Author Answers (April) (Patreon)

General

i sent something like this on tumblr a little bit ago so you don't have to answer it there, but how advanced is tattooing in Blest vis-a-vis tools/inks/etc - are their implements similar to the ones in our world (can their detail work get Very Detailed?), and are there any racial/cultural differences between the methods of tattooing or the kinds of inks?  (... oof that's a lot and i understand if this is split into parts or something lol)

Hi there, thanks for your question! Tattooing is slightly different between cultures, but their techniques are pretty much the same in terms of advance-ness! (They're not that advanced.) 

Ket: all fighting Ket (Khehi Ket) receive a tattoo over their hearts that announces their allegiance and their home city-state (this tattoo is crossed out if they're deemed a criminal/traitor and caught for their crimes: their bodies aren't cremated in the traditional fashion and are left to rot shirtless so all can see the evidence of their betrayal in their mutilated tattoo. I don't know why I told you this because you didn't ask). Ket tattoos are almost exclusively hand-tapped, and it's a painstaking and painful process that doesn't allow for any breaks. The tattoo process is seen as a rite of passage; for many Ket societies, if the Ket in question cries, makes noises of pain, flinches, or asks to stop, they are deemed unworthy of the responsibilities of a Ket soldier, and they may be sent back to their training in shame. The tattoo is a mark of pride and warriorhood for adult Ket. Depending on the city-state, some may also receive marks of their rank and status within their society, and the changes to these as they are elevated in their careers or fortunes are written out on their bodies like living histories. However, because this could relay important information should an enemy ever check their bodies, the additional details are becoming rarer and rarer, while the mark of the city-state remains the same. 

The Ket ink-masters only use needles crafted from metal associated with that city-state: Ygrath's was obsidian, so they would use an obsidian needle; Chicora's was copper, so a copper needle would have been used. The dye used for these tattoos is always black and is typically formed by mixing the ash of a tree associated with the Ket, a special lacquer that is sometimes applied to Ket weapons, and, occasionally, the ash from the funeral pyres of fallen comrades. 

(As the world says, the Ket can be a morbid people.)

Elves: Elves do not use needles to create tattoos, but instead an even older method that involves cutting a design (usually of one's clan symbol or something in nature such as a flower) into the skin and then rubbing ink/dye/pigment into the wound. They typically use plant dyes and pigmentations, such as from the indigo plant or certain flowers; the fading this results in (along with the cutting technique) can cause "tattoos" to look like very pretty-looking, pale scars. The most prized pigmentation in the Elvish tattooing process is white, as this fits with some Elf legends and mythology (the first royal family of the Elves was said to all be born with white, star-shaped birthmarks on their palms or brows). 

However, tattooing is not terribly common among the Elvish people: permanently marking your body with something might get old when you have to live with it for literally forever, so there's no real cultural significance assigned to the decision to get a tattoo other than aesthetic. People will know you really care about that thing if you get a tattoo, is what I'm saying!

Mages: Tattoos are fairly rare among Mages, but they have the easiest process in that they paint the desired design onto the person's skin, then use their magic to sink the pigmentation into the dermis permanently, creating a tattoo.  It's a painless process, though it becomes longer and more expensive if you're adding on features like making sure the tattoo never fades/warps or the color doesn't change. Because the practice is fairly rare, there isn't really a cultural significance to things like colors or designs among Mages, and it's just seen as a personal choice. 

Hunters: Hunters use the same process as the Elves, though they exclusively only use red ink for their tattoos. Some societies tattoo the matha (the mark of an initiated Hunter) rather than simply creating a scar out of it. The red ink is created from sunberries in the mountains as well as trace powdered metals mixed with hakka oil and blubber. 

Norms: Norm tattoos are more common among the regular folk, but there are some connotations of it being low-brow due to a historical tendency to tattoo convicts with evidence of their crimes in the past. Therefore, many bandits and criminals would be seen with tattoos, leading to the association that having a tattoo = you're a scoundrel. Despite this, modern day Norm society has the widest access to different pigments and dyes and is able to mass-produce them. Tattoos are seen as a purely aesthetic choice; their existence doesn't have any particular connotations except, occasionally, with rebellion and crime. There is a famous traveling company of actors and players whose faces are all tattooed with the guises of the characters they play. 

