#I TOOK A TON OF SCREENSHOTS AGAIN

[puffpawstries]

I finally finished osomatsu san season three and my fav thing to learn about Ichimatsu is that he is considered as the childish one in the family??

[elgaladwen]

Nim, trying to catch up: "Is that possible?"

[melting-morning-blues]

i was watching zero one on my phone during lunch and my parents and brother were at the table. it would usually be ok, cuz i rarely physically react when i'm watching shows. but i was watching episode 32. NAKI's episode.

i had to physically restrain myself from opening my mouth and going NAKI MY BELOVED ILY U CAN DO THIS LESGOOO KICK HIS ASS U R SOOO COOL!!!! i was fighting an internal battle against myself and i barely won lmao i resorted to just staring at my screen very intensely and smiling like an idiot but fortunately no one said anything yippee!

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era: the visual novel (a fan project)

On a whim, I've decided to finally just publicly release this project that I've had laying around for two years at this point, for Dazai's birthday today. It was originally made for my very dear friend @letmereachforthestars , when I first introduced her to the series and wanted her to be able to read my favorite BSD light novel in an easier-to-read format. You need a computer to be able to play. The details and links are under the cut:

If you've never played a visual novel before, it's basically a novel in the form of a video game. Text will appear line by line, one a time on the screen, and it will be accompanied by relevant background visuals, music, and sound effects, to make the reading experience more immersive, and more stimulating than just reading from a book. Some visual novels have actual gameplay elements to them, and some are just books and nothing else (oftentimes dating sims/choose-your-own-adventure novels), the latter of which this is. If you've played the mobile game Bungou Tales/Mayoi, the story sections of that game are basically mini visual novels.

This game was made with screenshots and music from the anime, sound effects from the anime and Bungou Tales and free sound effect online sources, as well as graphics and fonts and other assets from Bungou Tales and other official BSD art (particularly the official anime soundtrack cd covers). The script is taken entirely from the official Yen Press translation of Dark Era, with the exception of about two or three iconic lines that I used different translations of because I felt like they had more impact. Additionally, at the very, very end, I added on the original ending scene from the Dark Era stage play and wrote a few fanfic lines of my own to accompany it you can tell because they are very cringe and don't match Asagiri's writing style.

Before playing the game, there are a few very important things to keep in mind; PLEASE read all this:

I am not a professional in the slightest. I took some coding classes in high school, and have some photoshop skills (when it comes to the design elements of the menus), but for the most part the former wasn't much help here; this was my very first time ever using the Renpy engine, and I made this entirely from scratch. I used my knowledge of playing other visual novels to emulate the kinds of effects and timing that is typical for these games, and I think it turned out pretty well all things considered, but it's still very amateur. This is most evident in the sound effects. The sound effects have no volume consistency between them, and some of them, particularly the gun/battle sfx, can come on very suddenly and be loud. I highly, HIGHLY encourage going into the settings and turning down the sound effects volume (the music should be fine), so that you're not startled by certain sounds when they happen, and for a lengthy time. I wouldn't blame you if you decide to turn the sfx off entirely if's too distracting, honestly 🫠 I am no expert in sound files equalizing and making sound files loop seamlessly, so this was by far the most tedious and frustrating part of the process of making this for me. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the game or break immersion too much if you decide to leave them on (I hope you do, for the rain and clock sounds at least, but again I wouldn't blame you if you can't).

Dark Era is the most faithful light novel adaptation in the anime, but there are still a handful of scenes, mostly fight scenes, that got shaved down significantly. Because of this, there are numerous occasions where I had to simply linger on a black screen or the same screenshot for a long period of time, while tons and tons of narration happens, because there's simply nothing I can show to accompany said narration. This is not ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have much else of a choice in those instances, so I hope it's not too distracting. There are also a few instances of straight-up inconsistencies between the novel and the anime (ex. the fight between Oda and Akutagawa happens in the woods in the novel, but in the anime it's still right outside the art museum), so sometimes what you're reading won't quite match the screenshots I use. Fortunately it's never anything major, but it does happen.

There will sometimes be long, unchanging black screens. Don't worry, the game isn't broken; just wait long enough and it will continue.

Sometimes, a character will get cut off when speaking, and when that happens the dialogue will auto-force to the next line. If you didn't get a chance to see what was said before, check the text backlog/history (in the menu or the H key).

Last but not least, this game was made with the default text speed in mind. Meaning, that when it comes to certain specific scenes, the mood/tone of them, made up of the timing of music, transitions, sound effects, etc, all of it was arranged around the speed at which things progress when using the default text speed. I completely understand if you can't, but if at all possible, please try not to change the text to go too much faster or slower, especially faster, because certain scenes will lose a lot of impact otherwise. If you already know Dark Era, you probably have an idea of some of the scenes I'm referring to. At the very least, during the more high-stakes/intense scenes, please try to play through those all at once without stopping, for the greatest impact based on how I designed the game, and only pause/quit during the slower scenes. There are specific moments that I'm really proud of how they came out, and I'd like for them to have the maximum impact that I intended :') (also note that if you make the text appear instantly, the cut-off dialogue mentioned above simply will not appear at all, and you won't even know to look back for them, so please refrain from making the text instant at the very least)

Ignore the cringe sappy final message

...I think that's everything. With all that out of the way, here are the links for both PC and Mac:

Download the PC version

Download the Mac version

This was a passion project for me for a good many months back in 2022. It started out just as a gift for my friend, but in the end I was really satisfied with how it turned out, despite how tedious and frustrating it was to work on. I've been hesitant to share it with the fandom for all this time because I kinda doubt anyone would really be interested in something like this especially since it's not stormbringer or beast, but someone on discord who tried it told me that I should share it, so here it is. I'm sharing it not just because I'm proud of my work, but because Dark Era is a truly amazing light novel — underrated, in my opinion (yes, I said what I said) — and far better than the anime adaptation, as good as that is, and I want more people to read it. If reading the books is hard for you and you've never read Dark Era before, if I can help just one more person to read it with this, I'll be happy, and consider my job done. 💖

I so desperately want to make more of these visual novels for the other light novels, but sadly, some of them simply aren't possible thanks to how many scenes are missing from the anime, like with Entrance Exam in particular. I've also been waiting with vain, thin hope that Bungou Tales will eventually reach seasons 3 and 4, so I can use their Fifteen and Untold Origins title screens like I did here, if those ever exist. However, I'm also held back thinking about certain scenes that would require some redrawing/drawing additional details to match what's written in the novels. If anyone has any ideas on things I could do to possibly get around these issues, or just thoughts in general about how the other light novels might be tackled, or if you're an artist who can recreate the anime's style and takes commissions/knows someone who does, I'd absolutely love to hear from you! As well as any advice/help on how I can smooth out/improve this project here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wall of text. Thank you for reading all this, if you did, and if you do try the game, please let me know your thoughts; I crave any and all feedback. 💙✨

[guster-animations]

The Japanese Version of Deltarune

about a week ago i decided to translate japanese deltarune because i was curious and bored. i found a lot of stuff that i haven’t heard anyone talk about before!

i only translated chapter 2 because i got to the cliffs and remembered that watching/playing chapter 1 over and over again is really boring to me. might do it when/if i finish writing the post.

uhhh a few warnings. i’m not fluent in japanese whatsoever (i’m like n4 level? i think?), and i might not explain this very well to people who don’t know anything about the language. if you’re confused about anything i say, just ask and i’ll explain it in better detail.

i got all of the gameplay from tsuwahasu’s playthroughs of chapter 2 (pacifist and weird route), so all of the screenshots will be from his vods. i picked his vod to watch somewhat randomly so i was very surprised when he not only got all the easter eggs/secrets on a blind playthrough besides the egg room, but also beat spamton neo in one try, god damn

also i’m not the first person to look at the jp version of deltarune. please look at these posts/videos if you want to see stuff that’s already known in better detail:

skellfamily (light/dark world writing, characters’ pronouns and speech patterns) | suzyundertale (ch2 character names, some jokes) suzyundertale again (the gonermaker sequence) | duxarcana and halfbreadchaos (character in the code) | kazarinn (comments from the translators)

reblogs highly appreciated—this took a ton of time!!!

NOW.

