#I've kinda forgotten abt it lol

[urlocalwormtoday]

shapeshifter au

I have an au I never rlly think abt where William didn't fall of a cliff and was instead eaten by the creechurs of the woods

And a specific young shapeshifter goes "this kid is dead, he probably has a loving family, I know what he looks like and want a family" and just decides to take his place (this is inspired by some other game or story just like this but I can't remember what it is xd)

So instead of smoke and fire and ghost powers and stuff, he can just change shape similarly to Vyncent in a way

But the shape the shifter takes isn't perfect, so maybe the original Will had like, dark brown hair, the new Will has black hair

Maybe new Wills eyes are just a little too wide and empty, maybe he's a little too pale, but his parents are so desperate because he's been missing for weeks, so they accept it anyway

And any slip-up is dismissed as, "oh, he was missing in the woods for weeks alone! Who knows what he saw, of course he can't remember a few things"

But David sees through it (even if he's only just really suspicious of new Will) and that's the reason why him and Will don't get along instead

[solunstell]

Notes I've taken from Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen

On the cover, it looks liked dazai and chuuya are both balancing on strands of Rimbaud's hair??

In the third full color illustration, chuuya's eyes look brown

Chuuya's hair is described as reddish brown

Dazai saying that he was gonna join a quit the PM and join rival organization. The next paragraph points out that he isn't even a member of the PM lmao

Also, "do you have any idea how much you've put me through this past year?" Like what? I sooooo wanna know abt dazai age 14

Mori and dazai are "bound by a common destiny"

"Dazai showed flashes of brilliance one moment, but the next moment, they were gone. As soon as he seemed to have it all figured out, he'd confuse everyone by talking about his bizarre, meaningless fascination with suicide." Excellent characterization note

Mori can disarm a bomb

"'Why do you want to die?' / Dazai seemed puzzled as he looked back at Mori, like he genuinely didn't understand the question. Then, eyes full of youthful innocence, he responded: / 'Let me ask you something instead: Do you truly believe there's value in living?'

Dazai involving Hirotsu (who he just met) in his self convo by telling him not to use a painful method next time hirotsu plans on killing himself. Hirotsu saying he'll... keep that in mind.

Goodness I need more hirotsu and dazai moments

The fact that Chuuya's kick sends Dazai so far, despite the fact that Chuuya's gravity would disable upon impact, kinda proves my theory that Dazai's ability would not stop the momentum caused by Chuuya's ability in motion. This is later confirmed in another sentence

Chuuya calling dazai kid even though he's the same age

Chuuya and dazais first moment meeting having chuuya laughing :)

Dazai watches his hand being crushed quite easily, despite not liking pain. That's interesting. However, when kicked next, he does react

Hirotsu going 'back in my day I was just like you' lmao

Chuuya calls dazai: a twig, mummy boy, kid, bandages, slimeball

Dazai calls Chuuya: pip-squeak, a fairy, a schoolboy

Chuuya is described as having never lost a fight in his life while talking to Mori. That's interesting cuz he was just captured by the enemy

There's the love confession!

"'If only I'd been in the middle of that [explosion], I would've had a quick and painless death...' / 'Yeah, yeah. I'll beat you to a pulp as many times as you want later, so focus on the mission right now, okay?'"

Dazai acting like a blubbering scared child when caught by the enemy

Chuuya telling dazai to put on hard rock for a fight

Also seems like chuuya's ability no longer affects an object as soon as contact is cut.

"Even Dazai had forgotten to breathe as he watched the storm that was Chuuya decimate the battlefield."

When dazais talking to the dying man: "Dazai's expression was calm, but there was a faint twinkle deep within his eyes. The kind of twinkle a boy who wants to grow up to be a firefighter gets in his eyes when he sees his hero in the flesh."

Actually, the entire paragraph set of Dazai's break is really fascinating

Dazai brings wood for Randou's fire. Also, either he or Chuuya or both cover a draft hole for him.

Mori forbade them from violence to solve their problems, so of course the first fair thing to come to their heads is arcade games

They played close to a hundred matches. Fun date!

Dazai trying to give chuuya head pats

Chuuya is an excellent actor

At the party prep, dazai is playing playing modern pop music

According to chuuya, arahabaki doesn't have a mind or a personality

"The shield protested" dazai is the best shield lol

The boss saying he wishes he could chat abt old times with dazai. What old times? Dazai shouldn't have known him before his death? Unless he did

The mere thought of killing a child breaks rimbauds heart, with the child being dazai, but he's okay with killing chuuya? Rimbaud only sees chuuya as an ability to gain, it seems to me.

Skk calling each other by their first names for the first time (outside of around other people) when working together in a fight against rimbaud

"'Hmph...anything goes when you're a skill user from Europe, huh?'"

Dazai asking abt rimbauds final wishes

Q is put into dazais hands to figure out their ability. Q asks to play, and dazai says when q is older. I am now waiting for this playdate in canon

Also, dazai and mori both not knowing q's gender

Dazai is a cheater at games

The chuuya newsletters

Omg hiiiii verlaine

[milquetoastmews]

okay I’ve seen you posting about wuthering heights and this is your invitation (if you want one) to yap and share your thoughts about it. i read it a few years back and i honestly… despised it? and i feel like i’m missing something bc like. i regularly read classics. i love engaging with a story’s themes. but something just didn’t click for me, and i’m left feeling bewildered about why people love it. and none of this is judgement on you, i just genuinely feel like i’m missing something, so if you want to yap about it please enlighten me 🖤

so sorry it took me 4evr to respond 2 this omfg

I am literally never not in the mood to talk about wuthering heights!!!!

first things first, I read it over 3 yrs ago so I don't remember allllll the specifics (tho I have been feeling the itch to reread it......)

but from what I can remember (!) here's what I love abt it:

its so immersive! at least, it was for me. I had honestly forgotten that these things had even happened specifically, but I went back and read my goodreads review of it and I mention dreaming about the story and how after I finished it I sat on my bed for an hour doing absolutely nothing, because what was I meant to do? the world I had been living in had just dissipated before my eyes. I had trouble moving on after finishing wuthering heights; I would want to read but couldn't bring myself to pick up another book because that meant fully exiting its world. even though I don’t remember the contents of the dream or sitting on my bed, the feeling I had when reading wuthering heights still comes back to me whenever I think/talk abt it. its hard to put a finger on exactly what that feeling is but I can very distinctly identify it as wuthering heights.

its just so gothic. I lovelovelove gothicism. I love that wuthering heights is gothic in every possible way. theres ghosts and haunted manors and impassioned declarations and tragic ends and violent displays of love (more on this in the next point)

ever since I had to read love in the time of cholera for my sr yr english class I've been kind of obsessed with the concept of love as a violence. not violence used to desecrate love, but violence as an expression of love itself (probably also why I love hannibal lol). as aforementioned, I'm fascinated w the macabre of life. its just so interesting to see how many horrible actions can be not excused, but genuinely explained by love. love as a source of madness, desperation, desolation will always be one of my fav things to see in media

its not an unrequited love story with heathcliff the incel "nice guys always finish last" character. catherine and heathcliff truly truly love each other. but they r both in tricky spots. heathcliff is a person of color with a diminished social standing and catherine is a woman. these both hinder their options in life. I like that love does not conquer all and they don't end up together and heathcliff goes literally batshit bcos of it (kinda ties into my last point). the love is requited it just... can't be

everyone sucks!!!!! absolutely nothing means more to me than characters that fucking suck. like fr. every character is so different and yet exactly the same in the sense that you cannot morally justify liking one over the other. they are all, objectively, bad people, but at times u can't help but wish something good would happen to them, if only to find out if they would be better were their circumstances more favorable (they wouldn't ofc; most of the time, they just ruin whatever good thing even gets w in their vicinity)

I found the framing rlly interesting, the whole story w in a story thing. the end of the book was established at the beginning (or at least that's the assumption): lockwood comes to the grange and visits the heights and sees that everyone is miserable. so, the story begins: nelly is going to enlighten him as to how everyone at the heights came to be so rude and forlorn. but, that wasn't the end and I liked that. to me, it felt like brontë gave us a map at the beginning of the story and said "you're going to end up here" but once we got to that point, she just kept going. I think that strikes a rlly optimal balance of both direction and surprise. tbh I just rlly admire emily brontë as a writer

