#if the devs didn't want you to do that they wouldn't have put it in!

[warning-heckboop]

Wait since Dev is/is turning into a full fairy does that mean he has/is going to get an anti-fairy? If he does that would actually help the others understand Dev so much more actually. I've seen people do anti-fairy versions of Dev before and a common trait between them is that his anti-fairy presents themselves as caring and nice but is actually mean to reflect how Dev often puts up a mask of uncaring and aggression, especially when he's hurt. Tbh I really love that masking part of Dev's personality and how it's often coupled with him wearing his sunglasses, cuz in the scenes where he's being more open he always either is looking over them or has them off. Anyway just really interested in how you would characterize an anti-fairy Dev if he had one!

Dev definitely has an anti-fairy! In fact, he's had an anti-fairy his whole life, he just hasn't known about it. After all, we've already seen from Peri and Irep that an anti-fairy doesn't develop as part of magical maturity, and instead when one fairy is born, the anti-fairy is born not long after.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Dev isn't a typical fairy child. He didn't have parents, but was instead just formed from Fairy Council magic and a trinket from Dale. So unlike Irep, who was born to parents who were able to take care of him, Dev's anti-fairy (let's just call him Ved for simplicity's sake) just kind of. Appeared.

It's likely that Ved (along with any other gifted changeling anti-fairies, as I previously mentioned that the other kids who were imprisoned with Dale may have gotten one too) just showed up to the Anti-Fairy Council one day. Of course the Anti-Fairy Council would be suspicious, because fairies created in this fashion aren't an every day occurrence by any means. It wouldn't be hard for them to figure out that the Fairy Council wants to keep these new children a secret, as changelings are considered taboo, so I imagine they'd want to keep tabs on the children's anti-fairies, just in case they can use them to their advantage against the fairies some day.

I do love the idea of Ved being seemingly a big sweetheart, but in reality is just a massive jerk. While the Anti-Fairy Council probably kept an eye on him and any other similar kids, they most likely didn't actually do much to take care of them, meaning they would have pretty much had to fend for themselves. We saw from Irep that anti-fairy babies can be pretty smart and independent, so I don't think they would be fighting for their lives necessarily, but that doesn't mean life is easy in anyway either. I could see Ved being a sort of leader of this little ragtag group of anti-fairy misfits, who largely paint themselves as pitiful and helpless in order to lure suckers into a false sense of security before robbing them blind.

I'll have to try to draw a concept for Ved at some point! I can't right now, because I'm sitting in my car waiting for a doctor's appointment, lmao, but maybe sometime this week after work, or over the weekend!

[pichlive]

quick reminder-- there's no wrong way to play slay the princess!

there's no bad endings, just different perspectives!

[manikas-whims]

Xavier — No Restraint 🚫⛓️ | thoughts

First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate how FINE Xavier is 😩 this man is a perfect blend of gorgeous, beautiful, sexy and cute ♡

from the perfectly messy hair, to the shape of his eyes, to how they darken at you, to the pretty jawline, to the collarbones i’d lick and kiss 💋 to the broad shoulders and that impeccable chest.. HE'S SO FINE!

As I said before, his cards are all about intimacy. They just feel so tender yet sensual and intimate.

The way he puts that lotion on your knee, admires your skin, is literally mesmerized by it! And the way he slowly n sensually runs his hand along it, fingers slipping beneath your dress with a purpose. He's on a mission to make you feel just as down bad as he is for you..

So when you touch him in return, playfully put a bit of lotion on his nose, his gaze is feral. It's like he's literally frustrated that you don't even understand the effect you have on him..the things your mere touch does to him 😩

I AM SO SURE THIS EXPRESSION IS A RESULT OF MC’s FOOT WORKING ITS MAGIC ON HIS DICK DOWN THERE 🤭

He bites back (literally) in retaliation, and it's one of the sexiest things a man can do to turn you on. But even the bite is slow and deliberate..

He's barely holding himself together at this point.

And then you go ahead and do this.

Crumble his resolve with a whisper of his name.

It's the most attractive thing you can do. Take his name in ways you wouldn't for anyone else..

YOU ARE HIS UNDOING 😩

His expression is so full of want and betrayal, his eyes literally expressing “how could you do this to me? you'll be the one who's responsible for the consequences!”

“something broke”

Yes gurl! HIS SELF RESTRAINT BROKE!

Do you realize he's been waiting for 214 Springs!? Do you realize how much he's been “restraining” himself from straight up devouring you!?

He's unrestrained now.

He isn't mad. His expression is about conflict. It's like he's telling you wordlessly, with his darkened gaze that..

“YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF”

yep he's about to wreck that pussy 🤭

From angy bunny to agitated predator.

You're in for a long night..🥵

And lastly..

Xavier said “composure is overrated. lets be horny together and fuck like rabbits in heat” 🥵

i really wish the card didn't black out on this moment and continued on a little further but the devs and story team are already teetering around that 12+ age rating so its understandable 😆

AMAZING CARD ✨ TOTALLY WORTH THE GEMS SPENT 🔥

[untitledgoosegay]

re last reblog I do see fanfic culture pushing/replicating a certain model of "what trauma looks like," "how trauma works"

this is a problem across all areas of society obviously, but transformative works are, well, transformative. they're about crafting and modifying narratives where the fan-creator sees a flaw or a lack -- often for the better! don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of "I take a hammer and I fix the canon," it's the main thing that gets my creative gears spinning -- but what happens when that "flaw" is simply a narrative not conforming to popular expectations?

some people just don't get PTSD from events that sound obviously traumatic. they're not masking, and they're not coping; they just straight-up didn't get the permanently-locked stress-response that defines PTSD. they walk away from a horrible experience going "well, that sucked, but it's over now." some people do get PTSD from events most people wouldn't find traumatic. we don't really know why some people get PTSD and others don't. but fandom has an idea of events that must be traumatizing, of a "correct" way to portray trauma. you see the problems with this lack of understanding in e.g. fans pressuring the devs of Baldur's Gate 3 to add dialogue where the player character badgers Halsin about his own feelings on his abuse -- because he must be traumatized, and his trauma must fit a certain mold and presentation of sexual trauma, under the mistaken impression that anything outside that narrow window is somehow "wrong" and disrespectful or even harmful to survivors.

take, for another example, the very common trope of a traumatized character who hates touch or sex "learning" to like touch or sex as a part of their healing process. certainly that can be healing for some people; other people will never like, or want, touch or sex, because of trauma or because they just don't. the assumption that someone who doesn't want sex or doesn't like to be touched must be traumatized, must be suffering from this perceived lack, is seriously harmful -- to asexual people, to people with sensory issues around touch, and to people for whom healing from trauma means freedom to refuse sex or touch.

and there's a secondary trope, one that's slightly more thoughtful but ultimately repeats the problem -- that once someone has learned that their boundaries will be respected, they'll feel it's safe to soften those boundaries. once they feel safe refusing touch or sex, they'll feel comfortable allowing it on their own terms. but many people don't, and many people won't! many people will simply never want to be touched, and never want sex, and they are not suffering or broken or lacking because of it. the idea that proving you'll respect someone's boundaries entitles you to test those boundaries -- the paradox is obvious, and yet this is something i've seen hurt (re-traumatize) people i care for.

people are imperfect victims. people don't heal in the ways you expect. many people have positive memories of their abuse, of their abusers. many people hurt others in the course of their trauma, in ways that can't easily be unpacked in a 5k oneshot. very few narratives of trauma and recovery actually fit the ones put forward by popular children's media and romance novels -- which are the ones I most see replicated in fandom spaces, because they provide the clearest narrative and easiest catharsis, and so they're easy and soothing to reach for.

that's not necessarily a bad thing! i am not immune to goopy romance tropes. i am not immune to teary catharsis. not every fic has to grapple with ugly realities. but there's a problem when these narratives become predominant, when people think they're accurate and realistic depictions of trauma, when the truth of trauma is unpleasant and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit any single narrative, let alone one of comforting catharsis

[amysgiantbees]

I just find it strange that the developers chose to rewrite Wyll. I love new Wyll I think he's fantastic and I don't necessarily want the previous version. But I find it bizarre that there was somehow so much negative feedback about old Wyll that they risked completely rewriting him.

Now I love all the companions. This is not Dragon Age Orgins where I debate recruiting Ogrun every time. But I just find it strange that the reason given was Wyll's negative feedback when most of the other characters have been unpopular too. Like Lae'zel is infamously unlikable to a great many people.

People love to bully Gale and there's even lines in game that call him pathetic. The DEV's in the IGN interview even agreed that Gale killing himself can be a good ending, " I really liked Gale setting off the bomb with the brain, and actually that felt like the right ending to me.

AS: In many ways it is, yeah." Which feels problematic to say the least, like I get supporting player choices but suicide is never the "right" way to do things.

Or even I'm pretty sure I remember Neil Newbon talking about how he was sure a lot of players had killed Astarion permanently in their playthroughs.

Then there are people being absolute freaks on the internet about Halsin all because he's polyamorous.

Like these characters are wildly popular too but they certainly have their haters. So why did they lack such confidence with Wyll? The best source I could find on early access Wyll is this article https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-wyll-early-access-story-change-karlach-explained/. It says that this change was made to make his story stronger, make him more unique, and give him more complicated emotional ties. Unless he was really basic before they did not accomplish this. He has less content so his story lacks the depth the other's do. It's also inconsistent, with you being able to put him off being a duke by telling him he'll be too power hungry which he has never been. His emotional ties are rushed. He never really confronts his father, having the tadpole do most of the work and never hashing out his feelings beyond that he's fine.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. According to the article he was meant to have a dark side like Shadowheart "According to the panel, depending on whether players allow him to go through with killing Karlach, he will become a radically different companion instead of if she is recruited." Which would have been cool but if they didn't have enough time to do that maybe they should have tweaked what they had.

Plus, according to the article in early access he was "a straightforward hero who develops a violent side regarding his patron or goblins." This article too show's that his early approval matches current Wyll pretty well except for dealing with Aunty Ethel and more goblin hate https://fextralife.com/baldurs-gate-3-early-access-companions-guide-wyll/.

I just don't know I just find it so frustrating that it was the black main character they chose to tweak and ran out of time to complete his story and still haven't fixed it with a patch. And in the IGN interview the devs kind of sounded like there wouldn't be anymore patches and it's just frustrating. Wyll deserves just as much content as any one else.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #27

The Battle of Big Wand

Part 2 of reacting to this episode (spoiler-free)!

Cosmo talking about the Big Wand going down: Better check with I.T. Hazel: Just I.T.? No fancy fairy name?

why is this so funny to me

Y'know... I've have a post in my drafts for ages that mocks Anti-Cosmo's castle entrance for not being wheelchair-friendly (because the road is covered in spikes). If he took over and then put spikes on this new road, I'm gonna lose it.

OH, I NAILED my "After thinking about it, this is my final answer" prediction. Dev is in the house! oh, good gravy.

This is the second time he's tried to be a king, and I think it's funny he hasn't tried to be a company president or anything. Not fantasy enough for him.

It's stupid funny to me that Dev just turned 10 and he's got impressive muscles when he flexes. what is this child doing- bench pressing solid gold??

We've been robbed of Dev wishing himself into one of the puzzle games he likes and getting buried under, like... Tetris blocks and having to claw his way out.

That might make a good 'fic; I feel like "wishing to be inside an app" is very correct for him.

??? whaaat does he have? He's got portable wishes of some kind? Is it a shooting star? oh, goodness. Let me think, let me think...

!! Crocker has these in the finale of Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 1. He throws them at the ground near fairy guards to poof them into animals. They're grenades. lmao, Dev got into the Fairy Armory.

Canonically, the Fairy Armory is the only place in Fairy World that still has power during outages, so... epic magic fight with weapons?? Ooooh, I hope so!

Irep is back, I knew it!! Part of me suspected he wouldn't be here because he's not really known for being a team player, but I'm glad he is :) Let's go Anti-Fairies!!

I'm delighted Anti-Cosmo isn't taking lead. Also, for some reason it's hilarious to me that Irep is focused on Hazel and not interested in addressing Cosmo or Wanda. He used to greet them as Auntie and Uncle, and now he's like "I don't need their approval or love."

Uh-oh... Has he sorted out his needy issues? If he's too old for naps and we can't bribe him with hugs, how will we defeat him??

I wanted to see if he uses their honoraries in "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales" (since he does it when he's being polite and I knew he was offering food). He doesn't, but I like how Wanda straight-up fed her nephew an apple that puts him to sleep until his true love kisses him, then looks dead at the viewer and says "And then we all lived happily ever after." Is the implication that no one will ever love him, so he's unconscious forever?? omg. Wanda's very black and white view of things is so incredibly funny to me, especially since she grew up in a mob family.

I'm excited to see Dev and the Anti-Fairies. Who would win: the species that invented papercuts, or a little boy who longs for lemonade?

