#I've only seen them interact like twice

[ordordordordord]

Discovered Zoro/Tashigi as a ship and I'm curious if people actually ship this and why or why not so poll time

Also feel free to elaborate on your choice in comments or notes!!! Would love to see peoples opinions on this :)

[kamospeach]

Hey girl, just read your Eren one shot and I was loving ittt. Could I ask for a one shot of Eren x black female bestfriends who have a flirty relationship but Eren finally makes a move when she gets asked out by someone else? #smutty please ☺️

we might share the same brain cell :P

plot: bestfriend!eren is tired of only being best friends.

content warning: pining, mutual pining, jealous eren, oblivious reader, slut shaming (barely), titty sucking, oral f!recieving, fingering, cowgirl

peachy's yap: wc 4k.ᐟ i've literally thought about this so many times i love best friend eren in every way !

“her? nah she's my best friend."

"girlfriend... i don't have a girlfriend. oh y/n? that's my best friend."

"yeah we live together but we're strictly best friends."

those were just three of the many different statements eren replied to strangers. strangers being people your friends brought the two of you around. your friends themselves couldn't even tell others what you both had going on.

"y/n and eren? well, they're best friends, and uh... they hug a lot."

"yeah they do that often, she always sits on his lap."

"when did he start holding her waist in public? that's new."

"truthfully i've seen them kiss. on the lips!"

all of it was true you and eren did hug a lot even cuddle when it was cold. you sat on his lap proudly in public, especially at the club you wouldn't dare let some stripper twerk on your best friend. he held your waist when you and your friends walked around the mall looking for things to buy.

you did kiss twice though once at a dinner party on accident when you turned to talk to eren and the same when he tried to kiss your cheek. another time when you both were crossfaded in your room you looked over at your best friend. his eyes were low and his pink lips shiny from chapstick and he looked very fuckable.

but even after that your friendship stayed the same and you didn't falter. you were best friends and even promised to be in the next life. and today was just like every other day.

"ren!" you yelled and eren walked to you from your shared kitchen. you laid on the couch wrapped in a blanket watching a scary movie. he stood at the end of the couch looking at you with a raised brow.

"yeah ma," he asked and you pointed at the tv his eyes followed your finger. you could barely hear the tv from where you sat. "what you scared?" he laughed at you and you frowned.

"no i ain't scared!" you defended although you were truthfully scared that wasn't what you wanted. "remember how your fat ass stepped on the remote and it broke yesterday?" you said and he looked around trying to act like he didn't hear you.

"what about it?" he asked still looking at the TV.

"i can't hear it and we haven't got a new remote. so can you turn it up pleaseeee?" you asked and he scoffed turning up the TV and looking at you to see if you were satisfied. you nodded in approval happy now that you could hear the TV. "thank you, hun."

"mhm you're welcome," he mumbled walking over to you and kissing your forehead. things like that were everyday interactions for you and eren. it was friendly and you never thought of it any other way. you watched the movie until eren came into the living room with two plates.

he handed you one and sat directly next to you in the corner of the couch. you lifted the blanket placing it over eren's legs. he grabbed your legs placed them over his lap and looked down at you.

"what movie is this again?" he asked and you scoffed rolling your eyes.

"i don't know it's on a random channel, no remote remember." you playfully remind him to which he scoffs. he promised he would go out today and buy a new remote after work.

since you took today off you sat in your room all day waiting for eren to return. just for eren to come back with two bottles of Don Julio, a family box of Cheez-Its, and a value pack of sour gummy worms. everything but a damn remote.

"you don't gotta remind me every time." he laughed and you shook your head.

"i'll go get it tomorrow." you laugh as a comfortable silence settles between the two as you both enjoy the meal. after you both finished he left to clean the dishes and returned minutes later. he sat down in his previous spot except this time he pulled you in between his legs. you leaned your against his chest looking up at him.

"hm?" he hummed in a questioning tone and for a second you weren't exactly sure what you wanted to say. lost in his green eyes that you swore swirled hypnotizing you into becoming a mute. his fingers rubbed small circles on the bare skin of your thigh. his other hand under your oversized teachers resting on your stomach.

"you work tomorrow?" you asked and he nodded looking at the time seeing it was getting close to his bedtime. he was trying to stay up later so you wouldn't call him an old man but he was exhausted. "can i ride with you?"

"yea, you can." he cleared his throat standing you up and standing up behind you. "finna go to bed," he mumbled stretching as your eyes never left his happy trail until it was hidden by his shirt again.

"can you sleep in my room? i got scared." you now admit to being scared by the low-budget horror film. he obliged as you both went to your room.

the next day was how you expected stressful, tiring, and overall draining. it was going on 3 pm and you only had one client left. you had two appointments and even did three walk-ins you were beat.

you looked across the tattoo shop at your best friend who looked even more exhausted than you. he was finishing up his last client it was his second large back piece of the day along with 3 smaller tattoos.

eren was always the busiest it was his shop and everyone loved his work. although you, connie, annie, and mikasa were good at what you did, it wasn't beating eren's talent by a long shot. you stood up walking over to his station sitting next to him watching him work.

after another 20 minutes, your client arrived, he was a regular client for you. if you were being honest you gave him discounts here and there because he was fine as hell. whenever he called and needed you to squeeze him in you never told him no.

"wassup y/n." he smiled his white teeth nearly blinding you with its reflection of the sun. you returned his smile patting the back of the seat.

"heyyy come take a seat," you said and got started with the process. you were first sitting in silence until he asked about your day. taking the opportunity to rant about your stressful day.

"man if i known that i would've waited until tomorrow or when you ain't have as many people," he said and you shook your head.

"i'll never tell you no, you know that." you send him a bright smile and he returns the gesture.

"i must be your favorite?" he laughed and you nodded slowly still keeping your main focus on his tattoo.

"you might be..." you say and he sends you a smirk. he was getting cocky and you fed into it.

"then let your favorite client take you out?" he looked at you and as much as your body wanted to freeze up from shock. you stayed calm lightly nodding your head. "not for no free tattoos or nothin'. i been liking you for a while and i've known you for three years now and..." you cut him off as he started to ramble.

"i'll go out with you." you laughed trying to lighten the mood. he was obviously a little anxious but you admired him for asking.

"oh ok cool, bet." he nodded to himself and you smiled the whole time you finished his tattoo. you were just happy someone you found attractive thought the same about you.

after that, you both said your goodbyes and you walked over to eren who sat in his chair waiting for you to finish. he grabbed your bag from you and you both made sure everything was good to be locked up. you switched the lights off following eren to his bike.

"what were you and that guy gigglin' bout?" eren asked handing you your helmet and you shrugged.

"nothin', much he asked me out and that was about it," you tell eren and he freezes turning to look at you. you weren't sure why he looked so shocked at that statement so you chuckled.

"what?" you asked getting on the back of the bike and he shook his head. not bothering to say anything to you he just wanted to get home. he sped home going a little faster than you liked your arms wrapping tightly around him.

once you both made it back home eren wasted no time jumping off the bike. he didn't even look back at you and rushed into the apartment. you followed behind him oblivious to his anger.

"what you want for dinner i'll cook," you say and he shrugs his shoulders walking to his room and slamming his door shut. you stood in front of the door in shock, you and eren never stayed mad at each other.

you shook your head going to your room and deciding on taking a shower. you sat your phone on the counter in the kitchen along with your keys and bag. you went and did your regular shower routine before going to cook. when you came out eren was sitting at the island eating food.

"you doordashed?" you asked and he nodded. looking down at your phone and then back at his food. you frowned seeing your phone had lit up meaning you had gotten a notification. you walked over grabbing your phone seeing it was a text from the client who had asked you out.

6:23 pm

it was good to see your pretty face today how does friday at 7 pm sound?

you smiled at the message about to text back until eren snatched your phone. you looked up at him with your eyebrows furrowed in anger. "eat your food." he nodded in the direction of the bag and you squinted your eyes at him.

"fuck we forgot the remote again." you groaned. eren watched your every move you felt him watching. but you ignored it not wanting him to know that you were nervous from his intense gaze. "what's your problem today?" you asked getting it over with.

"you gonna go out with him?" he asked and you turned to look at him like he had lost his mind.

"why would i not?" you say grabbing your food and sitting next to him. he hummed nodding his head almost like you were irritating him. you both ate your food in silence just as you were about to swallow your last bite eren spoke.

"you ever thought about how it'd make me feel?" he asked and you choked on your food not sure what he meant.

"what?" you asked and he sighed looking away from you.

"i'm just sayin' like we best friends and stuff..." you cut him off assuming he thought you both had to sit down and contemplate whether or not you would date this guy or not.

"you expect me to run to you like you're my father and ask if it's okay that i date him?" you said now getting angry that eren was acting this way.

"that's not what i'm getting at bruh. i'm sayin' like one guy comes and asks you on a date and you just said yes?" he said and you squinted your eyes at him.

"you callin' me easy?" you asked grabbing your empty plate and throwing it away. not only were you fed up with his attitude his words hurt you.

"no ma that's not..."

"don't 'ma' me. you sittin' here callin' me easy and getting mad that someone showed interest in me. i've never had a boyfriend because they're always scared of you. let me have this one please." you practically beg eren. and then there it was again. that swirling in his eyes that was saying everything and nothing at all. you began to storm off to your room but eren asked a question that made your stomach churn.

"have you ever... thought about me? in that way?" he asked you and you blinked in shock.

"in what way?" you asked, you needed him to be straight up and tell you what he really wanted to know.

"have you ever thought about dating me and uh... being with me?" he asked and you cleared your throat. you never thought you and your best friend would be having this conversation.

