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d3wdropz · 5 months

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DIVINITY: PROLOGUE ~ SUKUNA X READER

a/n okay I'm very excited about this!

I'm planning on splitting up the story into a prologue, fight, smut, then epilogue. I love build-up and world building, not just the smutty stuff, so be prepared for more of a plot w/ porn set up- plans may change though and upload schedule will be chaotic so be prepared

hope you all enjoy!

pairing: True Form! Sukuna x Curse! Fem! Reader

word count: 2.9k

summary: Sukuna is feared and respected, a self-proclaimed "natural calamity". Shrouded in power and mystery, not much is known about him, other than the fact that if you bore him you'll likely face a gruesome demise.

Now where does that leave you? A powerful and new "natural calamity" as Sukuna would say.

content warning: no smut, fem! reader, canon-typical violence, descriptions of violence, blood, death, swearing, kind of anti-hero/villainous reader, canon! sukuna , slightly non-canon setting

credit to @cafekitsune for all the amazing dividers!!!

The Heian Era- a time that would later be recognized as the 'Golden Age of Jujutsu'. A period full of strong sorcerers- and curses.

Yet, no matter their strength, no one stood a chance against the reigning king: Ryomen Sukuna. The very mention of his name sent fear into those who heard it. While he stayed on top of the food chain, there was nothing to be done.

If a village wanted a chance at survival, they had expectations to uphold.

First: respect and fear the King of Curses. Even if he's miles away, when he is spoken of, it should be with care and respect. No one is sure if it's true, but there are tales of villagers speaking of Lord Sukuna in a lowly manner- only for them to be cut in-half before they could finish.

Second: his arrival should be met with offerings and praise. Not to feed his ego, but to give him a reason not to burn a town to the ground. If, for some terrible reason, a village has Sukuna housed within it, he is to be treated like a God. Anything less would mean the death of hundreds, such an easy act that Sukuna would do it with his eyes closed.

The third, and final, rule: everyone is beneath him. No one is allowed to look him in the eye, talk to him, or even breath too close to him. Weaklings are expected to know their place. If they forget, Lord Sukuna happily reminds them of his strength by crushing their windpipe with one of his four hands.

No village has ever really strayed from these rules after they were made- not if they wanted to live. Due to this, Sukuna's arrivals come with a sort of schedule: an invitation made in hopes of gaining his favor, offering and celebration preparation, the 'festivities', and finally, his departure.

The latest, pitiful town Sukuna has found himself in is in their third stage. He's seated comfortably on a pedestal of sorts, with Uraume close by. If Sukuna were to be honest, he finds these kind of events boring and tacky. He can't help but sneer when he looks into a sea of sad, lowly, humans giving him hollow praise to stay alive.

As Sukuna sits in his head, he thinks that maybe he endures this because there's nothing better to do. Pillaging and bloodshed isn't fun if don't give yourself the chance to relax, ready yourself for the next venture.

Another perk of being invited to these celebrations: hearing gossip. It's no surprise that Sukuna is not a very social man, and Uraume is no better when they spend all of their time with him. So these short instances give him a chance to hear the latest news.

It's not like he would be ignorant to anything if he truly wanted to know. He just finds more excitement in finding things out when villagers whisper their gossip to one another- it also gives him something to do.

Lucky for him, the townspeople are bustling with news. Their voices are full of fear and concern. They try to hide it, try to keep Sukuna's attention on the various gifts they offer him. It's not enough, sadly, and he's becoming intrigued.

This distress isn't being caused by him, from what he can hear and tell. None of them have verified or given a name to what is on their minds, so Sukuna decides to wait it out.

Night falls by the time Sukuna finally knows what's going on. By now, the offerings have been made, the praises have been given, and this meant it was time for him to take his leave. Both him and Uraume can see the sweat bead on the elder's heads as Sukuna remains seated.

Uraume is confused as well, but is wise enough to not question or make a fuss- Sukuna does as he pleases, sometimes with no rhyme or reason. Their job is to serve him, and right now that meant refilling his cup.

Just as he's about to call it a night, fed up with waiting for something interesting to happen, Sukuna hears it. Some young, quiet girl was speaking with her friend as they cleaned up. Their conversation was of some new curse- 'if you could call her that' as they said- was causing chaos in a neighboring village.

As Sukuna continued to listen, the girl shared more. She informed her friend that the curse seemed to appear out of nowhere, one that no one recognized. The rumors are that she looks human, beautiful even! But she's really a cold-hearted monster. When her companion scoffs and claims this to be false, that if this were true more people would know about it, the girl argues back. She explains that this has all happened within the span of a day or two.

Sukuna quirks his brow, slightly surprised by this news. He didn't sense any new cursed energy, at least to the extent that this girl is speaking of. If some curse were to be close by with this much power, he would know. But, it would bring some much-needed entertainment if this rumor were to be true.

Just as Sukuna was about to rise from his seated position, he felt something shift. It was as if a balance inside of him tilted. He tensed up and looked to the source, sensing it's placement. Uraume turned to the direction, having picked up on the intrusion as well.

Within seconds, a shriek was heard. It was quickly cut off by the sound of clatters. The shift Sukuna felt morphed into a detection of cursed energy just as the scream died.

As if the yell was some kind of alarm, the village quickly fell into disarray as people ran away. Families held each other tight as they rushed to the center of town, right where Sukuna was seated.

He watched as their determined faces fell, filling with fear and despair as they were met with the sight of the King of Curses. It was easy to see that the villagers were now stuck between two deadly curses, having to chose which death they'd prefer.

Without hesitation, Uraume calmly creates a rush of ice that destroys all of the obstacles between them and the curse that's entered the village- leaving behind a small pile of dead bodies. It was a simple and effective move, the opponent is caught off-guard and usually frozen in the ice. Oftentimes Uraume freezes the curse until they're veins are frozen solid, an easy victory.

So Uraume is left shocked when they watch the ice fly back towards them. It's wasn't too fast, they're able to create a wall that protects both them and Sukuna. They try to analyze the curse, but it's hard to see them through the ice.

Before Uraume could speak, a joyful laugh rang through the silent village. To any human, it sounded innocent and childish. But Sukuna and his attendent knew better, they sensed the power oozing from the curse, the malice behind that laugh.

With his interest peaked, Sukuna stood up, towering over the wall of ice after he cuts it away. He's left intrigued for the second time that night when he sees a woman standing before him, now only about 300 feet away.

She looks to be about 20, but appearances can't be trusted when dealing with immortal cursed spirits. Her body is adorned in a loosely fitting, silk robe. It's large and ill-fitted on her, falling off one shoulder, showing off soft skin. There are unmistakable dots and splashes of blood that stain the front of the pristine and bright fabric.

Her laughter dies down as she wipes away a tear. When she looks up, her eyes lock onto one pair of Sukuna's. An amused smile spreads on her face as she stands tall.

"Well, I knew there was something interesting here. I could feel it," she spoke carelessly, twirling a strand of hair and cocking her head to the side, "I didn't think it would be this fun."

By now, the rest of the villagers have snuck away. This left an empty town, with only the sounds of fire crackling and the curses to fill the night.

Sukuna can hear Uraume sneer, disgusted by the disrespect coming from this uncivilized curse, "Have some decorum." Their voice is full of malice, as they ready for another attack.

Deciding to take this chance to observe the curse in front of him, Sukuna doesn't stop Uraume from using Frost Calm. He watches as the cold air quickly makes it way to their adversary. Both curses are left confused as the blast is halted just inches away from the woman's face.

The smile is quickly replaced by a glare and disgusted look. She glances at them, giving the Frost Calm in front of her little thought, "I didn't come here to fight some insignificant, little snowflake."

With that, she sent the attack right back at Uraume. This time, it was different. It was faster, more concentrated, and dripping with an immense amount of cursed energy. Left with no time to react, the smaller curse is sent flying backwards and into some buildings. Their impact is made worse as the ice encases them.

"Compared to the sheer amount of cursed energy you exude, that little pebble was nothing," the woman takes a few steps forward. Only now does Sukuna notice just how unproperly done her robe is. As soon as the binding at her waist ends, there's a large slit that reveals her legs, just short enough to hide her more intimate parts. Even with a lack of shoes, her feet and legs seem to be clean- in fact everything about her seems to be unblemished except for the blood. It leaves the Cursed King confused, but he easily drops it.

If Sukuna wasn't busy observing her and trying to figure out what exactly her cursed technique was, he would find her attire humorous and immature. It reminded him of Yorozu, her naked introduction still recent. A quick thought crosses his mind: is it some new trend for female curses to walk around half-naked? He knows he has no room to speak but at least he wears proper pants.

Coming out of his thoughts, Sukuna lifts his head and smirks ever-so slightly, "You're one to talk, woman."

Anyone could tell that this lady is a talker, and she returns his smile with a mischievous one of her own. "I wouldn't know, I'm new here," she stretches, raising her arms above her head, "All I know is that when I sense something strong- like you- I find it-" her eyes seem to shimmer as she stares into his own crimson ones, "and I take it."

With a little more time to stare into her eyes, Sukuna was able to detect what that excited gleam was: hunger. Some part of him felt a shiver run down his spin when she licked her lips and lowered her arms, "The stronger they are, the better they taste."

This leaves Sukuna chuckling under his breath, willing to humor her, "Aw, so that's it," in an instant, Sukuna is right in front of the woman, towering over her, "you're a dumb little thing that just came to life, hungry for power."

She held her ground, staring up at him confidently with a sort of excitement in her eyes, "I wouldn't say I'm dumb," in retaliation to his attempt at intimidation, she quickly pokes his chest. It was a gentle movement, something he wouldn't have even noticed. If it wasn't for the shocking strength he felt as he was forced to lean back. "but you would be right about the other thing, I just came to be about three days ago."

For any other curse, they would have been sent flying a few meters back. If she were to have used that move on a human, their chest would have been shot open from the force. This interested her even more as she took a simple hop back, only for her to fly high into the air. She then sat herself on a nearby roof, leaning her head on her knees.

"You're the most interesting thing I've found, none of the others could talk, or lasted that move," she grinned down at Sukuna.

Both of them knew this was just banter. The fighting hasn't quite commenced yet. They seemed too invested in the other, neither ready to kill and miss out on this opportunity to chat.

Sukuna glances up at her, crossing a pair of his arms, "Is that meant to impress me, woman?"

She only gives him a cheeky smile, "Not at all, I can tell that you're powerful, feared. Something like that would do nothing to sway you from fighting me." She closes her eyes thoughtfully, "I am curious as to who you are, you'll be the first thing I've ever cared enough to remember the name of. The first. . . 'curse'- if what the humans call me is true- that makes me need to try out my abilities."

His excitement only intensifies- this woman is something else. Sukuna can tell that this battle will be one for him to remember. It won't be simple, one-sided, and consist of him using his cleave to destroy his enemy in a second. He'll really get to go all out, get to have fun.

A rumble reverberates in his chest, a chuckle, "I'm your king, woman." Sukuna slicks his hair back out from his vision, smirking at and teasing the younger curse which only grows as she furrows her brows in anger.

She raises her hand lazily, keeping it level to her head, "You're getting annoying." The woman thinks for a second, before a smile graced her face, as if a light-bulb went off. She stands up from her seated position and jumps to the ground.

Out of annoyance, and some respect for her confidence, Sukuna averts his eyes from her figure as the wind blows her robe about. It doesn't reveal much, and Sukuna might be a tyrant, but he still likes to think of himself as a chivalrous adversary.

When she's on the ground again, she walks right up to him again. Her hands a clasped in front of her, joyfully. In any other circumstance, she would be a puddle of blood for getting this close to the King of Curses. But, Sukuna must admit that her presence has provided him entertainment for the night. So he allows it.

"I know! If I beat you, you'll tell me your name. If you win, I'll tell you mine. I'd love to continue this conversation, as you're the most fascinating thing I've come across in my short life. But- I'm itching to have a little fun." Sukuna listens to her ramble, rolling his eyes at her proposition.

Now, Sukuna can't help but find this plain hilarious. This stupid, little curse is making a simple bet and placing her life on the line. He could almost smack her on the back of her head from how absurd it sounds- but, if he were to agree, he'd get to truly see her abilities.

With a lop-sided grin, Sukuna extends his hand, imbuing it with cursed energy in preparation for the binding vow. He watches as confusion washes onto her face as she stares at his hand.

"What are you doing?" her voice is laced with frustration and bewilderment.

His brows raise before he lets out an exasperated sigh, "I forgot you're new- this" he nods his head to his hand "is a binding vow. It's a promise made with cursed energy that requires us to fulfill it. In this instance, it makes you're silly deal something that must be upheld."

She nods in understanding, taking an extra second to study his hand. She then shakes it, both of them taking a second to feel the difference in hand sizes. Hers is dwarfed within his, practically invisible when held in Sukuna's. This brief touch is also a chance for them to feel the others cursed energy on a closer level, more personal.

