#also part of me kinda wanna post a few separately too

[mai-mai-lim]

ok so back in january my genius brain /s thought i should post this series of fav guys i like in one big post instead of like, post them separately cause they are all not from the same media??? and sometimes it just felt a bit out of place??!

that kinda made me regret doing that so here's the thing....

first try on doing polls too lel

[kozachenko]

Finally decided to play around with my old lineless style again! Also figured out a way to draw Reimu that I actually really like!

Artist's Notes;

I've mentioned in a few earlier posts that I've been wanting to draw in my lineless style again for a while as a way to test what I've learnt from my previous style in regards to lighting. I did the face first and then for a while was thinking about doing a full body illustration of Reimu just to draw her outfit again. I'll talk about the face first since that's the first drawing I did in this batch.

For the longest time I really couldn't find a way to translate Reimu's face into my style. I was able to make her clothes work out well, just not really her face. I did like elements of how I drew her face a few other times, namely the tiny eyebrows and her pupils, but they didn't really feel like Reimu to me, or at least how I imagined her in my head. I then realized that it was less of a problem with the entire face and moreso the eyes, and it took me quite a bit of trial and error to make something that I was happy with. Also, as much as I thought the tiny eyebrows were cute, it didn't really make sense with her character. Like, from what I know about Japanese history, plucking your eyebrows was something that nobles (rich people) would do, and since Reimu is...neither of those things, I decided to just give her some thicker eyebrows instead (I will be saving the plucked eyebrows for another character though, so they will return). After I got to a face I was happy with, my next challenge was the hair. I did the front part first and liked that enough to continue, and then after more trial and error I realized that deep down I was a short-hair-Reimu-is-best-Reimu-truther this whole time because once I gave up on the long hair and gave her shorter hair something just clicked in my brain. And so, after drawing her outfit in again (this time without the yellow tie which is kinda sad but I'll find a way to incorperate it into future designs because it just was not making sense to me in context with the rest of the outfit) and finnicking around with the bow, I came to a version of Reimu's face that I actually liked. I thought that it made more sense for her character to have her cut it short, mainly because she's doing a bunch of Youkai extermination and she has to keep her hair out of her face somehow. I still wanted to make it kinda messy though, as Reimu is probably too lazy to clean it up herself. I think another reason I like it so much is because in Forbidden Scrollery, Moe Harukawa gave Reimu short hair and that really suited her, so I guess that was just a subconcious reason as to why I liked it so much. I also think that the shorter hair helps to separate her a lot from Marisa, as I think Marisa looks really good with longer hair. Speaking of, now I wanna do a drawing of her and Reimu together to really solidify how I draw them (unlike the previous version where it was just them standing). As much as I do like the face, I am concerned if she looks too much like how I drew Keiki now, but that might just be a product of the stylistic choices I made with her eyes and I might just be overthinking it. I am hyperaware of same face syndrome so that's probably the reason I'm so concerned about it lol.

Now for the fully body drawing. I was struggling to think of a good pose for her, so I just took a picture of myself and used that as a reference while still making slight adjustments for readability's sake. This is another case of, "I've looked at this too long and can spot every single issue with it" but this time I'm still happy with the final product mainly because this was a test drive for how I want to develop my lineless style in the future and for what it is I am more than pleased with the result. The main reason I deviated away from my lineless style was mainly because I was having a hard time with the lighting and making it interesting, and I am so glad that I've finally found a way to make it work! I'm especially happy with the clothes, as I think clothing folds are really fun to draw. I was somewhat inspired by the works of J.C. Lyendecker and the way he draws clothes, though admittedly it is not a one to one, since I mainly wanted to try implying the shading of the clothing folds with shapes (I do really want to do a study of his style one day as his art is incredible). So for the sleeves, I drew in a bunch of triangles where I wanted there to be a strong highlight, roughly coloured in the inside, and then blended them all so it looks like a more subtle. On both of these drawings, I also added in a noise filter to give it some texture (as that's what I used to often do with my drawings) and while I do like it, I might want to experiment with making it more subtle in the future, as it's pretty noticeable in both these drawings. Overall, I'm really happy with the lighting and colours of this drawing, and while I could nitpick several aspects of it (her hand holding the gohei looks too tense, I tried making her look like she was standing on the balls of her feet but the positioning of her Gohei's trail of papers ends up making it look weird, and I could've put more effort into the hair and bow and so many more things), this is more of a piece for me to experiment with my style again, and I'm excited for when I get a new idea for a piece, as I really wanna try some more stuff out with this style!

[espace--positif]

A Dragon Age Newbie's First Impressions of Inquisition Companions [Part 1/?]

SO. I've acquired ye olde Dragon Age brainrot after completing Veilguard and starting Inquisition. I have a lot of Thoughts and Ideas TM about both games, so while I decide whether I should make a separate blog for DA, enjoy this messy post on my first impressions of all the Inquisition companions. I also wanna be able to look back at this and see whether my judgments were right or wrong lmao. Yes this is what I'm doing instead of writing fics.

Spoilers for... I don't know where I'm at in Inquisition man. I just got to Skyhold and did a few missions. And MAJOR DAV spoilers, probably. Under the cut.

Cassandra

CASSANDRA PENTAGHAST THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE.

she honestly grew on me a lot. I knew I wanted to like her from like, the opening scene. she just exudes intensity, and you can immediately tell that she cares. she, however did not like my Lavellan one bit, and disapproved of every single choice I made for a while 😭

early game Cassandra whenever Lavellan breathed:

but she honestly feels like the realest, and maybe most good-hearted character in all of DAI. conflicted, caring, under far too much pressure, and with a cold exterior that isn't just there for the sake of being unapproachable. she second-guesses all of her choices, which I believe is HEALTHY for someone who has that much power.

as I progress through the game and get to know her more, I just end up liking her even more. she also knows how to disagree with you, on small and large things, while keeping an open mind and trying to understand your reasoning - that also encourages me to hear her out. I truly enjoy that about her! her VA is also STELLAR, I just love to hear her talk!!

overall, 10/10 no notes.

Solas

oh you motherfucker.

so DAV Varric (or whoever it was who said this) lied when he said this rat egg man doesn't lie to your face and only lies by omission.

"I know about the fade because of my studies in ancient ruins" "I know about spirits because I befriended them in my dreams"

what if I punched you in the throat? ok but in all honesty. I'm trying to do the Solavellan ting and, well, he's got game. I'll give him that. I was positively shook at the first fade dream thing. they teach you how to rizz up dalish women in those ancient elven ruins? 🤨

speaking of dalish. why is he so mad that Lavellan is dalish LMAO. my ass chose the "proudly dalish" option and he DISAPPROVED. it's not Lavellan's fault that that one dalish clan threw rocks at you when you told them you were fen'harel! damn...

overall? I need to see how badly he betrays her to make a better judgment. will it be worse than the DAV betrayal? probably. will I eat it up? absolutely.

Varric

VARRIC MY GOAT!! THE REALEST MF IN ALL OF THEDAS!!!

I love Varric so much. it obviously helped to play DAV before, so I kinda knew him... for like, 20 minutes, I guess...

anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting to know him some more. as always, he's the only mf who cares how your character is feeling, who bothers to check in on you because everyone just tells you to roll with all the Crazy Shit TM that's happening. everyone keeps asking WHO is the herald of andraste, WHERE is the herald of andraste. no one ever asks HOW is the herald of andraste. except Varric.

he's caring, hilarious, compassionate, but also extremely REAL. cause yeah, Varric, you SHOULD'VE run the other way the moment Cassandra set you free. this breach shit is crazy! but you're literally too good of a man to do that 😭

I also cannot stop laughing at his reaction to Cory being alive. "shit, we stabbed him a bunch, I can't believe he's alive"

Varric continue to be your best real self, I am your biggest cheerleader as you are mine ❤️

Blackwall

ok so Blackwall is great. just a chill dude. super chill actually! however. he's kind of not very helpful at all, is he? "why did the wardens disappear?" "idk. can i join your inquisition?"

you're in luck, we actually take anyone because we're desperate!

but what can he actually do. him being a warden doesn't seem to help very much, because he literally never displays any warden expertise. when Stroud (?) mentions how all the wardens hear the calling now because of mr. Cory, he goes "oh shit yeah me too". and you just forgot to mention it? world's chillest warden, I guess.

I like him! but I just don't know why he's there especially when Iron Bull absolutely clears him when it comes to warrior combat.

anyway thank you Blackwall, very cool!

---

This post has been long enough, so I will make a Part 2 at some point thanks bye!!

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! Me again!

Lately I've reading a lot of Harry/Severus fanfics and I think it's a interesting ship. Do you have any thoughts about Severus as character? And what do you think about the ship Harry/Severus? Do you think it could work? 🤔

I look forward to reading your thoughts on this.

Spirea ✨

Hi again 👋

Took me a while to get to this ask, and like with all things shipping, ship whatever you want, have fun, it's fictional, and these are just my thoughts.

