#and I was gonna mention it at some point anyway xDDD

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

UAGHH TEN YEARS LATER!!!

I was hoping for one of those

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH :'DDDD

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH CHIEF OF SURGERY :'DDD WHOOO AS HE SHOULD :')))

UAAHHHHHH IS THIS LIKE A DEDICATION TO GLASSMAN OR SOMETHING 😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺❤️

AWWWWW them riding the carousel together :'DDD

AUAAGHHHH YEAHH ONE LAST (FOR THE SERIES) I LOVE YOU FOR THEM :'DDD

UAAGAHHHHHHHHH NOOO THAT WAS ILLEGALLLL 😭😭😭😭💔💔❤️

Yeahh I bet this is for a dedication like a wing or something :'))

Wait is this in the future or now Lim xdd

Either way that's amazing :'DD

I'm so happy for you honey 😭😭😭

AAHHHH MY GIRLL :'))

AUWWWWWW AAAHHHHHHH GROWN UP A BIT STEVE, AND THEY'RE ON THE CAROUSEL TOGETHER 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥰

AND LEA'S PREGNANT!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH YAYY :'DD

AYYYY JORDAN AND DANNY :'DDDD

I'm glad he's okay, and I'm so happy for them :'))

AYYY MORGAN AND PARK :'DDDDD

Is this slightly in the future or way in the future and this is another kid xdd

AYYYYY THE ADOPTION CERTIFICATE :'DDDD

Okay so that's probably Eden lol

Congrats my lovelies 😭😭😭🥺❤️❤️🥰 love you honeys ::))

Now where's Jerome y'all

Where's Jerome

xD

AYYY aww that's amazing I'm so happy for you Dom :'DDD

WHOOO GO OFF CHARLIE :'DDD

She's so pretty 🥰🥰

Aww look at her leading :')) I bet she is a great surgeon <33 like she knew she could be :'D

UAAAGHHHHHHHH THEY HAVE ANOTHER KIDDDDD :'DDDD!!! A DAUGHTERRRRR 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰 Y'ALL DON'T UNDERSTANDDD I'M NOT OKAY :')))

Oop? Going to that talk thing I bet?

Yeah I think so :'D

AWWW

Oop stoping in Claire :'o :'DD

I was like we better see her x'D

Yeah, him and Dr. Glassman <33

AAAHHHHHHHH CLAIREE :DDD!!

STOPPPP HER AND JARED HAVE A KID TOGETHER :'OOOO :'DDD 😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰!!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR THEMMM :')))

My babies :')))

Aww y'all :')

Yeah, all your saves count as his as well <33

And that's a lot of saves 😭 :') xdd

Where's Jerome guys xdd. . .

Or Andrews too xd 😭

Aww yeah those are all good things :'))

AUAGH a quote book 😭😭🥺❤️

Y'ALLLL I'M NOT OKAYY 😭😭😭🥺❤️

He really was so wise :'DD

AAHHHH that's a bit of Jerome I see :'DD

Hi Jerome 🥰🥰!!

To late into the episode for that 😭 like rude xdd

AWWW back to the beginning again 😭🥺 :'))

Lol yeah hit the table x'D

That is how you show it :')) of course x'D :'D

Is he gonna hit the desk xD :'D

Who's that man sitting next to you Jerome

. . . better just be some random guy

XD I'm fiiiine guys (I am not at all fine in any way shape or form about anything)

AUGHHHH y'all I'm gonna lose it 😭😭😭❤️❤️

This talk is so good y'all :')))

ARE THEY HOLDING HANDS

Idek what you're talking about that's just some guy 😤😤😤

Okay without me being bitter for a second xdd: Jeromeee I'm so happy he's happy :'DD I'm just so glad he's doing okay 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰 <333

Anyway back to my life pretending Asher's fine and just out of frame 😌😌😌🥰

Ayy Dalisay and Hawke :'DD!!! Or is it Fawkes. . I don't remember sorry girl xdd anyway Nice to see them :')) 🥰🥰🥰

I LOVE YOUUU GUYSS

:'D I'm glad they're doing okay <333

LOL the don't be an a xD

SLFKGHKDS AND HITS THE TABLE ON THAT XDD ICON :'DDD

Lol love that xDD

Awww :'))

:'OO WAITT STOPPPP

STOPPPP THAT'S SO AMAZING 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥺🥺🥺🥰 THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DEDICATING :')))

AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS HIM AND CLAIRE 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥺🥰

Y'ALLLLL STOPP I'M NOT OKAY :'))) :'DD

YEEEEAHHHHH WHOOOOO :'DDD 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🎊🎊🎉🎉🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️

I genuinely clapped in real life :'D

Awww y'all I'm so happy for you <3

And that's an amazing program 😭😭❤️, in a bunch of places :'))) ❤️🥰

AWWWWWWW STOPPPP ALL THEM COMING DOWN THE STAIRSSS :'DDD 😭😭😭

AUAAAWGHHHHHHHH AND THE CALLBACK VOICEOVER OF WHAT SHAUN WANTED TO DO 😭😭😭😭😭🥺🥺❤️🥰

STOPPP I'M NOT OKAY :'DDD

AAAHHHH AWWWWW ALL THEM HUGGINGGGG 🥺🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️😭😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Y'ALLLLL I'M SO NOT OKAY 😭😭😭🥰❤️❤️❤️🥺❤️

That beard on Kalu is wild xD looks good though eat it up sir slfkfjsdk

I know I usually call him Jared just had to call him Kalu one last time xD

But yeah Jared is slaying :'))

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH YOU D O O O HAVE A FAMILYYYYY 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

AAAAHHHHHHHH THEIR LITTLE FAMILY (THOUGH A MOMENT AGO I WAS INCLUDING EVERYONE ELSE TOO) :'DDDDD 🥰🥺😭😭❤️❤️❤️

Y'ALLLL I'M SO NOT OKAY

SDLFKFJSKHGS "And now I have two TVs." STOPPPPP THAT'S AMAZING :'DDD 😭😭😭😭🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️❤️🥺🥺🥰

Look at them :')))

I'm so proud of them, and of all of them <333

They're happy :'))

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And that's it 😭🥺❤️💔🥰 :'))

Also WAIT SLFKFHKDS THAT WAS HIS LAST LINE XDDD??

I hadn't really processed that it was and then my dad walked in from the next room and was like "That was his last line of the show?" and I was like "YUP SLFJHDKS" LOL stop that's hilarious xD amazing, iconic <333

I love him so much :')))

Also go off on having two TVs Shaun 😌😌

I love them all so much <3333

Well, that's it

This is the last episode

That was. . .

The end of The Good Doctor

. . . wow

It was absolutely amazing <333

I loved it :')

I love you all so much <333 ❤️

[factual-fantasy]

31 asks! Thank you! :}} ☯️

Now I'm gonna be totally honest, I DO have a favorite twin and its Ingo <XDD But I also fully understand and support your point!

What makes Ingo and Emmet so fun and interesting to me is their bond! How they mirror each other, how they interact, their strength as a team! Sure separating them for the angst is great an all- but truly showing them together and more importantly as equals is where the good stuffs at!

This is also why I usually try to wrap up their separation arcs in my AUs, and also don't really enjoy reading any Legends Arceus content.. seeing Ingo alone is not only heartbreaking,, but its also just not as fin. Ingo and Emmet are stronger together :)

@sallychaosaura (In response to this post)

Miiiight be a bit too late for that <XDD

@orangesideirrational

Thank you! :D I'm glad :))

Sorry, no can do! <:( Also thank you! :))

(Post in question)

(It was very intentional! :}) He's stressed. 😔

Ugh.. well, thanks for letting me know.. and at least the commenters know I don't consent to reposts..

😔

@thatweirdocryptid

TORPEDO??

@soulful-rodent (Post in question)

Well in-game we was traded to a friend and back so he'd evolve..

