#I know the Chosen screenshot sucks

[compressedrage]

And Now: The Moment When Rage Finds Cursory Parallels In Things That Very Likely Were Not Meant To Be Paralleled But That Still Scratch The Itch–

...I know it's not anything. I know, but they feel the same to me. It's the same vibes.

[court-jobi]

Hi there, I had silly idea of Bakugou × reader in established relationship where she one day compares him to arcanine from pokemon, I mean look at it, it looks like Bakugou 1:1 lol

Omg anon, I confess... I had to go back in the databanks to remember this Pokemon from my younger years- but boy am I glad I did! This was a joy to write, and made me giggle seeing this ask!

Be prepared for fluff and hilarity ahead, y'all. It's 11PM and I wrote this instead of washing dishes...

Uncanny Resemblance

Words: 1.5k

For my My Hero Academia Masterlist, check it out here!

Read on Ao3

Placing the ice cube tray back in the freezer, you grimace over the lack of coolant coming from the top exhaust fan in your fridge. 

“Ugh, this is gonna be a pain when that heatwave comes,” you sigh with preemptive regret, “Really don’t wanna lose all this chicken in here…”

“Who cares about dumb chicken,” Kaminari pipes up from behind you, “What about the ice pops??”

You scoff good naturedly- Bakugou’s brand of sarcasm occasionally comes out of your mouth instead of his, despite your goal to be the more palatable half of your partnership.

“Those are for when my blood sugar crashes, darling– it’s not your personal stash when you come over.” 

Trying not to let too much air out of the tepid freezer, you shut it in favor of adjusting the main fridge’s controls to not suck up too much power. When Bakugou comes back with the new filter and coolant, you’re sure things will chill back up to temp in no time. 

Doing so leaves you plenty of time to putz around the kitchen while Kirishima keeps his particularly talkative company from eating you out of house and home. He’s already two sodas in, and despite your endless hospitality, even poor Eij wants to try and bash some manners into his friend from taking advantage. 

“C'mon man, just pick your racer already,” Kiri chides Kaminari to place his attention more on his controller than his appetite.

It’s then that your phone vibrates on the coffee table, drawing Kirishima’s eye.  There lies a small, yellowish icon beside the chat name ‘Backpack’, which he snidely recognizes as your nickname for Bakugou. 

“Hey, uh, doll? Your man’s textin’ ya!”

Head back in your fridge drawer, you call out, “Oh, check it for me? He might be asking about the brand we need!”

Drawing the notification down, Kirishima nearly chokes on his own spit at what he finds.

Yes, Bakugou’s asking which of the two labels he’s holding is what you’re in the market for… but in the margins of your texting exchange is a hilarious sight:

Bakugou’s contact photo is none other than a Pokemon. 

It’s here that Kirishima remembers his training; much like in a game of cards, it’s best not to reveal all your tells too quickly when you come across a secret. Don’t get cocky, and move with stealth. 

In a move sneakier than he’d claim to be, he screenshots the full contact detail, and texts it to himself. 

“What’d he say, Kiri?”

Hearing your voice clearer, Kirishima turns back casually and repeats Bakugou’s question, 

“He’s asking if it’s the green or blue label one!” 

“Uhhh, I think it’s green. Let’s go with that.”

“.... He’s askin’ how sure you are.”

Testily, you balk at Kirishima’s relay, “Does he not trust me?! YES, tell him it’s green.”

“... He’s askin’ what percentage sure y~”

“OH MY GOD!!”

Snickering to himself, he finally hands you your phone to ultimately set him straight, blowing up Bakugou’s contact photo on his own cell for further inspection. A second too long looking at this furry, blonde fire type you’ve chosen to represent your sweetheart has Kiri screwing his eyes shut and huffing a little laugh through his nose. 

Kaminari knows a damn good joke when he sees one, and bugs Kirishima to let him in.

“What’s got you crackin’ up?”

Kirishima tilts the phone his friend’s way- who bends over in completely silent laughter just as Kiri had, only more chaotic. It makes Kirishima react all the more, wheezing mutely into his palm to keep himself from letting you know he’d been looking in places he likely shouldn’t.

Kaminari mouths a bad idea. ‘SHOW HIM!!’

‘NO’

‘YES’

‘She’s gonna know!!’

‘Bro. BRO CODE-’ Kaminari mimics thumbs flying across a keyboard, ���you GOTTA tell him~ He’ll be pissed!’

‘Yeah! THAT’S BAD!’

‘BUT IT’S FUNNY!’

On one hand, the photo contact is too rich of a laugh not to share with Bakugou; but on the other hand, it will all but confirm he went snooping on your phone more than intended. He’d truly hate to violate your trust… but you had asked him to look at it. You gave express permission.

Kiri’s fateful, recurring mistake; he listens to Kaminari regardless of the consequences.

“Ok, y’all are too quiet,” you finally round the kitchen island, “Picking a circuit can’t be that hard– whaaat are you two doing.”

Wearing matching doe-eyed looks, shoulder to shoulder, you take stock of how these two fully-fledged Pro Heroes look like grown-up children on your couch. 

“Oh, Kiri’s just enlightening me to the grand secrets of the universe!” Kaminari chimes back.

Not buying a minute of it but also preserving blissful ignorance, you simply retrieve your phone and squish yourself in between the two boys on the couch for an ounce for control. 

Instead of prying, you merely check into your self-care app and select your daily rewards, a song of ‘don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask’ under your breath as you make yourself comfortable.

Under Kaminari’s goofy thumbs up, Kirishima sucks on the edge of his lip and sends a quick little message to Bakugou before settling in for a game. 

–Not five minutes later, you hear the keys all but clash against the door before it opens and shuts with a bang.

“OKAY, WHICH ONE OF YOU BASTARDS DID IT?!”

You three whirl around in a turn befitting a sitcom. Sandwiched between both boys’ shit eating grins, you look alarmed at Bakugou: wondering what you did to be lumped into his ire.

“-not you-” Bakugou pegs you with a placating look to settle your panic, “I mean the MORONS who TOOK YOUR PHONE and made me a FUCKIN’ ARCANINE??”

With the expected vitriol blasting from Bakugou’s equally spiky hair as the Pokemon held up in his phone, Kirishima and Kaminari doubled over laughing. 

Meanwhile, you held a frozen look somewhere between hysterical and nervous.

“H- eh- I’m sorry, what?” you feigned confusion– just for a little bit longer.

Bakugou tabled the plastic bag containing your freezer parts, then sulked over to you, shoving Kaminari’s skull aside roughly so he could lean over the back of the couch in his place and show you himself.

“They set me as a freaking POKEMON as my icon– why don’t you keep this thing locked, huh??”

Swallowing your own chuckle, you peeked back up at him with guilty brows.

“Did they do it?”

“WELL YEAH!” Bakugou charged back brusquely, staring down a howling Kirishima, “WHO ELSE woulda pulled a shitty character like that to be what comes up when I call you?!”

All too sweetly, you tried again,

“And you’re sure they’re the ones who did it?...”

For an exhausted moment, Bakugou isn’t following you– until he does. Your little smirk all but screams it. 

You bat your lashes for good measure while he puts it together: “I mean, the resemblance is uncann-”

“HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN A FREAKING CARTOON IN YOUR PHONE, WOMAN??!”

Playfully defensive, you giggle through your defense, 

“It’s cute! You look like one!”

“I DO NOT!”

“Well it’s not like I have an album of pictures with you actually smiling to put there!”

“FINE THEN-”

Bakugou swipes your phone straight out of your hand, reverts the camera to selfie mode, nearly puts you in a headlock, and waits for you to quit squirming already before giving you a deceptively gentle kiss on the cheek-

At the very moment you look back at the camera with adorable realization, he snaps the photo, then releases you entirely. His grumpy scowl is back in full force, as if he hadn’t just posed for the sweetest photo of your entire relationship.

Tip-tapping for just a few more menus, he places your phone firmly back into your hands. 

“There. And don’t you dare change it. NONE of you.”

You squawk in delight, finding his face has not only been set as your lock screen, but also your home screen and of course- his profile photo. The redhead on your left and blonde on your right both coo their ‘awws’ on either side of you seeing their Bakubro showing an ounce of emotion immortalized for all eternity.

Before you can even rally to soothe your likely embarrassed boyfriend, you follow the sight of said grumbling man as he’s taken the bag’s contents to the freezer. He’s handling it all a bit roughly, but is setting to work himself so you don’t have to fight with it again for the third time today.

It’s a sweet gesture, and makes you only adore your prickly Arcanine who had clearly chosen a protective stance once he came home– never once considering you’d have been the one who did the ill deed against him. The similarities are painfully obvious to everyone in the room… and perhaps that realization was hitting him a bit close to home, even in jest.

You’ll owe Bakugou a playful apology, which you’re sure an indulgent scratch along his back and through his hair will fix.

Never before have you been happier for Kirishima to have chosen you as the little sister to mess with~

[girlwithadragonheart]

Deianira(Nira) got plastic surgery! I’ll yap about her below the screenshots:

She’s actually so babygirl 😭😩

Okay quick rundown: previously she was an Elf, she is now a tiefling.

Deianira (meaning killer of men) or Nira, is my redeemed Durge character. She is a (brace yourself) Zariel tiefling Paladin of Vengeance with an oath to Lathander to be redeemed and previously was Bhaal’s favorite child.

