#like I'm not playing the game wrong just not the way the vast majority of people do :p | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sorrelchestnut · 8 months

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I've seen a fair number of posts both here and on reddit that question why Tav (or the Dark Urge) would end up as a group leader for any other reason that "game mechanics say so." There's the requisite "okay, well if you play a high charisma character I guess it makes sense," or on the other end of the spectrum, "if you're playing Durge and murder someone right off the bat everyone would be too scared to tell you no." And I get where people are going with this! I really do. But it also fundamentally misunderstands a facet of human nature, which is that the vast majority of people do not actually want to be in charge, because that means being held responsible for the outcome. Accordingly, most people will dither when a group consensus is needed: have none of you ever tried to get a group of friends to agree where to go for dinner? Yeah, it's like that, but waaaay worse.

A lot of times "leadership" is just the willingness to say, "fuck it, y'all do what you want, but I'm doing this." I see it all the time in a corporate environment, where people will go back and forth on group meetings without anyone making a decision until finally one brave soul goes "in my opinion the clear answer is x" and then everyone gratefully goes along with it. Because now it's not their responsibility when something goes wrong! They're just following along with someone else's suggestion, and maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but at the end of the day they don't have to worry about the consequences unless they're personally affected. In which case they might step up and argue back, and then they're stuck being a leader, too. Welcome to adulthood!

Lae'zel is the only one who ever even tries to exert some kind of control, when she tells you to follow her lead on the ship, or calls you her subordinate in the Grove. But, crucially, she doesn't ever make any serious attempt to take control: you can just tell her, "lol, no," and she sort of confusedly gives way, because she doesn't know how to handle this scenario. In her world there are commanders and subordinates, and everyone knows where they stand and falls in line. She's never actually had to take control of a situation and so at the first sign of resistance she falls back on the dynamic that's familiar to her, which is executing the commands of someone older and more experienced. She goes through a lot of growth over the game, to the point that she can take over as a resistance leader in her own right by the end, but at the beginning she's a wet-behind-her-ears private with some decent combat chops and it shows.

Otherwise, your party consists of:

Shadowheart, who's trained in infiltration and assassination and does NOT want a lot of attention brought to her or her mission for a variety of reasons;

Astarion, who has literally been a slave for two centuries and canonically takes a while to realize that he can exert an opinion beyond complaining about it;

Gale, whose only friend is his cat and couldn't project-manage his way out of a wet paper bag;

Wyll, who was probably trained for command at one point but has been doing the lone-hero thing for a decade and has a very large secret that he's trying to conceal; and,

Karlach, who's only ever been a bodyguard and a soldier and is genuinely just happy to be here.

Honestly, it would be more a surprise if Tav/Durge didn't end up as their unofficial leader, given the general power dynamics at play. The first time Tav/Durge says something like, "fuck it, we need to do something instead of stand around arguing about it, let's go check out those ruins over there," it's a done deal. They're The Captain Now! As long as they don't make decisions that fundamentally oppose something dear and important to the other group members, they're not even going to get any argument. Because at the end of the day, not one of these walking disasters has enough trust in themselves and their decision-making skills to feel any kind of certainty that they can choose the right path forward. If someone else is going to take that decision out of their hands? They're going to follow, no questions asked, right up until the moment they can't.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #meta #some of you people have never suffered through group projects and it shows

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yuurivoice · 1 month

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Saw a goofball post about ASMR Roleplay, romantic plots, narratives, etc. and so on.

Let me share some of my philosophy with you as someone in this game for 7 years, 150k subs on YouTube, and who turned this into a lucrative business for himself. I say all that not to flex, but to assure you that maybe I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.

Audio Roleplays, ASMR Roleplay, etc and so forth is not some sort of rigid, strict thing. If you believe that content in this niche has to adhere to strict rules, structure, and expectations, you've already entered into this with strange expectations because there is such a vast array of ways you can go about presenting this content.

Some of it is slice of life moments in time with an assumed relationships between character and listener. Before narrative audios started to pick up steam, or rather, a handful of folks (myself included) developed followings centered on original characters and stories, the vast majority of creators in this space were just doing snippets of experiences. And, in case you were unaware, that approach is wildly successful. Boyfriend Experiences, audio smut, etc. has a much wider appeal at this time because a listener can drop right in and enjoy it.

If you have somehow deluded yourself into thinking that every audio has to adhere to strict narrative rules, be defined by conflict, or things happening beyond whatever the vibe calls for, you're willfully putting yourself and the niche in a box. Which is fine, but seeing people piss and moan about it is strange.

My approach has been to blend narrative series along with one-shots. One-shots serve as super self indulgent audios that aren't tied to the narrative and allow listeners to engage with some of their favorite characters they fell in love with in the narrative without furthering the plot.

Sometimes I play the game, explore tropes and clichés that are popular for the sake of taking a crack at it. Because it brings in new listeners who then become fans of my narrative work and creates genuine supporters of my passion projects.

And ya know? It fucking works. It works really well. I can drop a very straightforward, stripped down comfort audio with Alphonse like I did today and move listeners to tears. And then we can continue on with BitterSweet when I'm good and ready. It keeps the channel running, keeps the audience engaged, and keeps me working.

The bigger point here is that creators should be able to approach their work as they see fit, without concerns about goofballs with strange expectations and standards dictating to them what is and is not valid. You wanna know what's valid? Creating shit that you like, that the people who support you like. However you achieve that is all good in my book.

Having some goofy ass superiority complex about how people play pretend with pretty voices is strange behavior. I'm proud that my community has never flung that kind of nonsense around, and I'm speaking on it to affirm that kind of stance for the folks who rock with me.

If you're a listener who has recently stumbled into this niche, I implore you to explore, listen to others, find what you like and enjoy it because you enjoy it. There are countless people making audio content these days and there's no wrong way to do it, never has been. There's something for everyone, and if someone tries to tell you otherwise, be wary.

I'm not about negative nonsense, not about tribalism or putting down one person over another. Lift up your faves and share why you appreciate them and their style. But petulant bickering and shitting on others because of something as trivial as audio content? Nahhhh. If I catch anyone spouting nonsense like that in my name, I try and snuff it out as fast as possible because that's not how my shit is built.

If you are someone who fucks with me and my work but has had some opinions like that, I implore you to chill because none of this has ever been that serious. I want people to enjoy what they want to enjoy because for the love of fuck, life is too short to try and grandstand over this silly little niche. Or please get all the way away from me and my people.

Deuces. ✌️

#asmr roleplay #audio roleplay #yuurivoice #feels like we went years without nonsense like this

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biribaa · 1 year

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Make a wish

Employee 432/Timekeeper x reader

TW/CW: Some bad words

Please choose a Screen and Subtitle Language.

Then you chose.

Have you played The Stanley Parable before?

Then you answered.

Please adjust the slider until the computer is barely visible.

Then you confirmed.

Please enter the current time.

Then, you chose.

Timekeeper cautiously watched all of your choices, trying to gather as much information as they could. Especially at the time part, where it was usually when they gets the most irritated. People always just leave and let at 12:00 PM, but not you. You, in fact, took the time to look at the time on your cell phone, and correctly enter the time, as requested.

Timekeeper secretly took pleasure in it, having a shred of hope that you really will get the time right next time too.

And they waited in the dark.

...

A few hours passed, and they noticed your presence coming back.

Please enter the current time.

Then, you did. Again, picking up your phone from the table and entering the time.

Hang on, hang on

Your eyebrows went up, you weren't expecting this.

Before we get started, can I just say something?

Your fingers moved away from the keyboard, and with a mixture of curiosity and hesitation, your hand slowly settled on the mouse, clicking in the black screen.

Thank you for actually setting the clock both times you've booted up the game.

Oh, sweet. With that, you grown a smile.

You were used to the Narrator always saying that you always do everything wrong and that you are always ruining his story. Even when you want to do something good, not the Narrator, but the game forces you to let him down once again with you. Seriously, when was the last time the Narrator said a "thank you" or even an "I'm proud"? Even if he was mad at Stanley, you were hurted because of Stanley's mistakes.

But then, you finally get a "thank you" for doing something good. And, and... You felt happy, you felt good.

"Thanks..." You muttered quietly, even knowing that whoever was that white text was, will not listen to you, just like Narrator.

Then, you clicked again.

A lot of people don't take that step seriously. They just leave the clock set at 12:00 and call it a day.

You're not impressed by this, you know how the vast majority of The Stanley Parable players are, always wanting to be entertained even if that means making someone genuinely mad.

You clicked again.

But you're actually taking the time to set the clock, and I appreciate that.

