferent to it, and didn't realize it's actually you emitting it this time. He only pays mind to it when the family sits down together for your first dinner with them - inquisitive, you eye the diverse food on the plate, only to reject it with a smile. Cocking an eyebrow at the sight, Beel is wondering who in their right mind would refuse a devildom delicacy.

Later that evening, a knock on your door breaks the silence settled in your new room. You allow the visitor in, watching as Beel steps in with a loaded tray, filled to the brim with a variety of snacks. "You didn't have anything at dinner, so I wanted to introduce you to some other local treats, maybe there's something in here that would fit your taste?" He explains, placing the platter on your desk. "Thank you Beel, but I'm not really hungry." You inform, but the latter won't budge. "Well, I'm staying here until you try at least some of them, so take your time. I have no other place to be at for awhile." Your heart flutter at the gesture. Maybe in this new world you no longer have to hide who you are, at least not with Beelzebub.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ ━ Belphegor ━ ෆ

On any day, you would take staying home with a good book or a movie over going out. Leaving your safe haven often feels like a chore, and the older you became, the rarer it was to find the time for these moments of solace. Nothing beats the comfort of staying in bed for you, cuddled in a duvet and left to your lonesome. But people continually take it the wrong way, deeming you apathic and careless for not wanting to engage in the same tiresome activities they enjoy. Life in the human world is not easy for a domestic being, and surrounded by all the wrong ones, you find yourself pondering if like-minded people even exist.

Belphegor has months of making up to do when he's finally (properly) introduced to you. His sentiment with you was way too damaged to even acknowledge the fact his sin was practically covering every inch of your existence, something he usually would sniff from miles away. It took a bit of warming up from your side as he patiently waited for you to set the pace, but when you finally agree to nap with him one afternoon━ nose buried in your soft locks━ he ultimately detects the reason he feels so in tune with you.

"Who is it?" Belphegor peeks over your shoulder as your phone lights up with a text message. "It's Asmo, he wants me to go window shopping with him." You sigh, your finger hover over the keys, contemplating your reply. Belphegor puts an end to your turmoil by taking the device from your hands and clicking it shut. "There, problem solved. Now come back to bed, it's cold without you by my side." He smiles, pulling you closer by your arms. "You're a bad influence, Belphie." You shake your head, but he just shrugs in response. "You can call it that, but I just know what you want."

[loz-furbies]

Breath of the Wild / Age of Calamity / Tears of the Kingdom Zelda, part 2/2

Role in the story

BotW, AoC and TotK stand out among the LoZ games in that they're specifically Zelda's stories in a way only Spirit Tracks can rival. Or Skyward Sword also did a similar thing where you first try to figure out what the deal with Zelda is, but I'd say that in that game Link's own journey to becoming the hero he needs to be is just as important, while BotW Link's is feelings about his adventure are more implied that explicitly shown in his games. While the actual story of BotW and TotK is pretty similar to most loz titles as far as Zelda is concerned (she is in some kind of trouble through the whole time and only clearing the game can help her, and she has minimal impact to the actual gameplay of the final fight), since we get to see so much of her own story, her contributions still feel a lot more meaningful than just doing something fancy in a cutscene after the player has done all the actual work. And despite being absent for the whole game, Zelda still has a lot of presence, since searching cutscenes about her is the main quest, and so many side characters talk about her.

I prefer Zelda's story in BotW over TotK, because in BotW she has internal conflicts and character development, while in TotK she is more about dealing with the external conflict that the plot throws at her. Or you can say that she is unsure about what to do at first and has grown more confident by the final Dragon Tear cutscene, but I don't think this was motivated by any personal growth about her. Also I'm not a fan of how the Master Sword just shows up on its own in the past, because it makes it feel like she's just acting on someone else's plan and the whole draconification is pushed on her. The scene where she eats the secret stone is really good, but I would rather have had her also intentionally pull the Master Sword to her after she comes up with the dragon plan to give her more agency about the whole thing.

TotK also has the issue that while the scene where Zelda sacrifices her humanity in order to restore the Master Sword is incredible, when it comes to gameplay impact, it comes across as underwhelming. Like this is a reincarnated goddess who gave up her all and has been pouring her strength for a billion years into this sword as a culmination of the dramatic flashback story, and what you get out of it is... a base power 30 weapon. I get why it is like this for obvious balance reasons, but from a pure story perspective, there's so much narrative weight on the Master Sword that at this point it should be able to one-hit-kill anything that isn't Ganondorf.

Showing the cutscenes about Zelda in mostly random order is a somewhat risky way to tell the story. I got a satisfying story in both BotW and TotK, but I figure that your opinion about Zelda might be coloured if the first BotW memory you see about her is the one where she acts rude towards Link. But I do like how any of the memories being optional naturally plays into the ending of the game where Zelda asks if you remember her; how well the player knows Zelda probably factors in how they feel during this scene, so I'd say that each player gets the ending they deserve.

Meanwhile in TotK I feel that after getting the geoglyph where Zelda makes the decision to turn into a dragon, the rest of them become less meaningful when the mystery about where she disappeared has already been solved. And speaking of which, I really wish the game handled the mystery about Zelda in the present time better because all red herrings about her become incredibly awkward when Link already knows where she is. I can still sort of buy that he wouldn't want to discuss this with Penn, but the main story missions really should have had an alternate version if you already did the Dragon Tears quest. And puppet Zelda in Hyrule castle towards the end doesn't work too well either, like what am I expected to feel about this suspiciously behaving Zelda when the game has already made it clear that it can't possibly be her?

Also it should be noted that as has become somewhat of a tradition, Zelda also gives you the Bow of Light in BotW. Which feels a little superfluous there since it's not really related to the rest of her story, but whatever. She also takes part in the TotK final battle as the Light Dragon, though she's not a very active participant when she just automatically carries you higher when you fall down enough, and later she has no memory of her time as a dragon anyway. But it's nice that she was included in some way at least.

AoC tells a similar story about how Zelda goes through failing to awaken her powers to confidently wielding them in a battle, but it feels completely different since the player is present through these events instead of seeing them in a flashback cutscene. And I would argue that Zelda just flat out is the main character of that game, sure you start as Link but Zelda already becomes a playable character in chapter 2, and story-wise Link is feels very much like an afterthought.

AoC makes her a badass fighter like all the other characters, which is totally at odds with the rest of her characterisation, but it's just something you have to accept for this type of game. And of course it would have been super disappointing if she wasn't playable. I like her Sheikah Slate and Bike movesets, but I never liked the bow for too complicated for me to handle (and somehow the bow tutorial is like the hardest level in the game?)

In the golden ending of TotK the sages pledge their loyalty to Zelda, and the scene cuts to a flashback of the ancient sages doing the same for Rauru. Honestly I don't really get what they're trying to say with this; Zelda doesn't have any kind of character arc that would need to culminate in her becoming a leader or accepting help from others, and while the ancient version of this can be taken as everyone joining forces to fight evil together, at the end of TotK the world has already been saved so I don't see what the other races would get out of, I dunno, reinstating the monarchy that fell a hundred years ago? And the sages are already personal friends with Zelda anyway so the whole scene just feels weird.

Relationships

In addition to having a lot of development to herself as an individual, this Zelda also gets to have a lot of relationships with various NPCs that are worth mentioning.

As usual Link is among the most important relationships for Zelda. Zelda and Link obviously have the connection that they both have a predestined role in the Ganon thing, and the fact that they have such different starting points (Zelda struggles at her job while Link is pretty much already ready for his) gives them an interesting contrast. And when they eventually start getting along better they’re probably the only people who can understand each other’s situation properly.

Out of the Zelda and Link duos I've seen, I think this one has the most well defined relationship. For comparison SS Zelink comes second, and while I do like them a lot and I think the game makes it clear they care about each other as people, I don't think there's much else to their relationship than "childhood friends". Or like stuff that makes them unique among the many anime childhood friends. Meanwhile in BotW we get to know some actual specifics about their relationship (at least from Zelda's side), primarily about their shared fate. Zelda being jealous of Link's success at his job is a notable part of the story, and this comes up a lot. In her diary she describes how she is unhappy about the king appointing Link as her knight, how she is unnerved about how he is so silent and unreadable, and how she speculates about how he must despise her for her failures. And her jealousy doesn't just affect her own self esteem, but also impacts her behaviour when she lashes out at him for just doing his job.

Once Link saves Zelda from the Yiga clan, she becomes more friendly towards him, apologises and puts an effort in getting to know him more. I think it's a cute detail that the first thing she learns about him is how gluttonous he is. Eventually Link confides in him about the pressure he feels about his duty and Zelda presumably talks about her own fears (or at least she writes in her diary that she wants to and I assume she eventually did). So I really like that they get to connect at a very personal level and open up about their insecurities, and the game explicitly points out this connection.

I do have some issues with how the turning point of their relationship where Link saves her from the Yiga clan is executed. Like the reasons Zelda starts to see Link in a more positive light is because he did the one job he had as a bodyguard, like that comes as a surprise to her. On an intellectual level sure I can get that it's different for her to know that Link's job is to protect her from theoretical danger and actually experience that moment, but I don't think the story works in the moment. The scene itself is pretty weak, like Zelda writes in her diary how Link put himself in danger for her sake, but it's just two Yiga footsoldiers so as a player it's hard to relate to the idea that Link was at any kind of risk.

Age of Calamity changes Link's character significantly in that he finds the Master Sword during the game after he has already been appointed as Zelda's knight, and this also changes their relationship to a less interesting direction. As someone who is on track with fulfilling their role in the grand plan, Link still works as a foil to Zelda who struggles with hers, but all of this is depicted as Zelda's frustration at herself and all the the envy and animosity towards Link is missing. In general Link is pretty boring in AoC and most of what he could be able to contribute towards Zelda have been moved to Impa. But I do like how consistently he acts as her bodyguard in AoC, there are multiple scenes where he moves in front of her to protect her. Which of course is very appealing to someone who really likes the princess-and-knight trope.

Ultimately I think Link and Zelda make for a good couple not just because they have so much shared history together, but specifically because both are canonically kind of weird. Zelda makes people eat frogs, and Link is someone who eats rocks. I prefer to imagine that even before the Calamity Zelda could fully be herself around Link. And in TotK it's clear she has a high opinion of Link, considering how much she brags about him to Rauru (which was a super cute scene).

