#Idk I don't go out of my way for meta info

[personnotfound]

"fills a roll in the story" means we get more of needles don't correct me.

So while listening to Episode 6's case, I remembered that during the early premiere stream Jonny and Alex talked about Needles a bit. So I figured I'd put them together to make a nice little intro for Needles because I fell in love with him immediately.

[thespoonisvictory]

still making excuses for oisin in my head btw just to keep you all updated

[wildglitch]

What if Zombies!Spidey x DCU LETS GOOOOOOOOO-

O K-

So, This is the (Probably not the last, don't worry) post with ideas for my What If Zombies!Peter In the DCU AU. This is the post that (Finally) Focuses on the DC side of things. This post Is also going to be mainly focused on Peter and what he's up to cause he's the focus of this AU, but I’m probably gonna make another post with info on the other heroes, so If your interested in that, don't worry cause I am thinking about them (Bucky & Loki = Brainwashed bros)

Its also part 1 of Idk since this post kinda got away from me with its length (oops)

Anyways, without further adieu, let's start :D 

-So! starting this off with something fun and not that serious that I just found out. this should have probably gone in the first post but I didn't know this until now so here, a +1 info on “facts about the zombie apocalypse” tm. 

Ok, so at this point you know I like to play around with the timeline right? Ok so, I’m researching the dates and events things take place in right? Turns out, the snap happened in either May or June, and one source even said that it happened on May 31. Now, with this in mind and the fact that I said the apocalypse lasted between 7-8 months, what happens if you subtract 8 months from May? You get October. And if you add the date to it? Guys…I accidentally made it that the zombie apocalypse starts on Halloween! That's just insane!

The official timeline now is 7 months of the zombie apocalypse, no more no less, sorry, I don't make the rules :^ (omg I made Antman & the Wasp a halloween movie lmao. It fits)

-Alright so, Peter, Head Scott/w the cloke and T’challa are on a plane on their way to Wakanda when all of a sudden, well, how many of you seen the Young Justice Episode s1e19 Misplaced? (Btw have I talked about how much I love Billy batson? I will one of these days ok, and that's a threat) well anyways

Airplane squad: *”peacefully” traumatized on a plane to Wakanda

Airplane squad: *the people on the plane fucking fazes out of reality leaving him alone to fly the plane*

Peter: *Panik*

Peter: *feels a pull wanting to take him but fighting it off as he tries to fly a fucking plane*

Peter: *also fades out of reality but much later the other and is now falling to certain doom in the middle of the ocean*

Peter: “Oh What the F-”

Ya that-

I mixed aspects of the snap and scene from misplaced as their way of splitting up. And, they did split up. A high speed plane plus the time it took them to disappear firmly separates Peter from the rest of the heros. And thus the adventure commences

-unlike Billy who can fly, Peter falls head first at top speeds and a thousand meters high into the ocean.  This can happen a few different ways

1) Peter is stranded, and is found by Young Justice or any superhero team that was passing through the ocean and thinks “Oh shoot, that's a child”. And this is how he ends up with the league. This one is kinda fast and there wouldn't be any identity reveal since at this point this Peter has no concept of such a thing. But a good way to work around this is memory loss. Not really my cup of tea but I can very much see this happening considering how hard he hit his head

2) …So Peter fucking dies-

Listen! I somehow started off with my 2 most opposite extremes of ideas, but hear me out. The fall? It kills him. But lets say that some cult or the league of assassins or some shit find his body, realize he’s a “meta” and decide “Yeah, this is a good revival candidate” And they revive the poor sucker. He is held captive HYDRA style and they try to turn him into a weapon. Obviously, he escapes, set free onto the world with a few months of trauma and a stolen one way ticket anywhere. And that anywhere just so happens to be Gotham. I’ll let your mind take it from there

3) This is the last version of events I’m gonna mention and I think this one is the one I'm sticking with, purely for the comedic potential I can see coming out of this. So Peter fought back the spell right? Well unlike the snap where he was fighting a force of nature were he would not have won, Peter was fighting Loki off, which,

Peter: Fighting off that staticy feeling that's trying to take him

Loki: *Genuinely struggling to get this non magic kid to corporate with him*

Loki: Damnit CHILD! I'm trying to save your worthless life!

Peter: *Legit almost wins and gets left by himself in the zombieland* 

Loki: …What did they feed you?

Yeah, so since Loki had to focus on getting that idiot spider child to cooperate, he loses track of everyone else, and all of a sudden, the fuzzy mental image he had of everyone dissipates, and Peters becomes the full focus. This lets him save the kid from the crash, but he now doesn't know where all of the others are, including his brother, and now he can't really get to any of them.

-Peter is saved with a spell that's basically the bubble from steven universe but Loki style. He can breathe just fine, but he can't get out or call for hell. He spends many Hours like this.

-Ok so, Loki is a god. We have established this, I keep mentioning it (sorry) he himself brings this up multiple times. What is something gods tend to have sometimes? Avatars, people who act out their will on Earth. You see where I'm going with this? Since Peter is the only mortal from his world he has access to, and because he is stuck on the watchtower, he decides to make a deal with Peter to make him his Avatar and have him look for the others (Thor). Peter, after having most of the situation explained to him, accepts his offer, with a few conditions here and there that prevent Loki from taking full advantage of him. But at the end of the day, they are both desperate and accept the others' offers and conditions with little fuss.

-Deals and conditions for the avatar contract between Peter and Loki

Loki’s Mission: Find the other mortals and spread chaos as his agent Loki’s Offer: Slight magical aid, “ability boost”, Protection from other magical entities, Godly guide and knowledge and Loki wont force Peter into doing anything too grotesque Loki’s conditions for Peter: He will be able to access anything Peter is seeing and be able to take control of any situation if he sees it fit, he must go on the missions he sends him on, And if the situation ever truly demands it, he will listen to everything Loki tells him to do Peter’s Mission: Finding his friends and finding a cure to his world in this new one as Loki’s Agent. He must also make good impressions on other Magical being in this world as to not shame the god he’s representing Peter Offer: His loyalty and tentative trust, he won't argue too much and will do his absolut best to find Thor. he will Listen to Loki and do what he says Peter’s Conditions for Loki: Will become his Avatar as long as he gets to keep being a hero and doesn't have to hurt or kill people. He will only do a mission once a month, and he will not advertise the Avatar bit. Peter gets free will, He can refuse to do something as long as he isn't demanded of it.

With this, a hand shake, and some blood, The deal is made in the bubble in the middle of the ocean.

