#also the horse... the imagery of the horse... so much i could say but others have said better

[kockatriceking]

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

[meo-eiru]

Since I'm busy working on a valentines day drawing I thought we could do something different until I'm done with that. Trivia night! I'll be writing what's basically a compilation of fun facts we've already established or haven't learned yet. We will also learn more about their backstories.

For tonight we have Silas

Silas has a mom and dad but isn't close with neither of them

As a child he was quite needy compared to other elven kids

Elves almost never stray too far away from the elven village but Silas liked to play in the depths of the forest

He learned about humans from a story book he found while playing in the forest

He was amazed by the colorful imagery and the familial relationship depicted in the book and wanted to have the same, which kickstarted his human hyperfixation

He's currently the most knowledgeable elf in humans within the village

His house is located quite far away from the village, he can still reach there by walking but it's not somewhere where the other elves can just stumble upon

He likes sweet things like fruits or honey but dislikes the taste of meat so doesn't feed it to you much as well

He, just like the other elves, while natural with most other living things, hates all demonic creatures

He's very nice and sweet with you but wouldn't glance twice at other forest creatures and is actively hostile towards demons

Of course he would never let you see him make that kind of face

He thought of using magic to make you live as long as he does but it feels like tempering with your humanity so if you die he's planning to die with you

He's actually not that good at magic compared to other elves, he just knows the basics and relies on books for the rest

He's average height for an elf

He doesn't like leaving bite marks or hickeys on your body because it feels like dirtying your perfect form

But he really likes it when you mark his skin, whether they are hickeys or wounds

While more compassionate than other elves, Silas does have a bit of a superiority complex like them

For example, unlike other elves he does see the intelligence of humans but would still say elves are smarter

He doesn't have any ill intentions with it, to him it's just like saying a unicorn is be better than a horse

He doesn't like eating carrots because he thinks they look like elf ears

He loves learning more about you but dislikes hearing about your family

He doesn't want you to have pets, only the two of you are allowed inside his house

He does have a bathroom in his house but it's just a replica of what he saw in books and isn't actually that functional

If you want to use the bathroom for your baths instead of the river like he does, he just carries the water from the river to his house then uses magic to make it rain on you like a shower head

Even if you don't allow him inside the bathroom he still watches from the window

He has a diary where he writes everything you do in a day, from what activities you did to how many times you blink on average

If you offered to live in a human city with him he would refuse, while he likes humans you are his utmost priority and it's better for you to be inside his house away from everyone's reach

[hiwaaranit]

I should have known if I brought up wc I’d have to talk about. But it includes of a lot of issues with feral/furry designs that use feathers in hair. I don’t necessarily know why the conversation only started and stayed in the wc fandom when horse/wolf/lion feral fandoms are still doing the same thing.

Now having feathers in the design isn’t a racial attack first thing off because there’s a lot of context around what feather’s are used, the shape, and where they are placed. If the look is anything like "rave Coachella looking tribal fantasy feathers and beads" it’s probably insensitive. I’m not to sure why it has to be feathers, I honestly think the wc fandom are holding themselves back when it comes to forwarding designs in a unique way. Tail feathers are also left out in this conversation as well, one or two feathers or feathers in the shape of a birds tail are fine but bunched together feathers are leaning to close to how we have our horses wear feathers. This is in the context of the design already looking like a "medicine cat" already its bad. it’s like those yt girls wear feather head bands but animal addition.

I’ve talked about this before but silhouettes are so important, like Native American stereotypes are on the global scale you cannot escape this silhouette you just have to avoid it. There’s no "but it’s in so many other cultures" no it’s not it’s totally unique to our people that’s why people flock to it because it’s so "mysterious, sacred" whatever their weird twisted up reason is. There’s so many unique ways to break this silhouette you just gotta be more creative. And I feel like instead of being more creative and coming up with totally different ideas it’s just easier to lean on these visual native stereotypes to get across "wild mythical nature fantasy"

I could get into the horse fandom and the weird situations they’re doing over there but that’s another crazy thing. I should say because someone will ask, ostrich feathers on like show horses or knights or puss in boots style is fine not the same thing (breaking the silhouette) they’re not related.

And it comes down to understanding what you are drawing and where this imagery comes from, I’m not gonna get my feelings hurt because of your design but I’ll question why are you drawing stuff like that. You cant remove that cultural/stereotypical imagery, and if you don’t care about it then you don’t care about the history or how it looks on your character and art.

I made it this far on the internet but if you want to be conscious about these things good on yea it doesn’t take much☺️👍

Edit: can’t believe I gotta say this but yes other cultures utilize feathers, if people are using feathers that are used in their culture then don’t harass them. That’s weird have some common sense. Ostrich feathers, peacock feathers it’s actually so interesting how native birds to an area affect the culture there.

[reingkings]

Reinggggg I just read your last three ask responses and I wanted to say that you just have the loveliest, big-brained Inhun thoughts.

I love your references to In-ho’s passion for art. The “Creation of Adam” is so neat. Expanding on that, and sorry the imagery is not exactly there, but I could also see Gi-hun down in the rain and mud, embodying Adam and symbolizing humanity and the persistence of hope. Whereas, In-ho, standing so high above him, essentially gets painted as this god-like figure and therefore, far removed from humanity. What do you think of this moment as an impetus for In-ho’s fascination with Gi-hun because of the subconscious urge to reconnect with humanity?

Tying this idea to season 2, I think In-ho consciously joins (or should I say descends into? Keep the metaphor going) the games to stop Gi-hun’s plan and to prove him wrong. Yet, there’s so many moments where he seems to get pulled into the act; cheering along with his team members, defending Gi-hun, giving Jun-hee his milk carton. I think Byung-hun mentions this in his interview, but I think, inadvertently, joining the games reminds him of what it felt like to be a player again i.e. awakening more empathetic, human emotions. 

Sorry if this doesn’t make a lot of sense, I don’t write media analysis very often haha, but I’ve really enjoyed reading yours.

Thank you so much you are so sweet <3

As for the rain scene I actually did have a few more thoughts on it but only really guesses– because again we never really get to perceive In-ho when he is the Frontman but here is some of what I guessed. I didn’t include it in the other post bc I thought it would get too long.

One point I mentioned was that I didn’t think In-ho regards VIPs too highly. To expand on that let’s examine parallels between two scenes:

Both are “horse” races. One is for the rich and the other the poor. In-ho clearly has no respect for gamblers – he lets them die every year – and I think the same attitude applies to the richer gamblers too.

The only one he shows respect for? Oh Il-nam. And I believe that’s because he created the games. So he’s not just a “gambler” but a creator/god.

Mind you this scene has another parallel. That beingJun-ho and In-ho’s scene:

He gives Jun-ho very little time to process but when Jun-ho shakes his head, he immediately switches to shooting him. Bro give him a sec.

And so when In-ho sees this, where Gi-hun went from angry to forgiving:

It’s kind of like a Hades and Persephone moment? In-ho views himself as above the human greed on display from both classes, but he doesn’t think anyone else is above it. And yet here is Gi-hun, passing a morality that no else has ever passed, offering Sang-woo life where In-ho can only offer death.

