#also the story itself has been edited but i have no gone over it for grammar and syntax too much

[aphel1on]

the longer i look at this panel the more deranged i feel about it. this is environmental storytelling at its finest.

the eodio stand-in doll in particular makes me crazy. where did it come from? did thistle just pop into the village like "hey ungrateful wretches, one of you needs to make me a life-sized mannequin, For Reasons". did he make it himself? seems quite unlikely, yet the possibility haunts me. i mean, i guess there could've been one just lying around the dungeon somewhere. it's the act of replacement itself that really gets to me. (edit: it's been pointed out to me that the eodio doll also could have been left behind as part of delgal's escape plan. slightly different kind of madness but tbh, just as funny-sad to me if that happened and thistle went Ok, Guess That's Eodio Now.)

both the wives are there too. we know very little about them, which makes me tend to assume thistle wasn't all that close to them, but they're still included. when did they end up here? did he kick their souls out of their bodies at some point, or were they among those who left their bodies voluntarily to try and escape? when did yaad become an effective orphan, delgal an effective widower? women in the margins of the narrative, tell me your stories!

and the fact that they're surrounded with the living paintings, which thistle habitually wanders through to relive the past. this truly is his inner sanctum, his place of utmost comfort... and it may as well be a tomb.

that panel is so creepy when you first see it. just a sense of "ohh jeez, there's a lot to unpack there".

and actually, yeah, it remains creepy from pretty much any angle, but the more you think about it the more it's also tragic.

this is where many of thistle's happiest moments took place. everything he had in that picture is now gone. first he lost their warm regard, then one-by-one their bodies became hollow shells. before the end, none of the people here needed or enjoyed food anymore. the dinner table, as a center of both family life and nutrition, became obsolete.

a line from someone else's excellent post about thistle has stuck in my head ever since i read it: "to eat is to live, but to eat together is to be loved". to me, this is the sentiment and symbolism at the core of everything that happens in dungeon meshi.

it makes this bit all the sadder and more disturbing.

there's several things to note here:

thistle has gone from seated and eating with them as part of the family, to a lonely and ominous figure hovering over delgal's shoulder

eodio is conspicuously absent from view, and his body would have been a husk by now, but yaad says parents, which forces me to assume that they are sitting at the table with eodio's soulless body, hidden under yaad's speech bubble

they're not actually eating anything.

those plates are empty. you could assume that they've already finished eating, maybe, but yaad refers to it as sitting around the dinner table. in fact, he compares it to what he's currently doing; sitting at the dinner table watching the touden party eat, not eating anything himself.

it paints a pretty grim picture. for some time even after the fantasy had fallen apart, even after there was no need or desire to eat, they kept gathering around the dinner table. at that point, i'd guess only so as not to provoke thistle's wrath.

but even that last happened a long, long time ago.

this is a callback to what senshi said in the golden kingdom: the reason the people keep maintaining their fields and silverware and so forth is that they need to do so in order to stay sane.

paradoxically, the dinner table is the most striking evidence of thistle's insanity, and at the same time, it's the only anchor to sanity he has left.

he kept enforcing the ritual of dinner together long after it lost significance. when even that was impossible- because almost everyone's souls were gone- he kept their bodies at the table anyway. it's fine. it's fine! he's protected them, physically, just like he set out to. they're all still breathing. at a glance it looks like they could wake up and resume dinner at any moment. like this, it's easy to pretend.

isn't that what being a dungeon lord is, at the core of it? rejecting reality, staying in the prison of one's impossible desires. it's just one long game of pretend.

thistle did all this to protect his loved ones. no matter how obsessive and twisted he became in pursuit of that over the years, his core motivation never changed. this is all he has left of that dream: his loved ones' bodies gathered around the locus of their happiest memories together. like this, he can tell himself he's succeeded.

when eodio's body vanished with delgal's soul in it- when he couldn't even have that anymore... well.

i want to reach through the screen and shake him. no, they're not, thistle. THISTLE, NO, THEY'RE NOT! the doll of eodio is the closest thing to him in this panel, underlining the point. when that final illusion was shattered, he became completely unable to cope with reality.

therefore casually forgetting the creepy eodio doll isn't real.

thistle isn't stupid. eodio's body vanished at the same time as delgal's soul. shortly after, more adventurers came pouring in than ever before. deep down, he knows what happened. if he didn't, being confronted with the truth by mithrun wouldn't have made him panic so hard he summoned chimera falin to the first floor.

yet still...

he absolutely can't admit that to himself. he is clinging to the last scraps of the illusion with everything he has.

this is a dungeon lord at the end of desire. this is a lotus-eater machine left running long after its conclusion. this is mithrun lying listlessly in his bed, his replica lover having given up any pretense of being human. the illusion is all that's left. (an illusion is all it ever was.) thistle and the citizens of the golden kingdom- they're ghosts just as much as the ones who wander the dungeon floors. and if it weren't for thistle sealing the lion away, he would've been eaten by it long ago.

all of this encapsulated by that single panel of the dinner table.

[dcdreamblog]

What's your favorite exhibit at the museum? And what's something you guys don't have out all the time that you wish more people could see?

So I guess this gives me a chance to fully explain how our lovely little spot is laid out for those of you who may be curious.

(A cross section of the Perisphere as it existed during the war, we have now converted this image into a brochure for the museum)

My favorite spot in the entire museum is the "ground" floor, where you enter the building from the Trylon and come out into what was the seating and speaking area. It's the largest floor in the building and the main sector of exhibits. Along every wall there is a special case exhibit for every hero that served within the Squadron.

The Exhibits start with the Crimson Avenger directly to the left of the door, going in chronological order every hero that appeared afterwards until it circles back around to the entrance. This is also where most of my work day is spent. As a tour guide and general historian I lead groups through our "extensive" tour.

The "Extensive" tour is the most expensive and most in depth option we offer. It's about 15 bucks per person with discounts for groups. I take you through every. single. exhibit in the building on a personally guided walking tour. It takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the group. It is designed for people who want to really sink their fingers into every exhibit and artifact we have to offer.

I am one of only two people on staff who gives these tours, because I am the only person who volunteered, when it was decided I had to be put on other duties later in the day they had to give the other poor girl a raise just to get her to agree. It is 2/3rds of what I do in a day. I get to give about 2 of them before I get traded off onto other duties. The first extensive tour starts at 9 AM and the last one finished at 6 PM.

My favorite singular exhibit is the alcove we have where all the members of the Freedom Fighters are shown. It has some of our best artifacts and, is actually frequented by the real life, actual, no shit Uncle Sam. He gives me a 15 minute break or so whenever I run into him as he regales the people with stories from the front lines and I get to watch people's reactions after I tell them that that is the actual, real life Uncle Sam.

My favorite singular CASE is actually further back in the 7 Soldiers area, where I get to see older folks realize that the Vigilante was country western star Greg Saunders.

As for things we don't keep out, while all the floors of the Perisphere itself are accessible to the public, the below ground areas that were once the labs and workshops are closed off and converted into our storage and study spaces. Every single scrap of ANYTHING that was in the building when it was turned over to our organization was filed away down there and a lot of it has gone VERY unsorted. Until SOMEONE (he knows who he is) convinced me to stick my neck out and get to doing it myself. After my lunch break for the final tour period I get rotated off and sent downstairs to sort through every little piece of garbage that the heroes of the past left behind.

When I tell you the things I have discovered.

I have seen the first line of Greg Saunders' most famous song scribbled on the inside of a candy bar wrapper. One of the words is different, implying to me that this was the first time he'd tried to write those words down.

A letter from Joan Williams to Jay Garrick with a lipstick kiss next to her name. I found this one on the same day of her funeral and I felt like a fucking knob. I have never been so guilty in my LIFE.

Books of Arthurian tales where Shining Knight has scribbled MST3K style corrections in the margins. His bookmark was an actual feather from his actual pegasus.

Some of the original notes Tarantula would later turn into field defining book. Before editing. Which means I now know which members of the team were AWFUL potty mouths.

An actual, labeled bottle of Miraclo pills. Still sealed. Nope. Nope, nope, nope, NOPE. For anyone asking if I was tempted I refer to you my post on Miraclo.

The problem of course being that a LOT of these artifacts are intensely personal and not just for us to keep and display. When I find something, and I find out what it IS, my job is then to attempt to return it to whoever it belongs to. I'm not just going to keep a love letter that was sent in confidence between the Garricks. And I sure as HELL was not going to fuck around with a sealed bottle of 70 year old super-pills.

So the last thing I do every day is compile a list of what I have found and what I think it IS, in a biiiggg excel spreadsheet, that I then send off to the modern JSA. Some of it gets donated to the museum, I'd say a slim majority of it gets taken off to be given out to the heroes themselves or their various next of kin.

THOSE are the moments I wish that I could share. To have their writing, their small comforts, their worries, their loves, their fears between my fingertips. More than once I have stumbled upon something that's left me deeply emotional in ways I don't think I can comfortably explain.

If I could show the whole world anything, it would be that. To be looking down at the handwriting of someone you thought was a legend. And instead see a scared, anxious 20 something risking it all because somebody had to.

Anyway, please feel free to ask other questions about the museum or my work here, I thought that'd be more of what this blog was but I am starting to suspect more everyday that this blog has breached multiversal containment ^^'

[dark-academia-alcoholic]

Life in the office can be a bit dull, but the routine of daily activities promises stability, and a decent paycheck. Sitting in the break room during lunch is often the best time of day. Aside from enjoying whatever lunch has been packed for the day, there's also ample time and space to do some people watching.

It's interesting how even in "adult" life, the break room is split into clicks like back in high school. From the production line workers, to the scientists, and even the administrators. All of them sit within their groups, only a few venture to the table of another.

There's also plenty of time to watch the people behind the scenes: the janitors who clean the tables and microwaves, the Coke employees who stop by only to restock the vending machines, and the coffee pots which are tended to by ...wait, who tends the coffee pots?

