#I appreciate old men I guess lmao

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

I was originally just going to watch the first two seasons of The Crown because of Matt Smith but I’ve just found out that after that it’s Tobias Menzies playing Prince Philip after him 👀

[meanbossart]

I appreciate how you write Astarion so, SO much. I feel like way too many fic writers infantilize him to a point where I honestly start wondering if I'm the one who misinterpreted him so badly.

I'd love to know more about what you think of his character and his arc. Personally I saw him and immediately went "oh god this guy is gonna be the irritating tumblr sexyman of the year🙄" and it took me until Araj basically to warm up to him. What were your initial thoughts and did they change much while playing the game?

OH thank you so much!!! That's a shame if it's the case, and a little surprising to me, to be honest! While he's definitely written be an aloof jerk a lot of the time, I always found him to be surprisingly mature and introspective whenever he's not dishing out witty remarks. He comes off to me as the kind of person who learned to benefit from seeming dumber than he actually is, overall.

HAHA I had a VERY similar experience, not just towards Astarion but all the characters, really (I really disliked Shadowheart at the beginning, too). I had only seen pictures of him and pretty much expected a vapid character that was being carried to stardom because of a talented VA - and because people go nuts for anne rice style vampires lol.

While I was definitely enjoying his voice lines from the start (Again kudos to Neil) I definitely wasn't expecting much else. He piqued my interest after so devastatingly turning my character down at the tiefling party without me even having inquired, and that's when I, the gamer, was like "well, alright, I GOTTA fuck this guy now" (this is also where DU drow's personality began to come out as you can probably guess)

Obviously, if you have two neurons to rub together you can gather pretty quickly that he's not trying to woo you because you're so interesting and wonderful, so I started getting curious! With that dynamic being so different from what you usually expect of romances in these types of games, plus the charming way in which he is written, I started being won over.

I think what really did it was how gradually his attitude changed when responding to new, mostly trivial dialogue options and doing his greetings as you earned his trust, and ESPECIALLY with how he responds to your tav when you express any kind of fear or insecurity during his romance - which was with a lot of sincerity and confidence in his resolve to support you, and in you as a person, a complete 180 from his usual front - Which, again, makes me all the more surprised to hear that he's often painted with such an immature brush.

And obviously he has a DEEPLY ugly side to him (if you've read ANE, hopefully it's clear that I know this, and that I like to explore it just as much as anything else lmao) but it's very interesting to me how it seem to always come in the form of outbursts, rather than a constant evil-streak, usually followed by a glimpse of self-awareness. It feels very much in line with someone who's actually making a great deal of effort to manage their RAMPANT emotions and going through a lot of internal conflict in the process.

GAH. Yeah if you can't tell by this friggin' thesis I just wrote, I love the way they wrote this character a lot and I was definitely proven PROFOUNDLY wrong in my first impression of him - which, if that's not irony at it's finest I don't know what is.

And as an aside! I also very much appreciate that he's a "queer" coded character who's effeminate (in the Old Homo kind of way, but I digress) and flamboyant, but taken Dead Fucking Seriously. With as much progress as we've made in LGBT rep in media, I still often feel like gay men will only get that kind of treatment for as long as they "Aren't That Gay" (I know Astarion doesn't have a set sexuality - But lets not mince words: stereotypes exist, and he fits into most of them) and as a thin-wristed gay guy who's a little too found of linen shirts, I can honestly say that experiencing a character like that helped me with my own confidence.

[sidequestsinlife]

calling any/all phannie software developers/video game designers/idk all ur job titles technology people

in the this post from @yonpote (and some of the notes) you see the beginnings of an almost guaranteed successful get rich quick phannie business plan:

so who among us has the skills to build this game???? or if there are more than one of you, you might also have help!

you'll have business for sure. presenting my phannie mobile game business plan:

make phan town mobile game (name not final lmao). (this is where my own skills fail us lmao) (my brother does work in this field and he said it didn't seem that hard but also that he has a real job and a six month old baby and a sick mother in law, and even if he didn't have all that going on, does not want to participate in my "weird obsession with two gay british men pretending to play video games" - his words because he says based on the videos I've showed him he is not convinced they know how to play video games for real, he a video game snob ig - because he has no taste and clearly does not support my passions.)

anyway. so game is made. now post about it on Tumblr to get some of us to download it for proof of concept (plus we can be your beta testers or whatever).

pitch it to dnp as a sponsorship opportunity (and opportunity to help build their own community and support fan art!) in order for the phan mobile game to reach the full phandom incl those who are not active on any dnp themed social media.

profit. become 2025's PHERSON OF THE YEAR! add a graphic bragging about that win to your icon on the App Store.

enjoy your new mobile gaming empire (and potentially chat rooms or something ig idk what's possible but as more social media might be regulated in various places, having a niche phandom space that is unlikely to be targeted by government regulations could be nice) for the parasocial phreaks out here.

*~*~*~BONUS CHARITABLE ROUND~*~*~* if dnp do a charity livestream for the pcrf or another charity, announce that some share (details can be worked out later) of the profits of the game will go to that charity if it is downloaded in their birthday month (or the month of the livestream if it is not a birthday focused one i guess), that gets the rest of the phannies on board AND gets money for a good cause!

and then, everybody wins! we have a phan-themed game and possibly a new space for some phandom convos. you have a media empire, a business deal with dnp, and a chance to also help raise money for their chosen good causes. dnp get to appreciate the skills and creativity of their audience on a whole other level and have a sponsor they can genuinely be enthusiastic about bc it's basically fanart and they love appreciating fanart!

the only losers are the moms whose credit card info is in their phannie child's account. bc they will all steal $3.99 for a phan town game. sry non-phannie moms of phannie youths. ur collateral damage i guess.

[disclaimer i know nothing about intellectual property law and you might also have to have some kind of legalese convo w dnp about profits or something i'm not sure and if anyone seriously wants to take this as the beginnings of a business plan you might also want to consult a lawyer about this issue and if you do not please do not hold me responsible]

[autumn-foxfire]

HAIBARA MOVIE!

Kir T-T She tried to save the woman but Gin is a bitch. It's good he didn't hear her though,

Not even minutes and he's already looking adorable!

And Ai is the sweetest girl in the world. She has seen so much cruelty and she still chooses to be nice T-T

I'm sure Agasa's inventions won't be anything important in the movie at all :p (He deserves so much more credit for his inventions).

Sonoko is also really nice and I adore her! She made sure Ai got her good karma in return for her own kindness towards the old woman.

Awww Akai is such a good dad, making sure that Shinichi and Ai stay safe. He's already an approvement on Shinichi's actually parents.

I was about to complain that Shinichi didn't mention the women of the BO but I didn't realise it was because he was revealing the info about their codenames. I didn't realise all the distilled liquor belong to the men of the org.

I feel so bad for Ran. She was shaking while she said this because her father couldn't even resist not drinking for a morning to join the trip.

Shinichi... You really just hitched a ride on the police boat because you can't leave anything alone T-T

Wow, he's actually acting the role of a child pretty well. Why can't he do this all the time?

He loves being complimented for his intelligence T-T

Shinichi should be sweating bullets right now with this technology.

Ever since how Shinichi counts has been relevent in a case, it's used all the time XD

And Amuro and Vermouth have shown up. This can't be good.

WHOOP! The secret it "out". And both Vermouth and Bourbon are scared for Shinichi (and Ai for Amuro, I guess).

Lmao yeah I guess the system would also be bad for the BO. Perhaps it's better it doesn't exist.

Camel magically grew back his hair (I know it's because this movie was in development way before that moment it's just funny).

Why are they playing this as a joke when it's devestating that they're made to deal with this.

I do appreciate Shinichi giving the kids hints instead of just telling the answer straight out and when he was struggling to give them a better one, Ai jumped in to help T-T

...Why aren't you telling Ai? I fucking HATE how the don't include her in the discussion when it's really imporant for her to be so.

THIS WAS SO CUTE. Okay they redeemed themselves slighty, but I would still love for her to included in discussions.

AI MADE SURE AYUMI WAS COVERED IN A BLANKET EVEN AS SHE'S FEARING FOR HER OWN LIFE AND TRYING TO RUN.

RAN!

OH MY GOD I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT AND I AM SO EXCITED.

Okay but now the org know Ran knows about them (she saw them kidnap a little girl) and she FUCKING FOUGHT THEM AGAIN. She. Should. Know. Because at this point they will kill her.

She is at her breaking point with him. I hope that broke a couple of ribs.

SHINICHI IS NOT GIVING UP ON AI T-T HE JUST DIVED OFF A CLIFF AND INTO THE OCEAN TO CHASE AFTER THEM.

Hearing Agasa cry is making me want to cry T-T SHE'S HIS FAMILY.

One very pissed off and very dangerous little boy.

HE'S SO ANGRY AND UPSET WITH HIMSELF AND WORRIED FOR AI OH MY GOD T-T

AI T-T

MY GOD THIS MOVIE HAS DONE MORE FOR AI IN THE PAST FEW MOMENTS THAN THE SERIES HAS DONE FOR HER IN A LONG TIME!

I love Kir noticing the bug and not doing anything about it T-T And I know that knot has been tied properly. The women are being treated well in this movie.

Awww, they're all protecting the children from the truth.

And Amuro has given Shinichi the info he needs to fuck shit up.

Kogoro is being treated like a nuisance this movie as well and I am all here for it even if the movies usually write him better.

Ai has always been so kind T-T

AI AND AKEMI T-T

But that explains why Ai was on her computer.

She has a dog? Can she get anymore perfect?

Can someone throw Kogoro out? Or bring back the Kogoro from the previous movie? Please?

You know what I also like? Vodka feels like an actual threat instead of the side goon.

My heart is breaking.

KIR! SHE'S DOING WHAT SHE CAN! I LOVE THE WOMEN IN THIS MOVIE!

And Gin has arrived.

Gin at this moment: My long hair and hat look awesome but damn they don't make a helicopter landing easy.

KIR IS THE MVP OF THIS MOVIE MY GOD I LOVE HER. She's hitting Gin where it hurts to give them more time. She has her mission, she said she'd never compromise it, but she won't let two innocents die in vain.

Shinichi internally: Get fucked Gin.

I FUCKING ADORE THEM.

I ADORE THEM AS WELL.

Vermouth saving Ai for a change. If only because she knows if they found the truth about her, they'd find the truth about Shinichi.

He adopted that expression from Kaito.

I don't know why I'm surprised to hear deep fake in Detective Conan.

Okay, Gosho, movie writers, women can have adam apples. Ran's bruise was enough to identify the man

SHE GETS TO BE AWESOME TWICE IN ONE MOVIE?! I LOVE THIS.

Lol but Shinichi, you wouldn't have been able to catch Ran in your normal body, you have not trained your arm muscles.

LOVE IT. BOTH OF THEM ARE IN DANGER.

AND HE IMMEDIATELY GOES TO MOCKING THE DUDE.

SHE CARES SO MUCH!

AND SHINICHI APOLOGISED TO HER! WHAT IS THIS MOVIE?! WHY IS IT WRITTEN SO WELL?! It's on par with the movie 23 because the writing is just incredible.

Amuro is worried about his son. Akai is also worried about his son.

SHINICHI HOLDING THE PHONES TOGETHER TO MAKE HIS DADS TALK IS HILARIOUS.

Awww, they put their differences aside to help their son.

Shinichi: I am down for doing something insane and dangerous.

I fucking love Vermouth fucking shit up while she's dressed in but a towel.

AND AI STILL HAS GREAT MOMENTS TO COME!

He lost everything to keep him alive and he still decided to fuck them up.

Akai earlier in the movie: A rifle won't work.

Akai's solution: I'll bring a rocket launcher.

R.I.P

And just like Shinichi wouldn't let Ai die, she won't let Shinichi die.

I ADORE THEM.

I love how Ran had a movie where she nearly drowned and Shinichi is like "hold my beer".

THIS IS SO GODDAMN ADORABLE. I see why this is the CoAi movie but I just appreciate their platonic bond with one another.

I don't appreciate the "kiss" comment, though. CPR isn't a kiss, it's to save a life.

Of course Shinichi has to show off one more time before the movie ends though.

RAN'S FIRST KISS WAS TO AI AND I LOVE IT.

Ai knows Ran is a lesbian and wanted to make sure she has her first kiss with a girl.

This really wasn't needed, especially because Ai didn't kiss Shinichi. She just wanted Ran's lips before him.

And Shinichi wasn't even that upset about it. He just looked confused with her XD

So the disguises that Vermouth and Kaito can create would fool the AI. Interesting.

