#I'm not great at being concise with these things XD

[bardic-perdita]

I think I remember you saying that Zeke is a bhaalspawn but not necessarily a durge? What's his whole deal? Does he have the murder urges? Was he ever involved in the Bhaal cult or the absolute plot? How does the bhaalspawn stuff affect his BG3 run?

Oh yeah! I've never really dived into that on here have I? XD

This is very much me playing around with BG3 canon which is why I've been shy about sharing it. I apologise in advance to anybody that knows the lore of Baldur's Gate better than I do.

Story time under the cut (it's rather long):

In short, Zeke was born as a half-elf bhaalspawn during the previous Bhaalspawn crisis. Shrike is the 'Dark Urge' as we know them in the game, Zeke is just a random bhaalspawn that has been hidden away in the Hells.

Long version: He was raised in a temple in the Moonshae Isles, which has a very troubled past with Bhaal in particular. His parents were paladins and tried to raise him to be a paladin like themselves. However they grew afraid of him as his murderous urges started to become apparent. They believed him to be inherently wicked and used harsh discipline to mould him into a weapon for justice, but there was no love between them. Even though he was just a child, they denied him that parental love he craved. Their negligence only drove him to appear more cold and monstrous.

One day, the paladins of his temple captured an Archdevil and planned to destroy him as a sacrifice to their god (which, I haven't figured out yet). They placed the devil in the same holding pens as the young Ezekiel (as Zeke was known then), which was exactly what the devil had intended. The devil introduced himself as Caedes and empathised with the boy's plight; he knew how awful it was for people to see you only as a monster, and how cruel his parents were to keep him like a caged animal. He bemoaned about how scared he was of dying and how much he longed to be back home with his beloved, an erinye called Solaris. Moved by the devil's words, Ezekiel freed Caedes from his cage and immediately drew the ire from his former family. The devil gave him an ultimatum: stay at the temple where the paladins will surely kill Ezekiel for his betrayal, or return with him to the Hells where he will raise him like his own child. Ezekiel agreed to go with the devil. His final memory of that day is watching the temple being engulfed in blue hellfire. Caedes got exactly what he wanted: the spawn of a deity. One he could shape to suit his own purpose.

Caedes and Solaris kept to their word and raised Zeke like any mortal parent would. The influence of the Hells shaped his body as that of a tiefling; Caedes himself chose some of his tiefling traits such as his horns, which are identical to his own. Zeke often tells the story of how the first birthday party he ever had was arranged by devils. He just never remembered how many birthdays he had. He believes he's 26, but he's been 26 for over 70 years. Unbeknownst to him Caedes had bestowed on him a 'Charm of Agelessness' so, whilst technically mortal, he will never age without Caedes's consent. It was a strange childhood in Maladomini, but Zeke adapted to it well enough. His parents educated him on devil politics in their palace, and there was no shortage of fiends to fight to satiate the bhaalspawn's bloodlust.

After decades of struggling without infernal magic and relying on his 'father' Caedes to patch him up after every fight, Caedes eventually offered him a warlock pact. As part of that pact, he included a clause allowing him to treat Zeke 'as his own flesh and blood'. This meant that Zeke can be controlled completely by Caedes whenever he so chooses, essentially granting the devil a vessel to roam the material plane as he pleases. He uses this control mostly to modify Zeke's unpleasant memories to keep him pliable content, and keep him ignorant of his Bhaalist heritage. After the contract is signed, Zeke is dropped back into the material plane with no friends, no family (other than his 'parents' in the Hells), and no real purpose. He does some adventuring trying to help where he can, but he's just so incredibly lonely.

At the start of the events of the game, Zeke is captured whilst saving townsfolk from the nautiloid. He has no clue who Bhaal is, or what the intentions of the Absolute are, and he certainly has never been a part of any Bhaalist cult. His 'amnesia' is just cluelessness. He helps the other tadpoled companions because that's the right to do and he's so lonely. It does mean that he has no fewer than four presences in his head at any one time: Bhaal, Caedes, a mindflayer tadpole, the Emperor, and himself. No wonder he makes badly thought through decisions. It's very crowded in that brain of his.

[quinloki]

You already know I'm in your inbox asking for 003 with Crocodile for the ask game😏

Oh for Crocodile \o/ Alright.

How I feel about this character: I once saw someone say he was a Mafia Boss trapped in a comedy anime and I can't disagree XD He's smooth, he plans things down to meticulous detail, he despises not being in control, and a gremlin with a water gun messed everything up when he was at the goal line.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Aside from myself - Doflamingo, Buggy and Mihawk. But not necessarily at the same time. (though, not not at the same time either).