Buuuut lore wise, without a trainer..? <:D No idea-

Probably somewhere around 100 <XD

@xtra-collab

Absolutely terrifying! Next question XD

@lost-brain-privileges

No, no, aaaaand poorly, XD I'm doing fiiiiine won't worry! :)

@beeboboingo

AAATHANK YTOU SOMNUCH!!!! :DDDDDDD

I can imagine when he first gained the ability to hide in peoples shadows, he probably gave many people quite a scare without meaning to <XDDD

@cat7890

Thank you! :DD And Their stories are kind'a vague when I take out my trainer..

I'm thinking that somehow, Midori met Gloria in their first evolutions and became friends. Then they found Grim..

later on Midori found Anastasia after she had run away from a battle. She tried to hide but her shiny gold color made that impossible.. Midori took her to Gloria and they took care of her.

Afterwards they met Sylvester..

Beyond that, I don't have any details in mind.. 😅 Sorry!

Typically I prefer horror games/movies, but ONLY when they're being played by or watched by someone else in a YouTube video XDD

Some of those YouTubers being Elvis The Alien and Markiplier! :}}}

@fragmented-ghost (Pokémon Violet team master post)

AAAA I'm so glad you like them! :DD I plan to draw them more at some point, but atm I kind'a got sucked back into the Violet grind XDD I'm just about to beat the main game! :0000

@justanintrovertedweirdo

I have! :DD I like it quite a lot an have drawn some things for it here and there! Though I never got around to completing the game..

Someday I'd like to go back and beat the game. I can imagine I'd jump right into the fandom afterwards if I did XDD

XD Probably!

I don't remember talking about that.. if you had a link to the original post maybe I could remember with context..? <:0

@tallchest13-blog (Post in question)

XDDD I'm glad you like them! :))

XDD All of those titles made me laugh! And I see your point, but I have a few counter points to this ask..

For 1, to keep with the theme, I would want to/have to make this cape IRL in order to add it to my sona. Now if the last 4 quilts have shown me anything? Its that I'm not super great at making quilts <XDD

If it was that challenging to make it on a smaller scale? I cant imagine how much trouble I'd have trying to make a full size one! <XDD Plus buying the materials... having to physically get up, go buy the stuff I need and make it. With these health issues I've been battling, that's not something I wanna do atm.. 😅Not to mention with how hot its been lately, I don't think I need a quilt anyways-

And then lastly- I'd have to draw myself with it every time! I like my sona being a simplistic blob that has minimal colors and not much of a model to keep too. I worry a quilt might take that away.. :(((

XDD I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the potential! :))

I have a few times here an there. Just to hang out with some friends :)

I mean, I don't know the history between you two... But my advice is to leave them be. If they ghosted you, they probably want space..

@iloveseriess

I altered the story of Welcome Home to make my version of Sally a teenager. So I was thinking she could be bluish-white to look like a young star..? But looking back I don't like the blue.. For story purposes she might stay a teen, but I think I'll keep her yellow <XDD

@anikakitty11

Yoo! :DD She's so colorful! And that black shadowy arm is so spooky.. Does she have a story? 👀👀

(Pixel art tutorial in question)

I'm glad it helped! Happy pixeling!! :}} 👋👋

@minnesotamedic186

XD Don't worry its fiiiiiine!

I've wanted to draw evil Grim and Sylvester again in general, but I don't really have any ideas for them yet.. 😅

[partnersincrimesuau]

I really do hope you had a great time on your vacation as you absolutely deserve it. Do you think you could tell us anything interesting that happened to you while you were away?

I know I'm a few weeks late to responding to this ask, but I will gladly respond anyways!!!! Thanks so much for this ask, anon!!!

I realised this is a very long response so I'm gonna put a buffer here, click to read about my trip (in no particular order) and see some of the photos I took in QLD!!!

To start off - yes, I HAD A LOVELY TRIP!!! It was actually the first time I went on a passenger plane by myself, too!! There's something very other-worldly being in a whole different state surrounded by strangers... the plane-trips were amazing tho, there was a thunderstorm in Brisbane that I flew over (you could see the lighting UNDER the clouds!!!) and when the plane landed back in Adelaide (SA is my home state <33) there was another storm!! I wasn't worried tho, I had my headphones and a good book and I was set for all my flights ^^

Here are a couple of highlights from my trip:

Went searching for platypuses with my uncle and brother (didn't find any, sadly... but i found a freshwater eel!!!)

Went to an arcade with my cousin!! I had never been to one before, funny enough XDD (also we played laser tag, my team took the high ground and obliterated everyone (we won by like, 4,000 points))

Apparently there are Taco Bell restaurants in every Australian state except SA??? I saw one in Queensland and was like "WHAAAAT I thought Taco Bell was American!!!" and so we went to it and got crunchwraps for dinner!!

Went out to dinner with 20 family members (my brother stabbed me in the hand with a fork bc i tried to steal one of his chips) and had a lovely meal!!

Went to a beach with my cousin and saw a chart hanging up by the lifeguards showing all the lethal jellyfish that frequently appear there. There were eight. Eight killer species of jellyfish. (I love Australia)

Oh speaking of Australia, yes, we saw giant spiders. There was one on the door of my uncle's house and another back at the house we were staying at. Unfortunately I didn't actually find out what species they were... but DEFINITELY not ones we get in SA!!!

I BOUGHT NINETEEN PAIRS OF EARRINGS IN QUEENSLAND. NINETEEN!!! (also got a rad Moon-Knight t-shirt <333)

Went four-wheeled-driving in a jungle!! My brother and I got to stand on the edges of the car while my uncle drove us XDDD

Taught my cousin how to play Deltarune and how to defeat Sans - just thought I'd mention this here as well because it was a highlight XDDD

Overall, I had SUCH a great time away and I'm so happy I have these great memories!!! I'm so grateful for my lovely family (except for my brother who stabbed me >:T) and I loved to spend time with them!!

But now, of course, I'm back in SA working harder than ever on PIC Chapter 2 ^^ Thanks so much to everyone reading this, for your patience, support and love!!! <33333

(and to finish off, here are some photos from my adventures!! They've all got image descriptions with a little bit of info about each of them ^^)

And lastly, my favourite - WET FLOOR SIGNS THAT LOOK LIKE BANANA PEELS!!!! (taken in Townsville airport)

And yeah, thats about it!!! Thanks again for asking about my trip, anon!!!

[henriiiii-1001old]

future me here: this is so long so if you dont wanna read it all then just please trust me that it is so puppet in every single fucking way omg-

gonna put everything under a keep reading now too bc its. so long CFVGBHN

okokokokokokokok so lemme put the translated lyrics so you guys can like. understand where i'm coming from (i ofc had to read them too LMAO im not fluent xddd)

the first few lines are just. IMMEDIATELY screaming puppet to me, growing up in a different environment (basically being raised by alternates) and "likes and dislikes" being reversed and all that.

the next thing that hit was the bridge. like it's him actually meeting ruth and talking to her for the first time. he's "confused" by actually trying to talk to someone thatcher knows while disguising as thatcher, but at the same time it feels nice "being normal".

first chorus would be him first thinking that he has some sort of weird "crush" on ruth but later he realizes that he actually "want[s] to love [ruth] unbearably" to act more human.

and the whole concept of not wanting "normal" love, possibly hinting at wanting an unhealthy relationship of some sort. in puppet's case, it would be more of him wanting control, and it would start with ruth.