Stop and think about it for a minute. It seems that no one ever fills the water, adds the beans, or brews the coffee, yet there are always four pots full. The deluxe machine has two brew stations, and two additional heaters, all of which are always full and piping hot. People come and go, grab some coffee, yet the pot remains full.

But how?

This situation is most troubling, only because there is no obvious answer. Days are spent observing the machine, always with its full pots of coffee, never with anyone brewing any.

Could it be that the observer is being observed? Ridiculous. Yet the googly eyes someone stuck to the machine certainly don't help. And the fact that the eyes just moved on their own doesn't help either.

Wait.

The googly eyes just moved. Now there's a sound, a familiar sound, but it seems strange in this setting. The sound of coffee brewing.

There's no one else in the break room. Yet the coffee is being brewed. The googly eyes are definitely watching.

Then the answer becomes clear:

The coffee machine is a mimic.

Yet there have been no cases of injury or dissapearences. The electric OSHA sign proudly reports that the warehouse has gone 281 days without incident.

So then why would a mimic choose the form of a coffee machine? Why does it not do normal mimic things? Hundreds of people must interact with the mimic daily, yet it does nothing but serve fresh, hot coffee.

Could it be that this office mimic loves the employees? Is it an employee itself? Does it just have a passion for making coffee?

Perhaps these new questions are more unnerving than the original mystery of the bottomless coffee pots.

But, lunch break is over, so we must depart from our Office Mimic for now.

~ Abadon

Have a random story about Office Mimic who loves you (or loves making coffee, you decide which)! This was a random idea I've had floating around my head for some time, based on real experiences. I'm not entirely convinced our own coffee maker isn't a mimic.

I wrote this in one pass, with no editing or even rereading, cause I live life on the edge like that. I wanted to try to write something from the perspective of a non-present observer (save but the final line). So no "you notice" type phrases. There's probably a term for that type of perspective, but I'm no lit professor.

Also uh, @churchofthemimic may enjoy this. Your posts are a good reason why I felt compelled to jot this down, so.

[girl-failure]

Transwoman needs answers

this isnt an easy post to write and it's going to be full of info about me that's personal and embarassing but I am desperate for answers and assitance so please bear with me. Long story short, im almost 3 years hrt (may 19th will be exact) and it's like nothing has changed. More info under the cut.

I'm going to try and explain everything to the best of my memory, but exact dosages and stuff might be fuzzy and inexact. I began HRT on May 19th 2021, when I was 22. I took one and a half 2mg pills, twice (morning and night) daily. I took them sublingually. I was also prescribed Spironolactone, though the exact dose escapes me (i remember it was 1 pill nightly). I had only come out as trans in the December the previous year, so i considered myself unfathomably lucky to get to start so soon. I had done this through informed consent at a planned parenthood and was excited by the possibility of a future where my own body didn't make me want to die. The idea of changing my body gave me a feeling of control in my life that had been entirely absent until that point. I knew I wanted all the help I could get with breast development (the women in my immediate family are well endowed) and I had read & heard from other trans women that prog could help, but I'd have to wait to ask for it.

I think it was on December 15, 2021, I was officially prescribed 100 progesterone nightly. At this point I had began to notice softer skin, lighter hair, the few bits of acne left over from high school had gone entirely, and the inklings of breasts beginning to form. My libido had all but dissipated entirely at that point, but I was told (mostly by other trans women) it would come back, especially after starting prog, and that my body would likely experience pleasure differently, and that my orgasm would be very different. The fat from my stomach (i wasn't overweight or underweight, i was pretty average for a man my height, but I did have a masculine stomach I despised) hadn't relocated at all, but I knew HRT wasn't a sprint, but a marathon, and I had a long way to go. This continued for a long time, eventually i would be bumped up to two 2mg of E (sublingual pill) twice daily (8mg total), and my Spiro would change to 200mg a day EDIT: My Spiro dosages did fluctuate, though again I don't recall the exact dosages, (I initially got it confused with my prog dosage, sorry), though there was the occasional few week period where I'd be bumped back down to one and a half E pills because I had timed my blood-work poorly. It had been a while since starting HRT and I was starting to worry. My libido never came back, I was unable to feel the sensation of pleasure entirely, my breasts & nipples never became sensitive or had growth pains, and my breasts really hadn't grown at all. My stomach still made me feel awful and masculine because fat continued to pile up there instead of in the feminine places I was told and led to believe it should!!! I was scared and frightened and upset. I'd say I developed an eating disorder but my eating was already disordered. I was afraid of food. Afraid it'd just make me look manly, instead of going to my hips/waist/whatever and breasts like it was supposed to. I began to feel like the hrt that was supposed to save my life was just making me feel worse.

On October 23rd, 2023, I finally started seeing a doctor again after 9 years of not being able to afford it, and only then because a parent got insurance through their work. I was officially prescribed Estradiol Valerate (.3mL intramuscular, and the bottle itself is 20mg/mL) , and quit Spiro outright. Now that I was talking to a doc, especially one who had been working with trans people in my area for years, I was starting to have hope again that maybe injections would solve my problems. After all, they're supposed to be more powerful right? Well after some blood-work revealing that my T levels were so low they were undetectable, we started fiddling with my injection dosages. I went down to .25mL. Nothing changed. I went down to .2ml. Nothing changed. I stayed at .2mL and was prescribed a med called EstraTest (.625mg E and 1.25mg T), a single pill which has both E and T in it, to try and raise my T levels back to measurable levels and hopefully find that golden ratio of E and T where maybe my body will start working again and start changing. But that brings us today. I still don't feel any sensation of pleasure (masturbating is pointless, intimacy just feels like I'm disappointing my partner), let alone a female orgasm (which as embarrassing as it is to admit, I was really looking forward to), my nipples still don't get sensitive and my chest doesn't get sore or get growing pains. My breasts look the same way they did 4 months into hrt. I've still had practically no fat redistribution, though I've gotten better about eating and not being afraid of food. I'm even beginning to notice my acne slowing starting to come back. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Why has nothing worked? Why does it feel like I'm regressing? I lost my health insurance earlier this week, and I can't afford to see my doctor again with my dumb pizza delivery job, so I haven't been able to ask to try anything more drastic to try and fix these issues. My current theories are that maybe my body is just more resistant to E? Which would be awful, but might be handled by just tripling my dose or something? Or

that my receptors are fried, and that the only solution would be to stop taking my HRT for a while (maybe even a long while). I pray that isn't the case, because I'd sooner off myself then let my body regress any further.

So this is a call for help. If anyone has any idea what could be causing these problems for me, or knows how I might be able to fix them, PLEASE let me know. I've lost hope in having a future as a woman, or even just feeling apathy towards my body (instead of intense self-loathing) at this point.

Here's my ca$happ if anyone wants to throw some money my way and maybe I'll be able to see the doctor again. cash.app/$occultChloe

[criticalbeauregard]

how agathario could've won

EDIT: people are taking this post as me saying every ship needs a happy ending to have value or that the ending was bad bc they don’t end up riding off into the sunset. let me clarify this was just an idea i had (also without context for several jac interviews that have since come out)

i've been thinking a lot about the finale and how some people have been saying "what did you think was going to happen? you thought they were going to live happily ever after?" to which i didn't really have a good answer for but i've been collecting my thoughts and i have a bit of a "fix it" or alternate concept for ep 8 & 9 that could possibly turn into a fic down the road:

episode 8 is the earth trial and final showdown. i feel like the earth trial itself was pretty underwhelming in favor of sending jen and billy out of the "road" and also in the larger context of the rest of the episode i'm unsure of the purpose it serves. with the later knowledge that the road is all billy's design this makes sense, but agatha's growth (literally) in that moment alone seems inconsequential and essentially washes away when she exits the "trial" and sees rio. she says, with something that sounds like acceptance, "sometimes boys die." and she's in what would be rio's trial. she talks about life coming out of death, she literally grows a flower from a seed within the momento she carries for her dead son. it feels like an acceptance or understanding of rio's actions in a way. and possibly a nod to nicky not being fully gone. i would've liked (i suppose in a world where the road doesnt hinge on billy's knowledge of the coven members) for rio's trial to be more centered around her loss of nicky and agatha. the other trials focus on the greatest fears of the coven member associated with it after all. perhaps a trial that also forces agatha to reveal the true story of what happened to nicky to jen and billy, even ending similarly with sending the others away and finding true acceptance of what rio is and that she was nicky's mother too. maybe with prompting from the others and reassurance about how the truth is not "too awful" (which i think is a belief born of agatha's shame for not being able to protect nicky).

in the final showdown, rio is expecting a fight since agatha didn't make good on her deal. but agatha is coming to rio with something she doesn't expect, understanding. maybe rio thinks it's a trick and there's still some sparring there, billy then shows up and powers up agatha. rio asks which one of them is coming with her. agatha, injured, yells out "what would our son think of this?" rio falters at that. agatha talks about what she's learned and maybe even how that very nature she's hated for so long is what made her fall in love with rio to begin with. agatha wants to make a new deal, rio lets billy go and when agatha dies (a long long time from now) they will go reunite with their son together. rio regretfully tells her "that balance still must be maintained, i can offer only time" and agatha tearfully says "i know." they kiss, not a kiss of death, but of life. a renewal of their love. flowers bloom around them, all of the ones rio never got to give to her over the years. and when agatha opens her eyes again, rio is gone.

in episode 9 we see agatha and rio meet for the first time, agatha have nicky, rio play with nicky in the woods on some nights while agatha sleeps, everything else we see with nicky and agatha's relationship, rio and nicky's last walk and maybe also rio and agatha's first encounter after nicky's death, perhaps in which we gain some insight into why agatha is keeping up the witches' road con.

having heard the story during the earth trial and through witnessing her deal with rio, billy has a deeper understand of why agatha is the way she is. this reminds him of wanda and he realizes why agatha actually was so interested in what wanda did. she says the bit about him reminding her of nicky and how he always did even when he was young. he thanks her for buying him time, agatha tells him to make the most of it and that things might move quicker with another set of hands. "coven two." they go to find tommy.

idk lmk what you think and if i'm forgetting something very glaring but this idea was heavily inspired by @agatharkn3ss 's nicky's parentage theory post.

