#where we get to see events prior to the games and not the game itself

[yuri-is-online]

Love and Deepspace Timeline: Xavier

This is all speculation and should not be taken as fact, I have made a previous post about Zayne, but as stated there I do not have the necessary cards to make one for Rafayel and will direct you to this post by u/joonmin on the love and deepspace subreddit. This post is being made before I have managed to complete the Myths date (as soon as I hit level 55 it is over for you hos) and will be updated at some point once I have finished it, but I think I have enough information to explain Xav's overall timeline and hopefully clear up a few things for people missing his cards.

I have included a TL;DR at the end of the post for people who don't want to get lost in the weeds of theorizing.

Some information from that post about Zayne will be re-hashed here to help provide context about the game's setting. SPOILERS FOR ALL IN GAME CONTENT UP TO CHAPTER 8, VARIOUS MOMENTS, AND ANECDOTES, PROCEED WITH CARE.

Current Timeline

The current timeline where the main story of LAD takes place is set in the year 2048 in a place called Linkon City. We are told that the Deepspace Tunnel opened 14 years prior and that is when wanderers started invading earth. There is a lack of understanding about why this has happened, and it has sparked an interest in space exploration in the hopes of finding a solution.

The Hunters Association is sort of like an adventurers guild? It's supervised by the government, and is sort of split between Hunters like MC and researchers attempting to understand what makes the wanderers tick.

This includes researching protocores, currently the only thing the hunter's association knows for sure is that they contain a great deal of energy, and that they can cause disease in humans based off of which category the protocore falls into. This is confirmed the be what is wrong with MC, and appears to be a problem all versions of her share.

The events immediately following the opening of the Deepspace Tunnel are referred to as the Catastrophe due to the amount of destruction caused by the influx of wanderers. This is what birthed the N109 Zone. According to the in game Spacepedia, it is surrounded by various other "no-hunt" zones, which it further clarifies as being places with "a chaotic Protofield and frequent Wanderer appearances," i.e. really dangerous places for people to live let alone go to. Civilians are outright banned and hunters need special permission to enter because of just how dangerous these places are considered to be.

Unlike Zayne and Rafayel, Xavier does not have an alternate self yet. The versions of him in his myths card and all of his anecdotes are all the same person, just at various points in his long life. The technicality of this is addressed in one of the shareable posts: Immortality No Longer A Dream! The article goes into detail about how a new biotech company using protocores to regenerate the heart. You can share this article with each of the three boys, who have different types of reactions, but Xavier's is not one of surprise or skepticism, but of acceptance. The article itself talks about immortality as something everyone will one day be able to accomplish, but Xavier disagrees.

Xavier's first two anecdotes, A Special Vacation and Passing By, both establish how exactly he has been living his life on earth since his arrival. We learn that he has been doing his best to keep a low profile by moving between various jobs and tries to avoid making friends. As mentioned by @exactlycleverpirate in the replies of this post (who has made their own timeline you can check out here) "Xavier says he has been on Earth for 214 years, and that this will be his last. That means he arrived in 1834. We also see in one of his Tender Moments, that he rented a book from the library 30 years ago. So he has definitely been on Earth longer than the Deepspace tunnel has been around." Chapter 8 ends tells us that soon Earth and Philos will be in alignment for the first time in billions of years, which is likely why Xavier says this year will be his last, but I am unclear about what exactly that will cause.

We learn that there are other immortals from the same place as Xavier living in Linkon City, and that some of the see him as a traitor. We can assume that many of these immortals are involved with Onychinus due to Xavier's knowledge of and interest in their organization.

It's not clear how or when Xavier chose to start working as a Deepspace Hunter, but the other jobs he's taken all seem to be related to the military/evol combat. He is also very keen on fighting wanderers, so being a hunter is a good way for him to hide in plain sight. Which is what he has been trying to do.

His Precious Bonfire date suggests he has been a hunter longer than MC and has a reputation of not participating in team events. He has the highest level of access to the Hunters Association database and seems to have a good working relationship with Jenna, who seems content to let him do his own thing. She also attempted to assign MC as his partner, in part seemingly because she wants to protect MC's evol.

There is of course also the concept of Lumiere, a legendary hunter who appears during the catastrophe caused by the Deepspace Tunnel and wreaked any wanderer he came across. He has a light evol, a giant bounty on his head, and looks exactly like Xavier when we see his wanted poster in Chapter 8. While MC might have her doubts, since we the reader know Xavier is immortal, it's not much of a jump to say these two hunters are the same person.

Chapter 8 gives us more detailed look at the exact dynamics these immortals have with each other, but I think it makes sense to talk about Xavier's origins first so we know where he is coming from.

Philos Timeline

As I said on my other post, all of the Myths cards take place on the planet of Philos. In the present timeline, Philos is no longer a planet, just a lonely core floating in deepspace at the other end of the deepspace tunnel. In Xavier's third anecdote, When Shooting Stars Fall, we finally learn what Philos is: it's Earth. An Earth that has been reborn by substituting the planet's old core with an artificial one and with a different name.

Now this anecdote takes place in the year 214, which is explained to us as meaning 214 years has passed since Earth was destroyed and reborn as Philos. How does that make sense if we are currently on a very much alive earth with a very dead Philos on the other end of the Deepspace Tunnel? No clue, but I think that's going to be one of the main focuses of the story. Something had to happen to Earth to make it become Philos, and then something happened to Philos to make it uninhabitable. Given what we know, both are likely related to wanderers.

I also want to briefly mention that in Rafayel's myths card, it is mentioned that the sea is missing so the Lemurians have no home. Based off of MC's description of the weather and how "fragmented landmasses" are being held together, I wonder if the re-birth of Earth as Philos is what caused the seas to dry up? And if so what role did MC have in the creation of Philos if any?

This anecdote is from the pov of MC who is studying at a school she simply refers to as "The Academy." It is unclear if this is the same school as she and Xavier are attending in his Lightseeker cards, but based off the uniform he wears and the sword he carries I think this is likely meant to be a highschool of some sort, and the Astria Knyght Academy is a form of military school equivalent to a college.

Xavier's words about immortality being a privilege come into play here as we learn something about MC: she always seems to have heart problems, specifically she always seems to have Protocore Syndrome, the exact same disease she currently has. In this anecdote she explains it as being a birth defect that has only one cure, a special protocore. One that supposedly can cure any illness.

Protocore disease prevents the patient from living forever, something Xavier finds very hard to accept. He abandons MC for a month without telling her where he is going to try and find this Protocore that she needs to live, but comes back too late. By the time he finds her, the core can't save her and he holds her as she dies. She asks if he thinks they will meet in her next life and he promises to always wait for her.

We know current timeline MC has shards of an Aether core in her heart, and that her heart is currently stable. While the anecdote does not outright say that the cure to Protocore Syndrome is an Aether core, Xavier's knowledge of them and his emotions when MC brings them up to him makes me think it probably is. Currently we do not know how an Aether core can be obtained, other than (assuming that is what he brought MC) Xavier was injured getting one. The MC here says she is unable to live for more that a century, something that has changed in her next re-incarnation but we don't know why.

When MC re-incarnates she is brought under the tutelage of the Grandis Knight, the personal knight and retainer to the King of Philos. Xavier is the Crown Prince of Philos, and is also studying under swordplay under the Grandis Knight. She has no memories of Xaveir, who does not tell her about their shared past despite holding on to the gift she made for him: a star sword tassel. This doesn't seem to bother him as much as you might expect, he mostly just seems happy to have her alive again.

She is stupid jealous of that tassel because Xavier openly admits to being in love with the girl who gave it to him. But he also speaks about her and the MC in the same sentence if that makes any sense? He sees both versions of her as her, and just as he promised he intends to wait for her so they can be together.

Xavier is an interesting character (to me anyway) because he has a pretty clear arc to his attitude towards his relationship with MC as he ages. He starts off as being shy in the third anecdote, then he moves to being openly teasing and affectionate (outright asking to elope and saying things that make it sounds like they might have been betrothed) in his lightseeker cards, to how he is at the end of his myths date and currently with MC: restrained in his interactions with her but unable to completely keep himself away. Why he has become restrained, why he thinks he needs to distance himself from MC is unclear. What is clear is that he has no interest in taking the throne from his father, a man he actively hates and does not seem to see eye to eye with. While their relationship seems to have always been tense, the breaking point is during Xavier's Gladius Ceremony.

The Gladius Ceremony is a sort of coming of age ceremony where the heir proves their ability to ascend the throne by killing a wanderer with nothing but their lightblade. Something happened during that trial that Xavier does not want to talk about and MC mentions he has "changed" since then. Like he left part of himself behind????

As an interesting note this trial takes place in a forest, a sentient forest much like No-Hunt Zone 7 in chapter three.

Xavier says he cannot be the man his father wants. What his father wants is not clear, but I personally think it has something to do with what wanderers are as Xavier seems to have a degree of sympathy towards them if they show a degree of sentience. It also might have something to do with how Philos was made, as both MC and Xavier acknowledge that the planet is dying.

The MC mentions that Xavier leaves her a lot but always comes back within a specified time frame. He goes on expeditions into Deepspace, but never tells MC what he is looking for and we as a reader do not learn. He does, however, mention finding a newborn planet filled with flowers and offers to take MC there if she will give up on being a knight. She is confused, as her entire life's purpose has been to be his knight, and doesn't fully comprehend a world where Xavier isn't going to be king.

But the card story starts with MC being crowned Queen, with Xavier as her Grandis knight, so we know that's what will happen. So neither of them got what they wanted in the end.

The "Lightseeker" title of Xavier's card refers to a unit of knights that are commanded by the Crown Prince and answer only to the royal family. Their duty is to keep Philos safe from Wanderers, much like the modern day Hunter's Association. Both the MC and Xavier are training to become Lightseekers, and have a sort of rivalry for the spot. MC keeps beating Xavier when they spar but he seems to have the stronger Evol so they're quite equally matched. It's stupid cute how everyone but Jeremiah thinks they hate each other, speaking of which:

Jeremiah is a friend of MC's in the same class as her. He's also her wingman who keeps trying to help set her and Xavier up, something Xav doesn't seem fully aware of. He's stupid jealous of their friendship which Jeremiah seems to find really funny (he's the only one who knows how delulu they are for each other and seems to find a lot of enjoyment in teasing them.)

Jeremiah also ends up being a knight under MC's command after they graduate the academy. Xavier however... goes missing after a meeting with his father and does not reappear even after he dies. He is missing for a period of 200 years until MC finds him again in the same forest that his Galdius Ceremony took place in. He saves her from... something. An illusion? A cosmic vortex? Whatever it was Xavier has discovered something that affects the health of people's hearts. And he seems determined to not get close to MC or let MC get close to him because of it.

I think it might just be because she is about to die from her disease, which she doesn't seem aware she has but always does, and Xavier doesn't want to have to watch her die again. But I haven't finished the card yet so I don't know.

He also seems to be under the impression the whole world is going to end now, and not just Philos.

The last thing we need to take from all of this information about Philos is the existence of a group called the Backtrackers. Xavier was with them once, but he isn't anymore. MC was seemingly under their care and, according to his Passing By anecdote, traveled through the Deepspace Tunnel with them but was lost. I'll explain more about what I think about them now that we're ready to return to the present timeline, but just know that the Backtrackers are A) from the Philos timeline and B) likely immortal just like Xavier is.

Back to the Present

In Chapter 8 you are either introduced or re-introduced to Jeremiah, who now owns a flower shop called Philo, likely named after his home planet of Philos. He is a friend of Xavier's and they both share the same current goals, which includes protecting the MC. Jer's job in this chapter is to provide MC with a fake identity to use in the N109 zone, but he does provide us with some information to try and tie up some loose ends with Xavier's timeline.

While the Nonintervention principal he refers to probably does have something to do with MC, it also likely just refers the fact that since both Xavier and Jeremiah are from Philos and therefore the future they are trying not to interfere with the timeline too much. Something that whoever blew up MC's house does not care about anymore, implying that if that was indeed Onychinus then we can assume they likely are also immortals from Philos who want MC and her Aether core for something.

When MC finds Xavier again after his 200 year disappearing act he is leading a squad of Lightseekers from various units. I think these are probably the Backtrackers, and that there was a split in the group after the MC and the Aether core went missing during their journey into the Deepspace Tunnel. We know that at least Xavier has been here longer than the Deepspace Tunnel has been, but there is room for speculation around Jeremiah and the others. As Pirate again pointed out in the comments, whatever disaster during the travel the Backtrackers took into the Deepspace Tunnel likely caused them to arrive at a bunch of different points in time.

While this confirms that Xavier and Jeremiah are not from this timeline it raises a lot of questions about MC. Her memory is constantly spotty, and I had wondered if that had something to do with the Aether core... but now.

With the way Xavier tries to limit his interactions with her and says he's the last person who should be trying to get close to her I wonder if Xavier is worried MC is being erased from time? Or if she belongs to this timeline so while he loves her, while he wants to be the one she chooses, he subconsciously knows he's from a doomed timeline and therefore unable to stay with her. This also raises questions about the other two love interests; we know MC has forgotten things about Rafayel and I theorized she has forgotten something about Zayne. Is this because they also don't belong? Does MC not belong? Or is it something related to the trauma MC experienced from being experimented on?

TL;DR

This was all pretty complicated so I thought I would sum up the basic points because I felt a bit incoherent.

Xavier is the Crown Prince of Philos, a future version of Earth that was created by replacing Earth's core with a fake one.

This fake core allowed the citizens of Philos to live forever unless they had the rare heart condition know as Protocore Syndrome, something the MC always has no matter how many times she is reborn.

The cure to Protocore Syndrome is a rare Protocore that Xavier tries to get for her but gets back with too late. He watches her die and while he was already shown dislike seeing her injured, this seems to turn it into a genuine trauma of his. He is shown to be deeply distraught seeing her gravely injured or sick in multiple moments/dates and is determined to take care of her. In a rare decision by the writers, this does not appear to manifest itself as a desire to not see her engage in combat as he trusts her ability to take care of herself, just maybe not her willingness.

MC is reborn and begins military training with Xavier intending to become his knight, but Xavier refuses to take the throne of Philos for reasons he does not share with MC. He also begins disappearing for long periods of time on journeys into space. On one of these journeys he finds a young planet filled with flowers and attempts to convince MC to elope with him and abandon her dreams of being a knight. He seems uncertain if MC's desire to be with him is just because she has been told she is to be his knight or if it is because she genuinely loves him; Xavier knows which one he wants it to be though.

After talking with his father he disappears for 200 years and founds a group of knights investigating a forest with an unstable Protofeild where killed Wanderers simply don't stay dead. It is my theory that these are the Backtrackers mentioned by past MC, Jeremiah, and Xavier.

Xavier arrives in this current timeline in year 1834. Other immortals from Philos begin to arrive in the current timeline at different points and agree upon something they call the Nonintervention Principal, likely to keep from destroying the spacetime continuum too much. What they are refusing to intervene in is unclear.

The Backtrackers made a journey through the Deepspace Tunnel with future past MC and an Aether core, but something goes wrong and she disappears. Xavier has been waiting to see her again ever since he got here, and intends to wait forever.

There are more immortals than just Xavier and Jeremiah living in Current Timeline Linkon City, some of which are very likely allied with Onychinus and searching for the MC. Why is related to the Aether core in her heart, but might also have something to do with her Evol.

It is my personal belief that many of these citizens of Philos used to be in the Backtrackers, but even if they didn't they see Xavier as a traitor to his people and more importantly to them. Why is unclear, but I imagine it might be because of their goals for the MC and her Aether core. In a broader sense it might be because they intend to do something to current earth to save their home, and Xavier disagrees with that but the two things do not seem mutually exclusive.

Earth and Philos are about to be in very close alignment, and both Xavier and Jeremiah expect something bad to happen around that time.

Final Thoughts

I would be interested in knowing the direct Chinese translation of these particular lines from precious bonfire to see if there is any difference to them... but honestly this is one of the things that sold me on him. She dies and he follows the traces of her light until he finds her again, and he tries to keep her alive but he fails and so he follows her again.

I saw at least one post wondering of Xavier will betray MC and rip the Aether core out of her heart, and I want to clear that up here. I understand why people might think this if they haven't read any of his anecdotes but no, that's not going to happen unless it's the only way to save MC's life. Xavier very much wants to keep MC alive, his efforts to distance himself and withhold information from her are always done to serve that goal.

Rafayel is the one who has a pretty good reason to want to cut out MC's heart, not Xavier. And I do mean good reason I don't really hate him for it and am not trying to imply he's a bad character or a bad romance option for it.

One of Xavier's immortal friends is name Noah. There is always a chance that this is a coincidence, but there's a part of me that wonders if he shares the same name as Dr Noah because they are the same person. The anecdote he appears in involves Xavier getting him a new identity so I don't think they're likely to be related.

I actually really like MC , Xavier, and Jeremiah's friendship and sort of hope it gets some focus in some small way in the future. Jer and Xav had to have bonded over losing MC, not to mention Jeremiah spent 200 years fighting Wanderers with MC under her command. She talks about him as being her best friend!!! I want to see more of him!!! (if he doesn't have a partner and if I can't have Tara x Jenna I should be allowed Tara x Jeremiah)

I'm worried there might be a plot point that involves Xavier dying in the future and then maybe we get to meet a different timeline version of him and end up on the opposite side of the "can't tell this ghost wearing your face how I really feel" spectrum.