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I couldn't explain exactly why, but Marco the Phoenix. I just get a vibe these two have like, drinking buddy history.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I'm not a fan of trans Crocodile. Look - I'm not against trans characters, and I've seen GREAT art of trans croc. I just want his deep dark embarrassing secret between him and Ivankov to have nothing to do with Ivan's abilities.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Hm... I don't really have an answer for this. I've been enjoying Crocodile's stories - I do like his character development post Impel Down.

my het ship: Don't have one.

my OTP: I love the idea that Croco and Mihawk had a thing in the past >.>

my OT3: Cross guild.

my cross over ship: I haven't considered cross-overs yet, so idk

my kink: uh... I've got a list, I guess concisely, Crocodile is very strongly a dom. Kind of stern daddy dom vibes. Not cruel, but he's not going to abide any dissent or bratty behavior.

a head cannon fact: He probably has a lot of illegitimate kids running around. I think he's just as horny as Doffy he's just more subtle about it.

my gender bend: Not mine personally XD

[usaghinanami99]

I agree with the general sentiment, although I’d like to clarify that the line you're mentioning was not at all added by the Crystal screewriter but taken straight from the manga source, and in both cases Michiru doesn't actually state that Haruka is neither woman nor man, but rather that she possesses the peculiar strenghts and characteristics of both sexes, which is something else entirely - yes, it's still a concept deriving from an underlying sexist worldview, but it does not say that Haruka's sex is anything but female in the slightest. Not that it could be any other way, since otherwise she wouldn't be able to transform into a Sailor Warrior to begin with, lol! Btw, if you want there are two official sources from Word of God herself clarifying Haruka's sex and the nature of HaruMichi's relationship to the (pretty dense) Western audience, which should logically qualm any doubts from even the most fervent gender cultist: http://www.kicie.net/realm/naoko.htm (interview given by Takeuchi to an Italian magazine) and https://www.tuxedounmasked.com/what-information-did-naoko-share-with-american-sailor-moon-fans/ (in-person encounter she had with US fans). While yes, some of the comments she makes imply some sort of non-aggressive sexism and lesbophobia, by the gendies' standards they would be committing the ultimate sin if they kept on claiming that Haruka is something else than what her very author has very openly stated she is and "identifies" as! :O As a side note, the type of censorship the first English dub decided to go with will never not be funny to me... They could have made them "just friends" like literally any other non-Japanese dub had done (although to be fair, in the French dub Frédérique does pretend to be Mylène's boyfriend when she's posing as Frédéric, they're still not girlfriends in real life), but no, they had to go the extra mile and create a family connection just to be extra sure the kids wouldn't be confused! 'xD Imo it's too bad the English dub didn't reach the final season, because I'm curious about what they would've done with the Starlights' sex change (a dumb anime-only change that goes against the very basis of Takeuchi's lore, but never mind) and whether or not it could've topped the silliness of the Italian dub about that matter. But alas, we were denied that chance.

Imo the worst thing about all this "Sailor Moon is the highest feminist masterpiece" nonsense is that most of the fans saying this actually believe it from their heart... for the very good reason that they know close to nothing about real feminism, so they equate it with all the super-liberal, empoweringTM and pro-beauty standards ideals that Takeuchi seemingly supports and shows through her oeuvre. And yeah, there are absolutely some great messages for young girls to be learnt from reading SM, but they're counterbalanced by the negative ones. There's no reason to claim otherwise when the text is very open and unapologetic about what it preaches, but the problem with these people is that they can't accept not being the purest of all, and they want all the authors they like to comply with their woldview (hence lying about the fact that Takeuchi secretly agreed with their gendie theories about her characters). I say this all too often, but I promise you can love The Lion King without supporting absolute monarchy. 😭

Lol, no worries - I am super monogamous when it comes to my shipping choices and I don't like seeing Usaghi being paired up with anyone who isn't Mamoru, but you do you of course, as anyone else. I draw the line at people who ship her with Demand, but obviously no feminist would do that, lol. And I'm sorry for writing all this wall of text in response to your concise post, but I'll never stop being a hopeless logorroic. 😅

[Edited because, after almost a decade on Tumblr, I've still got troubles posting hyperlinks.]

I know, right?!? Every day it seems like the SM fandom is filled with more and more gendies who claim stuff like how Haruka isn't actually a woman or worse... And what's more, this is far from being the most deranged take I've seen recently, especially now that June has started. But then they'll turn around and claim that SM is actually the pinnacle of feminism in manga, when it's so clearly liberal-leaning and pro-beauty standards that it's anything but. What can I say, the sane people have to stick together! While to be honest I have to say that I don't share your shipping opinions in the slightest, I'd always admire a "rival" like you more than a shipmate who's also a hardcore TQ+ cultist. Sorry if my English isn't exactly the best, I hope I can convey what I want to all the same. ^^

I was absolutely devastated that in Crystal they seriously added the line 'Haruka isn't a man or a woman.' Like... sorry, no. If that was the case then why the hell did Michiru and Haruka get that awful "they're cousins" treatment for the western localization in the OG anime 🙄

I swear ....claiming that SM is a "feminist" work has to do with the fact that people don't want to admit that they enjoy things that aren't politically "pure". Because in their minds it would reflect on who they are as a person, and if something they enjoy isn't perfect, then they aren't either. Tbh I think there's a lot of unchecked narcissistic behavior in fandom communities as a whole ����🏻‍♀️

Oh GOSH. My shipping is a mess !! LMAOOO. I should be ashamed of it but I'm so shameless🤣 Tbh i recently started shipping Usagi with practically everyone 😭🤦🏻‍♀️ I'm ©onflicted, that's for sure

but hell yeah, shipping wars be damned, female solidarity til death >:] 😂😂

and omg no, don't even worry! I had no idea English wasn't your first language from your ask!! your message got across Crystal (🤭) clear ♥️

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

i have seriously no money. I want to get a job and be financially independent but due to my social anxiety I am not being able to for any job interviews. Is there any way to get through job interviews for someone who has social anxiety and get shit scared of talking to people.

