#I have yet to sort my thoughts on the characters

[starshinedreamer]

Alrighty y'all, grab a chair and get comfy whilst I yap about my son, my pride and joy, the greatest thing to ever happen to me, my D&D OC: Raymond Foxwood. He is a Wood Elf Druid with the Researcher background and a Neutral-Good alignment (Images at the very end).

I haven't figured out what his voice sounds like yet. I'm thinking he may kind of have an accent? But like it's barely there. I do have an idea for a possible Japanese voice claim: Souta from the movie Suzume.

His best friend? I guess it would be my friend's D&D character. Her name is Topaz and she is a Dragonborne. Not besties, but pretty close.

Ooooooo boy, I got a whole playlist my friend and I have been cooking up for this sad little fella. Here's a couple of them that I think describes him best:

-"The Moss" by Cosmo Sheldrake

-"Rom-Com Gone Wrong" by Matt Maltese

-"When She Loved Me" by Sarah McLachlan

-"Home" by Cavetown

-"Valentine" by Laufey

-"Love Like You" by Rebecca Sugar

He's like, dealing with a heavy breakup until "Valentine" when he meets his current partner :)

4. "I do Adore" by Mindy Gledhill

5. Nope! But I actually thought about it when I was first creating his character just to see how he would act with other dynamics.

6. A scientist. More specifically, an ecologist. He loves nature and learning about all there is to know about life and the world. He also likes finding ways to help others, so maybe even a pharmacologist?

8. Writing, researching, reading, gardening, and making little insect and animal models because he is a NERD™ /lh<3

9. He generally takes good care of his physical health. Although, his flaw is "Most people scream when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on its anatomy," soooo. "For science" he says. "It's for the greater good" he says.

10. Well he's trying his best. But sometimes anxiety just surprises you and all of the sudden you're spiraling and things seem much worse than they are and pfffft whaddya meeeeaaaan I'm sorta self projecting? But he is the kind of person who feels bad about asking for help and then sort of holds it all in.

11. Inspirations were taken Link from The Legend of Zelda series (mainly BOTW) and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle for his design. Everything else was based purely on my own self indulgences for a nerdy elf character (and the songs my friend keeps sending my for him).

12. Same response as question 2 :)

13. No not really, but he is fighting against an organization that keeps threatening and trying to burn down the library he works/lives in with the librarian: Amanita (Ama, Anita, or Nita for short). Amanita is the person who raised and took care of Raymond after his family died in a fire. A fire caused by the same organization who's trying to harm them now. This is his main reason for joining a campaign; to get stronger and protect his loved ones.

14. This one flippin poison dragon we fought. Or maybe that's just me because I really didn't want to let them leave alive. I don't think Raymond necessarily hates anyone.

15. That all honestly depends on how the rest this campaign will play out. My friend has told me that they all did die a couple times, and we almost died to the STINKIN DRAGON but that's not important right now. But L O R E wise, he'd probably still do his researcher stuff until he's really old. Then he'll write books and share his stories :)

16. If they were alive, then I could see him having a great relationship with his parents since they were also big nerds like him. His relationship with Amanita is also great, and he really wants to protect her since she has done so much for him.

17. YESSSSSS! He loves sharing his knowledge with others and would do such a great job teaching kids. Ohhhh this is such a good one, yes he would feel bad if he had to leave them.

18. He/Him :>

19. Biromantic Asexual. His love language in giving is Acts of Service, and Quality Time for both giving and receiving.

20. A longbow and rocks. He has a cantrip spell called "Magic Stone" which lets me make a ranged attack by throwing small pebbles or stones. I like to call this spell the "RAYMOND, STONE 'EM" spell because its funnnnyyyy.

21. hmmmmmmmmmm Actually, I'm not sure! I guess maybe "Nothing You Can Take From Me" from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

22. Will generally go for the non-violent option (more of a lover), but if initiatives are rolling, he'll fight.

23. Extremely. He'll show up with a new tire to fix the flat one, and an extra one for any future situations.

24. Undecided

25. Not singing out loud, but he would definitely hum to himself! :)

26. Irises, forget-me-nots, and bluebells

27. Symbolism wise, a deer. 'Just because' wise, a rabbit, a fox, and a kitty cat :3

28. The Nerds™ (found at the end of this post:) ).

29. Cozy stuff, lo-fi, books, plants, leather notebooks, and an overall sort of cottage core mixed with academia aesthetic. (Mood Board made in Canva :>)

30. Accepts this as their new life(yippee!). They have now been adopted. Will try to find a way to bring up their interests in conversations.

Fuck it, OC brain rot won. Get ready for the Secret Ask List

1) Does your OC have a voice claim, if so who?

2) Who's your OCs best friend? How did they become best friends?

3) What song describes your OC?

4) What song describes your OC and their partner/love interest?

5) Do you ship your OC with a Canon character? If so who?

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

7) Vice-Versa! If your OC is in the modern day, what fantasy class would they be? Would they be a different race?

8) What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

9) How does your OC handle their physical health? Do they take care of themselves?

10) How does your OC handle their mental health? Do they take care of themselves?

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

12) Does your OC interact with other people's OC? If so, who's their best OC friend?

13) Does your OC have a rival? How did it start?

14) Who's a character your OC cannot stand! It's on sight when they see them!

15) Will your OC ever retire? Do you see them making it?

16) How's their relationship with their parents? Are they alive?

17) If your OC has kids, are they a good parent? Do they ever feel guilty if they have to leave them?

18) What are their pronouns? What would they like to be called?

19) What's their sexuality? What's their love language both giving and receiving?

20) If they fight, what's their weapon of choice?

21) What song best describes their relationship with their enemy?

22) Fight or Flight? Are they a lover or a fighter?

23) Is your OC reliable? Can I call them up at two in the morning if I have a flat tire?

24) Can they play any instruments? If so, what do they play?

25) Are they the kind of person who can't resist a good song? Can I catch your OC singing to themselves while they do the dishes?

26) What flower do you associate your OC with?

27) What's their spirit tamagotchi? Or an animal you associate them with?

28) What clique would they be in? (Draw them in the clothes of said group!)

29) Imagine a mood board for your OC! What's on it? (Make it if you want!)

30) My OC and your OC are friends. This isn't a question. I'm not asking. (How do they respond?)

[sakanayasan414]

Interesting facts/possible mistranslation in Japanese translation of Sherlock Holmes

I thought people might be thinking I started my Sherlock Holmes journey by bbc or s&co and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I wanted to clarify that I’ve been Sherlokian since my mom bought me the adventure of Sherlock Holmes in 1st grade and I love the canon the most. Though I don’t really read it in Japanese anymore, I wanted to show my love for the translators and just everyone who made it possible for me to enjoy SH without having to learn English as a child.

Names Changes - The name Sherlock Holmes and John Watson once got translated/adapted to 小室泰�� (Komuro Tairoku) and 和田進一 (Wada Shinichi) because people in Japan at that time weren’t familiar with European names. I find this really fun and actually impressive because the names do fit their criteria; Komuro has that royal feel Holmes has and Shinichi is just one of the most common name in Japan like John.

First person pronouns - In Japanese there are many first person pronouns (I, my, me) to the point linguists don’t even know how many there are but main one being 俺 (ore) and 僕 (boku) for men and 私 (watashi) for women and men in formal occasions. So, deciding which first person pronouns characters use is one of the first yet important part of translation. Holmes in most translations use boku which is typical but has that upper class atmosphere when used by an adult which I think fits his personality and background. But one of the translations I read used watashi when he’s talking about his deduction and I feel like it shows how serious he takes his cases as it is almost solely used by men in professional settings. And also it sort of distances the speaker from the rest, meaning he is in his own world when deducing but he’s willing to interact with others when not in case.

Surname? First name? - in most translations, Holmes and Watson call each other by their surnames like in ACD writing but in one of the translations I’ve read put 君 (kun) after their surnames. It is used to show politeness but also affection in old times. I personally love this addition because calling each other by their surnames in Japanese don’t feel the same as it does in English. It feels too distant, not in Victorian men in way but just plain strangers feel. But then First names are too intimate so putting kun just feels right.

The speckled band - ACD played with a word band in this story but in Japanese it is straight up impossible to do so because we don’t have a word like that so what do they do? As shown below, they put extra words on top of words. (Characters on top (バンド) literally reads bando meaning band and characters below (紐 and 群) mean a string and a group so they both mean band) It is commonly done in literature to either suggest double meaning or just an indication of how to read certain Chinese characters because the characters on top are phonogram unlike Chinese characters. Having three alphabets in one language enables us to have that double meaning in other languages.

Possible misinterpretation of the situation - In “A Case of Identity”, Holmes expresses a deep angst towards Windibank by saying “But between ourselves, Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me.” Up until this point, Holmes called him Mr Windibank but he drops the Mr. However, for some reason some translations keep the Japanese equivalent of Mr (さん) , but then he takes out his whip after this conversation. I just don’t think it was a civil conversation that Japanese translators wanted to write as. I think Japanese translators just wanted to write Holmes as an always-calm-man but he is a passionate man when he needs to be.

