#my way of playing games could make people cry I think and it's a source of pride for me

[handern]

day 272 of Cult of the Lamb : my cult looks tight as fuck and my followers have the coolest clothes

side effect of this is that I ended up killing all 4 bishops bc I needed the resources in their domains and they were in the way

kind of getting used to the fight commands, too

[hanaruri-tunes]

Humiliating Leviathan (Levi x reader)

My first try at some smut, so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. And here are the warnings I could think of: Degradation, crying, masturbation, usage of underwear, usage of sex toys, going down on MC, two dicks (I gotta follow the common agreement that Levi has two dicks haha), snake tongue (again, common agreement), petting, praising

OKAY. I think that's it. Don't hesitate to tell me if I forgot something. I know all those warnings might make it seem hardcore but I promise it's actually quite a cute fic. Subby and pathetic Leviathan is the cutest. PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LEAVE COMMENTS please please this is my first try at smut in the obey me fandom (if ever, actually) I would really appreciate the support.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

You knocked on his door three times. No answer. Knowing Leviathan he was either passed out in his bathtub after binge-watching an anime or playing games non-stop... Or he miraculously decided to go out somewhere. Probably to buy some merch from a limited-in-time store that has no official website from which Leviathan can order. Although he could definitely find some second-hand merch online he refused to do that. He would go on and on about how buying second-hand isn't supporting the franchise thus he MUST buy it directly from the source.

Seeing how there was still no answer you decided to go in. Usually his door had a spell on it that would send intruders into another random place in the devildom but he lifted that spell for you specifically. You were the only one who could enter at any time without any disturbance.

As you did so, there was no Leviathan in sight. Not in front of his gaming set-up, not in his bathtub, not passed out on the floor. So he's out, huh? You wonder why he didn't invite you or at least warn you that he'll be out today. Usually, especially if it's for a limited time anime café, you're always the first one invited. Well, you probably shouldn't pry but as you're about to step a foot outside his room... You stop. This is a pretty rare chance to look around his room without him pestering you.

It's not like you'll pry *too* much though. Just a bit, for curiosity's sake. (That was a lie you told yourself.) You inspect his figurines more closely. He's mostly into magical girl shows and moe blob shows. How cute of him. But you've always expected that he might have some secret sexy figurines as well. Or else why would he be so protective of some of the packages he orders from Akuzon? He's usually so unenthusiastic and slow when getting out of his room for breakfast or dinner and yet he rushes to the door when it's for a delivery.

After checking some of his drawers you find the fabrics and materials he uses for his cosplays. It's all mostly different hues of pink since he prefers cosplaying female characters- how cute. At one point you also accidentally come across his underwear in one of his drawers, it's all mostly black with some funky colors mixed in from time to time. He even has one of a limited edition HanaRuri-tan underwear collection.

And just as you think that you've struck gold... it's just some old stuff. Probably from some of his past obsessions. That includes precure dvds, aikatsu cards, manga magazines, et cetera. Again all cute shows mostly targeted to young audiences. Really, you can't see Leviathan as anything else than a completely adorable dork. People often don't get him for his specific tastes and hobby but all you see is a pure little guy who's still in touch with his inner child and who loves mostly light hearted shows. Surely anything he might hide won't probably be even THAT bad. Or even if it is... that's still cute in another way.

After looking in all of his drawers, no sign of any sexy figurine, of any sex toy or even erotic manga... This is way too suspicious. But then again Levi is smart, he probably wouldn't dare hide any of this stuff in his drawers knowing that Lucifer frequently comes to his room begging him to clean it, only to start off doing it by himself before Levi hurriedly joins him and kicks him out. If he had to hide something dirty where would he... ... You look under the bathtub. Nope. Too easy? Then...Reaching for his blanket and sheets inside the bathtub, you raise them, uncovering some sort of trapdoor?You slide it open and there's a huge box inside of it. If you had to guess, he used the same spell as the entrance of his room. Except this one always leads to the same space: the place where his hidden box is, wherever that is.

You pull it out, open it and there it is. Almost all of the stuff you had imagined him hiding was in here. Sexy figurines, erotic doujins, even some sex toys. Two in particular were bigger than the others. Fleshlights... But why two? Looking at it closer one's a smaller size and the other one is bigger. Did he get the size wrong the first time he ordered so now he has two of them? But more than that, there was something you really didn't expect to find here. A pair of panties. *Your* panties. You thought that maybe you had just forgotten it while moving back and forth between the devildom and human world but here they were, in Leviathan's precious box.

In some way this awakened something in you, a strange feeling of amusement while you realized that the cutest and purest guy you knew turned out to be a filthy underwear thief who most likely used it to jerk himself off.As you started to think that, a loud noise came from behind you. It sounded like some object had fallen to the floor- ah. Probably Levi who just came back and dropped his phone after realizing what you were looking at. Quickly, you wiped off the amused smile you had on your face before turning back to face him. You faked a look that was a mix of disappointment and worry.

"Levia-chan..."

The poor guy looked frightened, as if the sky had fallen on his head, as if his life was over. Even that pathetic part of him, you found it just so cute.

"Ah... ah... That- uh. I-"

Not even taking the time to close the door behind him, he dropped on his knees in front of you, lowering his head.

"I can explain! S-So please don't- please don't freak out o-or agh, I mean-"

His heart dropped when you walked past him. "It's over." He thought. The friendship you guys had built was done for. There's no way you would ever love him now or even want to look his way. There's no way a kind, beautiful, strong person like you would ever even spare him a glance. No way an amazing girl as pretty and genuine as you would give a second chance to a gross creepy piece of shit like him.

As the worst possible scenarios started to play in his head, he came back to his senses slightly as he understood that you had just closed the door in order to have more privacy in here. You slid his seat in front of him as he was still on his knees, sat down and crossed your legs, taking on a haughty tone. Almost commanding.

"So? You said you could explain but I don't really see what is possibly left to explain here. It all speaks for itself. All this filthy shit and even two fleshlights weren't enough to satisfy your dick so you just *had* to have a go on my underwear, huh? You slutty thief."

As you said that last bit you flicked his forehead that he was trying so very hard to keep fixated on the ground, but it was almost impossible anyway since you had your bare legs crossed right in front of his eyes. You know Levi loves it when you wear short skirts, it's hard for him to not look, even in a serious situation like this one.

"Agh. Well, uh. Ahh..."

After about twenty seconds during which he couldn't come up with anything plausible or even any attempt at an excuse he started to tear up. Completely lost, he lowered his forehead to the ground, bowing and apologizing profusely.

"I'm- I'm so *hngh* s-sorry *hic* please don't hate me. Y-You're right, I'm a pervert but please, I beg you for forgiveness *hic* at the very least please don't ignore mee- *hnghg*"

You felt chills down your spine. Was it horrible of you? While this little baby thought that his entire life was over just because you might hate him, you were just thinking how fucking cute he sounds when he's crying while genuinely in distress. You were feeling conflicted. One part of you wanted to pat his head and raise it, kiss his cheeks full of tears and caress his back while assuring him that you don't really find him that gross or creepy. In fact finding this dirty side of him made you giddy.

And yet, the other side of you wanted to play around with him a bit more before giving him ultimate bliss.

"Levi... Are you serious my darling?"

You gently pressed your heels on the back of his head as his forehead was still stuck to the ground.

"You really think such a lousy excuse will cut it? You know just how outright creepy this is, right? You went out of your way to steal underwear from me so you could rub it all over your dick and cum in it and yet all you have to say for yourself is just "I'm sorry, please don't hate me"? You'll have to do better than that."

Still sniffling, you could feel Levi taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Y-you're right. Crying about it won't solve anything. I know just how much of a disgusting lame little fuck I am, it's already a miracle how someone as beautiful and amazing as you even considered me your friend. I've been blessed a-and so honored to be called that. So please, please give me a second chance Y/N. I'll do anything, really."

You took your heel away from him. Full of expectations on what the two of you were about to do if you played your cards right.

"Anything? No way. That's just empty words."

"It's not! I'll really do anything. I'll even be your b- um. B-Bitch if I have to."

You command him to raise his head up, he does. His eyes and cheeks are still wet from the tears he just shed and his face is all red from embarrassment.

"A bitch, really? So you'll even accept corporal punishment? If I tell you to lay down on your stomach on my lap, you'll do it? You'll let me spank you?"

For a split second you see it his eyes, this little fucker really feels like he'll get a kick out of this. "It's not a punishment at all!" He must be thinking. He would love to be treated so poorly by you. In fact, one of his occasional turn-ons was to imagine you degrading him, insulting how much of a perverted little shit he is.

"I- I'll do it. Anything you want to do to me, I'm fine with it so..."

You lightly tap on your thighs two times, telling him to get on. Obediently, he does... and immediately receives a slap on the ass.

"You're supposed to at least lower your pants idiot. Or else it won't even hurt that much."

"A-Ah, yes."

You saw it again. That glint in his eyes. He's excited and is just so barely managing to not display a shit eating grin on his face.

As soon as he does as you told him to, you spank him again. Harder this time. He lets out a little yelp. And as he does you grab his hair with your other hand to pull him up a bit and whisper into his ear.

"You think I didn't notice that? The corners of your mouth keep rising upwards you fucking pig."

Finally he completely gives up on the façade he is trying so hard to keep and lets out a huge unrestrained grin, the kind he has when you hug or kiss him on the cheek suddenly. Looking dumb and genuine, though this time it looks cuter as he's obviously enjoying the pain you're inflicting on him.

"Aaahh. I-I couldn't hide it after all, you're right Y/N. I'm a dirty fucking pig who even enjoys it when you're being mean to me. Bully me, hit me, spit on me. I don't care, if anything I love it. I'm so sorry for not even being able to be properly punished ahh I'm so so sorry~"

He says while not looking sorry at all. Pretending to ignore his stupid monologue you spank him again.

"Slut."

"Hnghh~"

He shudders and keeps grinning widely.

Only does he get a bit nervous when you decide to pull down his underwear.

"Ah- wait! ACk-"

You spanked him again, this time your hand made direct contact with his skin.

"Shut up you filthy bitch. Isn't that what you promised? You even said that you'll be my bitch so that's just what you are right now."

Rapidly the nervousness he had displayed a second ago dissipated.

"Ahhh~ y-yes, I'm your bitch. You can use me whoever you want, I'll even drink your spit if you ask me to ehehe- OW-"

"Quiet. Or- No. Actually, keep moaning. It's cute."

"Ehehe I'm sooo happy you said I'm cute Y/N."

"Master."

"Master~ ehehe..."

He was really digging this roleplay type of set-up you had invented. But while he thought you weren't performing and really wanted to punish him, you on the other hand were truly aware that this is all a sham from your part just to turn him on.

As you continued to spank him a couple more times, you noticed something odd. It wasn't that you felt poking against the side of your thighs since you had fully expected him to get a hard-on. It was that the poking sensation was double.

"... Levi, get up for a second."

"Um, w-wouldn't it be better to continue to punish me?"

Another slap made him yelp.

"Don't be difficult."

And so he did, and you finally realized why he owned two fleshlights. It wasn't that he had the size wrong and had to order a second one, it was that he has two dicks. One on top of another on his crotch, with a pair of balls for each. You can't help but wonder just how much more sperm he can produce than an average "person."