"yes i have... maybe a year ago," you admitted and he grabbed your wrist pulling you back to him.

"when we kissed? in your bed?" he asked and you nodded slowly.

"i thought about you for days, months really. i hid the way i felt, i didn't want you to know," you admitted to him.

"i've always felt that way about you," he admitted and you looked at him your eyes running over his face. his eyes, nose, lips, everything that made you feel the way you did a year ago. "don't go out with him... go out with me."

you didn't know what to say but you knew you wanted to kiss him. it had been a year since you felt those lips against yours and you needed him. you were standing between his legs as he sat on the barstool in your kitchen. his hands gripped the exposed skin of your waist as you both stared at each other

you couldn't wait another minute to press your lips against his. the softness of his lips and the urgency in his movements made it all the more sensual. your hands ran along his shoulders finding their way in his hair. you took out his bun letting his hair fall as you ran your fingers through his hair.

"have you ever thought of me like this?" you asked referring to the intimate moment you were both about to have.

"so so so many times," he said breathlessly lifting you like you weighed nothing. he sat you on the counter gripping your thighs and spreading them apart. he stood between your legs and went back to kissing you. his hands found their way to your ass and massage the flesh. your hands rubbed the back of his neck playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck.

he pushed his tongue in your mouth his tongue roaming around your mouth. the kiss was sloppy spit sloshing and swapping between your mouths. he pulled back as a line of spit followed, both of your chests raising and falling at a fast pace.

he grabbed your jaw pushing your head backward and attacking your neck. you whine at the feeling of his teeth grazing the muscles of your neck. he kissed down your neck and behind your ear, you could hear his rigid breathing. his hands reached under your shirt noticing you don't have a bra on.

"no bra?" he asked smirking and you sighed as he pulled your shirt over your head.

"i just g...got out the shower." you stuttered as he rolled his nipples between his pointer finger and thumb. he pulled at them watching your eyes flutter close at the feeling. he roughly grips your breasts fondling them and looking at you.

"put em' in my mouth," he instructed looking up at you through his lashes. your eyes widened at the thought and he nodded letting you know he was serious. he stuck his tongue out as you grabbed your boob placing it on his tongue.

his mouth latched around your breast sucking and lightly biting at your nipple. his hand grabbed your right boob fondling and playing with your nipple until he switched. he sucked so hard that you felt your need cunt clench around nothing wanting him in you so bad. your hands played in his hair pulling him away from your chest.

"why'd you do that?" he frowned looking up at you. his eyes were 3 shades darker.

"i need you..." you whined and he smirked at your neediness. he lifted you off the counter kiss you as he walked over to the couch placing you on your back.

"can i take off your shorts?" he asked and you nodded. he took off your shorts looking at your skimpy panties that were soaked. your juices creating a wet spot on your pretty pink panties. eren spread your legs his nose nudging the spot sniffing your scent.

eren let out a guttural groan and the smell and pulled off his shirt. his body was nothing new to you but seeing him hover above you with his shirt off made it so much more sensual. he unbuttoned his pants taking them off followed by his boxers. he was huge not as big as you imagined but to be fair you imagined him to be 13 inches.

although he wasn't as long as he was in your wet dreams, 8 1/2 inches was bigger than most. he was bigger than most of the guys you followed on twitter. you reached up grabbing his dick and your hand couldn't even wrap all the way around it. you stroked him slowly and he threw his head back his cock already twitching from the feeling.

"let me taste you," he mumbled and you looked up at him with a smile. you wanted to tease him, he was a naturally dominant man. even one second to be a tease was enough to make you feel superior.

"what was that rennie?" you asked in a seductive tone rubbing your thumb across the slit of his tip playing with the stickiness of his precum.

"i said let me taste you," he said louder this time and you nodded. spreading your legs. eren gripped your panties easily ripping them down the middle. your lips and swollen clit on full display your entrance dripping your wetness. "such a pretty pussy... so wet for me." he hummed leaning down to lick a long stripe down your folds.

he sucked on your clit and now and then teased your entrance with his tongue. he groaned into your pussy while he eat you out your body squirming under the feeling. your legs tried to squeeze together trapping his head between them, the feeling so overwhelming.

eren pushed your legs open letting up from your clit. his thumb swirled over your clit and you moaned loudly from the feeling. without warning he pushed his middle finger in fingering you roughly.

"you like that baby?" he asked with a raised brow and your head was thrown back as you moaned loudly at the feeling. he didn't get an answer from you so he pushed in a second finger. you whined at the pressure of a second finger. "you keep ignoring me i'll add a third." he said deeply and you pushed your limits thinking there was no way he would.

he fingered you vigorously so fast that you could hear your juices sloshing. your cunt tightened around his fingers. loving the feeling of his fingers pumping in and out of you. since you didn't answer eren did as he said he would add another finger in. you squealed he was stretching you so good and the feeling was overwhelming.

"m'close ren." you moaned feeling that feeling in your stomach.

"tell me how much you love it then i'll let you cum." he said and your voice was giving out from your moaning and screaming. "c'mon ma just three words." he taunted you while he fingered your wet, needy pussy. he ground his hips into the couch getting harder by the minute watching you leak all over the couch just from his fingers.

"i love it ren fuck!" you yelled and he smirked as your body gyrated from the orgasm begging to be released.

"cum for me baby, cum for your best friend rennie." he said as you let go cumming hard, your cream coating his fingers as your body shivered from the pleasure. "gooood girl," he said pulling his cream-coated fingers out of your cunt. he pushed them into your mouth as you sucked and slurped your cream off his fingers.

he pushed them down your throat making you gag on all three of his thick digits. you smiled at him as he leaned down kissing you. his tongue dancing with yours as he tasted you on your tongue. you sat up pushing him down on the couch. he leaned against the back of the couch as you straddled his waist.

"you sure?" he asked and you nodded wanting to show him what you could do. although you never had a boyfriend didn't mean you never had sex. you wanted to show eren what he had been missing.

you planted your feet on the ground lowering yourself onto him. he moaned in your ear and you whimpered at the way his cock stretched you. he was way thicker than those three fingers he used earlier. you lowered yourself fully onto him until your ass met his thighs.

your eyes were closed and your body ground into his, enjoying the feeling. after you adjusted to the size you began to ride him. your arms wrapped around his neck and his hands gripping your waist.

"fuck baby you feel so good, so wet, fuck." he groaned as you fastened your pace bouncing on his cock. you couldn't slow down you couldn't take it slow, not with the way you felt every inch of his cock stroking your insides.

"mmm ren." you moaned leaning your chest against his kissing him biting on his bottom lip. your pace slowed a little until eren moved his grip to your ass helping you ride him. still kissing you roughly while he moved you to keep the same fast pace.

his big hands almost covering most of your ass, he slapped one encouraging you to ride him faster. he watched the way your beautiful brown ass rippled from the force.

"you're doing so good ma. make us cum." he tells you as your knees got tired and he grabbed you. "you tired baby?" he asked whispering in your ear.

"mmm mhm." you whimpered out and he nodded. eren turned around so you both were lying the length of the couch. he planted his feet fucking up into you. "ren!" you yelled feeling him roughly fuck into you. it was extremely loud the sound of your bodies colliding and your yelling out from eren's rough thrust was enough for the two of you to get noise complaints.

"you close baby? i'm close." he rambled loving the feeling of your walls clenching and unclenching around him. "play with your clit." he demanded. you listened not in the mood to defy him. you rubbed your clit vigorously watching eren bite his lips as sweat ran down his forehead. his hair stuck to his forehead and his broad shoulders tensed as he fucked up into you with immense force.

"m'cumming ren." you moaned loudly and he grunted.

"me too cum with me ma." he said as your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you whimpered out in pleasure. "fuck i love you shit," he said and your eyes widened as his warm cum filled you up. his dick twitching and pulsing as his seed painted your insides white.

"y... you love me?" you asked still sitting on his cock as your mixed fluids dripped down his dick and his balls. your body automatically grinding into his at the feeling of being full.

"of course i do i've told you that so many times," he said giving you a confused look and you shook your head.

"no that was as friends i mean do you love me like a lover?" you asked and he smiled at your explanation.

"i never meant it as a friend," he said and you pouted at his statement and you nodded in satisfaction.

"then i love you too rennie."

[rupeenotruby]

I view og Link and Hyrule and separate characters despite the fact that they are technically the same character. Because of this I have certain headcanons for them that don't transfer over, and I thought it would be fun to talk about them! When interacting with LU I try to keep headcanons as close to the comic as possible, especially when it comes to Hyrule as this makes it more fun for me. Therefore, you will see a lot of the reasoning for headcanons being pretty much "it's like that in the comic."

For whatever reason, Link is depicted with his sword on his hip instead of his back like most other Links.

(There is also a post card with AoL Link on it riding a motorcycle that has him have his sword on his hip (I couldn't find it). Less canon than the manual to me but still interesting.). In LU however Hyrule puts his sword on his back like everyone else!

In both TLoz and AoL Link technically holds his sword in both hands as they flip the sprite instead of drawing a new one depending on which way Link is facing so that his sword hand is always closest to the screen.

(All sprites in this were ripped by Mister Mike)

And I KNOW!!! it is most likely due to hardware limitations but if the Tp Link gets to be headcanoned as ambidextrous because his entire game was flipped so can this Link!!! This isn't really something I see get acknowledge much by the fandom (in fact I've only seen it mentioned TWICE) and it isn't mentioned in LU. I like left-handed Link so even though he is ambidextrous he still mostly uses his sword in his left hand.

