#I'm probably going to do a second installment because there's definitely very good ones I have to track down

[flowerflamestars]

Hey! So I went to check your bookmarks and alas you have none, but what are the chances you would still have Jason Todd fic/author recommendations? Assuming I've read none. Or just any favorite Batman fics?

I'm getting a little overwhelmed with all the different fandom tags and timelines 😅

🤍

So, as someone who is also relatively new-ish to the Batman fandom but binged A LOT of content early on, my best advice is going to be to find your own vibe.

I've been on tumblr since 2012 and wandered through a ton of fandoms- and yet? Batman has bowled me over with it's sheer....in fighting? (This is obviously not like. Voltron-level stuff. Do yall remember tumblr when Voltron was raging?) People are SO SURE their thing is The Correct Thing. Despite the fact that there are a near endless amount of canon permutations. SO MUCH ship discourse, babe.

So, of course, I have many recs, mostly from ships people get mad about.

A good Jason character intro: Give Thanks to Broken Bones by thepartyresponsible. a VERY GOOD Jason, but one the other hand, technically an Avengers fic. Highly readable, maybe doesn't 100% land the ending, but an extremely good mix of the two worlds.

My favorite Bruce Wayne: Masking by BombusBombus. As much a loving meditation on neurodivergence as it is a a love story, Superbat at their most husbands. (teen baby Jason running around, being lied to by Bruce about why his dad is just. staring at pictures of Superman's hands.)

Smut: make me (say your name) by Naheka. Dick/Jason, character study wrapped around smut that is just. SO in character. Not wildly explicit, but earning the rating.

Fluff (not vigilantes au): no ordinary by SPQR. Dick/Jason. They're teenagers at boarding school and it so SO perfectly captures that hazy late teen longing AND Jason's bone deep direness about all kinds of love. I'd read 8x more words of this.

Further fluff: a blue curtain is a damn blue curtain by heartslogos. I have no idea if Jason canonically knows the language of flowers, but it pops up a surprising amount? And frankly, feels right. Short, sweet, disaster vibes. Heartslogos has literal hundreds of fics, I haven't shifted through them all, but it seems like a good mix of gen and romance.

Bats being messy as all hell: Strings Attached by FabulaRasa. I love love love what a (justified) bitch Jason is in this one. Primarily a Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan story, but the background Jason/Dick absolutely got me. Everyone's an adult and everyones being characteristically fucked up. Trigger warning for some messy internalized homophobia stuff being worked through. A lot of stuff about Bruce and Jason just...loving and hating each other.

Casefic that works as a romance with fun Adult elements: do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby by sister. A rare gem in terms of everyone found familying about while not acting like that's a restrictive container. Jason/Tim. Plot important booty shorts. Easily the most realistic/best Stephanie Brown I've come across. Obsessed with the little snaps of Jason's vulnerability we get in this one.

I'm definitely forgetting or leaving out some fun ones, but this is a start! Happy reading :)

[liesmyth]

Do you think the Nine Houses follow a Marxist, Keynsian, or Austrians economic model

this ask made me SO happy you have no idea! some vague thoughts

The Houses obviously have to do careful resource allocation. I doubt they have a free market economy, at least not on a system-wide scale. I could see some of the Houses — like the Third or Fifth Houses, which are by all accounts wealthy and with a very large population — develop some kind of internal capitalist economy within the House itself. Namely, private actors who control and own properties, wealth accumulation, competitive markets etc. But ultimately I think even those are subject to strong (local) governmental oversight because, again, they live on space installations in a situation of constant resource constraint. I bet there are quotas for everything.

However! No way ALL the Houses have a market economy. I'm thinking especially those Houses that are very small and/or have a "mission" which means that societal development is carefully planned, and probably the economy is also centrally planned. (Ninth, Eight, Sixth, maybe Second and/or Fourth).

On an overreaching scale (within the Home System) I don't think "the Empire" (as in, John) is overly concerned with the yearly economic development of the Houses, partly because he's been historically absent for decades or even centuries at a time. Verging sharply into headcanon territory, I think the closest thing the Houses have to a real centralised government is military leadership (High Command or the Fleet Admiral, who's the head of the Second House) and when it comes to issues that concern multiple Houses but are more "civilian" in nature, is kind of a free-for-all. I'm thinking about how Harrow thought that writing to ask for help would result in the Fifth or maybe the Third cannibalising the Ninth House — it looks like there's an informal council of House leaders, but no properly organised central government.

Trade: travel and commerce between the Houses is regulated. You can't just take a spaceship and move from the Eight to the Second, for example — movement of people as well as goods depends on a ship schedule that runs on "routes" and I'd bet there's an immigration/emigration quota that's maybe decided between specific House leaders, or maybe a third party. My best bet is that one of the Houses (possibly the Third or Fifth) OR an ad-hoc organisation (which includes multiple higher-ups from said well-off Houses) are the ones who regulate shipping and travel, and either have an ownership stake in the shipping system or administrate it in the name of the Emperor.

The shepherded planets: putting the "imperialism" in "Empire". The Houses definitely exploit their colony planet for resources, as per AYU (talking about the "contracts" that the Empire signs with the occupied planets). However, it's also worth noting that 1) for at least 5000 years, the House system was self-sustaining and hadn't made contact with any other population; and 2) stele travel is kind of a hassle, and only seems to be limited to Cohort ships that we know of.

What I'm getting at is that I think the economy of the Houses is not dependent on their war of conquest — imo it's more of a mission of conquest for conquest's sake, see Corona thinking that the economy of the Houses doesn't quite add up, and Augustine talking like the ongoing expansion of the Houses is a whim of John's and little else. Basically, it seems to be a way to oppress the occupied planet for occupation's sake, and I wouldn't be surprised if the resources the Houses extract from the conquered planets go straight into financing yet more war and occupation and very little (if any) of any wealth they may accumulate makes it back to the Houses.

It COULD be that there's a necromantic equivalent of the East India Company, and my bet would be on the Second administrating it — Harrow doesn't seem to rate them at all, which tracks because Harrow's primary concern is Houses that could be a threat to the Ninth, and the Second being focused on exploitation that's external to the Home System could be an explanation for that. I've also seen speculation that making money from colonialism is the Fifth House's purview (*) but EYE think it makes more sense if the House that are more strongly associated with running the war effort are also the ones making money from it. Or it could be a joint operation.

(*) never forget the iconic tag #we regret to inform you that spreadsheets dad is maybe running the necromantic East India Company @katakaluptastrophy here)

Anyway. Sorry I haven't answered your actual question! GUN TO MY HEAD, if I had to pick ONE economic model to map the Houses onto, I wanna say soviet type economy (think: centralised planning, no inflation, little to no unemployment, tendency towards black market, little to no innovation). I have thoughts about what the consumer needs market looks like in the Houses but nobody needs to hear that. Also, it's def very limited

If anyone has thoughts PLEASE feel free to jump in, I'm always thinking about the logistical side of space imperialism in the necro empire!

[veilkeeper]

The Sacrifice of Souls, Part 2

alt title: why im putting corentin in the torment nexus

this is the second instalment of a 2-part essay series. the first part focused on the events of emmrich's quests, as well as my analysis and critique of his quest line overall. this part will focus specifically on the effects these choices have on the romance, as well as my thoughts on how i'm handling the events for my emmrichmancing rook, corentin.

spoilers ahead! beware that both essays are going to assume you have completed The Sacrifice of Souls and at least one of the follow up quests, Heir to the Dead or Will and Testament. if you have not, i suggest returning to this later and playing it out yourself.

so let's start with the most important question of the day:

what happens to the romance after the sacrifice of souls?

good news! no matter what you pick, the romance can continue on unabated. there's just some long-term details and tone changes that need to be considered.

if you choose to save manfred, be prepared for parenthood. previously, the game had poked at the idea of manfred being emmrich's kid, but now that manfred is talking and progressing at a rapid pace, he is in full "magic-flinging skeleton son" territory, and a romanced rook is going on that journey with emmrich. there is also now a near certainty that rook is going to outlive him—regardless of your personal headcanons, the game assumes that rook is younger than emmrich, and now that he's locked into a mortal lifespan that's something that needs to be considered. especially since, as discussed in part one, emmrich's fears of his own mortality haven't really been addressed at all.

but if you're into co-parenting a rambunctious skeleton with an older, gentlemanly necromancer (which, let's be real, is what most people signed up for when they hit those first flirt options anyway), then this path is probably exactly what you were looking for.

that said, let's talk about the lich romance angle. i was worried when i went down this path that the romance would just immediately end, but it actually doesn't! emmrich certainly wonders if it will—before he undergoes his rites, he has a conversation with rook about how they'll navigate a relationship once he's undead. he says that his senses will change, the way he feels (not about rook, but literally the way he feels) will change, and his body will be different. but they agree they can make it work, so hell yeah.

and if you like the whole "immortal lover" trope, there's some stuff here to like. the lich lords, when you arrive to bear witness to the rites, refer to rook as "challenger of the gods, volkarin's beloved", and emmrich waxes poetic about how even after rook passes, the way he feels about them will be immortalized alongside him. there's also a very sweet kiss before he goes into the rite, and rook has the opportunity to tell him they love him, just in case he doesn't come back out. and afterwards, they have a powerful, immortal skeleton boyfriend, so for the monsterfuckers in the audience.... nice.

so what's the catch?

if you're looking for a fairly unambiguously "happy ending", and if you like the idea of your rook parenting for the foreseeable future, saving manfred is your easy option. on this path, rook and emmrich will have many good years together before he dies. there's absolutely still room for angst here because of emmrich's unresolved issues, but there's definitely a more... domestic, low-key quality to this path.

the lich romance has some pretty glaring obstacles, and that's probably a big part of why a lot of people doing the romance might not pick this. first of all, he wasn't joking, he's literally a skeleton. he can put on a glamour for polite company, but he is a skeleton. realistically, intimacy is going to be complicated by that. on top of that, as a lich for the mourn watch, he's going to have certain duties that he can't get away from. myrna herself asks if they're going to be seeing less of emmrich now that he's a lich, and his answer is basically not yet. at some point, some time in the future, he is going to have to go into the necropolis to begin his lich duties and he won't really be coming back out after. so in a very real way, there is an invisible timer on the relationship where it'll basically be dead in the water unless rook makes some serious lifestyle changes* to accommodate that (assuming they're allowed to). so there's some built in angst with the lich romance that may or may not be your preferred flavour, because his job might end their relationship long before rook's mortal lifespan even becomes a consideration.