Social anxiety is complex and difficult to live with. It does not have a quick fix. However, being able to effectively communicate and develop rapport with other people to some degree (whether or not you enjoy it) can make life much easier. Although it may not feel like it right now, you do have the ability to control some aspects of these situations.

Know that social anxiety is part of you, but it is not all of you. It may feel like you have a massive roadblock in your current path, but the truth is that everyone has different levels of comfort when it comes to interacting with others. Even those who have natural sociability go through the process of trial and error; although some are comfortable speaking to other people, it may not be effective. It depends on the situation and who you are interacting with. This is a learned behavior and you too can learn it as well.

What are your stressors? Is it specifically strangers evaluating you or generally all social interaction, even with people you may consider friends? Can you pinpoint moments where you felt uncomfortable and explain why you had your reaction at that time? Think of certain situations rather than overarching things. One thing at a time. Since the focus is on job interviews, only consider moments that may be relevant.

For example, you may feel anxiety speaking to someone who is a figure of authority (aka your future boss). The first thing to remember is that although your boss is your boss, the workforce is more of an open communication than you think. They deserve respect, but so do you, both as a person and a potential future employee. They will be delegating responsibilities to you and in turn you will be getting paid. Secondly, yes, money is nice, but if you do not want a particular position because you feel could find better or feel that they are asking too much for too little, you have the power to reject any offer. They are the ones hiring people and they need employees as much as you need to be employed.

(They might not act like it, but trust me, they are not paying people out of the goodness of their hearts, they desperately need employees. Shhh. I'm telling ya on the down-low. ;) )

And, finally, if you get rejected, it is what it is. One door closes, move on to the next. A good fit is where both of you want you to work there. If you're comfortable, you can always call back and inquire about what you lacked in their eyes. It might help you in future interviews - or following up may encourage them to hire you after all.

Some tips:

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Apply for multiple jobs at once. Even if a prospective opportunity is one you really want, keep applying. It is better to get multiple offers and choose the best fit for you vs applying one by one and feeling defeated with each one if it doesn't work out.

Research. The options are endless. Keep an open mind. Look up the places you are applying to on Google to find out how other people's job interviews went and how their current work experiences are. If there are many negative reviews, you might want to pass on applying, even if the job description sounds appealing. If there is basically nothing, that might be a good or neutral sign. People tend to complain or vent when it's awful, but when it's great, nobody posts about it. XD Read though everything and see what the complaints are (ex. "the manager does not respect my schedule and days off", look for specific red flags like this). Ask others for their resumes and look up examples. Don't get too extravagant; keep it concise and professional. One page is best, two pages max.

Set up "practice" job interviews. Look up possible interview questions. Practice with your friends or an older authority figure that you are already comfortable with to get a feel for what you might experience. It may seem silly, but going through the motions will help you acclimate and reduce anxiety to the real thing, because you won't be stuck in a completely unfamiliar situation (mild panic is easier to deal with than total panic!). You will find ways that make it easier for you to sell yourself as an employee. XD Once you've gone through your resume enough times to multiple people, it will feel less weird and more natural.

Be realistic. You may have a dream position or career, but in most cases this takes steps to achieve. Once you are employed in the industry that you want, it is much easier to reapply in the future to more desirable positions with some experience under your belt.

Money is a great servant but a terrible master. Everyone has a different work-life balance. Work environment is just as important as the money you make. Think about the things you definitely want and don't want to compromise on, but also have areas were you are willing to be more flexible. Keep in mind commute vs amount per hour. Look up the area and see how safe it is (ex. could be lots of $$$ for night shift in a dangerous area - a stolen car battery or tires is not a fun time!). And! Check if there is chance for advancement for the future - higher pay for those more experienced, medical insurance, retirement, etc. This is important if you're looking for something long-term.

Be prepared. Ask how to apply, what you need to include on the application, what to bring to the interview, and what to expect during the interview. Although these questions are uncomfortable at first, if you feel better prepared for a situation, you will feel more in control. A perceived loss of control contributes to anxiety in most cases. You may feel that asking these questions is "annoying", but I encourage you to do so because 1) you can immediately sus out what kind of work environment it is based on how they respond to you (if they are kind / compassionate vs curt / dismissive) and 2) you find out what you need to know beforehand. They may test or evaluate your knowledge in some way. Study or review your skill set if needed. Even admitting "I don't know, but I'm willing to learn" is better than freezing. It is okay to admit you don't know something, but you must indicate that you have the willingness to be taught new skills.