As you closely observe his two rods, Levi can't help but squirm under your gaze. Elated at the amount of attention and your focus on his private parts as his pants and underwear are now out of the way.

"It's weird isn't it? I'm so fucking gross that even my genitalia isn't normal. I'm impressed you can even look at it directly haha."

Silently, you keep staring. Utterly turned on by the many ways you could use this part of him when you'll inevitably fuck eachother. Seeing how you're keeping quiet, Levi keeps degrading himself, obviously wanting the same treatment from you.

"I mean what kind of weird monstruous fuck would have two dicks, right? S-So you can tell me, tell me just how fucking gross and creepy it is..."

He keeps smiling, his face flushed by the titillating humiliation he's feeling by having his cocks out in front of you, the girl he loves the most in the world. So you decide to humor him a bit.

"Hmm... So you constantly hide these? Is it why you always try to wear baggy pants? So people won't notice how much of a creepy fuck you are."

"Y-yeah haha. T-Tell me more..."

He's so docile and pathetic, you can't help but strive for more.

"No. That's enough. Even after a couple of seconds looking at it, it makes me sick of it. I'm bored. Won't you show me how you play with them when I'm not around?"

Leviathan's eyes light up at your suggestion. He can't believe a day would come when you or anyone for that matter would ask him to masturbate in front of them.

"R-Really? You wanna see that?"

"Well, you don't want me to be bored right? And you really reaaaally want my forgiveness for being a gross fuck."

Excited yet mortified, Leviathan takes two of the fleshlights and rummaging through the box, he finds some lube. You watch him start off by filling the two holes with lube, all while both of his dicks are still erect from earlier. You're honestly still amazed at how they look.

Just before Levi sticks his first cock into one of the fleshlights you get an idea.

"Wait a sec. Hand it over."

Obediently, he hands the sextoy over. You spit into it, your saliva mixing with the lube and you give it back.

"Here. Hopefully it'll enhance the experience?"

"Ah- S-shit! Had I known I wouldn't have used the lube at all..."

He looks down, disappointed but still ecstatic. He carefully places the tip of his shaft on the entrance of the toy and slowly starts pushing it in, his dick opening up the walls of the toy as he shudders from the sensation and your piercing gaze. He jerks himself off like that for a little while before you ask him if he's not going to play with his second shaft.

"Well... I can either use the other toy or... I can show you how I do it with your panties..." Seeing how silent you are he retracts his statement. "-JUUST kidding ahaha it's already gross enough to see me jerk myself off so disgustingly with a sex toy, n-no one would like to see their own clothing used like that..."

You smile, uncrossing your legs and leaning in.

"No, that's a good point. Show me how you've been using my underwear all this time you dirty fuck."

"A-ah! Yes... ahaha~"

Taking your panties carefully, he wraps it on his other dick and starts pumping it with his free hand. As he does, he starts explaining.

"A-at first, I would only sniff them but I couldn't resist the urge to use them like this. And now that I've used them too much your sweet smell has completely been overwritten by my disgusting stench so there's no use sniffing it anymore ehehe. That's so fucking creepy isn't? I-I'm such a creepy bastard."

There he goes again, degrading himself while expecting a follow up from you. But you give him none of that this time. Instead, you look at him with anticipation and give him a challenge.

"If you do a good job of putting on a show for me I'll let you go down on me."

The air surrounding him turned to a deep purple as he took on his demon form, his scaly tail wagging around like the one of a dog's. Then he started to pant like a pup as well, elated by your suggestion.

"Ah. Ahh. N-no way? Seriously?! I'll do it, I'll seriously do it. So please watch closely!"

All this time he was on his knees, but now he stood up, making sure you have a close look at his dicks. They were right there in front of your face and you had to hold yourself back from taking one of them into your mouth. He kept mumbling and stammering some intelligible stuff, but you're pretty sure it was something along the lines of "I'll do it" and "look at me."

As he was getting close to release, you could feel him lose himself in the pleasure as his knees looked like they were about to fold from the lack of strength he was putting into them. Probably not used to jerking off standing up, he most likely does it either sitting or lying down like most people. In an effort to keep him standing in front of you, you placed your hand on one of his knees then slowly brought it up, caressing his thighs.

"Do your best to stay standing~ I'll be disappointed if you fall."

"Ah! Yes, of course!"

A literal couple of seconds later, the fleshlight was leaking of his cum and your stolen panties were dripping with his seed. Not only was the quantity overkill but the texture and thickness of the liquid looked quite rich. It was like warm condensed milk. As if on instinct, you placed one of your hands under the dripping liquid, allowing a couple of droplets to land on the palm of your hand.

"Y-Y/N??"

You lick a droplet off, tasting it. Seeing you do that, Levi's knees finally give in and he falls to the ground again, looking at your lips and mouth closely while wagging his tail, overly fixated on how your mouth moves while your tongue is probably pressing those drops of *his* cum on the walls and ceiling of your mouth. Savoring it.

Despite it looking like condensed milk it tastes more like a nectar, sweet and unnaturally good. Is it a special characteristic for a demon's cum to taste sweet and good? Maybe it's to push each other to fall into lust... makes sense. Delicious cum would easily push demons or humans alike to fall deeper into the sin of lust.

"W-wah... I can't believe I just saw you do that. Am I in heaven? N-no that sort of erotic scene would never happen in heaven. Aha I'm so glad I'm a demon and that we're in the devildom..."

Satisfied, you open your legs and raise your skirt.

"It tasted pretty good, surprisingly. But I'm sorry to say mine probably won't taste as good as yours."

Levi crawls towards you like an obedient puppy. He closely looks at the small stain that had formed on your underwear due to his performance. He feels like one grateful and lucky bastard that you're allowing him to do that to you. Frozen for a bit by the sight, he drools slightly before snapping out of it and placing his hands on the side of your underwear. Sliding it down as the stain leaves a bead of your warm liquid behind. Levi looks at it stretch and break as he pulls the panties further down, up to your ankles. You get your feet out of them and kick them to the other side of the room, allowing yourself to open your legs better than if they had stayed around your ankles.

Placing your hand on his head, you gently push him towards you and pet his head.

"Will you start or are you too busy drooling?"

Not making himself be begged any further. He starts by so very gently kissing your clit, it's so soft that you can barely feel it. He wraps his hands around your thighs, preparing himself to eat you out. He's so adorable. As he sticks his tongue out you notice how he has the tongue of a snake. Not that you hadn't noticed before, he would try to hide it from you at first but when you told him that it was so unique and cool he wouldn't try to keep it away from you anymore, boldly opening his mouth when he would yawn or when he was complaining about something. Now there he was using his devious tongue on your sweet spot.

He was greedily tasting you, it made you wonder if you actually tasted as good as he was making it seem. Though you're pretty sure you don't have enchanted cum like demons do. He would sink his fingers into the soft skin of your thighs, feeling you up, probably wishing that you'll let him hump your thighs next if he does a good job at making you feel good. You start to mewl and as you do, you can feel his tongue double down on his efforts, desperate to make you feel better just so he can hear you whimper and cry out his name.

You look down, a bit overwhelmed at how good his tongue is at exploring your insides. You see him looking up at you expectantly, a happy glint in his eyes, full of love for you. It's funny how one moment he begs you to degrade him and the next he asks for praise with his shiny eyes. Appreciative of his efforts, you place one of your hands on his cheek, caressing it with your thumb.

"Good boy Levi."

He wags his tail and his eyes light up some more as he hardens his tongue, pushing it further than you thought he could. You let out another whimper, this time mixing in his name. And as you do, you realize how close you are to climax. You grab his horns and cross your legs around his head, trapping him in front of your pretty pussy. Not that he minds, in fact he wouldn't like it any other way. Feeling you come while you call out his name some more, he suckles on your juices, gladly letting it spread all over his tongue before swallowing it all.

As you let him go, he rests his head on your right thigh, his cheek against your bare skin. He keeps looking up at you in awe at how pretty your face looks just after you've come. He rubs his cheek against your thigh hoping to get your attention back at him.

"Did I do a good job? I can um, I can do other things as well~ Oh if the idea of taking me back as a friend immediately is too gross for you I can keep being your fucktoy for the time being ehehe..."

You smile at him kindly and scratch him under the chin. He wags his tail again and displays his signature wide grin. His laugh is so cute. As he did a good job you figure it's time to stop the charade and let him have a real go at you.

"I wasn't really mad at you by the way."

He lifts his head up from your thigh, eyes wide open.

"Huh?"

"I was just fucking with you, I'm not grossed out or anything. You're still my cute little Levia-chan."

You pat him on the head. His eyes well up in tears from relief.

"R-Really? You won't abandon me?"

"No baby, I just thought this was the perfect excuse to push you to do dirty stuff for me. You're not mad right?"

Leviathan jumps into your arms, crying.

"I'm so grateful that a perfect girl like you would choose *me* to make you feel good. H-Had you not forgiven me, I would even be okay with being your sex slave if you'd like to."

"Don't be stupid, I'll let you be my one and only boyfriend. What about that?"

Levi lets you go, then while still grabbing your shoulders he looks at you, his eyes full of hope.

"Really? You'd allow me? You would take a lame fuck like me as your boyfriend?"

You pull him back in, kissing him on the cheek, near the corner of his lips.

"Don't say that. You're my cute little baby boy. Everyone has an ugly and filthy side to them, but beyond that you're a sweet cutiepie who watches magical girl shows, sews cosplays and easily cries at any sad scene in an anime. I mean, look at me, I just tricked you into thinking that I find you gross and pushed you to jerk off then suck me off. Isn't that objectively pretty terrible of me?"

Levi stays silent for a while before you can feel his two dicks poking at your stomach and pussy.

"N-Now that I know you weren't mad, that was probably one of the best moments of my life."

"Perv."

You kiss him again.

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Was initially planning on making them fuck at the end but it got too long. Though I'm not against making a part two if people like it ahah. AGAIN please don't hesitate to comment, I would love to read your thoughts!

[eegasleega-will-change-this-l8r]

WELL I WAS PLANNING ON PLAYING CELESTE THIS EVENING BUT INSTEAD I WILL NOW DEVOTE IT ENTIRELY TO INDULGING MY HYPERFIXATION

IT'S FINALLY TIME FOR A PORKY POST

Are Ness and Porky Friends...?

Let's talk about that 😏

First things first, I think this single moment from the beginning of the game is by FAR the most important thing to consider when thinking about how Ness and Porky's relationship is presented to us

Right at the start, when you make your way up to the meteorite, you will encounter the cops and their blockade This also serves as our first introduction to our wonderful neighbor, Porky Minch, who is currently making a nuisance of himself trying to get up to the meteorite, much to the cops' chagrin

One of the cops asks if we could help deal with Porky, and asks this vital question:

What's Ness's answer? Yes!

...or no.

I cannot understate how obsessed with this I am. Ness can't say whether or not Porky is really his friend. This is something he's unable to answer on his own. I really think this is a fantastic way to introduce Porky to the player. If he is Ness's friend... it doesn't seem like he's a very good one.