Hello! Lena I love all of your characters! Also thanks for making me pull my dictionary for the first time in years lol. How does BFF Blade feel about MC dating each RO?

Haha, you're welcome, thank you for enjoying the story!

To be honest, Blade doesn't have many thoughts on whoever his friends are dating; he's just not interested in that kind of thing/his brain doesn't really work that way. I don't think he'd really disapprove of anyone; he's sort of just like "sure, do what you want." At best: 

Trouble: he's a good man and one of Blade's best friends. 👍

Tallys: she's a good soldier with a solid head on her shoulders. 👍

Shery: she's a kind soul with a gentle, loving heart. 👍

Riel: he doesn't know how you put up with him, but he is smarter than anyone Blade knows, so sure he can see it 👍

Chase: ...why? No, never mind, he doesn't want to know. -neutral-

Red: 😠👎 yuck. stinky bad man. do what you want but don't ask him to make eye contact with or acknowledge your boyfriend like ever. ever. even until the day you die. 

(I know I just said he wouldn't disapprove of anyone but I forgot about Red)

Ayla: she's kind of feral. are you sure you haven't been coerced into doing this? no? ok, well, she's a ferocious warrior with a heart of gold, have fun 👍

Briony: he likes Briony, she's fun and fierce and capable of protecting you. a sensible choice 👍

Lavinet: he likes Lavinet and respects her a lot for leaving her privileged position to work as a Shepherd. great networking 👍

Hi Lena! is there a chance you could please tell us either BFF!Haleks reactions to MC dating the ROs or just Halek’s opinions on the other shepherds in general? (Or vice versa if that’s easier)! Love your writing and thanks for doing this!!!

Hiya, I'll give Halek's opinions on the Shepherds in general for now! Thank you for your kind words!

Blade: Halek likes Blade in general and really respects him for, you know, saving his people (there are branches where Blade isn't stuck in the infirmary with the flu); however, he really needs to get the stick out of his ass and stop yelling at Halek for taking naps on duty

Trouble: loud, colorful, reckless. does not give a flying fuck about who halek is other than just 'friend.' they don't need to talk to understand each other. surprisingly get along well.

Tallys: one of his favorites among the Shepherds. she's chill, keeps to herself, handles things maturely. she does not chase him around screaming about how he wandered into a training exercise and almost got shot in the head with an arrow because he was too busy looking for a good shady spot to lie down. if she had been on the journey to heth macoll the soup thing would have never happened. she said she would beat moonsilk's ass so she's an A+ friend in his book. however, she's always telling him that life is too short and he needs to do what he wants in the time that he has, which, he knows.

Shery: they bake sweets and cook together, and it's a very comfortable relationship! she was sort of intimidated by him at first (him being a messiah and all) but quickly got over it once she saw what a slob he was. they really bond over food and sometimes he can persuade her to sneak a secret break in the kitchens to try some rare exotic treat together!

Riel: they are friends, but Riel is irritated by Halek's laziness and his tendency to slouch all over the furniture. Riel's constant need to work and neuroticism exhausts Halek, which is why he slouches.

Chase: Chase trolls Halek just like he trolls everyone else, but Halek finds it kind of refreshing, since he's usually the one trolling other people back home. Believe it or not, they trade tips on fashion; however, Chase is pissed off by Halek's taller height because they can't exchange clothes and jackets.

Red: Red is one of Halek's closest friends in the Order, mostly because Red can befriend anyone (except one notable case) and he's also chill, sensible, and will let Halek hide out in his room when the chaos of whatever's going on now gets to be too much. They talk about their different cultures and about the world--Halek wants to travel and Red has Traveled--and they're generally very close and can be seen hanging out often!

Ayla: there was some friction, but they're good now. Halek wasn't used to Ayla's abrasive (and blunt) attitude, while Ayla read his sarcasm and generally careless attitude as disrespectful. They probably wouldn't hang out all on their own, but they're civil to each other, and they wouldn't hesitate to back each other up in a fight. Halek just doesn't know why she's scowling all the time; and she doesn't know why he looks sleepy all the time!

