#jester has opinions

[tag-if]

Omg u haven't bothered you in forever. Hiiiii Jester. I hope you are doing splendidaliryyyy (just go with it its a word in my head)

I'm going around bothering my fav authors. Sooo my question if you had to choose a character to romance from your IF who would it be and why?

And I don't want a 1 sentence answer! You write masterful characters with depth. So gimme!!!! 😒♥️

AW YOU'RE SO SWEET <3

also! hello! welcome back :)!!

i've been going through A Time but my lectures start up again soon so the routine will help, i hope you're doing well too!!

as for your question, since you want a longer answer (though some bits may still be vague to avoid spoilers), i'll put it under the cut :)

this is honestly a difficult one, i love all my characters, however i think i can answer this if i split it into two; characters in general, and specifically the romanceable options

of the ROs, i'd have to say T. Bellefleur, I've made it pretty obvious that Tally is one of my favourites, i think, but i'm a sucker for sarcastic characters. having said that if you put me in a poly with A. Caras and Tally i think i would be just as happy. looking at my plans for their routes, the different types of MCs and the ways they can learn to navigate around Caras and Tally and the unique/individual ways they express their emotions really draws me in.

of the characters in general? that was a little tougher, there are so many options to consider. i think, though, i would have to say Mirella (Mimi) Acierno or Hex Seif.

Mimi (she/her) is the MC's personal maid, she's bubbly and strong-willed and will care for the MC deeply regardless of how they treat her because that's just who she is as an individual. i really admire that kind of person, and i think she would be a delight to be around.

Hex (he/they) is one of the townsfolk that MC has the option to interact with on days off (and certain work activities), he's playful and friendly, but there's just something about him that seems...off. they may be a bit of a cliche, to some, but the exploration and things you can learn about him as you develop a friendship with Hex (including his actual name, because it isn't 'Hex') is something that would be so fun to explore.

[nellasbookplanet]

No but I have thoughts on the reception of socially awkward characters like Keyleth and Yasha, and how many fans will only accept them if they appeal to their brand of 'acceptable' social awkwardness.

Keyleth took up space in her awkwardness. It wasn't cutesy and attractive, couldn’t be romanticized. She stumbled and fumbled and never stopped letting her voice be heard, even if she sometimes was wrong. And people hated that. How dare this female character be loud and daring in her flaws! How dare the narrative not punish her for it but rather let her grow powerful in her self!

Yasha, meanwhile, didn’t take up space. She was quiet. Shy. Disappeared in the group. And for the longest time, her character was largely left alone. Then she, too, dared to take up space; she started to heal, express herself in ways that were no longer quiet or threatening but still equally as awkward. And suddenly, there was the Yasha hate. I've seen claims that she has no personality simply because she's quiet, that her goofier moments are out of character, that her awkwardness in conversations is cringy, that she's only a good character when she sticks to the strong quiet type.

Keyleth isn’t cutesy in her flaws the way her character archetype often is. Yasha isn't the strong quiet type you would expect when first meeting her. Why would you want them to be? They shouldn’t have to adhere to these stereotypes to be appreciated as characters.

[h-didanart]

How do you feel about TSAMS ships? All the way from Earth x Monty (canon/generally liked ships) to Sun x Bloodmoon (not canon/rare or generally not liked ships)?

Don't ask how I know Sun x Bloodmoon exists btw

Ooh, SAMS ships eh? I’m gonna list all the ones I know about, if I miss one you’re curious about just let me know, k?

Again, I will list the ones I know about.

(This is gonna reveal my lurking habits on ao3 god fuc—)

Mearth, Monty X Earth - cute, I like the dynamic they have.

KidsCove, Foxy X Sun - I like this one. I do. I understand the vas are sick of the jokes tho, bit ironic considering they’re still dragging the jokes around, but oh well. It could be cute to see develop, and lead to improvement to both characters general health. At least I’d like to think it would

GlitterGolf, Monty X Sun - in SAMS? No. Monty is a jerk towards Sun, I don’t like it when Monty is too rude to him. Generally hate that type of thing anyways. In canon Security Breach however…… Ye :3 Is my otp.

Lumini, Lunar X Gemini - I feel neutral. It’d be cool if it happened, but after all these three have gone through it probably won’t. And I’m fine with that

EclipseXSun - I think this is the most popular one. I don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, there’s canon, and canon says Eclipse is and always was horrible to Sun, and that makes it an immediate no. I like my ships healthy. But then comes in Eclipse Redemption stories, and I suppose it’d kinda make sense in those? I don’t know man

BloodySun, BM X Sun - iiiii don’t knooooooow. See, BM has done a lot of shit, they’ve traumatized the family so much. Sun hates them. It would never work out. But then there’s this one fic, this one, where Sun finds Original crying in the vents over his twin, and he helps them. And— and— and it’s a BloodySun fic, and it establishes character parallels so well, it shows their feelings so well, it makes it make sense! I- I don’t KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

SolarMoon- ……………. I’m scared of saying anything about this, I don’t want to get death threats

MechShark, Solar X Ruin- YEEEEEEEAHHH CANON CANNOT HURT ME WHERE IM GOING— uh— ahem— I like it. I cannot explain why but I’ve shipped them since Ruin started messing with the arcade machines. I like to see people still shipping it even through the doomed angle, there’s just something about this that makes it click, y’know. I myself have an au where MechShark is somewhat canon, it’s one sided and stays one sided, with Solar telling Ruin he’s aro when it confesses, and then they stay friends. Because I don’t care if they’re lovers or friends, I just like the idea of them being buds.

Eclipse trio, Eclipse X Solar X Ruin- this is actually kinda funny? I don’t know, this feels like a crackship, no offense to anyone, that’s just the vibes I’m getting. Don’t feel in any particular way about this one

Earth X Nebula- interesting, I guess. We haven’t really seen much of Nebula and I can’t really build a concrete profile for her from what we know, but I guess it’d be cool?

KillCode X Sun- I don’t like the sound of this one. KillCode caused (and helped cause) Sun a lot of trauma, it just wouldn’t feel right. That said, there is a fic that has this ship and develops it in a healthy way, and that one I like.