So, I obviously do have thoughts about Severus as a character. It's hard not to when he's as relevant as he is to the plot. I mentioned my general thoughts about him here. The summary of these thoughts is that I find him interesting for a multitude of reasons, and I like that he's usually competent, if emotionally unstable.

Now, about Snarry, personally, I'm not a Snarry shipper. A few years ago, I tried to read some Snarry fic, out of curiosity. Like, when I see a ship idea that either intrigues me or makes me go "wtf?!" in a good way, I often check out a fic or two, just to see what's it about, see if I'm interested. In the case of Snarry, I wasn't.

Like, I read a lot of Severitus (Severus as a mentor/father figure to Harry) around that same time, and I preferred that dynamic over the romance.

Now, ignoring my own preference, would this work?

Eh... depends on how you define work.

Like, this relationship would be a mess for so many reasons (which I guess is part of the appeal). Like, even ignoring the age difference and student-teacher taboos or if we're talking post-war Severus-lives AUs, this is going to be messy.

Like, a lot of fans talk about Sirius projecting James onto Harry, but I don't think he does, if anyone is projecting James onto Harry, it's Severus. He does treat Harry more like an equal threat than a student (which lends itself to Snarry if you wanna go there), but it also means Severus spends the books having no idea who Harry is until pretty late in the story when he starts glimpsing that maybe he isn't James, but then chooses to ignore all these glimpses. He is actually, legitimately terrified of Harry.

Like, Severus doesn't allow himself to see Harry as a separate person from James, who he despises. So, you gotta work through that to make the ship work.

Harry is a very empathetic and forgiving person, so I'm not putting forgiving Snape and moving on with his life past him, since it's kind of what he did anyway.

The reason I liked Severitus is because Snape and Harry have things in common working for their dynamic. They both had abusive home lives as children. They both share the responsibility for something so much greater. Severus in the books isn't just living for himself, he's carrying this fucking war on his shoulders, and by book 7, Harry is too. They are two characters that due to their respective traumas and life circumstances never really got to have a childhood (and in Snape's case an adulthood, since he didn't really choose to be a teacher) So they have the potential to understand each other so well under different circumstances.

I also think Severus would appreciate Harry's sass the moment he stopped seeing him as James and stopped perceiving the disrespect as a threat. And in Severitus, I like that Sev is a connection to Lily Harry usually doesn't get (since Sirius and Remus only really talk about James) but in Snarry, it's kinda icky for me.

Like, I don't like that Severus would be projecting either James or Lily on Harry in an equal relationship because he kinda would. He already does, and it's going to be a mess.

I'm also not sure how well their temperaments would really work together. Like, they're both not great with emotional regulation and are inclined towards anger and petty retribution/vengeance. It means that whenever they disagree with each other on the smallest thing ever, it'll be super easy for it to blow out of proportion and become big because they have a point. Like, Harry would say something cheeky that'll anger Snape more, and it doesn't matter if they are at school or post Hogwarts, their relationship doesn't matter, Snape's gonna say "twenty points from Gryffindor," on instinct (could be really funny in a post-war story, not so funny if Harry's a student). Like, their relationship would just be very volatile, which is not something I'm personally into, but that you're allowed to like in fic.

Basically, they will need to put a lot of work in to make their relationship work and for them to stay together as a romantic pair. Severitus is different since there is a clear power structure, Severus doesn't feel threatened by Harry and Harry knows Severus isn't his peer in that dynamic. Romance is different, since to make a romance work, they need to see each other as equals, which for Snape, means seeing Harry as a potential threat to himself and his image, and for Harry, it means treating Snape as someone he can sass and disrespect (which would make Snape's fears worse, and kinda what we see in the books).

And that's before talking about Snape's guilt about this relationship. Like, he already hates himself and would take any excuse to hate himself further while pretending it's all fine, he'll insist that everything is good through gritted teeth and the veneer of pride. Especially if Harry's still a student, Snape knows it's wrong, and he shouldn't, but he still would and crucify himself inside his own mind. He'd imagine Lily screaming at him over it, or something. So that, like, adds to the mess. Even post-war I think Severus would think he shouldn't for so many reasons. He'd find more and more reasons why not. So, like, Harry would need to be the one to pursue the relationship, and I don't really see him doing it without substantial divergence/AU sprinkled in.

Like, I don't think they would realistically get together, but fic is fic, and therefore anything could happen. These are just my thoughts.

[babyangelsky]

Two Worlds: Novel vs. Series (Part 1)

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had begun reading the novel for Two Worlds because I was curious about the changes that had been made for the adaption. Truthfully, I've been curious about it since the special and enough people liked my post to encourage me to put this together, so here we are!

Few things. Firstly, the official English translation of the novel is only updated through chapter 7 which equates to about episode 3 of the series. Approximately.

Secondly, good god is it convoluted so to make things easier on myself and on you, I'm going to break down the changes to each world in two separate posts and not jump around which is what the novel does.

Thirdly, if you'd like to read the novel yourself, the first seven chapters are available for free here! It's the official translation and updates are a bit irregular but it is being updated! Trigger warning for discussion and sometimes graphic mentions of suicide. Please proceed with caution.

I also have to thank @thainovels for being so lovely every time I've asked them for help. What are the odds the novel updated the day after I asked you for help finding a complete version?!

This is gonna be LONG so to spare your dash and anyone who doesn't wanna be spoiled, I'll begin under the cut.

World 1, aka our starting world in the series

Okay so, broad strokes. One of the biggest differences between novel and show so far is how much time we spend in Phupha's perspective and indeed, in perspectives other than Phupha's or Kram's. We really only get Kram's perspective in the chapters dedicated to World 1 and he's barely appeared in the chapters dedicated to World 2 so far.

This author also really loves to go on a tangent which kinda bugs me in a "I'm a writer too and I wouldn't do things this way dammit" sort of way and while that's my own cross to bear, objectively it does pull focus from the main plot and make the story more confusing than it has to be. Although I do appreciate the insight into the other characters.

How Things Start Off

Unlike the show which opens with Kram painting by the river, the novel opens with Kram trying to make friends with Phupha. At this point it's unclear how long Phupha has been staying at Kram's house but it doesn't seem like it's been very long.

In the show, Kram is the grumpy one who doesn't wanna talk or hang out and Phupha is the more open one, but it's flipped in the novel. Kram is a lonely lil ball of sunshine and he's excited to make a new friend and Phupha's generally very grumpy about his circumstances.

Kram also calls him "your grace" which I suspect is what the translator chose to use in place of "khun chai" since Kram also calls him that in the show a few times. I really wish the show had kept this detail because unlike in the show, Kram uses khun chai playfully and eventually affectionately. It's also worth noting that he doesn't call Phupha "phi" despite their age difference because he doesn't want to create distance between them.

Their first bonding experience is going for a walk just like in the show rather than walk aimlessly in the forest, Kram takes him to see the waterfall that is so central to our story. The locals refer to it as Moonshadow Cave.

We learn that Phupha is afraid of heights (and very traumatized) because of the circumstances surrounding his mother's suicide. He opens up to Kram about it and also tells him why his father sent him to stay with Kram and his father.

At one point, Kram steps onto a little ledge around the back of the waterfall and gently coaxes Phupha to join him so they can see the view. But remember, Phupha is afraid of heights and traumatized so after a few moments he panics and goes to turn back. But he turns back a little too quickly and stumbles and ends up face to face and very close to Kram.

SO THEY KISS ABOUT IT. Maybe it's adrenaline, maybe it's horniness, who knows! Certainly not Phupha!

It's getting late so they come down from the mountain to go home. Kram's head is spinning from the kiss, he's confused, he can still taste Phupha. Phupha's confused too, he doesn't know why the hell he kissed Kram, and just as he's in the middle of telling Kram that it was just the adrenaline and didn't mean anything, they hear something rustling in the tall grass.

The Tiger Incident

Yep. The thing they hear is a tiger smack in the middle of having a deer for dinner. Here is the first of two or three major plot points (so far) that were cut from the adaptation entirely.

They come across the tiger and even though they try to move as quietly and slowly as they can to get away, they don't get very far before the tiger notices them and starts chasing them down. As they're running, Kram falls and hurts his leg. Kram knows of a small cave where they can hide, and They manage to duck into it just in time. Fortunately the entrance is too small for the tiger to follow them in there so they're safe but homeboy is still waiting outside to eat them, so they're forced to stay there until morning or until he gets bored and leaves.

Kram and Phupha snuggle together for warmth because of course they do and in the middle of the night, Phupha realizes that Kram has a fever.

The next morning, Phupha sees that Kram hasn't gotten any better so he decides to go and get help for him. Luckily the tiger is gone, so he leaves the cave and marks himself a path so he can find his way back. When he exits the forest, he sees Kram's dad and a group of villagers talking amongst themselves. They'd been looking for the two of them since they hadn't returned from their walk and are very relieved to see Phupha.

Phupha tells everyone what happened and they go back for Kram, and this is where things get very weird. He notices that the branches he broke to mark his path aren't broken anymore and when he and the villagers arrive at the cave, the weeds that were covering the cave entrance are thicker than they were before. And Kram?

Kram is fucking gone.

