#v: post lament - main

[sparklytimebun]

Picrew

Last one I promise. Trefor helps Leon soothebthe hurt he feels still from Mathias, and does his best to fill Leon's heart with love rather than hate. In a way, Trefor becomes an anchor for Leon's intense moodswings as he tries to wrestle with his feelings.

Not pictured: Leon's first born in a small cot next to them.

[love-archer]

More Than Meets the Eye

♡ what to do when your human is all blue? ♡

♡.Obey me! ♡♡.SFW! Fluff! ♡♡♡. @nalamyc00l I understand. Sometimes the world feels like it's got its magnifying glass pointed at all the wrong places, and you just need to feel seen for who you truly are, not just... what you look like, right? And here you go, babes <3 apologizes for the late post…

. . . M A M M O N !

♡ Standing slightly off to the side in the House of Lamentation, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. Memories of your time in the human world before devildom were whirling and spinning around what happened at the mall this evening.

♡ A shirt that caught your eyes didn’t make it into your purchase, the saleslady shaking her head and not so subtly saying your frame was ‘distracting’, ‘loud’ for the shirt style, herding you, like a child, to a different isle of clothes.

♡ It wasn’t a first that you were talked to like that but this time, the words landed a little too wrong and too strong to just brush off.

♡ Mammon, pacing back and forth, counting Grimm in his hands, almost bumps into you. "Oi! Watch it, Human! You're gonna make me drop my—" He stops mid-sentence, glancing at your expression. His own expression falters just a touch. He sees the way your shoulders are hunched, the way your eyes avoiding looking up. Something in your downcast posture stops him short of making any jokes or teasings.

♡ He might clear his throat, shifting his weight awkwardly. "Uh, hey. You alright? You lookin' kinda… wilted." He scratches the back of his neck, suddenly less sure of himself.

♡ Before you can finish telling him everything what happened before you pushed into the dressing room, Mammon would actually frown. "Who said somethin' to ya?  Who? Lemme at 'em!" His impulsive instincts, ones you surprisingly tamed down some time ago, would flare up. “Ya know more than damn well I can take anybody on! Tell me!” He wouldn't understand the nuance of body image and insecurities right away (he is perfect) but he would understand someone being unnecessarily ugly to his human.

♡ All his grumbling and huffing would cease when he sees how badly you just want to fade away. Stepping to you, his arms would pull you closer, shielding you from sight of other eyes. "Look, uh… don't listen to 'em, alright? Demons are just… demons."

♡ "You’re… you’re fine. More than fine. You’re… uh… you’re useful. Yeah, useful! And… and freaking…” He breathes in, mustering up the words he wanted to say for a stupid long while. “And… and you look good. Alright?” The whorls would fall softly onto your hair, his lips hovering there as if he wants to kiss you but he pulls back. “Now come on, let’s go get somethin’ to eat. My treat. Anything you want. Except my credit card. That’s still off-limits.”

. . . L E V I A T H A N !

♡ Leviathan’s room was dimly lit, the glow of multiple screens casting an eerie blue light across the floor filled with pillows, snacks and the such. You had sought him out, hoping that the familiar chaos of his space might distract you from the turmoil in your head. You slump onto his beanbag chair, trying to appear casual as you watch him intensely focused on a new MMORPG on his main screen. His fingers danced across the keyboard, commands firing off in rapid succession, his brow furrowed in concentration.

♡ Leviathan’s senses were sharper than they seemed. He might be socially awkward in the real world, but he was surprisingly attuned to shifts in mood, especially amongst those he considered his comrades – and you were definitely in his ‘party’.

♡ “Oi,” he grunts, without taking his eyes off the screen, “ I can hear you sighing over the music and it's making it hard to enjoy the screams of these newbies. You’re… radiating gloom. Like a… a debuff aura. Is it…" He repeatedly hit the spacebar, "is it Diavolo again? Did he make you participate in some… cringe human tradition again?”

♡ You shake your head, managing a weak smile. “No, nothing like that. Just… stuff.” You try to brush it off, but Leviathan, surprisingly, presses a bit further, though still glued to his game.

♡ “’Stuff’ is vague. Vague is… inefficient.” He pauses, fingers still flying. "Someone bothered you?"

♡ You sigh. "Yeah… kind of. Someone… someone at the mall said some really rude things about… well, about my…” you gesture vaguely at your chest, his eyes staring at you from the reflection of the PC screens.

♡ Leviathan finally pauses his game, his avatar momentarily frozen mid-battle, much to the potential dismay of his online teammates. He swivels his chair to face you, eyes widened.

♡ Once everything was ranted out, Leviathan stares blankly for a moment, then his face scrunches up in confusion, and then, indignation. “Distracting? Distracting how?" He gets up abruptly, pacing in his small space, “It's a SHIRT!" He scoffs, "Distracting?!"

♡ "Distracting is-is when a poorly designed UI element obscures vital information on the screen. THAT would make sense. And even then, just that’s bad game design, AND still… not your fault!”

♡ “Listen,” he says, turning back to you, his voice earnest, “Don’t listen to those… those low-level losers. They’re just jealous because your… your character is clearly a… a unique, high-stat build. Everyone else is just… generic.”

♡ He fumbles around his desk, pushing aside stacks of manga, finally retrieving a slightly dusty, but clearly treasured, limited edition anime figurine. He holds it out to you. "Aha!"

♡ “See?” He points at the exaggerated curves of the figure. “This… this is art! Designed with… with emphasis! It’s… it’s beautiful! Like… like you! In a… in a non-dull, totally meta way!"

♡ "She's cool, you're cooler." He propped her on your knee, patting your leg in what he hopes is comfort.

. . . B E E L Z E B U B !

♡ Beelzebub was happily munching on a mountain of spiced chicken wings, his movements focused and economical. You watched him, a small smile playing on your lips. It was… endearing, in a strange way, to see him so utterly absorbed in his food.

♡ You were in the kitchen with him because… well, you just enjoyed being around him. Even if most of his attention was usually on whatever edible item was nearest. Today, though, you felt more awkward than usual. You’d deliberately chosen the baggiest sweater you could find this morning, hoping to minimize… everything.

♡ Beel glanced up from his wings, noticing you properly for the first time. He blinked slowly, his usual calm gaze settling on you. “Hey?” he rumbled, his voice slightly muffled by food. “You’re… wearing a big sweater.” You look down, fidgeting with the loose fabric. “Yeah, um, just… comfortable.”

♡ He tilted his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “Comfortable? It’s… warm in here.” He gestured around the kitchen, which, granted, was warmer than usual thanks to the earlier active stove. “Right, well, extra… comfortable,” you inhale, feeling increasingly foolish.

♡ Beel watched you for a moment longer, then shrugged. He was more than happy to be returning to his wings. “If you’re comfortable.” He paused, then added, almost as an afterthought, “Are you… cold?” “No!” you said quickly, perhaps too quickly. “I’m… perfectly fine.”

♡ He seemed to sense something was off. He put down his wing, wiping his hands on a napkin with a slightly more deliberate motion than usual. He turned fully to face you, “Is something… on your mind?”

♡ You looked down, avoiding his gaze. “It’s nothing, Beel. Really.” He took a step closer, his presence filling the space, in a grounding manner. “You’re… hiding.” He stated it simply, matter-of-factly.

♡ His steady gaze made the denial die in your throat. Brewing tea and scooting his stool closer to your frame, he listened to all the worries that bloomed in the back of your head since you woke up that morning.

♡ A look of understanding took over in his eyes, slowly, like the sunrise. He looked down at your chest, then back up at your face, his gaze softening. He still didn’t quite get it, not in the way someone who’d experienced that kind of insecurity would, but he was trying. “People… don’t like… your body?” he asked, his voice incredulous. "But nothing is wrong with you."

♡ “Your body… is… good. It’s… soft. Warm. It… smells nice.” He leaned in slightly, "It keeps you warm...and And… I like… all of you," He lowered his head slightly, his forehead resting against yours. “Don’t… hide from me, alright?” he murmured. “I… like to see you. All of you.”

Number 3 is served!

[penvisions]

garnish {office hours}

Paring: Chef! Joel Miller x Professor! Reader (Formerly known as Bartender! Reader)

Summary: Busy with a new teaching schedule and a hectic holiday at the restaurant, Joel surprises you with a visit on campus.

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: age gap (joel is mid to late 40's / reader is late 20's, early 30's), adult content, sexual content, smut, p in v, unprotected p in v, reader is on birth control, creampie, dirty talk, secret sex, office sex, panties used as a gag (!!), hint of f! recieving oral, nipple play, rough joel, light dom / sub tones, joel's biceps and chest need their own warning, pretty much pwp, joel and reader are down bad for each other

A/N: whelp, i got totally taken hostage by these two and how desperate they are for each other. had a poll and everything organized for once but uh, i love them, posting this utter filth and then running away, never have i ever written anything so unhinged. so. oops, happy valentine's day, y'all! ♡

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

Your classes were back-to-back, tutoring sandwiched between. That didn’t leave you much time to feel like a human, let alone a woman. The last weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for you. A hectic first semester of teaching cresting and beginning to wind down in the face of finals and testing. Papers packed tightly into your bag, almost flowing forth from the binder in which they were encased. Pens scattered to the bottom of it, a collection of bobby pins, hair ties, an errant starburst candy and more than a few wrappers.

You were rushing to your assigned classroom, two floors down from where your new office was. The office was adorned with your name in glittering gold letters. A flutter in your chest each and every time you catch them in your sight. Joel had frowned when he saw them for the first time, lamenting that the dull brass of them didn’t suit you. The next time you found yourself retiring to the confines of the room, you had stopped so abruptly that the student following behind you had run straight into your back.

The shiny gold of the polished letters had taken you off guard, as had the note telling you he would be making dinner that night. Smiling to yourself as you recalled the memory of your first time together after getting back, you had nearly made him late for an inventory shift the next morning when you splayed out for him a second time.

The class went smoothly, Ellie asking so many insightful questions that the discussion ran well over the end of it. No one seemed to mind. Retreating back to your office for study hours, a smile gracing your lips. As soon as you pushed open the door, you could smell him. His woodsy cologne rich in the confines of the room. It was dizzying, the image he created as he leaned casually against the front of the desk, the crammed bookcase behind him and the plants you cared for. He was dressed casually. Though the way he crossed his arms allowed for the rolled-up sleeves of his button up to display his forearms and it downright erotic.

He cocked a brow up as you let out a dreamy sigh, the door clicking shut behind you. You could only stare as he pushed off from the sturdy piece of furniture and walked toward you. The bag hanging from your shoulder slipped to the floor with a thud as you unconsciously backed into the door. Wide eyes watching the way he got right up in your space, the way that his chest visible with the two top buttons undone, freckles and bronze skin begging to be nipped and licked. One of his wide palms came up to lift your chin, his dark eyes catching yours as a filthy smirk pulled up his lips.

You could feel it against your lips as he pressed them to you, the click of the lock being pushed by his other hand before it found your shoulder and guided you flush against the door. One of his legs nudged between your own, the dress you had worn hitching up as his knee rested up against your tingling core.

He pulled back as the whine you felt ghost between your lips sounded, hands reaching out to hold tight to his biceps.

“Gotta keep quiet, darlin’,” He whispered, voice raspy and pressed to your neck. “Don’t want your students to know what a naughty professor they’ve got.”

All you could do was nod as he licked a hot stripe up from your collarbone all the way to your jaw. His thigh pressing up, the front of your underwear completely damp from his sudden attention. He sunk his teeth into your jaw, soothing it with the heat of his tongue as you wriggled in his loose hold. The hand at your shoulder trailed down, thick fingers pulling at the sleeve of your dress as it went. You preened, his lips connecting harshly with yours, mouths open and seeking contact in every way possible. With a growl that sent shivers down your back, his other hand let go of your chin to pull the other sleeve down roughly, exposing your chest to the open air of the room. Your nipples perked at the cool air before large hands caressed them, thumbs stroking over them.

“Oooh, fuck.”

His fingers pinched at them, pulling slightly and your back arched at the pleasant sting that wound its way down to your core.

Gravity shifted as you were suddenly spinning, being corralled toward the desk and bent over it. Your hands flat against the surface, and your hips flush against the biting edge.

Breasts swinging with the motion, all you could do was lock you knees as you heard him quickly unfasten his belt behind you.

“Gonna wreck you, darlin’. Is that alright with you?” His hands glided over the backs of your legs, up your thighs and pushed the skirt of your dress up around your waist. You panted as words failed you, but you arched your back in an obvious response of his words, as if the answer would be anything other than god, please ,yes.

His fingers hooked over the band of your underwear and he dragged them down, groaning at the sight of your arousal making a slick trail that connected you to them. The edge of his nose ghosted over your backside as he leaned down to help you step out of them.

On his way back up, he nipped at the puffy outer lips of your cunt, eliciting a startled yelp.

“Ah, ah, what did I tell ya about being a good girl for me?”

“J-Joel, I can’t-“

He shushed you, the fabric of your drenched underwear gently pushed between your lips before his hands hooked around your hips and pushed you down onto the desk more fully.

“You can and you will.” He was suddenly pressed against you, the thick line of him dragged along your slick folds. Your moan muffled by the fabric pressed into your mouth seemed to do the trick as he lined himself up and moved a hand to your shoulder as leverage to push in.

You fluttered around his cock, body making room for him as he bottomed out. Your eyes rolled, the head of him pressed up right against the spot impossibly deep that made stars sparkle over your vision and pleasure sear through your nerves. The front of his thighs were hot as they pressed flush to the back of your own. The hand at your waist moving down to dip between your legs. A callous fingertip nudged you apart further and circled your clit before pinching it tight.

You tried to yelp, body clenching tight around him and legs shaking with the effort it was taking to hold yourself up against the barrage of pleasure that was cascading over you. White stars exploding before your eyes as tears welled up. Your hands scrambled for purchase, only finding the smooth surface of your desk.

Not giving you a moment to breath, Joel was pulling back, the drag of him delicious before he pounded back into you. He set a devastating pace, grunting as quietly as he could manage but nothing could hide the tell tale smack of skin meeting skin nor the squelching of your cunt around him. Pulling him back in the second he was pulled almost all the way out.

“C’mon, baby girl, you can take it, I know you can.” His voice was close, lips caressing your ear as he whispered to you, bent over you completely and pressing you to the top of the desk. The hard wood was an intense feeling against the hardness of your nipples, and you wanted to moan out for him to him, because of him. But you couldn’t. Fabric now completely damp between your lips, all you could do was let him make good on his promise and wreck you.

The new angle had the tip of his head kissing your cervix and you felt tears of pleasurable pain fall. The wire inside you taut and shaking as he moved against you again, again, again. His finger began to circle your bundle of nerves, pressing down and grinding.

You were cresting, riding the pleasure out high, high, high until it snapped and your entire body tensed underneath him. He grunted as he tried to keep thrusting, chasing his own high and prolonging yours, the clench of your cunt so tight around him it felt like he was being pushed out. White stars taking over your vision completely as he moved against you.

“Fuck me, you’re so god damn tight around me, baby girl.”  

You could only groan out unintelligible as your legs began to shake, body spent with the force of your orgasm. He panted against you, lips pressing to the back of your shoulders, his forehead pressing heavily against them. His hips snapped a few more times with deliberate deep, hard motions before they began to stutter. His own release cresting over him before he was burrowing deep and filling you with the hot spurts that dribbled out where you were connected. Grunting at the feel of it so deep and filling you up you could only take it, but then again, you had been ever since getting back together with the devil of a man still pressed tightly against you.

“Naughty professor, indeed, letting me cum inside her. Can’t even hold it all, darlin’.” He pressed sucking kisses all along your back, slowly removing himself from between your legs to watch it drip out between your puffy folds. His fingers were pulling the drenched fabric from between your lips and allowing you to take a deep breath.

You lay still atop the desk, his hands trailing down your shoulders, the curves of your waist, the flare of your hips, before his fingers were spreading you open for him to see the mixture of you both gathered in your fluttering cunt. You moaned at the oversensitivity of two of his fingers pushing back in what had dared to dribble out and glisten on the soft inside skin of your thighs. The feeling of weightlessness overtaking you as your head became light and mind completely at ease by the mere thought of Joel.