Are you telling me Cosmo and Anti-Cosmo are BOTH intimidated by Irep now? Either this is about to be super funny, or they've switched.

Did Anti-Cosmo finally step up his parenting? Not out of the question; in Season 10, Foop was in time-out for putting spiders in his spaghetti.

(How ironic, considering Foop liked eating spiders).

I rewound and Cosmo jumps when the magic hits, before he sees Irep, so he's not necessarily afraid of him. Also, keeping my fingers crossed for anti-family interactions. I'm really looking forward to a face-off between Irep and Peri; their banter is my favorite and we didn't get much in "Best of Luck."

I'm so glad that despite changing his name, Irep presents himself with the same flair he always did. He is the same person...

omg, his little cufflinks. He's adorable.

For some reason, I've called him "posh British boy" in two previous posts, but... idk why, because he's literally never been posh and I know that. I'm glad he looks like his aesthetic is "bad boy with the tiniest detail of fancy."

I hope he's still friends with Sammy Sweetsparkle :) Maybe they're in a gang. I know there's 0 chance of Sammy being in this episode, but can you just imagine if Foop took out his wallet and there's a picture of Sammy in it.

Actually... if he's got a little metal circle there, I think that implies his jacket is closer to denim than leather. Lemme check......

OH, interesting... Yeah, he and Sammy don't match.

I don't say it enough, but it's really freakin' funny to me that Foop spends a distressing amount of "Certifiable Super Sitter" following Sammy or spying on Sammy and/or reacting to everything Sammy says. He's just Like That... Like, I enjoy the implication that of all the places Foop could go when his parents canonically left him unsupervised for the week, he likely chose to hit up the Turner place in spite of his hatred for Poof because Sammy is there. Silly.

Anyway...

Dev: Yeah, yeah, yeah... and Irep. Joint conquerors of Fairy World.

OMFG, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Was I RIGHT that Anti-Cosmo isn't even at the takeover!? Local introvert hates leaving his house and never wanted Fairy World anyway; more at 11. I'll be there!!

Plot twist, Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda don't actually show up in this episode because they're busy flirting while Irep's away.

I clocked the design aesthetic of the taken-over Fairy World as "This is Irep and Dev as partners; Anti-Cosmo wouldn't do this" so hard. crying. how did I do that. it's not getting better than this.

"Let's get DEV-ious!!"

dlkfgm, once again losing it at Dev using his first name rather than the "Dimm" part of his surname when he makes puns. He's a Dimmadome, but... he's kind of his own twig on the tree.

It is unreasonably funny to me that Irep's wand is so heavy considering he had massive muscles as a child after his Abracatraz imprisonment ("Spellementary School" & "Timmy's Secret Wish").

Also, I am FASCINATED by the decision to give Irep one little zipper tab that hangs off his jacket. Impeccable.

I love this team already. These are two people who are both known for:

- Coming from upper class families - Having parent-related abandonment issues - Not showing a lot of restraint - Only showing restraint when they've REALLY gone too far

Hmm... Oh boy, let me think. We know Dev's [previous] line was that he didn't like his dad shocking people's brains for money, with Dev having strained feelings even when he was trying to convince himself the shocks could be good ("You can help kids!") And he did feel bad about fighting with Hazel, though he's definitely Going Through the Wringer right now.

And Irep's line in the OG series is that he was totally down for:

- Tormenting his parents - Annihilating Crocker for not inviting him to his house party (whom he hilariously calls Denzel when he's mad at him) - Pointing his school's playground slide into the void - Sending Cosmo and Wanda on a dinner date to a black hole - Poof dying (despite the fact their lives were tied together)

- but he wouldn't allow anyone to harm Chloe, who finally introduced him to hugs.

He made it very clear he wasn't willing to face Vicky to save his own life, even on the verge of death, but he'd do it for her or for chicken cordon bleu. And she's not here, and we're all out of chicken cordon bleu. Uh-oh…

- Would Irep rate Hazel hugs 10/10? Inquiring minds need to know. - Is Dev bribing Irep with hugs? Or is Irep just here for the chaos and assurances that Dev's having more fun with him than Peri? - Is Irep bribing Dev with hugs? Are they pumping each other up with positive affirmations?? Go king; continue the healing cycle!

If Irep's parents show up, I hope he's on good terms with his mom, who used to pack chicken nuggets and anti-venom in his lunch box :)

Dev's faith in his ability to not fall off his O-pairs makes me nervous every time he's ever been onscreen.

His dad might let him down, but the O-pairs never have.

[ cnt'd - #Long post ]

All I've been thinking about for ages is an AU where Dev and Mikey Munroe (Bunsen Is a Beast) switch drones for a day, so Mikey's parents freak out that they can't monitor their son 24/7 and meanwhile, Dev just... can't get his dad's attention despite the two-way microphone and camera screen. Also, Mikey spends most of his time making noises into the O-pairs' fans. It's always been my headcanon that Mikey's parents installed the Buxaplenty's and Leadly's security systems (hence the buttons releasing different dogs & the lethal lightning bolts) since I think "ooh, rich people want us" helps justify why his parents are gone for months or years at a time when we know their job is designing home security, so basically... all the cool rich people use them. I actually have a WIP of Mikey and Remy playing near the Buxaplenty train tracks when they were little, but I never found a plot point strong enough to carry it to the end. Anyway, I've been waiting to see what the Dimmadomes have in terms of security, but it's... nothing yet. Plot twist, Dale has trust issues even with the people installing security?? ... I think he'd be friends with Mikey's parents. Maybe. Actually, I might need a 'fic about Dale having a meltdown when he goes home for the first time in 7 years and doesn't trust that Vicky won't sneak in to get him. He needs the world's best security team. It's two terrible parents afraid of literally everything. Yes, they ditched their kid for this. Don't worry about it. y'know... It's really messed up that Mikey's parents are terrified of everything, but they leave their 12-year-old home alone with the pets for months or years at a time, "but it's fine because they're spying on him 24/7 and sometimes give him gifts (like medicated wipes)." His dad is implied to have a fear of germs and I've always wondered if that plays into them not being anywhere near Mikey... Plot twist- We pull a "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" (where the reason we don't see Adam Lyon's parents is because they're severely allergic to animal hair and Adam has to thoroughly wash when he's home and they can't go to school events), but it's Mikey's parents fleeing Muckledunk because they're either allergic or afraid of Beasts. They left their son... Okay, I just checked my notes and I have a line here that says "Mikey's obsession with soft things like animals, beards, and blankets is probably because his parents never touch him." help??

Anyway, I think an AU where Dale hovers over Dev 24/7 and is still a terrible dad would be funny. Instead of neglect, it's obsession... Especially at this age since Dev's as old as Dale was when his trauma started.

... Is Dale putting distance between himself and Dev on purpose because Dev looks exactly like him and is now the age when Dale's life came crashing down? idk if Dale had access to mirrors back then, but that's gotta be weird.

crying at Irep waiting for his cue to pull Dev's flashbacks down from the top of the screen. They rehearsed this. Painfully in-character (In "Secret Wish," Foop claims he waited 10 minutes outside so he could burst in at a dramatic moment).

The way Irep twists his legs gives me Anti-Cosmo vibes.

Rare "Winn without cap" spotted in the wild.

Dev has the room oriented the wrong direction and in doing so, he forgot to include the door. Emotionally, he's stuck in this room. lmao.

Maybe it's a class that's not Guzman's since we know from "Multiverse of Jenkins" that these kids do attend other classes. But... Dev, what's goin' on, buddy?

INCREDIBLY funny to me that Bev sits directly in front of Dev? I gotta go back and fact-check that sometime. Has he been harboring his crush on her because she's right there? That's great!

??? If she DOESN'T sit there then I have to assume Dev is just so Bev-centric that he WANTS her to be there, and that's very funny. Go chase your sporty crush, rich boy. I support you.

Okay, I went back, and it seems his canon seat is between Bev and Kev (with Kev behind Hazel), but Kev vaporizes when we need to center Hazel and Dev onscreen at the same time (such as Dev faking sick and Hazel glaring at him). Oh my glob, he's another witch... Dev, embrace your ancestral witch-hunting for me, plz and ty. It would be funny... /checks my witch notes as a joke and screeches to a halt. Oh my goodness, I could finally get a Soil Tribe child in my roster... I have their magic down as "causes host to fade unnoticed into the background," and it would be very funny to do something magical with the child model. ??? On my first watch of "28 Puddings Later," I don't think I saw that scene of Dev falling over and losing his shades when the pudding throne collapses. Must've missed it while taking notes. That's cute.

I like how Dev's memories are 2D like the photos we've seen throughout the series. Also, Hazel's so dang cute.

I'm glad Dale's pants look the same in both the New Wish and old 2D style despite no FOP character ever wearing anything with that many dots.

I like that Dev's hair is much shinier than his dad's, implying Dale still has the dullness that comes with being soft instead of slick.

- I'm assuming this means either Dev's hair is gelled or he gets that from the maternal side of his family? - idk man, this is very in line with my "Dev's mom is a Leadly" headcanon... At this point, I can't NOT torment him with two very rich and extremely messed-up sides of his family... They both have extreme branding and weird fixations and funky buildings and run big businesses that have brought in incredible amounts of money and they like tech and call people the wrong names... do you see what I see...

I'm DELIGHTED Dale's hair curls up in the back. I've been so sad that he lost his tuft when he grew up. This is clever.

!!! oh yeah, Dale has his dad's stripe! Technically he and Dev both have the stripe, but I love the subtle differences in their hair. While collecting screenshots for an earlier post, I noticed the hair above their ears is combed in different directions, like this:

- with Dale showing the stripe much more clearly than Dev does. I like the implication that Dev's stripe is gold. That's really cute.

I checked, and the gold streak does seem to be in the place he has the Dimmadome family stripes in his 2D form (Eyebrow level). Neat!!

Aw, Irep's a big boy! And his hair grew out blue!! Parents' genes came out kickin'. I did wonder. I think it's funny his mustache and goatee are still black.

Despite losing the black hair, he's not yet immune from "Irep, are you sure one of your parents wasn't actually pixie?" allegations. This is stupid funny to me... In my Cloudlands AU, the Anti-Fairies are always dunking on him for having black hair like Anti-Cosmo's ex-wife, but no one can say anything because unlike Anti-Cosmo's first heir (Talon), Foop was born with the iris virus (colored eyes), so he's "been accepted by the nature spirits" and is heir apparent.

... Seeing this many colored eyes is giving me incredible amounts of anxiety, but it would not be appropriate to clarify why out of context. I like the guy with hair over his eyes and a big hat.

Is Irep leading the charge these days? Do the Anti-Fairies take orders from him?

Did Anti-Cosmo step down!? Because considering how much he hates conflict, I wouldn't be slightly surprised, omg...

I think it's funny that if Dev uncovers any official documents or watches memory clips that flashback to Irep's past crimes, he'd probably be like "Why is there no paper trail for this Irep guy? who tf is Foop?"

WAS that his experience of browsing the anti-web? I have to assume it was- I can't imagine Anti-Fairy World would cross his path without Foop's name coming up.

?? Considering that in my previous post, I said I couldn't think of any reason for Anti-Cosmo to desire taking over Fairy World unless he managed to score the earth and/or godkids out of it...

I'm so glad Dev just dropped "They have to take over Fairy World so they can rule Earth." slkdfj?? okay...

Irep: Now we can rule BOTH! Anti-Cosmo: That just sounds like scoring godkids with extra work.

THEM!! I am once again so intrigued by the lore that A.J. went into parascience and is following in Crocker's footsteps?? You've no idea how much I need to know what the A.J.-Crocker relationship is.

crying at Irep making a peace sign when he gets in front of the camera with Dev. Doesn't he do that in his profile pic on Dark Laser's phone? He's literally the same person he's always been. I missed him so much.

PLEASE do not tell me Dev's full name is Development "Devin" Dimmadome. The quote marks Dale puts around "Devin" are making me lose it.

Dale's partner: Honey, can you stop thinking about business for 5 minutes so we can pick a name for our son? Dale, who comes from a family that usually just slaps their name on things: I got this.

?? I'd LOVE to know what's going on with Dev's mom. Did she die in childbirth and had no say in naming her son, and Dale took over from there? Is she alive, but divorced from and/or passive around him?

Like... I have to assume she had the most exquisite prenatal care through a rich family like this, especially if we assume she also came from a wealthy family cough- Leadlys.

Holy flipping plot twist, does Dev not have a mom at all? He looks exactly like his extraordinarily wealthy dad. Was he just cloned so Dale could pass the business on someday? Did Dale just kinda buy him and wait for the surrogate to hand him over, and he never formed any attachment to him as a baby because he had the O-Pairs / au pairs raise him? lmao!!!

Traumatized beyond belief for 7 years by a girl his age so he trusts absolutely no one and never learned what a healthy relationship was like even with a partner, let alone his son. smh.