Link isn't that short!!!! ... at least in his Hyrule. Observe:

So, I put him at an averageish height. Honestly it doesn't matter what his actual height is since this is a fantasy world but whatever it is he is slightly above average. Hyrule however? He isn't that tall in a group of Links so he is definitely below average in height 😭 I would say in real world terms Link is around 5'9 and Hyrule is around 5'5.

There are three ways to approach Link's fairy form.

He shrinks and grows wings

He turns into a little creature (which is someone's fanmade fairy design)

Or he looks like one of the fairies in his game

I see the most of the first one and even if it isn't how it looks in game it's popularity makes sense. I prefer the third option (if you couldn't tell) cause I think it's fun and closest to canon (I suppose if you wanted to be 100% canon you would give him a total make over x). I base it on a combo of the manual and the game. I've heard along the grapevine Hyrule's fairy form goes the first route and has dragonfly wings which I think is a good fit in terms of bug wings. Also I want antennae!

(My designs for the Zeldas aren't final shhhhh) I don't really ship much but I can see Link and Princess Zelda getting married for political reasons (there's the whole "great king" thing and having two princesses which could create some succession issues and I think Link getting married would just clear things up and look good to the people of Hyrule. I think he would marry the first Zelda he meets because I've always seen her as the more leader type and politically oriented of the two). That being said I don't think Link would actually be attracted to either Zelda. Or anyone. This isn't really based on anything except for the fact that I said so lol.

Now Hyrule has a bit more explaining. I keep the political/platonic marriage to Dawn but the zelink of choice for him is with Aurora because when I was first reading LU I thought it was being set up in a way that put all the Links with their "primary" non-Zelda love interests except for Sky. So Time with Malon, Legend with Marin, Twilight with Midna and Wild with Mipha (don't ask about the other three I did not think about them all that often) and all of those are redheads.... so since I headcanon Aurora with the red hair I thought Hyrule would be shipped with her. I've later found out this isn't the case and that some Links are going to end up with their Zeldas but xD I don't really care ships don't matter that much in LU anyways and honestly I don't even know if Jojo considers the Zeldas to be separate people. Also why don't I just have the marriage be between Hyrule and Aurora? Ehhhh. Errrrm.. I really like platonic marriages.

This is a pretty common headcanon and it is based on two lines from the first manual and the second manual. In the first manual it established that Link was a traveler (hence the nickname in LU). "During his travels he had come across Impa and Ganon's henchmen." In the second it says "Link remained in the little kingdom of Hyrule and lent his hand to its restoration." Which implies that either Link was planning to leave Hyrule (and thus could be from Hyrule) or had traveled to Hyrule (and thus wasn't from Hyrule).

I choose to see it as that he isn't from Hyrule. I also think it is fun to have the "Hero of Hyrule" not be from Hyrule. A lot of people go with Calatia (which is canon to the comics and I don't consider the comics to be canon) and I go with that too because honestly it doesn't really matter where he came from, just that it isn't Hyrule.

Technically Link is always touching the Magical Sword in AoL so I've always pictured it as a magic wand of sorts for his magic making it stronger and more focused hence why he doesn't start all this fancy magic until after he gets the sword. Link can use magic without it it's just not as good (like the sword beams). I just think it is a little odd that the "Magic Sword" doesn't seem to do anything special. Obviously this doesn't apply to Hyrule as he heals Twilight without the sword.

Some people get this wrong but in AoL it states that "One day, a strange mark, exactly like the crest of the kingdom, appeared on the back of Link's hand as he approached his 16th birthday." And I think it's pretty likely that he set out right after hearing the Legend of Zelda from Impa and celebrated his birthday on the road. So, I think it would be funny he got whisked away to the LU adventure right before his 18th birthday and just never mentioned it.

That's all! Obviously, I have more headcanons but they can be applied to both Link and Hyrule to varying degrees. I first played AoL four years ago now (six years ago for TLoZ) and found LU a little while after AoL. In the beginning my view of Link and Hyrule were pretty cloudy but as time has gone on they have solidified into different characters in my mind that would do slightly different things. That being said the LU fandom has been an awesome source of headcanons and perspectives on Link.

One of the headcanons that I know for certain that has come from the LU fandom is the fact that Link can's swim. Which yeah! Isn't it weird that he uses all sorts of ways to traverse water but none of them involve getting in the water? Or that a way to insta die in AoL is falling in lava or water? Maybe I would have come to that conclusion on my own or maybe not but who cares about the "maybes."

There are a lot of things the fandom does in regard to Hyrule that I disagree with but find interesting, or dislike, or hate, or things I agree with and love! But no matter what it has made me see a game that means so much to me in so many different ways. And isn't that the point of being in a fandom?

[justn0t]

okay I did the beastancient tierlist thing yap under cut. I also only really did the popular ones

- sv is peak no commenr 100000/10

- bc is great cycle of life and death also religious romantic connotations 10/10

- mc is much more interesting to me when mf can't or refuses to like him back and dc hates himself for feeling how he does. more comical suffering for dc as he fantasises about the only person who could truly give him a break from it all who he can never have. everyone he loves is always out of reach. do u see the vision.

-i like and support purelily, shocking I know.. but I feel as though most of the content of it misrepresents their relationship. pv depends on her an unhealthy amount, and she doesn't love him as much as he loves her. they also explicitly say they can't be together like twice in beastyeast. I like it only in a tragic way that will never work out

- pc is valid,, they have lots of very cute moments and I see the vision

- gl good doomed yuri creates amazing fics and art. their kingdom interaction kills me oh they're so tragic

- yellow tier -> very excited but I can't give that much comment about characters we don't know yet.

- light orange tier -> I don't care about these moving on

- I understand shipping characters that don't like eachother but wl and sm viscerally hate eachother for very important reasons and I feel like the only way this works is if they magically get over those. sm hates wl for being the guardian whose life mission is to imprison him and for helping pv escape his mind games in ch1 beastyeast. wl hates sm for indirectly killing elder faerie, putting her kingdom in chaos and tormenting pv. it doesn't work in any context sorry

-i was originally going to put burningmilk in light orange tier but then I realised I respect cacaolily a lot more and they shouldn't be on the same tier. feel like there is little reason to ship them other than size diff fetish and everyone I've seen explaining it hasn't worked for me sorry

- I don't like bs and dc for reasons similar to burningmilk

- observant people may have noticed that purespice is in a separate bottom tier. This is because i hate it a lot. I don't see a reason to like it other than pornagraphic size difference yaoi garbage. they haven't met, bs hates soft and nurturing people, and pv helps the injured. they are literally only put next to each other for yaoi reasons. both are well written characters that deserve to be explored beyond yalls fetishes. it isnt "hes only soft around pv...." omfg would it kill you to not completely change and misrepresent a character so you can shove them into a stupid fandom made mold.

[yesimwriting]

Omg that was my ask about the Daniel notes and yours are exactly what I was thinking!

Daniel is both inspired and concerned by besties confidence around these vampires

Bestie does run that penthouse and she does so with an iron fist (armand is in denial of course)

Also the idea of bestie being so used to the weird dynamic between herself, Louis and Armand and Daniel just looking between them like what on earth!

Would love to see more of bestie and Daniel interactions (Armand is definitely interjecting every two seconds saying that bestie is off the record)

You're such an icon for asking about that, the notes were so fun to write.

I feel like their dynamic is so specific to them that it's never even occurred to her that it seems weird from the outside looking in (and Louis and Armand aren't letting her find out <3)

Here are some bestie centered notes Daniel was forced to remove from the record:

Fell asleep in the living room with her head on the Vampire Armand's shoulder. I was asked not to comment.

When I returned to the living room in the morning, she was not asleep on the couch.

Once had an entire argument with Armand while holding his hand.

Louis helps her with her shoes when she's drunk.

Seems entirely unaware of how attentive her 'friends' are when she's speaking.

The only time they seemed disinterested in what she had to say was when she showed me a picture of the guy she had just stopped "talking to."

Louis spends over an hour in her room every evening. Armand seems uncharacteristically unconcerned by this absence.

Speaking of rooms, she seems very comfortable entering the master bedroom.

Speaking of rooms again, I've seen her leave the master bedroom early in the morning twice.

Has a necklace with a gold cylinder as a charm. When asked about it, she told me that it was from Armand, but was cut off before she could elaborate.

Mentioned a regular "evening tea" that Armand brings to her.

The penthouse room that was converted into an art studio was Armand's idea.

[kedreeva]

hi, first of all i love all of your birds and thank you for posting them so much!

i tried to search your blog but couldnt find anything, so excuse me if you answered this before: how does you having raised bug affect her chicks? like will they be a little different same as bug is? will she raise them in the coop with the others or also inside with you (especially since male chicks cant be raised by humans, how does this affect bumblebee?) thank you!

The answer is.... I don't know! It's rare for anyone to hand raise these birds successfully, and imprinted hens generally either have no interest in mating/nesting or retain no interest in humans, depending how they were raised. Friendly hens generally raise friendlier babies, as they bring babies over to their caretakers for treats, but as far as I know, no one's ever had a peahen nest beside them and raise the babies the way Bug is, with completely calm interaction with a human. Aris and Aurora and Eris all bring their babies up to me, and their babies have been less skittish than those raised by, say, Opal or Corona, who rarely if ever approach me.

But I'm not actually doing the majority of care for these two, and I'm not sure I would call them imprinted. Now, Bug IS imprinted because even though I raised her mostly outside all day with other birds, I was still her sole caretaker. And, like Bug, the Larvae are outside in a pen with the other birds for 90% of the daylight hours, and come inside only to roost, but unlike Bug they aren't getting the majority of their care from a human-shaped source. All they get from me is bugs to eat in the morning when I get up, and bugs to eat at night before bed, and then we walk to the pen. From there, they spend the day there being birds, with me visiting only for a little while once or twice a day to check on them and bring them fresh water and treats. So they SHOULD be pretty normal, but hopefully remain friendly toward humans- we won't know THAT for another three years or so. However, I've raised indoor, incubator-hatched birds similarly to this (like Helios) and had them turn out great- his owner reports he's still friendly and chill as an adult.