“Did such a good job for me, baby girl.” You preened underneath the dirty praise falling from Joel’s lips, allowing him to begin to shift you around to face him and pull you flush against him. His lips crashed down onto yours and you parted them to allow his tongue to take whatever it wanted from you.

Leaning back, he held your spent body tight to him and brought his fingers up for you to lick unprompted. Moaning wantonly around the taste of you both collected along the thick digits.

“That’s a good girl, let me do whatever I want, huh?”

You hummed an affirmative around his fingers, letting them go with a pop.

His hands were gently, always so gentle after being rough, as he fixed your dress back the way it had been before his determined hands. He leaned down to peck a few more kisses to your lips, huffing out a chuckle when you chased after him, arms clinging tight around the back of his neck.

“Glad to have been able to catch ya, feel like I only see ya when you’re asleep next to me lately.” His hands fastened his pants and belt back up, tucking his softened member back into place with an endearing bend of his knees.

“I know, I’m so sorry, it’s just really-“ You leaned back to take in the whole of him, his slicked back curls still in place despite the rough activity, save for a single curl that fell over his forehead. You reached up and wrapped it around a finger, delighting in the softness of it.

“Not complaining, just miss ya is all.”

“Joel…”

“I’m real proud of you, darlin’.” He untangled from you, his hand coming up to tilt your chin for a final, parting kiss. He reached around you with the other, hands closing in around something atop the desk.

With a wink, he tucked the fabric of your underwear into his pocket and turned to the door.

“See ya tonight, was thinkin’ take out since I plan on revistin’ that pinching you seemed to really like.”

Heat crept up your neck and filled your cheeks as his lips quirked up and he was walking through the now open door. Gone in a breath, just as suddenly as he had appeared.

Silently thanking whatever being ruled the universe that no students had sought you out for tutoring, you made your way out of the office and onto your next class. The feeling of him lingering all over your body, the breeze wafting in through the open windows lining the halls cooling the heat of him still in between your legs.

taglist: @hiddenbabynyc @jessthebaker @clevergirl74 @anavatazes @samiamproductions @76bookworm76 @tuquoquebrute @sarap-77 @honeyedmiller @joelsgreys

[majorasnightmare]

Fantasy OC Maker - Create your Tav/Durges

Create your Tav/Durge with this picrew!

I got mentioned by @arach-tinilith @mogruith and @theannoyingurge so now you all get to see my second main hobby: making Dirge in picrews and lamenting how they never have his horns or lip scars 💜

tagging: @hootshooch ; @the-weeping-dawn ; @trappedinafantasy37

many ppl in the tag game circle already knocked this one out but i rly love seeing ppls picrews of ppls ocs so if you aren't tagged and see this, do it anyways 🪄✨ (<- me casting a spell that makes u post picrew of ur oc and tag me)

BONUS under the readmore: more dirge alts cuz i had fun with the backgrounds

playing around with representing Dirge's patron Caiphon since they very conveniently had both dozens of eyes and a space+stars background option. they ended up v busy looking tho, so i didnt use them. some trivia! dirges magic IS green, because its visually identical to casting Speak with Dead in bg3! his just looks like that for everything

playing around with Dirge halo designs! I feel like he'd have one for when he rly starts showing his divine heritage

the leash and collar are so important. you dont even know how important they are. and the claws. and the encroaching madness while surrounded by the mountains of bodies left in your wake.

but mostly the leash

[velvet-vox]

All of the points that go in favour/against Doll coming back to life.

So, originally, I wanted to make a post of theory/analysis on Cyn and the possibility of her being redeemed at the end of the show; one of the points that I was going to make for said redemption was that Doll's death was meant as a cautionary tale, the main team of the series is abuse and how trauma affects us into becoming the worst version of ourselves, Doll was a trauma victim who was so dead set in her unhealthy coping mechanism that she ended screwing over her entire life, granted said redemption for Doll wasn't unreachable as showcased by her last living moments, but by then the damage was done; Cyn, on the other hand, could have potentially realised all of the harm she was doing even as far back as before the gala massacre, but then, it kind of reminded me why I ended up never making that post.

You see, the thing is, I don't understand Cyn.

At all.

Like, I also for the longest time couldn't understand Doll despite being hyper obsessed with her, and took over a year, countless analyses done by other people and (unfortunately) episode 7 until I could finally come to understand her to the deep, narrative level that I do now, and I still don't know if I truly got everything.

But with Cyn, not only do I not understand her like I do with other characters, but..... I also kind of feel left out.

To me, it seems like the fanbase at large is obsessed with this little gremlin; I'm autistic as well, since that's the main head canon floating around, yet I don't really relate to a word she says, to me, the hype surrounding Cyn feels similar to the hype surrounding Nori pre episode 7: we have this almost blank slate character that is characterized enough to not be an head canon dump, she is super relevant to both the plot and to one of the protagonist backstory, it's one of the main antagonistic forces, and is generally super important.... Yet I still don't get her nor do I get her surrounding hype. I've read a couple of analyses, and would gladly accept if someone sent me some more, since just a single Murder Drones character requires a lot of digging to fully comprehend in its entirety.

But finally going back to Doll, I want to make a short list of all the points in favour and against a possible resurrection of her character, starting with the pros.

Pros:

- Doll is definitely a big selling point for the russian audience of Murder drones, as I have seen various people lament her death on the fact that she was russian alone; funnily enough, this was also my main reasoning to not kill her off as I and other people started learning russian all because of her.

- Gonna reiterate the fact that Doll is, currently, peak russian representation, and it just feels rather insensitive from Liam to kill her off permanently when there's already Yeva and her dad, two russians, whose death is much more acceptable.

- Doll, unlike Alice, Beau, Rebecca or others, had so much potential as a character, being Uzi's foil and all, and to not capitalize on that would be a huge waste.

- Her death, although very impactful, was not, per se, as narratively satisfying as it could have been (see Nox from Wakfu), so it might've been a mislead, and if V comes back, there's a chance Doll might come back too since Doll x V is the parallel dynamic to Uzi x N.

- Gonna mention personal bias. It's not important nor is it a valid point but it had to be mentioned.

- Doll parents are already dead but we had a whole Yeva flashback in episode 7 that I can't explain in ways other than she'll be relevant in the future, and if she turns out to be alive, even if mind controlled, Doll's death is inevitably going to lose a lot of impact because, as it stands, it's balanced, but with the twist, it could retroactively feel like drama porn.

- She wasn't unreademable, just unreachable and deeply hurt, if she had a second chance to make up for her mistakes I believe she would take it in a heartbeat, I can only imagine the immense amount of guilt she was feeling while dying, she must've realised she only caused more damage in the long run and couldn't do anything to fix it, so if she could help Uzi out even as a digital ghost, it might just give her the sense of closure she so desperately needed.

- If Nori can come back as a core, so can Doll, they just need to cut Cyn stomach in a non lethal way.

And now, for the sadly more probable cons:

- This is Liam Vickers we are talking about.

- Even with all of her potential, hers and her family backstory feel rather.... disconnected from everything else going on right now? Like, Yeva might have been this important figure into Nori's past, but as of right now, aside from her impact, she really doesn't seem too relevant to the main plot; same thing with Doll, in fact, it was Doll's own insistence to be relevant that led to her demise, because, despite everything, the story revolves around N and Uzi manages to survive because she is important to N, and even then, she still sacrifices her own life for him.

- The narrative has always been pretty disrespectful to her? Like, I'm not talking about her sad backstory, sad development, and even sadder death, (this master guide over here realistically had no end in sight as you could just go on and on forever) I mean in general there was a clear lack of commitment to her side of things from the writing team, I think I've read somewhere else that in the original animation Uzi even walked on Doll's body as she was running to N; many theorised that they only came up with her story only after the pilot dropped, and I can't help but think that it has to be true because she had this air of mystery that in my opinion went anywhere and in the pilot she's a background character. I don't know, from a supposedly sympathetic villain the writing was rather unsympathetic towards her whole situation and she felt more like your average b##ch in the episodes following the prom.

- She still fulfilled her limited narrative role, so changing it back could alter future developments and remove impact from the tragedy of this cautionary tale, since, in all honesty, Doll's side story would require the show to switch off the plot too much and unfortunately that's never been a priority for the writing team. Also bringing back up Nox from Wakfu (still gonna make that comparison post) whose Doll shares some themes with, even though his personal story was extremely tragic, it was extremely disconnected from all of the main characters as he was more of a warmup baddie for Yugo to get in the groove, and he never returned physically aside from passive mentions and an illusion.

- I don't think they went out of the way to showcase Cyn eating Doll's core just for it to be a fake out.

- Even with all of my personal biases, aside from her starring episode she never had a real purpose in the grand scheme of things so her death was probably just a way to cut off loose ends.

- She isn't a protagonist despite what she deluded herself into, so plot armour applies even less to her than it does with the main trio (spoiler: it doesn't).

Ultimately, in my heart and mind, despite what I really want, I know Doll's not coming back.

She was disrespected, screwed over by both the writing and her own twisted mind, and since this is a somewhat heavy horror show despite the comedy, I really don't think we are going to see her reunited with her parents as a ghost nor will she be in robot hell or heaven, I really think she is just dead.

That's so sad. What a shame.

Farewell, comrade.

Want more?

[gren-arlio]

I did it. I finished translating Schezo's storyline in Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon...for the most part.

So why don't we do a story, gameplay, AND character retrospective?

Hey everyone, Gren here.

As the story ends, my work doesn't. Schezo's route as a whole (as of July) isn't FULLY done. I'm still missing some stuff like small differences in talks, minor talks I missed, menus, etc. However, the main story route is about finished, minus the things I mentioned.

Which is why I'm posting this huge blog today. Finished it much earlier than I thought.

For those who don't wish to read post after post, I thought it'd be a decent idea to just throw it all neatly into one ultra large post that, while a long read, is simple enough to understand and gather. (Trust me, there's like 70+ paragraphs of this stuff.)

The game was pretty fun to translate, I won't deny it. Learning about the characters and more about what they are was super fun.

This post will cover the following:

The story of Schezo's storyline itself, and the gameplay revolving around it.

Some characters that properly got screentime. So characters like Mamono, Cockatrice, and all characters who basically say a single word and such won't be included. Some mentioned will be the ARS Trio, Draco, Witch, Succubus, and Satan.

Atmosphere of the game itself. The tone that's given usually and how the games OST (which spoilers: Is really good,) helps.

Hopefully, this is both enjoyable to read and helpful. For the people who've been here for a while, have fun reading the THIRD super large pinned post, easily the longest I've done.

Welcome to the Story, Gameplay, & Character Retrospective of Schezo's storyline of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon.

This'll be a very long one, so take your time with this. Hope you enjoy.

Story of the game:

The story itself, for Schezo's story, is fairly simple all things considered. It begins with Schezo clearing a Dungeon, telling us that the layout of the place changed every time he went outside, forcing him to retry several times. All of the work was worth it though, as he acquires the Space-Time Crystal, a powerful item that'll make Schezo all the more stronger. However, the crystal instead absorbs his power, and Schezo gets warped away.

Woken up by the encounter, Schezo notices he can barely use his magic, questioning why this happening. However, Fufufu, a traveling merchant, comes up to him to talk about the new amusement park in the area; Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, a place said to give a special item for magic if all 6 attractions are completed. Schezo wonders if he can regain his powers from doing this, and after getting a map by Fufufu to go to Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, Schezo heads out to regain his powers.

(The map itself.)

Schezo runs into Arle first, who's not even there for the treasure itself, and is there to enjoy herself and have fun with Carbuncle. Schezo realizes that she's telling the truth, as she's unaware of a treasure to start, and after getting teased, leaves.

Then he runs into Rulue, who's accompanied by the guy we only remember for Quest, Minotauros. Schezo and Rulue begin arguing right off the bat, and Rulue says she's here to get the magical item to get magic, to beat Arle with it, and to win over Satan. Schezo calls the plan stupid because it overlaps with HIS plan, and he gets chased off by Minotauros. Schezo then laments that he has to deal with these two women again.

Throughout the journey, Schezo meets various characters we know and love, and keeps hearing a voice, a mysterious one who never tells their identity, yet explains where each magic orb (the Macguffins of this game.) is, leaving Schezo confused.

After collecting all 6 orbs and defeating Satan, the owner of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, a huge tower appears from the sky, The Ultimate Tower, a gauntlet of every single area in the game. There, he meets the real main antagonist, Doppelganger Schezo, who mentions that he was both the Space-Time Crystal and the mysterious voice, and the two duel.

In the end, the real Schezo emerges victorious, as the doppelganger's body begins to crumble. Doppelganger Schezo explains how he was behind all of this, much to Schezo's shock, before Schezo himself tries to steals his doppelganger's powers.

Yet Doppelganger Schezo says otherwise. Schezo has gotten much stronger, so much so that absorbing Doppelganger Schezo's powers won't do him any good, before The Ultimate Tower begins to collapse due to Doppelganger Schezo's lack of power.

(Doppelganger Schezo admits he's the Space-Time Crystal)

An explosion occurs, destroying the amusement park. Schezo stands in all the destruction, unhurt from it all, thinking about his final fight, realizing he's become stronger and better than his formal self.

Arle and Co. appear, all seemingly okay from the blast. Schezo deduces that everyone was okay because of Doppelganger Schezo saving them all, much to his surprise.

However, they're not exactly happy with the real Schezo as a whole. In fact, they're really upset at the fact that Schezo destroyed the amusement park, especially Satan and Arle, and chase him down for various reasons. Overall, it's a fun, simple, but occasionally serious story that's easy to grasp.

Now of course this isn't the entire game, there's a ton to explain for that section. For a lighting round of things that occur:

At the start of the game, Skeleton-T goes from a Boss to working at shops before getting evicted by Succubus. This changes when you beat her.

Draco is still pretty dumb at times, not even checking if Schezo has the tickets to enter. He just says "Yeah I have em lmao" and she let's him into the dungeon.

Serilly is supposed to be a boss, but can be completely avoided if you become her friend.

Kikimora plays a semi-big role as the usher guiding Schezo around. She also kinda dislikes Succubus.

Witch chases Schezo after she meets him for one goal: To get his clothes. One track mind does wonders to people.

There's obviously a ton more, but I'm picking the interesting stuff. Like most Madou/Puyo games, it's not serious at all besides a few scenes with Doppelganger Schezo. Madou games aren't exactly serious, contrary to popular belief. It's full of light hearted and goofy fun.

So what about the gameplay?

I mentioned this in an older post, but it's similar to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. (Best game I could relate it to.)

Every move and action you do is considered a "turn" and as such, the enemies move with you. As such, you can use this to your advantage, or die because Witch decided to do a long-range attack. As of typing, the menu translations aren't really...done, yet, neither are the moves the bosses do. Might have to do those someday for Extras.

(Witch doing Firestorm, decided to translate this one on the spot because it's convenient.)

Schezo is unique in this game because he's the only one to run solo. In the other two routes, Arle runs with Carbuncle, and Rulue goes with Minotauros. As such, you're on your own, and have no one to help ya out, but Schezo himself is quite strong, so don't worry.

Floors are obviously a big thing in this game, and they can range from 5 floors at the start to 100 at the final place. With places that have 10 floors, you fight a midboss who get their own dialogue with the protag of the route. At the 10th floor, the boss appears, usually with very comedic dialogue before the fight. Or be Serilly and just not fight if you become her friend.

Speaking of characters, time for my favorite part:

Character Personalities and Changes:

The characters are most of the time quite different from what we're accustomed to in the more modern Puyo games, but they're also fairly different from their older Madou counterparts. It's a fairly balanced mix of both sides, leaving to either well rounded characters to pretty one note characters.

So let's begin with the ones we all know and love: The ARS Trio.

The good ol' Arle Nadja, Schezo Wegey, and Rulue.

This'll only cover their versions in Schezo's Route, so please keep that in mind. They may be different in the other routes. If they are, lemme know.

With that, let's start with the man himself:

Schezo Wegey:

Schezo starts off as the Madou version we're used to, a man trying to make himself even more powerful by absorbing power, though this time the plan backfires pretty badly. He's cold, not wanting to get a partner because he thinks they'll slow him down, reflecting his gameplay. However, throughout the game, he slowly changes into a more caring person, but still the Schezo we know in Madou.