He is straight up gone. He is not in the cave where Phupha left him despite being sick and unable to move because of his injured leg. Phupha obviously begins questioning his sanity as a search gets underway.

Fifty people including police search the forest for two entire days to absolutely zero avail. Kram is nowhere to be found. It's like the forest swallowed him whole and Phupha is feeling so guilty and Kram's dad is being so kind and not blaming him at all and it's all very fraught.

The search is paused on the third day because of heavy rain but that's not about to stop Phupha. He needs to find Kram and he's in the forest desperately wracking his mind for every last detail of the path he took from the cave and the surroundings while rain is pouring down on him. He thinks he might've found the right spot and sees a cave, but passes out before he can reach it.

When he wakes up, he's back at Kram's house being tended to by Duandow, Kram's childhood friend (we'll get to her in a bit). First thing he does is ask about Kram and miracle of miracles, KRAM HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS OKAY! His leg wasn't broken and he's in rough shape after not having any food or water for a couple days but he's expected to make a full recovery.

Duandow tells him that the cave Kram was found in--the one Phupha passed out in front of--was in an area that had already been searched by the police and that the locals believe that dark magic blocked the entrance to it, which is why they hadn't been able to find Kram before.

If that sounds really goddamn weird to you, THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS. Something fucky is going on with this forest but there are absolutely no answers I can give you as to the why and the how. The novel hasn't given us anything yet.

Phupha and Kram

Another huge difference between the show and the novel is just how much the relationship between Phupha and Kram progresses and how physical it actually is. In the show we only get a few kisses and some snuggling but they go a lot further in the novel.

A lot further.

After the tiger and the fucky forest trauma bond them, they're hanging out on the mountain near Kram's house one evening and as they get to talking and open up to each other some more, they're interrupted by a swarm of fireflies. Kram tries to catch one for Phupha but can't quite manage it, and somehow they end up very close together again.

SO THEY KISS ABOUT IT. AGAIN.

Not only do they kiss about it, clothes start coming off and things start getting hot and heavy before Kram's dad calls up and interrupts them. He doesn't actually see anything (since they're horizontal and shielded by the brush) but he does notice the state they're in when they come down.

Which leads me nicely to the painting.

The Nude Portrait

Remember the nude portrait Kram did of Phupha? In the show, it comes about after Kram accidentally paints Scarface Tai. Phupha sees the painting and realizes how skilled Kram is and hires Kram to paint him.

In the novel, Kram shows Phupha a spare room where he stores all his works and as they're looking through them, Phupha comes across a nude portrait Kram had done of DUANDAOW. KRAM'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND.

Kram tells him that she had agreed to pose for him one day so he could practice painting figures, as all artists do, and Phupha gets all quiet and grumpy and jealous about it. So what does he do? Hire Kram to paint a nude portrait for him like the one Kram had done for Duandaow.

If you'll recall, this is pretty much what happens in the show when Tai asks Kram do paint a nude portrait of him. He gets jealous because Kram had done one of Phupha and asks for one just like it. It seems like the writers reworked that bit since they also wrote out that Kram had done a portait of Duandaow.

And that's not all they reworked.

The painting session with Phupha in the novel begins the same as it does in the show. Kram is doing his thing while Phupha looks all pretty with his cloth in the river. But just like the nude painting scene with Tai, Kram starts getting distracted because of how good Phupha looks.

And I just have to say, the author always makes a point to describe how beautiful Phupha is, but I especially appreciate them taking the time to tell us that Phupha has lovely ample breasts and pretty nipples. Especially because wiping sweat off those lovely ample breasts is what brings Kram so very close to Phupha for the third time. Except this time, they don't just kiss about it.

THEY FUCK ABOUT IT. RIGHT BY THE RIVER. AND THEN GO RIGHT BACK TO THE PAINTING SESSION WHEN THEY'RE DONE.

In the show, this painting scene is where we get their first kiss but as you have seen, beloved reader, we are several kisses in by this point in the novel

Dilok

It's after this that we cut to Kram's dad's perspective for a bit, and I only mention this because it's so goddamn funny and also serves to highlight a few of important points.

The man is just so endearingly oblivious. He saw how disheveled Kram and Phupha were when they came down from the mountain as I mentioned above and assumes they fought each other after having an argument. This man interpreted two horizontal silhouettes moving together as a FIST FIGHT. He assumes they're angry at each other when they won't even look at each other.

THIS MAN THINKS KRAM AND PHUPHA ARE FIGHTING TO THE DEATH EVERY TIME THEY GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN AND COME BACK LOOKING SWEATY AND FLUSHED AND RUMPLED AND IF THAT'S NOT THE FUNNIEST THING GODDAMN THING I'VE EVER READ I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS.

In one instance, Dilok catches Phupha leaving Kram's bedroom early in the morning and believes Phupha when he tells him he "fell asleep" after he and Kram "talked" all night. Dilok even thinks to himself how proud he is that they're so mature and communicate so well! I love Dilok so much, you don't understand.

That aside, however, his hilarious misinterpretation tells us that unlike in the show, Kram and Phupha are fucking on the reg. And bear in mind that Kram still technically has an ash exchange ceremony coming up with Duandaow but before I get into everything with her, I wanted to share this passage where Dilok happens upon both her and Phupha's portraits because it says something important about Kram's relationship with Duandaow. Also because I love it.

Duandaow

Duandaow's presence is yet another major difference between the novel and the show.

The show doesn't tell us a whole lot about her. We know only that she has an ash exchange ceremony coming up with Kram and that when she realizes that Kram has feelings for Phupha, she takes herself out of the equation so they can be together.

The novel gives us so much more. She's featured prominently when Kram disappears in the forest, she cares for Phupha when he passes out, she appears every time Phupha goes to her grandmother's store to get medicine for Kram, and of course there's the fact that Kram painted her.

She has been in love with Kram her whole life. In addition to getting her history, we learn that they've known each other since childhood and that they were very close since they were the only two children in the village that were the same age. And it's partially because there's no one else for either them that being with Kram is a foregone conclusion to her and it's why she assumes that's the case for him as well.

She confesses to Kram and he responds with something along the lines of "Who would I love if not you? It's just us here." It's not an "I love you, too" but she takes it that way. Kram literally has no one else so his response may seem sweet but to me, it reads as him accepting on some level that there's no other option and settling.

I do think he cares deeply for Duandaow but I don't think he's in love with her. Several things drive this home for me (including that passage above) but the one that stands out the most is actually when they lose their virginity to each other.

It happens one day after they go swimming together (at the infamous waterfall I might add). She makes the first move and he hesitates at first but he gets swept up in the moment and it's all very shy and sweet. Thing is, after it happens, Kram keeps things strictly friendly between them. So much so that she thinks the whole thing got wiped from his memory.

And this sense of "who else if not you" persists pretty much their whole lives up until this point. They have an ash exchange ceremony coming up because why wouldn't they? There's no other option. Oh, the comphet of it all.

She isn't stepping aside for Phupha because she doesn't realize there's something between him and Kram. She notices something there that makes her suspicious but those suspicions are nebulous at best. It never occurs to her that they could have any relationship beyond friendship because why would they?

The Other Love Triangle

Phupha has had silent, one-sided beef with Duandaow ever since he saw that painting of her. He's polite to her but just barely, he doesn't make any effort at friendliness or real conversation. He's jealous and he has good reason to be, because he and Kram haven't declared any feelings for each other or had the "what are we" conversation.

Not only that, there is an ash exchange ceremony coming up. Phupha has no idea what that ceremony is until he asks Kram's dad one day and Dilok tells him IT'S A MARRIAGE CEREMONY. Show!Kram had some nerve getting pissy at Phupha for having a fiancee he didn't tell Kram about when Kram had one too!

Here Phupha is, so very in love and in a very physical relationship with Kram, and then he learns Kram is about to get married to someone else. He doesn't know whether Kram returns his feelings, he doesn't know where he stands, there's been no hint of calling off the wedding, so what does he do?

He takes himself out of the equation just like Duandaow does in the show.

Phupha chooses not to confess his feelings to Kram, he spends one last night snuggling him, and then he takes the L and quietly goes back to his life in Rattha.

Oh, what's that you say? You wanted some salt in that wound? How about the fact that KRAM GOES THROUGH WITH THE CEREMONY AND MARRIES DUANDAOW?

More? HE ONLY REALIZES HIS FEELINGS FOR PHUPHA AFTER HE'S ALREADY GONE AND ONLY MARRIES DUANDAOW OUT OF OBLIGATION AND BECAUSE PHUPHA IS NO LONGER THERE.

It's a MESS and there is no resolution for it because the novel translation isn't done!

*screams*

Tai

You might have noticed that I haven't really talked about Tai and that's because he only shows up once in these few chapters we have so far. The ones that take place in World 1, that is. But boy howdy does he come in with a bang when he does. Literally.

When Phupha hires Kram to paint him, Kram asks him to take him into the city as payment. There's an arts festival happening and Kram wanted to go so he could show off his dad's paintings.