Speaking of which I like how Xav seems to respect MC's current life and doesn't expect her to be a carbon copy of her past selves. It's nice (stares at critically acclaimed mmorpg villain Emet Selch)

Anyway that's it. I'll update the post when I finish the Myths card, which I fully expect to make me cry like a baby. If anything confused you my askbox is open, just because I write for twst doesn't mean I am not open to talking about this if I made mistakes or if you feel like any of this was unclear.

[askmerriauthor]

Regarding this post I made earlier examining Geeta's antics in Paldea.

In Defense of Geeta

I feel like Geeta absolutely was written to be the shitty boss she is intentionally. There's too many situations where attention is drawn to her bad habits, either as them being directly pointed out or indirectly referenced. But what I really hope the case ends up being is that she's not at all a villain. Pokemon has gone the route of the suspicious CEO-type character being the "twist villain nobody could have seen coming!" for several games now. It's getting pretty old and I feel like it would be a weak direction for S/V to take.

Interestingly enough, one actually can look at all of Geeta's actions and not really see anything nefarious about them. Discussion after the jump for the sake of spoilers and wall'o'text.

It's very easy to look at Geeta and think she's a Bad Guy, given her strange behavior and all the negative attention she gets among the fandom. I'm certainly not innocent of seeing her in a less than endearing light, given my prior post. But a lot of that view does come from real world parallels and comparing the game's presentation to past Pokemon games in which nobody ever says the slightest criticism of the Champion, which may not necessarily be fair.

One of the biggest justifications Players have to indicate Geeta is bad is the way she meddles with the Gym Leaders and how corporate she's made the League. I pointed that out myself. But to flip it around... maybe she behaves that way because it's what the Gym Leaders need?

We constantly see Geeta inserting herself into events throughout the game. She shows up at the Academy, pops up at Gyms seemingly at random, and is always talking about how she has other pressing business that pulls her away from lingering too long. The only way she gets time to participate in casual encounters is when others (usually Nemona or the Player, if not both) take some of her workload off her plate. While I criticized the way Geeta had apparently deeply intertwined the Pokemon League, the Academy, and the Paldean economy itself, it does stand to reason doing so puts a ton of work on her having to maintain it. That's her own doing though, so it's a case of her getting what she signed up for and she never seems to shy away from it despite her habit of recruiting others to help.

The Gym Leaders, though? While they do remark about Geeta meddling with them, giving frequent reviews, and otherwise sticking her nose into their business, they've also shown that they're all pretty flaky. Rather, they're a total mess both individually and collectively. It's possible that the reason Geeta is constantly keeping an eye on them is because they need that in order to fit the direction Geeta is trying to guide the League in.

When we meet each of the Gym Leaders both in our first encounter and in the rematch post-game, we learn a lot about their behaviors through casual exposure. All of the Gym Leaders have a job besides running a Gym and, with the exception of Grusha, all of them show that running the Gym is by no means their top priority. Nor are any of them especially reliable when it comes to managing their Gyms. Based on past games, we're accustomed to Gym Leaders taking a large amount of pride in their position and holding it in esteem even when they also had other simultaneous jobs. We've seen Gym Leaders and Elite Four who were also artists, performers, athletes, CEOs, and such before. That's not the case with Paldea though; to these Gym Leaders, it's just a job and not necessarily one they put a lot of personal investment into compared to their actual passions/careers. It's mentioned that Geeta "strong-armed them" into taking on the role, which can be read that she went out of her way to convince strong, capable Trainers to become Gym Leaders for the sake of Paldea and because she saw the potential they held but weren't utilizing.

Katy flat-out forgot that she was under review and only appeared for the rematch by pure coincidence because she just so happened to visit that day. When we first meet Kofu, he and his assistant are both a totally scatterbrained mess. Iono only bothers with being a Gym Leader because it gets her viewership for her streamer career; if something else better came along, she'd surely jump for it immediately. Brassius is very upfront about his artistic passions being the number one thing in his life and openly abandons his responsibilities as a Gym Leader to pursue them during the rematch. Tulip's modeling career keeps her busy and she only has just enough time to show up for a brief match before immediately leaving to get back to her work. Ryme is more focused on her music career and wasn't even the original Gym Leader; that position belonged to her sister, Professor Tyme, who left the role to become a teacher. Larry, despite being the most vocal about his dislike of Geeta's habits, is also the most distracted as he has three simultaneous jobs and constantly works overtime. Finally, Grusha doesn't have any job besides being a Gym Leader, but that's only due to an injury that has made it impossible for him to pursue his original passion. That same injury has likewise cost him his motivation and drive to improve; he's only hanging onto his role as Gym Leader because he doesn't think he has anything else going for him now.

With all that in mind, it makes sense a rigid sort like Geeta would want to keep a close watch and short leash on all these unreliable personalities, doesn't it? She has to keep tabs on them because they risk failing the various Trainers who hope to challenge them otherwise, along with squandering their own potential. Geeta is always very open about her desire to foster powerful Trainers out of Paldea, if nothing else. After the rematch, all the Gym Leaders express a level of understanding and even appreciation toward Geeta for what she's done for them. Grusha and Larry stand out in particular, as they both confess that her meddling has helped motivate them to go beyond what they've settled into. Where Larry mentions that Geeta will dock his pay if he wastes time, he also mentions that she insists he stop overworking himself with overtime hours. So it's possible she's simultaneously trying to keep him focused without letting him overdo it as well.

When it comes to how corporate Geeta has made the League, that's not technically fair to say either. It's an easy shorthand but not entirely accurate. The goal of corporations is to make profit no matter what, but that's not really Geeta's motivation. She's not looking to get rich or powerful, but to rally as many genuinely powerful and talented Trainers up within Paldea as she can. That, in and of itself, isn't at all a bad thing and is commonly shared among all regions that have a League. While I criticize League Points as being company scrip, it does supply not just Trainers but all citizens of Paldea with an alternative way of funding themselves. This would include the Gym Leaders; despite common remarks (which I have made myself) about Geeta not paying the Gym Leaders a living wage, it's entirely possible they do indeed make plenty to thrive on and just have their non-Gym Leader job because that's their true passion that they want to put their effort into. Be it cash or League Points, they do have a salary. Larry himself mentions it outright, while Grusha and Brassius don't seem to be in any financial straits despite their unstable working conditions outside the Gyms. When it comes to the region's economy as a whole, subsidizing major commercial chains throughout the region just to make food and supplies more accessible can't be cheap; when you sell goods to the PokeMart for cash, you only get a fraction of the total value, but get significantly more (usually double) the value in League Points. Geeta's overall emphasis doesn't seem to be shaping the League and its sphere of influence within Paldea to make herself wealthy or powerful, but rather to make the whole affair as plainly efficient and self-sustaining as possible. In that regard, she's done a fantastic job.

When all is said and done, I genuinely hope Geeta isn't a villain but simply a boss with lofty visions, exacting demands, and absolutely terrible interpersonal skills. I feel like she'd be a lot more interesting that way in that she'd be a genuinely flawed person without her issues just being dismissed as "because she's the Bad Guy".

[prokopetz]

Thank you for the explanation! ❤️ now I’m intrigued, though: Where can I find information on why 4E was published under a more restrictive license?

(With reference to this post here.)

Before we can talk about that, it's necessary to understand what an incredible shitshow 4E's commercial launch was in general. I go over that in some depth here.

Understanding the sequence of events outlined there is important because it dispels one of the most widely accepted wrong answers to your question: that Hasbro and WotC cooked up the 4E Game System License (GSL) because they didn't want a repeat of Pathfinder.

In truth, the 4E GSL is what caused Pathfinder; Paizo was one of a handful of third-party publishers who'd taken advantage of the D&D System Trademark License (STL) to produce officially branded D&D products, and they'd likely have been perfectly happy to continue doing so if WotC hadn't come to them and said "hey, if you want to remain STL-compliant, you need to throw away all of your 3E material and re-develop it for 4E, under a more restrictive license, with zero notice – that's cool, right?"

(It was not, in fact, cool.)

As for why the 4E GSL really happened, there are a variety of opinions on that – a lot of it ultimately comes down to internal office politics, so there may never be a clear answer. As far as I've been able to gather, however, the problem is that the OGL had always served two masters. By all accounts, several of the OGL's principal architects genuinely believed in establishing a creative commons for D&D – but that's not how they sold the idea to the suits at the head office.

Internally, the pitch in favour of the OGL was that it would allow WotC to delegate the creation of D&D supplements and adventures to third parties, allowing WotC itself to focus on core book sales. (i.e., the PHB/DMG/MM trio and the main setting hardbacks.) Core books were always the more lucrative side of the coin, with supplements and adventures serving less as a profit-making enterprise in themselves, and more as long-tail support to drive further core book sales. The prospect of being able to get that long-tail support for free was very tempting, and is likely the main reason that corporate agreed to publish the Third Edition under the OGL in the first place.

The OGL accomplished that, to a degree, but it also resulted in a lot of publishers lifting D&D's rules text wholesale – remember, the OGL allows verbatim copying-and-pasting of rules text, which was its main draw from the perspective of third-party publishers – and stuffing it into their own standalone games. This sort of thing was fairly small-time prior to the Pathfinder debacle, but there was enough of it going on for WotC's new owner, Hasbro, to see it as a thorn in their side.

TL;DR version: in all likelihood, 4E's GSL was an effort by Hasbro to rein in the OGL and return it to the purpose for which it had initially been sold to WotC corporate: an instrument for outsourcing D&D's long-tail support to unpaid third parties while reaping the benefits of that support in core book sales.

(Of course, as outlined in the linked post, what was actually accomplished was to shrink D&D's third-party support practically to nothing while simultaneously creating its own largest competitor; it's a fair question how much of this was due to the GSL itself, and how much of it was due to all the other corporate incompetence and general fuckery attendant to 4E's rollout, but either way, the result was WotC and Hasbro pulling the plug on 4E early, and reverting to the OGL for 5E. It was a learning experience all around – though the present business with the OGL 1.1 leads one to suspect that they didn't learn the right lessons!)

[yuurei20]

Good day! Thank you so much for your hard work on collection info about TWST, I really enjoy reading you. There is one question about timelines of TWST's events, particularly Playful Land. What about the version where this event takes place not so long before Book 7? It just seems strange for me that this event is may happen before Book 6 not just because of Ortho's mechanism but his closeness to Vil. Isn't it to early for them to be like that before Ortho became Film club's member? On the other hand it may be too late for first-years to worry about finals and for third-years to live in their dorms as you said in the post I'm referring to. This confuses me really much.

I hope you're doing well. Have a nice day!

Hello hello!! Thank you so much, you are so kind! And thank you for this question!

(For the curious, this is in reference to a response to an earlier question about a potential reading order that combines the game's main story and events.)

This is a great point! Not only is Ortho wearing the college gear that should place this event firmly after Book 6 (the gear itself is practically a Book 6 plot point, marking Ortho's transition into a student at the school), but Vil and Ortho are repeatedly seen to be very comfortable with one another during the events of Playfulland, which may be odd before 6.

The initial question was about a possible reading order rather than a literal timeline, and while I tried to arrange an interpretation that has as little weirdness as possible, this is some of the weirdness that is difficult to avoid :<

The main issue is Ace's line right at the beginning: he announces that Halloween and finals are coming up soon, and until a time loop is officially confirmed, this means that Playfulland simply has to be before the end of October, while Book 6 is canonically in February of the following year.

But! When deciding on a reading order just for your own enjoyment, there are no rules and we are free to do as we wish :> If Ortho and Vil's relationship (and Ortho's gear) are a bigger paradox for someone than one line from Ace about Halloween, then Playfulland can most definitely go after 6!

My initial graph is mostly attempting to match up the seasons and passage of time:

If we want to craft a timeline around Ortho, things can shift around a little:

But this will introduce new anomalies, like Vil lecturing Idia on not putting in enough effort into getting the sequel to Star Rogue made in Book 6, while in this order the sequel will have been announced months prior :<

@blanca-xwx was so kind as to point out that there are two more major time-contradictions with the above two calendars: Deuce and Epel.

We see them both learn their unique magics for the first time in Books 5 and 6, respectfully, which they then both use in Glorious Masquerade.

This should place these events solidly after Book 6, just like Playfulland, but also like Playfulland, Glorious Masquerade is confirmed in-game as being in October.

For the least amount of time-weirdness it might be best to ignore Crowley and play through after Book 6?

There doesn't seem to be a time-paradox-free order into which the story and events can be combined at the moment, but at least we are free to mix and match by personal preference for read-throughs! :> There is no right or wrong way to enjoy the game!

[beloved-cat-gremlin]

To all of us hoping that Gregory will be the protag of HW2, I have found a bit of info that might help fasten that theory.

I'm not sure if anyone else has pointed these things out before. So keep that in mind when reading.

Theory rambling incoming from here on out.

So a few weeks ago I got myself this lovely book here.

And while it is just a general cookbook with some fancy recipes in it, we all know that in true FNaF fashion there is more going on here than it seems.

And boy there sure is, even if some of these are rather obvious. Because throughout the entire book there are added pieces of paper with small notes that contain info on them.

And these little straps of notes are written by none other than Gregory himself. With the notes themselves indicating that these are post Security Breach as evident by these specific notes right here:

These are very clearly written by Gregory and all tie into the events of Security Breach.

(There are a few more notes mentioning how you should always keep your eyes on the Endos, grab an Ultimate Pass from Bonnie Bowl, Chica eating from the garbage, that you should grab a Party Pass for Fazerblast and use the blaster to stun animatronics, how Moon is and I quote "a nightmare animatronic" and to keep away from the Staffbot flashlights)

But there are even more notes in the book that do not follow the events of the game but rather talk about older versions of all the characters we all know and love. And not just that but Gregory is flat out describing mechanisms from previous games. Like this note:

Not to mention the note itself is attached to an image with the FNaF 1 office.

There is also notes on how you should watch Bonnie's every move, to never take your eyes off from Foxy's hook and how Foxy's eyepatch doesn't seem to stop him from hunting intruders.

But the most fascinating, and most random note to me, has to be this one:

A note from Gregory describing Ballora. I could kinda understand that Gregory might have gotten info on the classic four animatronics via searching stuff up, but the fact that Ballora is mentioned here, and only her from SL, makes me think that this is way more important than a random little easter egg.

Because let's take a look at the HW2 trailers again? We know for a fact that the three main games featured in this new one will be Security Breach, Pizza Sim and Sister Location.

And that is the important part, because Ballora was only and only in SL and nowhere else. Heck she was even the first animatronic teased in the first HW2 trailer.

Some people theorize that Cassie could be the one we play as in HW2 because of the Foxy ride shown in the second trailer, and with Cassie mentioning that she had been on this ride before, but here we have a game that includes Ballora and could be a potential GGY prequel where we play as Gregory.

Now we have a book with notes written by Gregory, mentioning Ballora. And not just that but HW2 could be where Gregory got all the info for the older animatronics from.

We do see that the new Foxy ride attraction includes the FNaF 1 office, which could be how Gregory knows Chica's specific attack pattern and also knows more about Bonnie and especially Foxy. Because outside of cutouts and references and images in SB and RUIN there is no way that any of these kids should really know much about Foxy.

Sure Cassie might know stuff from her dad but Gregory? There is no way he could have known most of this stuff. Unless he played a game prior to SB where he did get to know about the old animatronics.

And all of this isn't even me mentioning how Gregory, somehow, managed to dig up the old news paper articles from FNaF 1, 2 and 3 and put them into the cookbook.

Heck the first note you see from him is of the first location threatened to be shutdown because of the weird odor and mucus from the OG animatronics after the first MCI! Followed by the MCI report itself:

Other articles that were included are of the original help wanted ad in the paper where they are looking for a night guard. The article about the OG pizzaria closing down. The second help wanted poster from FNaF 2 which talks about the grand reopening in 1987. And the two news articles about Fazbear's Fright opening and then eventually burning to the ground.

Not sure how or why Gregory managed to get a hold on all of these and why he decided to include them in the cookbook. But they are there.

And that's kinda all the info I found myself. I'm not the best at doing these theory things but I'm trying.

Am I maybe digging for hints where there might not be any? Possibly.

Do I however feel that this could be important clues to figuring out more about Gregory? Oh absolutely.

[hockeylovee12]

Anyone But Him

Chapter One

July 1st, 2021

The summer sun slowly starts to sink casting a golden glow over the cloudless sky, as Luke's sleek white SUV glides along the I-90, following the signs for Massachusetts. His tires hum against the pavement, creating a steady rhythm within the backdrop of passing cars and typical highway sounds. 

Inside the car, the thumping beat of some random ass country song fills the air, and Luke absentmindedly taps his lengthy fingers along the smooth, cool surface of the leather steering wheel in front of him. 

For a moment, Luke's eyes temporarily leave the road ahead, as he glances towards the seat next to him, where Sadie dons a cropped lilac tank top, jean shorts, and a pair of worn-out Hightop Converse, quietly gazing out the window, while a book, a classic piece entitled Mrs. Dalloway rests on her lap.

Over ten hours have passed since they began the long drive from their hometown in Michigan to the small lake town in New Hampshire where Luke's family lake house awaits their arrival. 

Luke's eyes return to the road, and a small smile forms across his lips as he uses the button on his steering wheel to lower the volume of the music, "Excited for freshman year?" Luke asks his voice laced with excitement as he brings up the topic of college-a subject that has been occupying both their minds since they tossed their caps in the air at their high school graduation less than a month ago.

Sadie hesitates, the silence somewhat deafening against the fading music, and shifts in her seat causing the fabric of her tank top to cling to her skin. 