-Peter is now Loki’s Avatar, Moonknight style, Yay! They don't really like each other that much due to circumstance but it's fineeeeeee. I did this because 1) I thought of a scenario that didn't really make sense unless Peter was somehow talking to him 2) It’s a little nod to the fact most of the fics have the snapped souls with Peter on his adventure. I thought that this way he can still have his voice in his head , it's not that crowded because it's only one voice, and it's not that Intrusive because Loki isn't going to be with Peter 24/7 only when he needs him, he's using some of his powers, or when he can sense distress or danger coming from Peter- Other than that he's stuck at the watchtower trying to plan his next moves. And 3) Cause the thought came to me and i thought it was fucking Holirouse.

-With Some trickery, Peter sneaks onto a boat and spends his time hidden under the deck pretending and hides like a corner spider the whole trip

-Peter in his, Hasn't been around actual living breathing humans for such a long time, self, breaks down and cries at the docks. Coincidentally, The bats are doing a drug bust there and a wearhouse not 10 feet away from him blows up. 

-Peter in his typical fashion, Puts on his mask and runs into the building looking for survivors.

-The bats, not knowing what happened, see’s this costume stranger helping the thugs get away and immediately clocks him as a villain. Opps

-They fight, misunderstandings happen and now, The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man Is on the front page as gothams hottest new Rogue. Well shit

-Peter being the smart guy he is, squats at an unoccupied apartment and claims it as his. Then Loki shows up after weeks of radio silence, takes one look at the place and says, hell nah, and fixes the place up with magic making the place more than livable. With some (probably magical) persuasion, the guy renting out the place actually puts him on the lease with 50 bucks of monthly rent. Does Peter feel guilty…well? Gotta roll with the punches man. Plus, this place looks nice, ignoring his 20 something neighbor that has enough blood on him to turn his white hair dye red that had sent his spider sense. This is fine.

-With some help from the voice in his head and walking through dark alleys at night, he finds a guy that works for immigration and was selling sketchy (But legit) identities. Not really trusting the guy but in desperate need and ID for the lease he was about to sign, He coughs up all the savings he had, took a Photo, and Ben P. Riley was born. He said he didn't trust the guy.

-Peter has decided to go by an alias for a few reasons, like not knowing if there was already another Peter Parker in this reality and not really wanting to risk it or the plain fact that he didn't really trust anyone in this new reality with it  (Loki and his magical guidance, he has firmly decided to never give out his name so freely ever again). His name is one of the last things from his past life that he can call his own, And if his “Villainous” identity was revealed as Peter Parker, he didn't know if he could handle it. The most simple reason was that he just missed his family and wanted something in this new life he was making for himself to remind himself of them. Ofcourse, he still added that P in there middle so as to not completely erase himself.

-Peter spends a full month just trying to get used to living in a society again, This causes some problems and misunderstandings.

-After many series of misunderstandings and mishaps, everyone thinking he's evil, Peter decides, YK what's, If I can't beat them, join them. Peter starts going out as the “Villain Spider-Man” doing sketchy shit (normal teenage shit) and causing a commotion in Gotham. Peter counts this as his act of mischief and Loki agrees when he sees the kid sell his own photos to the newspaper. Peter isn't actually doing anything evil, it's just his presence that brings fear. The fact that the bats have caught him breaking into multiple high security facilities doesn't really help his case

-Peter spends his months looking through files and files of info searching for the others, but has just about no luck on anything.

-Peter, forced by a mission, goes undercover in Gotham prep to follow one of Loki’s leads. He doesn't really know what he's doing here, but this Tim guy is pretty nice

-Cause of the amazing pictures he keeps selling to the paper, the company hires him full time as their photographer for special events and even lets him write a few articles when they see the notes he puts next to his pictures that provide contexts and stuff like that. This job opens Peter to search to a whole new horizon.

-With Peter's new job, hes sent to many different cities which introduces him to many different people

-He meets Jimmy Olson on a trip to Metropolis and hits it off pretty well with the older man. Jimmy introduces him to his friends and coworkers Lois and Clark, both of whom are just a delegate. Though that Clark guy as not stopped setting of his spider sense since he met him

-The next place he went to was a city called Fawcett, where he was sent to help with a story with one of the local reporters who was apparently his age.

Boss guy: Ben, meet Billy. You two will be working together on the report for this years summer festival

Peter: *Looks at Billy*

Billy: *Looks at ‘Ben’*

*Insert that one Spider-Man meme*

The two sniff each other out as godly “employees” and exchange numbers. And thus, a friendship was born as Billy decided to keep an eye out for any other reality travelers, and Peter is put as one of his emergency contacts to help him get out of shit since he was “technically 20 according to his ID”

-Peter is also sent to Gothams sister city Bludhaven. Peter,ends up meeting a weird police officer that keeps expecting him to take pictures of the guy. But he's nice enough and bought him a hotdog and a cinnamon roll(even though he now thinks he's allergic to them), so the weird outweighs the good.

-On his trip to Bludhaven, Peter decides to go out as spider-man. Not to cause trouble, but to go sightseeing and swinging without the interference of a bat. He ends up sitting upside down on an old building (like that one Atsv scene)  working on some leads he has when all of a sudden, Nightwing appeared right behind him dangling off the side of the building like a mad man giving him a heart attack. Nightwing is about to confront the spider after his sneak attack was caught, but before he does, Peter holds out the cinnamon roll towards the vigilante as a peace offering rushing out the words “Please don't hit me!” and Nightwing just stares. He stares long and hard looking between the treat and the Spider mask. Peter was about to run from them when Nightwing sort of just…sits. Or sits at the best of his abilities with no gravity defying powers. He actually does a pretty good job at it. Nightwing takes to offering with a nod and the 2 just sort of sit there in silence. It's awkward and weird, and quiet but for some reason he doesn't feel as uncomfortable as he thinks he should. Even less when he feels the ringing of his spider senses slowly die down as the minutes pass until it's just a constant hum at the back of his head

-They don't talk after that but from here is a turning point as to how the Bat clan view the spider.

More? Nay I say! (There will be a part 2 to this specific post, but it has gotten too long and I need to go to bed. So hopefully this will do for now :^) Plus this feels like agood stoping point since I feel like that ending would mark the ending to an arc

Please let me know what you think of this AU. I love seeing other people's ideas and thoughts. It fuels me lo

And make sure to keep an eye out for Part 2 of this post.

Later

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

GUYS I'VE OFFICIALLY LOST IT-

So. Awhile ago, I saw this post, right? Basically it just said that Sera and Sir Pentious' cards have very similar compositions, and that Seraphim, which is what Sera is, are often associated with serpents. Interesting, but could still be a coincidence, right?

So anyways I checked the reblogs and saw somebody say they should kiss. And now I'm insane.

