#⋡☆《main》—Enter the Dreamscape | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tonkatsubowl · 14 days

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hey there, pretty boy.

▼ aventurine x fem!reader

▼ enemies to lovers

▼ nsfw themes. mdni.

you're a sultry dancer at a club, but you're actually a stellaron hunter and an assassin in disguise. you catch a glimpse of a wealthy man... and it goes from there.

penacony was the reality of where "dreams come true". but that may apply to most visitors—but not all.

most visitors of penacony come with their own wealth, spreading money in addiction cycles of gambling and drinking all night long, and even spending their money relentlessly on beautiful dancers and those who lingered around in the streets for... well, prostitution.

you were a feast for these addictive visitors—a delicious meal with an expensive price to pay.

you were a dancer at a local club in penacony; using your beauty to lure in the weak, frail men and to obtain money out of them. but you weren't just a dancer—you weren't even a dancer. you were a stellaron hunter in disguise, stationed in this dreamscape to find a certain ipc member. for your mission, it was classified, but you enjoyed the rest of the side money you obtained from these thirsty, desperate men.

as a member of the stellaron hunters, your identity was not known to the public. you were an assassin, and not even the nameless knew of your existence except for your allies... and the gods above who keep a watchful eye on these many realities.

"oh, look!" one of your dancers cooed, gathering around with the others as they squealed in harmonious glee, eyeing at a certain individual that entered the club. "it's him, it's him! he is filthy rich, and apparently he's super handsome. c'mon, we gotta get him over here with us."

"oh, he'll definitely dance with me." another dancer remarks.

"c'mon, your boobs aren't even that big." another replies.

"how would you know if he's a tits guy?"

you were on the side of the group, rolling your eyes. but your eyes settled on the blonde man's frame.

sunglasses, his beautiful eyes that were fairly hidden behind his expensive shades... he wore expensive clothing, indeed, but you knew him.

aventurine, the senior manager within the ipc.

your goal was to obtain as much as information as you could, or even better—take him. kidnap him for kafka and the others to toy around with.

well, that was just your sadistic side coming in.

but, even with your main target here.. you decided not to pursue or seem desperate. you decided to be smart about the situation, and ignore the man. maybe there's a coincidence he'll ask for a private dance from you.

"—ah, i've never seen you around these parts. are you a new dancer?"

as though the celestial oppositions were listening to you, your eyes turn, head followed, settled upon the beautiful, wealthy gambler before you.

"i'm not." you say, though your voice was sultry—intoxicating, sublime and absolutely... charismatic. "but i welcome you here regardless. would you like to have a drink? i can certainly-"

"mm, you don't seem like a bottle girl," aventurine hums, his forefinger and thumb pressed against his chin, "just an observation."

"ah, so you like to judge and read the covers before choosing, huh?" you say, glancing to your "coworkers" who had looked at you with pure jealousy in their eyes. "i'm surprised you haven't chosen them immediately for a dance. they're much more skilled and experienced than i am."

aventurine's smile turned coy, almost flirtatious. "self doubtful, are you? would it be appropriate then if i asked for a private dance? a dancer working at a club in bare clothing and speaking down on herself is a rare thing for me to... well, witness."

your lips tug to a thin smile, "it might be my lucky day, then," you whisper with your sultry tone, digits extending towards his expensive-looking attire as you adjusted it. your fingers toyed with his charms, your lips giving themselves a lick—only for show, "to be asked for a dance from yourself."

aventurine chuckled, before pushing up his sunglasses, revealing those pristine jewels of his.

"what pretty eyes you've got, pretty boy." you murmur, before taking his hand and taking him to the private section of the club.

as aventurine settled down onto his seat, you closed the curtain, turning of the lights.

"i'm sure you know the rules of asking for a private dance." you say, looking towards aventurine.

"i cannot touch the dancer." he says, kicking his legs up as he leaned back against his seat. his dazzled jewelry sparkled under the dim light that belonged to a lantern nearby, his smile still evident through this darkness.

"i'll let you touch me."

you suddenly let out, and your brain had nearly lost itself—you spoke out of your own desire, knowing how beautiful he was, but it was a chance to get information from him. yet, it wasn't long til you had forgotten your objective.

the music had begun to play, akin to some rnb-type beats that may fit a setting during intercourse. you began to move—a divine display of a goddess dancing, hips swaying and chest nearly bare. aventurine did not take his eyes off of you, even as your rear came towards his crotch, performing a lap dance.

you grinded against his clothing before fully turning, straddling him on his lap as you continued your dance. you ran your fingers across his cheek, eyes studying his.

"you say my eyes are beautiful," he whispered, "but your veil and eyes alone are more pristine than any other i've seen."

"you sly dog," you retort in a whisper as you continued to dance, "how many women have you said that to?"

aventurine chuckled, "only one. and that is you."

you roll your eyes, before you had begun to realize your goal... you were getting lost in his sight before you remembered you were a dignified member of the stellaron hunters.

that was when you straddled on his lap, again, and continued to dance... before your blade had materialized in your hand, centering at his throat.

"ipc dog." you murmur, so hauntingly beautiful. "a trap you easily went in—as though you knew of the danger."

aventurine did not jump, nor did he react to your action. he had expected it.

he chuckled, looking at you, "a trap, you say? it's more of a gift, really. a gift that i wanted, so i came in here, and..."

"you were looking for me. what a dog." you responded, feeling his breath hitting your cheek.

you two were close... merely an inch away from kissing.

"i came here to make a deal with you." aventurine spoke, "i know of your affiliation, hunter."

it was your turn to smile, "a deal with me? you're truly a gambler. even at death's hands, you'd make such a gamble with your life?"

"oh, i yearn for death, but i prefer to gamble away with you at this moment." aventurine chuckled.

"... what is it?" you murmur. you had no need to kill him, but at this point, with how interested you were in him, you...

"allow me to break the rules for a moment," he whispered, in which you responded with a gentle nod.

his eyes never left your gaze as his hands came to rest themselves on the side of your hips, bringing your frame closer.

"you can take all my money from me. get every bit of information out of me and give it to your supervisors. make me pathetic, and a stray dog, unable to care for its own. or..."

your eyes soften.

"or i get to toy with you tonight. on my bed. and perhaps you'll have my hand."

you pause.

abandon the mission and lie to the others? or...

... follow your instinct and oblige to the feeling of your chest?

you lower your blade as it dematerializes into spectacles of your signature color.

"are you asking me out on a date?"

"would i be rejected if i was?"

"... no."

part two

#honkai star rail #hsr #hsr x reader #honkai star rail aventurine #hsr aventurine #hsr aventurine x reader #aventurine x reader

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godisasimp · 3 months

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Firefly's true identity "theory"

But like there is so many signs pointing towards it I don't think it's a theory.

There's 1 singular picture that is a leak : so no story leaks - but spoilers for Penacony's 2.0 story and if you want to keep yourself as blind and go with what you want to keep the suspense i would advise you do not read this theory : it could ruin the upcoming reveal and make it less impactful for some.

1- Firefly is working with someone

A person that can make themselves invisible through memories, as if bending reality to keep their identity secret. We only of one person that can do something like this : SilverWolf, a Stellaron Hunter. But upon first arriving in Penacony's dreamscape, we see SilverWolf... But who is she with? Sam.

Also it is very in character for the Stellaron Hunters to work in the shadows ; they rarely play a major role in the stories we've seen so far. Even when they were the ones to initiate the story of The Xianzhou Luofu they weren't the main antagonist, they were in the background.

So them being in the shadows doing their thing? Yeah.

Also both Firefly and her companion are interested in the Watchmaker's "Legacy", which is most likely a Stellaron (see Bonus) so that mysterious companion being a Stellaron Hunter is highly likely.

2- Firefly mentions a "Mecha"

There isn't a lot of humanoid robots in Honkai Star Rail, let alone in Penacony, the "Silver Armor" also basically confirms that this is Sam they're talking about. Now why would Firefly of all people talk about Sam ?

She has no reason to know him and talk about him ; unless he was chasing her but Sam doesn't chase people. He is stated to be the most ruthless Stellaron Hunter : ''If you entered the room and turned on the lights Kafka and Blade would be waiting for you on the couch, Sam? He wouldn't even let you turn the lights on''

So if he was pursuing Firefly. She would have been dead the millisecond their eyes meet.

