Hello! I really loved your angsty breakup hcs with the brothers, but they also made me sad and in need of fluff. If it’s not too much of a bother, can we get some fluffy hcs of MC coming back to the boys and getting back together? Not out of like desperation but because MC truly loves them, ya know? Thank you love!

Gladly - I do love a happy ending 💜I have to apologize though, as much as I tried, there is still some angst in this fluff. 

(also this post is a loose continuation of the break up post - 

https://purrplewitches.tumblr.com/post/190833802315/angst-hc-request-how-would-the-brothers-react with one difference being that MC hasn’t left devildom)

Lucifer: 

Lucifer is definitely not the man to forgive easily, but after MC learns truth about Lilith and, thus the reason behind his loyalty to Diablo, they want to apologize and Lucifer is willing to hear them out. 

The conversation is a tough one, since Lucifer was greatly hurt by the lack of trust. However, he is still deeply in love with MC and also understands in the back of his mind that, perhaps, all this could have been avoided if he had trusted them more, Lucifer and MC reconcile. 

They don’t get back together right away - it takes some time. 

Lucifer and MC both understand that he secrets can tear them apart yet again, so they spend a lot of time together talking about things - important and not so important, just so there is no secrets between them. 

One evening they are sitting in Lucifer’s room and talking, and MC suddenly finds themselves quite tired, since it’s late at night - and doesn’t even realize that they fall asleep. The next morning they wake up in Lucifer’s bed, clearly tucked in by him. Lucifer is not there, but MC cannot help but smile.

Somehow it seems that they are falling in love all anew. MC and Lucifer both find their hearts fluttering with anticipation of upcoming meetings and a mere brush of hand against hand causes all sorts of happy feelings. 

It still takes a while before they kiss for the first time after the break up. 

One day they were returning from the academy together, and, when they were parting, MC kissed him out of habit. For a moment, MC was all shy and embarrassed, but, apparently, this kiss was quite welcome because Lucifer immediately pulled them in for another kiss. 

This time, the next levels of physical intimacy happen much slower than the last time, though that does not stop Lucifer and MC from sharing many many cuddles as they spend time together in his room.

When it finally happens it is significantly less passion-driven than last time and more of a making love. They greatly enjoy getting cuddly afterwards.

After they are once again officially in a relationship, Lucifer suddenly finds himself pondering next steps (aka marriage). A part of him wants to tie their fates together so that they cannot part again like they did last time. 

He knows that may scare MC though, so he shows a lot of patience.

Mammon:

When MC comes back to apologize for calling him unreliable, Mammon doesn’t want to hear it. Of course he does.  But, luckily MC is persistent, and in the end he gives in, letting them apologize and tell him that they were being unfair. 

He is still tremendously hurt over break up, but he is so in love with MC and needs their emotional support, that he does not have the heart to tell them to leave him be.

It takes some time before Mammon can relax around MC again, but seeing how they are making an effort to make amends, he tries. After a while, he feels more comfortable in their company. 

MC is the one who initiates the conversation about getting back together. Mammon is reluctant at first, seeing as they called him unreliable, but since he loves them so much, he cannot bear not being together. And no the thought that MC will date someone else doesn’t play at all into his thought process. 

Though he is supremely excited about being back together with MC probably wants to take things super slow, because there is still a worry in him about getting hurt. 

Even still, he actually finds out that he cannot take it slow - when MC is next to him, he wants to hug them, kiss them, feel them. 

Likely goes through the second “honeymoon period”, where he blushes profusely when MC touches his hand or turns into a blushing, stuttering mess when they are wearing something revealing. 

Cuddle time for days! That was one of the things he missed about the relationship and now being able to hold MC in his hands feels completely magical. 

Eventually he moves on from the hurt of the break up and becomes his old self. 

The first time that he and MC sleep together after making up, he feels nervous, as if it is their first time, but everything turns out well and that makes him so, so happy. 

Never wants to leave MC’s side after they completely reconcile. Promises to try and be more considerate and reliable, but his heart soars when he hears that MC loves him exactly like he is. 

Leviathan

When MC wants to apologize for their harsh words, Levi acts like he does not care. “Of course a normie like you would not understand”. However, he cares very much, and it is very important to him that MC apologized. 

Takes his time before he allows her to hang out with him again - he still remembers the negative things she said about his anime and video games, so he is worried that they will be bored around him. 

However, eventually, he needs a second player for one of his games and the only person who is available is MC, so he invites them to play with him. As they play together, he remembers how nice and easy it was to spend time together, and he finds himself missing the happier times of their relationships more. 

The more they hang out, the more he wants to get back together - he knows he’d never felt that way about anyone and is sure that he’ll never feel this way about anyone ever again. 

He wouldn’t dream of asking MC to be his s/o though, since the break up is still fresh in his memory - he still thinks that he does not deserve them - so MC will have to be the one to bring up the subject. 

When MC brings up the subject, Levi, at first, gets all insecure, just like the last time, thinking that they were joking. When he finds out that they were not, he gets serious and tells MC that he would only get back with them if MC promised to accept him and his anime, manga, video games etc.

Once he secures the promise, he agrees to a relationship. 

Just like the first time around, Levi is super awkward when it comes to showing any kind of physical affection, and he blushes even when something as minor as MC’s hand brushing his happens, but still he is happy. 

He is a little guarded at first, but he has never felt as at ease with anyone as he did with MC, so he let’s his “defenses” down. 

Their first kiss after getting back together is just like their first kiss before they started dating the previous time - almost accidental, brief, a little awkward, but painfully sweet. 

It takes a while for Levi to work up the courage to sleep with MC, but eventually he does. He greatly enjoys the cuddles that they share afterwards - he really missed those. 

Like Lucifer, Levi is considering proposing marriage to MC (also secretly, since he thinks it might scare them off) and even had began researching the perfect wedding - mostly through watching romance anime and reading romance manga,  

Satan

At first, Satan does not want to talk about it - MC rejected his love and left him, what else is there to talk about. Only a certain part of him keeps telling him, that, perhaps, she had a reason, and eventually he gives in and has a conversation with them. 

So then, after MC apologizes, Satan feels confused - normally, he does not really accept apologies, but this case is different. Somehow hearing them apologize makes him feel worse - mostly because he knows that his anger issues are, in fact, pretty bad. 

So then he tells MC that there is no need to apologize. MC still insists, and, despite himself, Satan starts feeling better. 

Healing is a slow process for him and he is reluctant to spend time around MC - both because they hurt him and also because he is nervous about accidentally losing control of his temper. MC gives him space, however, but is always open if he wants to spend time with her and that calms him down a little bit. 

The whole process of getting Satan to trust MC again is kind of like trying to make friends with a stray cat to try and adopt it - MC and Satan can be often found reading in the living room of the house of lamentation. They are not quite sitting together, but they are still pretty close to each other. 

Satan realizes just how much he misses MC when they start discussing books again. It’s always exciting and the conversations usually last into wee hours of the morning. 

It takes a while, but Satan realizes that he wants to get back together - the only problem is that he is too proud to admit it. 

But then one evening, they are sitting next to each other on the couch and reading, and MC says that they want to go to sleep, and out of habit Satan finds himself kissing them goodnight. It scares him - both how goos and how natural it feels. 

He is unsure on how to proceed, but MC gets ahead of him the very next day by asking if he would like to get back together. 

They have a serious conversation, during which Satan admits that he will likely always have quite a bit of a temper, and MC tells him that they love him anyways - and that they deeply regret ever leaving him. 

They take it slow when it comes to the relationship, but Satan would be lying if he said that he did not utterly and completely miss cuddling with MC on the couch as both of them are reading. 

So yes, once they get back together, they spend quite a bit of time cuddling while reading. They are a little bit slower with other forms of physical affection - it takes about a week before they share another kiss and slightly over a month before they become intimate with each other again. 

As he holds MC in his arms, Satan does not understand how he let them go so easily - how he did not fight for the relationship, when the thought of being without them is utterly and completely terrifying. 

Asmodeus

Asmo doesn’t really want to talk about the break up - he was quite hurt by the implication that being an avatar of lust will make him cheat on MC - and he tries to play it off as if it’s nothing serious. 

“There’s no need for a “serious conversation” darling. If you miss this perfect body you just need to say so - and I’ll be there in a heartbeat,” he smiles and winks at MC, even though his heart hurts.

Still, when MC insists, he agrees to hear them out. The memory of the break up conversation hurts, but when MC apologizes, somehow it feels slightly better. 

Asmo feels bad about getting back together though - he’d love to, but he went on such a binge when it came to one-night stands, that he was not sure if MC would want him anymore. So to see if MC was actually meant it when they apologized, he decides to come clean and talk about his escapades. 

He can tell MC is not quite enjoying the story, but in the end they tell him that they understand and accept that. Asmo’s heart leaps, though he tries not to show it - there are two things he craves the most emotionally - that is, being loved and being accepted. 

Asmodeus would love to take it slow, BUT HE JUST CANNOT. So he asks MC pretty much immediately if they’d like to get back together. 

Is very elated when MC accepts - and cuddles ensue. He does not want to let go of MC at all until at least the end of the day. 

A part of him is still slightly sad about the break up, so he finds it hard to completely let his guard down. 

Luckily, MC is much better at taking him slow, and the fact that they simply spend time with him and listen to him talk about whatever it is he likes to talk, his heart feels full. 

Their first kiss as a new couple feels super special. Asmo cannot remember the last time he cared this much about being kissed, but his heart is fluttering in his chest. 

Absolutely refuses to sleep if MC and him are not in the same bed. Though they do not become intimate right away, he still enjoys the soft cuddles while they sleep. 

Asmo is probably ready to “take it to the next level” once again much sooner than his other brothers. When they do, he is so overwhelmed with happiness that he never wants to let MC go again and even begins to wondering how he’d ever slept with someone else after feeling what it was like to sleep with MC.

Wants to show MC that he is committed and will stay loyal - decides to find out more about the ways human communicate that intent. Gets advice from Solomon, that getting married to MC will likely show them exactly that. Poor Asmo does not pick up on the fact that Solomon seems highly...amused when he gives his answer.

Goes ahead and proposes to MC, who, though very much in love with him, explains that marriage is not necessary for commitment for humans. 

Finds himself confused and happy as MC kisses him and then pulls him to the bed after the failed proposal. 

Beelzebub

This boy cannot hold a grudge to save his life, so when MC tells him that they want to talk about the break up and apologize, he can hardly hide just how happy he is. 

He wants to get back together, he really does, but a part of him is worried that they won’t want to. 

So it takes him a few days to work up the courage, but them he asks them, and when they gladly accept his heart feels so full. 

He is still a little bit worried though, since the reason for the break up was his eating and he certainly had not started eating any less. 

But his fears are quickly calmed when MC tells him that they don’t actually mind and did not mean when she said. To demonstrate him that, they try to make his favorite food for him, which Bell greatly appreciates. 

He is so happy to be back together with them - he missed them so so much. 

Cuddles galore, all day every day. Beel just wants to snuggle to MC, happy to be together with them once again. 

Unlike some of his brothers, he has less reservations about physical intimacy with MC. 

Still, before they kiss for the “first” time, Beel finds himself worrying, but the worry melts away when he can feel MC in his embrace, their lips warm and soft against his. 

He wants all the kisses. He almost forgot how much he liked being kissed by MC, but now that he had this other kiss, he knows he needs it. 

Is very gentle with MC when they are intimate for the first time after getting back together. When MC tells him that they are not, in fact, made of glass, Beel finds himself laughing happily because he remembers that that was exactly what MC told him the first time they slept together. 

After they get back together, Beel tries to spend as much time with MC as possible every day. 

Makes an effort to get involved into MC’s hobbies - like he knows that they cook for him because they know just how much he loves to eat, so he tries to do something for them that they like. 

Laughs happily when Belphie complains that he did not sign up for two roommates, but doesn’t change a thing - he wants to be with MC all the time. When MC suggests that they should maybe be spending time in MC’s room, Beel insists that he wants to spend time with both MC and Belphie.

Beel wakes up early in the morning and enjoys lying in bed watching MC sleep next to him - he does it even after they’ve been together for a while. It makes his heart so full to see MC next to him, so happy and comfortable 

Belphegor

At first he doesn’t want to hear it - any of it, he is still angry at MC for breaking up with him. However, the MC is insistent, and at a certain point Belphie just becomes too lazy to resist. It is much easier to just let them speak and be done with it when, suddenly, MC decides to apologize to him.

That he did not expect, not at all, so Belphie is taken aback. He cannot say that he is unhappy about receiving the apology, but he is somewhat apprehensive - after all, what MC said had hurt him, they cannot just take it back. 

Nonetheless, he really likes MC, so he accepts the apology. He does not quite trust them, not yet, but that does not mean that he doesn’t want to be around them. 

They spend some time together in the attic, and Belphie finds himself falling for MC again - it is so easy to spend time with them, it feels so natural. He does not want to admit to it though. 

One day he learns from Beel that MC wants to ask him about maybe getting back together. 

When MC asks him, he anticipates it and does not give the answer right away - a part of him wants to see MC squirm. 

Nonetheless in the end he agrees - he does want to be with them, after all. 

