#/they got into even more arguments with the other characters they're traveling with-

[felassan]

Some more DA:TV and related snippets from Sylvia Feketekuty, Part 6. rest of post under a cut due to length and spoilers. [Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four, Post Five]

User: "after [Emmrich and Rook's] argument they don’t really bring it up again, is it pretty much the case that Rook being lost in the fade made them both realise what was important so that conversation wasn’t really needed? or did they have it off-screen?" // Sylvia Feketekuty: ""is it pretty much the case that Rook being lost in the fade made them both realise what was important so that conversation wasn’t really needed? or did they have it off-screen?" I think either one is valid. There's some time skips, so I figured if you imagined your Rook and Emmrich talking about the argument, it could've happened while, say, they're traveling to the Necropolis. Flow-wise it seemed best to rely on that passage of time to smooth that part over, and get to the point where we enter the talk by the coffin. Or perhaps they're so in-sync that, like you said, Rook and Emmrich feel they can just move on. (If you bring Emmrich to Isle of the Gods he's apologetic there, and Rook picks up on it, so maybe that was enough short as it was.) (To my mind it's not a huge thing to declare one way or another, but I'd prefer this one to be player's choice)" [source, two, three, four]

User: "had a question about emmrich's last name. i know there is a banter with harding that confirms it is a commoner name, but i was interested in what his surname breaks down into meaning? I assumed volk=folk perhaps, but is there any other meaning/significance? thank you!" // Sylvia: "You pretty much have it right with "volk" = people. I liked the idea that Volkarin would sound fancy to someone speaking English (well Harding's not speaking English per se, but you know), but have its roots in something that plain. So yeah basically I got a kick out of the thought that in Nevarra, Emmrich's last name is the equivalent of Smith, or Jones, or Wilson. (The "arin" part is just because I thought together it paired well with "volk")" [source, two]

User: "With Hezenkoss, as a romanced rook, it feels like she's a bit jealous and was stuck in a one sided crush with her "friend" Was this intended? Or was she just competitive and annoyed at his popularity with everyone?" // Sylvia: "I always pictured Hezenkoss as annoyed that as they grew up, Emmrich become popular and effortlessly well-liked, while she, with her sheer brilliance, was clearly resented by jealous fools. Fools!!! (I pictured Johanna needling Emmrich over his romance mostly her going 'now there's some nice sore-spots I can press' because she has correctly anticipated his insecurities.) "become popular" Arg I meant to write BECAME. Cripes." [source, two, three] // Sylvia: "TBC I also don't want to invalidate any head-canons! My general rule is that if it's not stated outright in game, it's up for interpretation, regardless of my thoughts. La mort de l'auteur, etc." [source]

User: "I recently made an appreciation post on reddit how relatable he is for me and how it helped me with my anxiety. There were also other users agreeing and sharing their love for the character." // Sylvia: "I read your post and the others, and I'm glad meeting Emmrich touched people like that. His story was a team effort, and everyone making him knew we needed to hit this theme right. (His actor Nick Boraine deserves especial praise for nailing those lines.) I have indeed experienced what Emmrich does, and from the thread and other fan interactions, it's not an uncommon thing. If I can offer something I read a long time ago: you have the right to think about death without being in a state of absolute fear. I don't know why, but that thought helped me focus when things were rough. Maybe because it was correct: we DO have that right. Even if life and our own psyches conspire against us, it's ours." [source, two, three] // User: "I felt seen in a way I never have when Emmrich said he is terrified of dying. I've had panic attacks about it since I was old enough to understand what death is. Thank you for making so many feel seen and helping people realize its not just *them.*" // Sylvia: "I'm really glad it helped, because the conclusion I've come to is this is more common than we think, it's just not something people talk about." [source]

Sylvia: "(Full credit to the great feedback I got from the other writers and editors early on [re: Emmrich], he wouldn't be as good without them.)" [source] // Sylvia: "All credit to the team, especially the writers and editors who gave feedback that made him so much better during those early days and beyond." [source]

Sylvia: ""who came up with Davrin's "hand-to-bone combat" line?? 🤣" Haha that was Davrin's writer, John Dombrow! I'll let him know you (and other people) got a chuckle out of it!" [source]

User, on Manfred: ""I'm so curious -what about the almonds caught his fancy, and why so many?" Some things are a mystery even to me when it comes to Manfred. (Whatever his reason, I thought as a vegetarian Emmrich would probably have a lot of nuts handy which was the germ of the idea.)" // Sylvia: "Some things are a mystery even to me when it comes to Manfred. (Whatever his reason, I thought as a vegetarian Emmrich would probably have a lot of nuts handy which was the germ of the idea.)" [source]

User: "When Rook romances Emmrich, through banter we can see that Emmrich is surprised that the other companions know about the relationship, and also h says to Johanna that it's a private matter. Is it because he wants to keep things private only, is it because he is worried that Rook may not be the one true love, or is he worried about the age gap, or all these reasons and/or others?" // Sylvia: "In this particular case, I think Emmrich just wanted to be discrete because he didn't want to assume it was a serious thing, and for people to think HE thought it was serious. (Though his line to Hezenkoss is snappish specifically because he knows she's needling him, haha.)" [source]

Sylvia: Down Among the Dead Men and Luck in the Gardens "mean a lot to me, being my first published stories in a book.)" [source]

User: "Are there any other areas of Thedas that you think young Altus mages would tour? Poor Dorian looked like a fish out of water in Ferelden." // Sylvia: "Completely talking off the cuff here, but Orlais and Antiva, certainly, and some of the "better" Free Marcher states seem like good candidates. (Poor Ferelden! Always forgotten by the north.)" [source]

User: "I know you said previously that emmrich doesn't really vibe with cats or dogs But like if rook already has a dog or something (that someone is like pet sitting for them while they're kicked out of their faction and traveling with varric) would that be a deal breaker" // Sylvia: "Nah that'd be fine, they're not his favorites but he'll put up with them for Rook." [source]

Sylvia: "I have indeed seen Cushing's version of Hound of the Baskervilles, for some reason that part where he whirls around and throws the knife is embedded into my brain. What a great Holmes he made." [source]

User: "1. Where did Emmrich live in Nevarar when he was a child? 2. When do you think his birthday is? 👀 3. How did Johanna know him?" // Sylvia: "1. He lived inside the bounds of Nevarra City itself. He's always been a city boy. 2. For some reason, he feels like a January/February birthday to me. 3. They met as young students in the Mourn Watch." [source]

User: "if Emmrich didn't think it was serious when he'd always wanted one true love -apparently-, why did he embark on this relationship, especially with so much passion?" // Sylvia: "I think he thought it wouldn't be so serious at first, but then things progressed. And people want conflicting things, sometimes." [source]

User: "I really love Strife being a love interest for Emmrich! What lead to him as the choice if he isn't romanced?" // Sylvia: "The writing team discussed who felt right, and I liked that Strife was from one of the factions because it gives the feeling of your followers interacting with the wider world. And I felt Strife would provide a nice contrast with the romance with Rook. Unlike them, he's more established in his place in the world, like Emmrich is. Just felt like a different dynamic." [source, two] // User: "Strife balances Emmrich well since they are both interested in study but have gone about it differently." // Sylvia: "Agreed! (I wish I had thought to put it like that.)" [source]

User: "how are pets and animals honoured in the Necropolis and by the Mourn Watchers? The same as any other being?" // Sylvia: "Beloved animals are absolutely permitted to be buried with families. Mild Necropolis exploration spoiler: inside the passage you unlock after finding all the wisps in the belfry area, there's actually some caskets for faithful hounds interred in the crypt." [source]

User: "My question is do the mourn watcher/nevarra in general raise their pets after they die to keep them around? like a dog skeleton with a whisp in it?" // Sylvia: "To be honest I hadn't thought out this one, but it's a very good question. I'm not sure how common that would be, or even if it's permitted to have pets running around the family crypt. (I definitely thing people would WANT to do it.) You know, I think I'm going to have to leave this one in the vague quantum foam of the future. I think I'd want to not only double check existing lore, but answer that in-game (or in a book or etc.) if we ever need to. (Hope that's not too much of a cop out. Sometimes I like to leave questions I'm not sure about alone, because until it's in an official game or story, it doesn't quite count.)" [source, two, three]

User: "how long has Manfred been under Emmrich's care?" // Sylvia: "That's a good question, yet another thing I left a little vague in case I needed to define it concretely in the future. And since I've left, the answer is very much in my head only. But I feel it's likely to have at least been a decade. (Hezenkoss acts like she knows about Manfred, I figure she could've met him during an earlier clash. But I don't think Manfred was around when she and Emmrich were young students.)" [source, two]

User: "if Emmrich had tattoos, on what theme would they be?" // Sylvia: "Something anatomical/surgical, patterned on the MW's mystic theories of the body and death, feels appropriate to me." [source]

Sylvia: "BioWare put out an infographic about choices a few weeks ago, and "lich" was winning out. 1) When Emmrich says how he feels will change did he just mean his senses or is it on an emotional level?" He's definitely talking about his senses in that scene. On an emotional level: unknown. (I imagine it WOULD change someone because it's such a big shift, but exactly what does it do, mystically, if anything, is something I'd like to leave alone since I didn't really cover that in the game, and it feels like it'd been bigger consideration if that makes sense.) I kind of want how the lich-romance proceeds to live in players' imaginations, purely so people can tailor it to their own story. I'm afraid any writer-declaration would narrow the possibilities instead of expanding them, if that makes sense." [source, two, three, four]

Sylvia: ""I've been waiting for Nevarra for years and it was everything i could have dreamed of and MORE!" I'm very glad to hear it. The rest of the Necropolis team and I were very excited to finally get to portray even a small portion of the ancient and hallowed graves of Nevarra." [source]

User: "If I remember correctly, we only really see Emmrich use necromantic magic in-game. Are there other types of magic (elemental, healing/spirit, etc) that you think he would gravitate toward?" // Sylvia: "Hrm. He does have a bit of healing magic, mechanically in combat. It coudl work, but somehow I don't think Emmrich would ever be a high-level healer. He could maybe get the basics but it's not his great gift. Something about the gravic magic of the force mage specialty feels appropriate though." [source]

Sylvia: "I'm so glad you liked meeting and getting to know our necromancer. (Huge props to our cinematic and audio team on that garden scene, it was incredible seeing it come in finished for the first time.)" [source]

Allegra Clark: "I just wanted to say that I miss you so much and I’m so excited for whatever comes next in your career. Josephine means so much to me and I’ve fallen utterly in love with Emmrich (how dare you, he’s perfect). Thank you for trusting me with your child over a decade ago ❤️" [source] // Sylvia: "Allegra! Thank you so much! I'm so excited you've been digging our gentleman necromancer. I hope you've been seeing people ping me about their love of Josephine. I heard someone very good did her voice.. Thank YOU for embodying her so quickly and completely!" [source, two]

User: "how was Emmrich doing when Rook was trapped in the Fade?" // Sylvia: "Probably very poorly! Poor man would've been incredibly anxious and working all hours towards a solution." [source]

User: "So i asked you before what music emmrich does like but um is there any music he hates I feel like he'd die if someone took him to a death metal concert XD" // Sylvia: "I think that's a good one to pick, lol. "It's all just noise!"" [source]

User: "Did Emmrich teach (or at least attempt to teach) Manfred how to read?" // Sylvia: "I think that was beyond his skillset, beforehand; Manfred could be taught to recognize objects, but the abstraction of reading was one step too much at that point." [source]