Now shortly after this, Porky begs for Ness's help in finding Picky. We get a pretty good look at Porky's character here. He's obnoxious, rude, doesn't take responsibility for his actions, and above all is pretty meek and cowardly. Now, I think some people go a little far in interpreting him as "bad" here. Porky's undeniably a jerk even now, but he's still just a kid, and a pretty pathetic one at that. If you look on the Earthbound wiki, you'll see that his age is listed as 14. As far as I'm aware, this only has one source, being Saori Kumi's Earthbound novelization. If you know even the slightest thing about this book, you will understand how ludicrous it is to use this as a source. Porky's age is never specified ingame, but I think his overall presentation implies that he should be the same age as Ness. It's fairly well-known that Ness's age is given as 13 in the American guide, but 12 in Japanese. 12 is also the age given in, again, Saori Kumi's novelization, unfortunately I don't know if this is stated elsewhere. It can also be noted that Shigesato Itoi has actually said he never thought of a specific age for Ness, just that he had his daughter in mind who at this time was in grade 4 or 5. So this gives us a range that could be as old as 13 or as young as 9. Personally, I skew toward 11-12 for how I envision the characters. In any case, Porky's clearly very young, so you really have to keep that in mind when considering... kinda everything about him, actually. But in this instance, it really contextualizes the stuff he says. For example, if you say no to him when he asks for your help, he threatens to "say something that'll cut you like a knife." I think it's silly to take this seriously (i've even heard someone describe it as Porky blackmailing Ness). He's clearly just gonna call Ness some mean name or something. ...Except he doesn't. Say no to him again, and he'll immediately deflate.

Porky is in no way a bully. He's annoying, but he's pretty lousy at being intimidating. Instead, his favorite way of getting what he wants is to appeal to others' sympathy. He's relying on Ness to help him by virtue of being "his bestest friend." Or think of his actions in battle: smiling insincerely, apologizing profusely, pretending to cry. He plays up being a sweet innocent kid whenever he's in trouble.

So, I think the picture we've painted is of a kid who's sort of a jerk, and tricks others to get what he wants. It becomes pretty clear why Ness isn't sure if he can really call Porky his friend.

...But what about Porky's side? Is he really only pretending to like Ness for his own gain, or are his own feelings much more complicated?

First off, just some minor things. While Porky leaves a pretty bad, if not altogether inaccurate first impression, there's a few things in his dialogue that speak to him thinking of Ness as more than just 'that loser who thinks we're friends.'

He promises that he'll tell Ness all about the meteorite in the morning. Probably this'd be in his typically boastful Porky-fashion, but even so, this shows that he wants to share things with Ness.

It's easy to miss because most people playing Earthbound have played A Video Game's before, and also tend not to ignore directions the game is clearly telegraphing, but Porky will actually give you advice if you're not properly prepared.

If you don't grab the Cracked Bat:

You're not taking anything on our big adventure? Why don't you look around for your Cracked bat or something?

Taking the bat but not equipping it:

Sorry about giving you this game-type advice, but you should equip your weapon! Do you know what "equip" means?

Yes:

Okay, that's good. Be sure to pay attention to details like that.

No:

It means "use" or "wear." You must equip items in order to use or wear them. "Equip" is used a lot in games like this, but you already knew that...

Finally, not answering your dad:

The phone is ringing! Answer it! At my house, my dad gets bent if I don't get the phone... within the first three rings!

These aren't anything groundbreaking, but they do show how Porky acts with Ness in casual contexts, plus how the game presents Porky surprisingly neutrally in the beginning, rather than just immediately telegraphing him as the villain. Also, nobody's seen these so hey, some obscure trivia for you.

Finally, Porky's reaction to hearing the prophecy is pretty telling of the kind of character Porky is pre-Giygas. He just talks about how much trouble Ness is in now, how he hopes he doesn't have to come, and how freaked out he is. I think this sums him up pretty well. He's the meek comic-relief friend character. Sniff from Moomin, for example. Or go watch Monster House, because Chowder is literally exactly Porky.

But none of that is super juicy. Let's dive into something juicy. This little bit murdered my brother when we got to it in our playthrough.

A quick detour to Magicant...

Ness... I envy you. You have all the luck. I have no luck. Ness... well, okay... Let's be friends forever, alright?

still hurts

Yeah so first off, I think this totally clears up Ness's feelings towards Porky. He can't say if they're really friends... But he WANTS them to be.

This is Ness's vision of Porky, the Porky he used to know before Giygas corrupted him, and the one he wishes was still around.

But even if this is just a manifestation of Ness's consciousness, I think it also gives us a look into Porky's inner self. This is what Ness sees in Porky, the confession that Porky is too insecure to say out loud. He hides it behind all his boasting and rudeness, but he really, really wants to keep his friendship with Ness.

Well.

If only.

Let's get to MOTHER 3.

This game gives us SO much more of Porky's character, and it's all sooooo deep. I cannot understate how much I hate seeing Porky reduced to 'that Eric Cartman kid who is an absolutely irredeemable suchnsuch.' King P is the culmination of a lot of aspects of Porky's character arc (you think this post is long, it's only the first of many more...), but one of the most prominent aspects is his unbelievably, painful, PATHETIC loneliness. This kid... man... is so desperate for a friend after he left the only person who ever wanted to connect with him that he literally brainwashes a whole city's worth of people into loving him.

And of course that's not enough, because all he wants is his next-door neighbor, his good buddy, his bestest friend Ness.

In closing, are Ness and Porky friends? It's complicated. Both clearly, desperately want to be. They have a history, they know each other intimately, by Itoi's own words they literally grew up playing together. But, for a number of reasons (that I've thought all too much about...), Porky just can't help but make it difficult. I'd sum it up by listening to the song that plays during Earthbound's cast credits. In the end, there are good friends, and...

[ivquatro]

WIP - I dreamt of Sebastian in a pink suit and decided to draw him!

Below is just a personal story (if it's written in a strange and wrong way, it's because English isn't my native language).

I started to see his face and became emotional, I remembered when I was 14, when I started to draw and threw away all my drawings of Sebastian, which I dedicated myself to learning to draw and do, because my relatives said it was "devil stuff". My parents protected me, they didn't mind that I liked anime and stuff, but it was very traumatic for me, it led to a lot of arguments with my evangelical grandmother and aunts. I used to be very outgoing and that made me close myself off from the world, in a way, and today I'm very introverted and closed off, because I heard horrible things, which hurt me a lot, because I liked anime and drawing, and I always tried hard to be the " perfect child".

(But the awkward questions to answer, the unpleasant atmosphere of arguments, the fact that my father was upset that I argued with my grandmother, as well as the unpleasant atmosphere of family gatherings, were very present at the time. I remember that other things came up and my relatives bothered me for 6 years straight, until I went to college).

It's ridiculous to think that because of religion, people made me think terrible things against myself, which was the source of my anxiety, introversion, being closed off to the point of not saying anything about my feelings. Even after 10 years, I still feel bad about it, it took me 10 years to draw a character and almost cry. I stopped drawing for many years and today I still find it very difficult to show my drawings to anyone I know, I remain anonymous, and I still avoid drawing everything I want to. I was very sad to throw away hours of my effort. In a way, this drawing is simple, but it makes the girl from 10 years ago very happy, I'm still not the woman she would like to be, but I try as hard as I can. I loved Kuroshitsuji, I used to buy clothes inspired by the characters and wear them (even though I lived in Brazil, at least I could wear them in winter :D), I got the manga, I bought things from the anime (my keychain is still from Kuroshitsuji).

There are only 3 drawings left from the many I had, which I still keep. The Undertaker one (my favorite character, I even drew it and made his bookmark) it's 10 years old, the other two will be 10 this year.

In the end, I still love subjects and things about demons, I watch anime from time to time, I still play games, I'm bi, agnostic and I've started drawing again! Next week I'll be 24, I'm still here and I'm going to keep drawing.

[nghtwngs]

while you fall (i’ll be there to catch you in my arms)

description: dick grayson comforts you on a lonely night as you pour your heart out to him.

pairing: batman!dick grayson x vigilante!reader

genre: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, friends to lovers

word count: 0.8k

warnings: trauma dumping, loneliness, dick grayson is batman, minor reference to detective comics #877

a/n: i’ve been reading the black mirror and dick said something that made me go “i’m gonna write this”—i totally forgot this was in my drafts (it’s been a year), but i just reread it, and wow this is actually good enough to post, especially since the new season has started airing. i hope you find comfort in this as much as i did.

“I’ve always been a people-watcher, Dick,” you murmur. Your arms are curled around your knees as you stare blankly into the abyss of the city below from your room.

The midnight black buries the buildings, but the bright neons light up Gotham a little even at its darkest hour. It’s the only source of light in here, bathing both you and Dick in its glow. He’s taken the spot next to you on the floor where you’re both leaned against the side of your bed. It rains again, a soft pitter-patter against your windows.

“I watch people too,” he says, but you know he means it differently.

“Not the way I do.”

You feel his intrusive gaze on you and the way he tries not to analyze you like he does everyone else. He’s failing, but you appreciate it anyway. He tries to understand without seeing you as another case he has to solve. Like he’s still Detective Grayson even after his time in Blüdhaven became nothing more than a memory. It’s instinctual though, a habit that he couldn’t get rid of. Neither of you could after all these years jumping city skylines.

Your eyes never shift away from the little dots moving outside. “Analyzing people is one thing, watching them is another. And I’ve been watching them for as long as I can remember. I watched them play games with each other on the playground, laugh together at lunch, click in a way I never could.

“Then, I started watching them in a different way. We read them. We can calculate their every move. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized how different those two things were. I always watched people enjoy life instead of living it. I never say what I want to say. I hesitate. I always hesitate, but never when I’m wearing the mask. Never when I’m out jumping rooftops in Gotham. Those moments… you can’t hesitate.”

Dick is used to being watched. He’s always going to be one of the main acts of the show whether or not it was a circus performance. He always knows how to put on a good show. That’s what he does best. And you would always be the one watching from sidelines as the audience. Sometimes, in the back of your mind, you’d be wishing that it was you falling off that trapeze.

You exhale, rubbing your eyes. “You’ve always been in the middle of everything. I’m not sure if I’m jealous of that or what. I don’t think I am? It seems… like a lot. Sometimes though, I wonder what it’d be like to be the center of things for a while.” You blow out a shaky breath, blinking away the water in your eyes. “I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. It all sounds so stupid coming out.”

You realize your mistake now. You’re letting someone take a glimpse of you, the you behind all the sarcasm and blank eyes and silence. Your eyes squeeze shut. You are being too much. No one likes too much.

“No,” he answers softly. “It doesn’t.” A few moments of silence pass, followed by his voice again. “Can I… hug you?”

You stare at him like he’s just asked you if the moon is really made out of cheese. But his eyes are so earnest, so caring, and so warm that you find yourself landing in Dick’s arms right away, burying your head in his shoulder. His arms wrap around your torso. You don’t even realize you were shaking until his voice comes out in small whispers.

It’s okay. You’re doing great.

It only manages to make you cry harder, your sobs being muffled by his skin. It feels good to let go. Pretending is getting tiring.

Your throat is hoarse now. It sounds like sandpaper. Feels like it. Your eyes lock onto the wall behind him. All the emotion is being drained now, seeping through the cotton of Dick’s white t-shirt and into his warm skin.

The next words that escape your mouth are unexpected by the both of you. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt loved.” You feel him stiffen underneath you as you continue, “I want to feel seen, heard.”

“Can I love you then?” he murmurs without missing a beat, hand rubbing your back gently. “Can I make you feel loved? I’ll make you feel so loved.”