AND IT BROUGHT BACK AI'S ACTIONS FROM THE START OF THE FILM WITH IT BEING VERMOUTH!

This movie was great. It's tied with number 23.

[obeymehymnbo]

thinking a lot about... men..........

I love them all sm, but specifically, been thinkin' about Barbatos, since his birthday is comin' up and all

how do ya think he'd like to spend his birthday? maybe he doesn't personally care, and is just happy to treat it as any other day, although he appreciates people's efforts to make it special?

I wonder if he's kept meticulous track of his exact age, but never tells anyone how old he is, he just let's people guess and just agrees that, yes, they're all correct! he is definitely at least around that age! there's an ongoing bet to see who will eventually get it right that started a millennium ago (no one will ever win the bet, it's a game that never ends).

I think, if I were around for his birthday, I'd bake him something and make tea and have a private tea party with him for his birthday. I'd set everything up, tho, so that he doesn't have to, and we can just enjoy each other's company. I'd also probably gift him something I made by hand, most likely a bracelet.

I'd make it to match his attire and stuff but slip in just a few things of myself as a reminder of me. like, this fits your style and the fact it's a gift from me and also has a small turtle charm (I love TMNT, so I love turtles) or a sheep charm (since MC is depicted as a pink sheep) helps you think of me when you see it!

just a cute little reminder of my love. :] I love making bracelets, that's probably what everyone would get for their birthday lmao a bracelet personally made by me tailored to their style / made with colors and charms that make me think of them with the edition of one charm that's just, me.

then, of course, a day spent with them, just some quality time.

this turned into a general ramble fast, whoops, my bad lmao still, happy early birthday to barbatos :] love that old man <3

[confoundedluna]

got that until dawn ps3 version quote list for y'all Finally

it is Just as stupid and ridiculous as the final version and it deserves appreciation too - this post might be longer than the other actually since this version has more chapters, we shall see, and the characters seem to talk to themselves a lot, plus I want to call out More of the dialogue since it's lesser known overall compared to the final game

again, please note these aren't in any particular order, I think they're Mostly chronological per character, I just type them as they come up in the videos and the videos are a bit odd in the way the chapters play out (one video is like. chapters 1, 4 and 5, another is 1, 6 and 7, it's just too awkward to be flipping between videos to watch everything in full order), since a lot are incomplete or need multiple builds to showcase everything they can, but I put together a playlist that was Mostly the order the chapters should be in, including different versions of each chapter in case anything changed across the different builds that I might want to take note of

also please note that some of these i typed based off how the subtitles are written and some off of how the lines are delivered - some of them switch the word order or use like a shortened version of a word or whatever, some lines have dialogue that isn't properly subtitled or has an automated voice reading them rather than an actual actor's delivery, I'm sorry if it's inconsistent but that's just how it's gonna be, i might not notice which version of the quote I used but it's basically the same thing so deal with it lmao

and like last time, let me know if i missed or skipped anything you think should be on this list! I tried to be a bit conservative with how many lines I used and go for just the funniest stand out ones or the ones that carried over, either fully or partially, to the finished game

okay enough disclaimers and apologies and shit, on to the quotes!

CHRIS

(SAM: I thought you were dead!) Well that's a fine thing to say to someone.

Wow. Safety. My mind is blown.

A-ha! And here we have the mysterious graphite spray.

It is believed that seances derive their mystical power by channeling the kinetic energy created by nude bodies... gathered as offerings to the occult, particularly those of young, teenage women. Ghosts are typically not concerned with the nude bodies of pasty young men, so if there are any ladies present, would you please remove your shirts and pants-

I'm beginning to think our friendly ghost is dyslexic.

This isn't a video game, Ash! Not everything's a clue!

There's a place in France where the ladies don't wear pants... (ASHLEY: Oh my god, how old are you?)

(ASHLEY: Look at this! Isaiah 11:6!) Is that a baseball thing? Like the signs at games? (ASHLEY: Uh, no, Chris, it's a Bible thing. You know, like a verse?) Oh, that's what those are. We should read it, right? The baseball Bible thing?

(ASHLEY: Look at this lectern, there's all sorts of animals on it.) It's like Noah's ark. Or that channel with all the animals on it.

(ASHLEY: Yep, it's all here. Fire and brimstone.) Blah blah blah, obey all my commands, blah blah blah, kill all your sons and daughters! (ASHLEY: What Bible did you read?) The cool one, duh!

Hey, I got it! See how this rotates? We could line up the animals like it says in the verse! (ASHLEY: Maybe all those hours in Sunday school paid off.) Absolutely. Not.

This just got totally Indiana Jones on us...

I know the human body has a surprising amount of blood in it, but damn.

Someone's been hunting. Guess they don't need a freezer out here.

Alright, handles all around I guess...

Holy shitballs.

I gotta say, this is not the most sensible thing I've ever done in my life.

Maybe we can find the book that the page belongs to. And find the jerk who ripped it out.

(ASHLEY: What is this, chemistry class?) I don't know about you, Ash, but I always like to leave my dangerous chemicals in a food preparation area.

Phew! See, look at that, nothing out there but the wind. (STRANGER: Sometimes the wind is not to be trusted.) Yeah well you would say that wouldn't you...

Do we just seem like slabs of meat to them? Like in old cartoons when one guy would be starving and the other guy would suddenly turn into a T-Bone steak? (STRANGER: Your thoughts wander uncomfortably far for someone walking through the dark in the W's territory…) Well that's precisely why I'd rather think about cartoons...

Brrr it's so cold out here... I guess it's better being cold than dead... though if I get any colder I might wish I was dead...

No more psychos and saw blades and crazy TV rooms and weird skinny monsters and no more snow and no more screaming hunter dudes.

(ASHLEY: How are you holding up, Chris...?) Miraculously. I mean, I'll probably collapse the second I start to think about anything that's been going on. (SAM: Then don't think about it.)

Ash... Even if Jess was down there I don't think it would be a good idea for us to climb into a mysterious hole in the wall...

We just want to get through this. Together, Ash...

ASHLEY

(SAM: Do you think Em is gonna say something about all this?) Knowing Em... she's gonna say plenty...

I tried to join chess club but I wasn't cool enough.

Cannibalism?! Who would buy a book like that? Who would even write a book on cannibalism? (CHRIS: A cannibal...?)

I don't care what it is- why does he keep doing this to us?!

This is our fault... we can't save him, it's our fault!

Not cool. Not cool.

Where does an elevator even go down here?

Bats... I mean, how in the heck are bats down here?

'A week in the mountains' he said, 'we'll get drunk, it'll be fun'...

Ohhh, I hate creepy noises!

They're crazy if they think they're going to find Josh and the stupid key... (SAM: Emily seemed to think she had a pretty good idea of where to look...) Yeah but she's Emily, Sam! When does she ever do anything that isn't some sort of weird selfish game- (SAM: Em seemed pretty shaken up, Ash, she's just trying to help-) She's trying to get us killed. We're all going to die up here. All of us.

(SAM: Just keep going, Ash, just keep going. It's right ahead of us.) It so does not feel like it's right ahead of us.

You've seen Mike with a gun, he seems pretty confident...

Well Sam, there doesn't gotta be another way- I mean we can hope there's another way...

(SAM: Pull it open!) I'm trying! What are you doing?! Don't hurt yourself not helping!

SAM

Ah-yep... limbs are still working.

Bim bam boom! There, fixed it for you.

That was hellacious.

She's usually pretty cool. Seems more like she's nursing a massive crush. (CHRIS: You mean Mike?) Ummm... yeah? Come on, she's sitting out there like a little lost puppy waiting for him.

Is she really being that big of a bitch to him?

(CHRIS: Wicked Witch of the West.) Right? I wish someone would drop a house on her. (CHRIS: That was the Wicked Witch of the East.) Did you seriously just correct me on that?

I can't believe Emily is hooking up with Matt. Didn't really expect her to go full meathead after breaking up with Michael.

Hey, did you get the sense that Jess and Mike are gonna have a uh... 'political summit' on this trip...?

Josh... having a little trouble getting the key into the hole?

(JOSH: I know Sam... I'm sorry... my fingers feel like they're gonna break off...) Do you want me to warm your fingers up so you can get the lock open?

Hello...? Hey guys, is that you? What are you guys doing? Being creepy...?

Hey?! I'm getting a little creeped out here fellas...

Someone help me, I'm stuck in here with a maniac!

I guess Josh needs kind of like a 'time-out' after what he did to us, but...

Okay. That does it. Door is locked. Nothing in or out.

Are you crazy? Or just stupid? You go out there and you're dead. In here we can at least wait- (MIKE: Until what? Come on, Sam.) Until dawn.

(EMILY: How did you find us?) You were making a total ruckus. Emily, I'm not sure you got the memo about the stealth mission.

Perfect. A giant hole.

(EMILY: Be careful...) As opposed to...?

(EMILY: You having a good time up there, Sam?) It's a god damn party.

Don't scream- don't scream- don't scream- (EMILY: I can't help it, I can't-)

Empty. Could have been one of us in there...

Okay Mister Elevator, let's see what we're working with here...

Wow. Now that's more like it. This is baaaaaadass.

Come on already, where is that fricking code?

Come on girl. You'd look good with that in your hands. Don't be shy.

Hey... bout time I found the Big Boy firepower.

I am so done with this place.

Get me outta here. Gotta find the cable car.

Get me out of here. Just get me to the first floor.

I just want to be on the ground, not up here.

Stairs? Ladder? Elevator? Escalator? Just need to get down to the ground floor.

I need out. Find my way to the cable car.

Gotta find the ground floor.

You guys look starved. Let me just fire up the grill.

MIKE

All ye who enter must pay the toll! Take off your pants!

(CHRIS: Maybe I can get a signal long enough to download a manual for one of these things.) ...Nerd alert, amirite?

(CHRIS: Nature calls.) Did you give her my number?

You throw like a- (JESS: Don't say it!) Was just gonna say you throw like a- (JESS: Don't!) ...throw like a beautiful, enchanting woman!

Awww! That's one to show the grandkids, right? (JESS: Don't get ahead of yourself, mister.) I wouldn't dream of it.

You wanna hear a joke? (JESS: Sure! I love to laugh.) Okay. So, how many librarians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? (JESS: Dunno, how m-) Shhh!!! (JESS: Really? Ugh.)

(JESS: Goddamn batteries! Shake it, that usually helps! Awesome!) Shake-powered batteries? Who knew.

I wonder what's down there. Ah, I bet it's just a bunch of pickaxes and old cart tracks and miner bones and ghosts of miners, and miner curses and... Woah. Get a grip dude. Class President.

Look at that. (JESS: What're all those symbols?) I think they're ancient. (JESS: Ancient what?) Ancient symbols. (JESS: Such insight...)

I'm not super thrilled at the idea of bears hanging around and crashing our party.

Looks like the path is a little blocked up. (JESS: What do you mean?) Well, it's got all this... tree in the way.

Where'd you go? Jessica? You've got at least five good minutes left until I bring out the waterworks.

This looks like the work of a bear. I do not like the way bears work.

Jess, hon? I promise I totally won't murder you when I find you. Maybe just a little.

So cold out here, but I'm sweating! Is that normal?

(JESS: You're trying to just freak me out, aren't you?) What? Why? (JESS: To get in my pants.) Yes, I would like to scare the pants off you.

So... One time I jumped over a crazy deep ravine on my bike. All the kids from the neighbourhood came out. Some local news too. Everyone thought I wasn't going to make it. (JESS: But you did?) Nope. Totally died. Been dead six years now. (JESS: You're lying.) Am I, though? (JESS: ...yes? ... Right?) There's only one way to find out...!

We're all alone in here, babe. Just you and me... the Presidential suite. (JESS: Well, Mr President, the lights don't work. And I'm freezing!)

Someone really doesn't like things to stay in one piece around here. Why would someone tear this up?

My jaw's chiselled enough already, but still, it could be useful.

Well, I've found the killer bathtub. Jesus, what did I think would be in there?

Woah. Check out the crazy sex book they have up here.

What is this? Ms. Dunkle's tenth grade science project?

Well, we're here now, so we might as well make use of the amenities. (JESS: Like the bed?) Yeah, I'm thinking mostly the bed.

Alright, madame, is there anything else that you require, or shall I retire to my quarters? (JESS: You're not going anywhere.) Madame requires additional services? (JESS: I can think of a few.)

Huh. Turns out our monster is just a broken branch. Guess it must have seen us and gotten jealous.

(JESS: Finally I have your attention.) The Vice President is standing by. (JESS: Well, why don't you bring him into the Oval Office?) Let's sign this bill into law!