User: "Do Mourn Watchers undergo a Harrowing?" // Sylvia: "They do! You may've missed it but there's a MWer in the Necropolis who mentions MW Harrowings if you go by them. (The MW has had to suspend theirs because chaos in the Fade.) But that's a temporary suspension, probably resolved by the time the credits roll. In general: I figure that if you're a mage who underwent a harrowing in some other circle, that stands, but that the MW would also perform harrowings for students they took in early. Also: not a silly question! It doesn't really come up with the MW except that one ambient line, and it's very easy to miss." [source, two, three]

User: "Doing a 3rd MW playthrough after not playing one for a couple of months feels like coming home again" // Sylvia: "That's some commitment to the dead! The Mourn Watch approve." [source]

User: "if two mourn watchers were to share a piece of grave dowry between them, that's grounds for a serious relationship?" // Sylvia: "You mean like each one having the half of a necklace, or having the same bit of gold made into matching rings? Or swapping jewelry? Either way, what a nice idea. It could be!" [source]

Sylvia: "Emmrichwas very much the work of the team, including some very good feedback early on from the other writers and editors." [source]

Sylvia: "The team and I were also super excited to get to explore the Necropolis. It was an honour to open up the tombs to everyone." [source]

User: "Emmerich's particular respect for trans characters was extremely enticing to me." // Sylvia: "Thanks, I'm glad he resonated. (Some trans colleagues kindly spent the time to give me some feedback on the wording of the lines, which I think made them way better.)" [source]

User: "Emmrich is so amazing" // Sylvia: "Thank you again, that is incredible to hear. (And I want to mention, only possible with the team; they helped improve the story every step.)" [source]

Sylvia: Tevinter Nights "was a fun collection to work on" [source]

User: "Does lich Emmrich feel anything when Rook kisses him or touches him?" // Sylvia: "yeah, I don't think he's "numb" so to speak, he can sense a touch (with his new powers from beyond the graaaaaave 🪦💀🌹)" [source]

User: "about Emmrich so i know he's into flowers and botany but is he into plant meanings and symbolism" // Sylvia: "I think he is - Emmrich mentions some flowers that are "famed in verse and song", I think he'd enjoy reading up on the cultural importance and symbolism layered on to them." [source]

User: "Obv the game mechanics require Rook to make the choice but would a romanced Emmrich choose to become a Lich if the choice was in his hands? Would he abandon his dream for love?" // Sylvia: "I must refuse to answer on the grounds that it's too melancholy to contemplate. ;_;" [source]

User: "On the dinner date in the Necropolis I loved how Emmrich felt philosophical, it was so relatable, especially when he talked about the connection to something finer than we are. It was magical!" // Sylvia: "I'm really pleased that last part of the dinner date, resonated with you, I was trying really hard to get a certain feeling across." [source]

User: "What month do you think Emmrich was born in? I really wanna know what my guy's zodiac sign is" // Sylvia: "I don't know anything about zodiac stuff but weirdly, I do have a range, for some reason I always thought it'd be January or February." [source]

User: "1. How does Emmrich feel about children, both in general and possibly having them? 2. Would Emmrich be into gift-giving?" // Sylvia: "1. In general, he likes kids okay, and tries to be kind, but his students are mostly older so he doesn't really chat with many. Regarding having them, if circumstances aligned so that was the case, I think he'd be excited if maybe a little overwhelmed by the thought. 2. I think so! Not overbearing about it, but he would like to show some tokens of affection at appropriate times. (There's no way he's not delighted to get gifts.)" [source, two]

User: A more recent one but thanks to Sylvia Feketekuty it was the whole arc with Emmrich and his fear of dying because it's something I often experience myself and I don't think it's ever been addressed in a video game before and it was done so well in DA:TV too." // Sylvia: "Thank you so much! It means a lot to me too, to hear that it resonated with you." [source]

Sylvia: [Emmrich] "was the work of many other devs we're toasting here too, everyone working on Emmrich and the Mourn Watch went fully in." [source]

User: "I've wanted to thank you for all your work on DA. Emmrich, Manfred, and the Necropolis kept me going through some rough months. I was delighted to learn that you wrote Josephine too. I hope to see more of your work in the future. You're an amazing writer." // Sylvia: "Thank you, Kobra! And I'm very glad that meeting Emmrich and exploring the necropolis brought you some comfort." [source]

User: "One more question, if I may-- Is there any lore you can share about how pet remains are treated in Nevarra? I think I remember skeletal horses pulling a carriage in TN. (This might have something to do with me picking up my dead rabbit's cleaned skull from a taxidermist today and having Feels)." // Sylvia: "Beloved pets and other animal companions are very often interred along with their families. (You can actually see the burial place of some hounds in the corridor that opens up once you find all the wisps in the belfry. It was such an nice touch added by the level artist and level designer.)" [source]

User: "What would you say is the most important holiday in Nevarra? Or The Necropolis and how do they celebrate it?" // Sylvia: "I have nothing canonical written down or the like. But if I had to pick one, it would be the autumn ancestral pageants. There's the obvious connection with real life celebrations around death in in the fall, and the Mourn Watch and other mortalitasi would certainly come out for that." [source]

Sylvia: "

User: A more recent one but thanks to Sylvia Feketekuty it was the whole arc with Emmrich and his fear of dying because it's something I often experience myself and I don't think it's ever been addressed in a video game before and it was done so well in DA:TV too." // Sylvia: "Thank you so much! It means a lot to me too, to hear that it resonated with you." [source]

Sylvia: [Emmrich] "was the work of many other devs we're toasting here too, everyone working on Emmrich and the Mourn Watch went fully in." [source]

User: "I've wanted to thank you for all your work on DA. Emmrich, Manfred, and the Necropolis kept me going through some rough months. I was delighted to learn that you wrote Josephine too. I hope to see more of your work in the future. You're an amazing writer." // Sylvia: "Thank you, Kobra! And I'm very glad that meeting Emmrich and exploring the necropolis brought you some comfort." [source]

User: "One more question, if I may-- Is there any lore you can share about how pet remains are treated in Nevarra? I think I remember skeletal horses pulling a carriage in TN. (This might have something to do with me picking up my dead rabbit's cleaned skull from a taxidermist today and having Feels)." // Sylvia: "Beloved pets and other animal companions are very often interred along with their families. (You can actually see the burial place of some hounds in the corridor that opens up once you find all the wisps in the belfry. It was such an nice touch added by the level artist and level designer.)" [source]

User: "What would you say is the most important holiday in Nevarra? Or The Necropolis and how do they celebrate it?" // Sylvia: "I have nothing canonical written down or the like. But if I had to pick one, it would be the autumn ancestral pageants. There's the obvious connection with real life celebrations around death in in the fall, and the Mourn Watch and other mortalitasi would certainly come out for that." [source]

Sylvia: "

User: A more recent one but thanks to Sylvia Feketekuty it was the whole arc with Emmrich and his fear of dying because it's something I often experience myself and I don't think it's ever been addressed in a video game before and it was done so well in DA:TV too." // Sylvia: "Thank you so much! It means a lot to me too, to hear that it resonated with you." [source]

Sylvia: [Emmrich] "was the work of many other devs we're toasting here too, everyone working on Emmrich and the Mourn Watch went fully in." [source]

User: "I've wanted to thank you for all your work on DA. Emmrich, Manfred, and the Necropolis kept me going through some rough months. I was delighted to learn that you wrote Josephine too. I hope to see more of your work in the future. You're an amazing writer." // Sylvia: "Thank you, Kobra! And I'm very glad that meeting Emmrich and exploring the necropolis brought you some comfort." [source]

User: "One more question, if I may-- Is there any lore you can share about how pet remains are treated in Nevarra? I think I remember skeletal horses pulling a carriage in TN. (This might have something to do with me picking up my dead rabbit's cleaned skull from a taxidermist today and having Feels)." // Sylvia: "Beloved pets and other animal companions are very often interred along with their families. (You can actually see the burial place of some hounds in the corridor that opens up once you find all the wisps in the belfry. It was such an nice touch added by the level artist and level designer.)" [source]

User: "What would you say is the most important holiday in Nevarra? Or The Necropolis and how do they celebrate it?" // Sylvia: "I have nothing canonical written down or the like. But if I had to pick one, it would be the autumn ancestral pageants. There's the obvious connection with real life celebrations around death in in the fall, and the Mourn Watch and other mortalitasi would certainly come out for that." [source]

Sylvia: "Saw another misconception I wanted to clear up - I saw someone attribute Calpernia and Samson's quests in DAI to me. Not so! Those fine quests and characters were written by Jo Berry" [source] // Jo Berry: "And you took great care of them when I went on to other things 💙" [source] // Sylvia: "It was a pleasure!" [source]

User: "Are you happy with the theme Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe gave for him and the Mourn Watch? For me I love hearing it, cause it truly suits him!" // Sylvia: "I loved the theme! I worked with our music director Ron Dazo to explain the character to them, and I think they all nailed it. A solid character theme needs to be able be remixed for different purposes, and this action version is also one of my favorite tracks: [link]" [source]

User: "Not so much needing a massive explanation more curiosity after a friend and I have been conspiratorial for fun: do you think that Nevarra had their own religion before the Chantry became the most common religion in the country? That they worshipped a different deity or deities?" // Sylvia: "Took me a moment to double check, but Nevarra canonically had a history of animism in the distant past with the Planasene tribes. So probably yes, though we've left the nature of the animism fuzzy." [source]

[question about a 'Veiljumper triangle language'] // Sylvia: "Oh dang, I'm sorry I don't know at all. (The reason some MW-language inscriptions have a real meaning, and some are just gibberish, is that I suggested it'd be fun to do translatable words. But by the time I brought that up, some objects with that script had already been outsourced and completed.) It could be those triangles have no real-world translation, but this is a case where my guess is as good as yours." [source, two]

User: "is 'hot undead' a thing?" // Sylvia: "haha! I must leave that to the interpretations of the viewer"

[mildy-vibing]

@calamaroo I know you know who this is, our favorite baby boy

NEW/OLD OCTO-OC, ARTHUR GRIZZLY

I've introduced him a long time ago but now he has official art and refs! Though he originally started out being modeled off numerous characters, he's grown beyond that into his own thing. Calamaroo certainly knows as they're my co-creator for him (60/40 custody).

So, who is he?

Early Life

Arthur's early life mainly follows that of all grizzlies. Staying with your mother and following her every move so that one day you may survive on your own. Nothing truly great or memorable came from this time, say for Arthur meeting a certain polar bear cub.

Early on in his cub years, Arthur was constantly traveling up and down the Alaskan wilderness with his mother, sometimes going too far south and sometimes too far north. On one occasion, where they went too far north, Arthur encountered a polar scout. Though it wasn't common for both solitary species to be friends, cubs do as cubs do and became best friends over the course of Arthur's stay.

Arthur was the trouble maker and "bad influence" of the duo, always finding himself knee deep in trouble. Barnacles was always the one to get him out of trouble. But still, they did everything together. There was many play dates, days exploring the frozen coast line, and days spent sitting around fishing or playing in the sea.

Teen Years / Early Adulthood

Arthur stayed up north longer than one would expect. Food was just enough for his mother to settle there, so the friendship laster for years more.

Barnacles joined the scouts, Arthur got better and better at surviving alone, the years went on. During this time, their bond peaked. However, it all came crashing down when Barnacles eventually left for better job opportunities down south, leaving Arthur behind. They hoped to see each other again soon, though that wasn't gonna happen for a long while.

