#IS THIS ANYTHING I yell into the void

[fellhellion]

i’ve been thinking thoughts and feeling feelings for a month straight help

[cobaltfluff]

one last night

[legionofpotatoes]

no one told me my 30s would just be an endless stream of funerals for the people who raised me but here we are :)

[jackfrostimposter]

genuinely why is there so much misinformation about the guardians of childhood book series?

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

another mutual stumbles across the fact i'm 15 and is shocked-this is hilarious to me

[chameleonwritess]

I’ve tooootally not been freaking out about the new Wataru card all morning (lying), but I think I’ve finally decided how I hope it’s all going to play out.

For context, the pieces we have so far are:

- Wataru’s new profile mentions training with technology provided by Eichi

- Wataru’s new unbloomed features the Ep:Link mask which is supposed to be in Eichi’s possession given it’s the symbol of Wataru’s devotion to Eichi

- Wataru’s 4Piece interview got cut off and he didn’t enter the screen until halfway through the time

- The line up for the event features half the Diner Live cast (Wataru, Izumi, Keito, Nazuna)

Here’s what I’ve come up with from this:

It would make no sense to have a Wataei divorce. Especially given they’re not actually together in the understood sense of the word (they are in love with each other and have expressed sentiments of devotion, but in universe they cannot date. They’re idols, they’re both ‘boys’ (dubious with Wataru) and Eichi is expected to marry advantageously aka Tori’s sister)

What would make sense and would also be in line with how enstars stories generally go, and with how Eichi and Wataru both love to act, is that the two of them are rigging this whole thing and are purposefully doing something ridiculous, or actually quite deep and meaningful, just because it’s funny to them/neither of them can do something genuine in a normal way.

First evidence: the mask

I really desperately hope that the writers wouldn’t just undo all of Wataru’s character development the first story we receive around him in the new era. He hasn’t worn his mask for an ENTIRE YEAR, and we’ve seen through events like Puffy Bunny that he’s even opening up to juniors he wasn’t that familiar with. He’s learning to overcome his fear of rejection which is so intrinsically linked to his mask. Why would they plunge him back into hiding behind masks both literally and metaphorically after making it such a visibly identifying part of his development? The mask is probably there for a plot relevant reason, and if it isn’t just a copy and is in fact the one Eichi has, we will hopefully get some line as to WHY Wataru has it (and hopefully it’s as hilarious as “babe can I take your wedding ring back? Yeah I know I offered it to you as a metaphor for offering myself but I need it for the bit. Oh it’ll be so funny, I promise. Amazing, I knew you’d understand!✨”). If it is a copy,,,, hm. Idk. We will hopefully still get SOMETHING about the fact it is the exact same mask that we haven’t seen SINCE BASIC!!!!! They could’ve given him any design but they chose to use the same one. There’s got to be a reason.

Second evidence: Wataru’s audition. It’s just STRANGE. It’s really silly and very funny but,,, Wataru prides himself on his performing. He’s an actor. He wouldn’t show up late and allow himself to run out of time unless there was a reason or it was on purpose. This is where I’m starting to suspect that strings are being deliberately pulled and Wataru (and probs Eichi by extension) are up to something here. It just doesn’t make sense otherwise

Third evidence: the diner live throwback. Could the character selection be a coincidence? Absolutely. I assumed as much UNTIL I realised that there’s a giant gift box in Wataru’s audition and it’s the central focus piece given Wataru doesn’t show up until half way through. You can’t not notice it, and it leaves you expecting Wataru to emerge from it. Where else is Wataru involved with a giant gift box?? Unbloomed diner live when he puts Keito and Izumi in one. Oh, look who’s also involved in this!! The call back to traumerei and diner live feels deliberate now, and I want to know WHY!!! Especially given that story is so integral to establishing that Wataru has grown to like Eichi and to want to share a stage with him not as part of any roles but as HIMSELF. It’s also intrinsically linked to his masks, because he didn’t want to be on the stage under any mask. He wanted to perform with Eichi just as Wataru Hibiki.