Everything is going lovely, everyone is having a good time. At least until Duandaow shows up and Phupha turns into a salty salmon about it but we already talked about her.

The brand new chief of police has been asked to make a speech to inaugurate the festival and a short while after he gets on stage to make it, there is a bang. It's followed by screams and a second bang.

Tai showed up at the festival, shot an officer in the gut, and then killed the chief in cold blood to get revenge for the chief recently killing his father.

Bedlam ensues. People are screaming and terrified and fleeing the scene and Tai is looking to flee the scene too, but it just so happens that Kram is blocking his escape route. Tai shouts for him to move but something comes over Kram and he's not budging. Doesn't matter how much Tai threatens him or how much Phupha pleads with him, Tai belongs to the gang that killed his mother and he ain't moving.

My boy doesn't move even when Tai points a gun in his face. That's how much he hates this man and everything he represents. And Tai fully intends to kill him, but there's a moment where he locks eyes with Kram and something shifts within him.

There's a shot, but because we switch to Duandaow's perspective in that moment, we don't know exactly what happens. We know only that the shot missed and that Phupha rushed to hug Kram to his body and shield him from the shot.

Kram was in point blank range. There was no way in hell that shot missed unless that's what Tai intended. But that's all we've gotten of Tai in World 1 so far so there hasn't been a chance to dig into anything more.

The Stabbing of Viroj

There's one more thing I wanna mention, which also happens to be the stopping point for the translation at this time.

In the show, in World 1, Phupha's biological father Viroj gets attacked after Phupha and Kram go talk to him about the incident in the gallery with Tai and the conversation Phupha had with his father.

In the novel, that conversation with Adisak and Phupha's aunt and stepmother takes place right after Phupha goes back to Rattha and for the subsequent conversation with Viroj, Phupha is obviously alone.

The circumstances that precede the stabbing at a little different but that's a whole other tangent so I'm not gonna get into it. The rest of it is largely the same as in the show.

Someone breaks in, stabs Viroj, Phupha hears a scream and comes upon the scene, he has the realization about his hemophilia, he calls an ambulance and the police.

Only a few details are different. In the novel, he does actually manage to call for help but help never comes so he decides to take Viroj to the hospital himself. Unfortunately Viroj dies before Phupha can take him.

After his death, Phupha calls his dad Adisak to tell him that someone killed Viroj and to ask him to call for help. Adisak does, and when Phupha gets a call from the paramedics asking for more information, the paramedic asks where the patient was stabbed.

Problem is, Phupha never told Adisak that Viroj had been stabbed. Phupha immediately suspects that Adisak knows more about the attack than he let on and was possibly even behind it.

This is as far as the translation has taken us so I have to stop here. Sometime before the finale I'm gonna write up part two to this absolute saga, which will be the differences between World 2 in the novel and show.

If you've read this far, thank you. You're lovely and I love you. ❤️

[missycolorful]

omgg, i saw a few posts about the glass child stuff but never really got too into it bc i felt like they were always missing something. i wasn't really sure what that was until i saw your post, where you mentioned lullahs abandonment issues, and everything just clicked. it just all makes sense now bc i know one of the biggest proponents to the "chays STILL a glass child" is qphils seemingly continuing to prioritize lullah over chay, when looking back at most of said moments it does feel more like a dad making sure the child who was abandoned doesnt feel like that ever again. i also feel like some of the issues come with qphils falling into habits, lullah hasn't really needed extra help in a while, but i don't feel as if that notion has fully into qphils mind yet. i would just love if both lullah and chay got one on one time with qphil bc i love them together, but i think each of them often times holds something back for the others' sake, y'know? lullah and bads and/or chay and tubbos recent solo hangouts kinda showcase the difference in dynamic. anyways, tl;dr you have amazing insight and an attention to detail that i, and i feel like a majority of others, missed out on, and i would love to see more character analysis/insights done by you, if you're interested of course!

oh my goodness, thank you you're far too kind, haha!! 😭

yeah, tbh, I'm kinda surprised that part of Phil's reasoning was either not considered or even ignored. When he mentioned them "being alone," Tallulah's abandonment issues instantly came to mind; it's a huge part of her arc, y'know? So, yeah I can't see this as him accommodating Lullah's disabilities while disregarding Chay; rather, it was him thinking about her literal trauma. If it were switched (Chay had these issues, not Lullah), Phil would go for him in a heartbeat. Why people spun it as "he wasn't worried about Chay" is wild to me.

i also feel like some of the issues come with qphils falling into habits,

mhhm, that's about the crux of it. Yes, q!Phil has trained Tallulah in PVP , and neither he nor Chay recently hover over her during pvp, but when it comes to adjusting to how much his kids have changed, we're still getting there. And not just cuz of, like I said, being separated during Purgatory makes it hard for Phil to grasp what they went through. But bc he himself isn't quite in tune with his own emotions/trauma. It's a detriment to helping his children and growing as a parent, and is part of his own character growth that he is surely yet steadily going through.

And YES! I'd LOVE for the kids to have one-on-ones with Philza. They usually come in pairs, which y'know, is what makes a lot of these issues so difficult. The kids don't have time to be alone with their father, bc they're typically online with him at the same time. I crave that sole father/son bonding, not just bc they need it, but because I love their dynamic so much <3

tbh, i usually limit my character analysis to my main POV, sometimes others if I feel confident enough (i.e. Missa, Baghera). Last thing I wanna do is write analysis that does injustice to a character - any cc!phil fan knows this pain, both in this fandom and others lol! and also some characters I'm admittedly… kinda scared to talk about bc some fans get uber defensive if you talk about any of their negative traits; all fanbases have people like this, of course, crows are NO exception, but this one specifically just… I'd need to be prompted to discuss this character whom I won't specify haha. regardless, if you or anyone else ever wants to ask about my insights on qsmp characters, whether q!Phil or others, I'm more than willing to at least give it a try. thank you again! :)

[marshmellowtea]

For fun: any agereg headcanons for Will Clarke :0

oh my gosh so many you have no idea alkgjdaslkf. i know i've made posts about him before but i don't think i've made a headcanon compilation post for him yet (and if i have uhhh i forgor 💀) so i'm gonna use this ask as an excuse to do that hope you're ready—

i already know this is gonna get long so i'm gonna put it under a readmore. tws for mentions of canon abuse and cults, and discussion of diapers. let me know if i should warn for anything else <3

will generally regresses anywhere between 0-5, but usually he hovers near the 1-3 end of that spectrum. he baby

his main caregivers are mike, tanya, and yu (who i like to picture adopting him in a happier au 🥲), but martha, ellie, and fisher and hutchins (for my tedfishyu fans out there lol) also step in from time to time. i think jimmy also sometimes looks after him but that's usually when he and regina have playdates (i also headcanon her as a regressor but that's a thought for another time lol)

i think mrs. hutchins steps in to look after him from time to time too, especially before he's taken in by his adopted family (which she's also a part of i'm not leaving her out, she's just there first and before it's official lol). i don't think she knew he was regressing per se, she just knew he was a vulnerable teenager who acted kinda childlike sometimes so she did her best to look after him when he needed it <3

lila also pops in from time to time in nice aus where she exists still, either as a headmate or as a separate person—she's my beautiful, evil babygirl so i usually tend to write her in somehow lol. i see her as a regressor leaning flip but she only ever really looks out for will, and she's more of a big sister figure to him than anything.

will is not picky about using caregiver titles, lol. if you're looking after him there is a strong chance you will get called mama/papa/dada at some point, even if you're just a babysitter and especially if he's regressed super duper young. i think they're like verbal stims for him when he's little, so unless you're tanya, mike, yu, ted, mrs. hutchins or fisher he doesn't necessarily think of you as a parental caregiver, he just really likes saying those terms :') and yes this is a bit of a projection on my part lol

will is not a permaregressor per se, but i do think once he finds his family he spends a lot of time regressed due to being forced to grow up too fast and the abuse he suffered from his mom and the fraternity (and lila, depending on the au. i love her but she's also canonically a villain and sometimes i do explore that in agere aus)

he's also definitely a padded regressor, i think he has a lot of incontinence issues due to disability and the aforementioned trauma that get exacerbated when he's little so it's just better to keep him in diapers or pull ups. i think they also just generally make him feel safe and comfortable, so he doesn't mind wearing them—he did have shame about it at first for needing them, but his found family has been nothing but supportive and kind about it so he's able to embrace needing them and find comfort in them :')

he has so many soft and comfy clothes!! onesies, big t-shirts (many of them stolen from his cgs hehe), overalls, super soft sweaters, and a few nightgowns/dresses/spinny skirts cuz gnc will reigns supreme in my head lmao. i think he has a wide variety of styles too because basically all of his caregivers have bought or lent him him clothes at some point and they all have drastically different styles so what he's wearing highly depends on who's looking after him and what cute outfit they wanna see him in XD

he enjoys it though! it's kinda fun being their dress up doll sometimes, especially cuz they like to coo at him and take pictures of him when they dress him up. it makes him feel very pretty and loved <3

