#genuinely love the games where you can just manage all these choices

[emo-trash88]

Hello! Its me again, i LOVED your Tyler and Aiden one and i'm back with one more. So think about it, Tyler knows baseball right? So why dont he use his bat skills? (is that what its called?) To beat the shit out of phantoms when they first go to the phantom dimension? Maybe something like thr reader gets pulled by a phantom and tyler crashed the phantoms head with his bat?

I love this! Fr this, like man, put yourself to use for once 😭 I'm putting this at like the first-ish part when they all get attacked on the bus.

Home Run

Tyler x Reader

Pronouns: Second person

Word count: 491

Tw: Uhhh bashing in heads??? also blood.

So this wasn't exactly how you expected to be spending your nights with your boyfriend. Usually you would've expected sitting with him in his bedroom watching some stupid cringy movie or you forcing him to play a random game you found the night before. On the other hand, you haven't really had a night like that with him since Savannah, so what did you honestly expect?

Well regardless of how you feel about being unable to live your best life, you don't have a choice. You lay in your bed, waiting for it to finally hit midnight, like it has every other night. As you lay there you feel your mind wandering, and eventually you start thinking about where you all were last night. The bus graveyard, you were all running. But before you can finish the thought, you black out.

Almost as soon as you open your eyes, you hear Ashlyn whisper "Duck" and you, along with the others, crouch down almost in unison. As you all get down everyone starts brainstorming how to get out of this situation, how to get away from the lurking phantom. You sit there silently, almost in a trance, anxiety coursing through your veins.

After about a minute of debating, Ashlyn perks up and her eyes widen slightly, a sight you've gotten used to. She hushes everyone and after a second says "Hide under the seats.". You along with everyone else start army crawling under the seats, peering out periodically to see if the phantom is nearby.

As you try your best to stay still, you hear a semi loud creak. A creak thats too loud to be safe. You cover your mouth with your hand, your breath becoming more frantic with each passing second. You turn to look behind you and before you can do anything, the phantom grabs you by the ankle, pain searing up your leg as you let out a scream.

"(Name)!" You hear yelled, too freaked to be able to figure out whose voice it was. You grab onto a seat above you and start trying to pull yourself up while (attempting to) kick the phantom away. You let out pained grunts as the phantom digs deeper into your ankle, managing to weaken your grip on the seat above you.

You almost give up, the pain becoming almost unbearable for you, but before you let go, you hear a crunch. A loud disgusting crunch. And almost immediately afterwards, the phantom lets go, letting you pull yourself up.

You push yourself out into the aisle, seeing Tyler panting with a broken wooden bat and the phantom laying limp on the ground. You look at Tyler, tears in your eyes either from fear or pain. "Ben! (name) needs help!" Tyler shouts, running to you and pulling you into his arms.

This is when you're finally able to look down, and all you see is blood staining your pants, shoes and socks. It's slowly dripping onto the floor of the bus like a melted ice pop. As you stare at it, almost everything stops. You know Tyler is trying to talk to you to make sure you're okay (you're very obviously not) and you can see Ben tending to your wound with everyone else either staring at you or the dead phantom. But none of it feels real.

After a couple minutes Ben finishes wrapping your wound and Tyler pulls you closer to him (if that was even possible). "Please don't ever do that again" he says softly and he genuinely sounds worried. You nod in agreement and for just a moment, this feels a little better than a cringy movie night.

Omg I'm so sleep deprived, but I hope this turned out good :)

[diluc33rpm]

the romance/relationship system in bg3 is genuinely some of the worst designed shit i've ever seen in any game with that feature but at least the memes we get out of it are funny. once saw someone comment something along the lines of 'patch note: waving at gale will no longer cause him to buy a house for the two of you to retire in' and i've never recovered since

[vickyvicarious]

Good observation that Dracula's great grimness at informing Jonathan that they must part soon changing to his usual smoothness when Jonathan refuses to return to his room as dictated. Or gives Dracula the pleasure to go "before we part and before you become one of us let's play one more time, lets see you walk back into my arms from danger once more, for good this time". Maybe he even expected this small rebellion from Jonathan, knowing him. Especially after he dared scale his walls. It's more satisfying to "earn" Jonathan's submission. An unbreakable will bending to his is sweeter.

I think Dracula absolutely loves Jonathan's stubbornness... but only with the caveat that he is in control of the situation and can prey upon it. This response is extremely belated, but I kind of like answering it now because I think Dracula's treatment of Renfield so far, as opposed to Jonathan, is so revealing. He's ignoring Renfield completely. He has no interest in him at all. Because Renfield wants to be with Dracula. And Dracula doesn't care to spend his time with people who want to be around him; he's only interested in forcing his company upon those who don't want it. It's a huge part of the fun for him.

If someone like... Seward, for example, had been sent to Castle Dracula, he wouldn't have lasted anywhere near as long. Because I think he would be too enticed/interested in the vampires, and thus he'd bore Dracula a lot faster by being too willing or even eager to play along. Then again, someone who refused to play along at all would get boring very quickly too - if they don't submit and play his game he'll force them into submission with violence and that'll be the end of it. Jonathan managed to thread the needle perfectly with playing along on the surface while still constantly trying to resist behind the scenes. It was interesting and fun, a challenge that never made Dracula feel truly threatened. (Of course, he didn't realize the full extent of Jonathan's resistance/that he did have cause to be threatened...)

And he loved it! He was having so much fun! He got to genuinely enjoy Jonathan's company, but also enjoy how little Jonathan enjoyed his company and how he couldn't do anything about that. He got to keep pushing and pushing and pushing him and watch Jonathan almost break again and again but still just keep bending. To tempt him into disobeying and then punish him for it. To force him to rely on Dracula himself for protection and thus stick even closer the more endangered he gets. He gets to work for it, while at the same time never actually facing real risk other than losing his new toy (and Jonathan always settled down in the end, always let the game continue). ...And then he had to call it quits, because he had a schedule to keep. Yeah, I think he was genuinely kind of upset about that. And so when he got the idea for the wolves, he cheered way up again.

Because Dracula was able to offer Jonathan exactly what he claimed he wanted, but in such a way that they both knew he would never accept it. Instead, he forced Jonathan into a situation where he was forced to "choose" Dracula instead, one last time and more definitively than ever before. It was the perfect way to end their time together. Well, except one final victory - 'rewarding' Jonathan's choice by honoring it with one last night together, with delaying no longer and finally drinking from him.

Contrast all of that to Dracula's complete disinterest in Renfield, despite his avowed goal of conquering England and spreading vampirism here. You'd think a servant who willingly came to him would be helpful for that. But no, because Renfield came to him truly willingly, wanted to enter freely and of his own accord.

Dracula likes the kind of person who enters freely and of their own accord... because they're alone in the wilderness with wolves at their back. He likes those who stay because doing otherwise would be their certain death. He likes those who don't want this (who struggle and struggle, who have an unbreakable will) and yet are forced by him into accepting anyway.

An unbreakable will who bends at his command - that's how Dracula saw Jonathan, and he loved him for it. Right up until the point he decided he was finished, and acted to break him once and for all anyway.

[bellaturner]

Hi! I am loving the writings at the moment! I was wondering if you could write something where reader is dating Alex and also an interviewer and she has to interview him. So its all flirty and if their relationship isn’t public yet Alex constantly nearly gives it away.

I just kinda had the thought and thought it would be cute and I have no time to write atm and honestly you could probably write it better anyway lmao

Alex sat across the sofa from you, and you attempted to maintain a professional demeanor despite the playful tension in the room.

"So, mister Turner," you began, but before you could continue, he playfully interrupted.

"Oh, you sound so sexy calling me 'mister'," he teased with a mischievous grin.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at his antics. "Come on, Alex," you said, raising your hands to your face in mock annoyance. "I'm trying to do my job here," you sighed, a hint of amusement in your voice.

"Sorry, babe," he apologize, but moved his hand up your thigh at the same time "I'll behave myself," he promised at the same time he fixed his sunglasses on his face.

"Al, please," you asked, once again, "I'm gonna get fired if you don't cooperate." you were practically begging this time.

"Sure, love," he said, removing his hand from you. "Ask your questions, but i'm gonna fuck you so hard after we get home." he winked at you.

You took a deep breath, attempting to regain your focus. Your boyfriend's flirtatious behavior was undeniably distracting, but you needed to continue the interview professionally. "Ahem," you cleared your throat and made another attempt. "So, Mr. Turner," you said, maintaining direct eye contact, "your band's latest album is titled 'The Car'." You pointed out this fact, well aware of the answer to the upcoming question. "Could you enlighten us on the reason behind that choice?" You asked, attempting to appear genuinely curious, though you suspected you weren't doing a great job of it.