Where am I going with all of this? That’s a really good question. I’m essentially just easing my own mind because it truly would not make sense, given the pieces laid out for us, if wataei are entering a divorce arc. This and Wataru’s profile are the only new era content we have for him. The profile highlights Eichi, showing us that they are STILL a pair- they are still interlinked in a way inseparable to the narrative and to their development. I’m trusting that just like Atlantis was thought to be Bad News and turned out to be interesting (Wataru’s perspective hmmmm I wanna analyse this now) and also still wataei, this will also turn out to be good and not undo Wataru’s characterisation and development. And if it does just undo all the progress that’s been made without giving us reason and plot consistent explanations for why wataei might be over? Well it would just have to be bad writing :/ (trying to point out that i can accept writing is good even if I don’t like the direction personally. If im given good writing and it still turns out to be a direction I didn’t want it to take, I’ll reluctantly accept it. If it just undoes established development and characteristics…. Ignored)

[outersyourwilds]

(Ramblings below contains big Outer wilds spoilers)

Gnawing on a metal pipe, my brain is full of ideas for gijinka designs of the astral bodies in the Hearthian solar system in outer wilds. Quantum Moon being blindfolded or its attitude changes depending on how they are perceived (playful moon, wandering moon, mysterious moon). Or or the hourglass twins being depicted with like a long scarf that they share.

Planets like ember twin and brittle hollow having lots of Nomai motifs bc those two are where the Nomai crashed and settled. Or! Or! Timber hearth having more Hearthian motifs woth a smidge of Nomai motifs.

Or!!!! The Eye having Hearthian motif to reflect how Hatchling is the conscious observer. And how maybe at first it towers over hatchling with such a grand and imposing aura but by the end it presents itself as roughly the same size as hatchling. A comforting memory before the new universe

[koppaiterocker]

Oh you guys have no idea how much angst this single comment spawned in my head... If I was a fic blog it would be SO over

[sledgeleau]

hm. houlihawk but theyre just dykefag4fagdyke

[anachronistic-falsehood]

i wanna write a book like i have all the fucking characters figured out and everything but i always feel. so fucking awkward writing about original characters. so i wanna write it in a weird way but i don't think literally anyone would like it at all ever. like i kinda wanna write it as like a fake dnd game transcript bc that would be fun to write but literally who would even. read it. head in hands

[mini-owo]

[runawaymun]

the whole tiktok ban situation is super crunchy and I'm conflicted. Because on the one hand...it does feel startlingly close to a kind of censorship and I think the whole 'chinese government links' thing is pure scaremongering. But on the other hand I genuinely think that tiktok has accelerated the rate of enshittification of so, so many things. Like it has been a net harm in basically everything. Even the publishing industry is suffering now. As someone who wants to get novels published, the entire state of the publishing industry catering to tiktok and the quality of even bookbinding rapidly deteriorating in the past couple of years, I've been reconsidering and thinking about simply setting up a website/archive to self publish my work.

So...I don't know. It's not as if other social media sites (X, Facebook, etc.) haven't done harm, and it's not like huge media giants like Google haven't caused possibly irreparable damage to how things work now, but...I just distinctly remember a pre-tiktok, pre-covid world and things legitimately weren't as bad online then as they are now. Tiktok actually feels uniquely bad. The change happened so rapidly, too. At what point do we decide that a product causes enough visible harm that it needs to be removed? Because that's what tiktok is, at the end of the day. It's a product. We don't have the same clear measurement as we do with, say, lead paint on children's toys, but idk idk idk...

[typosandtea]

The most frustrating part of being someone who mostly draws now trying to getting into writing, is that I can picture what I want in my head and how I would represent it visually.. but how the hell do I describe important forgotten object hiding away out of sight that the characters haven’t noticed is missing yet??

[kindlythevoid]

MUTUALS!

I'm writing everyone's names down so I remember. If I do not know your name (and please assume I don't unless you very recently told me (Moss) or your name is very clearly present in your bio and/or pinned intro post!!), please do me a favor and drop your preferred name in the reblogs/comments/tags so I can write it down in my special notes app for y'all.

As a reward for your participation, please take a cookie!

(Hugs will be given out upon receiving the name)

[jadedaegis]

Oil Rigs look god in the eyes and spits on their shoes

SERIOUSLY WHO JUST WENT:

"Ah, mhyes quite. The Number Must Climb™; sacrifice peasantry to collect the Death that coalesces in locked-away packets of the deepest underground depths. This death has rotted beyond normal decomposition, giving it undue ability to effectively reanimate inanimate matter upon combustion. "

AND THEN CONTINUED WITH:

"Furthermore, we shall build a monument to this Death; a Hell borne of jagged angles and crude iron. Behold, ye witless peons! Harvest for with me! Partake of what we know not of handling! Imbue life into our mechanical automatons; derive VIGOR from DEATH! A brutalist siphon that exchanges life quality for work quantity- directly converting my serfdom's labor into cold! Hard! Cash! This has no chance of hurting the entire species. Harvesting the energy of death is a smart and sane thing to do : ) "

[foreverxdaydreaming]

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