Take when he first meets Kikimora, for example. Schezo asks her a question that she couldn't answer, and he immediately calls her useless, causing her to get very upset. However, midway through the game, a similar scenario happens, leading Kikimora to cry, but Schezo apologizes and says to stop crying. It's a small, yet noticeable change.

The same goes for his friendship with Serilly if you choose to be her friend. At the start, Schezo's already hesitant to fight her, as she doesn't exactly seem like an enemy. After giving her advice, she happily leaves, but Schezo questions why he even cares about the girl to begin with.

At the Endgame, Schezo can meet up with Serilly again, and they have a genuine conversation about how Schezo has changed since they've last met, and Schezo questioning himself about how much he's changed. After Serilly herself gives advice, albeit in her own way, they can talk one more time, and Schezo properly thanks her for the advice she gave, even if Serilly feels like Schezo's being more distant. In a surprise twist, Schezo actually tells her that he's here for her before internally realizing he's changed drastically. While it's a major moment for Serilly herself, it also shows the huge changes Schezo went through.

And the last change is with him and Arle. At the start, it's the typical, Arle teasing him and him defending himself while trying to get her power. Hell, he tries to after a whole misunderstanding and gets blasted by a beam from Carbuncle. However, you can meet with Arle at the Endgame, before entering the Ultimate Tower. After Arle teases Schezo yet again, he snaps and properly yells at her, prompting her to call him a jerk and leave. Schezo, shocked at his own reaction, asks for forgiveness from Arle, and that he shouldn't have been so ticked off by a few words. It's unusual of Schezo to apologize, let alone to Arle, yet it's a defining moment in his route. He's even glad that she and everyone else is okay from the explosion from Doppelganger Schezo.

However, he's not perfect. He still very much bickers with Rulue, gets annoyed with Arle and many of the midbosses, and gets annoyed at Witch at every moment she's around. He's still very much Schezo, but he grows a lot throughout the game. In my opinion, it's one of the best written Schezo's out there.

Arle Nadja:

Arle isn't too far from most of her older and even newer iterations. In Schezo's route, she's only at Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land to play around, unaware of the treasures hidden in the park until the end of the game. In a weird way, she's blissfully unaware of what's going on, merely there to enjoy her day and have fun.

However, like stated in Schezo's bio, she can still be snarky and angered. When Carbuncle blasted Schezo, Arle was surprised, but said Schezo deserved it for being a pervert. She openly insulted Schezo on an occasion or two because he was internally thinking that all of his issues begin with women. (Yes. This is real and is an actual piece of dialogue.)

Rulue:

As per the usual for the R of the ARS, Rulue kinda got shafted in Schezo's route. Lot of her talk is with Minotauros, and she's fairly stagnant as a character. Her goal is simple: Get the magic item before Schezo so she can beat Arle and win over Satan, the classic.

She does it decently, but besides that and arguing with Schezo and/or Minotauros...she doesn't exactly do much in his route, which is fairly unfortunate. But what can ya do, really? She's still the Rulue we know and love today.

Side Characters:

With the ARS Trio out of the way, we may as well speak about the other side characters who got a fair bit of screentime. For this, I'll be going in the order the videos I translated went through. Be warned though, when I say "Endgame," I mean "Yeah the videos I saw kinda went through them all at the end of the game," so if they're not exactly AT Endgame, you know why.

With that out of the way, the first character is...

Kikimora:

Yeah. Not kidding. She plays a fairly big role in the game itself, as she works usually in the Information Booth, giving tips and tricks as an usher and leading the player (I say player because she's in all routes.) around Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land. Later in the game, she teaches Schezo how to see traps with a certain scroll, which is invaluable to the player. Fun fact: She isn't really a boss in Schezo Route. Dunno about the others.

Schezo meets her where she usually is and talk about the amusement park as a whole. When Kikimora can't answer a question Schezo asked, he's quick to call her useless, much to her sadness. However, she still helps Schezo out.

Kikimora is fairly honest, giving the same advice to everyone she meets, though is prone to being upset by people making fun of her, which can lead to her crying at times, to being annoyed at the fact Succubus was running amok and luring guests in. She even admits when she doesn't know the answer to a question, which is commendable. She's surprisingly well developed as a character, and I've grown to like her a lot more. She really doesn't speak about cleaning much, if at all, contrary to the Nexus. You learn something new every day.

Draco:

Draco is about the same from all of her other renditions, without the obsession with beauty that we usually see from her. In her first encounter with Schezo, before even the dungeon she's supposed to guard (Fire Mountain), she asks Schezo if he has tickets to enter the place. Schezo says yes without showing them, and Draco flat out believes him and leaves, making Schezo confused on how easy it was to do that. He did have the tickets, but even I'd be flabbergasted.

The boss fight encounter is fairly goofy. Draco is glad Schezo arrived, and waited for him. Schezo's flustered, trying to say that "Women..." Before getting cut off by Draco saying who cares if it's between man and woman, and that she's ready, making Schezo more embarrassed. Finally, she mentions that she's ready for the match, making Schezo feel stupid for thinking of "That". Absolute lunacy.

You then run into her after the fight, training to beat you next time, which I believe you can in the Endgame via a place I forgot the name of. Battle Palace I think?

Speaking of Endgame, you run into her again, telling Schezo that if he didn't look so moody all the time, he'd be even more popular with women, a statement kinda backed up in-game and in the manga, where Honey Bee kinda had the hots for him. Schezo says he's not really interested in women, causing Draco to ask if he's into men, which he quickly denies. She ends up confused, asking how a good-looking, popular guy like Schezo doesn't understand women, leaving as Schezo is surprised that he's popular. She's funny in this game.

Serilly:

Serilly has the current award besides Kikimora as the most well developed side character for absolutely no reason. At least in Schezo's route, she has such a large character change, least in Puyo standards as a whole.

Schezo first meets Serilly at Water Paradise, before entering the dungeon. Seeing Schezo, she's the version we know for the most part, afraid of Schezo and asking if he's there to bully her, which mostly confuses him more than anything. However, Suketoudara comes around (he's the exact same guy we know,) and asks her to dance, and she agrees, both leaving Schezo more perplexed.

She appears as the boss, thinking that Schezo was there to bully her, but Schezo surprisingly says otherwise, that if she doesn't want to fight, he won't fight either. Serilly takes this as Schezo wanting to be her friend, and asks him the all important question.

Schezo (In the run) said yes, why not. Serilly is genuinely baffled by him saying yes, like anyone would, really, and asks if he really wants to be her friend. Schezo says to quit not caring about herself and that the life she's living isn't exactly fun or happy. He mentions that if Serilly decides to walk (or swim) the path she's currently going, her life will never be happy, and if she's able to change, then Schezo will be her friend. In shock, she agrees and just...leaves the dungeon. Yeah, no boss fight. Nuts. Schezo then questions why he even cares for her, which is more a Schezo thing.

He runs into her again at the Endgame, and Serilly asks if he's there to see her, which Schezo replies with no, but he's here to ask a question: Is she afraid of him still? Serilly says no, she isn't anymore and has no reason to, leaving Schezo in a midlife crisis about how much he's changed, and to most likely the players and I shock, SERILLY gives advice to Schezo, telling him that the way he's thinking now isn't the way he usually thinks, before apologizing. Schezo takes the words to heart and thanks her for telling him that.

And with the final encounter, Serilly worries that Schezo is going to go far away, and she begins to cry about it. Schezo tells her that he's literally right there in front of her, and that he's not planning to go anywhere, and tells her to stop crying, which she does with her new confidence...making Schezo question why he did that and he really has changed.

She changed...quite a good amount compared to the usual Serilly. And I adore it, easily the best written Serilly we've gotten.

Succubus:

Yeah, if this post taught you anything, it's that for some reason she of all characters get development. Can't believe it myself, trust me. Besides the obvious change of how she looks compared to her Puyo self, her role in the game...is kinda odd tbh.

She starts off not named yet, mostly coming from a poster saying that she'll "Take people into a world of pleasure," that Kikimora really doesn't like at all, asking who in the world she is and why is she even trying to this, but Schezo is...let's just say curious, about her, and goes to see her.

Meeting her, Schezo is for some reason surprised to see her there, and Succubus is saying what she advertised, which in reality is becoming her servant, which Schezo says no to, even when she adds "benefits". Take that as how you will.

An odd thing to mention is that she appears in the (not released yet) Extra episodes as a boss, once again trying to get Schezo to become her servant. Thought I'd throw this here.

After that, you meet her again at... you guessed it, Endgame. But what she's doing is quite different; She's an usher now like Kikimora, guiding guests to attractions. Though she does take this opportunity to tease Schezo and such before explaining what she does. It's a small change, but it's...certainly a surprise to me and maybe a few others.

Black Kikimora:

Unlike her original counterpart, Black Kikimora doesn't exactly get a lot of screentime compared to Kikimora. She gets introduced in a pretty unique way compared to everyone else, even though she's a midboss. She gets introduced by Kikimora... kinda showing her off via giving Schezo a VIP pass to somewhere after beating Succubus.

Black Kikimora leads Schezo to a special room, where they... learn how to use traps to their advantage. Schezo completes this, and quietly remarks that she looks kinda ugly (gotta disagree,) and gets smacked by a broom.

Schezo then sees her again at the Horror House, trying to enter, and tells Schezo that he can enter. Before trying her best to open the doors and...not doing well. Sadly her midboss isn't too special, just Schezo asking why she's here and her not exactly answering it.

However, like many others, Schezo sees her again at Endgame. This time, she's quiet again, like usual, before Schezo AGAIN calls her ugly before getting yelled at. And their final talk? They're quiet until she yells "Say something!" and Schezo says he won The Quiet Game, before she gets salty, leading to Schezo asking why.

Overall, while it's not much, she still has something going for her. I like it.

Witch:

Witch... My third favorite character in the series behind Lagnus and Lemres. You're definitely a weird one in this game. She's first mentioned by Skeleton-T in the Horror House inside the dungeon itself, saying she had some of his tea, leading Schezo to ask who the hell she is.

When Schezo meets her as a boss, she's...fairly happy to see him, saying she'd "Love to have it," while saying "Ah, you..." and the I Want You shenanigans. Schezo, as expected, is perplexed, smeckledorfed, even confused on what Witch even means. She's starts to beg Schezo for "It," and she finally says what she wants from him... His clothes. And if he doesn't give them, she'll just rip them off. I can't make this lunacy in my dreams.

HOWEVER. Even though I haven't released it yet, in the extras, you find her after fighting Succubus... again. And after giving Schezo not one, not two, but THREE hearts in 3 different text boxes, what does she want this time? Take a wild guess.

His cloth-

Nah, for once its normal. A grimoire. But the clothes would be nice too. Schezo gets upset, saying he's NOT stripping for her, but gives her the grimoire she wants, the Meteor Grimoire, her unique spell and stuff. What does she give?

The fucking Areiado Grimoire. Schezo's signature spell before leaving while saying she'll get the clothes later. Even Schezo's shocked.

Like every boss, you can see her at Endgame, but she's in a unique spot. She's hanging around Arle, Rulue, and Satan like she's part of the team. Draw your conclusions as to why.

Schezo runs into her again before entering The Ultimate Tower, and she STILL thinks Schezo is cool, giving him another one of those hearts in text boxes, saying that the treasure and his clothes will be hers, and she'll be working extra hard for it. Schezo... doesn't really want that, though.

And at the final encounter, Schezo literally says, "Here we go again..." but instead, she asks if he's looking for the treasure too, which he says yes. But this time, Witch says that everything that's beautiful is hers, from the treasure to his clot- Are you kidding me

One track mind and STAYS committed to that goal? ...I have to partially respect it. It's absolutely ridiculous yet hilarious. I know Schezo's a pervert on accident, but at this rate, I think Witch might be genuine. Or is stupid committed to a goal.

And finally, Satan:

(Just hit the 10 image limit.)

Satan is honesty kinda similar to how he is in the other games. Which is quite shocking, I thought he'd be a little more goofy in this game considering how everything is in Schezo's route. However, he's fairly well written in this game, which is always a pleasure to see.

You don't ever see him until near the end of the game, as Schezo assumes the mysterious voice he keeps hearing is Satan, when in reality it's Doppelganger Schezo. Satan acts pretty grandiose in his fight, saying that he's glad Schezo got this far and is ready for their fight to be the final event of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, and from the gameplay, he goes one hell of a fight.

After defeat, he stands back up pretty quickly, shocking Schezo, who thinks he's a monster when in reality, he's just the Ruler of the Underworld. Differences, folks, they matter. They start to bicker about the magical item, which Satan genuinely had zero clue about, but tries to say that he totally knew about it.

After the Ultimate Tower rises, Satan is about as surprised at Schezo that it exists, and Schezo asks if he even knew what was here. Satan tries to explain, but he obviously can't, being left behind.

However, this moment is fairly interesting. You can meet him at the start of the Ultimate Tower, and speak to him. There, he genuinely wishes Schezo good luck and not to be super confident, as that'll make him slip up. Like I was, Schezo was shocked that he's hearing this from SATAN of all people, the guy he hates, and thinks he's gone mad.

Satan is at the final scene as well, along with Arle/Carbuncle and Rulue/Minotauros, incredibly upset that Schezo basically blew up the entire amusement park. Like any sane man would be.

In this game, he's fairly goofy like his modern self but is occasionally serious. Honestly, it's a solid version of Satan.

Finally done with characters. Time for the final section of this, Atmosphere and the OST:

Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon has a very...fun atmosphere, owing to the fact that its a literal amusement park. Each area is incredibly vibrant, so full of life, colorful even. The colors pop out, when in places where it's supposed to be more gloomy, and I think COMPILE did a fantastic job with it. I won't go into complete detail of every area but a few highlights:

(...That I can't show due to the 10 image limit.)

Water Paradise is incredibly pretty, the water itself looks really good, the paths taken pop out, and the boss stadium itself is incredibly pretty, with all the water around the bridges while Serilly...floats? Swims? One of those things.

The Horror House probably has my favorite look in the game. It goes from a graveyard to inside the actual house, all ending up in the boss stadium, an almost church-like area with seats scattered about.

I like the look of Fire Mountain. It looks like you're genuinely inside of an volcano, lava basically everywhere but practically useless because you can't go on it.

The game knows when to look good, when to give you that visual quality. But that's only half the battle, really. Music is another majorly important part on what makes a mood. And they nailed it.

Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon has one of the best OST'S I've heard for a Madou/Puyo game. Most of the songs are genuine bops.

To give a few:

(Puyo Puyo Dungeon Still Never Ends:)

(Hi, Honey:)

(What A Lucky Find:)

(The Final:)

(And finally, Fiend Empire:)

If I could drop the entire Playlist, I would, but we'd be here for a while.

So, all in all:

Translating this game and learning a ton about it was a blast, even if it was difficult. The game itself is very good, besides the Ultimate Tower taking forever with 100 floors and such. The artstyle and look of the game is charming, you get to learn about some other characters for once, and along with an amazing atmosphere and one of the best OSTS in Madou/Puyo, I'd say...

Yeah. Try it out. Just hope the translation makes sense.

Few quick things before we're done here:

This doesn't mean I'm done translating. Quite the opposite, even for Schezo's route, I got a lot to do. I'll be making "Extra" episodes to show off the things I missed, starting most likely next week of the release of this post.

If you want something translated, like a scene or the sort, lemme know. I'll try to help.

Most of the character talk is my opinion, it's fine to draw your own.

With that ending, that'll be all. Thanks for reading.

[cursezoroark]

( waves) just woke up back read a lil and yeah. Once you finish the rebornverse games,there's still a sudden feeling of being stuck, especially with ocs. For me it helps that I have discord friends who bounce off ideas and plots for said ocs, and I'm literally reworking most of my ocs as we speak......but once that's done it's gonna be like " well now what" lol. What I'm trying to say is that I get the fear - and I can certainly say you fit :)

As for potential advice uuuuuuuuh. Well outside of my own methods, playing more fangames may help? Shifting attention to another separate thing might make you become more fueled for the main thing you wanna focus on( rebornverse). Put ur ocs in different aus for funsies ( not all have to be pokemon related). I literally have a whole separate sub with Imani just being a kid and Devil ( I don't think I ever explained him. Don't worry about it) being her parent bc she never got a good parental figure in her youth in canon, and I'm a sucker for big scary assholes getting incredibly soft for their kids. It's purely self indulgent and the sweetest of fluff but it preoccupies my mind a lot. Maybe u can find an au like that too?