Once they are back together, Belphie finds himself rather happy - after all, he missed the morning, afternoon, evening and night cuddles that he received from MC.

Belphie does his best to make up for all the time that they were apart by cuddling MC all the time. 

The first few days after they get back togehter they barely leave the attic - to busy snuggling and napping. His brothers even make jokes about it, but Belphie just scoffs - him and MC have not actually been intimate since they had gotten back together yet, they simply have been enjoying some good, old-fashioned cuddles. 

Belphie feels his heart flutter when MC wakes him up one morning by showering his face with little kisses - just the way they used to wake him up before the break up happened. 

Belphie makes an effort to put more effort into a relationship. Though he likes nothing better than naps and cuddles, he knows that sometimes MC likes going places, so he makes sure to accompany them, even if he is feeling like napping, because he finds himself realizing that MC’s happiness is more important to him than all the naps in the world. 

My FanFic compilation

I figured I have written quite a lot over the years and especially this year, that putting together something like this, that has everything I’ve written so far in one place all organized would be a good idea! So please! Enjoy!

There’s quite a lot so they’ll all be listed under the read more, They’re all organized by series (fairy tail, swtor, mass effect, dragon age, greedfall, anthem, and smut fics) as well as by pair with a short description, starting with the first fic I wrote (fairy tail) and the latest (fictober 2020 prompts)  :D

Fairy Tail: (Leading off with this because it’s my first ever fic) -Shall We Dance, Pair: Laxus/Lucy: 38 chapters, Finished https://archiveofourown.org/works/4351550/chapters/9870611

Swtor: Main fic: -Breaking the Bad News (aka BTBN), multi-pair, main focus is shan trio: currently 70 chapters, Ongoing. https://archiveofourown.org/works/9340892/chapters/21164699

Side Fics: Kara Hawke’s Backstory(s):

Pre-Class story: -A Smuggler’s Tyr, no pairing, intro to Kara’s first crew: Currently 1 chapter, Complete (Might add more eventually)

During Class Story: -Adventure of a Lifetime, no pairing focus but will mention Darmas, meant to build on what we have of the in game class story: Currently 1 chapter, hiatus (plan to work on more with 2021)

Post Class Story: -Hawke Legacy: While Kara Sleeps, mentioned Theron/Kara, focus’s on Koro delivering the news of Marr’s ship being attacked to Theron. 1 chapter, Complete -Downtime, Theron/Kara, Post arrival on Odessen but prior to chapter 9 on kotfe, 1 chapter, complete -Desert Reunion, Theron/Kara, Introducing Kara’s dad and bringing him into the Alliance, 3 chapters, complete -A Moment, Theron/Kara, but starting to poke at the idea of Arcann being involved, 1 chapter, complete

Prompts: -Fictober 2018, day 1: Can you feel this?, Kara/Arcann/Theron, post-umbara/pre-copero so theron’s only mentioned -Fictober 2018, day 3: How can I trust you?, Kara/Arcann/Theron, post-Nathema, and a bit on the trio +kids, dealing with Theron’s return -Fictober 2018, day 5: Take what you need, mentioned Kara/Caleb (her first husband from her original crew), takes place before the class stories, short story about a job she had done -Fictober 2018, day 6: I’ve heard enough, this ends now. Kara/Arcann (sometime pre-nathema so sorry Theron’s not really in this one), bit of covering a reoccuring nightmare Kara had for a few months -Fictober 2018, day 7: No Worries, we still have time, Kara/Arcann/Theron (Arcann’s not present tho, just mentioned), little bit of the pair of workaholics +kids taking a break -Fictober 2018, day 12/13: Who could do this/Try harder next time, Kara/Arcann/Theron & Koren/Trey (Will have this in both pairs), sometime post-nathema probably, little adventure with Kara involving having to save her sons -Prompt: I Care about You, Theron/Kara, little bit of a rebuild of their kotfe reuinion -Prompt: Come Cuddle, Kara/Arcann/Theron, Short fluff story of one of their movie nights with some bad jokes -Promptless idea: Arcann Singing, Kara/Arcann/Theron, I’ve always had this idea that Arcann can sing at least as well as Senya does, so here’s a bit of him singing to kara’s boys, and also kara. -Fictober 2019, day 2: Just Follow me, I know the area, Kara/Arcann mainly, post onslaught so Theron’s involved but just not featured in this prompt. Little bit of a romantic night out. -Fictober 2019, day 3: Now? Now you listen to me?, Kara/Arcann/Theron, follow-up to the fictober 2018 day 6 prompt, and resolution to the chronic nightmares Kara was having -Fictober 2020, day 7: Yes I did, what about it?, Kara/Arcann/Theron, post-nathema, small bit of theron and kara heart to heart about a choice she made (involving Valss because I’m still bitter we didn’t get a save option for him) and both prosthetic users in the trio are sore (maybe there’s a storm moving in) -Fictober 2020, day 15: Not interested, thank you, Kara/Arcann/Theron (Arcann isn’t present for this), one of a handful of reminders that Kara and Theron are parents, connor just really wants to make his lightsaber -Fictober 2020, day 18: You don’t see it?, Kara/Arcann/Theron (post umbara pre Nathema so theron is only mentioned), something of a pep-talk from arcann.

Nora Hawke/Mikael Hawke: -That Time Back When We First Met, backstory on how my sith warrior and pub trooper met before they started their relationship: currently 2 chapters, hiatus (plan to work on more with 2021) -Fictober 2018, day 4: Will that be all?, little bit after they first met, can be considered a continuation chapter... technically

Koren Gates/Trey Hawke: -Fictober 2018, day 2: People Like you have no imagination, Koren/Trey & Shey/Torian (will put it for both pairs), little adventure of my bounty hunter squad +sith BF -Fictober 2018, day 12/13: Who could do this/Try harder next time, Kara/Arcann/Theron & Koren/Trey (Will have this in both pairs), sometime post-nathema probably, little adventure with Kara involving having to save her sons -Fictober 2020, day 13: I missed this, Koren/Trey, bit of fluff between my overly caring hunter who could use a day off and his grump of a sith boyfriend. -Fictober 2020, day 28: Do I have to do everything here?, Kara/Arcann/Theron, Arcann and Koth decide to play a co-op holonet game, with only minor arguing. -Fictober 2020, day 30: Just say it, Kara/Arcann/Theron, Kara gets a little time to herself and the trio’s weekly movie night ends up being a bit more than just the three of them.

Shey Shen/Torian Cadera: -Fictober 2018, day 2: People Like you have no imagination, Koren/Trey & Shey/Torian (will put it for both pairs), little adventure of my bounty hunter squad +sith BF -Prompt: I’m Right Where I Belong, Shey/Torian sometime post kotet, a rare time that I bring up the fact that she has amnesia and still can’t remember anything prior to about 2 years prior to the class stories starting. -Prompt: ... out of habit (kiss), former Shey/Koro mention as well as Shey/Torian, because Koro is a mess and while him and Shey have been divorced for years habits die hard. -Fictober 2020, day 8: I’m not doing that again, Shey/Torian & Kurana/Andronikos (will be under both pairs), Little bit of a fun idea of who would win in a fight, our dear pirate or mando

Kurana Knight/Andronikos Revel: -Prompt: One Falling Asleep with their head in the other’s lap, Kurana/Andronikos, I keep thinking of this prompt now and then because writing Niko being soft for his wife is a lot of fun. -Fictober 2020, day 8: I’m not doing that again, Shey/Torian & Kurana/Andronikos (will be under both pairs), Little bit of a fun idea of who would win in a fight, our dear pirate or mando

Lyra Hawke/Doc: -Fictober 2020, day 1: No, Come Back!, Lyra/Doc, little adventure on an unnamed planet that I honestly love the idea of -Fictober 2020, day 6: That was Impressive, Lyra/Doc, Another little adventure of information gathering featuring Kara’s youngest son, Connor. -Fictober 2020, day 22: And neither should you, Lyra/Doc, little bit of fluff and doc trying to get his wife to take a day off

Ren Hawke/Vinn Atrius: -Fictober 2020, day 9: Will you Look at this?, Ren/Vinn, I need to write more of them outside of btbn so this was a start to hopefully more building on my didn’t plan to ship this as strongly as I ended up doing pair.

Ava Reiner/Jonas Balkar: -Fictober 2020, day 20: Did I ask?, Ava/Jonas, Small job featuring a couple of SIS agents, and including a bounty hunter I got attached to in a hurry.

Kyri Dennan/Arn Peralun: -Fictober 2020, day 21: This, this makes it all worth it, Kyri/Arn, little build up for another pair that I didn’t expect to get attached to, featuring some implant maintanence.

Airi/Theron (one off because disaster spy/spy pairing I had to write at least once): -Admittance, 1 chapter, complete

WoW: Aulara Stormdawn/Kieran Grimmarrow: -Lunar Eclipse, (Technically my first fic but I didn’t post it until after Shall We Dance), A story involving Aulara (an orphaned night elf priestess), Koren Haven (her brother from the orphanage, a human paladin), Kieran (a blood elf noble, hunter who doesn’t have much people skills), and the friends they meet including Rokar an old orc shaman and Sen a orc huntress, that navigates through the warcraft story starting with vanilla wow. Currently 7 chapters, on hiatus but planning on picking it up again in 2021! -Fictober 2020, day 4: That didn’t stop you before, Aulara/Kieran, A quest during Legion and a bit of a flashback from one of their first quests together around when they first started fighting side by side during BC -Fictober 2020, day 25: Sometimes you can even see, Aulara/Kieran, The burning of Teldrassil and Kieran deciding he’s willing to risk everything he’s ever known to be with his wife. Koren is there to give him a hand. -Fictober 2020, day 26: How about you trust me for once?, Aulara/Kieran, early BC before they became a couple, Kieran and Aulara get a moment to talk alone in Nagrand, involves something close to an awkward confession. >:3

Shey Wrynn/Varian Wrynn: -Prompt: Are you testing me?, Shey/Varian, post WoD but pre-Legion, little walk through elwynn turning into an adventure between the king and his wife, Shey is not amused when he charges in head first. -Fictober 2020, day 2: That’s the easy part, Shey/Varian, mid to late WoD, bit of fluff while planning the push towards hellfire citadel, bit of fluff and bit of proposal.  >:3 -Fictober 2020, day 10: All I ever wanted, Shey/Varian, post-BFA Pre-Shadowlands, proof I can write at least a little bit angsty, some platonic Shey & Anduin. -Fictober 2020, day 16: I never wanted anything else, Shey/Varian, something short around late Cata early MoP involving Shey having a birthday. -Fictober 2020, day 27: Give me that, Shey/Varian, probably what I consider the most ooc i’ve written him but honestly i had a lot of fun writing them being dorks. -Fictober 2020, day 31: I trust you, Shey/Varian, sometime early Cata soon after they started a relationship. The one and probably only time I’ll ever mention Shey’s old house, and a touch on the fact that i’m 100% certain that Varian would try and sneak out of the city time to time.

Shey & Anduin (platonic, it’s always platonic/familial between them) -Fictober 2020, day 19: I can’t do this anymore, Shey & Anduin, because sometimes a girl just needs to sneak her son out of the city to give him a break and maybe check out a ruin or something.

Shey Wrynn/Aethas Sunreaver: -Prompt: By your side, Shey/Aethas. Post legion, a bit of a moment between them early BFA. I started writing them as a potential pair before settling as friends with benefits that might form into more, so this is a possible hinting at them becoming “more”

Mass Effect: John Shepard/Kaidan Alenko: -Prompt: War’s End Kiss, Shenko, Post ME3 when they’re just a couple of retired old soldiers and John’s slowly recovering from his injuries from the final push. -Fictober 2019, day 4: I know you didn’t ask for this, Shenko, Post ME3, a bit of a heart to heart between them and tending to slowly healing injuries. -Fictober 2020, day 3: You did this?, Shenko, Post ME3, Kaidan runs across some old footage of John over the years from before they met to the reaper war. -Fictober 2020, day 14: You better leave now, Shenko, during ME3, short mission against a hold out of mercs, featuring James. -Fictober 2020, day 24: Are you kidding me?, Shenko, during ME3 probably, featuring Kaidan “my headache doesn’t hurt that bad” Alenko and John “please just take a nap” Shepard. -Fictober 2020, day 29: Back up!, Shenko, during ME3, mission to clear out a cerberus warehouse including some battle flirting and James lending a gun.

Scott Ryder/Gil Brodie: -Fictober 2020, day 12: Watch me, Ryder/Gil, Post main MEA story, something short of Scott looking forward to getting out and exploring while Gil (and eventually Sara) work on the Nomad. (Sara is my pathfinder)

Dragon Age: Garrett Hawke/Fenris: -Dawning, Fenhawke, Short bit of fluff and my firt step into writing dragon age. Late or post DA2.

Lia Hawke/Fenris (a one off when I was debating on canon hawkes & romances for them): -Fictober 2020 day 5: Unacceptable, try again. Fenhawke, little bit of teasing and bad taste in books.

Rana Cousland/Alistair Theirin: -Promptless ramble, Rana/Alistair, Set during DAO with Rana reflecting on those she’s lost, worrying for her brother and realizing just how in love she’s fallen with Alistair. -Fictober 2020, day 23: Do we have to?, Rana/Alistair, set post DAO, pre-DAI, little romantic picnic between the king and queen of ferelden before she heads off on her next mission. (hints at Nathaniel being involved with the both of them.)

