#a lot weirder version tho

[awhoreintheory]

Peter, using his A+ deduction skills: there's more bats than birds, right? I've been seeing a lot of theories that batman lives in a bat cave, like a bat duh, but i think he has more self-respect than that. So it makes logical sense that wherever their hideout is, it's called a Nest, and in this essay today I will—

Bernard: You're my new favorite person

Jason: Nay on the self respect, but yes to the nest.

Tim: Don't fuel him, his mind is a web of conspiracies

Dick: This is the Correct Opinion, Timmy

Damian, supremely annoyed his can't correct Peter: >:(

[devils-little-sistaaa]

I have found that I just really don’t care for the PJO show anymore. I don’t care about season one. I don’t care about upcoming season 2. I don’t care about all that’s coming out about season 3 right now. I don’t care about the Nico casting even tho Nico has always been my number 1 blorbo that I’ve been obsessed with for the better part of 10 or 11 years. I just don’t care about the show anymore.

I wish good luck to all the child actors involved and I hope everyone can be normal and respectful towards them and keep the characters they’re obsessed with separate from the actors that play them.

But other than that I really don’t care. I feel like I’ve moved on from baby titans curse Nico a long time ago. The Nico in my head is a lot much older and has grown into an adult with me over the years. I am simply not interested in some 10-12 year old plying a very outdated version of Nico whose character will probably be butchered and retconned and changed so much anyway just like all the other characters were in season 1 (in my opinion. If this is not your opinion that’s fine perceive the show characters how ever you want just please don’t fight with me)

I simply refuse to associate a real human child person with the fictional adult Nico that’s running around in my head having adult adventures and shipping him with so many characters including a bunch of gods and putting him through through rated R horror movies in my daydreams. Not only do I refuse but I think I’m simply not capable of associating some actor kid with my version of Nico I just can’t do it it’s not possible.

I’ve always been more into the weirder sides of fandom and the weird strange characters like Nico since I was very young child even before I was into PJO I always liked the weirder things and I just. I just don’t think we should throw this weirdness at the child actors. The PJO has been around for about 20 years now. The lightning theif came out in 2005. There’s been a lot of weirdness over the years some of which I enjoy and some is not my cup of tea but like. I feel like the kids shouldnt be objected to that unless they themselves when they get a little older involve themselves in the weirder parts of the fandom and even then we still need to be respectful towards them and not bully them for liking weird things (like so many in the PJO fandom have been bullied for like me). I just hope everyone can keep this in mind.

[daisychainfiction]

You're gonna get so tired of me. Brainrot. Your fault!

Can i say tho... i was like flabbergasted at the version of Annika in the flashback vs how she is with MC.... 🤔

Alsooooo Vardah gives me the heebie jeebies. Idk if i even wrote that right but it feels like it's the perfect description for her. She gives me weirder vibes than all the other's combined. Something really unsettling i pick up from her vibe. Like the kinda person that would literally deadpan how they poisoned someone because they said something silly to them like it's the most normal thing in the world and YOU are weird for making it a big deal.

All your characters are so fucking weird dude. They are intriguing and interesting and i want to get to know them but also think this whole camp needs to burn (shout out my baby silas) but also need an exorcism and the whole Vatican of priests to do a cleansing but alsoooooo they seem to be doing not just emotionally and spiritually dodgy shit but physically too and!!!!!!!!!! Probably illegal ass shit too.

That was alot of ands but it's literally how this story goes around and around in my mind. And your writing capabilities to fucking confuse and bewilder me are amazing because idk wtf to expect at any given time with this shit storm of a book and i just want to shake my MC and tell them to go the fuck home.

Idk if any of this made sense 🤣 i swear i just wanted to say i think you're a really talented writer. ❤️

Thank you so much!! 🧡

The Inner Circle members have changed over the last five years (especially the last three years). For some, it was more instantaneous – for others, it was a grueling shift of who they were, who they wanted to be, and who they became.

Vardah is, amusingly, the only one out of the bunch who is more or less the same as she ever was. A little wiser. A little happier. But her core hasn’t changed. (It’s not necessarily a good or bad thing. Just a thing…)

And she would never poison someone – that’s too indirect. If she hated a person enough to harm them -which she doesn’t at this juncture- she’d do it face-to-face and very slowly 🙃

SPOILERY INSIDER INFO BELOW:

...

The whole place really should burn, but like Silas told Jordan in Chapter One – a lot of the people there would be in bigger trouble without the place… it’s a balancing act that Silas, one of only three people who CAN end Deerbourne, has to struggle with.

[datclassicrockfan42]

Who are the monkees?

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

DEAR LORD YES

(Sorry I don’t get this question very often)

Anyways, allow me to introduce you to The Monkees

They were a 60s rock band with a TV show(like the Aquabats). Originally created to make money and sell records but after a rebellion from their music producer, they truly(at least in my eyes) became a true band. Unfortunately a lot of factors caused the bands decline in popularity and their dissolvement. They did get back together in the 80’s and 90’s with a little surge in popularity, and thoughout the 2000s and 2010s they continued to tour. Currently the last remaining Monkee(Micky) is doing shows to honor the band these years.(this is definitely a cliff notes version bc(well I kinda lost my Monkee Autism for MCR autism and there’s no way I can fit the entire story into a single post, we can keep talking about this through dm through)

Now for the members. This group consists of four members. Davy, Micky, Peter, and Mike

Here’s a photo

The first member is Davy Jones.(Bottom Right)Short, British, and babyfaced. He’s basically the “Paul McCartney” of the group, the one that all the girls love(at least when the show first aired). In the band lineup, he does vocals, tambourine, and maracas(usually has like fifty maracas) In the show, he’s the group’s hopeless romantic. Always going after a girl and falling in love. However that whole “Davy falls in love and now it’s our problem” is much more of a season one plot line than season two(not to say doesn’t happen there too.)

Next is Micky Dolenz.(Top left). The bands…(for really lack of a better term here) wild card. He’s very energetic and comedic. In the band he’s the drummer but also does vocals most of the time. In the show, he’s wild, chaotic, and the jokester of the group.

Next is Peter Tork( bottom right). Sweet, sensitive Peter. Look at him isn’t he cute? In the band, he’s the bassist, but also plays a multitude of instruments. In the show he was the dummy. The butt of the joke all the time. His shy, awkward(auto fill suggested knees here, and I’m questioning everything), personality and lack of social skills was a constant joke during the series. Actual Peter is pretty intellectual.

Last but certainly not least(especially on this blog) is Mike(top right, in the green wool hat) the second Michael in my life(Mikey was the first). Ah Michael Nesmith. Where to start? Stoic, quiet,aloof, but a total goof sometimes.(starting to sound familiar here)He has what this website calls…autism swag. Usually wearing a little hat(okay now that I type this here I’m starting to realize the similarities between the two Michaels in my life), this Texan is the “serious one.” The dad of group basically. In the band he plays guitar and actually wrote a few songs(oh we’re gonna talk about this). In the show, he was basically the voice of reason. Not really focused on that much,but he had his moments. I should mention that he got rid of the hat around season two, but you can still identify him by his massive sideburns.

Look at these

Look at the size of them

NOW THE SHOW AND MUSIC.

The show: The show aired from 1966-1968 with two seasons. They also had two tv specials and one hella trippy movie. Currently a lot of the episodes have been taken off YT(damn copyright) but we have archive.com and many drive folders containing these episodes. Episode plots can go from “guys Davy’s in love again and now it’s our problem” to “Crap we can’t pay the rent” to “crap we gotta save America from spies”. And season two only gets weirder. Each episode usually contains two “romps” which are basically music videos that showcase songs(like I said made to sell records)

(I do gotta warn you tho. This show was made in the 60s…so some of the content is not actually…politically correct according to today’s standards. So yea just be prepared for that)

Episodes I’d personally recommend for beginners are

Season 1 Ep 8: don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A simple episode. Displays each of the characters personally traits pretty well. Has good songs.

Season 1 ep 23: Captain Crocodilez a pretty funny episode. Got a lot of that typical Monkee rapid fire random humor(which is kinda Aquabatsish). Some good romps and I find this ep quite enjoyable

Season one ep 12: I’ve got a little song here. This is a Mike focused episode and is a little bit sadder than the majority of eps, but is overall good. It’s got the bands superhero personas, the Monkeemen. Good songs too.

Season two episode 16: fairytale. An iconic episode.(so sometimes the guys would dress up in drag to make their schemes work and there’s lots of that in this episode) it’s a bit more off the walls(which is normal in season two) but still overall a good episode.

Here’s the link for the archive(kinda bad quality but pretty accessible)

Edit: so i checked and something is wrong with the link….so yea

Ummm if yall want I can dm you a link to one of the drives

NOW FOR MUSIC

(Buckle up)

So the group(in the tv show years) released(holy shit) 9 albums.