Because like... the only thing we know really about Sir Pentious' potential story arc in the show is that he's gonna have a crush on one of the other characters. And the only thing confirmed about his sexuality(to my knowledge) is that he is attracted to women. We don't really have any way to know who his crush is, because there are a lot of women in Hazbin Hotel, but could still be noteworthy, right? And like... okay this is gonna sound like the most "trust me, bro" evidence I could possibly pull out of my ass at first but I just need you to hear me out here, okay? Sera's crown and Sir Pentious' hat have a lot of visual similarities. Here's a helpful diagram :)

Which like. Okay. Could literally be nothing, right? Except for two small things that I can't let go of: One, Sir Pentious' goggles + the v-shaped brim on his hat were added to his design AFTER he was given a more prominent role in the show-

(Pilot design, back when he was meant to be a one-off villain of the week vs current design as a member of the main cast)

And two, the Hellaverse shows kind of have a tendancy to use visuals in order to signify characters' relationships to eachother. It's also just a pretty popular form of symbolism as a whole tbh, but the Hellaverse has a lot of really good examples. Like, for instance, how Vaggie's new outfit is a lot closer to Charlie's color pallette than any of her previous designs, or this really good breakdown by @/raeynbowboi about the symbolism of hearts in Hazbin Hotel and how they pertain to Angel Dust/his relationships! It's from awhile ago so some of the info is a tad outdated, but overall I do think the analysis holds up. Meanwhile, in Helluva Boss, Moxxie and Millie have basically the same color pallette and they were the most functional relationship in the entire show before before Fizzmodeus came along. Which, speaking of those two...

See, I made this diagram because, after I pointed out the similarities between Sera and Sir Pentious' headgear to my dad and asked him if those kinds of similarities were a valid form of analysis(because I am but a humble highschooler that doesn't know everything about media analysis, and also I felt like I was losing my mind-), my dad said that I should look at the creator's(Vivziepop's) other works to see if couples having similar motifs was a recurring theme. So obviously, I picked my favorite couple in either show and disected their designs for every little detail that could maybe possibly be an intentional parallel. And while some of it is kind of iffy, like Fizz's limbs being the same kind of blue as Ozzie's tufts could just be a way to show that Ozzie made them, or both of them having uh, two things sticking off of their head(that one's definitely a reach-), I think stuff like both of them having hearts as a recurring detail in their designs or having lITERALLY THE SAME EYE COLOR??? Are pretty good evidence that Viv/the Hellaverse design team tend to use visuals to signify characters relationships.

ALSO!!!! If the Fallen Angel Vaggie theory ends up being true, there could be some interesting parallels to draw between Chaggie and Sera/Sir Pentious! Something about like... demon royalty/random angel vs angel royalty/random demon. Could be used to draw parallels between how the two societies treat that kind of thing idk.

So, now that all the meta evidence is out of the way, we can get down to what really matters: would these two work as a couple? Do their personalities mesh well togther? And the answer to that is!

IM SORRY FOR USING THE GIF IT WAS A GOOD JOKE IN MY HEAD BUT TYPING THIS OUT IDK IF IT'S ACTUALLY FUNNY-

But in all seriousness, I don't actually know. We just... haven't seen enough of Sera to know for sure. In fact, this whole theory is based off of small details that definitely add up to SOMETHING, but could very well be pieces to some very different puzzles that I'm trying to shove together because somebody jokingly suggested that they would fit. Like, the parallels really COULD mean something, and it COULD have something to do with Sir Pentious having a crush on another character, but like. There could also be a million other answers to both of those questions, y'know? I also have a tendancy to make wild conspiracy theories about genuinely inconsequential details... I almost never talk about them publically, but still. Though I will say, based off of Sera's description in the leaks, I could definitely see a world where she bounces off of Sir Pentious pretty well. Her description in the leaks very much gave me uh... Isabela cover of Surface Pressure vibes, y'know? Shit that is- that is a weird way to describe that but most people on here have seen Encanto right? Y'all get it? And Sir Pentious is both a Victorian Gentleman Type and completely unhinged. Like... idk there's something there. I could maybe see it working. But at the end of the day, it's just too early to tell.

That being said I WILL be trying to pump out some fanart of these two before the actual show comes out and crushes my crackshipping dreams. Also their ship name is either SeraPentious or PentSera I can't decide.

Edit: Wait a second... SeraPent. Serpent. PUN!!!!!!!!!! Okay I think I'm going with SeraPent-

[ddlcbrainrot]

I don't really get what you're supposed to extrapolate from the side stories tbh

Like it's a non-canon prequel, so obviously you're not supposed to get any plot, but also all the fake desktop meta stuff goes out of its way to cast doubt on its credibility for getting info on the characters? Like even beyond it being an entirely separate simulation box, one of the emails says that details of their lives are changed even down to tiny details? So its use for character lore is dubious at best.

So you get characterization, right? ...Kinda? This is all just my experience, maybe I missed something but… if Act 2 is cranking the characters up a dozen notches, the side stories felt like everyone was dialed down a tiny bit. Obviously not enough to be even close to actively being in "she would not fucking say that" territory like Act 2 does as its entire schtick, but it's enough to make it feel a little off at times, to where I second-guess whether or not any particular personality detail is applicable to the canon cast or not

I went into the side stories wanting to get to know the characters more but every single part of it felt like it had an asterisk on it.

Maybe I'm missing something? Reading too much into it? Maybe it's just internal bias from not being a big fan of ddlc plus in the first place? Idk

totally get where youre coming from, the side stories are definitely a different version of the characters of the og game. but they are still the same characters. i think the emails say it is a different universe where very little stuff change? maybe im remembering incorrectly idk. its very difficult to try to understand where the side stories are the same as the og game and where they differentiate because its left vague on purpose

this is why i think its very important to mention when you are talking about the side stories and when you are talking about the main game, because the difference may seem small but it actually changes everything. no one is going to question how much the girls in the side stories care for eachother, but the base game makes it seem like they werent really as close (monika does say that she will get into her poems more when everyone is better friends with eachother after all, indicating they arent really close)

even then i do think the side stories do show us some part of the character's personalities so i dont want to disregard them completely

[thinkin-bout-milgram]

WHAT DID U GUYS THINK ABT THE LATEST MV IM GOING INSANE

tw for suicide, mention of alcohol

Admin Saturn: I now have a crush on kazui! The other admins have been trying to convince me that because his whole arc is showing why he's not a good husband to his wife but like bro... open marriage and a guy that buys me flowers and holds my hand and takes me on drives? Sounds pretty swaggy to me! Also he ate a bird! Thats kinda wack!

Overall based on the info we have and everything he's said in his VD (assuming its to be trusted cause he does have that whole lying thing going on), I would personally go with inno. Like unless his sin was suicide baiting her, I don't entirely see how this could turn into a guilty situation. Definitely not on the same level as a lot of the other prisoners. (looking at how guilty mahiru should be but isn't getting)

Admin Venus: I'll summarize what I talked about in my theory, but honestly, I feel like Kazui didn't do all that much wrong. He seems like he just kinda let life go the way other people wanted it to go for him, and somewhere along the way he realized he really didn't enjoy it. At some point he got "greedy" and took steps to try to change that, but his wife probably committed suicide or possibly got into some kind of accident or something. Either way, that's what resulted in her death.

