#was not expecting it at all dueing my playthrough

[energeticpoltergeist]

for once i draw something that isn't au related, but it's still bilingual Naesala propaganda this could also be considered in celebration of me beating Radiant Dawn yesterday, but this was drawn before that i just forgot to post it- just in case it isn't apparent, and since it is still unserious stuff, it's just the Ancient Tongue equivalent to the letter L he's holding

[lovinglokilaufeyson]

That’s What I Call Repressed Sexual Tension - A.A.

Pairings: Astarion x Fem!Reader (Paladin)

Warnings: 18+, Pining, Baldur’s Gate 3 Act I spoilers (I’ve only just now gotten to Act II), Smut (Sub!Reader x Dom!Astarion) – Fingering, P-in-V, Breast Fondling, NOT proofread, Astarion’s a bit of a perv – but still gentle, Fluff, Astarion is whipped (and calls you sickeningly sweet pet names), you’re kind of oblivious; I tried to make this as body-inclusive as I could, but still Fem!Reader

Wordcount: 4,230

Summary: You were nearly certain that you hated Astarion and Astarion hated you. Until one day, after battle, you decide to partake in a wash. So does Astarion, much to your surprise. The truth of yours and Astarion’s true feelings towards one another is revealed.

A/N: Hey guys, welcome to the new hyperfixation! Right now I’m doing a playthrough of BG3 and I’m OBSESSED with Astarion. I’ve also read quite a few stories on here, and felt the need to provide my own as well. Please let me know what you think! Expect to see more Astarion in the future on this page!

God, you loathed Astarion. Or so you thought.

He was a selfish, reckless, devious pig. And he knew it too.

Little did you know, Astarion’s behaviors were exacerbated due to, well, you. Obviously his aura of cocky arrogancy radiated regardless of who was around, but around you he felt the need to… cover, more. Secretly, he was quite smitten for you. But obviously, he didn’t need you to know that. You had just finished battling it out against the goblins, which had been a tiring battle. Now, you were headed back to Emerald Grove. “Darling, you know, you didn’t have to smite him. That was kind of a waste of energy for you” Astarion sauntered over, making a quip at you. “You know, Ass, we won, didn’t we? Does it even matter? We’re going back to camp now; I’ll be resting soon.”

Ass was the nickname that you had so lovingly given him one night after he had drunk from you for the first time. You woke up to find him leaning over you, fangs exposed, ready to press them against your neck. After you had willingly allowed him to continue, you woke up woozy and drowsy, almost unable to walk. He came to check on you, making fun of your trembling. “Wow, darling. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who got lucky last night.” He winked.

“Shove it, you ass.” You snapped back. “Eh, I’ve been called worse, I assure you.” “Well, say hello to your new nickname, Ass.” “Quite clever darling, it’s almost as if it’s a shortened ver-“ you cut him off. “You ever want a taste of my blood again, you shut your mouth.” He clamped his mouth shut almost instantaneously, his lips forming into an impressive pout.

Since that day, Astarion had been relatively whipped by you. The sight of you trembling, the actual kindness that you displayed towards him in allowing him his first taste of “thinking” blood. God, he would trade all of his meals just for a taste of your blood again. He hadn’t gotten a taste again, but he frequently inquired about the subject and whether or not you’d be willing to allow him to indulge yet again. The real reason he had even said anything about your energy level post-battle was due to the fact that he would prefer you to save your energy for other circumstances, namely him drinking your blood – or other things. Other, dirtier things.

The trek back to camp was long and tiring. But you were alive, and that was all that mattered. You had Karlach and Gale along with you as well, thankfully. So you weren’t alone with the vampire. Although, he would have preferred it that way. He was hoping that he would have a chance alone with you later in the evening. Typically, other members of the group would jump at the chance to simply be in your presence, so he rarely got the opportunity. Tonight would be different, he reassured himself.

You decided that this late afternoon would be a prime opportunity for a wash. You had slept for about an hour to regain your strength, and Shadowheart had used her magic to mend you. Of course, Astarion had kept a close eye on you to make sure you were alright. So, when you wandered off, Astarion followed. “She needs supervision” he had told the rest of the group. Then, he sauntered off after you, careful not to make his presence known. He was a stealthy one, that’s for sure, and it came in quite handy in situations like these.

The nearby pond was mostly still water, despite the glorious waterfall that fell from the rocks that formed above it, clearly streaming from a larger body of water nearby. The rocks were all fairly dark and gray. The pond itself had strikingly blue-green water, that was still clear mostly. There were spots where algae had developed and broken off, but the water still cleaned better than the majority that you had witnessed in your travels. This place had become your own personal spa, in a sense.

He watched from afar as you began to strip your clothing off. He hadn’t been able to make a full assessment on you yet, as he had only seen slivers of your bare skin between the top and the bottoms of your pajamas, although he always hoped to see more. And now, he was going to. Finally.

You began at the top, peeling the shirt from your bodice, revealing your bra underneath. It was a translucent-white, which effectively made Astarion’s breath hitch in his chest. He could have taken red, black, blue, whatever other color you desired. But – white? Gods, it made his mind wander. And his cock harden. He couldn’t help the way that you made him feel. He had spent too many nights alone in his tent, at least for his liking. Next to be revealed were your legs, which looked beautiful despite various scrapes, bruises and cuts scattered about them. His only wish now was to have them wrapped around him – anywhere and everywhere. Around his head, around his pelvis, around his legs as he cuddled you softly to sleep in his tent. Ran his hands through your locks. Kept on high alert – just in case. He always did, but it would feel more important if he had something so precious to protect.

Astarion’s daydreaming almost tore him from the sight in front of him. Almost. The next time he looked, you began removing your bra. “Oh Gods…” Astarion spoke, thankfully quietly enough to maintain the secrecy of his presence. Your breasts were no longer under their cover, and Astarion could hardly contain himself any longer. He cupped the bulge in his pants gently, he needed the slightest bit of friction in that area. The next to be revealed was your glorious heat, not entirely cleanly shaven, but clearly well-maintained.

It was within the next few minutes that you decided to indulge in the water, laying a towel out on a nearby rock for after your dip. He noticed you head towards the waterfall, your hips swaying generously for his eyes, and he almost let his focus falter.  Astarion then made the decision to make his move, sliding his shoes off, then stripping himself of his pants, shirt, and underwear. He also made the conscious decision to sneak your own clothes away from the towel you had to delicately laid out, perfectly upon the rock. Just because he was mildly infatuated with you, didn’t mean he would play nice. In fact, it made him want to play even rougher.

You were fairly oblivious to the rogue in the shade, currently your only focus was relishing in the waterfall and running your hands through your hair, combing it out gently with your fingernails. It was the most relaxed you had felt in the past 24 hours. Little did you know, a certain rogue had set his sights on you – hoping to relax you even further.

The water was lukewarm from basking in the sun for the majority of the day. Exotic flora surrounded the pond, making it look inviting and tropical. However, some of the plants could be deadly, which kept both yourself and Astarion from getting close to them. Astarion glided himself into the water, careful to maintain quiet and stealthy as to not alert you to his presence – yet. He glanced at your bottom again, taking it all in. Soon, he hoped you’d be all his. If everything went as planned.

The water barely covered Astarion’s pelvis as he floated over to you. His fingertips played along the surface of the water, taking in the beautiful scenery. It wasn’t often that Astarion was able to do so. But now, he felt relaxed, yet almost – nervous? For what was to come ahead. It wasn’t often that Astarion felt unnerved in this way. You just meant so much to him. And he didn’t want to lose that. He began to contemplate his current choices and whether or not this would end poorly for you both. Perhaps you would be enraged, forcing him out of the party and never to speak to you again. Perhaps you would denounce his desires and state that you longed for someone else.

To his surprise, you yelped and jumped, trying to cover yourself as much as possible. You had seen him. You hid behind the waterfall, sinking further and further into the wall of stone. You covered your bosom with your arms, much to Astarion’s disappointment. Astarion’s confidence rose again, approaching your form behind the waterfall. “No need to hide away, darling. It’s just me, after all” he tutted. By the time he had crept fully into the other, more secluded side of the waterfall, you had sunk into the water, on your knees now, merely your head poking out of the water. Your eyes looked up at him almost submissively, which nearly made his knees buckle in excitement.

“What are you doing here, Ass? How long have you been here?”

“Long enough, my sweet. Just out admiring the view, washing up, you know.” As much as Astarion longed to tower over you, he needed to get down to your level. He sank down himself, until his eyes were meeting yours, just above the surface of the water. You were always quick to spit back at Astarion, but given the nature of the situation, you simply couldn’t. Any thoughts that you had about snipping at him were completely and entirely blocked out of your consciousness. Instead, you uncertainly inquired “how much did you see?”

“Oh Gods, dear. I’ve seen everything.” His response made you shutter, although the smirk placed upon his lips led you to believe that he was indeed happy about this fact. You wondered why. “Let me help wash you, petal?” You shifted for a moment, pondering the possibility. Astarion had already seen all of you, hadn’t he? You wondered for a moment whether or not to decline. Maybe he was just trying to be helpful, you thought. Your mind raced through a variety of complex and simple possibilities, trying to track each one. Astarion caught on to this, merely catching your attention with a “dove?” “I- uhm- oo-kay” you responded slowly beginning to rise out of the water, and Astarion followed. You kept your arms firmly planted around your breasts, careful not to reveal yourself too much.

Astarion stood behind you, washing your back with handfuls of the waterfall that he so gently placed on your neck, shoulder blades, and spine. “Darling, you do know I have seen those breathtaking breasts of yours, correct?” You nodded hesitantly in response, still in moderate shock from the present situation. You thought you absolutely detested Astarion, and he you. But, here he was, helping you wash blood and dirt off of your back, so – intimately. You had been intimate with people before, however, this felt slightly different. And it felt different to Astarion as well, unbeknownst to you. Good different. Slowly, you began to drop your arms from your breasts. Astarion watched intently as your nipples were freed once more, it was pertinent that they were chilled from their prominence. “You know,” he whispered into your ear from behind “if you are scared of anyone happening to see them – I could hold them on your behalf.” Astarion’s voice sounded as if it was winking at you. Truthfully, now that Astarion was aware of how shell shocked you were, he knew he needed to be gentle with you. At least at first.

“Uhm – well I – uhm well sure” you managed to stutter out. “Good girl” Astarion whispered into your ear once more, bringing his hands to play with your nipples. You let out a soft mewl at the sensation. “Ooh, you like that, don’t you love?” Astarion teased, tutting his tongue again. You nodded feverishly, although this did not seem to please him. “Use your words, beautiful.” “Yes, I do Astarion. I-It feels g-good.”

Astarion’s hand molded and palmed your breasts, and he went to speak. However, you had beaten him to it. “Pl-lease m-more” you begged. He took one of his hands, bringing it down to your heat. You were nervous, as you were fairly sure you were embarrassingly wet down there, and your body began to reflect that. “Darling, why are you shaking? Please, don’t give in for my sake, I want you to want this.” Astarion spoke with more care than he ever had with you. You turned to face him “Ass, you fool, of course I want this…” you had built up confidence to divert back to his nickname, which he was glad for. But then you remembered the reasoning for your timidness. You were dripping. “I- just- well- I- I am really wet.” Your cheeks reddened as you spoke, you felt yourself sinking back into timidness in front of him, but you had nowhere to hide “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for your desires, doll. I’m more than thrilled that I have been able to bring this out of you. That I have this effect on you. I was terrified of your rejection, darling girl.” Given Astarion’s newfound openness his emotions with you drove your desire for him to new heights. Your next move was to pull him into your lips, your hand wrapped around his neck as you did so. As your lips landed on his, you felt a rush of adrenaline surge through your body. Your confidence built once more, using your teeth to pull on Astarion’s bottom lip before finally releasing it. You winked, while Astarion stood in awe of your previous actions, finally stating “you cheeky little pup.” He took this opportunity to grab your waist, picking you up and lifting you out of the water. You yelped, surprised at his action. You instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist. Astarion carried you over to where your towel lay, gently placing you down on it, then allowing himself to follow.

His leg hooked underneath you, and you willingly allowed it to push your legs apart so that he could hover between them. He leant down to place a gentle kiss upon your lips, which you welcomed. His lips were breathtakingly sweet and supple, you had felt them on your neck before, but that hardly amounted to the feeling you had now. Although his lips on your neck certainly did have the capacity to drive you mad. “Please Astarion, take me.” He wasn’t used to hearing the entirety of his name spoken from your lips. But it was a welcome thing to hear his full name fall from your lips. To know the full extent that you wanted him. Because he wanted you too. Desperately.

“Patience, my sweet.” He spoke, retreating from your form. You immediately tried to grab at him to pull him back, but then realized where he was headed. He tutted in response, speaking the word again “patience. Allow me to indulge in you.” Astarion’s lips peppered kisses along your upper thighs, before reaching his hands to assess the state of your heat. He used one hand to pull the folds of your labia apart, and the other to bring a finger to your clit. You were right, you were very, extremely wet. You whimper as his fingernail flicks across your clit. You tense, but his words bring you back down “relax, my dear.”

He spoke once more, this time with a proposition rather than a demand. “You can say no to this darling. But I would love to taste you, while I taste you.” “Huh?” For the first time, you were confused by Astarion’s words. “I would just place a little bite ‘here’ and ‘here’” he pressed into your inner thigh with two fingers, displaying where his fangs would penetrate your skin and release your sweet blood. “Then, I would drink from you while also sipping on your sweet nectar.” You nodded feverishly in response, eager for this stimulation that this would bring you. “Use your words, love.” Deviously, he placed his finger upon your clit, humming in contentment as he watched your body convulse in ecstasy in front of his eyes. “P-p-ple-ee-a-se.” You moaned out, barely able to make a single word out at this point. “I’m sorry, what was that dear? I couldn’t make that out.” “F-fuck y-you… t-te-ase.” “Oh, you will darling. You will. All in good time.”

“Bite me, Astarion. Plea-.” You finally gathered yourself together enough to state it, and you felt his fangs sink into you before you could even finish your sentence. You whimpered as he fed from your thigh, holding it down with one hand, the other arm resting on your opposite hip. Gods, you were delectable. You had brought your hands to tangle within his hair, gently massaging as he began. He suckled your skin, allowing him to intake more blood, but also causing your skin to latch closely to his tongue, where hundreds of blood vessels burst and petechiae formed, leaving a carmine-tinged love mark. A small “hmm” of pleasure left his lips as he pulled away, the circular marks that his teeth left were prominent, and bound to leave a mark. You felt woozy, similarly to the other times he had fed from you, but almost blissfully so this time. “Mmmm” the moan left your lips easily, flooding Astarion’s ears with pleasure. “You alright my love?” He peaked up at you, and you nodded. “Just a little lightheaded is all.”

