#I'd love to see an English Robin in person

[littleravenfiberarts]

It’s Secret Garden season 👀

English Robin pattern on Ribblr

[remstrrs]

Potential Rebel Robin -> S4 Parallel and (potentially) S5 Parallel

I feel like as a fandom, we don't really talk about the Rebel Robin book/podcast enough, especially about it's implications for the series in general, so i wanted to look at one specific scene that parallels a scene from s4, and that i think would be rlly cool if paralleled in s5:

{CC:

Robin : There's something wrong with me. There's something inside of me that's just, like, rotten, and there's nothing I can do to fix it.

Wait - Wait why are you stopping?

Mr. Hauser : Robin, look at me. There is nothing wrong with you.

Robin : You have to say that.

Mr. Hauser : No, I'm serious. Hey - hey, look me in the eye and trust what I'm saying, okay? There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing rotten inside of you; you don't need to be fixed. }

For further context, Mr. Hauser is Robin's English teacher at Hawkins High in her sophomore year (podcast is set in winter of 1983) who she becomes very close with and, in this scene, is giving her a ride home.

This is episode four of the podcast, but in the final episode, Robin finds out that Mr. Hauser is a queer man who is secretly dating another man in Hawkins.

In aforementioned scene, Robin asks him if he's happy, and if living in Hawkins while queer is really worth it for him - to which he says yes, but reminds Robin that she doesn't have to make the same choice as him, saying, "There are places where you don't need the armor"

Now, firstly, I want to start by talking about how this scene between Robin and Mr. Hauser is a pretty close parallel to the scene in s4e08, where Jonathan is comforting Will after he watches the painting scene go down.

(Also, keep in mind that the Rebel Robin book was published in 2021, so it's writing coincided with the writing of s4)

Jonathan knows that Will is queer, and heard Will mention that he felt like a mistake back in the van, so he tells him that he loves him and,

"There is nothing in this world, okay, absolutely nothing that will ever change that."

Although not a perfect parallel, I couldn't help but notice the word choice used and the repetition of 'nothing' in both examples. The overall exigence of these two scenes is almost a perfect match, too:

Mr. Hauser hears Robin call herself wrong and rotten, so he comforts her by telling her the exact opposite.

Jonathan hears Will call himself different and a mistake so he comforts him and tells him that he loves him no matter what.

Now.... how do I think something similar could play out in Season 5?

Alright, so there's been a lot of talk on Byler tumblr about having scenes with Mike, Will, and Robin together - or Robin mentoring either one of the boys - but personally, I'd like to see the scenes above paralleled in a Robin/Mike conversation over anything, and here's why.

Out of the two boys, Mike is the one who is most isolated from his queerness and what it entails. Whereas Will is possibly starting to come into his own and accept himself a little bit more with Jonathan as a stronger support system, and has known about his queerness, Mike is much more lost. Will has already had a heart-to-heart with Jonathan, and knows he isn't alone with his queerness.

In my opinion, it's inevitable that Mike will have a heart-to-heart with one of the adults/older teens in Season 5, and I honestly believe that it has to be Robin, Nancy, or (preferably) both.

In Season 5, Mike is a high school sophomore. He's very clearly insecure, and is probably seen as more weird or different because of his previous involvement with Hellfire. Likewise, in her book, Robin is also an insecure high school sophomore who is seen as an outsider/social outcast.

Plus, in Season 5, Robin closely parallels Mr. Hauser from the book:

They both have accepted and come to terms with their queerness, and came out to at least one person, and they both have partners of the opposite-sex while living in Hawkins (assuming that Rovickie is canon after the 1987 time skip, which i believe it probably will be.)

In my opinion, this sets up an almost perfect opportunity for a Robin/Mike moment where Mike either:

In relation to his queerness, talks about feeling wrong and rotten to Robin, who sympathizes with him (and potentially comes out to him) helping him know that he isn't alone or broken.

or

Mike finds out about Robin's queerness by accident, (which is Robin's case when finding out about Mr. Hauser's) and he asks her if she's happy in Hawkins, which gives her the opportunity to convey to Mike that his idea of a 'family' isn't the only one, and that there "are places where you don't need the armor" just as Mr. Hauser said.

I think the second would be especially impactful, because Mike grew up in a white-picket fence, nuclear, traditional, and conservative household (something that is actually openly criticized by Nancy and Jonathan in season 1). He sees his parents' loveless relationship (which is paralleled to Stancy and Milkvan) right in front of his eyes, and thinks that its the only way because it's all he's known. Robin could open his eyes to the possibility of something else, and this is what could make him realize his feelings for Will.

Also! We have confirmation of a potential Robin + Mike scene (or at least a scene where Finn and Maya are filming together) by none other than Shawn Levy himself (pic posted on his insta)

If you don't know, Shawn Levy notoriously directed both of the scenes below, which show examples of Mike struggling with potential internalized homophobia during angsty fights with Will

Also, based on Shawn Levy's reply to this person on twt, it's very likely we get a similar scene in St5:

I think that another Byler fight could be the perfect lead-in to a heart-to-heart between Mike and Robin, too. Seeing the two boys fighting could lead her into asking Mike what's going on between them, which could then turn into a deeper conversation where Mike realizes exactly why his fights with Will are so different from his fights with anyone else.

This has gotten way too long and spiraled a bit out of control, and I need to actually write an essay for school now, so I'll leave it here.

Please let me know if you have anything to add or anything you agree or disagree with! I love theorizing with other people, too :)

[psychophanticpervert]

I'd love to hear more about your PCs!

Anon I love you thanks for letting me talk about my stupid girl(s)

Nicoletta the Deflowered

-she was born in Bogotá, she immigrated to the UK (DoL town) with her mother when she was really young

-her mother was very religious (Roman Catholic) though, and homeschooled her (to the point of never letting her outside) and only taught her Spanish. She also lectured her on the importance of keeping "the flower of her virginity intact" (meanwhile Nico was like. 6.)

-she arrived at the orphanage when she was 7. Bailey put her in classes to learn English, but she was so bullheaded she refused to learn for a long time, so her English when older is still with an accent, and she isn't familiar with complex words.

-I like to imagine she grew up with two of my friends PCs as well (Julius and Ju) but idk how much I should mention them lol

-She doesn't really have time for hobbies, since she's on the brink of exhaustion all the time, but if she could, she likes reading and watching things in her native language (unsurprisingly very difficult to find in DoL town, so in this way she's only read a lot of classical Latin American literature). I imagine she'd like embroidery and cooking too. Still grinding that housekeeping.

-She avoids the temple RELIGIOUSLY (haha.) She thinks it's like a physical embodiment of everything wrong with the town since it's an affront to God (in her opinion)

-Gets up to as little lewd activity as possible since she views being promiscuous as a sin. That's not to say she's always successful lol.

-100% Defiant, and a big brat, but she's rather soft-hearted underneath all that. She still is overly accommodating to bad behavior because she thinks people deserve the chance for redemption. Saved Whitney after he tried to sell her to Ubrothel (and look how that turned out loooool)

-Angel TF by what I can only assume was a miracle of God considering how much Whitney was harassing her at some point.

-Worked on the docks on the weekend before falling (she managed to save Robin in the beginning like this), but since she was tiny and still didn't have S Athletics, she'd end up exhausted. Fell to Whitney in an alleyway while rushing home after work exhausted, too weak to fight him off.

-Completely wrecked her psyche, max trauma, the usual! Didn't go to the hospital because she considered it as a punishment from God for being weak. She worked it down by having meltdowns in front of Robin and Sydney lmao.

