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felikatze · 6 months ago

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QoL as Kindness: ISAT's diagetic tutorials

This is the hopefully first of a series of posts I'll be doing reinterpreting ISAT's Loop through the lens of START AGAIN: a prologue's context. As such....

Major spoilers for both ISAT (all acts, including optional content) and SASASAP (all endings).

One of the biggest differences between ISAT and SASASAP is it’s QoL – it’s Quality of Life. QoL refers to all the little things that make a game just that little bit more playable; quick to navigate menus, quicksaving… tutorials.

It’s not really a surprise that SASASAP is as RPGmaker as RPGmaker gets. This isn’t a criticism, just an observation, and also a compliment to how much Adrienne’s skills with the engine improved between releases. Still, there’s some things that ISAT has over SASASAP.

ISAT’s QoL is absolutely essential to making it bearable. Anyone ever watch an ISAT playthrough where the player sighed in relief as the tutorial on picking where you loop came up?

SASASAP lacks a lot of ISAT’s QoL because it’s an earlier project without a studio backing it, but what impresses me is how this change ties into narrative.

Because the greatest chunk of ISAT’s greatest QoL is provided by Loop.

Even before you ever meet them, they’re already over your shoulder. Loop is the tutorial, speaking to you inside your brain. It’s genius, in that no player is ever going to question this. Hell, SASASAP’s movement tutorial is the exact same thing with less flavoring

This reframes what the QoL is – it’s not just a convenience to the player, it’s a convenience to Siffrin, too. It’s diegetic. It’s not something the game is giving you, it’s something Loop is giving you. Let’s look at what Loop gives you, and more importantly, why.

Zone Out

The first of the QoL features I want to talk about is the Zone Out function, the absolute bread and butter of not making this game a total slog.

The Zone Out feature as is did not exist in SASASAP (because Adrienne didn’t know how to do it yet) – instead, some doubled scenes let you just skip them entirely outright. There’s only two extremes: listen to all of it again, or none of it.

ISAT’s zone out system is much more dynamic, since it fast forwards dialogue line by line, letting you zone in whenever you’d like, and forcing you to zone in whenever a) something notably new happens, or b) whenever Siffrin speaks.

The way this feature is introced by Loop is kind of genius. Because Loop’s tutorial is about one thing – it’s okay to skip.

“You might miss what your party is saying, but who cares, right? If you make them mad, you can always loop back and they'll have forgotten all about it!”

It’s a cruel joke, or at least it seems that way on the surface. It’s also genuine advice. And a cruel joke at the same time. For Siffrin, freshly starting the loops, this is scandalous, but for Loop, who’s long since desensitized, it’s the same old same old.

What Loop’s doing here, by joking about Siffrin not listening to the party, is alliviate Siffrin’s guilt when they inevitably take Loop up on the offer. Because, even though Loop loves their party members…

From SASASAP, when sitting outside the bathroom:

(Will you get farther this time?) (Will you live this time?) (Or are you stuck listening to the same lines forever?) (…) (Stars, you’re so tired.)

Loop knows intimately well that Siffrin is going to drive themself insane trying to be a people pleaser every single loop, so this joke is telling the outright – don’t bother.

At first, Siffrin (and the player) still might. I really enjoyed reading the same conversations five times minimum because they’re fun and I’m deranged, but at some point I did start skipping them. And it was a relief to know there wouldn’t be anything new.

Siffrin: “Should I check everything again?” Loop: “You mean, should you check the same barrels, the same closets, the same objects on tables every loop?” Loop: “I mean, you can, but… You know things won’t change, right?” Loop: “If you really want to get a certain item again, or listen to your friends repeat something funny, you should!” Loop: “I personally would only check two or three things every loop, and ignore the rest.” Loop: “It will just make you crazy to expect something to change, when nothing will.” Loop: “All that might change is your reaction to it!”

The game is telling you, Loop is telling Siffrin, don’t drive yourself insane playing, please. The characters aren’t going to remember if you skipped something.

In the course of my script wizard activities, I’ve gotten an in-depth view of just how much that actually holds up. Pretty much all major differences are by Act, unrelated of how often you’ve done something. Minor variations apply for other things, but… those variations are minor.

And this also points out what all those variations are. Siffrin’s reactions!

Loop’s pre-empting Siffrin’s guilt, cuz they probably felt it themself. Hell, we do know they felt the pressure to perform and make sure nobody notices anything’s wrong, in SASASAP! Right up until the finale, Loop was driving themself up the wall.

(You have to act, you can't crack, you have to fake it and play it exactly as you did the first time for the whole way through so your friends don't find out anything is wrong) (You don't want to know what would happen if they knew their quest was in vain) (If they knew their quest for justice and change always ends in stillness and death!)

Acting everything out perfectly is one of the ending paths for SASASAP, which results in… complete and utter failure. Obviously.

(You acted perfectly normally, didn't you?) (Nothing out of place, nothing weird, every line the same as it might've been the first time?) (Ah…That was your mistake, wasn't it…?) (Because… Didn't your very first time… end exactly like this?) (The King throws the Housemaiden's body onto the floor again.)

Zoning out for too many conversations actually awards weird points in SASASAP, locking you out of the Perfect Ending. On the other hand, acting “perfectly” in ISAT… has no awards whatsoever. No special scene or or optional event or anything at all. You get nothing for paying attention!!!

So spare yourself the pain already, m’kay?

(On that note: I don’t think Loop not being sarcastic about it would’ve like… worked. At the start of ACT 2, Siffrin isn’t going to believe Loop when they say “Stop forcing yourself to relive the same thing over and over because you’ll start seeing your friends as disposable actors and lose touch with reality.” That all comes later, when Siffrin can look back on Loop’s words and see how right they were.)

Loop Back

The second biggest sigh of relief in any given ISAT playthrough is probably this specific tutorial.

Loop graciously shows you that you don’t need to loop back all the way to the beginning every single time. You can pick and choose where to go, even going forward by paying up with Memories of Skirmish.

This is a feature SASASAP does not possess, for the reason that it is much, much shorter, only covering about as much as one floor of ISAT’s three floor House.

But… since this is a character showing this to you, Loop showing this to you, we can ask… when did Loop learn this? After all, START AGAIN, Loop’s loops, do not have this feature.

“It'll save you time, so it's important, so listen up!”

This feature not existing in SASASAP means this is a thing that Loop did not know exists during their own time as Siffrin.

And that’s just the thing, isn’t it? SASASAP’s Siffrin does not know how to do this. They cannot pick and choose where they end up, as demonstrated wonderfully by SASASAP’s True Ending. There’s an even more wonderful implication, though –

On SASASAP’s Perfect End path, when exiting the final room before the King, Isabeau says this:

Isabeau: “…I'm glad you're feeling better, though!” Siffrin: (…?) “What do you mean…?” Isabeau: “Oh!!! Um, you were…” Isabeau: “Well! You were acting a little weird when we were way closer to the Castle's entrance……” Isabeau: “You weren't really listening to us, you were kinda smiling the way you do when you're actually not happy…” Isabeau: “…and you like, almost acted like you knew exactly where you were going?” Isabeau: “But clearly you're feeling better now! You're acting just like normal!!!”

SASASAP’s Siffrin knew how to do this, somehow managed to lock themself into the House’s last floor… and then forgot how to get back. By making this tutorial, Loop is ensuring that Siffrin never will.

“What can I do next?” – SASASAP’s greatest flaw

So, if you’ve had the pleasure of playing START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue yourself (as you should), then you’ve probably faced this scenario, or some variation of it:

I got to the end, I died to the King, but… what do I do next? The game tells me to go for the extremes, but how do I do that?

(edit: apparently some of yall just managed to speedrun sasasap in two loops. You're gonna need to stay with me here, please. Suspend your disbelief a bit, because a lot of people [including me] were dumbasses about it)

Maybe you try another loop, but just get the same ending again (or a differnet one, depending on a coinflip). You’re getting frustrated. Getting the Perfect Ending demands pinpoint precision to avoid everything weird, the True Ending demands good memorization of every single damn key in the game, and the order you do everything in. (Though, to be fair, the requirements on that one are actually more merciful than one might expect.)

Point is, in SASASAP, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in that endless loop of “What the fuck do I do now?” It’s not uncommon to think you got it right only to get the same result anyways. What does one do in this situation?

They consult a guide, obviously.

START AGAIN’s ending requirements are frustrating. They are. When I tried to go for either the Perfect or the True Ending, I saved inside every single room, just so I could get right back to it when I inevitably fucked up five times minimum. This is both criticism… and praise. Because Loop is the major reason that ISAT does not suffer from this same problem.

Whenever you’re stuck in ISAT, Loop is just a single loop or call away at any times. And besides that, no plot requirement in ISAT demands nearly as many moving pieces all at once as SASASAP does – the “Sus Route” has been relegated to an optional ACT 4 exclusive event, instead of the game’s True Ending.

Instead of consulting an external guide on how to progress, you have one right there in the game, always ready with the next tip. They’re not infallible, mind you – enough time in Isatcord’s #game-help proves that, but Loop solved all of the moments I got stuck and frustrated in ISAT for me.

(Primarily that one time you need to figure out that a photo is similar to being stuck in time. That moment in particular is actually commendable, as you need to ask Loop about it twice before they tell you, leaving you a last shot to try and figure it out on your own.) Loop is a feature that nullifies SASASAP’s greatest flaw in its successor, and they choose to do so.

Memory of Keys

In my humble opinion, Loop does this because… they do not want Siffrin to suffer as they did. They want Siffrin to escape. And there is no greater example of their kindness than how Loop treats keys.

First of all, all keys in the game have a sparkling effect on them if you’ve picked them up at least once before, making it immediately clear where in the room they are. This means you don’t need to search every single room top to bottom for them, as you had to do for any keys and Star Crests in SASASAP. It’s some nice QoL that just means you don’t have to re-search the same area if you happened to forget which specific cupboard the key was in.

Key point being: SASASAP did not have this feature. In SASASAP, you did have to memorize where all the keys are, and doing so is expected if you want the True Ending.

Loop does not want Siffrin to have to do this. Because…

From SASASAP’s True End:

(The torch in the infirmary? That’s important!) (The key in the book? Soooo important.) (The names of your friends, that have been by your side throughout this entire adventure?) (Not worth remembering.)

Compared to ISAT’s ACT 2:

Siffrin: “How come I can see where the keys are?” Loop: “Whaaaaat? You caaaaaan? How can that beeeeeee?” Siffrin: “Is it thanks to you?” Loop: “Maybe.” Loop: “I figured you'd have other things to worry about than where a stupid key is.” Loop: “No need to thank me.”

To Loop, that they memorized the House’s layout over their friends’ names is a defining moment to their own failures. After all, in all likelihood, the True End of SASASAP is the last loop before they called it quits. It’s a traumatic experience from them, one that came from having to remember all the dumb fucking keys.

They do not want Siffrin to experience this. They do not want Siffrin to have to memorize the House, to push away what actually matters in favor of efficiency. So Loop is directly, personally, giving them a boon, so that Siffrin does not have to.

Conclusion

There’s probably more tutorial things I could talk about, but I feel like you’re seeing the pattern now, even if I don’t bring up saving level ups or keeping equipment or the “You’re stuck” signifier, least of all cuz they don’t have direct points of comparison with SASASAP like my other examples do (SASASAP has no changeable equipment, and saving levels doesn’t matter if you only have one floor, and you can’t softlock either.). So.

Loop’s tutorials all belie a fundamental kindness to their character. Everything that made their own experience trapped in the timeloop just that bit worse, they’re choosing to do away with it for Siffrin. They are choosing to make Siffrin’s time here easier.

Zoning out too much lead to them never paying attention to their friends, forgetting their names, so they make sure that Siffrin can still zone back in whenever something new happens.

Loop trapped themself for years on the final floor, locking themself out of progress that might lie further back, so they’re ensuring Siffrin knows exactly how to loop forwards and backwards so it doesn’t happen again.

Loop lets Siffrin keep equipment across loops to cut down on time spent doing the exact same thing over and over.

They are saving Siffrin time, and they are giving Siffrin comfort. At every single turn, Loop is saving Siffrin from the same pitfalls they fell into without anyone to guide them out.

It's honestly incredible to transform an increase in skill into an actual narrative element. Yes, SASASAP sucks more to play. But ISAT sucks less, because Loop wants it to. It's the perfect marriage of real world circumstance and storytelling. I could... probably pull another comparison here, saying it's like a game and its remake - overhauled graphics, expanded story, and loads and loads of QoL, because the makers of the remake realized something. They love the original, but parts of it do suck, and there's so much that can be done to make a new player's experience smoother. Metanarrative commentary,,,, woah,,,,,

Every single one of these QoL elements I’ve mentioned function as a crutch for a player’s failing memory, but also Siffrin’s (similar to what I talked about in my previous essay on ISAT’s ludonarrative - the player and Siffrin are always in sync, even in how tutorials benefit them). Loop doesn’t know the player exists though (only the Change God does), so they do everything for Siffrin.

To keep Siffrin from forgetting. To help Siffrin focus on what’s important. To make Siffrin’s journey just a little bit less miserable. Loop directly improves ISAT’s QoL. For you. For Siffrin.

From Loop’s introduction:

Loop: “See, I’m useful! I’m very useful! That’s why I’m here, helpful Loop.” Siffrin: “Why are you helping me?” Loop: “…” Loop: “Because I think you should be helped.” Loop: “I won’t always have the answers, but… I think having someone on your side to talk to is better than dealing with this alone.” Loop: “Right?”

From Loop’s hangout:

“But it’s fine.” “Whether you believe me or not, I’m here to help you.” “So you can escape this loop.”

