#where a Very Essential Mechanic just. doesnt work

[sangrefae]

i love getting to see day one expac launch bugs such as "eating pizza breaks male au ra faces" and "syrcus tower now has savage level difficulty mechanics"

[localcryptidsteg]

So my initial thoughts on Black Myth Wukong are that it's VERY fun. The movement is snappy, the combat is satisfying, its a perfect blend of challenging and rewarding, and while Im not very far into it yet, the skill tree seems well thought out. I havent seen an option on it yet that I look at and go "but how often would I really use that?"

Moreover, your magic skills are all incredibly strong, and learning how and when to use them can make or break your stride. This game is OP done right; even if you lose a fight at first, its usually a simple matter of "oh I just need to do x next time" and bada bing bada boom, its joever. I have yet to come to a fight where Im frustrated over stupid mistakes or getting stuck on geometry or the camera. Every death so far has been fully deserved because I was being impatient.

HOWEVER

After beating the second miniboss (which is a delightful little sneaky tutorial on timing) I notice that the power you get from beating him (red tide) is a little....

Well...

Lets just say Ive beaten every boss up to the Whiteclad Noble by immobilizing them, spamming red tide, and then strafing/dodging until I could repeat, and every single boss goes down in two cycles of that. Its not that their mechanics arent different from eachother or anything, its just that its SO much stronger than base form, AND it applies burn, and that kinda chews through half of the boss's health bar or better in seconds.

The only reason Whiteclad Noble is different is that hes in water the entire fight, so burn doesnt work. But its still a case of just running circles around him waiting for your cooldown to finish up because if youre not right on top of him, he wont really engage until hes under half health. And even then, if you just switch to the poison form of almost exactly the same power (shorter duration but it creates what are essentially turrets), which you can unlock shortly before the fight.... its still just that easy.

Hopefully this wont last the whole game as I build out my mystery monkey more, but for now, I can safely say that overall the game is a riot. Id love to see a multiplayer mode someday.

[tara-maclays-gf]

people talk about the mechanics of buffy a lot and how it doesnt totally work (pretty frequently eyes the magic system) but honestly looking at the metaphors and story devices rather than the way things work has helped me a lot. like what is the story the writer is trying to tell with this moment of a warped mechanic.

take season 2’s halloween- that’s a wild bit of magic for someone who yes, does a fair amount of magic, but isnt shown to be incredibly powerful or destructive. but it’s handwaved because the magic is used as a tool to explore the duality of the characters and their paths to growing up (especially willow). that kind of thing just wouldnt be the same if everything had to follow a strict rule set for how magic works.

it also isn’t uncommon for stories to have a softer magic system. a lot of very brilliant stories aren’t interested in exploring that, because while a hard magic system can frequently make a story better (think a story where the characters need to work within their specific magical limits to solve a concrete problem) that just wouldn’t work for buffy. buffy is a show whose cornerstones are metaphors- to separate the two would be to lose the essential meaning that so many people find so important and meaningful

[jessenitrogen]

cybertronian anatomy ?? (headcanons)

FAIR WARNING, I STILL DONT KNOW THE MOST ABT TRANSFORMERS, I KNOW THERES A TCOG AND A SPARK BUT THATS IT AND ALSO WHILE I DID TAKE ANATOMY CLASS I FORGOT A BIT OF IT BUT and doesnt help I know next to nothing abt mechanics stuff

and another fair warning, the headcanons are canon to ME when I put them in the context of my continuity and exist bcuz I thought of it to fit in my continuity/my designs bcuz fuck it we ball

DENTA/TEETH/DIGESTIVE SYSTEM?

I think the purpose of their denta would not to chew but to bite into energon. Theyre metal beings, that are BIG in most cases, I believe they have a bite force strong enough enough to bite into energon in its mineral state.

For denta appearance, (while I dont know the best shape there is to cut into rock) would be sharp teeth, yknow pointed teeth. Some cybertronians have sharp pointed teeth and then there are some who dont. Well heres the kicker since these guys can also transform, I feel like they can alter their denta shape as well. highly compacted plates that can loosen and move when need be or something. Their sharp teeth can pop out like that HTTYD scene with Toothless popping out his teeth

They dont have tongues, cuz they dont taste, or use it to swallow, or use it to talk. They just kinda. Lean their helms back to get energon into their throats, like birds!!

And they dont need a tongue to formulate their speech, for their voice box is like, a literal box that generates sound waves that is the cybertronians voice. A cybertronian moves their mouth as to not muffle their voice.

While their denta is not designed to chew, in order to get energon into a shape/size that can get to their version of stomachs, their throats grind the energon into smaller bits so it can travel easier through their esophagus. or whatever the cybertronian equivalent is.

Once the energon gets to their stomachs, its melted down into a liquid state so it can flow to the spark where it is essentially "charged" and then can flow throughout tubes and circuits and power their bodies/frames and systems. And I believe, the cybertronians were created in such a way that they can utilize every component of energon so nothing goes to waste.

Cybertronians were created before the technology was made that could convert energon into a liquid state. That tech was made as to cut down digestive time and save energy that could be used for other things.

SKIN/INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

idk what cybertronian skin is called and I barely remember what the integumentary system is other than its skin it helps regulate body temp and helps fight infection?

ANYWAYS their skin is like a very flexible metal, its thinner in parts where the frame has more armor, but thicker in places that dont have armor to compensate for the lack of armor.

Here in this thin layer of metal are receptors that can sense touch and pain, and like idk abt this part but wanna say there is a thin layer of wire net/mesh that can either warm up or cool down as a way to assist the cybertronians ventilation system (ventilation system does most of the work when cooling down the frame)

This layer can repair itself over time. It can also be replaced with external metal if the layer is too damaged. During the early times of the War for Cybertron injuries were repaired with external metal. This external metal did not include touch/pain receptors or the wire net/mesh that assists with temp regulation. Those who were frequently repaired with this external metal have some resistance to pain but have the tendency to overheat, in severe cases need an external source to cool down their frames. ie, dipping in water

Cybertronians need to stay at a constant temp, normally a LOT warmer than we do, in order to keep the energon in a liquid state and stay warm during the nights on Cybertron. If they get too cold the energon can solidify again and cause blockage in circuits and tubing. But if their frames get too hot, the processor can fry, circuits can melt, etc

EXTRA/HALFBAKED HEADCANONS

these I dont have detailed thought on atleast yet, but

They wouldnt have noses. they dont breathe, or smell, so.

They dont have ANY reproductive organs, internal or external. They cannot reproduce with eachother or by themselves. their numbers only increase bcuz of the Allspark

AND THATS ALL I HAVE rn I'd like to state here and now that these headcanons definitely apply to all of my characters and my continuity versions of canon characters. and like, no one has to agree with them or use them but it's also cool if someone does

[definitelynotshouting]

I said I was gonna stop cause it’s late but I thought of another question that I think you might enjoy

What exactly is the Listeners’ ecological niche? What do they do? You’ve mentioned that they’re symbiotic and function similarly to some fungi, and that they can even form a sort of hive mind with other Listener hosts to work towards the same goals, but what are those goals? How sentient are Listeners on their own, without a Player host?

WOOOOO OKAY SO THIS IS A POST IVE BEEN MEANING TO MAKE FOR A WHILE NOW AND ONLY JUST GOT THE TIME TO DO SO

Buckle in everyone lets talk about:

~Ecological Niches~

So to answer this question, im gonna ironically set the stage by talking about something that doesnt SEEM related but trust the process alright this is necessary background info

What we need to briefly dissect is server formation.

Ive mentioned before that singleplayer servers form around spawned Players--- much like a star, code coalesces and forms both Player and world, as a shield between them and the in-between. The thing ive only recently settled on is that all servers are formed by Players in some shape or manner.

Essentially: Players drive server creation.

I'm going to skip the mechanics for how multiplayers are formed rn because thats information for another post, but the essence of what you need to know is that Players are the driving force behind server formation. And the thing about Players, as entities, is that they have a drive to play. And the thing about playing is that sometimes... you get bored.

Theres a tendency to abandon old servers and old worlds--- it happens eventually to pretty much all of them, and its a natural process. Servers arent supposed to be around forever. But sometimes a Player will abandon a world that isnt that old yet, that isnt ready to be recycled by a virus, often for a myriad of reasons. One of these is boredom. Sometimes you just dont click with a with a new world. Sometimes you dont want to continue playing, and so its fairly common to just abandon the world and start a new one.

The problem with this is that theres only so much capacity a dev crystal has to maintain its server cluster, and overstuffing it with more servers than it can take will lead to its collapse (which as ive mentioned before, is CATASTROPHIC for the entire cluster). And this is where Watchers come in.

Where a Player's ecological niche is to create servers, a Watcher's is to keep Players within that server for a greater length of time. Basically, Watchers are a bit like herding dogs (and massive shout out to the anon who gave me that idea); before they were hunted almost to extinction, Watcher colonies would flock to different multiplayer servers and feed on the Players within them, heightening their emotions which very lowkey softlocked the Players into staying on that server for a greater length of time than if they were left to their own devices. When youre invested in a world, in the people within it, and your emotions are heightened while inside, you arent exactly focused on leaving, yknow???

So Watchers, on an ecological level, are essentially pinning Players in place to feed off of them, and keep them from abandoning servers for new ones at an unsustainable rate for the local dev crystal. Seekers, when they were around, would then hunt down the Watchers and eat them, or run them off in the process--- which then freed the Players to finally move on and make new servers again.

Which brings us to the ACTUAL question here, about Listeners.

Listeners are a relatively new type of entity, i think. With Seekers fully extinct, and most Watchers also hunted to critically endangered numbers, the universe needed a new solution for keeping Players in place for long periods of time so dev crystals wouldn't get overloaded. So Listeners were created as a new and more sophisticated way of forcing Players to stay in server worlds for a longer amount of time.

While Listeners dont have a super strong sense of individualism, they are independently sentient from Players and as entities they have a vested interest in remaining on specific servers as long as possible--- specifically because ive recently decided they are specifically connected to sculk. The explanation for that is ALSO for a different post, i think, but essentially Listeners can make new Listeners through the exp orbs Players expel after death, if they die near a sculk catalyst. So Listeners have a lot of incentive to stay on servers and get their Players to build up tons of exp levels before getting them to die so they can continue to make More Listeners, if that makes sense.

So to recap:

Players: create servers

Watchers: feed off Player emotions to trap them on servers for a longer period of time

Seekers: hunted and preyed on Watchers which released any trapped Players

Listeners: formed semi-recently to bridge the ecological gap made by the Seekers going extinct and hunting the Watchers to near extinction, for the same purpose of keeping Players in place for a longer period of time

I hope that answers your questions and then some!!! :D i need to make some posts about the new Listeners lore at some point soon, plus more info on multiplayers, but i'll leave those for a later date :] thank you for being patient while i percolated on this, i hope you like the post!!!

[luetta]

Found your HDG×SIGNALIS Falke and other posts and had to ask how bioresonance would factor into the Affini's domestication efforts

Like there's the rare bioresonant humans, the kolibris, and falkes, plus maybe even a Red Eye if you decide it's canon in your fic. And uh, given what canon displays and tells us about it? it's a question I can't help but wonder about

Like Falke's would def use their bioresonance to resist, Kolibri's there's the question of if they're altogether or not (but iirc correctly their neutral patterns are allegedly unstable + altogether they might be easier to domesticate) humans are mixed bag cuz do they even know if they're bioresonant?