While talking about Sam's violence I'd like to point out that : He didn't acknowledge Trailblazer (only mentioning the Galaxy Hunter and Memokeeper) and allowed us to leave. Yes, the one who would kill in a fraction of a second, would have spared the Trailblazer. Maybe it's because of Elio's plan for the Trailblazer (we were given life by the Stellaron Hunters so it would be weird for them to kill us right after) or it could be because Firefly's consciousness (still unclear if Sam and Firefly are two identities for 1 person or 2 separate entities) stopping Sam due to her affection for Trailblazer.

3- The achievement

I have nothing to say except that it's weird that the achievement we get for fighting Sam is named "Old Friends, New Friends" why would it be named that? Sam isn't a friend to the Trailblazer, at this point in time he is an enemy.

4- Sam's design

First let's talk about his "wings"

Those aren't designed as random shapes, but specifically to look like fireflies wings.

Images as well as this "fact" are taken from TheRealPetraeus on Twitter

Also Sam's color scheme/palette is very close to Firefly's : mainly light gray/Silver with teal and brown accents and even the orange "scarf" Firefly has could represent Sam's fire

5- Clockie

Clockie can only be seen by childish/pure hearted people, but guess who can't see him? Firefly, despite her seemingly fitting the criteria perfectly.

-------

Bonus : Watchmaker's "Legacy"

It isn't said what this legacy is, but the presence of the Stellaron Hunters is a massive hint at the fact that a Stellaron is present in Penacony ; this and the fact that Penacony is encountering a crisis with the Dreamscape. And Firefly is after this "Legacy" ; which is both a hint at the true nature of the Watchmaker's "Legacy" and Firefly's true identity as a Stellaron Hunter.

#Honkai star rail #Hsr #hsr theory #hsr spoilers #hsr firefly #honkai star rail spoilers #honkai star rail theory

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tama-dump · 3 months

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hsr penacony theories dump, spoilers ahead

I think it's a well known theory at this point that Firefly is Sam. I'm going to expand on this with my own overarching theory that MC used to be a stellaron hunter before their memories were wiped. You can see this in the way each of them interact with MC throughout the game (Kafka being a mother-figure, Silver Wolf acting like we're best friends, Blade saying we followed them all around on missions), so it's safe to say that Sam is included in that group of "we used to be close before your memories were wiped". I personally think part of Sam's Firefly persona is them just wanting to hang out with us, see how we're doing and be reminded of old times (along with obviously needing a cover for being in penacony).

Misha is related to the Watchmaker. Whether he actually is THE Watchmaker (perhaps stuck as a memoria bubble like we've seen in other quests), or a grandchild, a friend? In any case, he's somehow related to that. Mikhail? Twins maybe? It's all a lil too sus.

Where's Welt at? Wasn't he meant to be there when we woke up, protecting us or something? The express tracks our locations so he'd know we were on the move. Dude you literally didn't enter the dreamscape for the sole purpose of watching over us... where are you??

Also Himeko? March? Where my girlypops at? I need an update just to confirm you're alive please. I can't lose Himeko again. Maybe that's why we can't find Welt, he's caught up protecting Himeko from something because let's be real that's his main mission for being in this universe.

#honkai star rail #hsr #hsr firefly #hsr misha #stellaron hunters #hsr headcanons

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theresattrpgforthat · 7 months

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I saw your recent recommendations for psychic vigilantes games, but do you have recommendations for anything with a more inception or psychonauts feel (aka exploring/influencing dreamspaces or representations of a person's mind)?

THEME: Exploring Dreamscapes

Hello friend! When I first saw this ask, I thought I might have one or two games off the top of my head, but there’s actually many more game options than I thought already stored away in my folders! Without further ado…

Praedormitium, by Joie Martin.

Named for the transition of wakefulness to sleep, Praedormitium is a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the experience of lucid dreaming. Players portray Hypnopomps, characters with the innate ability to manipulate the Realms of Dream as they travel through it on strange and wonderful adventures.

Praedormitium uses a deck of tarot cards as the basis of its resolution system, cooperative play, and the unlimited power of players' imaginations to build a cohesive narrative experience. Anything is possible in dreams, and the game can be as wild or whimsical, as dark or surreal as the players choose to make it.

This game has some really intriguing lore that creates some backstory as to why your characters are Hypnopomps, and what that means in the game. It’s not extensive though, so there are plenty of gaps and spaces for your play group to fill in. Your main role is to keep the balance of dreams: nightmares and phantasma all have a role to play. The game uses tarot cards, and incorporates tarot card suits into the lore, so if you like games that tie the mechanics to the setting, you might be interested in Praedormitium.

Lucid Sea of Dreams, by The Games Gardener.

A roleplaying game about Lucid Dreamers and their adventures, tribulations, and mysteries in the Waking World and the Sea of Dreams. Inspired by dreams, nightmares, and Jewish folklore (and much much more). Has been described as 'inside-out meets pan's labyrinth’.

Lucid Sea of Dreams makes lucidity something that your character can lose. Your character has Lucidity points, which kind of doubles as Hit Points - lose all of your Lucidity points, and you wake up. In the waking world, losing Lucidity points could lead to becoming unconscious, or even death. This means that there’s much higher stakes in this kind of game - in fact, it’s tagged as horror, so be prepared to enter dangerous scenarios and meet difficult foes. The dice resolution system uses d10 dice pools, which I personally find very satisfying! This game was Kickstarted back in 2022, so I’m not sure if it’s in its final stage, or if there’s more to come.

Nyx, by Doctor Glasgow.

When the Day of the Comet came, much of what was sank into the world below. Into the murky ebon twilight of a most ancient realm, Nyx. Since the very first sparks of light danced behind the eyelids of our ancestors, this realm began to swirl with Dreams. And yet, in sleep, there too, are Nightmares…

Nyx is a role-playing game, set in a darkened realm of sleep and dreams. It is an interpretive game, wherein the strange setting is only just barely glimpsed, like a dream half-remembered when one wakes from slumber. It is up to the players and the Dream Master (DM), to interpret the vague setting details as they see fit, and form a vision of Nyx wholly their own.

Nyx combines dice and cards in an average play session, with plenty of set-up questions to encourage a collaborative world-building and a point-buy system that fuels character creation. Your character is pretty customizable, allowing you to increase specific stats, improve character skills, or focus on special abilities and spells. There’s also different character forms, which I really like - as dream-entities, race or species don’t really make sense. It’s totally possible that your character has been different things over different iterations. The art in this book is lovely and does a really good job of conveying the magical and surreal theme. The full game is only $5, but if you want to see what you’re getting into first, you can always get the Free Beta version at the bottom of the shop page.

18XX Dreams, by Deep Light Games.

THE DREAM REALM WELCOMES YOU: This land has always been here, visited by some, forgotten by many. Something changed. An increasing number of people have been waking with fantastical ideas and feelings. Now, dreams are becoming more solid: books, paintings, scores…

The barrier is thinner. Some are trapped here, some search for what they can’t reach elsewhere, some just roam, exploring and helping others. What meaning is hidden in your dreams?

18XX Dreams is only 4 pages long, which is pretty standard for 24XX games. This game relies on a handful of polyhedral dice, a small inventory, and special abilities that align with your character archetype - a minimalist set-up that focuses on creativity to overcome obstacles, with elements of OSR play. There’s a page of d12 roll tables for the GM to roll on when they want to introduce something new to the dream, and the game even comes with rules on how to create a DreamCrawl, a simple map that helps the players navigate different parts of a dream-scape.

Dreampunk, by Xavid.

At night, you dream. Your dreams are not idle imaginings, but visits to a persistent world of wonders and dangers both personal and alien. Will you find power there? Will you find freedom? Or will you slowly slip into Entanglement, and be trapped there forever? Play to find out!

Your character is a Dreamer, someone from a waking world who is drawn to the Dream when they sleep. As a Dreamer, you have powerful abilities to shape the world around you. To do so, you must play a card and incorporate into your action an element of your choice from the card.