He makes it sound like such an honor. Like loving you is the single most important thing he could be doing, and you know that to not be true. But the way he’s holding you makes you feel differently. It makes you feel like everything would be okay with him.

You guess that it’s just the Dick Grayson effect. He could make you feel like falling out of the sky is completely safe because he’d be right there on the ground to catch you.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t think I’ve been more sure of anything in my life,” he answers. Dick presses a chaste kiss to your temple.

“Never?”

“Nope. Never.” He holds you tighter and smiles at you. He looks like an angel. He looks like your savior. “I’ve always been sure about you.”

[italiansteebie]

I think I've kept y'all waiting long enough. Part 2 of this

"we? sorry Eddie, but I think it was you who fucked up this time. we see the way you look at him man, and. if you say he's changed then. I dunno. I guess I believe you."

It's Gareth who says it.

Gareth who's Eddie's main man, his confidant, the robin to well... his Steve.

and that's what makes it worse because he knows the disdain Gareth has for the guy, and here he is, telling Eddie he fucked up by letting him go.

"What do I do?" he asks, voice at a whisper, like he's scared of the answer. "You stop fucking around and make our stupid ass babysitter smile again," and that could only be, Eddie turns, looking for the source of the voice. Yep. Mike wheeler.

Dustin stomps over to him, "dude. we've been over this. Steve likes you. not as a friend, okay? I know you like him too, hell. even max can see it and she's fucking blind!"

"true." and there's max and Lucas, slowly making their way down steve's basement stairs, hands tightly gripping the railing. and now he knows he's got no choice. He's in Steve's basement, with his brats, and the rest of hellfire staring at him wait for him to move, and he knows he can't put this whole thing off like he wants to.

because if he's being honest, he wants to cancel hellfire, send everyone who, make max get up from the seat she just settled in, and run back to the trailer and hide from the world.

but now he's got an audience of people, people who weren't even sure about the guy two seconds ago, who were willing to berate Eddie on his behalf.

so he's got to go make it right. (and maybe he's got to get over the humiliating fact that he too, has become absolutely enamored with Steve Harrington. and he shakes that thought away because it's not humiliating. the guys a real catch, Wayne loves him, and so do his friends apparently, and he's just down right, nice. which Eddie was not expecting).

so he huffs, looking around the room, even max's cloudy eyes are pointed in his direction, waiting. and he bounds up the stairs.

"Steve!" He calls,

"Steve, I need to talk to you,"

and Steve rounds the corner, looking tired, "Eddie, I swear I'll stay out of your hair, you don't have to leave. I- I know you don't like me but, I- I want to prove it to you that I've changed. I-"

Eddie cut him off, "Steve, Steve. you don't need to prove anything I- I was being an asshole. I was embarrassed to have a crush on you,"

"not helping your case, Eddie,"

"I know, I know, ugh! Im not-" he pauses to scrub a hand down his face. "Im not good at this so im just gonna come out and say it. You are- too good for me. you're so fucking nice. I don't get it, and here you are listening to me, and you don't have to! I hurt you and you let me play my stupid game in your basement! you apologized to me. and so. I was scared , okay? because im not stupid, I could see that you liked me, and I- I was so scared that I didn't deserve you that I got mean, and you don't deserve that, not from me, not from anyone and I- I'm just. I can't tell you how sorry, and stupid I feel,"

"ed-"

"no, Steve. let me grovel, okay?"

"Eddie, you don't need to. I- I forgive you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. On one condition,"

"whatever you want, Stevie."

"ask me on a date."

"wh- okay." Eddie breathed out nervously, wiping his palms on his chest, "Steve, would you do me the great honor, of going on a date, with- with me?"

he saw the shaking of steves shoulders, oh god, did he make him cry again? Jesus, what was wrong with him? he was about to open his mouth to apologize, "yes, Eddie," Steve laughed, cutting him off, "I'll go on a date with you," there was a twinkle in his eye, and Eddie almost cried at the thought that he was the one who caused it.

there was an eruption of noise behind him, turns out his audience had followed him, waiting to see the ending. "Kiss!" Dustin called, "Kiss! kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" Oh god they were chanting now, and Steve had an expectant look on his face. "Well?"

and there it was, the fairy tale ending.

Eddie pulled Steve in for a sweet kiss, only pulling him closer to deepen it. there were hoops and hollers from the crowd behind him, and once they pulled away from each other, Eddie looked at his friends and even caught a smile on none other than mike wheeler's, king of teen angst, face.

and who knew it would turn out like this? (I did. we all need a happy ending).

Tags: @hyperfixationgoddess

@vhelt @i-have-three-feelings. @queerdeerling @sunfloweringstories

[that-ari-blogger]

Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical

If I asked you to close your eyes and picture something that you have lived through, what do you picture?

Chances are, you are picturing a single moment in time, and feeling all the emotion that runs through it and connects it. Maybe it makes you smile or cry. But it's a single moment, crystalised in a wonderfully imperfect brain.

Life isn't about the great stories and sagas. Sure, that's what historians write down, but that's not what the life of a person is about. It's about falling in love, it's about a cup of coffee in the morning and a conversation with a friend, it's about crying in the rain, and it's about a moment of song and dance. Life is about the little moments, the things that you remember.

Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical is an epic, but it's also very much not. Stray Gods is about small choices and moments that add up. So, in this post, I'm going to be looking at some of those moments that I liked, and that some of y'all liked, and doing some analysis of what they say about the story as a whole.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Stray Gods is a video game. That's really important to the themes and emotions. Video games are often collaborative endeavours, the game itself often just serves to facilitate moments with the group. A perfect example of this is Ludohistory's streams with the crew from Overly Sarcastic Productions (Link).

I have played the game a few times over, with family members and friends, and on my own, and it's a lot less fun playing solo. Not that the game isn't fun to play on my own, but it felt like it was designed to be multiplayer.

The other benefit of the medium is Stray Gods' calling card. The story is interactive. You make choices and interacts with people within the game. When you convince people to give love a chance, that's your choices leading to an outcome.

One of the best examples of this happens twice. Once halfway through the first song, and then again later on in the story. You get to choose your primary character trait from Charming, Kickass, or Clever. And I think these three are interesting, because their names are misleading. Charming doesn't make you more charismatic, and clever doesn't make you more intelligent.

Instead, I read them as relating to the different driving forces. Emotion, empathy, and logic. I tried to map these on to Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, but it's not quite accurate. Pathos is emotion, Logos is logic, but Ethos is credibility, which isn't the same, but it's a neat idea. In any case, a kickass character is more likely to make rash, emotion driven choices and a clever character is more likely to step back and think, and that is reflected in the choices made available later.

@rosespark2 gave a different, more fascinating read of the concept (source).

I personally think that [the second choice of personality trait] is supposed to act in a way as Grace developing in the story. An example I could think of being maybe Charming Grace gaining Kickass trait later as her being a more open and compassionate person but seeing the injustices in the system become more glaringly obvious it starts to frustrate her and make her more aggressive.

I genuinely hadn't considered this, but it's fascinating to me. Specifically, because of how these choices influence the story. Your primary character trait lets you make slightly different choices, it affects the little moments later on down the line. For example, Clever lets you ask more questions or make different observations. Case and point, in Aphrodite's party, Grace gets asked if she knows the purpose of this event, and the clever choice is the exact opposite of another option.

You can say it's to forget, but if you're clever, you can say it is to remember. This gave me a chuckle the first time around, but on a second playthrough, it reminded me of something.

One of my favourite songs is Hotel California by the Eagles and part of the second verse goes like this:

"How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat. Some dance to remember. Some dance to forget."

A party can be for remembrance and for its antithesis at the same time. Because that's what this event is for, it's for keeping the good times and replacing the bad ones with new moments. It's a time to reminisce. And a clever Grace could work that tiny little detail out, and it could change your perspective on the entire story, a small moment having a big impact.

But as Rosespark pointed out, you get two choices of character trait, and they can act as character development. And the way that the story uses these choices works with this take. Because instead of your second choice superseding or supplanting your original, it adds to it. Because character development can mean losing parts of yourself, but it can also mean developing. Maybe you are clever and kickass, and that lets you make both clever and kickass choices.

This retroactively makes the Grace from the first half of the story feel incomplete, and that's exactly who this character is, she is young, and lost at sea, trying to find a way forwards. This is a character who needs to decide who to be, and that doesn't happen all at once, it happens gradually, in the smaller moments.

When you play a TTRPG (be it Pathfinder, or DnD, or Raccoon Sky Pirates), you usually play as a single character. And one of the fun things about those games is finding out in real time, who your character is, and it's influenced not just by your choices, but by those of your friends, and the rolls of your dice.

And characters are made in the little moments, because you cannot look at the wider story. I remember two separate occasions where characters went in completely opposite directions. One champion I made to seek out power wherever she could find it ended up being the redeemer of the group, and one alchemist I made to seek revenge ended up being a father figure. And those two characters came about not through looking at how the plot would play out, but by small decisions in the moment of play.

Stray Gods works a lot like that, and that's for one key reason. TTRPGs are reflections of life, in a way. They are spontaneous, and that's what Stray Gods seeks to achieve. It is possible to play the game with the intent of being specifically charming, but what happens when you get given a choice with no charming options. Most notably, do you side with Persephone or Apollo in Old Wounds? Character comes about in the small moments and the little choices that lead to a large outcome.

This all works for little choices within the game and within its music. The neat little instrumental association of the choices (Electric guitar for Kickass, harp for Charming, bass clarinet for Clever) is a cool choice that associates the choices with distinct moods that can really help to back up the choice as being charming or clever or whatever. And the repetition of this means that you end up associating those instruments with their choices. So, when a character other than grace starts singing with these instruments backing them up, you associate them with that character trait.

For example, Orpheus is the owner of the single coolest looking guitar ever made, and in The Throne, is preceded by this instrument. So, you immediately associate him with strong emotions, just through the music. When you finally meet him, he isn't particularly rash in action, but you are wary of him because of your intuition brought on by the guitar.

Another example of a small musical choice affecting the story is in Cast A Spell and was pointed out by @adragoncat (link):

[Asterion] might be singing a harmony, and when [Hecate] accepts his proposal, she starts singing a melody to compliment it.

It's a tiny choice in the grand scheme of things, within the entire musical, the Asterion and Hecate love story has no plot bearing. But I have gone into detail on the thematic significance in a different post.

But what I think Adraconcat is pointing out is that the music signifies the connection between the two characters. Asterion's singing is less than immaculate, and that is the point, but when Hecate joins in, she doesn't make his singing obsolete, but she adds to it. The two complement each other. Not only is Asterion's song more bearable with her addition, but his singing itself becomes a harmony as the voices intermingle and complement each other into something infinitely better than the opening fumbles.

Things don't have to be plot relevant to be remembered. You remember Cast A Spell because of the emotion you invest in the relationship, and if you don't invest, you don't remember. And there's nothing wrong with that. Memories are unique to the person. My favourite moment in the entire musical is a small line by Eros in The Ritual:

"My arrows are rusty, forget the bow"

The arrows rusted because they were metal, but forget the bow because it was wood and rotted away. (That may be obvious, but I thought it was cool). That bow, mythologically speaking, is what makes people fall in love. It gets used on Jason and Media, and it gets used on Psyche and Eros himself. Probably a mythological interpretation of the flightlines and unpredictability of love, it was a purpose for Eros, and this single line conveys a loss of purpose as time has shifted, and the song attributes that to the pain of Aphrodite.

