#i trust that you are all chronically online enough to know what this is about

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

Gabriel : Yes, I do know. It seems like you could even KILL OUR BABY for your career.

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : AGH!

V1 : What the fuck. How could you?

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : D-AGH!

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : Mmm...

End Transcription

Audio Source

[mishappeningss]

the bit you wrote for lando on the romantic moments post had me kicking my feet and giggling. it was so cute oh my goddddd. but now i need to know if there has been anymore moments like that between her and lando

if platonic soulmates exist, ynlando is the number one.

more about driver!yn

THE HAND ON HER BACK

She’s still dazed from the race. Fourth place. Brutal. Just off the podium.

Her helmet’s off, her suit’s unzipped halfway, and everything around her is moving way too fast — photographers yelling names, press pulling drivers left and right, someone calling her name but she doesn’t catch it.

Then — A hand gently presses to the middle of her back.

Just enough pressure to ground her. Guide her. Subtle, steady, careful. She turns her head. It’s Lando.

He’s not saying anything. He just tilts his chin slightly — a silent, familiar signal: this way. come with me.

And she does.

She lets herself be steered through the crowd like it’s nothing. Like it happens every weekend. Like she’s not barely holding it together from missing the podium by two-tenths.

They don’t speak. Not until they’re behind the garage, alone, where the noise fades.

“You did good,” he says.

She just nods. Doesn’t trust her voice.

And then he adds, quiet enough that it’s not for anyone else: “You’re gonna beat us all soon. I’m not ready.”

She snorts. Wipes her face. “Good.”

Later, someone catches the video — that small gesture. That hand on her back. That wordless moment.

user: why did lando put his hand on her back like that. why did it look like muscle memory. why did she move immediately like he does this every week

user: it’s the placement for me. he didn’t grab her arm. didn’t yank her. didn’t speak. just the smallest touch and she followed him. 😭

user: they act like a married couple with 3 kids in college and 20 years of history it’s actually scary

THE HOODIE

Morning of FP1. It’s colder than usual. Her driver room’s heater is busted. She’s freezing.

She walks past McLaren’s hospitality and jokingly complains into the group chat:

someone bring me a hoodie or I will DNF from frostbite.

Thirty seconds later, there’s a knock.

She opens the door to see Lando, already in his race suit, hair slightly damp, holding out a hoodie. It’s navy, oversized, still warm from him wearing it.

“You’re dramatic,” he says, handing it over. “But here.”

She blinks. “…You ran to the motorhome for this?”

“No,” he deadpans. “I teleport.”

He walks off before she can say thank you. She ends up wearing it all morning. Doesn’t take it off until pre-race briefings.

Of course a fan spots her in it. Of course the photo ends up online. Of course it’s chaos.

user: girl. GIRL. GIRLLLLL. she’s wearing his hoodie again. she didn’t even try to hide it this time 😭

user: the way she’s just out here in enemy colors. for him. norris what do you have on her

user: it’s not even romantic i swear. it’s something worse. it’s best friends with gentle urgency.

user: also… tell me that hoodie wasn’t fresh off his back. it still had the sleeve crease 😭

THE ICE CREAM

Post-qualifying. She’s in a mood. P6. She wanted more. She’s sweaty, annoyed, sitting on a crate outside the hospitality tent, scrolling mindlessly on her phone with her helmet in her lap.

Without saying a word, Lando walks up and places a cup of ice cream next to her.

It’s her favorite flavor. She looks up. He doesn’t sit. Just shrugs and goes,

“I didn’t want to listen to you complain later.”

She scoffs. “You’re the one who always whines.”

“Exactly,” he says, walking off. “Know your competition.”

She eats it anyway. She smiles anyway. The camera catches it anyway.

user: lando casually bringing her ice cream after qualy and walking off like a romcom lead… what the hell is going on

user: this is enemies to lovers but they skipped the enemies and the lovers and went straight to soulmated

user: idk if this is flirting or just chronic codependence and at this point i’m fine with either

user: i’d kill to be so close with someone that they bring me ice cream before i even ask 😭

THE RAIN DELAY

It’s pouring. The race is delayed. The drivers are all huddled in the garage or pacing like animals.

She’s sitting on a folding chair, helmet on the floor, boots up on a cooler, face in her hands. No one’s talking much. Everyone’s restless.

Lando walks over, flips a Red Bull crate upside down and sits next to her.

“Want to play a game?” he asks.

She looks up. “What game?"

He shrugs. “Who’s the most annoying person on the grid. We say it at the same time.”

They count to three.

“Oscar.”

“Charles.”

They both burst out laughing. It’s loud and sudden and completely out of place in the middle of the damp, quiet garage. People turn and stare.

She leans her head on his shoulder. Still laughing. He doesn’t move.

Later, Sky Sports posts a zoomed-in video of it. No mics. Just the two of them, whispering and laughing like they’re in detention.

user: WHY is she so comfortable with him. WHY is her head just on his shoulder like it lives there. WHAT IS HAPPENING

user: he literally sat down next to her and started bullying the grid. MY DUO

user: people who know each other in the rain >>>>>

NECK CHECK

Race day. Grid is full. The anthem has played. Cameras everywhere.

Her race suit is zipped. Hair braided. She’s buckling her gloves when Lando walks past her toward his spot.

Then he pauses. Says nothing.

He reaches out, brushes his thumb over the edge of her neck where the balaclava is slightly folded. He fixes it.

“You’d get a rash,” he says simply. Then walks away like nothing happened.

She just stands there blinking. Like… okay? Thanks? Hello?

Someone caught it. A grid photographer. High-def. Too clear. You can see the exact moment her expression softens.

user: the way he said “you’d get a rash” like he’s been keeping track of her skin health 😭😭😭

user: it’s giving medieval knight adjusting the armor of the sword-wielding princess he’s secretly sworn to protect

user: not dating but physically can’t let her go on track unless he’s checked her uniform like a mother hen

top comment: they’re not dating. they’re just the softest duo in f1 history. if they ever do date it’s over for the rest of us.

[twistedpink]

BIM BAM BOOM what about bff trio!Lilia & Idia x f!reader, with romantic tension and petty jealousy, with a reader who's as much of a chaotic cheerful extrovert as Lilia (because the idea of Idia's favorite people all being his shut-in nightmare is hilarious, and the bat needs a bff to match his energy and go on adventures - and drag Idia along)

If you have the time and energy, perhaps a before and an after "you're musclered/gloomurai???>reveal" parts, for the shift in their respective relationships with reader and each other (more/less snark, judgment and rivalry...)?

I understand this is a big ask, if it's too much feel free to ignore this! Thanks for sharing your writing, have a nice day~

I’ve been plotting on this 😈@bju3c0re

BSF!Idia really is,, Something, once he warms up to you. It’s already rare for him to reach out online, nevermind speaking to a 3D “g-g-girl 🤯”.. He thinks a lot about the alternate reality where your wifi was a touch worse and you couldn’t join that first vc- of course he’s grateful for your friendship and all the ‘wise advice’ you dole out (“just pop a tidepod bro”), but you’re SCARY!! So, NO, he can’t handle meeting up yet :( But aren’t you just nice enough to wait, though? For him? If he was given the chance to go back in time.. He’d fall for you in every universe, even if you only ever see him as another raid buddy <\3

BSF!Idia knows better than anyone else that you’ve got him on a short leash- but do you really have to show it off to Musclered? Out of everyone on the web? He’s tired of third wheeling your campaigns, hearing your hushed laugh over HIS mic once you meet up or how you act all surprised getting a gift from the guy who should’ve been your fav.. That kind of happiness is supposed to be his, you were his friend first,, Once he writes a text good enough to trick you into loving him, he’s sure he’ll NEVER feel jealous again!! (Isn’t security like the only meta buff relationships get? WDYM NO?) Despite the horror show he’s sure your first meeting’ll be, he can appreciate the hypothetical benefits of meeting you IRL- seeing you, touching you, smelling and just.. Taking you in. He’s bidding his time for anything scandalous (BOO! hand holding >:0), but in the meantime he’s just peachy getting to grind as a duo, so long as you are <3

BSF!Lilia’s never been your friend, duo, or partner. He’s just,, A guy you’re weirdly into online, and he wouldn’t have it any other way!! He wants you to pine and get all needy at the sound of his voice- because he’s just as shameless… Straight up nasty with how hard his knuckles strain against his phone at the prospect of being your only gamer friend, but of course his dream gets crushed by some noob :/ It’s very much a cat fight for your attention between the two, and you know it’s toxic, but what’s the point of being chronically online if you’re not indulging in pointless drama?