Oh yeah bioresonants connect to and read minds so that can play into how their domestication goes

Totally get if you dunno how to tackle this since lore's vauge af and you need to take your time. Hope your having a good day

aaa this is such a cool ask !! im well into starting to write the story, but im not yet at a point where there's been any domestication yet, so what ive decided is subject to change, but i have definitely been thinking lots about bioresonance and how itll be relevant. first things first is the canon. this is probably affected a bit by my own interpretation of the canon, but, im probably not going to touch the king in yellow/flesh below leng/red eye at all. for me, the whole story of signalis and all it's supernatural elements is essentially contained within a separate mindscape dimension and doesn't really effect the real eusan worlds. it'd also get a bit messy i feel, pitting cosmic horror against affini technological supremecy, cus like, who would win ? i literally dont know, and affini are meant to always win. so i think im just gonna let the flesh below leng chill. outta sight, outta mind. now, for bioresonance, i think it's fair to say there's similarities between it and biorhythms. given the fact that the eusans dont really even understand the mechanics and source of bioresonance, i feel content for the affini to come in and say "oh interesting, theyve managed to artifically (or naturally with rare bioresonant humans) amplify their biorhythms in their replikas" maybe ill add something about how theyve attuned it to idk, specific physical wavelengths, to induce something analogous to telekinesis. for kolibri's being easier to domesticate, you're right on the money for what ive been planning. theyre more perceptive to biorhythms and more receptive to xenodrugs. and virtue of their sharing of emotions and stuff with others, theyre definitely gonna be useful for, at the very least, calming other replikas and gestalts down while they get boarded and interrogated and domesticated EDIT: also with class-f drugs reducing intrusive thoughts/helping 'mind implant fuckery" work better, i think they could also be used to dampen/strength bioresonant effects too. if the affini wanted to i have a really fun plan for falkes, the first falkes to be domesticated are going to essentially be used against the eusan nation and empire, due to their supreme authority and bioresonance, having one telling everyone about the joys of the affini, to throw down their arms and surrender, is probably going to be a pretty huge boon in getting the governments to surrender. a falke unit is probably going to be the main character that ill follow through getting domesticated. i think itll be so fun having a falke be broken. one more thing ive been thinking about is about persona degredation. now, this seems pretty obvious to me in canon that persona degradation simply doesnt exist, and its just a name for any emerging individualism, which would mean a slight decrease in efficience, which means execution. but idk, ive seen a sort of vibe that ppl thing that not having access to fetish objects and strange things happening is gonna make replikes go crazy and corrupted and bluescreen, when thats simply not the case. that only happens in the game, which is definitely not reality. im going to follow this in the story, an affini showing up is going to scare the shit out of replikas, it's literally an alien. but they're not going to turn into brain broken zombies because of it, theyll just get freaked out and diverge from their blueprints. so yeah ^_^ thats some of my thoughts so far for the setting and canon and plans that ive managed to elucidate so far. thnx for asking !!

[my-lunaberg]

Okay, this confrontation/chase has been going on for too long, Im not sure if Im capable of actual analysis rn so Im just jotting all my thoughts so far down bullet point style

I find it very telling that Dream just got out of prison, where he was almost completely isolated and rarely visited and starved and also actively tortured for about half of his almost year-long time there, and instead of going to his base or finding shelter or resting or anything like that, he seemingly went straight to Logstedshire after getting the gear from Punz. Idk if hes there bc he suspected that Tommy would try and get the axe of peace or bc he wanted to remisce but either way, very interesting

Im too lazy to dig up my old posts where I try to predict the effects that the prison will have on Dreams psyche and I dont really remember what I even said, but I do know that I said the prison would make him a lot more unhinged so I'll take that as a win for me

That being said, Im not entirely satisfied with the way Dream is acting so unaffected by like, the physical torture especially. Yeah sure, it does seem like being trapped in jail for a while was part of Dreams game plan all along somehow, but I dont think Quackitys torture was, judging by how surprised he seemed when he showed up. And even if it was, while I do think of Dream as a pretty deluded character, no amount of delusion is gonna make the Literal Fucking Torture hes endured for months on end not feel like Literal Fucking Torture

When the confrontation started my first thought was "oh, his manipulation tactics are a lot sloppier and a lot more obvious, I feel like Tommy wouldnt fall for that even if he didnt already know that Dream was bad news" but then I thought again and I realized that hes talking in a very similar way to when Tommys exile started, where he just kinda says stuff to try and bring him down because hes so confident in his manipulation tactics that he thinks he can just make Tommy forget all about how he compared him to an annoying bug right before he started saying he was his friend. Now, he got progressively more unhinged over the course of the confrontation, so his attempts at manipulation land even worse but still

Basically, I think hes trying to do exactly what he did at the start of exile which is to say, break him down and make him "his" in some weird way, only that with the exile the goal was to get him on his side and become Dreams protegee of sorts, while this time its mostly just to beat him down and break him like a toy

Idk Ive made a lot of analyses of Dream and one the things i keep coming back to is the fact that he wants absolute control over everything everyone and he cannot handle the loss of that control, but deep down he still desires Challenge and Tommy gave him that. His relationship with Tommy is fascinating because its essentially Dream attempting to reconcile those two fundamentally uncompatible parts of his psyche. However, I dont think he wants Challenge anymore. Even if the stay at the prison was planned, it nevertheless showed him what its like to experience loss of control, to truly eperience being challenged and its clear to me that he doesnt want it anymore and that he just wants to break Tommy down until he listens

This is another complaint that sorta ties into Dream being so unaffected by the torture and a suggestion to 'fix' it. I realize that theyre working with Minecraft mechanics and everything so it doesnt matter that much, but Dream should definitely be having issues with food after being starved and only given raw potatoes for that long and I also dont think he should be able to sprint. I feel like they couldve done something really neat and have Dream be like "no Im not hungry" when Punz gives him those baked potatoes and then later when hes chasing Tommy around maybe he starts out sprinting but after a short while hes just kinda jumping around and you realize that hes starving but hes szill not eating and just keeps following Tommy with his pearls and maybe a trident if he has one rn. Idk just something that couldve been cool

I realize that Tommy is obviously there too and I feel like I shouldve written more about him but honestly, I dont have any thoughts abt him rn, maybe I'll have some later down the line. Idk man, I like c!Tommy a lot but hes not really a character that I like to write analysis posts about (i love reading others analyses though!! I think hes interesting, I just dont have a lot of interesting thoughts about him beyond that sry), while c!Dream very much is lol. I see a lot of myself in and thats definitely part of the reason I enjoy him so much and why I symphatize with him so strongly and why analysing him is so fascinating, its kinda cathartic for me. I know a lot of people in the fandom tend to really dehumanize him, both bc he doesnt have his own POV which makes it easier and bc they seemingly just dehumanize any Bad People in fiction, but its honestly a struggle for me to try and do that too, simply because I am human and I know hes human because we have done similar things for similar reasons (only that hes obviously worse bc its fiction and things get exgerated yknow)

Idk thats about it for now, I just spent like two hours writing this when I probably shouldve just kept watching the video lol

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Midnight Gaming: 50 Reasons Why

So last night I played UFO 50 past midnight....way...way past midnight, checked socials later to find... a couple of things, twitter is looking to change how blocking works so that users you blocked can still see your posts and tumblr ceo and carhammer explosion victim matt mullenweg is being sued for slander by wp engine for refferring to them as a cancer to wordpress.

So I guess i'll cover the news first. Muskrat is looking to change how blocking works so that its less effective at what it does ie blocking people. In a way its like banning someone from your store for being a nuisance, with the potential change coming to twitter essentially allowing those same people to legally loiter outside your shop, staring in through the window. Making your account private will likely be the only way to maintain privacy until that itself gets changed so we'll see how this develops. Verge article below.

Our next bit of news comes from tumblr ceo matt mullenweg, owner of the queerist site on the net, when its not erasing transfolk for merely existing. At some point matt, being the genius he is, decided to go on a tangent and described wp engine as a cancer to wordpress, despite the fact that wp engine have actually given wordpress special preferential treatment before. As a result wp engine are now suing him for slander with their letter addressing this lawsuit. Link here

Honestly? Good for them, hope they win.

So now we go to the game of the evening

..... or games. Yes UFO 50. Now, you've ever heard of Action 52? If you did, was it from the AVGN episode? Cause thats where I first heard of that project. The idea of selling a nes cartridge for over 100 bucks with the promise of 52 games sounds good on paper but paper is flimsy and can be torn and Action 52.... was working on wet paper which doesnt hold up at all. Its lauded as a failure for its game either being broken, bad, derivative or all 3 at once. So when mossmouth, the spelunky devs decided to recreate that idea with the aim of every game being "good". Its certanly an ambitious if not foolhardy idea.

I mean, good is subjective especially to the person making the game. What may be considered good for one person maybe considered crap for someone else. Of course im just being pedantic. In the end you're getting 50 games for barely a third of a full price game. So for this Midnight Gaming post, I thought why not play a bit of all 50 games for this edition? Well, this was a terrible idea since it took till 3:30 in the morning to play a bit of each game and write down notes for them. This isnt really a review, more a first impressions look so i'll post my thoughts from last night (and in brackets i'll write some recent thoughts today).

Ready? Here we go!

Barbuta: not really ideal my kind of platformer (A lot of Barbutas platforming is based on timing and precision across various rooms with a limit of 6 lives. Honestly my thoughts onnthis would be better if I spent more time on it)

Bug hunter: tough to wrap my head around but was kinda neat puzzler. (It took a few goes to realise I can shoot the cubes to create a blast that van destroy bugs and that buying a move replaced a preexisting move and it wasnt just random. Deevolve is very good btw)

Ninpek: why can i spawn right on an enemy after i die, only to die again? (This was a run an gun and there were a few times I spawned onna enemy and died. Again if I had spent more time)

Paint chase: like pole position meets splatoon. New mechanics get added overtime. (It seems that dealing with the red rollers was a necessity since they can easily paint over your blue, especially the grenade ones. I like this one)

Magic garden: like snake but you need to drop off blobs on stars. I ran into a wall too many times. (This took a few goes to understand how it works, its neat as an arcade kinda title)

Mortol: platformer with limited lives, which you sacrifice for platformer, bomb or a block. Grabbing lives a must since lives dont get replinished between levels.

(Funny to see lives you do arrow ritual on get stuck headfirst into a wall)

Velgress: think an upward version of downwell. (Every platform your on crumbles in some way so you are pressured to keep moving but the damn bats can easily buml into you)

Planet zoldath: sort of a zeldalike? You go around an overworld and collect items. You have two slots for equipment, its also a random world so yeah... (you would need to juggle your two equips depending on what you need, also why does one sentient race can speak english but the other needs a translator?)

Attactics: units move per turn forward in a lane. Get your units to the enemy castle to damage them. (You can potentially get yourself stuck in a death spiral and fail if you mess up and cant recover)

Devilition: place mons to create a chain reaction to kill devils but spare villagers. Cant see the blast area of mons once placed so screw you if you forget. (UFO50 has a terminal where you can input codes and one of them is a cheat that fixes the issue with devilition.... why is it a cheat?)

Kick club: very bubble bubble vibes. Kick a soccer ball at sports related items.

(No joke, very bubble bobble vibes)

Avianos: grand strategy birb game. Not really a thing for me but cool concept with worshipping a different ancestor each turn granting different moves. (Not great with grand strategy but this is a cool concept)

Mooncat:very odd controls for a platformer. Still, was fun to time bounces on enemies. (This lil bouncy jelly bean is kinda fun to play once yoj figure the controls out)

Bushido ball: pong but with japanese characters, with some special moves. Yeah this is kinda fun. (Shooting a projectile at the ball does help get it past the guy at times... at times)

Block koala: puzzle game moving blocks. Not my cup of tea honest (pretty sure this type of game was played before on like skygames or playjam?)

