#I'm having fun ... not so sure about Ishmael though--

[throughpatchesofviolet]

Y'know ... maybe Ishmael didn't want to be perceived in that moment, Mx. Fruit of Understanding.

[firestorm09890]

there's a part of canto vi I've been thinking about since it came out, and it doesn't actually have anything to do with Heathcliff.

this

She is bitter as fuck and as time goes on she's getting worse at keeping it down. Sinclair's the one who started it, by talking about how sad it is that they'd never get to see color, and Rodya starts to get a little irritated over it (yeah, sure, pity the Backstreets folk and their poor miserable little lives, privileged nest boy), but she's obviously trying not to straight up call Sinclair a privileged nest boy because she doesn't want to. But then Yi Sang and Ishmael join in on talking about how sad this place is with no color and she just can't keep her opinion down.

But that makes the atmosphere tense, and she hates a tense atmosphere, so she changes the subject and her tone, not giving a damn about how obvious it is. also, haha, ice and cold references.

And actually, this doesn't really have much evidence to support it, but I wonder if she holds a higher level of resentment for Sinclair in particular.

Canto II had some discussion about how Rodya wishes she was special (and while I think what Sonya said about her killing the tax collector just to feel special is absolute bullshit, I do also think there is some truth to her wanting to feel special), and introduced us to the concept of The Sign in a way that was vague and more like foreshadowing than actually introducing it. Then Canto III was all about The Sign, and how special Sinclair is, and since then we've had people talking about signs and stars and a new birth of the world and it's all stuff Rodya doesn't get to be part of.

I don't think she wants to hold resentment for Sinclair, and she especially never wants him to know, but going back after all this time and rereading this one interaction with him in Canto II felt pretty jarring.

the more important part of this is the way it feels like she's making a joke at Heathcliff's expense, for being poor, like even though she's also from the Backstreets she feels she's "above" it.

She absolutely does not feel this way.

On my way to find the first passage, I reread some other interesting stuff:

Once again, there's the harsh juxtaposition between casual, fun-loving Rodya, and tired, poor man's advocate Rodya. Almost everyone on the team speaks through the lens of a Nest dweller (I have to wonder if learning that Heathcliff was apparently raised in a mansion made her even more bitter), and the way she's so short with her mention of the Sweepers makes me think she's thinking about how painfully obvious it would have been to any other Backstreets dweller. And then, right after, dropping back into her casual voice, and Sinclair revealing that Rodya used the fucked up Backstreets creature to tease him...

Other obvious moments of Rodya being bitter as hell about rich people include this part of S.E.A.

and this part of her observation logs on Spiral of Contempt (actually, nearly everything in that log that isn't about the physical abnormality has to do with how much she hates how rich people look down upon the poor)

Hong Lu's canto comes after Don's, and then after his is Ryōshū's, who, based on her source material, probably served one of the most awful, contemptuous rich people the sinners have access to, and I really hope at some point here Rodya gets to snap in a big way

...hey so I wrote this entire post at 1 in the morning and then saved it to drafts because I didn't want to post something at 1 in the morning. the Timekilling Time trailer came out about two hours later, featuring both Rodya... and the long-awaited return of the Yurodiviye. so now it's past 3 in the morning for me but I'm posting it now anyway because ohohoho seeing the Yurodiviye again has given me SO much energy

I have a feeling all this is going to be very relevant extremely soon

[pvlvsdog]

How experienced are they and would you finish

Nsfw themes!

Dante has no idea if they are experienced or not so they are pretty much ruled a virgin until further notice. They didn't forget everything but they still manage to stress over getting something wrong. They’re clumsy and stressed out the first few times, but receptive to feedback. Just kind of too frantic to really follow through on it fully. If you're really into them, finishing is not out of the question, they are trying really hard. But the situation is really hard to navigate for them. They do care about you finishing more than getting to a climax themselves. Something about being constantly conditioned to be seen as a mere tool does that to a person

I firmly believe Ishmael has the knowledge surpassing all humanity when it comes to that area. Being on the sea does that to a person. So she knows exactly what to do and though she might judge you a bit (or at least tease you), she will go along with your fantasies and needs. There is not a thing that she wouldn't at least consider. And so you will have no problem finishing

I'm sorry but Heathcliff, to me, has not had sex. Ever. He’s not very experienced to put it lightly and im low-key bordering on making a claim here that you would probably have to put it in for him. He’s far to repressed/sexually frustrated and inexperienced not to miss the hole (either hole, really). But! He is certainly… eager. And wants to please you. To treat you good. Might be a leftover from his past, the same thing that I mentioned in the skinny dipping headcanons. So, while it would be clumsy sex for sure, he would do his best to make you orgasm. Make sure to praise him when you do, it'll make him very proud