BSF!Lilia is obsessed with you, in the sense that your relationship is entirely parasocial- PLEASE vent about your day and let him comment on allllll the freshmen he knows and hates, that’s what he’s here for! He’s also, like, the worst with advice to a comical degree.. Whether he’s giving or taking, do NOT trust anything he’s saying, because he DOES use his loveable face to lie to you on the daily. Send help. It’s gotten to the point where even Idia (yknow,, Master of all things ‘people’) can’t tell the difference, and the three of you spend hours more on call looking for ‘secret loot’ because your old man is a lonely little fibber </3 It’s still Lilia, so his pranks are never really gone, but he’ll straighten right out if you’ll say that he’s your favourite.. Even if it’s just as the villain in your story <3

[hntnsshi]

Beads of sweat trickled down the nape of your neck. Your muscles felt tense, stomach doing somersaults full of worry as you keep side-glancing the phone laid on top of the coffee table. In front of you, a pair of crimson eyes was boring into said phone which successfully heightened your anxiety even more.

Shadow had his lip on a tight line with a look that screamed ‘what and why are we doing this’ directed at the small rectangular object— the source of your main worries. No words was spoken between the two of you, and it’s not as if he demanded to access your phone right away. Shadow had always respected your privacy despite knowing how weird you had been reacting after being prompted to show your phone to the dark hedgehog. There was no suspicion nor forceful remarks. It was just the two of you and your blasted phone in the middle of the room.

“…you don’t have to do this,” in the midst of the silence, Shadow softly murmured. You could hear the slight strain underneath his voice, “I understand if you have boundaries to keep. You shouldn’t waste your time for something so meaningless,” even when he’s trying to reassure you, deep down you could sense that maybe Shadow was a little bit upset for not gaining enough of your trust after all these years. You had spent enough time with him to catch on the micro gestures Shadow used to express himself at times, and it pained you for being so secretive around him when he had come a long way to finally open up bit by bit towards you.

It’s not like you’re hiding something big, anyway! It’s just—

Inhale, then exhale. You shook your head in disagreement, gaze fixed into Shadow’s with determination as you reached to your phone. Your fingers swiftly tapped against the screen pads before the lock screen transitioned away with a clicking sound. With a gentleness you didn’t expect you have, your free hand clasped onto Shadow’s gloved ones— enjoying the warmth radiating from his palm for a moment before guiding it below your phone. You gave Shadow a nudge as his name escaped past your lips with a certain tenderness to it. The latter lifted his head at your call, eyes wide and uncertain after you let go of the cold metallic object on his hand. Shadow held his breath slightly when his fingers were guided inward to grasp on your phone, your hold firm against his before letting go.

Shadow went silent for a while, “Are you… sure about this?”

Well, you’re not hiding anything suspiciously harmful (?) if you could be honest. Heck— you often yap to Shadow about the weird conversations you had with your friends or family (He would nod in silence, attentively listening despite not knowing the modern terms you occasionally throw here and there. You might get teary with how the guy was trying his best to understand your brain rot slangs by asking questions and memorizing them down for future reference). You also felt comfortable playing your games in front of the brooding guy (he enjoyed the quality time spent with you even in silence), Shadow probably knew what kind of applications you use to spend your time at this point.

So you nodded, encouraging him to go through your phone.

And so Shadow did.

You tried your best not to screech as if you’re insane the moment he flicked the screen open. The tension building inside you spiked high and low in a drastic pace each time his fingers hovered over the gallery app, only to touch something else. Maybe Shadow knew from the way you were fidgeting on the end of your sleeves, or the way you chew on your bottom lip whenever he eyed the unassuming application. Either way, he finally came to the last thing he hadn’t gone through : the cursed phone gallery.

As a chronically online person who had a habit of hyper fixating on what you love, saving TONS of media inside your gallery wasn’t a surprising thing to do. You saved pictures, recorded videos, edited random things to express your hobby no matter how absurd it was— no matter the shape and form, your artistic desire burned brightly as a way to channel your passion in a harmless way.

The same rule also applied to how you convey your feelings to the silent hedgehog who was currently at loss for words.

You didn’t want to bother Shadow with your bottled up affection. You understand he hated people who went too far with his personal space, so it became a norm to tip toe around the male and only initiate physical contact when necessary. Saving Shadow’s pictures in a stalker-ish manner was wrong, but it’s not as if you’re taking any of his pictures secretly when it’s only the two of you! You had Rouge to thank for that (It was a joke at first— a means to have blackmail materials where Rouge would send you Shadow’s candid pictures while they’re on a mission. It became a bad habit where she relished on your joyful squeals eventually).

Yeah, this was it. You sobbed internally, flushing from embarrassment while begging to crawl back into the hole you came from due to the unreadable expression plastered across Shadow’s face. Oh dear, judging by the lack of immediate reaction coming from Shadow, his self-restraint was amazing compared to how you would feel if you were on his shoes. Because let’s be real here,

Who wouldn’t crash out if they saw HUNDREDS of pictures and videos of themselves, on someone ELSE’S phone gallery?

A popular sped-up music you used for an edit of Shadow’s pictures suddenly blasted through the phone speakers. You couldn’t help but wince at the volume, second-hand embarrassment clearly biting you back on the butt. The cheerful track now stuck on a loop since Shadow’s gaze stayed still— hands frozen on place.

And then his eyes met yours. Brows glowered, muzzle scrunched up into a deep scowl to show his irritation and shame.

“… This looks stupid. Why would you even enjoy this kind of thing?”

But the way his cheeks flared with a shade of deep crimson and his bashful look begged to differ.

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Any fics where one of the boys aren’t taking care of themselves/super busy or stressed and the other steps in to help or take care of themselves?

There's a lot on a03 hurt/comfort tag, including canon fics. We also have a great hurt/comfort tab. Here are a selection. ~Jen

Kind of Magic by @rockitman

Fives times Kurt was there to kiss it better

~~~~~

Sleep Tips for the Chronically Nocturnal by @rockItMan

Kurt can't sleep and Blaine takes that as a personal challenge

~~~~~

Blood and Fire by realmsoffreedom

He doesn’t always know what to say. Sometimes, he tries to string together what he thinks are the right words, the it’ll get better soons and the you aren’t your depressions, but he knows that they rarely help. Sometimes all he can do is sit here and hold Blaine, provide a warm body, a physical manifestation of all of those you’re not alones. If it means staying in bed all weekend, Kurt’s happy to do it. Just as long as it makes Blaine feel like someone is in his corner, even if he himself isn’t.

~~~~~

When you fall by notthetoothfairy

Kurt and Blaine meet at Elliott’s LGBTQ+ support group. Maybe Kurt is exactly the person Blaine needed to talk to about his past. And maybe Blaine can help Kurt get over his trust issues in return. Warnings: Characters talk about bullying, violence, non-supportive parents and death of parents (mostly canon occurrences). One-shot, prompted by anonymous on Tumblr.

~~~~~

Lovely, don’t you ever Change by orphan account

After the premiere of their first Broadway show, Kurt reads some comments online that resurface old insecurities.

~~~~~

The touch of your hand (says you'll catch me) by @cerriddwenluna

The smile on your face let's me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if wherever I fall You say it best when you say nothing at all

~~~~~

Glory by Amberlovesocean

Kurt is assaulted after singing at a school dance and is left for dead, thrown aboard an empty train car at the railroad freight yard to hide the crime. He wakes up to find he’s been tossed off the car somewhere in an Oregon logging camp, 2500 miles from home. A curly-haired kid named Blaine finds Kurt and protects him by hiding him in his cabin and teaching him how to survive.

~~~~~

Hail To Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You by Water_Nix

On the third of August in Blaine Anderson’s ninth year, something momentous happens: he sees a boy crying on the beach and decides to do something about it. What he gets in return is a best friend, a confidant, an ally to help him through the ups and downs. They spend one month together every summer. One perfect month until they are old enough to escape together. Eleven Augusts and the letters in between.

~~~~~

Inevitable by mmerainbows

Kurt thought he had reached the point where he could forgive Blaine, and move on with his own life, keeping Blaine as his best friend and nothing more. However, when the truth comes out about what happened, Kurt returns to Blaine to help him. Trigger warning: rape

~~~~~

The Awakening by @heartsmadeofbooks

Kurt Hummel has put his perfect life together carefully, making sure all the pieces fit exactly how he wanted them to. But all it takes is one name from his past to make all his hard work go to waste - Blaine Anderson.

~~~~~

Coffee, black by @quizasvivamos

Moving through life in survival mode makes stopping to breathe feel like a fatal mistake. Eventually, emotions become alien, and it’s difficult to imagine the capability of ever feeling anything again.