They appreciate you, unlike Narrator, and that just made you smile slightly more.

You clicked.

That's how I know that you care about this experience, you're paying attetion.

"Thanks." You said once again, more happily. And you clicked again.

I don't even have any way of knowing if the times you're setting are correct!

You clicked.

Tell you what, I'll make you a deal.

Oh? You got interessed.

You straightened your posture and moved your chair closer to the computer desk. And clicked

Since you've been so cooperative, next time you boot up the game and see this screen, just set the clock to your FAVORITE time.

You gasped.

Finally! A reward for doing something good! Something that Narrator never ever thought, in your vision. This just made your smile and interess in whoever was that setting person more bigger.

You clicked enthusiastically.

Go ahead, pick whinchever time you want! Even if it's not the correct time! You've earned it.

Yes, you have earned it. After enduring so many, many Narrator's rants for something you didn't even did and didn't want to do, you deserved it. Something that not even the Narrator, someone you've spent over and over again with endings together, notices. But this stranger did. They did.

Your heart softened and your eyes filled with hope. You cupped your head in the palm of your own hand and clicked again on the black screen.

Alright, I'll let you get back to the video game now.

Wait, already?

You clicked again after reading, just to come across the big title of the game and the options in white color. But no black background.

You stared at your own screen for a few seconds with your face expressionless, and your head slowly pulling out of your hand. Wait, you're going to see that person again, right?

You went back to playing the game, but you'd be lying if you didn't admit that for certain moments, you were thinking about that person, whoever they are.

You are going to see they again, right?

Timekeeper, too, was thinking about you, there's not much they could do in a black void. You sounded like a player, not another proctor making fun of their face that they can't do things a proctor can do. And, well, you set the time, unlike other players.

You were a nice one, that's is Timekeeper's first impression of you. And because of that, Timekeeper wishes to know more about you, but they can't talk, nor do something more than set the time, make sliders and give you options of "yes" or "no". Stupid. They want to be free. Some type of help, any.

But no, they're stuck now.

They at least got you. Finally, something that isn't the Narrator or the black void.

So, Timekeeper made a promise to themself: They will collect as much information about you as possible so they can get to know you better. They need to get to know you better.

They just want a friend, but apparently that's asking too much to the universe.

...

Hours passed -at least, Timekeeper thinks the hours passed- and they once again felt your presence return to the dark infinity of theirs.

Please enter the current time.

And once again, you checked your phone, and entered the current time. But in the middle of the process, you froze, remembering the last few texts from the settings person, as you like to call they now.

"Oh, yeah, favorite time. Sorry" So, you set your favorite time and pressed "confirm".

Ahhh, __:__ __. Your favorite time of day.

You smiled once again, happy to see they again. You clicked.

Or... could you simply not resist giving me the correct time again?

You let out a chuckle. "What a charming mate", you thought, clicking again in the screen.

After all, I know how much you enjoy setting the time correctly.

You laid your head on your hand, just like the last time, smiling. You clicked after reading.

Okay now I'm curious how accurate __:__ __ is. Let's use another slider to find out.

And when you clicked in the screen, a white slider appeared, with a question, How accurate is __:__ __?

So, you pushed the slider to the position you thought defined your opinion better, and pressed the confirm button.

You know, can I just say, regardless of the accuracy of the clock, I'm having a great time adjusting these settings.

"Hey, me too." You spoke, even if you know they couldn't hear you, you chiped happily. Then, you clicked.

It's good to collect data.

You clicked.

I wish we had more sliders! But we've gone through all the sliders I have.

"Aw...Same" Then you clicked again.

Hmm... perhaps I can invent some new sliders to gather new data on you.

On you? You are moving closer to the table with your chair, but at the same time relaxing more in the chair. You clicked.

And then, you came across several sliders, one with a dog and a cat becoming friends, one with the numbers 5 and 9, and so on. You had fun, and it was cute that the settings person cared about you having fun.

And there was also-

Help.

Uh?

You clicked "Yes".

What time is it?

Does anyone really, truly know?

Of course they don't. Nobody knows anything.

You and I don't even know each other. We're like stranger.

"...Don't say that..." You quietly said. Reading the white words with caution. You didn't saw they as a stranger, but yes as a friend.

Sure, I've adjusted all of the game's setting to your exact specifications, but who hasn't?

It's just what I do, like a day job.

And now... the job is over.

You stared at the screen in confusion, they aren't coming back? Will you ever see them again? What does they mean by that? You kept clicking, reading all the texts that appeared in the void, your happiness slowly turning into a degrading panic and sadness.

And I still don't really know you.

And you don't know me.

"...Not true..." You wished they could listen to you.

You won't have me here when the game starts next time, but that's okay.

"What? No, no it's not!" You tensed. No, no, you don't want to lost they.

Perhaps you'll see me again, if you can find me.

Talk soon.

You stared at the screen, and if you could protest, you would. And the game menu appeared, but the last words they said were still running through your head.

"If you can find me"

...

And you did. You did the effort to find them.

Stanley, the puppet you control, stared at the computer in the empty room. Your curiosity bubbled as the screen zoomed in on the computer.

Hello again.

It's nice to see you.

But they were not talking with Stanley, someone empty, they were talking with you.

"Same." And you smiled.

They offered a deal, a union. Make more, and more The Stanley Parable games until the sun explodes. It was quite wrong, but it's not like just changing the title will destroy eveything, right? And you even got the broken achievement! What a nice person.

And again, everytime you open the game, you see that same black void again, asking for a new game title, again, and again.

...

Normally you would think they would just ask for a new title and leave, but quite the contrary, Timekeeper wanted to spend time with you. Screw the game, or the Narrator, or the other proctors, they got you! A friend, a real one!

Your first conversations started in the seventh title, when you came across another white text.

Wait, wait, wait! Can I have a chat with you? It's been a while, so.

And that's where you two never stopped.

Timekeeper has never been happier. They have been exclued so many times in the office by others, but not you! You were more excited to talk to them than the Narrator, who was supposed to be the main star of the game. How privileged were they to have a friend as loyal as you?

Timekeeper couldn't wait to talk to you in the hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades to come! You don't get out of Timekeeper's head, always causing a warm feeling in their chest.

You, too, couldn't stop talking and thinking of Timekeeper. Maybe you were lonely or not, but still, something as simple as plain white text could interest you so easily.

And right now, this was already the The Stanley Parable sequel number 146 you created with Timekeeper. And again, you two spend minutes talking and laughing, with the game not even started

-It was because she had no limbs! Hahaha!

It was a rather strange joke with decapitation, but you laughed. You deeply wanted Timekeeper to be able to hear you, and so did they.

You laughed, right?

You pressed the "Yes" button without any hesitation.

Great! I'm glad you liked my joke.

;).

You smiled with genuine happiness, and laid your head in your arms at your desk.

Oh. Hey, I almost forgot.

Please enter the current time.

And the big 12:00 PM popped up. And with pleasure, you grabbed your phone to check the time and put it on.

11:11 PM, nice. You moved your mouse to the time settings, and entered the time of right now, 11:11 PM.

Oh? 11:11 PM?

As I recall, you can make a wish at that time. I don't really know why, but they say to just make a wish.

Quick! Make a wish!

"Oh! Okay!"

You lifted your head and closed your eyes, bringing your palms together. And you started thinking about your wish. Starting to focus, on the wish.

What is something you really want that's been stuck in your chest for a long time?

Wait, why are you thinking so much about a wish? no offense but it's just something fun not to be taken seriously.

So, you just thought about something you wished to happen.

"I wish... For you to stay with me and be free. Be together." You murmured, a peak of hope could be heard in your voice.

You opened your eyes, putting your arms on the table. And you already found them waiting for you.

You already made your wish?

At the bottom there was another option of "Yes" and "No". You pressed "Yes"

My turn!

I wish...

Timekeeper took a few seconds, thinking about their next words, about how much you meant to them, and about everything the two of you had been through. How loyal and honest you were, and the only person who really cared for them, unlike the other co-workers.

And you easily made them happy, Timekeeper didn't depend on their own happiness on you, but even so, you managed to make their day much happier.

You were extremely important to them.

And they really wants the best for you.

And they would love to know your voice, your appearance, your smile...

But without even noticing it, Timekeeper found a big smile sprouting on their own face, and a warm feeling in their chest.

...

Timekeeper was in love with you.

"Fuck, shit!" They though, screaming silently. This has never happened to them, and they don't know how to react. But... It felt good. It is good, right? Because... They feel very well that it is. But what prevented all this from going wrong? Of you abandoning them? Of you going back to the Narrator?