But also, in that moment Gi-hun is not only In-ho’s equal (not like the greedy trash humans) but I think maybe he wants to be Sang-woo? Like subconsciously maybe wondering if he were in that vulnerable moment if Gi-hun would hold out his hand? So he takes off his mask in the limo.

(I also do agree Gi-hun also symbolizes the kindness in humanity too sorry just writing this with the shipping lense).

As for him having his humans emotions reawakened I think they definitely do but the question is when bc some of those actions are definitely manipulation 😭 I wish I could work into that twisted little head of his.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

The Hedge Knight graphic novel - could it work as a roadmap for HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

So, per reports, HBO's Dunk & Egg show is going to be 6 episodes. I've seen several people saying that's too long, it should be 4 episodes at most, a 2 hour movie at most, there will be too much filler, blah blah blah. Well let me tell you, that's not true!

In 2003, The Hedge Knight was adapted as a 6 issue comic book (later collected as a graphic novel), and I think its script, each issue ending in a cliffhanger or dun-dun-dunnn moment, would work perfectly for the show, and is very probably how they'll do it.

Potential spoilers under the cut, but first - is this not perfect casting and costuming? It so is.

Like I said, I think each issue could be the plot of each episode. So I'm just going to summarize these issues, I hope you've read the GN or the novella. (If not, go read it, go read all of Dunk & Egg, it's so good.)

#1 - Dunk buries Ser Arlan, decides to go to Ashford for the tourney, meets Egg and a weird drunk guy at an inn on the way, gets to Ashford, sets up camp in the forest (bathes naked in a stream), goes to the tourney field and sees Tanselle performing her puppet show, gets measured for armor he can't quite afford, gets back to his camp to find the weird little bald kid making dinner.

#2 - Dunk agrees Egg can be his squire, that night he sees the falling star, next morning goes to Ashford castle and gets told he needs to prove he's a knight to enter the tourney (or that Arlan was, since he says Arlan knighted him), meets Aerion (badly) but also the Kingsguard, sells his horse for armor money, talks to Tanselle and meets the Fossoways, then meets up with the young Dondarrion lord whose dad Arlan worked for and relates the House Dondarrion origin story (imagine them telling that via puppet imagery, ooh), gets told "yeah knowing that is no proof you're a knight, sucks to be you".

#3 - Dunk goes back to the castle, stumbles into Baelor and Maekar arguing about M's missing kids, Baelor remembers his epic joust with Arlan so yay Dunk can be in the tourney, Dunk and Egg talk to Tanselle about painting him a shield, they watch the opening of the tourney (lots of jousting and pageantry including Lyonel "the Laughing Storm" Baratheon), and the first day ends after Aerion deliberately kills that horse.

#4 - Dunk argues with Egg over how much of a douche Aerion is, more flirting with Tanselle, gossip with Raymun Fossoway about the Targaryens, Egg runs in to say Aerion's hurting Tanselle, Dunk beats up Aerion and almost gets murdered by Aerion's goons, Egg reveals himself to save Dunk, Dunk in prison, talks to Egg and Baelor, Baelor tells him he can be mutilated for striking a prince or ask for trial by combat, so "how good a knight are you, truly?"

#5 - Aerion says sure, trial by combat, but only a trial of seven, Dunk has to find 6 guys, talks to Raymun and Steffon Fossoway, Daeron apologizes and tells Dunk his dragon dream, shield reveal, next morning the smallfolk are all "a knight who remembered his vows", various guys show up to help Dunk and Raymun gets knighted, but Steffon Fossoway goes to Aerion's side so they're still missing a guy, "are there no true knights among you?", wait is that Valarr??? no it's Baelor in Valarr's armor omg

#6 - The trial of seven. You know how this ends. 😭 Then talking to Maekar, and Dunk and Egg ride off into the sunset together.

I hope that's convincing enough for the doubters! I can see a few points where something might be shifted from the end of one to the beginning of the other -- but on the whole I think the comic is an excellent roadmap for the show, and I hope this is the way they lay it out. Also ftr, the Sworn Sword graphic novel was also originally 6 issues so possibly season 2 ditto (unless they add an episode for the in between THK-TSS Dorne and Oldtown adventures that didn't actually appear in the novellas, idk). But the Mystery Knight was only released as one book, so who knows, they might go for more episodes when they get to that season.

Also, re taking inspiration from the comic, I really hope they adapt the Kingsguards' gold codpieces. Just because.

[flo-zoinks]

cop car and I bet on losing dogs by Mitski are Jack Marston to me.. he’s so dog metaphor motif you know? Like in my head John’s OBVIOUSLY represented w a wolf, and like idk Abigail a dog maybe? Like, she’s sweet but can be fierce. Guard dog type stuff. And she’s settled down with John. But Jack? My boy is a coyote. Not as beautiful and strong as a wolf, and not as domesticated and sweet as a dog. No, guy is in this awkward middle. He’s his mama’s boy but god, is he exactly like his father. But he’s not truly either one. Anyways. Idk how this went from Mitski to animal motifs but idk anyone to send random Jack yapping to.. I LOVE YOU JACK MARSTON!! I LOVE YOU ANIMAL MOTIFS!! and coyotes are my fave animal but whatever.. !

How did you know I love mitski..and jack marston ..and COMBINED😧

Your yap makes a lot of sense!! I love ur take on this boo

The lyrics of Cop Car I think could definitely portray his character if looked at that way, so much of it is so specifically similar.

Eg first lines: "I get mean when I'm nervous like a bad dog"

Considering Jack's anger he shows, as a response to the environment he was grown up in that caused so much stress, and nervousness, it coming out negatively like a "bad dog", (also similar to how he believes he comes from a rough, uncivilized background represented as a dog, which is a very uncivil and rough animal, he expresses he sees himself as a product of that environment), fitting very well in my opinion

Another line of: "I dont think about the past, it's always there anyway"

The repetition of that line comes of as denial, like she's trying to tell herself that even if she doesnt actually follow it. Jack's entire future and life is centered around that past, his becoming of a gunslinger, his murder of Ross, his cold cut off attitude is all a result of his past in the gang and family's involvement in that gang culture of the late 1800s. By 1914, Jack is seemingly a shell of a person, with "nothing to live for" as he says, and attached to the past as he goes to kill the man who ruined his family many years ago and often reference his past in small lines. However, Jack seems to still be trying to be independent and become and feel like his own person away from that past, which I think could be represented by that line trying to tell himself and deny he doesn't think of the past. The repeition also being in "its always there anyway" could show how he is so influenced by that old gang past and family past its shown so obviously every day to him by things like his gunslinger outfit and weapons.

Finally (although not the only other line you could pick): the line: "I miss riding horses, I miss running fast"

Obviously, Jack still rides horses in 1914. But this line creates imagery of a carefree, happy atmosphere of the past in which riding horses was an activity of joy rather then just a thing you do. One of the happiest times you see Jack in 1907 and 1911 is when John takes him horse riding, for instance when they go "riding fast" as John challenges him to a race. So perhaps you could take this line too as a reference, if looked that way.

Arent that many lines in cop car only about 3 other unique ones lmfaoo

As for I Bet On Losing Dogs, I think theres less that specifically could be used as a reference but the whole in general I get u gives it off too.