And finally, from the start of ACT 3:

Siffrin: “Are you really here to help me?” Loop: “Stardust…” Loop: “…” Loop: “Yes.” Loop: “If you can believe anything, believe that.” Loop: “I asked to be here, so I could help you.”

And I do believe them. Loop’s feelings on Siffrin are… complex, to say the least. They love Siffrin, and they hate him in equal measure. They’re jealous, and spiteful, but underneath everything…

In SASASAP, if you die to a Sadness thrice, you get this monologue:

(Sometimes, when you loop back here…) (In the corner of your eye, you can sometimes see someone that looks just like you.) (Is it a you from another loop? Remnants of your past failures?) (Are you going crazy?) (May they succeed where you cannot.)

#feli speaks #in stars and time #isat spoilers #start again: a prologue #sasasap #LOOP TIME BABEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY #WATCH OUT IT'S FELI TALKING ABOUT LUDONARRATIVE AGAIN

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etfrin · 10 months ago

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❝ꜱᴏᴜʟꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀᴜꜱʜ❞ — chapter nine | coriolanus snow

「ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ:」 SFW | Coriolanus, hints of somnophilia/non-con [spoiler! Coriolanus steals some kisses while reader is asleep, and reader kinda does the same] | lmk if I missed anything

「ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ:」 young! Coriolanus Snow x fem! Reader

「ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:」 Coriolanus leaves you to check out the arena, the night before the games and... WELL... WELL... you find him!

「ᴀ/ɴ:」 for those who asked, i tried my best to deliver, please give me your feedback and reblog! Thank you!

Beta read by the FABULOUS @nowitsmissing

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Coriolanus Snow left you alone. He had to sneak out and check out the arena. The Hunger Games would continue forward. He needed any leverage he could get. Even if it meant to leave your side for the night. He found his clothes in the same bag that you had kept empty of food in. He changed into them.

He bites his lower lip to distract himself from the pain. This was of higher priority. He could rest when he wins. At least, that's what he tells himself as he finishes buttoning off his shirt. Before he could walk out of the room, he leaned down. Your eyelashes were big up close, and so, so enchanting. He felt annoyed that he noticed such a minuscule thing. It was not of importance how long or short your eyelashes are, they added to your beauty.

He couldn't talk himself out of it, he pressed his lips to yours. Your lips were soft. Your lips were perfect. Your lips were poisonous, and addicting because how could he ever stop himself after he already had a taste? So he pressed another kiss to your lips, a bit harder than the previous peck. He pulls away with a gasp and swallows his shame roughly.

“I'll be back,” he whispered to you before he pressed another kiss, unable to stop himself. There was nothing friendly about this. This was a man at the edge of the cliff, one more step and he would fall into a pit of obsession. Nobody can drag him out of it. He barely stops himself from stealing another kiss from you. He forces his legs to walk away from you, it pained him more than any of his physical wounds.

The security around the arena was nonexistent, each peacekeeper in guard sleeping. He slipped right in, checking out the debris. The middle of the arena had huge blocks of fallen pieces of debris, all the weapons will be placed there tomorrow. He checked out around the area and found tunnels to go under and even a vent to hide in.

He turned around ready to leave and relay all of this to Lucy Gray Baird. However, an uncharacteristic yell leaves his lips as he sees you. Your arms are crossed in front of your chest and your face in a frown. So unlike how he left you on the bed resting. He swallows and wonders briefly if you informed anyone of his breaking. He was also curious about how you found him.

It's not like he has a tracker on him, right?

“How did you find me here?” He asked, nervous and tried not to fidget too much.

“I just thought ‘What is the most stupid thing Coriolanus can do?’” your voice turns sarcastic, “Surprise! It led me here.”

“Very funny,” he mutters, not amused at all, “And it's Coryo now.”

“You lost your ‘Coryo’ privilege, Snow.”

Guess he will just have to earn it back.

He pouts, knowing exactly why you were mad. But certainly, you could see the reason why he had to leave despite being freshly injured. He had to survey the place! Get leverage! He has to win at all, otherwise, what's the price of his life?

You walked up to him, pulling him down by his shirt collar. His breath hits your lips. And he could kiss you again. Of course, he didn't. He wanted to steal another kiss so bad that a soft nearly audible whisper of your name fills the air.

“You didn't even leave a note or a warning or anything.”

“Sorry,” he whispered, hoping that apologizing despite not regretting his actions would fix everything. Or at least get his nickname privileges back.

You scoff, “You don't even mean it, Coryo.”

You called him Coryo again, he didn't need to mean it. He would take the win. He gives you a small smile. “I am sorry,” he repeated, trying to put some heart into it.

“A liar and a thief,” you whispered, your eyes glinting with an emotion he couldn't decipher, “Truly one of a kind you are, Coriolanus.”

He frowned. He understood the fact he was indeed a liar. But where did the talk of being a thief come from? Before he could question you further about calling him a thief. You begin to drag him back into your car on the cold night. He sits at the window seat in the front, you beside him. He didn't ask if you had a driver's license. He felt like he was better without knowing.

“Was the Zoo the next location?” You asked your tone on edge with leftover anger over his actions.

“Yes,” he replied with the gentlest tone possible, not wanting anything to trigger an eruption. He fidgeted with his hands, wondering why he had come here when he could have used the night to steal kisses instead. When he could have slept with you, his arm around you and your heartbeat matching his. Such an ideal night, and he ruined it.

“So what did you find, pretty boy?” You asked.

He blushed at the nickname you called him. He doesn't give attention to his heated cheeks as he replies rather enthusiastically about everything (not everything, he kept some places a secret, only for Lucy Gray's ears to hear) and strategies (again not all of them).

You even add some pointers along the way. And he enjoyed the conversation thoroughly. He never thought he could connect with you like this, but he couldn't deny that he was happy about it. His lips stretched in a grin as you both discussed plans for Lucy Gray to win.

“Don't you care about Jessup?” He asked, the chain of conversation interrupted because he wasn't the only one with tribute. So why were you helping him?

You looked at him briefly before looking forward again. “You and I both know that poor boy is as good as dead,” you said, your voice hard, “I would rather let you win instead if I am out of the games.”

Coriolanus nods at the answer. That was understandable. “I am sorry,” this time he meant it, “I should have woken you up,” he looked at the window, ashamed, “It was a foolish thing to do to leave you alone without warning.”

“I am glad you have the brains to understand what you did wrong, and the guts to admit it,” you said, and he felt proud like he got the hardest question in an exam right. “You're forgiven as long as you don't do it again.”

He nods but doesn't make any promises. He did what he had to do. He will do it again, and take you as company the next time. That way he's not fucking up.

Soon, the car reaches its destination. He gets out of the car and you decide to stay, parked in front of the zoo gates. He quickly decided to only tell the key points to Lucy Gray because he refused to let you be alone for too long at night.

He walked into the zoo and reached the cage where he called out the Songbirds’ name. Lucy Gray appears before him with a concerned look. “Is everything alright?” She asked.

“Yes,” he confirmed and began to explain. He said not to run towards the weapons first and go to the hiding place. He tells her to wait it out and a few more strategies so she has better chances to survive and he has better chances to win. He doesn't notice Lucy Gray's tears but a sob catches his attention.

He's annoyed because it's time to listen to him and not be a child if she wants to survive tomorrow. Instead, he gives her a handkerchief he found in his pants pocket and hands it to her to wipe away her tears. He softens his tone and speaks slower. Even using easier terms to make it look like child's play.

Lucy Gray nods and agrees to his plans. She returns the handkerchief and he stuffs it back in. “It's going to be fine,” he said, “You're going to win, Lucy Gray.”

“I can pray, Coriolanus,” Lucy replied, her voice vulnerable in a way that reminded him of the fact she was a teenager like him. She even had a soulmate, Sejanus Plinth. And she loses it all if she doesn't win tomorrow.

“You will win.” He will win.

And with that, it's goodbye and Coriolanus leaves the zoo. The ride back home is quiet. You don't ask what he and Lucy Gray talked about. He doesn't offer any information either. It was a comfortable silence that he needed. He went to his old habit of stroking his soulmate's scar. Was it just him or did the scar seem to be healing?

He couldn't check it out in front of you. Within minutes you parked in front of the penthouse, and he wanted to ask you inside. There's no way he wanted you to drive alone at such late night.

But inviting you inside would mean revealing his secret. The secret that he kept for a decade. The secret was his motivation for everything. The secret that could ruin him.

Was ensuring your safety worth revealing it? He could ask you to call his landline when you reached home, but each minute until you called would be nothing less of hell for him. His mind overthinking possibilities with the result of you being hurt. He wasn't sure his poor heart could take it.

Both of you step out of the car. He can't make up his mind. He opens his mouth to invite you in or say goodbye he doesn't know. You speak first instead. Your eyes meet his blue ones.

“How many kisses did you steal, Coryo?”

He wants to lie. He knew in his mind that it wouldn't do him any good. He feels his palm sweat, his fingers itching to touch the scar to calm himself down. He was sure that he was going to have a heart attack in the next minute or so.

“Three,” he answered, ready for whatever curses and punishment you would give him for his sins. He would go on his knees for you, let the cold street scrap his skin and crimson stain the spot if it meant your forgiveness. He would grovel, and beg, strip himself of his pride for you.

Or he could manipulate you. Fill your mind with lies that it's what friends do. Being district, he doubted you had many friends of Capitol culture. He could lie, lie, and lie. It's what friends do.

As his mind fights to choose his next course of action. You flash him a vixen smile, and whisper, “You didn't have to steal them.”

He couldn't even process what you meant before you pressed a kiss on his jaw. His eyes closed and let out a shaky breath. He gasps softly when the next press of your lips is so close to his lips.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, please, kiss him.

You don't. You pull back and grin. It takes him an embarrassing moment to come back to reality. His ear burning, and his lips parted waiting for the third kiss you never gave him.

“It's what friends do,” you shrugged, lying to yourself and him. Both of you had to, there's no other way around it. Coriolanus knew why for him, but what about you? Were you simply playing with the strings of his heart? He would allow it for now.

For after the Plinth Prize, you will be his.

“Come with me,” he said, “It's not safe to be traveling so late at night.”

You agree with him without much protest. He noticed your discomfort as both of you walked up the twelve flights to reach his broken, shameful, secret home. He grits his teeth, awaiting your reaction to the truth of the Snow family.

You don't say anything. “Show me where I will be sleeping, Coryo,” you yawn instead, not even disgust on your face from the rotting wallpapers.

He is surprised and grateful. He feels an uncontrollable urge to hug you, and barely keeps himself from not wrapping his arms around you.

“I suppose you wouldn't mind sharing a bed with me,” he said, quietly, not wanting Tigris or Grandma’am to wake up. You nod in affirmation and he shows you his room with a bit of confidence. It was just as horrible as the rest of the house but it was his.

The bed in the corner with clean bed sheets. The stack of books and finished assignments on his desk. His wardrobe, the wood old and chipped. But all of it was his.

You immediately made your way to the bed and made yourself wholly comfortable. Like it was yours. And in a way, everything of his is yours. He would give it to you if you asked nicely enough, maybe throw in a kiss or two.

You pull the covers up and wait for Coryo to sleep in. Usually, he would wear his pajamas, but right now he couldn't bring himself to care. He lays down, mindful of his injury. He turns towards you. His eyes searched for yours, and the air mixed with both of your shared breaths. Not even an inch apart were both of you due to how small his bed was.

He closed his eyes and whispered goodnight. He doesn't get a reply. He fills his mind quickly falling back to the darkness as his actions catch up to him, taking away whatever strength he had left.

The last thing he feels, which surely is a dream, is a press of your lips against his. Stealing a kiss. And he hears you whisper, unsure if it's a dream or not but he will remember the words until he dies.

“I have you now, Coriolanus Snow. I won't let you go.”

NEXT PART

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ineffable-endearments · 8 months ago

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The Crow Road by Iain Banks

I finished The Crow Road and had a little time to think about it. I'll put my thoughts under a Keep Reading in case anyone is trying to avoid spoilers.

As I speculated before, I think it's likely that The Crow Road is more related to Good Omens in philosophy than in plot. I mean, it's not that the plots necessarily have nothing in common, and we could be very surprised in the end of course, but now that I've read the whole book, its philosophical commonalities with GO are both apparent and kind of inspiring. Also, if I were a writer, I'd be more interested in dropping hints about what themes are important than telegraphing my whole plot ahead of time.

So here, I will describe the book and point out themes that I believe may reappear in Good Omens 3.

This is a long post. If you read it, make a cup of [beverage of choice].

Update on 4/20/2024: I made a second post: The Crow Road and Good Omens: Further-Out Thoughts

Below are mentions of suicide, death/murder, and sexual acts.

The Crow Road centers around a character named Prentice McHoan, a university student in Scotland who starts to sort out his complicated relationship with his complicated family as he explores the mystery of his uncle Rory's disappearance. Although the book is mostly from Prentice's perspective, the narration jumps around in time with the McHoan family. There are quite a lot of important characters to keep track of; the bare-bones summary I put below doesn't even include some of the important ones. I wanted to make the summary even shorter and simpler than this, but the truth is that this book is not short or simple, and if I made the summary any simpler, it might be downright misleading.

There are at least three major cultural aspects of The Crow Road that I am inexperienced with: the overall culture in the 1950s-1980s (I was born in 1988, so of course wasn't here for the relevant decades), the international experience of the Gulf War (again, born in 1988), and the history and culture of Scotland itself (I'm USAmerican with only reading as a source). As a result, I'm sure there are important dimensions to the book that I've missed. If someone has a different perspective taking some of these things into account, I'd love to know about it.