You had been actively involved in the entire album composition process. You'd even assisted Alex, your boyfriend, and the rest of the band in brainstorming some of the song titles. You were aware that certain songs were inspired by your relationship, which added an extra layer of complexity to your professional life.

"Well," Alex began, avoiding direct eye contact with you, "we wanted it to have that perfect 'road trip' sound, you know?" he explained, trying to maintain a casual tone.

"Interesting choice," you responded, a sense of frustration creeping into your voice. You were beginning to feel exasperated with the interview, and you hadn't even reached the halfway point yet.

You decided to press on with the interview, determined to maintain your professionalism despite Alex's distractions. "I see what you mean," you replied, shifting your focus back to the questions. "The album definitely has a vibrant, on-the-road feel to it. Can you tell us more about the creative process behind it?"

Alex leaned back in his seat, appearing more relaxed as he delved into the band's creative journey. He began to share insights into their writing sessions and the stories behind some of the songs. You listened intently, trying to keep the conversation on track.

As the interview continued, you couldn't help but notice the way Alex's foot subtly brushed against your leg under the table. It sent a jolt of excitement through you, but you had to remain composed.

Throughout the interview, Alex managed to toe the line between playful banter and professional discussion. It was both exhilarating and maddening, knowing that he was purposely teasing you while you had to maintain your facade on camera.

As the interview was getting near the end, you couldn't help but exchange a subtle glance with Alex. It was a silent acknowledgment of the playful dance you'd been engaged in throughout the conversation. He smirked ever so slightly, and you knew he was eager to continue this game behind closed doors.

You wrapped up the interview with a final question about the band's upcoming tour, and Alex provided a thoughtful response.

This would be a tough one to edit - the viewers were none the wiser about your romantic involvement - but you were proud of your ability to mostly maintain your professionalism.

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Alex wasted no time. He leaned in closer, his arms trailing your body and his lips dangerously close to your ear. "You were amazing, babe," he whispered huskily, sending shivers down your spine.

"Thanks," you replied, your voice trembling with desire. "Are you taking me home now?" You asked, turning to pack your handbag.

"Oh no, cutie pie, I'm having you bent over the very table you were using to interview me." He said calmed, collected and demanding, getting out of his seat and towering you.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Hihiiii 💕

Felt like doing this one today, it's been long forgotten on my askbox, sorry, my love.

I hope you enjoy it anyway ❤️ (it was wrote while I has high on sleep meds and not prof read)

Lmk if you'd like to be tagged in my posts s2

As always, love you 💕

~ Bella

[freckliedan]

in your opinion do you think that now they’re not in the closet publicly anymore, it’s not that they necessarily care that people think/know they’re together, it’s just more that they want to keep their actual relationship private?

ooh this is a good question honestly! i mean, they've said it themselves that they're private, and their actions back that up too. i think a huge part of the way they've navigated the privacy for their relationship while & since coming out has been about setting a clear boundary, considering the past violations of their privacy?

but honestly i think there's another huge piece of why they've been so private over the last five years and why that's changing now! i think the gaming channel hiatus era has been their individualization era, which was important for dan especially. like, phil had some time as an adult to learn who he was before he met dan; all of dan's identity formation as an adult happened in the context of his relationship with phil.

spending your entire adult life in a relationship with someone, AND living with them AND working together AND having shared friends for the vast majority of those years? speaking from experience: you can reach a point where you're less able to identify your own individual wants and needs and strengths and dreams, even if it's a healthy and beautiful relationship.

especially if there was any level of tumultuousness in your home life lol

with the added pressure of being a public figure it makes a lot of sense to me that a hard reset had to happen for dan's exploration of who he is and wants to be and enjoys doing with his career to succeed! dan is not okay being fucked over is such a heartbreaking thing, but the time dan spent almost completely out of the public eye followed by a fully solo tour & span of his career shere he was regularly posting is like—it makes sense!

it makes sense that the last 5 years were focused on everything but their relationship! but it also makes like equal sense to me that they're returning to the gaming channel and joint content and a higher level of being open with us, too.

they tried fully solo careers. and i'm sure they both know now, what they like doing independently of one another. but it's so clear to me that they've returned to the gaming channel because they genuinely love to make videos together, and it's a part of them making a fully informed choice about their future careers.

like. it actually really grinds my gears when people say that dan and phil only came back to the gaming channel for the money, tbh! because yeah, i'm sure it's one of their best options for bringing in money. but like... yall they are rich people. they absolutely have money invested. they absolutely are having their money managed. they almost certainly could pull off never working again if they wanted to.

they wouldn't phone it in just for money, not with the standards they've consistantly shown themselves to have for the work they do. like, yes, they're doing their job and making money for it. but i just don't understand seeing this as anything but a choice they made because they love working together—and because they're sure of that, having spent half a decade on solo projects.

the individuation era ending also makes the higher level of being open about their lives make sense. i've always thought we were due for a being loud about how happy they are in their relationship era post coming out and. well. this is definitely that. i can't say i ever wanted to hear this much about their sex lives but i also can't truly say i'm surprised!

i think this is an era of shifting boundaries to be at least a little more open regarding their relationship and life together and i think that's what they're boiling us about this gamingmas! ultimately they're always going to keep more to themselves than they ever share with us but like. things are changing!

[cozzzynook]

Can I pretty, pretty please, with a cherry on top, see more Tarnbee? I read the previous posts and I’ve had brain rot ever since. There’s just something so funny to think about Bee making the mistake of seducing Tarn (maybe flirting with him to lure him into a trap or even fragging him so he can sneak off while he recharges) and Tarn - being the obsessive loser he is - takes it as Bee being totally into him and all of Bee’s rejections or running away from him is just him “playing hard to get”. And meanwhile the rest of the DJD are just apologizing to Bee cuz they won’t risk offlining trying to convince Tarn to take a hint. Except for Nickel, she just drags Bee into the medbay and tells Tarn to bugger off so she can focus on healing bee, that at least gives him one or two hours to relax before he has to escape again.

Tarnbee was meant to be a filler/funny thing but now I’m genuinely liking it & you are not helping 😂

Bumblebee made a mistake in using sexual charm to best Tarn.

The mech is obsessive to a terrifying fault and he truly does set his sights on Bumblebee and Bumblebee alone.

Bee did use flirting and charm to seduce Tarn so he could take out another mech but then Tarn cornered him and Bee had no choice but to continue their little game all the way up to Tarns habsuite where they interfaced roughly leaving Tarn knocked offline and Bee waking just before Tarn so he could slip free of Decepticon territory and break free of any following interest.

Bee comes home one lunar cycle extremely tired and covered in another mechs energon only find candles lit, a tub of hot oil waiting for his frame and a glass of smooth high grade.

Bee is on edge after that.

Energon supplements are always on his doorstep, he feels like someone’s always watching him when he’s coming back from a mission or a trip to the market.

He doesn’t feel safe meeting with certain clients after one of his late night mechafriends is found offline with his spike cut off and his dermas ripped to shreds.

Later that evening he finds a note in his berth room on his sheets, “I can do so much better than him.”

He leaves him home that lunar cycle and stays abroad a small ship after that. He never stays in one place for long and even ventures close to autobot borders to feel a semblance of peace from Tarns optics.

Tarn leaves gifts attached to his ship and love notes stating he could wait until Bee was ready and that he couldn’t wait to spar with him again.

Tarn manages to corner Bee when the mini let his guard down during a lunar cycle out in autobot territory. He was hoping Tarn wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow him there but he was.

Tarn had Bee cornered against the alley wall about to take him back to the decepticon base when Bee was able to wiggle free from a distracted Tarn.

Bee owed Optimus Prime his spark for saving him and Optimus later used that to get Bee to stick with him on his team after Bee was forced to join the autobots.

Bee figured he would be safe from Tarn since he wore the autobot brand even though he didn’t believe in it entirely.

That was not the case.

He received a note after getting his original frame back.

“I’ve missed you my sweet elusive spark.”

Bee was terrified all over again

[broadwayfangirl222]

Spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Episodes and my thoughts/initial reactions:

Episode 1:

I adore the opening narration, it genuinely feels like a fairytale being told to a kid and I get the vibe Lilith and Lucifer were trying to help Eve by giving her the apple. And for people worried about her being Stella 2.0 It comes off more as Lilith taking over since Lucifer became low key depressed and while there might be issues between them it might be more communication issues than anything else

Husk's voice sounds a bit gruffer than it initially came off as in the trailers and I really like how it sounds

Angel brings up good suggestions of having a celebrity be a selling point for the hotel and why can't Alastor use his connections to bring more people to the hotel

and their answers (of Charlie not wanting to exploit him and people needing to choose to be there, not be forced to be there) were also really great points

I feel low key dumb for thinking Adam was actually there, he wouldn't bother to bring himself down to their level

Charlie's realization this asshole is her mom's ex is hilarious

Tbh I would've wanted to see more of them making the commercial but it was so much fun to see and I love how Alastor only agreed to put genuine effort in the commercial if he never had to do anything related to TV again

Niffty zoning out when the camera is on her just game me hypnotoad vibes (dumb and obvious comparison but that's where my mind went)

Wow...what the hell, they really are cutting the time in half just as a "fuck you" to Charlie and her idea?! Really harsh and just this whole thing works to show they're not so different than the demons

Is it just me or is there weird audio mixing issues with Brandon Rodgers' audio as Katie Killjoy?