*theoretically a mourn watcher rook is going to have an easier time with that particular adjustment, but i'm speaking from my perspective as a LoF rook

decisions, decisions

this is the part where i start talking about my rook, but do us both a favour and keep reading, because believe it or not there is still some emmrich analysis in this part, and it might inspire you to do your own dissection for your rook, too.

so my rook is corentin laidir, and from the moment emmrich said the word "lich" he's been quietly freaking out about it. largely because of the whole "you're going to leave me to be a lich in the necropolis" thing.

i had hoped that resolving emmrich's quest line would give me a very clean solution to the lich freak out issue, and it does! ....if i liked the ending where we save manfred. which i don't. controversial opinion, but i don't actually care about manfred enough for corentin to be his second dad, and from a roleplay perspective i don't think corentin would advocate for bringing manfred back.

but on the other hand, the lich!emmrich option is quite literally corentin's nightmare. what corentin wants, at his core, is for emmrich to accept both manfred's death and his own, whenever it may come. he wants emmrich to understand that running from his own fear of death like that is beneath him. is it honouring death to defy it like that, even (supposedly) in the name of service? corentin would argue no, if he could bring himself to argue with emmrich about anything.

selfishly, corentin is also afraid of what eternity means. sure, emmrich says now that he'll always remember corentin and what they have, but what about a thousand years from now? he's afraid of being replaced, and of becoming insignificant to someone who is so, so important to him right now. in this life.

so the question becomes: do i choose an imperfect, happier ending that maintains emmrich's mortality, or do i throw corentin into an emotional blender?

why i'm putting corentin in the torment nexus

one of the problems of being a creatively-minded person while playing decision-based games is that there comes a time when you have to make a choice:

do i work with the options available to me, or do i pull out my scalpel and gut this thing?

and in moments like this, where neither option is quite right, i have no choice but to get surgical. pick what's interesting, and frankenstein that thing into something that works well enough to carry me to the end.

and the fact of the matter is, the lich path is just more interesting to me in this case because it's an angst machine, and because it makes sense for him to get stuck in it. if i dig into corentin's character, in that exact moment when a decision is made, there's no world where he's going to tell emmrich to give up on his life's work just to bring manfred back and stay mortal. but there is a world where he'd recognize that telling emmrich to give up on his life's work for a guy who loves him who he met five minutes ago is a dick move, and then he'd get completely caught off guard when emmrich says he's going to start preparing for his rites now.

so where does this leave corentin?

here's how i'm handling the situation for the time being, unless something comes along that completely revolutionizes how i feel about all this.

every time emmrich has talked about becoming a lich, it's always been a vague future thing with no real timeline attached. in hindsight, it's pretty clear that the only thing delaying the process was himself—emmrich was uncertain if he was willing to risk the danger of the rites. this uncertainty, however, has left corentin with the impression that even if he was 100% sure and raring to go forward, there would be tests and preparation that needed to happen first, and there would be time before the rites could happen.

so when the question of whether or not to save manfred comes up, corentin does what any good boyfriend would and he tells emmrich that he's dedicated his life to potentially becoming a lich, and he needs to be really certain before throwing that away.

corentin is allergic to being a bummer; even when he's really struggling with something, he feels like he can't talk about it if it'll upset someone else. emmrich is desperately afraid of death, and corentin is desperately afraid of being alone, so he's gotten very good at keeping himself... palatable. so when emmrich responds to his encouragement by saying that he'll start preparing for the rites immediately? well, corentin feels locked into the supportive boyfriend schtick. he feels like he has to be unerringly supportive and not question emmrich's decision, even though it is definitely something that effects him, too.

the whole time emmrich's preparing to become a lich, corentin is thumbs up "you got this babe!"-ing his way through it, all while frantically trying to squash down the feeling of impending doom. because he is 100% completely convinced the other shoe is going to drop at any moment and emmrich is going to go to the Lich Corner Store for cigarettes and never come home.

though it should be noted, the skeleton part of "skeleton boyfriend" is really the least of his concerns. it's just everything around that.

and where does this leave emmrich?

he doesn't know it, but it leaves him with a pretty miserable boyfriend. they're going to have to reckon with corentin's issues at some point.

just like they're going to have to deal with emmrich's. becoming a lich is maybe not 100% a good thing, at least not right this second. he says that he "thought he knew its price," and in keeping with that banter i linked in the first part, he seems unprepared for the reality of losing people. it feels a little like he's rushing into it headfirst before the grief can hit him full force and he can get cold feet.

i'm really curious how he's going to feel if something happens to corentin (or almost happens), and it gives him a reality check on his boyfriend's mortality. losing manfred is already unimaginably hard... is he prepared for what it's going to be like when he loses corentin?

because i don't think he's realized that he isn't, yet.

[batcastlesociety]

wowie zowie!! another one!! simon again, hwhegewh. second installment in my KRABTLASBCO rant series!! of course, this one is about CV2! :3 akin to my previous rant, this one is under the cut! wahoo, more yapping!!! ^_^

(⚠️ tw for discussions of rotting/decaying alive, basically [simon's curse] ⚠️)

MAIN MAN!!!!! SIMON'S QUEST SIMON!!!!! YEAAAGGHHH THAT'S MY BOY!!! ((resounding clapping and cheering))

i. Love this design. so much. i'd say off the bat that this is pretty functional!! but for sad reasons. :(

this outfit is a stark contrast to what we see in CV1. instead of a bunch of armour with lots of leather and metal accents, now we get simon in some sort of bodysuit, along with all-metal armour! additionally, simon doesn't have his cool headband in this one, which honestly makes me feel a little bit sad for some reason.

anyway, i can't really tell what sort of material the bodysuit even is, at least not with proper historical context. 💀 i would say that it could be leather, but the way the fabric wrinkles around simon's ankle despite the rest of it practically being vacuum-sealed on him, along with the way it's shaded, i honestly have no idea. probably some sort of cloth, but still,,, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

same goes for his boots, now that i'm taking a better look at them. they're a different colour than the rest of his bodysuit – the latter being a dark, blueish black (?) and his boots being a rather easy-on-the-eyes silver – but they're also vacuum sealed.

hell, they don't even really look like boots all that much; you can't see any buttons or laces or actual soles or anything. i mean, there is the possibility that simon put some sort of padding or insoles on the bottom of his feet before he squeezed himself into the bodysuit, but that's the only possibility i can really think of... (╥﹏╥)

and, for functionality with the bodysuit, i have no idea! i mean, considering simon is literally rotting under there due to his curse, the fabric of his bodysuit definitely does the job (at least somewhat...) of literally holding his body together. so that means that it should at least be durable, which is good.

considering, once again, that My Main Man Slimeon is pretty much about to collapse at this point, the bodysuit helps with that. it also aids general protection; his entire body is covered (along with the all-metal armour; more on that in a bit) in fabric (??), which shows that he's just less vulnerable. he has his guard up even more because why would he want to get cursed or just maybe even heavily injured in general AGAIN??? 💀

now, speaking of the all-metal armour, it is EVERYWHERE lmao. plus, there is armour in the places i talked about with CV1 simon! his knees and elbows are protected!! he also has pauldrons on BOTH sides!!! bringing back the loincloth motif from CV1 but this time it's metal!!! yeeeaaaaaaaghhh, awesome!!! :0

the armour isn't too thick, so it shouldn't hinder his movements too much. maybe. i'm just going with the assumption that although simon wants more protection in this armour, it wouldn't be heavy as to ruin his agony-riddled body even more, here. i dunno, that's just what i would do...

all-metal armour is definitely a wise choice! it seems our poor goober learned the hard way from getting cursed!! ahaha...hahaaa.... somebody please save him

anyway, my point still stands!! metal armour is obviously more fortified than leather. it's thicker and harder to cut through! (D:>...) but the poleyns and pauldrons, along with the chestplate and everything else just being metal? definitely more strong. i'm sure simon's willing to sacrifice a bit of flexibility in turn for overall protection. now, i still have no idea about the boots, gloves, and bodysuit overall, but otherwise i rate this armour a 10/10 in terms of strength and functionality.

now, for design and appearance!! (^vv^)

this design is also very, very memorable for me!! i do definitely miss the headband, but the bold, colourful armour makes up for it! i absolutely adore the gold and bejeweled accents! they really stand out in the armour, and the main purpleish red as the base colour for his outfit is pretty recognizable as a Simon Colour™, especially in his SSBU design (which i will also explore later :3)!!

although i have absolutely no idea what the idea for simon's gloves and boots was, i do still like them regardless!! the silver in contrast to the gold and maroon-ish/byzantine main accents really stands out!

ALSO. THE BOB??? god damn simon!!!! i honestly prefer him with longer hair because it's easier to draw, somehow... but i feel like that just makes this outfit even more unique! more people recognize simon with hair that's a tad longer, but this goofy little guy has SHORTER hair. very interesting!!! 10/10!!

tldr; strength and overall functionality: 10/10. appearance and overall design: 10/10.

