#why npcs hate pcs

[todayontumblr]

Tuesday, June 27.

NPCs—a tribute.

NPCs, NPCs, #NPCs. You gotta love 'em. You don't have much choice, in fact. They are quite possibly one of the very best things about #gaming, and provide seemingly endless, albeit accidental, entertainment. Walking into walls? Check. Walking into each other? Check. Running into space, for no obvious reason, drawing weapon and assuming battle stance, for no obvious reason, before withdrawing and walking in the other direction, for no obvious reason? Check. Shouting hey! watch it!/you hear that?/must be nothing.../what was that?/I thought I heard something..., unprompted? Check. Walking slowly/freezing/moving without walking/sliding around/stuck in place/floating away into the sky? Check. Crouching around from side to side for a few moments, for no obvious reason? Check. Commencing beef, battle, conflict, and general disarray with you, the protagonist, unprompted? Check, check, check. *hazardous battle music commences*  

These non-playable characters are so often the accidental stars of the show, entertaining us with an all manner of unexpected behaviour, glorious glitches, and unforgettably banal dialogue. They are #NPCs, and we owe them so much.  

And remember—there's a little NPC in all of us x

[koiisure]

Me when Clarence Albert and Mallard Conway

[mephisto-reporting]

have you ever been in one of those weird headspaces where everything looks fine on the surface, but deep down something just... isn't?

like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

like there's this lowkey hum of unease under everything. like something's off but you can’t put your finger on it.

lately, i've been feeling like maybe people (online, offline) are just... done with me.

like a chapter is closing and i was just a passing NPC in someone else's story.

and i know i'm awful at reaching out. i freeze.

i don’t want to be "too much" or read too far into things and be wrong about it all.

maybe people don't even see me the way i hope to be seen.

maybe it's just june. june’s always been a hard month for me.

i feel like i’m stuck in this weird limbo space and i have no idea how to claw my way out of it.

anyway... that's kinda why i’ve been quieter here.

there’s a million WIPs sitting on my PC and barely anything that’s made it to the dash.

there are more open roleplay threads and asks sitting in @sylus-hds-7213 than there are replies, and i hate that.

i’m really sorry for keeping you all waiting.

thank you if you’ve stuck around. it means more than you know. 😘

[danieyells]

@2flowerz also asked for Lyca so

NOW WITH 100% MORE DOGGO LYCA. HE IS DEFINITELY A HUMAN AND NOT A WEREWOLF. He is trying very hard to be a human. I love him very much. . . .

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"...You again. Where're we going today?"

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Hey, you got letters. Don't you have to read them? Oh, don't you know how?"

he understands if you can't read, man. neither can he.

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"You smell sweeter than usual today... Stop. Go away."

after learning that the pc is going to turn into the anomaly that cursed them any sort of 'you smell nicer than normal' feels like such a threat lmao

"You want to touch me? Fine. Ten seconds and that's it."

that is more than enough my good sir

"When I find Neros, I wanna prove I've been getting along with humans. Then he'll definitely let me live with him."

considering he related the term 'neglect play' to what Neros did to him. . .I'm not so sure. . .and if Neros was as old as he sounds like he was, I wonder if he's even still alive. . . .

"Hey! Moth-eaten Casanova! Where'd you go? I'm gonna show you my special move today."

"special move" in Japanese is 「必殺技」 or 'lethal move'/'killer technique', usually unique to a person or fighting style. Not sure if he wants to show Ed how cool he is or try and kill him lmao--

"This phone thingy they gave me keeps making noises and making me jump... Why do I gotta carry it everywhere? It's scary!"

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Mnn... Let me sleep... Don't touch me... Zzz..."

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Laws, school regulations, anomalous law... Manners, morals, rules... How're you s'posed to remember all that?"

man i wish i could tell you. . .i've mostly got the morals in order, that's basically just 'don't do harm to others' when you get down to it. laws are about 50% 'don't do things that may endanger you or others' and 50% bullshit. the rest you're kinda on your own with.

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Urgh... My skin's crawling... Moon must be gettin' round soon..."

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"At first I was sad 'cause I got put in a different house to Suba, but all kinds of stuff happens here every day so it was fine."

awww he was sad because he doesn't get to see Subaru as often but he's not bored so it's alright! glad he's comfortable ;u;

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"H-Hey, don't come so close! Somethin' about your scent makes my stomach feel weird!"

WE'RE ONLY ON AFFINITY 5 DUDE YOU CAN'T BE CATCHING FEELINGS THIS EARLY it's probably because he's scared of girls or something lol

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I didn't do anything wrong! Those guys were saying mean stuff about me 'cause they thought I couldn't hear. All I did was yell at them."

I hate how they won't even let Lyca defend himself verbally. . . .

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I don't mind classes. The teachers say cool stuff. Once I learn to read the textbooks and the notes and the blackboard it'll be perfect."

HE'S GONNA BE SUCH A GOOD STUDENT WHEN HE CAN READ???

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"There was this big noise in our practical class and my ears popped out. Everyone ran away screaming. Damn it..."

wow they're cowards if the ears alone scared them. . .how're they supposed to deal with anomalies if that scared them!?

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"This? It's a picture book, duh. How come you don't know that when you're a human? I study with it before bed, everyone does it."

I wonder who made him a picture book of all the things he'd be learning as a first year to study with. . . . . .or maybe it's just a generic picture book lol

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"This blanket's not trash, it's just dirty. I can't sleep without it, so hands off."

he really loves that blanket huh. it must be one of the only things he had from his childhood or from being looked after by neros. . . .

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"What's a "so-shul skill"?  That blond gigolo was talking about them. He said I don't have any. Is that a good thing?"

he's got social skills!! Just. . .not very human social skills!!!

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm starving... I wanna eat Sho's food, but I can't order it without Suba... Wait, you can read, right?"

Lyca slowly realizing how many people he knows can actually read and thus can help him with placing orders for delicious foods--

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"That moth-eaten Casanova's in his room all day so I tried to take him for a walk, but he locked his door and ignored me. The hell?!"

LYCA CONTINUES TO SCRATCH AT ED'S DOOR COME FOR WALKIES ED!!!!

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"That stupid blond gigolo ran off with my blanket. I'm not done sleeping yet..."

tbf your blanket is filthy. . .and I get it, it's what you've got and it smells familiar but. . . .

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"I can't get back to sleep... I'm gonna wake up that moth-eaten Casanova for a walk."

lyca is a dog scratching at your bedroom door with his leash in his mouth like 'yes it is time for walkies now rise human'

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"The teacher asked us to name an anomalous plant you can eat but when I did he said humans can't eat it. So what? I can, so I'm not wrong."

I AGREE WITH HIM HE SHOULD NOT GET THAT MARKED WRONG. if you only want a human applicable question say 'humans' not 'you.

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"In the last place I never knew what time it was and I pretty much just slept all day. Now I gotta get used to having a "roo-teen.""

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I'm drawing. If I draw all the good stuff and bad stuff that happened every day I won't forget about it."

if he could write he'd keep a diary but since he can't write he's keeping a picture diary. . .and he's a really good artist according to his character story, so it's probably a pretty faithful recreation of whatever happened that day. i'd love to see his picture diary. . . .

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Huh? The blood on my bed? ...It's nothing. Don't touch my stuff, you're gonna get your smell all over it!"

WHY IS THERE BLOOD IN YOUR BED, BUDDY. ARE YOU OKAY??? IF YOU ATE SOMETHING IN BED THAT'S FINE I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO BE INJURED. . . .

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"...Did you cry? Your scent is all squeezy. How come?"

smelling you sad makes him sad too so tell him why you're feeling sad and he can make the sad go away?

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I wanna go to the cafeteria, but the teachers won't give me my pocket money. They said I'll get "spoiled." The hell does that mean?!"

GIVE HIM SOME MONEY SO HE CAN BUY FOOD???? HE NEEDS TO EAT????? HE'S BUSY WITH CLASS SO HE CAN'T GO ON MISSIONS YOU CAN'T JUST STARVE THE BOY????

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"That moth-eaten Casanova told me humans like it if you ignore them sometimes. Something about playing hard to get? I'm gonna try it tomorrow."

I wonder if that has anything to do with Subaru's home screen chat where he wonders why Lyca hasn't messaged him back. . .he's trying to play hard to get because he thinks it'll make Subaru like him more. . . .

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I'll stay here and be quiet at night, even when the moon's not round. 'Cause you're tired, aren't you? Go sleep."

even if he doesn't have to stay or even if he wants to make lots of noise, he'll stay and be quiet so it's easier for you to fall asleep. He won't be loud and you don't have to worry about him! so sleep tight!

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Sleep here. Huh? Is there a law that says we can't sleep together? There's not, is there? Hurry up and lie down."

it's pretty much innocent. . .he just wants you close by. . .being able to smell you while he sleeps would probably make it easier to fall asleep. . .feel safe and familiar and everything. . . .

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"I'm gonna work hard... I'll gonna work so hard, they're gonna say I can live with humans forever..."

Lyca, despite being a werewolf, is a lot like Kaito in that he just wants to be a normal human. Except he never started as a normal human, so he has a bit further of a distance to go to become one. . .he's not a dog, he doesn't wanna be a pet or an animal or anything like that. He wants to be a person like everyone else. But it's hard when others reject him, and when everyone says they think he's too dangerous even when he hasn't done anything wrong. Other ghouls--other humans--do way worse stuff than he does, and yet he's still held to a higher standard. It's not fair. But he's working as hard as he can to catch up. . . .