Between that and him being useful on defense from a meta standpoint, I'm not sure why I would vote him guilty. I wish we knew more though, I feel like both half and Cat were pretty sparse on details relating to the actual death of his wife. Like, I understand your situation, Kazui, tell me what actually happened!

Side note though, it's really interesting to me in the audio drama that he says he wants Es to find out his sin. In the first trial, I'd thought his MV was giving nothing because he was purposefully burying details to hide them from us. After hearing that line in the audio drama and seeing this MV, I feel more like Kazui's repressing his feelings on whatever his sin is so hard that even the MVs can't quite get at them.

(Also, the fact that we still haven't seen anyone who he's romantically involved with (other than his wife) adds to the theory that he's gay for me. A lot of other people (Shidou's wife, Mahiru's lover, etc.) have gotten relevant characters' faces revealed this time, and while we did get that for Kazui's wife, I feel like who he was with would've been revealed to us unless there was a specific reason to hide it (ex. he was with a man).)

Admin Mercury here. Uhhh I really got nothing on my mind but shitposts tbh. When listening to his VD, I really got the impression he was still lying or at least being overly dramatic like the theater kid he is. Especially in this part:

(translation thanks to @/onigiriico) The way he delivers these lines seems so fake to me, but I realize this might just be personal bias talking. Idk yall, lemme know what you think ab his delivery in the comments below (PFFFT sorry)

Admin Neptune: I'm definitely team innocent. Although it seems like Kazui hurt his wife by not wanting to be married anymore, he tried to be a better person and stop lying to her. Unfortunately, according to him, this resulted in her death. It doesn't really seem like he did much wrong, especially compared with many of the other prisoners, and he helps keep the prisoners safe.

The part where his wife's image transforms into what is seemingly a man with an apple for a head (along with other parts such as the "I can't stop, I can't be normal") leads me to believe that he's gay. Assuming that the apple is supposed to represent something he feels is forbidden, this part could represent his desire to date/marry a man instead. I find it interesting that he sees this image through an alcoholic drink, and I feel like it represents something but I'm not completely clear on what.

Since Kazui says "I can't live unless I lie" as mentioned above in the VD, I wouldn't be surprised if he was still lying, but I do believe that he never actually cheated on his wife. I do wonder if he would consider "emotional cheating" infidelity, and it seems like the temptation might have been there when he says "it didn't even turn into infidelity."

[ronin-deactivated19851026]

my pinkie cooper page update:

uploaded all episodes and left a link to a youtube playlist. there's a list of episode release dates, maybe i should individually link them too lmao

tinkered with title fonts (the font is called "designers bold" btw)

made simple design for table of contents and picked some link colors

all images are now clickable and open in their original size in a new tab

redesigned some image containers a lil bit the similar way i did the table of contents but i'm not sure if it looks good

to do list:

make "back to top" button work through some other script cuz now it just kinda set to jump to header instead of actually going back to the top of the document

the unreleased merch section was confusing the fuck out of me because i don't get how to make a centered grid of elements so going to figure that out later. idk why and how it appears to look fine right now lmao

i also want to put images in the doll section into a neat grid too but i keep messing it up even harder

clean up the code a lil bit and move styles to separate css file, i'm currently coding it all in the same file cuz i'm a clown

make a meta link preview

make a section/gallery for my dolls but i should wash them and fix their hair first

i also forgot that characters have small official bios that i was planning on ripping the info off the defunct website but idek where to put it atm

[ow-old-men]

Could I interest you in some info about these two idiots?

Kassem 'Kass' H. Malik and Vermont 'Jaime' James are my very own homemade blorbos and for the next week starting today (April 19th), you could help them advance in the @original-character-championship! Go HERE to vote

And why should you?

Well, idk, but I will use this as an excuse to just talk about them so I can for once stop spinning them in my mind. They are also the main characters of a ... thing I'm slowly trying to write. In the simplest terms possible:

Kass and Jaime lead normal, regular lives. And that's easy enough for them, since they don't remember. Don't remember that they're actually immortal, elemental beings of great power who - in order to get out of having to fight in the great war of good and evil - burned away all their memories and powers and rendered themselves mortal. They don't even know that the memories will eventually start to return and that they've done this same thing over and over again; choosing each time to abstain from their responsibility and live on, in safety and hiding and in ignorance, and together

It's about memory, and about devotion, about loving to the point of destruction. It's about the decisions we have neither the right nor the choice but to make and it's about their consequences. It's about the things we must do, the things we are asked to do and all the things that fall between them. About responsibility and fleeing and being scared to death and beyond

And it is about two men who love each other because what else is there to do?

and if you wanna indulge me and simply read, well, the (very rough) draft of the opening to their tale can be found here:

As for their individual characters, well, let’s take them one by one

Vermont, going mainly by the nickname Jaime, is the main instigator of their resets, the one who actually does it and yes, there is a lot of guilt built up there and then buried relentlessly. He’s connected to fire and especially the sun. He’s also kind of a lame guy?

Violently private to cover up a deep inability to connect with the people around him. Smart, but definitely not emotionally, kind but prone to defensiveness and isolation at the mere idea that he or the people he loves are being mildly inconvenienced threatened. He spends most of the time after their resets as a history professor but in a not insignificant amount of cycles he’s also been a carpenter or straight up a lumberjack

If Kass wasn’t around he’d probably be an unironic marvel fan and wear only beige polo shirts and fjällraven pants

Bonus info; on a meta level, he started his life as a spoof on Indiana Jones, that’s also why he’s named that!

Kassem is in turn connected to water and especially the moon. It’s him for asks for the first reset, though he does start out opposed to the idea . On a personal level, he’s plagued by an endless curiosity that has driven him into every new turn of his existence. Kind of restless, filling notebook after notebook with flighty notes about almost everything. He’s a bit of a social chameleon, slotting in everywhere, at least for a while. He wants to understand and he’s good at getting to a place where he can but bad at every staying put. His heart eventually starts aching for whatever else may be out there

On a day to day though, he’s mainly just incredibly smart, and funny in a very sly, downplayed kind of way. Lightning sharp but not about to use it for anything nefarious . He’s an extremely prolific children’s book author (under a ton of pseudonyms) and does have a handful of longer, adult and extremely loose and poetic manuscripts tucked away in a drawer somewhere,. He’s yet to gather the confidence to pursue publishing

—-

In short, They’re kissing on the mouth, they’re so unnormal about each other. They’ve got the world at their fingertips and they’ve never held anything that wasn’t each other. They’re the sun and the moon and they’re continually escaping heaven for a second more alone and together. Eventually they’ll have to turn and face the music, but love, what if we had time yet? There was never anything else they could have done.