I believe thats all I can think of for now? I def have more to say on how, yes, everyone sucks, but the characters r still complex and the historical context surrounding when the book was written and the social commentary that comes along w heathcliff's identity and all that but I'm tired and feel bad its taken me this long to respond anyway!!! but def lmk what fell flat 4 u, I'm always curious to learn other ppls perspectives on books

(also I for sure did not edit or read this over b4 posting so sorry if it is absolutely incomprehensible)

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ofmd s2e4 rewatch where i pause to jot down my thoughts and other random shit

it's been a busy week since last thursday and shit's only gonna get busier for me after tomorrow so hopefully i can get through these two episodes out before i go to bed lol!!! anyway once again these posts are just me rambling so i can process the insane amount of information in these episodes and if u want to read them too that's fine.

s2e1, s2e2, s2e3, s2e4, s2e5, s2e6, s2e7, s2e8

rip everyone who wanted homoerotic sword fighting in the gentebeard reunion. have a headbutt as a consolation prize.

obsessed with stede holding raw room-temperature meat against his bruised face bc that's not even a little bit how that works. i love this show.

ok so jim saying "he'll probably get around to killing you after he's rested" in response to stede saying ed needs to regain his strength actually gives some pretty good context to why they want ed of the ship so bad. bc they DID fully try to kill ed and now he's here and alive and like. if i were jim i would be pretty worried abt ed holding a grudge abt that.

wont lie stede being like "we dont just banish people, that's not us!" makes me thinkg abt how they fully banished izzy from the ship in e6. i mean technically izzy banished himself on accident but. lol.

also izzy's absence in this scene indicating he is not yet considered part of the entire crew

roach: i need that steak back, it's dinner stede: (pulling the steak away) oh, right fang: maybe let's put the banishment to a vote? stede: (steak back on his face, apparently having forgotten he was literally just about to give the meat to roach) aw do we have to :(

ed chained to the ship is doing. a lot for me. i wont lie.

buttons saying he's been to the gravy basket a few times... how many times has this man almost died??????

it is deeply funny to me that they edit the split second flashback of the drowning and mermaid hallucination to look all creepy as if that whole scene wasn't set to an incredibly sappy 80's love song (said with immense affection)

OBSESSED with stede trying to be like. encouraging to izzy. and being like "he cant hear you he's got no head" about izzy yelling at the ruined figurehead. this fucking dork.

so ive seen ppl talking abt how the crew's in a deadlock abt banishing ed and which ppl they think were pro-banishment and which were against, but the scenes with the crew make it look like everyone's voting for ed to get kicked out. so tbh i think like either of the following interpretations are pretty valid: the crew is split 50/50 on if they should banish ed OR the crew 100% wants to banish ed and stede was gonna try and leverage izzy's vote to try and get more ppl to change their mind. doesnt rlly matter either way tho

also the fact that izzy was the one to keep ed's body is. interesting. the others must've known abt it and helped izzy hide the body in the secret room. but izzy being the one to be like "no we're not throwing him overboard" is. something. no conclusions abt this atm im just rotating this fact in my brain.

i also just have a lot of thoughts abt the mutiny and the fact that like, jim's a trained assassin and the others are also pretty experienced killers and they probably knew they hadn't completely finished the job. and there was plenty of opportunity for them to do something about that. but instead they hid his body and waited for ed to succumb to his injuries. it feels kinda like ed's "technically i outsource the big job" rule. idk. thoughtssss.

frenchie in this scene is so funny bc he seems both actually apologetic abt kicking ed off the ship but also very relieved/vindicated to see him go.

didnt realize olu almost said smthng to ed lol i thought ed was just saying "fuck you" to him for no reason ghfjkghjkfh

"first time i've ever been on this side of a walk of shame" wee john i have so many questions. how many times have you been banished from a ship.

obsessed with archie just being like "way to make this awkward brah." her shitty boss put her life at risk in an attempt to make her and her coworkers kill him in a weird roundabout suicide attempt and her summary of the situation is "well, this is awkward :/"

"shitty sailing with you" sick burn, jim

"you're making it really hard to look up to you, man" LOVE how black pete is still a blackbeard stan. despite everything.

just ONCE i want someone to appreciate roach's sandwiches :(

"dont you want your sammy" STEDE I WOULD DIE FOR YOU

also i disagree with the subtitles here im like 99% sure says "you're no fuckin mermaid" not "you're not a fuckin mermaid" but that's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

stede looks SO sad abt not being a mermaid

love how everyone in this episode just sort of nods and is like "yeah okay" every time buttons tells them he's turning into a bird

altho with stede in this scene specifically im convinced that he's just jumping at the chance to follow ed to the island. he was absolutely gonna come up with some shitty excuse to go ashore anyway but it's nice of buttons to give him plausible deniability

i love how much ed hates nature

why do the subtitles say "gyp-" this has been bothering me all week. the line is "like a drifter"

i also love ed's line delivery of "a wolf?"

anyway dumb posts abt the spider tattoo backstory: 1, 2, 3

i love to see ed getting hugs... wish i could give him a hug :(

ok also buttons talking abt the gravy basket made me think ed needed like some sort of spell or smthng to snap out of it but instead it just kinda wore off by the end of the episode (maybe, depends on how you read the whole buttons turning into a bird scene). this is very funny to me for some reason

anne rubbing the cup she's holding against her tit. queen.

stede bonnet idiot dumbfuck moments

i LOVE anne's line delivery of "eddie motherfuckin teeeeach" like yeah that's cj's girl alright. or was cj's girl. who knows.

SECRET HANDSHAKE im cryinggggg. i love them.

stede's voice sounds so weird when he says "i wasn't looking for you" and that's because he's fucking lying through his teeth

LOVE how anne and mary look at each other after the "shipmates" "former" interaction like they are immediately on the same wavelength. and that wavelength is fucking with ed and his ex. they sniffed out a messy relationship dynamic and were like "oh hell yeah we need more of this in our lives"

ed is SO bitchy this whole scene i fucking love it. ed's face when he says "him?" fdhjksgfjhdgkj

ed: whatever 🙄 anne: whatever? 👀 mary: whatever! 😈

wee john getting more goth is so good

drunk izzy rambling at the ship's figurehead is so funny to me tho i miss drunk izzy

ed's crew lady macbeth "out damned spot" moments

i like how there's a goat in the background of this scene in anne and mary's house and it is unexplained and also never seen again.

ed's face after stede says "that's romance" is soooo good this bitch is so pissed. like oh would you have met me at the docs if i peeled the guard's face off instead of just paying him off? is that what fuckin does it for you???? not that it matters bc i dont care. but. cunt.

yeah im just focusing in on all of ed's faces in this scene. "quite the shift going from wearing people's faces to antique collectors" gets ed to freeze in the middle of bringing his drink up to his lips and just kinda stare off into the distance.