-Became very jaded after this. She has little to no trust for people she doesn't know and genuinely assumes everybody is out to get her (which in DoL town isn't that far off). She's become very confrontational and short tempered, picking fights at school with the other students and confronting people she feels are following her (sometimes gets her into trouble). Known as Scrappy in the underworld.

-Her main source of income is being a thief, robbing houses on Danube street. She doesn't feel that bad about it anymore.

-She also sells produce at the market and is a bartender at Darryl's club (especially on blood moons, she refuses to sleep on nights like that)

-she is under the impression she absolutely HAS to marry Whitney (since they've had premarital sex) or she'll go to Hell. She's been trying to shape him into a person she finds more tolerable by manipulating him (and keeping his dominance at 0% LMAO)

-unironically I think if they got married she'd immediately leave him and go back to Bogotá (has no idea what it's like rn lol). He loves her more than she "loves" him.

-The closest relationships she has besides Whitney are probably Landry and Mickey, because she has to see them so often. She admires Landry a lot and wouldn't mind following in his footsteps, but finds all his fetchquests annoying. Mickey is probably more fond of her than they're willing to admit.

-She doesn't pay for Robin. She thinks all suffering has a reason, and for Robin, this is the way he'll become stronger.

-Thinks Sydney is VERY misguided, but she also won't outwardly judge people, so she doesn't tell him this. Ironically he asked her to be his girlfriend literally the day after she fell (the only time she went to temple to pray). They are still friends ✨️

-Kylar is complicated because they're involved with another friends PC (Julius), but for continuity, Nico sent her to jail in her run. (In the "AU", if you wanna call it that, Kylar is Julius' bf. They're kinda on the periphery of each other's social circles.)

-Has never met Eden surprisingly!!! And thank God for that, she would never leave the cage LMAO

-she basically dismissed Avery because she refuses to do lewd things in general, not even money will convince her.

-Her run is like an excuse to play the game in the hardest way possible 😭 I mean seriously playing tiny defiant PC who isn't willing to do ANY lewd things for money. AND having Whitney as main LI. Absolute torture. I love it!

I was gonna add lyra but this got so freaking Long I'm so sorry anon, if you read all this I love you 😭😭😭❤️

[ratnix]

As a fan of both the CBS and the BBC version, I'd like to spend a moment and appreciate both of them and talk about some things that I like, enjoy and appreciate about each version and some things that I think one version does better than the other without trying to bring the other down💚

- One thing I appreciate about the BBC version is the non-romantic relationship between the ghosts. As an aroace, it always bugged me how the CBS ghosts fell in love so quickly and it just seemed...forced. Isaac and Nigel have to be the only CBS couple that actually feels like a couple while the rest are just...there. Thor and Flower, sure, maybe I can understand this one too but Trevor and Hetty and Pete and Alberta (not a couple but Pete has a crush on her) are just dumb and pointless. On the other hand, you can feel the platonical relationship between the BBC ghosts -not saying that the CBS ghosts aren't good friends, but the BBC ghosts feel like they've spent an eternity with one another. The BBC ghosts work better as a group while the CBS ghosts work better as individuals

- I really like Jay's relationship with the ghosts. Where Mike is "oh ghosts", Jay is "oh ghosts☺️". Calling them "invisible friends", asking if Hetty's okay after she left his body, proposing that Sam should help Thor with his nightmares. He's literally Pete's bff! Wanting to play D&D with him, both of them making references to things they both enjoy. I mean, Jay's first instinct when he thought he could see ghosts was to hug Pete

- I actually don't have an issue with the CBS version revealing the ghosts' death soon. I mean, it's not even soon. It made sense that Flower would be the first ghost in the first minutes to reveal her death because she's Flower. Even in the BBC version, from the first episodes we can get an idea on how Julian died because of the no pants and and how Fanny died from screaming when falling from the window. Season 3 hasn't come out and we still don't know how Hetty or Sass died -we know that Sass died the day he was going to tell his first story but we don't know how. As for Hetty, I'm thinking it might have to do with overdose given the amount of drugs she took that she didn't know we're harming her. The mystery aspect of their deaths in the UK version ties with the more "haunting" atmosphere of the show whereas the US one is "sunnier", which isn't a bad thing at all! Alberta's death was a mystery and the reveal with Hetty knowing the truth all along was gasp worthy

- It bugs me when people say that the US version is a copy of the UK one because, a)that's... that's what an adaptation is. The Office is an adaptation of the UK office but no one really cares? B) Aside from Pat/Pete's storyline, I can't see any other similar subplots other than their "main" aspect. Hetty and Fanny are the conservative ladies of the house, Sass and Thomas are the artists, Flower and Kitty have bubbly personalities, Robin and Thor are the oldest ghosts who speak broken English. Sure, Trevor and Julian both died without their pants on but both are pretty distinct from each other. Isaac and the Captain are the closeted soldiers but both of their storylines take different paths. All of the characters are different, with different personalities, interests etc. If the US version had carbon copy characters of the UK one, people would, justifiably, call it a copy but even now where the characters are very different they're still calling it one. They compliment and parallel each other without being the same

- The BBC version follows a more "creepy" tone, if that's the correct way of saying it, with a haunted atmosphere and that's cool. The CBS version follows a more sitcom-y tone with a more cheering atmosphere and that's also cool! No need saying one's superior than the other

- I think Crash was kinda pointless? They wanted to make a Humphrey but it didn't really work. He's not even a ghost that's there, unlike Humphrey who had a role and contributed to the story

Feel free to add your own opinions 💚

[maydayblake]

Hey, can you where the reader is a little sister of vance hopper? And he is very over-protective for her. He always mocks her but deep down he really love his sister. He hates when she talks to other boys. She is just apposite of his brother. She is too friendly with everyone. She is in the same class where finn and robin are. And she has a crush on robin. Vance always protects her from bullies. He once broke a hand of a boy because he tried to bully his sister. ( he is just like gyutaro from demon slayer).

I hope you will write about this. I am sorry for my bad English. It's not my first language.

Protective ( Vance Hopper X Sister!Reader, Robin Arellano X Hopper!Reader )

Includes : Bullying, Brother/Sister Relationship, Teasing And Etc...

Genre : Fluff And Little Bits Of Angst

" Get up dipshit ", Vance trows a pillow at me as I groan, turning around in my bed.

" Come on, we don't have all day ", he growls out, dragging me out of bed.

" Can you leave me alone, it's Saturday ", you get up from the floor, rubbing your eyes, as your brother Vance stares at you with crossed arms.

" Do you wanna see him or not, remember I can easily tell about your crush- ", you hit him with a pillow as you go to your wardrobe, picking out an sundress.

He hated that you talked with boys and especially Robin. But he knew he couldn't do anything because she's her own person. And he respected that. But it still didn't stop him from sending glares towards them when Robin got too close.

" If he hurts you I'll break his arm, you know I'm always watching ", he turns around and leaves the room, going to Grab N Go, to play his stupid pinball stuff. I don't get it, why's he so obsessed.

Anyways. As I finished getting ready, I put on a bit of mascara, lipgloss and left the house to meet up with him.

He asked me to hang out yesterday, and I couldn't be happier. Even if it's as friends.

Finney teased me when he heard about it, and I had to smack him to shut him up. Obviously not with the intend to hurt him, just as a joke.

And as I was walking 3 girls came up to me, glaring.

" Uhh can I help you? ", you stopped walking, as you stared at the ginger haired girl.