Ohhh interesting the 6 months thing is cause an angel managed to be killed and it's a cover up! I'm genuinely curious where this goes

Episode 2:

Good point with this being something that could make people be willing to hear this idea of redemption out

Omg of course Niffty is into Pentious. Also interesting she didn't know who the V's were.

Vox in the trailer sounded like seth rogan to me but he sounds way more gameshow host to me

VELVETTE'S BRITISH?!?! Also kinda cool to see her being a bit more business focused and not just kinda high energy chaos

OMG! Finally we get to hear Valentino! It's kinda cool how his accent is partly there, like it's thicker when he talks in some parts than others. It's done in a way that's less the VA dropping the accent and more it being a deliberate thing for the character

For Vox and Val's relationship we got this idea of Val being the one in charge and mistreating Vox but Vox trying to calm Val down feels like him and Velvette just let Val think he's the one who's in charge of the V's while Vox is actually the one to plan stuff through

Fun little bit of Val poking fun at Vox's obsession with Alastor and I kinda like it's all of them kinda snapping at eachother and messing with one another

I've seen thumbnails for this song on youtube and i've been trying to avoid it and I'm so glad I can finally see it. This song and Adam's songs were low key my faves of these first couple episodes.

One thing that stood out to me in this song is two lines from Alastor is "Is Vox as strong as he purports or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other Vees" (and cute little bit of Val and Velvette looking kinda smug at that line) Cause it does raise an interesting idea: The Vees essentially all prop each other up, how would they handle being purely on their own

"And here's the sugar on the cream, he asked me to join his team, I said no and now he's pissy" Oh so basically he tried asking Alastor out and didn't take the rejection well?

Is that a robo fizz?!?!

I actually appreciate Angel wasn't the one told to be the spy on the inside but rather Pentious. It's a good way to get him involved with this and just isn't the more obvious plot choice

With Angel feeling jealous and insecure I'm actually really glad there isn't that thing where this new character is suspicious and one character points that out but they keep getting dismissed by everyone else and just accused of being jealous

Poor sir Pentious...And honestly this moment is just really sweet and honestly Charlie's design with her hair and Pj's are so adorable!

[signedeclipse]

You have some spare headcanons of Muzan, Rui and Kamanue with S/O, who is very good at stealing things, don't you? If yes, could you please share them here?

Kamanue

Oh, you were not only sneaky but impossible to spot

Sometimes he wishes you'd use your keen ability to steal from others, but instead, you are constantly pulling tricks on him

Writing ink, shoes, clothes

And he'll find you with his sandals and shirt on, writing out a love letter addressed to him

Fortunately, you always saved yourself by doing something sweet with it, or else he'd have to start returning the favour

He did try taking from you as a prod back, but you immediately caught him and made the rest of the week hell

Though if he really wanted, im sure he could track you down by your scent alone

So get ready for some games of chase

Overall takes it in a very playful way, but he will pout if you take from him too frequently without putting it back as it was

Muzan

You were the thief that stole his heart

Every time someone called him heartless, that's what came to mind

Of course, he didn't have one, not since you took it for yourself

The demon lord had many important soldiers out there, but none that were as efficient as spying on the humans and slayers as you

He could see through demons easily, but he needed someone who could do the same with humans, someone who could predict anything and prove it

And boy, could you bring back proof

Written documents from the lead demon slayer himself, locations of hashira, and slowly sketching out the trail to the swordsmith village

Just a few of the things you'd managed to bring back for him in the last month

It made him proud that he had chosen the most suitable s/o, someone who understood what he wanted

Expect lots of privileges, food, and gifts from around Japan

He never wants you to worry about hunting humans, so of course, he does it for you

Rui

You played an exciting role in this spider family

The most prolonged standing, never before punished, and most free of all

His spouse, the one that could be seen hiding amongst the trees, usually holding something genuinely horrendous, something blackmail worthy

You would take things from the other members of the spider family; things they shouldn't have

Connections to their actual families, personal items, pictures, escape plans

And you would bring them back to Rui, where he would decide what to do

It was another scare tactic for the others, knowing no matter what, you could find anything and take it without a hint of them knowing

They could only assume you were deep under his spell, truly lost in a way that someone could not be brought back from

But you held the only secret no one could find, that you had never drunk the spider demons blood, that you dressed this way as choice and lived very happily by his side

Rui would always be proud of you, his thief

Authors Note - I suppose I can spare a handful or two...but thats all you are getting!! Coming back with this absolute banger of a prompt :]

[bluerosesonata]

I played and finished Slay the Princess last night while I was puppy sitting. I had such a great time. She’s my scary wife now.

Spoilers + more detailed thoughts below the cut, but without spoilers:

[points at devs] haha horror podcast fans

I’ve always loved Nicole Goodnight from her first appearances on Nosleep. she did so excellent as the Princess.

Very impressive scope, even with the very definitive ending I got, I came away from the game feeling like there were still paths I hadn’t seen.

Just as a general tone setter, I love the opening card/disclaimer that ends with “This Is A Love Story.”

GREAT visual style and art. I’ll get into this in my breakdown below, but with my amateur eye I love how they took a non-traditional approach to way the images/characters are displayed in a renpy game

INCREDIBLE music.

Hard to avoid Disco Elysium comparisons with the aspects of the Self mechanic, which I’m sure is either a received as a high compliment or is a source of annoyance for the devs, lol

Highly recommend it for OELVN fans, horror fans, and lesbians.

First and foremost, I’m genuinely very impressed at the amount of variety to the paths.

On my first playthrough, I got on a loop where I kept the princess locked up, and then she came upstairs and killed me. The next loop, The Paranoid showed up, and when we went into the basement, it was all spooky and distorted. In this one, we had some great banter with The Princess before I ultimately decided to slay her, and trapped me in the basement by warping reality and removing the stairs, forcing me to kill myself to escape that loop. The Cold showed up in chapter 3, and I think that was when I tried to leave the woods.

In subsequent loops, even when choosing all the choices I made to the best of my memory, I couldn’t recreate that first loop at all. It really speaks to the scope of the game in an impressive way.

The first vessel I managed to provide was The Tower. (It was the outcome of being mauled on your first encounter with her, then perceiving her as a dominating, inevitable force.) After discovering my new objective, the endings I saw were The Prisoner (It’s the ending where you just wait for the cell to rot away around you), The Razor (GOATED route, I will be calling her ‘Knife Wife,’), The Damsel, and ended with The Adversary (devil horns), before reaching Awakening.

These are the only routes I can talk about, but I’m certain there were at least 2 I missed/didn’t get to see. It’s an EXTREMELY impressive scope, and fully voiced, to boot, so my hat is off to the devs on that front.

(The next few paragraphs are about the voice acting, if you want my story thoughts, I made a small heading for that bc my VA thoughts got a bit out of hand lol)

Voice Acting

While I’m on the subject of the game being fully voiced: Nicole’s voice acting really shines here, and it’s absolutely essential to making this game what it was. I think a version of this game without it would be very Good, but not nearly as Haunting. The sheer variety of reads on certain lines based on how you first approach the princess is incredibly impressive, as well. (Again— scope!!!)

As far as the narrator VO goes, i can’t deny that Jonathan did a great job, and with his history of being the main narrator for The Magnus Archives, he was a good fit for the tone and audience of the game. I would even posit that, even if there were other people who were considered in the early phases of development, the cross-promotional potential of drawing in even a small section of an audience already primed for cosmic, reality-altering horror via TMA was a very smart business decision, and I applaud them for it. That being said, I think one unintended side effect of his casting may be that people familiar with his TMA character (a…semi-reliable narrator) might immediately come in primed with doubts about the Narrator. They seem to have anticipated this, though, and included skeptical and suspicious dialogue choices with him right off the bat in the first chapter, which is fun.

(A brief aside: If it seems like I am being very measured with my thoughts on the Narrator, it is not because I have anything negative to say about his performance. I am being measured simply because the narrative devices the game employs makes it impossible to not draw comparisons to Big Hitters like The Stanley Parable and Disco Elysium— both incredible games that I personally would be both delighted and terrified to be brought up when discussing a game I created or a role I was playing.

These games did not Create the idea of “a narrator you interact with and who is sometimes rude to you” or “multiple voices with distinct Traits butting in on your current predicament,” but both games are incredibly prolific in how implemented those devices and the vocal performances involved….so it is not a fair comparison.)