Gotta stay calm. Focused. Get out of this rotten pit.

Crap, what are you doing Mikey, what's wrong with you... this asshole killed Jess... he should pay for that... but nobody's gonna pay for anything unless you get out of here in one piece, buddy...

Stay cool, Mikey. Stay cool.

(groans) Unngh… Either I'm getting weaker or doors are getting heavier…

Come on Sir Mike. Don't be such a wimp. Think about Jessica.

He could be waiting for me… it would be wise for me to tread lightly in the lion's den.

Just stay on your guard Potus… Stay alert…

Let's go, Mikey, let's go.

Gravity's my co-pilot on this one.

Aww… god… smells like something died in here, came back to life, ate its own corpse and then threw it all up…

Well well well. Here we are again. Sometimes wandering around in circles ain't so bad.

This is the creepiest rehearsal space I've ever seen.

Alright, keep your head Mr. President. Calm under pressure…

Ah great, another scenic wing of 'le castle de dilapitacion'.

Alright… look at that. Now we're getting somewhere. Don't know where, but somewhere.

Births and deaths, 1905. Some light bedtime reading for when we get through this.

Man, I can't even skip lunch without becoming a hungry monster, how did these guys feel over 23 days. Wait, no, i don't want to think about it.

Hey! Proper old school photo. Ain't that many left that roll with this kind of geddup anymore.

Chris was killed right in front of us, Jack the monster hunter was torn to pieces and now we're just waiting around like sitting ducks? No. We have to get off the mountain. Now.

Boom! For the win.

(EMILY: Ugh. I hate this place.) Admittedly, they have let it go... (EMILY: Yeah, they haven't dusted in years down here...)

Ah, seems like patient number four was suffering from a bout of being too extraordinary.

I'll tell you what. If the patients weren't completely nuts when they checked in, this place would drive them crazy.

(EMILY: Alright, so how are we gonna get out of here?) Scream and cry like girls?

Pe-culiar? That's actually like a for real medical term? Must have been Charlie Cheswick's records.

I wonder how far your gums have to recede before they start measuring them. If I'm reading this right, this guy must have looked like a dollar store Halloween mask. Wouldn't want to meet these chompers in a dark alley. Or terrifying sanitorium.

If wishes were horses beggars would be cowboys. (CHRIS: Woah. You did not just say that.) That guy Jack had some pretty catchy phrases don't you think?

EMILY

(CHRIS: We just saw Jessica, down by the cable car.) Ugh. Any more perfume on that B and you'd think she was a bachelorette party.

My lips are already so chapped. (MATT: I can kiss them and make them better.) In your dreams Loverboy.

Oh my god, are you gonna swallow his face whole? We're all here! How much more of your crap can we take?

Listen you little slut, maybe because I am not on crack I can see what you're doing.

I don't have to spy when clearly you're showing off with your tongue halfway down his throat.

(JESS: You heard what I said.) Why don't you say it again to my face you bitch?

You do whatever you want. If there's a crazy murderer running around then I'm going to get the hell out of here. (MATT: Maybe he's right, Em-) Do you want me to go out there all alone, Matt? Because I will.

We'll take the cable car to go get help, dummy. Come on.

This is totally crazy Matt. This is totally crazy. My head is spinning.

Ugh. It's freezing out here. I did not pack for this.

I wish Chris and Ashley were more helpful. (MATT: Em, you hardly gave them a chance-) You know, I'm just trying to help the situation.

I just can't believe it's happened again! I mean like, is this family cursed? (MATT: Yeah the whole mountain feels cursed.)

Okay, you done good Matt. Took you a while, but you done good.

Look, if you're not gonna call for help, then maybe you should at least get some tunes going for us to listen to while we sit here and freeze to death can you please just get the radio working Matt oh my god oh my god!

Oh my God, stop talking like you're in a movie. Are you pushing the right button? Is there even a signal?

Wow. These clothes are all torn up. And I don't think it's because they were ripped off the sale rack in a shopping spree…

Ugh. Why do these machines always have to be so complicated?!

Ahhh! Jesus… them's the brakes.

Oh come on batteries… stick with me just a little longer…

Ugh… are those… bite marks on the bones? As in like… eating marks?

This is hell. That's all there is to it. Hell. I fell into hell and there are devils wandering around who will poke me with their forks.

Okay, keep quiet, Em. Put a lid on it. Don't want to attract attention...

Juuuust stay quiet... What would Princess Emilia do? I'll tell you what she'd do: she would stay quiet. Shhhh.

Wow. Good thing I checked my claustrophobia at the door. This is gonna be tight. I guess it's either through this little hole or turn around and face Mr Sunshine out there. Hmm. Excellent options!

I gotta try it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right Miss A-student beauty queen and all around hottie?

Bingo! Done. Voila. QED. Hee haw. Locked and loaded. That is how we roll. You go girl. Aaaaannnnd... Cut it. Print it. Saved. Vamos!

Top...! It's the top! Mine top... tip top top of the mine...! No more shaft just... this place! I'm out of the mine! ...Back to the lodge! Back to the fires and warmth and friends! Oh little lodge, I missed you so much... how do I get out of here?

(MIKE: You locking us in?) I'm locking the baddies out. Can't be too careful. (MIKE: Glad you're sure the baddies are out there and not in here.) Feels good to lock a door...

(MIKE: Wow. I guess I totalled the place huh?) Mikey had a tantrum? (MIKE: When I commit to something, I like to do a thorough job.) Hmmmm. Don't remember you making heaven and earth move for me... (MIKE: Hey. Don't say that...) I'm kidding... You did okay... (MIKE: ...that's better...) ...considering the tool you have to work with... (MIKE: Easy! Easy!)

This whole wing just feels like it was for the real head cases. Right? Like the lost causes. (MIKE: Yeah. It's got a really pleasant vibe in here. Let's keep moving.)

Ew. Ew! His gums were receding?! Didn't he floss?! Some people just do not understand the importance of dental hygiene.

One order of W pâté, comin' up!

Wow, Sam, you're really getting all Rambo on us.

(SAM: Look. The machinery. If we can get those metal containers in a row... we can get across.) You're kidding, right? On those rusty... rust buckets out there?

(SAM: You got it! It's working!) That's right, 'cause I'm the mecha-master! (SAM: Now if we get them lined up... We can just hop right across!) Already on it, Rambo. Or should I say... Sam-bo. (SAM: Ah... no... I don't think you should say that.)

An elevator...! Probably broken. Why is everything on this goddamned mountain falling apart!

(SAM: Looks like we've got find a way across.) Score one for Captain Obvious.

(SAM: We've got one shot to get out of here and we can't screw it up.) Right back at ya, lady.

JESSICA

(CHRIS: What's Mike doing?) He's getting all of our stuff to the lodge. Nails. Just had 'em done.

(SAM: We can help you with the stuff.) Oh that's so nice! But... I kinda like it when Mike does it.

Ugh, finally we're out of that stupid wind. I was freezing my buns off out there. (MIKE: I can help you with those if you like...!)

(MATT: Come on Em, relax.) No, it's not okay Matt. That bitch is on crack or something.

Whatever. I don't have time for jealous bitches.

Fine. Whatever. Anything to get away from that whore. (EMILY: Are you kidding me? I'm the whore?)

Ugh, you know, I can't believe Emily sometimes... why is she such a royal B? How could you have ever gone out with someone like that?

(MIKE: Exiled.) More like sex-iled.

Come on troops, move out.

I wonder if they have any room service up at the cabin. I could so use a triple grande mocha cappuccino right now.

You lit up my night... Now all we need are some fireworks later...

How bout some jams? (MIKE: Whatever puts you in the mood.) This one might be my favourite... Until their next one comes out, then that'll probably be my favourite. (MIKE: That's a really good way of thinking about it.) Thanks! ... ...what?

(MIKE: Josh seemed pretty happy to get rid of us back there, didn't he?) Michael! I had no idea you had such a gossipy side... Is this the politician in you? (MIKE: Politician nothing; the guy's a dick!) Hmm.

I keep having this great thought, but then I keep forgetting it.

Somebody's going to owe me a new outfit.

(MIKE: I didn't know Hannah wore glasses.) Yeah. Just when she wasn't around any cute boys.

I wonder if they deliver take out up here. I mean right here.

Ugh. My shoes are getting so moist.

I wonder what's going on back at the lodge. Everybody's probably doin' it.

Nature's kinda gross.

Is that Orion's belt or is he just happy to see me?

Hah! I'm totally going to tell everyone about your fear of birdies.

Stand back, Debbie downer.

Don't worry, I'll save Woodsgate for the next election.

(MIKE: Some of these planks are pretty rickety.) You know what else is rickety? (MIKE: What?) Your face is rickety. (MIKE: That's a really good one!) Thank you!

(MIKE: Watch your step, Jess.) You know what? You're worse than my mom. My mom!

Boom! Sting like a butterfly and float like a bee.

Wow, look at that old photo. (MIKE: Must be an old mining team.) Looks like they really knew how to... handle themselves. (MIKE: Sounds like you wish you could handle them.) Looks really old. I wonder if they're all dead now. Ugh! So creepy!

(MIKE: Probably faulty wiring or something.) You've got faulty wiring.

Unless you want to make out with an ice sculpture, I suggest you get a fire going. Pronto.

It's so cold in here right now my tongue would get stuck to your flagpole.

I'm cold, I'm bored, and I'm getting rapidly less horny. You want to hurry it up with the fire?

(MIKE: It's so dusty.) No maid service up here? What a rip.

Coldness generally isn't conducive to hotness, Michael... Woah. That sounded, like, deep.

While you were trying to find the right button to push, I found some de-light-ful candles that wonderfully spice up the place and light up all the nooks and crannies... Far more cosy and accommodating, don't you think?

I can't lose my phone, my parents are gonna kill me! (MIKE: You can always get a new one!) That's like my fourth one this year.

Just unfasten it! (MIKE: I can get it! I can get it!) Don't send a man to do a woman's job.

Oh. Those perverted assholes. Why can't they just leave us alone and let us have a perfectly nice time? God! What jerks! (MIKE: Hey, they're just trying to have a good time.) Yeah? Well, so are we!

You guys are such dicks! Are you really that upset with me and Michael that you want to ruin our fun? Huh? Well, guess what? You can't ruin it! Because Michael and I are gonna screw! That's right! We're gonna have sex! And it's gonna be hot! So enjoy it! 'Cause I know we're going to! Ugh.

MATT

Ohhhh! She just got Emily'd!

Wow. Someone had a good time in here.

Why would someone leave a picture of keys where the keys should be?

This place can't just be a huge death trap, right? Cable car can't be the only way in and out of this joint.

Josh had a lot of problems... I think he just wanted to be able to sort things out... and put this all behind us...

So the joke I learned, it's really good, it's about like, a dude, who's got a haircut like the moon, and-

Coyote? Bear? ... Why is that okay?

C'mon, Matt... You don't wanna die down here.

The hell is that… Jessica? (JESS: Matt? Jesus… So it got you too.) Yeah… You okay? (JESS: Hardly...) Let's get the hell out of this place. Look! There! (JESS: Light!) That's the cable car station!

Come on, man... nearly there... nearly there...

JOSH/THE PSYCHO

Come on, lock... My lockpick skills are a little rusty...

This is the most boring break-in ever. You haven't even broken in yet.

Hey! Grit bin! Nice work moving that over here!

Everything all right in there? (CHRIS: Yeah, I'm fine. It's really dirty. And a little freaky.) Sounds like my kind of date! (CHRIS: Offf course it does.)

Dude, come on! Let's open this jawn!

Ahh-hahaha! Dude are you okay? That lil' wolverine almost gave you a paper cut!

(SAM: Hey, those things are known to be vicious sometimes.) Vicious to lil' babies. Lil' Chrissy babies.

(SAM: Thank you Chris.) Thaaaank you Chriiiiis.

Yo! Explorers! You guys are gonna need the keys for the love shack!

As you can see, your friend Josh is now in quite an unfortunate situation. If you wish to see him dead, then do nothing and you may watch him die.

Second... clue... picture if you will... high atop a powdery mountain... the only place possible for a jacked up jock like Matthew to score a... 'big break'...

If you'll please now direct your attention towards the main attraction...

Not much time left before your friend is... perforated...

Congratulations! You've just bought yourself... more time... to watch your friend die...

My my my, didn't you do well! You fought the system and you've won. And what you've won is a prize! You're a lucky winner, come on down!

Well, that's the end, folks. I only wish it could have turned out differently, but, unfortunately, I'm still going to kill your friend because, hey - winners don't play by the rules!