[bloody-wonder]

do u have any locked tomb opinions to share? I saw u like Ianthe, idk if that's controversial or not? I've seen about a 50/50 split of my limited time in the fandom of people saying they love her/hate her

to be completely honest the locked tomb is more like a fandom in law to me lol as in: i tried getting into the series a few years back, was too confused and gave up but then made a friend who is a big fan and so i decided to give it a second chance and read together with her and i'm glad i did bc i did end up liking it very much but. it was a journey lol. i'm the kind of reader who prefers to have a working understanding of wtf is going on at all times and the locked tomb doesn't reward that expectation and accepting that it's a feature and not a bug took me some time. i liked book one much more when i re-read it. book two is my least favorite bc i was deeply bored by harrow's pov (it does have lots of ianthe tho and the gideon pov part is fantastic). book three is unquestionably my favorite which is surprising bc it doesn't have as much ianthe but ig i liked it the most bc i finally understood wtf is going on, in general terms at least. so the series grew on me and i'm excited for the last book but i'm not such a big fan as to dive into the tags and see what people are talking about, not to mention have hot takes or meta of my own. i mostly just like and reblog whatever my mutuals put on my dash🤷‍♀️

that's why i live in blissful ignorance of tasteless people who don't like ianthe. but even if i were familiar with the Discourse i wouldn't be out here defending her actions or whatever from the haters bc fortunately i only care about how cool she is. especially the way she talks! i feel like women characters rarely get to construct a distinct persona through their dialogue or express themselves through peculiar speech patterns, memorable one-liners, saucy quips etc. as i mentioned in my other posts dialogue is perhaps the most important part of character work for me, if not the most important part of books as a whole. i want to know how characters wield words! i need the scintillating repartee! so gideon vs ianthe verbal showdown in book two is Peak Literature for me lol. i have a list of ianthe quotes i may or may not have been trying to incorporate into my own vocabulary. bc it is a type of energy i wish to take into my future😅

i'm so obsessed with ianthe's carefully curated persona of a genre-aware secondary villain that i'm not particularly interested in her rich inner life, her secret vulnerable sides or whatever fans tend to zero in on whenever they are confronted with a character who is extraordinary, competent and presents an alluring facade of nonchalance to the world. seriously, no one appreciates good showmanship in these godless therapy speak times anymore :( as a wise woman once said, false things have a piquancy which the real can never match🧐

that being said, the unwanted guest brought up one more aspect of ianthe's character i'm very interested in - the whole discussion on the permeability of the soul and how it relates to the extent of control one has over one's own self as a lyctor. first of all, the way this short story is written - choreographed, even - and how the info about naberius is revealed is brilliant but secondly the implications of this reveal for ianthe are so tasty to me bc, as a control freak who must maintain the illusion of control over all aspects of my life for my sanity, i love my little fictional power fantasies of excellency and dominance but i'm also morbidly fascinated by narratives that subvert them and expose this perfect control as mere illusion. and ianthe does both: it's fun when she eats naberius' soul in cold blood and proceeds to manipulate, gaslight and girlboss her way through the series and rejects paul's invitation to join the good guys and try Woke Lyctorhood - but it's also very satisfying to see the light leave her eyes when palamedes makes it clear to her that naberius isn't something she used and spat out but a part of her, changing her self indelibly and in a way she can't control or even necessarily detect, challenging her understanding of herself as an independent, impermeable entity, the cool dominant subject in control of the weak loser object. where is the object, ianthe? where is the body, you goose? in which coff-

[consistentsquash]

Asoiaf Detailed Rec - Rubicon: A Dreamer's Sextet

Asoiaf Sunday! Easter Sunday so best time to rec a fic about the Failed!Jesus archetype Rhaegar Targaryen. I am actually late by one day but anyway.

TL;DR - He's a total loser. But also the guy who never learned to hate.

My fav author summary ever - She is horny. He is not. They live.

Why Rec - Because using sex for character development and story exposition is valid! Because good ace representation doesn't have to always mean sex repulsed. Because sometimes humans do be complicated and messy. Because established relationship means you have got to keep establishing it. Because het doesn't mean it can't be super queer. Rhaegar is Ace coded with really low/zero sex drive but he's got the kinkiest married sex life and that becomes the biggest building block in their relationship. This is actually my favorite Ace characterization I have personally read.

YMMV - I feel like when a fic deviates from a lot of standard conventions it can be a tough sell. Which is totally understandable. I am reccing it because I loved it. But of course YMMV. These things are subjective. There is a lot of sex for exposition which can also be YMMV.

Big things - This fic won't make sense if you don't have some basic info about their canon.

Ok! Time for details! Sorry if my rec is really bad but I don't go for het fics normally. Also no agegaps. Also they are married. Also they have kids. Stuff I totally nope out of. Idk I mean trust me. It's an eldritcher fic. So it's just really weird/sensitive/brilliant. Nothing is normal.

Will probably clean this up for writing a meta on AO3 later :D If i get the motivation.

Link - Rubicon: A Dreamer's Sextet

Author - eldritcher

Pairing - Rhaegar/Elia. There is also some vibes of Rhaegar/Oberyn but it's complicated.

Type - het, canon divergence, Not canon compliant in the sense Rhaegar, Elia and their children survive

Length - 150000 words. Complete. It's a collection of fics. So depending on whether you read the full thing or just some one shots the length is going to be different. I used the series length here. We get POV one shots from Rhaegar, Elia, Aerys, Rhaella, Arthur Dayne, Rhaenys, Lyanna, Oberyn, Doran. Highly recommend reading the full thing because it's brilliant.

Themes - Asexuality

One of the best parts about this fic. It really said here is this handsome hero archetype everybody crushes on. Also he is Ace. Deal with it. Total sensualist. But you can have sensuality w/o wanting sex. You can also be sex positive. You can also be bi and ace. Like you can be anything and how you feel about things can change from time to time. Mess is ok. Of course it doesn't say it like it. The fic doesn't feel like checklists on good rep. It's just when you read it you get it. YMMV. Idk if that's better than flat out saying things. But this really worked for me. Also the reason why I am writing a het fic rec. Omg.

Themes - Masculinity

Rhaegar's characterization is a meditiation on masculinity. Idk how to explain. But it breaks him down in this flesh and blood style. Really sensitive. Normally in fanfic/romance genre I am more used to seeing sensitive takes on female characters instead of male characters. Especially cishet hero type male characters in a het fic where they can be for wish fulfilment type roles. Slash fic is of course different but also similar. One of the M/M characters generally will get more sensitivity/focus compared to the other character. This is pretty different. The vulnerability/nuance in Rhaegar's characterization is insane.

Themes - Queer

Asoiaf fandom like hp fandom can get pretty weird about what a het fic should be like. Probably not the right place to talk about it. But I feel fanfics can be subversive in a lot of ways. I really love how this fic subverts some fandom concept of a het fic. Rhaegar and Elia are really queer in the sense they are super different. They are not neurotypical, they both have hyperfixations, dysphoria but at like some emotional level. Anyway it's the type of mess idk how to describe because they are super messy humans.