"how did you meet" has ed kind of frowning for a split second before stede starts answering and then he rolls his eyes very dramatically and sighs deeply

ed immediately being like "actually i was gonna kill him myself!" trying to undermine stede's meet-cute story. also anne and mary nodding along in complete unison bc this is just normal pirate conversation to them.

~~~

also as someone who has been team "no ed was dead serious abt the plan to steal stede's identity" this was very vindicating for me. it's a bad plan and it doesn't make any sense but logistics literally dont matter in this show. what matters is giving this story the "falling for the mark" trope makes ed's character arc in season 1 that much tastier!!!!

ed and stede going back and forth telling their story i cant fucking wait until theyre happily together telling this story and instead of ed trying to downplay it and ruin the meet-cute-iness of it they're just building on each other and being sappy and adorable

"more like i relented" one of the biggest lies i've ever heard this man say fjhkgjkfdhk

"until he completely boned it" SAY IT. FUCKING SAY IT. SOOOOO TRUE ED.

auauhghgh the beard bit......... crying

THE!!!!! QUIETEST LITTLE "thank you" OF ALL TIME. TIED MAYBE WITH ED SAYING "thank you" AFTER "i think you're very sophisticated" IN 1.05

i dont blame stede for trying to get ed to open up right after that bc that was the first bone ed's thrown stede's way since he woke up. unfortunately ed is not in the mood to talk abt his near-death experience and mermaid hallucination sequence.

LOVE anne's little gesture when she says "rabbit" and the little hip cocking

stede being like "uhhhh we could leave" during the knifeplay exhibitionism moment

i giggle every time at the way the crew is instantly like "fuck closing our eyes we're doing any fucking surprises"

ngl idgw the crew yelled abt the piñata reveal. but ok

loooove stede's half of the crew just blowing past all the screaming and tension from ed's half. jim screams "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!" abt the blindfold and roach is like "you won't want to stay the fuck away from this caaaake!" like roach fdhsjfgdhfjkghkj read the room?????

i love how much stede just. completely misses all of annie's flirting

ed coughing during the blunt session i love himmmmm

ok but ed's trying to be like "im totally over stede i dont even like him" and then ed reminiscing fondly with a distant smile abt the 1.06 stabbing scene

"and that was the... second time you left your wife?" underrated line

love how annie's been all quiet and seductive and then when she goes to make her move she's just like "WOUND THIS" and aggressively sits in stede's lap

also ok. "they're gonna be so jealous" is that annie talking abt ed and mary or is that annie using they/them pronouns for mary.

BUTTONS JUMPSCARE

also i love how they have that one medusa painting just. in their kitchen. im obsessed with the interior decor of this lesbian antique store that annie and mary live in

the way she's so touched by the poisoning attempt hjfgfjksghskjhgjkh

buttons being like "aahhhhhh do i give her... this bowl......????" fhjkghkfsjhk

"yeah, babe" TEALORANGES WIN

im honestly sad izzy's pathetic wet beast moment only really went for like three tiny scenes in one episode bc this shit was so funny to me. crawling away saying "you're born alone you die alone" over and over again. sir what are you even doing.

god buttons in this episode is so fucking funny bc i keep forgetting he's there. also why is he even there. like was he even invited to dinner or did he just sit down and annie and mary were like "oh ok i uh. guess we'll go make another plate??"

ed's face after buttons says the bit abt "i can tell this rabbit was intelligent" is soooo funny why is he so fucking pissed fdhsjkgyjdfkghjk

NO WAIT HE'S PISSED BC THAT WAS HIS FRIEND. THAT WAS HIS FRIEND THE WOLF HE WAS TELLING HIS SECRETS. NOW IM KINDA SAD :(:(:(

stede talking abt the sea when what he's actually talking abt is ed part 2 electric boogaloo

ed very calmly. standing up. and smashing the chair. im obsessed with him.

stede bonnet stupid dumbass moments

IMPROMPTU BLANKET FORT TIME

ed's voice is so quiet at the start of this scene he's not even yelling at stede until stede says "it's not fair" ohhhhhh my babygirl is so fucking sad........

"you ditching me without a note or anything" ed's literacy confirmed

"expecting me to just melt back into your arms" eddie my man. stede has not given literally any indication that he expected this at all. you are telling on yourself fhdjskghfkjshd

this scene is so fucking good i barely have anything to say abt it. just. u can rlly tell david jenkins wrote this ep himself lolll

"i was all in, mate. i was all in." IM SOBBING

oh nooooo i forgot that ed's line delivery of "im sorry my horrible naked chin disgusts you so much" isnt actually as sarcastic as the words itself make it seem. like it feels like ed wanted to say that all angrily and bitter but instead he just sounds sadddddd

ok ok but the way stede says "i love your chin naked or otherwise" and then after a pause (during which ed is keeping INCREDIBLY still bc u know otherwise he's just gonna burst into tearssss) stede whispers "ed" and ed is immediately like "don't" and then. stede going in for the "i love you" but like the way he's so slow with it?? he's literally like "i. love." and idk if it's bc he's trying to make this as clear as possible or if he's giving ed enough time to cut him off if he doesn't want to hear it

and ed DOES he DOES cut him off with "you don't get to say that to me" and he like. keeps glancing at stede out of the corner of his eye but not quite looking at him directly bc he knowwwwws it's like staring into the sun baby and ed knows if he looks at stede's face it's literally all over.

but also ed's face after stede pivots to "i love everything about you" he's SO pissed. he quietly groans and rolls his eyes bc this bitch. finding stupid loopholes to not being allowed to say "i love you." fuck this guy ed hates him so fucking much (lying)

oooooh when stede says "you don't have to say it back to me" ed's mouth opens and closes a bit before "not about to" bc this man is trying. SO hard not to cry (so am i but it's not working sorry there are tears on my face right now)

idk idk idk smthng abt "it's nice. feels good." makes me hurt so fucking bad bc the entire time since ed's woken up stede's been getting headbutted and snarked at passive-aggressively but stede's still like "i love being near you it makes me happy :)" brb i need. a fucking moment.

honestly tho how did annie and mary even overhear that bit bc they were on the other side of the room and stede was whispering SO quietly. opposite of when ppl in this show dont hear things despite the things being said like two feet away from them (1.03 geraldo and jackie talking abt how blackbeard was looking for stede, 2.01 zheng saying the indigo was worth way more than she spent on it)

LOVE how anne being like "stede likes the ladies" is how ed figures out "ohhhh wait ok theyre just fucking with us, got it" bc this guy??? liking women????? lmao

this also HAS to be why he gets over mary like his brain mustve gone "wait hang on why the fuck would he go back to her he doesn't even like women. guess maybe he really did panic huh" hdjksghfckghkjsh

obsessed with these TINY tiny details abt the ed/jack/annie/mary polycule dynamics we're given. ed would've expected as much from annie bc she's a fucking psycho. mary apparently used to not be like this. im putting the pieces together im connecting the dots.

ed and stede's knowing smug looks at each other. im obsessed.

annie being rlly sensitive to the word "bitch" im considering that more hints abt the polycule backstory

yayy fanny newspaper

"really? i mean she stabbed you, you poisoned her, and then she jumped on my face" stede this is all part of their very elaborate and deeply toxic sex life ok stop kinkshaming them

~~~

curious if ed and stede are too distracted by mary spelling out their worst fears to comment on all the smoke coming into the room

"everything must go" like a fucking clearance sale. this is such a silly line. this is a silly show. i love it here.

WHY DONT THEY MAKE OUT SLOPPY STYLE HERE THO

wait are they crying while they hug??? bro these girls are so fucking messy i love them

ed saying "see you guys" before he leaves them in their burning house. i would die for him

ok team arts and craft time while making a prosthetic for izzy. obsessed with how the b plot of this episode is literally "the crew struggles to get along but they eventually set aside their differences and work together when they realize there's someone even more cringe and pathetic than any of them"

"YOU ARE!!! HARASSING A CRIPPLE!!!!!!" is suchhhh a funny line im sorry im gonna miss izzy at his lowest fhsjkhjksf. literally they just knocked on the door my dude calm downnnn

obsessed with izzy being genuinelly touched and expressing it by saying "fucking cocksuckers." this man is allergic to having feelings.

stede and ed painfully talking over each other bc everything is awkward and difficult. i love them.

ed's face when stede offers to let ed stay. his very quiet "yis." the way he says "might be nice" and then VERY QUICKLY looks away

stede yelling GREAT at the top of his lungs fhdsjkguydfgfjkhl

i love when these guys try to play it cool bc theyre so fucking bad at it hgdfgvjfxdkgjjdkkgjhfdkh

stede bonnet dumb idiot moron moments

ed staring off lovinglyyyyyy

buttons jumpscare

also is that fucking sage. are we doing cultural appropriation here

buttons saying "Earth Wind and Fire i wanna go higher" hfjkhgfdjkhgjkh

i love how ed. does not question this "fuck yeah, brother. fly."

ed teach lovesick fool moments

i love how happy ed sounds telling stede abt buttons he sounds like his old goofy self for the first time all season.... im gonna cry

also i like how the crew adopts izzy as their new creature. 10/10

post credits scene is annie and mary at dinner with buttons. i guess it's after stede goes to comfort ed but before they go eavesdrop on that convo.

buttons enjoying his last meal as a human. and also he's like "there's too much fucking on that ship i need to get away from it all." and his way of doing this is becoming a bird. love that.