To play Dreampunk, you’ll need to either buy the Dreampunk Deck of Cards, or a deck of cards with similarly surreal art. Dixit cards, for example, would be an excellent tool for this game. The game uses a series of Moves, but rather than rolling dice, like you would in PbtA games, you play cards from your hand. The game designer cites Belonging outside Belonging and Jenna Moran’s work as inspiration, so I’d expect this game to be well suited for players who are willing to work in the grey areas of interpretation, and who are looking to embrace themes and motifs rather than damage and gear lists in their style of play.

Onira’s Slumber, by FantasticJean.

Welcome to Oniria - a place where Dreams and Nightmares come to life and make the city their own. In this game you play as a member of the Quixotic Society and are tasked with investigating and containing the Reveries when they start becoming too messy.

This is a game that is compatible with TROIKA, which, while originally is meant to be a kind of multi-verse science fantasy, easy translates to a surreal dream-scape. You don’t need Troika to play though - the rules are included to make this a standalone game. Onira is meant to be a place that can be explored, and the game comes with a number of place descriptions, special events that might affect the characters, and an introductory adventure for a first-time group.

If you want more dream-related supplements for Troika, I’d recommend Oneironauts and Oneironauts 2, by Thriftomancer.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #dreamscapes

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plethora-of-imagines · 10 months

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Dream pays special attention to your since you've grown a strange bond together, often liking to drop in and see where your mind has taken you when you enter the dreaming. But one night he walks in on you having a rather heated wet dream... with himself being the main star 👑🦇

Dream resisted the urge to sigh as he reviewed yet another dream journal. Tracking down how certain nightmares and dreams were doing without hovering over them as they worked was turning out to not be effective. He would have to warn you that he would be absent from more of your dreaming and waking hours than usual while he focused on his work.

As much as Dream was loath to lose time with you, his duty came first. And the dreams and nightmares that had changed what they needed guidance to ensure they grew into their new roles.

Closing the book with a firm snap, Dream stood. Descending from the stairs as he mentally found your mind in the flow of dreamers currently within the Dreaming. What for most others would have been the hallway to the throne room becoming your dreamscape of this night.

The edges of the room Dream found himself in were hazy, your subconscious not needing them to be more than a suggestion. Like a spotlight on center stage, the middle of the dream was clearly illuminated. You were the center of your own subconscious play.

Turning his attention to the main focal point of the dream, it took a few moments for Dream to process what he was seeing.

Thud!

The dream journal that he would normally treat with such care falling to the ground, his hand grasping around nothing as he took you in.

Back arched off of soft silk, your firsts crumpling the fabric in a viscous grasp, nipple hard in the cool air of the room. While dark hair, wild like his own was nestled in between your thighs. Your head turned away from his so that he could not see your face in a state of utmost pleasure. That would not do, he wanted to see you.

It was only after burning the image of you into his very being that he mentally realized the fact that there was someone between your thighs. Chest tightening, burning as he glared at whoever would dare to touch you. Feeling his furry they looked up from between the paradise of your soft thighs when you let out a delicious moan. He wanted to lick that moan out of your mouth.

Dream was met with a facsimile of his own face.

Oh.

“This dream is over,” he murmured.

Following you from the Dreaming to the Waking. Placing himself in the spot his copy had been in your dream. Waiting for your eyes to flutter open, he tried to contain himself as he glanced down to see the very clear wet spot where he wished for his mouth to be.

“Dream?” You questioned in a cute sleepy voice, a pretty blush covering your face.

“Will you allow me to continue where your dream left off, little dreamer?”

#dream x reader #dream of the endless x reader #morpheus x reader #anon

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waywardwhump · 6 months

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Tw: main character death, car crash

You know those RPG maker horror games? Ib, Mad Father, Witches house?

I've had a concept idea for a while. Probably not going to get much further, but fun to think about.

Trio of friends, one works in an underground science facility, one is a detective, one is a baker. They've been friends since childhood and remain close despite their wildly different career paths.

The scientist is doing illegal stuff. The detective is unknowingly investigating them.

The game starts with the baker following the detective in her investigation. She thinks it will be helpful to have a new set of eyes, and given that the detective hasn't had any luck thus far, lets her come, breaking the rules but doing so under the assumption that they aren't going to find anything anyway. The detective's been at this for years, the trail is cold, but at least this lets the baker feel like she's doing something helpful.

A few tutorial segments later, whoops, the baker successfully helps the detective find the underground science facility.

The scientist heads them off before it can really set in what they've stumbled across. They haven't entered yet, they're just outside, but the surveillance system caught them a while ago.

The scientist is supposed to report to her boss, which would see them captured for expiraments. But they're her friends, so instead of doing that she comes out and it very quickly devolves into a shouting argument.

The baker tries to calm them down, she hates seeing her friends fight. The two of them, the scientist doing a criminal act and the detective looking to bring her(and the lab) to justice, snap at the baker to just go. She's a civilian. This is dangerous. Leave. In the heat of the moment, they aren't exactly kind.

She leaves. The argument goes on for a bit. Before the detective can call for backup, the screen blacks out and all three of them wake up somewhere else.

Very science fiction mixed with horror; the lab was working on a machine that can hook brains up to a dreamscape, and was illegally experimenting on humans to do so. The boss, having realized that the scientist was essentially betraying them by not reporting her friends to security, sent out a pulse that dragged everyone within a certain distance of the facility into the dreamscape.

Now the trio is stuck and they have to fight their way out.

A lot of the dreamscape is based on their own fears, something of a silent hill thing going on, idk. They make progress and work together, but the whole time the detective and the scientist are fighting.

The baker tries to get them to stop, but she seems distracted. She tries, more than once, to ask the scientist about something, but the other two are arguing so much that whatever her concern is keeps getting talked over. She gives up after about the third time, somewhat early on, and focuses on trying to keep the group together.

The plan is, of course, to escape the dreamscape, wake everyone up, and go for help.

They get to the end, and they're about to leave.

The baker says she's not going to follow them.

Upon being asked why, and upon them finally giving her a chance to talk, she says...she'd gotten in her car after they'd yelled at her and driven away. She'd been upset, of course, and was driving fairly fast, and then the dreamscape pulse got her and she woke up in the computer.

She'd been in a speeding car when they'd all fallen unconscious.

She's uh, pretty sure she's dead.

They part, the scientist and detective leave her there, and the last level of the game is them escaping the lab to call for backup and get the whole thing shut down.

It ends without direct confirmation that the baker is dead, but it's highly implied. The other two(the scientist especially) has to live with that now.

#whump #mine #tw: death #tw: car accident #tw: car crash

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sketch-shepherd-art · 1 month

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Also not my art lmao, this is an OC design commission for me from enya/lain on Discord! I've been talking on Discord a lot about wanting to create a RWBY OC inspired by a baku, a tapir-inspired dream-eating creature from Japanese mythology.

Also yes for the record I'm already aware of there being a character with a dream-related Semblance in RWBY I/ce Q/ueendom but I don't borrow anything from that anime for personal reasons. Only the main show.

More detailed information about her character down below

Her name is Kembang Yume (Kembang being a Malay name meaning "flower/blossom" and Yume is the Japanese word for "dream"). As previously mentioned she's based on a baku from Japanese mythology but also the irl Malayan tapir that the baku resembles

Her semblance is called Dreamscape, and is the ability to enter people's minds to manipulate dreams (usually changing their nightmares into good dreams, but she can also do the reverse)

When she first unlocked her Semblance she only had the ability to look inside people's minds, then it became viewing their dreams, then it became full on changing others' dreams

She's a human but has an ongoing tapir motif. As you can see on her dress her emblem is a tapir, and she can manipulate her weapon to act as a rope or lasso to move on its own like a tapir's trunk

in my AU I have a Grimm also called a Night Mare (with a space in the middle, again NOT intended to be the same as the Nightmare Grimm from I/Q) that are evil horse Grimm that infect people's minds to give them nightmares. They're the Grimm that Kembang targets the most

#for me #rwby #my ocs #rwby oc #greenlightvolume10 #greenlight rwby volume 10 #greenlight volume 10 #save rwby

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woodchipp · 6 months

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A CRITIQUE OF OMORI, PART 1: PLOT & SETTING

NOTE: Reader discretion is advised. By clicking on “Keep reading”, you willingly choose to continue reading the post.

