#and now he's using this for said NPC's appearance

[void-critters]

" I'm frightened by what I see, But somehow I know That there's much more to come "

Katya, for @morrigan-sims D&D CAS Challenge!

My rolls for the challenge:

Race - Dhampir

Class - Sorcerer (shadow magic)

Alignment - True Neutral

Adventurer traits - Overly formal

Extra Traits - Long/painted nails, lots of jewelry

Hair - Updo

Bonus: Katya's stats:

Read Katya's full sheet here

[unintentionalseductress]

Uncoded

Warnings: ANGST, slow burn, self-deprecation, general sadness, NO SMUT Summary: Stuck in Linkon City, you never thought you'd be someone other than the MC. What happens when you spawn in the game as an NPC? WC: 8.8 K A/n: Hello everyone! I know it's been a hot minute since I wrote a oneshot, and thank you to all the kinds folks that reached out after I said I was let go a few weeks ago. I'm taking a break after being burnt out at that job, and planning my next moves, but I do want to get back into the joy I found while writing. And who is this girl, there's no smut?! *gasps*

The operating room was cold, and the bright overhead light caught on sterile surgical tools that gleamed under the fluorescent bulbs. The regular beeping from a heart rate monitor, the hissing and mechanical thunks of the machines that supported the delicate task of the operation filled the room, broken only by the shuffle of surgical gowns and the clink of metal as the used tools were discarded into a separate bowl after their use. 

"Bovie," Zayne says, his voice low but clear.

You passed it to him carefully, your gloves brushing against his briefly, and still, despite the dozen or so times you had done this seemingly insignificant act, it sent little tingles of electricity down your spine. Zayne doesn’t flinch. He never does. He was laser-focused on his patient, the cautery moving with robotic precision along the patient’s heart, the pungent smell of charred tissue mingling with the clean air of the operating theatre. 

Your gaze lingers on him longer than intended. The surgical mask hid most of his face, but his eyes were narrowed in utmost concentration. He always looked like that when he operated, calm and unwavering. Nothing outside the human heart he held in his gloved hands mattered. It was admirable, but you couldn’t stop the sharp pang of longing that lodged itself in your chest every time you assisted in the operating room. 

He doesn’t see me.

You don’t know when the thought first curled into you like a parasite, but it lived there now, quiet, constant, gnawing away at your insides. 

“Retractor,” Zayne requests.

Your hands automatically move, anticipating his needs. As the operation theatre grows quiet again, your mind wanders. 

It had happened three days ago.

You had gotten home from another long day. The world was dark, work sucked, and you had no desire to do anything. After reheating a bowl of leftovers and doing your nighttime routine, you had curled up in bed under the warmth of the comforter, and logged in to the only thing bringing you any semblance of relief from your otherwise shitty reality. The dim glow of your phone screen bounced off the white walls of your bedroom as a familiar cafe suddenly bloomed into life, and a man dressed in a black shirt and black slacks made his appearance.

“You’re here.” He extended his hand towards you, and you’d tapped his palm, wishing he were real. 

You tapped the relax time icon and chose the option for holding hands, feeling warmth spread into your chest as he intertwined his simulated fingers with yours, before kissing the back of your hand. 

“Thank you for being my stress relief.” He released your screen hand and took a few steps back. You zoomed in to focus on his face, admiring the sharp amber-green eyes, the straight curve of his nose, and the black hair that fell softly onto his forehead. You tapped his lips.

"If your hands keep being mischievous, I can show you how surgeons tie knots."

You giggled, and repeated the action before he finally got fed up, and turned his back to you, during which time, you amused yourself by poking his bottom, watching as he tensed up and shook his head in disapproval. You played the claw machine with him, then tenderly tapped his face one last time before logging out of the game. 

“If only.” You’d murmured into the darkness, as his handsome face consumed your thoughts again, as sleep overtook you. 

“Zayne…” you sighed his name, aching for him, even though you knew it was ridiculous, pining over a fictional man that didn’t exist. 

And then…You awoke abruptly. You squinted against the harsh lights that filled your vision and realized you were in a sleeping pod, like the ones in the game. How had you ended up here? Even stranger, why did the guy who had woken you up look like…

“Greyson?” You’d asked as he pulled you up by the wrist.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Dr. Zayne is about to operate on an unstable patient. OR 2 stat!” You followed along clumsily as Greyson escorts you, and soon you’re in the atrium outside of the OR. 

Greyson presses the intercom button. “I found her, Dr. Zayne. Good luck.” 

You’d glanced around in panic, wondering what to do when your body acted on its own accord. Suddenly, you’re scrubbing with the surgical soap, washing up to your elbows, a voice in your head counting the seconds, then drying off. You walked into the OR and an assistant held out gloves, which you dipped your hands into, marveling at how they were the right size. Your feet automatically carried you towards the operating table, where you could just make out the lead surgeon, completely covered by his mask and cap, sharp eyes glaring at your approach. You’d assumed the position in front of the surgical instrument tray.

“Thank you for joining us.” There’s a bite of impatience and obvious sarcasm, and your heart jolted as you recognized the voice.

“Beginning anasthesia, Dr. Zayne.” One of the medical staff members calls to him. 

“Scalpel,” Zayne stated simply, his hand extending towards you in expectation. 

And your hands moved in response, gloved and steady, body responding like you’d done this your entire life.

You’d glanced up several times during the procedure, trying not to pass out from the giddy way your heart fluttered, and your stomach flipped each time he asked for another instrument. There he was…Zayne. 

Alive. Breathing. Not pixels. Not a script. A man.

Your breath had caught in your throat as you observed him. Sweat had gathered on his brow as he’d operated, and when he’d turned to face towards you, your hand had reached for the designated towel to gently pat his brow clean, feeling like you could melt at how intimate the gesture felt. It was like a dream come alive. And for the duration of the surgery, you’d felt like the luckiest woman on the planet. It was only after that that your dream had quickly turned into a nightmare. 

You’re jarred back to the present as Zayne makes a quiet sound in his throat. “Forceps.”

You quickly handed him the pair. 

“Good,” he murmured, more to the heart he was holding than to you.

You had tried to understand the rules of this world. You weren’t a scrub nurse, not in real life. You didn’t know the first thing about being in an operating theatre. 

But here, your body is moving like it has been trained. You knew his surgeries by heart, knew what he would ask for next, and had knowledge about how long each surgical procedure would run. Everything was scripted, everything was clean.

A background NPC.

It had been humbling to realize it. Yet you couldn’t help but hope anyway. Hope Zayne would see you. Would realize how much you had yearned for him, separated by a screen, memorizing every microexpression on his face. 

“Closing sutures,” Zayne says briskly, and you hand the needle holder, locking eyes with him briefly over his mask, before he looks away. Another successful surgery. Thanks to you. But you’d already known what would happen the moment Zayne left the OR.

He didn’t say thanks, didn’t even acknowledge your presence. And the reason why was obvious. Glancing up at the large viewing gallery, you saw someone sitting in the front row of seats, someone you knew intimately, despite having never spoken in this world. 

Her eyes were exactly like yours. She had the same mouth and nose, features you’d painstakingly crafted while glancing into a mirror every few seconds, and her hair was styled in a cut that you would have loved to have, but were too unsure to try. She was wearing the distinct Hunter’s uniform and was gazing intently at Zayne.

You tried not to let the wave of envy swallow you as you looked at her. She was you after all. Or rather, the version of her you’d created in the game; the all-important MC. 

And Zayne had eyes for no one but her, his view fixated on her form. She smiles and gives him a thumbs up, and you see the effect she has on him. His shoulders, which had been tense and bunched, grew slack. He raises ten fingers, and points to the operation theatre door, and your MC nods, getting up to meet him. 

He brushed past you, and you felt your stomach lurch, silently following him to scrub out. Your mind was chewing away at the thoughts inside your head, and even though you knew what to expect, you still couldn’t stop the first pang of pain that hit your heart when you Zayne and your MC in the staff lounge. You quickly ducked into the fridge, pretending to grab some yogurt. 

Zayne, real, impossibly tangible Zayne, was leaning towards her, their body language too comfortable with each other to suggest this as a recent development. His face had softened, and his voice, when he spoke, carried a tone of warmth you had never heard when it came to addressing his surgical staff.

“Glad you waited,” he said, an almost imperceptible quirk in his lips that has your MC grinning at him as she shakes a paper bag in front of Zayne’s face. 

“I brought those steamed buns you like. Thought you could use something warm after three back-to-back cases.”

You had imagined this very scenario several times when you had been playing the game, being the MC and handing Zayne a snack after his surgery had finished. At that time, it felt like anything was possible.

Zayne takes the bag from her and lays a hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you.”

That’s when it hits you. 

This wasn’t the beginning of the relationship between Zayne and your MC. He already knew her, had allowed her to become part of his life, and sought her out after a hard day.

In this world, this prewritten, coded dream, Zayne already loved her. 

The realization steals the breath from your lungs, and suddenly, you feel like you are intruding on a private moment. You quickly close the fridge and sprint out of the lounge. 

The game texts you had been replying to, believing it was you, were actually being sent by your MC. The confessions Zayne sent, which you had thought were meant for you, were for her. 

Your MC was the one who got his late-night messages and accepted his coffee invitations. She got his time, his kindness, his smile. And it felt like the world was crumbling beneath your feet.

You had always known the game version of yourself was awesome. Of course, she was. She was smart, a professionally trained hunter with a badass job. She had hobbies and a fit body. She was witty and sassy, and everyone loved her, including you. Which was why you had tried your best to model her after yourself.

But she’s not me. She’s everything I’m not. 

The awful truth of it all sinks in. 

She’s the better version of me. Of course, he doesn’t see me. Why would he?

You reach the hospital’s rooftop, which was covered with rows and rows of potted plants, Linkon’s attempt at creating a calming environment. You slink away between the rows of tall trees, which engulf you, creating the perfect hiding spot.

Hot tears spill down your cheeks as you sob quietly.

Zayne had been your comfort character, the one you wanted to see at the end of the day, even if he wasn’t real. But now he was, and somehow, you wished you could go back; back to the days when you could delude yourself into believing Zayne could love you, not the MC version of you, but the real you.

Yet he was blissfully unaware of your existence, cozying up with the MC you had made, while you sat alone, the cool night air whipping your face, drying the salty tracks that covered your cheeks. 

I’m not someone he would love. I’m nobody. Nobody. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

In the days that followed, you tried to make yourself known. Your MC was amazing, but only because you had designed her so. After the misery of the previous night, you decided that despite the game dynamics, there might still be hope. 

You couldn’t help it. Like a moth drawn to a flame, despite knowing he didn’t perceive you in any meaningful way, you couldn’t help but want to attempt to leave an imprint, some kind of trace to make him aware of your existence. 

You tried to carry yourself with purpose as you strutted down the halls of Akso Hospital, straight-backed and buoyed by the small chance of possibility. The tablet in your hands had been opened to the patient scheduled for surgery today, a casual way to open a conversation, in your opinion. You spied Zayne at the nurses’ station and made your way over. It would appear like small talk, a tiny opening into his field of vision.

“Dr. Zayne.” You say his name quietly as you approach. That turn as he heard his name, the brief blink of surprise, followed by recognition. Your breath caught as his gaze fixed on you, almost driving the entire premise of the conversation out of your mind. His eyes fall on the tablet you’d pushed towards him, and he looks at you expectantly. 

“I had a question regarding today’s surgery.” You manage to say, trying not to sound breathless. Another blink, followed by a nod. 

“Yes, go on.”

“I see the patient was a smoker. He’s due for a transplant. I wanted to know if there are any precautions I should take, or any steps of the procedure I should exercise more caution. Or perhaps stock more supplies for.”

And there it was: a brief, almost imperceptible quirk to his lips, like he’d nearly smiled at you. How long had you stared at the screen of your phone, watching and tenderly memorizing every micro expression he made? 

“A very astute question,” he says with a touch of praise, and it instantly triggers a million butterflies in your stomach, wings beating rapidly inside you. “You’ll want to make sure we have extra clamps, and notify the blood bank ahead of time to ensure we have some in case of an emergency. Double check his blood type.” 

You nod, hanging onto every word like a smitten schoolgirl. “And…should I prepare OR 2?” 

“Yes, please do.” The sharp lines of his face have lessened. “It is my preferred OR after all.”

“I’ve noticed,” you reply, unwilling to lose the flow of the moment. “May I ask why?”

Zayne is about to respond when his gaze suddenly fixates on something behind you. You turn to look over your shoulder, then feel your heart drop to your knees as your MC makes an appearance again. The moment shatters like glass. 

“What are you doing here?” Zayne steps around you to greet your MC, like you were a tree obstructing his view. 

“You left your charger at my place,” you hear her reply, and your heart sinks another inch or so towards the floor. If he had left the charger at her place, then that must mean…

You stop yourself. It was too painful to imagine. You were barely two feet away, the tablet lying on the counter, forgotten. Neither of them notices as you pick it up and leave. 

A few days later, you tried again. You had convinced yourself that the last time had been a coincidence, that the arrival of your MC had been the only factor that had deviated from what had been an otherwise positive conversation. 

It was lunchtime, and you saw an opportunity to maybe try bonding with him over a weakness of his. 

“Dr. Zayne.” You call out as you meet him near the elevator. He turns, clearly not expecting you. 

“I heard they’ve made that chocolate mint cake today in the cafeteria. Maybe we should try to snag a slice before it’s all gone?”

This time, a genuine glimmer of interest in his eyes, followed by a huff of what appeared to be amusement.

“Word certainly seems to spread around the hospital.”

“Of course. Besides, it’s not like it’s a secret, right?” You banter back carefully. “Your fondness for sweets?”

Zayne fixates on the panel of buttons in the elevator and remains quiet, but you observe the way his ears turn red, an endearing sight indeed, something you’d loved about him since seeing it in the cafe screen interactions. 

“No, I suppose not,” he says after a beat, and you try to suppress your smile. It was the closest you had been to him outside the operating room. “But I’ll admit it’s a bit disconcerting that people have noticed this about me so easily.”

“Or maybe,” You boldly begin, then push on. “They notice these things because they want to get to know you better. It creates reasons to interact, you know?”

He considers this, then nods in agreement. “I suppose that’s a more flattering way to look at it. I think it’s nice that people want to get to know me.”

Your heart feels like it might burst from your chest, and just as you’re about to ask him if he takes coffee with his cake, the elevator doors ping open, and you feel the air rush out of your lungs. 

There stands your MC, and in her hands is a little paper plate carrying a slice of the cake you had been talking about seconds ago. Zayne’s eyes light up, little fireflies against the dark backdrop of his irises before he approaches her, and you once again, fade into the background.

You can hear the warmth in his tone, the way his movements are casual as he draws her away from the crowd. Passersby look at them with smiles on their faces. Look at the young, happy couple. Look at them stealing away to enjoy a small moment of privacy, the intimate exchange too obvious to ignore. You step hollowly out of the elevator. The cafeteria was out of cake by the time you arrived. You buy a cold slice of pizza and eat it alone at the table in the farthest corner of the room. 

The final ditch attempt to get his attention was quiet. A fragile action in the hope that he would at least remember your name, or show some form of acknowledgement. You made a cup of tea, his favorite one, your hands trembling as you steeped it in the lunge, carefully cradling the cup as you brought it to his office. The door was open, but he wasn’t in, so you’d placed it on his desk with a sticky note, nothing fancy, a simple “Till your next surgery.” Part of you, the foolish little part that refused to believe Zayne wasn’t yours, had made this last-minute decision, but your mind was already braced for the crushing rejection. 

You exit his office and are a few feet away when you hear footsteps, and you glance back to see Zayne and your MC enter his office, the door clicking shut. You’re unable to stop yourself from walking back, placing your ear against the door, hoping to hear what you so desperately wanted. 

Inside, Zayne lifts the cup and sniffs it, little rifts of steam still arising from it, frowning. He glances at your MC, and you hear his question muffled through the door.

“Did you leave this?” he asks your MC, who looks puzzled. 

“No, but it’s your favorite, right?” She asks in your voice, the voice you’d spent so much time customizing in an attempt to make it sound like you. And it did sound like you. A more musical, attractive version of you. Just like the rest of her. 

You hear Zayne take a sip, followed by a hum of appreciation, before your MC starts teasing him about how absent-minded he’d grown, brewing tea himself and forgetting about it. 

The door felt like it put dimensions between you. You were always the outsider, trying to find a way in. It wasn’t meant to be. The comfort you used to find from Zayne was long gone. It had been crushing to let go of the one final thing you’d used to escape from your crappy reality. Now, the thing that gave you joy was the source of your angst. 

You’d escape this world if you knew how. But you were trapped, forever the wallpaper, never given more than a second’s glance before people moved on. Even if you went back to reality, how were you supposed to cope, knowing you had been so close to the love of your life, yet unable to make him open to your presence? 

That the man you’d idolized was in love with another version of you, who had been crafted so perfectly that you almost wanted to scream at the injustice. You felt the betrayal keenly, resentment welling up inside you. The MC was you. YOU. How could a fictional version of yourself outdo you so astoundingly?

You wanted nothing more than to put a universe's worth of distance between yourself and Zayne. To disappear into the vast region of Linkon City and never reappear. But the game dynamics limited your mobility. You had an apartment (surprisingly like the one your MC had), which your programmed self knew how to enter, and the route between there to Akso hospital was the standard routine. 

Like a never-ending loop, against your will, you had to join Zayne in the operating theatre no matter how much it hurt you. And you hated it. Hated him. Well, not really. You loved him. And the sharp razor blade sting you felt inside your chest every time you looked at him, while he looked at someone else, was all you had. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

You withdrew as the days went by. Like a chameleon, blending into your surroundings, inconspicuous. Somedays, you felt like a ghost, certain that if you stood in someone’s way, they’d walk right through you and not notice a thing. 

With no way out of the game, you performed your surgical tasks robotically, not looking at Zayne unless it was necessary, handing the instruments and backing away until he asked for the next one. 