[mrpenguinpants]

YOU POSTED A THING! Ignore how long it took me to write this up, I've been,,, honestly? I've not been doing things, I've also not been doing this, but-

So the two plots stolen from Genshin is the Chenyu Vale story quest, and I've forgotten the second one, oops- I thiiiink it's kinda like the Mondstadt festival (the one where u have to pick that fuckin flower and it didn't matter abracafuckyou /lh)

LOOKING AT MY THINGS THERE WERE MORE okay hold on-

So the concept of the campaign is every character is a fallen god who's forgotten their divine life, and they regain a shred of their memory and now must find a way to ascend due to the fact that only Whole Mortals can reincarnate/be reborn, but if you die as a mortal-body divine-soul That's It (yadda yadda, non-dnd approved type shit; there are actually multiple ways they could go about it but I have no idea what they'll do beyond revive the sun) - One player didn't do that, but it's fine, he is instead POSESSED by a goddess, it's chill, and I adore his backstory and he's the only one with a backstory tightly interwoven with the world's lore and local area the campaign takes place in he is THE ONLY MAN WHO MATTERS T O M E (/j)

The Genshin Quests that I have plots for bc I stole them are as follows; Natzissenkreuz Ordo, Chenyu Vale, and the Windblume Festival. I won't get into it rn so you don't have to tag this ask as spoilers (unless... thinking emoji) BUT oooOOOOooOoOOo you wanna hear abt my dnd So Bad sdfsdfsdfg (I just wanna talk abt it SO BAD bc we're on a month hiatus bc one player's in the middle of bumfuck nowhere for a while)

I ALSO HAVE A ONESHOT PLANNED FOLLOWING/INSPIRED BY THIS YEAR'S SUMMER EVENT IN GENSHIN! I'm planning on running it at two tables (different groups) and potentially even a third when I get to sorting it out, ASK ME ABOUT IT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE asdfgh

DND ASIDE- I recently found out one of my irls plays Genshin and I've been talking to him about it and honestly??? very nice, very fun (very demure /j) asdfgh I got into genshin to play w/ some other irls but now I am the last,,, genshin player standing,,,, and we're gonna help eachother farm when Natlan comes out bc I love running domains >:3 I'm a lil domain fiend

-Lucky

Ignore the fact that I'm responding backwards. But the pressure did work 👀 now I just need it to happen again because I blinked, and a month rolled around. I thought it was at most a week but no, my sense of time is fucked.

I'm so bad at names, and I barely do the story in any game I play unless I'm forced to (I missed an event in ZZZ because I wasn't on the third chapter yet ;-;). So I don't remember if I've done, seen, or even heard of the Chenyu Vale story, but I do know Mondstadt, at least.

I love it when my friends actually get invested enough with my imagination/ideas that they actually tie things into the ever-working narrative ;u; sometimes I feel like people don't do it because (they don't fucking care lol) they don't want to overstep on something that's made up by you. I understand, but man, it feels so uplifting when it happens. Keep that man alive. Are you planning on revealing parts of their divine life as the campaign goes on? I remember watching this youtube short about DND where they basically say that each player is given a blank sheet, and as they progress through the story they learn more things about their characters based on outside reactions.

I only know Windblume Festival but if it's a required quest/event quest, then I've most likely played the others. But yess, feel absolutely free to dump all your DND lore since I know you can't say it to your players unless you reveal too much. I'll tag spoilers in case you want to get more specific with the genshin quests because I do not remember any of them.

Here is your spotlight Lucky, lay it on me. What is this summer event-inspired oneshot?

I was talking to an old anon on another blog and it kinda makes me sad how the genshin community died out. Not in the sense that there's no fandom there, but that old players have either quit or lost interest. It makes me wonder if I even like genshin or if I write it because it's what I've been doing for so long.

[fandom-geek]

finished ostagar and lothering last time, so time for my second round of re-playthrough thoughts

the cinematics continue to be excellent, and you can really see the (at the time) recent lotr inspiration with how the battle goes down. kinda weird that the mages weren't ordered to attack alongside the archers, though. rip cailan, duncan, et al., i hardly knew ye.

it's interesting to think that (as per the wiki) that cailan knew that alistair was his brother. for all his talk of riding off into glorious battle, he still chose to give alistair what should've been a remarkably safe task. given cailan's character, i'm fairly sure it's motivated by a fairly straightforward "protect my little brother" desire, but it's interesting nonetheless

gameplay wise, i had completely forgotten that you unlock more tactics slots as you level up. it was annoying at first, but the more i think about it, the more it's a bit ingenious. it means that you have to get to grips with micromanaging your party in combat before you can just rely on the ai to take control of them successfully, in a bit of a reverse difficulty swing. i actually quite like it.

da:o's politicking plot isn't exactly the most subtle or terribly complicated, but it's still very well written. admittedly i've seen, like, one cutscene from that side plot so far, namely the landsmeet cutscene after ostagar, but still. you get very immediate and clear impressions of almost everyone involved - bar anora, who is being remarkably silent but clearly respects teagan, and eamon, who is busy being comatose.

and another hit from the 'definitely 00s worldbuilding' - leliana and morrigan's banter immediately posits that, if morrigan isn't an andrastian, she must be an atheist in our sense of the word. despite, yknow, for all intents and purposes being chasind, who have their own animist beliefs and shamans. i know morrigan is far from an even remotely typical chasind (thanks to her ancient elven god mother), but it's still a very 00s choice of them.

speaking of her ancient elven god mother. i got that banter where morrigan talks about how flemeth would seduce chasind men, bring them back home to have sex with her, kill them, then tell morrigan this was also expected of her as an adult. flemeth is winning the worst mother of the age award by a country fucking mile and we haven't even touched on morrigan's "i'm fairly sure my mother is going to kill me and possess my body" thing yet. what the fuck, flemeth???

that said, i am also this close to putting alistair and morrigan in a get along shirt. i hadn't really considered it before, but they're both deeply sheltered young adults who... aren't exactly in a good state btwn the aforementioned childhood and alistair losing his newfound family. add in my poor cousland who's dealing with all of this, the potential loss of any justice for their family, the actual loss of their family, plus her concern abt whether fergus is even alive... it's the trauma trio alright. not that anyone in the party is particularly well adjusted except for wynne and maybe sten, if only by qunari standards. perhaps shale too

(all of alistair and morrigan's bickering also led me to rewatching alistair and morrigan's conversation in da:i and ok. bioware did nail that. it's so wonderful to see how they grow over the next decade, especially with kieran in the picture.)

speaking of companions - leliana! it is probably some more 00s worldbuilding that everyone's reaction to her saying she had a vision that the maker wants her to go with them is that she's out of her mind, but it's funny enough that it works. also helps that we are talking about two grey wardens who have been publicly accused of treason and regicide, and a chasind-looking apostate. like.... yeah, even if you believe in the maker, having a random sister help you shank some guys in the pub then tell you that is probably a bit hard to get behind. not that that'll ever stop me from recruiting her, lol.

i had, uh. kinda forgotten that sten was imprisoned for murdering an entire family, children included. the things you forget after a decade, huh? i haven't really engaged with him beyond that because i figured my warden was not dumb enough to bring the convicted murderer running around the town where he got convicted, so, uh, yeah. need to talk to him in camp and figure him out more.

aside from that, not much more to add. i had actually forgotten abt the quest boards, then i only remembered the chanter's board, so imagine my surprise when i see the blackstone irregulars too. not the nicest bunch, but it's good xp either way. i'm fairly sure there's at least one more faction offering quests but i have basically zero memory of this beyond the chanter's boards, so i'm looking forward to rediscovering that whole thing.