Actually, it's very funny to think of him and Vicky splitting up. Like, it was extremely toxic and not romantic in the slightest, but she straight-up identified him when she saw his face in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" even though logically, that would have been 70 years since she was last close to him. She probably knew him pretty well, especially since his hair has changed.

Timmy can't have frozen the timestream any earlier than Channel Chasers in Season 4 when he learns he'll lose Cosmo, Wanda, and his memories when he grows up, which is the reason he cites for freezing time in "Timmy's Secret Wish," and that was 50+ years. It's been 20 more on top of that for Dale to grow up and his son to turn 10. We know Vicky and Doug Dimmadome very, very occasionally crossed paths in later seasons (Vicky tries to sell him the Stryker Z in Season 3's "Engine Blocked").

If anyone cares, this (Season 3) is presumably where Dale grew up unless Doug took him to Dimmadelphia.

Like?? Something about the fact that Vicky and Dale are the same age is funny as heck to me. New Wish canon heavily implies Vicky's been taking advantage of Dale since they were 9, and they might've been friends once upon a time (despite the fact that in both New Wish and the OG series, she can never remember who the Dimmadomes are, lol).

There's no way Doug did a good job of looking for him, or Vicky would've turned him in for reward money. I wonder if Dale had a history of sneaking off to play with Vicky and just never came home one day.

Do you think that after her bossing him around for 7 years, Dale was really messed up and didn't know how to make choices for himself?

Oh, that's awful!! Who would write a 'fic about him running away to look for Vicky and beg her to take him back because he doesn't know how to be a person anymore and needs schedules and instruction? Who would do that?? I'm fascinated by their dark, twisted, and incredibly under-explained vibe. Haha, I'm in danger...

oh no, and Dev even told us his father relies on algorithms over his own thoughts, and we KNOW Dale was upset his publicity team said he should talk to people face to face instead of sending the O-Pairs or hiding behind holograms... A snarky Dev told us he thinks "talking to people isn't [Dale's] thing..." I'm connecting the dots...

hey wtf. does Dale have issues with scraping by in the dirt and dark with limited food and water and nothing to his name for 7 years and that's why he freaks out when he loses money? He can't handle the thought of not having a house??

Holy flip, I wish he'd communicate his trauma to his son, but I'm yelling that we keep seeing hints that he's withholding things from Dev. Like ?? Dale explains his thoughts all the time (in monologue fashion), but he's clearly keeping some things under wraps since Dev didn't have any concept for who Vicky was or why she knew his dad.

I genuinely think Dale doesn't want Dev to know the details. Dev didn't even seem to have a good grasp of why he isn't allowed lemonade, or at least that was my read considering how grumpy he was about it.

omg, this is horrible. who would write a 'fic about Dale taking his son camping and then slipping off to have a total meltdown where Dev won't see. who would do that.

Like, I think at this point they're so rich, you'd have to assume they're not at risk of losing everything if Dale took time off work, but we KNOW he's stuck on that schedule Vicky raised him with (working on Saturdays, which we see him do multiple times), and we KNOW he's always trying to claw his way up despite having the money to buy literally anything he could ever want.

And we KNOW Dale's big thing is that he loses his entire flippin' mind when the money slows down ("You still making sales?" / "Yes, but they're dropping, Dev!") and he's willing to stalk and hurt people to keep it coming in.

Y'know, this is continuing my theory that Doug Dimmadome is probably dead. I legit think Dale lost his support system (possibly around Dev's birthday considering how clingy he is about boots and says they came into his life on that day, plus the golden boots with the "In honor" plaque he has in his house). Daddy's not bailing him out of this one...

Lovely that Dale's first words to Dev after finding out he's taken over Fairy World are "My son." Oh, NOW he wants to talk...

I also find out my son is working with the fey and immediately drop his full legal name.

Why is Dale both the worst person alive and the only dad ever? I need to flatten him with a cruise liner (carnally).

Happy boy... (Dev, don't trust him.)

omfg, Irep's not buying this for a second.

?? I feel like it makes things WORSE that Dale seems at least a little aware of how upset Dev is about the boots? "I'm so proud of my son; it almost makes me want to throw away my boots." - There's no way he doesn't know he's been screwing with Dev's head for the last 5 months. omg.

- Hey, does Dale treat Dev this way because Doug made Dale feel like he was playing second fiddle to his giant hats?? I can't help but notice this whole city has a hat theme, yet Dale doesn't seem to care for hats at all... which is interesting, because we know Dimmadelphia existed way before Doug got here. Doug in my theory: /died 10 years ago Dale: If I touch Dad's hats or add boot statues around the city, he'll totally kill me. - ?? I guess the alt theory is that Dale put all the hat stuff up as memorials to his dad, which doesn't sound far-fetched since again... he keeps THIS in his house:

... Huh. I guess it could be a trophy for Dale instead of a memorial. That's another relevant time to use "In honor." What does it say about me that "omg his dad is dead and he bronzed his boots as a keepsake" was my first thought when I saw this in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" and not "Dale is successful of his own merit"? Obsessed with the implication that Dev's brand image is his sunglasses... Three Dimmadomes go down in history: The Hat, The Boots, and The Shades.

I still think Dale should have a gun. Not to be helpful; just to keep things spicy...

Please go to the Fairy Armory: the one place in Fairy World that canonically keeps power during blackouts. I am begging. I feel like his Southern daddy would want this for him. Doug had a flamethrower.

Is Dev still holding those magic grenades, and what would happen if someone tackled him in a hug?

SDLJKFSDKLFJSDF I'm on the floor. Did I call it? No way... But is Anti-Cosmo only going to show up now that Dev's giving godkids to Anti-Fairies??

Irep: Yo, I'm going to take over Fairy World; anyone want anything? Anti-Cosmo: The same thing I always want: a new child. Irep: wtf

Oh, all that time I spent speculating instead of actually watching the episode the night I started was so worth it. I was really nervous people would grump at me for how I see Anti-Cosmo, but now I feel like I was set up for a slam dunk.

Also, I like how Dev's taken over Jorgen's office. I didn't notice at first, but that's clever.

Dale is so proud despite the fact Dev taped his mouth shut and tossed him aside. That's so funny...

omg, this pit looks dark.

Will Dev torment his dad with lemonade? Is Dale going into the dark torture pit that swings open from the top like a trapdoor, which parallels his underground trauma to a T, or is that going too far?? Is Dev going to dump on his dad about Vicky? Will Dale freak out when he realizes he accidentally hired his abuser of 7 years to babysit his son? Will Dale be joining Club Redheads Who Didn't Get Mindwiped? (I hope not, because Vicky's in it). Will Dev bully his father while he has all this power and then wipe his mind?? So many questions. Find out next time...

[darkonekrisrewrite]

This can't be the final "End", for both the heroes and the villains

(Spoiler warning, long post)

Deku and Ochako's stories didn't end well, and not just for the shipping or not keeping One For All.

The narrative endings they got, either don't make sense or flat out don't work at all.

The end of Ochako's arc doesn't work because it conflicts with what we've been shown to be true.

She does try to help others after hearing PARTS of Toga's backstory, a natural progression of her character.

But the problem is that it leads to this:

"Uravity to expand access to Quirk Counseling"

EXPANDING Quirk Counseling...

Not REFORMING and then expanding Quirk Counseling.

Remember that this is Quirk Counseling:

"Where they attempt to hammer out any bumps in your understanding of the world and program you to fit neatly into society's little boxes.

It's a far from perfect process, the counseling ends up emphasizing the inherent differences among us all, and that's one bug they've yet to work out of the programming."

Stated by Curious during the MVA Arc, then confirmed later in a flashback featuring a counselor talking to Toga and her parents:

"Let's straighten you out so you can be "Normal".

Deviance is common in children with strong Quirks.

We'll fix it. It'll be like it never existed."

Focusing only on repression and the appearance of being normal, not actually helping the child at all.

So yeah, knowing that this is how Quirk Counseling really is, how exactly does expanding this help??

THIS WAS WHY TOGA STAYING CLOSE TO OCHAKO WAS SO IMPORTANT

(Not being with her in the shipping sense but working, talking with her and just being together.)

Anything good about this project that Ochako is creating is only implied not shown, and it doesn't mesh well at all with what we already know.

And even if Ochako did do things right, it still wouldn't be a satisfying payoff.

Ochako wasn't fighting so hard and struggling so much to help random, unnamed, unseen people from the villain life.

She was fighting to help Toga Himiko.

Her failing to save Toga and only (implying) saving others we don't even know, will never carry the same weight.

It won't feel right in a story that's supposed to be "Hopeful", because there's no solid connection left for that sentiment to be attached.

And there was no saving going on between Deku/shigaraki and Ochako/Toga after their battles were over.

This is the sentiment put forth by Nana Shimura (and at the time agreed upon by All-might and Deku), on what a true hero saving someone means:

"When you have to save someone, they're usually in a scary situation. A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their hearts... That's what I believe."

"Saving" is supposed to be both the life and the heart.

Not just one or the other.

And even if Gran Torino was supposed to be the one in the right -

(The narrative sure as hell made it look like he was supposed to be in the wrong and Deku was going to be the one to prove that.)

- in that killing can be a form of saving.

Deku and Ochako didn't even save the villain's hearts.

Not fully.

Shigaraki tells Deku that he still needs to be a hero to the villains and that he fought to destroy until the very end.

Only giving a snide encouragement to Deku at the end of the fight because he's literally crumbling into dust and got his world view rocked by the "It was AFO all along~" reveal.

Toga tells ochako that she didn't make "the bad stuff", the pain in her heart go away.

Only telling ochako that her efforts and words made Toga feel happy, but that's it.

They couldn't save their lives, only partially saved their hearts, leading to the results:

100% - 50% - 25% = 25 % (final grade)

FAIL

The rest of Deku's conclusion doesn't fair any better.

Deku's heroic finale ends the exact same way it ended in every filler bnha movie, only with even less payoff.

He didn't succeed in his goal, with who he wanted to save and he just goes back to doing what he always did at the start, being a hero.

He doesn't develop in any noticable way until the OFA embers run out off screen.

Even the symbolic saving of the scissors boy, Deku doesn't get.

It would have been a world of difference if deku had seen tenko's full backstory, then told it to the world.

Telling the civilians that they needed to do their part to help those in trouble.

(Knowing that there's no AFO left to potentially get in the way.)

Resulting in many civilians coming together to help the scissor boy.

That would have delivered on everyone's narrative payoff.

But instead the theme doesn't work here because the single old lady who does step up to help, does so out of guilt (Not helping tenko) rather than because it is the right thing to do.

Nobody among the civilians besides the old lady stepped up to help on top of that.

So it looks less like a societal shift and more like the redemption of one single person.

The narrative makes a half-hearted attempt to tie this back to Deku but it doesn't work there either.

Because how exactly does Deku punching shigaraki into powder inspire the old lady to extend a helping hand to someone who represents that same villain??

It doesn't.

Even if the sentiment is: that everyone must do their part to help, there is a giant disconnect between:

Everyone seeing the heroes helping each other, fighting and succeeding in destroying the scary villain.

and

Realizing that someone has to help the person who looks like a scary villain.

It doesn't add up together.

Doesn't flow narratively at all.

The 8 year time skip makes more problems with Deku.

The line of: "You too can become a Hero."

Is meant to be the payoff callback to All-might giving those same words to Deku in bnha's beginning, so now Deku says the same thing to another kid that has doubts about his ability to become a hero.

It is kind of sweet but thinking about it for more than 5 seconds should give pause because:

Deku was about to receive the most powerful quirk in the world from All-might.

And the kid Deku was giving those same inspirational words to could throw plates from his head.

It's not even confirmed whether or not the kid could control their size, telepathically manipulate them or something like that.

So if what that other loudmouth kid in the final chapter said is true, about how only the most capable can become heroes in the current time.

The entire conversation, just like many other things in this ending, reads like false hope from the heroes.

Not like Deku has to deal with any of that or the kid himself anymore because he gets a tech suit, allowing him to be a hero again.

We don't know if he keeps his teaching job or not, maybe he did, maybe he didn't.

But still, once again Deku avoids any difficult questions that the story puts in front of him.

And all of this doesn't even cover the other issues that the story brought up:

The popularity poll expanding instead of ending, as if that would prevent the Endeavor/Dabi situation from happening again.

Lack of social/government help for anyone who gets dealt more than a couple of bad hands in life, those caught up in hero/villain conflicts or other disasters (quirk based or not).

Remember how twice became a villain?

THE QUIRK SINGULARITY DOOMSDAY

Now that AFO, shigaraki and the doctor (all of his research and technology) are gone, what's going to happen when children start wiping out whole city blocks?

(The doctor may be alive and imprisoned but with AFO dead, the doctor likely won't help anymore because AFO was so important to him.)

With the power and complexity of the quirks inevitably increasing, think Eri unintentionally killing her dad X10.

Then the next round of kids, make it X50 then X100.

And finally, in the last chapter it's stated that there's a: "Decline in the villain emergence rate."

Why exactly that is isn't said, but it's implied that it's due to the efforts of Ochako and Shoji.