This is especially powerful because Grace's entire journey is finding her own purpose, and she can empathise with that. If you get invested in Grace's story, there's a high likelihood you will empathise with this as well.

But the line that sums up the themes the most comes in The Trial:

"Give it time you'll find even an island drifts. You don't notice 'cause it only moves in teeny, tiny shifts."

Stray Gods is about the small moments, because Stray Gods is about choices. You make decisions, you accept the consequences. But sometimes you get so caught up in the small things and you don't understand or see what they all lead to.

You are defined by your choices, for better or worse. And sometimes you look back on yourself and don't recognise who you were or who you have become. And it's important to do so, because the moments keep coming. Even now, there is the choice to change for the better, even when all is lost, you can make a choice. And that choice will be remembered as a tiny moment that might just change your life.

Final Thoughts

This musical is phenomenal and my greatest respect to Austin Wintory for the music, David Gaider for the writing, and everyone else involved.

This is game niche, and that is a strength. It's a Greek mythology, murder mystery, musical, coming of age story, video game. But it zeroes in on its heart, that being the small moments and choices that make a life.

This game made me laugh and cry and sing along. It made me dance, and brought about some fantastic memories, and that's the best praise I can offer it.

Thank you to all those who have read my posts and fed my ego. I put out a request for y'all's opinions on this and while I admittedly overestimated how many responses to that call I would get, it was fun seeing what y'all thought and working that into the final analysis. I am eternally grateful to those who offered their thoughts. I might do it again for other series of analysis that I do.

But this isn't it for my analysis of musicals. In the new year, I plan to take a look at Wicked, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous

[sapphire-weapon]

I actually agree with you analysis with Aeon, because there is one thing that’s been bugging me this whole time about their “relationship”.

Leon states in Vendetta that he is tired of all the fighting, so much to the point to where he starts drinking. But what bothers me the most is that Ada in her shitty storyline is stealing samples to later trade as per orders of Wesker.

For me, it almost undermines Leon’s goal in the sense that the one thing he wants to end is being continued by the woman he is so in love with. Because of his love with her, he’s willing to turn a blind eye to her actions all because he loves her???

Leon’s character is being questioned. Which doesn’t make sense cause his whole thing is to save people but when the girl he loves is continuing the cycle that he wants to end, he just doesn’t care??? Like Leon was top of his class in the police academy, labeled as smart. But just because he sees a pretty girl his intelligence kind of just gets thrown out the window.

I like both characters, but i feel like their little cat and mouse game destroys both characters completely.

Anyway, sorry to ramble, keep up the analysis. i’m lovin’ it!

So, this has actually been my biggest source of frustration as a critic/analyst. Back when RE6 first came out, I was still heavy in the dwrp scene, and I played through the game with my buddy Seiko (who RPed the Chris to my Leon, at the time) and I just remember both of us at varying points being like "what the fuck is he doing??" "why is he so fucking stupid?? it's like he took all of Chris's stupid pills and he's like 'no it's my turn to give myself brain damage you already had your fun. B('"

And when we first beat Leon's campaign I just dropped my controller and leaned back and said, "Well. I guess Leon just became unplayable. So much for that shit. There goes five years of RP down the fuckin toilet. Thanks for nothing, Capcom." And Seiko had to be like "No, wait, hold on. We can figure this out." And eventually she was the one who finally realized and said: "It felt like his whole campaign was a cry for help."

And I have been trying to make that work ever since -- because it is the only way to make his character make sense, after a certain point.

It actually took me the better part of two years to fully form and crystallize my analysis of "Leon projects most of his trauma onto Ada because she's familiar and convenient -- and also it's a bit of sunk cost fallacy because he wasted so much of his life trying to chase her down, so he's forced to create and live in this delusion where he's convinced himself that she's working towards the greater good, even though he has absolutely no intellectual reason to think that considering the men she's worked for -- but he still has to force himself to buy into it because his entire sense of self has become wrapped up in all of this bullshit, and for him to confront and admit that he's been wrong about her all this time would literally cause his worldview to shatter and his mental health to completely unravel into nothing."

Because RE6, as it exists, is fucking nonsense. I already thought RE4 was pushing it, because I don't know how Leon could just... be okay with Ada working for Wesker. The only explanation is that he's become convinced that she's doing it for a good reason and is going to do the right thing -- even though he has absolutely no evidence for thinking that. A delusion is the only way for it to make sense, and RE6 kicks that into overdrive.

If you were to look at Leon and Ada's relationship and call it for what it was, the very uncomfortable truth that would shake out is that Leon himself is probably one of the greatest assets contributing to the perpetuation of bioterrorism research. He not just aids the US government in their cover-up stories and cleans up their messes for them, but he also actively aids Ada's efforts while she's working for guys like Albert goddamn Wesker.

If you look at it from that perspective, the grim reality is that the world might objectively be better off if Leon was to step down from his position, withdraw from the battlefield, or even off himself like he's always wanted to. He's not just a useful idiot like Chris was for the BSAA -- he is actively part of the problem.

And there's some part of Leon that knows that. But it goes against everything he claims to stand for.

And so, the only way to make sense of his actions is the explanation that his entire sense of self is wrapped up in this, and he's too deep in that hole to dig his way out now. He's aware, on some level, of the cognitive dissonance that's happening, and that's why he drinks.

So, it is very interesting to me that Ada has been MIA from the OG timeline since 6, and that Vendetta and Death Island made the move to have Chris and Jill officially move in as Leon's support system, when he didn't have one previously -- because, with the proper support system in place, it's possible that he can dig his way out of this hole.

But what will that mean for his relationship with Ada?

And so we look at the Remake series and see the foundation it's been laying...

And suddenly the horizon starts to look very, very dark for Aeon as a ship.

[wakkoroni]

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

Passage:

When you get held captive for 2 months, lines get blurry.

"Did you think you could get rid of me that easy?" Slade chuckled. “Ah, kiddo. It’s going to take a lot more than a little push to kill me” He dragged his sword against the floor. "Normal people don't survive that"

He climbed out from under the desk, and made his way to the middle of the room to have the most space to fight back. “Weird flex but okay”

Just the whole Slade and Robin thing-

AYO MY SLADE AND ROBIN FIC???? Ngl that was a jumpscare lmaooooo

Okay so this fic started because I just really really wanted to write a renegade fic and I had pieces of it written in my draft but never like a full thing and I still have some in my drafts- but I decided to flesh it out and boom the renegade fic was born

I wanted a fun banter between them (actually lemme see the drafts I can find) on second thought let’s not- (I found them but it’s kinda like not the best) okay wait timeout I kinda ate with this-

Here’s some of the other drafts that inspired it but didn’t make the cut:

Scene:

No no no this wasn't supposed to happen. Robin stared down at his team mates, not really processing anything at all, all crying out in pain on the ground while he held the knife. None of this was supposed to happen, they had an agreement.

His friends. The people he grew close with and called them a second family. They laughed together, cried together, worked together. They were supposed to grow up together. He wasn't supposed to be the source of their pain.

"Slade stop it" he begged. "SLADE I AGREED TO DO EVERYTHING YOU WANTED ME TO DO. STOP IT"

"You didn't do everything"

"I don't kill"

"Well, face the consequences"

Dick had a moral crisis. He couldn't block out his friends screams. At that moment he made a split second decision. He grabbed the knife and held it to his throat.

"Stop it or I'll cut" Dick gave an ultimatum. He didn't have a death wish but if it was his friends or himself? He'd sacrifice himself in a heartbeat.

"Don't do it" Wally managed to get out through the blur of pain.

"I'm sorry"

Tense seconds went by, and Dick drove the knife deeper into his skin. He cut through a thin layer of skin, he could feel the blood drip down his throat.

After a minute the screams stopped

"Well-played" Claps echoed from his com. "It'll only work once Grayson. You aren't as valuable as you think. Return to base or I'll start it again" As a final note, Dick was shocked by his own bodysuit. Wasting no time, he gave a two-fingered salute and retreated.

He doesn't know when he'll see his friends again, or his dad. But until it's over he hopes to never see them again. He can't afford to hurt them. So what if it costs him his life? They'll be safe and that's all that mattered.

-

I have other scenes but this one of my favorites. The others were uh not the best written but I don’t mind cause I just wrote them to get the idea out

But for the specific scene in the ask, it didn’t change too much I really did want the “weird flex but okay” bit to stay the stuff that changed in the fic was how slade was introduced and the timeline of it all like deciding if I wanted to be an aftermath fic or a during the arc, and all that jazz

Slade being creepy with the dragging the swords was also intentional I wanted him to have that mysterious vibe and I think I showed that pretty well

By far one of the fics I’m most proud of and my most popular one!

Link to the renegade fic

Ask game list

[br4influids]

Obey Me with a MC who was sexually abused by their dad. PART 1

TW TW TW TW TW.

Just thinking about it makes me sick. Thinking about sex makes me sick. Thinking about it happening again makes me sick.

Part 2

Lucifer:

You're always flinching when he gets too close. It makes him sad, and angry at the same time. He can just tell something had happened in the human realm.

You two were already in a relationship and he went to finally kiss you when you flinched away and tears were rolling down your cheeks.

Internally he's panicking. Externally he remains calm.

'I'm sorry Lucifer I'm really sorry.' You sound like a broken record on repeat apologizing over and over again.

His heart is breaking into pieces seeing you like this, he can't even imagine what had happened to you.

He takes your hands in his. 'Look at me MC. I will NEVER hurt you. I don't know what you've been through but I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you without consent. And if you want to talk, I'll always lend you an ear.'

If you don't want to open up about it, he's alright with that.

If you open up to him and let it all slip telling him about all the touches, all the gross talk, the things you've seen. You start crying, ignoring the tears you continue.

He notices you crying again and sits you down on his bed still listening. He's furious that a father could do that to his own child.

'I mean he's still my dad, I still love him. But he's hurt me many times.' You conclude your story and you're in his arms.

'I'm not letting you go back there MC. Would you do me the honor and stay here in the Devildom MC?'

If you agree he'll take his time to show you how much he loves you platonically or romantically.

If you disagree, he's watching your father very closely.

Mammon:

He's oblivious to everyone else's problems but his own. So he doesn't notice the flinching when he gets to loud. He doesn't notice the pain in your eyes when he steals your stuff or how you wont stand up for yourself.

But a few months into the exchange program SPOILERS when Belphie killed you he finally realized how you blindly trusted people. That's when he started watching you closer.

He noticed your poor eating habits, he noticed the way you'd accept insults from lower demons, he noticed the way you'd go to the bathroom when someone would say something you didn't like and how you came back with red puffy eyes.

'Hey, Huma-- MC. Are you alright? Just know you can't lie to the great Mammon!'

'I'm alright Mammon, thank you for asking.' You say with the weakest smile and you begin walking back to your room, but he grabs your arm.

'I said you couldn't lie to the great Mammon. Talk to me, it's my job to make sure the exchange student is taken care of.' He cares a lot and you can see the worry in his eyes.

You basically have no choice but to tell him.

You decide to tell him about the things you've seen and heard from your own drunk dad. And how he blamed you for the source of all your problems. And how he blamed you for drinking so much.

He was speechless. How could he not have noticed something so horrible had happened to HIS human.

