#(tbh also like. the art is actually the LEAST important part of the game for me anyway. i'd rather the writing be good)

[wri0thesley]

tbh one of the things that always jars me in otome games is when i remember the mc has like a Canon Appearance and i see them in a cg im like. oh. maybe this character wouldnt like me actually bc i am Way Bigger Than This Bitch

[schizochroal]

I think, right now if you're a transfem or trans woman, with any sort of income and address, in the US right now, who wants to go on hrt but for whatever reason you are waiting, I think you should seriously reconsider that. DIYing is still relatively accessible, and along with estrogen, while Spiro isn't the best anti-androgen it does the job for most people and is dirt cheap and easy to get. If you live somewhere and have the insurance or other means to afford it, I'd also recommend pursuing official medical hrt as well, but keep in mind that depending on restrictions put in place in the future, you might need to switch to DIYing. That being said, starting officially and then switching to DIY after a certain point really isn't that bad at all, hormone testing and stuff becomes much less important after the first couple of years. If you have insurance (and the right kind) , it could be basically free for you to pursue the official route, if ur insurance won't pay for it the doctors appointments will be expensive but you probably won't be spending more than 20$ a month for your hrt, assuming you go for something like Spiro as an anti-androgen. Even if you art totally DIYing , you're still probably not going to be spending more than a 30$ or so dollars a month for hrt, and I know it's possible to pay way less than that depending on some factors.

I live somewhere with pretty high food costs, so for me that kinda cost is the difference between say getting eating like just some rice and beans or something a couples nights in a month instead of getting fast food or whatever. Tbh most of the people I know are pretty poor by American standards, but still make random purchases on stuff like food , video games, clothes, caffeine, weed, etc. that are a lot more than they would need to pay for hrt even at full DIY prices.

Like if you're holding off for financial or other reasons, I think you really should seriously consider whether those reasons are worth continuing to put it off when in all likelihood beginning hrt is only gonna get harder in the future, and every year you wait is another year you could instead spend living the life you actually want.

Starting is always scary, but like nothing about HRT is instantaneous, depending on ur hair and fashion you can probably guarantee that u can still fly under the radar for at least a year after starting hrt, potentially a lot longer. And a year is a long time to figure out if uve jumped the gun and it really would be better for you to wait, and for the most part it takes a long time for any non-reversible changes to happen (other than maybe some breast growth, but like plenty of cis guys have gynecomastia, it's not that big of a deal). But the only way you're going to be able to find that out is if you start. And honestly, outside of some very specific individuals, I think for most of us there is not going to be another, better time to start her anytime in the near future!

[kaija-rayne-author]

Some thoughts on Dragon Age Veilguard a couple weeks after playing/reviewing it.

Obligatory disclaimer, feel free to skip to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Note: My reviews for DA and my blog posts about DAV in particular aren't edited. I don't have the time, energy, or heart to edit them properly.

It's been 16 days since I finished DAV.

And sadly, my opinion still hasn't changed. Especially after learning about Joplin from my friend's artbook. (Joplin is the original concept and art concepts for the game. It had so much we were all really desperate to see. It was gorgeous. And they scrapped it.)

I don't know why they scrapped it, it was exactly what so many of us wanted.

Honestly? I don't care why. I'm sick of all the excuses people keep making for BioWare turning out such a shitty game.

Were there reasons and difficulties I don't know and will never know about? There usually are.

But those things are honestly irrelevant when it comes to producing a quality product.

I work my ever loving ass off to make sure my books are good. And I don't have a team to help me and a 250 million dollar budget. I do everything myself because I have to.

Indie studios turn out fantastic games with cool worlds, good fighting systems, and interesting monsters all the time. With some help and some budget, sure. But not likely on the scale of what they had for DAV.

I'm both a creator and an editor. When you're making a product for sale, it's incredibly foolish to change a series title too much from what worked before. Sure, fix problems, streamline stuff, but people generally don't play RPGs for anything past the worldbuilding, writing, story, and characters. There's action RPGs, sure. I'm playing one now and loving it (Greedfall).

It's a solid RPG that feels like an RPG. (DAV did not.) The fighting system works. The companions are actually useful. They kill bad guys all by themselves! It's quite refreshing tbh.

When you're creating something for fun, sure, do what the fuck ever you want as long as it isn't harmful to someone else. (Don’t put words in my mouth. By harmful, I mean specifically things like racism, sexism, ableism etc. Not whether someone dislikes the colour green and thinks the word 'triggered' means unhappy or uncomfortable. It doesn't. It's specifically a needed mental health term.)

When you're creating a product for sale, you make decisions. IE. I chose to write a reverse harem series. That's a choice influenced by the business reality that my queer books hardly sell at all.

I still love the characters and world I built, still love the plot etc. But it was still a decision on my part. Because my work of words is my only income. I'm disabled and recovering from a pulmonary embolism. My partner is recovering from a broken back and has at least one, possibly two more surgeries to go. We don't get very much help from anywhere. Money is so tight it squeaks. I'm hoping with the decision to write m/f reverse harem, my sales will improve (They already have with only two books out. Third before end of year.)

So. No. No more excuses for BioWare. They've always, from rumour, had a lot of control over the games they make, even if EA does pollute the studio by owning it.

Someone made the choices that resulted in such a shitty game. Someone approved the terrible (in some cases, racist, sexist, and ableist) writing. Someone thought the editing was just fine (it really really is not).

Someone (likely Epler given what he's said in interviews) decided that it was a good idea to Disney-fie the most recent addition to an adult, dark fantasy game that has historically delivered a lot of horror elements. While somehow condescending to kids at the same time.

Someone decided to remove so many of those dark fantasy elements. It's especially obvious in the not-fucking-darkspawn. They made them goofy, not scary and vaguely horror inspiring. But it's all throughout the game.

Someone made decisions. Those decisions made an awful game.

Someone decided tying your companions' skill points acquisition to their level of bond with you was a good idea. Maybe it looked good on paper. I don’t honestly care. It made it nigh impossible to get them high enough to be actually useful. Meaning your OP character always has aggro. Fine, I guess, if you're a tank player, but what about the rest of us?

Someone decided to remove blood splatter from a freaking BioWare game.

Someone decided to go with that wretched art style.

Someone decided nerfing the rogue class was a good idea. Why even have them? They're just light skirmishers, not rogues. Without, y'know, the rogue skills that make a rogue.

It was a decision, each and every time.

Someone decided everything about that game.

So miss me with the excuses.

I would like actual reasons, but I highly doubt we'll ever get them.

Someone made unwise and often foolish decisions during development of DAV. The results are clear.

Simply by the fact they aren't releasing sales numbers... that indicates it's probably not doing well. Larian basically called their earnings for BG3 out weekly.

It mostly just makes me sad now. DAV could've been fantastic. Because of decisions human beings in positions of power made, DAV, while having some good parts, just sucks.

[j2zara]

j3j4 time!!!!! director's commentary for the part starting with "He says it again" and ending with "there really is something thrilling about being chased, isn’t there?"

Oh my god i asked for this, didn't I? I'm gonna interrogate my deeply horny art. Sorry I put this off for so long but again i got a little embarrassed trying to analyze my own smut and needed to take a break. This is gonna get long winded. Please bear with me.

He says it again. His voice shaky. “Punish me.” A beat. “And why would I do that?” she asks, feigning naivety. “When you’re being so good for me.”

This is gonna sound funny but. I do think there is something to like. J4 actually being kinda bad at the reward/punishment framework of like a Scene b/c she's just ultimately too soft for J3. But to be fair, she is getting something she wants in this situation. He is articulating at least something about his wants to her.

And I've joked before that LJ3 is a little jaceporter coded in that there is a slightly less hostile version but still an undercurrent of "The only time you liked yourself is when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like". And in this moment (well, just prior) he's laughing, he's happy. She likes making J3 feel good, likes herself when she's doing it. She sees herself as too ugly on the inside otherwise, too unloveable and cruel and miserable. She wants to be a person, but she feels like she's getting how to be a person wrong, unless she's with him (and its her god given right to fuck up being a person, she knows this, but part of being a person is the hope that you're doing something of meaning and this? weirdly. Is the only time she feels like she's doing something of meaning)

Anyway. There's this weird dance the two of them are doing of J3 like refusing to articulate what he wants or only doing it in half truths and J4 trying to get him to speak and giving him what he wants but only to a certain extent also those wants conflict anyway. He wants a reward. He wants punishment. he wants EVERYTHING. Is J4 refusing to give him what he wants (punishment) part of their delayed gratification game? Or is it more important to satiate the initial expression of want from earlier (touch me). And obviously, she's doing it with the mage hand so. She's giving him what he wants but there's still that element of denial. That is part of the delayed gratification game, part of the punishment, but also part of her real and genuine boundaries. Her feelings are hurt in this moment, so maybe she's not ready to touch him just yet.

she has to bite back a pathetic moan of her own [...] because he moans her name so loudly, and it makes it sound real, she sounds real, like it’s something of meaning and not just a number—she’s been fighting to be real her whole life and he just willed it into existence, just like that.

