#also i doubt that they'll take it in this route at the end of the day but lu guang is absolutely in love with him.

[pokemonruby]

god, now that we know lu guang's big secret, his reaction to qian jin shooting cheng xiaoshi is so horrifically gut-wrenching, the way he went absolutely ballistic afterwards, the inestimable amount of times he has likely had to witness cheng xiaoshi dying, perhaps finally deluding himself into thinking he finally bypassed the death node - and while cheng xiaoshi was alright in the end, the sheer horror that lu guang experienced at that moment, thinking that it's all been undone again. it's all been for naught... i'm sorry i'm just

[blackpilljesus]

The rise in popularity of single childfree women should signal that we need to start preparing. I've spoken about this before but want to address a common concern of safety regarding maIe retaliation. At this point some women may think they'll be safer trying to get a maIe but the statistics show otherwise. There's a reason women fought for rights in the first place, we all know that maIes as a collective are horrible beings. If maIes were pleasant to be around & reproduce with, they wouldn't need to force women into it.

Now I dont have all the answers in terms of what to do in the face of maIe retaliation but where to start:

1 - Move in silence. MaIes dont need to know our every move. MaIes have enough power as is, them knowing our strategy on top of that wont help. Hell, play dumb sometimes. This also applies to other women, if they push marriage & kids bs be measured in your response, in the end you know your truth. At the end of the day most of these women are also aware of the danger maIes pose.

2 - Organise. This is tough, extremely tough i can't lie. For one we're scattered all over the world & people in our real lives wouldn't have the committment to this nor believe in deviating from the nuclear structure but it is something needed. Even if it's just online, find or build networks with likeminded women. I say this as a lone wolf but infrastructure & network is needed because the government will make it harder to survive alone so some would need to be able to lean on each other for support even if it's just verbal. Practice separatism as far as you can. Take up learning how to defend yourself. If you're serious about this; be prepared to break the rules at some point because playing nice & by the law wont work. These things are set up by men for men and it wont help us. I'm not saying go out there & purposefuly break the law or put yourself in harms way, just saying prepare. It sounds far out now but the current system cant be counted on, blind eyes are turned when maIes abuse women, women are punished for defending themselves under the system. Even if you dont want to go down the route of community, learn to take care of yourself & hold your own down.

3 - Stop arguing with maIes. This doesnt mean that xys are right, I say this a lot but maIes are fully aware of everything. Arguing with maIes online is a waste of time, time that can go to building for yourself or likeminded women. MaIes denying female oppression is part of the game to keep you wasting your energy on them as opposed to working on yourself. It's to keep you in their hands; doesn't matter whether you're right or not, how many statistics you throw at them, you're still biting their bait.

4 - Stack up on resources & money. If you have resources & money and the priviledge to save then start now. If/when things go downhill it wont be a snap thing but a transition so this window needs to be used to the best of our advantage. Take advantage of the privileges you have now to set yourself for the future because that could very well be gone.

I doubt we'd win tbh but I'd rather die trying than live submitting. I will mention that I know it's scary but we have to think forward. Bear in mind the system has never worked for women, some will say things like "but when women leave maIes get more violent" but there is no safety in the first place. Women are sexually harrassed & assaulted any where at any time with no protection already. Women are constantly told of all the things they should or shouldn't do to avoid maIe violence and it doesnt work anyways, maIes will continue to abuse women & girls. No amount of listening & obeying has helped women because it doesn't matter what the reason for maIe violence is, if they cant find a reason they'll create a reason because their motive is to make women suffer in addition to reproduction & having labour.

Now I know many will speak about the violence of maIe retaliation which I'll address in part 3. This is part 2 of 'the rise in single childfree women' group of posts.

Part 1

[sabertoothwalrus]

predictions for rest of Owl House season 3

I can't see an ending to this show not somehow creating a permanent bridge between the Human and Demon Realms, but how are they gonna get there? I think the answer is in...

✨The Stars✨

One of the first things that brought this to my attention was in Reaching Out, when Luz & Amity send a flower into the sky, and it's directly paralleled by Camila's flower vase:

Amity: Do you think they'll reach the Human Realm? Luz: Probably doesn't work that way, but... it's a nice thought, right?

Now, in Thanks to Them, we have TWO scenes where Luz literally reaches for the stars (the sun a clear reference to the Collector), MULTIPLE shots of light spells floating upwards (into the sky), Gus and Hunter discussing space travel, and the very last shot of the special itself panning up from the cemetery portal to the night sky.

But, how DO they reach the stars? I highly doubt this show would go towards a literal space travel route. I think, obviously, the Collector is a part of it, but I think it's also a matter of someone getting high enough to reach.

Perhaps maybe.... as tall as a titan?

Clearly, there's a lot of shared history between titans and the Collector. And titans themselves have their own fair share of celestial imagery:

(notice the titan skeleton LITERALLY BEING AS HIGH AS THE PLANETS AND ASTEROIDS)

Perhaps this is why the titans and the Collector have been at odds. Maybe, the titans could use the stars to travel, and for whatever reason, the Collector didn't like that.

And if titans can travel through the stars, it might also solve the mystery of King's mother's whereabouts.

We know the Boiling Isles titan is King's father. And the Boiling Isles is OLD. The Hecktaceous Period is a really vaguely ancient era that doesn't directly parallel one specific era on Earth, so it's hard to put a time frame on it. Either way, all life on the Boiling Isles evolved FROM the Boiling Isles, and did not exist prior.

But..... Bill saw a titan somehow? Bill isn't from the Boiling Isles, and he's old, but it seems unlikely that he's older than literally all life on the Boiling Isles. And King HEARD a titan, who roared, "son". King is about 8 years old, but we don't know how long he was in his egg before he hatched.

It SEEMS implied that "the last titan" the trappers were after was supposed to be King, but that might not necessarily be the case...

Bill: But if you think Belos is evil, you've never seen a live Titan. The children out there haven't either. [The trio looks outside the window, but Hooty notices something to his right and stretches towards that direction. Cut to the King lookalike demons cheering at him as he stands in front of a waterfall.] Bill: Don't know a thing about their ravenous appetites, or their terrible cries! Even their babies act like little monarchs. The last living Titan, I saw it once before it disappeared. Its hateful roar blew out my eardrums. How did it go? "Weh!"

Bill: [Rolls up his sleeve.] You like our disguises? [Takes off his glove to reveal a hand.] You gotta look like a Titan to trap one. [Puts on his glove back.] But if I ever find that missing Titan, I'd hunt it down, tear it limb from limb, and mount its head in pride as we release the Huntsman! Then... we can finally go from being Titan Trappers to Titan Slayers! Say, who's your buddy's tailor? His costume looks so real!

it sounds to me like there's a titan Bill saw that isn't the Boiling Isles or King.

And if you look back at the mural of the trapper fighting a titan, the titan is depicted with a longer face than what the Boiling Isles actually has. Maybe.... *that's* King's mother?

So, where did she go? The stars? But if they connect to the Human Realm, where would she be?

Funnily enough, in Connecticut (you know, the state Luz is from), there's geological structure called The Sleeping Giant.

Just a thought.

[dalekofchaos]

Okay, I watched the DE livestream and even with my justified complaints before, I am most definitely not playing this game.

it feels like they killed any chance of Chloe, Warren or anyone from Arcadia Bay of appearing.

There was a dialogue option of Din- I mean Safi asking about "the girl with the blue hair"

And a dialogue choice appears between "We were just friends" "We were high school sweethearts"

"WERE" Are you fucking kidding? They said they'd respect both endings, but How the fuck is it "were" when they said they will respect both endings.

Sacrificing an entire town, killing nearly all of your friends and your love's mother is not "high school sweetheart" WHO FUCKING WROTE THIS SHIT?