The feeling was fuzzy, and now it did their face warm, they hated It. Timekeeper growled in rage, thinking of all the possibilities to get out of the situation, to go back to being alone and not face any more disappointments.

...But Timekeeper never thought of just letting the feeling flow. What would happen if they just... Let it in? Admit it that they are deeply in love with you? Simply try having a actual relationship with you, and try to be happy?

They thought. You waited.

...I hope all the best for you and... I hope we can meet, maybe outside the game, someday, who knows, haha.

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muntiller2 · 1 year

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I wish they'd just apologize, you know?

Okay, I'm going to be honest here. The way the story is heading is shit and I haven't seen anyone praise it in ages.

It's funny right? It all comes down to the exact same spot in the story where everything goes to absolute shit: EE part 3.

I'm not gonna say EE entirely because acts 1 and 2 were rlly good imo, the murder mystery was fun and engaging and there was no narrative of people being flawless and perfect, it was just a bunch of isolated assholes trapped with a killer inside a house and trying to figure out who it is. I really liked that part!

Everyone knows how the story went from there so I'm not gonna describe it. We all know what went wrong by now, we all know who ruined everything and we all know how it ends.

Ever since then not only has the story suffered severely, but so has the gameplay. As said by a friend on discord: the scummy gacha stuff was forgivable because the "meta" wasn't necessary to enjoy the game, we had the story to hold that up and old valks could very well hold up in newer weather. Today? That shit doesn't fly anymore.

You guys remember when a Herrscher patch was something to be excited for? I do. You guys remember when we didn't have Herrscher after Herrscher after Herrscher being released back to back? I do.

This all means that today not only is the gacha even more demanding in a game that is already really fucking unforgiving, but the meta has also shifted in a way that's not sustainable for people who have older characters. Sure, they're giving one of the new Herrschers for free, but that doesn't change the fact we have a boss and weather that needs 3 different elements on the same team to work, fucking up every single comp I've seen so far that isn't HoO, HoFi and HoTr.

Mihoyo is not only burning through the community's goodwill in regards to the story (and they're burning it fast, I haven't seen anyone excited for new chapters as of late), but they're also burning through the goodwill of these same players when it comes to meta.

If the story is no longer keeping people entertained, they'll move to meta and if meta isn't viable, they'll stop playing.

Hell, I haven't played the newest chapter yet, not a single stage and I don't want to, the story completely burned me out. Do you know what I think when I remember a double Herrscher patch is coming next patch too? I just sigh because I'm tired.

You know what I wish mihoyo did? Apologize.

If they were fucking honest about the fact they fucked up and burned all of the goodwill their community had with them, a lot of people would be less salty about it. If they stopped pretending everything is fine and that everyone is loving where the game is going, people would be less willing to hunt them down with pitchforks.

I just wish they would admit that their story has gone to shit and that they ruined the characters they meticulously built for years, instead of trying to mend things with bandaids and a shiny new coat of paint over the cracks.

But of course, that's not going to happen because it won't. No other reason aside from the fact that it just won't.

I just really fucking wish they would make an actual announcement apologizing, reboot the story back to pre EE and try again with some actual soul into it. I don't think the community would be even mad to have a soft reboot given the vast majority has been doing their own rewrites and completely disregarding canon. With the amount of fucking amazing ideas I've seen coming from all of us, they could even take some of them and make an actual good story.

But once again, that won't happen because they have their heads so far up their asses that they can taste their own hair. It won't happen because they're sure that if they hammer into our heads that this is the new canon enough times, we'll all eventually accept it and shut up.

#honkai impact #honkai #elysium ever ranting

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caitlynnrosespn · 9 months

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Another Rant. More Like A Response.

So I was going to make a video about this because I have a lot to say. But I realized that the stutter I thought I had gotten rid of Freshman years comes out heavily if I'm pissed, which I currently am, so I'll just save use the headache and type this out.

Also tagging @apexious cuz they wanted to see this.

Look. I could totally tag people. I could name names. But I'm not going to. Because at this point everyone has probably either seen this post or knows who this person is. And goddamn do I have a lot to say about them.

Number 1: If you're gonna call me out call me out bestie. Coming after me for a post I made expressing discomfort at a NSFW self ship is fine and all, but then you go ahead and say stuff like "adult people can have adult thoughts about other adults" when my post was referring to a fanfic written by a KID? Get your facts straight before you say anything that's public. Here's the thing, was my post in poor taste? Quite possibly. Was there an adult way to handle it and get the results you wanted? Oh yeah. Did you do the adult thing? Nope! Instead of either A. taking it to a private message and explaining what was wrong or B. making a respectful post that highlighted what was wrong in a mature way, you made a disrespectful, arrogant, self righteous post bashing an entire fanbase despite the fact that only a few people were at large. So now, instead of placing the responsibility of accountable parties, which I would have been included in, and allowing to own up and apologize, you have now not only included yourself into the problem, but also blown the problem wayyyy out of proportion. May I remind you that we are a fairly tiny fandom based on a video game directed at children? I've been playing since 2012, so believe me when I say these games have come a long way. Hell, these characters now in fanfics didn't have names until The Traveler season happened. Remember the days of referring to characters as "the coach from One Kiss" or "Jessy's guy in Swish Swish" or "P1 in Lean On"? Yeah, that was surprisingly not that long ago. So it is responsible to believe that the concept of NSFW or self shipping in a fandom is relatively new to us. Shit, we are not going to act like a normal fandom! This fandom is very different then others, so if we make a mistake like bagging on things that are all normal in other fandoms, then be fucking patient! Call it out in a respectable way, and let us fix it! We always do!

Next, the other problems you discussed? Are they currently in the room with us? I have not seen these problems like, at all. There is no mass shitting on people who have comfort characters. People who fetishsize and disrespect characters? Hell yeah (we took care of people like youngjackissohot and others), but not genuine comfort/kinny characters. The vast majority of us have a comfort character and that's why we are in this fucking community in the first place! Maybe i'm just blind as a bat, but I have not seen anyone tear apart anyone watching maps on Youtube. Bitch, most of us don't have a Switch so those maps on Youtube are our saving grace to stay in this community. Is this happening on another site, like Reddit or Twitter? Cuz if so maybe you should have gone and bitched to them instead of complain on here.

And you don't think we should benefit from your presence in this community? Ok Jesus, sorry you're leaving! Seriously though, while I appreciate everyone in this community and think you make an impact no matter how big it is, this is a classic case of "someone got a little too big for their britches". Sure, we hate to see you go. But like you said, you haven't been active since Lover Coaster (which you couldn't even remember the name of btw-how in the absolute fuck are you going to get involved with Fandom matters if you can't even name the last season you remember?) and we all survived without you. So don't pretend all of a sudden you're some hotshot celebrity whose mere absence in this community will affect anything. I have a few good fics that I am updating frequently that I know people will enjoy, and I've active for a good while, but I know if I fell of the face of the earth right now my absence in the fandom won't cause any major issues. Get a reality check.

Lastly, you're dealing with a fandom here. A group of humans who are all flawed and all make mistakes and all have their moments. If you're not happy with the ugly sides of that, then I'm sorry but you don't deserve to benefit from the many good sides. We are by far the least problematic fandom I have so far heard of. For the most part, we are kind to each other and care for each other and we love each other. If we make mistakes we make sure to fix them and then we carry on. If you have a problem with us not always getting along and us sometimes having our moments then don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I'm sorry you have to see this side of me, but come after this family and call us nothing more than a group of fucking assholes and see what happens next bitch. Cuz next time I won't hesitate to nane names.

#just dance #love you guys #sorry for that

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blackjackkent · 12 days

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im so inspired and in lovvveee w u (as a fan!! no parasocial shenanigans here I swear 🫶)

When they said they weren't doing any more DLC for the game, I wasn't sad, actually. I noticed there's a big divide of peeps who like the game right? I realized this when I saw there were people who *always* play Durge and think it 100% hands down better than Tav, and seeing in the forum why people actually *liked* playing Tav over Durge, And it's like because Tav can be anyone with any story. Durge is really just a customizable pre-existing character (That's why they're under origin character, right?)