Camouflage: puzzle game where you need to camo to sneak past predators and make to the end, collecting extras along the way. Yeahs its neat. (Sun and cloud really just said "your weak as fuck, your gonna die, heres a power to hide like a wee bitch)

Campanella: fly a ufo through levels, slashing some objects along the way. (Dont know where this coffee I was supposed to find along the way where?)

Golfaria: golf rpg like golf story? Wasnt sure where to go, ended up running out of strokes too often.. ehhhh (how do you reset your strokes? I got to one hole but I was still low, the heck was I supposed to go?)

The big bell race: racing version of that saucer game. (Attacking other racers seems a bit iffy and not very effective? Unless you have a powerup to help)

Warptank: control a wall attached tank where you can warp to an opposite wall.

(Yeah this fucks, not sure what else to say)

Waldorfs journey: hop across islands as a walrus, try to reach the end. (The one game I actually beat in this collection)

Porgy: a wee metroid kinda game witha submarine. Submarine a cutey. (Yeah grabbing any extra fuel tank is a mjst of longevity. Sub is a cutey)

Onion delivery: drive a car, reach destinations, dont drive into cars. Kinda not great to steer though. (Dunno seems a bit iffy, if I spent more time....)

Caramel caramel: space shooter where you can snapshot enemies and the enviroment like a photo. Lotta food, why start with 0 lives? (Like seriously why? It seems a bit odd to start on your last life)

Party house: host a party and depend on rng. Do not add mr popular he is an ass who can overflow and cause a day lost.

(Also getting dancers and, cash raising guests and the comedian is important to get that alien for the stars. Theres other scenarios to play through too)

Hotfoot: dodgeball but you control 2 players switching a button, which is also how you pick and throw items. Not really digging it tbh. (Seems a bit iffy to manage both chars with the same button as the pick up and throw. You need to keep an eye on the ring under your player)

Divers: 3 lizard bros swim the depths in an rpg. Gotta love that this is one those rpgs where if you choose all 3 bros to attack one enemie and it dies, the remaining turns are wasted. (Again, more time was needed on this)

Rail heist: sort of a tatics game where you need to move through, plan out how to take out lawmen with out getting shot. (Can get a bit frantic with managing the situation along with the time.

Vainger: sort of a metroid kinda game with a gravity mechanic. Can be a bit tricky to manage but is promising. (Again, more time needed)

Rock on island: caveman tower defense game. This was a lot of fun since you can help throw projectiles at dinos. (The dinos were "cursed with intelligence", hence why they try to kick humans out, just seems funny like, THEY KNEW.)

Pingolf: golf game but with pinball inspirations and graphics. Thats cool as hell, i mean cmon. Also you can dunk the ball down for some control. (this is something you could get "real" good at it with enough practice)

Mortol 2: sequel to mortol, you have a limit of 100 and you can choose different classes, thing is you may not always know what you so at times it may feel like you end up picking the wrong class you need and wasting a life. (Again, more time would've improved my feelings on this)

Fist hell: river city ransom but with zombies. I am not a beat em up kinda guy so I didnt get very far. (Kinda neat to throw a zombie head at another)

Overbold: smash tv rougelike where you can use money to buy upgrades and can raise the stakes for a bigger payout but deal with more enemies. Yeah its alright.

(Betting your money against your own evaluation of your skill, very interesting)

Campanella 2: sequel to the ufo game, here you explore a station and can leave your saucer to walk around or enter caves for a section to get an upgrade. Thing is you are very vulnerable and can die quick when out of your saucer unless you enter a cave, then you need to not take your time or an invincible skull enemy follows you.

(Why can you die from one hit outside the saucer but in the caverns? You have a proper health bar??)

Hyper contender: fighter where you need you get enough rings to win. Block and dodge while hitting your opponent to steal their rings. This would be fun with friends.

(Fuck that guy with the hook claw, annoying ass)

Valbrace: dungeon crawler where combat is real time action. You move, block and attack. Thats freaking cool as hell. Kinda rushing to get all this done over the limit but cool game. (Very cool game)

Rakshasa: run and gun contralike to fight some demons. Each time you die you need to avoid enemies while in spirit form and collect items to live again. Games where you can kill yourself right at the start if you're impatient. Not a fan. (Really was feeling the lateness here)

Star waspir: shootem up, you can pick one of three ships. Thing is if you want powerups you need to get three of the same letters to get it, get one thats different, you only get points and not the powerup. Also they be too close to enemies and their projectiles, making it suicide to get. Nah, i hate wasps and i kinda hate this a bit too. (Kinda frustrating, wasnt a fan)

Grimstone: final fantasy but in the wild west. Yeah you pick 4 characters from the start to be in your posse and roam the world gaining xp in random battles. Thats pretty neat. (I could spend a lot more time on this if I could)

Lords of diskonia: strategy where your troops are disks you need to launch into enemy disks to damage them, kinda like snooker in a way. Managed to win the first battle and sent them to running to base but then they got some reserves and had more gold so they could build up a strong retaliation. I did not have enough units or gold to hire more to survive the rematch. Yeah thats... thats a great feeling to have for your game.... (why do I feel a bit punished for winning a battle? I didnt get gold or units for winning or for falling back to base to recoup? Also I only get to move one space but the enemy moves 2 spaces?)

Night manor: point and click horror game, yeah this is genuinly kinda scary, atmosphere does help build tensions and trying to navigate the manor while running from the killer is a thrill. (Poor Baxter :[ )

Elfazars hats: play as animals from magicians hat. Run and gun sort of stuff but you do have a dodge move which I like a lot. (It has the same power up thing as waspir but now as irritating or unfair)

Pilot quest: im guessing this is the idle game that folks were talking about. I didnt put much time in it cause in a rush but yeah, its an idle game. (Its an idle game, it plays itself... start here I suppose)

Mini and maxi: platformer where you can grow and shrink to explore. You also pick up objects to throw at enemies kinda like super mario bros 2. (Like how you can skip some platforming if you grow, go to where you want and shrink on it to go there)

Combatants: ant strategy game, yeah i dont know how i can play this well. Kinda reminds me of simant. (Needed to spend more time on to understand it better)

Quibble race: you bet on worms to race, you can buy certain items to cripple or protect your bet. Yeah thats the game. (Money management in dirty bookkeeping... ok)

Seaside drive: shooter where you drive a car left and right to avoid bullets and shoot either vertical or horizontal. Shot power depends on your speed so you need to keep moving. (This was pretty fun to play, not gonna lie it was fun)

Campanella 3: its the saucer again but now its a space shooter with a sort of attempt at 3d, ok yeah thats, a bit of a depature but kinda cool. (Its sort of a neat lil game... more time)

Cyber owls: the last game which I guess is meant to be the cheetamen of this collection. Each mission is a different gameplay style it seems and if you fail one you have to select one of your remaining characters to go free them. Why in the hong kong level is it that when you can only shoot forward, enemies you kill can actually one shot you with their corpse if you dont avoid them. Thats fucking stupid, thats is really fucking stupid why did they feel that was a good idea, what the fuck were theg thinking? Its way too fucking late. Goddamn it. Its 3:30 in the morning. Fuck this was stupid. (I was real tired and went to sleep right after, Im still tired as I write and I need to go pick potatoes soon...*sigh*)

This post was probably, like Action 52, an ambitious idea that sounded good on paper but in practice was awful to go through. At the very least for what its worth, UFO 50 is definatly worth your money because even if some games arent great, you'll find some games that are fun to play and again, 50 games for a third of the price for one full price release, is a hard thing to beat.

Thank you reading Midnight Gaming. I am gonna skip tomorrows post to try and recuperate from this post. Feel free to leave feedback or game suggestions. Anons are currently on.

Go to bed folks.

[artichow]

Also please talk about sho and madoka. Please please please madoka thoughts

YES I WILL

Oh my god... Shoyo's the weird looking cat outside that Madoka lets in and gives a bath too because what the hell is up with it why does it look like that why's it not blinking <3

Madoka's one of the first people showing a great deal of generosity and compassion to Shoyo right after her introduction. She gives her the bed where Gingka and Kyoya were when they were hurt/sick because when they turned up Sho was kind of delirious with a fever. And like I imagine Madoka having so many question for this strange kid of Gingka's age turning up out of nowhere and just being so cryptid like. And ngl, after Shoyo tells them where she comes from she has a moment of like... okay maybe we shouldn't trust her. Which to Shoyo is completely fair, they're already incredibly flabberghasted by all Madoka did for them, cooking and taking care of her?? a stranger?? Does not make sense in her brain yet. But then Gingka forgives Shoyo and gives them his trust almost immediately. After that, Madoka feels a little weird sharing a space with someone who was from the ennemy's side, but it goes away very quickly. After that Shoyo insists on not staying at Madoka's cause it's too awkward for them and doesn't want to bother or owe her anything, but she loses that argument cause it's Madoka :). So shoyo and Gingka get some time living together before they become siblings :D

Shoyo learns a little about the domestic, almost normal life. It feels weird but not necessarily wrong. Madoka is happy that her home can welcome her friends. She teaches and shares tips about mechanics with the both of them quite often and they spend nice quiet evenings together while she works. Anyway I love Madoka <3 did so much for my child thanks Madoka. Also after that Madoka kind of keeps Sho in check, in a nice way like she helps by telling her when she sould not have said that thing that was too harsh. They both struggle with social cues or hurting feelings by accident so it's something they feel compelled to help the other the best they can. Shoyo tries to return the many favors she feels Madoka does for her, clumsily trying to prepare a meal, handing her a tool or bey part so she doesnt have to get up, or putting a blanket on her when she falls asleep at her desk. Somehow being thoughtful seems to become a little easier every day.

It's still uncomfortable, for Shoyo, but they still become friends and I feel that Madoka was an essential actress in Shoyo's development really <3 cause she chose kindness before anything else. Also Sho would absolutely throw little mechanic tools at Gingka (he's being annoying it's fine) under Madoka's order, or lift heavy things for her too. And once Shoyo learns more about different types of affections, like after she gets a gift from Kenta or Hyoma for example, one of the first gifts she gives is to Madoka. Gift giving becomes one of her favorite ways to show care so Madoka gets a lot of small little rocks that Shoyo found pretty and she puts them all in a designated jar at her desk.

I don't have a lot of interaction ideas for after fusion between them but just know they are very close and Shoyo respects Madoka so much and will always be very grateful for taking her in at the very beginning of this big ol adventure. And also Since Sho needs new clothing after Fusion, Madoka gives her a B-Pit merch t-shirt she has laying around and Shoyo loves it. She's gonna keep it forever (ignore the fact she changes clothes the next season and everytime after, that's just a me thing <3) And on her shogun steel design i added a little patch she sewed on their sweater of the B-Pit too, cause they're a hagane now and they all got that logo somewhere on their designs so yeah :D

[probably-haven]

Hello!! After seeing what you wrote about xiaoven fics I went to see what things you usually write and omg, your archon Venti headcanons????? I am absolutely in love. So if it isn't annoying, could you talk about xiaoven or Venti or Xiao or whatever ship or character you like? I don't care what you are going to say, I just want to know more about your thoughts ^^

I- is this... bestie, this is essentially a free ramble pass- kerujsgheskdfug. Trust me when I say that in no way is this, and in no way will it ever be annoying in the slightest- i literally- lets just say rambling off thoughts is kind of my specialty, especially when provided a topic to branch off of because otherwise I'm just- really indecisive about it so- iujskdh yeah- 100% definitely down to talk about Venti, Xiao, and/or Xiaoven XD. Also, yes- it may have been awhile since i last posted one(cuz again, indecisive about which direction to take part 5), but the Archon War Era Venti headcanons are still without a doubt my favorite posts I've made. It's just such an interesting topic with such endless potential that so few people actually think about or consider or even realize is there, so i always just get really psyched whenever i see someone interact with them lol.