She slowly walked towards me, before pushing me on the ground. I hiss as I landed on a rock.

" Stay away from Robin or else.. ", she threatened, I just stared up at her. Finally after 3 minutes of complete silence I spoke.

" Or else what? He's his own person, he can hang out with who he wants, and you can't stop me ", I try to reason with her. She just laughed before the two other girls came behind me and grabbed my arms.

" What the- GET OFF ", I scream as I start kicking around. The girl just smirked at me before kicking me in the stomach. I groaned in pain. She kept kicking and kicking, and just as she was about to punch me. With her hand raised she was stopped.

She looked behind her to see Vance, standing there glaring daggers at her.

" Stay the fck away from my sister, or else... ", he threatened. The girl shook in fear as she nodded relentlessly.

He let go of her hand, and her and her minions ran away. I was laying on the ground groaning in pain. He kneeled down.

" You okay? What'd they want? ", he looked genuinely worried. I just gave him a small smile as he helped me stand up.

" They thought I was someone else, I'm fine... ", I lied, he just raised his eyebrow, not believing me.

He knew I was a soft person, if someone hurt me, I'd still want to protect them. That's what he hated most about me. The fact that we are polar opposites.

Vance would not hesitate to punch someone for messing up his game. And you - you wouldn't hurt a fly even if you wanted to.

He didn't push it any further as to not upset her. He just gave her a small nod and started walking with her to where Robin was standing. To make sure no one came up to her with the intend to hurt her anymore.

And as soon as they arrived, he gave him a glare and left.

Robin smiled at her, sending butterflies to her stomach.

" You ready to go? " he asked the girl. She just nodded and then they we're on their way.

She groaned a few times, probably the bruises forming from where she was punched but she didn't say anything.

Robin noticed.

" You okay? Did something happen? ", he asked the girl as he stood in front of her, taking her hands.

She just stared at him. Finally she nodded, giving him a smile. Trying to convince everything was fine.

" I know you better than that Y/N, was it those girls? ", so he knew them?

" Yeah, but it's fine, I handled it ", I lied, and by the looks of his face, you can see he didn't believe me one bit.

" Amber likes me, she confessed to me a week ago, and I rejected her. I guess she didn't take the hint. Look, if she hurts you again, come to me, I'll handle it ", he spoke softly as he laid his hands on my shoulders. Staring into my eyes.

" You're not gonna hurt her are you? ", he laughed before shaking his head.

" I don't hurt girls, I'm not like that. But I'll talk to her, make sure she gets the hint this time, like I said, I got it covered. ", I smiled at him as a thank you. He took my hand in his and we walked off.

[notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder]

Movies you should watch °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

non-spoilery reccomendations, actors bolded, three movies incoming :>

Dead poets society (1989)

dark academia, coming of age, how I wish I was born a boy

Who is surprised that I'm mentioning this movie first? Not people who have seen my account. Especially if you watch House and like Wilson, Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) is the main character and trust, you will fall in love with him and all of his friends. Who doesn't want to see Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), the new student, come out of his shell thanks to the new friends he found? And see young minds stir thanks to the new english teacher John Keating (Robin Williams)? There are many scenes which will make you laugh, cry, and scream.

My personal rating: 5/5⭐, all time favourite in my household

────୨ৎ────

Much ado about nothing (1993)

Shakespeare drama, romance, period piece

The two literary teachers I had in my life didn't agree on much, but one thing was certain, "You can read dramas, but it's always better to watch it." This, in my opinion, is the most important aspect if you want to enjoy any act. This play in particular is one of Shakespeare's comedy, centering around two couples, Benedick (Kenneth Baragh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson), bickering, arguing, and on the other hand Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) and Hero (Kate Beckinsale). But the stacked cast doesn't end there! There's also the prince, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) and Don John (Keanu Reeves). Watch to see if Benedick and Beatrice ever stop arguing, if Claudio and Hero do end together, and how much can the angry Don John cause just to find revenge.

My personal rating: 5/5⭐

────୨ৎ────

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

neo-western, romance, lgbt+

It wouldn't be possible for me to do a movie reccomendation list without Brokeback mountain. The best way to watch movies is to know nothing about them, and this is true with this movie also. The monologue (you will know which one I mean), is never escaping my soul. The beautiful scenery, the main duo Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), the women caught in it Alma (Michelle Williams) and Lureen (Anne Hathaway) and whatever happened on the mountain. While Much ado about nothing can be watched with any of your friends, I'd say this is a movie to watch alone or with someone you know you trust.

My personal rating: 5/5⭐ (Rewatched too many times)

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[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #28

Batgirl (2000) #12 writer: Chuck Dixon pencils: Dale Eaglesham

Batgirl (2000) takes a break from the usual creative team for a tie in to the Batman Crossover of the month, Officer Down. We've seen Eaglesham draw Cass a few times now & he's always solid. Dixon wrote for Cass back in Robin 73, which wasn't the best showing for her. Better this time, if more reliant on narration blocks than I'd like. Kind of odd that this is a 'tie in' rather than part of the story proper. Like they didn't want people to feel they had to buy this issue? I'd say it was a slight against Cass, except it's not like she was kept out of the rest of the crossover, she's in like half the issues.

But the fact that this issue is partially segregated from the rest of the crossover is convenient for me anyway, as it gives me an excuse to just look at this issue on its own this week, while next week we can bundle together the rest of Cass's appearances in the cross over.

Off the top, I have to say I really like the art in this issue. Eaglesham's fast cementing his place as my second favorite Cass artist. And not just because I like the way he draws Cass as Batgirl, but just, I mean, look at this page here, with all the details and personality packed into the scene. Kudos also to Jason Wright, the colorist for this issue, for really capturing this warm cozy homely interior, almost nostalgia-sepia-toned, while everything outside is cold and wet and blue. A single page that really captures Cassandra's isolation. At this point in her story she's basically living as Batgirl 24/7. No alter ego, no normal life, no friends. Not even really any connections apart from her somewhat fraught relationship with Barbara and her extra fraught relationship with Bruce. To see Cass on the outside looking in at the sort of connections that seem so impossibly distant, especially after the run in with her father last issue, it really works.

I also love these panels of Cass navigating Gotham, moving around like a shadow, often in the background or in silhouette. Bits like that convey the spookiness of this Batgirl a lot more than other artists who give her an angry face or emphasize the stitching on her mask or the like.

Love that panel of her rubbing her chin, thinky face clearly visible through the mask. Batman's out, so Cass decides to start investigating on her own. It's nice to see her doing the detective part of the bat-person vigilante job, rather than just leaving that part to Barbara, and Dixon does a good job of walking the reader through her thought process.

He is relying on narration blocks a bit more than I'd like, but he keeps them short and terse. Cass can talk now, but English is still a second language, and that comes across pretty well, imo. I was very critical of Dixons last showing with Cass, but he's honestly doing a solid job with her here, and as much as I don't care for them in general, I think the thought bubbles are helping. Some writers just have a hard time wrapping their heads around a non-verbal character. I'd imagine even just a little bit of language makes thing a world easier.

That said, not to beat a dead horse here, but with Cass speaking a few words here and there like this, they could have believably gotten her to this point through her own effort by studying with Barbara, no psychics required. Just saying.

I guess it hadn't really been decided how much Cass's new speaking ability had translated to reading yet? It seems from these panels that she can read at least a little, at least enough to recognize names and dates as such, which is more than she can do later on. But clearly she's not comfortable or adept enough at reading to get much out of the police files beyond Catwoman maybe being involved, and you can feel her frustration here when she abandons the papers to finally just go ask Babs for help.