That being said, there really isn't a precedent, so it could be not like that at all. I also don't KNOW what sex they are, and I won't know for at least another month, probably closer to two months. They could very well both be girls, both be boys, or be a girl and a boy but not the way I thought. It remains to be seen. The only reason I know about the EV hens is because the EV gene is sex-linked, meaning right now they can ONLY be girls by the way the genetics transfer. The blues could be hens or cocks, no way to tell until their feathers start differentiating between 2 and 3 months of age.

[bahngarang]

chapter 7.0 ☆ the lock and key theory

ss: 7

wc: 1,692

cw: swearing, food mentions, jokes about disability (from a disabled writer)

a/n: seeing my work while I'm innocently scrolling through the skz x reader tag is WILD y'all

yn's office hours were... interesting. during their first year as a part-time professor, it had initially been pretty boring. no one really came to their office. the students preferred to go to their more serious professor, as it were – and dr jang was definitely more serious and more experienced. she had more of a reputation. which was fine, yn was perfectly happy to lesson plan and do the more computer heavy side of their research in that time. they enjoyed working alone. no distractions.

the second year? not so quiet.

it had started small. justin being the main instigator. he was always one of the more outgoing ones. he came in once or twice a week, bothering them with questions about the material. things he probably could have figured out on his own, but it was kind of nice. 

now, yn had justin, and oftentimes a few of his friends, hanging out with them during office hours. doing homework, asking about assignments and essays and sometimes just yapping. and, strangely... yn liked it. sure, sometimes they had to use urban dictionary to decipher the young people language, and deal with the occasional millennial/old person joke, but it was pretty fun.

today was one of the more yappy days, clearly. justin did have his laptop out, precariously placed on his legs, but he was completely ignoring it except to make sure it didn't drop to the floor. instead, he was rambling on about how painstaking sewing beaded fabric was, and stitching and so on. don't get them wrong, yn was absolutely listening, but they were also having something close to a religious experience with today's cheesecake that dr jang had brought up from the cafeteria for them.

"–and i've already managed to break two needles on that stupid stuff, even though I spent ages unpicking the beads by hand, like, at this point, is it even worth it?"

"mmh," yn hummed sympathetically, taking another bite of cheesecake, chewing slowly. shifting on their desk chair, they crossed their right leg over their left to get more comfortable. "well, considering how much you've been talking about this for the last couple of months, I don't think you should give up now just because you're frustrated over some fabric."

justin huffed. "yeah, but it's annoying, and-" he stopped, and yn looked up at him from their lesson plan after a few moments of silence.

"what?"

"nothing, it's just..." he squinted at their knee. "has that tattoo on your knee changed? did you get a cover-up or something?"

"it's not a tattoo, it's my soul mark," yn said, before looking down at their knee in confusion. they were less averse to showing it now that it was pretty much unreadable. or... it was.

"what the fuck..." yn muttered to themselves. it wasn't completely as it was before all the knee surgeries, but it was definitely... closer than it used to be. and even through their sheer tights, they could read a few initials – b.c., s.c., and y.j.. well. shit.

"do soul marks... usually change?" justin murmured.

yn's area of expertise was not soul marks in any capacity, but it couldn't be a coincidence that the only three of their soulmates that they'd seen – and touched – were the ones who's initials they could read now. one? sure. two? weird, but okay. but three? yeah, something was definitely going on. yn hadn't heard of soul marks changing after interactions with soulmates, but then again, they also didn't know anyone else who'd had their marks fucked up, especially to the extent of their one. "uhm... not that I know of..."

"that's... weird."

"... yup."

"does it feel any different?"

"i would have noticed earlier if it did," yn replied.

"do you know why it's doing that?" justin asked curiously, leaning further over yn's desk to look closer at it.

"i... have an idea," yn said to their chagrin.

"cryptic."

"you're my student, you don't need to know about my love life," yn said. "i'm sure you have much more pressing matters to worry about. like... studying..."

"boo. that's boring," justin said, heaving a sigh and draping himself over the back of his chair.

"i feel i should remind you that you have a test next week," yn said flatly. "and while studying may be boring, it does help your results." yn left out that they had not been the most avid studier during their university years. do as i say and not as i do, right? justin didn't have to know.

not that he listened, continuing his impassioned rant about beaded fabric and other things, while yn silently had a mini crisis over the new development in the soulmate department.

"hi," yn mumbled, frowning down at the pan in front of them. they were... attempting to cook dinner, their phone set up against the back wall of their kitchen counter. but it was one of those days when they had to drag a chair into the room so they didn't have to stand up, so it wasn't a particularly nutritious meal. still better than not eating, though.

"hey." the audio from minji's end was... crackly. the connection in the gym she went to was shitty, to say the least. and she'd chosen to accept the video call while on the treadmill, which was a choice, for sure.

chika giggled quietly, and the half-drunk margherita that she held told yn she was at least a little tipsy. her location was unclear, but it was clear she'd found some room away from the main party where she wouldn't be disturbed for a while. "guess who I'm with," she hummed out in a sing-song voice, before turning the camera to bring her companion into frame.

yn, at this point, wasn't surprised at who it was. it was, in their mind, only logical – chika was at a versace event, so was hyunjin, and fate seemed to have it out for them recently, so why wouldn't it be him?

"we're hiding," chika whispered. "it's very loud. and there are too many people. i am quite overstimulated."

"hello," hyunjin said shyly, giving a small wave to the camera.

yn, for all the repressing of their feelings, still couldn't deny how cute he was. it was just one of those things. they suspected it had a little to do with the fact that he was their soulmate... but it was also just one of those things.

"so, what was the stuff in the group chat about your soul mark changing?" chika asked, a shit-eating grin spreading across her face, as if one of my soulmates wasn't unfortunately right beside her.

"shut the fuck- oh, my god, get your furry ass off my counter!" yn complained, getting up off their chair to grab bingus, who was making his daily escapade into the kitchen cabinets. honestly, they wouldn't really have a problem if it was the ones at ground level, but trying to haul the cat's fluffy body out of the top shelf of the higher cupboards every day was just... it took far too much effort. they sighed, walking back into frame, holding bingus like the little baby he was, slumping back down into their chair, breathing a little heavy. "he's such a pest."

"just grabbing your cat has you breathing like that? damn..." minji said with a slight laugh, the background noises of her running slowing down as she lowered the speed of the treadmill.

"yeah, well, health is wealth and I am dirt poor, if you catch my drift," yn said, scratching bingus behind the ears and kissing his little forehead.

hyunjin gasped from the other side of the camera, his eyes going wide. "you have a cat?"

yn chuckled, picking up their phone to hold the camera closer to their kitty. "he's called bingus. i woke up to him sitting on my face this morning."

hyunjin muttered something that the microphone didn't manage to pick up, but evidently chika found it absolutely hilarious in her drunken state. "he's so cute..."

bingus meowed gently at the camera, blinking his wide eyes innocently like he wasn't just trying to use yn's ramen stash as a cat bed, instead of literally any other surface in their apartment. he was a strange one. although, maybe that was just cats in general.

"that he may be, but he also made five escape attempts in the past hour and was sulking until about ten minutes ago because I wouldn't let him risk his life in seoul traffic," yn replied in exasperation.

minji sighed sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "you clearly don't love him then."

"yes, i hate my cat and want him to live an unfulfilling life. he reminds me of that often. maybe i shouldn't have trained him to come with me on my bike. i've given you a taste for danger, hm?" yn smiled down at bingus, kissing his cheek.

"you have a bike?" hyunjin asked.

"yeah," yn confirmed. it was pink, and had hello kitty detailing – what more could you want?

"they're objectively less safe, you know that, right?" minji said. it was a conversation they'd had many times, but it always ended the same.

"i never said it made sense," yn protested. "but, unfortunately, i don't have the luxury of being able to walk everywhere, i'm scared of cars, and me and public transport don't mix well because it's usually too busy to sit down, so... this is my solution."

"i think we should go back," chika said, finishing the conversation abruptly. "i think donatella has some attachment issues," she whispered, not that it was any quieter.

yn chuckled. "alright. see you in a few days."

minji's pout was practically radiating through the screen as she said her goodbyes, to no surprise. it wasn't just donatella versace who had attachment issues.

and so, yn was left alone with their thoughts again while they ate their noodles – and simultaneously tried to stop bingus eating them as well. hyunjin was... nice to talk with. not that they expected otherwise, but... a part of them wished he wasn't. it would have made it easier to reconcile staying away for so long.

< prev ☆ series masterlist ☆ next >

taglist (24/50): @sunfk88 @estella-novella @boo-ven9eance @0sunshinecryptid0 @idiotmaterial @tearsofgenshin @tirena1 @cowboylikemalika @d3kstar @heyheyitsmk @bangchansgirlsblog @geni-627 @4ng3l-ch1ld @vitaniangel-blog @beppybeesnuggets @yxna-bliss @imeverycliche @brbwritingfanfic @mavischerry @hanniemylovelyquokka @143hyunes @xindremz @wynn-43 @rtyuy1346

[taldigi]

how do you feel about yu’s parents?? What do you think they’re like?

I think they're really interesting to explore- believe it or not. I've seen a lot of different interpretations of his parents, ranging from straight up negligent, to being abusive-- or just simply too busy. I've even seen interpretations where they're perfectly fine parents, and that the year abroad is an unusual circumstance.