Odd and odd, matched in equal wedlock, and it has become something like felicity.

It really says you can be weird and also the world's biggest loser but you can be happy in a relationship.

Themes - Failure

The biggest win of this fic is the Rhaegar POV. He is a pretty controversial/polarizing character whose motives are unknown/ambiguous in canon. Fandom can get into whitewashing/bashing territory for that type of character.

This fic straight out builds his character as a failure and also makes us sympathize with him. I mean you end up rooting for him because that's how great the character development is.

He carries the rivers he failed to cross.

Themes - Love

A really unconventional love story. But it's definitely love. It's the type of love that just becomes mythological but like without epic soundtracks or montages.

There is a promise in the reek of burned clothes and hair and the man bathed in her water. Something of the father handed to the spouse. It is only a promise. Words are not deeds. It is only a promise, that he will cross this last river to her.

What I really love is how they really fail a lot. Like they make promises and don't succeed like they want. But it's ok. Because trying your best counts! Points for effort! :D

Themes - Hope

I mean! This is an eldritcher fic. Hope is everywhere! The vibe is pretty Tolkien about that. Sometimes you got to believe in stories and that's what you need to get to the other side of some tunnel.

"Nymeria fled the cruel dragon-lords after Garin fell. She took her people with her, on any sea-worthy vessel they could get their hands on. They sailed, for months and months, until months became years. Many perished, many deserted, many rebelled. One night, Nymeria stood at the steer of her vessel, and looked up at the bare sky in despair. Perhaps she prayed to a god. Perhaps she prayed to none. A star rose for her. Bright it was, and enduring. She led her fleet where the star went, south and south and south, until they washed ashore on Dorne. There, waiting for her, beneath the star, was Mors Martell. Gladly, she married him and twined their houses, binding her sun to his spear. He gave her a myrtle crown and taught her about the fruitage of oranges. Thus she became the Dornishman's wife." An old tale Doran liked to tell Oberyn and her when they were children. Her odd husband listens to her raptly. There is a strangeness in him that is not merely dragon-blood or dreams. She thumbs his brows to undo the frown that has settled there. Children believe in stories. And it is belief that gives stories life. "Only a story," she tells him.

Themes - Feminism

Really, really feminist. I mean. Idk how to explain. It is a Rhaegar centric fic. But a male protagonist doesn't have to mean you can't have a fic which is feminist. Rubicon is pretty uncompromising on that. No boss ladies or femme fatale or archetypes like that. But this story in canon is a really slippery one for the Bechdel test. Which means the fic fandom just can get into character/ship bashing and writing female characters like archetypes/pit them against each other. I really love how the fic explores the female character trauma in the canon with a lot of sensitivity.

Characterizations

Book characterizations. No show elements from GOT. But the characterizations are deeper/more nuanced because these are not POV characters in the books. They are dead by the time the books start. Really beautiful interwoven characterizations where you can see Isabel Allende style The House of Spirits influence in their generational trauma. This fic got me from somebody who just didn't like Rhaegar's character to actually seeing him in a more interesting light. Deep and beautiful characterization and character dynamics of the Robert's Era Rebellion Targaryens. The Aerys and Rhaella POVs are insanely good and dark. The Rhaegar characterization is superb. Elia is also brilliantly characterized. The whole series is unforgettable, intense, unsettling, uncomfortable and absolutely a must read.

Plot

It doesn't really have a lot of plot. It's just Rhaegar and Elia from 16 to 40. How their characters change/grow. The plot parts are just the canon divergence because they survive the war and get a bittersweet ending.

Prose

The prose style is kind of less poetic compared to Ossuarium. Which works great because Ossuarium had dragons. By the time this fic happens in the canon timeline the dragons are dead. So their world is less supernatural/magical. The lowkey prose kind of reflects that.

Some other thoughts

Rubicon is Ossuarium honestly. Just a continuation in the canon timeline. It has the same queerness and feminism vibes IMO. YMMV.

Length - 150000 words. Complete. It's a collection of fics. So depending on whether you read the full thing or just some one shots the length is going to be different. I used the series length here. We get POV one shots from Rhaegar, Elia, Aerys, Rhaella, Arthur Dayne, Rhaenys, Lyanna, Oberyn, Doran. Highly recommend reading the full series because it's insanely brilliant.

[auspex]

17, 18 (ticket to gush abt markromances) 30, 36 for the meta oc asks!

17. Any OC OTPs?

LMAOOO i mean. Ok look. I am obsessed with Mark/Kassidy Conceptually but truly i do not know enough Kassidy to say. in THEORY if Kassidy isnt hiding some dark secrets it'd be CUTE AS ALL HELL and would make me KLFLKSDFJSDLKJFSJ. for those not in my insane servers Kassidy is a tremere who studies kindred psychology who is academic like mark and Depressed. He seems more human than most kindred and seems to share a sense of humor. like he goes out to watch movies and stuff. has a lil snark to him that mark has too. complained about academics to him. the ST confirmed that he's gay but Mark doesn't know that and IDK if Kassidy even knows (COULD YOU IMAGINE IF MARK HELPED HIM REALIZE OH MY GOD ... ID GO INSNAE... ). Ok theres more info but i wont go on a huge rant. but point is i know Kassidy is LONELY AS HELL and the idea that he's been hoping to find love/has given up on love for DECADES makes me go crazzyyy. I imagine Kassidy thinking "i could fix him" but GIRL YOURE WORSE THAN HIM so Mark would actually help him <3 aahaskjdafsdj

Sampson/Mark is dead <3 that is the tragedy of it <3 im hoping they can be best friends for real but. that may never happen either. the whole point is vampire society ruined What Could Have Been they have both Changed and Can't Go Back <3 I mean long long term who knows but for the foreseeable future no way and it makes me insane <3

either way. mark needs gay sex fr. someone please.

-

18. Any OC crackships?

Porphyria and Alakazam would be so funny. Disaster couple as fuck. Alakazam is an arrogant bastard and Porphyria is too confident in their cabal. They'd go around fuckin shit up and having a great time. then theyd actually bite off more than they could chew and go Oh Shit and turn back time/beg their cabal to help.

for Mark uhhh idk any of the weird pairings are just. weird to me and i dont like them.

-

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

I don't think Mark or Porphyria would akdsjfdskjf maybe Porphyria would collect them for her kids or for some weird fate spell thingie??? Mark would not do that ever alksdjflkdsf.

-

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

uhh all of my OCs relationships belong to other people cause im lucky enough to play them in ttrpg games. Mark's coterie mates are 'owned' by the other players, Porphyria's are owned by 1 player and the ST... families are all ST.. Sampson is my STs character ... etc etc. sory not a veyr exciting answer.