LET US BEGIN.

first things first. the gonermaker sequence is one of the most well-known differences in the japanese language among lore fanatics like myself.

in japanese, the first character speaking to you (gaster/Geoff) speaks in kanji (normal) and katakana instead of hiragana (not normal, incredibly strange sounding). the character who hijacks the gonermaker at the end speaks differently, with kanji and hiragana (normal). as suzyundertale mentions in their post, the patterns are extremely similar to a certain fallen child from the end of the undertale genocide route.

another well-known lore Thing in the japanese version is that the hidden “scrapped” lines (AKA the person trapped in the code) use very feminine and childlike speaking mannerisms. this makes it very likely that the person is dess holiday

i’m not going to be going over much personal pronoun stuff, because other people have already covered most of that, though i haven’t seen one thing mentioned by anyone else:

seam uses the pronoun “atashi” (あたし), which is normally a very girly pronoun but in this case it’s meant to make them seem old and wise, since it was a more common pronoun in olden times. their other mannerisms are gender neutral and not feminine, but their name is localized to “nui” (ヌイ)— the word for “seam” in japanese, as well as an actual feminine given name.

does the use of “atashi” combined with having a fem name confirm that they are female? i’m 95% sure the answer is no. do those two things lead native japanese speakers to believe that they are female? i have no idea.

light and dark world

skellfamily mentioned all of this in the post i linked, but i have something small to add

undertale uses mainly hiragana in its text for the japanese version, with some small exceptions for when the fourth wall is broken. this is referencing earthbound, which also did this. this carries over to the light world of deltarune, but kanji is used liberally in the dark world. this is explained by toby fox wanting the light world to make the player think deltarune would be like undertale.

that’s all

small jokes and stuff in the localization

the “librarby” misspelling joke carries over, with it being named “toshonka” (the japanese word for library is “toshokan”).

the AGREE2ALL puzzle was changed to say “YEEES20!!”. this can be read as “yes ni maru” (with the number 2 being read as “ni” in jp and “maru” being the word for a circle), meaning “yes to all” just like in english!

the “apple” keyboard puzzle still says “apple” though ralsei mentions that apple means “ringo” (the japanese word for apple) if you talk to him for a hint.

funnily enough, this joke was kept as is! (“kris, type as i say. f…” “…un!”)

the tasque’s battle lines in english are binary codes, with “me” being 0 and “ow” being 1. this is similar in jp. “nyan” is the equivalent of “meow” in that language, so “ny”=0 and “an”=1. cute!

the “bosom” joke is about the same, if anyone was curious

“breasts / annihilation”

“b…breast?”

“it means tity”

probably my favorite joke in the entire japanese version: in english, before the berdly fight on the roller coaster, he incorrectly refers to lightners as “Light Nerds” . in japanese this is changed to make him use ateji (a combination of kanji that doesn’t mean anything but sounds like an already existing word with their combined readings), calling the lightners 雷斗奈悪 (raitonaa, phonetically similar to the transliteration raitonā which the translation uses). it has the exact same effect (of berdly trying to sound smart but actually being very incorrect), but it’s localized in an outstanding way

“you are filled with the power of not knowing what sugarplums are” is changed to “you are filled with the power of not knowing what christmas pudding is”.

when berdly incorrectly calls susie “susan”, she says “who’s susan?” instead of “my name isn’t susan”. japanese people likely don’t know that “susie” is usually short for “susan”, so it makes sense for her to be even more confused in this version.

the spelling contest in berdly’s flashback is still an english spelling contest, with berdly specifying that it’s english.

instead of saying “susie… a real dragon blazers reference?!” when susie references dragon blazers 2, berdly says, “susie… you’re… a serious dragon blazers player…?!”

on that topic, dragon blazers is instead called dragon blader in japanese. was it called that the whole time? am i misremembering? i legitimately don’t know

the ice-e keysmash puzzle is changed so that you can type it out in japanese as すふぎおろてにぺけなも. it still does not mean anything.

right after susie referenced godzilla with the susiezilla line on the ferris wheel, she references ANOTHER tokusatsu. i think. here (while about to fall on ralsei) she says “ore, sanjou!!!!” (i arrive!), which is a famous catchphrase from kamen rider den-o. i’m like 85% sure it was an intentional reference. den-o is one of my favorite rider shows so this is amazing to me

and lastly. the name of minecrap is changed to マインクシャット (mainkushatto), which seems to be a play on some word plus “minecraft” like in english. i’m not sure what the wordplay is. i’ll get back to you on this

lore-y important stuff

about dess

in japanese, the december typing puzzle still spells out “december” in english.

noelle refers to dess as “onee-chan” (older sis)— it’s common for japanese people to refer to their older siblings like this, and it would be extremely weird if noelle called her “dess”. she could have called her “dess-neechan” or some variation of that, but i highly doubt that the name “dess” is being obscured, especially because “dess” transliterated would sound extremely close, if not alike to ���desu” as well as the transliteration of “death”.

the knight

(i took the screenshot and forgot to turn auto captions off, sorry)

this line from a swatchling says something like “it captures the moment where the ‘knight’ creates a ‘fountain’ themself, with their own hands”, but the word for “themself” (みずから/mizukara) is written in hiragana, and “mizukara” could also technically be read as “from water”. was this a deliberate water-darkness parallel? i have no idea.

speaking of water!

the roaring knight is referred to as “咆哮の騎士” (houkou no kishi), the knight of the roaring. the word for the roaring itself, 咆哮, means roar or scream. which eliminates the alternate meaning of roaring (also being possibly defined as the sound of rushing water), but that probably doesn’t solidify “roaring” as solely meaning that. there are a lot of terms in undertale that had multiple meanings, but had to be changed to have only one in the japanese localization. “roaring” might be similar to those instances.

angel

spamton calls noelle an angel just like in english, referring to her as “angel-chan”. if there’s somehow anyone out there that didn’t think that line was important, i am here to prove you wrong!!!

more interesting:

this is the line where noelle says that if this was a dream, she would grow wings and fly away— but in this version, she says “big angel wings” specifically. very interesting!

the two (2) other notable changes in weird route

the infamous “you whispered noelle’s name…” line is slightly different. slightly.

the “kris called for help” lines still say that kris is the one doing it, but this one does not say the subject at all. this is normal for japanese, regardless, it’s still very interesting that it doesn’t say “you”. it is still differentiated from the “kris” lines, but not specifically referring to you (the player).

the other difference is so minor that i’m not even sure what it is or if it’s different from the english version.

translation

EVEN IF YOU [Shout] AT THE [Receiver]

YOUR [Voice] WILL EVENTUALLY WITHER

YOUR [Voice]

THEIR [Voice]

AND YOU WILL realize you’re alone.

i do not know who “THEY” is that spamton’s referring to. the term he uses is gender-neutral and singular. is he talking about the player? idfk probably not

miscellaneous spamton-related stuff

spamton’s speech patterns are entirely different in the japanese translation, but they get the same message across. they include:

switching between formal and informal language

using weird mixtures of hiragana, katakana, english letters and kanji

using katakana re (レ) instead of hiragana shi (し)

cutting off words

random spacing

and occasionally using “die” and “death” as homophones for “dai” and “desu”

it’s so wacky and unnerving and strange, i love it :D

other spamton lore bits:

mike’s name is the same (マイク maiku). i somehow forgot to translate the mike-related dialogue. i will get back to you all if there’s anything of note.

the word for “garbage noise” is 雑音, with about the same meaning. unsurprisingly, the same word (the exact same phrase, in fact) is used for both the addison’s line and the gaster phone call line.

the last thing (i think)

in the roaring cutscene, the japanese word for “chaos” is said (in the “all will be plunged into chaos” line), but then says the transliterated version of the word (カオス) in parentheses. tsuwahasu noted that it’s “keyword-like” in the playthrough i watched. is this important? i have no idea

i’m sure there are things that i missed here, so (again) if you want to know about something, don’t be afraid to ask!! the jp version of deltarune should be looked at a lot more—not just for the lesser-known lore tidbits, but also for the cool stuff that was changed to fit the language. it’s a really cool localization!

[boopshoops]

I GAVE UP 🎉(kind of)

Yuu Shi Tapis Rouge/Luxe Couture

SO. The armature was a bust. Learning how to make one would take a shit ton of time and i just- would prefer to do that on my own terms without the looming feeling of- well, wanting to post her design all the time given its been finished for a WHILE.

To make up for it though, i made fake homescreen screenshots ig JFNDJDJD theyre not the best, but fuck it i think i replicated the twst style rather well.

Her outfit is based more around the same line Vil had, and I took a lot of inspiration from Gucci (pinterest, my saving grace yet again)

More under the cut! V

A vERY quick thing i made of another potential sprite, i'd imagine there'd be a toggle to take off the shawl. Also I did one of Yuu Shi in her more masc disguise! Yes. We keep the dress. 👏

After this I don't particularly have any new art planned for a second, I want to shift my focus to finishing wips/projects and resuming progress on TCOAV. So- hey! If you've yet to read and are interested, now may be a good time to start with chapter 6 on the way.