In the meantime, Arthur spent his early adulthood surviving on his own (mother kicked him out as soon as she could). He spent his days traveling and wandering, eventually settling upon the American Northwest as his home. Along the way, he found new company in the form of Winona, a wild mustang. Next to Barnacles, Winona is the closest friend he has.

Later Years / Octoagent Era

When Barnacles managed to track him down and find him, both were beyond overjoyed at seeing the other alive. Barnacles was glad to see one of his oldest friends still alive, while Arthur was glad to see his at all. Following this, the friendship rekindled, and they went on like there wasn't a separation at all.

To avoid Arthur disappearing into the wild again, Barnacles strongly "nudged" for him to join the octoagents. It took some time, but Arthur eventually did, being hired on as an "expert explorer." It was mainly an excuse to keep in touch, but somehow, Arthur actually was good at his "job" as he managed to discover and catalog many environments, animal populations, and changes relating to Northwestern American ecosystems So, Arthur's pretty good at something. That and also serving as a good guide for emergencies in places where not even gups can reach.

As for Barnacles, he's just happy to go on any mission with his old "friend", no matter how mundane it is.

Smaller Bits

- Arthur is a certified horse girl, as he loves his horse more than he loves most things.

- There is some beef between him and Kwazii, mainly starting as arguments of "who is actually the captain's best friend" which usually extends to personal blows due to contrasting personalities. Barnacles can not keep these two together for long.

- He is more of a nomadic type, chosing to live with nothing but a tent and some supplies than in a proper den or home. Makes it kinda hard to have company over.

- Despite being in a job that requires social interaction, he isn't the most social of people.

- Winona is too smart to be a normal non sapient horse, and no one really believes Arthur when he says they've had many "conversations" together. Most believe he's off his rockers already, but Barnacles believes him (only a little).

[ckret2]

I honestly think that Ford is the only character in Gravity Falls that don't have moments of cruelty and unkindness... He's my favorite character because he's the one who is most near to perfection, in contrast to Stanley, who is the character most near to imperfection.

I think you can make some cases for a couple of moments—like, you could easily make a case for "standing by doing nothing while Stan was kicked out" being pretty damn cruel—but you could also just as easily make a counter argument that it wasn't really because it was Filbrick doing the kicking out and it's possible Ford was too scared to speak up and maybe he thought Stan would be fine since he'd already made globe-traveling plans and maybe at that moment he really believed that if Stan stayed at home he'd keep trying to sabotage Ford's future etc etc—like, everything he does that's Not Nice, how Not Nice it is depends on which literary analysis lens you choose to peer at the event through.

Part of this could well be due to the fact that he only got five and a half episodes; but I think the truest thing you can say about his character is that we don't see him act out of spite the way other characters do. Like, if Gideon had stolen Ford's perfect pool chair, he absolutely would have shown up at the pool in the middle of the night to claim the chair for the next morning, but he wouldn't have tried to blind Gideon with his wristwatch. If his nemesis had challenged him to mini-golf, I doubt he'd have conspired with the Liliputtians to cheat. If he was stuck in the house with an annoying pig he'd PROMISED not to put outside, he'd be more likely to storm outside in a huff and leave the pig in the house than he would be to break his promise and put the pig outside.

When Stan or Dipper want to be king of the hill, they're quick to turn to dragging their competition down; but when Ford wants to be king of the hill he tries to climb twice as fast as his competition. I feel like playing dirty to drag his competition down wouldn't even occur to Ford unless it's an "if I lose, somebody dies" situation. Winning by cheating would make him feel like he hasn't really won.

[sillylittlecharacters]

very VERY silly isat au:

you know how InsertDisc5 said that anyone else stuck in a timeloop would get out really easily? What if... what if that wasn't a net positive? What if they got out of the timeloop, but the wish they made still put them in a personal torment nexus afterwards?

(This isn't to bash on other party members looping aus, btw. I love them to death!! They're all so cool!!! And so many people have such cool ideas for them!!! This is merely a silly writing exercise to see how I can ruin a 'happy ending'.)

For argument's sake let's take Isabeau. Immediately after defeating the King he's just. completely stonefaced. Odile's like 'what, are kids these days too cool to get excited about ending our quest?' and he's like 'it get's less exciting the third time around, lol' and everyone else is like 'THE THIRD TIME??' In the end they all agree to stick together for as long as the loops would allow to help him figure out the time travel shenanigans, whether that be for a whole second journey or just to make talking to Euphrasie a little less lonely. This promise breaks the loops!

But it doesn't break the wish entirely.

You see, the phrasing of a wish and the intent behind it is really important. Siffrin's wish was - thank you ISAT script project - (You want to stay with them!) and it directly led to the timeloop, no extra world-breaking complications needed.

But if it was phrased slightly differently? Coloured by the independent traumas and insecurities of the different characters? Siffrin would know that a wish had to be something 'small and simple' so that the Universe would be easily able to take the path of no resistance to fulfill it clearly, but the others would lack the cultural context or the muscle memory to narrow the scope into specifics.

For example, Isabeau's version of the wish could be (You want to be yourself with them. Your true self - whoever that ends up being, for however long they'll want you.)

A timeloop that's broken in like... 10-15 loops max has got nothing on unwanted mitosis. Isabeau keeps being multiplied, his clones representing different sections of his personality. At first they're practically identical: the only difference between them is that IsaOne seems to be louder and more giggly whilst IsaTwo is slightly more anxious and reserved. But as time goes on, each IsaClone is more exaggerated and uncanny than the last. One clone might be as physically affectionate as a tipsy koala bear, latching onto anything that comes close, whilst another is almost neurotic, completely paralysed in fear.

He's left with a choice. Does he continue trying to compartmentalize his personality until he becomes a parody of himself - utterly inoffensive, utterly likable, and utterly unrecogniseable? Or does he accept every part of himself, no matter how flawed they might be, as his true self?

That's pretty much the blueprint for the au! A fun twist on the base 'stay with them' wish that leads to an even worse postcanon torment nexus for the focus character! Because my philosophy is that even fix-its can make it worse!!

I haven't hashed out the details for the other family members yet, but I'll reblog this post with the editions once I do. In the meantime, please feel free to add your own ideas!!

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 109-110: Rise of the Guardians

Date: April 19-20, 2025

Day: 109-110

Content Watched: Rise of the Guardians

Year: 2012

Rating: PG

Run Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

Just as there was an obvious animated film for Pesach, there was an obvious animatred film for Easter. And if you're thinking, wait, aren't you Jewish? Why are you watching an Easter film? The answers are, respectively:

1. Yes, I am Jewish. I had to look up Easter on the calendar ahead of time, and I still almost missed it.

2. Because I love this movie.

3. Because most people don't believe me when I say it's an Easter film but it is. (seriously, watch the argument between Bunny and North 8 minutes in)

Ready? Let's get into it.

What I really love about this movie is less about animation and more about general character design. Santa Claus has tattoos. The elves are useless and the toys are all built by yetis, who have their own language that only North knows. The Easter Bunny is a six-foot-plus Australian rabbit that arms himself with a boomerang and travels via magical tunnels, but still loves cutesy stuff. The Tooth Fairy is a tooth-obsessed hummingbird with an entire company of hummingbirds (and mice!) helping her. And the Sandman, duel-wielding whips of dream sand, is possibly the most badass of them all. 

Essentially, these are all very familiar characters, and they're all presented in atypical ways. As a result, these probably remain my favorite version of these characters. Even Jack is a little unusual. How many winter spirits have you seen running around barefoot? I briefly looked up the book series the film is based on, and if what I saw was the original cover art, it looks like everybody except Bunny is drawn to resemble Joyce's origincal characters (also, I was so excited to see that William Joyce is the author. I've had Santa Calls since I was a kid, and it's a beautiful book.)

But I think the most brilliant chataracter design might be Pitch. That's right, the Boogeyman. Because he's basically rendered in greyscale. In contrast, all of the Guardians are in very bright, saturated colors--North in red, Tooth in blue-green, and Sandy in yellow. Okay, Bunny is not, himself, in bright colors, but everything out of the warren is. Jack, in contrast, sits somewhere in between the two. His blue hoodie definitely separates him visually from Pitch, but the color is much more muted than the other Guardians, which begs the question: if they had made a sequel, would Jack have gotten a costume change?

I will say, however, that despite a lot of nice animation in this movie, Jamie's little sister, Sophie? Looks like a nightmare to me. I don't know what it is about her character model, but I'm pretty sure that child is actually a changeling.

My favorite animation is the dream sand. I just think it's really pretty. I mean, the frostwork is too, but somehow the dreams one-up it for me. It's probably the color contrast. Also the angles on things like dinosaurs and giant mantarays swimming through the sky.

My favorite scene is where they're collecting teeth. I don't know why. I guess I just like the idea of Santa, Jack Frost, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny collecting teeth (and standing in line for quarters.) Again, it's not the typical presentation of these characters, so it really stands out in my head.

But that's what I like about the movie. It's not just the animation, it's got some nice character moments in it too. I particularly love how they build up to Jack being the Guardian of Fun. We see it at the beginning, with how he interacts with the kids on the snow day--even inspiring Cupcake to have fun when he hits her with a snowball, and I'm pretty sure there's a point before he figures it out that Pitch says something about people having fun. But I never felt like the hit the audience over the head with it either.

As stories about the importance of believing and fighting Anthropomorphic Personifications and attacking tooth fairies go, I still think Hogfather beats this movie out. But fortunately, since Hogfather is a Christmas movie and this takes place at Easter (did you watch it? Did you watch the scene?) there's plenty of room for both.

Tomorrow... something shorter...

[i-am-trying-my-best-okay]

The sonic movie franchise would've been better if Tom and Maddie weren't a part of it and this is a hill I will die on. Like, to me, their addition to the movie just feels like it takes away from Sonic's potential character development and his connection to the other characters, and now I must make my own canon.

In the first movie, Sonic is shown how as a child he can't stay in one place for long; he just naturally longs to move about, to go anywhere and everywhere. But that instinct of his is what ends up killing his guardian in the end, landing him in the human world. Now, Sonic has the ability to travel the world in like a minute, but he doesn't. Because in his mind, his inability to stay in hiding was what got Longclaw killed, and now he's scared to do it again. We see scenes of little Sonic attempting to leave Green Hill, a place he can very easily hide out undetected, but in the end he can't, overcome by his guilt and fear. So he stays in Green Hill, slowly growing more unstable through his isolation and confinement. So he talks to himself constantly, basically just saying every single one of his thoughts out loud, taking on different personas to have conversations (I thought that part of the movie was sad but very interesting for his character and I'm kinda sad they didn't do more with it). Then this all came ahead with the baseball thing, and Robotnik and Stone are called in (I change nothing about Robotnik and Stone they're perfect thank you). Now Sonic, he knows he needs to go to the mushroom world, but if he does, he feels he'll lose any connection to another living individual, even if it is all in his head. He doesn't want that, but he knows staying in Green Hills will get him caught eventually, so he resolves to leave to somewhere else in the world. It's a struggle for him to leave the town, with him basically having an argument with himself, but he manages it. Then for the rest of the movie we see Sonic moving around the world, talking to himself all the while, skipping town when Robotnik is on his trail, slowly being able to trust that venturing out won't be the end of the world. But at some point Robotnik gets too close, and although Sonic gets away, there's collateral damage. This causes Sonic to spiral in self hatred, screaming at himself. He passes out at some point, then has a dream about Longclaw. During this dream, she helps him realize that it's not him being free that's the problem, it's him running away. After Sonic fights, that's when he'll be truly free. Though, it's also during this dream conversation, that Sonic says something like "I know you're not really Longclaw; she'd tell me to keep running, to keep hiding." And dream Longclaw just smiles and Sonic wakes up. Then he goes off and faces Robotnik, with Robotnik ending up in the mushroom dimension, and Sonic now has a better sense of himself. He's forgiving himself for what happened, and allowing himself to be who he really is; someone who needs to act of their own free will, who wanders around at the speed of light, who faces problems head on.