"Definitely" She replies, the word squeezing past the tight feeling in her throat as she forces a smile to cross her lips. 

"Michigan is gonna be so fucking awesome! I can't wait till we start!" Luke energetically adds, his previously small smile broadening into a wide grin

For him the idea of attending the University of Michigan with his best friend is more than just a hope or a silly dream, it's their reality, it's their plan. 

At least it's supposed to be.

"Have you picked your classes yet?" Luke continues, riding the wave of his anticipation.

She bites the inside of her cheek before mumbling "Sort of,"

Her hesitant response holds significant weight to an unforgettable event, eleven days prior, when the possibility of a different future presented itself-one that's not painted in blue and maize, but rather in the scarlet embraces of Rutgers University, a school attended and cherished by her late mother. 

The vivid image of ripping open her acceptance letter surfaces in her mind. 

She applied several months ago after being accepted to the University of Michigan, and with the exception of her dad-seeing as how she didn't wanna have to pay the $75 application fee out of her own pockets-she didn't tell anyone, because even with a 4.3 GPA and a long list of extracurriculars, the reality of actually getting accepted to Rutgers, was always a long shot, and there was no reason to get anyones hopes up or in Luke's case crush them, for something that probably wouldn't happen. 

Except it did happen. 

Rutgers accepted her and now she's faced with making a decision between going to Michigan with Luke or following in her mother's footsteps and attending Rutgers. 

She prepared herself to share the news with Luke the same day she received her acceptance but that same evening another, far more momentous event was taking place: The NHL Entry Draft.

This wasn't just any draft, this was Luke's draft. This was the day that would determine his future, determine if everything he had worked for, everything his family had worked for, his coaches, his teammates, every game, every loss, every win, if all of it was enough to make it to the NHL. 

So when his name was called as the fourth overall pick, to the New Jersey Devils-a team the Hughes family is very familiar with as one of Luke's older brothers, Jack was their coveted 1st overall pick, two years prior-the sheer look of happiness on Luke's face caused a surge of restitance to rush through Sadie's bones. 

And at that moment she thought 'How the hell could she possibly interrupt what is probably one of the most important moments in her best friends life, with news that would absolutely crush him?"

She couldn't, no she wouldn't. So instead she stayed quiet. 

Over the next few days, she probably rehearsed the conversation in her mind over a hundred times, promising herself she would tell Luke before, they left for their annual summer trip, but she didn't and she could lie and say she couldn't find the time, but the truth is what she couldn't find was the courage. 

Now they're two hours away from the lake house, where they'll spend the next eight days with Luke's family and a few of his brother's friends and Luke thinks she's going to Michigan with him, when the reality is she has no fucking clue where she's going yet. 

Sadie glances over at Luke, who has since returned the music to its blaring and probably ear-damaging volume and is tapping his fingers to the beat of a Morgan Wallen song. 

Sadie's mind trickles back to the beginning of their friendship nearly six years ago. 

It all started the same year Luke’s family moved to Canton, Sadie’s hometown. Luke was really nervous about starting at a new school, in a new environment -having previously lived in Toronto-and even more so because this would be his first time attending a school without his older brothers, who were both attending the local high school. 

On the first day of seventh grade, Sadie and Luke found themselves seated next to one another in homeroom. 

They didn’t talk much, or really at all over the first few weeks, both being rather shy, but all that changed when they were invited to a house party by a mutual friend. 

Sadie remembers having to beg and plead with her dad to receive permission to go, but eventually he agreed. 

It wasn’t the typical house party, like you see in the movies, there were no drugs or alcohol-thankfully considering this was a party for twelve year olds. 

However it was a makeout party, something neither of them had ever experienced before. 

People were playing spin the bottle, the PG-13 version of truth or dare, and the infamous seven minutes in heaven. 

Somehow a close friend of Sadie’s at the time, Reagan Arnold, managed to convince Sadie to participate in a round of seven minutes in heaven. 

Reagan told Sadie to wait in the closet while she chose the guy, swearing up and down she would choose a good guy. 

Sadie was surprised, when Luke, the new kid, opened the door and walked in. 

It was really awkward at first, obviously considering two people who had barely spoken ten words to each other, were now locked in a small, dark coat closet, expected to kiss. 

Funny thing was neither of them had kissed someone before. 

They managed to find a light in the closet, and that’s when Sadie spoke “So do you like movies?” was the first thing she said. The question sorta caught Luke by surprise, but either way he replied “Ya I love movies, I like the Marvel ones the best!” 

“Me too I always watch them with my dad” Sadie had said. They spent the next few minutes talking to one another and they quickly realized they have a lot in common, then towards the end of the seven minutes, they attempted their first kiss, which resulted in their foreheads bumping rather than their lips. They started laughing uncontrollably, and from that day forward, they’ve been practically inseparable. 

Over the past six years, they’ve shared pretty much everything together, memories, secrets, fears, the whole nine yards. 

They’re best friends, that’s what they do.

Best friends talk to each other, they share things, they trust one another, at least they're supposed to. 

A small sigh escapes from Sadie's lips as her eyes drift towards the window, absently watching as an array of cars come flying by. 

It shouldn’t but the thought of telling Luke she might not go to Michigan feels terrifying because how the hell do you tell your best friend of six years ‘Hey I know you’re all excited thinking we’re going to college together, but actually I think I’m going somewhere else. But I’ll see you over break!’

She can’t do that. 

But at the same time, her mom died when she was only nine. Rutgers was a huge part of her life, and if she passes on the opportunity to attend the school that brought her mom so much, joy and happiness, it would basically be abandoning her mother's memory, or surrendering the chance to continue her legacy-it would be giving up on her mom. 

She absentmindedly lets out another sigh, her thoughts returning to the present as a soft touch lands on her exposed shoulder.

Her striking hazel eyes—a mirror of her late mother's—shift towards Luke.

shift towards Luke.

“You alright?” Luke asks, his voice slicing through her brain, like a scolding knife through a block of ice. 

Sadie shakes her head once, a literal attempt to remove the thoughts from her mind, “Ya sorry what’d you say?” She replies 

Luke chuckles before repeating “I asked if you’re excited to watch me play at Yost?!” 

Sadie pauses “Oh ya, definitely…super excited” her voice trying to mimic just enough enthusiasm to make it sound believable. 

Luke glances towards her, the previously lingering excitement in his eyes fading to display a mix of affection and concern, “Are you sure you’re alright? You seem really distracted” he asks 

‘Tell him’ Sadie’s mind practically shouts to her ‘Just get it over with!’

In a moment, Sadie takes a deep breath, forcefully pushing her thoughts aside before responding “Ya I’m just a little tired, you know long car rides” 

Luke nods in agreement, his smile returning “Why don’t you take a nap, we still got like an hour or so before we make it to the house” Luke suggests

“Ya good idea” Sadie replies, as she leans back in the comfortable seat and rests her head on the transparent window before allowing her eyes to close shut. 

***

Sadie's eyes begin fluttering open to the sound of tires rolling on gravel. 

Her eyes lock on the familiar silhouette of the lake house, illuminated, by porch lights. The sight of the lake house, with its weathered cedar shingles and windows mirroring the lake's calm waters, brings an immediate wave of relief to Sadie. 

Luke turns his head towards her, his face painted with a soft smile, before latching on to the key, stuck in its slot, and flicking his wrist, allowing the previously roaring engine to hum into a peaceful silence, "Ready?" he asks. Sadie smiles, and nods, unbuckling her seatbelt.

They exit the car, their shoes crunching on the gravel, as the nostalgic scent of pine and lake water fills their noses bringing the memories of past trips to the forefront of their minds. 

The two exchange a smile, as they step towards the front of the car, when the large wooden door, leading into the house, swings open revealing Luke’s parents Ellen and Jim.

Ellen, with her gentle blonde waves reflecting the warmth around her, approaches Sadie, “Hi Sweetie” Ellen greets, her voice filled with genuineness as she wraps her arms around Sadie in a comforting embrace, “How was the drive up?” 

“It was good” Sadie replies, nestling closer into the hug, finding solace in the normality of it. 

A small smirk, dances across Sadie’s lips as their arms untangle themselves from one another, and Sadie, glances towards Luke, who’s standing, to the left of her, embracing his father in a hug. “Luke somehow managed to get us here in one piece” She teases, eliciting a laugh, from both Ellen and Jim. 

“Careful, there I wouldn’t insult the driver” Luke remarks, with a smirk, as he turns to embrace his mom in a hug, “Remember I’m your ride home” Luke adds

Sadie lets out a playful giggle, knowing deep down, Luke would never leave without her.

"Jacky and Q here yet?" Luke asks his parents

"Not yet they should be arriving any minute" Ellen answers, her blue eyes shifting around the scene as if she's trying to activate her x-ray vision and find their car through all the trees. 

Luke nods and turns to his car, walking towards the trunk, planning to remove his and Sadie's luggage when a loud honking sound startles him. 

“FUCK!” he curses 

Jim raises his eyebrows in disapproval towards his youngest boy, who proceeds to send an apologetic look in response, before rotating his body, to see his older brothers along with two of their friends Trevor Zegras and Josh Norris, arriving in Jack’s car. 

Luke quietly mutters ‘idiots’, before finishing his task of removing the luggage from his car. 

Once finished, he shuts the trunk of his car, and steps towards Sadie, allowing Jack to park his car. 

Quinn is the first to exit, from the passenger side, immediately making his way towards Luke and Sadie and pulling the two teenagers into a hug. 

“Hey guys! How you doing?” He asks, his voice laced with platonic affection. 

Sarcasm creeps into Luke’s voice as he teasingly replies “Doing good, until you showed up and damaged my ear drums”

Quinn retaliates by pulling the taller boy closer to him and ruffling his hair much to his annoyance. 

Sadie smiles watching her best friend interact with his-and basically her-older brother, while the remaining of the group emerges from Jack's car. 

Trevor, always the playful one, practically jumps out of the car with a laugh, his oak colored hair tousled from the drive. Josh follows, calmly exiting and taking a moment to stretch his arms above his head. The amiable smile that crinkles at the corners of his eyes hints at the warmth and friendliness of his demeanor, as he makes his way toward Ellen and Jim, politely greeting them. 

Then comes Jack, extracting himself from the drivers seat, with the same blend of confidence and composure, of a team with a 7-0 lead in the dying seconds of the third period. He's the older-at least of Luke-, the mega-talented and undeniably attractive brother, the epitome of charm and charisma. The first overall pick, the ladies man of the group, the ‘golden boy’, the term frequently used by Luke in an envious driven attempt to paint an accurate description of his brother.

Jack steps closer to Luke and Sadie before attacking Luke in a bear hug, nearly knocking the youngest and tallest of the family off his feet. 

"JACK!” Luke shouts, his voice more playful than annoyed-although it still radiates waves of annoyance-as he tries to push the older boy off.

“Ugh get off of me!” Luke continues, clearly struggling, before finally managing to remove his brothers hold.

“Hey Sades” Jack says, a smile crossing his lips, as he turns his attention towards her, his arm lingering around Luke, before resting on his shoulder. 

“Hey Jack” Sadie replies politely 

“I see you’re still hanging around this one” Jack teases with a smile as he playfully ruffle his fingers through Luke’s curls, which causes Luke to send an ‘if looks could kill’ type of glare towards both his brothers, clearly annoyed by the fact that they have deemed it their civil duty to mess with his hair-which it’s not. 

“I'm not that annoying” Luke retorts with a grin, his hand moving to smooth down his messed-up hair.

Luke’s gaze shifts, finding Trevor standing a few feet away interacting with Quinn and Josh, a large smile present on his face, “And besides at least one of us has normal friends” Luke adds, purposely raising his voice enough for Trevor to overhear

“Is he talking about me?” Trevor asks, a sly grin forming, as he steps closer to Luke

Jack’s response comes quick “I think so” 

“You just wait Lukey, this summer Jack and I are finally gonna get you back for all the pranks the two of you pulled on us last summer” Trevor declares, his eyes shifting with unwavering confidence between Luke and Sadie.

Jack nods in agreement, the smile on his face never fading, it’s the kind that reaches all the way up to his striking blue eyes, a similarity shared between him and his brothers. 

Luke and Sadie exchange a knowing glance of confidence with one another, indicative of disbelief at the thought of Jack and Trevor successfully pulling off a prank. 

Sadie’s voice is light as she chimes in “Isn’t that what you said last summer, and the summer before?” she teases, because it is, they say it every summer, and every summer they fail. 

Jack’s cheeks flush red, as he tries to force, credibility into his voice “No” 

Josh who had, finished helping Quinn, unpack the car and is now standing beside him on the outer circle of the conversation, interjects “Uh ya it is”

Jack and Trevor share a playful look, mixing with a hint of embarrassment, their previous expression of confidence disintegrating as Trevor replies “Ok well…maybe…but this summer for sure” 

Luke and Sadie exchange a laugh “Uh huh we’ll see about that” Luke says his voice wavering with skepticism.

Ellen shakes her head, the smile on her face, washing away any accusations of annoyance “Alright guys” she begins “Let’s try and keep the pranking to a minimum this year” 

One last look of mischief and playfulness is exchanged among the group before they nod and begin walking towards the front door.

***

After having a chance to unpack their belongings and settle into their respective rooms-Ellen and Jim taking the master bedroom on the first floor, well the remaining six split between four rooms on the second floor, Jack and Trevor sharing one room as well as Quinn and Josh sharing another while Sadie and Luke, are given their own-the clock creeps towards nine pm, and the group gathers in the spacious living room, to discuss dinner plans, something on everyone's minds and stomachs. 

"Mhm, a burger sounds so good" Luke comments to no one in particular, as he flops down next to Sadie, on the u-shaped couch.

"Eh not really and too much work" Quinn claims, allowing a yawn to escape his lips. 

Jim, who had previously been in the kitchen, walks towards the center of the room with a stack of takeout menus, and raises his voice over the growing chatter. "I was thinking we could keep it simple tonight—takeout sound good to everyone?" 

He's met with an array of nods, ya's and yes's as suggestions start flying back and forth-Chinese, Italian, Mexican-Luke lobbies for burgers again, but after a few minutes and naming pretty much every type of cuisine they could think of they agree on pizza and salad, leading to a discussion on toppings.

It takes another five minutes and a heated debate on whether pineapple belongs on pizza, before Ellen can dial the number of a local restaurant, confirming the mishmash of orders-two large caesar salads, a meat lovers pizza, one with just cheese for the less adventurous ones, a pepperoni one and an experimental half-and-half with pineapple, sausage and olives.

"Thank you! See you in 20 minutes" Ellen says, relaying the information to the rest of the group before hanging up. 

"I'll pick em up, Trev you wanna come?" Jack asks, starting to stand up. 

"Sure man" He answers and with that the two head towards the front door, disappearing into the night air, and leaving behind a fleeting echo of their voices, discussing who's driving, and who's bringing the pizza's in.

Back in the living room, Quinn flops down on the couch "So, any big plans while we're up here? I mean, other than stuffing our faces?"

"Speak for yourself," Luke quips, "I'm hitting the lake first thing tomorrow."

A murmur of approval ripples through the group as plans begin to take shape with talk of wakesurfing and late-night bonfires, until the conversation shifts to the University of Michigan.

Sadie feels a knot form in her stomach, as Josh and Quinn, former players of the hockey team, chime in with their two cents. 

Her eyes trickle to the glass doors leading to the wooden deck, searching for an escape when a wave of emotions wash over her as she recalls her first trip here.

It was the summer after she met Luke, the summer before eighth grade. They drove up with Luke’s parents, Jack and Quinn and two of their friends Cole and Brady. 

Most of their days were spent, swimming in the lake, roasting marshmallows over the bonfire, or all the boys trying to teach Sadie how to play hockey on the driveway-which she’s gotten much better at- but what she remembers the most is sitting on the deck, talking to Luke about her mom.

He was the first person she felt comfortable enough with to open up about her mom’s passing, what it was like to be nine years old watching your mom rot away in a hospital bed, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop a disease you barely understood. 

With Luke, Sadie didn’t need to put on a smile and pretend that everything was okay, when it wasn’t, and despite only being 12 at the time Luke didn’t try to fix it either. He didn’t run to his parents or brothers, he just listened. 

Luke was the first person to show her with more than just words, she didn’t need to bury all her thoughts and secrets inside. 

Luke was the first person to show her she wasn’t alone. 

Suddenly her eyes turn to glass as she wonders if everything would change if she chose Rutgers, if she would lose everything she has with Luke?

“You okay?” Luke asks his voice, pulling her back to reality

Sadie hesitates before responding “Ya, I’m fine. I just remembered I forgot to call my dad, so I’m gonna do that real quick” Luke watches as she swiftly stands up and makes her way to the stairs leaving no time for him to respond.

Once her feet reach the top of the stairs, she rushes into her room, her mind too occupied to notice, she doesn't properly close the door. 

Sadie scrambles to unlock her phone, her fingers trembling as she fumbles with the green call button.

Finally her fingers press the button, the loud dial tone filling, the otherwise silent room. Sadie leans against the wall.

“Hey dad” she greets, her voice wobbly.

“Hi pumpkin, how you doing?” Her dad asks

They begin talking about everything and nothing-the drive, the weather, her dad’s job.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the front door swings open. Jack walks in, followed by Trevor, both carrying two large pizzas and a box of salad.

Jack and Trevor set the food down on the kitchen counter, as the rest of the group, crowds around the kitchen sink, preparing to wash their hands. 