Briony: he likes Briony as a person, but she's so emotional and sensitive that he generally keeps his mouth shut around her so as not to activate a storm of tears or a spark of anger. He thinks she's sweet and an incredible sight to behold in battle, but she's like the sister he never had in that he can feel awkward around her. He has a bad habit of yawning at the wrong moment and setting her off lol.

Lavinet: he thinks Lavinet is cool, but they don't have too much to talk about. He sort of recognizes a kindred spirit in her, because she too left a position of power and status in order to join the Shepherds. They can be in the same room in comfortable silence, but a lot of the time he has no idea what she's talking about...

I'm not sure but last month was a question about MC's parent with Hunter heritage reaction to them dating Halek but what if we reverse this situation? Moonsilk, Halek's mother and Naolin's reaction to him choosing different path in life and staying with MC? Also what is twins' mother name?

This is heavy spoilers for the game, so I'll just be brief. His father would be extremely angry and disown him, but only for a few years (lol) and would probably curse the day Halek was ever born. His mother would be heartbroken but would ultimately understand and would resign herself to his decision; she'd be outwardly supportive and would threaten to divorce his father if he kept up the exile, but inwardly she'd be pretty torn on it all. Naolin would be... terrified and upset, but not shocked; ultimately, he would be happy for his brother and supportive as well. 

Moonsilk would obviously be extremely unhappy, angry, hurt, jealous, shocked, everything lol, and I don't think she'd ever get over it. Imagine being engaged to the richest, most famous celebrity you'd want to marry, and then they, like, go on a business trip for a year and are like "hey remember that random cop you lied to one time to get out a ticket? I'm marrying them!!" If she ever saw MC again, I don't think there'd be a way to prevent something like a fight (or sabotage) from breaking out!

You can find the name of the characters' parents here!

Hi Lena! How are you? From Reds day off scene we know that the other shepherds have mentioned about MCs weird shit. How do these conversations usually go? Like let’s say Lavi or Briony just joined, who’s most likely to fill them in? What sort of things do they say?

Hi there anon, I'm well, thank you! For your question: I headcanon/imply that MC either tells them during a private moment or they piece stuff together over time, like Briony is like, "Okay, so I've been thinking about something, but I didn't want to ask MC if it's not something I should ask, but what was it they did to Jarkyth in that final battle? Because it wasn't magic, and now that I think about it, I don't think it was magic that took down the wards, either..." Or Lavinet is like, "Funny thing, but when we were on the road MC had a nightmare and blew out the windows, is this just normal or..." And whoever she's with at the time is like, "uhhhh I don't know if I'm supposed to say" and Lavinet's like, "so it's a secret???" and it becomes a whole thing. Basically MC has given the Shepherds tacit permission to debrief anyone who needs to know or has witnessed the WOP, which is basically only the inner circle!

what’s a small, domestic gesture of love that each of the ROs do? For example my gf always starts my car for me in winter and I always cut the onions for her so she doesn’t cry. Also just wanted to say how much I love your game and writing style!

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Blade: wraps his coat/a scarf around MC when she comes in from a cold winter day or he finds her out in the field after a while; towels her hair off when she comes in wet from the rain

Trouble: cooks them breakfast every day he can and usually brings it to them in bed; always replaces the sliver of soap with a fresh bar so they can have a nice bath without getting out and sloshing around; buys flowers

Tallys: leaves pressed flowers in their books for them to find even years down the road; make them sit and unlaces and takes off their boots for them after a long day (or week) of work

Shery: washes MC's laundry along with hers and leaves MC's clothes folded neatly in her drawers without ever really acknowledging that she's doing it; keeps a candle lit in the window for MC if she goes to bed before she comes home, so MC can always find her way back

Riel: brews them tea/coffee in the morning and has a cup ready, just the way MC likes it, when MC wakes up  every day; turns down the blanket and fluffs MC's pillow in preparation for MC coming to bed

