#I have been looking at this instead of continuing his playthrough

[vihola]

@underestimated-power drew Morok as he’s supposed to look like according to my thoughts. My crops are thriving and my heart is full

[under-the-dirt]

Hiii :3 I have another song one-shot idea, but with whatever character you want

I hope you have a good day :3

ok ilysm tytytyty i love getting ur song requests but the very first thing that came to mind the second i began this song was “FANAFAFAFAFFAFAFANFAB FNAF REFRENCE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️” bc i actually just have a squirrel brain. i’ve been wtaching the lore videos n playthroughs sm i’m so obsessed rn but i also thought of price bc i need more price daddy in my life. he’s so sexy. so, tytyty and a i wish you a very very ily <3

pairing: price x fem!reader

tags: sleeptalking, price is daddy, pet names :3, reader is a sleeptalker, ermrmrmrm a lil smut near the end.. fingering, overstimulation, p in v, unprotected sex (guys pls don’t), ermm UNDER 13 DNIII!!! SHOO CHILDREN!! I WILL BLOCK U!!!

You’ve always struggled to sleep alone. Your therapist had told you it was a trauma response, makes sense. You’d gotten by with large teddy bears and music, but once you became a part of the TaskForce 141 you hadn’t been able to get either.

So, you’d barely been able to sleep. No one really noticed, except for Price. He could see the bags beneath your eyes, he watched you chug energy drinks when you thought people weren’t looking, and after you got hurt due to being unable to move quick enough from pure exhaustion he knew he just had to step in.

You were sitting in your bed, doing unnecessary paperwork, when there was a soft knock on your door and a soothing voice from the other side.

“Can I come in, love?” Price’s gravelly voice asks, and you of course let him in. He sits down on your desk chair while you resume your position on your bed. “I’ve noticed something ‘bout you, love.”

“What is it, sir?” You respond dutifully.

“Those bags under yer eyes.. An’ when you ‘s constantly drinkin’ them energy drinks.. They’re bad for you, you know that right?” He explains softly, looking at you with those gentle blue eyes.

“Yeah..”

“Can ye not sleep ‘r somethin’?” He asks, getting to the point.

“Not well, sir.” You reply, albeit ashamed, and he nods.

“Why not?”

“Since I was little I’ve been unable to sleep without someone or something next to me.” You explain, head down.

“Ah.”

“it wasn’t a problem until I got here, and I don’t have a bear. I doubt they’d even allow one.” You chuckle softly, and he hums.

“Could I help?” He questions gently, and from the look on his face it’s completely serious.

“Y-yeah I mean- If you want to..”

He nods, walking to the door and flicking the light off before climbing into your bed beside you.

“Alright, come on sweetheart.” He smiles, watching you lay down and fall asleep, both maintaining enough distance to remain comfortable. That was some of the best sleep you’d gotten since you arrived, and you hoped he’d continue.

He did, the next day, and the next, and every day after that unless he was on a long mission. At some point you’d moved to his room due to his bigger bed and for general convenience. You became more and more comfortable with him as the nights went on, and soon you were cuddled to his chest as you slept, mumbling whatever nonsense was in your mind. He never minded your cute habit, never thinking much of it, until one night you begin saying his name.. Innocently enough for a bit, until a few days later when you began saying his name in full sentences instead of quick mumblings.

“John.. mm.. want you so bad.. need you..” You whisper, and he chuckles. “Mm… love you..”

“What’s that, bunny?” He asks, running his hands along your waist as you continue mumbling.

“Love you, John..”

“Is that so?” He asks with a gentle chuckle, the rumble of which stirs you.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” You ask tiredly, rubbing your eyes and looking up at him.

“What’re ye mumblin’ about?”

“I wasn’t saying anything..”

“Oh really? You were just sayin’ that ye love me.. What’re ye dreamin’ about, bunny?” He purrs, voice getting slightly deeper and causing you to blush.

“Uhm.. nothing..”

“Thas’ all?” He coos, running his hands lower to your hips and teasing the waistband of your shorts.

You blush further. “I- well.. you were in it..”

“Oh was I?”

You nod.

“And what were we doing?”

“uhm..” You hide your face, not wanting to describe the things you did in your dream, when suddenly John’s hand slips beneath your shorts and taps your clit gently.

“Something like this..?” He purrs, rubbing your clit gently through your panties, and you let out a soft moan. He chuckles, sliding your panties to the side to feel the wetness between your folds. “Hmm.. so wet already..” He tsks, running his finger up and down through your folds and removing it, bringing it up to his mouth and licking your juices off. You stare at him, wide eyed, and he chuckles.

He reaches down again, looking at you for permission before slipping your shorts off and panties with it. He inserts two fingers into your cunt without hesitation, and you whimper at the sudden intrusion. He rubs your clit with his thumb as he begins gently pumping his fingers in and out, curling them to hit that spongy spot inside of you that has you moaning and arching your back. He quickly shuts you up by kissing you deeply, tongue exploring your mouth with feverish lust. Using his free hand, he tugs down his sweatpants and boxers, letting his hard cock spring free. You gasp at the feeling of it against your stomach, its pure size a shock, and reach down to stroke it gently. He groans into the kiss, and the sound makes you cum almost instantly without warning. He laughs and pulls his fingers put, running his cock through your folds and rubbing your overstimulated clit.

“God.. so perfect for me, aren’t ye?” He chuckles, slowly pressing the thick tip of his cock into your tight hole, groaning at the feeling of you fluttering around him. “Relax for me, lass.. God.. so tight” He grunts, pushing into you, listening to your moans and whimpers. After finally bottoming out, he stays still to let you adjust, before gently pulling back to thrust into you and slam into your g-spot.

“John.. ohmygod oh.. oh..” You moan and babble, his cock completely turning your brain off as he hits your g-spot over and over. “God- g-gonna- John..”

“You gonna cum? Go on, be a good girl and cum on my cock.” He commands, and you cum instantly, eyes rolling back into your head with a loud moan. He follows soon after, filling your tight pussy with his thick cum. “So good for me.. So good for me..” He praises, pulling put slowly and kissing you gently. He kisses your neck as you fall asleep, and to say that night was the best sleep you’ve ever gotten was an understatement.

that was pretty fun to write, sorry it took so long! i love getting song requests <33333 hope this is good!!!

[theminecraftbee]

Hi. 3rd life looks super interesting, but I don't know where to start. Do you have any recommendations on how to watch it?

certainly! the good news is, compared to a lot of mcyt, third life is fairly short! the original 3rd life is only eight episodes by most povs, with last life being eight or nine, double life normally only being six-ish, and limited life being about eight, meaning that if you wanted to watch one player's playthrough of every season, that's still only thirty episodes. that's like... getting into one network tv show before the netflix model took over!

so, i guess my advice is just to pick someone's pov and watch it!

the players who have been in every season are grian, inthelittlewood, smajor1995, goodtimeswithscar, smallishbeans, zombiecleo, bdoubleo100, bigbst4tz2, impulsesv, tangotek, ethoslab, and solidarity. skizzleman was in every season but double life, pearlescentmoon was in every season but third life, rendog was in every season but limited life, and mumbo jumbo and ldshadowlady were only in last life.

if instead of watching one guy as a single continuity, you want to watch the "best" pov for each season, that's going to be subjective. i'd say grian or inthelittlewood for 3rd life, zombiecleo or smajor for last life, zombiecleo or pearlescentmoon for double life, and inthelittlewood or zombiecleo for limited life... but as you can tell, i have a bias towards a very specific player, haha. in reality, you can probably choose whatever pov you want and have a good time, and other fans will have a different opinion about the best povs! and then, if after you watch that pov, you have questions about what other players are doing elsewhere on the map, you can go watch that guy's pov! that's how i normally approach it, at least.

each series mostly stands alone; while the fans like making connections between series, and there are running bits of continuity, you could easily, say, decide the gimmick of double life appeals to you, but you aren't interested in watching any of the series that came before it, and you'd probably end up fine. many new fans join on when the new series starts! if you are interested, in fact, the players have been hinting at the next one starting sometime soon, although we don't have any kind of date yet. when that starts, starting with episode one of whatever that one ends up being called is as good a starting point as any!

finally, you may have noticed some of the players have videos titled stuff like "3rd life: the movie" on their channel. these are, as far as i'm aware, exactly the same as the contents for their series, just edited together as one big long video instead of a series of videos. the one exception to this is bdoubleo100, who was in limited life but didn't put out episodes as it aired, instead releasing all of his footage only recently as one long video. it's up to you whether you prefer to watch the series as a series of episodes or as a long episode, if you choose one of the povs who put out videos like that!

so yeah! there is my list of advice for getting into the life series. hopefully this is helpful and not just a block of text!

[energypinecatsual]

Dungeon Meshi Modern AU Important Laios Thought:

Okay so Laios would definitely get into a fist fight with Undertale creator Toby Fox right, actually not even going to put a question mark after right because I know I'm right. Laios would be introduced to Undertale as soon as it comes out because Falin backed the kickstarter and had been gushing to her brother about it's fun concept for an RPG where you don't have to kill any monsters. Laios then plays Undertale and slowly grows to hate it, because the promise of monsters actually just turned out to be a bunch of weirdly shaped humans who could be killed more easily. He keeps playing to try and connect with Falin about it but when he reaches the pacifist ending on his 9th playthrough he flips his desk when Flowey becomes a GoatMAN, and thus resolves to beat-up Toby Fox. Thankfully tracking him down is easy because in the modern AU Marcille has a new magic spell called "Hacking into people's computers", which she agreed to do if Laios would stop drawing her as a furry or a dubious little creature and would instead draw a picture of her fish Sky. When Laios gets to Toby Fox's house he bangs at the door, but instead of Toby Fox walking out he is first met with a tired looking man wearing a carefully knitted sweater saying "I LOVE MY CHILD, KID ICARUS UPRISING FOR THE NINTENDO 3DS" on it. He walks over to his care and peacefully drives away. Since Laios didn't care about this man he kept looking at the door. After 5 of gods own minutes Toby Fox trotted out to greet him. As Toby Fox appeared in the form of a small white dog Laios thought he had the upper hand with his animal knowledge, however Toby Fox is simply a human in the form of a dog and quickly dislodged a vinyl record from the wall with a piece of tape that had text written on it saying "TOBY FOX'S ROCK OPERA" and hit Laios over the head like he was Alex YIIK and knocked Laios the hell out. Afterwards whenever Undertale was brought up around Laios he would say "I bet if I could code I'd make a game called "Eatertale" and it would be much more realistic". This would continue on for years until one day when Izutsumi is google searching for JPEGs of Fish on Laios laptop when her paw pads don't work well on the trackpad, leading swiping her hand too fast over the thing and accidently pressing the windows key and seeing all of Laios tabs. On multiple of them is beautiful sprite work with various titled but all containing the phrase "DELTARUNE WIP" attached to them.

Izutsumi doesn't really care about Laios' artwork so she doesn't end up telling anybody.

A few more years pass and everyone finds out due to Kabru sending everyone a group text from the hospital because while he was reading the Deltarune credits for fun he saw Laios' name in the credits under the artists section and had his legs kick so fast as a reaction it broke his desk and sent him and his chair careening towards the floor.

[thewolfaroo]

here are some of the things i’ve been able to capture of the werewolves using freecam!! most of these are things you would not usually be able to see in a normal playthrough.

silly little guy on the radiohut roof! yes, silas actually appears on the shack twice despite us not being able to see him; first when ryan is given the prompt to shoot at the ceiling, and again when dylan falls to the floor. when i tell you i leaped around my room in joy when i saw him there i am not exaggerating. (yes, the second animation is actually that choppy. not an issue on my end, it appears to have been abandoned before it was refined completely)

dylan’s transformation up close! unfortunately he does not have his own model (makes sense as he does not appear in the game again after transforming) so he uses silas’ model instead. it would make more biological sense for him to use jacob’s or nick’s models, but my guess is that they just used silas’ as it was already loaded in this scene. by far the coolest model in my opinion though, so i won’t complain :)

caleb in that short cutscene where he’s on the cliff face in the distance! 

aaand some final miscellaneous werewolf pics :)  will definitely be studying them further once i continue my playthrough- chris in particular, as well as kaylee once i unlock chapter select. i’d love to get a better look at her and caleb during nick’s infection as that scene confused me initially. i love these little guys so much <33

[pikkish]

I'm new to the fandom, just played 2016 and Eternal in quick succession. Eternal's DLC left me really dissatisfied, but I can't really explain why or how. Based on that poll you made, it's clear you've got some Opinions on the writing, so I was hoping you would like to share them? I feel like I need someone to mull over that whole story with. You can message me privately if you wish!!

Hi there! Welcome to the Doom fandom! I hope you enjoy your stay here more than you enjoyed TAG's writing! And you're more than welcome to come yell with me about Doom and its related games any time!

You're more than correct in your assertion that I have some Opinions about modern Doom's writing, in fact, I have quite a few of them. Most of them can be summed up as "the writing is just plain bad," which is probably also the reason you're unsatisfied with it. It's inconsistent, it regularly sacrifices coherence for the sake of something that looks cool for trailer shots, it has a lot of details that very much could be interesting plots but are simply ignored after their first mention, and at least a few more things that I'm forgetting, it's been a little bit since my last playthrough of TAG and these are just the major ones off the top of my head.