[rebelfell]

every time you post pornstar!Eddie I feel like that picture of the wolf tearing his shirt open

if I didn't have a fear of being perceived and also digital footprint I'd be in your comments posting that image 0.2 seconds after you hit the publish button

but since I am and tumblr won't let me send images from anon, just know that I am thinking that picture so hard hoping the vibes go through my little device and to you <3

WAIT ALSO

I have a lore questions

What do they do outside of the porn stuff? Like they can't be doing that 24/7 but what are reader's hobbies? Also will Eddie be using more of his masseuse skills (reader probably needs it in their shoulders from nights spent hunched over the editing software)??

Also what about interactions that are outside of the porn realm? Do they get coffee? Do they stumble upon each other at the store? Can Eddie even go to the store as porn's new hot star or does he have to go in disguise? What's it like without all the cameras and the moans and the nakedness? Is it more vulnerable with their clothes on??

I know there's still more content to come but I really want to just dive head first in and swim through all the details and longing. no more dragging out the plot!! I'm slobbering against the glass. let me in please. I promise I don't have rabies :D ignore the foaming at the mouth I'm just excited!

I’m so glad you like them, bubs! And ohhhhhhhh my gosh so many good questions! You gave me lots and lots to think about the last few days…

I’ve not thought too much about the lore of this story because it started as a horny drabble, BUT I’ll throw some too many thoughts under the cut.

I think at least in the beginning, there was not much outside of work that R had time for.

In my head, you were kind of carrying out every task on your own cos you just really wanted this new endeavor to work. It’s not that you “hated” porn, you just always had felt like you were more suited to being behind the camera and you finally had the opportunity to prove your mettle.

So it wasn’t 24/7, but it took up a fair amount of your time and didn’t leave room for much else.

And I think the basis of your connection with Eddie was in your working relationship, so most of the things you do together would be work stuff. He absolutely offered massages and you initially turned them down, not wanting to cross any boundaries or blur any lines (nice try).

But after one particularly long editing session… it’s just too good an offer to pass up. Plus, it led to him telling you about massage school, and...

Well, we know how that turned out.

I would also like to think R is a big movie buff. Sort of like a less-annoying Dawson Leery where you made movies with a shitty camcorder in your backyard and just really enjoyed the idea of bringing an idea in your head to life.

Definitely a very creative/imaginative type.

And I feel like you got into the porn industry thinking ‘I can do this for money and then work on my stuff in my down time’ and eventually got to a point where you were just phoning it in, and you weren’t working on anything, just kind of going through the motions. A little lost.

Then Eddie shows up and he becomes your muse and collaborator all in one neat and tidy package. You feel inspired again and you get this urge to Create that you haven't felt in a long time.

Outside of work, you are definitely friends. But I think Eddie had to do a lot of coaxing to get you to ease up on work. Once you start generating some buzz and revenue for the studio and start getting more funding/crew etc, Eddie is the one who has to remind you that you don't have to do everything anymore and you can (and need) to take time for yourself once in a while.

With him, if you want 🙃

I could see you two walking around a museum or art installation and talking about the pieces and getting into long debates about them. I don't see Eddie as a big ArT gUY, but I think he likes looking at the things you look at and trying to see them through your eyes. I think he's just fascinated by your mind and your vision and that's one way he's able to somewhat experience it.

And it’s during these moments away from all the lights and the cameras and the grunting and the moaning and the squishy noises that he feels so much more intimate with you. Because neither one of you is being your Work Self.

Eddie also feels 1000% more vulnerable with his clothes on. For someone who is naked for a living, he feels so much more exposed when he reveals something about his personality like a band he likes via a t-shirt or something like that.

He's still carrying around that Hawkins-induced shame about being a "freak" for the kind of music he likes or being ostracized for his hobbies. And I think there will always be a part of him that fears the judgement of that side of himself.

And for you, seeing him in clothes feels almost more intimate than seeing him naked? Because when he's naked, he's working, he's got his game face on, his bareness is like armor almost. When he is in his regular clothes, he doesn't have those walls up anymore and you feel like you're seeing the real him. He’s not Eddie Munson, Pornstar.

He’s just...Eddie.

for your viewing pleasure

[ai-the-broccoli]

DN ask game: 11 (lawlightmane), 24 and 25, please!

thank you for the ask!!

11. what do you think about (lawlightmane)?

I love them!!!

in terms of comedy, their yotsuba arc shenanigans were some of my favourite moments in the show. like I know how much this phrase gets said but seriously. world's worst toxic polycule. I always love horrible polycules in fiction, they're great fun (see gramarye ot3 and matt-juan-celeste-adrian from ace attorney; I ship the first one, and the second one is just so intriguing in terms of how fucked up it was. dysfunctionality, obsessive hatred & rivalry, murders, suicide, accidentally-implied grooming, dependency, untreated dpd [this one is like strongly implied in canon] and probably also bpd, npd and who knows what else mixing together in the worst way possible, the mysterious relationship between a codependent lesbian [strongly implied] working for years - in the role of his manager - with the womanizing bisexual male actor she fucking hates, the guy just having spy cameras installed all over his male rival's home for some fucking reason......... oh wait) but also! in this case they are like... surreal in such a nice way because of the contrast??? like it's so incredibly toxic and yet here they are. having the most godawful first date (canonically addressed as a date) in the animated sitcom that is called Death Note Yotsuba arc. love to see it. okay how do I explain the appeal here? uhh basically it's kinda like. gap moe.

now comedy aside (but also sorta combined with the comedic aspects; mainly I mean "moving onto it as a serious thing"). MAN. lawlightmane is just fucking insanely good in general. like it's like. it's many things, it is EXTREMELY compelling and an incredibly intriguing dynamic that is full of potential for many things. iirc after I first watched DN and got obsessed with it badly, I made a tierlist and on the topmost tier I put lawlight and lawlightmane (lawlightmane wasn't even an item on the tiermaker I was using, so I just uploaded a screenshot to use myself). both because it was very funny as World's Worst PolyculeTM, and because it's genuinely great. and now my opinions on all of those characters and relationships are much more developed, I think I definitely appreciate it more seriously on a whole.

regarding each respective one-on-one relationship involved in lawlightmane...

well I am. obviously majorly incredibly into lawlight as a ship (beloved otp-tier ship, and maybe somewhat on that tier across fandoms too; I think it's my top favourite canonically-m/m ship rn [maybe tied with another 1-2, but not necessarily]). not sure I need to elaborate since I mean it's lawlight, it's really good

and then law/mane [censoring since this is... negative-ish? so I'm not putting it in the ship tag]. uh full disclosure I have no interest in law/mane if light isn't involved in the picture sorry. (at least rn I've never seen anything that's convinced me) I can see the appeal, and I can also see why some people don't like it, but for me it's really just... well it's just not much my thing lol unless it's a lawlightmane-related situation. OH also personally I can't see it as a romantic thing per se, like my brain just really doesn't compute at the idea of "L is in romantic love with Misa" or vice versa even in an AU. but as for any sexual aspect, it's just a plain "this isn't my thing" situation (as in I'm not interested but the idea doesn't make my brain automatically go "???? [error 404 does not compute]" as a romantic depiction may). their dynamic also doesn't grip me like yagamane (also non-romantic -ish ship for me) does, so yeah, overall I can't say I ship it outside of shipping lawlightmane! HOWEVER as a dynamic it's pretty neat within lawlightmane too.

EDIT (before posting the draft): I woke up today and was about to add "actually I think for a ship such as law/mane, what would probably at least slightly convince me of it has be something thematic probably, so if anyone has any ideas related to how they thematically complement each other or such feel free to send them my way, I like that sort of stuff" but then as I was brushing my teeth my brain filled in the gaps vaguely myself. it's something related to gluttony/hunger/appetite etc. and uh... okay I can see it now ngl lmao. that being said even in that vein I still just like them in lawlightmane for the time being, what changed was that I now have a better feel of their dynamic within lawlightmane if that makes sesne.

moving onto yagamane. man I LOVE yagamane and their whole... *gesture vaguely*. I personally definitely don't see it as a... idk, relationship formed of mutual genuine romantic and/or sexual attraction, but like, it very much doesn't have to be. it's super appealing in the way it's sooooo fucked-up in all sorts of ways, including thematically, mutually, and it's incredibly compelling to chew on. I also love both of them as individual characters (extremely obsessed with light but also really love misa and find her fascinating to think about) so that helps.

anyway lawlightmane really is very good, imo. I love it, thanks for asking anon

24. any headcanons you want to share?

let's see, what have I not mentioned much here yet?

Matsuda has indeed sort of had a crush on Light

Soichiro considers himself a straight man but is not one

The Shinigamis technically can have sex despite what the author tells us, but they are largely asexual or at the very least on the ace spectrum

Kiyomi doesn't canonically present butch but she should be. in an AU where she lives to the future

Misa doesn't die after she attempts suicide near the end in the anime canon

Light should take to gambling, c'mon you know he has JUST the right personality for that shit, go for it Light, develop a gambling addiction instead of a serial killing one! you can do it!!

nsft-related:

weirdly to me Mello is mostly a dom except for when it's with Near. though I haven't thought about this extensively so my opinion can change

I'm not a 100% strict lawlight top/bottom purist per se but I'm sorry I completely can't digest a relationship where Light is exclusively or mostly a dom and a top while L is exclusively or mostly a sub and a bottom. I respect your (general "you"; as in whoever is reading this, not the anon) opinion if you do, and it's fair, but I just can't see it, it doesn't work for me. the dom part is more important than the top/bottom part for me also.

on that note my opinion is that Light TECHNICALLY can dom, especially in relationships with people other than L, but. he's actually just... not into it. he thinks that he is, but it will just turn out he isn't. he'll get the instant powertrip high over it for a very short period of time at first, and then he just. loses it, the high fades quickly and he gets bored as fuck. and he isn't into it at all and finds that he wants to be the sub to some other person actually. which in itself is something he'll find extremely humiliating but that's good too

anyway it's nearly a fandom consensus at this point that Light has a praise kink I think lmao. that I do agree with. I will propose that we also assign praise kink to Matsuda and Soichiro; it's already been done (well, one by someone else and the other by yours truly) and I think it makes sense tbh.