Since we've been taking note of any hand holding instances between Link and Zelda it should be noted that there's some of those here as well, though none of them are what I'd classify anywhere near romantic. As the bodyguard Link drags Zelda by the hand when they run away from enemies, and the ultimate hand holding game TotK also gives one hand holding moment to Zelink too (though Link holds hands in pretty much every important character in that game). And we also get a little princess carry moment at the end so that's cool.

While I don't think any of the games confirm that they are canonically a couple, I think there's a lot that points in that direction. Kass relays his teacher's observation that Zelda was in fact in love with Link, and while this is third-hand information and either Kass or the teacher could have misunderstood something, but that just feels like a really strange thing to put in the game especially when it isn't challenged in any way. Then there's the TotK house debate which has been discussed to death, so I'll just state the often listed things that Link can only sleep in the bed of this house, and if Zelda lived alone she wouldn't have as much need for a private study. And also the process of elimination: the game doesn't really give Link any other house where he would have lived during the years between BotW and TotK.

The previous Zelda dads have been pretty boring (either just generically nice or lacking any proper characterisation), so I welcome King Rhoam to this group. He's a pretty hated character for obvious reasons, but I like him because even though he was a terrible father, as a character he is interesting. The story also has more bite to it if everyone isn't just besties with everyone, and Zelda's distress feels more personal when her inability to awaken her powers doesn't affect just faceless masses and instead the constant reminder of her failures has a face. There are many scenes where he impedes or belittles her research or forbids it altogether, and in general the two appear to have a pretty formal and distant relationship.

Many in the audience want Rhoam's head on a stake for his horrid parenting, but I'd say that in canon Zelda is more willing for reconciliation, at least if AoC is anything to go by. According to his diary, Rhoam had been a strict father ever since the queen died (so Zelda was six) and there is little material on them actually having any positive interaction, but I figure there must have been something at least, or at least Zelda appears to value his approval. I do wonder how Zelda feels about her dad after the events of BotW since she probably got to read his diary and Link must have told him about the "old man".

In TotK Zelda gets more competent parental figures in Rauru and Sonia. It's a shame the game itself doesn't bring this up, but at least there is an interview that compares Zelda's parents to them. Through the power of magic and plot convenience they instantly sense that Zelda is trustworthy and become incredibly supportive of her. It really makes a huge difference for Zelda when she gets some actual guidance for unlocking her new magic powers, and unlike her BotW experience where she's constantly reminded of how necessary her contribution is to saving the world, this time she is told that this is not her fight and she is allowed to focus on her own issues. She eventually becomes a part of Rauru's inner circle and anti-Ganondorf team. I really like how Rauru treats Zelda, in that he consistently acts like the adult in the relationship and always remains supportive, but also doesn't baby her either and lets her make her own decisions.

While the other Beast Pilots primarily have a notable relationship with Link, Urbosa is more about Zelda as a mother figure or a "cool aunt" type. Urbosa is consistently supportive towards Zelda; she consoles her when her powers fail to awaken, was present to help when kid Zelda almost passed out from praying in cold water, puts her hand on her shoulder when she's stressed, and tries to do something about her strained relationship with Link. It's clear that the two are very close and go way back and Zelda has opened to her about her feelings. Zelda also acts more relaxed around Urbosa, like in the cute scene in Champion's ballad where they laugh together about having to put up a formal act in front of an audience.

Zelda also writes that she was surprised that Mipha was quick to learn to control her Divine Beast, whatever that means. Other than that Zelda doesn't share much of a specific relationship with Mipha, and Zelda's situation isn't contrasted with Mipha's at all even though both are princesses who are in a conflict with their king father. Even if Zelda does share personal and character-focused cutscenes with all champions, in general there's not much to say about her relationship towards the non-Urbosa Beast Pilots; while each of them has their own unique feelings about Zelda, from Zelda's side it's more just that she considers them her friends.

AoC Impa is in a similar boat. Impa's title in the game is "Royal advisor, loyal friend", and she indeed is included in many of Zelda's scenes where she's troubled over her lack of progress with her powers. Third-wheeling the Zelink from a shipper's perspective, but makes sense from a narrative perspective to have someone for Zelda to play off so she doesn't have to monologue for an entire cutscene since Link (or Terrako) doesn't talk as usual. So Impa gets to deliver some important pep talk to Zelda, so she can continue to trudge forward despite all her failures. Still this is mostly from Impa's side and I don't get a lot out of Zelda outside obviously seeing Impa as a friend.

Mind you even if I don't think Zelda's relationship with Impa or the Beast Pilots is particularly special, I'm not really complaining. Like there is effort to put them in character focused scenes and have them have some sort of connection with each other, and in almost any other LoZ game they would be a high point in Zelda's relationship list. It's just that the bar is way higher with this iteration of Zelda, so stuff like this becomes even worth mentioning.

The TotK sages have disappointingly little to do with Zelda, even though they should have known each other for years. We get nothing from Zelda's side towards any of them, and the sages are primarily concerned about the environmental disaster affecting their homes (which okay is fair) and Zelda is just a footnote in their story. Only Riju brings up Zelda being her close friend, and is the only one to refer to her as Zelda, while the other three use princess Zelda.

AoC gives Zelda her own companion character in Terrako, which I guess is fitting if you see her as the main character of the game. Unfortunately for me Terrako inhabits the character type that I categorically dislike and is my least favourite character of the franchise, but is still relevant enough that it warrants a mention here. And if Zelda has to have a mascot, making it a little robot is a good pick. We even get to see a flashback where kid Zelda builds Terrako, which of course ties well into her characterisation as a scientist. Through the story Terrako is present in Zelda's important moments encouraging her, and Terrako being (temporarily) destroyed just before the grand finale is the final big moment for Zelda where she repeats her resolve to win the war. And of course the true ending of AoC has Zelda set out on her own with just Terrako, which I guess helps to really sell her as the main character of her own life (compared to if she left with her whole friend group or a bodyguard).

Purah is brought up together with Zelda a little; apparently Zelda used to cover for her when her research got too explosive back before the Calamity, and Zelda took part in the ancient Sheikah technology research and writes in her diary how she thinks it's best not to try to argue with Purah. But since being a scholar is such a big part of Zelda's character, I really wish her relationship with Purah was more developed. She doesn't get much out of Mineru either other than a mention that she visited her and rode her construct.

We also get to know about how the public perception of Zelda, in BotW Rhoam tells about how there are rumours spreading about her inadequacy, but in TotK there are NPCs in every corner of Hyrule who have something nice to say about her. I think this is cute development, and I find it believable too given how much of the talk about her is how she actively goes around helping people.

[tyrantisterror]

While we’re on the subject of Dungeons & monsters, what are your top ten favorite D&D monsters & why?

I'm going to limit this to monsters that are either original creations of D&D or so divorced from their mythological roots that they might as well be original creations, or else this would just be me listing dragons. This is also in no particular order.

I'm gonna start with the Otyugh, because I think it's a result of D&D creating a very interesting ecosystem to justify its mechanics. You have all these artificial dungeons filled with different man-eating monsters, right? Well, what about the waste products they create? Carrion, yes, but also, you know... poop.

Well, you get Otyughs, a species that, depending on the setting, was either artificially engineered to take care of the waste products of a dungeon, or naturally evolved to clear out the waste of enormous megafauna predators like dragons. Is it mostly just an excuse to introduce yet another weird monster with a unique attack mechanic (say hello to sepsis and other infections, players)? Yeah, but it's a good excuse, it gets the imagination flowing.

I've actually played a lot more Pathfinder than D&D proper, and Pathfinder went out of its way to give Otyughs love by exploring all the aspects of their ecology that were only lightly outlined or implied in D&D, including the fact that they're technically intelligent enough to be capable of speech and reason - and thus, not necessarily a monster you have to deal with using violence alone. It really endeared me to them, to the point where Otyugh characters became something of a trademark of mine when running Pathfinder/D&D campaigns - and to the point where I ended up making up an expy of them for my own fantasy setting.

Bulettes are one of the coolest looking D&D monsters for my money, especially given that their modern designs take two inspiration from two very different animals - sharks and tortoises - and manage to combine them so beautifully to create something at once very cool and yet perfectly plausible as a "real" creature.

I love Rust Monsters for the same reason I love Otyughs - it's a monster that was made to showcase a game mechanic (namely, destroying players' weapons and armor, making sure they know how valuable those things are) and ends up creating a weird but plausible and interesting aspect of the ecology and world-building as a result. Also like Otyughs, they're very cute in a groady monster way.

Not every monster needs to have a big mind-blowing concept for me to be happy, though. Sometimes a creepy guy with a squid for a head who eats brains is enough. Mind Flayers are iconic and often imitated despite/because of being such a simple and easy to grasp concept.

Speaking of iconic monsters, Beholders feel like such an obvious cool concept that is shocking to me that they're more or less an original D&D creation - and it kind of sucks that they are, because a giant monster head with one main eye and several smaller eyes on stalks feels like it should be as ubiquitous in fiction as dragons and unicorns, and yet it can't be without paying Wizards of the Coast a shit-ton of royalties.

I will say that the lore D&D gave Beholders is pretty good, though - namely that each Beholder thinks it is the apex of their kind, and hates all other beholders for their perceived imperfections. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you see. It's great, no notes, but beholders should belong to the people, not copyright holders.

I'm pretty sure Mimics originate from D&D, though I guess they just couldn't keep the idea of "a treasure chest that fucking eats you" from the people, since they appear in a lot of non-licensed stuff. As they should - man-eating treasure chests are another monster concept that should belong to the people.

I was talking about Froghemoths the other day on here but I want to reiterate that I love them despite/because of the fact that there really is no greater concept at play here than "what if there was a big fucking frog freak," and not once in the long history of this game has anyone decided there needed to be more at play than that. A big fucking frog freak is enough for all of us.

I just think this one looks neat.

D&D kobolds are in the category of "so far removed from its mythic roots that it's basically a new monster," and in that case the new monster is "scrabbly little dragon people with extreme anxiety," and I love that. Kobolds are my favorite humanoid species in D&D, and I'm glad 5th edition finally gave them a stat block that's actually playable, as opposed to previous edition's attempts, which made the prospect of being a kobold character the equivalent of having a public humiliation kink.