Well, I would assume that Meursault fucked? I think he has decent experience and enough of deeply buried desires to be decent in bed. No problems with making you finish either

Rodya is a bit tricky because despite being experienced and knowing what to do with herself, your orgasm really depends on who you are to her. In sexual encounters she prioritizes herself. Learned that from an early age. If she won't take care of her needs, nobody will. So she might as well lead sex in such a way that satisfies her. If you're a drunken one night stand or she's not ready to consider you as a permanent part of her life, sex life included, she will do everything to finish herself. You're just along for the ride. Nothing personal, its not like she would do anything to prevent you from reaching the climax. But before a certain level of commitment, she wouldn't see it as a priority

Don also has a solid amount of experience. She does her best so that both of you finish, since she thinks that's just fair. And way more fun for her to be honest

With Ryoshu it’s 50/50 because I think she definitely had sexual encounters before. She’s a bit rusty though, since she hasn't had sex in a bit. You finishing is more so about what you're into because, just as she is with the act of killing, this too is art for her. She doesn't do quickies, doesn't do fast, desperate spikes of desire. The act of sleeping together is an experience she wants to live through fully and thus, there's a lot she will do before letting you come

Hong Lu is a mystery to me. I mean… he definitely isn't a virgin but im not sure how many sexual encounters that man had had. It could go anywhere between 3 and 300 and it wouldn't be any more surprising to me. But I think his willingness to try out your suggestions and openness to go with the flow would definitely make it easier for you to come. Like, if the current position isn't doing it for you, he’ll switch no problem, searching for a way to also give you pleasure. Sure, it’s a new concept for him. To not be the sole center of things. But he goes with the flow easily. It’s just a fun switch up for him to take a more active role

Outis fucked. And definitely made love too, but that was before the war took its toll on her. She's more familiar with quickies these days. If she actually puts you somewhere high in the hierarchy, she’ll do her best to please you. But if you're just ‘the best thing there was’ don't expect her to try hard. If you don't come she might actually act disappointed in you honestly. Are you really going to make her do all the work? She did her part, it’s on you if you didn't orgasm

With Faust it’s a bit unclear because I can't really see her seeking out sex too often but also like… she is a woman of science, she definitely tried in the very least. So she isn't totally inexperienced but making advances on someone to sleep with them is not an initiative she often takes, I think. Her actual skills might be a bit lacking but again, she has knowledge, so she’s definitely got a rough idea as to what she’s supposed to do to make you finish. I do see her as a more passive party in general, though

I might be a bit rough at writing Yi Sang. In my head, he definitely has had some sex, more than most would assume. But it’s not a very recent thing for him either. Not a very distant memory but there was a little break he had since the last time he had sex. Don't think about what I could be implying too hard (especially since I'm not sure how that would work physically). His skills are pretty good and the ability to just go along with things definitely helps. So in the end you have a pretty good chance at finishing. He’s not the best on the bus, but the probability is pretty high

Oh, it’s a bit tricky with Greg. If he were just an average soldier, he would have a much more extensive list of experiences. But as the “poster boy” it’s less likely that he got to have some undetected casual sex on the side. I mean, historically speaking, it’s not uncommon for those that have to partake in wars to blow off steam in such way. He wasn't an average soldier though so it hindered such possibility for him. And to sleep with a civilian after he got out… well he probably tried. Maybe succeeded once or twice. But even that is up for debate. He’s way too repulsed by his own body and even more scared of that same body acting up. So he’s very nervous and clumsy, restraining himself for a very long time. He feels like he has to “make it up to you” (and by ‘it’ I mean having sex with him, he see that as a charity case kind of situation) so he will do his best to make you finish. He lacks a lot of stamina and experience though. Feels awful if he doesn't make you come and does wonder if a part of it is because of his physique. Especially since it's not that hard to make him finish so he doesn't like when he doesn't manage to return the favour

Now I firmly believe Sinclair is a virgin. I think he and Heathcliff could be in competition for the place of the least experienced. And given Heath’s past, Sinclair would win, I recon. There are two possible routes sex with him could take. Most likely is a nervous, shirt-on encounter born out of pure hornyness that often overcomes him. There is a possibility that his anger issues aid him and he takes more initiative (while making things definitely more rough). In both cases he’s going to be clumsy, sexually frustrated and very fast to finish. You on the other hand… have less of a chance to do the same. Post nut clarity hits him hard and he will grow silent and distant, withdrawing whilst letting his insecurity flood his brain with double the force