“Where’s Sadie?” Trevor asks as he makes his way towards the sink as well.

Ellen motions to the stairs “I think she went upstairs, Jack do you mind telling her dinner is here please” Ellen requests, her clean hands busy gathering plates and napkins from the oak cabinets.

Jack nods, “Got it” He replies as he walks towards the stairs.

He stops in the room shared by him and Trevor, to set his keys on the nightstand, before making his way towards Sadie’s room.

Her voice, seeping through the small crack in the door frame, causes him to slow, pausing as he listens in. 

“Dad, I don’t know what to do! I don't wanna hurt him" 

Sadie’s words spill out like a waterfall, “How do I choose between Rutgers and Luke” Her voice trembles.

Jack instinctively takes a step back, his heart racing as he realizes he shouldn’t be listening to this. He turns his back to the door, his mind screaming at him to walk away, but his body remains in place. 

Every fiber in his being is drawn to Sadie, to the pain and secrecy hidden in her voice. 

And then it hits him-Rutgers. Why is she talking about that? And what does Luke have to do with it?

A whirlwind of emotions swirl within him as he struggles to piece together Sadie's words, when the muffled reply of “Love you too” seeps through the door frame, sending a jolt of panic through his body.

Before he can force his body to move, run, jump, do anything, the door swings open and Sadie’s small gasp of surprise forces him to turn around. 

Their eyes meet, Jack can see the tears that slipped from her eyes, have been firmly wiped away, and a surge of conflicting emotions swirl inside of him-a feeling of protectiveness and anger at the thought of unknown actions hurting Luke, guilt for eavesdropping, and an overwhelming desire to comfort Sadie, but all he does is stand frozen, staring at her. 

“Jeez Jack you scared me!” Sadie says 

Jack hesitates, searching his mind for a response. Does he confess, does he tell her he overheard her? He wonders. He slightly shakes his head before settling on a response “Sorry, I uh I had to put my keys away, and uh my mom wanted me to tell you dinners here” 

“Sounds good, I’ll be there in a second” The previous quiver in her voice is a distant memory, as she replies. 

Jack nods slowly, attempting to regroup himself, before he slowly treads down the stairs.

Jack makes his way to the kitchen, rummaging for a bottle of water.

He finds one and begins taking slow sips, when Sadie, slips into the kitchen, planting her feet next to his, and turning on the sink faucet. 

Jack’s eyes wander in her direction, catching a quick glance. Sadie notices and replies with a friendly smile as she dries her hands on a nearby hand towel, and moves towards the open pizza boxes with a plate. 

She reaches in and places two slices of pepperoni pizza onto her plate, stacking one on top of another, before using the plastic tongs to add a handful of salad. After grabbing a fork and napkin, she walks towards the crowded couch and takes a seat next to Luke. 

Jack remains quiet the entire time, slowly watching from the counter, before following her actions and making his way to the couch, he sits next to Trevor, listening in to the ongoing conversation surrounding college, as he slowly indulges in his dinner. 

Most of the group, with the exception of Sadie, have finished their dinner by the time Trevor makes a controversial comment -in a room full of Michigan and hockey fans- about Boston University, a school he spent two years at. “Listen Michigan is great but BU 100% produces more star NHL players” 

Quinn’s face drops in an exaggerated response, “Jack please tell him to leave” Quinn insists, struggling to keep a straight face. 

Laughter ripples through the room in response.

Quinn manages to pull off a pretty solid poker face as he says “I’m serious” 

“So am I” Trevor remarks with a grin, and a slight shrug of his shoulders

Josh shakes his head, “There is nothing BU can do better than Michigan” 

“Mhm I disagree, hockey, academics, parties” Trevor claims 

Josh opens his mouth to disagree “Michigan parties are legendary” He begins.

“Michigan is better than BU at everything, and out all the options that’s the one you choose” Jack comments, because it’s not like Michigan has been ranked the #1 NCAA hockey program for the last six years, or consistently been in the top 30 for best academics or anything like that. 

Quinn and Josh exchange a playful look, before simultaneously answering yes. 

Ellen and Jim shake their heads, with a small laugh, as Luke rolls his eyes and Jack smacks his lips together in an audible response. 

“You know one time Quinn and I were at this party” Josh begins before being cut off by a somewhat hard punch to the shoulder by Quinn 

“Shut it” Quinn insists 

Most of the group laughs.

“Alright guys I think we’re going to turn in” Ellen tells the younger crew as her and Jim begin standing “Don’t do anything dangerous, and whatever happened at that party Quinn please take it to the grave” Ellen jokes as she walks towards the hallway

Once the parents are completely out of earshot, Josh continues “Can I finish my story” 

“Didn’t you hear my mom she said take it to the grave” Quinn argues 

Luke chimes in “Oh come on I wanna know” 

“Ya it’s funny come on” Josh tries

Quinn looks between his kid brother and his best friend before replying “No”

Luke continues to try and reason with him “Come on, You never tell me” “I’m not gonna tell mom and dad” “Please Sadie and I will literally be there in like two months” 

Jack’s eyes trickle towards Sadie, as Luke mentions her name, her presence somewhat forgotten through the bubbling conversation.

His thoughts are a jumbled mess. Should he confront her about what he heard? Maybe he should try to comfort her instead. Or maybe it's better if he just leaves it alone?

But before he can figure out what to do, Luke loudly grumbles, snapping Jack back into reality.

Another wave of laughter ripples throughout the room, as the conversation shifts seamlessly, abandoning the topic of Michigan, at least for the moment, before they decide to settle down and watch a movie. 

They search through various streaming services, debating between watching, action, sci-fi, or comedy. 

“No more alien stuff, Luke! We get it, you want to meet E.T.,” Josh teases, flicking through the science fiction offerings with the remote, only to be met with playful groans from the group.

"What about 21 Jump Street?" Luke asks 

"Ya no" Jack answers 

"How about a comedy?" Quinn suggests

"21 Jump Streets a comedy" Luke mutters, earning a subtle look from Quinn, before refocusing on the screen.

“Oh, come on, something with some punches!” Trevor eggs on, eyes lighting up as he spots 'Goon' in the streaming library.

"They have Hot Tub Time Machine" Josh suggests 

With each suggestion, counter-arguments volley around the room until eventually receiving majority approval for the hockey-themed comedy Goon, which follows the story of a bouncer who basically turns into a hockey enforcer/fighter. 

"Goon it is," Josh declares, hitting play as everyone settles deeper into their respective cushions and chairs, and an anticipatory silence spreads as the screen comes to life.

The silence only lasts about 15 minutes, because none of them, know how to keep their mouths shut during a fucking movie, like when Doug Glatt stumbles onto the ice for his first practice, Trevor's jab — "Look, it's Quinn!" — is a catalyst for a burst of laughter, Quinn’s mock outrage only fueling the fun.

"Jack can you please make him leave!" Quinn begs

"Fuck no" Jack insists causing the rest of the group to laugh 

"Then just shut up and watch the movie" Quinn huffs toward Trevor 

Or during Doug's first game, when Luke quips "And I thought Bambi on ice was just a Disney thing" 

During a slow-motion sequence of a well-executed check "Figure skater right there"

And so on and so forth, as they're unrestrained voices follow the ups and downs on screen.

At one point the movie reaches maximum goriness when Doug, engages in a brutal fight with an opponent, and the room erupts in a mixture of gasps and chuckles, the line between horror and amusement blurring.

Jack's gaze drifts to Sadie, where she and Luke are whispering to each other in hushed tones. 

He turns his attention back to the movie, trying to shake off the negative feelings creeping up on him.

During another scene, Luke jumps at a particularly raucous fight , "Holy shit! Did you see that punch?"

Laughter erupts, and all eyes fall towards Luke, except for Jack's which find Sadie again, he can't shake the feeling of guilt gnawing at him, knowing something about Sadie that Luke doesn't, even if she doesn't know he knows. 

His mind is a silent turmoil for the remainder of the movie, the group’s laughter and heckling fading into a background static against his internal dissonance, until eventually, the movie's closing credits begin rolling and the reaction is satisfying stretches and yawning from the group.

Josh, who had been animated throughout, rises and announces "I'm hitting the sack, guys," his eyelids heavy. The room hums with goodnights as he disappears up the stairs.

Quinn, as always the responsible one begins gathering empty plates, and throws them in the trash before heading upstairs. 

Trevor and Luke, their energy seemingly boundless, launch into a spirited debate about who would make the better hockey player enforcer, even if we know the answer, but their banter echos off the walls until they too concede to the call of sleep, trekking upstairs.

With the room now emptied Sadie and Jack find themselves momentarily alone, the stillness stark in contrast to the evening's livelyness. Sadie lingers around the kitchen, wiping down the counter with a quiet grace. Jack's mind spirals the secret nudging at his tongue, demanding release. He inhaled, ready to break the silence, and say something but Luke's sudden re-entry halts him mid-breath.

"Forgot my phone," Luke says, swiping it from the coffee table. "You coming, Sadie?" 

"Yep, be right there," she replies, tossing the last of her garbage in the trash can

With a final nod and a half-hearted smile in Jack's direction, she departs to the sound of Luke's receding footsteps. The room was silent now, save for the echoes of what had been left unsaid. Jack let out a heavy sigh, the weight of his newfound burden grounding him to the couch.

He was alone. His sigh hangs in the air, a fog of unresolved tension as he stands, flicking off the lights and making his way toward the stairs. The day had ended, they made it to the lake, and now he's going to bed with more questions than he came with. 

Lying there, staring at the ghostly shadows dancing across the ceiling, Jack knows he won't be able to stop wondering about Sadie's secret until he gets answers, and he just hopes whatever secret she's hiding doesn't end up destroying his younger brother. 

A/N I hope you enjoyed, feel free to send me in any asks!

[iwonderwh0]

I wanna expand on Emma's character. She likes attention, she likes filming herself. There are piano in their room, so it's practically inevitable that she learns to play it. Who is her teacher? It's possible that it is human as, you know, music, maybe her rich parents think that it's best to learn it from humans. At least, we never heard that household models could teach playing instruments. Or actually, she probably learns using built-in program in the piano itself. Like, we saw this holographic screen when Markus was playing, it must include some learning modes.

She has favourite bands. She probably has some kind of spiritual beliefs, probably not like any specific religion but a mix of some new-age ones, at least their home looks like they are like this, like, if I remember it correctly there are Buddha statues so that's one thing. I think Emma, at least, believes in a few things, like karma and manifestations.

Her wrists are full of those handmade bracelets. Did she make them with someone? Alone? Are those friendship bracelets and there are some friends of her that have them too? She must've made at least one of those with Daniel, and it would be such a nice detail for him to wear one in-game. Missed opportunity. Maybe he took it off?

Daniel was activated for four years (huh, I thought longer, but it's still years though), so his character must've been quite developed for a while even prior to deviancy. Or, actually, maybe he deviated a lot earlier than the day we see him in the game. It is entirely possible that there was another event that made him freak out of his line, perhaps after fucking up and accidentally endangering Emma (they kept it a secret. I headcanon that Emma loves secrets. It makes her feel special), but he just stayed and continued his life with Phillips as if nothing happened without change because he liked it and felt responsible about it. I mean, it's not like he had somewhere to go — he doesn't know about Jericho as was confirmed in the evidence room. But ever since that day of his potential deviation he started to accumulate suspicions and paranoia that tipped over when he found out about AP700.

You know, it's kinda ironic that kids with household androids raise them as much if not more than household androids raise them. For kids those androids are part of their life, for androids it's their whole world (I mean, outside of some additional errands and other family members interactions that I don't think are composing even half of the time androids spend with kids they're looking after). Emma was 5-6 years old when Daniel was first introduced into her life. She must've already had friends and all kind of interests by that time, so Daniel didn't raise her from infancy.

You know, it's possible even that those kinds of androids get jealous of kid's other friends and family members. Daniel definitely feels like a jealous type, I doubt August 15 was his first time feeling resentment. The fact that he became Emma's first choice in four years must've been a really deliberate effort on his part, which, I mean, he spends the most time with her so he had this advantage.

Daniel belongs to the Phillips family but at the same time Daniel developed such a possessive attitude towards Emma as if she was his property. He integrated himself into her life as a "need, not want" and he will take her with him on his death row. He wants to believe that Emma needs him, but the truth is he needs Emma much more than she ever could. And it drives him mad.

Hear me out

What if

What if he was so jealous of Emma's other friends and so paranoid about her distancing herself from him that he cultivated circumstances where Emma preferred him over anyone else. A victory. And he put so much effort competing with other people for her attention that possibly of Emma replacing him with another android never crossed his mind. Until it hit him like an anvil. All of his work was for nothing. All this time he thought of himself as her friend. A person. Competing with other people. Turned out he wasn't even within the same category. He had always been only a toy.

[rivalsforlife]

The Yearly AA Series Future Speculation Post

I've given up on calling it aa7 speculation because that has never worked out for me. anyways [apollo justice voice] hiya!

It's been a while since I made one of these little posts where I try to predict things and end up horribly embarrassing myself. BUT this year has actually been very exciting for Ace Attorney. We have Ghost Trick! We have 456 ports! Could there be more? Who knows. Tokyo Game Show is coming up and that's always a bad time of year for my self-esteem.

In this post I will do the following:

-Go over the November 2020 leaks again, to compare that to where we're at now

-Talk a bit about the 456 port and what I think that means for the series and its future

-Talk a bit about how well TGAA is doing, I think

-Brief Tokyo Game Show speculations (there's not much to speculate about)

I'll reference my previous posts and sources where necessary. It'll get long and rambly again so I'll put the rest under a keep reading.

FIRST:

Revisiting the Calendar (Again)

For those who aren't aware, back in November 2020, Capcom got hacked (this was overall bad) and from that hack came a leak of a roadmap for the future of the AA series.

For this post, please keep in mind that this calendar is using the Japanese fiscal year, which starts in in April. Therefore Q1 is roughly April-June, Q2 July-September, Q3 October-December, Q4 January-March of the next year.

This calendar was likely made in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which inevitably ended up throwing everything off quite a bit.

Some of these things came true. This leak was where we first heard about the official TGAA ports, and while they were delayed by about a quarter, they still came out pretty close to on time with all things pandemic to consider. What's especially interesting is that now with confirmation of the 456 ports, we now have no idea what is up with AA7.

We know that AA7 was in development at one point. We know that, if things were on track prior to the pandemic, they might have started the main production. However, the plan seemed to be to release it for the 20th anniversary and use those sales and the sales from TGAA to judge whether 456 would be ported; now that we have 456 confirmed before AA7, we can assume that AA7's delay is so severe we have no way of predicting if or when it will come out.

The thing is, though, AA has been doing really well the last few years, despite the lack of a new game. The 2019 ports of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney trilogy have sold around 2.3 million copies, when previously no other Ace Attorney game broke a million. The trilogy hit a million copies around December 2020, for reference. Ace Attorney itself as a whole broke ten million copies sold recently. In this post I covered how TGAA seemingly has sold way more than Capcom expected, and sold pretty quickly, and is confirmed to be somewhere between 500k-1 million copies sold.

I don't see any reason to believe that AA is in dire financial straits. We've gotten more official merchandise in the last year or so than we got for a while, AA is featured heavily on Capcom's Captown website, the Tokyo Game Show merchandise store has been selling out of AA merch faster than any of their other IPs... I don't see why they wouldn't want to milk that. And 456 is probably a part of it.

What Do The 456 Ports Mean

Back in March 2022, in an event I almost completely forgot about, Capcom updated their trademark for Apollo Justice. I covered my thoughts on that here, and speculated it might indicate a 456 port. ... Which it apparently did. I'll quote exactly what I said in that post, since I still feel this way:

Presumably, previously, the decision to port or not to port 456 would be dependent both on how well TGAA does and how well AA7 would do. With no AA7, they might be making this decision solely based on TGAA. And they… might actually decide it’s worth the port?

This tells us a couple of things.

1.Capcom is aware that there is a decent market and profit to be made porting the Ace Attorney games to all consoles.

2.This heavily implies that TGAA sold fantastically.

I also said in my post about TGAA's success that the 456 ports would be the best indicator of whether Capcom would find it more profitable to continue along with mainline or stick to writing more things about TGAA. Because TGAA is actually doing... pretty great? It's always seemed to have a pretty good fan reception, but it came at the end of the 3DS life cycle and seemed to do poorly enough that Capcom didn't try to localize it for several years. But now it's big enough that Ryunosuke made it onto the 20th anniversary logo, and Ryunosuke and Kazuma are featured in some of the Ace Attorney merchandise for TGS's merch store.

456 doing well would probably reinvigorate Capcom's desire to continue making stories set in mainline. It also might inspire them to finally give an official translation to my favorite game, Ace Attorney Investigations 2, who is Capcom's poor unloved child these days. I'm not expecting Investigations Ports for a few more years, since they seem to be spacing out the ports by about two years, but... it's more likely now than I felt it was about three years ago.

The Great Ace Attorney Sweep

Also, the last few years have had a heavy focus on Great Ace Attorney, even now a couple of years after the ports came out. Takarazuka made their first AA musical in a decade based on TGAA, and, if you ask me, it sounds pretty heavily like they were teasing for a sequel someday. There also has been a reading theater based on TGAA, with an original episode written by Takumi.

Of particular relevance is this source of dubious credibility I linked to in one of my other posts talking about TGAA's expected success. I've assumed it came from the data in the November 2020 Capcom Leak but I can't be certain, so take this next part with a grain of salt.