And then one might find himself on a precipice, which is precisely where Blaine found himself: married, thirty, and standing at the edge of Lands End.

[puffologic]

2 cents from a friend of a friend. I have no horse in this race, just sharing someone else's perspective.

(Quoting my friend inside of quotes, outside of ✨️)

"Withholding credit per the author's request.

But I've known this person for just shy of a decade, and they don't hold back if they don't like someone. Speaking out in a positive way said enough for me to know what kind of person Brian must have been.

I trust their judgement in my daily life, I'll trust them on the character of someone they knew.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Alright fuckers, listen up. You want the "insurance bad" thread? You got it. I was a business process architect at UHC for 8 years. I have seen all the data (some of the data being cited is likely from my old team). I have met and/or worked with the majority of the current and past execs. Some of them are absolutely blood-sucking vampires, but Brian Thompson was not one of them.

All the charts and data you see across social media are from 2021 or prior. You know when Brian Thompson became CEO? 2021. You know who was responsible for all the fucking evil shit you know about UHC? Steve Nelson, the former CEO who is now an exec VP at Aetna. I worked with Steve and Brian. They couldn't be more different. I likely know the next CEO too and I have a hunch on who it will be.

I was at a town hall one time when one of our data analysts asked, "Since 53% of our company is women, why are 70% of the leadership roles filled by men? What are you doing to fix that?" Steve Nelson stammered like crazy, tossed the question to the ONLY female exec, and ended the town hall. You know what BT did when he took over as CEO? Hired women into the exec roles. He increased female leadership across the entire company.

"But UHC denies more claims than everybody..." yeah, Steven Nelson did that. BT kicked off a program to eliminate Prior Authorizations for in-network providers. In 2023, 20% of all prior authorizations were removed. He was striving for 100% over the next 5 years.

BT just happened to be the face on which you can project your rage, but he's the wrong guy. If it were almost anybody else in the market, Steve Nelson, Andrew Witty, etc... I would agree with you. Steve Nelson tried to tell a "relatable story" once about conquering fear and his example was when he went helicopter skiing with his daughters and one of them was too scared to try one of the big jumps. THAT'S THE GUY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.

It's no secret that I hate the entire idea of health insurance, but it's reality. "Being part of the system is part of the problem" is a childish take. The only way to fix the problem is guys like Brian at the helm. That guy was just murdered. I'm not a conspiracy guy, but based on the way this went down and how much misinformation about him is spreading, it feels like a hit. Stop and think before sharing that meme that slanders him.

✨✨✨✨✨✨

I work in the healthcare industry.

I'm chronically ill.

I've received denials and had to jump through prior auths in my personal and professional life.

I don't like the healthcare system. But I also don't particularly care for a person's murder being used as a tool for "change" when it's just people bitching online. That's not change.

So do something.

Do better. 🤷🏻‍♀️ "

[secret-subject]

Do You Ever Just Forget How To Do Hypnosis?

Not even joking. This isn't some sort of shit-post I promise, but sometimes with ADHD brain going brrrr I will get into my hypnosis thing whether it be a script or a live scene and my brian will just go:

"hey are you sure you actually remember how to do hypnosis?"

So the question is, how do we combat this feeling? Because let's be honest it's one that is not rational nor required when you are tisting on the regular and like me have a busy work schedule of giving people the hypnosis feels. (As a quick side note, in a scene with a trusted partner it would be hot af to have your ability to "fight back" with hypnosis taken away, especially if you were both switches with sticky fingers and brains, but I'm going to pocket that for another time...)

Step one: Take a break! I'm not even kidding. I know when my battery is dead energy wise I am more prone to this kind of thinking. Maybe you are tired or overworked as a dominant/top (the person doing the hypnosis doesn't always have to be dominant). I know people who can literally do scene after scene after scene, and that has never been me. I literally went three years without hypnotizing anyone outside of making audios and livestreaming, including my wife, because I was chronically ill and just worn down. You can't be a super tist if you aren't taking care of yourself. So, take a break. Look after yourself. If you aren't doing that it could be a sign that burnout is coming, or approaching and you need to protect yourself. Never be afraid to say "that's enough". Many times I've hit my limit not only long term but mid scene as a Domme. It's okay and it's very normal and I wish we spoke about it more.

Step two: Try something new! Sometimes, I get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing over and over. I love repetition and conditioning using it is fun but wow, it can get boring for everyone. So this feeling could be a sign it's time to read some smut, listen to some audios, read the blogs and try something new. It might not work, but it might also be the best thing you've ever done. Recently I also have been sending tiny audios to friends based on whims or ideas I've been thinking of. This is a great way to test something new, low stakes, and play around. I also recommend having people you can talk to. I love to befriend other hypnosis creators and community members because not only are they just "built different" and fun to be around but also I can hear them talk about their passions, which reignites mine and we can pool ideas.

Set three: Read some resources! Education is so important in this scene. Now that doesn't mean do what I did and go to a certifcation course, I don't think people outside of people wanting to be a professional hypnotist should do this. But it is important to refresh your knowledge and not be afraid to learn. Now I am an ex-teacher so I am biased as hell about the importance of education, but, it's not hard to upgrade your skills with a little education. Mind Play is a great book, I always recommend it for being simple to read. Go to a class at a convention or locally (they have them online too so you can access them even in places far away like New Zealand). Join a hypnosis discord with discussion rooms or groups. Talk to others about their experiences. Watch a YouTube video on hypnosis. Listen to podcasts about it. These are all educational tools for upgrading your skills and even if like me you've been doing this for an eternity (or what feels like it) you can still refresh your skills and maybe you might learn something that helps get you out of that funk.

So these are just some of the things that help when my brain decides to gaslight me into thinking I am terrible at this. I know this is never going to be one side fits all but I think it's important to talk about imposter syndrome from all sides of the watch.

Have you ever felt like this? And if so what did you do about it? I'd love to keep this conversation going!

-Secret

[princesspuppetttt]

matchup trade for @rorysterr

i match you with…

Asmodeus!

oh my gosh, i'm not sure a character has ever jumped out at me so much for a match up! i can see it now…

Asmo is a very affectionate demon person! Even if he’s not courting you right off the bat and is building a friendship with you, Asmo will be very touchy. Hugs, holding hands, cuddling, just about anything you’re comfortable with, he’s down for. Asmo is also seen to like hanging out with those he considers close. i can definitely see your date nights being cozy nights in where he does your skin care while you crochet and watch movies or even shopping trips for art supplies (and clothes ofc). Asmo would have no issue initiating affection or telling you he wants it either.

Asmo would have no problems talking to you. be it communicating his feelings and talking out arguments, or simply updating you on all the Devildom gossip, he’s comfortable bringing it up. when you get quite as you grow closer, he’d have no problem talking enough for the both of you. Asmo would definitely be a little shocked the first time you recall a minute detail from a previous one-sided yap session. he's used to his brothers ignoring him halfway through. 

you guys would be an incredibly bubbly, friendly duo! an it couple if you will. Asmo is definitely showing you off anywhere he can from restaurants, to shops, and even devilgram! he adores you and makes sure everyone around, including you, knows it. Asmo would compliment you a lot actually! even if it's along the lines of “you're seriously SO gorgeous!...just not as gorgeous as me” best of lucky getting past those backhanded compliments. as the relationship solidifies itself as serious, he’ll drop the snarky self praising comments at the end. 

you two could certainly go tit for tat teasing each other. you’d both be super apologetic if you ever accidentally went too far. i truly believe asmo is the second most chronically online brother. simply a different type of chronically online. he may not 100% understand all of your brain rot quotes and references, but he does get some of them. if you send him videos or posts of them, he’ll watch and start to understand and keep up with you. 

Asmo would BEG for you to let him do your makeup and hair. he’d try out all manner of makeup styles and whether your hair is short of long, trust that he will get creative with your brand new look for that day. Let him dress you up too, he’d gush about you for ages. 

while Asmo may start off as a total flirt, once he’s interested in you, he locks in. you consume his thoughts, you invade his dreams. Asmo would focus most of his time and energy on you. learning everything about you. what movies you like how you react to different things, your likes and dislikes, what makes you tick, your favorite and least favorite foods, the clothes you like, EVERYTHING about you. he would love you deeply and do his best to show it in any way possible. 

i really hope this was okay!! ngl this was my first time writing for obey me and it's been a minute since i played it much so i really really hope you like it!!! thank you so so much for reaching out!!

[gaykarstaagforever]

...Well, at least he didn't sigh and play a ukulele.