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"That blond gigolo tried to wash my blanket! He's never coming in my room again!"

he does not like spring cleaning--

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Lately there's flower smells everywhere, but sometimes there's one that kinda smells like you."

IT'S GONNA BE HILARIOUS IF THE ANOMALY THAT CURSED YOU HAPPENS TO LIVE IN OBSCUARY'S FOREST. . .LIKE YEAH IT'S JUST OUT THERE IT WAS ALWAYS ON CAMPUS IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU WE COULD'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS CURE BEFORE YOU GOT IT.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Harurin kept nagging, so I went to the safari park. Not gonna lie...it was super fun."

I love that Lyca uses the nicknames Rui uses for some people lol and I bet he loved running around Jabberwock!!! All that fresh open air and the wildlife. . .he's a wolf at heart really and truly.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Cherry blossom petals are super fun. They're like, whoosh, then they fall everywhere. I wish our house had some."

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Urgh... My head...it hurts... This? It's shaved ice. The blond gigolo told me to eat it so I don't get "heat eggs-aw-schun.""

oh buddy you're eating it too fast. . . . . .

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I was just in that moth-eaten Casanova's room and it was so cold I thought it was gonna snow! Is he secretly a yeti?"

okay it was only 63 degrees in there it wasn't THAT cold Lyca.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm gonna go practice swimming at Harurin's place. Can you do other stuff besides doggy paddle?"

I can't swim at all so. you are miles ahead of me my friend.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I know I said I always wanted to do sparklers, but... you sure this's okay? I thought we're not s'posed to play with fire!"

canid instincts are kicking in--fire BAD and SCARY and DANGEROUS. ABORT MISSION.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"I just tried to join in with some guys playing with a ball, but they said I don't know the rules and told me to go away."

THEN TEACH HIM THE RULES god they're such jerks around here.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Blond Gigolo was makin' this massive fire near the garden just now. It smelled all burnt and sweet... Is that some kinda ritual?"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Finished my picture. That Romi guy who comes to the bar all the time said he wanted one, so it's for him."

Romeo does like fine things. This just goes to show how good of an artist Lyca is! I bet Romeo's gonna frame it and put it somewhere people can see lol or maybe just keep it in his room. . .that or he wants to see if he can get him to make a forgery and profit off poor Lyca--

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Moth-eaten Casanova said humans like looking at the moon... D'you get sad if you can't see it?"

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"I'm gonna go play at that big ice castle after class! Huh? 'Cause playing in the snow's fun."

THE FROSTHEIMERS BETTER NOT GIVE HIM TROUBLE LET MY BOY RUN AND ROMP IN THE SNOW!!!!!!!

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Mm, I don't really feel the cold. Humans get warm when they run around too, don't they? Race you over there! "

he is having so much fun in the winter ;;;;; just running around and playing. . . .

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"My fingers have been gettin' all tingly and stiff and my hair's all crunchy! What's up with that? "

maybe playing in the snow a little too much lol--

(between 8pm and 5am)

"How d'you drink hot drinks so quick? They always burn my tongue... Huh? Dogs have sensitive tongues? I'm a wolf, not a dog..."

His birthday: (April 19th)

"Oh right, it's my birthday. Neros told me my mom wrote down the date."

Your birthday:

"It's your birthday, right? No, I only know 'cause that blond gigolo was yelling about it. ...Here's your present."

I bet he drew something really nice or found you something really cool ;3;

New Years: (January 1st)

"Hope you have a happy and prop...props... prosp...prospinous? new year... Damn it, I practiced that for ages..."

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"Oh, thanks. Professor Nicolas said I can't eat chocolate, so I'll give it to Casanova and Gigolo!"

why would you even risk giving him chocolate in the first place lmao. . .also in Japanese he says "I'll share with those two idiots" instead of "casanova and gigolo" lmao

White Day: (March 14th)

"This is for you. I dunno what kinda stuff human girls like, but Suba helped me pick it, so it's prob'ly fine."

Subaru knows girls' tastes is Lyca's logic I guess lmao Subaru is a lil on the femme side comparatively--

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Why's everyone being so mean today?! Telling lies and laughing at me... They're all jerks...!"

please explain the day to him. . .people are mean enough to him as it is. . . .

Halloween: (October 31st)

"My ears and tail are out? I know, I'm doing it on purpose. The moth-eaten Casanova said it's okay today."

THE ONE DAY HE CAN BE HIMSELF IS HALLOWEEN BECAUSE NO ONE WILL THINK ANYTHING OF IT. . .they'll just think it's a cool costume or maybe a fox robe! And he'll get candy for it!!!

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Hey, look! When I got up this present was next to my pillow! Santa really came..."

WHO TAUGHT HIM ABOUT SANTA. . .AND WHY. . .then again Romeo said Santa's reindeer is real so. . .it probably isn't actually harmful to teach him about Santa since Santa's probably somewhat real here. . . .

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"...I'm going for a walk."

(13 affinity and above)

"Hey, you alive? Huh, you're breathing so I guess so."

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"How come you stopped coming? Do you hate me? It made my heart all squeezy, so don't do it again."

oh no sweetie. . .sometimes we just have to take care of things and disappear without wanting to. . .sometimes life gets in the way instead of finding away. . . . . . . .

JUST. . .SWEETEST OF SWEETHEARTS. HE'S SO CHILDISH AND ADORABLE AND SWEET AND GOOD. . .I WILL USE MY TEN SECONDS OF PETTING TIME WISELY. He really does try harder than anyone, he's so determined and I believe in him so much. I want my boy to be happy.

[heykaya]

NPC Reactions to Specific Clothing

Extracted from the game’s code (19th April 2025)

Reactions to specific clothing during combat.

Index: Upper Clothing, Lower Clothing, Upper Underwear, Lower Underwear, Face, Legs.

Upper Clothing

School Shirt

"Always wanted to fuck a student."

"Still going to school, I see."

"Call me teacher."

"I've got a lot to teach you."

(If NPC is a teen)

“The school uniform looks good on you."

"I hate how they make us wear these."

"Call me teacher."

"I've got a lot to teach you."

(If the NPCs are Sirris, River, Doren, Winter, Mason, or Leighton)*

"At least you're following the dress code." (If in school)

"Still eager to learn?" (If elsewhere)

*as far as I know, encounters can only happen with Leighton. The others were likely added in for future use.

Sundress

"What a cute little dress."

"I like your dress."

"So cute and innocent."

Evening Gown

"You look like an expensive whore."

"Classy."

Ballgown

"Beautiful."

"Looks like I stole someone's dance partner."

"I almost feel bad about getting your clothes dirty."

Kimono/Mini Kimono

"How exotic."

"Where'd you get this?"

"You even dressed up for me."

Maid Dress

"Time to service your master.”

"I'm your master now."

"Call me master."

Nun’s Habit

"Trying to look virtuous? No one's buying it, slut."

"You think that's going to protect you?"

"Pious girls are all the more fun to ravage."

"Always wanted to fuck a nun."

Tank Top

"Only sluts wear tank tops."

"Really shows off your chest."

Crop Top

"Really shows off your nice, tight body."

Tube Top

"You're barely wearing anything."

"You may as well be running around in underwear."

Plant Top

"How strange."

"What is that?"

"You look like a mermaid."

"Has an odd charm."

"Lost your clothes?"

"That can't be hygienic."

"Is that made of plants?"

Towel Top

"Were you in a hurry?"

"You need to get yourself some new clothes."

"Nice and easy to take off."

T-Shirt

"That shirt's doing a poor job of hiding your cute body."

Sweater

"You're adorable."

"Why so shy?"

Serafuku/Gakuran

"What a cute outfit."

"Are you one of those anime nerds?"

"Always wanted to fuck a girl in one of these."

Babydoll Lingerie

"You're really asking for it, wearing that."

"So sexy."

"God you're hot."

"You can't expect me to control myself if you dress like that."

Turtleneck

"You look so slutty in that."

"Only sluts dress like this."

"Cute tummy."

"You're so slim."

Tuxedo Jacket

"Looks like you were on your way to somewhere fancy. You're stuck with me now."

"Trying to pass as a boy?" (If PC is a girl)

"Classy."

Pajama Shirt

"Looks like someone forgot to dress this morning." (If not at home)

"How unflattering."

"Don't sell yourself short."

Lower Clothing

Pajama Bottoms

"Forget to dress this morning?" (If not at home)

"How unflattering."

"Don't sell yourself short."

Waist Apron

"Already dressed for service, huh?"

"Cute apron."

Shorts

"These show off your legs nicely."

"Wish you were wearing something tighter."

Tuxedo Trousers

"Were you on your way to somewhere fancy? You're stuck with me now."

"Do you enjoy dressing as a boy?" (If PC is female)

"Nice trousers."

"I'll try not to dirty your fancy trousers too much."

Board Shorts

"I hope you enjoy your swim."

"I prefer shorts to be shorter."

Breeches

"Really show off your legs.”*

(grammatically, isn’t supposed to be “showS off your legs”? idk. this is what the code says tho)

Cycling Shorts

"The sight of your cute bottom in those tight shorts is driving me crazy."

"Those don't leave much to the imagination. I'm not complaining."

"Do I see a wet patch between your legs?"

"That tight fabric is so inviting."

"I want to run my hands all over that."

Jeans

"They really accentuate your legs."

Trousers

"You should wear something tighter."

Mini Skirt

"Only total sluts wear them this short."

"That short skirt is driving me crazy."

"I like them short."

Plant Skirt

"How strange."