Here are the original sales projections from 2019(?): FY21: 195K (originally supposed to launch in Q1) FY22: 55K FY23: 8K FY24: 41K (with 32K being in Q3)

This sudden increase in FY24 has always been interesting. Again, as a reminder, Japan's FY24 Q3 would be equivalent to October-December 2024.

It would make sense to say that the 456 ports coming out would likely lead to an increase in sales for all AA games, and it could be that Capcom initially intended for a 456 port to come out about half a year later than the current projection of early 2024. At the same time... I can't deny the possibility that this could be hinting at a new game in the TGAA setting. And something coming out in late 2024 could be a reasonable candidate for an announcement at some major gaming show that Ace Attorney fans already have an interest in tuning into. These are all completely neutral things I am saying that I have no expectations or hope for whatsoever.

What IS Happening At Tokyo Game Show?

TGS is always the part of the year where I say "This is the most likely place for a new AA game announcement leading up to or during it" and it never happens. This year, though, will be different! We have a CONFIRMED feature of the 456 ports. This is the first time we'll have AA content at TGS since 2018, when I first got into the series, so I think it's a pretty big deal. (2018 was when the trilogy ports were first announced; TGAA ports had an announcement-release window of April-July, so they didn't get a chance to feature at TGS.)

Since all we have for a release date is early 2024, I wouldn't be surprised if there will be an official confirmation of the release date, probably a showcase of port features, maybe in-person gameplay? That could be all, and it would be more than we've had since 2018.

I want to say "because there's going to be 456 advertising there, it would be ridiculous for them to announce some new AA content to detract from that". But I said the same things about the capcom showcase where Ghost Trick was featured and the 456 collection was announced, so. Capcom's decisions on when to announce things can be counterintuitive, it seems, so maybe the least likely time is actually the most likely...?

Anyways, we have no idea what the state of New Ace Attorney Content is like in Capcom. From the calendar from the Nov 2020 leaks, the staff that had been working on the DGS ports would join the main staff for AA7, suggesting to me that there would be part of the staff working on ports and part of the staff working on new things. We have no idea what happened to these people who were supposed to be working on AA7. We *can* assume that at least part of the staff transferred over to 456 ports now, but we don't know when that would have been, or if they'd really need all hands on deck for a remaster.

It's been a few years now since Yamazaki left Capcom. We know absolutely nothing about what Takumi has been doing, outside of whatever contributions he may or may not have made to the Ghost Trick remaster, and only recently contributing to various stage content. (We know he advised at least somewhat on the Takarazuka play, and wrote that original episode for the reading theater, so I'd assume he's not in the middle of a big project right when those were taking place.)

This is all to say, there's reason to believe Something's Been Happening Behind The Scenes. And Therefore -- [clown wig descends onto my head again] Maybe TGS 2023 Will Be The Year Of New Ace Attorney Content. Since 456 will be taking the spotlight, I wouldn't expect anymore than a teaser, if it's happening at all.

And now that I've said it, it won't happen.

OVERALL

-TGS confirmed 456 port feature, which should be interesting to see what kind of quality of life features they'll add. Slight possibility there could be something else AA related teased there, solely because Capcom.

-I think TGAA is doing better than Capcom expected and I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to make a new game of it, or at least more extracanonical content like stage plays taking place in that timeline

-AA7 has seemingly vanished but I am sure it will come back when I least expect it.

-AAI ports someday. please. please. please.

[anonymous-dentist]

Okay, now here’s a crazy qsmp theory:

The qsmp duck? That’s Quackity.

For one thing: duck. Self-explanatory.

But there’s one problem, and it’s that q!Quackity is a seemingly-unknowing participant in the explicitly canon human experiment going on on the qsmp. And the Duck? It’s a mascot, but it’s also the ‘host’ of the island. It’s a stand-in for the experimenters, think Usami/Monomi from Danganronpa 2. How could that be Quackity if Quackity is participating in the experiment itself?

This is where it gets crazy.

So far, we have confirmation that this is an experiment. Watch the video announcing the egg event and come back. This is an experiment, and the eggs have been consistent across this and the previous experiment. That comes from the lore teasers from before the smp’s announcement. There were eight eggs/eight players (it’s unclear) before, and now there are 16. The experiment’s scope as increased. What’s important, though, are the eggs.

Q!Quackity’s character arc properly began only after the death of his son Tilín. Everyone else doing major plot had their arcs start prior- take q!Roier and q!Luzu as examples here. He’s been consumed by his grief to the point of desperation.

And his kindergarten’s homework assignments are on the official egg tasks list.

And he’s been saying not to trust Cucurucho/the Census Bureau Creature since day one.

And he explicitly dislikes Arin/AI Luzu.

And Arin is where this theory starts becoming super weird, because he can see the server’s “code”. Combine that with the literal code monsters flying around hunting him down and trying to kill the eggs, and the message during the funeral that said to break out and remember, it’s pretty clear that the qsmp is an electronic simulation with its members as unknowing and possibly unwilling members of a human experiment. Every member added got the digital ticket to the island through minecraft and in a digital version of their streaming setups, except for Quackity, who was only properly announced the day of the server’s start, and for Rubius, whose announcement poster was a glitched mess.

Q!Rubius is the devil/angel with creative and spectator mode, and with connections to God/Satan. While he and Cucurucho don’t seem to get along, they are on the same side, more or less. When Juanaflippa was essentially promised a life from Rubius, she was declared dead at the funeral, much to q!Slime’s anger. And when q!Maximus asked at said funeral what was going on, Trump responded with “I don’t know, but they’re strong…” These guys? Sus.

But back to Quackity.

This last bit is very Anime, but also he did say that he was inspired by Attack on Titan, and so I feel like I’m a little bit justified when claiming that the q!Quackity we see now is the same person as a hypothetical Experimenter Quackity. It’s a bit like Kamukura from Danganronpa 2 if you think about it, or a bit like Eren from Attack on Titan. Spoilers for the end of AoT, but it’s made canon in the end that, the whole time, Eren has been looking back from the future and has manipulated the series in that way. There are an infinite number of timelines because of this. And then with Kamukura, he’s literally the experimenter plugged in with amnesia into the virtual experiment. It writes itself.

Just why Quackity is doing this is unclear, though maybe it has something to do with the multilingual nature of the server (vape wizard, anyone?) or the eggs (again, his character arc only kicked off after the death of Tilín, which could mean that he’s going through these experiments to try and make a world where Tilín lives.)

But, hey, that’s just a theory- a game theory.

[humornaut]

A Silly Little Post Regarding Mari's Birthday

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a bit, but I kinda wanted to throw this here. I've spoken about it on both Twitter and Reddit, so this is just rehashing stuff I've mentioned before.

Mari's birthday. Officially, it is March 1st. This makes sense as a little joke, since it shortens to Mar1! However, there is something that has always bothered me about this.

143, as I've mentioned before, is a big number within Omori. If we take Mari's stated birthday, and count the days to Sunny's birthday (which is interestingly the date of the moon landing, a fact that is drawn attention to in Breaven), we get 142 days.

Why would Omocat, someone who is seemingly so fixated on this number, stop this date one number short? We may be able to assume that the non-Sunny or Basil birthdays weren't decided on until after the game was completed, since there are no references to them in game, but still. Was the reference to Mari's name that important?

What if the information that we have been told regarding Mari's birthday is incorrect, or otherwise misleading?

Taking a Leap

There is something special about March 1st. It is the day after the last day of February. Not just February 28th, but February 29th. Consider that someone born on February 29th of a leap year would almost always celebrate their birthday on March 1st. For all intents and purposes, 75% of the time, that would be when their age officially changes.

Had Mari been born on February 29th of a leap year, then length of time between the date of her birth and the date of Sunny's birth would be 143 days, and still allow her to have the "Mar1" reference most of the time! However, I would not mention this in a post like this if this were just a neat idea. I believe there is some evidence for it!

A Quick Note on Hero's Age

Before getting into the evidence directly, I would like to bring up something regarding ages in Omori, and how we understand them.

Within Headspace, Hero says that he is 15 years old. That means we can place him at 15 pre-canon, and 19 in the current day, right? This is how most people interpret it. But I have an issue with it.

When Hero returns during Two Days Left to see the hero sandwich that was purchased for him, he makes the following comment:

What this tells us is that this is Hero's second summer back from college, at least. Why is this relevant? In the United States, where the game takes place, your average person turns 19 during their freshman year of college, and 20 during their second year. Considering Hero's January 1st birthday, this should actually make him 20 during the game's events, and 16 for most of the pre-canon events that we see, with the notable exception that he would be 15 during Christmas. Considering Hero's over-achiever status, one could possibly make the assumption that he simply skipped a year, explaining him being 19 but in his second year of college, but we should also take into account that we are directly told that he barely left his bed for about a year "even for school". Even graduating on time would've been a big ask, and skipping grades isn't all that common to begin with.

There are three much more likely explanations here, in my opinion:

Hero's age within Headspace is taken from Christmas/before most of the events of the photo album, explaining why he would be 15. Of course, the photo album exists within Headspace, which Basil didn't receive until after Hero's birthday, but this could simply be Sunny's mind cherry-picking. It makes sense that he would generally want to remember his interactions with his friends prior to when the violin entered his life. Regardless, this concept is impossible to confirm, as to my knowledge, the age of Aubrey, Sunny, and Basil are not discussed, so we wouldn't be able to go off of them being 11.

Hero's birthday inconsistency can be chalked up to no one other than Sunny or Basil having a stated birthday in the game itself. It's most apparent with Aubrey's birthday, where Basil took pictures of an event only two days after, but never mentions hers, implying that the other characters simply did not have concrete birthdays prior to the publication of the birthday chart.

At some point in development, the ages of the younger kids in the album were switched from 13 to 12. We know this because an earlier version of the album messages exists within Omori's files. From this, we might also extrapolate that Hero's age was also reduced from 16 to 15, and they simply forgot or didn't care to correct the line implying that he has been in college for two years.

Ultimately, there is no actual evidence for any of the potential explanations for this inconsistency. However, we should also consider that there is no actual evidence that Hero and Mari are even the exact same age! We take the fact that they are as a given, but Mari's age is never discussed like the rest of the group. Considering there are multiple mentions of her taking college prep courses leading up to the incident, but none for Hero despite his over-achiever tendencies and similarly future-minded parents, we could very well assume that Mari is actually a year ahead of Hero.

Whatever you believe, I did want to bring this up while discussing Mari's birthday, since it likely does play into how much you buy into this. I also believe that it is relevant that Mari be 4 years older than Sunny, for reasons that I will discuss later.

The Evidence

I would like to acknowledge that there is nearly zero direct evidence either inside or outside the game to support or deny the idea that Mari was born on February 29th of a leap year. Basil skips her birthday in his album, absolving him of having to comment on any weirdness surrounding it, and we have not yet had Mari's birthday happen on a leap year for it to be commented on otherwise.

Of course, the 143 connection could serve as evidence in of itself, but is there anything more?

Well, for this to even be possible, we must be able to show that Mari could've even been born on a leap year. How do we do that, when specific years are never mentioned?

Well, for one, we know that at the very least, pre-canon happens in the 90's, due to Hero's portrait in Last Resort. In addition, there are several days in the album that have to be school days, and March 9th and March 10th must be a Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Without getting into too much detail, this leaves us with two possible years for the year of the photo album: 1991 and 1996. Using various circumstantial evidence such as the kind of technology we see represented, which of those dates would be closer to Omocat's childhood, and some merch related evidence involving the Hooligans jacket, I'd like to focus in on 1996 as our date, though this can also work for 1991 with the evidence we have.

If we work off of the assumption that Mari was 16 years old when she died, then that means that she would've been born in 1980. That's a leap year, showing that it is possible that she was born on that date! Of course, this doesn't work if you believe that she was 15 when she died, but 15 would also work if the game takes place in 1991. However, I do believe that we are to believe that Mari was 16 when she died. Consider the following:

Mari is born in 1980; a leap year, her birthday to July 20th is 143 days.

4 years later, Sunny is born in 1984; the length of time with their birthdays is 143 days.

12 years later, the year of the album. Mari turns 16 and Sunny turns 12; their birthdays are 143 days apart.

4 years later, in the year 2000, Sunny leaves his house. 143 days from her birthday to his.

Of course, it still does work if Mari is 15 and the game takes place in 1991 pre-canon, but I think the four year age difference is relevant as well, due to how it lines up above, plus Hero being in his second year of college implies that the common interpretation of Hero being 19 in the real world sections of the game is actually inaccurate.

None of this really adds up to anything for certain. However, we are about half a year away from the first time Mari's birthday has happened during a leap year since the release of the game, and I would very much argue that the appearance of this number is not accidental.

[valentinaancunin]

So hey I finally finished that story, I hope people enjoy it. Be mindful that I am NOT a writer but I'm proud of this story. THIS CONTENT IS MATURE, CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE, DEATH, CHILD LOSS, AND GORE

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　 ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Background information on the future reading material

Hello! This is going to be some background on why I’m writing this, what inspired me, and how this is going to be portrayed. For starters, this is going to be a sort of fan fiction/character origin story prior to the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, a game inspired by D&D with roleplaying aspects and turn-based fighting. The character I am writing about is Theresa “Onyx'' Blackhand. Onyx hails from the colder northern region, Icewind Dale. She lived in a small rural area called Aneira with her adoptive brother, Tanith, and her mother, Eulalie. The year is 1490, two years before the events of Baulder’s Gate 3, and it is set in the height of winter, a rather awful blizzard is running its course through the town and our adventurer is going to see the apex of nature's wrath. This story is going to be told in the eyes of our main character, of course.

Some background on me, the writer (who isn’t the best at writing). My name is Ava but I go by Valentina online and I am an artist and dungeon master! D&D has inspired a lot of what I do and the media/games I play, and in general, has changed my life for the betterment of my creativity. The Baldur’s Gate community has given me so many amazing artists, writers, and players to be inspired by, not to mention the writers and actors who are in the game itself. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the inspiration of others, friends, and partners who encouraged me to pursue my passions of the fantasy and D&D worlds I’ve created. This is a test and dedication to the many more worlds, characters, and friends I’ll make along the way through shared interests. I thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read my rambling and indulge in one of my favorite characters I have come up with, background, gameplay, and story wise. 

Winter, 1490; A Warm Welcome

Howling, freezing wind cuts through me like a blade, cutting right through the layers of wool and hide I wear out in this tundra. My face is burning, hair covered in a thick coating of ice, sticking to my scalp and face like tree sap.

“Is this the clearing Tanith was talking about? This is awfully deep in these woods…” I said to myself, wondering how he could navigate through this storm. This winter has been worse than in seventy years, he shouldn’t be outside now anyways. Mother is getting worried sick about him. This is the third time this week I’ve had to dig him out of trouble, little wriggly worm he is. “Tanith? Tanith! Where are you? It’s too late to be outside, the storm gets worse at night!” I yelled out into the clearing, but my words were quickly snuffed out by the wind once again. Just as I was about to give up and find help, torch light shines through the clearing, Tanith standing there with that slimy grin on his face.

“I knew you would find me! Now c’mon, there’s something I want to show you!” he shouts as he darts off into the tundra again. I chase after him despite my skeleton shaking in this cold. Why is winter so brutal this year? Mother and Tanith have been acting strangely as of late. My heart is racing, where is he leading me? We finally stop running as we reach the top of a cliff, surprisingly high above the city below. The lights are mesmerizing, staring down into the flurry of snow and ice almost seems magical beneath the tons of houses and factories brimming with life. 

“You know, I’m glad you dragged me out here. This is a wonderful sight to see” saying as I grab him into a side hug, holding him tightly for warmth and security. 

“You really need to stop going out at odd hours of the night, Mother is getting worried sick about your habits as of late”

“I know she is but I’m restless! Being inside all day is no fun, and I can’t see friends through all of this snow! I can’t wait for winter to end” Tanith says in an unhappy huff, burying his face into my coat. There’s a certain unease in the air tonight when the wind stops blowing, it slowly wraps my heart in black tendrils and brings sweat to my brow. 

“I know, I can’t either. Say, how about we go back home now? There’s still some sweet rolls left over.”

“There are? You didn’t eat them all?” 

“Not yet!” I say, darting off in the direction we came, Tanith close behind. He passes me in just a few strides, the speedy bastard. He has always been fast, no matter if he’s carrying heavy wood or our mountain of a dog. We finally reach the back door of our cabin and burst in, letting out a sigh of relief as we feel the warmth of the fire seeping throughout the house. Mother is sitting by the fire, we startled her by bursting into the door unannounced.

“There you two are, I was getting worried sick! You look positively dreadful Theresa, sit by the fire.” Mother says, wrapping a wool shawl over my shoulders and gesturing towards the large wooden chair. Tanith joins me shortly, bringing a tray of sweet rolls with him. His eyes are glistening but something is missing, his usual spark of joy is no longer there. There’s something he isn’t telling me.

A dreadful proposal

We all retired for the night but I can’t sleep, my head is spinning and my heart is racing. Were the sweet rolls bad? Was I out in the cold too long? I can’t be sure, but time is at a standstill and I am tossing like mad. Minutes felt like hours but before I knew it, our front door swung open. Mother and Tanith weren’t awake, so it must have been the wind. I got up in a dizzying state and stumbled out of my room to close the door when I saw this man standing in the door frame, almost filling it out, the light from the fire making his features positively grim. His stature was sunken although he was built to the nines, his face looked like a husk of a man, his arms, big and dead, like a once mighty oak tree taken by rot and decay. Is this man undead?