[theweirdhybrid]

Edit: This post is directed at people who also use Twitter/X or any other social media platform that Lego has a presence on, if you are not one of those people feel free to ignore this post (and leave me alone, please)

I haven't been in the LMK fandom for a hot minute, but holy SHIT you guys NEED to calm down about the animation team changing. It's literally fine. The animation quality is fine. It Is Fine. It changed SLIGHTLY. When I first heard about the animation being shitty, I thought "Oh man, it must've been really bad for people to be so upset over this." And then I actually watched the trailer. What the fuck, guys.

As far as I could tell, the animation quality was largely the same, just with a few minor differences in style that in the grand scheme of things, aren't that noticeable. It's just Different.

There is no reason to be throwing a hissy fit over Flying Bark having to hand LMK over to a different team because they couldn't keep up with the deadlines. None. Literally not a single one. Do y'all have any idea how lucky it is that all that happened was the animation style changed a little bit? If things behind the scenes had gone even a little differently, the show would've been cancelled in its entirety. (Not to mention we could be seeing the UNFINISHED PRODUCT. CALM. DOWN. And even if we aren't y'all STILL need to CALM. THE HELL. DOWN.)

And as far as I can tell, the story and writing itself seems perfectly fine as well, the ANIMATION TEAM changing has NO EFFECT on the WRITER'S TEAM.

Would you prefer the animation to have changed a little bit with the same quality of writing, or would you prefer the animation stay the same and the writing to go down the drain? Because I've seen that happen before. I lived through VLD. It's a lot fucking worse.

Seriously, I'm not joking. At All. If you make a big enough stink about LMK's style changing just a TINY BIT, sure, they COULD change it, but for a show that is relatively unpopular, barely has a foothold on any LEGAL streaming services and is hanging on to life by the SKIN of its TEETH, has only ELEVEN MINUTES PER EPISODE INCLUDING CREDITS, something a LOT worse is more likely to happen.

With the rate shows get cancelled these days, if people jump ship or complain too much over A TINY DIFFERENCE IN ANIMATION, the show could be cancelled.

Also, I get you're upset and sad to see Flying Bark go, and maybe that's where your anger is coming from, but please keep those thoughts to yourself or in private spaces. If you get too loud about disliking the show in ANY capacity, the entire thing gets nuked.

And if you're still planning on complaining publicly about it...

GET OVER YOURSELF.

IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, IT'S A CARTOON. CHECK YOUR GODDAMN PRIVILEGE, IT IS THE TINIEST OF ANIMATION CHANGES, KINDLY SHUT UP AND DIRECT THAT ANGER AT SOMETHING USEFUL.

[bichietozier-s]

🕷️Catch You On The Web!!🕸️

An Itafushi spiderman socmed au ❤️

In which Yuuji Itadori, newly a sophomore in college who still has not a clue what he wants to do with his life, gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains new abilities, stats and powers. He's coasting on his raw athletic ability, a full-ride scholarship handed to him despite his less-than-perfect grades, when he realizes he's got way more ahead of him than he'd ever imagined. Including, but not limited to, a newfound crush that also throws him for a loop.

you are reading:

Prologue | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 (coming soon!)

notes:

teehee megumi crisis moment // tw: i think i put kms jokes in this part? i cant quite remember but i usually toss those in with megumi so just a warning 🫶🏻

edit: forgot to add that loml and kirbys gay friend are nobara pov, while the rest are all megumi pov 🙂‍↕️ should be obvious enough who were talking to though! :3

Megumi sat down on his lofted dorm mattress, out of breath, with slightly reddened cheeks and eyes wide. What the hell was that???

He posted his vague tweet and instantly flopped back onto his bed, still wearing his jacket with his shoulder bag still tucked around his body. He laid there for a while simply staring at his ceiling, catching his breath and replaying that moment over and over and over in his head.

Again… What the hell was that?????

He certainly got what he’d gone for, getting to witness exactly what the beefed-up jock meant when he said “superhuman abilities”. But, even though he had expected to see Yuuji there after Yuta let him know he was on the team, he truly hadn’t expected the interaction he’d gotten. 

Still, he finds the only thought repeating itself in his head to be, “what the HELL was that?”

The question repeats itself as a way to ask literally, what the hell did he just witness? But also, it functioned as a way for him to ask himself what happened to him. Why did he freeze up so badly? Did he make himself look like a fool because of that? He couldn’t stop staring at Yuuji, but somehow, he couldn’t even muster up a response.

Not even a thank you. 

Shit. Now he would have to seek the other boy out again just to thank him. Or, maybe just this once, he could hold up that facade that he was a heartless asshole who didn’t care about anyone or anything. Especially the guy he’d just met days ago and immediately found attractive despite the lack of a brain in his head.

Oh, yeah. He just thought those words. He found him attractive. 

This was something he could never share with the rest of the world. Under any circumstances.

After another 10 minutes of staring at his ceiling, replaying the scene over and over and over and OVER, still wearing his jacket and bag, he realized that he would never be able to keep this a secret, who was he kidding? Also, he would definitely be seeking Yuuji out on purpose again. Whether to Yuuji’s knowledge or not, he didn’t care.

Did that make him weird? Or a creep? It didn’t matter. 

His phone buzzed in his hand.

He had been laying here for a little over a half hour doing this. God damn he was pathetic.

Why did he have to find the way-out-of-his-league, no-brained-idiot jock attractive? He was doomed.

His phone buzzed in his hand once more, so he picked it up to see replies coming through on his stupid tweet. He huffed out a loud sigh, before hoisting himself up off of his bed, finally removing his bag and jacket, and then responding to them.

Nobara had expertly tracked down Yuta through the internet (read: found him through Yuuji’s private account on twitter) and got his number so she could conspire with him over Yuuji’s own love life.

She had little to no knowledge on this “pizza guy” who wasn’t even the pizza guy, and had never met Yuta before, although she’d heard plenty about him through Maki. From what she could tell though, he seemed like a fine dude.

After the brief introduction she offered to him, Nobara and Yuta began sharing their own stories on the perspectives they had to offer for each boy in question through a facetime call. Nobara needed to know more about this “Megumi”, how he truly fit into all this, and especially if he was even worthy enough to consider as a possible partner for her best friend. And Yuta was simply here to offer that information up to her.

He started from the beginning of this school year, telling Nobara everything he could offer up that might overlap for her. Anything that had to do with Yuuji, from the fact that he lives in the room above Yuta himself and his boyfriend Toge, all the way down to the last time he spoke to him, filling in all of the blanks that had to do with Megumi, as well.

The pieces were already falling into place for Nobara. She was seeing how they were all somehow connected to one another without even knowing or realizing it. 

After Yuta had wrapped up his storytime, Nobara shared hers, which as she had expected, was minimal in comparison to what Yuta offered for her (especially considering she needed some extra intel on who Megumi even was, whereas Yuta at least knew Yuuji pretty well). 

Where Yuta explained the progression of events with Yuuji acting odd, not being able to sleep and all of that, Nobara was able to offer insight on those things. She also was able to connect things Yuuji had told her about with things that Yuta knew of Megumi and what he’d been up to.

And then came that tweet from Megumi, not even an hour before Yuta and Nobara had their girl talk session. 

“So, obviously since you don’t know Megumi, you wouldn’t know about this, but…” Yuta trailed off as he ran to grab a screenshot of Megumi’s recent tweet to send to Nobara. “Look at what he tweeted a little while ago,” he said, the sound of a shit eating smirk evident in his voice.

“Oooooohhhh, interesting, okay,” Nobara hummed out, pursing her lips, her face showing her deep, deep thought process. “And this is after he supposedly went to a practice for the football team?”

“Yeah, and like, he said he only wanted to go because he’d heard some other dude from the team talking up this other guy who apparently had superhuman strength or some shit,” Yuta said, not realizing exactly who the “guy with superhuman strength” was. 

But luckily, Nobara was a professional at gossip. So she caught on incredibly fast. 

“Oh! So he was going to specifically check out Yuuji, got it,” she laughed, saying it sarcastically and assuming they were both on the same page. Well, they certainly were now. 

“WAIT-” Yuta yelled. “NO WAY.” 

Nobara looked back at him through her phone screen with raised eyebrows.

“OH MY GOD, YOU’RE RIGHT! HE WANTED TO GO TO WATCH YUUJI! TOGE!” Yuta looked off to the side of his phone screen where Nobara couldn’t see, or hear, Toge. Soon she was watching Yuta communicate with his mute boyfriend, signing out of habit even though it wasn’t necessary as he yelled about Yuuji being the reason that Megumi wanted to go watch the football practice.

He finally came back to the phone screen, a huge grin plastered on his face. “I can’t believe I didn’t catch on to that before, but I guess I didn’t really have all the details on Yuuji’s weird increase in strength,” Yuta said to Nobara. “But, do you think he even knew it was Yuuji? I mean, I hardly knew anything about Yuuji’s strength and shit, Megumi definitely wouldn’t. They only met for the first time a few days ago, and clearly Megumi was as disinterested in Yuuji as he is with anyone else. If not moreso. He also told me he didn’t even know Yuuji was on the team, I suppose…” He trailed off at the end, realizing that Megumi definitely didn’t know it was Yuuji prior to going.

Nobara thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you have a point. He probably didn’t know it was all Yuuji they were talking about, but if he didn’t know then, judging on that tweet, he definitely knows now,” she stressed the word ‘definitely’, laughing as she finished her thought. She was right on the money with that one.

