#when you have to choose other dialogue than what you wanted to put in because the base footage was uncolorable (mourning the bed scene)

[dylacola]

like all my fics are oneshots but a lot of them are long wips soooo

your favourite fic to write: do i look like him. it's set in my httyd modern au and basically a modern translation of stoick's death (i hate him!!!!). it's really fun because i get to explore the dynamics between hiccup and some other characters i don't often write him with (such as fishlegs and ruffnut!!). i haven't gotten to it in a while bc of other more imminent projects but god it's so fun.

a fic you thought readers would love: can i get you into bed. i did this one for whumpuary 2024 the night before i left for a trip and was stressed out of my mind. at the time i was so proud of the characterisation. i think i still am, although i guess my writing style has changed. but i lowkey really thought this one was gonna be a Big Hit and i guess it kinda was for me lol 300 kudos not too shabby

the fic they actually loved: you never really said it with your mouth. i wrote this for febuwhump 2023 so 2 years ago?? holy shit?? and the prompt was "muzzled" so i put my boy in a muzzle and threw it on ao3. never expected it to get more than like 20-30 kudos but it's sitting at nearly 500. insane btw

the fic you love the concept of but hate writing: (current title in my google docs is "pass the yuri!!!"). again set in my modern au, it's about heather and ruffnut like... falling in love and being lesbians i guess. it's such a fun fic and i like what i've done so far but it's soooo tedious to ACTUALLY write??? like actually painful. how do you write teen girl dialogue (i say, a professional teen girl)

the hardest fic you've written: i have a wip that fits the bill, but the question is in past tense :P so probably light and dark, at once OR give up on trying to save us. both are set in my modern au and are about topics very close to me such as abuse etc. with the first one i got stuck on one scene for nearly a year (february to december i think) and when i finally wrote another scene google docs decided it hates me and deleted the whole thing (a casual 1000 words). the second one was just more difficult emotionally, a lot of my personal feelings were attached to it and yeah it's hard to write like that outside of my notes app lol

a fic you want to write but never do: SOOOO MANY???? but there's this one i have, i'm fixing to bite, a wip set in my modern au (did you guys know i have a httyd modern au!?!??!) about astrid's relationship with grief, faith, and gender. it's sort of tied up in the stoick death fic mentioned above ^^^ so i really need to keep writing it properly but i only have a few hundred words and haven't added to it since (checks version history) november. jesus christ lol

thank u ember for the tag :P i am choosing to tag the only other mutual i have @pqrfi hiii

I thought this could be a fun tag for us:

Your favorite fic to write:

A fic you thought readers would love:

The fic they actually loved:

The fic you love the concept but hate writing:

The hardest fic you've written:

A fic you want to write but never do:

[tharatorns]

BEST OF: KONGTHAP KAWIWAT MY LOVE MIX-UP! | EP. 5

[ora-draws]

A little analysis on how Hans & Henry were handled post-ending (heavy KCD2 spoiler alert)

Ok, so I've seen a lot of people talk about how they feel like the ending-part after the siege falls short when it comes to Hansry and leaves out a lot of possible interactions that could have been included.

And I feel you there, although I'm also a big fan of show-don't-tell and leaving things to imagination and interpretation.

However saying we got like a 4 minute romance scene after only being fed crumbs for hundreds of hours does not only fail to acknowledge the crafty subtlety with which their relationship and development has been told over the whole course – it also disregards how impactful the ending actually is.

More under the cut.

In order to put this into perspective, we need to consider not only Hans and Henry, but also the other main romance options: Rosa and Katherine. Rosa happens rather mid-game and while she isn't as mutually exclusive as Kat/Hans, she can be Henry's desired sweetheart by the end if you so choose. Yet whether you do or not, Rosa tells Henry that she considers this a one-time thing, even comes across rather pragmatic about it and tells him off by reminding you that any future is impossible anyway, since he is bastard and she's a nobleman's daughter.

As for Katherine, this is a bit more complicated; she opens up to Henry a bit in the very last moment, they spend an intimate and vulnerable moment together, finding comfort in each other's arms. Yet although she is clearly relieved about Henry's survival and brightens up after the siege, she's more open than set on staying with him, yet implies she'll give it a try. And that's understandable, given her past and circumstances. She even mentions how she doesn't believe she can truly ever be happy again, even if you suggest looking forward. There's a lot of shared trauma here which gives common ground, but is the biggest obstacle at the same time. Apart from that, Kat doesn't bring a lot of baggage, she's a commoner like you, and is just as unbound.

And then we have Hans. Who is not only literally the 'worst' choice Henry could have made in any possible regard considering time period and society, but also a 'lost cause'. We spend half of the ending dialogue with him and Hanush talking about how Henry needs to force him to attend his wedding if the need shall arise. And yet, despite all things given, the moment you can talk privately, Hans doesn't give a second thought to all this. Not only is he genuinely happy and relieved about Henry's well-being: He has no regrets, utters no doubts about what has happend, and the first thing he talks about is how to postpone the wedding as long as possible, even if he cannot avoid it in the end.

He is annoyed, yes, but he doesn't despair about it – and remarks quite clearly that he and Henry will just need to see how things will work out for them. Which is sensible, even if it is also naive. They could never be together openly anyway. But again, it's worth mentioning how even with all that uncercainty, he treats it with a genuine & positive outlook. And – of course – let's not forget that he right away (and happily) jumps onto your offer to take a look at his arrow wound and very bluntly makes the suggestion to find a place which is more private again, showing he wants to be close with you again and stay this way. And Hans – ironically – is the only love interest who does it this way. Which is absolutely heartwrenching and sweet and says a lot, even if we don't get 'much'.

And it is also very very Hans lmao. The second you are alone he's like: Yeah, that's my man, fuck everything, let's go. One has to keep in mind that his heartbreaking Galehaut/Lancelot talk was possibly one of his most vulnerable moments and a rather stark contrast to his usual behavior, because there was just so much at stake. If at all, it shows how much it meant to him.

I see a lot of people depict him as very sensitive, passive or whiny, but honestly, while he can be a spoiled brat and a nuisance, Hans is everything BUT subtle most of the time: he's impulsive, needy, jealous and a short-tempered hothead and it's a very lovely detail this shines through as soon as you are together again. Why? Because it shows how he feels comfortable in his skin and with his choice – and with Henry. Despite everything. This sets him quite apart from the other LIs imo & and all these little details are what make their story and relationship so appealing.

If you've read all of this: Thank you.💚 This is a first for me, I never engaged this much with people online before. I was somehow sucked into this fandom and I genuinely love it, it's an absolutely lovely and welcoming community.

Thanks also to @dill-weeds for chatting about this beforehand, it made me write this down ha.

[viperify]

CONGRATULATIONS ON 1K!!!!! Your writing is so amazing, you deserve it and I’m so excited for you!!!

Do you think could you write a brother’s best friend trope using the dialogue prompt “careful. You are starting to sound jealous”? And have it be smut? 👀 (no specific kink request)

I’m so so happy for you and excited to see what you write (even if it’s not this request!)! Congratulations again!!!!!! 😊🫶🩷

1k celebration | ᴛᴏᴍ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ x ᴍᴀʟꜰᴏʏ ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

⋆♕₊˚Anything For You.

Short Summary: To many of Abraxas’ friends, you are just his little sister. But to Tom, you are everything—and he will prove it to you if he has to you.

Warnings: 18+ only! jealousy, oral f!receiving, light impact play, praise, Tom Riddle is completely obsessed with reader, fingering, overstimulation, Tom Riddle is a munch.

A/N: Totally obsessed with this ask and brother’s bsf!Tom. Thank you so much for requesting and your sweet words! 🩷 I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it. <333 Also I am in love with bratty, spoiled reader. UGH.

wordcount: 2,0k (yes, I said I would write shorter works—only drabbles, in fact. Yall know me. Sigh.)

in this fic, you will find HINT NR #2.

You don’t even glance up when the door to your bedroom creaks open and footsteps approach, old wooden panels creaking under the weight—because you already know who it is. Tom always does this—sneaks away from the others when they are at your place, looking both ways before he walks up the stairs leading to your room instead of going to the bathroom like he says he would.

“You’ve been seeing her again.” You remark, trying to sound as emotionless as possible as you paint your nails with dark red polish, not looking up at him once—not even when he stands right before you.

He doesn’t reply, and it’s silent between you two until you are done with your nails. You sigh, deciding to be the less stubborn one of the both of you for once and finally meet his expression—closed, calculated.

“I am tutoring her.”

You raise a brow at him. “So? You promised.”

“Dippet’s orders. I don’t choose to spend time with her—believe me, I have more important matters to attend to.”

You hate how smugly he says it. As though he doesn’t remember when you told him how much you despised her—always acting like she owns the place, as if she is the object of desire for everyone. 

You think of the one time you entered the library in search of a book you needed for your studies—and they were there. That stupid witch practically pressed up against your man, laughing and smiling as though she meant something to him. Now, Tom didn’t respond to her advances. Obviously he didn’t, because great Tom Riddle doesn’t want to be seen being affectionate with anybody—not even you.

But that’s for a different reason.

However, you couldn’t stop the uncomfortable feeling forming in the pits of your stomach at the sight of them together. You still wonder if, behind closed doors—

“Then why don’t you? She’s clearly failing classes just to get tutoring sessions with you.” You glance away from him again, putting the nail polish and nail file back into your drawer, fixing your hair in the mirror of the dressing table you are sitting at.