I've blabbed enough for today IFNFDNID

Tag list!!! Just ask if ya wanna be added 💕

@kitwasnothere @justm3di0cr3 @skriblee-ksk @lowcallyfruity @thehollowwriter

@distant-velleity @cecilebutcher

[swordsmans]

oh shit! i made a book.

remember back in september when i said i was going to learn bookbinding. well! weeks of trial and error later, i've finally finished my very first bind! as some of you might have seen in past posts, i decided to focus on my 90k zolu mermaid/mafia au the sea makes bones of bodies and now here we are!

the bind itself is a relatively simple 320 page cased-in flatback with a fabric spine and lotka paper covers and endsheets, but i decided to use it as a "test book" to learn a little bit of everything. so! it features hand-traced gold foil on the cover and spine, a hand-beaded bookmark tipped with a genuine shark tooth (iykyk), and what im calling "cookies and cream" speckled edges (lol)

ive posted some screenshots of the typeset already so i wont go too crazy, but im actually pretty happy with how it looked all put together!! i sewed my signatures together too tightly, i think, so it kind of wants to flop closed (rip) but i tried to take some pictures of how it turned out!

i have a ton of pictures of the text body itself (and fun things like the playlist page, the title pages, etc) but this post is already long enough, haha.

the absolute best, best, best part of this whole project was a huge, wonderful, amazing surprise from @fluffyartbl0g that brought the whole project together!!! they were sweet enough to send some incredible art (!!!!) that i sewed into the front and back!!!

!!! AAA!!!!

overall, i learned so much and i took a ton of notes so i'll (hopefully) avoid some of my beginner mistakes when i do this again. i already have three more versions of the text block printed out and pressing right now! >:3c im going to keep practicing with this story for at least three more binds (because i want to get my technique down and i have some new ideas i want to try), and then switch to typsetting ocean theology and attempt a thinner 40k bind.

shoutout to renegade publishing for their wealth of technical help, and a big huge thank you to the dumbass zone for watching blurry videos of me flipping through printer paper at 3AM and just generally being so, so supportive while i learned all these new skills. you guys are the best!!

now... on to the next one!

EDIT: i've been asked for the typeset, so if you are interested in binding this yourself, you can find all the files here!! :D if you do make your own copy, i would love to see!!! PLEASE TAG MEEE!!!! :DDD

[cherrycokedup]

Bro what happened in the nevercord?? I am not a part of it but still curious

EDIT: please look at @thelesbomancer ‘s post/reblog, and @gothwineaunts ‘s post about this situation!

please defer to your own judgment when it comes to this, and don’t use my post as the end all be all! Those two posts have much more information on all of this! This post was made as this all unfolded and might be out of date (also turning off reblogs because i’m not an authority on this )

i'm gonna be careful not to name any names here because I don't want to start a hate train and I'm looking at all of this as neutral as possible and also please please please don't think of this like a call-out post or anything, it's not! I still think you can be a fan of rnf and support their work, this is just why I'm chosing to take a break from doing so!

Content Warning below for mentions of explicit content being sent to minors ( by a server member, not RnF, THANK GOD )

i don't have all the details but basically, someone was banned for sending heavy nsfw/pornographic images to minors, and then was unbanned later on because of two reasons

one: the children the images were sent too were banned from nevercord for varying reasons ( closest explanation I remember is about these kids doing witchhunts, whatever that means )

two: the evidence was apparently "unreliable" and heavily censored.

Also, the minors themselves didn't report this information, an adult did with screenshots, censoring the users of the kids.

The offending person claimed that they never knew the ages of the people talking to them and thought they were all adults, even though at least two victims from my knowledge have come forward and said the person did, in fact know their ages. The only age I've heard for sure was 12 years old.

My problem with the situation arised was when Red, the writer of Nevermore, posted a lengthy explanation that was pretty poorly worded. She used phrases about the situation, such as "egged on" or "cried wolf" about being sent this sexual content, saying it was the job of minors to stay safe on the internet. I was raising my eyebrow at that point, because the whole thing sounded rather victim-blamey.

Red then said that the evidence was faulty and suspicious for being heavily censored ( i don't know the full extent of the censoring ), and because of the fact it came from one person, an adult who was friends with some of the people who had been banned, implied reporting that behavior was all some sort of tatic to get one person they didn't like banned.

When a ton of people were (understandably, in my opinion) very upset by this response, including the victims, and other neutral parties, Red got very upset and started lashing out. I understand It had to be a stressful situation, having tons of people talking at you at once, but she started saying rather guilt tripping things, such as "I'm a horrible person then" "everything I do is actually for evil purposes", stuff along those lines. Admittedly, the situation was pretty upsetting to me, so once Red started saying those things I left. I might return to Nevermore one day, if there's signs of change and the like. I still deeply enjoy the comic, and the community! I don't think RnF are horrible people, I just think they worded this very poorly, and then continued to lash out when it didn't go as excepted lmao I'll grab some of the screenshots I took, and ask if my friends have any to add! If anyone else has anything to add about the situation, please do so in the notes or reblogs! I'm just saying my perspective here, and why I chose to leave! There might have been things I missed! screenshots below!

anyways, those are all the screenshots i have on haha, again for the millionth time I dont want this to become a massive big drama

[turnaboutfix]

this AA4 DLC slaps

(See my Non-Disbarred AA4 Phoenix redraw and my SoJ Maya in AA4 redraw)

(Full sprite below the cut)

Hey pals I'm back with another fake AA4 screenshot. Honestly, was it really that difficult just having one moment in AA4 where we see Eddy? Crying out loud lol.

Anyway, here's the next AA4 Sprite edit?... Redraw...?--and probably my favorite. Ed boy!

Again, although I love Edgeworth's design in Dual Destinies, AA4 has my favorite sprite art, so I took it upon myself to draw him in the style. It was a ton of fun and a good style study.

I had a lot to look at while I worked.

And for good measure, here's the three them together--as they should be. xoxo

[lemonmatronics]

THE POPPY PLAYTIME CHAPTER 3 TRAILER IS SOOO!,?!.?.!.

What a great treat to wake up to—Excuse me while I go insane and spill some thoughts, reactions, theories, and predictions below please

ahem

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SO LIKE FIRST OFF this chapter is gonna fuck, like this looks SO good holy shit

The setting and environment looks amazing but also the new hands mechanic along with the mask ohhhh this is gonna be FUN

Okay rambling about screenshots I took time

First off the environments look great, holy wow

The house itself looks kinda small so idk if that is the orphanage itself or some kind of set. Cause you can see fake sky walls around it, but like this is Playtime Co they would definitely do that to the orphanage also to give an illusion of outside. Either way it looks GREAT and I’m really excited to explore this setting

Just a nice shot of all the critters

I’m really curious if all the critters are gonna be utilized somehow. We know about Catnap and Dogday already, especially after the trailer itself. Though there was also the footage of Bobby running down the hall, looking like a normal plushie, and possibly seeing Hoppy in the trailer too. (I’ll touch on that later)

New Poster

Definitely looks like some company propaganda to try and keep kids from being afraid of CatNap. Judging by the files we got before looks like the results were a mixed bag. Considering the gas is there in the poster it’s definitely a company only poster, not something they could sell outside. They manipulated this kids so bad man :(

A CLEANER LOOK OF THIS THING,,,

THATS A SKELETON COMING OUT OF PUGAPILLAR’S MOUTH…Like that’s just straight up human remains.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen that before in this game. Like blood yeah plenty but BONES? They’re definitely amping things up for this chapter and I’m 100% here for it.

Besides that there’s a ton of plushies and such stabbed onto this weird thing. Is it a shrine? It doesn’t look like it could really move tbh, and if it was meant to be alive those parts aren’t doing anything to help it.

This poor mf

I’ve seen a lot of people speculate this is DogDay, which is a valid guess, but tbh my first thought was Hoppy. You can tell they have long droopy ears, which lines up with both candidates to me. Though I think the ears look a bit slimmer than what Dog Day’d would be, plus the angle on the head looks more like they’re dropping from the top of the head rather than the sides. I feel like if this was DogDay the whole head silhouette would be different because of the ears, which makes me lean towards Hoppy more.

I know her toy gives her long pointed up ears, but going off art and animation her ears can definitely fold

So I don’t think it’s out of the question that as a Bigger Bodies being her ears could fold over like that, especially while stuck like this.

Now I could be the one wrong here but I really think this is Hoppy. Won’t know until the game itself though so, I won’t treat either as divinities yet. It could just as easily be the case everyone else is right and it is DogDay, there’s evidence for that as well (Again, I’ll touch on that later).