From what Sukuna could pick up on, before he dropped her hand, was that this wouldn't be an easy fight. He's both put on edge and roused by the amount of cursed energy coursing through her veins. What makes it even better is that she's completely unaware of the power she's holding.

He can't wait to be the person that forces her to unlock it.

The two take a few simple steps back. Sukuna grips his kamutoke in one hand, readying for battle. The woman, on the other hand, stands gleefully in place. She has no weapon, isn't readying any chants or dances, hell- she doesn't even look serious.

Even with her immature behavior, the female curse looks her enemy in the eyes with an intensity Sukuna's only seen in few. She puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head, "Ready?"

Sukuna nods with content, watching from the corner of his eye as Uraume finally begins to make their way over again. The look he shoots them is enough for the servant to realize this wasn't something for them to interfere in. Instead, they stand in the background, ready to jump in whenever their master needed.

As both curses begin to emit immense amounts of cursed energy in preparation for the fight, Uraume can't help but notice a new emotion reflect in Sukuna's gaze. It's something they've never seen him express before, though most ordinary people usually experience it many times. It leaves them confused and wondering what the hell conspired while they were incapacitated.

The thing that's left Uraume stumped, that's making it's first appearance in the Cursed King's eyes, is admiration.

Admiration for the curse that's about to battle with him to the death.

final notes okay! wow- i'm sorry this took so long! i'm happy to get this ball rolling though, be prepared for some fighting and more explanation in the next part!

oh- also i hope sukuna isn't too ooc in this- it's hard to get that guy down!

hope you enjoyed!

#jjk #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk sukuna #sukuna #ryomen sukuna #jjk ryomen #ryomen x reader #sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna x you #sukuna x you #sukuna x y/n #sukuna imagine #jjk imagines #jjk x you #jjk x y/n

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merakiui · 2 months

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About tweels in タコの花嫁 again... i thought it was SUPER juicy to see jades quiet distaste (compared to floyds loud hatred) for reader in the og. Like omggg they both hate me and they're sexy about it... AND I LOVE TO THINK ABT HOW THAT'D TRANSLATE IN A EEL X READER SCENARIO!!!! Oughhhh it's delicious!!! Jade hating you quietly for what your brothers done, now he's betrothed to some brat and he has to behave for the good of the kingdom so he can't hurt you or act out about it... AHHH he acts so friendly and polite but he's really thinking about disemboweling you!!!! Until he has that moment where he thinks about it, and he realizes, (it doesnt even come as a shock!) that he really doesn't mind a future with you anymore.

AAUGGHHHHG!!!! And Floyd still hating you, because while you got to sit in your pretty little castle pitying Jade and feeling bad for yourself because of your sudden engagement, Floyd was there with Jade every step of his recovery... and he HATES you and your family for what you put Jade through!!! For the scare of possibly losing his brother!!! But maybe that'd change.. you know, when he sees how happy you two end up... and how cute your fry together are :)

Or possibly before that!!! I mean, teen floyd going through puberty and his twins got a perfectly cute (but in floyds opinion, bratty) soon to be wife... I can absolutely see him developing a little crush during puberty and fantasizing about her into adulthood. Like a little boy pulling on a little girl's pigtails, except he actually has a valid reason to hate her.

and imagining reader slowky accepting it and reading mer/human love stories (like Ariel!) after the engagement like..... OTL OTL OTL investigating and researching mer marriages and mating culture by reading romances.......

I think I'm just a tweelmancer at heart. I loved the concept and the presentation of the tweels in タコの花嫁 and its made me think a lot about those crazy deranged fishes.

AAAAAA YES YES!!!!!! >w< omg this is so scrumptious!!!! Floyd being so open about his hatred for you compared to Jade's very quiet, very secret hatred is so fun. Floyd would have such a vicious opinion of you, but perhaps it changes or shifts slightly when he's going through puberty like you noted. Something like,,, it was always gross to see you and Jade holding hands or being cheesy and lovey-dovey with each other as you both try to get accustomed to being each other's betrothed. But now Floyd's actually a little jealous of Jade because Jade gets to have you all to himself,,, Floyd who only ever looked at you hatefully, so one day it sort of,,,,, hits him over the head. Since when were you so pretty? Since when was your smile so cute? T_T

aaaaaa orz and reader learning to accept it, soon strengthening the bond with Jade while Floyd's growing up with this strange amalgamation of hate-love for you. >:D maybe if Floyd's nice to you, Jade can consider sharing if he wants some fry of his own hehe.

🤝 you and me both, anon!!!! Tweelmancer so real and true. I adore those silly eels too much!!! ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡) they deserve to have a cute darling for themselves!!!!

#twisted chit chat #aaaa thank you so much for enjoying the tweels in that fic!!! <3

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jinna-aka-ninja · 11 months

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Calling of the Souls ~ Poly!LostBoys X Fem!Reader Part 8

Word Count: 2,222

A/N: Okay so I kind of dropped the ball lately, sorry guys. I swear I was going to write on my last days off but a huge storm hit and knocked out the entire towns power, then a giant tree fell in my backyard and crushed one of the cars. It's been a mess. But i'm here! On with the program!

How could this guy be so utterly shameless? Y/N was fuming. Her eyes narrowed at Tyr as she felt Marko’s grip around her waist tighten.

Tyr was testing them. Having said such a thing surrounded by humans on the boardwalk, with her in the arms of a vampire, he wanted to know what they would do to her had they known that she knew without it having been them who had told her.

“You know if you hurt her then I’ll have to fight you, right?” Tyr asked, wanting to make it very clear they would not have the chance to harm her before he got involved.

“We wouldn’t hurt her, you on the other hand, we wouldn’t mind hurting.” David growled the words out in warning.

Dwayne had finally looked to Tyr when he had made it known that Y/N knew. Then he looked back at her, “You’re not scared.” He commented, a little surprised, “You do look angry though.”

“You’re damn right I’m angry! Tyr! I wanted to tell them!” Y/N said to him though thanks to the ever growing tightness of the grip Marko had on her waist she had finally started to wiggle her way out of his grasp.

Marko didn’t seem happy with that attempt though. His eyes snapping to her, “Where are you going?” He asked, feeling wary that she was going to head back to Tyr and stay away from them.

“I’m bruising.” Y/N said to him calmly now because she knew that snapping at these four would be entirely uncalled for. At the admission, Marko loosened his grip but had not let go of her completely.

“Now you can stay.” He said as if it was the most understandable thing. If she was no longer bruising from his grasp then she could stay in his arms. Y/N huffed but didn’t fight it any more.

“This is not nearly as fun as I wanted it to be.” Tyr groaned as he watched them practically group around Y/N as if trying to protect her. “Maybe we can play hide and seek?”

At the mention of the game Y/N’s eyes grew wide, “Tyr, don’t you dare! I mean it! If you do it I’ll be really really mad!” She warned him making the demon slump his shoulders in defeat. She was already on edge thanks to his actions and words and if he pushed it too far then he knew she would be upset.

Hide and Seek was one of Y/N’s favourite games to play when she was younger. With a snap of his fingers, Tyr made himself vanish and she had to find him through whichever place they chose to be their playground of sorts. When he had mentioned it now, Y/N knew Tyr would have made herself disappear to see how long it would take them to find her. “You’re no fun. It’s your favourite game. I thought you liked being chased.”

“This is not the time to play games.” Y/N said to him glad that he had not attempted to go through with it. “Please, Tyr really is just a friend. I promise.” She assured the guys who looked at her curiously now as realization had seemed to set in.

“Why in the world would you willingly go into a vampires den?” Dwayne asked her. It was one of the dumbest things he could think of. It was dangerous, what if they had not been her mates? Would she still have done such a thing? Did she know of mates?

Tyr laughed when the question had been asked; mostly he was wondering the same thing. Y/N was strong, but she didn’t know how to unlock that power in its full extent yet. With the amount of time they had known each other Tyr had tried to help her learn to control her abilities, it just felt like something was holding her back. Maybe it was humanity. So it really had been stupid of her to go into a vampires nest. Mates or no mates, it was stupid.

Y/N couldn’t help but feel that everyone was looking at her like she was an idiot making her bristle with indignation under their gazes. “I knew you would not hurt me.”

Paul grinned from ear to ear and swiftly took her from Marko’s grasp into a hug, “Of course we would not hurt you! You’re our girl! But you have to drink from the bottle okay?”

“No!” Y/N said a little too frantically making the four vampires stiffen. She clearly knew what was in the bottle now.

“You won’t even taste it, I promise!” Paul said thinking that maybe this was the reason she didn’t want to drink the bottle. Who would really willingly drink unknown blood? “Or... is it because you would rather drink ours?”

“I’m not going to drink any blood.” She said quietly looking around since they were still somewhere too public, and yet Tyr didn’t seem to want to leave the public setting. Clearly he was still too exhausted to fight them willingly and wanted to be able to have a backup plan.

This was not something that failed to be noticed by Y/N. This man was still far too tired and needed rest and yet here he was trying to stir trouble. It was like he wanted to cause strife between the boys and Y/N. It made sense, Tyr hated anything without a soul as he put it, or with ‘dead souls’.

David, Paul, Marko and Dwayne were consumed. She knew what they were, she knew that they would not age and yet she would refuse to drink their blood?

“Since Tyr seems to believe that there is no need for us to keep secrets then I might as well say that I am not exactly human either.” Y/N spoke up feeling odd at saying such a thing out loud. It had been practically taboo of her to mention this.

Y/N wasn’t wrong because the moment she said these words Tyr acted and took a hold of her wrist and quickly pulled her away from them all the while muttering to her about how she was throwing her life away by saying that out loud. “You cannot say that out loud ever again!” Tyr said to her, “You are human, okay? If anyone asks, you are human.”

“Why can’t I say that I’m a demon like you?” Y/N asked Tyr turning around seeing the four vampires hot on their tail. They were not about to let them get away. Not after hearing her say those words. They wanted answers and they had to get them one way or another. “Tyr, they are my soulmates. They will not do something to me. I don’t think I have any need to keep myself hidden from them.”

“You have to stay hidden from everyone. You know the importance of it.” Tyr reminded Y/N but she didn’t know! He had never told her the details of it all. From the very moment that she was able to comprehend she wasn’t human he never told her why it was so important for her to never say it out loud.

“You’re keeping secrets from me, aren’t you?” Y/N asked him as she tried to tug her wrist out of his.

They had managed to get somewhere secluded and that was when the boys struck. Dwayne pulled Y/N into his arms, holding her close as if he was trying to shield her from the world using his body.

David had grabbed Tyr from the collar of his coat and shoved him against a nearby wall. “You will not take her from us. Do you understand? She does not belong to you, so don’t you dare drag her away.”

The words sounded almost sweet... for a moment but Y/N didn’t fail to notice that David didn’t say that she didn’t belong to anyone. “David let him go!” Y/N demanded trying to pull herself from Dwayne’s grasp but he only held onto her tighter so she couldn’t get out.

“Stop, he needs to show him he cannot just take you from us.” Dwayne spoke quietly into her ear. Y/N felt a shiver go down her spine from how deep his voice had gotten when he whispered into her ear like that.

“But he cannot hurt him!” Y/N said to Dwayne, “Please Dwayne, he’s my best friend. Please.” She pled to the vampire hoping that he would understand how much Tyr meant to her.

“Tch. David. Don’t hurt him.” Dwayne said out to David who rolled his eyes in response.

David growled and released Tyr who didn’t seem in the least bit scared of David, “Don’t you touch me Vampire. You don’t understand the troubles that can come if you know more than you should. I spent nearly her entire life keeping her life safe. Making sure that she would never feel the hurt that could come if anyone were to know. I won’t let you ruin it because of some soulmate bond. She’s like family to me, and I will protect her with my life until I take my last breath.” Tyr growled to him as the area around them seemingly started to grow darker and darker. Tyr was growing angry and draining the area around them of light to fuel him enough to fight for a short while if he needed to.

This was becoming far too dangerous. I was worried and didn’t know who I was more worried about at this point. The boys were strong but so was Try, I just didn’t ever want to find out who would get hurt the worst if a fight did manage to break out between them.

“Tyr, David, Marko, Paul...” I said seeing the other two vampires starting to move in closer to Tyr like a pack closing in on their target. “We can work this out peacefully. Let’s just talk it out, okay? Things will be better for all of us if we just put aside our anger and worked it out in a way we can talk about why it’s upsetting us so much. I know there are secrets that we all have but the sooner its worked out the better.”

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?! Let go of her!” A voice called out and Y/N cursed under her breath seeing Michael coming over, more like sprinting over to Dwayne and Y/N. Why the hell did this guy have the absolute worst timing? He was only a half vampire! He would definitely be the one who ended up getting hurt the worst in a fight.

“Michael I swear, if you don’t stop right where you are, things will get ugly.” Y/N warned Michael try to ensure that he remained at least a couple feet away from the ever growing tension.