Take Hayden, for example. In 2016, he's the classic egotistical, powerful CEO of a major weapons industry, who maybe didn't necessarily intend to get a ton of people killed, but now that he has, he's gonna stick to his guns and insist he's still in the right, this was an unfortunate accident, but what he's doing is necessary, for the good of humanity, can't you see? He's the good guy! He's just trying to make things better! And he's dedicated to this course well enough that he's willing to betray the man who's there to save him, and boot Doomguy back into Hell at the end of 2016.

Then you get to Eternal, and he's inexplicably changed his mind for no good reason? And it's not like he's learned his lesson and has become more humble for it; sure, he got his rear handed to him by demons, and he emphatically states that the creation of Argent Energy is an "unholy union" that "cannot continue," but at the same time, he still acts constantly like he has everything under control and heavily implies that, were he in charge, this situation wouldn't be so bad- as if he weren't in charge when it got this bad. It's like they wanted him to have the exact same attitude (and therefore, ability to deliver dramatic voicelines) as in 2016, but didn't want to commit to him being a villain, so they just went "ok! he doesn't like Argent Energy any more," and went with it, then never felt the need to explain how or why this complete shift in attitude came about. As a result, it feels like Hayden has no clear motive or goals, and falls pretty flat as a character in general.

And then, to take it into TAG, there's the Seraphim, and don't even get me started on how much I hate that that's his name, "seraphim" is the PLURAL form of "seraph," it's like how "Guy" is a real name but then if they decided to name a character "Guys" instead, and it drives me crazy-- whom they go to some lengths to confirm is, in fact, the same person as Hayden, but then, despite the fact that Samur is sick and dying from the moment you revive him, for some reason, Hayden has to turn back into Samur. I suppose there's maybe some indication that Samur and Hayden are actually different people implied by Hayden referring to the Seraphim in the third person through the beginning of the Atlantica level, but there's still never any explanation given for that, whether they are or aren't the same person, or why you need to bring Samur back in Hayden's place.

And then, you beat Samur up, and guess what? He immediately stops being relevant to the plot and is almost completely forgotten. And that's a recurring theme in modern Doom! Olivia Pierce and the Khan Maykr both share the same fate, the moment they're dead, they practically just stop existing. Sure, there's the statue of Olivia in Nekravol, and, like, a single mention of the Khan in one of TAG's codices, if I remember correctly, but personally, to me, both of those feel more like the devs giving you a wink and a nudge and saying "haha hey, remember them?" like it's more of an Easter Egg than them actually having any significance.

And then there's the whole mess that is Davoth. Admittedly, having the Divinity Machine be fueled by his power, and Doomguy being enhanced by that power is thematically appropriate, what with the whole reason Doomguy wins being that he's even angrier than Hell. I also think something like the Divinity Machine and Dooomguy becoming superhuman did have to happen eventually, because how many times can one man singlehandedly beat back the whole of Hell itself before he stops being just some guy? But I don't think it was executed very well.

For one thing, I don't think it was a good move to imply that Doomguy always was some sort of pseudo-god super entity right from the start. Sure, like I said, he did inevitably have to stop being just some guy, but him being just some guy was a good bit of the charm of classic Doom in my opinion. All we knew about him was that he loved his pet rabbit, and was more willing to punch his commanding officer in the face than follow an order to shoot civilians. And yeah, if you take that, and also assume that the story cards are Doomguy's own internal monologue or at least a representation of his attitude, then you can't really say he was ever a blank slate character, but he was still just some guy, and he was relatable for that. And going "well, actually, he was a godling from the very beginning" just doesn't feel very good in my opinion, and feels like a big retcon besides. (And we'll get to more "well, ACTUALLY" stuff in a bit, but first I wanna finish up the tangentially Davoth related stuff first.)

All that aside, if we take it at face value and say sure, Doomguy was always something a little more than human, always destined to become the ultimate warrior, rather than making himself into the Doom Slayer by surviving Hell, then there's still not really any reason for Davoth to have looked exactly like him, beyond going "you-- but EVIL!!" for the drama of it. I think there was maybe one codex entry that says Davoth's whole soul-stealing operation was for the sake of providing his own people with immortality, which is to say, he was fighting to protect his home or something to that effect, so an argument could be made that his looking like Doomguy is an attempt at exploring "this is you, gone too far, this is you if you ever let go of your morals, this is everything you risk becoming," but, again, it's mentioned like... once, in one codex, and never explored or elaborated upon further. If I remember correctly, Davoth himself never even acknowledges this, it's just the codex entry, and he just goes on about how he'll kill Doomguy and destroy everything he ever loved. If they really wanted to make him a sympathetic villain like that, then they should've actually given us the opportunity to feel that sympathy for him. Let me see the people he's trying to protect- is it an idyllic paradise, oblivious to the lengths being gone to to keep them comfortable? A broken, dying people who should have gone extinct long ago, but for this thievery of the lives of others? I know Hell is supposed to be Jekkad, corrupted, and even in theory, that's fine- you could say Davoth's become so ruthless in pursuit of this immortality for his people that he's blinded himself to how it's also destroyed that which he was attempting to save- but you can't really see that. It's still just Hell, not really any sort of remnant of something worth saving.

And speaking of that. Trying to make Davoth a sympathetic villain at all feels like a bad choice to me. Doom is about fighting demons, about carving a bloody war path through the ultimate evil of Hell itself, and about feeling viciously satisfied about doing it. Making it about a desperate man who can't accept that he failed to save what he cared about, and making about killing that man before he does any more damage in attempting to do what he's already failed to do just doesn't feel good the way the rest of Doom does. And beyond that, TAG doesn't even succeed in the emotional gut punch that would come from it, had they managed to make Davoth into an actually sympathetic villain. It's like they're trying to strike a balance between the gratuitously violent and exhiliratingly triumphant feel that Doom is known for, and an emotionally impactful story, and as a result, both end up landing somewhere between mediocre and just plain bad.

I don't have a good segue into this bit except to say it's coming back to the "well, ACTUALLY," thing I mentioned earlier, which is: there are a lot of parts that feel a lot like a six year old kid is just making up the plot on the spot, like, for example, "Doomguy LAUNCHES himself out of a CANNON and he has a MAGIC SWORD and a PET DRAGON that carries him to the MAGIC CRYSTAL in the MIDDLE of the PLANET." Granted, these ones are pretty small and relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and, yeah, okay, they do look pretty cool. But they don't really... fit? Yeah, it's not like classic Doom didn't have this too, In Doom I alone, Doomguy gets pissed about not getting a reward for beating up the barons, practically just jumps off the side of Deimos, and then finally gets to go home when a secret teleporter just opens beside him after Hell decides he's "too tough" for it. But that all fits in classic Doom, because it's not trying to be a serious, grimdark story. Classic Doom is goofy, and it knows it, and it doesn't try to be anything else. But modern Doom tries so hard to be a very serious, dramatic story and also keep the sillier bits of classic Doom, and- yeah, okay, I already made this point once, but here it is again- it ultimately kinda fails at both as a result.

But then there's the bigger of these, namely VEGA. You spend the majority of both 2016 and Eternal with him as your main companion, and, as far as I can remember, there's never really anything to indicate that he's anything other than what he's introduced as, a sentient AI, created to help manage the Mars base. And then you get to the end of Eternal, and- after basically making you sacrifice him for a second time- with next to no buildup, go, "well actually, he's the god of the bad guys." And I'd complain about that plot thread also being brought up and then dropped with no further elaboration, except they do elaborate on it, and that's basically all that TAG is about. They spend the whole of TAG 1 telling you how VEGA is the god of Literally Everything, and how he made Davoth, then didn't kill him when he started to get out of hand, and aren't you MAD at him, for making all your problems, for being too merciful with his own creation that he loved, and don't you just wanna DESTROY the thing that would give him power again?

And then you get to TAG 2 and they spend the whole time going "WELL ACTUALLY it's DAVOTH who's god and VEGA STILL couldn't kill him and he's been LYING to you this ENTIRE TIME." It almost feels to me like a bad fandom interpretation to justify not liking a character, except worse because they're actually the ones who made the character and wrote the story, and I'm not entirely sure why they intentionally tried to make VEGA a helpful, likeable character, gave him a backstory that arguably makes him more sympathetic than Davoth, and then went "actually we hate him now and are gonna do everything we can to try to make you hate him too."

There are definitely more things I could bring up, like whatever the whole deal with the wraiths and the World Spear is, and probably a handful of other things I'm forgetting, too, but it's getting late and I gotta get up to go to work tomorrow. At any rate, thanks for stopping by and giving me an excuse to finally yell about these things! Feel free to stop by and chat with me about video games whenever you want, I love getting to hear other people's thoughts on these things just as much as I love getting to give my own.

[that-ari-blogger]

Of Course Orpheus Is Here

As I have analysed Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical, my thesis has been that this is a story about change, choice, and family. This is why Persephone is a majour player, for example, because of the symbolism of that character and the associated themes of her story. But there is one character who is so iconic to these themes that he has become the poster child for the power of love in Ancient Greek mythology.

It would have been a crime to not include Orpheus in this story. Both because of the themes mentioned above, but also because it's a musical, and Orpheus was a bard. This character was handed to the writers on a silver platter. They didn't even have to change anything to make him fit.

But they did change Orpheus. Or rather, they did give their own take on the character.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Let's start simple. Who was Orpheus in the myth? I know that this may be obvious, but it's nice to have everyone on the same page and to cite some sources.

According to Britannica, Orpheus was a bard who traveled with the Argonauts to retrieve the golden fleece, and married Eurydice. After her death...

"Overcome with grief, Orpheus ventured himself to the land of the dead to attempt to bring Eurydice back to life."

Which didn't go well for him. He was told to not look back, but he did anyway, and she was gone forever. The story continues, but it's all about his dismemberment, so I'm going to stop here. Worldhistory.org backs up this story, with some added context about his brother being killed by Hercules, amongst other interesting things. I encourage you to read the articles for yourselves.

In Stray Gods, the audience is introduced to Orpheus indirectly. As in, the entire segment with Orpheus in it is a reference to the myth. Freddy, Grace's friend (and in some playthroughs, love interest) has been killed and Grace will descend to the underworld to get her back. Immediately, the parallels are obvious, and we haven't met the guy yet.

There is also the parallel between Orpheus and Persephone. Specifically, the entitlement. Both feel that they made their choice and deserve the reward almost as a payment. The opening of this song serves to remind the audience, or spell it out if they don't already know, Persephone's backstory and motivation in this musical.

This is Orpheus's introductory shot. He's standing on a cliff overlooking an empty kingdom. You want symbolism? Here it is. Everything in this man's life has led up to this, this is a life he has built for himself. Except that he hasn't built it, he's taken it from someone else and is completely unequipped to deal with it. Orpheus is not a good ruler; Orpheus is an extremely lonely man.

And yet he is surrounded by people, by fans, by a chorus. Why is he so lonely?

He's lonely because these are ghosts, both literally and figuratively. They aren't friends or companions or anything similar, they are empty adoration, and he knows. The masks they wear serve to drive this point even further, there is no individuality, they aren't people to him, they are subjects. Orpheus is trying to become like Hades.

"Someone's coming..."

"You better be ready,"

"A wolf if wating in the tune."

"He's a master of his craft"

"Someone's coming..."

"We have to take back..."

"I can feel them howling at the moon."

"What is mine."

Stray Gods does this a lot. Two characters singing over the top of each other. But instead of shouting to be heard, they instead swap between like they are each the backup singer for the other. This is my favourite example by far.

It serves to show off how similar the characters are, but also their conflict and differences. It's like an argument through lyrics.

And that drum. That drum that keeps moving. Steady, like a clock, beating over and over, relentlessly. The drum that punctuates their words.

Time has made enemies of these two, both victims of a cruel king, now bitterness has turned them against each other. And the ticking of that percussive clock keeps on going, as if it's enjoying tormenting them. Until all of a sudden, it is gone.

This is how you present a threat. Grace has so far been the one to control the music, the one to get answers. And now here is a man who can do the same thing.

Orpheus isn't the biggest danger to Grace at all, but the emotionally charged nature of this interaction, combined with how much fun he has doing exactly what she does, means that Orpheus is portrayed here as an outright villain. For the moment anyway.

This is a villain song. This is the cackling egomaniac explaining his plans to the audience, so they know to root against him, while simultaneously explaining how great he is. I couldn't help linking the "best that's ever been" line to Ratigan's World's Greatest Criminal Mind song from The Great Mouse detective. And like Ratigan, Orpheus is surrounded by sycophants who talk absolute bollocks to please him, because he is in command. Exhibit A:

"I haven't really sung a single word."

"No he hasn't even sung a single word."

The man has been singing for nearly three minutes straight at this point.

"What's your problem with Persephone?"

Finally, we understand some things. Why is Orpheus so bitter? Because the love of his life was taken from him, and he blames Persephone for not doing anything about it.

But take this line for example:

"And Persephone you stood right beside him and said what a shame."

Contrast that with this line from an earlier song.

"You abandoned me to a terrible fate... you know how far I bent before I snapped."

The second line is from Old Wounds, and it is Persephone accusing Apollo of abandoning her, now Orpheus accuses Persephone of the same thing. This isn't so much a literary parallel, but two literary lines layered on top of each other.

The point I am making is that Orpheus factors into this story as a warning. Choices have consequences, sure, but so does doing nothing. Apathy leads to complacency, and when victims lash out and the cause of their pain is unavailable, the people who could have acted and did nothing are easy targets.