... actually on that note. my personal hot take is that we as a fandom should very much consider applying the "like father like son" principle to nsft involving Soichiro Yagami, in connection to Light Yagami (<- you must understand that I have a lot of those takes because the first DN fic and currently my only DN fic I've published off-anon is in fact a soichello fic. it is only natural)

also yes I think Kiyomi should be a dom and has S tendencies

Misa definitely gives sub energy. though I wonder if she can also dom

25. ramble on about whatever you’d like to

lately I've wondered briefly if MikaMatt (as a romantic? ship and/or as a platonic ship) would be good solely because I put them in the roles of Iino and Ishigami respectively in the Kaguya-sama AU (Iino and Ishigami are canonically subtextual love interests to each other, and they're a fun duo even though I don't particularly ship them romantically). however I still do not understand Matt much sadly so this might be as far as it goes [-> note: if any Matt fans see this and want to fill me in, feel free!! I'm always interested in hearing more]

speaking of Mikami. I def like mika / light casually but I often wonder how come I don't actively like it more considering my OTP in mgrc has the whole... god thing, as a major major major draw for me (see: my current blog header title is a reference to that ship). that being said I do get it because mika / light is different from hime / san in various ways outside of it so it tracks

Light should become friends with Chika Fujiwara (he'll hate her but hey. it's fine) and get into board games and card games, it will save him (maybe slightly. sort of. it will help a little at least.)

okay anon so. I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume that you're at least to some degree familiar with the J-drama adaptation (maybe you've watched some of it?), but if not you can still read this part I suppose.

it's so funny that every other adaptation of DN just gets progressively gayer and gayer because dude literally what the fuck was going on with j-drama lawlight lmfao

the fucking shower scene (and everything about it), the ??? scene where L hooks Light to a polygraph??? (no like what the fuck was that really. it's not as infamous as the shower scene, but the blatantly textual sadomasochism is extremely in your face in that one), and the whole blue sceneTM, and then Light practically kissing L's cheek after L's death, and everything else

with that being said. hmmmmmmm. anyway moving on to my feelings about the j-drama in general:

I liked it overall! some stuff in it are very nice. and I like the characters too, but definitely not as much as the canon counterparts.

importantly I absolutely have to see the drama and each character and each relationship in the drama as like, a whole separate thing from the animanga canon, because if I viewed it as an adaptation they would come off as awful whereas as its own thing it is nice.

I like j-drama Light a lot! ...but not even nearly as much as animanga Light, sorry. I have to see him as a whole separate character 100% (that way he's funny and cute-ish, and I can appreciate him), otherwise I can't enjoy him at all because I'll just be thinking "where's my beloved amazing perfect Bad NPD RepTM :( they nerfed him and now he's not relatable anymore" the whole fucking time <- wow this is very normal and doesn't say anything about me at all. dw about it

and on that note. ngl I have to complain a bit. so I've seen more than one person say that j-drama is so much more ""human"" than canon Light, and I mean, that's a fair opinion!! I get what you mean and I totally get where you're coming from. that being said... I'm sorry I don't agree and I'm not sure I like what that implies either. I know that compared to animanga Light, j-drama Light possesses various traits that are societally more associated with "humanity" but y'know what idk. I don't think that's true. to me animanga Light Yagami is extremely human. I think it is an incredibly human wish to desire to become a god, also

personally I don't think j-drama Light is a better person, if he commits the same atrocities as animanga Light and just simply feels worse/feels more empathy/feels more guilt or whatever about it. I strongly believe that your actual morality is determined not by what you feel but by what you do, like, someone who keeps doing bad things while feeling the societally expected level of bad for it is hardly a better person than someone who does the same things, no more, while being unable to feel as much [insert expected feelings] over it (but still doesn't do more bad things than the previous person).

anyway back to the j-drama. basically I like it, and I def have many fond feelings over it personally, but the watching experience wasn't as good as anime DN for me, and there is more stuff that I dislike. and also I can't compare it to animanga DN too much because as an adaptation per se it doesn't work at all imo (but as its own thing? it's fine and I like some stuff in it quite a lot).

anyway I think that's all on my mind for now!! thank you for the great questions, I had fun writing this

[batmansymbol]

I hope this isn't a weird or too random question (and if it is, feel free to ignore ofc!) but I was wondering if you had any advice for someone thinking of writing full-time? The obvious question is, of course, can one make a living from it even if they're not like Stephen King or GRR Martin or something? Do you have any tips from your experience that you would have found helpful when first starting out? <3

Hi, sweet anon! Not weird at all. I'm happy to chime in with some (long) thoughts.

Firstly, yes! Authors can make a full-time living from writing even if they're not GRRM &c. I know a number of full-timers, and some of them aren't even NYT bestsellers.

As a caveat, I know very little about the indie/self-publishing space, so the following is based on my experience in traditional publishing.

I spent around 2-3 years writing books full-time. I no longer do that, and don't plan to return to it unless I have a big commercial breakout. It was just a never-ending parade of financial stress. It's hard even to give "tips" because so much is out of your control -- but if you're considering trying to write full time, you should definitely know what you're signing up for.

Here's an average situation for a non-bestseller trying to full-time it:

Let's say you've published two books, and your third is on the way (awesome!). For your first two novels, you got advances of $40,000, but maybe they've only sold 15k copies apiece -- not enough to "earn out" your advance and start making new money. So, you're not making a cent off your older books. Probably won't for years.

Let's say your book 3 is supposed to publish in June 2025, and it sold for more than your last books: $75,000. Pretty good! Advances are usually divided into thirds these days: 1/3 on contract signing, 1/3 on delivery of the fully edited manuscript (D&A), and 1/3 on publication. So that makes a $50,000 salary this year, yes?

Kind of. Right off the bat, your agent gets 15%, so that would make a $42,500 salary. A little tighter, but still seems doable. Also, you need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS. So, let's ballpark your taxes at $7,000, state and federal, which you'll pay in installments throughout the year.

Contract negotiations take a few months as usual, and let's say in April, you get the first payment: your first $21,250. Nice.

Unfortunately, your editor's swamped, and 2 months go by before they send you edits. When you get the letter in June, you're like -- shit, this is a more extensive revision than I thought. You start rehauling the novel, but after your month-long deadline passes, it's still not right. You take another six weeks before you're happy. It's now September.

Suddenly money is very tight. You got $21,250 in April, but since then you've paid $5,250 in estimated taxes, and every month you pay $2,250 in rent, health insurance, and food. You were supposed to have your second payment already, because the contract's estimated D&A date said September. But you still need to do line edits. You now have $2,500 in the bank. You are very aware that this will last a little over a month.

Your editor gets back after a few weeks, having loved your revision, and has sent you line edits. Thank God she didn't want a second round of bigger edits. But it's now October. You rush through the line edits, turn them in after a single jam-packed week. You have $250 in the bank. Your D&A payment is now due.

A week goes by. Where is the payment? You email your agent. She badgers the publisher. They say the payment will be sent through in a pay run next week, so after agency processing, it'll be with you in early November.

You have $75 in the bank. You start putting everything on your credit cards. Then your utility company makes a direct withdrawal from your checking account. You wake up to an overdraft notice and zero dollars in your account. Holy shit, you think, why did I choose this career. November hits. You are late on rent. Maybe you should start drawing from your retirement account, which you put $5,000 into, one time, three years ago?

When your payment arrives, you're not happy so much as ready to cry with relief. You start paying off your cards and sending late, embarrassed Venmos to your friends. You can finally stop declining invites to hang out because you have no money.

And by then it's November, and you're realizing that you really need to be thinking about your next book. If you were working smart, you got a jump on it earlier in the year, when your editor was late with your edit letter. Let's say you wrote an entire first draft back then, between January and June. (Which, to be clear, IS fast for a novel, do not believe the ridiculous standards of writing speed you see online.) If you now take six months to mold that first draft into actual art, then send it to your agent next May, and she wants changes, and you submit in July, and it sells after an average couple months on submission, you won't get your next contract payment until January, 2026.

ARE YOU ANXIOUS YET?

The above scenario is ordinary. An editor having a delay on an edit letter for a month or two, or an author getting stuck and running over deadline for a month -- that stuff is barely worth commenting on.

And there are all sorts of other bumps in the road. Let's say the publisher has turnover in the contracts department. Immediately, that'll be a delay on your signing payment. I've waited 6 months for a contract payment before. I've waited months for a simple email reply from an editor because the company was going through layoffs.

Add more people into the process, and it gets slower. Are you working on IP, let's say a novelization of a TV property? That team might take months to get back to you even on your proposed outline. Working with a freelancer or cowriter? Add weeks or months to every step. In publishing, you spend half your life waiting. You know what doesn't wait? Rent, taxes, and health insurance.

Anon, this is the shoestring, desperate kind of full-time author existence. If you're doing a little better -- still midlist, but better -- you might have earned out one or more of your backlist titles. That means you'll get additional royalties twice a year, usually April and October. That will help.

Or maybe you're a super-fast writer who's always, always juggling multiple contracts and shooting drafts in and out of your door. That's a decent way to make a healthy living as a full-time author, but you'll need to complete multiple books a year, for sure.

This is why I have a survival job half the week that pays my rent. The stress is still there, but it's less frequent and less intense. Honestly, given my sales figures, which are (checks notes) bad, I'm lucky to get to keep doing this after five novels. Because the biggest looming threat is that if you don't break out, editors will start shutting the door immediately because of your lack of established audience.

The only really reliable way to pay your bills is to break out. Then if your editor leaves your publishing house, and you get reassigned, and that pads 3 months onto the editing process, or whatever, it doesn't matter. You'll have actual, substantial royalty payments twice a year. Your advances will always be over six figures. You can live a normal life where you're not staring into the murky distance, wondering when some payment is going to soar out of the night and into your terrible bank account.