“I just— hate how much time she gets to spend with you only because she is not intelligent enough.”

You sigh as you catch his expression from the corner of your eye. His eyes are slightly darker than usual, eyebrows furrowed just enough to form a slight crease between them. Hands casually tucked in his pockets, posture perfectly straight as always. Sometimes, you hate how good he looks even when you are mad at him. Like right now.

“Careful, you are starting to sound jealous.” He says, and you huff. 

Did you now? You wonder why. Tom Riddle, nerd and know-it-all, finally catches on. You often wish he’d spend more time engaging in meaningful social interactions rather than his boring literature he reads every evening.

You shoot him a sharp glare. At that, the corner of his lips lifts into a smirk, and he nods.

“You are jealous.”

“M’ not.” You reply, trying to sound convincing—but it comes out sounding more like a pout.

Damn it.

Tom laughs at that, and you cross your arms over your chest, looking at your reflection in the mirror. You look pathetic with the scowl on your face, but you don’t care. He should feel it.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He drawls, pulling you up from your chair and into his arms. “Let me show you just how much you mean to me.”

You don’t find yourself resisting as he takes your hand in his, leading you towards your queen-sized bed. Tom presses a soft kiss to your glossy lips before taking a look at your outfit—the one you spent 30 minutes choosing after hearing that Tom would be coming to Malfoy Manor today.

A soft pink top, revealing just enough skin, hugging your curves perfectly. And the skirt—his favourite—white, and very short—too short for you to wear outside your own room, anyway. You are still a respectable woman, after all. That’s what your parents say, at least. A Malfoy.

Although the things he does to you each time you meet are anything but respectable. 

They don’t have to know about that, though.

He makes a low sound of approval as his eyes roam over your body, his hand smoothing over the curve of your hip, resting just below the hem of your skirt—on the exposed skin of your thigh. The contact of his skin on yours, so close to where you are aching for him, sends a shiver down your spine.

“All for me?” he asks, eyes fixated on your skirt—the familiar fire igniting behind them.

Not only he could play smug.

“No, I was thinking of Avery.” You reply, batting your eyelashes innocently at him, a grin playing on your lips.

Tom merely scoffs at that, quick to turn you around and bend you over the bed, a firm hand between your shoulder blades keeping you pressed to the softness of your mattress. He hikes your skirt up, bunching it up around your waist, leaving you exposed—the pretty little thong you are wearing on full display for his eyes. 

His next movement isn’t what you expect, though—you jolt forward as his flat palm meets the curve of your ass, drawing a sharp gasp from your lips.

“Brat. Don’t even deserve what I am going to do to you.”

You whimper softly at the sting of the impact, even though he didn’t hit hard—he knows just how sensitive you are. His pretty little doll, as he likes to call you. And normally, he is always careful with you—but sometimes he needs to give you a little reminder to tone that attitude of yours down.

“Get on the bed and spread those pretty legs for me, darling. I will be right there.”

You do as he says, crawling to the middle of your bed, leaning back against the stack of pillows you have on your bed. He is quick to follow—though still dressed. You are about to ask what he is doing, but when he positions himself in between your legs, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of your inner thigh—your breath catches in your throat.

“Don’t they miss you already?” You try, but he is quick to shut you down.

“Do you think they dare question me when I come back?”

You shake your head. Of course they wouldn’t.

“Exactly. Let me take it from here. Just feel.” He purrs, thumb tracing over your still-covered pussy, groaning as he feels how the fabric is soaked with your arousal—when he has barely even touched you. “Could never replace you. Look at you, so eager for me already.” 

He instructs you to lift your hips and pulls down your skirt and panties in one smooth motion, leaving your lower body completely bare in front of him. You feel your cheeks heat up as he runs a finger through your folds—eyes following his every move. Instinctively, you try to close your legs, but he is quick to stop you— wrapping his arms around your thighs, anchoring you to the mattress as he spreads you wide. So wide, you feel the sting in your thigh muscles.

“Not going anywhere now, darling. That pretty head of yours needs some rest. Clearly you have too much time overthinking.” He murmurs, trailing kisses down your lower tummy, ending with a kiss on your clit—making you gasp. “Perfect. So perfect.”

You wish to complain and argue with him, but when he gently parts your folds, warm tongue licking a stripe up your slit, finally looking you in your eyes as he does—you feel as though heaven and earth collide. And suddenly, all your problems are somewhere in the very back of your head, locked away.

“Merlin, Tom—“ you gasp as your fingers curl into your sheets, back arching off your bed. It’s all too much—too good, too intense, and yet, too little. He’s never done this before with you—youhave never done this. But fuck— it feels heavenly.

“Be good and hold still,” he instructs, and without further warning, his lips wrap around your throbbing clit. He first circles your entrance with his finger, then slowly pushes inside. His eyes meet yours again, and he grins just slightly as he scans your expression—lips parted, panting, eyebrows furrowed—you are a sight. Completely at his mercy, whimpering so sweetly at everything he’s giving you. 

Oh, how could you even think for a second he’d consider leaving you? No, no. You are his. His only. And soon, your brother will realise that too.

Your walls clamp down tightly around his finger when he finally starts sucking on your clit—but he is not done. A second finger soon follows, and then he moves them—slowly at first, letting you adjust. Not for too long, though. Soon, he curls them inside of you—pads of his fingertips pressing into your sweet spot, rubbing against it with every thrust of his hand. And most importantly, his eyes never leave yours. These dark brown eyes that you have grown to love, urging you to look back at them. Watch how he takes you apart with his tongue.

“Tom, please, I—“ you manage, breathing laboured. He is too good at this. Always has been.

Merlin, he is gorgeous. Dark curls dishevelled, messily falling over his forehead, veins in his hand standing out at the effort to keep you still. And God, the way the muscles in his jaw tense as he feasts on you—that sight alone almost sends you over the edge.

Tom knows you too well, knows every single spot that has you trembling and shivering—and when he has found a rhythm, a perfect mix of his digits stroking along your walls, tongue licking and sucking on your clit—you feel like you can’t take more. Vision growing black at the edges, eyes rolling to the back of your head. And yet—he keeps you open for him, continues tending to your most sensitive spots.

Naturally, it’s not long before you convulse around him—fingers tangled in his dark curls as your orgasm crashes over you, a strangled moan leaving your lips. You try to keep silent, but with the sheer intensity of your climax, it’s nearly impossible. He doesn’t stop until you whimper and your thighs tremble in overstimulation, only then does he pull back, admiring the mess he’s made of you.

“Gorgeous. Did so well for me.” He praises, kissing you gently, making you taste yourself on his lips. Tom is about to pull back, casting a quick spell to clean you up—

You are still out of breath but can’t stop yourself.

“Is this what you do with her when you study in private?”

You shouldn’t have said that.

Because just a second later, he is back between your thighs. “Still haven’t learned. Don’t worry, I will make you forget—even if it takes five more orgasms to get there.”

You wince when his tongue laps over your swollen clit once more—still sensitive from before. His hand finds yours then, interlocking his fingers with yours as he works your body towards another orgasm—eyes on yours, always.

By the third, you don’t have the energy to tease him.

Tom cleans you then and gets down beside you, pulling you closer to him, letting your head rest on his chest.

“Better now?” He asks softly, wiping a strand of hair from your face.

You shake your head as best as you can, pouting. “I am still mad at you.”

Tom sighs in defeat.

“What is it that you want?”

“Hmmm,” you hum, pretending to think—smiling as you look up at him.

“You’ll go to London with me tomorrow. Shopping.”

He nods, kissing you. “Anything for you, Princess Malfoy.”

thank you for reading! feel free to reblog and leave feedback <3 — masterlist. | 1k celebration. <- event masterlist.

©2025 viperify. please do not copy, translate or claim my work as your own.

[picaroroboto]

As an appreciator of angst I like the times when the WoL's friends and allies worry for them: there's no doubt that the WoL can fight most anything and win, but that doesn't stop their loved ones from being concerned for their mental and emotional health, and there's an interesting flavor to that sort of drama. The scene I really want to talk about now though isn't about the WoL's friends.

The scene being the one in the StB post-patches where Fordola has an Echo vision of the WoL's past and is, to put it simply, shaken by what she sees. Her horror at the WoL's past isn't because she's worried about them as a friend, far from it, she's basically still an enemy at this point. My brother has a good take that Fordola's false Echo acts as a sort of "forced empathy" for her - she has her ways of rationalizing and justifying the bad things she's done, feeling little for the people she hurts, until the Echo forces her to see and share in that pain. So she gets a moment of direct soul-to-soul communication with the WoL, not friend to friend but just human to human, and her reaction is shock, confusion, and a small amount of empathy too, because she felt their pain through the Echo.

No doubt it's a sobering moment for the WoL as well. Like her, like anyone else, they likely have their own ways of compartmentalizing, justifying, choosing the stories they tell themself about what they've done and what's been done to them. By Stormblood they've likely come to accept their way of life as what's normal for them - but then someone looks at their life and her reaction is basically "how have you not gone insane yet?". It's a jarring reminder that all that fighting and grieving and being used as a weapon is not normal or okay.

The dialogue options in response are all very characteristic of the WoL: simple and blunt, a little bit harsh - there's no quips here considering the gravity of the moment. There's also, notably, no "..." option that crops up often in other exchanges. You can't keep silence, in this moment you have to choose a reason to say why you're still standing, for your own sake as much as for the one asking.