Maybe Y/N’s luck wasn’t entirely terrible because Michael did in fact stop just a short distance away. Close enough to hear just about everything there but far enough that he would not be accidentally hurt if they did end up starting a fight.

“We are trying to be diplomatic. So let’s all just... calm down and go somewhere more private. This place is kind of secluded but people can still come here.” Y/N tried to point out to the guys who were slowly trying to calm themselves to stop them from doing anything wrong.

Y/N was sure that the vampire boys weren’t actually fighting with Tyr because they truly believed Tyr would be no match for them and didn’t want Y/N to be angry at them if they were responsible for hurting him. Tyr was avoiding trying to use physical force by any means necessary because he didn’t want to drain himself further.

“Fine.” David spoke the single word while turning to Y/N and placing his gloved hand on her cheek after making his way over. “We will go back to the hotel. That place is plenty secluded.”

“Oh sure, we are just going to go to the vampires den! So safe.” Tyr said rolling his eyes. Even Michael seemed on edge with this.

“No, you want her to drink the blood.” Michael said not knowing exactly what was all known at this point.

“Keep up Mikey.” Paul said patting his back, “She already said no. We want to know why.”

“We are going to the hotel.” Y/N said to them, making up her mind. It was the best place that she could think of. Whether it was their den or not, it was the closest to ideal. With that, we started to make our way back to the hotel. Everyone was on edge. Tyr insisted that Y/N ride with him but the two of them didn’t have bikes. Y/N rode with David who wanted her close and Tyr rode with Michael who believed that Tyr was the closest one to want to be on his side on Y/N not being a vampire.

It was the most awkward drive. Usually when they rode it was fun, exciting and all the feelings that came with the thrill but this time it felt like they all felt this tension that had been slowly building right back up as they rode closer to the staircase that would lead them down to the cave they called simply, the hotel.

Taglist: @simplyreading96 , @bloodywickedvamp , @cocopuffs1450 , @vxarak , @kristel1990 , @sagis116

A/N: Am I missing anyone in the tag list?

#the lost boys 1987 #marko lost boys #poly!lost boys x reader #dwayne lost boys #fem!reader #paul lost boys #david lost boys #tlb x reader #lost boys marko x reader #michael lost boys #the lost boys dwayne x reader #lost boys david x reader #lost boys michael x reader #lost boys paul x reader

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soursvgar · 1 year

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Happy new years eve! Could you perhaps write something small about celebrating new years w the bros for the first time? What would they like to do on occasion? Eat fondue? Try making resolutions? Stay up to watch the first sunrise?

Maybe they don't even celebrate it because its kinda meaningless when your lifespan is so long lol

New Year's Eve with the brothers ♡

A/N: Hi anon, thank you for this prompt! This is really tiny, but i wanted to post it today to make it relevant so i hope you still like it!! ;v; ( i also just realized you said new year but i made it more new year's eve themed so i hope that's okay >< ) happy new year everyone!

Demon brothers x gender neutral mc

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ Lucifer will get drunk and make a heartfelt confession.

"Maybe you should hold back on the demonus a bit-" You try to release the bottle from Lucifer's grip, but the latter was squeezing it a bit too tight for you to peel it off his fingers. You knew he was stressed, but didn't realize he was that stressed to finish an entire bottle of the intoxicating drink. Diavolo decided to throw a new year's eve party for you, and you recently found out he had put Lucifer in charge of organizing it. With his plate already full, you couldn't help feeling apologetic, despite you not being directly involved.

"Lucifer, I'm really sorry. If I knew of the party beforehand, I would've helped you with it." You decide to sit by him, hoping the light stroking of his arm will help convey your feelings. However, Lucifer only grins as he gazes at you, eyes shining with adoration. "Nonsense, you have nothing to be sorry for. I would do that all over again, for you." He puts down the bottle, now taking your hands in his. "You're the best thing that happened to me, to us. You've made this year worth more than all of my years in this realm combined, and I hope you'll stay by my side to make my next year just as happy."

ෆ Mammon will kiss you at the countdown.

"Ten, nine, ei-" Your counting is paused by a pair of lips pressing against yours, and doesn't resume for what seems to be longer than ten seconds. "Happy new year." Mammon smiles as he pulls away from you. "You know you're supposed to kiss me after the countdown, right?" You snicker, though, you have no complaints regarding his actions.

"I know, but I heard humans believe that if ya kiss your loved one at midnight, you'll be together for the rest of the year, so I was thinking- if I kiss ya before, during, and after, you would love me forever! Pretty smart, ain't it?"

ෆ Leviathan will create a vision board with you.

You had been intending to assemble a vision board for the new year for a while, but it slipped your mind with your busy schedule, only to return on the last day of the year. You came to Levi for help, partly because you knew you wouldn't be able to finish it in time alone, but mostly because you wanted to spend the night with him doing something fun together, and wasn't sure how to bring it up. The two of you were almost done carefully placing the pieces on the board when Levi lets out a sudden gasp.

"Wait, we forgot the most important part of the vision board!" Levi rummages through the scattered papers, pulling a picture of the two of you from the pile of photographs on the floor before he glues it right in the middle. "You have to have this on as well, so we can experience all those great moments next year together."

ෆ Satan will learn about different traditions for you.

"What color is the underwear you are wearing?" Satan asks, completely unaware of how his question comes off, at least until he catches a glimpse of your reddened cheeks. "O-Oh, I mean, I just read that some cultures in the human world believe that wearing different colors of underwear on new year's eve will bless you with luck in different aspects of life." He pauses to make sure you follow. "And... well, I wanted to see if you're wearing red- wait, I didn't mean see-" You chuckle as he clears his throat, his face is now the one turning pink. "Anyway, not like you need any more luck in that department when you have me."

ෆ Asmodeus will take you out to see fireworks.

"Where are we going? I told you I'm not joining one of your parties." You had already changed to a comfortable attire, planning to spend the last day of the year relaxing at home, but Asmo has other plans, insisting for you to come outside with him. "Pretty please? With a cherry on top? I promise you won't regret it!" He whines, grabbing the sleeve of your sweatshirt and pretending to be pulling you off the bed.

At last, you surrender, following Asmo to an open meadow with a remarkable view of the city. "Happy new year!" He beams when the clock strikes twelve; colorful lights illuminate the night skies as the sounds of explosions echo through them. "There are fireworks in the devildom?" You query. Captivated by the enthralling sight, you barely detect Asmo's arm wrapping around your shoulder to bring you closer. "There are now, for you, love."

ෆ Beelzebub will have a feast with all kinds of traditional food.

"Here, here! Try this!" Beel chimes, happily holding the chopsticks to your mouth. "Beel, I really can't eat anymore- I think you'll have to finish the rest on your own." You sigh. Truth is, you've been full after the seventh dish he had you sampling, but his enthusiasm was just too adorable to not cooperate with. "But these soba noodles are amazing, and you haven't even tried the lentils- it would bring you good fortune! Although, maybe you should hide that from Mammon." Beel shrugs as he continues stuffing his face.

"You know you could've just asked what food I eat during this time in the human world, right? You didn't have to cater food from every single country on earth." You laugh, finally stepping down from the tasting fest as you officially call quits.

"Hm? But where's the fun in that?"

ෆ Belphegor will fall asleep before the clock strikes twelve.

Belphegor really did try his best to fight the fatigue for a couple long hours while the two of you celebrated, but at the end, he succumbs to fatigue as his head falls perfectly on your shoulder- right before it hits midnight.

"Happy new y- oh, why are you looking at me like that?" Puzzled, Belphegor yawns, eyes glancing over to the clock after confronting your glare. "I missed it huh... I'm really sorry." He grins sheepishly, leaning in to place a peck to your pouting lips. "Well, are you still mad or can I get my new year's kiss now?"

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me scenarios #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me mc

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animatorweirdo · 8 months

Text

Imagine rescuing Finrod with your dragon

Link for the First headcanon

Requested by Anon

Hi Animator Weirdo! Might I request a one shot/mini fic where Ann (Ancalagon) and reader go and save Finrod and Beren, trash Sauron’s place and maybe even steal a silmaril later on? Thank you! And congratulations on the 500 followers! 🎉🥳

( I only recently realized you wanted a one shot kind of fic. I'm sorry. I ended up making a mixed headcanon/one shot, so I hope you still like it)

Warnings: mentions of Celegorm and Curufin being a pair of bricks, mentions of loneliness, fear, manipulation, imprisonment, burning orcs, and werewolves, saving Finrod, Ann having too much fun wrecking Sauron's place, and a lighthearted ending.

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

- If you had known how things would have turned out for Finrod, when he left with Beren to claim a silmaril from Morgoth's crown, you would have tried harder to convince him to take you and Ann with him.

- Ever since he rescued you from the river and allowed your dragon friend to live in Nargothrond despite the differences— you were not willing to lose him to anything, including his oath. He was too important and dear to you for you to lose him to death.

- He first refused your offer to join him when Beren arrived in Nargothrond to seek his aid and when the two sons of Feanor, Celegorm, and Curufin, threatened his people to become unwilling to join him with only a handful of people ready to aid him on this journey.

- He feared for your safety, and despite the advantages your dragon friend could provide him, he wanted you both to remain in Nargothrond, away from the enemy’s hands.

- Your heart swelled for his consideration for your dragon's safety, even if it took months for his people to get accustomed and accept one of Morgoth's creations living among them. However, it only made you more determined to see him return safely, but despite your reasonings and fears, Finrod convinced you to stay.

- He left Nargothrond under Orodreth Care and you with false hopes that things might turn out alright in the end.

- You missed him terribly, and things began to change rapidly when he was no longer governing Nargothrond. The Feanorian princes saw an opportunity to take charge and appeal as more eligible leaders to Finrod's people, trying to overshadow Orodreth. And to your concern, Finrod’s people seem to take on their side each day despite Orodreth's rightful kingship.

- Luckily, some didn't and remained strictly on Orodreth's side. Most being those who still held grudges toward the brothers for something they had done in the past.

- You have never been fond of the brothers. They were arrogant and looked down upon you and Finrod for having a relationship because you were a human. They had even jabbed at you for your past, calling you Morgoth’s thrall, and even tried to make you look like a spy when you ventured to Angband to free Ann and returned on his back to Nargothrond.

- That stunt might have made you look like one, but you have never been one of Morgoth's thralls.

- They always played with people's fears, and perhaps since you had a dragon on your side, most of Finrod's people remained on Orodreth's side. It was not something you hoped for, but it seemed to help preventing the Feanorians from taking full control of Nargothrond and possibly overthrowing Orodreth.

- It was a stressful situation, and you couldn't seek much comfort from anyone except Orodreth and Ann, who had taken a liking to residing in one of Nargothrond's caves and guarding its treasures. He made an excellent treasure guard.

- Despite Ann's size and indifference toward emotional affairs, he knew how to make you feel safe and calmly talked about events that helped you feel better. He even allowed you to rest against his warm scales. It was an old habit whenever you wanted a moment of peace and quiet, even though lying on hoards of gold was not very comfortable.

- When days passed, your anxiety for Finrod's well-being only grew, especially when one of the Feanorians had begun trying to sweet talk to you. You never thought you would find someone's voice so agitating, and you hated acting polite and well-mannered with the Feanorian but knew you would end up in trouble if you didn't.

- Then, the day arrived when the Feanorians brought an elven princess from Doriath.

- There was something suspicious about it because the Feanorians should have brought her to meet with Orodreth as a matter of courtesy. However, when she suddenly seemed to vanish, and no new information was heard about her, you decided to investigate.

- You first tried getting it out from the Feanorians, and they claimed she was just a guest and wasn't available at the moment. She was resting or something.

- You were familiar with their patterns of lying, and then you found out in secret that the princess was, in fact, Luthien, the elven princess Beren has fallen in love with. The Feanorian brothers were keeping her as a prisoner and planned to marry her off to one of them despite the laws and the very nature of the elves. You found that utterly disgusting, and they once claimed humans were the only ones who could do such things.

- You knew how much Thingol hated the Noldor and how possibly a civil war could be born if he found out his only daughter was married against her will, so you decided to act quickly since her appearance also meant something was wrong with Beren and Finrod.

- You convinced Orodreth to assist you in retaining the two while you released Luthien from the room they had locked her in. Orodreth may have been easy to persuade, but his fear of Thingol's wrath outweighed any influence the Feanorians could exert, so he was firmly on your side.

- Luthien was incredibly grateful to you and explained how she saw visions of Beren and Finrod suffering in Sauron's isle of werewolves, where they had been captured and tortured with a ravenous wolf hiding in the shadows.

- Having a valid reason to leave, you allowed Luthien to go first upon Huan as the hound was against his master's treacherous actions and handled the Feanorians first before departing.

- Due to their vicious plan, they quickly fell out of favor with Finrod's and their people. You received Orodreth's assurance that they would be dealt with accordingly, and given the severity of their actions, they will most likely face banishment.