Now this could've just been someone who chose the "save the Bay ending" in the livestream, but Max would not leave Chloe if that were the case...

Looks to me like they wanna split Max and Chloe even in the timeline where Chloe is alive. There probably will be just short mention of her or at best short cameo but that's it.

Like if they are no longer together/friends what would be even the point of Bae ending.

The idea that she'd leave her behind after destroying an entire town to save her doesn't really validate the ending. It just seems like a cop-out for a story that originally went with the Bay ending as canon.

As for the Bay ending. I doubt Warren will get a mention. Maybe a "There was this boy I liked, but it didn't work out because I just couldn't get over the loss of my friend and my own trauma, I didn't want to burden him, so I left. He deserved better than me." or worse, they'll demonize him and paint him how the fandom perceives him. I doubt Kate will get a mention. Maybe Max and Kate do stay in touch but they don't show Kate anymore, because god fucking forbid we get people we actually wanna see.

A lot of what made the first game so likeable is completely lost here, the art style, the ability to rewind freely, Max and Chloe's relationship/friendship. This feels more like a fanfic with a bunch of mediocre OCs shoved in than an actual sequel.

The majority of people who wanted Max back are those who also wanted Chloe back. It's going to be very surprising if they attempt to make it seem like Max and Chloe just lost touch or were just casual crushes in school. That isn't how the original game is at all.

Between this and the devs saying Max wants to forget and leave her past behind I’m taking this as confirmation that Chloe, Warren or anyone else from AB isn’t appearing at all which is pretty upsetting.

Zero interest in the game if they go this route. They should have just made a new character instead of completely shitting on Max' original story while using her for name recognition only…

Just remember. Deck Nine was outed for protecting a bigoted groomer and did nothing as a fucking Nazi put white supremacist imagery in their games and they so happen to release a game with "Max" in it. A Max without Chloe, Warren or Kate. A Max who learned nothing and fucked over reality over someone she just met. They got caught with their pants down and they slapped Max's name and voice on a completely new character because they panicked.

Anyways, I choose to believe MY Post LIS 1 headcanons or my Save Rachel game pitch, because that's how DONTNOD wanted it to be, a story we could choose after the game was complete.

I don't know who DONTNOD thinks this is, because that's not Max Caulfield #notmymax

[mickedy]

And now spoiler-y TS!US thoughts

I actually mostly just want to talk about the character writing for Sans and Papyrus because they are my favorite characters and my heart flutters when fancontent does them right. Ok first of all

Sans is scary :scared:

I feel like Sans is a character that has lost a lot of his edge when it comes to fancontent. What makes Sans intimidating is the fact that you don't see it coming when he's being serious with you; it's meant to catch you off guard. But nowadays everyone and their mom knows about Sans' secret super powerful scary side in the Undertale No-Mercy Run... and it doesn't have that same bite when fancontent tries to portray him as threatening.

TS!Underswap Sans is a very, very well done subversion of that. He comes right out of the gate letting you know that he hunts down bad people, and that he's not afraid to mess you up if you decide to do messed-up things. And you think that he's talking about his superhero persona, and he's putting on an act for you, but then you do a No Mercy run and find out that he is being 100% serious. You knew it was coming and yet it still blindsides you when he actually decides to hunt you down for being a weirdo murderer. It doesn't feel out of character and it doesn't feel unearned; Sans is a hero, and he will do what a hero needs to do. In every sense of the word.

Writing him to be a superhero was a really genius choice. You can have him be his normal lazy slacker self when he's out of costume, and therefore he can fill in Papyrus' role a la Underswap without it feeling OOC, because he's acting. But as I just pointed out--... he's not acting. He is, but he's not. He's an enigma of a guy, and you never know when you're supposed to be taking him seriously, and THAT is the mark of a very good Sans characterization.

Papyrus... we don't actually know that much about, I feel. I really wish I had more to say about him, but I think the fact that I don't makes it work all the more. He takes Sans' role, so it's sort of a given that he's mysterious. He's an inventor, too! What a fun little callback to Undertale Papyrus and all of those little gadgets he made.

His No Mercy characterization is really, really interesting. Despite taking Sans' role, he still comes at you with utmost compassion and understanding-- and it just makes me wonder all the more how everything will play out. I feel like NM final boss Papyrus is so, so often mischaracterized-- people write him as way too willing to fight, way too willing to get vengeance. That's not him! Papyrus is the one person who will stick with you to the end, and always believe that you can be better-- and dropping him into Sans' role with that in mind could be so so SO interesting! I have the utmost faith in Team Switched to do something clever here.

Also, Papyrus' reaction to Sans' death was heartbreaking.

Changing the subject, in this universe-- Frisk and Monster Kid take the role of the first fallen human and Asriel, respectively. I really, really doubt that Frisk has any ties to Chara's soul in this universe in the same way that Frisk and Chara were connected in Undertale. In fact, I have a good feeling that Frisk and MK were reincarnated into Flowey and Temmie, respectively.

Flowey specifically talks in a very neutral, unwavering tone. They don't have any strong opinions on any route you choose to take, and they'll follow and help you out regardless. They're outwardly friendly but also unsubtlely sarcastic and detatched. Kind of what we get from Frisk, using the very minuscule characterization given to us.

Also, I feel like Flowey being genderless in this universe is pretty significant. Haha.

I think that's all I have to say for right now. I didn't mean for Sans to take up half of this post-- in fact, I didn't really like his character until I played the NM route... and then everything clicked. Such good character writing

[avicebro]

How did the Kohaku route treat you?

Apologies for taking some time to respond, I've been mulling over the route for about a day now. Tsukihime spoilers under the cut and also cause this one got a bit long

So, I think the first thing I wanna note is that out of the five routes, Kohaku's route I finished the fastest. Due to Hisui's True End, the route starts with a knife against your back and a voice in your ear, a looming threat that forces you to consider every single piece of information you're being fed. Even more than Hisui's route, this one stands apart because it has revealed the cards prior to the story's opening. It wants you to pay attention.

And in that, it makes it really hard to put down - in the best way! You catch the moments like where Shiki doubts himself, and wonders why he's forgetting about Satsuki so quickly, or the points where he says he doesn't feel comfortable being outside the manor.

Unlike Akiha's route, where Akiha being at school means she's inescapable, and Hisui's route where you are literally strapped to your bed, Kohaku's route makes you only feel safe within the manor, and further - only safe with Kohaku. And I think that plays with you in such a great way because while this is happening, you're second-guessing if that comfort is your own, or due to Kohaku's doing.

(Also like, I think it should say something about how the game mentioning Arihiko being missing from school made me worried for his life, haha. He's fine. But still. The route has its impact felt in every detail.)

I will also say that this route is the one where I think I like Akiha the most, as a character. There's this tense game of tug of war between her and Kohaku that is pronounced since the beginning. Since you know what's going on, you wonder about how much of this is natural and how much of it is being explicitly crafted so Akiha and Shiki are forced to kill each other. Again, this route is really good at making you question everything, and I love it for that.

I think Kohaku is really well-written. I really loved the quiet moments between her and Shiki, where the 'mask' falls, so to speak. I love the moments where you can clearly see Kohaku fighting herself over whether or not she is able to put these arguably 'innocent' players through her revenge. I think that's what makes Kohaku's dynamic with both Akiha and Shiki so compelling as a result.

(HISUI IS REALLY GOOD TOO HERE. I don't want to make this too long but !! She's really good!)

Also, just really enjoyed the #bromoment where SHIKI and Shiki get to drink coffee and shoot the shit? Was not expecting that but I did really enjoy it. Makes you think that SHIKI will do more in this route than he actually gets to do (that being said, his death scene, and its parallel later on the route? really well done. I legit thought I had gotten into a bad end accidentally.)