Story Thoughts

The subtitle for this section could also be “Faron ranks how hot they find all of the versions of The Princess.” jk.

I am not going to do summaries here I’m just going to assume most people reading this have played the game.

But let’s start again with the sentence at the beginning of the game: “This is a love story.”

Not long ago, there was a big discussion on tumblr about the statement that horror is “about love”, (it might have even been spurred on by TMA, lol) and that lead to a lot of justified (but not always kind) posts from my fellow horror fans being annoyed by that take. I’ll spare you a rehash of all of that. But it is exactly Because of that discourse (and my general gothic preferences) that I like the choice to open with this a whole lot. The phrase “This is a love story,” written in bold, at the end of a disclaimer saying ‘there are no wrong choices, just different paths,’ has an immense power to it. It is a mic drop way to open up a story, as a way to prime the audience to be open to the Princess as more than a monster, and creates the anticipation for a greater relationship to be uncovered between the protagonist and the princess.

It could also be that the phrase hit my brain in a weird way because of Fata Morgana. I don’t think The House in Fata Morgana had a similar line in the actual game— but my roommate who handed me Fata Morgana very specifically told me, “it is a horror game, and it is a tragedy, but at its core, It Is a Love Story.” And that’s always stuck with me. (I digress.)

A Brief Address to Loops and the Popularity of the Looping Narrative

I could sit here all day and talk to you guys about looping metanarrative structure and the different approaches to it, but you’ve probably all played a VN with that before. (If you haven’t, and this is your first time encountering something like this and it blew your mind…Go play Zero Escape: 999. Run, don’t walk.)

I believe very strongly that reviews should be about what a game Is, and how well it accomplished what it aims to be, not about what you wish the game was. But it is an even stronger opinion of mine that loop narratives, especially in visual novels, can sometimes get too bogged down in the details of “why am i in a time loop.”

I am extremely glad that this game (mostly) avoided this, bc it offers an opportunity to say something about the subgenre as a whole.

At the end of the day, looping narratives mainly exist as a metanarrative device in VNs to acknowledge and offer a reason why your character’s behavior (and/or your choices) change. It’s an easy way to create ludonarrative harmony, and to inject some extra drama with little extra effort.

But BECAUSE it’s easy, it can also feel Extremely Overused, and starts to become an expectation.

I won’t go on a soapbox about it, especially because I feel like this game handled it very well, and the looping, metanarrative aspect is suited to the themes and character subject matter of Beings Who Are Concepts, even if they Why doesn’t really satisfy. At the end of the day, this is a love story, and the why matters less than the feelings involved.

Specific Path Thoughts

All versions of the Princess are incredibly strong concepts, and the game is structured in a way that I very much would enjoy seeing how different people’s first loops influence their opinions on her. It’s got IMMENSE “streamability” in that regard.

Someone that encountered The Damsel version of the princess first would have an INCREDIBLY different experience than someone who encountered the Adversary first, which ties very neatly into the subject of the greater love story and can also generate some great post-play discussion.

I think, undoubtedly, the Aspects of the princess that made the biggest impressions on me were The Adversary (demon wife) and The Razor (Knife Wife). Part of this is due to the sheer length of their paths, as both of them take 3+ loops (correct me if I’m wrong) to reach the conclusion of their sections, whereas The Damsel, The Tower, and The Prisoner all only took 2. (See the next section for more on that). Thinking about it, every path was similar in the amount of sheer resources created for them (illustrations, animation), but these two create the illusion of having more than the others simply due to being the longest action sequences and loops in the game.

The Razor has an OUTSTANDING design, and the sequence to slay her would have been an incredible finale in its own right, as we get introduced to EVERY Aspect of ourselves as we die over and over again, even shoving the narrator out of the way so we can just jump to the cabin and fight her again, and the PC reasoning that “if there’s enough of Me, I might be able to overcome her”. For this reason, and because of the big knife skeleton body, I think that the Razor path is more Fun than the Adversary’s.

Flavor-wise, however, I feel like The Adversary is a much stronger character and narrative thread. A princess who doesn’t want to escape— she just wants a good fight. She wants you at your best, and she won’t have any less. That’s exactly the sort of character dynamic that really gets me going. I love single-minded women, and I love a main character who meets them on their level of crazy.

Both of these paths involve the Aspects of Self “The Hunted” and “The Stubborn,” and they are the aspects of the PC that by FAR have the most color to them (besides the lover, who is more of a buffoon.) I think they were my favorites.

That being said, I adored how exhausted the Narrator got during the Damsel path, and I thought there was a very quiet, profound power in the Prisoner version of the Princess. She had an austere, quiet pride to her, tinged with an undeniable sorrow.

I really do appreciate the variety of ways they provide for one to approach your dialogues with the Shifting Mound after every loop. They really create a lot of space for the player to decide how they feel about her. Even if it sort of bothered me that every time there was a choice to tell her you would slay her once it was all over, I appreciate the option being there. (And, again- the sheer amount of dialogue!! Sheesh!)

Lastly, the finale. It was incredible, going through all of the forms, reliving all of the choices you made. But this is the part that the amount of options started to detract from my experience.

Again- I love that they left a lot of space for people to decide how they feel. I like the amount of responses provided, and I get the impression they don’t change the final choice in any way, just the dialogue she says to get to it.

But it bothered me that there was an option to just…opt out of seeing every vessel, either by submitting to her or by killing her. I can’t see a world where anyone playing a finale like this would WANT to cut the big final movement short. It seems silly.

The payoff was worth it, though. It was a beautiful end and one that definitely will stick with me.

(And Obviously I decided to take her hand and remain endless with her! How could I not!)

Mechanical Musings

Note: I am a dabbler in Ren’Py, but I have been a dabbler for over a decade, and I went to college for game design. (You’re allowed to laugh) I’m not GOOD at programming, and I forget the class names for basically everything unless I’m looking at it.

All of this is all to say I am PURELY speculating on how certain parts of the game were accomplished.

UI/Display/Visuals

The choice to omit a typical text box was an objectively correct one for this game, in no small part to how they decided to do the visuals on this game. It kept the game looking clean and drew the eye to the stunning visuals. The right aligned prompt box similarly aided in that respect, and I think that being forced to scroll down to resist during certain tense sequences was a great touch. Makes me wonder if there’s a timed element on those responses.

The choice to eschew using typical talk sprites (outside of The Long Quiet scenes, the sequence with The Damsel, i thiiiiink the confrontation in the basement maze, and the finale) in favor of using scenes/displayed images really aided in the storybook vibes, and the animated loops they had on those images gave the pencil work an amazing kinetic energy for the scenes where the princess is just standing or sitting still. (For the uninitiated- It’s incredibly simple to program animation loops using static images in RPY, but I’m not clear if that the most memory-efficient way to do so; I’m going to assume they did this though)

The menu Ui is what gives it away as Renpy to me, but you know, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, lol.

I’m sort of surprised there wasn’t anything like a scene viewer or gallery that unlocked at the end, but I guess that might sort of be immersion breaking.

Gameplay

Just from my hobbyist eye, I can tell there’s a looooott of dialogue flags in this one, where they track previous things you’ve said in the scene. There is absolutely a variable for “Princess hostility,” just based on the fact there’s several like reads of her answering the questions you can ask in chapter one, but since I only did a single run where I didn’t pick up the knife in chapter 1, I can’t be sure if it’s points based or binary “has knife = true.”

My guessssss about how the Aspects are inherited is that it might be a point based system combined with a flag indicating how you died; this would explain how I inherited “the paranoid” in ch2 my first run, but never after that.

I can say with almost complete certainty from the way it completely locked me out of deciding to leave the princess locked up after my choice to leave the woods that there is a true/false variable tracker for each path that stores if you’ve reached the Long Quiet or not, bc no matter what I did I could NOT do that again. Either that or there’s a flag where the narrator will lock you downstairs after seeing that screen once.

There’s also probably some variables tied to your appearance changing in the mirror, but i would need to double check achievements to be sure that text isn’t just set to appear after X vessels being provided.

There’s also a distinct possibility there are different “pools” for the princess’ aspects to be pulled from after each “level” of ascension; this would set it up so that it’s impossible for you to end with an event that is only 1 loop long, and it would be easier to assure story pacing that way.

(Ex: “If Vessels < 2, use Event_Pool_A, Else use Event_Pool_B”, where pool A contains vessels that use less than 2 loops to complete)

All in all, if I ever got the chance to crack the hood open on this, I would. I highly recommend it.