Nira is romancing Astarion(spawn run).

For some OC backstory:

Nira remembers everything. Well, almost everything. She remembers years she spent as Bhaal’s spawn slave killing innocents in his name. There were few kills she enjoyed, and those only included rapists and abusers, typically of the male variety (this is not to say she didn’t want to kill women abusers, the men are just more abundant no one come at me I know women can suck sometimes too).

She didn’t have complete autonomy, you see and the times she did, she was kept under close watch by our dear friend Sceleritas. She enjoyed Sceleritas’ company and he became the only one who truly looked after her in any sort of caring way. He wanted her best interest which was often to not defy Bhaal because he knew the sorts of punishments that would come about.

She begged him to let her leave and vowed they would never see her again and she would flee and be safe. Orin was after her anyway because her dear sister wanted to be the chosen.

So she left.

She pledged a vow to Lathander to be reborn as someone new and swore vengeance against her father and all evils like him.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Bhaal knew all and he could see all. He directed Orin and said if she would take Nira to the mindflayer ship to be infected then Orin would become the Chosen.

You know the rest. The only part Nira doesn’t remember is getting taken and infected.

Tagging everyone who interacted with the last post(don’t hate me lol):

@andauril @monsterlimbs @fleetstreet78 @chaoticbardlady99 @foxingoodtimes @confusedelk @hibiscus-tav @ava-nox @virgohaux @allymcfee @just-ilde @kirahlene @peacefullysouless @anabsurdistcryptid @madschiavelique

[alilich]

the bachelor pitch website, recreated

this official website with a pitch for bachelor route was found on jan 2nd and then promptly sniped by IPL, without us getting a good wayback machine copy. i've been working on restoring it, and at this point i think it's rather faithful to the original and worthy sharing!

not perfect YET - namely, the mobile version kinda sucks, - but i'll be looking to improve it over the upcoming weekend! (more info under the cut)

some liberties have been taken in developing this page:

first of all, all source code has purged, and the website was rewritten from scratch - this is to avoid copyright conflict with readymag, the website builder IPL used. such services often allow exporting code, but only limit it to business clients and usually forbid editing the exported code in any way

the mobile version seemingly wasn't a thing that IPL considered with this single-page pitch/"business card" kinda website, but i'll still try to get it to work - my main goal is to ensure all assets load in a harmonic way, while IPL's original website was skipping some of them on mobile

unused assets/disabled elements were not restored. i honestly don't really want to tangle through readymag's messy messy ripped code to find out how were they supposed to look like. also, all of them are developer portraits with their names and contact information, and i don't know which of these people are public personas and which arent :^)

a little "about this page" button was added, including my contacts for incase anyone wants to tell me anything important, or (HOPEFULLY NOT) IPL will have problems with this website being present and would like to ask me to remove it

the chosen by IPL fonts were restored - i'm not sure if the saved .html file that i possess didn't preserve them, or were the fonts simply failed to load on some platforms..? either way...

AND ALSO, if you happen to have screenshots of the PC version, feel free to DM me, and i'll be happy to tweak the layout for better historical correctness!

FINALLY, currently i'm using for reference a saved .html shared by abyssal + screenshots shared by lillia, both on pathomodding discord - so thanks a lot to them because otherwise i would definitely not have enough patience for this project lol!

[starry-bi-sky]

Oh man, I binged the first 20 episodes of The Princess's Jewels a few days ago after watching a few review videos on it because I had to see just how bad it actually was, and I've decided to talk more about it here.

For the entire spite-fueled four hours of reading, i kept stopping to take screenshots to send them to @the-navistar-carol and then talk about how stupid a lot of the plot points were. I jokingly called Ariana a jellyfish based on her hairstyle, and the nickname stuck after Gen said "yeah and she's like an actual jellyfish by how the trick you into getting closer because they're so pretty before paralyzing you with their stingers."

I'm putting this under a read more because, as normal, I write a lot.

We all know Jellyfish sucks, but what gets me the most is the wasted potential of the guys (among other things). They are all so! Interesting! And they befall the same fate as female harem members in that their backgrounds and personalities all get set to the wayside in favor of fawning over the MC. They all come from unique, diverse backgrounds that don't get touched up on at all. For example:

Why did Efrit wear a mask all the time when his older brother didn't? Why did he say that "he finally found the woman he was going to reveal his face to" to Abal after he met Jellyfish? Is it some kind of cultural thing for the soldiers and warriors of Xek to wear masks until they fall in love? That would explain why his brother has his face revealed, cuz he's not a warrior! Why is the second prince in charge of the country's army and not the king himself? Why did he STAY the general of the army after he fucked off to another kingdom to become the lover of a foreign state?

Why was Haun Baek taken in by the royal family? The flashback of the queen giving him a new name implies to me that he may have been a slave of some kind, which puts a lot of perspective on why so many people were against his rise to power and disliked him. He was mentioned to be a general and head of the security division of the king, but as far as chapter 21 goes, this has never been brought up again. He's the Harem Pretty Boy who does all the work in high society for Jellyfish.

Speaking of fighting -- when did Jellyfish get a thigh tattoo to summon her sword? What's the backstory behind that? It probably has something to do with the 'swordmaster' thing (which is ANOTHER thing) but when did she get it? Why was she even allowed to learn swordfighting if she came from a seemingly implied patriarchal society? More importantly -- why was everyone okay with this? Why is it only the off-screen "evil old advisors" that hate her doing this.

Are these evil old advisors in the room with us right now?

Why are Nell and his family werewolves? Where did their magic recorder ability come from? This was just seemingly a power that he had that came out of nowhere when they were looking into Benela and her family. From the videos I had assumed he was a poor family that rose into dukedom after the war, but apparently they've always been? Dukes? And the other advisors still see the family as a threat? On one hand I can see where they're coming from, but on the other I don't think the comic is portraying them as "threats" the way I think they are. Nell and his family are seemingly treated like they were commoners who suddenly rose into nobility, rather than pre-existing nobility that fell onto hard times.

I want to know more about Jade and the fact that he's from a holy house from an entirely different country -- i cannot believe Ariana got away with that btw. Like im not even touching the gross overreach of power that is her demanding a noble not of her kingdom to be castrated, but more so on the fact that she practically coerced and stole a descendant of a saint and faced?? No backlash from this? None whatsoever? The gods and the people just let her get away with it because oh, it's an honor for this snobby empirical princess to come in and steal one of their chosen saintly descendants all because his dad pissed her off?

Like I agree that the dad was a scumbag, but Ariana calling him out on it is like the pot calling the kettle black.

Also, I wish Benela and her family were a bigger threat than TJP claims they are. Like, this is apparently the emperor's favored concubine who stole the love of the emperor away from the empress and successfully murdered the crown prince without getting caught. She's apparently some master manipulator but Jellyfish faces no trouble thwarting her at every turn. So what is it? Is she a master manipulator or is she a dunce? Or is the emperor just an idiot who doesn't care about his sons because with the way he treats them, you'd think they were bastard children.

The banquet "queen heel syndrome" scene gets me especially so because that was a good fucking plan!

Benela's plan to reveal and shine a light on Jellyfish's harem and how it was negatively impacting her image and high society was a good plan! That was brilliant! Because it had basis of truth in it. I don't know if the queen heel syndrome thing was a false rumor, or something she deliberately fabricated -- the comic never actually goes out of it's way to disprove it. In fact, I'd argue the QHS thing is *backed* by it, because just a few chapters prior when we first meet Benela, there's a side comment made by a noble woman about how her daughter was chasing after some man she was infatuated with.

But what I do know is that Jellyfish has been disgraceful towards her fiancé and that she has been indulging in her harem. By all accounts, by the implied societal standards of Arbezela or Azkaban, Jellyfish is being a whore. I am not one for mindlessly slut-shaming, but sometimes slut-shaming IS okay if it has a narrative purpose. And it does here. And Jellyfish doesnt even disprove any of their arguments, in fact she does a 1st grade level deflection and instead goes right for insulting Bavilo's lack of marriage prospects, which wasn't what they were talking about at all.

I'd applaud the deflection if it wasn't Ariana doing it, and if it wasn't such a serious and valid accusation that Benela and her family were making.In any other manhwa, this would have worked. This would have damaged Ariana's reputation, and it should've had some actual consequences to it. Instead they completely skip over this plot because the author knows that Ariana has no defense, she can't talk or excuse her way out because regardless of the truth behind the Queen Heel Syndrome, the fact remains what she is doing is inherently shameful.

Like! I am so mad that their scheme didn't work, because it! Was! A! Good scheme! All the best lies have some part of the truth in it, and Ariana should not have been able to weasel herself out of that so easily. In fact, the fact that she did just makes the emperor look like an even bigger incompetent.

Wanna know how this ended? It ended with the emperor blowing up at Bavilo because Bavilo said that he "could make it to the top on his own without the help of talented subordinates" and the emperor perceived that as a slight against him because, apparently, Bavilo was claiming to be heir to the throne? When nowhere in that sentence did Bavilo even so much as say or imply such a thing?

and also--- WHY is it such a bad thing that he's claiming to be vying for the heir seat? It's empty! The Emperor hasn't announced a new successor yet, of course Bavilo would say he wanted to be the crown prince. Nothing that Bavilo said was insulting towards anyone, and was actually quite admirable.