"What is that?"

"You look like a mermaid."

"Has an odd charm."

"Lost your clothes?"

"That can't be hygienic."

"Is that made of plants?"

Towel Bottom

"Were you in a hurry?"

"You need to get yourself some new clothes."

"Nice and easy to take off."

School Shorts

"The uniform shorts fit you." (If NPC is a teen)

"Always wanted to fuck a school boy."

"Nice and tight."

"Aren't those for boys?" (If PC is female)

"What a tomboy you are." (If PC is female)

School Skirt

"The uniform skirt suits you." (If NPC is a teen)

"Always wanted to fuck a school girl."

"Do you get off on people thinking you're a girl?" (If NPC is a teen & if PC is male)

"Do your classmates know you're a boy?" (If PC is male)

Long Cut Skirt/Short Cut Skirt/Long Skirt

"I love a skirt. So easy to pull up."

"I'm glad you're wearing a skirt. Makes things easy."

School Trousers

"You're such a tomboy." (If PC is female)

"You should wear something more revealing."

"Always wanted to fuck a school boy."

Upper Underwear

School Swimsuit/Foreign School Swimsuit

"I'll leave you a wet mess."

"Always wanted to fuck the girls in my class in their swimsuits." (If NPC is a teen)

"Always wanted to fuck a student in one of these swimsuits."

"School swimsuits are so hot."

Leotard/Skimpy Leotard/Unitard

"That leotard leaves little to the imagination."

"So nice and tight."

"That leotard really accentuates your body."

"I love athletic girls.” (If PC is female)

"I love athletic boys.” (If PC is male)

Swimsuit

"I'll leave you a wet mess."

"Always wanted to fuck a'girl'in a swimsuit." (If PC is male)

"Always wanted to fuck a girl in a swimsuit."

"What a cute swimsuit."

"Your swimsuit is so hot."

Bunny Leotard

"That leotard leaves nothing to the imagination."

"So nice and tight."

"That leotard really accentuates your body."

"Your body deserves a tip."

"Are you in heat, bunnygirl?"

"You look just like those in magazines."

Bikini Top

"Cute bikini."

"I bet you give people lots of awkward boners on the beach." (If NPC has a penis)

"I bet you've gotten countless pussies wet." (Otherwise)

Catgirl Bra

"You're a cute one."

"Quite the playful one, aren't you?"

Lace Bra

"Sexy and tasteful."

"That's pretty lewd."

Microkini Top

"You're lewd indeed if you go swimming like this."

Plain Bra

"Plain, but pretty."

Sports Bra

"I love sexy sportswear."

"You're quite athletic, aren't you?"

Lower Underwear

Plain Panties

"Plain, but pretty."

Bikini Bottoms

"Cute bikini."

"I bet you cause lots of awkward boners wearing this at the beach." (If NPC has a penis)

"You're making me so wet." (Otherwise)

Lace Panties

"Lewd yet classy."

Briefs

"Aren't those for boys?"

"I might keep these as a souvenir."

School Swim Shorts

"I've always wanted to fuck a school boy wearing these."

"So glad they make the uniform swimsuits so tight."

"Did you steal those from the boys' changing room?" (If PC is female)

"Aren't those for boys? They're nice and tight still." (If PC is female)

Boyshorts

"These really show off your bottom."

"So spankable."

Catgirl Panties

"So cute."

"How playful."

G-String

"I love these."

"They barely cover anything."

Crotchless Panties

"Kinky."

"Don't even need to remove them."

Microkini Bottom

"You must be pretty perverted to go swimming in this."

Striped Panties

"Shimapan!"

"Very cute."

"Cute colours."

Speedo

"Aren't those for boys? Hot though." (If PC is female)

"So tight."

Face

Glasses

"I'll break those if you don't behave."

"Fucking nerd."

"How'd you like to have your glasses smashed?"

"You must be picked on all the time with those."

"How much those cost? Maybe I'll take them."

"I love girls with glasses."

"Cute glasses."

"Fashionable."

"They suit you."

"Nice eyewear."

Legs

Tights

"Your legs look so smooth."

"Makes me want to run my hands all over them."

"Such a tease."

Boy’s/Girl’s Gym Socks

"Cute socks."

Fishnet Stockings/Fishnet Tights

"You look like a whore."

"I love fishnets."

Stockings/Garter Stockings

"Classy."

Legwarmers

"How cute."

Degrees of Lewdity - Text Based Masterpost

[utilitycaster]

One of your recent posts talked about the way BH have essentially "run out of plot" in following the Red Moon/Predathos plot and the way that the PCS are being played.

I was also curious about your thought on the interparty dynamics in the end game, particularly with recent developments. One of the issues I've had with Bell's Hells for a while now is the way they don't challenge each other (or at least not in the way previous parties have)

Yeah; they don't. And honestly I think this is a combination of just...luck of the draw of the characters they created combined with that lack of room for those characters to develop because they've been in an environment that hasn't allowed much time and space for anything but rushing to the next task. Like, as mentioned, a lot of characters are kind of here to hang out or have goals that aren't specifically tied to personal change, if they have specific goals at all. That's not a bad thing! Grog, Jester, and Fearne all share that quality and are all fantastic executions of it - and Grog and Jester do change quite a bit despite that because the story gives them many opportunities to do so, and yes, because their fellow party members challenge them. But it feels like the bulk of Bells Hells if not all of it is kind of in that boat.

I remember an early panel in which Marisha said "I don't want to think anymore" and I know Travis has mentioned something similar for Chetney, of wanting to play someone much more chaotic after playing someone so highly controlled as Fjord. Liam also talked about stepping back from being a major decision maker at some point, and built Orym to be someone who had a viewpoint but didn't specifically assert it (as we've just seen). Like, I think most resentment C3 fans have towards C2 is just jealousy and bitterness but perhaps a fairer grievance is that the cast really brought their A-Game to the Mighty Nein with a lot of incredibly complicated, driven, messy characters and due to the smaller nature of the company then combined with the scaled back production of the pandemic focused intently on them; and then nearly all of them made a bunch of fairly go-with-the-flow or chaotic characters as a breather and (not unfairly or unreasonably!) thought they'd be in a story that would give them space to become something else or that would suit them, and it didn't. As someone who likes actual play I think if nothing else this serves as a look into how fantastic overall cast chemistry doesn't translate into compelling party dynamics.

To be clear, I think Bells Hells like and care about each other, but none are really the type to both strive to be better and challenge those around them to be as well. Even their defenders in the fandom are kind of leaning on the party of NPCs line from very early on [which is funny because a lot of people HATED that line at the time; I got hate over thinking it was apt] but the thing is yeah at this point in the campaign, they shouldn't still feel like a party of NPCs. Perhaps this is a personal preference, which, to be clear, does not in any way invalidate it as criticism, but as someone with a bit of a comics background, I've never been terribly into "Suicide Squad"-esque stories but I am into stories of Person Who Has An Opportunity And Rises To The Occasion Despite Not Being The Best Choice On Paper. Ultimately, my issue isn't that Bells Hells come from humble backgrounds and tragedy (this is also...not untrue for the Mighty Nein, incidentally; in fact they had even less endorsement from powerful groups. Molly died 26 episodes in and he just stayed fucking dead because no one had Keyleth's phone number so this is another case of "your defense just makes me think the Mighty Nein achieve this in a far superior manner"); my issue is that, as Laudna put it, they kind of just walk through doors because they're in front of them. I don't need them to become classically heroic; but I do need them to have some sort of intention. And they don't. Why are you walking through doors? "Because they're there" doesn't cut it. You're here because the Exandrian Accord gave you a whole bunch of support so don't play that "i'm just a nobody with nothing" shit anymore, it's demonstrably untrue.

I had this in the tags originally and I decided, perhaps unwisely, to move it into this post because I think it's relevant, but: in case it's not apparent, I think "You! Are! Valid!" culture is fucking awful; this is what that weirdo who thinks I'm from Reddit is mad at, I think (honestly I'm not sure if they're angry, they might just be very unwell). Like, it has roots in something true and helpful; you are valid for things like your race, gender, sexuality, ability/disability, and things that have happened to you in the past. But actually no one is automatically valid for their actions. Being incurious or inconsiderate or incapable of taking constructive criticism, even if this is tied to your past? not valid. Your trauma and pain is valid; what you do in their name very much might not be. And I think a lot of people who love Bells Hells do not like this message (which, Bells Hells don't like this message, hence the repeated "whatever you do is fine" conversations) and kind of romanticize a "NO ONE IS ON OUR SIDE WE MUST DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR US THERE'S NO GOOD ANSWERS" state in which one cannot be held responsible for action nor inaction and that's a lot of why they respond so dramatically to the increasing sense within the fandom that this party lacks the juice and does judge them for inaction. Like, I've been talking about character agency and how a lot of people's enjoyment of Bells Hells hinges on how they HAD NO CHOICES and I think we're seeing the fallout, which is that a TTRPG story (ie, a medium defined more so than anything else about player choices) about characters who were stripped of choice kinda sucks ass, and anyone who doesn't look to actual play D&D to valid their personal morality (which, in this case, usually is "the world is unfair so I can do whatever I want" anyway) would rather see a story about a character who fucking had a viewpoint and did things with it, even if it were a "bad" viewpoint. I know I'm hard on villain stans because a lot of them are actually people who are like "what if the VILLAIN were the HERO...I am very intelligent," but actually, this is the crux of why Darth Vader was very popular. It's not because people thought he was a good person; it's because he drove the story more so than the heroes much of the time, and people responded to that. Purely reactive characters are boring and to get back to your original point do not challenge each other unless someone else starts the reaction chain, and there just haven't been too many opportunities of the external nor internal variety to do it. It's mostly bad luck and again, a session zero could have fixed this, but it is what it is.