“Alright, my sweet. If you need me to stop, just say the word.” You nodded as he brought his tongue to your clitoris, circling around it in a perfect spiral, suckling on it whilst savoring the taste of your sweetness. “Mmmm” you whimpered, which made Astarion’s instincts nearly feral in nature. He brought a hand to play inside of your heat, which was still rapturously wet for him. He started with one initially, and nearly moaned himself as he felt your walls clamp around just one finger. He began to imagine what it would be like to have your core wrapped around his throbbing member. Even though he had released it from his undergarments, he was still desperate from the friction only you could provide him with, the only thing that could give him relief. But right now wasn’t about him. It was very much about you, and him providing pleasure for you.

As if you could read his mind, you used his hair to pull him away from you. “Astarion, please, get inside me. Now.” You demanded. “Although you are in no position to make demands here, my sweet, I wholeheartedly agree with you.” “Yes, sir.” You agreed with him. In this particular position, Astarion was completely and utterly in control. And you think you liked it that way.

Astarion towered over you for a moment, analyzing every bit of your form. He let his eyes roam over your breasts, stomach, thighs, and then back to your slick core that ached for his entrance. And who was he to deny you such pleasure? He hovered over you once more, placing a quick yet compassionate kiss on your lips. His penis sat in between the folds of your labia, the member wettened from the contact. He grinded down ever so slightly, allowing pressure to be placed on your clitoris yet again. Then, with one swift movement, he slid back, and then within the muscular cavern of your vagina. “Fuck” you responded, you were ready for him, or so you thought. He was huge, and you weren’t sure the last time you had taken a lover. He held himself inside of you, his tip nestled against your cervix, waiting until he could proceed. “Gods darling, you’re so tight.” Astarion prompted. His pelvis pressed perfectly against yours, your thighs spread to make room for his shape.

Once your muscles had accommodated him, you looked up at him with dangerously innocent eyes and simply nodded. He took this as his sign to continue, sliding his length out of you slowly at first, and then pressing into you once again. “Mhhm” you moaned wantonly, writhing in delight. Astarion’s movements became more fluid, rocking his hips so that he moved in and out of you with ease.

You moaned over and over with his rhythm, and he pulled your legs over his shoulders, somehow enabling him to pound into you even deeper. Your core quenched around him, tightening around him even further. “Oh, sweetness. Can you take me inside of you?” He asked, and your response was a ferocious nod. “Please do” you whimpered. “Are you close, my love?” he asked, seemingly very concerned about you reaching climax together. “Mhmm love.” Astarion’s heart fluttered, knowing that you too, were close, and that the pet name he so loved throwing out could also be received.

After several more pumps inside of you, your muscles began to convulse, writhing around Astarion’s member, holding him more tightly than before. Your shaking released Astarion’s own pleasure, and he flooded your cavern with ropes of cum as you finished together. You moaned wantonly.

Astarion pulled out, allowing his fluids to begin dripping out of you. He placed a swift peck on your lips, then sliding next to you on the towel. “Gods, Astarion, that was phenomenal.”  You spoke as you were finally able to catch your breath. You turned to face him. He placed a hand on your cheek, using his thumb to rub gently. “Thank you darling. That was… amazing.” His crimson eyes stared into yours, analyzing every breath, every possible thought going through that beautiful mind of yours.

“Tell me, what’s on your mind, my sweet?” Astarion inquired softly. Even though the intimacy you two had shared was incredible, he was still scared of the feelings – or lack thereof – that you may harbor for him. “Gods, I just- I didn’t think that would ever happen.” Astarion looked at you with a puzzled face, so you clarified, responding “I thought you hated me, and to be honest, I thought I hated you too, from how much we bickered.” “Ohhh, darling” Astarion sounded exasperated. “That’s what I call ‘repressed sexual tension.’” You smacked your face into your hands out of embarrassment. “I suppose you’re probably right” you mumbled. Astarion pulled you back upwards, placing a kiss on your forehead. “You’re just fine, my love.”

Your stomach rumbled, indicating to you that it would be desiring to eat soon. Astarion pulled you towards him, wrapping an arm around your bodice so as to keep you warm. That, and he knew that your time, for now, would be coming to an end soon. “Someone’s famished from battle today?” He asked, and you nodded. “I am quite much so, yes.” He savored himself in one final kiss on your lips. “Well darling, as much as I would love to lay here forever with you, I know you need nourishment to recover from today.” He winked.

“Yeah, yeah. One last thing before we go?” Astarion nodded, ushering you for your question. “What exactly are we?” You inquired. Your feelings were so jumbled you didn’t know what to think regarding the whole situation and where you were to stand with Astarion now. Was this just a once-off? What did he want from this? “Well, I had hoped that me marking you as mine would assert where I stand on the subject. I want you, in every sense of the word, my dear.” As he finished speaking, you had a giddy grin placed upon your mouth. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” You almost shrieked in excitement, but then decided to restrain yourself. You were adorable. Truly. “Will you come to my tent tonight, after everyone has fallen into slumber?” Astarion asked. “As much as I would love that, I’m really worn out from today, and I don’t know if I could-“ he cut you off “just for a cuddle, my love.” You nodded in response to this.

You began to rise, moving your hands around you, trying to find your clothing that was scattered by your towel. “Ass, where the hell are my clothes?” You turned to look at him, and he merely looked at you with a cheeky, blushed look on his face. “I can’t tell you it wasn’t me.” He winked. “Come on, please…” you begged. “They’re by mine, over by that rock over there.” He gestured to the rock that he had hidden behind. Astarion got up as well, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around your figures as you waltzed over to the rock and began to dress yourselves, Astarion taking extra time to admire you.

You walked back to camp, and Astarion shortly after. You didn’t want to make things so dreadfully obvious to your companions. The regular bickering commenced shortly after. But only you two knew what truly happened behind closed doors. Astarion finally had you, and that was like a dream to him. As he was unwinding for the night, and the stars had settled in the sky, he heard footsteps approaching his tent and your whisper, stating “Hey, love, I think everyone’s gone off to bed.” He eagerly approached the curtain, revealing your beauty behind it. “Come in, please, my darling.” Astarion was happier than he had been in 200 years, as long as he was with you.

[rainstormwrite]

The new update is now public.

Hello again, people!

That's it. This is the day.

The new update is now public.

(You're required to start a new playthrough if you don't want any game-breaking bugs, by the way.)

What's done:

All three routes are finished.

All the POVs are rewritten to be in the third person (they actually feel way better than I thought they would be).

Some parts of the first fight scene are fixed and clarified.

Some pronoun bugs are fixed.

What's planned:

…

Writing another update, obviously.

Word count:

Including command lines: 271245 Excluding command lines: 260837

But, I would ask you to temper your expectations in terms of the new content's single playthrough length. I'm going to paraphrase this from my previous post: the actual amount of content that was added with this new update is somewhere between 15 to 25 pages (approximately).

Even though the word count increased from 53k to 260k, the only event to happen in this update is one conversation/confrontation (ridiculous, I know). This is primarily due to the overwhelming amount of variable text that changes depending on your earlier choices and due to the number of routes you can take. If you're interested in the reasons for me to decide to do that, check out my previous post.

So, basically, each reader will experience the new content very differently but may not get as much satisfaction due to its shortness. If that is the case, I can only suggest you make another playthrough with different choices, but, if that's not your cup of tea, I would totally understand. But, overall, the game is very… how do I put it..? Multiple-playthroughs-friendly, I'd say.

Safe to say, the update will be incredibly polarizing, no doubt, but I'm always open to feedback.

And, even though I haven't found any bugs or inconsistencies, I am obviously aware that someone else may find them, so, if you are that someone, please report the bugs to me.

I think that's all regarding the update itself, so go ahead and play it. Hope you will like it!

PLAY THE UPDATE

Now, onto other interesting things…

From this point onward, I'm starting to take writing seriously, and that's why I've finally decided to open my Patreon page.

I've made a free introductory post there that explains what I'll be offering, but, right off the bat, I want to tell you that I can't offer you things that other creators are usually offering: Q&As and What-if scenarios. If we're talking about Q&As, I don't want to do them because I consider mystery to be a big part of my work, so I don't really want to wiggle around every question that people will ask me because it won't be fair to them and won't feel good to me. As for What-if scenarios, I don't want to write out some hypothetical scenarios when I can spend that time to progress the plot forward in the actual story. And, trust me, if I'm going to spread my attention too thin, I'm never going to finish this project… And I don't think you and I want that.

What I will provide, however, are progress updates, sneak peeks, early access, and monthly side stories, which the community will be able to choose by voting.

So, I'd advise you to read through the new update first, decide whether you're willing to put up with my approach to the content, and then consider subscribing if what I offer on Patreon is enough for you. If, after all that, you decide to become a member, I'll be very grateful to you. If not, I will still appreciate you being interested in my work and taking the time to read through it.

Thanks for tuning in, and have a pleasant day or a peaceful night!

[wretchedelights]

A Spoiler-Free Guide to Dodging Marazhai's Romance Bugs

This info is based on the state of the game as of Hotfix 1.0.89. A lot of this will hopefully become irrelevant as Owlcat puts out more patches.

EDIT 10/01/2024 // 8PM ET - clarify companion quest info, correct info about post-recruitment scene, and add missing known bug info about doin the dirty for the first time

EDIT 11/01/2024 // 2PM ET - further changes to info about post-recruitment scene

I've seen a lot of people struggling to successfully romance Marazhai in Owlcat's Rogue Trader CRPG, due to Owlcat continuing their time-honored tradition of launching their games with an obscene amount of bugs.

After a lot of troubleshooting, I was able to successfully finish a sub!Marazhai romance with the "good" romance ending, and I ended up having a pretty good grasp on how the whole thing works. So I thought I'd share what I've learned to save others the trouble. This info should be good for both sub!Marazhai and dom!Marazhai.

Toybox

If you don't have it already, Toybox is highly recommended. You can get it on Nexus Mods. It will help you make sure things are progressing as expected, and fix some things if they get messed up. However, it's not necessary at this point if you're careful, the only thing you need it for is to fix some flags to get some really minor extra dialog.

If you choose to use toybox, you can see the tree + flags for the dialog you're currently in by clicking the "Dialog & NPCs" tab. You can also make flags show up directly in the dialog boxes in game with the "Preview" settings in the main tab. "Dialog Results" will show changes to flags + etudes that will happen if you choose a given dialog option. "Dialog Conditions" will show the conditions required for a dialog options to show. I kept both checked for my whole playthrough for peace of mind.

Flags/Etudes

There are some toybox flags + etudes that are important to Marazhai's romance. (flags are just values like true/false/a number, etudes are... properties set based on flags I guess? idk exactly). You can browse etudes in a tree structure in the "etudes" tab. If you need to change the value of a flag, do that in the "Search 'n Pick" tab.

Etude - Romances >> Marazhai should be flagged as "Active". If it says "Completed", something has gone wrong.

Etude - Romances >> Marazhai >> Counters >> Domination and Romances >> Marazhai >> Counters >> Submission. These determine Marazhai's attitude. If "Domination" is "Active", you get dom!Marazhai, if "Submission" is "Active", you get sub!Marazhai. You have to stick to one or the other, or Marz will be unhappy with you.

Flag - Ascention. This flag needs to be, I believe, minimum 4 by the time you get his final romance scene in Act 5 to get the "good" romance ending. It's pretty easy to get Ascention points as long as you play along with Marazhai, respect his uh... culture, and stick to your dom/sub role.

Etudes - Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Domination and Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Submission. You can safely ignore these, they don't actually affect the romance as far as I can tell :)

Regarding Marazhai's Companion Quest

Doing the sub!Marazhai route will lock you out of a certain outcome for Marazhai's companion quest. I don't think this is a bug, because narratively, it makes a lot of sense that this happens. However, the outcome you get locked out of could be considered the "ideal" outcome (though I also think this is debatable, and I was happy with my outcome/ending for my sub! Marazhai). You can get a good romance ending regardless of the outcome of this quest.

The flag related to Marazhai's personal quest is called TempestCounter, and you need it at 5+ for the "ideal" outcome. All TempestCounter points are based on whether Marazhai's dom or sub etude is active, outside of the points you get from the errand mentioned below. dom!Marazhai adds points, sub!Marazhai removes points. Which is why sub!Marazhai locks you out of an outcome.

Act 3 - Post Recruitment Scene

There are two versions of Marzipan's post-recruitment scene. The "Normal" version currently has a bug with dom/sub points, but you can work around it.

Normal - this is what most people see. There is an opportunity to get a dom or sub point in this dialog, but it's bugged so they're flipped. If you want your RT to be dom, pick the sub-y dialog option, and if you want your RT to be sub, pick the dom-y option.

Dogmatic party members starting drama - There's some confusion about what exactly triggers this. My recommendation to get this version of the scene: make sure you recruit Ulfar before you recruit Marazhai, and if you have Argenta and/or Heinrix with you for the Act 3 location, make sure you put them back in your party ASAP (they will get temporarily removed from it), so that they're with you for the event where you recruit Marazhai. To be safe, bring one of Argenta and/or Heinrix with you for Act 3. This dialog also has an opportunity for a dom or sub point, and is not currently bugged. ALSO it unlocks an errand that will lead to a little bit of extra dialog, and potential TempestCounter points.

Act 3 - Marazhai's Possessions

You'll get an act 3 companion quest for Marazhai where he asks you to help find some stuff he has stashed away. Eventually, you find a specific item he's very excited about. Make sure you let him keep this item. There's also an opportunity to get a dom or sub point here, but the flags are flipped again. So like last time, if you want your RT to be dom, pick the sub-y dialog, and if you want to be sub, pick the dom-y dialog.

Congratulations, this is the last flipped dom/sub flag situation you need to worry about! (at least, I'm not aware of any others)

***Also MILD SPOILER WARNING due to flag name***

I guess this is really only a spoiler if you're familiar with 40k lore but... anyways... This scene should probably start etude MarTookAgonizer, and should also probably start either PlayerTriedAgonizer or PlayerTriedAgonizerOnMar (depending on what you did). Start the appriate etudes manually for some fun little bits of bonus dialog later :)

***END SPOILER***

Act 4 - First Void Jump With Marz

In act 4, during you first void jump with Marazhai, he'll cause... problems. You'll ultimately have 3 ways to deal with this:

Let him do whatever tf he wants. Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Domination to active. Currently bugged, prevents completing the quest associated with this event and prevents romance progression.

Compromise? Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> Sybarite to active. Confirmed to work for both dom!Marazhai and sub!Marazhai romance paths

Lock him up. Sets Companions >> Marazhai >> Marazhai_States >> submission to active. Immediately breaks the romance. Used to work with romance, but according to patch notes was causing Big Bugs so it just ends the romance now. It should get restored in a future patch, but for now, DO NOT PICK THIS.