What gets me too is that right after this chapter, the empress claims that the princes are "illegitimate children" because they're the sons of concubines, and that if they were chosen for the role of "carrier of the light" people would question their parentage-- ???

First of all, not at all how concubines work. Concubines are a legitimate role in a harem structure and quite literally their job is to produce more heirs for the throne as back-ups in case something happens to the Heir Apparent. Like that's literally their job. They are official members of the royal palace, to claim that their children aren't legitimate is to claim that they're merely mistresses, not concubines. This was both an insult to the concubines AND the emperor.

Like my god I do not have the time to go into all of the plot holes of this webtoon. I haven't even gone into the total lack of consequences Ariana experiences both politically and socially, and how all of the interesting conflict happens off screen, nor the blatant racism and misogyny present throughout the webtoon, NOR the absolute SHIT worldbuilding.

[yuerikoko]

So…

I can’t believe it took me 3 years to be able to say it out loud but—

Old woman yuri.

(Or at least one-sided gay pining at the very most)

(Apologies for the lack of good screenshots, I just started replaying WE recently since my Angela brain rot is coming back)

———

Okayy so I want to confess: I initially wrote a fic about them because I wanted a wlw equivalent to Jars from S3 so then I thought about them— and thus came a slow burn fic (actually a 1k word one shot because it was part of a one shot book in Wattpad I had back then) I made of them in 2021 in an AU where Lars was the mole for the sake of making the ship sail. The one shot has been deleted, unfortunately, and as of now I might not have plans to rewrite it : (

Anyways I started shipping them seriously after I wrote that fic (I still like Angelars and Carchelle tho!) and the more I read into their interactions, the more I realized just how much untapped potential their relationship has (PS knew they would be too powerful so they had to make Angela the mole with little to no buildup until literally two cases before IPS/s). Also incoming ramble about them since barely anyone talks about them:

Their interactions, while few, are super wholesome and have a special place in my heart as someone who’s skimmed through the transcripts for either Angela’s appearances OR their interactions. No one talks about how Carmen, while usually hotheaded and quick to action, constantly praises Angela and is really patient with her enough. And as @celestiarambles has pointed out in their analysis of their relationship, Carmen has only gotten mad at Angela ONCE for a reason that wasn’t out of concern for her well-being and it was because she was flirting with Lars in front of her. (Could it be because she wasn’t being serious? Or could it be out of envy? We may never know, unfortunately…)

Likewise, I see so much potential to be explored when it comes to their interactions: Carmen teaching Angela photography after having very nicely for some reason (I bet 50 bucks that if it were Jack or Lars it’d be different) told her she sucked, them discussing parenting tips, and character studies of their relationships. Or if we were to enter fic territory, their pre-canon/post-canon dynamic is also an interesting idea to think about, or maybe an AU where they could end up together (Mole!Lars seems like the easiest way tho). Fic writers, I call upon thee to make this wish of mine come true/j

Their personalities also complement each other very well : D. While both show clear work ethic and seriousness in their work, they also complement each other. Carmen is tough, hotheaded and started off as distrustful at us in the beginning of WE, being focused on her work first and foremost, while Angela is much more calm, patient and initially warm and family-oriented. This also leads to some interesting parallels as they almost become each other’s core traits by the end of WE: Carmen having grown more motherly and caring after having Sanjay, whilst Angela grew distrustful and cynical, likely due to her pledged loyalty to SOMBRA, which lead her to follow their orders so devotedly that she was actually willing to blow us up.

The fact that the transition from the main plot of IPS to the AI has Carmen change facial expressions from holding a straight face to being sad/disappointed. It could’ve been Ripley, who was upset at the loss of one of their most competent members by the hands of the organization she swore to destroy. It could’ve been Jack, who was upset for Lars— his best friend, and they did have some nice interactions, too. But the fact that Carmen of all people was chosen for this, despite the fact that her relationship with Angela wasn’t either of their most important (Lars to Angela and Sanjay/Elliot to Carmen /platonically btw), did make for an interesting choice.

Also not related to canon but fun fact: my hc of Carmen nicknaming Angela “Angie” actually came from that one fic I wrote XD

And don’t get me started on the way they also fit into so many tropes at once:

Birds of a feather: Both of them are hardworking, serious and devoted to their work, but are shown to also care about the people around them, especially children and young people.

Red oni, Blue oni/Opposites Attract: Despite their similarities, Carmen is more hot-tempered and impatient, while Angela is known to be more calm and reserved.

Coworker yuri: do I even need to explain myself…

Brains and Brawn: Angela is shown to be really intelligent (you do not just forget a Nobel prize in biology) and it is also shown when she almost succeeded in deceiving us into thinking anyone but her was the mole. On the other hand, Carmen is more prone to action and violence (the fact that PS barely put out a moment in which she lets her badass personality shine and is almost always rescued by Jonah is a huge sin against humanity). Their jobs also reflect this in a way.

Pair the smart ones: Angela with her academic expertise in biology and Carmen with her field experience in journalism.

Battle couple: Most of the points I stated for Carmen earlier apply, along with the fact that we learn that Angela takes military training in the finale.

Dating Catwoman: Can somewhat apply post-canon, or after Angela has been outed.

Morality pet: To Carmen, since Angela is one of the few people she rarely ever gets mad at that wasn’t a child or teenager.

You (he) never did that for me: For Angela. An example was in Case 8 where she had went missing for hours and Lars was only like “hey guys my wife went missing” while Carmen actually went to go look for her.

Not so Different: Aside from their personalities, their character arcs also reflect this as discussed earlier. Carmen’s warm and motherly side gets to show itself later on with Angela still around, while the finale also shows Angela loyal to SOMBRA and being colder and meaner towards the Bureau, showing this sense of superiority(?) over their respective allegiances similar to Carmen in the early cases (and also throughout, to an extent) of the season.

Complementary colors: Red and green. Need I say more?

OKAY THIS WAS A LOT— it took me a whole hour to type this up but I wanted to get these two out of my head rq also as a means of unwinding from exam stress (will probably disappear into the shadows again after this). Please do correct me for any inaccuracies, though ^^

[crystalartsandanimation]

The new short is basically one big callback to the Animator vs. Animation videos.

The "Freedom at Last" pop-up in Animator vs. Animation III:

The ViraBot and Second's hammer (guess he drew a new one) in Animator vs. Animation V:

And, of course, the time where Chosen was a pop-up blocker for more than 4 years.

Major difference, obviously, Chosen being forced into Alan's commands, and Second being allowed to roam free (along with the Fighting Stick Figures).

A couple other things I picked up:

Roblex in Animation vs. Minecraft - Episode 30: The King

I think I've seen this before, but I don't remember where:

And we all know the trouble with this XD:

Speaking of which...

Yeah, I'm not making this up, I just found this while collecting some screenshots.

Anyway...

With Green being injured by Second's attempt to sing, and Yellow and Blue literally knocked clean during Second's blind rampage against the pop-ups, I'm really scared to see what Red's outcome will be...

Update:

The "U Suck" vacuum ad came from Animation vs. YouTube. Thank you @tulipsempai and @nacora-najita for the information!

Another update:

The sentence, "And, of course, the time where Chosen was a pop-up for more than 4 years," it was supposed to say, "And, of course, the time where Chosen was a pop-up blocker for more than 4 years."

I didn't catch that while I made this post, thanks, Inks, for the correction! ^^

[loveislandthegame]

thoughts on todays volume !

leo is…well, at least he’s not dean 😭 i like his personality but he looks like a mix of dylan from season 4 & wesley stickler from ace attorney

i feel like FB is overexplaining why OG LI didn’t leave when MC got dumped. i get that they’re trying to make him look good (& get more money from players by milking these backstory gem scenes lol) but tacking on even more stuff is making the whole thing look nonsensical

FB! make this evil twink a love interest and MY LIFE IS YOURS ! (i guess they are aware of the slim shady comparison lmao)

but for real, i still don’t know if he’s gonna be an LI or not. i can't tell if he has any significant dialogue changes and i'm too lazy to start another playthrough. he doesn't have amnesia though, he remembers that ive been flirting with him (i forgot to screenshot his first piece of dialogue but he’s talking about the spin the bottle kiss)

there’s not much to say about mr. love island, except that FB seriously needs to retire that gross looking yellow massage oil overlay. at least adjust the hue a bit 😭

caleb sticking up for MC was very sweet 🥺❤️ obviously she can defend herself just fine, but he’s a real one for this. it’s making me feel bad that i haven’t spent any time with him in the villa (if only we could be a friendship couple, instead of the game forcing us to lead him on)

the spirit of season 1 MC possessed us for just a moment, i was gagged 😭 i ended up forgiving ava tho, i wish we could just be friends with the girls that aren't also LIs. i know i keep saying it but this one sided rivalry shit is so boring

the ex rated challenge was what i expected: LIs get decent reviews, MC gets the only 5 star rating. not to nitpick (in the sense that there's much bigger issues with FB's LGBT representation) but i don’t know why we couldn’t have chosen the gender of MC’s ex, especially since ash is already a gender neutral name (there could’ve easily been a dialogue option like “my ex…boyfriend/girlfriend/partner” before telling the story)

since MC won the challenge, she gets to go to the hideaway. i don't know why it's a secret or why none of these nosy af islanders tried to figure out what the prize was. anyways, i chose lisbeth ! it was so cute that they mentioned being happy to be there with eachother again

this damn box— whatever, i picked sexy dice

all those letters teasing movie night got me scared luv, i’m sure the main event is gonna be nyah in the shower with dean, but i’m bracing myself for MC and lisbeth caught doing bits all over the villa in 4K. i hate how wlw routes have to be sneaky/shady/hoe route-adjacent (it really sucks because i remember complimenting FB for the dialogue you get if you kept choosing her over the guys up until the first hideaway visit)

i'm still holding out hope for enemies to friends but sadly i won't be surprised if she does a full 180 in the next volume

next up is a three way date with hayden and caleb, unfortunately we can’t make them kiss challengers-style. i picked neutral answers whenever i could, but caleb won whatever compatibility thing we were doing because i liked his answers more lol

tristan’s rapping…i was gonna say “welcome back, rap crew” but tim, rohan, even jake would never come up with bars as horrible as those 😭 (can you tell i miss season 1)

lisbeth got jealous, so she took us on a hot tub date ❤️😭lately all of her scenes mention something among the lines of “i can’t wait until we’re finally able to couple up," when the hell is the recoupling ?! the last volume ? my heart can’t take it

hayden, caleb, tristan, and leo are on the chopping block. i have no idea why milo is safe & not the two dudes who’ve been here for one day and are still single, but alright.