Finally, and also in the category of "technically named after a mythic monster it no longer resembles in almost any way," we have the Tarrasque, which went from a turtle/lion hybrid dragon in myth to a nigh-indestructible monster that's explicitly compared to natural disasters for its immense size, vast destructive power, and near inability to be harmed thanks to its armored hide and insane healing abilities. Or, in short, D&D lawyer friendly equivalent of Godzilla. How can I not love D&D Godzilla?

[yandere-sins]

Guard #100

a/n: Thanks for requesting! I made the reader a bit more flexible so they are a smuggling thief! Enjoy :D

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland     Pairings: Yandere!Guard!Vil Schoenheit x GN!Reader Warnings: Yandere, Long Post, Violence (Blood mention, Bruising, Fighting, Implied mistreatment/murder, Reader is violent towards another prisoner, Forced Violence, Threats, Revenge, Whipping), Sexual Content (Implied ONS, Dub-Con, Flirting, Reader being sexually active, Reader seducing others for favors or convenience, Reader being called ‘pet’, Biting), Vil being vain, Reader is a bit too trusting, Deals being made, Mention of various crimes

[Prison Project Introduction & How to request | Pinterest Moodboard]

Hearing your own head crack as you were slammed face-first into the cell bars must have been one of the worst experiences you ever had.

Even back when you associated yourself with the hot and steamy nights following the seduction of lonely and bored-out-of-their-minds millionaires, the loud pounding of your heart every time you made off with their overprized possessions hidden under your car seat, and the taste of champagne after selling said possessions, your mind couldn't understand the pounding in your head, together with the blood trickling down the side of your face. You were a criminal, but not that kind of criminal.

Groaning, you staggered, only for your arm to be grabbed and twisted until you turned around, the back of your head now crashing into the bars. With the forearm of your roommate pressing into your throat, you were gurgling at best, silent at worst as you wanted to scream for help. But even your fingernails ripping off your attacker's skin did nothing to convince him to stop.

Everything hurt, yet the adrenaline pumping through you kept your body fighting, even when the air got thinner and thinner. You were a fucking smuggler. A pretty low job on the ladder of thievery. No one ever prepared you to face off against a hulk-lookalike with clear tendencies for murder.

Nearing the end of your consciousness, you remembered the guard's words, almost feeling bad for the officer. As it seemed like, you wouldn't be able to stay alive long enough to ask for a room change, and who knows what this psycho would do with you when stabbing his roommates seemed to have been his favorite pastime as of late.

Letting out one last, pitiful gasp, you realized you could no longer get any air inside of you (or outside, for that matter), your vision blacking out more often than you liked. Squeezing your eyes shut, you didn't want to waste more oxygen that you didn't have, focusing on that bastard's face as the last thing you saw, when the pressure suddenly faltered.

"Let them go," an angelic voice spoke, calm but assertive, a beautiful melody in your last moments. The only thing that reminded you that you were still alive and not, in fact, in heaven was the jarring sound of metal scraping against metal that followed the voice.

You forced your eyes wide open, peering to your right where the unmistakable roundness of a gun barrel poked through the bars. It wasn't pointed at you, and yet you immediately knew what it was. Not a baton, a gun. You had to smuggle enough of those, too, to even recognize its model, unmistakenly a weapon used by law enforcement.

However, your eyes were peeled off the gun the second your attacker finally let you go. "Damn, no need to get all threatening, Schoenheit," your cellmate tried to calm the situation, raising his hands innocently and stepping two steps back. Your body collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit, and you could barely hear the words spoken over your own sounds as you tried to regain control over yourself.

"You can call your lapdog back now. I already let go, as you said."

"To the wall with you, Monsieur," another voice instructed, having a smile vibrate in their words as if they were enjoying this.

Your cellmate grumbled some more but retreated to the back of the cell, standing next to the wall as the door to your right was opened in one smooth movement, the sound of heeled shoes clicking through the room. "Are you okay?" someone suddenly spoke from right beside you. You finally lifted your head again, squinting your eyes to focus them on the face before you.

You could easily identify the guy as a guard with his pristine uniform. However, looking him up and down, he seemed strangely... young? Delicate? You found that he had too much of a pretty face to be a guard for this prison. Everything here was so monotonous, ugly, and dirty that it didn't fit him. But you had to admit, it felt good to see some concern for yourself in someone's eyes for once, not just disdain or judgment.

"I..." you croaked, realizing every word you spoke hurt like you were still in a chokehold. You could feel yourself grimace before you reached up, touching your neck carefully and flinching as even the brush of your own fingers hurt. In fact, everything hurt. From your head to your lungs, everything burned, and you felt dizzy with pain, unable to hide it anymore.

"Vil, I think they got pretty messed up," the guard called out, twisting his body around. You followed the direction with your eyes, seeing two more guards in your cell, looking mightily imposing and tall from your position on the ground.

One of them was still holding the gun up to your cellmate, keeping the guy in check, for which you were thankful. He deserved punishment for just attacking you without reason (other than you entering this cell because you had to). However, the other one, standing like a perfect pillar of justice next to the one with the gun, held a riding crop behind his back, only ever smacking the weapon into his own palm while reprimanding the prisoner verbally.

He, slowly, elegantly, with pride and confidence dripping from him like a waterfall, made a half-turn, fixing his gaze on the guard next to you, then on you. Immediately, a shudder of goosebumps ran down your body, intensifying your aching even though the pain was temporarily forgotten as you were captured by his eyes, his gaze strict but only adding to his natural beauty.

All of them were astonishingly beautiful, you realized, glancing at the third guard with the gun to confirm your suspicion. What kind of prison was this?

"Hm," the one with the riding crop hummed. In less than two confident strides, he was standing right before you, the cold end of his crop driving over your throat and lodging beneath your jaw. "That's most certainly going to bruise," he noted, seeing the discoloration left by the arm and feeling you shudder as the pain prickled every spot of your skin that the whip touched. He kept pushing the crop deeper into the underside of your jaw, forcing you to follow and move your head the way the crop directed, left, right, and left again.

"It's a pity, really," he sighed, "Your face is so pretty. Help them up, Epel, will you? They should get treatment for their head."

"Yes, Sir!"

A little confused as a pounding headache made it hard to follow the conversation, the younger guard got to his feet, grabbed you under your arms, and, with a surprising effortless pull, brought you to your feet. Hooking your arm over his shoulders, he led you outside, and you glanced back despite the restraint from the wounds on your neck.

Vil watched you two intently for just a moment more, his eyes drilling into you and making you gulp as uneasiness joined in with the feelings running amok inside of you. His gaze was so invading and didn't help you feel better at all. Yet, somehow, it was familiar. Vil made a sudden, sharp turn and stepped back into the dark cell, out of sight before you could question it more. Next you knew, Epel somehow got you out of the ward with the sounds of lashes and screams following your every dragging step, but you felt no empathy whatsoever, especially not when Epel and a nurse settled you into a warm and comfy bed, and you finally got to breathe out as all the tension fell off.

«──────── 🗡♡ ︎𓍝 ────────»

Either you fell asleep right then and there, or you lost conscience after all, but after what felt like a very long nap, you squeezed your eyelids closed tightly before slowly forcing them open. The room light was dimmed, and it was dark outside, almost making you believe you weren't in prison but back in some shitty basement of a restaurant, about to hand over your delivery of stolen goods to some wannabe gangster that hired you.

A loud groan ripped from your mouth as wakefulness brought back all the harm done to your body. However, a pounding head and the sudden fear of swallowing and aggravating your throat weren't the only things with you in the room. As you lifted your hand to touch the spot where your forehead and the cell bars collided, you realized you were handcuffed to the bedframe, unable to lift as high as your own head. And when you finally moved again, so did someone else in the room, alerting you with the rustling of clothes.

"Bonsoir!" a loud, enthusiastic voice greeted you before a familiar but not really familiar face shoved itself into your vision, making you flinch and jerk in your bed from the surprise. "We thought we lost you there for a second with you suddenly going limp on us! Let me tell the others real quick!"

With a bounce in his step, you warily watched the guard step away from you, still feeling the shock in your bones as you tensed. He stopped halfway around your bed, turning just as sharply as the other guard, Vil, had before. However, there was something so throat-cutting about his movements, not as elegant as Vil's but, rather, deadly.

"The nurse said to not move your head so much as to not agitate the wounds, d'accord? Vil wants you to get better quickly, so please do your best to stay where you are even when no one is watching."

He gave you a wayward smile that could have honestly meant anything. A threat or a well-meant request, either was possible but not both. You slumped back into the pillow as the strange guard closed the door behind him, and sighed deeply.

What a mess this was.

A mess you knew you couldn't get out of.

If they'd sent you back to that cell, the same shit would happen. Yet, you doubted they cared. The guards patrolling along your cell when you were attacked had been a rare stroke of luck for you. But luck had the tendency to run out eventually. Yet, at the same time, you didn't trust the guards to assign you to another cell instead.

Pulling on the handcuff on your right arm, you wondered if breaking your thumb or dislocating your shoulder would be possible and give you some more days in the infirmary for observation. You had no idea how bad this would hurt even just to try, but you saw it in movies before, so even if they were unrealistic, it probably wasn't impossible.

Those damn movies. They had been your ruin.

"It's just a bag. You just have to hand it to the guy waiting for you across the street. It's totally harmless, and it's fun. Just like in the movies."

It was just a bag that your 'friend' wanted you to deliver at first. Probably drugs or stolen goods, but you did it. You liked them, they were fun to hang around, and you didn't want them to think you were too scared to give someone a bag. And it was kind of fun, you had to admit. Especially the alcohol you were given afterwards as a reward and the parties.

But one bag turned into one painting. A painting into jewelry boxes. Boxes into packs of drugs. There was thrill and excitement. You got rich, buying new equipment, new cars, and jetting around the world until you had to acquire the things your 'friend' wanted to sell. You drank way too much alcohol all the time, filling the loneliness as you realized none of those friends you made actually wanted to hang out with you. You let too many people muddle your brain and touch you even when you didn't want to but had to. You were trying to forget by drowning your worries because you were too far gone by the time you realized how wrong it all was. All these things made you careless, and carelessness brought you here to prison. To the prison infirmary, to be exact.