Possible Mistranslation - From “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Watson talks about what the woman is to Holmes by writing “In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.” In rather recently published translation, it gets translated to something like “From Holmes’ perspective, she surpasses all other women and makes their presence fade into the background.” Which i don’t think accurately expresses his view on her and women in general. But this might differ from other people’s opinions.

As time passes and many variations get published, translation gets more natural but sometimes they lose the atmosphere of the canon. So I love going back to reading all the versions I can read.

Hope you enjoyed this post! I have A LOT like this in my draft because I’m a language nerd in STEM that can’t find anyone to talk about this with. Also please let me know if you know any fun facts from your language’s translation:)

[acynicalsweetheart]

Dad Jimmy and daughter reader sitting in his lap at a family gathering (like a holiday or smth idk) while she tries not to draw attention to him (not so) subtlety groping her and grinding on her under the blanket. By the time he finishes, he thinks he got away with it without his daughter or anyone else noticing..😇

hai made it curly’s family gathering cause jimmy’s family is dead or deadbeat to me… omfg somebody lynch me i am so bad at following requests sorry. i did NOT see the part ab daughter reader not noticing gosh. anyway… very new to writing jimmy so it kind of really sucks.. read cws!!

content warning: 18+, dead dove do not eat, daddy-daughter incest, non/dub-con, etc etc

“Would you look at that? The couch is all full!” Curly exclaims like he is a fucking sitcom character. Kind of how it goes when he tries to make a joke. Painfully unfunny, that is. His family members sit there like lobotomees, squeezing out half-aborted chuckles.

Jimmy plays along just to spite you.

“Too bad,” he pats your cheek twice—hard, “looks like you’ll have to sit on daddy’s lap tonight.” 

The way the color instantly drains from your face is too good, looking ghastly within a matter of seconds. Curly’s entire family be damned, his fourtieth-something birthday be damned, Jimmy feels like fucking the life back into your corpse.

Right here and now, ideally. He has no clue where that thought came from but it’s welcomed. 

“I’m sure there’s… a spare chair or something I can use.” You look around frantically, eyes scanning the living room like Jimmy having you in his lap is a fate worse than death. They land on your savior. “Right, Uncle Curly?” 

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Curly offers you a quick glance, finishes setting up a shitty movie he for some very peculiar fucking reason wants to watch with his family and Jimmy, to celebrate his midlife crisis milestone. 

Uncle Curly likes you, sure, but he likes Jimmy better. Takes about half a brain cell to see that. 

Jimmy grunts when he pulls you onto his lap, partly ‘cause he’s nearing Curly’s age (old) and partly ‘cause his dick is already kicking up a fuss in his pants. 

He hopes you can feel it.

“Dad? What are you—what is that?” You whisper obnoxiously loud when he grips your hips, moving his own against your ass. “Oh my gosh, is that your—“

“Shut up.” He interrupts before you can finish your babbling, it’s like you want to get smacked. 

Jimmy doesn’t know what he’s doing, he just did it ‘cause he felt like it and now he’ll keep going. Wring every possible reaction out of you because goddamn this birthday party is fucking boring. Where is the booze? The real booze, not some pesky little pint of wine. Curly’s an alcoholic, isn’t he? 

“You’re so gross!” 

Gross? Jimmy hasn’t even fucking done anything yet. Typical stuck-up bitch you are. Like being within several feet of your vicinity is enough to warrant a restraining order against him, an anti-Jimmy movement of some sort. 

He’ll show you how gross he can really be. 

Arm wrapped around your waist to keep you from escaping, Jimmy fumbles with the blanket - purely ‘cause he doesn’t want Curly’s entire bloodline to see his dick - and heads for the zipper of his—

“Is everything okay over there?” Goldilocks interjects. 

You flail like a toddler two seconds away from drowning, teasing Jimmy by putting all that friction against his cock. “Dad’s trying to—“

Trying to what? Fuck you? Maybe. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Jimmy pinches your cheek and you grimace. “Think it might be that time of the month for the little lady here, if you know what I mean.”

He hears one of Curly’s relatives snicker under their breath. 

Your mouth falls open, nearly gasping out of shock. “That’s—“ 

Jimmy knows exactly what you were going to say. That’s so not true! Dad, that’s so fucking mean and unfeminist and bla bla bla, patriarchy, oppression—

“Alright,” Curly’s turn to cut you off, speaking directly to Jimmy like he owns you. That’s right. “Just try to keep it down, yeah? Movie’s just started.” And that’s that. 

“Dirty fucking bitch,” Jimmy presses his mouth to your ear, talking directly into it to feel you squirm against him. “You want them to see, huh?”

“No…” Please. Your panties are probably soaked already, comes with being related to Jimmy—you’re all fucked up.

His hands slide up your bare thighs, feeling the skin prickling up underneath his touch. You kick your legs, nearly hitting some Curly 2.0 in the process. Jimmy keeps going till he finds your mound and he is right like always—you’re wet.

No time to waste, Jimmy creeps under your panties, shamelessly rubbing away at your sticky little pussy, the slickness mildly audible. You’re gripping his wrist so hard beneath the blanket that Jimmy’s surprised he can’t feel your nails break. 

“Dad,” it’s halfway a whine, halfway a whisper, “dad, stop.” 

You’re terribly quiet, not kicking up a big enough fuss for someone who seemingly wants him to stop. Jimmy sinks two of his fingers past your entrance, feeling you stiffen in his lap like you’ve never had anything up there before. Can’t be true, you’re sucking him in like a fucking vacuum cleaner. 

“No.” He picks up his pace, your cunt squelching around his fingers under the blanket, damn near talking louder than the actors in the movie. 

You struggle to contain your own noises, clamping down around his fingers already. 

“You wish it was my cock inside you.” Jimmy tells you matter-of-factly, nips at your earlobe. 

“Eww,” you whimper, a brat even when getting fucking molested. Who raised you? ‘Cause it sure wasn’t Jimmy. 

He doubles down, “you want Uncle Curly to see what dad’s doing to you?” You squeeze him tighter, cheek hot against his. Of course.

Or one of his sisters perhaps. He wants to say… Wavy? Maybe the old fuck casually hogging up two couch cushions that may or may not be Curly’s father. Jimmy should thank him, really, wouldn’t be feeling your pussy gripping onto his fingers for dear life if it wasn’t for him. 

“Quit acting like you didn’t want this,” Jimmy’s fingers find your spongy spot, hitting it over and over ‘cause he knows it’ll have you cumming around him. “You’ve just been aching for daddy to touch you here, haven’t you?” Is all it takes for you to snap. Dirty fucking slut.

The moans get stuck in your throat, teeth biting your lip hard enough to draw blood as you cum—soaking his fingers and his pants and Curly’s blanket. Jimmy doesn’t stop, grinning at your mortified expression. 

Jimmy pulls out with a sloppy squelch after you’ve come down from your incestual high. You’re still frozen, looking like that bitch from The Shining with your open, unblinking eyes and discombobulation plastered all over your face. 

One of Curly’s sisters, or his mother, shoots him a nasty glare. If she’s so disgusted by Jimmy now, she’d have a fucking heart attack if she saw the other guys at the trailer park. Jimmy may look like a hobo from time to time, nothing he doesn’t already know. Plastic whores and their plastic attitudes. They disgust him. 

Braindead freaks. Jimmy practically fucked his daughter right under their noses and they didn’t notice a thing. 

“Act up like that again and I’ll pull my cock out, stick it in your hole for everybody to see.” He wipes off your cum on your thighs, pulling his hands away to keep you wrapped up in his lap. “No blanket.” 

[bwat5-blog]

A Sister's Love: Jinx & Vi

**Spoilers For Arcane**

A while back I had a short but pleasant discussion with someone on one of their posts about Jinx's treatment of Vi, and how it can feel like Jinx doesn't seem to care about Vi in many instances. In hopes of further discussion, I posted in the community where many of you wonderful folks shared your thoughts on the subject and I got a lot of really good insight into this as well. I was thinking about that this morning and it got me thinking about Jinx in general, and more specifically the times when even if it's not as clear, her love for Vi shines through.

I've said this many times but it bears repeating. I am aware that I have been quite harsh on Jinx. The unfortunate reason for most of that is that a significant amount of Jinx fans have an obsession with comparing her to Caitlyn or Vi that borders on the fanatical. But my issue has never been, and will never be with the character herself. I think she is absolutely amazing as a character and loved watching her story unfold.

*I do this every-time but I think it's important. Especially because some of you have shared with me that your own mental health is what has made you connect with Jinx so strongly. I understand and recognize that her mental health plays an immensely important role in her character's journey. I am in no way, shape or form a qualified mental healthcare professional. So any disrespect or lack of sensitivity is not my intention*

Jinx & Vi:

The journey of these sisters is heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure. It is many people's favorite part of the story and for good reason. They are so close when the show begins and ripped apart by the darkness in their world. Only to fight their way back to one another through love and sacrifice.

But their story is not without conflict. In fact at their lowest point they almost kill one another. There is much that can be said about Vi's love for Jinx, the times she fails her, and those important moments, but I want to focus on Jinx right now.