Funny b/c i just made a post abt the Eurydice vibes i felt writing this scene. Anyway I know i was a total coward and didn't commit to the Electra-Ellie-El name for J4 in this bc. As much as I personally like it (and its an @neerdowellnarrator Esme Special so thank them) and use it interchangeably i'm always scared abt adding new shit to the lore... Mainly bc idk. I feel like I don't want my decisions to carry that much weight but im also terrified of my choices being rejected. I was so scared abt that with Bluejay as well. But like it seems like everyone has really taken to it so tbh i feel less weird abt it now. Thank u Esme, go pay ur respects to them.

That being said. The other reason i wanted to hold back i guess is. I really liked the idea of J3 imbuing the name "J4" with meaning even though it's just a number just because he wants her so much, he reveres her that much. The name J4 is not inherently meaninful but he imbues it with meaning. And like. Doubly so because that's not even her hand, its through use of a tool.

And there's something so... Unfair I guess. I loved the unfairness of it. Of someone else being the one to give J4 meaning. And it being so easy. Like. She wants to feel real. But she's fought so hard to be the person who determines her own life. She strives for personhood. And J3 doesn't have to fight. He just says it and she just feels real. And that's so unfair. She wanted to be the one to do that. But she'll take it. It's why she moans too. She wants it. She's used to being difficult to love. It feels so good in this moment to be wanted, special, loved—especially for being who she is, and not as an extension of anybody.

There's also the idea of like. The follower having power over the god. Putting a name to it. So that it is Borne into existence. Belief as a form of power.

And being in his head—no wonder he is the way he is, she pities him, the incessant loneliness is abated as he’s filled, as she pushes in deeper, all the other swimming thoughts are vanished completely, he simply wants someone to touch him, wants her to touch him, wants that hand to be hers so badly, in his head she’s right there with him—

There's so much like. J3 being like Jace, being like J2, wanting to amalgamate into one perfect being energy here to me. In the like. Being filled in a sexual way but also like also the. spiritual way i guess? I think thats the one thing that i can't picture J4 wanting that the the others secretly or not so secretly desire. Like. On some level they want someone, porter especially, to take over and like. ALmost live their life for them. Or Be with them always. They want that level of closeness and intimacy, and they maybe even want to abdicate their own responsibility. And. As exhausted as J4 is i do think she understands the appeal in that but she still would resist.

There's also J3 and his like. Use of touch and sex to like. Shortcut intimacy while also being terrified of vulnerability. As like. Connective tissue with Biggest Lie, J3 is always telling himself he doesn't need intimacy, he's better without it while also craving it so badly. And then being afraid to ask for it. So like. He wants to be touched, he wants to bridge a gap, he is so lonely and ignored all the time.

And this is part of a recurring thing of like. It's hard for J4 to tell if he wants her or wants someone. Most of the time, when we get in j3's head, there is a little bit of both and so im always leaving it ambiguous. However, I said this before, obviously ppl are free to read it as they like, but i do belief J4's self hatred makes her a bit of an unreliable narrator. Yes, there are thoughts of broad loneliness in j3's head, of wanting someone not just her, but as much as wanting someone vs. wanting her are both thoughts in j3's head, it usually ends up coming back to her. He wants intimacy, not just with anyone, but with J4. it's why he's always picturing her in his head when all he's getting is the mage hand.

She’s still slow, still teasing, she’s enjoying making him come undone and all without touching him, getting right into the rhythm she knows can make him keen like fucking animal, and then he does—it’s not quite the same, but she’s getting the hang of it, and he really needs to get out of her head, because she wants it, too. She wants it to be her. She wants to give him everything.

I think the like. J3 and J4 understanding each other really well thing is very present here. I call it Homophrosyne which was coined to refer to Penelope and Odysseus, when two people think alike. Like. There's the irony of J4 saying J3 should get out of her head when she's the one reading his mind. And her also craving intimacy with him.

I also think this is an LJ3 + Jaceporter parallel. J3 and Porter as people who are ravenous, they want everything. J4 and Jace as the person they truly want most of all yet are always looking past. You are all I want. You will never be enough. And that's where J4's doubt always comes in. How could she truly satiate someone who wants everything?

But the reversal could also be true. We could see J4 as Luxury Sex Object Prison Coded Porter. As a god who wants to bestow all the best onto her favorite worshipper. So he never has to want for anything else every again. (maybe in a way that is selfish on the part of the god. That way, they can truly monopolize the mind of their saint. Be the only thing they will ever need)

Like what you see? he asks, mouth slightly agape as he makes eye contact with her—the intensity of it knocking the wind out of her. Somehow even when he submits, the pull he has on her, it’s unreal. Not a message. A thought. “Yes…” she breathes before she can help herself. Dawning horror, and then, “Do—Do you want me out of your head? “Nah. I like being double-penetrated.” [...]“You are such a freak,” says J4, but she can brave running her nails along the underside of his thigh. He notices, too, gasps.

Again this is like. Calling attention to the IYWD thing of like. The relationship between god and follower being a two way street. The follower has power over the god just like the god has power over the follower. The person submitting having power over the one in control. Which is very like. J4 kryptonite. She wants to have control over her own life, and when she's with J3 she feels weak, not in control, like his mere existence has power over her.

Again, I think there's like. More homophrosyne, or J3 understanding J4. In that he knew that J4 was using detect thoughts on him the whole time. And J4's reaction being. Like. She truly does believe in personal autonomy, so she does feel terrible and guilty about this violation that she was willing to commit. (A violation that is. To take. To invade. Something she is afraid aligns herself with porter, with everything she hates)

And. Ok. I do think the DP joke is funny. Like. I will give myself that. I'm silly but i do think it's clever. This does kinda go in line with my like. I love when J3 is filthy but in my mind he's also the funniest clone and this kinda goes with that. But also, he's not lying. J3 seeks out everything. He is into everything. He wants it all before he goes. And as much as he gets off on being told he's gross and disgusting and he can make jokes about it, a part of him is truly worried those desires are too dark, too unpalatable, they make him too unlovable. J4 does affirm he is a freak as lot, like, half joking, but to me that's not condemnation. It's like. instead of being like "oh no don't worry you're so normal <3" it's like. I love you amidst all your flaws. Because of them. You don't need to be perfect. You are a perverse, but there is nothing wrong with being perverse.

“Would it make you smug if I said you do this better than He does?” “Maybe a little.”  The best part? She knows he means it, too. She'll do anything for him after this.

Listen. I love when LJ3 is good for each other but i love when they're a little bit fucked up. Like. The ambiguity of whether they can escape the narrative!!! They should be able to exist on their own terms!!! They willed this, they chose this, they want each other intentionally, but also. This is such a tie-in to Biggest Lie as well. Because in that, J3 gets off on the idea that Porter thinks he's better than Jace. And here, J4 gets off on the idea that she's better than Porter. Like. It always has to come back to invoking jaceporter. They get off on the idea of transcending their creators, but is that true escape? For them to always be tethered to Jaceporter?

There's also this like. Thing about. Porter wanting to be the center of Jace's world. Remaking jace in his image. Wanting to be Jace's one and only. And is this instinct, this desire for J4, to dominate J3's mind, monopolize it, be the only one for him. Is it Of Porter?

Gonna skip some of the stuff that's just plainly horny that i don't have much commentary on... I will say, her kissing the corner of his mouth and finally getting him off is like. AFTER the "Being better than Porter" confession which is so funny like it takes that for them to broach the intimacy. For her to fulfill her desire and give him what he wants. And like. Nice? Or fucked up? who is to say.

“Come on then,” says J4, flashing him a wink over her shoulder before turning away again. She beckons him forward with the Mage Hand as a final act before it is dispelled. Once in the bedroom, she lays herself upon her master’s comforter, her legs spread. Waiting. The creak of the door being pushed open tells her that J3 is quick to follow her, and J4 smiles to herself. Then he’s on the bed, and the sight of him on his knees, crawling toward her makes her heart skip a beat. She likes to think of herself as the kind of person who takes action, but there really is something thrilling about being chased, isn’t there?

I do like J4 reclaiming a bit of her power here. Like I know she's femdomming for a lot of this but i feel like in her mind she very much perceives herself to be on the backfoot. The wink feels like a moment where she is truly confident.

But also! The willing reversal! J4 usually being the one to act, to take control, and that's seen as an act of power in most ways, but also, it's to perform labor for someone else. The person who commands the attention, who doesn't even have to lift a finger. Do they not have power in their way? And J4 is exhausted. And she wants to be the one to will her own destiny. But that means she's always the one doing the work. Like she has to fight to have her personhood even recognized. And maybe. A part of her wants to be loved simply for who she is.

And so. In this, she wants to be pursued! Especially after so long feeling like a second choice, feeling abandoned when J3 left her for Porter. She's used to him running, returning. Very Orphydice / Persephades. Very Eurydice joining Hades in the underworld.