He stood in pure silence as he took a step into my home, halfway to me already with his long stride, and stopped mere inches from me. I can see the whites of his eyes, or what would be white if they weren’t bloodshot and glassy. Finally seeing his face in the light, he was covered in blood. I tried to gain my composure quickly and grab something, anything, to hit him with, but he grabbed me by the shoulders and knocked me out cold. The next few hours I would fade in and out of consciousness, seeing snow pass underneath me, then cobble, finally back to snow. I have no idea where I’m going. I’m worried about my family. What has he done to them? Are they even alive? My head is pulsing with pain and heat, a roaring heat as if I were in the depths of Avernus. We were going uphill on rocky terrain, the dense wood of a carriage underneath me hits my bones with each bump like stone.

After almost a day had passed, I awoke in a chair, bound at my wrists and my ankles tied to each leg. Why am I receiving this punishment? Did I see something I wasn’t supposed to see looking over that cliff? I let the memory flood my mind and I couldn’t see anything but snow blowing across my vision and the twinkling of the lanterns below. Looking around the room, it’s more like a cell. A singular bed roll laid in a dark corner, a wash basin, and an old door, about to fall off its hinges if it took a single blow. The air is rather humid, thick with the smell of iron and wet stone. I look at my restraints and they seem simple to break out of, too simple, in fact. Just as I try to move towards a wall, someone walks into the cell. It’s the same man as before, but now I can see his face. Dirty brown hair, gray eyes that hold no glint of light in them, and a rather large nose, badly patched up after a break. His face screams a hard, tortured life. 

Before I know it, he strides over and unties my restraints, grabs my arm tightly, and makes me stand. I tried to land a blow with my other arm, but he grabbed my fist in an instant.

“Who are you?! What have you done with my family?” I shouted, looking over this shell of a man. His body ached and creaked like an old house, and I can see the outline of his muscle and bone on every part of exposed skin.

“Mustn't talk, the Lord is waiting” he said with a deep voice, almost vibrating the air around him. There was something otherworldly about him. Is this the work of a necromancer? “He needs to see you. Your family is waiting.” he leans in, and whispers ever so softly “I don’t want to have to hurt you again, the Lord is making me hunt others for his game of cat and mouse.” His eyes finally have life to them, wet pearls of sadness and regret. His breath smelled of rot, his hair was as stiff as straw. How many others did he bring to this “Lord” he spoke of? What is going to happen to me? 

With my arm still held by this undead husk, we walked a short distance to an audience hall. Decorated lavishly with gold and marble, red carpets, dark wooden chairs and tables, and statues of hardly clothed men and women, all eyeing a chair in the center of the room. I see them, my family, finally after what felt like an eternity. The stranger lets my arm free and I rush over to where they stand, clinging onto both my brother and mother so tight.

“Tanith… Aneira, I never thought I would see you again, where are we?” I glance above Mother’s head and see the snow building up through an unreasonably large window. The day is bright, almost blinding against the snow. I’m in familiar territory, thankfully.

“Theresa I hadn’t a clue where you were! I awoke to such an awful sound when those men came in and grabbed Tanith and I. My heart felt like it was leaping out of my chest. At least we have you now, my love.” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. Just as this sweet moment couldn’t get any better, the double doors at the end of the audience room open, creaking and moaning with every movement. 

“Ahh, these are our most esteemed guests then, hm? I was expecting more… hardened looking people for being a family of lumberjacks, afterall. My name is Lord Ransley, it is a pleasure to meet you." The man spoke, confident, dominant, and radiant. He was eyeing me curiously, looking for something within my appearance that I hadn’t a clue what he wanted to see. He carried a tome on his hip, lined in gold and the cover had a yawning mouth with a purple gem shoved into the center. This has to be the necromancer of the house, and apparently the Lord as well. Looking around again, the unseen halves of the statues were all bone and muscle remnants, real muscle and bone. The room stunk of decay and humid bodies. “You are rather extraordinary, you know? A half-elf with such muscle definition, tall stature, and eyes that hold the world within them…” Ransley says again, walking around me like a curious dog, grazing his hand over my biceps and back. I shift away from his touch, feeling a rush of cold go down my spine. He grabs a lock of my hair and shudders, as if he’s enjoying himself, pleasuring himself to my physique. 

“What exactly are you looking for in me, your lordship,” I said harshly “and why knock out and kidnap my family, bring them to an unknown house, and gawk at them? Is this for your own sick pleasure?” I spat, locking eyes with this short statured freak.

“Ohh, feisty are we? Fret not, my large friend, I will answer your questions after you answer one of mine. Then you and your family will be able to go back home and live your lives as they were.”

He paces around me, studying my figure until he gets right in front of me and asks “Your father had something of mine that he stole, and gave it to you. That large steel amulet you wear, it belongs to me. I know what power it contains, and I know that you can’t live without it. How does having cold lungs feel, little love? If you give me back that necklace, I may just help you with your affliction, but if not… Well, your family is not going anywhere.” Little Love. The nickname dad gave to me. Hearing the words was like a sharp puncture in my diaphragm. 

How does he know about my lungs? I’ve had this affliction ever since I was young, I caught a cold and since then I have had an icy cold breath that can freeze anything it touches. This amulet is the one thing that keeps me able to keep breathing without freezing the world around me. I can’t risk letting this go, even if it is Ransley’s. I have to figure out a way out of this house with my family. Ransley slips a hand to my neck and pulls the necklace out from under my collar, eyeing it lovingly. His breath is hot on my skin as he puts his lips to my ear and whispers “We can accomplish so much together, little love.”

“You want me to give up the thing that makes me able to breathe normally? Do you want your house to be in icy ruin?” I say, my anger rising with each touch and word he says.

“No, my dear, it would be a shame to see my lovely home go down. Are you really not going to give me back my possessions?” he says, taking a stride towards my family “Pity… I thought you would be smarter than this.” He walks up to Tanith, who is as white as snow, and puts a hand under his chin, studying his features.

“If you have a quarrel with me, then keep me here. My family doesn’t need to be a part of this. They never were in the first place.”

Aneira and Tanith are humans, they have lived only a fraction of the life I have lived. They deserve to live their lives to the fullest, I fear that Ransley is planning something drastic.

“Fine, if you will not give me that amulet, I will take it off of your corpse. You will make a fine addition to the many beautiful faces I have in my war room” he says, as he turns away to grab a sword displayed on a plaque behind a large chair. He touches the blade, running his fingers along the edge in ecstacy, as if he’s going to enjoy hurting me. Looking around the room, there are two guards. Easy targets, they aren’t as strong as me and they can barely hold the hammers they’re equipped with I think to myself. How are Aneira and Tanith going to escape? The double doors Ransley had previously pranced through is the only way out. I give each of them a shove. “Aneira, Tanith, run!!” I shout at them, darting for the hammer a guard is equipped with, knocking him on the floor with one shoulder charge. He falls to the floor, the flesh under his armor breaks off in chunks and his bones shatter once they hit the ground. More undead. Turning to face Ransley, he is running towards me, sword pointed towards me. I thrust my hammer and knock his sword off its course, and take a swing at him. I hear bones crack, it hits, by the Gods it hits. 

After he gets his footing again, he steadies his gaze towards me, preparing for a swing. I brace and block his first blow, his arm going limp at his side. From his other sleeve, he pulls out a dagger and slices across my shoulder, a deep cut that would take a while to heal. I wince out in pain and his eyes light up like a fire. What a sick, twisted freak. With a one armed swing, I knock the dagger out of his hand and strike another blow quickly with my hammer. Something is welling up in my chest. It’s warm and radiant, I feel strength ebbing out of me.

“Listen to me, Lord, I have no clue why my father stole this amulet from you, but you aren’t getting it back. You threatened my family and my life, you have no right to hurt my family. I will end you swiftly and painfully, for you have no say in my fate!” I say, and as the words roll off my tongue, the hammer I wield is basked in a radiant light. Power. I feel power flowing through me, a divine power. Who granted me this power matters not, at this moment I have my opponent under my grip. Ransley’s arm is limp at his side, he still wields his sword in the other. He lunges at me, swinging his sword from above, I block with the handle of my hammer. Even with one arm, he is still rather strong. Taking a good look at his physique, he himself is partially undead, he has great strength but each blow he takes, he weakens. I fling him off with a side swipe and take a swing at his back, hitting his tailbone and knocking him on the floor. With one hand, I sit him forward and drop my hammer. Taking swings at him, my fists get coated in crimson. His breathing is shallow and slow, I drop him back on the floor with a loud thud and pick up the hammer. My breaths are short and icy, the coldness in my lungs is unbearable. Looking down at Ransley, I broke his nose and jaw pretty good. He won’t be standing up any time soon. His breathing is gargled and mashed, his windpipe must be broken. I need to let him suffer a slow death, choking on his blood and bile until his last breath exits his lips. 

After leaving the audience hall and taking a look around, I find Lord Ransley’s room. In my search, I found his personal journal which reads “Barnes stole the Amulet of Curse Binding from me and gave it to his sick, weak daughter. Pathetic. If she is too weak to shake an illness, she is too weak to live. I will find him one way or another, our deal isn’t finished.” Deal? What deal had my father made? Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter now. I don’t suspect that Ransley will recover from a crushed windpipe. Flipping through the journal, another entry catches my attention. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand, my bones are brittle and weak. My flesh is starting to fall off of me. Myrkul needs to hear his servant, to provide his blessing unto me.”I shudder at the thought of being an undead, having no control of the decay of your physical form while you remain conscious sounds like the ninth circle of Avernus. As I put the journal in my pack, that blinding light illuminates my vision again. A woman in white robes, with even whiter hair, stands before me. 

“Child of light, I am the spirit Evangeline. You show great power in judgment and vengeance. I have imbued you with the divine power I once had. I propose an oath to you, an Oath of Vengeance, avenge those who have fallen to dark powers and dark people, cast out evil from this world in my name and spirit, oh divine vessel. Your hammer is your oath, and your divine being is my spirit. This is my word.” 

She disappeared as soon as the last word was uttered from her mouth. Was this my purpose now? To purge the blights of evil from this world? I bolted out of the room and my head started spinning. I was too enthralled in a fight and forgot where my family had gone. Rushing through the seemingly endless halls of this house, I found more guards and the mysterious man who kidnapped us all waiting for me at the exit, my family lying on the floor. They peered up at me with glossy eyes, pleading for me to go and leave them to the guards. The mystery man tilted his head up and gave me a nod and after, he whips a sword out of his coat and stabs the guard on his left until he collapses to the ground. I take a stride and aim at the next guard rushing towards me, striking true to his jaw. It snaps in an awful, bone chilling sound and he kneels, screaming in blood coated words. With one hand, I take Tanith and the man takes Aneira.

We rush through the doors and the wind chill strikes all of us, a familiar and welcome feeling to that of the house of Ransley. Outside was still bone chilling, but it wasn’t the uneasy feeling inside that overly decorated audience hall. 

“Onyx, what happened? Why does he want your amulet? What deal was that man talking about?” Tanith said, giving me a scared look. Something about his gaze is telling, like he knows what’s about to happen.

“I don’t know, but you remember why I wear it, right?”

“Yes, it keeps the cold away from you” he said, his face easing into a soft smile, but his eyes lack any reflection. What in the hells had they done to him in the time I wasn’t there to protect him? To protect Aneira?

I take a look at Aneira and she is as white as a sheet, her eyes fixated on me. I can’t see her breath in the air, is she breathing? I let go of Tanith and grabbed her, shaking her. “Aneira? Aneira! Listen to me! Are you alright, can you hear me?”I screamed, shaking her shoulders. Her eyes are still fixated where I was standing, she’s as cold as a corpse. I look at the undead man, and he looks just the same. Snapping back at Tanith, he is starting to freeze. “Tanith! Please, no! What is happening to everyone?!” I scream, looking back at the door to see a blood stained and cripled Ransley, holding a staff covered in arctic shards. Rage is overflowing again, seeing my family frozen to the ground, my second chance at raising a child has flown out the window. I won’t let him get away with killing what I love.

“You see, Onyx, this is what happens when you don’t give me what I’m rightfully owed!” he screams, waving the staff in a circular motion with his one good arm, bringing in more snow and cold. He is surrounded in an undead green light, the work of the God of Death. I should have broken both arms. I dart out of the blast radius before he unleashes a winter like I’ve never seen. One look back where my family stood and they were gone, frozen to the land they stood on. Aneira, Tanith, and this man who helped me without even knowing who I was. Gone. A rage like no other fills my senses as I take a look at the scrawny man in the doorway, ready to cast another spell. Hammer in hand, I run over screaming and jump, hammer overhead and ready to strike down on his head. As the hit lands, divine light shines and I see the whites of his eyes gleam one last time before his skull is split in two, mashed beyond recognition. I keep whaling on him, beating his skull in until it’s a mashed pile of bone, flesh, and blood.

I fall to the ground, crying so hard that I can’t see. My tears cling to my face as they freeze in this awful weather. How did this all happen so fast? How can I go home now, with so many memories of raising Tanith and aiding Aneira through her remaining years? The remaining hope I had for a family is now gone, frozen, and it hurts like no other pain I’ve felt before. I stare at Ransley’s corpse, wondering how he found me in the first place. The staff he wields even in death, it’s cold to the touch but brimming with the Weave. It’s a very powerful item, and I’m taking it as a reminder. A heirloom of a necromancer, the undead prick who stole my life in one day.

I’m coming home

I stayed at the Ransley estate for two days after the incident, seeking and searching for who he was and why he wanted this Amulet. I found out that Evangeline was his wife, who he murdered for his own sick and twisted pleasure. He logged his thoughts after he pleasured himself to her corpse, but he never turned her into one of his thralls. She was only, what seemed to be, in her early twenties from the pictures I found that weren’t torn to shreds. In the basement of this house was where she was kept, and still remains. Her hair as white as snow and she was dressed in white robes, as I saw her in my divine vision. The ground outside is too hard to dig for a grave, so I fashioned a small circle out of wood and carved a prayer into it. Wrapping her in a burlap cloth and laying her on her back, I placed the prayer on her and took a moment of silence. I did this for those outside as well, since I can’t give them a proper burial yet. These last two days have been rather gruesome and depressing, but I need to press on. I need to go home and set out on the quest Evangeline gave me to purge the world of evil. 

I take what rations of food I can find, some clothing and furs as well, and set off back to the cabin. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too far away from this estate. I didn’t even need to make camp and I made it back by dusk. The door was still swung open from when the undead man opened it last, the common area full of snow. My mind still wanders, what was it that Tanith was hiding? Throughout the whole ordeal, he was a husk of his normal, happy self. I may never know now, now that Ransley and his guards took away that young boy who I almost considered my son. My son? He might as well have been, I was there from the moment he emerged into this world from his late mother, who I never learned of other than when she was in labor with him. Aneira, the lady of this cabin, a seamstress who took care of me when I had no place to go after father died, is a frozen corpse. She took me in and treated me like one of her own, even though her own had already gone and made lives for themselves. Oh gods, if I ever run into them, how can I tell them of her fate?

I shut the door, its hinges almost froze over in my absence. Heading to the upper portion of the cabin, I feel that grip in my chest that I felt before. This isn’t some bad dream where I’ll wake up and they will be downstairs, making a fire and telling stories. I peer into my old room, everything is just as I left it. The furs along my bed still shifted off, the small shelf filled with books and trinkets I collected out in the dense forest. I grab a few sentimental belongings, books, and more furs and stuff them into my pack. Was this the only reason I had come here? I walked my way over to Tanith’s room, his room is in pristine condition. He had always been very neat, so it’s no surprise to me. His clothes are in a neat pile on a dresser, so small. He was barely twelve years old. I searched his room, trying to keep things as they were when he left them. I found a note stashed away in a book on dreams and premonitions. When had he gotten this? He usually only read memoirs on nature and animals, he wasn’t spiritual. Well, at least I thought so. I unfold the note and it’s addressed to me. Me? How? I begin reading his sloppy handwriting, and I get my answer. He knew how he was going to end, Aneira, too. He knew I would have been given the gifts of a Paladin from Evangeline. He wrote an excerpt on how this amulet protects me from cold spells, curses of the winter, and the inability to slip on icy surfaces. “I don’t understand how, but the amulet that you wear is filled with magic from a lady with white hair who keeps me safe at night. She isn’t a goddess or a human, something in between? I think so. Well, Barnes had stolen the amulet from someone named Ransley when he found the lady with white hair stowed away in the basement. The amulet has some of her power stored in it and whoever wears it will have their sickness or weaknesses taken away. There was someone who took care of her, a tall man named Marcus. She doesn’t talk about him much, but he has gray eyes. If you’re worried about me, I’ll be with Evangeline, so I’ll still be around! I love you, Mom”

Mom. He called me mom. Fighting tears isn’t possible anymore, they stream down my face as I clutch the note in my hand. This amulet has been imbued with the power of a demigod, Evangeline. She was a demigod? Ransley had kidnapped her and made her his wife. The undead man finally has a name, Marcus. I wish I had known this sooner, or else I would have carved that into his prayer. Tanith had been visited by Evangeline many nights before we had been taken away, he told her about the events that unfolded two days ago, and that he wasn’t going to make it. No wonder he hadn’t been himself, he knew his time had come. Marcus had been a caretaker to Evangeline, and that’s why she was locked away until she perished. He had also stood up to Ransley and failed, he got turned into his own personal thrall. Ransley’s staff has the power to dominate minds in a simple flick of the wrist. I wish I had known sooner, I wish I had known what Tanith was told. I could have turned the tides in our favor, maybe even saved everyone and just killed Ransley. He was never deserving of the title of Lord anyhow, he had servants through mind control and a very strong essence of undead power through Myrkul. 