Good stuff.

Of course, Babs isn't home either.

Again, I really like the way Eaglesham draws Cass. I like it more each time he shows up in this retrospective. Love little head tilt in the first panel, love the cape in the second panel there, very dracula-esque. Love that we can kind of see her face through the mask, makes her feel like a person.

Oh, you poor random doofus goons.

There's an ok fight scene at one of Selina's safehouse, albeit against no-name mooks. The panels are well drawn, the fight's perfectly readable, but it still feels pretty arbitrary, like hitting a minimum action quota for the issue.

Regardless, Selina isn't there, and the issue ends with Cass abandoning her solo efforts to go find the others.

As an event tie in the overall issue feels... pretty unnecessary. Nothing is really discovered, the story isn't advanced at all, nothing much happens. Makes sense that it wasn't an official part of the crossover, though you're left kind of wondering what the point was at all.

Even so, I kind of like the issue regardless. Eaglesham does a spectacular job with the art all the way through, and Dixon seems to have a much firmer handle on the character this time around. We get some solid panels of Cass trying to do some detective work on her own, something we rarely see, and the excellent bit early on of her flittering around through the city like a shadow. That sense of isolation from the first page really permeates the entire issue even if if the plot never touches on it, with Cass seeking out the only two people she really knows only for both of them to be out.

So yeah, even if nothing that happens in the issue really matters much, even if it doesn't really tell a stand alone story per se, I still like this one a lot.

[a-la-campanella]

So... White Night goes hard. Here's a music video dissection!

Way too much to say, I'm doing bullet points again. Comparing CN lines and EN translation of those lines (NOT THE ENGLISH LYRICS) here, but if they say basically the same thing, I won't bother mentioning any differences. I'll look at the English lyrics in another post. For the record, like fuck did I bother to learn what the different zones of Penacony are named.

The transition out of the Hoyoverse logo with Aventurine's hand? That was smooth. Holy shit. I've tried doing a transition like that for a school assignment, and that sort of thing goes hard.

The word branded on Aventurine's neck spells out "slave". That's... concerning. I guess he'd have history with crime (assuming he was a slave and that slavery is illegal under the IPC - but who knows about that last point?) and given Penacony's history, he might hold some more personal sentiments about being there.

Showing off his rings, his watch, his fit... dude is bling-bling-bling. Coin flip sound effect! Love the whistling too.

Those dance moves, synced to the beat of the music. The camera angles. Wooooow. The first time I watched this was breathtaking. I give a fuck about Aventurine now. That's so wild. I had go check if this was official, for a few seconds genuinely thought I was watched a fan-made MMD.

Male Trailblazer! Checks out, last video had the Female Trailblazer. We get a fancy hat to dance with!

Background Robin poster, by the way.

Robin and Sunday in a shiny vehicle, with Robin holding a drink in her hand. They're driving somewhere. They look so pretty!

Something crashes into Misha? In the Reverie Hotel??? Is that a hat?

Out of all the luggage that gets knocked over, the blue, circular case stands out the most.

From "Don't forget, shut your eyes, embrace the light", the "embrace the light" part is "才算醒来" in CN (it's time to wake up). Do Misha and Gallagher have something to do with the dreams, besides the whole, Reviere Hotel thing?

Gallagher's lighter, and then the background change plus light turning off (plus sound effect!) when the lighter is closed? He's not the type of guy I'd really care about, but. That smile. Shit.

Sparkle followed by a bunch of koi fish out of water, skipping forward. She winks and sends us off with a koi fish transition.

It's fitting that the line here is "you act in this huge play, a change of attitude" (from CN line; 你参演 这场戏 变换姿态)... the EN line uses "postures interweave" to convey acting I suppose? Makes sense, she's a Masked Fool, acting would align.

Black Swan picking from one of ten cards... she eventually picks a card, revealing a white swan in the front. I wonder who that represents? I wanted to say one of the factions, but there are only nine we know of; the Family and the invited eight. Maybe an uninvited guest?

The CN line says "谜底 结局 我该 怎么猜" (The truth/mystery of the ending, how should I conjecture?), where 结局 can refer to the last act of a play. It's says the same as the EN line, this is just a more linguistic fun-fact.

For the last bit of that line, we see a hand with yellow claws, and at the center of the palm seems to be a red eye. New enemy?

Flrefly holding sparklers! She's smiling! It's a "prelude of dreams supplied by memories". This line definitely does not spark fear, because dreams are built on memories, and Firefly is definitely real. (I speculate that she isn't/only exists in dreams, but I sure hope not.)

Trailblazer tries to take a photo of her! It's synced so it sounds like you can hear the shutter go off, almost.

Transition to the Trailblazer running (in the form of a bunch of still Trailblazers gradually turning back/away from the camera) alongside a light in a very... uh. Absurd environment. Up a bunch of spiral stairs, and near the end of the sequence, seems to be chasing the light. Is the light meant to symbolize Firefly? Fuck me.

"Covered scars still linger yesterday" wherein the past remains, even when swept away... genuinely, what happened to Firefly.

Trailblazer in a room with a bunch of Clockies, standing on Clockie's shoe. We challenging the dream here? Is Clockie a representation of the Watchmaker? They might be holding a sparkler in their hand, hard to tell. They certainly don't look happy.

"Your wakefulness, time foresees" = time is waiting for you to wake up.

Blink, transition by zoom to a falling light, which turns out to be (probably!) Firefly. Throughout the descend, her eyes are closed. Sigh. I hope not. Based on the transition, it's definitely her, and I'm pretty sure she'll die, if she hasn't already died.

IS THAT AVENTURINE? Similar enough hair and outfit, but his chest opening is larger and glowing green. Wearing a mask too. Do we fight him? Is that who we fight with? Questions, questions.

Close-up of Aventurine with his earring and eye catching the light. Insert "take me away" line. Yessir, whatever you say ma'am, anything for you babygirl.

Someone else noticed this first, but his earring looks like a dream catcher! They're protective charms, so Aventurine might be safe from the horrors of an eternal Penacony dream.

I want to point out: the instrumental here goes silent, before a sound that reminds me of a rewinding watch hand plays where Aventurine says "take me away". Interpret that how you will.

We get a view of Clockie and some background or whatever, into the spotlight on the Trailblazer presumably tossing their hat. On the left side, the Clockies are smiling! On the right side... not so much? Either way, they're coming down the steps, and one of them is about to jump the Trailblazer.

Also, ad of a pizza pie with slices of money(?). Or it might just be pepperoni and mushrooms or something. The pepperoni is numbered, so I'm assuming it has something to do with a game of sorts.

Zoom out to get a better look at Penacony. We can see the whales in the sky looming over sll the buildings, ads everywhere (cartoony-looking Times Square), and massive bubble gum machines roaming the streets. At the heart of the city is... I'm guessing that's the Stellaron? Whatever the blue light is.

Flashes of whales, some kind of circular thing, a fan(?), and a very hard to make out sequence of numbers. The last three digits are 183. I've edited the screenshot I took to try and make the numbers more clear. (You might have to open the image to see what I mean.)

The whales are very reminiscent of the abyssal whale from Genshin Impact. We know that Genshin and the Honkai games are all connected in the same multiverse, though seeing these whales after fighting the All-Devouring Narwhal is raising flags...

A slot machine, falling gems, monsters on the street, oh my.

The line here is "Cease the shattering, let withering subside" or more literally, "Don't break again, don't wither again" (别再破碎 别再枯萎). I guess this has to do with the dreams? Don't let dreams shatter and wither; they must be good dreams, and Penacony must stay a land of dreams.