Act 4 - Sleeping with Marz the First Time

There is a known bug where after you sleep with Marazhai for the first time after going for a "walk", you get dom!Marazhai flavoured dialog no matter what. The sub!Marazhai flavoured dialog for this doesn't even seem to be in the game. So... nothing you can do about it, but it won't break your romance. It will just seem a bit off if you've been doing the sub!Marazhai route.

Side Content - Equipping Super Cursed Item

This doesn't affect the actual romance in any way, but it's a bug you can experience if you have an active romance with Marazhai. There's a side planet where you can loot a SUPER cursed item, that warns you that you won't be able to take if off if you equip it. If you try to equip it anyway with romanced Marazhai in the party, you'll get a special interaction with him over it. Unfortunately, it's bugged, and as a result the item will be stuck on your character but with providing any benefits, so it effectively just removes one of your equipment slots, which is super annoying. Do recommend saving and then trying to equip the item just to see the scene though :)

Companion Quest Journal Bugs

You may notice Marazhai's optional Act 3 errand and his Act 4 companion quest not getting removed from the quest log. Don't stress it - if you've done what's required by them, you're good. The quest/errand is done, the journal entry is just stuck because it's bugged.

End

Aaaand that's pretty much it! There used to be a few other bugs affecting Marazhai's romance but they've since been patched. Now it's mostly a few issues early on, and then smooth sailing once you get past those.

General, non-bug-related tips for succesfful romance:

Don't be a coward, Marazhai respects wholeheartedly embracing Drukhari culture and will break things off if you don't

Stick to your established dom or sub role

Play along with Marazhai's shenanigans

Keep in mind that you really can't be a good person while completing this romance path

If you have any questions or need clarification on anything don't be afraid to ask! I'll do my best to help.

[lipstickchainsaw]

What do you think about the Fury and the respective routes that you can take to her (Tower, Adversary)? In my playthrough I got her through the tower and was subsequently a little disappointed at Adversary's take (probably since I was expecting a little bit of variation due to the absence of godhood)

And, if you have time, what do you think of the Apotheosis?

Well, this one's been waiting in my inbox for a while, so let's get to it.

The thing about the Fury is that she is defined primarily by a great identity crisis, having a certain identity/role established at the end of Chapter 1 and then having it totally denied over the course of Chapter 2. Yes, the Tower and Adversary are very different, and the way you deny them are different, but the result of that is remarkably similar, so let's have a look!

(I'll talk about the Apotheosis in a reblog.)

I, too, got to the Fury via the Tower the first time, so let's start there. The Tower is a Princess defined by your attempt and subsequent absolute failure to slay her. Your perception of her is that of someone impossible to lay a finger on, so why even bother, and the role she grows to fill to meet that perception is of a god.

And your inability to resist her extends even to your choices in the Tower, because she can outright overrule or preempt your choices in a way no other Princess can, even taking control of the Narrator. It's how she defines herself, and being joined by the Broken only further enhances this.

And then you defy her anyway. You go right against what she demands of you, defy her even as you stab yourself at her command to cut her heel, to draw blood. This sullies her image to such an extent that it causes a mental break, because this shouldn't be possible. You should be a broken simp worshipping her at her feet, freeing her from her bonds in the culmination of her being as a god, and instead, here you are, plunging your blade into a god's heart.

So the Fury ends up looking the way she does, her flesh torn, her perfect image clearly sullied and corrupted, her heart open for all to see. At the same time, this incongruence between the two roles your perception might've made her fill (and the tension between the Broken and the Stubborn), the thing that's making her have this mental break, also leaves her tapping into some genuinely incredible power, basically insta-killing you no matter what you try, pissed off as she is.

Taking the Adversary route to get here, the connotations are obviously different. It is, as you mentioned, missing the divine element, but crucially, the Adversary is also defined by one very simple thing: you both fighting to the death and clearly enjoying it.

She outright says, as she dies in Chapter 1, that doing this was 'fun'.

So when you meet her again, her sole purpose in life, the one thing she wants and cares about, is fighting to the death. If you give her this, everything is fine, and she reaches the culmination of her reason for being, and it is glorious.

However, you can turn this desire to ash, either by talking to her and force her to think about her circumstances, or by turning this glorious desire into a horror show as you keep getting up despite your, uh, face being gone (which is fun, I definitely recommend doing this once).

And here, too, the Fury is an identity crisis. All her muscles, all the power you imbued her with in Chapter 2 were useless, so you see her tear her skin off, tearing the chain binding her (to her role, her position with this entire set-up) off along with it. She still wants to fight and kill you, but instead of being glorious, it's now turned bitter and hateful, and she can't even use physical violence to satisfy this urge, so, in her frustration, she just rips you apart with her grander power as she comes unshackled.

In short, by forcing either Adversary or Tower to go against her initial nature, you break a bit of the greater system operating behind the scenes, and let her tap into some of the Shifting Mound's power to break you, right before the Shifting Mound claims her.

(Also, I compared the Adversary's lust for violence to sex, and I think you can apply some of this to the Tower, too (literally worshipping the domme 'goddess'), which makes the Fury the result of orgasm denial. You're welcome.)

[ash-arts-a-thing]

Chapter 6 event notes are finally here.

Sorry this took so long, it seems this was the chapter people were most excited for, but it’s finally finished. I didn’t have a beta reader this time so I hope they’re still okay.

[Character Notes] [Chapters 1-3] [Chapters 4&5]

Specter Carlo AU Chapter 6

• Upon entering Rosa Isabella Street in a lie playthrough Gemini will still have his regular dialogue, but there will also now be new dialogue with Carlo.

Carlo: “The Opera House, huh? My… friend, loved the Opera House. He was big into theatre.”

Gemini: “He was? Did you two ever go there together? What were the shows like?!”

Carlo: “We… We never got the chance to go.”

Gemini: “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Carlo: “Don’t worry about it. Please.”

• The White Lady will not be aware of Carlo.

• Upon the White Lady’s death Carlo will comment: “What a waste. She had such a beautiful voice when she was still able to sing.”

• Julien will not be aware of Carlo.

• Carlo will have different dialogue depending on whether Julien was lied to or not:

Truth: “Would it have killed you to show the guy a little compassion? Puppet or not, he seemed to really love his wife.”

Lie: “Do you think a human and a puppet can really have a relationship like that? Hmm… whatever makes them happy.”

• Carlo will be unable to comment while Pinocchio travels up the road toward the Opera House due to the over abundance of fire.

• Upon entering the Opera House, Carlo will be as active as he was at Krat Grand Central Station in the floors reflections, though the inconsistencies from Chapter 1 will be far more obvious rather than subtle

• The first thing Carlo will say, when he gets the chance to, is about the Mad Clown that Pinocchio had just defeated, “I don’t know what was going through their heads when they designed that because that is NOT child friendly.”

• Once Pinocchio is first inflicted with disrupt Carlo will comment: “Be more cautious with the puppets around here, a lot of them have ergo disrupting attacks. Getting hit with those feels… bad, to say the least.”

• After defeating the first opera spider Carlo will comment: “I think this might be my least favourite puppet design.” If it’s a truth playthrough he will add: “Hmmm… maybe my second least favourite.”

• Adelina is not aware of Carlo, her dialogue remains unchanged, thought he will comment on her both after talking to her the first time and if she is given the apple.

• After the first conversation Carlo will say “Isn’t… this who the White Lady was talking about? She thought Adelina…”

• If Adelina was given the apple Carlo will say, “Hope she enjoys that. I don’t think there’s another apple left in all of Krat at this point.”

• If Adelina is not given the apple Carlo will say, “I’m pretty sure you don’t eat so what on earth are you saving that for. Just give her the damn fruit.”

• Carlo will have new dialogue options before fighting Romeo

These dialogue options are:

“Would you ever go to a show here?”

Carlo: “If that’s what my friend wanted, and we had the money to, I would’ve gone with him without hesitation.”

“How can disruption hurt so much?”

Carlo: “Something to do with you ergo, I’m not the best when it comes to explaining this stuff. I just know that whatever was disrupting you could disrupt me too and it did not feel good.”

“Tell me about this boss.” (He will have multiple responses to this.)

1. [Truth] “Not sure what you expect me to tell you that you don’t already know because I don’t know jack about this thing.”

2. [Lies] “Your guess is as good as mine, so keep your guard up.”

3. [Truth] “It’s bigger than you, I’m sure.”

4. [Lies] “it’s probably going to try to throw you around like that giant cop puppet. Make sure your healed up before we go in.”

5. [Lies] “I wish this wasn’t the reason I was able to visit here for the first time.”

Battle dialogue for phase 1: King of Puppets:

1. “I didn’t like the look of that play. [Lies] It felt like a threat… or a warning.”

2. “That voice…”

3. “Wait- No I have to be hearing things.”

4. “No it can’t be him-!”

Battle dialogue for phase 2: Romeo:

• Note that Carlo will refuse to fight during phase 2, if Romeo targets him Carlo will only block.

1. “Romeo!”

2. “Please, you have to stop this- we’re not the enemy!”

3. “Don’t hurt him!” (Whether he’s talking to Romeo or P can be taken either way depending on the playthrough)

4. “Romeo you can’t keep this up, please I can’t lose you again!”

• Upon defeating Romeo a short in game cutscene will play, Romeo will drop to his knees and Carlo will rush to his side. They will then have the following dialogue:

Romeo: “You’re just as strong as I remember you being, my heart. A truly unstoppable force, you and your new puppet friend. I’m sorry it took me this long to come to my senses.”

Carlo: “Did you see yourself? You were quite literally on fire. (Carlo forces a laugh) Now let’s just… let’s get you back to the hotel. We can get you fixed up there.”

Romeo: “Oh Carlo, I don’t know if I can make it that far, you might have to- ugh- put me out of my misery.”

Carlo: “Don’t talk like that! As long as he helps us we’ll make it! He has to help us- I- please. He’s all I have left.”

• Pinocchio will now have the option to either spare or kill Romeo.

• This choice will have the most drastic consequences of the playthrough as it will cement the way Carlo views Pinocchio for the rest of the game.

• Depending on the choice a different cutscene will play out for both scenarios.

[Kill]

Pinocchio will approach the duo, blade at the ready to strike Romeo down. The tip of Pinocchio’s blade will be raised to rest upon the center of his chest, the light ‘tink’ of metal against metal could be heard for miles in the quiet of the room. Carlo will exclaim, “No! What’re you doing?! We can make it back to the Hotel, just help me get him there, please! Please!!!”

Carlo will then attempt to push Pinocchio’s blade away, but since he is the Specter his hand will harmlessly pass through the blade.

Romeo will place his hand on Carlo’s shoulder before calmly saying, “My heart, it’s okay, it’s better this way. I’ve already hurt both you and your friend, I don’t know what I’d do if I some how… killed you again.”

Carlo will then spit back, “Screw this puppet! If he kills you he’ll never be considered my ‘friend’! In fact, I’d go as far to call him a dead man!”

Romeo will get serious, his face stern as he firmly replies, “Do not hold it against him. You and I both know this is for the best.”

Carlo won’t reply, instead choosing to firmly press his lips to his boyfriends one last time. The kiss will hold for a few seconds before Romeo gasps, Pinocchio’s blade sinking into his chest far enough to pierce through his back.

Romeo will quickly go slack, sliding lifelessly off the blade before hitting the floor with a loud metallic thunk. Carlo will stare in stunned silence for a few seconds before a scream of ‘no’ will be ripped from him. If he were human, the scream would’ve caused enough strain on his vocals to draw blood. Rather than throwing himself on Romeo’s body before he vanishes, Carlo will snap to look up at Pinocchio, eyes red and waves of energy flaring off his body as he stands.

Carlo’s hands will be shaking at his sides as he hisses through clenched teeth, “You. I’ll KILL you!!”

As he lunges for Pinocchio, hands raised and aiming for the puppets neck, Carlo will vanish just as the tips of his fingers would make an attempt at contact at fair skin.

Pinocchio is then left alone as the scream of fury rings through theatre.

[Spare]

Pinocchio will approach the duo, blade at his side as he kneels in front of Romeo. His gaze will snap to Carlo as the Specter speaks, “Please. I don’t know if it will even mean anything to you, but I-,” Carlo will look to Romeo briefly before looking back, face certain and voice confident, “I love him more than life itself.”

At that Pinocchio will blink and tilt his head slightly before his gaze once again lands on Romeo. A beat will pass before he repositions his weapon in his hand, holding the majority of its handle out to Carlo. Carlo will look between him and blade before hesitantly taking it from Pinocchio’s hand.

Pinocchio will then position himself to help the other puppet up, using his legion arm to throw Romeo’s arm over his shoulders and positioning his human arm around the others waist to steady him.

Clenching his teeth and grunting in pain, Romeo will finally speak up, “Are you sure you can do this? I don’t want to slow you two down.”

Pinocchio will remain unfazed, having more than enough strength to flat out just carry Romeo. In response to the question he will nod.

Another hiss of pain, “Alright. Thank you.”

Carlo will release a shaky exhale, taking the lead in front of the two in order to fend off anything that might get in their way. Romeo will strain a laugh, saying, “I know he’ll say it later, but he’s very grateful, trust me. That’s the most emotion I’ve seen from in… quite some time.”

The scene will fade as they make their way out of the theatre doors.

From here notes will be more heavily separated between lie and truth playthroughs as the dialogue differences and interactions between Pinocchio and Carlo will be much more numerous.

[Truth]

• If Pinocchio has chosen to kill Romeo, the rest of the chapter will play out as normal. Carlo will not comment again until returning to the hotel.

• Dialogue from Gepetto, as well as everyone else in the Hotel, will remain unchanged.

• Carlo will have new, and much more hostile dialogue, when spoken to at the mirror.

These dialogue options are:

“Are you okay?“

Carlo: “Don’t you dare ask me if I’m okay. You’re lucky I can’t get my hands on you because if I could I would rip that heart right out of your chest and watch as the light leaves those glass eyes of yours.”

“I’m sorry.”

Carlo: “No. You arent. You’re programmed to think you are and even if you were actually sorry… it isn’t going to bring back the one thing that made my life worth living.”

“What are you thinking about?”

1. “Im thinking about how great it would be if you got the hell away from me.”

2. “Why do you care? Why don’t you go suck up to that bag of dust you call a ‘father’ instead of pestering me.”

3. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you. Just you wait.”

4. “I wanted it to rain again but… whatever. Leave me alone.”

[Lies]

[Optional]

•There is an optional moment where the player will play as Carlo, he will help lead Pinocchio and Romeo through Krat to reach the hotel.

• Pinocchio and Romeo will act as followers in this scenario and will have seperate walking animations depending on speed.

Walking: Romeo will walk while leaning against Pinocchio.

Jogging: Pinocchio will be stabilizing Romeo as he leans more heavily against P.

Sprinting: Pinocchio will have no choice but to just pick Romeo up and carry him to keep up.