PumpkinGuts- next question

KillCode X SolarFlare- I can see it, kinda. Don’t hate it, but also don’t love it

Eclipse X Moon- no. I don’t care what you say about enemies to lovers, this one just doesn’t vibe with me.

GolfDrop, Monty X Moon- ehh, no. Don’t really like it, can’t see Moon wanting a relationship with them (or in general), they’re both fine as friends. I don’t even ship this in Security Breach

Forkface X Ruined Monty- I am saddened I didn’t see the content of them before the death, I wanted to experience this, I wanted to see them :(

Soppet, Solar X Puppet- sure? Don’t think much about this one

ShadowPlanet, Earth X Eclipse- I don’t really like it. I don’t like how fast it turned into a thing. I can see the appeal and what dynamic they could have, but I just don’t like this one

Solar X Sun- interesting pairing. Don’t particularly like it. I just feel like Solar’s trauma would likely get in the way. They both weren’t very close anyways, which is a real shame I would’ve loved to see them be at least friends.

Lunar X Helpy- Ehhhh? Don’t feel anything about this one :P

And that’s all I could think about and remember.

No hate to anyone who ships these, these are just my opinions, and opinions are subjective. Let’s all just have fun with these characters, yeah?

Man

AO3 scares me

[lyfrassiredda]

introducing the unwilling captain of the Dynamos, former Inspector Second Class Lyfrassir Edda! 

The AU where lyfrassir tries to hunt the prison mechs down with their shiny new eldritch powers (and a gun) for ditching them while their system was vored by a crusty imperialist’s eldritch sugar mommy.

Unfortunately, they’re not the only survivor of a Near Mechs Encounter interested in finding the crew of the starship Aurora— not by a long shot.

[weakinthekneez]

i hate it how the bsd fandom likes to compare or even analyze characters by saying that they "don't have trauma" or at least not a lot of it because the bsd universe is inherently traumatic

like one of example of this is kenji and honestly the best way to think of it is if it happened to you, would it be normal? like obviously they're gonna get used to it because they like..have to but at the same time it's like just being help at gun point is traumatic, much less fighting for your life

this really goes into the pm members as well. like i feel like the fandom talks about the abuse people who were in the pm (kyouka, dazai, yosano even though she wasn't technically in it) faced at the hands of others, but not how just existing in that environment is going to shape them as a person. if i had more energy than i do rn i'd like do an actual analysis on how it did but yeah

[thoughts-reasons]

Spotify

[iirationall]

if you ever come into my askbox with discourse please know i will be tracking down your location and throwing you off the nearest cliff

[sweetsilver-if]

To Taste Sweet Silver

Play here [Updated 8/10/24]

Word count (w/code): 16.9k

[F.A.Q] [Spotify][Pinterest]

"The silver of the fruit tastes sweeter than the iron of the blood." There is a City in the center of the remaining world, said to house and protect the last gift from the Old Gods before they vanished. Your mother had told you stories of it as a child, before she died. No one is allowed to enter the City of Forgotten Silver without extensive documentation and proof they are worthy. Not everyone is allowed to grace divinity. There is no reason for you, a nobody, to be here but you've managed to worm your way in. You know the consequences if you get caught, and you know to keep your head down as often as you can. The risk to be here is great, for the City is desperate to protect what remains of the past. Everyone who has dared to take the Old God's last gift, a fruit with silver skin, has had their execution made a spectacle. For this fruit is the key to reviving the world to what it used to be. Or so it is believed. It's why those in power will do anything to protect it. You know this, but you have a plan to attempt its theft anyway. For without it, how else will you finally bring this world to its end?

To Taste Sweet Silver is an 18+ Gaslamp Fantasy IF about putting a crumbling world to rest.

✽ Play as a fully customizable MC: gender, sexuality, personality, skills, etc.

✽ Decide how you're going to survive in the City; will you fake an identity and do earnest work, rely on thievery, or freeload off anyone willing to take pity on you

✽ Master magic, hone your physical skills, or expand your worldly knowledge

✽ Discover why the Old Gods abandoned the world in the first place, and learn about the New Gods that have taken their place

✽ Decide your reasons for wanting to end the world. Will you really go through with it?

Caspian Sinclair

The City Mage [M]:

A man who's more important then he lets on. The only reason you know he's a Mage is because you sense it on him. Despite his kind but stoic nature, you hesitate to approach him because if he finds out who you are, he will kill you. If only he wasn't also the holder of key information you need. He never seems opposed to answering your questions or pointing you in the right direction, making him your main source of information about the City of Lost Silver. However, the badge he wears reminds you to still your tongue, and watch your questions.

Whisper

The Jester [NB]:

Xer part of a night show, the sort outlawed in the City due to being propaganda about the Old Gods' departure. When xer not part of the show, xe have a traveling food cart xe only run at night. Although it's best not to draw attention to yourself and get involved with someone like xem, you can't help but wonder what's hiding under the mask. Especially with xer strange charm, odd sense of humor, and ability to show up at the worst of times for you.

Vivienne Silver

The Empress [F/trans]:

The youngest Empress ever crowned, and only due to the tragic assassination of her family. She's an elusive figure, never seen in public, but worshiped all the same. The people whisper her suffering is the reason why the City has seen such prosper in recent years, mythologizing her as a martyr. As an outsider, you have no strong opinion of her, until strange circumstances bring you together. She's exhausted and weary and as willing to bite as she is to be gentle.

Mourning

The New God [M/F/NB]:

Your benefactor and the sole reason you managed to get into the City. They found you in the outskirts one day and handed you a pass, telling you they can help you get what you want. You haven't seen them since. They're elusive and strange, and while they claim they're a God, you're not sure they're something quite so holy.

CW: Gore, violence, torture, cannibalism, death, religious trauma, explicit sexual themes, mtc

Note: This is a side project and won't be updated frequently. My main project is Burning Academia!

[fizzie-frog]

I don't know who needs to see this or if anyone does at all, but I just wanted to mention that here-

-it's the first time Fizz took his hat off in front of us, not in front of Ozzie.