Chase: hides jewelry, trinkets, or little notes under their pillow or in their coat pockets for them to find randomly; notices small things like MC running out of perfume/cologne so he buys them a new bottle at the store, remembers that they mentioned they enjoyed a dish at a restaurant so he brings it home as takeout without needing to discuss it

Red: cuts/peels fruit for them when he wants a snack and leaves a plate by their elbow while they're working; gives them foot rubs when they're stressed; always lies for an hour in bed very still just to be able to hang out with them (even though they're asleep) when he could be starting his day

Ayla: opens or closes the windows in the house according to the weather so they'll be comfortable ahead of time; saves funny things she read in newspapers or magazines to show MC at the end of the day

Briony: scribbles cute and encouraging notes to leave on the table or in their lunch bag every day; snuggles and stays up to run her fingers through their hair so they'll fall asleep relaxed

Lavinet: runs the water so that they'll have a hot bath waiting for them without needing to be asked; lays out outfits for them on the bed or in the closet if they're preoccupied so they don't have to think about what to wear

hey!! last month there was a question about briony having a secret that she’d be embarrassed for the mc to find out, and i was wondering- what are some secrets the other ros have that they’d be embarrassed over?? 

Blade: that he has nightmares about them dying

Trouble: that he's ticklish

Tallys: that she's a baby when she gets sick

Shery: that she owns dirty novels

Riel: that he's shy about undressing in front of them in a non-sexual context at first--it feels improper!

Chase: I don't know, this is a hard one because he's quite shameless! I don't think there are innocent secrets he has that he would be embarrassed over; if he's keeping secrets, it's because the emotion that goes with them runs much deeper than just embarrassment, if that makes any sense! 

Red: that he can spend up to an hour styling his hair

Ayla: that she snores and drools in her sleep

Lavinet: that she's messy, and also that she doesn't know how to cook

The snippet from your story between Blade and Halek made me curious: how would Red, Chase, and Trouble react to a similar scenario of Halek or some healer or smth just kind of springing that on them?

Red: he'd be panicking. like "what did you say? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY? A BABY? I'M GOING TO BE A DAD?" *trying desperately not to freak out/hyperventilate* He'd be so freaked out he wouldn't even notice that Halek let it slip lol

Chase: he'd pretend he didn't hear it or didn't notice what Halek implied... until he got home and asked MC for himself. If they confirmed it, he'd take a running kick at Halek for spoiling the surprise, but would also be like, "hey man can we go get a drink or something somewhere. I... need advice." *desperately trying to hold the fear in*

Trouble: he'd be mostly mad that Halek knew about it before he did. Like wtf??? Did my wife tell you that before me?? Who do you think you are?? I'll kill you?? but also omg I'm going to be a dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for the q&a, can i request any fluffy tidbits about red and/or ayla that you haven't shared yet?

Ayla: she keeps MC's clothes on a pile on the bed next to her when MC is away on missions, just so she can roll around in them and smell them when she misses them. Also, she suddenly displays an interest in growing a garden, is awful at it, and one day MC hears her cursing at some wilting flowers because she wanted to make a bouquet for MC but now the flowers are all brown and dead. She later makes them out of paper. Badly.

Red: he describes the feeling of seeing MC for the first time (again, if exes or old friends) was like "being kicked in the head" to his sisters when they ask. They interpret this as a bad thing, but that's just Red-speak for being totally floored by how amazing MC looks. 

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Spoilers

Hi! If MC volunteers to teach Chase to read in his day off scene, are you planning on having that come up again in the future? He was so thrilled I'd love to have it actually happen, even if it's just mentioned that they are working on it offscreen.

Yes, it will definitely come up again in the future.! I don't think there will be an outright scene depicting the reading lessons, but Chase will excitedly tell MC he read a sign the other day or something like that, and his advancing progress will be mentioned throughout his day off scenes and the story! :)

Hello Lena! I hope you're having a lovely April. I was curious about the Autarch and I was wondering if we could get some non-spoiler information about her and the royal (dictator lol) family—like, does she have siblings/therefore niblings? Are they part of the political sphere or kept away so there's no succession crisis? Also you mentioned the Autarch opened up all Orders to all genders—prior to this generation, was there sexism and the Autarch was in like a Queen Elizabeth situation for lack of male heirs or something? You don't have to answer all of these lmao. She's a very interesting character to me (even though objectively she sucks) and I'd love to know more!