Also, keep in mind, there is a great deal of descriptive writing in this book. There are a lot of pages about the geography of Scotland, and about Prentice as a kid, and about Prentice's father and uncles hanging out together in their youth, and about various family incidents, and about Prentice spending time with his brothers and friends. At first, these passages seem to just make things more confusing, and in my head, I accused them of being "filler." But they definitely serve a purpose. They're a way of showing and not telling the characters' attitudes and relationships to each other. More importantly, because we get to actually live these experiences with the characters, they are what give all the plot points below their deeper emotional impacts. In other words, the everyday experiences give the plot its deeper meaning. They resonate with one of the core themes in the novel: that our experiences in life, rather than any supposed existence after death, are what matters.

The Crow Road's story is like this:

Prentice is rather directionless in life, and he seems to have trouble investing any energy in his own future as he moons over his unrequited feelings for an idealized young woman named Verity. Soon, Verity ends up in a romance with Prentice's brother, Lewis, and Prentice feels that Lewis "stole" her from him. Prentice has also become estranged from his father, Kenneth, over spirituality. Prentice believes there has to be something more after death because he feels it would be incredibly unfair if people didn't get anything other than this one life; Kenneth is not only a passionate atheist, but is offended by the notion of an afterlife.

Prentice's uncle Hamish, Kenneth's brother, has always been religious, although his religion involves a number of bizarre and offbeat ideas of his own, with inspiration from more traditional Christian notions. Prentice is not really sure about this ideology, but he's willing to talk to Hamish about it and even participates during Hamish's prayers, whereas Kenneth is openly scornful of Hamish's beliefs. Hamish interprets this as Prentice being on "his side."

Prentice has a few opportunities to go back and talk to his father, and is begged to do so by his mom, Mary, with whom his relationship is still good. Mary doesn't want either of the men to give up their inner ideas about the universe; she just wants them to agree to disagree and move on as a family. Prentice says he will visit, but he just keeps putting it off and off and off.

Prentice acquires a folder containing some of his missing uncle Rory's notes in the process of hooking up with Rory's former girlfriend, Janice Rae, who seems to have taken a shine to Prentice because he reminds her of Rory. Using the contents of the folder, Prentice wants to piece together the great literary work that Rory left unfinished, which Rory titled Crow Road; however, it becomes apparent that Rory didn't turn his concepts into anything substantial and only had a bunch of disconnected notes and ideas. He hadn't even decided whether Crow Road would be a novel, a play, or something else. The few bits of Rory's poetry for Crow Road read are bleak and depressing.

Prentice also spends a lot of time with a young woman named Ash. They've been good friends since childhood and seem to have a somewhat flirtatious dynamic now, but they aren't in a romantic relationship; mostly, they drink and hang out together. Ash tells Prentice bluntly to get his life back on track when she finds out he's failing at school, avoiding his family, and engaging in shoplifting. She is a voice of reason, and when Prentice insists to her that he's just a failure, she reminds him that actually, he's just a kid.

Prentice's efforts to figure out Rory's story or location stagnate, and he continues to fail at school and avoid his father. He then receives word that Kenneth was killed while debating faith with Hamish. In fact, Kenneth dies after a fall from a church lightning rod, which he was climbing in an act of defiance against Hamish's philosophy when it was struck by lightning; Hamish is convinced that Kenneth had incurred God's wrath. Ash is there for support when Prentice finds out about the death.

With Ash's help, Prentice returns to his hometown again to help manage Kenneth's affairs. Prentice speaks with a very shaken Hamish, who is handling Kenneth's death with extreme drama and making it all about his own feelings. Hamish tells Prentice that Kenneth was jealous that Prentice shared more in common with Hamish's faith than with Kenneth's lack of faith. However, this isn't really true, and as he contemplates his father's death, Prentice begins to internalize one of the last things Hamish reported that Kenneth had argued: "All the gods are false. Faith itself is idolatry."

As the chapters go on, Prentice is compelled by some of the meaningful items related to Rory that he discovers in his father's belongings. He gains a renewed sense of purpose trying to solve the mystery of where Rory went and what happened to him. Among the interesting items are an ancient computer disk of Rory's that Prentice can't access with any equipment he can find; Ash uses her connections in the US and Canada to find a computer expert who can finally open the files on it. This takes quite a while, since the disk has to be mailed and Ash's connection is investigating the disk only in his free time.

Prentice also discovers that his feelings for Verity have changed. He no longer feels angry with Lewis for "stealing her." At first, Prentice's narration describes this as his feelings "cooling" as a result of the trauma of losing his father, but interestingly, this soon means Prentice gets to know Verity as a sister-in-law without getting caught up in jealous romantic feelings. Verity gets along well with the family, and Prentice is actually happy to discover that she and Lewis have a baby on the way. Prentice's relationship with Lewis improves greatly as well, partly because he is no longer jealous and partly because he realizes he does not want to lose Lewis, too.

Ash's connection who was looking at Rory's computer disk comes through and sends the printed contents of the files to Prentice. The files reveal to him that Rory likely knew Prentice's uncle, Fergus, murdered his wife by unbuckling her seat belt and crashing their car. Rory had written out a fictional version of events and considered using it in Crow Road. I'm not clear on exactly how certain Rory was about Fergus's crime, or whether Rory would have intentionally reported Ferg, or whether Rory even had enough proof to publicly accuse Ferg of murder, but people would likely have connected the dots in Rory's work and become suspicious of Ferg. For this reason, Prentice believes Ferg murdered Rory as well.

Prentice confronts Ferg. He doesn't get a confession and leaves Ferg's home with no concrete proof of anything; Ferg denies it all. But Prentice is soon physically assaulted in the night, and it seems Ferg was almost certainly the culprit, because he hadn't been home that same night, and he had injuries (probably from being fought off) the next day. A day or two later, Ferg's body is found unconscious in the cockpit of a plane, which crashes into the ocean. It's uncertain whether this was a suicide, but Prentice suspects it was. Rory's body is then soon recovered from the bottom of a waterway near Prentice's home, where Ferg had sunk it years ago.

As the mysteries are solved, Prentice realizes his feelings for Ash are romantic love. However, it's too late, he thinks, because Ash is about to take a job in Canada, where she may or may not stay. Prentice also hesitates to approach her because he's embarrassed about his previous behavior, venting all his angst about Verity and his father. He isn't sure she would even want to be in a relationship with him after that. But the very night before Ash leaves, she kisses Prentice on the cheek, which leads to a deeper kiss. They finally connect, have sex, and confess their mutual feelings. Ash still goes to her job in Canada, but says she'll come back when Prentice is done with his studies that summer.

The relationship's future is somewhat uncertain because something could come up while Ash is in Canada, but Prentice is hopeful. The book ends with Prentice getting ready to graduate with his grades on track as a history scholar, fully renouncing his belief in an afterlife while he acknowledges the inherent importance of our experiences in our lives now, and enjoying his time with Lewis and Verity and his other family members.

What's the point of all these hundreds of pages?

Well, look at all of the above; there's definitely more than one point. But the main point I took away is that we get this one life, with our loved ones in this world here and now, and this is where we make our meanings. There is no other meaning, but that doesn't mean there's no meaning at all. It means the meaning is here.

It's not death that gives life its meaning. It's the things we do while alive that give life its deeper meaning.

The Crow Road is described (on Wikipedia) as a Bildungsroman, a story focusing on the moral and philosophical growth and change of its main character as they transition from childhood to adulthood ("coming-of-age novel" is a similar term that is interchangeable, but more vague and not necessarily focused on morality/philosophy). And, indeed, all of the plots ultimately tie into Prentice's changed philosophy.

After his argument with Kenneth, Prentice feels childish and humiliated, and as a result, he refuses to go back home, which leads to a spiral of shame and depression. Kenneth dies and Prentice realizes it's too late to repair the relationship, which also leads him to realize it's what we do in life that matters, and that therefore, his father's argument was correct after all.

At the end of the novel, Prentice outright describes his new philosophy. However, I can't recall one specific passage where Prentice describes the process of how he changed his mind (if anyone else can remember something I missed, do let me know). There is, however, a moment when his narration indicates that Hamish seems less disturbed by his own part in the incident that led to Kenneth's death and more disturbed by the notion that his beliefs might actually be true: there might actually be an angry, vengeful God. In other words, Hamish's philosophy is selfish at its core.

My interpretation is that when his father died, Prentice realized three things: how utterly self-serving Hamish's devout faith is, how Kenneth's untimely death proves the importance of working things out now rather than in an imaginary afterlife, and how much profound meaning Kenneth had left behind despite having no faith at all. After these realizations, a determined belief in an afterlife no longer makes our lives here more profound like Prentice once thought it did.

Also, it's worth noting that this incident changes Prentice's idea of partnership, too. He loses interest in this distant, idealized woman he's been after. In love as in the rest of life, Prentice lets go of his ideals, and in doing so, he makes room for true meaning, both in a sincere familial, platonic connection with Verity and a sincere intimate, romantic connection with Ash.

But what about the sex scene?!

Yes, indeed, at the tail end of the story, Prentice and Ash have sex and admit they want to be in a relationship together. Prentice's narration describes them sleeping together and having intercourse not just once, but many times, including some slow and relaxed couplings during which they flex the muscles in their private parts to spell out "I.L.Y." and "I.L.Y.T." to each other in Morse code. This is relevant because earlier, they had been surprised and delighted to discover that they both knew Morse code; it isn't a detail that came from nowhere.

I didn't get the impression that this scene was trying to be especially titillating to the reader. It was mostly just a list of stuff the characters did together. I felt the point was that they were still anxious about being emotionally honest, a little desperate to convey their feelings without having to speak them out loud, and awkward in a way that made it obvious that their primary concern was the feelings, not the sexual performance. They cared about each other, but they weren't trying to be impressive or put on a show; contrast this with previous scenes where Prentice would act like a clown in front of Ash to diffuse his own anxiety. I've always thought that being able to have awkward sex and still enjoy it is a good sign.

Okay, so what does this all have to do with Good Omens?

Here's where I have to get especially interpretive. I'm doing my best, but of course, not everyone reading this will have the same perspective on Good Omens, the Final Fifteen especially. I believe similar themes are going to resonate between The Crow Road and Good Omens regardless of our particular interpretations of the characters' behavior and motivations, but I suppose it could hit differently for some people.

The TL;DR: I see similar themes between The Crow Road and Good Omens in:

The importance of mortal life on Earth

Meaning (or purpose) as something that we create as we live, not something that is handed to us by a supreme being

Sincere connection and love/passion (for people, causes, arts, life's work, etc) as a type of meaning/purpose

Relationships as reflections of philosophy

The dual nature of humanity

Life on Earth as the important part of existence is a core theme in Good Omens, and has been since the very beginning. We all already know Adam chose to preserve the world as it already is because he figured this out, and we all already know Aziraphale and Crowley have been shaped for the better by their experiences on Earth. But Good Omens isn't done with this theme by a long shot. I think this is the most important thematic commonality Good Omens will have with The Crow Road. Closely related is the notion that we create our meanings as we live, rather than having them handed to us. Isn't this, in a way, what Aziraphale struggles with in A Companion to Owls? He's been given this meaning, this identity, that doesn't fit him. But does he have anything else to be? Not yet.

Partnerships as a parallel to the characters' philosophical development also resonates as a commonality that The Crow Road may have with Good Omens. Prentice's obsession with Verity goes away when he starts to embrace the importance of life on Earth and makes room for his sincere relationship with Ash. Note their names: "Verity" is truth, an ideal Prentice's father instills in him; "Ashley" means "dweller in the ash tree meadow" in Anglo-Saxon, according to Wikipedia, and "ash" is one of the things people return to after death. Prentice literally trades his high ideals for life on Earth. We see in Aziraphale a similar tug-o'-war between Heaven's distant ideals and Crowley's Earthly pleasures, so I can see a similar process potentially playing out for him.

I don't particularly recall a ton of thematic exploration of free will in The Crow Road. However, there is a glimmer of something there: Prentice feels excessively controlled by Kenneth's desire to pass down his beliefs, and part of the reason Prentice is so resistant to change is simply his frustration with feeling censored and not being taken seriously. As the reader, I do get the feeling that while Prentice is immature, Kenneth made major mistakes in handling their conflict, too. And Kenneth's mistakes come from trying to dictate Prentice's thoughts. There is likely some crossover with Good Omens in the sense that I'm pretty sure both stories are going to take the position that people need to be allowed to make mistakes, and to do things that one perceives as mistakes, without getting written off as "stupid" or "bad" or otherwise "unworthy."

Suffice it to say that the human characters in Good Omens will also certainly play into these themes, but it's hard to write about them when we don't know much about them except that one of them is almost certainly the reincarnation of Jesus. This also makes me suspect perhaps the human cast will be 100% entirely all-new, or mostly new, symbolic of how Aziraphale and Crowley have immersed themselves in the ever-evolving, ever-changing world of life on Earth. Alternatively, if we encounter human characters again from Season 1 or 2, perhaps the ways they've grown and changed will be highlighted. For example, even in real-world time, Adam and Warlock have already, as of the time I'm writing this, gone through at least one entire life stage (from 11 in 2019 to 16 in 2024). They'll be legal adults in a couple of years, and if there's a significant time skip, they could be much older. If characters from Season 1 do reappear and themes from The Crow Road are prominent, I would expect either some key scenes highlighting contrasts and changes from their younger selves or for stagnation and growth to be a central part of their plot.

The more I write, the more I just interpret everything in circles. Hopefully this post has at least given you a decent idea of what The Crow Road is like and how it may relate to Good Omens.