After the two talked for nearly two hours, they finally ended the call with Nobara needing to get started on her hour-long-before-bed-self-care routine, promising Yuta an exciting update by the end of the night.

“What are you gonna do??” Yuta asked, morbidly curious of what this devious girl he just met was capable of.

“I’m requesting assistance from the queen, of course,” she wiggled her eyebrows, before bidding him goodnight, and telling him to extend that to Toge as well. 

As soon as that call ended, she flew to text her girlfriend, roping her into this wildly massive scheme she was planning.

author's note:

SO SO SORRY FOR THE LONG PAUSE BETWEEN UPDATES GUYS AAAHHH i got super duper sick (i had pneumonia 🤪) and then i just have been lazy and keep putting off actually formatting the post for this bc it takes me like a good 20 minutes at LEAST bc of how i do it eugh BUT ITS HERE NOW!! next part is not yet in the works but it wont be as long of a break inbetw i prommie 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

and as a reminder pls just ask to be added to the taglist if youd like 🙂‍↕️

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@meme-ty7 @runfrme @poemeater @gemicorn

[miyoron]

Anime of Note 2024 Edition

Hello hello, it's 2024 end of the year so I'm throwing out my usual anime garbage! As always, these are in the order I watched and remember things, how great and well organized I am!

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Past Write Ups

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Freiren

Frieren was one I actually started watching last year but it's definitely one of my favorites I watched through the beginning of the year. The story is very simple: we follow an elf from a heroic party that defeated a demon king and join her many many years after her original journey. Frieren is not very good at socializing or picking up on the cues involved with them. It all comes with the territory of being a long lived race perhaps. Or Frieren is just that awkward of an elf, who can say.

The show is very nicely animated and the cast is super fun too. Fern and Frieren's dynamic is very fun, and so is good boy Stark. I enjoyed all the fun little expressions, even when it's something as simple as a pout or a "nyoron" ass look of disappointment. The show is soothing and a little melancholy given the subject matter, but there's also action in between to go along with it. It's enjoyable to see Frieren going through her journey to meet up with her old party member Himmel, even if she's more than content to take as much time as she pleases to get there. Sometimes that means getting stuck in a Mimic's grasp and crying about how dark it is. Frieren is a good time, highly recommended.

Dungeon Meshi

I wrote about Dungeon Meshi the manga on a previous year's list, and now it's out in anime form! By Trigger no less! The show is pretty much everything I could have asked for, except being trapped in Netflix jail which means I probably won't be able to get a bluray of it which is stupid. Actually the only thing it's missing from the manga is the stat readouts of the food when it's completed.

But again, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon is a manga about an adverturing party returning to the mysterious dungeon where they're trying to get back a beloved party member who was eaten by the Red Dragon that took them all out. They don't have enough money for supplies though so they must learn to live off the dungeon itself by cooking and eating the monsters within. With help from a new dwarven party member, who's very used to cooking these things, they venture forth!

Dungeon Meshi is really good still and I'd recommend both the manga and anime. I even went to a Dungeon Meshi collab cafe on my Japan trip this year. Can't wait for season 2.

Happiness Charge Precure

If you've been keeping up with these lists, you'd know every year me and my friend Cheapsteaks have been watching minimum 1 old Precure series. Well this year we made it to the final old show, Happiness Charge. Going in, I've been told a lot of bad things about this one, that it's one of the worst and all. Of course worst by Precure standards still usually has something in it I enjoy? And I'd agree that it was not one of my favorite seasons but atleast it has Hime who gives it more good will than it probably should have.

The villains are pretty silly too, I love a doofus trio though they're nowhere near as fun as say the Smile dorks. It's not a bad little season but I can definitely see why it's not held in as high regards as the others. Blue just sucks like…a whole lot. But I guess what can you expect from religion right? Also the fact that he has atleast 2 underage girls with a crush on him is awkward and bad. You suck Blue, get outta here. Again, atleast there's Hime who kinda carries the whole show on her dumb noises and faces.

Ojomajo Doremi

In absence of another older Precure, we have now broken the glass on the Doremi option and have now latched ourselves to this series for the next 4 years. Ojomajo Doremi is the story of a young girl, the unluckiest pretty girl in the world, who wants to become a witch. With good luck, she's able to meet a real one! Unfortunately, that means the witch's secret is out and she's been transformed into a witch frog. Good work Doremi. Thanks to this, Doremi has to work at the witch's magical shop as an apprentice until she can turn her back. Doremi is a cute little show with fun characters. You have annoying little sister Pop, nerdy and laughs at dumb joks Hazuki, tomboy and street smart Aiko and celebrity and pro hater Onpu. I also love Doremi's little faerie DoDo (stupidest faeries need the MOST care).

The series is very silly but throws in some episodes that are actually really heart felt in there and are like man, that's pretty deep show for babies. The fact a major plot point of Aiko's is living in a divorced family feels like something you don't see much in magical girl shows to be honest. Anyway, the Ojomajos are fun and we have begun season 2 already where now Doremi has to raise a witch baby because the Witch Queen cannot be assed to herself.

Wonderful Precure

Dog Precure! The dog Precure is here! I think Wonderful has easily been one of my favorite Precures in recent memory, maybe because it feels different than most of them. Usually you get the thing where Precures are just kicking and punching the bejesus out of dumb monsters before purifying them and letting people get their dreams back or something. Well this time you can't really do that because these monsters of the day are usually corrupted animals and that would be just mean. So the fact the cures have to basically calm them down and be gentle/smart about it is a welcome new angle.

The main cast in this one is really solid too. You have Iroha, who is our usual good girl who just wants to do her best, who is accompanied by her dog Komugi who is a dog. Her character is dog and it rules because it causes so many random issues by her suddenly talking in public. There's Mayu, the new girl in town who is socially awkward, especially when she is hyper focused on something like knitting a gift for a friend and you have her cat Yuki. Yuki's character is cat, so she is aloof but loves Mayu best of all and will murder for her. The secondary cast is good too and has Satoru who is the nerdy friend who helps out but he's the first one of those who I don't think is a twerp in any way (not like Syrup, you suck Syrup). He also has Daifuku who is his bunny who is just hyper chill. Wonderful Precure rules and they even got a crossover episode set with Shin Chan where both characters got to be on the others' shows.

Wan-derful!

Oshi no Ko Season 2

Oshi no Ko was pretty good this year, I liked the continuation of last season, even if the opening song was not as good. I really enjoyed getting to see the exploration into both Aqua and Kana's past experiences that made them act how they do today. I also just liked watching the characters put on the play amidst the drama inside of it. Plays within a play are usually fun and I liked the designs of the characters in that play, and the original manga creator's design too. I guess I like the designs of a lot of the things in this show most of all which is kind of what drew me too it initially. Season 2 needed more Mem-cho though.

Girls Band Cry

Girls Band Cry is a wonderful little show that Toei didn't want us to watch it felt like. Sure, the graphics are a bit janky but I think that gives it a fun style all its own and they can get pretty expressive to be honest. Following the trials and tribulations of little anger gremlin Nina as she tries to find herself in the world was a good, if sometimes painful, time. Forming a band with Momoka, the former lead in a band that sang the song that changed her life, leads to all sorts of adventures. Like learning what the middle finger is and then making your OWN middle finger too.

This show probably had one of my favorite opening songs of the year, just really good at getting you pumped up. I also liked the cast a lot, all my ladies love Rupa and you can't deny it. Like it's a hard one to write about cuz it's one where it's like "no I like this one. It was good and the chars are good." I don't know what else you want from me.

Bang Dream! It's MYGO!!!!!

Another girl band anime, this one was actually from last year but I just got to it this year. The story of a girl who collects rocks outside the school yard and all the sea creature band-aids that she can and how she manages to get girls who all wanna be in her band. Honestly, I don't know what all to say with this one, it made me feel sad when the characters were sad and I felt happy when they were happy. Also Raana is here and I was amused any time she did anything..or any time she just left cuz she thought everyone was being boring women. Raana is good.

Mayonaka Punch

When I was visiting Japan, I saw an episode of this and we were intrigued by it since…couldn't really understand it fully being non-subs. Coming back and putting it into my weekly rotation though, I'm glad I did. The character designs in this one are also really top notch, I like Live and Fu's a lot. Plus the thought of a streamer who got kicked out of her group for knocking the shit out of one of the other members having to start a whole new channel with a bunch of moron vampires is great.

Also this show is pretty gay and that usually gets you some points on my end. Is it a bias? Sure. Will it stop me from saying I like it? You bet your ass it won't. It's a cute little show with some good jokes and even some good dramatic moments too. You really want Live to get the blood she so desires and you want Masaki to hit a million subs! Also it helped me with memorizing kanji for my college course because one quiz had "mayonaka" on it so thanks anime!

Ranma 1/2

Ranma is a series that has long been a part of my anime history. It was one of the first ones I rented from the video store back in the day, and one of the first ones I downloaded to watch episodes in the early days of file sharing servers. So the fact they remade it and did it so well is awesome. It's a lot more like the manga and even retains a lot of the original cast for some of the most important characters. And those who are newer cast are super great too like Tomokazu Sugita as Kunou and Aoi Yuuki as Azusa. If you liked old Ranma, I guarantee you will enjoy this new one.

Seriously it's just so good to see these old shows I have nostalgia for getting GOOD remakes. It's been fun watching with friends and seeing how they animate it all. Seeing something that inspired a lot of my creative endeavors through the years is enjoyable too because…not gonna lie I got a lot of my dumb character ideas thanks to Ranma. Can't wait for season 2, Rumiko Takahashi rules.

Dan da Dan

This one is one I came a bit late to and I can understand why some would be a bit wary on it. The first episode is understandably intense with a situation in it and I would not fault anyone for not wanting to continue because of that. Scene aside though, everything after has been good and has honestly some of the most fun cast I've seen in a shounen series in a while. Everyone is equal parts smart and dumbass and they're often just screaming about dumb shit at each other. I really love it. Also Momo's fit is on point at all times pretty much. Also it's by Science Saru so like..hell yea you know?