Overall, I think the only thing I found perhaps a bit underwhelming was...maybe surprisingly, its end? Perhaps due to how prevalent Kohaku is within Hisui's endings, I was expecting her epilogue to feature more of her. The final CG is very powerful, and I love the sunflower imagery (and how it parallels Hisui's "you smell like sunshine"), but idk! I just want to see her growth a bit, spend a bit more time with her. It's still very strong, it is the 'happiest ending' of all of the routes, but I was hoping it'd be a bit longer.

THAT BEING SAID: It is probably my second favourite route, with Hisui's being my favourite overall (Ciel's route a really close third though, she was made in a lab for me).

It is unfortunate in a way that the routes that are what makes tsukihime 'tsukihime' are the last ones, but also in a similar vein, they really do not hit in the same way without the knowledge from all of the routes before it. As a result they'll probably never be properly adapted, and it's...difficult to recommend just for them, but on the other hand...the entire experience is part of what makes the maid routes hit as hard as they do. Honestly, I'm really hoping that besides CGs/overall production, these routes remind rather untouched in the remake.

That's a lot of word vomit. Um. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I understand now. downloads Kagetsu Toya

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam Ch 10

Onto AG Ch 10. Slowly making my way through all the Hopes routes.

MAIN STORY

Guys, I finally made AG Ch 10. Between wisdom teeth and a concert and FE Engage and other stuff I haven't had a lot of time to actually play much.

Aegir is not leading Adrestia well. It's so funny to me that so many dads got white-washed but they still left him an idiot.

So we're starting part 2. And Adrestia has gone to shit. I guess the nobles went full maniac the second Edelgard's gone. It's really a nation of sociopaths.

Rhea just said "knaves." I love that word.

Ohhh, Rhea brought up that lack of donations that Dimitri noticed in Houses, cool call out.

And they're putting it all together. Thomas, Cornelia, Thales - I love this, you guys. Dimitri and co getting to go after the people who did Duscur. Don't get me wrong, Edelgard is the far superior villain to TWSITD. And if I had to pick between the two, I'd pick her. But given that Dimitri gets two stories, I'm glad one of them gets this.

Claude is here!??? Does this mean he's not siding with Edelgard in AG? It'll be funny if he's the smartest in Dimitri's route - again.

Oh, we get a Claude and Dimitri team up? That's pretty cool. I doubt we get to use him though.

So it's cannon now that all three (church, Kingdom, and Alliance) are all weaker put together than Adrestia as one.

I also just noticed since Adrestia went full evil, that Dimitri is morally right in invading them to rescue the citizens lamo. He's really the "good boy" in Hopes. Though, he always was if you just removed the massive trauma events.

We're going to reclaim Garreg Mach! Cool.

Pretty cool seeing Rhea, Dimitri, and Claude all talking strategy.

Claude seems like he still wants to get rid of the church. But Dimitri's too realistic about it haha. The only one not living in an anime power fantasy.

Oh, cool, got some Golden Deer members playable now. And Lorenz uses his few lines to drag Claude lol.

If Rodrigue is in the West, does that mean no Rodrigue this chapter? Big sad.

MAP/SIDE QUESTS

Haha, some random merchant just said Dimitri lifted a whole ass cart out of the mud (she only later found out Dimitri did it).

This is the only route that lets Catherine and Shamir be girlfriends. By default it's the most superior.

Ingrid's alive again 😭

Interesting fact, Sylvain's mom actually really cared about Miklain.

Dedue is worrying about Dimitri and his overly enthusiastic work ethic.

I love how Edelgard is like we must have war to end nobility and promote commoners, meanwhile Dimitri is knighting and promoting commoners left and right and no one gives a shit. Meanwhile, Edelgard can't promote willy nilly because the Empire nobles will throw a fit. I wonder if she actually bothered to learn anything about Faerghus she'd realize how different it is and how they'll solve their own issues on their own terms.

SHEZ & ASHE A SUPPORT

Shez didn't get any answers about her mother.

Shez makes peace with it by saying she still loved her mother as a good mother regardless of what past she might has had.

They make some guesses what the mom's past is.

They were happy with the journey even if the destination was a disappointment (or never happened at all)

OH! Ashe got a letter at the end! But that's their A Support. So what's in the letter?????

SYLVAIN & ASHE A SUPPORT

They're learning strategies from Loog's past battles and learning more about Loog (who's pretty mysterious).

Sylvain is impressed with how smart Ashe is.

He's also jealous that Dimitri gets a knight like Ashe and offers to "steal" Ashe, but he shoots that down saying "only Dimitri." That just makes out of AG Ashe hurt worse.

Oh! Dimitri offered for Ashe to take over the land Lonato used to rule rather than always be a knight. Ashe likes that.

Ashe fawns over Sylvain's intelligence too.

I love seeing this mentor, teacher, more mature Sylvain.

ANNETTE & MERCEDES A SUPPORT

It's their only support, but at least it's A!

Since they're both nervous about the battle, they decide to chat.

Awww, I love that we're getting some details about their time at the sorcery school together. Apparently they'd chat together till dawn.

They talk about how they've stuck together through everything. Which makes outside SB Mercedes depressing.

Haha, Annette saved Mercedes from a bandit trap, but was in such a panic that SHE fell into the trap and needed Mercedes to heal her lol.

"Everything's better with you." Annette to Mercedes.

They plan to make lists of things they want to do after the war and then will do them once it ends. (if they had this discussion and then Mercedes defects, that hurts)

That was so wholesome.

MERCEDES & INGRID A SUPPORT

Ingrid is kicking ass in training, so Mercedes brings snacks to reenergize everyone.

Oh course, it tastes amazing, because it's Mercedes.

Ingrid wishes they were as relaxed around her as Mercedes, but Mercedes says that Ingrid is kind to them in a different way (mother Mercedes is here again!)

Mercedes bring up Ingrid's brothers and how it's probably like that.

Hahaha, Ingrid says she's going to show Mercedes her affection. And Mercedes is like "where is this going?!" Poor girl probably got excited lol.

You know what I also just realized? With Dimitri in charge, Ingrid doesn't feel pressured to marry. She's just a knight and living her best life and I love that for her (and we stan a king who stans women)

DIMITRI & BERNADETTA B SUPPORT

Is it petty that I feel a bit smug about Dimitri getting an Empire support but Edelgard didn't get a Kingdom one? lol

She's sneaking about and Dimitri finds her and she freaks out. So typical Bernie support lol. Poor thing trips over crates.

OMG. Bernie is like "this is the worst" and Dimitri naturally assumes HE's the worst lamo. OMG, Dimitri, baby, no. Thankfully she clears that up.

I kinda wondered why these two got a support and it actually makes a lot of sense. Dimitri doesn't sleep and Bernie sneaks out at night, so yeah they'd run into each other.

Dimitri's not offended because her being from the Empire means she's afraid of the Kingdom's king. Fair.

Bernie thinks he's going to execute her and he calls her a valuable ally instead. That's a bit sweet, not going to lie.

Dimitri then swears by his father's name, and Bernie's like "ok, I'll tell you." It's pretty funny how sincere they both are in very different ways.

Bernie exhausts Dimitri lol.

SYLVAIN & YURI C SUPPORT

Starts with the classic "..."

They're talking about Miklain. Yuri's like the rumors about his violence seem exaggerated. Sylvain's like "naw." You have no idea how much I love that Sylvain is like captain of the "stop making excuses for Miklain club"

Yuri makes it sound like Dimitri preyed on Miklain's inferiority complex to recruit him (saying uncrested people could get a chance to prove themselves).

Sylvain's impressed with Yuri's cunning.

Man, Yuri thinks Sylvain is just waiting to kill him for some reason and has a murderous smile. But this impresses Yuri. Sylvain is like "mixed messages, dude."

SYLVAIN & INGRID A SUPPORT

Ingrid's overwhelmed by noble work, which makes her appreciate Sylvain, Felix, and Dimitri more.