honestly will doesn't really care much about gender in general, and that's doubled when he's little. he has a wide variety of toys ranging from traditionally "masculine" like trains and legos to traditionally "feminine" like play dress up costumes and a gorgeous dollhouse he got for christmas one year. i'm also shamelessly stealing this headcanon from @whenthedeeppurplefalls but he also lovessss puppets and has a handful of those as well, along with a puppet theater lovingly handmade by mike and tanya for a different christmas (or his birthday, i haven't decided lol)

honestly a lot of these headcanons have probably been at least partially stolen from tanya so shout out to her give her some appreciation <3

his taste in tv shows is similarly varied i think. going back to the puppet thing his faves are definitely the muppet show and sesame street but i like to think he's also a strawberry shortcake, scooby doo, my little pony and blue's clues kid also projection don't worry about it, pfft. he'll watch most things without complaint but those are his faves :)

he's a very touch starved kid so he can get pretty physically clingy sometimes and it's very adorable 🥹 sometimes he goes through periods of touch aversion (usually due to trauma flashbacks or overstimulation) but most of the time he wants to be close to his cgs so he's frequently being held in their arms or lap or just holding their hand waugh

generally will's a really easy kid. he's very sweet and doesn't like to act out, and if he does act out it's usually cuz he's overstimulated or having a bad brain day, and occasionally he will have meltdowns. his cgs have developed gentle protocols for dealing with those days and ways to prevent them because it is NOT fun to see their baby hurting and upset :(

loooooves playing pretend, especially if he gets to play an animal :3

he loves animals in general, whether it's watching shows about them or being read books about them. he canonically feels a kinship with them after all!

related but every time he's taken to the zoo or aquarium it's the best day of his life aglkjdsklfjd. he also likes going to the library and the park, and sometimes for a special occasion his family takes him to an amusement park or festival where he gets to go on the rides (it's very stimulating for him in a good way, you know how little kids like to be thrown around sometimes? it's like that <3)

he's pretty clumsy even out of headspace so his balance is naturally even worse when he's in headspace alkgjadsklf. his caregivers often have to catch him when he wobbles, and if he's younger than two, they often need to carry him (at that point he's usually crawling anyway, but if there's places he needs to go that's when they just ask if they can scoop him up......assuming he hasn't already asked to be carried, that is 🥺)

okay this has gotten out of hand so i'll end it here lol, but god i have. so many thoughts about this kid i forgot how much i loved little will waaauuugh 🥹🥰

[seeminglydark]

Forgive me if this is weird to say, but as someone who really struggles to get attached to his own ocs out if fear of seeming cringe (and trying really hard to break out of thar) I really admire how much you unabashedly love your characters and how much it shows in your art

hahaha its not weird to say at all, I actually also struggle with this. I get a lot of self embarrassment and feel cringe about the fact that i draw the same things all the time, i dunno if that helps to hear. Sometimes I even refrain from posting things for a few days, or i wont post them in places like patreon or my patreon server or something cuz i have this fear of 'Oh Not Again.'

I think what helps me is remembering that first and foremost, I created my ocs for ME. I draw them for me. everything I do, its for me, coping mechanisms, self therapy, working through issues, or just for fun and aesthetic. They are extensions of me, and loving them is basically learning to love me. I put the care i should have been giving myself all this time into them, and it weirdly helps with my own self love journey, cuz honestly I feel pretty cringe most of the time and like i dont belong in most spaces. My ocs ease that, its a way of putting my heart and thoughts on paper so to speak.

These days i tell myself if people get bored, or dont want to see characters, or think im cringey, they have the freedom to unfollow. The internet is a vast place. When people are jerks about it, which I'll be honest, has happened WAY less than my brain tells me it will, i ignore and move on. No one has to be here. Has it happened? Yeah once or twice maybe, but compared to the positive messages I get its really rare. it's more that i think the rejection hurts us more when we hear it, I combat this by keeping a document where I've copy pasted all the comments/tags/dms that made me feel good, that way i can read through it and remind myself most people that are here love what i do. i like to think thats why people followed me.

And you know what, its so hard to separate ourselves from what people think of us, so remember the good things, cuz its incredibly rewarding that theres people who DO wanna be here. That love them maybe just as much as me. That feeling is WAY Bigger than the cringe feeling. The fact that i CAN be obsessive and cringe and people are on this ride with me? Holy Shit like I cant even describe how good that feels.

Create first and foremost for you. Thats the win, right there. And if it so happens others want to walk that road with you, well you've already won by creating so thats just a really cool bonus. Remember the kind interactions you have with people.They mean so much more than the negative ones. Love your ocs cuz they are a part of you in some kinda way and you deserve that love and care too.

-RJ

[nymph-ette111]

Hello! I’m grateful you wrote my request and this is in no way me complaining, I only want to answer what you said about accuracy and all. I’m well aware than npd is not well researched so I’m putting this more so as a way to give you more insight than complain about your portrayal, I’m chill with it. Sorry for the long message. It’s kinda hard putting this stuff into words, but I want to bc I’ve seen one too many posts about all ppl with npd needing to be ‚separated from the society, put down or castrated to stop their kind from spreading’ so I’m not about to waste an opportunity to put out a different perspective. If you don’t want to publically respond I’m chill with that, this is just some info for you if you wanna know more

I really resonated with the part where you said Toby loves like a dog because that’s also the metaphor I use to explain npd. Bc it kinda feels like you’re a dog, you love like one certainly. It feels like you were raised for cagefights. They taught you when you need to bite to survive and get a pat on the back. Taught you that if you didn’t, things get ugly for you. Taught you that everybody is a threat. You have never been prepared to read emotions because surviving and winning were always synonymous and both consumed your youth too much to genuinely learn social clues. And maybe, now you’re out of that place. And suddenly you’re expected to be a good dog, to love and be soft and kind. But the best you can do is act and frantically look around the room for a sign of a threat, because at this point you expects to be hurt. Sometimes you still bite. You know how to fight for your life but you flinch when someone wants to hug you. You’re mean and bitter at heart because as far as you know anyone could hurt you for any mistake you make. Showing weaknesses is out of the question, so you put on a mask. You need to be the best and to be perfect because you know what happened when you weren’t. You hate yourself for every mistake and see that as a life-or-death threat. You seek patterns to be safe and you learn to respond well to things without knowing why you should perform a certain way. You remember that when you used to make a wrong step, it was hell for you. And it’s hard to make a connection when you fear everybody hurting you. When you can’t grasp why anybody would keep you around if you’re not benefitting them. So you act like you’re great and hope that people believe you enough to think you’re worth having around

When I met my roommate in the school dorms I really liked her. A few weeks into knowing her, she started giving me food and trinkets. And many times, though I acted with all the gratitude that I always had to show and I did all the things you’re supposed to do, I felt lost. Because I wasnt very useful to her. She had no benefit from giving me things. Shamefully, I do admit I sat there alone tearing up at a chocolate bar or two that she left for me because it felt so confusingly nice(?) and I still don’t know why she does it. But of course I know (by observation) that people are uncomfortable when others question things like that. So I don’t, I just try to be useful and hope she decides I’m convenient to have (a ‚pleasure to have in class’ of sorts)

With manipulation it’s hard to say how much of it is true because most of the diagnostics were based off of male case studies and generally when the label of ‚npd’ has been slapped on someone, most things they do are seen as kind of evil. I know I do avoid conflict and use my words to my advantage if I feel threatened, yeah. Just yesterday had a friend getting progressively more heated at me (we have very different opinions on things as it turned out) and I did subtly framed it as ‚I thought you were more mature than that, it’s really childish to blow up on me’ bc I know he feels like the group doesn’t treat him seriously. Is it good? Maybe not, but a threat is a threat and I’m not about find out what he does when he gets really angry lol

As to the ‚look at me, I’m the best’ kind of thing, you have to put yourself first because you’ve been put last by everyone else. In a sense, it really does feel like fighting for your life and then being thrown into a setting where nobody had that growing up so you feel like you need to act like them and count days before everything turns ugly again because it’s hard to believe most people aren’t cruel and dangerous. That’s all you’ve known and all you prepared for

So you have a hard time forming honest connections. You feel like an empty shell and discard your smile as soon as you’re through the door. You’re tired. And you don’t know how to act in this new world. So you still do what you need to survive, despite everyone telling you that it’s not about that anymore

Like, ofc I have some personality. I know I like making music and enjoy a quiet evening. I know others tell me I’m fun at parties, funny, charming. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what is me and what is my survival instinct kicking in though. The way I see it, the modern mirror of Narcissus is in other people’s eyes. And I just try to do anything to keep seeing admiration instead of hatred in them

To be fair I feel like that would work (somewhat) with the creeps, because they aren't super well either and someone who can see patterns in their behavior (how they act when something is wrong etc) could work better bc I don't see then opening up and talking about feelings either. Sure, all those things kinda suggest that they could also mentally destroy me if they wanted (but I would let them bc I love them, especially your portrayal of ben 😌😌). Also I heve a feeling BEN is the kind of guy to show you gore videos for fun and talk about tormenting others for funsies so inability to emotionally connect with others would probably make it easier to enjoy yourself around him lmao idk about others probably trauma bonding would work?? Lol

-⭐︎

HELLO?? I FUCKING LOVE THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE THINGS OH MY GOD I'll try to respond to every point in this message because I really like it and thank you for reaching out so often I love when people interact with me :) literally get so excited once I see that little star emoji at the end of requests because I know it's you lol. I mostly based the headcanons off of people on Quora (other than more research on different sites) since it's people with said disorder talking about personal experiences and other people who don't have npds' interaction with people who do have it.