Allow me to introduce myself, I am your host!

Oh, I had fun with them... and now I'll have fun with you... There's nothing wrong with having a little fun, is there?

Samantha, my darling, I don't think your friends are going to help you... I've already had a little fun with them...

Oh what a delight it was watching his life drain away. I wonder if watching yours will be just as fun.

(SAM: What do you want?) I just want a little fun, Sam... so why don't we... mix things up a little... You can have ten seconds to pretend like you're escaping... and then you're dead!

Go on, hide if you like... I know just where you are.

(CHRIS: What do you want from us?!) Well now, Mr Chris... I think you've got the answer right there in front of you.

Oh borrring... You think I didn't bulletproof my machinery?

(CHRIS: You're sick!) Heh heh heh... why thank you, kind sir... but the choice... is yours... play ball!

I'm sorry... so sorry... it's all my fault...

THE STRANGER

It would be wise for you to hear me out.

You seem to listen but not to hear.

You have no chance out there on your own- (CHRIS: I'll just have to take my chances.) Then I'll go with you. Alone would be suicide. (CHRIS: Yeah well you're so special.) I am... experienced.

You do not seem too concerned with saving the life of your friend.

(CHRIS: Have you done this before?) Have I foolishly attempted to free a dead man in the hopes of becoming one myself? (CHRIS: Uh...) You ask questions that are not very useful. (CHRIS: My teachers say the same thing. But yeah, so, have you?) This is not my first barbecue.

He who seeks avoidance finds out what he seeks to avoid. (CHRIS: That's... a really confusing saying.)

[toneinaflat]

ima put some mike hcs here too, because im obsessed with this little goober !!! originally posted this in a smash bros rp server

-Mike's creator Dr. Crygor is a father figure to him. Their relationship isnt abusive, but its more like Mike acting like an annoyed, angsty teen with his somewhat protective silly guy of a father. Mike appreciates his family, despite not straight up expressing that half the time.

-Mike works with music programs! this is why he talks about synthesizers and other musical things in such great detail. However, he's been trying *not* to punch a hole through his screen for a while now. Crygor has better things to do than to fix that old hand-me-down laptop apparently.

-Mike is Nonbinary! Mike goes by He/they.

-Mike was originally started on as having female characteristics in mind like Doris 1, but eventually, near the last minute, he was changed to having more male characteristics. However, some parts of programming never got fixed, so he still has some traits that could be considered "off" at times. Mike is aware of this and has chosen to go by being Nonbinary.

-Mike is also Pansexual! However, he isnt that interested in women to begin with. They aren't completely out of the picture, but...y'know. if you ever asked him what type of women he's into, he'd probably respond with "men" and stare at you deadpan until you eventually change the topic, or leave.

-He takes care of the Mics on his head like they're his literal children. Do NOT fuck with his mics. Despite this, he has no problem with acting like the damned popstar from Miitopia. he WILL throw his mics at you and do some cool ass attacks with them. but yeah, he cleans them every day :-] the beginning of warioware get it together has him cleaning them, and he literally says "a clean mic is a happy mic!" to himself. its adorable

-mike is actually apparently canonically a great cook! i dont get the reason why his favorite thing to make is fruit punch though. he might be stupid

-he is probably hatsune miku's number one defender tbh. if not that he is also kasane teto's number one defender and teto is probably like an idol to him LMAO

-he does not watch a lot of anime! he was not lying. but he does enjoy jojo's bizzare adventure a lot and nicknames the show "bisexual men battle" sometimes for shits and giggles

- i hc the reason why his voice has been so fucked up in recent entries is because mike broke his voice a little bit after warioware touched with that singing tournament he won, and crygor had to fix him and tune his voice. however crygor is PROBABLY tone deaf. and fucked his voice up. and mike has no idea. recently though, someone could've tuned his voice to be correct again! (this...honestly was most likely penny, however in overrift, it was miku! yes. miku. that miku.)

-he's tried taking up guitar recently but kind of sucks. he thinks he's pretty good though right now

-mike has definitely thought about life as a human and has wondered what it would've been like if he was born a human. he can only dream i guess. (he's also recently begun thinking about this again. and also having cool human clothes and a more human singing voice)

-mike may seem like he has a big ego, but he definitely can have it shattered somewhat easily if something hits him in the gut (metaphorically) and he actually has a big heart. he cares a lot for people but sometimes has a hard time showing it, and his programming will sometimes falter and make him very unstable like mentally and physically

-mikes typing style changes depending on how comfortable he is when talking to certian people. hence him key mashing and typing casually with penny and more monotone and proper with other people he doesnt know.

might make a part 2 if ppl r interested !!!

[chemicalarospec]

my dad invited me and my brother to watch Firefly with him and it's actually really good??? (idk why I expected it not to be-- probably because the last time I tried one of his old Spaceship Shows (the one with the puppets) it was too sexist and too slow to get through.) First of all it should have been ILLEGAL for them to not have a single Chinese character in this show, but as a Chinese person I do like the aesthetics of the show and how they mashed up traditional Western and Chinese styles. The pronunciation is hilariously bad (IF ONLY THEY HAD A CHINESE ACTOR, HUH), but I like it because it's funny. (Me and my brother do laugh out loud every time.)

But the characters are actually so good?? First of all we got THREE FOUR (I didn't count right lmao) female main characters, no smurfette principal here! One of them doesn't even have any implied romance so far okay technically River doesn't but I was thinking of Kaylee and she has a crush on Simon lol. Kaylee, my favorite -- I LOVE how her appreciation of girly feminine stuff is portrayed as something that should NOT be mocked and does not negate her more "masculine" role as the mechanic and that she can nerd out WHILE being feminine. There's also how Mal, the main character, and Zoe, his first mate, have a longstanding and deep connection that's entirely platonic! Men and women CAN just be friends! Do note, Zoe (who is awesome btw) is married to another man, the pilot who is honestly so far the most boring character, and Mal is interested in Inara. Who, speaking of, I also love how so far Inara's profession as a (unionized it seems!) sex worker is treated with respect. River is the most ~okay~ in terms of sexist writing as a weak and mysterious and mentally unwell but sexy woman, but since she's not the only woman it doesn't feel like a big deal. (I feel like she's going to become more grounded, at least I hope so because I want to see more of her personality!) Misogynistic comments are challenged when made! Of course the writing isn't perfect but it's a LOT better than what I expected (and if a modern show didn't do the things I'm praising here I would be offended btw).

Also River's brother Simon is a complete dandy (I think it would be stereotyping for me to call him gay lmao), I love that for him. Episode one he bleeds from his mouth like a dying c-drama boy-- I just had a Vision of the resemblance and now I can't get it out of my head, all he needs to do his open his eyes super wide and then he'd be a dying c-drama boy. He cares for his sister so much, it's super sweet even though he REALLY sucks at dealing with psychosis(? would that be the term to describe her episodes?). Book is an instant icon of course, he's just there forcibly being the moral compass lol. Christianity in space smh. Despite being mr sexism I also love Jayne's character - he's funny (love a guy who's always trying to kill) and the question of his loyalty is intriguing. Mal is a kind of a Generic Protagonist Man but his backstory is solid enough that means his brooding attitude actually makes sense. The "Badger" side character is funny/interesting too, and my bro says he looks like Captian Sparklez haha. (Wash (Zoe's husband) is there. Sometimes he's funny.)

Going back to the design, I am partial to Victorian or whatever aesthetics, so I love how they threw that in along with the cowboy thing, and there's a lot of individual pieces merging Chinese aesthetics with that that I think do a great job. It speaks to my mixed heart <3. The costuming is actually so fun (mostly speaking to crowd scenes), so many characters get to wear distinctive outfits . Also kind of Killjoys vibes because they say "shiny" haha. I respect how space shots have no environment noise, only cowboy music lollll. Visual effects are interesting; you can always Tell but it does seem to me the best they could do at the time.

Wow this post turned out longer than I expected. So a recommendation for Firefly I guess! Forewarning, the parts with the "Reavers" are pretty dark/grotesque -- actually, there's significant violence throughout the show, the Reavers are just the worst.

[katyspersonal]

The Mutual Lover Train Because Our Mutuals Deserve Love!

List 5 of yours mutual and a character you ship them with the most and add it in their and random mutual inbox anonymously to see if you're on the list! Don't break the chain or no more bloodborne for you.

Hey, the ask chain told you to send this stuff anonymously, so why are you using the account- ehhhh whatever, should I even bother questioning YOU anymore.. XD

@jarognieva - Ok I am sure someone already did that, but. Micolash lol. Nobody deserves him like she does. I swear this Micolash appreciation and simping is so genuine that I felt inadequate compared to her at least two times XDDD

@fareehaandspaniards - I can't say either Damian or Gremia because she'd clearly rather love to watch them making out from the closet or something LMAO fsdghsdh I mean, this dynamic COULD count as a form of polyship but- well the meme says one character, so guess this will be Gideon! Her simping for him and defending him was so wholesome! tbh she generally loves VERY old men hhfhsdf

^ LOL what do you mean "why there is a beach here now", it is simply aftermath of Faree's favs playing tags fdghfdgsdg xdd sorry I'll stop

@heraldofcrow - I was SUPPOSED to use the joke like "lol considering the recent events, Crow clearly likes WAY more than just one person" but SOMEONE decided to hex me, so now I can't -_- Alright, you plucked chicken, considering the fact you've barely got any time alive left, you can have your slutty boots man Orbeck 🙄

@val-of-the-north - Okay finally this clown will take the damage FOR Crow on that dumb joke because BRO IS REEEEEEALLY INTO YAHAR'GUL HUNTERS, LIKE, SEXUALLY AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! ok ok ok on a serious note though, this is a tough one. He simps for multiple weirdos, but is compatible with almost none of them! However, the one that stood out amongst his multiple gay crushes (and like, 1 female character interest in over a decade hfdshdfs) is PATCHES! Nobody likes him more unironically fdjudshfds

@fantomette22 - I know you've mentioned that you would really love a pretty girl to wear pretty dresses to counter your tomboy+academic aesthetic, but after you kept gnawing me like a rabid dog with a chewtoy over as much as looking in Solaire's direction the wrong way I think you guys are sealed XD Get married fools lol

_________

(ok granted I do have some mutuals who legit crush on a character and self-ship more or less, I am just not sure whether they'd be comfortable with goofing around like these but you guys are valid!)

[atopearth]

Ikemen Villains Part 2 - Liam Evans Route

I appreciate Liam's concern, but using his ability to disappear and sneak into the heroine's room to check on her after she witnessed William indirectly kill someone is not it hahaha, very terrifying to find someone randomly in your own room lol. It was sweet of him to try and cheer her up and tell her that she doesn't need to force herself to smile though. Liam is really good at distracting both the heroine and me lol! I really appreciate how kind and thorough he is in making the heroine not think about her terrible experience by flirting with her and honestly, it works! He sincerely seems to want to protect her and I think that's sweet, especially when he said her heart only belongs to her and he wants to protect that. It's kinda crazy how comfortable she got that she fell asleep in his arms though hahaha. LMAO at all the guys finding out Liam stayed in the heroine's room last night and congratulating Liam or accepting it as long as the heroine is happy LOL, how embarrassing😂😂 I really like Harrison already and now you're telling me he likes to read as well?! Best boy already. Liam is a very considerate guy though to take the heroine around and show her things about the Crown to help her get a better understanding about the people and everything. I guess that's my issue with Liam. Even though I really like him and love how playful and bright he is, and how he always knows what to say, the thing is you can't really grasp what Liam really wants in this world or anything much about him tbh. He seems to think of himself as a fake star, so his "happy" personality is probably a facade so that people will like him and he can survive but even when fake, people are still themselves. Anyway, Liam mentioning Wuthering Heights made me curious about the book so I'm planning to read it now hahaha. It's always been at the back of my mind but this just solidified my desire to read it.