....and that's all I can think of right now, lol. I swear I felt I had more advice, but weh. Here's to hoping you feel a little better though! I love your ocs and your work and I hope this big ass ask makes you feel a lil better :) - R

(Waves) It’s very very sweet for u to send anything at all thank u. :] I’m v happy for u, im glad u got your oc roots going with lots of ppl thats Amazing rlly!!

I have played other fangames! A secondary favorite has been Ashen Frost because Holy Shit what a good story and characters. Highly recommend. I think though rebornverse has like. Rlllly good battle systems that makes me like it the very most and is a very driving factor as to why I like them so much. makes me rethinking my base knowledge completely and has enough sandboxing for me to come up with creative teams. The difficulty hits a very niche sweet spot in my pokemon brain. But it isn’t a whole revamp and it doesn’t feel foreign to the concept of Pokemon itself. I’ve played Flux which I’m patiently waiting for because Woah. I have considered Xenoverse but I’ve seen walkthroughs enough to know it’s Not for me. (Though I know why ppl like it!)

As for AUs, I do have one! Only for Mona rlly which is what I Just made Up like 2 hours ago of them being recruited into Team Xen. but for aus to be not Pokemon related it hurts me just a bit cause Pokemon has been the Pinnacle of my creative life (though I have many other interests! Just not. AU worthy for me? Not enough headworms. I also have my timeskip Mercury to work with, and have my Rebornverse Trio Post-game adventure (they go missing for like a good chunk of months to the panic of Everyone) I am rather self indulgent in my ocs in terms of tropes I’m a sucker for as well I fully understand (I don’t know if u can tell but Mona is literally one of my favorite tropes ever by Existing) (like. Hi Kurusu Akira Persona 5r Third Semester Arc lmaoo)

If I were to elaborate on my laments, I always just feel uneasy drifting from the original. But I do agree AUs are Fun and I will indulge them as much as they interest me. the fear of mischaracterizing will always haunt me though I’ve got to learn to accept that it’s Probably Gonna Happen. But I also just love the canon material and want to try expanding on areas if I can find any. TBH this is probably the most fandom invested I’ve been since 2020 (if u can guess which I’ll laugh) where I went art crazy. And of course faced some endeavors because it was 2020 so. Hm. All others were oc murmurs or observations, I’ve never participated in a fandom This much in a long time.

Off topic aside, I’m very grateful for any advice on my rant, I felt better after posting and doodling some random stuff and I feel even better with very kind words. Thank u :] I will just do what I do until I don’t feel like to. I will love these ocs as much as I possibly could! And hopefully show more works of them. I’ve got two comic wips that I’m procrastinating on because I Hate Lineart. So. Hopefully I don’t give up on them :]

[ronaldono-sense]

Doubts 'bout Cyclonopedia: does these mean anything?

Reza Negarestani's most famous book, Cyclonopedia (2008), is a hard one to get through. Far from impossible, though. Even if you're not following its threads closely, the main theme isn't all that missable—not by a long shot.

Perhaps I'm too invested in the book's world to be able to surmise it neatly; perhaps to do so is against its core message(s). If you have read it already, you can skip this paragraph, but if you're reading this post because you're interested in it, just give it a shot. If the preface (named 'incognitum hactenus') doesn't hook you in, maybe leave it for now. Alas, if you'd still like to be given something to chew on, its premise is that the Middle East, as a geopolitical entity, is alive; its petroil is not only sentient but also the lubrificant that gets the deleuzoguattarian Body without Organs all lubbed up and smooth so the chains flying out of these Lament Configurations called war-machines can have a good time channeling us to the Insurrectionary Other.

If you're familiar with SF at all, you'll excuse Cyclonopedia habit of presenting its terminology and lingo first, with explanations later. But you also can have it as a philosophical treatise, and a serious one at that. It has a credible bibliography, and the book's reinterpretations of its source materials are not unprecedented, either. For example, when it says the Middle East is alive, and all that jazz about oil, it is getting that off of a certain Dr. Parsani, so heavily quoted, matter of fact, you'd think he's not real, but a Theory-Fiction fabrication. But that's just not the case.

I absented myself from doing any 'behind the scenes' research on Cyclonopedia, though. At least, for now. I finished it some weeks ago and am currently past the 200-page mark of Fanged Noumena. But it still has its little mysteries, and I still wonder what these Plot Holes are yet successfully withholding from me. And that's what I need help with.

Assuming you have read it, you know Cyclonopedia doesn't tell you everything. Quick example: 'incognitum hactenus' gives the reader two links, but it doesn't tell what they're for. It matters little, nonetheless: one is a time zone converter and the other is a Not Found page (unless you erase part of it so you're directed to a 'Computer Science student web server'?).

But, of course, there's more. There's the '2th 3St', 2 and S being character's names, but still, it doesn't come up again in this equation form, so what's up with that?

Following, I give the ones that really stuck with me along these weeks I thought I put it to rest. Needless to say, this is a cry for help.

I. This footnote:

II. This other footnote, which might be Persian:

III. Also this one:

IV. On page 39 (and the previous one), you see these strings of 'random' bracketed numbers (the footnote talks about PGPs):

V. And finally, there's a footnote on page 37 where someone (Reza?) is at the hotel room 302, bothered by someone (the preface's author) wearing a DFA 1979 shirt. But if we go back to the preface, it is she who is at the 302 room. There, you read:

// SSS ['S' is the same person Reza? is adressing in the 37 footnote] Try to change my room as 302 is really getting to me. There is someone [Reza?] in the window across the way who keeps looking at me.

//

I'm wondering if this is an overlook (it seems that way), or a time-space shenanigans scenario, since the preface gives us this graph:

I'm sure other minor things could also be adressed, and even these ones shouldn't make too much of a difference, if at all, but—at the same time I don't want to sign up a reddit account to ask this, and will therefore shout into the tumblr void—engaging in a community manner with Cyclonopedia, CCRU or CCRU-adjacent material is, probably, the better way to do it and proceed.

[sparklytimebun]

picrew

Though marriage was out of the question, Trefor brought up the idea of a handfasting. Here they are, happy and gay and glowing because Leon said yes.

[goldenxglyphs]

Random Headcanons | ACCEPTING

@edrick-rolling​ asked:

📩📩📩📩📩📩

Bestie asking for 6 Hunter headcanons like OKAY. IF YOU INSIST

Main Hunter

By the time Hunter met Edrick, he had sorta mentally written off Lilith and Memphis as parental figures and essentially had no basis for what a maternal relationship was supposed to look like and sorta took notes from how he saw or heard Odalia acted with the Blight kids. It took like... a year for him to actually bring that up and be told something different. 

Most of the movies Hunter ended up watching in the human realm were movies focusing on family. Think Encanto, Lilo and Stitch, Finding Nemo and Meet the Robinsons. It was how he tried to see how family relationships should work as observing Luz and Camila wasn’t really doable. 

Princey/Caleb (Lost Cardinal AU)

Princey was at the covention as a student rather than as a coven official, and was hoping that maybe they could talk to Lilith, but upon seeing Lilith praise Amity and treat her like a daughter, he left and went back to the castle. He refused to leave his room for pretty much the rest of the day because it was pretty much a reminder he didn’t have any parents, meanwhile someone who did got the attention from the person he used to see as a parental figure. 

He makes a floating lantern once a year on the date he was told his parents died. Not even Belos knows he does this and he sneaks out of his room to release it somewhere away from the castle. Usually at a beach. 

Aurum (Requiem of Gold AU)

Part of the reason why Aurum doesn’t seem bothered by his back injury is because he casts a spell whenever he’s doing anything physically strenuous that spreads out the pain throughout his whole body so it isn’t just centered on his back. Its easier for him to ignore that way. 

Aurum let Luz think he has no magic without his staff. In actuality he hit his limit on how much magic he could safely cast without the staff prior to stealing the palismen and he didn’t want to risk passing out on a mission. 

[thenotificationmachine]

Theory response: why Stolitz might actually be Stockholm syndrome

In regards to Helluva Boss, I believe that Stolitz is in fact an unsettling example of Stockholm syndrome (a hostage or prisoner falling in love with their captor) ever since I saw the hallucination in “Truth Seekers” which has Blitz blushing while Stolas holds him on a chain, as can be seen in the image below (keep in mind that this is Blitz's honest mindset under the influence of truth gas).

@stolitzy, a (now ex-) friend of mine, has made a rebuttal of this view which, while an interesting read, does not in my opinion actually invalidate or disprove it. I’ll go through some of the main points of their post and address them one by one. “There is NO kidnapping and no falling in love with the captor” – while this is true in the literal sense, by effectively holding Blitz’s company (and his life’s dream) hostage through the sexual arrangement, Stolas can be seen as trapping him in the arrangement, which could be seen as a figurative form of captivity and thus Blitz falling in love with him could still count as a form of Stockholm syndrome. It's also a MAJOR misinterpretation of my argument – as Stolas is the one who came up with the arrangement and forced Blitz into this arrangement, he would be the one holding Blitz captive, not the other way around. “[H]e’s had a lot of hardships in the course of his life and the whole show is about dysfunctional relationships and what real life is all about” – again, Blitz is the victim of the Stockholm syndrome, not the captor. “Stolas saw it as “oh wow the love of my life came back after decades of disappearing and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him” and you can even see it in his compassionate face; we can see he’s not the hurtful type as Blitz portrays him as” – Just because Stolas isn’t intentionally nurturing Stockholm syndrome within Blitz’s mind doesn’t mean he isn’t doing it at all. “But what we do know is that Stolitz is her favourite ship; so of COURSE she wouldn’t do anything to harm with it since it will be canon and claimed as a healthy relationship” – While Viv is a great artist, she’s (IMO) an AWFUL writer; examples of this are: . Her giving Verosika only 1 set of lines in “Ozzie’s” (the episode she should have WAY more prominence in had since it’s set in the Lust Ring and she’s a lust demon) in order to make episode 8 (as far as I understand from Viv’s statements and the footage that she released of it) about random hellhounds we’ll in all likelihood never see again rather than making the Lust Ring stuff a 2-parter in which Verosika is more important. . Going straight from the tragic lament of “Stolas Sings” in “the Circus” to business as usual (flirting and all) in “Seeing Stars” at the expense of all narrative consistency in order to support said ship.

As such, it’s VERY possible that Viv accidentally wrote a Stockholm syndrome ship without realising it and is now frantically backpedalling (if she’s even noticed it at all and isn’t just carrying on like nothing is wrong). “What IS unhealthy is shipping Blitz with Verosika; which was a been there done that type of relationship; if they had gone back they’d only be a recipe for disaster and go back to square one again” – while I agree that getting them back together right NOW is a terrible idea, I genuinely think that once Blitz has grown as a person and he and Verosika fully articulate the hurt they are harbouring inside to each other, they would be a FAR better couple than Stolitz since they (as far as I am aware) genuinely loved each other as the result of an organically developing romance rather than the transactional mess that is Stolitz. For more information why I think Blitzika is a better ship than Stolitz, check out my video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q2GV6hvjVU “I mean if you really think about it if Blitz had Stockholm syndrome and if it was really THAT bad then why the FUCK would there unlimited fan art of Stolitz being TOGETHER?! Having a child together!” Do not underestimate the fucked-up elements of fandoms… Why are there people idolising the clearly abusive relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker? Why is there art of people shipping Hazbin and Helluva characters with Valentino? Combine that with how much it’s being pushed by Viv and the team in as positive a light as possible and a large amount of the fandom’s lack of critical thinking (as evidenced by protagonist bias making people automatically side against Verosika simply because Blitz is the protagonist despite her clearly being the INNOCENT party in their relationship) and well… that’s why. Stolitzy also cites the following source: https://doodle-empress66.tumblr.com/post/660206487268982784/i-need-to-direct-everyones-attention-to-the-fact?_branch_match_id=link-1152086027557405904 As far as my understanding of Stockholm syndrome goes (and I know I’m not a professional psychologist, so this will probably not be as in-depth as if I was), a key part of Stockholm syndrome is the captive coming to believe (whether of their own accord or through the captor’s manipulation) that the captor is protecting them from a hostile outside world that they could not survive without them (a bit like how Judge Frollo in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame convinces Quasimodo to stay in the cathedral by telling him that the people of Paris will hate him, though this example may not strictly qualify as Stockholm syndrome due to the former being the latter’s parental figure). As such, this source doesn’t do anything to disprove my theory. Stolitzy also cites numerous other sources showing Blitz’s romantic/sexual affection towards Stolas that, again, does NOTHING to disprove my theory; remember that Stockholm syndrome is all about the victim falling in love with their captor and so all the examples of “heart eyes” and Blitz’s human form kink could be equally argued to represent his Stockholm syndrome towards Stolas taking hold as the show goes on. Viv’s writing makes it even worse, since the way the show goes from “Ozzie’s” and “the Circus” straight to “Seeing Stars” makes it look like Blitz went to get some space only for his burgeoning Stockholm syndrome to make him come crawling back like a beaten wife and hide that anything was wrong. So remember, just because all the creepy elements are glossed over and Blitz gets lovey-eyed doesn’t mean there isn’t any Stockholm syndrome; if anything, that’s the version of reality the victim’s (in this case Blitz’s) mind is conjuring to convince themselves that their situation isn’t abusive when it clearly is.

[todayisafridaynight]

hey, i hope life's treating ya well this week! i finished y6 yesterday and came to share some thoughts if you don't mind :)

i think kiryu tried to project on his kids what he wanted kazama to be like as a father, but ultimately kazama'ed all of them, especially daigo. i found the ending of y6 very touching, but that's because i like daigo in all of his bland npc glory, and i agree with a lot of criticism of that ending being somewhat weird, especially when we had so little interaction with haruka, who just. you know. woke up from a coma. i wrote this already in my blog, but i'll repeat myself: that ending would've made much more sense if we had just more of daigo in general amd/or saw his transition from his y2 version to his version later in the series. like, we know haruka and kiryu are close, and we assume daigo and kiryu are close too, but i'd love to see more evidence of it in the actual text. that one substory in y0 clearly wasn't enough. i wish we could have more of haruka, MUCH more of haruka, too. the lack of her agency in y6 after y5 felt frustrating

i did enjoy the game, though. i really liked the callbacks to the previous games. as for side activities, it never seizes to amaze me how the eroge minigames are become just more and more unhinged. but all the missed storytelling opportunities, man

(it's also v funny that daigo's sr card code in clan creator is kiryusavemepleaz. i don't speak japanese and therefore haven't played rggo, but i know about a story where majima lets daigo win him on purpose or something? also the situations daigo's often put in (which are mostly near death experiences), him never getting any kind of resolve with ryuji as well... i think yokoyama kinda hates daigo lmao)

Heya! I sure love thoughts and I sure love talking about Daigo :]

On the note about 'Kazama'ing his kids, I'm going to be ugly and take a minute to interpret what that means if you don't mind.

When it comes to what Kazama did to his kids, he allowed Nishiki and Kiryu to join the yakuza despite knowing the dangers of it at their insistence. Ergo, we see Kazama prioritize the yakuza, telling Kiryu to leave the Dojima situation in Y1 alone. Moreover, despite Kazama lacking faith in Nishiki's abilities as a yakuza, he still expected him to be able to lead a family by himself while he took care of Yumi in hiding.

As for Kiryu and his kids, it was evident Kiryu wanted to be able to parent the kids at Morning Glory- to speculate, maybe as a way to atone of Kazama's messy paretning without outright admitting Kazama had faults. However, his bond with those in the yakuza inevitably kept him coming back, especially in regards to Daigo (who, of course, we find out he sees as a son. In this, it's a case of Kiryu still wanting to be a good parent, but the priorities aren't exactly there). In this (and I've discussed this in a post prior), Kiryu's attempting to spread himself thin when it comes to his family: he wants to help the Tojo, if not predominantly due to Daigo's presence there, but he also wants to father the orphans at Morning Glory. Unfortunately, since Kiryu can justify leaving the kids as Okinawa's a safer setting and he's admittedly at his best in a fight, he ends up leaving for Tokyo every time action's needed.