(Also, I have heard that this exchange is a bit different in some of the other translations of the game, with more emphasis put on the Echo and how the WoL suffers from being exposed to other people's pain as opposed to just their own pain in the English version. I don't think either version is right or wrong, but I do like the rare times where the Echo is explored as something more than a plot device for giving plot-relevent flashbacks. The Echo is psychic empathy; the fact that they frequently get brain-blasted with other people's trauma plays a role in the WoL's heroism.)

[bossuary]

Neve is painless. Rook is real.

Lucanis likes Neve because she represents what he is desperate to regain. He wants to feel normal, to work and cook and focus on the things he used to enjoy (such as they were) before the Ossuary. He wants capital R Romance, right out of a book.

Most importantly, he wants to get rid of Spite. He wants to pretend that he is the man he was...not this abomination.

Without truly knowing her, Lucanis believes Neve is a pathway to all of that. He's attracted to her, and she to him. Their flirting has an edge, but it's also friendly. She dislikes Spite, and her presence makes Spite disappear.

Neve will tell Lucanis that he's still himself, and that Spite doesn't change that. She will never be the one to reconcile Lucanis with Spite, to get them to accept each other. So, yeah, he gravitates to the charming, flirty, warm person who (through no fault of her own, really) feeds his desire to pretend he's not an abomination.

Even early on, I think he's smart enough to know that accepting Spite is his only option, but he...just... can't. With what tools? Nothing in his life has prepared him to deal with this. Rook does that. When denial tears Lucanis apart, Rook puts him back together with acceptance. Rook accepts the reality of Spite, and deals with it head-on every time.

Neve will remind Lucanis that she's not going anywhere. She'll tell him to open his eyes and look at facts, but she (probably) won't be the one to push him out of his own prison. Lucanis knows this, so Spite knows this, and therefore Spite will not look to Neve for help.

It's important for Lucanis to accept that Spite has changed him. But when it's Rook who says it--for whom Lucanis has developed real feelings, not idealized ones--well, it destroys the fantasy Lucanis clings to so vehemently, the one where he isn't this.

For me, the Lucanis/Rook romance feels the way it does NOT because the writers "preferred" that Lucanis and Neve get together, but because Neve is simply easier for Lucanis to accept. She's easier to talk to, unchallenging. Easy isn't bad! Comfort isn't bad! God knows they both deserve some comfort.

Loving Rook is a profoundly complex choice. There's not a lot of cute ways to work that profundity into sexy banter. It makes sense, then, that Lucanis doesn't have as much dialogue for a romanced Rook as he does with Neve. What he can do is cook, make small gestures. He can, heartbreakingly, tell Rook, over and over, that he doesn't have the words to express how he feels. That's such an awful state, knowing that the person you care about needs to hear words you simply cannot locate. As soon as he does have the words, he shares them.

Rook is real. And real is not easy.

To Lucanis, Rook represents a difficult path to recovery, a path he has to keep choosing to follow, every day. At a time in his life where he is incapable of seeing Spite (and his own PTSD ) as anything but a 'distraction' to shove aside, Rook shows genuine interest in helping Lucanis heal. Rook takes consistent action toward that goal, particularly when it's clear that Lucanis doesn't know how.

Lucanis also has to believe that he's worth the effort, his own and his love's. Neve is great, love her, but I don't see this struggling cynic, this chronic worrier, being very helpful in the self-worth department. No, people in a relationship do not have to perform therapeutic roles. But, partners do have to respect each others' boundaries and needs.

Of course Lucanis goes all-in for Neve, romantically, even while he and Rook are dancing around each other. Accepting how much he loves and cares for Rook means looking at himself the way Rook does. That is so much harder than whatever will happen with Neve.

The fact that Lucanis isn't afraid to pursue Neve, even if Treviso is blighted, tells me that Neve is an indulgence for him. Again, that's not a value judgement. If they treat each other with respect, then the merits of the relationship don't have to fall on whether Lucanis 'heals' as a result. Sometimes not hurting all the time is enough.

BUT. Contrast the ease he feels with Neve with his feelings about Rook:

"When I was afraid to want you..."

That is a powerful admission.

What was he afraid of? The annihilation of neglect, worthlessness, and shame. The awful but knowable pillars of his existence.

Wanting Rook means that Lucanis wants to dismantle everything he knows in pursuit of something he doesn't. To love Rook is to love and accept himself, exactly as he is.

Then...then...Lucanis finds real comfort.

[descendant-of-truth]

While I'm of the opinion that the Re:Coded movie that's in all the collections generally does a better job at giving you all the relevant cutscenes than the Days movie, after playing through the DS game myself, I still think it's a shame how much they left out. Notably, the Castle Oblivion section is... extremely nerfed in the movie.

See, when Roxas tells Sora that he can do whatever he wants when talking to the illusions from his past, he means it. You, the player, are presented with different tasks that come with multiple dialogue options, and there are three possible endings for every "world" you enter. You get a different Ending Card depending on how you act; a Normal Card, an Alternate Card, and an Extra Card.

In the movie, instead of providing you with any kind of choose-your-own-adventure routes that lead to different cutscenes, they just. vaguely animate everyone talking silently to each other, and then have the illusions fade away. Which I think loses a lot of the intrigue, but it also means that relatively few people in the fanbase have even seen any of these routes.

I won't go over every single one because that can easily be done by looking them up on YouTube, but I do want to bring up one route in specific because it's really stuck with me ever since - Wonderland's Extra Ending.

So, in Wonderland, you're presented with a series of dilemmas:

Alice can't remember her name

The White Rabbit drops his pocket watch

The Cheshire cat gives you a riddle that requires you to choose the correct box or else fight a Heartless waiting in the wrong ones

One card soldier asks you to deliver a potion to a second card soldier for him

A third card soldier is weakened and woozy

You get the Normal Ending by doing at least one of these tasks correctly, the Alternate Ending by doing all of them correctly, and the Extra Ending by doing everything wrong.

In order to get the Extra Ending, you must:

Tell Alice that she's the Queen of Hearts

Pick up the White Rabbit's watch (causing Sora to lose sight of him, unable to return it; you're supposed to just tell him where it is)

Give up on the Cheshire Cat's riddle

Give the potion to the third, weakened card soldier, instead of its intended recipient (it turns out he was just hungry, not injured, so you didn't help him. the second card soldier would have given you a sandwich)

No matter what you do, at the end of each route, the Queen of Hearts will grab your attention and accuse you of being the thief who stole her memory. She'll try to back it up with proof, and even when you've done everything right (which she acknowledges), she still concludes with an "off with your head!" which Sora implicitly runs away from, ending the world's story.

Except for in the Extra Ending.

After she recaps everything you've done wrong up to that point, she drops this dialogue that I haven't been able to stop thinking about:

Queen of Hearts: "Don't tell me you were trying to be NICE? Cheering that girl up by telling her she was important? Giving things away because you thought someone else needed them more? Trying to... to own up to your failures!? Bah! Go on! Off with you!" Data Sora: "Not 'off with my head'?" Queen of Hearts: The punishment must match the crime! See how YOU like having something NICE done to you!"

It's hard to describe what it was about this that's still so striking to me months later, but it's just... kind of off-putting, in a way?

Having the Queen of Hearts choose to spare you as a "more fitting punishment" is out of character enough already, but the fact that it's the consequence to you actually doing everything wrong makes it feel all the more pointed. This is somehow supposed to be worse than being beheaded, and it kind of works, because it feels so much more personal than her usual schtick.

And it exists in such an isolated incident, too. The level is completed immediately after this dialogue, and nothing else is changed by getting it, it's just. there.

At the same time, everything about it feels so deliberate that I can't help but feel like it either is or will be relevant elsewhere somehow. It could just be overanalyzing on my part, but the first thing that comes to mind is actually that the Queen's final line could parallel the consequence of Sora misusing the Power of Waking?

He did so for a good cause, after all, but it wasn't what he was supposed to do. He broke a taboo of nature in the process. But his punishment isn't a straightforward death; he's just put somewhere else, somewhere he can't see his friends. "Off with you," the universe says, "see how you like having something nice done to you!"

...but that doesn't really feel like it's getting to the heart of the matter, which is that Data Sora did not need to do any of this. He could have told Alice her real name, on account of it being the default dialogue option, and he could have tried to figure out what was wrong with that card soldier before giving away stuff that wasn't his. He could have tried a little harder at the riddle. These were all fairly low-stakes situations - in particular, he really didn't need to lie to Alice.

The original Sora didn't have much of a choice in what he did. It was either lose his powers and vanish, or leave Kairi shattered and functionally dead. You can't really say he made the wrong decision, or did something immoral for a superficial reason.

So then... will this line remain an isolated slap in the face to completionist DS players, or will there be more to it? Is there already more to it that I'm missing? Where's our parallel to Data Sora "cheering that girl up by telling her she was important"? What are we supposed to make of "see how you like having something nice done to you"?

What does it all mean???

(In conclusion: go check out the DS versions of these cutscenes, they're great)

[meanbossart]

Sorry if you've already answered this question before, but how did DU Drow react when Astarion was finally free from Cazador? Did he try to comfort him, or maybe they celebrated it somehow or never talked about that? Or would the Drow like to strangle Kazador with his own hands instead?

If you mean the immediate aftermath, there isn't much, if anything, that sets it apart from how it goes in-game. I do understand why people wish there were more options in how to react during Astarion's big moment, maybe they have more reactive Tavs - but DU drow would absolutely just let something like that breathe. No words of comfort, no shows of affection- he stands back, he stays quiet, and when Astarion says he wants to go, they go. He's as eager to leave as he is and to put this behind the both of them.