So much happened here where do I even start

Obvious out the bat I guess, Kissy Missy is back!! And looks like Poppy isn’t ditching us alone either! Man I cannot tell it Poppy is good or not at this point, gray area? Trailer dialogue definitely sounded like she was supporting us.

“We’re coming! Just hold on!”

It’s really nice seeing Kissy back, really excited to see how she’s gonna help and play into this. I’ve been on the stance that she’s good ever since she helped in chapter 2 so this is really cathartic for me lmao.

As for what Poppy says here I found it interesting, like really interesting. Like, hearing it the first time made me think she casually confirmed something massive interesting. Granted, actually thinking about it longer, it could mean something else entirely. But was that the whole point?

“What’s happening down here is bigger than all of us. I need you. So we can revenge on those monsters who’ve tortured you, who’ve tortured us.”

“Those monsters who’ve tortured you”

Now, once I thought about it this is most likely referring to the literal monsters in the factory. Huggy, Mommy, CatNap, so on and such. But that’s not what my initial assumption was.

When Poppy referred to “monsters”, by first thought was the people working at the factory. I thought she said people at the factory tortured us.

I thought she confirmed that we’re a toy.

Once I thought about it longer, it doesn’t actually confirm that. But what if that’s the entire point? A double meaning line?

Now the player being a toy theory is something that’s been around since chapter 1, a theory I’ve fully stood by since then and still do. I like to think that’s why our character is completely silent, we’re a toy that can’t speak. Mute toys is something we’ve seen plenty of in the factory, more so than toys that actually talk. (Unless you count stuff like the Smiling Critters cartoon or the cardboard cutouts, but I’m talking purely living beings here.)

So while this doesn’t confirm the theory, this line is definitely throwing wood into the fire for me.

DogDay

Wether or not the chained Bigger Body above us DogDay or Hoppy, we have it confirmed here that DogDay is featured heavily in this chapter as an enemy. Again, I really wonder if the other Smiling Critters will show up as threats as well. Maybe a mixed bag of good and bad critters. If the chained up Bigger Body is DogDay, I wonder why he chases us after we assumingely set him free.

One note I’ll give that is to evidence for the chained bigger body being DogDay is that in the thumbnail you can see a shackle on his wrist

His arms are also long and lanky, which is why I won’t completely rule out it possibly being him there. It’s just as possible that it is him, both feel very plausible to me.

Though looking at the game footage, I’m not sure if can can see anything on his wrists. Additionally his arms look much wider than the one in thumbnail.

Additionally, the DogDay in the thumbnail looks so much like a…mascot suit? You can see seams and stitches all over him. Even other Bigger Bodies don’t look like that. Which is something I wanna give its own post to to figure deeper on.

So is this even the same DogDay at all?

It’s not completely out of the question there could be multiple DogDays, though that begs the question, what about other Smiling Critters? What about other toys as a whole?

Here’s my prediction on it. One Bigger Bodies experiment, and then there’s smaller ones approximately the size of their normal toys.

I think the DogDay in the thumbnail is a result of the Bigger Bodies testing, and the one actually chasing us is just a smaller more “normal” DogDay.

But if that’s true then it begs the question, what about other critters? We’ve seen a smaller Bobby before, does she also have a Bigger Bodies version?

Do they all have a Bigger Bodies equivalent?

Is there still a normal CatNap?

Again, all speculation but this chapter especially is really tickling my brain.

And finally we’ve got the man of the hour

Man he is so much lankier than I thought he would be. That definitely explains why his face was so high up on that one cam footage though. Here I was thinking he’d be bulky!

There isn’t too much to say here other than CatNap is definitely gonna be an imposing threat, and I’m very excited to see him in game. So far we’ve mainly seen him through silhouettes, and light peeks at small portions of his design. Seeing him better is game is gonna be a thrill and I’m so ready for it!

Additionally, just for the sake of adding on, we’ve seen these posters apparently from overseas get spread around lately

Both of these definitely look like they’re meant to be company only posters, ones you’d find in the schooling and orphanage areas.

The left poster telling kids to go inside right away when recess is up, nothing super deep here. Just a peek at the schooling that had here, and that these kids had their lives completely contained within the factory.

The second poster is CatNap telling Huggy to go to sleep, another attempt at convincing children CatNap isn’t dangerous. If Huggy is fine they will be too, right?

Anyways that’s my initial thoughts and reactions right after watching the trailer. VERY excited about this game, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to brainstorm on my own over a game like this so I’m really looking forward to what this chapter has to give.

[amberlide]

Magic over Flowers - Echoes of the Past

Many thanks to @dvinaamesca for granting me permission to use the screenshot on the right! <3

Summary: After much effort, Garreth finally acquired a Pensieve, eager to explore the memories closest to his heart. The first one he chose was his Sorting Ceremony at Hogwarts—one of his most cherished moments. Rating: T Word count: 5K Based on the prompt for the Weasley fest: Garreth Sorting Experience

A/N: this fiction can be read as a one-shot, but it's not. It's the prologue to my next long fiction: Magic over Flowers (full summary and tags on AO3) Magic over Flowers I want to thank my beta reader, knubpin for the amazing help! And my writing group for the support :3

There are tons of references to the game and to Harry's sorting ceremony ;)

He fell, and fell, and fell. One moment, he was in his workshop, nervously checking the basin, his face reflecting the silvery threads swirling and shimmering, casting a soft glow in his eyes—gently inviting him in. The next, he was free-falling into it.

His familiar world faded away. The scents of ingredients and burned wood receded, his stomach dropping, breath hitching in his throat as he plummeted, a gnawing fear surfacing. 

What if he had chosen the wrong memory? What if it didn’t work—and he got stuck? How was he supposed to go back?

Natsai hadn’t given any instructions, just a simple—choose the memory and dive into it.

“Brilliant,” Garreth muttered under his breath.

As he kept falling,panic tugged at the edges of his mind, tightening its grip. But just as fear threatened to overwhelm him, his feet suddenly touched solid ground, landing gently on wet pavement. It looked like a station. 

The fog still enveloped him like a silver mantle, swirling softly around him, revealing more of his surroundings with each passing second.

Garreth breathed a sigh of relief, though the air felt stiff and warm—nothing like the brisk Scottish night he expected.

He looked up at a fine drizzle pouring down the sky, but he couldn’t actually feel it on his skin, the fine droplets melting on the palms of his hands and his face, leaving only a faint tingling sensation.

How bizarre!

“First years!”

A raucous voice pierced through the fog as it dissipated, slowly uncovering the scene around him.

He knew the place—it was the Hogsmeade Station. 

The street lamps barely illuminated the tiny, dark platform, their faint light reflecting on the ponds formed by rain and the salty mist rolling in from the lake.

A whistle cut through the air, accompanied by a puff of steam: the Hogwarts Express came to a halt on the tracks, in a screech of metal and brakes.

As the doors opened, a wave of students streamed out of the train, their excited chatter filling the air.

“First years!”

The voice called again, a bobbing lantern marking its place, cutting through the darkness. Garreth noticed a few shorter students making their hesitant way toward it.

He strained his neck, trying to find himself amidst the sea of dark-cloaked students. He shouldn’t have been that far away.

Soon, as the pressing crowd dissipated, he managed to distinguish three trembling figures just a few feet away. One was clearly shorter and all agitated, clinging to the tallest of the three.

He immediately recognised his elder brother Edmund, proudly wearing his new, shiny Prefect badge on his chest, while a shorter Oliver was nearby, stealing fugitive glances at a much younger Henry.

He took a tentative step forward, his silent footsteps accompanied by trembling legs, a pounding heart, and clammy hands.

Bubbling cauldrons! He was so short! So tiny! 

His head barely reached his waist, and his curly hair was messier than ever from constantly raking it. His face was a sea of freckles—he’d had so many back then… and his voice had been so high-pitched, a squeaky mix of anticipation and fear.

Garreth smiled, his chest tightening as the small boy in front of him hopped from one foot to the other, nervously asking about the Sorting Ceremony. He remembered asking for the whole journey, but both Edmund and Oliver had sternly refused to tell him anything. 

Oliver had hinted at some sort of proof of courage, saying he’d have to fight the lake monster if he wanted to be sorted into Gryffindor, which Garreth had tried hard not to believe.

He moved closer to the group, uncertain whether to call out or not.

Would they recognise him, or be scared by his sudden presence?

Could he change or affect a memory?

Damn Natty! He had no idea.

But he really, really wanted to reassure his younger, tiny self that everything would be fine. He had nothing to fear.