1) "...Assuming we believe any of this." Append that to everything I say here. I don't believe a word this guy says. He comes across as chronically narcissistic and making excuses for inexcusable behavior. Even when he admits that, it feels like he is ONLY doing that to worm out of the consequences of getting called out for it. He is still just doing damage control, so he can regain his channel and avoid getting a real job. Trust me, I'm a narcissistic asshole, too. We can smell each-other. Like bears. This whole thing is just disingenuous.

I don't even believe his personal stuff. I want receipts for his diagnoses and family turmoil. Is that fair? No. But how else can we trust him at this point? It is what it is, because of what he did.

2) As he says, personal problems and having dreams aren't excuses for lying, cheating, and grifting. Yet he did all those...and is still kind of trying to score sympathy for why he "felt the need" to do them.

Giving an explanation is one thing. But that isn't what this feels like. Maybe I'm being a biased dick here. But I smell more grift. It just feels like he's gunning for sympathy to wiggle out of his whole YouTube career collapsing.

3) No one gives a shit about your boiler-plate liberal guilt identity issue bullshit, Jimbo. You got in trouble for stealing. No one cares why, see #1. It absolutely doesn't matter. You don't get a pass for stealing because you're gay and white and sad about it. That is a shameful thing to drop here. Asshole.

4) The movie grift thing was STILL a grift, regardless of your intentions. Moral failures are an assessment of actions, not motives. It doesn't matter the circumstances: you got paid to do something you didn't do, and kept the money. That's a grift. And the grift is the problem.

5) Hbomberguy doesn't need your money or your apologies. Neither does the international gay community. Your sins were against specific people. You claim you are dealing with that directly. I hope so. But that is exactly all you need to deal with to atone for this. Stop acting like a wounded god trying to save the world from your stumble. We're good out here. This was your personal fuck-up, in relation to specific people. Cut the narcissistic crap and focus on that.

6) ...If you can. This guy might be helpless against his own inflated sense of self-importance. Narcissists have that problem. I don't know how you deal with that, if this whole mess wasn't enough to compel you. ...But that also isn't an excuse to get away with shit behavior, so fuck you either way, honestly.

7) He said he is going to make content free from his previous garbage, and give the money away. Yeah sure, dude. I'll believe it when you prove it. It means literally nothing otherwise.

8) Stop exposing your personal shit online. This has always been a problem with you. It just comes across as a plea for an excuse to be a dick. There is connecting to an empathetic audience, and then there is trying to cash in expensive sad gay chips you think you have. Knock it off. We don't like or trust you, so we do not care about YOU. If you want to regain trust with good content, shut up and do that. Otherwise, just shut up. We don't need you here, bellyaching for attention.

9) You didn't even MENTION Todd in the Shadows?! A shoutout at least, dude!

...I realize that is petty of me. But still.

10) I want to point out again that James Somerton was never King of the Gays. He seems to think he was, and he dropped his crown. That isn't a thing. And we aren't desperate for you to pick up the thing you never had to drop. There is that raging narcissism again. Very off-putting.

[her-satanic-wiles]

Am I living correctly?

Is that a question people ask nowadays? Does anyone else truly worry if they're doing the right thing in their life, or is everyone else just taking it day by day and trusting the process?

I've made several decisions over the last ten years that have me sat here thinking about everything that led me to those decisions, and if in wanting to live day by day, I've ultimately fucked myself over in the long run.

My university degree was journalism, a competitive job that doesn't pay as well as it should for the average journalist. As a journalist, you always make an enemy of someone, whether it's your readers or your colleagues. Followed that up with a master's in public relations, what we called a "panic master's", because we realised that none of us were truly ready for the real world, so we stayed on an extra year. Then immediately after that I moved to Korea to teach English as a second language and stayed there for 4 of those years. I have little experience in my qualified field, and no qualifications for the job I have the most experience for, making me obnoxiously unemployable. I'm over-qualified for a lot of the jobs in the local area, but lack the experience to be in the field I'm actually trained for. I don't regret going to Korea per se, because I loved every second of it and was so proud of myself for moving all the way across the world, and sticking it out for so long. But now, I'm about to enter into my 7th month of unemployment, with no one willing to hire me. Volunteered at my sister's school only to be kind of abandoned at the end of it with no prospects to show for it, and now I'm bussing it from here there and everywhere to rock up to interviews where no one is going to actually give me the sodding job.

I have one tomorrow, please manifest this for me.

Then there's the non-existent disaster of my love life. The string of failed dates, online situationships, the random unrequited crush I had on a red-pilled, ginger freak, who resembled Beaker from the Muppets and smiled like my dad (fucking ew), IRL situationships, the guy who told me my best friend was hotter than me and now the guy I'm talking to kind of not actually talking to me because of reasons I actually can't explain to anyone. People want to fuck me so bad it makes them look stupid, but the second I ask for some love, a cheeky bit of cherishment, suddenly, it's too much fucking effort and they can't do it for one reason or another. The chronically single friend, who has had an issue with that her entire life, heard every single unsolicited advice from everyone, only to turn 29 in one month completely broken hearted, feeling totally unlovable, and never actually knowing what it's like to be someone's first priority, the first thought in their heads when they wake up in the morning. Instead of finding someone who's completely obsessed with me, a true Gomez Addams to my Morticia, I'm met with 14 bigots, clop-fiction readers, weirdos, and over-sexualisers who only see me as a thing to get themselves off with because they take my hyper-sexuality and fucking run with it.

There has to be a better way of living, surely? One that involves me getting a good job, with great pay, and a person who worships the ground I walk on... when is it gonna be my turn? I'm sick of this.

I don’t know if I’m living correctly. All I know is that I’m living honestly. And some days, that doesn’t feel like enough. Some days it feels like the universe is punishing me for wanting more—for asking for softness, for tenderness, for a love that doesn’t make me feel like I’m begging for scraps at someone else’s table.

I’ve fought to be proud of who I am, to find joy in the chaos, to make meaning out of the mess. But right now? It feels like I’ve been standing in the rain with my arms open for years, and all I’ve caught are cold shoulders and empty hands. I keep showing up. I keep hoping. And still—I’m the one left out in the cold, watching other people get picked, get praised, get loved like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

I’m so tired of being the girl who’s almost enough. The candidate who’s almost right. The date who’s fun but not serious. The woman people want to touch, but never choose. I have poured love out of every crack in me, and no one has ever tried to fill a single one back in.

I wish I had something more uplifting to say. Some neat little bow to tie all this grief into a lesson. But right now, all I have is this ache. This quiet, echoing ache that I don’t know how to stop carrying. And maybe that’s where I’ll leave it. Not with a promise, or a moral—but with the truth.

I’m still here. Still showing up. Still breaking open in case someone, someday, might be willing to meet me in the wreckage and say, “You were never too much. You were always worth choosing.”

But if life has taught me anything: maybe I'm always going to be the support character in everyone else's stories, but never the main character in my own.

[rockspider556]

Trust me, they do. For many of them it’s kind of like a heist. I know of a few who set up whole personas to get into every goddamn corner, discord servers, an actual ao3 account, you name it. You have no idea how fascinating it is to them but simultaneously so petrifying. Don’t freak out, a lot of them don’t give a fuck. Majority, actually. Right after they go look once to kill their curiosity. But all of this only really happens when their media or advertising is really tied into this culture, ie: ‘willmack’ being used frequently in main posts by the sharks to refer to Will and Mack. One google and plane hits the second tower, when it would usually be far more difficult. This also happens if said person is young enough to be a part of the beautiful internet, this type of culture is kind of hard to avoid no matter how much anyone hides this. It’s astonishing that all of you think you’re a small chunk of fan base that can be ignored. Absolutely not. You’re all at least a third of whatever stat we’re going by here. Fan culture is also the 60 year old fathers who scream at the TV when his favorite team scores, etc etc etc. You’re what I call ‘the fandom’ and the fathers (,etc etc etc, all the smaller fan culture phenotypes that contribute less but still have their defined lines) are the ‘fans,’ I know fandom is technically both, but only the people who know the word fandom are apart of ‘the fandom,’ if you know what I mean. You have to be well educated in this particular sub genre of culture to know that the word fandom exists. Then, when you think about this, not many ‘fans’ post on the internet, do they? But oh boy does the fandom, that’s basically all it is. There’s no escaping, the famous ones are always condemned to it if they’re chronically online like 99% of the population. Usually have to be, because it’s a critical part of marketing to be modern, and modern is tied in a bow on their phone.

No because you’re so right, and I really should’ve been more specific—I was talking about that deeply online, AO3-lurking, trope-fluent little slice of fandom. The ones who will write 40k based on one slightly-too-long look. Not the full range of fans, just the unhinged gremlins (said with love) I orbit.