Greedfall: Lydia de Sardet/Kurt -Fictober 2020, day 11: I told you so, Lydia/Kurt, short bit trying to get my footing writing these two, Lydia thinks she can still climb trees like she used to as a kid. -Fictober 2020, day 17: Give me a minute or an hour, Lydia/Kurt, short bit, and Kurt not being as subtle about his feelings about Lydia as he probably thinks he has.

Anthem: Raya Auren/Matti (1 of the 3 Matthias Sumner) -Fictober 2019 day 1: It’ll be fun, trust me, Raya/Matti, Bit of an adventure involving Raya taking her favorite arcanist out of fort tarsis to see something very special. (also involving me having no clue how they transport people when there’s only one javelin and winging it)

Smut: (all of them are swtor so far) -A Moment Reprised, Kara/Arcann, takes place post-umbara and pre-nathema, and sometime late in BtBN, no plot. -Moving on, Koren/Trey, takes place right before chap 35 of BtBN, featuring my dorks of a hunter and sith setting in stone they’re serious about each other. no plot -Just a short vacation, Kara/Theron, takes place post-nathema pre-onslaught, A moment in Kara and Theron’s honeymoon at a lovely resort and the closest to taking a day off Theron will ever probably take. No plot -Welcome Home, Kara/Arcann/Theron, unlike the other 3 doesn’t have a specific time that it takes place other than post nathema. No plot

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; MUN & MUSE - MEME.

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

TAGGED BY:  @sternenteile, #1 Geno fan. TAGGING:  Do it.

MY MUSE IS:  canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated

is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [ Nope. Most people just call ZPiW the game with anime girls wielding guns. Outside of me, not much fanart is produced of the peach boy, as it’s well, mostly the girls. Miiverse revealed that the ratio is a bit more even but still, peeps really like them girl designs (designed by a female artist) ]

is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ i mean ?? i’ve met and seen many people who have/had crushes on geno so ??????? but i don’t think it’s like. that. ghfskjhgsg??? ]

is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [ Personally, I have to say yes. Momotaro is strong as frick because in game, you’re supposed to level towns to “clean them up”. And this is in addition to the traditional Momotaro folktale that, a Momotaro is a strong child who can lift. However, most just look to Snow White as the strongest cuz she dented metal bare handed...and well is the “face” of the game.]

are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. [ This game is better known for having girls...with guns. But I wouldn’t say he’s really *that* underrated, considering the basic character is just that...basic. ]

were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. [ Well, my theory is that he just stumbled upon the fight between survivors and zombies so...kind of yes? Momotaro was one to actually gather folks to storm the castle as they say, because it seems before hand the other heroes were just minding their own business. So, being the one who talks the most (ironically) and the one that the game follows...yeah he’s relevant.]

were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [ Sadly so, in the sense that I wished the devs would’ve allowed for branching plots depending on which character you choose. This is including the fact that the game is purposely trying to emulate how old-school games were bare bones in characterizations and plot.]

are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. [ Just another folklore hero in the world of Wonderland...a place chock FULL of fairy tales and folktales. Though he might’ve garnered a reputation of being destructive after ZPiW... ]

how’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / neutral. [ ]

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?  —  Ehhhh...I think I make do with what I got from the teeny breadcrumbs of canon I got...however, many folks commented that Momotaro looks WAAAAAAY tougher than what I make him out to be so...I guess that’s a fail for following canon strictly on my part. .w.;; If I truly went 1:1, things may be bland...or not...I mean there’s as many subversions to the traditional heroes as there are well, the typical shounen stuff.

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.  —  Is Momotaro an OC at this point? Probably. But hey, if you guys want a lad who’s adorable but tough...you could look elsewhere...or you can find that in Momo! I wanted to try to represent some stuff of special needs, but I’m still working out the kinks...but the kid’s loyal, and a very good cook at that! He definitely needs a confidence booster, but could that be part of his charm? Maybe. But hey, I think y’all might really like the idea I got for him, and mainly Smash! Like, have you ever wondered what goes on in that mansion? ...well yes, but what about those who aren’t fighters? Or even assist trophies! That’s where the smash verse comes in! Take a peek into the (tough) lives of Waddle Dees and the peach boy, along with other creatures not suitable for Smash! They’re just as handy for making sure the place is well run and fed! If someone isn’t cleaning and cooking to maintain 70+ fighters, and 20+ assist trophies...who is?

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).  —  This is a character from a game whose designers may appreciate the female figure a bit too much. I always have a tough time recommending this game to others, and hell, I’m terrible at playing it myself. Hell, the fact that most of the characters are minors is just a...”why do you design them like this Bo.mi” thing. Most do seem to think highly of those designs though, as that’s the main aspect of the game I keep hearing in my searches. Now, I’ve received a good amount of concerns over the years that Momotaro not speaking proper English is either racist or babyish...or both. Is my take too depressing? There are often times I think yes, and feel unbelievable shame over it despite others going hard on the angst train.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?  —  Well uh, I believe I was charmed by his rugged but baby appearance in the game..and it just so happen at the time that I was part of a budding rp group. Despite the theme being mostly “OUENDAN”, that was the start of me shoving Momotaro into every fuckin’ thing because he’s cute as shit and obscure muses can be fun too! It was also probably relaxing for me because gosh dang back then I was scared of getting something wrong about someone canon with more lore...and I am still scared about that to this day.

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?  —  Studying about Japanese culture, learning the language...the fact that I’ve been rping him for almost 10 years (read like 8-9 at this point)...I do wonder if I should stop rping him...and then I keep hearing that people only want characters only in as fighters, fighters are the only important thing about smash and that grows my weird spite and just continue this “backstage” plot of Smash. Yes, getting a franchise in as a fighter is a VERY high commemoration but, I think it’s just as equally amazing when a franchise gets in as an assist trophy or even a spirit/trophy! So yeah it’s petty and I better find some other motivation soon because it’s exhausting.

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

do you think you give your character justice?  yes / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ Ahaha....I’m starting to give up on that idea at this point, as several noted that Momotaro isn’t as timid in canon as I write him. But I do try to keep those boneheaded traits of the peach boy in my portrayal. ]

do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [ It’s a must for Momotaro, whose game is a tribute to how the old timey arcade games didn’t have much to their plots. Otherwise, I would think that playing him would end up pretty dry..whether I play him closer to canon or not. ]

do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO [ ...I should write more. ]

do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO [ Stupidly yes. Been playing him for 8 years so it’s a hard habit to break. ]

are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? [ I mean, if I wasn’t confident enough I would’ve dropped him...though I have thought about that several times. There be times where I run into some sort of writer’s block due to his meek (and traumatized) nature, and because of how he speaks, it’s scary. Am I pushing his issues too much...? Or just HIM in general...? ]

are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. [ Again, writer block happens when some muses don’t click, or personally I don’t want to interact with someone. And then when I do want to write with someone, I fear that my simpler (children’s book) ways of writing would be a turn off. I don’t want to end up babbling too long that there’s too much detail but I shudder at seeing single lines in response to long prose. ]

are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / sorta. [ Yeaaaah i get stressed and cry at lot at confrontation and just...anxiety in general. Been trying to keep that off the dash though, as I’m sure peeps got their own troubles already. DMs are good to have y’all. ]

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?  —  I do my best to take crits when I get them but sometimes it just haunts me because I have mixed feelings on being told that the way he speaks is racist or childish.  But hey, if you got more advice on how to write trauma and special needs, I’m all ears! Particularly because I’m writing from my own experience in my life and research. ...Dad isn’t that superb at speaking English and that's where I got the Momo speak.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?  —  Yes please...but at this point I kinda have sadly accepted that’s just gonna be rare because he’s obscure.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  —  as my take on Momotaro is very meek, I’d like to see how one would take  on a more confident/more canon true take on him. But that’s a pipe dream. Coruse the only headcanon I will never take (that I fear the fandom will have due to perverted nature) is that he’s just a fuckin harem protag wanting to get into pants. To that I say: NO. In canon he doesn’t give a fuck about the fact his teammates are girls...or even acknowledges that they're girls. It’s the time to survive, not boogie on beds...or at a tree.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?  — I anticipate that wholly because again, I have gotten comments that my take on Momotaro has not properly prepared them to witness the sheer destruction and toughness that is canontaro. Honestly I’d be hyped to see more takes...except for the harem route ones. Am I gonna jinx myself for saying it that much?

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?  —  I probably would be sad but understanding...I mean it’s not the first time that someone has taken deep offense at Momo and me, mainly in the rp sense. I would hope they would at least go find something that makes them happy.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?  —  Yep yep. Or well stealth editing too, that helps.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   —  Ehhhh....maybe...? I mean most think I’m chill but, I’m a ball of anxiety at times. But, I am also one who reaches out because, gosh dang...a lot of peeps are nervous beans and that’s okay. So...it’s a sort of, yeah.

Drabbles

Some drabbles I wrote a few months back set in my Colors series, featuring a variety of major and minor characters and also some technical spoilers. -shrug- These are true drabbles, aka 100 words exactly ignoring the prompt. And all the prompts were given by @stardustscribes who patiently came up with 15 words for me over the course of like two hours lol

///

Horse

As Bran trudged through the field, disgruntled, Gillian ambled slowly behind her. Whatever his opinion of living in the capital, seeing the mountain bloom in spring was a beautiful thing and he was glad to see it.

Bran had taken to mumbling under her breath.

“Are you complaining about walking again? How many times have we talked about this?” Gillian asked in amusement as Bran kicked a wildflower. She’d gotten better at travelling discretely and not acting like a duchess, but there were some things she’d never fail to complain about.

“Is it so much to ask for a horse?”

Dusk

It’s dusk as he slips out of the palace and into the city that sprawls before it. Yet another day of forced interaction with nobles who abhor his presence. Yet another day of people giving his father pitying looks, murmuring about how poor King Dov is left with his own future murderer as a child. How sad the other two were killed. They were good girls, unscarred, no miserable prophecy on their head. How sad.

Medrath pulls his cloak’s hood up as he enters a market square, merchants packing up for the day. How sad, he thinks bitterly. How sad.

Starlight

Dairna pulled at Medrath’s hand as she led him through her house. It was the home of the Baron of Hoaryrath, but it was small and barely a house in Medrath’s opinion. He was used to the large castle in the capital, and this tiny lodge high in the mountains was as different as you could get.

He let Dairna yank him around, unsure why the younger girl was so excited. He expected she didn’t meet many people.

A blast of frigid air hit him and he shivered, but his eyes went wide. The snow under the starlight looked incredible.

Reflection

Gillian can see himself reflected in Fay and Maylor de Catroph. He has Maylor’s height, and Gillian wonders if his beard will grow in that thick when it finally appears. His resemblance to Fay is more obvious—they both have fair hair, fair skin, and fair eyes. He finds himself glad that she has silver hair and blue-green eyes compared to his gold hair and blue eyes. If he had been a male copy of his—of Fay, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He laughs to himself. Even in his mind he can only call them by their names.

Dozen roses

Cassia spends the days mending clothing instead of making gowns with her sisters. Her mother is angry at her for staying out so late the night before, and darning socks is her punishment.

She knows she shouldn’t be upset—she broke the rules, so punishment is natural—but she can’t help but pout. Eir had snuck her into her castle and let her look through the medical books in its library. Cassia had never been happier. And then Eir had given her a bouquet of roses. Books, flowers, Eir—her favorite things. How could she have remembered to go home?

Protect

The maze is silent around them, and the silence is only magnified in Gillian’s mind each time they come across another corpse.

There’s chaos all around them as Gillian darts forward, but the king is already dead, dead at Diomedes’s hand and Bran’s sword.

There were riots throughout Perfysiko he was told, but he was forced to stay the night on the boat. They didn’t want any of the Stelemuntene delegation hurt. For their protection.

Protection, Gillian thinks, staring out the small porthole at the sea. Something I have failed to do this entire journey. What a healer I am.

Statue

Shasta stared at the lady statue unblinkingly. She wondered who it was. There was writing at the bottom, but she couldn’t read, and neither could any of the animals.

It was a good statue, she guessed. Even covered in moss it looked like a human. A very green human.

Shasta peered around it. The grove behind the statue was the greenest thing she’d ever seen. She looked over her shoulder at the brown and white of the mountain in winter. She looked back at the much-too-green grove.

The animals said it was weird, she mused. A god’s grove. Still odd.

Cook

“What is this supposed to be?” Gillian asked flatly, staring down at the bowl in front of him.

Bran scowled at him. “Haven’t you ever seen porridge before?” She held her head high and tossed her braid from one shoulder to the other in a show of pride, but the blush on her cheek betrayed her embarrassment.

Gillian raised an eyebrow and made a show of lifting the entire bowl up by the spoon.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything. But if I did, it would be that you should never, ever cook anything ever again.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Seaside

Chrysanthe loved the sea. It would be hard for her to hate it—she lived on an island—but she found it fascinating. It was a force of destruction—destroying ships with storms, flooding her village every spring, silently killing anyone who dared to think they could tame it.