Liam seems very passionate about acting even though it also seems to be a form of escape for him because when he's acting on stage, he can live as that character and no one else but once the curtains fall, he's forced to go back to being who he is. I'm glad Harrison jolted the heroine back to her senses to run after Liam when the article about him killing his family was published. It obviously affected him and he understandably doesn't want to lose his main role in the play considering all the work he's put in and how much he loves acting. It must be so hard for Liam to have accidentally caused the fire as a child and then be the only one to survive and be protected. Survivor's guilt is a terrible thing that consumes people. It's so sad that Liam feels like he can't think for himself and relies on the heroine to make decisions for him on how he should feel and what he should do. I feel bad for Marie. She lost her fiance who was the butler who protected Liam in the fire, and she couldn't find any way to deal with her grief but blame the one her fiance chose to save, even knowing that the reason why she loved her fiance was because of how kind of a person he was. She knew it was unreasonable to blame a 9 year old kid but it's understandable that she couldn't let go of her hatred because it is true that whatever happened, Liam caused their deaths. Liam is so broken, it really breaks my heart to watch him be like this. When the heroine got hurt "because of him" and he blindly and obstinately listened to her to not kill those men no matter what because she said so, it really made my heart hurt for him. The guy is ready to die at any time if someone wants him dead and I don't know how I should feel for his never-ending pain. It's so sad to hear from Liam himself that he thinks if he listens to whatever other people tell him to do and work hard to make their wishes come true, then everyone will be happy. If only life was that simple. It's sad to find out that the reason for the fire back in the day was because of Liam's fits from his curse. It's not because he was silly or immature as a kid, it was literally something he couldn't control because his curse came about when he was five years old. That's terrible.

My heart really broke for Liam and the heroine. It must have been so terrifying for the heroine to have to witness Liam going through a fit and so mercilessly murder that villain. But so heartbreaking to see Liam have to see the fear he must have instilled in the heroine whilst living with his actions of making another "mistake". I felt so bad for him, because it was obvious he wanted to show all the fun things to the heroine and have her peacefully go through this one month without any issues or anything scary but in the end, his desire to be closer to her ended up hurting her and himself now after she learnt more about him. I choked up realising that Liam arranged for flowers to be sent to the heroine for special occasions for the next three years after learning from Roger that on a cellular level, people should forget about someone after three years. He knew and cherished the heroine, and knew she cared for him as well, so he thought to send her flowers to show his love but at the same time, he wanted her to gradually forget him so he wanted the flowers to decrease in frequency until it completely disappears after 3 years so that she won't wait for him meaninglessly. His thoughtfulness knows no bounds and his father doesn't deserve to ask for Liam's life. All his father can see is his own pain that he had to go through after his near death experience and recuperation, he couldn't help but hate the shining Liam living happily on stage and neglected to see all the pain Liam has off stage. Liam would never reject anyone asking him to die, let alone his father who he feels so guilty towards. I guess Roger is right that the farthest place in the world is someone's heart because no matter where you choose to go in this world, you'll eventually make it there, time is usually the only thing that's in the way. But for a person's heart, there's no guarantee that you'll actually reach it no matter how hard you try.

I found it very sweet that Liam wanted his father to dispose of his corpse so that the heroine would never find it and be hurt, I'm sure she'll be hurt either way but I guess not having to see his body would help. But anyway, I love how Liam talked about how much life changed for him because of the heroine. For someone who never cherished his life nor the future, having the heroine always look forward to "tomorrow" and looking forward to seeing him tomorrow is sweet. And likewise, for the heroine, having Liam always smiling next to her, always caring for her and watching out for her saved her. I was happy for the heroine when she was able to grab Liam before he fell, but was sad when he showed no desire to be saved even when she so desperately grabbed on to his hand. Personally, I think it was unnecessary to make Liam's past "even more sad" with the abuse by his father and relatives because I think Liam already carries all the weight of sadness stemming from his "crimes" that he burdens himself with and we didn't really need more reasons to make it not his fault because even if they didn't abuse him, it wasn't Liam's fault and so I kinda wish they didn't add that but oh well. I'm so happy that Liam could find it in himself to not only hope to change but actually change, and to wish that the heroine will stay by his side and wait for it. Considering how he was before, I'm so glad that the heroine's feelings are getting through to him. I nearly teared up at the performance part because Liam's role as Quasimodo personified his own desire to live regardless of how cruel the world has been to him. It finally felt like a breakthrough where instead of Liam always using his characters to escape from reality, this time, he was able to come to life alongside the characters he portrayed. I'm glad Liam himself realised that even if he disappeared and died, his father still wouldn't be saved from the loneliness and unhappiness he feels. How did Liam know he wasn't his biological son when he was so young? Anyway, regardless of the why's and how's, it definitely is a bit too dramatic for my liking now lol, but I guess it feels very much like a play and Liam is the main character so I guess he's just truly living in a play haha. It was quite beautifully tragic when the heroine decided to push the dagger Liam used to kill his father deeper condemning him for his crimes and in turn bearing half of the burden of Liam's guilt and suffering. I honestly didn't expect it but it really made me think yep, this feels more like what I expected from this game haha so I'm happy. Awww Roger calling the heroine his favourite was so sweet, I like him hahaha. I'm glad that the ending and epilogue still has Liam show many aspects of abandonment and wanting to be loved by the heroine, because as she says, people can't change that easily, but nevertheless he is definitely changing and learning to love both himself and the heroine.

Overall, I really loved Liam's route and honestly didn't expect to love it so much! Initially, I wasn't sure what to expect but I really came to love the Liam who put in so much effort and time caring for the heroine, showing her all the happy things and protecting her from the "ugly" things that Crown does. I enjoyed how he took her out, supported her emotionally and never failed to be there for her when she was scared. I think that foundation of their relationship was great, because when it was the heroine's turn to help and understand Liam and why he finds it difficult to live as "himself", it really made me cheer for the heroine to support him and let him lean on her. I liked how the story showed that it was difficult for the heroine to get through to Liam because he already believed that his life was not worth it and that's not something she can force him to change his mind about, but she could be there to make him think that maybe there is something more in life that he actually wants and can consider living for. So when she saved him when he fell after finding out that he loved her so much he was going to send flowers to her for three years, I couldn't help but want to cry because it felt like Liam was starting to feel for himself again and not live in a "role" he created to protect himself. I enjoyed how much of a rollercoaster of emotions everything was, and even though I still think the thing with his father was a bit too dramatic, I still really liked it because I found it sweet to see Liam finally understand for himself that the heroine loves him so much and is ready to stay beside him forever as he is and because of who he is. Learning to love yourself is a difficult thing and it felt like Liam could finally start to understand it through his love for the heroine and I found that very romantic.

[romchomp]

i’ve been reading your analysis/rewatch notes about nana and they are really insightful and helped me understand hachi’s actions a lot more. also they are really funny. I reread the manga and honestly i do think ai yazawa did plan to have a romance story that was about nana and hachi being actually romantic partners in the end (maybe it’s just my head cannon idk). if ai yazawa did come back from hiatus and continued nana how would you like it to end?

anon i'm so sorry i've taken forever to get to this 😭

i really appreciate this though. i'm glad that you could find my notes funny and helpful in better understanding hachi's actions!! :) i regret never finishing my note series. i really enjoyed writing them and loved getting comments from people sharing their own thoughts on any given episode.

all that aside,

a part of me agrees with you that the romance between hachi and nana was intentional. so much so I would argue that they have canonical romantic feelings toward each other. they explicitly describe how they feel as something like true love, something like falling in love for the first time, etc etc. they're also narrating to each other. all these years into the future, and they are still centered in each other's lives. i guess my thing is...i think ai yazawa intended for nana and hachi's ending to be with them together, but i'm not sure it was intended to be read as queer. romantic, sure, but in a platonic way.

the likelihood of nana ever getting finished is low, but if ai yazawa were to come back from hiatus one day, i think it would end with hachi and nana reuniting and potentially living together again. I don't see hachi being with nobu or takumi and i don't see nana ending up with yasu either. nana and hachi pick each other and learn how to properly depend on one another. thats what I think ai yazawa planned.

and i think that would be an ending that satisfies both of their arcs. hachi is meant to learn that maintaining some independence doesn't have to mean being alone and/or lonely. and that the person she can depend on for this need doesn't have to be a man or romantic partner. basically, reuniting with nana is hachi's journey to depending on others in a societally unconventional way, which requires some level of confidence and independence she didn't have at the beginning of the series. nana is meant to finally let herself depend on others and in the process open herself up to love and vulnerability. to realize that despite her disappearance, despite hachi having children now, she still waited for her to come back. to learn to depend on and to be depended on is not only a risk but something fulfilling.

on the question of how the reunion would actually go down...i don't really have too many opinions. would I rather nana finally come back to everyone on her own or for hachi to find her? i'm not really sure. i really don't know which one i would consider better- i think there's an argument for both. i think the manga was pointing in the direction of hachi being the one to cross that bridge though.

maybe ai yazawa WOULD pair off nana and yasu idk. i've personally never really liked them that much together and i don't think nana actually loved him. not like she loved hachi. but i admit i see that being a possibility in ai yazawa's vision. hachi ending up with nobu or takumi? not so much. i truly, genuinely, believe hachi was intended to be a single mother who at least gets to reunite with her old homoerotic bestie in the end.

in conclusion... i don't really care that much whether or not nana and hachi are girlfriends by the end or simply galpals. i just want them to end up together and not date any of the men. it will all be lesbianism to me either way. however, i think the main reason i feel this way is because i don't think we'll ever get an ending lmao. they absolutely end up as girlfriends in MY vision.

[sasquach-scratches]

Unfortunately that poll of "Your Most Hated TES Game" has got me thinking again about my level of disgust across the series and tbh i kinda need to update that so I guess I'll use this to organize my thoughts lmao

For the record, though, I haven't played EVERY TES game out there and those I did weren't finished half the time

Anyways let's get into it

Arena-Actually, lemme separate them into categories cause can you REALLY compare them all equally given how different they are

The Eldest of Scrolls

Arena: Probably the only one of the old-school games I actually finished. Big ol dungeon crawler. Magic goes boom. Hard to really "hate" the game cause I don't feel too strongly about it which is funny cause it's technically the first TES game I played (I waited a month for Oblivion to arrive in the mail)

Daggerfall: Never finished it. As I understand, though, it's Arena but More. I think this is one I'd have stronger feelings about had i actually stuck to playing it till the end

Battlespire: Arena but More but Without the Extra Roleplay. Probably more polarizing but again, barely got an hour or so in lol

Dawnstar/Shadowkey/Stormhold: Never played, but want to (especially Shadowkey) I hear they're all full of jank tho so who knows if i'd enjoy it

The Modern Scrolls

Redguard: Never played.

Morrowind: Played a full game and got through half of another, but given how hogwild I go with the modern TES games it doesn't feel like it's enough to deserve that "Worlds Biggest Hater" energy from me. I do think the "combat sucks" thing is overblown, though. Not saying it's perfect but maybe y'all are too used to the actionized games and/or using the wrong weapon for your skillset. Do not like how easy it is to get lost cause if you don't have Mark/Recall or an Intervention spell you can't just jump to a familiar location.

Oblivion: In short, it's the first TES game I truly played. So I love it for that but also hate it for its shitass levelling and whitewashing of lore/the Empire in more ways than one. I love it more now because of how streamlined Skyrim is. I hate it more now cause it was definitely a low point for Bethesda's worldbuilding. LOVE the CC and I remember spending over an hour creating my first character then immediately rerolling cause oops I overdid it. It's my problematic fave

Skyrim: Love the OCs and the adventures I made for it. Hate the fandom it grew. Love the art direction in comparison to Oblivion. Hate the "gritty" filter put over it. Hate its shitass writing and quests. Love the addition of skill trees but hate their implementation. Absolutely LOATHE the downgrade to magic (idc if it's "story integration" it still sucks) Heavily dislike how little choice you get at CC as far as your skills go. 50/50 on the cosmetic side of CC cause on one hand you can't go ham on face creation but on the other you can change things like weight and nose/eye types but on the other other hand weight is just muscle mass unless you're using the fem body where it's SLIGHTLY thicker

Spinoff Scrolls 2: Finger on the Monkey's Paw Curls

Elder Scrolls Online: This one's...complicated just by virtue of being an MMO that's STILL updating. When I first played it, it was a breath of fresh air over the previous entries not just cause of different gameplay but because having multiple characters was an actual tangible thing in-game. I'm an OC whore okay. The story of the base game felt a LOT tighter, too, given it was actually linear. 'Course, the writing always felt really good or really bad and rarely was it in-between. Either way I got very, VERY invested in it in a way I knew I would never be able to experience again and I will never forget that. The CC is Phenomenal and easily the best one in any TES game so far. (Boob and ass slider? FOR MEN TOO???)