The caveat is that this is metered by human perception, which doesn't always match reality. Orpheus has perceived Persephone's inaction as being complicit and hasn't recognised her pain. Meanwhile Persephone has done the same to Apollo. And Apollo has actually done this to himself, seeing his own inaction as a weakness, whether accurate or not.

Then there is the question of why Orpheus is so associated with rock. As in, it's fun, and this song is a genuine bop. But why was this choice made? He could have easily gone for more classical, memorial tone, or even sung a pop song. So why this? Other than because a ghost electric guitar is awesome.

"[Rock] has been a symbol of rebellion, youth, and freedom. Rock music has also been a symbol of social change. It has been used to voice the concerns of the oppressed and to challenge the status quo."

- Boysetsfire.net.

Essentially, rock is a genre about change or bringing about change. And what does Orpheus want to do? He wants to take revenge, to change his circumstances. He's been wating for this moment for years, and now he is ready.

But Orpheus is an incredibly static character, at least when he is introduced. He stews and can't move on past injuries. So, in my reading, this is what this song is, the rock here is to bring about the change in Orpheus and Persephone, in finally getting them to move on.

"If he's the victim, what am I?"

This is, in my opinion, the most revelatory part of this song and the musical as a whole. Its a lack of understanding of this basic fact: Pain is not exclusive. If one person is traumatised, that doesn't eliminate or minimise what someone else went through. Life isn't a game of who is suffering more. If you want to heal, you need to understand not just yourself, but those around you. You don't have to empathise, but seeing another victim as an opponent isn't helpful and actively harms people more.

And if pain isn't exclusive, neither is healing. It is our duty as human beings to be kind, and if someone needs help, to at least offer and be willing to give aid. We are a collaborative species. If two people are in pain, especially because of a single cause, then helping each other to heal is always an option.

That drum that I identified with time and trauma returns for most of the song, playing erratic rhythms in ways a music scholar could probably analyse with much more coherence than me. What I will say is when the two finally reconcile, they sing over each other again, but this time it's less of an argument and more of a conversation, and that drum is nowhere to be seen.

They can take this healing on their own terms, in their own time.

Final Thoughts:

I love this song, and I love that Orpheus was included here. I feel that this song is a really nuanced discussion of the effects of someone like this version of Hades. He's not here, he's dead, but his legacy remains, and that empty throne is still ruling over Orpheus and Persephone as if they are still his subjects. I hope my analysis expressed this nuance coherently.

Next week I am covering both Adrift Reprise and The Trial. So stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[loupy-mongoose]

Did you make any fanart for Bug Fables? (Also secondary bug related question- thoughts on Hollow Knight?)

I'll answer the second one first. I've never played Hollow Knight myself, but watched a playthrough of it. I never got into it as much.

I've done a fair bit of Bug Fables art, some of it for MasaeAnela when she played through it on Twitch.

Now, a lot of the art contains spoilers, big and small, so I'm gonna put a Read More. (It also ended up being super long lol)

You've been warned.

I'll try to order it from least to most spoilery so it's harder to accidentally see them.

*Note for the art, the character Leif, the blue guy, refers to himself in plural. Saying "We/us" instead of "I/me". Just so you're not confused. X3

First I'll share a little Bug Fables version of a bug I saw at work one day.

This was made in response to Masae getting endlessly distracted by sidequests in her playthrough. XD

Leif has ice powers, and one of his moves requires the player to hit a button as it pops up. If they fail, the power backfires and Leif does a little animation where his hand freezes. Masae kept pressing the wrong button, so this came to mind. XD

At some point I decided to draw them as dragons. There are a few more down below, but there's a spoiler bit of text, so it goes in the depths lol.

Based on a bit of optional dialogue in the game. X3

I still like this artwork. :>

And a few comics I've done.

Fetch gone wrong~

The following arts relate to massive and/or end-game spoilers, so continue at your own discretion!

More dragons~

Very spoilery comic

Mood Music

Uh oh

And some existential dread.

Hoo! Okay, that's all that I have to share! A lot of this probably makes very little sense without context, lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that! It was nice to look back at all these. Some are good memories, and some I completely forgot about. X3

[tallymonster]

Memories of Us Chapter 20 - Roses are Falling

AO3 || MASTERLIST

Sooooo this took a while 😅 been focusing on life more so the updates will take a min, also I need to finish my playthrough with Octavia to get more inspiration lmao. Anywaaayy here's the thing.

Thanks to @cheesy-cryptid for the blessing 😘

Also thanks to my besties @micropoe10 @tragedybunny and @mj-bites for hyping me up consistently while I talk to them about all my wackadoo ideas for this mess of a fic. Y'all my homegirls ❤️

Super special thanks to Rue tho, for letting me throw Colette in here. Love ya babe 😘

Soft candle light filled the room, dust particles danced in the small spotlight of sun that creeped through the shut curtains of Astarion’s office.

Astarion sat pensively behind the massive mahogany desk. Scattered around him were paperwork related to objects he’s received from a source in Reithwin, Gale’s notes about his sister’s preferences, and some other uninteresting letters to answer. He couldn't really concentrate on the task at hand, his mind still a torment of anxiety and worry.

Octavia had been back for about two weeks and Astarion felt as if she was pulling away from him a little. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but each time he tried, she would come up with an excuse to go back to work, or somehow change the subject. She would nervously play with her hands and stammer out a reason to hide from him.

Astarion kept running through his mind, trying to find whatever moment was the catalyst towards her change in affections. He was fighting with himself to come up with a way of talking to her, when he heard a gentle rapping coming from his office door. Astarion takes his mind out of his thoughts, he takes a sharp breath, and releases a long sigh.

He groans, steadying himself and walks towards the door. Astarion runs his hands through his hair, adjusting his jacket before opening the heavy door to reveal Gale on the other side. “Oh, good afternoon, Gale. To what do I owe this pleasant visit?” Astarion steps out of the way, letting Gale pass him and take a seat in front of the desk.

“Are you busy later?” Gale asks, as Astarion makes his way over to join the younger man. “Athena and Sirilius are able to stop by the museum today, if you were available? Athena mentioned that she would much rather view the museum instead of hearing about it at dinner, if you didn't mind. I already asked Octavia and she's on board, I know I should have cleared it with you first, but isn't it you that says ‘it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission’?” he chuckles with a skewed smirk, looking up at Astarion.

Gale nervously averts his eyes from Astarion, anticipating his response; but instead of answering him, Astarion asks, “Speaking of Octavia..is she..well, has she been acting any differently towards you?”

Gale’s head tilted back a bit in surprise, “I, uh…no? She's been her usual self with me? Although, she's been a bit overly dedicated to helping me with Athena…as if she's trying to distract herself…and uh..well..I'm not sure how much I should tell you.”

Astarion’s eyes widen, his dark gray brows knit together in a worried state. He swallows nervously and responds shakily. “Go on.”

Gale nervously fiddles with his fingers before hesitantly continuing, “She seemed rather distraught when she came back from her vacation, but all she's told me is that she's been feeling pretty mournful over the sale of her childhood home. Even if it's still within her family, she feels as if that's the last part of her mother that was tangible. Now that it's gone, she felt as if everything was moving on, except for her.”

Of course it was that. How could I be so blind?

Astarion bites the inside of his cheek. He turns his head away from Gale and clears his dry throat, feeling it tighten up a bit. “Has she said anything else to you?” Astarion asks quietly, his stomach twisted as the words left his lips.

Gale is immediately suspicious; he had noticed the slight change in Octavia’s mood, but didn't think it had anything to do with Astarion. At least, not until this very moment. His eyes narrow, “What did you do, Astarion?"

Astarion’s head whips back in defense, his frown deepens and his eyebrows tilt downwards. “I didn't do anything. She won't speak to me! All she does is stare at me as if she's afraid of me! She won't say more than a few words to me, and when she does it's always ‘I’m fine, nothing's wrong, I have to get back to work.’ it's driving me FUCKING INSANE!”

Astarion stands, slamming his palms onto the cluttered desktop, making the whole thing shake. “I don't know what to do, I can't figure out what to say, how do I get her to talk to me?” He exhales a long drawn out breath, slumping back down onto his chair; his arms draped over the armrests, ego completely deflated.

After a few seconds of silence, Gale speaks, “Well, have you tried just talking to her? Really talking to her? A back and forth, listening, and supporting conversation?”

Astarion felt the underlying shame of yet again disregarding the feelings of someone he cares for. Would it be so simple as to ask Octavia how she was doing? Was he really that out of touch?

“If I may be honest?” Gale’s soft voice breaks through Astarion’s catastrophic thoughts, his red eyes meet the deep brown ones looking back at him. Astarion nods for Gale to continue.

“Put yourself back to that time where you were alone. How utterly devastating it feels to lose your home, your family, your loved ones? Yes, she has her father, she has us, but what she's truly mourning is the loss in general. Astarion, her mother was everything to her.

Give her time to process the changes happening, be there to hold her hand when she's sad, to listen to her when she's feeling lost, and for the love of all the Gods out there, tell her how you feel. Everyone can see how much she means to you. Stop denying it, welcome it.”

Astarion stared at the younger man with an open-mouthed look. He never thought that he could have that much influence over someone as headstrong and brilliant as Octavia.

“Astarion, you can have the past to look fondly on, and to reminisce, but that does not mean that the future is something you have to avoid. Moving on is a hard, painful, and lonesome thing, but it doesn't have to be so. You can help her with that. Maybe the both of you can help each other.” Gale stands and walks over to the other side of the desk, he puts a hand on Astarion’s shoulder and gives it a soft pat.

“Athena and Sirilius will be here soon, I promised to meet them for lunch, so I must take my leave. Please don't let things with Octavia dissuade you from trying. I know it's difficult, but for someone like her, I can imagine that it is very much worth it.”

Astarion takes a short breath and places his hand on Gale's, giving it an affirmative squeeze. He turns to his friend and nods, “Yes, mustn’t keep dear Athena waiting. Gods know how your sister is going to transform my museum, I'd better make a good introduction so she doesn't change it too much eh, darling?”

Gale pulls back and smiles at Astarion. He shakes his head and laughs softly, walking to the door. Before he leaves, Astarion calls out “Thank you. I very much treasure our friendship.” Gale glanced back, a sincere smile grew on his face. “As do I, Astarion.”

They nod at each other and Gale exits the room. Astarion is left alone in his spacious office, he sighs and spins his chair to face the window. By this point, the sun was well over the other side of the museum. The light that streamed through his window is now concentrated on the gardens below.

He opened the curtain to let the fresh air in, the smell of the sweet flowers that bloomed in late summer surrounded him. In his musings, he picked up a particular scent mixed into the delicate bouquet of the season’s blooms.

Astarion approaches the window, peering down onto the garden’s courtyard. There, he notices Octavia sitting on one of the benches surrounding the fountain in the middle of the yard. Her hair is down, tied away from her face with a pink ribbon, the long, blue black tresses softly dance in the light breeze that blows.

She's reading a leather bound book, flower petals are blown gently around her. As she flips the pages of her book, Astarion allows Gale’s words to sink in.

‘You can have the past to look fondly on, that does not mean that the future is something you have to avoid.’

Octavia had given him so much already, could a future be in the cards for them as well?

He kept watching her silently as she brushed a stray lock away from her face. How he wished he could be down there, enjoying the warmth of the sun and her company. He longed to feel the way he and his beloved used to.

Would she allow him to sleep nestled with his head on her lap? Would she let him explore her body in the light of the sun? His desires would remain locked up tightly in the deepest parts of himself.

Astarion kept his eyes on her, fading away into his memories when he noticed Octavia had lifted her rounded sunglasses, her bright green eyes meeting his.

Her face softened, and she smiled at him, waving sweetly at him. She closes her book and stands, walking towards the nearest entrance.

Astarion rises to his feet, and sprints out onto the main hallway. If he walks quickly enough, he can run into her before she reaches her office on the farther side of the administrative wing. As he makes his way down the hall, he can hear Octavia speaking to Colette, one of the librarians from the research library. He lingers behind a wall nearby and listens to their conversation.

“So it's true then, Gale’s sister and her fiance are actually getting married here? Mr. Ancunin allowed it? How did they manage that?” Colette asked.

“Gale had a very convincing argument. I was there when he presented the idea to Asta- Mr. Ancunin…you should have seen it. He had it all together, the whole plan and execution was definitely a team effort on his and his sister’s parts.” Octavia replies, she was clearly downplaying her own part in swaying Astarion to agree.

“Wow, must've been some argument. Mr. Ancunin isn't usually one for allowing private events, but I guess Gale is one of his favorites after all.” Colette teases, giggling while Octavia sighs and laughs softly.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Cole. I’m sure I haven't done a thing to suggest otherwise.” Octavia’s voice sounded playful, coquettish even. It gave Astarion a bit of hope that all would be fine soon.

Colette scoffs, “Yeah, I'm sure. Well, I gotta get back to work, not all of us get to help with a fancy wedding and get to spend time with the incredibly hot and sexy heads of the museum. I'm super jealous by the way, you'll have to come to my place and spill all the tea one of these days.”

Octavia laughs a bit, each time Astarion hears it, the sound sends his undead heart into a flutter.

“It probably won't be after this whole wedding business is taken care of. I won't know how long it's gonna be until I have free time. Don't worry, though, I'll keep you in the loop. Gotta have our biweekly bitch sessions right?”

The two women laugh softly and bid each other farewell. Astarion quickly and quietly makes his way towards the middle of the hallway. He looks out toward the window to make it seem as if he was lost in thought, masking his eavesdropping.