I don’t have exact quotes on hand, but someone in the community made an excellent point during our discussion. Even when Vi and Jinx are at odds, and Jinx’s hallucinations try to convince her that Vi no longer loves her—that she’s been replaced by Caitlyn—Jinx fights back. She defends who she knows her sister to be, even if she can’t always silence those voices. It’s only pain, fear, or manipulation that pushes her too far, making her lose her grip on what she knows to be true.

During the horrifying sequence when Jinx is being saved by Singed, she hallucinates. And who does she hallucinate in that terrifying moment when she is in terrible pain and in such need of comfort? Vi. Even though she just tried to kill Vi on that bridge. The vision is only corrupted when Caitlyn appears, which all stems from Silco and Sevika feeding Jinx's paranoia.

Okay. I know what some of you are thinking seeing me post ANYTHING about the dinner party on a Jinx positive post. Hear me out. There is no question that Jinx does ALL sorts of fucked up shit here. But we are talking about her love for Vi. What does she want here? She wants things to be like they used to be. She wants her sister. She is in such a dark and twisted state that she cannot see how terrible her actions are, but at her core, she wants her older sister to love her like she used to. She doesn't hurt Vi (I mean aside from the bonk). Additionally, and again- I AM NOT SAYING SHE DIDN"T DO TERRIBLE THINGS HERE- Even with all she did to Caitlyn, she knows Vi cares for Caitlyn, she views Caitlyn as the one who was taking Vi from her, and yet she doesn't kill Caitlyn and she easily could have. This is not about justifying anything she does. It's about looking for what lies beneath the darkness in her to see the person she has the potential to be again.

Here at their lowest moment, when Vi and Jinx have almost killed each-other, and Jinx is glad Vi is the one who is going to finish her, Jinx screams "NO!" when Isha does this. She doesn't want Vi to die.

Vi is at her worst during her pitfighter arc. I'm not going super in-depth on this because this post is about Jinx but Vi is in a self-destructive spiral and totally alone. It's quite clear in one moment that Jinx is there in the crowd but if you slow down the whole sequence you actually see her there a few times. This was primarily what I was discussing with some other people and I believe Jinx was watching over Vi in the best way she could process. I'm sure there was some degree of pleasure in seeing Vi cast out by Caitlyn at first, but with all other signs pointing to Jinx caring for Vi I don't think Jinx was here laughing at her sisters pain. More trying to be there and watch over Vi but with no idea how to approach her with all that happened.

*I fully recognize there is a degree of speculation on my part for this point but I think it's reasonable, feel free to let me know if you disagree!*

With everything that has happened between them, the fact that Jinx comes to collect Vi when she finds out about Vander speaks volumes. There is still much to be worked out between them but she wants their family to together again including Vi. And although I couldn't find the GIF for it, when jinx is in the dark with her lighter after Vi and Vander fight is such a heart wrenching moment. She is clearly so afraid that she has caused the death of her sister, her dad, or both. She cares so much for those that she has left.

Jinx and Caitlyn's history is the furthest thing from simple. But in this moment, Caitlyn cast Vi out, hit her, became the commander and placed Zaun under martial law all because she wanted Jinx (this is not a who is right and who is wrong I'm just making a point), Jinx would HATE Caitlyn. But she knows what she means to Vi. And she just saw Caitlyn save Vander. Jinx easily could have let Rictus finish Caitlyn then jumped in if it was just about saving Vander but she still jumps headfirst into the fight.

In the aftermath of Isha and Vander's death, Jinx could easily have escaped Caitlyn. But Caitlyn tells Vi that all Jinx wanted was to make sure Vi was safe after Vi sacrificed herself to protect her.

Jinx's mindset in this moment is a complicated topic. But I want to focus her feelings about Vi. Vi has come and broken her out of jail, risked everything for her again. And Jinx realizes Vi will never give up on her. Even at great cost to herself. So Jinx punches her and leaves her, and almost begs her to start living for herself. Because she knows Vi cannot give herself that permission. She wants Vi to choose her own life, and to choose love.

Free and clear, obviously Jinx was going to do something horrible but thankfully Ekko talked her down. Even still, she could have done anything. But what does she choose to do? She chooses to ride to war with her people, honoring Vi's faith in her.

And of course, the absolutely devastating final sacrifice (I know she's alive but you get it) of Jinx saving Vi's life when the pain and grief finally overwhelm the fearsome brawler. I have mentioned it many times, but Jinx's core belief is that everyone who gets close to her dies. She thinks she is a curse on all who love her. But in her last action, she saves the life of the older sister she knows will always love her, and who never gave up on her.

I have touched on most of this before but it was just on my mind this morning. I hope I didn't bore anyone. I know there are LOTS of strong feelings about Jinx and like I have said over and over nothing here is about justifying the wrong she did. It's just about looking at those moments that showed her true colors even when she herself couldn't see them. Hope you enjoyed, take care!

[ruleroftheimps]

I'm just going to throw this out here. Vox only seems as weak as he does because of his role in season one. All the Vees had a scene where they lost control and were just honestly pathetic, and a scene where they were cool and collected, but because of how it's set up, it looks like people completely overlook Velvette being pathetic and focus on Vox's patheticness. Which is fun to play around with, but I feel like a lot of people just don't acknowledge he's, in theory, a fairly decent threat, especially against the Hazbin Hotel. There's definitely going to be a reason he's one of the main antagonists.

It's sort of long, so cut here lol.

For starters, to back up my claim of they were all pathetic at some point, when we first meet Velvette, she's throwing a hissy fit about Val. He's literally right there, and yet she can't be assed to do anything about it and instead calls Vox to solve her problems for her, and then complains about Val ripping apart her models, despite her not doing anything. People love to riff on Val and Vox for being man children, which, yes, they are at times, but they completely disregard the fact that when we first meet Velvette, she's acting like a spoiled brat. Valentino is the same, throwing a fit about Angel Dust. They're all equally pathetic.

The thing is, Velvette and Valentino were glossed over fairly quick. Vox had a whole song about it.

The same thing about them all being equally cunning and collected, which I actually doubt myself. I think Vox is the most collected of them all, not Velvette. Yes, he did the same, basically had a temper tantrum when he found out Alastor came back, but it makes logical sense when we look at their interaction later and Vox is scared of him. He's worried. But once he calms down, he sits down and comes up with a plan that's actually very logical and well-thought out. Er, to some extent. Picking Pentious probably wasn't the greatest, but I think, based on the drones we see everywhere later on and his reaction to Pentious getting caught, Vox wasn't taking Valentino's idea of putting a spy in the hotel seriously. He's nonchalant, and has a backup plan. And the way he handled the paparazzi is a sign that he IS able to deal in high-stress situations with ease.

And no, that's not saying Valentino and Velvette don't have their moments. In Masquerade, Val's smart about how he approaches Charlie being there, and Velvette's extremely clever in Scrambled Eggs (Er, possibly. I doubt she and the other Vees didn't talk about it before hand and theorize then, and their goal was NOT to start a way but to gain info, but her noticing Carmilla's reaction was definitely a point for her.). But they're not more clever than Vox, they just get more screen time as actual villains, probably because of their roles in this season. Velvette's there explicitly to set up for the reveal Carmilla killed an angel, and Valentino's meant to be the main enemy of Angel Dust throughout the series to build his character. Vox? Well, right now we just need to know he exists and doesn't like Alastor, for future plot lines. And also comedic relief in episode 8, because, come on, almost everything he says in that episode is just funny. (And also emphasizing how much he hates Alastor/is obsessed with Alastor losing) And yeah, the pacing about introducing him could have been better, building him up to be a threat and then having Alastor take him down, but for 8 episodes, they did a fair job. And a part of me wonders if we're meant to overestimate Alastor and underestimate Vox, especially after the Adam fight.

And why I say he has the potential to be a big threat to the Hotel has to do with the scene we have when he's getting introduced, and what we see in Helluva Boss about Voxflix being on Blitzø's phone. He's everywhere, he has power over his viewers, and his grip on media is so tight, even Hellborns use his services. What's the Hotel's main issue at the moment? A lack of guests, which is at least in part caused by poor advertising. Anybody else think it's not coincidence the 'emergency broadcast' happened just as the Hotel's advertisement began to play?

Tl;dr, Vox is more powerful than people seem to believe, even if he's pathetic as all hell a lot during his limited screen time, probably mostly because he has no big role in the current season.

[rennymayflower]

One thing I've only recently started to notice abt Gametoons' Sprunki series is the subtle ways they utilize the "unreliable narrator" trope

Specifically I've noticed this in the Lily episode and the "Battle for Gray's love" episode, starting with the former:

Notice how during the "flashback sequence" it immediately sets up that Black's POV is warped, because it shows Wenda very clearly ANGRILY attacking him in one frame,,,,

Yet, in the very next frame, it shows her with this smiling expression that, clearly, she never fucking had-

Already setting up that sometimes we cannot trust certain characters to give us the proper story.

And now here's the fucking kicker: when they show THIS flashback scene of Wenda seemingly avoiding Black's attack gracefully,,,

EXCEPT she doesn't. Judging by the mask, laser, and how Wenda supposedly "dodges" the attack, I'd sat it's safe to assume,

THIS scene from "The end of Sprunki" is what Black is flashbacking to here, where Wenda ONLY survives because of Oren sacrificing his life for her, meaning that Black's memories of the event are clearly distorted, either consciously or subconsciously.