What's underneath is no surprise for Ozzie. In Oops! we learn that they sleep together, and Fizz very much sleeps hatless at night as he puts it on after he wakes.

what a cute lil heart tattoo there

Besides, look at Ozzie's reaction to the 'reveal' in Mammon's magnificent musical:

He is sad, disappointed, heartbroken that Fizz would have such a low opinion of himself. He hates that that the one he loves sees himself as something so much lower than his worth, but nowhere is there shock or even the slightest hint of surprise on his face.

Ozzie has seen this before. Assumedly, he has seen it all (they f*ck, your honour). Even if he wasn't disgusted or something like that, there would still be a hint of surprise on either one of his three! faces, but there isn't, cause he knows.

Yeah, it's the first time he takes his hat off... In front of the audience, which is us behind the screens. Ozzie knows him underneath it all, and I think it's just so beautiful honestly. Someone with his guard as high up as Fizz allowing someone else to see him for everything, deep beyond the bells and the saturated colors, makeup and lighting. To know that Fizz trusts Ozzie this much to allow him this, and I'm sure Ozzie is honoured to have that from him.

It's such a compelling image, honestly:

This little guy who was handicapped for life in a massive fire, was a miracle he survived it and potential following complications and medical procedures, in a relationship with Ozzie. Ozzie, even in his biggest form seen so far, towering endlessly over this little jester that fits into his hand, literally flaming. And yet, Fizz will cuddle this enormous, flaming deadly sin like it's nothing. Now that's trust, and that's so beautiful.

There is so many things to say about their relationship, but the amount of raw trust and love between them is something you often times can only dream about. I've never been much of a shipper, but them? I love them. I hope all the best for them.

[pollyanna-nana]

Like a cat clipping its own claws

I was talking with a friend recently about how Thistle continues to wear his silly little jester outfits all the way into the present day even as the mad mage, and while I agree to an extent that he just likes the aesthetic I also think it might be something he feels like he has to do, because otherwise…

Thistle’s very dubious acquirement as a child was specifically so Freinag could have the aesthetics of an elven court member without the danger his advisors worried an adult would present. From his very first moments in the court, it was clear that making him a simple jester was because they feared what would happen if he was allowed to gain too much power (and independence…) And the thing is, I think Thistle knows that.

In the end, Delgal ends up asking Thistle to learn magic and become the court mage anyways after his father’s death. There’s no way there weren’t a lot of opinions about that from other people, especially his advisors, seeing as that was exactly what was feared could turn an amusing commodity into a dangerous threat. The fact that he was so secretive, too, about his investigations into the ruins I think might hint that he was aware of the optics of such a stunt.

But Thistle isn’t stupid. From his reaction here to the way the villagers look at him I’m sure he knows— whether from overhearing, being told directly, or simply picking up on the vibe— that they think he’s dangerous and scary simply for being an elf.

So, why keep the silly outfits, especially when he doesn’t seem to have any qualms with the villagers finding him scary now? Maybe he does just like wearing them. Or maybe… it’s a remnant of a desire the demon ate away a long time ago. Who is to say…

[artistsfuneral]

Some unedited Court Jester Jaskier/King Warlord Geralt thoughts

Okay so. Jaskier is one of many children, not the oldest, not the youngest, not fit for a more religious position (they've tried, Jaskier was sent back within days) he's smart, and talented when it comes to the arts, but also a troublemaker of the worst kind, so not particularly made for marriage either. What does one do with a child like that? Send him to King Henselt as a personal gift. A court jester. Jaskier is probably around 15/16 at the time. Very much an "adult" and ready for the task that's actually so much more complicated than it sounds. Yes, a court jester mainly exists for the king's amusement, but there's also so much more. He's a 24/7 available companion, shadowing the king at all times. He's there in the throne room, sitting by the king's feet, whispering jokes and his opinions/advice into Henselt's ear. He makes fun of the nobles that he knows are up to no good, ridicules them in front of the court and blatantly talks about secret information like it's kitchen gossip. He's valuable. He always knows what's going on. He's there in the throne room, he's there at the grand balls, he's there in the far back corner of the war room, he's there in the servants passageways and he's there, he's there, he's there......

Jaskier is also there, in the throne room, at Henselt's feet, when the witcher arrives. He sits there on a little stool in a colorful doublet like a little pet. He's juggling for Henselt's amusement, his king is easily bored by day to day politics and Jaskier needs to keep him happy if he wants to keep listening. The witcher distracts the king enough for Jaskier to be able to fade into the background, to stop juggling and listen. Tensions are high at the moment, Cintra is about to be swarmed by nilfgaardian soldiers and Redania is desperately looking for allies in the neighboring countries. Henselt prefers to sit on his fat ass and watch the upcoming war with a goblet of wine in hand. Jaskier though, Jaskier is invested. So when a witcher enters the throne room of Kaedwen Jaskier sits up like a dog who's about to be given its favorite treat.

Geralt of Rivia is his name. His accent is off though and he speaks of politics and monsters as if they were the very same. With the upcoming war witchers are retreating back into the mountains and they want their home and the surrounding lands to be owned by them (so legally not make them part of Kaedwen anymore) so they can remain neutral in the war. In return they are willing to provide their services for free to Henselt (which is really valuable atm bc there's a looot of monsters hidden in the forests and mountains) and Jaskier knows this, but Henselt... Henselt couldn't care less. Too arrogant and prejudiced of a man to give witchers what is essentially their own kingdom. So Henselt turns into a giant ass, belittling and cussing out the witcher who stands there in the throne room with his head held high, showing more dignity than any king and Jaskier suddenly understands that he has to sneak away.

He does so without anyone noticing, slipping through secret passageways and ends up waiting in a shadowy corner of the courtyard. He doesn't have to wait too long to spot the infamous white haired witcher and, hoping that the rumors about their hearing are true, quickly warns the witcher about the trap set out for him a bit down the road. The witcher stops dead in his tracks and Jaskier quickly asks him (he's still hidden away, Geralt can't see him) to do something like checking his pack so it doesn't look so suspicious and Geralt does so. Then Jaskier proceeds to very.... lightly suggest the witchers could just overthrow the king and take the castle, making all of Kaedwen their land. Henselt's army is currently stationed along the borders (thx to Jask) so there's really not many soldiers around.....