Astarion can hear the soft click of Octavia’s heels grow louder as she makes her way towards him.

She stands at his side and looks out the window with him. After a few moments, she glances at him and breaks the silence between them.

“The flowers out there are beautiful. You did a wonderful job picking them out when you built the gardens.”

Astarion smiles, he turns to look at her and finds a small white oleander flower from the shrubbery in the gardens nestled in her hair. He reaches over and gently picks it out, brushing her hair behind her ear. Octavia shudders a bit and sighs. Astarion noted her reaction, a small blush grew across her cheeks and the tips of her slightly pointed ears.

His hand lingered on her face, his thumb softly brushing her cheek. He leans in close to her neck, his breath a whisper on her skin, “You feel warm, freshly sun-kissed. Radiant like the sun itself. Absolutely resplendent.”

Octavia was glowing in return, she hadn't felt this kind of affection from Astarion before. A side of her wondered if it was part of an act, more of the lies he tells to serve his own needs. The other side melted at his touch, it bled and breathed for him. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly through her lips.

“Not at work, Star…” Octavia gently warns, she pulls away from him, trying hard to ignore the warmth that settled in her stomach.

Astarion bit his lip, he felt a small rush of anxiety run throughout his body. Calm down, she has a point. Don't want to make things more difficult.

“Right, of course, love. I’m sorry. You’ve just been so preoccupied with helping Gale. I’ve missed spending time with you. Missed being around you in general. You're kind of addictive.” He ends with a small smile, hesitant to ask her how she's doing.

“I’m sorry, Gale’s been so stressed about this whole thing going well. He wants to make sure Athena is happy and that you won't regret allowing this. He respects you so much and he doesn't want you to feel like he's taking advantage of your friendship by asking for everything he has been.

So I've been trying to lighten his load by helping him out. Athena and I have been writing to each other for a few days and I have taken the liberty of being her liaison. Half wedding planner, half museum staff. How about that?” Octavia shrugs with a tired smile. Astarion could tell both she and Gale were working themselves to the bone trying to appease everyone.

Astarion felt the seed of guilt plant itself into his heart, he is contributing to this and it's not helping anyone aside for himself and Athena.

“Don't. It should be me apologizing to you. You came back from your trip and I'm already throwing you into another complicated situation.” Astarion turns to face her fully, reaching out to hold her hand. “I’m still getting used to thinking about others' needs before my own, but I am here if you ever wish to confide in me. That has not changed. It will never change.”

Octavia keeps her gaze locked onto his face, while Astarion keeps his locked onto their intertwined hands. She tries to decipher his motives, unsure of what to say. So instead she leans in and kisses his cheek.

She pulls away and rubs her thumb on the top of his hand, feeling the small tremble that came from him slowly fade away. “How are you feeling about all of this? You'll tell me if it's too much, yes?” Astarion’s voice softly questioned.

Octavia nods, “Thank you. I will.” I'll tell you everything when I figure it out for myself.

Astarion relaxes and nods back. He glances out to the garden yet again, as he and Octavia hold hands in silence.

A few minutes pass when he feels a tingling sensation in the back of his ear, he hears Gale’s voice softly break through and speak.

~I’m back with our guests, meet me in the atrium? Bring Octavia with you, please. Athena is excited to meet her in particular.~

As convenient as those Send spells were, they always came at the worst time.

“Well, it seems our couple and Gale have arrived. Are you prepared to make this the wedding of the century?” Astarion asks Octavia, wrapping her hand around his arm and leading them towards the grand entrance of the museum.

Octavia walks beside him, matching his long strides after a second. She was a few inches shorter than him, but her heels made up for it. They walk down the hallway, a myriad of paintings and statues keep watch of them as they continue arm in arm. The hasty click of her heels muffled by the red carpets that lined the floors.

As they reach the end of the hall, Astarion turns his body towards her, pressing his back to the door. Octavia looks up at him, a puzzled expression painted on her face. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

“Astarion, I hardly think this is the time-”

“Then when?” Astarion responds, cutting Octavia off and fighting everything within him not to react harshly.

A tense silence fell between them, Octavia’s breath hitched and she huffs out in a frustrated hum. “How about tonight? After we do this whole act of being excited for people we don't know for a friend who has done so much for us?

It's the least we can do for him, and if it ends up being fun, then we go from there. I'm not trying to avoid you, really. I’m just going through a lot of shit right now, and it would be nice to forget about it for a minute? So tonight, if you’d like?”

The corner of Astarion’s lip twitches upwards, “Would you? I am willing to do anything you ask of me, have I not proven it to you yet? If I haven't, how can I?”

Octavia looked away from him, she wanted to confront him, to ask what his intentions with her were. Would he love her and leave her like he did to Tav? Would he stay? Was this even real to him?

Instead, she answers his first question, “Yes. I would. There's a place down the road from here. I used to go there when I was looking for jobs around the city. A little hole in the wall sort of place. They make really good blood sausage if you're the type that likes blood?” she ends with a smirk, attempting to push past him.

Unfortunately for her, Astarion is not only taller than her, but much stronger as well. Her efforts to shove past him end with her pressing into his chest as he blocks her way out. “And if I'm not? Would you oppose me possibly having my meal in a more intimate location? Perhaps we could have our own private tour of the grounds?”

Octavia sighs and rolls her eyes, laughing as she shakes her head. “You're shameless. Come on, let's go meet the happy couple. We can figure out the details afterwards.” she pats Astarion’s shoulder, prompting him to step out of the way. As she walks past him, his eyes linger on her body. Watching the sway of her hips and the taut fabric hugging her curves.

Trying not to stare at her was going to be difficult, good thing those sunglasses were for more than hiding his eye color. He pulls them out of his coat pocket and slips them on, the suave and aloof veil that easily becomes his face.

[thunderwavesolveseverything]

Magic Lessons and a Sleepover

[Astarion x Named Tav]

The vampire’s lips twisted into a wide smile, his sharp teeth glinting in her eyes. He could hear her heartbeat accelerating. It was all too easy for him to prey on the girl below him. “Already craving for more, are we?” he taunted, savoring the taste of power. “As much as I would love to sink my teeth into your delicate neck,” Astarion brushed his lips against the mark he had left on her the previous night.

Phayelynn gasped at the slightest prick of his fangs, not enough to draw blood but enough to make her bite back a wanting moan.

Astarion pulled away abruptly, “I don’t think our companions will forgive me should they find out.” His face flared with a faint expression of worry as he continued, “You may have been healed, but you lost a lot of blood already.” He seemed disappointed that he couldn’t indulge in his desires and added, “You should rest.”

Unsure if this was more embarrassing than earlier with Gale, Phayelynn let out a long sigh and rolled over to her other side, making sure her back faced him.

What just happened? And what the hells was wrong with her?

Or....Phayelynn gets a magic lesson from Gale and then gets invited to an awkward sleepover with Astarion.

---

Okay, so like I totally love Gale (I hadn't super cared for him during my first playthrough, but after a handful of saves in, he's grown on me). But yeah, I loovvvee Gale- but in a, I want him to adopt me and be my surrogate father figure and teach me all the coolest spells and I'm giving that dream to Phayelynn here cause she deserves it 😂💜

(word count: 6,001  )

Read on AO3 or below :)

Masterlist for Phayelynn's adventures here

Magic Lessons and A Sleepover

As the sun began to set and the sky turned into a shade of orange and pink, Phayelynn busied herself with setting up her bedroll. The smell of burning wood filled the air, the sound of the campfire crackling and popping, easing whatever nerves she had residing within her. 

She had just returned from bathing in a nearby river with Shadowheart. They both desperately needed to wash away the dirt and sweat from their bodies and had decided that it was better to stick together instead of going off alone.  Shadowheart filled Phayelynn in on all the details she had missed while being taken by Ethel. Phayelynn listened attentively, grateful for the distraction. The simple act of sharing gossip as if they were best friends and the gentle sound of the flowing water and the fresh air brought her a sense of comfort and normalcy.

Phayelynn was cramming her day clothes into her backpack, carelessly tossing her boots next to it, when an abrupt glimmer of purple light caught her attention. For a moment, she felt a jolt of fear, wondering if someone had stumbled upon their camp. Was it Ethel? Or another Gur? 

But as she turned to look, she saw that it was only Gale, holding an illusion of a woman in the palm of his hand. The purple glow emanated from the woman’s form, casting an esoteric aura around her. 

Relief washed over her, and she let out a wry smile. She looked back down at her bedroll, intending to settle down for the night, but her curiosity got the better of her. Her gaze flickered back up to Gale, and she found herself drawn towards his tent.

The closer she got, the image of the woman became familiar to her. It was the goddess, Mystra. 

“Mystra?” she awed at the detailed and intricate illusion. 

Gale was lost in thought and jumped when Phayelynn’s voice broke the silence. He quickly dispelled the magic. 

“Sorry,” Phayelynn blushed, feeling a pang of guilt for interrupting.

“It’s alright,” he said, trying to collect himself. “You just startled me, is all. I-I was miles away.” He shook his head as if trying to clear it. After a moment, he let out a cough, nodding at Phayelynn. “You know about Mystra?” he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. 

As Gale waited for her response, she felt a twinge of discomfort. Today seemed to be the day everyone was sharing their deepest secrets. Astarion and Gale had done the uncomfortable thing and divulged their stories, but Phayelynn wasn’t sure if she was ready to do the same. After a moment of contemplation, she gestured toward the spot that was once occupied by the illusion,

“My mother taught me a little about Mystra,” she said. “She was a wizard.” 

 “I knew there was magical prowess in you,” Gale wore a smug expression as he snapped his fingers. His interest was piqued now, “What school did your mother study?” 

 “Oh,” Phayelynn lowered her gaze. She appeared hesitant as she spoke, shuffling her feet uncertainly. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. “She used to fire a lot. That’s all I really remember.”  She tried to redirect focus back to Gale. “Why were you conjuring an image of Mystra?”

 “No special reason, really,” he gave her a feeble smile. “I was just practicing an incantation.” 

 Phayelynn couldn’t help but feel uneasy as she watched Gale wave her off. She remembered what Shadowheart had told her about Gale’s condition and couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something more to Gale’s incantation.

 “Are you okay?” she asked, trying to keep her tone casual. “Shadowheart told me about earlier. I nicked a pair of boots that were glowing all mysteriously if you’re hungry.” 

 “No, it’s not that,” He started, giving her a slight chuckle before looking thoughtful. “Thank you.” He nodded. “It’s hard to explain, really. It’s just- the need I sometimes feel to see her- it’s indescribable.No sculpture or painting, or even a song, could ever do her justice. Only the fabric of magic itself embodies her: the Weave.” 

 “Wow, that was really poetic,” Phayelynn couldn’t help but smirk and giggle, teasing him lightly. 

 Gale feigned offense. He placed his hands on his hips and replied, “I do like poetry, thank you very much.” However, his mood quickly turned thoughtful again as he let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Phayelynn. I don’t mean to be in a dapper mood. I actually wanted to apologize to you before you turned in for the night.” 

He seemed genuinely contrite for something, but Phayelynn couldn’t tell what that something was, “Apologize?” 

After a moment of reluctance, Gale spoke up. “I’m sorry,” he said, his expression bleak. “I played a part in what happened to you today.”

Confused, Phayelynn furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

Gale’s shoulders sagged as he continued, “When we were facing the Gur, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Astarion, and I considered letting the hunter take him. But my hesitation led to the Gur singling you out, and you ended up getting hurt. I apologize.” As Gale bowed his head. 

Phayelynn frowned, the fight with the Gur flashing in her mind in scattered pieces. She looked at Gale earnestly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said, “I got hurt, but it’s not because of you. I did the thing I always do- I fuck around, then I find out.” 

She removed her hand from his shoulder and waved it, trying to emphasize her point, “Trust me, it’s not your fault. My uncle’s an elf, and not even an old one, but I think I’m the reason his hair is starting to fall out,” 

She smiled triumphantly as Gale smirked at her joke, and she paused for a moment until her expression turned serious, “Actually, I owe all of you an apology. I need to stop putting my nose in these people’s business. I’m used to my uncle being there to stop me from doing anything stupid, and I got carried away. But after what happened today, I have one goal - to find a cure to get these damned tadpoles out of our heads.”

 There was a moment of somewhat awkward silence as Gale hummed in agreement. He clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on her as if trying to read her thoughts. However, just as Phayelynn was about to bid him goodnight, Gale’s eyes widened. He held up a finger, signaling her to wait there, before swiftly disappearing into his tent.

 “I nearly forgot! This I do owe you an apology for. I was going to give this to you earlier, but you had gone off with Shadowheart,” he said, peeking his head out to face Phayelynn before once again disappearing inside. 

 Phayelynn craned her neck to see what he was doing as Gale’s hands deftly moved through various objects scattered around. After a few moments of rummaging, he found what he was looking for and let out a jubilant sound. He emerged from his tent, holding Phayelynn’s lute in his hands. It had been properly fixed and looked practically brand new. The strings gleamed in the moonlight streaming through the trees, and the wood was polished to a shine. 

 As soon as he approached her, Phayelynn’s eyes went wide with emotion. Without any delay, she reached out to take the lute from his hands, gasping in awe as she held it close to her chest. He smiled warmly at her, passing the instrument to her with great care. 

 “My lute!” she choked. 

 “Yes. I happened to have a pair of lodestones lying around, and after a simple mending spell, it’s as good as new. You might just have to tune it,” he said to Phayelynn, looking pleased with his work.