So that's what I realized the divide of people. There's always going to be certain people who prefer to play Something with a pre-existing story, people who don't enjoy the extra work of making your own character. But for people who do, the lack of DLC is disappointing but not a big deal. Because ask someone who has always enjoyed making her own characters, The end of a story is never really the end for me. And all that jibber jabber to say I see it in YOU too, and I looooooovvvve it! You're such a good writer and it's fabulous 🫶

though, as someone previously non-experienced with D&D, I do admit that makes imagining the future a little bit harder, despite, What really is probably one of the most Fanfiction-Friendly properties 😂

I did want to ask for advice on that if you have any to spare! Like, for example, I'd love to write about my own Tav and Karlach rolling around in Avernus, but I have no idea where to start even looking 😭

:O This was a fun message to receive! c: I appreciate so much that you like my writing and reached out. <3

You def make an interesting point about the Durge vs Tav experience. I think there's a lot of room for character headcanon even when you're playing Durge tbh (certainly I'm enjoying giving Rakha her own sense of personality and such), but you're right that it adds a bit more of a "built-in" framework for people who prefer that kind of experience and not having to think too much about the character details.

(It also, without giving too much away, is very representative of the character experience in BG1/2 - which was more of a Tav/Durge mix, really.)

But yeah, I also feel okay about the lack of DLC because there is lots of room to come up with the story I want outside of the events of the game. :)

As far as advice - I think you're asking specifically for advice on writing within the Forgotten Realms world and D&D sphere in general? Tbh I am not the hugest expert on the subject myself; there is a lot more FR lore than just what comes up in this series and I am by no means familiar with most of it.

My practical advice would be to point you towards the Forgotten Realms wiki, which is where I get most of my info that I can't get from the game's own dialogue. (Sadly it's a fandom.com wiki - if anyone else has other resources that particularly like for FR lore I would love your comments also!) There's lots of info in there that I've drawn from when needed for my fics.

On a more general level though - honestly I think my best advice is to get comfortable with the idea of getting lore wrong. We love to play in this sandbox but we're allowed to bring our own toys too. :D So if something feels like it'd make a better story by being a certain way, then fuckin go for it. :) Any reader who wants to make a stink about details being off isn't actually there to appreciate your story anyway. And the vast majority of readers are there in good faith to see what you're going to come up with and enjoy it. :)

(I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of writing "Open Your Eyes", because they're off to Calimport now and I have realized I know nothing about Calimport. XD So I've been studying the wiki a lot but I've also made an executive decision to not stress myself overly about it and focus on making the setting work for the story and not the other way around. I dont really mind if someone ends up letting me know (politely) that I missed the mark on something, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it if I'm pleased with the story regardless. :D )

I hope this is the sort of answer you were looking for! Sending very supportive vibes for your writing adventures also. c:

#bjk talks #nice people #<3 ty for the message!

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sunsrefuge · 1 year

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Music ask game!! :D How about 2, 6 and the fancam song for Liifa?

AND THE FANCAM... <- i find this so so funny because he is SO demisexual. it would so not be his thing !! but by god he's pretty so you're damn right it'd happen to him !!

(hey! funny story! I got so excited about this ask that i'd filled out most of it by the time i remembered you sent. specific numbers. so uh,, woe !! bonus content be upon ye !! also im so sorry that this turned into a LITERAL ESSAY !! do not worry about reading all of it if you don't want to / feel up to it !!)

As per usual, all spotify links! ♥

[Readmore because - well. I said it was an essay for a reason. :'D Sorry !! feel free to only read the ones you requested if you'd like !!]

Backstory: Top of the World by Greek Fire

I remember the days, New beginnings on an open page. With something to prove, And nothing to lose, Not a soul to betray.

Ohh how we look back on the past with rose-colored glasses :') This song both describes his backstory in a fun way, and describes his perspective on his own past! He's born underground like the vast majority of asura during his time, and ends up having to surface after Primordus wakes up. He ends up in the Crystal Desert with his older half-sister Rylii, and they're taken in by the Sunspears once they're deemed not a threat and such. They have a good couple of years until;

I remember the lies, Caught up in building paradise. The angels were slaves, and demons behaved, And everything was alright.

boy got TRICKED into tying himself to the Binding - (in my hc, a book of Abaddon's that contains his worst-behaved demons! like, he dropped all these kids off at preschool and just never came back for them lol) - under the idea that he could somehow purify the book itself, therefore turning an artifact of Abaddon's into a powerful one of Kormir's. Needless to say, maybe not ever gonna happen!! (... maybe.)

I hear the crowds beneath me, I'm wishing they could reach me. But I'm on top of the world, Up here I'm dying alone.

it leads PERFECTLY into the majority of his backstory!! Lonely, aimless wandering!! It also highlights the little facade he picks up over the years:

Inside the walls of gold, Outside of happiness, (It's all been a show, Too late to confess!) No room for heart and soul, No room for innocence, Innocence!

He gets so lonely that he starts to get really jaded and closed-off from anyone and everyone that he meets. There's a sense of when you live so long, what use is it to connect? <- Words spoken seconds (decades) before disaster. (meeting Eliana)

Personality: Liar by The Arcadian Wild

I sense there's trouble ahead, It's clear by the signs and warnings, That should tell where all blame is due. So why are they pointing at my head?

There's a long stretch of time where he's very flippant about what he's doing and who it's affecting. Typically, if a situation turns against him, he'd just... remove himself from the area and wait it out.

Oh, I need you to see through my act, To tell me I'm wrong, To take off the mask. Or else I'll be left in the lie, And I'll deceive my way straight to demise.

That said, he knows that he's just lying his ass off most of the time - playing a part, setting the pieces, whatever he needs to do that'll get him in the door for whatever he's attempting now. He gets bored, living so long and being on his own so much, he's not above playing little scams and such to give himself some kind of stimulation as the years drag on for him.

I am the host of this hostility, I'm the master magician that makes you believe. I'm real, I'm not fake, but in reality, I'm a lying man. My life's become this grand game of deception, My mind's ignored all my heart's good intentions. We all feel this tension, We all have our own illusions.

And even as he realizes that what he's done is wrong, he still keeps that degree of separation - that denial that he's wrong - how could he be, when others have done worse? He's determined to be good, so much so that he's justified his own boredom-induced heists by simply internalizing that someone's always done something way worse. Which... isn't how it works! But he'll get there, eventually.

'Cause I'm not in a right state of mind, I just wish I had strength to admit it. My stubbornness will put up a fight, But I don't deserve to win it. I'm left in the dark pondering my mistakes, But in the light, I swear I will, Deny it all.

The chorus in here hits though, because it offers that self-awareness of "yes, this is wrong, and I know it's wrong! But even if you force me to face it, and I know that you're right, I'm going to deny it. It can't be true, that isn't who I am at heart." It's okay, Eliana can fix him later kahsdsuh

Angst: Suffocate by Nathan Wagner

The problem ain't "they're never good," The problem is power, It taints the mind.

hi !! Liifa thoughts hour !! After picking up the Binding, and being stuck with it for the last two centuries, this thought process for him is constant !! ♥ As time goes on, he starts to recognize the ways that the Binding (and primarily Ipos within it) has been influencing his thoughts and perceptions, and he Does Not Like It !! He's so so determined to be good despite all of his bad decisions and numerous setbacks and it's such a reoccurring theme throughout his entire playlist !! his determination to be good is integral to his character !!

Hold on to me, Don't give up on me. If I start to sink, Would you reach for me? I get so afraid, break down, Suffocate. Would you help me breathe? Help me breathe.

This hits harder later on in the timeline; when he has Eliana to travel with! If there's one thing that would immediately entice him over the 'edge' and into corruption, it would be someone he loves being in possibly-fatal danger. Dude is liable to literally lose his entire mind and moral compass in those scenarios!

Don't wanna hurt the ones I love, Don't wanna let everyone down. I try so hard but I slip up, Lose my grip, fall on the ground. The problem ain't "they're never good," The problem's power taints the mind. Don't let this heart turn into stone, Don't let these lights burn me alive.

this part makes me FERAL because !! During the GW2 timeline is when he starts to recognize just how jaded and cold he's become over the decades, and he hates it once he sees it. I also like to believe that - since he's been tied to the Binding - anything of Kormir's (such as the fire in the Sunspear Sanctuary) has the potential it 'burn' him if he gets too close! And I don't mean "you're obviously too close to the campfire" kind of close. More like he's fifteen feet away and still feels like he's standing directly in the fire.

Don't let me suffocate in luxury.

I just think that it's so so fun how... traditionally, demons tempt you by giving you unimaginable power, wealth, anything that you could ever want. And Liifa doesn't want any of that, he just desperately wants a calm life spent with the people he loves.

Comfort: I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young

I thought I saw the devil, this morning. Looking in the mirror, Drop of rum on my tongue, With the warning to help me see myself clearer.

This has !! entirely to do !! with him realizing how jaded and cold he's become, and actively making the decision to move away from that !! He wants to be softer. He wants to have friends. He deeply misses having people that he can rely on and feel safe with; he's so tired of feeling like it's himself against the world.