Eg when she says "someone to watch me die" , the line itself sounds like Mitski craves for someone to watch her at her most vulnerable, and be there where someone never normally would be unless very close to them. Someone to "see" her past all other artificial things and as total person. Jack doesn't have this, Jack has nobody to watch him die. So the line could be used to reference Jack's loneliness, and how much he internally craves someone to see him as a loving family member would, as all who have have left or just died in front of him. Obviously Jack would never say that, as he puts on a hard front exterior to protect himself from someone dying or leaving him again, but the want doesn't leave.

As for the animal representation, I totally get you!! Considering how much in 1914 Jack seemingly tries to feel like his Father, referencing him as himself often (eg in the line "I'm John Marston's boy!"), in addition to the fact other people perceive him as his Father, definitely I think shows that they would be represented by a similar animal.

Of course, not the same animal as its represented time and time again that Jack strives to separate himself too, and no matter how much he tries will always feel like a "black sheep" next to his Father.

So a coyote totally works for him! Especially with coyotes as very agitated animals, and only aggressive when threatened, yet when aggressive can be extremely dangerous. My only disagreement would be that coyotes are strong pack animals, whilst Jack, or atleast adult Jack, about anything but. Then again, you could argue Jack was a pack animal to start, but got separated from them.

I think his animal would be a Golden Jackal, in my opinion. Jackals are very wary of humans, and when threatened can be aggressive. But generally, will shy away and stay further from other predators silently. They aren't above smaller animals however, as they are known to even eat foxes. They're smaller then wolves, but often mistaken for wolves or coyotes.

Awww Abigail as a guard dog I could totally see !! I could see her as a guard dog that's been adopted by old people to become a normal house pet. Lots of guard dogs come from strict and often cruel environments, as no dog is born to be aggressive on command, but taught. This could perhaps parallel her environment growing up. Especially If a dog were adopted to a 'normal' household, that whilst still grateful and trying their hardest sometimes make mistakes as a result of their old environment giving them a negative reputation.

Thanks for yapping to me!! What do you think?? And happy new year ♡♡♡❤❤☝️☝️

[lafayette-paw-arts]

Ok Real Question.

What is with all the circus imagery in Hell? Like Lucifer is obviously a ringleader, and when he's singing with Charlie the background is that of a circus tent (along with a spotlight on her at one point) But there's so many other things!

So there's the obvious ones of the lions and the elephants on the fireplace. Lions and elephants being staples of animals you'd expect to see in a circus.

There is also ringmaster canes above the fireplace. Probably a reference to Lucifer himself, but it still counts as circus imagery.

We've got horses and lions on the walls. Horses also being staples for circus's.

The obvious circus tents on the doors and windows.

With these ones I recognize it's probably a reference to Lucifer, but snake charmers are a thing in a circus too, so it's still on theme, and a sign that says tickets.

Then we get to Lucifer related shit. In this shot along there's circus tent imagery as well as a circus elephant teapot.

We've got a circus tent, then puppets.

A knife thrower board. (See the circled knives)

More circus tent backgrounds from Luci.

And even a spotlight on Charlie during this leap. That pose also seems pretty circus-like in and of itself.

We also have the line "When I tried this all before" from Lucifer.

So my theory/question is, did Lucifer maybe have a circus instead of a hotel when he was trying the same thing? I think yes, and I think even the sins were involved in his attempt at what Charlie is doing now. Let's just look at Helluva Boss.

First things first, circus shit seems to be completely ingrained in hell.

We've literally seen that clowns are so popular that they are basically celebrities, so much so that there's whole competitions that are widely popular to see who the next big clown will be.

Then we have the sins themselves. We've only seen 3 so far (not counting Lucifer if he is the sin of pride)

First we have mr clown himself, Mammon. He's obviously a clown and runs all the clown competitions and clown related shit.

Then we have Bee, let's be honest she's probably supposed to be a beast tamer given her domain seems to be over the hellhounds.

But she could just be a "food stall person" because she's handing out snacks, including the signature of her song, cotton candy, a circus staple.

Now here comes the harder part... Ozzie.

There's no absolutely clear answer as to what he could probably be, I could make many jokes that he's supposed to be the contortionist (which would still work)

We do see silks above his bed, so he could also be a performer who uses aerial silks.

But honestly, I think he's a fire breather, we see flames are a part of his skill set.

And we literally see him blowing fire onto the stick for Fizz to use in his performance. (So he still fits into the theory)

Unfortunately we haven't seen any other sins (again I'm not counting Lucifer for this) So I don't know how they would fit into the theory here.

But I am firmly in the belief that Lucifer did in fact try redemption shit before but with a circus instead of a hotel and the sins helping him, and that would be why circus shit is so ingrained in Hell and why there's circus imagery fucking everywhere. (Tho it is more obvious in Helluva boss)

Thank you for coming to my ted talk XD. I'm glad you stuck around to the end of my little theory here. If anyone has anything they'd want to add or discuss feel free to leave a comment!

[heartofwritiing]

What am I supposed to do, if theres no you?

paring: wilbur soot x fem!reader

authors note: I was listening to soon you’ll get better by taylor swift. I couldn’t get the imagery of this song out of my head and I needed to write some sort of vent. also inspired by a fic that @starsyoubreaklikesugardust wrote called whats it like on the other side of us that utterly destroyed me and I needed a happier version... This is super self-indulgent as hell but I hope you guys like it!

warnings: angst, mentions of an illness, hospitals, heavy topics, mentions of death, reader doesn’t have a specific illness, fluff, hurt comfort, me not knowing about medical terms or hospitals so excuse me lol, unedited!

The hospital bed feels warmer when Wilbur lies beside you, the only sound in the small room is the beeping of the machine monitoring your vitals.

On most days, everything is fine. However, when he's around, it's easy to forget the inevitable fate that awaits.

When he has to leave, he goes home to sleep in an empty bed and never does sleep. In those moments of solitude, he cries until he can't anymore. He tries to distract himself by painting the kitchen yellow, fixing up the garden, going to the studio to record, and hanging out with friends. But he feels guilty he’s not beside you.

The next time you see him he looks horrible. Like he got hit by a bus and you’re wondering if you should be the one in here or him. Wilbur Voice horse, circles under his eyes and red you know is from his tears. That’s when you pull him by the arm so he can curl up next to you so he can finally get some rest.

Stoking your fingers through his hair as he snores softly into your collarbone. You think about how Wilbur would ever function without you. How is he gonna take care of himself -when-if you are gone one day. That pit is building in your stomach along with the small lump in your throat. The burning of your eyes as you silently cry while you hold him close to your body.

Because that was what your life was full of, what ifs, whens, uncertainty, and dread. He didn’t deserve that. The arguments you used to get into when you first got sick. Begging him to leave you because you knew, in the long run, this wouldn’t work out. You could spend the rest of your life in and out of hospitals while he wasted away with you.

Wilbur swore repeatedly up and down that he would never leave you. No matter how much you tried to drive him away or how hard matters got.

Wilbur was constantly worried about your well-being, but he held onto hope that you would recover. This was especially true after the first time he brought you home.