(note, the black out word had 1) an incorrect translation i noticed and 2) a. a not too positive word in today's context so im just censoring it just in case at this point)

second verse now, and the lines about dancing and playing music seem like it would connect to his like. like it would be him adjusting to be more like other humans, learning dances, listening to music, maybe learning a few instruments along the way!

however, things probably start going sour as puppet reveals himself anyway to ruth and ultimately technically failed his mission. he should have "watched dramas and prepared for it", with "it" being human interaction specifically with people thatcher actually knows.

also funny thing that belladonna can mean both "beautiful lady" as well as the plant of nightshade. "giv[ing] belladonna to the person i like" could be some sort of metaphor for M.A.D. in this context.

i also hc that ruth actually planted nightshade in her yard as a weird precaution in case nightshade berries/leaves could work against alternates. yeah i looked it up and apparently it's illegal to do that, but it's fucking mandela county no one fucking cares LMAO

anyways, symptoms of belladonnas are (according to medliveplus.gov) "blurred vision, fever, fast heartbeat, inability to urinate or sweat, hallucinations, spasms, mental problems, convulsions, coma, and others." who knows? maybe ruth got a bit too cocky and tried to fool puppet and he ended up fooling her instead, causing her to fall sick and for him to have to take care of her? cool concept huh :) <- totally not giving xem ideas

i also just like the mention of hyde from "the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde" it's genuinely such a good fucking story man. i just think it's neat <3

it does kinda relate to how puppet is sometimes going around and fuckign with people as thatcher, but it's kinda the opposite of the short story's case. in the book, jekyll uses basically a fake identity w a potion to change his appearance in order to not put blame on him, but puppet wants to blame thatcher for his actions (though he honestly isn't the biggest fan of people taking credit for his "work", but he'll let it slide if it's to slander thatcher <3). idk, just smth to think abt :0

ok now onto the "octopus hold" that i corrected: it's wrestling move!! if you look it up, it does honestly look like the person is like. an octopus LMAO. its funny tho how octopi have 8 tentacles and spider have 8 legs :) i do think it could also been seen as him trying to have a sort of strong grip on those he wants to keep close, specifically with ruth here.

chorus is almost the same except it talks abt how you can't buy love with money. probably tries to buy it with manipulating his peers </3

(i forgot a fucking line at the bottom, but it's just "i am living freely" as the last line of the song after "i will live because of you". i'll analyze this later i prommy)

this last fucking part. O U G H

puppet is kind of an outcast compared to everyone else, but only later bc he doesn't reveal his true intentions w humanity until later on in the story. he becomes an outcast after ruth escapes because even those he called his friends (specifically the paranoia squad) are now turning on him.

the rhetorical question of "everyone is free, right?" just feels like he'd ask himself that and question his own humanity (if he even had any in the first place bc he barely got any LMAO) as well as how moral it would really be if he, a nonhuman, just started killing people. he will "live freely" regardless of "those who reject [him]."

the last chorus is the exact same except for the end, and i LOVE IT!!!!!!!

specifically with the lines "i will live because of you" and "i am living freely"- as opposed to all the other times the line was sung, where it was "i will live freely" in which it sounds more like a promise (and it definitely seems to have been kept at the end ;) )- it just. AUUGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

the "i will live because of you" is definitely something he says after ruth either escape or smth he says after a specific event i havent actually fully revealed yet. it's just such a hm line <333

AND THE "I AM LIVING FREELY" LINE!!!!! HE'S FREE OF GABRIEL'S CONTROL BUT LIKE. THERE IS CLEARLY SOMETHING THAT HINTS THAT SOMETHING IS NOT GOOD ABT THAT AND AUGH <333333

ITS ALL PUPPET I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!

anyways if you made it this far omg tysm for reading my insanity <333333

GUYS

GUYS

GUYS I

IM GOING INSANE OVER SYUDOU'S NEW SONG (アタシ) AND HOW IT SO FUCKING PERFECTLY IS PUPPET OMG

THE SONG IS ALSO INCREDIBLY GOOD PLEASE GO LISTEN TO IT

[salytierra]

*Hello! Would you mind giving me a brief explanation about the deal with Portuguese towels? I just want to make sure I double check my facts before I say anything about it :)

Ooooh yeah! 

Every country has a preferred joke about their neighbors. For Spain - it’s Portuguese towels. 

Okay, so the long story is that some decades ago, towels, furniture and things like that were much, much cheaper in Portugal, so people either went there expressly to buy them or bought a fuckton whenever they were in Portugal. Brought them back and gifted them to their friends and family. 

Nevermind that they didn’t dry well, from what I’ve heard. But try to tell that to your economy-obsessed mom. 

The thing got so out of hand that the “stop stealing our towels” return joke from Portugal was born, and even there were discovered cases of... entire operations of illegal trafficking of towels. *sigh* iberians. 

Anyway, now almost every time Portugal is mentioned, people start making Towel jokes™. Even if the towel business is not what it used to be and people mostly still buy them for the sake of the joke. But there are still some grannies that legit go to Portugal only to buy old-fashioned, terribly quality towels. Unironically. 

Anyway, some towel joke gems can be like this:Q: are there Portuguese street gangsters?A: Yeah, but instead of gold chains they hang towels from their neck

But mostly they are situational. You mention Portugal around and somebody always finds a way to immediately bring up towels. And you all laugh. Except that one Portuguese person that rolls their eyes and tries to murder you with their mustache. 

Oh yeah, hairy women. That’s another recurrent joke, but I don’t know where it comes from. 

[thefloatingstone]

@noirandchocolate

Yeah I remember reading the post and thinking 'this sounds like it MIGHT be an adhd thing' but I didn't want to say that bc I didn't want to come of patronizing like 'oh hun your feelings are just your neurodivergence acting up.' Nevertheless even if it IS 'caused by' adhd that doesn't make the feeling less 'valid' or less shitty to feel!

Yeah XD; probably if you had said that right there and then, because I was angy, I probably would have just been grumpy about that being pointed out because for whatever reason I have this weird complex about "not getting listened to" which I'm pretty sure is thanks to growing up in the school system. (it also left me with the belief that nobody ever listens to ANYTHING I say and nobody puts any value into my words) so at that very second it probably would have just annoyed me.... but you right tho XDDD and honestly, Now that I'm not angry, it actually does make me feel a LOT better to have other people with ADHD go "oh I recognise that one. Yeah that sucks bro." especially since, despite the tone of the post, I really was talking about it to hear if this is what everyone feels and they're just not talking about it or not.

....so the typical ADHD experience. "Everyone probably feels this way and they just don't mention it."

btw I get this too though probably about different subject matter. For example I have to hold back from correcting people about legal topics when they're 'just making a joke' or even when they're outright spreading misinformation, bc I know no one in the 100k notes is going to notice and it's a waste of my time. And then I feel agitated for hours especially if the post goes by on my dash AGAIN.

Ah yeah yeah yeah.

My big triggers are misinformation just... in GENERAL really makes me angry. (Did you guys hear fucking Rubber Ross on yt tell his 300k followers that Herge "drew N*zi Propaganda because he was German" when Herge was BELGIAN AND HAD HIS COUNTRY OCCUPIED DURING THE WAR AND WAS PROBABLY TAKEN PRISONER TO DRAW PROPAGANDA ROSS O'DONOVAN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?????)

Another big thing that sets me off a LOT is when you see teenagers (almost always from the US) going on about how Communism is the bees knees just because they hate capitalism and you can just fucking tell they've never opened a single history book in their entire lives and lemme tell ya, the friends I have who actually live in the Eastern Block HAVE SOME DISAGREEMENT WITH THAT STATEMENT But as you say. What the fuck is the point yelling in a 100k notes post because all you're gonna get is a bunch of 16 year olds calling a "bootlicker" or sending you spicy memes of that stock image of that dude deep throating a doc martin and all manner of "wow you're a terrible person sweaty (:" in your inbox and it's honestly not fucking worth the longlasting consequences.

(Law stuff isn't the only thing that's just the most noncontroversial topic I could mention as an example, lol. But anyway I do get this feeling like 'ò_ó Now I'm mad but I can't do anything about it, UGH!!!' when I hold back from shouting at strangers on the internet about various things. Feels like being a frustrated, angry tiger pacing in a shitty zoo cage.)