I fucking love when people use the dog metaphors for toby when writing him.

I agree on the point that some creeps would have this, Jeffrey comes to mind, I feel like a lot brush him off as an evil person but I see it as a sort of defense mechanism for him? I can definitely see Jeff relating to this for sure.

IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKE MY PORTRAYAL OF BEN X3 and that's so true I literally mentioned it in one of my headcanons like that stinky fucker would show you gore and legit go 'its not even that bad' when you start freaking out. Definitely pops up those videos on your devices randomly. He's so annoying I love him.

One thing I don't like about creepypasta headcanons that revolve around the reader having a personality disorder is the creators make them act so...nice? Like I know that's what people want to read but let's be honest these serial killers never experienced a day of comfort in their lives, I genuinely don't see them being all that nice about it unless it's more of the kinder creeps like Liu or Jane or Nina but even then they'd be awkward about it. The most they'd do is notice (unless you straight up tell them) and that's it. I wouldn't say they would straight up fucking degrade you for having a disorder but I don't see them caring because they're all traumatized, I don't see them sympathizing with reader so yeah that's something that kinda bugs me in creepypasta headcanons.

[trippygalaxy]

Hello!

I Just read two of your sleepwalkers post and wanted to request a third on warrior, wind, ravio and hyrule with a sleepwalker reader? If you have the time.

Hi lovely anon! I recently updated my rules and I will only go up to three characters for each headcanon. I'm doing this so I don't get overwhelmed by doing too many characters! So, for this I will stick with our Linkie boys but if you really wanna, you can request Ravio separately when my requests open up again!

Paring: Warriors, Wind, Hyrule x gn!reader (separately) Warnings: (Wind) mention of broken nose/blood Part 1 Part 2

Warriors

Warriors, being a captain of an army, has some experience when it came to those who suffered from sleepwalking.

When he realized that you too had this condition, he could empathize with your frustrations. He has seen his soldiers and remembers their annoyance with their sore bodies and tired minds.

Your first defender if one of the other boys try and pull some stupid prank while your in the middle of a sleep.

he knows from first hand experience that bothering/waking someone while they're in the middle of sleepwalking is not the best idea. both for the waker and the sleeper.

During his night shifts, he'll sit right next to your sleeping more. He'll run his hands through your hair or rub circles on your arm. If you ask why, he'll make some joke about how he just wants to be close to you.

And while that is true, he is also trying to lull you into a deeper sleep, hoping it will stop you from waking up. He knows the toll it takes not only on your mind but also your body.

Hyrule

A true sweetheart! Doesn't really understand how or why this is happening to you but is there when you need to voice your frustrations.

He is well aware of what the lack of sleep can do to someone's mind and hates to see that happen to you. The way your eyes sulked and shoulders slumped. He missed the bright sparkles that shined in your eyes

Hyrule was determined to make sure you held your spark. Letting you take naps while the party made a mid day breaks, making sure you ate enough to keep your energy high.

You're emotions are valid and he is gonna make sure you KNOW that. Its okay to be mad and frustrated, but that's not your fault. Lets talk out some ideas that could help you, okay?

If one of the other boys try to make a snarky comment, Hyrule is the first to shut it down, not being a afraid to put the boy back in place.

If you want, he'll try some naturals medicines. Essential oils, crushed herbs, random potions he concocted (which don't look...the most appealing but its a sweet gesture.)

Wind

TROUBLE MAKER!!! IN BIG BOLD LETTERS!!

This boy has some how conditioned your subconscious mind to help me with pranks?? You honestly don't know if you should be impressed or concerned.

You are surprisingly sneaky in your unconscious state, which is a grand help when Wind is in need of s partner in crime to help steal a few items!

Wind had done one, ONE, prank on you in your sleep and that ended very poorly. I mean, by the end of it Wind had a bloody nose and you were absolutely terrified to your bones.

You two made up eventually, having not talked for a about a week after the events. After that, he never played a prank on you again, whilst you were asleep or awake.

Wind did think it was kinda cool though, how even in your sleep you were still a badass!

He has tried to sleep on top of you to keep you in place and...stop sleepwalking but uhh...You very easily pushed him off.

Apologizes for any typos or weird ass grammar!

[ultaslodgings]

[Spoilers for both CoV and CoC True Neutral ending!]

Okay, recently I made a post about how after we get separated from Aogami, the menu music disappears. (loved seeing the reactions I got from people who hadn't noticed)

And I realised that maybe some might not know whyyy this is so interesting, so I wanna go on a small rant about some OST motifs :)!

__________________

With that said, "It Seems Knowledge is in Control", the menu theme in question.

Why is a menu theme of all things so important? Turns out, it's the core melody behind the last track of the True Neutral ending, "The World of Humanity", with it being a slowed down version of said menu theme, with an added "SMTV Main Theme" motif at the beginning.

And whyy is a menu theme suddenly the core melody behind the most important ending of CoC? Beats me, but for the longest time I theorised that the track is in some way the MCs theme.

And that seemingly got further supported by the new Vengeance track, called "Aogami and the young man". Which yes, that is the track that plays in the cutscene where we get separated from Aogami. And its core melody is once again that menu theme.

But the fact that after Aogami left, the menu theme did too, suggests that the theme has some connection to him too. Which honestly makes this even more painful? The track seemed so linked to the MC, and yet the moment Aogami left, the track did too. It's like an added feeling of "Oh, you just lost a part of yourself" :'D Honestly you can think of a lot of angsty reasons behind why the menu theme vanished.

And that's it!

If I missed anything I'd love to hear it and add it in.

But as a side extra bit of information, I did also pick apart "Aogami and the young man" to see what other motifs or interesting things I could find, so if you're curious, keep reading!

_______________

This is all I could pick up on after some listens, so it may not be everything. Enjoy!

- The beginning portion of the track is comprised of two melodies, a foreground and background one, with the foreground being the aforementioned menu theme, and the background being Aogami's simplified motif (which is best heard in the tracks "If you wish to live, take my hand" and the beginning of "My power is yours")

((And the reason I call it "simplified" is because the track "I Entrust the World to you" emplifies that simple up and down vocal sound tenfold, and I personally believe its his theme.))

- That simplified mofit then gets slowly replaced by a heartbeat, which slows down drastically in the last few moments of the track.

- And in those said few moments of the track, the last melody we hear is a smidge of the Main theme motif, which is slowed down, before everything fades and we hear one last hearbeat.

For only a minute long track, it's kinda insane I think-

[shhsecretpersonlog]

ramblings

So I’m actually a regular tumblr user but made this blog to make a post to get some things off my chest that I don’t feel comfortable sharing anywhere else. Some are related to each other and some aren’t. Not completely cohesive probably.

I am an artist. Not a super big one, mind you. I’ve gotten lucky to meet other artist in the fandom I’m in and even make some friends. These new friends and mutuals are quite big artist and it feels like some of my new followers are trying to use me to get to them. It feels very icky. Or they want to befriend me just in case I blow up and they can say they’re friends with me. Some of these people make it feel so obvious. I’ve shared a few instances with my friends and they all agree. I don’t like the feeling of being used as a stepping stone or an “in” to something. I feel like I’m stuck with some of these people. I’m trying to limit my interactions with them but it makes me feel horrible to ignore people.

On the other hand, I feel like there’s some people too intimidated to talk to me cause I’m an artist. Artist are rather kept on a pedestal or walked all over and there’s no in between but there’s also somehow overlap. I do feel like I come across as very approachable and I get people are shy, but I hope I don’t intimidate anyone somehow. I know it happens cause I do get intimidated by other artist at times. Not as often as I did when I was young, but it hits me sometimes. I wanna be approachable, but not for those mentioned previously.

So I used to have this decently sized online friend group in high school and we had this group chat. I still talk to most people in that chat, but separately. I feel horrible cause I have one friend who was venting about the others and how we all kinda fell out of talking but how happy they are that I still talk to them. They even vented some frustrations about someone else from the group to me but at the same time I was having a conversation with that person. And this second person has told me before their grievances about the first. It puts me in such a weird spot where they both vent to me about the other while I’m still friends with both. The second person doesn’t really talk about the first anymore since they don’t talk much anymore, but the first person is still kind of hurt that they felt like they were left behind. They used to be super close but it changed at some point. I feel like I can’t say anything when they’re venting or anything about it to the other person. Especially since the first person thinks I’m in the same position as them when I’m not. I feel like they got that impression from a couple of years ago when I was super depressed and had to leave the group chat cause no one was talking and it made me feel like the friendships were over, but they all DMed me separately asking if I was okay and checked up on me the whole year I was missing from the chat, but it’s not like that anymore. The group chat is still mostly silent, but I chat with the second person a lot more. This second person also helped me out a lot to get out of my comfort zone and I’ve been having a lot of fun. They also always message me when they’re about to do a stream but part of me feels so bad cause I know the first person feels abandoned and thinks I’m in the same boat. I love both of these friends very much but I had to get this off my chest.