Sylvain responds by . . . asking her out (well, to dinner)

Sylvain said that they're "basically family" and said Felix and Dimitri feel the same way 😭😭😭😭 I can't.

Sylvain says we appreciate the things that stay the same because we can't stay in the past (or shouldn't) which is actually kinda deep for an FE support convo at least

Of course it devolves into Ingrid and Sylvain bickering about him gawking at her eating lol

Hearing them talking about how much they love their friendships and how they'll always be dear to each other makes recruiting any of trio to CF just criminal. I personally find it way more cruel to recruit them away from their homes and families than to kill them (i.e. the true way to play CF in "evil mode" is to recruit most of the Blue Lions and I will stand by that)

SYLVAIN & SHEZ A SUPPORT

Sylvain feels bad that they dragged Shez into the war, and that they only reason they're even fighting it is to keep their homes from getting destroyed.

"If we fail, we'll lose everything. Our houses, our families, the places we grew up." - see this is why recruiting them to CF is actually the evil thing to do. Then they gotta deal with that guilt.

Shez, of course, has nothing at stake unlike the Faerghus people

Poor Shez doesn't know what it's like to have a home.

I had Shez deny that it's just money she's in it for. And then calls Faerghus her home. 😭😭😭😭

Sylvain is inventing weapons. We stan a genius.

This support was seriously so sweet. It made my soft spot for both characters even bigger.

DEDUE & CATHERINE C SUPPORT

I have no idea what these two will have to talk about, but I'm still excited to see it. Maybe Dedue will try to recruit her back.

Dedue is suspicious of her because she shows up to a city where only people of Duscur are living. It's sad that he's got to be that way, but I'm excited if this support gives us more Duscur crumbs.

Neither Rhea nor Dimitri let him know what she's doing there lol, she's just helping after a big fire.

Catherine points out that the church is always helping people out, plus they feel a debt to Faerghus for giving them a home after Edelgard did her usual.

Apparently Rhea "jumped" at the chance to help. No one in the church cares that the people of Duscur don't worship the same religion, they just want to help/pay their debt.

SHEZ & INGRID A SUPPORT

I feel like I unlocked a million supports, but I'm not mad about it

Dedue put Shez on ingredient shopping duty.

Ingrid is flustered getting spotted by Shez in the market though. She looks like a deer in the headlights lol.

She's fangirling over the market since it's more lively and prosperous than Galatea.

Shez asks Ingrid to go on a shopping/eating date, but Ingrid feels she shouldn't be meandering markets as a future count.

Ingrid wants to help and protect Dimitri so bad as a knight. She also brings up her farming endings too.

I had Shez offer to help Ingrid out. She even offers to be Ingrid's personal mercenary. It's kinda cute.

Shez got Ingrid to blush a bit too. Happy Ingrid is a good Ingrid (and Shez too)

DIMITRI & INGRID B SUPPORT

It's sad that they only go to B, especially since we know how badly Ingrid want to be his knight (and has a crush on him, but like, girl, I get it, no one is immune to Dimitri)

Dimitri was planning with Duscur forces - how to use their unique fighting styles and avoid in-fighting with regular Faerghus forces

Dimitri asks her about Duscur, but Ingrid's moved on, and understands that it wasn't just Duscur.

She feels ashamed for putting it all on Duscur, and is not afraid to interact with them.

Dimitri of course blames himself for not insisting harder to Ingrid, but they were both dealing with shit. Dimitri's still upset with himself for not having the right priorities.

But like, Dimitri, even Ingrid herself says they weren't allowed to see each other (fuck Rufus).

Ingrid said she wouldn't have even listened to him. But like Dimitri just wanted to blame someone, so did Ingrid. Which, never really thought about how they dealt with it in a similar way before.

Dimitri takes her to a Duscur run Inn so help bridge the gap. She thinks she can do it with Dimitri there to help her out.

The character growth. Man, this is another missing discussion from AM that AG blessed us with. I swear AG doesn't have a single bad or boring or unnecessary or repeat support (no I'm not biased, why did you ask?)

INGRID & FELIX A SUPPORT

Felix is handing out compliments. Sound the alarm.

Aww, Ingrid has a rough battle, and Felix is worried about her.

Ingrid had Glenn's spur with her. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 She says that helped her through the battle 😭😭😭😭.

Felix is obviously confused and worried that Ingrid is relying too much on remembering the dead, but Ingrid argues it can be a strength too. And Felix . . . AGREES.

GUYS 😭😭😭😭 Felix is growing up. 😭😭😭😭 He's understanding that his views aren't the only ways to exist. 😭😭😭😭

He tells her to visit Glenn 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 OMG, guys, he's encouraging her to keep using Glenn's memory as a source of strength and hoping she'll visit his grave and give him flowers.

Guys, he's not only understanding and accepting that people feel differently, he's ENCOURAGING them to continue using that opposite way because it works for them. Guys, he needs a cookie or something.

Ingrid is just that powerful.

Ingrid wants Felix and Dimitri - Rodrigue, Sylvain, and Gustave - and everyone to come visit and just have a festive time near his gravestone. Haha, Felix gives in too.

SHEZ & DEDUE A SUPPORT

Dedue commanding soldiers. We love to see it.

The people of Faerghus are warming up to Dedue 😭😭😭😭, the wounds of the past are healing (the soldier's mom died in Duscur)

GUYS. DEDUE ARGUED BACK. The soldier gave Dedue shit, and Dedue stood up for himself. OMG. He gets a cookie too!

Both Felix and Dedue showing real growth back-to-back supports, I can't . . . 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Shez called Dedue her friend. 😭😭😭😭 Says that's why she's happy for him, because they're friends. 😭😭😭😭

Shez is determined to prove herself. Dedue says she doesn't have prove herself, that he trusts her.

Shez asks if Dedue really does despite her powers. Dedue doesn't deny that he's concerned about the powers, but it doesn't define Shez.

Haha, Dedue still adds in that if Shez ever did turn on Dimitri, he'd cut her down. Which, yeah, that tracks, which Shez agrees.

DEDUE/INGRID/FELIX PARALOGUE

3 of my favorites in one paralogue about the tragedy of Duscur. Yes please (they're also fully leveled up so I'm not broke!)

Everyone is down in the dumps because they're near where the attack took place. Probably a bit awkward with that trio.

Guys, we're in Duscur, it's exciting.

Aww, Dedue is telling Ingrid she doesn't have to fake being happy while their (because he knows about Glenn).

They're fighting Duscur :( having to put down a rebellion. Not everyone wants peace with Dimitri.

Dimitri keeps coming back in attempt to continue to make peace.

Oh, so the leader of the insurrection lead the group who killed Lambert and Glenn. This is intense.

They aren't allowed to kill him because they need information, but Ingrid wants to kill him, but won't.

Haha, that's why they didn't take Dimitri, well why he didn't go. Dimitri trusted them to handle it.

Felix said king, not boar everyone.

I can't wait to see the end of this paralogue.

Oh, we're rescuing Duscur soldiers? Glad Ingrid is a pegasus knight. She can zip around fast.

We're not killing, just subduing.

Ingrid requested this assignment to help her move on from the past.

Ingrid and Dedue put their faith in Dimitri to figure out the motivation.

Dedue wants to stop by a childhood spot that got trampled and he's wanting to see if it recovered. Ingrid asks to join him and he does. Shez also wants to come. Felix accepts grudgingly lol.

Ingrid has shown such growth in this game. I love it so much.

It's recovered 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Dedue used to come there with his sister.

Dedue invites Ingrid to come back and keep checking on the field. Felix is just hanging back though. Typical Felix.

Felix says he's focusing on his duty to protect the same things Glenn did and Shez can say the lands or . . . well you know who and you KNOW which one I have to pick.