it’d be hilarious if tristan got dumped again, but i’m guessing they’re gonna keep him around for drama (or he's a LI ?) . leo will probably stay to be ava’s partner, so my prediction will be that MC will have to choose between OG LI and casa LI

overall, there's 4 volumes left, why on earth are we dealing with a forced love triangle instead of spending time with our chosen LI ? at the very least i'd be more invested if it was between lisbeth and jesse, or even eisha if FB was too lazy to branch for a love triangle with different LI genders 😭 (even though they were able to do that back in season 3, with the iconic "i've got a beautiful girl and a handsome guy fighting for my attention. i'm living the bisexual dream") what a mess

i'm not looking forward to movie night, but i guess OG LI loyal girlies will probably be considered cheaters too, let's all be miserable together 🥀

[avelera]

I went back to my first truly harrowingly Evil Dark Urge playthrough to grab some screenshots and... got sucked back into playing lol. But the thing is, the most evilest ending has no epilogue and the "reject Bhaal at the last minute instead of at the temple" epilogue is ALSO fascinating and gut-wrenching and harrowing but what I really missed from both runs was getting to see the fruits of her egging everyone on to be their worst possible self, so...

I went back and decided to play it a little differently. I gave Aylin to Ketheric the first time (and then to Larroakan when we defeated him but she was seriously side-eying my evil Durge after, rightfully so, and Durge couldn't leave a powerful threat like that lying around obvs), which sadly loses you Shadowheart so this time I'm going with Dark Justiciar Shadowheart.

I was a little stumped on the RP for it at first, because Zenobia (my Dark Urge) was all about, "Jumping right back into the Dead Three plot from the moment she got even a smidge of memory back," which lent to her siding with Ketheric loyally and basically working with the bad guys at almost every opportunity (except for the very beginning where she was wrong-footed and out of her element so she built up allies by helping the tieflings while she got the lay of the land. She's a big believer in long-term pay off over short-term murderizing. Also, the sadistic pay-off for betrayal is so much greater than that of simply attacking right away.)

But then I decided... heck, let's groundhog day it. Let's go with the time loop or foreknowledge plot, everything I know, my Durge knows now.

Say she had a vision, or was reborn to this moment. She saw all the variations of what's to come. Saw what happens if she sides with her father. Sees what happens if she betrays him at the last moment to destroy the brain, which was a humiliation piled upon humiliation despite her long and faithful years of service.

And she is pissed.

It's starts when she gets chewed out for giving Isobel to Ketheric. She knows she's going to kill the priestess later but for now, this is a valuable tool in showing her trustworthiness to Ketheric, and Bhaal is mad at her?? Because she decided to delay her gratification in pursuit of the larger goal?? And then, then, Bhaal has the audacity to force her to try to kill her friend and former lover, Astarion, as punishment for using her intelligence to pursue the larger goal of the Dead Three plot with some level of cunning and forethought?

She was fucking outraged. Here she's been Bhaal's faithful child, chosen, general, and mortal mastermind for years and her father can't even trust her enough to allow her to exercise the bare minimum of strategy?

And from there, as I see it, Zenobia sees more and more instances of Bhaal just not fucking trusting her with carrying out this plot, which she knows in another lifetime she pulled of spectacularly, but which offered an empty, hollow victory of handing dancing puppets over to Bhaal, ruling in his name instead of her own.

And then, then while confronting Ketheric, Ketheric admits he always planned to betray his allies.

Oh she is seeing red now. Granted, all the Dead Three chosen were planning to betray each other, that's probably a given, except... Gortash wasn't. Gortash was faithful to the end if she was faithful to him. Minthara is faithful to the end. Her companions were.

So it's less that her new chance at life is making her "good" and more that it's showing her the valuable allies she tossed away, the more interesting world she could reside in, in favor of creating a world of mindless murder targets for her equally mindless, idiot father Bhaal. What an imbecile. What an insult that he doesn't give her the barest modicum of trust. What an insult that Ketheric bald-faced tells her that he would throw all of this aside for his own ends, because he's following his own idiot god.

Zenobia is seeing absolute red. Her plan still remains. She will help Gale ascend to godhood and leave the last of his soft-hearted scruples behind. She will help her former lover and friend, perhaps her first true friend, Astarion destroy his master and rise to become a powerful ally. She will deny her lover Minthara the easy win of a kingdom of thralls in favor of the more challenging but satisfying bloody return to the Underdark together. She will aid Shadowheart in becoming a Dark Justiciar. She will tear down each of Lae'zel's gods one by one, from helping to reveal Vlaakith's faithlessness to showing her even Orpheus can become what he despises most, a mindflayer. But now it is not to show them the supremacy of Bhaal but to show them they should cast down all gods. And this time, she will not hold herself separate, no, she will cast Bhaal from her life as well to pursue her own bloody ambitions in a world of true adversaries, not one populated by mindless thralls as he directed her but did not trust her to execute according to her own vision.

[yuugsalame]

Theory of Imigrantes Road

Well, all this started of a screenshot from: https://imigrantesroadinvestigations.neocities.org/ that my friend, @yukiimufinz, sent me(or, sent us). the screenshot is:

The easy way to explain all the things I'm going to say is that Peteca is searching to a body to use to kill people without guilt, the reasons? I'm not sure. 1. All this start with Lilian that after killing those people, felt guilty, so Peteca at being use her also felt that, so that's why the "letter" made by the little bit of awareness that Lilian had:

("I wasn't the one") Also, the archive is called "A_BODY_THAT_BECAME_USELESS_.png", that can be Peteca telling that Lilian wasn't usefull anymore or that she wasn't "the chosen one". It expressed more in here:

"perdão, lilian (i'm sorry, lilian) mas seu tempo acabou (but your time is up) você não era a escolhida (you were not the chosen one) então (so) não tenho (i don't have) uma razão (any reason) pra te manter (to keep you) por mais tempo (for any longer)"

2. The second part was Bento, it started with the visions and then the acts, that maybe drove him to maybe kill Elize or someone else. I point to Elize 'cuz one casting line.

""I said stop the car. Let me out right now!"(emotional, demanding)" (Or maybe he/she did it, we still don't know) Also that she's dead, for this archive's name:

"bothdead.png" (Yeah, I know that Kami and Socorro just think that Elize is dissapeared but, it's an archive name) Continuing with Bento, after posibly killing someone anf feeling guilty, Peteca discard him and he died by a seizure or something similar. And again, Bento wasn't "the chosen one".

3. Third, Socorro. The actual body that Peteca is using is Socorro's. This was possible the most obvious but still. The proves appear in first and second video from Ghosttundra's channel and Socorro's "MySpace"(SpaceHey) blog. That isn't the important, the important is that maybe, they are "the chosen one", 'cause the difference between Lilian and Bento and Socorro was that Socorro were more easy to lost their empathy, this can be expressed by a blog post "this world sucks. also merry christmas", where Socorro talks that in their college they don't enjoy with their classmates and say that they're bad to them, so they hate everyone, except their coworkers that are also introverts. This can be a kind of start to some apathetic thoughts that can be in Socorro's mind. Well, Peteca's control could start at maybe, Socorro's dreams and the seizures that they had, that slowly made they lost themselves and turn into someone different and apathetic, like the dialogue in the first video about Bento's dead body:

A similar reaction at a blog post("MY. ART") where at Bento's corpse, Socorro just edited adding gifs like they were nothing:

Also the white dialogues that are in some blogs of Socorro's can be signal of Peteca talking or just thinking: "IT'S TRULY AMAZING TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU'VE DETERIORATED IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. YOU USED TO BE A FORCE, SOCORRO. NOW YOU'RE JUST COMIC RELIEF."-from blog post called: "where is my tube". And finally with this, I can say that Socorro is lost and Peteca is the one who is controlling them, maybe they switch, maybe they're not, but my finally part of the theory is that Socorro is going to kill Kami, and if still they are like that unconscious self, they'll join to Fundação Mariposa.