Or ... you can just get a day job. And you will get paid biweekly, reliably, on SPECIFIC DATES!!!, forever. When I tell you this shit was life-changing for me. Good God.

Obviously the biggest problem in this whole post is the bit where I wrote "every month you pay $2,250 in rent, insurance, and food," and worried if I was, in fact, lowballing that amount. What a broken world!

Anyway. Best of luck with the writing, anon -- no matter what your experiences in or around the industry, I hope the work itself continues to feed your soul.

RR

[aquilamage]

still in fuck around and find out exploring mode in Spearmaster. new long thoughts thread:

I'm starting to wonder how I'm gonna react to going back to a more normal eating system after this. Also that I've gotten very used to solving my problems with stabbing. Which I suppose I could still do but then spears will be an actual resource

route has been industrial - garbage - drainage - gutter - drainage

found the second broadcast in Industrial which HOO. Two new iterator names gossiping about unparalleled innocence's bullying of five pebbles in the groupchat! First of all, something I just noticed looking at the wording again: I think UI is they/themmed which hell yeah

and then. saying that everyone is trying to contact Five Pebbles about it like yeah buddy he is ignoring EVERYBODY. the fact that there's also a mention of EP thrown in just for funsies. But the most important bits for me are 1) the fact that the one iterator refers to him as "the one near Looks to the Moon." Hell yeah, finally phrasing geography in reference to her. Also kinda funny.

and TWO) "Isn't she his senior, enough to the point where she calls herself Big Sister Moon?"!!!!!! I did NOT expect it to be that the title came from her, that is a fascinating piece of characterization. The way this is phrased makes me think this kind of occurrence is at least common, if not expected, but still!

damn they changed Garbage Wastes up a ton. there's acid pools in there now! the geography is wacky. also I found a room in there with a bunch of tendril beasts and their stuff on the floors. that room sucks. Very upset that I can't get past it at the moment because there's gotta be something good over there. I did at least learn that while the tendril beasts don't die even if you stick a billion spears in them, they do die to explosives. Which will be good news once I get around to Artificer probably but isn't helpful at the moment

Drainage now having a lot of rooms on a raise-lower water level timer definitely makes the area easier for me, so that's nice

I saved and quit shortly after arriving in the Gutter so for a bit I thought it was a glitch that the game was telling me I was in Chimney. Nope! subarea. It's really weird though because I scoured the map in that area and I didn't see a single fucking thing that seemed of note.

At one point in drainage I saved and when I woke up my den was already open and flooded? And when I went out everything was kinda dark and shaking and some of the rooms were raining in them?!? And it looked like the timer wasn't progressing. It stopped after a bit but I was real scared and disoriented about that.

I'm guessing it has to do with another of the seemingly automated 'shits fucked' broadcast message things that's like yeah the whole installation is gonna fail if not fixed in time. And drainage isn't always functioning because things are starting to fail. I do wonder if this is because things are going bad with Looks to the Moon, or Five Pebbles? or both?

And then the second Drainage broadcast is also a doozy!

7RS going "I feel like I've doomed not one, but two iterators" asfdhjsdhf hello?? I'm currently taking that as confirmation that whatever info they sent Five Pebbles the first time enabled him to do whatever it was that fucked with his and Moon's water supply, but also: how does that doom Five Pebbles?

Which, combined with the later bit from NSH about Five Pebbles probably feeling scared about the rot stuff makes me think. I feel like I've brought this one up before (probably related to that one Hunter line) but is Five Pebbles dying? from the rot stuff? Because my best guess previously had been the thing about 7RS giving him the instructions on circumventing the self-destruction taboo, but now I am also considering if he might have actually gotten something to try and help get rid of the rot.

I don't think it is, and I'm especially hoping it isn't, though.

If I'm interpreting the dates on the lore pearls right, the water incident happens a while before the discussion of the pictures of Five Pebbles having the rot that Chasing Wind and 7RS have, so that seems to support that the rot might have been a result of what Five Pebbles did rather than the reason for it. Also just the wording on some of the things, like the bit about Five Pebbles not being in a good mindset to use the information, make me think it's meant to be more along the lines of my earlier thoughts.

Also it would be a way more interesting narrative and character arc if Five Pebbles didn't do it to actively try and save his life. It's still tragic both ways, but I would be much more compelled if he made a choice to do something that would likely kill Looks to the Moon because of all his frustrations with existence and the Big Task etc boiling over.

(also in that broadcast the reiteration that 7RS and five pebbles were friends and that he looked up to them... ;v;)

[lowkeyanakin]

Most/Least Tag Game

Thanks for tagging me @demon----dean <333

Rules: give us the links to your wonderful works with the Most hits/Most kudos/Most comments/Most bookmarks/Most words/Fewest words.

Most hits/Most kudos

No surprise here lol, albeit I scarcely believe people actually like my silly little gen fix-it with one of the NICHEST rarepairs ever. Im very thankful for the attention and the love it recieved and I hope i'll be able to publish the next chapter by the end of this year

Most comments/Most words

Stand By Me again technically, so i'll go with the second one with most words!!! My medieval AU!!! It started as a joke and by the end of it I had created so much lore and tradition and culture, it read like another story entirely. I'm super proud of it and extremely happy that I managed to finish it <3

Most bookmarks

Useless to say, Stand By Me is still n1 and Golden Phantom is n2. Third place: the first installment of my FACPOV (sort of?) series, also known as the Catverse because I gave Obi-Wan a cat (and Anakin will get one too). I have one more story I plan to write and it's really funny that it all started from a Tik Tok I saw lmao

Fewest words/Least Subscriptions

For the fewest words category we have this flashfic I wrote after being BOMBARDED with pictures of Ewan's hands and I LOVED how it turned out!!!! Plus: my favourite SW writer commented on it and I still can't believe it happened.

Next: fewest subscriptions. Possibly the fic I liked the most writing and DRAINED ME in the best possible way. It's written as a sort of inner dialogue and man, I love writing crazy shit from Vader's pov. He's so fucked up and broken and full of contradictions. I wish more people read it but it's definitely not everybody's cup of tea.

Least Bookmarks

Another flashfic about Anakin and his relationship with sand that I absolutely adored writing but that basically no one read, yeah. It's a pity but it doesn't suprise me because it's the second fic in an obianidala series and there's not many people into the ship.

Least Comments

My first ever whump obikin fic lololol, no surprise here, it's quite old and not very well-written.

Least Kudos/Least Hits

Category: least kudos! At n1 we have Sky and Sand, then Battle fot the Sun. Third place goes to my pinocchio AU! Obi-Wan is horribly sad in this one because Anakin is dead and writing it was terrible because I kept crying lmao. I still love the concept and I'll probably edit it at some point because it wish it got the attention I think it deserved. It's a good one, at least for my own standards

As for least hits, other than Sky and Sand and Battle for the Sun we have its prequel, in which I make Obi-Wan suffer horribly like he does in the OWK series. Once again, basically no one read it and I wish more people did because I love writing angst and this one is OOOF an angstfest.

This was fun to do, I no-pressurely nominate @edgeofn1ght @complementaryhalves @jabba-theslutt @maiaspen @barmadumet @obiwaned @purrvaire <333

[actual-lea]

psst bestie i want to start biking to the grocery store for fun and profit but i know less than nothing about bikes, do u have any recommendations for what kind of bike/helmet/accessories i should get or any other biking advice ??? thank u love u xoxo

I am grabbing you gently by the face and pulling you into my arms

Thank you for asking me about literally anything related to bikes

You've come to the right place, sort of - this is all just my own personal thoughts/opinions and you can probably find plenty of actual good (non super rambly) advice on reddit/youtube, but!

If you're wanting a bike for just going to the store, I would recommend looking for one that's labelled as a "city" or "hybrid" bike - these are pretty much made for commuting, they generally have regular ol' flat handlebars (rather than the fancy drop bars you see on fancy road bikes) and wider tires than a road bike, and also they're designed to have a more upright riding position (read: comfortable) so you're not leaning over the bars like some sort of aero racer guy in lycra. The wider tires also make the ride more comfortable, and some bikes have suspension on the front, which just means there's basically a shock absorber - depending on how gnarly the sidewalks/roads you're planning to ride on are, that can make a big difference in comfort also (and mayhaps keep groceries from bouncing around too much), but I definitely wouldn't say it's necessary. (The bike I've been riding on for three years, lovingly named Hot Topic, doesn't have any suspension and the only time I really miss it is when I roll over a particularly terrible pothole.) A lot of city bikes also come with fenders/mudguards (or whatever you want to call them - they're the things that keep your tires from splashing mud and water up into your face and/or butt) already included, which is nice if it's rained recently and you have to ride through any puddles.

They sometimes also come with racks also (or at the very least they generally have the mounts for racks included - if you're buying from a bike store they can absolutely install it for you), which you could use for bags/baskets/whatever for handy grocery carrying capabilities - if you're getting more than a few groceries at a time I would definitely think about investing in a rear rack and like a cargo basket thing of some sort to use with it as opposed to putting everything in a front basket, just because putting a lot of weight on the front can affect your center of gravity and make it a bit harder to steer/balance (ask me how I know). Alternatively a backpack can work just fine for transporting Stuff, but having something heavy on your back will make you sweaty and will kind of suck after a short while.

HOWEVER if you're doing the really budget option of spending like a hundred bucks on a bike at Walmart (which is a great option if you don't want to invest a ton in a bike that you aren't going to use a whole lot) then pretty much anything they have should work just fine. Last time I checked I think even they have city/hybrid bikes there as well? But if not, I would probably say just find a nice cheap mountain bike or "cruiser" bike, preferably one with the smoothest tires you can find that aren't super fat and preferably one with a nice comfy seat.