.... this ended up being a bit of a mess: warning in advance

Anyway! onto the actual content!

- You see the thing about Xiaoven is that there's a lot of different ways that it could end up working out, and just personally my favorite way of portraying Xiaoven in my mind is as an unlabeled relationship because if anyone in genshin would give off that vibe its these two. And a number of other reasons.

- Firstly, I heavily headcanon Venti as being an aroace polyplatonic or perhaps heavily demiromantic. However, regardless of this I just don't think that Venti is really the kind of person to worry about how he should label his feelings, thinking it's silly to try to put them in one box or the other, especially with feelings and emotions being as fluid as they are in general. Plus it fits his whole God of Freedom vibe. I just- dont think he's the biggest fan of labels or social categorization in general.

- And secondly on the hand of Xiao... his defense mechanisms are very much ingrained in his personality. It's probably hard enough for him to not go into fight or flight(the answer is fight) at the slightest affection at first, at the slightest feeling of vulnerability. Even further down the line, with his fierce dedication to Liyue, I cant help but get the vibe that the moment he recognized that he was falling for Venti he would begin avoiding him, not only to avoid distraction from his duty, but to avoid corrupting him or losing him in general like he has with like basically every other person he gets close with(even believing that the cycle had repeated once more when he first heard of Morax's death)... now imagine Venti tryna slap a label on their relationship and tell me Xiao would have a positive reaction.

- The thing with Xiaoven.... honestly, i feel like theres more ways that it can go wrong than it can go right, but if they do manage to make their relationship work out, it's just simply beautiful in all terms of the word.

- Lets talk about killing. - During the Archon War, both were forced to kill a large number of people and gods alike- Venti out of a need to remain alive to protect Mondstadt, it's freedom, and the nameless bard's legacy by extent- and Xiao out of servitude to the god that was once his master

..... actually- break here- ive talked a lot about Venti on this blog but I havent actually spoken about Xiao all that much- so i should probably do that a bit first... do note though that my characterization of Xiao is pretty flexible actually- this is just- the possible characterization of him that i tend to favor as being the most- uh- "realistically complex"

-

Theres a line I saw this one time in a certain story: "He is a trained weapon. That's what he is, was, and always will be. You cannot change that so stop trying." And i just- think its a really interesting concept- that applies pretty well to Xiao now that i actually think about it. - the concept behind it is this: After spending more than a vast majority of his life killing or otherwise in battle, it's become a part of who he is, a normalcy that after centuries and centuries would be near impossible to get rid of or reverse, and even if it was possible, with his karmic debt constantly eating away at him its unlikely he has enough time left for that to happen. - it sounds like a cruel thing to say about him- but in context it's actually pretty layered and i think about it a lot. It's not as much a "he's a killer lol, that his whole personality" its more of a "The centuries of trauma he experienced have conditioned him into a constantly alert and battle ready mindset while also shaping his dehumanizing inferior-in-worth-but-superior-in-capability view of himself that would have likely been necessary to get through those time, and at this point he's been under that conditioning for long enough that it's essentially ingrained itself in his personality."

- the main idea is- it's a part of who he is, that needs to be accepted as who he is because its not something that he can just up and change. It's not all he is of course but his constant battle mode, as though always waiting to be ambushed or to be granted a new target to eradicate.

a couple character story quotes:

-"His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins. The only way he could be of service to mortals was in combat." -"Xiao does not feel any hatred. Having lived for over two thousand years, no single karmic debt constitutes anything more than a fleeting memory. No grudge can last a thousand years; nor is any debt so great that it cannot be paid off in this time. Xiao has spent many long years alone. But his battles have never been in vain." -"where did Xiao have to return to? He was merely leaving the battlefield." -"since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage." -"The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end." -"Because ultimately, the one with whom Xiao wrestles is himself."

i feel like at some point this very nearly did consume his whole personality, almost turning him into nothing more than a being of slaughter under Morax's control, devoid of any "humanity" at all, consumed and corrupted by his karmic debt like his fellow yakshas before him. - until he experienced a moment of clarity- a song in the wind, the peaceful melody of a dihua flute. - and pulled back from the border of something he wouldnt have been able to return from, there a was a shift in his mind- a concept grown unfamiliar enough with time that it took him a great time to identify what it was; a curiosity. Something that there was no place for on the battlefield, something that by all means should have been completely useless to Xiao, and yet he held onto that curiosity, slowly regaining over time, a sense of who he was and who he could choose to be with each song that the wind chose to carry towards him every once in a blue moon.

and eventually that curiousity turned to longing. Longing "for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers"

...... uh- heh- if you couldn’t tell already i have a tendency to make my characterizations/analyses of characters more serious that i probably should. 

to summarize: Xiao is constantly toeing the line between his ingrained nature and his humanity- almost as though still trying to decide how much of that humanity he deserves to have, how much he is allowed to have, and how much is safe to have.

^looking back after writing this, i think the best way to explain it is that this is the view that i keep in mind/the lense that i tend to most enjoy looking through and refering back to while examining and/or analyzing his character, actions, story, lines, and overall personality.

idk- i kinda got off track but i just think its a really interesting interpretation to think about because it has some really interesting implications ig- it’s not the full extent of how i view him of course, but i kinda got ahead of myself and its long enough as is so ill just elaborate as i go- Lol i actually have in progress playlists for both him and venti and just- vibes- i could ramble about the playlists alone for hours explaining everything... It’s probably a problem- uh- ill keep going now lol.

anyways! stepping off the angst path for a brief break! Brought to you by their lines in the snow: both waiting for it to get thick enough, Venti for the purpose of a snowball fight and Xiao for the purpose of a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

but its actually something of note that Xiao doesnt actually need to eat so anything he does eat is usually out of obligation or enjoyment- so like.... snow.... like i dont blame him, but of all things- an adeptus who refuses to eat basically anything but almond tofu looks at the freezing-cold-floor-water that yeeted itself from above and decided at some point- damn- that seems more edible than basically ever single actually edible thing ever.... im gonna eat it- like- im glad if eating snow makes him happy but- at the same time...

He probably convinces Venti to eat snow too though and Venti wouldnt even resist I mean he’s wind and has probably consumed worse things in his time so- 2 anemo cryptids with glowing tattoos sitting in Dragonspine monching snow in the dead of night is an amusing thought to me.

- kay, now back to more serious-toned thoughts

One of the things about the ship that i really like is the different contradicting parallels between them:

A lot of how i view Xiao’s character is someone formed largely by the things he cant control and who was forced to accept that accepted that and learned to thrive in it as much as he can.  Venti on the other hand is surrounded by things he cant control and is ever adapting to control as much as he can while embracing whatever he cant as being part of the unpredictability of the world, seeing beauty in it. 

both of them have lost people and do what they do to honor their memory: Xiao continues to do what the Yakshas once did And Venti chooses to do what his friend couldn’t

Xiao’s power coming from himself  and Venti’s from others And both seem to appear to use their power for their own gain while truly helping others behind the scenes

both have killed a lot of people during the archon war Xiao views it as another necessary event out of his control and Venti would likely view it as a tragedy he chose to enact himself

and this is where we meet out balance

Xiao- contrary to how i think a lot of people view him as thinking of himself as a monster- seems canonically to have accepted this as part of his duty, as long as those he killed are not mortals. I dont think he enjoys it no- but someone has to do it and he’s just accepted that its a part of his duty Venti on the other hand-

See the beauty of the ship- as someone with an angst-centric mind- is this- these are two of the most traumatized mfers in the game 

Xiao is by far the one who needs the most help and who can serve to benefit most from the ship- but he is nowhere near self aware enough to recognize that there’s anything wrong or unhealthy about his mindset in the slightest-

whereas you have the contrast with Venti who sorted through most of his trauma with the nameless bard alone during the archon war and while the result appears more healthy- is still really not- but he’s not self aware of that either because i mean- who’s going to tell him? nobody even knows. 

however- venti is aware enough to notice flaws in Xiao’s mindset and “Venti” enough to want to help them through it-

Xiao- while not aware enough to recognize the flaws in Venti’s mindset, can recognize where it contrasts with his own, and is blunt enough to point it out- and then it’s out there to be mulled over- 

they’re so similar and yet so different and a feel just conversing between the two of them, being in each others precense, just being exposed to two mindsets that are so very different could do both of them a whole lot of good.

GEEE THAT BIT OF RAMBLING HAD LITTLE TO NO DIRECTION AT ALL- LET ME-- LET ME MAKE THIS START MAKING SENSE- WITH... DYNAMICS OR SOMETHING

I don’t think Xiao needs to sleep really- and i dont think that sleeping would do anything except make him uneasy at first- he’d probably just get nightmares after all he’s been through- but with Venti he would soon learn that it doesn’t have to be that way, lulled into the first peaceful sleep he’s had in... as long as he can remember.

anywho back to not making sense cuz im fickle and i think most questions about ships are best displayed through character interactions so like- a possible exchange thats cliche but cliches exist for a reason

Xiao: Why do you try so hard to help me, it isn’t easy. I know that much Venti, with the most adoring expression: Because you’re worth it, obviously Xiao: But surely there are others more deserving of- Venti: No Xiao, everyone is just as deserving as the next person, you included Xiao: Then why me above others? Venti: ehe, cuz ur my warrior of course [O//////O oh shit, hes right] Xiao: My contract is with Morax alone [gay panic but in broody yaksha]

it’s kinda difficult cuz neither of them really address their feelings.  I mean Venti does but he does it very indirectly and its rare that he ever does it with like- genuine directness- even spilling his backstory was in the form of a song- and told in the third person- so a lot of their interactions would often have some deeper meaning, especially with Venti being the bard he is. 

I come up with a lot of- errant thoughts about Xiaoven- but this is making me realize that a true analysis of their ship is rather difficult because it just encompasses so many dynamics so its hard to settle on just one and not go rambling about who knows what bouncing from one end of the ship to the other-  Because you truly can and thats the beauty of it

within one moment you can be having a heartfelt conversation about the archon war the impact of lost friends and times past, and the next moment Venti is trying to forcefeed Xiao an apple while Xiao screams about disrespecting the adepti and its just- so lovely

so while they have picnics with nothing but apples, dandelion wine, and almond tofu they can sit down and talk about the dreams Xiao once devoured, and the dandelion wine and apple cider that the first Ragnvindir invented from the plants that never could have grown in Old Mond. The foods that tasted of familiarity, or of the grilled ticker fish Pervases always used to eat, foods that tasted of friends and frankly family that had since passed, glaze lilies and cecilias and qingxin flowers scattered in the surroundings and woven into Xiao’s neat braids and Venti’s now messy ones, rebraided by the steady and inexperienced hands of one unused to gentle action. 

and then of course Venti steals Xiao’s tofu once the mood becomes too grim and replaces it with a bottle of wine that Xiao refers to as “vile poison,” a remark that fatally wounds Venti as he collapses on the floor, proclaiming how he can only be healed by a Yaksha’s kiss. Xiao ignores this of course and simply takes back his tofu with a slight smile on his face, but as Venti persists he soundlessly places a kiss on his own palm before intertwining their fingers and pulling him back up from where he was dramatically sprawled on the floor, grumbling about how such action was “unbecoming of an archon.” A sign of affection only Xiao would ever know about. But Venti is literally wind and I hc his senses work differently anyways so he definitely knows- plus Xiao’s face is red as the blood of his enemies and the way he is pointedly not looking at Venti at all really speaks volumes anyways. 