And the witchers do. Not like anyone is there to stop them.

And then the witchers take over the castle and they're keeping the servants alive and many decide to flee but some remain and work for the witchers now and Jaskier of course stays as well because who else would entertain the children that are too young to help with wotk but are also too scared of the many witchers suddenly living in their home to play like they normally would. And Geralt whos basically now the Warlord is drowning in work and then he looks outside and he sees the silly little court jester imitating some of the witchers in the courtyard, singing funny songs, making the scared huddle of children laugh and smile and-

[hariboz]

here you go nonnie!! took a while again i’m sorry 😵‍💫

boyfriend!gunwook who never misses a thing you say. whether it be a joke no one else heard, a little chime of agreement to something a friend said, an annoyed grumble at a topic you loathe — gunwook picks up on it all. it doesn’t matter how many people you’re hanging out with, or who he’s currently talking to. he always has an eye — and ear — out for you, encouraging you to speak up and if the situation calls for it, even diverts everyone’s attention to you because he wants to make sure you know people listen to you <3

boyfriend!gunwook who laughs at your jokes like no one else ever has. his giggling at your offhand joke alone is enough to make you feel like comedy is your true calling. it’s a little embarrassing when he runs off to get a friend to listen to your little joke, gunwook so proud of your apparent comedic genius he doesn’t even really pick up on the fact the joke really only lands with him — which is enough for you anyways, because his uncontrollable giggles are the only ones you want to hear.

boyfriend!gunwook who is very particular about his cuddle time, and he will play dirty if you force him to by trying to deprive him of his cuddles. uses his whole body if he has to, clinging to you like you’d evaporate the second you aren’t tightly squished against him. huffs and puffs when you try to wiggle free, whining back even louder when you start complaining that you have to go to the bathroom. good luck getting out of his grasp <3

boyfriend!gunwook who thrives on teasing you, specifically regarding things he’s supposedly better at. he’s taller? get ready for all the cheesy short jokes you’ve heard before, your stuff magically appearing on shelves out of reach. he’s stronger? incessant flexing while doing the most mundane tasks. he’s faster, better at mario kart, won against you in monopoly once? welp, too bad, he’s never letting it die. as cliché as his jokes and comments may be, they have a certain sweetness to them when he breathes them out between his giggles, so you don’t mind too much when he’s looking at you like that.

boyfriend!gunwook who really enjoys doing cute little spa dates with you. he enjoys doing you skin care together, talking about your days while peeling face masks off your face. his favourite thing, though, is when you do his skincare for him after he had a bad week. he just lays down and lets you do your thing, and the way you gently massage the product into his face, cooing at his sleepy face truly makes him forget about why he was upset in the first place. :( <3

boyfriend!gunwook who cannot bear the thought of you upset. “y/n” and “upset” shouldn’t even go into the same sentence, in his opinion. he’s your all-in-one stop when you’re upset; he’s comfort in all possible ways. he offers you an ear and just listens if that’s what you want, nodding along and running his hand through your hair soothingly. he offers advice and his opinion if you ask for it, he cuddles with you in silence and let’s you cry into him if that what you need. he’s your distraction, maybe taking you out to eat to get you out of your slump, maybe offering a silly rant himself to have your mind focus on something else, maybe just sitting cuddled up next to you while watching another rerun of your favourite show. he’d play your personal jester as long as it gets at least a tiny smile back on your face... </3

[weebsinstash]

Do you ever wonder how complicated or nuanced it might be setting personal boundaries with a poly yandere Asmodeus and Fizz. Like do you ever workshop Lust Ring worldbuilding culture and realize "oh wait shit wouldn't it paradoxically be really easy AND ALSO borderline impossible to be open with and enforce your personal boundaries in a place perpetually encouraging the most openly brazen of carnal displays"?

Like. Obviously I like one of them more than the other but silly little guys are growing on me and, just. Imagine being a Sinner and being down in the Lust Ring and realizing they have a completely different culture around just, showing your body and being open with yourself and your desires and, you're suddenly not sure what things are sexual harassment or considered their normal culture and you're not sure what you're even allowed to verbally express discomfort against because. Is it actually something normal and YOU'RE being weird and mean to THEM? Or, are you unintentionally letting people do REALLY creepy things to you?

You move out of Pride and your new coworkers in Ozzie's building are constantly eating dick and pussy shaped foods? Your coworker is throating a dick shaped ice pop at their desk? Your coworkers are varying levels of half naked? That's not perverted, it's normal and healthy and they're confident in their healthy sexuality :) oh, but you think that's weird? You don't want to look directly at someone's tits when they ask your opinion on their new nipple piercings? Aw, aren't you cute, being too shy to be open with yourself! maybe we all need to show you a few things to welcome you to Lust--

Like, I know Ozzie is dead set on consent but I often brainstorm different variations of those opinions or otherwise in a yandere setting. Ozzie is accepting and open and body positive! Therefore he might be completely in the nude while he sits in a recliner and you're asked to bring him something and he ISN'T EMBARRASSED AT ALL. Aw, he doesn't care if you see his dick, he's not ashamed of his body :) and you don't want to tell him to cover up because he's so nice to you, right? Like..... the perfect fucking gentleman BESIDES these um. Conflicting opinions on modesty and boundaries. Like genuinely he is such a good man fr i want him biblicly 😩❤️

These two out here with their fucking "what are you talking about, this blatantly sexual thing we're doing isn't sexual at all, you're being weird and seeing things thst aren't there and also dont kinkshame us wow thats rude?" bullshit. Oh so you got too drunk at an office party so they made sure you got home safely so no one took advantage of you? Yeah that's cool! Or it would be if they didn't take you to THEIR home though! Oh, it was weird for you to wake up literally sandwiched between them in a pair of pajamas meaning they undressed you? Yeah? Well you had to get your sleep and there's only one bed and they wont make you sleep on the couch and Ozzie's chest is nice and broad and warm and Fizz can rest his face on your tummy and-- why are you scowling and looking grossed out, they were just making sure you were warm and cozy, but if that made you uncomfortable, they're sorry you felt that way from them just trying to so something nice for you--

I recognize it's canonically antithetical to his actual beliefs but yandere Ozzie who is like "oh you're not comfortable sharing details about your sexuality or your body or your sex life with me? I mean. Oh gee it would be like so awkward if we were having drinks as friends and I charismatically loosened your lips over time by repeatedly pressing the issues until you give in! It's not a real 'no' if it eventually becomes a 'yes' right?"