 Phayelynn didn’t have words at first, instead, she threw herself at him in a hug, her hand tightly wrapping around his shoulders while the other held out her lute. She rushed to express her gratitude, thanking Gale profusely. Gale was initially taken aback by the sudden hug, but soon, he patted her back and laughed at her excitement.

 Phayelynn looked up at him, her eyes wet. “You have no idea how much this means to me. My dad gave me this lute before he died,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

 She examined the lute as if it wasn’t real, but she was pleased to find it looked and felt exactly the same. Gale’s mending spell had done wonders, and Phayelynn couldn’t thank him enough. 

 “You’re quite welcome,” Gale smiled affectionately. He hadn’t realized the level of sentimental value the lute carried when Astarion had shoved the broken instrument at him, ordering him to use magic to fix it. “I’m glad I could help.” 

 He found himself unable to rid his mind of the sudden intrigue of her past but didn’t want to be the one to open an old wound.

 Instead, he got an idea- an idea he might regret, but an idea. 

 “I could show you the spell if you would like. Just in case you ever need to repair it again,” he said, motioning to the lute. The idea continued to spread, and before he could think through what he was offering, he kept going, “Magic is…my life. I’ve been in touch with the Weave for as long as I can remember. There’s nothing like it. It’s like music, poetry, and physical beauty all rolled into one and given expression through the senses.” he spread his arms out fiercely as he explained, his enthusiasm pulling her attention away from her lute. “Perhaps I could teach you. I see potential in you; there is a sense of the Weave within you, and I’d hate to see that potential wasted.”

When he saw Phayelynn’s face, he couldn’t read her expression - was it one of skepticism, as if she thought he was joking, or a warning that he had crossed a line? Despite his doubts, he decided to continue, “I know it won’t be easy, but with the right guidance, I believe you have the workings of a powerful wizard inside you.” 

“Wait, you’re serious?” Phayelynn’s eyes widened, her voice trembling with excitement. “You mean, you would be willing to teach me more than just the basic tricks and spells I know? You’re talking about real, powerful magic?” she asked, her voice filled with eagerness and anticipation.

“Well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves- I won’t be teaching fireball anytime soon,” Gale motioned cautiously with his hands, already seeing a dangerous look in her eyes. At her frown, Gale responded with a nonchalant shrug, “But I don’t see why I couldn’t teach you more useful spells?” he replied, “Here, let’s try reaching into the Weave together to see what I’m working with.” 

 As he positions himself, Gale waves his hand and beckons Phayelynn to join him by his side. His movements are graceful, almost dance-like, as he raises his arms up to chest level, palms facing each other. With his palms facing each other, he creates a ball of bright purple energy that crackles with raw power. The energy remains suspended between his palms, and he takes a moment to showcase his talent. His fingers move in intricate patterns, his hands rotating and manipulating the energy. It pulses and glows as if it has a life of its own. The air around them seems to hum with the intensity of the magic.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, Gale releases the ball. It shatters into a myriad of tiny particles, each one gleaming brightly before vanishing into the air without a trace. Phayelynn looks on in wonder, impressed by Gale’s command of the arcane. Gale nods in satisfaction, pleased with his demonstration.

 He motions before him, giving Phayelynn a nod of his head, “Now you,” 

 “What?” Phayelynn gasped, “Now? But I---” 

 “Trust yourself.” Gale tells her, “I’ve seen you call the Weave before. You don’t have to master it right away.” 

 “I-I, okay, yeah, sure.” Phayelynn gulped, taking a step forward. 

 She had watched Gale perform the gesture, and she couldn’t help but feel the urge to add her own personal touch to it. She was a performer at heart, and the thrill of bringing her own flourish to it was tempting. But Gale was taking the time to teach her, and she wanted to show him that he was not wasting his time. 

 She began to imitate the gesture, she did so slowly and with great care. She wanted to make sure that every movement was precise, every gesture intentional. With her palms facing each other, she outstretched her hands, feeling a bit clumsy at first. But as she concentrated on reaching for the Weave, she could sense a flicker of magic within her. She pulled at it, shaping it into the same ball of energy that Gale had shown her. As she held the magic in her hands, she felt a surge of power. The energy pounded and blazed, alive with possibility. She held it for a few moments, savoring the feeling as it glided through her fingertips.

 But then, she suddenly felt a strange sensation. It was as if someone had placed a soothing hand on her shoulder and whispered a kind word in her ear. The feeling was tender and comforting, and it reminded her of her mother. For a moment, she was transported back to her childhood, to a time when her mother’s touch had the power to make everything okay. But as quickly as the feeling had come, it was gone. Surprised by the suddenness of it all, she dispelled the magic before it could fully take hold, and it dissipated into millions of tiny pieces.

 She braced herself for Gale’s disappointment- for him to tell her she failed. But to her surprise, Gale’s face lit up.

 “Outstanding!” he was pleased, as evidenced by the intensity in his voice. He move forward with his instruction, “This is a tad bit more advanced, but I have the utmost confidence. Repeat after me, h-thran mystra-ryl kantrach-ao.” 

 The words were undoubtedly of some significance or importance, as Phayelynn noted in his deliberate tone. With unwavering focus and a deep sense of determination, Phayelynn repeated the incantation out loud, paying close attention to every syllable and inflection. 

 Without any warning, a bright flash of purple light erupted before them. The light was accompanied by a sweet scent of rosewater that filled the air and a warm feeling of comfort and well-being that enveloped them all. Phayelynn could taste a faint sliver of Weave on her tongue. It was a flavor that was both sweet and familiar to her, and she knew that it was a sign that the spell had worked.

 “Very, very good.” Gale continued to sing her praises, but his lesson was not yet over. He proceeded to challenge her further, encouraging her to think deeply and creatively. “Now, picture a concept of harmony as true as you can.” 

 Phayelynn contemplated the idea of harmony, initially in the context of music, trying to think which song shows off the concept the best, but then realizes that it goes beyond just that. 

 Memories from her early youth come to mind. She remembered how her mother’s eyes would light up as she regaled her with bedtime stories of her time as an adventurous explorer. Her father, on the other hand, would patiently teach her the first slew of chords on his old lute, instilling in her a deep appreciation for music. She couldn’t forget the countless afternoons spent chasing her little sister down the stone-clad halls of their home, snow falling down from the sky from the world outside as they laughed and shrieked in delight. 

 Harmony wasn’t just a musical concept but an important aspect of life that brings people together.

 Phayelynn feels another burst of energy as a brilliant flash of purple sparkles around them. She feels a comforting presence as if she is being held protectively by the gentle hand of Mystra. As she basks in the feeling of safety, she notices Gale laughing in disbelief as he takes in his surroundings. 

 As Gale marvels at the scene before him, he realizes that Phayelynn has successfully channeled the Weave on her first try. “You did it!” he exclaims, clearly impressed. “How does it feel?” 

 “It feels like....like home...” She struggled to find the right words to describe the feeling but eventually turned to Gale with a smile and said, “Thank you, you’re a great teacher.” 

 “Oh, I know.” 

 Phayelynn couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his hubris. 

 As they stood basking in the glow of their success, she suddenly felt a sense of unease- as if they were being watched. Her eyes darted to the right, where she saw Astarion staring at them from his tent across the way. A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she realized that the rest of their companions could see their little performance. 

 The Weave evaporates.

 Gale let out a sound of disappointment, his eyes fixed on the depleting magical energy. Phayelynn glances at him, her expression almost apologetic. 

 “There it goes,” Gale’s gaze remains fixed on the spot where Mystra’s presence once was, and his face betrays a hint of sorrow. “How easily things slip from us, no matter how hard we’ve worked to obtain them.” 

 After a few moments of silence, he turns to Phayelynn and realizes that he’s kept her from her bedroll for too long. “You should get some rest. No doubt we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow,” he suggests. “I really enjoyed our lesson tonight. We can continue tomorrow if you’re up for it.” 

 “I’d like that.” Phayelynn nods absentmindedly as Gale speaks, her attention focused on Astarion.

 As she looks at him, he meets her stare and flashes her a playful yet charming grin before disappearing into his tent. She can’t help but wonder if that smile was an invitaiton to join him. The thought sends a shiver down her spine, and she feels a sudden rush of heat to her cheeks. She tries to maintain her composure, but her body seems to be betraying her, and she finds herself looking away quickly, her heart pounding in her chest.

Just as Astarion disappeared into his tent, Gale followed Phayelynn’s eyes and caught the vampire’s sneaky retreat. He let out a laugh at Phayelynn’s flushed cheeks, but his tone quickly turned watchful. 

 Perhaps he was still cautious of Astarion and the seemingly growing relationship between him and Phayelynn. “You need rest,” he said, “don’t let him keep you up all night.”

 Phayelynn blushed even harder with humiliation as she was caught off guard. “It’s not like that!” she exclaimed, trying to defend herself. “First Shadowheart, now you?” She felt like she needed another dunk in the river. “I-I think he’s just hungry after all the fighting we did today,” she added, her voice trailing off slightly.

 But deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Astarion’s grin was more than just a simple hunger pang.

 “Hmm...I see,” Gale said with a hint of distrust in his voice. “Well, good night, Phayelynn.” His knowing look made it obvious that he wasn’t entirely persuaded by her words.

Phayelynn promptly said her goodnights to Gale, thanking him once again before scurrying away in a hurry to avoid any further embarrassment. 

 As soon as she reached the campfire, Phayelynn heaved a sigh of relief. She sat her lute down gingerly next to her backpack and started to reach out for her bedroll, only to realize that it was missing. Her heart skipped a beat as she frantically scanned the area around her. 

“What in the hells is going on?” she mutters to herself in frustration. 

 Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, and she whipped her head up and towards the sound to see Astarion opening the flap of his tent. A wave of realization hits her. 

So he had been inviting her in earlier? But why was he being so elusive about it? 

After a moment of indecisiveness, she made up her mind and started walking towards his tent, passing by Lae’zel’s tent on the way. She was sharpening her blade with a look of disapproval directed towards Phayelynn. Phayelynn averted her gaze and continued her walk with quick steps. 

 Once she reached Astarion, she looked inside his tent, noticing immediately that her bedroll was laid out next to his. Perplexed, she pointed at it and asked, “You moved my bedroll? In here? Why?” Her tone didn’t have to betray her shock, as her face did most of the hard work. 

 He let out a groan and turned his head away, unable to face her. He then pouted and shifted his weight to one side, popping a hip out in an offhanded manner. “Please,” he emphasized with a drag of his voice, “don’t think too much of it,” he said, trying to brush off the situation. “I just thought I owed you a decent night’s sleep after you risked your life for me, almost getting killed by the Gur,” he explained.

 With a flick of his hand, he gestured towards her belongings, scattered around the fire, indicating that she should gather them. “Now, go grab your things before something else happens to them.” 

 Phayelynn was feeling mischievous and wanted to tease Astarion a bit more, but she could sense that he was tired and not in the mood to keep up their usual playful banter. So, instead, she smiled and decided to give him a break. She hurriedly gathered her belongings and made her way back towards his tent. Astarion, surprisingly being a courteous host, kept the flaps open for her and allowed her to enter first before closing them behind him. 

 As Phayelynn settled into her space, Astarion’s eyes followed her every move. He watched as she carefully placed her lute near her bedroll. The lute had been in a sorry state, but now it looked as good as new. Astarion nodded in approval. 

 Gale could be useful, it seemed. 

 Phayelynn shifted her position, trying to get more comfortable on her bedroll, and noticed Astarion watching her. She felt a bit self-conscious and wondered if he was staring at her with some kind of intent. Astarion quickly stood up straight as if trying to hide the fact that he was observing her, and then settled on his own bedroll, sitting down with a little distance between them. 

Astarion finally spoke up, “So, what were you and Gale up to? Was he attempting to steal another helmet?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

 “No, actually,” she replied, “Gale’s going to start teaching me some magic. I was able to channel the Weave for the first time.”

As she spoke, Phayelynn noticed Astarion’s expression shift. He seemed to grow more distant, and for a moment, she wondered if she had said something wrong.

 But then he looked at her with a playful smile, “Oh, so that’s what the light show was all about- I didn’t realize you were so close.” 

 Phayelynn propped her head up with the palm of her hand, her elbow sinking into the soft pillow beneath her. “I like Gale,” she said with a hint of a smile. “He’s a good friend.”

 Astarion, on the other hand, was not as impressed. He let out an audible huff and promptly crossed his arms against his chest, making his disapproval evident. “I’ve come across plenty of people who are hungry for power,” he said, his voice laced with a hint of concern, “but Gale takes it a bit too literally for my liking.”

 Phayelynn looked up at Astarion with a smile on her face. Her laughter filled the small space, reflecting off the canvas walls. She patted his knee, sensing that he was envious of the time she had spent with Gale, and maybe that was the reason why he had been spying on them. 

 “Aw, you’re a good friend too, Astarion. Don’t be so jealous,” she teased. 

 “Jealous? Oh my dear, you are hilarious,” he said. He let out a sarcastic laugh that dripped bitterness as if appalled by her accusation of jealousy. “I’m not jealous of the walking encyclopedia. You can have your fill with the wizard; why the hell would I care who you spend your time with?” he said, shaking his head. He scrunched up his nose, giving Phayelynn a dismissive wave as if to indicate that he was content to leave the matter at that.

 Phayelynn felt a bit hurt by Astarion’s comment. Maybe she had thought too much into it. But she couldn’t help but sense that something was bothering Astarion. 