As the game's synopsis on TVTropes explains,

Omori's home is White Space, an empty white void containing only Omori's sketchbook, laptop, cat, box of tissues, and the door to the Neighbor's Room where Omori's friends live. These include the plucky Aubrey, the mischievous Kel, and the brotherly Hero, and from here they venture into the fantastical land of Headspace to have picnics with the innocent Nature Lover Basil and Omori's loving sister Mari and go on adventures. But one day, Basil goes missing, and Omori, Aubrey, Kel, and Hero set off to search through all of Headspace for him. As they navigate their way through a space pirate's relationship issues, a mad duchess' narcissistic tyranny, the evil laboratory inside a whale, and various types of hostile bunnies (among other things), a horrifying presence continues to rear its head, and it wants something from Omori.

Indeed, a large part of OMORI’s story is spent in Headspace - an expansive and vibrant JRPG dreamscape created by the game's actual main protagonist, Sunny, to avoid facing an unpleasant truth pertaining to Mari in the real world, with her and his childhood friends always by his side. While the idea is fascinating on paper, OMORI’s execution of said idea turns Headspace into a tedious slog to play through.

It can be hard to get invested in Omori and his friends' hijinks since they don’t have much of a coherent plot to follow, nor do they have a cohesive sense of escalation and stakes. Even if the game heavily implies this to be the point - Omori is creating random distractions on his quest to rescue Basil because Sunny is unwilling to face the truth - it still comes off as being random and quirky for the sake of being random and quirky, along with padding out the game to an ungodly degree. Just because Sunny doesn’t want to confront his issues doesn’t mean that the player should be forced to watch the paint dry. Even the quest to rescue Basil gets ultimately rendered moot, making the time the player spends in Headspace aimless floundering where random things happen for no reason in particular.

Another issue with Headspace is that it results in a great deal of tonal inconsistency. Since re-entering Headspace at the end of every in-game day is required by the game to progress, the game’s tone wildly oscillates between Omori’s wacky escapades in the dream world and the examination of the tragedy Mari’s death wrought on Sunny and his friend group in the real world. On top of all this, Headspace itself is rendered entirely irrelevant halfway through the game with the introduction of Black Space, consequently rendering 50% of the story pointless as well.

Black Space isn’t any better. It is essentially a blatant rip-off of Yume Nikki, down to the Nexus with an assortment of doors that lead to nightmarishly surreal locations, the big red maze (Yume Nikki's Hell is above, OMORI's Haunted Trees Hanging Maze is below) and even the Toriningen. Story-wise, Black Space is only slightly less meaningless than Headspace; the game provides the player with little to no context for all the imagery, nor does it use Black Space to provide Sunny himself with any substantial characterization (despite the location representing his subconscious), yet acts as if the player is supposed to understand every little detail of the story up until this point perfectly.

Gameplay-wise, Black Space fumbles being a rip-off of Yume Nikki by discouraging the latter’s core gameplay mechanic - exploration. Instead of making you search for the key you need to exit the area, the game holds your hand and leads you to the key with a convenient trail of footprints. In some cases, the key may be located literally in plain sight. Unless you make the conscious decision to stray from the trail and avoid the Red Hands after taking the key, the average Black Space area can be completed in 10-20 seconds, if not less. As such, Omori’s journey through Black Space can be summed up as “go to surreal room, grab the key, leave surreal room” ad nauseam.

Moreover, all of Black Space's "psychological horror" revolves around the game being unnecessarily edgy, such as having Basil brutally die five times or pressuring the player into dissecting Mewo, Omori’s pet cat. Each time Basil dies cheapens the impact of his subsequent deaths, and by his final death, it’s quite likely the player may not care anymore. The game never gives you any concrete clues to figure out Black Space’s symbolism beyond very opaque implications either, so why should you care?

The abrupt transition from Headspace into Black Space is also jarring for a whole different reason than the giant change in aesthetics and tone - Headspace mainly relies on exposition (i.e. characters spelling things out) to convey the story whereas Black Space takes after the game it’s inspired by and tries to use environmental storytelling, the operative word being “tries.” Some of Black Space’s imagery seems to be vaguely connected by the motif of hanging, but there’s nothing much beyond that.

Faraway Town, the game's "real" world and the setting responsible for moving the game’s overarching plot along, makes it a point to try and subvert gameplay conventions typically seen in similar RPG games to show that Sunny's fantasies are obviously incompatible with how real life works. As with Headspace, the idea itself is neat on paper, but the problem with OMORI's execution of said idea is the inconsistencies in Faraway Town's "realism": Sunny injuring a person with his steak knife is framed by the game as shocking despite said person freely walking around (and attacking him) with a huge nail bat, Mari's picnic baskets are inexplicably scattered across the entire town and function as save points just like they did in Sunny's dream world, the priest of the local church makes no attempt to stop the altercation that happens within the church near the end of Three Days Left because it "seemed really important" (to the plot), Sunny is somehow able to use his breathing skills in the fight with his fear of drowning despite being underwater, none of the charms have any effect on your stats except for one, etc.

The overarching plot itself is entirely character-driven, so I suppose it’s time to talk about OMORI’s characters.

#omori #omori game

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krawlernyannyan · 3 months

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VERSION 2.0 STREAM MEGAPOST

They packed a lot of information into only an hour, so I'm warning you now, this is gonna be a mile long beneath the readmore. That said, I've put together all the gameplay-relevant information here for your casual review and convenience.

Story

Various factions from throughout the universe have been invited by The Family (Xipe's followers) to Penacony, the Land of Dreams for the first time to partake in their Charmony Festival. That description, as it turns out, is extremely literal - Penacony itself mostly consists of just a massive hotel, The Reverie, where guests fall asleep and enter a shared collective dreamscape where the "real" Penacony exists.

The first Dreamscape we're visiting as part of the v2.0 story is "the Golden Hour" (the big nighttime cityscape we've seen in so many teasers up to this point). The core idea of the place is "the time just before midnight", and the wish for "today to never end" and for tomorrow to never come.

The story for the Penacony arc, in contrast to the previous storylines we've played through, is described as "chill, carefree, [and] upbeat" where there's no imminent crisis to solve and your primary goal is enjoying your vacation to the fullest.

The Penacony story will be playing out over versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2, with an epilogue in v2.3, and was described as "Star Rail's biggest story ever".

Environment

There's a statue of Clockie in the Golden Hour that we can upgrade and change as we progress through Penacony.

Time and gravity are frequently warped in Penacony, and moving in multi-dimensional space is a recurring mechanic. This includes walking on walls, achieved through the "Dreamwalker" mechanic. Dreamwalker utilizes charges to change gravity that can be refilled.

Two specially mentioned settings are Dream's Edge (the outer limits of Penacony and a construction site for the dream) and A Child's Dream (an area where the Dreamwalker ability is used to explore the largest wallwalking room on Penacony).

While exploring Dream's Edge, players will need to complete walkways using perspective puzzles in order to navigate and explore.

Dream jigsaw puzzles are spread all over Penacony, and hide walkways, treasure chests, NPCs, etc.

Characters

Black Swan (Wind/Nihility) is a diviner and Memokeeper for the Garden of Recollection (Fuli's faction) who can turn people's stories and memories into cards. She uses Tarot cards as her main source of attack, though the Tarot system has been simplified for the benefit of players. When she uses her Basic Attack or Skill it inflicts enemies with the "Arcana" card, which acts as a DoT that grows in strength as more stacks are added and the cards upgrade. She's described as working especially well with damage-over-time compositions but being versatile and able to work with other teams as long as you can keep stacking up Arcana.

Sparkle (Quantum/Harmony) is a member of the Masked Fools, and a classic Fool who is always in pursuit of "elation". She mechanics seek to break the rules of the game itself; while she's in the team the party's maximum Skill Points increase beyond 5 (even restoring SP via her Ultimate). She allows the team to deal more when using SP, and her Skill allows her teammates to break the restrictions of turn order by advancing their actions (to a certain degree).

Misha (Ice/Destruction) is a doorman for the Reverie, full of interest for the world outside Penacony but who has to settle for overhearing conversations from guests to satisfy that curiosity. Misha's main weapons are a mop and a luggage trolley, which can cause chaos and get water over enemies. His primary mechanic is that the more SP the team uses, the more motivated Misha gets, resulting in greater damage (including from his Ultimate). This Technique can create a time-stop area that fully pauses any enemies caught in it.