[unhinged-summer-fun]

idle thoughts/writer wregrets (ignore me)

in the eventual book that common grounds will become i definitely need to incorporate "Sol" more deeply into the story - like it's not enough that i say he's their dad i gotta show him Being Their Dad some more especially considering all the [redacted] and [redacted] and of course the [redacted] with [redacted]. and like do i regret not fleshing out that part of the story as i posted it/am posting it now? not really. i look back on it as a missed opportunity really. however i started writing this with the romance as the main thing and i wanted to get it right, so my focus has been on that for the last 125,000 words. if i knew then what i know now about what this fic would become, i don't think i would have changed what i wrote. i have had the most fun writing about the romance and the dynamic between Osha and Qimir, Osha and Mae, and Osha and her new friends at Unplan.

(and on a completely separate yet integral-to-the-story note, Osha leaving behind the kinda paltry, watery friendships she couldn't maintain bc she 1) had no car 2) was injured 3) was/is depressed and 4) had someone else kinda controlling her own story (Vernestra) is like. what i'm really going thru rn. no car, injured, very depressed, and p much all my friends thought i was okay in my isolation because my cheating ex told them i was - but i had no way of correcting that. so like of course i'm not going to focus on the weird dad aspect of the story because it's not Me. and i said this in a post on main but pretty much everything i posted this year but the olympics thing have been me working through my personal everyday issues regarding loneliness, connection, self-worth, and reclamation of my own power and capability as a person. i'm so into writing Osha taking her fucking life back because i'm so into ME taking my life back. but anyway-)

i should never have told my grandma about 1) the concept of serial scrubbed fanfics-to-novel pipeline OR 2) the 1.1 million words i've written on ao3 in the last few years because you can guess what a boomer would have to say about those two facts. hOWEVER. i think that common grounds is possibly the most straightforward novel idea i've had, and idk i don't wanna be defeatist but the chance that someone would recognize acolyte fic is a lot lower than recognizing the last of us fic or star wars fic writ large.

but yeah like how the story is rn i know it doesn't SEEM like the plot is far removed/as involved as it could be (mainly bc i think my audience too is here for the liberation of Osha and the kissykisses from Qimir which we are all valid for LOL) but i think slowing the pace down at the start and establishing wtf is going on w Sol a little earlier (perhaps also burying Many Several Ledes) would allow the story another 50k+ of buffer room & allow the slow burn to burn even slower before the temple goes to theed

i also need to find more like characters that are like antagonistic toward Osha in general - like we have Yord and Vernestra (and to an extent Mae and Sol) but they represent concepts of like 'peer perception' and 'societal perception' respectively - Osha is also her own antagonist in many ways which makes 'personal perception' another angle to attack oneself from.

anyway ramblerambleramble i'll throw this in a document somewhere and come back to it when i need to remind myself what i am writing this for

[its-short-for-jackalope]

Jack's Big Rambly Nonsense Theory Post About Episode 3 ✨️

I am a merciful fella so the rambles will be contained under the cut.

hey! what's up? this is the only thing I care about for the time being so I'm gonna ramble about it! I don't know what I'm doing! all of this could be wrong! I'm very excited!

Please feel free to reply/reblog or like.. idk, y'all can tag me if you wanna make a separate post jumping off of, responding to, or completely annihilating (in a friendly way!) any of my theories here.

What The Heck Is Antikythera?

i didnt know what this was and it seemed somewhat important since it's in the title (lol) so I looked it up.

one of the first things I found was the wiki article for the Antikythera mechanism, which is basically a computer/calculator from Ancient Greece that predicted astronomical positions and eclipses. It was found in a Roman shipwreck in the Mediterranean in 1901 and might have been constructed as far back as 205 BC. (it had gears and everything! cool!)

Considering this device is related to astronomy and approximately, oh, ALL of our protagonists are interested in and have connections to astronomy, I don't think that's a coinkydink! additionally, since this is fictional and there are no limits, mayhaps the Antikythera mechanism is a part of the story and it can do (and does do) more than predict celestial events...? 👀

Now, I admit I read about this one interesting thing and kinda just ran with it, but in case there's anything else about this itty bitty little island, I did look into it more. According to the Wikipedia, Antikythera was settled and abandoned several times throughout history. This is also where the wreck with the mechanism was discovered (hence the name), and apparently lots of birds use the island as a pit stop during migration, but that's about it. It's enough for me to laugh shrug and carry on with my mechanism theories, lol.

The Ellen Austin, The Bermuda Triangle, & Maybe A Ghost Ship

Since our beloved quartet is confirmed to be aboard the Ellen Austin and they're en route through the Bermuda Triangle/Sargossa Sea where the Ellen Austin is said to have encountered a ghost ship, I'm gonna continue with my previously-held theory that we're getting a ghost ship encounter! (In one story about the Ellen Austin, they had some of the crew go onto the ghost ship to bring it back to shore with them, and the crew ~mysteriously vanished~ which is... interesting. 👀)

I have a few ideas about what this potential ghost ship might be:

An Ancient Greek vessel straight from Antikythera, with or without a mechanism, but probably with. [squints at map] I mean, the Mediterranean isn't that far from the Sargossa Sea/Bermuda Triangle area. And/or maybe there was some time-and-space nonsense happening that could land it on the other side of the Atlantic. If our quartet could get poofed from a satellite in 1835 back to Earth in 1881(?), then a mysterious ship could plausibly get zapped to another place and/or time. Might be a bit too on the nose but c'mon, the name is in the title, there's gotta be a connection to Antikythera, and who says it can't be this? Could also have ghosts!

A slightly less ancient Roman cargo ship like the (shipwrecked) one that had the Antikythera mechanism. (Please see above for hand-waving about date & location.) Maybe the ship has a mechanism on board, and maybe it's also got ghosts—both of the Ancient Greek variety via the mechanism, and of the slightly less ancient Roman variety via it's their dang boat. Bonus points if the Greek/Antikytheran(?) ghosties were scaring the daylights out of the Romans and are responsible for the ship becoming a (double) ghost ship. Of course this also hinges on how literal the "ghosts" in The Ghosts of Antikythera are, but I'll ramble about that in a little bit.

A much less ancient ship from whatever eras make it more likely to be in the Sargossa Sea, but it has an Antikythera mechanism somehow. This would take out a lot of fuss about how the ship got here or how it could have survived this long without being wrecked or discovered, AND it would bring up new and fun questions such as "why does this random ship have an Ancient Greek mechanism" and I call that a win-win. Could be a classic pirate ship, could be a newer vessel that'd be more familiar to the crew of the Ellen Austin... idk im not a boat guy but I think there's some fun possibilities.

bonus theory: the ghost ship has "witch" in the name or has a name related to witches, or maybe literally just has "wicked" in the name, purely based off this tweet:

thank you @man-down-in-hatchet-town for being my Twitter scout, lmao

Just 'cause, you know... wicked, witches. The waves could be just part of the water theme since (i assume) the episode takes place predominantly at sea, or perhaps the ghost ship is literally carried "this way" by the waves.

Ghosts — Like, Literally? Or Do You Mean Metaphorically?

We already know that Pulp Musicals will be exploring multiple genres—sci-fi, horror, mystery, adventure—so I'm betting episode three will add some horror to the mix, especially after Matt's delightfully ominous words in the trailer:

In this web of mystery, Margaret has begun to unravel her own... but she is not the only one awakening. And soon, our heroes will find that the light of discovery can bring forth shadows darker than anything they could have ever imagined.

...Yeah, sounds like horror and/or ghosts to me! So maybe the ghosts of Antikythera are real actual spooky scary spirits, in which case I am very excited to pull up a chair and listen to Herschel scoff and try to find a rational, scientific explanation for any spooky happenings. (Idk if he believes in ghosts or not, but in this case I hope he doesn't because that will make it much funnier for me. <3 )

On the other hand, "horror" is incredibly vague, so maybe we won't get jump-out-and-say-boo ghosts at all. Maybe the ghosts of Antikythera are more unsettling because they aren't an active, supernatural force wreaking havoc on the open sea—maybe they're just an empty vessel, forgotten memories, and the lingering consequences of the actions taken by people who are long since dead. What's scarier—the dead staying behind to screw with you face to face, or the dead abandoning their troubles & mistakes and leaving clueless strangers to get stuck with the deadly fallout?

Honestly, tho? I'm excited either way, and I'm very curious to see how scary Matt plans to go.

Theories That Don't Have A Ghost Ship, Because You Never Know

I am 100% behind the ghost ship theory, but making theories is fun so why not throw some other ones out there. Full disclosure, I don't think these are that likely, and some are mostly gonna be for laughs.