In the second movie, Sonic is still on Earth; he wanted to explore every bit of it before resolving to move on. Trouble was, now he's seen all of it, and he has no idea where to move on to. He feels stuck, having no direction, all while monologuing this to himself as he always does. Then Robotnik and Knuckles come bursting in (keeping the scene of them meeting), with Knuckles yelling about the Master Emerald. They fight, and Knuckles is kind of weirded out about how Sonic is just saying every single thought that comes into his head, just kind of taking it as Sonic being cocky and a yapper (I want Sonic's habit of talking to himself due to isolation to be misunderstood like this by basically everyone he meets and only those that really know him know the truth of why he does it). Then Tails bursts in, and I want Tails to be there also for the Master Emerald, having tracked its location to Earth, wanting to study it for science purposes. He doesn't know anything about Sonic, but he heard their fight and thinks Sonic knows the location of the Emerald. So he snatches Sonic up and they break away. (Also, I'm aging Tails up to be 12 instead of 8, it just makes more sense to me. He can still be younger than the rest of the gang just not like, a baby hanging out with a bunch of teenagers) Tails quickly finds out that Sonic knows nothing about the Emerald, which is frustrating, but Sonic brings out his magical map, and the two agree to find the Emerald together. Now, Sonic could honestly care less about the Emerald, but he's thrilled to have someone to talk to finally, with Tails making the same conclusion about him that Knuckles did. Meanwhile, Tails has no time for this nonsense of bonding or whatever, he doesn't have time for that; he's a scientist! He never needed anyone and he's not going to start now! This is a temporary partnership and then they'll go their separate ways (It's giving Tails has always been ostracized by society due to his two tails and seen as less than, dehumanized for his physical appearance, so now he's closed himself off from anyone before they have the chance to hurt him). They really are a "has been isolated for so long and is desperate for this opportunity to be around someone" and "has been constantly surrounded by awful people so now wants to self isolate" duo, and they deal with that as finding the Emerald shenanigans ensue. Meanwhile Knuckles and Robotnik are crashing in from time to time, a violent race towards the Emerald (I like what they did with Knuckles character, making him this dimension-wide known fighter who is still grieving not only his family but his entire species). Knuckles feels like he must carry the weight of the Echidna's, that by being the very last of his people his each and every action must be in their honor, not really considering himself an individual. On the Tails and Sonic front, let's say at this point they failed to get the compass, Tails is injured but still functioning, and they secretly followed Robotnik and Knuckles to get the Emerald. Now, Tails has basically had enough of Sonic at this point; not because he doesn't like him, but because he can feel himself growing closer to him, and that scares Tails so much. So he starts arguing with Sonic, saying horrible things to try and push him away. At some point in the argument, Sonic is like, 

"I don't understand why you're acting like this! What did I do wrong?"

"Yeah, you don't get it, do you? People just do this Sonic, they say and do horrible things when you don't deserve it, that's how it works (projecting his trauma)! You don't even know that?" 

"No, I don't!" 

"Of course you wouldn't, there's just nothing wrong with you is there?"

"Well I wouldn't know would I; you're the first person I've actually spoken to in over a decade!"

Tails is flabbergasted at this; Sonic had just seemed so bright and carefree up to this point, if a bit manic. He honestly hadn't thought of Sonic going through hardship. And Sonic, now that they've had a moment to calm down, is thinking over what Tails said, the obvious hurt in it. But before they can unpack any of that, they have to do Emerald shenanigans, the fight ensuing and the Robotnik betrayal. Tails and Sonic get temporarily separated, with the rescuing under the water scene. Then Tails finds them again and does the last push to get them both out of the water, now all on the beach. And so there they were, three broken down kids with the world falling apart around them. They end up talking, revealing these little secrets about themselves, finding the ways they are similar. Then they team up to defeat Robotnik, and the whole thing with Sonic and the Master Emerald, with them promising that they should protect it rather than use it, mostly because Sonic reveals how he almost lost himself to the power while using it. And so now the three have each other in a little makeshift family. Sonic learns how to have genuine connections with others rather than desperately trying to force one (though he still has that manically talking to himself habit), Tails learns that it's okay to open yourself up and be close with the right people (though he still has those trust issues), and Knuckles learns it's okay to make decisions that he thinks are right and not solely focus on making decisions he thinks the echidna's would have wanted (though he still carries that "I'm an inter-dimensional warrior and must act accordingly" mindset). They're not perfect, but they have each other, and they find comfort in that.

And then in the third movie, the three of them actually have left Earth, doing their own thing. Knuckles has been all over so he knows places they can go (Tails is not overly fond of going back to his own home), though Knuckles often forgets wherever he went he was kinda violent so wherever they go they're often met with fear and/or hostility. Still, they make it work; Knuckles isn't used to settling down in one place, and Sonic and Tails are super hyped to constantly be on the move, to see new things (Tails sometimes complains if he was studying something and they have to go, but they always promise to either take it with them or come back in secret for Tails to study it, which they always do follow up on). Besides, they consider each other to be their home, so it doesn't really matter where they are. Anyway, they go back to Earth because that's where they hid the Master Emerald, being the most obscure planet ever, and Tails is picking up some sort of vague sciencey related troubles back on Earth on his monitor (Shadow breaking out; keeping all the Shadow flashback scenes). So they go back to Earth to the source of said disturbance and find Shadow, the fight ensuing. As for Shadow, before this we saw him hunting down any trace of Maria, hoping that maybe what he saw was wrong, that she somehow survived, only to be proven wrong, and we watch his breakdown, see his resolve to have it all burn. Anyway, after the fight Stone finds them, and they temporarily team up with Robotnik, since Stone, having done his research, says that to his knowledge it seems like Shadow is planning on world domination or something (he's not). And Robotnik wouldn't want that because that's HIS job, and the gang doesn't want that because that would make where they hid the Emerald less than safe. Knuckles, having been betrayed once before, isn't on board with this, but takes on the "the enemy to my enemy is my ally FOR NOW" warrior mindset and resolves to kill him ("Fine, 'maim him'; ugh you guys are so sensitive" - the two are trying to break Knuckles overly murderous tendencies, to only murder when strictly necessary) afterwards. Sonic is cautious, since Robotnik is literally the embodiment of everything Longclaw has ever warned him about, but being his all over the place self he is the most willing to do this team up. Tails, with his trust issues having self, is even more hostile than Knuckles is. And he's incredibly protective over Sonic and Knuckles knowing what Robotnik has tried to do to both of them. Tails also bumps heads with Robotnik when it comes to genius level mechanic stuff, both of them thinking they're more smart and more capable than the other. Anyway, shenanigans ensue, and Robotnik meets his grandfather and such. And then, instead of Tom getting life threateningly hurt, it's Knuckles and Tails getting badly injured. And now it's Sonic that has to deal with it, trying to make sure they don't die. He can't go to the hospitals; they aren't people, they won't know what to do with them. So it's this tense moment of Sonic trying to medically keep Knuckles and Tails stable, pulling out his scarce knowledge of injuries, getting them to a safe place. He gets them as stable as he can, and he watches as his only two friends in the world, his makeshift family, struggle to hang on. So Sonic loses it, and breaks the group's promise and gets the Master Emerald to fight Shadow. But eventually, with Sonic so close to the kill, he sees how Shadow wants to die, wants everything to die with him. They talk of their grief, how Sonic wanted everything to die too, but he kept going. Things progress; Robotnik sacrifices himself for Stone, Knuckles and Tails show up to the fight despite being injured and barely conscious, and Shadow "dies" (he's coming back). When it's all over, Sonic apologizes for taking the Emerald, and though the other two forgave him, he tells them to hide it somewhere and not tell him where, so he won't get any more ideas to use it again, acknowledging how similar he is to Shadow in this regard. 

I just feel like taking Tom and Maddie away leaves more room for the story and characters to grow.

[paragonrobits]

also some random calvin and Hobbes fun facts, featuring Hobbes himself!

Its probably more common knowledge now than it used to be that Hobbes is not an imaginary friend that comes to life around Calvin, but instead reflects the nature of interpretive reality; to quote the creator, "Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees him another way". This has led to some unusual blurrings, with him taking baths in a washing machine without discomfort (though he does complain about the laundry making him all poofy)

There's been several times where Hobbes 'appears' (that is, appears as his 'true' self, or at least the version Calvin percieves) even when characters are interacting with Calvin, and they otherwise do not percieve Hobbes as Calvin does; when they're in a panel, Hobbes appears to be an ordinary plushy. But there's been times when characters aren't looking directly at him and he appears as Calvin sees him! He also has a tangible effect on the world, such as eating a whole lot of cookies when another person was distracted.

His apparent age is really hard to determine; he often gives the vibe of an older brother figure to Calvin (and its common for fanfics to treat them as such, especially in AUs where he is simply a tiger-person in a setting that allows for such) and is definitely wiser than him, but he's also perfectly willing to get involved in Calvin's fantastical imaginings or argue with him in equally childish debates.

Related to the above, Hobbes is something of a romantic; he often complains about 'not meeting many babes' and at one point claims to have kissed girls in the past (in a way that implies he's being genuine) and tends to swoon on the prospect of meeting more girls. This kind of makes him feel a bit like a slightly older kid or even a tween who's gotten over the 'eww cooties are GROSS' phase and likes the idea of a relationship but isn't quite mature to really figure out the emotional aspects of it.

Hobbes' weird relationship to observable reality is reflected in Calvin's imagine spots; Calvin frequently has moments and gags where he imagines events or circumstances, especially things that bore or annoy him, as more fantastical in nature, casting other kids and authority figures as annoying aliens or dangerous antagonists. Hobbes often takes part of these, such as a time when Calvin tried to travel to Mars to escape human littering only to give up on it when the aliens were too scared to meet them, causing Calvin to go back home on the basis of 'its the best we got'. However, these bits are always a bit ambiguous about if they're actually happening or not, similar to the weird thing about Hobbes' own reality. In the actual imagine spots where Calvin fantasizes about things being more interesting (like his dirty room being a jungle and his mom, telling him to clean it, is depicted as a violent ape), Hobbes almost never appears in them. When he does, he's either almost completely off-screen or alluded to, but he otherwise doesn't usually appear in these himself.

He breaks the fourth wall on a fairly consistent basis, usually when Calvin gets himself into trouble or comedic injuries as a result of not thinking something through and suffering the consequences of it. Again, given his weird relationship to reality, the fact that he's one of the only characters to do this consistently (others do, but it feels more like them talking out loud), and often directly looks at the 'camera' or reader when making these comments.

He claims that he's not a 'straight orange, but more of a yellow ochre'. (When I was a kid, I assumed that this lighter shade of orange/yellow meant he was a tiger that tend to have lighter coats, such as what was then called the Siberian tiger, but he's apparently a Bengal tiger specifically!)