The game itself, which is what I would consider primary canon (sequels being secondary and manga and anime being tertiary) never touches on it more than it needs to to justify Yu's presence in Inaba/being new. I think Yu's mother is briefly mentioned once or twice and they are said to have called Dojima once.

I made the observation (previously when theorizing about Ren's parents) that it's completely possible that during the downtime that you don't get to see between transition stages (where, theoretically, the main protagonists would do homework or take a shower or tend to other daily needs) it's totally possible that they call or interact with their parents.

All interpretations are possible, but I know Souji Seta's (the protagonist from the Manga) parents are always moving around- and lot of folks have taken this to heart- and yeah, I can see it and I too like this idea- even though it's worth considering the fact that the manga is mostly secondary to the games (and even the anime!) and it's not definite canon.

That being said, I definitely like the idea that they are a sort of echo of the conflict between Nanako and Dojima. Both suggest career oriented people that probably shouldn't have had a kid in the first place who prioritize their work over their family.. and that, in turn, leading to neglect- with Yu and Nanako both being self sufficient. mature for their ages, and complacent.

Behaviors Yu exhibits- like his ability to cook meals beyond what is expected of a teenage boy, becoming incredibly attached to Nanako (he is one wrong dialog choice away from killing someone over her!) and Inaba, the insatiable need to people please, his initial desire to push people away or ignore others, and his otherworldly emotional control and ability to not express himself.. -is stuff like that echos of a kid who's had to grow up way too fast and not cause any trouble and keep to himself.

So personally, I subscribe to that concept: Yu's a kid who's been raised to be seen, not heard- developing complexes and anxieties over being praised for being responsible and mature even though he's only barely meeting that expectation by the skin of his teeth. Nothing less that being perfect for the Narukamis, after all- there's no time to make friends or have many interests when time is better spent on studying.

So... the Narukamis are parents who fufill those concepts. Parents who withhold attention and praise because those are things reserved for truly impressive successes.. and when exemplary is the expected baseline, such rewards are never actually acted upon.

Yu does have a taste in cooking, though- and a selection of music he likes. He doodles in his notes and reads magazines- I feel it expresses that while his parents don't police his interests, it also means that they really care much about their son's interests... as long as they don't interfere with work (and, by extension- Yu's grades or behavior, as he can be considered an asset in said jobs)

Jobs that leave them busy more often than not, leaving Yu alone.. but he's mature for his age, so it's okay. He prolly does a fried egg and toast and then goes and sits in front of the TV to do his homework. Yu seeing this in Nanako... is a lot, and makes their relationship that much more sweet and aajhksdkjasf

His parent's cruelty is best decided on a story by story basis. The level of willfulness in their work (genuinely needed often vs choosing work over family for example) or the level of regret they express upon leaving-- informing many interesting stories.

so yeah thats my thoughts on that.

side tangent, thats why souyo's so nice tbh. Yu always has to be the inconquerable senpai, the perfect big brother, noble leader, and everyone's rock- only to have Yosuke waltz up , hang off of him like a drunk girlfriend, and go "yeah he's amazing, but he's also the world's weirdest man and he's my best friend about it."

[bibliophilesince2003]

How To Train Your Dragon (Live-Action) In-Depth Review

The live-action impressed me.

In case you have any doubts about whether my opinion is worthy or not, let me "prove" I'm a huge fan of the franchise. Roughly 12 years ago, my siblings and I huddled behind a laptop to watch one of the many family-friendly movies our kind contractor had given us to watch while the house was being renovated on. One of those was the first How to Train Your Dragon movie. It had come out a few years before that, but we had never heard of it before. We were absolutely sucked in, loving every minute of it. I've seen the second and third movies. As teenagers, my siblings and I watched Race to the Edge. Several times over, actually. We quite literally grew up with Hiccup and Toothless.

I don't like remakes. In fact, I avoid them like the plague.

Before watching the live-action, I was extremely nervous. Besides the questionable casting choices, I didn't think it would give me the same emotions I had felt when watching How To Train Your Dragon for the first time 12 years ago.

I was right. It didn't.

Don't expect it to be better than the original. Nothing could ever improve what's already been done. So... I understand people not wanting to watch it, or at least not over and over again. Personally, I want my future kids to watch the original movies and shows before they're even aware the live-action exists.

Here's the catch. Just because the live-action doesn't beat the original doesn't mean the live-action isn't worth at least a little bit of hype. Predictable but nostalgic? Yes. What I didn't expect was the live-action's ability to capture my attention and give me new emotions. I felt as though I were in the world, which may seem obvious. That is one thing that live-action can surpass animation in, admittedly. It gave me a different perspective, and the realness of it was both exciting and thrilling, especially as an adult.

That's as general as I can get, but I'm not done yet! The rest of this post will be hidden for those who do not want to be spoiled. If you've seen the movie already or simply don't care, read on!

Casting

The live-action Hiccup (Mason) was nearly perfect, in my eyes. He nailed the timidness and compassion of young Hiccup and his relationship and interactions with Stoick, Gobber, and the others. Now, I do wish he were more sarcastic. Next to the twins, Hiccup is known for his humor. When Mason joked, it was rushed. Sarcasm is supposed to be natural and dry, making the audience laugh abruptly. Additionally, I hope we see him become the leader we all know and love, especially as Astrid and the others lean on him more.

I was most concerned for Astrid. I still prefer her blond look, but I'm biased. I'm blond, and I don't see very many positive blond characters in movies, shows, or books. Any time a character's look is altered in a remake, that actor or actress has to work twice as hard to be an accurate representation of the character. A person who looks and acts how they're supposed to will always be more satisfying, but personality is most important. If they look like a different person, they must convince the audience otherwise. It's not an easy thing to do, and it usually backfires. The live-action Astrid (Nico) surprised me in a good way. She's a bit of a bully and she's serious. Granted, I wish Nico had a little more energy or drama, as that would have made for an amazing transformation, as it is in the original movies and shows. However, if she's really focused on her goals of being a dependable warrior, the serious demeanor is more realistic. I can only hope that she gains a softer spirit later on. I loved seeing Astrid keep her bold energy but become more feminine in the original movies and shows, and I can only hope that live-action Astrid will be the same. We can't really know until the live-action for the second movie comes out. After all, the more her relationship with Hiccup grows, the more she will depend on him to lead while remaining comfortable in her own skin, not having to prove herself but simply being the Astrid we all know and love.

The live-action Fishlegs (Julian) had very few lines. Sometimes, it was hard to understand him. Julian spouted off facts perfectly, rambling on whether others listened to him or not. Fishlegs is also known to be compassionate but skittish. It's too soon to judge whether or not Julian will achieve those personality traits, but I'm hopeful.

The live-action Snotlout (Gabriel) is perfect. Nothing needs to change. The minute he started talking, I had a huge smile on my face, even though he had just insulted Hiccup. Gabriel brings arrogance and quick insults to the table so naturally that you'll forget you're watching the live-action. Gabriel, thank you. You are setting a wonderful example.

The live-action Tuffnut and Ruffnut (Harry and Bronwyn) are beyond disappointing. I'm sorry, but it's true. They don't look like twins. When Ruffnut said "our mother can't even tell us apart" I wanted to laugh and groan simultaneously. Respectfully, is their mother blind? Beyond that, they simply weren't funny, and that's what they're known for! I could barely catch what they were saying, and it was very unnatural. As someone with siblings myself, sibling humor means bouncing comments off one another extremely quickly. Adding to the chaos, in other words. Insulting each other, at times. Exaggerating and being loud, in the right circumstances. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were hardly together. In fact, the emphasis seemed to be on Ruffnut trying to team up with Astrid because they're the main female characters. What happened to the iconic twin tuition? What happened to their inseparable sibling bond? What happened to their quick, unhinged comments?

Gerard Butler. Brilliant. You could literally tell he was the most experienced actor in the entire cast. Absolute king.

The live-action Gobber (Nick) did pretty well. Honestly, my brain is going fuzzy because I can't stop thinking about how the twins deserved so much better.

Creativity

The live-action was practically a copy-and-paste version of the original. Honestly, if you're going to do a remake, especially a remake of a movie near and dear to so many people's hearts, that's the way to do it. Again, I don't normally like remakes. I still hope we'll finally get good, original ideas in the future.

They added a few things, but it didn't change the overall plot. I wish they had included the scene of Hiccup figuring out dragons aren't fireproof on the inside with the Terrible Terror, but it does make their fight with the Red Death more thrilling. Without that scene, the live-action Hiccup had to think quickly in the heat of battle, which abruptly demonstrate early signs of bravery and observational skills.

Animation

Toothless' design is nearly perfect. I think a lot of people expect a smooth, narrow look, but considering the fact that they are scaly, large, powerful creatures... I can see why they had to animate Toothless slightly differently to "fit" the realistic setting. Sure, Toothless is a bit slower, but dragons aren't feathers. Additionally, it's a cinematic fact that people usually appreciate slower fighting/flying scenes, as they are less grading on the eyes. Because Toothless is so young in the first movie, I can accept him being clumsier. Who knows? In the future, maybe he'll gain more speed.

Stormfly is very different but vibrant in color and more dragon-like. In the original, the Nadder's head is comically round. The live-action Nadder fits in its setting without taking away the important details.

Meatlug and Barf and Belch are good.

Hookfang? Oh. My. Gosh. I loved the design! The eyes are, well, in a better spot. It honestly makes the live-action Monstrous Nightmare more terrifying, and it's supposed to be an aggressive, powerful dragon. When Hiccup says "only the best vikings go after those" and you see the live-action Monstrous Nightmare face coming into view, bursting into flames? Yeah, I believe you now, Hiccup. Original Hookfang, I love you, but your crab eyes aren't scary.