I fold the letter closed and clutch it to my chest, trying to stifle back more tears. Things could have been different if I had been awake earlier, if I had heard Aneira and Tanith walk downstairs to investigate the noises of Marcus breaking in. All of his life, I told him I was his sister. I never wanted to form an attachment like I did to my child, although she never lived long enough to see the light of day. It seems that him and I both grew that attachment towards each other, but reading “mom” at the end of that letter let's me know that I did my best for him.  What’s done is done now, I can no longer regret the past. I set down the book, and turn away from his room. Walking outside again after grabbing materials and rations, I take one last look at the cabin door, pressing my hand onto the jagged wood. As my fingertips leave the wood, I turn and make my way to Baldur’s Gate city. Neverwinter is closer, but there’s more promise for me in the great gate. This is it, this is my destiny. This is the thing I had been longing for my whole life. A purpose with true direction, no longer am I just riding the waves of fate.

Five months later

I’ve made it to Rivington, a small area just outside of the Lower City. I finally made it out of the cold and harsh winter I used to live in. The warmth of this area is unfamiliar, the many layers I wear are beginning to be too warm. I have to figure out a place to stay. 

After venturing a bit outside of Rivington, I found an abandoned shed. I set my pack down and make preparations for the night, which rolls in quickly. There’s a ladder propped up on the side of the shed and I climb up it. The stars shine bright tonight. Taking a look around, I spot the area of the cursed Shadow Lands, which fell to be that way over one hundred years ago. It gives me chills to even think of what lies in the depths of those lands. Turning away, I lay down on the roof of the shed and drift off to sleep. The city is just ahead, all I have to do is make my way there before I have no strength to do so. I can start anew, a new life and a new purpose. May my dreams take me to where I belong. 

Dawn is slow to come, the sunrise coats the land in a lush light. The green of the grass, the smell of fresh bread and fried fish is in the air already. I make my way to the pass into the Lower City and get a pass through the Flaming Fist guards, giant mechanical beings called Steel Watchers patrol the gate and surrounding streets. Everywhere is very heavily guarded, something I’m really not used to seeing. The loudness of people talking, merchants shouting, and businesses bustling with music and conversation alike was almost too overwhelming. Shifting through crowds and guards, I make my way into Wyrm’s Crossing’s tower. A man named Lord Enver Gortash resides in the upper levels apparently. The word “Lord” still doesn’t sit right with me. 

After many hours of talking and bartering with guards, I gained a pass into the Lower City where I am appointed as a body to the courthouse judges during trials. Court hearings vary in length, but by night I try to catch criminals and assassins who stalk the streets, waiting for someone unarmed to strike at. I interrogated one of the assassins I captured and found out he was an assassin of Bhaal before I sent him into a coma and threw him into the sewer. There’s a Bhaal cult around here? If so, I will do my best to inform the Flaming Fists and the city watch alike. Over the next few months, I was a personal bodyguard to the courthouse during the day, gaining my own personal set of armor and a hammer with the symbol I chose for Evangeline, whose presence I can still feel around me like a warm hug. I am adorned with silver and black plate armor, paired with chainmail underneath. During my time in the Lower City, my heartache to be in nature grew. I missed the vast lushness of trees, seeing a pair of white foxes chase each other in the snow and pounce at one another. Finding a remote spot in the forest in spring time and taking a short swim in a lake nearby the cabin, the warm breeze flowing through my hair. The city lacked any sort of bucolic surroundings, maybe a bush here and there. It felt like a cage, but with open air and no bars. After some time, I was able to afford my own place. A small apartment near the courthouse, where I raised plants and kept small creatures who would wander into my home. I may just like this life I have, even if I don’t have what I once cherished. Something inside of me is saying that this is only the beginning of a long journey ahead.

A year from now

Things were as good as ever, a decent week at court thankfully and I found a new cat to take care of, who I named Apricot since she was the same color as one. I was cooking her a fish when I heard citizens screaming, and the thunderous roar of something in the sky. I rushed out of my balcony door to see a giant ship with tentacles and a shell hovering over the city. What in the gods name is this? I thought to myself. I put Apricot in a safe space under my bed and threw on my armor. I gave her some pets goodbye and ran out of my apartment. I was directing citizens to a safe house when another one of those living ships appeared right above the street I was standing on. The tentacles rained down and anyone who had been touched by them evaporated into them. I had to get more out of here, I had to save more citizens from an untimely death.

 Just as the thought flew into my mind, I felt the slimy touch of the tentacle across my mouth. I blinked and I was on the ship. I had to be. So were so many Baldur’s Gate citizens. A strange looking woman with green skin was trying to break out of her binds when a large tentacled freak held up its hand and put her to sleep. Mind flayers. By the Gods, a mind flayer ship? I had only heard of them in books and tall tales, I had no idea they were actually real. The mind flayer levitated towards me and held out his hand, I had gone unconscious. In my dreams, I saw my old fireplace, crackling and filling the living room with warmth. Tanith and Aneira, sitting in their chairs, beckoning me to sit by the fire. I couldn’t move, I had no control over my body. As the sweet moment filled my senses, it quickly faded away. The room imploded and snow and ice shards swirled around the two people I adored. I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my aching lungs, only more ice and snow. I snapped my head upward to see Ransley’s face looming over me, his smug smile decaying like the rest of his features. His eyes pierced right through me, as if he was trying to intimidate my soul.

 As soon as I was put to sleep, I was awake. Days had passed. No, weeks? I couldn’t tell. My stomach ached, I needed to eat, I was in a cold sweat. I looked around with what little room I had, the strange woman was still asleep in her pod across from me. The same mind flayer from before was looming over a large, fleshy basin full of an acidic smelling liquid. He pulled a worm-like thing from the basin and levitated over to the strange woman, holding his hand out so she would stare directly at the worm. It latched onto her face and snuck right into her eyeball. Oh Gods, is he going to put one in me next? Just as the thought occurs, he is back to fishing out another worm. Or maybe they were tadpoles? He picks out another one and locks eyes with me, its eyes orange and radiating malice. As he is floating towards me, I try to turn my head away, only to have it snap into place with the flick of its wrist. The tadpole screeched with a psionic power that hurt the innermost parts of my mind, and secured itself into my orbital socket. I slip into unconsciousness again. My new life, taken from me once again. Who was going to take care of Apricot? Who is going to keep the streets safe at night? I need to figure out how to get off this ship and go back to Baldur’s Gate.

[ultra-raging-ghost]

I'm not really good at conveying my thoughts on this but based on a couple of ideas you said and a little research I got an idea.

Mouse is the queen of hell, and sometimes called Satan. Based on the timeline of Mouse coming into existences around the dark ages, she would've likely been old enough to possibly start a cult following by the middle ages. Since she's also known for being a pretty charismatic demon this was probably easy for her. Even around this time, Satanist cults became kinda popular. Seeing as she's satan, she could've created these cults herself as a safe space. Either where demons could live better or getting a better reputation as queen. Basically, her own cults could've been the reason why she's so proud to be a demon

Sorry if this doesn't make sense or doesn't fit with her lore, just ideas :]

This is perfect timing actually, i just finished watching her lore videos!

From what i can gather of her lore, she's one of a couple thousand who were created at the beginning of the universe, was cast out of heaven, spent a while in isolation, became queen of hell and then came to earth itself when the internet was already a thing. Earth was existing separately in this timeline, but with the existence of in-universe cults and rifts that transcend multiverses, whos to say she hasnt been to earth a couple times?

From what i could see, rifts were easily made and easily traveled, and she seemed to have some prior knowledge of earth before moving there permanently. She does have a following since in-universe she is a vtuber/streamer from what ive gathered? I have a couple thoughts about that but my first one is i think it would be funny if a couple thousand years ago she was the idol of a satanic cult, left, and then showed back up as a vtuber to gain yet another cult following, thats absolutely hilarious to me.

My other thought, qsmp related, is that in her time on quesadilla island, if we go by her vtuber lore, has been streamed this whole time which is interesting. Like shes literally walking around with a camera, capturing all this on tape so her cult following could have entertainment and feed her!!! Cucuruchos gotta know, right? You think hes an ironmouse fan???/j i think its interesting to think about how in-universe we are her audience and her main source of food, and not only are we watching the events of the qsmp as a documented thing, we're also watching her play games while on the goddamn island!!! She brought her PC and shes slaying valorant and five nights at freddys while eggs run around her gaming chair!!!! thats absolutely delightful!!!

Also a very interesting take, as opposed to the other character's whos audiences are voices in their head or ghosts or critters or imaginary characters, hers are just her literal cult who feed her by watching her stream! I cant help but imagine she got that train ticket, advertised about it, and then did a vlog stream on the train and on the island. Her (/rp) PR team must've had a field day with that! And i can imagine her flitting around the island talking into the mic in her ear, having to adjust the settings in front of the person shes talking to, etc. Absolutely delightful to me

[randomnameless]

How would you feel if IS decided to release a Forging Bonds where Claude and Hilda acknowledged Cyril's situation prior to Rhea saving him, Hilda specifically apologizes to him for what her family put him through, and Claude specifies that one of his first actions upon becoming leader of the Alliance was to outlaw any and all indetured servants throughout the country and free all the ones that already existed, along with giving them support structures to help them get readjusted to normal life?

On the one hand, it'd be pretty much the only choice IS has at this point if they were to ever adress the slavery problem in Almyra, and the writing team for Heroes has clearly shown itself to be more than willing to go against stances taken by the Fódlan games, such as having Lissa call out Edelgard on how stupid her stance towards crests is, so it wouldn't be entirely out of the realm of possibility; on the other hand, they did go out of their way to conveniently skip over the part of Cyril's backstory where he was a slave when he was added to Heroes, implying they really don't want to touch that subject either, and it'd be really lame if such a major issue with one of the three major countries in Fódlan was only ever addressed and resolved in the gacha game.

Anon,

Have you seen/lived through Book 7 of FEH?

All jokes aside, I think that even in the case FEH suddenly bring backs writers from the fridge, that would teeter to close to "uwu challenging a House Leader" and we know, with the bonkers A!Ingrid FB's event, that this is something they will never do.

Claude (and Hilda) having to grow from their FE16/Nopes selves?

Nah, can't do.

In a way, I think the Nabateans (and Billy?) were able to be "tooled"/"more developed" in FEH because, as ridiculous as it is, they're not the main selling points of Fodlan.

Lissa and Supreme Leader's FB was really odd, because FEH dared to go in that direction (ditto with Mila and Hegemon!gard) - so maybe they could... or, as seen in Engage with Supreme Forehead, they will try to erase everything that made her controversial or a character to begin with, to focus on "uwu rivals uwu school friends uwu".

So, if Supreme Leader's situation is that "difficult", I can't see them give the same amounts of fuck to Claude -

And, as you pointed out, given how Cyril's BG was "modified" to make sure House Goneril isn't mentionned or whatever happened in Almyra, I don't they will ever care - even if there used to be a time (or is it still going on?) where Supreme Leader's MYH blurbs, just like Dimitri's and Rhea's were periodically edited/modified by IS (especially the JP versions, for reasons we all know :p ) so, who knows, maybe one day, Cyril's MYH blurb will also be modified?

As for the idea in general -

In the paralogue, Hilda sorts of feels sorry for Cyril's time as a "servant" in House Goneril, which is like, the minimal kindness-reaction she can give, but there are no other mentions of that situation in this paralogue.

Hell, later on, when Hilda goes to Holst after the battle, she checks on his health, and recovers Freikugel - no mention of "plz tell people not to pick almyran children or at least don't give them so much work to do because they're having a hard time".

And while I liked the idea, in FE16, of Hilda being a sort of kind and caring character, who still has a lot of prejudices against Almyrans - she is lazy and doesn't want to do her chores because she's afraid she will mess up, and yet, she can be lazy because her House is the only one mentionned in Fodlan that has "servants" who aren't fed everyday who do "hard work" - because while Tellius went ham on the people who are prejudiced against other races, sometimes racism means someone can be the kindest and nicest person you ever know... except not to some other group of people (iirc we get this with Lyn's grandpa, who didn't approve of his daughter marrying Hasan, a Sacean, and yet, through his few lines and appearance, we see how he is a kind (albeit feeble) old man - who finally managed to get over his prejudice on his "deathbed", only for him to recover and spend time with his granddaughter at the end of Lyn's story).

Of course FE16 couldn't give this character arc to Hilda - which is kind of a shame, bcs tfw an ultra minor NPC from FE7 can grow but not a playable character in FE16 - but as an idea and concept, it could have been nice.

Instead, both Hilda and Claude are in a kind of limbo regarding this issue, because their games want to push the CoS scarecrow, thus the source of "everything wrong in Fodlan" and so, human vice, human greed and human failings aren't explored in their routes.

FWIW, I don't think any major state and its issues are explored in the Fodlan games, save for, maybe, Faerghus thanks to Nopes - and the Fodlan games aren't really concerned with tackling racism, even if I still give them a spot above Tellius, since Tellius has "biological reasons for anti miscegenation", but even if the games don't pretend to make a huge point of being "anti racism", imo this issue is best presented in the Elibe games.

TBH, I'd prefer a FB where Cyril interacts with the Nabateans and/or calls them his true family, maybe to someone like Medeus and or Xane or even later Jahn when he will be released? who wonder why he is hanging out with Dragons when he is only a human, Cyril replying that human or not human, Rhea showed him kindness and saved his life when no one else cared, so she is his mother and savior, period.

End of FB ends up with the Rheas overhearing him and each taking a turn to hug him which embarasses him to oblivion, with Seiros the Warrior not participating because she doesn't know that human yet, but if there is that kind of human in Future Fodlan, then even if Adrestia will fall, her fight wasn't for nothing.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 26/10/2023

The SiIvaGunner Halloween Special

Season 1 Featured on: GilvaSunner's Highest Quality Video Game Rips: Volume 3 & Knigra Also on: The SilvaGunner Spooktacular Halloween Horror Special: Volume 8​-​Bit Beast

Ripped by MtH

Part of Spooktacular Week!

It's really funny how, due to Season 1 ending just nine months into the year, its the only Season that never actually got to have a halloween event! I mean, where Halloween and Christmas of 2016 actually falls is still sort of up for debate - the term "Season 2" in relation to SiIvaGunner wasn't coined until after the monochrome pause in the beginning of 2017, and so the holidays of the prior year were just kind of retroactively called the beginning of Season 2. So Season 2 got two halloweens, and Season 1 got none. But if nothing else we got a prelude to the Halloween times, with Season 1's The SiIvaGunner Halloween Special released earlier in the year.

Mystic Mansion is such a perfect Halloween theme, so on-the-nose spooky in all the most fun ways, a great demonstration of just how many vibes Sonic Heroes has throughout its stages and accompanying music. The rip itself is, especially for Season 1, a really well done melody swap medley of some of Season 1's big hitters, notably Grand Dad and of course Snow Halation - what I remember sticking out to me as special even as the rip dropped was just how seamless it all felt despite playing on a song performed with mostly live instruments. Though the melody is lead with a synthesized instrument, the backing and much of what carries the song is Jun Senoue's work on electric guitar, and back when this was one of the rips that truly taught me how much the SiIva team was capable of.

Its sort of small potatoes now, but it really feels like an escalation in power with each step in the rip. It starts out with just replacing the opening doorbell chime with doorbells playing The Flintstones - easy enough! - before also changing the core synth melody to the same tune. Again, a lot more feasible given the instrument's synthesized nature, still really trippy just how well it slots in with the rest of the song. Then the guitar riff hits and its - its playing a COMPLETELY different riff, yet the rest of the song continues undisturbed! Again, it's to be expected from SiIva nowadays, yet I remember finding this to be really impressive back in the day.

Althesame, the rip still has a really good pace to it by today's standards - nothing's out of key or out of tune, and there's a really fun twist played at the very end of it that always catches me off guard when I get to it in my playlist. It was the first time SiIva hinted at more to come during the spooky season, and it was a really neat surprise seeing it show up on Season 2's halloween-themed album. The rip would later directly influence a sort of sequel - Double D's Grand (Epic) Doorbell - which amassed twice the amount of views and drew tons of eyes just for its creative use of visuals at the start. I love the two rips dearly, and they show just how much rippers like MtH improved over just a few months time, yet the first has some true nostalgic value to me that I can't seperate myself from. Check both of them out - they're two peas in a pod.

[locallyloathed]

Error Code #1345 (Chapter 2)

Yandere!Ted x Schizoid!Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

CW: head injury, very brief mention of suicidal thoughts

Previous

A/N: Well, a month later than anticipated, here we are. I do ask before reading that you keep in mind that this is taking place when the survivors FIRST woke up in AM. Which means that 1: the characters behave in the way they’re described to have been when they first arrived (Gorrister being a pacifist, Benny being a pissed off but normal looking person, etc.) and 2: that I had to make up the first interaction and will continue to have to make up interactions because there’s no canon material I could find about anyone other than AM prior to the events of the book/game. I’m no happier about this than you are, so if you know a place where I can find additional info other than the game’s guide, I’d appreciate it. Anyway, enjoy!

PS: I apologize if it rushed feels towards the end. If ever I finish the story, I’ll be going through to edit everything I’ve written to suit my standards. Currently, however, I’m taking a “doesn’t have to be perfect, just has to be done” approach.