I'll end this post with a quotation that feels relevant:

Telling us straight or through his stories, my father taught us that there was, generally, a fire at the core of things, and that change was the only constant, and that we – like everybody else – were both the most important people in the universe, and utterly without significance, depending, and that individuals mattered before their institutions, and that people were people, much the same everywhere, and when they appeared to do things that were stupid or evil, often you hadn’t been told the whole story, but that sometimes people did behave badly, usually because some idea had taken hold of them and given them an excuse to regard other people as expendable (or bad), and that was part of who we were too, as a species, and it wasn’t always possible to know that you were right and they were wrong, but the important thing was to keep trying to find out, and always to face the truth. Because truth mattered. Iain Banks, The Crow Road

#good omens #the crow road #good omens book club #go3 speculation #s3 speculation #good omens 2 spoilers #go s2 spoilers

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toptophat · 28 days ago

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2.6 thoughts!!!!

Spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished it yet!

It was a freaking blast, a rollercoaster of emotions, I honestly thought that Mr Reca, with how cuckoo he was in the trailer, was gonna be the antagonist, turns out he's a quirky memokeeper (who may still have his motives but for now he was definitely an ally) I guess, much like the galaxy rangers, there is no uniform, because I honestly thought they all would have some resemblance to Black Swan, but I can't wait to see more memokeepers, as well as more galaxy rangers

Speaking of galaxy rangers, ok!! Rappa and Boothill were the real protagonists here!!!! Poor trailblazer became a side character to these two champions and I love it!!! I've already made it clear that I adored Rappa from the moment her drip marketing dropped, I initially found her strange way of referring to everything as ninja stuff hilarious and quirky, I thought "are all galaxy rangers gonna talk funny?" But that was my first impression, now I wanna [forking] cry!!! I was already skeptical of this "Master Kucha" from the way he spoke! I didn't know that he was basically like the only parental figure she had, she's one of Dr Primitive's (Evil Ninja Osaru) test subjects in a hidden lab (Ninja capital) having to undergo harmful tests and torture (Ninja trials) this, coupled with the fact that her only source of free time and entertainment has been a ninja manga, she may have developed some sort of mental/ identity disorder, she's been living in a fabricated reality and no one can help her because they don't see the full picture, even her backstory has been distorted by her own retelling making her some sort of unreliable narrator in her own story. Dr Primitive is truly a despicable monster, torturing people and distorting an innocent girl's mind. There's a bright side to this tragedy though! That innocent girl is now our Rappa, and although her mind has been messed with, she still became a righteous galaxy ranger, kindhearted, unmatched skill, hellbent on hunting down the cruel doctor and she definitely lives up to that title too!!! So I'm rooting for her!!! And the moment we got to fight alongside her at the end after hearing "No Dazzle No Break" was gorgeous (can't wait to finish building her so she can continue to show them the way of the ninja!)

Once I finish reading her character story, I'll make a further analysis

Speaking of which, I'm actually gonna make 2!! One for both of our stars of the show, Rappa and Boothill, two people who had to revisit their past, and come to terms with their present and future, living up to the ways of The Hunt! I already deeply respect these two, the more I get of them, the more I can't help but respect them more!!! And I'm definitely excited to get more of them!! Galaxy rangers are the best!!

Boothill's up first because obviously I've already read his backstory so his POV was like an added 5 course meal!!! But I do wanna talk about his best moments (aside from the obvious highlight that blew me away) Firstly, we got more of Boothill the identity stealer (First Pom Pom now March 7th???) Actual Robinhill moments??? (I'm more of a GunsNRoses person now but it's still really cute) The way he was so relieved that he could "fake swear" again instead of the banana cussing was hilarious, Star Rail don't do this to my man, at least give him the "Ninja slang" treatment, let him swear 😭😭 And Boothill owned the dancefloor in the DJ Robin cutscene!!! We have a rapping ninja and a dancing cowboy, could this get any better!!! And obviously, there's the Lore!!!! Which was actually insane !!! I literally wanted to avoid spoilers in order to experience it blindly and it was worth it!!!! I wanted to [fudging] cry, it was so well done!! Andrew Russell and Kendell Byrd knocked it out of the park with their scenes!!! I freaking love Boothill and Rappa so much 😭😭😭 they're both life my dude!!!

This is just what I needed!!!

#hsr 2.6 #boothill #hsr boothill #boothill honkai star rail #boothill is life my dude #rappa #hsr rappa #rappa honkai star rail #rappa is life my dude #galaxy rangers are life my dude #hsr #honkai star rail #spoilers for 2.6 #hsr spoilers

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thankssteveditko · 11 months ago

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Sony's PlayStation 5 Presents Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (the third game in the series)

I beat the main story and have enjoyed my time with the game overall! I want to talk about spoilers and things that I liked and disliked in the story, so here's a post with some scattered thoughts.

(Hello! I haven't forgotten that this blog exists! Like I said, no update schedule, I will read more of the Lee/Ditko comics whenever I make time for it. I've actually been sitting on a mostly-complete version of this post since I beat the game in October, thinking that I'd finish the rest of the side quests so I could throw in thoughts on those. But... eh, I'll do that whenever the inevitable DLC rolls around. I just wanna get these thoughts posted.)

Spider-Cop No More

First off: they downplayed the cop shit!!! This was the first thing that really struck me about the game, and I'm stunned that they actually listened to criticism on this. I thought we'd just be stuck with it forever.

It'll never be completely gone, of course. Spider-Man is always going to leave criminals webbed up for the police to take to prison, hoping that they'll do their time and come out the other side as Productive Members of Society. That's just a thing I begrudgingly accept as part of the genre that will probably never go away. But Spider-Man is no longer repairing police surveillance networks. You're no longer beating the shit out of random drug dealers. Gangs of escaped convicts still wearing their orange jumpsuits are no longer terrorizing the streets of New York.

Instead, Peter and Miles are played more as firefighters. Sometimes very literally! They work with firefighters, they rescue people from collapsing buildings, they rush injured people to the hospital. In general there's a huge increase in the number of random onlookers present during the big action setpieces, and the Spider-Men frequently have to save them from harm. One of the major side quest lines is even literally about a cult of arsonists, and you'll routinely find burning fuel tanker trucks you have to extinguish with your webs. It's great! Love this for them.

I also generally liked the side missions in this. There's a lot of good stuff with the Spider-Men being neighborhood heroes willing to help out anyone in need, no matter the problem. Some of them can get corny, sure, but that street level stuff has always been the real heart of Spider-Man to me.

Gameplay

The gameplay's as fun as ever. That probably goes without saying. I will not be spending a thousand words explaining that swinging is fun.

In particular, I really liked the changes to the Focus mechanic. I never loved the way Miles' game made you choose between healing and doing your special attacks, but here your four specials have their own cooldowns, and the Focus meter is spent on either healing or finishers. It still offers that risk/reward element, but those vicious cycles where you can't do any real damage because you keep needing to heal aren't nearly as bad as they were before.

Personally I didn't turn off the swing assist or turn on fall damage, because the streamlined swinging never bothered me in these games, but I'm glad the options are there for people who want them.

Kraven

I liked Kraven in this! I liked the way they leaned into his Hunters being this weird death cult, and him wanting to go down in a blaze of glory against a worthy foe, to the point that he's actually disappointed anytime a foe can't kill him. It riffs on things people liked in Kraven's Last Hunt without being the exact same story. I like that Kraven's gang is renting out this manor or whatever and just being a complete terror to the wait staff. I liked the way Kraven hunting Peter's rogues' gallery clashed with Peter's belief in giving his villains second chances. I liked that they were willing to have Kraven kill off a couple of the minor villains from the first game to sell how dangerous he is. (I know some people hated this, but like, come on. We already fought the Sinister Six. They don't need to do that again.) I like the way Kraven pushed Peter to the absolute brink, turning him more and more aggressive with the Black Suit. Good stuff all around, even if the Hunter enemy types did wear out their welcome a little bit by the end.

The Black Suit arc

I think I liked the way Insomniac handled Peter's Black Suit arc overall, but there's a tradeoff here.

They REALLY lean into the body horror tentacle stuff, with Black Suit Peter basically just being a skinny Venom by the end. The sequence where you play as Mary Jane while the symbiote puppets an unconscious Peter's body around and goes on a rampage against the Hunters was REALLY great at selling how scary Peter is becoming, and it made me completely change my tune on the inclusion of the MJ stealth missions in the sequel. Having to beat an out-of-control Peter as Miles immediately after Peter beats Kraven was also really good. This is all cool!

BUT, the thing is... with the symbiote powers being so freaky from the start, it really pushes my suspension of disbelief when Peter and co. take so long to become wary of it. I guess when you've been bitten by a radioactive spider and given superpowers, and when you live in the same universe as the Avengers and the X-Men, your perception of what's "normal" is going to be pretty warped. But they buy the whole "organic exosuit created to treat Harry's illness" story WAY too easily lmao. How do the self-aware slime tentacles help with his illness, exactly?

And I'm not sure how I feel about giving Peter Anti-Venom powers in the last act. It feels like it's primarily a concession so that they can give players that branch of their skill tree back, but honestly, the designer in me thinks it would be really cool (if risky) to just permanently lock players out of Peter's most powerful skills past a certain point. Yeah, it'd definitely piss people off, but it drives home the idea that Peter's given up greater power because it's the right thing to do. It'd put you in his shoes! Instead he just gets the symbiote powers back, but it's fine because the Venom voice in his head is gone and also the slime tendrils that explode out of his body are white now, which means they're good.

I have to say it. I'm sorry. The glistening white goo... they turned Peter into the Amazing Cum-Man. I changed back to the Classic Suit after rolling the credits and forgot I still had the Anti-Venom skills equipped, so I just saw regular old Spider-Man exploding his white goo everywhere. Terrible.

Assuming Peter is just stepping into more of a supporting role to Miles and not fully retiring after the events of this game, I really hope the Anti-Venom stuff is gone. I get that he needed it to counter Venom, but that's not what I want for Peter Parker.

Miles

Miles is good in this, and I really like his arc where he struggles with whether or not he should avenge his dad by killing Martin Li. I like how all that plays out. Unfortunately, they don't quite stick the landing when it comes to making him and Peter feel like equals in terms of narrative focus. His arc is definitely the B-plot to Peter's for the middle chunk of the story, which I guess was kind of inevitable since they decided to do the Black Suit arc. But Miles does at least get a lot of moments to shine, and by the end he's very much taking the lead as the main Spider-Man.

Becoming the main Spider-Man also gets Miles a new, wholly original suit that ended up being super controversial, and honestly... I kinda like it? Or at least I like what it's going for, even if the actual design could still use some work. It's something totally unique for Miles, and I like spandex/streetwear combo suits like what the Spider-Verse movies have popularized. But showing his hair is really pushing the limits of his secret identity. He hangs around Brooklyn Visions WAY too much for his classmates to not recognize his voice and haircut. And I understand why people would be wary about it becoming his "canon" look moving forward. But I think it's got potential.

On the subject of Miles, though, I will say that while I liked Miles' side missions, it feels like he's often saddled with the game's broad, kinda touristy, kinda token attempts at Showcasing The Diversity Of New York, in a way that Peter isn't.

I like that Miles has a deaf graffiti artist girlfriend that he and Ganke sign with, and I like that there's a series of side missions that explore some local jazz history, and I like that there's a mission where Miles helps a gay classmate ask his crush to prom. I like all these things! I like Spider-Man being involved with his community, and that said community includes such a wide variety of people! I like that this game slows down to savor these types of moments instead of just being all action all the time! But when I step back, I notice some patterns.

Hailey doesn't have a big role in the main plot, especially when compared to MJ, but Miles gets a side mission where you briefly play as her with muffled audio to teach you what being deaf is like. There are no major queer characters in the story - unless you count Felicia showing up for exactly one mission to mention she has an unseen, unnamed girlfriend in Paris now - but you get a side mission where Miles helps out a gay couple at his school, who then never come up again. To put it very uncharitably, they can feel like Very Special Episode missions. It's like the devs going: we're going to give Miles a Gay Mission, and an Impaired Hearing Mission, and a Cultural History Mission, so that we can say we touched on these things, but we're gonna make them all optional and keep them far away from the full-blown Superhero Stuff like fighting costumed villains. Those flavors cannot mix. Meanwhile, Peter gets to have a whole elaborate subplot about teaming up with Wraith to track down fucking Cletus Kasady. There's an imbalance here, and I think it's part of the reason why Peter still feels like the "main" Spider-Man for so much of the story.

I think this was all written with admirable intentions, but as others have pointed out, you can kinda tell that this game was mainly written by some white guys based in California. These attempts at depicting various marginalized groups can feel kind of detached in the same way that Insomniac's map of New York doesn't quite line up with the real thing. But I dunno. I'm not really the one to dig deep into some of this stuff as a white woman from Florida. I would be curious to read others' takes on this.

Maybe I'm just being overly cynical about the writers' well-meaning but corny and kinda out of touch liberal politics because of the podcasts.

The podcasters

I wish Jameson was in this more! They psyched us out by giving him a full character model for, like, two scenes. I like him being MJ's boss, but I wish we saw inside the Daily Bugle offices to get more Jameson.

At least his podcasts are better than the ones in the Miles game, though. Him completely trusting in Roxxon was just too much for me. Here he condemns Oscorp for the symbiote shit, and he also gets some moments where he takes the ongoing crises seriously and isn't just ranting about the Spider-Men. He isn't just a conspiracy theorist crackpot here. Shit like his "fuck Spider-Man, we have a justice system for a reason" speech makes him feel more like a human being with a point of view, rather than just a caricature. Definitely an improvement.