[missr3n3]

also who wants to hear abt my weird af (yet kinda cool?) cabin tales roulette dream i had last night

so to start off, here are some Dream Logic things i Knew from the start:

i was seeing everything from roderick's POV and could control him like a video game player character, even though i didn't feel like i was playing a video game bc there was no UI or controls

i was at the ending, which was wildly different from the actual episode's end

basically in turned out kevin was possessed by a powerful, reality-eating demon during his big argument scene (which was also the Mastermind behind the saw trap), and when he died that set the demon loose and it killed sam and jeremy. roderick somehow got away tho

the "game" ends with roderick escaping the basement into this old haunted-looking victorian mansion. he reaches a library/study room and finds a bunch of comic books scattered around depicting earlier scenes in the story, revealing to roderick that he's a fictional character.

this pisses him off, and he tries to make a break for it through the back garden but gets stuck at a locked door and is eaten by the demon

i had an overall sense of being pressed for time, like "ok i'll get to the ending real quick and then i have to go do the dishes 😒" or smthing like that

so the dream started with roderick in the victorian mansion, and i'm wondering how i want to handle the ending scene, bc having to watch roderick die from his POV spooked me in a major way the last time i got there. roderick reaches the study, and i think "hm what if i skip the books and just go outside right away?"

so i have roderick look at one book (bc it uses my designs and i think thats fun lol) and then make him go outside.

it turns out this gives me/roderick a head start against the demon as it hasn't reached the garden yet. i/roderick can hear its voice though, and it's mildly amused that roderick escaped outside so quickly.

while the demon is talking, i notice the locked door that gets roderick killed is surrounded by a chain link fence and think "i bet he could climb that and actually get outside."

so i make roderick hop the fence (if this causes him any pain i can't tell) and he escapes into like. a really shitty & sparse public park. the kind that's all half-dying grass and maybe 5 trees. at this point the demon is back to taunting him, saying "it doesn't matter if you get a head start or even if you hide from me, i'll just destroy your reality until i find you >:)" (if this frightens roderick i can't tell)

i/roderick start running through the park, hop another fence, and at this point i've forgotten about whatever other commitment i was supposed to do bc i'm like "oh shit! i just discovered a new ending! :D"

roderick hopes another fence and now he's on some kind of paved trail next to a concrete river (image for if you've never seen such a thing). i know that's way too big for him to jump, so i have him run along the river hoping to find a bridge, even if this means losing the head start. i spot a bridge up ahead, but i also hear big, heavy footsteps in the distance

then i woke up lol

[puppywave]

Favourite slashers and why?

ok so im terrible at remembering what movies ive seen LOL ive for sure seen the basics like uhmm halloween, friday the 13th, scream, child' s play.. and then prbably more that i've forgotten. i think my favourite thing abt slashers in general is that theyre kinda silly and like a lot of thwm r like self-referential and that makes them fun :3

[taechnological]

i kinda j d*ed off all this while SAE I HAVENT FORGOTTEN YOU OH MY GOD I MISS YOU SO MUCH!! HOWRE U? so much happened since i was last here oh my god another semester got over for me lol skskks (im stRUGGLING)

anyways whats ur fav song on layover and golden? min has to be for us on layover and please don't change and yes or no on golden

other than that, hm. life has been super dramatic frfr and im jugling one too many things I J WANNA GO HOME IM A SMOL KID

funny story, a junior asked me out and i mean i felt nice abt him so i went w him; but he then manipulated me into believing that he's being 'generous' for being w me and tHE WAY HE GASLIGHTED ME when i was dumping him💀

so im hoeing around now lol (jkjk) but yeah i've been focusing much more on myself and it feels great!

wbu? hows everyth? ill stalk what u been upto on tumblr after this ask!!

lots of love bby<3

-kth anon

OH KTH ANON HEY!!!! long time no see omg!

oh man am i too late to answer this ;-; i see u are enjoying college life now!! awesome~ i'm very well as well!! recently went to two trips and am now back at home for a week so life's good haha ♡

fav tracks from layover and golden would be blue and yes or no!! i'm obsessed!! help!! lol

and fck that dude i hope he steps onto cow dung everyday for a year straight wtf... u go girl!

it's good to see u around! hope u are happy in life ♡

[troglobite]

update i went looking up my first school to see who was still there and i've been down a memory rabbithole looking at the school on fb and their website and all this shit. lol

it was a good school! just so happens that there were some shitty kids in my year and my mom didn't like there being so many "disruptive" kids. but the teachers were good. eventually i wanted to leave.

ANYWAY.

i'm remembering that it's thanks to that school that i grew up Not A Totally Clueless White Person From A Partially Christian Household.

i think some admin are jewish? and there were some jewish kids who attended (including the guy & his sister who i looked up lol)

we actually did things for hanukkah the same week we would do things for christmas, and we would do things for kwanza. like the school didn't have one menorah & one thing w green and red and black and call it good. we actually learned abt the holidays and did little projects and class activities about them.

despite being a private and charter school (listen, i know. i went to two as a kid. lol) it was way more diverse than other schools i went to, ime/afair. and it still is today.

&i will say, even though they clearly also had [other] autistic kids there and weren't the best at handling them, they weren't cruel. [i guess potentially upsetting ableist stuff below? only in reference, my school was p okay]

my mom mentioned how they would restrain the kids and i was like LIAHDSLFK AJSDLFJ WHAT?! but then i remembered. it was a gentle bear hug and they'd sit and talk w them in a quiet voice. it wasn't like deadly cruel restraint that kills kids and is done out of anger or malice.

[potentially upsetting ableist stuff over]

and other than that the "disruption" seemed to be part and parcel w how they taught, which was like not full montessori but somewhere in between that and public schools.

and they say they gear their school towards "gifted and inquisitive" children, and yeah idk. clearly the ppl there are passionate abt it. a guy who was like the custodian and a teacher's aide had a daughter attend, and now 20 years later he's the principal. the last teacher i had there is still teaching there (she's SO OLD! lol) so is another teacher who'd do visiting classes.

the two admins i know vaguely are still there, 20 years later.

highly rated, fully accredited, just all around a good school. i learned a lot. it was a good place. but i had a hard time making friends there (remained true for my whole childhood lol) and so i left. looking back, i kinda wish i hadn't, but it was also my mom's decision bc she didn't like how many "disruptive" kids there were in my class (listen, we're not unpacking that rn. lol)

anyway. trip down memory lane.

i sort of feel like i went back to start at the beginning bc of my identity crisis & i'm just revisiting this shit to figure things out now.

also my 1st grade teacher's aide was AWESOME. she's not there anymore but i miss her. i'll have to look her up. she basically told me several times i was her favorite student. she was an artist and i got really into art after that. lol

also i had forgotten until looking into the school online that, like various other elementary school classes, each class each year votes on a "name" for the class. one year we were the velociraptors, and that's the only one i can remember. lol

but that's how they'd call us back inside after recess. "VELOCIRAPTORS TIME TO COME BACK TO CLASS!" and i would guess probably for a while some of us ran like velociraptors. lol

also 1st grade was the same year i was [lovingly] nicknamed the walking dictionary. lol i remain capable of spelling bizarre words, though i'm not like those kids who do the spelling bee--i commit no effort and time to it, i just work w what i've got, and sometimes (often) that means i have no idea wtf word just came up in a spelling bee. lol

okay anyway.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

prompt if you want? uh so while my friend and I were watching The Last Dragonlord we started talking about what if Balinor went back to Ealdor after disappearing for 5 or so years bc it seemed like Uther and Camelot in general had completely forgotten abt him. we talked abt Merlin growing up with a dad, already having better control and knowledge of magic bc of him, but then when they need a dragonlord bc of Kilgarah Gaius looks to Merlin to check if it's ok and steps up and says that he might know where to find a dragonlord, but he "doesn't know the name" and so Merlin and Arthur go on the quest and the whole time Merlin is just kind of sweating and nervous bc Arthur has technically met his father already but only briefly bc he stayed on the sidelines when they had gone to Ealdor to help before. but anyways Arthur ends up finding out that Merlin's dad is the dragonlord and he has to decide whether he tells Uther or not after they send Kilgarah away (either Balinor lives and sends him away or he still dies and Merlin sends him away idk)

uh yeah, hopefully this is interesting to you ig? have a good day I love ur writing<3

(This is #30 on This List)

This sounds kinda funky ngl, I haven't really written about Balinor all that much before.