You were happy to leave the uncomfortable hospital bed and small room reeking of antiseptic. You slow danced with him in the living room to Elton John playing from his phone speaker, listened to him write new songs, and slept in because you missed waking up in your shared bed. You felt like your old self again and he loved seeing you that way.

When things got worse again, the bright light in your eyes would soon fade, like water extinguishing a flame, as you had to leave your home and return to that sterile, white-washed room.

When you are back in that hospital bed, with the scratchy sheets and the fluorescent lights that hurt your eyes you’re back to being a shell of a human. The depression hits you harder and Wilbur does all he can to help. make you as comfterble as possible despite the weight of the situation.

You know he’s only trying to provide solstice. The small room fills with his soft voice as he reads your favorite stories. Telling you bad jokes he’s heard from Tommy that get you to at least crack a smile. He feels proud he was the one to grant you some form of happiness.

-

His hand holds your shaking, cold one as the IV pumps treatment into your veins. He leans over in his chair to be closer to you, lips against your knuckles. Your eyes meet in a longing stare that says 'I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.' You gently squeeze his hand.

“Wil?” You asked hoarsely.

“Yes, darling?” His voice is intimate, making you feel like there are people around even though it's just the two of you. The nickname always makes your tummy flutter with delight.

You want to capture the way he looks at you in a picture. He tentatively waits for your next words, his doe eyes filled with concern. You clear your throat and exhale softly.

“I was thinking... maybe we should find a house in the country,” you say. Wilbur remains silent. "Somewhere quiet, with big fields where we can see the sky, and watch the sunset on the porch."

You've mentioned how you'd love to live out in the country. A cottage large enough for you both to have separate areas. A streaming room for him, and a bedroom and den for you to store all your books and painting supplies.

A place where you can finally be free from confinement. Despite Wilbur's jokes about you being an old soul, you were in touch with life through knitting, painting, reading, and walks. That's what he wanted to give you again.

Your voice is quieter now, creating a moment just for you. The heaviness in your voice made your eyes well up. You could feel his thumb caressing your knuckles. Like a silent ‘take your time’. Your throat closes up as you keep talking. Your breath is shaking, primarily due to the cold temperature of the room and the medicine making you feel woozy. But you and Wilbur knew it was the emotional weight you tried to carry with your words.

Somewhere we can grow old together.

The sentence sits heavily in your mind. You'd like to say it to him. You wanted to share it with him so badly, but it felt painful to have cross your mind.

Wilbur already knows by the look in your eyes. He leans over you, lovingly presses a kiss to your forehead, and wipes away a single tear before it can roll down your cheek. Slowly he moves down, then presses another kiss to the tip of your nose.

“Whatever you want, my love.” he squeezes your hand back.

-

Wilbur spent weeks searching through countless home-selling websites for your dream house, but none were to his liking or within your budget. A month later, while sitting uncomfortably in a hospital chair with his long legs curled up to his chest, he scrolled through his phone and stumbled upon a house that seemed too good to be true.

He scheduled numerous appointments to see the house, ensuring everything was in order before making a final decision. Moving his belongings with the help of friends and bandmates was hectic.

He spent weeks preparing for your homecoming, buying new furniture, and arranging your books to your liking, making everything perfect only then he would finally surprise you.

He's there to take you to his car the day you leave the hospital. He takes care of you in the passenger seat, buckling you in and ensuring you're ready to leave before setting off.

As Wilbur drives past your shared apartment, soft indie tunes play through the car's speakers, and you lean back against the headrest, watching the scenery pass by. You realize you passed the turn to your house and Wilbur's hand takes yours.

Wilbur turns to you with a mischievous glint in his eyes and says, "We're not going home just yet." A faint smile is on his lips as if he's hiding something from you. He then drives in a different direction, and you can't help but feel excited about what he has planned.

"Where are we going?" you ask. As you speak, he can hear your worry.

"If I told you that, it would ruin the surprise," he says.

He knows you're antsy in your seat but it'll be worth it. After driving through winding roads and trees, he pulls up to a house with an arched doorway and slanted roof, almost like the one you dreamed of growing up.

Wilbur turns off the ignition, rushes to your side, opens the car door, and with a grin offers his hand to help you out. Wilbur leads you to the front door, unlocks it with a small key, and picks you up to carry you over the threshold.

"Welcome home darling," he says.

You are led through the house, to the hallway to the cozy living room. taking everything in slowly.

The soft pillows on the sofa, your paintings on the walls, your books on the shelf, and Wilbur's record player and vinyl set up. His acoustic guitar set against the wall caused your eyes to well up.

"Wilbur," you began, but tears rolled down your face as the emotions overwhelmed you. Why was he going through all this trouble for a silly dream?

Wilbur frowned as he tried to place you on the recliner, but you clung to him, so he sat down with you in his lap. Speaking softly into your ear with tender words to calm you.

You drew away from him, noticing the worry in his gaze as you locked eyes with Wilbur, he searched your expression frantically, attempting to figure out the cause of your distressed state.

"Are you okay?" he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "I know it's a lot to take all at once, but I wanted to surprise you. I'm sorry for being secretive."

You shake your head, in slight remorse for making him assume he upset you or pushed things too far.

"I'm just so happy." you beamed tearily.

Ease washed over him, and a sigh escapes his lips. Tears well in his eyes. He gently takes the back of your head and brings you to meet him for a kiss. His lips are soft and warm as they enveloped yours passionately. You reciprocated his kiss, bringing your hands to thread in his hair. Your noses brushed as you pulled away to catch your breath.

While holding each other, you remained in that position. Your breathing was slow and unsteady, and tears streamed down your face as you cried onto Wilbur's shoulder. Everything, for the first time in a long time, felt perfect.

Everything you had ever wanted was with Wilbur, and you were never going to want anything else.

Wilbur knew in his heart, soon you would get bette, because you just had to.

End.

tagging: @merakiwi @trashcanduck  @addxms @ax-y10

[yakool-foolio]

Alexa, play Only As Good As My God by Everything Everything. It's scenic for the downfall of Stronghart, as a song about police brutality also fits the mastermind behind the killing of many nobles and criminals who claims it's all in the name of justice. The horse imagery in this song aligns with Stronghart having unicorn motifs in his design. Funny how a symbol of purity and innocence is also a symbol of power and Stronghart took that from 0 to 100.

Van Zieks can you please roundhouse kick Stronghart for me? He's right next to you. Take the shot.

Sholmes: Well, back to my home planet. Beam me up, Iris!

The prosecutors have forgiven each other at last. Damn, Mikotoba saved the life of Klint's daughter, but the mother sadly passed. Van Zieks was completely left outta the know, but since the family name was tarnished, she was kept hidden for her safety.

WAIT.

SHOLMES TOOK CARE OF THE CHILD YOU SAY?

IRIS IS THE DAUGHTER OF KLINT?! SO SHE'S BAROK'S NIECE?!

Oh this is so funny to me cause I've been imagining Iris as Apollo's ancestor because of her deductive abilities taught by Sholmes (so Apollo would also technically be related to Sholmes teehee), but now that Klint is confirmed to be Iris' father... that would mean Apollo is distantly related to Edgeworth in my hypothetical family tree and that's wild.

Aw man, Van Zieks is resigning. NEVERMIND KAZUMA COMING IN CLUTCH TO CHANGE HIS MIND!