 -Venti playing epic battle music whenever Xiao goes into fights in what looks like a ridiculously extra performance to anyone else but is actually doing wonders to keep Xiao’s karma at bay

-Venti preaches the practice of “kissing wounds better” and Xiao is unfamiliar with this medical treatment but views it as unnecessary regardless because adepti have accelerated healing, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop him though. 

-Messages whispered on the wind

-Venti’s 1000 year sleep- an accident, not a fun time for the yaksha, and not a fun time for Venti once he woke up. Venti is actually more afraid of restful sleep than Xiao is, hence the sleeping in trees thing, but when Xiao is there, he can sleep restfully with faith that Xiao wont let another millennia slip through his fingertips. 

- Xiao tends to make excuses when doing things that aren’t necessary to his duty, like in his birthday voice line “Have this, it’s a butterfly i made from leaves... Okay. Take it. It’s an adepti amulet -- it staves off evil” because at the current point in his progress it helps him to feel like he’s allowed to do these things. Not wanting to put him off from progress, Venti never comments on his excuse but never fails to whisper a quick reminder of how proud he is of how far Xiao had come.

- Xiao’s karma saddens Venti greatly- not only because of how it effects Xiao but also because its a reminder that as much as Venti tries to honor the memory of those he’s killed, there will always be those who resent him for it, and when he took the option of living away from them, he truly can’t blame them. - And when he gets too wrapped up in thoughts, whether around this topic or similar ones or otherwise, eventually, he’ll hear the sound of a flute on the wind. It’s not divine by any means, but as his own wind connects him to the source, he gets the sentiment all the same. “What impact does one individual’s remaining wrath have on the present. You have done much to help the living in the present” the unspoken idea that Xiao has included himself in that statement, because now, with Venti’s help he’s beginning to learn just how to experience living for himself. 

- Venti’s form and Xiao’s mask are off limit topics though because if either mentions it the other will counter with the opposite and the mood will turn immediately bitter at the idea that both know that what they’re doing is destructive but neither are willing to change

- Venti who has different tells for negative feelings than most people because as much as he likes to pretend it is- this form isnt his, and Xiao who is able to identify those

- many fanfics and headcanons have Venti recognizing when Xiao is uncomfortable and getting him out of those situations. I see that and I love it but i raise you: - Venti taking Xiao to Mondstadt, careful that he doesn’t get to the point that he’s uncomfortable. And nothing goes wrong exactly, but Xiao notices the the way Venti’s cape is blowing in the wind, the way he’s holding his weight, barely on his feet so much as floating on the wind, connected with the ground only for the sake of appearance, all the while he looks just as happy go lucky as ever. And without a word, he grabs his hand and teleports them both out of Mondstadt.  - turns out it was just a slight thing that reminded him of the archon war (cuz i will die on the hill of him having more tragic backstory than just Decarabian), and he of course gives a sincere if not flustered thanks to Xiao, because he’s really not used to people noticing. 

- Venti trying to vent sneakily through fictional stories and Xiao is just like “Didn’t that basically happen to you” and Venti is just like “<_< shit”

- Venti once said affectionally that he wished he had met Xiao sooner and Xiao immediately and seriously shot it down by saying “If you had, I would have been forced to kill you” and both of them now stay up at night wondering who would have won that fight, not sure which result would have hurt more. (because honestly I have no idea who would win in that fight and that terrifies me- I like to think it would have been one of those legends that end with “and the fight persists to this day” or something along those lines)

- “How long have you been together?” “Adepti have no need for-” “1000+ years T^T how dare you deny our love” “O///O our...? ...useless”

- its disney- let me explain- i have this- i have this headcanon inspired by watching too many animatics- - so venti has a human form that isnt his- which he would have had to get used to moving in- and he’s a bard- - uh- anyway- as a third degree black belt in mixed martial arts, i can speak as an authority on this(not really an authority since i havent gone since quarantine but lets pretend). We have a thing referred to as the big three(most things do), and those things are martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. The idea is that they reflect really well off of each other and the best in any one category are good in all three. Timing, balance, form, discipline, technique, hand-eye coordination, grace, ease of motion, they all play a part- anyway-

- Venti taking Xiao’s prowess in martial arts and acrobatics and teaching him how to dance, and as someone who’s extremely skilled in the first two, the third comes easy to him, almost naturally. And it’s delicate and beautiful and lovely and it isn’t hurting anyone. And Venti points all these things out and more and despite how much Xiao insists that he feels ridiculous he truly does enjoy it and it goes a long way towards helping him form more healthy views of himself and his worth.  - Verr Goldett walked in on him once and made a joke about performing at the inn. unfortunately Venti was there and agreed on Xiao’s behalf before he could protest and- and it wasn’t as bad as Xiao thought it would be... he still wouldn’t do it again though without reason, but with good enough reasoning he could probably be convinced. 

- anyways point is he likes dancing to Venti’s songs and i just think that’s really cute - just picture the idea that all the animatics you see actually have the potential to be canon- ugh

- venti tries holding something out of Xiao’s reach since he’s taller and Xiao just fucking teleports 

- both need their space but when they dont, all they have to do is speak the other’s name and they’ll be there.

- and because i just had to.... love languages

- lets start with Xiao- i don’t think he’d view acts of service or quailty time as a love language tbh, and he blunt but really bad with words so affirmation is out, leaving gift giving and physical touch. However, he seems to view most material things as meaningless so- - Xiao who’s love language is in his fleeting touches, something he’s only recently grown comfortable with because of Venti, and now is giving back, which he knows he doesn’t have to do, but that he want’s to, though he’ll still continue to make excuses for each one. “you were shivering” “The inn is high up, you could have fallen..... I said what I said, you’d question an adeptus?”

- and as easy as it is to say words of affirmation for Venti- he does that for everyone- i want to say his is actually acts of service - its the acts of service that let him see just how much Xiao has progressed afterall, from teaching him to dance, to playing another song on the flute, to supplying him with the almond tofu he seems to enjoy so much. Every little thing he does helps Xiao to grow and he couldn’t be happier about that. 

-

- of course most of my headcanons for the ship do take place latter into the relationship because- y’know the less serious unhealthy vibes allow for greater range of thought, but i do still love to think about the serious implications so i kinda hopped back and forth. So sorry about how messy it is btw, i kinda- got carried away- it kinda got some kind of structure near the end tho so- maybe it’s okay. anyway- back to... lol something, we’ll see where thought forests lead. 

[planet4546b]

how would the current s/n characters respond to being in some of their earlier story iterations?

OH THIS IS SUCH A FUN QUESTION. THIS IS SO FUN

quick summary of the four major previous s/n versions: run rabbit, the original, where the four of them were criminals/vigilantes in an urban fantasy setting (i was in high school. what can you do). run rabbit 2 where the setting was the same but they werent criminals, they had all made doomed deals with demons that they were trying to find a way to survive. ladybird 1, where the setting was a small town in illinois where magic was starting to take over and they got lost in a magic forest. ladybird 2, where the world concept was 'getting transported to another dimension as a kid, being a hero there, and coming back' is pretty normal and the four of them worked in an government office investigating other dimensions.

current sam in the run rabbit world would actually function pretty well - esp in run rabbit 2, sam's character vibe of 'person on a desperate search for knowledge At All Costs that they're ultimately doomed not to find' lines up pretty well with the plot and worldbuilding of that version (essentially, current sam would take the place of old jackie from that version). i dont think current sam would bond with a demon in the same way the old version of her did, which would negate the original conflict, and i also straight up dont think she'd run into the other three. but still. current sam in ladybird 1 would function pretty similarly to her overall role in s/n (this is the first version of the story where sam is the main character and she's motivated by the loss of her sister), but she would be a LOT more ruthless in searching the weird forest to find and bring her sister back. however, in this version of the story the forest is keeping her sister alive and won't let her leave, which current sam would not at ALL be able to deal with - even seeing her sister at this point would likely send her spiraling because she just hasnt faced that grief at all. she'd freak out. she would probably stay in this forest forever. there's also an interesting aspect of ladybird 1 being very, very explicitly focused on the personal while in s/n, sam focuses HARD on existential/world ending threats as an avoidance mechanism, so she would just be completely miserable in this version without a thing on the horizon to say 'this is what i have to stop'. ladybird 2 sam is even closer to the current version in some ways, but the part of sam thats a teensy bit of an egotist would just hate the way this world functions to some degree. in some ways im tempted to say if you put current sam in ladybird 2, she'd just sort of solve the plot 1/3 of the way through the story - the old sam gets sort of distracted and meandering in convincing herself that her sister can be saved, and then trying to save eleven, and then doesnt reaaaally know what to do about the end of the world, while current sam just wouldnt take those detours.

emily would hate being in pretty much every previous iteration of this world, with the minor exception of maaaaybe ladybird 2. emily really really just wants to live like. a relatively normal life all things considered, and thats so impossible esp in the two run rabbit versions that she would really just hate it. she also would probably avoid the main conflict of the run rabbits by straight up not making a bond with a demon, but mel absolutely still would and she would get dragged into it anyways, and just be put in constant and unreal levels of danger that she would despise. also in both run rabbit versions her whole family sans mel is dead and she loves her family so much she would be so upset about this :(( emily's interactions in the magic forest of ladybird 1 would also probably end up stranding her there (the forest works a lot by sowing doubt and making you question and examine yourself, especially on a weird sort of existential scale, and if some giant fucked up forest god asked emily 'what do you truly want in this life' she would probably straight up shut down), and she AGAIN would probably only end up there because of mel so it would suck. if you put current emily in ladybird 2 she would straight up not interact with any of the other characters because she'd see them fucking around with the dimension portal in the office basement and go straight back to the water cooler to talk to jim about his sons soccer game. not her problem. (this is a lie. mel would drag her into it again)

as a COMPLETE inverse to that, mel would probably thrive in all of these past versions. yes she would still bond to a demon for fun magic powers. yes she would use that to cause problems in that world and probably end up dead as a result. yes she would go into a magic wish granting forest, straight up skim past all the parts of it that make you try to question your own self and desires by giving fake answers confidently ('hey mel how do you feel about the death of your father' 'its fine. things happen. it doesnt bother me and ive already moved on'), kill the gods at the center of it like this is a game of dark souls, and then leave her sister behind there. yes she would enter an in between dimension of constant uncertainty to try to get back to the one thing she wants because she cant let go of her desire to be seen as a hero, only to have another dark souls boss fight with eleven, kill her, and shut off the doors to all other dimensions permanently on accident. mel's absolutely DESPERATE hero complex would seriously rear its head in worlds where heroes do actually exist, and her similar desire to avoid self reflection by facing whatever else she can would manifest in some truly nasty ways. in every single version she would go 'oh this is great. i love this', make a series of terrible decisions, end up dead or miserable, and go 'oh what the fuck'. mel buddy

jackie is interesting, because their driving character trait of 'avoid responsibility At All Costs' is relatively new to s/n (it's there a little bit in ladybird 2, but that's it), so in all the other versions they have a TON of responsibility/power/etc and they would be fucking MISERABLE in the funniest way possible. jackie in run rabbit 1 and 2 would still make a deal with a demon, probably for a stupid reason, and then would be living like an ant in a microwave trying to dodge their own fate while also trying not to acknowledge at all that their fate is coming for them, that they have any sort of power, or that they have to do anything (as a bonus, the specific demon they bonded to in the old versions was kind of the patron demon of runaways and granted TIME TRAVEL AND FUTURE VISION so jackie would constantly SEE the future that was coming, go 'huh that sucks' and do NOTHING about it. oh boy). they would also probably never meet the rest of the main cast. in ladybird 1 they would go into the forest to try to avoid other things in their life (mostly their senior physics thesis) and get lost in there SO fast as they try to avoid having to do any soul searching when a giant heron made of stars asks them who they truly are. ladybird 2 is the most similar again, but the core difference is that the ladybird 2 version of jackie doesnt have any memory of what they did, and the s/n version does. living in this world and knowing the scale of destruction they caused, while also not being able to act on that feeling in the same way they are in s/n would just be fucking miserable.