Let's put aside the suspension of disbelief and assume that it's true, that what they did worked in stopping villains from being made enough to have a real impact.

What happens to the people that are already villains??

The ones currently on the run or in jail.

If the hero kids made that big of a difference in the demographic of villains just by expanding counseling and nonviolent resolution, then that only reinforces the truth that the villains are easily preventable victims.

The implications of that aren't doing the heroes or hero society any favors.

We don't know what happens after because Rehabilitation was never offered to anyone who wasn't a small time criminal (Gentle Criminal) or a former assassin of the state (Lady Nagant).

Are the other villains still currently stuck in their circumstances just out of luck, help came too late for them too just like the Lov?

We don't know.

You can assume, imply and head-canon the solutions to all these issues, with what the hero kids might do, as much as you want to.

But if you have to do that with the big questions and plot points, then the story hasn't delivered on what it said it was going to.

Maybe horikoshi isn't that good of a writer but it's hard to believe that.

Horikoshi put so much into this series and all the characters in it, the central villains and the hero kids being the most important ones.

That he'd just fumble everything and pull a Falcon and the Winter Soldier: "You need to do better" and then they did'-Type ending.

This can't be it.

Maybe the "Ending" endpoint of this narrative but not the end of the overall story.

For the villains just as much as the heroes.

Toga dying to a blood transfusion, despite everything other characters survived (Gran Torino donut, edgeshot worm, Dabi charcoal skeleton) and things that she herself survived already.

Having curious bombs go off inside her body leading to internal damage and severe blood loss, yet she still survived until she received help and recovered just fine.

They got Dabi to medical and kept him alive.

Other villains like overhaul, muscular, compress and spinner survived.

It's not like she either had to die or go to jail, she could have just escaped.

Leading to her meeting up with Ochako again in secret or something, to finally fulfill both of their arcs and iron everything out for what would have happened in the future.

Then the Quirk Counseling ending could have worked.

Shigaraki dying after finding out his life was entirely manipulated by AFO.

Strung along like a puppet, mentally and physically manipulated to believe he is a force of destruction, so much that by the time the series starts, it's all shigaraki can believe himself to be.

Twice and Kurogiri fight and die trying to save Toga and Shigaraki, so they can live and be reunited with their friends.

This all just meant nothing in the end??

Ochako, Deku, Toga and Shigaraki's stories can't be over yet because they are important characters and there's too much left unresolved.

Ochako's resolution is incomplete and undefined.

Deku's hero ending feels disappointing and tone-deaf.

Toga completely disappeared before Ochako was taken by the helicopter, nowhere to be seen where she should have been if she had died.

And how is shigaraki a force ghost still walking around in the world if there's no quirks left tethering him as a vestige?

ALSO this recent interview with Horikoshi himself:

(Warning: Spoilers for the most recent BNHA movie)

"Horikoshi says one thing to pay attention to from the My Hero Academia "You're Next" movie is the relationship between Giulio and Anna and how it connects with Deku and the others' goals.

He writes:

"The relationship between Giulio and Anna is a part of the goal point where Deku and the others will eventually reach.

The movie as a standalone in itself is interesting, but if you watch the movie then return to the actual story, then you might feel 'oh so this is where the story leads to.' As such, please pay attention to Giulio and Anna in the movie!"

To give context, by the end of the movie, Giulio is able to cancel out Anna's quirk using his own, allowing her to live a life without being sheltered in fear of her quirk or used as a weapon. So Horikoshi's comment is probably referring to how they help each other accept their quirks or lack thereof and still be able to live in harmony.

In regards to their relationship, Giulio tells Anna he will always be by her side no matter what, they hug and then walk off into the sunset together at the end of the movie."

And another heavily lampshaded moment in the movie novelization when Giulio inner narrates this:

'He knew that killing her wouldn't be a true form of salvation.'

What was all this about??

There has to be more left.

[albert-tsum]

I just want to give my thoughts on the whole "Wesker preys on Rebecca due to the photo in RE2" rumors since it still seems to be relevant and discussed about? (atleast there are posts, asks and comments on Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest and probably Tiktok and Twitter about that from this or last year)

Tl:dr I don't think he ever felt something for her* and if I'd be sure he preys on her I wouldn't have this tsum and account

Soo just a few reasons why I think so and information I came across when I was researching this, this post will be way too long but here we go

*if you have official canon information saying he is into her pls write me but I didn't come across smth like that (yet) and also feel free to inform me if my information are false

-------------------

1) it's an *easter egg* most likely put in by the devs for the player to see and not meant to be canon information (you have to search the desk multiple times, I think that indicates it's an easter egg and not any canon information they want the player necessarily to know)

2) the RE devs love *fanservice*, just look at e.g. some outfits of their female characters, putting the device control on Jills chest etc so it's not unrealistic that they do that shit to Rebecca too even tho she's only 18

3) the picture was *undeveloped* so Wesker couldn't even know what the photo looked like, also there is no evidence or indication that he took the photo like some people assume, they simply could have placed a camera on or in his desk to but there isn't

4) it has smth like "new member/recruit" written on its back (and yeah it was kinda weirdly translated as "rising rookie" in RE2 but I think that meant the same as the japanese text) so it seems to be a official photo given to the STARS captains and showing her in (an official RPD) Basketball uniform would show that she's athletic, smth important for her job und the uniform is designed by Capcom bc as I said they love skimpy outfit fanservice stuff (also she is knowingly posing for the photo so it's not a creepy stalker pic made without her permission)

5) the desk is *most likely shared with Enrico Marini* who is the actual captain of BRAVO team, the team Rebecca is a member of and not ALPHA team which was lead by Wesker

6) also some canon stuff about the interactions of Wesker and Rebecca:

Well, the only canon interaction between them has Wesker shooting her without hesitation, if they wanted him to be into her they could simply having him try to abduct her and showing her the tyrant in RE1 remake to impress her but no he doesn't care about her and is focused on Chris

(Also I saw some fanart, posts etc where they depict Rebecca being the fav of STARS Wesker while hating Chris which is bs bc he rarely knew Rebecca since she just joined a short time before the mansion incident and Wesker compliments Chris, saying he is his best man and is proud of him)

7) also in RE0 when he and Birkin are watching Rebecca and Billy they could simply put a creepy line from Wesker about her but he is just neutral about her

Also there is no notion that he tried to come after her post RE1 or to observe or abduct her

Sooo, sorry for bringing that topic back, maybe I'll delete this later because it's unnecessary but I just felt like writing that

PS: I am fully aware that Wesker is a horrible human being and it's understandable to hate him but that doesn't automatically mean he's a sexual predator

[maverick-werewolf]

Werewolf Article - (Play As A) Werewolf Video Games

The results of the poll for this month on my Patreon are in, and the winner is an opinionated article on werewolf video games! Apologies in advance if any of my opinions here anger you. I was asked for opinionated, so I went opinionated and did not hold back.

For clarity's sake: this will be a relatively concise list of SOME video games in which you can or do play as a werewolf. It will NOT include every single game in which you can or do play as a werewolf, nor will it include certain kinds of playable werewolves that exist in gaming, for the sake of brevity. You'll notice some missing and then want to be first to tell me I left out [thing], but I assure you I am aware of those too. I am also not going to list games in which you can play as a werewolf but it requires either user-made mods or else playing in a custom campaign/tileset/server (like Neverwinter Nights <3), only games wherein you can play as a werewolf as part of base game or expansion pack mechanics.

This IS a tiered list. It is tiered based on the werewolf gameplay mechanics and elements in the game.

Let's get started. I will begin at #9, go to #1, and then I will close with some words on some other games that didn't make the numbered list.

9. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Note: your player character will never have torn-up clothing or use his claws like in this artwork/like the enemy worgen do

I'm just going to list Cataclysm here because, frankly, I don't even want to discuss WoW at Shadowlands and beyond... even if discussing the model update will reach into that era of content. Obviously, I don't play WoW anymore and haven't in quite a while, but yeah, I used to really enjoy it. Played it for many, many years. Probably too many.

Cataclysm was a pretty outright bad expansion, but it did add playable worgen (something I obviously wanted from day 1 after seeing the worgen mobs running around), and they can even turn into human form, which is a must for me in terms of actually being a werewolf instead of just a wolf-person, which I wouldn't even roll. That was a nice touch I didn't actually expect from the devs.

Unfortunately, the model update turned them into something far "cuter" and more cuddly than I liked, not to mention adding preposterous fur options like stripes and merle, but the human form customization was nice. Still, the model update drove me toward playing different races, like maining my kul'tiran and night elf instead of the worgen I was always ultimately pretty disappointed in, given his wearing fine armor and wielding giant weapons. Anyway, the entire game took a huge nosedive not long after the model change, so it's a moot point for me regardless.

As for the deeper worgen lore beyond "they are werewolves with a funny name": I hate it with all my heart. I did my best to ignore every scrap of that and how they are just self-parodies, to delete the Gilneas/worgen starting zone quests from my entire brain, and especially to ignore the fact that they were all preposterously British despite England being one of the last places historically to even have many werewolf legends of its own. I have an article about that here if you are interested in the topic. The game made all of these things very difficult, especially how hard they wanted to drive home that the worgen are silly posh British parody dog-people strutting around in waistcoats and tophats instead of being fearsome cursed werewolves. So I won't bother going into all that.

The mechanics are fun except for the fact that you have to wear armor and use weapons, so ultimately you just look like a beast-person instead of a werewolf, especially after the model change making them far more appealing to a certain demographic. If Blizzard had wanted to put in effort, they would have made your gear look tattered and would have made you swap to claws when you turn, but that would've been a lot of work. They could have at least added a specialized class or something and then also given it to some Horde races to make the precious Horde players happy. I don't know. I just think werewolves wearing fine clothes and armor and wielding weapons is immensely silly. They're supposed to be werewolves.

So while they are extremely far from perfect, the worgen are at least relatively fun in that, if nothing else, you can go between werewolf and human forms and run on all fours as fast as the fastest ground mount, and I am deeply surprised they did either. I immensely enjoyed both of those things during my time playing a worgen, and they helped mitigate the great disappointment otherwise in many other regards - though not enough to keep me from maining other races, especially later on. But, in the end, WoW sucks now and it's unrecoverable, and WoW Classic is a joke, so I'll never be playing a worgen again anyway.

8. Diablo II

I'm sure you were looking for this one - the werewolf druid in Diablo II (preemptive sidebar: I am not going to talk about Diablo IV). I love his design and gameplay mechanics. He's fantastic. However, he is of course yet another instance of "the werewolf must be a druid," which I personally find a little tiresome after so much of it. But hey, this was one of the earlier games to do that, so it predated a lot of the craze.

At any rate, the Druid class in Diablo II obviously gets a werewolf form. It also gets a requisite werebear because werewolves can almost never just be werewolves, but at least the werewolf does not completely suck. You can also summon wolves, which is a bonus.

While I'm not really that big on Diablo-type gameplay - I prefer either third-person or else a proper isometric, party-based RPG - so Diablo II didn't really hold my interest a lot, the werewolf druid is very fun and a very cool werewolf, the setting is great, and the werewolf suits the dark Gothic feeling and look of the game that is enjoyable and well conveyed in the first place. The werewolf druid is a great addition that I am glad they added.

7. Baldur's Gate II

Let me make something perfectly clear: Baldur's Gate II is, in my opinion, the best game ever made (only Uncharted 2: Among Thieves also makes this rank for me). Combined with BG1 to create the Baldur's Gate Saga, it is one of the best stories ever told and also my favorite game mechanics-wise, again alongside Uncharted 2 even if yes, I know that those games could almost not be farther apart in terms of mechanics. I absolutely love BG2 beyond words. Please note I am talking about the original Baldur's Gate II, as released in 2000, not the "Enhanced Edition," which is a disgrace to the game, the entire series, and a piece of garbage. It's shamefully difficult to find the original game anymore, but it's worth it over playing the EE; trust me. I'll try to spare you any further ranting on this topic, as the original Baldur's Gate Saga is something very close to my heart.

Anyway, the werewolf in BG2 is - once again - a druid, specifically a druid subclass called Shapeshifter. It doesn't really have any werewolf gameplay mechanics in that you are not treated differently for it, nor do you transform out of your own control. In fact you will be spending the majority of your time in werewolf form, which can get quite tiresome. I'm not the biggest fan of a werewolf holding normal conversations with NPCs, etc. But regardless, it's there, and I love it, and it looks awesome, and that's more than I can say for so many games. Plus, you get cool bonuses and stuff. The power of it varies over time and with the progression of your character. I will not go too deeply into it, as I am actually an insane D&D video game nerd and even today I can spend far too much time building characters and tweaking numbers and doing ridiculous tricks in D&D games to powergame. If you want just one of my credentials I beat BG2 on the hardest difficulty with Ascension and no other gameplay mods. Long story short, the Greater Werewolf is quite powerful, and it shouldn't be a detriment to your party to either be one or bring along Cernd, one of my favorite companions.