• Since Carlo does not have a legion arm himself using the legion button will cause Pinocchio to use whatever arm he has equipped to help if needed.

• There will not be any mini bosses, but there will be more minor enemies than when passed through with Pinocchio

• Upong returning to the hotel, with Carlo and Romeo in Pinocchio’s company, the next time he talks to Gepetto will be more of a confrontation between him and Carlo

• The father and son will bicker back and forth while Romeo and Pinocchio watch

Gepetto: “Ah, my son, you’ve returned. I trust that… you…”

Carlo: “Hello, ‘father’.

Gepetto: “Carlo? How can you-“

Carlo: “The better question is: how can YOU? How can you go around calling that puppet your son? How can you suddenly act like you care even the SLIGHTEST bit about me OR him?!

Gepetto: “Just let me-“

Carlo: “No! I don’t want to hear it! All you’ve done is use him to do your dirty work and what’s worse, you tried to have him kill Romeo! You knew how much he meant to me and you STILL tried to have him killed and on top of that you… Look at what you did to him.”

Gepetto: “Destroying him would have been for the greater good-“

Carlo: “The greater good? My ass for the greater good! You only chose killing him over any other option because you knew how close we were.”

Gepetto: “You don’t know-“

Carlo: “I know enough. I’m out of here.”

Carlo will then storm off, the sound of him stomping down the hall and finishing with the sound of Pinoccchio’s bedroom door slamming shut.

• Carlo can be found in Pinocchio’s room until the next time P leaves Hotel Krat.

• Romeo will be taken to Eugénie where he will recieve repairs throughout the rest of game.

Talking to Carlo again before leaving will yield more dialogue options:

“Are you okay?”

Carlo: “… I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, I’ll get over it. Shrugging off my father has become second nature to me at this point.”

“Gepetto is your father?”

Carlo: “I should’ve told you sooner, but can you blame me? You were pretty much made to be my replacement or something. All those years I was left to rot in that hole… at least two good things came from it though. Something about Sophia is… off though.”

“Will Romeo be okay?”

Carlo: “Romeo is stronger than he looks. I bet by this time tomorrow he’ll be walking around like nothing happened, heheh… At least, I hope he is.”

“What are you thinking about?”

1. “It’s… really good to have Romeo back. I wasn’t expecting to ever see him again.”

2. “Sophia is going to be surprised to see Romeo and I again, it’ll be nice to talk to her.”

3. “I wonder if can play the piano with this body, maybe I can finally give you that show I promised.”

4. “I my favourite book is still downstairs. I never get tired of reading the story of Pinocchio, you should read it sometime.”

Most of the Hotel residents will also have something to say about Romeo and Carlo:

Antonia: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen those boys. It’s good to be able to see them again, even in the states they’re currently in.”

Eugénie: “Don’t worry, Romeo is in good hands with me and Venigni, we’ll make sure he gets patched up. His friend is welcome to come oversee his repairs anytime. Carlo was his name, right?”

Gepetto: “Please, leave me be, son. You have much more work to do in Krat.”

Venigni: “Ah, so good to see young Carlo and his ‘friend’ again. He deserved so much better than what happened to him, it’s good to see he’ll have a second chance.”

Polendena: “Master Carlo has changed in many ways since we’ve last met and yet, he’s stayed the same in some ways as well. I’m sure he and Romeo will fit in nicely at the Hotel.”

Sophia: “They’ve both changed so much, but I suppose I have too. It will be nice to have a chance to talk to them again, thank you for bringing them both back.”

• Even if Carlo isn’t spoken to before P leaves he can be recruited as a follower, a prompt will ask if P wants to bring him along.

• Carlo will head back to the hotel before his health can hit zero, once he heads back he’ll have to be recruited again.

• He will act pretty much the same as he does in boss fights, but he will only attack something that is actively trying to harm P rather than running off to fight whatever he sees.

• If P doesn’t see an item Carlo has a chance to point it out to him or he will ask to get it himself to which he will either stay with P or run off the grab it.

• Carlo will have his own weapon that will change every chapter like with regular boss fights, but if he is acting as a follower it’s possible to change it through P’s inventory.

[kaledya]

Exactly ! This is why I use the three-boss phases fight metaphor and I think this is almost an obligation because both Constantine and Lolicia are a mess with emotions but not in the same way... ah ! I can't wait ! But its not for now !

_

Good to know! I'm happy you like the idea. It will help the character grow but it will come also later. I think it will be in the middle of the second boss phases slowburn of Constantine and Lolicia... I think end of season 2 or 3 ? Because Serenity come in season 2 ! Will see but its in the back of my head for sure 🌸

_

I like the idea of Constantine and Serenity bounding over something the others (the most important people for them) don't know about. Like a well cared secret.

And i know it can be tricky to do with only the point of vue I have right now BUT ! (Héhé) BUT between the episode 3 and 4 I will make a special editions of short stories that happened meanwhile episode 1 and 2 and some of the past of characters who are not main like (Azrael, Abaddon (my OC), the Vees, the pets, Constantine, Serenity and Eve/Roo)  it will help open new horizons ! Because its a collection of short stories it will help me to well prepared the episode 4  and dont rush things ! We love nice developped characters! And some songs some musical perhaps and inspiration from your animatics!

_

I'm not made for games but I saw a playthroughs with a bard its great. My favorite character are female Drow cause Drow lore is amazing ! Ah ! Love it.

Don't worry for what Gale said ! He said a lot of things anyways !

_

I'm so very excited to see all the drawings en scenes en everything you will draw about the fanfic!! But exams first. Me and my fanfic will go nowhere, I'm patient and I'm not expecting you to do anything at first, I'm just enjoying when you say you will.

But. Exams. First. Exams have a due date not me. Ahah.

And dont worry, writing is literally my air and passion. My rhythm is exactly as I like and I actually don't look at the numbers but I'm happy people read it. A bunch of faithful readers is always nice to have even if its not plenty. Don't worry for anything !

_

Also the meal I've been served !! I made it ! I made the Constantine/Serenity/Lolicia drawings ! 🌸 I was just like, "i need to do this". I really hope I didn't screw it because I always struggle with colors in general and I didn't want to destroy the faces of your OCs. I was looking at the references like crazy

"This is the shape of his horns ? Okay. Is it yellow, green, red ? So about the tail... OMG LONG HAIR" that was me. Ahah.

I hope the picture is nice quality enough, its not tell me and I will make another or larger or something. I didn't put my watermark cause its yours, you can do what you like with it!

_

Thank you ! Will write well !🌸🌸🌸 _

Ahah ! I'm happy you like Narrator ! I didn't expect you do ! He's just t so... so him ahah. But I love him too. But he is insane. I have a short story with him and Constantine and they talk about anatomy and names. It will be funny ! I'm just so excited to see the drawings you will have with him ! And yes the Kilij, ah ! Turks peoples have so many beautiful weapons with jewelry on it its just *kiss* perfect !  And Narrator loves jewellery so I was like "it's an opportunity !"

_

I'm glad you liked the songs !!! Ah your comments are always worth it.

The editing of the song with Charlie and Alastor made me want to die but I liked writing it ! I will enjoy seeing the scene you will draw of them! And the Precious was a must !

_

And yes Vittorio and Alastor's shadow are kind of the undertone of every conversation Lolicia and Alastor have with each others. If they fight its because the tone of the conversation is a bit sarcastic,if they're are calm, everything is more normal !

_

YES SERENITY CAMEO ! Oh I loved write when she took her coat and hat ! Hopefully I remember you draw her Misfortune/Overlord outfit! And the little vignette in your storyboard too. I saw it in my mind !

_

Lolicia isn't really an Overlord, I mean she is very strong but she doesn't want the title. But don't worry, I've already make up something for her to come at the meeting with Overlords !

Thank you very much ! And I think you are a talented artist (the new design of Eve/Roo is SLAY!) with nice eye for the lights effects and storytelling through characters and little scenes, that make my mind boiled so thank you, it doesn't arrive often 🌸

I can already see that it will definitely be worth the wait😌

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I'm already so excited to see how you plan the themes for the seasons!

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I'm so glad to hear this, I seriously can't wait to see the short stories! And I'm so excited to meet Abaddon.And certainly the more developed the characters are, the better.

I read Serenity's short story and they were beautiful.I think you handled their encounter with Alastor beautifully, I really liked it.And the detail that Alastor was more egoist and bloodthirsty during his prime time in hell was also very nice!

I seriously think the short stories are a great idea, can't wait to see more!

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And yes, it was definitely great to play drow. And I seriously think the background of the drows is very interesting and beautiful.In terms of gameplay, you start with a lot of prejudice as every race hates them rather than other races, But on the other hand, there is no need to fight in some places because the enemy thinks you are one of them.

And yes, my dear nuclear bomb wizard who smells like an old library talks too much, it is impossible to memorizeal of his dialogues.

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Thank you for your patience!

I have now passed the 1st exam, now I need to pass the real boss, the ART exam and I'm really bad at on paper /realistic drawing but with enough work everything can happen! But If I lose my entrance to the animation university,then I will have to restart my career as a villain. Lmao

Today is my day off, so I'll be making a lot of doodles, get ready for new fanart!

And if you ask me, you really deserve more, you are a very talented writer!

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Destroy face my OC's what????

You drew him so beautifully that when I looked at Constantine I said, "damnnn, you drew him so handsomely!" Seriously, the drawings of all the characters were very nice and I think he used colors well.

And don't worry, I can't draw Constantine's horns properly either, so I made up an excuse ✨he's a shapeshifter✨In other words, the shape of his horns can change according to its whim.

Serenity and Lolicia were so cute

And Constantine and Lolicia looked so cool! I can't wait to see their interactions!

And I love how you draw Lolicia's clothes, they're true fashion icon.

Thank you so much for blessing my eyes with your drawings!

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And of course, I will love him ! 1 he's character created by you 2 I always have a special corner in my heart for crazy showmens. And yes! When Charlie told the Narrator that they had known each other for almost 200 years, I realized that there was a long history between them.I can't wait to see his interactions with Constantine!

And yes, old Turk's weapons are perfect for him. I saw similar swords and guns when I visited a museum.They were full of jewels, inch by inch. I'm not exactly sure, but I think they were gifts for the sultan or things he had made for himself. Apart from them, I saw a really huge sword. I would like to see the soldier who could lift it. It looked like the sword that in Berserk that used by Guts.

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And seriously that song was amazing, a complete masterpiece! If only I could make music, I would bring that song to life! And the descriptions, everything was great!

And the overall scene was so fun to read!

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And I can't wait to see Lolicia's role already, it's so exciting!

-

And thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm so glad you love the Roo/eve design!❤️❤️❤️

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First of all, Charlie and Vaggie's part was very sweet and beautiful, and the song you wrote was also great. I really loved it!

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Lolica's song was a masterpiece, I really think it was a very well written and detailed song. Lolicia's outfit and Vittori accompanying her was really perfect! And I think having Alastor help her disguise was a really nice touch! It was a great choice that the song was inspired by liquid gold.

(I Love lackdaisy so much)

In short, I think the song is perfect and it fits the character very well. 10/10 *chef Kiss*

--

The part where the team reacted when they won the semi-final was so beautiful! And finally an arc is over!

And Serenity's story was very nice and the encounter with Alastor at the end was interesting, but the most important thing is that Alastor is after Lolicia. I wonder how those events ended?

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To make a long story short, every chapter you have made is really great and I enjoy reading it very much. I think you are a great writer. I am very excited to see your future works!❤️❤️❤️

[toptophat]

Top Hat's thoughts on the FNAF movie (Spoilers)

I thoroughly enjoyed it! Smiled throughout the whole thing

As a FNAF fan, seeing some key moments from the games as well as acknowledging the fandom (e.g Game theory's MatPat and The Living Tombstone's iconic song at the credits) made my jaw drop

FNAF veterans such as Dawko enjoyed it so that made me optimistic

The animatronics were replicated perfectly and the entire set for the restaurant is just too beautiful

Scenes such as the break-in, while not exactly scary, were still intense enough to keep me invested

Unpopular opinion - I kinda liked the pillow fort scene, it was cheesy but it could be seen as the animatronics trying to gain Abby's trust to lure her to be stuffed into a suit. Also I'm jealous, i wanna make a pillow fort with them 😭

And here's where I'll address (some of) the main critiques people gave to the movie (references: anything in the media that would link to this in a way)

"The movie wasn't scary at all, it should've been gory"

Yeah, I agree, even though I got shocked a couple of times (like the balloon boy gag) it wasn't really terrifying

But honestly, after watching countless "playthroughs" as a kid, you start to realise... The games were never that scary in the first place

To be honest, the only thing scary about it was actually some areas in the fandom (you know who you are..)

I'm aware that FNAF was never for kids, no matter how many elsagate vids were made on it. So it would make sense for it to have blood and gore. It definitely would've made scenes like the spring lock scene more traumatising to look back at

You know what else was expected to be more adult oriented? Cuphead's Netflix adaptation. While I understand that both of these beloved franchises could've been adapted to be more adult, it can also be noted that the Cuphead show is actually accepted by the fandom as while it did have a rocky start with S1, it showed that the writers were testing the waters to try something new, and by S2, they had a better idea of what they wanted, and a lot of people fell in love with it. While it would've definitely been cool to see more gore, it wouldn't improve the movie automatically

"The movie doesn't follow the original lore"

While, yes, it would've been cool to see all theories confirmed by Scott himself during the film, it's also good to remember this: they're called "adaptations" for a reason

Many popular franchises, when adapted to the big/small screen can experience changes in the known story and lore as a way to bring this fresh new start and perspective, they never aim to continue or tell the story again when it wasn't necessary in the first place (*cough cough* Lion King 2019). Last time I checked: Luigi wasn't the one who gets kidnapped by Bowser (SMB23), Cuphead never lost the right to his soul due to a carnival game (TCS), The Echidnas never had beef with freaking owls over the master emerald (The Sonic movies)

Let's be honest here, Scott may have made FNAF, but all the popular fan theories wrote the story, so everything is kinda messy. Maybe this was Scott's chance to rewrite everything, to start over and stray away from the messy lore that others made, MatPat seemed to be cool with it, he was even in the damn movie!

While, there have been times when repeating the same story makes it stale and repetitive (Disney), Changing important elements of the story (Also Disney) can make it unfaithful and pointless, so I understand that.

The changes that were made in this movie were interesting, making Vanessa, Afton's daughter could add more impact on the whole Vanny thing as she's been around this horrible man her whole life. Not making Mike, Abby and Garrett, Afton's children doesn't really deepen the personal connection and conflict between Mike and Afton so it'll be interesting to see how that one goes especially with Circus Baby now that Abby has no real connection to Afton other than that one encounter

Also I heard from one review that the movies take more inspiration from the books, but I don't have enough knowledge on the books to elaborate on that argument

Unless there's some weird twist, which is highly unlikely, I'd love to see how they develop these newly established dynamics if there are sequels being planned (pls make more, I need to see how this goes)

Besides, like I said, often, the first movies, seasons etc are there to experiment, it has the potential to improve in each new installment. For example, JJBA, it took until around parts 3-4 for Araki to have a better idea of what he wanted it to be.