also because i misread this question initially and thought it was about what would happen if they met their previous iterations, as a bonus: sam would fucking HATE every previous iteration of herself. emily would be deeply concerned for her run rabbit versions, and would largely empathize with her ladybird versions. mel would think her run rabbit versions are juvenile and naive but sweet, and would straight up be jealous of her ladybird versions (esp ladybird2). jackie would try to sell probably all of their past versions weed

sorry for the exceptionally long answer and THANK YOU for this question this was so much fun!!!! anon whoever you are a kiss on the forehead for you muah

[ketchup-monthly]

Sanders Sides D&D 2

Ooh fresh take: Jan is virge’s patron and that’s why there’s beef

Also: Jan is some sort of fae related being

Jan: i need you to do something for me Virgil: no Janus: that's not how this works!! Virgil: watch me :P

Okay so I was thinking of Patton as a cleric cuz ooh healer however, Patton as a Druid makes me so happy

I want logan to have Rage

(Also that could tie nicely in an arc about Logan learning to accept feelings)

but barbarian logan is going to be a scholar again and is gonna be smort

bc hes logan. he cant be not smart

Oh I figured he’d be the bbeg that eventually joins the party (hurt/comfort baybee!)(Remus)

he was the bbeg but then joined the party as a bardbarian or just a bard

plus, actual bard who accidentally casts vicious mockery instead of bardic inspiration

Side note: please include a scene where Remus attempts to seduce the dragon

also with this second au, i can start them at like level 5 so people can multiclass

Pat as cleric/druid

gasp logan as artificer/barbarian

janus sorcerer/rogue

because basically everything but alchemist would work well with barbarian, but alchemist feels very Logan

bc mad scientist being actually mad

alchemist logan making an experimental potion and going "here im not sure what this does but im sure its fine! someone drink it"

Remus does it voluntarily, but Logan usually tries to get Roman to drink it

Virgil will occasionally drink it when he's on his last legs and is just like.....100% done with the party

remus as a wild magic path barbarian and just fucking teleporting or doing something equally ridiculous whenever he rages

Oh my god Remus with rage would be a force to be reckoned with

You gotta describe the first time he goes into a rage really dramatically

obviously virgil is trying to "escape" his patron, Janus (really just do whatever he says to not do out of spite)

Eldritch knight roman

Feywild warlock virgil

hey so in the second d&d au, should roman and remus be actual full siblings but like remus went darkside and like romans just trying to get back at him for putting a dark stain on the family name

hey hey hey what about warforged Logan? (essentially a robot)(so like "i dont feel anything" becoming real)

okay hear me out. elf roman and elf base simic hybrid remus. so like maybe the reason remus went darkside was experimentation? so like. hes elf but special

FALLEN AASIMAR VIRGIL

virgil just transforming in the middle of a combat scenario and like his eyes turn into black pits and flightless skeletal wings appear on his back and like everyone near him has to make a charisma check and like he deals extra necrotic damage

Pat is the one human stuck in a band of misfits

so with it, roman would be a full elf, and remus would be an elf that has tentacles bc octopus

So robot logan

i meant literally he doesnt feel anything

like he has all the emotions, but he doesnt physically feel the need to like eat or sleep or stuff like that

he just.....he pretend he don't have the feelings.....but he do.....he feel so much and he hides it all in his littol mechanical heart <3

plus......if he warforged, then like.....AC huge

he stands in front of friends.....he protecc...."no, i don't have feelings, i am physically incapable of affection" but he do!! he do! he take hits for them because he do!! he care so much

Bro he spouts all this and then he uses a reaction to dive in front of someone and everyone’s just like oh

LIKE ROMAN STILL BEING MEAN TO LO BC HE THINKS HE DOESNT HAVE FEELINGS BECAUSE HE DOESNT HAVE A HEART BUT HE DOES

hey hey everyone needs to grow

and logan standing up for himself and other people stepping in and saying no stop thats not right

plus if canon wont give me roman facing the consequences of his actions towards Logan......

but also Roman learning how to properly handle his own emotions and how he interacts with others

logan who doesn't view himself as anything more than a machine to be useful to others

the party giving logan love and affection until he slowly learns his own worth as a person

Roman and Logan not getting along (maybe Roman has a Lore reason to distrust Warforged, maybe not) and slowly learning to trust each other

when Logan is feeling real down or having some issue, Roman actually comes through to help him, showing how far both characters have come

Okay yes but also can we please give Roman more confidence than canon? Like I’m sooooo sick of low self esteem being played for laughs or just being really really sad

this boy is going on a mission and will slap his brother upside the head and tell him to shut tf up remus youre not a monster just come back home and he will do it alone if need be

OKAY SO WHAT IF HE ORIGINALLY WENT ON THE QUEST JUST TO STOP REMUS ONCE AND FOR ALL BC ROMAN THOUGHT HE WAS A MONSTER, BUT ALONG THE WAY, AND AFTER LOGAN, HE CAME TO REALIZE THAT NO, JUST BECAUSE REMUS (AND LOGAN) ARE DIFFERENT, THEY ARENT MONSTERS, JUST DIFFERENT

AND LIKE IN THE FINAL PUSH TO MAKE REMUS JOIN BACK WITH HIS BROTHER, ROMAN IS PROJECTING HIS OWN FEELINGS ONTO REMUS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE WOW BRO YOU GOOD THERE, BUT ITS A BIG MOMENT FOR LOGAN, ROMAN, AND REMUS

im unsure as to how, but it happened when he was an older teen/young adult. a simic scientist either picked him (read: kidnapped), or remus volunteered (potentially to escape court life, unaware what exactly the experiment was going to do to him physically

bc also, remus and roman are royalty

so like. how best to get at the nobes/royalty/rich famous people than by turning their kid into a monster

wait, wait, wait, because i'm lowkey a sucker for this trope, but i'm not sure if it fits Remus: the experiments left him with some fairly significant physical pain/uncontrolled magical reactions. through some combo of trying to deal with that and trying find a cure for his pain, he keeps like....absolutely wrecking random towns on accident but also deliberately wrecking certain places looking for either a) vengeance on the guy(s) responsible or b) someone who can make the pain stop

SO LIKE. WILD MAGIC BARBARIAN DOING WEIRD SHIT TO HIM WHENEVER HE RAGES

AND LOGAN COULD MAYBE HELP WITH THE PAIN AND SHIT

BC ALCHEMY

Yknow, for simplification purposes, we could say the True Bbeg just gave Remus lycanthropy and Remus hasn’t managed to control it yet

lycanthropy but simic shit?

Mr. I-Don't-Have-Feelings sees the poor dude in pain and also Roman in emotional pain from seeing his brother in pain and is absolutely like "i must resolve this like right now, immediately" because he definitely doesn't hate seeing his friend suffering, or his friend's brother whom he's just met

he definitely doesn't relate at all to the idea of someone else shaping your body and absolutely does not sympathize with Remus's plight

i was thinking the grappling thing and either manta glide or the ability to breathe underwater for the simic stuff, but like he doesnt have control over the tentacles yet?

Manta glide seems like we could have fun battle scenes

he just jumps off a cliff to avoid mushy talk/dealing with his actions/roman

Roman: Remus just because you're a monster and though i wish i was an only child-- Remus, jumping off a cliff: byyeeeeee Patton: Roman, look what you did! Virgil: dammit jan what did you do? Janus: why do you think i had anything to do with that? im a fae, not a genie Logan, thinking: what an asshole. i wish i could do that

oh my god Logan always being tired mentally bc he cant sleep

Oh my gosh I love that. So Remus got kidnapped super young, (from royal family) they never found him, as a result Roman had to grow up super fast (side effect: lowkey inconsiderate and forgets to ask for others input). Meanwhile, Remus was experimented on by True Bbeg and came out with some trauma and super cool additives

yep! chronic pain and ptsd and all sorts of other shit!

so like, simic hybrids are usually created when they're adults. but what if the true bbeg decided to go younger to see what would happen, and thats why remus has chronic pain and stuff

he was still growing when his genes were spliced, so hes dealing with growth plates shifting and his body maturing and puberty and body changes and stuff

Pat is going to have a lighthearted story. Im saying that now. Hes the one without all the baggage

Sure, but his parents have to lowkey be the really kind people who are surprisingly always down for violence

everyone: multiple crises Pat: y'all need help Pat: love and affection in spades for his little band of misfits

Patton (which I think would be pretty simple, honestly he might just see danger and jump in and suddenly everyone in the party has Feelings)

Logan

Mhm. So how did he grow up? Was he just poof created? Wait

What if he was created by the king?

To make up for remuss disappearance

wait, wait....angst......he was created to fight (hence the barbarian stuff) but alchemy is his real passion

wait so like. a second son???

hes there to replace remus?

Yea! (But like in a sympathetic grief way) But that causes a bit of a complex in Roman and ergo Roman and Logan have a bit of a beef

okay so like. hes there to be a companion for roman, and like take remus' place, even though hes not actually in line for the throne?

LOGAN AS A KNIGHT

and just......the conflict of being created for a specific purpose (plus being, you know, robot and technically incapable of deviated from said purpose) vs the fact that he actually does have independent consciousness and like....wants to live life for himself

the parents made Logan a barbarian in hopes that him and Roman would be safe

okay. so logan was created by the king with the sole purpose to take remus' place as romans brother/companion, and to be his like guard? protector? and fight, but logan wants to be an alchemist and study shit

wait, wait, wait.....thinks about Asimov's Laws

he.....his first operative is protect (specifically protect Roman)

oh man. so hes literally just a shield

his second level operative is just like.....care for Roman's emotional well-being, but he doesn't really know emotions because he was kinda just spawned and nobody told him how

and he just....kind of....lets Roman treat him like garbage and take all his grief out on him because he's staunchly in denial of both having feelings or knowing how they work

Anyway Yea so Logan created by royal family in place of Remus which created angst between the two “brothers” and identity issues in Logan. Their arcs are learning how to healthily process emotions plus Roman apology and Logan commits to alchemy

So big question: why did virge make a deal?

Tricked

he gave janus his name

and instead of janus like killing him or whatever the fae do to people who break the rules of dealing with the fae, jan was like. hey. i'll give you magic, but do what i say

Janus is lawful neutral, but leans towards being selfish

hes self serving, but he has a strong set of morals and rules he follows

Tho I want to Virgil to also not be pushover so let’s say loophole happened and Jan has to stay with virge (hence why Jan is a part of the party)

okay so a couple of the rules are dont give a fae your true name and don't try to figure out their true name

So

what if virgil accidentally gave up part of his true name, and got stuck in the deal, but then figured out janus' true name

so in the same vein that janus had control over virgil, virgil now has more control over janus

he still gets his magic from janus, so he cant break free completely, but virgil has more freedom and can occasionally tell janus what to do or when to shove it

there should a running gag where virge can explain how he learned Jan’s true name but Jan can make something loudly censor him every time

(he learned his name bc once he heard janus practicing his evil genius voice and talking to himself in the mirror and janus said his true name)

so maybe janus sent virgil on the quest to protect a town or stop something related to remus, but virgil dragged him along

he might just be trying to protect a town thats close to a ley line, or something fae-related, and they just happen upon the whole thing

janus is selfish. but lawful vs chaotic is where he comes through, in morals vs doing whatever. janus has a strong set of loyalties to the fae, and to himself

so like....Remus is just too close to Jan's stuff and he wants to take him down

Virgil is just like....exhausted and said "fine, but if i gotta do this, you're coming, too"

or at least figure out a way to protect his place, even if it doesnt mean fully taking out remus. just moving him would work for jan

Janus: virgilllllllllll hes going to mess up my magic storage locker Virgil: Jan, its empty Janus: but its mine

Yea. Remus attacks a city away from the fae: Jan: Yknow I’m gonna sit this one out Virge: oh no you don’t, get up

Or

Janus vs Janice

so his real name is Janus, but Virgil calls him Janice

Virgil: This is Janice Janice: with a “U-S” Virgil: mhm, sure Jan

I'm a big fan of just like any of the old theory name being various aliases for Jan

Damien, Dante, Ethan, Declan, etc, etc

[ai-katsuu]

F7 flirting with their partners hcs (rsea ver.)