And that's not the only example we get of unreliable narration in this series, because now we have the more subtle but equally disturbing case of it in the "Microwave Lily" episode, (NOTE, THIS IS NOT TARGETED TOWARDS THE ORIGINAL OC OR ITS CREATOR, THIS IS SCRICTLY TOWARDS THE GAMETOONS CHARACTERIZATION OF HER.)

Okay starting right off the bat, the episode starts out with a huge fakeout, opening immediately with this scene where Gray saves Lily from falling out of a tree, and supposedly gets all blushy and flustered,,,

At least, he does from LILY'S PERSPECTIVE.But, later in the episode when this scene is flashbacked to...

Gray does not, in fact, smile or blush or anything of the sort, instead just looking generally uncomfortable with the situation.

And AGAIN, at the photo booth we get another instance of a frame randomly changing when looked back upon.

Once again, it starts with Gray smiling and seemingly at least trying to have fun with the whole photo booth thing,

But when they roll back through the photos, clearly he isn't. COINCIDENCE I THINK NOT, FUCKERS

So clearly, Lily seems to have a VERY warped view of events here, as from her perspective she thinks Gray is enjoying her company, either not noticing or possibly intentionally ignoring his discomfort. Which, judging by how she acts around him the whole episode, would actually make a ton of sense.

Conclusion? Yea I don't really have one actually, just wanted to point out examples of the unreliable narrator trope that I thought were really interesting lol

PS this is honestly exactly why im rewriting the episode with my OCs to make it so Gray ISNT getting objectively harassed cus honestly I don't have the heart for it </3

(REMINDER: THIS IS NOT TARGETED TOWARDS THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THE MICROWAVE LILY OC, AND (probably) NOT ACCURATE TO HOW THE ORIGINAL CREATOR WOULD CHARACTERIZE HER.)

@6mysterybook9 @frownyfoxlover1286 GAMETOONS CLUB MOOTIES ARE YA WITH ME

[smolandweirdwriter]

why do you headcanon adaine as having adhd? (not meant rudely, genuinely want to hear your thoughts/hcs!!)

To project on my blorbo.

But also because it’s, quite frankly, impossible for me not to. A huge thing that I noticed recurring for Adaine is her father bringing up that she doesn't “apply herself”. If she applied herself to her studies, she would get into Hudol, she would understand research, she wouldn’t need to rely on practical casting, she would understand theory, and on and on. She doesn’t apply herself, she doesn’t try—and this is a huge thing for us ADHD folks. People accuse us of not applying ourselves all the time— and we do it to ourselves, too. And so I think Adaine, similarly to Siobhan Thompson (who also has ADHD)  got through her Hudol schoolwork by being clever, and quick, and good with words and putting things together last minute. And she did do well—but oftentimes it made her feel like she wasn’t actually trying. If she could apply herself, get her work done early, if she could study, she would be better, do better, be more like her peers. But she couldn’t, and that felt lazy, and her father thought she was lazy, and she couldn’t study. 

Adaine was terrible with the theory behind magic, terrible at explaining what somatic gestures translated to what aspects of magic, she couldn’t calculate the ratios of material components necessary. But when she actually had to do the magic, she was wonderful. It was just intuitive to her, she knew what felt right and it worked nearly perfectly. And yet she didn’t have to study or practice it over and over again, it came so naturally and effortlessly. So she must be doing something wrong, right? Because she is excelling where her classmates take more time to work and failing what is basic to everyone else. And she doesn’t know how to study.

She’s not good enough, and she knows it. And then! And then she goes to Aguefort, and for the first time in her life, the way she learns and thinks about magic is important. It’s valued. It’s critical. 

And her father thinks it means she’s not really trying.

Just—a character getting critiqued for the way she learns being different from the norm? A character who feels like the sort of thing she’s good at isn’t as important as the things she’s bad at, despite it being equally if not more important? A character who failed a test despite knowing all the material because it was presented in a format she couldn’t hack, it was too much and she did try to study but it was not enough, not the way other people did? How can I not see all of that as signs of adhd?

[imaginethesepages]

there is a new queen in town.

How is this possible? Narumi stares at the screen hard, unblinking. It shouldn’t be possible, that is. There is a reason people are calling him “The KING,” and with all capital letters in the gaming community, mind you. No one could ever beat him except for BEEZ, so, again, how is this possible?

“O-One more,” Narumi stutters, fingers ready on the controller’s buttons, his hands shaking slightly — in utter disbelief or frustration, he doesn’t know. Maybe both.

“Are you sure, captain?” You say, smirking, yet your fingers are already in position, itching for another go. In the back, you hear the rest of the First Division members barely concealing their amusement behind their drinks. They clearly relish at the sight of their captain losing his wits whenever the screen screams ‘VICTORY’ in your favor.

Narumi’s night wasn’t supposed to go like this. Talks about the Defense Force’s newly implemented ‘Team Bonding Activities’ have reached his ears. Still, he didn’t put much thought into it, believing he could sneak away, lock himself in his office, and avoid the whole thing entirely.

But apparently, his division thinks otherwise, as just a few hours ago, they all came barging through his doors, chips and drinks in hand, with Hasegawa himself in the lead, completely overthrowing Narumi’s plan of an all-nighter gaming session.

They even dared to say, “It’s called ‘Team Bonding Activities’ for a reason, cap’n. And last time we checked, you’re part of this team!” Downright ignoring his pained expression.

As members of his squad, shouldn’t they listen to what he has to say — their captain? The freaking traitors.

Team Bonding: what a ridiculous notion. Narumi scoffs, his fingers aggressively pressing the controller’s buttons, eyes dry and exhausted from staring at the same screen for hours. How many rounds have they played already?

“Oh, no. Not again,” You say, the faux shock and sympathy grating on Narumi’s bones, especially with the big, bold letters flashing on the screen, seemingly mocking him. Oh, how badly Narumi wants to throw the controller at the television or, better yet, kick everyone out of his room so he can focus on the new game he bought.

You sigh, dropping the controller like it pained you to even hold it. “Captain, this is such a boring game; it’s not even difficult to defeat. No thrill, no challenge.”

Waiting for Captain Narumi’s reaction to another victory of yours has the corners of your lips twitching, subtly tugging into a teasing smile. You’ve always found his reactions endearing and, without a doubt, entertaining. There are no restraints, just wholesomeness and honesty, with a pinch of silliness.

No, a bucketload of silliness. But that’s what makes him magnetic.

So when the opportunity arises, you take your chance. “Or maybe the king isn’t that good, and it’s time for him to be dethroned. I guess it’s just right to crown a new queen instead?”

And Narumi lost it.

Safe to say, the First Division’s first-ever ‘Team Bonding’ was… quite a success — in the squad’s opinion, but not so much in Captain Narumi’s.

hello, it's me. how have you guys been? i know i've been gone for quite a while, and i haven't posted anything in months, but i just want you all to know that i always see the likes and reblogs you all do for my works. and i appreciate them so much 💖

so, when i finished writing this little drabble for narumi gen, i couldn't wait to post it ahead of time. i'm like:

jeuel: *schedules posting date and time on tumblr* a few minutes later... also jeuel: *presses the "post now" button*

so... here we are! 🙌🎉

also, you guys might be confused as to who BEEZ is. don't worry; it's an ign (in-game name) of an original character (of sorts) for another narumi gen tumblr i'm working on. yeah, there's a ton of girls running around narumi gen's sphere lol

enjoyy xx

[wowowokay]

Here are some more fic recs!!!

New Phone Who- Oh Shit..! - Life_Caretaker

Okay ngl I haven’t read the last chapter yet BUT it I remember this fic being absolutely hilarious basically Tim answers the phone and they other person is trying to get into contact with red hood obviously wrong number but Tim just goes with it pretending to be the secretary

Words: 14,327 Chapters: 4/4

Flame Test - heartslogos

Okay I know some people might not be a fan of this pairing but I like this fic so shhh plus if you don’t like don’t read anyway coffee shop au, no vigilantes, or hero’s and it’s a Roy/Tim fic unique I know lolol but it’s actually so cute Tim being a huge nerd but in a smart way not the nerdy trope way and Bruce being a good dad and Jason, Dick, and Damian being good but annoying brothers it’s great

Words: 5,194 Chapters: 1/1

Note: okay that’s all for tonight I’m totally exhausted I honestly was thinking about not posting tonight cause I knew I’d have to dig again for fics cause I don’t have them organized at all so I think this weekend I’ll try organizing them cause I don’t want to have to dig for fics for over an hour just to only find two cause I’ve read many fics of course but I only really wanna recommend ones I thought were really good not just ‘meh’ fics (not to dis anyone’s writing at all I know writing is so majorly difficult and props to anyone who does write I’m just talking about fics where I like the writing style, what it was about, and how they wrote the characters and that’s just really off the top of my head anyways) so this weekend I’m gonna try to sort through all my bookmarks and any fics I’ve screenshotted and I’m also planing on going through my history to sort through what fics I remember and organize by fandom, and then make a whole other category for fics I don’t remember anyways I’m sure most of ya’ll didn’t want all that info but oh well that’s what you get lolol anyways sorry for the rambling I hope you have a good day/night and enjoy!!!! <3

(Also yet again sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes English is a stupid language and I’m way too tired rn)

[nirikeehan]

wip whenever

thanks for tagging me this week, @anneapocalypse!