My past has tasted bitter, For years now, So I wield an iron fist. "Grace is just weakness," Or so I've been told. I've been cold, I've been merciless. But the blood on my hands, Scares me to death. Maybe I'm waking up, today.

I've always debated if there's a specific moment that makes him realize what he's turned into - and now I'm actually thinking !! The Genetics Facility Massacre could be it !! It's perfectly in between two of the times that he meets Eliana before they become properly acquainted, so there's already the thought floating around in his head of this sweet little sylvari he's met, and how kind she seems in a world so cruel - and it hits him. He's part of that cruelty. He's done assassinations, he's killed indiscriminately, he commits crimes so regularly that he doesn't even think about it anymore.

For all of the light that I shut out, For all of the innocent things that I doubt, For all of the bruises I've caused, and the tears, For all of the things that I've done, All these years. For all of the sparks that I stomped out, For all of the perfect things that I doubt,

I'll be good, I'll be good. And I'll love the world, like I should. Yeah, I'll be good, I'll be good, For all of the times, I never could.

and the REPITITION of "I'll be good, I'll be good," just continues to hammer home his determination !! to be good !! Despite his habits, despite his past, despite the things that he's done and said - he wants to be good. If not for himself, then for his half-sister. For the memory of his mothers, and his twin. For the kind people that he's met during his troubles. For everything that he so passionately stood for when he was younger; For the Sunspears.

I'll Be Good has been so so integral to his playlist ever since I started writing him and put it on there. you REALLY cannot know Liifa if you haven't listened to this song while rotating him in ur brain at least once.

Love Life: The Fall by half•alive

Oh, I'm just tryna introduce you, To this idea that I've grown used to. It's like sharing a dream with someone, Once you say it out loud it can't be undone.

he is AFRAID !! He's lived for god-damn-ever and yet he's still so anxious and hesitant any time he develops romantic feelings for someone!!

It's like waking up in surgery, I can't seem to see right past the lights, And I'm, so scared to take a knife to my chest, Let you see the heart that's inside.

He just wants to hide! Every time! He wants to hide but he's also so so glued to their side at the same time. The Fall holds a special place in my heart in relation to Liifa's love life because it always makes me think of how he, Ambrose, and Eliana all get together in my AU's with @forbiddenredjollyrancher ♥ !!

I'd jump off and into your arms, But I can't trust the fall. Take my voice, I'm giving it though I don't feel safe at all.

^ I wanna point out this part too! It's not that he's afraid of them, but more specifically how things could 'turn' in the future. He's already had one relationship (with Bjiattu) that turned sour once he felt content, and he's very much the type of person who gets nervous that things could turn sour again once he's comfortable and feels safely at home.

Luckily for him though, this little polycule is very, very cozy, comfortable, and permanent !! ♥ They also eventually add more to their lil polycule: Prism, Zayvis, Liott, and Haskell! Liott & Haskell both belong to Tres as well! There's also some 'branches,' but that's the central polycule at least! ^^ And yes, Liifa has this same fearful and anxious reaction to every new polycule member. Dude needs to be diagnosed with anxiety, ngl.

Fight Scene: Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace

Liifa typically avoids physical confrontations if he can help it. But, when the need does arise, he tends to go... a little overboard. Courtesy of Ipos inhibiting his impulse control! :) They adore carnage and would like for Liifa to murder more kajhdsk

So what if you can see, The darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become.

^ this part of the chorus is perfect for his jaded years !! Just the "so what" says so much already!

Help me believe, It's not the real me. Somebody help me tame this animal.

^ and THIS part is great for more recent years! He's sick of it, he's tired, he wants to be soft and cozy and not have to deal with Ipos encouraging his worse impulses and pushing him to blindly murder people (again). There it is! Again! His determination to be good despite his setbacks!!

FanCam: Cherry Hill by Russ

It honestly took me a while to find a good song for this for him !! idk, it's got a vibe and the chorus hits for him in relation to ... well, literally anyone he's ever been in love with, lmao

Maybe I'm a fool, Maybe I'm a fool for you. You know what I'd do for you, I know what you'd do for me. You will see, The truth in me.

hopeless romantic of the CENTURY /positive

also, this isn't important but every time that I've tried to picture a fancam for him to figure what vibes I wanted the song for it to have,, without fail there'd be a part of him readjusting his hair, I'm certain of it. He's so vain and prideful in his appearance, his hair has GOT to be hella soft and it shows.

#SORRY ABOUT. THE FUCKING ESSAY LENGTH. I HOPE YOU ENJOY WHATEVER PARTS OF THIS YOU DO READ <3 <3 <3 #thank you so much for the ask !! <3 #c:Liifa #song stuff #<3*

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liquidstar · 7 months

Note

Well then! let me begin with the appropriate music and say I play fast and loose with the Canon.

prelude, act 0

little guy runs from cult, ends up encountering a group who are referred to as jewel office, they take em in

grow stronger with them, meet other 3 little guys in their own partner offices and get on well because of being the little guys

one of the members of a partner office, the one with the fox like attitude, seems sleezy but helps teach valuable skills

eventually convinces that this line of work isn't for you, points the way to a power generating company, and says working there will be better than being out fighting so much.

you hate the smell of blood after all, it'll be a relief to be away from it

what could go wrong? hell he says he'll explain to the others, so you head off and join that company.

we skip the vast majority of this part for the sake of its a game plot

big light beam from the company joined, have grown accustomed to world but miss jewel dearly, eventually get wrapped into library alongside everyone else who worked there

begin chapter 1 of 3

meanwhile, the fox is making moves, wanting power that can be claimed by taking out all 4 teams, destroy them from the inside. one already had the little guy convinced to run, next will be the investigative branch to cover tracks.

library is growing stronger, eventually the fox is given an offer to join an ensemble of some of the strongest around!

which simply means he's gotta get rid of the old team, chuck them in the library

enter corkscrew, perish corkscrew. Little guy 2 kept alive through convincing to avoid the fight at large and joins the team!

next, there's assassins. but they won't be as strong without their weapons, make the workshop go in next, sending little guy 4 to a presumed death sentence and try to manipulate 3

enter alloy, perish alloy. Little guy survives because of shying out of the fight.

the assassin group is wearing themselves out without anyone to do maintenence, they get thrown into the meat grinder next. aside from the new protege of course. just need her strong enough to be worth killing.

enter orbit, perish orbit.

around this point the individual group leaders in the library have gone through their own arcs, and little guy 1 wants to abuse invitation system for good, being at wits end and knowing he ain't strong enough yet for the fox. in spite of 3 of the 4 groups having died to his team's hands.

remembers cult he ran from to join jewel. invites them in for the express purpose of murder.

finally! some good in the world.

jewel meanwhile have been fucking pissed at the fox, refusing to talk after their little guy vanished without a trace so long ago.

recognises names on an invitation list, recognises who'd cause that and why, know where their little guy is and have a plan to get him out.

little guy one thinks things are finally going to get better

enter jewel office

one grueling fight and near mental breakdown later, jewel office is defeated, there is no other way.

little guy 3 manages to piece what's going on together, the divide and conquer tactics and what happens if she sticks around

knows just running will get her caught and probably tormented for trying to run, but can go to the one place where she can use her state for good

enter little guy 3 to library, this time with no perishing.

a bit forward, that ensemble finally comes a knocking, not expecting the 4 little guys to all be alive, the fox admits he's going to enjoy ending them

unfortunately, a thing with this library is taking the strengths from those who fall within. which includes the groups said fox REALLY didn't want to deal with.

in 4 strokes of catharsis goes from 5 tails to 1, then from 1 head to 0.

end chapter 1, abridged version

ANON this is a VERY cool and concept and i can tell youve put a lot of thought and time into fleshing it out! to be honest this style of abridging makes it a bit hard for me to parse certain things, so i'm really sorry if i misunderstood something, but i read it all carefully and think i get it!

but i love the little guys, especially the main little guy on his whole adventure. the whole thing with him running away from a cult is really interesting and it makes me wonder so much about his backstory. and the whole thing with jewel office being sketch is also really cool, especially considering how he basically went from one bad situation (cult) to another (jewel). i think theres a lot there

the line about hating the smell of blood is also really cool, the way its spaced out here gives it extra impact i think. i like it

everyone entering the library and almost instantly perishing is so funny. im glad little guy 3 ended up okay though!!!! i really do think all the little guys are fun (based from the prev ask) and i would hate to see them instantly perish in a library. esp given what you said here abt how they get along, i bet their actual dynamics are a lot of fun!

also the ending is so sick!!! from 5 tails to 1 and 1 head to 0. thats so sick. they totally went to town there lol.

anyway you said its a game plot which sounds really cool!!! idk much abt games or gaming but i think it sounds like a really interesting story for a game and would be fun to play out! thank you for sharing all the cool ideas you have for your little guys and their adventures in cults and libraries and whatnot <3

#long post #but cool post ^_^

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 1 year

Text

Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings (11/?)