Unfortunately, I still find The Danikast grating. I'm sorry, Ashly Burch. It's not your fault. The quirky heckin' wholesome millennial podcaster lady who catches you up on current events and then reminds you to drink 64 ounces of water a day in the same breath is just too much for me. At least she doesn't have any lines as bad as her throwing in a "damn" and then going (direct quote here) "That's right - no censoring! That's how REAL I'm being right now!" like in Miles' game. Instead they give her this, like, almost psychic insight into the main plot to try and make her the angel on Peter's shoulder. The second Peter gets the symbiote she's like "Wow, y'all. Have you seen Spider-Man's new black suit? Something's different about him. He's been giving me such bad vibes lately. #NotMySpiderMan" Also she's supposed to be this, like, underdog independent podcaster who started her show on a whim and has become the voice of the people... but she's got billboards plastered all over the fucking city. Which makes her feel like an industry plant lmao

Again, there's a detachment with the writing. This is, like, some middle aged white liberal game dev guys' idea of what a modern leftist teenager would think is a Cool Activism Podcast. Unfortunately, because Insomniac thinks Danika's a hero, Mary Jane's triumphant ending is that she quits her job at the Bugle to become a podcaster, too, delivering a thinly veiled monologue about the pandemic to kick off her new podcast literally titled "The New Normal." She's going to save the world with podcasting, because that's the highest form of activism, I guess.

Venom

So! Venom! Venom was... okay.

Surprising no one, Harry Osborn is Venom. Harry's okay both as himself and as Venom, but I'm not sure his arc is a smooth one. He starts out as Peter's comically perfect best friend who returns to reminisce about the good ol' days and hand him his dream job on a silver platter, and then later he becomes a little ball of rage over the fact that Peter gets his symbiote and can't/won't give it back. I'm not sure that pivot is handled the most convincingly. You kind of have to write it off as the symbiote messing with their heads, I guess.

When he actually becomes Venom, I'm... mixed on the execution. On the one hand, the cool factor is absolutely there. He's a very cool big monster, and Tony Todd is great in the role. But he also wants to take over the world and make everyone a symbiote, and aside from any lingering resentment towards Peter, that's really all there is to him. It makes for a good video game to have a bunch of symbiote enemies and creepy symbiote nests and symbiote tentacles climbing up the sides of buildings in the last act... but is that really what I want out of Venom? Probably not. But he sure does look cool as a big monster guy to fight, and I was happy he was briefly playable.

Suits

Part of me feels like there's something lacking about the suit selection here, but almost every suit I liked in the previous games is back, and also I'm the type of person to give Peter the Classic Suit the second I unlock it and use that for most of the game. So does it really matter for me?

Peter's selection feels dominated by the various live action movie suits, but I get that those are going to be some of the suits people want to wear the most. I wish he had the Peter B. Parker skin to go with Miles' Spider-Verse alts, though. No idea why it's missing. Really I think I mainly just want more of the Spider-Verse designs.

Also I've complained about how most of the original suits designed for these games make Peter and Miles look like they were bitten by radioactive Alienware products, but I can just, you know. Wear other suits.

Misc thoughts

Everyone's already made this joke, but it's extremely funny that the Avengers didn't help with the symbiote invasion. Took one look at that and decided it wasn't their problem

On the subject of other superheroes, I do wish these games would acknowledge the Fantastic Four more. Peter's close relationship with that team feels woefully underutilized in his various adaptations

I like the trope of a boss fight that's a heightened version of a personal conflict between two people who are close, where throughout the fight the boss is airing out their grievances while the hero tries to get through to them emotionally. That especially works for Spider-Man! But WOW has Insomniac played that card a lot of times by the end of Spider-Man 2 lol

They're teasing the addition of Silk, I guess? I'm gonna be honest, I don't know shit about Silk, but I guess it was inevitable that they'd give us some form of Spider-Woman at some point. Gotta work all those costumes in somehow, and they're not brave enough to let one of the boys cosplay as Spider-Gwen.

They WERE, however, brave enough to let Harry say he loves Peter. I liked that little moment. They presumably meant it platonically, but clearly ol' Yaoi Lowenthal knows what's up

Post-leak addendum

So, obviously, by the time I got around to finishing this post the big Insomniac leak happened. I wish the game industry wasn't so secretive that it took a massive, dangerous data breach just to get our hands on some very basic info that would be public knowledge if Insomniac was a film studio, but here we are.

We now know that Insomniac spent somewhere around $315 million making Spider-Man 2 - triple what the first Spider-Man game cost to make. A quote about this from a leaked presentation has been stuck in my head ever since I first saw it on Twitter. “Is 3x the investment in [Spider-Man 2] evident to anyone who plays the game?”

To be honest, I'm not sure it is.

I liked Spider-Man 2, but I'd probably say that overall I liked it about as much as the first game. It's certainly a somewhat bigger game, with marginally more realistic looking graphics thanks to the power of the PS5. But I think I could do without ray tracing and more realistic hair rendering and whatnot if it meant that these games didn't take like five years and hundreds of millions of dollars to make. I could not give less of a shit if the swinging animations were recycled between games. I'd be fine with them being shorter, too.

I like these games, but as we look at that leaked project lineup and realize that Insomniac is turning into The Marvel Game Studio, I think about how many smaller, more original games that those resources could go towards if they scaled back the Marvel stuff just a bit. How many Ape Escapes or Patapons or Gravity Rushes could get made for the budget of just one of these massive AAA tentpole games of Sony's, which are apparently barely even breaking even? How many could be made for the budget of the "smaller, cheaper" Miles Morales game, which somehow cost $156 million to make despite using an updated version of the same Manhattan map from the first game? Hell, how many smaller games could have been made with the $39 million that went into remastering the first Spider-Man game for PS5 a mere two years after launch? How many people will lose their jobs if any one of Insomniac's upcoming Marvel games underperforms - which, in this case, could mean selling "only" 5 million copies? And would hardcore PlayStation fans even accept those smaller games at this point, now that they've been trained to only appreciate mega-budget Prestige Games with cutting edge graphics and treat everything else with disdain? How much worse will this get as the graphical arms race continues?

I think I just miss Japan Studio. Fuck Sony. Uhh but anyway the Spider-Man game this post was supposed to be about was good, some writing complaints aside. 8/10

#tsd post #other media

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yanderepuck · 4 months ago

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Okay. Theory time. Again @lulu-the-smol-floof and I never shut up about this shit. Spoilers for jp will probably happen below fyi

So lulu and I are always trying to figure out the timeline.

So here is what we are working with

Current time period: 1897(give or take a year)

Leonardo born: 1452

Galileo born: 1564; 'died' 1642

Comte born: ???

Vlad born: ???

What we know with Vlad and Comte is that they knew each other as little kids, meaning they are roughly the same age. And that Comte knew Vlad when his parents were still alive. Judging by his child sprite I want to say Vlad was no older than 8 when his parents died.

I like to think that Comte and Vlad really aren't that old bc it sounds funny. However. I'm reading Comte's route and get to this

Vlad thinks it's possibly been a few millennia. Comte says a few centuries.

Now you're probably wondering what Galileo has to do with this. Well that's bc Vlad stole the door blueprints from him.

So yes. Vlad and Comte could have known each other for centuries, but they haven't been separated for centuries because they only separated after the door.

It's possible that Galileo didn't destroy all the blue prints to the door so Vlad somehow found them, that already puts us at about 1590ish if we say Galileo was in his 30s when he made them.

Then I HIGHLY doubt they were able to make this door super easily. They probably had to hand make parts for it, they couldn't just go to a shop or ask a carpenter/blacksmith to make all these random ass parts. Comte has the VERY FIRST door, which is why it's so faulty. Plus Comte has the mansion built so let's just say a rough 10 years because they are getting this door working, and I feel like that is generous.

We are now at 1600

Now at some point in this time period Comte even meets Leonardo in Italy bc it's implied that Comte meets Leonardo while he's famous among humans. But Leonardo goes MIA after painting The Last Supper which is 1599

Anyway. 1600. They have the door about made. They are still friends and seem to be using it here and there for shits and giggles.

Now Will is the first one brought back in roughly 1840s. Will has been around for a few decades before anyone else. But Vlad and Comte already went their separate ways, and have been for a while.

So at some point between 1600 and 1800 they went their separate ways.

Yes we can call this a few hundred years bc it's almost 1900 and that puts the door at three centuries old. But there's no way you can mistake that for a few thousand

These gays have really only been separated for 2 centuries MAX

HOWEVER. PLOT TWIST. It is implied that Vlad and Comte used the door so much that they are no longer in their original timeline. Yeah this is where it gets confusing with time travel so I'll keep it simple.

Galileo (and Drake) are also not from this time line. Just like the lessers they used the door to go forward in time. In this theory that means that Leonardo is the only one who has organically gone through life. He's never used the door. He's lived every year. Comte and Vlad have skipped some OR have gone back in time and stayed there for so long that they have lived more years than they should

Confusing? Say Comte was born in 1400. But then 1600 comes along, uses the door and goes back in time to 1300. He was still born in 1400(which hasn't happened yet) but he is 200 years old, and if he stays there (doesn't go back to 1600) he will be 300 when he is born.

So Comte COULD tell us the year he was born, but that really means nothing if he spent multiple years in other time lines.

The other confusing thing is that this means he's lived in Paris for like 3 centuries but no one has caught on to him not aging.

Well that was long. I hope that all made sense. Good luck with all that info

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp comte #ikevamp vlad

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cosalphonse · 5 months ago

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i recently was gifted some 03 merch that i haven’t seen online and wanted to share! the two artworks on the left are somewhat transparent, i’m not sure what they’re intended to be but they are super cute! and i’m going to share some photos of the character collection below the cut - this will be a little long and photo-heavy! and disclaimer, i don’t have a scanner nor can i read japanese, so i’m just going to be sharing the pages most visually / conceptually interesting to me

our boy ed gets several pages dedicated to him, no surprise, but i really like this little collage of images with the episode numbers displayed. it also includes the iconic “love is love” thumbs up which is funny to me

al similarly gets a lot of pages dedicated to him, but this one stuck out to me as a cute comedic page - i wonder if the little red and yellow text bubbles under ed and al in the middle of the page are what they say in the scene or something original?

i really loved this collage in winry’s section! it highlights her outfits and, just like ed’s, gives us screenshots with episode numbers behind her

riza’s section has an entire page on her relationship with black hayate, which i just found delightful. i love that they include the crude sketch of him as the little thumbnail for the section lol

interestingly, hughes' section ends with this all-red page focused entirely on his death. this made me wonder, what do the book creators consider spoilers? they don't exactly shy away from the more spoilery characters later on and they pretty much document nina's story in its entirety, yet at the same time we don't get a lot of information about hoenheim, envy, or ANYTHING about the other side of the gate. so what's the cutoff here? the last ten episodes? either way, i just found it interesting

my girl sheska gets two whole pages dedicated to her! that's more than breda, havoc, maria ross, and most of the homunculi. good for her.

while i can't read what this says, i found it interesting that they put dante and lyra's pages together. i don't know if they give away the twist, but either way, they clearly knew what they were doing - even if the excuse is that they put lyra with dante since she studies under her

scar gets two whole pages!! DESERVED!! i love that they include so much of his story, especially his relationship with his brother and lust

speaking of, lust is the only homunculus to get a two page spread! they even gave us some scarlust crumbs....

just wanted to include pictures of the 03-original homunculi, it's interesting that they were put together! and once again, this brings up my questions of "what is considered spoilers"

rose also gets a two page spread!

and possibly most baffling is... CLARA gets a two page spread too? for a character who only shows up in one episode this is mind boggling to me. a lot of the 03 original characters get small highlights - archer, the tringhams, etc - but clara gets the largest spot. maybe her episode was more popular while this was being made, or the creators just really liked her, idk

well, those are all of the points of interest i wanted to highlight! if anyone has any suggestions on what they want me to share - specific characters, index information, or anything else - feel free to send me an ask! i'll put all the information under the tag #03 character collection

#fullmetal alchemist #fma 2003 #fma03 #03 character collection #fma #finn rambles

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neptuniadoesstuff · 3 months ago

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The DoD Cast but my Version | Part 01

(Wanna see Part 2? You can click here)

This is part one of the cast of DoD by my ver/AU designs of them.

From left to right we have: Clay, Tsunami, & Glory.

These designs are based on what I would I have done if I made the designs for the tribes (bcs I think the Canon designs for the tribes just look... kinda boring imo? Plz dont attack me plz, i just wanna be creative + THESE ARE MY VERSIONS! Not redesigns.)

Anyways some changes I made to them:

Clay now has a grey-ish brown tint which can become even greyer if in contact with water or a bright red color if he goes into contact with heat.

Clay now has droopy ears (bcs you don't want mud in yur ears do u?) & strange antennas to feel the air when going into mud. They're meant to Mimic cattails or rice plants but whatever I was lazy as hell.

Tsu now has a orange underbelly due to the fact that water can also be a orangey brown. (Alos bcs it felt weird to just have a sea dragon only be blue & green with out taking in the fact the same is pretty colorful)

Tsu has semi-squidish eyes. Don't ask why I gave her these i just thought it be neat to give her the eyes of a squid which are round. (Also gave her more head fins bcs well.. FISH!)

Didn't change much about Glory other than her coloration which is slightly based on the moring glory. I did however give her some more patterns & whiskers. (Bcs of what a frend told me)

I did infact swap the eye color of both Clay & Glory since well... Idk I just like it when the eye is a different color from the main body itself.

Thats really it for the changes of these designs.

Anyways here's a bonus of a non-glowy Tsu:

(Also lil Spoiler for anyone who has NOT read any of the WoF books which includes the first book)

Yeh.. Nothing changed much other than the glowy stuff being there.

I know that they look kinda Goofy, especially Tsu, but I HAVENT DRAWN DRAGONS IN AWHILE, ONLY HUMANOID CREATURES, SO OF COURSE THEY WOULD BE A BIT GOOFY!