I don't really have any insight regarding helmets - I'm on my second helmet (only because I think you're supposed to replace them every few years) ever since getting "serious" about biking, and both of them have just been run of the mill $30 Schwinn helmets off the shelf at Walmart, and I've never had any problems with them. I think I actually looked up a list of the "best" (safest) helmets once and those were definitely on there as a good budget option, so like. As long as it's a helmet and it's on your head, you're probably good to go. (just make sure it fits properly - there's a little knob thing on the back that you can twist to adjust how tight it is, and make sure the strap is nice and snug under your chin also, you don't want it to fall off if you do ever happen to fall on your head)

The only other accessories I would recommend as strictly necessary would be lights (especially a taillight, ESPECIALLY if you will be doing any riding on the road or at crosswalks where it's really important for cars to see you), and a good lock. For that, I would say maybe don't go for the absolute cheapest option you can find, only because I had a bike stolen before and they cut through the cheap little cable lock I had like it was nothing lmao. (RIP $90 Walmart mountain bike, you were truly too good for this world.) ALSO if your grocery store doesn't have bike racks to lock it to (mine definitely don't) a good option can be to lock it to one of the cart return railing thingies instead, though obv I would recommend using one that's sorta farther out in the parking lot and not near a whole bunch of cars.

On the subject of lights, yeah 1000% get a taillight (you can get a set with front and back lights at Walmart for like ten bucks or something - the front one wraps around the handlebars and the rear one usually goes on the seat post, underneath the seat) and just have it on and flashing anytime you're on the bike, even in the daytime, if there is even the slightest chance that cars being able to see you is important. (Front light is also good, though I usually don't really use mine much unless it's actually getting dark or raining or something.)

If you're going to be riding on sidewalks or other places where pedestrians are present, it might not be a bad idea to also get a bell. The etiquette for trails/hike and bike paths/whatever is to give an audible signal before you pass someone, especially if you're on a bike and passing someone who's walking, to let them know you're there so they don't cross into your path and get run over. The usual thing is to call out "on your left" (because you should stay to the right and pass on the left if you're in the U.S. - I assume it's the opposite in places where you drive on the left instead) as you approach, with a couple seconds lead time to make sure they hear you/aren't startled by your presence and try to move TO the left instead. I do not have a very loud voice, and feel like I'm yelling when I do that, so I got a nice loud bell that I chime before going around people instead (YMMV on which is more comfortable - I feel kinda rude dinging a bell at people too sometimes, but it's definitely more rude (and dangerous) to just make no noise at all and hope they don't swerve to the side suddenly, so yeah).

You'll probably also want a little air pump to keep your tires inflated (the tires have little writing on the side to tell you what PSI/bar/whatever they should be inflated to) - again, you can get little kits at Walmart/Target/wherever that just come with lights and bell and pump already altogether so don't feel like you need to spend a ton on any of this stuff.

OH AND SUNGLASSES, I would recommend just getting like some dollar store sunglasses if you don't already have some that you can wear, not just for keeping the sun out of your eyes but also to protect your eyes from dust and bugs and stuff. Do not underestimate how much it sucks to have even the tiniest gnat fly into or around your eye, because you WILL have to close it/blink rapidly for a few seconds to get it out and you WILL momentarily lose your depth perception and it WILL be scary if it happens while you're moving fast.

Good lord I'm so sorry for this novel, hopefully there is at least SOMETHING remotely helpful in here, and if you have any other thoughts/questions at all please feel free to ask, there is absolutely no such thing as a stupid question in my book when it comes to bike.

[cigaretterivals]

DSMP Rivals and Fighting Game Archetypes

Also relating to the last post because now I have fighting game brainrot, its been a handful of years since I was more interested in a few of them but I've always been a sucker for the character archetypes

You already have plenty of locations that you can choose from for the maps considering the entire dsmp map is your oyster in that regard. Community house, L'manburg, Las Nevadas, Artic Commune, etc etc you get what I mean. Pandora's Vault could definitely be thrown in there as well and whether its inside or outside would be up to how much room exactly you would need but I think main cell could be feasible imo

I'm not the most WELL versed in the actual specific archetypes, also because some characters are either super niche or feel like they could overlap multiple archetypes (and the websites im looking at are bombarding me with ads) so we're gonna take all this in a lighthearted fun way okay? perfect, anyway

c!Dream is either a rushdown archetype OR hes hit & run. I'm more inclined to say rushdown soley for the fact that Dream feels very much like he would come with a moveset that rewards juggling your opponent with long complicated combos. He would probably have a good reset ability, and his character would be the reason the game has a burst mechanic so that you don't get stuck in an endless loop of getting your ass kicked (unless you get baited into that burst which is the worst thing ever esp when you can practically hear the clown music in the background)

However combos can't last forever, and to keep things fair, his heavy hitters would most likely be something that launches his opponents away from him. Dealing stronger damage, but also giving the opponent a chance to regroup away from his onslaught until rushdown characters do what they do best

I'm inclined to say he probably wouldn't have a projectile move, if it worked with his kit he could have one maaaaaaaybe two as a treat, but for the most part his utility comes out of getting up close and personal. Aka he would not be having a fun time against zoning characters

Special move wise I can't think of many specifics right now, but for almost all of the characters they would probably be references just cause I think that's fun. One of them would have to be related to the revive book because how could it not be, and the others could even be references to some of his best manhunt moments if you're in the camp that believes manhunt is canon to the dsmp (which I personally am)

c!Techno is a bit trickier because his fan interpretation really depends on whether or not you picture him as a hybrid with a more human appearance OR if you go full piglin/hoglin. You could also have your "both is good" moment by having him start off with the more human looking hybrid form and have his Piglin form be one of his special abilities. Going with that version though would most likely make Techno an Install archetype (or even Stance? Listen these ones were too complicated for me in case it wasn't obvious yet I played characters that either hit fast or hit hard)

But Stance or Install aside, I'm a bit torn on his actual moveset/ combo ability. Techno often tanks a lot of hits because he makes up for his physical lack of a shield by use of potions to keep him up and running and increasing his damage output (which could fit into the Stance archetype if he had a move that essentially let him power up by giving him a potion ability? Or would that be more like a Charge character?)

Giving him a secendary archetype after Install/Stance he would probably be a Punisher or Reversal or whatever the archetype is called for when he's stuck in a block chain but the second the opponent fucks up and drops that chain he's able to jump on that oppurtunity and absolutely ruin the other persons day. I also like how it feels like it plays well into his "I shall repay that injustice a thousand times over." general vibe. Not a defensive fighting style, but one that does play more into countering an ongoing attack vs being the one immediately on the offensive. While his combos would deal a lot of damage, to balance that out I would say he doesn't have good juggle/reset ability so he eventually needs to back off to recoup and wait for his next moment of oppurtunity.

Special moves again not really sure, like the most my brain can come up with right now is him absolutely chucking a human sized potato into his opponent. Other than that his 3-5 meter special could also be wither related

c!Tubbo is a zoner you can't tell me that little shit is not spamming the HELL out of the stage with bombs and mini nukes and bees and who knows what else tell me I'm wrong.

If I get more fighting game thoughts for any of the other characters I'll probably be back but thats all for now k thanks <3

[icharchivist]

Tbh that's my issue with a lot of modern video games

I don't need photorealistic graphics. I want things to look good and clear and interesting

Trying to make your humans look like real humans only leads to the uncanny valley and it usually ends up dating your game because by the time the next generation comes out, your graphics are outdated

Also, I play video games to get away from people

It's completely fine to stylize things. It looks better, even in twenty years, it avoids the uncanny valley, it can still be expressive! And it cuts down on rendering and ideally on development costs. Like, I play the new Baldur's Gate and my computer is not high-end, but the game runs fine. Except for the dialogue scenes, where sometimes the expressions are weird and it kind of lingers uncomfortably for a few seconds before going to the next dialogue. Again, probably a problem with my computer, but it's a bit weird every time

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to Relink, which is a very stylized Anime game and I'm sure it's still gonna look good in 20 years

Or like, Super Mario. The new Zeldas. Stuff like that

There's also the argument that back then, games had to sell you on their narrative and story and gameplay instead of just graphics. I personally don't have an opinion on this, there's plenty of ugly games that also suck as well as pretty games with good stories. But I'm also not one of those people who throw a fit about a game not running at 60 FPS

But yeah, Final Fantasy games could totally embrace their Anime roots, I'm sure they'd be better for it

Fortunately, animation in movies at least is moving towards more stylized and I think that could be cool

Video games are art as well, after all and I'm happy for each one that isn't trying and then subsequently struggling with this self-imposed realism where it's not actually needed

You don't have to publish this ask btw, this just popped into my head just now and I have a lot of thoughts about animation

TOTALLY AGREE, 100%.

Like i think trying to perfect some graphic is fine and all but it's been quite a few years now that the progress is genuinely not worth it. Like the constant rush for realism often end up bringing duller artistic choices (which is even more noticeable with the remake trend in general because you see how older games went around those "graphic limitations") and it's just... not worth it? not with how big and huge it makes a game in the end?

like i know BG3 is that big because it's a huge game and stuff, but the fact i need over 150GB of stockage to install it gives me hives. If a part of it is due to the overthe top animations and high res's designs... i'd rather them toning it down instead.