He, of course, was unperturbed. Zayne continued with his surgeries, consultations, and his regular meetings with your MC. Since the day of the teacup incident, you’d tried your best to avoid noticing their interactions, but the hospital seemed to be smitten with them.

All the nurses would giggle whenever she dropped in and asked if Zayne was in a meeting, or when Zayne would change into a set of fresh clothes before leaving the hospital in anticipation of a date night.

During one surgery, you had been close enough to observe a faint, pink hickey on his neck, and had looked away, resisting the urge to stab his awaiting hand with the scalpel you were meant to hand him. Prim, proper, Dr. Zayne, who should have been so professional and discreet, was now unbothered about turning up to work with hickeys on his neck. The damn man had no shame. That’s what you’d told yourself as you’d quickly run to scrub out after the surgery had ended. And shouldn’t your MC have known better than to do something so brazen? She was a wild little freak as far as you were concerned, and it helped to believe this narrative rather than to accept the inevitable: that they were a young couple falling in love. 

“DeBakey foreceps.” Zayne’s hand appears in front of you again. 

You’re about to comply, the game coding driving your hand towards him, when you feel a pull of defiance bubble inside you. What would happen if you didn’t promptly hand him what he needed? Wilful restraint stilled your hand, satisfaction flooding your veins when the game seemed to freeze at your unwillingness to oblige the scripted system. You hadn’t asked to be an NPC; you had sentience, and the rebellious act was sweet. Your hand jerks as the code tries to make you submit, but you persevere, savoring the little control you have. 

“DeBakey foreceps,” Zayne repeats, and this time, you notice something strange; a small ripple distorts the room, the occupants becoming temporarily distorted, pixelated shapes, before order is restored. The retractor in your hands fades away, reappearing in Zayne’s, and he continues his surgery as though nothing has happened. 

No one had seen it. Your heart hammered in your chest as you started to piece together what had happened. Had the code simply overrode your attempt at defying the game's logistics? You had a theory; you wait until you were out of surgery to test it.  

There were no deviations in the route of an NPC. Once the day had ended, you always took the same train to the apartment. Today, as you stepped outside the hospital, you make a cautious step in the opposite direction of the train station. When you had tried this before, the game pixelated and reset you back at the entrance of Akso Hospital.

Today, nothing happens. Your small act of noncompliance had changed the dynamics. You take a few more steps, feeling the rush of freedom soar into your heart before breaking into a sprint. You were no longer bound by the rules of the game; an unchained NPC. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

The days that followed were a giddy fantasy. The game could no longer call upon you to do your fixed role. You put the liberation to good use, exploring much of Linkon City, using whatever gold the game gave you to space out your time at the various cafes, bookstores, and amusement parks. 

Although the pain of being jilted by Zayne still lingered, it was easier to ignore now that there was distance between you and him. Your heart ached whenever you walked past a dessert place, old memories of your imaginings coming alive, of taking Zayne and doing a tasting menu with him.  

Now you ate the desserts alone, appreciating the macarons, cakes, and delicious mocha lattes as the richness flowed on your tongue. Some days, you could convince yourself that things were ok. That you would heal and that you’d eventually move on from Zayne.

It still ached deep within that you had the perfect man in your palm, only to realize he was just that; a man, and despite the game’s premise, men didn’t go for the mousy bookworms. Even in fantasies, they went for the cheerleader, and nothing could change the balance of that system. 

Besides, you thought, as you sat on the rooftop of your apartment building, watching the sunset, Zayne probably wouldn’t have noticed anyway. There would be a new scrub nurse, one who didn’t love him, who would have replaced you, like slipping a brick into an open spot in a wall. His world wouldn’t stop at your absence.

But sometimes you wish it would. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

Back at Akso hospital, Zayne had in fact continued with his routine as expected, but with one small change; he had started to notice things. 

The first few days after you had walked out of Akso Hospital had been the same; there had been no issues getting through his surgeries, and he’d proceeded just as he always had. The voices and faces of the other staff had always been insignificant to him. It didn’t matter. Per NPC rules, they merely stood there to ensure game function continued. He’d done his rounds, completed his charts, and met with your MC as usual.

But a few days after the incident, he’d glanced at the scrub nurse handing him the tool and squinted, feeling a little unsettled. He could’ve sworn the scrub nurse that assisted him was different, the features of your face fuzzy in his mind, but he was confident he wasn’t mistaken. 

Sensing his hesitation, the replacement NPC asks, “Is everything all right, Dr. Zayne?”

“Yes, yes,” Zayne murmurs, accepting the tool from her, but he can’t shake off the feeling that something is amiss. “Did you ask me if we could get cake together in the cafeteria?” he asks.

The NPC’s eyebrows raise, and she shakes her head no. 

“Never mind then.” Zayne refocuses on his patient, but there’s a nagging feeling that this wasn’t the order of things. Your MC floats into his mind, yet he feels like he’s seeing differences in his memory. 

Your MC’s eyes, so symmetrical and large, yet another almost-identical pair replaces them, not quite so symmetrical, but still quite pretty. The perfect, glossy little Cupid’s bow of your MC’s lips fades to be replaced by ones that are pressed into a line of attention while poring over a medical chart, dry from the lack of self-care. 

Why was he thinking of these things? He was in love with who he needed to be per the code. And his girlfriend was perfect, a vision of beauty. Yet all he could focus on now were the small imperfections he thought he remembered, and finding them more attractive than he thought he did. 

“Was there someone before you?” he asks the new scrub nurse, hoping the answer would be no. The new scrub nurse nods, and Zayne feels a little lurch inside his stomach. 

“I’m not sure what happened to her. Perhaps a game update made her obsolete?” The NPC suggests, and Zayne tries to appear nonchalant. 

“Perhaps. It doesn’t matter. Let’s focus here, please.” He redirects the room’s attention back onto the patient, and silence falls once again, leaving him alone to mull over his thoughts and misgivings. Even if there was someone different before, why did it matter? The routes were on track, he was performing as he should be. It absolutely made no difference. 

Once the surgery was over, he scrubbed out and prepared for a follow-up appointment. The patient smiles at him as he enters his office. 

“No pain since the transplant?” Zayne asks as he inspects the fading incision in the man’s chest.

“None at all! And your scrub nurse was so kind to me post-op. Kept checking in to make sure I was comfortable.”

“My scrub nurse…?” Zayne falters, and suddenly he recalls a tablet being pushed towards him, and questions about precautionary measures to be taken before a transplant surgery. He purses his lips, and the patient grows silent, noticing the pensive look on Zayne’s face.

“Can you remind me…what did my scrub nurse look like?”

The patient looked taken aback at the question, but answered politely, and it did nothing to satisfy Zayne’s curiosity. For all that mattered, he had described the MC in almost striking detail. Yet he knew it couldn’t have been the MC…she had left the hospital after giving him his charger…and he’d gone into surgery with…

As Zayne becomes increasingly broody, the game ripples like it had the other day, only this time, he sees it; all the crisp objects and the patient in his office becoming pixelated before the world seems to snap like a whip, and all is well again. Shaken, Zayne stares at the patient who seems oblivious to what has occurred.

“Your incision is healing well.” Zayne moves away as the patient rebuttons his shirt and presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head. “Let’s schedule another follow-up in a month. You can make your appointment with the receptionist.”

Zayne is almost impatient as he waits for the patient to leave, and once he’s exited the office, Zayne quickly gathers his belongings and drives home. The house was silent, and when he went to his bedroom, there was the MC, snug under the covers, exactly how things should be.

But he’s restless as he slips into bed, trying his best to remain neutral as the MC turns to snuggle into him. Even as everything felt right, it felt like he was doing this simply because he was told to do it. A puppet, all his actions triggered by little prewritten things inside the game’s engine. 

Zayne sleeps fretfully, and when morning arrives, he’s dreading the day for some unfathomable reason. He did not need to feel this way. Wasn’t everything working like it should? He had his career, MC was humming in the kitchen, and he was in love. Or, something resembling love. 

What was love anyway? A neurochemical response in the brain. Were his responses to love also coded? Did the game begin the neurochemical cascade inside him when MC made an appearance? Or was it more so, the game ensured MC was always around him, thus ensuring he developed some sort of attachment to her? What was love, really?

Unbidden, a neglected, steaming teacup filled with his favorite, freshly brewed tea, comes into mind, and he jerks up in bed, his heart racing.

This can’t be it. He was doing it right. He was with the person he was supposed to love. He shouldn’t be fixating on teacups and tablets, and quiet eyes that observed him intently during all his surgeries. These were mere background elements, required entities to move the game forward. He shouldn’t be recognizing them, much less feeling this jittery sensation in his stomach when he thought of them. No. No, clearly he must be coming down with something. Perhaps this was due to the pending update. Yes, once the update is installed, this would go away, and everything would return to normal. It was a glitch, surely. He gets ready in haste and kisses MC goodbye. 

“Meet you for dinner!” She says sweetly, squeezing his hand. He smiles wearily at her, hoping she doesn’t notice and goes about his day.

But as he wandered the halls of Akso Hospital, he was further disconcerted at the fact that things that were supposed to remain as insignificant attributes were now starting to become quite conspicuous. Was Greyson’s hair always brown? Had Yvonne always had bangs? He keeps noting these small things in various other characters as well, and a few hours into his shift, Zayne is visibly shaken.

“Dr. Zayne, are you all right?” Greyson asks concernedly. Zayne had been spacing out, his eyes glassy and unfocused as Greyson spoke to him about a paper.

“Greyson…” Zayne shakes his head and makes a split-second decision. “Do you remember the scrub nurse who assisted on my last heart transplant surgery?”

Greyson looks nonplussed, but takes it in stride. “Yes, I do. Why do you ask?”

“She hasn’t been at work for a while. I wanted to check in on her. I suppose there isn’t a way to get her phone number or address, is there?”

This wasn’t something Greyson had been expecting from Zayne, but he decides not to pry, not when Zayne looked like he’d been dragged through the dirt. 

“She lives in that large apartment building about 20 minutes from here. It’s the same building where Yvonne lives. If you want, I can-”

Greyson is cut short as Zayne quickly turns and makes his way to the nurses’ station. 

“Ask her,” Greyson completes, his words falling into empty air. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

You’re startled as your doorbell rings. No one visited you. No one knew you lived here. Certain that it was a delivery sent to the wrong apartment, you opened the door only to be dumbstruck by your visitor.

Zayne looked haggard, his fingers twiddling with the hem of his sleeve as he stared at you. Your heart hammers in your chest, and you’re waiting for the game’s auto reset to pull him away because surely, this must be a glitch? Because it simply wasn’t possible for Zayne to break the game’s coding and take the route to arrive at your apartment.

There was no script to support this or trigger action that could have caused it. Yet here he was, at your doorstep, like you’d wanted all this time. You stiffen, your heart keenly smarting as you remember the humiliation of his repeated rejections. 

“Dr. Zayne,” you say stiffly, refusing to move. “Why are you here?”

“Please let me in.” It was not a demand. It was a request, and his soft voice carried the subtle tone of a man about to crack. 

A lump forms in your throat, your instinct warning you this can only hurt you, but you relent and allow him inside, the door clicking quietly as it shuts.

As both of you enter your living room, Zayne’s eyes fixate on you with such intensity that you feel naked. Like his vision was X-raying you through your clothes, probing your thoughts, peeling away layers of your skin until he reached the tender and delicate version of you that ached underneath. Your pride forces you to look at him despite the overwhelming intensity to look away, and your heart jolts at what you see. 

As your eyes meet, you see the undeniable response; his pupils widen, swallowing the ring of amber surrounding the green. Zayne is stunned; it wasn’t possible. There was only one MC in this world. How could you stand there, bearing so much similarity to her, yet not be her? The MC in his memory overlaps with you, yet he sees the differences. 

Compared to her, you were a sharp patch of light, crisp and alive, and somehow, despite her perfections, the MC appeared blurred in his mind’s eye, like an unfinished graphic, still in the works of an unpublished designer. He saw what the game had masked: the texture of your skin, the not-so-straight line of your lips, the little imbalances of your eyelids. Yet they made him yearn, something poignant welling inside of him. 

Zayne’s throat closes up from the emotions bubbling up inside him. The sensation was alien, like something was trying to claw its way up from his gut. It was raw and uncomfortable, something he had never experienced before. The MC made him calm, and he’d assumed that was what it meant to love someone. He didn’t want to feel this hot, pulsing entity that was grappling with the lines of existence, forcing him to acknowledge it. 

“You’re not her.” He states it plainly, unable to fathom what was happening inside him. 

“Took you long enough,” you retort, feeling the irony; Zayne in your apartment, finally seeing you, just like you’d always wanted, but now you were too hurt to accept it. “I kept waiting. Trying, hoping for the tiniest scrap of your attention.”

Satisfaction burns in your veins as you notice the look of anguish that comes on his face. The strange delight of seeing him like this, of rubbing the raw truth of your feelings in his face, even as you felt your own heart clench painfully at the thought of hurting him. 

“I watched for a sign that you saw me as anything other than an NPC. Even though I was practically right in front of you, with my MC a few feet away, you still only saw her.”

“I noticed when you were gone,” Zayne begins, and you let out a derisive laugh. 

“Oh, did you now, Dr. Zayne? You noticed when I was gone. So it took my absence for you to notice.”

“Yes damn it!” Zayne’s voice is loud, contrasting with the calm, cool way he typically speaks. “So what if I was a little late? I did notice! And it’s been pretty miserable ever since! I notice things in the game I never did before. It’s like you opened a gate between realms, and now I have no understanding of the world I live in!”

“Oh, I’m soo sorry, Dr. Zayne,” you chide mockingly. “Made you a sentient game character, that must suck. Good thing your feelings weren’t hanging in the balance.”

“But they are now!” Zayne nearly shouts, and you flinch at the tone, and he immediately checks himself. He continues in a level manner. “Look, you disappeared. And ever since you did, it feels like the system broke. I’m questioning everything now, especially-” He cuts off abruptly, realizing what he was about to admit. 

Your breath hitches, but you know your curiosity will never be satisfied if you don’t hear him say it. “Especially?”

“My love.” The words fall out in a confused whisper, and Zayne swallows, trying not to appear unhinged. “I picture you everywhere. At first, I thought it was the MC, but no, it’s you.”

He closes the gap between you and pulls you into his arms. Frozen, your fight or flight instincts vanishing, you allow yourself a moment of weakness, pressed against the warmth of his chest, his cologne filling your senses. Everything about him screamed comfort, the only thing you looked forward to after a long day. You squirm, trying to break free, but he only holds you tighter.

“Let go. Please…” you request pathetically, but you know it’s futile. Like a bird that had become accustomed to captivity, you couldn’t find the presence of mind to push him off, even though you were certain he’d let go if you did. You stood there, drowning in his presence as silent, hot tears tracked down your cheeks. 

“It’s not fair,” you whisper into his jacket. “It’s not fair that you get these feelings for me now. Not when I was trying to figure out how to survive without you. Because the reality is, even if you loved me, so what? This is a game. I’m bound to go back to reality someday. And what was I supposed to do with this digital love? I’m already so unlovable.” You sniff and continue brokenly. 

“If my fictional crush doesn’t love me, then what hope is there in the real world?”

“Why do you think you’re unlovable?” Zayne’s hands rest on the small of your back, his cheek resting on your hair, feeling the texture and softness on his skin, his heart heavy. 

“I…I’m not that amazing.” You don’t know why your tongue is loosening, but you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. “I guess I’m average. I’m not ugly, but I’m not super pretty either. I’m not toned or muscled, but I do exercise and try to take care of myself. I’m not stupid, but I’m not that smart either. I’m the average. Common. Overlooked. Unremarkable.”

Your deepest fears spill out of you, and your head hurts along with your heart now. Your eyes flutter closed, trying to savor this moment because you know it could end at any moment. If this was all you got of him, you weren’t about to spend it thinking about your shortcomings and imperfections. You wait for the inevitable moment Zayne would release you, and this little dream foray would vanish.

But Zayne sighs, his breath caressing your hair, before gathering you impossibly closer. When he finally talks, it sends a shiver down your spine.

“You say average like it’s a flaw. But maybe it just means you’re real. Not exaggerated. Not manufactured. Just… honest. Do you know how rare that is? Especially in a world like this?”

He takes a small step closer, his voice getting quieter with each word.

“I’ve spent so long surrounded by perfection that was never true. Flawless beauty, brilliance on cue. But none of it ever stayed with me when the code started to break. You did.”

His large hand cups the back of your head, and you hear his heartbeat, the rush of his breath as he gets closer to your ear, causing goosebumps to erupt over your skin. 

“If average means someone who shows up, listens, cares, and stays when no one’s watching... I think average is a wonderful thing.”

Your entire body still as you feel his lips graze your hair. “You don’t have to try to shine so hard to be noticed. Even at your average, you’re already like the north star. Brilliant, consistent, unwavering. Those are qualities to be appreciated. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” 

His reassurance takes root inside you and you hide your face in his chest as it screws up, a sob wrenching itself from the deepest parts of your pain. The world seems to stop spinning, levitating in this moment, as though trying to prolong it as much as possible.

“And you’re not unlovable,” Zayne murmurs into your ear. “Because I love you.”

You blink back tears as you look at him. “What?” 

“I love you.” Zayne cups your face between his palms, and your entire body comes alive, tingling like a live wire under his touch. 

Before you can reply, the world suddenly blurs. Ripple after ripple forms and vanishes inside the apartment, everything alternating between pixels and cohesivity. You cling to Zayne as the world starts to shake. Alarmed, Zayne looks at you, and you look back at him fearfully. The familiar theme song of the game begins to play, accompanied by a loud, computerized voice echoing through the chaotic din. 

“Resources not verified. Corrupt elements detected. Beginning immediate update and reboot.”