[chemicallywrit]

It’s Audio Drama Sunday and this week was full of bangers! This list is not comprehensive but it is what stuck out this week. Let’s goooooooo

🔥 The Heart Pyre continuously leaves me with the perfect impression of being in middle school reading under my desk. It’s so good it feels like I’m getting away with something. Maybe it’s because Rena is such a relatable protagonist. She’s just a normal girl! She’s just a little teen! What is she supposed to do! And that makes her even more heroic. As always, the choice this week was impossible and I can’t wait to see how it shakes out. Also, Logan And Finn Should Kiss 2k24. @theheartpyre

🗡️ SIDEQUESTING 😭 This episode is so SWEET. I love when Rion grows a little—Sidequesting is episodic and doesn’t lend itself to like, substantial character development. That is fine; it’s not the point of the show. It makes the moments Rion does grow, though, stand out like little jewels. This episode shone. @sidequestingpod

🗝️ Palimpsest is doing its slow burn thing, referencing itself over again as its name suggests it will do, and in this story, I am Very Concerned About That Man Lenore Married. He is condescending and dismissive and he is isolating her, and I DO NOT TRUST HIM.

📼 Within the Wires—oh my gosh, I literally screamed when the canned noises stopped. What is your game, Tony? What do you want with Brian?

🅿️ Podcube was short this week—Podcube is always short—but this episode had me cracking up at work. I love that this team manages to find new conflicts somehow. Man vs man, but they’re assassins and one of them is convinced the other is in love with the target. Why does this work? Why is this so funny? Please listen to Podcube. @podcube

🩸 Hemophobia continues to make my skin crawl. This episode reveals that the characters are Church of Christ, which, for those who don’t know, means they have a really specific set of beliefs about baptism that I KNOW are going to be perfect fodder for the Horrors. And yet it’s all so normal so far. Creepy. Oh, another thing this episode does is portray with perfect gut-wrenching clarity how strange and awful it us to be a devout teenager, and in like, four different ways. Incredible work.

🎣 Eeler’s Choice has some FANTASTIC sound design this episode as Ran comes into their own as a storm chanter—FRICK. I am worried about them. And their new ship. Please be careful and don’t get eaten by fungus. @eelerschoice

✨ Stories from Ylelmore is brand new and SO GOOD, oh my gosh, I am in love with the earnest delivery, the characters who are absolute BABIES, the genuine fascinating mystery. I can’t wait for more. @storiesfromylelmore

🍔 Midnight Burger’s THREE HOUR FINALE brought us home with Clementine. It wasn’t what I expected, and I think that’s kind of Midnight Burger’s MO. The fact that the tone of the dialogue, that the characters themselves, are so cynical and hard—it will trick you into believing that it’s a cynical show. Maybe it is! But it also fights over and over again for the idea that things can be fixed, that love matters, that you can save people and you have to try, you always have to try. And sometimes you win. And that’s how the universe is meant to work. It kills me every time. Also, shoutout to Alan Burgon, always the best, who I love to hear doing his actual accent. @midnightburgr

🐦‍⬛ Leaving Corvat. Oh my word. It’s a wellness cult. Sleeper’s in a wellness cult. I am really pleased with the development his character’s showing, being decisive and brave.

🍵 Gastronaut is going some places and I am OBSESSED. The relationship between Oscar and Polity is everything to me, and the fact that Oscar has gotten to the point where he refuses to ignore his responsibilities, he refuses to leave people behind—he is sometimes stupid, but he is trying and I’m proud of him.

🧟‍♂️ We are getting to the final episode of Precious Cargo in the Dead and y’all….it’s gonna get juicy. I’m not exaggerating, one of the zombie actors used watermelon to get things sounding juuuuust right. Our next story might be even better, too, I can’t wait to show you.

Thank you for reading! If you like what I do, buy me a ko-fi!

[are-you-still-writing-that]

Yandere Alphabet: Kisaki Tetta

I´m so glad, that I found the time to finish up with him! :) At some points, he was even surprisingly difficult... The semester is nearly over, so now comes the exam time, where I will be more focused on studying... At least for the next month...

Anyway here we go:

Kisaki Tetta

Obsessive and manipulative, he already has very prominent traits, that could define him as Yandere even in Canon. In my opinion, he is already one of the closest depictions of what a Yandere could be like in Tokyo Revengers. So let´s see, what we can do with him.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

That man is intensity personfied. He is all or nothing, with the things he does. A possessive hand in the small of your back, as he practically leads you along. An expensive gift, that he insists you wear, because it matches him. He is all about making clear to everyone that you and him, are one. He would commit the worst atrocities, murder and torture and then gift it all to you. He wants, that whoever thinks of you, will also think of him and the other way around. There is no separation between the two of you in his mind.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

He can get very messy, when it comes to his darling. He can´t stand it, when someone acts like they are above his darling, and he will personally make sure, that they will regret such things. Kisaki identifies himself with you, and every action taken against you, is in extension also taken against him. He would tear everyone apart, who dares to issue such an insult to the both of you.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

With him, there a backhanded compliments, that might have had a genuine root, but his intention got somewhere twisted between what he wanted to say and what comes out of his mouth. He is the king of gaslighting and mental manipulation, as he twists everything you say around. But all these things stem from his strong desire to not lay his hands on you. The only way to make him violent, is when he feels deeply cornered and can´t find another way out, at least when it comes to you.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He manages to somehow navigate events in such a way, that everything tends to run in a manner that is favourable to him, which he also does in conversations with you. In short, whenever the two of you talk, he tends to manipulate you, or if he can´t reach you in the moment, he will turn to other people. You might not even realize, what is going, but that man definitely took the reins from you. He is the one, that makes the choices

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

It most certainly depends on how much he trusts you in the first place, before he tells you anything. Still, even when he doesn´t trust you, he will sometimes rant in front of you. Just venting out his frustrations, while simultaneously trying to keep things away from you, that could be used against him. This though, rather in the vein of „Ignorance is bliss“, as doesn´t want to paint a  target on your back, when it would come out, that confides in you. Though everyone sees the two of you as the same, no?

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Kisaki will understand, that this is simply part of a natural response, when someone realizes, that they are loosing control of everything. He takes you lashing out surprisingly well, as he does his best to give you a calm facade. Still, he is annoyed, even though he saw it coming from a mile away, but that doesn´t mean he has to like it, now does it? He will wait it patiently out, as he waits for the situation to calm down again. He knows, there is nothing he can do, that would help.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

He is confident in his abilities to keep you confined, if he will so. Kisaki knows, that there is no way, that you would ever get too far away from him. He knows, that he has played you in a position, where escape from him is impossible. Still, he doesn´t like it, when has to watch you attempt to run, even when he easily caught you again. For him, it feels like you are willing to throw the love you have simply away. It´s like you consider not even worth it. He hates that. It feels like you don´t even acknowledge what he is doing for you.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

It is a terrifying moment, when the man in front of you seems to change suddenly in front of you. From everything, that you could have ever wanted, to someone, who is clearly cunning and arrogant, who wouldn´t care if the world burned down around him as long as he still gets what he wants in the end. How when you try to run, to separate yourself from him to understand what just happened, he just casually points out, that there is no one you could run to. The knowledge, that he is right, and the loneliness that slams into you. He is right.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

He believes, that what he wants in his future, is something, that would be so easy for you to give. He wants his feelings to be reciprocated. That´s it. Sometimes, you can catch him paging through wedding magazines, just looking at it all, though he will put those aside, when you come around. He wants to be loved. That is all he wants, and while he does thinks on one hand,  it would be easy for you, he knows on the other, that it is not as easy and will be so much harder for you. Because while he can be a bit delusional about the future, he is very aware of the present.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

When he sees someone cozzying up to you, all fuses get blown out in his brain. It doesn´t matter how you reacted to the attempts, the only thing that he can see, is someone else taking away, what he wanted for so long, and you not even trying to stay. He will sharply lash out at the offender in public, and depending on how angry he is, the other might never be seen again. Only in private, he will send sharp jabs at you as well. Making thinly-veiled insults, that blame you for what has happened. In that, he is rude and immature, and so very insecure in what he has with you.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

When he is just starting to get to know you, he will act in a manner, that appeals to you entirely. It´s the way he dresses himself, and the manners he displays. In total, he appears like the man you have always wished for. Though over time, some of his actual personality traits start to shine through, as he lets them show more and more, but you barely notice. Till the final moment, where he lets mask fall completely, and you have to deal with the consequences of his love.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Kisaki tends to be awfully observant. He might know more about you, and how you tick, than you might know about yourself. Ever now and then, he will drop a tidbit of information, that make clear to you, that he cares about you. He mentions things, that you talked about, and just seems to listen to you, when you talk. He acts, as if the two of you run primarily in the same circles, as he slowly inserts himself into every aspect of your life. He knows, and that is with what he approaches you.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

His mask and his actual personality differ a bit in ways, Kisaki himself, can´t stand. He is aware, that he is a bit more anxious, than he would like to be, but it might even exceed of what he is aware of. He is also just a tad bit more insecure, than he tends to present himself, though he always tries to never let that part of him slip through. He knows, how easily the image he pulled up, could be destroyed by emotions, that are genuine for him, and so he hides it. Again, and again.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