Thing is, that at the end of the day, there is no amount of words that could adequately explain to DU drow what his partner went through. Like, sure, he holds nothing but contempt towards Cazador and understands that what Astarion went through was horrific, but he has to filter all of it through the much, much narrower understanding that he himself has of pain, hopelessness, and most of all, time.

For him, at least in that moment, what is done is done and the important thing is that it happen anymore. It's simple and it's not worth lingering on - his feelings about Astarion's situation become more complex later, but at that point Cazador is just yet another foe whom he met and felled within the same hour, and not his two-hundred-year-spamming tormentor.

The point is, there isn't really any emotional high here besides what we see during the cemetery scene (which in their case, doesn't even end in sex) and there certainly isn't any celebration, either.

That all being said, I still think its sweet. He might be doing it with a degree of aloofness, but DU drow is still choosing to give Astarion space instead of bombarding him with love and comfort right off the bat. He has a lot of moments like these, where despite being borderline overbearing at times he recognizes when he's ill-equipped to address something.

Now, moving a little ahead:

I really like that the game gives you these dialogue options here, and they were kind of formative in DU drow's characterization, especially in regards to their relationship. Discussing Cazador's crimes and the sacrifices Astarion has had to make for his own freedom is just sad. It's uncomfortable. It's quitter talk. On the other hand, immediately setting up a new goal-post, giving Astarion something to look forward to and that certainly he can provide, on the other hand, is so much easier.

PICTURED ABOVE: Sentences that go over DU drow's head faster than you can say "bootstrapper".

And speaking of formative and tone-deafness, here's another dialogue option that truly set in stone for me the type of turbulent emotional journey this character (and Astarion by extension) was about to go through from here on out.

I love that they put that here. That your character can be be tempted with a line that is, on the surface, so sweet, but with this underlying implication that you still think of Astarion as somehow lesser or incapable by default - like he hasn't been around for so much longer and been through so much more than yourself in almost every case.

...OR you just didn't express yourself well.

But in DU drow case, that is exactly what he means. that Astarion doesn't need all that power because he has him now. He wants to be his protector. He wants for Astarion to depend on him.

In his Bhaalist plotline, this devotion takes a very ugly and possessive form. In DU Drow 1.0 storyline, on the other hand, it is just... A perception that has to be slowly and painfully broken down - that Astarion doesn't need to be handled with children's gloves, or constantly protected and provided for - that he in fact doesn't need a partner to look after him, and how that doesn't immediately translate to not wanting companionship.

I can only hope ANE has a lot of moments that get this flip of dynamic across with all its caveats and addendums. After all, this is kind of a bed Astarion has made for himself.

BUT, that comes later. Right now Astarion just has to smile-and-nod while his beloved fresh-faced twunk says some truly goofy shit.

[froggiequarium]

this thought came to me while i was searching up the princess & the pauper playlist to listen to once again so self-indulgent but:

imagine the princess and the pauper always being your default movie to put on when you were younger. you come home from school? you want to watch it. you cant go out cause its raining? movie time and its that one. you're sick? you play it to cheer you up.

at some point, maybe you don't even realize, you've watched it so often that every lyric of every song is tattooed into your memory, maybe even most of, if not all of, the dialogue.

now, imagine: you're not the only one this affects.

caleb would always tease you for watching that one same movie so often when there were so many other and much better ones to choose from in his words, but every time (if he wasn't caught up with something already) would be sitting right next to you, indulging you and watching the familiar scenes and songs play on the screen.

now, unconsciously, he's also committed the songs to memory, and even the accompanying dialogue between the lyrics without your knowledge.

so then one day you put it on, same as usual, and you're singing along to the songs because you just can't resist, and then to be a princess comes on, and you plan to listen to it through even though you know the lyrics, only for caleb's voice to recite the dialogue before the character onscreen breaks into song, and he so easily keeps up with it.

you're staring at him, absolutely baffled, mouth open in shock and he just looks at you with this satisfied look in his eyes as he carries on, and you manage to mumble along to the duet parts but you're so fixated on caleb the entire time and wow, does he have a nice singing voice......

at another point, the duet between the pauper and the king plays and you start, wondering if he'll join in on this one as well, and he does, and you're each singing your part of the lyrics and somehow you both seem to be getting just a little bit closer to each other, and then the singing overlaps near the end and you both recite it beautifully, an invisible force pulling your faces closer and closer that when the song ends and the two onscreen are gazing at the sunset, you're gazing into the same view in his eyes, so lost in the sunset of them as you feel his warm breath on your lips and wait for either of you to be brave enough to make the move before you watch them crinkle and he pulls back slightly, tilting his head as he looks at the screen.

"oh, i could've swore they kissed here.... hm."

and you blink up at him, heart hammering in your chest and face burning because there's no way he just did that.

"caleeeb!"

and he revels in your embarrassed pout gazing up at him through your lashes, so obviously upset at him.

"hm? what?" he leans down again slightly, mischief surrounding his irises. "haven't you seen this more than me? shouldn't you have known that?"

"that's.. not......"

you're stammering, knowing that he's messing with you, and thinking he's so cruel, dangling your desire right in front of you like that only to snatch it away all too easily.

so cruel for having all the power over you.

"i just thought..."

"what? you wanted to kiss me?"

"caleb! just— just forget it, its—"

at that moment, he grips your chin between his thumb and index finger, pulling your face towards his and crashing his lips onto yours.

when he pulls back, your eyes flutter open to see his pleased grin stretched across his lips, and you're completely stunned trying to process what just happened.

"hmm, what do you think?' he murmurs, smiling. "do i resemble the king or the male pauper more?"

you take a moment to think as you float back to reality.

"their names are dominick and julian."

he laughs at your little pout as you correct him.

"yes, yes, forgive me, princess," he replies, affectionately petting your head, your heart fluttering at the unexpected nickname as he settles in closer to you, eyes drifting back to the screen.

the movie has always served good memories for you, but now you have something even lovelier to associate it with.

-

[klunkcat]

50 VAGUE ANGSTY + HURT/COMFORT DIALOGUE PROMPTS

42. "Tell me what I did wrong! What's wrong with me?!" + rise A Team 🥺

You keep requesting things that I know will hurt ur feelings!!!

TW: panic attack, derealization/dissociation

Waking up in the med bay had been less painful than this. He’d broken fourteen bones and fractured three more, been coughing up blood and some thick substance he was very sure was never supposed to be on the outside but he’d thought, ‘hey, we won’. 

This didn’t feel like winning. This felt like standing on the other side of a very long tunnel and seeing the world from a sideways tilt. 

He’d been allowed out of the med bay for a glorious two days– mostly to lay up on the couch instead of the stiff medical room— and missed somewhere that the world had actually ended. Because when Raph leaned over him to grab his glass of water on the table beside him, Leo flinched. 

It wasn’t him, he decided. Because Leo had never once in his life feared anything from his big brother, not even when Raph had gone through his snapping phase. Because Raph was Raph and that meant the biggest warmest hugs you could imagine, and big wet watering eyes and crying over commercials with kittens that sneezed too hard. It couldn’t be him that saw Raph moving forward and thought of pink, slimy tendrils, and felt his airways closing with a sharp thrum of oh god and I’m going to die, because that didn’t make sense. 

Raph froze, eyes wide. Leo fell further outside himself. 

The other him made his hand move, he didn’t feel it move. The other him spoke. 

“Oh, ha. Sorry, static must have shocked me.” From the blankets, yeah. That made sense. This other him that jumped at things at least had his wits, that was reassuring. 

“Leo,” Raph said very slowly. Some hindbrain red alert crawled all the way up from his heart and right out his mouth, and into that other version of him that was staying very still. 

“I didn’t— I didn’t mean to.” 

Raph put his arm down just as slowly, leaned back like he could telegraph every moment. His eyes stayed wide and locked on to him. “Okay, that’s okay.” 

“It wasn’t you,” the other him said, and Leo couldn’t feel his lips moving but he desperately wanted to be able to shut him up. “It wasn’t um— just. Jumpy. Pulled something funny, you know with the. The bandages.” 

Shit, Leo thought. Stick to the script, pal. 

“Right,” Raph said, without blinking. Like he was thinking something else. 

“Don’t do that,” other him said. “Okay, the big brother voice thing. I don’t need it, let’s just. Watch the movie, right?” 

He was suddenly aware of Donnie by his kneecaps, Mikey staring at him from the mound of pillows he’d made at Don’s legs. He needed this other him to shape up, acting classes were a must. He was flubbing big time, Leo did not flub. 

Raph shifted again, molasses slow, and gave Donnie a look. His twins face twitched with a nod, and he summarily picked up Mikey, blanket and all and shuffled into his lab. Traitor, Leo thought vaguely. Pincer attack, coordinated front. He hated that. That was his and Don’s thing.

Stepping on my turf, he meant to say. Other Leo’s mouth didn’t move, so he was useless. 

“Actually, Raph’s a little worried.” 

Oh, Leo thought, oh no. Fear lanced through him again, in some distant way. He could see his fingers twitching and couldn’t make them stop. “Worried? About what. Can I help, big guy?” 

Raph hummed. “Think you could, yeah. We haven’t talked about everything that happened, have we?” 

Well, Mikey had made him talk a little, about why he thought it would be okay to choose himself without telling anyone else first. Hugged him as tightly as he could with Leo’s broken ribs for three solid hours until Leo’d given in and promised he’d be kinder to himself. Donnie had been furious at him for three straight days somewhere after he’d blearily woken up from his coma, but they hadn’t talked directly about why yet. Suddenly, the look he’d caught clicks.