Transitions into an angry Clockie, though the face flickers back to a smile. Camera flips back up to a whale!

The clock ticks, passage of time, all that... sheesh, that synced well.

A bunch of tiny whales and monsters headed in the same direction. Clockie in the streets too, next to a monster holding SoulGlad.

Wacky flash transition to whales. Then zoom out of a TV screen (Clockie's face?) to see the monsters broke into the hotel, I think? That's not good. I guess that's where they were heading!

"Indulge anew, in the self's meandering stride"... I'm going to guess this is a reference to the dreams, the winding detours they lead you on, trippy experiences, stuff like that.

The rest of the Astral Express gang now! These are their dreams, I guess. Dan Heng is in the Reverie, I think, with a bunch of whales and wacky lamps. Maybe he's investigating, or he escaped his dream?

Himeko floats, eyes closed, one arm reaching outward. She's surrounded by semi-circular tables and chairs floating. Seems like it could've been a banquet, had there been more people.

The line for both of them here was "Savor at last, the taste that's ever true", and might be referring to SoulGlad. It's the only big thing I expect we'd literally be tasting in Penacony.

A huge March 7th is taking a selfie. Typical March.

Welt is surrounded by some toppled buildings, holding the Star of Eden in his hand as he looks out at the city. Maybe he knows what's up here?

Black Swan seems to be picking from one of ten circulating cards again, this time floating above the city. There's something inside the cards though—seems like a catalyst weapon. She holds it instead of a card.

"In the dreams of that night, we'll meet anew"... the first part is said with March and Welt, and the last bit is with Black Swan. Have we met Black Swan before? Or maybe this is us meeting her again/a second time on Penacony. Or it could be about someone else...

A white void with black cubes surrounds Sam, who gains these green wings (propellers?) to fly out of the void space into a fight with Acheron. I doubt the Stellaron Hunters would go out of their way into a fight with her, and they've had a record of staying in line with Elio's scripts (case in point: Kafka on the Xianzhou Luofu, Sam's "You should really stop playing with your food" line). This fight didn't seem to happen by choice.

Acheron swings her sword at Sam. We don't know a lot about her, but we do know that she doesn't pull out her sword that easily. Her eye glows, and red petals appear, followed by a swing of red lightning. All the other strikes had purple lightning instead.

"The more deceptive, the more pristine", where Sam is deceptive and Acheron is pristine... these adjectives might apply to both characters, to be honest. The word used in place of pristine also means perfect/ideal (完美).

Not sure about Sam, but the fact Acheron doesn't pull out her sword often is easily grounds for underestimating her.

Sam doesn't dodge the red lightning; instead, he's trying to block it with his arms.

A huge explosion follows, either from the backlash of contact with the lightning, or it could be entirely unrelated. Annihilation Gang, is that you...?

The translation says "Dreams in slumber, despair's endless spin", though the exact term used where endless spin is was 轮回. It's more so used to mean reincarnation, or the cycle of life and death... so dreams and despair go hand in hand, in a cycle like sleeping and waking.

Sam is down on one knee with electricity flickering around his body. Did he lose? He's not completely down yet.

The Trailblazer jumps with a running start, with Belabog in the background.

"With each blink, a retreat in time's cruel cue" is... hard to decipher for me. Where are you going back from? I doubt we're going back in time, it's a little to early to be traveling alongside Terminus... If Firefly is dead and was a real person, then it could traveling back in time to save her.

The Trailblazer throws pure light??? In the black and white for a few frames, you can see Stelle/the Female Trailblazer.

I don't think there are any major implications from this. The way I see it, Stelle is Caelus and Caelus is Stelle, in that both of them are the Trailblazer, and there was only ever one Trailblazer like them in this story (the choice we made/Kafka picked at the beginning doesn't matter when the end result is the same).

A big Sampo and big trashcan duke it out with Belabog in the background. This should all be be the trailblazer's dream, since dreams are made from your memories, and using the trailblazer's memories would make sense to generate the scene within Belabog.

"In the dream of that night, we'll meet anew" should be pointing to the Trailblazer meeting Firefly again.

The Trailblazer is on a rooftop with Firefly. When the Trailblazer looks back, Firefly has disappeared...

Acheron in front of a black hole(?). She's crying?

We get a few frames of Sam that fade into a faint red light.

The video ends with Clockie and the Trailblazer dancing together! Clockie either gave us the hat or returns it to us.

Characters who we don't see in the video: Duke Inferno (or anymore from the Annihilation Gang, for that matter), any of the other Stellaron Hunters (did they ditch Sam, or did only Sam arrive at Penacony...), and Dr. Ratio (where did he go...). Genuinely, where is the doctor.

I think the song is overall from the Trailblazer's perspective, and about their relationship with Firefly, trying to save her. I'm 100% convinced something sinister happened, or will be happening, to her.

[toomanyfandomsneverenoughtime]

Thanks for the tag @joestarling 💖

1. How many fics do you have on AO3? 85, including none Mat fics.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 203,323

3. What fandoms do you write for? Mainly Mat fandoms but in the past, I wrote some DC (mainly Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, etc.)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Cats and Birds Never Did Play Well Together - DC - Jay/Tim - 770 kudos The Carnality of Twist-It - BBC Ghosts - The Captain/Thomas - 349 kudos On Loan - DC - Dick/Slade, Dick/Jason - 314 kudos Catching Up With My Eyes Wide Shut - BBC Ghosts - The Captain/Julian/Thomas - 214 kudos Don't Knock It Until You've Tried It - BBC Ghosts - Julian/Thomas - 140 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? It depends on the comment and the commentor. I know I can get away with not replying to every comment from some people, they know I love and appreciate everything they say but if it's someone I don't know, I will tend to reply in the hopes that they'll read more of my things!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Possibly Ariel's Parting Gift, simply because it ends in pretty much the same way that YMATA does with some added angst.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I don't know, maybe Fanny Five Ways, it ends pretty well for Fanny?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not directly, though I know that there's some hate on the previously mentioned fic on Twitter 🙃

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yep, it's all I write, usually at least elements at BDSM or kink, very rarely soft.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I do write crossovers but mainly Mat characters with Mat characters from different universes. I guess the craziest ones that I write are when I have Mat himself with Thomas and Julian and I guess that's a tad far fetched but it was fun to write and hopefully fun to read!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of but myself and @joestarling seem to readily influence each other with fic ideas and universes and it's wonderful <3

12. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? I did when I was much younger but my "cowriting", I wrote one chapter and they wrote another and we didn't really input into each others chapters because I don't like criticism 🤣

13. What's your all time favourite ship? Ariel/Chris

14. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will? To be honest, I always end up coming up with ideas for further chapters of most of the fics that I write but there's no way that I'll finish them or even start them in some cases.

15. What are your writing strengths? Honestly, I don't know really. I can tell you what I like in my own fics and it's my own style of writing? I know I like this because I read a writer whose writing felt very similar to mine and I found it so easy and so enjoyable to read.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Self-doubt, needing very precise conditions to be able to write, laziness when it comes to editing, and much, much more.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? What I'd normally do is just write the dialogue in English, in Italics and make it clear that it's a different language, that's what I did for writing Russian in an unpublished fic.

18. First fandom you wrote for? Back to the Future, it's still out there, just not on my AO3 account.

19. Favourite fic you've written? My personal favourite is my recent Ariel/Tentacle fic because I've wanted to write it for a while and I could write it in the exact way that it existed in my brain?