[dol-dee]

So... you imagine DoL set in the early 2000s? ME TOO. Tell me more about that!

aaaaaaa yes I do!!!! (Sorry for the late reply haha. I kept forgetting to come back to this ask) I think I started to feel that way pretty early on, since there's hardly any electronics around in game.

You don't have access to a phone yourself (which, admittedly makes sense as an orphan) but electronics get barely mentioned in general. (I'm guessing the true reason for it, is that it would be too much of a hassle to implement electronics as a mechanic in game. bc arguably you should easily be able to buy a phone or w/e later on, if dol actually took place in our time) Named npcs often have phones to record you with (which I kinda forgot about tbh lmao) but unless in that context, phones don't get brought up at all iirc. None of the named npcs ever ask you for your phone number and Social media isn't really a topic of conversation either.

The only Computers that I remember mentioned in game are Leightons, Mickey's, Kylars and the one you can check in the police station. (I don't remember if Bailey even has one or not.) They are far and few between. They also all read as desktop computers to me and not laptops. Hell, the only gaming Console to ever be a topic of interest, is Robins. I don't think we hear of/see any handheld conosles at all. Even TV's rarely get mentioned.

Pop Culture, like manga, anime and games doesn't seem to be a big thing yet either.

All of that gives me the impression that most electronic is still pretty sparse and hard to come around and kinda reminds me of my childhood when those interests where still conisdered niche/nerdy and weird. The few characters that have desktop pc's seem to be ones that had/have enough money (like Kylar, maybe Bailey?) to foot the bill, are either in a high enough position of power to own one (like leighton) or they're involved enough in shady business that they might have the resources to have their own equipment (Mickey).

tbf a lot of my reasoning can be argued against or easily explained away, but I think dol is infinitely more interesting as a game/story when it's set during the early/mid 2000s, where most electronics were still hard to come by.

Oh and last but not least: it simply makes for easier story telling haha. I think there would be way more ""plot holes"" you'd have trouble explaining away if it was set during modern times. considering how much digital surveilance we have nowadays.

Aside from all the examples I just brought up, dol just has that 2000s grime to me. It's so grungy and dank in it's vibes that it always reminds me of that timeframe. Just has that kinda clunky/kitschy charm to it. (a more eclectic personal explanation is that the seasons in game still feel the way I remember them for my childhood. nowadays everything feels really out of wack thanks to global warming. Although I'm sure that people who are older than me would say the same haha)

to keep this already long post short(er lmao) I'm gonna go into some headcanons under the cut; Basically which Characters have electronics and why:

Avery: has an expensive af and extremely clunky looking (by todays standards) work laptop, that she sometimes lugs around. Also owned one of the first mobile phones. Those really big and blocky ones. Maybe even had one of those phones that were built into cars. However, I think shed be kinda annoyed by mobile phones*, even if she's extremely diligent in answering her calls. (the grind never stops) *based on this comic from 1919 about pocketphones: Mostly because she strikes me as someone who doesn't care to be overly accessible and also hates it when whatever shes doing at the moment gets disrupted by something else.

Alex: Canonically has a phone in game. To me it's a landline phone. They don't own much electronics beside it. They have no desktop pc and no mobile phone. (canonically the own a tv and I feel like they'd have a radio, maybe even an old record player) Bailey: It would make sense for them to have a desktop computer but I can't remember if they canonically (and with that I mean in game) do have one or not. I could see it either way tbh. As they strike me as a stubborn hard ass whos paranoid about electronics and quickly gets annoyed by it) They only own burner phones aside from the official landline phone thats designated for "over the counter" orphanage business. Eden: Has an old ass radio and an extremely dusty burner phone that bailey gave them once. They don't own anything else

Harper: has a mobile phone they got from Remy, it's purely for business. I don't think they have one for personal business. They own a pager though bc of the hospital. They probably have a desktop pc too if only for hospital stuff.

Kylar: Has a Desktop pc, their parents footed the bill for that many screened monstrosity (tbf i dont know enough to remember if old pcs are even able to have several monitors connected to them or not). Probably had a mobile phone once. Whitney stole it. They own a few consoles but they prefer pc gaming (pc master race /j) Some 2000s era games (with no consideration for an exact timeframe) that I think Kylar would be into are : Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines American McGee's Alice Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 / Persona 3 Portable The Urbz: Sims in the City The Sims 2 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Robin: No mobile phone, the only electronics they keep around (until they inevitably need to sell them for emergency money) are an old tv and a gaming console. I have no concrete headcanons regarding the exact console and games unfortunately. (They seem to like superhero related stuff and I don't remember enough games that I associate with that direction of the top of my head)

Sydney: Has access to a landline phone but thats it. they don't have a mobile phone. Maybe they got to look at/ try out a pc at Kylars house once upon a time, but I don't think Sirris has one themself. I might be off with this but I could see Sirris being the one who bought a few early nintendo consoles like the SNES and Game Cube. Maybe even a gameboy.

Whitney: I don't think Whitney or their family is particularly wealthy so all of the access to electronics that they got, is either through wealthier friends, bullying or stealing. They have a mobile phone and probably a few handheld consoles they nabbed off their victims (in secret).

[complimentarysadist]

How to write a narc  (someone with little to no empathy)

-by a narc (I have NPD)

The way I write characters is by getting into their head so I´m going to attempt to put you into mine, let´s go.

Step 1: You´re a human person surrounded by badly written NPC´s

They´ll talk to you and sometimes be nice but there are things that they do that always remind you of the fact that you´re not talking to a person and instead to a bloody AI. These things include: playing into any stereotype ever no matter how dumb, doing some empathetic shit for not-you thereby being cringe/woke/a good christian girl(derogatory) because why help AI, being rude to you on any level (because how dare you insult the player character)

Step 2: You only feel good being kind/empathetic to people if they are NOT an NPC, otherwise it’s a chore

I know that a loooot of you are nice to NPC´s but you have to remember that it takes a lot less effort to select dialogue boxes and walk to places virtually. It´s miserable wording things politely and taking time out of your day to help someone with their homework when you KNOW they don´t even have real feelings.

Step 3: Consider the implications of the last 2 steps

Think about how miserable and lonely you are going to be because of your dumb, meaningless delusion. Even after a good day, you won´t feel like you have any meaningful connections in your life. You´re probably going to be (or feel like) a loner. You´re going to feel empty inside and lash out randomly because nobody understands you (even if they pretend otherwise) and at least bullying NPC´s makes you feel better because their inhumanity is the cause of your pain (totally not ur delusion don´t worry about it).

You ´re going to blame the NPC`s in your life for wanting so much and giving so little, not because they are giving so little but because they could never give you enough to convince you they are human. Think about how effective conservative media would be you. Think about how high and mighty you might feel if you joined a hate-group who hate on NPC´s that fit into stereotypes you particularly dislike. Think about how you wouldn´t even introspect about how horrible of a person you are because no NPC could ever judge you enough to make you change and no NPC could ever suffer enough to make you reconsider.

Step 4: This sucks, you NEED to find another Player Character

Predictably, this is going to make any relationship a minefield for them and detective work for you. You have to decide to what degree you think this AI is human and they have to constantly tiptoe around your wild negative assumptions (that maybe you verbalised or maybe they assumed bc they are used to them) lest you won´t treat them like a person. Keep in mind that step 2 still applies and verbalising your wild assumptions is effort AND it would make you look bad.

Step 5: Give up (if you´re going the evil/tragic route or whatever)

You didn´t find anyone! Idk, I never got this far. Probably double down on the hatred and try to bond with people that way because at least its an ego boost?

Step 5 but different: Find a PC OR find them-lose them-find someone else-repeat

This can be achieved via a subversion to your dumbfuck list of stereotypes (gamer girl who is good at games and is smart) OR by being admired or complimenting or your struggles being recognized OR by them immediately calling you out for all of your bullshit a week after you started dating in a manner so bizarrely vicious that it makes you feel some kind of way about it. Like, I didn´t think my wife loved their friends enough to abuse me like that but, fuck, I´m here for it, that´s hot.

This might be a temporary exception to your delusions, like, the detective game still applies unless you´ve fallen really super self-destructively hard for them, think: “oh, god, I´ll do anything just don´t leave me only-other-player-character-kun PLEASE!!”.

Step 6: Consider the implications

You´re going to want to be loved and accepted by this person for who you are. Unfortunately for you, who-you are is probably an NPC abuser. You are going to NEED them to validate the things you´ve said and done or at least like you despite it- lest they are siding with NPC´s and what kind of player would do that. You are going to need them to understand where you´re coming from and all the stereotypes that make these NPC´s non-human. You are still going to judge them and doubt their humanity- unless you´ve really truly fucking fallen for them like I did, at which point you´ll excuse almost anything.

You are also going to want love, without knowing how to sincerely show love. This one hits kinda close to home for me, idk how to explain it. I was never really sincere with people before. I mean, NPC´s could blackmail you with that shit, you know? Who knows what NPC´s are thinking! I have no idea!! It was pretty cringe, in hindsight.