~

So like... Merlin is definitely more competent with his magic (and just in general lol) because he had two parents keeping an eye on him when he was a troublesome toddler instead of just one. I imagine they're like... SUPER close, because they have this very special and powerful bond with their magic and the Dragon stuff. Balinor definitely raises him on stories of Camelot and what it was like before (and, maybe when he's older, how kind and cool Uther and Igraine used to be before... before). Then Merlin gets sent to Camelot because they want him to be a physician, like Gaius, he's desperate to go see it, and because Balinor is at least semi aware that Merlin is meant for greater things than life as a farmer. He thinks it's got to be more than coincidence that he and Uther have sons that are around the same age, especially given how much Arthur is raised to hate magic, and how much pure magic is running through Merlin’s veins. Not that he tells Merlin this.

But anyway, yeah, Arthur is aware of Balinor. Merlin and his father were kinda eager to keep Arthur away from him when they've been to Ealdor in the past, just in case, but they've definitely met briefly and Arthur will 100% recognise him. All the way there Merlin is going 😬 whilst Arthur keeps muttering about "I'm sure I've travelled this route before... hmm." then they get there and Merlin has already sent a mental message ahead to his father (yes, they can do that, because I said so) warning him, so he meets them a little out of the village and it's all very awkward and "HE... BUT... YOU.... DRAGONS....... MAGIC!!" from Arthur until he gets over it. Instead of Arthur being passed out and Balinor raising his eyebrow at Merlin, Merlin goes off to fetch firewood and Balinor goes "Hurt my son, break his heart, I'll turn that Dragon right back around again."

~

Anyway, this is sick as hell, thank you and I love you <3

[artekai]

lying + pancake + moon + spider + clover + megaphone (v curious abt voice claims if you have any 👀) + present + package + rainbow + red heart + green heart for kai!!!!!!!!!!

Hell yeah!!! Thank you so much my beloved!!!!!!! 😘

Under the cut because I got a bit carried away, haha! ^^

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

He's not a great liar, but he's not Ann lol. Something he tends to do when he has to lie is that he anchors himself in a half truth as a base, if that makes sense? It's easier to pretend when not all of it is a lie. As for tells, hmm ��� I feel like his eyes dart around a lot more. As in, glancing at you to watch your reaction but only for a few seconds before you get suspicious, that kinda stuff.

(I feel like the difference between him lying and him being honestly vulnerable is that when he's opening up in earnest he'll mostly avoid looking at you out of embarrassment. He's more over the place when he's lying, you know?)

He probably also just does what he usually does when he's nervous, but that's easier to mistake for honest vulnerability, heh ^^

🥞 PANCAKE - what is their comfort breakfast?

Oh, I haven't really thought much about it... 🤔 I do know he's a fan of protein, and the only thing he knows how to cook in the P5R AU is eggs (because pet chickens...) so maybe that? Scrambled eggs? ^^

🌙 MOON - what is your oc's greatest wish? how far are they willing to go for it?

For Artekai, probably to die for a greater cause. I just think he hasn't found a moment significant enough. And he's already come this far, where isn't he willing to go? I definitely think that what he truly wants is a life purpose, he's just channeling it towards death (if that makes sense) because, even after learning he's not a bridge between humans and machines like he thought, he still idolizes Banukai and wants to die fighting for others just like her.

(I do think he would've died protecting Beta with Varl if Fross hadn't been there to stop him. But I digress)

And Kaito... he just wants to be able to protect his loved ones :') And all of the time and effort he's put into his training shows what he's willing to do to protect them. He doesn't want to lose anyone else ;-; (he'd also be willing to sacrifice himself to protect others though, it's just not his end goal)

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

His biggest fears are both being abandoned and being forgotten. I think there's a pretty clear link between his trauma and his fears for both versions of him hehe ^^

I can't think of any irrational fears he has rn, hmm...

🍀 CLOVER - do they believe in luck? are they lucky?

Hmmmmmm I'm a bit torn on this one, but I'll say (tentatively) that I think Artekai believes in luck more than Kaito does 🤔

I've always had this idea that Artekai always carries an animal talisman on him for good luck (yeah it's because that's how I play HZD asdfghgfd sorry) but... huh. Now that I think about it, it might be for comfort more than for good luck. You know, because sometimes it's grounding to just touch a thing ^^ But hey, it's probably a mix of both.

As for Kaito, he's been getting ready for something bad to happen ever since the Rumi incident. I think it's inevitable to him. Not a matter of good or bad luck, but just... life is hard and something is bound to happen to everyone. You know? You win some, you lose some. Idk.

Both of them believe in skill more than luck, but I think the difference is that Artekai is playing with the odds way more than Kaito does 🤔Does that make sense?

Either way, he's not very lucky, but he's certainly luckier than those who didn't make it out with their lives at least :')

📣 MEGAPHONE - how loud are they? what do they speak like? got a voice claim?

He's loud! :D He's loud and youthful and cheerful and a great singer ^^

I haven't thought of a voice claim for him though 😔 He can't have the same voice as Takuto as he's not on HRT... But I haven't really gone looking as I feel like I'd be too picky with Kai specifically :/ sorry bestie 😔

🎁 PRESENT - what types of presents would they be most happy to receive? are they good at gift giving?

I think Kai really loves homemade gifts! And I think he holds himself up to that same standard, haha. He's not good at arts and crafts, but he'll try his best when he wants to show his appreciation for someone he loves ^^

📦 PACKAGE - what are some "most likely to..." that can apply to them?

Hmmmmmmmmm 🤔

I'm totally not looking up ideas lol

Most likely to run off and attempt to live off the grid? (I guess in this one he'd be tied with Aloy in the Horizon AU but hey)

Most likely to accidentally kill someone? (ok that got dark quick)

Most likely to do weird things in public?

Most likely to attempt to flirt with a stranger?

Most likely to punch a wall?

Most likely to run away to join the circus?

🌈 RAINBOW - what advice would they give to their younger self?

Hmm. It depends on what era Kai is currently in and how young is the younger self he's talking to. But, as a baseline, train hard, cherish the ones you love, and keep them close? 🤔 It's not too different to what his younger self was already doing, but I don't think he'd do much differently (with the information he had at the time, if that makes sense). He did his best with what he had and it was a learning experience and he's content with that ^^

Though I can picture him asking his younger self to try to be less petty and let go of grudges. Like, for P5R!Kai, he lost a lot of valuable time he could've had with his dad pushing him away and refusing any attempts to connect out of spite :(

❤️ RED HEART - their love language(s)?

Out of the classic ones, I feel like it's quality time (especially for receiving) and a close second is acts of service (but especially for giving)!!!

I think it's clear that words of affirmation alone don't do it for Kai, you need to show that you really do want him around, that you appreciate his presence and want to create memories with him. It's here where Takuto comes up short in the P5R AU, and also why Artekai's so obsessed with Fross, who just clings to him like a moth to a flame.

(I guess the opposite would be his hate language too lol. When he gets pissed, he straight up just leaves lol)

As for acts of service, I'm putting "training hard and polishing his fighting skills so he can protect his loved ones" in this category. His first aid knowledge too. They might not be errands, but it's the very best thing Kai can do for you! ^^

I like to look at Frosskai's humble beginnings as an example of how Kai shows love ^^ Aside from patching Fross up after accidentally stabbing him, hehe, one of the first things he did was go hunting to get breakfast just for him. And to show him he could provide for him, hehe. Artekai will hunt for you! He'll get you furs to keep you warm during winter! He'll find shelter for you in the wilds! Maybe that blurs the lines a bit with gift giving, but it's mostly about the survival skills, you know? He didn't just learn those for himself but to be able to protect those around him ;-;

As for non-traditional ones!! Love love love the idea of his love language including doing other people's hair and face paint. Especially weak for the idea of P5R!Kai braiding Sumi's hair and Horizon!Kai helping Aloy with her face paint :3 And I also like thinking of P5R!Kai becoming a hairdresser when he grows up! (he would not only enjoy it but he could be the most trans-friendly hairdresser around. Just saying ^^)

But I guess those sit at the intersection between quality time and acts of service so it checks out! :D

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your oc feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food?