Sholmes n Mikotoba are so fuckin' cute dude I love their dynamic so much. Ay we got the pocketwatch back for Gina! A perfect memento mori!

This sentence aged like milk left out in the scorching sun before Gina even opened her mouth.

Iris is happy with her adoptive dad Sholmes, and him n Mikotoba continue to be extremely cute. All is right with the world.

Ryunosuke has made up his mind to return to Britain as a defense lawyer. I hope he'll visit his friends here when he can. SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA HAVE TO SEPARATE AGAIN NOOOOOOOOO

:00000000000 KAZUMA'S HERE TO SAY FAREWELL AUGHHHHHHHHH AND HE'S STAYING AS A PROSECUTOR HELL YEAH DUDE! OHHHHHH MY GOD HE'S ENTRUSTING KARUMA--HIS SOUL--TO RYNOSUKE AAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM CRYING MAN YOU GO KAZUMA SLAY YOUR DEMONS I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Aww yippee Susato's staying with Ryunosuke! Kazuma and Ryunosuke promise to duel each other in court someday! En garde!

OH MY GOD SOSEKI COVERED IN KITTENS WITH REI AND HOSONAGA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS THE B TEAM I NEED!

MY HEART... I LOVE THEM... WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

AWWWWWW SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA ARE DANCING TOGETHER YAYYYYYYYY

My babies <3

MY BABIES <3 X2

And that concludes The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! This was an incredible duology that will stick with me for a long time. As much as the first game's cases may not have been as much to my fancy, the characters immediately hooked me in and the second game made it all worthwhile. The pins were set and knocked down in a fantastical fashion! TGAA2 might've actually surpassed Dual Destinies as my favorite Ace game, which is a tough height to reach! The Phantom is still my favorite culprit though, so don't worry no one's gonna steal his title heheh.

And with the story of the ancestors at an end (for now, please Capcom make a Van Zieks Investigation game with Kazuma as his assistant I beg you it's what I crave), it's time to go investigate some men with Edgeworth! Starting tomorrow! Perhaps I could write up my live reactions for this newly remastered duology, too, hmm... I'll let future Neo decide!

(To The One Who Saw This Escapade Through To Its End, And Whom I Welcome All Ramblings From - @raymondshields)

[aetherlite]

How did you feel about Mouthwashing? The art I have seen (yours included) made it a better experience because the level that really set me off was the polls monster and retrieving the bottle. Then there was what I considered rigged achievements. I will also say I love the creativity with Mouthwashing OCs in the fandom. That too made it better.

Oh man, I love this game so deeply... my account probably made that kind of obvious though lol! I find Mouthwashing so masterful in delivering what it sets out to do in a succinct way. There are multiple messages to take from it, but they're all strong and all tie together meaningfully. I like that some of them are pretty in-your-face while others are really subtle, and there's still details I pick up on during subsequent replays even though I would think I know the content of this game in and out by now!

I originally put jacksepticeye's playthrough on in the background while I was drawing since I do that with a lot of videos, and this one caught my eye because of curly in the thumbnail (I thought his design looked really cool!) I didn't get super into it immediately, but there were some moments where I had to stop and just watch... I remember the scene with feeding curly his leg hit me really hard. And then it was one of those stories I kept constantly thinking about for the rest of the week, so I had to play it for myself... and the rest is history!!

I could honestly go on forever about how much I love this game. It's hard to verbalize everything, but I think it just has so many aspects that I like in media. I love playing from the pov of an awful man completely breaking down psychologically. I love exploring the dynamic of an awful person being absolutely obsessed with somebody. I love when those awful people are relatable and remind us that sometimes the real monsters are people. I love cannibalism as a metaphor. I love strong casts of characters with distinct characterizations that bely their own deeper complexities. I love symbolic imagery! I just really enjoy the whole package LOL, psychological horror is one of my favorite genres, so finding one that really clicks with me like this gives me a huge creative boost! Not to mention curly as a character in his entirety... just looking at side by sides of him pre and post crash would make me emotional, that's how I was in deep...

It makes me really happy that my work could contribute to improving your impression of the game!! I think it's a really high honor as an artist to be able to convey my passion for something in that way, especially since sometimes I have trouble putting it to words. But obviously I could yap for ages about 100 different things in this game LMAO. So thank you for your ask!! Hopefully you don't mind my wall of text :'D

Though I totally get what you mean with the gameplay, I got lost in the blind horse maze for WAY too long my first playthrough, I struggle with the Swansea "fight" every time, and in my quest to get all of the achievements I could not get that any% glitched achievement for the life of me... This is also not the type of game/story I really get into ocs for, but I think it's great that people have so much creativity and fun with MW ocs!! I think this game is great at leaving just enough to the imagination, which makes it great for people to make their own Pony Express related characters.

[mastermindmp3]

Chloe et al.

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus (hereby referred to by Chloe et al.) is a very classic Taylor Swift song. With a strong emphasis on the lyrical twists on phrases, distinct visual imagery, and an understated backing track (the piano is crystal clear, and the later backing vocals are so lovely.)

We see that idea of a distinct visual in the opening lines. The speaker describes "Your hologram stumbled into my apartment, hands in the hair of somebody in darkness, named Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, and I just watched it happen."

Describing her (presumably, lover) as a hologram implies that they are not, truly, real. They are not grounded, not a physical thing she can have. Later in the song, she mentions a lover who "needed drugs more," so this hologram-state could also imply that they are under the influence. Her lover has their hands in another person's hair; they are bold enough to bring their affair almost to her door, with someone the narrator can't even see. The names dropped in this opening are not literal people, but the kind of exasperation of "who is it this time?" names listed from the top of a hat. They are, also, rather generically common English names.

And I just watched it happen. The narrator, knowing that her lover is not solid, not real, doesn't seem to bother to stop them. She goes on to describe how the two drift over "the decade," and how her lover, too, "just watched it happen."

(Also, I love the use of the phrase "saw my bones out with somebody new." If her lover is a hologram, unreal, then she is bones - solidly real but dry, dead.)

An interesting point in all of this is ambiguity. The narrator doesn't know who her lover is seeing in darkness, and she addresses this song directly to her lover(s?) I did see an analysis bringing up that the speaker could be addressing two different people, as the chorus's main refrains imply different types of relationships.

If you want to break my cold, cold heart, just say "I loved you the way that you were." Here, it sounds like the narrator and her lover have been together for a very long time, and her lover no longer loves her present self, longing for her before the change. If you want to tear my world apart, just say you've always wondered. This, on the other hand, implies a lover who is returning, who is tempting her with old times.

This reading is also propped up by other songs from the Tortured Poets Department which confirm the idea (Who's going to stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames) However, I like that it is also left in the dark, even for the listener. Who is left wondering if they could've made it? Who said they loved her the way she was?

The final verse ponders her lover(s), and has my favorite extended metaphor I think Swift has ever written. "Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses, cooler in theory but not if you force it to be; it just didn't happen." It's so direct: We tried to force this relationship to work, and it broke down. The idea of phantoms as past lovers (dancing phantoms on the terrace / my beloved ghost and me / well, me and my ghost, we had a hell of a time ) is scattered throughout the Tortured Poets Department.