("Whatever happened. I'm to blame" / "no!" / "You called my name" / "You came!")

She gets to be the god, the one who is worshipped instead of the worshipper. Instead of the sacrifice. (Mr. Hades is a mighty king... seems like he owns everything / kinda makes you wonder how it feels).

On a personal note. I want that for her so bad. She deserves it. She deserves to be pursued. Loved for who she is. But also. J4 wants to be her own person so badly. And yet isn't the desire to be pursued, to be chased? Isn't that so unabashedly Of Jace? Here they are, defying the narrative. Carving out their own future. But are they? Have they transcended the Starbreaker Pantheon? Or are they doomed to repeat the cycle? Are they going to make it?

("Do you trust each other? Do you trust yourselves?" / "We do" / "well listen, brother / if you wanna walk out of hell / you're gonna have to prove it before gods and men / can you do that?" / "We can" / "a'ight! Time to go" / "Mr. Hermes?" / "Yes?" / "Its not at trick?" / "No. / It's a test")

("Do you trust each other? Do you trust yourselves?" / "We do")

[amazingmsme]

So I’m still trying to work on their backstories, but I think I got the main important bits that I can build off of later

Sorry that these aren’t as even as I’d like, but Asterios’s backstory came much easier than Leander’s. I still gotta come up with his home life & such, but for the most part, I like where he’s at!

Our big lovable himbo, Leander. About as tall as Eurylochus, but even beefier. He’s got the personality of an orange cat: dumb, crazy & happy. BRT you thought I was gonna say golden retriever, huh? But yeah, he’s also a golden retriever jcvskahd

He’s got strong Laios vibes, just sayin’

Would’ve absolutely eaten the lotus, are you kidding me? Even if he knew. Just a nibble! Just to see what it tastes like…

He’s honestly a jack of all trades & dabbles in a bit of everything, but he excels at sword fighting & spear throwing

Sees training as a type of game & goes all out on his opponents, then doesn’t understand why no one wants to spar

A disciple of Apollo, he really appreciates the arts & has a really nice, deep singing voice, but he’s surprisingly shy when it comes to singing in front of others

Loves the sun & likes to lay on the deck enjoying its warmth. He’s kind of a slacker tbh but he makes up for it when he does help because he’s so strong

So he falls in love with one of the nymphs on Circe’s island, & in the original show he ends up staying to be with her. But for my fic, he stays with the crew to go back home & is so lovesick, he gets on everyone’s nerves

But in the original version, he’s one of the few (maybe only?) crew that actually lives because of his choice to stay

They fall in love after he turns human again & jokingly says “man, I’ll miss being a pig. Well, it was fun while it lasted, right guys?” & everyone’s yelling at him & giving him shit for it & this one nymph thinks that’s just so funny

He doesn’t even know how funny he is, he just be sayin’ shit. & it’s one of the things that made her fall for him

Their love came on quick & strong. Think summer romance, opening of Grease, that kinda stuff. They’re so lovey dovey, & it’s all genuine!

Just a big ol’ teddy bear. A ticklish softie. You wouldn’t expect him to be so ticklish because of how big & strong he is, but just a few pokes can make him crumble

Has a very fun & goofy personality & never fails to make people laugh! Even if he has to tickle it outta them lol

Sometimes when his hair is up, his ponytail will brush his neck & he’ll giggle & whip his head around expecting someone to be there, but nope. He realizes what happened & looks around to make sure no one saw & if they did he gets all flustered & makes up some excuse to leave

You better hope he’s not in a playful mood if you go after him because he will turn it into a tickle fight, & he’s pretty competitive lol

He’ll help out if someone is trying to get someone else by catching them & holding them down. Likewise, if you want to wreck him, you better have someone to hold him down

He’s such a silly ler, & raspberries are one of his favorite tactics but the dude cannot take what he dishes out

His worst spots are his armpits, belly, thighs & feet, but he’ll be a giggling mess no matter where you try

So his backstory popped tf off ok it got away from me

He’s the son of Eris, goddess of discord & strife, hence the ear wings (a lot of her children had wing imagery & he can hide them by folding them & tucking them under the hair behind his ears)

He was unplanned & Eris cast him down to earth because she at least knew she’d be a bad mother for a half mortal. She may not want anything to do with him, but she does want to check up & see how he’s doing

His adopted parents found him washed on the shore of a riverbed, in a broken basket. He was there long enough that he’d fallen asleep, but he was still clutching a gold chain necklace in his tiny fist (his real mother’s necklace, & the only clue he had to go off of)

He was a terrible troublemaker growing up, & his parents had to actively teach him to be kind & thoughtful because of how he’d treat others & instigate fights. But his mischief leveled out to normal levels, & he was actually a pretty decent child all things considered

But just being around him can change your mood, where you’re more annoyed & prone to start fights, but he’s learned to control this

Grew up not knowing he was adopted, just knowing & feeling he was extremely different. He had few friends growing up, because his general aura is off putting & intimidating. So he just grew up thinking he was somehow wrong, & everyone hated him

His parents tried to tell him multiple times, but couldn’t bring themselves to confess. Especially his mom, as if telling him he’s adopted would somehow make him less hers, & make him feel isolated more than he already was. They also didn’t want to tell him until they knew who’s child he was, but they had no clue

They found out close to his 13th birthday, after finding a mural of Eris wearing the necklace that he showed up with

He didn’t take the news well & basically blamed himself for every misfortune their family faced. & then the spiraling of why didn’t his mom want him? Is it just because he’s human or was it something else? Do these parents even want him, or was he just a burden thrust into their arms? they adore him, but they know no matter what they do, he will always have that doubt in the back of his mind

Eris finally showed herself when he was 16, crying in her temple & cursing her name for forcing him to live like this. It went about as you’d expect (skirting all the blame, playing the victim, & saying how much better he is without her & how he should instead thank her for the way things turned out)

Eris at least had the decency to warn him about the upcoming war, & even proudly took responsibility. Basically just called up her estranged son to bitch & spill some tea & then peaced tf out. So after that he felt like he had no choice but to join the war

He feels incredibly guilty about the war because of what he knows. Like it’s his fault somehow. Once he gets close enough to Leander, I feel like he’d confess these emotions on a sleepless night

His feelings of being an outcast only grow once they’re shipped off to war, because at first he doesn’t feel like he can relate to anyone. Or that anyone even wants him around, he can feel people staring. But then this big dumb jock comes bumbling over, introducing himself & asking if he’s “excited to see the world!” & Asterios has to laugh because no way is this guy serious. But he was, & they’ve been best friends ever since. Every moody bitch gotta have a ray of sunshine bff!

They’re actually roommates lmao. But a few other guys also share the room

He channels all his rage into his training & fighting, so he’s really skilled at what he does. & he inherited divine strength, so even tho he may not look it, he could totally beat everyone in an arm wrestling match

This sad boy needs to lighten tf uuuup he’s always sulking or brooding

Either Leander or Polites were trying to cheer him up, & when nothing else worked they gave a curious squeeze to his sides & he kiiiinda freaked out (he kinda knew he was ticklish, but he’d completely forgotten because it’s been so long & it’s basically like getting tickled for the first time

Afterwards he lowkey can’t stop thinking about it because he’s never had the chance to cut loose & play with someone his own age like that. & it felt stupid & silly, but he can’t ignore the fact that it actually did make him feel better he refuses to admit it tho

HE’S GOT DIMPLES!!! You can’t tell in the pic cause of his stubble, but trust me, they’re there. But the crew didn’t even know for the longest time because he rarely ever smiles wide enough for them to show up

Tries to act like it’s childish & beneath him, meanwhile he’s internally trying to keep his cool so he can fly under the radar in it’s happening near him

If a tickle fight breaks out, he’s suddenly nowhere to be found. The whole thing flusters him, & the idea of him getting drug in is too exciting & scary to think about. Until someone eventually drags his ass into the fray

He inherited some of his mother’s powers & he will absolutely use them to his advantage when he sees fit. His powers are: super strength, super speed, telekineses, umbrakineses (shadow manipulation), & chaos/discord manipulation (control emotions & situations to instigate fights)

He managed to get a better grip on his powers & people aren’t constantly on edge around him, but when things on the ship get boring, he’ll spice things up with a little bit of his chaos manipulation. But he basically gives a random crew member a ler mood, & directs them toward a specific target

He got away with it for a while

His ear wings are his worst spot & he hates it so much, he’s already extremely self conscious & embarrassed of them, so the fact that they’re so sensitive feels like a cruel twist of fate. Everyone else absolutely loves that fact

His other worst spots are his knees, ribs, shoulders, & hips. Lanky boy has gotta be ticklish in all the boney places, it’s the law

[alister312]

alister… i’ve come to sow trouble…i ask for your spitting hot takes for the character ask game: gregory for 3, 8, 16, 22!! and 25 for funsies <3 (when i first watched the movie i hated him bc i thought he was an asshole. then i discovered gregstophe and he changed my life)

CHAOS INDEED….. but sometimes you gotta keep things real with Hot Takes™!!