(Not tagging because I don't really know anyone else that writes fic - but if you see this and you want to do it, feel free to and tag me in your answers!)

[chaoticaptendyte]

Get to know me :3

Was tagged by @grippysockgang :3

1. Are you named after anyone?

Apparently after a sri-lankan first lady

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uhhh well yesterday afternoon i had a terrible bout of acidity after lunch and everything hurt so bad that tears came to my eyes, does that count?

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, i mean i am only 20. But i want to one day, two kids, I'd love if they're twins too

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Uhhhh not really no, i use it to the normal extent ig

5. What is the first thing you notice about a person?

Hm, damn i people watch on the train everyday and yet i cannot for the life of me tell u this. I suppose the way they're dressed? And then their hands maybe 👀

6. What is your eye color?

Dark chocolatey pools for you to drown in :)

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

I am actually scared of horror so no, not scary movies EVER unless i have someone to cuddle into and can hide my face in their chest okie. Once my friends forced me to watch conjuring, i spent a month thinking my mom's possessed. Happy movies ftw. Forever.

8. Any special talents?

Hmmmmmm, idk lemme see. I think I'm kinda a decent photographer. I can cook well, don't do it often cause college and I'm kinda lazy and my mom does it for us anyway but yea. Oooohhh, I'm the official taster in our family. Anytime anyone is cooking anything and they need to know if the balance is right or something they come to me :3 which is pretty cool, i guess that counts as special.

9. Where were you born?

In an operation room ✌🏻. I was a C baby. Refused to grow any further so they had to pull me out.

10. What are your hobbies?

Um well it's been a while since I've done some of them tbh butttt- cooking, painting(watercolours), writing poems and fanfic and stuff, origami?, stargazing on my roof, doodling(which i do all the time actually), uhm watching shows and listening to music if it counts? There's prolly others too, just can't think of it rn. Ooh reading too, but it's been a while.

11. Do you have any pets?

Nope🥲, I've always wanted a dog though, a little shih tzu or fox terrier. And somehow my feed everywhere is always full of cats. I used to have goldfish but they kinda died extremely brutal deaths 💀💀💀 they kinda got sucked into the water filter cause the suction was too strong and got kinda uh shredded and another time one of the fish kima uhhh ate all the others 💀💀💀 so haven't got anything after that

12. What sports do you/have you played?

Rn i don't play anything, but i used to play pretty much all of em in school- badminton, tt, basketball, throwball, volleyball, football, cricket. Oh and i played pool once tho idk if it counts. Board games too lol.

13. How tall are you?

5'6 ^w^

14. Favorite subject in school?

Science :3 especially physics and biology. But i also loved English just as much tbhhh. Had a phase where i was super into history and geography too and also in like the fifth grade and twelfth i was super into math, like the satisfactionnnn of solving a problem is just *mwa*

Basically I've liked everything at some point

15. Dream job!

Honestly, not having one. That's my dream. I just wanna live in a nice little cottagecore world and bake pjes and cookies and just take care of the house and chill in the farm and look out at the world everyday and be content. If i could I'd love in the 'Anne with an E' world. Or in the hundered acre woods in a treehouse with Christopher Robin <3

This was funn, @astr0-j4y @gamerboyafterdark @alt3r-ego wanna join in?

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even) 8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in 12. Easiest part of body to draw 19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.) 24. Do your references include stock images

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

---A majority of my art, I think(?), has someone facing my right their left! I think it has to do with how I perceive space, since I'm English speaking I read left to right and I view right as the "forward" direction, if that makes sense. Left is the backwards or looking behind direction for the most part unless there's character interaction, but even then.

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

---I was working on an SB Thresh piece around last year but the energy died for it and I never got around to finishing it despite him being one of my favorite league champs AND one of my favorite skins in game. I thought about opening him specifically as a muse but I'm too obsessed with him to do that HRR HRR, I won't lie that he'd have very interesting interactions with Robin and I would feel weird RPing with myself LOL

And just for YOU, I have an ENTIRE board of Yorii expressions from his old design, about 12 wildly changing expressions that show everything from his shock to his blushing face and its a VERY cute project but also OLD and my style has changed so much I'd have to redo the whole thing. I won't post that here though.

12. Easiest part of body to draw

---I love drawing hair and noses, I think they're so fun. Giving Haru a slightly hooked nose was the best thing I've ever done, OH, or maybe drawing mouths. I love love love drawing open mouths which is funny because I hated them before but I guess it changed once my frontal lobe fully developed.

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

---Just because it's you I'll use Yorii art as an example; I have huge brain worms for drawing little accessories. Tiny knives, belts, compasses, swords etc, I love drawing little nick nacks people carry on their person because I think it's extremely telling to who they are as a person. Hence why Robin has a bunch of random shit he's constantly carrying around! Behold see how my hands-on-hips have evolved!!!

24. Do your references include stock images

---Sometimes! Most of the time I find people in similar positions and break their anatomy like a lil doll and then use that as a reference for the sketch beside it. I also take photos of my friends or my hands if I need to have a specific angle or a specific way of doing something. I also have a pinterest boad of about 200+ hand photos.

[verymuchablog42]

Robin for the ask game!

ooo, one of my faves, yay!!

1. What do you like the most about them? this one is tough because there's so much i like about robin. i love how witty she is, but her snarkiness is balanced out by her moments of being earnestly tender and caring for her friends. i think her gay little salute is one of my favorite quirks she has, idk, i just love it

2. What's their sexuality? lesbian, obviously. honestly, seeing her coming out scene meant so much to me. that she could be such an interesting, well written character who was loved and also be a lesbian meant a lot to me.

3. Otp ship: Ronance. I feel like robin and nancy just *fit* well together. i've seen post after post about how robin is everything jonathan and steve haven't been for nancy and i LOVE those posts, i go feral for them. however, i feel like nancy is really good for robin, too. she doesn't get put off by robin's "hyperness" the way other characters (even steve) have been and i think nancy is one of the few people in hawkins that robin could have a serious connection with. they're both so intelligent and caring and i really do think the two of them would make an excellent couple. also their chemistry together is off the fucking charts

4. Notp ship: any time she's shipped with a man. i don't get why people insist on doing that. also, it's not necessarily a notp for me, but i don't really get rockie. vickie would need to be really fleshed out well and not just a copy of robin in season five for me to be truly happy with them ending up together

5. Favourite friendship: Steve Harrington :) stobin is so special to me in a way i cannot quite describe. i love their energy and the way they play off one another. they remind me a lot of my relationship with my best friend or with my brother. idk, i just think they're neat.

6. Would you date them? yeah. robin has a certain kind of charm and also seems like the type of person i could have a conversation with, you feel? like, we could spend time together and it would still be enjoyable and interesting. (i answered these out of order, but question 13 goes more into this, too)

7. If you were them for a day what would you do? hopefully not be fighting monsters lol. i think if i were robin for a day, i'd probably want to hang out with steve. i know her characterization tends to be overshadowed by her relationship with steve (ppl like to boil her down to steve's best friend and leave it at that), which i hate, but i genuinely do love the dynamic steve and robin have. i love seeing strong, supportive platonic relationships that are the, like, anchor for both characters. it's very special to me.

8. If you could change something about them what would it be? i would give her more screen time. that's honestly it. i think robin is played very well in the show, i love the way she's written. the only thing i'd change would to have her be in the show even more.