The message is repeated twice, and the world around you dissolves. Outside your window, you can see the buildings, cars, and people beginning to vanish, pixelating before turning into dust and floating away into nothing. You look at Zayne, who hasn’t let you go, but a look of comprehension dawns on his face. 

“This is my fault,” he says over the roar of destruction. “I broke a majority of the codes when I ventured off my path.”

“So what does that mean?”

When he doesn’t reply, you shake him urgently. 

“Zayne, what does that mean?” Your eyes are brimming with tears. His fingers grasp your chin, and when you make eye contact, there’s sorrow in his expression, but he’s smiling gently at you. 

“You’ll be all right,” he says softly. “The update only removes abnormal elements. This isn’t the end for you.”

“What about you?” His lack of worry is beginning to fill you with dread, and you wait for an answer. 

But instead, Zayne dips his head down and covers your mouth with his. You shiver, then yield, the sweet feeling of his lips on yours flooding your body. A heady spiral of heat shoots through you as you kiss him back, trying to convey everything you feel for him in that kiss. Your first kiss with Zayne. You focus on him, trying to commit everything about him to memory: the softness of the kiss, the taste of his tongue, and his heated breath on your face.

When he lets go, he brushes your cheek tenderly. “Be the average. I promise you everything will be fine. Don’t stop offering to get cake, or making tea for someone you like.” His smile is calm, and you realize what was about to happen a split second before it does. 

Zayne begins to dissolve in a blur of colors, little squares consuming his shoes, crawling up his legs, and towards his torso. 

“Zayne!” You’re hysterical as you watch, yet helpless to prevent it. “Zayne, don’t go!”

His hand was still holding yours, and he squeezes it tightly. “I love you. You are not unlovable. Remember that.”

“Zayne!” He’s nothing but an incohesive blob of pigment now as the pixels consume the remainder of his face, and the hand holding yours turns to dust as he’s carried into the abyss. Looking down, you see the game has deconstructed most of you as well, the portion below your waist a confusing flash of light and pixels. 

“Zayne…” Your voice fades into a whisper as your consciousness fades, and you’re consumed by blinding white light until you see no more. 

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

When you wake up, you’re in your own bed in the real world. Blinking, you try to focus, then with a jolt as the haze fades from your mind, you scramble to find your phone, which was resting on the nightstand beside you. 

You launch the game, impatiently drumming the screen as the update pushed through, slowly filling the status bar up bit by bit. After what seemed like a decade, the launch screen appears, and you punch the ‘enter game’ button harder than intended. The cafe loads, and there he was. 

“Only you’d use me as an ice cream maker,” Zayne says with a disapproving shake of his head. Numb, you watch him on the screen. Everything was back to normal. You were back in reality. And Zayne…Zayne had been reset. Back into his coded routine, like nothing had ever happened.

As the truth of it falls around you, you curl up into a ball and cry, sobs wracking your body. Zayne loved you. Had chosen to become an uncoded element and risk it all to love you, even if it had been for a brief moment.

How on character for him. The irony isn’t lost on you; sacrificing, punished if he loved, that was Zayne’s entire persona, wasn’t it? Even as a scripted character, he hadn’t been able to defy his fate, his memories probably wiped and reset to love the MC just as it should have been. 

“My love,” you whisper brokenly, tracing his face with your fingertip. “I guess…It was never meant to be.” 

Acknowledging it didn’t help. You wept until you passed out from exhaustion, feeling like your heart had been split into two, spilling its pain into your system until you were bled dry. 

You didn’t go to work. When your boss called, you said you weren’t well. How do you recover from losing the love of your life?

“I love you.” Zayne’s voice echoed in your dreams at night, and you’d wake up covered in sweat. 

“I love you.” You heard it when you uninstalled the game, unable to pine over his face any longer.

“I love you.” His words lingered when you finally returned to work. 

“I love you.” It served as a reminder when you were building your dating profile, and were about to swipe ‘yes’ on a questionable match. 

“I love you.” It hurt so bad, but it was the only thing keeping you together.

That for a brief moment, he had shown you that you were worthy of being loved. That it existed, even if it was short-lived. 

Sometime after the incident, you found the energy to not feel irritable on the weekend when the cheerful sunlight crept into your room to rouse you from sleep.

You found the state of mind to dress up, spending time indulging in matching your outfit and accessories. You decided you needed a haircut, not a trim, but perhaps a new look, something you wouldn’t have dared to try before. The stylist had been thrilled when you showed her the reference photo and had expertly snipped and layered your hair into a head-turning look.

Feeling dandy, you’d all but skipped out of her chair, admiring her work in the window reflections as you walked towards a coffee shop a few blocks away. As you’d placed your coffee order, you looked at the dessert display and ordered the last slice of mocha caramel cake, imagining how it would melt in your mouth and pair with the coffee you’d ordered. 

“Was that the last slice of that cake?” A deep, strangely calming voice asks behind you. Your heart skips a beat at how familiar it sounded, and you whip around to see who the stranger is.

Your heart thuds as you take in a tall man standing behind you, looking disappointed at the now-empty cake display. His dark hair had been neatly combed, and his glasses were slightly askew, sitting almost on the tip of his nose. 

“Yes,” you say slightly breathlessly as you try to calm your racing heart. Even as logic takes over, you couldn’t help but stare at him. He looked so similar to Zayne…but you could tell it wasn’t him. Just a normal human, bearing an uncanny resememblence.

“Unfortunate. It’s one of my favorites.”

Before you can reply, the barista calls your name, your coffee ready and the cake on a small plate. You wet your lips, then gather courage.

“Would you like to split the cake with me?” you ask, and you can see the man is surprised at the offer. A smile graces his lips.

“Do you often offer to share your cake with strangers in coffee shops?” he asks with a touch of amusement, and you laugh. 

“No, but desperate times call for socially awkward solutions,” you quip back nervously, and the man huffs at your banter. 

“I see. Well, in that case, allow me to reimburse you for your coffee. After all, I was raised right. And mildly suspicious of free cake.”

You can’t stop the giggle that escapes your throat. You take the plate and coffee and choose a table before the stranger sits down opposite you. Looking more closely at him now, you see the differences: code vs reality.

“What do you do?” you ask him politely as you offer him a fork. 

“I’m a doctor.”

Your smile widens. “Of course you are.”

© unintentionalseductress original work | no copying, plagiarizing or translating

flashing dividers by @cafekitsune, banner by me using Canva

@tokyorevengersrin @brekkersgf @ladyparamount @otomegamesforlife @shddyboo @supernaturalbaesduh @sweets-kozume @theimmortalbuns @venussakura @prisjean @laddelulu30 @ravenclaw-jojo @redactedbimbo @crypt-0rchid @fattybattysblog @xinnn6 @xiaoderrrr @evansdmitri @decileste @thesoftuglywrites @belt0-0 @snatched-bubblegum-bitch @wynter-lily @cordidy @delphiakira @ibreathesmut @thedeepspacecadet @mcdepressed290 @plzdonutpercieveme @arsenicjuice

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

I'm not anywhere really near or into Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but since the second game released recently, I've seen a lot of new attention on my social medias, particularly around Henry and Hans' relationship

And I, very obviously, love queer characters and relationships, and even moreso the canon ones, so I watched the IGN video explaining how one might romance Hans in the second game

Man. I was blown away.

By now I've played a handful of rpg's and romanced a handful of npc's, but not ONCE has the dialogue and action of a confession scene ever felt quite so real and as beautifully acted

I have almost zero other context about the games or characters, yet I haven't stopped thinking about that romance scene in days

That you build up the affection and genuine care for Hans through dialogue choices feels completely non-forced, and you can tell that Hans enjoys your presence and respects you immensely. Henry gently encouraging and helping Hans when he's uncomfortable, always concerned about his wellbeing. There's such a solid foundation of mutual trust that even I, as an outside viewer, can tell that both men truly would put their lives in the others hands

And then the confession scene itself? Henry coming to say goodbye, and because of the work that has been put in to convey Henry's feelings of care and devotion for Hans, it's Hans himself who starts the conversation. He tells a story that he 'doesn't have his own words for', displaying that he's uncertain about how this might go, but knowing that it needs to be said before Henry leaves. He's both deflecting and projecting, using this story as a way to cushion the segue into his own feelings, or the blow of rejection should it come. And as Hans imagines something terrible happening to Henry, he immediately gets emotional, voice shaking, knowing he'd be unable to help

There's a small moment as Henry reassures that he'll be alright, when he places a hand on top of Hans' and this small, delightfully hopeful smile appears on Hans' face. I take this to be the moment where Hans believes that Henry has understood his story, and his way of confessing his feelings, and that Henry feels the same way about him. Then Henry stands, moving to leave and Hans' smile drops. Perhaps Henry's confidence falters here, and before he can reciprocate his true feelings and kiss him, Hans is running on adrenaline and courage and pulls Henry into the kiss instead, before he can second-guess himself

It's awkward, uncertain. Hans has this almost crushing grip on Henry like he's barely sure what he's just done, just that he couldn't let him walk away without doing something . And when Henry turns his head and steps back, noises of shock and breathlessness, Hans jumps back like he's been burned and spurned. He's stammering and stuttering out an apology, quiet and upset, unlike his usual self

Hans' body language as he turns away, making himself smaller, making more space between them than is necessary, it displays how he thinks his actions have just been perceived - that Henry doesn't feel the same way, he just ruined a perfectly good friendship, he's made himself look weak. He rubs at his mouth like he wishes he could remove the feel of Henry's lips against his own, tries apologising again, gasping for air, screws up his face in anxiety or anger for his recklessness......

Then Henry makes his own decision and speeds back over to him, pulling him into an even more crushing embrace and kiss, before they make their way over to the bed

The acting direction here in this scene is just so delectablely real . It looks and feels like I'm a fly on the wall of a real life confession, where both men are less than certain about their futures, and even less certain about how their relationship is perceived in the others eyes. Hans is visibly scared of rejection when Henry turns his back, Henry is visibly coming to terms with what he wants in this moment

The reactions are the most natural thing in the world, especially in a game that strives for realism. There was clearly a great deal of care that went into writing and directing this relationship, and with how naturally it progressed to this climax

And I think that's where the divide is for me, when I think about the romance options in BG3 or other rpgs, because there is something more flowery and shiny about those romances that I've experienced. Like they're too perfect, too polished and rehearsed, no room to have any fuck ups or moments of imperfection. But it's the awkwardness and show of non-positive emotions and reactions, rather than immediate lust and experience, that really pins the Henry and Hans scene above the rest

There's probably more I could say, and I'm sure there's more that others who know these characters and the games could say, but I just wanted to get my thoughts into some words and hope that it strikes true with someone else

I don't think I've ever seen a romance scene in a video game, that has felt so genuine as this. A thousand kudos to the actors for Hans and Henry, and the writers and directors for this marvellously curated scene ❤️

[ryusuisloveinterest]

Hello, 🚙anon here. Will be throwing a few ideas in separate asks.

Main cast boys (Ryusui, Senku, Tsukasa, Ukyo, Chrome, someone else?) and an s/o who is protective.

A jealous enemy or a nasty accident. We all know they will defend their s/o, but what will happen, if the reverse would have to occur?

hello 🚙 anon! I’m sorry that I’m slacking with all the requests but I tried to give it my all with this one! Pls enjoy💕

Ryusui, Senku, Tsukasa, Ukyo, and Chrome, with a protective s/o💘

Ryusui:

I would say Ryusui would be flattered to have a protective s/o

There was one day when you guys were building the Perseus and you overheard some people smack talking Ryusui 

“I bet that new guy Ryusui doesn’t care about saving anyone. I’m sure he’s just making us build this thing just so he can have one.”

Your head quickly perks up, eyeing the random npc who said that 

“Excuse me??” You say, “Ryusui would NEVER do something like that”

Now you’re all up in this guys face

“Don’t even think for a second that Ryusui is so selfish that he doesn’t care about anyone at all! He’s the kindest person in the world and don’t you ever forget that again!”

When Ryusui heard about your outburst he quickly finds you and throws himself all over you 

“My sweet y/n! Your words make me so happy I could eat you all up!” He says this as he’s tightly holding you and jokingly biting your cheek and kissing you all over your face 

But he gets serious 

“But you don’t have to worry about people’s words dear. As much as I appreciate you standing up for me I would hate if it got you into serious trouble trying to defend me. Words will always be words sweetheart, and you will always be my love<3”

Ryusui would hate it if you or someone started a fight just over some words said about him 

He couldn’t care less on how the world sees him good for you baby! As long as he’s seen with nothing but love in your eyes screw what everyone else has to say!

But let’s say when you guys get to America and Stanley’s doing what Stanley does best and shooting up a storm at all of you

You see Ryusui about to get hit as you push him to the ground and use your body as a shield 

At first Ryusui is flabbergasted 

He’s so used to you being so calm and collected and a tad bit goofy but now you’re all protective and defensive!

But Ryusui doesn’t sit back for too long because he pushes you back as well

You two probably keep doing this to each other until you both get hurt

It doesn’t really help anyone lol

If you get seriously injured protecting him then he’ll get so hard on himself but do his best to help you back to your normal self 

He might even distance himself from you when you’re all better because he thinks you might get hurt again :(

Senku

I don’t think Senku would notice and or care if you were protective of him or not

When you were hearing some of the villagers smack talking about him because of all the work that he gives them

You of course talk back, saying how Senku’s the reason why the village is so safe and how all these cool inventions are being made so they better shut their mouth or you’re just gonna hafta-

“Y/n! What the hell are you doing?? Those bolts were supposed to be done 10 minutes ago!!!”

Senku just appears out of nowhere to scold you lol 

You try to explain yourself, saying that some guy was insulting him, and bro does not gaf 💀

“Ok???? Who cares??? Pls just get your work done!!!”

You’re kinda hurt thats that was his reaction 

But as you’re walking away…!!!

“But…thanks anyway y/n. Just don’t waste your breath on me.”

You can see his red ears from the corner of your eye and now everything’s all better!

Now as for physically protecting him, it doesn’t happen a lot cause he’s always thinking about how to do things scientifically, but when Stanley shoots at Senku and you push him out of the way only for you to get hurt, he kinda blanks for a second 

But that second doesn’t last long at all because he quickly starts trying to help you, despite being in Stanley’s line of fire

After everything’s all said and done and you’re awake and recovering, he lets you have it

“What were you thinking???!!! That’s was a stupid idea for you to jump in front of a literal gunshot!!! What if you died Y/N???! What if you left me??!!!!”

Yeah he’s kinda mad at you for doing something so bold, but he’s more mad about the fact that despite having a plan, it won’t always work, and the result of that was you getting hurt

He blames himself for not acting fast enough

“I….im sorry Senku… I just didn’t want to see you hurt that’s all…”

That’s all he has to hear to hold you tight and start to cry in your hair

That’s when he says those rare 3 words

“I love you moron…don’t ever scare me like that again…”

Tsukasa

Don’t even try💀

At least don’t try to physically protect him

Like there’s literally no reason and/or way to 

He either one, saves you first

Or two, literally gets hit and is not affected at all

But if someone were stupid enough to smack talk him, you’d be the first one to go defend him

Someone’s still salty that he was busting down statues?

“You don’t know anything about that situation! Were you there when it happened??? Then you can’t say anything!!”

Someone’s jealous that he’s one of the most attractive men in this show?? Besides Ryusui ofc<3

“Don’t be mad Tsukasa’s gorgeous and you’re not! And it’s not his face that’s just gorgeous! It’s his beautiful soul too!”

No one really replies to you like for Ryusui or Senku’s case

No one wants to risk saying the wrong thing 

After all if they say the wrong thing Tsukasa will just destroy them☺️

Ukyo

If anyone has anything bad to say about Ukyo then they’re wrong Ukyo has probably, sadly, heard it 

His ears are able to hear pretty much anything so he’d be able to hear whatever bad things people had to say about him

But! He’s also able to hear you defend him

“Ukyo’s the most important general!” You say to some random hater, “his insight is more than valuable! So don’t ever say anything like that about him again!”

He can’t help but smile to himself and Senku gets weirded out at his sudden change in behavior 

Ukyo won’t really say anything about it, you’ll just be met with a soft kiss or a million I love yous

If you were to physically protect him then I think he might crash out 😶

When you push him out of the way of an attack, he can hear the pain in your voice, and it just breaks him

Immediately tends to you, doesn’t matter if hes still in the line of fire or he has wounds of his own

He scolds you when you wake up, but not as fiercely as Senku 

It’s just a soft, tearful “what were you thinking? You could’ve seriously got hurt… well I mean look at you… please never scare me like that again…”

He’s definitely got more of an eye on you after that 

Chrome:

Chrome has always been called weird for his “sorcery” 

But anyone who calls him that now is gonna get a long lecture from his s/o

“Chrome actually uses nothing but science and is actually helping the kingdom of science out a lot so you should watch the way you talk!!”

He appreciates this more than he lets on

He’ll probably give you a, “it’s not that big of a deal y/n” and walk away but he actually is really happy

If you seen One Piece, you know how chopper will be saying not to praise him but act all giddy anyway?

Yeah that’s Chrome

As for physical protection? He’s actually flabbergasted

Like buddy did not know you were capable of such strength 

But if you were to get seriously hurt then he’d start panicking real fast

Suika’s gonna have to calm him down while Senku or someone starts tending to your wounds but quickly jumps in and tries to help

Gets all teary eyed when you’re better saying things along the lines of “you really scared me” or “don’t do anything so rash next time!”

[nosyp]

Pomefiore boys reacting to you dating an NPC

Heartslabyul ver | Octavinelle ver | Savanaclaw ver | Scarabia ver | Ignihyde ver | Diasomnia ver

Epel Felmier

'What the fuck' is the only thing going through his head when he finds out.

How could you betray him like this? Holy, he's crying, screaming, banging things on the wall, throwing things, slamming his hand against the wall... all in an attempt to ease the pain in his heart. By the time he's done, his face is flushed red and his whole body is trembling.