- After all that, you and Ann were good to leave. Finrod needed you more than anything.

- One perk of having a flying dragon is that you can get to places much faster than any horse or dog. You didn't waste time planning Finrod's rescue when you finally reached Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the isle of the werewolves. You did hope you were not too late to save your beloved from the fangs of death.

—-

The orcs and werewolves of Toul-In-Gauroth were unprepared for the attack. They were taken by surprise when a fierce wind swept through like a violent hurricane, tearing their master's banners from their places and drowning out all other sounds with what seemed like thunder.

The orcs in the towers had no time to sound the alarms as they witnessed a shadow descending from the sky, its wings enveloping Tol-In-Gauroth.

Only one managed to cry out and alert the others of the approaching beast. "Attack!" the orc screamed as fire engulfed the tower.

The black dragon unleashed a torrent of flames upon the towers and walls. The wretched orcs and werewolves wailed in agony as the dragon's fiery breath consumed them. Their screams of pain reached the fortress's lord, sounding the alarm.

Ann glided around the fortress as smoke pillars billowed from within its walls and the remnants of crushed towers. He landed gracefully on one of the remaining intact towers, gripping it tightly with his claws. With his immense strength, he began tearing through the stone and steel.

The orcs tried defending their fortress, shooting arrows at the dragon, which only bounced away after hitting his armored scales. Ann swiped his tail against the orcs, swatting them away like flies.

Ann then ignored the screaming of orcs and the howling of the wolves, who ran away from the sight of him and began sniffing the air, trying to find a certain scent. When he found the scent emanating from the lower parts of the fortress, he crushed the walls and the ceilings through his closed fist, allowing you to slip in through his fingers where you had hidden before the attack.

You looked around while Ann pulled his fist away and continued tearing the fortress apart, keeping the attention of Sauron and the defenders upon himself.

After ensuring the coast was clear, you ventured into the dungeon, intending to find and free your beloved and his foolish company.

Finrod, Beren, and the rest of their companions were taken by surprise when the stone walls of their cell began to shake, releasing dust and pebbles from the force. The wolf that had preyed upon them from the shadows had left, and a roar was heard from the outside of the dungeon. Finrod's eyes widened as he recognized the roar.

They then heard the door to their cell open, and Finrod saw you walking in with a set of keys and your axe in your hands.

"(Name)? What are you doing here?!" Finrod demanded in shock as you began opening their chains.

"Rescuing you!" you replied as you hit their shackles and chains open with your axe when the keys failed.

"From now on, you will not tell me to stay behind, especially when you end up captured by the enemy and when I have a bloody dragon who is more than willing to wreck his former master's place to free you," you stated as you helped him and Beren up.

"Come on. We need to leave fast before Sauron notices something," you said as you led him, Beren, and the rest of their company out of the fortress.

Ann ripped the fortress apart, crumbling the stone with his weight and setting fire to the rest of Sauron's werewolves.

A shadow rose from the fallen ruin, standing before the great dragon.

"Ancalagon!" Sauron yelled in fury. "Is this how you betray your masters, you traitor?!" he demanded as the dragon looked down upon him with a golden glare. "You fool!" Ann said in a grumbling voice. "I was never yours to begin with!" his eyes blazed brighter with golden fire.

Ann's chest began to glow. Sauron backed away when Ann opened his jaws and then released a barrage of fire upon the Maia.

Sauron changed forms and narrowly escaped in the form of a vampire. He cursed the dragon as there was nothing he could do to save his fortress and forces and flew toward the north.

You watched as Ann continued wrecking the fortress before turning your attention to Finrod and his company. Luthien had arrived later, riding upon Huan and reuniting with her beloved Beren. Finrod’s companions took the chance to enjoy the light and fresh air after being trapped in Sauron’s dungeon for so long. You began tending to Finrod’s injuries.

“Ann seems to have fun wrecking the fortress,” you stated as you wrapped his injured hands and legs in the bandages you had brought along. “I hope you don’t mind that,” you said, and Finrod dryly chuckled at your sentence.

“No…” he uttered. “At least, he ensures Tol Sirion can never be used by the enemy again. And it kinda of looks better. Sauron had a terrible taste in the design and the interior,” he explained, making you snort. “I guess it does look better,” you commented after you finished wrapping and offered him water.

Finrod grabbed the waterskin from your hands and stared at it with a look on his face before glancing at Beren and his other companions. “Don’t worry. I brought extra,” you showed the other waterskin you had taken with you. “I came in a rush, but I planned ahead what you might need after rescuing you,” you stated. Finrod chuckled. “You always come prepared,” he noted. “Well… after doing a few trips away from Angand and doing a trip there once. You learn a thing or two when it comes to preparing, and trust me– you do not want to taste the water in Morgoth’s lands,” you said.

“I trust you,” Finrod said, his voice filled with gratitude as he took a long, satisfying drink from the waterskin. It was evident that he had been deprived of fresh water for quite some time, and the relief was palpable on his face. After quenching his trish, he turned his gaze toward you.

“Thank you, my love. Many more of us would have perished if you hadn't come,” he stated.

You nodded with a hint of determination in your eyes. “It seems sometimes it's okay not to listen, especially when you have a good reason not to,” you said. “And I was already on the verge of going stir-crazy with Celegorm in the same house,” you added, prompting a snort of laughter from Finrod.

“I’m serious!” you exclaimed, your voice laced with playful frustration. “Don’t leave me ever again in the same place as that blondie. I was this close to fulfilling the urge to let Ann eat him alive,” you said, pinching your fingers together for emphasis.

Finrod chuckled, his laughter filling the atmosphere. “Understood, my dear,” he said with a grin, and the two of you shared a hearty laugh, finding solace and humor amid the adversity.

"I don't care what you say. I'm coming with you. I already stole from Morgoth once. I might as well do it again," you said sternly. "I do not think I can convince you otherwise even if I tried," Finrod said. "Good," you said, then chuckled and enjoyed the moment together as Ann returned to you, having reduced once Tol Sirion into nothing but rubble.

#finrod x reader #finrod #finrod headcanon #finrod imagines #silmarillion #silmarillion x reader #tolkien #middle earth x reader #middle earth imagines #dragons #silm fic #Ancalagon

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dayseedrawz2 · 2 months

Text

Someone gave me the prompt of Caine and Pomni Ice skating on the digital lake. I'm not exactly sure how to go with this one, but it's worth a shot!

Skating - Showtime (C×P) One-shot!

Requested by: @marvosa-yroz

[ASKS/REQUESTS: OPEN]

☆Caine☆

♧Pomni♧

Tha day started off normal. Caine rallied up all the players for the adventure

☆Good morning, superstars! Who's ready for today's show?!☆

His enthusiastic tone was followed by awkward silence

☆Wonderful!! Let's take a look at the agenda for today!!☆

Snap! Caine teleported everyone out to the lake

☆Since this so-called "winter" is coming to a close, I thought I'd make today's adventure just for the occasion!☆

With another snap, the lake was frozen over and surrounded by railings and a gate in front, and the cast was all given ice skates

☆Today's adventure is ice skating!! The rules are simple! Get into pairs, and have a blast! But watch out for thin spots! Bubble and I will be here to supervise! Have fun!☆

Then off Caine went. Outside of bounds, leaving the others to their own devices.

Most of the cast found partners to skate woth. Gangle with Zooble, Ragatha was with Jax (unfortunately), and Kinger brought a picture of... someone from his room leaving Pomni by herself.

She didn't mind. At least - not that much... I mean, what else was she gonna do? Partner up with kinger? He seemed content with his current "partner." She didn't really have a choice other than to lean on the rail and watch the others. Better than making a fool of herself! Still... she couldn't help but feel lonely...

Caine was on the other side of the lake watching the others from outside the arena. But he couldn't help but glance over at Pomni. One of his members was partner-less?? Now, we can't have that!! So he hesitantly took initiative

☆Hiya Pomni!!☆

The Jester was caught off guard

♧GAH!!! oh... It's you...♧

☆...Pomni, why aren't you with the others?☆

♧Well, for starters, I don't have anyone to skate with... not that I wanted to anyway.♧

☆Oh, come on now, who doesn't like to skate? I hear it's a very popular activity for humans around this season! Besides, I've been working very endlessly on getting the physics to be just right!☆

♧How would you know? It's not like I'd remember how to skate, let alone I'd I ever did. Whatever... it's fine. I'll just stay here.♧

The Ringmaster could tell something was definitely wrong. Not like he'd know exactly what or how to fix it. But may as well do what he could!

☆...Well, I suppose this is a first for the both of us!☆

With a snap of his fingers, he acquired a pair of skates of his own

♧Wh-what are you do-WOAH-♧

Caine took her by the hand and dragged her towards the center of the lake.

☆I don't usually do this, but I couldn't stand to see you miss out on this adventure! Consider this a small prize for your participation! Or... lack thereof...☆

Pomni continued the conversation while still trying to maintain her balance

♧ I can certainly tell... W-well, thanks, I guess...♧

They continued to skate together for the rest of the adventure. Not very well, but hey, they only fell like once... maybe twice.

Maybe this place wasn't so lonely after all...

OH MY WORD FINALY IM DONE IM SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER I WAS HAVING TROUBLE BRAINSTORMING-

Thanks again for the request!!

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc caine #tadc pomni #caine #showtime #tadc showtime #caine x pomni

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redpenship · 1 month

Note

Did Eggman know Tails was gonna kill him when he did, I'm sure he was somewhat aware of Tails planning to or at least considering it maybe, but did he know when was tails planning to?

What were his thoughts on that last phone call between them? Every time I reread that part I always imagined him grinning when Tails quoted his words from the first day they met, it was such a good scene!!

Anyways big fan of yours! Have a great day.

To answer the first question, he knew that Tails trying to kill him would happen eventually, but he was mostly convinced that he could get what he wanted before that happened. Tails theorizes in the last chapter that Eggman had put him into a high pressure environment where murder for revenge/freedom was likely, but tried to stave that off as long as possible by giving Tails plenty of concessions and even letting him completely change the nature of the empire to be more palatable to him. This is mostly true! Eggman was trying to sell Tails on the empire because he wanted him to stick around. However, his plan was to release Tails as soon as the solution to the energy crisis was found. His fatal mistake, really, was choosing not to reveal this to him because he worried that a promise of eventual freedom would nullify the pressure he was putting on him.

Eggman did not know that Tails was planning to kill him when he got to the ARK. He'd come to a similar conclusion as Tails, where he believed the fox would only try to escape when he had the solution to the crisis so he could use it as leverage in negotiations with humans. With that in mind, he may have actually been pretty happy when Tails announced his intention to kill him! His only goal had been to save science. If Tails was openly planning to kill him, then it meant that he'd solved the crisis. His extremely risky and long-term plan of moulding a kid into someone capable of taking over the planet and saving science had worked! I can imagine that he would smile about it, even if he knew he was about to die.

Some fun background notes on how I characterized him behind the scenes:

If Tails had continued resisting in chapter one, Eggman would have let him go.

A lot of what Eggman does in chapters 1-3 is designed to test and nurture Tails' confidence. Tails comments on this in chapter eight, when he realizes that Eggman had been protecting him from developing an inferiority complex in relation to humans. (I'm diving into this a lot more in the sequel, where Eggman realizes that insecurity is what's holding back Starline from achieving his academic dreams. Most of Starline's chapters are flashbacks where they develop the Alhazen plan together).

Eggman generally does not like humans at all. I never really had him express this, but he was very bitter being born and raised on a planet where science didn't work because humans had been forced to flee their home world. This disdain was also solidified when he was frequently abused by the government as a child. I had originally given what they'd done to him a lot more detail, but I was forced to remove it and leave really vague implications instead because it was bordering on child sexual abuse territory and that was NOT a warning tag I was willing to put on a fanfic where a child was at the complete mercy of an adult for most of the story. I worried it would cast a dark shadow over his relationship with Tails, even when Tails wasn't the victim in question, so I took it out completely.

For the most part, Eggman pitied Mobians for evolving on a planet with messed up physics and as a result held a more neutral to favourable view of them. (I'm actually not a very big fan of works that portray Eggman as being some variety of human supremacist. I think he's more fun as a chaotic neutral type, or something more in line w/ his canon personality where he thinks he's superior to everyone regardless of their species haha).

I've said this a few times before, but he did genuinely respect Tails! He was really hoping Tails would come around and want to be in his empire, but unfortunately that did not happen. I think he may have been able to succeed if he'd caught Tails a little earlier, before Sonic had laid a strong moral foundation for him. That stupid hedgehog is always ruining his plans :(

Thanks for the question!!

#domi091 #fic: the buzzsaw dilemma #ask #csa mention

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sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee · 4 months

Note

Can we get Riddler's reaction to SO coming home with an injured animal, maybe with a side of 'no, we are not keeping it' but they end up keeping it anyway?