A tactian trough and trough, he will not become physical with you, when he deems your behaviour unacceptable. He know, that if he falls down to that level, that he can kiss his expectations and dreams goodbye. Instead, he will try to isolate you, withholding your meals. He will ignore and stop talking to you, as if to make you crave his interactions again. If all of these attempts, will fall flat, he isn´t above to turn his ire to the people you loved, and blame you for the things he did.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

He is a manipulator. There aren´t many things, that you can do any more, as soon as you are in his hands, that are outside his control. Kisaki won´t allow you many freedoms, keeping everything you do closely monitored, even though you might not even realize it, at this point any more. He just always seems to be there, wherever you go, and in whatever direction you turn, he will be there to catch you again.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

Kisaki knows how the saying goes: Good things, come for those that wait. And so, he settles down to do exactly that, wait. He will be the most patient he has ever been, and even if he feels his own patience comes to an end, he will simply remind himself over and over again, what his reward would be. Decades, would have nothing on this man, as he knows, that he is getting closer to his goal, with every action, the two take. He lays in wait, and feeds himself with dreams and fantasies. He will wait.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

It would be quite a wonder, if his darling ever manages to escape or leave him. And quite frankly, he would simply get them back, if this was the case. Tough, if his darling dies, he would be inconsolable. He will mourn your death, as it renders him apart. You were the most important thing for him in the entire world. He doesn´t know what to do without you here. He will turn into a menace, as there will be absolute hell to pay for the world, that tore you away from him. In retaliation, he will absolutely ruin, everyone elses life, just like his is ruined without you there.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

If he ever felt guilty, expect him to rationalize his way through it. In the same way, he will also deal with you. Every action he takes, brings him one step closer to what he wants, and he knows that. He knows, what he needs to do, to face the least amount of complications to his courting of you. He knows, what needs to be done to keep you safe, alive and happy, and he will provide. He will do all these things, that are so very necessary in his eyes. It´s simply rational.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Kisaki grew up in a cold home. A distant father and even further out of reach mother. The only thing his parents left for him, was the weight of their expectations under which he suffered. Achievement after achievement of his was discarded for only harsher expectations. And no matter what, he would always meet them, even if he received no praise for it.

He was a lonely child, and when he found you, and you acknowledged what he could do and what he did, that was the moment he fell in love. It was also the moment, your life was forfeited. He feels, because you are the only good thing in his life, entitled to be the only one, that receives your affections. He feels entitlement towards the whole of you.

It also doesn´t help, that sociopathetic tendencies of his in his youth, were resolutely ignored by the people, who didn´t even care in the first place. It makes him more dangerous, than many will ever realize, and when they do, it will already be too late. Another thing, that comes back to bite everybody in the ass, that Kisaki only managed to receive praise from the people around him as a child, when he was absolutely ruthless, which obviously only nourished that kind of behaviour even further.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

While witnessing these kinds of behaviours from his darling, don´t necessarily make him uncomfortable, it still doens´t mean, that he likes to see it either. If it´s needed Kisaki can ignore your crying and screaming, and simply continue on as if normal. He can stop you easily from isolating, when he simply moves his work into whatever room you are, so that you never really loose his company. But even though he feels more neutral about the whole thing, he still has to admit, that he finds it exhausting when you are in these moods, and so tries to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

No matter how is emotions play him, no matter what cruel things might be his first impulse, he stays rational. He keeps staying composed, no matter what happens. Kisaki is aware of all the things that tend to run amok inside his mind, but he also knows how to keep all of these intrusive thoughts under wraps. To be honest, the only thing that tends to annoy with Kisaki is how he will feel entitled to you, but this is also one of the only ways, that is tendencies will showcase themselves.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

While he is fairly arrogant, and tends to seem like he is folding to your wishes, don´t think you can manipulate this man. Any attempt of that, can only end badly for you. It´s not so much that it is impossible, but more the fact, that even while he seems sometimes a bit aloof to you, he still very aware of who you are as a person and how you normally act. For him, it ´s fairly obvious, when you change your behaviours, in small or big ways. It doesn´t matter. In this relationship, he is the master manipulator, and he will stay that as well. Rationality, the thing he loves so much, might be your only friend in this situation.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

He isn´t one for hurting his darling, because he knows, that it won´t really amount to anything, except fear and reluctance. Both things, he doesn´t want from you. So, he won´t really resort to violence. Especially, because it would also tarnish the reputation he had build for himself. And quite frankly, he doesn´t even like it. The only time, he will lash out violently, is when he feels himself backed into a corner. Though, it is unlikely, that you will actually achieve that in the first place. A cornered animal, is the most dangerous that exists.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

While he is not exactly a worshipper, he doesn´t want to be worshipped either. Still, there is something about the way he acts, that does and demands both either way. He sees you as the only one for him. In that matter, he makes it clear to you, that there won´t be anyone else. He has thrown in his lots with you, and so he will stay no matter what. He is dedicated to you in all the ways, that matter to him. In the beginning he even changed his personality to fit in better with you, and some remnants of that time will always cling to him. He has changed himself for you. All of this simply because of the loyalty and dedication he holds for you.

After all of this, he expects your dedication to him as well. He wants to be only one for you as well, and expects the reassurance from you that he is. He wants to know, that you love him, just as much as he loves you. That you will listen to him, and acknowledge who he is. That you want him, the same way that he wants you. He just wants to see his love being reciprocated wholly

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

He would pine forever for his darling, if that is what it would take. The only way, you could make this man snap, is when you outright reject him. It´s the only thing, that he can´t bear to hear from you. Outright rejection would break him. Otherwise, he tends to stay amicable, as he still tries to garner your favour. He would wait till the end of time, as long as you don´t say „No“ to him.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

He fell in love with who you are. Kisaki loves you for being you. He changed himself to fit better in with you. There is no way, that he would ever break you. He does play mind games. Sure. Because they are one of the few things, that come naturally to him. It doesn´t mean, that he wants to break your mind apart. Even so, he takes great care, to mend you mind, whenever he feels like you´re slipping from him. Trying to isolate. He will be there. This is one thing, that you will never have to worry about with him.

[beevean]

hecula and harkula for the ship ask game please? 👀(movies/books/series/games whatev, your choice)

:)

Book Harkula and game Hecula get the same placement:

because I may be predictable, but I am also coherent 👍

(the reason I didn't go full 100% on "makes sense" is that I leave that tiny room for ships that are peak wholesome romance. obviously. obviously these two ships are less than wholesome.)

Anyway, creepy gross old bastard playing sick mental games with his favorite pretty boy stuck in his castle goes brrrrrrrr <3

I don't know how things go in Dracula 2020 (Jonathan becomes undead I think?), but in the book the Jonathan section is a marvel of realistic horror, of genuinely scary subtle abuse where you can see how finely Dracula is working Jonathan, destroying his sense of reality and making him feel all sorts of small and vulnerable and dependent on him. While I love how Jonathan manages to run away and the way he struggles with his trauma (honestly written better than in many modern works), at first being in deep denial for the shock but then getting ready to kill God if He stands in the way of him and shanking that monster, I'm also interested in AUs where Dracula manages to turn his new crush in a twisted, unholy marriage :) doing everything in his power to replace Mina in his heart :) corrupting this fine young upstanding man :) or does he :)

And well. I don't know what else I can say about Hecula. It's just. the narrative of the golden child who feels so loved and accepted only to realize that he's losing his sense of self, his dignity, his humanity for a cruel mentor and so decides to run away :) but the lingering effects of his servitude are always there, always affecting him and his life :) and Dracula didn't turn Hector and Isaac into vampires but he did infuse them with part of himself :) and Hector thinking about Dracula as he's dying and when he's renouncing his powers :) and the hints that Dracula did in his own way care about Hector ("the more precious things are...") :) and the narrative parallels of Hector almost falling as low as Dracula :) it's So Clear to me.

And just because I feel petty :P N!Hecula:

And this is my best explanation:

(we call N!Hector "Caesar" and N!Isaac "Abraham" as an inside joke :P)

nah jokes aside, I can tell N!Hector respects and cares about N!Dracula, going so far as to be concerned about his wellbeing regarding Lisa's death. And as much as his plan to revive him is a spit in the face of decent character development, I can at least snicker that ohhh look at him, wanting his master back, that's true love <3 game Isaac would be proud <3

But since N!Dracula is so mean to him and treats him like deadweight and clearly is in a relationship with N!Isaac, it's not as interesting. When I want to indulge in simp who'd die for his lord/lord who only sees his simp as a toy, Isaacula is right there :V

[yandere-daze]

I have a question? From emsemble stars and twst, which character (as a yandere) do you think is the most possessive? (I'm genuinely curious)

Hi cupid, it´s good to see you :D

Hm, I always have difficulties deciding when it comes to what character is the most *insert thing* but here are what came to mind when I read this ask ^^

For twst, I think Malleus, Leona and Jamil would be some of the most possessive yanderes. All of them actually for kind of similar reasons

Malleus has the "benefit" of being a dragon fae and dragons are known to be possessive creatures when it comes to their treasures so that´s one thing that would point me towards yandere Malleus being possessive. Then there´s also the fact that he´s probably very lonely. Because of who he is and what he looks like, most everyone at NRC is scared of him and that´s why Malleus has a lot of trouble making any friends at all, which probably makes him very sad.