The Monkees(a classic album of songs from the show) notable tracks include Last train to Clarksville, Saturday’s child, Sweet Young Thing, and Papa Gene’s blues

More of the Monkees(another classic, once again full of songs from the show) notable tracks include Mary,Mary , I’m not your stepping stone, the kind of girl I could love, and(you probably know this one) I’m a believer(yep the song from shrek was a Monkees song)

However, these albums were made with little to no creative control. Opting for studio musicans and writers than the actual guys themselves(who were all pretty good musicans) but after some rebellion, the producer getting fired, and a hole in a hotel wall(before the producer got fired,(guess who did this one lol). The band was able to play their own instruments.

Which brings us to an era which I personally consider the bands finest:

Headquarters: a masterpiece with the group playing almost of all their own instruments. Notable tracks include: Sunny Girlfriend, for Pete’s sake, and Randy Scouse Git

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones(thats actually all the members zodiac signs, expect Davy’s bc him and Mike are both Capricorns and they actually share a birthday(Dec 30): this is their psychedelic album(hey it’s 1967 everyone’s doing it) Notable tracks here include: Pleasant Valley Sunday, Love is only sleeping, Star Collector and the door into summer.

The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees: another classic👌. Notable tracks here include: Daydream Believer, Tapioca Tundra, and Dream World.

We then have the HEAD(that trippy movie i was talking about(that’s a little advanced tho, stick to the show for now) soundtrack: notable tracks here include: Porpoise Song, As we go along, circle sky, and daddy’s song.

Now for some mythbustijg bc oh boy

They didn’t play their own instruments: actually a lot of the guys were originally musicians before the show(Mike and Peter were folk singers, and Davy worked in broadway(not an instrument but still cool to know). We kinda already debunked this one though so let’s move on to the next:

They didn’t write their own songs: kinda true. The studio did bring in some studio writers to write songs, but the guys actually wrote some songs themselves(mainly Mike, but the others did too)

Ok well I’ve been typing for quite a while now and my hands tried soo ima leave this here. DM me if you want any more info(I have a master degree in the history of Micheal Nesmith with a minor in the band and show history)

[armchairaleck]

Twin Peaks/Dragon Prince thoughts

Okay so I was never going to write a post that combined two of my sorta diametric interests - namely The Dragon Prince cartoon and Twin Peaks, even tho I've low key considered it.. but then they literally put out a fricken dream scene with Viren, Kpp’Ar, Sparklepuff and Opeli explicitly mirroring Twin Peaks.. so now I guess I will ramble on for a long time about this despite not really having anything sensible to say…

First up – massive spoilers are ahead for both Twin Peaks and TDP Season 5… Twin Peaks is in my view one of the most weird and interesting television shows ever made - like it's very David Lynch, so I guess you'd have to like that vibe - BUT if you haven’t seen it and are at all interested in watching it, and don’t want very essential plot elements spoilt please don’t read below this cut.. IT WILL SPOIL STUFF!

Not sure anyone will be left at this point, but a very condensed speed run of the twin peaks plot for the sake of drawing out some parallels later:

Laura Palmer is found murdered in her small home town where a veritable list of ner do well characters who are possible suspects also reside. Call in special agent Dale Cooper to solve the crime, so far, so police procedural…

This is when the plot starts to go a little left field - as well as the drug smuggling, illegal casino, insurance swindles, arson, doubling crossing, false murders, real murders, faked deaths, real deaths that are just part of everyday life in this quaint little rural US town, a portal exists to a place called the red room or the waiting room and to the white and black lodges which by and large represent forces of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and hold within them certain denizens who might help or hinder, or just be completely bizarre and unintelligible depending on their inclinations...

One of the evil denizens is Bob - Bob is pretty much the representation of pure evil, he possesses people and encourages them to fill his own base desires.

After a certain amount of investigation the original crime is solved, the presence of Bob and the lodges is revealed and the show gets a whole lot weirder as it moves through the rest of the second series and the third (set 25 years later)

At the end of season 2 the good Dale Cooper goes into the red room and gets stuck in there while an identical version of Cooper emerges but this one not so wholesome and possessed by Bob.

There’s a lot more to it, but I’ll get into the relevant points and possible, tho probably very tentative TDP parallels as they come up.

Anyway to break it down.. in the short scene we see we have Kpp’Ar - here I believe framed mirroring the role of the one armed man, Mike, he could also be framed as the giant theoretically but given the arm/bandage motif I’m going to say he’s the one armed man..

The one armed man used to run with Bob until he saw the light and changed his ways, and he cut off his arm to do this a little drastic perhaps? because he had a tattoo on the arm that linked him to Bob. So a possible parallel here to Kpp’Ar having also realised his dark magic/blood tie with an ancient evil entity and trying to rid himself of it through cutting it out of his arm, go, go my guy. The one armed man acts as one of several pretty obtuse guides for good Cooper in the show.

Will Kpp’Ar come back and do this for Viren? Eh probably not, I can’t even speculate on that sort of thing, so let’s leave that parallel there.

Right, Sir Sparklepuff also gets a little cameo as the the arm/the man from another place.. a cryptic clue giver who speaks unintelligibly and also has some natty dance moves..

So the arm is a fairly ambiguous character, he hangs with the evil denizens, he hangs in the waiting room, he helps, or he doesn’t, it’s pretty vague.. he is the part that was cut out to remove the evil influence, but I’m not sure where that could go if anywhere… Onto Viren, who is framed taking the role of FBI agent Dale Cooper, Cooper goes into the red room for good reasons, he wants to save his girlfriend Annie… unfortunately he doesn’t and instead he gets stuck in there while his doppelganger possessed by Bob escapes and goes on to run merry havoc for the next 25 years…

Bad Cooper is a corrupted figure who can give corpse face Viren a run for his money annnd… he also has black eyes… nice…

This is just how your eyes go when you're evil.. so err.. stay good kids

On the other hand it does look like you have a lot more fun going feral

Meanwhile the good version of Cooper has to escape from the waiting room, and trust me, it takes a long time…

Then we have Opeli as the log lady.. now the log lady, also called Margaret Lanterman, we are given to believe was once abducted as a child by aliens (there’s a pretty strong interest in conspiracy type stuff in twin peaks without it ever completely leaning in and going there, well I guess it does, let’s just say there are a lot of things beneath the surface) Margaret grows up just fine though, but on the eve of her wedding night to a fireman there is a fire in the woods, and hubby to be goes and gets himself killed fighting the flames. Margaret takes a log from the scene and caries it round with her ever after with it being heavily implied that the spirit/soul of her almost husband is in there and passes her messages with regards to some of the goings on in the town.

Hey Opeli guess what? Rayla's breaking into Viren's study... ahem..

Like anyway why did Opeli get this role? I have no idea, she's the only available female character?? Anyway Opeli says backwards the line - the jelly tart you like is going to come back in style.. the log lady does not say this in the show, but there is a pivotal scene where all the murder suspects in the Laura Palmer case are gathered together and the guilty party is approached by a white lodge denizen and told that gum you like is going to come back in style.. that's how they find out whodunnit.

So the premise of Twin Peaks is that the guilty party is also shown to be possessed by evil entity Bob and it raises some interesting questions within the fandom regarding an individual’s culpability for their crimes or whether the possession was the root cause of them and I feel like I can’t really dance around it anymore so I will say again if this show sounds interesting and you want to watch it unspoiled with regards to the murder STOP READING HERE.. also I will be going onto the darker themes of the show and you are warned they are kinda dark…

...

Right okay it was her father, Laura’s father, Leyland, possessed by Bob raped and abused her for several years and then murdered her and others when it became clear she knew it was him.

Now every time Laura was abused in the show she sees the face of Bob not her father. There is debate whether this is trauma projection, whether it is in fact evil entity Bob controlling the father’s actions… I mean there’s a lot of interesting stuff to go into, but I won’t, because I only want to look at the possession angle here.

Okay, onto the topic of possession and free will, specifically with regards to Viren and also dark mages in general.. so we have seen Aaravos possess Callum explicitly, based on one use of dark magic, whether he was able to do this due to Callum’s proximity to the mirror... not sure? He also possesses Viren very obviously on a couple of occasions, but they also have the blood tie... so it's likely that dark magic allows Aaravos to exert his influence on those who practise it as has been explored by others.

Anyway there is another factor I have kinda been low key wondering about - whether the staff of Ziard has certain possession/persuasion potential.. now I’m not going to come out and say the staff holds sway over Viren and tells him what to do because this puts a certain absolution on Viren’s actions that I don’t think is justified by the narrative BUT I do also think it would be kinda cool if Aaravos with his links to the stars and future predictions had a way of seeing what might happen and engineering his own deliverance through the push/pull of the staff.

Not betting any hard cash on this theory...