And yet there were moments like this. She had convinced Diomedes and Tabitha to take a break from worrying about the future to go seashell collecting at the beach. The sea gently pooled around her ankle before retreating, a playful game of tag.

Chrysanthe could hear her siblings laughing. She smiled.

Seraphim

Gillian goes through the motions of gardening, instead focusing on his recent conversation with Fay. He didn’t enjoy initiating one-on-one conversations with her, but he needed a ten-year long mystery solved.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where he had received a brand of the sun goddess Orleana’s mark. He hadn’t had it as a child, and the Tesvik general that had kept them hostage hadn’t dared touched them—they were noble prisoners, deserving respect.

The mark brushed uncomfortably against fabric. He usually forgot about the raised skin, but he was intensely aware of it now.

How did it get there?

Woods

The woods grew deep on the mountain. The trees rose tall, tall enough to nearly blot out the midday sun. Gillian wanted to make a comment to tease Bran about how they could never maneuver a horse through this dense forest, but something stops him. He didn’t want to be the first to break the unsettling silence that surrounded them.

He knew it wasn’t truly silent—they had passed many animals already—but the woods had a strange way of muffling all noise. Gillian found himself uneasy, but Shasta and Dairna both considered it normal.

Even their footsteps were silent.

Companion

Medrath was talking but Gillian wasn’t listening. It was unusual for him to ignore the other man, but Gillian couldn’t stop looking at a moving lump on Medrath’s arm.

“—and, Gillian will you listen?”

Gillian started and looked up. Medrath was glaring and Bran was snickering. He smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, it’s just that you have a moving lump on your, well, shoulder now.”

Medrath paled slightly. “Ah, that’s—”

Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by Bran’s laughter. A small mouse peeked over Medrath’s collar, whiskers twitching adorably.

He was never going to live this down.

Soft

“Gillian,” Dairna says as she sits next to Gillian.

He smiles in greeting. “How did you get in here? I thought only students were allowed in the Academy’s library?”

Her smile turns playful. “How can they tell who is a student?”

Gillian laughs. “Fair enough. Why are you here then? I didn’t know you liked reading old tomes.”

“Not particularly,” Dairna admits. A hand plays with a heavy looking necklace, the softness of her hands contrasted to the angles of the metal. Gillian tears his eyes away to look her in the face. “I just knew you would be here.”

Breeze

A gust of wind signals Dimi’s arrival. The steward of the Royal Communications building gives him an exasperated look. “Dimi Knifesmith. I believe we’ve talked about your tardiness.”

Dimi gives his award-winning smile. “A charming habit, I believe you said.”

He sees the steward beat back a laugh. Dimi counts that as the win for the day—late to the job and made his superior laugh it off. “If you weren’t one of our fastest runners—and such a smooth talker—you would’ve lost this job months ago.”

“But I am, and I’m still here!” Dimi cheerfully waved himself in.

Storm

It’s said that the unpredictability of the ocean is caused by Safloes declaring war against the humans who dared think they could cross his sphere of influence unchallenged. The other gods of the elements were incensed at this and fought Safloes back with their own power, turning the world into their battleground and causing typhoons and volcanic eruptions in their wake.

As Gillian desperately hung onto a post fixed to the wall, he could see how an ocean storm was a battle between Safloes and Herion. He had never felt anything fiercer. He hoped their ship could weather the damage.

7 reasons The Witcher series is a mess (or damn I need to vent)

Unpopular opinion time! For the record, I’ve read the books, played the games, hell, I’ve binged the Polish movie and series (because my love for Michal Zebrowski and Zbigniew Zamachowski is undying, sue me), and I was super hyped. Then I spent the entire series yelling at the TV, so I made a handy numbered list of the reasons why I personally consider it mediocre at best.

Because I’m fucking disappointed and I’ll never not be bitter about it. Fact.

Be warned, there are all sorts of spoilers below.

Let’s look at some of the issues that affected the show as a whole:

1) Adaptation is hard work - but you have to do it right

Adapting a story from one medium to another is difficult, you inevitably have to change things to make it suitable to the new form of expression and also, everybody wants their adaptation to be unique, to emphasize points they think are important, to reflect on the current times, you name it. But changes in an adaptation should make sense and lend themselves to the storytelling.

Many changes in the series were arbitrary, nonsensical and contributed absolutely nothing. One such example is the Battle of Sodden Hill, a terribly executed “siege” with not enough extras to fill a classroom instead of a battle of 100 000 people. Writing out Redania, Aedirn and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers from the conflict doesn’t seem to have a point to it, while the delayed arrival of the armies of Temeria and Kaedwen is both unexplained, unlikely and underwhelming, not to mention that it completely undermines the Nilfgaardian threat as a whole. This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg of all the things that are wrong with Sodden Hill in the series. 

Or take Foltest and his affair with Adda. It is perfectly clear in the books that after seven years of wizards, witchers and all manner of frauds coming and going while Foltest is obsessed with breaking the curse instead of killing his daughter, even the very last blind and deaf peasant knows about his shenanigans. It’s only logical, too. The story is relayed to Geralt in no uncertain terms at the very beginning. Now in the show the whole episode is too short to set up a murder mystery that requires Geralt’s incredible detective skills (uhuh) to unravel. What is worse is that you cannot make a big reveal of something that your audience actually has previous knowledge about. So why even bother to have Foltest deny it and have Geralt beat it out of Ostrit? 

Which brings us to point two:

2) We all know which way to Temeria, don’t we?

Even if you have popular source material, you cannot expect everyone to know it. An adaptation has to consider people who are just getting their first introduction to the sandbox. When your lore is as rich as that of the Witcher, you need time and careful effort to set up your world. The show made a total shit job of this one. As in the above example, sometimes the show ignores that we, as an audience, know things. 

Another example is Vilgefortz. We know him, his plans, abilities and allegiances, we have very specific expectations of his character. Besides completely failing these expectations (and doing a very unconvincing early reveal of his true colors), the show goes as far as taking Vilgefortz’s iconic sentence (You mistake stars reflected in a pond for the night sky.) and putting it in Fringilla’s mouth. Like did they actually think we wouldn’t notice? Or not be pissed?

At other times the show expects us to fill in its glaring blanks exactly by knowing our lore and characters. One obvious, overarching example of this is the issue of the separate timelines, that sometimes left even fans a little confused. Also, fun fact: one of my friends (who has no idea about anything in the Witcher’s world) for instance needed some time to realize Pavetta wasn’t, in fact, a grown-up Ciri, and he remains to this day very confused about Blaviken.

Basically, we are on a swing here, which is actually made even worse by another thing: bad pacing.

3) Hold your Roach for a moment

The first season wants to cram too much into its limited time and it has a severe negative impact on worldbuilding and character development. By bringing in all three timelines from the beginning, the show has to juggle time allotted to each. 

To be frank, Ciri’s timeline at this point consists of a lot of running and screaming, which in itself hardly merits all the time we spend with her. It could have been utilized in part to provide us with a view of the war from ‘below’, to show that beyond the high politics and heroic battles there are burned villages, dead peasants, people who lost everything, cripples, deserters, ruined fields, and so on. Instead, we get one refugee camp of neat tents, actual beds, food and complaints about Calanthe (though not of dead husbands, lost homes or winter). Though I guess it should come as no surprise that the shock value of paint being made from a woman’s reproductory organs (that never happened in the books) is more important than actual large scale human suffering.

Now giving Yennefer an extended back story is great. But by that level of extension once again time is being consumed that is taking other opportunities away. Opportunities like giving Geralt himself a bit more background, clarifying points for fresh faces in the audience, giving characters more time for meaningful interaction. Because there is not enough time to let the story breathe and progress naturally, episodes are often rushed, choppy, and shallow. 

4) Reverse worldbuilding, aka welcome to nowhere 

Another serious issue with worldbuilding is what I suspect to be a deliberate departure from the game visuals and aesthetic. One of the things I adore most about the games is that it built heavily on Eastern European history and folk tradition. Nothing compares to the feeling when you ride into a village and you feel right at home because things are inherently familiar, or you go out into the woods and hear the exact bird song you are used to.

Netflix is very careful not to even offer a whiff of this particular identity to its show, but it doesn’t seem to have a clear artistic vision beyond that. Thus while landscapes are nice enough, other settings such as cities, taverns, ballrooms and the like are horribly bland in that “this is how we imagine the middle ages in Hollywood” way and look exactly what they are: sets. While one is not likely to quickly forget the red rooftops of Novigrad or the wild beauty of the Kaer Morhen pass from the games, there is nothing memorable about the locations presented in the series. (Even more bewildering is the depiction of the elite boarding school of Aretuza as a creepy dungeon with elf skulls everywhere. I cannot even begin to address this one unless it is all in caps.) 

Point being that the show lacks an actual visual identity that would distinguish it from any other dime a dozen medieval fantasy.

5) My kingdom for a decent wardrobe

Sadly enough, the bland and flavorless visuals have a terrible effect on something else: clothes and armor. While some costumes are well done, there are way too many examples of the opposite. One very obviously is Nilfgaardian armor, which looks like fossilized trash bags with sad dick helmets. The fact that armor in the show is treated as the equivalent of cardboard is doing no one any favors. Please do your homework next time. Please?

Another inexplicable departure from the books and games is the appearance of the nobility, and most jarringly, sorceresses. That dress Yennefer picks out the first time? It’s literally the drabbest, ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, and the others are not much better. When it comes to period-accurate choices, the range is just so wide: we are talking cambric, velvet, silk, cloth of gold and silver. We are talking luxurious furs, embroidery, colorful feathers, bright dyes, coats of arms and jewelry. Brooches, necklaces, bracelets, rings, hat badges, belt buckles, hairpins, you name it. People wore their wealth. Making them look like sad orphans will not make them look any more medieval.

Peasant clothes also had their decorations, though to a lesser degree than nobles, obviously. But I guess it’s too much to hope that those would get any attention when queens are dressed like they lost a bet.

6) I see your people and I raise you mine

Including people of color in the casting choices caused a lot of heated debate amongst the fans, but at least it means that the show cares about minority representation, right? Right?

The world of the Witcher has its own minorities, and what we have seen of them so far is so incredibly pathetic that I haven’t the words. For one thing, they look so terrible that elves in the Polish series actually look better, and that was so not a high bar to exceed. To make matters worse, they again seem to lack any sort of distinguishing visual identity (except for the Dryads. I’m also willing to make an exception for Chireadan, as he actually looks right and he’s a settled elf.)

Sadly, unlike the games, the series also fails to establish even the beginnings of a compelling narrative for its minorities, which definitely needs to be in place by the time Thanedd happens at the very latest. What is more, we seem to be given something called the Great Cleansing, which is plenty obscure but comes across as a Night of Broken Glass sort of thing (though that could be just me). While still salvageable at this point, this shift in narrative is cause for some concern, and so far doesn’t make much sense.

7) Your villains are not my villains

Unlike the books and games, the Witcher series sadly doesn’t seem to excel at presenting opposing sides without the need to vilify one (which again, makes me worried about what they are going to do to the Scoia’tael later). 

Nilfgaard is now an Empire of Evil (TM) that lives for killing and religious fanaticism, Fringilla is a psychopath, and Cahir... Well, Cahir is a thousand shades of wrong all on his own. Stregobor and Istredd are now assholes of a whole different caliber, and even poor Eyck of Denesle gets to enjoy his five minutes of fame as a madman frothing at the mouth instead of a paragon of knightly virtue.

This is going so well.

Fanfic: You Say Your Love is Bona Fide 1/6

AKA ‘XV Things I Hate About You’, or the AU no one knew they wanted, or the major plot outline of a popular 1999 teen movie transplanted over the top of the canon XV Brotherhood setting.

Now, that movie did not age well as I discovered last night, so a lot of the minor plot has changed, a bunch of characters are missing, and I took out all the creepy bits. I also sacrificed the 10 Things plot whenever it conflicted with XV characterisation, but it’s still the major inspiration.

That also means that this is a Shakespeare adaptation and is therefore High Art.

Aside from the major airings listed below, there is also one-sided Noct/Nyx, but I promise it’s not going anywhere because Nyx is a grown-ass man who isn’t interested in 16yo boys and Noct just has a hero worship crush. 

Final Fantasy XV Promptis | Gladnis | minor RegClar SFW  2,450 words

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

“Hey, Noct?”

“Yeah?” Not shifting his attention from where he was inspecting his lunch for hidden vegetables, Noctis’ voice was distant and unfocused as he answered Prompto’s question.

“Do you ever think about, like, dating?”

Noctis slowly lifted his head, his eyes meeting Prompto’s. Chewing nervously on his bottom lip, Prompto had to fight to sit still, the urge to move and fidget growing stronger by the second. He could do this. He could ask Noctis out.

Noct.

The Crown Prince.

The man in line to be the one hundred and fourteenth King of Lucis.

“Not really,” Noctis said, although he didn’t sound like he entirely meant it. Prompto thought they’d grown close enough as friends for him to be able to read into Noctis’ tones of voice, but a lot of it was still guesswork. “I mean...I guess I’d like to? But I don’t even know if I’m allowed, considering I’m already lined up to marry Luna.”