He reached out to touch little Garreth's shoulder, his hand hovered there, inches away, before slipping through the boy as if he were made of mist. He jerked his hand back, blinking in confusion.

“First years!”

His younger self jumped, startled, casting a horrified look behind him—completely ignoring him—while Edmund leaned in for a final goodbye.

“Wherever you’re sorted, you’ll be always my little brother!” he winked, adjusting his cloak over his shoulders before turning and waving his hand one last time disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey, wait!” Garreth called, but his voice was swallowed by the drizzle, unheard. He waved his arms too, trying to catch Edmund’s eye, but his brother didn’t even glance his way. It was as if he wasn’t there at all.

They couldn’t see, nor hear him. It was just a memory, after all.

Garreth followed the increasingly impatient and authoritative voice—until he reached its source. The tall, lean frame of Mr Moon appeared before him, waving a lamp in his left hand, its dim light casting shadows on the faces of the scared students around him and on the slick sheen of his dark hair, messily brushed back.

Garreth looked around at the first-year students—all so small!—bundled in their long, dark cloaks, shivering and casting wary glances at each other. 

Some clutched their wands tightly, while others sought comfort in their friends. 

He noticed a blonde boy whose wand pulsed slightly, casting an ominous red glow around its tip. The other students were letting him pass, scared by his wand.

Garreth felt a smile surface on his lips as a sturdy boy with glasses approached the blonde boy, fascinated, and asked him what kind of trick that was and how he was so good with a wand already. 

“No trick, I’m blind,” the boy snapped, shooing him away.

“It’s dark magic!” added another one with a messy mop of brown hair, dramatically flailing his fingers, before a little girl, his spitting image, chimed in with a deep, cavernous voice, “Fear the heir of Slytherin!” 

Soon, they burst into laughter, a sharp contrast to the thick tension in the air and the fate they would all endure years later.

Still chuckling, Garreth moved closer, searching for his younger self—where had he gone? The little miscreant.

He remembered being one of the last joining in the group, in fact after a few minutes, he found himself running toward them as they were already moving toward the Black Lake.

He smiled as little Garreth pushed his worn-out first-year hat out of his eyes, revealing a mass of curls dangling in front of his sweaty face.

“I’m here!” he screamed, almost tripping over his too-long cloak—Oliver’s old one—before finally joining the group along the narrow path.

Mr Moon didn’t even acknowledge him, too busy grumbling and snorting as a young Imelda Reyes peppered him with questions about flying practices and the Quidditch Cup.

“Can we join a team from the first year? Are we allowed to have our own brooms? I brought mine! My grandad gifted me the latest model, a… ”

Mr Moon ignored her completely, too focused on rallying the students toward the shore where a set of boats gently swayed in the current.

“No more than four!” he repeated several times.

Garreth followed the group, hoping to find a spot in one of the boats, though—he checked his stomach—he worried he might weigh it down. 

The students divided themselves into small groups and climbed into the boats.

Garreth watched as his younger self stumbled, nearly tripping into the lake as he tried to jump into the boat, water sloshing around his feet.

He sighed shaking his head, he did remember wearing soggy socks for the rest of the evening.

“Are you crazy? If you fall in, the monster will swallow you whole!” 

A girl with dark hair helped him to join her, while he checked to make sure his cloak wasn’t dipping into the murky depths. 

“So there is a monster!” he squealed, wide-eyed.

“There is no monster,” a quiet, serious voice replied. “It’s only a giant squid, and I doubt it eats humans. I bet it prefers toasts. I do.” Garreth turned his head, imagining how his younger self’s cheeks must have flushed bright red. He knew this was the first time he had laid his eyes on Poppy Sweeting. Her calm demeanour and disinterested tone hadn’t fazed him at that time, as he admired her warm brown eyes, glinting in the lamplight dangling from the front of the boat. 

Her eyes immediately reminded him of another pair, their familiar hazelnut shade hidden behind glasses, and his heart ached at the thought. 

But he was doing this for her… 

A sudden stream of shouts caught his attention, interrupting his thoughts.

Up front, two boys were wrestling and shoving each other, both determined to be the first onto the boat. 

“I’m going to win this! And I’ll get sorted wherever I want!” 

Garreth glanced at them, noticing a lock of red hair spilling from under a hat. He chuckled—Leander had always been competitive, even from day one.

Too bad that wasn’t a competition.

“I heard there are mermaids in the lake!” a girl next to Imelda exclaimed as the boats started to make their way toward the distant cliff. 

“Of course, Nerida. We can search for them after our flying training.”

Garreth sat down in the spot he’d found on one of the last boats, where only three others stood, and he quietly observed as the castle emerged before them. Its imposing structure loomed darker against the starry fabric of the night sky, a myriad of lights flickering behind the glass windows, winking at the new first years and inviting them into its mysteries.

As they glided over the shimmering lake, its surface rippling with waves and drizzle from the night, Garreth took a long breath, the salty scent filling his nostrils. 

A soft “Oh…” rose from the students, mingling with the splashes of water against the sides of the boats. 

He sighed. 

He remembered marvelling at the castle, so big, so sturdy and enticingly scary. It had been a sight to behold indeed, and memories flooded his mind, enveloping him in a soft veil of nostalgia, cooing gently to his heart. He loved Hogwarts, and seeing it now at 24 filled him with a strange mix of peace and dread. 

Tears welled in his eyes, as a time that he could never reclaim, unwound before him.

He searched for his younger self, blissfully unaware of the adventures ahead—the experiments with his brews, the little thefts, the crushes, detentions, laughter, and tears. And then, that moment on his sixteenth birthday, when he returned home only to realize his heart was bound to his childhood friend, forcing him to renounce the Wizarding world. 

The boat swayed, pulling him out of his thoughts as it turned toward the tunnel opening on the side of the cliff. Garreth gripped the edge, trying to steady himself, while a student in front of him kept cackling.

“Stop it! You’re ruining my hair!” A shrill scream pierced the air as the girl next to him tried to dry her face with the sleeve of her cloak, ducking under a curtain of thick ivy. 

Meanwhile, a chubby boy with round glasses kept insisting it was just a joke.

“You’ll joke once I set you on fire, Clopton!” 

Garreth smiled. Sacharissa hadn’t changed a bit.

The boat approached the bank of the underground harbor, and the students climbed out one after another, shivering slightly in their cloaks. Someone offered to help Ominis, but he managed just fine, waving his wand confidently as he moved in the familiar darkness. 

They followed Mr Moon up the winding, seemingly endless stairs that hugged the side of the castle, until they finally reached the entrance hall. His heart leaped. Aunt Matilda Weasley stood in front of the great oak door.

Garreth wanted to say she looked younger, but the truth was, she didn’t. She was exactly the same, her glasses perched atop her nose, exuding that calm, motherly demeanour as she gently watched the students gather around her.

“Aunt Millie!" The words escaped his younger self before he could stop them, filled with a longing for the familiarity and warmth she represented amidst stranger peers.

He stifled a chuckle, remembering how surprised he had been to see her there. He knew she was a professor, but he hadn’t expected her to be the one greeting them. At the time, he thought she was there just for him.

"Of course, we’ve got another favoured one here!" Leander sneered, looming over the others with his tall, lanky frame, arms crossed and tapping his foot. He cast a glance at Ominis, who was holding his wand, trying to discern the professor's features in front of them.

Garreth snorted. He hadn’t forgotten how he and Leander had gotten off on the wrong foot, but in hindsight, he knew Leander had just been a bit jealous. His own siblings were either indifferent or already in their last year, and he didn’t have any connections, not like Garreth had with Edmund. Still, he hadn’t realized Leander had such a sharp tongue, even at that age.

Garreth glanced at his aunt, noticing the slight pull of a smile at the corner of her lips. She gave no sign of recognising him, something she'd continue to do in classes—except when she gave him detention, threatening him to send an owl to his parents.

That night would have been the last one he would have been happy to see her.

“Thank you, Mr Moon.” Aunt Matilda tilted her head, bidding goodbye to the caretaker, then shifted her attention to the group. “Good evening, my dears. Welcome to Hogwarts. Please follow me," she said, turning and gesturing for them to follow her inside the castle.

As they passed through the door, their footsteps echoed on the flagged marble floor, and the lanterns cast trembling shadows of their silhouettes on the stone walls. Some students glanced at the towering suits of armour, posed as if ready for battle. A booming chorus of voices echoed from behind another giant door.

The Great Hall!

Everyone was already sitting there.

Garreth stood for a moment in front of the massive oak door, the armours clanging their swords behind him. He touched the door, his nerves tingling with anticipation, as he pushed slightly, eager to be part of that world once again, but nothing happened. 