He wraps his arms around you and squeezes you VERY tightly as you cried into his shoulder.

You both stood there like that for a good 10 minutes.

He wasn't crying (yes he was)

'MC, I love you so much. how could a guy so something like that to his own child? I'm here to protect you now.'

Leviathan:

He's noticed how you avoided him. He just thinks its because he's a 'yucky otaku' but in reality he just reminds you of your dad after the TSL incident

When you finally warm up to him you hang out in his room a lot to play games with him.

When one day he rages and throws his controller against the wall.

You flinch and run off to his bathroom to hide while he calmed down.

He wasn't that angry but from your experiences it was best to just get out of the way.

He opens the bathroom to see your form balled up in the corner of the room, hands over your ears head in between your knees shaking.

He freezes, he doesn't know what to do.

'M-MC?'

You look up and meet his gaze and he sees the panic in your eyes. He knows this all too well, but he doesn't know how to handle it so he gets Satan or Lucifer to help instead.

When you're calmed down he'll sit in his bathtub with you and talk to you for a bit.

You tell him what happened and he looks shocked.

'MC, if you told me sooner I'd be calmer around you. I'm sorry.' He looks at you but can't meet your gaze.

'You didn't know though, its alright.' You punch him in the arm playfully and you laugh a little bit as if not to worry him. But that just worried him more.

'MC are you alright? I mean thats a lot for a normie to go through.'

You nod 'It was a long time ago, those wounds just have to heal.'

He nods and you both watch TSL all night.

Satan:

Like Lucifer, he notices it all. But unlike Lucifer he straight up brings you to his room to ask you about it.

You decide to downplay the entire thing to him the first time saying you had just had bad experiences in the human realm. While he knows that wasn't all he lets you go and doesn't push you any farther.

But one night you're reading in the library and have a flashback reliving the moment. Not here of all places why here? Satan is there and notices the difference in your body language.

'MC are you okay? Something seems a little off?' He asks

You don't respond and he starts to worry. You're too busy fighting off these horrible flashbacks.

He's starting to worry a lot more when he sees you starting to tremble.

He gets up and walks up to you slowly and crouching down in front of you to see tears falling from your face. He sees the fear in your eyes.

'Oh MC.' He says sadly. He knows exactly what's happening to you.

He gently takes your hands in his.

'MC, look at me. Its all okay. You're here now. You're safe.' He says quietly as to not scare you more.

Once you've snapped out of it he asks what really happened to you.

You tell him everything.

He's fighting the urge to go up to the human realm and torture your father until his demise.

'He's still my dad though.' Saying that you start crying again.

'No he's not MC. If you want a dad you can take Lucifer. That man you're talking about is NOT your dad.'

With that you chuckled a little and hugged him.

HES NOT LETTING YOU EVER GO BACK TO THAT MAN

Asmodeus:

He is also one to know.

You're genuinely afraid of Asmo and he knows it. Just being around him makes you feel sick.

You wish it wasn't that way but it just is.

And it hurts both of you.

You eventually get closer with him still feeling sick when he touches you too much.

And one night he came back from partying with the smell of alcohol on him. He went to kiss your cheek and you backed away.

'MC why wont you just accept my affection?' He says sounding hurt but there's a tone of anger that scares you.

Voice wobbling and tears prickling with tears 'Because you're drunk Asmo.' And you ran to your room crying passing Satan who saw you crying and running out of Asmo's room.

He's attacking Asmo and asking what he did but Asmo doesn't know, he didn't know what he did and it was killing him all night.

In the morning he was hungover but still went to your room to apologize for whatever he did and ask what happened.

When he asks you spill it all to him.

He's crying with you.

'MC, honey I would never do anything to you without your consent.'

He'd be much more clingy watching to make sure nothing bad would happen to you.

Beelzebub:

He doesn't notice until you are watching a movie with him one night and he screams at a scary part. Which doesn't normally happen so he was shocked to see you flinch and you excused yourself to the bathroom.

When you had been in there for 20 minutes he went to check on you. He knocks on the door 3 times with no response and he starts to worry.

'MC, I'm coming in.' The door was locked. Beel breaks the hinges off the door and sees you in the corner of the bathroom curled up in a ball shaking.

'MC?' He looks at you in confusion and you look at him with fear in your eyes.

'MC what's wrong?' He asks while walking up to you slowly as if you were a scared cat.

'It's nothing Beel. Just thinking about something that happened back in the human realm.'

he reaches out a hand to help you off the ground.

'Lets go to bed MC, you seem sleepy.' And he walks with you back to your room.

If you talk to him when you get there he feels horrible for scaring you.

But now that he knows, he's your personal body guard and he won't let Lucifer send you back there.

Belphie:

Don't think he didn't notice the ways you reacted when he was killing you. Those weren't normal reactions if he's being honest.

So when he's getting to know you afterwards he's watching you closely.

Noting every time you flinch, every comment that makes you stop eating, and every time your eyes fill with tears when someone gets too close.

He avoids all of those things but when he and Lucifer were arguing he noticed you leave the room and he followed you.

Followed you to your room where he saw you on the ground rocking back and forth while covering your ears and your eyes squeezed shut.

The sight broke his heart, shattered it to pieces like a piece of glass.

He was on the ground with you in an instant.

He knows what horrible flashbacks are like, he's experienced it before.

'Hey, hey look at me!' He says panicking slightly but trying to keep his cool to not freak you out more.

'Here, put your hand on my chest and breathe with me.' he guides your hand to his chest to let you feel his breathing but you pull your hand away not wanting to touch him.

'You... you can talk to me you know.' he says in a soothing quiet voice.

You decide to tell him about life in the human realm and he feels like shit for everything he put you through.

He won't let anything bad happen to you ever again. He'll never leave your side.

I'll make a part 2 of side characters later!

[writingsofwesteros]

I'M BACK! TIDES AND TOWER AU, UNIVERSITY IS KILLING ME BUT MY LOVE FOR ALYSOR AND LAENA.

Alysor is a people pleaser, when Otto commanded him to fight in the stepstones, he agreed because he couldn't say no and Daemon, during the war at the stepstones, has called him a twat, a man with no balls, a sheep even that follows the orders of daddy dearest; Alysor simply smiles and moves on: he has better things to do than indulge with a man child obssed with his brother(the actor has confirmed it)

Alysor was kind and gentle, but not stupid and sometimes he desires killing off the source of suffering of his sister: and that were the Targaryens.

King Viserys who couldn't keep it in his pants, Daemon, a whore himself when he calls Alicent a cunt, the princess Rhaenyra, the spoiled brat that has abandoned his sister.

 she was alone, married to a man old enough to be their father and Alysor knew he had to be there for her and his nephews.

When he spends some time in his sister's chambers, he thinks how lucky he was to be born a man, because he wouldn't have the same privileges as a woman and father was concerned with the matters of the realm to find him a match.

He was happy to be an uncle and when he returned from the stepstones, he managed to bring some gifts to Alicent and her children.

He has survived, much to Daemon's chagrin,nd changed so much during those years: he has grown taller, his auburn hair reaches his shoulders and the ladies were gawking at him.

"Ser Alysor proved himself to be quite capable in the battle" 

Alysor tries to not frown, the prince is mocking him, Alicent has noticed it, Nyra and king laught it off.

You thought I was going to die, you bastard" Alysor thinks then he opens his mouth

"Good think I didn't perish my prince...I wouldn't imagine what could have happened if I wasn't there to drag you out of the battlefield...you were heveanly injured..." Alysor finishes with a smile and Daemon glares at him.

"Two can play this game you inbred freak" he thinks while he still maintains eye contact with Daemon but Alicent grabs her brother's arm and invite him to show him off the tapestries.

"Did you have to make a scene?" Alicent said now that the siblings were alone; Alysor simply shrugs his shoulders:

"I speak of the true...Ser Laenor is more pleasant to be around" he says with a sigh 

 if he had ever married, he would never marry a Targaryen.

Oh boy, how wrong he was.

***

He wasn't nervous.

He was terrified.

"Everything is going to be alright my love" Laena whispers to in his ear tenderly.

They were at the feast for Jacaerys' birthday and that meant that his wife's parents were there.

Of course they were there, he thinks as they stop in front of the hall's heavy door, they were celebrating his wife's nephew, Jacaerys Velaryon 

And now they will make their way in the huge feast after years away from court.

To my own execution, he thinks staring at little Baela in his arms to soothe his nerves.

She was so calm, so innocent, unaware of the cruelty of the world.

He kisses her head and Baela giggles 

"Your mother is gonna feed me to Melys, Corlys is gonna drown my corpse into the sea.." he mutters terrified.

"I don't think so.." Laena grins, little Rhaena was in her arms and Alysor wants to die of cuteness.

When Laena had told him to be with child, Alysor cried; when the babies have kicked in her belly, he cried, when they were born, he had cried.

Who wouldn't cry when the love of your life will give you the greatest gift and blessings of the universe?

If I'm going to die, at least I'm gonna legitimize my girls, 

"I love you Laena, i love the little dragons you have given me.." he mutters seriously looking his wife in the eyes.

" Alysor-"

"And I will die for you, for us, for them" he looked determined.

The hall doors opened, their names were announced.

Let's get down to it, Laena thinks hiding her nervousness as well.

They walk side by side, as equals, as husband and wife.

I ADORE YOU!! Hope you can have a little break from Uni; Good luck with everything !!

Oh they have my heart!! he should have just left Daemon there but he's too sweet for his own good.

The little gifts he brings back are so loved on.

To my own execution, he thinks staring at little Baela in his arms to soothe his nerves. TOO DAMN CUTE!! Of course he cried, bless his little heart

[imarara]

So, Fallen Hero: Retribution is out, and I'm obsessed.

We have a looooong wait for Fallen Hero: Revelations before us, so I thought we all might get some outlet for talking about all that happened.

MIND YOU, SPOILERS AHEAD

sorry for the lack of proper etiquette (i tried to google that but nothing of substance came up really, so I'm open to all suggestions). If you don't mind being spoiled the whole game, different routes or endings, or don't mind being spoiled, please, indulge me, I'm in my exam month and I cannot think about anything else lmao.

With that out of the way, let's discuss. One last warning, I'm going to be detailed in the descriptions and theories - and I'm starting with the biggest one that comes to mind.

Also, a disclaimer; for the time being I have used only two of my Fallen Hero: Rebirth saves, both of them being a cis woman MC with a woman Puppet, both times with the same eye color. My MCs have never killed and strived to expose truth about corrupted systems. I've replayed Retribution a few times already, trying out different routes in those scenarios to fish out all I can.

1.

After finishing the game by going to Hollow Ground in MC's body, there is something weird going on; weird enough to make Ortega think that MC and HG are blood-related. I've only played as a female, but I've read somewhere that HG's gender is dependent on the gender of out MC (though I'm not sure how it is when the MC is trans, whether HG is of the gender we are after transition or before, or even how it is with nb MCs).

As mentioned above, MC's and Puppet eyes are the same color - green. During Heartbreak, MC looks the telepath straight in the eyes. They are too, green.

It might be a very suspicious coincidence, but I do not think so. My first theory is that Heartbreak actually is our Puppet. The body is found is the hospital, comatosed, forgotten for years, no family ties and as MC puts it, it's a shell.

It is heavily hinted during interactions with Lady Argent, that the MC won't know everything the body is capable of, at least after there is the possibility of probbing consciousness of the host - which the Puppet lacks.