Warps

Black Swan is the main five-star of the first half of v2.0, along with her Light Cone Reforged Remembrance. Misha will be appearing as a four-star in this half of the update.

Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae and his Light Cone Brighter Than the Sun will be rerun during the first half of the update.

Sparkle is the main five-star of the second half of v2.0, along with her Light Cone Earthly Escapade.

Jing Yuan and his Light Cone Before Dawn will be rerun during the second half of the update.

Events

Sparkle and Black Swan have a shared Companion Mission, "Masquerade Duet", where players will get to learn more about their respective stories.

In "Hanu's Prison Break", the Trailblazers are brought into a dreamscape where SoulGlad has been outlawed and they must lead a rebellion and take over a prison. A lot of individual mechanics in this one, including a "human pinball" section, a mirror maze that Clockie has to be guided through, and a segment where you turn into Hanu to break through prison security.

After completing Prison Break, Trailblazer will get to choose one free four-star character (between Guinaifen, Sampo, Asta, and Yukong) as their reward.

The ability to alter people's emotions will be a mechanic that is introduced as a way to interact with NPCs.

The Dreamscape Pass is a feature that will allow players to track and remember their adventures in Penacony vis-a-vis collectible stickers you obtain through the story and missions.

The Dreamchaser Bulletin is a feature designed to quickly acclimate players to the new metropolis by giving them set challenges and battles to solve on a daily basis.

In Dreamjolt TV, a local television station has been hijacked and the Trailblazers have to fight special battles in order to restore the airwaves and regain lost viewers.

In the Penacony Food Fest, you bring raw materials to the Clock Diner so they can create delicious food (and get you rewards).

The Gift of Odyssey event is returning for another free ten pulls, but the Starchaser's Gift check-in event will give another free ten pulls.

Enemies/Bosses

"For certain reasons", Sam of the Stellaron Hunters will be fought during this update. Sam can consume his HP to greatly increase his combat abilities, while also igniting the battlefield in a scorching blaze.

A new enemy, the Lordly Trashcan, can be encountered in each area of Penacony. Their gimmick is that they begin battle with no Weaknesses and take little to no damage, but take on the Weaknesses of any attacks they've been hit by.

As a result of negative emotions surfacing in the dreamscapes of Penacony, enemies can appear on Penacony. These can be divided into distinct factions, namely the Dreamjolt Troupe and the Memory Zone Meme.

The Dreamjolt Troupe are based on the local delicacy of Penacony, SoulGlad, and are warped distributors and transporters of the beverage. The only specific member described was the Sweet Gorilla, which can spray soda over your party.

Mr. Domescreen was originally a television performer, and its primary mechanic is swapping between various faces (switching between supporting your party and attacking them based on which face is active).

The Memory Zone Meme have more abstract forms as they're based on deeper subconscious thought. Mentioned members are the Allseer (based on "vision"/"sight") and the Heartbreaker (indicative of the idea of fragile hearts underneath sturdy bodies).

A specific Memory Zone Meme discussed in detail is the "Something Unto Death", which has a potent ability to instantly kill party members and ensnare their souls within Sombrous Sepulchurs and will remain dead until they are broken. This ability triggers after receiving a number of attacks, indicated by eyes along its body lighting up red.

Relics & Materials

The Pioneer Diver of Dead Water set allows equipped characters to deal more damage to enemies afflicted with debuffs.

The Watchmaker, Master of Dream Machinations set increases Break Effect for the whole team. This and the Pioneer Diver set will be obtainable in a new Cavern of Corrosion on Penacony.

A new Quantum Ascension material, Dream Flamer. This is the material needed to ascend Sparkle.

A new Ice Ascension material, Dream Fridge. This is the material needed to ascend Misha.

New Trace materials for the Paths of Destruction, Nihility, and Harmony will be introduced. All of the characters introduced in v2.0 will use these materials.

New Light Cones will be added to the Light Cone Manifest Store (the one operated by the Memory of Chaos Memokeeper and Youci). These are in addition to the Light Cones already in the store, not replacing them.

System Improvements

The new Fate's Atlas system will gives players the ability to look at a strict timeline of events in the story and gain a proper understanding of when certain missions happened in relation to each other. This includes main story missions, compansion missions, and plot-critical side missions.

Players will be able to designate 3 support characters instead of just 1. The related Starfaring Companions section is also being bumped up from 3 to 5.

When levelling Relics, you can now allocate materials to reach specific level thresholds automatically.

The Relic Recommendations feature on characters has been improved to give greater understanding for users and make it easier to swap between sets. Relic filtering has also been improved.

Penacony and Version 2.0 release on February 6th.

#Honkai Star Rail #HSR #HSR Penacony #this took me an hour to get everything down JSYK

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ckret2 · 1 year

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There’s theories that Stan had some past encounters with Bill during the portal days, which is how Bill was able to get into Stans head without a proper summoning in Dreamscapers.

Also, curious, but does Bill know what the brand means? I have my own theories as to what the brand does, but I like seeing others too

I don't subscribe to the "Bill and Stan have met" headcanon myself. I feel like saying "Stan already knew Bill" retroactively detracts from Weirdmageddon—it creates a lot of loose ends to give them a prior relationship that was never mentioned and none of the other characters find out. It's not as good as "Bill messes with every one of the Pines EXCEPT Stan, and then as punishment for messing with Stan's family, Bill gets punched to death by some guy he's never formally met before." That's their first and last meeting. I like it.

Ford makes a clear distinction that Bill can haunt his dreams but not enter his mind as long as they don't shake hands. We also see Bill pestering Dipper in his dreams before Dipper makes a deal with him. So I figure the rule is that Bill needs someone to summon him (like Gideon did) to get into Gravity Falls' psychic plane, and once he's in the psychic plane he can visit anybody's dreams he wants (like Stan's, Dipper's, and Ford's). Possession, and the ability to dig deeper into someone's psyche, require a handshake.

You could make a case like "well, Bill WAS digging into Stan's memories, which is the same sort of thing Ford said Bill would have to shake his hand to do in Weirdmageddon; so doesn't that mean a deal happened?" I have two explanations for that:

Out-of-universe, Dreamscaperers was a season 1 episode, before the crew decided how significant Bill would be or mapped out their season 2 plan. I figure they probably just hadn't refined his power set yet and we aren't supposed to think too hard about it.

In-universe, you could say, yeah, he COULDN'T dig into Stan's memories without making a deal—and so he had to taunt the mystery crew into doing the digging for him.

(This feels like the kind of detail a fan would probably have asked the creators about at some point, but if anyone did, I haven't found a mention of it yet. If there HAS been a comment on it, I'd appreciate a link!)

As for the brand:

STANS TATTOO MEANS WATCH YOUR STEP!

Considering that Stan got it during a fight when he stumbled against a hot piece of equipment, I assume that here Bill's referring to the fact that he got the brand in an accident—and so I also assume that Bill's coyly avoiding admitting that actually the brand doesn't actually have any deeper meaning.

(Obviously, that doesn't HAVE to be what he's saying—you could just as easily headcanon "well Bill's a liar so maybe the brand DOES have a deeper meaning and Bill is avoiding revealing the truth by instead alluding to how Stan got it." But for my own headcanons, this is one case where I prefer Occam's Razor.)

Ford & Fidds built the portal by raiding the crashed UFO under Gravity Falls for supplies. Given that, I assume that the overheated piece of equipment Stan fell against was some symbol that has meaning on the alien ship—and, since F&F took it away from its original context, the symbol probably doesn't have an appropriate meaning within the portal equipment where it's now been installed. Maybe it just says "HOT." Maybe it was a label for engine parts to help the ship's mechanics—"BOILER" or "MAIN CONTROLS" or the like. Maybe it came from the the aliens' public restroom stalls and it says "OCCUPIED."

If we wanna get all smart, maybe the symbol says something like "CAUTION"—and so Bill was technically telling the truth when he translated it to "watch your step." I like that idea because it's funny/clever, fits in with what Bill's told us, and would be a reasonable thing for the symbol to say given where it came from.

#grunkle stan #bill cipher #gravity falls #anonymous #ask

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cosmicdreamt · 1 month

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"Fine, you can have a cookie, but just one. I haven't gotten to try any yet."