If anyone wants to share a lil late this week, I tag: @monocytogenes | @saltyowlets | @carnalapples | @sweetjulieapples | @theluckywizard | @breninarthur

Okay.....

So. I didn't play much Veilguard. I got about six hours in before I decided the game wasn't for me. So I admittedly didn't meet most of the NPCs. BUT.

I did read Tevinter Nights.

And some of the most interesting characters were the Antivan Crow characters. (And Neve Gallus, but that's a fix-it fic for another day.) Lucanis, in particular, really seemed to have something going for him that wasn't followed up on in the game, as far as I know. So I thought why not, okay, let me see if I can do something with that. And I think I dig him in his TN iteration??? It's smart, weird, deadly, little bit sarcastic? So this fic is me figuring all of that out. No Spite, just a guy with a bizarre ass moral compass having some sort of crisis of conscience. And Illario isn't a villain but just a concerned relative. (I could go on about how BioWare did Illario dirty but I will refrain.)

Few more bits of context: The end of his TN story, "The Wigmaker Job" by Courtney Woods, implies that since he's gone rogue and killed a bunch of Tevinter nobles at a party, he's caught the notice of some unsavory sorts with a lot of power in the Imperium. So I've had them kidnap him and hold him in a super secret Tevinter prison after faking his death. My non-rook OC, Meira, working for the successor to the Inquisition (cooler name pending) has been assigned to the team to break him out. It's her first mission and she was supposed to stay with the boat (she was the one who sailed the rescue team in) but some shit went sideways and she had to replace a downed party member. So anyway this is their first meeting LOL

Meira turned, only to be slammed against the wall. Gasping, she recoiled, but there was nowhere to go. Lucanis had her shoulder pinned with one hand. In the other glinted a piece of jagged metal. It looked homemade. For someone who seemed so emaciated, he was unbelievably strong.  His long hair cast a pall over his features, contorted with rage. He pressed closer, so that their noses nearly touched. “Who sent you?” The blade was cold, edged against the soft flesh below her jaw. Great way to slash someone’s throat and watch them bleed out — she’d heard that in training. Meira instantly forgot everything else she’d never learned. “The— the Inquisition!”  “The Inquisition disbanded six years ago.” The shiv pushed harder. “Try again.”  Who else was there? Divine Victoria’s secret agents didn’t have the same name recognition. Varric? No, he couldn’t know Varric, could he? No no no, Lucanis was nobility or something close— important Antivans wanted him home. “Your grandmother! Caterina.”  “Everyone knows who my grandmother is,” Lucanis spat.  Shit. Shit shit shit shit. “Y-your—” She couldn’t remember the name of his cousin for the life of her, couldn’t remember much about him at all, except that they did look a little alike. The man was suave and well-kept but carried himself with a deep sadness. Lucanis was a harder, rearranged version: all angles and dark, soulless eyes, breath foul from too many nights in this godless place. “Cousin.”  The words came from between gritted teeth. “I have many cousins, little girl.”  Maker, he was going to kill her, wasn’t he? Because she couldn’t remember his stupid cousin’s name. Even though said cousin stood in the briefing room and spoke for half an hour. stressing the importance of bringing this monster back alive, voice tinged with dismal hope. Meira could see him, the black doublet accented in scarlet, speaking bits of praise for his long-lost relative. Highly skilled, was one. Deadly precise was another. Not easily deceived yet a third. Perhaps prone to overzealous self-protection. Paranoid? Had he been saying Lucanis was paranoid? Maybe likely to slice any would-be rescuer to ribbons? So if you still need to convince him to trust you, just tell him— “Wyvern’s tooth!” Meira shrieked.  A code phrase. She’d thought it silly at the time.  Lucanis blinked once, then several more times. The hard edge of the blade eased, and he stood back, lowering his arms.  “Illario sent you,” he said softly.  “Yes! Illario! That is definitely his name!”  “Illario sent you?” He sounded incredulous now, but the kind of incredulous that struck someone when the wild truth in front of them was yet undeniable. 

[12th-shavie]

AI : The Somnium Files playthrough restrospective

I recently played the game to completion (barring a couple entries in the album but I'll probably do that at some point to see that sweet sweet concept art) and it's been an amazing experience ! I'd recommend it to any mystery visual novel enjoyer, especially those familiar with zero escape (there's even a small nod to it). Without further ado I'll go through my experience playing the game, the theorizing along the way and my thoughts and feelings on its story, characters, gameplay and all that jazz !

Spoilers and thoughts on the entire game below the cut (do yourself a favor and play it first if you like solving mysteries), written with the assumption that there is no need to introduce characters or plot elements.

Part I : Flowchart exploration and theorizing

I went into the game knowing barely anything about it or the plot, besides the fact it was mystery and written by the guy behind zero escape.

I followed my instinct on what was a more compelling choice most of the time, and only revisited the branching somniums later to try the other choice aside from one instance : in the first psync with Mizuki, I immediately used a retry the moment Date associated the balloons with a painful memory for Mizuki (I was already feeling bad for her, and was already determined to try to do the best I could for her).

That first route turned out to immediately be very brutal to Mizuki, with her father's corpse being found next. Unfortunate. The next psync with "Iris" was really puzzling, especially with how I ended up on the Annihilation route with all the murder scenes from the Cyclops Serial Killings in "her" somnium. I suspected her of being a witness to the murders and somehow having repressed the memories but really didn't know what my stance was on Date's face being shown as the murderer's. The most logical theory was that Date was the killer and Boss was doing all the hiding to make sure he wouldn't remember that and go crazy again, but that felt too easy of a conclusion to be true.

Things kept taking a turn for the worse with Date getting tricked and the murder of "Iris" and Ota in the warehouse, more investigation, lore dropped by Pewter about the original Cyclops killers and everyone being depressed until #89 shows up and hands out "his" full backstory and a cool somnium that's (interestingly) the same as Date's dream. Not to mention that #89 looks almost identical to the guy at the end of that dream and it's all very mysterious, until the climax where "Rohan" shows up and shoots, revealing the circumstances of Hitomi's arm wound.

And then "Boss" murders "So Sejima" on camera and the story route is locked. That was pretty shocking to say the least, but it only fueled my theories even more ! I started to suspect Boss of hiding something along the lines being in cahoots with the Cyclops killer and being willing to get her hands dirty to keep it hidden from the public (and Date to an extent).

And back to the "Iris" somnium I went, only to discover that it was a lot more chill in the other route, even if the child's drawings felt a little creepy and allegorical of the murders (I was still on the Iris witness theory) and then what was previously the blue silhouette of a murderer became someone who kissed So Sejima. That guy again, huh (although he was still alive in this timeline).

Unsurprisingly, Date got tricked again, but without the taser so it was nice to have a better view of the events this time around. And with a better timing, neither "Iris" nor Ota died and I got to learn about Mayumi's dementia, some Hitomi lore, and just how truly powerful Mizuki is (she's just built different I love her). Ota's somnium was pretty funky with the comic book aesthetic, and my pick of the green shelf over the red one came down to the flow of things and the camera angle.

Date gets a little greedy with the 6-minute limit in this one, but the reason for the limit itself still isn't explained, and Date promptly passes out. Then I got some quality time investigating with Mizuki ! That was pretty enlightening, with a lot of background to her situation with Date as her guardian, how terrible parents Renju and especially Shoko are, a cute moment at the shrine (which even is relevant later !), a funny optional ending, but most importantly the final key on the investigation to pinpoint "So Sejima" as the polar bear. Turns out HQ and Boss have ties to the congressman (all the more interesting considering "her" actions in the previous timeline) and Date makes the wise choice not to leave Mizuki behind after she's held hostage once already. Very Dadte of him (plus, she deserves to kick some butt, as a treat).

They even get a cool fight scene against a bunch of bodyguards in which Aiba yet again exploits Date's enhanced reflexes (at this point this characteristic was becoming a little suspicious but I didn't focus on it) until Mizuki is in trouble. Again (but it's alright she can be a little reckless, she does have a lot of avenging to do for a 12 year-old). Date is shot in the AI-ball, Sejima says that Date was killed by his own father (which had me in shambles because what do you mean these two are related ? Huh, Sejima ?). Thankfully Date manges to shoot him and that's curtain for Sejima. But also for Date as he passes out, fairly understandably exhausted by that point. In the hospital, there are even more touching moments with Mizuki opening up to comatose Date before psyncing with him to wake him up. Boss' true name is a nice addition (although I was still suspicious of her true intentions, but with So dead she wasn't constrained by those ties anymore).