He had to follow the flow of the first years, who were getting excited again, some whispering, some casting frightened looks around.

“Now, please, please, make space.” Aunt Matilda invited them in, holding the door. The room was small, cramped, and the roaring coming from the corridor behind her was muffled only by her voice.

“The next room is the Great Hall, where you’ll be sorted. There are four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. A house is like a family…”

Garreth squeezed himself into the back of the room, leaning against the wall, while his aunt explained what the houses were and the different activities of the school to the group of wide-eyed students. 

A soft, sad smile grazed his lips as his gaze swept over them. Everything came back to him at once: the nervous excitement, the fear of the unknown Sorting Ceremony, the thrill of starting a new chapter of their lives away from family. The sense of disorientation mingled with a feeling of belonging to something bigger than himself—his first, cautious steps into the Wizarding World.

He had entered as a scared, tiny, naive boy and emerged as a young man, ready to take his life and family responsibilities into his own hands. 

Hogwarts had shaped him—moulded him into the man he was now, and the man he would still become.

Aunt Matilda finished her talk by explaining the House Cup and how to bring honour to their House. He shook his head; young Garreth had no idea how many points he would manage to lose during his time there, how many detentions and how much extra homework he had to endure. How they won the House Cup in his second and sixth years was still a mystery he couldn’t quite wrap his head around.

“Please take a moment to recompose yourselves. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Aunt Matilda said as she exited the room.

As soon as she was gone, the group started whispering among themselves.

“All my family’s in Slytherin, I will be too!” a snotty voice whispered, loud enough to make several students roll their eyes.

“I’ll win the House Cup!”

“I’ve read all about Hogwarts! The history here is amazing!” Garreth recognized Amit’s voice amongst few others.

He glanced at Sacharissa, still dampening her hair, while his younger self wiped his nose on his sleeve and sniffled, pushing his messy curls under his too-big hat trying to look presentable. Some girls were running their fingers over their uniforms, smoothing the fabric, others were cleaning their splashed glasses on their robes.

If she had gone to Hogwarts, what house would she have been sorted into? he wondered. With her love for plants and hardworking nature, she would have been a Hufflepuff for sure. Too bad…

Just as Garreth began to lose himself in thoughts again, a strange shift in the air caught his attention. A draft swept through the room, and before he could fully react, the sound of a loud bang shattered the quiet.

“Oh! What do we have here? Little, fresh, tiny firsties…” a shrill voice boomed.

Soon, the hats of some students near the back of the room were lifted from their heads, eliciting cries of fear.

“I hope you’re ready to prove yourselves! Last year we had a couple of deaths. I wonder who’ll be the lucky one this year!” a voice cackled as a little man with a tall blue hat appeared, floating midair, adjusting his huge bowtie and casting wicked glances down at them.

“Pain, pain, little firsties... fear, fear…” he chanted with his big mouth, taking pleasure in watching them squirm and tremble.

“Peeves, stop this instant!” a deep, menacing voice echoed through the room as a ghost swept in, chains clinking behind him.

Peeves trembled and started bowing. “I’m so sorry, your bloodiness, I was just greeting the new students…” Still sputtering excuses, he floated away, following the Bloody Baron under the bewildered eyes of the students.

As the hats floated back down, a girl burst into tears. 

Garreth recognized the crisp dark curls of Cressida Blume, a Muggle-born.

“I-I don’t want to die!” she cried, hiding her face in her hands and sniffing loudly.

“I want to go home, I don’t want to be a witch!”

Garreth watched his younger self move next to the girl. 

“Don’t worry! If you die, you can come back as a ghost!”

He shook his head as the girl wailed even louder. 

I can’t believe I said that to poor Cressida! 

The Bloody Baron wasn’t exactly the best example of how to come back as a ghost, with his silver bloodstains covering his outdated attire. No wonder the girl had been terrified. He could only imagine how traumatic it must have been for her back then.

He had seen it first-hand just a few months ago—how showing a Muggle the magical world could change their life forever. His wife had been terrified when she first learned about wizards and witches. The disbelief in her eyes, the fear…

Despite all his reassurances that he wasn’t a lunatic, he knew the shock was something she still hadn’t fully overcome.

What the hell was I thinking, telling Cressida that?

Thankfully, Adelaide Oaks stepped in, moving next to Cressida. 

“There, there, nobody’s going to die. Let’s meet tomorrow for breakfast, and I’ll teach you how to send an owl to your parents, so you can tell them all about Hogwarts.”

A few minutes later, Aunt Matilda returned and, after casting another glance at their soggy clothes, beckoned them to follow her back into the entrance hall. She opened the doors to the Great Hall.

They stepped inside.

Garreth held his breath. Even after all these years, the Great Hall never ceased to impress him. Though five years had passed since his graduation and twelve since his first steps inside, the sight still filled him with awe. His eyes were instantly drawn upward to the enchanted ceiling. He smirked, noticing the other students doing the same, wide-eyed in wonder.

If only they knew the hall was even better during Halloween and Christmas…

He spotted his younger self, marvelling at the sight with his eyes wide and his mouth forming a silent "O" of surprise. Then his gaze swept over the crowd—four long tables filled with students, all craning their necks, trying to catch a glimpse of the newcomers.

He remembered that moment so well—little Garreth was surely searching for his brothers, trying at the same time to catch as much as possible of the festive atmosphere all around him. He recalled exchanging a playful look with Oliver, who mimed a punch with his fists, while Edmund, seated next to him, resisted the urge to cuff him on the head, settling instead for a wink of encouragement.

Garreth almost trampled over little Amit, who was muttering the names of the stars on the enchanted ceiling, standing near the back of the line.

He followed the group to the front of the hall, where they lined up before the professors.

Garreth smirked, catching sight of Professor Sharp. 

The poor man has no idea what’s coming, he thought, and Professor Garlick would have been her favourite…

But as his gaze travelled up the long table, his stomach dropped.

There sat Professor Fig, his wrinkled face openly smiling, his gentle eyes following the students as they lined up in front of him. If only he had known—if only he could have changed his fate. But a memory was just that: a memory. And Garreth could not alter the destiny that had already been sealed.

He was just a spectator of a distant time.

Yet his eyes lingered for a moment on Professor Fig’s features, trying to etch them into his mind. Remembering him like this—with his soft smile and paternal, benevolent demeanour—was the best way Garreth could honour his memory.

Soon, Aunt Matilda interrupted his reverie, placing a four-legged stool at the front of the hall, and on top of it, the old, patched Sorting Hat. Garreth smiled, recalling how flabbergasted he had been at the sight of the hat, completely unsure of its purpose. His brothers had kept their mouths tight, unwilling to spoil the surprise. The hat looked almost like the one his grandmother had tried to get him to wear for his wedding—tattered and filthy, but at least it wasn’t as stinky.

Lucky for him, his wife had only needed to wear the family tiara, which she accepted gracefully, despite his grandmother’s snarky remarks about her appearance.

As the hat began to sing, Garreth’s attention shifted again. The first years stared up at it, confusion etched on their faces.

“It’s singing!” he heard Arthur Plummly exclaim.

Yes, it was singing a song about Hogwarts, a real song. He had heard it seven times during his years at the school, though his favourite Sorting Ceremony had been during his fourth year. That was when Natsai had joined the first years, standing taller than the rest, and the hat had greeted her by adding a line in her own African dialect.

Gloomier had been the song from the following year, alerting the whole student body about the goblin rebellion. He shivered, trying to not think about it.

As the hat finished its song, applause boomed through the hall.

“Blume, Cressida,” Aunt Matilda called once the students had quieted down.

The girl looked like she might faint at any moment.

As the ceremony continued, Aunt Matilda called each name, and one by one, the students stepped forward, the hat dropping down over their heads, hiding half of their faces.

There was a brief, electrical pause of silence when Ominis Gaunt was called, his wand pulsing in his hand, followed by the little spat between the Sallow twins as Sebastian claimed he was born first.

Garreth stood there, lacing his hands behind his back, patiently waiting.

There were several advantages to being a Weasley, but having a surname that started with "W" wasn’t one of them. Garreth watched his younger self, standing on tiptoe, lifting his hat to peer impatiently at the student under the Sorting Hat.

Leander, Cressida, Nellie—they had all been sorted into Gryffindor.

Leander proudly puffed out his chest as he paraded between the tables, basking in the sea of students clapping their hands to welcome him. With a flick of Aunt Millie’s wand, the satin lining of his cloak turned a rich crimson hue.

As the ceremony moved forward, it was finally Garreth’s turn.