Neff had never actually gotten to try anything cherry blossom flavored, and with spring coming she was actually quite surprised her job had decided to try this out themselves. Maybe she was having some influence on them when it came to these new flavors. // @chaosmicjelly

#⋡☆《ic》—dreamcatcher #⋡☆《main》—enter the dreamscape #chaosmicjelly #[[ Howdy there!! Welcome back!! c: ]]

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untitledbandcomic · 9 months

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UBC#1 - False Expectations

{ID - four panel comic titled, 'UBC#1 - False Expectations', featuring three characters (Laurie, Kaz, and J). Full ID under cut. END ID}

this is going to be the lowest commitment webcomic ever but like it's gonna exist when i can draw for it. meet these idiots.

Full ID: Four panel comic featuring Laurie Alistair, Kaz, and J.

Laurie Alistair and Kaz walk together down an alleyway at night. Kaz walks ahead, as Laurie talks at length. "He said it's quiet. Maybe not great for finding die hard fans, but your anxie-" Kaz cuts him off, "Got it."

They continue down the alleyway. Kaz takes a moment to adjust the cherry red guitar in her arms and talk to herself, saying, 'Just... Be calm.'

Cut to the main road. A club that borders the alleyway spills light onto the pavement. From down the alleyway (revealed to be covered in oil spills and moss), Laurie asks, "You ready?" Kaz responds sharply, "YES."

The sign of the club is shown in full, revealing the name: DREAMSCAPE.

The pair enter the club to see J standing in a shabby, run-down room. Stained and torn wallpaper peels from the wall, revealing brickwork underneath. J beams, presenting the room proudly, and calling out, "WELCOME!" Kaz stares wordlessly, a gasp of air escaping her. To himself, Laurie whispers, 'Oh no.'

END ID

Character Descriptions: Laurie Alistair (he/she/they) is a tall, broad-shouldered white person with long ginger and grey hair in a ponytail. He has green-grey eyes and thick eyebrows. Here, he wears a brown suit with a matching tie, and a single green earring that dangles from his right ear.

Kaz (she/they) is a short, fat black person with a lavender buzzcut. She has teal eyes and vitiligio in patches over her eyes, top lip, each side of her neck and on her underarms. Here, she wears a spiderweb pattern croptop with a short sleeved red leather jacket and matching boots. The boots and jacket both have a white cherry insignia on. She wears red headphones with antennae on the cups.

J (he/him) is a tall, thin mixed man with ginger hair under a green beanie, and a matching ginger goatee. He has blue eyes. Here, he wears skinny blue trousers with a check pattern, and a tight fit navy turtleneck.

#artists on tumblr #webcomic #original comic #UBC #UBC Kaz #UBC J #UBC Laurie Alistair

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wormytoast · 2 months

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Comparing Penacony and A Midsummer Night's Dream

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a fleshed out theory! These are just some observations I've made after a little bit of research and completely done for fun. You'll notice as I delve into specifics that the similarities are between the two are limited. I also have not read A Midsummer Night's Dream myself so most of my understanding of the play is from reading synopses and breakdowns of the story and characters.

To start, I'll begin by summarizing AMND as best I can. AMND is a comedy written by Shakespeare that features multiple subplots of different groups of people and how they intersect. Please keep in mind that this is a vast simplification of the story.

There are two settings: the human world and the fairy forest. The two main groups from the human world are the Lovers and the Players, while the third group are the Fairies who live in the fairy forest.

The Lovers face a love square in which M1 and F1 are in love, but F1 is betrothed to M2, and F1's friend, F2, is in love with M2. M1 and F1 plan to elope at night by running into the fairy forest. All 4 enter the fairy forest at night and are toyed with by the Fairies. One fairy in particular, Puck, attempts to play Cupid with a love potion and hijinks ensue.

The Players are a group of actors who are set to perform a play at the wedding of F1 and M2. They plan to rehearse in the forest at night which is where Puck finds them and turns the head of one of the Players into that of a donkey. The other Players run away in terror while the donkey-headed player remains.

The Fairies consist of Puck, servants, and the King and Queen of the Fairies. The royal couple are at odds because the King wishes to make a knight out of the Queen's ward, an Indian prince, but she refuses. The King uses the love potion on the Queen while she sleeps, and when she awakes, she falls in love with the donkey-headed player.

After all of this, the proper feelings of each character are restored. The Lovers (as well as the donkey-headed player) awake in the forest upon daybreak and assume all of their experiences during the night was a dream. M2 is no longer in love with F1 and the planned wedding becomes a group wedding for the 1st and 2nd couples. The Players perform their play terribly, to which everyone laughs. After all the humans go to bed the Fairies enter and bless the house and people.

What initially spurred my loose connection of AMND and Penacony was the discussion of Firefly's real identity and her connection to Sam. One of the aspects of this is Sam's origin as a mecha suit from Glamoth, a world that has its lore featured in the "Firmament Frontline: Glamoth" Planar Ornament set. In the set's lore, Glamoth is described as a world with mecha soldiers to destroy The Swarm; the "weapon" that Glamoth produced was "The Empress", named Titania, who telepathically commanded and controlled the soldiers.

This bit is important because Titania is the name of the Fairy Queen in AMND. This also parallels the plot line of Titania and her ward, where Firefly is Titania and Sam is her ward (Sam is described as a "silver knight" in the game).

We also know that the "real" Penacony exists in the dreamscape, paralleling the "dream" that the Lovers, Players and Fairies experience in AMND. The Charmony Festival resembles the wedding, a large-scale celebration, where multiple third parties are invited.

One of the most interesting parallels between Penacony and AMND are a couple characters and how they interact. In this comparison, Sparkle is Puck, a fairy who plays tricks. One of the humans, a Player, is named Robin Starveling. We know that Robin is set to perform at the Charmony festival similarly to how the Players are set to perform at the wedding. Puck also has the name Robin Goodfellow, which means two characters in AMND have the name Robin, and loosely relates to how Sparkle disguises herself as Robin.

The second part of this Sparkle-Puck connection compares Sampo to Bottom, the donkey-headed player. This is because Bottom and Puck are the only two characters in AMND who directly address the audience and break the 4th wall, similarly to how both Sparkle and Sampo can break the 4th wall. Sparkle playing tricks on Sampo and stealing his mask also resembles Puck transforming Bottom's face.

Unfortunately, this is about as far as similarities I can find go. While there are a couple characters that can be linked between Penacony's story and AMND, this calls into question what the other Star Rail characters would be equated to. For example, Sunday could be compared to Theseus, the human Duke, or he could represent Oberon, the King of the Fairies. Oberon could instead be the Watchmaker, or literally anyone else.

There's also the other characters visiting Penacony, who represent various interstellar factions, who could be compared to the vulnerable and unaware Lovers as they have "entered the dream", so to speak. In another interpretation, they are the Players along with Robin, Sampo, and the Express Crew, as they are "performing" the story of Penacony which has implications that someone is orchestrating things behind the scenes.

There's also the question of who Misha is in all of this. Perhaps he is the prince to the Watchmaker's Oberon, or just something else entirely.

This isn't much of a theory but I felt big brain for just a moment and wanted to share lol. Obviously Hoyoverse can take inspiration from things without directly referencing them (which can be seen in Star Rail's characters' names). Maybe there will be more similarities in the future!

#hsr #hsr theory #honkai star rail #honkai star rail theory #not ACTUALLY a theory but may as well tag as such

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kenjakusbrainstem · 1 year

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Like Father, Like Son (Kenjaku x Yuuji Itadori)

Contains: non explicit incest, immobilization, heavy spoilers for the jjk manga, Kenjaku-typical manipulation, the dreamscape from chapter 160 broke my brain and I needed to do something with it.

Hey <3 this idea has been popping around my head like a sad little ping pong ball for weeks now. I've wanted to write it but have been a little too nervous out of potential reaction to the content. I've scaled it back though, maybe at some point I will expand on the idea. Hopefully this finds an audience as I haven't seen much for it outside of Japanese artists on pixiv. Reblog or reply with any feedback, Thank you!

Yuuji Itadori wasn’t always a nervous boy, but after the events of Shibuya he tried to stay alert at all times. It had only been a few days since… everything happened. They had all lost and learned so much, finally coming up with some semblance of a plan, something to hope for.