A frustrated angry tiger pacing in a shitty zoo cage is 100% the feeling. And it can last for HOURS. as in PLURAL HOURS. And it sucks ass, man. (I was yelling at my therapist about Ross O'Donovan's showing his ass at his 300k subscribers which is probably the angriest he's seen me but forgive me if some popular asshole accuses a war victim of being a n*zi makes me just a little bit annoyed)

But honestly it IS, as always, a good feeling to have someone else go "it's ok. It's not just you. I know how that feels." even if it can't be right that very moment where I'm still being like

(Also as an aside please if you didn't have a very good history department in high school, I am BEGGING you to make some time to read up on your recent world history, people)

[skelemira]

GIVE THE UL SNAS AND ROWAN LORE PLS PLS PLS I NEED THIS

OK FINALLY DONE WITH ART AND ON THE BUS HOME LET'S *DO THIS*

But before I start I should say this is not my characterization, it's actually how my bestest friend @hyacinthlanes characterizes him (she's also the one who drew my pfp btwwwwww I love you Saphhhhhhhh)

Aight so these two motherhuggers are the cutest fRICKING couple you ever will see. So I actually lowkey uh forgot how they met, I don't even think I set it in stone, I think I started writing a oneshot about it and then just straight up didn't finish it lol but I think I'm gonna go with that they meet at Muffet's.

(btw when I refer to Sans and Papyrus hereforth I mean UL Snas and Paps)

So Paps has a bit of a sweet tooth, nothing major just a bit of a craving for pastries now and then, and he knows Muffet is good about not making her pastries with an ungodly amount of sugar, so he pops by every once in a while. So one time he goes to Muffet's and he sees a new waitress. Now Muffet has *never* hired somebody to help her, so that immediately caught his attention. He noticed that she was a little bit awkward, clearly new to waitressing, and a little bit clumsy every now and then, though she seemed a bit more fearful of Muffet when she made mistakes than he thought was brought on by Muffet being a spider.... Especially because Muffet seemed to be acting extra sweet to the waitress. The waitress eventually got to him, asking for his order before stopping herself and apologizing, introducing herself as Rowan and then asking for his order again.

He brought out all the charm he could, and by the end of the conversation he had even coaxed a giggle out of her. It wasn't even much of a giggle, and she quickly stifled it, but he knew in that moment he would do anything to hear her full blown laugh. (In a completely platonic way, dw there is no jealousy. Though perhaps it might go a different way in an au 👀👀👀)

He went home and Sans noticed he was much more upbeat than normal. Usually when he went to Muffet's he was happy but he would go straight for a 5 mile jog to "burn off the sugar", but this time Paps just went into the kitchen to start prepping for dinner, humming merrily.

Eventually Sans pried it out of Paps about the new waitress and how adorable she was, and you just KNOW Sans is a sucker for adorable things so he decided to pay Muffet a visit (though he would definitely get Grillby's after to "atone").

Yeah so uh it took a couple of weeks for him to get around to going to Muffet's, not that he was dreading it, he just takes his sweet time to do something he says he's gonna do.

He steps one foot into Muffet's and curses under his breath.

Because he sees Rowan tentatively confident, making a joke with Muffet as she wiped down a table, and the ensuing giggle had a burst of magic zip through him, apparently so much that Muffet paused in her laughter, her gaze going to him and raising one eyebrow.

(I really just ended up writing a whole thing huh XDDD)

He saw a glimpse of that confident radiance peeking through the walls that seemed to be slowly crumbling and he became resolved to break them down, if just to see what was hiding behind them.

It started with him trying out various comedy routines as she took his order, anything to hear that giggle again (oh my stars she likes *puns*), and it eventually turned to flirting (her blush is *adorable* and he loves it more than anything) which eventually turned to him asking her out. She said yes <3 (obviously lol) and they started going out.

So obviously my boi Sans has some trauma, we hc him here as asexual, but I mean either way being forced to be in constant heat is gonna have some nasty consequences even if you weren't asexual, plus he feels like in other people's eyes he's been reduced to just sex, plus a lot of other stuff that I'm not going to mention bc that's Saph's territory lol (Btw forgot to mention Rowan is panro-ace like me <3 bc self indulgence XDDD)

So having a girlfriend who is also asexual and doesn't *at all* expect sex or even really want it most of the time if at all and who's basically like a best friend but also romantic is just. Exactly what he needs. Their dates are just the cutest and they both understand the other has trauma so when one has days where the "air is heavy" (basically days where it's hard to move or hard to breathe, like the air is too heavy to move through etc) the other is just there for them. ANYWAY they're too cute your honor

So eventually they move in together, think cottagecore and you've got basically Rowan and Oberon's house, they're adorable and their home is so cozy.

There are so many little moments that are just adorable I can't even think of them all but eventually they get married.

I love. Their wedding okay.

Like have you seen that post of a couple that invited their friends to a party they said was a costume party but it was actually their wedding? Yeah that's them. Except the people know it's a wedding, they just can wear whatever the heck the want, the wackier the better. Their wedding is outdoors and full of shenanigans and laughs and I don't quite remember who I had officiate, it might've been Grillby or my friend's sona, but ik Muffet was the maid of honor.

Tho since they shared so many friends it wasn't really a split situation, the wedding parties were all just kind of mixed together. Rowan was barefoot and it was by the edge of a forest so it was very nature-y (Rowan gardens like a LOT I mentioned it like offhand in the last post).

Super super cute.

Now RANDOM TIDBITS

Sans' favourite food is apple pie. Why? Because Rowan smells like apples. (Or it's her scones bc goshDANG they are good).

Rowan's favourite color is the purple of Sans' eyelights.

Sans (with Papyrus' help) builds Rowan a greenhouse with floating pink magic lights and it's the most romantic fricking place ever.

When their relationship is first starting to get serious, they plant a tree together (a Rowan tree aha). (If/when they have kids, the kids would play underneath that tree).

Sans' favourite colour is the red of Rowan's hair (it looks pink in the picture but it's kind of a pinkish red, like a pink lady apple).

Rowan and Papyrus have such a good relationship with each other man. Like when Paps finds out Rowan is drinking **EVERCLEAR** every night he is like absolutely Not you uncultured swine (affectionate) and so he starts up a Wine Night with her. Every Thursday he brings a new wine for them to try while maybe doing a puzzle or just chatting or baking or something. Together they become wine connoisseurs (bro I spelled that right the first time without autocorrect look at me go)

Ok I'm rambling at this point but uh yes <3 you're also free to ask me random questions about these two if you'd like!!!! Thank you so much for the ask Hyper beloved <333333 literally Saph is like almost the whole reason UL Sans is my husband now lol.

[twilightknight17]

So I fell asleep last night before I could make the post, but I got P5 Scramble yesterday and I’m having a blast so far. ^_^

I’m probably going to go through it the same way I did my Royal playthrough, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t click through on these posts!

Before we start, I just want to mention that I don’t really know anything about the story. Somehow I’ve managed to avoid spoilers for an entire year except for a few small things.

I do know the identity of (who I assume is) Kyoto’s Jail Monarch. (Monarch is kind of a weird, formal word. I think I liked Jail King better. Or... Warden? Warden might have been the best choice.) ANYWAY, I think I know their identity, and by extension, I have a vague idea of why Shadow Joker exists. Other than that... You’re getting speculation and bullshit untainted by later plot revelations. XDDD

I did find it funny that when I booted the game up, I got a “No save data found, unable to start game” message. Like... no shit, PS4, it’s a brand new game. But the little starting tutorial fight was cool, and I liked the opening movie!

The police briefing was...interesting. It’s good to see them actually being somewhat logical? Like... considering everything that happened the year before, it makes sense that they’d assume this is the Thieves again. They have no way of knowing that there’s no way to access Palaces anymore. This isn’t really the Thieves MO, though. Except for the guy who confessed to document tampering. The author shredding his work for no reason and the guy streaking through the criminal justice headquarters don’t seem like they did anything wrong. Those seem more like psychotic breakdowns.

But... I guess we don’t know if the police ever knew anything about Black Mask, or if Shido was convicted on only real-world crimes and not the metaverse hits he ordered. I wonder if that’ll get elaborated on.

Zenkichi’s introduction was him laughing at the streaking guy in the middle of this Serious Police Meeting, so I think I’m gonna like him a lot. ^_^

Anyway, the “higher-ups” really want this case closed, according to “Commissioner Kaburagi”, who I already don’t like. If you’re the police commissioner, Makoto really would be a better choice, holy shit. She’s already prepared to go after Akira, who is the only Thief they know the identity of, so I guess that’s fair. But still. Has he not been falsely accused of enough for a lifetime?