And then you come along and suddenly there is someone that doesn´t fear him and cares about him. It´s no surprise that he wouldn´t be willing to ever let you go after all this time of being alone, right?

Leona for as long as he can remember has always been the second choice, his brother always getting all of the praise simply because he was born earlier. This by no doubt made Leona bitter and caused him to not want to give anything his best efforts, as it would still amount to nothing in his mind.

But then suddenly you come along and somehow manage to worm your way into his heart. And suddenly being second place in your heart is something that doesn´t satisfy Leona anymore. Just this once, he wants to be first. He wants to be the only person that gets to hold and touch you and he´s willing to fight dirty to achieve that. He´s not going to leave things up to chance and risk that someone else might sweep you away

Jamil, similar to Leona actually, always had to stay in the shadows his entire life. He was supposed to serve Kalim and raise him up while making sure that he himself was always inferior.

From book 4 we know how much this hurts Jamil so when his darling finally comes along and cares about him and not Kalim, his possessive side begins to show. He´s never had that kind of attention before and he fears that it isn´t going to last. What if you actually start to like Kalim more than him and leave him behind once more? He can´t let that happen.

Jamil decides that just this once, he wants to have something for himself

As for enstars, hoo boy there are so many characters that I´m probably going to forget someone that is shown to be really possessive in canon but for now some of my picks are:

Ritsu. I think you all saw this coming. Ritsu is the clingiest character I know ( “You know other clingy characters??”) and he´s shown to be very jealous and demanding when it comes to the people he loves. He doesn´t want to be separated from his darling for even a second and gets jealous when they´re spending time with someone else. Absolutely is the type to bite you just so others can see that you have been claimed by him.

This all stems from his abandonment issues that he developed due to Rei and the war so know you know who to thank for having this possessive vampire boy breathing down your neck 24/7

Another one I see as being very possessive as a yandere would be Natsume. I actually don´t really have like a very good reason for this but he just strikes me as the type? He definitely also is the type of boyfriend to get really jealous and agitated if someone else spends too much time with his darling.

Actually remember that time in Wonder Game where he was upset and scared because he thought Tsumugi was going to leave him so he like blackmailed a teacher so they would show him Tsumugi´s files where he wrote down what he wished to do after he was done with school? Normal behaviour

Shu I feel would get possessive once you´ve actually mentioned to break down his barriers and got to know him better. He´s not one to be open about his feelings and his rather.... harsh way of speaking to people that are “bothering” him don´t make it very easy to talk to him in the first place so it would take a lot of effort on your end to get closer to him.

But once you do manage to achieve that somehow? He gets very attached very easily and you probably don´t even notice the subtle changes to the way he treats you. Starts to try and drive off other people with his sharp tongue so they won´t take you away. Demands you to stay around while he sews because he likes your company.

Korka showed a screenshot of this before but literally the type of guy that gets offended when you say you have a life outside of him???

He would have been way worse if we were talking about past Shu and he has gotten way better by now but I still think some of that would remain if he really does love you. It moreso stems from a fear of being left behind than of a need to control you, though they do overlap at times

[disclosed-spire]

OKAY MY ENOT LORE, DESIGN, AND RAMBLE TIME!

So if anyone knows and has spoken to me and seen any of my ocs, they'll know I LOVE making things wacky and out there if I have the ability to. If possible, I will have some wacky backstory too! For Enot's case, this is very much possible!

I'm basically just gonna ramble describe my own little thoughts and design choices for Enot with some of my art as reference!

If you want to know my own thoughts and design choices for another character, be sure to let me know! It'll take a little bit as I like to go all out with these as much as possible.

ANYWAYS ONTO DESCRIBING ENOT UNDER THE CUT BC THIS'LL BE LONG!

Spoilers for Enot's campaign below!

Design Choices

So this is my Enot design!

Yes I know it's very strange and wacky looking, but c'mon. I think the little chaos gremlin deserves to have a chaotic design, y'know, as a treat!

I decided to make their whole body fade, but to fix the issue of their limbs blending in too much, their arms and legs are different solid colors, which allow me to draw them easier!

I really wanted to keep the red in Enot's design, but I didn't want to overuse it, so I decided to make it an accent color and sprinkle red throughout the design. I think this makes it easier to look at Enot, and also draw more attention to their face, as that's the most interesting thing to look at! Enot's eyes are red spirals because honestly I think that would be fun. Enot's red whiskers are made to look like a curly mustache because they obviously have to twirl it like an evil supervillain. The last red design choice is seen with their lizard-like tail, which I'm just about to get to.

Enot has a bit of lizard biology in their DNA, specifically white lizards. This explains their strange frills on the back of their tail, their odd distinct head shape, and one of their abilities that I'll list in the later sections.

The last thing I wanted to mention was glitches! As much as I love glitches and stuff with characters (If you have a glitched Enot design I absolutely love it already, please be my friend), I decided to leave this out of the physical design of Enot because I have a cooler idea! Based on text said by Five Pebbles in game:

Five Pebbles obviously wouldn't say this, so I thought of something that I think would be funny. What if Enot was some kind of cryptid or eldritch horror kind of scenario? Whelp, I can say that my version of Enot is.

Enot causes the environment around them to distort and change sometimes because of a reason I'll get to in a different section of this post. Overall though, this explains the strange changes in the world, the weird Five Pebbles dialogue, and fits into the absurdity of Enot's character as a whole.

Personality

Enot is basically chaos incarnate, nobody knows where Enot came from except Enot themself. To sum it up, bro is basically a real time cryptid or scp. Overall they're chaotic, and very loud, but genuinely entertaining if you manage to get to know them.

Yes, manage. Bro is very scatterbrained and is always all over the place.

Other than that, Enot thinks of themselves as some kind of incredibly evil supervillain, but they're absolutely horrible at it. Not horrible in Enot's bad at their job, Enot's bad in terms of the fact that they just don't actually do supervillain things. The most evil thing they can think of is filling a room with their weird eggs, or causing some minor inconvenience as some silly joke.

This basically makes Enot one of those supervillains that is actually not even bad, just a silly guy pulling pranks because they have the power and capabilities of doing so.

Powers

"Enot has a bit of lizard biology in their DNA, specifically white lizards."

For Enot's white lizard biology, this gives Enot the ability to change colors like some kind of chameleon like the picture above. They cannot change shape, just color, which means that if they were to try to imitate another Slugcat, or another species, it would look off.

How to tell the difference between another Slugcat and Enot is obviously the body, but also some of the red on their body. The spirals in their eyes, the red whiskers, and the tail frills always stay red, no matter what the rest of Enot's colors may be. This makes it easy to tell that Enot is pulling a prank or messing with other Slugcats.

"Enot causes the environment around them to distort and change sometimes because of a reason I'll get to in a different section of this post."

Ah yes, the completely wacky idea I had stored for this moment. Enot is some kind of universe or dimension traveler, which explains the environmental distortion, but also the really weird ending of their campaign, the dating simulator.

No Slugcats were found before (minus Slugpups) in Enot's campaign, until the dating sim which just came out of the blue. The lizards changed personalities, somehow all the Slugcats are alive at the same time, moon is now alive yet she was powered off in the campaign previously, and so much more about the dating sim can make me believe this weird belief.

Enot can just go to different dimensions just because they think it's funny and likes to mess with others by doing that. I don't make the rules, Enot does.

Egg

Yes the egg gets its own section.

Enot can lay eggs because I think that would just add to the absurdity of their character. I don't actually know how they would do it , so maybe they just throw up an egg like an scp scenario, similar to a hairball. (Also to keep up the weird factor about them)

REGARDLESS.

These eggs are an active threat when thrown, so I think it's at least worth mentioning. I don't know how to describe the fact that Enot's eggs are singularity bombs, so I'm gonna try to explain how it could work by how I've been making the rest of this post with my weird logic.

My best guess as to why Enots eggs are the way they are is because of the fact that Enot is a weird universe traveling cryptid or something similar to that, so all eggs that Enot creates are pretty unstable, and when thrown, this disrupts the balance, similar to a fire egg.

Relationship Descriptions

OKAY SO THE FINAL SECTION. Wow this has been quite the wacky post. I'm just gonna explain why my relationships for Enot are the way they are. A lot of these are gonna be grouped together.