 She frowned. 

 She hadn’t had the chance to check in on him after Gandrel. 

 “How are you doing after everything today?” She was careful with choosing her words as she tested the waters on what Astarion was willing to share. “With Gandrel hunting you?” 

 “Well, he’s not anymore,” Astarion’s response was short and to the point. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Which is all that matters, really.” 

 She watched as he looked down at his lap, his hands clenching into fists. Her eyes widened with realization. This was why he moved her bedroll into his tent. He didn’t want to be alone. He needed someone to be there for him, to make him feel safe. Phayelynn felt a flush rise to her cheeks as she realized the implications of this, but she pushed the thought aside. 

 Phayelynn sat up and reached out a hand to rest on Astarion’s knee, her expression filled with genuine concern. 

Astarion was different. He didn’t fit the archetype of the evil vampire that deserved to be hunted. He was kinder, and despite how naive it may have been of her to think so.

 “Why was he after you? Did you do something to him back in Baldur’s Gate?” she asked, her voice low- wanting to understand. 

 However, Astarion’s response was not what she expected. He immediately swatted her hand off his knee, glaring at her with critical eyes. “What did I do?” he sneered, leaning closer to her in a threatening manner. “What about you? Being chased by all those flaming fists in the city?”

 She blinked at him a few times, gaping, “What? How do you-” 

 Astarion cut her off, “Your tadpole was reaching out to mine while the hag and Shadowheart were working to heal you,” he said, his expression grim. “I thought if I put some distance between us, it would stop, but-” 

 Now Phayelynn cut him off, eyes widened in dread. “You saw everything?” she squeaked, feeling a sense of vulnerability wash over her. 

 Astarion nodded, his muscles relaxing slightly. “Bits and pieces,” he said, his voice flat and measured.

 “I’m sorry,” she said, her brow furrowed with worry. She sat up straight, pulling her hands onto her lap and moving away from him slightly. “But what you saw... I don’t know how much you saw, but I can’t talk about it, okay?” 

 Her voice was quiet, as if she was afraid of what might happen if she said too much. 

 Astarion could see the fear in her eyes, and he knew that whatever it was, it was something serious. He nodded his head, letting her know that he understood, and they lapsed into an uneasy silence. He kept his suspicions and want to pry the truth out of her to himself. 

To be honest, he hadn’t seen much of what had transpired. All he could recall was her frantically scurrying through the bustling streets of Baldur’s Gate, attempting to evade the city guard. A single, persistent thought was etched across her thoughts - failure to kill ‘him’ and how disappointed ‘Raphael’ was that she hadn’t. Astarion wasn’t familiar with either Raphael or who ‘him’ was, but he didn’t see the significance of enquiring about them just yet.

 Astairon’s voice broke the silence as he spoke up, “Well, whatever it is you’re running from if you watch my back, I’ll watch yours.” 

 Phayelynn nodded in response, her eyes fixed on the ground as she tried to gather her thoughts. The weight of the unspoken truths between them hung heavy in the air, but for now, it felt good knowing they had each other’s backs.

 Astarion’s voice was hushed, almost conspiratorial, as though he wanted to ensure that only she could hear what he was about to say. 

 “It seems my master wants me back,” he whispered, his words hanging in the air as he waited for her reaction.

 Phayelynn didn’t expect him to share more with her, and she looked at him with concern.

“Well, you don’t have to go back,” she said as if it’d be that easy. 

 As he laid back, he laughed at her remark, “Ha, you precious thing,” He then stared at the ceiling of his tent with a narrow look, almost as if he could set it ablaze with his gaze. “I was turned into a vampire nearly two hundred years ago by Cazador Szarr, the vampire lord of Baldur’s Gate. He’s an insatiable monster obsessed with power- I his spawn. If he wants me back, he’ll get me back.” 

 Phayelynn’s expression was one of skepticism as she spoke up, “I don’t understand. Why would he send a monster hunter after you when he’s a monster himself?” Her confusion was understandable, given the circumstances. It would have made more sense if a local farmer had alerted the Gur after a recent influx of their livestock being drained of their blood.

 “Only Cazador would send the Gur after me because it was a group of Gur that had killed me all those years ago,” the memory was one of the only vivid ones he kept of his past. “I would’ve died had Cazador not appeared and saved me.” He recounted bitterly. 

 Phayelynn attempted to reassure Astarion, “Well, he can send anyone he wants. We won’t let him take you. You’ll be safe with us.”

 Astarion chortled at her words. “Safe?” he repeated. “You have no idea of the immense power that a vampire lord like Cazador possesses. Cazador can change shape, become a mist, call wolves to do his bidding, and shrug off blows like they’re nothing.” 

 His body was visibly tense, his hand waving about as he tried to paint a picture of his master for her. He flinched his head to the side, giving Phayelynn a piercing scowl as he tried to convey how naive she was. He pointed toward the entrance of the tent, “He could walk into our camp tonight and slaughter us all with his bare hands.”

 Astarion’s words were meant to strike fear into the heart of Phayelynn and they did. “And if death were the worst thing that happened to you, you’d be lucky.” 

Phayelynn looked at the flap as if Cazador was just outside them, “Do you think he would do that?” she asked, her voice shaky.

Astarion seemed exasperated as he let out a sigh and lowered his hand, running his fingers through his hair. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke up, his ominous demeanor shedding off him like a cloak, “To be honest, I don’t think he will come himself. I’ve never seen him leave Baldur’s Gate. However, he has a surplus of underlings who are always ready to do his bidding, so it is highly likely that he will send them after me.” 

He let out another sigh, looking Phayelynn in the eye, “We just need to keep our wits about us.”

Phayelynn nodded and shifted to her back, trying to find a comfortable position, but Astarion’s warning made it difficult for her to relax. 

As the night wore on and the darkness outside deepened, Astarion also gave up on the idea of resting, sitting up, and reaching for one of his books. 

The sound of the pages rustling filled the otherwise silent tent as he read. Phayelynn used the rhythmic sound of the pages turning as an indication of how much time. As she listened, she realized that she had been lying there for much longer than she had thought, caught up in Cazador, the Gur, her magic lesson with Gale, and Astarion having seen her memories. The flipping of the pages seemed to blend with the beating of her own heart. 

Frustrated, she rolled back onto her side, peering up at Astarion as he focused on the text below him. He heard her move and turned his head to meet her eyes.

“So...about you biting me....” she started.

He raised an eyebrow, “Seriously? I already fed you earlier, didn’t I? And I’m even allowing you to sleep in my tent again. What else could you possibly need from me?” His voice held a note of exhaustion as if he had already given everything he could offer.

He saw her cheeks gain color, and he knew he had her. 

Astarion put the book down and ran his hand through the hair at the nape of his neck, playing with a loose strand between his fingers. Tilting his head slightly, he looked at her with a searing gaze, his eyes practically radiating heat. He leaned over, dropping his face closer to her, both hands resting on either side of her head. He heard her breath catch.

“Unless, of course, you’re looking for another nibble?” 

His voice carried a husky timbre, sending quivers down her spine.

As he leaned closer, his breath was warm against her neck, hitting her with a wave of anticipation. His eyes were fixed on hers, waiting for her response. 

 She felt her own voice faltering as she struggled to speak, her throat suddenly dry. “Um, I was just wondering if you needed to, you know, eat- after today,” she managed to say, eyes locked on his face and how close he was.

 The vampire’s lips twisted into a wide smile, his sharp teeth glinting in her eyes. He could hear her heartbeat accelerating. It was all too easy for him to prey on the girl below him. “Already craving for more, are we?” he taunted, savoring the taste of power. “As much as I would love to sink my teeth into your delicate neck,” Astarion brushed his lips against the mark he had left on her the previous night. 

 Phayelynn gasped in surprise as she felt the slightest prick of his fangs, not enough to draw blood but enough to make her bite back a wanting moan. 

 Astarion pulled away abruptly, “I don’t think our companions will forgive me should they find out.” His face flared with a faint expression of worry as he continued, “You may have been healed, but you lost a lot of blood already.” He seemed disappointed that he couldn’t indulge in his desires and added, “You should rest.” 

 As Astarion settled into his own bedroll, he leaned back and arranged the soft cushions around him for added comfort. With a book in his lap, he tried to resume reading the pages before him, trying to ignore Phayelynn, who was visibly disoriented. She was trying to wrap her head around what had just happened between them. She opened her mouth, but before she could even utter a word, he shushed her.

 “Go to sleep,” he said in a small but firm voice.

  Phayelynn felt a knot form in her stomach. She looked over at him, but he avoided making eye contact with her. His silence made it feel like an eternity had passed as she watched him turn a page and then another. 

 Unsure if this was more embarrassing than earlier with Gale, Phayelynn let out a long sigh and rolled over to her other side, making sure her back faced him. 

 What the hells was wrong with her, she thought.

[chevvy-yates]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Decided it is time for another update so here's a longer post to what I've been up to and stuff that circles around in my head lately.

tagging:

@medtech-mara, @imaginarycyberpunk2023, @itzsassha, @humberg, @kittenchrissy, @rosapexa, @cinnamon-mey, @heywoodvirgin, @dreamskug, @drunkchasind, and everyone who sees and wants to do as well.

No pressure as always!

—

1. CHARACTERS & LORE

Let's begin with sth. first I have on my mind for a while: As this fandom (sadly) seems to fall more and more apart, I would like to know if there are still people interested in reading actual lore content or not. As some of you know my dear friend @nervouswizardcycle and I are continously building up some sort of our own expansion after the main game events with rp/fic, character builds, backstory lore and support by vp and it eats a lot of time. The lack of interactions on tblr during the last few months and in several discord servers has led to me not posting a lot anymore either (beside my mental exhaustion phases that come and go). It seems more active again though, as majority already played Phantom Liberty by now or are right into it, so they slowly come back bc they presumably avoided spoilers. —————— So, here is me wondering how many following my blog are 'really' interested to see me sharing all lore of the boys (including story parts) or does the majority prefer just to see pretty pics and that's it? —————— (I've wanted to add a poll here but it doesn't let me save my post so I might do it in a seperate one a bit later) I know: it's my blog, I post what I like in the first place, and I'll likely continue that way but somehow I would like to know if it's worth the effort of formating and thinking about how the posts could look or if I can take that time to do something else with it instead if there's less interest. So, I would just keep it in my tiny discord server I share with my rp partner(s)/in private chats with those interested bc it's gotten to be a lot and we are still at the very start it feels.

2. SKILLS, CYBERWARE & HUMANITY LOSS

As I'm the type that can't have ocs with no background/lore, I sat down the other day and did a build for each with their skills, wrote down what chrome everyone got (incl. additional c-ware from the lore books plus I'm reading e.g. into what programs my runner twins are likely to make use of). It went this far that my friend used the amount of the game's 'cyberware capacity' as 'humanity loss'. It is used in the lore books/ttrpg anyways. So I've counted all my boys possible capacity* and use it as humanity loss (HL) now which led me to thinking about which one of my ocs goes to get treatment and how often they go to see a MedTech on regular base. I thought I could give them a certain minus amount to reduce the HL for each depending on how much or less c-ware they got — e.g. Thyjs as soldier has most (but all is good Militech chrome) and used to go and still goes regularly so his HL gets a huge reduce — whereas Ryder's gets always nulled no matter how often he gets threatment, because BEAST (rogue AI) eats it away each time (to understand that in full you probably have to know the story). Ry must have most HL loss as he often walks along the edge towards cyberpsychosis, so I'm forced to reduce Thyjs' with most c-ware installed a huge amount. And that's how I made it now. It's probably far away from canon ttrpg as my 'canon cp world' consists of 75% game, 20% lorebooks and 5% own added ideas I haven't seen on the lore yet. And I like it that way I gotta say. On a little side note: It also had me thinking about creating a new support character for the team that could be in fact a MedTech. But I won't do that anytime soon.

* some things might still change as I slowly started playing their playthroughs and skill them for real now. I love each build so far because it's a whole different experience! And playing someone with noe netrunning ability is hell as I was only usedto paly netrunner before.