Step 7: Unrealistic but valid character development

Did giving up everything for my wife make me a better person? Vaguely yes but I still have a personality disorder. You cannot cure a personality disorder. Unless it´s borderline, those people can improve like a lot, bless them. Anyway, this is fiction so you can actually totally ignore this fact and just do whatever, you know? Go live your dreams, cure everybody’s lack of empathy. Live your life fully and joyously and write what you would want to read because anyone who thinks your cringe is fucking wrong and that is a PROMISE.

And that´s pretty much all I can think of right now. Idk, repost with questions? If you have any? Also compliments, I mean, can you even imagine the ego death I´ve lived to share this for clout? To prove I´m better than other narcs? And more charitable? God, I´m so awesome and cool, it´s unbelievable.

(also, I don´t have antisocial personality disorders, that´s different. Those ppl can´t feel regret plus don’t do the empathy- I think? I don´t have that so idk shit about that.)

[magical-girl-coral]

I did the mistake of entering a blog that unironically reblogs confessional discourse posts and read a lot of stupid takes so here's me debunking them, I guess:

Why didn't the Bad Kids reach out to the Rat Grinders? - They did. Multiple times. The Rat Grinders were mean to them back so the Bad Kids dropped that plan. Ivy was racist about Mazey to hurt Fabian's feelings. Adaine called Oisin cool in one episode and then saw him murder Buddy the next. Fig and Kristen tried to recruit Mary Ann several times and she didn't give a fuck. Ruben fully tried to antagonize Fig when he first saw her because he could. They don't owe them to stick to people who were sucky to them.

From a mechanical standpoint, Brennan did this so they players won't waste time on them and move on to solve the mystery. From a story perspective, it was because the Rat Grinders refused to be saved. They were too brainwashed by rage and they refused to let it go. Even in the last fucking battle Fig tried to reach out as Wanda Childa and Ruben almost killed her with a ninth level spell. I'd say they were pretty fucking patient if you ask me.

The Bad Kids were too mean to the Rat Grinders in the final battle! - No, they were not. Oisin taunted Adaine about her greatest fears before trying to murder the entire student body. Ivy was racist in her last moments and called Mazey "objectively ugly." Ruben was an asshole to everyone he meets. Kipperlilly tried to get them all expelled since episode three. The Rat Grinders sucked as people when they were villains and the Bad Kids had every right to lose their shit.

Fig was too cruel to Ruben. Getting into his dreams was insane - One, Ruben was a villain NPC that won't stop threatening her party. She entered his dreams after he tried getting them kicked out of school by offering them drugs. Pete entered Kingston's dream palace after he threatened to take Pete if he gets out of line again. When PCs get threatened, they act out. Secondly, this is how the team finds out about devil's honey, one of the more important discoveries they've had yet. Her entering his dreams worked.

Thirdly, shatter star Ruben was a creep that dated his fans (an extremely uneven power dynamic) and then made songs out of being toxic in those relationships. Sandra Lynn, Fig's mother, had her life ruined by a man that tricked her into a toxic relationship with an uneven power dynamic. Insane that no one made this connection yet.

How could the Bad Kids kill them when they were forced into being Shatter Starred? - This one pisses me off the most because of how much this is based on hindsight. The Bad Kids didn't know the Rat Grinders were forced into the ritual. They canonically knew few things:

The Rat Grinders joined a rage ritual after their sophomore year spring break adventure

They almost definitely killed their cleric Lucy Frostblade

They famously hated the Bad Kids since forever.

They never went on real adventures and instead grind rats for their first year and then were power leveled by two teachers

Not once was it hinted none of them wanted to commit to the ritual. It was a popular fan theory but that's it. The only one who evidently didn't was Lucy and Yolanda and they found their bodies in the forest with runes written on their bones so they couldn't be brought back.

Isn't it weird how the Bad Kids did a 180 and asked the Rat Grinders to be brought back once the battle was done? - No. They only found out at the very last minute that the only one who did the ritual willingly was Kipperlilly after she died and her lack of a scar was revealed. This was at at the very end of the season finale. Of course the Bad Kids felt bad after they put 2 and 2 together and asked them to be brought back, they were the same way about Ragh and Awelyn when they found out more about their backstories.

It's so shitty of Brennan to not delve into any of the Rat Grinders' backstories - We still don't know if Jawbone is Tracker's biological uncle or not. We don't know if Sandra Lynn's family supported her after the scandal or not. We don't know the name of Ragh's father or any of the mothers' maiden names. A lot of NPCs in Fantasy High have a shit of information missing because only the plot relevant stuff comes up. Some NPCs are more relevant than others, that's just how it is.

I remember when people used to make forums to theorize about a character's past. We made OCs and new cities out of fun when the creators didn't. Where's the fucking joy, man? Where is the fucking whimsy?

I bid you all adieu with this:

Get in the fucking transcripts, for the love of god.

[secondhand-lions]

for the ask game! "what perk would they give the player?" and "what raises and lowers their affinity?" and "would they be romanceable?" for Sirenity pls!!!!!

YESSSSSS YIPPEE YAYY (they'll be noooooo wedding bellssssss for today)

i actually brainstormed their perk a while ago with @telestictroublemaker ! it's called Last Hand - once the PC drops to a certain health %, the PC gets a higher damage threshold and an increased crit chance. The crit chance bonus is based on an inversion of the PC's Luck skill - 10 is the worst, 1 is the best.

Sirenity would definitely be romanceable, even if they aren't a companion. Non-companion Sirenity would be a wandering NPC who has various camps and would start flirting with the PC after the second or third run-in. The PC can ignore this, or, if they flirt back, Sirenity asks if they want him gone in the morning, then fade to black.

Companion romance Sirenity is a whole other can of worms. There would have to be a quest involved.

Affinity conversations would go like "you're nice to have around" -> "look we both know i'm not the greatest person and i've got my own issues so just, like, tell me to fuck off and i'll go, no hard feelings i promise" -> "i still don't know why you decided to keep me around" -> "thank you for sticking with me even when you can't understand me or what i'm experiencing."

LIKES: Armour modification, pro- ghoul, synth, and super mutant dialogue, bartering, doing fetch quests, verbal self-defense

DISLIKES: Attacking hostiles without being provoked, stealing from raiders/settlements, being insulted, the PC responding negatively to Sirenity's various abnormalities

LOVES: Cooking, weapon modification, helping the Followers of the Apocalypse/Kings/Great Khans/Railroad, talking your way out of trouble

HATES: Attacking non-hostiles, anti- ghoul, synth, and super mutant dialogue, siding with the Brotherhood, helping slavers

[monsterkissed]

Rune Factory 5 on PC: mods for QoL

the pc version is (imho) the smoothest, best way to play this game, and mods are one of the key reasons why i would rec this version over the switch. there are mods to make harvesting resources trivial, add polyamory and even to fix Rigbarth's tragic trouser shortage, but i personally prefer mods that do what the base game does but Better. mods that fix frustrating issues or add functionality to existing features without feeling "cheesy" or like the game is unrecognisable. so here is a collection of exactly that. i'll tl;dr list the mods here so impatient people can get right to them, with explanations for why i think they're worth installing under a cut:

RF5Fix

RF4 Chara Unlock

NPC Details

Additional Warp Points

Less Compressed Textures

Better Furniture Placement

Time Speed Controller

Gender Neutral Pronouns

first off, most of these mods require BepInEx to work. what is BepInEx? it's a thing that makes mods work! (i am not a code person lol, it's essentially a thing that makes games in unity moddable and someone smarter than me can probably tell you more) for our purposes, what you need to know is that all these mods worked for me on BepInEx version 674 and some of them got very temperamental on other versions.

but most importantly: don't be intimidated or think that modding your game is difficult or complicated. if you can find your way around file explorer, you can add all of these. none of these mods broke my game (minus one temporary glitch i'll mention when it arises), broke steam achievements or sent the cops knocking at my door for Videogame Crimes.

RF5Fix - https://github.com/Lyall/RF5Fix

this is your obligatory "fix" mod, it's not glamorous, it's not exciting, but it makes things work better. like all behind-the-scenes mods, if it does its job right you won't even notice it's there.

RF4 Chara Unlock - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/100

i have played. hundreds of hours of rf4. i have played approximately zero of those hours on pc, which means that rf5 will not let me play with doug and margaret. this mod rights that obnoxious wrong. as the description says, if it doesn't give you the popup when you load in, sleep overnight and it should pop in the morning.

NPC Details - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/34?tab=description

probably the most "cheesy" of the mods here. this one adds boxes to the character and monster pages telling you which gifts they like, love and hate. there are a lot of characters in rf5 and keeping all their faves in your working memory can be difficult, or at least it is for me. i could completely understand if someone felt that this mod ruined an aspect of the game for them, but for me it's a fantastic QoL improvement.

Additional Warp Points - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/33

rf5 is a BIG game. as in, the maps are really big. too big, imho. while it doesn't bother me in the field zones or dungeons, navigating the town to track down all the villagers for gifting every day feels like it takes up about 40% of my play time. using the warp/fast travel system in the map helps, and this mod helps even more by adding warp points for almost all of the shops. an absolute lifesaver, in that it will save hours of your life spent running around Rigbarth. (one note: this game caused exactly one major glitch for me. iirc after a certain cutscene at the beginning of act 2 the game would hang on a black screen. uninstalling the mod for that cutscene and reinstalling it afterwards worked and i still consider it a great QoL mod, but be aware of this)

Less Compressed Textures - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/5

in case you forgot that this was a mid-budget switch title, seeing those rough textures on your big HD monitor will remind you. this mod makes everything look a little less like you forgot to put your contacts in.