[goblin-enjoyer]

recently got friendsim because it is on sale [LIKE 2 DOLLARS STEAM MONEY]. my thoughts.

probably spoilers idk what registers as that for this game idk its late and I am making a post on tumblr.com, hold on to your socks folks, its going to get rambly. (probably, I do this as I go)

Game was nice, short and sweet. wasn't too short to where you were left wanting more as well as a refund, not to long where you would start getting tired and start wishing it would end. almost got to that at the end for me but that's mostly because it went annoyingly meta/romancey. Most of the characters are nice and enjoyable and the ones that aren't usually either acknowledged as annoying/obnoxious by the game and/or get comeuppance at some point for being gits. Favorites had to be the jades, the big purple longhorn and either some teal or olive(?) blood that i cant quite remember because there's quite a few characters, I suck at remembering names and faces(even with fictional characters, what can I say, brain just doesn't like storing that info) and its almost 3 am and despite saying "oh I should probably stop posting stuff that I want read at late times of night, I get rather rambly and nonsensical at night." here I am making a review for a game(?) I liked and would recommend. but I think ii have gotten ahead of myself. not to worry I will probably forget this later and go over the topic again, as I do at these hours. but yeah the writing was witty, fun and most of the time knew when to joke and when to evoke emotions. nice exploration of alterna troll civilization as well as a nice break from the grand stakes and threats of homestuck proper. sure got a wee bit meta at the end but it didn't overstay its welcome. the ending did make me wish there was an epilogue for the characters that tied up loose ends and sent the game off better than mr ball head spouting off some meta "pawn, scheme, blah blah blah, not real, using you, yatta yatta, etc, etc.." but eh I'm used to good stories made by people who don't know how to write endings (I'm looking at you primal). oh yeah almost forgot one of my favorite parts of the game! The FRIEND part of friendsim. Its not a dating simulator despite the look of it! my aro/ace arse could not be happier that pretty much all the "romance-like" stuff was reserved for optional paths. especially glad there was no dating stuff because all the characters were minors. hate that I have to say it but I keep my distance from dating sims and visual novels for that reason. apologies anime fans, I know there's a lot of good anime out there, without that weird wishy-washy stuff, but I don't know enough about tropes and visual tells from trailers and stuff to personally discern the weirdly hornys from the not hornys. I'm just not good at detecting that stuff without heavy research first. ok random somewhat off topic ramble about horny blindness done, this post is getting way too long I should not have made it this late at night, I had one baja blast and it is keeping me up with sudo energy. hate having to spin the "Soda Wheel of Energy Based Side Effects!" every time i want a nice carbonated sugar beverage. is that an autistic thing or just me?

anyways, friendsim is a good read for both homestuck fans and non fans alike(however it may be more likely to get enjoyment from the former). with mostly great characters, a fun, if dark sometimes story and great art and music, this NOTdating sim is overall a great to good experience with a few bumps in the road. Wish there was a sequel or dlc or something for story continuations for all the characters but that's just me. its currently cheap on steam so get it if you want it or might want to give a few chapters a read threw on a boring day.

[rubys-domain]

so.... about my plans.

(talk of questionable banner leaks ahead)

word on the street is that 4.2 is gonna be furina/ayato and baizhu/cyno. pairings not set in stone obviously. and that 4.3 is gonna be some combination of raiden/navia/itto/albedo. of course 4.3 info is even more likely to be inaccurate. but then again, it's not outside the realm of possibility considering how long it's been since the last of itto's and albedo's reruns. anyhow. it's obviously recommended to take all this with a massive bowl of salt.

so i obviously want albedo. but i also want redhorn. or navia's weapon if it's good for chong. if itto and navia aren't in the same half, then likely i'll try to pull for one of them and then try to pull for the other if i fail to get the first. and i don't want to skip albedo because god knows when the fucker's next rerun will be. i'm so worried he'll get the eula treatment. and i've wanted him since i started playing the game. but then again, do you really expect a chongyun main to pull for meta reasons.

the problem though... is the sheer amount of primos i'm gonna need for 4.3. assuming all of these are true. yeah i'm gonna skip the entirety of 4.2. i have cyno. i have baizhu. scarlet sands would be nice but i already have homa. and i don't care for either furina or ayato as units. maybe i'll get furina in her rerun if she's as much of a buff to dps chong as shenhe. i haven't looked at kit leaks so idk. and idrc since albedo's coming up soon. shame i can't pull on the haran/furina sword banner. but 5 star swords aren't a priority for me rn. unless it's a def sword but is hoyo really gonna do that. i got aquila favonia on bennett and that's all i'll need from the current roster for a good long while.

but will an entire patch's worth of savings be enough? i still can't break my f2p status even if i want to. and if my albedo pulls go the same way as in this banner and i have to get to high pity twice to get him... maybe i should just stop pulling and save my guaranteed for albedo. after i get chong's last con of course. if i get venti along the way then yay. but as soon as i get his c6, i might have to stop to save my sanity. i'll be crushed not getting venti this patch after waiting for him for so long. but he's an archon so he's basically guaranteed a rerun in the 5.x patches. while albedo has fallen so far off the meta that it's not out of the question for him to get eula'd. and most regions in my map are >80% explored. and considering i also want a weapon for chong, saving is more vital than ever now.

jesus. assuming everything to be true, then 4.3 is gonna fuck me in the ass.

[theconfusedartist]

Thank you @dezmondmyles for asking me to talk more about this!

I will make a disclaimer that this is just my interpretation on Alex Mercer (both of them) and why I feel like Desmond would've actually been a good addition to his story, and it would've enhanced both games.

First of, Dr. Alexander J. Mercer was a terrible person. It takes some kinda crazy ambition to be told that you're going to be curing cancer, find out that the whole thing was a lie, but still keep working on the thing anyways. Going so far to even say he made it more powerful by a factor of ten and that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

The man gives off mad scientist vibes and that he knows how to beat the shit outta someone too.

And being proud of it too! Idk maybe it's just the way I'm collecting the web of intrigue, so maybe it's outta order but it looked like the timeline was like this:

Mercer gets hired by Gentek after graduating from the University of New York in Manhattan. Soon after, he's put to work with an unknown number of scientists and told they were working on a cure for cancer, and to use the strain of Redlight for that purpose. Wanting to know the source of Redlight, Alex goes snooping through Gentek and finds out that the Redlight comes from Elizabeth Greene. He panicks and runs into Karen, who was possibly still his girlfriend at the time, demanding why she didn't tell him about where it came from, leading me to believe that Karen was also in on it beforehand.