Yet, the question goes unanswered - all her questions do. She doesn't know if it'll be enough to "float in your orbit," if the memory can fade from this "scarlet maroon." Chloe et al. much like its title, is a song uncertain, and in that uncertainty, the speaker reveals a bit of her heart, the held anxiety like a breath underwater. The only actual conclusion the narrator comes to that she will wonder.

"Will I always wonder?"

[activatebutterflyshield]

Songs that make me really really really want to learn animation so I can make epic sequences with them as the soundtrack

- Notos by the Oh Hellos, itd make a great phoenix-rising, defeated-character-realizing-their-power-and-absolutely-destroying-someone-who-did-them-real-trauma thing. Also the metaphors and imagery. “Every inhale I take, swallow the ocean whole and I am one / With the hurricane, tall as the tide that laps with a rabid tongue”??? “With every exhale I break you down with a fury, I lay the hills undone / Like a dog gone untamed, bellowing out a river from my lungs”??????

- Boreas by the Oh Hellos, the perfect sort of ‘Im completely defeated but by god I’m still going to do something to help’

- Okay I should just include all of the Four Winds EPs in here. Get over here, Eurus and Zephyrus. Passerine and Rio Grande specifically.

- The Horror and the Wild by the Amazing Devil, see this one fandom post I made that was basically a desperate attempt to visualize an animatic I could never make

- Chords by the Amazing Devil, entirely different vibes but bloody hell it lights a fire in my heart every time I hear it. Just. “We were the winter nights / So you could be the morning snow / Your life begins by leaving / And our love is shown / In the letting go”????????

- Rockslide by the Crane Wives. Im writing a whole thing about that album, Coyote Stories’, relationship with climate change and the generally horrible state of the world and this song is the reason. “Oh I pray today my soul to keep / But we best get a move on or the devil we will meet”?? I mean. Mates. It hits hard.

- Sleeping Giants by the Crane Wives. Same album as Rockslide and just as strong if not more so. It would make for a great call-to-war or prelude-to-a-big-ol-battle.

- Rule #3 Paperwork by Fish in a Birdcage. By goodness is Paperwork underrated (though methinks Rule #2 Moonlight is even more underrated but thats just a good song) and I love it to death. Just a great song for an easygoing time. Or, alternatively, a great song for a subtle call to action.

- Rule #33 Pyre by Fish in a Birdcage. Its just great. A final, fond farewell from a beloved parent or mentor or loved one or other dear person telling you that you’ll be fine after they’re gone. Also the accordion is really neat in this one. “Trust yourself and live it your way”. It just is great.

- WOLVES OF THE REVOLUTION. ARCADIAN WILD. This gave so much inspiration for writing a revolution and the people involved in it. Its perfect for that arc. It doesnt bloody matter if said revolution is in a war tragedy of a fanfic.

Theres more but I dont have much to say about them, so just know that Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier (Corb Lund), Solar Waltz (Cosmo Sheldrake), Mvmt II Begin and Never Cease (The Oh Hellos (really bloody Christian but its so good just music wise)(Also Christmas as hell)), The Day Goes On (Bill Wurtz), and my very dear Discord’s Smallest Violin (The AJR Discord) are also very dear to my heart and would probably become something if I had enough commitment and free time and all those other extremely volatile factors to actually learn how to animate. I will, someday. But that day is not today.

Also I swear to you @writer-of-random-things I am writing the climate-change-Coyote-Stories thing. It exists. Or, about half of it exists. I got to The Hand That Feeds and its. Uh. A lot.

[not-handsome-enough]

DICK KNUBBLER MAYE STILL BE ALIVE

Kinda

Alright before I do anything take this with a grain of salt, cause it’s probably a continuity error / can be easily explained away BUT if you all would like to hold onto some hope please just hear me out. And also it offers a question for yall.

Alright! So!

On twitter someone had asked Brendon and Gene about Murmaider III and its placement on Dethalbum IV ( which btw shoutout to Gene’s wife that was brilliant ) and Brendon had mentioned that what sets 3 apart from the other two was that it was more dreamlike, and that it was made AFTER Army of the Doomstar. Now since Brendon and Gene weren’t the ones to make the order on the Album we can’t set a timeline for the songs ( though they are set in Brutal to Dreamlike order once again shoutout to Genes wife you goddess ) we can at least say that some songs were made post Army. In fact we could also make some assumptions about what songs were made DURING army. So I’ll separate that list here.

NOTE : YALL DONT NEED TO READ THIS PART THIS IS JUST ME RUNNING WITH “ some songs were made post AOTD which ones could they be teehee “ JUST KNOW MURMAIDER AND SOS WERE AFTER KUBBLER DIED OK SORRy I’m not deleting that whole thing I like it

Songs with “ * “ are canon, the rest are personal interpretation.

DURING ARMY OF THE DOOMSTAR:

* Aortic Desecration ( the first song of salvation but obviously not )

* SOS ( song of salvation )

Gardener of Vengeance ( Nathan directly references this during the scene where he confides in the band and Knubbler that he doesn’t write songs about hope and he’s just doing what he knows. I believe he wrote and recorded this but felt it wasn’t good enough to be the song of salvation and moved on. HOWEVER the language he used could place this as post AOTD because it sounds more like a thrown out there example kinda like how he figured out SOS in the cave )

Poisoned By Food ( Again I think this is a scrapped song of salvation since besides the actual poisoning of food a lot of the imagery feels like the what the metalocalypse was described like )

BLOODBATH ( guess what another scrapped song of salvation. This one feels like a ‘you don’t scare me I’m going to confidently stop you because if I go down you go down with me’ song. Also it could be Nathan trying to reach out to Magnus since he was one of the people on his list. Also quick note I’m going song by song so I don’t know if I’ll notice if any other songs would reflect the list I just got out of work so I’m not gonna catch it all rn )

Horse of Fire ( this is tricky because lyrics like star still blazing allude to this being written before aortic desecration but also Nathan didn’t have the talk with the whale until the deadline came up in which he had to go with aortic desecration <he wouldn’t have had time to write about the fist or the hand.> But the lyrics don’t have the <we should reach out to the fans> revelation that SOS has. Maybe this was a draft for SOS but I think once Nathan figured out what SOS was meant to be it just came to him naturally. I’m not sure. HOWEVER since the doomstar is referred to as a star that is still blazing and not a portal that’s been destroyed it’s safe to say this is not post AOTD. Either way this is an important song to keep in mind if you look at this speculating )

POST ARMY OF THE DOOMSTAR:

* Murmaider III ( stated by Brendon Small in the interview. He said he feels that the boys would have written this after AOTD and based off of interviews he’s had in the past about his songwriting process it’s hard to not take this as canon so. )

DEADFACE ( I think this is post because while the song plays during the movie only Skwisgaar knew about the possession so the lyrics wouldn’t quite make sense yet. It’s a tricky placement but I can see Skwisgaar playing around with it since he does play the notes during the movie )

Mutilation on a Saturday Night ( this feels so much like a we survived so now we’re gonna party song I can’t see Nathan Skwisgaar or Pickles make an argument for this being a Song of Salvation. Also all the fucked up shit they talk about references what happened during the metalocalypse but it’s spoken in past tense like a ‘hey we fucked shit up but we fixed it so now we’re just gonna keep fucking around haha’)

I am The Beast ( simply cause I don’t see this as something Nathan would write during AOTD but the ‘ I am a beast this is my domain and when I speak you scream my name ‘ could work as a salvation line but it feels too much like a Mutilation Saturday Night ‘I can write whatever I want cause I lived and I’m not gonna hold back’ vibe )

Satellite Bleeding ( this feels like the first song they would have written and recorded after the doomstar died. Kinda like watching the sky clear up after a storm. )

Now despite me rambling on about this I would like to draw attention to what’s canon. Specifically SOS and Murmaider III. These songs came out after Knubbler died. Yet Dethalbum IV credits Knubbler for production.