It's actually Kiryu's constant leaving that had me assume he was writing his letter to Haruka at first during Y6's ending, specifically when he was talking about how he lamented not spending more time with her. On the subject of Haruka, Y6 really did her disgustingly: as soon as she was of age, she becomes a mother and, on top of that, she gets hit by a car and is in a coma the majority of the game and doesn't even get to properly spend time with Kiryu before he vanishes. I genuinely wish and- foolishly- hope one day Haruka can actually get the respect she deserves after having been such an important, prominent, and interesting character throughout this franchise.

To talk about Daigo and Kiryu, the main subject of this ask I feel, I think RGG did as much as they could when it came to demonstrating Kiryu and Daigo's relationship. In Y5, it's revealed that Kiryu believes that people who become close to him suffer (and in this scene in particular, he's referring to Daigo after he gets shot on the roof)- how long he's had this mentality I couldn't definitively tell you, but I wouldn't be surprised if this has been a thought since everyone's deaths in Y1. Because of Kiryu's fear for others' well-being, it can be reasoned that Kiryu might have wanted to keep his distance from Daigo as much as he could lest something go wrong (but of course, he also feels responsible for protecting others, leading him to take action where he should probably leave things be). In Y4, we can see the buds of Kiryu regretting not being there for Daigo when he needed him most, outright apologizing to him for putting him in the position of chairman without any proper training or time. Considering all of this, Kiryu's letter to Daigo aligns with what we've seen: even if Kiryu wasn't able to be close to Daigo and properly guide him like he should have, he still confesses that Daigo was incredibly important to him and he regrets letting that fear stop their bond from deepening.

Daigo on the flip side, we become very aware that he values Kiryu immensely. To return to Y5, at the end of his taxi ride he tries to reassure Kiryu that he's able to carry himself without his help (i.e. 'I'm trying my best to walk this path' after Kiryu kicks him out of the car). Daigo's need for Kiryu's approval is also evident in RGGO: the story with Majima you're talking about is one of his character stories where he first becomes chairman. In this story, Daigo struggles to understand what Kiryu's intention was entrusting him to the Tojo Clan, but once he realizes it, this is his turning point to stop being the brute he was in Y2. To extend on RGGO shining light on Daigo's feelings for Kiryu, during his initial meeting with Mine in Mine's story, he lets Mine know he was so ardent in watching the Tojo at first so he could make 'the man' who put him in that position proud, and later during their bar conversation in another one of Mine's stories, he lets Mine know that while he doesn't consider Kiryu family at this point, he still considers him someone incredibly close to him (and as we see in Y6, Daigo will do a hard 180 on this and proudly call Kiryu his father). To jump back to Kiryu for a second, we can argue that Mine's whole 'what could Daigo see in a man like you' line could have contributed to Kiryu's want to distance himself from Daigo. Because what if Mine had a point: what WAS there to admire in Kiryu? What could Daigo POSSIBLY like about Kiryu, and would it not just be better if he wasn't in his life after- inadvertently- getting him put in a coma? To end this segment on a goofy note, Daigo's clan code being 'kiryuhelpmeplz' is super funny with the father/son lens: Daigo's gotta call his dad to help him out </3

EDIT: In regards to the RGGO story I mentioned here, I misremembered the exact quote and that drastically changes the scene and meaning I'm referencing, and significantly portrays the relationship between Daigo and Kiryu differently from what I've said. For the correct quote and sentiment, please refer to this ask here (x)

In all of this, it's reasonable that RGG couldn't expand on Kiryu and Daigo's relationship, but that's what makes Kiryu's letter so significant. We see from Kiryu and Daigo's sides individually that they saw each other as family, but neither of them were able to confront that fact directly for one reason or another (Kiryu, again, with is fear of hurting those he loves and his general inability to express his emotions perfectly. Daigo might have thought seeing Kiryu as his dad was inappropriate, especially after having had to believe he killed his actual dad). Kiryu lamenting the bond they could have had wouldn't have had the same merit if Kiryu and Daigo were actually able to bond more, but because they didn't and we see they still cherish each other, the impact's there.

My long ugly ramble aside, I'm glad you still enjoyed the game! I don't know if you have any more of the games left to play, but if you ever get around to them I hope you enjoy them!

[sunset-peril]

The loreset known as HFS Minor will now be applied to a Hyrule's Final Stand spin-off series known as Hyrule's Final Stand - A Century Past

The first entry in the series is entitled Link, Wolfbred King and it is based on the Hateno Village subplot in Tears of the Kingdom. Musically, it is based on the 'Title Theme' from Twilight Princess, 'Midna's Theme', 'Midna's Lament' and 'Safe' written by Britt Nicole

The lore differences from the main HFS series is as follows:

Hylia did not feel the need to "safeguard" the Master Sword/Fi. Henceforth, Zelda did not become pregnant before the Great Calamity.

Because Zelda was not pregnant before/during the Great Calamity, HFS' entire Rhoam v Link subplot does not exist in A Century Past. Rhoam is not overthrown by Link, and Link does not become King before dying at Fort Hateno.

Link was never formally recognized as Prince of Hyrule. His marriage remained a secret. Only the Champions, Impa, Purah, Symin, Robbie, Horacio (Kass' Teacher) and King Dorephan were aware of the marriage. Most BotW characters (including Sidon and most of Kakariko) did not know Link was married, much less Prince of Hyrule.

Link and Zelda are King and Queen in TotK. However, due to infrastructure being a higher priority than politics, no one can agree on how to refer to them, and semi-self-governing municipalities can elect or appoint their own leaders. (Elections/appointments can still be overruled by the Queen and/or King. Link and Zelda can also appoint their own person instead of letting the municipality have an election)

Link and Zelda have the following title sets: "King and Queen", "Princess and Swordsman", "Princess and Hero", "Queen and Swordsman", "Queen and Hero", "King and Princess" (for some reason), "Queen and Consort", "Princess and Consort", "Mister Link and Miss Zelda" "Mr. Link and Mrs. Zelda" and "Grandpa/Great-grandpa and Miss Zelda" (by Reede's family and their friends)

The Korok War Crimes are a direct result of all of Link's frustrations + his grief over his wife's sudden disappearance (if you haven't read my Wolfbred post yet, Wolfbred were originally created to be the Queen of Hyrule's perfect, loyal-to-the-death personal army. When the Wolfbred were banned, this overpowering genetic urge was then projected in the following two ways:

A male Wolfbred's "queen" is his wife

A female Wolfbred's "queen" is her pups/children

Henceforth, Link's "queen" is Zelda and he has a specific genetic urge demanding he serve and protect her until he dies.)

The Korok War Crimes are isolated incidents, not wide-spread, and typically are feral-type incidents and injuries. (Not sophisticated, and rarely involving Zonai devices)

[pumpkin-spike18]

✨Weekly Progress 2022 #54✨+Demo 2.0 coming 1/28/23!

Colored 3 BGs

Colored 2 BGs

Made first pass of comments from proofreading

New list of remaining work for Jan.

Updated the BG +affected code in Demo 1.0 (basic changes)

This is it, new year starting soon. Will it somehow have 54 weeks again 🤔

I actually normally write my weekly progresses on Sunday, then schedule them for Wednesday so it looks like I have a post for every indie dev hour haha~ But since the last day of the year lands on a Sunday, I figure I can publish now.

And as alluded in the title, the release date for Demo 2.0 is set for 1/28/2023! More info on what the update entails can be found here!

I have all the art assets done, but as I made a list of all the things I have left to do, it was half a page. =v=; There's a few changes that I intend for the script since I finished writing it. Ideally, these changes shouldn't take long at all! But I wanted to be sure so I ended up extending the release date a bit.

2022 & 2023 ✨

While I'm at it, I want to talk about the past year and the next one too.

The past year really has been a whirlwind of fun 😁 I never expected SYVNH to be as popular as it has been and I'm really grateful for everyone's support so far! It has been my main focus for most of the year, but I spent some time participating in other jam projects as well! I took on a variety of roles for:

We Were Forever

Lachesis V Atropos

ALICE

Mythic Meetup

Nature's Lament

All of which can be found on my itch.io page!

I was hoping to do a little more for the full year, project-wise, but the scope for SYVNH blew up pretty fast on me. But I still did find time to write for a couple unannounced projects (that hopefully I'll be able to work more on 2023)!

Upcoming for 2023, of course, my number one goal is finishing SYVNH!

Other smaller art goals include:

Illustration sets

More fanart!

Make a short animated MV

Learn to use blender and live2D

General art improvement

I both love and miss drawing fanart for all my favorite series. I hope I'll be able to get back into it in 2023. Additionally, I want to spend some time making tutorials to teach others to do some of the things I do! Lastly, I want to improve my art skill. I've spent so much time on digital art that I've been lacking in things like painting and 3D craft making. So it's time to spend more time on that.

I haven't quite figured out how to split my time to complete all of that yet, but hey! That's what the new year's for, right? 😄

Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for this year and I look forward to the next one!

[broiunno]

License to Steal - Act V

License to Steal

ACT V

Act I // Act II // Act III // Act IV // Act V // Act VI

More License to Steal!JHope here:

DUCHESS

---summary: Min Yoongi is your new protection detail upon your return to your father's side after being sent away during a bloody gang war. Now the dust has settled, you've been called back to your old controlled life, and leaving you an unwilling participant in your family's plans. You don't know what they are but you are no longer willing to be the obedient, protected daughter. You don't really care in the least of it makes Yoongi's new assignment hell on earth- So you'll carve your own life out back home on your own terms.

-rating: 18+

-pairing: min yoongi x reader - this chapter includes reader x ???

-word count: 7.2k

-warnings: swearing, gang activities includes drug mention and eventual drug use, the slowest of burns, organized crime, toxic af family dynamics, traphic physical abuse, BEWARE IN THIS ACT: violence, blood, graphic descriptions of torture, and murder occur in this chapter. Passing mention of non con sw, kidnapping in this act as well but does not include any of the main characters, and fingering

PLEASE READ:

-authors note: @chelsea-chee is a blessing on this earth and no one will ever convince me otherwise. She puts up with my constant lamenting and persuades me to write even when I haven't gotten out of bed at noon. A BLESSING I TELL YOU.

The reason this authors note says please read is - obviously Hobi is perfection, but in this act you start to see how special he is in this WORK OF FICTION. This act and the next act set up DUCHESS so if you wanted to know how they fit... :)

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

Yoongi had been fighting the urge to even breathe too deeply for the past hour.

Your leg had draped itself over his as you had adjusted yourself to curl half your body on top of him. Your head had nuzzled into the crook of his neck, a hand resting on his chest. He had allowed himself to enjoy your steady deep breaths and how the puffs of air hit his skin. It had been a long time since he had even had this semblance of intimacy with one of the girls he had used to reach his high, then excuse. Any contact like this had been accidental after he had drunk himself into complete oblivion and wasn’t coherent enough to tell his partner to leave post-coitus. He had always awoken from his black out, skin crawling at the feel of another resting their weight on him, bare skin connecting in a way that didn’t serve a purpose. Yet here, he found himself unable to bear the thought of even shifting to grab for his phone to start his day. Maybe it was the knowledge that you wouldn’t have done this to him if you were conscious. This was just an inherent need for comfort of another person.

He had never experienced it as an adult, but logically he knew others did. His childhood hadn’t really programmed him to seek out affection or comfort. It had taught him society was selfish, and if you wanted something you had to take it for yourself. If you wanted to keep whatever you had taken, you had to put your entire soul into protecting it by any means necessary. He knew what helped whet his bloodlust at seeing what your father had done to you; it was the buried memories of his own childhood. Up until his twenties he woke in shaking sweats over nightmares of his father’s looming figure swinging the door open to his piece of shit childhood home. The food was never even constant in their household, but the beatings were. He knew what to expect, knew how to detach himself from his body as he took the blows that were dealt to him. The thought made a sick part of him wonder what was worse; his experience of knowing what to expect every night, or your experience of never knowing what would make your father snap.

He let out a soft sigh, caught up in his own thoughts as he decided he had been better off by knowing what to expect every night rather than being coddled one moment in the lap of luxury, before being treated less than human the next. He let his eyes look down at you, smirking at the annoyed grimace that had come up over your face as you battled to stay unconscious. He allowed himself to reach his free arm up and bend to cradle his head, watching the ceiling intently as he continued to let himself get lost in his memories.

His mother had left a bigger scar than his father. At least his father had abandoned them and never came back. His mother had stuck around her son until she passed from some infection or another, Yoongi never knew what. It wasn’t like they could afford a doctor. She was thoughtful enough to continue the physical abuse, fueled by her own addictions. Graciously, she added an element of psychological abuse that Yoongi had never allowed himself to admit he hadn’t recovered from.

Eventually your squirming broke his trance, and he watched you carefully as you rolled away from him onto your back, allowing him to reach for his cell phone and promptly start typing furiously.

The sound of his fingers on the glass screen made your eyes flutter and Yoongi tried to ignore the fact that you stared at him unabashed as he located his associates. The men continuously protested that after all they had been through, that they were friends but Yoongi didn’t think he would ever allow himself to give them that brand name.

“You stayed.” Your voice was rough with sleep and Yoongi didn’t let his phone drop from in front of his face as he nodded in acknowledgment.

“I did. Observant as always Princess.” You scowled but the soft mew of pain had Yoongi sitting up swiftly in bed and walking over to his suit, long fingers fishing in the pocket of his pants and producing a small unmarked pill bottle. “Don’t take more than two every four hours. You need to rest today. I put some ice on your face while you were out yesterday. You should keep icing it today while I’m gone.”

“Where are you going?” You sounded much more alert as he watched you struggle to sit up.

“With you not going out on the town right now, I am going to try and take care of some business I’ve been avoiding.”

He wasn’t lying exactly. It had been in the back of his mind, festering as he watched the turn the organization’s business dealings and workflow had taken. He wasn’t an emotional man and he believed in doing what had to be done, but the orders he’d seen handed down for the past year were senseless and unnecessary. There were few things Yoongi considered cardinal sins, but issuing unessential directives was one of them. He viewed it as an attempt to crush any autonomy within the family, and his autonomy was something he valued above all things. “Jungkook will be outside the door, so you won’t be alone,” Yoongi finished as he pulled his top off, and started to shrug on the white button down before he turned to look at you.

“Jungkook? Really? You were at his throat yesterday,” you grumbled and slid out of bed and headed towards the bathroom with the water glass Yoongi had given you last night in your hand.

“There’s no one else available right now that is a good enough shot and could physically protect you for me to comfortably leave with you,” Yoongi said simply, taking the opportunity of you leaving the bedroom to slip his sweatpants off and step into his slacks. “If there was someone else free, I would have,” he finished, trying to force the iciness out of his tone. He looked up and frowned, noting that he had never heard the noise of the sink, nor the flush of the toilet, but he watched as you shut the door. “Call me if something happens or you need me back,” he offered stiffly as he slipped on his holster and began to fold his sleep clothes, leaving them on the side table. He would fetch them when he got back. He didn’t want to risk walking into the hallway with them and having Jungkook getting off the elevator. He needed to focus; he didn’t need to be distracted by the younger man’s insinuations and prying.

“I won’t need you.” Came a harsh reply from the other side of the door and the shift in your tone made his eyebrows disappear into his dark hair. He knew you would see it eventually, he couldn’t protect you from what had already happened.

“I am sure you won’t Princess,” he mumbled and slipped on his jacket, running his fingers through his hair and sighing, unable to stop from glancing at the bathroom door every few seconds.

---

A soft knock came at the bedroom door and Yoongi strode over and stepped out into the hallway, signalling your freedom to let the sob rip out of your throat as you wrapped your arms tighter around yourself, trying to curl in on yourself from your crouched position on the bathroom floor. You hadn’t even thought about it as you strode into the bathroom to fill up the water glass. You hadn’t thought about the fact that Yoongi had stopped you last night from looking at your reflection. It didn’t take a genius to realize why.

You were absolutely grotesque.