Don't get discouraged if you have bad experiences. You might think, "I really fucked that up", but the more interviews you do, the less and less nervous you'll be for the next. The situation will no longer feel unfamiliar and, with each one, you can focus on what can be improved on in the future. If it helps, write down tasks and/or things that you felt less knowledgable about, then follow the appropriate steps to improve.

It is okay to feel anxiety. You may stumble on your words. You may need to take a few breaths. Treat yourself with kindness. You wouldn't scold your child (or furchild, if you prefer) for feeling what you're feeling, right? A big change does not happen overnight. It will take exposure, practice, and time to feel as if you are not conquered by it. The important thing is to keep trying, pinpointing what aspects are the most stressful, and finding ways to ease that stress, little by little.

Feeling prepared, knowledgeable, and knowing that you have the power to refuse if it turns out not to be what you are looking for - these will all help in bringing back a feeling of control and capability. Social interactions are all different. Learning to navigate each situation is hard, but not impossible once you break it down into actionable steps.

Stand a little straighter. Speak with a little more confidence. Think of it as borrowing a little bit of my big dick energy LMAO I have too much anyway (at least some think so...) XD

I believe you can do it! ;)

---

side note: at my current job, I accidentally said 'fuck' twice during my in-person interview... maybe three times... they still employed me! :D now my boss only swears around me, I am a bad influence, oop

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Scene rankings: 1)1981 - Faithful to the book, simple yet effective blocking, and a thoroughly sympathetic and emotional performance from Swann. 2)2008 - Gets the main points across concisely and well, and Morrissey effectively shows Brandon's concern for the two Elizas. 3)Tie between 1995 and 1971 - These are far less faithful. Rickman is dramatic, but there's too much focus on Brandon's manpain to the exclusion of Eliza. 1971 has lines that have weird gender politics, and Owens is too bland.

Hi, anon!

Are you my old S&S anon that screams into the void with me? Thank you for indulging me one way or another :3

I wholeheartedly agree on 1. Yes, it's 80s acting, but Robert Swann is my favorite Brandon because he captures the tenderness that softens his melancholy. 1971 is not melancholy, and neither is 2008, and 1995 is the sort of more bitter melancholy, so to speak. You can tell how much Brandon loves, in their different ways, the three women involved in the story. It is a pity, though, that Elinor's actress is so badly directed.

With 2 and 3... not so much. If anything I'd tie 2008 and 95 and leave 71 at the bottom of the bottom. Mostly because, yeah, the gender politics of 71 are weird. I do like Elinor here well enough, though.

I think 95 is a complicated piece to judge in general, not only because it is so beloved, but also because it is the shortest of the adaptations, which requires a lot of working around to shorten scenes and convey everything with very little. I don't feel it focuses too much on Brandon's manpain, but there's one bit that @rorylgilmore pointed out to me, and is Brandon adding a line about Willoughby having honorable intentions towards Marianne, which is the opposite of what is said on the book. This is explained because the movie does away with Willoughby's explanation of his side of things, so it has to be conveyed by someone else. Without that context it is sort of shocking, that. I also think it is clever for a movie how it splits the story between what Mrs. Jennings tells Elinor and what Brandon himself tells, to shorten the scene.

But my grievance with it is mostly the general way in which Alan Rickman's Brandon comes across as rather heavy, brooding, and pragmatical throughout the movie; and this is also the problem for me with the 2008 character in general, aggravated by stuff like his WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS TOWARDS MISS MARIANNE and a list of etc. But this particular scene is one of the best, and the writing is quite good for the most part ("his pleasures were not what they ought to have been" is a great line). Elinor is just great in it, and one bit I noticed on my last rewatch is that there's an emphasis on this Brandon being fond of children (in this scene his countenance softens when he talks about the child), which is quite nice. There are two things that downgrade the scene in my opinion. One is Brandon emphasizing "she's BUT FIFTEEN" when in this version he's chasing after a 16 year old Marianne pretty much the day after he meets her; the other is when he says something like "you can imagine who it was", Elinor reacts that she understood, and he goes for the overkill "Willoughby", which is either Brandon being condescending towards Elinor or Andy being condescending towards the audience. In either case, it's bad. XD

So, in the end I agree with you on 81 and 71, rate 95 better and 08 worse.

I'm planning on doing more clip comparisons (hopefully some of them at least manage to make a video under 10 minutes), and I'd love to keep hearing comments on them!

[cutegirlmayra]

Miss Mayra that was very cheeky of you xD please can you continue that forces prompt where Ames avoids Sonic? Like pretty please? No more cliffhangers xDDD I'm dying!

No promises on Cliffhangers, XD There kinda…

My specialty~

(Preview Image provided from @uhsecretaccount! Please support the artist! :D)

Prompt:

Amy rose up early that morning, hearing an owl hoot and turn his head around, before hooting again.