"We are not keeping the damn thing-" Riddler Party x S/O

Oh this is something I'm very familiar with LMAO. I tried to include a variety of animals here.

Not to be lame or a square or w/e but as a general reminder, if you ever find injured wildlife, please contact your local shelters or animal control. These are fantasy scenarios and in most cases- wildlife is either better left alone, you will need strict temporary guidance or they need to be taken care of by professionals. In many places, you need a license to care and keep undomesticated animals.

TW: animal harm and abuse, mentions of dog fighting, medical procedures

Gotham

It all happens so quickly one day when the pair are driving in Gotham. His S/O notices what looks like a small brown bundle in the middle of the road and panics for Edward to stop. Before he can really get an explanation, they're shouting over their shoulder about a turtle, taking off their jacket. Then he's the one panicking as he watches them stop traffic to scoop up the animal.

The painted turtle has a huge crack in it's shell and a hurt leg. Not knowing what to do, they take it to a vet to see if anything can be done. Surgery, a fiberglass covering... A free sexing to determine the turtle is otherwise a healthy girl. Edward is already devouring the informational packet given to him in the waiting room. A lot he already knew but, well, it pays to learn more!

He's probably one of the few riddlers that doesn't actually say "no we can't keep it." There might be a brief moment where he questions his S/O if they even want a turtle- for the most part it's kind of... fascinating? They keep visiting the turtle in the hospital before she's released and he asks so very many questions about care and what they've been doing for her-

Before it's even been officially decided she's coming home and not being released back out, he's getting a tank ready. Heat lamps, a UVA/UVB light, pond, a dock for basking. A very strange amount of decorations related to questions marks and his special interests that you might not expect decor for.

This turtle won the lottery. She gets a very fancy omnivore diet with vitamin and mineral supplements. He even ends up cultivating species appropriate plants in the tank for her to enjoy and snack on occasionally. She's never bothered much other than the routine tank cleanings. Edward just likes watching her and watching his S/O gush over how pretty she is.

If anyone asks to pick her up, he will give a speech on how actually, human contact stresses them out so if you could never ask again, he'd appreciate it. He intends on her making it many more decades despite not having any clue how old she is now.

Penguin is going to hear so many fun facts about turtles now. Oswald might consider trying to murder him... again.

60s

A baby bird that fell from it's nest. He watched as his S/O tried and failed to reintroduce the bird back to it's mother. He even helped them weave a fake nest and put it up in the tree to see if their parents would take the babe back. To no avail. He was prepared to comfort his love if the little thing passed on.

Yet he watched his S/O roll up their sleeves and start making a nest of their own. A heat lamp that was originally used for one of Edward's plots, now for the chick. He insisted they could probably find someone to take care of it. He's certain he could light a cigarette in a public place and get Batman's attention if they wanted a more heroic figure for the job. With a sidekick named Robin, surely he has a thing for lost little birds.

Birds aren't really his thing, you see. Not part of the gimmick. He has nothing against them, love, but... perhaps Penguin? Still no, huh? The determination of his S/O is rather inspiring, even if it goes against his own wishes. Feedings every few hours, changing papers and blankets. Checking the crop. He noticed the collection of bird care books from Gotham Library.

He starts feeling more affection for the thing once it grows fluff. As his S/O gently holds his hand out to teach the bird to step up. There's something endearing about all of it. How passionate they are. How could he truly say no? It's when the feathers appear and the soft cries begin that they confirm they have a little mourning dove.

In devotion to his partner and their new animal child, he sets up a bird cage and perches himself. Reads the same care books, albeit in half the time. Once the time is right, he even builds an outdoor cage to allow the bird fresh air and stimulation that is safe from predators.

While he doesn't appreciate the mess the bird leaves, he doesn't mind the shoulder buddy. It does, however, make him slightly less intimidating towards Batman, as if he needed anything to help with that.

Zero Year

His S/O had a habit of bringing home animals. They had some... special certification, he wasn't paying terribly much attention to what- What it meant was that after they moved in together, there would occasionally be a small furred or feathered creature in the spare room off his workshop that needed to be bottle fed. He wasn't sure how he felt about the habit. It was something he almost admired. Wanting to care for something small and weak. Yet it was a vulnerability he could see being taken advantage of.

Good thing he's such a pleasant and non-needy personality that doesn't need all his S/O's attention! He lived with it. Perhaps he was better for it. Personal growth... even if at moments he felt jealous and despised it. He supposed they needed a hobby of their own considering how his "hobby" was so all-consuming.

Then they brought home the red fox. A fur-farm rescue. Nowhere else to go, they said. Edward tried to put his foot down. How would they even care for it? A fox... Ridiculous! He also knows it can't be tossed back out into the wild. It would die. His stubbornness holds even as he watches his partner cut their hands open on wire fencing to make an enclosure.

It isn't until they ask him, truly ask him, if he hates that they save animals. Seeing the pain in their eyes and sensing the possibility that they might even leave- he makes a decision. No amount of avoiding annoyances is worth losing the one person he truly trusts in this life. He builds an outdoor enclosure with catch doors and even sits down with the thing.

Winning him over was as simple as the vixen stealing his screwdriver and laughing at him as she played keep away. He was irritated with her, at first, yet as he caught her and all she wanted was pets and affection... He supposed it was also cute the way she would hoard boiled eggs out of his hand. Alright, maybe, just maybe- Maybe she could stay. Only out of his good will.

He gets to a point where she'll sit in his lap while he trims her nails and brushes her fur. His S/O can do the yucky medical stuff she hates, this is his time.

BTAS

It was a kitten that set his life upside down. His partner, his darling beloved, found it abandoned and hypothermic in a box after a storm. No indication of mother or another human coming to find it. His eyes weren't even open. A little tuxedo that mewled for any kind of nourishment and warmth. Edward was ready to call Selina to come pick it up- until he remembered she was currently incarcerated by Batman for a diamond heist.

It wasn't his bathroom being overtaken as a quarantine zone that made him upset. It wasn't even the alarm that went off every two hours for feedings, even in the middle of the night. No, it was how exhausted and emotionally tired his S/O looked after two days of taking care of him. When he said they were not, could not keep the cat, his partner insisted on doing everything themselves.

He was regretting it, to say the least. At 3am, while he was working, he could hear the alarm going... and his S/O snoring through it. With a sigh, he turned it off and began to prepare the formula. He went through the steps in his mind as he had seen his partner do for the past week and a half. Feed, burp, stimulate for the bathroom, make sure he's warm. Then he got in there and found a creature shouting and demanding to be fed and loved now.

Putting the kitten on his chest, watching his ears wiggle and feeling the tiniest muffins being made on his chest... that was the moment he fell in love. In that instant, he understood. This little sootball that looked like lint that exploded in the dryer- he was worth the hardship.

After that, Edward took on the nightshift for his partner. A few more weeks and their schedules could get back to normal. Ish. And their fancy well dressed man could be released into the rest of the house to cause chaos galore. Kitten energy is a bit too much for Edward, but he adjusts.

Telltale

When his S/O had stumbled into his workplace, bloodied and holding a blanket close to their chest, he feared the worst. He was prepared to dismember whoever had done this to his partner- and then they mentioned it wasn't their blood. Irritating, yet relief flooded his system.

He cleared a nearby table and watched as his S/O unraveled a bleeding, wounded dog. Struggling to breathe. Whining. A prong collar embedded into its neck. In the haze of panic, he extrapolates that his partner found it thrown away like trash in an alley. Even in this state he could make out the bite marks of other dogs on her body. Dog fighting.

Yet the mottled colored mutt seemed disinterested in attacking, even in this vulnerable state. Had she already given up? He was prepared to euthanize her himself until his partner looked at him with wet eyes asking if there was anything he could do. A tired sigh.

He knew some people with the proper equipment. Yet even as he contacted them, he insisted the two of them were not keeping the dog. He would help take care of the dog. Then they would figure out where she could go.

This lasted until one night in the lab as he sat at his desk, he felt a heavy head lay on his leg. As he looked down, there she was, staring up at him- tail wagging. Even after everything they'd put her through... she was putting all her trust and affection in a human. He would never admit it, but it reminded him of himself in some small way towards his S/O. Finding that love after pain atop of pain.

He stopped mentioning getting rid of the dog. Insists no one else will want a former fighting dog, so she might as well stay. It has nothing to do with how she cuddles between her "parents" on the couch. That she'll fetch things for her master with a dopey pleased look. And of course not because she gets accustomed to waking Eddie when he's experiencing night terrors associated with his past. Lowkey she's his emotional support dog and he's her emotional support human and his S/O gets to watch that relationship bloom.

Arkham

Despite Edward's lack of care towards the many strays in Gotham, his S/O seemed rather enamored with them. He comments that they should leave feeding the mangy things to Selina. Yet, he doesn't stop them. Then there was one cat in the neighborhood that wouldn't escape either of their notice. A mean feral that wouldn't let anyone near it. He'd wait for everyone else to eat food before picking off scraps.

He thought it was sort of charming how his S/O asked him for a trap to catch the beast. He asked them why they'd bother. It would appear the creature had gotten an eye injury, likely from fighting. He'd never expected them to actually catch the beast, no matter how genius his craftsmanship on the trap. And yet...

One eye enucleation and spay surgery later, his next question was when they were going to release the cat back out. Or call catwoman to deal with it. As his S/O told him neither would be happening, he began to try to put his foot down. No, never. You will not be keeping him. If they'd really wanted a pet, he could make one! Not this... possible mixed breed of a wild cat with a domestic one.

Fortunately they had a small spare room they could clear out for a kennel to allow the cat some comfort while he healed. Edward would listen as his partner going into the room and cooing. Followed by hissing and "no... No, c'mon-" and more bargaining. He shook his head. What were they expecting? You can't just bring a creature like that back with that kind of hate.

It isn't until one night when he's working that he hears... a meowing. It's strained and croaking. He goes to inspect the room and seen the one eyed cat staring up at him. A soft meow. Then a head bonk on the cage bars. Yet as he knelt down, the cat reared back and hissed.

Over the next week, he would visit the cat with his S/O. He noticed this scraggly, scarred cat looking up at them. Hissing less and less. Hesitantly approaching until his S/O was able to touch his head. Then they heard it for the first time: his purr. It was then Edward knew he was not going to be able to get rid of this ugly as sin cat.

The cat absolutely chose his S/O as his person, but that doesn't leave out Edward. The cat likes sleeping on some of his machinery when it's warm. Jumping on his shoulders when he falls asleep at his desk. Edward finds himself petting deep into his now-soft fur when he's stressed.

Selina will give him so much shit about this cat. Forever.

Batman 2022/Nashton

His S/O found the little creature after a dog had gotten hold it. A possum joey without a mother anywhere in sight. A few calls later, a wildlife shelter visit and lots of stress and worrying, they were told the possum was going to live... But not in the wild. There was enough damage to its body that even after healing, he might not be able to defend himself properly.

Edward tried to reason why it should stay with someone else. They'd have better care. They'd become an education ambassador, maybe! He... It's so tiny and fragile, and that makes him so nervous.

Edward is projecting a lot of feelings onto this little thing that mostly wants to hiss and cling to his sweatshirt. He'll just fuck it up, you know. The problem that arises is too many rehabbers in the area are full up. There might not be any space for the little guy- Faced with the possibility of euthanasia, Edward's S/O looks at him with dewy eyes.

How can he say no to that face? And the face of, he supposes, their newest companion. After faking some paperwork and certifications, they are bringing home a small possum.

Over time, he ends up relating a lot to the possum considering their reputation. They're just scavengers! They can't even get rabies! Yet everyone just seems to hate them for being born. He knows what that's like...

He does so much research on dietary needs since possums require such a variety of care. Protein, proper phosphorous levels, fruits and veggies. He really likes feeding him cooked chicken hearts out of his hand. Since they walk so much in the night, he makes an exercise wheel for the little guy to use. Builds climbing walls and poles for him to hang from if he wants. His S/O gets to help hammer nails in!

Sometimes Edward's S/O is looking for the possum and asks Edward... only to see a little black and white head poke out from his hoodie. The two of them know they won't have the possum for long (in the wild, they only live around three years!), but he's kind of used to shorter lifespans with his rats.

He's going to make sure the years they have, though, are going to be enriching and full of happiness.