Lore also was hit or miss, with me being VERY appreciative of them touching things that Bethesda never bothered with if it wasn't for killing (i.e. types of food, clothing, toys, etc) but also while the lore team did consult with Bethesda there were and still are some glaring oversights that feel like they shouldn't have happened (especially earlier in the game's life) Given there's still some hiccups I'm guessing the Bethesda team doesn't actually consider it very important (makes sense, the main games also bend lore for the sake of gameplay/Todd's whims A LOT, just look at Oblivion lmao) I also love love love that they touch on the weirder topics, even if sometimes it's done in a way that feels too...on the nose? idk how to explain it

Recent ESO, though? Writing got more and more bland, with some standout sidequests. Lore still hit or miss so that's whatever. I stopped caring for the gameplay after...Orsinium?...when I gave up on relearning how to play with the regular changes to combat. Gave up trying to fit my OCs stories into the new content too, even with new characters (helps that they're not as developed lol) Still play out of habit but I defo think it fell off and this recent change to the yearly content doesn't seem to be helping but then I haven't touched new content since High Isle lmao

Legends: Seemed interesting but never played it much lmao, lore/story seems to follow ESO's example of being hit or miss from what I saw

Blades: It was okay I guess. Another game I developed a habit for then promptly dropped after I finished building and upgrading my town. It's a mobile game so idk what I expected, annoying ads begging for money abounded. I did all of it without paying a single cent on my Switch and it was a slog but I did it. Pretty meh about it tbh

Castles: Looks cute. Never played it and probably never will.

[ryker-writes]

falls onto your blog Hello, I have come for a matchup >:3

Likes: food, music, my bed, dark and cold places, stuffed animals, dogs and cats

Dislikes: practicing instruments✨, messes, being told what to do 💀 (within reason), touching sticky things, loud parties

Hobbies: uh… I can make music, writing, reading, crotchet and cross-stitch (rip my hands)

Physical or Personal Preferences: I’d say someone tall but everyone is taller than me and that’s it for physical tbh, loud people, anyone who’s mean and rude like off the back, do not give me stalker man, pls give me the old men tho I usually like them coughliliacough but honestly anyone who’s near my age or older bc I immediately see the first years as babies. Overall tho, I guess just someone who would take care of me as much as I would take care of them while simultaneously having fun banter✨

Love languages: acts of services ig bc I will try to lighten an s/o’s load or give them food (mostly food), and quality time bc I may not touch you but I sure as hell will spend hours in silence in a room doing our own things. Physicals touch but that’s only if I’m like really comfortable in a relationship

Lmao I can’t wait to see who you match me up with out of this >:3

Thank you in advance, father!

Nikki welcome to the blog that's for falling in!

"Nikki my dear child, I am very torn on who to give you. So! I've made the executive decision to give my explanation for both!

First up, we have the wonderful Lilia!"

This one is pretty self explanatory I mean you two just fit so well together! He checks almost all the boxes (and it's hard not to give you your fav). But Lilia would work very well as your partner!

Lilia is the perfect fun sunshine in the dark place that is Diasomnia

if he finds out you like food, he will cook for you as much as he can (wishing you luck)

Lilia loves music and making music and will absolutely join you and help you with it any way he can

he will buy you all the stuffed animals ✨

also if you ever make him anything with your crotchet or cross-stitch skills, he will wear/show it off with pride

it becomes a prized possession of his

you two can make food for each other!

Lilia will spend so much time with you even doing your own thing

he'll be playing video games while you do your thing and it will be a silence with love

he may even show you something cool he found in his game

of course he'd take such good care of you! (aside from the food he makes)

he loves taking care of you and having you take care of him so much

he always feels so spoiled and lucky whenever you do

"Then we have our more sketchy option. My instincts led me here, though I'm not entirely sure why.

I'm talking about Jamil."

Truthfully, I really don't know why but my brain thinks it works. If I were you, I would stick with Lilia, but Jamil may work out too.

Jamil would take care of you but he would also love to be taken care of

thanks to his connections with Kalim, he can show you all sorts of dogs cats and more animals

but he'd keep you away from the parties because they can get quite loud

honestly your love languages work the best for him and he appreciates you so much

he can get quite busy so he really loves whenever you help him or are even just there to spend time with him

you also don't have to worry about any messes with him around!

he's actually very considerate about what you do and don't like

but he'd love to hear you play or practice your music and he thinks it's so relaxing

you are his comfort

[dis0rderly-cl0wn-nerd]

Moving In

Ledger!Joker x Harley (what I think she'd be like in the Nolanverse)

Warnings: Swearing, violence

Summary: After Harleen is attacked and injured in the alleyway, J invites her to stay in his hideout.

Author's Note: I wanted to get some writing done over these few days off since December is gonna be so busy lmao. Anyway as always enjoy! 💕

Edit - Dec 8th, 2024: This has been changed from the original because my old writing sucks and it needed an update 🙃 Should be better now.

< Previous - Next Part >

Nothing ever went the way she planned. 

Much to her dread, yet somehow delight, Harleen was getting more familiar with the clown. They saw each other almost every night. Joker talked to her for hours. It was like they had known each other their whole lives and not just a few weeks. He seemed to really like her for some reason. He also brought her food and various things she needed. Harleen appreciated the gesture but she didn’t understand why he was being so kind to her.

Tonight was no exception. As Harleen laid on the cold, hard ground, nestled in some blankets Joker had brought her, she spotted Joker coming down the alleyway through a crack in her cloth nest. His expression was dark and brooding. His day must not have gone well. As soon as he saw Harleen though, he seemed to lighten up.

“Good evening, Ms. Quinn.” He said in a sing-songy voice and sat down beside her. 

“Evening...” Harleen mumbled as she sat up from her blanket pile. Her mop of blonde hair was wild and her eyes were half lidded.

“Oh sorry, doll. Did I wake you?” 

“No. I was trying to sleep but it’s kinda difficult. How did your day go?” 

“Eh, it went. My men are fucking stupid.”

Harleen bit back a smile. “Oh really?” 

“Yeah. They almost got us busted. Thank God I stepped in and covered their tracks. Ugh, it just puts even more work on me.”

“I’m sorry. Are you feeling any better now?”

“I guess. Got some takeout on the way home. That always lifts my spirits. I have leftovers. You want some?”

“Uh, sure. Whatcha got?” 

Joker produced a styrofoam box from the duffel bag he was carrying. “Just some fries and half a burger.”

Harleen accepted the box from him and started eating. Joker watched her intently with a small smile. 

“So how was your day, doc?” He asked.

Harleen chewed for a moment before answering. “Uh, fine I guess. Same old same old. A random lady came by and gave me 20 bucks. So there’s that.”

Joker nodded.  “Sometimes rich people get lost and wander over towards this side of town. They’re always horrified at the state of this place.”

“Yeah, she looked pretty well off. She probably felt bad for me. But hey, I’m not going to say no to free money.”

“There ya go. Hey, how’s the food?”

“Amazing. Where’d you get this?”

“Just a little spot by the harbor. I usually just get a burger to go. But they also have the best home cooked meals. Reminds me of what my mama used to make.”

Harleen noticed that over the course of their many conversations Joker mentioned his mother a lot. He only spoke highly of her and in past tense which meant she must’ve passed. “Were you close to her?” 

Joker had a faraway look in his eyes.“Yeah. She was pretty special to me. What about you?”

“Nope. My mother and I have never been on good terms. Especially not now. Some stuff happened in the past that she blames me for. And now somehow this is all my fault. Like I set out to do this on purpose, or that I was supposed to know that Arkham would hire a phony.”

“Sounds like a real bitch. When’s the last time you heard from her?”

“I haven’t seen her in person in years but we stayed somewhat in touch. I called her after I got an eviction notice. All I wanted was to see if I could maybe come home for just a few days until I could figure things out. And trust me, that was my absolute last resort. I haven’t stepped foot in that house since I was 18. Well, she lost it at me and said how dare I have the audacity to ask that. I’m the bigshot who had to move away to the big city and I’m a grown ass woman, I can take care of myself. How dare you run off and abandon your poor mother! Blah blah blah. The same shit she always says.”

And I didn’t abandon her. She abandoned me years ago. Harleen added to herself angrily.

Joker chuckled in disbelief. “Wow.”

“I know! The only reason I even got to go to Gotham University was because I got a scholarship! Why would I not take that opportunity? She can never just be happy for me.”

“Screw her. You did what was best for you. You can’t control what she does. Let her be mad.”

“You don’t understand. She twists and manipulates everything I say and then makes me feel like shit. Everything is about her. I always put the blame on her. She’s the victim.”

“Sooo, she’s a narcissist.”

“Yes! She needs to be studied, I swear to God.”

“Mhm. You probably had a shitty childhood then.”

“You think?”

Joker grinned at that. “I had a pretty rough one too.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah. The daddy issues are very apparent.” 

“Whoa. You’re good.”

Harleen scoffed. “Not good enough apparently. Since I don’t have a rich daddy to do my dirty work.”

Joker laughed and shook his head. “I wouldn’t take it so personally, doll. That says more about them than it does you. I’m sure you’re great at your job.”

“Thank you. You’re the last person I expected to hear that from.”

“Heh.” He glanced at his watch. “I would stay out here with ya some more, but I gotta get up early tomorrow. It’s getting really late.”

Harleen nodded. “I understand. Go get some sleep. Seems like you’ll need it.” 

Joker stood up with a grunt. He bent down in front of Harleen and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. She bristled at his touch and stared up at him in shock. Before she could say anything, he’d already turned away and started up the ladder. 

What am I getting myself into?

—

The next night came and there was no sign of Joker. It was getting really late so Harleen guessed he was probably staying out because of another job or something. She buried herself under her blankets and tried to sleep on the uncomfortable concrete to no avail. Some time passed and she still couldn’t sleep. 

She found herself missing him. Weeks ago she would’ve been glad to be rid of him. She enjoyed his company. He had a certain charm that overpowered his dangerous aura. He was a great listener and didn’t judge her for venting. She never imagined this was what her ‘sessions’ with him would be like. This was a much better setting than cold, clinical Arkham. Maybe not getting the job was a good thing.

Harleen curled up tighter under the blankets, shivering. Faintly she heard a voice nearby but brushed it off and tried once more to get some sleep. Then she heard multiple voices echoing down the alleyway. She tensed and tried to remain perfectly still, her heart racing as they sounded closer. How she wished Joker was there. 

“There ain’t nothing out here! It’s the emptiest part of town!” One voice shouted.

“You know how many bums live around here? They probably got at least a little cash on them. It’ll be just enough to get a fix. Look over there. There’s one.” Another voice said.

Harleen heard heavy footsteps coming towards her. She gasped and stifled a scream as a pair of hands ripped the blankets off of her. A group of three rough looking men loomed over her.

“Would ya look at this beauty, boys! We found something better than cash.” One man told the others.

“Yeah. Let’s get her.”

The men advanced towards her. Harleen hastily grabbed the knife that Joker had given her and held it out in front of her.

“Get away from me!” She shouted.

The men just laughed at her. They took out their own knives and lunged. Harleen ducked. One man’s knife grazed her calf, slicing through her pants. She winced, not giving them the satisfaction of hearing her scream, and tried to crawl away from them. 

She got about halfway down the alley but one of the men grabbed her ankle and yanked her back. She tried to kick him off with her other leg, landing a few blows to his chest, but it was no use. His grip was too strong.

She was about to give up, but then she heard one of them scream. Her head shot up and she saw Joker beating the shit out of them. He bashed them into the wall, landed punch after punch, knocked their teeth out. The men were screaming and crying and begging for mercy. 

“Please, man! I didn’t touch her! Get off me! Aghhh!”

Joker did no such thing. He kept going until they were laying there, writhing and choking on their own blood. Harleen watched wide eyed from afar, thinking for sure he’d kill them. He probably had because by now they were on the ground and not moving.

Joker walked over to Harleen and offered her a hand up. She took it and stood up on her wobbly, weak legs. Joker put his arm around her to keep her from falling.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. My leg is a little injured but I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not safe for ya out here. Come stay with me at my place. I don’t mind. I should’ve asked you a long time ago.”

Harleen considered the offer for a moment. She knew she shouldn’t. She would be staying in an extremely dangerous criminal’s hideout. There was no telling what could happen to her. But he had been very kind to her and he did rescue her twice. Besides, as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to grow very fond of him. 

Oh, what the hell? I don’t have anything to lose anyway. So what if he kills me?

“Uh, sure. I’d love to. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. You’re gonna have trouble getting up those stairs. Here…” 

Joker picked her up swiftly and carried her in his arms. Harleen was startled.

“Oh, uh, okay.” She muttered as Joker started up the ladder and then the stairs. 

She gripped his chest firmly to keep from falling, but not so hard that she seemed like a damsel in distress. She couldn’t help but take in his scent. It was a mix of explosives and cigarettes, with a dash of mint. It was heavenly. She shook off the thought in disgust at herself.

Joker reached his floor and put Harleen down for a moment. He pried open the window as far as it would go and crawled through. Harleen followed him and he shut the window behind her.