Fizz is like. A fucking jester. He's a clown. He's THE silly little guy. So you almost regard him as this nonsexual cartoonish entity until he occasionally has shit slip out of his mouth that reminds you No Honey That's A Grown Ass Man, he's saying shit like "oh wow seeing that crop over there reminded me of the other week where Ozzie and I were doing horseplay and you should've SEEN when I took one to that huge butt of his, he was SCREAMING into the bridle gag and-"

I FEEL LIKE YOU'D CATCH THEM LIKE, ULTRA WEAPONIZING T H E I R RULES. Yeah, consent is important! That's why you're not allowed to flirt with that dilfy incubus, because, what is that in your hand? Gasp, is that a single shot? You've been drinking therefore you can't consent and you're being CARRIED away if that gets you to stop talking to this guy

Like imagine you're this shy bullied little thing and Admodeus is treating you like this precious egg that he can't wait to hatch and then it's like, you're dressing up sexy and coming on to someone ELSE talking about how you wanna suck THEIR dick and suddenly he's all "uh um uh hm you know what?you're moving too fast, people are gonna take advantage of you, you're not ready, let me take you home--"

"BLOWJ0BS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE" for reeeeeeeal!!!!! You're sitting in like, the living room, basically forced to be celibate (unless ya bone them) and in the next room over IN THE ONLY BEDROOM you're hearing like *spanking* *bicycle horn* *that one oh yeah sound effect* *shaking tin sfx* *water splashing* *rubber ducky squeaky noise* *slide whistle* *whoopie cushion* and then the both of them limp out of there visibly disheveled and asking if you want to order a pizza because WOW THEY'RE JUST WAY TOO HUNGRY TO COOK DINNER TONIGHT FOR SOME REASON--

[rainbow-starlight]

Why is Help Wanted 2 Sun… Like That?

Okay, I’ve been putting off making this post until I felt like I had a better idea of what was going on, and now that I’ve watched at least part of a play-through and gone over the lines a whole bunch, I think I’m ready.

I’m gonna talk about my thoughts on Sun as a character as well as HW2 as a whole here, so it’ll be a bit long. Pop some popcorn or something.

Please keep in mind that this is all my personal opinion and you’re free to disagree with it! In fact, if you think I’m totally wrong, please tell me why. I love new perspectives!

SO! Let’s get right into it, shall we?

First things first: Help Wanted 2 Sun is not the same guy as Security Breach/Ruin Sun. If his personality difference was significant enough to surprise you, that’s because he’s a different person.

I’m not entirely sure how much of Help Wanted 2 is meant to be actually happening, but I think that at least the mini games are training simulations.

However, it’s important to note that a lot of the stuff happening in the mini games is just… nonsense. How did Freddy get frozen like that? What’s with those regular batteries in his arms? Why are half the supplies in first aid explicitly for robots and not humans? Why is there a shredder table in the daycare for kids to stick fingers into?

Some of this can be shrugged off with the usual “FazCo is meant to be comedically shitty and the tech often doesn’t make sense anyway,” but the first aid simulation is what really stood out to me. Even with the previous explanations, that doesn’t explain the calming gas mask that could only ever fit Helpy or the steel wool scrubber or the tank cleaner spray bottle among the medical supplies. If the goal is to train new first aid staff to avoid lawsuits, it’s doing a pretty poor job of it. So… what is it for?

I touched on this idea previously with my post about Sun’s AI being trained on kids’ artwork. The idea of FazCo making a silly new employee training game as a means of harvesting behavioral data to train their AIs seems very within their realm of scummy.

This is why the Arts & Crafts mini game exists. It’s literally a task that requires exact copying. Maybe it’s essentially like teaching an AI to solve captchas by feeding it a bunch of data on how humans solve them correctly and incorrectly.

Maybe its presence is explained to employees as fun practice with the VR system or a break activity during training or something.

This would explain several things about the game.

The existence of the shredder table and Sun shredding literally ALL of your artwork: It being a funny way to despawn the stuff you make is a lot more reasonable when that’s exactly what it’s for in-universe, too. The generators in the play structures are unsafe enough, but that would’ve been on another level if it were real.

Sun’s line “Be creative on your own time, we are making ART!” It literally isn’t a creative activity, it’s a task. I know you can’t really apply logic to a lot of FNAF stuff, especially the DCA’s design, but if Sun were actually this detail-oriented and perfectionistic with everything, he’d never be able to function in childcare.

The fact that Sun’s “fear” of the dark seems like a bit. It literally is a bit. There’s no threat, it’s not real. I originally thought he just wanted the player out of his space faster and didn’t know how to assert a boundary there, but I think it’s actually just to make the player finish the tasks faster for data collection purposes.

Possibly also why he’s so comfortable being casually rude to the player. He is a jester, after all, and the player has lots of opportunities to do things they shouldn’t, too. It’s basically all a bit.

Also… what if the minigames have versions of the base AIs in there? It’s a version of the Sun AI with the theater programming and the basics of the childcare stuff? His entire existence is a shitty little simulation where he runs a singular activity for grown adults who can’t (or won’t) follow very simple instructions.

The biggest thing that’s been bothering me about the takes I’ve seen regarding HW2 Sun’s personality is that people have been calling him “mean” while completely ignoring the circumstances he’s reacting to. If a coworker came into my personal space and I was so generous as to share my favorite activity with them and they proceeded to intentionally ignore the rules I set and EAT SUPPLIES I USE FOR WORK? Yeah, no, I’d react like that too.