Entering the culling games, though it seems Yuuji didn’t have a choice. They had come to the conclusion that several of them entering a colony would be the best course of action. Through all the planning however, Yuuji’s main focus was on making sure he didn’t let Sukuna take over his body. The stress of keeping him under control was mounting inside the boy, but his resolve was much stronger.

With their plan set, Yuuji and Megumi lay on the semi soft floor mats in the underground wrestling building Hakari had set up. Kirara had offered them a place to sleep in one of the observation rooms so they could be rested before venturing into the colony. They had no idea what to expect and it would be foolish of them to not be prepared mentally and physically.

However, sleep had been another thing keeping Yuuji on his toes. Ever since his fight with Yuuta he’d been having strange dreams that he could barely remember. The worst part was how important the dreams felt, like if he could just remember them clearly somehow they would help. It was starting to get to him, the way he’d rather always be on watch than actually resting.

With a plan as important as this, he had resigned himself to attempting to get sleep.

Yuuji lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling above him. He could hear the sound of Megumi breathing a few feet away. At least one of them was able to get some rest. Any sound other than that would cut like a knife through the silence that surrounded him and wake him up. He could be ready if he needed to be.

Closing his eyes he waited, eventually sleep overtaking his body.

If a sound in the silence had lulled him to sleep, perhaps the eerie silence returning had woke him up. It wasn’t something he had expected. While Yuuji tried to open his eyes, he found himself paralyzed. His limbs were too heavy to move and even his eyes disobeyed him, refusing to open. Fear sunk deep into his bones, even if this was just a dream, it was still a nightmarish scenario.

As he struggled internally for the ability to move, a soft sound broke through the silence. The pitch was wrong, deeper, but the humming of a familiar lullaby surrounded him. The familiarity shocked him, bringing him back to his infancy whenever he was being lulled to sleep as a baby. The memory rushing back to him, it was as if he were back there, in his mother’s arms.

Any dream he’d had of her though, was always slightly out of focus, like some kind of distorted photograph. He had been a baby though, just how reliable were the things he’d seen then?

“Good morning Yuuji,” a voice, the humming voice spoke. It was again familiar, frustratingly so, but definitely one that didn’t belong in this room.

Finally Yuuji’s eyes blinked open, expecting some odd dreamscape, but his eyes met the simple ceiling that he’d fallen asleep staring at. Turning his head, he was met with another shock, Megumi was gone. Frantically looking around the room, his eyes finally rested on the figure sitting on the floor right above his head.

The last person he had expected or wanted to see.

Kenjaku sat cross legged only a few inches above his head. The serene smile on the man's face was very out of place, Yuuji’s mind racing at how he could have gotten in here.

Again Yuuji tried to move his body, but his limbs were still stuck at his sides. A feeling of fear washed over him, the odds of this being a dream were still high, but somehow that still frightened him. This was unlike anything he had been dreaming, at least from the dreams he could remember. The frustrating feeling of his arms not moving was causing more panic to rise inside him.

“What’s going on?” Yuuji asked, his obviously panicked voice cracking as he spoke. He felt so confused and powerless, though asking seemed nonsensical, it was the only thing he could do. Yuuji was just relieved he could use his voice.

Kenjaku just smiled down at him, a hand falling to rest atop his forehead before sliding back and carding through his hair. The gesture itself would have been comforting had it come from anywhere else, anyone else.

“Shh no reason to panic, I’m not here to hurt you. I just wanted to spend some time with you and talk for a little, is that so wrong?” Kenjaku asked, tone making it seem like he was doing something completely normal. The obviously comforting gesture and words missed their mark.

Something about the way he spoke made Yuuji’s stomach turn. Anxiety mounted inside him as he looked up at Kenjaku. Panic was something he felt was very warranted, the strangeness of the situation was so unnerving. He’d only ever known Kenjaku as a monster, why would his mind conjure something like this?

“Where’s Fushiguro?” Yuuji asked. He was worried, their surroundings felt too real for this to be a dream, and if it were real, Megumi had to be somewhere.

Kenjaku’s eyebrows rose briefly before his face returned to the gentle gaze that burned into Yuuji. He hadn’t fully expected that to be something Yuuji would focus on, though after everything he’d heard about the boy, he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised.

It wasn’t that Megumi couldn’t handle himself, Yuuji knew he was more than capable in a fight. It was more that Yuuji couldn’t stand the thought of losing someone else. He needed, beyond his own safety, for Megumi to be okay.

Kenjaku chuckled to himself, hands stilling in Yuuji’s hair. He didn’t need the boy to understand the real reason he was here, this was more for his entertainment than anything else. It seemed Yuuji had taken much more from his father than he’d realized, the look of confusion on his face looked so familiar. His hands resumed their pseudo-comforting gesture in Yuuji’s hair.

“So worried about your friends, what a kind young man you’re growing into. Like I said, there is no reason to worry, Megumi Fushiguro is still sleeping and so are you,” Kenjaku’s soft voice soothed Yuuji’s worries as he spoke.

Somehow Yuuji could feel himself believing Kenjaku’s words, an implicit and unexplained trust filling him. There was no part of his rational mind that would have trusted a word Kenjaku said to him, but this was no rational situation. Despite all the signs that something was horribly wrong, Yuuji could feel more comfort blossoming inside him.

Part of Yuuji’s mind latched onto an odd thing Kenjaku had said: they were both asleep? So if they were asleep and this was a dream, could this be Yuuji's way of expressing his anxiety? Regardless of the cause, knowing Megumi was safe and that this wasn’t real did make him feel a little better.

That is, if he trusted Kenjaku.

The nails lightly brushing against his scalp felt good now too, Yuuji was beginning to notice. Their light touch gave him something to focus on other than the absurdity of the situation. He could see himself easily drifting off to sleep again if Kenjaku would only start humming again. Even without it, he felt his eyes drooping as he accepted the attention.

“What do you remember from your childhood Yuuji?” Kenjaku’s question surprised him, his eyes snapping open again. Despite the ever strange atmosphere, there was nothing but curiosity in Kenjaku’s voice.

Looking up through the darkness, it was kind of difficult to fully makeout Kenjaku’s features. THe others were unsettled by his appearance because he looked like someone they knew, someone Gojo knew. Yuuji had never met Geto Suguru though, he had only known Kenjaku to look this way. Maybe that’s why he felt less afraid. Even with the lack of recognition, Yuuji still felt some unexplainable pull to the man. The way shadows danced across his face in the dim light of the room almost made him forget the question asked of him.

“I was…a strong kid. Spent a lot of time with my grandfather,” Yuuji answered hesitantly, unsure of what to say. He had no reason to lie, even if this wasn’t a dream. Despite his honesty he still didn’t want to say too much, but Yuuji reasoned that talking about family was harmless.

The question was strange though. As far as Yuuji knew his parentage and youth had little merit in anything in this world. He wasn’t raised with Jujutsu like Megumi had been, he was just a normal person.

Or maybe this was just his mind's way of calming him down and forcing him to think of happier times. Times where the world wasn’t hanging on his choices.

As he fought within himself ,Yuuji could feel Kenjaku’s fingers slip further into his hair. The slow moving touch now caressing his neck with every brush through his hair. The touch made him shiver, bringing more strange feelings into his body to rest alongside even stranger form of relaxation.

“Wasuke was an interesting man, I’m not surprised you’ve turned out so much like your father under his care. Do you remember your father much?” Kenjaku spoke nonchalantly as he guided the conversation with ease as if he’d always spoken to Yuuji like this.

Everytime Yuuji started to relax further, Kenjaku would say something that made the anxiety fill him again. Why would Kenjaku, some strange sorcerer with evil plans, be on a first name basis with his grandfather?

Something felt even more wrong now than it had when he had awoken. The confusion made Yuuji’s head hurt as he tried to wrap his head around. What could have brought this on? As Yuuji’s mind scrambled to make sense of the strange questions, the hands in his hair stilled again.

“Am I making you nervous? I’m sorry Yuuji, that was never my intention. I just wanted to get to know you more, to learn about you from the source and not someone else,” the apologetic tone in Kenjaku’s voice felt genuine. It was like he actually wanted to offer even more comfort to Yuuji, as if he truly hadn’t intended to alarm the boy.

Or perhaps Kenjaku was trying to manipulate him.