He was still too outside himself to react the right way. Other Leo looked away and twisted the blanket in his hands. 

Ever so slowly, he felt Raph’s warm hand land on his knee. He could see it, his big brother’s hand, green and normal. No spikes, no pink. He could breathe out— there was a rope somewhere there that guides him closer enough that he can flip his own hand around and squeeze. 

“Nothing to talk about, bro bro,” Leo managed, but it was croaky and lacking all the usual fizz. Fizzless, him. The horror was nearly too much to think about. 

The look Raph gave him was half a wince of apology, half tangled up exasperation. He didn’t like that there was guilt there. That didn’t fit. Raph hadn’t done a single thing wrong. 

“Leo.” 

He made himself swallow. “Raphala.” 

Raph sighed. Flipped Leo’s hand over so he could stare down at the bandages crossing his palm. He’d burnt the inside of his fingers somehow, he couldn’t even say when it happened. Silly, really. He’d laughed when Don had told him. Come to think of it, Dee hadn’t really looked like he’d agreed with the joke then either. 

He watched the way Raph traced his thumb across the white gauze, the way his face twisted and crashed down with mounting horror. 

“I’m so sorry, Leo. You know I love you, right?”

Other Leo made a second appearance, making his hands go numb. “I— of course? I love you too, what does that—?”

Raph’s non bandaged eye blazed when he looked up at him, swimming in the dim movie light. “I hurt you, Leo. I took your trust and I hurt you with it. Raphie’s so sorry.” 

That didn’t— Leo blinked rapidly. The world fell out of focus, clicked free of its puzzle piece board. Out into the ether. “Stop apologizing.” 

“Leo—”

“No!” Other him said it sharp, loud. Too electric behind the words, he winced at himself and didn’t feel his face move. “You don’t— you don’t get to apologize to me. That doesn’t— what are you talking about Raph?” 

Somehow his brother’s face only fell further, it made the panic in Leo’s chest sticky. “I said that wrong, I don’t—” It was so hard to think, why couldn’t he make himself think? “I’m not afraid of you! I’m not.” He wasn’t. Because it was Raph. 

“It’s okay if you are, buddy. Raph understands—” 

“I’m not!” Leo bit out, and blinked rapidly again as the world falls further out to sea. “I put you in danger, I jumped in and— I did something stupid, and you got brainwashed. Because I fucked up. Why aren’t you mad at me? Tell me what I did wrong!”

What’s wrong with me, he thought, vibrant and liquid like toxic sludge seeping down to his core. 

He couldn’t even see right anymore, everything had gone shapes and colors. It wasn’t even Raph in front of him, it was something. It was nothing and— 

“--breathe with me, okay? In. Out, that’s it. That’s perfect, Bug, keep doing that.” 

The Bug snapped him together, pulls all of his strings forward. Raph hadn’t called him that since they were toddlers, when he and Donnie had started insisting being twins and Raph tried to play along. Bug and Boo, he’d said all proud. Donnie had hated it instantly and rebuked any attempt at being called something so sweet by biting. Leo’d tried to make it fit a little better, since Raph seemed to like it so much.

‘S it b’cause I bug you?’ Leo’d said, sad and puddling up but hiding it with a teasing smile he knew would make the hurting less loud. 

Raph had smoothed his hand across his head and grinned. ‘It’s cause you’re my favorite bug.’ But it sounded like a good thing when Raph said it. 

Leo forced in a breath, feels his hands become his hands and his toes firmly plant as his toes. “Sorry,” he managed. “Sorry, went. Um. Somewhere. Back.” 

Raph’s big worried eye peered down at him, he let go of Leo’s hand with a firm squeeze. Leo shook his head, clearing out all the fuzz as much as he could. 

“I need you to hear me, just for a second. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Raph tried, worry making his voice small. “Can you believe me on that one thing? You were brave, and you got us through it, and most importantly you got Leo through it. I’m not mad.”

Leo scoffed, staring down at the blanket instead. Raph carefully scrubs a hand across the top of Leo’s head, warm and calloused the way he knows. 

“Raph wanted you safe. That’s all. And I hurt you, so it’s okay if you— if you need time.” 

Leo snapped his eyes up, grabbing at Raph’s hand again even before he pulled away. “I don’t! I don’t need you to go anywhere, or leave or. Please don’t leave.” 

Raph’s face gentled. 

“Can we just,” Leo couldn’t look at him, he couldn’t. “Can we just stay here for a minute? Maybe talking can be later.” When it wasn’t him and other him preferably, so he could say things the right way.

“Okay.” 

Raph settled back on the couch, slowly lifting his arm free and telegraphing the space underneath for Leo to decide. As if he needed to decide, the best place in the world was in Raph’s hugs. He’d always fit perfect there. 

Raph smoothed his hand across Leo’s head with his thumb, back and forth.The warmth pulled him all the way back into himself, almost with a shudder. Leo squeezed his eyes shut and buried his snout further into Raph’s side. It made him brave. “I’m not scared of you. I’ve never been scared of you, big guy.”

Raph’s thumb paused. Smoothed back again. “It’s okay if you are. That was… pretty scary.” 

Leo shook his head stubbornly. “Wasn’t you. I know my big brother anywhere. That wasn’t him.” 

He pretended kindly not to hear the hitch in Raph’s breathing. The warm chuckle after is like lottery gold. 

“Thanks, bug. I know you, too.” 

[sublimerences]

In light of Eitaku/Aotsumi somewhat like kinda sorta really getting confirmed to some degree, I kind of want to yap about how crazy they both are

(Warning for Spoilers + discussion surrounding the Prologue, True, Multiple Eitos, and Goodbye Eito Routes Below)

Like, where do you begin here? They’re practically made for each other, Takumi killing him [and absorbing his hemoanima] in route 0 was /the/ damning act that bound them together for every reset thereafter. They bring out the absolute best and worst in each other, and prove that they both, deep down, lack the strength to carry out their convictions despite the gravity that they’re treated with. They both possess qualities that, at a surface level, seem completely at odds with their respective goals.

Takumi is, as we know, majorly invested in saving everyone — he takes on this savior/martyr role where he shoulders basically every act that requires judgement some way or another, including everyone’s burdens and the continued war effort. He is so deeply entrenched in the belief that if no one else does it, he has to, to the point of actually being pretty brutal about it; in these positions where he has to make increasingly difficult decisions, he’s the one who has to choose the most pragmatic options — even if it directly leads to others, and often himself, getting hurt — for the sake of survival, to make it to the end of the 100 days.

Really, there’s a sort of resignation to Takumi’s character where he actually ends up being pretty complicit to [often needless] violence when the situation “calls for it” (ie. Eva getting repeatedly tortured). He’s not usually in a position where he protests wrongs (even if he internally disagrees with them), instead seeing the war (and by extension the violence associated with it) as an inevitability — an immutable factor. He’s more on the reactive side than proactive. If given the mullen, he will bite it, often unquestioningly. Takumi is a character that changes drastically depending on the choices that are made, but I’d argue on an overarching level that it’s the possibilities that he considers that really define him as a character. Everyone knows that Eito’s skill names (judge, jury, and executioner) reflect him on a personal level, but Takumi is put in the same position time and time again, as well. (Notably, Takumi’s foreknowledge and past experiences do have the tendency to inhibit his ability to make sound judgement — there’s a reason that court of law deems evidence of other unrelated crimes inadmissible because it interferes in judging the here-and-now).

* One of my favorite aspects of the Multiple Eitos route is Takumi’s tangible shift in thought process — from “Why didn’t I choose to spare him?” to “Why did I let him live in the first place?” I like how the true route sort of pushes that further, in the way it encourages you to take certain options (choose Kyoshika, to help Nozomi and Kurara reconcile, and because she has additional dialogue that makes her death seem less cruel and more willing; choose Gaku because he is vital to learning more information; let Shouma kill Eva because it is vital to learning more information and because Eva is an ‘uncontrollable and unstable variable’ not worth investing in any longer). He’s so viciously pragmatic at times — a true “Whatever it takes” mindset (and showcase of his circular reasoning).

On the other hand, there’s Eito, who lands on the opposite side of the spectrum with this “Hell is other people”-oriented worldview (a fallacy of mind projection). He hates humanity with a passion, he believes himself fully righteous having been given the ability to see humanity for what it really is, and thus he feels justified in carrying out the extermination of all of humanity. There is an emotional core to his ideals despite him initially presenting cold, harsh logic and cunning — the fact that he grew up isolated from the world around him, in reality wanting companionship but being unable to trust in it both due to his affliction, being alone in his affliction, and the evidence he bases his logical argument around (the books that he read). Even then, the books themselves end up being a supplement to his lack of human connection, a grasp for some sort of understanding — for something to reaffirm the world he views on an outward level so as to justify it(s) (and his) existence. With Eito, there’s a repeated motif surrounding him about what it means to be defective, a glitch, an aberration, an uncontrollable variable that’s (as stated later on by Sirei) not meant to be there — something that Eito protests long before the nature of his exact existence is revealed. It’s clearly a doctrine that he is intimately familiar with having grown up more or less confined to a hospital after his own parents — who are supposed to be the very epitome of unconditional love (which extends to forgiveness) — gave up on him, leading to his inability to comprehend it.