#gotham riddler #60s riddler #zero year riddler #capulo riddler #btas riddler #telltale riddler #arkham riddler #batman 2022 riddler #riddler #foxwriting

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redr0sewrites · 19 days

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i wanted to kinda talk about my opinion on some things related to Ana Huang and the romance genre in general- sorry for the rant!!!

finished king of sloth by ana huang and urgrhrgrhrhrh i actually really really enjoyed it!!!! (i say that ab everything i read tho tbh, i've just never been the type who criticizes the media i consume so PLEASE don't ever base ur opinions off of mine :)

my post isn't about the book specifically or even the author. i lowkey have a bone to pick and its NOT with ana huang or the book but moreso the reaction i've been noticing about the book (specifically from people who have been making fun of it and/or people who read it)! this isn't meant to start discourse or anything but i am open to polite discussion about some of the points im bringing up. this is generally focused around ana huang but also a lot of majority-feminine centric media has this same problem.

anyways, i'm gonna try to express how i feel as best i can without being rude or offensive ajshsjs-

it just lowkey irks me that sm people have been hating on ana huang now that she's getting attention, and since she's a romance writer, her fans and fanbase is mostly women and/or girls, (which is totally ok)!! however, i genuinely feel like this is just another barbie movie or sarah j mass or taylor swift scenario where the second something/someone that a lot of woman like starts to get publicity, people (mostly men) start excessively hating on it.

i have genuinely seen sm people dissing not only ana huang but her writing as well. now i don't know much about her as a person and i know that a lot of people are flawed so if she's genuinely done something wrong PLEASE lmk, i don't keep up w that stuff. and hey, maybe you just didn't like the book and thats ok too!!! its totally valid to not like something, but to make fun of an author and the people who enjoy her content just seems.. ehh.

a lot and i mean a LOT of people claim that she's only popular because of her smut but i actually enjoy her books more than just for the smutty/romance aspect. maybe that's just me, but i genuinely find it interesting and a lot of other people i know also enjoy it for the plot. and if u are reading for the smut that's ok as well, this is a totally safe space, and nobody should judge u on your reasons to read a book. the books are INTENDED to be fluffy and spicy and overall are just fictional romantic stories. they're smutty, funny books, not the bible. it shocks me how much people make fun of them.

i just keep seeing this trend of people negatively nitpicking anything and everything about authors and their writing ESPECIALLY when its romance and it just rubs me the wrong way. ive seen a LOT of people upset about huang including cameo's of her other characters in her latest book, and if you don't like those other characters so much then why... are u reading it??? THAT SOUNDS SO MEAN IM SORRY but its just so strange that people are upset about her including her own characters from her own series'?

its just disappointing that whenever someone or something becomes popular, there are always people who are just trying to be negative and diss it along with the people who enjoy it. i'm NOT making this post to be rude or offensive to people who genuinely don't like the author or the series, ur absolutely entitled to ur own opinion!!! however i have just seen this link SO MANY TIMES of people suddenly disliking something/someone bc a lot of woman seem to enjoy it and it just makes me a bit sad and disappointed.

(also side note can men stop hating on the romance genre and books they haven't even read? please??? can feminine people like anything anymore??? romance exists as such a successful genre bc the majority of readers are WOMEN who have to create fictional scenarios about being loved by seemingly "unachievable" men that are literally just doing the bare minimum. women fantasize about being treated with BASIC HUMAN RESPECT as though that isn't the standard, bc honestly, it isnt.)

THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO EXCLUDE ANY OF MY FELLOW NON-FEMALE/NON-WOMAN OR GENDER NON CONFORMING FOLK WHO ALSO ENJOY ROMANCE!!!! THIS IS JUST A GENERALIZATION BASED ON THINGS I HAVE NOTICED, AND I AM NOT EDUCATED/HAVE A DEGREE ON THE MATTER!!!! THIS IS SIMPLY AN OBSERVATION!!!!! IF UVE READ THIS LONG, MWAH MWAH MWAH!!!

#rose rambling #i promise im normal #i just have been feeling some strong feelings ab this lately #i really really really really really hope this post wasn't mean or rude #🙏🙏🙏#i promise i wasn't trying to be mean #i just dont get why people are hating on a piece of media that isn't intended to be taken that seriously #its all in good fun #let us read our smutty romance books in peace without 15 rude people up our ass complaining that all woman are the same #im a nb person tho #but afab #feminism #awareness #ana huang #book tumblr #books and reading #booklr

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thelador-s-mclargehuge · 21 days

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Hollow Knight Resurrected really helped me get out of a massive writing slump when it started releasing, and has since been a huge boost of inspiration for the past couple of years. This series has been nothing but a lot of fun to watch, and I've enjoyed it alongside your analyses as well (especially the Ori ones, those are a riot).

That being said, which episode would you say you're the most proud of script-wise? And how long did you initially plan HKR to be early on? Did anything deviate from your initial ideas?

Absolutely love hearing this! I'm real glad I could make something that could inspire someone else's writing! Like, it's shocking to me! And I'm sorry for the lack of updates. My entire life kinda imploded last year and I've been trying to put it back together. But I do intend to finish this thing (I've also been learning how to animate in blender which is a huuuuuge door opener that kind of allows me to do literally anything, including a few scenes that I just had no idea how I was gonna do.) So as far as script-wise, Absolutely gotta be the Grimm special. A lot of the episodes have Charlie just walking around and most of those bits are just jokes that came to my brain while either playing to get the footage, or while I'm looking at it on a timeline. Whereas most of the dialogue bits are the ones I write. The Grimm Special, is mostly dialogue. So that *entire thing* was script, which I hadn't done before, and on top of that it was enough script to fill almost 90 minutes! There's also just a lot going on, particularly w/regaurd to generational differences and how each of the Troupe deals with Grimms Plan and how it absolutely isn't going to pan out. And it changed pretty quickly from early on just because I didn't have a hellova lot of initial ideas. Like the first time charlie mentions getting to "The Bottom" is in like the 3rd episode. I didn't think to give the boy a goal until halfway through editing that one lmao. Most everything else has gone according to plan. Biggest surprise was actually the Grimm episode because until a month before I made it I had no fuckin' clue what to do with Grimm and His Boys until I remembered a throwaway line I gave to cloth about the "Iridescent Neo-streetfighting movement" (A play on the Italian Neo-realist movement. Because all of the fighting history is just simplified film history I put new words on top of And was like "You know, I could just take that and make that Grimms Circus act... But if that's the case... well so after that the big thing the Italian Film Industry got into was Spagetti Westerns, and then a little later Giallo so... Oh fuck Rodeos and Giallo is just The Weird Bloody Fighting Grimm Does for An Audience" And went from there. But aside from that there hasn't honestly been a tone of deviation from the original ideas I'd set in place since episode 3. Mostly I've just added bits and pieces here and there. Exept for maybe a lot of Hornet's stuff. This was meant to be a quick, few episode series as a prelude to the Silksong Videos i was Bound to have been finished with by now lmaaaaaaao Some stuff in particular was this idea that Hornets deal is that she can essentially See the internal song of someone, and that was going to be, like, a huge combat thing. Similar to how Charlie keeps changing his name, Hornet would keep trying to find a different song. Bringing back the My Body Is A Cage meme, and eventually having it switch to Swimmers by Zero 7 as she realizes she found her home and is ready to move on from Hallownest. I was going to make the Silksong videos the First Series Like This I did. But it's taking it's time and so am I so I s'pose I can't complain. Swear I'm the only human being on the planet who wipes a little sweat off my brow every time we *don't* get a release date. It's like "OH THERE'S STILL TIME FOR ME TO FINISH MY THING!"

#hollow knight #hollow knight resurrected #silksong

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drewsaturday · 3 days

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A surprise to absolutely nobody: melruth

HMMMMM MELRUTH. I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THIS SHIP EVER BEFORE, OBVIOUSLY.

JLjkjj i do very much ship it lol. when i initially watched i think i took note of it as something more one-sided, but definitely present. i had just been focused on other ships at the time so i'm sO glad your brainrot brought me back into it.

basically i love toxic yuri. i love devoted characters who put their own needs last (ruth to "wilford" and mel, while mel's devotion to snowpiercer is more of an umbrella for the collective people that encompasses ruth). i love the uniqueness of ruth's unknowing loyalty to melanie who's been wilford all along and all the fun misguided jealousy that comes with her thinking mel is up in the engine fucking wilford before they reveal he's Dead TM. (speaking of, i would have loved to see how ruth and mel's dynamic could've evolved had wilford actually Stayed Dead--would it be better without him as a distraction, or worse if she thinks mel really murdered her god? when would she accept, if ever, that mel has been that god all along?). anyway i love See You Around. i love ruth generally having her Moments realizing melanie doesn't treat her right and going unhinged about it and sinking back into the safety of wilford loyalty until slowly unraveling and realizing mel has been… mostly right this whole time. and anyway i love how it all orbits around melanie. everything ruth now is revolves around melanie the way W's are branded all over snowpiercer, inescapable. and although i wish they could have a happy ending working things out together, i love ruth taking everything she's learned with her and making her own informed choices and finally leaving melanie to find herself, because i like to imagine some distant future where that time away helped them both become the kind of people who could have a healthy relationship sometime down the line if they ever do actually see each other around again :')

and to look at it more from melanie's pov… there's so much to unpack there too. melanie sacrificing her own happiness time and time again for the greater good of the train, while ruth is right there always signifying a normal life and innocent perspective mel personally has had ripped from her, but that she needs to forcibly maintain for everyone else. and yet she still kinda fails, because for the greater good tm people like ruth need to become cracked pawns going down to the tail to take people's arms and maintain order, no matter their own detriment. and if melanie does ever come clean, the foundations upon which ruth justifies so many traumatic events, so many awful actions, would shatter. it's a mercy to lie and to pretend she hasn't done to ruth what wilford did to her. there's the guilt, how much of it she feels vs. compartmentalizes, of doing all that to ruth and lying to her in one moment, fucking her half-dressed in hospitality garb the next, and THEN run off and play wilford in an engineering jumpsuit just 10 minutes later. and how she convinces herself she's protecting ruth and doing what's right but doing what's right necessitated seeing ruth as a cog in the machine and that's not exactly protection. or maybe she did see ruth's humanity and innocence and wanted to preserve that the best she could, maybe she underestimated her, maybe she saw her learning the truth as a liability to everything she'd built because who else will people look to as a shining example of wilford loyalty? and that's why people like jinju get trusted instead of ruth. because ruth IS important in the ways she wants to be to wilford, but not in the ways she wants to be to mel. ironically though that importance means melanie needs to keep ruth in her own little bubble as much as possible. ruth is a complicated case and melanie does not have time for complicated and the chaos it comes with. melanie does not have time for ruth. and yet ruth still clings to her, loves her, in ways melanie knows she does not deserve, and it makes everything that follows SO much angsty fun.

basicaLLY i'm sooooooo normal about alex and her two moms :') can you tell :')

#snowpiercer tag

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wizardofgoodfortune · 1 year

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27 for Spotify fic thing!

a bit of comfy dreamling. and i fully believe that this would've been better if i had finished reading the entirety of the comics. alas... we can have a bit of silliness for now! but thank you for the ask!! 💓 i hope you are having fun with the ask game.

When you've lived for such a long period of time unimaginable to the common living being, asking for help is something short of unthinkable. He is Endless, after all. Lord of Dreams and Ruler of Nightmares. The Dreaming itself.

At least, that's what Dream thinks.

Death said he was foolish for not asking for help during his century in the Wych Cross, in the Burgess's basement, and for the pursuit of his tools afterwards. He doesn't think she will ever understand—he didn't want to worry her, or anyone for that matter.

Much less Hob Gadling, who is a mere 600 years old. He was older than most, yes, but still. Dream should be able to handle everything by himself. The Shaper of Forms should be able to fix all his problems on his own.

This is why Dream couldn't fathom why Hob gave him this tiny device he called a 'mobile phone'.

"Keep in touch," Hob said, "for when you need my help the next time you get... compromised. Or for when you just want a drink. Or a friend," he tacked on, grinning.

Dream stared at the phone accusatorily. It sat on the couch beside him in his room, unaware of his glare.

It was as if Hob didn't know how hard it already was for him just to mention that he'd been captured. By a human, with parlor tricks, no less. And before their recent meeting, they just met once every hundred years. Now Hob expected Dream to just... 'text' him?

Dream scoffed. This was ridiculous. They should have just continued to meet every hundred years.

But then again, the whole ordeal with Rose Walker and Desire just finished. Could Hob have helped with that problem? Most likely not. But sometimes, Dream did find that... elaborating... on one's feelings... proved. Useful.

And in the light of having been betrayed by his sibling, there was nothing he wanted more than to hear someone talk at him, for distraction. Or maybe even listen to him. Much like Hob did, the last time, in The New Inn.

Dream sighed. This was ridiculous. He tucked the phone into his coat, and left. He had much to do, and little time to spend on frivolities. He couldn't spend his time ruminating on every single thing in his life; he would certainly go insane if he did. So he will concentrate on the things he can fix now.

Dream was in the middle of a meeting with Lucienne and Merv when a ding! rang in the throne room. Lucienne looked up from her notes, and Mervyn cocked his pumpkin head.

It came from inside his coat. Dream paused for a moment, and opened his mouth to continue—

Ding!

"Uh, boss, I think that's coming from you," Merv said.

Lucienne hid the lower half of her face in her ledger. Dream dreaded to think why.