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

Finally completed Canto IV and I am VIBRATING

Beating Dongrang really relied on me getting good clash luck early, because this try was more of a slow grind barring the time an attack got through and I had so few attacks available that I had to offer Ishmael as sacrifice (which made the friend N-Sinclair snap, thankfully he decided he wanted Dongrang for the sacrifice and not, like, Hong Lu). Kind of underscores how much I dislike the coinflips, tbh; they're a win harder/lose harder mechanic and while I know ProjMoon is trying to fix that, I genuinely don't think it can be—only having a pair of values is just innately way too swingy until you get to like 4-coin attacks.

It's a shame because the fight itself can be interesting in how you have to carefully juggle what gets through in order to keep everyone available to deal with his fat pile of HP quickly, and the story events are great (the final one made me cry, I did not expect to adore Yi Sang when I started this game), it's just soooo swingy to start and that determines the flow of the rest of the fight unless you super fuck up. Which I would mind less, if he didn't have nearly 2k hp in a game where you generally have to expend resources to do over 50. It's just kind of a mostly one-sided slog.

The bit about Dante being immune to memory manipulation is... interesting. Dante themself is such a big mystery and im not sure how to like, process it, especially with that little scene with Damien(sp?) and the shift of their clock. Also I enjoy that "Dante is rude and mad as hell and Faust is politely eliding that from her translations of them" is a dynamic now, makes Faust much more fun since before she was kind of stuck in the ms. exposition zone.

Yi Sang's big moment though. It was so fucking good. I loved all of it, every second of it was the coolest shit on the planet, I'm so glad he got his wings in the end. I wonder if eventually his base Zayin will be updated to reflect that? Or if he'll get a new base Zayin.

Anyway, super excited to see how ProjMoon handles *checks notes* a beach episode with a magic schoolbus reference in the title

[turtlemagnum]

searching for a song by clicking random on a lyric website. probably not gonna find what i'm looking for but i'm gonna post what i find, listen to, and like here:

moondance just happened to be the first song i got on the roulette wheel, and i can't say i was disappointed. has really nice, understated vocals with an impressive range, and i really like the guitar's stellar blend of simplicity and complexity. wonderful song, couldn't have asked for a better first shot

more than you know seems to be pretty standard for instrumental jazz of the era. definitely solid and enjoyable, but not life changing

stairway to the stars... it feels as if the universe read what i just wrote about more than you know and thought, "heh, i'll show you some fucking jazz, bud". i'm not sure i'm aware of any words in any language to describe how this makes me feel but it's definitely an overall positive one. definitely nostalgic, a bit like if sonder was distilled into a song. overall lovely, i could see this making me cry very easily if i were in the right headspace

shake rattle & roll, can't say i went into this expecting early french rock but i can't say i'm exactly surprised by what i heard either. pretty good by the standards of rock at the time, has a better beat than a lot of what i've heard from the era (though to be fair, a lot of what i'm mentally comparing it to were those drummers that just went thunk thunk in a consistent 4/4 like a less interesting sounding heartbeat)

call me ishmael, by corm. honestly the first one i can say that didn't properly link on the site but i went out of my way to search up anyways, purely because of the band name. corm, what a lovely word, never heard it before now. the song is pretty good for what it is, a lot of songs like this have rather insufferable vocalists but i found this one listenable albeit not exactly intelligible. a lot like green day, and it leaves a similarly vaguely positive impression of quality much like a green day song. nothing special, but definitely worth listening to. i find there's a lot to appreciate in the average if it's well constructed

i concentrate on you is giving me the distinct impression that the best music i'm gonna come across tonight is gonna be jazz. frankly i really should listen to more of it, given my love for genres i'd consider inspired by it like prog and early rap. very good song, would recommend.

weary blues absolutely reeks of 1920s americana in the best way possible. it's got a certain bouncy and bubbly quality to it that i imagine would lend itself perfectly to animation of the era, and is overall just a fun listen

one last one for the night, i'll probably add to this when the mood strikes again. i'll admit i was skeptical about praise ye jah at first since reggae isn't exactly my favorite genre, but i'd like to consider myself open minded and i will say that i was pleasantly surprised overall. the beat is pretty damn good, and i'd personally consider that one of the most important parts of a song. i won't say i especially like the vocals, but i don't dislike them either, and honestly in my experience it's not exactly uncommon for me to absolutely hate the vocals in a reggae song, so that's probably a glowing recommendation coming from me. overall, pretty good!