Better Furniture Placement - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/2?tab=description

placing furniture in this game sucks. it was never exactly fun and intuitive in the other games, but the 3D setting doesn't help. i died a little inside every time i had to look at my wonky line of cooking tools. this mod gives you a grid-snap placement with the option to ignore collision when you place objects, thank god, thank god.

Time Speed Controller - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/113

rf5 is a BIG game. BIG dungeons. BIG town. BIG... amounts of time in the day. while i know a lot of people love long days in their farm sims, personally i find it really jarring when i am not even halfway thru summer and 80% of the main plot is done, and in rf5 the days are so long that i often find myself rushing the dungeons just for something to fill the hours. there's no sense of having to prioritise tasks for me, so a faster day helps add that time-management angle. but hey, if the days aren't slow enough for you, this mod is fully customisable. speed days up, slow them down, follow your heart.

Gender Neutral Pronouns - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/46

does what it says on the tin. regardless of whether you pick a masculine or feminine mc, you get they/them'd and, charmingly, sir/ma'am is replaced with "comrade". because pronouns belong to all of us.

Bonus Aesthetic Mods!

this is just a little additional set of mods that i've played with that don't affect anything gameplay-wise but look pretty. as i said there are a Lot of redesign mods for the cast, but i tend to care the most about the player character, since i see them the most. and as an afab nb i find the "Pink! for Girls!" design choice for the fem!protag kind of grating, so first off:

Blue Alice - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/112?tab=description

it makes her clothes details and highlights blue instead of pink. gender stereotypes begone! but... if you think there isn't enough pink, and just to show i'm fair:

Pink Alice - https://www.nexusmods.com/runefactory5/mods/76

i think this one is super cute and well done, and it even includes the kid's hair, too.

and that was my personal list of RF5 must-have and could-have mods! if anyone has any other suggestions i would love to hear them. this game is a lot of fun but it has its flaws and it's fantastic to see all the work the fandom has put into making it the best version of itself.

[peculiarbluerose]

Hogwarts Legacy - Tips and Tricks

WARNING: May contain spoilers for Hogwarts Legacy

Personal experience, this does not reference videos

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• You can skip most of the dialogue if you don't want to hear it again (since you can't skip the tutorial segment of the game). You can do this with triangle (PlayStation), RMB (PC), or Y button (Xbox)

• Keep stocked up on Wiggenweld potions. These, even though they don't do a lot, will help you immensely.

• Thunderbrew is useful against the Graphorn. It makes storm clouds float above the player and damages nearby enemies.

• Don't worry; Sebastian, Natty and Poppy can take care of themselves and they don't have health bars. You don't have to worry about them.

• The RoR is SO useful, it's not even funny. After a quest with Deek, you'll have vivariums to maintain beasts, and you can get materials from them. This place also allows you to identify unidentified gear, upgrade gear, brew potions, grow magical plants, and you can customize it. Love this place.

• It's impossible to stop Sebastian from doing anything; just be careful how you respond. You'll see, if you don't already know what I'm talking about.

• You cannot be "evil" in the game, canonically. You can just be an absolute sleazeball, though. Don't worry, you'll keep your friends (somehow).

• Speaking of dialogue, your actions really don't have much impact on anything. Of course, it will influence how characters react to you, but there's really no consequences for your responses.

• Speaking of consequences, there's none of you use an unforgivable curse. If you're on PC, there's an Azkaban mod that allows you to be caught with dark magic and sent to Azkaban, just in case you want more realism.

• As for realism, you don't actually have a curfew. You can walk around all willy-nilly in the middle of the night with no repercussions. The person who made the Azkaban mod has a curfew mod that allows you to get caught at night, if you want the extra challenge.

• No, I'm not sponsored.

• Solomon Sallow will hate you regardless of your actions. You're friends with Sebastian, that's why. Don't take it personally.

• Brooms fly faster than hippogriffs, but hippogriffs ascend and descend faster than brooms.

• Rare events occur, such as the train at King's Cross Station arriving and leaving, the kraken saying hello in the lake (scripted event during the flying class), a suit of armor getting annoyed with another and turns the aggressive nudge into full-blown murder, amongst other things.

• Unsure what it is, but sometimes you'll find a ridiculous amount of dark witches and wizards in and around the Forbidden Forest... They won't hurt you, and you can't hurt them, but they're there.

• Speaking of the Forbidden Forest, there are a LOT of spiders. If you don't like them, are scared of them, have arachnophobia, etc., there's an "arachnophobia mode" in the settings, so they're less scary. Alternatively, there's a PC mod that turns them into burgers. This is good if you don't even want a slight resemblance of a spider in the arachnophobia mode.

• No, I'm not sponsored

• Sometimes, NPCs will describe you based on your hogwarts house (this can be seen in the "Minding Your Own Business" DLC quest in Hogsmeade)

• All four houses have their own quests (though they tie in to the same character and quest at the end).

• There are plenty of Easter eggs referencing the movies (one being the Shrieking Shack on the map in Hogsmeade where the Old Fool house is, just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade).

• Don't worry, Ravenclaw, you don't have to answer riddles every time you want to enter your common room.

That's all I got, homies

(P.S. Slytherin is the best house -from a very unbiased Slytherin)

[danieyells]

Can I see Romeo's voicelines please? He's such a failguy, I need to knowwww

How dare you call him a failguy!

he is THE failguy. don't make him sound offbrand.

i love Romeo he is honestly so ridiculous like. . .you meet Romeo in the first chapter and you do NOT realize he's going to be like. . .that. . .in the Sinostra chapter. . . .

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Hey! I'm talking to you, BB! If you've got time to wander around, you've got time to wipe the tables!"

i thoguht the pc was supposed to be doing uh background work for you at the casino. why is she cleaning tables!? go ask her to run drugs for you or something.

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Excuse me? What sane person lets their messages pile up like this!? Deal with them or I'll deal with you!"

'clean up your inbox or they will have to clean you and put you in a box'

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"Fuji... Come out, come out, wherever you are... Tch, where did he go? Why is running away the only thing he's good at!?"

"Listen up—call me Fico. That's the only name I'll respond to, understand!?"

disregard the 'Lulu' from Taiga, 'Romi-sama'/'Ro-Ro' from Leo, 'RomiRomi' from Rui. . .'Fico' is for underlings, and you are an underling!

"Come to my private office later—I've got a little proposal I think you'll want to hear.  But make sure you come alone."

"Just go! I cannot deal with this WTWUT! Wall-To-Wall Useless Trash, obviously!"

that was a long acronym!

"Time to count this month's protection fees... Not bad. I'll up this group by 2% next month. This one could go a little higher too..."

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Why does that DOF want to meet so early in the morning? If I get bags under my eyes because of this, I'm going to slit his throat."

we never learned what "DOF" stood for did we. we do know it's Hyde now, though!

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hello? Yes, I was just eating lunch. Again?  ...Fine. Tonight? All right. Bye now."

booty call from hyde? in the middle of the day? shameless

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Have you seen Shinjo anywhere? I just asked him to organize some documents and he ran off to make copies!"

Ritsu has a line referencing this one!

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Mickey's bar? Yes, I am going again tonight, but it's only because there's nowhere else to go for a drink."

isn't there a bar in the casino. . .i guess he doesn't wanna spend time on the casino floor. also "Mickey" is Rui Mizuki, if you weren't able to figure that out haha

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"This is when the regulars usually come, so I have to sweeten the pot. I saw that HNTW out there earlier too."

i hate you and your acronyms LMAOOOO I THINK THIS IS REFERRING TO KAITO??? MAYBE??? he's the only character besides Taiga who frequents the casino that we're aware of!

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"How dare those Frostheim slugs start whispering the moment they see my face... One day they'll be groveling at my feet..."

oof. . .the frostheimers are gossiping about the collapse of his family. . .yeah i'd be mad too there bud. i'd like to think he wanted to transfer to Frostheim once he became a second year and he ended up not doing it because Frostheim was just so toxic.

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"...Looks like I'm due for a tune up soon. Keeping my posture beautiful isn't easy, no matter how much I train my core."

i assume he sees like a chiropractor or a physical therapist or something. gets his atlas adjusted. maybe don't lean over your EITS laptops lol

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"You're smelling the bedtime fragrance I bought from Kurossa earlier. He has a good eye, so I often ask him to pick things out for me."

'Kurossa' is Leo Kurosagi and his lines also reference this! I'm glad they get along so well haha I think they mesh pretty great. also the fact that Romeo gives little nicknames to people is cute. . . .

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"You want to see my Insta? I suppose that's fine, but do you even know anything about brands?"

brand ambassador romeo. . .god he probably does all sorts of dumb beauty shit on his instagram. do you think he participates in those health pyramid schemes? probably not, right, he's fairly legitimate in his business practices. . .sort of, sometimes, kind of, as long as you don't owe him money. . . .

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Fuji's pendant? Of course I haven't given up on it. He has no idea of the value of what's hanging around his neck."

neither do we! please inform us!! but on the upside that means that Romeo knows what it is, to some degree. I assume it's some rare, powerful artifact. Kaito at least knows it's important.

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"I have to drink a cup of room-temperature water, do an electric facial and a mask, apply body cream, do my neck routine... I have no free time in the morning."

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hey! There's a hair on the ground over here! And there's dust over here! Can't you even clean something properly without me holding your hand!?"

this is directed at his underlings, not the pc(or not the pc by themself.) I also appreciate that the Japanese specifies this is one single hair he's pointing out. Somebody get this man a roomba.