Felix says protecting Dimitri is the same as protecting Faerghus, and makes Shez swear not to tell Dimitri (well the boar but you know). I had Shez tease Felix big time by claiming she was going to run around and telling everyone lamo.

The Dimilix is real in this game.

MAIN MAP

So the Empire's going full scorched earth tactics.

Annnnd of course Dimitri's blaming himself for other's actions. He's getting all worked up too.

Oh, geeze, they killed all the citizens too. Shez says the Empire was always rough, but not this bad.

I still can't get over the fact they wrote themselves into a corner with Edelgard - either team up with TWSITD again or Dimitri and Rhea, so instead they just zapped her lamo.

Oh, that's cool, the map battle zone flipped spaces because the Western Church attacked.

Arval hoping to strike down TWSITD is rich since you know he's (she's, they're?) connected.

Poor Shez is worrying about her power again. I swear she's much better integrated in AG, then SB, and GW it's like why is Shez even there? They have no plotline.

I think my Dimitri is too strong guys. He just. Kills everything.

Myson escaped. Ohhh, now he's confronting Shez. And asking about Avral I'm assuming.

Arval makes a good point, that the power Shez has keeps saving lives. And brings up Dimitri's point that power isn't evil or good, it's how it's used.

Ashen Demon brought back up again. Arval really wants us to kill Byleth, hunh. Except this time I'm determined to recruit Byleth.

I wonder if Arval will eventually turn on us, esp once I don't kill Byleth. Because he really wants us to kill Byleth.

Rodrigue is back! My beloved.

Oh, hi Claude. Not sure where he stands with me right now. I vastly prefer the Claude who has two braincells.

Judith being alive again is good though.

I do like hearing about how Claude and Dimitri are making plans together to trick the Empire.

So our goal is to retake the Monastery. Makes sense.

xxxxx

[misterbrick42]

instead of finishing the fics so that i can post them i'm just going to describe the characters in them in detail.

The Poisonous, featuring narrative foil Voice of the Hesitant: Will kill you in a single touch, but can't make a move until you move first. Not quite as helpful when removing to move is also a move... Voice of the Hesitant is just that, unable to really make up his mind on things, and is a consistent source of doubt

The Rival, featuring narrative foil Voice of the Honorable: Reached by trying to fight the princess without a blade. The basement becomes a second room of equal level, and the shackle is bolted to a large iron ball instead of a chain. The Rival is completely willing to fight on your terms, but the way she acts suggests that she'd play dirty if given the chance. The Honorable puts your self image above all else. He will REFUSE to try to fight with an upper hand, and will hate you for trying. However, he is entirely willing to play dirty if his opponent does first. Prying deeper, you may discover that his "fairness" is simply a cover for how egotistical he is.

The Double, featuring narrative foil Voices of the Split: There's two princesses, and two voices. This path is reached by choosing explores that keep making the princess act like two different people, and then trying to save her. You'll be backstabbed by... someone. It couldn't have been the princess, you were looking at her! The chapter two leads to four different chapter threes, each of which leads to one vessel. All of the variations of the Double you'll see are based on other chapter two routes, and they'll change WILDLY depending on if you bring the blade down or not. You may also realize that these two princesses aren't as separate as they seem... oh and in Chapter Three, there will be two narrators, who never notice each other due to speaking and acting the exact same way in all circumstances. The Voices of the Split are two different people, except that it takes them a second to realize that they are. One is the brash, angry part of you that wants to kill the princess, who I notate in the fic by speaking in bold. The other is the soft, confused part of you that doesn't want her dead, notated by speaking in italics. When they both speak at once I apply both effects at the same time. Together, they are the part of you that acknowledges that there are two princesses. And that's it.

please ask me to elaborate maybe it'll inspire me to finish up the loose ends. i've got a lot done on each of them, it's just one or two paths that i have to finish.

[bohemian-nights]

I imagine they will tease nettles’ character in the 2nd season, and only flesh her out through her relationship with daemon, which is disappointing but appears to be the case. Knowing ryan he will probably make their relationship extremely sexual rather than taking into account how much she changed daemon and his prespectives about everything. Its all part of the this general idea they have to rid rhaenyra and alicent of all guilt and instead throw it at the men in the room just to call it ✨feminism✨it started with daemon abusing rhaenyra although he never did in the books, being a war mongering freak even though in the books he was careful about sending in dragons riders first, they will for sure make blood and cheese entirely his idea, streets are also saying they will make him take kingslanding alone while rhaenyra is negotiating for peace and licking alicent’s boots. So i have no doubt that they will erase his effections towards nettles because it would humanize him and they don’t want that, they will make it out to be sexually exploitative relationship and have rhaenyra scream at him for sleeping with one of the seeds instead of being a raging racist who’s simply jealous

You’d think he’d learn his lesson by now(especially since HBO did listen/was forced to feature Baela in that trailer), but if he goes this route, there is no way Black audiences will be a okay with him making Nettles into Jezebel and not say anything about it.

That man is dead wrong and should tread carefully lest he wants HOTD to get called out for their anti-Blackness once again by making another Black woman into a walking stereotype.

And the way this story is set up and with the leaks being put out, Daemon is already sleeping with other women. Missy Anne getting upset with him sleeping with Nettles, but not the other non-Black women will look nonsensical and borderline racist. Not to mention I don't see how they'll drop the part about Missy Anne trying to kill Nettles. So unless they turn Nettles into a villain(which again they'd be flamed for) she’ll still end up looking like the bad guy.

People should really think about boycotting the show(or at least only watch by bootlegging it) if this is the case.

[gwyns]

tbh with you after finishing acosf and the bonus chapter for the first time, all I knew was I didn't want Elain and Azriel to end up together. I wasn't remotely passionate about Gwynriel and Elucien but I definitely knew E/riel isn't going to happen.

Mainly bc through out the whole series even if 3.5 books of it was from Feyre's pov and first person I didn't felt any spark between them. between Nesta and Cassian? NO DOUBT I new they were mates. as casual reader you can feel they're mate material. but even that rescuing scene everyone keep talking about that it's the main reason they're going to end up together fell falt for me!! bc Lucien wasn't there and I'm sure if he was... no one could've stopped him.

like acosf was the last nail in their coffin! sjm could've made me believe that they're endgame specially when it's 3rd person but she didn't even try lmao. but still I was like well... she made me like Nesta! she made me fell in love with her and understand her in a way it felt personal. she made me fall in love with Nessian and Feysand so she can definitely write E/riel that I might change my mind about them... but I was unsure and I was trying to convince myself lol (the way I kept telling myself that it's gonna be okay lmao)

but then I read the bc and it was over... I was done! the way Azriel thought about Elain made me cringe multiple times. the way Elain felt so small in that scene made me uncomfortable and the way he questioned Cauldron as he has some claim on her? oh all I could see was red!!! so that's why I was sure E/riel won't happen and even if it does I was done with this series I'm not even kidding...

so yes this was my experience with the book! and I brought this up bc I saw one of the E/riels say that if they didn't join the fandom they would've known people shipped Az and Gwyn and their irl friends also didn't know that...