He is generally more intelligent than Calvin in a worldly way, with a great deal more common sense and logical thought. A lot of the comedic aspects of their arguments is Hobbes poking logical holes in Calvin's pompous ramblings or cutting the Gordian knot by stating a simple solution or finding a more peaceful mentality; when Calvin asks what Hobbes would wish for, Hobbes says he'd like a sandwich, and Calvin angrily rants about this being a failure of imagination when he could wish to be rich or have a rocket car, and Hobbes replies by making a sandwich and eating it while saying "I got MY wish". However, he's just as prone to silly moments and overestimating his intelligence, especially in terms of mathematics, where he ACTS like he knows a ton of stuff, but is very clearly making it all up and massively overcomplicating it while talking like he knows what he's talking about. At the same time, he has a comprehensive understanding of history and terminology; when Calvin is writing a report on history, Hobbes informs him that its spelled 'a feudal system', not a FUTILE system (implying that Calvin presumed the latter was what the word actually meant, though the obvious joke is that feudalism WAS futile).

[moociaoafterdark]

My opinion on Rogue Trader companions so far (I just finished act 1)

Idira - deserved better both in story and in gameplay. Seriously, why do enemies target her so much, what did she do?? Also, her insights are very useful, wish I could consult the voices in my head the way she can. And I know for a fact Idira and Vigdis explored each other's bodies, tho I can also see some toxic yuri potential between her and Argenta.

Pasqal - surprisingly chill for a magos! Also, he definitely wants to be called a good boy, but, like, not in a kinky, but platonic way. You know, the same way your dog wants to be called a good boy/good girl. Even though I already play a respectful and chill Rogue Trader, I still try to be a bro to Pasqal (yes, I'm a girl who roleplays as an old dude, what about it?) I do hope that he actually starts seeing you as a close friend/companion later down the story line, because I genuinely love him. Also, Pasqal's melee attacks >>>>>> Pasqal's range attacks.

Argenta - I'm pretty sure at some point in her life, the Emperor sent her back into our time and made her shoot Tr*mp. She missed, as we all know. LIKE. GIRL. PLEASE HIT THE TARGET, I'M BEGGING YOU. Every time it's her turn, I legit start praying to Big E. Story wise... Not gonna lie, out of all the dogmatic leaning characters, I prefer her the most. I especially prefer her over Heinrix. Not that I hate him, and I'm not a big fan of SoB, but... there's something about Argenta that just makes me like her. Though, she is sus. Like really sus. I expect her to do something insane later down the line.

Abelard - MY MAN. Like, yes, I did the quest with the Lower Decks and I know that Abelard is not sunshine and rainbows, in fact, he is quite a classist ass, but! I like that about him! And his dedication and loyalty to both us and Theodora (well, the entire house of Von Valancius) is admirable. I like him a lot :) BUT! I LOVE HIM IN COMBAT. DUDE IS HIM. Every time it's his turn, I know for a fact someone is going to fucking die. AND he is a healer! Dude's theme song is Holding Out For A Hero and I accept no arguments. Might just be my favorite. I hope we get to meet his family, because one of his comments mentioning his youngest great-granddaughter being a working adult made me intrigued. I know that people can extend their life span + he constantly has to travel through the Warp with the Rogue Trader, so I'm curious if they're going to elaborate on that.

Heinrix - I heard a lot about him. I can see why many people thirst over him and ship him with their fem!Rogue Traders and! Good for you! I support yume/self-shipping as well as oc x canon with all my heart! However, he didn't impress me much. Maybe it's because my Rogue Trader is an old man and there were no spicy/romantic dialogue options for him. He is cool, and I did help him complete his mission. Though, I wish he stayed after act 1, because I want to learn more about him... And also I really like him in combat. He's like if Abelard was a psyker, and you already know how much I love Abelard in combat. I wish we get to meet him again.

Cassia - Okay, first things first: I LOVE HER. I love her design and I'm glad we got an abhuman companion, because I want more abhumans in w40k. Love how she is sweet with us and seems, ya know, very demure very mindful, but I do also love she is not like this with everyone, judging by her combat voice lines and how she needs human blood for her paintings. However, that time you are summoned by her after you recruit her to be the ship's Navigator... Hoo boy did I momentarily regret picking a male!Rogue Trader, because *some* of the dialogue options were so cringy and creepy. If you played as a male Rogue Trader, you know what I'm talking about. THANK GOD the game wouldn't reward you for being too fast and too lustful with her from the get-go. Not that I picked those options, but I did read up about Cassia's romance after that event. It does make sense for a sheltered girl like her to be into courtly, romance book type love! Also, she once one-shotted like... 8 enemies with her attack... Really made it easier to focus on Aurora. Blood for Navigator Cassia, skulls for Navigator's Throne!

Jae, Yrliet, Marazhai, Ulfar and Kibellah - I know they exist! REALLY eyeing Marazhai because he is the only possible mlm option in this game. I'm a toxic yaoi whore, I'm sorry. We'll see, because I'm not a fan of Drukhari, but MAYBE Marazhai will make me change my mind.

[jlandersen01]

My theory of "Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun" is that they're gonna pull a "Fire Emblem Fates" on us.

I've read that Iruma is a reincarnation of Derkila in some way. That I can see.

But you may ask - what about Ali in the ring?

Well - In "Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations" it was revealed that the main character, Corrin, was the child of the main villain but with a twist. The twist was that half of the villain's soul was "Reborn" into Corrin, who was the "good" half, while the evil half of the soul stayed as the dragon and final boss in the game.

This could be a similar situation for Iruma.

Half of Derkila's soul was in the ring, and the other half was reborn as Iruma. Iruma, who is extremely gentle and a pushover in high levels, is the good half of the soul and since he was raised with humans he shows more empathy and compassion versus a demon in the Netherworld, who's own desires trumps everthing else. Alikred would be the "demonic" half of Derkila, who as a demon shows more greed and desire than a human.

The prophecy of the next Demon King stated that "He shall make one and all of his servants". Iruma has shown compassion and friendship to Azz and Clara, making them his first "servants", but he doesn't see it that way. His kindness also spreads where he befriends the Misfits Class and sees them as family, it got to the point where Lied considers him a brother and Jazz and Allocer got revenge during the Harvest Festival to make sure Iruma and Lied got the base back. He also befriended Ameri and tried to still show compassion to Kirio (despite him being CRAZY AF). Iruma has also showed empathy and helped the Guardian of Cutthroat Valley's chick, which gained the respect of the Guardian, causing both beasts to bow to him.

"He shall form blood pacts." It's argued that blood is used to gain his familiar, who is Professor Kalego, but if you think about it ALL the students use their blood to get their familiar. The better example is that Iruma's drop of blood healed the chick from the Flying Race, which resulted the beast to trust and respect Iruma. This in turn has the Guardian of Cutthroat Valley respect Iruma as well.

This argument is also valid for "And heal all of demonkind".

"He shall descend from a foreign realm". Iruma is from the human world - enough said.

"And wear the golden ring of Solomon on his right hand". Iruma gets the ring from the Ranking Owl after the Flying Race, however it's called the "Ring of Gluttony". Since Sullivan knew about the ring and how it worked, he may have been the one who helped with the idea of the ring to begin with and gave it a different name so that other demons wouldn't travel about trying to search for it and take the throne.

Finally what seals my theory, and many other theories I've seen people made: Sullivan.

Sullivan was Derkila's right hand demon for thr most part. There was a reason Sullivan "picked" Iruma to be his grandson. He was probably watching over the human realm for centuries, watching every person being born until he finally found Iruma who had the same qualities he recognized from Derkila. Sullivan probably did a little demon manipulation on Iruma's parents, which probably turned out didn't really need much prodding since the parents are complete ASSES, for them to sell him Iruma. Sullivan even before the new term/Harvest Festival saw Derkila in Iruma when he was having that flashback.

As Iruma continued to live in the Netherworld, he learned of his own "demonic" desires - his selfish wants. Iruma WANTS to have his friends and family he had made. He WANTS a better world where they can all be toelgether and happy.

THAT is where his humanity combined with Ali's demonics is what is going to show how he would be the Demon King as he would look out for everyone and won't let ANYTHING stand in his way of that goal/dream.

Also... first episode... if Iruma couldn't do magic without the ring supposedly... how did he cast that spell during the Opening Ceremony...? Sullivan's spell of helping Iruma read/write/speak/hear demon language wouldn't help him in that aspect of casting a spell... This would show that somewhere deep in his soul he has mana as what the main villains have said that Iruma "posses the same mana as Derkila"

I just feel it's gonna be a "Fire Emblem: Fates" twist, which I am NOT against.

[misc-obeyme]

what are your thoughts on the cheeky lil cow boy (belphie)

Ah yes, Belphegor, a bit of a polarizing character in general, I think. People seem to either really love him or really hate him.

Generally speaking, I think he's deceptively cunning, but not in a malicious way. He's pretty chill most of the time, but he'll do stuff like manipulate his brothers to get them to do his chores for him. Except for Beel, of course. And really they are a unit. Belphie is always ready to fight for Beel and vice versa. But I also really like how they just quietly support each other. Someone will say oh Belphie fell asleep in this weird place and Beel will immediately be like I'll go get him. Or Belphie will be like we need to make sure we bring food to this thing because Beel will get hungry. Like they're just always thinking about each other and I think that's really sweet.

Belphie will also call people out if he wants to. If he has no reason to keep it to himself, he'll straight up tell you if he thinks you're doing something questionable. And his issues with Diavolo indicate to me that he has a problem with authority, like he would be more defiant if he wasn't also lazy lol.

Inevitably, though, we can't really talk about Belphie without discussing the Lesson 16 Incident. At this point, I think most people are aware of those events, but just in case, I'll put the rest of this under a read more. And also it's kinda lengthy, so be forewarned lol.

First of all, I have to say that I was honestly so confused about what was happening in Lesson 16 that I didn't fully understand that Belphie had killed MC. I had to read it multiple times and then read what other people were saying about it. So I never had an intense reaction to it.

But to be fair, it wasn't like we didn't know there was something weird going on the whole time. I knew it was the youngest brother locked up there and it seemed like it was wrong, so that made Lucifer out to be the bad guy of the situation. Then it turns out that wasn't the case at all.

Belphie is manipulative. That's just part of his character. And when he has something that he's trying to do, he's going to use that skill to get it.

Some people are still mad at Lucifer for locking Belphie up at all. Some people are obviously quite upset that Belphie killed MC.

But here's what I think.

It isn't that black and white. Aside from the confusing time travel shenanigans, this event is one of the most realistic things that has ever happened in the story.

Belphie shared Lilith's love of humans. Together they wanted to learn more about the human world. It would be easy for him to blame himself for her interest and what ultimately led to her death. But even if he didn't, he saw the way that it tore his entire family apart.

It wasn't just that his dad got mad at his sister and they had an argument or something.

It was that his dad was going to end his sister's existence and in defiance, his older brother rebelled. And there was a war. This was not some squabble. This was siblings fighting siblings.

Belphie watched his brothers and sisters fight and hurt and kill each other and it all came back to Lilith falling in love with a human.

And then he fell with his brothers, cast out of his home, losing everything he's ever known. His brothers are changing and suffering just like he is.

They don't talk about it. They clearly all keep secrets regarding it still, things that don't come out until MC comes along. Which is supposedly thousands of years after the fact (at least in OG). That means Belphie has had all that time to let that trauma fester. To let it twist inside him. To let it morph into the one thought that became most dominant: that humans are bad.

Is that a fair assessment of what happened? No, of course not. But we're dealing with a war traumatized fallen angel that clearly hasn't worked through any of these feelings in thousands of years.

And then he defies Diavolo and Lucifer panics.

Yes, Lucifer should have found a better way of handling it. But remember what happened to him when he defied authority? He is trying his best to protect Belphie. He is trying not to lose another sibling. He is also still traumatized and therefore overreacting out of fear.

And so was Belphie.