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I maintain my bullets myself. You really think I'd let another man handle my crown jewels?"

handle your WHAT-- i mean anyone could've guessed you and taiga don't have a very active sex life

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"What is going on with your skin!? Do you even have a proper routine in place? Unacceptable. Your overnight skin cell turnover is suboptimal and it shows."

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"That BTH...! I was almost impressed to see him out so early until I realized he's been playing all night!!"

taiga pulling an all-nighter at his own goddamn casino lmao. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"What do you mean you don't need any more noni juice? I went out of my way to prepare it for you. Come on now, drink it."

he personally made it for you! now drink the bitter nasty health juice. don't make him feed it to you. (The fact that he made you a health dink--went out of his way to make it for you--shows that he's really starting to like you and now he's treating you like a pet.)

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Finally, some goods worth talking about. I have to ring that DOF and arrange the next event..."

so Hyde is an active participant in these auctions huh. . .are the secret missions he gives Romeo based on selling and distributing artifacts and anomalies in secret. . .?

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Money, hard work, and patience... That's the cost of true beauty. Don't think it's something you can easily imitate."

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"How about a smoke before bed? I'm joking. If I wasn't selling it, I wouldn't be touching this unhealthy garbage."

quick someone shoop the "quieres" meme with romeo HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY TELL YOU WHAT HE'S HANDLING. . .considering his line of work it could be anything but regular cigarettes or cigars. Is it weed? is it crack?? is it meth???? i find that romeo is essentially the campus dealer hilarious.

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"What? I'm on my way to the gym for a workout. ...You can join me if you're interested."

you know damn well he probably hates getting sweaty. but he's gotta keep up with his health and all so a little workout's not off the table. also you know he's wearing some fuckin. gucci leggings or some shit.

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Why are you carrying that!? What if you drop it and it breaks? I'll get one of our young guys to do it, so put it down already!"

aw he's worried about--oh no he's just worrying about you dropping his stuff.

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I won't let anyone destroy what I've built— not even my OAOF."

GOD I HOPE THEY EXPLAIN THESE ACRONYMS SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE. I assume the first word is "Own". . .the last word could be "Family" or "Followers"/"Faction" or "Feelings". . . .

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Most of humanity's problems can be solved with money. If you put that another way, without money, you don't stand a chance. That's the way the world works."

again, Taiga compared Ritsu's family to Romeo's before The Incident. Romeo lost everything he had at one point. He's afraid of ending up with nothing again. That's all. Even with the Casino, he doesn't want to lose it because it'd be losing everything he has again. Having no money means going back to 0.

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Coming here alone this time of night, haven't you made progress? Come over here, I'll evaluate your efforts."

pc's getting brave enough to go to Sinostra in the middle of the night! probably did some shady job for him too. Also the face he makes while praising you for coming to Sinostra alone late at night is a little. . . .

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"What could you possibly be afraid of? You're one of my people! Walk with your head held high or I'll step on it!"

BBY YOU CAN STEP ON HER HEAD ANYWAY. PLEASE DO IT. 👀 also you have been opted out of being one of Taiga's people I guess. You have chosen your faction. /joke

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"This year's AW collection is out... Tch. Not even a hint of taste in any of it. They'll bear this mark of shame for years."

I KNOW THIS ACRONYM! He's complaining about Autumn-Winter fashion!!! lbr romeo men's fashion is kinda boring anyway. I wonder if his family owned a fashion brand. . . .

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I don't mind the springtime in Japan. The mild weather is a bonus, but it's the transient beauty of the cherry blossoms I truly appreciate."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"The new prototype is a tear bomb? A lot of anomalies don't even have eyes, is this really going to be useful?"

i mean it might be useful for the ones that have eyes. . .or for hunting down Kaito.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Shut up! It's nearly time to settle the books so I'm completely run off my feet! I don't have time to deal with you, understand!?"

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Summer is all about aquamarine... If you believe that, you're a follower. A trendsetter would know to go against the grain with a heavier jade piece."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Excuse me!? You really think I would stoop to petty theft!? This scarf and hat are UV protection!"

LMAO HE LOOKED SO SHADY THE PC GOT WORRIED

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"This? It's an original hot water blend with salt and lemon I came up with. You shouldn't be cooling your insides just because it's hot outside!"

i mean. i guess it'll technically help you sweat and cool down faster????

(between 8pm and 5am)

"The heat's finally starting to ease off. I want to take a shower, but it's nearly our peak hour..."

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"They gave us nothing but useless bottom feeders this year... I'd like to see who raised this bunch of idiots. They don't even have a grasp of basic etiquette."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm going to the training grounds to demonstrate sharpshooting for the first- years. It's a waste of my time, but I'm the most skilled at it."

he just wants everyone to see how good he is lolol

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"The SS collections are out. What? Are you telling me you don't pay attention to Paris Fashion Week?"

(between 8pm and 5am)

"The boss won't stop whining about being hungry. Obviously I'm not going to cook. What are you all standing around for, you damn TGAs!?"

lol Romeo has his underlings feed Taiga as much as Taiga demands food of his own underlings. "please feed your father the boss before he eats one of the chancellor's cats again."

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"You look like a fat slug in those clothes. Keeping warm is important, but couldn't you at least tough it out when you're meeting me!?"

HARSH. how about you get her outfits then!!! lolol he's looking at you all bundled up and doesn't even wanna be seen with you

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Everywhere is so dry, it's unbearable. I want to go back to my room and moisturize..."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"I get aches when it's cold... I'm taking off early tonight to go drink, then I'll warm up with a low bath."

'i'm gonna put alcohol in me which will make me feel warm but actually make me colder, then get in the bath for a while' lol

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Tch... This is the most profitable time of year for us, where the hell is that BTH!?

well you see Taiga hates the cold too so he's probably in a blanket burrito. . . .

His birthday: (November 14th)

"Today is Fico's birthday, so you're dining in style. I'm not going to eat any though, so you can finish it off."

'it's my birthday, so i'm going to treat you! what? me? eat?? no, i'm on a diet!!' i am once again asking the ghouls to EAT PROPER MEALS PLEASE IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY ROMEO HAVE ONE CHEAT DAY. DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE CAKE.

Your birthday:

"It's your birthday? I suppose I can celebrate it for you, but you'd better be aware of how much of my precious time you're using."

he treats you better on his birthday than yours. . . .

New Years: (January 1st)

"Felice anno nuovo! This will be the year I claim Fuji's debt and his pendant!"

oh my god he does speak italian. you hear more tidbits of italian fromTaiga than him. also Kaito's pendant must be super important if that's his new years resolution. this is gonna matter in the long run isn't it.

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"Hmph. I'm not familiar with this packaging. If you're giving me chocolate, you better have selected it with the utmost care!"

'this is not brand name. how dare you.'

White Day: (March 14th)

"Here. They're mimosa cookies, a special order from an upmarket confectionary in Ginza. I can't say whether your peasant tastebuds can appreciate them though."

peasant? who are you, jin? fun fact, Taiga's White Day line references this one!

"What's that expectant look on your face? Lulu was harping on about mimosas or something before. That what you want?"

so Romeo gets the cookies whether or not he plans to give you some i guess lol

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Just you try and fool me—I'll tear those rags off you and throw you in a cage. So? What do you want?"

converting your friends into human trafficking victims is the latest new prank sweeping the internet!

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Do you have face paint in your pores!? Go wash it off before you end up with hyperpigmentation!!"

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Buon Natale! Go get ready—that reindeer's around again. This year I'm going to catch it for sure!!"

he's going to auction off one of santa's reindeer. . . .

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Tch... If you don't have any business for me, I'm leaving! You're wasting my precious time!"

(13 affinity and above)

"My drink is empty. Hey! I'm talking to you! Go bring me a refill!"

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Do I have to teach you how to maintain an adult relationship? This is your last chance, got it!?"

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG THE ADHD KICKED IN AND I GOT SUPER DISTRACTED i love Romeo so much he's so. . .silly lmao. he's a very fun character. even though i hate his acronyms. But he's also so worried about his image and his money. . .and as much as he complains I think he worries about Taiga too. And as he comes to like you more he worries about you too. It's just that strictness and maintaining control is how he feels most comfortable and how he expresses his attachments. He trusts you. So he wants you to be able to hold you to a high standard.

[koiifiishy]

YOU 🫵🏾🫵🏾🫵🏾 Give me random funfacts about your PC please 🫵🏾🫵🏾🫵🏾 Specifically Eris as I find his design WONDERFUL please and thank you

(i will be eating any interactions specifically that has to do with bailey also i CRAVE bailey [and other LI/NPC] & PC content)

ME?!?!