9. How do you think they smell like? i feel like robin smells warm, if that makes sense? maybe smokey, whiskey, that type of thing? or old paper. idk, i haven't really thought about it lol

10. If you had the chance to ask them only one question what would it be? i would ask robin what she thinks about life, like, in general. i feel like she would have some really good wisdom to give.

11. Do you think you have something in common with them? other than being gay? she seems like a big reader. one of her biggest supporters in hs was her english teacher (i was lucky to have a pretty big system of friends, but i did spend a lot of lunches with my favorite teacher). my go to when i'm getting to know people is to be either really awkward or sarcastic and snarky.

12. Do you ever wanted to slap them? Why? when she was suggesting steve and nancy get back together. girl, that is not a good option for anyone. i feel like robin being the one to initiate that conversation was really weird. especially since (in my personal opinion) you shouldn't be pushing your bestie to get back with his ex. there's a reason they broke up, even if they've both changed, that doesn't mean they're suddenly right for each other.

13. What would you do if they kiss you? what if i plead the fifth on this one?? i would definitely kiss her back. the reason i started watching stranger things was because my mom said (pretty much word for word) "there's a gay character that comes in about half way through and she is exactly your type. she's smart and witty and just matches your vibe exactly. you're going to be obsessed." and my mom was SO RIGHT, big shout out to her for looking out for me lol

again, thank you so much for the ask, i love talking abt my blorbos :)

[flutenby]

Umk thoughts:

No-one deserved to come last, it was such tough competition. Like yes Kaarija was a very deserved winner, but everyone else was also great and would've done well at Eurovision. Generally vocals were much better than last year, but the camera work was a bit dodgy

Robin: I still hate the words he sings, but if it wasn't in english then this would be an absolute guilty pleasure. He was a little pitchy, but he has so much charisma, and I think this was one of the best stagings tonight. It matched the song well, looking professional but also fun. Again I can't ignore how much I hate the words, but I did actually enjoy this otherwise

Kuuma: I loved the camera cuts in the 2nd verse, really effective. Singer was bang on the whole time which was great. Visually they had a strong opening, but the final but when they walk around the stage it looks kinda flat and aimless. I also just kinda forget about the song, like it's pleasant but doesn't make a huge impact for me

Kaarija: First up the song is an absolute banger ofc. And I love the lil dance in the poppy part at the end, and the train. However something isn't quite right with the dancers in the opening. There's too much of them or their facial expressions don't work, but definitely some changes need to be made. I'm also a bit worried that I couldn't hear his live vocal very much. I'm hoping that gets a bit clearer at Liverpool and they fix up the staging, but this is still my fav selected song at the moment.

Keira: choreo and visuals were better than Bess last year, but I don't like the song as much. A little pitchy but not tooo bad. I don't think Keira hit the right attitude in some places, and she instead looked bored and not in a cool way. She needed to do some vocal gymnastics at the end to give it a bit more life

Benjamin: this was my personal favourite going in, but I knew to be worried about the live vocal. Considering what I was concerned about, he actually did better than I expected. Not perfect, but it definitely sounds like he did a lot of prep and it worked. I also like the new take on doable vocal gymnastics at the end - I don't think it worked quite perfectly but I liked the intention and shape. I'm so mad about the camera work just not being slick enough - it did detract from what was otherwise amazing staging. Not having backup dancers was a bold move but I think the correct one - they would've distracted from him and his energy. And yes work those light poles! I loved the staging concept, altho I think it could have been just a little lighter so we could see his face just a little more in parts. Ultimately that was a pretty minor concern tho, and this did not deserve last imo. It's interesting how polarised the juries were on it - some 0 points and some 12 points. Still mad about the camerawork, but otherwise I really enjoyed this and I hope he comes back in a couple of years

Lxandra: this is one of my favourite ballads ever I think, just so beautiful. The staging was really tasteful and well done - the moment when the sheets fell was such a moment. Her vocal was 99% perfect and she's really emotive. Why did the public put it last, that was an absolute tragedy. She's incredible and this was basically a perfect performance to me.

Portion boys: this was the most fun, their energy is so infectious and I just had an incredible time watching. I'm obsessed with the segway drums, absolutely inspired move. If this had won I couldn't even be mad because it'd be a guaranteed fun song I'd enjoy. Absolute banger, would love to see them live bc I think it'd be pure fun

[r-rook-studio]

#City23: 1st Week of February

Crossposted to Cohost

I've written about my #City23 projects here and on Tumblr. You can check out my last post. I still have two #City23 projects I'm working on: a fantastical version of Nottingham during the high middle ages and a contemporary fictional city in Maine called Cape Crescent.

As noted in that end-of-Janaury post, I spent most of January (minus a break) working on the area around Nottingham's Bar Gate and Cape Crescent's "main street": Pine State Highway. That was a bit of a struggle since I felt like I was filling in "gaps" for a city that hadn't been sufficiently sketched out yet, but did give me a sense of what the locals in both cities are like.

Nottingham

For February '23 in Nottingham, I'm focusing on Nottingham Castle. While Nottingham was not anywhere near the size of London at this time, the castle, a royal residence, meant that the city was far more cosmopolitan than one might expect, with large French, English, and Jewish communities. The castle isn't just a physical space, it's a symbol of the sheriff's authority as the royal appointee. Thus it's the headquarters of a sizable faction and a base of its power.

This week, I started with the outer bailey, and I think I may camp out a bit. The first line of yards, gardens, and buildings within the castle's outermost wall, the bailey is the home and workplace of many common folks in the sheriff's service. I started with a random guard-generator, including what after-effects from last night are distracting the guard:

Distractions from Last Night

None: Attentive

Gambling debts

Caught cheating in love or at cards

Unrequited infatuation

Family disputes

Lost a brawl, wants revenge

I also started work on the castle's large outer stables and kennel (because I'm in charge, I've decided there's a separate royal stable and kennel further into the castle). My Robin Hobb fandom is showing through. This gave me three NPCs in quick succession: Kado the stable boy, his best friend (and likely crush) Nin who assists in the kennel, and the late stable master and kennel master Warinfried. Kado and Nin have some arcane talents (including some that haven't occurred in Sherwood), and Warinfried's body was buried in the tunnels below the castle without removing the necromantic ring he stole from the sheriff. This could be why folks in the outer bailey's brewery have reported seeing signs of a ghost. If Warinfried is haunting the castle now, who knows what he might do to revenge himself on Kado, who murdered him, or Nin, who Kado was trying to protect? I've also name-dropped Wainfried's patron, Raimund, the castle's steward/seneschal and a son of the sheriff, who I'd love to develop a bit more.

So far, the castle is a lot of Norman and Breton dudes, so over this next week, I'd like to diversify the population a bit.

Cape Crescent

In Cape Crescent, I wanted to begin digging into two explicitly hostile factions: the cult-like Grove and the loosely Pentex-inspired Ghost Bay Foundation. Over the past week, I've worked on Pine State Realty, a mid-sized real estate agency near the middle of town that doubles as an administrative front for Ghost Bay Foundation. Over the past week, I've identified three NPCs who work there:

Ramji Davindran dropped out of grad school to come work in Cape Crescent and discover why his sister disappeared. He covered his tracks well, and so far the only person I've found who knows about his real purpose is...

Cornelia Richards, the office manager, isn't supposed to know much about the Ghost Bay Foundation or the realty's real purpose but knows almost all of it. She may even know more than...

Ted Cliff, the "owner" of the real estate agency and a Ghost Bay administrator, is supposed to know way more than he's actually figured out about the employees he keeps around to create a more compelling front.