It's a fun show, I think it has good character designs and a fun set up with fighting against both spooky spirits and fucked up aliens. The cast are all likable idiots and we get more next year so..yay!

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night

A lot of parts of this series definitely made me think of my own struggles with regards to creative things. I have often run into times where I just do not like what I draw so a lot of Mahiru's struggles hit close to home. I've never outright hated my work but it's a very relatable feeling and I think this series touches on it well. The show is a fun little series, sometimes dramatic, often cute with girls forming an online band and tryin to show the world that they can do it on their own.

From cool vibes former idol Kano to strongest vtuber and gender gremlin Kiui, I really enjoyed a lot of the characters and their arcs in this one. There's even a fun side character who is a mom in her 30s still trying to make it as an idol (her daughter is her biggest fan). It's really fun and the music is good too and the visuals and designs are really fun. I would definitely recommend it if you ever feel like you're in a creative slump of your own.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 3

This year we had the third, and presumably final, season of the Liella cast. We got to meet up with the new cast members, former rival Margarete, and younger Onitsuka sister Tomari. It starts with an interesting premise of Kanon leaving Liella to form her own side group with the newer girls, something Chisato is okay with because she feels it'll make both sides stronger. It's an interesting way to start, delaying the pay off of them teaming up that everyone watching (and all the other students) is waiting for.

There's a lot of fun little side stories here, getting to explore Natsumi and Tomari's relationship, some amusing little bits with Shiki and Mei, and even a trip to Shanghai. It's nice seeing them all again, even if part of me kind of wishes the other shows got 3 seasons too, but I'll take it. We even got giant isopod costume again so, overall I'd say a win!

Here are some little side things that one was a movie and one is just dumb. I hope you enjoy.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era

This is a movie that Cheapsteaks and I watched on a Friday night in an empty theater in Heiwajima this summer. We had 0 subtitles but it's not like it was a hard plot to follow. This was a fun time and I'm putting it on here more for the experience than the content but I had a blast with this movie.

Special Deer Award: My Deer Friend Nokotan

Nokotan, you did it. Seriously, that opening song is an ear worm. Or a deer worm. Deer tick?

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So that's it! That's anime for the year! Did I spell check this? Not really! Do you or I care? Probably not!

Happy new year! Try to keep it safe and fight on! As Nox Ryugasaki says "Goodbye sekai!"

[horizon-verizon]

Daenerys is the Prince that was Promised. When she visits the House of the Undying, she is told she is the child of three, which relates to the three heads of the Dragon. And the child of three/three heads of the Dragon means she is the Prince that was Promised, the Stallion who Mounts the World, Azor Ahai. They are all myths retelling the same story, just in a different cultural lens.

People forget that Martin’s subversion of the Chosen One trope is based on 90s fantasy...which was overwhelmingly male characters and candidates, perhaps the most significant at the time being Rand al’Thor of the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. No one would expect, at the time, that the Prince that was Promised would be a princess. Most would have argued, as a significant portion of the fandom does till this day, that it is Jon, the standard male hero character. Jon being the Prince that was Promise would be a trope in of itself. Since we have gone beyond 90s fantasies, there have been more female chosen ones (Daenerys paved the way), but she still resides in that 90’s concept of a female Chosen One. (Also ignoring the obvious Jesus parallels such as her walk through the desert, her being born of fire, Bonfier Hasty worshiping the Maiden because of his love for Rhaella, etc).

I note as much ("They are all myths retelling the same story, just in a different cultural lens.") HERE. branwyn-the-half-witch has an interesting thought that that particular title accidentally developed from Aegon seeing a Targ from his own blood ("prince") be needed ("promised") for a future fight HERE.

Which justifies how the TPTWP title/meaning exists in Westeros; no other Westerosi (maester or otherwise) really spoke of it before Stannis, who of course received such from Melisandre and more a restored-but-half-realized knowledge of the original Essoi mythic body of a savior. Said "restored" because the Targs have been isolated from or cut themselves from Essos but were still magically/by blood connected to it...bc their very blood is that source for those dragon dreams.

(Ironically, the Seven faith--meant to mimic Catholicsm and the Catholic Church in its:

dogma

that dogma's rigidity's influence over the whole of Westeros' society (chivalry/warriordom; mores on hierarchy and obedience, childrearing/corporal punishment, the self-mortification of the carving stars in one's forehead [though this is present in many real-world religions and sects, in the West its immediately recognized and associated with Christian self flagellation])

the multiplicity of many aspects of one god, the aesthetics of stained windows or multicolored glass/translucent substances inlaid or making up part of a geometric, architectural structure [not just buildings but crowns of the high Septon and Aenys I]

the structure of High Septon, septons, and septas mirroring Pope, priests/deacons/measters-monks/nuns

the HS/Pope's relationship with monarchs as to sometimes affirm and sometimes condemn and be some sort of religious "check" but also support for the monarchy

"holy days"

the Knights Templar (who were aka "The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon") & crusaders inspiring the Poor Fellows & the Warrior's Sons

*EDIT* some rituals, as well

has no element of a Christ-like or a generally mythic savior figure in its mythos. The none Catholic/Seven faiths [except the old gods, but even here there is a hint of a need for saving against the Long night but its just so decreased bc of te nearly lost greenseers and twstsote and the giants] all have this focus on a savior figure instead.)

[persephonememes]

* (  THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR /  SENTENCE PROMPTS.

These may have been edited for clarity or length or to better apply for roleplaying.

❛ i was just really, really sad. ❜

❛ dead doesn’t mean gone. ❜

❛ i thought i was going to die too. ❜

❛ it only felt like dying because, actually, i was still alive. ❜

❛ to truly love another person is to accept that the work of loving them is worth the pain of losing them. ❜

❛ we can’t count on the past. ❜

❛ we think we have it trapped in our memories, but memories fade. ❜

❛ you’ll find it much quieter out here. ❜

❛ any of us could die at any moment. ❜

❛ she/he was my anchor. ❜

❛ i’m a lot braver than people think. ❜

❛ nothing holds, and all things change, given time. ❜

❛ change does not often announce itself. ❜

❛ all things fade. ❜

❛ time takes all things. ❜

❛ it is the way of the world. ❜

❛ the past recedes, memories fade, and so, true, does the spirit. ❜

❛ everything yields to time, even the soul. ❜

❛ there’s a difference between feeling good and feeling alive. ❜

❛ funerals are for the living. it’s up to the living to decide what they can and cannot bear. ❜

❛ i don’t know why brilliant young women are always punished. ❜

❛ you don’t have to lose yourself to find happiness, you know. ❜

❛ i was having the strangest dream. ❜

❛ what have you got when your back’s against the wall when there’s nothing left for you but faith? ❜

❛ sometimes, right can seem wrong, and wrong can seem right. ❜

❛ do you know what life is really all about? ❜

❛ save them all if you can, but put your own oxygen mask on first. ❜

❛ death is something to mourn, not fear. ❜

❛ i wasn't going to ask you if you're alright because i don't like being lied to. so, what's wrong? ❜

❛ everyone is exhaustive. even the best ones. ❜

❛ we are meant to die. it's natural. ❜

❛ every living thing grows out of every dying thing. ❜

❛ that's where all it's beauty lies, you know, in the mortality of the thing. ❜

❛ one day at a time is what we've got. ❜

❛ one day at a time is what we've got. it's what everybody's got, if you get down to it. ❜

❛ if you can't feel anything, then i'll feel everything for the both of us. ❜

❛ but no one is going anywhere, okay? ❜

❛ you shouldn't be thinking of losing each-other at all. ❜

❛ don't let that loom over your happiness right now. ❜

❛ it is rare what you've got. ❜

❛ what is the catch? ❜

❛ i’m not running, from anything and it hurts me when you say that. ❜

❛ perfectly splendid. ❜

❛ you have to promise me that you’ll stay in your room. ❜

❛ none of us are blameless. ❜

❛ on a scale of zero to american, how would you rate her? ❜

❛ it’s such a draining thing, dealing with children. ❜

❛ i have an inquiring mind. ❜

❛ we both know you don’t make mistakes. ❜

❛ let me guess, you are to be our very own mary poppins? ❜

❛ i hope she haunts that fucker forever. ❜

❛ why should anyone hate a lake? ❜

❛ let me show you just how beautiful you are. ❜

❛ it’s just you and me then. ❜

❛ look at you all flush. you’re pretty when you blush. ❜

❛ being with him might be scary at times but, it’s also exciting and fun. ❜

❛ and for the first time in my life, that little voice in my head saying i’m not good enough has disappeared. ❜

❛ i’ve never felt so alive. ❜

❛ i swear, you’re such a bore, and you don’t know when the leave well enough alone. ❜

❛ sometimes people just need to be alone. ❜

❛ i couldn’t sleep. i feel like i can never sleep again, frankly. ❜

❛ haven’t we done this already? ❜

❛ i have a surprise for you. ❜

❛ i have a surprise for you. ❜

❛ don’t leave your room at night. ❜

❛ the past is always present. ❜

❛ the stories we tell each other have a way of changing. ❜

❛ love is a haunting melody that i have never mastered and i fear i never will. ❜

❛ no good ever comes from dwelling on the worst. ❜

❛ you can’t choose who you love. ❜

❛ ghosts do not have to be scary. they can be comforting. ❜

❛ the heart is a fragile thing, and it can break in many different ways. ❜

❛ people often fear what they cannot understand. ❜

❛ we are all haunted in some way, by the things we have lost or the things we have done. ❜

❛ death is not the end, it’s just a door we all have to go through. ❜

❛ the past cannot be changed, but it can still hurt us. ❜

❛ the things we bury have a way of finding their way back to the surface. ❜

❛ some people are born to be alone, and others are born to be together. ❜

❛ ghosts are memories, and memories are what make us who we are. ❜

❛ the dead don’t really leave us. they live on in the memories we have of them. ❜

❛ the more we try to run from something, the more it chases us. ❜

❛ we all have a shadow self, the part of us that we don’t like to admit exists. ❜

❛ the world is full of secrets, and some are best left buried. ❜

❛ the heart wants what it wants, and sometimes that can be a terrifying thing. ❜

❛ every relationship is a dance, and both people need to be willing to take a step forward. ❜

❛ life can be cruel, but it can also be beautiful. ❜

❛ we are all just playing a part, but some roles are harder to shake off than others. ❜

❛ the past is written, but the future is still unwritten. ❜

❛ the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but the things we leave unsaid. ❜

❛ i do not like this game. ❜

❛ i'm actually pretty in love with you. ❜

❛ no one should ever need that much help. ❜

❛ you let me handle this part. ❜

❛ the wrong kind of love can fuck you up, follow you and make you do some really stupid shit. ❜

[eemamminy-art]

fanfic askkkkkssssssss 👀😈?