They find a shipwreck. I'm really only considering this because the Antikythera mechanism was found on a wreck. I don't think the Ellen Austin would stop to investigate a shipwreck if they happened upon one, and I also don't know if they'd even have the equipment to safely or effectively investigate it if they wanted to. Then again, maybe they would stop if they saw the wreck go down, and also who needs to go down in the water if you have a passenger with magic powers? If Margaret could launch the Sagitta, she could probably fish up a wreck easy peasy. Maybe she wouldn't even need the ship to stop, she could just see (or sense?) something in the water and reach out with the Radiance. And if whatever she brought onto the Ellen Austin was haunted, then that could kick off the ghost stuff... huh. I actually kinda like this idea!

Atlantis? I think someone mentioned this in the chat for the trailer's premiere. I'm inclined to say "probably not" though... unless the quartet gets poofed or otherwise summoned closer to Greece. But I think they'll probably be sticking around the Sargossa Sea, since there isn't a lot of time for them to be traveling all around in a ~90 minute episode, and the previous episodes kinda picked a place and stayed there. Doesn't necessarily mean we couldn't get an underwater city (or formerly underwater city), of course. It just probably wouldn't be Atlantis.

...I actually don't have any other ideas right now, lol. I really think it's gonna be a ghost ship. And that the Antikythera mechanism has something to do with it.

Oof okay, for the sake of my eyes and brain, I'm going to stop staring at my phone and thinking for now, lol. I will probably come up with some more thoughts & theories as time goes on, but I think I have used all my batteries for today.

Again, if anybody reads this and wants to contribute or comment, feel free! 💫

[ravens-dagger]

I just had the most insane lore idea pop into my head about Ranni while watching a lore video about the demigod family tree.

The creator was talking about their theory of a possible connection between Ranni and the amber egg Rennala cradles. This creators theory is that Ranni was born from the egg itself which is why Rennala is so obsessed with it, thinking in her "rich slumber" that she could use the egg to rebirth Ranni (of course that last bit is also a theory but just stay with me here).

HOWEVER I had a thought pop into my head that what if the Great Rune inside the amber egg was only placed in there later by Ranni? I know we hear from Gideon that the Great Rune Rennala holds is inside the egg, but are we 100% sure that Radagon, liel hound of the Golden Order, would just yoink out a rather important Great Rune from the Elden Ring as a parting gift? Cuz since it's the Rune of the Unborn and is used for rebirth, I've had this theory that the removal of that Rune is what really kickstarted the issues of having no Rune of Death. The Erdtree lost its ability to rebirth new souls. Since Radagon clearly wants so badly for the GO to work, I highly doubt he would've given away such an integral part of the life cycle of the Erdtree. Not to mention that the current state of Marika/Radagon implies that in order to make changes to the ER it has to be physically removed from their body.

Having no True Death works as long as the Erdtree can continue to recycle souls. But if the ability to rebirth is removed, that cycle falls apart immediately. As much as I want to believe Radagon loved Rennala I don't think he would also do something that's so sabotaging to his and Marika's order.

Instead, I do think it's entirely possible that Radagon merely gave Rennala the amber egg as it's a concentrated piece of the Erdtree; a symbol to remember him by. Perhaps people are born from these amber eggs, as there are many existing theories about people being physically born from the roots of the tree. But had Radagon given her the Great Rune of the Unborn before going to "marry" Marika, things would've fallen apart a lot quicker than they did. I don't think it's entirely crazy to think that along with casting aside her flesh, Ranni gave the Great Rune she inherited to her mother. Rennala is no demigod, so she has no claim to a rune on her own.

The only remaining question is why Ranni would give the Great Rune to her mother. Granted, this does lead into some more far-reaching theories I have about just how much planning went into Godwyn's assassination and who all Ranni was truly allied to (another post for another time). I don't have many answers for the motives at the moment just cuz it did come to me a few minutes ago but I felt the need to write it all down because it feels both too insane and logical at the same time. I feel like the main wrench in this is the fact that with the other rune currently disconnected from the ER, the Rune of Death, we know it was still able to be used to kill gods a-la the Godskins until it was officially sealed away by Maliketh. This of course was further compounded after the assassination of Godwyn. However since Rennala has been essentially using the amber egg to continuously rebirth the sweetings, it does give credence that she is essentially in control of rebirth even though her mind isn't entirely there. She, like Maliketh, is weilding a Great Rune that has been separated from the Elden Ring.

Please feel free to correct me or add, I admit this theory sounds kinda insane and it has its holes as mentioned above but wow this felt like such a light bulb moment and I wanna see other people's thoughts on my crack theory.

[minmin-pal]

woah, it's definitely going on my watch list now, few posts i've seen talking or reviewing jjba always used complicated gargon so i could never properly pay attention to what they were saying but reading your post was v nice and i can assume you like it a lot, when did you start watching if i could ask?(/notforced)

also thank you for avoiding the spoilers lol, i'm tempted to search up spoilers but now i just wanna enjoy this series and the manga properly so i'll avoid those (really the only 'spoiler' i've ever seen is the "it's me dio" meme, if that even counts as a 'spoiler'?) 

out of curiosity i just searched what j giel looked like, interesting design choices? ig? ;; (/halfjoke) but once again ty for the major spoilers warning, i'm kind of itching to find out for myself now haha

i never realized the artstyle of jjba has changed so much actually? i've seen late 3-early 4 artstyle so finding out about this style diversity is actually so cool, it really matches the years they were in well, early part 1 reminds of me some of the hero comics i've seen from around those years as well. this chart manages to show the changes v well though, it looks so pretty

and now that you mention it, kira dude does look like david bowie now that i think about it, and woah he has an entire season/arc? is he a major character or some kind? (/genquestion) i'm looking forward to watching that season now, the 'slice of life/detective drama' combo sounds interesting and i've never thought to combine those before so i'm hyped (/gen)

i just searched rohan and joseph's designs too, they look super cool! could I ask whose your favorite and disliked characters in csm?

(long post,,,,, dont press read more if u dont really care cuz . long post)

yes it should!!!11! i started watching/reading it in... 2019/2020 i think. it was when i lived in my old house so it was sometime around there my brother actually recommended it to me!! we watched it together, and we've watched every season (other than the latest- stone ocean. we watched it separately for that one) together and it honestly probably is part of why i love it so much because i generally associate him with it haha

you shouldnt spoil it AT ALLL its such a great series and stone ocean was so bad for me because i already knew the entire ending (cuz i read the manga) so watching the anime. was intensely sorrowing because it was all so stunningly beautiful and heart moving and yada yada but i knew what was gonna happen!!! all the suspense was gone!!!

and and and. i feel like even with j geil it just shows how DYNAMIC or whatever the art style is.. like

hes DISGUSTING but it fits!!! even when you watch the show the overall style change may really not register until you sit back and think aboutit because its like a gradual switch, a really pretty switch though since it really just shows the magaka (hirohiko araki) growing and learning with the series its really beautiful

im slightly sure kira was based off him but i really cant be sure his design can 100% be since alot of things in the show starting part 3 i think are like references to bands and songs-- kira for example's power, killer queen, like the song by queen has a power called bites the dust and sheer heart attack, just like the albums/songs from queen aswell its really smart isnt it?? and kira really is important. i wont elaborate but hes really important in season 3/part 4 (season one has the first two parts, "phantom blood" and "battle tendency" then every part after is its own season-- probably because part 1 and 2.. well.. are different to the rest- youll see why) if u watch it youll either love him cuz hes kinda lovable when u ignore his Biggest "Flaw" (a character flaw, like a trait not flaw as in story flaw). or youll love him cuz every scene with him atleast to me is really. uhh i forgot the word in english : D enthralling? rohans designs are honestly. the best designs in jojo to me and the main reason for that is kinda cuz theyre pretty not bizarre (in comparison.)

it also has to do with part 4's coloring aswel, like i cant find the image but his hair is just. blue one time (and purple i think) just cuz they never really do that uch after part4 which is so sad.. but its okay because it makes part 4 more unique also. rohans outfits change it might not seem like much but rohans outfits. change probably becuz hes araki's self insert so hes always making him cool (like in stone ocean where,,, uhh.. basically something happens and time is speeding up a bit, and no mangakas can make manga becuz their ink drys up too fast, and rohan is the only mangaka whos still pushing out manga- cuz of his powers) Im. rambling. UHH ive started chainsaw man only recently so i cant go as in depth as jojo but once ive finished. well if i finish ill definitely have new opinions for now though i love kobeni

shes just. she shes!! MEE :sob: shes just so relatable i love her so much (SAME WITH ASA. BUT I JUST. LIKE KOBENI MORE) i also HAVE to say i like denji for the same reason i like joseph really hes just hilairious (though it really depends on your sense of humor. if u dont like dark...? i wouldnt say dark... humor, but definitely not for like. 12 year old or something you know. u might not like denji- or csm in general

the character i dislike has to be...... uh makima i guess i wont say why cuz. MAJOR SPOILERS!! but shes kinda :thumbsdown: to me HER WRITINGS GOOD AND I LIKE. HER EXISTING but as a person.......