3. FIC SNIPPET TIME

I decided to give you an insight of what I've roughly written yesterday about Ryder and Thyjs having a talk about how they feel for each other:

“Ik ben eerlijk. I liked that accidental kiss we shared a-and i-ik find je leuk, Ry. Probably more as— a friend is supposed to do.” De Wit instantly starts feeling nauseous and something tightens around his stomach but he needs to get it off of his heavy feeling soul. “I-I guess I have stronger feelings for you than I had expected and it’s confusing me.” He frowns, “It’s not usual for me. Never felt any kind of such an attraction towards other men. I-It’s just you— I think I might be into you, Ryder.” The last sentences came in a mere murmur than spoken and Ryder’s name was only a light whisper. Thyjs didn’t dare to look to his left. He feared he would lose his new gained friend now because he said his stupid thoughts aloud. Instead he continues staring at the distant horizon feeling the lump in his throat only getting heavier. The sun was already half arisen and the sky was painted in a bright orange and yellow fading out into never ending blue. After de Wit seems to have finally finished his long talk, Ryder realizes the pack has fallen out of his hands. He needed to repeat in his mind what Thyjs just told him. Did the man really pour out his heart to him at this very moment? He couldn’t believe it at first. The pale soldier he obviously secretly fell for just told him he was having feelings for him that reach further than friendship? It took him what seemed like an eternity to get out of his frozen state. Ry moves up into a straighter position, still supporting his body with his right forearm, turning more towards Thyjs, who is still watching the rising sun with a rather sad look on his face blinking every once in a while. Eventually Scharfenberg brings up his left hand to reach for the older man’s face and de Wit suddenly feels two fingers under his chin making him look at the younger man again. He sees a tiny smile on those dark lips he caught himself looking at so many times in utter secrecy. That tiny smile that’s usually the base for a brighter even more heartwarming smile baring dangerous fangs who make the man look frightening, but smiling like that? Thyjs often caught himself thinking Ry looked cute with these fangs as well. Ry sees Thyjs’ confusion as his eyes look questioning right back at him. So Ry better says something now. “I-Ich äh—” he clears his throat, “—I don’t know where to start. How to talk feelings in the first place.” Letting Thyjs talk himself off seemed to be right for Ryder and it was worth it, because he thinks it’s the most earnest confession someone has ever made to him, yet he doesn’t know how to answer to all this best. So he decides to place himself into a sitting position, to look the soldier boy straight into the eyes. His gaze gets distracted by Thy’s slightly opened lips for a split second. It is the same situation as earlier downstairs, only that Ry has his fingers still under de Wit’s chin and starts to lead his face towards the other man. Just a few inches are left between them and Thyjs can feel the younger man’s warm breath on his skin. He also has this incredible sight at those beautiful male black eyelashes again the very moment they cast down and then he feels those same lips from before on his own with such a soft pressure that again he closes his eyes in an instant and starts to revel in that same electricity running through him but also the revenant paralyze surrounding him again.

It is just a brief kiss, similar to the one in the apartment downstairs but shyer in its move. As soon as it happened it ended. Ryder opens his eyes afterwards immediately because he fears somehow the man in front of him would get up, step back and turn away but instead he still feels his chin pressed softly against his fingers. It casts another tiny smile onto Ryder’s face as his now racing heart skips a beat or two, seeing that Thyjs didn’t make a move nor a sound. His eyes open now as well and Ry swears he’s never seen heterochromia looking so soft but also surprised at the same time at him like Thyjs does right now. He waits for a reaction but Thyjs just keeps looking at him, lips parting shortly just to close again. “What? — Did that make you that speechless now?” Ry asks with nearly the same surprisement. Thyjs lets out a heavy breath and nods, eyes totally lost looking at him which lets Scharfenberg put on a warm smile. “Want to— try again?” Thyjs swallows his unspoken words that gathered in his throat he couldn’t speak aloud and nods again. Heavier, his lips turning into a smile as well and his eyes are suddenly filled with happiness and relief, like he’s telling Ryder that he cannot wait to have their lips meeting once more and to feel that intense buzz from before as it spreads through his entire body like when he’s powering up electricity. This feeling right now? It’s strong and sends an entirely new sensation through him. Is dat het gevoel van vlinders in je buik? He wonders but doesn’t get much more time to think about it because Ryder choses to lean in for a second time.

It can and probably will be rewritten or changed but I definitely want to have it this way! Thjys starts talking and talking almost doing a monologue instead of a dialogue until he comes to the final point and Ryder wants to respond with words but doesn't know how to (he may find them a bit later) and just does what's best: kiss this soldier. I'll max out this kissing scene for a lot more pages just because I can.

I love the idea of Thyjs as war machine being totally romantic and getting super takative when alone with Ryder. And Ryder definitely is a soft romatic boy, alsways was bu Beast made his life harder to show this side more but Thyjs gets to see it also in private.

4. VP

Since I do more 'actual play the game' now even though I have installed most of all mods back, I rarely do pics atm. If I do, they are just rather nice pics where I try to use the ingame light rather than to spawn spot lights. here's a preview of what comes next:

I have so many ideas I want to put into reality. Especially pics that underline the rp/fic chapters mentioned above. But I'm not going to force myself. I'll see what I can realize for the rest of the year and what gets to be stamped as a New Year's resolution. I'll probably focus on a few blorbo pics this weekend because Ryder's birthday is around the corner (31st October) and Jay's boyfriend Enzolino has just a day prior. So if I can manage, I'll do that in the first place.

Thanks for reading! <3

[lostquinn]

I thought I'd lose you

Connor (dbh) x gn!reader

Fluff // Sad Connor :( // slight angst?

Summary - After inspecting the crime scene at Stratford Tower, all Connor wanted to do was see you.

The way he said 'I'm okay' in Jack's playthrough </3 PLEASE feel free to send me requests and asks!!

Warning - mentions of suicide (vey brief - just when Simon dies)

Word count - 1527

As Connor looked around the Stratford tower for clues about the deviants who had broken in and broadcast a message to Detroit.

He followed Hank until they had been briefed, then split off to make his own deductions about the scene.

The deviants hadn't broken in, yet they hadn't been stopped by workers of the tower. It was an interesting development.

Soon, Connor turned his direction to the roof, the route the deviants had used to escape. It didn't take him long to deduce that one of the androids had been left behind. There was a deviant still around.

He followed traces of thirium on the scene to a container on the back left side of the roof. Certain the abandoned deviant was inside, he opened the container.

He was met with a bullet shooting it's way into his chest, stumbling back as the deviant ran from him. It took cover behind a barrier as Hank dragged Connor away from the android.

"You have to stop them! If they destroy it, we won't learn anything!" Connor shouted to Hank over gunfire.

"We can't save it, it's too late! We'll just get ourselves killed!" Hank protested.

For a moment, Connor looked to Hank before throwing himself out of behind the cover. He dodged each bullet that charged his way as he approached the deviant, launching himself over the cover it was using.

The skin peeled away from his hand as he pushed the deviant against the wall behind it and connected with it.

Things turned white for a second as he began to probe the deviants memory. He saw the word 'Jericho' painted onto rusted metal. The area it was in seemed run down in the glimpse he saw.

The android sent by cyber cyberlife was dragged from the memory when the android pulled the gun to its jaw and ended its own life.

Connor dropped the deviant to the floor, taking a step back in shock. He rested his hands against the metal behind him as he looked down at the corpse at his feet.

"Connor! Connor you all right? Connor!" Hank asked, worry lacing his tone as he ran up to the android.

"Okay..."

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay" Connors eyes didn't meet lieutenant Andersons as he said that, instead he stared down at the corpse. His LED glowed red as he assessed the scene, the older gentleman talking to him.

"Jesus" he sighed stepping away "you scared the shit outta me" Hank turned "for fuck sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?"

Connor had still not been able to drag his eyes off off the body before him, even as he was shouted at. Snow gathered in his hair and on his jacket.

"I was connected to its memory..." it was as if he, for a moment, took a breath of air. "When it fired... I felt it die" he paused "like I was dying..." his eyes widened "I was scared."

Connors voice cracked as he admitted to being scared. He wasn't a deviant. He wasn't. But in that moment he was afraid. He was afraid he would never see you again.

Hank let out a breath, shifting his weight on his feet before Connor continued.

"I saw something, in it's memory... a word... painted on a piece of rusty metal ... 'Jericho'"

With a sigh, Hank escorted Connor to his car where they sat in silence for a short while as Connor attempted to process what had happened.

"So, you felt things.." Hank finally grumbled. "Not going deviant on me, are you?"

"No, I self test regularly," Connor responded, a new sense of calmness in his voice.

"Alright." Hank pressed his lips together, looking at Connor with an eyebrow raised. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Could you drop me off at [names] house please, lieutenant?" Connor asked, his voice quiet and slightly trembling.

"Of course kid," Hank started he car and they began the drive from the Stratford Tower to where their friend lived.

----

Hank pulled outside of [names] home. The lights were on, softly glowing into the evening. Snow rested upon every ledge it could. Connor stared at their home, his thirium pump pounding as he saw them cross past a window.

"Did you uhh, want me to come with you?" Hank asked Connor, somewhat hesitant.

"I should be okay alone, thank you lieutenant." Connor didn't take his eyes off of their home.

Hank sat for a moment, watching Connor in silence. Soon, the older male cleared his throat, catching the androids attention. He motioned for Connor to get out the car and go to your home.

"Jesus Connor, go!" He grumbled.

Connors eyes widened for a moment before he hastily climbed out of the car, almost slipping on some ice. Hank drove away, knowing you would text him when Connor was happy to go home.

Connor stood out on the pavement, his hands clutching the hem of his jacket. Was he... nervous? No, he couldn't be. He was not a deviant.

He noticed a figure in the window, looking out at him briefly before your front door opened. A faint blue blush coated his cheeks as you approached him.

"Connor? What are you doing out here?" You questioned, pulling your jumper tight around you due to the cold.

"I came to see you," he tilted his head slightly as he looked at you.

"Well come on in," you said fondly as you grabbed him by the hand and lead him inside your home.

All of his attention was focused on his hand in yours, this new found warmth caused his blush to deepen as he stared at your delicate hand leading him inside. You would often grab him by the hand, mostly so that you didn't lose him in busy areas, however this time felt different to him.

No. It didn't feel. He couldn't feel. He was not a deviant.

You closed the door to your small home, both you and Connor now inside in the warmth. You soon dropped his hand as you turned to him, brushing the snow from his hair and shoulders, you noticed his LED was blinking yellow.

You then went to fix his tie, as that action had always seemed to clear his mind however this time, as you reached up to his tie, you were pulled flush against him.

His arms were wrapped firmly around you, holding you close as if letting go meant he could never hold you again. His face was buried in the crook of your neck. You wanted more than anything to wrap your arms around him however they were stuck in between the both of you.

"I thought I'd lose you," he finally muttered into your neck.

"What? Connor I'm not going anywhere," you assured him gently.

"No. I felt like I was dying today- when a deviant shot itself at the tower I felt it. I was afraid. I was afraid I'd never see you again,"

You opened your mouth to speak briefly before he cut you off.

"I never want to lose you." He paused. "I want to be able to hold you everyday, I want you to smile at me at the end of a long day. I want you to fall asleep at night in my arms and wake up and tell me-"

"I love you," it was your turn to cut him off.

"That," he pulled away slightly, looking down at you with a smile as his LED rested on a cool blue. "I think I may be a..." he trailed off, glancing around as he whispered the last word "deviant."

You chuckled "you think? Connor you said you felt, you're alive hun," you smiled.

"I also know I feel something else,"

You quirked an eyebrow, ushering him to continue his statement.

"Love" he smiled "for you- of course, obviously, I love you," his words were messy and panicked, yet full of emotion.

He gently pulled you over to your couch and sat down, pulling you to sit on top of him. Connor used one of his hands to cup your cheek, staring at you.

It wasn't long before he closed the distance between the two if you and pressed his synthetic lips against yours. His lips were soft, shy as they met yours.

You smiled into the kiss as you pressed your hands gently against his chest. The kiss soon ended, sooner then either of you had anticipated or even wanted however you needed to breathe.

"Has Hank given you a curfew?" You smirked.

"No? I don't understand why he would."

"In that case, would you like to stay the night?"

His face flushed a deep blue at the question, even going so far as to spread to his ears as he looked at you, completely flustered. He opened his mouth to talk as his LED flashed yellow, erupting a giggle from your lips.

"Yes," he finally stuttered, the words barely escaping in a whisper as the drumming of his thirium pump pounded in his ears.

"I'll make sure to tell Hank for you,"

[crazycoke-addict]

The Smiling Critters Theory Part 1 (HoppyHop Scotch, PickyPiggy, Bubbaphant, beary bearhug)

This is a continuation from the last post. I wanna discuss the smiling critters and what I think what happened to them.

If you aren't aware, in Poppy playtime Chapter 3. A line of characters was introduced as the smiling critters. Their names are Bubba Bubbaphant, KickinChicken, Beary BearHug, PickyPiggy, HoppyHop Scotch, DogDay and Catnap. Not only we're they sold as toys with each of their signature scent. They were also given their very own tv show. However, parents start to express their concern about the catnap plushie because while making the toys instead of the lavender scent that catnap was supposed to have, instead, he was given a poppy scent That even the bigger body catnap has to make the kids go to sleep. Parents express their concerns because their kids kept having hallucigenic nightmares. We even hear this when a woman named Clare Harper talks about how one of the orphans, Marie, had a nightmare involving a colourless monster.

Just like how many of the toys were made by playtime Co. Each of them ended up being part of the bigger bodies initiative. We saw Catnap in that form as well as dogday, so it would be that far-fetched that the other smiling critters were bigger bodies as well. But the question is what happened to them since DogDay says that he is the last of the smiling critters.

We need to talk about where we found DogDay. After managing to get power back on for the school area. We manage to find ourselves in the playhouse. Ollie appears to not like the playhouse, and when we get there, we know why. While the other places have destroyed with blood stains all over. The playhouse looks unsettling, especially when we meet DogDay. He is chained to, but also, he's in a prison cell. The first time we saw the prison cells was a surveillance camera in project playtime. While finding DogDay, we do see some sort of underground lare, which is where catnap used to be in. This is where they kept the bigger bodies of the smiling critters.

Now, let's talk about what happened to each of them. During the playthrough, you come across a cardboard cutout of one of the smiling critters. It starts with them introducing themselves, and we get to know a little about their personality, but things take a dark turn where they say things that are unsettling. While cardboard cutouts have been there since the beginning that never really introduced themselves. Huggy Wuggy expresses the importance of hugs, CatBee makes bee puns, and Bunzo Bunny talks about birthdays.