Merlin

oh,,,where,,,do i start,,,

snow is definetly the cooler one in the relationship

she never stumbles on her words, is never nervous, and only loves magic boy with all heart

sparky-sparky-zappy boy, on the other hand, is that one guy who tries to be cool, and is confident at flirting until he actually does it

now he claimed to be a full time romantic in the movie but i have a feeling since he found true love with snow, his confidence on his moves dwindled down due to nervousness bc he actually rly likes her a lot and cares what she thinks of him not just presently, but in the future as well

one look at her is all it takes to bring him down :))

see the song lyrics: “flash! bam! alakazam! i got a look at you!”

“good morning snow white, you’re looking-”

“oh hey merlin! sorry one sec, whats up?” 

“i-,,uh-,,you uh,,smell pretty. i mean no, wait, you look pretty today. imsosorry...”

Jack

this boy is immersed in french culture so it would be no surprise if he was one of, if not the most romantic when it came to flirting

when it comes to audrey he is relaxed and can be himself around her, so nervousness is not on the table unless he has something big planned

when i say he is the most romantic, i mean he executes his words and moves with such ease. short, brief pecks in the hallway, light hugs every now and then. they are very natural and smooth!

though this would of course bring up some pda from him which everyone groans at

i think the only time he would get slightly embarrased is when he pulls a move on her only to be brushed off by her either due to her being focused on something else or she didn’t hear him the first time. he doesnt like repeating himself,,,

“mon amour, i value my breath so it would be nice if you didn’t take it away every time you walked by.”

“...”

“...”

“...hm..? wait let me just finish....okay done, what did you say?”

*sad whimper from jack* “...nevermind..”

Arthur

HIMMM

If you haven’t read Arthur and Gwen’s story please do bc he flirts with her at almost every given opportunity 

his moves have definitely improved since he tried to woo red shoes 

he loves to humor her all the time, sometimes acting a little stupid just for her amusement

gwen is the more shy one in the relationship so most of the time its arthur making all these cute gestures of affection towards her

he would bring her flowers, take her on adventures, and be a complete gentleman towards her

he knows she gets embarrassed and flustered so easily so he doesn’t push it with words 

he’s a true representation of a knight

“arthur! could you help me reach that book up there?” 

*grabs it and presents it to her on one knee* “milady” <--- she giggles after and its adorable these two omg-

Hans

needless to say, hans fully believes the motto of ‘cooking your way into her heart’

he shows his love and appreciation for briar through all of the meals he cooks. she is always the first one to try them as she loves tasting new kinds of recipes everyday

putting aside meals, he would often teach her how to cook as well. she did her fair share of cooking during her time in the forest but they were never as good as hans cooking

so they would have lessons in the kitchen and usually, briar is pretty good at it!

however this does lead to hans staring at her movements, lovestruck that he’s doing his favorite thing with his favorite person in his favorite place. and this does lead to some disasters in the kitchen.

“so i let that sit for another thirty minutes and...hans?”

“mhm..?”

“hans. the pot your stirring is on fire. you look like a crazy witch and her cauldron of death.”

Pino

Pino is essentially the eldest among his brothers and he has the most experience in life 

For him though, he didn’t flirt for fun in the past. He always thought those words and actions had to be saved for someone special, someone who really understood him and their relationship. And this was Gretel.

He shows his affection by reminding her about her health when she’s working too much. For flirting, he would use their mutal love on mechanics and make this cute little robot that walked up to her and gives her a little scroll that said, “i love you :>”

she laughs and appreciates all the little things he gives her. 

He doesn’t do any cheesy lines, rather he would just be happy if Gretel walks by and he would hug her out of nowhere. He is very romantic and sweet when it comes to her.

but then there is the issue of her older brother^^ hans watches them like a HAWK. pino is a little intimidated but still respects him. gretel isnt having any of it though.

“cara, i need some help. can you come to my room late-orrr it could wait. nevermind.”

“i swear to god hans i will murder you right now if you don’t stop.”

Noki

TSUNDEREEE

goldilocks is always the one showing affection towards him most of the time while he just shyly receives it. 

if they are alone he is basically down for any light and fluffy affection/flirting towards her

hates pda tho and wont hesitate to physically push her off (not with a lot of force thought) he scolds her a lot for having no shame while she just counterpoints him. 

goldie doesn’t think much of it and neither does noki until one time she actually started to tear up and cry bc she had hit her head on the side of a table. 

though he didn’t mean to hurt her, noki’s heart drops and he’s immediately all over her. he is SO SO guilty and showers her in affection and whatever she needs. he becomes such a loving and perfect boyfriend to her, whether they are in public or not

though goldies reaction was real, she knew EXACTLY how he would react and doesn't waste this opportunity to ask him for stuff he wouldn’t normally do

“mind holding my hand to the market?”

“sure. as long as you’re alright and you lean on me if you feel dizzy, okay?”

Kio

kio is genrally a very nice, kind, and helpful person 

but like his older brother, he is on the receiving end of affection from his own partner, peter pan

unlike noki, kio doesn’t mind pda but instead immediately shuts him down wheter they are lone or not

usually with a quick, ‘yeah, no.’ or ‘ew’ but trust me he loves them!

when he does show affection though, peter goes crazy and his brain fries out

 he does have his fair share of flirting! though it is very rare but he knows exactly what he is doing and in reality, is actually very smooth with it.

kio will give unexpected kisses, ruffle his hair, and even some occasional light uncharacteristic spicy stuff that leads peter to be flustered and wanting for more

kio is SO confident through it all, smugly smiling until it’s reverted back to a fake annoyed frown when peter chases after him

“w-wait! do that again please!”

“gross no, go away.” 

[daggerfall]

since you play ESO, how bad of an idea is it to join the dungeon things? Like I've had my account for a while but I only now got to level 10 and could take part, but like... are they going to be mad at me if I'm not good? I hate online stuff because I'm very aware of every idiotic thing I do, so I'm wondering if anyone will think I'm an idiot, or if they are more focused on the idiotic things they themselves accidentally do?

I don't want to ever be discouraging but. Strangers can be mean and rude and will make assumptions that you know what you're doing. Theyll never let you enjoy the quest and barely let you even do the requirements of the dungeon's quest like talk to NPCs to advance it. I've never personally got someone being mean for me having low dps, but sometimes people can be dicks. You're more likely to run into people who go super fast, queue as fake support to cut in line, and complain when the group all dies bc some "noob" doesnt know mechanics or isnt ready for that kind of dungeon.

This is the worst that can happen essentially. 90% of my dungeon runs with strangers go neutral, 8% get fake support that I say nothing about but seeth internally, 2% are actually bad.

I still recommend doing dungeons, but:

1) know your role. If you're a tank, then you must follow the eso meta on how tanks work. You need to know what a taunt is, how crowd control works, how to tank, and that your role is not to do damags at the same time. Healers heal and debuff and buff. Dps do damage. No one goes ahead of or stands next to the tank in boss fights, tanks start every fight.

2) follow the group. Chances are you're running with someone who knows the place. Say you have the quest if you do, in advance. Dont wander off, check the map if you get lost

3) be respectful of peoples time. There isnt a happy medium between someone wanting to experience the quest fully their first time, and their teammate who has been farming this dungeon for weeks who just wants this one thing to drop and to get this dungeon over with.

4) at least say hi and goodbye to your teammates. A dungeon run where no one talks always feels weird, so just a little "howdy" and "tyfg" (thank you for group) goes a long ways to remember they're people too.

I find that doing group content made me a stronger person with dealing with fuckery. Granted I'm now a lot better than I used to be, but now I consider every random run to be a chance to say "hey guys listen to the shit that just happened". Having friends to gossip with helps keep your sanity.

And hey even if you do "dumb" stuff or make mistakes, a lot of people are capable of recognizing that that's part of getting better. No one starts perfect. Most of my early dungeon experiences were perfectly fine, but lord was my build a MESS that only one person commented on (I reacted too defensively and they were in the right to mention it). It all helps you learn, so sometimes it's for the good :)

I hope that helps? Or makes things more confusing? Idk I just woke up and am trying not to sugarcoat stuff or scare you off, just being honest

[mentalhealthandgames]

Analysis on Celeste:

Celeste is an Indie 2D platformer developed and published by ‘Extremely OK Games’. Its plot is simpler than the ones of the other two games as it consists of much more gameplay (consisting of platforming) than the other games I am discussing: it’s about a girl whose default name is Madeline who wants to climb a mountain called Celeste Mountain.

Madeline has anxiety, and has to learn breathing techniques to prevent panic attacks. I think this is good because breathing techniques are very useful against panic attacks, and the way they are incorporated in the game means the player can practice them alongside Madeline which might encourage them to use breathing techniques in real life in situations where they may be needed. Although the gameplay mechanic of using the breathing technique to progress is shown to not always be successful, I think this is also important because sometime breathing techniques or other coping mechanisms won’t work. For me, for example I have had many times where breathing techniques have helped me get through my panic attacks more easily and many other times when I’ve been far too overwhelmed to focus on them properly and therefore struggle with the panic attack for longer.  The way the game makes the player help Madeline through her panic attacks I think also provokes empathy in the player as it really puts them in her shoes.

The player never finds out the cause of Madeline’s mental health conditions, which I also think is a good thing, because most media shows mental health conditions as caused by severe trauma, and that can be the case, as trauma is seen as a common cause for most mental health problems. However depression and/or anxiety can also be caused by other factors, such as stress, lack of sleep, drug or alcohol abuse or a combination of similar factors or by trauma that isn’t as severe as ones shown in media. There is some discussion in mental health communities of how the idea mostly spread by the media that most people with mental health conditions have developed them as a result of severe trauma can be harmful to people whose mental health conditions developed as a result of other factors. This is because it can make people feel that their mental health problems are not as valid or serious as those of people’s that did develop from severe trauma, which is not the case, as all mental health problems are valid and should be treated seriously. Therefore the fact that the cause of Madeline’s mental health problems is not explained makes it more relatable for more people with mental health conditions and also might bring awareness to people who don’t have mental health problems that they can just be a part of life that developed without any severe trauma as the direct cause.