The only scene that seemed choppy animation-wise was the scene with Hiccup and Toothless falling as Hiccup is learning to fly with him. The silence was a nice touch. However, when Hiccup fell, his body and limbs were flailing around at unnatural angles and he was falling very quickly very abruptly. Now, I had watched the new Mission Impossible movie the week before, and I've watched all the Mission Impossible movies before that, so I understand that there will be flaws in animation. However, it just seemed like an unrealistic fall compared to "real" falls I've seen in movies.

Also, the scene when Hiccup and Toothless crashed into the dandelion field? If I remember correctly, Toothless partially landed on his back. It looked as though Hiccup had or should have broken his back. In animation, it's easier to accept the unrealistic falls, jumps, and other movements. I feel like this particular scene could have been improved somewhat; I think Toothless would have been perfectly willing to take the brunt of an impact like that. The animators also could have made it less awkward and more believable.

Well, that's all! I'm genuinely curious if others share the same thoughts as me. After all, most of the reviews I see are "it was perfect" or "I don't care and I'm not going to watch it." I think both are extremes; no movie is perfect, I can usually find at least one or two errors, but I won't be entirely negative without seeing something for myself.

I'm so glad I did!

[cantheykillmacbeth]

Do you think Steg (the fusion of Steven Universe and Greg Universe) could kill Macbeth? I've been going back and forth on this one for a while.

Steg is... definitely a difficult one, yeah. For most Steven Universe fusions, we can fall back on them applying for the Gender Clause, but we can't do that here, so we have to actually think about stuff now.

Fusions are defined very vaguely in SU in terms of their identity as a person- as Garnet puts it a fusion is not two people, and not one person, but an "experience," which is great for the spiritual themes of the show, but not really useful for our purposes. Our verdict is really just going to come down to whether we consider a fusion a separate person from its components.

Fusions will usually operate with their own personalities separate from their counterparts, but under certain circumstances (usually moments of distress), specific counterparts will speak independently from each other, like in Keeping It Together, Know Your Fusion, and Malachite's entire existence. Now, we haven't seen Steg have this kind of self-interaction (he's really only shown up for one song and has never been seen or heard from again), but presumably every fusion has the capability for such a thing.

If we consider Steg to be one person: Yes, Steg Multiverse from the Steven Universe Movie could kill Macbeth. He would apply for Unconventional Birth Clause, being created due to the fusion of two other characters, as well as Birth Parent Clause, since neither of those characters are female.

If we consider Steg to be two people: No, Steg Multiverse from the Steven Universe Movie could NOT kill Macbeth. While we've determined that Steven can kill Macbeth through Unconventional Birth Clause, there's nothing to suggest that Greg isn't a man of woman born, and his status as such would override Steven's UBC verdict. To put it another way, Steg has been born twice, once conventionally and once unconventionally; in order to apply for UBC, it's not that you need to have been unconventionally born, but more specifically you need to have NOT been conventionally born. Since Steg HAS been conventionally born, through Greg, he doesn't apply for UBC, despite the fact that Steven does.

Thank you for your submission! Sorry for the confusing explanation lol

-Mod Anthem

[mishtiikrishna]

play 20 questions with me!

except it's one sided and all about ✨me✨

1. hii! what do i call u?

call me mish (as my dear companion @foursixtwonineoh-pizzas-of-lego (evie 😘)) does or mishti.

2. how did u chance upon here and what do u do here everyday?

i came here for #drarry and #tomarry and #merthur fics and arts (they're so out of this world, man) stayed here for the people and my lovely moots and shitposts. left one time to focus on my studies and now i'm back. permanently. hopefully. everyday, i come here for shits and giggles and to interact with the lovely (bi/gay, i don't think none of my friends over here is straight) friends. lol

3. you mentioned #drarry. what fandoms are u in/interested in/know?

1. harry potter (have to admit that I've only seen the movies twice and read only POA and majorly fanfictions. u have no idea omg)

2. heartstopper (i've read the webtoon AND s1 in netflix s1, haven't got the time for the later seasons tbh)

3. sherlock holmes and adj (books and robert downey movies and bbc sherlock)

4. DC (some comics and some warner bros movies am not in deep as some of my dear friends 😭)

5. marvel (..through fanfictions and song edits ONLY)

6. bbc merlin (couldn't finish the whole show, but i do know the ending 😭)

7. mahabharat starplus (haven't seen the whole show but know and love enough)

8. anne with an e

4. fanfictions, you read. do you write in general?

yes! i do! they're all under this tag -> #mishti writes. hoping to write and update on here more, honestly. i write about a lot of stuff mostly independent but not on the level of writing fanfictions yet. i feel pity for myself tbh

5. what're your other creative outlets?

i sing, i can do digital calligraphy and art (not really good at the latter) and painting/colouring! i hope to start this journey too here actually.

6. do you read and write and all only in english? what're some other languages u know?

i enjoy reading and writing creative stuff in english only right now. i can write in hindi too if i tried really hard. i also know malayalam, tamil, kannada, sanskrit, french (duolingo lmao), html, markdown and python.

7. u know python? which level?

i learnt it for school for 2 years (years 11 & 12). i have created a wordle clone that works on NYTimes' wordle logic except pastel colouring and it works offline. planning to make it bigger, actually.

8. computer nerd huh? anyway how do i become friends with u if i want to?

wouldn't call myself a nerd lol. there's nothing much to do if u want to become friend tbh. the ask box is above this post and start a conversation with me, we'll take it from there ♥️

9. do u have any checklist for being ur friend that I should fulfill?

yes, actually. u must be:

[ ] happy talking to me

[ ] ready to tell when i'm doing something wrong

[ ] ready not to force me to do anything

[ ] ready for my countless apologies at any given time (yes i'm serious)

that's all, i think. i don't mind anyone here as long u check these out!

10. what's ur stance on the LGBTQIA+ community?

since almost all my friends here are either bi or gay or on the spectrum here, i really don't mind them. i support the community as long as i don't get hurt. i think i'm aroace myself but i really dunno, i must admit.

11. u keep reiterating 'friends'. may i ask who ur friends are on here? or would that be personal?

i don't mind u asking about my friends. in fact, i've made a friend list, here.

12. time for misc questions!! what's ur favourite thing to do in the rain?

it's been raining for a good few days at the time of writing this post, and my favourite thing to do is lie on my bed on scroll thru..Tumblr. embarassing i know. but that's what i have discovered as of now. but i know that'll change in like 3 days max 😭 i think it'll be sitting at my desk, the one in front of the window, listening to the rain and either sketching or ✨writing✨

13. what about drinks? hot drinks or cold drinks in autumn?

cold drinks throughout the year. even in winters yes. i have cold water everyday 😂

14. would you prefer looking after a toddler or a teenager for a week?

after having a sister, i would pick the baby. they can't talk back or be rude to me or anyone really. and no feelings will be hurt, so no fights 😍

15. cat or a dog person?

neither, i'm so sorry. i am allergic to both, i believe.

16. u mentioned u were a computer nerd before. what're some craziest things u've done related to it?

ok. so i have done quite a few things (you may choose to believe it or not, i don't mind either way!) which i used to think and still think is not that impressive:

jailbroke an iPhone 3g at the age of 12; exorcised macos x lion from a polycarbonate 2009 macbook and proceeded to install 15-20 linux distros at the ages of 14-15 (no arch linux, i just read the documentation and gave up); illegally (maybe) installed and ran windows 11 on a device that shouldn't have ran it from one sketchy youtube tutorial at 15; built wordle (mentioned above) from scratch with python and tkinter in 2 days (that's it lol)

17. how does ur music taste look like?

mainly electropop with epic instrumentals and the occasional sanskrit verse. i suppose.

18. what're ur likes and dislikes?

likes: computer, tech, math, chemistry, some parts of physics, cold stuff, digital stuff, art, fanfics, writing, pastel colours, rain, gold jewellery, fancy af hairstyles, cooking, pens (pentel 🩵), pencils, any sorta stationery, my sister and my family

dislikes: anon asks for help (not in a position, i'm sorry!), hot (as in temperature) stuff, wearing glasses (have been a glass wearer for the 11th year now), chores (to an extent 😂), and romance (i just don't understand it..doesn't matter if it's wlw or mlm or straight or whatever)

19. what're some numbers u love? do u believe in lucky numbers?

i love the number 7 for some reason. also 19th cuz 19th may is my birthday. and 2 and 5, idk why.

20. ask me in the reblogs if u've reached till here! u're obligated to, at this point lol.

[utilitycaster]

jumping off of that other ask: how do you think religion in Exandria should have been implemented?

honestly? I think this is the wrong question to ask. I think it is, ultimately, fine if religion in Exandria is only organized within the confines of Vasselheim and is otherwise a highly individualized affair; indeed, it even makes sense in a world where the gods can directly interact with their followers (even across the Divine Gate). In fact, the lack of organized religion now is a fascinating setup for it likely coming into existence in some form in the absence of that direct communication - like, every prime deity/betrayer god religion in Exandria is about to enter a cycle of once-per-lifespan messianic events. Some kind of organized practice will probably spring up around this!

My problem is that the PCs, to an extent, acted as though there were full religions in the world and that they were systems of oppression when that was never the case. So actually the implementation should have been taking Laura, Marisha, and Taliesin aside and being like "so your character's position is totally fine and valid! It is, objectively, exceptionally self-centered, in that you are basically just mad that you didn't get the benefits of a L20 cleric after calling up a god once or twice. Do you want to play them this way, or do you want to approach this differently?" And, of course, a lot of fans projected their own experience of religion as a vehicle for oppression - and to be clear, religion in our world frequently can be that- onto a world where that isn't the case. That's less preventable; you should never try to please the fans, let alone the dumbest fans.