👀 Do you have any WIPs that you would never let see the light of day? If yes, what are they about?

Currently that's all my ffxiv WIPs frankly :') idk how to feel about them or how to finish them... They're all really over the top smut and I'm like, kinda cringing at myself so I haven't gone back to finish/edit them 😖 There's f!grahawol, f!zenoswol (featuring the much hated "in from the cold" dinner scene, but sexy), and exselch but I realized the exselch one is kind of like the f!exselch I wrote before but with them being their normal guy selves so I got really hung up on like, why am I writing this... I kind of already wrote this... 😭 Maybe I will go back to them one day but they've all been languishing in my gdocs for the better part of the year 🥴

Also there's some first draft chapters from my stardew valley fic that got cut and I doubt I can repurpose them at all but I'm keeping them like, for my own knowledge at least ghdsjjgds also mostly smut parts because bruh that's embarrassing but also there's a few drafts of the finale that were cut too (the finale itself is still a wip but I do know how I want the fic to end more or less, whenever I get there)

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

I don't know if I'd say hate necessarily because I'm fragile and don't want to think people are reading my fics and being like, mad about it? 😩 BUT ummm I know I am being inconsistent on a couple of punctuation things and I think there's probably some turbo nerd out there getting frustrated that sometimes I write a sentence like:

"Dialog," action. "More dialog."

And other times it's:

"Dialog," action, "More dialog."

Probably also someone is mad I use prolog and epilog and dialog but I'm an american I will use american english get your UE UE UE out of here! Maybe the run-on sentences too. I like to think it's stylized, and I could be more correct but I like the flavor of my writing reading as though it's someone telling you the story out loud. But yeah all that to say I am doing all those things intentionally, because the flow of the text matters 1000000% more to me than having the most correct english ever

OH!!! Also no one has said anything but I'm anticipating someone getting upset about POV changes mid-chapter. Gonna be one of those with later today's update so I'm bracing for it. For the record though if stuff like that takes you out of a story you're a turbo nerd, sorry to tell you 😞

Fanfic ask game

[akuma-tenshi]

!! VOLUME / GLITCH / FLASH WARNING !!

posted on youtube because tumblr absolutely destroyed the quality

happy birthday to the world's most beautiful man!! i made this edit earlier this month but decided to schedule it for his birthday instead, since it was happening soon anyway lmao. so here's an edit for my favourite frederick skin in story, characterisation, theme, and design!! phantom sail is genuinely such an incredible skin and i love how this turned out; with each edit i make i only get better >:-D

song is culpability and the panopticon by ghost and pals. 'twas promised in the tags for my emil edit and now i deliver <3

several paragraphs of super sappy shit + frederick appreciation under the cut

so back before frederick was released, my best friend @sunset-of-the-void and i had been talking about him. we didn't know much about him, but we liked what we did know: a beautiful, mentally ill musician with family trauma, auditory hallucinations, and perfectionism issues. void was a lot more fond of him than i was, but the more we talked about him, the more i liked him too. i found myself eager to learn more about this upcoming survivor.

so now here we are. a little over a year after his release, and with his inclusion in ashes of memory, his complete lack of new skins until coa7 and voyage of oceanus, and playing him initially just to fulfill one side of a ship (i'll get talking about emilerick in a sec), he's only grown more on me. i've made jokes that frederick is one of only two men who i as a lesbian am attracted to, but in all seriousness, i genuinely adore him as a character. he is truly very well-written and designed and in one short year, he's become a huge comfort for me. he's one of my favourite idv characters to write about, and i'm pretty sure i'm more than a little annoying about him to my idv friends (terribly sorry about that </3).

and yes, maybe part of that comes from void coming up with the brilliant, beautiful ship that is emilerick. making content for what's quickly turned into one of my biggest comfort ships has given me a chance to look even deeper into his character outside of stressful situations. frederick is a fascinating and complex character, and i have greatly enjoyed writing him interacting with emil, who, in my opinion, is just as fascinating and complex as he is. as long as frederick has existed, we have had emilerick, and i wouldn't have it any other way.

on his own, too, frederick is a wonderful character, and i love him dearly. from surface-level traits such as his posh appearance and the music that disrupts the game itself, to what aom introduced with his relation to mary and his proficiency with firearms, to even the smallest details like his chimerism and the family crest on his a-tier accessory, frederick is incredibly well-thought-out and it's clear that a lot of love has gone into his character. as both a fan of the game and a writer, i adore him.

the consistent themes between his skins certainly help, too. i hope they keep it up while also finding new ways to make him fucked up and evil, it's delightful.

i love you, frederick. never stop being your concerning, weird, obsessive self.

[pianostarinwonderland]

stuff in my head about what's happening

there is absolutely no end to the drama that is Twisted Wonderland :-)

"what's happening now" so basically everyone is disappointed with how Vil's SSR has absolutely no story. no personal, no appearance in the event. he's just there to be pretty. and give furniture.

and you Know it's bad Bad when not only the EN fans but the JP fans are talking about it. and by talking about it, i mean

personal story has trended

a big twst artist, twst_13, made a tweet expressing that they were pretty upset with the lack of story, and well.. that honestly ended up being their last straw in leaving the twst fandom. and due to their rep, it really spread throughout the fandom and uh yeah here we are

and rn a lot of people are doomposting. just your regular twst afternoon

so yeah it's been fun so far B)

in all seriousness, ik a lot of people aren't happy with this. if you're really discontented with what's going on so far, email twst. giving feedback is the best way for them to know what their audience wants, and they do listen to their fans if enough people send them concerns. you can send through this link. i think it would be great to email them in Japanese, but if you really can't, wellll let's hope some people there understand English <3

anyway there's a cut because i currently have talk too much disease and have Opinions on this so i want to make it an easier scroll for people encountering this post.

hi welcome to under the cut, where you will find the real reason why i'm making this post: to not Shut Up about what's going on.

personally my thoughts on this are mixed. on one hand, I really don't mind some cards just getting furniture instead of stories because (1) guest room feature nice for me, but I also understand that those who aren't immersed in it would be more frustrated; (2) more importantly is the thought that with less stories to write about, the writing team would actually, idk, have more breaks. the main focus would be delivering a Good main story chapter, and they put event stories on a halt for a bit.

on the other hand, this Is an event SSR, so it feels weird. club cards are acceptable because at least it's new New art and kinda accepted already that it's not gonna get personals. the main story cards, like cerberus Ortho and upcoming general Lilia SSR, are acceptable because they are already accompanied by main story. some tsumsted cards like the SRs and Rs are acceptable too because the event story itself already accompanies them. but an event SSR of an event being reran. it's a bit disappointing.

but at the same time, i've also gone through the time that twst was slow in pacing. and it was really hard. that was the first wave of exodus, and it's still the biggest one to this day. so it's like, if guest room furniture can let them keep updating the game so that it doesn't go too quiet, then I'd really much rather have what we're having now over slow pacing.

and diasomnia has been in the waiting room for wayyyy too long. a lot of fans, EN and JP alike, have been frustrated with how long they had to wait for diasomnia content. and ik twst listens to complaints especially from their JP audience. so it's good that now they're shifting priorities to dia story and ensuring that fans aren't dying too fast. and ngl after how long pome and igni felt (emphasis on felt because pome actually wasn't that long in hindsight, it just felt long after how we went from frequent octa and scarabia to two-month halloween), it's good that main story is getting updated at a good pace.

most importantly, i really just hope that the writers have more room to breathe. making a lot of personal stories, as well as revising, editing, and getting approval would be understandably difficult. in the end, we really don't know the situation in the hq, so whatever is happening there, i hope that the teams and devs aren't burning out

at the same time though, i also don't want event SSRs like upcoming Silk Vil not having personals to become a norm. a big part of what makes twst enjoyable is their story and their characters. and much of what we know of the characters is found in the personal stories. but see, this is where sending in a concern is important!! because we want this game to be as best as it can, and simply complaining about it will cause an echo chamber of doompostings with no substantial effort being put into actually doing something about it. i'm probably gonna see if i could send a concern to them about it because yeah, I want to see twst doing better.

[violettduchess]

My favorite writer taking requests! I have to ask for Carlo and kiss 8 - dying to see what you come up with!

A/N: Here you go, anon! This took some time but I hope you enjoy it! 💜

Carlo x f! Reader

Word Count: 3106

Today:

How did I get here?

You stare at yourself in the floor-length mirror, taking in the fitted, shimmering green skirt that is supposed to represent a mermaid’s tale, the filmy pale pink and yellow of the material wrapped around your midsection and chest. Your bare shoulders and upper arms have been dusted with pearlescent white powder, your hair held out of your face by small hair pins in the shape of seashells. You look every inch the siren, foreign and mystical and not at all like yourself. 