We don’t know when Viren first gets the staff, I have to re-watch that dream sequence and possibly wait for puzzle house because I have at least some thoughts it might be what Claudia finds in there.. but he doesn’t have it in the Puzzle House pages I’ve seen and he does before Magma Titan because he takes it with him..

So... I don’t know if there is a slim possibility that while the staff might not possess a mage it might subtly lead them towards an end goal - slaying an archdragon say, who holds the mirror window into Aaravos’s prison, and thereby allowing the dark mage to come into possession of said mirror and thereby setting the whole train of freeing Aaravos in motion..

Now fine, this is a bit of a stretch, could easily be Viren is simply fuelled by his desire to kill a dragon out of revenge/hubris a desire to rekindle his relationship with Harrow (ahem) but I kinda like the idea that there is a very subtle pull leading him in that direction through the staff, and Aaravos does at least seem pleased to notice that staff in his possession, while Viren visibly shies from it throughout much of s4…

This could mirror a little with the possession/influence themes of Twin Peaks - there is a ‘good’ Cooper and a ‘bad’ Cooper, but they are really the same Cooper and it is the flaws in the good that allow for the evil influence of the bad to take hold - Cooper has a weakness for trying to save women in peril, it gets him in trouble… Viren seems to have a weakness for power and doing anything for his family, however dangerous, however vile - personally I don’t really like to read stuff purely in terms of a good/bad white/black dichotomy.. but I do like character flaws leading to the wrong path and imperilling your soul.

This all inclines me towards the Aaravos is pure evil and the Prometheus and even Lucifer stuff was just a bit of a tease. In Twin Peaks the unleashing or at least the amplification of evil in the world is linked very explicitly in one episode to the dropping of the atomic bomb, this is framed as a cataclysmic event during which mankind press the button on their own potential annihilation...

s3 episode 8 - I don't think will ever be surpassed for am I hallucinating or is there something very weird on my tv at 4am vibes

I know there have been some links between dark magic and nuclear power parallels made by other people but I can’t remember the details and it has always been something I’ve kinda chewed around a bit without having any specific thoughts or beliefs on, other than ouch corruption looks a lot like radiation burns… but I can see an analogy for something that is created to both serve humanity giving us a fairly unlimited power source, while also giving us the ability to pretty much obliterate ourselves and the planet which - tbh best not to think about how close that has already been...

Dark magic is clearly a force that can be used to benefit humanity, healing, feeding 100,000 people etc, etc.. but it is also being lined up as something that holds its own peril, that probably isn’t a power to be wielded by inconsistent, unreliable and sleep deprived humans, and it’s been given to them by Aaravos? Like I think that has not yet been explicitly stated in cannon but the signs are all there.. so hmmm..

Anyway all told this has led me down quite a few lines of thinking that I don’t really have any definitive conclusions for because they are by definition not issues that can be neatly tied up with a bow... at least not by me.

Then Viren is pretty much comatose for the rest of the season much like Coop/Dougie is season 3 of Twin Peaks.. rip my guy...

Viren having the standard reaction of anyone trying to work out wtf is going on in Twin Peaks

Anyway I have never seen any fellow Twin Peaks fans out in the Dragon Prince wilds, but if you’re out there please come and rip this to shreds if you want.. I have a sieve like memory and I’m usually pretty wrong about most stuff, plus I wrote this after 4 hours sleep due to the drop time, sooo please excuse any mistakes...

[sterek-ao3feed]

I spend my life watching it go by from the sidelines

Read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/62212999

by sourcherries (MOONIEBEAM)

Stiles looked bewildered, “That's bizarre by the way” he pointed at them both, “it's weird, and it's even weirder that it makes sense, somehow?” Derek made a face at him, Stiles kept talking, “I just want to understand, if we're not divinely guided, something big, why then?” Older Stiles looked at his younger version the same way Derek was used to see the Sheriff doing, “It's a balancing act, some places call it an anchor, some call it soulmates, some call it meant to be, other refer to it by destiny, every Stiles has a Derek” Stiles didn't look convinced

Words: 3688, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Future Stiles Stilinski, Aged-Up Stiles Stilinski, Birthday Wish, Spark Stiles Stilinski, there are a lot of alternate universes I guess, only mentioned tho, Getting Together, Falling In Love, Slice of Life, Domestic Fluff

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62212999

[the-pale-chancellor]

I’m glad I get to talk about it with someone finally!

And while I do understand where you’re coming from for the most part, I do have a few rebuttals.

Also I must confess, I don’t speak Russian in any way shape or form. I’ve seen the subtitled earlier productions enough that I mostly know what’s going on, but I bet I’ve missed a couple things in this new show.

I’m gonna try to do it smart like you did and piece out my opinions.

First off

Characters: I know I’m in the minority but I actually LIKE most of what they did with Crysania. In my opinion from reading the books it felt like lazy writing for her to have no personality. As the female lead she needed to be fleshed out more. This Crysania gets to have emotions and a personality outside of feelings for Raistlin. It also feels like she is fully immersed in the more joyful and compassionate parts of her faith which make a lot more sense for her character instead of going from stoic and cold to insta love. Also the fact that it’s her singing at the end the poetic justice is just *chefs kiss!* GIRLY FINALLY GOT TO HAVE THE LAST WORD SHE DESERVES.

Raistlin honestly got more fleshed out as well. His one redeeming quality is that he shows compassion for those who are powerless and bullied by society. And he got to show off this quality quite a bit. As for what you said about the scene before the battle of Zhaman, I don’t see it quite as a Jesus thing so much as like him using his manipulative side to win himself a war, which is more or less what it’s always been in this show. Also they took out him assaulting Crysania which I appreciate. Also in the books Raistlin was pretty sick most of the time. So it’s accurate.

You’re right about the cabaret thing that’s weird. But does it bother me all that much? No not really. In the book if I remember correctly they were in a literal courtroom with Rasitlin on trial for his past so…..is it really and weirder?

Were the costumes bad? Yes. Was the set weird and sound quality bad? Yes. Did I find it weird the actress playing Crysania was blond? Yes . but none of those things really took away too much from it for me. I like seeing new actors get to play these parts. I don’t know if they’ll be other performances of this version, but if they can just iron out the technical issues and make some improvements costume wise I think it could get better!

Oh but Crysania still doesn't have emotions outside her love for Raistlin. All this cheerfullness may seem like her actually being fleshed out, helping and confronting the injustice (and yes, in the scenes with Istar she does just that, props to her, even tho if I remember correctly she kinda did the same in previous versions, might be wrong), bUT. When listening to what she's singing (and I am just conveying it because you don't know the language), she now doesn't go from cold to insta loving. She goes from seeing Raist for the first time and insta loving him, all her thoughts and songs are about how she could save him from like the very beginning of the musical and that's what bothers me. Yes, coldness seems lazy on her, but that happy babbling just feels wrong to me.

Of course you may like her new variation though! Everyone has different opinions and I believe yours is as valid here, just saying what I noticed :)

Also, about the Abyss part. Even though I didn't like cabaret, I, for some forsaken reason, adored the actual tango. The way Raist moved under control had something in it, but I remember similar thing with Egorov somewhere. Yet, God forbid me from talking any further because I will not stop internally laughing about 12th doc appearance of that man.

Overall: I'd say it wasn't all horrible, not at all. I'd put 6/10 for the whole thing, probably Saint-Petersburg's version is better as it was filmed 10 days after the YouTube one (and is actually on sale rn, but it costs 2000rub/~20$ so can't watch it). They need to polish things A LOT, but overall - fine enough.

Thank you for having a convo of opinions with me! Needed to share this with someone :)

[manonamora-if]

Retrospective 2023 (2)

See Part 1 for the Retrospective Infographic

2023 has been a rollercoaster of stuff, with some very high-highs, and some pretty low-lows. Things have been pretty busy this year, then got busier and weirder. I didn't manage to do things I wanted to do, ending up doing a lot of different things instead. This year was kinda the perfect storm to do all those new stuff and experimentation I've published.

It's been good, it's been bad, it's been ugly, and it's been cool. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Long post ahead - breaking here.

Goals for 2023

Last year, I made big-ass post about what I hoped to achieved during those next 12 months. The main one being: Get things off my desk and shelf it for good! The goal was to finish WIPs and remasters of "completed" projects.

And I... somewhat did that? But also... did whatever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Taking the list of the "plan":

Goncharov Escapes! was: re-written, re-coded, and translated (to French). The new version also now includes music!

La Petite Mort was: re-written, added content, and translated (to English) for this year's Ectocomp. It just need one more or two things tho

The demo of P-Rix - Space Trucker is now playable on mobile! (and the template based on the game is out too)

The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt didn't get just one but TWO updates last year!

A bunch of templates! 5 to be exact: 3 focused more on visuals (Sci-Fi, VN, Title), and the other 2 more on code (Setting, Charac Creator).

So... what's extra? Well... a lot. Maybe too much...