Hi Jazz, thanks for your question! I hope you're having a lovely April, too! I don't have too much canonical information about the Autarch, but I will do my best!

The tradition starting from the first Autarch is that each generation could only ever sire one child. This was both to prevent crises of succession and infighting, as well as to reinforce the idea that the Autarchs are the "chosen ones" of the One-God: if there are two children, there could be some confusion over which one is the chosen one, and if there's confusion, then people ask why the One-God made them in twos in the first place, and then it's a whole big mess. So generally, Autarchs only ever had one child, and the fact that these only children never died early or were assassinated before they could rule was another sign that the One-God favored their line.

Everything changed when the current Autarch's grandparents had a pair of twins. When they discovered that fact during pregnancy, they initially planned to have only one child announced to the public, and it would be a deadly-kept secret within the Sun Court that there were actually two children (the twins would take turns appearing as each other at public events, essentially pretending to be one single heir instead of two). However, these plans were shot when they discovered that the babies' genders were different: one was a boy, and one was a girl, and eventually the ruse was going to be discovered.

Initially, the plan was to give one baby away to someone who would never know or care where it came from; a servant with a barren womb, that sort of thing. But there was so much fear that the child would somehow learn of their lineage one day and return to wreak absolute hell on the Sun Court. That couldn't happen, so the decision was made to kill one baby: the girl.

Long story short, the mom of the twins (the current Autarch's grandmother) had second thoughts and fled with her daughter from the Sun Court, all the way to her ancestral home in Lindell. There, she managed to tell her family everything and hid the baby among her relatives before the Sun Court's soldiers caught up to her. By then, the secret was out, and the Army of the Sun couldn't very well kill everyone in the Lindell palace to keep them from knowing the truth. So the Autarch's grandmother and the baby were reluctantly allowed to live, on pain of death that they would never try to contest the succession of the Autarchy. 

The baby who remained at the Sun Court eventually grew up to become Autarch himself, and, of course, he eventually sired our current Autarch. Meanwhile, his twin sister (our Autarch's aunt) also became an adult, married into the Lindell royal family (which, yes, to a cousin), and produced a child, who would be the only first cousin to our current Autarch. This child grows into Janus Kinpol, who is discussed in Blade's short story, Quicksilver. 

Anyway, all this to say is that our Autarch (for conversational purposes, Ironel) does not have any siblings and only this one first cousin (she does have other cousins, though, just more distantly-related). Her decision to adopt Ornos, her second son, caused an extreme amount of controversy--but hey, being the Autarch has its perks, in that you can get away with a lot while having the power to chop off people's heads.

The Autarch does objectively suck, but it should be noted, for better or for worse, she is more lenient and tolerant than the ancestors who came before her. She is the second female Autarch (she is the fifth Autarch overall), and while there wasn't sexism facing her when she came into power, she was the only one who gave a damn when she noticed it in other aspects of life. (The first female Autarch, Ustareth, was worse than many of the male ones.) 

Under Ironel's rule, the Sun Court depleted forty percent of the royal reserves (of food) in order to improve the quality of life in Ashtown and Smoketown; there are laws protecting certain freedoms of speech for scholars and artists; there are more Diminished and "pagan" holidays allowed again; and while the Inquisitors running around aren't... great by any means, they are afraid of fucking around too much because of the Autarch's displeasure.

Long story short, the Autarchy is still awful, but this Autarch is probably the least awful Autarch to rule yet. However, both of her sons are great contenders for being worst Autarch again, and people also theorize she became very ill (or went a little mad) after the assassination of her husband, and is too weak to really control her heirs. Of course, anyone who whispers this rumor takes a permanent vacation to the Chrysalis, but whether that's on the Autarch's orders or someone else's, no one knows for sure. 