So don't listen to the people down on the Shapeshifter in BG2. You can get mods that make them overpowered, anyway. Also don't listen to my complaints about it not feeling werewolfish enough because that's nearly impossible to come by anyway if you're not playing the #1 game on this list. Go try one out. It's fun! Plus, BG2 is the best game ever made.

6. Altered Beast

What are some of Mav's favorite things? Ancient Greece, hoplites, hot men, werewolves, dragons, tigers...

When I found out Altered Beast exists and is a game wherein you play as an awesome hoplite dude and turn into a werewolf, a green dragon, a tiger-man, and ultimately a werewolf is still the most powerful of all his forms, I was ecstatic. I had to play it immediately.

I wasn't disappointed. It's a fun, unforgiving game, because it was made before video games started becoming what I think we're supposed to call accessible today. I don't know what else there is to say about the game if what I've already said hasn't convinced you to play it. The werewolf form is your first transformation, and your most powerful is a golden werewolf. Me being me, I appreciate that a werewolf form is still the best in the end instead of being outshone by other creatures, and even the other forms available are all very cool.

As I said, I really don't know what more one could ask for of this setting and gameplay. I've never been picky about genre; I play a very wide variety of video games and have plenty of fun, and I certainly had fun with this one.

(Note: I'm not going to talk about that 2005 Altered Beast remake, I like to pretend it never happened)

5. Werewolf the Apocalypse: Earthblood

I'll be the first to admit I'm far from the biggest World of Darkness fan ever, as has brought many insults my way already, but I was pleasantly surprised by the mechanics of the werewolf form in Earthblood. I will not call it the "crinos form," as that terminology is so immensely silly that I could no longer take it seriously if I did. So anyway, the gameplay actually lets you feel like a werewolf, and you even get two stances you can swap between for different combat styles instead of anchoring werewolves down to just doing one thing. I'm not going to wax on about the lore, the story, etc. - but man the werewolf mechanics really are fun. It is, of course, the main draw of the whole deal, and they didn't slouch on that element.

It's important to me that a werewolf feel powerful and also violent. Werewolves should not be cuddly, or else they are no longer werewolves. Painting hallways with the blood of my enemies as if I'm recreating the Ninja lead-up in Metal Gear Solid while in werewolf form is cathartic and a good way to give the player a sense of being a werewolf instead of just an animal-headed person. This is a very solid "play as a werewolf" game, and one of the few games that exist with the primary purpose of letting you really play as a werewolf, whether you are a predetermined character or not. Be warned, the game is notoriously janky, but if you're like me, you're enjoying the werewolf mechanics enough that you don't care - or you can be even more like me and not give a toss about "jankiness" in a game in the first place.

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

While a significant and crushing downgrade from the werewolves in certain other Elder Scrolls entries - more on that momentarily - at least Skyrim let you become a werewolf in the base game. No waiting for an expansion pack and no waiting forever until you move on (thanks, Oblivion). However, the differences between the mechanics of werewolves in past entries and the Skyrim werewolves are many and tragic. I confess I did not play Skyrim much, partially as a result of these exact elements, and partially because I just don't spend much time playing video games anymore, among other things.

In Skyrim, being a werewolf becomes what is colloquially called an "awesome button," letting you turn into a big, strong, cool werewolf that can eat people to extend your werewolf timer. It's great and enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't actually feel as if you are truly cursed with lycanthropy or smelly lupus or whatever silly name Elder Scrolls gave it (yes, I know the name, but that doesn't make it less silly). You have no real disadvantages to being a werewolf, such as having to worry about when you will transform outside your own control - because you never will, which is an immense downgrade in terms of feeling werewolfish and adding appropriate challenge and downside to being a werewolf. You also don't have to worry about being forced to devour a civilized race in order to sate your accursed hunger. Instead, you're doing that on purpose to turn out of werewolf form again, because the more you eat, the longer you stay transformed. Still, the werewolves in Skyrim are good - they just don't compare to previous entries. But I certainly appreciate them and the fact that they are present in the base game.

3. The Sims 3

Trust me, they do look better in game, but I couldn't find any of my own screenshots because it's been a hot minute since I played this.

You probably think I'm trolling you, but the werewolves in The Sims have always been pretty fun; I remember when the ones in 2 first came out, I enjoyed them like crazy. The ones in 3 rocked and were easily the best variant; too bad the game is relatively difficult to get running properly, and many aspects of the werewolves are delicate and easy to glitch, including your entire Sim's werewolf form design. I am not going to talk about those abominations that were added to The Sims 4, because they are some of the worst things I have ever had the misfortune of seeing and are not werewolves by any metric.

Sims 3 changed the aspects of Sims 2 werewolves that I didn't like, such as how being a werewolf altered your sim's entire personality over time and how the werewolf form always looked the same. They made the system much more robust. Frankly, the Sims 3 werewolves are some of the better werewolves in gaming, especially for the kind of game that The Sims is (expect assorted dog jokes, for example, given it's The Sims, yet it still isn't half as bad as it could be). I also love the wolf-man design; it works much better with Sims than something bigger and more wolfish. Certainly far better than whatever the hell is in Sims 4, which again, I will try my best not to talk about.

Anyway, I absolutely recommend Sims 3 if you enjoy Sims games and werewolves and want to have some werewolf fun. I'd probably still be occasionally blowing my finite amount of time on this earth playing it if I had it properly running on my current PC.

2. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

Bet you didn't expect to see this one, did you? You thought I was gonna say Skyrim as #2, right? Actually, I bet you thought I was going to say that one as #1.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a game many would consider unapproachable today. I enjoyed it. Obviously, I played it for the playable werewolf, and I had fun! They work similarly to the ones in Bloodmoon, but, in my opinion, they still aren't as fantastic as the Bloodmoon ones. But the game does force you to actually live and behave as a werewolf - I love the werewolf hunter[s] mechanic - which, again... it's almost the only one of its kind other than Bloodmoon. For that, it gets #2 on this list.

And that means you know what makes #1, untouched in its glory, undimmed by time...

1. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Bloodmoon

Alright. Have I ever talked about how this is the single greatest werewolf game ever made? I think I have, but let's get into it again.

I like Morrowind in the first place. I think it's hands down the best of the Elder Scrolls series and, frankly, the only one really worth dedicating much time to (forgive me). I played it when it first came out, and while I have never been the kind of person to pour hours into any ES or even any other open world game, Morrowind held my attention even as a kid - before I knew about "open world" and before it was such a buzzword - whereas other games before and after it struggled to do so or else failed entirely. Morrowind was groundbreaking for its time in many ways. And then they announced the expansion pack called Bloodmoon that would let you play as a werewolf. I was so excited I could hardly stand it, and even with my extreme werewolf pickiness, I was not disappointed. At all.

This is a game wherein the werewolves are treated as a serious threat, they are insanely rare to encounter in the wild in any capacity (I actually became a werewolf through a random encounter because I ran around on Solstheim obsessively every night rather than just becoming one through the story - it took me many nights, IRL, to encounter one), and when you do run into them, they are likely to destroy you. You are insanely, over the top powerful when you turn into a werewolf, yourself. Some would even call it stupid. I would not. You run at the speed of light and your jump turns into borderline flight. It's basically gliding. You're also preposterously powerful in general. I love it.

Most importantly of all, however, is that you are actually forced to roleplay as a werewolf. You will turn each night, and you must consume 1 victim NPC of any of the playable races. Solstheim is full of assorted enemies that will work for this, but when you go back to Vvardenfell, it can be harder to find a nightly meal while avoiding devouring any quest NPCs. Plus, you have to manage your gear before and after transformations, and you have to be sure you are never witnessed transforming. The entire system is in-depth and very awesome, making you actually feel like a cursed being that has to worry when the sun starts to set, forcing you to run far from civilization.

I cannot put into words how much I adore this game's werewolf system. Nothing compares. This is a real werewolf system, instead of "play as a wolf-person" or "hit the awesome button to become a werewolf for a little while with 0 consequences" like basically every other werewolf game out there.

So long story short, if you claim to love werewolves and want to play as one in a video game, and you haven't played Bloodmoon, then you're lying to yourself and the whole world. Shame on you.

And now for things that didn't make the list...

10. Assorted Acknowledgements

This category is for ones I don't even really have a lot to say about, but I figured I would mention them.

Terraria - You can get an item that lets you turn into a werewolf when night falls. It's pretty fun! I like the mechanics of it, plus it has a neat werewolf design, to boot. I dock serious points in this game for straight-up replacing the zombies with hordes of werewolves in hard mode, though. "Werewolf infestations" and werewolves being zombie stand-ins these days is preposterous and overdone. But I had a lot of fun running around as a werewolf and exploring, so it's absolutely top of the non-tiered list especially as far as werewolf mechanics go.

Pillars of Eternity - The "werewolf" in this game is one of several animal-person forms the druid can get, continuing the common theme in gaming of druid werewolves. The wolf is decidedly the worst of the lot, less useful even than the prey animals available. Put bluntly: they are basically terrible, and you're an idiot to ever use this form when there are so many build options available. There are also lots of other RPG options available. As in other games out there in the world. You should play those instead.

Guild Wars 2 - You cannot actually play as a werewolf in Guild Wars 2, but I figured I would mention it because lots of people do. If you want to roll one of the Norn giant race, either as a pretty giant woman who is the mommy stepping on you from some men's dreams or as the ugly tiny-headed cartoon men, you can get an ability to turn into a werewolf for like 30 seconds; it's far from exciting. And like so many werewolf abilities today, it comes with the option to also turn into other humanoid animals with different abilities. I've heard that, of them, only the cat and bear are useful, which is not a shocker as video game logic goes (game devs think wolves straight up suck at everything lol). I didn't play a Norn during my stint with Guild Wars 2 - I played a male human. He's Nolan North, so he's obviously the only choice and also why I played the game as much as I did.

The Elder Scrolls Online - This disgraceful abomination of a "game" is terrible in every way and could not have been a bigger disappointment on the promise of an "Elder Scrolls but MMORPG" concept even from the very beginning. It was never good, it only ever got worse, and I am happy to say I abandoned it long ago (I am not happy to say I was playing it in early closed beta because of the promise of werewolves - and I played it far more than I should have, so I am not coming at this from ignorance). It is a game with designs so ugly and unremarkable that you want to quit and walk through the woods just to remind yourself beauty still exists in the world. ESO clearly had no idea what direction to take itself in from the moment it dropped, and it certainly was never created with the pretense of playing like an Elder Scrolls game but being massively multiplayer. It has no sense of mood or atmosphere whatsoever and possesses writing that will make you long for the riveting tales in other low-rent, low-thought MMORPGs. You can play as a hideous weird sad werewolf model that is absurdly small (most likely smaller than the race you are playing as, which means you actually shrink when you transform) and should have been left in beta, which functions like a worse awesome button werewolf than the ones in Skyrim, because you also suck gameplay-wise especially depending on the dev's mood with the meta. It is terrible, as is everything about the game. ESO also went out of its way to completely wreck all previous Elder Scrolls werewolf lore that was actually really good. Anyway, don't play this. Your time is worth more than that, even if you don't think it is.

That covers some of the best! Requisite apologies if I didn't include your favorite.

( Free Newsletter  — Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Vampire Fact Masterlist — Amazon Author page )

[dutchdread]

Hi Dutch. Since you have answered many questions about Cloti, what is your thought about Zerith in Rebirth? I saw many people disappointed or having no hope for them but others said the devs are creating angst. Do you agree?

Hi, thanks for the question. Yeah, I understand being disappointed with the Zerith content in Rebirth. The developers spent a lot of time hyping up Zacks importance, not just with Remake but also with developer interviews and such. To have such a build-up and then have him relegated to just a few playable intermissions, to not get a Zack Aerith reunion, and depending on who you listen to to have him being brushed aside in favor of Cloud in regards to Aeriths affections, can understandably feel disheartening.

But really this is just a lack of understanding concerning story structure, to put it simply, Rebirth is EXTREMELY Zerith.

When reading Harry Potter I always knew that Snape was most likely going to end up a good guy, despite the seeming back and forths. And do you know which moment to me proved that he was a good guy? When he killed Dumbledore at the end of book 6. I knew then without a doubt that he was a good guy, because there was still one book to go, and it was obvious that that book would have the final ultimate reversal.

Rebirth didn't have a lot of Zerith pay-off, but if anything that's a good thing. If it did I would be worried about what would happen in part 3 to flip that pay-off on its head. Instead Zerith has gotten a lot of build-up that is now screaming to receive pay-off in part 3.