Imagine being locked up like that and a human comes along. A human is free among your brothers to do whatever terrible things humans do while you're powerless to stop them. Of course he's going to try to manipulate that human into setting him free. Of course he's then going to eliminate them because humans have been historically bad for his family.

I read this situation as Belphie being both afraid and angry that a human - the thing he's convinced himself was the main cause of his sister's death - has become so close to his brothers and has the access to his family that could cause another rift among them.

You could say that it was Belphie's idea to get MC to have all the pacts, but that isn't really true, either. By the time MC meets Belphie, they already have a pact with two of his brothers. He sees them already starting to worm their way into his family. And he knows that the only way to get out of the attic is to encourage it. He doesn't really have a choice.

Maybe everyone can now call me a Belphie apologist. But I'm always coming at this from an outside fictional standpoint. I'm like listen he's a flawed character and it's actually pretty realistic of him to react this way considering the circumstances.

However, he did kill MC. And that's why my own MC, Ciaran, has issues with Belphie for a while. It's also traumatic to have someone kill you, so it isn't like I'm saying MC should just forget about it or forgive Belphie immediately. I think it probably should have taken a lot more time for MC to trust Belphie again. Certainly that part of the story was a bit rushed.

But they're dealing with lesson format constraints and also it's a silly otome game so I guess fully formed character arcs can't be expected. Especially since we aren't dealing with routes and they have to cram everybody into the same set of lessons.

In the end, I think Belphie is an interesting and complex character. I think there's a lot of space to explore more about this particular aspect of him, but due to the format of the media and the lack of routes, his more in depth character arc just doesn't exist.

I personally have no problem with Belphie as a character, but I also understand why people don't like him. I am always of the opinion that everyone is free to love or hate or have any emotions at all about fictional characters lol. This is just my personal opinion.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

4.5/5. Releases 5/20/5.

—high school sweethearts to parents to married to divorced to ???

—roadtrip romance

—nobody's rich!!!!!

—some of the most delightfully ludicrous sex scene setups

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

Ellis and Wren had a kid as teenagers. Then they got married... then they were supposed to be together. But that didn't work, and a few years after their divorce, they set to drop their son off at college. But Ellis drops a bomb on Wren: He wants to see if there's something between them still; and he proposes a week together on the way back to see if they can make it work. Easier! Said! Than! Done!

The Review:

When I say we need contemporary romances with stakes and intense emotion...

This is the perfect kind of second chance by way of divorce book. DeWitt seems to instinctively understand the importance of emphasizing the sheer degree of intimacy between two people who were as serious as Ellis and Wren. And it's the emotional, yes; but it's also the way the emotion translates to their physical relationship.

Left of Forever is an amazing argument in favor of explicit content in romance novels. It's so clear that Wren and Ellis know each other, can communicate in a way you only can once you've shared a life with someone. But there's also the sort of raw hunger they feel for each other. It doesn't read like romance novel magic; it reads like people who know each other on a real level, who love the quirks and rhythms of one another's bodies. The romance between these two, on so many levels, felt realer to me than it often does in contemporary romance.

Might I add, part of this was also because Ellis and Wren live comfortable but not-crazy lives and aren't megarich. He's a firefighter, she's a baker. They've been raising a kid for most of their lives. They haven't traveled the way they wanted to, and the roadtrip is an in-state adventure. They're good! They're happy! But they're also tangible. And I'm not anti-megarich people romance, right? But there's something refreshing about this approach. Like, even the cowboy romances often feature cowboys who live on wealthy ranch land or whatever.

All that being said, Ellis is one of the hottest heroes I've read in a while. Because he isn't perfect! He's withholding and proprietary at times. He fucks up. He makes one delightfully unethical decision to basically kick this book off. All of this makes him feel more like a real human you could fall in love with. A real human with vulnerabilities... And like... The ability to break you in half...

Wren is similarly refreshingly real. Part of this novel deals with secondary infertility issues Wren and Ellis experienced while they were married. I loved the way in which DeWitt alluded to Wren's desperation for a baby when they were trying while never betraying her more nuanced feelings in the present. It was so complex and believable and again... I loved it.

Nothing in this novel reinvents the wheel plotwise. This is a character-forward book. It just emotionally hits every beat at the max level of emotion.

The Sex:

Look, the sex in this book was AMAZING. We got loooovemaking. We got primal sex. We got funny sex. We got an act we don't see in tradpub romance much at all! There's an incident with ice cream that made me laugh AND pearlclutch. A win!

Conclusion:

When I say this will grab your heart and twist it in a way that's somehow comforting, I mean it. And small town romance antis like me.... look , this one is DIFFERENT. Read it!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[xxsycamore]

𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂

↬ 💋 "You're going to stand here against the wall because you're being punished."

Napoleon Bonaparte x Main Character • rating: E (MDNI) • tags: Bickering; Femdom to Maledom; Light Dom/sub; Lipstick; Kissing; Marking; Neck Kissing; Teasing; Nipple Play; Blow Jobs; Dirty Talk; Vaginal Sex; Size Kink; Multiple Orgasms; Creampie; Post-Sex Cuddless • wordcount: 3,831 • masterlist

a/n: Today marks FOUR years since I love this man......Enjoy🙇🏻‍♀️

"Who kisses the other more?"

"Easy. That would definitely be me-"

"It's me."

Napoleon and MC cross their gazes, lips still parted in mutual interruption. Napoleon raises a brow, quick to defend his bold statement. "Nunuche, I love you, but no."

"Excuse me?? I'm kissing you every chance I get! And you know that!"

"Nunuche." He puts a hand over hers, insisting overconfidently. "Need I remind you of what I'm infamous for, in this mansion? They even go as far as call as to me a kissaholic, yet you still…"

"That's nothing! You might have your kiss attacks in the mornings, but I'm out there giving you full-course meals of smooches all throughout the day! Are you seriously going to argue with me about this right now?"

Vincent awkwardly sinks into his seat, lowering his face into the 101 Questions For Couples book that he picked up as an anniversary present for Napoleon and MC. He is starting to regret his choice, as he never as much as imagined these two to be the type to argue over anything at all. And now they're having a couple's argument over this. It's somehow fitting and, frankly, it's even adorable, but all he wants right now is to restore the peace between the two… but how does he do that?

Out of nowhere, (as per usual) comes Sebastian, who might have listened in. Before Vincent can wave his arms at him to signal SOS, the couple figures out by themselves how to get help from the poor butler.

Napoleon and MC turn in his direction, putting an abrupt end to what only looked like them about grab each other's collars (were they going to fight, or kiss?! ) only to shout at Sebastian, almost in one voice:

"Sebas! Which one of us do you think kisses the other more?"

Sebastian stands up stoic and serious, visibly considering their question with utmost diligence. They've given him too much power in the debate and he has to use it wisely.

His hand travels up to rest under his chin, as if deep in thought. His fingers ghost over his lips which are curling up in a smile. Could it be that he's recalling an event that would help him with his decision?

"I'd say… Monsieur Napoleon. He is the person I have more record of seeing initiating a kiss, MC."

Napoleon is busy putting his hands on his hips triumphally as MC simply stands there and gasps, taking in a gigantic portion of pure betrayal… coming from her dear co-worker of all people, nonetheless.

"That's- That's only because I keep my love in private! What's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing, MC. Forgive me but even without this data, Monsieur Napoleon strikes me as the person who'd kiss you more, rather than the other way around. He is a warm and loving person who wants to remind his partner of his feelings regularly. Physical touch is his second love language. Those are my observations."

What should have been an attempt to put out MC's burning rage seems a lot more like flattery towards the man he idolizes instead. Having had enough, MC gets up in a rush, clearly headed for the door. Seeing that Napoleon is not following behind, she turns on her heel, crosses the room back to his side, grabs him by the sleeve until he's got no choice but to follow, and spells it out for him.

"We're going. To our room."

Before anyone has a chance to say anything, Napoleon is snatched away with the loud thud of a closing door echoing behind him.

Vincent closes 101 Questions For Couples shut and shakily puts it down on the tea table as if it's a cursed relic bound to bring despair. He frowns at Sebastian.

"What do you think will happen now?"

Sebastian nods with eyes at rest, as if the answer is clear as a day.

"It's obvious, Master Vincent. They are going to kiss and make up."

Napoleon knows things are about to get serious when he hears MC locking their bedroom door from the inside. Uh oh. He decides for now it's best to cross his arms and patiently wait until MC decides to approach him and address her grudges. And preferably, to remove that smirk from his face. It's a little hard when he finds her cute when mad. And what is she doing now? She seems to be tying her hair back in a slick ponytail. Someone's getting hot, perhaps. Should he be scared, or should he be aroused? The limited time to ponder is already over as she finally turns around to face him. Her angry glare is turning him on. He is not sure how to fight her with a hard-on. 

"Hey…"

"Hey." MC returns the pointless greeting, doing a good job of keeping her unwavering cold expression. She surely doesn't plan on simply standing there attacking him with that dagger-shooting glare alone. Only a breather more and she steps in closer; reaches out to him.

Napoleon stands still, unsure of what to expect. He's got an idea or two about his own next move but he first wants to see hers first. Jade orbs travel down to follow the movements of her hands as she begins to tug at his clothes.

One by one, the buttons of his white shirt come undone under her gentle hands. She is taking her sweet time, undressing him slowly, agonizingly so. It's as soothing as when she helps him change for bed when he's sick. Something tells him he's not getting all tucked in and cozy this time.

"Do you need help with that, Nunuche?"

"Ferme-la."

That's a harsh way of telling him to shut up. But he's guilty of using the same words when he's annoyingly nudged awake in the morning sometimes; he can't help it. He does shut up.

MC makes sure to not leave a single clothed spot on his entire toned body, making him feel exposed and watched by her sharp gaze. After awhile, the silence is at last broken by her.

"Now."

Now? Napoleon almost asks aloud, curious to see how she'd shut him up this time. He hopes his boner is not getting any more obvious because of this.

He expect her to come closer, because where else she could be going right now? But instead, she takes a step back, looks at him from head to toe, and then goes to her dressing table. Napoleon shivers. Is she going to fetch some sort of torture device from there? Could it be that his innocent Nunuche is finally turning to the dark side because he crossed the line teasing her?

Oh, it's just lipstick. She hoovers over the dressing table to look into the mirror and applies it precisely; just as if she's getting ready for a nice date out. Napoleon is dumbstruck and wants to jokingly ask if that's for getting her dominatrix persona on, but remains silent. He is not left hanging for much longer as soon MC pockets her lipstick and giddily returns in front of Napoleon.

"Can I at least lay down?"

"No~ You're going to stand here against the wall because you're being punished."

So that's indeed where things are going. Napoleon gulps down, holding back a sigh fueled by the frustration of finding himself uncharacteristically not in control. He tries to put two and two together, finding a connection between MC's blood-red lips and the fact that she's got him all stripped down like an empty canvas.

She gets on her tippy toes and puts a hand on the wall behind him to steady herself before kissing him gently on the lips. Napoleon wishes with his whole being to return the kiss and transform it into something less innocent, but the chance slips out of his grasp as MC withdraws too soon. Ducking down for another smooch attack, this time she aims at his cheek. It reminds him of being greeted back from work, so pure and warming. Another two or three kisses are pressed against his other side and he feels giddy, imagining what he looks like with so much lipstick smeared on him, like a little kid on his birthday when it's the aunt's turn to give a present. It's ridiculous, everything that is happening right now, but more ridiculously so he enjoys it and doesn't question a thing. That’s the far opposite of a punishment, though. The next kiss lands lower, on his nape, and MC uses her hand to tip his chin upwards so she can place one right under his jaw. Next, she pays more attention to his neck, making a row of kisses down his collarbone. She knows he is ticklish here but that only encourages her more for this impromptu torture. 