Final Fantasy definitely fall into this category as well. Like for crying out loud, they justified making the remake a multiparter because the assets for Midgar alone were too big to just make the prologue of the game (which it IS, the current remake that came out in 2020 only covers the PROLOGUE of the main game) and it ended up being the reason they went completely off script and made a whole new narrative instead. All because they wanted the whole city to be this HD? Like Crisis Core came out in 2007, it's not perfect graphic wise, but it plays well within its limitation. And most of it happens in Midgar!!! they just knew to limitate as much of the Midgar's sets as they could!! Seeing how its remake just basically butcher most of the artistic creativity just by replacing the models with HD models is genuinely so boring to me. What's the point!! what's the point!!

maybe it's nostalgia and all but i'm at a point where i feel like most graphisms from up to the mid 2010s, as far as realism go, have pretty much filled this artistic approach, and anything else is just more flashy just to prove they can do it.

like i keep seeing those Last of Us' remaster's comparaison and i feel so ill like, the first game already holds up fine!! it didn't need all those remasters what the fuck are you people on about!! how is it improving the game the slightest!! i mean i know it's all about money, but jesus christ it's SO not worth it???? (for the record i don't give a shit about TLOU, i just saw the screenshots and it makes me feel ill).

i've also seen comparaisons of some Metal Gear Solid's remakes comparaisons where in order to chase the realism of the effects of the jungle and everything, they just completely removed the stylized lightning and atmosphere because REALISM, amnt i right? how is that better?? i don't need 30GB+ of game on my computer just to nod like "ah yes this one cutscene was worth me uninstalling a couple of my old games for it. you got me."

at this point i'd rather they focus on the story! on the characters! allocate this time somewhere else!

and it comes with a major disregard for stylized games in general. Games that don't want to pursue realism and are doing just fine like this.

idk i'm also just rambling but it makes me so sad. I'm not even against HD graphisms, but i definitely think we reached a cap years ago already and most of the attempt at progress we've had since have been about removing the stylization to push the realism, and it's genuinely not the interesting way to push the medium forward.

and like i'm definitely at the age where i'm probably clouded with nostalgia and i'm just "old man yelling at clouds" (ahah get it because Cloud stri-) and all but this is genuinely something that gets me annoyed.

and with ff7 in particular i'm just so upset because the pursue of realism led to "the game is too big now because of the assets so we need to cut it into pieces" to "but the pieces we have don't have enough plots to explore all the assets we have so now we're doing an original story!" and every decisions the "remake" has taken outside of the remake portions have been making me sick in my stomach. And while greed is of course the main cause of it all, it just ends up feeling so disingenuous and now i'm at a point a remake i awaited for a long time just so the saga could have a coherent imagery together (because the OG's graphisms do in fact clash a lot with the rest of the graphisms of the others game of the saga) just now is something i want nothing to do with. (except to take screenshots when the characters look pretty. 3D model simulator only.)

so yeah. felt. so much so. it fucking kills meeee like whyyy

BUT ALSO YEAH it's why games like Relink is definitely up my alley on that. Finally a game that is trying to actually do some style and isn't relying on realism to sell you something. Fucking lord. At last. We just needed Granblue to save us istg.

[pricechecktranslations]

in response to my last question: no prob! i understand i shouldve been more specific. the kind of thing im looking for is pretty much anything with very confusing lore i can solve bc i enjoy that typa thing. also yes, anime style is preferred but anything similar is fine ^^ it could be either novels or songs, or both, i like the concept of there being multiple kinds of media for one series. i do enjoy fantasy, especially when it has a dark turn.

(apologies if my typing is off, im just waking up & its 7 in the morning ; ; )

also thank u !!

Hm… (under the cut because this has gotten a bit long)

So, in case you didn't see the replies on the first ask, there's Kingdom Hearts if you've never checked it out. I myself have only seen the first and second game, but there's a ton of installments (both video game, novel, and comic, etc) to piece together, it's a blend of Final Fantasy and Disney (so, anime and cartoon, basically), and it's a pretty classic fantasy series with a bit of darkness in it (though, I would still say kid-friendly darkness). There's also the PutinP series, which is admittedly far less convoluted than Evillious but still fairly interesting to get into--a lot of its more confusing aspects come from the way the series is framed and the myriad cultural references it makes, albeit.

Let's see…There's the Xenoblade Saga, to get back into video games for a second--I've seen the first and second, but I've heard the third is good, and there's definitely a lot of complex lore to get through that might throw you for a loop. Like Evillious it's a cross-blend of fantasy and sci-fi (to the point where I almost wonder if mothy was inspired by some of the first game's lore sometimes), and it features some pretty heavy topics for a family-friendly series. Each game has new protagonists and a new setting, so it's also an anthology of sorts. There's probably quite a few other works I could recommend along these lines--Fate/Stay Night (I understand it began as a visual novel and has branched into a huge multi-media franchise), Final Fantasy, etc, but unfortunately there aren't many I'm personally familiar with.

While this is definitely not in the same ballpark stylistically as it's a Western author, you might be interested in the novels of Brandon Sanderson as well--I've been recently getting into his works and so far I've found his worldbuilding and magic systems to be extremely tight and consistent, his characters to be well fleshed out, and his lore to be deeply fascinating. He has more than one series, but many (or all?) of them take place in the same multiverse, which each one building slightly on the greater mythos in addition to their own world. I'd recommend starting with the Mistborn trilogy, if that interests you.

For manga, you might be interested in checking out the works of CLAMP, a female manga artist group who have made such works as Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. I myself have only really read xxxHolic, but from what I recall, most of their series take place in the same multiverse as well (at the very least, xxxHolic and Tsubasa are definitely linked to each other), and it can be a bit of a challenge to piece all of the components together.

And of course, even though I've only seen the first arc so far, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the "When they Cry" series--a set of visual novels with a complex puzzle-plot that gets built upon as you go. The first one is Higurashi, and the second one is Umineko. These are horror games, mind, so be wary when going into it if you're squeamish because they can get quite gruesome. These also come with manga and anime adaptations, but I'm not as interested in those if I'm honest.

There's no end to series out there with confusing lore and stories, but hopefully this is a decent selection I've listed here that at least have some passing resemblance to the tone of Evillious.

[afniel]

Man okay we have been In The Process of getting a new bed for a bit now and I finally got rid of the old platform the day before the new one arrives...I picked out a company, no big deal, asked for a quote. They gave me a quote for someone else's furniture. I said nah man I have a platform and frame. So they gave me an estimate. I said okay, it's pretty awkward, on the second floor, definitely a two person job. They said yeah that was fine. How about this afternoon? Or tomorrow? To which I said, now hold on, I still need to empty it out. How about Saturday or Monday? They didn't get back to me until Tuesday to say hey let's do it Wednesday, and by that time I was just like, you know what, sure, whatever gets it out of the house.

Wednesday happened (today) and they were scheduled to show up between 10:30-1. So I got up and finalized all the stuff I needed to do still by 10:30. Drawers empty, sheets off because we're keeping the mattress but it obviously had to be moved, hide the unmentionables in a box, you know. Bribe the Boys to go into their cat room and play with a nice treats ball full of freeze-dried chicken. The usual for having a contractor come out. I kinda needed a shower and a proper breakfast or lunch but I figured, meh, they'll be here too soon, I can do it after.

Which of course wasn't the case! They called at 1:30 to say they'd be there at 3:30 and also am I totally sure that it had to be a two guy job? I said yeah I'm sure, it's not something you can disassemble, it's a pain in the ass. So they go, well, okay, I'll find a second guy. Meanwhile thinking to myself that this guy is at least as organized as I am.

Eventually they showed up at 4:10. Yeah. And it went okay after that, but then he was like, well it was really awkward and hard to move, and told me a final cost higher than the estimate. Which means that I ended up breaking into the holiday money my dad gave me to cover it because we didn't withdraw more cash than the high end estimate plus a tip, because like...why would we, right?

This was also the third day in a row that I only slept four hours and I'm starting to feel it pretty hard...the new bed comes tomorrow but thank fuck it's not until well into the afternoon so I can catch up a bit. At the risk of sounding vaguely my age, my back is killing me...but then again it's been doing that my whole life so it's not saying much I guess.

Also the delivery guys with the furniture company are actually really good and I've dealt with them before so I'm not worried, just...fuck man I am tired and want a day without shit happening this week and that's not looking likely yet.

Also also I'm still waiting to hear back from the builder about the fact that the hot water Isn't quite a bit of the time. It worked fine, then it started dropping temp after a bit, and if it weren't a tankless heater I would probably even have some idea what to do about it but it's a very nice tankless so I'm kinda clueless. And we have some broken screens from window and gutter cleaning because they were installed so ungodly tight in the frames that they literally cannot be removed now, which is less than ideal for a whole lot of reasons.

AND WE STILL NEED TO ORDER BLINDS? I didn't even know where they came from until I realized I could just ask my mom? I'm handy enough with objects but processes, not so much!

Houses are one fucking thing after the other, guys. Like it's great but also, Jesus fucking tapdancing Christ.

[rozinaaa]

I Somehow Nuked The OS On My Personal Laptop

It's official, my personal laptop is now somewhat as dead as a doorweight, and although trying to install another OS on it is possible, it's hard since I'm somehow not able to create another bootable USB (although I could try, but for an old laptop, it does seem pointless), so at this point, I might just sell it for parts (or as a job lot), since I definitely don't want it to go to waste.

It does feel bittersweet to let go of a device that's been a part of my life for the past 7 years, but then again, this is a very turbulent time for me, and things are subject to change all the time, so I guess that it's literally my time to move on to the next part by leaving everything from my "old" life behind, so that I can make space for the new.

However, I feel like I was able to get really good use out of that laptop, since it was by my side all throughout my time at college and university, so I'll give it that, especially considering that it was only about £200 when it was new.

If it was up to me, I'd keep my work laptop even after finishing my job (since that's also a fairly decent device), but that feels illegal, so I guess it's better to be on the safe side and hand it in at the end of my last day there, because it would otherwise be considered stealing.

I've been thinking about getting a Macbook (simply because it's a very common device that literally everyone seems to have, and also because Apple invest heavily in the UX and UI Design for their products), but after Apple's recent ad (where they literally crush creativity and present it to you in an unimaginative grey slab), I'm starting to have second thoughts about it, since I don't want to support a company that first caters to the creatives before pulling the rug out from under them, especially now that it's pretty damn hard to be one of the creative types during these times, not to mention that I don't want to be tied up in one ecosystem and walled garden.