(@ghosttundra) Haha, that's all bros, I've spent like 3 hours in this wtf, im going to sleep bye

All art credits to Ghosttundra (please follow them, their job is amazing) Thanks to my dear spookie pretty friend @yukiimufinz and her crazy head and

page to the archives and facts THANKS!!!!

[formerlycookierunauprompts]

I did not realize we hit 250! Thank you all so so so much!

As promised, I will now be revealing the rules, prizes and judging criteria for the 250 Followers Art Contest.

And in case you've forgotten, in this competition you're supposed to draw a scene from any of the prompts(maybe even one from a ficlet) that I've made!

First off, the Rules.

Your art must be your own and you must provide wip and proof screenshots(at least one of each) so your entry doesn't get disqualified. You can also provide a speedpaint as well. The reason for this rule is so that AI Art isn't used in the competition and wins, i'd rather people actually put effort into their pieces.

All submissions must be submitted by February 27th AEDT, results will be released on the 29th of February AEDT.

You have to @ mention this blog in your submission otherwise it will not be counted, it also has to be posted on tumblr.

I don't think I have to say this but just in case, no NSFW.

The scene you draw cannot be from a submitted prompt OR a prompt posted after Ficlet #3, which is set to be posted shortly after this announcement.

I know there isn't many rules, but i can trust you all to behave I'm sure.

Now then, onto the judging criteria. Each piece will be judged on how the artist visually interoperates the scene/prompt they have chosen to draw. Quality won't play much of a big factor here, but it is still appreciated. All pieces will be reblogged to this blog should they qualify for submission and will be tagged with 'cookierunauprompts 250 follower art comp'.

And now, onto what you've all been waiting for... prizes!

First Place will receive a free art piece from yours truly, Mod Kenzie! This art piece will be fully shaded/rendered. It can be of any character you wish, even an oc!

Second place will receive a colored and shaded artwork from yours truly(again, Mod Kenzie). However the character will have to be from Cookie Run or be a Cookie Run OC.

Third Place will receive a doodle page centered around any cookie run character they wish!

(my apologies if the prizes kinda suck, this is my first time hosting a competition.)

Anyways, I believe that that's all! I hope to see your submissions soon!

[dangan-kagura]

I think my biggest misgiving with your "Why I Don't Like Ibuki Mioda" post is simply that heavy metal =/= death metal. There are many subgenres of "heavy metal" that Ibuki could logically land in without landing in "death metal," and the few song titles of hers that we know of (aside from that one "I thought up a new song" moment) don't seem to align with the usual themes of death metal - those being the infamous "I Squeezed Out the Baby But Have No Idea Who the Father Is" and the less-funny "From Me to You Too." On the flip side, though, you've got two screenshots in there of quotes from her that sound "death metal"-ish, at least. So you do that have that on your side. But I've always taken Ibuki to be more of the general "heavy metal/metal" than "death metal." Because it's just like you say - the death metal genre simply doesn't fit her personality and vibes. It doesn't make sense to me for that to be her selected area of expertise. But let me step back to address the comment I made to that post earlier and your subsequent reply: If you want to know why/how Hope's Peak would let Ibuki just play whatever bizarre genre she likes instead of making her adhere to the genre that got her the "Ultimate Musician" distinction, I think we can easily answer that. Because throughout the canon games and official AUs (meaning "Ultimate Talent Development Program" and Danganronpa S), Hope's Peak never provides much direction OR discipline to their chosen students. They believe in allowing the students they scout to "develop their talent" however they damn well please... up to and including methods that actively interfere with the school's own campus and classes, apparently. So of course the board of Hope's Peak wouldn't care if she was over there doing *literally anything* as long as it was vaguely music-related. They don't even make these people attend classes, for god's sake. If Ibuki wanted to stand in a field and repeatedly bang a flute into her head, I doubt they'd object. Because they kinda suck? :P Ah, but you brought up Hiyoko, so of course I've gotta waste text on HER too. A least-fave character of mine, but a favorite topic of mine all the same. I've also long questioned whether Hiyoko's "bullies" even exist, given that A) Saionji is such an unreliable source of information in general and B) like, how? How would anyone "bully" someone who is so incredibly cruel and aggressive? Would they not be swiftly destroyed in response? How does anyone bully someone who is such a vicious bully herself? I guess I just haven't ever seen it done in RL, but that doesn't mean it's impossible - especially in fiction. (As to "Why would someone like Hiyoko like squishing ants?" I'd simply say "Based on all available evidence, she greatly enjoys tormenting anything and anyone weaker than her.")

I don't know how to best respond to your first paragraph, but I'll say this. I think it would've been better if Ibuki did try to make references to all sorts of rock bands, even the ones that aren't metal related, otherwise, I can only see her as the type that is only limited to a specific subgenre. I personally think Ibuki would fit perfectly with the Guilty Gear setting which has all sorts of classic rock and metal references. As a former fan of Guilty Gear, I probably could tolerate Ibuki just a little bit if she was canonically into the same kind of bands Guilty Gear has made reference to (e.g. Queen, Iron Maiden, Guns 'N' Roses). And from my experience, Guilty Gear hasn't made any references to modern rock (except maybe in the Xrd games) so back when I was a fan, I didn't have to worry about any of that screamo crap.

That second paragraph, I think I understand what you meant a little better. But Hope's Peak aside, I still think Ibuki is one of those characters that needs more character development. I've read that lots of fans were disappointed with the DR3 despair arc since it didn't really provide much depths for the backstories for Class 77-B. And compared to everyone else's free time events, Ibuki's FTEs don't have much details about her backstory since they were all about her trying to cheer Hajime up. Just saying that she got hit in the head with coconuts and going to a different country on an illegal fishing boat doesn't really provide anything related to her music career. And the fact that she went to Shiba Academy which is an all-girls school only gives me an idea as to why Ibuki is bisexual, if she went to an all-girls school, Ibuki grew up with less boys in her life and at some point found herself sexually into girls. I'm not complaining about that fact, it's a little interesting for other reasons.

As for Hiyoko, I've read that "her chosen bloodline was constantly targeted by conspiracies and assassinations due to jealous people. As a child, she constantly suffered cruel and even life-threatening pranks and threats, like having pins in her shoes, dead mice scattered all over her bed, and poisoned food." That's how I assumed Hiyoko grew up with a bullying problem. Meaning when she was very little, Hiyoko probably didn't have that spoiled brat personality, but because she was a target for assassins and bullies as the heiress of the Saoinji Clan, at some point in her life, she developed her own bullying as a self-defense to protect herself. And when she attended Golden Light Girl's Institute, "it's heavily implied that she never had any friends due to growing a mean and distrustful personality in order to defend herself in the past." Some of these are mentioned in her free time events.

This Amino post should include some info on Hiyoko's past.

This character analysis video by Weeby Newz should also help in a way.

[joviantwelve]

XYZ🕒ul, Tetris, Carmichael; 1 5 7 12 14 19 20 23 25

OKAY ITS TIME TO GET AROUND TO THIS THING LET'S GO

obviously going to be long, so under a cut it goes:

1. What memory would your OC rather just forget? XYZoul: they'd prefer simply not thinking about their life as a Physical Corporeal Entity at all, and leave it at that. Tetris: until we see more native viera stuff ingame, I like to think she was a guard or something for her village, and thus got into encounters with "intruders." she would mostly follow protocol, though their appearance and behavior is what got her curious about the outside world in the first place...I think she wishes she would have left sooner, instead of mindlessly fighting what were (sometimes, I mean you got that imperial presence and all) completely innocuous people. Carmichael: Uhhh well, a lot of it has to do with Ivanna...not just any one thing though, unfortunately. she was a toxic girlboss, and there's a lot he needs to unpack. to roughly sum it up, he was treated more like a funny curiosity than like, an employee.

5. How far is your OC willing to go to get what they want? XYZoul: IIIiiii would say to the point of risking innocent human life. since it's a cyberpunk setting and all, there's some tech out there that integrates with brains directly, so...they wouldn't want to directly mess with that. unless it's attached to a capitalist pig, of course! hyuk! Tetris: she will break bones if she has to, given her training I mentioned above...but she PREFERS it not to come to that, considering it's more along the lines of what she used to do. sadly, because this is an MMORPG, it does often come to that Carmichael: lmao he takes a loooong time to develop any sort of assertiveness. so, not very far. even if he's trying to make a point in a discussion, he'd be very polite about it, and likely get talked over. this may change if Azriel has any say about it, though!

7. What’s one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them? XYZoul: their design, mostly. it took a loooong time for me to come up with something I was happy with beyond just their face. I'm glad that they seem to be popular, because...it was a lot of effort. I googled a lot of retro computer mascots for ideas, only to discover a lot of the actual period mascots sucked LMAO?? turns out ""webcore aesthetic"" was more what I was actually going for. Tetris: I feel like most WoLs are bound evolve with the game's narrative, but design-wise...I did fantasia her a couple times, for mostly minor aesthetic reasons. she used to be brown, but then I saw a lot of fellow viera with the brown skin/white hair kind of look and felt stifled LMFAO so I made her grayscale instead to be kind of like a snow bunny. I also gave her heterochromia with this because I am cringe and free (and also a resemblance to my OC Hyacinth that worked out in another funny way (spoilers for that 2nd link)) Carmichael: WELL since he was originally for TTRPG, he didn't really have like, "his" own story. I feel like giving him that (which includes a relationship) just adds a whole new dimension to him. It actually feels weird playing him in a TTRPG setting nowadays, because it's like, oh no, his arc is gone!! his BOYFRIEND is gone!!