It doesn't get any better for Napoleon once those devilish lips find their way down from his collarbones. Nothing could've prepared him for the contrastingly bold gesture of suddenly having his nipples playfully pinched and pulled. It comes nonetheless, making him grunt out a moan of surprise. As if apologizing for getting too naughty, MC kisses them better, leaving two identical lipstick prints around his areolas. Napoleon gazes down at her, bewildered, as she slowly sinks lower, kissing her way there as well. Her hands map the familiar area of his abs, replacing the feather-light caress of her fingers with the one of her lips time and time again. Excitement pools in Napoleon's loins as the woman in front of him finds herself fully on her knees, having reached his most sensitive place with her lips in the meantime. His fists clench and unclench with the absence of anything to grasp into and his neglected cock twitches with anticipation.

"Has the color come off already?"

Ah, she refers to her lips that are indeed a much paler shade of red already. The sudden distraction breaks his expectations in million pieces as he just nods tepidly. MC casually sits back on her heels as she reaches inside her pocket to fish out the lipstick.

Napoleon tries to steady his heartbeat, watching her apply it anew on her beautiful lips, kiss-swollen to perfection and just so fuckable, but that's his cock doing the thinking instead of him. Hence the need to calm his pulse. She takes her time in order to be careful, and truly, without the aid of a mirror, perfectly fills them in with the red color; if he knows anything about that. He clicks his tongue, realizing where all this red is going.

"Down there, too?"

"Oh, yes." She clicks the cap back on and discards the cosmetic product to roll off somewhere on the floor for now. "Especially down there."

You're driving me crazy, Napoleon thinks, and if he has to be honest with himself, he is not so sure of however much longer he would be able to limit himself to thoughts alone. Perhaps his Nunuche underestimates the situation. More and more small grunts leave his lips as MC puts imprints of the newly applied lipstick on his fair untanned skin, dangerously close to his cock but missing it on purpose. The red marks bloom on his hipbones and the inside of his tights, it feels like forever before she finally does what he was hoping for most. Wrapping her delicate hand around his stiff length, a kiss appears on the side of it, too; right over a thick vein that runs there. The most frustrating of it all has to be the fact that she does none of it all with the intention of giving him pleasure. Not that her plan is much more innocent, as she particularly marks him as hers all over, in her own way.

He is able to, at last, enjoy her mouth for one short but rewarding moment as she parts her lips and takes the tip in between, swirling her tongue around it. Perhaps not wishing to ruin her make-up with such activity, she lets go in shortly, noticing how he twitches eagerly in her hand. She keeps his cock there, stroking the base slowly as she busies herself with additional kisses on the length of his tights, knees and however much lower her position would allow.

She stands to her feet and the curtain falls. Hands on her hips, like a craftsman admiring his handiwork. Her eyes travel to chase over trails of dusty red roses blooming all over Napoleon's body, but as they finally return to his face, the expression doesn't match her own, not one in a bit. He looks out of breath as if each of those kisses were received by his mouth instead, face flushed and hair sticking wetly to his face.

"Do you like what you've made of me, Nunuche?" Snorts Napoleon, wondering if she is proud of herself for her little game and the effects it had on him.

"Mhmm! I love it."

MC claps her hands together, visibly admiring his body again to rub it in his face just how much she means it when she says she loves it. She gets closer again, lifting up his limp right hand and placing kisses against his wrist, just a little spot she missed.

"I'm almost not mad at you anymore, Napoleon. You look thoroughly kissed, and everyone who gets a look at you would know that it's me who kisses you more… and not the other way around."

"So this is what your little plan was about, hmm?" Napoleon forcibly releases his right hand from her grasp and uses it to collect her chin instead, squeezing her cheeks firmly. "You said almost not mad. What's the price I have to pay for your full forgiveness?"

MC begins playing coy with a little hum rumbling in her throat, and Napoleon releases his hold so she can give the reply she comes with. She decides on putting on her commanding tone one last time, having decided on her answer.

"Fuck me nice and we're good."

"Yeah." Putting the overdue end to her naughty ministrations by makeshiftly handcuffing her wrists with his much stronger hands, Napoleon's gaze pins her down. "Yeah, that's what I was intending to do."

Napoleon suspects that he hardly needs to throw her on the bed himself, as something tells him she'd straightly jump there if he were to let her go now. One way or another, she is soon to find herself pinned under his large frame, inhaling nothing but his scent on the pillow as he envelops her smaller body with his own from behind. He spreads her legs at a favorable angle, barely having the mind to make sure she is comfortable before grabbing into his cock and guiding it towards her sopping wet hole. He grunts and grabs her by the waist, dragging her further down the bed to ensure they're as close as possible, and watches her arching her bottom in anticipation.

Napoleon rubs his blunt head into her swollen lower lips, teasingly. He collects her wetness until the glide is smooth and rewarding, but makes sure it's not too pleasurable for her just yet. He aims at her dripping hole and guides his cock there slowly, enjoying the way she clenches desperately around him as if to pull him further in.

As he withdraws, familiar whines of dissatisfaction reach his ears. Despite the person he knows himself to be, being unfair once in a while feels just right. Especially after what she did to him earlier.

MC curls one leg around his own, trying to make him get the hint and hurry up, and Napoleon's eyes darken with lust at her desperation.

"Shh, ma chérie, I've got you." He fails to hold in a chuckle of endearment, heart swelling with pride at how easily he drives her crazy for what only he could give her. "I've got you, is this what you wanted?"

He gradually pushes in, stretching out her insides with his girthy length that never ceases to be just a little too big for her.

"Oohh! Yes, yes, give it all to me… Napoleon… don't make me wait any longer…"

"Hmm? Can you take it all in?" He strokes over the small of her back, admiring the beautiful arch of her back; the way she presents herself so willingly to him, making it that much easier to ignore the part of his brain that wants revenge for the part of it that wants raw pleasure.

"Y-yes, please, more, please…"

Slowly, he bottoms out. Letting out a satisfactory moan of his own, he didn’t until now realize how much self-control it cost him to keep his gentleness. That and, with being previously stimulated to a certain dangerous degree, he wants to throw away any plans of taking it nice and slow from now on. Screw revenge. He gives one long look at the place they're connected again, admiring how much of him has disappeared inside her hot tightness, and then grunts again, readjusting his position.

He drapes his body over his lover's, chest to her back, using the opportunity of being close enough to whisper in her ear. Each word he utters this way is making her clench deep inside, and he makes the best out of it, feeling utterly satisfied with himself but remembering to keep the grin out of his tone.

"I'm going to move now." He breathes in and then out, "I'll try to go at it slowly because it looks like you need to cool down, but…"

"No…" a sharp inhale, "No, give it your best." She shifts her body a little, rocking her bottom on his cock as if to demonstrate the intensity of her wish. "Fuck me for your pleasure."

Napoleon chuckles darkly, pecking her arm with wetted lips and collecting her wrists again into his iron grip.

"How am I supposed to do that when you're already rutting against me so selfishly? You're trying to get me to set the pace that you need. Look at you fucking yourself against me."

"Nnh-"

"Yeah? Do you want me to let you keep going? Can you cum like that?"

Instead of wanting to keep going or not, a more fitting question would be whether she could retain herself from it. The pulse in her ears is maddening as she chases after her high, the tip of Napoleon's cock rubbing against her sweet spot and MC making sure she is maintaining the angle all the way. Soon enough, without having the time to warn him, she shouts into the pillows and rocks her body repeatedly, using his cock like a sex toy, convulsing harshly around it. Napoleon groans, bucking slightly back into her and enjoying the sight, the feeling of her coming undone in his arms coupled with the heavenly tightness wrapping around his cock. He presses kisses into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo; then pressing more kisses into to whichever part of her he could reach, until she comes down from her high. He almost considers her calmed down before another set of whines leaves her mouth.

"Already?" Napoleon teases. He gives an experimental thrust, knowing not to overwhelm her senses.

"Mmm, more, more!"

That's a nice reaction, he thinks to himself as he thrusts again, slowly gaining speed. He wants nothing more than to fuck her breathless at last, reducing her to a moaning mess beneath him. He could mockingly refer back to the thought that it all started with her having the upper hand, but maybe later. Though it's intriguing to imagine another scenario, of how this should've played out - with him tied to the bedframe and his hips straddled as she rides him to her satisfaction. He would be a rotten liar if he says he isn't interested in seeing it come true. But oh how much better victory tastes. There is a good reason she didn't go all the way, and that's because she wanted to be fucked raw and fast instead. But since she has his heart - she's been having it for a long time now - more than playing with power he wants to simply satisfy her and quench her thirst for him. He knows that no amount of true dominance would feel as good to her as to simply have him buried deep to the hilt inside her, moaning his pleasure into her ears as he spills his seed against her deepest parts. It's because he feels the same way.

"Do you still want me to keep going? Fast and deep like that? You're going to make me want to fill you up."

"Ahhhh, yes, Napoleon, Napoleon do it, please, fill me up with your cum, please."

He thrusts hard and noisily into her wet heat, feeling his release building up by her cute pleas alone. In addition, she feels incredibly hot and tight around him, coaxing his release as he tries to maintain a steady pace.

Enclosing her arms with his own muscular ones and holding a vice-like grip on her wrists, he lets himself go.

The burning sensation of Napoleon hitting her deepest, most sacred part is slightly painful, but in a very good way. She feels so full. The sheer thought of him giving into his desire and claiming her like this is enough to send her spiraling into pleasure, but the feeling of his hot cum rushing into her depths is mind-shuddering on its own. She doesn’t realize there are tears rolling down her cheeks. Rutting away the rest of his high into her hips, smacking the sweat-lined skin of her ass, he moans her name, letting himself be milked from every last drop as she keeps convulsing and following him into the throes of release in high-pithed, pleading shrieks that morph into downright pornographic moans. Their legs tangle together, maintaining the gradually dying down friction until their senses start to calm down.

Napoleon can feel the slowly cooling layer of sweat covering the skin of his back, though he still feels very hot; the humid summer air demandingly asserting his presence. He carefully rolls off MC, making sure she is getting enough air to breathe. He almost pouts in realization, I'm always the one doing all the work yet she is panting harder. Pleasure still rocks all over him, and his heart beats lovingly at the feeling of MC curling into his chest even when she must be feeling hot.

They stay like this for a moment, catching their breath, hands wandering each other's bodies, and sending muted fireworks of pleasure aftershocks everywhere they touch. It could either be that he is ticklish, or the endorphins kicking in, but soft giggles escape Napoleon's lips and pour right into hers, infecting her along the way. It's a very clumsy kiss, but it gets Napoleon an idea.

"I still think I can turn the score around. Let's see who leaves this room more thoroughly kissed or whatever." 

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[jennegatron]

this is a tiny essay in response to something I saw on twitter but have seen many times many places and I just need a place to dump it to help me process my feelings.

There are a handful of arguments I see a lot about d20 from people who are not process freaks about how the show would be better if it was made differently. My argument is never that they're wrong, it's that the show is made the way it's made because of a bunch of complicated processes that go into making a show like D20.

The one I see the most is that the shooting schedule for the intrepid heroes is too compressed. That with more time to process and breathe between episodes, the characters and relationships would be deeper and they point to sophomore year as an example of this.