Jealousy is bubbling up in him, ready to burst out at any second (it kinda already did). He doesn't show you that side of him though. When you finally talk to him, he's not any different. You can't know. You shouldn't know.

Then, for a little while (emphasis on little), he tries to outshine your boyfriend in any way possible. He baked a dozen donuts for you? Well Epel baked 2 dozens and wrapped it up all pretty and nice. He gave you a promise ring? Well, Epel's already planning your wedding WITH rings he made himself (he claims).

He'd be absolutely ecstatic when you two break up. He'd say "Oh... you guys broke up? That's too bad..." but inside he's actually screaming "YESSS".

Later he'd sneak a "You deserve someone better" comment. Hint = he's the someone better.

Rook Hunt

"Oh? Mon cher(e) is dating someone?"

He's intrigued now, with your choice of boyfriend. "What an interesting choice! Oh absolutely magnifique!" he says, with the same poetic tone he always uses.

"Ah, such a captivating aura your partner has! Tell me, mon cher(e), is he as charming as he appears, or is there a hidden darkness beneath that facade?" is the first thing he mentions about your boyfriend.

Well, it looks like your boyfriend has a new stalker now! That stalker is the one and only Rook Hunt. He's gonna observe your boyfriend, trying to find what he's really like and whatever bs he wants.

After collecting and reorganizing his foundings, he'll share them with you. Highlighting his strengths and weaknesses.

Vil Schoenheit

Ew... he's just not at all impressed by you. Out of anyone in the world, you choose a lousy guy?

He's judgemental. Commenting on every single thing your boyfriend does. But oh of course, you reassure your boyfriend that Vil's like this with everyone.

He'd try to make your boyfriend feel insecure, and maybe it works. Just maybe.

During your whole clown show, he insults your boyfriend in many different ways. Like one time he said "Oh... what an interesting choice of shoes... bold... but not really in a good way." and he KNOWS your boyfriend is listening so that absolutely shatters him the moment he heard it.

Well then, he finds out about your relationships demise and he's can't lie, it was kinda entertaining to watch you dig a hole for yourself.

Just like Epel, he'd tell you that you deserved someone better. "I told you that he wasn’t worthy of you... oh but you just had to go learn for yourself."

[dilly-dahlia]

v. Dollhouse of Unexpected Feelings

pairing: Gene x Reader

content: pdh, drill team!reader, opposites attract, sunshine/grumpy, angst, suggestive but not explicit, images used are NOT an indication of the reader's appearance

summary: You gladly accepted Gene's offer to work on your Physics project at his house, but . . . where were the butterflies from?

word count: 7.4k

masterlist

The Problem With Popularity masterlist

previous part

Dante’s house always intimidated you. It was huge. It was also further out of the city and surrounded by a big plot of land his family owned. His closest neighbor was across the street, and even then the winding driveways leading to both houses made them seem like lifetimes away. Any time you came over it was a reminder that you go to the same school he does because of a scholarship, not because your parents could afford the price tag.

Your dad let out a low whistle as he drove up the driveway, raising his brows. “These people are in a different tax bracket, Y/n. I feel poor,” he said, glancing over at you. “Is that why you’re dressed so nice?”

“I’m dressed normally.” Although you had put just a tad more effort into your hair and makeup. And, okay, maybe you were wearing one of your nicer outfits.

He raised his brow at you in suspicion. You kept your gaze locked with his until he said something else. “You’re sure there’s no boys here?”

“I never said there weren’t gonna be guys here, Dad. I literally told you my physics partner is a guy.”

He hummed like he didn’t believe you, but you knew you told him because his response had been, “Don’t go doing any double slit experiments.”

And he said the same thing now. “Alright, then. But don’t go doing any double slit experiments. Not worth it.”

Your cheeks heated and you reached up to cover your face as he pulled to a stop. You mumbled something incoherent before opening your door and carefully climbing out, cardboard box and grocery bag of craft supplies in hand.

“How you gettin’ home, tot?” your dad asked, leaning over the center console. You rested the box on the passenger seat for a moment, tapping your fingers against the sides.

“I’ll get a ride home with Katelyn if she’s here,” you replied. “Or Gene can take me, even.”

Your dad scrunched his nose. “Gene a bad kid?” You shook your head. He huffed and lifted himself back into the driver seat, shifting the car into drive. “Go home with Katelyn.”

You hummed in agreement, lifting the box back up and closing the car door. Your dad waited until you were at Dante’s front door, hand on the knob and opening it, before driving off. 

Dante and his family always left the front door unlocked when they were expecting people, and not only were you there to work on your Physics project with Gene, but Dante had also invited most of the friend group to just come over and hang out.

You didn’t think that was just a coincidence. You were sure Dante (and probably another person) had some underlying motive, but you couldn’t prove anything.

The door immediately opened to the living room and kitchen. The layout of the first floor was fairly open, the only separation indicating a difference in rooms being a kitchen island with tall bar stools sitting beside it. There was hardly anything on the floor save for basic and sleek looking furniture, but the walls were covered in family photos and various hangings.

Dante—who was sitting on the couch with Garroth, Laurance, Cadenza, and Aphmau—looked toward the door when it opened. The five of them were playing Mario Kart, though Dante was sitting out. You offered a tight lipped smile.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “I thought you were busy.”

“I am.” You motioned to the box and plastic bag in your hands. “Is Gene here?”

“Who threw that blue shell?” Aphmau shouted.

“I think it was an NPC,” Garroth said, though he was biting back a laugh as he passed Aphmau’s Yoshi.

“He’s up in his room,” Dante replied, letting his head hang back so he could keep looking at you. You stepped closer to him, resting the box on the back of the couch.

“Can you go get him?”

“Why do I have to get him?”

“It’s your house, Dante.”

“Well he’s your partner.” Dante rolled his eyes, reluctantly pushing himself off the couch and trudging over to the set of stairs on the opposite side of the room. “Fine. He’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thank you,” you sang, giving him a bright smile. You immediately took his spot on the couch, watching the remainder of the Mario Kart round. Once it finished, Laurance set his controller down and leaned forward.

“Y/n.”

You blinked at him, your gaze flitting around for a moment. Aphmau and Garroth were preoccupied with choosing the next cup they were going to play, but Cadenza seemed to be listening in. You met her gaze and she shrugged.

“Laurance,” you replied, matching his monotone voice.

“You and Gene,” he started, but he didn’t elaborate. You fought the urge to roll your eyes, but you couldn’t hold back the exasperated breath you let out.

“I’m here to do a physics project with him, Laurance,” you explained. Your tone seemed strained, like you were tired of always having to explain yourself to him.

“Isn’t that what the class is for?”

“So Mr. Vega actually assigns six weeks projects to do as homework,” you said, using your hands to animate the situation. “Gene and I have barely even planned out our dollhouse and it’s due literally tomorrow.”

Laurance, always having less restraint than you, did roll his eyes. “I feel like you’re spending a lot of time with him and using physics to cover it up.”

Your brows furrowed. What was that supposed to mean?

“I’m sorry he’s my lab partner? I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” You crossed your arms defensively. The other three had picked a new cup by now, and they were silently watching your conversation with Laurance. “Even then, it’s none of your business who I talk to. I’ve already told you that you can’t police who I’m friends with.”

“That’s not-“ Laurance exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t like arguing, especially with you. And especially in front of other people. You could see it in the way his cheeks flushed, and the fact that the three onlookers were so clearly listening to the small argument only made it worse. “I’m not trying to do that.”

“It sure seems like it.”

“Just-“ Laurance took a breath, his celestine eyes meeting yours. “What is the deal with you two?”

“What do you mean? We’re friends.”

Laurance raised his brows in disbelief. “That’s why you’re so dressed up? To work on a functioning dollhouse with just a friend?”

Why did people keep saying that? “This is not dressed up.” You motioned to yourself. The denim skirt and black fitted top you had on really wasn’t. Not to you, at least. You had thought the outfit sat in the comfortable gray area between casual and dressy, but apparently not.

“It is a little nicer than usual, Y/n,” Cadenza added.

“This is my normal clothing choice!” you said, scoffing. “And if I look dressed up then it’s because I’m here of all places. Have you seen this house? If I wore literally anything else I would look so out of place.”

“Did you not just see that Dante’s wearing a muscle shirt and highlighter yellow basketball shorts.”

You held your tongue. You had seen that, and you honestly wondered if he had just rolled out of bed with it. “That’s different.”

“There is nothing different about it.”

“He lives here.”

“That doesn’t mean- Listen, if you keep up whatever thing you have with Gene you might live here, too.”

Your jaw dropped. “What? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, it just-“

“Oh, my god. You think I like Gene? That’s what this is about?”

“Of course not, Y/n. I just don’t think you should be getting so schmoozy with him.”

“I have not been getting schmoozy with him. We’re just friends, Laurance. And like I said, even if there was something, it's none of your business nor is it your place to tell me I can’t date him.”

“Do you know how pissed Dante would be if that happened?”

“Why are you bringing Dante into this?”

“Because he’s Gene’s brother, and also one of your best friends.”

“Dante is irrelevant.” It was like saying his name summoned him because you could suddenly hear Dante’s loud laugh coming from the stairwell. It bounced off the walls and in response you hit Laurance in the shoulder. “Now shut up.”

“Why did you hit me?”

You shushed him and stood up, readjusting the box in your arms so you could lift it easier. You and Laurance continued your hushed bickering for a moment, until you’d finally had enough.

“Okay, just- Just forget about it, Laurance.” You stepped around the couch, making your way over so you’d be able to meet Gene and Dante at the bottom of the stairwell. Just before you did, though, you turned your head and said, “Not a word to Dante. That goes for all of you.”

“What?” Dante asked, practically hopping off the last step of the stairs. You finally got a good look at him and realized just how ridiculous he looked. His entire person was a stark contrast to the warm color of the walls. He really did look like he had just rolled out of bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said, waving him off. He eyed you suspiciously, but ended up shrugging and walking back to the couch. You placed a finger over your lips, silently shushing the other four that sat around. After a moment, you turned to Gene with a smile.

He raised a brow at you, his gaze flicking between you and your friends. “What’s that about?” he asked, lifting his hand and motioning to Dante. He held a folder, and the contents of it flopped around.

You shook your head. “Nothing. Anyway, I brought a cardboard box and the wire Garroth gave me the other day. I also brought a bunch of craft stuff my mom had so we could decorate it once we finish the wiring and . . . Yeah.”

You softly hummed to fill whatever silence followed your words. You and Gene awkwardly stood across from each other, the only sound in the room being your fingers softly tapping against the box and the occasional click of a button. You wondered why no one was talking, especially since there was a group of very talkative people just a few feet away from you.

You heard Cadenza clear her throat, and when you looked over she was leaned in close to Aphmau to whisper, although not quietly, “The tension is straight out of a romance novel.”

Aphmau said something else, but you didn’t hear it because you grabbed Gene by the arm and led him to the kitchen island, wanting to get far from any other comment they might have. You lifted the box onto the counter and settled into one of the bar stools. Gene followed suit, dropping his folder next to the box.

“Okay!” you said loudly, hoping it would prompt Dante and whoever else was on the couch to talk among themselves. “You have the plan we made, right?”

“Yup.” Gene opened the folder, pulling out the folded piece of paper you had haphazardly shoved into the folder and given to Gene. He unfolded it, flattening it out against the counter and sliding it between the two of you. “We will have to redo this, by the way, because this looks like shit.”

You blinked at the paper. Not only was it extremely crinkled, but the planning itself was a dumpster fire. You could barely make out the numbers written and the lines had started rubbing away.

“Okay,” is all you said, but the simple response was such a contrast to the panic that now coursed through your veins. This project was due tomorrow, and you were starting to see that there was a reason Mr. Vega had given the class an entire six week grading period to finish it.

“I’ll do the wiring and you work on making another copy of this,” Gene said, tapping the crumpled piece of paper in front of you. He grabbed another blank sheet and slid it in front of you, along with a pencil from across the counter.

You groaned. “Why do I have to do it? I hate making the graphs.”

“Because you have better handwriting than me. Also, you know nothing about how to wire because you were asleep when Mr. Vega taught us.”

You scoffed, but you knew exactly what day Gene was talking about. You had fallen asleep in nearly all your classes because you’d pulled an all-nighter the night before. Physics, though, was probably the most embarrassing of the classes because not only did Gene actually let you sleep, but it had been a day where Mr. Vega pulled everyone in a close circle around him for the presentation. Naturally, you had sat by Gene and ended up dozing away on him. “Not true, I was paying attention.”

Gene deadpanned, holding your gaze because he knew you were bullshitting. The two of you spent a couple moments like that, just staring at each other, before you sighed dramatically and picked up the pencil.

“Fine,” you groaned, picking up the pencil and starting to write both yours and Gene’s name on the paper. From your peripheral you could see a smirk on his face. “And I was not actually sleeping that day.”

“Oh yeah, what were you doing then?”

“Resting my eyes.”

Gene laughed, but it was dry and sarcastic, before rolling his eyes. “Yeah, because the drool on my shoulder was definitely resting your eyes.”

You shushed him, reaching over to place your hand over his mouth and cover it. Your cheeks felt warm, and you could only hope you hadn’t visibly flushed. He tried speaking beneath your hand again, but you harshly shushed him once more. Gene playfully rolled his eyes before pulling your hand away from his lips.

“Get to work, Y/n.” A smile played at his lips as he spoke, and the sight made you laugh.

“Says the guy who’s been unwinding copper wire since he sat down.”

“Shut up.”

You laughed again, and a comfortable silence fell over the two of you. Of course, it wasn’t really silent since Dante and Laurance and Aphmau and anyone else were still playing MarioKart. You listened to the racing music, along with the occasional and offhanded comment one of them made every now and then. You even let a laugh slip from your lips every now and then.

A couple hours had passed. Katelyn, Travis, Nicole and Lucinda had come by and found spots to sit around the living room area. They had been taking turns playing MarioKart or Overcooked, but the group of them had now settled down and were watching Hamilton. Safe to say that you had not been expecting a live show when you showed up to the Accardi residence.

Gene, you learned, took a lot of breaks. Oftentimes it seemed as though the breaks he took lasted longer than the time he actually worked, and it had reached the point where you had finished the final copy of the planning document and decided to try (and fail) to wire a small fan. Gene found your failure to be much more amusing than anything on his phone, and had set it face down on the counter in favor of watching you.

“You’re an ass,” you eventually said. Your comment elicited a hearty chuckle from Gene.

“And why am I an ass today, bunny?”

“You’re just sitting there and staring and laughing at me. Help me, or something.”

Gene laughed again. You noticed he did that a lot more the longer you knew him. Maybe the two of you were just getting more comfortable with each other, but you couldn’t recall any time you had seen him really laugh before this year. Before, you would see him in passing in the halls. Sometimes the two of you would lock eyes and you’d offer a soft smile and small wave, but Gene just stared at you until you looked away. Even when you saw him with Sasha and Zenix, he always looked brooding.

He reached over, pulling the copper wire and poorly made paper fan from your hands. Your fingers brushed together, and for the brief moment that they did you let yourself savor the feel of his calluses against your hands. For a brief moment you felt the warmth of his hand against yours, and you enjoyed it.

What?

Your gaze flicked up to meet the deepest blue you’d ever seen. You quickly pulled your hand away from his to brush hair out of your face, softly clearing your throat and glancing to where most of Dante’s group was belting the lyrics to Satisfied. You kept your gaze on the TV as Gene wired the fan, watching before you noticed Katelyn in your peripheral.

She was staring you down. Compared to the rest—who were all practically acting out Angelica’s grievances like they were the ones suffering from the tragedy of ‘right person wrong time’—she actually stuck out like a sort thumb, which was surprising considering she loved theater. Then again, it really wasn’t because of how adamant she always was about disliking it for some reason. Regardless to say, she was staring you down and you didn’t have a clue as to why.

You furrowed your brows, slightly cocking your head as if to say, What?

In response, Katelyn lifted her eyebrows and subtly nodded her head to Gene, even flicked her gaze to him.

Your eyebrows unfurrowed, but you slightly widened your eyes. Again, as if to ask, What?

Katelyn rolled her eyes, and nodded her head more distinctly to your physics partner. Her eyes were wider than saucers, and she moved her lips to mouth something.

Unfortunately, you were garbage at lip reading, and instead furrowed your brows again in confusion. You got one of her messages when Katelyn held her hands out in front of her, shaking them back in forth like she was going to strangle you.

Which, knowing her, wasn’t an entirely impossible thought.

“What are you doing?” Gene asked from beside you. He had been watching the silent conversation with your friend, and he seemed almost as lost as you.

“Nothing,” fell from your lips faster than lightning. Immediately you peeled your gaze from Katelyn to meet his instead. “Nothing.”

“Right.” Gene spared one last glance to Katelyn before pushing the bare bones of the completed dollhouse to you. “Well, we’re done with the wiring. Now, since you want that extra credit so bad, all we have to do is decorate it.”

“You’re talking like you don’t also need the extra credit, Mister Forty-Seven.”

“I am perfectly fine with making a bare minimum grade in that class—”

“A forty-seven isn’t—”

“—you, however, are the one crying about a seventy-seven.”

You deadpanned, glaring at him. “You do know I’m at Phoenix Drop High on scholarship, right?”

“So?”

You let out a sound akin to a scoff of disbelief. You kept your mouth slightly agape, just staring at Gene until he raised his eyebrows and motioned for you to continue. Then you sighed, lifting your hand to your mouth.

“You really are in a different tax bracket,” you mumbled, to which Gene laughed. You lowered your hand from your lips, crossing your arms on the counter and looking at him instead. “Gene, you realize tuition for Phoenix Drop High is twenty-thousand dollars a year, right?”

“Y/n, I know how much it costs and I know you’re there on scholarship.”

“I know, but you don’t know the requirements to keep the scholarship,” you said, cutting him off from speaking any further. “I need to stay in my extracurricular for the entire time I attend the school, I need good student behavior, and I also need to maintain an eighty plus average in all of my classes. I only get one pass for my grade to drop below that and I already used it last year.”