Drawing your attention to how crediting in the Dethalbum works, each album has a little section for Dethklok to get musical credits and thank whoever and whatever. There’s also production credit and location credit. On ALL of the Dethalbums Knubbler is credited as producer. Cause he’s the producer makes sense yeayeyaeyah. But whenever there’s a change in location or production, there’s additional credits.

ANOTHER NOTE: I DONT HAVE THE KLOK OPERA CD I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE CREDITING SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE ON THERE but if someone happens to be selling that cd outside of eBay please let me know

Let’s look at them.

Dethalbum I ^

Shit ton of credits right, and on the other page which I didn’t take a picture of and can’t because I’m not home at the moment there’s credit to Snakes N Barrels for “Kill You” with each member listed. Take note that songs that are considered exceptions are credited differently and locations not at Mordhaus are credited.

I lied I have the other page. For those without the dethalbum cds the actual credits are usually on another page and “Kill You” got mixed in with it

Anyways

Dethalbum II

Hey Knubbies gets to thank someone this time! Anyways once again Knubbler is credited for production, but also Dethklok. Keep this in mind. Also the fact that different location credited for Murmaider II but it’s recorded at Mordhaus

Dethalbum III

Knubbler credit AND Abigail credit along with Dethklok AND once again location credit is Mordhaus and another fuckass place. Only thing that’s not really credited is Magnus with The Hammer but idk if he was like Toki and William where they play the songs but don’t really write or if he actually wrote The Hammer. I’m not a HammerHead, I’ve seen people interpret him as both, but at the end of the day idrk.

So what about Dethalbum IV

Knubbler is credited. At Deus Keep. Only Knubbler. Only at Deus Keep. “But he’s not credited as a Producer” True! If the album was released in universe it would probably be a producer credit. Especially since Brendon and Ulrich have Producer credit on the page prior. Maybe it’s because Knubbler didn’t make it to the final production stage. Or maybe he’s staying hidden undercover..

Remember earlier. He canonically was not around for two of these songs on this album. He could not have recorded OR mixed SOS or Murmaider III. Even if you don’t fully think that Murmaider III was made Post AOTD, SOS was done post Knubbler death. Hell, the song was dedicated to him by William! But there’s no separate credit for SOS.

If we went on the same basis as previous albums SOS would have been credited to that part of Norway where they traveled to that I forgot the name of and I’m not gonna look up but you get the point. Or even Dethklok would have been credited as production. I could also say something about how Murmaider III wasn’t recorded in the Mariana Trench and how the whale isn’t calling to Nathan anymore but that’s for another day. Right now though, it’s just Knubbler. Just Knubbler and Deus Keep.

Which leads to 3 possibilities.

Knubbler Lives: Knubbler survived ( the flashing things on the ground were teleporters ) and Deus Keep is rebuilt. To celebrate their survival they make Dethalbum IV but don’t release it

Knubbler Died: The band recorded the last few songs on the album at the remains of Deus Keep. Knubblers presets aren’t changed so credit remains to him. Once again not releasing it.

It’s not an album: Dethalbum IV doesn’t exist in universe. That’s why there’s no producer credit. That’s why Nathan doesn’t thank the klokateers ( he thanks the army of the doomstar which is just him thanking fans ). Dethklok recording it post AOTD is more to do with how Brendon records dethalbums than in universe writing.

I like to think that this is just an unreleased album in universe since the record label is more than likely destroyed, but it has the possibility of releasing one day if society is rebuilt to what it once was. But it really depends on if you think the album is canon to the universe. Cause there’s no Mordhaus credit on Dethalbum IV and there’s no way for SOS to have been recorded at Deus Keep and blablabla

something fun to think about tho yk?

TLDR: two songs on dethalbum IV were made after Knubbler death yet the credit doesn’t change for him in the dethalbum so there’s a chance that he recorded and mixed those songs cause he is alive and well horray

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics (25/12/2024)

How many comics come out this week of the cycle that I read?!? Decided to drop the Last Halloween and let it build up as there's too much other stuff going on.

Absolute Wonder Woman #2: maintaining the crown of best Absolute title!

I love Diana's calm 'I don't need you' attitude towards the military in this, which is both making it very clear she was raised by Circe AND clearly Thompson commentary on King.

Also the "yes, my horse is Pegasus. THE Pegasus" conversation made me grin.

Action Comics #1077: Clark's finally on his way back to solve the problem that's troubling Earth; Kenan and Kon have got their moment of stripping the British Museum and returning all the intergalactic treasures to their original planets; and in the Kara backup we find out she's been sent after this world-destroyer because of her hunt for Krem in SWOT.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #19: so I can't believe in the year 2024 we have a story featuring PLAS and DIANA that is busy cementing that the Mirror House and those buying trophies from it were actually separate to the Court of Owls, rather than an earlier incarnation of the imagery. Dave Wielgosz, you are a preboot fanatic trying to link things up.

I'm glad Maxine is getting a story, but hopefully it's one she comes out of safely.

Robin Season remained fairly meh, aside from Tim and Damian uniting in annoyance at Jason (though Killer Moth is famously one of Babs' rogues. I don't think he's had much to do with Jason over the years).

Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #5: Santa gets JLI membership and Unnecessary Babsgirl appears, two years in a row.

Black Canary: The Best of the Best #2: look I will say that Dinah Drake actively training Dinah Laurel as a kid is not the most common history for the two of them, but given we're still resetting everything here (and we have evidence in this of Larry as her dad, Larry as a Gotham police officer, and the family being in Gotham) I'll give some leeway.

Also there are dead Ollie jokes. I am enjoying how much this title is leaning into Ollie being obligatorily terrible in any Black Canary title.

Detective Comics #1091: using Clark for scans rather than seeking medical attention? I snorted.

The Flash #15: I think I'm going to have to read this whole storyline back to back when it finishes. Wade has a tiny Jack Jack moment.

Okay! humanoid reptiles in Skartaris are actually somewhat uncommon! But at least we are still remembering the language barrier issue where everyone in Skartaris does not speak English! (also please please please for me have Jennifer show up soon, it would be the best easter egg)

Green Arrow #18: I'm enjoying the book going back to a tighter focus rather than having characters standing around effectively doing nothing, but it could also use more than just Ollie. Waiting to see how the story plays out.

Justice League Unlimited #1: look, it's fine, but I'm not a huge fan of "everyone is on the League" style stories. Mostly dipping into the start of this to work out what the overarching plot between this, the Question, and the Atom Project is going to be.