Behind you, you hear footsteps across the wooden platform, soft muttering in the language of Benitoite and you turn to see Carlo, Prince Silvio’s aide, followed by the twittering costume designer as he approaches to get a look at himself in the mirror. Gone is the solemn man in the plain clothing that skirted the border of being shabby but saved itself through quality of material. His ebony curls have been freshly washed and brushed away from his angular face, his dark blue eyes, the color of the sea at midnight, lined with black kohl. His usual fitted shirt has been replaced by a swashbuckler’s billowy tunic, wide open to reveal a surprising amount of well-muscled chest. Carlo used to work down at the docks before Prince Silvio found him, recognized the flame of intelligence that burned in those dark eyes and plucked him out of one life stained with hardship and into another one of research and service. Fitted black trousers hug shockingly well-formed legs, the calves of which are also covered by knee-high black leather boots. A sword hangs loosely about his hips, drawing far more attention to that area than it should.

He looks up from fussing with the scabbard, seeing you and he stops walking, nearly causing the costume designer to crash into him. With a few chirps she flits from here to there, making minute adjustments now that he is finally standing still, not noticing the way your gazes have locked with one another, the way his throat works as he swallows, trying to fight the sudden dryness. You have stolen his capacity to breathe, to think. How, how will he ever even remember his lines when he has to see you.....looking like that?

You turn away, hand pressed against the thunder of your heartbeat.

How did I get here? 

Yesterday:

In your role as Rhodolite diplomat, King Leon has sent you to many places. You had proven yourself during your time as Belle and he valued your judgment in many matters. He had been especially impressed with the way you had won over his brothers, each and every one of them coming to, if not exactly like you, at the very least respect you. There was no one else he would have been happier to see take on a representative role, your intelligence and kindness and charm qualities befitting an exemplary ambassador. 

You had chosen the gift for the Benitoite royals with care: a first-edition copy of a play by one of Rhodolite’s most famous writers, a tragic love story between a sailor and a mermaid who fell madly in love with one another but whose families were locked in a centuries-long feud that would ultimately lead the sailor to drown in the arms of his lover rather than be apart from her. Leon had chosen this gift as the story is set in what is now Benitoite and hoped it would please the royals.

And it had. Perhaps too much. Silvio, mercurial as he is, had decided he wanted to not just read the play, but actually watch it be performed. When he had been informed that the national thespian troupe was on tour, traveling throughout the Ruby kingdom, he had turned those sharp ocean eyes onto you.

“I’m sure the ambassador is willin’ ta do just about anythin’ to please us. Ain’t that right?”

Alarm bells began tinkling in the back of your mind but you found yourself sitting up straighter at the table, head tilting to one side as you regarded the haughty prince. A smile, much calmer than you felt, touched your lips.

“Of course Prince Silvio.”

He leaned back in his plush chair, necklaces jangling softly as he crossed his arms. Something about the expression on his face made those alarm bells begin chiming even louder.

“Then I say you do it. You can be the mermaid princess and uh....” His gaze scanned the room and landed on the man standing by the doorway, half in a shadow, quietly reading from a small, black leather-bound book. “Carlo!” The man looked up, startled. 

“Yes, your Highness?”

Silvio smiled broadly. “You will play the lovestruck sailor.” He nodded once, pleased with himself. “Arrange for costumes, music, and all that shit. I wanna see the play tomorrow.”

Carlo blinked as he looked around the room, his expression one of bewilderment. The leap from whatever he had been reading to his new reality seemed to have clogged the mechanisms of his brain as he comprehended what had just happened.

“Go on.” Silvio waved a jangly hand carelessly in your direction. “Go meet your lover.”

His gaze jumped from Silvio to you and the question he was asking himself was written plain as day on his face:

How did I get here?

Several hours later you found yourself in the library, which normally would have thrilled you to no end. Except instead of foraging for new literary treasures, you stared at the gift you had brought like it was to blame, while Carlo stared at you, looking a bit like an owl that had been awoken far too early from its slumber and wasn’t quite sure if it was night or day.

Silence filled the room, snaking its way around bookshelves and wrapping you both up in its tendrils, leaving you awkwardly stiff and unable to form words. You had introduced yourselves, fumbling over each other’s sentences, words clumsily knocking into each other, and then you had placed the book on the desk with a loud thump. 

Since then, there was  no sound.

Finally you cleared your throat. “Staring at it isn’t going to help us. It seems Prince Silvio really is expecting us to….perform this.”

Your voice cut the strings that the room’s silence had been holding him hostage with and he sank into the chair across from you, a frown on his surprisingly handsome face.

“I would try and speak to him but I fear if he knew how much neither of us wanted to do this, he would dig his heels in even more and perhaps invite outsiders to witness our….production.”

You found yourself regarding him a moment as he ran a hand through his dark curls. “You really know him well.” Silvio Ricci was not a man that let people close to him. Clearly Carlo was one of the exceptions.

A smile, ephemeral as quicksilver, touched his lips. “Si. He is truly….exceptional in many ways.”

You sensed how there was more underlying his words, an entire iceberg under that small sentiment that poked out from the ocean of his experience with Silvio. But now was not the time….you tore your gaze away from him, clearing your throat as you placed your hands on either side of the book.

“I can edit this…write out the lines of the most important scenes. That way we don’t have to worry about the entire play.”

He nodded, encouraged by your brilliant idea. “Excellent thinking, Signora.”

You glanced at him. “You can use my name.” You added a warm smile, lifting one shoulder with a shrug. “After all, we’re going to be scene partners, aren’t we?”

You didn’t expect the flustered way he ran a hand through his dark curls, a faint dusting of warmth falling across his slanted cheekbones. 

“If…if you insist.” 

Tilting your head, you searched for and caught his gaze, your warm smile still in place. “I do.”

He nodded, rising from his seat to walk over to a desk across the room, kneeling to open a drawer. That smile was fogging his brain and he needed a moment away from its radiant light. You weren’t aware of the effect you were having on him. You were suddenly far more aware of the broad expanse of his shoulders as he crouched, rifling through that drawer and the narrow taper of his waist as he rose back up to full height. Quickly you forced your attention back to the play, opening up to the list of characters, blinking against the swift barrel roll your blood was doing inside your veins. A moment later, Carlo returned, setting several sheets of blank paper and a fountain pen of marbled blue and silver next to you. 

“You can write out our lines here?”

“Yes, perfect. Thank you.” And you got to work, forcing yourself to focus on the familiar play rather than the man who was smiling so openly it made you literally ache to touch his cheek, close to that smile.

Another hour had passed. Outside the sky was readying itself for the night, painting itself in the most striking orange and pink. You were writing madly, lost in your work as you read over the famous play, picking out the most important scenes and transcribing key lines that would keep the story intact but trim away any extras. Carlo peeked over the top of his notebook, his mind distracted from nautical calculations and oceanography notes by…..you. You, lost in the play, mouthing certain lines as you copied them out diligently. And in beautiful handwriting, no less. Especially when compared to his own chicken scratch. You, so focused, trimming the play like a master butcher, carving out the heart of the story from within the many words. He understands that kind of concentration, that singular mindset as you navigate work like a skiff on the water. That was what he told himself anyway, that he was interested in watching you work and not in the way the evening light, spilling in through the library windows, blanketed you in its softness, catching highlights in your hair, the rose of your lips, the brightness of your eyes.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that the sound of the fountain pen dropping to the wooden table startled him, his dark sapphire eyes blinking rapidly as he brought his gaze quickly back down to the notebook he had been happy to ignore. 

“There.” 

You slumped back in your chair, shaking out your hand, a grin on your lips. You actually did it and the pride in your accomplishment hung on the curve of your smile. Standing just as suddenly as you let the pen fall, you shoved back your chair and walked around the table to set yourself down next to Carlo. “Let me show you.”

His notebook disappeared into his pocket and he leaned in to where you began explaining the play and the scenes you chose. You spoke quickly, excitedly, as if making up for all the previous silence.

“This scene is where they meet, the handsome, adventurous sailor and the innocent mermaid…..” You went on to explain their instant connection, the fascination they have with one another. But their relationship is dangerous, forbidden by their differences, and when the sailor tries to tell the mermaid they shouldn’t see each other anymore, she responds with a desperate kiss, one of the most romantic, most famous kisses in any drama throughout the lands. 

When you got to this part, he noticed the way you paused, lifting your gaze to meet his and suddenly you were both imagining the same thing: kissing the other person. 

Your gaze dropped to his lips, tracing their shape. He has such a beautiful mouth….He found himself wondering if your lips would feel as soft as they looked. The moment stretched out, the only sounds in the room the knocking of your heart against your breastbone, the audible inhale and shaky exhale of Carlo’s breath.

And then the doors to the library swung open, scattering the moment like sand in a violent breeze.

“There ya are. I’ve been lookin’ all over for you.” Silvio sauntered in, shaking his head, golden earrings swinging with the movement. “You’re still my aide, ya know, Carlo. I ain’t got all night to wait while you two practice your little show.” He stopped walking, taking in the blush spreading across your cheeks and the way Carlo had immediately shoved his chair away from yours. Blue eyes snapped from you to him like taunt sails in the wind and then a slow, wicked smile claimed the prince’s handsome face.

“Looks like I'm interrupted somethin’.”

You sprang to your feet, dipping into a quick curtsy. 

“Prince Silvio. We were just going over the edits to the play I made.”

Silvio cocked his head, moonlight-colored hair falling to one side as he continued to grin. “Yeah I saw.” He paused, considering his next words. “Well I hate to break up ya’ little rehearsal or whatever but I need my man here.”

Carlo nodded, brushing down the front of his shirt. “Of course, your Highness.” He turned to you, not meeting your gaze as he pointed to the papers on the table. “May I borrow these in preparation for tomorrow?”