Let's talk history:

Why was sophomore year aired live? Twitch helped pay for it to air live (including twitch subs as another revenue stream) as dropout was actively running out of money to operate the way college humor had. During sophomore year is when everyone at CH got laid off! This was an exploration of an alternate revenue stream that they did not pursue further. I don't think they've really commented publicly on why they didn't do it again but I have my suspicions (tech difficulties, problematic scheduling (Emily and Murph missed episodes to tour for naddpod), performers needing to self censor for swears, the battle sets & editing being an important differentiator for d20 as a product being gone).

Alright so what if they just filmed once a week? Well every person at that table works on other projects, including people who are in writers rooms that have to be booked around and are busy recording their own shows. Every single d20 interview you will ever encounter shares that scheduling is the hardest part of making the show. It's part of why there's only one IH season per year. Now let's say everyone can commit to Saturdays to film. Are you going to ask those 7 people to give up every Saturday for 20 weeks to film? No traveling, no weddings, every Saturday for 20 consequetive weeks. Every Saturday for 4-5 months is going to be spent filming d20 episodes. Unacceptable for most people. Simply not feasible. Even every Saturday for 10 weeks assuming two shoots a day is a lot!

I also see a lot of laments of the death of the zoom adventuring parties and I understand but I also think covid gave people an unrealistic expectation for what is feasible under normal circumstances. You can see in the zoom APs that after a while people just stop showing up to them. Murph and Emily just skip like 4 of the ACOC APs and like half of the Unsleeping City season 2 APs. They were busy with other shit! Naddpod takes a lot of time and effort! TV production was shut down so Siobhan and Lou and Zac didn't have anything else to do and could show up, but now? They barely have time to shoot a single IH season!

Also! Rick Perry doesn't live in LA. He travels down when they're doing production but the rest of the time he lives with his family in the pacific northwest! You want all of the production people to give up every Saturday for shooting? Like it's not just those 7 people who are working that schedule. They have all the production support people who also have to work that schedule. Shooting 20 episodes over 5 weekends starts to sound more reasonable! Plus you can fit more seasons in a year so that there aren't month long gaps where people cancel their subscriptions because there's no new d20 coming out!

I get the arguments, I really do. But dimension 20's design & cast are fundamentally incompatible with that slower burn in making the show. That's what podcasts are for. Murph and Emily and Lou and Brennan get to do that on naddpod and wbn and d20 just isn't the place it can happen.

None of this is important or will change anyone's mind but I think the process part of the show is a fascinating part of the show and the restrictions and solutions that come from it shape what the show is. I think people fall in love with the version of a thing that only lives in their head and get disappointed when that thing doesn't exist because it can't exist for very real reasons.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Anon Advice Asks - March 4

@residentdisaster, confirm anon (new), panromantic anon, comparing anon, outed anon

@residentdisaster

Omg I just remembered this absolutely AMAZING original WIP I came up with last year

I abandoned it (after planning the whole first book, and part of the SECOND???) because I’d incorporated magic and realized that I (at the very least for my sake) have to flesh out a magic system

But I made damn near all the (major) characters some type of LGBTQ+ and now if I go back to it I lowkey wanna make the one cishet guy have like bi awakening or smth

I kinda like wanna go back and pick it up cause I still have the doc for it but idk if I have the motivation

I was wondering if you have any tips for writing/working out a magic system? Or keeping up the motivation to write?

If I do end up writing it I’m planning on putting it on Ao3

Honestly I've never made up my own magic system before but looking at JKR's mistakes, I'd try to think of all of the rules FIRST. All of the exceptions to rules, all of the ways the rules can and cannot be broken, all of the ways the magic could ruin the plot, etc. Because like...time travel can really leave a gaping plot hole.

As far as motivation, I like writing a little each day and tracking my time! It keeps me on task and excited! trackbear is a great website to track your words!

This sounds like an amazing idea, I hope you do more with it!

____

Confirm anon

Hey, Cas

Are we supposed to use She and They interchangeably for people who use those pronouns?

I'm sort of new to all this, so I just need to confirm.

Thanks in advance

Sometimes! Sometimes people with more than one set of pronouns like them used in different circumstances or when they're feeling different ways. The best thing to do is to ask. I promise, asking isn't offensive, it's actually super kind to make sure you're resecting someone's wishes.

________

Panromantic anon

I have three brothers, did I ever say that? (Panromantic anon and her stupid issues with his family, thanks)

It sucks to be the one who has to stay behind.

My youngest brother is 9 years older than me.

I only feel alive when one of them comes to visit once a year for a week.

Thanks for listening my problem, I know it's stupid. I shouldn't be dependent on my older brothers, it's not their responsibility. But my cage is prettier when I have them around.

And I realized I can't make a normal opening for my life wtf sorry

Hi!

I don't think it's stupid and I don't think it's being dependent, either. Siblings can understand like few other people can, and having to deal with family without them isn't fun. Have you tried reaching out to them when things are tough? I know you say it's not their responsibility, but I know if one of my siblings reached out to me, I would be more than willing to help them because I care <3

________

comparing anon

HIYA, comparing anon here!!

thank you for your advice and tbh i agree that communication is so important in friendships, i just have no idea how to tell her without coming across as selfish? because i dont want to invalidate her and make it about myself? also our friendship has in the past been rocky?? and we use to argue a bit and didnt talk to each other for nearly a year, but we got passed all of that and im scared if i bring this up she's going to take it as me complaining or starting an argument. i dont even know at this point. its also a bad time to send a message about this because someone at our school had a 'medical emergency' and is at the hospital/ ICU and she's really upset about it , so i feel like sending smth now would be really unfair of me.

Hi!

I agree timing is important and it might be good to wait a few days, but I don't think you should put it off forever. If you don't say anything, you're just allowing the resentment to build, and you're not really enjoying the friendship, you know? And that's not a real friendship.

What if you try writing something before you say it? You could even send it to me first. That way you're confident you're not coming off as too invalidating?

______

outed anon

So my parents remembered they have an introverted child with social anxiety (me) and decided to send me to a public place (trampolines and shit) forcing me to exercise in front of others my age 😍😍 (one of my biggest fears) (they knew im scared) (they wasted their money i sat in the corner through the whole thing too scared to stand up😃👍)

Outed anon here btw hi

that sounds awful. Did they at least let you bring a friend with you?

[britt-kageryuu]

It's another slow day at the clinic, and Leo is streaming from the reception area, again.

It's practically a meme by now to see a Clinic Stream among the regulars.

The chat had started a poll/bet on whether someone was going to walk in to the clinic, like what's happened every time Leo's streamed from work. Some were saying it wasn't a fair bet.

Even though most of the time, all Leo is doing is cleaning up which just rambling about random topics, gossip, or showing off the clinic itself.

Leo in his space turtle scrubs with a lab coat, is leaning back in his chair while organizing a container full of 'Good Patient' prizes.

"So I decided to grab this book that sounded interesting, it's about a girl who makes medicine, and apparently ends up in the favor of a royal she works for, highly likely going to be a romance situation." Leo says while opening a pack of dinosaur stickers.

"At some point I couldn't help but imagine myself in this situation. Even though I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in the girls shoes. The whole mess that lead up to her being in a royals favor." He's adding little squishy critters to the container.

Leo opens a box nearby and digs through it, likely looking for something else to add to the treasure box for good patients. Out comes a pack of Trick or Trade Pokémon booster packs.

"Don't get me wrong, potentially becoming a consort to royalty wouldn't be the worst, but just the kidnapping the poor girl had to deal with at the start." Leo pauses for a second, "It just hit me, that I know two series that fit this vauge description, and if you know both good for you. If not sorry if I confused you."

Leo puts the container on the counter, and grabs a book from the shelf next to him. It's a cream colored manga with a bright red haired girl on the cover, the title reads 'Snow White with the Red Hair'.

"This is one of them. Though the Snow White thing is only a loose description for the beginning. Shirayuki caught the attention of the local Prince, that she didn't like, so she left to the next country over and ended up befriending the Prince of that country, Zen."

Leo puts on a sneaky grin, "But the first Prince accidentally poisoned Zen with an apple, so he had to back off or face a possible war or something. She becomes a Royal Herbalist/Pharmacist in the Palace and they slowly fall in love."

He puts the book back, "Some of you may know the other one, but I don't have the book with me here. Though Dee did give me a Stranger Things comic," He pulls a much thinner book off the shelf, this one had four humanoid turtles all with red bandanas along with the Stranger Things characters. "Don't know where he got this, but it looks interesting."

He looks over at the chat, some are asking for more details of how he imagined himself in one of the series, and if his boyfriend was in the place of the royal.

"Well, actually the first time around I thought of myself as the Royal, and Moon somehow ending up in the palace, but it didn't quite work, because I can't see any of my brothers with a large amount of consorts." Leo says as he flips through the first few pages of the Stranger Things book.

"How are you supposed to keep track of these turtles, they're all in Red! Sure they have different weapons, and a letter on their belts, but still!" Leo says while starting to spin in his chair while reading. "Though the very loose plot to have this kind of crossover is so flimsy, let alone how Eleven traveled a few states to a Major City. Alone! But that's the logic of the comic worlds."

Leo continues to slowly spin in the chair while reading to comic book, kinda forgetting that he's at work, and live streaming this moment.

The chat is having a missed jumble of arguments. Some wondering where the comic came from, some wondering if/when a random person will enter the clinic.

"Hey Doc! I came to get a refill on my Meds!!"

Leo jumped and scrambled to Mute the stream. He then goes to greet the person while putting a sticky note over the camera lens.

Those who bet that the pattern wouldn't repeat were regretting their bets, while many where putting up a *called it* type emoji.

[ladyanaconda]

Besteel and Redimus Headcanons

I figured I'd make some headcanons of the two brothers' relationship and a bit of their family. My favorite part of making backstories for characters we know so little about is coming up with something that matches who they are in the present day and what could have led them to become like that.

They come from a litter of five, with Besteel coming out of the womb first and Redimus last. Sadly, their other three siblings didn't make it past infancy.

Even as babies, they had to compete for space inside their mother's pouch and her milk. Needless to say, Besteel always managed to drink more, which led to his faster growth.

Their father Vamphyr favored Besteel as the bigger, more aggressive cub and paid little heed to the 'runt', much to the distaste of his wife Thalyss. Besteel and Redimus often witness their parents' arguments, which became worse over time. Then one day, Thalyss left and took Redimus with her when the brothers were twelve.

The brothers have a love-hate relationship, stemming from the resentment they have for the favoritism the other got from the parent they craved the affection of. They have opposing views and sometimes antagonize each other (in a good-natured way), but at the end of the day, they're very protective of each other.

Besteel did not attend Thalyss's funeral because he resented her for leaving him behind. Likewise, Redimus doesn't bother to visit Vamphyr, knowing he likely wouldn't be well-received anyway.

Redimus settled down in Solas, where he got a job as an animal caretaker in the museum, only hunting occasionally for extra cash. On the other hand, Besteel and Cassiora traveled around, making a decent living by hunting. Following Cassiora's death and Besteel's retirement, he and Fay moved in with Redimus.

While he doesn't show it, Redimus has severe insecurity issues rooted in Vamphyr's disinterest and frequent comparisons to his more 'successful' brother. On that fateful night, Besteel pressing those buttons is what drove Redimus, already in a drunken state, to the edge.

Despite his father's favoritism, Besteel isn't actually that fond of him because of all the pressure Vamphyr's high expectations have put on him since he was young. In fact, this resentment increased when Vamphyr showed little sympathy for Cassiora's death and instead criticized him for giving up hunting afterward.

The two brothers are more than happy to embarrass each other with stories of when they were cubs.

The one thing the brothers have in common is their fondness of a Dorcean chocolate-like treat.