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

i have studied Gregory's canon character extensively and it's a huge reason why i love him so much (and why i so despise a certain fanon version that has eclipsed canon) so this is really hard. HOWEVER….. i do hate his canonical reaction to learning Stan failed his mission. i know it's just to make Wendy start to dislike him so she'll get back together with Stan at the end of the movie, but this was such an important mission that Gregory put so much effort into planning! it implies the death of one of his only friends, Christophe! there's no way Gregory in that moment is the same as the Gregory in the rest of the film to me. or i have to believe that's he's just SO upset that he's lashing out and his tone poorly conveys the true depth of his emotions.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

can i say the entirety of Hell//park lmao. lowkey serious. i've spoken often about how HP was a blight on Gregory's characterization, interpreting him as a generic snobbish evil twink. this (or one of the many HP spinoffs that copy-pasted this personality instead of his canon one) was unfortunately a lot of people's introduction to him as a character, which means that i see many Gregory fans taking him one of two directions: 1) they take him the sexy sadist manipulater route, cold and dismissive, hungry only for power 2) they infantalize this version, making him more like a random xD feral wild card silly guy if you were ever in the Gravity Falls fandom, they do to him what people did to Bill Cipher basically. and don't get me wrong, i'm not saying i dislike people doing that! i love how insane the GF fandom goes with Bill but it makes sense for him bc he's a chaos demon. Gregory is a revolutionary freedom fighter with occasionally poor people skills. i feel like barely any active fans remember that.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

i have one beloved mutual who likes this ship so i hope she understands but….. probably greg/stella. most bc every art i see for it ever is HP-based (designs and personalities) which i am clearly not a fan of lol. also, all the love to the Estella fans out there, but she's just not for me. which makes it hard to care about ships that have her.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

ok this is a little hard to describe but i love when fics show that Gregory actually cares?? whether it be for Christophe (as most of the fics i read are gregstophe lol) or about his job or a cause or whatever. i find a lot of fics are able to show him as a caregiver, but don't always show him caring. to me, that's such a core part of who he is. he fights bc he cares, he helps bc he cares, he gets angry and sometimes flippant about others bc he cares so much about what he believes in that he puts on blinders to others' (and tbh his own) emotions. something i don't like is when people do the exact opposite of this lol.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

i do not fully remember what i thought of Gregory specifically, but i have such a vivid memory, right after i watched BLU for the first time, going onto [social media platform redacted bc my account there is cringe af] and saying how i totally shipped Gregory and Christophe and wanted to RP them with someone lmao now... well, i still ship him with Christophe so not much has changed there i guess. but now i like to think about him much more in depth than i did back then. back when i was younger, i don't think the fic i wrote really explored the actual characters so much as it put two guys through a bunch of tropes. nowadays, i want myself and the reader to really understand the depth of those two guys and why exactly i am putting them through certain tropes.

character ask here for reference!

[void-chara]

haha wow i hate how 90% of the celeste tag is just crossovers with other media. anyway here i am to contribute to the problem!

listen at least its a different crossover than usual. adding variety to the suffering. itzsubz celeste au because im mentally ill about him and also i love this game. yippee!!

as usual with my art posts, ramblings and explanations are below the cut

so first hi if ur here from the celeste tag Sorry! quick explanation of What This Is: Itzsubz_ is a youtuber and twitch streamer i enjoy a lot, and recently(a few months ago) he played celeste, which reactivated my celeste fixation after months of dormancy. and that lead to me doubling my goldenberry count lmao(before that i had golden for 1a 2a 1c 2c and 3c. currently i have goldens from 1a 2a and 1c-8c. currently working on 3ag and have been for a few months). so anyway yeah im Really Normal sooo i made a crossover au ! his youtube videos are cool but i cannot in good conscious recommend his streams. hes kind of awful. obsessed with him tho

also the color scheme makes it look like i put him in the badeline role but actually he takes the place of madeline. for Part Of Him/badeline-equivalent im gonna differentiate by givin more of the inhuman characteristics of his online persona and stuff.

now. if ur here for the guy, not the game, you may be asking yourself a very important question right now: why tf does he have tits. and the answer is this: you can take the transgender(character trait) out of celeste but you cannot take the transgender(allegory) out of celeste. so tbh why bother taking the transgender(character trait) out of celeste. sooo i made him bigender in the au. shes like if a girl was just some guy. yippee!! i do a little projection

the guy herself i drew the way i usually draw but with the background i got a bit more experimental and tried some new stuff! i really like how it turned out, especially the mountain and snow

the reason the canvas is so long is because i made this to be my new phone wallpaper since i wanted a new one. also heres some other versions! first is without filters, and the other two are alternate filters.

i loooove creating content which caters specifically to me and absolutely no one else in the world lmao. hope someone enjoys it anywya tho ! also i have plans for less niche art to be posted eventually. currently workin on an ivory drawing, and then after that i have a few plans for more celeste stuff(not crossover this time! ..and also a few more crossover.)

[lakesparkles]

for the shipping ask game, 2, 7, and 11 with matthew/julie/gideon! your art of them is so important to me

First thing, thank you so much!!! This motivates me draw/talk more about them, usually I get worried to do so because I'm afraid of making them too ooc ^^'

2 - What song fits your pairing the most?

I'm very sad to say that I didn't find a good song for them yet... But I hope I do soon. Sometimes I find songs that fit Gideon, but not the three of them... Or two of them, even.

7 - Favorite headcanon trope/idea? (Your own or someone else's)

Also a bit hard because I usually think of headcanons for the characters more than the couple haha

But hmm I'll say random headcanons then. I'm still a fan of the idea that they would have a lot of cats because they would be perfect for them, honestly. Matthew would preted he doesn't care about the cats at first but of course he does.

Gideon is an anime fan so he makes Julie and Mattew watch some with him. Julie actually enjoys it because it reminds her of how she and Gordon used to do the same when they were younger.

I would say how they don't deal well with fights because of the lack of health romantic relationships in their lives, but it would be way too long.

They would be terrible people together, I love them.

11 - If they aren't a canon pairing, how would you get them together?

They're half canon, at least...

I imagine it would start when Julie and Gideon start interacting with Matthew more because they're planning something (or are bored tbh). They would have that fake politeness everytime they want to get anything from him, but in the middle of that, it'll become something more genuine than what they expected and they'll realize they actually like to have Matthew around, even when a big part of their interactions is teasing.

And about Matthew and Julie, at first he didn't think too much about her, she was just there. Until they talk and realize they may have things in common and he's surely Julie's type, so all of these would make them have mixed feelings about each other.

[cutepresea]

Related to the heels, I feel like it's kind of like Hibiki's scar being forgotten in official art and I wish it wasn't tbh. It's part of the MC's main traits and distinctive habits and it always rubs me the wrong way when it happens, I know it's just mainly a spin-off game aside from the canon side storyline but I wish they'd put more care into being faithfull to characterization

It also bugs me when Hibiki's scar should be visible and it's sometimes just not there (it's Very Important). I'm really glad the cards for the current event have it, at least

There was actually a time they had to correct a Memoria because they forgot her scar the first time

[woahjo]

tbh i'm also really curious about what all your answers might be to all those questions in the ask game if that's okay with you 😆 you have a very interesting and nice perspective (as i also see in your writing) that i am curious and want to know about your thoughts through those asks if that's fine :) (you don't have to if you think it's too much!)

this is SO SWEET!! i don't mind answering them at all!!! i'll try and do most of them, but im gonna pick my fav questions from the list <33 and ill put them below the cut. im so flattered actually that u wanna hear my answers to them what if i blushed...

What did you dream about last night?

OH FUCK i forgot i had this dream until i got halfway through the questions but last night i had a dream that i was at work but i was falling asleep during it. like could not keep my eyes open,.. and my manager messaged me on teams and she was like "we can see you doing nothing" but for some reason i just could not wake myself up. and then when i DID wake myself up in the dream i was like "bro something is wrong why does it feel like im still asleep. wake up!" and then i woke up and realized i was just dreaming. it scared me 😭

What is your favorite color?

i like yellow and orange!!!! but lately i have been on a bit of a light blue kick since this summer!!

Do you feel more connected to the moon or the sun?

this one is cute!! i think i feel more connected to the sun. i'm more comfortable during the day and tend to be in a better mood. plus i really like the way it feels on my skin <3

Have you ever wished on a shooting star?

a few times!!! i've seen some on the rare occasion i went camping, but i never really remember my wish long enough to know if it came true or not lol

What do you enjoy daydreaming about most?

god this is going to sound so corny but lately my fav daydream has been imagining that im winning my first emmy for an animated tv show. idk i just imagine the way it would feel to have my work and dreams recognized, getting to thank my parents and team and shit. corny corny i know but i love imagining it.