The psync that follows, within Date's somnium, is far too cute and touching for me to do it justice. It's a glimpse at the familial bond that has grown between Mizuki and Date over the last 4 years, and some of the story events in this branch, like the wish Date made at the shrine for Mizuki to grow up healthy and happy (my eyes were not dry) and ultimately Mizuki's realization that she and Date are family now as she gets him to finally wake up. The short epilogue at the shrine also tugged at my heartstrings a bit. Overall a very poignant ending and I was very satisfied with this one as my first real ending after the previous' locked cliffhanger. At that point, my main theory on Date was that his medication was used to influence or even manipulate his behaviour and that he either was or was closely linked to So Sejima's son, who I assumed to likely be the (past?) Date from the "Iris" murder somnium.

So I went back to Ota's somnium to see how differently things would go on that timeline after going for the red shelf and it wasn't too different at that point, aside of the emphasis on the floral knife and the chocolate in the warehouse making its debut, as well as Mayumi's confession, which opened the door to the "Mayumi wanted to kill the witch" theory, but I didn't even consider it, Mayumi wouldn't ever stab Ota, even under those circumstances. And those who willingly confess are rarely truthful in their guilt. With So Sejima being found dead again, there was still too much information missing on that front.

Mayumi's somnium was (ironically) memorable, with its unique warmth, floating flower, and tragic tone. It made me really appreciate Mayumi's character and Ota's growth in this route, although the lack of many actual clues beyond the series of event preceding the warehouse murder (which was mostly for the locked timeline where it came true), Iris being very suspicious with the floral knife, and I guess Shoko's missing eyeball in Renju's stomach. It was an ending that left me with a warm heart and determination to solve the events of the warehouse (and find out what the hell was going on with eyeballs).

In order to do that, I went back to Mizuki's somnium and went through the painful memory of her mom's abuse and the frozen corpse of "Iris" being there for some reason. I had my suspicions on Iris for a while and was content to see that she was getting some focus (and thus more information to solve the mysteries about her and "her" really creepy somnium from the other timeline. After a nice section with Mizuki and Hitomi helping her, the investigation goes into Renju's disappearance as well, whom I was fully expecting to show up as a corpse at that point, given his quick demise in the other timeline. Aiba and Date setting a password for her self-destruct command felt very ominous and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of lie would eventually trigger it (because I'd be surprised if it didn't end up happening). The inclusion of So Sejima's part in the first murder and the frozen "Iris" at the warehouse were interesting segments, considering how much of the mystery kept turning around Sejima somehow.

Finally getting to see what So had in mind was interesting to say the least (and good misdirection, looking back on it), and even more so when it becomes clear that Iris is in fact very much alive. After that there is a good amount of investigation on #89, Renju, and even some more Hitomi lore, until #89 is interrogated and escapes with Renju somehow. Then it's the Iris show and she goes a little nuts with conspiracies.

But after a ShovelForge somnium that made me feel like Date was also going bonkers, he decided to believe her delusions (I was not buying one bit). Then came round 2 of the Iris show until the revelation that Pewter of all people has betrayed Date for Renju and is the lover mentioned with the watch story (very nicely foreshadowed in the early game with some BL in the shelves). He kidnaps Iris, the funny squad is assembled in order to rescue her and after that is done, more Iris lore on her Uncle (identified at Falco and #89 at this point), and a bit of flashback that isn't new (it was shown briefly when Iris revealed her name to Date) but shows that Date shares some of the Uncle's memories somehow. And then they go to the abandoned chemical plant and the prototype psync machine is there ! How convenient that this obviously very important machine was in reach of the characters at any point in time, provided they know about it, surely that won't open up the door to way too many theories later (this is foreshadowing). And also Iris' brain fails her. Welp.

More ShovelForge somnium it is, at least for a bit. Aiba's blocky look was as cute as ever but Iris didn't make it (bummer). The amount of focus on the manual to the psync machine and Iris' bleeding left eye as she passed away were very important clues that I regrettably did not give too much thought to. Date being so very affected by her death also felt very important and I did pick up on it.

Time go back to ShovelForge Somnium the First™ and after a little struggle on how to change the course of that particular psync (I ended up glancing at a guide for a lead), Date is finally reasonable about Iris' delusions. Turns out she had a malignant brain tumor all along (that explains a lot) and also she just ran away with someone she trusts (with all these context clues, the most likely candidate to me is the conveniently escaped #89 who's the spitting image of her Uncle, but Renju makes more sense in this context I suppose), only for "her" frozen corpse to show up again in the warehouse's forklift. And with Aiba around, it confirms that this corpse is very real and Date going nuts. After realizing that the body couldn't, in fact, be Iris', and a very nice zero escape reference, Mizuki is the one to reveal the truth about the body being Manaka Iwai's and Renju's heavy involvement with the warehouse and its management (Mizuki I am so sorry that you keep seeing dead bodies I want you to be happy). Up next is interrogating Hitomi, and boy was I glad that I'd finally get some answers from her, she was clearly hiding something huge in my opinion. But she refused to speak so psync time- wait no time for the single most crucial piece of information in this ENTIRE mystery. So the psync time limit, which has been repeated time and time again is not simply a precaution to maintain the psyncer's consciousness, it's the time limit before the minds swap, effectively switching bodies. I immediately applied that knowledge to a new theory : the Date/#89 switcheroo theory, which explained Date's strange dream in Hitomi's apartment, and I started considering the possibility of more switcheroos.

Hitomi's dark forest somnium is a welcome change of atmosphere after the ShovelForge Somnium experience™. After dealing with it, Hitomi revealed the truth behind Manaka's disappearance and Iris' parentage, making her Saito Sejima's half-sibling (Date's body's owner 6 years ago, according to my theory !), Rohan Kumakura's involvement in the disposal of the body (explaining the missing right eye), and how the body found its way to the frozen forklift, but also Hitomi's desire for revenge, it fading away in favor of Iris until the brain tumor was found, the blackmailing involving Manaka's body in the warehouse ! It all made so much more sense now ! I could see it clear as day, Saito Sejima was 12 18 years ago and Date('s body) was stated to be precisely 30 ! It was a perfect match to my theory ! One Pewter betrayal and Aiba intervention later, it was time to confront what awaited at the chemical plant : the prototype psync machine, Renju's remains, and #89 with a taser he immediately puts to good use, locking this portion of the story.

Time to finally see the first locked route through, and this nothing would prevent me from uncovering whatever "Boss" was hiding ! I suspected it to be a particular mind switcheroo or something along those lines. After exploding a bag of flour at Sagan residence, Date finally got a hold of "Boss" and enlisted Pewter's help to psync with "her".

After a banger of a somnium with a very 999 feel to it, the truth about the crazy murders is far beyond my estimations : it wasn't just one or two, but an entire chain of body-swapped murderers all under the plot of a single mind, that of Saito Sejima. As I suspected, Date was indeed in Saito's body at present, and the meds he administrated were to compensate for Saito's oxytocin problem, and this body was the very reason behind Saito's display of his victims, as an attack against Date specifically, the one who was occupying the body Saito craved to go back to to once again enjoy murder to the fullest ! With Hitomi taken hostage, Date complies in switching bodies with Saito in exchange for her location... that doesn't well, with Saito Sejima back as himself, Date in Boss' injured body, and the bomb detonating regardless of the deal. Aiba saves the (admittedly very bleak) day with well-timed shock, and here ends this timeline. So far the most gripping string of reveals, exhilarated by the confirmation of multiple theories I'd been formulating with conviction and making it terribly satisfying for me to know I had a hold of the truth !

But there is still a final conclusion to reach in the timeline I had to leave just before this moment. #89, who is none other than Saito in Falco's body at this point in time, takes all his time explaining his actions throughout this timeline just to make Date mad (and I have to respect his commitment to being a spiteful yet entertaining shitty little man). Another funny part of this is the way Date starts remembering things from the other timelines and questions how and why he knows it, that was just so zero escape of him (I was expecting something like that from the moment the timelines branched). Saito goes on and on about the way he went about his business, using Renju's money and connections until his body was on the brink of death, exploiting Iris' trust in Falco, and even how he killed Manaka 18 years ago to feel the happiness his brain produced as a response to murder. He then goes for the psync, doing his left classic eyeball-ripping without a hint of hesitation, and that just really shows his character.

The final psync being all reversed is very cool, and it shows the events of 6 years ago, first when Falco and Rohan swapped, and then the swap between Falco in Rohan's body and Saito. Most of the psync UI is cryptic and concealed (since Date is the subject and not the psyncer) until the final swap is finally over. After waking up sedated to a taunting Saito who wants to kill Iris and Hitomi in front of him, Date gets the complete flashback of the important moments of Hayato Yagyu aka Falco 6 years ago. Meeting Hitomi, wanting to share their lives, trying to quit his deal wit the Kumakuras, asking Boss for help, swapping with Rohan, chasing him to Hitomi's residence, the shooting, meeting up with Saito, getting dragged to the prototype psync machine, swapping with Saito and losing his memories, running away from the chemical plant, encountering Boss and finally becoming Kaname Date of ABIS, joined by Aiba a year later.