She squinted in the light of the trees and raised a hand up, tilting her head to try and see what time it may be.

“Pfft. Like I’m that clever..” she teased, turning around and sighing, lifting her head back and closing her eyes…

The image of Metal Sonic advancing… his cold, steely words vibrating from his being as he mocked her so subtly, tilting his body as sounds of light humming from machinery working created the illusion of life.

At first, she didn’t want to believe him.

She leaned forward, gripping her legs and pulling them closer, looking off into the distance as she couldn’t stand the thoughts racing back.

She immediately shut her eyes in pain, ducking her head.

“Noo!”

“What you refuse to believe is your own concern…” Metal paced himself, circling slightly as he began to move to the left, crippling her from within with his words. “You forget that I was designed,… no… melded into Sonic’s consciousness… his attitudes, mannerisms,… heh, even his stupid puns.” Metal gestured to prove the data he had was sound and concise, before glaring back at her.

“It shouldn’t be surprising… everything I’ve said are things you’ve probably pushed out of your consciousness for far too long… things you really should have considered… Things a normal organic lifeform would associate….”

                                              “With hate.”

Amy shook her head, before rocking slightly to try and get the thoughts and words out of her head.

It was all… so vivid.

Her mind was consumed with his words… and each strike of his metallic claws only gave literal meaning to being ripped and digged into with painful daggers at each line, each phrase…

“Annoyance.” “Pitiful.” “A scorn.” “Mindless.” “Forceful.” “Arrogant.” “Nuisance.” “Vain.” “Pathetic.” “Manipulative.” “A pain.”

“Unlovable.”

Amy gripped her head, before shaking it violently to rattle her brain out to drown out the image of his eyes, the swipes of his claws, the kicks, the utter beating she had endured… simply processing… each hurtful lie.

Yes, she knew it was a lie.

But… but there wasn’t something true in his words as well… she felt horrible, like she had somehow given Sonic a terrible life.

She wanted to address it… that day…

His eyes were full of a happy empty, as if nothing about her was frustrating him.

He seemed calm, neutral…

Then why couldn’t she stay?

In his presence, she felt a fire that leaked into her being… this time… more like poison.

She couldn’t identify her fear, her anxiety, but when the world turned her back to her, she wondered if it wasn’t just Sonic that Metal’s words had meaning for.

Maybe…

She got up, stepping to and fro in a wobbling manner of total and utter demolishing of any self confidence she ever possessed.

Her eyes watered as they twitched, staring at the ground.

They all hated her.

She suddenly heard a snap from a twig and turned, trying to identify it.

“Whose there..?” she stepped back, her arms withdrew to themselves before she gasped, seeing a spring of traps suddenly launch a few robotic monkey’s after her.

“AHHH!” She took off, not bothering to summon her hammer in the mental state she was in, and just carefully, with great speed, raced down the tree infested roots that intertwined throughout the forest, and tried to escape them as they screamed like holler-monkeys, excited to have finally tracked down a target, and swinging from tree to tree, after her!

She frantically tried to make it to the open field, where patches of brown from falling fire in the nearby area had left the place like a thinning patch of green grass.

She looked behind her, but tripped as she lost her breath a moment, and the robotic monkeys swarmed.

Pausing a moment, they saw her ankle was hurt as she tried to get up but winced in it’s pain.

In great excitement, they jumped up and down and continued to holler, as she squinted an eye and gripped her ankle, before looking up in pure horror.

“…Seems you fail to learn your place...”

Her eyes widened, mouth dropping.

Metal Sonic came out of the crowd of hollering robotic apes, all cheering their leader as he strode to the field, and then flicked out his clawed hand….

“N..Em…” she could barely speak, but tried to crawl backwards as he approached, before stopping at her feet, shoving a foot down on her dress to keep her still as she gasped quietly in great fear.

“Look at you… I should have disposed of you the second I first engaged… but then… where would the fun be in scanning your face… seeing no hope, delight, or pleasure in them… and knowing… that I’ve destroyed you… more than your physical, miserable, living frame!!!”

Not even having the faith to summon her hammer, to tug her dress away, or really have the will to fight at all- Amy drew her hands over her face, and ducked, bracing for impact.

The sound of metal to skin made her cry out a moment,…. before she realized… 

She felt no pain.

She turned to look back up.

“SOONNIICC!!”

Falling backwards and down to her side, Sonic’s head bounced by her legs, his eyes closed, and his body…. 

Motionless.

Metal Blinked his eyes, withdrawing his hand in a bit of disbelief before Classic drilled a spun kick into his back, sparking his circuits as he turned around.

His eyes flared red.

“You…”

His anger filled with memories of past battles lost, and Classic Sonic wiggled his tush in front of him, patting it and using his other hand to lower a bottom eyelid down, sticking his tongue out to mock him into coming after him.

Metal twitched, raising a claw, “I shall have my revenge, at last!!!” he revved up his stomach-engine and blazed forward, eyes burning red as he shouted out a battlecry, charging at light speeds to race after the little Sonic, and take down his ultimate enemy!!!