"I will take care of this," Dream said, standing from his throne. "I trust you will be able to attend to the repairs in my place, Lucienne. Mervyn."

"Of course, my lord," Lucienne said.

"See ya, boss," Merv said.

Dream turned away and blinked into his room before he could see them smile at each other at his expense.

He conjured the phone from his coat, forming from grains of sand. The screen simply said, '2 new messages from Hob Gadling.'

"Hey stranger! Fancy a night out at The New Inn? Just got done with finals, and I could use a relaxing evening. Beer for me, wine for you? I got you something even better than before," the first text said.

In their last meeting, Dream had actually caved to drinking wine. It seemed more palatable than any of the drinks in the past six centuries, and he was. In a good mood, so to say. He didn't really realize how thirsty he was until he got into a comfortable atmosphere.

"And I'm thinking you should try out our pizza tonight. Only made out of the finest ingredients, I promise. If you thought the shepherd's pie was good, wait for this one," the second text said.

And how hungry.

And because the Dreaming is him, thunder rumbled in the distance, as if to imitate an empty stomach growling.

This is ridiculous, Dream thought, as he stepped out of his room and into The New Inn. It was evening this time, and the place glowed yellow and orange. It was alive with its customers' tipsy buzz, the clinking of tableware, and the smell of savory food and alcohol.

Dream looked over to the spot where Hob sat before, and felt a pang of an unnamable feeling in his chest when he didn't see him there.

"My friend," bellowed a familiar voice from behind the counter.

It was Hob. He had a small towel thrown over his shoulder, and he had half of his hair tied back. Dream noticed the beads of sweat on his temples.

"Didn't expect you here so soon. I'll be right with you," Hob said, his face bright. He gestured to the table in the corner. "Have a seat."

And so Dream sat where he sat before. What was Hob up to?

"Sorry for the wait," said Hob from behind. He came brandishing a glass and a bottle. Was that a smear of something red on his cheek? And why was he wearing a flour-dusted apron? "If I knew you would come this fast, I would have texted you much earlier."

Dream watched Hob pour him a glass of wine.

"Y'know, you could have replied. I would've been more prepared that way," Hob said, setting down the bottle, and settling down across Dream. "Not that I mind, of course. Just thought you would be more preoccupied. But I could get used to it."

Dream huffed. "Do not. You merely caught me at an opportune time."

"And what joy," Hob said. He was grinning. Then he was standing up again. "Be right back."

Hob disappeared behind the counter and into what Dream assumed is the inn's kitchen. Dream looked at the wine. It didn't seem right to drink alone.

So instead, Dream listened to the sound of the inn's patrons talking to their friends about their day, good or bad, listened to the soft music playing on the speakers, listened to the dreams of a student snoozing on his friend's shoulder, heavily inebriated too early in the night.

He was having a nightmare about his 'finals,' as Hob called it. Dream waved the nightmare away. In this place, he deserved comfy dreams. His nightmare could wait another night.

"Make way, hot pizza coming through," Hob announced from behind again, hurriedly setting down a wooden plate. On it was flat bread with golden, melted cheese and the same red sauce that Dream saw on Hob's cheek earlier. There were also sliced cherry tomatoes and basil leaves on top. The pizza glistened under the yellow lights of the inn.

"Been a while since my last pizza," Hob said, sitting down across him with a sigh. He held his beer in his other hand. Maybe this time he would stop moving around so much.

Wait.

"You made this," Dream said, in disbelief.

"Yeah, picked it up when I lived in Italy a few years back. Don't think it's as good as how they taught me, but you be the judge. And don't hold back," Hob said as he cut through the sauce and cheese with a knife. "Hey, you haven't drank your wine yet."

"No," Dream said. He didn't want to elaborate.

"Buon appetito," Hob said, gesturing to the pizza. He wiped some of the sweat on his forehead away with his towel.

Dream stared at Hob.

"Please, before it gets cold," Hob insisted.

"Are you not going to eat?" Dream asked.

"Oh." Hob paused. Was that surprise? "I suppose I should, shouldn't I?"

Dream took his slice the same time Hob did, but Dream had more difficulty with his. The cheese stretched on impossibly, refusing to let go, until Hob chuckled and cut through it with his knife.

And finally, Dream bit into the slice. Both the sliced tomatoes and the tomatoes used in the red sauce reminded him of a dream of a farmer in the Italian countryside, toiling away in the hot day and coming home to his wife and son, his arms full of produce. The hot cheese came from the milk of a family cow cherished by its farmer. It dreamt of a seemingly never-ending green pasture, where she lived with her calves. The bread had the thoughts of the man in front of him kneaded into it, thoughts of how proud he was of his students, especially those graduating soon. Even the basil leaves contained Hob's thoughts, each carefully placed on the pizza, wondering if Dream would like it.

Dream gulped.

"Good?" Hob asked. He was smiling, but Dream spotted a bit of worry on the lines in his crow's feet.

"It is," Dream tried to find a sufficient word, but ended up echoing Hob, "good."

Dream watched Hob's shoulders loosen.

"Good. Great," Hob said, grinning, fully this time.

Dream felt his own chest tighten. He stifled the feeling with more of the pizza instead, and listened to Hob launch into how finals week went.

Maybe later in the night, wine-drunk, Dream would tell Hob of what happened recently. But right now, he was content to eat, and drink, and listen to his friend.

#i think sometimes dream could use a little bit of a good time. as a treat #and i think he has a different relationship with and perception of food. idk. for fun #sandman #dreamling #*my fic #*#wintersmitth #this went longer than i thought it would im So Sorry #i didn't know how to end it. Help #i might continue it? idk what to do with this anymore. LMFAO #i hope you are doing well!#spotify wrapped #ask

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mlobsters · 6 months

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supernatural s12e8 lotus (w. eugenie ross-leming, brad buckner)

i wanted to revisit that little lucifer!vince meltdown in 12x07 because i thought maybe i was too high to parse what was happening or something. i definitely misunderstood something, but the emotional content still doesn't make sense to me. anyway, details about partial confusion resolution

i didn't think anything was gonna top the leviathans in most loathed (but more in a boring way) villain but british men of letters are bringing the eye rolling heat.

CROWLEY Lucifer's not content with slutting it from one random vessel to the next. He's moving on to blue chips—celebrities, captains of industry. He just got a lot more dangerous. CASTIEL I agree with Agent Zappa. DEAN Oh, will you stop?

i laughed but like, it'd be more fun if cas was trying to rile him up instead of being in clueless robot mode. feels like we get a different cas every episode

there is something amusing about crossing this trope of the catholic church getting infiltrated by the devil and they try to exorcise him with the spn universe where lucifer and exorcism is all a very different kind of beast.

and now he's in the president, of course. they really have defanged lucifer. now he's getting the cartoon villain treatment too. mark played him on this edge of charisma and creepy and ... actually scary, in a way that he felt like a real, solid threat. who had done awful, awful things to our sam specifically, that left him deeply traumatized. anyway, it's not just switching actors, but this story they're wedging him into.

swift kick to the gut while i'm sitting here musing on a president leading a morning prayer that this aired in december 2016.

LUCIFER It's almost like I've never done that before.

???????

i also had a visceral hate of the rape references/"jokes" lucifer repeatedly made to sam (were they all hallucifer? imagine so) this makes ZERO sense. and also, what the fuck, is this a sitcom? oh the literal devil is feeling offkilter because he's just had sex for the first time teehee aww. WHAT

SAM Crowley, can we just get the damn news without the drama? CROWLEY Can I get you without the flannel? No. Still, I endure.

lol good one, crowley

look at me not overreacting about sam sneaking off to make an aborted phone call and trying to hide it. why the fuck is he calling the bad mol people though...???

having serious dick roman flashbacks with this lucifer plotline.

CASTIEL There's been a massive surge in celestial energy. A Nephilim is come into being. It's the offspring of an angel and a human. DEAN And that's big news? CASTIEL Yes, but the power to produce this is immense. It's much, much greater than a typical angel. SAM Lucifer. DEAN W— Lucifer? I didn't know he was dating.

again, are we in a sitcom? tone of the episode is really not meshing with the jokes they're going for, for me. is this gonna be the nephilim i've heard of?

SAM Do we have a plan? DEAN Impeach LOTUS and find Rosemary's Baby.

oh, silly me. i was thinking lotus the car brand, thought the episode might have some car-slant. lucifer of the united states 🥴

seeing them clearly in the car, outside, makes me realize just how much of the driving shown is at night (for production reasons, obviously)

required hair appreciation note. maybe i had to slog through some truly atrocious haircuts/styles and sideburns to fully appreciate getting here

god. i have such a kneejerk queasy reaction to take five by dave brubeck. my brief stint (during a really Bad Time in my life) at university i would kill time between classes at a place near this cd shop on campus. they played take five over and over and over and over. it's a great piece of music but it still immediately throws me back into this really miserable headspace.

that said, i do think it was used well in this scene. and that was a really good little action sequence, nice tight pacing. sam and dean's reaction to the explosion was really good and it felt like they were right there (and magically baby did not get damaged by the explosion right in her face). cas standing in front of it, unbothered, cliche but still fun. but then fucko had to start talking and i mentally checked out.

coulda had fucko drive up in a lotus but no, bentley 😔 probably harder to obtain a lotus in whatever, vancouver

hurray sam's furtive phone call to bad people already addressed in the same episode.

introducing all sorts of goofy ass weapons. sure, why not

is there a snappy name for this team-up?

CASTIEL The thing inside you, it's unholy. It's an abomination.

great. surely she's gonna want to keep the lucifer!baby then

the magical egg scene went on way too long. i guess it was supposed to be high stakes zapping lucifer back to the cage but god it's just all so not.

i really love how crowley's teleportation is silent, no vfx other than cutting so he's just gone. it's surprisingly effective. anyway, kind of hoping they can work out their problems. good pair

the whole dean being somewhat in awe that they got lucifer felt... i dunno. like ok so is this when we find out he didn't actually end up in the cage?

uh. why are dean and sam there just hanging out with the president? and getting arrested? what. great. my fave.

#supernatural #spnwatch #spn 12x08 #sam's hair #spn clip #dave brubeck #kinda veered into #spnwhinge

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mamthew · 8 months

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I replayed Tales of Zestiria. It took 70 hours and the post-game DLC chapter took another 6.

Tales of Zestiria released at a time when I was big enough into Tales that I pre-ordered Special Editions and asked Gamestop employees if I could keep promotional posters after they were done with them (I still have the posters for Graces and Xillia). This means that Zestiria, as a Tales game on the brand-new PS4 hardware, had me vibrating with excitement and set me back over a hundred dollars. To call the game a disappointment would be underselling it. I skipped meals to afford this game and then couldn't bring myself to bother opening the Blu-ray movie that was packaged in the Special Edition, or to preorder the prequel, Tales of Berseria, two years later. Zestiria was inescapably bad.

Still, I'd expected to come away from this replay a decade later with a new appreciation for the game. I'm better at analyzing art now than I was then, and even bad art can have something interesting to say, even by accident. But the further I dug into this playthrough (which cost me an extra fucking $60, by the way, because my original disc has gone missing and i guess namco cant be bothered to lower their prices on 2015 offerings), the more appalled I was at Zestiria's lack of quality assurance, cut corners, bland story, and infuriating systems. Every Tales game has its fair share of jank. With Zestiria, the publishers clearly assumed this this meant Tales fans' jank threshold is through the sky. And given its 9/10 Steam rating, maybe they guessed correctly.

The best Tales games deconstruct genre tropes by first presenting those tropes at face value, then turning them on their heads halfway in. Symphonia is probably still the clearest example of this, as its Chosen One pilgrimage is revealed to hide something much bigger and more sinister behind it, but most games in the main series do this both with their main story and with one or more party members' individual arcs. The idea behind Zestiria and its prequel Berseria was a novel take on this series staple: have Team Destiny make a game with a doggedly cliche story and have Team Symphonia follow it up with a whole-ass game that turns all those cliches on their heads. I really appreciate this initial idea, and it actually works pretty well, still; Zestiria's story and characters are noticeably more complex and interesting after you've played Berseria and gotten that context.

But. Zestiria is a worse game than Berseria, by far. Once I'd played Berseria, replaying Zestiria to catch the new context was a massive chore, with its frustrating battle system, terrible area design, worse dungeons, and bland characters. It's easy to play Phantasia after its stealth prequel, Symphonia, because Phantasia PSX is fun and polished, and the areas where it is dated don't invite immediate comparison to the same areas in Symphonia. But Zestiria is unfun and unpolished and released only two years before Berseria on the same hardware. Zestiria's status as a sequel is simultaneously the most interesting thing about it and something that makes it even more inexcusable. While I don't know anything about the development of the two games, I can't help but wonder if the existence of Berseria is part of the reason why Zestiria feels so rushed and unfinished. They couldn't release Berseria first without ruining the whole point of the games' connection, for both of them. So if one game was going to have to drop on a strict deadline it would be Zestiria, the more cliche entry that allows for Berseria to function as a deconstruction. Now, though, 6-8 years later, it just means that only one of the two games in this legitimately cool experiment is actually worth a replay.