A lot of new titles under my name: DOL-OS, The Rye in the Dark City (wip), The Roads not Taken, À la Campagne, Entre-d'oeuf coquilles/An Eggcellent Preparation, Collision, Intersigne, Clarence Street 14, The Dinner, In the Blink of an Eye, Tower of Sleep, and Dévoiement. From bite-size to full large game, that makes TWELVE new thing this year! I... may have gone a bit overboard with this...

Aside from the template, I've also worked on the SugarCube Guide, a guide that covers all markup, macros, functions, methods, and APIs of the SugarCube format. From the basics to the very advanced code ~ Which will receive another update when the 2.37 comes out for real.

After the @seedcomp-if, I continued to organised more IF events: Neo-Twiny Jam, Single Choice Jam, Orifice Jam, Bring Out Your Ghost, Bare-Bones Jam, ShuffleComp... and helped out other events (the IFComp, y'all!).

I've been a tad less active on the Tumblr front lately, mainly because I've hung out more on the Forum or the @neointeractives Discord. But I've been plenty active reviewing games, especially since last May (@manonamora-if-reviews). The count is over 300 now...

I made a zine?????

So yeah... A LOT this year. (and there would have been more had I not gotten sick...)

2023 Achievements and Milestones

There were probably a bunch of itch/analytics milestones this year, but... I've tried to stay away from numbers as much as I could, because I realised it was a source of anxiety. I want to make games for fun, not worry that I haven't achieved a certain play level by a certain date. So I've even edited my itch's dashboard to hide it all. (I'm still updating the analytics sheet once in a while tho) And anyway... nothing will ever be as popular as CRWL, even when I'm trying to push other - and much better imo - games down everyone's throats.

Some other stats on itch:

22 [total] games on itch (incl. the experiments & demos) we're getting closer to my goal of 1 game/birthdays

9 free-to-use prompts

7 free-to-use templates

3 coding guides

1 zine

I also participated in 22 different jams and comps, almost always using one game for multiple jams at once (I'm crazy, but not that crazy). I ranked pretty high on multiple jams, which I am really happy about, and got some amazing reviews and lovely comments. A bunch of my games from 2022 were nominated for the IFDB Awards (and two were mentioned in the Top50 IF too)! (maybe next time I'll get a spot too !)

But the major thing coming out of it all was winning a big competition too, with DOL-OS at the start of the year. Holy shit, did that make my year. I really wasn't expecting it because so many of the games that year were incredible! This was such a confidence booster! I think that's my biggest achievement this year. (I just finished the puzzle I won too, and that was loads of fun) I am so so so proud of that game, especially after releasing the remaster.

Some non-numerical achievements I'm happy about:

I continued experimenting this year, with non-linear stories (DOL-OS), shorter and more kinetic content (Neo-Interactive jam entries), and... well... a thing. The experimentation included trying out other programs to make game too!

Speaking of the thing... I've made a monster of a Twine, creating a bad (oh so bad in convention) parser... which I still haven't finished fixing. I talked at length about here.

I've made an actual proper parser game, following the conventions of the medium... and enjoyed it a lot. From creating puzzles to solving the puzzle that was coding it. It didn't rank super high, but it got some good reactions! Making a parser strangely helped me playing them, and appreciate them more.

Has it been a lot of stuff? Yeah... it feels a bit like a lot...

Some 2023 personal things

Like last year, I've continued to struggle with feeling like I was not doing enough during the year (or the month, before doing the monthly dev logs). Not enough words written or progress made. It was a pervasive thing last year, and I've been working on myself to feel less so, especially with all I've been doing anyway this year. But it's still there.

I think I recently found one of the reasons I've been feeling this way: not working on or finishing the WIPs I started with back in 2021 and in 2022, not making substantial progress that would warrant an update... It's been especially hard when seeing other authors churn out updates left and right and I have little to nothing to show for. Maybe that's why I've been compensating with all the new little projects and jam entries throughout the year (and half-way through 2022). I mean... there hasn't been a month where I didn't publish something new, whether it was an update, or a new game, or a template/guide, or brought out a whole-ass remaster of a game.

And by working on those other little things, I think I found myself in some sort of cycle, where the time spent on those new things is not spent on the WIPs, and I start feeling bad about it. But when I open the file, with all that pressure I put myself, nothing gets written or fixed. So I distract myself with a different thing... and I end up not making any progress on the WIP. It sucks, because I want to see those WIPs done. I want to finish those stories. But it's been hard. Who'd have thunk it??? I'm a stupid human being after all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I know breaking that cycle will happen... when I work on those darn WIPs. I just need to push myself to get there... But I also want to enjoy what I am writing too, because the quality of the writing really sucks when I force it... So silliness has been happening in the meantime.

Will it continue like this? In the near future, most likely. Hopefully not to the extend of the past year and a half. At best, I'd want to have 1-2 updates on a bit WIP, 1-2 new medium-sized games, and a handful small silly experiments, during a year.

Not that I owe anyone an explanation, but anons being nasty about the whole no-progress thing - essentially why @crimsonroseandwhitelily was offline for a whole while, or why I haven't answered many questions lately.

Also gonna take this moment to not address the very personal stuff that happened IRL, even with the very insisting messages I got. I was tempted to go on a whole tangent about what's been going on, but I'm a bit paranoid about my privacy on the internet (and with the anons wilding lately, I've become more careful), and I don't really want IRL to flood this space either (more than it has anyway - considered leaving a few times tbh). I like this specific corner to not be about IRL, to have it as an escape and spend some time just not having to think about it. So yea... you can ask all you want, I'm not going to answer. But it's been a time... I'm coping by being here damnit. Maybe you'll get an(other) autobio game about it one day xD

Here's to a more peaceful state of mind (and inbox) next year...

2023 is OVER officially

And what a fucking year this was. It's made me even more excited to see what 2024 has in store for me.

I want to learn more, for sure. I think I reached a bit of a plateau with SugarCube, where the only thing I feel I haven't tried yet is some sort of RPG adventure/combat system. Or diving further in JavaScript/jQuery (it's inevitable...). Or have less of a spaghetti code... Though it didn't really start as a conscious effort, I'm glad I tried different IF programs and Twine formats this year. It helped me think more about IF game structure and coding. It really pushed me to grow and appreciate the variety there is in IF outside of Tumblr. It did reinforce my love for Twine, especially SugarCube xD

I know I've complained about having done a lot but also not feeling I did enough, but strangely this year has also been pretty fulfilling. Having achieved things I didn't think I could, mess around and create unmentionable bits of code that should not have seen the light of day, learned how to handle new formats, met and talked with a bunch of cool and knowledgeable IF peeps, and just tried to do some good for the community.

I would love to be as fulfilled in this new year too!

I was shocked with all the good things I got in 2022, but I didn't imagine it would be even better this year. How much I got out of this year. How much I got done. How much I learned. How much I grew as a person and a creator. I'm glad I stuck around another year.

I'm really lucky I was able to have the year I had, to be surrounded by such lovely people, to get such positive return on stuff, to be in this community, to have the friends I have, to still be here.

So, thanks for sticking around too, and partake in my silliness :)

[lunais-liam]

I just Imagined some awesome shit but I draw horrendous so I NEED someone to draw this and make a comic or an extended version because it's just so much

Peridot POV.

Some time living at the barn together, Lapis always seems to look weird at me, her eyes are always staring and when we talk, she always mentions our old ways. I know she's traumatized but come on, we've been okay for months by now, she needs to move on!

Sometimes I hear her whispering, but I don't really understand what she's saying, tho, she's probably talking about how Jasper and I used her at the ship and all of that stuff. I'm really getting tired of that, it must've been hard but come on!

Sometimes I wonder if I could change the way we're living now, it makes me really uncomfortable to be honest, but, what if I ask her what's really going on? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe she just wants me to leave and she was lying this whole time she's been living here with me..

Lapis POV.

I've been living with Peridot since steven brought me to the barn, she tries so hard to be with me but things just feel different, Peridot was tall, threatening, cool.. but now she's just.. her.

A lot of things have changed, but I didn't expect her to do so, I really felt something for her but now, she has just changed her whole personality just because she doesn't have her limb enhancers, I miss the old her but I don't want to say It, she may take it wrong.. What am I going to tell her if she asks? "Oh no, I just hate you now and want you to be rude and with fucking limb things to make you look less stupid." That would literally break her, and that doesn't really feel good to say.. I guess I'll just live with it.

Peridot POV.

Okay, I think I'm ready to ask her, I have it all planned now, I'll just go there and sit with her, then I'll talk to her, then I'll wait for her to say something about, you know, that, and If she doesn't I'll just bring it up! Easy, right?

Conversation.

Peridot approaches Lapis as she waves. - Heyy Lapis! How are you today?