(Especially since in the game she's found with Templar papers)

Alex agrees to keep working on the strain and it takes him around 3 years, and in the time that Alex initially found out about Greene, Gentek had been doing surveillance on him (which explains Alex's seemingly persistent paranoia, even after death). As time went along, Alex managed to get access to Elizabeth Greene's skeleton and body chart, and asks why he wasn't told that she had given birth and asked where the child was. He is promptly told to drop the topic if he doesn't want to get dropped in a lard tub, and this conversation is overheard by someone else.

Later on, after the Blacklight was fully developed with Alex as the head of the project, Gentek was getting pressured for answers by DARPA and other American government entities, and thus began to kill off any scientists that had information about Blacklight. Alex was clued in onto this and sends Dana out a month before Penn Station to dig up info on Gentek, while also continuing to gather his own evidence until he found out about Pariah.

Realizing exactly what Gentek was up to, Alex flees Gentek with information about Pariah, as well as the Blacklight strain.

Before I go any further, I just wanted to mention something, about Dr. Mercer and Alex. Alex and Dana both thought that he was Dr. Mercer, because he acted just like him and had all his mannerisms. Same attitude, same mindset, and speech patterns. And what Alex remembers waking up is the two scientists saying 'Alex Mercer' and 'now he's ex-Blacklight'. The reason I bring this all up is because I think the reason Alex acts like Dr. Mercer is because Dr. Mercer was carrying the Blacklight strain on him at all times.

Like. This entire theory I have about that is another post, but I just wanted to note that before I go forward with this theory/meta.

Anyways, Dr. Mercer goes to Penn Station with papers about Pariah and gets trapped by soldiers, he threatens to release the Blacklight virus if they don't let him go, thinking it'll work but they shoot anyways. Right before he gets shot, he breaks the Blacklight virus at his feet.

In the moment Alexander J. Mercer dies Alex Mercer is born.

This is my take, but I think that Gentek was absolutely cultivating a cut throat culture, as in people were rewarded for doing whatever it took to get to the top. Including murder. Alexander J. Mercer thrived in the environment, made incredible discoveries, and when he was too much of a liability they killed him.

Alex Mercer wakes up (and this part is just my headcanon) after autopsy has already taken place on Alexander J. Mercer multiple times and the clothes on his body has become biomass to mimic what was there when Dr. Mercer was gunned down and taken apart piece by piece.

Gentek and BlackWatch dehumanizing Alex wears down what little understanding of empathy Alex has and so he focuses (obsessively, as he always has) on keeping the people in his life safe and happy. This being Dana, Desmond, and Ragland--then later on Elijah, Pariah, and the twins.

All of these people affirm over and over again that Alex is a person they care about and that he matters as a person, which is why the comic events don't take place after Alex gets done cleaning out the Redlight in Manhattan.

Desmond keeps his grounded because whereas Dana and Ragland won't call him out on his shit, Desmond absolutely will and tries to make sure his moral compass isn't completely abandoned. I should add more, but I gotta go.

Will add more later!

Imma say something about a game over a decade old but whatever

I feel like Alex Mercer from [Prototype] would be damn near incapable of having any sort of healthy relationship, before and after Penn Station.

He wouldn't be able to before because he clearly had some sort of superiority complex and he wouldn't be able to afterwards (but he would definitely try) simply because he has to unlearn so much of Alex's previous approach to relationships. His basis would be horribly flawed and there would be little chance for him to get better since only Dana and Dr. Ragland actually give a shit about him.

[deepspaceclawstation]

Saw an 'in the tags' post with a link to a site that tells you the origins of your surname, followed by a post asking you to tag your native tongue, then a post asking you to tag your guess of the previous reblogger's place of residence

Maybe I'm getting too paranoid for tumblr

[pocketgalaxies]

Hey, you’ve might of already answered this and I missed it, apologies for that, but what is your opinion on the whole Yu and Birdie fight? And how Bells Hells reacted to it? I’ve seen some harsh takes,like, harsh ass takes. And I am wondering what yours is. Again, sorry if you have already answered this.

hello! nobody has asked me this so you're all good!

idk what the harsh takes are but i personally thought it was totally in line with the characters as we know them so far, so i have no complaints dkfjskdf like?? idk i think critical role would not be as successful as it is if these people weren't extremely masterful character creators, and as long as things are in-character there's very little for me to complain about

all this to say i feel pretty neutrally positive about it, kind of just "that happened the way it happened!" and looking forward to seeing more extensive fall-out in upcoming eps, honestly not sure if i have much else to say at this point. i don't have any TAKES per se, just really hoping we get some RP-heavy stuff this week to get a better idea of how everyone is Feeling™? but some rambly thoughts about what happened in general:

in general i think the death wish run did a LOT of work to make bells hells trust yu. she repeatedly showed that she was willing to take huge risks to help bells hells succeed, and i think this ultimately played a big part in preventing the party from immediately turning on them once they revealed their true form (especially imogen and orym)

ashley did such a wonderful job walking the line between "you're my mom, i trust you above all else" and "you're a stranger i haven't seen in 90 years." i made a liveblog post about this too but i think it's interesting to see how fearne was p much paralyzed with indecision, but as soon as she got something out of birdie (read: that she is ruidusborn) that explained her behavior as anything other than intentionally hurtful, she was ready to turn on yu, but she needed that answer first.

imogen's prioritization of information-gathering makes a lot of sense considering that she knows better than most how emotions can bias your actions and perceptions, as well as how your feelings may not always be accurate or fair to the situation. imogen explicitly wanted fearne to have a happy reunion with her mother, and she also had some level of persistent suspicion of yu (from jealousy sure but also from the mind shielding), but she used detect thoughts to get all the info she could first, and that ended up defining her course of action

ashton was very very quiet. but mad at yu for sure. not sure what to make of it yet aside from being very very pissed at a traitor

fcg...i'd have to rewatch to rly confirm this but my initial impression was that fcg did a pretty terrible job picking up on the social subtext of everything that was going on DKFJSDF. sam has been v consistent in showing that there is just Something lacking in fcg's social instincts. everything is a little bit too objective, a little bit too black and white

chetney is consistently morally questionable and willing to make deals with the (proverbial) devil. i still feel like i don't understand this man at all so that's all i have to say at this time

i'm getting tired and i think ppl have written much better meta about orym than i have. something something he feels like he failed himself and will and keyleth 6 years ago and he was not willing to let it happen again

i wrote a little about laudna in yesterday's gifset but basically she just made me Sad. the use of bane to de-escalate was really interesting on marisha's part and in general i think laudna is extraordinarily non-confrontational and also was completely panicking. the helpless confused "agh!"s as she presses her hands into her eyes and summons the shadows onto a person that she loves. it made me very sad.

anyway hope this was fun to read i'm not going to proofread it so sorry if it's nonsense but long story short i don't have any particular takes about it at all, let alone harsh ones dkdkfjskdjfs

if you want to read more smarter neutrally positive analyses you can go in my #cr meta tag! there are some posts about yu and birdie in there too since i am too tired to put them here rn lmaooo