Do you believe in guardian angels?

i do, but in a nonreligious way! i won't go too deep into it, but i've had many dreams / experiences that preceded major life events that i can't explain otherwise. even without it, it's nice to think that there is something out there looking out for us. kinda like the universe has us in mind.

What is something (or someone) you’re in love with?

this one is hard!! i haven't been in romantic love with a person ever i don't think (mutually at least), but i am in love with my friends. i really truly believe i met them for a reason and i think i'm the luckiest person because they're in my life. i have so much love for them that i genuinely don't know what to do with it. my other love... and i say it so frequently... is writing and storytelling. it's the greatest love of my life, i know it.

What’s your ideal summer aesthetic?

linen clothes and dresses and flowy shorts and humidity and laying on the floor outside. unheated swimming pools, music from a speaker or the tv, friends laying out on towels. exploring cities and sweating and driving to the beach on a whim and sitting on the porch eating lunch. roadtrips along the coast with the windows down. yeah <3

Talk about something exciting or good that happened to you this year.

maybe not this year, but this summer, i spent a month traveling japan with one of my best friends.

Where do you feel most at home?

with my friends!!! always always always with my friends

What is something you own that is important to you? What makes it so important?

writing and creating things and making art!! i genuinely can't stop myself from doing it. i write and make things with the same urgency and feeling as eating or drinking water. i do it before i sleep and when i wake up and even just in my head constantly. it's corny, but it's a part of me and i genuinely can't live without it.

Do you believe dreams have meanings or are they completely random?

i've had some WILD dreams that absolutely have meaning. some of my dreams are totally random, but i think a lot of them are symbolic of things or feelings i'm experiencing. i had one that was so long and frightening and weirdly poetic that there's no way it couldn't have meant something. haven't quite figured it out yet tho LOL

Do you believe in love at first sight?

nope! i've definitely written about love at first sight, but i think that to really LOVE someone, you have to know them. that's one of the best parts about love.

What’s the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

i've spoken about it before but when my dad had a brain bleed in may and was rushed for emergency surgery, my friends (and housemates at the time) emailed all of my professors for me, packed a lunch, packed my car with blankets and tissues, sat with me while i packed a bag with clothes, and drove me six hours one way so that i could be at home with my family. he ended up going into surgery while i was on the drive back home and the housemate driving me held my hand for hours while i waited for news that he was out. i'd never felt more held and loved than i did then and they are some of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me to this day.

What’s your zodiac sign? Do you think you fit the general characteristics of that sign?

i'm a taurus (with a leo moon and leo rising)!! and i absolutely think i fit the characteristics LOL

Are you more of a hopeless romantic or realist?

mmmm i'm not sure! i'd say hopeless romantic if i had to pick one, but not to the point that i don't know how the real world works. i don't like big gestures though, so im not sure if maybe that disqualifies me LOL. i just like the idea of eventually being known and loved for it.

What’s a song that gives off good vibes anytime you listen to it?

hold in, hold on by kid bloom!!!

Have you ever written a love letter?

nope!!!

Name a book you don’t mind reading over and over.

heaven by mieko kawakami. i could read it 800 times and never be sick of it. the lilith's brood trilogy is a close second, though i've only read it once so we'll have to test it. but i LOVE that series.

What do you do to feel at peace?

i write or draw!!! that's typically my first instinct when i need some quiet or some callie time. i feel very calm when i create.

[tiredassmage]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Thank you for the tag @captainderyn!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Possibly a great, great(?) grandmother I never had the chance to meet, via middle name, though it’s been... probably at least a decade since I heard that tatter and I’m not sure how correct it is, lol. I’m... not particularly close to a vast majority of the family, tbh, given Drama(TM). Mom picked by meanings though. I know that was very important to her.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I... think I cried a little about a week and a half ago in one of my classes. Not because the class, I promise, lol. We watched the pilot episode of a show called Station Eleven in class and that was a gut puncher.

3. Do you have kids?

No, thank you. My pets and my OCs are all I need, lol. Very ace. Not my personal cup of tea.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Mmmm. I wouldn’t say regularly. It has its moments and I’m sure I was a bit more brutal with it when I was a kid, but its purpose isn’t generally helpful in areas where I need to communicate. I think most of the things I say sarcastically now are probably in regards to fictional characters. xD

5. Favorite time of day?

Late evening, in that like seven - ten pm range. Generally evenings. I’m absolutely not a morning person. If I’m up rather early, I’m tired later in the day. Evening tends to host “me” time.

6. Eye color?

Good ol’ reliable brown. (I need more brown eyed ocs, tbh?) Fun fact: eyes are kind of what enchants me, irl and I probably tend to be a bit invested in fictional character eye colors, too, lol. They’re beautiful. I have no other explanation. That said, I’m very shy about eye contact until I feel more comfortable with people/get to know them better.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, if I’m picking between them and scary. I don’t do horror, I am baby. I can be enraptured by a decent thriller and loved a good crime drama TV show. I can kind of do paranormal stuff sometimes, but I can scare myself just thinking a little too hard about it, so very hesitant.

8. Any special talents?

Mmmm... nothing nontraditional, I suppose. I had a few music teachers tell me when I was younger that I have hands that would’ve been great for piano, but I wasn’t super interested in pursuing musical interests outside of, like, basic school requirements. I did chorus for a while, but was kinda eh. I did enjoy acoustic guitar, but, again, not exactly enough that I ended up doing anything with it.

9. Where were you born?

Rural northeastern US of A. I miss having a fall season, but decidedly not enough to give up the warmth of living much farther south.

10. What are your hobbies?

Largely video games, lol, if it was hard to tell. I’d like to do more drawing and get into digital art. I am majoring in Digital Media Design, after all. One of my hopes is to properly play around with a tablet I bought myself over the summer while I take a break from courses. I desire to draw my blorbos, haha!

11. Do you have any pets?

Two ball pythons, the loves and amusing occasional nuisances of my life! They made a brief appearance on my main here. There’s also two dogs in the house, James and Cooper. Cooper is definitively my mom’s dog, however, and, jokingly, my little brother. (He’s her favorite. We all know this.) Cooper is... ??? We think a Collie mix. And James is a Basset-Lab, both adopted about a year or two apart, if I remember right.

12. What sports do you/have you played?

Oh, actual eons ago, I briefly played soccer (probably not very well) when I was very, very small. I have ridden horses (I miss them, Brent), but primarily only in schooling shows and I did participate for a few years in my barn’s summer gaming series just at Walk/Trot. I used to ride low-level jumping courses. Competitive sports haven’t ever really been my thing, particularly to participate in. I would’ve called riding one of my hobbies while I did. It’s an expensive one though and a bit of a tricky one to get back into when balancing college and part-time retail work. My mom and I try to stick to our developed tradition of selecting a local trail riding venture to attend every year for my birthday though that keeps that connection outside of whatever I vicariously pick up through games, lol.

13. How tall are you?

5′5ish. A smidgen shy, but that’s what they put on my license.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Histories and sciences. If I wasn’t so averse to writing research papers and math, I have genuinely considered majoring in either area. Unfortunately, my university doesn’t have a program for meteorology (weather and natural events are a somewhat more recent interest of mine) and video games evidently have some staying power as my interests, so that’s how I ended up in DMD.

15. Dream job?

I’m honestly not sure anyone has a really solid answer to this question, lol. I certainly don’t. I... went into DMD partially because it was interesting enough and I genuinely felt college would benefit me somehow. While I like my pet store job, it’s not exactly where I’d like to spend the next twenty years, even if I am a creature of habit that balks at change, lol.

So, theoretically, I’m studying DMD and entertaining the idea of a minor in creative writing because characters have always been one of the most important aspect of games to me. The idea is to maybe pursue a focus on character or scenario writing, but I... really don’t know, lol. I’m still largely clearing prerequisites and other structural graduation requirements, so I haven’t really dug into the focus areas of my degree yet and I definitely still doubt that I know what I’m doing or if it’ll genuinely be something I can pursue.

It’s definitely scary and I absolutely struggle with that uncertainty, but it’s also a process of just trying to remind myself that it’s a skill and therefore it is something I can develop if I put the work in - that’s the whole purpose of taking classes, after all. It’s something I’m trying to be more conscious of because I have found it very easy to slip into the student mindset of doing things just for class, so I’m still not sure what all I have as far as presentable skills or how to showcase them. But that is... off the base question, I suppose, lol.

So, work in progress!

Uhhhhmmm, this one’s sort of a mix idk who to tag for, lol, so I think I’ll leave this one open? Muts/followers, feel free to say you’ve been tagged if you’d like to do this one!

[egg-on-the-run]

How about relationship headcanon’s and yes there’s cute stuff but what about realistic shizz? The good, the bad, the ugly. The stubbornness that with time one learns the art of compromise for.

I've only ever been in one relationship and tbh it was very like relaxed??? We never argued much so I hope this isn't super unrealistic.