Chapter 10 : Sweet Treats

—-

Logan and Patton spend the night at the festival together and certain things come to light, like the fact that Logan is way too freaking tall, for example.

<- Previous | First | Next ->

@cutebisexualmess :)

—-

Hello hello, sorry for the lack of chapter last week, I had about 200 words of this written by midday last Sunday and didn't have the motivation necessary to write another 2k, so I gave myself another week to get it done.

Things are finally getting somewhere :D

Also!! Now that I posted another fic for my Darkside!Roman AU, I'm going to start thinking about getting that ask blog I mentioned a while ago up and running! So keep an eye out if you're interested :)

----

“Oh isn’t it wonderful!” Patton cried, turning to look up at Logan with a bright grin on his face, Logan smiled back, the stars on his cheeks twinkling in the dusk, “Do you like it?”

“We’ve hardly been here long enough for me to form a valid opinion,” Logan said, stepping in time with Patton, it made him giggle- he wondered if Logan even noticed he was doing it, “I shall inform you later.”

“Ok!” Patton laughed, “Come on, let’s get drinks! Ooh, we could try Selina’s faerie wine, if you’re up for that, if not there’s always Indie’s punch stand- it’s here every year and she has the best fruit drinks-”

“I believe the punch would be preferable,” Logan cut in, swiftly interrupting his oncoming tangent, “I’d rather not be intoxicated by faerie drinks.”

“That’s ok!” Patton nodded, “Come on, let’s go find the stand and then we can have a proper look around!”

Taking Logan’s hand (and trying to hide his blush as he did so) , Patton led Logan further into the festival towards a cluster of stalls selling food and drink. A lot of fae attended this festival compared to others, which Patton knew would normally make people nervous, but there were contracts and deals in place to ensure nothing would go wrong with them, it did seem to be making Logan nervous though even as they approached the stand selling fruit drinks.

“Hey!” Called the faerie running the stand- they were running the vast majority of the food and drinks stands, “Is that you, Pat?”

“Indie!” Patton cheered, pulling Logan over, “Hey! We came back to attend the festival since we were just passing through!”

“Oh that’s lovely!” She grinned, “Who’s your friend? Would you like drinks?”

“You may call me L,” Logan said with a nod of respect, before pausing, “Are the drinks safe?”

“Lovely to meet you, L, you may call me Indie,” She smiled back, reaching across to shake his hand, which she kept hold of as she explained, “The punch table comes with a guaranteed no curses, jinxes, hexes, tricks, traps or hijinks! Except the one at the end, that one got spiked but I’m not sure with what, nothing harmless I assure you but possibly a little funky.”

“Right,” Logan nodded, “That is appreciated, I’ll take the blackberry, apple and pomegranate.”

“I’ll have the strawberry and apple one please Indie!”

Once they had their drinks, Patton turned to Logan and offered his glass for a toast, Logan smiled softly and knocked his own drink against Patton’s.

“A toast to our adventure?” Patton suggested with a smile.

“To our adventure,” Logan returned before taking a sip and sighing, “this is lovely.”

“Oh good! I’m glad you enjoy it!” Patton said before lighting up and squeezing Logan’s hand “Oh! Oh! My brother’s stall is over there! C’mon let’s go say hi!”

—-

After saying hello to Remy and his partner Emile, Patton set about dragging Logan around the rest of the festival. They played a few games and marvelled at some of the hand crafted bits and bobs being sold in stores. They stopped to get their fortunes read by a feline woman with the patternings of a snow leopard draped in flowing fabrics and crystalline jewellery. Patton had giggled when Logan came out of her tent purple in the cheeks with his freckles shining brightly, he couldn’t help but wonder what Logan had been told in there.

For the next half an hour the pair walked together amongst the stalls, stopping to look at anything that attracted their attention. At one point they passed Roman and Virgil. Roman had waved a pear at them before running off, dragging a blushing Virgil with him by their joined hands. Patton laughed.

“I’m glad they’re having fun,” He commented, turning to Logan, who was smiling at him with that little smile of his. Patton offered Logan his hand with a hopeful smile, Logan smiled back and took it carefully.

“Me too,” Logan agreed, before looking back in the direction the other two went, “I wonder what will come of those two.”

Patton couldn’t help but bark out a laugh, right, so Logan could identify a blooming relationship between their friends, but he still didn’t realise that Patton had been flirting with him this entire time.

“What is so funny?” Logan asked, looking confused, gosh Patton just wanted to squish his cheeks, how was his cluelessness so adorable?

“Oh nothing,” Patton said with a smile, “I just think you’re neat.”

“...Right?” Logan said, tilting his head in confusion, “Well- um- I suppose you’re pretty ‘neat’ yourself.”

It took everything Patton had to keep from squealing as he took Logan’s other hand, “Ok, where to next? Would you like to try some of the games? Ooh or there's the magic displays that people will be putting on! And the dancing will start soon too-”

“Magic displays?” Logan asked.

“Mhm,” Patton grinned, “It’s mostly like- people will put on an entertaining show using their magic, I used to help out sometimes with my little lightshow.”

“That sounds interesting,” Logan said.

“Would you like to see it?” Patton asked, already beginning to lead him, he knew what Logan’s answer would be.

“Of course,” Logan replied, just as he had expected.

“Come on then!” Patton led him away, laughing as he went, “It’s this way!”

—-

When the dancing started Patton ended up splitting up with Logan for a while. He’d tried to convince Logan to join him, but he had seemed particularly against the dancing and instead had retreated to sit in a small alcove promising that he’d remain there and keep an eye on their things whilst Patton danced.

It was as lovely as it usually was, the dancing, but Patton somehow found it lacking without a partner. He’d never felt like he’d needed a partner before, he had been more than content with dancing around the massive lit bonfire with strangers, linking arms and spinning in circles until he was dizzy and exhausted in the best way possible. But somehow now it didn’t seem to quite hit that spot he remembered.

After what must have only been fifteen minutes, Patton ducked out of the dancing circle with a glance towards where Logan was sitting. Logan hadn’t noticed him leave the circle, so Patton took the chance to head over to a nearby food stall- he’d grab a cake for them both and then head over and sit with Logan. He smiled to himself, it was a wonderful idea!

Patton grabbed a glazed doughnut filled with blackberry and pomegranate jam for Logan - remembering those were the fruits he’d gotten in his drink - and grabbed a vanilla sponge cupcake with sugar icing for himself before hurrying back over to Logan’s alcove.

“Hey,” Patton called, startling Logan into looking up from his book, he smiled when he saw Patton and marked his page before setting down the book.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan acknowledged him with a nod, “I thought you were dancing?”

“Well- I was dancing but then I kinda started feeling bad because you weren’t with me, so I came back over here,” Patton said, shrugging, “Mind if I sit?”

“Of course,” Logan said, shifting along the bench a little and moving his (incredibly fluffy looking, which Patton really wanted to touch) tail to make space for him.

“Here,” Patton said, offering Logan the doughnut he’d bought him, “It’s got blackberry and pomegranate jam, like your drink, I just kinda guessed you liked those flavours.”

“I do,” Logan nodded, taking the doughnut from Patton, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” Patton smiled before biting into his cupcake, it tasted wonderful, as he had expected. As they ate their sweet treats together, Patton looked back out to the dancing. He was pretty sure he’d spotted Virgil and Roman amongst them, he really hoped they were enjoying it together.

“I apologise for my lack of presence pulling you away from the dancing,” Logan said quietly once he’d finished eating, Patton turned to him, still smiling as he felt he had been possibly all night.

“That’s ok! It’s not your fault and besides, I would rather spend time with you than spin in circles anyway.”

“Really?” Logan asked, looking slightly confused, “Why? You seemed overly excited about the dancing earlier.”

“While I was excited about the dancing, I was more excited about dancing with you than the dancing itself,” Patton explained, “I’ve been going to this festival since I was old enough to walk, Logan, I’ve experienced a fae dance more times than a mortal ever deserves to. I haven’t experienced nearly enough time spent with you, and I probably never will, so- I’d rather do that.”