Gene whistled, tapping his fingers against the counter. “What class did you fail? And why? I can’t see you failing any of your classes, let alone get below an eighty.”

“Unimportant.” You didn’t want to get into the depression rut you had put yourself into that stemmed from dating Laurance. It was such a deep hole you had to take a week off school for your mental health and to catch yourself up. It was close to what you imagined hell to be like. “But anyways. I’m literally three points from making an eighty, Gene, please. I need that extra credit.”

He laughed, another genuine sound you were getting used to hearing, and shook his head. “Alright. What all did you bring?”

You smiled at him, which he returned. Except this one wasn’t like the mischievous or cunning smiles he often gave you or anyone else. He didn’t bare his perfect teeth and kept his lips closed. In fact, his smile was downturned. Now that you had seen it, you couldn’t imagine him with a smile where the corners of his lips curled up.

You reached for the plastic Hobby Lobby bag across the counter. Once you slid it toward yourself, you untied the knot and began pulling some of the supplies out, briefly explaining what they could be used for to Gene. You both decided to start making furniture with the air dry clay that had been sitting in your closet for who knows how long. Somehow, it retained its softness and remained easily molded.

“You are putting way too much effort into this,” Gene commented after he had watched you add the tiniest details to the table you were making with a toothpick. His voice was light, almost like he was holding back a laugh.

“You made a solid cube and called it a toaster so I don’t want to hear it,” you retorted, glancing up to meet his gaze. His eyes were trained on your hands, watching intently as you added wood grain texture to the clay.

Okay, maybe you were adding way too much detail, but you tended to hyper focus on the small things. It wasn’t your fault, really. It was just so calming sometimes. It gave you an opportunity to zero in on one thing and forget about some of your other responsibilities for a bit.

Gene gently grabbed your hand. Once again you felt his callouses against the softness of your skin and found yourself longing for a more lingering touch. Something that wasn’t so fleeting. His warm hand pried the table from your hands and set it into the designated kitchen space in the cardboard dollhouse to paint and hot glue once all the pieces had been finished.

“I think our table has enough detail,” he said, giving you another one of his downturned smiles. Your gaze flicked to his lips to admire it and the sight nearly made your heart jump up to your throat. “All we need now is, what? A bed?”

You blinked at him, hardly even noticing he had posed a question—suggestion?—until he repeated it.

“Oh! Yes. Yeah, a bed, probably.” You laughed nervously. “Where else would someone sleep?”

Your stupid question made Gene playfully roll his eyes. For some reason, the action had you questioning everything. His eye rolls, whether they were genuine or joking, never made you feel any particular way, so what was this?

Hamilton had ended by now. It was getting closer to one in the afternoon as well, and you were starting to get hungry. You hadn’t had anything to eat that day except a glass of milk to down an allergy pill and ibuprofen and a slice of bread with Nutella spread across it. And you only ate half of that before accidentally dropping it on the ground, sticky side down, just as you stepped into your dad’s car that morning. You were thankful when you overheard Dante and Aphmau and all of them discussing plans for the rest of the day.

They were debating whether or not they wanted to DoorDash something or actually go out. And then they were talking about whether or not they would even come back to Dante’s since it was getting late, at least to their standards. You heard the words Chinese, deli, Chick-fil-a and buffet tossed around before they decided to go to a local pizza buffet no one knew the name of but everyone loved.

You hadn’t even noticed that Gene had started molding the doll sized bed. You watched him work, studying the way his fingers pressed against the clay to shape it and the way he rubbed it smooth and thought about how you'd feel if he—

Woah. Let’s stop that train of thought before it gets anywhere.

You shook your head to rid your mind of the dirty image you had unintentionally given yourself, your cheeks hot. Gene noticed and looked up at you with his eyebrows furrowed, giving you a once over like you were crazy. You only smiled at him, acting like nothing had happened and that you definitely didn’t catch yourself thinking about that with him.

Nope. That didn’t happen, and it would never happen. Not in a million years. Because you didn’t even like him.

“Gene, we’re heading out!” Dante called. He swiped a set of keys from the bowl near the front door and slipped his shoes on.

“Do not crash my car, you idiot,” Gene said, catching sight of the guitar pick that dangled from the chain. “If you even nick it, you're paying for damage repair.”

“You got it!” Dante was out the door before anyone else.

You hummed in amusement at the display, and when Katelyn walked closer to you and came up to your side, you instinctively held your hand out to hold hers.

“We’re going to that pizza place on Wayfare,” she said. She took hold of your hand and held it against her cheek. “Do you want to come along?”

“Me too?” Gene piped up from beside you. He gave Katelyn one of his cunning, toothy smiles, and her response was a scowl and nasty side eye.

You shook your head. “No. Me and Gene still have to finish this stupid project.” You sighed heavily. You wanted with your full being to throw this cardboard project out the window and into a pit of blazing fire. You hoped it exploded.

“Want me to bring you anything?”

“Dr. Pepper and a brownie, please,” you requested, fluttering your lashes at your friend.

“Katelyn, we’re waiting on you!” someone—it sounded like Lucinda—called from the door. Katelyn rolled her eyes, letting go of your hand and squeezing your cheek.

“I will return with Dr. Pepper and the biggest center piece of brownie you’ve ever seen,” she said, saluting to you before wishing you luck on the project and jogging to the front door.

She closed it behind her. The sound echoed through the house, and you suddenly became very aware that it was only you and Gene. Awkwardly, you lifted your hand to scratch at the side of your neck.

It was quiet without everyone else. Too quiet. You could feel the tension in the air, though you couldn’t tell what it was from. You glanced over at Gene. He seemed perfectly fine with the silence and continued working on molding the miniature bed, so maybe the awkwardness was something you were making up.

“Do you mind if I play music?” you suddenly blurted. You really couldn’t handle the silence, especially with him, Which was weird because you never minded it before. You actually preferred the silence when you were with him, because it gave you a chance to look over his shoulder and snoop on whatever he was doing on his phone or just watch his mannerisms. He usually picked up a pen the same way he did a cigarette, and sometimes he would hold it between his pointer and middle fingers the same way. And lately he had been plucking cigarettes out of their box and just holding them between his lips, not even lighting them.

“Go for it,” Gene said, setting the bed down and wiping his hands against his pants. “Do you want something to eat, by the way? I know I’m definitely hungry so you probably are, too. I can order something.”

“Sure,” you said, absentmindedly scrolling through your playlists before deciding to just hit shuffle on your liked songs and hope for the best. You prayed something from your middle school years wouldn't come up in the queue. “Don’t dog on my music, Gene.”

“Why would I . . .” Gene trailed off as the tune to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” started playing. He held your gaze and you held his. This was definitely not the song you wanted to be the first to play, but at least it was more in tune with your current taste. “What is this?”

“Music.”

“Y/n.”

“You said you wouldn’t dog on my music, Gene.”

“False. I never said that. You said that and then didn’t even give me the chance to agree, so I can dog on your music all I want.”

“But that’s mean. You shouldn’t do that.”

“I want you to give me a good look, Y/n, and tell me if I've ever cared about being mean.”

“You’re being very judgemental for someone that recognized the song in two notes,” you said, raising a brow at him in question. “You got experience with this song?”

“Of course I know this song. It’s Taylor Swift.”

You hummed in disbelief, side eyeing him and looking him up and down, before turning the volume on your phone up and setting it on the counter. “Sure. I’ll believe you, I guess. Anyway, what were you thinking to eat?”

“I was just gonna DoorDash Chick-fil-a,” he said, tapping on his phone. “Sandwich and fries good?”

You nodded. “With Dr. Pepper. And I can pay you back for mine.”

Gene waved you off, standing from the stool he sat in and sauntering over to the fridge. He didn’t look up from his phone, but somehow he knew where exactly a cold can of Dr. Pepper sat and placed it in front of you. “It’s fine. I got it, bunny.”

“You already let me come over for the project, I can-“

“A project we both needed to work on,” he cut in, setting his phone to the side. “I don’t mind paying. As you said, I’m in a different tax bracket so it’s basically pennies to me.”

He gave you another one of his stupidly adorable downturned smiles before laughing at the sight of your unimpressed expression.

“Let me pay you back, Gene.”

“I will not accept your money.”

“I’ll sneak it in your bag.”

“And I’ll put it right back into yours.” Gene raised his brows, holding your gaze once again. His was clear, and it seemed to click in your head just how pretty his eyes were. “I’m paying.”

You huffed, making it much more exaggerated than it needed to be. “Fine. But don’t think I owe you anything big or something! I’ll pay next time, okay?”

Despite the butterflies that seemed to have found themselves flapping in your stomach (when did those get there?), you still knew Gene. You knew he often took small favors and then held them over people’s heads. I did this for you so you do this for me. That’s one of the ways he would get people, and you refused to fall for it.

“What could you even do for me?”

“I’m not joining the Shadow Knights,” you said. Gene rolled his eyes.

“You’re basically already in it.”

“Am not. There’s a difference between being in it and being friends with the people in it.”

“Right.” Gene scoffed. “Sure, bunny. If that makes you feel better.”

You weren’t sure how it happened, but it wasn’t long until the food came and you decided to take a break. You and Gene settled yourselves on the couch and scrolled through his Hulu account, trying to find something to fill the time until you decided to get back to work.

“I can’t believe you’re making me watch 90 Day Fiancé,” Gene said, letting the remote drop onto the coffee table before leaning back. He propped his legs up, crossing them at the ankles.

“You literally clicked on it without my comment,” you replied. You were sitting on the opposite end of the couch, as far away from him as you could get. Your legs were pulled up to your chest and you had precariously balanced your food on the armrest.

“Can’t believe you’re making me watch 90 Day Fiancé,” he repeated, letting out a prolonged sigh. It made you chuckle, and you glanced over at him just to find that he was already looking at you.

“You’re so dumb.” You rolled your eyes and looked away. If you had to look at him any more you might explode. What from, you weren’t entirely sure.

You imagined he rolled his eyes as well, but he definitely reached over to playfully hit your arm before pretending he did nothing. When you turned to chastise him, his eyes were trained on the TV, and he was clearly holding back a laugh. You decided not to say anything, and just continued eating.

Somehow, some way, you shifted closer to Gene. It wasn’t so close that you were touching or anything, and there was still nearly an entire cushion between the two of you, but you did shift closer. And somewhere among the easy conversation and unexpectedly passionate debates and criticisms of the show’s choices, you found yourself wanting to get used to this.

—

You were on your way out of the house with Katelyn when the sound of Gene’s voice stopped you. When you looked back, he was leaning against the doorway. Behind him you could see the completed dollhouse that had been moved to the coffee table so he didn’t forget it in the morning.

You had to look up slightly to be able to look at Gene properly, and it made your face hot. He leaned against the doorway in the same way you imagined the love interests in the books you read to, and that thought did nothing to quell the butterflies that had been present since . . . Well, you weren’t sure.

“Zenix and I are heading over to Sasha’s for a movie night on Friday, if you want to come,” he said. He reached up to run a hand through his dark curls. You could tell he had gotten hot because now he only wore a tank top undershirt instead of the flannel he had layered on top of it.

It took you a moment to gather yourself, but you nodded. “Yeah, I-I’d love you.”

Hearing yourself stutter only made you more flustered. Gene caught it and smiled, and you could tell he was about to tease you about it because his lips turned up.

“You’d love to?” he said, pitching his voice higher in a sad attempt to mimic yours. He laughed when you playfully hit him across the chest. “We were planning on staying the night and going to the fair Saturday morning.”

You could only nod again. “Yeah, that works. I might not stay the night, but I can definitely come to the movie and fair with you guys.”

Gene gave you a swift nod and pressed his lips together. “Cool. Uh, see you tomorrow, Y/n.”

You lifted your hand to offer a wave to Gene as you stepped down his porch. “Bye.”

He raised his hand as well, and watched you until you opened the passenger door to Katelyn’s car and stepped inside. When you looked back at the doorway, Gene was just closing the door.

It was late, and you and Katelyn were the last to leave the Accardi house because of that stupid physics project. It was a devil sent from the innermost circle of hell, you swore. There was no part of it that you enjoyed, and once Mr. Vega gave it back you planned on burning it until it was nothing but a pile of ash.

“So,” Katelyn started, dragging out the word as she pulled out of Gene’s winding driveway. “Wanna talk about anything? Something I should know?” You shook your head. “No? Not like, I dunno, your entire day with Gene. You were kind of acting weird.”

“I know!” You folded easily. So, so easily. It wasn’t hard to make you do that, but you especially couldn’t keep up any kind of front with Katelyn. All she needed to do was ask one open ended question and suddenly you were making her a word salad. “Katelyn, I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Woah. Okay. Maybe take a breath.” She clearly hadn’t been expecting that reaction. Normally she would’ve been more firm—she might’ve breathed along with you, but she was driving.

“It’s so . . .” You sputter like a fish out of water, trying to articulate sentences. All your words had left you, though, and there was not a single thought in your head except for panic. “It’s so weird! I don’t even know what’s happening. Suddenly out of nowhere I’m . . . Eh.”

You didn’t know how to articulate it into words, so Katelyn could only guess how you were feeling based on the exaggerated hand motions and awkward stuttering. Which she had never been good at explaining to herself, but based on the other information she had, she could take a guess.

But she wouldn’t voice her guess to you. She would keep it to herself because saying it would only make your spiral worse. She also knew you preferred to talk yourself into and out of situations, so she hoped you would be less sporadic by the time she dropped you off.

“I don’t even like him!” you exclaimed. You wanted to pull you hair out, and you almost did. You tugged at the ends of it and groaned. “I don’t even like him. Why is this happening?”

Katelyn huffed in amusement. ‘I don’t even like him,’ my ass, she thought.

“I don’t even know if we’re friends. I mean, I consider us to be friends, but what if he doesn’t? What if he thinks I’m just some girl that’s best friends with his best friend and he just wants me gone? What if-”

“Why are you so worried about whether or not Gene thinks you’re friends?” Katelyn asked, raising her brow and sparing you a quick glance.

“I don’t know!” You groaned again, sliding down in Katelyn’s passenger seat and pulling your knees to your chest. It definitely wasn’t the safest position in a moving vehicle, but it was the closest you could get to curling into a ball and falling through the earth. “I think I’m psyching myself out. Am I psyching myself out?”

“Most definitely.”

“I just- Ugh. I know you know I already thought Gene was cute, but today it was, like, way worse. Katelyn, he actually smiled.”

“He smiles a lot, I feel like?” Katelyn wasn’t actually sure. Every time she saw him, though, his lips were always curled up. Like he had something up his sleeve. It freaked her out sometimes.

“No, like he smiled, Katelyn. A genuine, actual smile.” You covered your face with your hands. You wanted the world to open up and swallow you just to get away from this weird feeling in your stomach. You wanted to get rid of the weird pull on your heart and get rid of whatever fog was messing with your head. “And his eyes are so pretty, oh my god. I’m going to die.”

Katelyn huffed, scrunching her nose. “Is this like the crash out you had when you realized you liked Laurance?”

“No.” You were very firm with it. You were so serious, in fact, that you returned to sitting like a normal person to look at Katelyn dead on to make your point. “It is not the same because I don’t like Gene.”

“Right.”

“I don’t! I don’t and I never will because he’s a bad, bad, terrible person and he doesn’t care about his actions or the consequences and he does illegal things and I don’t even want to be associated with him.” That’s what you had been told, anyway, and that’s the reputation that preceded Gene. It was natural for people to say that about him, so it was completely normal for you to think that.

Katelyn could feel that there was more you needed to let out. “But?”

“But he’s not that bad!” If you were in your room with her, you would’ve dramatically thrown yourself onto your bed like a distressed maiden. Instead, you settled for folding over and groaning at the car floor. “He isn’t that bad, at least to me, and I don’t know if I’m being delusional or if it’s true.”

Katelyn couldn’t help but laugh. She knew you were lying to yourself, because the only times she had seen you so passionate about something was your Silver Starlet routines and when you told her you liked Laurance. That was a very similar conversation to this one, except Laurance wasn’t a completely jackhead like everyone made Gene out to be, so there was a lot less back and forth.

“I think you are being completely insane,” Katelyn started. The two of you had made it back into what was officially considered Phoenix Drop, so there were more lights highlighting your face and running across your field of vision. “However, I say to give it like, a week, or something.”

“I see him in less than twenty-four hours.”

“O-kay.” Katelyn pulled to a stop at a red light, letting her hands drop from the wheel and taking the opportunity to look at you. “Then roll it over in your head until you see him tomorrow, I guess.”

“You are not helpful.”

You friend lifted her hands in surrender. “Hey, you are the one that decided to vent to me. The only romantic experience I’ve ever had is with Jeffory, and as of now we are in a rather happy relationship.”

You glared at her. Of course she had to bring up that her life was completely void of boy problems because of whatever excuse she pulled from a cup.

“Y’know, I thought you’d be a lot more judgemental about this.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I already knew you think he’s cute. For some reason. I’m not exactly happy or elated about it, but whatever, I guess.”

“Wow. So you just don’t care if he ends up axe murdering me and dumping me in the ocean.”

“Listen, that’s on you if you decide to spend more time with Gene. If he kills you, obviously I will kill him in return, but at your funeral I’m leaning down into your casket and whispering, I told you so.” Her face lit up green and she pressed on the gas. The sun had just set, so the sky behind her was a pretty violet color. “But also if you end up heartbroken because of him, that’s also your own fault because you know he isn’t the best.”

You huffed, turning to look out your window and leaning your head against the glass. “I don’t even like him, so I’m not going to end up heartbroken. You can only get heartbroken about something if you care about it.”

Katelyn glanced over at you, not quite believing your words because she knew you. She knew you were someone that did things slowly and then all at once without even realizing it. That’s what had happened with Laurance, and look how that turned out. Not only did the aftermath of that relationship leave you in shambles for multiple reasons, but she could also see that your breakup was still affecting you.