Your face was swollen on one side, bottom lip fat on the same corner. The bruising was intense and enough to make your gut churn. Most of the surface on your neck, chin, and cheek was dark red, some patches just starting to darken to uncomfortable shades of deep purples and blues as the blood began to break down under your skin. There would be no covering the marks of your disobedience. Maybe it was what your father wanted, not only to feel the pain and tenderness, but to wear the badges of your argument as you proceeded to go along with his will.

You felt the tightness in your chest clench as you took another deep breath, shutting your eyes tightly and feeling the hot tears leak out again. Yoongi had done a great job of distracting you from the pain: physical and emotional. You hadn’t even thought of the reason for the clash between you and your father until now.

Marriage.

You were going to be tied legally to a piece of trash your father knew well and someone who viewed you as an item to be bought. You tried to swallow the nausea but failed as you felt your body tense before throwing yourself towards the toilet, heaving loudly into the bowl, the burn of bile making you cough hard. You didn’t even eat yesterday, the aching in your belly doubling as you looked at the bright yellow staining the white porcelain, dry heaving now that you had emptied your stomach of even the acid.

You rocked backwards and sat in silence before standing shakily, pulling at the black hand towel and wiping your lips gingerly. You needed food. That was the first order of business; it was unavoidable. You knew that you couldn’t take another dose of that medication on an empty stomach. You swallowed hard and rinsed your mouth out with tepid water before attempting to steel yourself as you headed to your bedroom door, reaching for the handle and barely cracking the door. “Jungkook?” you said softly and the almost immediate appearance of a large doe eye and half a smile sent you jumping back away from the door frame. You let out a soft startled chuckle, but the laugh died in your throat as you watched the sliver of his face morph from excited and friendly to someone you were sure you’d never met. The open inviting smile dropped and his lips, even that full bottom one, thinned impossibly as he bared his teeth, eyes hard and narrowed.

“Noona. Let me in.” The words were simple, soft and deceptively light. The command paired with his expression was enough to make you step back, allowing him to knock his open palm into the door with such force it snapped back into the wall with a loud bang.

You blinked and continued your path back into the room, breath caught in your throat as the man stalked into your bedroom, bright eyes roving over as your face and pausing on your throat as his lips pulled back further to expose more teeth. You were used to seeing them pulled back in a smile, not this purely feral expression that made a prick pass over your scalp, pores prepared to spill nervous sweat. “Jungkook, I only opened the door-“ The hiss that emerged from him cut your words off and you swallowed. Your back stiffened and you couldn’t help but bristle as he wouldn’t let you speak. “Aye! Stop looking at me like that. I need to fucking eat!” you snapped and you watched the wheels turn in his head as he stopped his advance, only a few feet in front of you, his expression not shifting from rage.

If Yoongi was chilling ice when angered, Jungkook was blazing fire. The fire wasn’t extinguished but it cooled enough as he shoved his hand into his pocket and tapped a few times. You took a few steadying breaths as you noted he gripped his phone so hard his knuckles were blanched white. He looked back to your face and dropped the phone from in front of his face. “Stop changing the damn subject Noona. Who did that to you?”

“You’re the one that works for him, Jungkook. I don’t really see why it matters when no one is going to do shit about it.” The venom had slipped into your voice unintentionally and you didn’t miss the flinch from him as he balled a tattooed hand into a fist and glanced away. You couldn’t help but bark a laugh as his jaw ticked while he tongues his cheek, lost in thought and fury. “See? What fucking difference did knowing make? You won’t do a goddamn-“

“You told Yoongi-hyung who it was Noona?” His question cut you off again but this time you weren’t angry. He still wasn’t looking at you and he had seemed to wilt slightly when he discovered who had dealt you the bruises blossoming over your skin.

“He was the one that brought me back here. Of course he knows,” you said, waving your hand in a way that you hoped came off as unbothered. “Just forget it, it’ll be better for everyone.” Jungkook let out a loud sigh and rolled his shoulders back and flexed his hand to try and shake out some of the anger that had him near-shaking.

“Then it’ll be taken care of soon…” he mused and gave you a tight lipped smile, tilting his head slightly. “I ordered you samgyetang. I hope that’s ok. I know you’re not sick but-“

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” You took the opportunity to cut him off this time, turning away from him and starting back towards the bathroom. Your brain was replaying his words. ‘It’ll be taken care of soon’. You didn’t want to dwell on what he had just implied so implicitly in regards to Yoongi and his intentions. “Can you wait outside? I want to take a shower.”

Jungkook watched you increase the distance between you, a pained look entering his eyes as he continued to study you. “Noona, I won’t peek; just let me stay and watch over you. I don’t want to leave you alone. I can protect you better if I’m closer to you,” he grumbled and shoved a hand into his roguish long hair. You rolled your eyes and walked to your closet, dramatically ripping clothing out so you could change in the bathroom.

“Whatever. If someone wants me dead, I’ll be dead.”

“Don’t say that Noona, you’ll always be safe with me.”

“Why? Because of this family? Jungkook, if I needed you inside this house, the person trying to kill me is probably in the family too.” You rolled your eyes again and snorted; too many of these guys thought the family meant they were always safe. Maybe Jungkook was one of these disillusioned men, but his surprised laugh had you whipping your head around to face him, the dopey bunny smile back on his handsome face as he approached you. What was it with him and stalking you in your own bedroom?! He stepped into your space and pressed his lower body into your hip and you jumped in surprise, letting out a small yelp.

“No, Noona. Because I have a gun.” Your brain had short circuited at the feeling of his body against yours, needing a second to buffer as you realized the stiffness that was pressed into you from his own hips was the steel of a firearm, not his rigid cock like you had immediately thought. You felt the unmarred half of your face paint with color as you huffed and pushed him away from you.

“Sit down and don’t you dare fucking bother me- if you do, I’ll shoot you in the damn thigh with your own gun,” you snapped and stumbled to the bathroom, ignoring the laugh that sounded behind you as you closed the door.

--

Yoongi swirled his drink as he leaned against the dirty bartop. The amber liquid that he had been sipping as he waited for his expected company wasn’t his choice of whiskey by any means. In his current mindset he needed whatever he could get to help take the edge off; the acidic timber of his thoughts had eaten it’s way into every interaction he had today since he left you in the bathroom this morning. It had made him sick to know that you were looking onto your beaten face. He had prevented you from seeing it last night, but he couldn’t hide it from you forever. You would see yourself at some point, even if he covered all the mirrors. He supposed he could have stayed. He knew from the bite in your voice when he checked on you, that you didn’t want him there as you shouldered the weight of yesterday’s events. He wasn’t going to push you when he had pieces of yarn to begin tugging on; he needed to begin unfurling the sweater he had helped knit.

He glanced down at his watch, frowning at the time as he studied the Audemars Piguet and he felt his lip twitch up unconsciously. He really had come a long way from the thief you had sneered at as a child. Yoongi had always done his job extremely well, and he had a knack for it. He had saved and invested a large chunk of his money- always a planner for the long term- but the expensive stainless steel watch had been an indulgence he had allowed himself. He wondered if you had even noticed his timepiece. You always picked everything else apart; with your predisposition to luxury items, he repeatedly found himself having to swallow down the twinge of disappointment that you had never commented on it the past few days.

“Is the whiskey that horrible?” Yoongi’s eyes snapped up to the tall broad-shouldered newcomer. Thinking about you really was something he would need to control more closely if he hadn’t even noticed Seokjin’s approach. His life and yours depended on his awareness and ability to anticipate. The prime example was what had happened when he left you alone even with your own father.

“Is it that easy to tell hyung?” Yoongi snickered and sighed loudly as Jin laughed and gave a knowing nod.

“Ya! I’ve been here more than you have! Of course I know it’s terrible!” Seokjin’s words didn’t stop him from ordering the same drink as Yoongi and taking it from the bartender, his handsome features deceptively blank. “You going to tell me why you called? Not like you needed a ride…” Jin’s voice was light but laced with a bit of bitterness. Yoongi knew he hated that your father had him driving most days, but he really was the best wheelman in the family. To top it all off, the man was friendly but shrewd; he picked up on things in conversation and if he was tasked on just transporting a person under the guise of providing ‘protection’ he always put them at ease. And he knew exactly how to determine how loose the person’s lips were. How much of a liability they may become.

“Hyung, are you still interested in changing things up like we talked about? I know it’s been awhile since we talked about it…” Jin didn’t react with surprise or shock to the damning question. There was a reason Yoongi had agreed to meet him for a drink to discuss this. There were only a few of the guys he wanted to recruit that would be able to keep their wits about them, wouldn’t gasp or draw attention in the dive bar- even if they were caught off guard by the proposition.

“I honestly thought you’d never ask.” Jin smiled into his drink and threw most of it into the back of his throat. “I will say I don’t know how you’re managing to sip that. It’s not like it needs to be savored, just let it get the job done!”

Yoongi lifted the glass slightly, letting a real gummy smile break through his normally aloof demeanor, because dammit, his hyung had a point. He knew Seokjin was a sure thing; his skills were being wasted. He really should be out working with the people directly, securing contacts in high places. Not many in their line of work could carry themselves like him. Yoongi had listened to his ‘friend’ grumble discontentedly one night as they drank in Jin’s apartment, and Yoongi had tested the waters with a sales pitch that night, with Seokjin expressing interest. Yoongi doubted Jin would waver even if he had agreed when he was drunk; the man said what he meant and didn’t agree or placate anyone.

“Cheers then hyung.”

“Cheers Yoongi.”

---

The shower had brought you back to center in your universe, stomach still empty and aching, but you no longer felt like you might shatter if you lingered among your own thoughts for a second too long. You sighed and tightened the belt of your silk robe at your waist, gingerly separating your hair at the roots to just fluff the wet strands so your locks didn’t dry flat to your head. You were not thrilled to find your scalp was still tender; everything was still aching since you hadn’t taken any medicine. You ran a manicured nail over your mottled cheek and winced. What if your intended fiance was violent? Purple and blue weren’t colors you wanted to become a permanent staple on your face or body. You gazed at your body, running your hands over your breasts and down your stomach; you were still in your prime, you knew better than to expect freedom in your personal relationships. Men that were willing to pay for a particular woman were doubtful to want to share them. Was the last man you choose for yourself going to be that drunken one night stand at the art gallery exhibition in SoHo? You didn’t even remember the idiot’s name. With a groan you let your head fall back and reached for the clothes you had gathered before storming into the bathroom because of Jungkook… Jungkook.

You smiled as you thought of the absolute perfect specimen of a man on the other side of the door. You were a mess, far from your normal standard of coiffed perfection, but you doubted you could get him back on the other side of your bedroom door now that he had gained entry. You took a breath and reached for the door handle, stepping out without changing out of your robe.

You heard Jungkook abruptly clear his throat, as you let your focus drift to the take out containers on the table, the smell of food making your mouth water before you forced yourself to focus on the tall man’s figure that was draped in your armchair, noting how his wide eyes were glued to your figure with predatory intensity. “Noona… you should get dressed before you eat,” he chastised breathlessly as you made a beeline for him.

“I want to try something first…” you said softly, stepping in between his legs, offering your hand to him, noting that he had yet to blink. His tongue flicked out to run over his full bottom lip and he reached his large hand out to you, dropping his knees outward to give you more space in-between his limbs. His actions seemed to be delayed as you lifted a knee to rest outside his leg, trying to gauge his reaction as he dropped your hand just as quickly as he had taken it once you straddled him fully, palming your waist instead.

“Noona,” he breathed, leaning into you, a smug grin slipping over your lips as you basked in his drunk tone. “I thought you didn’t like me?” he finished and you shuddered as he nosed into the curve of your neck, his lips tracing the neckline of your robe; the combination of his slightly wet lips and the silk material causing a shudder to run through your body. One of his hands stayed on your waist while the other fisted in the luxurious material where it crossed over your breasts.

You gnawed on your lower lip as a soft sigh slipped out of your mouth. “Let me enjoy this Noona…” he scolded softly and his admonishment made you reach up to curl your fingers into his dark locks at the nape of his neck.

“Jungkook. Please,” you whispered and leaned towards his chest, your free hand running up his hard muscled forearm, gently tracing the black ink that trailed up his arm. You couldn’t help but gasp out his name as he shifted and pressed a thigh up into your bare heat, the material of his black jeans rough against your sensitive lips. His response was a deep chuckle as he let you join your lips with his; his tattooed fingers made swift work of the silk knot, letting the flimsy garment slip open and bare yourself to him. His lips worked against yours as you opened for him, gasping as he slid his tongue inside your mouth, massaging against your own. You groaned as you rolled your hips against him, pressing your bare chest into his clothed one. His mouth and body were hot and ready as he dipped a hand down to grip your thigh.

“Noona, you’re such a tease.” His words were practically a growl as he broke the kiss, leaning back as you took the opportunity to kiss your way down his cut jawline, feeling yourself growing slick as you rolled your hips again, this time hitting the ridge in his jeans that was his hard member. “Did you think I wouldn’t see Yoongi-hyung’s clothes over there?” The growl was practically a hiss and the change in his demeanor made your heart change rhythm, your face erupting into flames. “But I don’t think he got to see you like this, so needy and hot. I think that’s just for me...” He hummed with an antagonizing smirk.

His fingers trailed from their hold on your thigh to pass lightly at your heat, unable to stop the guttural groan at what he found there- your core already wet- and he pulled his hand back. “You’re so wet and ready for me Princess,” he said, throwing Yoongi’s nickname for you in your face, and you couldn’t help but stiffen slightly, the disrespect for his hyung making you leak more. He was such a perfect bad boy.

“Don’t call me that.” Your words lacked the snap you intended, coming out breathy and closer to a whine. “Jungkook, tell me what you want to do to me…” you pleaded, eyes closing as you tried to lock lips with him again, but he dodged your kiss and your eyes flew back open.

“Noona, you know I can’t do what I want to do with you right now,” he said tightly, the finger that had passed over your cunt disappearing into his mouth before he reached to cradle your head, running them over your swollen lips, lingering at the unhealed split in the corner that was now beading a drop of ruby. Your eyes widened in wonder as you watched him taste you. “I’m not going to touch you again until I can actually take you exactly the way I’ve been dreaming of since I saw you on the street shopping with Yoongi-hyung. ” He leaned up, your eyes still wide as he kissed the droplet of blood away from your lip.

“And when I do- I’m going to do it more than once.”

==

Yoongi hadn’t planned to speak to anyone else today, but when the opportunity had presented itself so perfectly, he couldn’t bear to refuse. He found himself catching a ride with Jin to the warehouse on the other side of town from the organization’s headquarters. He found it was taking him a lot more effort than usual to not check his cell phone, even though it hadn’t rang or vibrated all day; he knew you were safe as he had left you with Jungkook for a reason. As Jin turned the vehicle into the receiving garage of the warehouse, Yoongi spotted the few teenagers loitering near the alley and along the sidewalk. He felt his lips flatten into a thin line; he remembered being tasked to do similar things. He could clearly remember playing lookout and feeling the steel of a gun in the waistline of his pants for the first time.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Jin sighed as he noticed Yoongi turning his head to watch the boys as they pulled further into the warehouse.

“Hyung, they never put you on the street. Too many people hit on you,” Yoongi said dryly, finally pulling his eyes away and glancing at his hyung, a small smile on his face.

“Well, could you blame them Yoongi?” His words and facial expression were laced with such exasperation that Yoongi laughed openly.

“No hyung I can’t.”

Jin parked the car and Yoongi couldn’t help but finally check his phone when his elder exited the vehicle. He stared at the screen as if trying to make a notification appear. Yoongi finally let out a soft growl to himself and opened his messaging app as he stepped out of the black town car. He slammed the door harder than necessary, causing Jin to glance back and let out a yell of protest as the pair headed towards the freight elevator. The men that were stationed inside were slightly older then those posted outside, but not by much. The young sentrys inclined their heads deeply to the duo and Yoongi hit send on his message to you before he shoved the device into his pocket with a bit too much force as he followed Jin into the freight elevator. If you weren’t asleep, what were you so busy doing that you couldn’t even text him? He ignored the nagging voice that tried to remind him the two of you had never texted heavily before, but wasn’t that because he was almost always present? You never needed to text him.