All of them have pranks pulled on them because it's Enot. Why wouldn't Enot do so?

Iterators

All of them are neutral except for Five Pebbles because Enot never really had a wacky connection with any of them, except for Pebbles and Moon. Enot just really likes Five Pebbles' strange personality. Too bad it's one sided though.

Downpour Slugcats + Hunter

Enot is relatively friendly towards all of them, having crushes on the others (except for hunter). Think of it like having a crush on an actor from a tv show or a movie. Enot doesn't have that strong of a crush, but it's still there.

Enot does have a small bit of respect for Artificer as they know what Artificer went through. This was unfortunately found out from a prank they made, but once they found out about the whole incident, they backed off and apologized.

Enot does have a huge amount of respect for Gourmand though, as it has to do with when they first met. When Enot and Gourmand met, Enot was looking for a place to call home, so Gourmand decided to take Enot under their wing and accept them into their colony. Enot has a lot to thank Gourmand for, as they wouldn't have met anyone of the Slugcat crew, and wouldn't have a home.

Also sometimes Enot and Hunter hunt together, which does give bonus points for the friendly factor.

Monk, Survivor, and Their Family

Enot is generally friendly towards all of them, but especially has respect for Monk and Survivors family. (This is my own little made up campaign for them that's part of my own little story for the Slugcats, so keep that in mind.) Enot thinks that the whole family going in for Monk and Survivor, despite the little hope left is very admirable, and generally finds it heartwarming that they all could reunite again.

Nightcat

Nightcat at the very least is very close to Enot, as they both have very strange origins, and both are oddballs out of the Slugcat colony. At the very most though, Enot and Nightcat would be together as they both are pranksters by heart, and can fight the uncaring world off together like partners in crime.

OKAY WOW WHAT A RIDE! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this! I spent quite a while writing this, so if you'd want to see more of other characters, be sure to let me know!

[pinkacademic]

Advice for University/College

Hi Girlies, if you go to tertiary education, then hopefully this helps you. I’m guessing by now, you know how best to study for you, so I’ll instead focus on: Time Management, extra-curriculars, and Making Friends

Part One: Time Management

Fear not, if you’re finding time-management difficult, so do plenty. So, I leave you with:

Part Two: Extra-Curricular Activities

Ok, so a huge factor is of course Time Management, BUT my main advice is: do them. Sometimes you should join clubs to further your career, but sometimes you should join clubs that you are genuinely interested in! Try new things!!

The way *my* university timetable worked in first year, was that I was busy for maybe 4 hours any weekday. And yes, I had coursework; but I also had a LOT of time, so I joined a club where I ended up meeting my future partner, and I joined cheerleading! I never thought that’s where I’d find my happy place, but I loved it!

Part Three: Dating and Drinking

a) Dating.

Ok! I’ll declare my lack of expertise here. I’m asexual, and I’ve been in a committed relationship since my first year of university. So I’ll leave these for you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KxIl2A4Q9B0&pp=ygUTYmVzdCBkcmVzc2VkIGRhdGluZw%3D%3D

b) Drinking

Ok, first of all, don’t drink until you’re of legal drinking age, blah, I’m not liable for your bad decisions.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s the real advice.

- drink. No really, you should try it. If you don’t want to, then don’t (there are so many reasons, you’re so valid!!) but my advice for most things in life is to try things. Drink some 4% alcopop to try, and as long as you’re safe, have fun!

- THAT SAID BE RESPONSIBLE. But what does that actually mean? Make sure you never drink alone, always have a friend you trust with you, and try to learn your limit early.

- Learning your limit early means that as you start drinking, start really small and see how you feel. Then drink a bit more and stay aware of your feelings etc. if you feel woozy or sickly, it’s time to sit and have some water. You also don’t need to hit your limit every single time.

- Prepare for consequences the next morning. I’ve never had a true hangover and I’m 25. I don’t mean to start now. BUT! I have had to deal with a lack of sleep in lectures the next morning. I’m not saying it hadn’t been worth it, I’m just saying you ought make your peace with your choices lol

- But seriously, bestie, have fun and enjoy it.

b) part ii Not Drinking

If you choose not to drink from the get go, or if you try it and decide it’s not for you, that’s absolutely fine!

There are plenty of ways to have fun without drinking. There are alcohol-free activities, but also you can totally play drinking games with Coke or Fanta; you’ll just get hyper instead lol.

What’s not ok is shaming. Whether others shame you for not drinking, or if you shame others for drinking, either way we have a situation in which someone is the a-hole.

Honestly, though, in my experience, the shaming was really not a thing. Like for example, when I went out with cheerleaders, the first few times I drank a little lighter because I was getting used to the vibes, and then when I knew I was safe, I drank heavier. Two of the girls checked in to make sure I could handle it, and I wasn’t feeling under pressure or anything. One of those girls was a heavier drinker than me, and the other didn’t drink for religious reasons. Both of them were just looking after me!

Ok, and I think that’s it! But I’ve survived undergrad, and I’m going into postgrad, so my asks and dms are open!!

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 26/01/2024

​THIS RIP WAS MADE BY TEETH GANG

Season 3 Featured on: The SiIvaGunner Spooktacular Halloween Horror Special Collection '17​-​'19

Ripped by UUN4 Visuals by KnightOfGames, "Teeth Gang"

Look, uh, feel free to skip the visuals on this one if you're sensitive. There's a lot of, teeth, in this one.

I really don't know how I was able to forget about ​THIS RIP WAS MADE BY TEETH GANG for so many years, when I specifically recall being there on the channel the day it went up. It might just've been due to Halloween 2018 being a rather understated and not very memorable event in general, mainly there to tease the next year's Halloween blowout of Spooktacular III - a by contrast amazing event that I covered briefly in Battle with Jeffinite. Yet the music to Gimmick! was on my mind for some unknown reason as of late, and one YouTube search later, I'd rejoined the Teeth Gang.

The SiIvaGunner channel is pretty inextricably tied to the Chiptune community, right down to where several members of the team almost exclusively make chiptune rips. As a result, the channel's rips have featured a good number of games that neither you or I may find particularly nostalgic or even good, but that are beloved by chiptune artists for their lovely sound - Viva La Robocop and Beautiful! ~ Curveball of Sean Kingston come to mind as two examples of this that I've covered on the blog. The NES game Gimmick! is somewhat of a special case, though, thanks to its develope Sunsoft. Despite not having all too many games under their belt that could be considered genuine classics, Sunsoft is still remembered by a lot of gaming enthusiasts specifically for how they made consoles like the NES/Famicom and Sega Genesis positively sing. Gimmick!, released late into the Famicom's life, is the perfect embodiment of that, celebrated in some ways as the de-facto game to showcase just what the NES is capable of doing (Follin soundtracks notwithstanding).

That's the backstory for why I was out looking for rips of the game, anyway - as for the reason why TEETH got involved to result in ​THIS RIP WAS MADE BY TEETH GANG, that's an area I was woefully undereducated on. It's likely that many of those reading this had the chance to grow up more closely attached to Nickelodeon's cartoon programming of the early 2000s, and by extension had some truly iconic bangers embedded into your minds. I'm again speaking as an outsider, but - good LORD, discovering that My Shiny Teeth And Me had over 20 million views on YouTube left me completely flabbergasted. Do you remember just two days ago in Guilty Eyes Creeper where I discussed just how many rabbitholes there are to fall into on SiIvaGunner? Yeah, this is a prime example of me doing just that, as recently as this week.

Because yeah - even though I first saw THIS RIP WAS MADE BY TEETH GANG, my lack of familiarity with the song made me not really care for the rip's audio (which was also because the visuals were, naturally, a lot more memorable for the wrong reasons). Five years later, I can officially confirm that My Shiny Teeth And Me is a fucking BANGER that I wish I'd given a chance sooner, partially carried by the vocalist being a member of 2000s boy band NSYNC, but also just the melody and progression being very catchy in general! And when arranged through the aforementioned beautiful Sunsoft-y sound of Gimmick, it's a perfect fit - the sugary pop cheer of My Shiny Teeth And Me fits the sound of Gimmick, and Happy Birthday in particular, like an absolute glove. The main melody, bassline, percussion - though its all playing within the limitations of the original Famicom track, it still manages to sound just as full of life as the song its arranging.

And look, I've been throwing shade toward the choice of giving the rip visuals, but I'll say it - I think even back then I found it pretty fucking funny. Learning in hindsight that "TEETH GANG" is actually just members of the SiIva team submitting their own teeth edits for the rip, ballooning the size of contributors to this otherwise simple rip, just makes things even funnier. THIS RIP WAS MADE BY TEETH GANG was indeed made by teeth gang, and through the simple combination of the three different rabbitholes its made up of that I chose to explore, its now become a rip I'll never be able to forget.