The final stretch against Saito begins with a last bit of exposition on the events of 6 years ago on Saito and Rohan's sides, before Saito pulling out Date's gun and Moma intervening to rescue him, lending him a gun. The fended-off Saito is then found holding Iris at gunpoint and rambling about fireworks and murder, but Mizuki with a pipe comes to the rescue and Date follows up when Mizuki is shot in the leg, knocking Saito away. Ota (who is also here) unties Iris and the youngster trio, up to speed about the body-swapping thanks to Aiba (and Saito in Iris' case), looks for Hitomi with Date. She's found, unfortunately with Saito threatening her life once again this time with a countdown for Date to throw his gun. Ota pulls out his phone with Aiba, who is not only stuck in Saito's eye socket physically but also in data (Pewter's latest betrayal included deleting her data from the cloud) and finally puts her self-destructing function on the table as the last resort. I had been waiting for that moment at increasing levels of worry as the story advanced ever since the password was set, so it didn't catch me off-guard, but it was nonetheless a very emotional scene when the countdown ended, Date threw his gun, and Saito immediately declared that he was a fool for doing that and that he would kill all of them, Date told a heart-wrenching lie to Aiba (I'd be lying if I said my eyes were dry) and she exploded Saito's head entirely, putting an end to his murderous intents once and for all.

And just like that, it's all over. Many lives are saved, but inevitable sacrifices were made to get here, to this best possible ending. The epilogue wraps things up nicely, showcasing everyone by the time Iris was out of the hospital, with Date remembering a couple of things from other timeline splits, Iris hoping for Date and Hitomi to get together, Boss and Pewter (temporarily out of prison) knocking Date out and using the psync machine on him as a treat, Kagami making an appearance (good for him), So Sejima still not being in prison, Iris trying to set up Hitomi and Date, Mizuki (now Mizuki Date, the adoption now being official) being mad at Date over the most trivial things, Ota being a little more responsible, Mayumi doing well, Moma being a foolish A-Set fan, Mama refusing to know too much about the truth (smart and respectable move), and finally Aiba making her grand comeback thanks to the Wadjet system and being reunited with Date before a grand dance number with the entire cast.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the order in which I explored the story ! It had a good balance between nebulous mysteries and clues with which to solve them, the strongest emotional moments to me were spread apart a good amount (enough to hook me in, leave me some time to get attached and only then remind me that I'm not immune to tear-jerking), and I had plenty of opportunities to theorize before new information came to wreck my thoughts !

I guess the most influence different routing could've had would be what characters I trusted more (for example Pewter's actions felt more like a betrayal after a full timeline of nothing suspicious on his part) and how much I valued some information (such as everything surrounding So Sejima being doubly suspicious after the "killed by your own father" moment, or Saito's somnium when disguised as Iris showing "Date" as a killer).

[spasikonik]

hii this is my first post i've never used tumblr before !!!

[fellamarsh]

another thing i've been trying to do recently is read more self-published stuff. "but fell," you say, "you're a self-published author. surely you've been reading self-published stuff all along" and then i laugh for so long in response we both become uncomfortable.

see, the fear (which has for a long time been killing my mind) that i'll read other self-published stuff and find out that it's so much better than mine that i might as well stop writing forever kept me from doing that basically ever. i have a hard time not unfavorably comparing my work to others and had convinced myself i was being smart by withholding an avenue of de-motivation (reader: i was not being smart). it also doesn't help that i'm pretty low income and have a hard time spending money on books i haven't already read, and that self-published stuff isn't always available at the library---but really a lot of it was just me being a coward. which i'm working on. i could talk about how this particular cowardice is Very Silly, but i think enough has been said about it on writeblr and in the Writing Space in general that i don't feel the need to (though i will if anyone wants me to).

instead, i wanna talk about the self-published things i have read in the past few months and ask about the self-published things you love!

so: what happened was i got real sick, and while i was real sick i (naturally) read over 200,000 words of ace attorney fan fiction in the span of a few days. eventually i got bored of it (and also maybe annoyed at how people were characterizing some of my guys), but i still wanted to read something gay and romantic and nice, something i knew was gonna end happily, which isn't my typical fare.

now you may be saying (having gotten over all the uncomfortable laughter from earlier) "fell, you write gay romance. what do you mean that's not your typical fare?" listen. until a couple months ago i hadn't read a cut and dry romance novel since before i finished college. for context: i graduated in 2015. i know it doesn't make sense. i'm a guy who doesn't make sense.

but in this case it worked to my advantage. not the not making sense thing, but the not having read Published Romance in 1000 years thing. I didn't know where to start. I was very skeptical of everything the library had Available Now in the Gay Fantasy Romance category. what if it was all bad and also not good?

and then i scrolled past the familiar cover of our very own @ashen-crest's A Rival Most Vial.

now this was comfortable territory! this was a novel by a very nice writeblr person whose posts i enjoy! i already loosely knew the plot, i was familiar with the characters, i knew the names of things like rosemond street and the griffin's claw and that ambrose had blue hair and that at the end of it all there would definitely be Boyfriends. i didn't have to worry that this would be bad! i only had to worry that it would be really good!

but i wasn't worried about that, because i was officially Not Writing at the time, and because why the hell hadn't i read this book yet Ash literally emailed me some very kind words last year when my cat died??

Y'all, I devoured ARMV. If you haven't read it yet---especially if cozy fantasy is more your thing than it is mine---you should check it out Immediately. It was fun! It was heartwarming! It was sweet and earnest and confident! I was delighted to find it was occasionally hot! Ambrose and Eli snuggled up into my sick exhausted heart and found a permanent little place there. (Especially Ambrose. I have such a thing for Stiff Guys who Kind of Suck for Tragic Backstory Reasons and are So So Lonely They Don't Even Realize It. gawd)

(And a very small part of my brain spent the whole time wondering why I had been so afraid to really engage with the work my community is doing. The community that I'm in. The one I'm a part of. Why?! Maybe more on that later.)

But from there the curse was broken! I immediately devoured @stjohnstarling's What Manner of Man in a similar sort of frenzy (and hooooly shit guys am I excited for the expanded, finalized version to come out at the end of next month!) and started digging into @lurinatftbn's The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere (which I can already tell is going to be an All Time Favorite).

And now I want to ask you what your favorite self-published books are so that I can read them, too, but I think I will in another post that doesn't dedicate so much space to talking about my various and sundry Issues and isn't Terminally Long

[wickmitz]

How do you think about Frepper? I'm neutral about this ship, but the fans Frepper attitude towards confuses me, Ivy and Freckle have only been dating for a week and know each other superficially, but everyone already thinks that by the end of the comic they will get married, I think differently, I think that in the end they will break up with each other because they are too different personalities, I literally can't imagine that both of them will be happy with each other in marriage, Ivy is assertive and active, on the other hand Freckle is passive and just agrees with Ivy, this is not a guarantee of a healthy relationship where a partner completely dominates the other, plus to all that, I will not forget how their relationship started, Ivy just decided that they were dating, and without asking Freckle's permission, she just KISSED him, again without his permission, Frepper fans think that it's cute, but when I saw it, I thought "what the hell did I just see?", in general, it's strange for me that Frepper fans are okay with such things, of course later Freckle shows attraction to Ivy, showing that he likes her in some way too, but I still won't forget how their relationship started and how Freckle used to try to escape from Ivy when she squeezed his hand tightly and forced him to her …

I'm not against Frepper, but I don't understand his fans who don't see these issues and who treat other points of view on their relationship (like mine) as … um, as nonconformity? Fans from reddit are just obsessed with Frepper, I don't know about other networks but that's how it is on reddit, I think there are people who have my opinion but are afraid to say it because of fans, of course, I met Frepper fans there who normally accept such an opinion, but still there is a feeling that such a opinion cannot be told

Simply put, Ivy and Freckle are a couple that will eventually break up with each other unless there's an event between them in the comic that changes my opinion of this couple, but that's how I feel about Freckle for now. I didn't plan to express my opinion, but it happened that way, I hope you don't mind it

first and foremost, i don’t mind seeing someone express their opinion in my inbox! you and anyone else are free to do so, even if i may disagree. this blog’s entire existence was made for me to share my opinions ( and love! ) for lackadaisy, as well as engaging with other fans, because what else is the point of a fandom blog? and as far as i’m aware, this is unpopular opinion central! most of my thoughts aren’t exactly the ones with the most voice behind them i’ve found, so i welcome all manner of different views. every fan is entitled to their own perspectives and opinions, and should be allowed to share them as they please! but with that disclaimer out of the way, i’m more than willing to discuss frepper in its entirety.