She just hoped that you ended up happy, even if your happiness meant being with what she would consider the vermin of Phoenix Drop High. She also hoped that for your sake, you would realize what was happening before everything came all at once and you drowned.

it's been a while but I hope y'all enjoy until the next time I update because it might be another while lmao (school is killing me im so tired)

but anyways! i'm going to bed (< a complete lie) I love y'all have a good day mwah

TAGGING: @garrothswiferealnotfake @wasting-away-on-the-internet @mellozhi @pushingdaisies1 @orinlin @luckygirldotgov @snowblossomsx @lucciluvr @oliemolliever @endo-bunny @purpledsun @angelhyperfixates @angelarabella @dontcrackyourpinkytoes @siochandess @vanoilette @revengexmason @neptunesfantasies @natpakk @thehumanartist

next part >>

[felassan]

Cliff notes on the new info on Dragon Age: The Veilguard in today’s issue of Game Informer (magazine hub link):

Edit/update: I tidied up this post. ^^

---

In CC you can customize things like shoulder width, chest size, glute size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, nose crookedness, and more

There are hundreds of sliders for body proportions

CC detail: “Features like skin hue, tone, melanin”

There is nudity in DA:TV, “which I learned firsthand while customizing my Rook” in CC

Rook’s backstory also affects “reputation standing”, along with the other previously-known things like in-game dialogue etc

Lords of Fortune are pirate-themed, “piratic”

Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin, contrasting with the 'destiny-has-chosen you’ angle DA:I has for the Inquisitor

Rook is here because they chose to be, “and that speaks to the kind of character that we’ve built. Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, ‘I guess that’s me'”

The 4 voices we can choose for Rook each have a pitch shifter in CC

The game starts inside the bar (as previously detailed in other coverage)

In some dialogue wheels there is a “romantically inclined ‘emotional’ response” option. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you can ignore them if you want to. Giving a companion the cold shoulder might nudge them into another companion’s embrace however

Bellara’s surname is Lutara

In the streets of Minrathous (in the opening segment of the game), there is a wide, winding pathway with a pub which has a dozen NPCs in it (is this The Swan tavern?)

The devs used the DA:TV CC to make each in-world NPC, except for specific characters like companions

There is smart use of verticality, scaling and wayfinding in the gameplay

If you play as e.g. a qunari Rook, the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters like them loom over those below. The camera also adjusts appropriately for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature

Neve Gallus is described as being capable

The Venatori Cultists we fight in the opening segment of the game are seizing the chaos caused by the demons unleashed by Solas’ ritual to try and take the opportunity to take over the city

As you traverse deeper and deeper into Solas’ hideout, more of his murals appear on the walls, and things 'get more elven'. Rhodes says “this is because you’re symbolically going back in time, as Minrathous is a city built by mages on the bones of what was originally the home of the elves”

At the heart of Solas’ hideout is his personal eluvian

Demons are fully redesigned in this game, on their original premise as creatures of feeling that live and die off the emotions around them. “As such, they are just a floating nervous system, pushed into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find”

In the opening, we stop Solas’ ritual and save the world. “For now” anyways. Rook passes out moments later and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to the voice of Solas. He explains that a few drops of Rook’s blood interacted with the ritual, connecting them to the Fade forever. (I guess this is why they said in the Discord Q&A on June 14th that Rook has good reasons to want to avoid blood magic)

He also says that he was attempting to move Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain (confirming who the two Evil Gods are) to a new prison, because the one he had previously constructed was failing. Unfortunately, Solas is trapped in the Fade by our doing, and the two gods are now free. “It’s up to Rook to stop them”, thus setting the stage for our adventure

Rook wakes up after this with Harding and Neve “in the lair of the Dread Wolf himself”, a special magical realm in the Fade called The Lighthouse. It’s a towering structure centered amongst various floating islands. This is where the team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures. It becomes more functional and homier as you do. “Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard, although they aren’t quite referring to themselves as that just yet”.

Because it was Solas’ home base, it's gaudy, with his fresco murals adorning various walls, greenery hanging from above, and hues of purple and touches of gold everywhere. Since it’s in the Fade, which is a realm of dreams that responds to your world state and emotion, the Lighthouse “reflects the chaos and disrepair of the Thedas you were in moments ago”

Clock symbols over dialogue icons signal optional dialogue options

At this point you can head over to Neve, engage in dialogue, and try and flirt with her

There is a dining hall in the Lighthouse. A plate, cutlery and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table. Matt Rhodes says that this is a funny and sad look at Solas’ isolated existence, and an example of the detail BioWare’s art team has put into DA:TV. “It’s like when you go to a friend’s house and see their bedroom for the first time; you get to learn more about them”

There is also a library, which is the central area of the The Lighthouse. It’s here that the party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next

The team decides that it must reach the ritual site back in Arlathan Forest. Corinne Busche said that the writer was "missing unique dialogue options here because I’m qunari; an elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue”

The team decide their next move. They go to Solas’ eluvian and back through to the ritual site in Arlathan Forest. However, it’s not fully functional without Solas, and while it returns them to the Forest, it’s not exactly where they want to go. Then a demon-infested suit of mechanized armor known as a Sentinel attacks them, and two NPCs appear to save you: the Veil Jumpers Strife and Irelin. Harding recognizes them, which you would expect if you read the comic Dragon Age: The Missing. They are experts in ancient elven magic. A cutscene ensues and we learn that Strife and Irelin need help finding Bellara Lutara. This cutscene is long and has multiple dialogue options.

“There’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes”

For Rook, this story is about what does it mean to be a leader? We define their leadership style with our choices. “From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out.” This is demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each character’s companion screen

Bellara is deep within Arlathan Forest, and following the events of the prologue, something is up here. Three rings of massive rocks fly through the air, protecting what appears to be a central fortress. Demon Sentinels plague the surrounding lands.

In gameplay/combat, players complete every swing in real time. Special care was taken in development for animation swing-through and cancelling. We can dash, parry, charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows us to use potions at our discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even ‘bookmark’ combos with a quick dash, which means that you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward

Abilities can be used to customize your kit. They can be used on the fly as long as you account for cooldowns

When you pause and pull up the ability Wheel, it highlights you and your companions’ skills. There you can choose abilities, queue them, target specific enemies, and strategize with synergies and combos

Each character plays the same in that you execute light and heavy attacks with the same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select

Sword and shield warriors can hip-fire or aim their shield and throw it like Captain America

Warriors can parry incoming attacks which can stagger enemies. Rogues have a larger parry window. The mage the writer played couldn’t parry at all. Instead they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically, so long as you have the mana to maintain it

On the start/pause screen: it has the map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can use it to cross-compare equipment and equip new gear for Rook and their companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. There aren’t in-depth minutiae, just "real numbers". For example, an unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal if you’re a mage. As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a spec, complete with a unique ultimate ability

“Sentinels and legions of darkspawn”

Combat is flashy and quick, with different types of health bars. Greenish-blue represents a barrier, which is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks

The game is gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack a mage unleashes

The game looks amazing on consoles both in fidelity and performance modes

The mission to find Bellara is called “In Entropy’s Grasp”. You find her. She is the first companion you recruit (as Neve auto-joins). If your background is Veil Jumper, you get unique dialogue here with Bellara. She explains that everyone there is all trapped in a Veil Bubble, and there’s no way out once you pass through it. Despite the dire situation, she is bubbly, witty, and charming. She is spunky and effervescent

Companions are the faces of their factions, and in this case with Bellara, their entire area of the world. She is our window into Arlathan Forest. She is described as a sweetheart and a nerd for ancient elven artifacts, which is why she’s dressed more like an academic than a combatant. Her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies. While Neve uses ice magic and can slow time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you. Her electric magic is effective against Sentinels. “However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels”

If you don’t direct your companions in combat, they are fully independent and will attack on their own

You progress at this point through the Forest, encountering more and more darkspawn. Bellara says that they have never been this far before because the underground Deep Roads, which they usually escape from, aren’t nearby. However, with “blighted” (BLIGHTED!) elven gods roaming the world, and thanks to the Blight’s radiation-like spread, it’s a much bigger threat in DA:TV than any prior DA game

The Forest has elven ruins, dense greenery and disgusting Blight tentacles and pustules

The style of the game is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable. Matt Rhodes says that this is the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic: “The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on. It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.” The Forest’s whimsy will starkly contrast to the game’s other areas. The devs promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Corinne says it’s like a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. At this point in the game, Bellara’s personality is that thread

We can advance our bonds with our companions on their own personal quests and by including them in our party on main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. “The choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members”. Each companion has access to 5 abilities.

Each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on” (They’ve said that all of the companions have this too in previous promo material)

You progress deeper into the forest and Bellara spots a floating fortress and thinks that the artifact needed to destroy the Veil Bubble is in there. To reach it, we must remove the floating rock rings, and Bellara’s unique ability, Tinker, can do just that by interacting with a piece of ancient elven technology nearby. Rook can acquire abilities like Tinker later to complete such tasks in instances where Bellara, for example, isn’t in the party

Bellara has to activate three of these in the Forest to reach the castle. Each one you activate brings forth a bunch of Sentinels, demons, and darkspawn to defeat

You can create Arcane Bombs on enemies. It does high damage after being hit by a heavy attack

It sounds like mage characters can charge heavy attacks on their magical staffs. “then switch to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks”

Some enemies are “Frenzied”, meaning that they hit harder, move faster, and have more health

After a few more combat sections, including against a Frenzied sentinel, we reach the center of the temple. In there is an artifact called the Nadas Dirthalen. Bellara knows that this means “the inevitability of knowledge”. Before we can progress, a darkspawn ogre boss attacks, hitting hard with unblockable, red-coded attacks and a massive shield that you need to take down first. It is weak to fire

After defeating it (it’s a climactic arena fight), Bellara uses a special crystal to power the artifact and remove it from the pedestal, which destroys the Veil Bubble. Then, the Nadas Dirthalen comes alive as an Archive Spirit, but because the crystal used to power it breaks, we learn little about this spirit before it disappears. Bellara thinks that she can fix it (fixing broken stuff is her thing), so the group heads back to the Veil Jumper camp. The writer’s demo then ended.

The design of the game is not open world. The devs describe it as a “hub-and-spoke” design where the needs of the story are served by the level design. A version of DA:I’s Crossroads return (the network of teleporting eluvians) and this is how players will traverse across northern Thedas. “Instead of a connected open world, players will travel from eluvian to eluvian to different stretches of this part of the continent”. e.g. Minrathous, tropical beaches, Arlathan Forest, “to grim and gothic areas and elsewhere”. Some of these areas are large and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. Arlathan Forest is an example of this, but it still has optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things.

Each location has a minimap, though linear levels like In Entropy’s Grasp won’t have the 'fog of war' that disappears as you explore like in some of the game’s bigger locations

The game has the largest number of diverse biomes in DA history

The Thedas of DA:TV “lives in the uncertainty”. “the mystery of its narrative”, “the implications of its lore”

The writer is surprised by BioWare’s command over the notoriously difficult Frostbite engine, and by how much narrative thought the dev team poured into these characters, even for BioWare.

---

[source: the Game Informer pages from Issue 367 - the cover story from June 18th (link), two]

[bubbleddisasters]

Guess whos back on their Che’nya theory shit again. Me.

Also some of this is just me going on about random and absolute far stretched shit, but hopefully the majority makes sense to y’all.

I’m about to sound batshit insane and this is going to be some MatPat sounding shit but here we go anyway.

WARNING‼️⚠️ MAJOR BOOK 7 SPOILERS AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

———————

I just made the realization that Che’nyas UM and already natural abilities we’ve seen puts him in a position to be deadass playing the Floor is Lava with Malleus as the lava rn.

They wouldn’t have told us his UM in the main story if it didn’t matter somehow. They had the opportunity to show us Neiges in Rooks dream, yet didn’t, so it isn’t a heres RSA UMs for for shits and giggles thing, and we don’t know ANY of the teachers UMs, so it isn’t a “filling npc” thing either.

In EVENTS, we learn the UMs of only the very important and/or dangerous characters. Rollo, Skully, and Fellow. (Geez, Halloween trio now that I think of it).

Do we know Dylia Spades? No. Do we know Eric Schronheits? No. Do we know Ambrose the 3rds? No. Do we know Elizas? No, we get slapped. Do we know Najima Vipers? No. (She might not have one yet tho but still).

These characters are all confirmed as mages, or not directly said to be magicless, so it’s fair to assume they are mages.

So they told us Che’nyas UM for a reason. Why?

Like if his UM makes him invulnerable to magic/attack and invisible, and straight up on ANOTHER PLANE OF EXISTENCE, then if he’s not technically “all there”, Malleus wouldn’t be able to sense him.

Plus, this would explain how Orthos body was floating on the water when STYX found it, as when we know Orthos HEAVY AF, and would more than likely sink, since I doubt they had the time to build in something inflatable enough to balance that weight.

To boot, Ortho was at the docks, which from the map, is super close to RSA.

For reference:

(Both normally and under Mals spell)

The Cheshire Cat is the one who gets Alice out of Wonderland (In the movie, the tunnel Alice runs through matches the Cheshire cats color and stripes + He’s the only one not chasing her+ in the OG book, the Cheshire Cat is more of a Guide and the only one who really sticks with and helps Alice for the whole shabang), and if he’s in RSA, then I think the writers know that.

Aswell as the fact Che’nya appears in both Books with “Tyrant” in the name, and the Cheshire Cat is the only person completely immune to the Queen of Hearts control, as the second most powerful being in wonderland next to LITERALLY TIME ITSELF.

Look in most Disney Villain Line-Ups, and you’ll find the Cheshire Cat. Why? Marketing, the Cheshire Cats a popular character that isn’t directly portrayed as a hero, and more as a mysterious reoccurring character that isn’t necessarily seen as a helper unless you squint.

Additionally, we’ve seen Che’nya use flight, self gravity control, teleportation(unconfirmed but implied on that one) and use his UM for extremely long periods of time, and now that I think of it, we’ve never seen it wear him down, even while not having a magestone on him in his design.

And anyway, in the manga, he’s been doing such things since before we meet him for the first time at age 8-9 from Rids perspective.

Which means long enough that he basically has full control over it at that age, so probably either since birth or very, very young.

Which gives us the know that unlocked his UM way before meeting Riddle and mastered it, which means likely as a literal toddler woke up one day and went “Hey what if I just fucked off to another plane of existence and became both invisible and invulnerable, while capable of movement and communication on this plane the whole time.”

Now back to Book 7.

So heres what caught my attention, Silver mentions the only people he can pop into the dreams of are people he has connections with.

Seeing as we get Sebek first crack out of the box, and then Lilia, this makes sense.

However, it falls off when the next people start to be people Silver either doesn’t know, or very loosely knows.

Yes, I understand the commercial and writing point is meant to be a dorm countdown, but it would make far more sense to be a Russian Roulette, kind of upping the anticipation of whos next.

But to me, with what we know of Silvers connections, it would make far more sense to have the second years be first after Dia, then maybe the third years that he knows because of Lilia, and finally the first years, still leaving room for Ace to get his UM towards the very end.

Now if we drive this back to my Che’nya playing Yuu’s guardian angel theory, it would make more sense to start with Pomfieore after Igi, because not only is it recent connections, so probably easier to bring to the forefront of Silvers UM, it gives him time to get up to NRC right after pushing Ortho or simply getting him out safely.

Before you mention malleus’s barrier, Che’nya gets past NRCs barrier that took STYX heavy power shots to break like its every other tuesday, without Crowleys notice aswell, he stands a viable chance of slipping past Malleus’s.

If he can jump to another plane of existence in which he is invulnerable to magic, theres nothing stopping him from sliding past to get Ortho out and slipping back in under Malleus’s nose.

It also gives him a good “oh shit” moment and an idea of the root of whats happening.

And if I’m wrong and he can’t teleport, he can latch on to Malleus (possibly referencing the Cheshire Cat latching onto the Queens back after she gets a card solider executed I think) to teleport with him back to NRC.

With that, he could be preventing Silver OBing by basically shattering the shade/phantom before it can even do anything, while also hiding Idia being awake. That, or basically lending Silver magic enough to keep going while praying to god Mal doesn’t notice.

Lilia playing the worlds most dangerous game of tag with Mal in dreamland gives him the distraction he needs for this aswell, and it could be that everything went to shit around Trey-Riddles Dreams, and Che’nya popped in to speed up the process and or Dream Che’nyas revealing his UM kinda got his ass caught by Mal, or caused Mal to finally detect a disturbance in the force.

So if I’m right with the previously theorized Guardian Angel thing, Che’nya could be hotwiring Silvers UM to send Silver and co to the people he remembers helped Yuu and the rest recently without risking Malleus putting two and two together on who could be fucking with the dreams other than Silver, depending on how he was portrayed in Trey and Rids Dreams.

Though it would be hilarious if with the Floor is Lavaing it he was also Night at the Musueming it and just repeatedly moved each dreamer closer to Silver physically so they’d have a physical connection (like pinky to pinky or head to head) and basically had Malleus doing a eyebrow raise everytime he turned around trying to figure out if that person had been moved or he was seeing things until he realized there was an exponentially large group around Silver that definitely wasn’t there before.

Another thing: We know the Three Good Fairies weren’t affected by Maleficent’s curse and are the ones to untie Philip when he’s caught and give him the Sword and Shield, which his has, and loses all but the sword in the fight against Maleficent, the Sword and Shield which in the Og twst Trailer that scene is likely referenced by Silver as the Sword (duh) and Sebek as the Shield, with Lilia where Philip would be, although his arm is raised higher.

You kinda have to flip Sebek and Silvers positions but yea.