Although... if you’re gonna look up all his life details, can you maybe... share some? Just a few things? Hometown? How are his parents? Anything?

*

Coming back to Leblanc was cute. Got some Trickster’s Maze vibes from the initial text conversation where they were talking about how people kept not responding to texts, but I think it’s all good. Love that the Sayuri is still on the wall, and that Morgana’s been home with Akira.

Naming the app “Emma” is never going to stop being hilarious to me, because reasons.

Y’know, Atlus, this would work a lot better if he could like...respond to their curiosity. At least these dialogue options seem to suggest that talking things out with his parents went well. Even “I missed you” isn’t inherently negative. He’d miss them either way.

.......so when my boyfriend gets back from his soul-searching vacation, he’ll be welcomed back with open arms, right, Ryuji? Right?

Meanwhile, for summer break plans, Yusuke wants to go to Kyoto for a month-long art tour. Unless...

Never change, dear. Never change.

Nice of Sojiro to water my plant and keep my room from drowning in dust, but he really couldn’t have replaced the bedframe with literally anything other than the plastic storage crates? XD The attic looks so empty and lonely without the shelves of trinkets and plushies, and the TV.

So my reaction to this next part was literally, “LAVENZA, IT’S BEEN LESS THAN 24 HOURS”. X’‘‘D Akira really can’t catch a break. But Lavenza’s dialogue sounded actually sad that he was being dragged into this again. And she’s promised repeatedly that she’s going to be there for him. It’s sweet, even though my room is still a prison and she’s still using torture equipment. Iron maidens, Lavenza, really??

I’m a little concerned that Igor’s not around, though. Lavenza did the dream/reality/mind/matter speech instead. Where is he? I know he’s never around for spinoffs but considering my headcanons I’m very curious now. And why didn’t he like... tell Morgana that Lavenza said ruin is coming again? Even if we don’t count thirdsem events, Morgana still knows that he’s Hope, and he still has a bond with the Velvet Room. Talk to your cat damn it.

Oh no, she’s cute and Alice-in-Wonderland themed. I’m doomed.

She called it her “EMMA keyword” and I immediately blurted “what? keyword??” and then everything went directly to Hell immediately. Keyword was the key word, I guess. X’‘‘‘DDD

And you can tell it’s been six months, considering that these nerds got caught almost immediately. And got their hands bound. And got dragged to the throne room and forced to kneel!

...I’m doomed.

Someone at Atlus looked directly at this fandom and all the fanart of the interrogation and said, “Yeah, they’d be into that.” XD Steppy steppy. At least she’s not a rapist like Kamoshida, but jeeze, we keep getting beaten up and thrown in the dungeon by royalty. All we need is a princess and we’ve got a whole royal family!

Although, I suppose the prince didn’t bother with a dungeon. XD

I think it’s interesting that apparently the guards tried to take our Desires and failed. I guess being a persona-user means your mental state is stable enough that something like that can’t manifest.

Oh no, she’s cute. I love her. Another for the collection of Joker’s baby siblings. This is number... 5? She kind of reminds me of Jose, a little. I’ll be interested to see what she is, since she’s got amnesia right now. She can’t be just a straight AI.

But if she’s Yald’s mom, I’m also going to be majorly weirded out.

I really like the gameplay? It’s so interesting to see how the characters move and fight when they’re not limited to turn-based attacks. And I like being able to jump to different points and use them to ambush enemies. I don’t fully understand all of it yet, and it’s hard for me to keep an eye on things like status ailments and my teammates because everything is so chaotic, but I’m sure I’ll get it.

I did die to a miniboss, and when I hit “return to checkpoint”, it gave me the prompt to select a language for the voice acting again. I dunno what was up with that. X’D And I’m baffled by the concept that you can just leave the metaverse and come back and it restores all your health and stuff. No penalty. Time doesn’t pass. You didn’t waste a day. Have the kids finally learned that we are capable of entering and exiting more than once on the same day? Hallelujah.

...this boy is angry that we have to deal with the Jails instead of having a BBQ feast. Never change, Yusuke.

If you go by the crepe shop in Shibuya, Morgana still doesn’t think you’re a crepe person. I’m so tired, Morgana. It’s also a bit weird and forced that Iwai and Takemi are both out of town. We couldn’t have seen at least one of them? I know we’re not gonna be able to use those shops when we’re on the road, but we could worry about that then.

(Disturbingly easy to return a gold bar that you apparently bought off the dark web. Omg. That was hilarious.)

AND THEN YOU GET UP THE NEXT DAY AND ZENKICHI IS JUST IN YOUR HOUSE? SITTING IN THAT CHAIR? That is not the “detective chair”, sir, that is my boyfriend’s chair, and you need to move. At least he likes the curry, but jesus fuck. Sir, I have unresolved trauma of adults coming into my house to snoop into my business. Get out of my house. X’D

You give me a detective sitting in my boyfriend’s chair and then immediately send me to a taping of the same show in the same studio where I first met him. God, P5S, you’re trying to kill me.

Alice clearly knows that giving out the keyword is doing something. She’s being very deliberate about this. But I don’t think she’s actually aware of the Jail. Love that she’s so arrogant that she can’t imagine that Akira just... didn’t use the keyword, and that’s why she can’t control him.

So I guess the Jail Monarchs are called such because they’re imprisoning other people’s shadows in their distortions. So these are people that want control over something to the point that it distorted their worldview. Part of me wants to go off on a ramble about how this relates to Mementos or Apathy Syndrome, but I’ll wait and do that when I have more information. I’ve got some more of the dungeon to do, and I cannot wait to see Alice’s boss fight.

I’m having so much fun. I really missed these kids; they’re grea--

.......I hate these children. X’‘‘‘‘DDDD

[yumifujiuzaki]

So this is the current situation now...

Not gonna lie, this is actually my life right now *dying inside of laughter and pain*

Anyway this Tumblr/Blog/whatever-you-wanna-call-it will be some kind of log on how I kinda get my sh*t together, cause reasons?

Dunno i just thought that maybe other people might learn of my struggles or just find entertainment in something that I do over here v('-'v

My life is pretty messy right now, so here's a glimpse:

Time management skill is -1000

A frickin tight schedule, as in 9hour workdays Every. Single. Day ... at least i got free weekends

Constant deadlines, cause thats life as an art student *dead inside*

Perpetually broke, befitting of the cliché art college student

Sleep deprived nightowl

Low energy preserver

Massive overthinker

Aaaaaand not to mention an absolute procrastination master

I recon that this lifestyle is nothing that I can live with, as I live in constant stress and am pretty much at the verge of burnout.

And I can't f*ckin have that.

So my goal for for the turn of the decade and years to come, is to create the perfect lifestyle for myself, that really works for me and that I can maintain in the longterm. Those above are the points that seriously hinder me physically and mentally, so i gotta change those, but that ain't all of 'em. I've been looking into live-improvement for a month and making progress into some fundamental stuff, like creating some sort of humane sleeping schedule and a bit of skincare to get rid of my permanent panda eyes XD

Don't worry tho, this won't be just a serious improvement blog. I'm a person that has way too much fun in the wrong places, like internet memes ... so you'll see some shitposts and stupid artworks of yours truly along the way too XDDD

Btw shoutout to the person behind that masterpiece on top!!! Kuru, whoever you are, you're a hero of blessing us with this relatable artwork/comic.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

O P E WHAT??!!?!??!

OH N O 😳😳😳😳😳😬😬😭

MARJAN'S GOING OFF THE ROAD AGAIN!! GIRL YOU DO THIS TOO MUCH

Yk like crashing and getting hunted down by a madman XDD

Wait who is that girl??

:OO Is that like a young Marjan??