I've read that something weird begins happening to Puppet just at the end of Rebirth, if Mortum is with you in the hospital. In Retribution, there are constant reminders that something is off with Puppet, and at the very end in numerous routes it is HEAVILY suggested that the Puppet calling our henchperson is not MC.

If Chen let's the MC go into his head after Puppet and Ortega get into the accident, we find out that HG either is or works with, but probably is, a very powerful telepath with ability to influence what people say (maybe even think) about them, which is also hinted at when MC themselves goes into a meeting with HG.

HG has been a kingpin in LD for over 20 years at the time of Retribution. Our MC is made in the late eighties, which makes them around 30. My guess would be that HG might have been the source of their genes at that time, as well as Heartbreak's. Or, HG and Heartbreak have similar genes.

Heartbreak's age was not established as far as I know. HG is a very private person, that would not be too far-fetched to think they wouldn't try to out themselves for, let's say, getting back the body of their comatosed child.

I'd think that Heartbreak could be a Re-Gene as well, but there is something off - Ortega found somebody's files, somebody looking like MC, somebody's that was jailed (and we know government and the Farm are rather close), and in the memory sequences there are memories that do not belong to MC.

One that strikes me the most is a mention of a parent and a ballon - i might be completely wrong here, but I think there is one painting of a ballon tangled in a tree somewhere. I will find where it is and then will update this post.

Also Heartbreak's and Shroud's (they fight Lady Argent at the Casino Auction) descriptions are very similar if I recall correctly. It's just something that caught my attention, so there.

Aaaalso, it's very suspicious that MC always ends in the accident if they go to HG's meeting, ant then they cannot reach Puppet. Seems like someone is pulling the strings, and it is most possibly not HG themselves.

Additionally, neither Steel or Ortega seems to know what exactly Heartbreak was, and MC tbemselves struggled to look at the telepath, so it is possible they would not recognize Puppet. Though then again Ortega saw somebody's file with photos similar to the MC, and if it was Heartbreak's then the Puppet would have to be the same gender as well, so that's not exactly a foolproof theory.

2.

We know Locus, who is officialy missing, is connected to Dr Regina experiments. Dr Regina is heavily implied to be behind MC's trauma. We don't know if Locus is officially working with the Farm, or was she officially missing because she's got taken by them and then ran away from them.

Dr Mortum at one point, seemingly, mentions Locus. In some endings (probably when we give her the prototype Lady Argent was after) they say something very similar to what MC would say when questioned about their time at the Farm after Heartbreak, something along "doing things for the name of science".

We also know they aren't exactly an example of sound morals.

3.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT MORTUMS GUN, I WASN'T ABLE TO TRY IT OUT YET

4.

So, Lady Argent's nanovores tried healing her. I just know it will be a turning point in the future, and Mortum will probably make it or break it.

I'll be trying to add some stuff later, bit rn it's 1AM and I have two projects to finish and deliver before 9am, so please discuss with me 😭

[jojoturnip]

A response to a mother at war, the poem of a friend:

You think of things so cosmically, don't you? I'm not surprised. I've seen your poetry of angels and your notebooks brimming over with theories of the world to compile into your games and campaigns.

There is no problem with that. Maybe that's a part of why I'm drawn to you and others who do the same. I like deep thinkers. I'd like to consider myself one.

There's nothing wrong with having your head in the clouds but don't forget you stand on earth.

I've been asked to hold a science writing workshop for another university's students who want to put science on the ballot (go them!!), so I've been thinking of some of my best writing advice. One piece I think of constantly when I write I found a long time ago scrolling through Pinterest:

"Don't write about the Holocaust. Write about the pair of children's shoes left behind in the street as they were taken away."

That one resonates with me a lot. Maybe it's the Jewish fear. I think it's more than that, though.

I, too, have been torn apart and eaten by the cosmos. I was punctured by the points of stars that promised to light the way. I have known and loved the darkness of man, the darkness of voids. I saw the big picture before I knew what it was.

It isn't pretty. Stepping back and looking at the timeline of my life, it isn't pretty.

Come look closer with me, though. Do you see that smudge? That's where my sister and I used to spray men's shaving cream at each other in the backyard when it was too hot to play like normal in the desert. Oh wait, no, look at this one, it's me hanging up my first houseplant, a rabbit footed fern. Does this one of me playing Minecraft with my cousin even look like me anymore?

No, no, this one you should see. You'll remember it. I had invited my sister, my roommates, my creative writing friends, and you all to the award ceremony for my literary award. You came with me, no one else did. Did you see how close to crying I am? Not from sadness even, just joy that you were there and supported me even though you didn't understand and it wasn't your thing. You were just there.

Don't think me stupid for finding that joy, my friend. The connections of the universe may be hard to conceptualize, but the constellations look nice. Did you hear we're supposed to be able to see the Aurora tonight?

Stepping back, I see all the pain and suffering that you do. And it's true that it overpowers the rest. But isn't it lonely up there? Only seeing the big picture and none of the details that make it worth painting?

I'm no artist. Or ethics professor. I'm not the one to tell you what's right and what isn't.

I study life. Both in botany and in writing. And I'm convinced, even after all the ugly I have pulled my rubber boots up from to stay afloat, that life is beautiful.

My bus driver always waves to other bus drivers we pass. But, when we come across a bus on the same route going the opposite direction, I see the flash of toothy smiles and special waves and salutes, like secret best-friend handshakes. My coworker dug a digital camera out of someone else's trash so I could use it to take pictures of my niece. The girl I complimented in the coffee shop today on her leather jacket beamed and told me how she was pretending it was warmer than it really was.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a source almost as odd as Pinterest, Norman Borlaug's biography. He's the father of the green revolution, and credited with saving more lives than any other person. I read it as a Borlaug Scholar in high school, and it was mostly dry. But he talked about his grandfather a bit, who said,

"Don't look for God in the sky. Look for him in the ground. That's where things grow."

Some of the tulips in the horticulture garden are planted above a hot water pipe, and the soil is warm enough for them to bloom early. They always come up short and have purple anthocyanin stress marks on their leaves, but people stop by to see the early flowers anyway.

I understand where you are, up in the universe, seemingly above it all but feeling swallowed by the vacuum. There's a beauty in that, too, in having a mind that can untangle dark matter. So I'm not here to change you.

But I also know your feet are as gravity-striken as mine. Welcome to Earth, my friend, come dig in the dirt with me. We can find earthworms and seeds and a thousand lives too small for us to see. It does not take away from the big picture, or the acknowledgement of your pain to pay them notice.

I brought you an extra trowel, but I cannot help you find god or hope or love or whatever it is people dig for. You have to want it. Then you have to dig for it.

I'm just digging next to you.

[negrowhat]

GET TO KNOW YOUR BL MUTUALS

Tagged by: @yugiohio @wintersolaar @myfirstisthefourth @ommited-miscellaneously @gillianthecat AND @pharawee

This is my second time doing this one!

Simple, answer the questions. @ some people. Include the tag 'g2ky BL mutuals 2022' on your post so we can find everyone's answers!

what have been BLs that took you by surprise this year?

Triage the Series: It's literally the only series I've ever watched with a time loop and it was insane from beginning to end. Had me on the edge of my seat and I was very excited to see TaeTee together again after we got played by 2MOONS.

Ghost Host Ghost House: I didn't know what to expect, but damnnnnn not only was the series a tearjerker but also so freaking soft and romantic. You find yourself crying about the tragedies and then squealing about the romance budding amidst the pain.

Blueming: Such a refreshing series. It felt the most like what it was supposed to portray. It was so simple and yet damn near perfect. The series felt the least like a BL, kind of sidestepping a bunch of tropes and making them seem more realistic. IDK how to explain it. Hwang Da Seul is just really talented.

Secret Crush on You: Once you get past the cringe that is eps 1-3 then you start to realize that the series is kind of epic with great representation and support and dialogue. It's a relatable series with relevant content.

Takara-kun to Amagi-kun: I wasn't expecting to love those boys so much. It's another simple series that left a huge impact. They really showcased what a first real love is supposed to be like.

what have been BLs that you felt a bit disappointed with this year?

Check Out the Series: WHACK!

The Eclipse: It just didn't hit for me the way it hit for everyone else.

Coffee Melody: It started off cute! But became boring and the main character became annoying.

Fahlanruk: Again, started off cute, but Fahlan? I couldn't stand him. He demanded so much from Sherbet and forced his way into the man's life. I just couldn't commit to him.

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss: I mean. It wasn't bad, it just didn't hold my attention.

what has been your favorite BL this year?

Love in the Air: Swooped in and took the #1 spot from KP. It really wasn't even about the plot it was more about the characters for me. PayuRain and PrapaiSky were just amazing couples. The chemistry was unmatched. ALSO NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THE ACTOR THAT PLAYED SIG PLAYED DR. SING IN TRIAGE! That man could act because the stark difference in characters left it impossible for me to notice.

Between Us: WinTeam FTW. I've been waiting for this series for a long time and it has not been disappointing. BounPrem have come a long way and it shows in this series.

KinnPorsche the Series: Originally I was only planning to watch KP for JeffGame, but then all that drama went down with the original production company and Game left so I was like NAH BUT THEN I SAW THE TRAILER?? This series is really what popped off Mafia themes in BL. I love some action and romance so I was not let down.

favorite BL couples (not just of 2022)

CaiReel, KinnPorsche, PayuRain, FighterTutor, PluemKevin, Phunnoh, AePete, TharnType, NubsibGene, DeYi, Hao Ting x Xi Gu, TangFei, Kurodachi, WeiLan, Wangxian, WenZhou, and Yu Zhen x Shi Lei. There are much more but we would be here a long time.

what's your non-BL favorite this year?

Kei x Yaku: I mean technically it's a bromance and I think the source content was a bromance too. The plot was thrilling and exciting and suspenseful. The chemistry was top notch. The action scenes were amazing. Like the entire series was 10/10.

Heartstopper and Young Royals 2: Queer content but not Asia-based so technically not BLs. Heartstopper has excellent LGBTQ representation across the board. It's sweet and funny and the tackle a lot of topics. Young Royals is on the opposite side of the high school queer spectrum. It's filled with angst and anxiety. Follows up with Prince Wille once he returns to school and has to be in contact with his ex-boyfriend again and the people that helped facilitate their breakup.

Gap the Series: I'm loving the girlies. Office romance between a newly graduated young woman and her seemingly untouchable idol/boss.

MMM that's really it, the only thing I watch outside of BL is reality TV and courtroom shows.

I've done this before so IDK who to tag this time. If you see this do it and tag me!

[h-worksrambles]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is somehow simultaneously both the game I’m most excited for next year and yet I also can’t remember the last time I was so anxious for a new release.

For context. I love Final Fantasy VII. It’s my second favourite game in the series. I played it in 2019 with no nostalgia and was stunned at how well it holds up. Its story is a compelling ride that’s still painfully relevant to this day. The characters are loveable and multi fascinated. The combat is simple while having enough nuance to sink your teeth into and the world is a joy to explore. It’s an iconic game but one that earns every bit of its reputation.