Well, I headcanon that, when his hair is in a braid, he tends to grab it or play with it when he's nervous, so we could interpret that as him being comforted when people play with his hair ^^ It'd definitely align with his love languages :3

But he's also one for keeping his mind occupied. I feel like playing the drums and practicing archery genuinely help him unwind. It's the familiarity of it, you know?

There's also music. Since I first thought of the P5R AU, I had this idea that, when things get really, really bad, like bad enough to not be able to distract himself with anything else, what he does is he huddles up in a corner (it's safer if no one can sneak up from behind) and slips on his headphones to avoid the silence :')

[finncakes]

I love your Ashrym takes! I am glad I'm not the only one noticing how Ashton reacts to orym. Idk if I would call it a crush (yet), but Ash is def intrigued! My take is, that Ashton is not used to hanging out with/ respecting people who have their shit and he seems almost intimidated by him?? I honestly think he really likes orym but also has no idea how to interact with him. Which is not helped by Orym shutting down on him so often! Which is the other thing I noticed with those two: Ashton/Tal will try to start a thing and Orym/Liam basically stonewalls him. Not in an unkind way, but he just doesn't react to him. Which is then broken by these incredibly kind moments (stuffing the nettles in his bleeding nose, asking if he's hurt etc) sorry this got long, I am just so intrigued

thank you! I'm glad people seem to agree somewhat ;w;

long ass reply under the cut!

i do agree with your insight on taliesin and liam's characters though! i'm not far enough in c1 to notice anything so i can't speak to it much but i do notice it a lot with mollymauk/caduceus and caleb. i'm not sure i've seen it with orym and ashton thus far, but again, i might be missing it or forgot (hence why i'm relistening!). i'll try to keep an ear out for it, but i think orym is used to wrangling chaotic groups of people (the crown keepers in particular were...wild lil guys) and settles into the "normal and sane one" role.

interesting takes though! i myself am not fully settled into the idea that ashton is crushing on orym (again, only really 70% convinced and i think a good chunk of that is just me really liking ashrym XD) but i do agree that they're at least intrigued by him. i don't know if i think they're intimidated so much as they don't necessarily think they get to be friends with respectable people like orym. like a people like him don't get to be close people like orym, imogen and the like cause they're too good sorta way? i'm noticing as i'm listening through, ashton sorta had this issue with all the bells hells initially, except fearne who seemed more "on his level" and chaotic. everyone else (other than fcg and fearne) they're kinda like...coworker friendly with (idk how else to describe it lol). i also haven't noticed orym shutting down ashton personally, but we also might have different definitions of that ;3; and i might have forgotten or missed it, i can space out sometimes while listening and have to backtrack (which is why i take forever to listen to new episodes).

and don't worry about sending long asks or anything abt ashrym tbh, i'm always down to hear from others abt them ! 

[butchviking]

please dont execute me but what is bury me in black like what is the significance

ok so first of all it was a b-side demo (cut from revenge & released with i'm not okay) that had only been played live three times before - out of over a thousand live shows - and those three times were all back in 2003. it's a HUGE fan favourite song (bc its largely abt gender and mcr fandom is obsessed w gender lol) but the idea of them actually playing it live in 2022 is like. a dream. insane. might have started hyperventilating a little watching the stream and realising what was happening. honestly i kinda thought they'd forgotten it existed until frank mentioned it in an interview mere days before the us tour leg started (bc he loves to torment)

second of all did u listen to it? go listen to it. god it fucking rocks. maybe look up the lyrics too but im gonna mention most of them here anyway cause GOD. main themes are gender and alcohol which. yeah man fuck me UP!!! frustrating sidenote: the fandom ALWAYS talks about the heavy gender elements but i NEVER see ppl discussing how much about alcoholism it is?? it's in almost every line this song is literally drenched in the reek of stale booze i dont know why ppl just don't seem interested in engaging w that aspect.

third of all ok. here are some select lines that make me, personally, Feel Things. and before u read them i need you to know that i originally wrote like 500 words explaining why i picked out each line and why i love it. because there is something wrong with me. because this song makes u have something wrong with u. dw tho i decided to spare u the lecture. bury me in black speaks for itself

we'll drown ourselves in misery tonight

you've worn out all your dancing shoes this time

war-worn lipstick by the purifying flame

these eyes have had too much to drink again tonight

we'll douse ourselves in high explosive light

i've been calling you all week for my shotgun

pick up the phone/pick up the phone fucker!

i wanna see what your insides look like/i bet you're not fucking pretty on the inside

i can't explain what happened to my faith late last night

and what im going through/shot lipgloss through my veins

[benevadeca]

Relistening to razia's shadow bc I belatedly realized they posted their new version of it and not that they changed any of the lyrics or plot but hm! Just as confused as I've ever been and honestly fr guys am I missing something. I do not understand the plot lol my feelings for it are very "makes no sense. compels me tho" i mean

all of this critism coming from someone who has no knowledge of any possible lore that may or may not exist abt this and has never interacted w anyone about it but just listens to the album sometimes and has seen the youtube puppet play <3

OK so the whole theme being "the unrelenting constancy of love and hope can rescue and restore you from any scope" aw <3 except it literally never does lol like Prophecy Boy dies in both acts.

It's truly the unfeminist of albums I mean. My 2017 memories of making an entire AU where I change the lyrics to all the songs with our #girls bc they suck TBH. honestly I just need to break down my gripes song by song okay so

>missing piece

OK!! so they were both very gifted but it's only arima and his man angst that goes off committing arson??

>life is looking up

it's literally Oh The Scientist being cringe and creepy like give ur son boy some encouragement damn :/ guy who caused it: I'm staying out of it. also the "but the sculpture of the earth was looked upon by jealous eyes" okay so there's always trouble in paradise got it, but the whole "dark and the light" theme is so confusing

>spider and the lamps

i hate the "crawl inside her" line soooooo much i think of it in my head as "crawling insider" like...he's a spy a creep a guy offering a new (worse) perspective on a guy who's at a mental low under the guise of helping him when he's really manipulating him. etc.

>toba the tura

literally in 2018 i had a whole animatic planned where the reason nidria leaves is bc she's literally a leader to her people and it's her making the tough choice to choose the responsibility she has to them who are now, idk refugees or whatever? etc etc. so yeah the irony of ari being the guy who's like "when i die you will realize" only for his terrible actions to be what forces nidria, who never even expressed any real desire or felt any necessity to Show Off Her Skillz, to take this active leadership authority figure role. anyway what was i talking about.

oh yeah uh, ok so i love toba bestie <3 love that they're a #girl in the new version like yes feminism. we love a genderfluid goat and i loved the singer but the "my words will tear through the air" line which is SO powerful in the original was kinda mediocre ngl. so yeah disappointed there but otherwise <3

i had a whole character concept for them in the far past but i've forgotten it honestly and relistening and watching wow they're kind of a cop huh? this is me going with my 2017 AU where the dark v/s light thing is a veiled xenophobia metaphor taking inspiration from the mechanisms high noon over camelot album. but yeah in this view the "every dark corner will soon see the light" is very civil servant performing their duty that, oops, kind of involves a punitive judgemental form of justice that negatively disenfranchises some more than others.

but again, the dark v/s light thing is so unclear like rly acting as if it's unpopulated when he's ari is banished or whatev ("desolate throne" but people do live there?? or once the light-people leave the land gets re-populated by the dark-people who were possibly implicitly expelled from there? going w the fantasy racism theme + the weird unexplained sickness thing i think the disparity between them is at least partially due to physiological differences in a nocturnal vs diurnal creatures kinda way. vampires who can't stand light vs guys who would wither away without it. etc etc.