“Oh,” Logan said, looking down at Patton with an unreadable expression, “I, um, must admit that spending time with you has been enjoyable also, as has the festival itself - you asked for my opinion earlier, and tonight has been wonderful."

"I'm so glad!" Patton smiled, leaning against Logan's shoulder for a second before sitting back up, "I was worried you would be bored."

"Bored?" Logan asked, "This seems like the sort of event where such a feeling would be impossible."

“It is, I guess I was just… worried it wouldn’t meet your expectations.” Patton said, looking away.

“It more than exceeded them.” Logan reassured. Patton smiled at him, big and bright, and they lapsed into comfortable silence. The music was still playing, loud and bright, people were still dancing and talking and enjoying themseleves, but here in their little alcove, it felt like all of the world had come together to give them peace. Logan had reopened his book and continued to read whilst Patton pulled out the bundles of colourful thread he had bought from the spinstress’ stall and began knotting them together to form a bracelet on his lap.

Eventually, though, Logan put down his book and looked up, gently nudging Patton to get his attention.

“It is nearly midnight,” Logan said, had they really been here that long? It really felt like only a few moments, “We should return to the meeting point.”

“Right,” Patton said, carefully packing up his thread and almost complete bracelet into his bag and standing up with Logan by his side. They were about to leave when Patton stopped, “Wait-”

“What is it?” Logan asked, turning around. His stars had dimmed a little, a frown on his face.

“Sorry I- I-” Patton took a deep breath, putting a hand in his pocket to find the little gift he had bought and gathering all the courage he had, “Logan I have had so much fun with you tonight, this festival was- infinitely better spent with you here in this alcove than it would have been out there, and I- I guess I just wanted to– I don’t know the customs well, not for- not for nobles like you anyway, but- I want to attempt to court you, if you will accept me.”

Closing his eyes, Patton held out his hand to Logan, in it was a single pebble, painted with a swirling galaxy of stars. They had passed a stall selling them earlier and Logan had looked interested, so Patton had snuck back and bought this one- because it caught his eye and reminded him so much of Logan- as a gift.

For a terrifyingly long few seconds nothing happened, but then Patton felt Logan’s hand cup his own whilst he took the pebble and- that was a good sign, right? Patton oopened his eyes to find Logan inspecting it whilst still keeping hold of his outstretched hand. Eventually Logan looked back at him, their eyes meeting, Logan’s face was tinted a brilliant magenta.

“I do not have anything to give you in return,” Logan said, voice smaller than Patton had ever heard it, “But- if- if you’ll still want me despite me not being capable of correctly accepting and returning your offer, than, I believe that would be- optimal.”

Patton laughed, turning his hand to take Logan’s properly, “There’s no- there’s no terms and conditions, L, not here. Traditionally yeah you have to exchange gifts but it doesn’t have to be immediate and really you don’t even have to do it at all I just- can I hug you?”

“Of course,” Logan answered, dropping Patton’s hand in order to wrap him up in a tight embrace, Patton melted into it easily, as if this was how it had always been meant to be, when Logan talked Patton could feel the words brushing over his hair, “I will admit I’m- severely uneducated when it comes to romance- courtships and relationships have never been of interest to me- I may require some- guidance.”

“Roman was right, then?” Patton said, pulling back enough to smile up at him but not far enough to let go, “You really noticed nothing?”

Logan looked confused, “What was there to notice?”

Patton couldn’t help but giggle, “Just that I’ve been flirting with you since we left Mirefeld, now let’s go, we wouldn’t want to be late!”

“Wait! Patton- what-” Logan cried as Patton lead him through the crowds back to the food wagon where they had agreed to meet. Patton didn’t stop, but he did slow down a little, “Patton have you- really been making advances this entire time?”

“Mhm,” Patton answered, half turning to face him, “This whole time, you’re very cute when you blush.”

Said blush was very rapidly deepening, Logan’s eyes widened with a realisation, “Is this- is this was Roman wanted us to talk about yesterday?”

“Most likely yes,” Patton nodded.

“Please forgive me,” Logan said, “If it ever felt like I was rejecting you, in that case, romantic feelings are- foreign- to me, and whilst I am certain that is what I am feeling for you, I have only realised that very recently, so- I apologise for my ignorance in the past weeks.”

Patton stopped then, turned and found that - annoyingly - he was too short even on tiptoe to kiss Logan’s cheek. Instead he had to pull Logan down by his shirt to do so, leaving them both blushing even more than they already were.

“It’s ok,” Patton said, letting Logan go, he touched his cheek gently, staring at Patton in disbelief as they continued to walk, “Roman warned me- back when we first left Mirefeld- that you wouldn’t get it straight away, when did you realise?”

Logan went even purple-er and didn’t speak for a moment, “...earlier tonight, after the fortune teller’s tent.”

“Really?” Patton gasped.

“And I only accepted it when you gave me that doughnut before…” Logan murmured, trailing off, Patton laughed, squeezing his hand.

“That’s ok,” Patton said, “I’m just upset I’m too short to kiss you.”

Logan stared at him for a second, before coughing, “You can- always ask me to lean down.”

“Well then,” Patton said, stopping when they finally reached the food wagon, “Roman and Virgil aren’t back yet, so how about that kiss?”

----

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#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #logicality #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #rowans fantasyau #rowans writings #fanfic

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marenwithanm · 1 year

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I have only played Curious Village and Kathrielle Layton the Millionaires Mystery, and I also thought Flora was adopted. And from what little I've read about the other Layton games I thought he was at least unofficially adopting kids left and right which made me feel Level 5 did him real dirty in Kat's game. I think the newest Layton game (is it even released yet?) is supposed to be from the Professor's PoV again and they better give him some damn good redemption in it otherwise they really ruined his entire character that was established in CV imo

I've only finished curious village and I'm part way through diabolical box rn so I can't speak to the millionaires mystery game, but from looking at fandom stuff it definitely seems like Layton is unofficially adopting kids like he's going for the world record lol. I don't think the new game is released yet, but I do hope his character stays consistent with how he was in curious village. I really love his characterization in that game, especially when "inspector Chelmy" was accusing him of murder and he's just like "😌 me? Oh well I'm terribly sorry but. No I don't think so. Unfortunately, uno reverse card 😊"

Like look at his little smile. Not a worry in his head ❤️

Again, haven't played the vast majority of these games so I truly do not know! All I know it curious village, part of diabolical box, and random snippets from people on Tumblr. I could be completely wrong about his characterization or what goes on in the other games! I just hope they don't deviate too far from curios village

#ask #professor Layton #hershel layton #inspector Chelmy

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salt-volk · 2 years

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genuine question: why does dv hate it's "rich" users so much? is it just bc it's a smaller website so they're more visible? or, smaller, so the complaints are more visible?

i've been on plenty of other game sites w a mega rich minority that have access to any n all resources & can skate through the game with out ever having to grind or do much & can basically generate wealth forever just on their assets, but i've never seen as much hostility n outrage over it as I do on dv (tho maybe just lookin in the wrong places).

before customs, i was already pissed off at ppl who spent hundreds of irl dollars to buy turnip shit n flip it for potatoes, & ppl who got fucking filthy rich offsite trading shit w fr, whatever, who get to just breeze through the game n sit on their trove of ks shit & what have you. but that's just a part of it. i think i already came to terms w the vast inequality.

after customs opened, i just didn't really care abt ppl profiting off customs, bc it's all just more of the same shit, just tune it out n move on w playing the game, just like on every other site where the same shit happens.

like, a huge majority of the ppl profiting off of customs now, originally got the potatoes they used to spin the customs from offsite trading & selling turnip chests for potatoes. rich users were able to spin for more customs bc they were already rich. they didn't even need to sell their shitty items to make them that way.

i get the difference between ppl selling customs vs. other get rich quick shit is that at least w the other ways you have to spend rlc (whether on dv or fr), & w customs you don't technically have to (though you def spent rlc to have the potatoes to roll your custom in the first place lol, so its still the asshole who are rich irl moving it into the digital space, as always, like every other game) but.. idk....

i'm not even making a good point here i'm just venting lmao, like i really don't give a shit how the rich are getting richer, bc if it wasn't customs it'd just be another thing. every site has to have it's whales, that's what largely funds the shit. every game will give at least a slight (usually more) advantage to their paying players, since with out them the game would die.

if rich fucks want to spend their entire paycheck buying turnip shit to trade for other shit in hope of winning a custom & printing potatoes for themselves that are largely useless anyway bc none of the items on site even retain value then like.. sure.. i spend too much mental energy fighting for my basic equality irl, i can't also extend mental effort to get worked up over every instance of pixel inequality on dumbass websites where said inequality is just built in as a feature bc that's that nature of games (at least of this genre, ones that are funded by the players).

sometimes it just has to be like... yea i'm never going to own a single ks item or get these 5 custom pets which are ugly as shit anyway, n that's totally fine. i'm at peace w that. i also hate the "rich" folk, but if i'm going to play these types of games, that's just something i'll always have to put up w, & i'm mostly at a place where i can ignore it n enjoy the games anyway.

as a f2p player of course i want things to be more equal for us, but when are they ever????? where is one game that ppl can't still spend irl cash to get a huge resource advantage???? why is DV considered so different? bc the shitty custom system adds like 10% more inequality than other sites?? the only true equality would be to ban ppl spending rlc on game sites in general so they can't just leap ahead w an unfair advantage (the dream tbh, fuck 'em), but then no game would ever get funding. favoring the whales is just how it works.

and, i thought everyone felt this way. like all ppl who play website games like this just understand this n are kinda at this place of peace w the whole thing. that's just how games like this are. so, it's strange after being in the dv community a while n seeing that its like some huge point of contention here... why is dv considered as some outlier to everyone????