Anyways uh... Imma prob gonna draw Starflight & Sumby (Sunny) now & maybe make a Skywing fella afterwards named Sulfer who deff isn't gonna be the Skywing that was supposed to be in the prophecy but then his egg got smushed so in this AU of mine imma make it so the egg he was in was STOLEN from Hutvr (I can't spell his name help-) & was raised as a thief. (Bcs in the original Hutvr fracking dies also)

Anyways uh CreMbiTs.

Characters belong to Tui T. Sutherland but designed by me.

Art is mine.

Program: IbisPaint

Bub's TOS: Plz don't repost/steal, trace, or recolor my art WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! If you do, I'll take yur femur and pelvis.. SO, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! (The PNS on my profile's bio clearly means "Please No Steal" plz follow that rule.)Also plz only remix this project with a project of the same topic... Unless said otherwise by me.

#neptuniadoesstuff #art #WoF AU?#WoF #wings of fire #au design #dragonets of destiny #Part 01 #Clay (WoF)#Tsunami (WoF)#Glory (WoF)#Not a redesign by my vers for this weird “AU” of mine

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pyrettawychwiggin · 1 month ago

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SFW Alphabet with Nanami Kento (Jujutsu Kaisen) - Gender-Neutral

Summary: this is a SFW alphabet for Nanami Kento from Jujutsu Kaisen.

Paired With: gender-neutral. I've kept the physical descriptors of 'your character' to be relatively ambiguous where I can. I will try to also specify differences between sorcerers and non-sorcerers where it's required.

Rating: GEN/TEEN — SFW - with some vague references to what could be considered mildy suggestive, but very little. I may do a NSFW alphabet for Nanami, but just like the one I did for Crow, that will mainly be posted on my Ko-Fi/Patreon.

Warnings: possible spoiler alert, possible mentions of violence and injury, swearing, some mildly suggestive themes in places.

Note From The Author: I love reading these little SFW (and in some cases, NSFW) alphabets for fictional characters. It's so cool to see how others interpret the characters and how they would handle things. So here's my own rendition for my favourite JJK character (and current fictional obsession) - Nanami Kento ♡

Some of the entries may be long. So be prepared for a lengthy read, y'all. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did making it! Ready for a little overtime? Let's get started!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show their affection?)

Anyone who's met Nanami - be it a passing stranger or a colleague - would tell you that he comes across as cold as ice.

However, those who are close to him know better; he is very distant, yes, but his watchful eyes are always looking out for the people around him. He cares about people far more than he lets on, and he takes the safety of others very seriously.

As for his 'affection' - it's hard-earned. He's not a touchy-feely guy in general, and while he comes to realize he appreciates physical touch with his partner more than he had ever expected, his natural love languages have always been acts of service and gift giving.

For you - his romantic partner, he can and will make the impossible happen if you wish it. You'd get very accustomed to hearing him say the words 'I'll handle it' - and you can trust that he really will, no questions asked.

He loves to feel your touch, of course, but he's especially fond of making sure your needs are met, and whenever he can take some weight off your shoulders, he'll do so without hesitation.

It may be surprising to others to see just how affectionate he can be when it comes to you. He's checking in on you constantly, opening every door, sliding out chairs, draping his jacket over your shoulders; some have even witnessed the rare sight of a smile on his lips as he whispers in your ear. He always maintains some form of physical contact with you when you're out and about; a firm hand on the small of your back, gentle fingers interlaced with yours and tucked into his pocket for warmth, a protective arm curled around your shoulders, or a strong hand on your thigh while you're en route to wherever you're going.

Honestly, if people are surprised to see how affectionate he can be with you in public, they'd be floored by how affectionate he can be when you're in private 👀

B = Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He is the kind of best friend that everyone should have in their life - real ride-or-die type of friend. He's a good listener, he gives great advice, and he's not afraid of calling you out on your bullshit if you're in need of a reality check.

You never have to wonder if he's being real with you because frankly, that's just who he is. He won't mince words to save your feelings. That being said, he's not heartless. If he knows that his usual dose of brutal honesty may be more than you're prepared to hear at the moment, he knows how to choose his time properly.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He was just as surprised as anyone else when he realized he was a closet cuddle-bug. Even with his closest friends, he's not one for hugs and physical displays of affection. Before you two started seeing each other, the most he would manage is a firm handshake - maybe a pat on the back for a student who's done particularly well, but even that's a rare occurrence.

But with you?

Totally different beast. He manages to keep things relatively subtle in public so as to not make you or others uncomfortable, but when you're alone together, he's always pulling you into his chest for a hug, resting his head on your lap, slow dancing with you, etc. He especially loves to rest his chin on your head or shoulder to read along with whatever you're reading.

Hell, when you run your fingers through his hair, it's a surefire way to put him to sleep within minutes.

He realized he was in trouble the first time you two had gone on a work trip together. You were seated side-by-side, and while you two were very close, you weren't romantically involved, yet. The flight was much longer than what you were used to, and you wound up falling asleep, unintentionally resting your head on his shoulder.

His heart doesn't race often, but when he felt the weight of your head pressed on his arm and looked over to see you fast asleep - well, he knew he was hooked. Being careful so as not to wake you, he draped his jacket over your shoulders and ensured your rest was undisturbed until the plane was about to land.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Nanami is a domestic man at heart, and while he could never allow himself to go fully domestic while he's a sorcerer, he would greatly love the domestic life with the right person.

He's neat and tidy by nature, and he's a fantastic cook. He's also open to different dynamics depending on where you find meaning. If you are a homebody, he's happy to be the sole income earner, but if you're a worker bee like himself, he's happy to support your career however he can.

As for kids, again, never while he's a sorcerer - but if not for that, he'd be so down.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

It would be unlikely that Nanami would ever choose to break up with you once you'd started dating, but if he did, it would be characteristicslly business-like. He'd sit you down, calmly explain his reasoning and leave no room for error or misunderstanding. He doesn't enjoy this, but if he has to break up with you, he wants to make it as quick and painless as possible. He's also one to cut ties afterward - if he's ended a relationship, there is no going back, and he has no intention of giving you reason to believe otherwise. After all, if he broke up with you, you can bet there was a damn good reason.

If you'd been married and for whatever reason got divorced, it would not have been Nanami's choice. If he marries, he's marrying with the intention of forever. As a divorced man, he has a hard time being around you. He tries to maintain a 'normal' exterior, but the moment you give him a sliver of hope to try to win you back, he's all in. He may not be married to you anymore by law, but in his heart? Always.

F = Fiancé (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Nanami is a monogamy-or-nothing kind of guy. If he's with you, he's with you, and that's all there is to it.

Even when you first started dating, anyone who saw the way you two were with each other would have sworn that you were a long-married couple. Commitment looks good on you two.

When it came to marriage, Nanami was very conflicted. He was already going against his better judgememt when he started a relationship with you despite the fact that he was still a sorcerer ('This might be the most selfish thing I've ever done'). Getting married, though? He'd basically be signing a paper saying 'why yes; I'd love to make you a widow.'

But by the Gods, does he ever want to. He knew he wanted to marry you within the first year of your relationship. He'd decided that the day he asked for your hand in marriage would be the day he'd resign as a sorcerer. He carried a ring in his pocket for nearly three years before he finally asked you.

He'd ask you on your anniversary. You'd be at a lovely villa by the seaside on a couple's vacation, enjoying drinks by sunset. He'd then surprise you with ownership papers for the villa signed by himself on one line; on the other, he'd written your first name with his last name. You'd look at him wide-eyed as he'd get down on one knee beside you.

'I've spent my whole life chasing after some sense of meaning. I couldn't find it as a salary man, and I couldn't find it as a sorcerer. Then there was you. I found meaning in you. I found meaning in us. Now, it doesn't matter to me what I do for a paycheque - as long as I can enjoy a long life with you, I'll have no regrets. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?'

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Physically, Nanami is very mindful about how he treats you. He's very aware of his strength, and fortunately for you, he has meticulous control of that power. He tends to err on the side of gentle touches for the most part. Brushing his fingers over your cheek, parting a strand of your hair away from your face, lacing his fingers delicately between yours; even when things are getting a bit spicier, he's very adamant that you tell him verbally if you want 'more.'

Emotionally, gentleness is something that Nanami needed to work on a little bit; and even now, he'd incredibly blunt. He's always on your side, but in a way that means he will still call you out on your bullshit. The two of you have needed to establish a 'are you looking for support or solutions' disclaimer before certain conversations because simply agreeing with someone and telling them what they want to hear doesn't really come naturally to him.

That being said, even if he calls you out, he's never mean, callous or unfair. He maintains a certain matter-of-fact level of tact.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it and what is it like?)

Before you started dating, Nanami was not a hugger. Even for his closest, longest-standing and most-trusted friends, he really doesn't do hugs.

With you, on the other hand, he's become much more open to that physical affection. He's a bit more subtle in public, but when you snuggle into his chest, he can't help but wrap his arms around you and chuckle.

At first, his hugs were admittedly a little awkward. He wasn't used to showing (or being shown) that kind of affection, really - so it would take him a few seconds to decide what to do with his hands as he awkwardly tried to make sure he wasn't touching you somewhere that would make you uncomfortable. You also noticed he'd almost stop breathing as if he was concerned the rise and fall of his chest would disturb the moment.

Over time though, he became so used to them that his day didn't feel complete without holding you at least once. His hugs are now warm and all-encompassing, and nothing makes you feel safer than being wrapped up in his arms. He especially likes to rest his chin on the top of your head while you bury your face into his chest.

I = "I Love You" (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Nanami is a repressed hopeless romantic at heart; even he didn't realize how quickly he could fall for someone until you two started exploring your relationship together.

He knew he loved you within the first couple of months of your relationship, but even he felt that voicing that so early would be too soon. For the most part, he likes to take the lead on romantic gestures, but this is the one time he wanted to wait until you'd said it first.

When you finally told him you loved him, he was taken aback at how much he needed to hear those words from you. All he do in the moment was holding your face in his hands and say 'I've loved you for longer than I think you realize.'

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they get jealous?)

He's not a particularly jealous man - mainly because he has the utmost trust in you not to give him a reason to be envious.

On rare occasions, someone else (usually Gojo) will try to make him jealous by pretending to flirt with you, but he mostly just finds it amusing to watch his partner expertly shut that shit down.

Any 'jealousy' he harbours usually presents itself as pride; making sure it's very clear that you're with him when you're out. If someone seems to be eyeing you a little too much, he takes the opportunity to pull you closer to him and plant a sweet (sometimes spicy) kiss behind your ear while maintaining direct eye contact with whoever he's sending that message to. You didn't even realize he was doing it at first. One day, when you noticed this, you teasingly said 'Nanami, darling - are you...jealous?' He chuckles and says 'I'm just making sure they're very aware of who's taking you home this evening.'

If you have a different partner before the two of you start seeing each other, this is when he feels that envy really creep up on him. He can't deny that it's there, but he makes a point of ensuring it doesn't become a problem, mostly keeping it to himself save for feeling a little grumpy throughout the day after seeing you two being sweet together. He would never act on that jealousy, though.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Nanami is a shockingly good kisser, and he loves kissing you whenever he can, and his kisses have range.

He loves to take his time with them, slowly raising his hand to cup your jaw to pull you closer while his other hand snakes around your waist to pull you in close, pressing his lips to yours and just sinking into the moment with you.

He loves heavy, passionate kisses after having been apart from you for too long, pressing his body against yours with carnal need, grabbing a fistful of hair in his hand and reveling in the feeling of your tongue on his.

Slow, soft trails of kisses across your neck and shoulders when he's standing behind you, his hands resting on your hips.

He's putty in your hands when you gently catch his tongue or bottom lip between your teeth - it never fails to get a low groan out of him.

He specifically loves when you trail kisses along his chest and back.

L = Little Ones (How are they around children?)

Children are initially intimidated by Nanami, thinking he looks mean or scary - but he's actually very nurturing by nature, and protective of children in general.

The patience he tends to lack when it comes to other adults, especially the incompetent ones, is seemingly reserved for kids, because he is incredibly patient with them.

While he's very open to the possibility of having kids someday, he is very adamant that this could only happen if he retired as a Jujutsu sorcerer - he refuses to bring a child into the world and all but condemn them to see their father meet an untimely (and likely violent) demise. If you were to get unexpectedly pregnant with his child however, he would resign as a sorcerer without a second thought.

He would be a fantastic father. He'd look out for and support his kids through everything and anything, he'd offer advice and guidance, he'd encourage them to be the best they could be, and he'd be willing and able to administer stern verbal discipline if needed. His approach on raising his children is simply 'communication is everything.' He ensures early on that his little ones see the value in talking to the both of you, no matter how difficult the conversation may be, and finding solutions together as a family.

If he had a son, he'd take it upon himself as his own personal responsibility to raise him to be a proper gentleman. If he had a daughter, he'd be the sweetest girl-dad you've ever seen (he'd be the type of girl-dad who would go out of his way to learn how to do her hair, and to read up on memstrual cycles, etc). If his child turned out to be non-binary, he would be supportive and protective of their well-being. Home would always be a safe space to freely express and find themselves.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He's a busy man - and you can be a busy couple - so most mornings don't allow for much dawdling. You both have a routine, though. The alarm goes off and he lets out a deep breath before turning it off, rolling back over to nuzzle his forehead against yours ('It's morning, love.')

All too soon, he's out of bed not long before you - you both get started on your usual morning getting-ready routines; whoever's ready first gets a pot of coffee brewing and gets started on breakfast (sometimes it's you, sometimes it's him). If you have to go you separate ways for work, he never leaves without a kiss and an 'I love you.'

If you work together or if he's able to drive you to youe work first, he always enjoys his morning drive with you.