What I was mostly wondering about is how much the players actually know vs how much their media teams do. Like, I have zero doubt Max Verstappen’s PR team is well-versed in Lestappen and has a whole strategy doc somewhere. But Max himself? I fully believe someone once told him “maybe don’t Google that” and he just nodded and never thought about it again. Meanwhile, some of these guys are probably ten pages deep on AO3 in private. I find that whole unknown so weirdly fascinating.

And honestly, you put it perfectly—there’s no separating fandom culture from modern visibility anymore. It’s loud, it’s everywhere, and the fourth wall is basically vibes now.

Thank you for such a thoughtful ask anon—it really made me think!! 💕

[cowboylikedean]

No I totally get what your saying. I live in a swing state and have always had to brush shoulders with people who I disagree with and sometimes you don't want to start shit when it won't lead to anything productive. Like me telling my partner's coworker's wife that she shouldn't vote for a racist isn't going to change her mind it's just going to ruin dinner. Very easy to say that your circle should be only left wingers when you live in a hippie part of California!

i also live in a swing state and yeah my coworkers' partners are cops and in the military and my absolute ride or die work bestie (who is also the closest living version of a mom i have rn) profited directly off of her ex husband's family's literal slave plantation money. like the moral purity of the internet is a very chronically online behavior. and in the real world, it's more complicated than that.

someone said to me that they just think it's fair for taylor to talk to travis about her not being seen with them for her own job, because taylor's a giant popstar and thus has idk an image? or like values to back up for the trust of her audience? and i just feel like all of it divorces her personhood. like it just treats her as this no nuance character. like she's either FOR brittany, and thus trump, and has been conspiring to profit off of the left of center youth publicly for years!!!! or she can, without complications in her relationship easily cut off public relations with the mahomes's (and also denounce them lbr these people are not gonna stop if she stops being seen with them) and knows that... and is confident enough in that to do it.

and like those are not the only two options.

[firecrackerhh]

I swear to God dude people only like Stella purely out of spite for Stolas and nothing else, at least someone is well aware she isn’t a good fucking person instead of some people who are just fucking delusional enough to think she’s actually a good fucking person.

Like I don’t know why so many Stella defenders are legit delusional enough to think “no she’s a good person guys Viv just can’t write good female characters!!!” Like ok my dude, hope you’re having a good time in fucking la la land.

…

Look, no one, and I mean, no one. Deserves the fucking wrath of Kiwifarm users. Those people are full on fucking stalkers and creeps who get some sick thrill out of talking shit about people who at best are cringe and at worst, even if they certainly aren’t good people themselves, stalking them and harassing them to the extent those people do doesn’t actually do Jack fucking shit and constantly talking shit about others is just as sad and pathetic as the people they talk shit about.

But! Same with 4Chan, if you seriously go to those places for info on hazbin, or vivziepop, or anyone fucking else, of fucking course you are going to find the scummiest fucking people! Maybe, just maybe, if you actually wanted decent information on the various bullshit that Viv is constantly getting herself involved in, you don’t go to a place known for cyberstalkings harassment, racism and transphobia? Just a fucking thought?

Like I’m not gonna say I’ve never gone to Kiwifarms before out of pure curiosity but I sure af never actually interacted with those fucking basement dwelling fucks, cuz I actually respect my fucking mental health, they make threads on their own users! They have no loyalty to each other! Why tf would they be nice to you when you obviously have mental weaknesses they have no care if they exploit?

You for all intents and purposes went to a site run by fucking psychopaths and your first fucking thought after the whole debacle is “This fandom is terrible, this is totally Viv’s fault somehow?!” Bitch do you think they like her either? I’ve been on the vivziepop thread out of burning curiosity, trust me, they don’t! They don’t fucking like anyone! I don’t think those people like themselves dude! That’s why they talk shit about other people! Because they so desperately want to feel better about their own shitty meaningless lives!

Like I’m sorry this whole thing is giving me “I blame vivziepop for literally everything wrong in my life ever, nothing is ever my own fucking fault!” Vibes. I bet every morning when they wake up their first thought is some kind of “I’m glad vivziepop didn’t kill me in my sleep!” Or some wack shit like that, Viv is this bitch’s boogeyman I swear to God.

I get that they clearly didn’t understand as a dumb kid the extent of Kiwifarm’s shittiness, I get that, but with how chronically online this bitch is nowadays (chronically online is not merely an online-all-the-time thing, it’s a state of mind imo) I would think they would recognize that the people there are wretched, and that isn’t Viv’s fucking fault? And maybe they should’ve just given up on this fucking moral crusade the second it started actually affecting their mental health to the fucking extent it did? Like Jesus Christ what the fuck are they getting out of this beyond some masochistic fucking thrill? Because it’s beyond obvious all this bullshit amounted to nothing.

Like I’m sorry if that sounds extremely inappropriate to insinuate against somebody online but good fucking God what other reasons could there be for why this bitch is constantly going on about Viv even when it’s beyond fucking obvious their whining and obsessive compulsion does nothing but make their own life worse?

I’m sure some people who read my posts on the daily are probably thinking “Yknow, you could say that about yourself?” Yeah I know, that just means I know wtf I’m talking about LMAO!

At least I’m brutally honest that I enjoy getting pissed off (my life is so fucking boring y’all don’t understand) and it’s definitely better than feeling fucking nothing.

At least I actively fucking enjoy something in my shitty life, even if it is just a fucking cartoon, I’m convinced this bitch doesn’t actually like anything, all I ever see this bitch do is whine and complain.

[rumbleonthemill]

bit of a retrospective.

the HN community was great, I absolutely loved searching for artworks and fics in 2018-2019 I have over 4K artworks saved. I digged up the deepest archives for some good art. I have a ship archive. the HN tag here is over 150 pages...if someone, then I love fanart. I love headcanons, au's.. back then the fandom was crazy accepting, it was such a positive feeling, it felt so good to be here.

--

2020 December was the downfall. this whole fucking ass lie someone made up, all because some immature fucking ass cunts disliked a ship. it lasts to this day and I'm so fucking tired. exhausted. I'm exhausted from the "I ship something else, so I'm dehumanizing you and making up lies to make you look like a serial killer because i can't find the block button" this is now in every fandom and it's disgusting.

the ship? the art? didn't hurt a fly.

haters? they hurt everyone.

there's a post, there's a video about the origins of the hilariously average ship, I'm repeating myself like a parrot and I hate it because normal people UNDERSTAND what's the deal - you cannot change the past and you cannot change a ship's impact on the fandom, even if you make up the biggest lies. ever since then I saw that the haters have much more skeletons in the closet, than I ever did.

I cannot do anything with people who blindly fall for lies about a stranger on the internet, and trust other strangers on the internet. immature and pathetic.

--

2021 - the canon began falling from grace as well. same shit again, a million storylines, to this day the HN community itself doesn't know, which canon event belongs to which storyline.

the cartoon was the final nail. It lured so many…it lured.

it is officially unsafe to search for HN, I left multiple sites because the moderation doesn't give a fuck about literal actual creeps. multiple people aren't enough anymore to report things. and ofc the sjw bitches are nowhere when the community should keep together and remove REAL problems.

and the stalkers. and those who are envious. the two-faced lying bitches. those who literally want to own people. the fake friends, who just want you as trophy on their fucking shelf and want free art. those who accuse you for being narcissistic, while they're the ones with huge issues, and ofc everyone's the victim except the harassed person. oh man, if this was a bingo, everything would be checked. I'm tired.

--

the worst thing is, people begin to turn away from you, because other people ruined you and you're ruined. you can't function like before. things trigger you. you know that xy people leaked-backstabbed-wished your death yet play nice in front of public...list goes on.

if I hate someone - there's a real reason.

I'm past several breakdowns, multiple hospital visits and things I'm not even putting into this post. all because people can't find the block button and they purposely worsen people's mental state. (my health is dogshit tho) because people cannot understand that others escape online from irl problems, to fandoms, to have a little rest. rest.

fandoms are supposed to be your mental safe place. sharing art, ideas, being silly.

--

fandoms are about ✨ being crazy. about having fun✨ if you want to tell people what they're allowed and not allowed to do, go to politics . become a dictator idk.

--

I don't give the slightest fuck anymore if people on the other end of the internet think that I'm a [insert current problem]. it means that they're chronically online and they're into harassment.

all I ever wanted is to share my art and stories. not more.

I don't give a fuck about others and their views. block button. and if I blocked xy - they better stay away.

--

now to close the post on positive tone.

I know circa FIVE people from the old HN community, who I've been seeing ever since 2018 and before. a few newcomers who want to enjoy fandoms because they're fans and they want to have FUN. those who know, what the ships are about. those who just stick around and are chill.