#anonymous #customs #mod yoshi

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the-resurrection-3d · 2 years

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Why is incest bad anyway?

I want us all to just take a moment and appreciate this ask.

Did you take a moment? Okay then, let's continue:

The most robust answer is that, in the vast majority of cases of non-accidental incest, it's abuse or otherwise has directly resulted from a dysfunctional environment. A parent raping their child is a very obvious example of abuse, but most people who argue for consensual incest are discussing incest between siblings, so I'll unpack that one a little more. Every case of consensual incest that has ever been presented to me has been the very obvious and direct result of a dysfunctional homelife -- even cases of children sexually experimenting without an obvious perpetrator and victim dynamic are the result of a lack of properly set boundaries (and, often, sexual abuse on the part of one of the children -- acting out sexually at a very young age is a very common hallmark of csa).

Further, power dynamics exist between siblings-- even often between identical twins-- which compromise the capacity for consent even into adulthood. For example, my younger brother and I are only three years apart -- he's an adult and we both live away from home -- but I still have certain kinds of power over him within the larger structure of our family that, if pressed, could put things like his financials in danger. The actual shape of these dynamics depends on the family-- sometimes the younger sibling is more favored by the parents, which causes the older sibling to lash out at them in private -- but they still exist.

The only exceptions would be the accidental incest I mentioned above, or foster care cases where you've been raised apart and have no prior relationship with each other. The latter is the best case for consensual incest, but it also seems to be the rarest, and in a way only counts as incest based on the genetic condition of its participants. But I'm not a huge fan of the genetic arguments-- you know the ones, that incest is bad because the kids will be fucked up. Sure, you're not wrong, but that leaves a lot of obvious holes: is gay incest okay now? what if the sister gets on birth control, or gets an abortion? what if one or both parties are naturally infertile, or just have really great pull-out game? This also leaves out adoptees who genuinely view their adopted family as their /family/, and for whom incestuous abuse would still be playing on a lot of the same kinds of power dynamics as "real" incest.

Basing your critique of incest in power dynamics accounts for all of this, which is why I called it the most robust reason. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

#incest mention #csa mention

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northwest-cryptid · 28 days

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yeah! that's kinda my point, it's been there a while, and quite frankly the whole tradable premium currency thing sucks in any game, the kinds where it can force along progression especially (looking at you, the VAST majority of freemium MMO games)

but it's also definitely not exclusive to one type of game, some have it just for cosmetics, which is shady but not villifying in my eyes, some basically force you to cash out to compete, which is far, far worse to me. when it becomes tradable, or even if people just figure out how to get in contact to cash out it feels as though it'll choke the life out of much else.

for fuck sake, people are even trying to get thousands for items on minecrafy servers because they have a dye the owners didn't intend.

I will say I don't think we see eye to eye on this, I'm not saying it's necessarily a good or bad thing. Rather it's something people don't consider very often but that's always present. No matter what game I look at, though mostly MMORPGs if I'm being entirely honest, hence the original post that never specified exclusivity but did lack further explanation to be fair.

I think people view it in very emotionally charged ways but I don't know if it's really something moral or all that important. Like yeah you're technically not supposed to do it, but the idea that it's omnipresent throughout gaming; and I'm not even talking about cash shop currency and the like, well it's interesting to me to see how people value gold or it's equivalent.

I mean sure you have cases like EVE online where it's not even surprising because of the lengths people will go to for war in that game. But this goes far beyond that, if you're selling gold or direct currency you are competing with two market values at the same time.

For one you need to consider how popular the game is, if it's not as popular it's going to be harder to get sales so you need to consider if it's worth charging more for more and investing time into making big sales but fewer sales overall or whether you should try to get this quick flash in the pan sort of cheap and fast money, but likely not as much since repeated business might not be as common.

But you also have to think about how the economy within the game is functioning. Is one million gold worth $15 to someone or do you need far more before they'll consider monetary compensation.

This brings us to people selling items, accounts, progress within a game. All of this is crypto in an unconventional sense.

You can put a sort of worth on your time and effort. If someone is willing to give you an account that's already max level with all the story done and every skill unlocked is that worth it? In some games absolutely not in others it could very much be for someone with little time but plenty of money.

Real money trading even effects in game economy by giving players access to much more currency than they might otherwise have.

But outside of breaching the ToS for a game, where is the fault? In an ideal scenario, and honestly how anyone I've known who participated in rmt did it. A person or player grinds away at an account for a while earning gold, items, whatever. They then sell that good or service to a player for real life currency. Everyone involved paid a price they deemed fair for a service.

I've never used it myself as I like to actually play games and earn my progress, but if someone thought it fair to them to trade $50 for an account someone's not going to use anymore I don't honestly see anything wrong with that.

Perhaps I'm wrong but, I just don't get all the fuss. I don't think it has any more moral value as the deli selling me a pound of meat.

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mugenloopdalove · 1 month

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I honestly don't know if therapy would help you at this point. You are so closed off from personal responsibility and realizing you need to change your mindset. Therapy isn't an easy fix, it's a tremendous amount of work and it's uncomfortable. You say you can't think of any other hobbies and you'd be bad at them forever anyways?

You've given up before even trying if thats your mentality. Nobody picks up a hobby because they want to be amazing at it. They pick it up because it might be fun. I recently picked up guitar (I've never been in music classes) so I could play some real simple stuff at the camp fire and I'm NOT good. But it's nice to just play a simple song next to the fire. If someone told me I was good at it I'd be insulted cus I know it's a lie.

It really doesn't matter if your brother was good at football in high school. You were in highschool a full decade ago it's time to move past the jealousy of the 'gifted' sibling. He's not worrying about being good at something he enjoys because it doesn't matter in adulthood unless it's your literal job.

You beg for strangers online to tell you you are good at something and then when people come up with things you are good at you shoot them down. Nobody responded to your writing because the vast majority of people following you are in similar timezones to you and you buried your writing reblogs with 1 million other posts so how is anyone to even see them? You victimize victimize victimize and never entertain changing your personal mindset which is the only way to stop your spirals.

Most people don't even post about their hobbies online because they are just doing it for fun not for praise.

I mean like. There's seriously nothing new I can think of that doesn't cost insane amounts of money that I don't have rn??? Like. If people have suggestions cool!!! I'd love that!!!

And it's funny bc I had an excellent therapist that was helping in 2019 but she retired when lockdown happened bc she did not want to do virtual appointments and was pretty fuckin old. I just haven't found the right therapist since.

And sorry but i cannot be content being bad and everything I try. I can have hobbies just for fun. I do Kandi just for fun. I play games just for fun (for the most part). Hell one of the games I was the worst about years ago (overwatch) I now just play and am like PROUDLY shit at. I know I'm garbage but tbh being garbage at overwatch feels more fun than trying to be some stupid pro to me. I love being garbage at fighting games to. My brother MELTS me anytime we play ANY fighting game bc hes a decently ranked comp player and im a button masher. And I'm cackling the whole time.

My problem is there not ONE THING I am good at to me. Nothing. And having a relative that can pick up anything and ace it gets frustrating and makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong that I struggle to be good at anything after YEARS, let alone instantly.

No one in the past 24 hours has told me I'm good at anything but being a friend which... if that's the case. Why do i have zero irls. Why can't I connect with others at all.

And I refuse to believe NO ONE AT ALL saw that writing I posted. It's not possible. I have 150 followers and I don't think I posted much that day until I got upset that it was being so overlooked.

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