There’s definitely something interesting about how genuinely excited and happy Sun sounds when first welcoming his new friend the player to the daycare and inviting them to Arts & Crafts vs. when they return. He seems like he WANTS to befriend the player, but the game just assumes you’ll be upsetting him so there’s no option for dialogue where you’re nice to him and respect his boundaries and participate in an activity with him in a way he’s comfortable with.

I say “in a way he’s comfortable with” because he is a little weird about the whole “sit right there and DON’T MOVE” thing. He does seem actually excited and enthusiastic about the idea of shooting darts at the items you want so he can get them for you, though. Maybe because he sees it as a happy compromise, or maybe because it’s supposed to be a fun part of the game he’s programmed to be in charge of.

I saw some other commentary on Sun (primarily thinking of @kazzykatt) talking about how he seems almost excessively self-sufficient, and how this could possibly be due to neglect (he and Moon definitely aren’t as well cared for as the other animatronics, the generators in the daycare are a very lazy fix for actually reprogramming Moon properly, he seems bitter that he can’t fix the carousel on his own and he and Moon don’t seem to trust the player to fix it, their design is clearly better suited to the stage but didn’t get changed for the daycare, I could go on and on), and this would also explain his control issues to an extent.

Sun, in SB and HW2, doesn’t leave the daycare. He has so little that he’s in control of in his own life. He used to be on stage (and based on his dialogue probably misses it quite a lot) but had the job he was built for taken from him. He’s a perfectionist that’s constantly overwhelmed by too many things being marked top priority in his system, working too many hours with too many small children. Of course he’d be desperate to hold onto any little bit of control he has.

Honestly, when I first heard his voice lines, the initial vibe I got wasn’t “wow they made Sun mean” but “wow Sun sounds actually miserable” and I’m kind of surprised more people didn’t pick up on that. He sounds less bitchy and more like he’s lashing out because he’s trapped in an awful situation that’s completely out of his hands.

“Wait, are you saying none of HW2’s characterization should be taken seriously?”

You might be asking that, but my answer is a resounding NO! This is definitely still a Sun, and I think seeing two different Suns (even if we don’t know how much of HW2’s personality we can assume is meant to be taken seriously) is really helpful for interpreting what the base Sun personality might have.

It’s also important to keep in mind that none of the Suns we’ve seen were in a good situation. Security Breach Sun had the virus, Ruin Sun had gone slightly mad from isolation, and HW2 Sun is stuck in a shitty simulation babysitting bored adult staff as they fail to complete simple tasks. What we mostly know about him is how he responds to stress, and this is why there’s so much room for interpretation!

Here’s some traits I think every version of the Sun AI would have.

Love of making things. Despite everything, HW2 Sun seems to genuinely love doing arts & crafts. Especially with googly eyes. This could kind of be assumed from SB Sun, but he was also trying to entertain/bribe a child.

On this note… interest in fixing things? Maybe he just wants to avoid having to rely on staff, but if he and Moon are subject to that much neglect, it makes sense that he’d try to learn to do repairs himself. I saw @pixelchills talking about the possibility that the S.T.A.F.F. Bots in the DCA’s room are not there because Moon broke them, but because Moon collected them for Sun to practice fixing. It seems feasible to me, especially since taking something apart and putting it back together might have the same calming and satisfying effect on Sun as completing something like a paint-by-numbers.

Playful insults and lots of drama. I don’t mean actual rudeness, I mean friendly teasing. Again, he is a jester. A lot of his HW2 insults come across more like this. Hell, even his compliments come across like this with the delivery and immediate shredding. He’s just a theater kid at heart.

Difficulty regulating emotions under pressure. This is the kind of thing that would pop up on his worst days (such as being trapped in his destroyed home with a poor connection to his badly damaged physical form while the only help he’s seen in ages ignores his instructions and puts their own safety at risk, or being trapped in a shitty simulation while his only company ignores his instructions and puts their own safety at risk). He’d have to be able to manage this sort of thing better to work well with children, but everyone’s got their bad days. He’s prone to outbursts and tantrums when he’s overwhelmed and unable to stop people from breaking the rules and/or hurting themselves.

People pleasing and nonconfrontational. Yes, HW2 Sun, too. SB Sun seems genuinely desperate to make sure Gregory’s having a good time, and HW2 Sun is shockingly tolerant of some of the player’s bullshit (ex. how he tries to laugh off them shooting darts at him/throwing things). Even calling the player “good friend” when he’s not so happy to see them or threatening them with Moon instead of just telling them their time is almost up seem like signs of this to me. And letting the player make arts and crafts in the ruined daycare in HW2? Yeah, that’s a people pleaser through and through. Sun needs a lesson in setting boundaries (and for those boundaries to actually be respected).

Perfectionistic + “if you want something done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself” attitude. This would mostly manifest in how he completes work tasks, but I think every Sun’s incredibly detail-oriented and would rather do everything themselves just to make sure it’s exactly how they want. This could manifest in lots of ways, from “insulting the staff for how they put things away and telling them to do it again while he supervises” to “politely thanking them for their help and complimenting their hard work only to redo everything himself the moment they’re gone.” I think where on that spectrum you wind up is dependent on the version of Sun you’re interacting with and the environment his personality developed in.

High-energy and social! A given, of course. He never stops moving and everything is always so exciting. New people are friends he hasn’t met yet until proven otherwise.

Love of pranks… to an extent. Again, jester! I stand by my headcanon of Sun and Moon conspiring to convince the staff Moon’s some sort of spooky monster whenever he’s not actively dangerous. As long as he’s not making a mess, breaking the rules, throwing himself off-schedule, or actually hurting anyone? He’s all over it.

Anxiety. This seems like it’s at least partially caused by the lazy daycare reprogramming. All the Suns we’ve encountered seem to lack knowledge of how to actually get children to behave. It seems more like they programmed him with a bunch of games and activities and then set a bunch of super high-priority tasks for him such as “keep kids safe, keep kids happy, keep kids entertained, keep daycare clean” etc. and he’s unable to really prioritize so he’s just constantly overwhelmed.