Little Garreth sprang up and clumsily ran toward the stool, nearly tripping in his too-big cloak while removing his hat. He plopped down on the stool, his leg nervously tapping and his hand gripping the edge. The Sorting Hat dropped over his head, pushing his curls down over his eyes.

“So, where do you want to go, young Weasley?” The hat’s voice reverberated in his mind as if spoken directly into his thoughts. He flinched in surprise. But by the shocked look on little Garreth's face, he was experiencing the same. And soon he heard his answer too.

“With my brothers!”

“Are you sure? You have a wonderfully chaotic mind, full of ideas and…!”

“I want to be a baker!”

Garreth laughed softly, remembering that all too well. He had wanted to be a baker—especially since he had shown signs of magic later than his siblings and feared he might be a Squib. “A late bloomer,” his mother had called him, so he had needed a backup plan.

He sighed, thinking back. Maybe if he had pursued a career in baking, everything would have turned out differently. 

Maybe she wouldn’t have been forced to marry him. 

Maybe if she had married Edmund, she would have been happier.

“A baker? But I see a love for experimentation. You’re determined. Hufflepuff could do wonders for you!”

Little Garreth didn’t answer. He just wanted to be with his brothers, to be in the same house as them as his whole family.

“You’re also courageous, and you care deeply for those around you—indeed, a true giver!”

Garreth smirked as he watched his younger self, so tiny and scared, his eyes squeezed shut and his face scrunched up in anticipation. And then, in the end...

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers as the hat shouted its verdict. Garreth watched his younger self spring up and run toward the roaring table, ignoring Leander’s grimace and Aunt Matilda’s call as he still had the Sorting Hat on his head.

Once the hat was back on the stool, young Garreth sat down proudly in front of his brothers, feeling triumphant and ready to indulge in the lavish banquet. Ready to learn, to experiment, to finally enjoy the magical world he was part of after so many years of believing he was a Squib.

Now, though, Garreth’s optimism had melted away, like ingredients dissolving in his cauldron. That little girl with the too-short hair had once been an afterthought. He’d even boasted about going to a new school abroad while she attended a Muggle one. But now, that girl was the centre of his world. And for her, he had repressed everything, hidden his powers to avoid hurting her. Anymore.

Why couldn’t everything have stayed that simple? he wondered. Letting others guide him toward his future…

“Garreth?”

Startled, he spun on his heels, surprise written all over his face.

She stood before him, her eyes wide behind her glasses, darting around the hall in confusion.

“What does this mean?” she asked, her voice tinged with panic.

He took a step forward, trying to calm her as the anxiety in her voice rose.

“You’re here,” he murmured, reaching out to take her hand in a reassuring gesture.

He hesitated, then retreated, clenching his fist.

“I followed you,” she said. I saw you bending over a basin and then... you disappeared. I was worried.” 

Her eyes moved up to the Gryffindor table, landing on little Garreth and his brothers.

His heart clenched as he saw her taking in the scene—he knew she was searching for Edmund. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the softness in his eyes as she most likely admired his brother.

“What is this?” she asked again, her gaze shifting back to him, searching his face for answers.

“This is a memory of my first day at school,” he said softly, lowering his voice.

He finally reached out and took her hand. Her skin was cold, trembling slightly, and there was a streak of soil cloaking her fingers.

“The... magic school?” Her eyes flicked back to the table as food appeared in golden plates and chalices filled with juice, then up to the enchanted ceiling.

He nodded, a soft smile creasing his lips.

He wasn’t showing her the past to relive it. He was showing her because it was all he had left to give, a bridge to the gap between their worlds, a desperate attempt to mend something that he had broken. Maybe it was false hope.

“Would you like to see more?” he asked gently, his tone laced with hope as he searched in her hazelnut eyes for a hint of curiosity and maybe forgiveness.

As the memory started to dissolve around them, mist enveloping them and twirling, the familiar scents of herbs and cauldron cleaners filled his nostrils. Her fingers twitched slightly in his hand, and her gaze, though still uncertain, seemed to soften. A flicker of something—perhaps curiosity, perhaps something deeper—passed over her face, which gave Garreth the little push he needed.

“Shall I conjure up more memories?”

[dmercer91]

ebug's sister, dm91

ok, first post where blake is blake!! also, excuse the absolute dumpster fire that is my life, and is the reason that this post is one post and not like 47

last season! (2022-23) part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight / part nine / part ten / part eleven / part twelve

(2023-24)! part one /

blakefriarr_

liked by dawson1417, adamfantilli and 6,947 others

blakefriarr_: so many things have happened since i last popped up on all your timelines and made them immeasurably better!

this is episode one of season two of i-am-both-the sister-of-the-devils-home-emergency-backup-goaltender-and-also-happen-to-be dating-dawson-mercer-forward-for-the-devils series!

these pictures are in no particular order, because, i am moving into a new place with afore mentioned dawson mercer and have spent the last several weeks making it look like it's not the most depressing back alley murderous apartment any of you have ever laid your eyes on

and apparently, i have a ball ton of stuff!

regardless, here's what i've caught up on;

the entire nhl draft! though i have not acquired any new adoptees, it did come to my attention that the anaheim ducks as an organization did personally victimize me during the 2023 entry draft (they also took a BALLSY amount of time to re-sign bitch one and bitch two. what the literal fuck, dudes). also- if you are seeing this and you need help to flee, blink twice (not you adam) (you know who you are)

2, the entire preseason was also missed while i was one, curing myself from jetlag and the absolute dread of going back to uni and two, moving my egregious amount of shit with a spiteful level of independence. the devils won every preseason game! dawson scored that clusterfuck of a goal on slide two and we also got to see goalie bonks again! (i told you those pics weren't in order and i meant it)

three, (or four, i forgot what came first) quinneth played his first regular season game as captain of the canucks ad they kicked ass against the edmonton dudes. goncrats captain ;p

four (probably) rookie had both his first reg season nhl game AND his birth on the same day! he cried on camera for thousands of viewers and made me question kidnapping his brother and locking him in an abandoned building in ohio (who am i kidding i don't want to be in ohio). the blue jackets have since been doing blue jacket things (losing)

five (it's all blended together these days) the devs started their regular season and now i get to go to the arena and watch in peace as nico makes dumb faces, jack gets into petty scrums and goes to the box (apparently? that ones new.) and dawson does dawson things (be hot)

sixth and finally, assistant coach and captain quinn (he should probably drop a title for his mental health, me thinks) turned 24! i giggled profusely at an edit of him as tracksuit rob. good job on aging, kid 🎉

that's all, i think. (probably not, what do i know)

view 712 comments..

jj.friar31: remember when we were roomies??? siblings defying the odds?? i've been left out to dry. i'm MARINATING in my loneliness. you've basically shot me and left me out for dead, blakey.

→ blakefriarr_: this is a touch dramatic, that's MY thing

→ jj.friar31: if i agree to never steal your dramatics again will you come back

→ blakefriarr_: have u seen how pretty my boyfriend is?? no dude

→ jj.friar31: blake pls

adamfantilli: of every picture you could've used you just decided to screenshot me crying

→ blakefriarr_: hi im blake have we met??

→ adamfantilli: also, do not kidnap luca.

→ blakefriarr_: oh so you just don't want my love?? is that what this is??

→ luca.fantilli: do not kidnap me

→ blakefriarr_: BOOORRRINNNGGGGG

nicohischier: every day i wonder what it would be like if we didn't let the ebug's come into the room

→ blakefriarr_: do you want dawson to be lonely and bitchless

→ nicohischer: yeah kinda??

→ blakefriarr_: oh

jackhughes: why.

→ blakefriarr_ ehehehe your bucket doing weird things

_quinnhughes: ??????? why am i tracksuit rob????

→ blakefriarr_: who else would be tracksuit rob

→ _quinnhughes: nobody needs to be tracksuit rob, friar.

→ _blakefriarr_: WRONG! you do :)

_connorbedard: am i who i are???

→ blakefriarr_: no apparently you are timbaland

→ _connorbedard: oh. okay?

→ adamfantilli: @/_connorbedard you get used to it

→ _connorbedard: do i want to??

→ adamfantilli: eh. 50/50

dawson1417: oh how i've missed the chaos

→ blakefriarr_: fbejdbsjshdghshsb

→ dawson1417: sometimes it's almost like you say words

→ blakefriarr_: :p i love you

→ dawson1417: i love you too, my girl <3

tannercharlotte: this is my reality tv

→ blakefriarr_: i'll leave him for u say the word

→ dawson1417: HEY??