You know what I also loved? Final Fantasy VII Remake. It brought the world and characters I adored to life in a new way that captivated me all over again. It has some of my favourite combat in the series, and it visually captured the original better than I could have hoped. Even the controversial ending pivot was something I could respect for what it was saying on a meta level about the need for VII to evolve in order to keep discussion of it alive. But that new direction demands that what comes after has to be a worthy complement to what VII originally did. And now that Rebirth’s getting closer, we’re soon gonna get our answer about that.

And that’s the thing. On many counts, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looks amazing. The pivot to an open world looks promising (I know that the devs citing Horizon as a source has got some folks worried it’s gonna go full Ubisoft in terms of open design but I’n cautiously optimistic that the exploration will be good). Every change to the combat in terms of new abilities, mechanics and party members feel smartly chosen to make for a smoother experience. Every scene they’ve shown in trailers promises to lovingly re imagine and expand so many phenomenal parts of the original. Red XIII’s self reflection at Cosmo Canyon, Barret’s symbolically facing his darkest impulses through Dyne at Corel. The entire Nibelheim incident with a PLAYABLE Sephiroth, letting us experience the terrifying gap in power between him and Cloud through the gameplay? I really couldn’t ask for more.

But that’s not all there is to this is there? Following on from Remake’s ending we now have an alternate timeline with Zack Fair, having survived the events of his tragic death, looking for Aerith. And on some levels, this could actually be really cool. The trailers imply that Biggs apparent survival also only happened in this other timeline. Our Biggs, Wedge and Jessie (that Remake did such a good job expanding and making us cry over) are still gone. And this other Biggs has been hardened by those experiences. That’s interesting and allows him to develop without undoing that fantastic death scene that Remake gave him. There is promising stuff here. It promises to be a legitimately NEW vision to complement the original without undermining its themes (and I want you to keep that in mind for what I say next).

And yet there is a troubling vision looming in the back of my head. And that vision is The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

I do not like the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. I think it’s drab, baffling, incoherent mess that fundamentally does not understand the source material. And that’s odd because it’s made by many of the same people who made VII so legendary. There’s a tendency for uninformed, uncharitable takes to paint Tetsuya Nomura as a hack who went from character designer to creative lead and promptly butchered VII according to his whims the second Hironobu Sakaguchi stepped back. But all it takes is a cursory glance at the dev history to see that’s not the case. Many of the most applauded aspects of VII are things Nomura either suggested or helped with. Say what you will about Kingdom Hearts or the shudders …The Third Birthday. But Nomura does have a strong eye for game direction and ludonarrative. Many of the creatives on the Compilation have done sterling work elsewhere…

Which makes it all the more baffling that it’s so terrible.

Advent Children is an aimless collection of admittedly cool action scenes that also entirely misunderstands what VII did so well thematically. An attempt is made to continue its themes of grief and the cycle of life by effectively giving Cloud PTSD. But the execution is so one note and heavy handed that it only comes off as forced, and fails to do a character as nuanced as Cloud any justice. It doesn’t feel like a meaningful expansion of his character. It feels like it’s regressing him so he can learn the same lesson again. Which would be easier to stomach if it was done in the service of a realistic portrayal of depression, but it’s really not. When your depiction of these issues is so flat and cartoonishly one dimensional, maybe you just don’t have as much to say about grief and trauma as you think you do. Sure, the old 2000s critique that AC is bad because it’s ‘emo’ is surface level and bad faith. But that doesn’t make the movie any less shallow or badly written.

Crisis Core does admittedly do a wonderful job expanding on the character of Zack Fair to make for one of the series most loveable protagonists. But it’s also a 101 in bad prequel writing. A story dedicated to over explaining and cheapening the world and characters of the original. All in a bid to make room for a string of uninteresting, shallow new characters that are placed on an absurdly high level of importance in the lore at the cost of everyone else (please tell me whose idea it was to rob Sephiroth of all agency in his own downfall by having him be manipulated by Gackt’s OC?). All capped off with a faux intellectual, badly translated script that, for all its words, has so little to say compared to the original.

And the less said about Dirge of Cerberus or On the Way to a Smile, the better.

I’m worried that this is making me sound like some bitter purist. I don’t think Nomura or Nojima ‘ruined FFVII’ much as people love to parrot that. But I do think when these continuations chiefly exist because executives are breathing down their necks to milk the giant cow, even good creatives are going to make lesser art. And even then there are signs of ambition in the spin offs. But they’re tainted by a lack of restraint, and often compromise what worked about the original. Sometimes I could see what they were going for, but that didn’t make VII’s world and characters feel any less bastardised. Which is why I want to stress how much I loved Remake. It did have that tight execution and understanding of the original and its characters that the spin offs lacked. Hell I was even excited for the new potential of its ending.

But now a few years on, I have to wonder. How much of it is actually going to be ‘new’? And how much is just going to be dredging up the series’ old mistakes? The DLC for VII rounded off by reintroducing Nero, an antagonist from the much maligned Dirge of Cerberus, making him a canonical part of Yuffie’s story. 2022 saw the release of a remaster of Crisis Core shortly before marketing for Rebirth showed off Zack’s parallel story throughout the game. It is thus heavily implied that you should play Crisis Core Reunion, because this stuff is going to matter to Rebirth. And it was recently announced that Advent Children Complete is returning to Japanese theatres for the first time in years. The movie that so fundamentally damaged the perception of what FFVII is, is not so subtly being presented as being very important to whatever comes next. And that’s to say nothing of how Sephiroth’s portrayal in the Remake so far matches up scarily well with the novels’ revelations that he and Aerith are actually still alive in the Lifestream and can technically come back whenever they want (a retcon that actively makes my blood boil for how little it understands ANYTHING about VII for the sake of fanservice).

I mean…is this it? Is this all the ‘new story’ we have to look forward to? The same mystery box sequel baiting that dogs the later Kingdom Hearts games, and a bunch of heavy handed fanservice for all the worst excesses of the Compilation? Honestly, Remake was actually really good about how it used the Compilation. Carefully and selectively and threading in minor characters, worldbuilding details and homages so they fit more organically into VII’s world. It really felt like Square Enix had done through a wildly experimental phase, learned what worked and what didn’t, and were now exercising an ambitious but controlled hand. But maybe we’re sliding right back into that excess and schlock.

Back when Remake came out, I remember seeing many comparisons to the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. But now I’m wondering. What if this isn’t a deeply personal meta-textual commentary on how the creators’ relationship with their art has changed? What if it’s just a multiverse punch up filled with fanservice for a bunch of mediocre spin offs from the 2000s that people are apparently nostalgic for? Is Zack actually back because the writers think he would meaningfully enhance the story? Or is he back because they know how popular Zack is and know fans would eat up a potential reunion between him, Cloud and Aerith, no matter how little sense it makes?

But that’s also where I can breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief. Because a lot of my worries are still just ‘what ifs’. At the end of the day, what we have so far is a great remake of a classic, which has a highly promising sequel on the way. And I’m excited as hell to play it. And yet I can’t deny the uncertainty makes me uneasy. This trilogy of reimaginings has so much promise and potential. And I hope it doesn’t opt for shock value and fan service to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It’s from many of the same minds who made VII so special, but many of those same minds have proven they can also miss the mark of what they previously got so right. VII is a powerful story of identity, environmentalism, the nature of death and self reflection. It’s a scathing critique of capitalistic greed and our lack of respect for the planet. While also being a hopeful story of love and self betterment, that tells us the people we lose are in some small way still with us, as long as we remain in harmony with the natural world around us. If the Remake isn’t going to fully recreate that story for a new audience, then I hope at least that it’s got something equally worthwhile to say that can stand alongside it. But only time will tell.

[blueskittlesart]

Okay okay big ask - rate every loz game you’ve played (by stars or in order I don’t mind)

ok lets go!! i rated them on both story and gameplay seperately bc those r 2 different ratings in my mind lol. they're in the order i played them except aoc at the end bc it's not main-line. i also left out games i haven't finished yet (nes zelda, zelda II, ALBW)

OOT: gameplay 9/10 | story 1000000/10 video game of all time. i mean this with 100% sincerity playing oot was fundamental for me. gameplay gets 1 point off tho bc i vividly remember crying because i couldn't make the camera go where i wanted it to the first time i ever played it

MM: gameplay 7/10 | story 10/10 i think this game is a perfectly cohesive sequel to oot in basically every way possible. the navi thing makes me insane obviously but i won't dock a point for it because i understand narratively why the choice was made and like. it works. the only complaint i have with this game is that the gameplay itself was super difficult for me both now and when i was younger--not the dungeons specifically, but the timer being there and counting down in real time was so anxiety-inducing for me that it distracted from the story. I do actually like the timer from like an objective standpoint and i think it was really well-implemented i just can't enjoy it fully because of my own hangups lol

BOTW: gameplay 10/10 | story 1000/10 perfect game. i don't feel the need to elaborate. i genuinely think in like 10 years this game is going to be the modern-day oot in terms of industry influence

ALTTP: gameplay 8/10 | story 8/10 okay this is my first less-than-perfect story score and i want to make it clear that i am obsessed with the story of alttp ok. obsessed. but i can recognize that a lot of what i find great about this game comes from my own analysis and is. not actually super present in the source material. and it is the 3rd loz game ever released and. well. it shows. that being said i think of all the 2d games to play you should play this one

LINK'S AWAKENING: gameplay 6/10 | story 0/10 sorry i. did not like this game lol. too much retro-style gameplay and not enough interesting story to make up for it. i also vehemently hate platformers so the sidescrolling dungeon segments made me want to kms. the story also does not actually happen like. within the game's own canon bc it's all a dream so i couldn't bring myself to care. i never even beat this game bc the final boss pissed me off too much

TP: gameplay 8/10 | story 0/10 fuck this game. the story sucked. it was poorly written and disjointed, a huge mess thematically, and 90% of the non-dungeon gameplay felt like needless padding. i've said it before and i'll say it again: twilight princess was an oot remake written by people who did not understand ocarina of time and got all their information on the loz franchise from youtube videos with clickbait thumbnails entitled "10 DARK SECRETS nintendo doesn't want you to know!!!" that being said the motion controls were still better than sksw and it had some of the better dungeon designs in the franchise. fuck that fishing minigame tho

SKSW: gameplay 4/10 | story 10/10 ok to preface this i played the original wii version which is why the gameplay rating is so low. i would rather die than play through this game on my shitty old wii again holy shit. that being said the story was phenomenal and i'm really glad it got a remake with a functional control scheme so hopefully more people will see that

WW: gameplay 6/10 | story 9/10 this is a hard one for me. again i need you to understand that i played the gameboy version and therefore had to do the gameboy triforce hunt which is why the gameplay score is so low, but there were also some quality-of-life things like the hitbox sizes and some of the dungeon design that pissed me off a bit. as for the story, there are pieces of it that i could analyze obsessively for hours on end but there are also pieces that are kind of clunky to me in regards to the overall lore so it gets a less-than-perfect score lol

(bonus because it isn't really a main-line loz game) HWAOC: gameplay 8/10 | story 6/10 sigh. i want to like this game way more than i do. the gameplay is genuinely fun at times if a bit underwhelming compared to the game it takes its setting and characters from, but it never claimed to be a mainline game so i don't fault it too much for that. the story could be SO GOOD and there are some pockets of greatness in there (the sword-claiming scene, the scene where zelda's powers activate, general extra characterization of the champions, etc) but they just had to throw in some timeline fuckery and the most boring hot-topic-wannabe villain in the fucking world and ruin it for themselves. agh