Lapis looks at Peridot sitting next to her. - Are you okay? You look we-

Peridot interrupts Lapis. - Good! I'm very glad, what are you doing?

Lapis looks directly at peridot staring right onto her eyes. - You didn't let me finish, you look weirder today.

Peridot starts sweating a little bit because of Lapis staring at her. - I.. um.. Wait, weirder?

Lapis covers her mouth with her hands quickly. - Sorry! I didn't mean that, really.

Lapis sights and moves a little away from Peridot. - Look.. it's really hard, okay? Everything is different now.. You are different, and it just feels different.. I liked you Peridot.

Peridot looks sad to lapis until she hears the last sentence, her face went slightly red but still sad, even more than before.

Lapis - Sorry!! I shouldn't have said that, I'm really really sorry peridot, you're not the problem, really.

Peridot slowly stood up and after looking at Lapis one last time she ran away out of the barn.

Peridot POV.

I knew it was something like that, I didn't know she liked me but I know what I have to do now.. If she doesn't want me like this, then, I'll just never come back like this.

I'm at Steven's house now, I told him everything and Amethyst overhead, such a sneaky clod. Anyway, Steven told me I just need to be myself, but Lapis doesn't want me to be myself, and I want to be with Lapis.. I love her.

Amethyst said she'll help me but I don't trust her acts, really. I just hope this works..

Lapis POV.

I completely messed up, why am I like this? I fucked everything up, I'm a complete jerk.. What was I thinking? I knew it would hurt her but still I did it, I told her.. Now she's anywhere on earth and I can't do anything.. I should tell Steven, maybe he can help me!

I think writing a lot is not good in just one entry, so I will probably continue later, remember kids, do not change yourself for others benefits!

Also, you can ask questions about this thing! :))

[raredrop]

the amount of pokemon hacks and fan games i have....and theres a lot i havent even tried....some of them i havent touched in a LONG time but theyre just sitting on my pc

LoL Pokemon - i dont think i ever got far in this one....

mega moemon - i have a LOT of moemon saves....i think this is the one ive been playing "recently" megas and what not

several other moemon i literally do not remember the differences, including emerald

viet crystal - ok probably doesnt count but i have it, one of the first like...lets play like things ive watched (and what probably influenced me to name a lot of things after food)

manly pink - played this YEARS ago and struggled so much, its like fire red but gen 5 or something

pokemon sweet - again i dont think i got too far in this one, its cute tho....i think this one is the one that locks you into gyms once you get in but i forget

touhoumon - i have puppet play, idk which version is the best one or anything....i couldnt figure this one out like evos???? another one i havent touched in years

unbound - i just downloaded this one last night :)

also randomizers i do those a lot, usually bw2 since i didnt know the randomizer could do 3ds games

moe plat - i honestly dont remember the last time i played this or if i had issues with it....

phoenix rising - i forgor this one

em rogue - now this is addicting and also im very bad at it :)

infinite fusion - another one ive been playing recently, the funny fusions :)

pokewilds - i am shaking waiting for the multiplayer update

reborn - this was like one of the first fan games i played that wasnt just kind of altered normal game, tho every time i update it i never figured out how to keep my save so ive restarted it several times :( havent played it in forever

i might just reorganize my games so all the pokemon games are together bc theyre kinda split across several folders

theres probably some im forgetting bc i dont have them anymore on my computer but i can remember at least two like the ash one i think thats called ash grey or something i might be wrong, i dont think i got too into it and uhhh snakewood...YEA that one i played very little of it and apparently it gets weirder

[why-the-heck-not]

Just found your blog and I love it! Love the ‘diary entries’ and reading a little about your daily life. It feels like I can relate even though I don’t really know you.

I read your pinned post, and after seeing your favorite book is A Little Life (I love love love this book!!! It broke and ruined me but created a whole new me and made my soul blossom at the same time), I realized you have a great taste in literature. So, I wanted to check out your favorite writer, too. Are Miki Liukkonen’s books translated into English? If so, which one do you like the most? I really want to read his work, but if it’s not translated (I couldn’t find it), which books do you recommend similar to his?

Thank you sm :33 I haven’t heard that any of them would’ve been translated into english, ”O” is translated to french tho, so if u know french lol there’s that (can’t say anything about the translation tho, I have the french version but haven’t started reading it yet).

I’m rly sorry to disappoint bc I can’t really think of similar books. Like the vibe is sort of surrealism but not in a Murakami kind of a way, waay way more mundane, more like ”if normal life was a touch weirder” and lots of details & layers to everything (billion characters that are all somehow connected whether they know it or not, random references to real life ppl/events/things, a random recipe/email/chat log suddenly in the middle of a chapter that first seems out of place but makes sense later, most of the characters have some sort of obsessions etc. (not just in ”O”), so many random facts, dry humor). Idk I hate to say this but I’ve never read other books like his (one of the reasons why i love them) so can’t be of help here sorry. If I can think of any later, I’ll def let you know !!

Also I’m very sure that they some day will translate them to english as well, bc idk, would be weird that it’d be just french

[abrthephantomq]

You tell me I'm a good boy or a good pet and I'll melt in your hands. - Jazz, probably, when he figures out that he's a simp for Zim even if he doesn't realize WHY he's obsessed with him.

Zim this, Zim that - he's all you talk about, Dib. Maybe you don't actually hate him. Maybe you actually like, wanna suck his dick or something --

GAZLENE --

what? Am I wrong?

Nnn-- I mean -- yes. Yes you're wrong Gaz.

Hey, have you noticed there's lots more planes flying overhead around here, lately?

Yeah, that'd make sense and all, considering what happened last week.

What happened last week?

...........Dib. You know what happened last week.

I don't, actually -- oh no...

What is it? Why're you acting so weird? Like, weirder than usual?

Fuck I overshot.

What do you mean, you overshot?

Gaz, what year is it?

It's 2001. Why?

Month?

September --

Of course! That's what happened, last week. Thanks. I forgot for a second. That's all.

How could you forget about it? All you've been talking about is how Zim was the one who did all of it --

BECAUSE HE DID, GAZ.

What?

That was ZIM - he didn't manage to sell any candy bars so he lost our bet. He was so confused why humans weren't falling to their knees, terrified. In those EXACT words. I have a recording of him saying just that.

What the hell, Dib --

:voice recording plays - Zim sounds absolutely devastated: "they didn't even blink an eye when I put that city in ruins. How can these humans be so.... Eh? I forgot the word, what was I saying?

Oh. Yeah. These hyumens aren't scared of my super scary simulation of me destroying one of their precious cities! They just shrugged and said whatever. I don't want your fucking candy."

Do you humans not get enough moneys to buy these things? These are....really good chocolate. Like, I expected them to be sand based on the name of them, but -- they're actually good? Is this a PRIVATE school?

[Dib's voice can be heard in the background; he apparently planted a bug that looked exactly like The Bug --, right where Zim tended to look at himself in the mirror. Because Zim likes to talk to himself out loud - but he's gotta see his reflection to do it. But Zim's eyes are fucking terrible and he can't see shit, even with his occular implants. Even though he is an Irken Elite. You're not gonna get anymore information from me than that. Either way, you hear enough to know that it's Dib speaking, even if you can't make out what he's saying. But Zim can hear him even if Dib is WAYYYYYY. Over there bc of his antenna. Like. You can hear a Dib when he is in his home. That is how much better Zim can hear than Dib]

Did you really just hijack me, space boy? I'm trying to tell my part of the story here as the fly on the wall of every single moment the two of you think you're alone.

Bobby Dawn what are you doing. (Barbie Dan?)(nah, Bobby Dawn. But if you wanna say it where people hear the name both ways, go for it)

Anyways, Steven asked for my assistance with the next chapter of class clown. This ain't the next, next chapter, but it is a chapter that'll show up later down the road. He's gotta finish a Mr. sludgey POV, first.

This just the super unedited version done while I'm high bc I love creating bonds and strengthening them via writing them. That includes my TikToks and my journal entries I ain't shared with y'all and all the writing we ain't shared with y'all, neither.

Gonna go get myself some lunch now, tho. Been at this long enough. ❤️ Have a good day now, y'hear?

All fanfiction authors have praise kinks in the form of comments and likes

[honestlyvan]

now im thinking of the agnians being weirded out that kevesi dont have core crystals. taion is simply the most fun to imagine quietly freaking out about this. what are some other bodily differences? the agnians wanting to touch eunie's feathers is fun, but maybe lanz has a different body temperature. noah's got nothing tho. he's just lame and boring lmao

I think Noah might actually be the most disturbing out of the Kevesi for that very reason, especially to Taion as their healer, like, he looks so close to being "normal" (Agnian) except he doesn't feel like an Agnian on an etheric level so he sits right at the bottom of the uncanny valley. Eunie and Lanz, at least, have significant physiological differences that put them firmly in the "other" camp.