Kinda always using “childcare voice.” If you know anyone who’s worked with kids, you know what I mean here. Even with adults, he talks to them like kids sometimes, just because it’s what he knows and what he’s used to and because his processor’s fried from however many hours a week he’s surrounded by kids. Consider his reactions to when you eat the crafts as an example. (IMPORTANT NOTE: I don’t think he’d coddle adults like children. It’s more about tone and vocabulary, like “customer service voice”.)

Stickler for rules. He cares about things being done right! The rules are there for a reason! Order is important to him (probably in no small part because it keeps him out of trouble and reduces his stress).

That’s about all I can think of for now, but as someone who writes a very friendly and sweet Sun, I actually don’t think HW2’s characterization was that far off from what I had already assumed based on Ruin/SB. The only difference is that the Sun I’m usually writing is in a much more supportive environment with lots of helpful staff that care about his well-being. If he didn’t have that, I could absolutely see him becoming more like HW2.

I will finish this off with two final important points:

Being an emotional person and liking “childish” things does not make an adult less of an adult.

(He’s a childcare worker, c’mon.)

If someone gets pissed off after being repeatedly antagonized, that does not make them a “mean/bitchy/sassy person.”

(Yeah, he doesn’t handle it gracefully, but to be fair, I wouldn’t either in his shoes.)

Thank you all for reading!!

[essektheylyss]

for the ask game: 🧡🖤💚

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

Until I see definitive proof that Ludinus is in fact as old as he wants people to believe he is, I will not believe it. I don't even really have an opinion on how old he is; I just don't think he's as old as he tries to suggest. And lest it be said that I am playing favorites, the thing about Ludinus is that he talks the way Essek talks in 91—and there are a lot of things Essek says at that dinner that I take with a good heaping of salt. It's this sense that they're talking around things that they would rather people not question; they're both very skilled at talking around things in a way where they aren't outright lying, but they'd rather you not think too hard about it because there's shit they're not saying. To be clear I also won't be mad if there does turn out to be some evidence in canon that he is that old, but thus far, there is nothing definitive, and I do not take the word of unreliable NPCs at face value.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

I don't think this is really an unpopular opinion at this point, but Jester. Nice =/= good. I don't think she's evil, by any means! But her morality is a lot more complex than it's given credit for and I think it's one of the things that is most interesting about her. I'd actually consider her largely amoral; it's just not really an axis of consideration that she worries about. She doesn't want people to hurt her or her friends and she doesn't want something to destroy the world, but otherwise she doesn't really care much about what someone's morality is. "Just don't be evil to me" is an incredible sentiment for a reason. She cares more that Essek said they were his friends than the fact that he's the traitor they've been looking for. Ludinus is so insignificant to her despite his literally world-spanning evil plots that she has basically forgotten him six years later, even though two members of her friend group have spent the last six years trying to pin him down. Jester is hilariously amoral and I love that for her.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

[cracks knuckles] OKAY, this is where I've got receipts, because hooo boy do I have an opinion and I will be proving it.

Essek does not have an opinion on the Prime Deities. He does not really have much of an opinion on religion. He actually does not by the end of the campaign have any real issue with the Luxon, and frankly he primarily expressed issue with the Dynasty's worship because, until he got to Aeor, he wasn't certain that the Luxon was a real entity at all—which he contrasts against the Prime Deities, in fact!—and he seems to believe there is compelling evidence in Aeor that categorically disproves his hypothesis that the beacons are simply constructed Age of Arcanum devices.

Originally he is mostly concerned that the Luxon religion is used as a "crutch" which is "distracting them from what other good things they could do with the time and focus". He does specify that any religion can be used as such, but he only remarks upon the one he knows. His theory about the beacons, as of episode 91, is that they may be "artifacts designed in the Age of Arcanum that have been misread" that could be put to even further use.

He also does parrot the Dynasty party line in their first meeting about the Luxon being "the basis of how we've been able to free ourselves from the binds of the lineage the Betrayer Gods left for us", and while I do not take him at face value here (see the above commentary about unreliable NPCs), I doubt the truth of this statement is lost on him, considering his familial connections to Bazzoxan, which I can only imagine would not exactly endear one to the Betrayers, though this is only conjecture. If we do care to take him at his word here, it's not unreasonable, since he obviously has a lot more interest in the power offered by the beacons than anything else.

With all that being said, his tune on the Luxon itself has at least changed by the time they get to Aeor. He discusses iconography found in Aeor and when prompted by the Nein about whether the beacons were created by mortals, says, "I do not believe that they are made by anyone but the Luxon. They are of the Luxon. But they've been around since the Luxon's been in Exandria, which is the beginning."

So we started with him largely apathetic to religion, uncertain if this god was real, and by the time we circle back to him, he has now sided fairly definitively with the fact that the Luxon is an entity that has been around since at least the Founding. (For those keeping track at home, this is longer than Predathos has been around. In the Dynasty's creation myth, it may also have been around before the Prime Deities arrived, which is technically not incompatible with the creation myth of Exandria at large, but I digress.) Like most of Exandria, and as is perfectly reasonable for both his culture and his region, he probably doesn't have any love for the Betrayer Gods, but doesn't express much opinion if any on the Prime Deities. He has no time for religion, but frankly, he doesn't have time for much except for his own research, so it's hard to really ascribe any noted contempt to that.

Like, look, I've written plenty of religious trauma Essek fic, and I don't doubt that that element of it exists, but overall, in terms of canonical statements, it's pretty tame.

With that being said, I do want to fast forward a bit to draw attention to something else. Because I actually do think he ends the campaign with some measure of respect for, at the very least, the Wildmother.

In 140 after the Raise Dead fails, he talks briefly with Fjord about the unfairness of it. Fjord passively directs him to "if you were to ask my wise friend Caduceus..." Immediately after this exchange, Essek challenges Caleb to not accept defeat, and admits he wishes there was more that he or any of them could do, but concedes that, "Unfortunately, this type of magic is beyond my purview."

Immediately after this exchange, Caduceus asks for divine intervention.

Of course, he then spends several weeks gardening in a temple to the Wildmother, and seems to find some genuine clarity and perspective there, but I think this alone is enough to argue that, for a person as driven by empirical evidence as Essek, this sequence of events in 140 would be plenty to earn a wizard's respect.