He helped her up and led her through the apartment. It was dark, messy, and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned properly in a long time. He sat Harleen down on the grungy, tattered looking couch and cleared away some drawn on newspapers and stuff from the coffee table. 

“Sorry ‘bout the mess. I don’t usually get, uh, visitors.” Joker offered a small apology. 

He grabbed a box from a table across the room and sat down on the couch beside Harleen. Inside the box was an assortment of medical supplies. 

“I gotta treat your leg, otherwise it’ll get infected. Ya don’t want that. It can get, uh, pretty nasty.” 

Harleen nodded. She rolled up her pants and let him stitch her up. He was quick yet gentle at the same time. When he finished she could barely tell that there was a wound. 

“How’d you learn how to do that?” She asked him.

“I’ve had lots of practice.” Joker replied as he put away the medical stuff.

Harleen pulled her knees up to her chest and looked around the apartment. It was laid out in an open floor plan, except for a corner with a door and side wall sticking out. She guessed that was the bathroom. Behind the living area was an open kitchen that had dishes, pots, and pans scattered everywhere. Across the room to her right was a bed that wasn’t made and pushed into the other corner. 

“Where do ya wanna sleep? I got a bed and a couch.” Joker asked.

“The couch is fine.” Harleen responded. 

She was not about to sleep in someone else’s bed. This was already weird enough.

Joker stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “Well, I’m tired so I’m goin’ to bed. You can do whatever you want. Just don’t touch anything cause I do have weapons and stuff here.”

Harleen slowly nodded. He was so casual about that. This life was normal to him. It baffled her though she should’ve been used to it by now. 

Joker slid out of his dress shoes, purple coat, green vest, and tie, leaving them in a pile on the floor. He crawled into bed, still wearing his dress shirt, pants, checkered socks, and of course his makeup. Harleen wished he’d wash it off so she could see his gorgeous face again. 

“G’night.” Joker said, settling beneath the covers.

“Goodnight Joker.” Harleen said back. It felt weird calling him that.

“Call me J.” He mumbled before drifting off. 

J. Harleen liked that a lot better. Why didn’t he suggest that before and spare her the awkwardness? Maybe he wasn’t as comfortable around her as he was now. It showed they were forming a bond and Harleen didn’t know how to feel about that.

As she watched his chest rise and fall, she listened to his soft breathing and wondered how often he had the opportunity to get decent sleep. She guessed he must’ve been really tired because she’d read in his patient file before that he had trouble sleeping. It made sense. With his racing mind, it probably seemed impossible to get some rest.

Growing tired herself, Harleen laid down on the couch, propping her leg up on a pillow. She rested her head on another pillow and covered up with her jacket. She closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

[emerald-dragonflame]

7, 8, 14

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

Traditional Watercolor. It looks gorgeous when done right, but boy, do I not have the patience.

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

I had this Fallout 4 comic that I had worked on, but stopped due to 1.) it was a self-insert thing (which now makes me kinda uncomfortable. Nothing against other people having self-inserts, this is just a me thing) and 2.) it was... not that great lol.

Also had the same thing happen with a Star Trek comic, but now that's turned into my sci-fi fantasy WIP.

14. Any favorite motifs

I don't know how to convey this in a condense way, but adding things that are considered more feminine with very masculine men. I'm not really sure why I like it so much, but if I were to guess, I really like irony.

This is a very masculine (or even just "ugly" by male beauty standards) man be called beautiful by his wife, flowers blooming under a bloody, dripping sword. I think a lot of it has to do societal shit, and the fact that I adore unconventional beauty...

If that makes any sense, lmao.

[todayisafridaynight]

Of course! I'm glad my Unmitigated Braindumping has given you more opportunities to talk about them at length I never know where to start myself, so I'm very thankful for the jumping-off point that first post provided (and that many of your posts provide!) This has been a wonderful experience. (Also, uh, since these "bookends" work for more personal stuff--I am No Longer Sick and I'm happy to hear you seem to be doing a bit better!)

Reading it over, I figure the event transcript itself is okay to share, so here it is on my test wiki! It's, well, it's about the same length as this ask will probably end up, and it's a "sequel" to his first event. A thing I really like about Mine's RGGO content is that It's All Connected; the narratives continue to build upon each other to this day. That's not the case for almost any other character.

And totally! With Mine in specific, I feel there's enough reductiveness on "both sides" regarding his sexuality and regarding Daigo that trying to put forward any particular stance would be detrimental on top of the reasons we've discussed. It's probably a bit weird to say this about a fictional character, but Mine's a whole person independent of the men in his life, y'know?

I actually fell for the red herring with Katase myself until the Kanda scene we talk about below haha, so I guess that's fair enough on your friend's part. Definitely the case that the ending makes it clear that's not how it is, though.

Mine's interactions with women are always fascinating to me, especially in contrast to Kanda as you mentioned, but also in contrast to the main series protagonists. Just the way he immediately drops everything to help the woman Kanda attempts to assault when he and Kanda first meet almost on instinct says a lot to me when almost every protagonist occasionally acts like it's an inconvenience to Them to intervene.

I'd say a lot of it comes from growth on the writers' parts in terms of understanding that, hey, being totally complacent in Kanda's actions is scummy. So I appreciate that Mine is by far the one who does the most to minimize Kanda's harm (up to and including having him killed, of course, but also getting him arrested in that event as well as physically stopping him--and apparently dozens of others, since every woman who picks him up in that event is apparently a woman he saved lmao.)

I feel like Mine, when mentally stable, has this almost "chivalrous" quality to him. I'm kind of reminded of Hijikata as well in that they both insist on calling every younger woman they meet "miss"; it's a little old-fashioned, perhaps condescending, but still kind of cute (biased though lol, the ratios on those three things may vary.) There's a lot I want to talk about on this topic with regard to Hijikata, the historical account, and other "definitive" Shinsengumi media, but I'll probably save that for another ask.

But on Mine and relationships, there's so much to unpack there! The old joke is absolutely applicable. And because he was talking about how he's "never 'picked anyone up' in his life" in that event, agreeing to all these "dates" but never enthusiastically (I think the one and only time he didn't seem actively unhappy was in the finale to the accompanying card's character story), I do wonder to what degree his passivity would play a role in other romantic encounters. Agreeing to whatever those women wanted whether he really wanted it himself.

Rewinding to Katase a bit, while that was obviously not romantic, I think the interaction in the finale could perhaps provide insight as to a problem he may face in romantic relationships. Which is his refusal (or inability) to be emotionally honest while sort of expecting the other party to be perfectly attuned to his emotions.

Because like, I don't think Katase /didn't/ care about him whatsoever, I think she just took his "I'm fine"(s) at face-value and took a "business as usual" approach without realizing how much that would upset him in his current state. I would be mortified in her position if I called up my boss on an urgent matter and he said he was "fine" and then just completely stopped responding before hanging up lol, especially upon learning he committed suicide shortly thereafter.

But that interaction is (or appears to be) something he emotionally experienced as a "betrayal" despite being totally unintentional, so I have to wonder how much of a pattern it is in his life; he's been concealing his real problems and saying he was """fine""" since he was a kid, after all. I obviously can't say anything conclusive, but it "feels like" there's something there with the way he sort of lumped in the women he's been with with his coworkers when talking about how "they'll all abandon ship sooner or later" or whatever.

Like, I don't doubt that some (or perhaps many) women would like him for shallow reasons, but all of them…? Hm. Not Sure. That said, there's definitely an argument to be made he was seeing hostesses and sex workers (seeing him talk to a hostess is one of my top 10 reasons for wanting him to be a protagonist at some point tbh), but I guess there's also an argument to made that those types of relationships are overtly "fake" and "paid-for" and so wouldn't appeal to him? I wish we actually got to see some of that when Kanda took him to cabaret clubs.

And hey, you're totally right about Aoki's secretary! That was something that stood out to me as well. Her screen-time is roughly comparable to Katase iirc, so it's puzzling. Jo's leftover files really are such an enigma, because everyone's got unused voice lines and stuff (and they're still interesting to listen through for "another dimension" to the characters you don't get to see in-game), but there's so much that's Unique to him. I can only hope some of those ideas are explored elsewhere.

Kanda's insult is a lot of fun to examine for the exact reasons you mentioned, because on the surface and in a literal sense, the translation is "off the mark"--but is it? I'm not sure how much crossover there is between cultures in this regard, but I know when I came out as bisexual to my family, there were a lot of accusations thrown around that I'd become "too Westernized." It's definitely something I'd like to ask native speakers about if I can get over the embarrassment; perhaps if that's no help, one of my books or papers on LGBT issues in Japan might have an answer.

I'm definitely under the impression that both localization teams understood Mine wasn't straight. I might be a little bit biased with regard to the original, since, like I said, that was actually the scene I began to "suspect" Mine was gay lmao. But there was an effort to maintain accuracy in the finale even if the wording is superseded by Y3R's intensity. In that respect I kind of wonder about the reason for the change, because it addresses the homophobia but not the inaccuracy.

Right! I do give Mine some credit for attempting to be cautious with Kanda and Daigo, of course. It does seem like his misanthropy (or his tendency to spiral into it when things go wrong, anyway) has a lot to do with his guardedness. And he definitely does have a tendency to look to the future to the detriment of his ability to consider the present (or even that the future might not turn out exactly as he predicts). "The pinnacle of hindsight bias" is the perfect way to put it.

I think that's very much evident in how much of his mental state hinges on things he takes for granted. He'll finally be happy now that he has Daigo to dedicate his life to, because of course Daigo will be around forever (spoilers: he won't.) He'll finally be happy now that he can take over the Tojo, because of course the Tojo will both accept him without a fuss and be around forever (spoilers: it won't).

But I very much agree this is exactly the sort of thing that makes him such a captivating and relatable character! It's been a lot of fun exploring that side of him with you, just as it's been a lot of fun exploring the Arakawas. Of course, I would also be interested in your take on Arakawa and femininity whenever you're feeling up to it.

It was no trouble, thank you so much for taking the time to watch my recommendations! Also gave me the push to get started on Hero with a friend and am excited to see how much that changes my perception of the special! Tsugaru's very much got things going on and I'm excited for the rewatch. Eventually! I honestly have no idea where I stopped watching Pure haha, but I recall wondering if her dependence on her family would just end up being transferred onto Toru, so I'm glad that's not the case at least.

I really appreciate the vote of confidence regarding examining the localization further! That means a lot to me. I think it was especially worth emphasizing Jo and Ikumi's youth because both dubs make the somewhat odd choice to have Jo voiced by the same actor (whereas teen Arakawa is given a different actor), and the model doesn't really have the same wide-eyed innocence Tsutsumi did when he was younger.

I did notice Tsutsumi's performance was much more animated than for Jo as an adult though, and it was a lot more "obvious" when he was saying things he didn't mean, so I appreciate the effort to make up for it in terms of Tsutsumi's acting and probably-Yokoyama's direction.

It's probably hard to believe these days haha, but if anything, people were significantly more vicious towards Arakawa than towards Jo at launch. It just got to be too much to take after a while, especially because I had to see it from ~mutuals~ too. Like you guys know that man's my namesake and that I can see what you're saying, but you're not even going to tone it down a little bit? Okay I Guess.

It felt really aimless to me, because it was like, what, "betraying" Ichi? Having a "weak" "redemption?" I'm not going to say Arakawa Did Nothing Wrong, and I'm sure even he would never be satisfied with whatever he tried to do to make it up to Ichi (he never was when it came to Masato), but he Kind Of Died before he had the chance. Sometimes that's how it is, but Ichi was always going to forgive him.

Of course I should be happy people loved Ichi enough to feel so protective over him, and I kind of am, but I can't fully put my experiences aside either. I don't want to harp on all that too much now that things are looking better though lol.

All of that aside, I'm glad Princess Toyotomi was an enjoyable enough experience! Although it's not as direct as Honnouji Hotel, I think there are still some time-bending aspects with reincarnation and such that history buffs can enjoy. For example, Matsudaira was Tokugawa Ieyasu's family name, and Sanada was the name of a samurai he respected greatly although they were on opposing sides. And of course, the Sanadas as a whole served as vassals to Toyotomi (after the Honnouji incident, coincidentally, haha.)

Chako was also named after the mother of Toyotomi's heirs, so I suppose one could have seen that coming if they were aware of that, but I really, really wanted Daisuke to be the princess too! She (and Sanada's acceptance of her) were very much one of my favorite things about the movie as a whole. I appreciate that, whenever I've seen transgender identities and gender non-conformity come up in Nakai and Tsutsumi's works, that's generally how it goes. Most of their works tend to narratively align with their viewpoints in real life so it's cool.