I should say, the intriguing part about Takumi to Eito is that by the first reset, Takumi has effectively made himself an outlier just as Eito has been; it’s the fact that Takumi has the option (and is narratively compelled) to give Eito not just a second chance, but a third chance, at living and proving himself despite having multiple timelines (as a testament to his ability to be irredeemably reprehensible) stacked against him. Would I call it unconditional love, per se? Not really. But it is this idea that, in spite of all of Eito’s faults and his standing as a variable that is technically illogical to keep around during a war that begs vicious and inhumane pragmatism, Eito has a right to exist. It’s this that has him opening up his world just enough to let the Special Defense Unit exist beyond a generalization — or to at least entertain the idea of it.

* On a semi-unrelated tangent, the choice to have Eito literally rip out his eyes and replace his previously clear-viewed lenses with tinted frames is absolutely interesting thematically; although there is the aforementioned emotional point in his worldview, he tends to operate on a sort of unrelenting vicious logic when it comes to humanity that leaves little to no room for stragglers. He places a lot of value in his judgement and where he stands so as to make [what he perceives to be] the correct choices both strategically and when it comes to justice and comeuppance. He puts an insane amount of pride in his ability to ‘see clearly’, so both the fact that he willingly discards that and sees it as absolutely necessary to trust the others as his comrades goes to show that he believes himself to be impeding on his judgement to take that leap.

That said, Eito’s perspective, while very extremist, is absolutely a necessary counterbalance to the war effort and the predatory nationalism of the Last Defense Academy. Takumi states time and time again that he dreads learning new truths, often wishing he never learnt them at all. Eito, on the other hand, actively searches for the harsh reality of the aforementioned war effort even if it comes from a place of bad faith. Just the introduction of skepticism goes a long way, and it’s that that allows the others to humanize the Futurans instead of giving in to the rampant propaganda presented by the Academy. At the end of the day, it’s about reaching this middleground: “humanity can be terrible, we have been made to do something terrible for the sake of survival, but that doesn’t define our future — we can take the initiative to right the wrongs of our predecessors.”

Anyways, when it comes to Eitaku, there’s a definite push-and-pull dynamic here. They have the mutual ability to bring out the best in each other just as they have the ability to bring out the absolute worst. As stated, a defining part of Eito’s character is his need for autonomy and control when the circumstances of his birth were outside of it (control is a facet of Takumi’s character, albeit in a different way — ‘Its your future!’). By killing Eito, Takumi is both corroborating Eito’s cynicism regarding humanity and completely removing his agency — his opportunity to redeem himself.

In ways of the former, it’s about bringing each other to the very brink of hate-filled insanity as a twisted form of companionship (Eito absolutely sees Takumi as his nemesis, but up until then was seen more like a roadblock to work around for Takumi. Multiple Eitos revolves around actualizing the former until it’s mutual. This, in itself, is a form of understanding. For Takumi, dropping down to Eito’s level; for Eito, radicalizing Takumi up to his). As for the latter, the Multiple Eitos Route is exactly about repaying that in kind (literally taking over Takumi’s body, denying him the ability to save his friends, making his time-traveling escapades effectively moot).

What’s neat about Multiple Eitos is that it is technically a foil to Goodbye Eito and the True Route. While Multiple Eitos showcases Takumi’s capacity to be rationally cruel to the point of irrationality, the latter routes are case studies in Eito’s ability to display genuine kindness (it’s so important to Goodbye Eito that it’s children that Eito encounters in the perimeters, especially when there’s both a certain sort of childishness to his ideals, and the fact that he killed whomever tried to befriend him as a child; he is given the opportunity to perpetuate the cycle of hatred and isolation he suffered as a child but chooses not to, encouraging them to find community. In a way, the true route encompasses ideas of breaking such cycles, Takumi doing a similar thing when he and the group voluntarily accepts death to stop the massacre of the Futurans — when Nozomi chooses kindness by reaching out to them in spite of the tragedy of her situation).

Tldr; I guess what it really boils down to; I can fix him… or I can make him worse.

[matteglaze]

waitwaitwait relating to the can shigaraki read ask i feel like he would need glasses? but ofc no glasses for the might leader of the LOV (+ dragging this man to the doctor is harder than one may think...) so his vision is just getting worse and so y/n just reads for him. idk i get soft when i think abt reading/cooking/doing chores that kurogiri would do for tomura.

Shigaraki makes you read questionable things

I think because of the lack of sleep Shigaraki gets, his eye sight becomes more and more strained. This is probably exacerbated because of his late night gaming sessions.

It's not a big deal, he reasons. Many people don't get enough sleep, it's not just him.

I actually think Shigaraki could get a doctor to prescribe him glasses or eye contacts with AFO's help (the man's pretty influential let's be real), but I think the reason Shigaraki doesn't is because he won't say anything about it.

He's taken loss, after loss, after loss. Sensei doesn't need to know he's struggling with his eye sight,

Sensei doesn't need to view him as something weak.

It's embarrassing, but Shigaraki is just quiet about it. However, I don't think his eye sight is necessarily bad, I feel like he's still able to read, just not if the text is really small, plus it's better if you do it for him.

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll kill you.." Shigaraki grumbles, scratching at his neck as he glares your way.

You look down at him, pumping up your fist with a small grin "sure thing, boss!"

And that's how you find yourself standing next to his gaming chair, reading the dialogue from a busty girl on Shigaraki's screen. One look at her, and you can tell she's supposed to be some sort of Yakuza love interest. (actually, you know this for a fact, because her nickname is literally Yakuza-chan.)

You clear your throat and read, "Uh... Well, boss, I'm sure you need my protection— so don't worry about a thing, boss!"

This love interest sure does use the word 'boss' a lot, huh?

Shigaraki definitely does this on purpose, choosing characters that either look like you or have your mannerisms. Then he gets you to read their sickenly sweet dialogue, and it's almost like he's getting the real thing.

A cheat code that he managed to find all by himself.

"Now you guys just moved to a beach date." You start to describe the images on screen, but you're cut off once Shigaraki pinches your wrist with his pointer finger and thumb. You let out a pained grumbled, but Shigaraki just clicks his tongue at your antics.

"I can see that, idiot, I'm not blind"

"Okay...whatever you say...wait, hold on, choose this option" you lean over his body and press your finger against the screen, "this will definitely score you some love points"

Shigaraki turns your way, faces inches apart, "huh, you're pretty good at this.."

You turn your attention from the screen to him, a smug look overtaking your features.

"What can I say? The ladies love me"

"I take back what I said." Shigaraki grumbles, turning his head to the side and leaning back into his gaming chair, trying to put a distance between you two; blush on his pale face strikingly prominent. He can only hope that you don't notice.

And you don't— because after awhile you've also found yourself invested in this game, because if you're really going to stand around and read for him you may as well have fun doing it.

"Ok, now choose this option"

Shigaraki hovers his cursor over the option you suggested, 'compliment her swimsuit', but instead he chooses the other one, 'what do you think about my swimsuit'

What do you think about my swimsuit, Yakuza-chan?

"Eugh Boss.. I told you to pick the other one... No girl wants to compliment a guys lame shorts." You grumble, slightly grabbing on Shigaraki's shoulder and shaking him.

"All of our progress! Wasted!"

Even though you complain, you end up reading Yakuza-chan's (stupid name, by the way) dialogue, anyway.

"Ah, boss, I think it's really cute— because you're realize cute, wait I messed that part up, because you're really cute. My little boss, who's a... A what"

You blanch at the next words, 'who's my good little boy', and feel yourself scrunch your nose up. It took such an adrupt turn, you reread it again to yourself.

Well, you weren't aware of the fact that it was this type of game, but that's on you for assuming Shigaraki would waste any storage space downloading a wholesome otome game.

".. What, read it." Shigaraki grumbles.

You awkwardly clear your throat, averting your gaze from the screen and instead looking at the floor.

"Well, you said you aren't blind...can't you see this part.. It's not important to the story or anything"

"It's blurry"

You have a feeling he isn't being too honest, and you think to yourself, perhaps you indulge Shigaraki too much.

i know you meant reading as in like, cute wholesome reading and theyre both sitting together and Shigaraki eventually dozens off or something, but i just can't resist otome nerd tomura

[chongoblog]

oooh which RPGMaker game did you mean for wasted potential, if you don’t mind me asking?

I've ranted about it before (I've thought about this game ever since I first played it way back, like, a decade or so ago), but I love yapping so I'll tell it again with the caveat of if I see anyone who follows me finding this game and harrassing this developer, then I genuinely find you to be worse than anything I feel about this game (which I won't even be naming). I have respect for them to the extent where they've still created a game and expressed themselves creatively.

Anyway, this RPGMaker game's big twist is that you play as the main character (whose name we'll say is Tina because I can't remember her actual name), however the main character is aware of the fact that you are controlling her. This leads to a lot of drama between you and the player. The problem arises from the fact that "you" have dialogue that's already been written by the game. So it's not really the main character having drama with you as much as the main character having drama with "you". This can lead to a lot of issues for obvious reasons. For example, from what I remember "you" are portrayed as pretty masc-coded and as a sort of love interest for the main character. That can be fun for some people if they want to insert themselves and have that kind of a relationship (never mind the power dynamic), but odds are there will be SOMETHING at odds with the player and takes them out of the experience. Once that happens, the relationship stops being about the player and the character and it becomes about the character known as "You" and Tina. The other big sticking point I had with it was that it was incredibly railroad-y. This isn't really the fault of the dev, since opening up possibilities would EASILY lead to scope creep, but it is very strange to have Tina go on a diatribe about "oh my godddd I'm no longer in control of my own actions, this is crazy I'm at the whims of some other external force oh no" only for you to try to get Tina to go into A Weird Room and for her to go "hmm...maybe we should find our way out of the hospital and head for My House!"