But there was no use in pondering over this now. Not when the door suddenly opened, and you jerked upright again, facing a new challenge with piercing, lavender eyes focused on you. Stepping inside were the same three guards you had met in your cell before, but just as they built a wall around your bed, a—comparably tiny—nurse squeezed through them, letting out a huff as she rounded the bed to your right side.

"I will check on them first, Officer Schoenheit, and then you may do..." her resolute voice said determinedly, her hand circling as she tried to come up with the last bit of her sentence. "Whatever," she eventually settled on, standing next to you instead.

"You got a nasty laceration on your head, Darling," she sighed, and you felt the twinge as she pulled off the large, white bandaid from your head, now smeared in, what you assumed was, blood and ointment. "And that on your first day."

"Ouch," you hissed as your skin snapped back in place after being freed from the glue of the wound dressing, the tension rising in the room, but the nurse didn't mind.

"Sorry, but this is not supposed to feel good."

Very comforting, you thought, taking a deep breath. There wasn't much you could do as the nurse worked away, cleaning, checking, and bandaging the wound again, so you let your eyes drift. No one was saying anything, and their eyes did not indicate what they would say once it was their turn.

Epel watched curiously, his interest fixed on your wound. Especially next to the other two, he looked so small and fragile. But knowing how easily he had lifted you and how he could look at your wound without flinching, he probably wasn't as much of a mismatch for this prison as you thought. There seemed to be something beneath the pretty surface of all three of them, the guard you still didn't know the name of smiling a little too much even though the situation was in no way merry or joyful. He was the only one occasionally scanning through the room rather than staring at you, his movements still so sharp, no flinch of his muscles was wasted.

The last one, Officer Schoenheit, or Vil—how Epel called him—intrigued you the most, however. He certainly didn't look like he belonged in this place, his posture noble and mighty, with the face of an angel and a body to envy. Currently, there was only one wrinkle on his face, a crease between his eyebrows growing deeper every time your eyes met. He was the kind of guy you'd often encounter after sneaking out of some wealthy person's house after you successfully seduced them. Like the son of those people, sneering at you as he returned from a party, not knowing you had his mother's jewels hidden in your pocket. And the worst part was that he seemed so familiar that you might have met him like this before.

No matter how pretty he was, there was a hidden personality under his mask, shown by the coldness in his eyes. He was no different from those rich kids, always letting you know you were below them. But now, you weren't a filthy fling of their parents but a dirty prisoner. It wasn't that big of a difference. And yet... whenever you looked up after flinching as the nurse checked your head, asking what and where and how it hurt before moving on to your throat, you saw the wrinkle disappear for a moment as he lifted his eyebrows while watching curiously. He was studying you, burning every one of your movements into his mind, and judging you for them accordingly.

And yet, in the few moments, his face relaxed, he looked almost concerned.

"There, done," the nurse huffed, giving you a quick, proud lookover.

"Thanks," you mumbled, trying to reach up once again to touch your wound to check it, but the second the chain on the handcuffs fastened, everyone in the room grew alert. You sighed, and the nurse tried to laugh it off. "You're a nice one, aren't you?"

Well, you certainly weren't a sicko who attacked others, though, by definition, and your guilty verdict, you weren't 'nice' either.

"All yours, Schoenheit," the nurse declared, waving at you before leaving, and the other heads turned to the officer, whose eyes never left you as he nodded briefly, dismissing the lower guards. "You may go now."

Epel and the third guard didn't hesitate before trotting out, the latter grinning at you just before disappearing out of the door and closing it behind them so that only you two remained. The awkward silence was palpable, and you wondered if pulling at your handcuffs again would break it when Vil caught your attention.

"I apologize for the inconvenience you experienced on your first day."

That... took you aback. Glancing up at him in surprise, you certainly didn't expect him to apologize. However, his face remained unreadable, serious, yet indifferent enough to not force a grimace on it. Nor a smile, but that might have been too much to expect.

"It's fine," you waved off with your free hand, looking back down into your lap, thinking this was the most this conversation would go.

However, instead of leaving, you felt the indent on the mattress as he sat down with a perfectly straight back, not even asking if you were okay with this closeness. "We met before, haven't we?"

His question was yet again another sentence you didn't expect. Oh boy, you thought, trying to guess who the poor person had been you robbed and whose son this guard was. "I'm not sure," you mumbled honestly, but trying to stay on his good side, quickly added, "I'd probably remember a pretty face like yours."

Vil huffed, though not in an offended way. He apparently had enough confidence in his looks to take compliments easily. "Thorn's Club. You ushered me away in exchange for sitting with a rich-looking gentleman beyond his prime. You might have forgotten, but only seeing you here in this prison soothes the pain of your dismissal."

"Oh, well." Yeah, you fucked that one up, didn't you?

"I hate to admit it, but that was a first for me," Vil chuckled, making the awkwardness tumble, the sound as lovely as being graced by the first rays of sun on your skin.

"Wish I would have reconsidered," you admitted, though before you could put on a better show to keep the guard's mood high, he suddenly turned to you, hand reaching upwards and snatching your chin. Just like with the whip before, he turned your head side to side, scanning you from forehead to chin as you stammered, "Uh...?"

"You sure are easy to look at," he suddenly said, brows furrowing, which almost looked unnatural on his beautiful face. "It's no wonder I felt so distraught after your dismissal."

"Hey, look, I'm really sorry if I--"

"So, would you like to reduce your sentence?"

Well, that took a turn quickly.

So he wanted to...? What? Fuck? Mess you up? Kill you? Was his pride this bad, rivaled only by the immediate aggression of your roommate? "I'm not sure what you mean?" you mumbled, your jaw still in an iron grip, making it hard to speak with his gloved fingers raking manicured nails over your skin.

"What I mean is..." Vil turned your head over once more, burning you with his gaze before giving one determined nod of satisfaction. "I need a rat. And you need a recommendation. Or do you perhaps prefer getting beaten up by the inmates or worse?"

You wanted to shake your hand, but his grip forced you to speak clearly, something he seemed to approve of. "No. What do you want me to do?"

The corners of his lips jerked, a brilliant smile manifesting on his lips. It was so dazzling you blinked a few times, almost forgetting what you had just asked until his teeth opened to let his response escape from his exquisite lips.

"Finally."

«──────── 🗡♡ ︎𓍝 ────────»

"You may call it a test of courage. Or proof of loyalty. Or simply, revenge."

Feeling Vil's body right next to you, shoulder to shoulder, you gulped. You had learned another thing about this man, even though you felt like you knew nothing at all. But Vil liked control. He was surprisingly cautious for a man who offered you the position of being a rat for an excellent recommendation to the prison ward, just because your face was pretty and you rejected him before. It all seemed somewhat crazy, but standing in front of the cellmate who had beaten you earlier that day, him crouching on the ground, gagged and restrained with horror tearing through the screams into the mouth gag, was very much real.

"How is giving me your crop to beat that guy going to strengthen our bond?" you huffed, disbelieving of what you were supposed to do.

"You see," Vil mused, rounding behind you, the back of his hand brushing the small of your back so nonchalantly you almost believed it wasn't deliberate. Then, in a rapid motion, he gripped you by the chin again, your whole body tensing in alert as he came so close to your hurt throat. But in comparison to the iron grip from before, he was now holding your head up gently, brushing his thumb along your jawline as he redirected your gaze to the corner of the room.

A blinking red light alerted you to the camera there. You hissed, immediately throwing the riding crop to the floor even though you knew your fingerprints were already on it if they wanted to use it as evidence against you. "Now, now," Vil chided, though his tone remained gentle.

"Pick it up," he ordered, releasing you. There was a moment of hesitation that he—thankfully—didn't comment on, but eventually, you bent down to pick it up, holding it out to him. Enveloping your hand with his, he curled your fingers over the crop again, squeezing them together before releasing them. "Good," he praised, his whole demeanor so calm compared to the tension you felt and the ruckus at your feet.

"We're partners now, but you'll understand it's hard for me to trust anyone just from their words. I need-" Vil glanced up at the camera in the corner, the hints of a grin adorning his face, "-a bit more security than your word, pet."

Turning towards the prisoner before you two, you could watch for the first time how Vil's expression turned from his angelic mask to utter disgust, only reverting back when he looked at you again. Batting his eyelashes, he brought his touch back to your cheek, brushing his fingers along your bone structure in an almost adoringly gentle way.

"Epel is going to secure and delete the record, so what happens here will only be between you and me. You don't have to worry about Rook and Epel. They have their hands full with other things than to bother you. Besides, they already enjoyed training under me. I have no doubts about their loyalty."

"If you say so..." you mumbled, still not entirely convinced. Vil's second hand landed on your back again; he gave you a slight push, barely one step forward towards your former cellmate, who squirmed some more in his underwear, eyes wide open and a glare so deadly it made a cold shudder run down your spine.

"It's my present to you," Vil said, letting you go to round the prisoner before kicking one of his black, polished shoes into the mass of a body on the ground.

"How can I be sure you're not setting me up," you asked, justified as you found.

"It's my crop, and I gave it to you. This guy--" Vil pointed at the prisoner at his feet "--could testify if you name him as a witness. Would that not convince people of my guilt in this matter?"

For the first time, you let the black, faux-leather encased crop smack into the palm of your hand. Not painful enough to hurt you, but it sure as hell left its mark in the form of a burning patch of skin behind. It would surely hurt, but you could get behind this set-up Vil created. "What about him? Won't he tell on us?" you asked, nodding at the prisoner.

"When you're done, solitary confinement." Letting out a small chuckle, Vil looked up at you again, confidence glistening in his eyes. "No one believes people in solitary confinement."

"Huh..." Staring at the prisoner, you felt the weight of your decision in the form of the whip in your hands. It wasn't too late, even with your fingerprints on it, to back out, and to be honest, you weren't the vengeful type. But you'd be lying if the promise of a recommendation of early discharge didn't taste sweet like poison on your mind.

Like a poisoned apple, it was a sweet and crisp offer, dipped into the deadly condition of taking revenge on the man who hurt you and continuing your smuggling legacy, even though it was information on the prisoners this time. Vil must have recognized that this was the thing you were best at when he offered you this chance. But would you be a fool again if you took it? Who knows what kind of hell would expect you if you accepted or refused.

"I'll do it," you finally decided, trying to sound confident even though your voice failed you.