You get my biggest respect. seriously. these people are still consuming fanart. they're consuming fics, they're tired of the endlessly changing canon, they love the og HN. they know how to have fun and know they can easily filter disliked things. haters didn't scare them away somehow. these cca five people...they're the real fans.

and I also appreciate everyone, who leaves 100+ notes in my inbox, liking ship art in secret. thank you.

[lemonhemlock]

"does that mean i’ll have to put in the anti astarion tag just to steer clear of these freaks? 😂 i mean, i’ve heard some stories and i know they’re off their rocker and i also hope to become the first of my friend group to successfully romance him, just for the incredible meme potential." Depends on what you have to say about him to be honest, but yes, it would be safer to put outright criticism or things that could offend some fans in the anti/critical tag. You know, better safe than sorry. I'll have add that these days things are calmer in the fandom since many people have moved on from the game, so it's a bit safer to express certain unpopular opinions. Also, with the new Dragon Age game coming up even more will occupy themselves with that one. The DA fandom is apparently even more insane from what I've heard from some of my friends who played those games and interacted with that fandom, so, if you think you've witnessed the worst when it comes to chronically online behavior then you're mistaken. It can always get worse! (I'm curious what stories you heard about the wives though, unfortunately there is an insane amount of instances of these people doing unhinged shit, I could write a dissertation on it…)

"but i am not interested in defending his racist ass antics or generally loser behaviour. i have to say that some of his overly theatrical lines make me gag, but he has the potential to be very funny" There is a reason for his overly theatrical lines, especially the flirty ones which I assume were the ones that made you gag (I'm of the same opinion here, he's super cringe, yikes). I don't know if you got this scene, but you can potentially pass an Insight/Wisdom check during an act 1 camp scene with him in which the narrator tells you "he may not mean a word he says" when he's trying a bit too hard to compliment your character…it's quite obvious even if you don't pass that check but nonetheless, it's good to know.

I'm not going to spoil too much but you'll find out more about his history and why he acts the way he does soon enough. All I'm going to say is that he does have the ability to become a better person if you encourage him to do so (well, he'll still remain a jerk, don't get me wrong). Of course, that's not to say there are any genuine justifications for the evil things he approves in most of act 1 or his racism (a lot of his fans woobify him and DO try to justify like every single shit he says or does sadly). Alternatively, you can also make him a lot worse (which is a can of worms I won't open right now)…it's all up to you how you play the game and which direction you want to steer him and your other companions really.

As for romancing him…it's not that hard to do it and despite what some may say to you that you have to be evil to successfully be with him, you can actually do it even when playing a good aligned character. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely annoying to get so many "Astarion disapproves" notifications whenever you do something good (most of them are minus ones anyway, they are not a big deal after all) and it pissed me off quite a bit, but as long as you show understanding when it comes to him as a person or his personal matters (like letting him bite you, trusting him, defending him from the other companions once they find out he is a vampire), agree with some of his less insane suggestions maybe, you'll get enough approval points from him in order to successfully start his romance. So don't be afraid to stand up against him when he deserves it! (same goes for other companions as well, just because they say or want something, it doesn't mean they are always right) You don't need to kiss his ass every time. I dearly hope he won't reject your Tav though, he can be quite brutal when doing so. He has a now famous line in which he refuses you by saying "I have standards" lmao, quite a few players got it when they tried to romance him.

"fandom participants far and wide seem to be getting increasingly bad at separating reality from fiction. especially when sometimes you don’t even know how a seemingly innocuous action will lead to an undesired outcome. i can’t imagine there are players out there who are made to feel bad by these weirdos for making different choices, some of them even random maybe" Yes, it's a general phenomenon that's been spreading across fandoms for a long while and it's very, very obvious this is what's going here as well. Many of these fans just end up projecting themselves onto these characters to the point where they can't separate reality from fiction anymore and any disagreement you have with them will be meet with hostility because they will perceive it as a personal attack on their person rather than an observation or critique of a fictional character or flaw in writing (which this game has plenty of, especially in act 3 but that's another story).

"i’ve also started to make shadowheart use Bless on the entire party using turn-based-mode before entering fights for an extra boost" "it’s so fun playing with high charistma! i see that you even have an easier time convincing your own companions? i had lae'zel with me when we met up with the other githyanki and the red dragon and i was able to successfully roll and get her to play along" Sanctuary is also a good spell Shadowheart can cast! It helps a lot even late in the game and it saved my ass a few times. Also yes, having high charisma means you have an easier time convincing anyone, including your companions. There is also the Friends cantrip that helps a lot (it gives you an advantage on CHA rolls) when convincing NPCs to do your bidding and I think it's also available for Wizards, so don't hesitate using it. Thing is, if you use it on your companions you'll lose approval with them when the effect ends, so you'd best avoid that.

"i hesitated to become a warlock because i didn’t like the backstory of selling my soul to a demon entity and sorcerers had fewer spells overall. for a first playthrough, wizard is pretty fun because you get to tap into that harry potter childhood and scratch that itch :)) " Yeah I don't like warlocks either due to the backstory, maybe I'll try that class in the future, but right now it's low on my priority list. On my current Dark Urge playthrough I went with a bard and yeah I know this sounds weird but I swear it's fun lmao… As for sorcerers, don't let the lower amount of spells discourage you! They have a feature called metamagic that can add additional effects to many spells and there are also other ways that can help you maximize the damage to already existing spells (an example: use Create Water or if you don't have access to the spell, get another party member to throw water bottles at enemies to get them wet, then cast lightning or ice spells and the damage you can deal will be doubled << wizards can use this as well, but this trick is especially good if you have a storm sorcerer). There is also an abundance of scrolls throughout the game (and you can also buy or steal them from merchants) so it's not like you need to be a wizard in order to have access to as many as possible. However, the game is built in such a way that you can easily beat it no matter what class you use, so just choose whatever seems fitting or fun to you, ultimately it doesn't matter that much.

"oh, good tip! i managed to find some in the bathhouse of the burning inn. not sure how to use both at the same time though? because you can only select one item at a time with right click to get to the ‘use’ function" You can't use both at the same time so either one is fine. Just choose "use" and you're clean and good to go.

"i’m planning on wearing princess dresses as soon as i can find them so it wouldn’t work for my overall vibe, i don’t think :)) this game is so complex, i never, in a millions years, would have thought that they included an option for cleaning yourself" Unless you use mods, there aren't many princess dresses out there. :( There is one sexy and elegant dress you can loot or buy in act 3 from a merchant in the city but other than that the camp clothing that's available out there is quite boring, especially for female characters. Also, the robes destined for spellcasters you can find in act 1 aren't very princess-y either but I would still recommend "The Protecty Sparkswall" (it's in a locked chest at the Grymforge in the Underdark).

"yes, i did meet that fantasy romani character and ofc astarion wasted no time in being racist with him ☠ " Lmao I'm not surprised. As for his racism, this part is usually acknowledged by fans but a lot of them very often come up with justifications for it considering his history with the Gurs. Although even then it's heavily implied HE was the one who wronged them in the first place when he was still a magistrate…so yeah (which you probably found out about by now, I guess? considering you met Gandrel)...We're bordering on headcanon territory here a bit since the game doesn't outright confirm it, but judging from what we know about him so far it's not that hard to put two and two together and come to the conclusion he did something really bigoted against them in the past when he held that position. Anyway, you'll be meeting the Gurs again in the future so look out for them. He can potentially get on better terms with them…or not. He's also not racist just against the Gurs by the way, you'll find out he hates gnomes as well…

"first of all, i left the inn burning and completely forgot i had a Create Water spell (at least i saw it very late in my tab?? some wizard am i). honestly, i’m not really sure how game mechanics work because i assumed it would still be burning later and i could come back to it when i figured out what to do. " Okay, so the burning inn quest (Waukeen's Rest) is one of the few time sensitive quests in the game. Once you see it burning you have to deal with it immediately otherwise it will burn down completely. It sucks and I get it considering the game doesn't give you a warning about it. As a tip, if you have major difficulties try entering into turned based mode once you enter the inn to save the people trapped in there. And yeah have Wyll with you in the party for story related reasons. You also get a nice reward if you complete the quest (you can choose between three potential weapons, go for the staff or the bow).

"gale had the absolute GALL to request another magical artifact from me. again, men truly are just resource-consumers. he is currently on my shitlist for annoying me, because i only had this cool bard hat to spare that could give you inspiration points (no way would i have parted with mine or astarion’s gloves or my web boots). " Gale's timing was absolutely priceless here! Fortunately you only need to give him 3 items (he'll stop needing them once he meets a certain someone) and there are quite a few useless ones out there. The hat you can safely get rid of if you don't have a bard in the party (the bardic inspiration points only work on them), so it was a good choice. I think I also gave him the spear located in the crypt where you find Withers and the Ring of Color Spray, which you can loot from the harpies' nest, close to the beach where you can save a tiefling kid. Both of these items are underwhelming so Gale can eat them.