We have shots of Zack desperately trying to come back to Aerith. We have Aerith admitting she still has feelings for Zack. We have Aerith desperately trying to recreate her time with Zack. We have Tifa and Aerith talking about Zack. We have Aerith sensing Zacks touch in the cave of the GI. We have Aerith singing songs about meeting again. We have Aerith admitting to seeing Zack again in Cloud. We have Aerith instantly going to Zacks parents. We have Cloud talking about how Zack is head over heels for Aerith. We have Zack in Nibelheim talking to Cloud about their respective girlfriends

And the question you need to ask for all these things is "why?" Why would they include all these scenes if it's not getting a pay-off? Why show scenes of Aerith trying and failing to recreate her days with Zack interspersed with scenes of Zack trying to get back to her if that ultimately isn't of importance? Why show Zack positively contrasted with a negatively presented Cloud if the message you're trying to convey is that Zack has been replaced? Why show Zack to be an amazing guy if you want to end his arc with people being ok with him being rejected? Why make a themesong with the desire for meeting again at its core and have Zacks entire story in the game being about trying to reunite with Aerith if the point of that reunion is heartbreak?

The answer is that a writer wouldn't do those things, they make no sense. If you want your love story to feel positive then you need to disassemble the alternatives first. You need to show how the other pairings don't work, minimize their importance, or in some other way make it clear to the audience that the "main couple" coming together is the desirable outcome.

If you want to show that Aerith is getting over Zack you don't spend your limited screentime showing Aerith pining over Zack, you instead show how she's no longer occupying his mind as much. If you want to show Aerith getting over Zack you don't have her talking about still loving him, you instead have her talking about how she DID once, but that that was a long time ago. You don't end her arc with a date that remind the viewer of the existence of Zack, but one that is fully between Cloud and Aerith. If you want to show the compatibility of Cloud and Aerith then you don't make it so that everything goes wrong, you make it so that the dream date goes "DREAMY"!. And if you want to sell the idea that Aerith is over Zack and has come to the conclusion that she truly romantically loves Cloud then you DON'T place that confession right after said horrible date, with Zack scenes left right and center, a Cloud thats talking about you being "nakama", and Aerith dialogue that at best says she's not sure about what she feels, and at worst is a straight up friendzoning. If you want to replace a very positively portrayed romance then you will need the end all be all of chemistry and certainty in the new one, and talks about "well, I like you, but there is liking and then there's liking" is NOT a recipe for that.

In short, if you want to sell the idea that Cloud has truly replaced Zack in Aeriths heart and more importantly IN THE NARRATIVE, then you don't put emphasis on the existence of Aeriths feelings for Zack, and you don't put emphasis on Zacks feelings for Aerith. Those things all serve to maximize the connection between Aerith and Zack when what you need to do if you want to sell Clerith is minimize it. The reason being that this romance is in narrative conflict with the supposed Aerith Cloud romance, and the stronger the Aerith Zack connection is presented, the more extravagant the bond between Cloud and Aerith needs to be written for the story to make sense.

And that won't happen when you have Cloud deriding Aerith for the way she tries turning everything into a date the one moment, and then a scene showing Zack taking care of Aerith while in a coma the next. It doesn't happen when you show a scene of Cloud bonding with Tifa in one scene and almost kissing her, and then show Zack bonding with Aeriths mother in the next. It doesn't happen when you show Aerith failing to recreate her date with Zack and asking Cloud to find her in "her place", and then show Zack waiting for Aerith in "her place" the next.

All these things signal the same thing "Zack good for Aerith, Cloud bad".

You can extrapolate this idea beyond Rebirth of course. If Zack and Aerith isn't getting a pay-off what is the point of re-releasing Crisis Core before Rebirth? If the point is to show that Zack is no longer in the picture what is the point of showing off an entire game all about how important he and Aerith are to each other and about how desperate he is to get back to her? What is the point of showing that the bow Aerith is always wearing was gift from him. What is the point of her always wearing the clothes that she said she'd wear in anticipation of seeing him again. What is the point in bringing up the fact that she wrote Zack 89 letters and has been waiting for him for 5 years if Zack is replaceable in 2 weeks? What is the point of writing that Aeriths one wish is to spend more time with Zack if her literally spending time with a Zack stand-in isn't relevant? What is the point of writing it that Aerith didn't just see Zack in Cloud because they're similar...but because he's LITERALLY putting on a fake persona based on Zack, if Zacks presence in Clouds persona is irrelevant to Aeriths feelings regarding him?

If you want us to believe that Aerith likes Cloud for Cloud then these are all very questionable writing choices, especially when you also keep harping on about her wanting to get to know the real Cloud, which implies that she doesn't know him YET. It's not that you can't still have it so that Aerith does actually prefer Cloud despite all this, but if that's the case then you've failed as a writer because this would be VERY incoherent storytelling. If the writers want you to believe that Aerith has moved on from Zack, then they shouldn't and wouldn't have spend so much time showing Aerith not having moved on from Zack. Ultimately the question is one of focus, a story about Aerith falling in love with Cloud, and a story about moving on from Zack might look superficially similar, and entail the same basic events. But the difference is the focus. Is that focus on Cloud and what he means to Aerith? Or is the focus on Zack? In rebirth there is a heavy focus, not on the developing bond between Cloud and Aerith, those are limited almost exclusively to Tifa, but there is a heavy focus on Aeriths feelings in regards to Zack. There is no storytelling purpose to Aerith telling Cloud she still loves Zack 3/4ths of the way through her story if the focus of the story isn't Aeriths feelings for Zack, but her feelings for Cloud. If the writers wanted you to think Zack doesn't matter they wouldn't spend so much time hammering in the idea that Zack matters. These moments are all in service to Aerith and Zack, not Aerith and Cloud.

Even things like Zack discovering that Aerith has started developing feelings for Cloud only makes sense to include if the pay-off for that is them reuniting and him showing Aerith what love really is. So if we saw in Rebirth wasn't a "lack of Zerith", then what DID we see? Well, to reiterate what I said earlier:

If you want your love story to feel positive then you need to disassemble the alternatives first.

This is what we saw in Rebirth, Cloud and Aerith being disassembled, so that part 3 can get us to the pay-off. We see Cloud and Aerith bonding, yes, but it's ALWAYS contrasted with Tifa and Zack. If we have a scene where Aerith tries to engage Cloud in talks concerning food he will be shown to engage with the same discouraging passivity of the average woman on tinder, then that scene will invariably be followed by a similar scene with Tifa where he is enthusiastically trying to keep the conversation flowing. If we see a scene where Aerith is trying to get a certain energy from Cloud and failing, it won't be long till we see a scene of Zack having that same desired energy naturally.

In short, Rebirth was filled with scenes that "serve a purpose in the overall narrative". But the only way those scenes WOULD serve a purpose in the overall narrative, is if the overall narrative is: "Aerith is trying to get over Zack and is trying to move on through Cloud. But by doing so she discovers that it's just not the same. While Cloud helps Aerith move on and accept the past, he can never replace Zack". If the overall narrative is: "Aerith used to be pining over Zack, but now she has truly replaced Zack in her heart with Cloud and Zack is a relic of the past" then none of these scenes would make sense to include. You can also look at it like this, why didn't Rebirth have a Zerith Reunion scene? Because apparently that's too important of a scene to quickly tack on to the end of part 2. Nomura has already hinted at something very important to include in part 3 that wasn't in part 2, something that he thinks will make people very happy if done right. And I am pretty freaking confident that what he's talking about is the long-awaited Aerith - Zack reunion. And that is why this game is extremely favorable to Zerith, so be excited for part 3.

[valictini]

I've been asking myself these questions regarding totk's story and my deep disappointment in it, because I know a lot of people loved it, I know a lot of people felt it was a better story than botw, and I know a lot of people believe that Zelda games never had good stories to begin with....

But no, I do think the story objectively sucks, is worse than botw's, and could have easily been better. Totk's story is flashier and that's pretty much all it has to offer.

Part of it is its execution, how using the same blueprint as botw (deliberately non linear) was a baffling move when you tried to tell a linear story. You shouldn't be punished for pursuing the story earlier than when the devs planned. You shouldn't be able to spoil yourself the story. You shouldn't be presented with the exact same information 4+ times at points where you're supposed to be rewarded for your efforts. You shouldnt have to slog through a mystery when the game KNOWS you already know the answer. And yet, this happened to an alarmingly large number of people!

So yes, the execution wasn't good.

But the story itself isn't good either. Not only did they decide to cut ties with botw's lore, but they didn't even fully commit to the new lore they introduced.

The zonai civilisation has no substance. We see two (2) of its members and only interact with their ghosts in very, very few instances. During those interactions, we do learn tidbits of this civilisation, but as soon as the tutorial is over, you will never learn anything new from a zonai again. A couple lines during the tutorial is where the bulk of zonai lore happens. The rest is: jumping minigame said to be the same ritual young zonai would do to become adults and the explanation of draconification.

You could maybe say that the mere existence of zonai tech, the mere existence of secret stones, the zonai gear and the ancient hero aspect could be considered zonai lore. But what these things only really add to the lore is that the Zonai 1) were always everywhere and 2) were very powerful. That's pretty much it.

(The ancient hero aspect is especially infuriating to me. It could be a whole post.)

So, not only did they replace the Sheikah by the Zonai for no reason, they didn't even flesh them out enough to be interesting. But they didn't exploit the rest of the story to its fullest either.

- The heart of the story happens in the ancient era, yet we don't see much of it. All the new things we see: the inside of ancient hyrule castle's throne room, a garden and one (1) gazebo in a field. We don't get lore for the dungeons aside from their name, and the ancient sages don't add anything to them either. In general, we don't get lore of the ancient races, not even the hylians or the gerudos.

- Zelda was retconed into being stupid enough not to make the connection between Ganondorf and calamity Ganon. She was also sent back into being a compliant little princess that can't put her foot down when she knows the people around her are making mistakes.

(As an aside, I'm fully of the opinion that Calamity Ganon was a better antagonist than Ganondorf. At least you don't have to fanfic your way into understanding why he wants Hyrule destroyed. He's a magical beast full of hatred, the end.)

- The whole plot is centered around dragons, and yet totk manages to have LESS content surrounding the three dragons of Hyrule than fucking botw.

- Hylia is no relevant anymore. The statues are apparently their own entities? And they have counterparts in the depths with he bargainer statues? Never elaborated on.

The ending cutscene contains a deus ex machina that manages to retcon elements of its OWN story. (Rauru was supposed to be gone after the tutorial. Zelda was supposed to be gone after becoming a dragon.) Realistically, I knew Zelda wouldn't stay a dragon, but I was genuinely shocked at how little of an explanation we get for her return.

And we have 0 impact on her return as a player. Nothing we do matters. She turns back no matter what. Despite many opportunities to make it work in universe.

We could have had something tied with the other dragons, the three sources, to Purah's experiments with time, to the four temples, to Hylia, to the bargainer statues, to the triforce...

But no, just a vague "ghosts that should have disappeared eons ago use their powers to get her back through your arm".

We don't even have an alternate bad ending where this doesn't happen. It will happen, no matter what. For the cinematic shot at the end.

Oh and Link had to get his arm back too. I know they needed their cool parallel of Link catching her hand at the same angle as when he failed to do so at the beginning, but it just all feels so inconsequential as a result.

Everything's solved, everything's good, nothing that happened in this game ever mattered.

[doberbutts]

I just wanted to say thank you for a refreshing take on the “you shouldn’t write [demographic] if you’re not [demographic]” thing! I once saw someone say that people who aren’t gay men should never write stories that touch on the experiences/struggles of gay men, and I just can’t agree? I’m a gay man myself and while I’m always going to be excited about stories that touch on those topics that are written by gay men, I’m also going to be excited about those kinds of stories if they’re written by other people! Sure, they may not get everything correct, but if they’re committed to accurately portraying the experiences of gay men, then I don’t see what the problem is. They’re learning and taking care to understand an experience that isn’t theirs. And if they’re just writing a fictional story, then it’s not like they’re trying to say they’re an Expert/Official Voice of the experience?

Obviously there are many people who don’t do their due diligence in writing certain experiences of demographics they are not part of, but I don’t think that means it should be completely barred off as something people can do. We should be encouraging people to learn about different demographics and their experiences, not discouraging them.

I think a lot of times it comes from a place of having seen bad rep after bad rep and feeling like at least someone sharing a demographic would be a little better about it, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to want own voices to have a significant amount of pull in the discussion.

However. Hmm. How do I put it?

When I first started playing BG3 something I noticed was how common skin "blemishes" and vitiligo were in the NPCs. Now I don't know if any of the writers or dev team have these common blemishes. But vitiligo is really very uncommon to see on fictional characters period, and it appears to be really nicely represented with how it tends to appear and what parts of the skin it affects the most. And I remember thinking that was a nice touch.

I personally find these types of "blemishes" very attractive. I have a bunch of beauty marks and moles and I think they look great. I've put them on my characters since I was a little kid, I remember lamenting that I didn't have a beauty mark on my face and now I have two. I used to tell everyone who would listen about the light patch of skin on my leg as my birthmark, and now it's mostly tanned and hidden by hair so it's not nearly so visible as it used to be, and I was saddened by that when I first realized that you couldn't really see my birthmark anymore. I used to be able to run a list of every mark and mole and spot and patch on my body, and now I have more than I can count, and I find myself really happy about that.