...Okay, Prompto totally couldn’t do this.

Laughing awkwardly, Prompto scratched the back of his head and tried to play the question off. “I guess that’s fair, we’re not all guaranteed a great wife.”

That made Noctis frown, though, and Prompto’s forced smile dropped when Noctis’ gaze went back down to his food.

“Do you wanna hang out tonight? I’ll let you beat me at whatever game you like, for once.”

“Oh, you’re on.” Prompto was relieved to see that Noctis looked lively again, although the expression didn’t last. “Wait, shit, I have to go straight to meet my dad after school. How about tomorrow?”

“I thought you had training with Gladio tomorrow?” Prompto asked, but Noctis waved it off.

“I’ll talk my way out of it. I’d rather spend my time with you.”

Trying and failing not to go bright red, Prompto immediately pulled his camera in front of his face and started taking photos of Noctis trying to eat, the pair of them laughing and bickering as Noctis tried to push the camera out of his face and Prompto tried to get the least flattering photos possible. Of course, Prompto thought that Noctis always looked good, even with his mouth full of food and bit of rice stuck to his lip.

They were still loudly teasing each other when their teacher walked back into the classroom, Prompto snapping one last photo before turning around in his seat to face the front. He knew he should have been paying attention but he couldn’t resist hiding his camera under the desk, flipping through the photos he’d taken of Noctis over their lunch break.

Despite how blurry some of them were and with others half-obscured by Noctis’ hands covering the lens, Noctis still looked like a beacon of joy in all of them, especially the ones where Prompto had caught him mid-laugh. Those photos were always Prompto’s favourites, because they were nothing like the carefully-composed Prince Noctis that everyone else saw.

The butterflies in Prompto’s stomach made it hard for him to concentrate on math class, especially as he was intensely aware of Noctis sitting right behind him. He didn’t know why it felt like his crush had gotten so much more intense lately, but he didn’t think he’d ever be able to do anything about it.

Noctis was just too far above him, and the last thing he wanted to do was fuck up a perfectly good friendship with his awkwardness.

“Good afternoon, Noct,” Ignis said as Noctis slid into the car, tossing his bag towards the backseat. “How are you?”

“Tired,” Noctis mumbled, barely remembering to close the door and put on his seat belt before he was leaning his head against the window. “Do I really have to go meet my dad right now?”

“This was the only time he had free, Noct. I’m sorry.”

Trying not to think too hard about how he had to be scheduled in around his dad’s other appointments, Noctis settled in to try and catch at least a few minutes of sleep while Ignis navigated through the city. His brain wouldn’t stop bothering him, though, Prompto’s question from earlier still bugging him.

“Have you ever dated, Specs?”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you ever dated,” Noctis drawled out slower, emphasising each word.

“I- no,” Ignis said, and Noctis cracked open his eyes to see him looking rather flustered.

“Why not?” Even if Ignis wasn’t exactly his type, Noctis knew he was a good-looking guy with a good personality to match. Even if Noctis had heard people (wrongly, obviously) calling Ignis cold or even prickly, surely some people were falling over themselves to go out with him, able to see him for the caring person he truly was.

“It’s not,” Ignis started, pausing to adjust his glasses and quickly glancing at Noctis. “It’s not that easy to find a man who is interested in other men, and who is willing to come second to my duty. I don’t have a lot of free time, so it’s easier to...not.”

“You know you don’t have to be with me every second of the day, right?” Noctis said, suddenly feeling guilty over how much of Ignis’ time he took up. “I can feed myself if you want a night off to go out, and there are other people who can drive me places. Like, uh, Nyx, maybe?”

Forcing away his thoughts about the handsome Glaive, Noctis sat up and watched Ignis watch the road, the car eventually pulling to a stop at a red light. Ignis took that chance to turn towards Noctis, his face set in a serious expression. “I appreciate that, Noct, but I do these things for you because I enjoy them, and I care about you.”

“Oh,” Noctis said, the words making him smile. “I care about you too, Specs. That’s why you should get to have your own life.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t always get what we want.” Ignis was smiling faintly but his eyes looked sad, although he turned back to the road before Noctis could pry any further. “What brought this on all of a sudden, anyway?”

“Hm? Oh, just something I was talking about with Prompto today. Hey, do you know if I’m actually allowed to date?”

“Noct,” Ignis said, and the way he trailed off made the answer obvious before he even continued. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Noctis said, not sure why irritation was bubbling in his gut. “I know I’ve gotta marry Luna, but it’s not anytime soon. Why can’t I have some fun until I get married off to someone I didn’t even get a choice about?”

He liked Luna. As far as arranged marriages went, she was probably the best he could have hoped for. But much like he knew of Ignis, Noctis’ tastes had never been towards women, even the ones as amazing as Luna was.

And now he was being told that he couldn’t even try being with anyone else?

“Noctis, the rules aren’t there to hurt you. Your father wants you to be happy-”

“Then why? Why can’t I do what I want?”

“I don’t know, Noct. I’m sorry.” Ignis looked so defeated that Noctis’ anger fizzled out, replaced instead by shame that he’d taken his irritation out on someone who didn’t deserve it. “Maybe you can talk to your father about it when you see him.”

Leaning back against the window, Noctis closed his eyes and let the rest of the ride go by in silence. He knew he should have apologised to Ignis, but he couldn’t get the words out and before too long they were pulling into the garage underneath the Citadel. A few of the Glaive were milling about under there, discussing the latest round of assignments, and they fell into varying degrees of proper salutes when they saw Noctis and Ignis approaching.

Scanning their faces and not recognising most of them, Noctis was beginning to feel disappointed when one finally stood out from the rest, a playful grin on his face.

“Highness,” Nyx said, somehow managing to make the word sound far less formal than when anyone else used it. “Scientia.”

“Ulric,” Ignis nodded back while Noctis stammered a little, tongue-tied in front of the older, good-looking man who always treated him more like a person than a prince. It wasn’t like Noctis thought it would ever happen, but on the off chance he was allowed to date…

“Your father is waiting,” Ignis murmured, dragging Noctis out of his thoughts and putting a hand on Noctis’ elbow to keep him moving. Noctis was distracted the whole time that the private elevator took to whisk them up to his dad’s floor, his thoughts racing between Nyx’s handsome smile and his impending marriage to a woman and not being allowed to date.

His already-poor mood fractured more as they were let into the empty meeting lounge, his dad apparently not even able to be on time for a meeting with his own son. Objectively, Noctis knew that it wasn’t his dad’s fault. He hadn’t asked to be king, nor to have his wife die during childbirth. But that didn’t stop it from hurting when Noctis was left alone, time and time again.

By the time Regis entered the room, leaning heavily on his cane, Noctis had stewed in his angry thoughts for long enough to be feeling completely combative. Ignis obviously sensed something was wrong and carried Noctis through the early pleasantries, but there was nothing he could do to save the situation when Regis turned towards Noctis and Noctis’ eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Dad,” Noctis said, his voice low. “I want to date.”

Regis took a few moments to process that, obviously wondering where the sudden outburst had come from. “You’re not allowed to do that, Noct.”

“Why not? I’ll still marry Luna, but I thought you wanted me to live a normal life until then?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Noctis ignored Ignis’ quiet whispers for him to let it go.

“You’re 16. Plenty of people don’t date at your age,” Regis said, the perfect diplomat. “The rules have always been-”

“I don’t give a fuck about the rules,” Noctis snarled. “The rules are stupid.”

“You’re acting like a child,” Ignis said quietly, although he shut his mouth when Noctis shot him a blazing glare.

“The rules are antiquated, yes,” Regis said, sounding like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. It probably was, but Noctis didn’t have it in him to care right then and there. “But they’re there to protect you. I lived a perfectly fulfilling life without dating at your age.”

“Wow, one person. Great sample size,” Noctis said, rolling his eyes. His anger was still burning away in his gut, his father’s objections only making it worse.

“Well, how about you, Ignis? Do you have a partner?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Ignis said. He looked pale, and Noctis might have felt bad about that if he’d been able to feel anything beyond his own anger.

“Do you wish to?”

Looking at Regis, then Noctis, then back to Regis, Ignis swallowed hard. “No, Your Majesty. My life is perfectly enjoyable without that extra worry.”

“I know it feels like you’re the only one missing out, Noctis,” Regis said softly. “But I promise you, you’re not. This is the best way in the long run.”

“But he could date if he wanted to. It’s not my fault everyone thinks he’s an emotionless robot.” Noctis immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say, especially to the person whom Regis considered a second son, and he wasn’t surprised when his dad frowned at him.

“That’s uncalled for, Noctis.”

“That was out of line, Specs. I’m sorry,” Noctis said, meaning it. Meeting Ignis’ eyes, the hurt he saw there turned his anger to sour guilt, and he exhaled hard. “I’m sorry to you too, dad. It’s just...normal people get to date and experiment and have fun, but I have to marry someone I’m not even attracted to.”

“I know it’s hard, but the people around you are proof that dating isn’t the most important thing in life.” Regis smiled softly when Ignis patted Noctis’ hand, obviously accepting the apology. Silence took over for a few moments, Regis obviously deep in thought, and Noctis swallowed hard around the guilt and shame that felt like they were trying to choke him. “Still, I’ll consider changing the rule.”

“Really?” Noctis said warily, suspicious of the way his dad was looking at him.

“I’m a man of my word, Noct. You can start dating,” Regis said, nodding seriously, “when he gets a partner.”

“Me?” Ignis exclaimed, slapping a hand over his mouth at the impolite outburst.

“Of course. If you find that your life isn’t complete without romance, then there’s no way I could expect my son to live that way.”

“Hey, Ignis-”

“No,” Ignis interrupted, already knowing what Noctis was going to ask.

“Pick someone, you don’t even have to like him,” Noctis whined, but that only made Ignis’ frown deepen.

“I won’t play with someone else’s emotions like that.” Groaning, Noctis glared at Ignis and then at Regis.

“This is just as bad as the old rule, and you know it.”

“Is it?” Regis asked innocently, although his eyes were sad when Noctis stood up and stomped from the room. Noctis could hear Ignis apologising frantically and hurrying after him, but he steadfastly ignored Ignis’ presence even as he returned to the car and was driven to his apartment.

“That didn’t sound like it went particularly well,” Clarus said, stepping through the door opposite the one Noctis and Ignis had left through.

“Teenagers,” Regis sighed, standing up. His leg buckled underneath him but Clarus was there to catch him, lowering him back to the seat and kneeling in front of his king.

“I remember being that age, and it wasn’t like that old rule ever stopped us,” Clarus pointed out. Taking both of Regis’ palms in his own, he rubbing his thumbs over the back of Regis’ hands, feeling the marks and imperfections left behind by the effects of premature aging.

Letting his shield soothe him, Regis allowed himself himself feel the full weight of his exhaustion. “Don’t you remember how much it hurt when we were torn apart? It was only luck that brought us back together in the end.”

“You can’t protect him from everything, Reggie.”

“I know,” Regis sighed, his heart aching like it had ever since he’d learned what was ahead for his only child. Pulling his hands from Clarus’, he shifted forward in his seat and wrapped his arms around Clarus’ shoulders, holding his first and last love close. “I can try, though.”

Tony Ambrosio's Unsuccessful Life of Crime Is Finally Looking Up by Michael Drezin https://ift.tt/2xnTIVE It takes a lot to teach hapless petty thief Tony Ambrosio a lesson; by Michael Drezin.

Anthony Ambrosio, Tony to his friends, is not an honest man. No need to be. No one who ever made it big, made it big being honest. Honest or not, indications are Anthony Ambrosio will never make it big in crime because he doesn't have what it takes. He pulls mostly minor scams like selling weed that isn't weed, or bootlegged CDs where the cover doesn't match what's inside. And he gets caught like flu in winter. Tony's always getting caught. He does his time without complaint, 'cause that's the way real men do time. And then he starts the cycle all over again. No thought about what went wrong, or how to do it better. He does the same thing, in the same way, every time. He can't see that a life of crime is not for him because Anthony Ambrosio, Tony to his friends, is not an honest man. Not even with himself. And so when he told himself he had enough money for a fine meal at the Actor's Crib (insiders call it the Crib), a five star restaurant in the heart of NYC's theater district, it turned out he did. It's just that it wasn't on him. Upon the direction of management Alberto, the waiter, called the police. When they arrived Tony was arrested and until he was able to see a judge, he spent an afternoon, evening and the next morning in jail.

Anthony Ambrosio aka Tony Ambrosio aka Little Tony of Arthur Avenue, has been arrested like 100 times before. Pull a job. Get arrested. Tony was so regularly arrested he knew what to expect for dessert any day of the week whenever he was jailed. Tony started his life of crime at age 14. Beer, his first heist. Problem is, he got regularly caught doing it. His mentor suggested he bring his own shopping bag, but by then Tony was banned from most places that sold alcohol. Years later, when he graduated to burglaries, it took only one try to realize a yellow Dodge with a bumper sticker saying Proud parent of a Harvard graduate was a poor choice for a getaway car. It's not that Tony had bad ideas. It's more like he had no ideas. Like an impulse purchaser, Tony was an impulse desperado who never kept his impulse in check. Could be he was raised that way.