honey sorry to break it to you but you need to raise you standards. bc if you didn't notice how toxic that interaction was... I feel sorry for you</3

i agree with you so much! like i admit i have days where i think "am i wrong? am i the delusional one?" because e/riels are just so loud and they get in your head sometimes you know, but then i remember all the canon text and that sjm loves her mates and... well... i feel way more confident. like it's so clear to me what sjm did in that bonus chapter but others don't see it? and az even said in hofas that he doesn't have a mate, so clearly he's given up on that nonsense lol

that rescue they like to bring up is so funny when you remember that the only reason az went was because nesta said he couldn't do it. that's literally it. he didn't care at all until she brought his skills into it. cassian volunteered first, but he didn't go only because his guts were spilling out. but you know, elain and az are true mates, even tho both times she was in danger he didn't react at all. yet they'll say he didn't care about gwyn when she was in the rite, but at least he actually did react to that

that's something i've said before, i may not care for e/riel, like at all, but if sjm did go that route i'm sure she could make me like it in some capacity. she's known for her romances! she can write it!! yet she didn't. she chose not to. instead she gave page time to gwyn and az taking glances at each other and bantering. huh weird... a new example i like to use is helion and the lady of autumn, they didn't even speak in acowar and yet they have that spark and insane chemistry, and all sarah did was tell us their backstory!!! so clearly she knows how to write a romance that'll get you hooked with nearly zero interactions and just a few lines of text. yet, again, she chose not to with e/riel

pretty sure i and others have said it before but if it were lucien calling elain "the third" we'd never ever hear the end of it, but because it's the hot broody bat it's uwu and sooo sexy and romantic!!!!! his part with elain gives me the ick, full stop. i've been sexualized and treated like an object (i had a friend who, after we stopped being friends, i found out had saved pictures of me and got off to them) and let me tell you, it doesn't feel good!! i don't get why they'd want that for elain. i don't think az is a bad person at his core, he's just... going through it right now but that's not elain's problem and she shouldn't have to be reduced to being his fantasy and nothing outside of that

here's a little message to the e/riels that think the average reader doesn't ship anything but e/riel. my irl friend is the most casual reader, she hasn't even finished acowar yet, she doesn't even go into fandoms of things she's passionate about and when i told her people shipped elain and az without any context or bias (i literally just told her they were shipped) she looked at me confused and said "why? elain and lucien are mates. elain and az are too similar, they wouldn't be good together" and by "too similar" she means they wouldn't push or challenge each other and well... she's not wrong lol. she also ships gwyn and az based solely on the "see you tomorrow, shadowsinger" quote i sent her so, clearly casual fans can see it too!

[data-is-my-favorite-android]

While I generally like St:SNW Those Old Scientists as a fun crossover episode with lots of lighthearted shenanigans, there is one part that really bothers me as a storyteller, and that's when Boimler spills the beans to Christine that in the future her relationship with Spock doesn't make the history books and that at some point he goes back to his "real" unemotional self and stays that way for the rest of his life.

Now, I do like the Spock x Chapel dynamic. I would be happy if the writers diverged from well-trodden canon to give us a more balanced Spock in a supportive relationship (with Chapel or anyone that makes Spock happy, tbh). I'd also be fine watching how their relationship organically falls apart because, while tragic, it could be interesting character-wise. It would make me sad, but if it makes sense for the characters and that conclusion is "earned" by deft storytelling, yeah, I would accept that.

What irritates me about that scene with Boimler is that now, if Spock and Christine do part ways, it can never truly be earned by their own missteps and failings. Instead of watching how particular aspects of their personalities and unresolved previous traumas become their relationship's undoing, there will always be this niggling question about how much Boimler's conversation with Christine influenced the course of events. Instead of watching them try their damndest to bridge the gaps between themselves but stumbling at critical junctures, now there will always be this question of how hard did they really try when they both know that their relationship's dissolution is preordained, confirmed by a man from the future? From a character perspective, there will always be that doubt, that easy escape route, that "well, it was never meant to be, so why try?" excuse at the ready when the going gets tough and they're faced with caving to their previous patterns or stepping up to do the work to change for each other.

On a meta level, it's plain sloppy storytelling, in my opinion. Just like it makes it easier for the characters to back out of a "doomed" relationship, it makes it infinitely easier for writers/showrunners to just wave their hand and say "and then they broke up because they were always supposed to break up!" without having to show all the appropriate steps it took to get there. Like, don't start a character arc like that if you don't plan on honestly and thoroughly exploring it through to the end. Don't give us a Spock exploring his emotions and his human side and then say, "Well Boimler told him the future needed him unemotional, so he gives it all up and rejects his humanity again." No! When your character experiences positive growth and then backslides, you better have a damn good reason why, and you better show your work. There are many avenues the showrunners could take to make such a rejection of his human-ness understandable and even justified. Many have already been discussed on this here webbed site. There are already plenty of pitfalls before a Spock x Chapel relationship that would pose interesting narrative and character challenges; adding that extra "confirmation" from the future that things don't work out doesn't add anything. (If anything, it could indicate that the showrunners painted themselves into a corner by presenting the audience with a generally liked/charismatic relationship before realizing they had no good excuse to end it, at least not in the time they have in the season).

Honestly, this criticism isn't motivated solely by my appreciation for spapel, or even my love of Spock and my desire to see him be in a happy relationship with anyone (he has so many good choices!). I'd be irritated by this dismissive kind of storytelling in any context. And I could be jumping the gun a bit; we haven't seen yet how this plays out, and maybe the showrunners have a trick up their sleeves. Maybe, despite saying repeatedly that they plan on sticking to the canon, they'll reverse course and set out for uncharted waters. But I'm giving them serious side-eye right now. That scene, that side-plot centering on Boimler's anxiety about Spock's emotionality, feels like a contrivance to me and ultimately unnecessary. There were plenty of other ways to fill in the B-plot of that episode that wouldn't build in a "get out of jail free" card on the spapel issue and explaining why Spock goes from being curious about his humanity to rejecting it entirely.

[the-scarlet-witch-22]

Hello, dear writer. I am writing this to you in a moment of clarity in the storm that is my life. When I found your writings it was to find a small refuge of calm where I can distract my chaotic mind, even if just for a little while. You convey so many emotions with your stories.

A Chaconne Story is beautiful, seriously, I cried at the end. How it ended, how after five years they are no longer the same but at the same time they are. How the embers are still there waiting for the slightest spark to relight that flame, I love it.

In this story it is clear that, even though they have a long way to go to get their relationship back to what it was, it will not be the same, but better. They will end up together and that fills me with tenderness. But if not, rest assured that I will look for you and throw my pen in your face.

Without a doubt, Love and Liabilities is the story that has me most on tenterhooks. The complexity of this story both fascinates and terrifies me. You're doing a good job because you can't define the characters exactly. In this one, I don't think they'll end up together because Agatha won't change. People like her don't change, they just get worse.

They don't have a healthy relationship. I don't know if the protagonist is just obsessed with her or if she simply loves her so much that she can't forget her. Or maybe Agatha has that attitude for some reason that leads her to have that behavior, I don't know, we don't know much about her either.

I'm really intrigued by how you're going to continue it. Personally, I'd like them to end up together but with a good development and for it to be believable.

Maximoff's Anatomy is my least favorite, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just personal taste, no offense. I appreciate the stories you write. Never stop writing if it's what you're passionate about.

A hug from the heart of your dear reader, thank you. PS: I have translated the text with a translator since I don't speak English, sorry if there are any mistakes.

Hi! Oh my goodness, this is quite possibly one of the nicest things I have ever read. Thank you so much, truly, for taking the time to translate and type this out to send to me, wow! (Also there were no mistakes and I’m really really touched by you sending this in 😭)

I started writing to try and convey emotions that I couldn’t express very well. I’d always been told that I was too emotional when I was younger, but I think it’s become one of the qualities I like the most about myself. I’m very touched that my writing found you, and I hope that you’re doing alright 💜

Chaconne is my baby, haha. I will say that I wanted to write a sequel mainly because I love writing Agatha as a conductor, but also because I think the idea of being reunited with a past love after a few years is sort of…poetic, I suppose. There is still a lot that I need to write, but I’m so glad that you’re enjoying it and I hope you continue to like it!