That would be crazy :DD

OOPE nice they know :DDD 😬😬

Ohhhh nooOOOO thiiissss does not look good 😬😬😬😬😳😳😭

OOOOPE OHHH NOO

Okay well she's leaning on that girl so I do think she's real xD

I saw a couple cars I think, maybe her family died?? Idk

U H O H O.O 😬😬😬😬😳😳😳

HE'S GOT A GUN O.O

Ohhhhh nooooooooo 😳😳😳😳

MARJANNNN 😭😭😭😭

I am s t r e s s e d :')))

That's it for the last of my last thoughts! Now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

I absolutely LOVED this episode :DD!! I thought it was amazing :)). I'm really glad we got a call, too! We don't always get calls, at least not ones the 126 responds to, in episodes like this. I mean, they're all about to characters, but these ones are like. Especially character episodes lol. Anyway XD, the call was really cool :D!! And! Marjan's storyline!!! We got to see her and she was AWESOME 🥰🥰🥰!!! And don't even get me started on the Tarlos wedding planning storyline :D. But, you will have to lol, because:

Now it's time for the individual parts!

Quick note, everything is after "loved this episode :DD!!" is from Monday, the day before the next episode. I didn't mean to put it off so much but I had a fundraiser and a concert and then planning a play rehearsal for spring break because we perform in 9 days :). Anyway! I didn't liveblog quite as much as I sometimes do, because I was REALLY invested in the episode lol 🥰. And then I'd get behind trying to do it and couldn't always remember specifics. But rest assured I did love the whole thing, and I'll try to put as much here as I can (but it has been a week and also my motivation is still not great lol)

Sorry that's a bit long xD. Anyway!

Nancy, Mateo, Paul, and Judd! I'm including them all together to make this easier lol. I love them 🥰🥰🥰. Their conversation with TK and Carlos XD amazing lol. Oh, and they were all great at their jobs :))). I'm gonna especially point out Paul, not that he was better than the rest of them, but just bc he was the one we saw more of. He slayed :D. Anyway, them all eating together was just 🥰🥰. And Nancy (all of them really) being like "you better have gotten enough to share >://" XDD. Amazing lol. Also Mateo with the fruit xD. Like my man not the time lol. And of course I have to mention Judd talking about his father in law xD, and then ". . . we didn't speak for two years" XDDD. They're all crazy lol, but/and I love them so much <333.

Tommy! We didn't see her much this episode but she slayed :)). I'm just putting her separate from the others because they were grouped up a bit lol. But! Yeah, she was amazing at her job, as always :)). And ayy, she said the thing xD. "Control freak", I mean, lol. I think she was the only one who did, even though it was the whole theme xD. Anyway, I love her 🥰🥰🥰❤️.

Grace! Another person we didn't see much - I don't even think we physically saw her xD. Just the call lol. But, nonetheless, she slayed :)). She was great at her job 🥰. Even if we only saw it for that second xDD. It's unfortunate, but alas, it happens. I miss her, even if she was technically here, though lol. Hopefully we see her more soon <33! I love her :)) ❤️❤️🥰.

Owen! And Andrea xD. He was GREAT this episode lol. As was Andrea. I mean, definitely flawed, but they were hilarious XD. And they learned :'))). Eventually XDD. But seeing the way they (especially Owen since he was doing it for longer) were acting before they talked was just OUUGHH. It was rough my man xD. And some things he said were more bearable than others lol. But the conversation he had with Andrea was beautiful :'). And SO so angsty xdd. Mostly from Andrea/Carlos. So good though <33. And of course, the ending scene :')). Y'all stoppp 😭😭😭❤️. It was so sweet and beautiful :'D. I'm really glad they got it sorted out, because I do think Owen and Andrea are capable of helping without taking over lol. And also just bc I wanted them to sort it out xD. But it was really great :'). With Owen's personality still in there, like with the magazine and the tea xD. Honestly though I didn't really think of it being the last thing he would give TK/TK would need from him as being the reason, but it makes sense and it worked well! All in all I just think it all worked out really well :). Also the Andrea Godfather scene was SO AMAZING AND ICONIC LOL. I was losing my m i n d during that scene xD. And many others but I was straight up dying lol. Oh, also, Owen was great at his job :)). As was Andrea if we're assuming it's mother lol. But also Owen in that same way too :). Eventually, like I said xD, for both of them though lol. Anyway, yeah, I love them ❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰.

Marjan! AAAHHHHH MY GIRLLLL!! SHE SLAYED S O HARD :DDDDD!!! I'm so glad we got to see her again, and she was awesome too :D. I'm so glad she listened to her instincts (and Patty, who's an icon by the way) to help Kylie, and even after the failed plan she still did :'). Also somehow I missed her ditch it so I didn't think about this till someone mentioned it, and obviously it makes sense she did, BUT SHE BETTER GET THAT BIKE BACK xdd. She's driving a car in the promo but still like long term she better get it back lol. Anyway, I'm so glad both Marjan and Kylie are okay :D. That fight at the end was INTENSE, but it was a slay :D. And Marjan did find what she was looking for :')). Turns out she was right the whole time lol xD. But really, I think rescuing and saving people is her calling. And based on the promo and episode description, I think she realized that too :') 🥰. Speaking of, AAAAHHHHHHHH!!?!???! NOT OKAY xdd!!!! I'm sure it'll all work out, but it looks CRAZY. I'm still wondering who that little girl is, but I'm sure we'll find out! And I'm sure that, and the entire episode, will be interesting. Anyway you can just post bail for abuse xd? What the heck. I don't know if I want Marjan to have to go through the emotional stuff of killing him, but he better be done for good by the end of this xD. Even if thats just back in prison lol. Anyway, Marjan was amazing at her job - calling - today :')). I love her <3333 ❤️❤️.

TK and Carlos! AAAHHHHHH MY BOYYYYS 🥰🥰🥰. Their storyline was so hilarious this episode XD. And it also gave us SO MANY GOOD MOMENTS FOR THEM :DDDD!! The little communication they kept having, like their looks to each other in the scene when the first brought Andrea over; standing by each other when standing up to their parents (parent technically but yk); THE LUNCH SCENE!!! Iconic all around :'D. Also I think that lunch scene was better than we ever could have hoped for XD. It was so good lol. Not just funny with their conversation, but cute too :'DD, especially the beginning. Like y'all they switched 🥰🥰. It's totally fine to be together and not share food but like :DD. It's also so cute xD. Anyway, they're adorable 🥰🥰❤️. But yeah, I'm so glad they worked everything out with their parents :'D. It was lowkey torture watching them make decisions for their sons xD. As was intending, and it was hilarious, but still lol. Also painful xd. Anyway, yeah, seeing Tarlos just become more and more stressed about the decisions were making was funny, but also kind of 😭. These poor boys are going through it xd. Also CARLOS IS CAPABLE AND DECENT AND WILL TAKE CARE OF TK 😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️!!! STOP I CAN'T DO THIS OWEN AAAHHHHHHH :'DDDDDD 😭🥰🥰!! Killed me lol. Like yk will take care of each other in a modern relationship kinda way not like a weird power dynamic lol :)). But, yeah <333. I loved all their little moments :')). And I just have to mention again the fact that Carlos didn't want to say anything but as soon as TK "snapped" he was right by his side - he loves his man <333. I just love them so much :'DDD 🥰🥰❤️.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode! The call was cool, we got to see the 126 being amazing and adorable, and the two main storylines were AMAZING!! Also the way the Control Freaks theme translated over the plots was really cool :). Also I just love the parallel of an episode about Tarlos wedding planning being called Control Freaks, with TK calling Carlos a control freak and 3x04 and Carlos saying it in 3x05 :')). It was just sweet <33. And a bit funny xD. Anyway, I'm so glad Marjan managed to get Kylie out and Grant (that's his face right I just re-watched a bit to make sure I got Kylie's right lol) arrested :)). But I am definitely stressed for next episode 😬😬😬😳. I'm sure she'll be okay, but still xd. I mean. Probably. To be honest you never know with 9-1-1 or Lone Star XD. But I'm almost completely sure she will be lol - they wouldn't do that to us xd. I hope. Still, it looks intense o.o. It even looks like at some point he's pointing a gun at her in like a drain/sewer??? Wild o.o. And again, I'm excited and very interesting to see who the little girl is!! All in all it definitely looks great and I'm super excited for it :D. But with this episode, I'm glad everything worked out 🥰🥰🥰. I loved it so much :DDD!!