Tony's mom supported her and Tony by playing poker. Most often, she did so wearing a low cut leopard print blouse while chain smoking Evet's filtered cigarettes. She played in high stakes games held in the private room at Gino's (Fine Italian Cuisine) in the Little Italy section of the Bronx. It was mostly a men's game, but anyone who could afford the five thousand dollar minimum could play. Big fat cigars were banned ten years ago because they stunk up the restaurant, and except for Francesca these were no smoking games. She knew the dangers of smoking, everyone does, but she felt she had a realistic perspective on her habit. It was the same as her realistic perspective on life. Nothing bad would ever happen to her. If she thought about it at all, I'm sure she wasn't happy her son was sent to the principal's office nearly every day, but boys fight. What could she do about boys being boys? She didn't do much in the way of cooking, or cleaning, or any of the things formerly known as woman's work, but she always left Tony money for McDonald's, or pizza, or the like. Tony never lacked for anything that up to twenty-five dollars could buy. Besides poker, Francesca had a talent for attracting well-to-do men. It was just such a man who, in return for intimate companionship, staked her to her first major league poker game. That was maybe ten years ago, but even in early middle age, she was eye candy. She had a trim figure and an oval face framed by long, formerly dark, brown hair. If there was any flaw in her package, at least in my view, it was the unoriginality of a woman with tip over bazookas having brassy blond hair. The fact that she wore black framed glasses toned it down some, but not enough for men who liked a reserved looking woman. Still, anyone thinking Francesca was an uncaring mother would be wrong. She was teaching self-reliance to her young son, same as her parents taught her. In that effort, although she didn't know it, she was getting help from her boyfriend Joey Sanitation. Joey was in private sanitation, that is, he collected business refuse while the city collected residential garbage. The industry was heavily regulated in New York to rid it of the mobsters who once dominated the field and who, through front men, still do. Joey was too advanced in his legitimate career to break the law the way street thugs do, but not too old to tell stories of his own, earlier days, when a street thug was exactly what he was. Tales of crimes and tales of survival in prison, make for interesting listening even if you are not an impressionable 14-year-old. (If incarcerated, find a guard to bribe. There will be one. From special meals to skipping out on your work detail, they make life easier.) Joey was someone Tony could look up to, a substitute for the father who left too long ago to be remembered. With Joey Sanitation as inspiration, Tony lived his life the way any 14-year-old on his own would. He did whatever seemed like a good idea at the time.

First time Tony was arrested for shoplifting, his first time out, a security guard reached into a jacket pocket and found items not paid for inside. When asked how they got there, he had a simple defense. "I borrowed the coat," he said. And he's the kind who needs someone to blame, and so when he got arrested for not paying at the Crib he blamed his waiter for believing he had money to pay for dinner at a place as expensive as that place is. The thing is, when he wants to, Tony can make a decent enough living dumpster-diving for information to sell to identity thieves. But making money, having it on you, and spending it are three different things. No talent or special skill is required to buy things with money. A child can do it. The thrill for Tony, the excitement, is in getting over, in getting something for nothing. If you don't understand that, you're either too square to explain it to, or not being honest with yourself. Still, some might argue, given that Tony did order and eat, no gun to his head, his waiter could reasonably assume he would pay when the time came. The way Tony sees it, that's a mistake. Not his mistake. It's a mistake in the way restaurants are run. Tony came to this insight by way of life experience, which taught him that placing trust in people almost never works out well. He thinks restaurants should be run like stores. There they make you pay before you get the merchandise. They do that for a reason. Clearly, it's not Tony's fault the Crib isn't run that way. And using that logic, that impeccable logic, Tony was certain at the conclusion of the Crib's case against him, he would be a free man. "It's not like he asked if I could pay, Your Honor. Is he not, thus, as guilty as I?" But the judge did not consider the guilty waiter theory much of an excuse, and he sentenced Tony to thirty days of dishwashing at the cafe. Alberto, as witness for the prosecution, hearing of Tony's defense, was deeply offended that a man of honor, such as he, would be accused of being a negligent waiter. But what could he do? He was not long in this world before he realized dishonest people abound. Tony fulfilled the obligations of his sentence with admirable diligence. For 30 days he arrived on time, kept to himself, scrubbed dishes for eight hours and then left. At the end of his sentence, Tony told himself he had enough money for a fine meal at the Crib, and he ordered one. He ordered lobster prepared in clam sauce. No wine to go with it. Coffee was fine. When he was through and unable to pay, Alberto was, once again, directed to call the police. When they came, Tony was arrested and once again blamed Alberto, witness for the prosecution. And once again Alberto was offended at Tony's attempt made to sully his good name, but what could he do? Waiters do not get to pick their customers. Alberto was satisfied that he lived his life doing unto others...

It was high noon when Tony was released from the Bronx House of Detention for Men. Like checkout in a hotel, his time inside was up, his probation sentence to be served. As the gate clanked closed behind him, after walking through the cement yard and past the barbed wire fencing, he looked up at the cloudless sky and then down the block where children, five or six in all, ran under water spraying from a capped fire hydrant. A time and temperature sign brought to the community by Third Avenue Bank read 89 degrees. A Mr. Refreshment ice cream truck was approaching, its bell ringing the same few sounds over and over, and all looked right with the world except that not ten feet away a purse snatcher was plying his trade on the oldest-looking, shortest (under four feet), whitest- haired, most wrinkled, bony fingered, four-eyed woman in oversized pink-lensed sunglasses Tony had ever seen. Her silver-tone cane fell to her right side as she struggled with her assailant to hold on to her purse, and what Tony guessed were the proceeds from a cashed Social Security check inside. Tony suspected she was fighting, as best she could, to hold on to her food and medicine money and that part of her rent not paid by the government. He and Tony were in the same line of work, but Tony had standards. Stealing from the elderly was permissible, but doing so violently was out of the question. That's just wrong, was the way Tony saw it. Problem was, Tony wasn't much of a fighter. So he walked on by, called 911 from a safe distance, and hung up satisfied he made the world a better place for being in it. Before he left, he heard a police siren in the distance. Tony hopped the turnstile and took the number 4 train to Times Square. In the city he walked past the places where the peep shows used to be before Times Square was ruined by becoming a family-friendly destination. He stopped to remember the girls he saw- on film for 25 cents a peep. Where are they now, he wondered. A short time later, after waking past some of Broadway's oldest and most famous theaters, he was at the Crib.

As required by his sentence, for 30 days Tony arrived at the Crib on time, kept to himself, scrubbed dishes for eight hours and then left for the day. When his sentence was up, Tony was very hungry and so he ordered lobster, stuffed with shrimp and scallops and accompanied by a fine Chardonnay. He had baked clams to start. He skipped the coffee. Being pleasantly looped, he saw no need for coffee to kill his buzz. But by now Tony had learned his lesson. Take care of others (at least those that can help, or hurt). This time Tony left a generous tip that he removed from a nearby table just as Alberto was delivering the cheesecake. He slipped it into Alberto's outstretched hand. In brotherhood with a fellow employee, of sorts, Alberto forgot to leave a check. Well, better late than never. Twenty-two years after beginning life, Tony learned something new. Who knows. Could be he'll learn all kinds of lessons. Like plan an escape route. Wear gloves. Bring your mom's DNA to the job. The friends of Anthony Ambrosio, the ones who call him Tony, hope, however unrealistically, that someday he will succeed, that he will be at the top of his game and that the FBI will consider him to be a most wanted man, his face on posters, a major player in the minor leagues of crime.

((Mod post!! Gonna answer some questions for me that have been sitting around for a while, sorry the response is so late ;w;

Everything’s under the cut to save space 0w0 ))

Anonymous said: Okay but totally loving the concept of Michael as Gil and Jeremy as Oz??? Like, freaking Alice is Christine (even tho its totally a personality clash apart from the childish aspect but shhhh) and just yes

YEAH MAN...any type of PH crossover is good hhh but GOSH imagine Michael like. After growing up and spending ten years looking for Jeremy like Gil did ahh my heart aches!! And Jeremy coming back pouting like “You’re taller than me now that’s totally not fair, M” Christine would make a really cute Alice I think, just seeing her dress up like Alice and having her kick ass as the B-Rabbit?! Hell yeah!

zekromztk2 said: Out of all of the Pandora Hearts characters, who is your favorite? Mine is... probably either Alice or Oz

HELL I LOVE GILBERT I’D DIE FOR THAT MAN LEGIT;; I love Oz and Break a lot too and! RUFUS BARMA AS WELL I ADORE HIM

Anonymous said: did I hear Harry Potter?

Ye man talk to me about the Marauder days any time I love talking about Sirius, James and Remus getting into shenanigans at Hogwarts hoo boy

Anonymous said: (Hey mod, so basically Jake and Rich are just gonna be background characters with kind of their own stories?)

Yes! Jeremy and Michael are the main focus here, but Jake and Rich sort of have their own thing going on in the background as more minor characters to the overall blog! I want to make a more developed backstory for the treasure hunter girls and Christine as well, so we’ll see how that goes~

Anonymous said: Thank you so much for introducing the novel this AU is based on to me!! Now that I've finished reading, I understand a lot more about this AU and now I want to ask... Would you consider Mr. Heere/Reyes as Morrow?

You’re very welcome, it’s a great novel so! I’m glad more people are reading it after having run into this blog, I must spread the pureness that is Aech to all of humanity //shakes fists And yes! Mr. Reyes is Morrow, I can imagine him sort of contributing to the hunt with lots of theater related things, which Christine specializes in! Book!Squip is Halliday, and there’s actually a little more about that and his relationship with Jeremy that I want to get into later.

Anonymous said: ((I had literally never heard of ready player one but I lov this blog so much I actually went out and bought it. Consider me murdled dead))

Yeah man like;; I didn’t read the novel until this past summer and after that I just got so into it and BMC at the same time so? I combined the two and here we are! Aaah I’m so glad!! Like I’ve said before I love it when people come tell me they went out to buy the novel and read it because of me, it makes me so happy :’) Hjrhjd please don’t die lol

emibeani said: ((I just finished reading Ready Player One, and thank you so much for this blog.))

I’m glad to hear it!! And you’re very welcome, I honestly didn’t expect so many people to get into but I’m super appreciative of all the interest you guys have shown so far so?? Thank you!!

Anonymous said: THIS IS NOT A ASK, BUT, OMG, THIS AU IS FUCKING PERFECT.

Glad you like it, ty! ;D

aslyn-is-artsy said: Your art is absolutely amazing

Hrhrhgfh I’m blushing thank you wow;;

aslyn-is-artsy said: Thank you so much for showing me this amazing book. I now aspire to become the real version of Art3mis. Just with short blonde hair instead. ;)

No problem!! It’s such a fantastic read and I was honestly blown away by it, so yeah...! Haha yeah I love Arty! She’s such a badass character and she doesn’t put up with any of Wade’s shit, which is great, she’s so empowered and I adore her

theitalianscribe said :I don't remember if this was answered, but is Michael trans male in this au?

Nope! I mean if you want to headcanon him that way that’s fine, I won’t stop you! I’m not going to endorse that since I myself don’t see him being that way, but you all are entitled to your own opinions so! And even if he were trans that wouldn’t be the main point of the blog anyway, I’m focusing more on their actual relationship, not their sexuality or gender or anything like that ^^

Anonymous said:i checked the book Ready Player One out from the library just because of this blog! are there any other books you recommend? (i havent finished the book but i like it so far i think!)

Oh nice!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Ahhh hmm well if you like supernatural teen stories, there’s a series called Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong about this girl named Chloe who finds out she’s a necromancer after being sent to a “troubled teens” home, and she meets these boys named Simon and Derek who also have special abilities and then all sorts of crazy things happen! I first read it back in high school and I still love it a lot, so yeah it’s a trilogy and all of the characters are really great so! (I looooove Simon like. So much.) Check it out if you have the time, it’s a good read!

kitikat101 said: Random potential song parodies: I Love the OASIS (I Love Play Rehearsal), Find That Egg (Be More Chill, pts. 1 and 2), Two-Player Game (but with Joust), Oases In My Head (Voices In My Head)

Kit can I say how much I adore these song titles they fit so well I’m really tempted to make parodies for all of them, absolutely brilliant

geeklychic1012 said: So are we allowed to send in fanfics based on this blog? (Cuz I submitted one but my wifi is shit and I think Tumblr might have eaten it haha)

YES!! Please do I’d highly enjoy reading stuff from you guys! And yes I saw and it breaks my heart like. Why. I’ll post it soon for everyone else to see too! They must all suffer as I have hfhdjhgjg

Anonymous said: Who would be I-r0k in this au? Or would I-r0k still be his normal jerk self?

I’m actually...not sure :0 There aren’t enough characters in BMC to properly cross over with all the rest of the RPO characters so;; I might have to go through the BMC novel and find some obscure background character to sneak in as I-r0k lol, because I would like to have all of the RPO characters replaced by BMC counterparts, if that makes sense!

theitalianscribe said: Does someone else take Halliday's place in this au? Also, do the gunters have a shared obsession with pop culture from a certain time period? What time period?