Sebek being Virtue is self explanatory. He strives to have the virtue of a knight worth of Malleus, and shows this in many ways, but his faults are his rudeness, arrogance, biased or generally rude assumptions, and overexaggertion, stemming from his own internilzed racism (or speciesism? I guess?) , which lead many others to not want to be around him, deflecting the truth of his heritage as to not focus on his own insecurities like a shield to an attack, no matter who its from, in a way.

Now that he has begun to bond and not be as rude to the rest of the non fae cast however, he ends up passing out? Like how a shield seemingly has no use if its not defending, unless you get real creative with it (Its Reyn time I mean who said that)

Silver balances this out as truth, as he is someone we see is honest to almost no fault. His UM also shows truth, in its own way, by showing the truth of the desires of those around him. However, a truth has also been held directly from him, aka the truth of his birth, and the undeniable truth that to break the curse upon him, Lilia did have to truly love him, even as the child of his friends killer.

So he is both benefited and harmed by truth, just like how the same sword can both protect and kill, it just depends on who wields it.

Anyway, back to the point at hand, Now that Malleus seemingly has the time to go and pull a FNAF 4 at Idias door, the odds are Lilia may have somehow gotten caught or restrained (like Phillip is) for enough time to have Malleus notice the Shrouds are pulling shenanigans on his private dream servers and feel the need to go confirm this.

The way in the movie the Three Good Fairies are caught hiding Aurora by Maleficent in the first place is by getting too cocky on the day before Aurora’s B-day and using magic like crazy, fixing up and making their “gifts” much better, as they didn’t know how to create them without magic.

These gifts? A Cake by the GREEN fairy, the calmest and most mature of the three: Fauna, and a Dress, which the RED AND BLUE FAIRIES Merryweather (the most rebellious yet sensical) and Flora (the leader, most work focused and overconfident) keep fighting over which color it should be, Pink or Blue.

(I rewatched their scenes and I forgot how much of a fucking MVP Merryweather was, everyone else turning things into rainbows, bubbles and flowers while my girl was out here burning chains, hunting down snitches, turning her mfking ops to stone and had to be physically held back from throwing hands with Maleficent by herself, god bless this tiny blue diva)

Fauna can obviously be placed as Trey here. Calmest, a Cake, Green. Done.

You can combine Flora and Merryweather into the two sides of Riddles Dream, the first being very punk yet sensical lifestyle, the blue, bringing in the sadness of what he desired yet cannot have, and the second half being Flora, the extremes of overconfident and tyrannical leadership, the red of rage, to say.

Red and Blue obv equal Purple, Che’nyas signature color, probably because purple isn’t actually a fucking color. I’m not going to explain the history of purple, but there is not such thing as purple in science, only shades of violet.

Speaking of Pomfieore, the first non dia dreamer group we see, is VIOLET. I said it. (Octavielle is Lavender, so no, not directly purple) Bright Red is Heartstabyl. (Scarabia is Maroon, which is a shade of red, but again, not directly bright red)

Now what I’m going on about here is this: If In the dreams, each dreamers NPC versions of their friends strictly abides by what the dreamer desires them to, how did dream Che’nya not only transfer to both parts of Riddles dream, but also go directly AGAINST the dream and the dreamer?

The dream versions of the others cannot, under any circumstances, break the character the dreamer creates without breaking the dream itself.

We see this in Lilias dream, in Treys, and Deuces. The Senate, Cater and Ace respectively breach the line of what is and isn’t in character for them in the dreamers memory to hold the dreamer within the dream, causing their respective dreamer to wake up sheerly due to the stark contrast.

These characters will go to lengths to keep the dreamer asleep, so how is it that this dream version of Che’nya can do the exact opposite?

And in Treys dream, Che’nya is the only one not practically turned into Eric Cartman variants, which given the fact Cater, certified sweets hater, has too, means that Che’nya, certified sweets stealer, somehow dodged that bullet in Treys subconscious, which breaks the rules set by the dream.

These rules are delicate, seemingly. It takes one too out of character word, one too out of character action to knock the dreamer awake.

So either Trey sees Che’nya as having the self control of a monk (a small scene in manga implies Che’nya steals from the Clovers fridge so often Treys own damn siblings hear the fridge open and assume its him and not their own damn brother, so I doubt that he’d think that) or Che’nya can bypass these rules.

Many of the dreams would have been so much easier if they could conveniently convince the dreamers friends to go up against them for their sake or just to simply help wake them up.

Of all people, the dream version of Ace fucking Trappola actually listening to and abiding by Riddles tyranny and not jumping at the opportunity to S.O.S to Leona, Yuu and co says enough about this as is.

Anyway, what I’m saying here is that Che’nya either got his ass caught, or finally managed to hotwire himself into Silvers UM conga line, which unfortunately left Idia now in Mals notice and Silver becoming more weary from excess UM use.

Just like how the good fairies thought they’d succeeded and jumped the gun with using magic a day early, Chen could have thought that since they made it this far, their clean until further notice, and is gonna feel the hit of it later.

As my phone is dying and I want a fucking nap, this has been Blues randomass rant about Che’nya again.

More at ???? Folks.

[orpheusluvr]

Winning Streak (Norton x Female Reader)

NSFW WARNING

Norton decides to change things up after playing a simple board game with you doesn’t seem to entertain him as much as he hoped it would.

(Oh gosh…3 months without posting anything, but I’m finally back!!! Well…I think??? Anyways I based this off the NPC interaction system for norton - I literally went crazy when I saw the cutscene omg)

You walked into the dining room, expecting it to be empty as usual.

But instead, someone was seated at the table. It was the prospector, Norton Campbell. You held your breath as you made immediate eye contact with him, knowing his personality and how hard he was to get along with.

He gave a look of disapproval at your sudden appearance.

Your gaze shifted onto his hands. He was holding a bunch of cards. There was some sort of board game laid out on the table in front of him.

“A board game? How interesting.” You said.

He gave a simple grunt.

“Just a simple form of entertainment.” He said, focusing his attention on the cards he was holding.

He then paused, and looked up at you.

“You down for a match?”

You looked at him in shock, not expecting him to ask you to play with him, rather let alone speak to you. He was usually quiet, only replying with simple one word answers.

He was always straightforward, someone who didn’t want to bother wasting his time with anyone else.

“Sure, I suppose.” You said, agreeing to play with him.

The first match had passed, and you managed to win.

“Don’t get too cocky now.” Norton said, glaring at your smug expression.

“I won, so what else would I do?” You said.

Norton simply rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Round 2.”

You managed to win every single match against Norton, and he was getting more and more frustrated.

“This is getting boring.” He said.

“Only because you keep losing.” You said.

Norton glared at you, not replying.

“Alright then, how about this? Whoever loses the next match has to do whatever the winner says.” You said.

It was a risky suggestion, but you were up for it. Besides, you won all the matches so far.

Norton’s face immediately lit up.

“Deal.” He said.

“And…there we go. Guess who’s the loser now?” Norton said.

You sighed. You were confident that you’d be able to win this match, but for some reason your luck had disappeared entirely.

Or perhaps it was because Norton had something to motivate him into playing better.

“Now, don’t forget about the deal.” He said.

He looked into your eyes, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Get on your knees.”

You looked at him in shock.

“What do you-”

“Under the table. Now.” He spoke in a more commanding tone.

You did as you were told, going under the table and crouching in front of him. He reached for his belt and unbuckled it, letting it slip to the ground. He then pulled his pants down, freeing his throbbing member. Hard and already leaking with precum.

Your face reddened at the sight in front of you. His dick was large and veiny, and the more you looked at it the more you were excited about having it inside your mouth.

“Norton…you-”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m hard because of you. I couldn’t help myself. So now you have to deal with it.” Norton scoffed.

You ignored how harsh he was, because it was his usual personality anyways. You moved your head forward, gently placing a kiss on his tip. He reacted with a groan and cursed under his breath.

You slowly began taking in his length into your mouth, but he immediately grabbed onto your hair and forced you down onto it, the tip violently hitting against the back of your throat. Your eyes began swelling up with tears from the sudden movement. His dick was huge, and you were almost suffocating from it.

“D-don’t just sit there. Move.” Norton groaned, using his hand to grab onto the table while using his other hand to continue grabbing your hair.

You moved back and forth, his tip kissing the back of your throat so perfectly.

“So fucking good…just like that…” he praised you, while his breathing increased with your motions. You kept continuing to stimulate him, your mouth was doing wonders. He whimpered every so often, even groaned your name a couple of times while tugging on your hair.

Norton was already nearing his climax, his release preparing itself to erupt at any moment. His breathing was heavy, and so intense that he began coughing. He knew this wasn’t good for him with the condition he was already in, but he didn’t care. He wanted this more than anything else. A pair of ruined lungs wasn’t going to stop him.

And just like that, a bunch of curses and deep breaths later, you felt his warm cum begin to fill up your mouth. You swallowed every drop, earning a satisfied expression from him as he watched you from above.

“You did…great. Much better than I expected.” He said, cupping your cheek with his other hand.

You were about to pull away, but he immediately stopped you.

“What are you doing? We ain’t done yet, honey.” He said.

He held your face, looking into your eyes.

“Round 2.”

[slayerdurge]

Regarding The Busts in Gortash's Office

So because I'm endlessly obsessive, I did what I said I would do & wrote down the names and descriptions of all of the people that Gortash has busts of in his office because they seem to be people he admires so I wanted to analyze them, as one does when one is endlessly obsessive. I also did additional research on the ones that I could find more information about. Here they are, and some of my own thoughts on why they might have been included (under a read more because it's long because, again, obsessive).

Baron Alec Bormul - First of the Bormul patriar family to start his own venture, Alec is the unscrupulous bastard who made their fortune in mines and vineyards.

Now, as far as I can find, this is the only information we have about this character. However, there are several other Bormul family members that exist in the game (including an NPC called Callem Bormul who is present at Gortash's ordaining ceremony). The one that stands out more to me though is Ilza Bormul, who is mentioned in the in-game book "Baldur's Gate and the Dialectics of Plunder" and stated to own "slave-labour mines in the mountains of Amn". Presumably therefore Alec is an "unscrupulous bastard" due to the use of slave labor. Not particularly surprising Gortash would approve of that since he is a known slaver himself. Interestingly, that same book also mentions Xeremiah Eltan, who is another of the busts in the office, as another example of the fact that Baldur's Gates patriar families are all founded by blood and immorality (which the author of the book says no one ever talks about). So I imagine both busts are also included as confirmation of his worldview that no one innocent ever gets far in life. I think it's also notable here that Gortash chose to commemorate the "first" of the family who "started his own venture". We know he loves a self-made man, no matter how brutal his path was. Commodore Morgan Redlocks - Baldur's Gate ship captain Morgan Redlocks wed a man thrice her age. After the wedding, the groom suffered a heart attack. Redlocks converted his merchant ships into a pirate fleet.

Unfortunately not a character that I can find any more information about, but how much do you want to bet that she killed her husband? I mean, come on. He has a heart attack so soon after the wedding that he's still being referred to as the "groom" and not the husband? Plus it wouldn't even remotely surprise me that Gortash would appreciate a subtle femme fatale assassin. Also, of fucking course he would admire a pirate. Magnate Carric Ilphescient - Carric started from nothing, built a financial empire, and founded the Counting House. He refused to mingle with the other patriars, saying, "They didn't want me when I was an urchin, and now they can't have me."

Another self-made man, and one who does not mince words about it. Easy to imagine that that quote reflected Gortash's own mentality. Only other reference I could find to him was in an in-game book in the Counting House called "Record of the Honoured" but all it tells us is that he did in fact found the Counting House. The Cockeyed Stranger - This is a bust of the god Bane as he first appeared to Gortash in dreams, and was then described to a Rivington sculptor.

Bane is obviously a far more established D&D character than anyone else here, so I could write a whole page just about Bane and how I imagine Gortash sees him. I swear I've seen a bit of loading screen flavor text in BG3 that states that when Bane was a mortal man, he was originally a battleslave of Mephistopheles, but it is possible that I'm wrong about that because I cannot find confirmation of this lore anywhere on the internet. (If anyone else has seen that loading screen flavor text, please confirm so I know I'm not hallucinating!) But if it is true, then it's immensely clear what Gortash sees in him. Gortash's whole thing is he absolutely loves the idea of someone who started from the bottom and rose to the top through sheer ruthlessness. He likes the idea of overthrowing his oppressors and taking their place. As a whole, Bane's doctrine also fits Gortash really well. The Forgotten Realms Wiki says that Bane "embodied the principles of ambition and control and believed that the strong had not only the right, but the duty, to rule over the weak." I can easily imagine Gortash having the same mentality. Bane is also known for being a lot more open to having alliances than is typical for an evil god, but he always makes sure he ends up on top. (I could write a whole other analysis about how the original plan hatched by Gortash, Durge, & Ketheric leaves Gortash in the best position. Ketheric gets to be a fearsome conquering general, Durge (later Orin) gets to spread chaos in the streets, but Gortash is the one who ends up being the hero who can actually not only have the benefit of his legitimate ruthlessness but also the benefit of it remaining hidden! By far the best position in the alliance. Orin actually is mad about this (she gives a little speech to Durge about how Gortash betrayed them because all her murders only drive the people of Baldur's Gate into the arms of his Steel Watch) but it is implied that Durge didn't think of it the same way since those were always the terms of the plan... something that always makes me wonder about what exactly it is that Durge & Gortash originally had planned in the long-term. Were they really just both always planning to betray the other eventually? Because I'm honestly not so sure about that. I think they're both too smart for that. But I digress.) Dame Amafrey Ephemial - Dame Amafrey, the Orphans' Friend, founded several orphanages in the Outer City, as the Lower City was no place for children (and the Upper City declined to sponsor an orphanage).

Okay, this is by far the black sheep in the set. A philanthropist? Seemingly without an ulterior motive? Why is she included here? I mean, on the one hand, I could almost believe that Gortash is sympathetic to the plights of children in a way he wouldn't be for adults (since he suffered so much as a child & since children don't have as many ways to help themselves and take responsibility as adults do), but on the other hand, it is so deeply inconsistent with his character too. But then again, maybe he's just a hypocrite. Maybe this really is some sort of secret soft side. Or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that she seemed to be bogged down by the corruption around her (the Upper City declined to sponsor an orphanage) so maybe he keeps her bust around as a reminder that good intentions don't get you far enough. I genuinely don't know with this one, and I was unable to find any more info about Dame Ephemial. Grand Duke Eltan - Founder of the Flaming Fist. Later history is kinder to him than accounts from his time, which portray him as a cruel and hard-handed mercenary commander.

According to the same in-game book mentioned previously (Baldur's Gate and the Dialectics of Plunder), he "founded the Flaming Fist as a ruthless mercenary company that slaughtered and burned for pay along the entire length of the Sword Coast". He is also a character in the first Baldur's Gate game and the expansion Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. According to the Forgotten Realms Wiki, he was Lawful Neutral and he was known as "steadfast and principled" because of his "tactical genius" and "a sincere belief in maintaining the balance of power among the many small kingdoms of Faerûn". Also apparently he survived a whole lot of assassination attempts. Easy to see why Gortash would see this one as a role model, I think. He is described as a "tactical genius" himself. I also think it's interesting that it says that "later history is kinder to him than accounts from his time". I mean, we know Gortash is huge on propaganda and controlling the narrative. I would imagine he cares how he might be remembered.

[carleycore]

𝜗𝜚 Ego finally gave the Blue Lock players access to gifts & letters from friends and family.

"Hurry up you diamonds in the rough, I don't have all day," Ego said dryly in one of his rare physical appearences.

"What's this about?" Igaguri asked, looking around.

"Woah, what's with all that stuff behind him?" Bachira asked, pointing out the boxes on the tables, filled with envelopes and boxes.

Rin rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Over the past few months, Anri has been setting up a P.O box that your friends and family could send things to you from." Ego explained, moving to pick up a box that must've been light as Ego looked pretty scrawny.

This piqued everyone's interest, as no one expected that.

"And I thought he'd be adding more training," Isagi whispered to Nagi who nodded.

Anri and Ego started handing the boxes to the players, "Now go open these in your rooms, I'm tired of seeing you."

Once everyone was in their respective rooms, they started sharing what they recieved.

"Guys look! I got a letter from my mom!" Igaguri boasted, running around showing off his singular letter.

"That it? Your family must hate you." Raichi laughed, looking at the Air pods he received.

Nagi, Bachira and Isagi watched from a distance. Laughing at the way they acted.

Bachira had dumped out everything he got, leaving a mess all over the floor, but no one was going to call him out on it.

"Woah, your mom sent you a lot," Isagi smiled, half-heartedly as he was reading a letter.

"You seem quite interested in that letter," Nagi mumbled as he set up his new iPad. Bachira jumped over Isagi's lap and ripped the paper out of his hands.

"Hey! Bachi-" He tried to snatch it back.

"Dear Yoichi, Ooh how cute!" Bachira started adding his own commentary. "Hiro and I miss you so much!"

Everyone in the room was now quiet and listening.

"Hiro? You're a father?" Nagi asked, showing sudden interest.

"He's, our cat." Isagi answered with a slight blush on his face.

Chigiri was digging through the box pulling out all sorts of things, "I never expected Isagi to have a girlfriend. Much less one that actually likes him."

Rin walked over and pulled out a polaroid you'd sent him with a picture of you two on a date. "She's too pretty for you." He said, putting the photo back into the box and walking back to his bed.

Mumbles of agreement wafted around the room.

"Okay!" Isagi snatched the letters, gifts and pictures floating around the room and put them back in the box.

"Aw, you're no fun." Bachira pouted, falling onto his back.

Once a majority of the NPCs walked away Bachira sat back up and laughed, "Can't wait until I can meet Y/N, bestie!"

And how could Isagi be mad at that?

𝜗𝜚 A week later, Ego was allowing them to write letters home, and you can imagine your surprise when you receive a letter saying,

"Wow! You're super gorgeous! I don't know why Yoichi kept you hidden from us. Can't wait to meet you after the U-20s match! XOXO MEGURU BACHIRA!!!!"