Nightwing #120: I'm enjoying the opening story, and I'm waiting to see where Watters takes the full arc. (Give the rabbit to the Marvels, it can hang out with Hoppy!)

The Warlord #78: look I just said humanoid reptiles aren't common in Skartaris, but this storyline has one. Proving me wrong here, thanks old Warlord issues.

Travis and co head towards New Atlantis to find the stash of Ancient Atlantean weapons he wants to use to drive off New Atlantis. While crawling through tunnels they get attacked by a giant scorpion, Shakira finds a rodent of unusual size while hunting as a cat, and they discover the far future US government dogtags actually activate the Atlantean spaceships-I-mean-gravity-sleds...and one of the dogtags has Travis' name on it!

Travis falls backwards onto the gravity sled holding the activating chip with his name, as Shakira lands on him running away from the ROUS, and...the sled activates, making the two disappear! Dun dun dun!!!

[punmonster]

Her new ID just made me certain she is an intentional red herring in the LCB squad. For whom, is unclear.

Her attitude around Dante especially is not one replicated in any of her other selves to my knowledge, so whatever point the IDs usually split off from probably didn't happen to any other versions of Outis. It doesn't seem as if she's trying to act as her subordinates did to her, and she obviously isn't imitating the other sinners' attitudes.

Given there was a warning in her intro page, it seems that whomever wrote that may have been well aware of her ability to manipulate others for her own gain, given the warning of her intelect being used for anything other than missions.

I do wonder if this is part of or relates too a 'contract clause' she signed, as mentioned by a couple other sinners. It's likely that it is to return home, but where, what or who does she exactly consider as her home. Would it be with the people she loves, or has war become so much of a part of her that she may feel incomplete without battle.

It is funny that she is associated with the Trojan Horse tho - as in the bg of her official art and on her icon - which was a false gift for the sake or war, and given everything in this game has some twist on the source material, did she start a false war for the sake of a gift?

Also her and Don Quixote both have horse imagery. Immensely funny to me and for no reason.

Good day!

-[⏰]

i cant think of much to say, but i think outis served the role of a doctor. she could also be responsible for physical modifications of soldiers

the staff of hermes is a shadow in her base ego. its a common symbol in medical professions. more on this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913859/

it could be that all the history of the staff was meshed together for this game. The god of medicine once held a similar staff and he was killed by Zeus for healing so many people that there werent enough souls going to the underworld

it also has an association with ambassadors and lying, and of course hermes who traveled on feathered footwear. which could tie into the trojan horse

there is something to be said about the doctors hypocratic oath here as well. when outis saw someone suffering in canto 3, she had a method of killing him quickly. im wondering if this is the only way she could relieve her patients suffering. im wondering if this was the root of some need to rebel in her. maybe she stopped too many people from walking to their deaths. maybe she found a way out for them.

when her file says she may not have the best interests of the company in mind. that could just mean she cares more about the people under her wing, than the company, any company, itself

anyways, heres some puzzle pieces!

[wetcatspellcaster]

Do you have any writing tips for newbie fic writers? Your descriptions are gorgeous. Thank you for pieces BTW, it's my favorite 'piece' of writing ❤️

hi anon, thank you for the kind words!💞💞 I'm flattered that I'm someone that you'd think to ask this question, so I'll do my best to answer! I've put my response beneath a keep reading cut to prevent it being a long post :)

I wasn't sure how to interpret this question, so I'll focus on 'technical' (?) tips mostly. Hope any of them help, in some small way!

my main tip to new fic writers is: write, first and foremost, for yourself, and to feed yourself. I've seen this perspective get put through the disk-horse ringer of late, so take it or leave it, or take it with as much of a pinch of salt as you need. But truly, from the bottom of my heart and from my position of sudden newfound popularity, this is the most important lesson I was ever given and so I have to say it. Popularity is not guaranteed. Even a popular fic will have haters and people who think it objectively sucks, and the readers who like you will never be fully pleased with what you've delivered. This could all be very depressing and cause an author to lose motivation.... if you make it the criteria for success in the first place. If you make the criteria for success your own happiness (or perhaps the happiness of you and a few close pals), providing yourself with what you, specifically, want to see, you will probably want to keep writing regardless of all other factors. Produce fics that you want to reread when you need comfort, when you are sick, and when you want to see your blorbos exactly the way you want them. This will make any fic worthwhile to you, regardless of stats, and prevent you from writing things that will suffer if your heart isn't in it! (this doesn't preclude gift fics/prompts! sometimes your heart can be 100% in providing food for others. find your key motivators, and feed that - a healthy amount - if you're trying to get into writing as a hobby!)

Now, onto my writing tips! I don't consider myself an expert and these are more lessons that have helped me, specifically, to improve my writing. But maybe something in here will be of use!

Bc you say you like descriptions... I tend to go into detail only when it's an essential thing that needs to be described. Leave wider details for readers to fill in with their own beautiful mind-palaces, and this gives you permission to go ham on what matters. What is it that matters? maybe it's a piece of the environment (say, a soul jar) or maybe it's just how hot one part of your ship is, in their hot clothes or out of them. If you focus on the important stuff but leave the rest to background, this not only creates a good balance of action to description, but it also shows the reader what they should prioritise in the scene.

I also google '[WORD] synonyms' a lot, for descriptions specifically. Which seems like it might be condescending advice, but it both helps you find different words if you're worried you're repeating yourself, and sometimes confirms that yes. You are using the best word actually, as you were.

Get a good balance of complex/simplistic words, as well as a good balance of complex/simplistic sentences. Sometimes you need a flowery description, sometimes you just need to state explicitly what is happening or the way things are. Tone will shift depending on your balance of these two things, so test the waters and see what works for you!

If you feel like you've written too much dialogue, the answer is probably no, you haven't written too much dialogue - for fic specifically. Most people are reading fic bc they want their faves to interact more. You are giving them more interaction and they will probably love it.

If you find phrases you like in the books/fic you read, it isn't plagiarism to use them so long as you recontextualise them. I'm certain I've used other people's words multiple times, particularly for my descriptions/imagery, and this is totally ok so long as the context is original. If you're worried, or its a whole sentence/interaction you like, examine the sentence/interaction and work out why you like it so much. Is it the sentence structure? Is the character dynamic? Is it the way the kiss plays out? Take the things you find sexiest in other people's writing and find ways to incorporate it into your own work!

I proofread by reading aloud. Yes, I sound mental and unhinged. My cats are worried about me. But this not only helps you catch mistakes, it helps to test the flow of a sentence! If you're ever worried a sentence is too long/a line of dialogue doesn't sound in character, read it aloud! This will help you work out if it's flowing or not, and if it isn't then you'll get some clues as to why!

Don't be afraid to take risks, if you want to take risks! This can apply to anything: being brave enough to put in a joke you're not sure people will find funny, describing something in a way you're worried people will find weird, tackling something from a perspective or POV that you find challenging. This may be a more intermediate tip, but you can start with small risks, and experimenting helps you find your writing voice! Taking risks makes your writing unique :) and I can't explain how much better my writing has gotten since I gave myself specific challenges. You will not get it perfectly write 100% of the time (there are some parts of Pieces that are weak compared to other parts) but it will always help you improve.