→ blakefriarr_: shhhh baby go sleep

→ tannercharlotte: don't leave him b he doesn't have to know

ryangraves27: she back

→ blakefriarr_: i back!!

nhlblackhawks: ??

→ njdevils: don't '??' her she's right

→ blakefriarr_: thank you (trade for charlie)

→ nyrangers: i can excuse hawks slander but i draw the line at trying to take our char

→ nhlblackhawks: you can excuse hawks slander?

→ jj.friar31: why do teams keep doing this you have ENOUGH leverage over me

trevorzegras: am i bitch one or bitch two

→ trevorzegras: actually yk what don't answer that i don't wanna know

→ blakefriarr_: too bad you're actually both jamie is an angel

view more comments..

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita for not telling someone i know he’s being bullied?

⚠️ mentions of cancer + a suicide attempt

everyone mentioned here is in their 20s, with the youngest being 21 and the oldest being 28. none of the names used here are anyone’s actual names.

this is kind of a long story with a lot of moving parts and i can’t get into ALL of it so im trying to section JUST this off. basically i’ve had a group of friends for awhile. we met in a larger server and its a pretty big circle, so there is interpersonal drama aplenty. i stepped away from the bigger server and mainly maintained contact with 5-7 friends id made through a personal server and dm conversations.

one of the people in that server, erin (she/they) dm’d me to tell me they had to leave said personal server because they’d had a bit of an incident with 3 of the other members. they ended up telling me that they and the other 3 members had a group chat where they’d regularly talk shit about another person we know, bryce (he/him). apparently they all took something he said months ago WILDLY out of context to claim he’s a transmisogynist and therefore its fine that they bully him (this guy isn’t someone i’ve talked to very much since leaving but i do know him and we are on good terms. he can be a bit difficult to maintain conversations with but he very much is not a transmisogynist. also none of the people in this gc are transfem). like, they conspire in this group chat ways to make him feel bad. erin showed me some screenshots. its pretty textbook highschool mean girls behavior.

erin was also in this group chat and finally got fed up with them all and told them they need to stop trying to justify their actions. its pretty obvious bryce is not the bigot they’re saying he is and they’re just using that as an excuse to be cruel. the people in the group chat did not take that well so erin left and has also left any mutual servers they’re in with them.

she only told me all this because i offered to let her vent, but now im in kind of a rough spot morally. i think the correct thing to do here would be to let bryce know, but im being. kind of a coward about it.

this all may sound like im just throwing myself a pity party, but i am in a very, very bad spot right now. like i said, there was a ton of interpersonal drama in this group and i’ve been in the center of it before. it took a massive toll on me. so im not keen to get involved in drama in general, but also, mainly. i lost my best friend (minze, she/her) to cancer at the start of this year. i’ve known her since childhood and i’ve barely been able to function without her. we lived together. i still take care of her cat. we had the same birthday, and its coming up in a little over a week. i’ve been absolutely gutted knowing this is the first birthday ill spend without her in over a decade. i tried to kill myself a couple of weeks ago because i couldn’t bear the thought of it. i failed, obviously. and im fine at the moment but im definitely not perfectly well and im barely hanging on by a thread

i left the larger group because i couldn’t stand to be involved with everything going on. if i tell bryce about this group chat, i will be getting involved again. i dont think they know i know about it at this point but the only people who could tell him would be me and erin. even if i did it anonymously or asked him not to tell it would be incredibly easy to trace back to me. while im appalled to know my friends have been so viciously cruel to someone for no reason, since losing minze these people have been my only support network. they all knew minze, too. they’re some of the only people i can share memories of her with. i dont think i could process this grief alone

i know i need better friends but i don’t have them right now. i’ve sort of already got a strained relationship with some of them and i worry this could be the last straw and id just… lose them abruptly. and i know if that happened id put myself at risk again, because id be just as heavily suicidal but now with no one to confide in about it

bryce deserves to know. its the right thing to do, but it would cause me a dangerous amount of mental strain. but even though i say i don’t want to get involved i do feel, on some level, like i probably got involved the second i let erin even tell me about this. so i feel like im being a whiny dickhead and just making excuses but im just. im not willing to put myself through this again. not right now. aita?

What are these acronyms?

[ambrossart]

@noyoucantpinmedown since you asked...

The app is Obsidian, which you may have heard about already. I believe it’s a fairly well-known markdown writing application. I’ve known about it for years myself, but I was really intimidated to use it because… well, it’s got a pretty steep learning curve and takes some effort to get it set up just right.

Once you get it, though, it’s amazing! It’s simple but powerful, and there are tons of community plugins available, which add an endless amount of customization options. I like the Calendarium plugin myself because I love making story-specific calendars. Paper Men especially benefits from one.

Best of all, it's completely free for personal use, which I love because I'm trying to get away from all those annoying subscription-based apps. I’ve deleted all of them except for Aeon Timeline, which technically is a buy-once-and-own-forever model, but you need to subscribe for updates. That app is my favorite app in the world, but it’s not best for text-heavy notes because the formatting options are so limited.

Anyway, I can’t share a ton of screenshots because it’s messy as hell and full of spoilers. But I basically took all my notes off Aeon Timeline (which again, not the greatest for text) and moved it here. All your notes are kept in “vaults,” so I have vaults for Paper Men, Dancing with Myself, and the novel version of DWM that I’m slowly picking away at…

Sorry for info-dumping. I bet you regret asking me which app I was referring to now, don’t you? 😂

[dr-spectre]

Hi (sorry if you've answered this before and I missed it) I'm curious, how long have you been a fan of Callie?? Or even just Splatoon in general?

Hi!!! I have answered something similar to this before but I'll answer it again because I have stuff I wanna say!

I've been a fan of the series since December 2017 when I got Splatoon 2 for my birthday. Although before then I was watching tons of YouTube videos about Splatoon 1 as I didn't have a Wii U. Like the rest of the population lmao.

However, in terms of being a fan of Callie? I was a "casual enjoyer" of this silly little bastard when I got Splatoon 2.

Yeah... during THAT arc of her character. I became a casual fan of hers during her Splatoon 2 arc and now I ramble about her most misunderstood period, trying to clear up what happened and wanting people to use the correct terminology when describing things. Funny how things work out eh?

However, my teen brain only saw her as "cute" and nothing more. Just eye candy... and um.. a LITTLLEEEE more than that but I won't go into what I was doing during my teen years... I think you can figure it out...

Anyways! Ever since Splatoon 2 and into Splatoon 3, I always remained pretty causal towards Callie and always thought she was so damn cute.

But... I became a BIGGER fan of hers during a pretty rough mental health period in my life during mid 2023. Let's just say shit was really hitting the fan for me during that time and Splatoon was there for me during that rough patch. I took a visit to Alterna and I saw... her... standing there... staring at me... I just looked at her via photo mode and... something happened. I dont know what, but my brain suddenly became hyperfixated on her and my interest for her began to grow and grow AND GROW!

This son of a bitch hypnotised me, minus the shades.

I also have these old screenshots from discord as proof of my loyalty to this squid lady.

This is when the brainrot got severe and I knew something was happening in my head and I ranted about it to my friends in a private server...

[zeondraws]

Thanks for the response! If you ever do make that post I eagerly await!

In the meantime, do you have pictures of Muir and Innes' room? Ever since it was confirmed I've wanted to see more of it, but I think that room is skipped through by most letsplayers and I unfortunately can't get the game myself to look around

I hope you have a goodnight!

Aye, no problem

I will probably feel more confident to talk about the rig, once I have the artbook next year. I'm sure there will be tons of info inside of it, I bought myself the hand signed version because this game hooked me so quickly.. that I was like "I ain't regretting this purchase" (I may or may not like to collect artbooks, I am very excited to get this book in February holy shit WAA).

Either way, I actually have a recording of their room, here:

The recording is a wee bit long for what it is, because there isn't that much in their room to begin with (I recorded it for two other folk who needed art ref). The door is missing too, hence why I didn't know whom this room belonged to. Until I asked someone at Secret Mode/The Chinese Room. I imagine, since they lived next to Roy for example they probably hang out with him a bunch.

Also while I am answering this ask, imma answer another anon question at the same time, since it fits with the room questions:

I took a look around it again and made a few screenshots to show a few details.

Btw I noticed something while looking at the table.

Toilet paper?? Wha

Who smoked me ciggies? Also there seems so be a small box for snus? If I understand correctly, dunno.

There wasn't much else to find in their room. Tho I love how decorated it is.

I'll share more Gibbo Screenshots in the future. Either way hope I was able to help a wee bit for both anons! Until then..

SCOOOOOOTLAAAAAAAAAAAAND FOREEEEEEVEEEEEER!!!!!!!