The mysteries and contradictions of her reign, of course, will be addressed further in the game! I hope some of that helps satisfy your curiosity!

Concerning the ket, why was Blade picked to be the assassin and not Gladius? Do some kets specifically have a certain number of children to fulfill particular roles in society?

Hi there, Gladius was initially sorted into the Khehi Ket caste (a spy rather than an assassin) as an adolescent, but his battle renown, leadership skills, and genius at tactics quickly earned him a promotion into the Sen Ket caste--the leaders and adjudicators of the city-state. His father was already leader of the Ket in Ygrath, so when he died, Gladius (not only because he was older than Blade, but because of his position in the right caste) took over his position and legacy. The older Ket who'd also served as Sen leaders alongside his father were killed at the same time he was, so basically Gladius had to take over with a new generation of leaders suddenly, and despite his youth, it had to be him personally in order to maintain stability and order within their city (the old Bronwyn is dead but at least there's still a Bronwyn in charge, not some random no-name). And, of course, you can't rule the Ket in your city-state unless you are a Sen Ket, so that ruled Blade out automatically. 

Blade, who'd also been sorted into the Khehi fighting caste but had remained there as its top assassin, simply continued his work as the city-state's best killer under his brother's reign--and all Khehi soldiers obey their leader without question. Their blood relation isn't supposed to play into it, and Gladius is supposed to utilize the best assassin they have for the good of their people, regardless of whether it's his brother or not. It's a very complicated situation!

Ket aren't deliberately chosen to become one class or another per se: it's not like they're born and one of the leaders says, "That one is going to be a soldier." They're rigorously tested, run through various trials, and evaluated throughout their training and during their selection into the castes: their skill, general behavior, and personality are accounted for, and once they're given a caste to try out for, they are allowed into it if they pass certain tests. So it's less like they're specifically selected and more like their natural talents and attitudes indicate what position is best for them!

It's not typical for parents to have children solely to be one role or another, because it's so unpredictable what they'll be good at!

So spoiler ask but you've said that MC eventually becomes co-Commander alongside Blade. Is there going to be something like a ceremony for MC where they are formally installed as co-Commander? Or does Blade show up at MC's door one day and say "MC, you're a commander now. Have a good day" LOL. Also, how would it all work if Blade disagreed with MC, would there be an impasse or does MC's word rule supreme in matters that are within MC's domain? 

There most likely won't be an on-screen ceremony per se, but there will probably be an assembly so all of the Shepherds will understand the changed situation! Blade does just call MC to his office and is like, "So here's what I'm thinking, what do you think?" But there is also an official announcement should MC accept.

I'll leave it to this part in the game to explain fully, since I'd like to write it out fully for myself to make sure things are as clear as possible. But there will probably be three "Commanders" as a kind of council, and each "Commander" will be in charge of a separate division or type of duty: this is modeled after a very old Ket way of governance  (as well as when companies have co-CEOs), and major decisions will be put to a vote between the three if they can't all agree. This structure will also probably be a temporary solution to help distribute the workload Blade faces, get the organization and bureaucracy past its growing pains, and deploy their new manpower and resources in a more efficient way. It's expected that, once things are more nailed down and concretized, they'll have the ability to open new branches in other cities and recruits can be diverted there, lessening the workload and need for triple leadership in the Haven branch. But on the other hand, if the system ends up working for the better, then maybe the three-Commander system is best! We'll see how it all unfolds, and of course, none of this is set in stone right now!

I am still toying around with the different names for each Commander, and so far I'm playing with Commander-Archon, Commander-Polemarch, and Commander-Strategos. But I'm not sure of anything yet!

for the April Q&A, how many day off interludes are planned for each character?

Blade: 9

Trouble: 8-9

Tallys: 8-9

Shery: 8

Chase: 7-8

Riel: 7-8

Red: 6-8

Ayla: 6-8

Halek: 5-6

Briony: 6-8

Lavinet: 6-8

Caine: 7

The recruits who join later will most likely either get some interludes doubled up on certain days off or extra dates that don't take place on days off (this will make sense later). Days off depend on the complexity of the characters' side stories and character arcs. 