“Of course,” you answered, the words coming out a touch too fast, stumbling on each other’s heels. “I remember which lines I transcribed. I can study them from the original.”

Amusement has Silvio’s eyes gleaming like coins in the sunlight. The sardonic curve of his mouth told you both how much he was looking forward to whatever happened tomorrow. He turned on his heel, jewelry jangling and snapped his fingers as he strode out of the library, but whether the motion was a signal for Carlo to hurry up or simply a sign of his glee at the situation he had forced you into was unclear.

Carlo started after him, holding the papers you painstakingly wrote carefully to his chest. Suddenly he stopped mid-step, turning to look your way one last time. Your eyes locked and then he gave you a quick bow.

“Until tomorrow.” He glanced up quickly, and then in a softer tone, added your name to the thought. The sound of it coming from his lips, rounded by that accent, sent a flare of warmth from your stomach up through your face. Every nerve in your body felt incandescent and alive. You managed to incline your head in return, hoping he didn’t notice the flush you knew was rolling across your skin.

When the library door closed behind him, you found your legs too shaky to support your weight and you sank back down into the wooden chair, drawing in several deep breaths. 

How did I get here, you wondered, hand pressed against your midsection as if calming the tornado of butterflies that had taken residence within.

And what am I going to do?

Today:

Carlo is a marvel. Never would you have expected the quiet, seemingly shy attendant to step out from behind the red velvet curtains and become the witty, bold sailor who enchants the mermaid princess. He strides across the stage, a new man, shoulders wide as if challenging the world to even try and burden them. Sometimes, as he delivers his lines, you recognize shades of Silvio in the lilt of his voice, the swagger in his movements. Carlo mirrors the Benitoite prince as he brazenly proclaims his love for you, swearing to fight the seven seas themselves if it means he is allowed to be yours. He makes it easy, so very easy, to slip into your role as the lovestruck siren, completely taken by this man, wondering if she could risk everything to be with him.

You’ve arrived at the turning point of the play, the moment when the mermaid princess has had enough of denying her feelings and makes the decision to follow her heart. How does she do this? By interrupting a passionate rant, grabbing handfuls of his shirt and yanking him towards her, stopping the flow of words with a kiss.

Carlo is pacing, his lines flying from his lips, memorized with the same perfection he uses to calculate wind rates and ship speeds. His hands, glinting with golden rings under the bright stage lighting, are as active as his mouth, punctuating his words with gestures, emphasizing his embattled state of being in love and never wanting to wonder what could have been.

And then it feels like a dream, like you really are swimming underwater as you cross the stage to where he is standing, roughly gathering the soft white cloth of his tunic in both hands. You pull him to you, leaning up to press your lips against his.

The ocean roars in your ears the moment they touch. The stage, the gathered audience of royals and nobles, the cavernous ballroom where the performance is taking place, the dazzling stage lights. All of it is swept away, like the sea raking its fingernails over the shore and pulling sand along with it. All you know now is the shape of his mouth as it fits against yours, the feel of his arms as they wrap around you and pull you tightly against the safeguard of his body. It is both electrifyingly new and astonishingly familiar, as if your body already knows something your mind doesn't. His lips part and he seeks entrance to your mouth, brazen as the wind when it plucks at a ship’s sails, snapping them to and fro. There is no resistance. You yield, softening in his arms, relinquishing your hold on his shirt to run your hands down his sides, around his body, palms pressing possessively against the small of his back. You are sinking, down, down, into the taste of his mouth, the heat of his embrace. Still waters run not only deep but hot, full of unexpected fervor and heart-stirring excitement. 

You have no idea how long you kissed, the time it takes a wave to caress the shore once, twice, fifty times. What you do know is when you finally break apart, the audience is motionless, breathless, hanging on the edge of their seats, and in Carlo’s midnight gaze you see truth, burning like the fire of a thousand stars.

In the front row, arms loosely crossed, Silvio Ricci smiles slowly. Knowingly. His instincts had been right and he practically glows with the satisfaction of it all. Benitoite will likely be seeing much more of the Rhodolite ambassador. Che bello.

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @alixennial @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @ikemen-writer @bellerose-arcana @thewitchofbooks @redheadkittys @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @kpop-and-otome @writingwhimsey @mxrmaid-poet @silver-dahlia @wendolrea @otomefoxystar @nightfoxqueen @myonlyjknight @queen-dahlia @aceuuuuu @scorchieart @bubblexly

[vinjaryou]

💚💖💀 for the unpopular opinions ask!!

from the ask game: unpopular opinion edition <3

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Vincent is not just an 'emo' or 'emo vampire.'

Vincent Valentine has gone through hell and high water in his life. Working for the Turks, sent to be a bodyguard to the heads of the Jenova Project, seeing just a FRACTION of what goes on behind closed doors, has his heart broken and then literally shot through, resurrected to be the test dummy for experiments by *both* the woman he'd fallen for and the man who killed him, now housing not just his own psyche but now the psyches of four other beings that he also physically (and painfully) transforms into when under extreme stress - one of them a godlike semi-Weapon in Chaos itself - knows he has eternal life due to his resurrection and everything that was done to him even after Chaos... anxiety, depression, CPTSD, body dysmorphia, probable self-harm at times, and that's just the tip of the iceberg... that seeing him have the ability to not only walk out of Lucrecia's cave at the end of Dirge but smile afterward??? Vincent needs the world's best therapists, love, and so many goddamn hugs.

ps: he is also not a vampire. Give him a blood kink if you'd like (I know I have~), but he's not an actual vampire.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

Before Crisis is overrated.

I think trying to squeeze it in between OG and Crisis Core doesn't do it any favors, as it needs to fill in so many plotholes that retcons and shoehorned-in character cameos are shoved in for accommodation.

Granted, it being a Japan-only mobile game from the early 2000s doesn't help, but if it's to be given the 'Remake treatment,' it needs to be completely redone. As in, people say Dirge's gameplay needs to be reworked if it gets a remake (which I agree with, and say use Episode Prompto and Devil May Cry as inspiration for ways to help fix the combat)?

Before Crisis's everything needs to be reworked, starting with its writing and storyline(s). If it's supposed to focus on the Turks, let it focus... on the Turks. Perhaps show us how the division began, show us how it's run from the start - we're told these are supposed to be the John Wicks of Shinra, show us rather than just telling us. You can still use what's already been done - use it as a way to timeskip ahead and show how the division changed over the decades - and then figure out how to work in the character cameos so that some of them don't feel so sloppy or random.

💀: If you had to choose one major character to die, who would you choose?

Honestly, I wouldn't change the fates of any of the major characters in VII; they feel complete and sensical given the story. If we stretch this to include the Compilation?

Forgive me, friends who like him - Genesis Rhapsodos. I know his fate in CC and that silly 'secret ending' in Dirge but let him stay dead, please.

We already have Sephiroth at home.

[plunder413]

Man, if anything has truly utterly "gone downhill" its analysis videos or as they're now called "video essays". Like, I was there for specific early youtubers to lay down the groundwork and sorta define art analysis as making your own art in turn. If you've been in certain anime circles, you know. What I was hoping for was breaking down the barriers of convention that restrict people's thoughts on art. I'm an extremely postmodern and subjectivist person, and I wanted individuals to bring out their own experiences, loose and everchanging, senseless, only defined by itself. Instead we just have people going "THIS THING U LIKE IS SECRETLY BAD" and making a 5 hour long video meticulously taking down something in the most boring and bad faith way possible.

Like, where is the schizo love letter to like Earthworm Jim or some shit. Where's the videos that have interesting editing and personality? Idk I feel like it's all just this dick measuring contest to see how cynical we can be. It's saddening. Analysis is supposed to be like sampling in music, taking this art and rearranging it to reflect your own psyche, a creative endeavor in its own, an exercise in love.

And like, I think the evidence lies in the fact that I just make my own art and don't bother with wider discourse on the stuff I'm into. Like, I like cartoons and anime so I made my own story. I like music so I make my own music. And I'm honestly happier. Maybe it's because most creative types don't want to sink into the modern discourse hole that continues to discourage creativity in favor of comfy homogenous distraction sludge that can also say "hey, gay people? cool as frick actually!". Like, yeah, I could watch an HBomberGuy video but I could also just eat spider eggs and have them hatch and crawl around my insides and that will be just as painful but infinitely more interesting.

Really, I've seen far better art analysis here than anything on fucking YouTube and I think that goes to show that as much as you can say about this site, it's a site ABOUT art and creativity. People who fundamentally understand creativity and are not just trying to find the most correct art. Because going down that road only gets you polished, easily accessible bland muck that only conveys the most vaguely left leaning thing with none of that icky abstraction or weird humany stuff. I am into the infinity creativity has to offer. I happen to like to see weird taboo sexuality that mixes psychological branches into a colorful slurry. I happen to like when reality is bent or shaped into an abstract nightmare realm. I also like seeing cute girls just hangin out. I also like SpongeBob SquarePants.

Really what this comes down to also is a western standards being prioritized over all else. Which is dumb. And racist! Like, anime is a different culture that prioritizes different shit. I'm not even just talking about lolicon and shit, I'm talking like, fundamentally being stuck in these super intense, gritty narratives that maintain a consistent tone based on fast moving action and cliff hangers. Sorry but the idea of a maturity being stoic gritty cynicism is a very American idea, and shit is just different when looking beyond the western mainstream. And sometimes its not this presentable G rated thing you can call "chilling" and "breathtaking" sometimes it's a surreal atmospheric comedy with pervy jokes that deconstructs Japanese culture with very specific references and media tropes. Everypony should watch Neo Ranga btw, and I will once it can't trigger me because fuck that show feels like a nightmare. I'm using primarily anime examples because that's the foreign media I'm most familiar with.

Basically conservatism is a virus infecting even the self described anarchists and progressives and leftists because I can't handle having a strong emotion because I'm so pants shittingly scared of the current climate of Things(TM).