So yeah! I loved this episode, I thought it was absolutely amazing. I'm nervous for the next one! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 8: Control Freaks

It was great! I'm definitely excited for the next episode, but scared too. I'll be back next week with my review of. . .

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 4, Episode 9: Road Kill

See you then!

[popopretty]

Piko’s Spring Tour “Pathfinder” report

There are just so many things I want to write down for this live but I realized I would not be able to put everything into one post and I have also forgot some parts of it so please bear with my scattered memories.

I went to almost all the lives in this tour except for the one in Sendai. So it includes Nagoya, Osaka, Yokohama, Fukuoka and Tokyo. It is an amazing feeling following an artist on tour, like waking up in a different city everyday, meeting the fans you don’t usually meet but still being able to say “See you tmr”. For two weeks I was filled with Piko feels and I couldn’t really remember doing anything else.

KEEP READING - There is A LOT more under the cut lol

For most of the venues, there were like 150-200 people each. The final was in a bigger venue so there were more than that. There are girls, guys, couples, families, Japanese, foreigners, all kinds of people you can think of. And everyone is super nice and friendly. I still feel super awkward with my Japanese but people’s warmness there just calmed me a lot.

For the tour goods, there are T-shirts, mirrors, towels, mobile charger, tote bag and stuff from previous lives. If you buy one album, you will get a ticket to high touch with Piko at the end of the live. Plus there are chekis and if u are lucky enough you can get one with Piko’s sign.

My favorite thing from the goods this time must be the totebag. Its cheap and convenient since you can use it both as a handbag and a shoulder bag. The mobile battery is a new thing, which is a bit expensive imo but it works pretty well and has a super cute design so everything is forgiven xD I also bought 2 more CDs to get a high touch with him. I will write about it in more details at the later part.

Piko wears a different outfit every live. For the one in Nagoya, he wears the black outfit as in Black Swan cover, then in Osaka it was the white one as in Realizing. He is back to the black one in Yokohama and in Fukuoka is another white shirt with black gilet. He went with the Black Swan outfit for MOST of the final live lol. If you read my last posts, you have already known what else he was wearing xD

As for the setlist. The setlist is the same for all the small lives. Only the final is different so I’m gonna list out all the songs that he has sung in all the lives, not in the exact order.

- Realizing - This is the opening song for all lives.

- Loki - He sang this in all the small lives but not in the final.

- Ghost Rule

- HERO

- Tengaku - He sang this in the final only

- Re:Act

- Rolling Merry Go Round - this is also in the final only. I was so surprised when he sang it ;; this is also my first time listening to the song live ;;

- Dappo Rock

- Kachoufuei - This is one of my favourite songs in the new album

- Sakurane - This is also final exclusive! In one part he messed up the lyrics and he was super embarrassed so he laughed and asked the audiences to sing for him lol

- Black Swan - the most beautiful song live from the new album. Tbh I didn’t like the recording that much cuz the instruments are a bit too loud for me. But in the live it sounds much better and Piko’s voice just resonates around the live house and it is absolutely beautiful.

- Kokoronashi Acoustic - This is in the final only. He sang this song many times before but this time is totally different. He sang the first verse with no instruments at all and the acoustic guitar sound only came in in the second verse.

- Kasa - He sang it with a backup vocal of himself since it is a self-duet and many parts are overlapped. He sang the guy’s part with female backup in the first verse and then switched to the girl’s part with male backup for the second verse. In some lives, the fans even sang along with the backup parts which was really cute xDDD

After this part there is usually a small MC parts where Piko can talk and take a short rest before entering a non-stop session of about 4-5 rockish songs xD

- Murabito A - I love the song and the message in it. Whenever he gets to the “kamisama” I really just reached my hands towards him as if he is my God lol

- Futaiten Path Finder

- Lost One no Goukoku - I cant believe Piko covered it just recently! He sounds absolutely amazing in it. He didnt try to sing the original key (though I think he totally can). He chose a lower tone which showed off his beautiful, manly middle range and I love it so much. In the entry part of the song, he asked everyone to raise hand and shout out at the end of each drum session. He also asked the girls and the guys to do it separately. Even though there were only a few guys, they were really energetic, even when Piko asked them to say Yeah but in a girly cutesy voice. (They did it anyway lol!)

- Haikei Doppelganger - Of course this cannot be missed! This is like the most heated song in the live. Everyone was just headbanging like crazy. He just sounds absolutely powerful and precise for such a hard song that I lost my mind every time I heard it.

- Make Our Days - this is like a sequel to Make My Days. He mentioned that this is a song where he wants everyone to become one by doing the same moves. It is pretty similar to Make My Days and I dont know how to explain it in writing lol. So lets wait until some videos of it actually come out xDD He also asked all the band members to do that with different style every time and it was so funny (I will write more about it but probably in a separate post)

- Piscium - Last song before the encore. He spoke about the meaning of it, about how he started his career as a net artist, how it was in the beginning where they didnt really know what to do but try different things and see how it works. And it has been a long way with both joys and sadness and now he realizes that its not him walking alone, and that everything he does has the people who support him being a part of it. Thats why its not about him anymore but about all of us. Thats why Make My Day becomes Make Our Days, and Piscium lyrics also say “You made me. I made you”.

It was a beautiful moment…

Before the funny part kicked in xDDD

If you follow Piko, you might have already known that he has a corner called Pikone jinsei soudan in his namahousou, in which he puts on an okama personality and gives people advices on their problems xDD The live this time also has a session like that.

- Tokyo Shinobizaki

The first song of the encore is Tokyo Shinobizaki, which is an ending he sang for a short anime recently. It is a slow, jazzy and mature song, the type you may find in some old bars I guess. In the small lives, Piko would wear his live tour T-shirt, walk out and sing it with a stand mic. And he kept swaying and sliding his hands up and down the stand mic xD He has such lovely hands that my eyes kept fixating on them through out the song @@ In the final, when the music started playing, everyone was waiting for Piko to come out as usual, but it was just a band playing a super long intro. The live house for the final has a smaller stage on the right side that looks like a small balcony. And when the intro finally ended, Piko walked out from there, wearing a long red dress (the same one he wore in luz’s event not too long ago). He looked so pretty in that dress that everyone could have mistaken him as a girl without knowing him before >w<.

After he sang Tokyo shinobizaki, the jinsei soudan session started. Every live he would pick 2 letters from the fans and read it out loud (in okama voice) and then gave advices to them. All the band members also helped him out (and they also spoke in funny voices lol). There are many interesting questions but I think I will write about them in a separate post. I will just mention a few moments here. In the Osaka live, one fan was asking about how to deal with a rebellious son. And Piko was like “hmm I dont know. Should I ask my own parents??” and then he looked to the back of the stage, raised his hand and shouted out “Mama~~”. Turned out his mom was also there and all the lights of the stage started pointing to her xDD she then said that she actually didnt have to deal with Piko’s rebellious phase cuz he was a super good kid and didnt have that phase at all xDD In the final, Piko randomly picked a guy from the audience and asked him if he has any questions. The guy didnt have any, but he said that he brought his daughter to the live to see Piko. And Piko, still wearing that dress, rephrases his words like “Oh, so papa likes me, and papa wants his daughter to like me too so he brought her here?” He then asked to see the daughter. We all expected like a little grown up girl but turned out she was a super tiny cute little girl xDDD and Piko was like “ok lets get married” lol

- Yoshiwara Lament: Normally Pikone only sang Tokyo Shinobizaki but in the final she sang this one too xDD

After the Pikone part, Piko got into the backstage and changed again.

When he was inside the big screen started playing and they played a part of Black Swan MV which is coming soon.

And they also announced on the screen a two-man live with Pokota on November 4th this year!

2nd encore:

- Thanatos

- Hypnos: As some of you might know, Thanatos is the god of death in Greek mythology. Hypnos is his twin brother. Hypnos is a god of sleep. Piko said that the tour is like a dream. And when this tour end, everyone will wake up from their dream, go back to their everyday life. Thanatos is his first CD ever released, but Hypnos is the future. He will keep moving forward and come back, being a stronger and newer Piko. He asked for a title call and wrapped up the live with that song.