Leonardo:

Never tells you why he's upset. It's always a guessing game and the worst part is half the time he is not upset with you

He'll have an argument with Raphael and give everyone the silent treatment while he's huffing (and it is huffing) and you spend an hour trying to figure out what you did wrong

Leonardo's confrontational about things that Do Not Matter but avoids conversations about things that are actually important

Like yeah he'll tell you if some silly habit kind of annoys him but it takes a long time for him to confess that PDA makes him a little uneasy

That's another thing: PDA is a minimum with him. Yes he will put his arm around you, yes he will hold your hand. But please no kisses in front of his family he just doesn't vibe with it

He's very nervous about a lot of things, very nervous about going on dates, doing things with you for the first time. You do have to take things slow with him and it takes a while to perfect the art of reassuring him without making him feel patronised

His love language is acts of service and quality time.

Sometimes that quality time is napping because he's prone to overworking himself

Adores it when you take control of things. LOVES being babied and taken care of

Call him something like "sweetheart" and he becomes putty in your hands

His ideal date is he makes dinner, you buy dessert. You both do the dishes together and watch a movie afterwards 💙

Raphael:

Hahaha get ready to rumble.

King of arguments, fool of never being able to apologise

You will bicker about everything to the point where everyone is like 👀👀 but the second anyone else says something? You are both wildly protective of each other

"God you're such a prick" "Yeah screw you Raph" "Casey I swear to god if you ever say anything like that ever again I will kick you so hard in the dick you'll give yourself a blow job" "Raph you're s/o is scaring me" "Casey I'm going to put your head through the wall."

Raph likes to pretend arguments just Did Not Happen. He doesn't expect you to apologise either so at least you can't call him a hypocrite, but he just prefers moving past things. It's over now. Don't bring it up again.

And yes this does cause more conflict sometimes. But you cannot date Raph and not be stubborn. If you put your foot down firmly enough he will give in and do his best to talk about things. He doesn't necessarily like doing it, but you're both stubborn and both very much in love and he's always willing to try

Much more into PDA than Leo. Likes to hold you against him, leans on you, plays with your hair. He just constantly likes to be touching you in some way, even in front of everyone

You can pull the "because you love me" card at any time

"Can you make me some coffee?" "I'm in the middle of playing a game, why would I make you coffee?" "Because you love me."

He doesn't mind it as much as he pretends to

His love language is physical touch and acts of service: lots of cuddles, he holds all your stuff, walks you to and from work

His ideal date is just him trying to teach you how to fight

Lots and lots of gym dates, exploring sewer tunnels and the city together, him letting you win at wrestling ❤️

Donatello:

Leonardo's bad at confrontation sometimes, but Donnie? If you stabbed Donnie he wouldn't complain

Donnie is very insecure in his ability to please. So he works overtime and stresses himself out. If something is bothering him you will never find out because he would rather suffer in silence than even risk upsetting you by bringing it up

His thought process is something along the lines of he interrupts you once so he thinks he just shouldn't speak. He has not connected the dots but he's certainly jumped to conclusions

It takes a very very long time for an argument to actually happen because if you try to talk to Donnie about something he will just Immediately Agree With You, even if he doesn't

But when an argument does happen he says a lot of mean things to get under your skin and you will play the very same cards when things get heated

As time goes on you both get better at having discussions rather than arguments. But when a fight happens you can go days without speaking to each other

Very protective. Likes to know you're safe. Yes it's doting and sweet, but it's also a little annoying having text him "yes I'm still at work darling" every hour

Donnie is also an "actions speak louder than words" kind of guy. No saying sorry, but he makes you a little gift and slides it across the table. No words exchanged, but you know he's sorry for what he did

Mixed feelings about PDA. Sometimes he's more than happy to let you sit on his lap, other times if you try to hold his hand he flinches

Baby is a little touch starved. He gets overwhelmed very easily and shuts you out. Some days are better than others but again, he just doesn't tell you

His love language is gift giving and loves making you little trinkets and toys to put on your desk. But he adores receiving words of affirmation

His ideal date is both of you info dumping in your room while eating pizza. It's so simple, it's so easy. Usually whenever he starts to ramble he forgets a lot of his insecurities with touch and will let you hold him 💜

Michelangelo:

King of communication. He just does not like to argue, fighting upsets him and when you're angry with him he gets a little afraid

Even if you are very frustrated he takes you by the hand and sits you down. He has it down to a routine, there's no problem you can't solve together

It takes a good while for you to break down his walls. He puts up a very fun loving, easy going front to please everyone and even when you start dating it's difficult for him to be completely open

But when he shows you his deep emotions once he's very comfortable showing them to you again and again

Needs lots of reassurance, not with regards to relationships but with regards to himself. His brothers still treat him like the baby of the family, still make him feel stupid. You treat him like he's capable of whatever and he just bursts into tears because you have complete faith in him

You do, however, understand that his brothers treat him like the baby because sometimes he acts like it

He can be a little too high energy and sometimes you just need space and he doesn't understand that it's not his fault, you're just tired.

You have a code for when he's being too affectionate. He loves PDA to the full but it is overwhelming: a squeeze on his knee tells him to calm down a little

He's such a people pleaser that you have to make most of the decisions with everything. Where you want to eat, what you want to do, it would be nice if he took control a little more.

His love language is yes and. Jk jk he praises you 24/7, pet names, compliments, worships you. Loves physical touch as well obviously

His ideal date is something arty. He takes you to find a blank wall in the tunnels and you both just spray paint 🧡

[thedreamyperidot]

Very much new to tumblr, so I'm not entirely sure how all this works yet. I don't exactly know how to respond to reblogs yet so bear with me. First off, your ramblings are totally fine, don't have a problem with it at all. The reason I'm responding to you is to explain my perspective on the game and how it was handled. This mostly concerns you calling the devs lazy. (Note: I don't fault you for thinking this, nor am I upset about it. Sorry if this ends up being a super long reply lol)

I'm not going to go deep into the details of my life and who I am, but I think it's important to know that I've been taking game development classes for about 2 years now. I'm not an employee of GameFreak, or the Pokemon company, so I can't give any definitive answers on why the game came out the way it did, but I am almost certain that it isn't because the people involved were being lazy.

I'm not exactly sure how to best explain this, but from my experience with the game, it seemed like the team behind it genuinely cared about the project. The art direction completely shifted, pokemon are much more detailed now, there is an overabundance of things to see and do, and the core game is actually really fun. Character designs are great, the writing is well done, and there are so many creative ideas at play here.

Now if that is the case, why is it such a mess from a technical perspective? There is the chance that their game engine needs an update, and there is also the fact that this is their first fully open world game, but I don't think either of those are the main culprit. The two potential reasons why I think the game ended up the way it did is either a lack of time, or a lack of money.

First off, let me explain my reasoning for time. Breath of the Wild was the first Zelda game to attempt an open world. It's development started not to long after the release of Skyward Sword in 2011 with a planned release date in 2015, but got delayed to 2017. This left that team with a development time of 6 years. The dev time for Scarlet and Violet was presumably 3 years, with SwSh dlc, and Legends Arceus being developed at the same time. When you are making an open world game that has a strict deadline, some corners are definitely going to have to be cut. This deadline is set by the Pokemon Company to keep sales up while pumping out more merchandise.

My second thought is that there is not enough money going around. Before anyone says that Pokemon is the largest franchise in the world, yes I am aware, however, Gamefreak doesn't get to decide how much these games are funded; the Pokemon Company does, and they also have to balance out things like the mobile games, merchandise, the card game, the anime etc. Gamefreak only gets a small small portion of that cut. Because of this, they can't just quadruple their team size just to pump out higher quality games quicker, because The Pokemon Company wants to turn a profit.

As unfortunate as it is, this stuff isn't completely in the hands of GameFreak, and as such they don't really have much control over it. This is mostly speculation on my part, but it is a fairly educated guess. Sorry for the long winded post, but I think that the devs get treated quite unfairly by fans who think that they are the sole reason that the games won't improve in quality.

I hope my own rambling at least gave you some insight on game development, and it's many challenges and I hope this helped you understand my point of view on the subject a little bit better!

oh my god! yeah maybe saying lazy wasnt the best way to go tbh, it was 2am when I made those tags so my word choice wasnt the best (Also why I mentioned how if you disliked the tags you could let me know sjdhjfj)

I think that the points you make are completely true! Game Freak mightve cared a lot for the game but due to factors out of their control the product ended...like that. It's honestly such a shame as someone who was a huge pokemon fan since they were 8, seeing the series suffer due to capitalism has been incredibly disheartening.

Thank you for this ask! I appreciate your thoughts in this and I understand my wording might not have been the best.