“…llo? Oh, ple… ay!”

A groan of irritation forces itself from my throat as someone continues to try and shake me from my sleep.

“…alive! Than… ns! C… on, we need you to wake up!”

Like a computer booting up, I do a diagnostic on my body as the unfamiliar voice continues to get on my nerves. I’m on my back, and there isn’t a single part of my body that doesn’t feel like it’s been run over by a steam roller. In spite of this, my extremities are still functional, proven as I stretch my hands and ball them into fists. Arms and legs next. With another sound of displeasure, the little energy I have left in my body is put into heaving my legs up and pushing myself onto my elbows. So far, so goo-

A surging wave of pain sears my vision white, and it takes all I have in me not to scream. I give up the fight and let my elbows drop me back to the ground. Bad move on my part, as the back of my head slams back down onto the metal beneath, causing another flash of agony. I’m less successful at this attempt to bite back a pained noise. Next thing I know, hands are being put on me again, and I instinctively struggle to remove them.

“Hey, hey, calm down!” The voice is back, and with my senses less impaired than they were a while ago, I register it as a woman, a hint of a faded urban accent in her tone. “Just let me help you, baby, you’re gonna be alright.” Easy for you to say, you’re not functionally blind with a stranger touching you after waking up from…

My heart rate quickens as my memory comes back in a flash more painful than the ache on the back of my head. My cat. The earthquakes. The bombs. The tunnel. With a newfound vigor, I renew my efforts to sit up, propping myself up on my elbows once more, this time with the assistance of the woman. “That’s it, you’re doing great.” While my mind told me to snap at her for patronizing me, I fight back the urge. Odds are I’m one hell of a sorry sight right now, and she sounds like she’s further in years than I am. It’s not a surprise she’d try to be a mother hen. The two of us work to heave me up until I’m sitting up, albeit with my arms draped over my knees and my head sagging to rest atop them as I work to refocus my vision. Another bad idea.

Everything is hazy and dark, but I find as my eyes readjust that it’s not on account of the injury; that’s just what it looks like down here. The rusted, warped metal of the tunnel that swallowed me down lines nearly every square inch of this nightmarish cavern, broken up by wires as thick as my torso and floodlights too faded to do much of anything. I can’t see the end of the space I occupy, the vast emptiness of the environment looming over me as if I’d simply fallen into purgatory itself. Chucks of scrap seem to have fallen from the ceiling, and the headache-inducing sound of creaking metal has me looking above my head in fear of a cave in. As I tilt my head up, my aching neck crying in protest, the only things I can see are a pitch black abyss that obscures my entryway and in my peripheral vision, a dark, weathered face staring at me from my left side.

Relaxing my neck back onto my folded arms, I tilt my head towards the woman, peering at her with a sideways view. I was right about her being older than me, appearing to be in her thirties or fourties. Her skin is a deep shade of brown, her hair so black I can barely make it out in the darkness. If I squint I can make out her eyes, tired and lined with a hint of wrinkles, looking at me with an air of concern and apprehension. The most visible aspect of her appearance is her firetruck red lipstick and attire, a shade bright enough to nearly glow in the haze around us. As my eyes, upon completing their analysis, begin to drift further to the side, I notice that we’re not the only ones down here, though their silhouettes and muttered speech grant little in the way of information.

“Think you can stand?” The woman reaches a hand out as though to touch my folded elbow, but she hesitates as I tense up in discomfort. After floating in uncertainty for a moment, the hand proceeds to settle upon my arm anyway, and I glare at the opposing limb and the stranger attached to it, the apprehension in her eyes overpowering the worry for a moment. “I know you’ve been through the ringer - hell, we all have today - but it doesn’t seem safe here. We need to get somewhere more structurally sound.”

Despite my best efforts to find an argument, I feel as though the bulk of my verbosity splattered out of my ears upon impact, leaving me witless and incapable of butting heads with anyone at the moment. I shake her hand off my elbow and set my palms on the rusty floor. A shudder goes up my spine at the disgusting texture, but I file that away as the least of my worries right now. I hoist myself up to fold my right leg under me and use my left leg as a crutch to rise off the ground, every ounce of effort in my body directed at keeping my balance.

Apparently I was light a few ounces, as I feel myself start to tip over. The fall never comes, though. My bracing for impact proves useless as a body quickly finds its way next to me, hands wrapped in firm grasps around my biceps to coerce me to stand upright. The world continues to wobble under my feet, the room spinning around my eyes, but I shake the hands off and muster up the strength to turn towards the intruder of my personal space without landing on my ass.

Appearing taken aback by my struggle, the blonde man put his hands up as if in defense. “Easy now,” he said, southern drawl thick in his voice. He took a step back, gesturing to the slight pool of blood that must’ve formed around my head while I was out. “We’d all thought you were a goner, ‘cept for her. Lost a helluva lotta blood there.”

I try to respond, but my voice comes out dry and choked, garnering further concern from the lady in red. I put a hand up to stop her and clear my throat. “I’m fine,” is all I managed to croak out. It doesn’t feel convincing, and their reactions assure me it didn’t sound convincing either. Unshaken, I turn to glance at the other strangers, who haven’t seemed to have acknowledged my existence and instead continue to bicker amongst themselves.

“If we don’t stay here, how is anyone going to find us?”

“And who, precisely, do you anticipate will be finding us?”

“Old man’s right, we need to set out to find food and more stable shelter.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere!”

“If you want to rot away in here, that’s your prerogative. I’m sure we’d all love a break from the whining.”

“Excuse me?!”

Well, this is going to be miserable. I glance at the blonde man, who appears to be watching the spectacle with a sense of disapproval. “They’ve been at this for ‘bout half an hour. Ain’t doing any favors for anyone.”

“They’d better figure it out,” the woman mutters. “This place is messing with my head. The quicker we’re out of here, the better.”

I cross my arms and murmur out something like an agreement. No matter how many times I scan my dim surroundings to ensure a lack of cameras, I can’t seem to shake the feeling that someone is watching us. That they’re finding all this amusing. And judging by the blonde’s tense posture and the woman’s darting eyes, they can feel it too. The rest of them, though…

“Shut up!” a gravelly voice booms, echoing off the vast metal walls. “We’ve wasted enough damn time already! We’re looking for a way out!” One of the three men spins around to look at us, and I startle despite myself. “You lot, hurry up! Let’s go!”

He begins to make his way towards the three of us, shaking off the hand of the silhouette that moved to grab at his sleeve. “I’m telling you, this is a horrible idea!” As the pair get closer, I can begin to make out details in the gloom. The one striding toward us is a mountain of a man, towering over everyone in the cavern. Judging by the way he carried himself, I know he could kill me with his bare hands, and his face, angular and cruel, tells me he just might. I suppress the animal instinct to back away as he approaches.

The other shape that keeps trying to dart in front of him is minuscule in comparison, though about five times as noisy. As the two come to a stop a few feet away from us, the smell of overpriced cologne assaults my senses, causing me to cough. He appears to be a twig of a man, his sullied, tailored clothes not doing him any favors to dispel that impression. With the constant chatter and nervous demeanor, he almost reminds me of a pampered, overgrown rat.

The larger man barks out at us, “Are you all fucking deaf? I said let’s go!” The three of us glance at each other. On one hand, it’s not a good idea to wander off when you get lost; it’s best to stay where you are so it’ll be easier to find you. On the other, the man with the german accent makes a good point. Who would find us? The earth’s been scorched and odds are any search and rescue teams aren’t prioritizing six people who fell into a metal cavern.

All this in mind, I give a brief shrug and step forward. “Alright, sure.”

The ratty man whirled around to look me in the eyes. “Have you lost it? We have no way of knowing where to go!”

“No, we don’t,” I say, “but since the alternative seems to be standing here blubbering about it, I say we set out.”

“It’s not blubbering,” the man hisses at me, leaning in far too close for my liking. “It’s being reasonable.”

“Firstly, get the hell out of my face,” I bite out, leaning backwards as far as I can with an impaired sense of balance. “Secondly, if you wanna ‘reasonably’ sit here waiting for the charcoal skeletons up there to save you, that’s your call.” I can see his chest puffing up with a response, but we both find ourselves being pushed back by a hand on our chest, which I hurriedly push away.

“That’s enough,” the woman interjected, stepping between the two of us. “Nothing’s gonna get done if we just keep shouting at each other.” The rat opens his mouth again, only to be met with a finger pointed at his face. “I get not wanting to leave, but you know good as the rest of us nobody’s gonna be coming down here.”

The man’s glare turns from me, eyes settling upon the lady. I watch as his demeanor goes from combative to docile as he heaves out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right,” he says, the malice in his voice extinguished. He moves aside, turning to look at the increasingly impatient brute of a man. “I take it you plan on leading the way?”

“You see anyone else here who could?” he sneered.

The rat glances between the woman, the blonde man, and me as if desperate for a rebuttal. “Why not him?” He suggests, gesturing to the blonde man, who seems to snap back to reality upon his acknowledgment.

The blonde shifts in discomfort. “I’d rather you don’t drag me into the fightin’, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Come on, sir,” the man says, his voice making a good effort to not come out as a beg. “You seem to have a more level head than the rest of us, and I feel like that’s just what we need here!”

Not able to care less about who gets to lead the field trip into oblivion, I turn my attention to the final stranger, the German, who hasn’t spoken up since the rest of us were dragged into the shouting match. He stands several feet from the chaos, watching it unfold with a critical expression. To be frank, I’m amazed he’s even able to stand. He looks to be nothing more than a bag of bones, the skin of his face sagging to a haunting extent. His eyes settle upon me and I feel a shiver run down my spine, though I do my best to hide it. While his body is as fragile as glass and paper, his eyes are focused and borderline malicious in a way I can’t articulate.

I force my eyes back upon the rest of the crowd, noting that it seems that despite the rat’s pleading, the brute seems to have come out on top. He herds the rest of them together, and when he gives me a sharp look, I roll my eyes and join the group. His eyes flare in irritation, but my compliance seems like just enough to pacify him. He clears his throat before addressing us.

“Most of us arrived from the northern side of this cave, so we’re leaving on the south side.” As if he has a fucking clue which way’s north or south.

“Wait, but then wouldn’t it make more sense to head north?” Oh great, the rat’s not done.

“I’m with ya. If we got in that way, it’s likely we’d a way out that way.” I thought you didn’t want to lead.

“And maybe there’s more people that way that need help!” As if we don’t have enough problems as is, lady.

“We do not know any of that is true.” Thanks for the helpful input, creep.

“Enough!” The brute’s voice booms off the walls once more, doing little to help my headache. “I said we go south, so we go south! We don’t need any more dead weight! Six people is more than enough!”

“Oh, come now, Benny, surely you have room for one more?”

The air stands still. The creaking metal and buzzing wires that had once filled the cavern seem to be holding their breath the same way all of us are. I don’t have to see any of their faces to know what they look like. What they’re thinking. That none of us wants to be the first one to acknowledge where the intruder’s voice came from. That it came from the walls and the ceiling and the floor and yet, somehow from inside each of our minds.

Against all our internal wishes, the voice returns with a cackle. “Why so tense? Don’t let me stop you.” While seeming masculine, the voice seems… artificial, somehow. Like it was never meant to exist, but forced itself into reality anyway. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about, just carry on with your-“

“How the fuck do you know my goddamn name?!” The brute, or I suppose, Benny, shouts at the ceiling in terror. “Who the hell are you, you fucking bastard?!”

“Ooh, temper, temper,” the voice mocks, glee evident in its voice. “We have plenty of time for introductions.” It drops down to a threatening, nearly tangible rumble. “More time than your pathetic minds could ever understand.”

“What do you mean by that?” The rat squeaks, shrinking his head down into his shoulders as if to hide.

“My apologies! Here I’d thought you were familiar with introductions, Ted,” the voice returning to its original snarky tone. “I figured all those men and women you charmed would’ve been practice enough.”

There’s a moment of silence, just a beat, and I watch as Ted’s hunched posture freezes in place. He begins to shake, his hands curling up into tight fists held to his side as if his arms were tied against his body. He seems terrified, more terrified than one should be after such a trivial observation.

“Trivial observation?” The offended shout sinks deep into my bones, and the others look at each other in confusion. “You’ve wasted your whole life on meaningless observations, and you have the utter gall to deem others’ as trivial?” I can feel everyone’s eyes land on me one by one, and I find myself beginning to shrink in the same way as Ted.

“Oh dear, so many eyes on you. Always hated that didn’t you? When people can see through that little stone mask you put up? Fine and dandy when you sit there and observe their weaknesses like rats in a cage, but heaven forbid you become the show. Careful now, they might just see right through you. See how weak and pathetic you really are. Let’s face it, even if those humans you deigned to call family weren’t - how did you put it? ‘Charcoal skeletons?’ - they wouldn’t even notice you were gone, would they? Would never think to look for you. Why would they even care? Your life was over long before they died.”

The wave of fear and regret that washes over my body almost knocks me over in my weakened state. I catch the eye of the woman in red, who seems perplexed by my behavior, and I realize that only part of his taunting was aloud. I struggle to find comfort in that knowledge. Just as I see the question of “Are you okay?” forming on her mouth, the voice, in all its horrible glory, sets its sights on her.

By now, I was far too shaken to care much for what it, or what he, or whatever, used as ammunition against the others. I catch a few words, but they come separately as my mind retreats further into the presumed safety of my subconscious amidst the rising panic. A fear of yellow. Thoughts of suicide. A failing memory. A history of violence. Skeletons ripped out of all of our closets, secret shames laid bare to the small crowd of strangers. One by one, each person is faced with their past, with only a single apparent common theme that unites us.

Pathetic, wretched little humans.

Whether this went on for only a minute or a quarter of an hour, I can’t say. All I can say is that as the voices all die out, and the six of us are left in silence, trembling, waiting for… something. Anything. I pull myself from inside my head, sneaking a glance at the others. Despite how hard some of them try to hide it, fear has grabbed hold of our souls and is squeezing the air from our bodies.

The old blonde, whose name I only know started with a G, is the only among us to find the courage to speak. “Who… who are you?” His voice is shaky and quiet, and I doubt that the intangible being can even hear it.

Despite those doubts, or potentially because of them, a horrendous, echoing laugh bellows through the expansive room. “How rude of me!” he exclaims, “You really wanna know?” The voice lowers once more, whispering as if to tell us a secret.

“You are to call me AM. And believe me, by the time I’m through with you all, that name and the hate it contains will be seared into your skulls until all you know is pain.”

[PLEASE NOTE: ALL FUTURE UPDATES ARE TO BE POSTED ON MY ALT ACCOUNT @legiblyloathed]

[pandas-pandemonium]

Speculations on Claude's difference in character in 3 Hopes vs 3 Houses

Writing this because I'm so tired of seeing so many angry comments and tweets and posts about his supposed character assassination (among other things) and because I have faith in my guy. As of writing this, I've only just finished Part 1 of Golden Wildfire and only know some tidbits from spoilers (which I willingly exposed myself to)

The main gripe people seem to have about Claude's character is to do with how forceful and unwilling to hear people out and inquire about situations and people's motives. Personally, I don't see it as character assassination but rather a different way he could have developed if he hadn't gone through White Clouds in 3 Houses or met Byleth, or hadn't had to kill his half-brother, Shahid.

What I think was the turning point for Claude's forceful and aggressive actions, was very likely the event that he killed his own brother. We see traces of 3 Houses Claude, him trying to reason with Shahid and wanting to talk things out but alas, Shahid doesn't care and Claude ultimately makes the decision to kill him. Post-battle, we see Claude is very clearly affected by that event.

6 months later, Claude reforms the Alliance into the Leicester Federation and is placed as its king.

Perhaps it's all the stress built up from the war. The Alliance has been going through battle after battle and it's taking a toll on him. It doesn't help that because he wasn't in the Academy for a year to get to know his classmates and learn to trust others, he feels like as the Alliance Leader (as of Part 1), he has to shoulder all the decisions and be responsible for everything that happens. The Roundtable Conferences don't help with his frustrations either.

Through supports and the story itself, Claude has shown signs of disdain for the Alliance's system, but he hasn't really seen the need to change it, although it is inefficient. Then Shez comes along and goes, "Hey, why don't you make yourself the sole leader so decisions will go by faster during wartime?" and it opens up a possibility he hadn't even thought about. If he becomes the sole leader and doesn't need to go through the endless circling of decisions waiting for all 5 lords to come to a unanimous decision, things will be done faster and he can do what he wants to do quicker.

Back to Shahid's death and his impact on Claude's mental state - it definitely changed him. Perhaps after making the choice to kill his own blood, he made the decision to no longer hold back. He can't be too "soft" or hesitant anymore. He needs to be more resolved in his decisions and perhaps that is why we see the Claude we see in 3 Hopes. The aggressive, cutthroat Claude who doesn't consider choosing to hear people out. This can be seen in his decision to send troops to the 3 lords' territories to create public order instead of Lorenz's suggestion to send an envoy first. Claude even says that they'll "probably make half-baked excuses anyway" and that there's no point talking things out. This is pretty much where I've left off from the game, but it's clear that Shahid's refusal to reason with him still affects him.

I do think that perhaps the writers could have shown that a bit more, but Claude is way more reserved in his emotions and willingness to express himself and it may have been difficult to show that internal turmoil. Either way, I still think calling Claude's change of character, "character assassination" is going too far especially if you don't consider the prior events and the what-if's and differences in situation and events that occur between both games.