Before Yuuji could process anything else he felt Kenjaku move. His arms went under Yuuji and wrapped around his shoulders, then he sat back up, bringing Yuuji up with him. Kenjaku effortlessly pulled him onto his lap. The strong, fast motion had placed Yuuji’s head on his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around the boy’s midsection.

There was nothing Yuuji could do as he still felt his limbs paralyzed at his side. For a dream he could feel a surprising amount of warmth radiating from Kenjaku. Like everything else from the man tonight, it was almost comforting and if it didn’t feel so wrong it probably would have been.

He felt Kenjaku’s legs come to rest under his own thighs, cradling his body like a mother holding a distraught child. Like a mother cradling her son's corpse.

Long strands of black hair tickled at Yuuji’s cheeks, the change in position only allowing him to look forward or up at the crook of Kenjaku’s neck. The man wasn’t looking at him, but staring off somewhere else.

Due to the angle, Yuuji couldn’t quite see that Kenjaku’s eyes were shut tightly as if trying to remember something important.

“Why are you doing this?” Though he was still immobile, Yuuji was barely able to force the question out. He desperately needed answers.

None of this made sense to him, regardless of whether it was a dream, reality, or something he had no concept of. The panic in his voice was more confusion than anything else. Though it was hard for him to sound panicked when he felt the deceptively comforting arms holding him so tightly. The firm embrace seemed to knock something loose in his mind, a set of strange memories drifting to the forefront of his mind.

No, not memories, the thoughts flooding into Yuuji’s mind were too incoherent to be considered a full memory. Flashes, tiny glimpses of the past filled his mind. His childhood and his infancy. A face he could barely recognize as his grandfather never kept pictures around. The haze in his mind that surrounded his early years parted for the briefest moment, allowing him to glimpse a stitched ring around the forehead of his mother as she held him.

The connection of these two people made Yuuji feel sick. If he hadn’t been dreaming he was sure he would have vomited. He couldn’t believe it, there had to be something else to explain it, perhaps a product of his own anxiety ridden brain mixing up two things he didn’t understand. Kenjaku and his mother couldn’t be the same person, could they?

“It isn’t often that I think about my past Yuuji, but I am human, it’s normal to think about. You’re helping me with that because you just look so much like your father,” Kenjaku said, every word pilling the confusion onto the boy in his lap. His words all but confirmed the conclusion Yuuji had come to in his mind.

Yuuji tried to move again, attempting to thrash around in the man’s hold, but once again it was futile. He wanted to run far away from the situation or go back to staring up athe ceiling with Megumi. Anything was preferable to this.

Despair filled his veins alongside the confusion and horror. He was helpless in this moment, at the mercy of his mother, the monster he’d been fighting. It seemed he just had to wait this out, but Yuuji wasn’t sure how much more of this his mind could take.

Yuuji hoped Megumi would wake him soon.

Keeping one arm wrapped tightly around Yuuji’s torso, Kenjaku slid a hand up to hold Yuuji’s chin. He turned the boy’s face so they were face to face. The look of fear more evident in his eyes than when they’d first met in Shibuya.

Looking down and meeting eyes, Kenjaku felt something odd inside of himself. While he was proud of Yuuji’s growth, as he mentioned that wasn’t the only thing that drew him to the boy. The soft hair and fear in his eyes reminded Kenjaku of Jin, Yuuji’s father.

While the man had just been a part of his plan, being able to play house with a little family for a bit had been enjoyable. Kenjaku never had any ill will to the man and had even allowed him a merciful death. It’s been quite some time since someone had been so delusionally in love with him.

“He was a good man, very kind not unlike yourself. Unfortunately love blinded him to the reality of his wife’s death, allowing me to take over. Unlike his wife, I was actually able to give him a son,” Kenjaku spoke proudly, as if he had truly done something special. Yuuji wanted to focus on the information about his father, but couldn’t separate it from everything else he was hearing.

Yuuji had expected more taunting, not reassurance that his father was a good man. He was very curious and a part of him wanted to ask more questions as his grandfather never had answers. This wasn’t right, seeking answers from a nightmare would only bring him more despair, and that was something he’d had enough of. He didn’t even know if this was true, it couldn’t be! It was too absurd, Yuuji reminded himself that this just had to be a figment of his stress ridden mind.

“You look so frightened still, maybe I can comfort you the same way I did your father,” Kenjaku’s words turn to a whisper as he studied Yuuji’s face more. He’d been too busy with the abrupt commencement of his plans that he hadn’t had time for himself. The guise of comfort that he offered had nothing to do with the boy’s comfort though, it was purely for Kenjaku’s entertainment.

Times like these Kenjaku almost wished he could have kept Jin Itadori around as some type of pet. Maybe he wouldn’t feel the urge to cradle his own son like this.

It was close enough though, this would have to do. Nothing had stopped Kenjaku from pursuing his wants before, why stop now?

Tilting his own head down Kenjaku moved, pressing his lips to Yuuji’s. The boy’s still lips were soft and warm as he pressed gentle kisses to them.

Kenjaku kept his eyes open, staring into Yuuji’s. He could see how distraught Yuuji was, the fear and panic evident in his eyes. It almost reminded him of Jin’s reaction to the first time they met after he had taken over Kaori’s body. The excitement of seeing someone so distraught at his will pushed Kenjaku forward.

Yuuji was frozen, even if he could move his body he was sure he wouldn’t be able to. All of his thoughts had stopped with the soft press of lips to his own. He was overwhelmed, everything that had happened combining together to leave him feeling void of anything other than panic.

Keeping his eyes open allowed Yuuji to look into Kenjaku’s as well, and it was a sight he would be able to forget. THe manic glee made his stomach drop, he needed to get out of here.

Kenjaku relished in Yuuji’s unmoving lips, snaking his tongue into Yuuji’s mouth. He could almost taste the dear on the boy’s tongue. This was exactly what he wanted.

Sliding his hand down to grip at Yuuji’s hip, Kenjaku pressed their bodies closer together. The heat from Yuuji’s body put him in a trance, he wanted to spoil him with his own essence.

The grip of the hand on Yuuji’s face tightened, forcing his mouth open. Kenjaku’s onesided kiss filled his mouth and caused a heat to course through his body. Even before finding out about Kenjaku’s identity this was something he never would have imagined. The feeling of Kenjaku’s tongue in his mouth pulled a strained moan from his throat, the sound muffled by their kiss.

“Itadori are you okay? Wake up already,” a voice called out from Yuuji’s side. Kenjaku didn’t react, hand still exploring his body and lips still insistently moving against his own. Maybe he couldn’t hear it, Yuuji wondered.

Trying to focus on the voice calling his name, Yuuji’s eyes snapped open, he hadn’t realized they were closed.

Frantically looking around he saw Megumi kneeling next to him. Only just now did Yuuji notice that he was still laying flat on his back and not cradled in the lap of…someone? The vague memory of the person in his dream made him nervous. His body felt warm, like there was a heat inside him he hadn’t experienced before. Accompanied by a throbbing headache, Yuuji couldn’t quite place why he was so relieved to see Megumi.

“You were making noises in your sleep again,” Megumi said matter of factly. It was apparently he was concerned, just refusing to show it. “Was it another nightmare?”

Yuuji pondered the question momentarily. This hadn’t been like the nightmares he’d had after Shibuya, he woke up in a cold sweat from those. Something strange had happened tonight but he had no placement for it. The memory of what had happened slipped right out of his minds eye.

“I don’t know, I feel like I might have actually had a good dream for once,” Yuuji wiped his eyes as he spoke. Looking around he could see that it was still dark in their room, maybe they would be able to get some more sleep. For some reason he had the feeling that there was something he should have remembered from his dream.

Megumi nodded, moving back to his own blanket on the floor.

“Well keep it to yourself, we need to actually get rest and I can’t with you just moaning over there,” Megumi muttered before covering himself up with a blanket and turning away from Yuuji. It wasn’t too long before he fell back asleep.

Yuuji laid back on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. For some reason he felt less anxious about the day ahead of them. Despite not being able to remember the dream, it had to have been pleasant with how good he felt. He hoped that he could finish whatever relaxing dream he was having as he closed his eyes and waited for sleep once again.

#kenjaku #kenjaku x yuuji itadori #yuuji itadori #kenjaku x yuji itadori #jjk #jjk fanfic #dead dove do not eat #yuji itadori

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