"i was a bit worried that by taking them too often i would accelerate friendship or romance plotlines before i had the time to work on my relationship or approval stats with those characters. " Once you spend your spell slots the best choice is definitely to take a long rest, now of course there is no need to take like 100 rests just for the sake of it but once you need your party to heal and replenish your resources, don't shy away from doing that! There are many camp scenes with your companions especially in act 1 and you can easily miss some of them if you don't long rest enough so you don't need to worry about progressing your romance or friendship too quickly. The only thing you need to take into account are time sensitive quests like the inn. Also, before going to sleep make sure you talk to each companion, sometimes the exclamation mark doesn't show up above their heads.

"random, but i also found out that, since i had previously helped Alfira with her song and she gave me her lute, i might have musical ability?? i don’t have access to my game rn so i’ll have to check. that might prove really funny later on" Yes apparently if you help her with the song and she gives you the lute, you gain the ability. If you don't accept the lute, you don't. I found this very late and randomly from a TikTok video and got pissed off because I would've helped her if I knew it. I don't know if this works with the non-bards who gained the musical ability from Alfira, but you can for example distract the NPCs attention by playing a song with your bard character and have your designated thief (Astarion, who else) pickpocket, or try to steal shit from merchants and other well guarded chests. Casting Minor Illusion is also a good alternative to temporarily distract NPCs attention. A lot of the valuable items I got in my first playthrough were gained by using methods like this, although sometimes it gets annoying as you'll need to reload if Astarion fails his sleight of hand checks. The Gloves of Thievery I mentioned previously will help him a lot when stealing, you can buy them from the zhentarim merchant (also look out for the Smuggler's Ring, it's on a corpse under the broken bridge).

"i feel the need to do every quest and i never leave a place without picking everything up, even rotting food and useless stuff like tongs and rope. my Mirta often gets 'encumbered’ LOL" I'm a massive loot goblin myself and totally get your problem, it happens to me in every game. Loot everything, explore everyting... The official mod manager has a "Weightless consumables" mod that will help the problem with getting encumbered too quickly since gold, potions, arrows, books and even scrolls weight a lot once you gain a lot of these. The random gear, just sell it as soon as possible.

Since I've seen you're having problems with Ethel... Here's what I remember doing on Level 4. I had Karlach, Astarion and Shadowheart in my party and it took me a few tries but I got her eventually: cast Magic Missile when she's multiplying herself and her copies will go away immediately once they are hit. You need to deal with the copies ASAP since each one of them can deal a lot of damage to your party members. Also, make sure you have a character that could potentially deal a lot of melee damage (like Karlach or Lae'zel) once they get close to her...I suggest replacing Gale with one of those two since your character is a wizard already and having two in this fight is an overkill. If you have potions of speed, consider using them (but be careful, after three turns you'll turn lethargic for one turn) on one of your party members. Shadowheart was mostly there for support (Healing, Bless, Sanctuary) but I think at some point I had her use Silence on Ethel? Can't remember exactly...It's a hard fight but doable once you figure out how to deal the maximum amount of damage to her. Once her health is low enough, she will try to bargain with you and this is when you can choose an additional ability point (and you can get the point and save the girl, don't worry).

does that mean i’ll have to put in the anti astarion tag just to steer clear of these freaks? 😂 i mean, i’ve heard some stories and i know they’re off their rocker and i also hope to become the first of my friend group to successfully romance him, just for the incredible meme potential." Depends on what you have to say about him to be honest, but yes, it would be safer to put outright criticism or things that could offend some fans in the anti/critical tag. You know, better safe than sorry. I'll have add that these days things are calmer in the fandom since many people have moved on from the game, so it's a bit safer to express certain unpopular opinions.

you're right. i think i'll perhaps do it as a safety check because i don't intend to be respectful of the bloodsucker twink lmao. i put him in a ridiculous looking outfit and it's so hard to take him seriously AT ALL

i'll see how it goes. he's currently leaving me on 'Seen' with an approval rating of 3

Also, with the new Dragon Age game coming up even more will occupy themselves with that one. The DA fandom is apparently even more insane from what I've heard from some of my friends who played those games and interacted with that fandom, so, if you think you've witnessed the worst when it comes to chronically online behavior then you're mistaken. It can always get worse!

good lord!

(I'm curious what stories you heard about the wives though, unfortunately there is an insane amount of instances of these people doing unhinged shit, I could write a dissertation on it…)

well the wives are the reason i've started to play actually, as counter-productive as that sounds 😂 i have a friend who explained the lore to me, so i know most of astarion's background and what happens with him, though i don't remember details, of course. she told me how delulu they are in excusing every thing he does, even his insane decision to become the no 1 ascended vampire boss. how they deceive themselves into believing astarion becomes in love with them if they act like complete doormats and go along with whatever fuckass thing he wants, even if the 'detect thoughts' option clearly indicates that he thinks badly of them :))

basically i thought this was all hilarious and was curious to see what the big deal was. fast-forward a week later and i can't go to sleep without thinking how to optimise my stats fml

shoutout to ilinca who is sometimes reading my blog to keep up with the drama 🤙

There is a reason for his overly theatrical lines, especially the flirty ones which I assume were the ones that made you gag (I'm of the same opinion here, he's super cringe, yikes).

yes, it's just the way he sometimes says the word 'darling' that is goofy af 😆 he can be very charming but also go into cringe territory EASILY

so, in the same vein, i thought it would be very funny if i tried to romance this loser and see where it takes me. as a baseline, i'll try to do as many things in this game as i can for meme potential. from the beginning i was set on adopting an understanding approach and being patient to see if it'll work on this absolute nutcase

thanks for the elemental magic tips, too, i was thinking of doing that and finally decided that it would be more useful so that i won't get my arse kicked in more difficult settings. especially since my tav is not going to be super offensive-oriented

i installed some mods for more clothing options, but you're right, there are unfortunately not a lot of dresses out there, though a lot of salacious options! i gave Mirta a glow up when i went back on my saves

Okay, so the burning inn quest (Waukeen's Rest) is one of the few time sensitive quests in the game. Once you see it burning you have to deal with it immediately otherwise it will burn down completely. It sucks and I get it considering the game doesn't give you a warning about it. As a tip, if you have major difficulties try entering into turned based mode once you enter the inn to save the people trapped in there. And yeah have Wyll with you in the party for story related reasons. You also get a nice reward if you complete the quest (you can choose between three potential weapons, go for the staff or the bow).

entering into turn-based mode has been such a game-changer to how i approach this entire thing, honestly. i hope i can manage to use Create Water on the thing and be done with it, but i'll make many saves and deal with it when the time comes. i have a lot to do until then, like fight the spiders in the well. it's overwhelming sometimes how expansive this world is and how much it takes to complete just one quest

Gale's timing was absolutely priceless here!

tell me about it! MEN!

Fortunately you only need to give him 3 items (he'll stop needing them once he meets a certain someone) and there are quite a few useless ones out there. The hat you can safely get rid of if you don't have a bard in the party (the bardic inspiration points only work on them), so it was a good choice.

damn, i was hoping the hat would help me inspire my fellow comrades into battle 😭 i sometimes stop to play a jaunty little tune on alfira's lyre

I think I also gave him the spear located in the crypt where you find Withers and the Ring of Color Spray, which you can loot from the harpies' nest, close to the beach where you can save a tiefling kid. Both of these items are underwhelming so Gale can eat them.

oh, really? i thought the spear was good for shadowheart, which is why i kept holding onto it. i mean, good to know, since it seems i can't buy a lot of these from vendors, at least not so far

Once you spend your spell slots the best choice is definitely to take a long rest, now of course there is no need to take like 100 rests just for the sake of it but once you need your party to heal and replenish your resources, don't shy away from doing that! There are many camp scenes with your companions especially in act 1 and you can easily miss some of them if you don't long rest enough so you don't need to worry about progressing your romance or friendship too quickly. The only thing you need to take into account are time sensitive quests like the inn.

i will keep this in mind. i don't want to miss anything!