On the rare occasion that the two of you get to enjoy a lazy morning, the routine is similar, but much slower. He lingers in bed with you for a while. If he's awake before you, he'll snuggle with you and watch you sleep for a few minutes before planting a soft kiss on your forehead and sliding out of bed to get breakfast going.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with him are quiet and comfortable. He has an evening routine that quickly became your evening routine as well (hence the his-and-theirs sinks he had installed in his bathroom right before you'd started living together; he loves getting ready for the day with you, and he loves getting ready for bed with you). When the two of you settle into bed, you've grown accustomed to the sight of him sitting up against the headboard with his reading glasses, taking in a chapter of whatever he's reading; sometimes you'll even read together. If you haven't both accidentally fallen asleep already, he sinks under the blankets with you and pulls you in close to him by your waist, planting a soft kiss on your neck or your forehead before falling asleep. You never need to worry about being cold, either - the man is a furnace.

Some nights can be a little lonely, though - if he has to work late (which he makes a point of trying not to do now that he has you to come home to). He'll come home late to see you curled up on the couch, fast asleep after trying to wait up for him. With a frown, he lifts you carefully into his arms and carries you off to bed to tuck you in with a soft kiss on the forehead and a whisper ('I'll join you in a moment, love.') He wishes you'd stop waiting up for him like that; but he's touched that you do.

O = Open (When will they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or do they reveal little things slowly?)

The man is an enigma. On one hand, even as best friends, he seemed to be rather sparing with personal details about himself.

Once you start seeing each other though, this changes fast. Your first few dates were chalk full on conversation; learning about each other, talking about what you like, what you don't; your life goals, your fears - everything.

Once you two become an item, he isn't one to withold anything from you - if you want to know something about him, he's an open book to you and you alone. The way he sees it, he wouldn't be in a relationship with someone that he didn't trust completely - he knows you would never use this information against him in any way.

P = Patience (How easily are they angered?)

Nanami has self-discipline; but he's not a particularly patient man. He can be irritable sometimes, and some people just get under his skin more than others (*cough* Gojo *cough*).

He prefers to find the quickest and most efficient way to handle things, and can get frustrated when others don't do the same.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every detail or forget the minor things?)

His mind is a steel trap. He remembers every detail to an eerie degree. He doesn't just know your favourite colour - he knows the damn hex code. He's memorized your favourite poem off by heart. He knows your mother's birthday, your ring size, your insecurities, your passions, and all the places you love to be kissed the most.

R = Remember (What is their favourite moment of your relationship?)

One of his favourite memories is the first morning you two spent together. You'd been in a relationship for about half a year when you stayed over at his place for the first time.

Unsurprisingly, he was awake before you were, but he vividly remembers opening his eyes to see your sleeping face beside him, the rays of the morning sun scattering around the room and painting you in a golden light that took his breath away. You were breathtaking; and he remembers thinking to himself:

'This is what I want to wake up to every morning for the rest of my life.'

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

This man is fiercely protective of you. Fortunately, you never need to worry about anything while you're out and about with him - that comes with the scary dog privilege - but if anyone, and I mean anyone, were to so much as threaten a hair on your head, he'd be between you and that threat so fast your head would spin.

He's always got his eye out for you - 24/7.

Nanami himself is rarely (if ever) in need of protection, but he'd be lying if he said seeing how fiercely protective you are of him in return didn't give him butterflies.

T = Try (How much effort do they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He makes it look effortless, but Nanami is one of the most thoughtful and considerate partners you could get. He plans dates and events down to the last detail and he always has a backup plan if things go sideways.

He never - n e v e r - forgets your birthday or your anniversary.

He also loves getting you gifts; even if there's no reason or occasion. He's always bringing you little treats he knows you like, and if he comes across something he knows you'd like, it's as good as yours. He loves to spoil you rotten whenever he can.

His thoughtfulness extends to the way he treats you at home, too. He's always happy to offer a massage, to run you a warm bath, to throw together your favourite meal, you name it.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

This should come as a surprise to no one, but the man is a notorious workaholic. If there were one thing between you two that would lead to a possible breakup/divorce, this would be the reason.

To his credit, this is a conversation he had with you very early in the relationship. You knew from the get-go, that it can sometimes be difficult to find time to spend together. For him, it's a balancing act that sometimes has him spreading himself far too thin, and can sometimes lead to him being irritable and grumpy, or just far too tired to do much of anything.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Nanami's no slouch - he puts a fair amount of effort into his appearance and keeps himself well-kept. He actually rather enjoys fashion in general - this makes him a useful and fun partner to have around when you're shopping or putting an outfit together - he actually enjoys the whole process. He especially likes to coordinate his ourfit with yours when he can.

In his line of work, though, things can get a bit messy - he won't lose sleep over a hair being out of place or getting dirt or blood on his clothes.

He does prefer to shower after most shifts, though. He doesn't mind the sweat and grime of the day, but he prefers not to soak in it if it can be avoided.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Nanami is a pretty independent guy; he's been on his own in his personal life for a very long time, so he's used to managing on his own. Even after the two of you start seeing each other, he's not one to be rendered useless without you, but as he puts it:

'I can't think of a single situation that wouldn't be made better with your presence.'

That is to say he doesn't need a partner - he specifically wants you as his partner. To him, this is infinitely more important than blind dependence.

If he were ever to truly lose you, however - be it to a breakup or if you were to tragically pass away, he would be an absolute wreck. The poor guy would either spend his time fighting to win you back, or work himself into an early grave in an attempt to distract himself from the loss.

X = X-tra (A random head-canon for them)

He has a rigid dental hygiene regimine, and he is incapable of ending or starting his day properly without brushing and flossing.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?)

He is initially uninterested in having a romantic relationship with another sorcerer; but the heart wants what it wants, and what it wants is you - sorcerer or no.

He has a number of pet peeves though, too. This includes (but is not limited to:

- being rude to waiters/store clerks

- eating in bed (he'll tolerate it on occasion as long as you're not leaving crumbs or anything, but he'd reeeeeeeally rather you just didn't)

- being consistently late to things

- poor dental hygiene (he doesn't care if your teeth aren't straight or 'perfect' - but he will nag you to brush and floss if you don't already)

Z = Zzz (What are some sleeping habits of theirs?)

Nanami is an early bird, originally out of necessity, but now it's simply habit to wake up with the sun. On the rare occasion that he gets to sleep in, however, he will take the opportunity to snuggle with you in bed for a while.

Wach night, he specifically likes to throw on some reading glasses and read a chapter or two of a book - he likes it even more if it's a book the two of you are reading together. Having you curl up against his chest under the covers are you read together sometimes ends with one or both of you dozing off partway through a paragraph.

He's a very light sleeper, and while you'll occasionally hear a low mumble or two from him in his sleep, he's silent otherwise. He prefers to sleep on his side, especially if he can keep an arm draped over your waist throughout the night.

He usually wakes up feeling as though he got no rest at all because he often dreams about work, feeling as though he just worked an entire shift in his sleep.

He gets the cutest bedhead most mornings as well ♡

(Artwork by ChaChaChia0)

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading. You take it from here - see you next time ♡

~ Pyretta Wychwiggin

#py #pyretta #wychwiggin #nanami #nanami kento #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #fan fiction #fanfiction #sfw #alphabet #purple strudel house #psh #gender neutral #headcanon #Spotify

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taniahylian · 8 days ago

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Kimberly

Alright, first of all I want to apologize to all the characters in the Golden City event because I got absolutely obsessed with a character that literally appears for 5 minutes just to be the final boss 😂💔. But I think there's so much lore in those 5 minutes, so I wanted to share my analysis with you.

Now, to be fair I know a little bit of what's to come on future patches, so I might be slightly biased (I absolutely adore this hellish creature), but I'll limit what I say to the current patch. That said, spoilers for 2.0 ahead! Read at your own discretion.

First off, let's talk about the way she's introduced. A very unique way indeed; Eternity, being contracted by Apostole Mathew to get him out of the Elysium safetly, but not wanting to escort him herself, gives him a simple old wind-up robot toy (probably from the 1800's, when they were cheaply produced in mass quantities for the first time).

She also says that it's from the Saint Pavlov Foundation, and that an employee stole it and sold it to her for some cash. Not only that, but it's not the only artifact that was stolen and sold to Eternity during the chaos after the storm; this toy is part of something they call "lost assets" that they're urgently trying to get back.

However, Bernard calls this toy the "most important one" of these assets, so... why? What does it do, exactly?

Well, you just need to wind it and...

It's just like the tale of the genie of the lamp, isn't it? Wind the toy and a beautiful girl obligated to fulfill all your wishes appears. We also know her name is Kimberly, since it was inscribed on the toy.

But here's the thing... Kimberly, this girl, is literally forced to do anything her master wants. ANYTHING. Let that sink in. She's literally a slave. Why do I say that? Well, she says it herself; she'll obey any command.

Her voice isn't exactly thrilled when she's summoned, nor is her expression; the game even points out that she looks frail and weary. It sounds like she's only ever summoned to do very bad things; to the point that when the Manus Believer asks her to kill J and his friends, she says "Is that all?" And seems happy that it's a relatively simple request.

Still, she doesn't exactly take pleasure in the task; it's more of an automatic response for her. Sure, she also has some blood thirst in her, threatening to rip out their spines and all, but she also says that she's a skilled hunter and prefers to kill her prey fast. And honestly, even if she has developed a thirst for blood and questinable morals... can you blame her? We don't know for how many years she's been enslaved and forced to perform henious acts for her masters; this kind of life would change anyone.

But why was she enslaved, exactly? Well, we know she's a very powerful being, first of all, because she easily breaks J's new knife, which was made with a mystical magic metal that had to be found with a literal ancient map.

So, from this we can already infer that she's no ordinary arcanist... and then comes the big reveal.

Now, I don't know what creature this is, exactly, but from the goat face and horns and all... it looks like a sexy demon. My speculation is that she's a new type of "Beyond", which we know are arcane creatures that possess human-like intelligence and attributes, but usually have tremendous power; Voyager, Jessica and Valentina are examples, but Jiu is a half-blood of this kind too. In real life mythology I'd say Kimberly looks kinda like a succubus? But we need more information to conclude that imo. She could also just be a very weird genie lol.

Regardless of what she is, I think we can safely conclude that her story, being a slave for who knows how many years, and then being trapped in the wind-up toy in the foundation for a lot of time, is very tragic, especially since we're shown that the only thing she wants is freedom.

She was given to a Manus Believer; he's her master, but he's a mindless monster that doesn't know what he wants, so she's free... for now. If either the Foundation or Manus Vindictae find her, however, I don't think it'd go well for her... although actually it might be better if the Manus found her, since the Foundation would just put her back inside the toy and store it away forever.

Now, judging by what Eternity said, I believe she might think that she did Kimberly a favor by selling her to the Manus.

However, I wholeheartedly disagree and I'm personally holding Eternity responsible for whatever happens to Kimberly after this patch. She had a slave in her possession, and she could've probably freed her somehow (like ordering her to be free or something idk), but instead she chose to sell her for profit (like a true Ameri- I mean, capitalist) to one of the leaders of a terrorist organization. Do you understand how fucked up that is? The Manus have no morals, and giving them absolute control over anyone is bad enough, but this one is a supernatural being on top.

Also, we know Kimberly didn't want to be sold. She didn't want to be used. Sure, she liked getting some fresh air for a change, but she would've prefered to stay in Eternity's bag. How do I know? Simple.

This fucking broke my heart. I feel so bad for this poor creature, and I just hope she finds true freedom someday :c

Sorry for this extremely long analysis of an npc lol, but I'm absolutely obsessed with her lore and I can't wait to learn more about her. I hope I at least aided you to view her in a more sympathetic light.

#reverse 1999 #r1999 #analysis #theory #kimberly #eternity #J #anjo nala #floor it to the golden city

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seb-reads31 · 8 months ago

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I absolutely loved the shy reader post, it's exactly what I was hoping for. Also implied fem! for Vaggie is perfectly fine and makes sense, Nifty was a good touch but it's so true I'm not mad😅 and g/n for the rest is a win for everyone, who wouldn't want them to experience these women confessing their feelings. I'd love to see part two with the women of heaven. Sadly no Carmilla pet names yet but I'll let you know if I think of any.

Cautions - SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED ALL OF SEASON ONE, if you are fine with spoilers or already know what's happening feel free to continue <33 ngl Sera was a bit tricky but we're cooking 🍳, cursing (duh), possibly ooc Lute, let me know if there are any others!

Genre - Fluff

Type - head canons

Comments - Hey hey! I'm so glad you loved them 🥹 From what I've seen online (I'm not active on Vivian's Twitter so I'm really just taking the word of others) that Vaggie is canonically lesbian and that Nifty is canonically straight, so that's why I did the respective genders. If I'm wrong, absolutely anyone correct me and show me what Viv has said otherwise 😭 But anyways, here are the heavenly women!~ (also, Lute might be a little ooc, I think it's okay though. Please give me some tips for characters with her personality 🙏🙏)

Sweet, shy thing~ Pt 2

Here's part one!

Emily

- You and Emily have been friends since you both came into existence

- Basically attached at the hip!

- Several times other angels had assumed you two were a couple, but Emily always corrected them that you were just friends. (You were always too flushed and shy to say anything)

- However, one day, when Emily was about to correct another angel, she hesitated

- She doesn't know why, but this time, she didn't want to correct them

- She thought about it long and hard that night, laying awake in her bed, wondering why she hesitated on telling the angel that you two were.. she can't even say it??