(Also I will accept pen throwing tbh, it would lowkey be funny if they don’t end up together though- I say this as the person who has the rest of the story mapped out and knows exactly what is going to happen 💀)

Love & Liabilities is very complex. This was born after dealing with some personal things earlier in the year that I didn’t quite know how to express and also because Agatha as a lawyer is intriguing to me. I think the obscenely grey area a lot of lawyers linger in bodes well for her, haha. I’m hoping to do some of the heavier topics I want to address justice. I don’t want to spoil it, obviously, but I’m hoping that it will show different themes in a more humanized/sympathetic light while avoiding the more stereotypical route they can end up in.

I think all types of love can be powerful and beautiful but also very, very painful… I do sincerely hope you continue to enjoy reading it 💜

Also that is okay!! Maximoff’s Anatomy is definitely not for everyone and I understand completely 🥰 I promise, no offense taken haha.

I apologize for how long my response is, I just hope you know how much this meant to me. I really do love writing and getting to share my ideas on here. But I think my favorite part has been getting to connect with kind people such as yourself.

I hope you’re well and thank you again so much for sending this in 🫶🏻

-Lizzie

[mothnita]

can't sleep, so i'll ramble abt Pikmin 4 :]

SPOILERS. HUUUGE DEMO SPOILERS.

ok there's the warning <3

so...we agree that this is most likely a Canon Divergence from Pikmin 1, yes?

Olimar writes about the Pikmin and Creatures in his Voyage Logs as though he has never met them before, which wouldn't make sense if the 2nd and 3rd game had taken place

also, the whole 'fixing-the-S.S. Dolphin'

he's looking for the ship's parts, just like the 1st game, but, quite obviously, the MOST noticeable differences are: the location of the Interstellar Radio and Olimar's discovery of the new space dog, Moss

and his SOS signal reached the Rescue Corps after month?! if we're going by the same narrative from the first game, his life support must have failed already, assuming Olimar has already spent a few days in the planet, which raises more concerns

i do wonder why Nintendo would take this route?

i love the Demo so far, but there's something bothering me quite a bit...

and it's the whole deal with the "Leafy Individuals"

not even gonna try and sugarcoat it, that is most definitely Olimar, no doubt in my mind; his life support must have failed after the 30 days, he crashed and turned into Olimin/Pikmar- YOU CAN SEE THE S.S. DOLPHIN RIGHT BEHIND YOUR BASE HE IS DEAD

is he trying to "rescue" the Castaways in the best way he sees possible??? whenever you encounter him, the Castaway doesn't seem to be breathing until Moss places them underneath the Onion and they turn into another "Leafy Individual"... are they dead?? it would make more sense, no?? if, unfortunately some of the stranded people die on the planet, then it'd be fair to assume that Olimar knows that the only way to "save them" would be to give them another chance at life by becoming a 'Pikmin'

"those who do not embrace Dandori cannot survive in this planet, but if you grow the leaves you will thrive" THAT IS SUCH AN OLIMAR THING TO SAY

ever since the first game he's had these 'dreams' of being free and becoming closer to the Pikmin but never fully entertained those ideas due to his family (which...i mean yeah, fair enough, i'll leave that rant for another time)

i'm guessing they'll introduce a way to revert this state, essentially "curing" Castaways of the leaves, so will Olimar be "cured" too??

ahem...WHEN WILL I GET TO SEE LOUIE?!

so far, there's a dude who serves as a Treasure Hoard and another one as a Piklopedia, will my boy only contribute with his dishes? will he cause trouble for the Rescue Corps? is he up to mischief? oh, i do hope he is, i'd love for him to have even if just a bit of a spotlight

and the Koppai crew! oh how i miss them so dearly! i know that, if this is an alternate ending to Pikmin 1, then they wouldn't know about the Captain or Louie, but wouldn't it be nice to see them again? yes, yes, very much so!

oh, i have sososo many more things i'd love to talk about!

alas, i suppose i should go to bed, this has been quite the rant!

i would love to hear more about other people's opinions so far on the Demo; did you like it? would you change something? tell me your own theories and predictions! please do!

that's all from me for now, goodnight <3

[belphegorbillickin]

Hi again! Since you invited me to chat about TWST whenever, I may as well take the opportunity to pick your brain for more fun conversations. This time I want to hear your thoughts on where you think the main story will progress from what we know of ch7 so far. I’m personally quite curious to see what will be done with the battle and monologue from the tutorial.

(Actually, do you know anywhere where the opening monologue for the tutorial is recorded? It’s a real shame it doesn’t appear to be replayable through the game.)

You can watch it here! This person recorded everything.

TWST spoilers below! Sorry in advance for the incoherent rambling, I'm kinda out of it but didn't wanna leave you hanging too long.

Tbh I stopped reading about halfway(?) while I was waiting for translations because I knew I'd enjoy it more all in one go. Also because I was getting a little disappointed and thought it'd be better to hear stuff secondhand first and then go in with lowered expectations if needed tbh.

I highly doubt they'll go the romantic route as I said before, even with Malleus, but now I'm kind of unsure as to how much of a role Yuu will play.

Like, nobody even acknowledges us half the time apart from Malleus, that'd be a big change, and it seems like so far it's mostly focused on Lilia so that's who I would've said is going to snap him out of it before.

But maybe it'll be something where Lilia, Yuu, and Idia all have to talk some sense into him?

Or maybe Idia will come into play after and have a talk with Malleus about grief? Since Idia is someone who's dealt with way too young and Malleus is gone way too long without experiencing it.

Either way, I personally feel like they're saving the Overblot monster, which is almost definitely Grim, for a "surprise" chapter 8. I know Malleus has been given more focus than the others before their episodes, but I feel like it'd be really unlikely for them to skip out on Malleus' "redemption."

Plus Grim is probably going to overblot immediately after eating Malleus' considering the build up, and that would be a bit too much for one book. Besides, it'd make sense for it to happen when Malleus hasn't had a chance to recover yet, because that future looked rough, and Malleus is so insanely OP it wouldn't make much sense otherwise.

But who knows, maybe the time loop theory is way off base and they'll just tack it on at the end as just another boss battle. I really hope they don't though.

After that though? I have no idea, but I kind of doubt it'll just be NRC slice of life. Especially because that'd mean a lot of fan favorites leaving, but maybe they'll bring in new first years just for the gacha aspect?

I think it'd be really lame to lose the characters we've come to know just to get generic slice of life without them though, because it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to start overblotting.

Some people think maybe we'll start solving RSA's problems instead, which would also give them more gacha money I guess.

I don't know what to think, but I hope season 2 is when we try to find out who's causing all of these people start overblotting, something that's supposed to be super rare, and possibly put a stop to it.

We might not even get anything after this, but I feel like disney probably wouldn't kill it's cash cow for no reason like solomare did?

[thedeal-if]

Hi! I just discovered this game's premises and I'm intrigued, but I must also say I'm confused about the relationship routes - specifically the romantic ones - and a little bit "worried" about how they'll pan out. I've tried to find the answer in the previous asks but ah... blame tumblr search if it was already answered... So, the FAQ explains how there are various types of romances - shy and flirty route, friends to lovers, rivals to lovers and the special route...

My questions are:

1 - Are the shy or flirty thing actually "routes" that lead to an entirely different romance than "friends to lovers" or "rivals to lovers" for example? What I mean is that shy or flirty are behaviors, while a friendmance, rivalmance or whatever is the special route is "context"... So, can't we play a shy rivalmance or flirty friendmance for example, cause shy-rivalmance are two different things, and so are flirty-friendmance. Or am I misunderstanding? I'm asking cause I like shy MCs in terms of romance, but I wouldn't necessarily want "shy" to be the very core mechanic of the relationship, if that makes sense?