Yeah, I mentioned that up above! But Book!Squip takes over the role of Halliday, and musical Squip is Sorrento, of course~ Honestly I’d say like, probably the early 2000s, since that was when I was growing up and I can actually make references back to that time lol? I mean I love the 80s as well, just as it is in the book, but I feel as if I don’t know enough about that time period to actually. Make proper references and constantly. (I mean I could ask my parents who lived during that time too but;; haha.) Most of the stuff on here are me self-projecting, like with video games, books, and anime, that’s all me lol

Anonymous said: " “You don’t need to sell me on anything, Wade,” she said. “You’re my best friend. My favorite person.” With what appeared to be some effort, she looked me in the eye. “I’ve really missed you, you know that?”My heart felt like it was on fire. I took a moment to work up my courage; then I reached out and took her hand." aka perfect au is perfect how does it fit S O well

!!! yEAH MY DUDE I LOVED THAT PART and just imagining Michael saying that to Jeremy I wanted to cry;; I don’t even know but the INSTANT Aech was introduced I was like “Ohhh man. I’m getting major BMC vibes here” and bam, a week later this blog was born lol

Anonymous said:Would you be okay with cosplay of your character designs? I can't do one anytime soon, but they look really cool (and jerm's hair honestly looks fun to do)

YES!! OH MY GOD I’d probably die of sheer happiness if you guys cosplayed these dorks! If you want I could draw a character ref sheet so you actually get a proper look at their outfits! But yes I’d highly enjoy that;; like the cosplay doesn’t even have to be accurate I’d still love it anyway, and doing things like acting out some of the asks here (I’ve seen it be done before and it’s so cute!) would be totally okay too! But yeah as always TAG ME or submit it here so I can see it aaaa I’d love love LOVE that! ^^

Anonymous said: SPECIAL BOY SPECIAL BOY SPECIAL BOY SPECIAL BOY SPECIAL B

YEEEEEAAAAA IT’S ABOUT TIME I MADE AN OUTFIT FOR RICH RIGHT I LOVE HIM SM

maysurprisedyou said: Hi! This isn't quite an ask, but!! I started reading Ready Player One because of this blog and it's really interesting so far so thank you!! All of your posts seem to make my day ahah <3

Oooh I’m happy you’re liking it so far, I’m glad my blog inspired you to read it! And aaAAAA that’s so sweet I’m?? Hhhhfh thank you! :’)

Thoughts on leadership and teamwork

While I’m on this train of thought... I’ve lived in situations of “large groups of unrelated, working people who are constantly around each other 24/7 in relatively remote locations” for extended periods of time (month-long chunks to “multiple months in a row”).    By “large groups of unrelated, working people” I do not mean “I lived in a house with 6 other housemates” or “I shared a bedroom with three roommates for a year.”  I’m not talking about that.  I’m talk about a group of people who are not family, who barely know each other, who come together explicitly for work-purposes - groups of people anywhere from 20 - 150+ people all living together for several weeks at a time.  More under the cut (including how I think these things apply to Overwatch)

These were not military situations.  However, they were frequently run with military-type scheduling, discipline, and organization in mind, aka, “set wake up and sleep times,” “standardized individual and gorup schedules,” “regulated group meals,” “regulated group chores,” “certain expected protocols, manners, and behaviors,” etc. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, multiple weeks at a time.  For those of you who HAVE NOT experienced this, imagine whatever dorm situations you’ve been in, and apply it to all hours of the day, the same 20 - 150+ people, only instead of classes, you’re working with these people constantly.  You are around each other all the time.  There are expected and routine things you must do - work, shared group chores, eating meals together, getting a standard sleep pattern real fast, etc.  You do not have the ability or means to go more than a mile outside of this area.   (Please note that these were situations that every person involved willingly put themselves in.  There was no coersion or pressure involved.) There are a few things you learn REAL FAST in these situations: 1) You MUST learn to find your own space.  Whether that’s “mental only” (e.g. listening to personal music, reading a book, playing a portable video game) or actually physical (e.g. going on walks, going to a different part of the physical location, finding a physical niche to hang out in, etc), you absolutely learn to take those breaks for yourself.  You have to, especially if you’re working in these situations for multiple months on end.   The people who do not do this, or who do not learn this lesson fast enough, absolutely suffer emotional breakdowns, or lash out at other people, or get extremely bitter and/or homesick really, really fast.   The people who DO manage to learn this are able to pull it off, but usually for more than a few months at a time.  Someone I once worked under put it like this: “When you’re in these situations, you can reasonably do up to a month withtout problems.  You can maybe reach two consecutive months with only some minor, temporary stress by the end.” “After two months, though, you start mentally breaking down.  Very rarely have I seen someone come out of 3+ months unscathed.”  I, personally, have not gone beyond 4 months of these situations.  I cannot speak for how active duty members handle this, but they probably have stronger or more flexible personalities than me.   2) You learn really, really fast which conversations are acceptable to which people, who you can trust “sensitive” topics to, which “authority figures” you can count on or turn to when under stress, etc.  You learn which leaders will “lead you best in x situation,” and which leaders will “lead you best in y situation,” and it is entirely possible to be able to value and critique both leaders for their pros and cons (maybe not directly to their faces, but internally and among trusted friends, you feel comfortable assessing these).  Saying these things is different from calling either leader “a bad person” - rather, you, the follower or worker, are recognizing that certain situations call for one over the other, and vice-versa.  More than likely, if these two leaders work together often, they probably already know their strengths and weaknesses.  In terms of Overwatch, it is very telling that all “four” leaders of the Strike team - Jack, Ana, Gabriel, and Reinhardt - have different styles of leadership set for specific parts of the Uprising game mode.  Each one of them relies on the others to help balance out their weaknesses with the others’ strengths.   Moreover, it does not imply that any one of them “is better or worse” at leadership than the others.  Simply that they are different.  I’ve seen lots of people argue that Jack being gruffer or “stricter” than Gabriel in the Uprising game mode is “a bad thing.”  Let me tell you, from someone who has worked under joint-leadership situations where someone had to be “the strict one” and another person had to be “the laid back one,” there are many, many situations where you need both.  There are many, many “bad managers out there” who “try too hard to be friends with their workers/employees” and then struggle to actually have the authority to lead when stressful situations hit.  Sometimes, you need that “gruff, strict leader” to actually organize and push you through the hardest situations.  And sometimes, you want someone who is calmer and more relaxed.  It depends a lot.   And, as someone who has BEEN in one of those positions of leadership, there are many, many times where being “too friendly” will get you burned real fast.  This applies to both Jack and Gabriel.   It is absolutely 100% important to be friendly, open, and available to your workers/employees/subordinates/students/whoever you are leading, but this is not always the same thing as “being friends with them.”  Especially when you are in a strict or harsh working environment.   Flexibility meshed with discipline is important.  There’s a reason why so many philosophies and teaching ideologies stress the significance of “flow” or “flowing like water.”  Water can be free and liquid-smooth and fast, but it can also be forceful and powerful.  It is important to be open to change, but also important to be strong when things are struggling to stay afloat.   3) You learn to accept your chores and your duties.  Sometimes these are negotiable.  Sometimes they are not.  Regardless, you learn to be a team player or you struggle.  Lots of people can tell you about the importance of team coordination in the actual game of Overwatch, but it’s important to recognize that this applies to many real world situations too.  This is different than giving up your indivdiual traits or personality aspects.  Let me repeat that.  Being a team player does NOT mean rolling over and accepting everything thrown at you.  Being a team player DOES mean accepting a modicum of shared responsibility and duty in a group situation.  Again, 3 does not negate 1.  Number 1 is number 1 for a reason.  But 3 is still important.  If you throw a fit over every little thing asked of you, people will learn a few things about you: you’re emotionally a brat, you’re probably incapable of working well with others, you’re probably out of the possibilities of a “real job” with this group for the rest of your life.  

4) This might be the one that “gets people to argue back against me,” but I consider it an important part of this discussion.  You learn extremely fast what IS and what is NOT abusive, manipulative, whiny, demeaning, or coersive behavior, ideas, or conversations.  So let me be explicitly clear: Banter, jokes, sarcasm, witty remarks, or even teasing are NONE of those things.   To put this in Overwatch terms, the conversations that the “three commanders” (Jack, Gabriel, and Ana) have at the start of the Uprising comic, fall into the latter category of “banter, jokes, sarcasm, witty remarks, and teasing.”  These people have been friends for decades and I respect Blizzard and the Overwatch writers for actually portraying that fairly well for a short comic.   This also extends to all the conversations and dialogue found among all seven characters (The four Strike team members and the three Commanders) in the Uprising game mode.  I have yet to hear a single line of dialogue that strikes me as being “abusive, manipulative, whiny, demeaning, or coersive” in the actual game.  At most, Torbjörn has a few “you can’t trust Omnics” lines that are quickly and quietly reprimanded by Reinhardt or Lena.  There are times when he acts gruff with Lena, but she quickly teases him back, showing that a lot of it is in good fun, even though they are under a very stressful situation.   Pre-Fall (as in, before “the conspiracy” infiltrates it) Overwatch fits a lot of these ideas as a “functioning, healthy, well-structured, well-managed, happy” organization.  Even in Uprising (which arguably post-conspiracy-infiltration) Overwatch still manages to stay afloat thanks to the multiple, cohesive styles of leadership being balanced here.  But we do start to see some of the cracks in the seams.  We start to see how the pressure is affecting the “foundation” of Overwatch - the original five members of the Strike Team - causing them to make hard, morally and ethically-difficult decisions (e.g. sending Blackwatch agents out to the field even under suspension, sending Overwatch teams into a hostile situation against orders, defying global powers and governments for “the greater good,” etc).  We see small sparks fly in among the different leaders - Ana wants to push for more aggressive intervention, Gabriel “gathering intel” but then “bowing out” of the decision-making process, Jack listening to multiple perspectives before he comes to a conclusion, Reinhardt quickly “shutting down” Torbjörn’s “opinion” on Omnics, etc.   It is entirely possible for Overwatch to have recovered from these cracks and chips under better circumstances.  But with the added struggles of Petras and the UN bearing down on them, plus the increased “internal aggression” from the conspiracy “working against them from the inside,” Overwatch begins to fall apart.  Losing “a critical member of the leadership balance” (Ana) leaves a weakness that she normally would’ve filled.  I’ve been in situations - especially the “24/7 living-working” situations I’ve described above - where things rapidly deteriorate.  We’re not even talking months - we’re talking days to weeks in these circumstances.  The combination of “constantly being together,” “increased emotional and mental stress,” “increased hard and difficult work,” “lack of space,” and “constant struggle to balance your own personal emotions and ideas with the rest of the team’s” is a brutal one, even in situations as small as my own.  It is the tip of the iceberg compared to something as “global” and “international” as Overwatch.  

GLENWOOD RUSTLEMANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS

and now i’m at the final dungeon in Berseria, ready to kneecap anyone who stands between me and my true goal of launching a spinning heel-kick at Innominat’s skull

as always, BIG TIME SPOILER EXTRAVAGANZA UNDER THE CUT, as i am at the endgame at this point

for the curious, per Eizen, a scarlet night happens when the moon and the earth line up such that the earthpulse gets drawn into the moon by gravity

"i'm a wicked little boy, doing this for my own selfish needs!" SWEET BABY!!!! SWEET BABY!!!!!!

it's such an understated character quirk but i love how huge of an appetite Laphi has and how much he zeros in on delicious things. in like two thousand years once your and Sorey's sleepover is concluded i'm sure Mikleo will make ice cream for the both of you

every time Eizen says shitty things about women or is creepy at Velvet, Edna adds another notch to the tally of times she needs to powerbomb him into the mountain. the tally is frustratingly high

bye shigure you're far more appealing than your brother and are one of like, four decent NPCs in the game *plays Taps on kazoo*

bye old fat man you sure were old and fat *plays Mambo No. 5 on kazoo*

"WHEN THE ELEMENTAL EMPYREANS AWAKEN THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH WILL SHAKE AND HORRIBLE DISASTERS WILL RAIN UPON--" you are trying to reason with the wrong ass crew, man. get slormped

Velvet projectile vomits the souls of the abbey bosses she ate into the volcano earthpulse, causing the elemental empyreans to awaken and literally dropkick Innominat into outer space. it is now up to us to get some golf clubs and finish the job of caving his skull in. and somehow steal a rocket ship to get up there; no one's really addressed that part yet

the best part of the empyreans awakening? because Innominat is now so weakened, his suppression on the malakhim/seraphim's free will is gone, meaning we got to see a bunch of malakhim ripping off their masks and loudly tell the abbey to fuck themselves sideways before poofing away.

so now i guess is the point where i would normally fuck around with so many endgame sidequests that i'd never wind up getting around to fighting the final boss, but i wanna break Innominat's kneecaps so bad that that's not gonna happen. the true Sweet Baby must take the throne

that's not to say i'll be skipping endgame sidequests entirely, such as the sidequest where i just fought the main guy from Xillia (?) who got turned into a penguin (???)

normin island is super cute and packed with Zestiria references, including but not limited to: 1) normins daydreaming about finding a nice master to serve, like "a pretty girl who makes terrible puns" 2) Zaveid arriving with little Dezel in tow, who he let wear his coat after saving him from daemons. i believe in Zestiria Dezel is said to be a fairly young seraph by seraphic standards, and Berseria takes place 1000 years in Zestiria's past -- if 1000 is "young" for a seraph, like, Mikleo must be considered a zygote