However, another thing that caught my attention was the fact that I can also get a Framework laptop for roughly the same price, but it's a hell of a lot more repairable, modular, and customisable (I actually found out about this company when I was at University), plus it openly supports the right to repair and sustainability, in which I strongly agree with all of this, not to mention that it's been a laptop that I've had my eye on for a while, so I guess that now's the time to get it, but the catch is that they're still a startup, and everything to do with startups (based on having worked for one) is really volatile.

Each one of these devices will eat up a month's wage, and since my future is currently uncertain, I'll probably hold it off for now, until I get some stability back into my life.

It's some food for thought, but for now, I'll probably use the Chromebook in guest mode for my personal laptop, and maybe (just maybe) actually use my Raspberry Pi 400 for once, since that's my other personal device.

[denble]

[ARCHIVED - TLTTNW] Which Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is canon?

Of all the optional scenes and choices dialogues, the Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is one that get much debated as to which of the four choices is the canon one. Yes, objectively, it's four, not two. Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Yuffie. And in this post, I'm doing best to find the most plausible answer that question.

1. How to decide which option is canon

Now, when a scene has options, how to concretely decide which of the options is the canon? In my opinion, it's gonna be either or all of the below:

The chosen option itself is later acknowledged in a NON-OPTIONAL scene.

The chosen option is NOTICABLLY LONGER and provide USEFUL information to the plot as a whole

The chosen option is the MOST LIKELY to happen.

And as said in my opening post, I won't count any remarks outside the game itself. Some core personnel could go on an interview and said "this is the canon" and it's still an invalid statement. In case we still haven't noticed, up until the release of Remake trilogy, Square Enix has never made a conscious effort to clear up the Love Triangle Debate. If anything, they are actually encouraging it, keeping it flaming by having contradicting details spread throughout the side materials.

2. Case study: Shadow Hearts and Chrono Cross endings

Shadow Hearts

Let's move a bit from FFVII and turn to Shadow Hearts (if you don't know the game, please just google). Basically at the end of Shadow Hearts, if you go with the flow of the event, Alice will die. If you do a bit of extra fighting, she will live. Both ending gets its own FMV. So far, I would say both endings are canonical. Because while the good ending requires a bit more work, it's reasonable enough, and it still has its own FMV where Alice open her eyes (she lives!).

But then Shadow Hearts II came out, on the premise that Alice died in the previous game. Bam! Now we know of the two endings of Shadow Hearts, which one is canon... And Shadow Hearts II is neither side material nor spin-off game. It's the second installment, with Yuri remains the main character. So we can't invalidate its presence as to what really happened, canonically, in Shadow Hearts.

Chrono Cross

Another game from Square. Like Shadow Hearts, you can do a Good Ending or Bad Ending, all depending on how you tackle the final boss. Bad Ending is easier to achieve since you only have to attack randomly, whereas Good Ending requires a bit more planning.

Anyway, who to decide which one is canon? Unlike Shadow Hearts, there is no sequel to decide that for you.

By my definition, the Good Ending is probably canon, because you get a lengthy cut-scene, and after-credit FMVs, whereas you get nothing (just credit roll) with Bad Ending (that's more like a Game Over if you ask me...).

Now, back to FFVII

3. Barret or Yuffie is certainly not canon

None of the four dates get mentioned later in the game. So by my definition, point (1) can't be used.

Coming to point (2), Barret's and Yuffie's date are short compared to Aerith's and Tifa's, and add little value to the plot (except for a bit of character development on their sides).

Coming to point (3), then Barret and Yuffie are out of the picture. Because to get to date either of them would require you making very specific choices right from the beginning. Which means the chance that you get to date either of them is rather slim, under normal circumstances (ie. without a guide).

So we are left with just Aerith and Tifa.

4. Aerith or Tifa?

There are two points people present to argue that Aerith's date is canon.

It's because Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work.

It's because Aerith started off with more affection points (50 vs 30 to be exact)

Let's discuss further.

The Date payment

Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work. And the Gold Saucer date is THAT day. But during the scene, Aerith just asked Cloud to go on a date, without ever mentioning about the "date" payment (and it's Aerith who has to "pay" the date, she owes him that, not the other way around). And no matter what, THE date can still be missed altogether, because it's not non-optional. If it's so important, they would have made it non-optional.

The Affection Point Mechanism

Aerith starts off with more affection points than Tifa does (50 vs 30 to be exact), meaning it's easier to date her (or so they say). What people fail to mention is that, Tifa appears in the game earlier than Aerith does, and you can score points with her right from the beginning. Meaning if you start to favor Tifa from the beginning, by the time you meet Tifa again, the point gap might not exist at all. So from a gameplay perspective, I could argue that Aerith's higher point of affection compared to Tifa's is not because the game wanted to give her a head start with Cloud, but to give her a fair start instead. You can try to see how exactly the date mechanism work here.

It's also worth noting that:

It's easy to score big points with Tifa from the early chapters.

You don't score many with Aerith when you spend time alone with her in Sector 5 (suprised?!).

If Tifa was chosen as Don Corneo's bride, telling Aerith to help Tifa will upset Aerith (points deduced). If it was Aerith that got chosen, Tifa would prefer Cloud to go help Aerith instead of asking if her (Tifa) is alright (points added). Interesting eh? (only if it wasn't a coding mistake...)

I don't have a suitable explanation as to how the all points addition and deduction the works the way it does. The way I see it, the game just tries to make the chance equal to both girls. And through my experience of playing the game, it's most likely the case. You just have to make the obvious choices favoring your girl, and then keep her in your party once you leave Midgar and bam, you get a date!

The game code

Another piece of information that I MUST mention: in the game code (according to the internet), in case Aerith and Tifa gets equal points, Aerith's date will play out.

If that's the kind of proof that you need to prove that Aerith's date is canon, I won't argue with you. It's clear that Aerith's date does take a higher priority (albeit only ever slightly) than Tifa's date, according how the game is coded.

WHY is it, is another matter. We can only guess. You can say it's because the game wants us to see Aerith's date (well yeah..., the game totally doesn't want us to see Tifa's date, sure). My explanation? It's because Aerith's screen time is limited in the game, so the game prioritizes her, when there's a chance. Still, that doesn't make Aerith's date canon, because despite all the apparent "favor" the game has for her date, it can still easily be missable, as it's never hard to get Tifa's date.

5. Which date is the most appropriate to the flow of the story THUS FAR?

This part is purely my (a player's) opinion, and actually doesn't hold any weight to the issue.

Well, Barret's and Yuffie's are certainly just there for the laugh, and for THEIR character development, not Cloud's.

Aerith's shreds some light on her back story (she knows somebody whom Cloud resembles), her awareness of Cloud not being himself, and her desire to meet the "real" Cloud. That much is clear.

Tifa's date, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated to interpret. On the surface, it's easy to see that she was about to confess but failed. But with the knowledge of how the game story eventually unfolds, was that really the case? Or could it be that Tifa was actually trying to talk to Cloud about his mental state?

I don't know, honestly, but my thought on Tifa's date is:

The atmosphere clearly gears towards a romantic confession than to a therapy session. The game certainly wants you to think that it's a confession (whether or not it's true is another story; it's not exactly a new thing for FFVII narrative to be misleading).

It's a bit out of place at that point of the story for Tifa to try confess her feeling to Cloud. She has better concerns on hand (particularly, his mental state) than to get Cloud realize her feeling. Not totally implausible, but definitely not well handled in my opinion.

In FFVII Rebirth, Tifa really did confess in that Gold Saucer scene though (provided that you get to date her). Just saying. Not that what happens in the Remake Trilogy, stritcly speaking, matters to what happens in the OG though. BUT, I do feel that a confession in Rebirth is appropriate, because Cloud and Tifa's relationship has been developed steadily ever since Remake (that's not the case in the OG though).

So yah, all things considered, I think Aerith's date adds more value to the plot AT THAT POINT than Tifa's because it provides players more apparent information (Zack, Cloud not being himself, Aerith being aware of the situation and her wish to meet the "real" Cloud).

Tifa's scene is not bad, but if it was EVER the game's intention to mislead us that it's a therapy session instead of a confession, they overdid it to effectively convince me that it could actually be about her trying to talk about Cloud's mental state.

6. Conclusion

So, in my conclusion, either of the dates can be canon. Normally I would say it can also be that neither is canon. But then, the Gold Saucer date scene ought to happen (because you know, Cait Sith's betrayal came next). The Gold Saucer date scene is actually non-optional, only whom you go on a date with is.

In any case, having no clear answer to that means whom Cloud dated during the Gold Saucer scene adds no value to the love triangle debate (for all we know, he could just have had some bro time with Barret, or got pecked on the cheek by Yuffie). And even if one particular date is canon, it still doesn't say much or even anything about Cloud's feelings, with the way the scenes played out.

On a side note, the whole date mechanism is NOT to determine which one Cloud himself preferred to take on a date, but to determine which one would to drag Cloud on a date :))))))))))) Ie. it's about THEIR affection towards Cloud, based on how he behaves around them (based on HOW THE GAME WANTS to add or deduce points). Asking Tifa if she was okay in Don Corneo's mansion certainly showed care and concern to her, but will get your points deduced.

You see, you think you have choices in the game, but do you really though?

7. Extra: Cloud's reaction to the dates

I'm not including Barret's and Yuffie's here because we can all agree that their dates are just pure comedy.

Aerith's date

At the end of the date with, Aerith asked Cloud:

“Don’t you like being with me?”

To which Cloud can reply either “No, I don’t.” or “That’s not it.”

Tifa's date

At the end of the date, Cloud asked Tifa:

“By the way, what did you want to say a minute ago?”

I honestly can't get much from the dialogues. As far as I'm concerned, Cloud is pretty neutral and doesn't show much to both girls. If anything, you actually have the choice to be rude to Aerith by choosing to say you don't like being with her, whereas you're quite okay with Tifa. But as you know I don't do choice dialogues, we can skip that one.