12. Is your OC self-destructive? In what ways? XYZoul: being a hacker in a cyberpunk setting is just inviting self-destruction by trade, if you ask me. always going to get a little too cocky and end up hacking someone you shouldn't :/ Tetris: Not usually, but I think the anxiety of being The Chosen Hero takes a toll sometimes and requires some management. For example, this screenshot was taken immediately after the Elpis arc, because I thought it was an appropriate reaction to what I just experienced, ghfdkjghfdg Carmichael: he's WAY too modest and self-conscious and it holds him back from more bold behavior. like question #5 up there...he just doesn't know how to have a voice. he will get better about this.

14. How does your OC want to be seen by other characters? XYZoul: if they had their way, they would remain anonymous forever, and then one day simply stop posting and fade into an urban legend that never gets solved. unfortunately, that won't happen Tetris: If you think she is cool and dependable, that's all she could really ask for. She doesn't really mind being "the big one" in a friend group. sometimes literally, because tall. Carmichael: HE WANTS TO BE USEFUL THAT PART OF HIM WILL NEVER CHANGE 🥺

19. How does your OC behave when enraged? XYZoul: Hacking your Internet of Things Devices to cause general mayhem and get the last laugh Tetris: The Power of Incredible Violence. I think this is just because she has viera voice 5 (which sounds like this in combat), but my friend group started joking that tetris is just generally violent, which I feel like informed her backstory idea in the end?! I don't think she's like. a killing machine or anything. but IF things come down to a fight, she's game. you bet I picked all the angry options talking to you-know-who at the end of Endwalker Carmichael: I like to think he can still keep his composure, it's more in the words he chooses and the actions he does. you may be thinking "haha, carmichael saying fuck?" but HONESTLY.....I CAN'T SEE IT?? I feel like if he was giving an Angry Speech to a Bad Guy he'd use like colorful insults from the 1900s or general sarcastic politeness before he'd resort to the intense informality of "fuck." he definitely knows how to weaponize snark in there somewhere

20. Does your OC have a tendency to get jealous? If so, how does this manifest? XYZoul: No, they don't really have anything to be jealous of!! they're the only XYZoul out there! I think they might get jealous if another cool hacker showed up online, but if anything I think they'd try and get in contact as a potential friend first. strength in numbers and all that Tetris: Not really, but I think if she dwells on it too hard, she's kinda bummed at the fact she had to get exiled from her community to integrate with anyone else out in the vast wide world out there, whereas everyone else seems to be able to live in the same place all their lives and still travel around if desired. what the fuck is up with that Carmichael: YES ACTUALLY LMAO. like you might not expect it from him, but through roleplaying with Bee, we decided that the next CEO of his old company, who had previously dumped him as he didn't need an android, then turned around and got a new sexy robo assistant anyway. and Carmichael finds this out. and actually gets mad about it for reasons he can't articulate. it's the kind of jealousy where he just vents to Azriel for an extended time to the point where Azriel is like "oh this is a Hangup for you, huh"

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express? XYZoul: I think like...genuine vulnerability. their anonymous persona allows them to perfectly craft their image online, so nothing about their actual life is shared anywhere. but I feel like all that restriction might just be them bottling it all up...which can't be good. Tetris: I think being a general outsider to the rest of the world has been a wild ride mentally. Like, there's all this history and political drama she would have never known about if she didn't leave. Feels weird, like damn, I could've been helping people out here this whole time?! She doesn't really like talking about her past before Eorzea, I think maybe because she feels ashamed of it. She is an actual exile after all. Carmichael: trauma. basically his entire character arc is realizing how traumatized he is LMFAO it's not fun.

25. What is your favorite thing about your OC? XYZoul: ok this is dweeby but I've had the whole clock/compass duality thing in mind for at least 10 years now. it just seems obvious to me, a clock is time, a compass is directional space, so like, spacetime, duh, and yet I rarely see those two symbols juxtaposed together in anything. they're both circles with funny hands! it seems so braindead to do!! so it's cool having a character kinda catch on that helps get that out there lmfao Tetris: bnuuy. idk, I was, like, so stoked viera were in XIV, it made me actually go through the campaign in full for once. I feel like it's a combination of FFTA nostalgia, and also that viera are gender for me, I guess. I also appreciate that I can put her in a suit. thanks Carmichael: he's cute :3 and also like the first OC I made where I was trying very hard to be self-indulgent. concept, character design, character development, the whole shebang. I try to do this more and more nowadays, but he was where I really started focusing on, uh, writing what I actually wanted to write

[general-sleepy]

[ID: Screenshots of Tumblr tags: #uhhh not to be *that* person but if said someone is critcizing the movie/showand not your work on giffing it perse... why do you... care... #am i an asshole for not seeing much trouble in it? #i think it's different when sb shits on your writing style in the comments of ur fanfiction sure bc thats directly linked to how you write. #if the reblog tags were smth like 'hate this color grading' or some shit like that. that would make more sense for me. #like people are allowed to be haters guys. especially on their blog?" END ID]

It's less a matter of criticism being inherently good or bad, but of etiquette and context. General fandom, including Tumblr and AO3, are not spaces that traditionally invite criticism. It's a realm of hobbyists relaxing, not necessarily artists trying to improve their craft or critics looking for intellectual debate. Sometimes people want that, because in some contexts it's fun, but it shouldn't be taken for granted. If someone wants to enjoy themselves by enthusing about a chosen piece of media, then it's polite, and again, accepted etiquette, to keep your complaining on your own separate posts. Live and let live, whether it's enthusing or hating.

For example: I hate Hostel. Loathe it. Can think of maybe two or three nice things to say about it. I've seen worse movies, more morally indefensible movies, but none that fills me with such enthusiastic rage. I post about it a bunch. I could be starving to death on a deserted island and if you asked me for my opinion on Hostel I would spend my last breaths ranting about how godawful that the movie is and Eli Roth's thundering incompetence.

I don't tag my Hostel hate posts as #hostel, though. I don't want my Hostel hate to show up in the main tag where Hostel fans just wanting to have a good time will see it. If I saw a post of lovingly edited Hostel gifs or someone's breathlessly enthusiastic meta about how awesome Hostel is, I wouldn't add a comment about how, actually, Hostel sucks eggs and this person is wrong. Because they're there to have fun; and because I'm aware of the context, I let them. Then I go to my own blog and vent in a post tagged #hostel hate or something; so I can have fun hating in a safe, designated hater zone.

Or, here's an example from the other side. I just saw a movie called Nothing Bad Can Happen, which I adored. Five-star review from me. Imagine I make this post:

Just saw Nothing Bad Can Happen, and holy heck, it was great. Like a ton of other people. I got New French Extremity vibes (which I also love). Julius Feldmeier's performance is incredible. Like in the scene where... [raving about all of the details of my favorite scene with screenshots]. Anyway, the movie was awesome!

If I thought the movie sucked, and I saw this post, I'd just keep scrolling. Then consider this post:

Just saw Nothing Bad Can Happen, and I thought it was fantastic. It's really interesting to place it in the context of New French Extremity. I know that not everyone enjoys these films (including the criticisms of misogyny, which don't come from nowhere) but I feel like that's not a central aspect of the genre as a whole. Nothing Bad Can Happen is a great jumping off point for discussing the role of male suffering extreme horror. Like, you can look at the scene where [arguments about why a scene I will describe backs up my thesis, with evidence and analysis]. Anyway, that's what I took away from it. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinions.

If I think the movie sucked and this person is wrong about everything, yeah, it would be absolutely reasonable to reblog with that opinion. Of course, I should still be polite and not just say "the movie was ass and you're dumb for liking it." But this is absolutely a space for constructive negativity. If I say that I think this person is wrong because [specific reasons] and set off a debate, everyone involved is going to be having fun, because that's what we all agreed to.

Calling media dogshit is a good fun and a god-given human right, just be aware of the context.

#this scene was so dumb #this movie sucked #this movie was garbage but-

Then don't reblog it???? I cannot keep reiterating how annoying it is for op to read these tags. Why are you reblogging things you don't like or enjoy? Keep your reviews off gifmaker's posts unless you are sharing the love and appreciation for what people are creating.

[harry-on-broadway]

Just Thinking About You: A Tying You to Me Extra

Word Count: 2K || Series Masterlist || Rating: M

January/February 2019

Harry didn’t know what hurt worse. The pounding in his head or the ache in his chest that had been his permanent companion since July.

He rolled over and looked at the clock. It was just after three in the morning. At least he got five hours of sleep under his belt. He’d learned over the past several months that once he woke, it was hard to drift back off thanks to his racing mind.

He’d been trying different methods of relaxing over the weeks – meditation, long walks, yoga, fresh air, calling his mom – but the remedy he’d chosen last night had been alcohol, accepting shot after shot from some friends of a friend who’d dragged him from bar to bar. He figured it would knock him out cold, but instead he found himself wide awake and alarmingly clear-headed. He sighed as he rolled over in bed, cringing when he landed on the cool side of the sheets. The usually refreshing sensation just reminded him of how alone he was.