I've been thinking about this game ever since I first played it. Despite my many complaints (I still have a few others), I still respect them for not only having a cool idea, but putting their energy into executing it. And I've had an idea for how to build on the concept.

Here's the big one: NO Dialogue from the player stand-in. Kind of a classic rule (see your Gordons and Links). But that does lead to some difficulty, since the game's central focus is the relationship between the player and the main character. So how do we communicate with the MC? Through actions.

For example, I've been pondering a sort of combat system for this where it rewards cooperation between you and the MC. Basically, the idea is that throughout the game, you can have the main character learn magic (so long as you walk him to the right places). But the thing is that you only control his BODY. Not his mind (or whatever ethereal power magic comes from). So he manages to break out of your control JUST enough that he can move the fingers on his right hand. Whenever you're in combat with an enemy, he'll put out a certain number of fingers to signify what kind of magic he wants to channel. From there, you can move the MC's body, and depending on how you move their body, they can perform multiple types of attacks. So let's say MC is holding up 3 fingers, which you've been told means he's going to be channeling Fire. Then you can choose his action, whether it be Shield (creates a fire shield), Sword Slash (a burning strike), Punch (a Flaming Uppercut), Arrows (A flaming bow), etc. with each combination of element and physical action having a different effect.

Another one that I've mentioned in the past is that when the game begins the MC would want to know how to address you, to which he says "hey, tell ya what, I can't hear you, so walk me over to that pen and paper and you can write down your name!" and what you write on that paper will determine what the name on the file is called. BUT, you can also walk out of the room without writing your name, at which point the MC will just say "okay fine asshole, I'll just call you Jerkface" and your file's name is now Jerkface.

Anyway, that's my thoughts. From what I've seen it seems like Deltarune might be kind of going in this direction so I'm excited to see where it goes. Even so I might want to give it a try myself. I just need to nut up and do it.

[doverstar]

I just realized: One good demonstration of CS Lewis's "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less" is P&F's episode Thaddeus and Thor.

In that one, Thaddeus and Thor use their insane builds as a way of showing off and making themselves look better. Phineas and Ferb do theirs strictly for the love of building and/or to give themselves and their friends a fun time.

Phineas and Ferb do not falsely put themselves down (which would absolutely insult everyone else), they're just not thinking about themselves at all. They just want to make something cool and then share how cool it is with others (plus Phineas is a natural showman).

Heck, despite blowing those two out of the water, they go out of their way to compliment Thaddeus and Thor on the licorice dispenser because they think it's a cool idea.

100% correct. It's one of my favorite episodes. It shows how Phineas and Ferb could be, and how they are not that way, not just in action but in dialogue. It never occurs to them to compete with Thaddeus and Thor, or argue with Thaddeus when he starts baiting them. Security is silent.

Thaddeus and Thor's talents are only remarkable in a realistic setting. Because in real life, boys their age could probably, with prodigy-level brains, build the fort that they built. They could. But the thing about Phineas and Ferb's success is, not only can they build that, they can build things that defy logic, budget, and nature - at age 9. (Because they're cartoons.) In real life, if you were to pit them against Thaddeus and Thor, you would be watching two sets of kids - one set builds an actual fort with a licorice dispenser, and it's structurally sound and everything, and that's amazing. But then the other set builds not only that, but extra - something you wouldn't have believed of adults, funding or no funding. In the universe of the show, that's what you're looking at, essentially. Phineas and Ferb create for the joy of creating, most often to benefit others; they never do it just for themselves. Everything they make is made to be shared. They're just that good at it. And do they boast? Do they challenge other creatives? Never once. They love to think and build and create and help, and it literally does not come into their heads to talk about their talents, choose themselves over others, or decide not to help someone who needs it. If you have a need and they hear about it, boom - they're already halfway done fixing your problem before you've finished speaking. Even if it does nothing for them. Candace wants her mother to see the boys at work. She doesn't think very far ahead about what that looks like, because she's not doing it to hurt them, she's doing it to keep them safe, to prove it can be done, and that she's not crazy. She doesn't consider that this would mean they would be punished. Phineas and Ferb, more than once, attempt to help Candace bust them because it will make her happy. When they hear her summer's been a series of failures and she feels alone and defeated, they go out of their way to get her to see it differently and make her feel better. Phineas saying things like "Can we cook or can't we?" is not bragging. It's him being excited and satisfied with his work, and he's almost always saying that kind of thing to Ferb, who also worked hard. And like you said, when Thaddeus and Thor are standing open-mouthed at the foot of the boys' architectural anomaly, Phineas and Ferb's disclaimer at the end of the tour is that Thaddeus and Thor's licorice dispenser was cool to them and they liked it. They showed what they'd done, and then they ended it by complimenting the other boys' creativity. Because it doesn't even occur to them to think about themselves or put themselves on any kind of pedestal or into any kind of spotlight. 90% of the time, Phineas and Ferb are thinking about other people, not themselves.

[orellazalonia]

Caged in Comfort (Pt. 2)

Summary: While Bucky gets you something to eat, you have a discussion with Steve and formulate a plan to bide your time. However, that eventually cracks when Bucky returns with some soup and milk. (Dark Stucky x little!reader)

Warnings/Disclaimer: Minors DNI. Dark Stucky. Age Regression. Forced Age Regression. (Feeding.) Kidnapping. References to Labs. Lots of dialogue. Drugged food and Stockholm Syndrome in the future likely.

Word Count: 1.6k+

A/N: I haven’t actually decided if I want the food to be drugged or not. I’m also not sure if this series would be interesting enough to read either. Regardless, please read the warnings. You are responsible for the media you consume. Let me know if I should add something else to the warnings, tags, or anything else.

Caged in Comfort Masterlist | Previous | Next

You stay still long after the door closes.

Steve doesn’t move either. He just holds you, one arm secure around your middle, the other gently combing his fingers through your hair. It’s too much; the tenderness. It scratches at something raw inside you. You’ve had scientists touch your skin with gloves, handlers yank your arms into place. This isn’t clinical. It’s worse.

“You know who we are, don’t you?” He says softly, not trying to force an answer.

You nod against his shoulder. You know exactly who they are. You’d heard of the guards talk of them. The scientist who tried to replicate what they were. You’ve heard your handlers speak about their DNA, about what made them tick. The serum of particular interest. You know what they are capable of. You never could have imagined this though.

“They called you super soldiers,” You murmur. “Potential weapons. Not people.”

Steve flinches at that, just slightly. “And what did they call you?”

You swallow, hating the memories that flicker through your mind briefly.

“They…didn’t call me anything. Just a number.”

He exhales slowly, holding you tighter. “Well, they were wrong.”

“No,” You whisper. “They weren’t.”

He doesn’t argue. That’s almost worse than if he had. You shift a little, just enough to glance toward the door. Calculating and observant. Steve notices though. Of course he does.

“He locked it,” He says gently. “Not because we don’t trust you. But because you’re scared. Scared people do reckless things.”

“I’m not scared,” You lie.

“You’re shaking.”

You hate that he’s right. It wasn’t enough that your life had been spent controlled by someone else’s wishes. At your first opportunity of being free from that place, you’re still trapped. Ownership now simply being transferred to whom should’ve been your saviors. Heroes who could’ve helped you adapt to a new life, not force you into one of their fantasies. A beat of silence passes. Then:

“I know what regression is,” You mutter, almost like it’s a curse.

Steve blinks. “You do?”

You nod slowly. “The others… the ones before me. Some of them couldn’t take it. Some snapped. Others regressed and went all soft. The scientists liked it, made them easier to control.”

Something tightens in his jaw. That’s not what he wanted to hear. It doesn’t match his image of how things would go: this warm, soft fantasy of what he thinks he’s offering you. But it seems you’re not going to let them paint over your trauma with pastel colors and lullabies.

“So if that’s what this is,” You snap, twisting in his hold just enough to look him in the eye, “If you think I’m going to curl up and call you Papa because you put me in a pink room and comfort me, you’re wrong.”

Steve’s expression doesn’t change much. But something behind his eyes shifts. He leans in just a little, brushing your hair behind your ear. “I don’t want to force you,” He says. “I want you to choose this. To feel safe enough to fall. Because you deserve softness. You deserve comfort.”

“No one deserves anything,” You say, the words bitter. The truth you’ve come to accept long ago. “Not in this world.”

“That’s what they taught you,” He murmurs. “That’s not the truth.”

You go quiet. But your brain doesn’t stop working. It never stops. You watch the way he looks at you. How he talks to you like you’re already his. That same warped gentleness Bucky wore earlier, albeit softer and more visible. You’re not dealing with captors. Not exactly. You’re dealing with men who believe, truly believe, they’re saving you.

And that’s when an idea strikes you. If they believe it? Then, you can use it.

“Fine,” You whisper eventually, your voice cracking in just the right place. You let your head rest against his chest again, limbs going limp. “I’ll try.”

Steve exhales a soft breath, full of relief. You feel it in his chest. You wonder why he doesn’t suspect you. Maybe he does. Maybe he truly believes he can mold you into their perfect little girl, waiting for who knows how long for this. But truthfully, your words are hollow. You don’t mean it. Not really. You’re going to play their game. You’re going to smile. Take their kindness. Let them think you’re softening. Let them hold you and wrap you in blankets and stroke your hair.