You don't see them represented much in fiction or fantasy. But they're everywhere in BG3, it's more common to find characters with these marks than without. And idk if any of the dev team are among the people who have been tormented mercilessly for having "flawed" "imperfect" skin, but I also don't think it's a bad thing even if they didn't. These are perfectly normal things that people have on their skin and it's the first time I've seen characters just walking by my own as if they're normal. And yeah, why wouldn't they be totally disregarded as nothing to be preoccupied with when there's people walking around with far weirder things going on with their skin than a few patches of no pigment on their mouth or hands?

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 28 SPOILERS‼️

normal and hard spoilers

masterlist | all lessons | season 2 | lesson 27 | lesson 29

beel not being hungry is odd, but given the course of the story, him not rampaging like asmo or mammon is even weirder

i personally think it's bc we already saw what happened when his gluttony takes over in season 1, and having that happen a second time wouldn't really serve any narrative purpose

i love how beel is the most outwardly affectionate and caring about his brothers despite not always being the most "expressive" if that makes sense ???

i feel like he and satan (for obvious reasons) take after lucifer the most because of how palpable their love is for their brothers, regardless of the different ways they choose/are able to express that love

sobs uncontrollably

imagine "baby" beel running around trying to guard "teenage" mammon from raphael bc he wanted to protect his brothers and lilith in the same way he saw lucifer do it

i feel like next to beel and belphie's relationship, beel and mammon have one of the healthiest sibling dynamics in the game, both in og and in nb, and part of that is due to their abundance of empathy

and satan being the first to suggest a way to help beel ??? WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE ??? the development i sobbed

he doesn't wanna see beel go through what he went through and is doing anything he can to prevent that from happening

i also think the "eat-til-you-drop" title is foreshadowing bc mammon, asmo, and satan all passed out when they had their rampages...maybe satan's trying to induce it so they can get to the root of the problem faster ???

finally. FINALLY we get mephisto to stop being an annoying dickhead and open up about his emotions, even if it's technically against his will and only for a moment. if he'd get out of his own head and rework the prejudices he has about lucifer and his brothers, he'd realize that he and lucifer are much more alike than he thinks, and they'd probably end up being really good friends. but because they're so similar, they're both too prideful to put aside their differences (especially mephisto) to explore the common ground they share

and i'm so so glad the devs didn't villainize mammon for this bc it's obvious that he had good intentions

i FIRMLY believe that next to beel, mammon is one of the most emotionally intelligent and empathetic characters in the entire game, but he's less outright and upfront with it bc of his own pride and bc of the way other people view him off of first glance

i feel like this hammers home my point of satan and beel taking after luci. he shows that he cares more that he says it, but denies it at every chance he gets bc he's too prideful to admit it. satan didn't show or say that he cared about his brothers outwardly until recently. beel shows and verbalizes that he cares

but it's evident to everyone around them that their bond is unbreakable

GIVE. ME. MORE. SOFT. MOMENTS. LIKE. THIS.

shit like this makes me miss seeing my little sister every day and bugging her (if you're reading this shut up)

[dmercer91]

ebug’s sister, dm91

part one / part two / part three

we're gonna ignore the drastic hair change and the fact that the people in pictures 2 and 3 look absolutely nothing alike despite being twins in the au

pictures saved from pinterest !

blakefriarr_

liked by jackhughes, lhughes_06 and 4,867 others

blakefriarr_: my brother's an ubug, episode 3! birthday edition!

jj was not actually the ebug for tonight's game, he's just a huge suck and he got me devs tickets for my (our) birthday cause he LOVESSSSS MEEEEE

he was gonna get me a mercer jersey and then i apparently offended him by drawing dicks on the printed pdf of his 10 commandments

i can't not provide context for these photos, it's my brand. so buckle up.

one is me after unwrapping the gift my dad got for jj and accidentally put my name on. yes that is fire. yes this was our father telling jj to go get an actual job. yes i laughed. yes i kept it.

the next two capture jj and i's entire relationship visually, and they are me wanting to drink out of a much too heavy, glass bottle without using my hands. jj was incredibly concerned for his safety as well as the condition the floor would be in after i inevitably dropped the bottle and got glass everywhere. however, that did not happen because i am actually god himself. next.

dawson looks very displeased with whatever he is looking at (they were winning?????? the puck was in the o zone?????? hisch had the puck?????? idek. maybe he's got digestive issues)

the boys are having a pre faceoff chat. dawson is eating his gloves.

view 525 comments..

jj.friar31: i want that torch back

→ blakefriarr_: tough shit james

→ drayanewman: HIS NAME IS JAMES?!?!?!?!?

user6543456: dawson eating his gloves just like jack

→ user93456: will ny is the original sporting goods eater

dawson1417: happy birthday <3 hope you had a good night

→ blakefriarr_: this comment squished my heart like a pimple in the best way

→ dawson1417: you're welcome? 😭

→ blakefriarr_: thank you, handsome <3

→ dawson1417: i understand the pimple comment. good lord.

dawson1417: now that we're done being cute i do NOT have DIGESTIVE ISSUES???

→ blakefriarr_: it's nothing to be ashamed of, daws. just a tummy ache :(

→ dawson1417: i did not have a tummy ache i am a grown man

→ blakefriarr_: shit ur right my bad you've got functional dyspepsia

→ dawson1417: i've got WHAT

user230237: this is so chaotic

user098765: i love that everyone just goes with this

dawson1417: final comment i promise but why is your shirt half see through

→ blakefriarr_: why ISN'T your shirt half see through 🤨

→ blakefriarr_: lemme have a look

→ jj.friar31: this is why you didn't get a jersey

→ blakefriarr_: @/dawson1417 can i have a jersey

→ dawson1417: @/blakefriarr_ i will get you one from every theme night as long as they've got my number on them

→ jj.friar31: you're a TRAITOR, dawson.

njdevils: happy birthday, blake!

→ jj.friar31: happy birthday blake AND JJ. IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOO. I'M THE EBUG!!! I'M MORE SPECIAL

→ blakefriarr_: i wouldn't say more special but you're definitely a different flavour of special

→ blakefriarr_: also technically your birthday was yesterday so stop acting like a colossal piss baby

→ jackhughes: huh

→ blakefriarr_: i REALLY did not want out of there bro i was hanging on for dear life

→ jackhughes: oh shit i thought dad had mad game

→ quinnhughes: then they wouldn't be twins ?

→ blakefriarr_: oh my god one of them has a brain cell

→ quinnhughes: glad i could be of service, congrats on being whatever age it is that you are

lhughes_06: i was gonna say happy birthday and then you said i had less braincells than quinn.

→ blakefriarr_: correction- i said quinn had one (1) braincell. therefore implying that you have none <3

lhughes_06: happy birthday jj

→ blakefriarr_: and you WONDER why i like quinn better

jackhughes: you were born on this day 🎉 jj wasn't, i guess. but happy birthday to him

jj.friar31: @/blakefriarr_ thanks for pissing off 2/3 of the hughes' i needed that

→ blakefriarr_: you're welcome it was your birthday gift

→ blakefriarr_: but just cause i'm butthurt i'll leave you with the thought that ellen would probably like me better

nicohischier: happy birthday to you and jj, thank you for calling me something normal

→ blakefriarr_: kinda weird that you don't find cap normal do you have something to share with the class

→ nicohischier: no i am 24 and i do not attend class

dougieham: i would never in a million years have thought you two were twins before your first post i actually just assumed you'd hid behind him until you got to meet us and that there was no correlation

→ blakefriarr_: is it cause i am really cool and he is just jj

→ dougieham: no.

→ dougieham: well actually sort of

→ blakefriarr_: aw thanks dougie

→ dougieham: i said sort of

ryangraves27: my head made it into this one

→ blakefriarr_: i can't tell what tone of voice this was meant to be read in

→ blakefriarr_: like are you sad?? thrilled?? terrified?? should i crop you out next time?? emote please

→ ryangraves27: i think i will not

→ blakefriarr_: this comment made me call my therapist

→ jj.friar31: thanks man she needed this

→ blakefriarr_: remember when both of the gifts had my name on them and nobody was shocked and the first one was money and things i was actually interested in and the second one was a propane torch that nobody will ever use unironically (remember which one was meant for you?)

→ jj.friar31: while ur on the phone with her can you make me an appointment too

→ blakefriarr_: she made it right before mine in case you need more time.

→ jesperbratt: you're joking about the gift thing... right?

→ blakefriarr_: they paid his college tuition

→ jj.friar31: they paid for part of your car

→ blakefriarr_: i drive an '11 civic and the check engine light has been on for a year and a half

→ jj.friar31: they pay for your apartment

→ blakefriarr_: we live together???

→ jj.friar31: that is definitely a point

view more comments..

[hum-suffer]

Of course, you'll hurt me (Rajneeti) part 5

With Samar's glasses over her eyes, Amrita stands at a corner and stares off in the distance, remembering the last time she wore something belonging to Samar.

(It was the day they last met. She was wearing his jeans jacket. He'd made her smile and laugh and he'd made it her best day. And then, he never talked to her again. He avoided her calls, never answered her messages and emails. Amrita shoved the jean jacket in the spare storeroom of her house the very day he left india.)

(The sense of belongingness in her chest is heavy as a panic attack as she feels the frames of his sunglasses licking her ears. She hates him for coming back and for ruining the control she sowed over the years.)

That guy has guts, is what Amrita thinks as she is left alone in the car while Prithvi goes to give his prepared speech. This Suraj guy is somehow a bit correct in his place but Amrita has never been enough of a satyavadi to actually appreciate his tirade. Behind her sunglasses, she rolls her eyes and wishes she could instead her some random songs instead of this irritating battle of words. It's getting on her nerves.

Apparently, Prithvi doesn't have too much patience too. He reiterates that Jeevan Kumar will be the candidate from Azad nagar, and the guy huffs, turning away and leaving a crowd behind, that's cheering his name.

God, what a mess.

Despite the sunglasses, Amrita contemplates getting herself another pain killer and an expresso. With the amount of reports here, she knows it'll be plastered all over the net about how the Rashtrawadi party isn't doing well in Azad nagar, especially with it being an area set up by the party itself years ago. Some sort of sick irony.

Prithvi bhaiya has a shrewd look about himself when he finally walks down the stage and Amrita knows she's in for a rant as soon as she shares a look with Harsh.

As soon as they're seated in the car, Prithvi snarls. "I want details on that guy. Immediately."

"Already on it," Amrita says, pulling off the glasses and putting them back in the compartment. She's seen this guy, she knows him. "He's Ram Kaka's son, Suraj. He's got a lot of friends and he's a local hero, from what Kaka has told me."

Prithvi narrows his eyes at her. "You know him?"

"I know your driver and I'm decent enough to talk to him," she retorts, clenching her jaw at his tone. She knows he is angry and Prithvi has never quite managed to have a better temperament. Whenever he's angry, he destroys everything around him. Typical male anger.

(Amrita would know. Her father has the same explosive anger.)

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Dev is absolutely unsurprised when she goes to pick him up, her hair in a mess and her clothes creased. Harsh had offered to drop her but she'd rather spend time one on one with her little brother than this hovering feeling of being involved in the politics.

Just because she dabbled a little into politics while in college, and just because she's Prithvi's assistant, it doesn't mean that she's just going to sit down and let the possibile political implications ruin her time with her brother.

Dev's blue berry icecream tastes horrible and chalky, leaving a layer of dryness on her tongue when she takes a bite. She scowls at Dev as he laughs,"Of course, I knew you wouldn't like it."

"Why offer it at all?"

"You made bhindi yesterday despite knowing I hate it," he shrugs,"Balance tallied."

Amrita narrows her eyes as she takes a tiny bite of her pineapple icecream. "It is definitely not tallied. I'll be making bhindi again, just to irritate you now."

"I won't eat it!" He sticks out his now blue tongue at her, despite knowing that he needs to eat whatever she makes, of course.

Amrita raises an eyebrow. "You'll eat what I make or starve. Now, tell me, what did you eat for lunch? Abhi and Khushi didn't come to college today?"

Dev steals a bite from her icecream and shakes his head. "They did come, but they left earlier to go on a date."

"Ah, young love," Amrita exaggerates with a sigh,"You still have no crushes in your faculty?"

Dev rolls his eyes and shakes his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. I'd just rather stay focused on myself. I don't think I can juggle too many responsibilities. I need to score the goddamn best in the class."

Amrita throws away his empty cup and gives him the remaining half of her icecream. She swats his head before ruffling his hair affectionately. "I love you, Dev, but you need to understand that I have no expectations from you. I don't need you to top. I need you to enjoy your life and just maintain good grades. You don't need to be the best in that class, you're already the best boy I know."

Dev yawns and nods. "Yeah, I know, but I just want to make you proud."