It had been about six months since he’d last spoken to Quinn as she’d left his house, crying over pain he’d needlessly inflicted on her. He’d been the one that was responsible, but had done nothing to comfort her and just let her walk away. It seemed like the right decision at the time, but he regretted it daily.

He sat up and grabbed his phone, flicking his thumb across the screen to unlock the device and navigate to his chain of messages with Quinn. It was always at the top of the thread thanks to the near daily texts he sent her. He looked at the most recent ones.

Happy New Year, Agent Q. Hope you’re well. I miss you.

Tried a new type of candy today. You’d probably like it. It tasted like Skittles.

Caught some sketches from last night. The show was great.

Would you want to catch up sometime?

The last message had been sent just hours earlier at the peak of his intoxication. He hated how pitiful he sounded, even months after their break up. He picked at a loose piece of skin on his thumb as he scrolled further and further back, taking in the transition from his pleading messages to the terse ones they shared during his time on tour. With the benefit of hindsight, it was plain to see that something was wrong, but his head had been so far up his own ass at that point that he’d thought they were fine.  He continued to pick at his finger as he read over the words, wincing when he pulled a large chunk of skin off. He pulled his thumb to his mouth, sucking away the droplet of blood that had formed.

Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes and he tried to tell himself that he was crying due to the pain in his finger, but he couldn’t lie. He laughed bitterly at the situation: he was quite literally a grown man sitting in a hotel room crying while he sucked his thumb. If only Quinn could see him now. Maybe she was better off without him.

The tears fell harder as he kept scrolling, reading through the light banter they’d exchanged early on and taking in just how much Quinn cared about him. All of those early messages had asked after him. 

How are you? 

How was the flight? 

Are you getting over that cold? 

Feeling nervous about the show tonight? 

It was only as he read them with fresh eyes that he realized I’d rarely returned the favor, so caught up in his own life and own shit that he never thought to think of her.

Reaching the very beginning of their chat history he closed out of their messages and opened the Photos app just two squares over, now an act of muscle memory after making it part of his nightly routine. He knew exactly where to look, cycling past snapshots of his recent travels to find the three measly pictures they’d taken during their time together.

One was a screenshot he’d taken during one of their many FaceTime calls, each of them bundled up in their respective beds, and another was a shot of the two of them from his final show at the Forum. He hated that one. Quinn’s eyes looked so sad. His favorite was from one of the first times he’d made an effort to visit her, when he was in town to play Radio City. It was a selfie in bed, taken the morning after his show. Quinn had pulled the sheets up to her neck and was trying to hide from the camera, turning her face into Harry’s shoulder. She’d never looked more beautiful.

A chain of meaningless texts and three photos. How could that be all that was left of the most significant relationship in his life?

Ever a glutton for punishment, he pulled up Quinn’s Instagram profile. He didn’t know why. It would be exactly the same as yesterday. He felt a tightening in his chest as he looked at the small profile picture. She was in a park somewhere, smiling brightly, hair blowing behind her. She was looking off the side, smiling and laughing at someone off camera. Fuck, he missed her. She’d changed the profile picture since they’d spoken and he couldn’t help but wonder who made her laugh like that. Had she ever been that happy with him?

Looking at the grid, he found the same 72 images that had been there when he’d looked yesterday. She hadn’t posted anything since before she flew out to Los Angeles to see him. No posts, no stories, nothing. Unless she’d been using her Close Friends group, which he clearly wasn’t a part of. Fiddling with the raw skin of his thumb again, stared at the screen. Was the lack of new posts because she was so happy in the real world that she didn’t need to share in the virtual one? Or was she so despondent that she couldn’t bear logging on? He’d never want her to feel upset, but there was a small part of him that hoped he wasn’t alone in feeling as sad and lost as he did.

He placed his phone on the bed next to him and rubbed his face, dragging his hands across his cheekbones. Opening his eyes, he fixed his gaze on a small scuff on the ceiling. He’d spent his sleepless nights trying to figure out how the mark had ended up there. He still hadn’t come up with an answer. Quinn would probably know, or at least have some theory about it. She was smart like that.

He closed his eyes again and took a deep, calming breath. As he tried to rest his mind, he thought back to the last time he’d visited the city the previous September.

New York always put him on edge. It was easily the most difficult city to stay under the radar in. Someone or some camera was always lurking around the corner, ready to pounce, and keeping his guard up 24/7 was exhausting. But when his flight touched down, the wave of anxiety that washed over him had nothing to do with fans or paparazzi. He was looking for Quinn. Every street he went down, every coffee shop he stopped in, he was searching for her.

He came close once.

It was some sort of fashion week event. He was once again a guest of a guest and was milling about making conversation with people he would probably never see again when he caught sight of someone he actually wanted to talk to.

Maria, Quinn’s roommate. Did that mean Quinn was here too?

He ended the conversation and pushed his way through the crowd of people, until he reached her, a little out of breath.

“Maria?” he asked, though he was almost certain she remembered him. “It’s Harry.”

She looked at him, frozen in shock. “Hi,” she said slowly. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she added to the woman she’d been in conversation with. She turned back to Harry, but said nothing.

“How have you been?” he asked a little too earnestly.

“Good,” Maria replied uncertainly. “How about yourself?”

“Good, good. Is Quinn here?”

“No, just me.”

“How’s she been then?”

“Um, she’s fine.”

“Oh wow, yeah that’s great. What’s she been up to?” He hoped the real meaning of his question – Is she seeing anyone? – wasn’t as painfully obvious as it felt.

“Come here,” Maria said, pulling them towards an empty corner. She sighed and looked at Harry once they had some space from the crowd. “I feel weird about this, Harry. I’m not your biggest fan after what happened.”

“Yeah, I know I fucked up, but I –” He hesitated. “I’ve just been thinking about her and wanted to make sure she’s doing alright.”

“She is. She’s moved on and I suggest you do too.” Maria patted his shoulder gently. “It was nice to see you, Harry,” she murmured as she stepped around him.  

He was stunned.

He called Jeffrey on the way back that night, wanting a sympathetic ear.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, H. It’s not that weird. People move on and you all didn’t end on the greatest of terms,” he said, voice tinny through the phone speaker. “You can’t expect her to be waiting around pining for you. Maybe you should take Maria’s advice. It could be good for you.”

Unsatisfied, he made his way through his contacts. His mom, his sister, Mitch, anyone he could think of that would side with him and tell him exactly what he wanted to hear. That Quinn hadn’t moved on, that she’d give him a second chance, that everything would be alright. At first, they all played along, willing to talk through the situation for the fortieth time, but soon patience wore thin. They told him to start thinking about other people, turn pain into art, but he still wanted to wallow. Which he did, until his inner circle gave him the wake-up call he’d been dreading: he needed to get over Quinn – quickly.

Which is how he wound up in Japan, hoping time alone would give him the clarity he’d been looking for and the motivation to leave Quinn and the feelings he still carried for her behind. But it hadn’t worked out that way as he’d spent every night since he arrived thinking about her.

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Maybe sleep would come now.

The cycle repeated itself night after night until a random Wednesday when he fell asleep and stayed asleep. When he woke the next morning his first thought wasn’t about Quinn – it was about what he wanted for breakfast. Slowly, day by day, the fog lifted until Quinn was just a tiny part of his daily thoughts. Combing her social media feeds and sending unanswered text messages became a weekly occurrence instead of a daily one. He was getting better. His friends – Jeffrey, Glenne, Kid, and others – had all noticed as they stopped by over the weeks and encouraged him to start writing again.

“Not sure I’m ready for that,” he mumbled into his cup of coffee.

One night though, about a week after his 25th birthday, a notification popped up on his phone. The Photos app was telling him he had a memory. These were usually stupid things, a screenshot had taken or a random picture of a plant, so he was curious to see what this one was about. He wasn’t prepared for the gut punch that followed.

The picture of him and Quinn. In bed.

Shit. That trip to visit her had been just about a year ago.

The feelings he’d been managing so well lately came rushing back and he bit his lip trying not to cry. Fuck. Just when he thought he was getting better.

His hand hovered above the Messages app.

He knew what he needed to do.  

Hey man, he typed out to Kid. Want to meet up in the studio tomorrow? I think I’m finally ready to write about it.

***

A/N: Who doesn’t love an angsty flashback on a Sunday afternoon?? Seriously though, this has been sitting in my drafts since May. I really wanted to work this into the original story, but given that so much of it was set from Quinn’s POV it felt a little awkward to find a space for this section. Thank you for reading. There’s definitely more on the way for these two…hopefully the next extra won’t be so sad lol 

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[somacruising]

Tales of the Rays: Advent of Yggdrasil (English Translation)

This is my attempt at translating one of the Tales of the Rays events so that more people can enjoy it. Though, I do have to admit that I do not speak Japanese and relied on multiple machine translations to do this. 

I have a document on Google Drive with all the Japanese script written out, too. If anyone wants to take a look at that and correct smth, go ahead and message me :>

Despite the fancy name, this event is primary about Luke and Mithos going on a sight-seeing road trip lmao. Screenshots to accompany the script are taken from TimeFactor on YouTube.

SCENE 1

Martel: Hmm, I'm in trouble...

    [ Luke and Tear enter ]

Luke: Hmm? Isn't that Mithos and Martel? What are you guys doing?

Martel: Oh. Luke and Tear. Hello. Hehe, it’s nice to see you two coming here together.