Jin watched Yoongi with a considerate gaze. “What has you wound so tight?” Yoongi shrugged his shoulders and picked an imaginary piece of lint off of his lapel as the metal bars of the vertical door slid up. Yoongi stepped out, not waiting for the bars to reach even his shoulders, ducking under them as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I mean, it has to be something Yoongi; you ask me that question about changing things up after a year and a half? You want to talk to Hoseok now? What lit a fire under your ass?” Yoongi made an annoyed ‘tch’ in response as Jin followed him closely through the hallway of the finished level of the warehouse.

Yoongi knew most people hated it here, because of what happened here, what it represented; he never minded and found the perpetual smell of bleach and the bright fluorescent lighting reassuring. He could control what happened in here; he was the omega. The hall was lined with doors that had large windows looking into the small individual rooms; as they walked down the hall, the gap between the interrogation rooms grew. The lights were off in every room except for one at the very end, and Yoongi couldn’t help but smile at the thought that his associate would be here of all places in his leisure time. He hadn’t answered Jin but his hyung didn’t push, as if he knew that Yoongi was here to offer the same opportunity to someone else. He’s known Yoongi for long enough to recognize he was not the type of man to repeat himself if he could help it.

A chair had been pulled up to sit outside the one way mirror and Jin abruptly dropped into it with a dramatic sigh. “You should just go in and do it with him so we can finish sooner. I had to come pick him up and I have a dinner date,” he said passionately, words spilling from his plump lips quickly as he pointed towards the door to the interrogation room. Yoongi shrugged and slid his suit jacket off, looking into the room for the first time, trying to roll his eyes at the sight. He slid off his watch and rolled his shoulders before entering the white, soundproof room. He recalled being ecstatic when they had made that update. The screaming when there was more than one occupant had been almost unbearable.

“Hope.”

The addressee didn’t turn his finely coiffed head from where he was crouched in front of the middle-aged man that sat slightly behind the large drain in the middle of the room. Yoongi was not surprised; the broad smile that showed all of J-Hope’s bright white teeth was enough of an indication that he had been waiting to get time with whoever his guest was. “Hey Min. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I want to run something by you. I heard you were about to be a hard man to track down,” Yoongi said lightly, unaffected by the stranger’s whimpers, studying the binds on his ankles. One to either chair leg, more rope wrapped around his upper body to hold his arms in front of him and his back flush against the chair. His wrists were zip tied tightly, and had been so with multiple ties so the skin of his clasped hands was mottled. “You can work and listen right?”

Hoseok finally swung his head to face Yoongi, his bright smile still affixed and nodded. “I will if you help.” The man rose from his crouch, running his hands down his all-black apparel, popping open a few more of the buttons on his black dress shirt. “What’s the point of coming all the way here to see me if you don’t have some fun? I heard you’ve been living like a lap dog for the Duchess of the unholy.” Yoongi tried not to seethe, and he concealed his annoyance with a smirk, following Hoseok over to the small metal tray of tools.

“Don’t worry my friend! I boil these after every use!” J-Hope chirped over his shoulder to his guest. “You’re lucky Min showed up; he gets annoyed at how much care I take in breaking people into pieces. I think it’s only right to give you what you deserve.” The lamenting sigh made Yoongi quirk his eyebrow.

“You must have a lot of pent up energy. It’s about time the old man let you back out of the cage.” Yoongi watched J-Hope’s fingers dance over the instruments of horror before settling on a pair of garden shears. When the man lifted them from the tray, Yoongi tried to not get annoyed by the immediate screeching from the restrained man, the gag not completely muffling the screams that tore at his throat, his face turning a deep red as he attempted to jerk. Yoongi reached out a pale hand to snatch a serrated knife with a hooked tip, not bothering with the flourish that Hoseok had displayed. “I don’t know what you did to end up here man, but I don’t know why you waited until now to scream. What did you think happened here?” Yoongi drawled, and wrinkled his nose as Hoseok let out a tinkling laugh that was at odds with the scene the man had set.

“Min you’re exactly right! Isn’t it fucking annoying?” The auburn haired man brushed his hand through his parted hair. “Should I tell my friend here how you were lining your pockets with profits from that piece of shit whorehouse we let you run? Or how about how we found those girls that were way too young to be in a place like that in the back rooms? You know I talked to a few of them. They told me all about how they didn’t want to be there, about how you tricked them into working for you… told them they could be models!” The unstable man snatched the purpling hands of his captive in a vice-like grip as he attempted to struggle. Yoongi narrowed his eyes as he watched Hoseok open the shears and grit his teeth as he brought the shears down on two of the man’s finger tips, blood spurting onto his chest. Yoongi supposed it was from all the blood trapped there from the zip ties. The cries rose to a pitch that had Yoongi massaging his temples.

“Jin’s here. I wanted to tell you both at once, he won’t be able to hear out there,” Yoongi grumbled, turning to the window and waving Jin in with a quick motion, ignoring the fact that J-Hope was laughing lightly, moving the shears further down the man’s twitching digits and snipping again while he grunted with effort, letting out a cheer as the chunks of bone and skin separated from his hand at the knuckle.

“I said I would listen if you helped,” Hoseok pointed out, shaking the bloody shears at Yoongi who just sucked at his teeth and stepped forward, swinging his arm down and sinking the blade into the meat of a thigh. He rocked the blade back and forth and looked pointedly at the Hoseok. Yoongi let out a sigh as the door opened and clicked shut, signaling Jin’s entry. Hoseok didn’t acknowledge the eldest joining them, but he licked his lips and smiled in satisfaction at Yoongi’s actions, pleased that he had finally joined his game.

“Hope, I think it’s time we unseat the old fuck,” Yoongi said lightly, ripping to blade back out and earning another scream from the stranger. “He isn’t running shit like he used to. You know who holds all the shit together. It’s us, and has been for years. We’re beyond his errand boys now.” Yoongi kept his voice unemotional and eyes empty as he watched the bright smile widen even further, something he always forgot was possible. That smile never stopped growing.

“How do you plan on doing it?” Came Jin’s steady voice from the corner where he leaned against the wall, eyes trained on Yoongi’s face and ignoring the man that was currently dropping his head back, eyes rolling as he teetered on the edge of going into shock.

“No no no no no! Not yet!” J-Hope cried, jumping forward and slapping his face repeatedly, the smile dropping away and melting into unrestrained fury, bright teeth now bared in a snarl. “FUCKING LOOK AT ME!” He grabbed a fistful of the man’s thinning hair and jerked it back and forth with such force the chair rocked.

“We have all the contacts, we’re the ones they work with, we’ve handled all the recruitments for the past few years. We’ve been fair and we react fast. Everyone knows it. The only thing that keeps that piece of shit at the head of the table has been money. The older men are all fucking dirty as shit; that’s why the younger ones have been getting put away. It won’t take much to get them to flip if we play our cards right. They’re our crews; we just need to step out from under his thumb,” Yoongi said, watching as the bleeding lump of meat came back around to look at his torturer, eyes wide, ignoring the absolutely blood chilling high pitched scream he emitted as the garden shears snipped down on the tip of his large nose, the cartilage rolling towards the drain and settling in a hole on the grate.

“We’ve needed a switch... Dogs like this one are getting away with too much. We’re losing money as a whole from all sides. The order needs to be restored,” J-Hope said simply, and Yoongi smirked at the sage words uttered from the man. He was completely ungovernable when his violent side was whet, but he settled into someone capable of Yoongi’s own propensity of observation and inference. There was a reason that he was drawn to the normally smiling man, and it was never long before he was reminded. J-Hope held a moral code of his own making, and Yoongi had yet to disagree with it.

Jin nodded in agreement and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Have you talked to JK or anyone else yet?”

“Not yet. I wanted to make sure you guys were in before I involved the kids.” Yoongi couldn’t help but feel a small swell of affection for these men. They’d been through hell together, and they were still here. “Hoseok, he’s done,” Yoongi grumbled on a tangent, noticing J-Hope had opened the shears again.

“Yoongi, they're not kids,” Jin scoffed as he watched Yoongi walk around to the groaning renegade and slip the smooth edge of the blade across his throat, finally completely silencing the noise emerging through his gagged mouth. Yoongi was silently grateful J-Hope didn’t seem to mind.

J-Hope had dropped the shears onto the metal tray as he watched the river of blood drain away before turning his attention back to Yoongi. “Hey hyung, this doesn’t have anything to do with Duchess does it?” he said, the heart-shaped smile returning to his lips. “You were always sweet on her, even as kids. Anytime she was around you-”

Yoongi just dropped the knife in response, the clatter seemed to be enough to make Hoseok trail off, but amusement still glinted in his eyes. Yoongi grabbed a towel from the ledge of the window, willing himself to not feed into his long-time comrade’s teasing. Jin’s eyebrows shot up and he let out a laugh that had him rocking forward.

“Are you serious?!”

“You guys are more delirious than I thought,” Yoongi finally grumbled and threw the blood stained rag at J-Hope who shrugged and side stepped it gracefully.

“You know I had to ask. My new detail is on Ha-Joon since he made that offer on Duchess.” Yoongi couldn’t help but visibly tense at J-Hope’s offhand statement, making Jin furrow his eyebrows.

“The lawyer?” Jin asked in confusion, standing up off the wall and shaking his head. “I knew he was running for some post, but marrying a crime lord's daughter doesn’t seem like a smart move.” Yoongi agreed with his hyung, but nobody except Jungkook and himself had seen the predatory glint in Ha-Joon’s eyes when he had met you at the restaurant. Yoongi knew then it wouldn’t be the last he’d have to deal with the man where you were concerned, but he didn’t quite expect this. His power of deduction had failed him for the first time in a long time.

J-Hope’s heart smile widened as he let out a loud laugh. “I knew it!”

“He made an offer for what exactly?” The tone with which the words escaped Yoongi made J-Hope’s laugh die out, his head tilting to the side, the smile managing to live on. Yoongi knew it was irrational that his heartbeat was slowing into a killing calm as he waited for the answer J-Hope obviously was dying to share. Was the lawyer trying to buy a night with you? Yoongi wouldn’t stand for it; he would throw every blockade he could against whatever plan was currently underway. How had he been so stupid to not find out the reasoning for your father laying his hands on you?

Hoseok’s voice was melodic as he purred. “Aren’t you her body guard Yoongi-hyung? How do you not know that your Duchess got engaged?”

[theggning]

I Hate the Alternate Ending of Blind Betrayal, and Here's Why!

DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: Massive spoilers for Fallout 4 abound. This post discusses Blind Betrayal, a quest with suicide as a heavy theme. Content warning applies.

DISCLAIMER THE SECOND: This post discusses cut OFFICIAL content from Fallout 4 that has since been repurposed into multiple mods. I am not criticizing any modders or their implementations of this content. Mods are fun and people can enjoy whatever the hell kind of game experience they want with whatever mods they want.

I am ONLY interested in discussing the original cut content as Bethesda had written it, and how it would have impacted the story and lore of Fallout 4.

So, yeah, it seems there was originally going to be another way to conclude Blind Betrayal (BB).

As described in this Kotaku article (citing this post by Tumblr user tentacle-explosion,) there are unused audio files of Danse’s dialogue that show an alternate ending to his pivotal quest. These lines are the only evidence we have of this ending (suggesting that it was cut fairly early on, as no other actors/characters seem to have recorded for it.)

From what we can tell, in this alternate ending of BB, Danse comes up with a possible way out of the sticky situation re: his identity as a synth. According to the Brotherhood Litany, he is able to challenge Maxson’s authority as Elder via combat. If you agree to this idea, you go with Danse to challenge Maxson. The Paladin and the Elder duel one another, Danse wins, and Maxson dies. Then Danse names the Sole Survivor the new Elder-- or with a hard charisma check, you’re able to convince Danse to take the job himself. It is unknown how the main plot would have progressed beyond this point, as there is no other evidence of what being (or influencing) the Elder would have been like or what choices it would have given you.

There is understandable disappointment in learning that this ending was cut. Choices in games are great, and it could have been fun to have multiple different options for how to resolve the quest. In many gaming circles, people complain that this theoretical ending is superior to the one we got and shouldn’t have been axed. The Kotaku article calls it a “way better” ending, and you’ll see many players lamenting that it wasn’t implemented, saying Bethesda was bad at writing for cutting it, etc.

So why did Bethesda get rid of the Elder ending of BB?

In December 2020, after the Fallout 4 Cast Reunion, Danse’s voice actor Peter Jessop answered questions in a private signing session on his Instagram. Peter Jessop is an extremely kind and gracious man, an avid gamer, and a huge fan of Fallout. During the stream, he reflected on the alternate ending and remembered recording the lines, but stated the content was ultimately cut because Bethesda decided it was lore-breaking.

Peter Jessop is right. Bethesda was right. The Elder ending of BB is a bunch of dumb nonsense. It sucks, I hate it, and I’m glad they got rid of it. And now I’m going to tell you why!

SIDENOTE: King Shit of Fuck Mountain

There is no wrong way to play a single-player video game. If you are having fun, then you are accomplishing the task for which the game was made. Good for you! Play it on easy. Play it on hard. Mod it. Speedrun it. Make up an intricate roleplaying scenario. Perform “challenge” runs. Kill everybody you see. Ignore the story and run around collecting wheels of cheese. Games are meant to be fun and there is nothing wrong with enjoying a game however you damn well please. This is especially true for RPGs like Fallout, which are designed with player freedom in mind.

There is an RPG playstyle I like to call King Shit of Fuck Mountain: a naked power fantasy in which your protagonist is the most powerful person ever, even beyond normal RPG plot significance. Through brute strength, incredible charisma, or having completed tons of quests for world-breaking artifacts and weapons, your character wields godlike influence, able to control people, factions, and the fabric of the world itself. A game enables KSoFM gameplay when it allows the player limitless freedom to gain as much power as they like with zero consequences to plot or storytelling.

A great example of this is the Dragonborn in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. If the player chooses to pursue every questline in the game, one single person can become Harbinger of the Companions, Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale and Guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild, hero of the Imperial/Stormcloak army, the chosen one of like, 11 different Daedric princes, a bard, a Blade, and otherwise just, absurdly goddamn powerful in completely unrealistic ways. And that’s not counting DLCs. A fully-kitted-out Dragonborn is King Shit of Fuck Mountain.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing KSoFM if you like to. But I’m not a big fan of this style, personally. Sure, my first Skyrim character became KSoFM while I was figuring out the game, but after my first playthrough I preferred my characters become coherent figures in the story of the world. I pick one or two character traits and things that my Dragonborn is good at, focus on them, and make them part of some overall story. My honorable Imperial paladin werewolf is in the Companions, and hunts vampires on principle. My Argonian sneaky archer is a gleeful thief, but would never jive with the College or the Dark Brotherhood. I like creating protagonists who fit into these settings immersively. I don’t care about power fantasies or being in charge. I don’t WANT my character to be all-powerful, because that ruins my immersion and my little story.

Additionally, in a plot-driven story-focused game like Fallout, KSoFM tears the narrative apart. Skyrim is fairly light on story, so the Dragonborn can be the leader of the Companions and the Dark Brotherhood and whatever other factions without any of them noticing or caring. But FO4’s themes, faction drama, and the main thrust of the plot don’t work at all if the Sole Survivor is able to become too powerful or too influential. The Sole Survivor cannot become the leader of every faction, solve every problem, or eliminate every inconvenient bend of the conflict because it makes the lore of the entire setting implode. Thus, the game forces you to choose between factions. You cannot be with the Minutemen and the Nuka-World Raiders. You cannot be with the Railroad and the Institute. And you cannot become Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel.

So if you’re the kind of person who loves playing KSoFM, if you like plots that your character can “solve” with relative ease, or if you just think it would be super cool for your Sole to become Elder regardless of surrounding storytelling, then you might think the Elder ending sounds super cool. You are absolutely allowed to disagree with me here. Install all the mods and write all the fic and have all the headcanons you like. I respect that. There is no wrong way to enjoy a single-player video game. Have fun!

But if you’re a big nitpicky pedantic lore nerd like me, a fan of cohesive storytelling, or if you just want to hear how the Elder ending of BB absolutely fucking ruins Maxson, Danse, the Brotherhood of Steel, and the entire plot of FO4 from a narrative perspective, read on!

1. The Synth Thing

The Elder ending requires the stupid plot contrivance of the BoS forgetting about Danse’s synthhood.