But also again fuck Oh The Scientist the entire "you've broken the trust of your father's love" when was that love expressed?? and hello NIDRIA??? who has like a whole song about expressing her love!!! not even a "the truth of those you love" more encompassing kind of lyric just the very narrow vision of it is so :(

>the oracle

lots of nitpicks bc i'm a hater on this one <3 but another contender for worst line in the musical "in her lock he will turn the key" makes me GAG. not even like a "together they will turn the key" in a "these TWO guys will fulfill the prophecy bc it's a TOGETHER issue bc we all saw what happened last time when prophecy was left up to Just Some Guy, with a girl also there"

ALSO the "Their true love will be strong enough, To erase the wrong we've done" line i'm so bleh over? Like it's not abour ERASING the wrong it's about being able to look it in the eye and move past it! facing it and confronting it in order to work together to build something that learns from the mistakes of the past that is more equitable and lasting. so yeah idk just simple lyrical changes like "to move past"

Also the "will be strong enough" is so hamfisted....add some ambiguity or a touch of hopefulness or desperation bc we already saw prophecy isn't all it's caked up to be! "with their love, may it be strong enough" or smth. idk man!! idk!!

>the exit

the new ver literally has pallis like. push him to the ground at the beginning? BOO!! he's shown to be not understanding but still caring through his coldness, and also it's unclear what the prophecy is but in the beginning and the end "you really are the chosen one the calculated sacrifice" LIKE?? no wonder he was against it!! either knowing ur brother will die and/or being the killer??? yeah i think i'd be unhappy too abt my younger brother chasing a suicide mission.

and as for adakias and how literally his whole thing being feeling trapped, not fitting in, forced to fill a role he doesn't feel suited for, yearning for understanding and newness, etc.

and anura ALSO feeling those things!! self-recognition thru the other etc, and then for the next song to like immediately pivot to "and now they are going to settle down and have kids :)" it's SOOO infuriating. "to float away, and settle down" SETTLE DOWN????? AFTER ALL THAT YEARNING FOR A HERO'S JOURNEY???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN

>it's true love

literally changing all of anura's lines bc again misogyny the musical.

"I never would guess your touch could, Fill me with such thoughts to marry you, have your babies, too" BLECKKKK

TO ME changes to: "...guessed someone could Fill me with such a tender feeling, how, Just to be with you, Is it too good to be true?"

Also the "Adakias, can't you see that I knew at first kiss?" >> "can't you see that without you I'd have never escaped" this line is partially bc i couldn't hear what she was saying lol but it sounded vaguely like this to me and fit with the themes of like. desperation, loneliness, finally finding someone who understands you and the desire to cling to that person, the whirlwind that mixture of things can spur you into making looking before you leap decision making, etc

also more lyric changes but i would simply change "i can't let her learn about my past" to "if i let her learn about my past" with a yes maybe? :) hopefulness to it, that then pivots to the "if she found out where i came from" of the original. the back and forth!! the desire to entrust your full self to the person you theoretically has this magic connection of love and understanding with that you don't want to lie to!! but that is shadowed by the fears of being forced back to a life you don't want. instead of just "oh yeah and i will simply keep this a secret, forever, regardless of how much this endangers the people around me :) what could go wrong"

>meet the king

literally the narration at the end w/ the "the king as his greed" HIS GREED??? bro he literally knew he was hiding something and ofc he was concerned for his daughter making a crazy rash decision based on someone who very well COULD just be after her for status!!! and who did end up getting her sick and almost killed!!!!!

songs written by someone who doesn't get the plot of romeo and juliet. and also addy constantly ending his lines to the king with "You Fool" BRO that is not how u convince ur date's dad to like you!!!!! and way to give away ur not just some commoner who tf talks to royalty like this you loudmouth. KIDS

but also on the other hand what even is the sickness plotline....def puts a weird bit into my xenophobia metaphor plotline but as a plotline itself even without that it's so nonsense!!! means nothing to me!!!!

>holy the sea

i think this song fucks love the boat chorus :) i do think the "sits atop ur family tree" thing is kinda boring like booooo no fancy chosen one bloodlines, i say in a work where the only characters are all monarchists or smth, the reincarnation thing is on thin ice but i'll allow it bc making puppets is hard and i support reusing character designs in a "same guy but slightly different and to the left bc see they are Parallels" i fall for it every time.

>doctor doctor

lol literally i cant listen to this song it's so. like the music is fun but the entire plot and lyrics are soooo

i mean addy was rly gonna just sell anura to the creepy doctor without her consent bc, what? "Trust me, I know how this must go!"??? BRO as if you've trust her with anything!! and if it's not your fault in the first place!!!!

>the end and the beginning

i was always very confused where tf the doctor went in this song until i saw the visual of the door just falling on him. everybody say thank you pallis

the way it doesn't make sense tho lmao <3 "she would never RLY like u bc she's a spoiled princess who needs a prince" BRO?? damn that's crazy where the hell would we find one of those? and if not every character in this song is royalty???

"these two have been on quite an odyssey" :( i would also like to witness the odyssey. also belated question why in the new version are so many of the characters kind of gay (the spider, the king, pallis and his puppet hip thrusts)

and the way the entire song is abt her and pallis forcing her to justify herself to him but she like. barely has a line in it!! also the amount of lyrics i simply have never known bc im looking it up now on genius lyrics and damn where tf was i supposed to get maharaja and maliloquently from

more lyrics i dislike and change in my head: "please listen, I really can explain...Now you know the truth, but that knowledge shouldn't change the nature of our love" > "I really can't explain...Now you know the truth, and though that knowledge may change the nature of our love" the meaning is found in the acknowledgement that ur actions have consequences!! that you can't go back from but you can face up and be willing to accept that they will affect you moving forward!! and ofc the nature of it will change bc it NEEDS to change bc as proven by the lies and harm that's been done, it should change and that change can be something for the better.

the way she has NO like individual lines after the truth reveal tho. feminism loses :(

also the end like "we regained our science" HOW??? WHEN?? sorry i wasnt there for that lol. narrator living in a different sphere of existence. "cause an idea is only relevant if it's being thought upon" sir i have not gotten what the idea is.

anyway thoughts on just the musical as a visual:

i prefer the original spider puppet i just think the black light was better!!

they rly made him green huh....weird.

the weird blurs on the camera sometimes...like when pallis goes in for the stab and it has this weird overlapped motion blur what even IS that.....

i do like pallis and addy's little outfits :) brother who cant dress themselves

them holding hands in the meet the king song is cute. like children at mcdonald's "he asked for no pickles" kind of look.

the very end narration being all "never surrender :)" (image of guy bleeding out on the floor) is. quite the choice

[checkers-dance]

okay so this is a very risky song rec and i wouldnt blame you if you didnt like it: matemática de la carne by rayden. i almost didnt rec this because its kind of an unconventional song and a big part of what makes it special are the lyrics, which you wont be able to understand because the whole song is in spanish. BUT im still sending it because i personally really like the instrumental of this one.

(If youre curious about what its about, its just a sex song BUT it uses some very creative language to describe the situation and theres a lot of really fun word play. for example: "bésame, bésame, besayuname." The last word is a combination of the words "bésame" [kiss me] and "desayuname" [eat me up] which makes for... fun implications lol. Another personal fave is when the singer says [in spanish, obviously lol] "i've lost my sense of love, but not my sense of sarcasm, so i'll make humor to you until you reach orgasm". The replacement of "love" with "humor" is really creative because the word for love in spanish [amor] rhymes with humor so it just sounds very smooth lol]

Anyway, for a less unusual song rec: listen to Dance With Me by VAV lmao

Gjskfkskf at first I read the first bit as "I'm blaming u if u don't like this" and just took it in stride. Anyway how do *u* know I don't understand spanish 🤔🤔🤔 . Like u're right, I don't technically speak it, but I don't think I've mentioned anything abt speaking or not speaking it before (if I have I must've forgotten 😔)

Anyway yeah I also like the instrumental! It's maybe not a song that I would listen to a lot but I found it interesting. Also I love how u put a whole analysis of the song in there

I've listened to vav a bit before (their song poison, which I liked), so I was 👀👀 when I saw the song that u recommended. The instrumental is so funky, it has a diff kinda style from poison, but at the same time it's still...adjacent to it?? I like it!