Hello! You talked on Tumblr about how a couple of the ROs behave when they hate the MC- how will the others act once you’ve tripped that flag? 

I'd rather leave this for people to find out in the game, but off the top of my head:

Blade acts cold and doesn't want to spend time with you, but otherwise professional and unreadable.

Trouble acts fairly normal even if he hates your guts.

I don't believe there are hate flags at the moment for Tallys, Shery, Riel, Chase, or Red. Chase will probably have one at some point. 

Ayla is more hostile and doesn't want anything to do with you and is quite rude. Same with Briony; she acts repulsed by you.

Lavinet is more "mean girl"; she makes passive-aggressive comments and basically makes your life as hard as possible under the guise of being sweet and polite.

Don't forget that if enough people hate you, it will give you a certain special ending of the game!

I FORGOT THE NAME OF THE HOLIDAY, but can I have the ROs reactions to getting the pink filling for their fairy bread in the crushing stage? I love how Tallys reacts to the MC getting the pink filling btw. It was very... her. 

The name of the holiday is Wintersun! :) Can I copy-paste their reactions from the game lol?

Blade coughs and pretends not to notice the significance of the color. He knows what it means and is secretly happy but is trying not to show it because colors are dumb and also nooooo he shouldn't be happy about this, it's unprofessionallll

 "Huh," Trouble says, looking at the inside of the bun with a bemused look. "Wonder what that means for me?" He has no idea what it means and, when asking someone else (Chase), learns that it means a baby is in his future (this is actually somewhat true, it's a regional thing), so he thinks someone around him is pregnant

Tallys steals a mischievous look at you when she sees the color of your bun. She even winks! One step closer to pound town or you are already there

Shery blushes when she notices the color of your bun. She pretends not to see it, but the way her eyes dart at you, then away, is telling. Shery's inner monologue: OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD. DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT? OMG. KEEP IT COOL. STOP FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Riel doesn't even react to the pink filling because that's just how he be. He doesn't ascribe anything to the fairy buns, same as believing in fortune cookies, but it's a fun tradition! He's more excited about getting the gold filling for money LOL

Chase raises his eyebrows when he sees the color that you got—then he gives you an over-the-top smirk, waggling his eyebrows in a comical fashion. "How interesting." He is taking the opportunity to flirt, really nothing more to it

 "Don't let Chase find out we got that," Red whispers, winking at you in a conspiratorial manner. "If he hears, he'll never let us hear the end of it."

Ayla doesn't react to the pink filling, either. She doesn't really care about its significance--if MC is into her, that's all she needs to know--she's mainly concerned with food at the moment, lol. She doesn't like it if you get the red filling (catastrophe), though!

Briony would squeal if she was there and got the pink filling, then try to play it off like she just loves the color pink, and Lavinet would be smug, like, "I didn't need a bun to tell me this... ;D"

Bonus: engaged man Halek is visibly disgusted by the pink filling: Halek snorts when he sees the inside of the bun. "If that's in reference to Moonsilk," he drawls, "it's very much wrong. But we'll see." 

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NSFW

NSFW Ask! How long would each RO last with a very talented MC's edging play before they started begging? 

Blade: three times is his max before his pride breaks

Trouble: Top!Trouble lasts three times, Bottom!Trouble doesn't even get to the edging part before he's begging

Tallys: she will never back down, never surrender. she would rather die than beg

Shery: once is all she needs before she starts singing like a canary!