2 - It's about the "special routes". I'm a bit worried by the information saying they are "more rewarding" than other ways of playing the romance. I don't mean to overstep here eh! But wouldn't that be a bit unfair for players who simply don't want to play that specific kind of MC? They'd be locked out of more rewarding content just because they wanted to roleplay in a way that felt better to them (or because of who they are, if they self insert). Now, again, I may be misunderstanding the way it works - I'm just worried about the idea of the special route being, as stated, more rewarding instead of simply being different, as it may also "force" the players into making a specific kind of MC for that RO they wouldn't have wanted to make otherwise, simply for the sake of "getting more out of the romance". I guess my core worry is it harming the roleplay value? 3 - If you are willing to share that information, what is the condition for each special route to trigger? You shared about Lilith's, but she's not a RO I'll be pursuing anyway and I'm curious about the others.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and for humoring me if you decide to answer! And I hope my weird question about the special routes didn't sound rude or anything. It wasnt't the intention!

Hey! Thanks a bunch for your question! I'm really happy that you're interested by the game's premise, and seriously dw. I don't think it's rude to ask anything, I'm very happy to answer to any doubts. I'm not the best at explaining myself either so I'll definitely use this in the FAQ ^^

1. I have to establish first how the 'route' system works. Flirty, shy, friendmance, etc, is a temporary variable that gets applied to your game until you get the chance to be flirty or shy (etc) again. It basically changes half of your MC's reactions and interactions with all characters, it gives you different dialogue prompts, it changes how characters see MC and act towards your MC. I say routes but it's really just a variable! Gameplay is the same, and endings will be the same, but the way you traverse through the game and eventually arrive at a certain ending... that's what's different ^^

Now onto specifics:

Being shy or flirty means that your MC is aware of their own interest towards a character. Additionally, being shy doesn't mean that your character has to be meek and sensitive, they can have a mean streak too (for example)!

Friendmance and rivalmance mean that your MC isn't aware of their feelings towards (or that they think they hate) a certain character. Both options give you the chance to be more or less assertive/approachable (whatever word you feel is right to use!) towards character X. You certainly can play a shy friendmance or a flirty rivalmance, but the options, descriptions and even some dialogues won't be the same as the shy romance or the flirty romance.

That lack of awareness is what sets the two apart. I hope that explains it ^^

2. The special route. Once again, the special route is a variable. This one isn't temporary though, it changes a core aspect of your MC. The gameplay is (yet again) the same but the steps you take to get there are vastly different. I didn't want my child to be the same(? as other games if you get my gist. I always see shy and flirty MCs and romances in which MC is unaware (in other games), so I decided to make the special route as a way to give people an option to try something different. I say it's more rewarding, but some people might be like meh about them and prefer different play styles. That's perfectly valid!

Basically! The special route is special because it only occurs under specific circumstances. It essentially changes the conditions under which your MC interacts with the character with whom it was triggered. Within this special route you have the chance to be shy and flirty too. Special route always falls in the category of MC being aware of their feelings btw!

I don't intend for it to harm roleplay. I want it to be an addition to someone's playthrough. Sorry if it felt like it would force people to play it... In the end, everything is rewarding in its own way! You should play however you want to.

3. There are major major spoilers to answering that so I'll be very careful with my answer kfjwjgks

Dante's is called "The muses"

Lilith's is, as I've insisted many times, the virgin

Aliyah's is "The breaker of shackles"

The rest reveal major details about the ROs. I don't want to spoil anything I'm sorry :(

When I feel like all of you know enough, I will share the details on how to get a X special route!

This was a really good set of questions and I sincerely hope my answer didn't make it any more confusing for you.. as I said, The Deal has a lot of content which makes explaining things like this very convoluted. As chapters get released, it'll be much more comprehensible.

I think that's all? Thanks again for your support!

[cypanache]

4, 7, 12, 13, 22, and 27 of the ship ask game (because these were too cute and i couldn’t pick between them) for obidala. :)

Yay new ship asks! I’ve been working on Trap and they’ve been so cute in this section. So I will continue answering on behalf of that version. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to imagine more of their alt-happy ending before I have to break them:

4. What’s their favorite sleeping/cuddling positions? Padme is the big spoon. I mentioned this in the last post but by the time they get together Obi-Wan has almost died one to many times for her comfort. So she likes to shelter him with her entire body. And woebetide anyone who tries to get through.

7. Who is the more romantic one? They are each fairly romantic in entirely different ways. Obi-Wan is thoughtful and service oriented. He knows exactly what’s going on with Padme and when she’s been pushing herself to hard. He’s always the one to get her to step away. He’ll draw her a bath, bring her tea, rub her feet. Little things in the ordinary course of their days. Padme is all about the gesture. She’s preoccupied most of the time and she knows it. But she also never wants Obi-wan to doubt how wanted he is. So she goes big and difficult. A rare force text she had to negotiate two treaties just to purchase. Nine kinds of tea from across the galaxy which may have required reopening a trade route. She wants him to know it took effort so he’ll understand how worth the trouble she finds him.

12. Who gets up the earliest? Who has the worst sleep schedule? Who is the sleepiest?

Obi-Wan gets up earliest to meditate but then he’ll slip back in bed afterwards to spend it cuddled up with Padme. Padme cannot stand to stay in bed once she’s awake. So she’s usually the first one fully up. Padme had the worst sleep schedule after years of flipping back and forth between Coruscant and Naboo plus all those political gatherings. Neither of them are particularly 'sleepy' people. Though Obi-Wan can sleep literally anywhere, and Padme despises him for it. On the other hand Obi-Wan had basically crossed over into a state of exhaustion so deep he didn't recognize it for what it was until he started to come out of it. So Padme's murderous impulses whenever she sees him sleeping while she's still trying to get comfortable and turn her brain off are usually tempered by this wash of gratitude that he's finally getting some rest, and everyone stays safe.

13. What’s their opinions on PDA?

They are very much in favor of it. They just are very bad at it. Like seriously these two waited so long to just really touch each other with any sort of intent, that everything feels like PDA to them. (They're also very good at intense eye sex, and explicit silences, or the ever popular 'not safe for work' touch that doesn't actually happen). They'll go to parties and Obi-Wan will put his hand on her low back for like five seconds, and this is basically foreplay. Padme will apologize profusely to her friend later for them being so obnoxiously handsy . . . her friend will just look at her like she's insane.

22. How do they apologize after arguments?

Mostly they don't, simply because while they're both passionate and resolute in argument, they're not cruel. Neither one of them are the type to lash out with the specific intention to hurt and both of them can take a hit. So even when their arguments get heated, they usually are doing so from a place of respect for the other and they can see that. They're both confident enough in who they are as people to accept that they will not always agree and handle that.

But in the rare cases emotions run high enough that they need to step away and come back they're pretty matter of fact about it. No gestures or gifts, just a simple sincere apology and being prepared to listen to the other.

27. Who would propose? What would their wedding be like?

Obi-Wan does. Padme wanted to. Almost did about ten times and stopped herself out of a desire to respect any lingering qualms he might have from his Jedi upbringing. Then one evening Obi-Wan's watching her get ready for bed and he just asks, almost shyly "Would you ever consider marrying me?" Padme nearly falls out her chair at the realization that she's gone and fallen in love with such an idiot.

There is the wedding Padme plans and the wedding they actually have. Padme plans the most elaborate damn wedding Naboo has ever seen. It is the galactic event of the year. She intends to invite the entire order, and the gungans, most of the senate (not Palpatine). Every handmaiden who has ever stood with her will give her away. She has four wardrobe changes and they all mean something. People are going to remember and know that she went married this Jedi. He's hers.

The wedding they actually have after she sees the look of unmitigated horror in Obi-Wan's eyes when he sees the sketches. Is cliffside in the palace gardens where she sat with him after Qui-Gon died. The council does attend, as well as Anakin, and all of Padme's handmaidens. Bail and Mon come but she leaves the rest of the senate off. She's flexible and willing to compromise while she keeps working on his aversion to spectacle (she's seen him fight, there's a showman in there somewhere she knows it). And she plans on there being many many many anniversaries to work with in the future.