Conclusion

That's about all I really have to say. I understand that many had high expectations going in and, who wouldn't? It shows we value ourselves and that we want to experience things that are worth our time. People are not obligated to love everything and don't have to agree with everything I said. I personally found the movie to be enjoyable and worth my time, and, while i know it lacked in some aspects, who knows?, as it progresses, opinions could change and if we get more of the revamped FNAF, then, we could see if it changed for the better or for the worse. And while first impressions do matter, it won't always be the same impression moving forward (for people who liked and didn't like the movie)

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

[berglietz]

Seasons Greasons: A Meta Analysis based on Caspar's Culinary Palate + Return Gift For Shez's Whistle

AKA: no one should ever 'jokingly' challenge me to write a meta to my irl face. take these 1k words now

THE BACKSTORY:

May 6th, Baltimore Inner Harbor. It was a lovely day—by which I mean the sky was grey and gloomy and decided to start spitting a fine mist down from the clouds as soon as Lucius and I stepped out of the light rail and started our trek toward our destination. Our destination being a birthday celebration for Erica, which obviously made the day lovely regardless of the weather. At this point we had already gotten past the 'hello's and reciprocal 'oh god you really are shorter than i remember's, and had settled into our table at the cafe. Inevitably, the conversation quickly turned to Fire Emblem. We are who we are.

Playthroughs of Warriors: Three Hopes entered the scene, and then discussions of the Merc Whistle mechanic. "I haven't given mine away yet." I said. "Don't they give you a return gift that you can wear as an accessory to use their special ability?"

I pulled out my phone. I learned that Caspar's return gift to Shez was called Seasoning Set. Across the table, past the strangely shaped flasks of hot water and growing number of drained shirley temple glasses, N "Njamin" Von TOAmod smiled at me and said "I expect a meta post about Caspar's seasoning set on the dash by [due date]*" *I do not remember the exact phrasing, nor the initial due date. I am going to say it was 'next month', that way I don't get any of my extremely real roleplayer points docked for tardiness.

And thus, I was committed to the bit. Straight up married to it. Welcome to the wedding. The reception is catered, obviously, and we'll be serving—

Well. I'm getting to that.

THE SEASONING SET

(This is a crunchy screenshot that I cropped myself from my own Switch. Forgive me)

The details of note to me are:

Clarifying that you have matched your bestie/S-support equivalent's sentimental gift with something you "don't need" is so rude LMFAO. I'm glad he is keeping up the same behavior from his story about a girl trying to ask him out to the Goddess Tower in Three Houses where he seems to totally misread a situation and make an ass of himself by dismissing the person/not matching their energy. Really beautiful stuff.

Multiple spices, you say? Looks like I have to come up with more than one. It's not just salt in there.

CASPAR'S COOKING SKILLS

They are bad. He has a big red downward-facing arrow next to his face in the list of candidates for cooking together in Three Houses. If you choose to let him cook anyway, he tells you his pitfalls himself:

"All right! Leave it to me! I'll fry it, grill it, and try not to burn it!" / "Sorry for making you do all the work, Professor. I mess up the ingredients every time!"

With this info, I am taking the text saying "he forgets to use spices" very literally. The impression I get is he gets so overwhelmed by multi-step cooking processes that he loses track of ingredients. He does like some spices in his food and drink, though, so I will presume that the spices in his seasoning set are ones that he would enjoy putting in his food if he ever remembered to toss them in.

THE FAVORED FLAVORS

The easiest spice choice comes directly from his favorite type of tea.

Ginger Tea: "The sharp spiciness of ginger laces the body of this tea, unforgettable and brightening."

Bam. Right there. We can put ginger on the list. For the rest, I'll take a look at the dining hall dishes he likes that fall under the Spicy category.

Sauteed Jerky: "Jerky aged in the monastery and sautéed for a delightfully salty flavor. A perfect snack to go with your favorite drink."

The description doesn't give me any seasoning beyond salt, but according to the resources on serenesforest this dish is counted as a spicy one! When I think of spicy jerky (and look up a few recipes to confirm my memories) I think of a peppery sort of sensation on the tongue—black pepper and cayenne (or other hot peppers).

Sauteed Pheasant and Eggs: "Thin slices of bird meat and shredded cabbage, mixed with scrambled eggs and sautéed with spices. Invention of a certain noble."

This one gave me no hints as to what types of spices. RIP. I relied much more heavily on googling for this one, and settled on interpreting this dish as a take on anda bhurji, maybe?? (literally 'scrambled egg'. it's an Indian scrambled egg dish). Online recipes for this one gave me spices such as turmeric, coriander, red chili, and ginger.

THE SEASONING LIST

Just to have it all in one place, here's all the hypothetical seasonings I've thrown out all put together:

Salt

Black Pepper

Ginger (mentioned x2!!)

Cayenne/Red Chili (or whatever Fodlan equivalent capsacin-haver there might be)

Turmeric

Coriander

Go forth, Shez. Make a delicious spicy scrambled egg dish. Perhaps you can share it with friends for brunch. That'd be a beautiful way to bring things full circle, don't you think?

BONUS: MY BOY HATES FISH

I just think it's so fucking funny that he hates every seafood dish. Look at this list of foods he hates.

Grilled Herring, Fish and Bean Soup, Small Fish Skewers, Spicy Fish and Turnip Stew, Onion Gratin Soup, Sweet and Salty Whitefish Sauté, Fruit and Herring Tart, Cheesy Verona Stew, Fish Sandwich, Super-Spicy Fish Dango, Pickled Seafood and Vegetables, Two-Fish Sauté, Gautier Cheese Gratin, Cabbage and Herring Stew, Bourgeois Pike, Fried Crayfish

Only three out of this list don't have something referencing fish/seafood right in the name, and two out of those three do have fish in the ingredients if you go looking:

Onion Gratin Soup: "Onions stewed with white trout and baked with a layer of cheese on top. Will warm you up from the inside out." Cheesy Verona Stew: "A rich dish consisting of verona and sautéed Teutates loach. These ingredients are boiled and served with two kinds of melted cheese."

Maybe there is something he dislikes about gratin, though, since he dislikes Gautier Cheese Gratin as well. A texture problem, perhaps? Either way, it doesn't feel as prominent a dislike as his thing with fish—the guy also hates the Fishing Float gift. Caspar is a certified fish hater. This makes his participation in the fishing tournament even funnier to me: he will straight up make an exception for his seeming disdain for fishing if it's turned into a competition he can try to win. Definitely no way he was eating his catch though. Maybe he fed it to his cat friend from his supports with Ashe, lmfao

Anyhow, I'll leave off with this silly indulgent little meta here. Thanks for playing along! ilu toa ❤

[samasmith23]

A Study in Justice & Romance: Defending Makoto Niijima's Confidant Line

Regarding the romance options with Persona 5 Royal's confidant lines, I personally decided to have the protagonist, Joker, enter a relationship with Makoto Niijima during my initial playthrough.

In addition to Makoto & Joker having earnest & adorable chemistry together, but I chose to have the protagonist date Makoto because the latter ended up being my favorite character in the game overall due to her phenomenal arc as an intelligent socially awkward honors student who actively chooses to help victims of injustice as she gains the courage to stand up against the corrupt adults in her life who expect her to unquestioningly conform to societal norms. Developments that are greatly reflected through Makoto’s confidant line, or social link subplot.

While I’m aware that Makoto’s confidant line is not as well regarded by a sizable portion of P5’s fan base despite the character’s overwhelming popularity in general, I personally believe that Makoto’s confidant arc is criminally underrated! I loved seeing Joker spend free time with Makoto as she attempts to be more interactive & helpful to her peers as Student Council President. In particular, Joker assists Makoto’s efforts to help her new friend Eiko Takao escape an abusive relationship with a sleazy club host named Tsukasa. Essentially, Makoto’s confidant subplot functions as a great extension of her character development in the game’s main plot, since it further forces Makoto to reconcile with her past naivety to the interests & concerns of her fellow students despite her obvious book-smarts.

These developments come to a head during the Rank 9 scene of Makoto’s social link, wherein she confronts Eiko after she investigates her boyfriend and learns that Tsukasa has a reputation within the Tokyo underworld for forcing vulnerable girls into debt to exploit them both financially & sexually. Things come to a head though when a desperate Makoto literally tries to slap the lonely & confused Eiko back to reality while trying to convince the latter that her "boyfriend" is just a criminal trafficker. Heck, Makoto even almost attempts to directly physically challenge Tsukasa before Joker intervenes to protect his friend.

This scene is emblematic of both Makoto’s strong desire to bring about justice for victims of horrific crimes, as well as her own shortcomings derived from her social naivety & brash impulsiveness. Makoto later acknowledges to Joker that her slapping Eiko & trying to physically challenge Tsukasa is reflective of her tendency to not always consider the potential risks or consequences behind her actions in social situations before immediately acting on them. Character flaws that Makoto is determined to overcome after having spent the past several years of her teenage life suppressing her emotions to misguidedly appease authority figures in both her school & family life.

In essence, the Eiko situation is not the first time that Makoto is portrayed as acting so recklessly. Specifically, during the Kaneshiro arc of the game Makoto allowed herself to be captured to discover the location by the aforementioned money-grubbing Mafia boss when he began extorting students at Shujin Academy. Makoto was determined to prove her worth to others after being dismissed as "good girl type of pushover" and "useless" by individuals like Goro Akechi & Sae Niijima respectively, but Kaneshiro exploited Makoto's desperation by blackmailing both her and the Phantom Thieves into financial debt. While the game makes it clear that both Eiko's abusive "boyfriend" and the mobster Kaneshiro are fully to blame for their abhorrent actions, Makoto recognizes in both situations that she can act overly reckless due to having previously bottled up all her emotions to maintain a composed exterior because that’s what Japanese society expected from her as the traditional honors student who obediently followed the orders of authority figures, whether it be Shujin Academy's corrupt principal or her own older sister Sae (plus, I also personally headcanon Makoto’s lack of proper socialization skills and sometimes inappropriate reactions as her potentially being on the autism spectrum, similar to how her teammate Futaba Sakura is heavily autistic coded).

Additionally, the player learns throughout Makoto's confidant arc that her personal sense of justice is heavily inspired by her late father, who in addition to being a single parent who raised Makoto & Sae all by himself following their mother's passing, was a law enforcer who was tragically assassinated while attempting to shut down a human trafficking ring in Tokyo's red-light district. Makoto grew up with an idealistic perception of her father, seeing him as someone who worked tirelessly to protect the victims of horrific crimes exactly like those that Makoto's friend Eiko is at risk of falling prey to in the present day. However, Makoto briefly lost sight of her justice due to the increasing societal pressures that both she and her sister faced following their father's passing. In addition to Sae being forced to stressfully work up the ranks as a legal prosecutor for Japan's Special Investigation Team (SIU) in a sexist male-dominated industry (and her own sense of justice becoming heavily distorted in the process), Makoto herself misguidedly believed that like she had to be the unquestioningly obedient honor's student to not dishonor her older sister's status (which would only increase Sae's stress).

It's only upon awakening her persona, Johana, during the Kaneshiro arc and discovering her inner resolve as a member of the rebellious Phantom Thieves, that Makoto begins reevaluating her passion for studying. Remembering her father's advice, "The most important part of your life is how you choose to live it," Makoto's confidant line is about rediscovering her idea of justice by actively choosing to become more socially involved with the interests and needs of her fellow classmates. Furthermore, it is Makoto's experiences with Eiko in particular that inspire her to want to continue studying not simply because it’s what is expected of her in a patriarchal capitalist society, but because she wants to utilize her knowledge & intellect to protect her fellow students from the world's injustices. This is a goal that Makoto understands that she can’t achieve if she’s all alone, which leads her to actively choose to have Joker help her become more socially interactive and on the level of her peers. 

If I did have one criticism of Makoto’s confidant line, however, its her ultimate decision to academically pursue a career of becoming a police commissioner. While I do understand that Makoto simply wants to continue what she views as her father’s legacy of bringing justice to the victims of some of Japan’s most underreported crimes like sexual assault & human trafficking (which is sadly accurate IRL as well…), her wanting to become a police commissioner to achieve that goal does feel somewhat at odds with P5 Royal’s in-depth condemnations of systemic corruption throughout society, INCLUDING law enforcement. Police corruption is reflected in various examples throughout the game, including Makoto’s older sister Sae having a palace in the Metaverse after her heart became distorted when she actively enabled Japan’s infamous 99% criminal conviction rate to advance her own career as an SIU prosecutor, as well as both the Japanese police and SIU being under the direct payroll of one of the game’s main antagonists, the ultra-nationalist fascist politician Masayoshi Shido,

Despite my objections, I do strongly disagree with critics who argue that this single uncomfortable oversight in Makoto’s otherwise phenomenal confidant arc automatically “regresses/undoes all of her character growth.” As overly naive and idealistic Makoto's career goals & perception of her late father are, they do still make sense from both a narrative and character perspective. The core theme Persona 5 Royal is about reforming society through finding the willpower to stand up against & change the hearts of corrupt authority figures & systems. This is something that Makoto repeatedly demonstrates through her actions as a Phantom Thief, whether it be through emulating her late father’s sacrifice when she rescues Eiko from a human trafficker, her changing Sae’s distorted heart when the latter’s sense of justice is negatively influenced by corrupt bureaucracy, to her opposing the aforementioned Shido’s vast political conspiracy. In this regard, I choose to adopt a more charitable reading of Makoto’s future career dreams by interpreting her as continuing to be a Phantom Thief while eventually growing up into a figure like Batman’s Commissioner James Gordon, who is similarly portrayed as actively fighting against systemic corruption within both Gotham City’s police department & its other bureaucratic institutions (in contrast to a negative example like Harry Potter, who never even tries to reform the Wizarding World’s corrupt status quo and ultimately becomes a slave-owning wizard cop after Voldemort’s defeat). After all, Makoto herself freely acknowledges right before the base game’s final boss battle with Yaldaboth (a false god that serves as the physical embodiment of the corrupt status quo itself), that:

“Victory against a single criminal is meaningless… the true enemy is society itself. Regardless, this isn’t a solution with a straightforward answer. But even if there is no clear solution, I’ll just have to make one… with my own two hands. Before [the Phantom Thieves] came along, my life was defined by rules, set on a path of someone else’s choosing… but only a true loser would live such a rigid life! I… I will win… even if it means going up against the entire world!”