- That morning, she ever so groggily walked up to Sera, and asked her what was happening to her

- Sera chuckled, then explained that Emily might have a crush on you

- Neither you or Emily had ever been in a relationship before, you never really needed to. You always had each other, and that's all you both wanted

- Atleast.. that was all she wanted. Now she wants to be.. more to you than just your bestest friend

- She wants your little hangouts together to be romantic sometimes, for you two to hold hands

- The realization of her feelings for you has definitely brought out such cute and sappy thoughts Emily never thought would cross her mind

- She tells you around 4 months before the meeting with Charlie in heaven

- She had finally concocted the perfect plan to confess

- She brought you to a meadow outside of the more city parts of heaven. It was your little hiding space away from prying eyes (mostly.)

- When you arrived, she already had made a flower crown

- But the flowers she used weren't merely chosen at random, no no no. These flowers meant something, and that something was her feelings.

- You and her had studied the language of flowers together, just a passing hobby, and because it was so much fun!

- She used daisies, which means true love and new beginnings. Sun flowers, meaning adoration and loyalty, peace, love, and happiness. Some baby's breath, while used in bouquets for baby showers can also mean everlasting love and innocence. And finally, a daffodil, which means devotion.

- With all of these meanings in mind, you stared at the flower crown, practically screaming her feelings for you as she blushed, her hands shaking slightly as she looks away, silently waiting for your answer

- She doesn't look back up to you until you gently grab her shaking hands, steadying them

- Once they begin shaking less, you grab the crown, and place it on top of your head, a blush spreading across your face as your hands reach back down to hers, giving them a soft, reassuring squeeze

- No words were spoken, but that's all she needed. You returned her feelings, and you wanted to be with her, as her partner.

Seraphim

- She's a very reserved angel.

- She has to be, she ranks very highly in heaven. (Whether she earned her position or was created for it I have no idea but lets just say she had to work for it for my sake.) She worked too hard to get this position, any slips would ruin everything she's done.

- However, lately, she's been a bit more sleepy eyed, and yawning far too much. Michael, (I legit know nothing about the ranks in heaven, correct me 😭) her boss, has noticed and decided to assign her an assistant. That being you! Good job 👍

- As much as she appreciates Michael looking out for her, an angel of her ranking shouldn't need to depend on someone else, and while she does try to argue this with him, he isn't budging.

- She's a bit.. how do I say this, cold and bitchy to you? To begin with atleast

- She doesn't appreciate that she's being forced to have an assistant.

- So, she gives you harder tasks than you can probably handle. And she doesn't really bother to get to know you. Just that you're doing the work she assigned to you and returning it to her when she expects it

- After a while, she starts to warm up to you. And how long is that "while" you may be asking? Around.. 200-300 years....

- Y e a h, she doesn't warm up to you that quickly. But after those years, you can notice her warming up to you, and finally showing some decency of asking about your day

- Which starts your little conversations here and there. Mostly just talking about your days, funny stories, or talking about the work you both do, and some hobbies here and there

- You two grow closer, eventually starting to socialize outside of work, and you finally get to see Sera relax, no longer tense and stressed, but instead a less tense and much happier version of your boss

- The moment she realizes she fell for you was when one day she was looking forwards to seeing you at work.. but you didn't show up

- She was.. sad? She didn't fully understand why until she was reading later that day, a romance novel. It was one about lovers separated due to extreme weather, unable to see each other. The book described the longing both felt, and how sad they were being unable to contact each other.

- She immediately recognized those feelings as the ones she felt when you weren't at work.

- You returned to work a few days later, on top of your desk was a large bouquet of flowers, generally meaning good health and happiness as well as sprinkles of friendship here and there, as well as a note

- "My dear assistant, I thank you for taking care of me and assisting me with my paper work all these years. I have no words to thank you for everything you've done, despite how I treated you when you first began. In order to thank you, and try to apologize for my harshness, I wish to take you out to dinner. My treat, of course. Sincerely, Seraphim."

- And then you two loved happily ever after, the end <333

Lute

- She uh

- She doesn't like you

- I'm being so real

- Kinda like Nifty, she needs someone tough enough to match her or atleast get close

- ...is what she used to think

- HA I GOT YOUR ASSES-

- But because she's the way she is she doesn't like you at first

- Let's say you're a medic for the exterminators cause they get injured sometimes (just go with it)

- On occasion Lute would have to visit you because she got too carried away during the extermination or while training (do they train?? 😭)

- She didn't like going to you but she followed the rules as much as she could. This being one of them

- After so many visits to your office for various injuries she grew fond of you, her thoughts occasionally drifting to you, causing more injuries so she would have to see you again

- After several years of going in this cycle, she finally decided to ask if you two could hangout outside of your clinic

- You agreed, of course. And from then on you two became closer

- Now, to how Lute asks you out.. it's very blunt and straight forward

- It almost sounds like a demand

- "I like you, I want to go on a date with you at [this time] and at [this place]." With a bright red blush on her face 🤭

- Now, she immediately walked away after she said that because she was so embarrassed. So she didn't know if you actually accepted the date or not

- Lute only realized this after she got to the place she asked/told you to meet her at.

- So she was panicking severely, preparing herself to call Adam as a backup so she didn't look like she was lonely, and to blame it on Adam's careless attitude as to why she was waiting for so long.

- However, just as she was about to call him, you walked in, dressed nicely and a blush covering your face

- Lute.. was ecstatic. You actually came?? Even though you're so??? Shy??

- You both had fun talking over dinner, and after she walked you home, leaving a miss on your cheek before walking back to her place, only looking back once to see a deep blush spread across your face at the peck.

#head canon #reader insert #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel emily #hazbin hotel sera #hasbin hotel lute #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x male reader #hazbin hotel x gn reader #hazbin hotel x fem reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n

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gay-disabled-characters-showdown · 13 days ago

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LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 4, Wave 1, Poll 7

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and round here.

Wei Wuxian-The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi

Qualifications:

Goes through a somewhat unethical organ transplant (in that the person he is giving the organ to doesn't realize that's what's going on) where he gives up his "golden core." This is like his center of power and by giving it up, not only is he not able to do most of the more "magic" things he could do before, but he's also noticeably physically weaker and gets injured much more easily (and takes longer to recover) as well as faints more often (iirc he only faints once pre-golden core removal and that was after sustaining major injuries and going on for a significant time without any healing while also fighting and traveling). Like he finds ways around it and invents new methods so that he can still do some things that he did before, just via a very different method. In the show we don't really see any characters who aren't cultivators, or at least part of that world, so Wei Wuxian is like the only character we really get to see without a golden core.

Also gotta say that this boy is severely depressed. Like "I'm-going-to-ask-my-doctor-friend-to-perform-a-mutliple-day-long-surgery-on-myself-in-which-I-will-be-awake-where-she'll-rip-out-the-core-of-my-being-and-transplant-it-into-my-adopted-brother-who-I'll-make-sure-never-finds-out-what-happened-even-though-he'll-come-to-hate-me" depressed. he has no value for his own life other than what he can give to others, even if it's his own body. like I think some fans unfairly classify him as being insane when he's really just depressed as all hell and having the worst possible things happen to him one after another and every time he breaks down it causes more trouble and usually people end up dying because of him.

Mod note: I find it a bit funny that the qualifications are so long and don’t once mention how he qualifies as LGBTQ+

Propaganda:

https://youtu.be/swbXAVADjxY ^ok this clip kinda explains the whole thing better (and obvs spoilers)

https://youtu.be/2wO5nsnkSBk ^and this video is just for fun but it's a little thing about Wei Wuxian & Jiang Cheng because their relationship makes me unwell

Additional Qualifications/Propaganda by @transparent-internet-maker

Kinda surprised ADHD!Wei Wuxian isn't included I thought that was a popular hc. There are several signs: He seems to forget a lot of things, but at the same time he clearly remembers other things that happened a long time ago. He invented a. lot. of things. His mind is almost never where he physically is and he's really smart in that thinks-way-too-much-out-of-the-box-in-a-short-time way. (1/2)

Then there is the fact that he's actually knowledgable, more than most of the others at times, but we see him doing whatever else he wants to instead of studying more often than not. The inventions point and this put together hint at him not being focused and having hyperfixations. And the general view of not studious but still smarter than everyone else just clear adhd I think. NOT trying to hate anyone, I thought I'd just mention this since I've seen a lot of adhd wwx.

Yoite-Nabari no Ou

Qualifications:

Heavily heavily coded relationship with another boy, canonically intersex and can be read as trans. (implied to be cafab) Suffers from flashbacks, emotional dysregulation, depersonalization due to abuse and neglect. Also terminally ill and progressively loses his sight/taste/hearing and has more trouble getting around and staying awake. Super autism coded, for that matter. To me. And many of the fans actually.

Propaganda:

A very sad boy, in a story about very sad boys fighting for self determination and learning the importance of community. He's a shinobi and can kill people by manipulating their lifeforce from the inside, but he also likes sweets and baseball and mathematics and he communicates like a shy, neglected cat. He's also named after someone's cat. Extremely good character written by an aroace and x-gender author

Anything Else?:

He is the bestest boy ever and should win this tournament by a landslide if the series were more well known

#polls #poll #disability #disabled characters #lgbtq #lgbtq characters #id in alt text #lgbtq dcs round 4 #lgbtq dcs r4 wave 1 #wei wuxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #yoite #nabari no ou

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 3 months ago

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now that I've had some time to think about Book Three's cover/description, here are some bullet-point thoughts

The art style has vastly improved from Book One. It feels like Tillie's finally comfortable with style, and the characters here don't have same face syndrome here. Also the color palette here is my favorite of the three covers. From everything that I've read from Tillie, the way she works with color is a strong point of her work... which again, makes me wish the entire comic was in color but nooooo...

It looks like Ricca has her own cane now, which makes sense given a bit point of her character through the series is her worsening vision like... even with her glasses, she's practically blind.

Clementine has a new hat. Y'know... because her iconic hat got left with AJ... y'all still remember AJ, right? The comics don't.

Dr. Barnwell the cat made it onto the cover.... you know I'm in too deep with these damn comics when I see some random person be like "Clementine's getting a new cat" and I say, out loud, "That's Dr. Barnwell, you dingus, he's been around since the end of Book One." AS IF ANYONE ELSE CARES!

I know too much about this series, y'all

In my defense, I'm a little snappy about stuff like that after Book Two came out and people were just making shit up about what happens, going as far as to fake screenshots, and tell people it's "just like fifty shades of grey" when uh NO? it's not? People were deliberately trying to deceive others over certain elements and it still makes me mad whenever I think about it.... ANYWAY

We also see Fen and Olivia featured here, too. Fen's one of the more interesting side characters we've gotten, and I'm glad she survived Book Two, and Olivia.... I notice the way she's drawn with the front of her body hidden. I know that's probably to not show spoilers for Book Two since that reveal's a big deal, but still.

"Clementine finally has it all–a safe place to live, a girlfriend, and even a cat…but nothing lasts forever. And when Clementine suffers a loss unlike anything she’s ever faced, a new mentor called The Gardener offers her a new family, and a new way of living… but at what cost?" This is the description we were given.

First of all, Clementine had it all at Ericson, and it didn't make her happy. In fact, it made her so miserable that she left... I kinda hope this book does something with that by giving her everything she wants [as in, the safe home, a romantic partner, friends, a cat, etc] and she's STILL unhappy...? And it ends with her leaving again? But something tells me it won't.

Clementine's going to suffer a loss "unlike anything she's ever faced"? Ehhhh, press X to doubt. I played the games, I lived through all of her losses. I don't think anything will ever top seeing her parents as walkers and then losing Lee right after.

I mentioned before that the obvious direction here would be for Olivia to lose her baby, or for Olivia to die after giving birth, but uh... Clementine's been through both of those things with Christa and Rebecca... but we have to keep in mind that we're so far removed from the games at this point that it's never going to bring those up, y'know?

Real talk though? I'm very intrigued by the idea of a new mentor character called The Gardener who is apparently offering her a new family and a new way of life... but at a cost. What cost? What new way of life? What new family? Are we joining a cult now?

Listen, we missed out on the opportunity for a cannibalism plot in Book One, and Miss Morro left a lot to be desired in Book Two, so like... go extra dark this time. C'mon, Tillie, do it.

Also, Amos is definitely coming back as a twist villain, I feel it in my bones. We didn't see a body at the end of Book One okay!

I'm mostly joking but also NOT JOKING AT ALL!

My offer still stands, if Amos comes back, the book is an automatic 5/5 stars, no questions asked.

Anyway, I'll keep y'all updated on this, and when it releases next year, I'll write my in-depth review... "I read it so you don't have to" and all that.

Just as a final reminder, and allow me to make it extra big so that everyone can see it:

Leave Tillie Walden alone. I don't care if you hate the comics or think they're an insult to the game or whatever else. You want to express that, then do it on your blog. Don't send it to Tillie. We have enough pricks harassing her as is, and you're the bigger asshole here if you think it's okay to send her shit like that, so don't.

Seriously, it's the last book and then Tillie's done with the series, and I doubt they're gonna sign her on to make more. The games still exist, you can still go play them, these comics aren't taking that away from you... and if you feel like they are, then don't engage with them, period. It's not hard.

I cover the comics in-depth for people who don't want to read them but are curious about what happens. They don't bother me in that "they ruined the games" way that they used to, so I can handle it. If you can't, then do yourself a favor and just don't. Just don't!

#twdg #twdg clementine #clementine book three #long post #i honestly can't wait for it to come out so that the trilogy's done and over with and we can all move on... until skybound is like #'ah yes we heard all of you and we want to give you want you want! here's a new comic series featuring clementine!'#'and she's going to be in one of the tv shows! which one? ehhhh does it matter? and we're making a clementine movie and another game'#'and here's all this clementine merch that we may or may not send you if you buy it but it's fine! preorder now!'#sorry but like... once the comics are done do y'all really think they'll let clem rest...? i have doubts #i hope they leave her alone but you can't get milk without the cow y'know?

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