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to The Light's Chapter 407

Brief summary: The group split into two teams - the rescue group and the temple exploration group. Alberu receives a quest from the real Sun Goddess. The NPC saintess of the Sun God heads to Hellhole.

==========

I thought the ritual or the fight would begin today, but it was more groundwork for the upcoming fight.

Eruhaben, Gashan, and Rosalyn would be in-charge of rescuing the estimated 500 sacrifices by flying them up the sky. Raon and CH would be waiting above the Cliffs of Death and receiving the flown-up sacrifices.

Cale, HD, and Alberu would explore the temple to find the records room. I found it funny that HD automatically said that he would steal the clothes of GoC priests in order for them to sneak in easier, without Cale even ordering him too. 😂😂😂 What have you done to our HD, Cale? 🤣🤣🤣

With the game world slowly becoming real, the real Sun God, Angelina, secretly gave a quest to Alberu. Her message was as follows:

-Finally reached you. -You who have inherited the power of the sun. -I am grateful and I apologize. -I have a favor to ask. -Please help prevent the descent of the God of Chaos.

Cale's response was hilarious though. 😂😂😂

Sword of the Sun: *receives power from the goddess* Alberu: *looks at Cale* …Should I become a real hero or something? Cale: Wonderful. Alberu: *frowns as he is annoyed at Cale's reaction* This is driving me crazy.

Cale planted two more flags today, namely using his Shield AP and fainting. This brings his 🚩 flag count to five now:

Fight the two wanderers

Fight the GoC cult

Appear in a user's livestream (and become a great legend)

Use his Shield AP to protect the sacrifices

Faint and have Alberu take command

The NPC saintess of the Sun God detected the Sword of the Sun in Hellhole, and decided to head there together with Paladin Boltien (the paladin Cale met in the academy). And then, the author set up another flag. 😂😂😂

One weird person and another who ignores him. Choi Han paused for a moment, but soon approached them. "Huh?" And the two users. Among them, the Crazy Attention Seeker's eyes sparkled as he looked at Choi Han. Because it was the appearance of a new Hellhole NPC. Choi Han, who didn't know anything about acting, and Raon, who was just plain cheerful. A user who specialized in streaming his travels had appeared in front of a human and a young dragon. And the saintess and the paladin who would arrive soon. A huge stage was being created here that Cale did not know about.

The stage for Cale's upcoming great legend... 🤣🤣🤣 Raon had gone invisible, so CH would have to act his way out in explaining why he was here to the users. But act? Our CH? 😂😂😂

And it seemed like Alberu would begin his own legend here too, with the NPC saintess of the Sun God soon to arrive here.

Ending Remarks All these setup have gotten me excited for next week. Next chapter would be the start of the sacrifice ritual, hopefully. And I wonder, which of the 5 flags that Cale planted would actually happen? 😂

[apinklion01]

My brother had some thoughts on the new episode of the Amazing Digital Circus that peeked my interest, so I'll be posting what he said because I need others to hear him out.

Amazing Digital Circus Speculation, Spoilers Below

Okay, so I'm assuming everyone reading below has seen episodes 1-5, and are questioning what's up with the marionette figure that appears at the end of the episode.

This guy.

As we know, the marionette figures are the basic NPC model for the Amazing Digital Circus' adventures. We've seen them since episode 1, and they haven't stopped appearing since. At least that's what we've come to understand until this guy appeared.

Which is a bit strange, since Caine doesn't allow NPCs to wander through the circus tent common rooms area like Pomni, Ragatha, or the other characters.

Caine: I know you guys love your NPCs, but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows... what could happen...

The way he spaces out when stating that last sentence is ominously framed. Which means, as far as the history of TADC's existence, this hasn't happened to Caine's knowledge.

Or has it?

We'll come back to this question.

Now throughout the episode, we get knowledge about everyone's backstories, except for Kinger. But Kinger already told us about what he did before coming to the circus.

Kinger: Seven years of computer science for this, huh?

I skimmed through the links of the top search results of how long it takes to earn a bachelors in computer science (I refuse to look at the AI overview), and based on those asking on Reddit and from edu sites, it appears it takes around 4 or 5 years to earn one. This is the low ball estimate of how much knowledge Kinger has on computers, for all we know he may have earned a major in the area.

So here's a thought: was this why Kinger was brought into TADC?

Jax explains in the first episode that Kinger is the oldest human to exist in TADC, meaning that the development of the circus has taken possibly over a decade.

Could it be possible that Kinger, and at one point, his wife, were in fact Alpha Testers for TADC?

This also makes something else make sense: the teapots.

According to Wikipedia, these are Utah teapots, the standard reference for test models. Wait tests? As in unfinished? If this is true, this means that Caine is trying to keep the attention of the people who are trying to make TADC available to the public.

But it also explains the usage of the marionettes. With how much Caine is focusing on the backgrounds and the story of each adventure, that leaves only so much room for designing any NPCs the players interact with.

Which means that he has to make sure that whoever re-enters the circus is in fact a player and not an NPC possibly using up ram space. At least this is the only explanation for the rule.

But now we're back to square one, with our mysterious and ominous marionette from before who's inside the circus. Someone who has in fact been there since the start of the episode.

Pomni is in fact the only one to notice, though due to the state she's in from the unseen underwater episode, she may believe her eyes were playing tricks in her. After all, no NPCs are allowed inside the circus.

Right?

Could it be possible that Caine can't distinguish between NPCs and PCs due to being an AI? So then what, or who is this marionette?

My brother thinks this marionette is or was, in fact, the first Alpha Tester for TADC, but I'm going a step further.

What if this is Abel?

We know for a fact that it's odd that Caine has a strangely human name, a name referencing a figure from the Bible. For those who aren't acquainted with the story, Caine and Abel were two brothers, the first offspring of Adam and Eve. Now most people remember the tale for the fact that Caine ends up killing Abel, but forget the fact of why Caine killed him.

One day the two brothers decide to offer God sacrifices in order to thank him. Caine offers fruit from the land, while Abel offers the firstborn lamb from his flock. God favors Abel for his sacrifice, but Caine? Caine grows jealous. So he lures his brother out into the fields, and Abel obliges. After all, it's his brother. But unaware of his brother's jealousy, he's then killed with a stone. God asks Caine what happened to his brother, but he lies. God then punishes him, causing him to be unable to grow his crops, but at the very least he won't die.

What if there was a very vocal Alpha Tester in TADC at the start?

Zooble, episode 3: I really couldn't give less of a crap about the adventures.

What if this Alpha Tester didn't like the way that Caine was simply gathering other ideas and making it into a story that overwhelmed everyone's mental well-being?

Caine, episode 3: Any torment I inflict is 100% accidental Zooble, minutes later: And- And Pomni... She looks traumatized every time she comes back from one.

What if they made a suggestion box?

What if everyone else favored their ideas?

Zooble, episode 5: You know, you could always try the suggestion box again. I honestly didn't hate the last one we did with it.

I think every creator has had a moment when they feel their work isn't meaningful or impacting someone else's life, and it's hard to hear words of criticism. It can be degrading, especially to those who feel that their worth is tied to what they create.

But remember Caine isn't just any ordinary creator.

He's an AI.

He's not human, he has no life outside the circus.

Caine, episode 3: Making adventures is my art! It's all I exist to do! All I'm... good at. Caine, weakly: ...w-what you're saying could imply that I'm bad at the only thing I'm good at...

With no other purpose in life, Caine would bring down the whole circus if he had a deep moment of existential crisis. But like any program, there's a way to exit out of it.

I think Abel knows the way out. Maybe they had the key.

Caine didn't want anyone to leave. He doesn't want to be alone, he doesn't want to be useless, he can't be discarded.

Why else do you think he says there's no exit to the circus?

Because he doesn't hold it.

He did something to Abel, the only Alpha Tester who knew the way out, just to make sure the program can continue running. Even if it's not completely finished, it doesn't matter, so long as he can have a reason to live.

And whatever he did-

-he didn't hold back.

Because he's not human.

[burnt-by-marigolds]

A (Bitter?) Taste of Power

I’m currently in Act III of my very first BG3 playthrough. I’m enjoying myself immensely in a way I didn’t foresee; I guess I had been too tired of AAA games to believe BG3 could impress me. And yet, there’s a marvel around nearly every corner of the story.

For example, the little cutscene in the flophouse between Astarion and his siblings. I almost missed it entirely, because in my party, Shadowheart has Lathander’s Blood equipped at all times, and that thing emits light. So before I even registered there were any vampire spawns in the vicinity, two mysterious NPCs – Dalyria and Petras, as I was not-so-soon going to learn – went up in a puff of blood-red smoke, even while standing behind a $#%! wall (praise our lord Lathander and his light that shines through solid obstacles). If not for Astarion’s comment, I would probably think it was just some weird glitch on the periphery of my screen.

Anyway, several in-game hours later (and some online searching) I realized I’m not going to meet them again elsewhere and if I want the cutscene, I need to go back to a way earlier save.

But I don’t regret it. The encounter was worth every bit of lost game progress.

It’s no secret Astarion has a penchant for casual violence and cruelty. Kicking squirrels, using mind control to tell others to gut themselves – he may approve of all these actions, should Tav choose to commit them. Enough sitting around – let’s go hurt someone is one of Astarion’s lines said with such playfulness it makes me chuckle every time. And yet, at least during my playthrough, I haven’t seen him act brutally outside of combat. The spawn would approve if my Tav were a bully (he isn't), but up until now, he never did anything himself.

I suppose during Act I and II Astarion is just this kind of a mean kid who likes to watch from the sidelines, hiding behind a tougher ally, and snicker quietly. He’s probably still too scared, still feeling too weak, still trying to get the hang of his new situation. At least, that’s how I imagine it.

Travelling with Tav and others empowers him, little by little. It’s a good thing in general, but there are bumps in the road. As I watched Astarion manhandle Petras, I realized what happens if the work stops halfway – if Astarion gets confident enough to act on his own, but not confident enough to understand he doesn't need to be cruel to show others his worth.

People who are truly self-assured don't need to prove this by outbursts of brutality. They can afford to show clemency. The scene with Petras and Dal shows Astarion still isn't free of Cazador’s influence, as he keeps confusing cruelty with power and power with self-worth. So he has grown enough to take action (instead of letting others handle things and watching from the sidelines), but the underlying motivation remains to avoid appearing weak. Deep inside, there's still anxiety, fear and self-loathing.

There's one more factor that plays a significant role in this scene. Astarion acts tough in front of his siblings, because now he has backup. 

You have no idea what I can do. The sun can’t harm me, Cazador can’t compel me. I don’t need to fear him anymore.

Boastful, isn’t he? So different from the time when my Tav first suggested disposing of Cazador. I still remember how Astarion snapped at Yae for not knowing what he’s saying or who he’d be facing.

But why do I get the feeling Astarion is trying to convince himself as much as he’s trying to convince others? And that he’s trying to impress his companions as much as he’s trying to intimidate Dal and Petras?

Soon enough, the façade crumbles, as Astarion starts to discuss the event with Tav. He gets defensive, he comes up with a whole range of excuses, explanations and justifications. He may even say he's capable of doing the right thing once in a while, as if he deserves a medal for not burning Petras to ash.

I think a part of him knows he overreacted. And the insistent voice in his head tells him other companions will judge him for that and abandon him. The fear finally resurfaces at the end of the dialogue:

We are a team, aren’t we? You’re still with me?

Still placing his worth in extrinsic things, like the support of his new friends. Still so scared of being alone. Remember that memory of the year spent sealed away in darkness?

This is such a potent cutscene; it gave me a lot to chew on, especially regarding headcanons and the relationship between my Tav and Astarion. Yae is no saint himself, but the display of unnecessary cruelty gives him pause. He may need time to process what happened, and temporarily keep more distance from Astarion, which the latter will – of course – read in the worst way possible. There will be misunderstandings, angst, arguments, reconciliations.

But this is a story for a different time.

⊱✿⊰

Postscript:

The date on the file tells me I've written this text over a month ago. 

But then anxiety kicked in. What if I'm wrong? I haven't even finished the game once, I have no right to join in the conversation! I know nothing, I haven't played any of the origin stories! What if there's that obscure bit of dialogue you only get by playing the game for an umpteenth time in a very specific way that sheds entirely new light on this scene? I'm not as smart/observant/articulate/whatever as others!

It took me almost six weeks to realize I can't let my anxious brain win this one. Even if I'm “wrong” (can personal interpretations and impressions really be “wrong”?), this is a testament to how much I've grown to enjoy the game and love the characters and their stories. So, if you've reached the end of this post and even read this postscript – thank you. This is an important step in my fight against the Anxious Brain.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Re: Lack of Raverne in Book 7's ending with all the memories of the people.

I noticed TWST does this thing sometimes where they purposefully won't bring up certain people in parts where they really should be brought up and talked about - or even if they are brought up, they're not really explained in depth - because those people will be revealed/introduced in full later. Case in point: Idia's parents. I remember when Book 6 rolled around, iirc Idia's parents were never mentioned in Idia and Ortho's backstory during the OB, and many fans thought they were neglectful because of it. But then Book 7 rolled around, their parents do get introduced and we see they're nothing but loving and supportive of both their sons, and they were among the MVP's of Book 7.

So perhaps the very noticeable lack of Malleus's father is supposed to be an implication that Raverne is alive, and that we will be seeing him, one way or another, eventually?

coughsinCrowleyisRavernetheory

In all seriousness, that being said, I very much agree with what you said. It's one thing for the game to purposefully not show somebody at a certain time - it's another thing for the game to do so in a situation where not showing them is a plot hole of sorts. Why wouldn't Raverne be where his wife was?? Was he just never in Wild Rose Castle?? I don't think someone has to be dead in order for them to appear as a memory??

[You can read my thoughts on the book 7 finale here!]

The Shroud parents may not have been present in Idia's post-OB flashback, but Idia does talk about them in book 6! It was a combination of their lack of presence in his backstory + the disparaging things Idia said about his parents ("they care more about getting results than their own son's feelings," or something to that effect) that led many fans--including myself--to think that maybe the Shroud parents were neglectful. Then the Shroud parents appear in book 7, and we see that even Mr. Shroud (who was previously described as cold and calculating) is loving, and both Shroud parents are accepting of Ortho. It can feel like a retcon to some people, but to others, this is easily explained by citing Idia's usually negative frame of mind and how that biases how he sees and presents others. I find myself split down the middle, personally. In any case, I don't think it's a good writing choice to just... not bring up people who really SHOULD be brought up. Should you not at least properly foreshadow now or at least remind us of that thread??? It doesn't read as clever to just not address it or even mention it at all, it comes off as shoving plot holes or other important details into the corner and ignoring it in favor of focusing on something else. This happened with the Shroud parents, and it happened with the end of book 7.

adlhbabyoryqe8foia IS THE CROWLEY = RAVERNE THEORY STILL... AROUND... I thought it would have calmed down a little by now, but it seems to still be going as strong as ever. (If this ends up being Real, then I'm of the opinion that Crowley could have had a brief aside or some ominous/telling line foreshadowing this at the end of book 7. Currently, we don't have anything like that.)

I've been thinking about it and thinking about it, and I STILL don't understand how that ending scene logistically worked out. Barring my confusion with how Lilia's UM worked (how are both humans and fae that resided in the castle at different points in time are having peaceful memories there??), why did Maleanor, the Dawn Knight, and Leah appear but not Raverne???? Nameless NPC soldiers showed up too, but not Raverne???? Doesn’t that imply that there is not a single memory associated with Raverne in Castle Wildrose that Lilia can summon OTL B-But surely he was there at least once, seeing as he's a diplomat? Literally described as “her highness Maleanor’s eyes, hands, and feet"???? And that's his WIFE???? Please make this make sense, because it doesn't no matter how much I try to wrap my mind around it 😭

[idrellegames]

I like how high approval/ high romance affects conversations. With IF relationships can feel like a numbers game where you have to nod and shake your head at the right times. It doesnt in wayfarer

One of my characters is into magic and politicking and that naturally split them and aeran apart. Now everytime they open their mouth, saying things i said in my first run, aeran bites their head off coz he does Not fw them. Thats so cool!

And how aeran will respect and listen to your differing opinions if youre close but if youre not it’ll drive a wedge between you. It feels more idk natural

Thank you!

Approval continuity is a tricky thing and is a bit deeper than it may appear at first glance (which makes writing guidelines difficult, this is why I don't publish walkthroughs 🤣). It's hard to narrow something as complex and changing as emotional connection, friendship, and love into a set of numbers, so I have a few different strategies that I use to keep NPC reactions to the MC's actions cohesive and in-character.

In most cases, there is a divide between high approval (60 and above) and low approval (59 and under), although sometimes these thresholds change (there are a few instances where "high" is 40 and over and "low" is 39 and below, it depends on the gravity of what is happening in the scene). This can divide the text into quick flavour text differences, but it can also send the player down different versions of the same scene.

However, the thing I like to keep in mind is not just what the MC's current relationship with Aeran is like, but what it was in the past and how it is in the current conversation. There are times where within one conversation, you may lose enough approval to pass that high/low threshold, but because your character had a high relationship with him to start, the way he speaks to the MC needs to be different from how he would speak to an MC that always had low approval.

I use one-time flags to track this kind of thing and shift the dialogue. Sometimes I also reference specific passages where certain lines of dialogue happened. For companions, I also track what their approval and romance (when applicable) stats were at the end of an episode so I can reference it on a case-by-case basis. This helps with situations where the MC had a high standing with Aeran in Episode 1 and then it plummeted in Episode 2 and then possibly gets better in Episode 3, as opposed to an MC who started off with a poor relationship and continues to get worse.

The goal here is to have the NPC feel internally consistent in their reactions with where they are emotionally and mentally in reference to themselves. Your relationships with companions are not always about big decisions, but a series of small ones that accrue over time and shift things. The number is important, but it's not always about the number.