[science-lings]

🌿Time for weird thoughts and headcanons with ME!! So in the comic, the Links basically talk freely with each other, and talk occasionally to other people (like Malon, and strangers in markets), but in their games they appear to have varying levels of verbality. There could be (and probably are) a lot of reasons for this, but since I'm always on my 'holy heros' train, I have a very specific thought on this: every Hero's voice is a sacred instrument. When a Hero speaks, the world listens - trees stoop to hear their words, the wind dies down to let them through clearer, every living thing from below the earth to above the heavens seems to go briefly silent in deference. It's not every time they say something - that kind of presence can get exhausting, especially if you don't realize you're doing it - but it's often enough that, subconsciously, every Link is very aware of their words. Exposure to sacred instruments and the music they make is not harmful in brief, occasional windows, such as pieces played in rituals or festivals, but listening to one every day? That kind of casual display of divinity has the power to do anything from drive people mad to literally start tearing organs apart. A Link's family, due to blood or spiritual connection, usually is not affected so severely by lengthy listening. Zeldas and Sages are effectively immune, due to their own holy power. Many magic wielders, like Ezlo or Midna or Lana, also have a degree of resistance as a virtue of their power. Most of Demise's incarnations, like Ganondorf and Vaati, would also have that kind of resistance were it not for the fact that their power comes from Malice: as it is, when Heros speak to their Demons, they make ears bleed. (If they figured out a way to hone the ability, to shape it, they could probably talk corruption out of the possessed and sing Malice out of existence.) And, of course, the Chain can speak to each other as much as they like, since they all hold that same divinity and can't be hurt by it. The Chain tries to keep most of their conversations secluded, not necessarily out of secrecy, but because speaking around common laypeople could very easily get someone hurt. When they do speak in public, they tend to keep their voices fairly hushed as a measure of control, whether they realize it or not. Sometimes they'll revert to sign just to be safe. But it's strangely... nice, or maybe freeing, to be with each other, to be able to speak to so many people without even subconsciously worrying about hurting them with their words. Music is important to all of them, and I think they're all at least decent singers if given the chance. (Personal headcanon that Wild is a beautiful singer, the best in the group, with no other instruments and humming as much as they do.) They haven't had many chances to practice before, but now they can. When the Chain makes music together, they can make stars rattle.

***

I love this actually. Music is such an important part of Zelda games and I absolutely love giving the Links strange divine features. They could be a weaponized a capella group tbh. I like to think that all of them are just automatically musically gifted, like many of them picked up an instrument for the first time on their journeys and was instantly able to play it with little to no instruction. I really think that Wild should've had more music-related stuff in his game, like the concept art with him playing the goddesses harp is very important to me, but he's also one of the only Links to make their own music. Like with their voice. (Unless you include Wolf Twilight and Wolf Time who harmonize their howling.)

Anyway, they totally teach each other ensemble songs and songs that go in rounds that with their voices are literally magic. As someone who was once a choir kid, this concept is very cool to me.

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 320 Short Spoiler Analysis: The Power of Friendship

The battle between Deku Vs. Class A has begun!  Well, it’s technically a battle, but more so a “Catch-A-Deku” situation.  Everyone is trying to use their cool Super Moves and words of friendship to try to convince Deku to come back home.  They’re all reminding him all of times he helped them, so they’re trying to return the favor.  So far, I think half the class was featured here including Shoto who I thought would be saved til the end.  Maybe he will be featured again since he’s one of Deku’s closest friends.  What’s interesting is that the trio that was shown at the end of last week’s chapter, Bakugo, Ochako, and Iida, didn’t have their heart-to-hearts with Deku this week, so I bet you they’re being saved for the end.  Anyway, my left hand is still on the mend, so I’ll keep this one short this week.  I hope it heals soon.

The 2nd Color page is shown this week!  It’s of Froppy this time around!  I think it’s been a while since we’ve seen Froppy featured in a color page, so this is cool to see.  She looks really good here too.  Horikoshi’s art rarely disappoints.  Next week is going to be the 7th BNHA Anniversary color page and the 7th Popularity Poll announcement, so I’m excited for that.  Apparently we’re going to get a lot of BNHA things next week including things for the WHM movie, Team-Up Missions, and the WHM one-shot manga.

I love how at the beginning, Bakugo breaks the 4th wall here by commenting on how Deku’s “art style” underwent a complete change.  It’s both a good taunt on Bakugo’s part and some acknowledgment from Horikoshi-sensei on the change of Deku’s design in general since this arc began.

So, Bakugo did tell the rest of 1-A about Deku’s other Quirks which is good.  I thought that would be the case after remembering that Bakugo read All Might’s OFA archive book.  Bakugo would still look over the other Holder’s Quirks, so he would have knowledge on the 4th-6ths Holders.  Problem is that none of them know of the 2nd and 3rd’s Quirks, so dealing with Fa-Jin will be troublesome.  None of us know what the 2nd’s Quirk is yet though, but I have a feeling we’ll see it in this battle.

Quite a few new Super Moves debut in this chapter!  

Katsuki Bakugo: Shockwave Landmine: Looks like Bakugo creates a blast on the ground so that the blast blows away anything around it like Deku’s Smokescreen.  It’s a big blast too, so Bakugo’s got a lot of range with this thing.

Kiyoka Jiro: Heartbeat Wall: It’s hard to tell, but I think it’s a move where Jiro uses her sound waves to block or stop whatever comes her way.  It could be really effective to stop anyone who can hear I’m sure.

Fumikage Tokoyami: Ragnorok: “Womb”: It’s a like a capturing move that traps anyone within Dark Shadow.  It kind of looks like one of the moves Tokoyami uses in The Strongest Hero Game.  Unless someone has a light Quirk, I can see this move being very effective in capturing villains.

Really, everyone is doing their best to remind Deku of all the good times they had with them. They’re using the power of feels and friendship to bring their sacrificial idiot home.  I like to believe it’s working given how Deku is finally shown crying tears of sadness as he pushes his friends away.  God, please let this kid have a good cry.  How they’ll be able to catch Deku though I still have no idea.

Deku is able to overpower pretty much everyone this chapter.  Even Tokoyami, who is considered one of the strongest in the class, and Momo who created this insanely complex machine to try to put Deku to sleep (how the hell did she make that anyway???).  At the end he’s captured by Shoto’s Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall (which he’s standing on btw and looks so damn pretty 💙☺️), but I doubt that will last.  Deku’s probably going to break right through the ice next chapter.

Speaking of Shoto, since I’m such a simp for him 😔, he has the least amount of dialogue out of everyone having heart-to-hearts with Deku.  But what he says is significant: he basically asks Deku if he can still truly cry and for Deku to share the responsibility with his friends.  I think this is calling back to when Shoto reassured Deku that heroes are allowed to cry back in the Overhaul arc and when Deku meddled with Shoto’s life to save him.  Which is essentially the philosophy everyone’s running on.  Meddling in Deku’s mission is the only way to save him now.

Side note, but I love that Kaminari is the one to tell Deku to take a freaking bath 😂!  Like, we’ve all been telling Deku that, but it’s good to know that Horikoshi and his characters are thinking the same thing.  Now someone has to tell Deku to eat a good meal and take a long nap.  

Also, small detail, but Sato comes in at one point and reminds Deku that they won’t be able to make candied apples for Eri anymore if Deku doesn’t come back.  Deku tells Sato that Eri will be fine without him 😭.  No, Deku, you dumbass!  Eri needs her big bro in her life!  I can’t imagine how sad she must be if she already knows about Deku’s disappearance 😭❤️

I’m also glad to see pretty much every student get some kind of spotlight especially the ones who are more minor characters than the others.  Koda actually gets a mini-monoluge this chapter.  Also, Froppy’s got a lot of focus at the end along with the color page this chapter.  Which, I’m glad to see.  It’s been a long time since Tsuyu got some spotlight.  Really, all the girls need more spotlight.  I assume everyone else will get their shine the next few chapters.  

It’s small and I’m still trying to find the meaning of it, but there’s one panel after Deku escapes from Tokoyami showing him flying through the air in the background and you can see the All Might statue at the forefront.  I want to say this symbolizes Deku being All Might’s successor or something, but I’m not sure.  This one just stood out to me for some reason.  

But yeah, like I said, the last half of the class will probably be featured next chapter.  I think Bakugo will be the last person to talk to Deku since he’s the most important one here.  Remember: Bakugo knows Deku better than anyone.  He will be the turning point I’m positive.  Iida and Ochako will definitely have an impact on Deku, but Bakugo will truly HIT DIFFERENT!  I won’t be surprised if that last conversation leads up to Deku Vs. Kacchan Part 3.  I wouldn’t be mad if that will happen tbh.  Part 2 was about understanding Bakugo and letting his feelings out.  Part 3 could be Deku’s turn.  And of course you gotta have a trilogy to cap it off.  I’m really excited to see what happens next!

Me seeing all my adopted children come together to save my green broccoli boy 💚🥦:

[mmikmmik2]

If you were to sort the Infinity Train cast(s) into the Major Arcana a la the Persona games, which Arcana would you give everyone?

anon I had SOOOOO much fun thinking about this, thank you so much for sending me this. I sorted all the major characters, plus a few other entries, based on a mix of Arcana symbolism, Persona series character archetypes, and general vibes. I came up with answers I feel pretty good about for all but four of the Arcana. (Was really tempted to say Strength is every human character who doesn't board the train because they can handle their problems on their own lol.) This is going to be a long-winded post, so I thought I’d post just the list as an image (which hopefully won’t be too blurry!) rather than wrestle with Tumblr formatting trying to make a short list, and put a big text wall under the readmore talking more about my picks.