"You made the right choice," Vil solidified your decision, smiling his ominous but beautiful smile again. Rolling the prisoner over with another kick, Vil presented him to you, stepping away and back behind you so you could take charge. "Don't go for the face so we can cover up the marks. But do try to make every hit count," he instructed, his hand driving up your arm and over your shoulder as if he was admiring the strength you were about to unleash. In a sharp turn, Vil came to a stop beside you, your eyes meeting once more. You knew that it was impossible to read his thoughts from his expression, but if the mask he wore spoke even an ounce of truth, then he seemed to enjoy himself. "I like to be entertained, pet. Don't disappoint me."

The last sentence came out as a sharp reminder that this was serious despite the oddity of the situation. It made your stomach churn and mind race as you let your gaze slide from Vil to the prisoner whose cries had turned more desperate than angry. "It's nothing personal," you sighed at him, submitting to the choice you had already made. His body shook as you raised the crop, lurching forward to bring it down.

The violence felt like a trance. You kept snapping the crop over the poor guy's skin, the body beneath you blistering and ripping until drops of blood splattered your hands and face. You did as instructed, never aiming for the prisoner's face, but you also left out the arms and wherever you thought it could be seen under the overalls all prisoners wore. You had no idea how long you did it, perhaps a few minutes, or maybe longer than that, but the only person able to snap you out of it was Vil.

His body embraced you from behind, one hand snaked around your face, covering your eyes, the other driving down your left arm until it found hold around your wrist, making you halt. You were breathing heavily as he pulled you back, purring, "Good job," into your ear, his voice causing serotonin to erupt from your brain the same way chocolate did when it melted on your tongue. Silken and rapturing and so, so rewarding when he praised you.

Even when you knew it was wrong. Knew he was using you. It felt like getting some of your freedom back with the feelings of happiness his praise and gentleness caused inside you. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as the smuggling for your 'friend' was. Maybe you'd actually make a difference this time.

"I like how enthusiastic you are about this. It makes me want to sweeten the deal for you even more."

When Vil pulled his hand from your eyes, you were already looking at him, having followed the direction of his voice all this time. He smiled, finding your eyes on him, pulling forth a soft, white handkerchief to wipe your face with before using it to pry the bloody whip from your hands. "How does a private room for my favorite little prisoner sound?"

"That's the least you can do," you huffed, finally regaining control over your body again and slowly pulling your gaze from him to look at the prisoners. The whipping had caused a lot of lacerations and bruises on him, some parts already growing blue. But before you could get a good look at yourself, Vil's fingers guided your chin back into his direction, your eyes wandering back to him.

"I always keep my promises, [Name]. Give me what I want, and you'll get whatever you desire."

"Man, you make this deal sound so cheesy," you chuckled, and Vil's lips curled back into a smile.

"I suppose you won't mind that."

"No, not really."

Maybe it was the flirtatious mood between you two, or you felt like sealing the deal. But you pushed yourself upwards, catching Vil by surprise as you pressed your lips to his. Taking the initiative had always been an excellent way to solidify your intentions with other clients, and you hoped it wouldn't be any different this time. Vil wanted to control your actions at this prison for his gain, and you wanted all the sweet deals he could give you, no matter the cost. In your mind, it made sense to show yourself submitting to him like this, knowing there would be a huge reward for you at the end.

However, at first, Vil jolted away, and when you opened your eyes, you saw a scornful image replacing his delicate features. His hand reached up, gripping you around the throat and reminding you of your place as you struggled against the force of his hand and the pain it caused. It hurt double as much after already going through this kind of struggle before. Vil's fingers were like snakes wrapping around your neck instead of just brute force, sometimes tightening, sometimes getting soft again.

"Don't get cocky now," he hissed, and you nodded, realizing you might have misjudged his affection as merely the way he acted and not something you could build on, like with the other people you seduced to rob them of what you needed.

But then, his lips crashed back into yours, Vil releasing you from his iron grip to press your head upwards and towards him. He wasted no time prying your lips open and taking the chance to play with your tongue before he bit down, spreading the iron-y taste of blood all over it. And yet, when you returned the kiss, he let out a soft moan, devouring your lips as if they were the sweetest fruit on this earth.

"You should never forget who's in charge here," he reminded you, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he forcefully pulled away. However, you could see the stain your blood left on him, unable to help yourself from grinning. Red like lipstick, a deal made in blood. Reaching up, you swiped your thumb over your own lip, where he bit you, before bringing it up to your tongue and licking the blood off provocatively. Vil's eyes darkened as he watched you with intense fixation, forcing out a shuddering sigh.

"My pet likes to play dangerous games, I see."

"That would make two of us," you countered, and he tsked at your comment, rolling his eyes.

"You have no idea of what I'm capable of," Vil mumbled, stepping up to you and gripping your chin, his touch much softer again as the hints of concern flitted over his features. "Get that checked out. I'd hate to be the reason your adorable face is ruined."

"I prefer marked, but I will, Sir."

That was enough to force a mix of a moan and chuckle from him before Vil cleared his throat. "I chose the most imperfect, perfect person for this job, it seems. Try not to get too cozy with my patience."

With this, he let go, marching back to the door you two had entered from and leaving you standing here with the gurgling prisoner. "Rook," he called, and the door swung open, Vil shooting you one last, indecipherable gaze. "Take care of the rest."

"Yes, Vil!" Enthusiastically, Rook jumped into the room just after Vil left, his gaze getting stuck on you, standing there alone and forgotten next to the mess you caused. "Mon dieu," Rook chuckled, hiding his face behind his hand for a second, making it hard to guess if he was smiling or appalled by the sight before him. His eyes were so much more void of emotions than even Vil's, and though he was just as prim and proper as the other two, his was more of a natural, dangerous beauty.

"I thought I saw wrong."

Walking up to you, Rook leaned down, reaching for your hand before bringing it up to his face, placing a reverent kiss on the back. If he saw the blood splatters, he didn't mind, his deadly gaze only ever locked on you.

"But I can see now why Vil would be blushing. You are so... magnifique."

Letting go, Rook walked up to the prisoner on the floor, heaving the groaning body over his shoulders like a hunter would carry a deer. "Please wait until I get back and bring you to your room," he instructed, passing by you. However, he turned to you just before leaving, putting on his brightest smile.

"Oh, and welcome to the crew!"

You caught the short glance he threw into the corner of the room, though as you followed it, you noticed the light on the camera had turned off. Rook was gone without you even waiting for you to say something back, and you were left behind once again. Alone and wondering if you had made the right choice. Still feeling Vil's lips on yours through the throbbing of the bite wound, you could only speculate if you made the right decision after all. Would Vil be the prince awakening you from your death sleep with his kiss?

Or would he leave you hanging in the casket when you needed him the most?

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My Adventures With Superman - A Rambling Set Of Thoughts

Okay, I know I don't USUALLY make posts like this and I especially hate getting cynical and nitpicky about these sorts of things because I just don't wanna contribute to all the negativity on the internet... But this is something I just couldn't shake.

So last night I watched the first season of My Adventures With Superman and... I have a lot of mixed feelings about to be brutally honest which is a shame because I know SO many people really loved this show.

Spoilers for season 1 obviously

For the most this show is great and it has a good foundation for Superman and gets him and his relationship with Lois so right. I love how Clark is this big, soft himbo twink dork who really reminds me of Adora from She-Ra and Lois is this fun tomboy who falls head over heels for him. And to be honest, all of their moments were genuinely the highlight of the show for me. SERIOUSLY ITS LIKE CLARK AND LOIS BUT MADE FOR SAPPHICS LIKE ME AND I ADORE THEM

I love the art style and animation too and really does put a very fresh new aesthetic on DC stuff. Sure, it's a bit too much like She-Ra and Voltron in places, but for DC, it's a really good breath of fresh air. Seriously, look at the designs of Deathstroke and Livewire!

But sadly, that's not all the show is and this is where I have to sadly talk about my negatives with it.

Sooooo… this show was written a lot of the same people who wrote She-Ra and it seems to be a big fan of various anime things too, especially Dragon Ball Z and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

To that end, the show has basically... turned Superman into a mixture of Adora and Goku, not just in terms of personality traits and in Adora's case, her relationship with Catra (Seriously, if Clark was a woman and blonde, I would swear she and Lois would just be Catradora)

This sadly does apply to how this show portrays the Kryptonians, who are implied to MOSTLY be a race of evil conquerors who tried to attack Earth only for Krypton to be destroyed. This is VERY similar to how the First One's were depicted in She-Ra, as well as how the Saiyans were in Dragon Ball Z. One could also argue that their attack on Earth is a weird mashup of the movie Arrival and the Second Impact from Evangelion but that's me getting very nitpicky.

So naturally, we have Adora and Goku's traits being applied to Superman. And…. those traits don't really work for Superman, at all. Now I should be clear, it seems to be that Jor-El and Lara were actually like rebels fighting the evil Kryptonians (which is ironically Mara's whole deal... you seeing the She-Ra pattern here yet?) but like... I don't like this idea at all. Poor Clark even has a fucking breakdown later on and thinks he's actually some evil weapon meant to conquer Earth AGAIN just like Adora from She-Ra being used as a weapon by the First One's. And I just feel bad for him because he's trying to be the good decent Superman we all love... but he's getting dragged into this plot that pretty much breaks him... and I don't really like it.

And then there's a whole subplot about Lois meeting alternate versions of herself and discovering alternate versions of Superman who are evil (which is bizarrely how Kryptonite is introduced in this show) which.... yeah I don't like that plot either. Nor am I the fan of Task Force X pulling the whole "the Government is treating clark as hostile because they think he's an evil alien" plot which I have gotten kinda tired of seeing in a lot of modern Superhero media. It's either Superheroes being hated or hunted by the government or being made to work for them.

And you know where this all probably came from for this show in particular? Fucking Zack Synder and Man of Steel. It's kind of ironic because a lot of this show feels like its in response to the Synderverse, like it feels obligated to comment on how people see Superman now because of those crappy movies, something that I know James Gunn is probably gonna do as well with his superman movie basically a live action version of Superman vs the Elite.

And just…. no, none of this shit is really necessary nor is it a good idea. Because it kinda takes away some bits of Superman that I like. I know the show isn't done yet but… I can already make a good guess of where it's going to go. And where it's going… idk if I'm gonna like a whole lot.