On its own merits, Zestiria's story is just a cliche. Sorey, our protagonist, is a human raised by Seraphs, elemental spirits invisible to most people. Because Sorey can see Seraphs, he takes on the role of Shepherd, a Chosen One religious figure that historically works with Seraphs to beat back the evil Lord of Calamity every time a new one crops up. He collects a team of Seraphs along with a human whom he gifts with the ability to work with him, and together the crew "purifies" "malevolence" by fighting monsters. At the end, he purifies the Lord of Calamity, sacrificing his friends and/or himself and/or his time (it's unclear, both accidentally and deliberately) to do so, thus saving the world. There's a few more wrinkles than that, but generally it's a fairly simple story. The neatest thing about it, actually, is that Sorey's Seraph friends can turn into weapons for him when they fuse with him, which is a fun reference to Tales of Destiny, a game in which certain characters had magical talking swords that only a select few people could hear.

It gets ideologically...troubled, though, when it comes to the concept of malevolence. In the world of Zestiria, feeling negative emotions can turn living things (and somehow also some inanimate objects) into monsters called hellions that serve the Lord of Calamity, which is essentially the being with the most malevolence in the world. By fighting those monsters Sorey can usually return them to their normal selves, unless they're "too" malevolent or they like their malevolence somehow and refuse to turn back, and he's forced to kill them. Malevolence isn't necessarily generated by doing bad things, it's generated by the negative emotions themselves. Someone doing bad things who think they're doing them for the right reason won't turn. Someone doing good but resentful of the fact that there's a systemic shortcoming requiring that they fill this need will turn. This essentially cordons off a chunk of the range of human emotions as "the bad ones," thus generally denying them to all the characters we're supposed to care about.

Every time Sorey gets frustrated by an injustice or his inability to help someone as much as he'd like, he's cautioned to stop feeling that way, or he might turn and in so doing, force all of his friends to turn too. And while plenty of good people turn, they can't be reasoned with until they've been purified, and their emotions reset. They do a few interesting things with this, like when Sorey must maintain a sort of radical empathy toward the man who tortured and killed his grandfather in cold blood, while the man taunts him about having done it. But for the most part, it means that Sorey's character does not really develop throughout the game. He must stay friendly and approachable but stoic and incorruptible because the story's stakes if he falls are so high that the writers can't let that happen. The intent here is to frame hellions as one thing so that when Berseria features a protagonist who is becoming a hellion, the player's conception of the world is challenged and broadened. A more interesting story would be one in which Sorey does become a hellion and has to figure out a way to stop his friends from changing too, but that would lean too much into what Tales of Berseria does, so Sorey must stay a bastion of positive emotions for the sake of the twist, which only happened two actual real-world human years later, and not to these characters.

I think Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is a useful comparison, here. In that game, feeling despair about the impending end of the world turns people into monsters, killing them instantly. It's a metaphor for the way inaction from the feeling of helplessness at the mind-boggling scale of the problem of global climate change keeps us from trying to do anything to fix the problem; the problem of "don't despair at the end of all things or you'll end sooner" is, purposely, a paradox because our current call to action is also a paradox. The problem's too big for any one of us but we can't let ourselves think that way or it'll only get worse. But the negative emotions in Zestiria aren't also unconstructive emotions. The central theme of Berseria is that angry people get shit done, which is demonstrably true in our world too! So it feels insincere when Zestiria frames anger as a problem that must be solved before any larger problems can be handled. Especially when one character, Rose, is an assassin whose mission is to kill people who use their power to ruin the world. She doesn't become a hellion because she doesn't kill out of anger, but the question then hangs over the entire game: why does that matter? If the evil Cardinal Forton was stabbed by someone who was mad at her, she wouldn't be any less stabbed. You can easily find lots of old forum posts from back when the game released of people trying to piece together why character A was a hellion but character B never changed, and in the end, the answer is it's arbitrary. The writers decided A was too angry or sad or something and that B hadn't reached that level.

It doesn't help that the translation is pretty shoddy in places. This was an issue with localizations of Japanese games at the time. I remember the discourse around the localization of Persona 5, a good game I like a lot with powerful themes and messages about real-world issues. The localization didn't really give its characters distinctive voices and had many sentences that were nonsensical or poorly structured, to the point that the localization of Persona 5 Royal had to go through with a scapel and rewrite a number of lines for clarity and voice. Zestiria has this problem but much worse. At the end of Persona 5, I knew what the characters were fighting against and why. The cutscene before the final boss of Tales of Zestiria is so hard to parse that I found myself questioning things I'd thought I knew about the basic parameters of the story and characters. This really does a disservice to the voice actors, who work valiantly to make their characters sound distinctive and individualized through a sludge of boring words. It's especially frustrating because for the first (and I believe only) time, they got some voice actors known for their internet presence for the game, and those guys had to work twice as hard to make their roles in a seminal JRPG series memorable.

I've written this much and barely touched on the gameplay yet. One of the most frustrating things about Tales of Zestiria is that its battle system is designed after the one in Tales of Graces, the game with my favorite battle system in the series, but it's tweaked in ways that make it borderline unplayable. In Graces, regular attacks that used the attack stat were called "A Artes" while special attacks that used the magic attack stat were called "B Artes." This game keeps that differentiation, calling them instead "martial artes" and "arcane artes" and adds a third category for spells, or "seraphic artes". The game attempts a rock-paper-scissors style tier system in which martial beats seraphic, seraphic beats arcane, and arcane beats martial. In practice, this means that each type of attack can't interrupt the attack type it's weak to. And then, instead of hitting them out of casting, arcane artes speed up the cast bar of any spell users they hit. This makes arcane artes (i.e., the cool moves you use in every Tales game because they're cool) a dangerous proposition because at any time their target might start casting and get off a powerful spell instantly as a result. It also makes the bad AI of CPU characters way more dangerous, as even if you know how to stop an enemy from casting, often your partner will run over to another and help it cast faster instead.

Also, no character type has access to all three types of artes. Humans can use martial and arcane, Seraphs can use martial and seraphic, and the powerful human-seraph fused forms can use arcane and seraphic. The fusing system means that there can only be as many Seraph characters on the field as Human, so a battle party is either two characters (Sorey and one Seraph) or four (Sorey, a partner, and two Seraphs). In the many parts of the story where Sorey is traveling only with his four Seraph friends, you're stuck with a battle party of two. If a Seraph dies in battle, they can be switched out on the fly and recover over about a minute while benched. If a human dies, they can revive by fusing with their partner Seraph. Fusing is the only way to revive human characters without items, and the only way human characters can get access to healing spells, which are used by spending gauge that's built up by comboing.

This means that players are disincentivized from playing as Seraphs, as if the Seraph dies, they'll have to switch to another character they're less familiar with until their character has been benched long enough to return. It also means that human characters at their weakest right after getting revived are in a dangerous position, as fused characters can only use arcane artes, which can make enemy spells cast faster, but they have to build gauge by hitting enemies in order to get enough to spend on a heal. The system is both overly complicated and makes it difficult to claw back out if things go south. It's the result of a lot of pretty good ideas stacked together until they're getting in each others' ways.

Another collection of pretty good ideas that get in each others' ways that is then stacked on top of all the rest is the equipment and skills system. Sort of like in Tales of Vesperia, equipment can have skills attached to them. Unlike in Vesperia, however, there's no way to permanently learn the skills attached to your equipment. Once you switch to a stronger weapon or armor piece, your character loses the skills attached to their previous gear. On top of this, each skill is placed on a 5x13 (I don't remember the exact proportions) tic-tac-toe style board. If you manage to place columns, rows, or stacks of skills on this board, you get better skills. But, again, those are wiped away if you replace your gear. If you find a sword with 60 more attack but it breaks the column that raises all your stats by 20, then all your other stats suffer if you equip it. If that same sword breaks the row that improves the character's attack growth rate for level-ups, then in twenty levels your character might have worse base attack than they would have if you'd kept the crappy sword that let you hold onto that growth rate. But then, on top of that, all characters' growth rates are decided by the stats of the equipment they're wearing when they leveled up. So maybe it's a better option to just wear the strongest gear and let that improve your growth rates that way? There's no way of knowing which one helps you more. And in the short-term, you're going to have a difficult time in battle if you're using weak equipment, even if it lights up your tic-tac-toe board like a christmas tree. Then, there's also an item fusing system where you can chunk items of the same type together to combine their equipped skills. But every time you fuse two of the same item with different skills in the same slot, the resulting skill is unavailable until you fight with that item equipped for a certain number of battles. If you fuse a piece of gear with a locked skill slot, that slot disappears, making the resulting piece of gear worse, rather than better. So to actually get good enough gear options, you have to fight wearing items you fused regardless of their stats or how they fit on your tic-tac-toe board (you can't even see where a locked skill will go on the board until you've unlocked it).

So you have to wear bad gear sometimes and some of that bad gear is going to affect your stat growths during levels, and suddenly this is three different decent ideas combined into a terrible chimera of a gear system. This makes equipment management for the six (sometimes seven) party members an agonizing process that often easily takes twenty minutes to slog through every time you get a new piece of equipment or visit a shop. There's even more complexity to this gear system than I've brought up here, but I'm exhausted just talking about it, so let's move on.

So we've got an equipment system that's overly complex and often contradictory in its modes of engagement, grafted onto a battle system that's engaging and occasionally interesting but unintentionally punishing and limiting. And all this is presented through the jankiest engine and worst art direction in the series. Zestiria is graphically ugly and runs like a nightmare, with a stuttering frame rate, a tiny draw distance, and bland, same-y environments. The developers had the idea of having battles take place on the main map, rather than placing them in separate flat arenas like in other Tales games, and while this makes sense in theory, in practice it means that the camera is actually hellish, often getting stuck on setpieces or other characters, or just...the idea of a slope. Dungeons are designed with this in mind, as nearly all of them are made up of thin corridors between large rooms where the enemies are placed, but enemies will follow the player character without ever giving up or tiring, often at a slightly faster pace than the player character. Enemies grouped together result in longer and more difficult encounters, where more enemies keep entering to replace the ones you dispatch.

If, for example, you're 50 hours into a game and trying to get to the next room of a dungeon without a fight, but all three enemies in a room catch up to you in a narrow hallway, then you're stuck fighting twenty enemies in groups of five at a time while the camera resolutely stares directly at the wall behind your character and at any time one or five of them might start casting a spell, which the partner character might speed up with an arcane art, and then the party's dead and you lost all the gameplay that got you to that point. While this is a worst case scenario that only happened to me a handful of times this playthrough, any combination of these issues plague nearly every enemy encounter in the game.

The six-hour DLC, which is really just a single 11-floor dungeon with fusing (and therefore player one's healing and reviving capabilities) removed, which provides no new story information, makes these issues even more apparent, and frustrating. A pathway up to the eighth floor is locked behind a hidden door on a wall on the sixth floor with three purple dots on it. The whole dungeon is tinged with a purple haze, so these dots are hard to make out, and it's made harder by the constant stream of enemies chasing you through the dungeon without stopping. In most of the game, if you fight an enemy, then all nearby enemies disappear when you finish the fight. In the DLC, though, they show right back up while you're recovering and keep chasing you, meaning you can get five to six encounters in a row with no chance to get your bearings, all while hunting for three small purple dots on a wall somewhere in a purple dungeon. It was clearly purposely designed this way to try to wring more time out of a miniscule DLC, and it worked, as I spent at least two of my six hours with that DLC just scouring the same three floors for that hidden door. That DLC was on release - and still is - ten whole dollars.

It's impossible not to have to grapple with the realization that Bandai-Namco forced this game to be bad. The game needed more development time that it did not get. The game needed more QA testing or, more likely, to actually respond to feedback received from testers. The game needed better localizers or, more likely, localizers with enough time to put the script through a few drafts before finalizing it. The game didn't need DLC, the DLC it got didn't need to be six hours long, and it definitely should never have been $10. The game itself should not be $60 now in the year of our lord 2023. And none of this is because Team Destiny said "let's make the game bad and expensive and frustrating." It's because someone higher up in the decision-making process said "I don't give a shit if the game is bad and expensive and frustrating." Tales of Xillia feels like it was made to be a benchmark of quality for the series. Tales of Zestiria proves that the developers were not being given the time or resources necessary to meet that benchmark. We'll see if we get another utter failure like Zestiria after Arise, or if they manage to maintain the new benchmark Arise has set. But knowing Bandai, I'm nervous about which way that's likely to fall.

Oh, the music's pretty good, though. Like six tracks in the game are really good and the rest is bad to fine, which is better than the vast majority of the series. Get Go Shiina to compose for more Tales games, please.

#tales of series #tales of zestiria

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