[mayu-otome]

Melted By Summer Lust - William Rex Chapter 1

These translations are solely for entertainment and not profit. Accuracy is not 100% guaranteed. MDNI

(quick note that English and Japanese are not my native language and there might be some errors and mistakes in my grammar and wording in the translation)

Looking at the crystal clear sea, I felt anxious

Kate: No one’s coming to pick us up…!

Next to me, he was smiling softly.

(How did this happen…?)

It all started a few days ago

—flashback

Victor: My friend, Viscount Morris, owns a villa there and asked me if I'd like to use it for the summer.

Victor: So I have a wonderful present for you guys! Go and enjoy your vacation with just the two of you.

—flashback ends

(I was happy to spend time with Will at a villa on an island where it was summer all year round, although…)

Just as I was thinking about what should I do, he lifted the luggage

William: Let’s go back inside

Kate: Eh?

William: Waiting out in this heat isn’t the best idea. Besides, if someone comes to pick us up, they’ll come to the villa.

He somehow seemed to be enjoying himself as he turned on his heel and faced his back towards me…

Kate: You seem to be in a good mood, Will

William: Indeed, It feels good

He look back and smiled.

William: It's only natural that I’d feel better knowing I'm spending more time with you.

After returning to the villa and setting down my luggage, I looked out the window, but….

(I can't even see the shadow of the ship...)

William: Kate

He sits on the bed and his outstretched arms catch me as I sit down next to him and gently wrap them around me.

William: worried?

Kate: ….yes

(I was worried and thought of what we should do if we can’t return…)

Kate: I think something might have happened to the person operating the boat...

The uneasiness that I might be involved in some trouble was stronger.

William: Worrying about others more than yourself? That’s typical of you.

When I looked up at the sound of his gentle voice, his hand slid down my cheek.

Kate: ….of course, I’ve thought about what I’d do if I couldn’t go home.

William: If we didn’t returned, Victor will come for us by any means necessary.

(I’m sure Victor would definitely help us…)

The hand stroking my head felt like it melted away a little bit of my anxiety

William: Besides, don’t you think about it this way?

William: …If we don’t leave here, we can make love to each other without anyone getting in our way.

I reflexively gulped at the sight of his lustful eyes

Kate: …It’s like paradise

The kiss that was given in response made a sound as they pulled away.

William: Fortunately, the villa is well-maintained and stocked with food, so we don’t have to worry about living here.

William: So don’t you think we should just enjoy this situation?

The lingering feelings of anxiety fade away from my gentle smile,

(On the contary, I’m starting to feel happy about this situation)

I felt happy to get more time to have him all to myself.

I pressed my head against his chest to hide the slack corners of my mouth, and he let out a soft chuckle.

William: So, what does my robin want to do now?

Kate: …I want to walk barefoot on the beach.

(I tried it on the first day, but the sand was too hot to walk on)

Kate: Is there anything you want to do, Will?

Suddenly, the fingers that stroked my thighs tickled me, and I instinctively twisted my body and heard a whisper in my ear.

William: You know what I want to do, right?

Kate: …I also want to do what Will wants to do

William: Hmm?

The moment his fingertips rested on my underwear—

William: But not now

For some reason, I quickly pulled away

Kate: Oh…

William: Did you expect that?

His cheeky smile made my face burn

Kate: That was not fair…!

William: Hahaha, my bad. But I wanted to see that face of yours.

He grabs my reddened cheek and continues.

William: Besides, you won't be able to do what you want to do.

Kate: …Isn't it better to walk on the beach after the sun has gone down?

William: Ah. It will be difficult to walk now.

Kate: Then why….

At that moment, he bit my lower lip sweetly.

Kate: Will…

William: That’s why

Kate: Huh?

Then, he gently lick my lips with the tip of his tongue.

William: If I hold you now, I won't be able to let you go until tomorrow morning.

Those blood red eyes capture my heart and set it on fire.

William: So, I’ll be patient until the evening.

I narrowed my eyes at the lips that fell on my forehead.

(What should I do? I can’t stand it)

I never knew that once a fire was lit, it would never went out.

Kate: Will, that….

William: Hmm?

The fingers that brushed against my ears and neck gave a slight stimulation. He has a cheerful smile on his face, and I am convinced

(He know what he's doing….!)

But I'm still swept away, and couldn’t help but love Will. Wanted the pleasure he could give me, more than anything.

Kate: Will, Mmn

William: Hmm, it’s rare for you to kiss me first

The corners of his mouth rose as he changed the angle many times and pecked my lips.

Kate: Right now I want you more than a walk on the beach.

Kate: What I want to do…. can you make it happen?

William: My robin has become quite good at begging.

He pushed me down on the bed

William: We’ll reschedule our beach walk to early tomorrow morning.

Kate: Can you wake me up?

William: Yeah, I promise.

He kissed me so deeply that I couldn't breathe, depriving me of oxygen and drowning me in a sea of pleasure.

<- previous next ->

[howyouducan]

Well there appears to be no opportunities for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf news for the rest of summer, so I'm basically just waiting until Baldur's Gate 3 releases on the last day of August (which is, arguably, the last day on the last month of summer). Sooo I guess I'll fuck around with the concept of Jack the potential Dreadwolf protagonist and see what happens

"Jack" is:

Visually and spiritually inspired by fairy tales of untamed troublemakers who hide out in the wilderness. Robin Hood, Peter Pan, even Puck / Robin Goodfellow. He loves messing with anyone who thinks themselves above other people. He's also great at trickery and stealing.

Fucking nuts, but kind. I want Jack to be unrepentantly and irreversibly neurodivergent, with a devil-may-care attitude about public opinion of himself. Also, completely selfish and pigheaded in his want to help and protect his friends. Thinking of Cole in Inquisition, Bruno from Encanto, and Luffy from One Piece.

I want "his color" to be green. I think it's amusing that none of my protagonists' signature colors match the game's color theme. Origins was orange, and Lady Aeducan's color is gold; DA2 was red, but Flita Hawke's color was blue; and Inquisition was very green, while Noraak's favorite color is yellow. I have no idea if armor-tinting is going to be A Thing in Dreadwolf, and I am not concerned about it. He will probably have green eyes, at any rate, because he is a redhead and I am apparently creating a stereotype.

"Jack" is going to be (actually completely accidentally) the elfiest elf in Tevinter. He is a stick-thin anti-authoritarian rabblerouser with a bow and a preference towards forested or otherwise wild areas. Even if he wasn't an elf, his personality has "elf stereotype" all over it. This will make the inevitable battles against magisters and/or slavers very sweet indeed, but I am not currently sure what he'd think of the Dalish or ancient Elvhen, because at this point in time he is very much a city slicker. Again, this will depend on what origins the game itself will have, but that's who he is for now.

Have not settled on a hairstyle yet, for the obvious reason of not knowing what will be available. I'm hoping for longer hair, maybe in a ponytail, maybe not. Like I mentioned before, if there are body sliders, he will be as bony as it will allow. None of my other heroes have that body type.

I was originally going to name him after a bird, because I've always liked bird names. Hawke was going to have a double bird name before I found out that "Flita" was a real name from the middle ages. But if that character named "Rook" from those leaked screenshots is a real NPC and not the protag, then I'd like something else. "Jack" was always a nice name to me. It was very common to the point of being a stand-in for a stranger, but it's also... a bit fable-esque. There are a lot of Jacks in English folk history, ranging from old stories to nursery rhymes even to Victorian urban legends (Spring-Heeled Jack, Jack the Ripper). Jack, as a name, has a lot of personality and yet it will conform to the wearer perfectly.