It is clearly a show wanting to be different from all that has been done before with Superman…. but by being different for the sake of it, it's doing a lot of stuff I just don't like.

I just want there to be a day when we get a Superman thing that doesn't have to justify the man's own existence and role in a story because some objectivist edgelord made a bad movie with him in it eleven years ago.

So yeah, by turning Superman into more or less mostly Adora from She-Ra... I think they might have messed him a bit in my eyes. I hope season 2, whenever that comes out hopefully pushes things in a more hopeful direction and I could genuinely call this a good adaption of Superman. Because there is so much potential with just from the relationship of Clark and Lois alone that tells me that these creators just GET how Superman's character is.

So yeah, I hope that long rambling thought made sense.

[penguwastaken]

yo i was just goin through your blog and this post in particular stood out to me https://www.tumblr.com/penguwastaken/749651172845092864/junko-never-lied-in-chapter-6-of-danganronpa?source=share the one about junko lying about izuru killing the student council members. and i just have to say... it literally says in the text you cited that izuru was there... "Enoshima used the Old School Building due to its being closed off, locked the Student Council and Ultimate Hope inside, and caused them to kill each other utilizing various tricks. Scattering weapons, threatening to kill everyone if a murder didn't occur, murdering in plain sight to demonstrate... and so on. She was trying to make them doube each other, to kill each other... it was almost as though she wanted to experiment. She is... truly messed up..." izuru, the ultimate hope, was locked in there with them and junko made both him and the student council members kill each other. "made them to kill each other" — as in everyone locked inside. obviously izuru would've won, being the ultimate hope/having literally every talent. hence why it's a no-brainer he could've killed all the student council members. dr0 and dr2 support the same idea. given dr0 came out right before dr2 it's pretty clear to me the intention of junko's line here is to imply there was a full sweep on izuru's side — he managed to take all of them down effortlessly. this also kinda lines up with junko's line in dr2 about "breaking izuru's spirit" imho. not saying junko never lies but this was lowkey a bad example as it doesn't contradict earlier evidence at all. dr0 and dr2 line up a bit better in this specific case than dr3 does for me (not hate or anything i just wanted to point it out bc it's been eating at me. no shame in liking dr3 either like pop off but i was just itching to point this out)

Not really sure what the issue is here, like, at all.

In Danganronpa Zero, Yasuke claims that that Izuru was locked in with the rest of the student council and Junko made them kill each other. Yasuke doesn't say Junko made Izuru kill the student council, he says that it was a mutual killing.

There are also multiple scenes in Danganronpa Zero where they describe the student council killing each other and not Izuru killing everyone. They even directly say: "the Tragedy of Hope’s Peak wasn’t simply a mass murder."

Like let's look at this specific scene for example:

In this scene, we see someone in a school uniform attacking another person. "But Pengu, this person could technically be Izuru because he has a uniform." Well unfortunately, that's also wrong. Because immediately after...

...we see that man in the student uniform get killed by another person. And then we witness a brawl between several people take place. Obviously this paints a very clear picture that Izuru did not do the killing on his own.

I'm not really sure how you can assume Izuru killed the entire student council when the murder was literally stated to have not been a mass murder, was described as a mutual killing, and we literally see them kill each other.

The most we get to Izuru being a mass murderer is Soshun telling Yasuke that Izuru was the culprit. However this is:

Before Yasuke learns of the Mutual Killing

Because Soshun was implied to have been hiding and just saw Izuru

In fact, this is something Danganronpa 3 further addresses. When we meet Soshun and the rest of the student council in the anime, they all believe that friends wouldn't kill friends, easily explaining why Soshun would think Izuru did it.

But the point is from Danganronpa Zero alone, we factually know that Izuru was not the sole killer of the Student Council. How many people he did kill or whether he killed anybody at all is left vague, all we know is that he was there and suffered only a minor injury.

Which brings us back to the claim Junko makes in Danganronpa 2.

Now that we've literally seen the student council kill each other, there is no doubt that this is just blatantly untrue.

So yes, in this instance, Junko lied without a doubt. Hopefully this cleared any confusion.

[asterdotash]

TIME FOR LORE

which i will put a break above so if u don't care u don't have to see it :3

this was another 12am "i must get this out of me or it will never happen" piece, i'm so obsessed with these two atm they invade my every waking thought :D

right. you opened this, you deserve this wall of text.

i wrote most of this after a spicier piece i drew of these two you can see over here

The only other major character is Seth, who Alistair met a few months after escaping the military, and helped him get his shit sorted in the city.

Alistair is a military clone, kinda like a clone trooper but more genetically engineered. He’s got major trauma surrounding his appearance because he’s seen his face (and body) die hundreds (if not thousands) of times. No one knows how large the cloning system is but there are enough of them for the government/military to be able to throw troops at enemies without much regard for survival rate, nor the mental toll it takes on them.

All the clones have a tracking/control chip embedded in them, it punishes them for not following orders through minor electric shocks and tracks their every move, reporting them to the higher ups every 10 minutes or so. This means that the clones are basically walking weapons, they can’t have any freedom.

In one particularly bloody battle, one that involved a lot more close-quarters combat than the others Alistair had experienced, his tracking chip was damaged to the point of breaking. When a chip breaks, its final report usually implies that the clone died, and because there are so many of them, the military doesn’t usually care to follow up and check whether or not the soldier in question is actually dead.

Alistair wasn’t dead though, and after regaining his footing and working out where he was he took the opportunity to escape. He eventually, after a few weeks of scavenging and doing minor merc work off the street, found Seth. He took Alistair in and gave him shelter while he worked up some savings. This is when he met Tala.

Tala is a hacker, first and foremost. But she’s also a damn good spy and won’t shy away from doing the dirty work herself if a job calls for it. She knows how to use what she has to get what she needs and isn’t afraid to blackmail people if they try to double cross her.

She also has government history, she used to work for them in tech security, but after digging around the wrong areas she uncovered some, less-than-savoury information and pretty much said “nah fuck this” and ran away. She’s still technically on the run, but the government isn’t known for actually keeping track of people so she’s flown under the radar so far.

Having this mutual history with big organisations basically designed to make their lives hell, Tala and Alistair grew to pseudo-trust each other pretty quickly. Of course being the city they were in, no one truly trusts one another, and the two are still wary of each other despite what they’ve seen.

Tala understands Alistair's trauma and respects his desires to remain private, especially about his appearance, and Alistair has a deep respect for the work Tala does to break open the dirty secrets of large organisations like the ones they’ve both run from.

Due to their line of work, they end up wound up a lot and getting to relax is a luxury not often available, so despite the circumstances the two of them often turn to each other for comfort. Sometimes that’s just being able to bitch about whoever wronged them that week, and sometimes it’s more… intimate. They’re not lovers though, just to make that clear.

apologies if this is incoherent, again i wrote this in one go with *zero* revisions lmao

[skaruresonic]

Can you do an analysis on shadow's line in battle where he says "if the world wants peace they'll have to destroy us first" ?

Sorry for the delay; I'm pretty sure I've discussed this particular scene before but since Tumblr's search system is massively unhelpful, naturally I can't link you to the post. So we'll be looking at it again :P

This time I'll be relying on TheSinnerChrono's transcript of the game instead of screenshots because this post would otherwise become way too long and unruly. Here's the link:

Sonic Battle - Game Script - Game Boy Advance - By mtkennerly - GameFAQs (gamespot.com)

---

First thing to note is that Shadow is experiencing a lot of internal conflict about being a weapon of war vs. being an autonomous being with a heart and mind of his own.

The way this conflict presents itself is via stubborn denial for much of his story. Shadow tends to reject emotion for the most part, considering it weakness, but for a few notable exceptions.

When he encounters Sonic for the first time, Shadow's story noticeably omits his demand that Sonic hand over Emerl and the ensuing fight, in the usual Rashomon style these Adventure-era games tend to tell their stories with.

However, Sonic's "He's at Tails' place" and "Why are you after him, anyway?" imply this is not the first time he's pursued Emerl. I would argue that this omission fits Shadow's general trend of denial.

What we get from here is an interesting back-and-forth between Sonic and Shadow about the Chaos Emeralds, the Gizoid, and whether "weapons" have hearts.

I find this conversation interesting, and not just because it's the polar opposite of the scene in IDW 6. It's interesting in that it's a rare occasion where Shadow and Sonic bandy words without devolving into a physical fight, and those words furthermore tackle some pretty heavy concepts of identity, power, and war.

Especially war.

Battle's anti-war message is about as subtle as a tire iron to the face. While SA2 only alluded to cultural fears of WMGs with its hint-dropping about the development of the Eclipse Cannon, Battle takes the ball and runs with it, making not only Emerl but Shadow question their very identities as instruments of destruction. And then furthermore has the other characters wax poetic about it.

Worth noting as well that Sonic's insistence that Shadow has a heart matches Shadow's vehement denial of that very concept, leading to a stalemate where Sonic surprisingly relents Emerl. Shadow wore him down with his angsty emo shit lol.

The stark difference in Sonic and Shadow's mindsets becomes clear when you consider their word choice. Shadow strictly calls Emerl's power "power," while Sonic calls the power bestowed by all seven Emeralds "unlimited energy":

Shadow: "Right now, its true power lies dormant."

Sonic: "I've heard that he who collects 7 'Chaos Emeralds' will be granted unlimited energy."

To Sonic, this energy is morally neutral. It is not inherently destructive. His wording reflects not only his thinking, but his personal experiences in wielding Chaos Emerald energy for good.

Shadow, however, deems the pursuit of power an inherent path to ruin, tainted by mankind's thirst for war. As a living manifestation of that desire - or so he thinks - he insists on dehumanizing himself. Numbing the part of himself that feels and cares is the only way his conscience will stop screaming at him.

As has been pointed out numerous times before, this scene directly contradicts the moment in IDW 6 where Sonic brings up Shadow's past sins in order to win the argument about Mr. Tinker:

Instead, we have Sonic arguing for Shadow's heart, as well as the idea that Shadow once acted for the good of humanity and can do it again.

The real irony here is that Battle!Sonic is actually being a little bit of that bleeding-heart "everyone is good deep down" moral champion IDW fans think IDW!Sonic is, what with his whole spiel about "if you have a heart, there's no way you could use your power for the forces of evil."