:3c hehe aw shucks. thanks for liking eris' design!! random fun facts can be a little difficult for me to come up with on the spot <:'3c i'll try to yap a little about him and bailey, since you named him specifically~

eris actually doesn't hate bailey! he doesn't like him, per se, but to a certain degree... he understands. he was miffed at first, at the beginning of the game, and he was mad AF when robin got taken - but after everything eris has experienced? he kind of gets it..? he doesn't understand why bailey is doing what he's doing, but he's smart enough to recognize that this isn't just about pimping out the orphans. his methods are crude, but in this town? it's not surprising.

i imagine bailey isnt quite as heartless as some people think. its very easy to see him as a totally evil person with no redeeming qualities! but to me, given the context of the story, he reads as extremely grey area. and i've said it before (and eris also thinks this) but he could be worse - he could be selling the orphans when theyre literal kids. but he doesnt. he actively protects them when they're kids and only springs the debt thing on them when they turn 18. it's definitely not good guy behavior, but in doltown?? im sure there are diddlers that would love an underage orphan. side eyes leighton....

eris was a pretty independent kid, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a bit of a troublemaker. as only a child can, he regarded bailey as simultaneously incompetent and capable. where some kids were afraid of bailey, eris was pretty casual with him (much to bailey's annoyance). i like to think sometimes his cleverness got a private chuckle or smile from bailey though, especially when his perceptive mean spirited kid comments were used against other people bailey didn't care for but couldnt break character around. similar to how in the current timeline whenever eris is over at his flat for poker night and he sabotages the others but helps bailey - i think bailey knows him well enough that he knows eris is being a little shit in his own discreet ways. proud dad moment??

im in the unpopular opinion that bailey wouldnt fuck the pc u_u;; or at least, if he did he would probably not want to think about it later and would try to ignore it/go back to business as usual. eris personally doesnt have an attraction to bailey, but he can appreciate him for being an attractive man. if the two of them ever slept together, i think bailey would be a Lot more bothered by it than eris solely due to the fact he knows he's his dad. eris is unaware so he wouldn't have that additional slap of holy shit what did i just do, but bailey! at least how i interpret him!! i think he'd be very, very bothered by this. with a pc of no blood relation, i think its still pretty eh for him - but one with a relation to him?? i think bailey would try to pretend like hes unbothered, but he's absolutely having a stares into the middle distance whilst smoking his second pack and on his third drink kinda night. the fact crush-chan is his mom and eris has features from her too would only add to the mindfuck tormenting bailey. this is, of course, a very What If..? hypothetical scenario but i do like the idea of putting bailey through the washing machine of fucked up inner turmoil haha. (if eris ever found out their relation in this scenario... mmmm, weeeell, honestly? he's gonna just. disassociate a little. followed by doing questionable things fueled by mania. probably more or less accept it but not without a shinji vc im so fucked up post nut clarity moment. which is similar to if he ever finds out he and kylar are cousins! POINTS AND LAUGHS AT ERIS BC I KEEP ON HANDING HIM Ls!!!! and the kylar one is canon timeline!! :))) HAHA ERIS )

on that note! i think that's enough random "fun" facts -w-) not sure this is exactly what you were looking for, but hopefully you had a good read! thank you for indulging me too <3

[utilitycaster]

I was asked by several people to elaborate on why I thought people hated Essek and specifically treated him as some spontaneous disruption rather than a choice driven by cast members, and so here it is.

An overarching theme is this: Matt, the creator of Exandria and DM for Critical Role, created Essek. The entire cast of Critical Role likes him. Liam O'Brien, as Caleb, chose to romance him. Now, none of this prevents you from disliking him, but I think people pile their hate on Essek because they don't want to admit they are upset with choices the cast members have made. (For what it's worth, this is why I think it's healthy to be able to express that you are frustrated with a cast member's character choices or with developments in the campaign or creative choices generally, and treating expressions of dislike as taboo or worse, inherently problematic, ultimately makes for a far more toxic fandom than one in which people can comfortably say "I don't like this"). Essek is an NPC, and as the post that led me to write this up states, he is a character who represents Matt's narrative decisions and the cast's choices in Campaign 2. To be mad at him is to be mad at a puppet because for whatever reason you are unwilling to admit a dislike for what the puppeteer is doing.

Now: why Essek specifically?

People who shipped Caleb with Jester do this a lot. I'll admit to my own biases re the C2 ships but I do reject this being pure fanwank because people who shipped other Caleb ships and were still around in the late campaign either mostly acted like adults, or just kind of threw Essek into the mix. The thing really is that a lot of people who shipped Caleb and Jester are very big fans of Liam specifically, and Liam and Laura's dynamic, and are loathe to say that Liam decided not to have Caleb significantly pursue the relationship; that Laura chose to have Jester act utterly unaware of the relationship; and that Liam decided, instead of having Caleb pine endlessly, to pursue another potential romantic interest. I also suspect that some abuse of power in specific fandom spaces gave people false hope and inflamed resentment. A lot of these people also hate on Fjord but tend to be quieter about that because it's harder to pretend a PC isn't deeply tied to a cast member.

There is a subset of fans who treat mlm ships and wlw ships (or male and female characters) as locked in some kind of zero sum game in which the existence of one dims the light of the other. This is preposterous. I cannot imagine a more wretched and unhappy fandom experience than miserably tallying up fics and art and judging success not by quality and enjoyment of what content there is but rather whether there's more for your ship or more for other ships. I have joked that when my favorite character is popular I enjoy that they're popular, and when they're not, I enjoy that I clearly have refined and superior taste and I recommend others adopt this mentality. I also have half-joked that it would be fascinating to do a survey tallying the quantity of posts complaining about, say, Caleb and Essek's relationship someone has made, vs. how many posts they've made about (for example) Beau and Yasha's relationship, because a lot of the time the energy spent complaining, or worse, harassing others over their preferences could have addressed the problem had it instead been devoted to creating fanworks for your ship of choice.

Also very generally, while it's true that there's no shortage of annoying fans of Essek, I promise, there's no shortage of annoying and shitty fans of basically every character and ship including the ones you like.

For his appearance in Campaign 3 specifically, I think people are blaming Essek for the fact that this is the Chickens Coming Home to Roost, Avengers Assemble campaign. If you take issue with the characters of Bells Hells being overshadowed by those from past campaigns, the time to make that complaint was when Laudna and Orym showed up as PCs with strong ties to Delilah and Keyleth, or at the very least when Keyleth was brought in as a ringer to help resurrect Laudna (and, as someone who did make those complaints at the time and has since accepted this is the Past Campaigns Campaign...this has not been the case). Multiple party members (as played by cast members) expressed interest and excitement in Aeor before Essek (even as Seth) was mentioned. Bells Hells (as played by the Critical Role cast) want to go to Aeor. You do not have to like it, but this is not Essek's fault, as he is an NPC as part of the story driven by the cast's choices.

I've said this before but it bears nonstop repeating: when the CR cast says it's their table, it does not mean "it's their table and above criticism." It means "they are making the choices they make to play a game that they will enjoy." You can and should say that you're not enjoying it. It won't change what they do, but you'll feel better. But Essek isn't a real person with real agency. If his appearance is upsetting you, you need to attribute that to Matt's choices and decide if this campaign is still something you wish to watch and if this fandom is still something in which you wish to participate. Acting like Essek is some kind of horrible natural disaster ruining your lovely picnic and not a very deliberate choice by Matt is a transparently absurd denial of reality.

[cringefaecompilation]

not to dunk on junior year again but i am noticing a pattern here with the treatment of certain storytelling elements here.

both bell’s hells and the ratgrinders were pcs that gained sapience. the difference is that the ratgrinders were villains and the hells are heroes.

one of the most love-it-or-hate-it aspects of campaign 3 is that it does not only focus on the main 7 or 8 characters and everybody else is tossed to the wayside unless they benefit them like usual. all npcs (with downfall, that's including the gods!) deserve a chance to have their story told and they are all written to be that. the generic runaway prince you have to help escape to a life of freedom! the cute little helper robot npc! generic spooky evil minions based on public domain monsters! the quirky quest-giving fae! the rough and tumble hired goon! the brave captain of the guard protecting a strong lady in charge!  yes, even imogen, who in any other story would be the sad little abandoned daughter of the bbeg who would mourn the hero killing her mother but understand that the hero had to do what needed to be done.

and again, you don’t have to like it!

but there is a weird sort of thing i noticed amongst all the critical role c3 criticism that reminded me of people defending fhjy. an undercurrent of insisting that all the ratgrinders (who were teenagers. who were groomed and then murdered.) were pure evil spoiled brats and just wanted to be handed everything on a platter because they didn’t deserve what the main cast earned their place as the main characters and made passive aggressive posts saying things to the tune of you know they’re evil right. very Watsonian with a staunch refusal to look at a Doylist explanation. it got so bad to the point where people were insisting that if you liked the ratgrinders and sympathized with them then you were a fascism apologist.

astoundingly enough c3 criticism has only scraped the surface of this sort of overdramatic accusation, but it goes in the opposite direction. if you like where the story is going and how it's being told, then you’re not a real critical role fan. the story should have just been about the characters fighting evil fae or just wiping out the ruby vanguard and everyone in it without all this stupid introspective discussion on power because it’s retconning the gods being bad guys! grey morality sucks, why can’t good guys just be good? they all feel like npcs except for imogen because she’s the only one with a chosen birthright!

(of course, if they say that last part out loud, that might not look so good for them)

 yes, we know the gods are imperfect. that’s what we’ve been saying this whole time. but all these passive aggressive gifsets of liam-as-orym saying that the gods aren’t pure evil and it’s stupid to think so or laura and matt ooc saying that the gods have a grey area don’t mean fucking jack if you turn around and insist the gods have zero flaws and everything they do is good, actually and Aeor Had It Coming.

important caveats:

the actors on d20 could not react to things they were doing in the moment. they were tired after filiming 3 episodes back to back and wrapped up their season faster than usual to join the sag-aftra strike. i am aware of this.

yes i know that d20 is a comedy improv series! that does not prevent it from having deep themes and character introspection! ayda aguefort and zelda donovan still very much exist and had their own arcs despite being npcs!

yes the ratgrinders were working with a man trying to kill and replace a goddess and yes he is a colonizing twat. however, doesn’t that also make it the fandom’s insistence that liking the kids is bad and fascistic but making ship art of him and the other teacher that killed all of them is totally okay? rules for he but not for thee?