Speaking of, family issues are very much a pattern in Tsutsumi's characters! Most of what I could say here is a bit spoiler-y, so I won't, but I hope you'll notice more as you go on to experience other roles.

I was hoping to reply to the other asks here, but that got to be Too Hot To Handle (read: way too long), so I'll section them off into a different ask (that you'll probably end up seeing before this one haha). Hopefully they're a bit easier to respond to separately as well. Thank you for your time, and sorry to take up so much of it!

I love how all of Mine’s stories are connected, it feels like some sort of atonement for the fact that Mine wasn’t going to be RGGO’s main protagonist anymore: if we can’t have him in a brand new story, then we can at least make up for it by having multiple prologue stories line up together. HUGE huge thank you for sharing this with me, it was an absolute honor to be able to read this!

It’s incredibly interesting to see Mine and his line of thinking in this story. At the end of Y3, Mine practically explodes with anger towards the people who betrayed him back then, yet with Tashiro he’s almost entirely the opposite. I guess in this particular situation though, Mine managed to find an optimistic outcome of that deceit: because Mine was booted from his company, he was able to find the thing he really wanted with the Tojo Clan. I can’t explain it properly, but that’s a sweet mentality for Mine to have honestly considering his displeasure with the society around him: something terrible happened to him (and Tashiro even tried to worsen the wound), but having been able to make the most out of the situation, he was almost prepared to let Tashiro go unpunished (I suppose this ties back into Mine’s whole thing of not striking unless attacked first). As a final small note on the story and translation, I love the sprinkle of French in his dialogue. As we’d talked about before, it’s just small details like that that help enhance his Westernism and I appreciate it immensely.

I totally agree on Mine being his own man/character and wanting to focus on that! That’s something I’m always worried about when I post honestly, as weird as that might seem. It’d be ridiculous for me to try to deny relationships between characters are some of my favorite aspects of RGG, but I also try to highlight the characters on their own. The reason why examining the relationships in RGG is so fun is because of how the characters are by themselves, and ergo the type of characters they become when put with others/how certain qualities of their characters become enhanced when in a (any sort of) relationship. In that, relationships help deepened characters, but they definitely shouldn’t be reduced to ONLY the relationships they have.

As for Mine’s relationship with women in RGGO stories, that’s an aspect of Mine I adore too, and I agree on the whole ‘address women as ‘miss’’ bit: it is old fashioned and potentially condescending, but the over-polite nature of it is endearing all the same to me personally. Just in general, Mine’s very polite and I feel like that’s a detail that’s overlooked at times, but it’s a detail I love all the same. Moreover, Mine generally being- at the very least- a decent person does remind me of Hijikata now that you mention it (despite his scary reputation, apparently almost all personal accounts with him only ever said nice things about him and how amiable he was), not to mention the virtuous nature of kirins, to go back to his original symbol. To extend on that, it does just solidify that Mine is a kirin at heart: he respects the people who haven’t done anything wrong or egregious, but he’s harsh on the people who do injustice (and even then, his tolerance is incredibly high. Back to the subject of when Mine first meets Kanda, he doesn’t punish Kanda for acting inappropriately with the woman, he only engages in a fight with him to get his attention. I appreciate that Mine still wanted to make sure the woman he helped was alright though, making sure she was able to walk first before putting his full attention back to Kanda).

I agree that Mine probably doesn’t pursue relationships himself and more so lets them come to him (especially if the ending of that Okinawa story where Mine’s approached by a woman on the beach is any indication or hint at his past relationships), and I especially agree that due to his closed-off nature, he ultimately jeopardizing any romantic partners he could have had. Ergo, I agree in that Katase shouldn’t be put at fault for dismissing Mine’s feelings (while we’re on the subject, I’ve always wanted to explore how Katase might have reacted to Mine’s death. I know she’s considerably an irrelevant character, but I can’t help but wonder how she might have felt and if she ever felt guilty for something she had no control over). I personally always live by the idea of saying what you mean, and as a result I don’t get upset with people if they can’t discern I’m not okay if I don’t tell them that. As for Mine, it’s painfully evident that’s now how he operates: he fully expects others to be on the same page as him, and as we see that becomes incredibly detrimental to him. It’s a consequence of his need to be independent, I believe: he’s become so focused on himself, he either isn’t comfortable with expressing the truth and relying on others emotionally, or he doesn’t know how to do it.

To expand on the hypotheticals of his past relationship, it really is hard to discern what ‘type’ of women he was entangled with (as in whether they were hostesses/sex workers or women he met naturally), and trying to find out which one is significant to understand the depth of his grievances. We know Mine isn’t fond of money- he understands it’s a tool to achieve what he wants, but it doesn’t make him happy (it wouldn’t be a stretch to even say it disgusts him in some aspects, or at least the greed it brings out of people turns him off). So would he seek out workers to get a sample of a human bond? But again, he’d know right at the start that bond would be artificial, so the only conclusion I can come to is that he really did have the capability to attract women on his own (or at least he didn’t have to ‘buy’ them, per say). And of course, the reason they didn’t work out could have been due in part to multiple reasons: women being with him only for shallow reasons, Mine’s inability to be sincere with others, potentially his sexuality, or maybe some mixture of these factors. Not all relationships are the same, after all. BUT this is all speculation at this point, and unfortunately I doubt we’ll get a concrete backstory on Mine’s relationships (but I do agree in being curious as to how he behaves around hostesses…)

I’m not overly versed on LGBT issues and terminology in the East, so I can’t say my input would be anything of much value. All I know is that- at least in the West as well- the concept of LGBT seems to be very ‘western’ for whatever reason (or at least, I see a lot of people get upset with Japanese franchises having LGBT elements and then claiming they’re ‘affected by the West’. Maybe it’s a two-way street for some). But yeah, all-in-all, it really is an interesting case of ‘technically this is wrong translation wise, but character wise it’s accurate’.

As for Mine and his tendency to be ‘short sighted’, that’s precisely how he operates! He very much has the mentality of ‘there’s no problem now, so don’t worry about it’, or at the very least he is very present-minded (outside of business endeavors, of course) and focuses on his happiness in the moment. I can’t fault him for that, though: again, it’s a very human trait to have, even if a little naive, so to say, but again it’s greatly compelling and relatable.

On to Jo though, it definitely was a weird choice to not have child Jo dubbed with a different actor- I know some boys can have deep voices by 15, but it really is jarring to watch and doesn’t help keep me in the mindset that they’re kids at the time. But you’re right in Tsutsumi’s effort to try and sound more youthful at least: it’s not perfect of course, but it’s definitely easier to discern that he’s supposed to be younger (and definitely fits better based on the interpretation the director might have wanted. For the Japanese dub, Jo sounds a lot more carefree about the situation and like he’s just ready to go home- like the circumstances are more of an annoyance than anything severe. Whereas in the English dub, Jo sounds more remorseful- or at least like he’s struggling with moving on from what happened. But that’s just my takeaway, of course).

About Arakawa’s negative reception though, on the surface I get it just from the premise of ‘Arakawa betrays Ichiban’. Even when I didn’t know anything about Y7 and I was just reading a quick summary of the game, I had a sour taste in my mouth after reading that part. BUT of course now I adore Arakawa. His methods were extreme and deadly, but it’s hard to come up with any alternatives for his situation (and it’s not as though he isn’t aware of the pain he put Ichiban through with his elaborate plan. It’s just another case of not everything a character does can be categorized as a purely good or purely evil action), and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get to see Arakawa try to make things up to Ichi after all they went through.

Onto Princess Toyotomi, I wish I was as much of a history buff for Japan as I am with American history: I love history so much, so I’m sure if I’d known these bits before watching I would’ve appreciated the movie and its details a whole lot more (not that I didn’t enjoy it of course, but having that context definitely would’ve been fun to notice while viewing)! It’s also sweet to hear that Nakai and Tsutsumi seem to be accepting of LGBT themes (I try not to look too deep into actors since I’m scared I’ll find terrible things and it’ll make viewing media they’re in awkward, but so far I’m glad that they appear to be decent guys)! On that note, I am absolutely excited to watch more Nakai and Tsutsumi works when I get the chance- I’m curious what you’re referring to when you talk about spoilers, but I’ll find that out seen enough I guess!

And I also have replies to your second ask, though I'll put it below the cut just to keep things separated and organized.

Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it’ll turn out great (and if you ever need the tweet, I have it bookmarked and screenshotted- I can never be too certain on whether Twitter’s going to nuke a tweet nowadays…)! As for Masato though, I’d be absolutely surprised if he somehow survived. My reason to doubt as much were the funeral scenes, but with Mine- even if unlikely without repercussions- it’s not impossible to survive a fall from that height, so yeah RGG if you drop the confirmed He’s Fine I have no promises on being Not Annoying LMAO

In reference the nature of Jo and Arakawa’s relationship, I’m glad to have given you a chance to talk about their relationship further (it really is an awkward subject to navigate: it’s fair and reasonable to assume SOMETHING is there obviously, we just can’t put an exact label on it.)! And I am open to criticisms, whether that was the intent or not, otherwise I’m a fan of peer review and looking at notes on a subject together, so no worries!

I’ve always been a big fan of turn-based RPGs, so RGG’s push towards the genre’s been really fun to watch! Again, while you certainly can do storytelling through gameplay for action games, RPGs inherently being more story based definitely lend a hand in being able to inject smaller details better (especially in regards to attack/ability and weapon names that highlight aspects of a character)!

Thank you about my latest comic, it means the world that you enjoyed it despite how simple it is! It’s unfortunate I never draw Ichi since whenever I do, I always have fun with how different and expressive I make him (most of it’s due in part to wanting to make a homage to Akira Toriyama since if the gameplay of Y7’s going to be affected by Ichi’s love for Dragon Quest, then I might as well draw him with Toriyama in mind. But at this point, it’s just fitting to draw him so exaggerated)! And I definitely wouldn’t say your contribution was ‘small’, our back and forth’s were a pretty significant reason for me to have the energy and inspiration to draw the thing in full, so thank you again for chatting with me so much!

The subject of Hijikata and his poetry’s one of my favorite topics (if not majorly because according to people who read them, his poems weren’t all that good despite their famous nature nowadays), and I’m glad they managed to sneak in bits about him and in poetry in Ishin (like him reading in his room, and as you said, the quote at the end)! I can definitely see Mine wanting to thoroughly analyze Hijikata’s poetry just on the basis of being an art buff and wanting to extract as much meaning as he could from the writing (but again, considering the questionable quality of them, I can just as easily see pretty much everyone else looking at it without much regard lmao). On that note though, I’d be interested to see how the poems’ meaning ultimately become reworked in your vision!

Talking more about Ishin, Arakawa and Jo would have fit well with Kondo and Hijikata’s roles, I agree! Honestly, if it weren’t for Mine and how popular he is (which I’m infinitely grateful for, I shouldn’t have to say), it wouldn’t be hard for me to imagine Jo filling in his spot (especially if they were willing to swap in Zhao for Baba; they weren’t afraid to switch out RGG characters for other RGG characters. Though imaging Y7Jo having that slightly friendly air that Hijikata does definitely would have been… something to see lmao). Kondo was also considerably sneaky in Ishin too, wasn’t he? That definitely would have been a good fit for how lowkey Arakawa tries to keep things in Y7.

The complicated nature of Ichi and Jo’s relationship is such a neat subject. As you said, I’m sure part of Jo’s frustrations with Ichi lie in how Ichi’s seeming aloof nature reminds him of his own careless attitude as a kid: nothing like old-fashioned projection to make you irked by someone, right. On the note of Arakawa though, it will be interesting to see how they interact now that they aren’t technically ‘required’ to with Arakawa gone and there’s technically no more need to keep the peace. As I said in some ask ago, I do hope they have a more neutral bond come LaD8; I don’t think it’s reasonable to think they can ever be as close as Ichi and Arakawa are, especially how shut off Jo is, but it would be nice to see them more civil and relatively on the same page (maybe despite Arakawa being gone, they can at least appreciate his memory together right. Not that Jo seems too earnest to crack on sharing his personal feelings about Arakawa anytime soon, though, but maybe one day Ichi can convince him lmao).

Shifting a bit, I do wonder why Kiryu was responsible for making sure Jo was going to be alright. That seems so weirdly specific, especially when Kiryu doesn’t seem to have any connection with the Arakawa family. I hope Gaiden answers that question too!

And if you ever want to talk about Ryuji, feel free to write in about him! It’s been a while since I’ve focused on Y2’s story, but I at least remember his scenes well and I’m pretty solid on his character!