The same goes in reverse, Eunie actually hits a jackpot being paired with Taion, the most "normal" Agnian, it raises the incredulity ceiling for her to be dealing with the differences in Agnian physiology by experiencing it first as this Normal Guy being extremely weirdly and abnormally put together, it's like an on-ramp to dealing with the weirder blended physiology of Mio and the straight-up magical of Sena.

Agnians might just also be easier to understand, since they all exist on various points on a continuity, none of them are "fully" anything, all of them have a little bit of Blade in them, whereas Kevesi are, like... you pretty much have to learn to know homs, High Entia and machina physiology, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of overlap, even if High Entia and homs heritages have fully blended (which I don't think is possible, I think High Entia genes are dominant).

I think the plot is much stronger if Kevesi and Agnians inherently have that "are you even human????" response to each other, something just feeling.... off because they're essentially dealing with...not-quite-mirrorverse versions of what they're used to dealing with, I think that makes the text about recognising the personhood of the other, and learning to appreciate them, to seeing the common enemy as someone who wants you to hate the other just for being the other. But I do, also, like it when Taion suffers and is uncomfortable :D

[begaydodrughailsatan]

IM GLAD YOU ASKED!!!!!

The irl jack townsend is an author who wrote and posted a story to r/nosleep (a creepypasta subreddit) the 'rule' for nosleep is the storys must have a reason for being there, so the storys MUST be from the pov of someone who knows they are posting on reddit, and have to fake being real

Because of this its semi common for authors to use there own name as the main characters name in there story, so jack townsend (irl) wrote a silly little story about jack townsend (fictional)

And then it became a whole ass book series and he couldn't really change the main characters name <3

ANY WAY! THE BOOKS/CREEPYPASTA TALES FROM THE GAS STATION!!!

THERES IS A GAS STATION AT THE EDGE OF A SHITTY SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN, AND JACK WORKS THERE! And A Lot Of Shit Happens at the gas station <3 (the whole doomsday cult in the woods/the giant racoons/the garden gnomes that keep appearing out of no where and moving on there own/the ghost cowboy in the bathroom/the whispering comeing from the vents/the weird monkey guy watching from the wood line/etc you get it) there is at minimum 7 different supernatural things going on at once, and they aren't even related most of the time. Why is the gas station mega-fuckton-haunted by everything? WHO KNOW! Jack doesn't! And he doesn't really care either! He just wants to get his pay check and read his books in peace, he is barely phased by 99% of the bullshit that goes on.

His therapist tells him to start journaling, so jack starts a blog! And because he has no friends basically no family no life and works 12+ hour shifts 6/7 days a week all he writes about is his job at the shitty gas station<3

Soon after starting the blog New Weirder Shit Starts happening! (The whole hole thing/the randomly appearing door/the hidden cameras/Spencer Fucking Middleton/The Hole Again/MARLBORO!!!/the angler fish in the woods/the kiffers who keep dying/the zombie cultists/The Hole Again But Even Worse/etc<3) and jack uncovers (one) of the gas station's mysteries!

Not all of them tho, the shit with the god only explains half the stuff that had happened in the past 4ish months, everything else is still a mystery!

There is other books in thee series and im going to go ahead and tag the other posts where i try and convince my mutuals to read these books here for you<3 (OR LISTEN! Mr creepypasta on youtube had audiobook versions of them for free!)

Also transfem jack just because of the Sad Depressed man who doesn't care about his own life and dying -> beautiful happy trans woman pipe line is VERY real <333 transfem jack PLEASEEEEEE

@begaydodrughailsatan you've reached a new level of "blorbo from my shows"

Who is Jack Townsend tho?

[linaselandbasil]

Ooookay, since I had to archive lock all my works on ao3 I realized that a lot of you wouldn't be able to read Sneaky Date Night without my kinda annoying commentary, so here it is:

@slowiedrakie hey bestie~

Sneaky Date Night-uncursed version

Lance/unspecified female self insert, tw for alcohol and sex I guess, they use protection tho.

The full moon cast a pale veil of ghostly light over the night and a cold breeze caressed her skin as she leaned out of her window. It's the middle of the night and she's bored as could be.

This is one of many occasions when she simply cannot sleep. Theres not much to do aside from looking out of her head like there's noone home but the lights are on.

She sighed, maybe she should go for a walk... She stood up and went to put on socks and shoes, then she gave it a second thought and decided to wear a sweater too.

She went to close her windows but at the last minute someone pushed it open and jumped in.

"Hey bitch." Lance said. "Awake at this hour? And I thought I would get to wake you up myself."

She sighed. "Good evening to you too."

He came closer, inspecting her from behind his mask as he circled around her like a wolf. "Going somewhere?" He stopped behind her, putting his arms on her shoulders.

Despite the darkness of her room, she could see just enough of him in the mirror in front of them. The mask didn't take from his charm, not even a little.

"I can't sleep, thought I would go for a walk."

"In that? I love your confidence." She pushed his hands off and turned around to glare at him. "So where are we going?"

She chuckled, she can't believe this dude. "You can't just invite yourself!" She sat on her bed and looked at him. "It's not like you can just walk around with me like you're a normal person."

"Trust me, I'm so good at hiding that noone will know I'm even there. Not even you bitch!" He sat next to her and got comfortable.

"That's weird."

"Could be weirder. So where are we going?"

"Cherry tree, maybe?"

He scoffed. "Boring! Let's go to the archives!" He got up and threw her over his shoulder. She hit his back a couple of times, trying not to wake her neighbors with her laughter.

Lance, like the gentleman he was, gave her a little warning to close her mouth before jumping out the window. Regardless of that, she screamed in fear.

"Shh!" He said, putting her on her feet. "You don't wanna get caught with me, do you?"

She had a pitiable expression. "Sorry."

"Hmm." He took her by the hand and started walking on the maintenance trail. It's for the gardeners. "Ever been to my super secret private enterance?"

"I don't think I did!" She smiled softly, he can't see it because he's looking at where he's going, but he can hear it in her voice. "Do you take all your dates there?"

"Yes."

"And I thought I was special. You're such a Heartbreaker!" He laughed.

"You know, everyone is special in their own way, so really none of us are. It cancels out." He abruptly stopped on a very uninteresting point in the trail next to a tree and looked up.

"What is it?"

"We're here, I'm just trying to figure out how to get you in there." He pointed at a window several meters above the ground. "Don't worry darling, I've got this."

He swept her off her feet and climbed the tree. She's not pleased, but she'll take it.

He set her down on a branch and jumped over to open the window. How he did it is a mystery to her. He's got magic fingers for sure.

The window silently opened, like he sneakily greased the hinges to make his job easier. He turned around, grabbed her and pulled her in like a sack of salt. She yelped, but she wasn't even hurt.

"What a gentleman you are, throwing me around like I'm-" He covered her mouth with his hand, the smell of his tinted leather glove is so nice.

"Shhh, don't speak." He whispered. After a few seconds he removed his hand. "Or at least keep it low."

"Sorry."

He closed the window with one hand, not looking away. She blushed under his piercing gaze, because I just remembered that I was supposed to be building up to something.

"Wh-whats this place?" She looked around at the shelves. The moonlight bathed the room in a ghostly glow.

"The archives, dumbass." He put his hand on her waist and pushed her back against one of the shelves.

She felt like she was burning up. He ominously chuckled at her as her brain melted into a horny mush and left her to do what he came here for.

To fuck shit up.

He took a couple of scrolls and put them back in the wrong place, completely ruining the alphabetical order they were arranged in. He literally pulled a drawer out completely and swapped it with a different one. He took the books off and put them back with their spine facing inwards. That was noone will instantly know which one they need.

He's a fucking menace, I would not want to be his enemy.

She just looked at him as he worked like an artist, watching him walk all over the tile floor without making a sound. She didn't dare move from where he left her. Noisy shoes, y'know.

He spotted a calendar on the wall and took a pencil from the pencil mug to write IMPORTANT! DONT FORGET! into a day several month away from now. He probably had a cheeky grin on his face too.

He threw the pencil behind him and put his hand on his hips to inspect his work as it rolled away into the dark abyss.

"Okay I'm finished, we can go."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Did you seriously come here to do that?" She asked, hands covering her mouth to conceal her smile.

"Hey, this is important work! Who else is gonna do this? Fucking nobody!" They both laughed, trying to keep it as quiet as possible. "Let's go darling."

He helped her jump out and closed the window. You would never be able to tell that anyone broke in through there.

"Cherry tree?"

"You just can't get enough of me, can you sweetheart? Alright, let's go." She gladly held onto his arm and walked back on the trail with him.

They walked past her still open window and sadly, they had to let go of each other because she didn't want to sneak around in the bushes. She has walkway privileges and she's not afraid to use them.

She comfortably sat down on a bench as her outlaw acquaintance laid down in a flowerbed. The big round leaves camouflaged him surprisingly well.