The important caveats to keep in mind, however, are that:

A.) Sonic has seen proof of Shadow's heart for himself; he doesn't make his argument despite a lack of evidence, unlike Eggman, for whose supposed "goodness" he struggles to think of a single example. He clearly states "Maybe you've forgotten, but I seem to recall you saving humanity at some point." So his argument is not just him blowing flower petals up Shadow's ass - it's grounded in fact. Whether or not Shadow wants to face those facts lies on Shadow.

And B.) Sonic is probably waxing poetic this hard because Shadow's being equally stubborn in insisting that he's just a tool of destruction. His self-dehumanization, in fact, appears to disturb Sonic in a way we seldom see in other games:

Sonic suggests Shadow and Emerl play some games together. Shit's probably getting too heavy for him and he's getting freaked out, in addition to simply wanting Shadow to wisen up.

Shadow regularly says stuff like "Weapons have no need for a conscience" and "There's no need for a weapon to have feelings," and it's clear the so-called "weapon of war" doth protest too much. He wouldn't be pointing out the folly of Real Boy Feelings(tm) if on some level he wasn't suffering the cognitive dissonance of having them. His disgust at Emerl acknowledging his own capacity for feeling joy and friendship at the end of his story pretty much confirms this.

But even more interesting than that is his dour outlook on humanity: he feels it's a given that mankind must destroy the instruments of its own destruction if it ever wants peace. That it's a weapon's fate to be used and discarded precisely because, in his misanthropic view, humanity is foolish, belligerent, and greedy:

However, despite Shadow's brooding observations, the scene ends on a lighthearted note, with Sonic laughing "Some ultimate weapon you are!" in Emerl's wake:

[nonepizzaleftgirl]

Side Order Mechanics Speculation

Or: These mechanics make no fucking sense under scrutiny what the fuck is going on.

So, I've been looking over the palette screen, and trying to identify what certain aspects could mean. Up above is my conspiracy corkboard thing, but I'll go into detail below.

So, first of all, it's noteworthy that the design of a chip (including the pattern of it) responds to its "type." Right now we know of six different types: Power (red), Support (purple), Range (orange) and Mobility (blue) are all outlined in this screen, and the floor select shows that green seems to correspond with Drone features.

That leaves yellow, which I assume is for Miscellaneous upgrades that don't fall under another category. The "Common Tones" part shows a smaller icon for the Support category, but it also has the yellow color chip class next to it:

Now, labelling this as Miscellaneous is ultimately a guess due to the question mark implying that it's, well, random. However, the motion lines to the top left complicate this a good bit and mean that it could be something else, too. Maybe this has to do with increasing the drop rate of certain things (it bears some semblance to the Grizzco capsules, for example), or maybe it lets you change your sub weapon (representing a throwing arc for the bombs). Though given that's all not quite conclusive, I'm ultimately sticking with "Miscellaneous." As for "Common Tones," I believe this is a setting either belonging to a given character's Palette or something you can customize yourself entirely that makes certain types of chips more common. The bigger one is boosted by a lot, the other by not so much. This lets you aim for certain builds even from the start of a given run.

This is all pretty clear stuff so far, but I'll go into a lot more detail on my observations below, including the fact that the footage shown makes no fucking sense under scrutiny.

Now, as for the color chips on the palette themselves. There's 4 rows of 9 spaces each for a total of up to 36 chips, with the player having collected 20 chips so far at the point of going into Floor 16 (sort of, it gets a bit complicated. I'll get to that later.) You can see that their color corresponds with their category, but beyond that there's subtle differences in hue, too. The orange color chip on the far left has a redder hue than the other Power-type color chips, and the Drone-type color chips also differ between being more green-ish or blue-ish. Notably, not all different chips also have different hues. The glowing chips on this screen are the "Ink Damage"-type chips, and there's three of them. The two red chips on the right side, then, must be Splash Damage (because there's two of them, and Splash Damage has gotten two upgrades), so the leftmost red chip is Main Firing Rate. And oddly Main Firing Rate has a different hue, but Ink Damage and Splash Damage share a color.

The other ones that openly appear are pretty clear: The two purples are Ink Saver Main, the two oranges are Splash Radius, and then Mobility gets a bit odd. We know that one of the blues here is Swim Speed Up, and we know from the Floor Select screen that Run Speed Up uses the same hue of blue. So one of the four blues here is Swim Speed Up, the others are Run Speed. Probably. There's some weirdness I'll get to.

The ones that aren't directly named are a bit more of a mystery. The two green ones at the top left are Drone Splat Bomb most likely, because we saw that Drone Splat Bomb uses the same hue in the Floor Select and that screen showed us already having some Drone Splat Bomb points. The other Drone chips have a different hue, but the same pattern makes it clear it's still a Drone update of some sort. Maybe it increases the Drone's laser damage? While there might be other types of bombs you could unlock for the Drone (such as Burst Bombs or Suction Bombs), I don't believe that's what this one is, because the top right only shows the Drone as being able to use Splat Bombs. We also see the Drone both function as a constant Sprinkler in the trailer, as well as it throwing Burst Bombs. The latter part only appears on two frames of the trailer:

While at first it might seem like it's the player throwing the Burst Bomb, the trajectory and lack of animation on Agent 8 makes it clear that it's the Drone's doing.

And the two yellows are Misc. No clue what those could be.

Also, the left side menu shows how much you can upgrade each chip. Most go up to five, but Ink Damage and Splash Damage each go up to 9, with a big dot in the middle at 5. Is that just there for visual clarity, or does it signify a milestone at some point? Maybe that's how you get the "upgraded-looking" Dualies seen in a few shots, with the wireframes around them? It's also a bit odd that they both go so high even with only 36 total slots, but I assume that's for supporting very specialized builds.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the top right side of the screen. It displays "Pearl's Palette," shows the main/sub/special you have, and the Drone's sub, as well as the highest floor you've gotten to (or cleared?) yet. Below that is the palette, with a little drawing of Pearl on it.

My assumption is that as you progress through the game, you'll unlock other characters' palettes beyond Pearl. There's a few reasons for this: for one thing, calling it "Pearl's Palette" in particular is a bit odd. While Acht does address Pearl when she mentions putting chips into the Palette, which seems to imply the Palette is connected to the Drone in some way, the image of Pearl here is her real look, with the shades of the Damp Socks outfit.

This is in contrast to the menu icon to get here, which shows the Pearl Drone. Clearly there's a distinction being made between the Palette menu, connected to the Drone, and Pearl's Palette, connected to real Pearl. This is also seen with the little icon of her on the Palette itself, highlighted in pink.

My conclusion is that there'll be different characters' Palettes. The pink Pearl icon on the right seems like the kind of thing that only exists to show off a character that can change. These Palettes will be the equivalent to characters in Isaac or the weapons in Hades: they offer different playstyles and increase replayability. I believe the weapon/sub/special loadout will be tied to the character Palette, too, with the Common Tones likely being customizable by the player regardless. I say this because Dualies/Curling/Reefslider also feels like a very "Pearl" loadout, given we know that Pearl plays Dualies, and Curling Bombs and Reefslider both encourage getting into people's faces.

Though I have to preemptively admit that Subs and Specials might not be locked to the Palette and can be freely customized. There's a shot in the trailer showing Eight with the dualies and a Sub line of about 30%, while in-game Curling Bomb costs at least ~45%, even with max investment of Ink Saver Sub. It's still possible that the upgrades to Ink Saver Sub in this mode are more potent than in multiplayer, however: Run Speed Up can get you at most ~145% of the default with a pure investment in multiplayer, but the upgrade shows that even just 3/5 upgrades of Run Speed Up get you to 140%, with two getting you to 131%. So it's not impossible that some investments of Ink Saver Sub could get Curling Bombs down to 30%, especially given that Eight is also dealing twice as much damage as in the very first scenes (which are likely without any color chips), so this scene seems to be pretty far into a run. Plus, while abilities in multiplayer have diminishing returns for balance reasons, for a singleplayer roguelike it makes sense to allow specialization and upgrading to a more extreme degree to make players really feel that they're getting stronger. Return of the Mammalians already had you being able to spam Splat Bombs when fully upgraded far beyond what Ink Saver Sub could accomplish.

There might also be a Marina Palette that has a Brella, or a Callie one with a Roller, etc. etc. I also believe that the Palette might come preloaded with some color chips in future runs (or as an unlock), too, maybe. The first two chips in particular being the Drone Splat Bomb ones really makes me think that, because for a Pearl-themed loadout, starting out with strengthening the Pearl Drone makes a lot of sense.

Now, the number of chips. There's twenty chips visible in the UI, even though the player has only cleared fifteen floors at this point, which seems at odds with what seems to be one color chip per floor. I assume those are from a mix of potential starting chips and some form of shop inbetween floors. We see that you have a currency, and harder challenges give you more currency than easier ones, but nothing to spend it on yet. Given that it doesn't look like harder challenges reward inherently better chips, it's likely that there'll be a shop of some sort that'll regularly come up where you can exchange currency for some chips to let you get ahead of the curve.

Now for the weirdness.

These are the descriptions for the individual upgrades. Splash Damage has 160% at 2/9 upgrades and 190% at 3/9, which seems to imply each level adds 30% to the damage. While this might diminish at some point, it certainly seems to go high up. At 5/9 you've already far surpassed 200%, and it likely goes up to 300% at least.

Next up is Run Speed up. I already mentioned that this goes up quite high, though this menu is showing diminishing returns: 131% at 2/5 and 140% at 3/5, with 0/5 at 100% and 1/5 likely around 120%. Either way, the step from 2 -> 3 is seemingly a good bit lower than previous ones. It's possible it tops out at 150% for a nice even number, but it also doesn't seem like investing two full chips just for that extra 10% is worth it, so it might go up to 160% maybe.

And lastly is Drone Splat Bomb. This shows a p cost, which is interesting. The Drone certainly doesn't seem to be using the player's bomb controls, because we see it firing bombs automatically while the player is shooting or doing other things. But it also can't be on the R Stick Press like a Special because the player already has a Special to use. My assumption is that the Drone will automatically toss a bomb once the player has painted the given amount of turf during a fight, which works with the general makeup of the Drone as more of a passive support. Level 2/5 for this is 180p and 3/5 is 160p, so it likely starts at 220p and goes down by 20p each step.