In large measure, it was Makoto's actively willingness to actively strive for positive change within both herself and society as a whole, combined with her keen intellect & altruistic passion for justice despite her social awkwardness & naivety, that ultimately factored into my decision to select the romance option with Makoto’s confidant line. In my playthrough of P5 Royal, I had Joker offer to to become Makoto’s “study partner” when she questions if she’ll ever truly understand romance after a heartbroken Eiko accused Makoto of being doomed to “flunk a test about love.”

The romance option between Joker & Makoto just felt like a natural progression & culmination of the unique bond that the two formed during Makoto’s Confidant Line after joining the Phantom Thieves. Spending time with Joker whilst fighting against systemic corruption and "those rotten adults" in both the Metaverse and the real world helps Makoto realize her own personal sense of justice that is derived from her passion for studying, rather than distinct from it. Additionally, both Joker & Makoto have natural chemistry with each other as intelligent & capable leaders who possess a strong sense of justice (heck… Makoto rarely left my party during combat missions due to her strategic intellect in identifying enemies’ weaknesses as well as her balanced offensive & defensive abilities). Plus, their romantic dialogue & “studying” euphimisms are just hilariously adorable! It was a welcome change of pace to see Makoto be the one to take initiative and ask for consent in the relationship instead of Joker, since most media sadly still downplays or denies the reality that women have their own agency & desires regarding their sexuality.

But yeah, I definitely ship Makoto & Joker as my personal canon couple in Persona 5 Royal due to the former's rich character development & heartwarming chemistry with the main protagonist! While Makoto may have started the game as the "pushover good girl type" who blindly obeys the whims & expectations of the adults in her life simply because it is what society expects from her, she quickly evolves into the Phantom Thieves' strong-minded battle-strategist who is motivated by the unselfish desire to provide justice for the victims of society's injustices. Those elements, combined with Makoto's continual willingness to learn & improve upon her personal shortcomings, as well as her social awkwardness despite her book-smarts (which I heavily related to as someone on the autism spectrum who consistently earned all A's & B's back in high school and college), that made her the breakout character P5 Royal for me!

Overall, it was through completing Makoto's confidant line that I was able to gain a deeper understanding & appreciation of the ideals which define her signature "fist of justice," while also having my heartstrings tugged at as she chose to study areas in life that she lacked experience in such as romance.

[asheepinthenight]

Hi! I read your IF for the first time recently and completed the survey so I didn't think I'd necessarily comment here, but then you gave this answer to the transformation ask: "I expect most MCs will transform metaphorically, but depending on your choices, they may get a few magical additions, too! I don't want to spoil too much, so that's all I'll say about it for now!"

May I say I literally squealed? I didn't expect actual physical changes would be a thing, so I just dumped that thought into the "impossible dreams" related to this game. This made me genuinely so happy! My MC is extremely open minded and fascinated by magic, so it's very likely it will go that way in my playthrough's case!

Oh and while I'm at it, since I'm writing already, I may as well ask something! So, I'll start by saying I love Hawk. I love Hawk so much. They may very well be among my favorite ROs in any IF I've read, despite the story clearly being in it's early'ish stages still. Now, thing is... While I feel like my MC has a pretty "easy time" getting close to Shea (strictly platonic feelings), I have noticed that in Hawk's case, the type of MC I have has less... "gentle" interactions with them. I don't mean Hawk seems to dislike my MC or anything (it doesn't appear to be the case) - but basically, my MC is soft and obedient overall, but also very responsible, and tries to manage everything as good as he can, be it cooking, not offending in any circumstances and what not. Basically, he's as non-problematic as possible. And from what I saw when exploring other choice options out of curiosity, I have come to realize most of the time interactions that could be considered closer to "emotional" are rather linked to MCs who are more clumsy and what not. Now, I'm not under the impression the game "favors" any kind of MC or that the relationships use "points" so I'm not worried per se, but I was curious if this will even out later on (as in, if some kind of scenes will be more exclusive to my type of MC), or is it simply that less "independent" MCs have an easier time early on due to Hawk's personality?

I just can't stress enough that I never felt as if my playthrough was lacking or anything! I just noticed more stuff when I read through some "out of character" options (as in, OOC for my MC) out of curiosity! And well, it got ME curious about the structure and the relationship!

I hope the question doesn't come up as too weird - like I said, the story is great as it is anyway!

I like having the surveys as an option for people, just for my own curiosity, so it will be interesting to eventually see how many MCs are hesitant to get involved with magic and how many are like, "Yes, I would like ALL of it, please!"

Those are great questions about the tone of Hawk's interactions with MC—answers are below the cut due to length!

Hawk is still very much at the stage where they think that MC will just be a brief, neutral presence in their life—no need to interact beyond the minimum. Just another being living in their tower, doing their own thing! The only big exception to that so far is MCs who are especially sensitive to their abrasiveness and/or prone to getting themselves into hazardous situations. If MC seems like they can handle Hawk's brusqueness and take care of themself (even if they're just pretending at it), Hawk will leave them to their own devices. But even though Hawk pretends they don't really care about anyone outside their tiny circle of friends (though it would be difficult to even get Hawk to call them "friends"), they very much do. So if MC seems like they're particularly sensitive to Hawk's whole... everything or are in dire need of assistance, Hawk will let their own guard down a little to help them without being too much of a jerk. It won't be too much longer before all MCs start seeing a softer side of them, though. More anxious and clumsy MCs just get an advance preview! MC's personality will flavor their relationship (e.g. MCs who like to banter with Hawk will see Hawk start that banter more often, and MCs who don't tend to banter will often get more sincere responses), but only specific, major choices will ever lock an MC out of a relationship with either RO. (Those choices will be pretty obvious and will probably even get OOC notes in the text to point them out!)

If you're curious about "points" specifically, TE doesn't have romance points, in the traditional sense, that will direct you to or away from either RO. In addition to a few personality variables for MC, there are a number of variables that track how the ROs view MC, but none of these will lock MC out of or into a relationship with either RO. They're specifically for making the ROs' actions feel consistent with how MC interacts with them. For example, there's a stat for each RO for the aforementioned banter as well as stats for things like trust and more traditional "romance" stats like flirting. Although some interactions may feel less romantic/friendly or may not appear depending on specific variables, that doesn't mean the relationship is doomed by any means! It may just be a little slower burn.

So this is a very long answer, but hopefully it helps! I see TE as more an interactive novel than a "game" that's focused on hitting target stats to pass checks. The variables it does have are solely for making the story feel true to who a given MC is and the choices they make.

[senblades]

Who are your fav persona 3 people!!!

[cracks knuckles] I'm glad you asked

So! I don't actively /dislike/ anyone in the p3 cast, but some of them definitely speak to me more than others:

First things first: Ryoji. Love that guy. He's so silly. And so tragic. And he makes me sad. (Like holy SHIT I wasn't expecting a reprise of his song in the stage play on December 31st but it TOOK ME OUT) (also Ryomina my love)

The whole Shinji, Ken, and Akihiko trio ALSO lives in my head rent free... two idiots and their son. love them. I've been desperately scouring for Akishinji content and between that, Ryomina, and Shuake, I've come to realise that my shipping habits seem to boil down to "doomed yaoi" HAHA

More on Ken, I have a LOT of thoughts about how he and Akechi would interact and (likely) get along. Whether that be in the p5 era or a situation a la Throw Away Your Mask. (Or, something I've yet to find: Akechi with no time travel shenanigins getting in on the p3 plot. You can bet THAT'S a longfic idea I've got rattling around) (Also the half-brothers headcanon is super fun. Especially when combined with Futago siblings. Congratulations, Shido! All your kids are persona users, and they all hate you! :D)

Aigis! She's just. Infinitely charming. She'll say something that will absolutely take me out and then turn around and say something devestating HAHA. I also think that her and Ryoji's social link and linked episodes respectively do a LOT of thematic work in the story. Death himself and the girl that can't die, both trying to figure out how to live (y'all that shit's METAL)

Strega are so interesting to me... I don't think they're perfect villains- I think their motivation is underexplored and a bit choppy, but ASIDE from that, I really like all three of them as characters. Idk why Jin is so funny to me LMAO he's so in love with Takaya and Takaya's just like "k. met your quota yet?" (But, also, some of Takaya's lines definitely imply that he cares about Jin too, but doesn't let himself acknowledge that at all due to his whole "attachments are weakness" shtick, another thematic point to contest his ideology, as he is actively denying himself happiness in pursuit of some idea of salvation)

Chidori- I like her well enough. Some of her lines really did make me smile, but I think she's another case of "underdeveloped" (I actually read Throw Away Your Mask before I played p3r, so that fic did a lot of the heavy lifting for my like of Chidori (and, by extension, Jundori) i think)

Which leads nicely into: Junpei! He's da man. Nuff' said. HAHA if you can't tell, I love Junpei. Awkward dudebro stuff aside (though it's occasionally part of his charm), I really love his development and personality in general. I really love how all the "bro" characters across the modern three persona games, while fulfilling the same archetype, are all distinct in personality and motivation and I love them ALL

Mitsuru is quite interesting to me, but I think she might be a case of "I wish her social link was about something else". Personal preference of course, but I kind of wish that it focused more on this intense guilt she seems to have for things that a) weren't her fault, and b) happened when she was 7 or younger. THAT is a super interesting mindset to explore, imo, though I did find her social ineptitude charming haha

Yukari... I think that she might grow on me more later. I can feel it in my bones. I suppose I'll find out with The Answer dlc! I know broadly what happens in it, but I haven't actually seem a playthrough of it, nor do I really know what happens to all the characters. I think my opinion of Yukari might have been tainted slightly by everyone having such strong opinions HAHA- I definitely like her, but I don't think she's clicked just yet. (I did really like her social link, though!) (also Yukamitsu I love Yukamitsu. The lesbians aren't doomed! Good for them)

Okay this is going to upset some people probably but Koromaru isn't really much of a character and I keep forgetting about him LMAO. uh. he's a good boy?

Fuuka... I really think that she's just underdeveloped. Her social link didn't really do her any favours in my eyes (I'm SO glad that atlus cut the "girl learns to cook" social link in p5 HAHA i really didn't like it with Yukiko either) Her social link obviously isn't just the cooking shenanigins, but it overshadows the bits of character growth that happen intermittently. I think that her SL really would have benefitted from being more about her love of electronics, if anything, since that isn't explored AT ALL and is more a plot device than a character trait. (Plus, the root of all her self-esteem issues go unadressed, which I think would have been a good character beat otherwise) (In saying this I think Fuuka/Natsuki is very cute. The lesbians stay winning in p3)

Makoto/Minato! Honestly, I was pretty neutral towards him from the majority of the fics I had read before playing p3r. I really like his characterisation in Throw Away Your Mask and The Twilight Wants Him Back, but those had been outliers in my mind. I started liking him more and more after playing p3r, and NOW, after having watched 1/4 of the p3 movies- oh boy. boy oh boy. I really like him now HAHA. Having his apathy actually effect his realtionships with SEES early on is super interesting and I love when it's done. (plus, I think Yukari hating him at first really strengthens their friendship later on)

Uh this post is already super long so for all the other plot-relavant characters and confidants I'm just gonna say "it's a secret" and melt into a bush or something

(tysm for the ask! You can tell I was waiting for an excuse to talk about this HAHA)

(btw y'all shoud read the fics I mentioned in this- they're excellent)

[bolognamayhem117]

Title: Rat-holed Memories.

Length: 4500 words

POV: Astarion

Pairing: Astarion/M!Elf!Tav(Rorik), rogue/paladin

Rating: MATURE 18+

Themes: mlm, consent, clarity of expectations, dissociation, manipulation, setting boundaries, light erotica, internal conflict.

Content Warnings: References to rape, incest, broken family dynamics, murder, slavery, mild knife play, anger, emotional outbursts.

Author notes: First and foremost, I created this character on my first playthrough after Robert and I bought the game a year ago. I picked up the controller with zero knowledge of the game's contents after being told you could play as a vampire. I said "That's bold of the developer, fuck it, I'll make Rorik's dumb ass and Smegol my way through the forgotten realms or whatever..." Turns out the person who told me that was referencing the Astarion Origin playthrough. I said "Screw It I'm Doing It Anyway! With the power of IMAGINATION." To my delight and surprise it really wasn't all that hard to use paladin spells, items, scroll hoarding, and armor to very closely model the homebrew build of Rorik the Degenerate Dhampir Sun Worshipping Paladin. He has his own issues which this ficlet hints at. He's cringe, be gentle.

@ghostkingart wrote a post desiring that the fandom wrote more fic about Astarion being denied intimacy due to concerns about intent and whether he's actually in the headspace to do so, with emphasis on his canon tendancy to go somewhere "a million realms away". I thought I could oblige. Digging in my docs for inspiration revealed that I'd basically already written this exact piece, give or take a few details. Decided to put on the Big Boy pants and be brave enough to post this.

I think healing is going to be messy for him. He's a big personality and these are some big complex feelings for a man who's been on the world's shortest leash for 200 years and also has had to solve every problem with either his body or a blade.

This fic also heavily implies that some healing and learning has already taken place so bear with me. Enjoy

“I don't know. It's veiled from me… I can't remember that clearly. Just. Parts… I think so.” Rorik told Astarion.

"Nothing? You remember nothing of circumstance or even who delegated to you at all?” Astarion scoffed and crossed his arms.

Astarion had been warned that some questions he might have may not have much of an answer, for Rorik was good at burying memories too sharp to hold. Knowing of the predilection toward purposeful forgetfulness didn't make this conversation any less frustrating. He wanted to know if Rorik had ever been sent to Baldur's Gate on loan, as Rainar often ordered him to do if a nobleman or another vampire lord bid high enough. He said he'd been to the city during that time, but maintained that he couldn't remember why.

“You want to know if Cazador ever paid Rainar to have someone vanish, don't you?” Rorik asked a new question rather than answer one they both knew the answer to.

“You told me the name Cazador Szarr was familiar, once.” Astarion probed.

“It is.”

“Then you should understand why that would concern me.”

"I do.” Rorik assured him with a single nod as he half-dozed, sprawled on his back.

Silence fell upon them as they lay still but restless in Astarion's slightly tidier than usual tent. Fitting two bedrolls in it necessitated some level of order. Frankly, Astarion hid the trash and used glassware behind his temporary abode. Rorik probably knew where the mess was, but said nothing.

“What would you say if you found out tomorrow that we passed like ships in the night long ago? What would it change?” Rorik inquired, appearing curious toward the demeanor of the bees in Astarion's bonnet.

“I'd ask what Cazador would have paid to have you do. I have to lay there, every damn night, wondering if that bastard sent the Gur down the street where I lost everything. It could just as easily have been you.” Astarion explained irritably. Sometimes Astarion felt like he had to spoon feed Rorik his thoughts. He should be able to string together the pieces by now.

"I have an opinion, Astarion, but it might not be a thought you want reinforced.” Rorik offered with a warning.

“give it.”