"So, you still dating him?" Lance asked. There's no better occasion for getting to know each other than a spontaneous late night outing. I would know it, it's my favorite time to make my friends cry about things they didn't even know they were sad about.

"I never broke up with him, but I think we're pretty much over. I haven't talked to him since."

"Alright... Good."

"Good? Why do you care?" She turned around and looked at him. He's barely more than a dark patch in the dim moonlit night.

"You deserve better."

"...Why did you come into my room anyway?" She hugged herself a little tighter, it's cold.

"To see you, obviously. With the way the guard treats you, every night could be my last chance for it."

"Wow, you care about me that much? I'm flattered." He laughed a little. Voice deep and raspy, he's so lovely. Every taste of him that she can get is sweeter than the last.

Ugh, she's pathetic. He literally just laughed and she's horny... Foreshadowing? What do you mean I'm foreshadowing? What is even foreshadowing? I'm not foreshad-

She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them. They staid quiet for a while.

The crickets, some nocturnal animals, the breeze, the footsteps of patrolling guards. It's a peaceful night.

"I'm bored." She said.

"Fuckin' told you it would be." He stood up, dusting himself off. "I know a place, let's go get drunk!" He took her by her hands and pulled her up. He went back to sneaking in the bushes as she walked on the pavement like a normal person would.

The place turned out to be the pantry in HQ.

He told her to wait outside in the music garden -or whatever it's called, I hate that frikin place- as he scaled the wall and climbed in through a window that looked about two sizes too small. It worked though. He came out with a bottle of wine, holding it one hand and climbing off like he's a frikin spider.

"Won't they notice it missing? It's going to be very suspicious if a bottle of wine gets stolen and I wake up hungover the next day. "

"Don't worry, I came and hid it like two weeks ago." He said, gently caressing her face. "Maybe I was planning to take you out for a while."

She got closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and looking into the rich red eyes of his mask. "How romantic."

"So, your place or mine? I have some cookies hidden somewhere near your room, if you're hungry." He put his free arm around her waist.

"Mine, I want cookies! it's probably a lot closer!"

He chuckled. "You just can't wait, can you?"

They went back towards her room, luckily there weren't any guards there at the time so this literal felon just marched in like he owned the place. As they walked down the hall of guards Lance suddenly left her side to hide behind a pillar and before she could even ask what this was for, Nevra appeared in front of her. He walks as quietly as a cat. Lance hates that about him, even if he literally does the same exact thing.

"Hey." He looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"Hey..." She wasn't very happy about seeing him. This is the first time they've been eye to eye since the potion incident.

"Why are you awake this late at night?" He asked.

"Why does it matter to you?" She crossed her arms.

"I just... I know you're still mad at me, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you. It can be dangerous at night."

"Well, rest assured, I'm not in any sort of danger."

He walked past her, but he turned back after a few steps.

"What were you doing anyway? You have work tomorrow!"

"I was on a date, if you must know it so badly!" She said, nearly yelling in anger. He looked surprised, maybe a little offended that he'd be left behind so fast, like a bump in the road.

"A-alright.. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She walked away with an angry expression on her face. Lance appeared behind her, manifesting from thin air as it appeared to her. "You almost scared me so much I screamed!" She whispered and gently hit him in the arm.

"That's not so surprising, since you are in so much danger right now! At any moment a horrible criminal could grab you-" He wrapped his free arm around her neck. "And eat you whole." She giggled, taking her keys out.

He let her go to open her door. Soon as they were in, he put the bottle on her desk and took his mask off.

"So like... Is this a date?" She asked.

The first time she saw his face tonight was just timed correctly that he had the purest, most genuine look of 'are you fucking serious?' expression.

"Yeah, it is. If you want it to be... I assume you do." He put his mask on the table and began undoing his shoulderguards.

"I do." She sat on her bed and observed as he removed his armor.

"I got the cookies while you were talking to Nevra. It was fun to look at him when you told him that you went on a date!" He threw a paper baggie on the bed. He picked the bottle up and pulled the cork out with his teeth.

"I don't have any glasses I'm afraid." He sat down besides her.

"Who needs glasses? Cut out the middle man!" He put an arm around her. "Ladies first~"

"What a gentleman!" She accepted the bottle and took a small sip. "Wow... uh. It's... it's alcohol."

He laughed, taking the bottle. "Not a big drinker, are you sweetheart?" He took a significantly bigger sip.

"Not really. I don't really see why people find it fun."

"Yet, here you are." She leaned into his side, sighing.

"This is a special occasion... And you worked hard to steal this fine bottle of wine, just for me, I wouldn't want to let you down like that!" They laughed. "Where are the cookies?"

"Here." He gave her the baggie and she wiggled her legs in excitement as she opened it up.

In an hour or so, the cookies were all gone and the bottle got corked back up for now. Lance didn't know how low her alcohol tolerance would be and for once in his entire life he decided not to take a risk.

She took her sweater a while ago. She felt hot. Was it the wine, or was it the man in her bed kissing her shoulder and singing her praises? We might never find out.

She kicked her boots off and gave Lance her best bedroom eyes. "Will this horrible criminal come to take me oooor?" He didn't need to be told twice. He gently took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I'm not made of sugar."

"Oh I know." He grabbed her by her neck and pushed her down to the bed. "Sorry for trying to be nice. Maybe you just like assholes and that's why you let me be around you."

"Hehe, maybe~ Ah!!" He bit her ear. "Oh no! I'm being eaten! Someone save me from this horrible man!" She giggled as he kissed her neck. "Wait, we should keep quiet. The walls are thin here."

"I'm not trying to please anyone outside of this room, love." He said it in a low voice.

"My neighbor likes to gossip you know... I just do don't want to be the talk of the town."

"Ah, I see. As you wish." He straightened up and took his shirt off. "Your turn." She smiled at him and wiggled out of all of her clothes except for her socks and panties. "Isssthiiis why they call it liquid courage?" She asked, purposefully falling into his arms.

"Pretty much."

"Why are you clothed, my dear?" She asked twirling her hair. (Im sorry for all of you bald besties, I'm trying keep her as nondescript as possible but we gotta have the hair twirl)

"I have my hands full with you." He pushed her off his lap, letting her roll on her mattress. He stood up and unbuttoned his pants. Before he pushed them down he glanced at his date.

Naturally, she was gawking.

"Wanna do the honors?"

"Nah, I'm good. I'm fine with you doing most of the work." She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him with half closed eyes.

"You little- I took you out, I fed you cookies, I got you drunk, wasn't this enough?" He laughed and playfully shoved her legs, since that was the closest to him.

"Hehehe, noooo! Evil man is being meeeaan!" She pulled his head closer and kissed him. He pushed his pants down, kicking them to to the side. "Yaaaaaaay, pebiiiiiis!" She screamed really quietly.

"Pebis." He repeated, pulling her closer to the edge of the bed then kneeling down.

"Shut uuup!" She was laughing really hard and trying to stay quiet, whatever had her in such a funny mood, Lance was thankful for it, since this could have been a lot more awkward.

"Don't worry I plan on using my mouth for something more fun." He said before kissing her navel.

"You're mM..mmM.making me blush! Ah!" He bit her on her thigh, she hit him on his head for it.

"Shhh, stay quiet!" He went right back to work, putting her thighs on his shoulders and kissing the spot he just bit.

"Isss not like I'm not trying." His fingers dipped into the soft fatty flesh, holding onto her so he would stay grounded despite how drunken with wine and desire he is. He cannot fuck this up, he's supposed to be a gentleman now.... Ignore his earlier behavior.

He looked at her as he slid his fingers under her panties. She cannot help but feel like she was that window he opened earlier, she laughed and covered her face because that's so funny and she's so tipsy. Lance couldn't help but laugh too.

"What are you laughing about??" She asked.

"I'm laughing because you're laughing! Stop!" He used this as an opportunity to move a little further from her and fully pulled her panties off. If she's laughing she can't be embarrassed.

"Sorry!"

"It's fine." Her fingers found their way into his hair and scratched his scalp in the most seductive manner.

He kissed her where her thigh met her hips. "I'm a little nervous. Don't stop though! I'm just saying!" He chuckled, bringing one of his hands closer to her.

"Ah~" She pulled on his hair.

"You alright?" He asked with an absolutely despicable grin on his face as he kept on gently rubbing the skin on the clitoral hood.

"I-I'm alright!" She said with a death grip on his hair. It hurt but he's very much into it.

"Not too sensitive?" He asked with a playful tone, moving his thumb to the clit.

She gasped. "A little..."

"But you're enjoying it, right?" He pressed down, gently of course. He's not a barbarian.

"I'm going to beat you up."

"Ma'am, you are the size of my thumb."

"Didn't you say you would use your mouth for something else?"

"You're so right, I did say that." He removed his finger and licked it clean. He put her thighs back on his shoulder and gave her a little kiss on her thigh.