Amrita feeds him a spoonful of the icecream and kisses the side of his head. "I'm always proud of you, no matter what. Don't force yourself into anything because of mental or peer pressure." Amrita wishes she could say more, do more. He's her everything. He's the Sun of her universe.

"Yeah." He doesn't look unconvinced but the typical aversion to emotions has returned and Amrita huffs out a laugh at him, urging him to eat up the icecream quickly so that she can go to drop him off back home.

He sideyes her when she buys a coffee to go for herself but doesn't say anything about it, talking to her about his college instead. There's going to be some fresher's party soon, he says, tone hopeful and wondering.

He says this as they reach home, knowing that she immediately has to leave and hence can't give him a whole lecture or interrogate him about all the details of this farewell party.

"Send me the details, I'll pay the amount by evening." She grins at his answering whoop. Under other circumstances, she'd have had more questions for him, but she'd have let him go anyways and she knows he deserves a treat after the fiasco yesterday. She hopes that no other day comes where he has to spend the night alone in their home.

"You're still going to be back home by 11 pm, you hear me?"

Dev bounces on the ball of his feet as he nods feverently, almost vibrating in excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise, I'll be back at the dot!"

Amrita shakes her head at him and starts to leave. "I'll see you for dinner, be safe!"

She doesn't leave until Dev is back in the house.

Two blocks later, she parks on the side of the road and downs the coffee as soon as she can, hoping her stomach won't grumble when she goes back to the Pratap residence. In between the travel time to and fro Dev's college, the issue with Surya Kumar, and the media fallout of it, Amrita hasn't had the time to have a proper meal. The ice cream and coffee aren't actual meals, but they'll sustain her until she can come back home for dinner.

She sighs deeply, wishing that she could just run away from the problem and take a long vacation.

Her phone rings, and it's Indu.

Amrita cusses thoroughly as she picks up the call.

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Walking in the Pratap house, Amrita takes in the sight of Chandra uncle and Prithvi hunched over the table, talking in hushed tones. She drops the files of investors and the poster sketch on the table near them, greeting Bharti aunty quietly before she sits down across Prithvi.

She ties her hair in a quick bun, and puts her earrings in the pocket, starting to adjust the schedule for the next day.

"You have a meeting with Mr. Bajaj tomorrow, 9 a.m." She tells Prithvi, writing down the location, the time, the particulars and the members of the meeting in the organised order that she's been doing for years.

Prithvi shakes his head. "Postpone it."

"Why and at what time?" She asks, barely stopping herself from gritting her teeth in irritation at his presumptive nature.

"I'm going out with Samar, to get him a watch. Write that down. We'll go to the Casio and Titan showrooms. I did tell him he could even get Cartier but he's stuck on the vintage looks for Titan." Prithvi says, the last sentence directed to Chandra uncle, who nods with a chuckle.

Amrita sighs and puts a reminder in her phone to call Rithik, Mr. Bajaj's secretary, for the change of time. Knowing the two men, it'll take at least an hour for them to select a watch and it'll take another half hour, Prithvi will insist on feeding Samar.

She's wondering what exactly she should tell Rithik when Samar walks into the room, dressed in a simple worn grey tshirt and jeans. He holds her eyes for a long moment, expression hopeful. She remembers him calling her Amu.

She remembers Indu's phone call.

Amrita turns back to the diary. "So, I can pencil your visit to Titan at 9 a.m. We can move the meeting with Mr. Bajaj to 11 a.m. And then you have another meeting with the leader of the student wing of our party, Shweta Kulkarni, at 12:30 p.m. Then, you have the party meeting at 3 p.m."

Samar's head snaps up. "Bhaiya, please don't move any meetings because of me. I'm going to be here for a couple more days, we can go later."

Amrita almost shakes her head. Little brothers and their incessant need to make sure that their elder siblings know just how uncool it is to hangout with elder siblings.

Amrita wishes she could have brought her earphones and it would have been socially acceptable to work in a group while wearing her earphones. She does not wish to be a part of this conversation and neither does she need any information from this conversation.

Prithvi shakes his head. "We're going. That's it. If I can't make time for my little brother, what kind of an elder brother am I, huh? And you're already planning on leaving. Let me have some time with you."

It's the emotional blackmail card that has Amrita standing up. All eyes snap to her for a moment and she gives a half smile to no one in particular, picking up her diary as she goes. "I'll reset the meeting."

She moves to the backyard to call Rithik, who, thankfully agrees to postpone the meeting after a quick word with his boss, since Mr. Bajaj has the hour at 11 a.m. free already. Bless her luck.

It's when Rithik passes the phone to Mr. Bajaj that Amrita considers that she may just have jinxed her own luck.

Instead of the self righteous anger that Amrita is expecting, Mr. Bajaj chuckles as he says,"Prithvi babu only just checked his schedule, didn't he?"

"Yes, sir," she says, embarrassed and sheepish because of Prithvi. They'd gone over his schedule on the previous day too. If he'd just told her— at least they'd have been professional and Mr. Bajaj would have a 24 hours notice.

"I wonder how you manage to work with him," he laughs,"Prithvi babu has always been impulsive. But do not worry, Ms. Arya, I will fully accommodate you and him."

Amrita squashes the urge to sigh. "Thank you, Mr. Bajaj. We will see you in your office at 11 a.m. tomorrow."

"Of course. Thank you, Ms. Arya."

"And thank you, sir, for being so accommodating. I hope you have a good day."

This time, Amrita actually finds herself wishing her pleasantaries to be true. Any man who is this calm about a sudden change in time needs to have good days. If it were anyone else, Amrita would have been humiliated and Prithvi would have lost favour.

When she turns to go back, Samar is standing at the door, hand raised to knock. Amrita startles, putting a hand on her heart. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Samar frowns minutely and shakes his head, as if dismissing a thought. "No, I'm sorry for startling you. Um, anyway, Maa sent me to ask you if you'd like some tea."

Amrita shakes her head, pressing her lips in a quick smile. "No, thank you."

"Right, I'll tell her to make a couple of parathas for you." He turns to leave, an unbearably smug tilt to his lips.

"I already spent my lunch," she calls out after him, deliberately not using his name. "Thank you for the offer, however."

Samar turns back to her. "You're telling me you had the time to go to Dev's college, eat icecream with him, drop him back home, come here and eat lunch too?"

"Being oversmart is not a virtue." Is all she says, pursing her lips in irritation.

He sighs and slaps a hand to his mouth and takes a moment to compose himself before speaking again. "I'm sorry, I won't press you. But, Amu, can we please have that conversation tonight?"

Amrita shakes her head before he even finishes the question. "Tomorrow," she tells him, because she is a coward, who knows that Indu has planned to propose to him and Amrita doesn't want to forgive him only to face heartbreak. Again.

He frowns, looking like he would have some words but stops himself again. "Thank you," he says quietly.

Amrita nods at him awkwardly. "I'll make an appointment for the showroom for tomorrow."

"Yes, of course." He keeps staring at her, and for a moment, Amrita thinks he will walk forward and again—

He doesn't.

He clears his throat, his ears turning red as he turns away instantly and leaves.

Amrita doesn't realise she's smiling until she looks at the black screen of her phone.

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Fifteen minutes later, Smita, the house help, comes to her with a paratha.

Stubborn bastard, Amrita thinks with a sigh even as she begins to dig in.

He eyes her from the other end of the table, she can feel his eyes burning on the side of her face. The tiny smile she spies on his face when she takes a bite is just as endearing as it used to be all those years ago.

She looks back to her diary when she remembers again what Indu had begged her to help with.

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There's something about seeing his shades on Amrita's face.

When Samar actually sees the news, he has started it with the intention to watch the whole speech and then mock his brother for his incantation and speech pattern. However, when his eyes fall on a figure in the far back, on a figure clad in blue instead of the bleak white of everyone around her, his breath hitches.

He can't see much of her expressions since but he knows (knew, his mind corrects and he winces) she doesn't enjoy loud noises and crowds. The shades on her face prove his memory to be correct even in the present. Amrita never wears shades unless she has a headache.

He wishes he could give her those chocolates she loved, they always lifted her spirits up.

When he squints, he sees the shape of the glasses and it rings a bell in his mind until it bangs and he remembers— those are his shades. He left him in the car today, when he went out with Prithvi bhaiya.

The urge to be there next to her, to hold her hand, to cup her cheeks, it all comes back. He wants to hold her hand and lead her away from the public and run his fingers through her hair and let her settle until her headache is gone.

He was a coward, all those years ago.

He can't be one now.

He only wishes that Amrita will hear him out.

____________________________________________________

Tagging: @akshinayak

[inhuman-obey-me]

If obey me wasnt a otome game what do you think will be different? And it makes me laugh that we are romanticising the devil which just seems so funny. Ik its a game but its just a funny concept

Okay but we love romancing the devil. More games should let us smooch Lucifer/other demon royalty. Please.

But this is a fun thing to think about!

(long game design rambles below the cut)

Even if Obey Me was still a visual novel game but without the romance, there is a lot that could change. We'd have a lot less of the characters vying for the player's attention, meaning the game would also be less prone to gag-type situations and allow for a consistently more serious storyline. It could be something like Twisted Wonderland, where the MC still has a role but it isn't as big nor central to the conflicts and problems of the story, thus playing more of an observer role.

The devs actually mentioned in early videos that when making the game, they had to scale back some of their ideas because they "didn't want it to feel too much like an adventure game" and still focus on the romance since it was a dating sim. Interestingly, Nightbringer seems to be testing the waters on this now and going back to a more dramatic story, so maybe we'll actually get to see that kind of adventure vibe now!

If the game was still following the main points of gathering pacts with the demon brothers...well, maybe we really are just becoming Solomon 2.0 at that point, new title is Solomon Simulator 2023 BC. But really, there would probably be less of MC playing therapist and more letting us have adventures of our own, exploring the world in various ways. Hell, MC might even be living in Purgatory Hall with the other exchange students instead of oddly being the only one put in the House of Lamentation. And this more adventurous theming could also be reflected in events, with more AU themes (Pirates, Spies, Circus, etc) that allow for more fun event storylines that aren't so focused on "romantic" situations and fanservice moments.

Going along with that, we would likely get more character variety in a non-otome game, since it wouldn't be trying to make every character (except Luke) dateable or potentially future-dateable -- less ikemen, more non-male characters, maybe more body diversity! And because there'd be no expectation of romance, you could have more outright hostility too. Maybe Mephisto and Raphael could have actually fulfilled the more aggressive or antagonistic personalities they had been hinted to have! There might also be more of a canonical MC character personality too, since part of the reason it's left more open and vague is to let players self-insert for the romance. This could allow for more narration from MC as well.

Now, if we step away from the Visual Novel style, that could open up a whole new world of possibilities! Imagining OM as more of a fantasy RPG? Super fun thought.

Other characters could potentially be playable, and if so, we could perhaps see more of the characters without MC needing to be in the scene, allowing for more interactions between different characters outside the current format of occasional side/hard-mode stories.

We'd probably get a truer combat system too, even if we were just fighting random minor demons or something like the Little D's in Nightbringer's gameplay. (Apparently the only instruction the team got in making the original game was "it needs dance battles"???) The characters' skills could also be more unique to the characters since it wouldn't have to fit the rhythm/dance game format, so stuff like summoning Lotan could actually be a useful powerful thing instead of just a running gag! In fact, we could see way more powerful magic from all the characters, which would be great since OM as it is now just always conveniently forgets that these are extremely powerful demons for the sake of setting up random shenanigan situations.

A combat mechanic could also add to the narrative design of the game -- what better way to show us what a scary and dangerous place the Devildom is than to have the player have to defend themselves while navigating through it? Or imagine the characters' relationships with one another actually mattering to the gameplay, like Beel and Belphie getting a boost if they're in the party together, as with Fire Emblem's support system! Simeon being a healing angel member of the party at the start and then actually tangibly losing that as a combat ability when that part of the story happened? It would certainly hit different, that's for sure.

The story also wouldn't be confined to the 20-lesson format in that case, which could give more room for fleshing things out properly. And with a freer adventure-based storyline, it might also be a lot less focus on RAD, or maybe it wouldn't be a school setting at all! Perhaps it would focus more on the inter-realm diplomacy parts of the story. Plus, some aspects could get relegated to more environmental storytelling and interactable objects around you, leaving character interactions freed up to focus more on actual events going on.

And speaking of character interactions, there could also be a more complex and interesting system for relationships in a more RPG style game. Instead of an intimacy bar that only ever goes up and doesn't directly impact story events, you could have a more complex interaction event system, like in Telltale stuff or Mass Effect. That could still include romance without it being the central point of the game, and maybe they would also hold grudges over certain decisions, which could feed back into the combat system somehow. Unlike now, you wouldn't be able to go back to change your decisions, but there's a lot of replayability potential there.

Of course, the downside to all that it's way more work to make...game dev is hard, after all! So updates would be slower, it'd probably cost a whole lot more, and it's probably not feasible as a mobile game anymore then. But hey, a game like that would be pretty damn cool.