If this list does end up illegible, the same info is under the readmore as text! Plus some characters for Magician, Strength, Justice, and Death that I didn’t want to add to the “official” list because they’re more based on headcanon. (Although my reasoning for some of the “official” picks is pretty weak lol.)

One-One as 0. The Fool

Oh my gosh, what am I?

IT is great at fleshing out character backstories and families, so One-One at the beginning of S1 is one of the few characters who really feels like a blank slate. He's got a lot of his baggage back by the end of the season, and I think One and One-One are more similar than they seem at first glance, but S1 does seem to have been very formative for One-One and how he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing and how he relates to other people. So it does kind of feel like his fool's journey.

Alrick Timmens as I. The Magician

The magician begins the journey... by beefing it on a dirt bike, dying, and sending his wife flying off the deep end. Rip.

Alrick was an engineer like Amelia, so I could see him suiting some of the themes of the Magician, like conscious thought and manifesting ideas. His apparent playfulness and insecurity are similar to the Magician characters in Persona.

Kez as II. The High Priestess

“We can’t make this decision for you, Kez.” “You know what to do.”

I thought really hard about making Kez the Magician because just like every Magician since Persona 3, she's dumb, horny, and insecure dlkjasfdkl

(and also her showing up at the start of the story arc and being helpful but also super needy is very Magician)

But the idea of "intuition" really does suit Kez. Sometimes her intuition is as bad as her conscious reasoning, but I think that's a lot because she's so confused about what happened with Jeremy, and Morgan making Kez feel like she did a bad thing by helping him.

Tuba as III. The Empress

She made me feel like I was warm all the time.

Tuba's a mom. Sorry, this one's not that deep, haha.

Simon Laurent as IV. The Emperor

Highest number! I'm the leader now.

Simon has a lot of issues, but the one that felt the most prominent to me was his unhealthy relationship with power, authority, dominance, and rules. Another quote I considered using here was what he said in Grace's memory of meeting Amelia: "I never thought I'd get to see the Conductor with my own eyes. He's perfect! Everything finally makes sense again." In his emotional crisis, he thought everything could be fixed just by the existence of a huge, scary, powerful, male authority figure, even if they weren't doing anything helpful or informative.

Atticus as V. The Hierophant

I like to think that our stones are sturdy and handsome, like the Corgis that crafted them.

Atticus is a figure of traditional authority who deeply loves the history, society, and culture of his people. He often provides spiritual wisdom and encourages Tulip to get out of her own head and engage with the world around her. Also in Persona, Hiero is the Dad Arcana so it's very funny to me (a) to make the little dog be Hiero and (b) that the little dog really does have the strongest Wholesome Dad Energy of the whole cast.

Jesse Cosay as VI. The Lovers

Don't tell me what to do. I'm not going to be a part of anything like this, on or off the train.

This was my first and easiest pick lol, Jesse is sooooo Lovers. Like, the focus on choice and personal values and relationships? Yep, that's Jesse. It works on an "actual meaning of the Arcana" level and a "vibes with the Persona characters" level lol... popular, upbeat, and having such an identity crisis.

Lake as VII. The Chariot

I'm my own person, who is getting off this train!

I don't know if Chariot captures all the ways Lake grew over the course of S2, but I feel like they had the most externally focused conflict of all the IT characters, which suits Chariot. They've been fighting to stake out their personhood from start to finish, and they took action and used their willpower to achieve that goal. Also they have at least a little jock energy which is a prereq for Chariot tbh.

Frank as VIII. Strength

I dunno, I kinda imagine him as a simple man and easily underestimated, but with a lot of heart. The Cat may say they're keeping things casual but I don't think she'd take him with her on her private vacation unless he had some kind of inner toughness that would let him stand toe-to-toe with her.

Morgan as IX. The Hermit

I need to be alone right now. Kez... maybe... we can talk later.

I like that Morgan embodies toxic self-isolation and stonewalling and rejection, but that she seems to be moving towards the positive aspects of Hermit and taking some time to calm down and process and think. I like it when characters can embody the best and worst of their Arcana.

Tulip Olsen as X. The Wheel of Fortune

We have to adapt to the changes in our lives. It's the only way things can get better.

Tulip has a lot of themes and conflicts, but this one is a clear standout as the most important. I also like it for Tulip because, while she has to handle a lot of difficult and even traumatic situations, some of the change that challenges her isn't as unambiguously bad as e.g. the death of a loved one. It really is just change itself she's struggling with, and that's Fortune babey. Also, from the perspective of the train itself and lots of other characters, by reversing Amelia and One-One's positions again and changing how One-One administrates the train, Tulip is the one giving the wheel a spin. That's fun.

Lucy as XI. Justice

One of my friends once described the Justice characters in Persona as "the ones the player character is ultimately accountable towards", and I like to think of Lucy as kind of being that for Grace (...since Hazel has excused herself). Lucy is the Apex kid we see Grace interact with the most, the first Apex kid Grace admitted to herself that she had harmed (see Grace very briefly showing distress and then regret when Jesse points the harpoons at his face and she stops him), and the first person to confront Grace when she came home in The New Apex.

Min-Gi Park as XII. The Hanged Man

I don't know if we'll sell a single album, but we'll figure that out as we go.

Min-Gi sacrifices his "realistic", "sensible" goals for a more personally (spiritually, even?) enriching life that's beyond his control and outside of the expected norm. Like the Hanged Man, who dangles foolishly upside-down, but as a deliberate choice and in a state of serenity and enlightenment. I also think this arcana suits a reading of Min-Gi's character development as starting off going slower as a way to stall and live in denial, but then going slower with deliberation. Compare his arrogant insistence on refusing to act in The Astro Queue Car to his patience and care in The Castle Car and The Train to Nowhere.

Jeremy as XIII. Death

This isn't about the death of his family - I'm thinking of his reluctance to admit his number was going down. He cared about Morgan and Kez, and it's possible both that he may have really wanted to stay with them despite his exit and that that might even have been a healthy choice - they're real ass people with feelings and everything, not holodeck characters. But I also think Jeremy was using his life with them to avoid moving on out of that fog (because it was hard and it hurt and he didn't want to think about what that would mean for him and Morgan) and Morgan was enabling him.

Ryan Akagi as XIV. Temperance

Maybe the experience is the point. I wasn't just rushing you. I was rushing myself.

I think this one speaks for itself. Also, the other quote I considered putting here, from The Art Gallery Car: "You told me I can't appreciate the song without taking in the rest of the album. I need the whole package."

The Cat as XV. The Devil

I always do the right thing.

Honestly, this is one I really wasn't sure about. The Cat isn't a great pick for a lot of the meanings of Devil. She is definitely consumed by material comforts, and the short-term rewards of ignoring her issues at a long-term cost, though. This is more of a "vibes with Persona characters with this arcana" pick... Devil characters tend to start off being somewhat exploitative or even antagonistic towards the player character, and gradually showing a more conflicted and genuine side.

Amelia Hughes as XVI. The Tower

There's a hole in the universe where Alrick used to be.

Amelia's life is defined by catastrophe and upheaval - both those she's suffered and those she's inflicted on others.

Hazel as XVII. The Star

I'm going to keep loving you like you're still here.

When I think of "The Star" as a small but inextinguishable light in the darkness, Hazel seems like the obvious choice. Although we left her deeply wounded, I think she still has a flicker of her hope, faith, and purpose.

Grace Monroe as XVIII. The Moon

But it's unfair for me to tell you how to understand yourself. I mean, I don't even fully understand me.

Grace is probably the most complex and dynamic character on the show and hence one of the most difficult to place. I considered Empress, Strength, Devil, and Judgement for her... I think ultimately, lies and illusions are the most unifying theme of her character arc. Also, from a Persona angle, her pursuit of status out of a lack of true self-worth reminds me of Ai and Mishima.

Alan Dracula as XIX. The Sun

Brought together by the majesty of a superpowered deer!

I'm sorry dkjasfklads this is largely because I thought it was funny to have this completely inexpressive dead-eyed deer as Sun akfk but also... like... it kind of works okay!!! Think about the genuine joy and comfort and positivity he brings to Lake and Jesse (and me)!

The New Apex as XX. Judgement

"Then what are we gonna be?" "Guess we'll have to figure it out?"

This is kind of a Persona mythology gag again because of Judgement being a group social link near the end of the narratives of P3 and P4, when the protagonists have pierced through the lies and actually figured out who the villain of their game is and are ready to really start making progress.

0 as XI. The World

Ah, train does it again!

It's an ending and the completion of a journey, but also the beginning of a new one. And the world is literally what the passengers receive at the end of their train journey. Welcome home.