One of the biggest problems with the BoS as an institution is their strict and dogmatic beliefs, which include a widespread dislike of non-human species. Perhaps more than any other non-humans, the BoS hates synths. Synths are, in their eyes, machines given free will, a violation of the sanctity of human life and the ultimate example of technology run amok. To them, synths are not sympathetic, they are not slaves, and they are not victims of circumstance. They are weapons that left unchecked will destroy all of humanity for a second time. Synths are anathema to everything the BoS stands for, and finding out that one of their most beloved and trusted Paladins is one is an earth-shattering blow to their integrity and sense of security.

It is completely absurd that the BoS would allow a synth within their ranks, particularly as they are waging war against the Institute, who created synths in the first place. It is even MORE absurd that they’d allow one to influence their Elder, or even worse, to become Elder. It completely undermines their mission in the Commonwealth, and the core tenets of their extremely rigid beliefs. No matter the Elder, no matter the Litany or obscure BoS law, no matter how valuable the Sole Survivor is as a soldier or how much influence they wield. Danse is a synth. He’s the enemy. He is physically the embodiment of everything they hate.

Not only wouldn’t they trust a synth in general, but the BoS specifically believes that Danse is an infiltrator for the Institute. Even Danse believes that he is a danger, that the Institute may be able to take control of him and use him as a weapon. Sure, we know none of this is actually true, or possible, but the BoS don’t know that. And given how quick they are to order Danse dead without even the possibility of surrender, I don’t think there’s any charisma in the world that’s going to convince them otherwise.

According to Peter Jessop, this, ultimately, is the reason why the Elder ending was cut. He talks about it around the 11:30 timestamp in his Instagram stream, linked above:

“We recorded an ending where you keep Danse alive and you take over the Brotherhood. But there was a question of content… there’s no way the Brotherhood, once they knew he was a synth, would let him be even the right hand of the person in charge.”

Bethesda correctly recognized the incredible narrative contrivance for the BoS to shrug off the reason they’re trying to execute Danse in the first place. Whatever other beefs I have with this ending conceptually, they all come in second to just what a big dumb leap it is to get beyond this first and most important problem.

2. The Complete Death of Conflict

The Elder ending of BB destroys the conflict of the quest, and potentially the conflict of the entire game.

Greed is a poison. There is no such thing as a perfect ideal or a perfect organization. Power corrupts. Humanity has the choice to build back better. War never changes. The Fallout games are full of themes, depicted by the characters and quests and factions we play out.

Blind Betrayal is rightfully praised as one of the most powerful quests in FO4. Not only is it well-acted, but it puts the player in a very difficult position. The BoS has given you clout and glory and free power armor and lots of firepower, but now you see the price: unquestioning obedience. You are ordered to execute your friend and mentor Danse for the mere fact he is a synth. Are you going to follow that unjust order? Are you willing to give up your principles on command? Or is this where you can no longer stay quiet and stay in line?

To be honest, I’ve always thought the fact you can talk Maxson out of killing Danse but still remain with the BoS in good standing was a cop-out. BB goes 90% of the way to forcing you to choose between a companion and a faction, and then chickens out at the last second to let you have both, if your charisma is high enough.

(I believe this has the fingerprints of Skyrim’s development on it-- Bethesda’s writers got nervous about doing another Paarthurnax choice involving the fan favorite Brotherhood of Steel. That’s right. Danse is the Paarthurnax of Fallout. Frankly, I understand why they chose not to go there, but damn, wouldn’t it have been wild? You want to run with the BoS? Then kill your friend and feel the burn. THIS is what it means to follow orders without question.

As for me, I’d pick Danse every time and sleep soundly without the company of shitty bootlicking dieselpunk LARPers- but I digress.)

Anyway, you know what would have REALLY been a copout? If the game asked you to make a difficult thematic storyline choice, and you solved the problem by just not choosing at all.

You are supposed to feel uncomfortable when Maxson orders you to kill Danse, because the game is telling a story about how it is maybe a bad thing to thoughtlessly follow orders without question. It is asking you to think about what the BoS is, what they are doing, and how they are going to run things, if you choose to let them “win” the Commonwealth. It is pointing out that there is no room for gray in the BoS’ black and white. That a good, loyal man may die because of the way he was made, through no action of his own. That soon, you’ll be killing other people on command. The Railroad. Fleeing Institute synths and scientists. Others, down the line. It all depends on who’s giving the orders. Are you going to follow those orders?

Eesh, that sounds thought-provoking and unpleasant and difficult! Let’s just skip it by killing Maxson and making ourselves the boss. Now we get to tell everybody else what to do!

It’s unknown what powers the Elder ending would have granted the player, or how it would have interacted with the other factions. There is speculation that you’d have been able to ease back on the BoS’ dogmatism, or change some of the later events of the game. For instance, perhaps you could talk the BoS down from attacking the Railroad, sparing popular characters like Glory and Deacon who must die in the normal BoS storyline. Perhaps you could have made the BoS a kinder, gentler faction and directed them to run the way you want them to.

If this was indeed the case, then the Elder ending would not only suck the gravitas out of BB, but torpedo the entire main plot.

If you can get rid of any and all downsides to siding with the BoS, why in the hell would players side with anybody else? With the player given total power, the BoS becomes a perfect faction with no drawbacks, no weaknesses, no tough decisions to be made. Screw slumming it with the Railroad or the Minutemen, let’s take over the BoS. Free power armor and a giant robot! Forget the whole intolerance thing, I hereby proclaim the BoS No Longer Problematic! Now to force all the factions to get along, completely removing all conflict and nuance from the plot!

That’s some real anticlimactic “tell Legate Lanius to go home and then he does it” bullshit right there. King Shit of Fuck Mountain!

Look, it might be nice if there was a perfect path like that to take through the game. It would be cool if our characters could be that powerful and the game was that tailored to our individual choices. On the other hand, “I change all the factions to suit my exact liking” might be a fun idea for a fanfic, but it’s an incredibly boring plot for a video game. “I get to make everything in the world exactly how I want it” is Minecraft, not a story-driven RPG with a complex and intricate plot.

It would be great if complex conflicts could really be solved that easily and effortlessly, but hey, you know what? War never changes.

3. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Literal)

Arthur Maxson’s death is too significant and fundamentally disastrous for the Elder ending to make any sense at all.

Hero, villain, leader, monster, tortured soul, brutal dictator, immature twerp, bearded sex hunk. However you personally interpret Arthur Maxson, there is no denying that he is a venerated, popular, beloved figure in the BoS. He is the blood heir of the organization’s founder, a powerful warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a charismatic negotiator. He is responsible for reuniting the East Coast BoS with the Outcasts, leading the new, stronger BoS with a sense of shared purpose. There is a damn good reason his name is Arthur and he named his ship The Prydwen, echoes of King Arthur and the legends of his glorious kingdom of Camelot. Arthur Maxson is so beloved that many view him as a demigod, a messiah sent to lead the BoS into a mighty and prosperous future.

So I’m sure nobody’s going to be upset when some wasteland jackass recruited a month ago stumbles in with a synth, kills him, and takes over his job. Right?

It doesn’t matter that it’s “honorable.” It doesn’t matter that it’s done “by the book” via obscure BoS rules. There is no codex or litany or rule so binding that it’s going to overcome the cult of personality around Maxson. There is no way that the BoS is going to accept the death of Arthur Maxson, a man whose reverence borders on worship, especially not when he is immediately replaced by a wastelander, or a synth.

The death of Arthur Maxson removes the unifying glue that’s been holding the BoS together since mending the rift with the Outcasts. Maxson’s death eliminates the one person that both sides of that conflict agreed could steer the organization in the right direction. Some level heads may try to keep the focus on the mission and the Brotherhood tenets, but Maxson loyalists will never forgive the new Elder for his death, and that amount of passionate righteous anger will not be quelled by appeals to the rules. The new Elder’s war on the Institute is basically over before it begins, when the forces splinter and start infighting over the change in leadership.

And this is if the new Elder lives long enough to actually give any orders. I give them around 24 hours after the duel before some angry Maxson loyalist “accidentally” pulls the trigger and “tragically” empties a clip into their back.

24 seconds, if it’s Elder Danse, the dirty synth abomination.

4. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Figurative)

The Elder ending of BB falsely pretends that Arthur Maxson is the biggest and only problem with the BoS.

In the Elder ending, as written, the conflict of BB is considered completely and totally solved by the death of Arthur Maxson. The core problem, that Danse is a synth and considered an enemy by the BoS, has not gone away. But by getting rid of Maxson, this apparently no longer matters. Nobody else is going to take offense to Danse’s nature or protest his presence. Nobody else is going to attack him or try to follow through with Maxson’s prior orders. Nope, that meanybutt guy who gave the order is gone, and everybody else is going to welcome Danse back into the fold like nothing ever happened.

I touched on this a little bit on an ask about Maxson a few weeks back, but a lot of people seem to believe that the FO4 Brotherhood of Steel is the way they are purely because of him. That he is the one making them treat non-humans as second class citizens at best, and enemies to be slaughtered at worst. That it’s his fault the BoS is so vehemently against synths and the Institute. That he is the one influencing their imperialistic tendencies, and treating the Commonwealth like territory to be conquered and people to be ruled over by their betters.

He’s not. That’s the Brotherhood of Steel, guys.

The charitable, altruistic, virtuous BoS that many of us met for the first time in FO3 were outliers. Lyons’ group was literally disowned by the rest of the faction because their kindness to wastelanders had gone so far astray from the “core” tenets. The BoS as a whole has always been exclusive, isolated, and seen themselves as “superior” to the average wastelander. They have long disliked or outright hated non-humans (and even Lyons’ BoS in FO3 use ghouls, feral or not, for “target practice” if they get too close!) The rigid dogmatism of the BoS is not something that Arthur Maxson started, but has always been part of their fabric.

Now, it’s true that Maxson is absolutely going hard on the BoS tenets, and extremely dedicated to upholding them. His BoS are the way they are and act the way they act because he believes that this is the way it should be. Is it possible that a different leader may be a little more flexible? Absolutely. Could a skilled Elder eventually show them the benefits of a softer approach and a more generous worldview? Totally. Is getting rid of Maxson and replacing him going to make that happen overnight, or going to make the rest of the BoS who supported him shrug and follow suit?

Nope.

Blaming Arthur Maxson for everything unsavory about the Brotherhood is unfair to him and also foolishly ignoring the deep, massive problems that are far older than he is-- problems that plenty of its members wholeheartedly believe are not problems at all. Getting rid of Maxson does not make the BoS kinder or gentler. Even pretending Maxson isn’t as personally beloved as he is, any new Elder who steps in and starts trying to fundamentally alter the way the BoS operates and what they believe in is going to face some major, immediate pushback.

Like, a full clip of bullets in the back type of pushback.

In the face if it’s Elder Danse, the godless freak of nature.

5. The Un-Redemption of Paladin Danse

Last, and my personal least favorite!

At first glance, Paladin Danse is a steely jackboot, a die-hard Brotherhood loyalist who fully and firmly believes in their cause. Many immediately dismiss him as a humorless brute, or completely ignore him because they think that’s all there is. But if you spend any time with Danse at all, you’ll notice a sort of weariness in him. He is tired, overworked, and his years of service are starting to weigh on him. He has watched friends, comrades, and mentors die in horrible and gruesome ways, and he suffers from PTSD. Though he has always been told that his own sacrifices, the sacrifices of his brothers and sisters have been” worth it,” he’s starting to question if that’s true.

After telling of the incident where he personally executed his best friend Cutler, who’d been turned into a super mutant, the Sole Survivor is able to console him:

Player Default: You did the right thing. Danse: {Somber} It's what I was taught. I don't know if it was right.

This line is an excellent summary of Danse’s entire character arc. He learns to question whether to believe what the Brotherhood has taught him, or to believe in himself. His gut feelings. His sense of justice and his own ideas of what’s right and wrong.

(In the interest of not turning this into an essay about Danse’s character, I won’t even get into how this also applies to his beliefs about his worth as a person. But keep in mind, that dimension is there, Danse just covers it up by making everything about the Brotherhood.)

During Blind Betrayal, after getting the orders to execute him and hearing Haylen’s plea for mercy, we may expect Danse to be ready to fight back or flee. But when you confront him in the bunker at Listening Post Bravo, he’s compliant and suicidal. Danse is so deeply poisoned by the BoS’ rhetoric that his own feelings or will to live don’t factor into the conversation. He demands that you follow your orders and execute him, because he believes, as the BoS does, that all synths are dangerous and must be destroyed.

Danse: {Stern} Synths can't be trusted. Machines were never meant to make their own decisions, they need to be controlled. Technology that's run amok is what brought the entire world to its knees and humanity to the brink of extinction.

{Confident} I need to be the example, not the exception.

Through various dialogue options, if your charisma is high enough, you are able to talk Danse off the ledge. He is able to consider, at least, that the BoS’ merciless judgment of him is wrong and that what he was taught isn’t right. He is a thinking, feeling, self-aware synth, and that makes him as much a person as any human. Danse is no danger to humanity-- and maybe, most synths aren’t either.

Danse is an example, not an exception.

Later on, if you manage to get him out of BB alive, Danse shows further acceptance of his nature. His approvals about synths begin to soften slightly (or many of them do, at least… it’s not perfect.) He is still struggling with his identity and reconciling it with his former hatred, but his dialogue suggests that he’s on the road to being more open-minded and understanding. Along with this, Danse learns that he has value as a person beyond the Brotherhood. He no longer needs to define himself with BoS beliefs or judge himself by how useful he is to them. He learns that he is worth caring about, worth being friends with or being loved because of who he is-- not what he is, in any regard.

[SIDENOTE: Many players, myself included, are frustrated that Danse’s arc leaves off sort of midstream there. Due to the open-ended nature of the game, we don’t get a real conclusion to his arc-- even though much of his idle dialogue doesn’t change and he still espouses pro-BoS sentiments ( an unfortunate by-product of writing for a video game) there is every indication that he’s started down the right path, but understandably has a ways to go.

Also, Peter Jessop agrees with us.]

Meanwhile, in the Elder ending, Danse doesn’t get a redemption. His entire character arc, actually, hits the skids and does a total 180.

He never leaves the BoS. So scratch the need for Danse to ever think about himself as separate from them. He never needs to question what they’ve taught him or whether they’re right or wrong. He never needs to find any worth in himself beyond his use to the BoS. Why would he? He might be the Elder. The BoS is all he needs to care about anymore. The BoS is all he ever needs to be, ever again.

And I think, most horrifying of all, this Danse never needs to change his mind about synths. On the contrary, one of the surviving dialogue files includes Danse’s speech to reassure the rest of the BoS of his stance:

Danse: I want to make one thing clear to everyone. This body might be synth, but my heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood. The Institute is still a tremendous threat to the Commonwealth. They possess technologies that need to be confiscated or destroyed. And even if that means I have to pull the trigger on my own kind, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.

Elder ending Danse doesn’t grow more understanding on the nature of synths. He doesn’t accept that synths are people, or anything more than technology run amok. He won’t even accept that for himself. Elder Maxson wasn’t wrong about synths-- they’re the enemy and they need to be destroyed.

But, see, he was wrong about Danse. It’s okay for Danse to exist in spite of his nature. It’s okay for him to never fully accept his own personhood, and to outright deny it to his kind. Because his body is a machine, but he’s different from the rest because his heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood.

He’s the exception, not the example.

CONCLUSION:

The Elder ending of Blind Betrayal is dumb, contrived, stakeless, character-derailing powergaming crap at its finest and I’ll happily dance on its grave.

People give Bethesda a lot a shit for their writing-- whether it be stuff they left out, stuff they left in, or stuff that they never, ever could have made work due to the limitations of writing for a video game. Plenty of it is well-deserved, or at least worth a discussion. But from the minute I found out about its existence, I have always wanted to extend a congratulations to Bethesda for cutting the alternate Elder ending of Blind Betrayal. It was a good choice. A very good choice to cut a very dumb plot that would have fundamentally altered the story they were telling, and characters that I’ve grown to love. I think the writers deserve some credit and a hearty handshake for the wisdom of this decision.

Now as for why Nick Valentine isn’t romanceable--