The dhampir spoke as if reading off law rather than opinion, the gravity of his tone leaving little room for argument. “Vampires are known to stalk a target for days. You should know, to a point. But lords, or true vampires, looking to create spawn for their own uses are different. They assign much, although sometimes arbitrary or even nonsensical, ritual to their pursuit. I'm certain, if he didn't send the Gur himself, he was already watching your every move for months.”

“...You're telling me he was inevitable.” Astarion muttered with venom and a curl of his upper lip.

“...I'm saying: vampire lords aren't spontaneous.” Rorik clarified.

“Well, all I'm saying is: you're missing my point. I wish you remembered. So I could be sure.” Astarion complained with a flick of his hands in the air above them.

“If it reassures you at all, I know for a fact that Cazador didn't send me. I'd have proper fucking killed you too completely to bring back.” Rorik abruptly stated.

“What!? Exactly what makes you so sure of that.” Astarion spat.

“Beating the guts out of a magistrate but not enough that a vampire cannot turn him sounds like a miserably delicate chore… I was never bought for things like that. I'm too heavy handed.” Rorik asserted bluntly.

In mostly mock hurt, Astarion went on the defensive. “No, I mean: what in the hells makes you think I was an easy mark?”

“Hmm? How much do you weigh?”

“Eh?”

Rorik sat erect to turn and loom over Astarion, arms caging the other as he held himself up with palms pressed flat to the floor by each of the elf’s shoulders.

He huffed through a smile full of sabers, he was about to tease, “Couple sacks of grain, if you were soaking wet, I’d guess. I could toss you over my shoulder and run up a hill without losing my breath. I imagine you wielded a quill and inkpot then. The sharpest thing in your arsenal might've been a letter opener.”

How dare this often bald cunt of a man wear that disgustingly smug grin, smear insults, and manage to be bizarrely charming all the while?

“Wrong,” Astarion rebutted, “men of Baldur's Gate are required starting at age nine to learn archery, and it is short sighted for an individual of my former station not to be prepared for scorned citizens challenging him to a duel over an unfavorable ruling. You would've bitten off more than you thought.” Astarion stubbornly asserted, completely guessing although he wouldn't admit that. He had no idea what he used to do in his spare time as a mortal, or where he lived, or even what his favorite food used to be…

“Hmm, you make a good argument, sure. But your hands wouldn't have known much hardship. Could they have fended off these ragged mits?” Rorik's right hand slid against the reed mat until fingertips found Astarion's elbow, from there encircling his forearm and following its shape until he met a wrist, then the hand he meant to squeeze.

Rorik's hands were square in their shapes, knuckles scarred until the skin remained thick and rough, crooked fingers from many breaks, and strange knots of bone that betrayed how many times he'd fractured his dominant hand as he gripped his sword and struck a shield or armor rather than flesh and bone. Astarion could feel every callus like a knot under the skin of Rorik's leathery palm. Their textures were jagged and would pull runs in fine silk.

Such a gnarled paw might've repelled Astarion a month ago. His always empty guts used to twist at the touch of a victim with hands like these. Those nights and those marks did feel as though they pulled vicious runs in the silk of his skin.

Rorik was just, as per fucking usual, the one outlier. Terrible hands on him, but they squeezed his fingers carefully, they were almost warm, and their textures were becoming nuanced to Astarion's touch. He was starting to think, perhaps, if you queued up ten men of the sword, whose hands were all terrible, he could pick out Rorik's while blindfolded.

He brought Astarion's knuckles to his lips, dragging them across his cheek with a sigh that teased a quick flash of his maw of ruthless thorns.

Rorik's eyes flickered an uncanny glimmer from the candlestick glow, the eyes of a smitten predator fixed to Astarion's equally haunting gaze.

“So soft now, softer still long ago I bet, but not as soft as your eyes.” Rorik cooed down to him from behind a finger he selected to kiss.

It made Astarion's throat itch dryly to hear that. His thirst always doubled when Rorik spoke of his eyes.

The bastard grinned against his hand with too many teeth showing. Rorik's way of flirting and giving a compliment was very different from Astarion's well practiced methods. He was much too frank. Rough cut gems was what the rogue called these moments in the relative privacy of his thoughts. Rorik was getting too cocky, however, so strange charms couldn't go unpunished.

Astarion hooked a heel into Rorik's knee, kicking that load bearing joint out from under him and destabilizing him just enough that the edge of a palm clapped around his jaw easily pulled him over. This allowed Astarion to roll with him, reversing the pin. His dagger, kept tucked under his pillow, was gathered in the lightning swipe of searching fingers and brandished at Rorik's jugular.

And Rorik? He simply went limp and chuckled. The Jackass had offered no resistance and gone slack under him, hands thrown back in surrender. It offended Astarion to be allowed to win their grapple, but Rorik's implicit trust in spite of the blade threatening him always made Astarion ache somehow. The inveterate crank under him snapped his jaws at anything that pressed his boundaries, but never Astarion. Adorable Idiot. To be fair, Rorik knew that these jabs and tussles were only fun and games.

“I was not entirely defenseless, and certainly no guileless lamb. Besides, you were no different than a spaw- pardon, but you were under the complete control of Rainar. If you were ordered to destroy a man without outright killing him, you’d have no choice but to comply.”

“I think you'd remember me. I'm not something you'd mistake for Gur. Unlike some people, I shall not name them, I actually look like an undead wretch.” Rorik shook his head -foolish to do with a blade pressed near to skin- and laughed softly against the cold kiss of Astarion's dagger.

The way the apple of his throat bobbed under the razor edge could wring any vampire’s stomach with hunger.

“...True, but not quite so any longer.” Astarion dragged a finger led by a languid arm from Rorik's navel to the space under his chin.

He meant to tilt this face for a closer appraisal. Rorik's expression changed, glazing over as Astarion's thumb followed the shape of his lower lip.

“You've turned rather pink since we began this little jaunt,” Astarion reminded him.

Interesting creatures, dhampirs. One foot in the grave at all times and a hand clawing a stubborn grip on life. Apparently, if they've been behaving like their undead half they will look the part, but Astarion had yet to observe Rorik feeding. That abstinence from the sanguine was reflected in his freckled, peachy skin. He might've been a touch sunburned across the bridge of his nose and the tip of each notched ear.

Rorik gazed up at Astarion, eyes searching, questing about his shapes. He stared as though he were looking upon that sun god he claimed not to love. Silly beastly thing. Blindly devoted damn fool.

“...Would you let me kiss you?” Rorik breathed.

What could one more impossible moment hurt? Who knew when Rorik would wake up and realize Astarion had no precious light to offer him?

“Mm, just this once, darling,” Astarion hummed with lips pulling into a loose smile. It was his turn to tease.

Rorik waited so very patiently, licking his scar streaked lips with what could be perceived as lewd eagerness, but eyes wide and full of something else that called softly.

Astarion retracted the dagger, slowly, making a show of it as he held it away from their bodies. Then, Casually, as he leaned back and settled his weight over Roriks lap, he allowed the blade to slip from his fingers and pierce the mats and dirt below. He left it sticking there, at the ready, but easily forgotten as he pitched forward to claim his companion's delectable mouth.

Rorik had tried to lift himself to greet Astarion, but palms clapped over his shoulders sent him back to the floor with a hollow thud resonating from his chest. The dhampir let slip the faintest moan of approval as his jaws parted for Astarion, offering the warmth within and the taste of his nightly herb brew. His arms wove themselves all about high elf.

Rorik always squeezed, held, stroked the rogue. It briefly repulsed Astarion that first time, when Rorik held so tightly and explored him so earnestly, but that had changed. The paladin longed to be close. He didn't want Astarion's body, Rorik wanted Astarion. That came with its own new form of revulsion. How could Rorik's standards be so low that he actually wanted all of the filth under Astarion's perfect surface?

Astarion knew the answer to that. He winced silently and masked the upset by delving deeper into the pleasures of Rorik's gasping mouth the moment he was done stealing a breath.

The ex-wife, Zarla, must surely be why Rorik found Astarion an acceptable partner. Astarion himself had uttered the perfect analogy for it once before. When you're accustomed to drinking from the sewer, even plonk is a marked improvement.

Anything at all must be better than being forced to swallow every last drop of misery to survive a borderline incestuous arranged marriage to a complete and whole nightmare of a woman.

Rough fingers massaged up the back of Astarion's neck, soon cradling the back of his head. Rorik seemed to like playing in his hair, since he had none of his own until very recently.

The moment Astarion thought of it, he moved to push his fingers though that scant half-inch of strawberry blond. Rorik had still been shorn up top the last time they… But he'd thought about it, curling his fingers in it, gripping it so tight, using it to shove Rorik's keening face in the pillow to muffle him.

Once, it was their second late night encounter, Rorik had mewled things in a tongue Astarion didn't know, both betraying the wellspring of his faint accent and revealing his patron god. A heathen sun diety which pre-dated Lathandor. That night many moons ago, Astarion had delighted in watching the paladin slap both hands over his gaped jaws to keep that holy name out of his mouth while he behaved profanely.

All Astarion could think about was gripping that short ginger crown and pulling Rorik’s head up from a pillow to hear his name mingling with half formed prayer. Oh, the things which come unraveled from Rorik's disciplined tongue when Astarion fucked him were always delectable. There was something sinfully gratifying in defiling a holy man. It must be the same thing which kept Rorik coming back for more and more of Astarion. He must crave to be engulfed by the elf’s tainted touch, like an addict who craved the deadly bliss in his own destruction.

Astarion slipped his curious tongue between the split halves of Rorik's. Maybe after, he'd ask why the man had his tongue sliced. Could be a faith thing, or perhaps a fun story, but hopefully not another rat-holed memory from worse times. He set aside the thought and chose instead to be gratified in the way Rorik arched under him.

Rorik's hands curled in hair and slid down Astarion’s spine, but that left claw hesitated at his waistband and instead formed a self-restraining fist in the elf's untucked shirt. No, no, he wanted Rorik to go further. He wanted to give Rorik his hit of destroying bliss, keep him close, keep him asleep and unaware of how unfit his favorite “pain in the ass” was for him.

His guts were grinding acid at the wolves playing tug-o-war in his silent chest. Rorik aroused Astarion's dead flesh and dead heart, that was true, but it repulsed him that the only catharsis he could summon for that were the things he could do to Rorik's flesh to lure him closer. It made it feel like working one of his marks, the men and women who’d walk and blush at his side without knowing they were good as dead. This felt like raping himself and Rorik with a predatory false self.

Astarion wanted to sink through the floor into the dirt and become beetle shit, he wanted to make Rorik wail his name, and he wanted to drag all of the beauty in the world through the tar in his soul for revenge. He hated feeling it all at the same time, but most of all, his worm-holed brain screamed to keep Rorik in place, with him, blind to his truth but with him.

Gods, five minutes ago he'd accused Rorik of potentially being involved in his murder, then held him at knifepoint while the fool giggled at the game. It was only a matter of time before he saw it all for what it was. The flailing of some irreversibly ruined creature. But he could keep Rorik coming back...

I just need a little more. Stay a little longer. A few more moments to last me once you-

Astarion flattened himself to Rorik's sprawled body to let him feel the arousal he’d inspired. Putrid. Rorik's lips stretched open to drag in a much needed breath, face screwing up as his head fell back while he was ground upon. He submitted to the desire to crush Astarion closer. His arms would snap taut about Astarion so fast when he became overcome by desire. This yearning squeeze was the signal of victory for Astarion every time. He'd won. Rorik was his. He'd pushed him to the-

Rorik broke from the embrace of their lips and turned his face away, sucking down two great breaths between his words “Solan's tits… Astarion?... Astarion, Wait.”

Rorik's arms loosened from him, then carefully lifted away. He put them at his sides and flattened his hands against the reed mat in a calculated manner. Astarion's command over the situation had slipped away. He could feel warm breath heating his cheek and sense eyes trying to find his own. Astarion didn't meet the other's gaze, he couldn't because he didn't want to see Rorik's bloody concern. It was worse than the most depraved leer.

“What? Darling, you're souring the mood. Wouldn't you rather…” Astarion tried to put them back on course by laying a perfectly placed kiss at the space just under Rorik's right ear.

Predictably, the man shivered at that delicate affection and his hands clapped over Astarion's thighs to apply their crushing squeeze of approval. Gods, you're easy. Right back on the road, like recalling a loyal mutt gone sniffing too far ahea-

The thought nauseated him the moment it completed itself in his head, comparing Rorik to an animal to be commanded. The revulsion turning his stomach gave him pause, stopping him dead in the middle of suckling a decadently soft earlobe between his lips to hiss mournfully.

Rorik's hands pressed over the mound of each shoulder. He pushed slowly, putting space between them. Chaos erupted within Astarion like a crowd of men shouting over one another.

No! Not yet… Gods, thank you… Don't leave!?

Astarion was made to sit up with Rorik as he rose from the mat. He was then seated in the paladin's lap, but there was nothing titillating about it. Rorik's eyes bore through him like drill heads. His stare made Astarion feel naked when they were like that, stripped, but not erotically. He just saw him. Through him. Into him. He used to hate that and it still unnerved him, being seen.

“Astarion, let's talk about this first,” He spoke much too softly, like addressing a sniffling child. It made Astarion feel infantile.

“Talk? Why? Don't you want to forget where we are? For just a moment?” Astarion pivoted, sliding a palm over Rorik's cheek to hook his fingers over the back of his neck, bringing him close again.

If he kissed and nibbled just right, between the scars, Rorik would offer a feed. Bastard loved pain. Probably needed it to get off at this point. A bite would put a stop to this nonsense, all Astarion needed was permission. It was time to bring a sword to a knife fight.

“Ast-... Oh my….- wait, wait! No.” Rorik forced his hands between them again to put a foot of distance between his neck and Astarion's fangs.

Gods damn it. Astarion's stomach twisted, but not out of hunger, at the word no. A word he barely knew how to use. He couldn't ignore it. Rorik had refused him. He had to stop.

“Astarion, I don't-... I want to be told what you want. I don't want to guess. We agreed not to, I want to be sure this is really what you want.” Rorik told him, again too gently, and let his hands settle at either side of the other's waist.

“I would have thought I seemed damn sure of what I wanted eight seconds ago, but I'm starting to think you've gone and robbed me of even that!” Astarion swatted at Rorik's hands to banish them from his body and spat bitterly before he could think better of it.

He’d lost at his own game, all because he couldn't hold his disgust at bay anymore. Rorik must have sniffed it out. Bastard had ruined him. Taken away the one thing he truly was good at. Or good for.

Rorik said nothing and only looked at him, brows pinching and turning upward just as his eyes revealed his exhaustion. Astarion had to look away. It hurt. It was fucking agony to be looked at that way and see how lost Rorik appeared on what to do or say.

I'm projecting. Fuck.