Also, before going to sleep make sure you talk to each companion, sometimes the exclamation mark doesn't show up above their heads.

great tip, thank you! i would not have thought to do this on my own, i just went to them if they had an exclamation mark LOL

I don't know if this works with the non-bards who gained the musical ability from Alfira, but you can for example distract the NPCs attention by playing a song with your bard character and have your designated thief (Astarion, who else) pickpocket, or try to steal shit from merchants and other well guarded chests.

i did try and play a song and people did come up to listen to me, so it deff works! but i couldn't loot anything with astarion because he was still in their line of sight. i'm still working on my pickpocketing skills, including by distracting characters with dialogue, then switching to astarion

Casting Minor Illusion is also a good alternative to temporarily distract NPCs attention. A lot of the valuable items I got in my first playthrough were gained by using methods like this, although sometimes it gets annoying as you'll need to reload if Astarion fails his sleight of hand checks. The Gloves of Thievery I mentioned previously will help him a lot when stealing, you can buy them from the zhentarim merchant (also look out for the Smuggler's Ring, it's on a corpse under the broken bridge).

thank you, since i decided to put Minor Illusion as a cantrip, i'm going to try this method as well!

I'm a massive loot goblin myself and totally get your problem, it happens to me in every game. Loot everything, explore everyting… The official mod manager has a "Weightless consumables" mod that will help the problem with getting encumbered too quickly since gold, potions, arrows, books and even scrolls weight a lot once you gain a lot of these. The random gear, just sell it as soon as possible.

i am desperately considering this mod and i'll see how much i can last without using it, because a good chunk of my play time is taken up by sending things to camp and then taking them out of my chest to sell them 😂 i should really look into some organizational mods that give me pouches and crates, because all my stuff is all over the place

cast Magic Missile when she's multiplying herself and her copies will go away immediately once they are hit. You need to deal with the copies ASAP since each one of them can deal a lot of damage to your party members.

after fighting her for a couple of hours, i did reach the conclusion that magic missile would have perhaps been a better spell to have prepared in my spell slots, you're right :))

Also, make sure you have a character that could potentially deal a lot of melee damage (like Karlach or Lae'zel) once they get close to her…I suggest replacing Gale with one of those two since your character is a wizard already and having two in this fight is an overkill. If you have potions of speed, consider using them (but be careful, after three turns you'll turn lethargic for one turn) on one of your party members. Shadowheart was mostly there for support (Healing, Bless, Sanctuary) but I think at some point I had her use Silence on Ethel? Can't remember exactly…It's a hard fight but doable once you figure out how to deal the maximum amount of damage to her. Once her health is low enough, she will try to bargain with you and this is when you can choose an additional ability point (and you can get the point and save the girl, don't worry).

i really want to bring gale with me, because he did not really get a lot of action otherwise and it is a good opportunity to me to think about how to build him in such a way that he's complementary to my tav, as i'm also a wizard. and it would be best to do that earlier in the game rather than later. so i'm making him very different to me, for example i'm giving him spells like feather fall, longstrider and enhance leap, as the backstory is that he's more athletic than mirta. since i'm keeping Find Familiar for myself, i'm giving him Conjure Hand for an extra flying helper that could deliver that final shove or whack, if needed.

shadowheart i need for healing support and astarion because he liked ethel and could disarm traps. also i dunno if it is even possible to sneak past the masks completely, but hiding at least came in handy when i had to fight them

i really don't want to use lae'zel or karlach for this, because i'm set on rotating my companions as much as i can for the sake of a cohesive story. and for the blighted village and the spiders, i'm using lae'zel, karlach, and shadowheart already. then hopefully after i'm done with ethel, i'll take shadowheart, lae'zel and wyll to talk to the githyanki again, then go to the burning inn

and, last but not least, playing as a dark urge bard is so chaotic, anon. it sounds like you could do a lot of damage with the right mindset! kind of like pied piper vibes. i don't know if you've ever listened to the Magnus Archives, but it's a horror podcast with a heavy 'monster of the week' structure and one of the episodes has a pied piper character whose songs are war/violence/slaughter-aligned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LC6hLrq9Ys

Anonymous asked: Hey, BG3 anon here! Don't worry about responding to my really long message, you don't have to do it at all, or at least not to all of it! I hope my tips helped and in case they didn't, well, don't hesitate trying other methods until you figure it out, that's part of the fun! The fight is very tricky and perhaps one of the hardest in act 1 especially for someone who is a beginner when it comes to these type of games. I usually hate turn-based combat myself and initially refused to buy the game because of it, but honestly once you familiarize yourself with it, it becomes easy to strategize, fun even.

thank you so much again for taking the time to write all this, i know it's a jumbled mess, but it's really helpful. i wasn't expecting to find a bg3-interested person so quick!

i have to say, i really dislike having to fight in games as a rule, but i'm actually finding that turn-based combat can be fun, as i have time to think and strategize and don't have to react in quick succession and get overwhelmed. so it's the opposite for me, i guess :))

hugs!

[piko-piko-chan]

Danganronpa OCs dump!!!

(mostly for me cuz I need to get these designs all in one place)

These four are from my fanganronpa story ("Danganronpa : In the spotlight!"). I'm working on the other character sheets too

Ine Kobayashi; Ultimate Seller; Protagonist

(Her name is literally rice. Mostly because it's funny but also to show how simple minded she is. As someone who grew up having nothing, she really doesn't need anything more than just some rice to be happy.)

She's easygoing and open for new possibilities. She tends to trust people first without thinking. Anyone who shows her even a snippet of compassion will be remembered as an angel by her

She was adopted by a rich pair due to her seller abilities. She was made to go around the world and be a pitch seller for various items her parents were currently investing in. She was later enlisted in the "Ultimate Future program" due to her amazing persuasion.

"Ultimate Future program" is a program that takes extremely talented teenagers ages 16-18, gives them money to develop their talents and makes them into public figures. Basically you get a scholarship for being a celebrity.

Kazue Kobayashi; Ultimate Watchmaker

(Her name is written with kanji for "One" and "Benefit" to kind of contrast how she thought as a child she would be her parents favourite. So she was named to be the first child that gets all the benefits and then, only after Ine git adopted into her family, did Kazue fade into the background.)

Biological daughter of a very rich couple and sister of Ine. She grew up thinking she had everything guaranteed but once Ine became her parents favourite she realized in a family like hers, even her parents love isn't unconditional.

She hates her name as it serves as a constant reminder of how everything was perfect until One appeared. She was the first, the favourite, the best, but now it was taken away and she is stuck with a name that is just a dark joke.

After she realized her parents were after Ine's talent she desperately looked for a talent she could call her own to make her parents love her. That's why she became an Ultimate Watchmaker. She hates her talent and never mentions it first. She thinks it's stupid and weird but at least she got into the "Ultimate Future program"

Haruko Kai; Ultimate Carpenter

(Her name means spring child because she was born in spring. Very usual name. But also, she loves to watch people and things bloom and in chapter 3 she basically "blooms" too. So her being a spring child is also metaphorical for how she views the world)

She's as shy as a mouse. During all the trials she's just in the background, trying not to get wrapped into the whole mess.

She's also dating (in secret) one other student from the "Ultimate Future program". Ultimate Gardener, Kenshin, flew across the world (from Mexico to France) just to tell her to stop "Disrespecting the planet by making fully functional plants for her fancy furniture"

She's very passionate when it comes to her work. She believes that she's honouring the dead trees by making beautiful furniture out of them. She will never cut down a tree or ask for it. Everything she does or she owns is either full eco, reusable or made by herself.

So after she told him that, he was more than embarrassed. They ended up spending a lot of time together nerding about plants and ecology. They eventually exchanged numbers and later started dating long-distance. (And I'm definitely not going to use this relationship for some good emotional trauma for one of them hehe)

Kenshin Harada; Ultimate Gardener;

(His name is basically trust and humbleness. Because he's none of that. I think his parents wanted a nice young man who would hold the doors open for women but they got a moody teenager with an unhealthy twitter addiction who says "I won't hold the door for women, it's like I'm saying they are not capable enough! That's sexist!")

He's very much what you would call a "chronically online sjw". He's vegan and loves plants. He knows every species on top of his head. If not for the management of "Ultimate Future program" he would definitely fight you about oil companies on twitter.

He's definitely one of the hardest to manage when it comes to public image. He would often take interviews with dirty and torn clothes.

And then he started dating Haruko and he started "corrupting" her. Or at least that's what he heard.

He stands for justice, only justice and nothing but the justice. But he's very open and annoying about it.

He's basically going "are you suuuureeee?" to Ine at every trial and constantly bashing every idea she comes up with. Just because he likes to know everything.

His fav series is def Ace Attorney and he is constantly screaming at the phone to the characters cuz he "already figured it out".

I think he might be my favourite besides my Ultimate Hairstylist lol

Anyway I have the whole story figured out. With who dies when and who kills who. I'm going to redo the same chart for the 7th time and post it soon.

Like I said, It's mostly so I can show it to my friends when they ask me about my danganronpa ocs or so I won't forget