The Robotic Monkey’s stood motionless, as if stone, since Metal had not released them from his control.

Amy was frozen a moment in fear, her eyes shook as she slowly moved to lean over, looking at Sonic as her eyes squinted from tears.

“Sonic… Sonic, no…” she felt more painful reminders of Metal Sonic’s words… bending her head down and cupping Sonic’s head.

“Useless.” “Delusional.” “Needy.” “Worthless.” “Disgraceful.” “Patronizing!”

“A waste of time.” “Ignorant.” “Clingy.” “Hopless.”-

                                                   “I’M SORRY!!!”

Amy burst into tears, crying upon his turned head as she wept profusely, rubbing her head into his quills as she cried such sorrow and innocence, such pain and misery.

“I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to make you feel like I was forcing you. I just wanted you to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted! Oh, Sonic… why? Why do you constantly get hurt because of me!? Why am I always the problem for you… why can’t I… why can’t I just love you how you want to be loved…Emm..” she bounced her shoulders, bending down and still holding the sides of his face, as the air turned soft and the smell of metal and robotic monkey’s shouted had faded away.

Then, the metallic clanking of Robo-Monkey’s gaining their AI systems slowly cranked on, as their arms began to move, their feet began to end their jump cycles, and suddenly they were shaking themselves free of being frozen stiff.

Amy rose her head, gasping in fright as she tried to get Sonic up, shake him alive, something!

The four gashes upon his stomach said otherwise…

She tried to pull him closer to her, wrapping her arms around him protectively as they started to advance, hopping forward and baring their silver fangs, opening their mouths to reveal shredders as throats, and bombs disposing from their sides, a panel swiping up as they lowered their hands to catch the item, using their shredders to light the bombs on fire.

They all slowly raised the bombs…

“No… no, not like this… I…” her head motioned up, all around, then down, then up again, frantically. “I can’t lose you like this!!!” She bent her head, holding him closer before summoning her hammer.

She flung bombs away, but suddenly…

“Sonic!!!”

Sonic’s eyes opened.

Her cry was piercing beautiful to the ear.

As if perfectly fine, he started to dash into the monkeys, kicking them and having them explode on touch.

For that was how powerful his hits were.

He spun around and homing attacked others, jumping up and then ramming a foot down to come in hot and ready, destruction at every footfall.

Amy was amazed, looking around, before he sped up on one knee and one hand down to catch himself, his other arm up in the air with flare as the robotic apes all were exploding behind him.

He winked.

“I can’t lose you…”

                                             “Not ever!”

Amy’s eyes widened.

He suddenly winced, his eyes showing pain as he collapsed in front of her, his head landing on her legs in her lap.

                                              “Sonic!!”

Classic Sonic, after happily looking back at the carnage of metallic pieces all over the place, and snickering at Metal reaching up and out to him, before shouting out, “Nooooo!!!” and exploding from defeat.

 He always loved that part!

His smile was lost as he bounced up the hill, looking stark-shocked.

Amy had leaned down..

Sonic had tilted his head up.

A kiss to end all further doubts and resolve all other conflicts.

They would never be without the other…

                                                             ….again.

Part 1 (x) Part 2 (x) This was… INTENSE. XD Hoo! I hope you loved it just as much as I did. Spazzed the whole way through, lol!

[disemboweled-fish-pastry]

Ah, I'm happy then. :) ♥♥ I pay a lot of attention because they're pretty much the next tier down from Yoosung as favorites. :3 Uggh, it's like people say about me, my memory is great when it comes to my interests, but not about the things people want me to do or I'm supposed to be doing, to which I instead get distracted from said things. lol Oh man, that's so sweet you think I type eloquently. ; v; ♥ I am absolutely not great with speech, however. orz I mean, I still talk in this sort of way, but a lot more stuttering and word salad. To be completely honest with you it's been a work in progress typing like this for a very long time. Even to this day it's one of my obsessive compulsions to re-read and edit my written posts like,, 5+ times. I often felt (and still feel tbh) like people misunderstood what I was trying to say and my intentions, so mentally I just began working towards more concise, descriptive language. I still have issues where people assume that I'm being sarcastic in many situations, but I'm pretty sure I'm never sarcastic. The neat thing about words in different languages is how many words appear to mean the same thing, but have very subtle differences that are appropriate for different situations. Supposedly, I was pretty well spoken at the end of my toddler years. My adoptive parents said I sounded like a little adult when they first met me at 4. Supposedly. lol Spelling is hard and I realized I still, to this day will get my b's and d's mixed up. ; __;

I'm sorry if maybe it was harder to read my post if English isn't your first language. If it helps at all, it seriously didn't feel like English wasn't your native language. You type so well in English! So don't feel nervous, did you see all of those typos in my post?? Anyway, huge digression. I will try to write more to the point to hopefully reduce any possible confusion.

I read all of your post before writing here, and I absolutely realize I need to replay Saeyoung's route again. ^^''

XD I'm still determined to try to put together a somehow cohesive timeline. I might make a chart.