Here's where the weirdness start. We have the amount the chips upgrade the stats here, and we obviously know how many chips of each kind we already have. Given that we're being asked to upgrade each chip from 2 to 3, it goes to reason that we already have two of each type and adding a third, right?

It tracks for Splash Damage and Drone Splat Bombs, but earlier I established that three of the blue chips were Run Speed Up while one was Swim Speed Up. Which at first seems to imply that there's a third type of blue Mobility chip, perhaps Intensify Action.

However, here's where it gets weirder. From this menu, from this state of the menu, we see the player select the Run Speed chip and insert it as their third Run Speed chip. So as the chip is inserted, the Palette should look like this afterwards:

However, as the player confirms to take Run Speed Up, we see the Palette go from this...

To this...

Which makes no sense. The last chip in the Palette menu suddenly disappears and is placed again as the Run Speed Up chip for the Floor is placed. Instead of placing a new chip, the animation shows the placing of the last chip that was already in the Palette.

My first instinct was, "Oh, the Palette in the menu was showing what the Palette would look like if you picked the chip you were hovering over." However, that can't be it, because the Palette menu we saw was opened while the player was hovering over the first chip, the Splash Damage one.

So, option A is that this is all a bit of jankiness because this is prerelease footage. They probably hardcoded a Palette for this, and accidentally used the graphic for the Palette *after* getting Run Speed Up rather than the one before it, and the Palette in the menu should've actually looked like this all along:

This would also explain the contradiction with the "Why does it show going from 2 to 3 Run Speed when we already have 3 Run Speed," because now the Palette only has 2 Run Speed Up chips and everything works out.

There's one other option that has the same functional outcome but a different explanation. It looks like there's some way to go back to, or maybe look at, previous floors:

It's unclear what exactly this entails. Maybe it simply lets you look back at your run's history (though labelling that option like that is a bit weird), or maybe it lets you replay the last floor if you were unhappy with your performance on it. If the latter case is true, maybe what's happening is that the player already beat 16F with the Run Speed Up chunk, then they went back to do 16F again with the same selection. Potentially to get footage, maybe they were testing this feature at the time, I dunno. And going back would also mean giving back the reward you got (i.e. the Run Speed Up chip in this case). So maybe they went back to 16F after already having beaten it, and while the rest of the game registered that they should take away the Run Speed Up chip, the Palette display in particular hasn't implemented that part yet or something. I dunno.

Either way, this was everything I could think about for the mechanics at hand here. There also seem to be different types of levels, denoted by the icons to the left of the Floor indicators:

Top one is likely the type of mission we've seen all over the trailer, where there's the fish skeleton enemies coming out of the black orbs and you need to take out the orbs as they spawn in or something. Though it's notably that the objects around the orb here don't really look like those fish enemies. The second mode has something to do with Splat Zones, maybe reusing some of the multiplayer maps and having you defend and/or take a Zone. The last icon is a complete mystery to me. Due to the arrangement of blocks my first guess is "platforming challenge" but honestly I have no clue.

Anyway, that's the post! Congrats for making it here! My head feels heavy now.

[alvindraperzzz]

Because you seem to be one of a small handful that also Feels Some Type of Way about Cassie’s disconnection/lack of solid sisterhood with the pacifist culture of Themyscira: if you could’ve changed something about Cassie’s plot in TTVol3 what would it be? Personally, I would have A) NEVER given her the Lasso of Rage. Instead I would have done something like Diana’s bracelets being able to form a shield or summon Zeus’s lightning, or B) have her arc be about fully rejecting Ares when all was said and done, and have part of her awakening as a demigod be that the lasso changes attributes/characteristics instead.

If I could change one thing, it would be for Cassie’s plot with Ares to have more prominence following Infinite Crisis.

At the beginning of Teen Titans, Ares starts grooming Cassie. He warns her about a war, telling her she needs him and the gifts he gives her. During the crisis, Cassie starts losing her powers as the gods abandon the mortal plane. Ares offers to give her some of his power so she can continue to fight.

Teen Titans (2003) #33

Under pressure from the world nearly ending around them, she accepts.

We have this scene where she accepts Ares as her brother in exchange for his power, making a clear deal with the devil… and then it doesn’t lead to anything. Ares disappears, Infinite Crisis ends, Cassie has her cult era, OYL. The thread doesn’t get picked up again until nearly thirty issues later, under a different writer, and by that time the exchange lost all its impact. There’s no fallout from this deal. It’s lowkey implied that Cassie is being affected by Ares’s power in Teen Titans #64, that he’s been making her quicker to temper, but in that same issue she throws off his influence, rejects him, The End. It was pretty anticlimactic for all the build up it had, and left a lot of unanswered questions.

Tl;dr I think that if it had been followed through properly, it could have been an interesting plotline and character arc for Cassie. I agree that, no matter how it went, it should have ended with her rejecting Ares, as well as learning to better understand and uphold Amazon tenets of compassion and peace. Below the cut, I put some (kinda rambling) musings on Cassie and how a plot like this might play out.

.

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“We have a saying, my people. Don’t kill if you can wound, don’t wound if you can subdue, don’t subdue if you can pacify, and don’t raise your hand at all until you’ve first extended it.” —Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman (2006) #25

I’ve talked about Cassie’s disconnect from Diana’s mission and Amazon way of life before. Cassie is compassionate. She’s a hero because she has a genuine desire to help people, and because she believes that as someone with the ability to do right and make a difference, it’s her responsibility to step up and protect those who can’t protect themselves. At the same time, she often demonstrates a black and white view of good and evil, and is quick to aggression. She can be very unforgiving toward people who have hurt her or her friends, and occasionally prioritizes revenge over justice. These aspects conflict with Amazon teachings, especially those around diplomacy, redemption, and violence only as a means of defense. As I said in the other post, how Amazon philosophy and ideals (should) affect Cassie and the way she acts as a superhero rarely ever comes up.*

*I think the Wonder Girls Sins of Youth story is the only story it ever comes up in.

Which is why I actually like the lasso Ares gave her. It was a tool Ares used to manipulate Cassie, one that acted as a perverse mirror to Diana’s Lasso of Truth, and that was meant to sway Cass even further from the Amazons’ ideals of peace. With the lasso, he encouraged her to weaponize her anger, lessen her self control, and to rely more on hatred for her enemies rather than compassion for the people bad guys hurt. As a storytelling tool, I think it was a good way to put her even more at odds with Diana’s mission, and through that, set up an arc that spotlights her relationship (and lack thereof) with Amazon ideals.

I’m not sure how the specifics would work. I don’t know where Johns would have taken the story if his plans hadn’t been derailed by Infinite Crisis. I’m also not sure what Johns’ understanding of Wonder Woman and its characters/themes/etc was.

Ares didn’t want a largescale planet destroying war. He swore to Diana that he would “never again take an active role in man’s demise” (Wonder Woman (1987) #6). His direct influence was too risky, with the weapons man developed; all out war could end in nuclear war, meaning the destruction of humanity and, with no one left to worship them, oblivion for the gods. Ares promised Diana that he would not personally intervene in mortal affairs, as long as she did her utmost to deter them from their path of destruction and teach peace. However, as seen in the Gods of Gotham arc (Wonder Woman (1987) #164-167), there are loopholes in that oath. Destruction is not oblivion, and the gods can act through intermediaries (Diana herself is Athena’s champion). He later reveals that he evolved to gain power from conflict just as he does from actual battle. 

Wonder Woman (1987) #199

It’s unclear what exactly Ares hoped to achieve by having Cassie as his champion and tether to the mortal realm, or what being a champion of Ares means. Would Cassie be a general of sorts? Would she have become a vessel for Ares, or through his influence, start a war of some kind? Undermining Diana, or directly opposing her, if Ares decided Diana had failed the challenge he set for her? (Which, considering how things went for the Amazons in Infinite Crisis, is not an unreasonable thing to believe).

Or, more likely for Johns, seem to start going down the road of the Wonder Woman of Tomorrow in the bad future timeline? Maybe after Kon’s death, and losing her faith in Diana (after Diana killed Maxwell Lord and disappeared after the Crisis without a word to Cassie), disillusioned Cassie falls more under Ares’ influence and control, losing some of her principles. She becomes more brutal and retributive when handling villains, and worsens existing conflicts by interfering with her new brand of “justice”. (She could have really stirred the pot in 52.) Perhaps the OYL plot could have been the Titans reuniting to help bring Cassie back to herself, remind her what and who she fights for. Idk \_(•~•)_/ I’m open to story suggestions.

As I said up at the top of this now unnecessarily long post, the end goal is for Cassie to reject Ares and his ways. To reaffirm that she fights for her friends, for love, to help people. For her to incorporate the teachings of the Amazons into her actions as a superhero: to strive from there on out to be more diplomatic, to advocate for change over punishment, and, as the Amazons say, to not raise her hand at all until she’s first extended it.

[honestlyvan]

(Now on DW!)

TBH I think I've fallen into the trap of taking the game systems in Last Recode too literally, because Roots pretty directly implies that Haseo's batshit level before he gets data drained is the result of the PK killing spree he goes on after getting Form 3'd by AI Harald.

To me it looks like having cleared Forest of Pain at such a low level, and having access to high level skills and mechanics most people need to grind up to access gives Haseo an edge over the majority of players, even those he has a significant level gap to, and once he hits level 100 he's truly in an elite that only people like madmen who grind the arena like Sirius and Taihaku, or else people who camp the level cap due to extensive playtime like Phyllo and Shino, or people who simply cheat like Ovan.

And that does a *little* bit bear out as far as game!Haseo goes, because the game outright encourages you to keep aiming for battles to be 2-3 levels above your own for optimal level growth, and I've found that even 6-7 is perfectly doable as long as you never ever ever get hit. Haseo's version of Adept Rogue emphasises speed with two of its weapons, and the upgrade seems to have unlocked a lot of his skils outright, and what with how aggro he is, he's just out-damaging everyone in an instant even at a low level.

This dovetails with the idea that outside of basic attacks and a few skills, most skills and abilities in The World are rewards from beating certain enemies, quests or areas with special conditions. But since that would be tedious for the narrative, the game unrolls some of those systems into just the level-up system, and leaves the rest as implication.