The reason why this is important is because if you listen to their cardboard cutouts, you'll notice that it sounds like they are at the brink of insanity. Since CatNap was already devoted to the prototype since the prototype saved his life. He is pretty much aware that there is a plan since he tells Lieth Pierre about the prototype saving them. If you look at the promotion of the smiling critters. The other smiling critters express emotions even if they have grinning faces except for Catnap, which still keeps the same emotion. CatNap's personality revealed that he has a calming presence.

While Catnap does worship the prototype because of what he did for him. CatNap accepts the influence that the prototype has on him. Meanwhile, DogDay says that him and the other tried to resist the control of the prototype and how if someone disagrees with the prototype, Catnap eliminates them. The other smiling critters are trying to keep their personality intact, but because they are trying to resist the control of the prototype, their sanity becomes a problem.

The cut-outs even give us in-depth what happened to the smiling critters, and we may even figure out what happened afterwards. We'll start with hoppy hopscotch. She introduces herself and asks if we want to go jump on to the moon. This is basically a generic cartoon way since HoppyHop Scotch is described as being energetic and wants to go on adventures. However, the more we hear, the more it sounds like she is determined to jump on the moon. She's also appears frustrated with the player for supposedly messing it up and that looking at feet doesn't matter. When she does jump, you hear the sound of falling. Since we know that they were trying to resist the control of the prototype, it is likely that hoppyhop Scotch couldn't deal with it and she really want to go the moon so she unalive herself for the process.

Next up is PickyPiggy. Hers is interesting because It tells us what happened to 3 of the smiling critters but not hers. It is heavily implied that KickinChicken, Bubba Bubbaphant, and CraftyCorn were eaten by PickyPiggy herself. However, I see them as an offering by catnap since its a knowledge that pigs eat everything that they see as food. PickyPiggy talks about how she's still hungry despite eating an elephant. It is likely that picky piggy died of starvation because if she was eating her friends in front of her friends, they probably saw it as a punishment if they tried to escape.

Bobby BearHug is next on. We are going to look into it. Bobby BearHug is the compassionate of the smiling critters where she appears to care a lot about her friends. In her cardboard cut-out, it appears that she has abandonment issues where she asks the player if they are going to leave her. This is leaning towards that Bobby BearHug died of a broken heart. It is like that when some of the smiling critters tried to escape, which led to their deaths, they abandoned Bobby bearhug. While yes, it sounds absurd that a toy can die in such a way, but these toys have organs where they can eat, breathe, and even die. So, I don't think it would be out of the ordinary that a toy like Bobby bearhug who is known for her compassion but also trying to break free of the prototype's control would end up dying of a broken-heart.

Bubba Bubbaphant was the first cardboard cutout we saw in the game, and because of this, it is likely that he was the first to die. Bubba Bubbaphant's cardboard cutout doesn't act weird until the end when he is screaming. He expresses that he remembers the player, which could be because we know the main protagonist used to work here while also stating that elephants always remember. If you listen closely to his screams, it sounds like he's also laughing at the same time. The only time he's done this is when him and the smiling critters are given the red smoke at CatNap in that episode.

While Bubbaphant is laughing and screaming, it sounds like he's saying, "Grandma." I looked up, and grandmothers take the role as the matriarch of the elephant and make sure that the baby elephants grow into adulthood and that the mama elephant gets the support she needs. It's so interesting because it appears as though Bubba Bubbaphant was given the knowledge as an elephant itself. Since the red smoke is known for the person showing hallucinations. It is likely that when Bubba Bubbaphant got the red smoke, he may have been hallucinating an elderly female elephant, which was probably catnap in disguised, who ended up killing him and offered him to PickyPiggy.

[weird-gay-disaster]

Uh, so this is really out of left field for me to talk about, but I've been feeling this type of way for over a month now.

I'm very ambivalent about the new Famicom Detective Club.

Before the game's reveal and when we basically had a teaser to go off of, there was a lot of speculation (jokes, memes, or otherwise) over what the project could've been. I'm not much of a survival horror enjoyer, I was just interested in what it could've potentially been. I noticed some accurate leaks about it beforehand, but didn't think they were legit.

When it was fully announced, I basically went "oh. okay..." before feeling a growing sense of disappointment and embarrassed for having such an autistic level of obsession over the teaser. Not because of it being a visual novel, but the fact that it was a certain type of visual novel from a series I genuinely did not care that much about. And the way it was described in Yoshio's interview (mainly the part where the ending was described as "divisive for some people") made me think "oh...so THAT'S how it's gonna go...").

And I probably wouldn't be so vexed with it if I didn't notice a number of FDC's (supposed) fans responding to some similarly disappointed people by...basically insulting them. Because...that'll make people want to enjoy the obscure, niche thing you seem to care about so deeply.

What made things even worse was when I noticed a certain Twitter profile (@WhoIsEmio) and thought it was an ARG linked to the teaser somehow, especially since the bio linked to Nintendo's Emio website/the new Famicom Detective Club game website. There were somewhat sporadic, cryptic uploads with seemingly random Japanese words and music (?) that I assumed would've hinted at certain plot points of the game.

So imagine my shock & disbelief when I eventually found out this shit was apparently an AI experiment from a college that may not exist. And this apparently has nothing to do with the actual game (which creates a number of...interesting questions as to how they even knew about certain dates revealing more FDC information...). It legitimately made me want to jump off a building or something.

Uh, so for the demo (as of Ch. 2 right now)...

I think the music's pretty nice...and the mystery is at least interesting enough...the antagonist is pretty menacing & enigmatic so far....

But....

I'm not saying it needs to be like Danganronpa (especially since that series has issues with a good number of its character designs being increasingly more derivative), but...the character designs here are REALLY bland and boring to look at (besides the main antagonist himself). It's like it's trying to go for a more "anime/stylized realism" angle, but it ends up looking very cookie-cutter instead. Many visual novels, even with all their flaws, at least have some interesting art direction, so seeing how it is here felt very lackluster.

And the writing...the mystery itself is fine so far, but much of the regular dialogue between characters incites little to no emotion within me. Beyond certain key characters, I personally didn't feel that much for the main cast.

When I got to the point where you had to wait at a bus shelter before deciding whether or not to call a taxi, the pure silence and the angle made me paranoid enough that I assumed Emio was either watching from the background or was about to creep up to the protagonist as he closed his eyes to...somehow summon a taxi. Needless to say, it felt anticlimactic when neither of those things happened.

I might continue looking into this, but very likely via a playthrough online (and not just because I'm currently poor).

[windor-truffle]

even MORE random graces playthrough nitpicky thoughts that i didn't get to last night!

whether people recognize who Richard is continues to be in flux, usually bending to whatever is plot convenient in the moment 😅 it's not bad writing though it's actually pretty realistic; some people would instantly recognize a celebrity walking around in a public place and others would not (*coughmecough*). This also is a nice touch of characterization, establishing things like Pascal's singlemindedness or which soldier NPCs are privy to what the royal family looks like

not terribly important stuff, just me musing on Richard's ties to Duke Dalen. He say's he's "distantly" related but I think duke's are supposed to be next in line for succession (though Cedric seems to surpass Dalen as an archduke). His backstory also sounds almost identical to how Aston became a lord too (tales of graces prequel where all of the lords of windor are party members who travel around with king ferdinand?? 👀), but unlike Dalen, Aston's family never married into the royal family (at least not canonically, but with fan fic we can change that 😤). Lastly I need more screenshots for evidence but unlike most characters, Richard tends to change whether he calls Duke Dalen by his full title or not, maybe because he's one of the few that outranks him.

I somehow managed to forget about the "mwa-mwa hanky-panky" skit 😂 to be fair this one is criminally easy to overlook since it triggers in the alley behind the inn. Pascal has been in the party for all of 30 minutes and she already ships it 😂

it's kinda hilarious how much extra stuff like this is hidden if you go around and explore instead of going to do the plot. like game-wise it makes sense to reward the player for exploring the world, story-wise Richard has already collapsed from exhaustion twice WHY are we making him walk all the way back to Lhant 😂 ah well he's getting his steps in

overthinking lore again but the game makes a point in saying how long it take cryas to recharge eleth naturally, and there doesn't seem to be a technology for people to do it themselves... makes me wonder how the valkines cryas end up being fully restored at the end of the game since they never explicitly show or explain it 🤔 but it does make sense story-wise for people to be freaking out when they're drained, that's a shit-ton of energy they're not expecting to get back any time soon (how long is "a really long time" game??? a human lifetime??? thousands of years??? graces explain!!!)

one of my favorite things to do in this time around is to check all the overworld checkable items with every party member- they each have different dialogue, and it can be really revealing or entertaining! for example, this world map in the Grayleside inn:

screenshots taken from my current point in the playthrough AND the L&L arc because I wanted to see if Richard's dialogue changed and not only did his change, everyone's did!!! to reflect their growth!!! wow!!! 🥰 i 💜 games with attention to detail :) it's cute to see what each person is focusing on: Asbel still cares about his hometown (but has now travelled and learned enough to find it on the map), Richard turns from his preoccupation of "how am I going to fix this mess my uncle made" to conviction of restoring peace like he'd always dreamed, and Pascal, having flown around the world in the shuttle and now can confirm it looks small from afar, is moving on to new and better ideas. 10/10 character writing, I'll have to come back here later to check out the other party member's changes between the main story and post game

[inkedkoi]

Remaining Questions & Final Thoughts

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

Remaining Questions

Here are all the remaining questions I have about the show! These are more up to debate, since it's most likely it wasn't fully fleshed out in the writer's room, but I did want to add them here anyway:

Can the Shards break into smaller pieces? Is it possible to drain all the energy from the Shards? And, if so, what would happen to the Shatterspaces?

Why was there 5 Eggman “look-alikes” in a single Shatterspace?

Transcript:

Mr. Doctor Eggman: “Five makes one. One makes five.”

[S1 EP1]

Did Eggman make clones of himself but at different ages? Did they exist just because it gave more motivation for the Rebellion and Nine to stand up for themselves when Boscage and No Place didn’t need it? Is this the ray of light allegory, when light shines through a prism and it scatters? Or could the Prism has been broken before cycle theory be true? Or, just like Sonic, Eggman being close to the Prism affect his "look-alikes"?

What did this frame even mean???

no, like seriously, was it for aesthetic reasons or what? That he's gay? (the answer is yes, yes he is. GET GAY BEAMED YOU HOT TOPIC WANNABE)

Final Thoughts

I've been watching Sonic Prime being created ever since Day 1. Of course, I haven't been able to see any leaks of it, they kinda ruin the fun of it all. But I've been hyped ever since the first trailers came out. The multiverse thing has been all the craze for movies and shows, this was no different.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, Sonic got a bit of my interest years ago but I never went further into it. That was until Prime and Frontiers caught it again. I've heard about how the Sonic fandom was toxic and such, but I know it doesn't apply to all of the fans, so I decided to give Sonic a chance. Besides, I've learned to not take things too seriously, after all it's just a speedy blue hedgehog going on adventures. You should've seen me a year ago, I binged through:

Snapcube fandubs

Fadel's (GamesCage) playthrough of Frontiers

IDW comics

sonadow (the OG red and blue couple)

every playthrough I was able to find, in 2x speed, in the background while I was doing college assignments

both Sonic movies

Sonic X

Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (I even made some art of it with Ace Attorney characters, Link)

Sonic Central and live streams

and I bought my first ever piece of Sonic merch (yes, it counts)

Hey, I was (and still am) a Ace Attorney girlie. So, entering into the Sonic fandom, it was kind of familiar in some ways. The two starve for some content, at times being years of waiting. Just as in any fandom, people may have arguments here and there but when it counts, people come together and enjoy the moment.

When it comes to Prime, I had a fun time. It’s the type of show that you just want to sit down and just be silly. There were times that got me hyped (like the references, Prismatic Sonic 2nd form, Shadow every single time he comes up on screen), and times that I really got me audibly going "aww" (like the Rose sisters, Sonic being silly lil' goof). Then there are all the times I was SCREAMING like a fangirl (...because of the sonadow moments).

listen, i can't help it if i see my boys on screen, okay? just look at them

You know, when I made this, I didn't expect it to be this long. After all, I planned to post my silly little theories before I went abroad for a few months. Instead, I went into maximum overdrive, explaining why Prime had so much potential and how most of it happened was because of the fans, both the viewers and the ones working within the show. There definitely unsung heroes that deserve so much recognition. I would like to personally thank Erik Wiese, one of the people who truly cared for the show. It's not just him though, so many workers on the show also happened to be Sonic fans.

💬 "The fans know how to do it better than the creators themselves..."

I think this applies to Prime. Again, I don't have anything against SEGA or anyone working in the Sonic franchise. But I think a great show in general is one where the crew is willing to give it their all for the fans. That it isn't just another show or cash-grab, but a passion project for the franchise. Something by fans, for the fans. As the song "Live & Learn" goes:

"(Live and learn!) Hanging on the edge of tomorrow; (Live and learn!) From the works of yesterday; (Live and learn!) If you beg or if you borrow; (Live and learn!) You may never find your way!"

So, TL;DR: I didn't think I would be more invested in writing a whole essay about Sonic Prime than in my college thesis but here we are! (holy shit-)

Thank you so much for bearing with me rambling about a silly blue hedgehog and his friends! Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are always appreciated. Again, let me know if you want me to rewrite all of Prime. As always, remember to:

drink water

get some food

stretch

take your meds

get some rest/a break

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to stare at my bedroom ceiling and think about how Shadow is giving me gender envy—

Take care, my dear fellows, and I'll see you all next time!

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