Tear: Wh-what? Martel, you’ve misunderstood...

Luke: Y-yeah! We both got hungry at the same time by chance! Besides, didn’t the two of you come to eat, too?

Martel: No... I was just talking to Mithos about Yuan.

Luke: Yuan? Is something going on with him?

Martel: No, nothing’s happened with Yuan himself. Yuan and I were talking about going out somewhere together.

Martel: But, when I asked everyone at the hideout for recommendations, I ended up with a lot of suggestions. I couldn't narrow it down to just one because they all sounded beautiful.

Mithos: So my sister came to consult me about it. I'm saying that Yuan should go wherever she wants to go.

Martel: That would take us all over Tir Na Nog.  But, Yuan and I can’t be away for such a long time...

Mithos: Sister, I’ll go out and check everything for you. Use that as a reference to decide.

Mithos: It won't take long if I just look around a little bit, and Yuan won't complain if it's a place you’ve chosen, right?

Martel: I'm happy you would do that, but I'm worried about you going out alone. It's a big deal if monsters appear on the road or if you get lost, right? At the very least, it would be nice if someone was with you...

Mithos: I’m not a child, so don't worry. But sure... Genis is out, so I have to think of someone else...

Mithos: All right. Well then, Luke, can you come with me?

Luke: Huh, me!?

Mithos: It's not like you have something to do after this, right? So, can you hang out with me for a little while?

Luke: Well, I don't mind, but...  Fine, then Tear, let's go with him!

Tear: Yes. If Luke is going—

Mithos: ……….

Tear: —No, I should stay behind. If the number of people in a group increases too much, it will be difficult to act. So, why not just you two go this time?

Luke: …Okay. Well, if that’s what she thinks, I shouldn’t force her...

Mithos: Absolutely. Well then, I'll go get ready.

Luke: What, hey—wait!  Damn... I thought I’d at least get to eat some rice. Guess it can't be helped. Well, Tear, I'm going too.

Tear: All right, be careful.

   [ Luke and Mithos leave ]

Martel: I'm sorry, Tear. You turned Luke’s invitation down because you thought Mithos didn’t approve of you going, right?

Tear: Please, don't worry about it. I understand that Mithos hates the human race. But even so, he makes a lot of concessions for us.

Martel: Thank you, Tear. It’s not that Mithos hates the people here, though. I suppose that he’s still afraid to open up.

SCENE 2

Luke: Heehehehe! This is the place I’d pick!

Mithos: It’s a bad idea to make a statue of a living person... but this is pretty bad in a different way.

Luke: Eh!? But Lloyd and the others also have statues.

Mithos: That sucks too. Except for Raine’s.  ……I mean, you don't think Jade deserves one, right?

Luke: I doubt Jade would ever cover for me. He's a real piece of work. But, that's part of what makes Jade such a great friend.

Mithos: Hmm….

Luke: Anyway, this is what Daath looks like. Think we should move on to the next place soon?

Mithos: No, I want to observe things a little longer. Luke, go talk to the townspeople.

Luke: About what? Imperial soldiers rarely come around here. Didn’t you already know that?

Mithos: I’ve thoroughly read the documents from Karol’s Research Division.

Mithos: No, what I want to know is if there’s any trouble in the city. Even if it's something trivial, I have to check it.

Luke: Why are you so worried? Well, it’d be dangerous if a monster appeared, but Martel and Yuan aren't worried about that, right?

Mithos: I'm not worried about monsters, either. But, if something happens to my sister on his watch, I will kill Yuan. I will erase him so that not even a single piece of meat remains.

Luke: …Hey, hey, that’s nasty.  Did you pick up Jade’s sense of humor?

Mithos: I’m not joking. Also, can you stop talking about that necromancer?

Mithos: It's my sister's nature...  She always sticks her nose into things, so if there’s trouble she’ll definitely find it.

Mithos: It would be nice if Yuan stopped her, but regardless of when we first met, he's now determined to do whatever my sister wants.

Luke: Uh...  I can't imagine looking at the two of them as normal. Martel knows about the hideout, so she’s avoiding Leia and Agria’s newspaper fights. (?)

Mithos: Right. I don't want a human to ruin my sister's precious time. I’ll thoroughly crush the buds of trouble at the first sight.

Luke: Well, okay. I didn’t expect you to be this good of a person.

Mithos: Are your ears broken?

Luke: It’s amazing that you're doing all this for your sister. I've never had that.

Mithos: It's natural because we're family.

Luke: Yeah. I don't have that kind of family...

Mithos: …Right. You’re a replica.

Luke: But, even so, I want to do my best for my mother, so I guess it’s just more complicated for me.

Luke: Alright then, let's do our best for Martel and Yuan!

Mithos: You’re a kind person, Luke...  Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.

SCENE 3

Luke: Daath, Altamira, Arena, South Island...We’ve been traveling for a while, but this forest is the last place.

Luke: I thought there’d be monsters here, but it's surprisingly quiet.

Mithos: Yes. I think my sister can relax here.

Luke: So, have the candidates been narrowed down?

Mithos: Mostly. But, in the end, I don’t know which one my sister will pick.

Luke: All right. …Hey, Mithos. Can I ask you about something I’ve been wondering?

Mithos: What?

Luke: Why did you ask me to come with you? Even if I was the first person you saw, you would have been fine with someone else, right?

Luke: Besides, you could have convinced Martel to let you come without someone in the first place...

Mithos: Yes, I’m sure I could have persuaded her, but I'm sure she'd worry about me anyway, so I just thought it would be easier to go with an honest idiot.

Luke: If you wanted an honest idiot, you could have asked Lloyd.

Mithos: He's just stupid. He's not as honest as you think he is.

Luke: Even if that’s true, he’s still a good guy.

Mithos: You sound like Genis...

Luke: It can't be helped. I’m an “honest idiot". But I think you’re a nice guy, too.

Mithos: Me? You sure say some funny things. You know what I did in my original world.

Luke: I do. But, I'm responsible for some truly terrible things too...

Luke: Ah, it's not like I'm trying to ignore what I did in my old world. I’m trying to look at both the bad and the good...

 Mithos: …I see. Putting Lloyd's evaluation aside, I can accept your words. Thank you.

Luke: I actually want to thank you too. People… don’t usually rely on me for things, so being asked to come with you today made me a little happy.

Mithos: …Luke, let me give you some advice. If you stay this honest, bad people may try to use you someday.

Luke: Uh, yeah. You have a record for that so I should be careful around you.

Mithos: Fufu……. Well, Luke, if anyone from this world takes advantage of you, I’ll take care of them.

Luke: Seriously!? Then Jade’ll be the first to go. All right!

Luke: Hey, Mithos. If you ever need help again like today, give me a call. Let's go somewhere together again!

Mithos: …Yes.  I'll give it some thought.

Mithos: Oh, that’s right. I owe you something for your help today, so if there's anything I can do for you, I'll lend you my strength.

Luke: Eh? I can really ask for anything?

Mithos: Well, if I can—Hey, Luke. Look over there.

Luke: !!

LAST SCENE

Martel: Welcome back, Mithos. And thank you, Luke, for going with Mithos.

Luke: No, no. I didn't do much and it was Mithos who did his best...

Tear: Luke, what's wrong? Your face is kind of red.

Luke: Beh, nothing! Anyway, Mithos has something to give Martel.

Martel: Eh, Mithos?

Mithos: —Take this, Martel.

Martel: My! What beautiful white flowers.  It reminds me of fandalia flowers. Where did you get these?

Mithos: We found them in the woods where we last stopped. I picked a few because I thought they would look good on you.

Martel: Thank you, Mithos. I’ll cherish them. I'll put them in a vase and place it in my room right away.

Tear: If I'm not mistaken, Sophie and the others had a vase that looked good with these flowers.  I’ll ask if you can borrow it.

Luke: Oh! Tear, wait a minute!

Tear: What is it, Luke?

Luke: Oh... Um...This is for you, Tear!

Tear: What?  This flower... you picked one for me too...?

Luke: This... It looks a bit like the flowers in Tataroo Valley, doesn't it?  That's why... I brought it back with me...

Tear: Luke...!  Yes, it looks like a Selenia flower.  Thank you, I’ll take good care of it.

Martel: Good for you, Tear. And Luke... fufu, you're a kind boy, too. You wanted Tear to be happy.

Luke: N-no, ah, I said we should go home after Mithos finished picking flowers and that, I mean, since I was already waiting and it was right there...  Uhhh... um...

Luke: Right, a-anyway! Mithos! You owe me that favor, remember!?

Mithos: I remember, are you sure about using me for this?

Luke: Oh, I'm sure!

Mithos: …Sword practice, right? I don't mind, but I was taught by a strict teacher. It’s alright if I don’t hold back, right?

Luke: Yeah! I don’t mind at all!

Mithos: Then Martel, I'm going to spend a bit of time beating up Luke.

Luke: Haa!? You think you’re the only one not holding back!? Tear, I’ll see you later!

    [ Luke and Mithos depart ]

Tear: Luke... I'm glad you had fun.  At the very least, I want you to stay healthy and enjoy your time here...

Martel: Well...  I hope that Mithos will gradually regain his old smile.  Even if the world doesn't allow it, I...

Martel: Let's keep watching over them, Tear.

Tear: Yes. I made a promise to him. I promised that I would always watch over Luke.