Zaveid loves kids so much that he and his now-dragonified girlfriend collect orphans and then kidnap random humans to help raise them. specifically he kidnapped some cooks bc he doesn't know how to

anyway we killed the dragonified girlfriend and now Zaveid and Eizen are friends and Zaveid promises to make Eizen's death wish a reality someday. once Eizen goes dragon Zaveid will run down the two-person list of people interested in having sex with him so i'm sure it'll be painful on his part as well *plays Single Ladies on kazoo*

and then we killed dragon-Silva again and confirmed he's the dragon skeleton on Hexen Isle. sometimes i feel Berseria tries a little too hard to shove LORE!!! LORE!!!! in our faces but i think that's just because i want it to focus entirely on lore that canonizes sormik more than it already is

hi other person from Xillia. is the penguin thing an in-joke i don't understand because i don't play Tales games that aren't gay

welcome to Katz Korner and here is where i remind you that Katz Korner explicitly has a sex club that you have to be 2000 years or older to enter and in Zestiria they state Zenrus was their most frequent guest

Laphi wants to enter the Katz wrestling championship where you make biscuits on your opponent and the first person who purrs loses. SWEET BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the final component of that legendary medicine we were gathering to save Laphi's Little Pal proves to be malakhim tears. can confirm that if Mikleo cried, i would gain the power to rend the earth in twain to annihilate the cause of his woes

Phoenix is here to fight again (pre-again? whatever prequels), and despite him putting forth the challenge only because he stalks Edna enough to know Eizen is deliberately avoiding her, he actually puts forth a remarkably coherent and comprehensive argument on how immature and horrible Eizen is being for keeping what he's truly doing a secret -- so much so that Eizen is basically sputtering red in the face in furious embarrassment towards the end and is all but screaming "FIGHT ME THO" to put a stop to it

that's all the compliments i'll give to Phoenix though because his fight makes me realize how much i HATE THE FUCKING STUN MECHANIC IN THIS GODDAMN GAME JESUS CHRIST. DO YOU LIKE GETTING STOPPED DEAD IN YOUR TRACKS EVERY TWO SECONDS IN BATTLE, FOR ABOUT FIVE SECONDS APIECE, GETTING YOUR MAX ABILITY POINTS REDUCED EACH TIME, UNTIL YOU CAN LITERALLY DO NOTHING AT ALL? WELL YOU FUCKING BETTER BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY TO AVOID IT LOLOLOLOL FUK U

anyway after all that Eizen sends Phoenix to watch over her and is convinced to come clean to Edna about being a pirate. you then receive a letter from her, in which she casually accepts the news in the traditional Edna Way ("well that was obvious. the new doll you sent isn't cute but i'll keep it since you sent it.") then Eizen starts crying and it made my dick stiff

i think the Seres = Lailah theory is dumb and very well-debunked at this point (considering Seres is like. very dead) but Velvet does state in an event skit that Celica loved to make puns so maybe Lailah helps carry on her purpose into the future

i poked my head into the Empyrean/Artorius' Throne area to clean up a hunt but i found a pair of freed malakhim there who stole the Water Divine Artifact (aka Mikleo's bow) from the Abbey and are planning on smoothing out the armatus arte to make it less dangerous and more of an even exchange of power than it is at that point -- as it is it's just exorcists flat out stealing malakhim power with zero consent and then melting from the strain. 

yet another chapter in the Who Fucking Edited This Game's Localization saga; localizing Glenwood as "Greenwood" because who cares about consistency in a pair of linked games. that might sound minor but, seriously, there are skits and dialogue that have complete gibberish as the subtitles/on-screen text. for example: Magilou has a line of dialogue: "That's a little goose I'm even by my standards." I was straight-up staring at my screen and eventually pieced together that they were going for "gruesome". i had a suspicion on how it happened, and checked out videos of the dub to confirm -- sure enough, Magilou's EN VA (who still sounds obnoxious lol i am so glad i changed to the sub so early) says the line, and if you were in fact a poor innocent speech-to-text converter software, used by a bunch of lazy localizers who decided to use a speech-to-text converter to automatically transcribe dialogue so you could whack off in the bathroom instead of doing work, it's very clear how you could parse the line reading as "goose I'm" instead of "gruesome". 

okay i think that metaphor might have gotten lost there. what i am saying is the lazy ass localization team clearly used speech-to-text converters to transcribe dialogue for subtitles, and couldn't be arsed to proofread the result. this happens CONSTANTLY in Berseria's subs/on-screen text. christ, what happened here? Zestiria didn't have this problem...

FTC - OPENING STATEMENTS

ANABEL'S OPENING STATEMENT:

JESS' OPENING STATEMENT:

INTRO.

So first of all, I would like to thank the hosts Alex, Ali, and Jones for hosting this amazing season! I also want to give a big huge congratulations to both Trent and Anabel because you both crushed it. To the cast this season, I just want to start off by saying a big thank you to each and every one of you for making this season what is was: amazing. Lastly, I want to once again thank you all because whether you liked it or not, each and everyone of you has played a part in getting me here today.

Now before I begin, I acknowledge that I've played a game where I had to lie, backstab, and hurt people I've grown to care about. I know this all got messy and that I left off on the wrong foot with some of you. With that being said, the moves I've made are in no way an indicator of how I feel about you as people. They were in my own self-interest. All I ask is that you all take the time to read what I have to say and consider voting for me to win.

I truly believe I played a fairly well rounded game in regards to three aspects of Survivor (Outwit, Outlast, Outplay) aka: Social, Strategic, Physical.

Physical.

Contrary to popular belief, I have never been great at challenges. So being a challenge threat this season was an unusual role to play. However, I tried my hardest and gave it my all in each and every challenge this season. This resulted in 3 individual immunity wins (the most out of everyone). I don’t think I necessarily needed to win these immunities for only for safety (although it was nice)..I knew regardless (apart from the final 7 vote) I would have the numbers to ensure my own personal safety. Honestly, I won these immunities to ensure those who I wanted out didn’t have protection. However, winning final 5 did allow me to make a move against Michael without being voted out.

Social.

Coming into this season I had a unique perspective that I believe no one else could relate to. My first season was ironically a “Fans .vs. Favs” season where I played as a fan. With my prior “newbie” perspective in mind, I knew I could use this to my advantage and empathize with the newbies while playing as a vet. These prior experiences became stepping stones I could build onto in the future.

Throughout this game I was socially connected to various people. However, as the game grew so did my target. As seen in “Touchy Subjects” I was labelled someone who people WANTED to see win in the end and someone people trusted. As “flattered” as I was at winning these titles, I knew that people’s perceptions of me were just exposed and I could potentially have to play defense. Therefore, I relied more and more on my social game to keep the target off of my back as it could have easily blown up in my face. 

I used my social game to receive information about people’s advantages within the game. I used the information I received strategically to not only to further my own game but to establish build trust with people. For example: Olivia’s idol, Anabel’s, Stoner’s “possible idol clue/advantage clue”, and Trent’s idol. With this knowledge, I knew that information was a currency that everyone sought in the game and therefore I used it as a building block to build stronger connections. The risk of this all blowing up in my face was huge however, I was able to do this without repercussions of a potential flip against me.

Although, my leaking did cause a bit of a show at final 7 it wasn’t the only thing that happened.

As most of us know.. Trent was the original target. However, my name was also thrown into the mix due to my threat level. BUT the relationships I had built were strong enough for people to put aside their established plans to save ensure my safety. This vote is crucial as it solidified the numbers I had moving forward and giving me a split majority at worst at Final 6 (3 with Anabel and Trent/ 3 with Michael and Olivia).  Being in the middle of an alliance of 5 was a CRUCIAL part of my game. It allowed me to use my social relationships I have built throughout the game with everyone to control my own destiny and ensure my spot at Final Tribal Council.

Strategic.

Now I know I have already dabbled a bit into my strategic game however, I do firmly believe I had a good grasp on the strategic aspect of the game. 

I do admit my strategic moves might not be perceived as your classic “flashy” moves. As someone who has played two seasons of Tumblr Survivor I can appreciate those who make big moves and especially each and everyone of you who attempted one this season. However a common theme this season was: big moves got people sent home that same round (Owen, Matt, Stoner etc..). Therefore, making a big unnecessary move early on would be almost sacrificial for my game. So the way I made my moves (which were subtle) occured in the way I positioned myself throughout this game. Most notably, my position within the majority alliance. Although, I can’t take credit for starting it I was arguably the glue to it. When push came to shove, I was able to sway which ever way I saw most fit for my way game. Whether it was pre-merge (Dylan and Isaac) or when it got down to the 5 (Olivia and Michael) I was able to choose my own destiny and make moves that were best for my game. My biggest moves and my hardest moves were the final 5 and 4 votes. I had been positioned in the middle at this point to where I believed I had a chance at that final 3 with both “sides” of this alliance. I saw too many similarities to my game with Michael’s and Olivia’s and I knew in order to have a fighting chance at the end, I had to vote them both out.  My position and relationships throughout this game allowed me to go without any votes until Final 7, be labelled the “most trusted” and “who would you like to see win at the end” during “Touchy Subjects” all while being arguably one of the biggest threats.

In conclusion, I put my heart and soul into this game. I may not have played it perfectly or “ethically” but I played it from the start. I put in the work from day one to ensure I was in the best position going forward (round after round) and I think I achieved that. I made bonds and relationships with people, won a couple of immunity’s along the way, and later took some huge risks to ensure I was in control of my own fate. I’m an open book and I will answer everything you throw my way open and honestly. Ask me anything and I will try my best to deliver. I look forward to hearing from you all! Once again a big congratulations to both Anabel and Trent! And thank you for the amazing season!

TRENT'S OPENING STATEMENT:

Hello everybody. I just wanted to first thank you all for an amazing season. I truly have enjoyed getting to know you and being able to play this season with you. This was my first REAL survivor game and I am glad I got to share that with you.  When looking back at this season I feel like I have earned my spot in the final 3 and the title of Sole Survivor. I have played not only a strategic game but a very social one to outwit, outplay, and outlast.

I honestly feel that I’ve done more than anyone else to really affect and influence the overall course of this game. I was on the minority twice, once with Nuchaya after the swap where vets outweighed the nebiews, and then once at merge when both Nuchaya and newbies were the minority group. I was able to survive both times and flip to become the majority once. I did this through a couple of very strategic moves. One big strategic move I made was during the first merge vote. I was stuck in a very tough spot. I could either vote with my all newbie alliance or my Nuchaya alliance. I decided to take this opportunity to weaken the side that had two previous winners (Nuobor). I wanted to find a way to truly break that side so they would not work together in the future. I did this by saying one thing and doing another. I convinced Owen (who passed the word onto Stoner) and the other newbies (Chris O, Leigh, and Lorelei) that I would vote alongside them and vote Matt out, when I really was voting Lorelei. This ensured that not only they lost one of their numbers (Lorelei), but they’d lose a second member of Nubbor (Matt), due to the fact that they just tried to vote him out. I knew that if I would have just told Owen and Stoner I was voting for Lorelei, they would have switched their votes as well allowing them the opportunity to work with Matt in the future. But doing what I did, I ensured that Nuchaya now had 6 (Nuchaya plus Matt) votes against 4 (Owen, Stoner, Chris O, and Leigh). This is just one example of the many strategic moves I made this season.

The next major aspect of my game was a strong social game. Even though I would get caught lying about who I was voting, or who I heard the target was, people still believed me the next round. This happened time and time again. People still came to me and told me what they heard, or who they were voting, even though I just had betrayed their trust the previous round.  Even after I won best liar, most likely to back stab, and biggest villain in touchy subjects, people continued to trust my word. This was due to my strong social game and being able to bond with people when not talking about the game or the future vote. I was able to make connections and fix any broken relationships. Each round I was able to lead a successful blindside because of the bonds I made with people.

I am proud to say that throughout the entire season I was never the target of the vote and I was never in danger of leaving the game. I have received 3 total votes the entire season, and all of those were a single throw away vote, 3 different times. I have never received more than one vote in a night and I have not received a single vote since the night Chris O went home, which was the third merge vote. I have known exactly what was going to happen with every single vote. Even though I would be caught playing the game hard and caught lying I was able to flip the attention away from myself and onto another target.  I always had a target and was always able to get that target out. I even won one immunity challenge, ensuring my target would not be given the safety of immunity at tribal. I had an idol from very early on in merge and never once felt the need to play it to guarantee my safety.

In summary, I have played a very strategic and social game all season. Yes, I have lied and manipulated in this game to control a vote and get an outcome I preferred. I came into this season ready to play the game. I have never once made this game personal and anything I have done; I’ve done it for the game, to get myself to the end, and to win this game. I’d love to get your vote tonight, and I feel like I’ve earned my way here and played every facet of the game. I have played strategically, socially, even won immunity once. I am ready for your questions and I am ready to explain my game.

--

And that's all for opening statements! To the members of our jury, it is now your time to ask any questions, voice your comments, concerns, etc. You have until 9:00 EST on October 9th to submit your questions, let us know if you need an extension or anything of the sort!!