"You've never even kissed my mouth that many times."

"Stop complaining." He went back and licked the clit and she felt one of his beautiful hands caress her side. He's not doing much, but she's still a little sensitive.

She's getting used to it though, he can tell because her grip on his hair is gradually getting less painful. Her legs wrapped around his neck when he began lightly sucking on it.

If he could, he would probably make a comment about the noises she's making right now. And she wanted to keep quiet. How funny.

He pulled his hand down from her hip bone, making her get goosebumps all over. He lifted his head up and looked at her, putting two fingers into his mouth.

"Little loud, aren't you." With feather light strokes, he began working a finger into her.

"I- I'm. Yo- uuhhh." He smirked. The bastard was very happy with his work.....

"Didn't you say that we should be quiet?" He asked like he's not the one fingering her.

It's quite apparent that he was planning this date, since he's freshly shaven and his nails are all filled down.

"Asshole!" He chuckled and went back to using his mouth for something that she didn't find annoying. He went slower this time, because he just has to be a little mean in some way. The tease. "Y'know, you could go a little harder~"

He looked at her, she looked at him.

"Don't make me regret saying that." She said with laboured breathing. He raised his brows, inching his hand closer.

She grabbed a pillow and hugged it on her chest so she doesn't have to see his infuriatingly satisfied expression. Ugh, he's so annoying. But he's so good with his tounge. She was trying to not wake her neighbors up, but her care to do so was diminishing by the second.

"You, come here." She said after a short moment. He looked at her, puzzled. "Yeah, you." She reached down and pulled him closer by the hair. He immediately went for a sweet kiss. "Put it in, studmuffin." She spread her legs under him.

They broke out in hysterical laughter, barely keeping the noise under control. Her eyes teared up and she could barely see him in the moonlit room. He was holding his face in his hands, looking like he was in pain. Well, he was, in a way.

"Studmuffin?"

"Are you going to fuck me or not?"

"You need help, you're feral." He climbed off the bed and went to get his pants. She turned on her stomach and looked at his nicely sculpted everything as he bent over to pick it up.

"Oh yeah? Well, you need to go to jail too, you're the most jailworthy person I know. It's like we were made for each other!" He pulled something out of his back pocket. "Whass that?"

"My cigarettes." He opened the little metal box and pulled two condoms out. "Choose one."

She took the left one. "You smoke? I didn't know I was on a date with a bad boy~"

"Get over yourself." He put the box next to the wine. "Gimme." He opened it up.

"Yaay! Peebiiiis!" She grabbed her pillow and screamed into it with overflowing excitement.

"You're going to wake the whole HQ up."

"Peeebiis!..." She whisper screamed less loudly. "Could you open the bottle?" She went to grab it from the nightstand while he put the catsuit on the snake.

"You sure? You seem drunk enough... You still have socks on." She looked down and whispered 'shit' before getting them off.

"Ugh, okay." She climbed into his lap. "Alright, let's do this before i run out of courage." He put his arms around her and they kissed. The light breeze made the curtains dance and blew a chill into the room. They don't feel cold at all though.

Their hands vandered over each other, leaving phantom burns on their skin. When they were completely covered by these loving brands, they wordlessly agreed that it was time.

"You do it." She said.

"Hmm?"

"I'm lazy, I don't want to be on top." He pushed her over, he's a little rough. He's not selfish when he warms a bed, but he has an appetite still. It's not like she minds being tossed around like a toy, it kind of feels like an amusement ride.

He interlocked their fingers and began moving. He's barely thinking at this point, but the last bit of his mind he loses is the one that cares about how she feels, so he's not breaking the bed exactly.

There's nowhere to hide from his piercing gaze, she cannot cover her mouth to keep the moans from escaping. "Faster." She asked, whispering in an almost questioning tone. Like she didn't know if she really wanted or needed it... Or if he would listen.

Well, he did, making the bed whine and creak under them. "Didn't you want to keep it low?" He moved his hand to cover her mouth, she got a lot louder with the change of pace. Her now free right hand went to grip his wrist.

"Hm-hmm!" Her legs wrapped around him, holding on as hard as she could. She was a little dizzy and drunk. He groaned and slowed down.

He slowed down even more, moving his hand to her throat.

"Oh, that's kinky."

He smirked at her, she pulled him down for a kiss before continuing. He went harder, he's a bit deranged at this point. Every time she got a bit too noisy for his liking, he tightened his grip on her throat. It solved the 'problem'.

At one point her other hand was freed from his unyielding hold and she reached down to help out with the task of pleasing herself. The other one was on his shoulder, her fingers are hurting from holding on so hard.

He was methodical in his ways, as he always is. It didn't take long to get her where she wanted to be. He followed soon after.

They staid there for a few seconds, catching their breath. He let go of her neck and laid down next to her.

"Thrash bin?"

"Whu..?"

"Nevermind I see it." He threw the condom away and got a tissue from the desk. She keeps them around because she cries all the time.

"Ew."

"What, it wasn't disgusting when it was inside you just a few seconds ago?" He laid down next to her, she immediately threw her leg over him so he wouldn't try to escape.

"We should do this more."

"Alright. But next time we go somewhere without neighbors. Wanna make you scream."

"Alright... I need to pee. I'll be right back." She got up and went to find her clothes. She would kill to have her own bathroom. "Ugh, I'm so sweaty too, I need to take a shower."

"How romantic. We should have stopped at the wine if you hate being sweaty, sometimes the squeeze ain't worth the juice." They laughed. I imagine sex to be quite underwhelming as you can see. "I should get going before sunrise." He got up and went to get dressed too.

"Where did you hide the wine?" She was done assembling her quite simple outfit and she sat down at her desk.

"Why do you ask?"

"It was cold when you opened it. I didn't know you had a whole fridge hidden somewhere."

"What's a fridge? You know what, nevermind." He bent down to kiss her before climbing on the windowsill.

"Bye asshole!"

"Bye bitch!"

She chuckled to herself as she closed the window, this was a night to remember. She went to grab her toiletries before going to the shower and noticed that he forgot his cigarette box.

Good, that means he'll come back sooner.

She left to go shower and start her day. She didn't have an ounce of sleep and she's still kind of drunk so it's gonna be interesting.

...

[prettyboykatsuki-moved]

I mean “childe” is an archaic English term for the son of a nobleman so technically it does mean “young lord” 😭😭😭 just like regrator is an archaic term for merchant and balladeer means singer, all of which being not direct translations of their respective Commedia names but rather archaic words for the roles those commedia names represent. It’s funny tho that we get that for only some of them, and then some of them r direct translations like The Doctor and The Captain. Idk I kinda like having the archaic less obvious versions, the direct translations feel weirder.

Like it makes sense, bc the direct translation for Tartaglia is “stutterer” and for Pantalone it’s “pants” and Scaramouche is an anglicized spelling of Scaramuccia which means “skirmisher” and none of those rlly indicate their typical roles in the plays (Tartaglia is a politician, Pantalone a merchant, Scaramouche a bard)…… but then we have The Rooster??? Whose secondary codename is the direct translation??? IDK I wish they’d gone full-tilt and found archaic versions of them all.

I AM VERY INTO THE HARBINGERS’ CODE NAMES SORRY SKDBSKDB and veryyyyy annoyed by how irregular they are in the en vers like wdym only some of them have “the” in front of them wdym some r literally the same word but in English instead of Italian while others r more creative 😭😭😭

All of their secondary names r literal translations in the original Chinese aside from Childe btw—it’s v clearly just. Translation bc Italian is far less similar to Chinese than to English. So this is therefore a cn -> en translation befuddlement wrt the inconsistencies, and like considering the more creative ones (childe & Scara) r the older ones, it seems like they might have been translated first and then the rest the team decided on a diff naming system? Idk. I think being more consistent even if it doesn’t quite match up with how the cn game did things would have been a better choice. But I’m sitting here lamenting that I have to write Capitano and Dottore fic with only one real name to choose from instead of a second archaic one comparable to Childe, so perhaps I’m biased JDNFKSBDJ

i dont have a whole lot to add to this sdkjfjskd i was trying to think of a way to respond but honestly this makes sense!! childes name also makes more sense in this perspective so ty for the info. otherwise it seems a little random but knowing theres like. Reason is much more applicable to what otherwise seems like an odd choice. i did know about some of the other names but not at all of them so im happy 2 know something new esp bc genshin lore often escapes me....

the irregularity is definitely apart of the issue i think at least for me SKJDFSD. though ive only done a little reading on the harbingers i did also notice this when i was doing the browse of their lore and whatnot. i feel like this happens a lot with games specifically (ESPECIALLY gacha games from what i noticed) where translations r too direct and dont make sense contextually or dont really communicate the details correctly. no translation is perfect but like. the choices feel a bit random without the consistency.