for me, there’s little confusion i carry where it concerns this ship’s popularity amongst the fandom. freckle and ivy, if we are to strip them down to their bare essentials, are a rather stereotypically ‘cute’ relationship : people enjoy opposites ( see zibwick or vikdecai for example ) and there’s an endearing quality found in puppy love dynamics. seeing ivy wear the pants and drag a shy freckle around by his ankle makes for quality content in a way! think the ‘excuse me, but he asked for no pickles!’ meme … ivy and freckle very much fit that sort of mold, and it helps that most fans are too scared to ship them with other characters in the cast too, due to what they perceive to be a lack of options. thus, frepper is an extremely ‘safe’ ship! you cannot get in trouble for enjoying something that is not only canon, but is relatively adorable ; and so i don’t believe a lot of the fans are actually thinking too deeply about the likely endgame of it all. most don’t! it’s fun to ship, and that’s all they really need i think. it’s also very easy to dismiss ivy’s forwardness as a quirk of being a young girl who’s of her temperament, recklessly boycrazy although still carrying sweet intent. this behavior is easier to hand wave when neither ivy or freckle are experienced at the dating scene as well … freckle due to his extremely religious upbringing and hermit nature, and ivy because of viktor’s constant meddling, which would hold her back more than you’d think. with that said, i don’t think any of this is excessively complicated. some shippers are rather simple minded and do not care for details and characterization all too deeply. enjoying dynamics is, at its core, supposed to be fun -- which makes simple ships like frepper prime targets for a very vocal and tight knit fanbase. there are other things i could speculate about why these two may hit so pleasantly for others, like how there’s an underlying queer theme to it ( what with ivy being the pursuer and freckle the shy, blushing flower ) or that it’s tropey enough to hit the right spots for others … though it all boils back to mere speculation. perhaps they still have time to escape this gangster lifestyle and live happily ever after? and that appeals to the lackadaisy fans who still want some sort of happy ending? it’s all a combination of frepper being easy, i think, and containing two young cats who still haven’t done anything particularly ‘unforgivable’ yet action wise. this is a ship you can root for without an ounce of worry in your heart, and so on and so forth.

but although i understand why others are so vocal about them, i don’t exactly agree with fanon’s views either! while i heavily enjoy frepper, i enjoy them as they are, and that includes their looming flaws and inevitable tragedy. they are bound to break each other’s hearts a lot on their current path ; even if they were entirely perfect for one another, this lifestyle isn’t kind to anyone, meaning if they don’t separate, they could always be forced apart via bullets and such anyway. they are young and woefully inexperienced in a manner of things, the last thing they need is the stress of a rumrunner life driving their every action, you know? i know people see them getting out together, and that is likely on the table! i do see that in many ways, but i’m also of the opinion that ivy and freckle will diverge onto different paths at some point and temporarily call it quits. from where the comic currently stands and given my view on ivy’s arc, i see her growing disillusioned with where she is and the honor and fun she saw within it as a royal spectator will fade ; she will become wary, fearful, and her resilience will die … meanwhile freckle will embrace it, similar to his cousin, fully understanding what it is and what he’s getting into ( like rocky, again ) but being unable to leave his refuge. i know lots of people think freckle will leave the lackadaisy first, but given his old concepts and former title as one of mitzi’s ‘trouble boys’, i think he will become lost in the sauce for a myriad of reasons. frankly i enjoy that twist on their relationship! since i believe ivy’s character development will revolve around maturing, changing as time stretches forward, because her character is ever growing, what with her entire schtick being the fact she’s everything a 1920s girl was during those times. she embodies that unladylike youth and manipulative sweetness, so i’d imagine a lot of her path is falling from such naive thrill seeking and stumbling upon a harsh reality. she will mature, and the very thing that should make their relationship stronger will be what divides them indefinitely. everything they have is founded on this bloody, varnished soaked ground after all … they are young adults who are experiencing what closeness feels like outside of family or platonic friends for the first time, so naturally they will overindulge in their own amateur games ; find respite in the boogie and kiss like couples do on the silver screen, laugh about it, talk about everything and nothing at all … relish in each other’s warmth and stupidly loyal protection. i’m sure frepper will grow closer before any falling out, because as it stands, it’s one of the few things they have in such a scary situation that feels comforting and kind. they will impact each other in the fundamental ways first relationships do and, to move towards your biggest gripe, do things they’ll regret or allow things to happen to them that they’re not entirely okay with.

ivy is very forceful with freckle initially, albeit in her typical saturated way ; and i can see why that would be hard to parse! especially when freckle spends a majority of their first scenes together squirming away and hiding, trying to duck her affections and bolt for it. there is a lot of boundary crossing between them! but not in a necessarily malicious way … like most things with frepper, this circles back to their mutual inexperience and how, in a lot of ways, this is their first ‘serious’ romantic relationship ever. and it’s rather common for such firsts to involve gray areas, since neither party is entirely sure of what their own boundaries are just yet! while freckle did appear frightened by ivy at first, it’s important to note that tracy’s mentioned him having a flight response whenever girls flirt with him … he is prone to run away instinctively, which if you consider his extremely religious upbringing, isn’t exactly a surprise. nina would no doubt look down upon freckle engaging with girls his age due to what most girls his age are currently doing in the roaring 20s they’re living in. sneaking out and engaging in illegal activities, dancing in a way that would disgust most of the more traditional and older generation, casually engaging in any manner of sexual activity before marriage, etc etc. and this isn’t even listing freckle’s cagey nature due to an incident we know was bad enough to send rocky packing for years, and fundamentally changed freckle himself at such a young and impressionable age. he is … very troubled! and rather scared of himself and the world around him … at this stage in life, freckle is perpetually unable to make any progress towards anything he may want, and so i have little problem myself with ivy mostly taking the lead. when left to his own devices and allowed to choose outside of influence, freckle did in fact sneak out of his mother’s house to go to the lackadaisy, surely well aware that ivy’s intention had been romantically inclined. so, to me, he has always liked her ; perhaps found her cute, in a shallow way, saw her eccentric behavior as endearing and frightening in equal measure, and while he’s still wading into this whirlwind pool unsteady and shaken, he -- wouldn’t mind it if ivy pushed a little more, or moved him around to her ( and what she perceives to be, their ) liking. perhaps this dynamic is familiar enough to him that it becomes comforting, since rocky was very much the same way in their adolescence. tugging freckle around and pulling his tail for whatever rocky wanted them to do, with little care for whatever his baby cousin desired at the time, ignoring his protests and chasing him ; nobody’s at fault here either, kids are extremely self absorbed and this is a flaw they’ll usually mature past, and while ivy and freckle are adults during the comic, i don’t think ivy’s outgrown this linear view on things just yet. she is extremely entitled! she is used to being the apple of everyone’s eye at the speakeasy due to her jazz baby status as atlas may’s goddaughter, and this gangster connection excites and awes the ladies she attends classes with at her university too. ivy pepper is used to getting her way and this has only fueled her determined attitude, her ‘pull it up by the bootstraps’ mindset, and in many ways, this is something of a flaw for her. it’s not bad to be confident and headstrong, although when you add that into a dangerous mix of rumrunning and gunslinging, it may become a problem rather quickly. but i digress! point is, ivy and freckle are hardly at fault for the awkward way they handled the start of their relationship, when it’s so new and fresh to them both.

neither of them have boundaries at this moment, as they either have no clue what those are or simply haven’t realized they should set them. so, in turn, there are things that the other may do that could cause their partner discomfort … and it’s mostly done out of obliviousness and good intentions and your classic dose of intense affection. doesn’t mean it isn’t messed up to a degree, but i think it’s rather realistic, and is a hard truth that comes with many first relationships of that sort. sometimes you don’t know how to say ‘no,’ or you agree and regret agreeing later, or perhaps you simply don’t understand there’s certain things you aren’t ready for or genuinely just don’t like. again, it’s a very muddied area, and the two of them are vaguely navigating what is mostly foreign to them. they’re bound to mess up! so i ivy some slack here, and applaud tracy on the realistic writing more than anything usually. young love also happens to be a great device to use for inexperienced characters finding themselves, through the good and bad of their relationship, and frepper is all about that. maybe freckle will inevitably bring up how he feels like he would’ve preferred it had ivy asked him out properly, or gave him time to court her in a traditional fashion … and she will be surprised ( and a little wounded ) by this, since she had never considered it before … too used to her way of things to realize there’s another path they could take. i think this aspect of the relationship is important, and i can understand wishing that more frepper shippers would view it as such, or comment on it's morally gray nature without just calling it ‘cute’ and leaving it at that.

tldr : they will most certainly break up at some point, maybe even multiple times! tracy has said before that they both have some serious maturing to do if their relationship is to be long lasting, and i doubt that maturing will happen to them both at once … since they have different things to work on emotionally. but they will probably strongarm some major personal development within each other, as well as love one another with a fierceless abandon that most kids do. i could see them getting married, i could see them not, but i agree that if they were to be wed happily, they’d have significant hurdles to overcome. but personally, frepper is something i adore mostly due to the impact they’re bound to cause each other, and even if they are to separate and find someone new and more fitting, they’ll always remember one another -- perhaps fondly, and sadly, and with some anger. a time they’d like to forget, but a person they’d like to remember … which is my cup of tea overall! they much more interest me as they presently are anyway, where i can fiddle around with their budding romance and friendship bonding. and as lackadaisy grows in popularity, i do hope there’s more frepper fans who see their complexity and flaws and explore them with all of it in mind.

anyway! i hope this was coherent, and that it was obvious that i agreed with you for the most part. i haven’t really talked about frepper before with anyone so many of these thoughts sort of burst out of me! and i feel like i have more to elaborate upon, but for the sake of simplicity i kept this short. oh well! surely this is enjoyable and informative regardless.

[icewindandboringhorror]

recent things and such~

[crystalpallette]

ally found someone who looked like her and then they kissed. hashtag yuri wins or... something