On some level, however, a lot of the lore of C3 in the end failed to hold up to the plot of C3 and it wasn't even religion that was the problem. Like, Ruidus as a mystery and dark threat to the world was established before campaign 3, but the concept of Ruidusborn was rather weakly set up. The level of knowledge people had surrounding the Calamity and the gods varied wildly from "pretty decent" in C1-C2 to "what's an Asmodeus" in C3. Tharizdun was very much teased as a concept in C2 and now occupies a rather incoherent space of "it's on the same level as the primes and betrayers and was included among the betrayer gods whereas lesser deities are not; but it's also not The Divine Of Tengar and seen as food for Predathos (but the Raven Queen and presumably Vecna are); and also it's still shackled and THOSE shackles will apparently hold the OTHER devouring void without any problem even while the other gods are mortal and unaware of themselves and that's not an existential threat to be dealt with, it's fine to leave THAT bound," which thematically clashes with the entire story.

As a doorstopper fantasy fan/very casual comics fan/person who came to Dragon Age the Veilguard without much knowledge of the world to a fandom mad at a number of changes/person who has has a lot of critique of C3, this post says it more eloquently: in an ongoing work, sometimes you write yourself into corners and have to decide what to do about it. This is made even more complicated by actual play's unpredictable nature*. I think that Matt had a vision that the previous worldbuilding could have supported if the characters in C3 wanted to save the gods from the jump, but once they strayed from that the lore began to buckle under its own weight and here we are. So really it comes back to my point before: religion doesn't need to be implemented in Exandria and if it had been it should have been done in like, mid-C1, and as for how, that depends on the story Matt wanted to tell, but maybe he should have tried to tell a different one with Campaign 3 that was better supported by the lore we did have.

*to be clear I've already addressed why the "it's improv" defense fails to hold for Campaign 3 given that it failed to properly build on previous choices, but also, and I cannot stress this enough, the DM still makes the calls, and allowing a die roll (or not allowing a die roll), setting a poor DC, failing to establish something prior to a character asking about it, poor planning, and more are all poor choices that make for a weaker story. Actual play can in fact simply be bad, and nothing makes me immediately think you're stupid than trying to argue the mere possibility of criticism itself is invalid. Address the argument, accept that people will disagree with you, or leave; those are your options.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

you know i've been thinking about the consequences of malleus's actions in book 7 and i realized how much he's fucked everyone over including his grandma. bc like other than the fact that he ob'd (which literally has NEGATIVE connotations one of which being is idk ""UNSTABLE"" which isnt necessarily a good look for a crown prince is all im saying) he's literally causing terrorism (??? can you call it that idk how else to call it) which is going to setback his grandma's efforts (and lilia's and baul's, and every supporter of his and his family) in keeping peace in their kingdom and the favor of the humans towards the fae. Like. i feel so bad for grandmother draconia rn i can only imagine the stress and pressure she's under.

Then theres also aside from PHYSCIALLY compromising everyone's healths in sage island (BECAUSE THE MAJORITY ARE HUMANS OR AT LEAST THEY DONT LIVE AS LONG AS THE FAE). He's also fucked everyone mentally twice over!!!! By booting them straight into a world where none of their problems exist. Now that wouldnt sound bad if it weren't for the fact that dreams have to end, and life isnt kind. It rarely ever is, and i can only imagine how distraught i would be if i were to say, hypothetically lost someone a year before and the wound is so fresh and raw and, in my dreams, they never died and everything is okay, then i wake up and realize that it was just that. A dream, they are still gone and i wish i never woke up which would be a LITERAL DEATH SENTENCE. This isnt just an event that takes place in NRC either BUT THE WHOLE ISLAND and that domain is GROWING, GROWING. I can't imagine just how many would be so emotionally ruined after this. Like.....

If Malleus does not suffer the consequences of his actions istg i will be so pissed, at least REMOVE HIM FROM THE PREMISE OR SOMETHING GODDDDDDD this cannot be remedied with a slap on the hand!!!!!

(Note: Sorry for the long rant. I felt the need to get this out of my chest bc i dont mind malleus's archetype actually nor do i actually hate him, bc i enjoy him interacting w other characters a lot (my fave ever vigenette is him giving deuce the equivalent of minecraft diamon for fixing a retrobit gaming toy) BUT GOD DOES HE MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL)

Yeah, I do feel like the scale of Malleus's actions cannot be understated. I know it's kind of a fandom joke that the OB boys are left off with a slap on the wrist + maybe some social ramifications at school, but this is the ONE time in the main story where things are getting super big and the effects could be cripplingly long-lasting.

I don't know if TWST will seriously address the consequences after book 7, but I sure hope they do!! There is a lot of interesting ground to cover (many points which this anon has already brought up) in a follow-up main story arc or the next book.

For example:

Malleus obviously has to regain the trust of his peers and staff. He didn’t really have it before but now has to work twice as hard to make connections since he just took a drastic action that confirmed the rumors some were already spreading about how he’s a monster.

He’s the sole heir to the throne and has just betrayed the trust of the people of Briar Valley. How are they feeling about him now? Do they still trust him to lead them?

How does this impact their relations with other countries (since Malleus himself stresses how he represents Briar Valley)? This is a problem visible on a global scale, and surely this would damage their rep with other nations, particularly the predominantly human ones. It’s setting back what is hundreds of years of trying to fix the broken trust between their races.

Malleus’s UM potentially puts his victims in physical harm; in book 7, Ortho suggests that since everyone is sleeping, their bodies are not getting the food or water they need. As a result, they may physically waste away and then perish. (We have seen that there are sleep blessings that keep people sleeping for hundreds of years without detriment to the blessed though, such as the one cast on Silver—so we cannot be entirely sure if Ortho’s theory is correct or not.)

There is the possibility that Malleus’s dreams may traumatize or retraumatize his victims, particularly those with deep rooted troubles. An example of this is Idia, who had suffered the loss of his brother when he was like… 8 years old??? But then in his dream, Idia is living a happy false reality that Ortho never died. When he finally comes to this realization, he has to relive the trauma of the discovery all over again and breaks down sobbing. We also see in the most recent book 7 update that Vil had to face the evilest aspects of himself and a dark reality; Rook became very emotional upon waking himself. Admittedly, Idia and co. coped with it well enough—this is proof of their character development and the strength of the new friendships they’ve formed. However, all the people on Sage’s Island/Twisted Wonderland may not react so positively or be so accepting of their cruel realities.

Again, just the overall moral dilemma of one person robbing all of Sage’s Island (and soon all of Twisted Wonderland) of their autonomy.

Potential extra work for STYX and whichever countries Malleus’s magic manages to spread to (repairing any physical damage caused by the thorns + mental damage done to those that fell asleep). That’s money, time, and resources that aren’t going toward other everyday endeavors.

How will Malleus himself mentally and emotionally cope with what he has done? Is he going to show remorse and shame? How does he plan on rectifying his actions, if at all?

Will this change how his dorm members + family view him? For example, will Sebek become disillusioned with his liege/realize Malleus is not as perfect as he seems? Will Maleficia blame herself for not being there for Malleus? Will Lilia feel guilty for not teaching Malleus right from wrong? Etc, etc, etc.

I’d honestly love to read all of these! 🤔 It would add a lot to the lore and history of Twisted Wonderland, as well as serve as motivators for Malleus to change, “be better”, and actually earn the respect he’s so used to being handed by default. This would be huge for him, especially seeing as he has not really faced significant backlash or consequences for any other missteps he was responsible for or involved in. (I know I bring this one up a lot, but Endless Halloween Night is one such major example.)

[yuri-is-online]

I'm taking a break from making Yutu asks and giving you a jade ask:

Most mer people expect humans to be either helpless or just a little ok when it comes to dealing with bodies of water.

Basing Yuu off of my experiences today, Yuu would not be most people. I come from a province that is full of rivers and waterfalls. When you first step in the water you'd let out squeaks and screams because the water is VERY cold. Cold enough that people stick full watermelons in and when they later crack them, they've turned into sorbet.

Today I went to a water resort that's based in a canyon. I was wearing high heeled sandals and started wading against the stream (yeah I know, pretty dangerous) I fell into the water twice but i still consider it a win since the first time I was dragged in when I was pushing a bench swing and the second time was when i tried sitting on an unstable swing (both were within 2 hours and both times my head stayed above water) my pants still tore from the water pressure

When jade first finds a waterfall on a hike with Yuu, he feels content with setting up a cute picnic. Yuu on the other hand asks jade to hold onto the food, as they eat to swim first. Jade is confused. What swim? WHERE?! Yuu then, fully clothed, walks into the water. Jade wants to scream. Sure they're at the bottom of the waterfall but that's still a lot of water pressure, some merfolk have drowned trying to swim against the stream. Yet Yuu just stands there, in the water, completely unaffected (adjusting to the temperature). Then they JUMP into the fucking water and start swimming to the other side of the stream. Jade loses his mind and starts yelling for them, he even puts his head into the ice cold water and screams hoping they'd hear him. When Yuu surfaces on the other side they look at him in confusion

"what's wrong, jade?"

"WHAT'S WRONG??? PREFECT WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DONT YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THIS IS?"

"what??? I'll just swim back and forth a few times! It's been a while since I've done this"

"AND WHAT IF THE CURRENT CARRIES YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE? WHAT WILL YOU DO?"

"....I'll stop??? With my legs??? I'll just stand????"