A main part of the plot is a character who I have seen referred to as either Madeline’s subconscious or the physical representation of her mental health conditions, known as ‘A Part of [Madeline]’ in the game and referred to as Badeline by fans and in game extras. I will refer to her as Badeline simply because it is easier. Badeline consistently attempts to prevent Madeline from completing her climb of Mount Celeste, mocking, chasing and fighting her. In Chapter 6 of the game, Madeline after a talk with her friend Theo (who had taught her the breathing technique), confronts Badeline, saying: “you’re everything I need to leave behind”. Badeline gets aggressive and when Madeline tries to use her breathing exercise Badeline stops it from working and Madeline falls down all the way back to the base of the mountain. There she once again meets a recurring character simply known as Granny, who recommends that Madeline talks to Badeline instead of fighting her, saying “figure out why she’s so scared”. When Madeline finds Badeline again she tries to talk to her, and tries to convince her to join forces. Badeline gets angry and they then start to fight. Badeline then says: “Fine. You win. I guess you don’t need me after all. If you want me to go away, I’ll try.” Madeline replies: “that’s not what I want. I need your help now more than ever. Please. Let’s work together… it’s okay to be scared.” They then hug and recombine into a levelled up version of Celeste who finally is able to finish climbing the mountain (or rather fly through it). “Madeline never “defeats” her anxiety and depression. Though you spend the majority of the trek fighting against and trying to escape [Badeline]—or, rather, her self-loathing and low self-esteem—you ultimately crest the mountain by realizing that mental illness isn’t something you can browbeat into submission. Madeline learns that hating her anxiety and depression only exacerbate their effects. By accepting every facet of her personality, and learning to be kinder to herself, Madeline finally climbs Celeste Mountain. “Creating this game and guiding Madeline through her journey made it obvious to me that acceptance was the only way forward,” Thorson wrote me. We all owe ourselves that kind of realization” (Clarke, 2018). I think this message of acceptance is a very important one. People with mental health conditions spend a lot of their time struggling against their conditions and trying to regain control of their life, but accepting their mental health conditions as part of life can actually make it easier to carry on with their life. This is a message that really resonated with me personally as when I was hearing voices as a result of my psychosis I felt like I was constantly fighting against myself to try and move forward. This ending, of Madeline accepting all of herself, subverts expectations and stereotypes, as most people see mental health something to be pushed down, hidden or beaten.

Maddy Thorson (the creator of Celeste) has said that the game is based on their own experiences with mental health as well as those of their team. “Our top priorities were to tell a story that meant something to us and explore these topics from a individual perspective, to draw players into this world with these characters we grew to love,” Thorson said. “Our intention going in wasn’t to represent mental illness in general, or to make a ‘how to deal with depression’ guide, and we didn’t think to consult professionals on the topic” (Grayson, 2018). This makes the representation feel extremely genuine. The game has been praised by many fans and critics for how relatable its mental health representation is. It is incredibly successful for an Indie game and given that the story is entirely about mental health, this implies that mental health representation that feels genuine and relatable is important for a lot of people. Maddy Thorson, when asked “how many copies has Celeste sold to date?” in an interview from 2019, said: “I don't have an exact up-to-date number, but I know we're coming up on a million copies soon. Which is unbelievable to us” (Marks, 2019). Given that the interview is from 2 years ago, the amount of copies sold is likely past one million by now.

The game is a platformer and was designed to be extremely difficult, but also to give hope and encourage the player not to give up, which I think is echoed in the message as Madeline is shown to be brave for accepting herself and her mental health problems, which is essentially the opposite of giving up. The game also has an ‘assist mode’ which includes motivational phrases such as “you can do this” to encourage the player to keep on going and the difficulty of the game can itself also be seen as trying to represent how difficult struggles with mental health can be. I think the game was made for people with mental health conditions in mind as a large part of the target audience as Maddy Thorson said it was therapeutic to make and clearly shares their own, and their team’s experiences with mental health and so is relatable for a lot of people with mental health conditions. In fact almost every review I read on Celeste also included the reviewer sharing their own mental health experiences and how the game resonated with them.

Overall it is probably the most popular of the games I am discussing and I think that is for a good reason. I found it an incredibly striking and genuine story of struggling with mental health with important messages such as ‘don’t give up’ and ‘self-acceptance is important’. These messages are said often and can be patronising but playing the game and experiencing Madeline’s struggle to accept herself and to manage to achieve her goal while struggling with her mental health makes those phrases feel real and possible to achieve.

References:

Marks, T (2019) Celeste Sequel (Probably) Won’t Happen, Developer Says. Available at:

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/09/07/celeste-developer-doesnt-want-to-make-a-sequel-new-game-in-the-works (accessed at: 24 February 2021)

Clarke, N (2018) My Biggest Revelations of 2018 Came From an Indie Video Game. Available at:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pa5937/my-biggest-revelations-of-2018-came-from-an-indie-video-gameAccessed at: 24 February 2021)

[penzyroamin]

Food and sharing food continues to be a recurring motif in “tied together”. What was your thought process around that? How do you see that connecting to some of the central themes and concepts in the story as a whole? (And, if you would like to go into this, how do you see food and sharing food playing out in the messy au where David will also be cooking but in a completely different context/power dynamic?)

HAHAHAHA! I CAN FINALLY TALK ABT THIS WITHOUT SEEMING LIKE F SCOTT FITZGERALD BEGGING PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT THE GREAT GATSBY WAS!!!!!

okay. im calm now.

so for a couple years now i have deeply and secretly loved the concept of food as a symbol for community. i didnt use it in fic for a long time for a variety of reasons. one, it just never really felt right. two, my love of this symbol is very much connected to my southern-ness, and while im sure many people have just as strong, if not stronger connections between food and community, i didnt really know if people reading my stuff would Get It or connect w it.

i finally decided to use it for tied together for two reasons. first, this is my most definitively southern fic. ive written other fics with Humid Small Town Energy but this is my first that i really let myself go “fuck it. crawfish boils. hurricanes. middle aged women with crushes on jim cantore.” as such, it felt like if i was going to go for this symbol at any point, it needed to be with this fic. the second is that due to Pandemic and also living across the country from the majority of the family i grew up with, i have been kind of starved of community experiences as of late. i wrote tied together entirely during a period when i havent spent time with anyone besides my immediate family, so i was really thinking about community and the nature of it and how fucking badly i wanna have a massive meal with people and hence... this symbol

with the background of my decision to include it covered, let’s get into how it appears in tied together!!

in chapter one, the majority of food’s appearances are... impersonal, if that makes sense? its all premade, whether its drive-through stuff, tv dinners, etc etc, and he doesnt know the person who made it. its also worth pointing out that around the time jack and his mom stop sharing meals is the point they become disconnected from each other. essentially, that’s the disconnect from community throughout jack’s early life

davey comes around and it. is pretty obvious from the start that, through this symbol, he is the Literal Embodiment Of Connection To The People Around Him. food was a really key way for me to show just how connected he is to his community-- he’s constantly cooking for other people, working for battalion, helping people get good food, contributing recipes to little cookbooks. the end chapter also nods to this in the scene w his family where esther mentions he made her teach him to cook for a group, and the conversation afterwards where he mentions that he wouldn’t be comfortable with people paying him to make them food or making food for strangers. cooking for other people is essentially davey’s way of nurturing the community around him and becoming closer with people, so to make food in an impersonal way goes against everything he knows about food and sharing it. the interactions he has through food represent the larger relationships and interactions he has within his community. juxtaposed to jack, he’s built this little world around him filled with people that he loves and cares for, even if that does lay a heavy burden on him at points. if i ever write something delving deeper into davey in this au, i’ll elaborate further-- but, essentially, davey’s role as The Provider of food for the people around him was a real stand-in for the way that he feels both within his family and his larger community.

think of it this way-- in all the scenes we see with davey cooking at a large event-- i.e., the crawfish boil-- he’s always pushed off to the side by that. there’s usually someone talking to him or checking in on the food, but he’s not able to be engaged in the larger hubbub and discussion of the party because he’s busy. it’s in providing food for people and sharing that with him that he gets fulfillment out of the experience. in his family, we see that davey is a little bit isolated. he was growing up at the exact time when mayer’s alcoholism was getting worse and hitting its peak, and he left before mayer ever really managed to get very far into recovery. his time in their house, essentially, was a lot of heavy lifting and few moments of solidarity and joy. he loves his family, of course, it’s just a very labor-intensive process. and then, of course, he has a similar experience to what a lot of southern marginalized people feel-- this intense need to care for and better your community when your community very frequently doesn’t care for you. davey has absolutely zero capacity for apathy in this au, and it definitely shines through with this whole dynamic. he works SO HARD to care for people, even if he isnt always able to fully enjoy being around them and being loved by them

and then, of course, you have the way davey and jack interact through this motif-- davey teaches jack how to cook, gives him a cookbook, invites him over for meals, etc etc. sharing that with him essentially represents welcoming jack into his community as a whole, and giving him a place there. jack mentions davey “clearing a spot at the table” for him, and that’s both literal and figurative.

additionally, while davey uses food as a way to bring jack into his community, jack also makes davey a little less isolated. in a lot of the scenes in chapter 5, theyre cooking together, in a very domestic, symbiotic sort of way. i wanted this to demonstrate how jack relieves some of the burden davey puts on himself and exists sort of Within davey’s bubble rather than just reaping the benefits

i also wanted to illustrate with this how jack repairing his relationship w food keys into this. obviously we have the disconnect that he has early on where his unfamiliarity w what he eats and who makes it represents a larger disconnect between him and the people around him, but jack does also absolutely use food as a coping mechanism and a crutch. not to get, again, TOTALLY gatsby here, but he’s chasing that sense of community and belonging and understanding in the wrong places. it’s once he begins to actually make food for himself and understand the process of it and be able to carry something through to completion that he’s able to actually Enjoy food, yknow? i wanted that to mirror the way throughout the earlier parts of his life that he tried to kind of slap up temporary relationships and make do with that. 

side note about jack and food: jack has undiagnosed adhd (and some vague comorbidities rip) in this au, and his experiences with it i preeeetttty heavily lifted from my life and my special brand of fucked in the head. (for those of you who don’t know, carb and sugar cravings are a symptom of adhd, hence why food is often a coping mechanism for us fhskdhs). cooking and baking are processes that have REALLY helped me get a handle on myself-- it gives me an outlet for movement and stimulation, and its something that i can carry through till the end and get an actual end product that i can recognize and benefit from. plus, real time consequences if i let something do whatever for ten more minutes! so thats another element i added to the way that jack builds healthier coping mechanisms over time-- he moves away from food as a crutch and instead develops a new form of CREATING that gives him an outlet and a feeling of productivity

those are some Vague thoughts. i will probably elaborate in the future!

now, for the messy au, rather than food symbolizing community, i chose to have it represent vulnerability.

a quick review: jack married rich, and davey is jack’s new wife’s cook. on his wife, dorothy’s part, i wanted this to shine through in this squeaky clean, pristine image that a lot of rich people try to craft. she never cooks for herself, never pays much attention to davey, never draws attention to him. in essence, she is creating as few weak spots as possible-- she refuses to be vulnerable to the people and the society around her.

with davey, however, his and his family’s livelihood depends on him cooking for this woman, and later for her and her husband. he’s forced into this position of extreme vulnerability and weakness by his financial situation, and cant really regain his sense of privacy or self because of that. its also a point in this story that he has very little time or wherewithal to cook for his FAMILY. so, his job forces him into a vulnerable situation with complete strangers who hold an upper hand over him but denies him the opportunity to be vulnerable with his own family, only reinforcing this idea that he is the protector and the provider and as such cannot have weak spots and cannot, under any circumstances, break

it also really highlights the difference between jack’s relationship with his wife vs with davey and smalls-- all the scenes of he and dorothy eating together are in grand, fancy rooms, with a certain amount of pomp and circumstance and dignity attached. with davey and smalls, though, he’s usually in the kitchen, having conversation, enjoying their company, helping them with menial things. that’s an environment that he’s used to and comfortable with, the kind of relationships and interactions he grew up with, while the stuffiness of his life and interactions with dorothy are entirely less vulnerable and close

that’s just a brief overview, but its something to look for when i finally finish the fic! it definitely started as a very soapy sort of thing, but my damn instincts pushed me to delve deeper into the characters and their relationships and the fucked-up-ness of it all. so, here we are

i really hope this helped!!!! this is not organized AT ALL so please tell me if there’s anything else you wanted to know or any details you noticed