Riel: Top!Riel wouldn't let MC touch him enough to make him edge, bottom!Riel also wouldn't beg but he'd probably just go into like stunned confused silence

Chase: depends on his mood, if he's playing nice he probably only tolerates it twice or thrice, but I don't think he'd ever beg, he'd probably just get impatient and take control of the situation

Red: he lasts a surprisingly long amount of time, like almost coming five times before his eyes cross, but he does not have enough pride to consider letting it go on for that long lol

Ayla: she'd get so pissed if MC asked her to beg, like "F-FUCK YOU!" as they were making her edge... she'd probably put up with it for an hour max before she caved

Briony: MC doesn't even need to edge her once before she's sobbing for relief

Lavinet: she'll get tetchy and irritable with MC if it happens more than once lol

While they're recently on your mind, could I ask for a little more information about what DomTop!Trouble and SadisticTop!Riel looked like? 😂 

Top!Trouble is mostly kind of cocky and rogueish and teasing something like, "So this is the best you've ever had, right?" while they're having foreplay, and if MC gets lippy with him, he dedicates a significant amount of time pinning their wrists to the bed and teasing them so much without relenting that he'll make them shout "this is the best sex I've ever had!" before he lets them come. Basically he's like "ohohoho, you need to be put in your place, sweetheart," and is also very confident about his, eh, assets.

SadisticTop!Riel is kind of a control freak and is extremely demanding in the bedroom, wanting everything to be just so before he'll allow his partner any gratification. He has a luxury collection of toys, ropes, and miscellaneous in a nice crushed-velvet case and has a cruel streak: if you don't address him as "sir" or whatever the flavor of the day is when he's addressing you, he's going to torture you. He likes bossing MC around and having utter control of everything they do, and he is most likely into (and extremely adept) at shibari. I don't know how he'd feel about a collar--he'd probably enjoy it. On MC, that is. 

If this hasn't been asked before (I hope), what kinds of underclothes on MC make the ROs go 👀/ possibly get a nosebleed? (can also be MC streaking down the hall in one of their shirts and nothing else, doesn't have to be full-on lace lingerie/thong & tassels/see-through speedo or anything lol Blade would die)

Blade: MC wearing his shirt/clothes of his that look oversized on her; he can't stop staring and blushing and probably can't keep his hands off her 👀

Trouble: I think he's very into clothes where it seems like you're fully clothed, but there's something more tantalizing going on; wearing a short skirt with no underwear underneath, shirts with those tiddy windows in them (male or female), slutty chaps, GARTERS

Tallys: very few things make her blush--I think she likes full nudity best--but I think she'd be very interested in lacy/satiny lingerie or sheer nightwear as well!

Shery: she'd be very into silky nightwear and those sleeping kimono-type robes with nothing underneath!

Riel: I think simple boxer-briefs would be to his tastes... or nothing at all, he'd probably prefer MC in all his naked glory!

Chase: I think knowing MC was wearing a G-string/thong under their clothes would drive him crazy!

Red: I don't think he'd be all that interested in lingerie/underwear in general except in the most generic sense, but the sight of MC in nothing but a pair of high heels might do something to him

Ayla: I think she'd be very into tassels, dominatrix-style black lingerie and even leather!

Briony: I think she'd be very into fishnet-type lingerie, stuff with a rougher texture, and definitely thigh-high tights/stockings!

Lavinet: I don't think she'd be very interested in underwear in general (more what's underneath it), but briefs that show off MC's package/butt get her fanning herself and swooning!

hi lena! can you drop some uh nsfw facts about chase and blade? or give us an idea how sex is like with chase whenever we make him jealous 👀

You're not even two steps out of the front hallway before you feel someone grabbing you around the waist, heaving you over their shoulder, and striding rapidly to the bedroom. Before you can say anything, you're tossed summarily onto the bed with a yelp--only to find Chase standing over you.

"Chase?" You peer at him through the dark. "What are you doing? I thought you were an intruder!"

"Hmm," he says pensively, his face hidden by the shadows, "wouldn't you wish." 

"What are you talking about?" You suddenly bite back a yawn--it has been a long night of socializing--but the motion only seems to aggravate your lover further.

"Tired from spending all that time with Ysonia?" His voice is pleasant, controlled. Maybe too controlled. "You looked like you were having a grand old time." 

It only takes a moment for his words to sink in, and you half-smile, half-smirk. "Chase, I believe it was you who said, 'I find jealousy to be an unproductive emotion.'"

He leans closer to you, and it's only then that you notice how dark his gaze looks; how blown-out his pupils are. "Another thing that I have said, sweetheart, is that I am a liar," he whispers. And then he pins your wrists to the bed.