Jade is stunned

Legs. Yes legs. Humans had legs. Merfolk don't. That's why they can resist the current.

That day jade returns looking a little gaunt, which is something that worried Azul for what discoveries his friend had made

-Grim OB Anon

You know Grim OB anon you bring up a really good point with this concept: the way humans interact with water is probably a relatively foreign concept to the Octatrio. We know from Book 3 that NRC has a swimming pool they use for classes, but swimming isn't the only way humans interact with water. The three of them have never seen a water park, and it sounds like a concept that they would brush off as being silly. Why wouldn't humans just swim if they want to have fun? There's all sorts of things you can do to have fun under water, just ask they'll show you.

Jade has a calm facade, and the only time he really is comfortable breaking it is when he's excited. We've only ever seen him upset a handful of times, it's a very intense emotion on him. If this was any other human he would find it funny, but it's you so he doesn't find it funny at all. He's terrified and you are-

Fine. You are confident and radiant surrounded by water and standing up against something that is genuinely dangerous. He still asks you to come to shore, hiding his fear under a faux pout. You scared him, prefect, after he went so far out of his way to do something nice for you. Really the least you can do is just stay with him and let him take comfort in your presence.

[arceus-insanity]

With the Series Ending

I decided to do this solely based on canon, except for F which are so bad that they transcend the rule. I also put this in the lens of do I enjoy watching them, or do they infuriate me. Most of the ones in G are there because I can't tell who they are from the picture, or are so minor I don't get why they were on the list to begin with

Hawks was the hardest to place because as I've mentioned before I love villain fanon Hawks, and hate Canon for all the missed potential and the guy being shit.

Before the last arc, Deku would have been in C, and I felt most criticisms of him were undeserved. I still feel a lot of them are dumb, however, he's canonically a hypocritical, suck-up to labels, abuse apologist, idiot, etc. As much as it feels like character assassination it's canon, same with Shoji. I also just don't care to read fanfiction of him, and feel he takes a lot of roles where other characters would make more sense. If I'm not already following someone I'm not going to read fanfiction with him in it

Most of E I hate as much if not more than F but the fandom either doesn't write about, or treat them like the pieces of crap they are, looking at Mineta of course.

Fun fact Edgeshot is in E for bringing Bakugo back, and causing me both meta and dramatic issues for me. What the fuck was the point of killing Bakugo to immediately bring him back. How the fuck did Edgeshot know he could do this? How the fuck did he know how to do this? Why the fuck is he doing this for some random teenager he has never interacted with before, in the middle of a war? And now why the fuck does this fucker get to live, no one gave a single fuck about Edgeshot but he gets to live!

Centipeder would have been in E if not for the fact I know what my ringtone for him would be, Red Flags by Tom Cardy

Uraraka owes her rank in B for her arc with Toga, otherwise, she would have been in D. For the plot forgoing her original motivations so they could turn her into a generic love interest. Toga tried talking crushes with her 'twice' everything else regarding that shit, which started before they ever met, is on her

I actually love Endeavor fanfics as most of them either a treat his abuse for what it is, or b I view them as an own on canon Endeavor and his incredible laziness and selfishness. But Twitter exists and they flock to him and his bullshit so to F with him.

Speaking of Fs, Bakugo is a whiney spoiled rotten brat with a silver spoon shoved into his mouth since birth. I hope he never breeds. Damn near every shit thing that has happened to him, was either brought on by himself, literally applied to everyone, he literally doesn't care, and even with the two exceptions I'd give this, the Sludge guy, and being chained up at the sports fest (he should have been disqualified), do not justify his shit

Congrats to Dark Shadow and Tokoyami for being the only hero (student) to make it past B

Needless to say I love villains, Dabi is by far my favourite, followed by Himiko, they are way more engaging and convincing than the heroes. And by convincing I mean it actually feels like they are going to put in effort to make their goals happen, not just wish really hard. I truly wish we could have seen how Shigaraki's goals shifted during his reign over the PLF. We had already seen how he wanted the League to be happy and an exception to his goal of destruction

[samueldays]

Sam Reviews: Factorio

Factorio is a good game.

Factorio is well advertised. When I look at Factorio in the Steam Store with example screenshots, I think: Mm, yeah, it's pretty much like that. There's several screenshots of varying organization and complexity and scale.

Factorio is a logistics, automation and construction simulator game for people who like those things. It delivers what it promises. It's Factorio. If you are even vaguely in the Factorio demographic, you have probably heard about it already, it's hard for me to say anything new about its features.

So I'm going to talk about what I call "unfeatures" instead, the absence of specific failure modes that I've seen many times elsewhere.

1: Factorio does not routinely lie to the player.

There's a lot of video games where the game shows e.g. [80% chance to hit] but the actual chance is closer to 90%. Sometimes because it rolls twice and takes the better result, sometimes because it secretly adds a flat 10% player favoritism bonus against the AI. In the short run, I suppose this keeps players happy by feeling lucky and not frustrated by miss streaks. In the long run, I find it offensive because not only did the game lie to me, the game polluted a playerbase by spreading a false understanding of how much "80%" is, and this will make a lot of people unhappy later when they run into real 80% and it feels too low.

There's a few games which can pull off a clever Interface Screw, where the game temporarily lies a little or hides information for diegetic reasons (visor damage, invisibility spells) where someone is lying to the character, but games that lie to the player are almost always bad. This should be a very low bar to clear, and yet, game devs keep thinking they're clever and transgressive for deliberately crashing into it.

Moving from lying to merely non-informing:

2: Factorio does not expect me to keep my own database.

Again, this is not an absolute rule. There's a few games which can pull off out-of-game note-taking well, such as detective games where working out contradictions and inferences is part of the fun. But even those are usually friendly enough to keep an in-game list of clues found for the player to re-examine at leisure.

For most games, once you've discovered e.g. a potion recipe, then the potion recipe should stay discovered and be listed in-game, in a character knowledge section. Quest Logs should be a standard feature of RPGs, so the player can step away for a week and the character has the information freshly available, avoiding "WTF was I doing" problems.

Factorio is very forthcoming about providing information to the player, both general function and specific numbers. Some games might say Assembler 2 is "slightly faster" or "much faster" than Assembler 1, but Factorio tells me that the the Assembler 2 has a speed of 0.75 while Assembler 1 runs at speed 0.5 (the baseline of 1 is the player character's own production speed).

With quality of life improvements, Factorio will even auto-calculate and display how relative speed interacts with processes having different base times, so a smelting furnace might say something like [Takes input of 1.2 copper ore per second, outputs 1.2 copper plate per second] in the mouseover tooltip. Except with icons rather than text, so it's shorter.

Plus, there's good "Ctrl-F" functionality to help me find where something is.

Some enemies in Factorio are immune to fire. These enemies will immediately be listed as having 100% fire resistance when you mouse over them. You don't need to catalogue enemy resistances by exhaustively shooting each enemy with each weapon. You don't need to remember the resistances, the game will track and display those for you.

3: Factorio lets me play the game, not play the wiki.

When I say "play the wiki", I don't simply mean looking things up, I look things up in Factorio too. I am gesturing at a game design failure pattern where the game expects a player to know/learn something and is very bad at providing ways for the player to learn it.

e.g. if I loot [Silver Key] from some house, I can reasonably expect it'll be useful, and I'll discover it in the natural course of play when I find a door with a silver lock. Maybe I even found it earlier and can backtrack now that I've found the key.

but, if I loot [Silver Crystal] [Red Crystal] [Pale Crystal] [Purple Crystal] from some house, but only one of them opens a door, and the other three are worthless filler, this is the "playing the wiki" failure mode. There's no good way of learning that 3 of 4 crystals do nothing, so I end up going to the wiki if I don't want to be carrying around worthless trash in my inventory - especially if I have a limited inventory and/or there's more red herring objects elsewhere.

Many games are self-sabotaging this way! Players checking the wiki are players browsing the internet, not playing the game!

As mentioned above, Factorio provides a lot of information up front, in game, so I never need to look up on the wiki how fast the new assembler is, or what the plastic crafting recipe is, or how much health an enemy has.

"Where do I go to get more iron ore?" Wiki can't tell me that, Factorio has random map generation, I have to explore. Strong randomization is another method of avoiding the wiki problem.

"How do I fight this enemy?" Wiki can't tell me that either, Factorio gives me a toolbox of guns and grenades and mines and poison and tanks and artillery, but there's never any kind of necessary special secret that's troublesome to discover. Big enemies can be killed with tactical nuclear strikes, or with weight of fire from lots of small guns. Wiki might have advice, but not a walkthrough to the 'correct' way of doing it.

4: Factorio does not steal control with frequent, repeated, unskippable animations.

Some games insist on making you watch the Movement Animation every time you give a unit order, some games insist on making you watch the Transition Cinematic each time you move to a different area, some games have text that gradually loads into a dialog box and won't even present your dialog options until the Text Scroll has finished unrolling. Et cetera.

Factorio respects that I'm here for a game, not a movie, and definitely not a movie that I've seen a dozen times before. This is partly about respect for the player's time, and it's also about flow and interruption. Even a sub-second animation can be very jarring when it blocks interaction. A sub-second animation can be especially annoying if it's in a frequently-accessed part of the interface that could itself be sub-second to use, and the animation makes it take 2-3x longer to use every time.

By contrast, a dishonorable mention goes to Citizen Sleeper, which a friend recommended to me recently. You can watch a speedrun of the game here. It's ten minutes and a lot of that is spent on enforced waiting for animations to play: zoom into location, zoom out of location, fade to black, unfade from black, and even a loading bar animation for buying an item. Very artistic, I'm sure. Infuriating when I am accustomed to Factorio's responsiveness.