Ok, to your first point; I think it was... After Saeyoung agreed to leave and become an informant, V promised him that Saeran would be taken care of and Saeyoung had no choice but to trust him. At this time, V and Rika had already become mentor-like figures to Saeyoung via the church, so it was implied that both V and Rika would take care of Saeran from then. At first, Saeran did have to continue to stay with his mother alone, but V and Rika would attempt to urge her to release custody of him, but she refused because she feared their father would find out and come after them and stop the bribe / child support money. Ugh, I really am fuzzy, but if I remember correctly it wasn't long after that, I think Rika told Saeran that his mother finally released custody, but then burned his childhood house down with the mother still inside, never telling Saeran what she did until his After Story arc. That being said, I believe Saeran was already under Rika's care when she fled to create Mint Eye.

I'm.. pretty sure (?) at the beginning of Another Story, Yoosung says it had been 6 months since Rika's passing (and it was at that moment I realized Yoosung was even more baby than before o __o ), which is why Yoosung is so much more emotionally vulnerable in Another Story timeline. And in the original time line, it was said it had been 2 years since her passing. (lol I just remembered I can easily go back to the archive files to double check.) Also even at the beginning of the Yoosung route, it's said that Rika disappeared like literally just before his high school graduation, he is a College/Uni Sophomore in the original timeline. That being said, Ray convinces MC to join his app testing 6 months after Mint Eye began, Ray goes through his initial cleansing ceremony, becoming mostly presenting Suit Saeran (I think it was actually indirectly related to MC's influence that maybe it happened sooner.), him becoming Suit Saeran actually made him a worse hacker, because he became too eager, impulsive, and started making careless mistakes afterwards. It's said/implied when Saeran is more like Ray or his After Story self, he might have possibly been an even better hacker than Saeyoung, even if marginally.

I really, really thought about this while playing the Saeran route last time I did, because I was also confused. Cleansing ceremonies are different than just taking elixir each day. (Ugh, memory fuzzy again) Cleansing ceremonies are for "breaking" people that don't already align with the beliefs of Mint Eye. This event seems to potentially involve not only mental and psychological abuse, but physical torture as well. Saeran/Ray in "Another Story", already was in line with the beliefs of Mint Eye. Rika only had to mould his mind from the time she became his care taker, to when we meet him in "Another" Story prologue. She had been using subtle manipulation tactics for around 6 months to detach "Ray" from the Saeran she wanted, and eventually be completely rid of that side of him, which was viewed as weak. When she felt he was staring to fall out of the teachings of Mint Eye (because MC was giving him hope about a life outside), that is when Rika became desperate, thinking she was losing Saeran, and decided to put him through the cleansing ceremony. He was surprised at that time, as if it had never happened before.

On the other hand, it seems he had already been taking Elixir each day, I think sometimes multiple times a days like daily vitamins or mental health medication. As I went along I wanted to find out, is elixir based on a real life drug in some way? As it turns out, despite elixir being liquid and this being a pill or powder, Ecstacy seemed to be the closest real life equivalent. I think it was during the After Story, you have an option to ask Rika how Elixir works and she says it makes you feel invincible and euphoric, but as we see with Saeran, he often gets horrible headaches. This is like the crash effect after the manic high of ecstacy. Mania, in general ,not only makes you feel super high highs in mood, but it can also cause elevated anxiety and even hallucinations. Ecstacy is a stimulant like methamphetamine and amphetamine/ADHD treatment, which like many addictive substances, can give a killer headache when coming off of it. This is why Rika tells him he just "needs more faith and elixir", getting back on the high will stop the withdrawal headache and symptoms. It is also said that over dose of ecstacy, as in one of the bad endings in the V route, will cause signs of.. well, overdose. It's super toxic in large immediate doses. Becoming gravely ill, disconnected, zombie like, and it can be fatal, which is why that ending was particularly dark. Like a tortuous death, really. Also, just like most addictive drugs, legal and other wise, frequent use may eventually result in drug resistance, as with Saeran by his After Ending. He was no longer affected by the elixir.

It is polarizing that Saeran went from that soft, sweet, ice cream loving child, to the Unknown we see in the bad endings, but child Saeran was even a thing in Saeyoung's route, so I feel like Ray is possible for that reason.

As for Secret After Ending, I really have to go back and reread it, it's been like... forever since I last read it. But if that's the case, then yeah, it's true that the narrative often contradicts other established information. I guess I could reach and call it butterfly effect somewhere behind the scenes. lol I dunno. It also depends on what wording is used, it might be "cleansing" salvation. Again, gotta look.