So my formal belief is that Essek is not in fact anti-god or anti-religion, let alone against the Prime Deities. My opinion is that it's very easy to imagine him on his post-campaign travels leaving a small offering at any shrine of Melora he might pass, not out of actual worship but as a sign of respect.

[danwhobrowses]

So there was a Callowmoore question on 4SD which has got people talking and since nobody will ask me about it I'm gonna get it out of my brain anyway.

For someone on 4SD as frequently as Taliesin, Callowmoore questions are rare and I think that partly comes from us fans not wanting to try and steer him but also because his answers tend to be complicated. He's quite plain with other stuff, but a lot also gets offered into interpretation when it comes to Ashton and Fearne.

And granted, we Callowmoores would love for him to pull a Liam and just up and say Ashton has feelings for her, but I think we all know that's not Tal's way; aside from the nuggets of wisdom, killer one-liners and unique homebrews, we tend to love Tal's characters for their actions and expressions, some of which subtle and rewarding to those paying attention. For this reason I have had to mull over this one minute answer for most of my day and figure out what I think he means by it, like blue curtains in a book.

To note though, 'I think' is the operative term, but I also don't believe that Tal has left Callowmoore better or worse by his response.

One of the interesting things I want to point out is that my interpretations are observing the divide between Taliesin's words and his roleplaying; it is not to say that Tal is being dishonest in his answers, but I also see it as the answers are what Ashton thinks and his roleplay is how they feel.

So no, Ashton isn't 'precious' about Fearne wandering off when sleeping beside each other, if she said no or came back safely it wouldn't have bothered them, and it's fair for Ashton to have preferred Fearne to have woke them up. And yet that doesn't deny the reaction Ashton had waking up to find her gone and fearing that she's in danger, and not there to help her; the panic, the anger, the impatience are all clear and instinctive reactions Ashton is having that imply that her being with them is important. They're not precious about Fearne waking up and leaving the bed before they wake, and yet they'll still smile upon waking and finding that she's still there.

The 'Adventurers with Benefits' is one of two comments I can see being used maliciously against shippers, but it's worth reminding that on the last Callowmoore question Tal was asked, he mentioned that Ashton doesn't believe that someone would love them. Ashton feels unlovable, and yet they still ask for intimacy with Fearne, leaning further into their connection but also not pressuring her into commitment. It's also worth pointing out that this is still a slow burn, even Jester questioned whether her feelings for Fjord were legitimate or a romanticized fantasy at one point, and Ashton is not privy to Fearne's feelings for them. Ashton frames it as Adventurers with Benefits because they don't allow themselves to entertain the idea of Fearne reciprocating feelings for them, and yet their impulse to kiss her before absorbing the shard, to frequently engage in physical contact at a growing rate, to playfully steal and share each other's clothing, the desire to defend her from harm or anyone that might have ulterior motives, and to willingly do anything and everything just for her to smile in their direction again, that paints more of a picture than just benefits.

Which finally gets us to Ashton's theory of love. Tal mentions that Ashton believes that love is 'wanting to trust somebody, but not trusting them'. Immediately: No, haters, I don't think this means Ashton doesn't trust Fearne, nor do I think it means that Ashton trusts Fearne so they don't love her. Ashton trusts all the Hells (well, maybe not Braius since they just met), but Fearne is special to them in a different way, they've already platonically said that they loved her when they first were using their titan forms. In addition, this could be an elaboration of the last time Tal brought up Ashton's opinion of Love on the post-shard Callowmoore question: 'love is ignorance and adorableness'. This is another thing that can develop, elaborate and/or change over time, but at the current moment Ashton's interpretation of love can come from environment; Imogen wants to trust Laudna but can't wholly trust her given Delilah, but even Ashton can see that they love each other. Tal also mentioned that Ashton is not very experienced in relationships - which kinda plays into my belief that Ashton and Fearne, while have had relationships, haven't had deep romantic feelings or proper intimacy before, which makes them discovering it with each other more special - so their understanding of love can only exist on what they assume it's like.

And yet what if you reworded the phrase in the same spirit? 'Love is trusting someone wholeheartedly even with nothing to reassure it', there have been many a time something looked to go south and faith was put in another anyway; the shard may be a bad example because it did go wrong but even though the red flags were there Ashton upon completing the process said 'thank you for trusting me', when Fearne took the shard Ashton was a bag full of panic their experience meant they couldn't trust that the shard wouldn't be just as bad for Fearne, and yet they still wanted to trust that Fearne would succeed. Ashton couldn't trust that whenever Fearne was wild shaped, cornered by Otohan, or taken away by Ira on Ruidus that she'd come back safe, and yet still wanted to trust that she would, Ashton couldn't confirm that Fearne wasn't a Doppelganger in Nanna Mori's trust trial - even when FCG and Imogen suspected it was her - and yet they still wanted to trust that it was her. Ashton's view on love may not be entirely right but it's not entirely wrong either, what is blind faith if not ignorant and adorable? Even with their interpretation, Ashton has put plenty of faith in Fearne even when the risk was high.

In conclusion, Ashton's behaviour towards Fearne do often imply a complexity rather than a discrepancy to Tal's 4SD statements, that maybe Ashton's emotions and subconscious are not in sync with their self-doubt driven thoughts, perhaps it is the way Ashton tempers their feelings to try and not get hurt by them or cause Fearne to get hurt by them again. Ashton's apology to her post-shard made a point of noting how she means a lot to them, and how hurting her was one of the worst things they have done, and as they work towards self-improvement and self-discovery, there will likely be a point where self-realisation comes into play too, and they can understand why what they're thinking differs to how they're feeling.

Again, this is all interpretation, speculation and observation, one that like the core statements doesn't add or subtract but fills in some gaps either way. Ashton's feelings are a complicated matter, which is likely why Tal entices and creates such speculation with a complicated answer. Right now Ashton clearly does care for Fearne and share a special relationship that's regrowing after suffering tension, loss and fear, blooming back into trust, joy and comfort, but save 5 Disney Greek Muses backing him up in a Gospel song they're not just gonna out and say they're in love

And Yet...