And the second that door is unlocked; You’ll run.

Your train of thought gets interrupted when the door opens again with a click. You don’t flinch this time. You remain curled in Steve’s lap, just like he left you, even though your muscles ache with tension under the calm exterior you’re forcing. You keep your eyes half-lidded, mouth set in a dazed sort of frown. You’ve seen the others wear this look. You can fake it too. At least, you hope you can.

Bucky walks in holding a tray. Soup, you think, and something warm in a bottle. Your stomach clenches at the scent before you can stop it.

“Good,” He says, shutting the door behind him. “She hasn’t moved.”

“I told you,” Steve says, brushing his fingers down your back. “She’s trying.”

Trying. That word sits in your mouth like rust. It makes you feel like you’re being graded, watched through one-way glass. You glance at Bucky. He’s watching you with that same hard edge in his eyes. Not cruel nor unkind, but… territorial. Protective. Like a wolf guarding something he’s decided belongs to him.

Bucky sets the tray on the bedside table, then kneels in front of you. Your first instinct is to pull away, but you fight it. You keep your face blank. Small. Helpless.

“This one’s chicken and rice,” He says, holding up the bowl. “Easy on your stomach. Warm. And you’re going to eat the whole thing.”

You blink at him slowly, not answering. Partly for the act but half from the sheer audacity and sureness this man holds. The way they both act so certain is frightening. However, you don’t let it show.

Steve presses a kiss to your temple. “Sweetheart? Can you sit up for Buck? Just a little?”

You shift slightly, only because Steve is guiding you. Not because you want to. You still feel like your bones are made of ice. Bucky lifts the spoon, not handing it to you. Holding it like he’s going to do it.

Your mouth twitches. “I can feed myself.” While you never had five course meals before, you were still allowed to feed yourself whatever mush or food your previous handlers would serve. You had a choice. You still had that fleeting sense of autonomy.

“No,” Bucky says, blunt. “You can’t. You’re too little. Not right now.”

Your hands curl into fists, a flicker of resistance present; but Steve rubs your back again and murmurs, “Just let us take care of you.”

You know what this is. You know it’s not about food. It’s about power. Control disguised as nurture. Infantilization disguised as affection. But still, your stomach growls. And the smell makes your head spin. So, you open your mouth.

Bucky feeds you the first spoonful with slow, deliberate care. It’s warm. It tastes like nothing you ever got in the lab. You hate how good it is.

“There you go,” Steve murmurs as he watches you obediently take bite after bite. “Just like that. Good girl.”

You tense.

You don’t want to like it. The praise. The warmth. But something in your brain flinches every time he says “good girl,” like it’s wired to respond. You push that part down. Deep away while Bucky offers another spoonful. By the fourth, he pauses to unscrew the top of the bottle. The milk inside is frothed and warm. Familiar almost, in a way that makes your throat tighten.

“I don’t need that,” You say hoarsely.

“You do,” Bucky replies. “It’s calming.”

“It’s a bottle.” Like the statement would change anything. Your exasperation and insistence do nothing to persuade either of them.

“You’ll drink it,” He says. “Or I’ll hold you in my lap and do it for you.”

That stops you cold in your protests. You glance at Steve, silently pleading. He was a bit more understanding in some twisted way. But he just gives you that same calm look, fingers combing through your hair again. “We’re trying to help you down,” He explains soothingly. “To feel safe. Cared for.”

“I’m not little,” You hiss, momentarily forgetting your initial plan.

“You are,” Bucky says again, with finality. “You just forgot how to feel it.”

You want to scream. You want to claw the bottle out of his hands and hurl it across the room. You know it won’t do you any good though if you’re trying to win their favor. So, instead, you reach for it. Bucky pulls it away from your grasp before pressing it to your lips, clearly intent on feeding you. With no where to go and nothing more you can say, you start to drink slowly, burning with shame. The milk is sweet. Too sweet. It fills your mouth with warmth that you almost hate yourself for liking.

Steve adjusts his hold, cradling you while you drink. Bucky wipes a smear of milk from your chin with a napkin like you’re two years old.

You don’t resist. Because that’s the only power you have left, to choose not to fight. To pretend. To outlast. They want a little? They’ll get one. And though it may be hell, you remind yourself it will be worth it when you get that chance to run and chase after that true freedom. Until that can happen, you hope you won’t succumb before then.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello Miss Raven!! So it’s unfortunately a pretty well known fact that the TWST English translation has a bad habit of botching important dialogue and lore, and even removing lines altogether, and I saw a reblog a day ago regarding that.

The original post was a fact sheet on Leona & how he interacts with women (alongside other stuff but that’s besides the point). And the reblog I was looking at was saying that the English translation just makes it sound like he’s a feminist, when it’s implied in the original JP game that the beastwomen tend to be more aggressive, giving Leona a reason to be afraid of them. And that reminded me that on the TWST fandom wiki under Leona’s trivia he said he’s intimidated by them, and every time I see that I remember that just can’t seem to find that detail at all anywhere in the English game.

So I wanted to ask you what did the original JP game say about how male and female beastmen interact with each other and why Leona would be cautious around them? Because this is a piece of info that I really would have liked to see in ENG, and I’m kind of annoyed I didn’t know about this before.

I believe this is the Leona lore post you’re referring to? Both TWST wikis (the fandom one and the .gg one) state the same trivia point about Leona being “intimidated” by beastwoman. I’m assuming this is where the reblogger picked up the idea of beastwomen being more “aggressive”, and this being Leona’s reasoning for being “intimidated” by them.

In a nutshell, the claims of Leona being a feminist only in EN + beastwomen aggression and Leona being intimidated by that is not true. The “Leona is a feminist” take was around long before the official English localization, and that’s because the Japanese text also has Ruggie (Leona Ceremonial Robes vignettes) and Cater (Cater’s School Uniform vignette) commenting that Leona is “nice” and “respectful” to women. To claim that they made Leona feminist in the localization is false. They never use the word “feminist” in JP or EN though; the label came from the fandom interpreting this bit of lore as Leona being more considerate of women.

As for the reasoning! Leona states in his Ceremonial Robes vignettes that “[Beastwomen are] already way stronger than us. Goin’ against them only brings more trouble.” I believe that someone probably misunderstood that second line of dialogue as Leona fearing the strength/aggression of beastwomen. He never actually indicates or implies that he feels that way. However, these vignettes being cited for the trivia on the wiki likely led to some confusion.

So if Leona isn’t afraid of beastwomen and their physical fitness, how is that second line supposed to be interpreted? Well, let’s think about his character. Leona is a smart guy. He dislikes having to put forth effort into pointless things, especially if he can plan ahead and avoid it. As I tend to say whenever I talk about his Big Brain Cells, Leona likes to work smarter, not harder. Again, look at this line:

“Goin’ against them only brings more trouble.”

It’s likely Leona just wanting to appease his sister-in-law to avoid having to deal with the fallout of not fulfilling her request. It would otherwise be a pain to deal with—and we’ve seen Leona act in various ways to avoid such pains. For example, he goes to Playful Land with Jack to make sure his dorm member comes back alright (or else Leona is responsible for the consequences), purposefully not choosing a vice dorm leader so he doesn’t have someone to challenge his authority, and generally has convenient excuses prepared to get out of things he doesn’t want to do.

If we want to think of it from another angle, this better fits what we already know of Leona’s cunning. He knows when to call it quits and make a strategic surrender. The most notable example of this occurs early in book 6, when he stops fighting Styx agents and willingly gives himself up to them. He also throws in the towel in book 2 and refuses to play because he already knows that his team is destined to lose to Malleus since they didn’t succeed in eliminating him beforehand. In the situation with Leona’s sister-in-law asking for a picture of him in his robes, Leona is acquiescing because that’s just the smart thing to do. Why even argue if he knows it won’t be fruitful? It’s wasted effort.

I would like to add that physical strength isn’t even the only factor here. Ruggie points out in one of his Chats that “Girls have both the grit and the camaraderie to triumph when the goin’ gets tough.” Grit refers to courage or resolve. The latter, resolve, lends credence to the idea that beastwomen are also determined or strong-willed. In which case… yeah, I don’t think they’d back down from an argument/verbal fight or a physical one.

If we circle back to the previous paragraph, it supports the interpretation that Leona giving in to what his sister-in-law wants is the result of him wanting to avoid a pointless and prolonged fight if he refuses. Cuz like… why waste that time and energy to come out of it with nothing, right?

If it was true that Leona listens to what women day only because he’s actually scared of beastwomen, then that doesn’t explain his interactions with non-beastwomen. Why would he agree to attend a party for an enchanted portrait (Rosaria), which has no means of harming him? He agreed to the proposition as soon as he heard Rosaria is a lady; there didn’t need to be a threat or significant verbal pushback for him to go. As Leona states in Cater’s School Uniform vignette, “Portrait or not, I respect ladies and Rosaria is a lady.” (I think the reblogger may have been confused and was actually referring to THIS line being made “more feminist” in EN. In JP, Leona says something closer to, “Even if it’s a portrait, a woman is a woman.” JP does not have the “I respect ladies” portion.)

Sooo, in conclusion… Leona agreeing to do as his sister-in-law says does not necessarily mean he is intimidated by beastwomen; as I’ve explained, there is an alternate explanation with evidence in canon: he wants to avoid pointless hassle.

I hope this helps to clear things up ^^ I know the localization isn’t exactly perfect, but let’s take care to not assume changes or mistranslations!