No, Rorik knew exactly what he wanted to do. He'd wanted clarification on what Astarion wanted and expected and asked. Astarion on the other hand…

“I-... I don't know what I'm trying to do.” Astarion lied and told the truth at the same time. Felt disgusting, hiding intentions but admitting uncertainty in the same breath.

“What do you not want to do?” Rorik asked, but Astarion wasn't sure what to make of the phrasing.

Ah! Yes, a reference toward Astarion's lurid tendencies. Yes, he used to pretend to “want” just about anything to hook a mark and gain their implicit trust. Astarion's palm struck Rorik, albeit not as hard as he deserved, upon the creek and jaw to shove him away. Bastard's hands clenched in his shirt on reflex, making escape more difficult than it should be. “The hells is that supposed to mean? Do I have to spell it out for you again?! I played the role of a prostitute. It was all lies and-”

“No no! I meant that: Sometimes it's easier to know what you don't want.” Rorik barely restrained a bellow as he rushed the words past the hand which muffled him. He continued, more mindful of his voice. “Which is. I don't know… Something to go on.”

Gods, Astarion loathed to do it, to let go of the misfired anger, but the wisdom Rorik spoke was sufficient. He felt foolish for the misunderstanding, too, and he burned with renewed anger and irritability. He knew one thing he didn't want, and it left him feeling that he appeared inordinately needy as he dropped his hands into his lap uselessly.

“I don't want to be alone… Tonight I mean. I don't want to be alone tonight.” Astarion admitted part of the problem, painfully.

“And I am happy to resolve that. Anything else you don't want?”

Astarion was reassured, a little. Trying to think about what he wanted was, indeed, fucking impossible. He was too shameful to admit that he was trying to pick up where he left off seducing Rorik for fear he would one day leave him in the absence of sex. Astarion tried to figure out how to tell enough of the truth not to hate himself.

“I don't want to… I don't want to hate it. Sleeping with you. I don't want sex. But I want it.” Astarion gripped Rorik's shoulders tightly and mimed jerking him close, but his eyes soon had to crush shut to hold back tears. “...But I can't. The thoughts, the loathing. It comes when I used to be able to just. Put myself away and do what I came to do.”

Rorik's hands covered the back of Astarion's fingers where they pressed red marks into his shoulders, pulling them down to be held tightly between their bodies. Thumbs stroked over his knuckles so tenderly. It was far more than Astarion felt he deserved.

Rorik kept his eyes on their entwined hands. “I understand, I think.”

“I don't… Want to treat you like a victim. But I don't want you to..-” he lost his words in his throat.

Rorik lifted Astarion's left hand to his lips, as he so often did. He was starting to wonder if the man had a hand fetish. “You can tell me anything, I swear that I'll try to understand. What don't you want me to do?”

Why are you good to me?

“I just. Don't want you to leave… Tonight.” Astarion wasn't ready to tell Rorik that he was waiting for him to wake up one morning jaded and too exhausted from this game to carry on playing it.

lips pressed to the inside of Astarion's wrist. “Then you have me until Sol calls me to prayer, and then you'll have me again if you wish it. And you may do, or not do, whatever you like with me... And changing your mind is perfectly legal."

That made Astarion's chest tight. Bastard was getting too good at quelling the storms in Astarion's head. It scared him, the possibility that Rorik could use that new talent to manipulate just as he'd been manipulated. Drag along the carrot of innocent affections. But, to gain what? Rorik had offered it countless times with almost no gain. He just didn't seem work the way Astarion did.

I don't deserve this.

At least, for now, Astarion knew what he wanted after a moment more watching Rorik tenderly worship his hand with a savage mouth. He longed for more of that specifically.

“Would you let me kiss you?” He parroted, then added after another moment of careful thought, “...I want that. With certainty. I want to kiss you until our lips bruise, actually,”

Rorik smiled in Astarion's favorite way. His head tipped to one side while a silent laugh left him through a grin which pressed his eyes closed.

“I could gladly piss away the whole night with that if you let me, you should be careful what you wish for,”

“Oh? You're dealing with a professional. I doubt you'd last ten minutes.” Astarion goaded.

“Sounds like grounds for a bet. Loser has to be the big spoon.” Rorik taunted back.

“Done,”

Arms clenched tight under Astarion's weight, scooping him under the rump to smash him close. Rorik slotted his face under Astarion's chin for a kiss at the join of his clavicle.

“Cheeky,”

“You never specified where I was to kiss you, care to offer further instruction?” Rorik murmured into his skin.

Smart bastard, “You're tricking me into setting boundaries again, aren't you?”

“Yep,” was Rorik's shameless, one syllable admission of guilt.

“Fine, nothing below the neck.”

“And not my ears, please.” Rorik added.

“... Because that gets you-”

“Unreasonably hot, yes.”

A kiss brushed under Astarion's left jaw as Rorik's arms relaxed to let him sink again. It made him shiver.

“So, we have an accord?” Astarion had to beg one more assurance just because he knew he'd be given it freely.

Lips pressed dryly over his own before he got his answer. “Yes,” he heard right before another peck landed right between his eyes, followed by a chuckle.

“This isn't exactly what I had in mind.” Astarion complained softly, unsure what to do with the squirmy, restless feeling in his core. Rorik was being too endearing. That's what got them into this mess. Fucker kept making him feel- well…. Making him feel.

“Then, I will require another round of your instruction on how, precisely, Mr. Ancunin wishes to be kissed?”

“Gladly.” Astarion promised.

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence [Extended Demo]:💙Quality of life changes + Q&A.💙

Hello and welcome new followers! To show my appreciation for all the support I've received again, here's one of the Valentines Day concept drawings finished! A big thank you to everyone that has continued supporting this through a like, re-blog, fanart, comment, tip jar, share, etc. :,]

I wasn't expecting it to take as long as it did but I'm very happy with the result and how much I've been improving! I'm not too good at drawing angled faces so being able to get it to look just right made me very happy! :,]

I still have this one to go so hopefully at some point I'll have it done!

Quality of life changes:

*Please note that these changes aren't in the [Extended Demo] yet! It'll be something for me to work on adding and I'll let it be known in a update post!

Now that it's been two weeks of the [Extended Demo] being released, It's time to go over some changes to help the player out when going through the game!

I noticed from comments and playthrough's that certain Bad endings/Neutral story progressions were difficult to find, especially the full afternoon route. I don't want players to feel burnt out from trying to search for everything.

I want to add a check-list menu that shows all the Bad/Neutral endings you can get while playing so it's easier to navigate the game.

2. For those that are new or have been here for some time, entering the cabin with Noah starts Day 3 due to the player(Y/N) being lost in the terrain for 2 and a half days which Noah mentions. Sometimes this can get confusing since some consider it Day 1 while the game considers it Day 3.

It's still up in the air about how I'm going to go on about this but I'm thinking about adding a little notification tab in the upper left corner of the game to notify the player(Y/N) of what day it is in the game to resolve confusion.

3. I talked about this last week but I didn't know until recently that the tags I use for Trembling Essence were very unorganized and hard to search through.

I went through and tried my best to re-organize all of the lore and art about Noah/game posts. I also cleaned up the #Trembling Essence tag since it was flooded with game development posts and not much else. I'm also working on a master post and plan on creating some reference sheets of Noah which will be placed under a different tag! :]

#Get to know: Noah : This will be filled with answered asks and lore dump. Sometimes(?) there's random dev-logs that have lore attached to them too. #TE Updates : This only includes dev-logs/updates about the game and development progress. #Trembling Essence : This tag is mainly used to post fan art / art and anything else in general that might belong here which includes lore posts. I really want searching through the tag to be enjoyable and not filled with a bunch of dev-logs.

Q&A / Ask box is open:

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I would really like to hear from you guys!

I really wanted some of the lore to be found through playing versus me just answering everything. :]

If you've already sent in a ask, I did see it I just need time to answer since I like to respond with doodles/drawings and helps me practice. :]

That's all I have to share right now! Thank you for the continued support, I wholeheartedly appreciate it. :,]

[jaythedagger]

the possible endings / final characters in ‘until dawn’ and what would be my favourite potential interrogation lineups for the movie:

•==================•

jess and ashley - two survivors

jessica being the final girl was my favourite ending until last year where i rewatched a playthrough and realised how scary this possibility would be for both of the girls and the investigators. you have one survivor, severely physically injured and upset who doesn’t have a clear picture on anything that happened that night at all; she can only provide brief details from her own experience, as well as her worry for her boyfriend mike, which is all expected and ordinary. and then the other survivor, who saw elaborate torture chambers and murder and supernatural, carnivorous beasts tearing her friends apart and just before you think she is going crazy and that neither of their stories coincide, she says she heard jessica calling out to her in the mines, and when jessica is asked about this? it’s the only thing she is certain about; she did not call out to ashley that night.

jess - lone survivor, final girl

there is something about a horror / thriller story that finishes with no living person knowing what actually happened. jessica is so exhausted, and checked out, and is going in and out of confusion and worry. you just feel terrible for her. the viewer knows her character is completely different and has had the biggest shift among all of the characters. jess will never recover from this. she doesn’t know what happened to all of her group (including her boyfriend) and likely never will, because she has no idea what happened. another unsolved case plagues the mountain.

sam - lone survivor, final girl

you think everyone is about to be in the ground. bloody. perished. very, very dead. until wendigo hannah saves sam, showing that the sisters’ memories still survive and so do their feelings regarding these people who were once their friends. hannah is thanking her for not participating in the groups antics on the night of their death. she was her best friend! its an emotional and unexpected ending. and sam’s interrogation is incredible. i can picture her way into the future becoming one of those older women with a folktale that spreads around town telling what happened that night and after no one believes her, she goes insane and closes herself off from the world, living in a cabin of her own.

everyone lives (hooray!)

for obvious reasons. it’s badass. it’s beautiful. it’s action-horror movie swag. they make it out of the cabin with mike and sam’s survival tactics, wendigo hannah saves sam, and they all have each other. then we get the scene of wendigo josh that highlights the only person that suffered hannah and beth’s tragic fate was their own sibling who didn’t get the help he needed and in turn, tried to make his whole friend group suffer through a torturous and traumatic night due to the consequences of their actions, however naive and accidental they were.

•==================•

i would love to hear the opinions from anyone who had the time to read this far. who is in your final ‘until dawn’ line-up? ⏳

[diaphin93]

Thank you for pointing out the Dimidue vs Dimilix thing. I get loving angst and why people ship the latter. But what really grinds my gears is the fact that Dimidue has less fanfiction than Dimiclaude. Dimitri and Claude barely even interact together in game. They interact more in Hopes. Meanwhile Dedue and Dimitri are practically inseparable. Their paired ending has Dedue being the royal consort. I can't help but wonder if it's because Claude is lighter skinned and more "conventionally" attractive.

The Edelcrit crowd keeps trying to pain her as racist, but it's hard not to say the pot's calling the kettle when you look at how often they forget about Dedue when discussing Black Eagles vs Blue Lions.

Honestly? I think Dimidue has alot more high quality angst potential than Dimilix in my opinion. It makes me think of the impression a friend of mine had when first playing Azure Moon. During her first playthrough, she speculated that Dedues attitude was some act and it would be revealed that he wanted to get close to Dimitri to get revenge for his people, because he seemed to be just too calm and subservient for what was done to his people by Faerghus, while also keeping a distance from Dimitri during their supports. And I totally get this, I personally also would have initially assumed that Dedue hides more anger than he shows, because why set up the dynamic of him being a survivor of genocide by Dimitris people, if not for some pay off, especially considering Azure Moons themes of revenge and being haunted by the dead? Alas, it didn't came to be because the game instead has Dimitri just play Faerghus police by squashing the Duscur Rebellion without another genocide, instead of turning against the nobles who commit it to begin with, and Dedue is effectively written out of the story in Part 2, due to being an optional re-recruit you can easily miss and so that Dimitri can have his loner boar arc.

Also I'm not really saying that I want Dedue to ultimately turn against Dimitri and become his enemy, but some messy complicated feelings and resentment would have added much needed depth to both the plot and Dedues character. Usually you would expect it to be like Dedue claiming to actually hate Dimitri for what Faerghus people did to his, while having conflicting feelings because over the years he grew to genuinly love and care for him, while it would have been a good growing experience for Dimitri, becoming much more aware of the pain and resentment others feel, similar to his own hatred against Edelgard, and how he as the King ultimately shares his own responsibility for Faerghus bloody history. Sadly the game never challenged Dimitri to this extent and makes his entire character development purely centered around Byleth and Rodrigue, but I think the set up has alot of potential for some introspection and alot of Angst when shipping those two.

But alas it shows the Fandoms strong racial bias against men of color, especially those who present as very masc. Instead they go for your typical two light-skinned Bishonen options for the most part. When it comes to Dimitri and Claude, I have my own problems with the ship. It is for all intends and purposes basically just Dimigard in Yaoi, the ship centers usually purely Dimitris values and validates his feelings and perspective over Claudes, enforcing this very white savior-esque perspective on themes of racism. I would say Hopes even made this much more clear, considering how their interactions are fairly awkward and Claude practically promises Dimitri to turn on him when it comes to taking out the church, something strongly hinted at in AG's ending. Alas, I also think they lack alot of chemistry and I have a problem with how Claude inside Blue Lions routes is always marginalized and turned into either a sidekick or PoC in Distress for Dimitri to act as a white savior towards, with little agency and respect for his own perspectives and ambitions. It is different in the case of Edelgard and Claude, where superficially people claim that he just follows everything Edelgard says, ignoring the larger context of him acting the entire time to push forward his own ambitions and that there differences are much more nuanced, them agreeing in their opposition against the Church and Crests but otherwise having distinct goals.

But back to the topic, I would say, yes, Claude being a more conventionally attractive in anime terms, which means bishonen, and lighter skinned PoC plays strongly into it. Claude being smaller and presented as physically weaker than Dimitri also usually pushes him into the position of the Bottom or Uke in that ship, which is another problem in the way PoC's are often represented, namely that Brown Men are usually only validated when they can be contextualized as emasculated and the more effeminate part of a ship compared to the stronger and more dominent white partner. We see this Dynamic play out in one of the most notorious Edelcrit ships, which also features DimiClaude. It generally reveals a strong racist element inside Fandom by erasing Claudes culturally middle eastern inspired heritage by recontextualizing Almyra as Japanese, a culture that white supremacy often contextualizes as the Model Minority, and presents him as the submissive to Dimitris dominant, while also being used to elavate Dimitris status as a white savior to further glorify him. I think this happening in one of the most popular FE3H Fanfics, that goes into alot of religious apologetics as well and involves strong misogynistic themes both surrounding Byleth and Edelgard, reveals a strong anti-MENAT (an extended acronym to also include turkey) bias inside the community.

As I said, FE3H is a true microcosm of fandom and its typical biases, bigotries and problems, which is thanks to its diverse cast. The top list of AO3 ships also showed so much, it was predominantly white and light-skinned asians and alot of Harry Potter.