Oh yeah, absolutely, I understand that's why it's called the Final End, but there are other reasons why I thought so too. At the same time, V's didn't have any title like that and to me at least, the "final" end, felt the most like the best good ending, the ending to end all the other endings, the most conclusive, the most satisfying? in terms of the overall story narrative... The call backs, the Easter eggs, it felt the most like book ends. (It's actually exactly what MC says after choosing an option when MC and Saeran are in front of the elevator. Something like "I feel like I've been here before... like the beginning and the end are mirror images of one another", Saeran is the first ending you can get (chronologically) and Saeran is the last ending. I actually have a post about this and I'll link it.. here.) Even Yoosung has a better time in Saeran's final ending. He doesn't lose his eye (sight), and he pursues a dream born from himself instead of his promise to Rika. (Honestly, I love the Vet ending, but I also wish there was a version of the final end where you can pursue and end up with Yoosung lol.) Other than that, I absolutely agree that I wouldn't prefer to call any route the "true" route, but I've just heard many speculate that Seven is the main/true route or something.

Holy moly, it's so true. Secret End Saeran feels so obscure compared to all other instances of Saeran. Of course, where I felt Good End Saeran was born from MC's influence, I feel like Secret end Saeran was born from Saeyoung's influence. Plus not having the romantic route for himself, instead it being with his brother, whom he's still feeling unsure about by that time, I guess. This maybe will sound odd, but to me, in the group illustration for Saeyoung's Secret End, Saeran seems to appear.... defeated somehow and maybe dissatisfied. Like "Ok, guess I lost to Saeyoung. Guess I gotta just deal with the fact he's not gonna let me leave from now on." I mean, I don't blame Seven, though, after all the worrying he had to do over being separated from him all that time. Honestly, I probably would have reacted the same way. Gotta re-read it.

I'm probably wrong, but I thought a lot of people loved Secret End Saeran. I also liked seeing Saeran embrace his natural appearance. Even though I said elixir is most like ecstacy, I always wondered about how he came to having mint colored eyes... I guess since it's said that Saeran dyed his hair, it could be that he just chose to wear colored contacts to parade his fanaticism for the cause of Mint Eye and to further separate himself from his twin, same with the tattoos...

Hmmm. About the time between the start of Another Story and the original story time line without the presence of MC, it's hard to say, I think. I can only speculate that the longer her had to deal with that treacherous environment, the worse he became. After becoming suit Saeran, he seemed to start taking a larger role in leading the cleansing ceremonies of other recruits, which can change a man, too. It's kinda like they say about how you can't come back after committing your first murder. It becomes easier to give in to just accepting that you are now beyond the point of return, and the next murder becomes easier, they say.

I appreciate it with you as well. ♥

You are fine, seriously~ I feel like I understood you pretty clearly! :"3 Unless you feel like there is a miscommunication somewhere... In that case, just let me know. Feel free too write in the language you're most comfortable with, if you'd like.

(Going back to read the source material now~~ heheheh Maybe re-evaluate some things and make edits if there isn't a response before then. :p Probably not tonight/ this morning, though)

"CR/DR Universe" VS "Another Story universe" of SAERAN

First, I want to point out that I by no mean, having an intention to harass anyone. This is merely a fact that I need everyone to know.

It bothers me that some fans confuse Saeran from the original universe with Saeran from "another universe," even portraying Saeran as if he were Saeran GE on his own wiki, while the answer is "yes" and "no."

Although Saeran was a supporting character in the CR/DR canon, I can see why the GE/Ray/Suit Saeran fanbase would be more invested in him now that the Ray route has made him a prominent character. However, Unknown and Saeran SE are different than AS version of Saeran version. Ray and Unknown aren't just from separate worlds and eras, they have completely different personalities. As for Saeran, only a small fraction of it was visible in Ray.

It is strongly implied that Unknown has no interest in the MC or any sort of romantic relationship with oneself, so he is designed to remain a hidden character that the MC need not pursue. Unknown's main goal is RFA and Saeyoung. A love interest in MC is nothing more than a ploy to obtain what he wants out of the situation. He was at a deadlock from which there was no escape, and his only remaining connection was his brother, Saeyoung. And we had witnessed how difficult it is to get them reconcile.

[ ORIGINAL STORY ] [ ANOTHER STORY ]

Since Saeran is determined to have his own route, Cheritz will have to transform him into someone entirely (dare I say) different person, turning him into "Ray" in the end. In other words, I'm attempting to get across the idea that the universes of Ray and Unknown aren't comparable, and that any interactions between them should be treated as entirely distinct. Cheritz referred to it as "another story" for a reason. BECAUSE THIS IS A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE. The mint eyes package followed events in a different story universe, not the CR/DR universe, one should not say, "Saeran is like this because the Cheritz Mint Eyes package said so!" Certainly not. The mint eyes package was created solely to celebrate the upcoming Ray route, making it appear even more entertainin but it has nothing to do with the CR/DR universe, even more during Saeran stay at the Magenta.

Saeran SE isn't a sympathetic figure while Saeran GE is. Saeran GE isn't responsible for the murder of his mother but Rika is, in "Another story" universe, but Saeran SE was (mentioned it in Yoosung's route day 10). GE Saeran is an open-free person while Saeran SE isn't due to thus traumatic events. Let the facts exist in their own world and not mixing it up just because you hate the characteristics one has, that contradict to your own liking.

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