After the live came the high touch. I did it 3 times. One time was in the first live in Nagoya. I didnt buy the CDs but one friend of mine was kind enough go give me one of her tickets. The high touch is super short. You touch hand with him and say one sentence or two and thats it. I kept thinking what to say in Nagoya and ended up telling him “I LOVE YOU” in English lol. Second time was in Fukuoka. I did’t plan to buy a CD that day but that was 3rd day of the 3-day-in-a-row lives that Piko performed in (Tour in Yokohama, Chan-gero Sonic, tour in Fukuoka). He sounded a little bit tired at the beginning in Fukuoka but he tried his best and still sounded wonderful till the end of the live. So I bought a CD to high touch and tell him how well he has done. I also asked him not to try too hard. And all the time he just gently smiled back and said Thank you. The fragrance left from his hands still linger on mine even after I left ;;

Another interesting event did happen to me and my friends in the final. After the live I went for dinner with a few Pikoots and on our way to the station, we were supposed to pass by the livehouse again. A taxi was running from behind us so we decided to stop and walked to the side to let it pass. Then that taxi stopped in front of the livehouse and turned out it was Piko’s taxi. So we saw him getting in the taxi so we waved at him and said good job. Of course we all freaked out after that, like not believing what just happened. It was a miracle, really xD

So that’s the end of my tour dream. I tried to keep this report short but you can see how long it has become. I feel like its still not half enough to write down everything I want to write but I hope it helps you understand how wonderful a live it was. There were a lot of cameramen during the final so I am secretly hoping there will be a DVD!

[scarlettlawyer]

Part 12 of my reaction/commentary to the Phantoms & Mirages Saga, the fanfic series by @renegadewangs​

(Chasing Phantoms): Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

(Haunted Specters): Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

(Vanquishing Mirages): Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Vanquishing Mirages / Lifting Spirits: Part 10

Lifting Spirits: Part 11

We are rapidly hurtling towards the end. Or… the “end”.

--------

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 12

A single line into this chapter and it had already one-hit-killed me (IN A GOOD WAY). What.

Ohhh my weakness, my weakness…!

THIS SONG?? HIM? THIS SONG???

I have such happy and important memories attached to this song, it’s not just a case of “oh it’s upbeat and I like it” for me, it goes pretty deep. I’m BARELY into reading this chapter and was already put into an unbelievably good mood on the power of the song alone and the memories I have attached to it, let alone everything else about the fact that he is the one who is listeni – ohhhhh going straight for my weaknesses aren’t we.

I’ve gone over being so very happy that he has the ability to listen to music and enjoy it before but you went right ahead and, this was a whole other level, suddenly.

He can pick up & enjoy the happy vibes of this song, aaaah…!

He is listening to Wham! on repeat and no matter what you do, no takebacks, I’m cherishing this for FOREVER. XD

IT’S SO GREAT AND SO AMUSING BECAUSE IT’S H

“You take the grey skies out of my way! You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day! Turned a bright spark into a flame-”

He was going to die. He knew he was going to die.

Honestly GREAT work here with the mood contrast, but I was too busy being blown away/happy and amused by the song situation and shocked that the narrative just did this xDDD like I picked up on this mood whiplash and was like “um whoa” but it kinda passed like a blip when it came to my absorption of this scene/overall mood ahahaha.

Truly though, what excellent contrast going on here simultaneously wherein the reader is drawn into reading of these two threads of such different emotional resonance at the same tiiiime.

And it’s scenes like this where he’s doing stuff like, you know, just sitting and listening to music and the PORTRAYAL and I’m just sitting here like oh my g… s-stop encouraging me… please stop encouraging me… “I’M BAD ENOUGH AS IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A PHANTOM FAN I REALLY SHOULDN’T BE ENCOURAGED LIKE THIS..!” sdkjnsdnklsd …The rest of this chapter refuses to stop said encouraging. :P

”If, through some miracle, they’ll grant me leniency, I think I’ll spend the rest of my life tucked away in some quiet little corner. That’s the best way for me to stay out of trouble, isn’t it?”

But the image this gave me was so absurd it refused to stick and just bounced right off. That’s just – no, nah, that’s not how this works, you know? There is no good ending. That’s impossible. It’s execution or prison and that’s that. And I was still advocating for execution. Welp. This statement took me off guard and there was this moment of… A sense of… Something. Before I dismissed it. Before it got lost again amidst the other things as I read on.

“One might argue that trouble has a way of hunting some people down.”

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 13

Phoenix Wright would be taking the defense again, as it was just as the Luster trial;

“wait wait wait WHAT – PHOENIX WRIGHT IS DEFENDING? PHOENIX WRIGHT?”

This info is just CASUALLY dropped in this “oh yknow just like with the Luster trial” manner - NO??? THE LUSTER TRIAL WAS A PURE PLOY TO CAPTURE MIRAGE AND THE PHANTOM BEING THE DEFENDANT WAS JUST, BAIT. AND HE WAS ACTUALLY INNOCENT OF THAT SPECIFIC CRIME IN QUESTION AND THE VERDICT ULTIMATELY HADN’T MATTERED ANYWAY AND? IT WAS ALREADY KINDA WILD TO SEE PHOENIX ACTUALLY BEING THE PHANTOM’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY EVEN BACK THEN AND AND AND…!

It’s NOT like the Luster trial it’s VERY different.

Phoenix Wright taking on the defense of Alexander Luster Jr’s case IMMEDIATELY implies a couple of things. Since Phoenix Wright is the posterboy of the entire Ace Attorney franchise, and he has won ALMOST every case he has taken and in each and every one of those scenarios where he won the case, he has indisputably been on the side of good and the side of right and- and he, as a rule, always tends to side with what is right and what is just. He is always ALWAYS striving to be on the side of justice. AND HE IS NOW ALEXANDER LUSTER JR’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY…

The dynamic of the games alone, the Ace Attorney Specific Tropes™ instantly then marks whoever’s side Phoenix is on tends to be a) The Right, Good Side & b) The Winning Side, applying both to the defense of Lex here. That’s what this tells us. That’s what it tells me. Told me. The narrative is directly reaching over and saying “Phoenix is advocating for him, and therefore this is the team you SHOULD be on. This is the team you should be cheering for”. And given Phoenix’s track record, the chances of him losing this are very, very slim.

And I was kind of sitting there like “Hello??? Excuse me?”. The narrative seemed to almost have this… assumption that we should be… Automatically accepting of this. That somehow, we should uncritically want Phoenix to win this trial and for Lex to win his lenience. By bringing Phoenix into this that’s kinda what it appears to definitively tilt the direction in. And I, with a years-old grudge against a character in an ENTIRELY different story written by an entirely different person*, and had been stubborn & adamant from the very beginning that the phantom NEEDED to face execution at any cost when the notion of rehabilitation was raised, was NOT buying it. I was not buying this. The narrative felt like it was making an assumption about the audience’s predisposition – about the audience’s wishes - that still did not apply to me.

*TttP is, for the record, not the only reason I felt the way I did at this point in the narrative. I’ll get into some of the other things fuelling my feelings on the matter a little later. But heh, yeaahhhhh.

Because like, you have characters like Bobby and Athena who are already fully established Lex-supporters, which is totally fine, but Phoenix has barely been in this and we’ve had no scenes at all with him interacting with Lex – there’s been no set-up of “Phoenix wants to advocate for Lex” – we are simply informed of this matter-of-factly, which implies “of COURSE Phoenix would take on Lex’s defense, it’s so OBVIOUS that it’s the right thing to do.” And I was like “oh so we’re doing away with subtlety somewhat on this front regarding the narrative’s agenda?” sdjsdbks. (I MEAN. LEX’S PORTRAYAL AND HOW WE’RE MEANT TO FEEL ABOUT LEX IS NOT SUBTLE AND I ADORE(D) THIS FIC FOR IT, but this was still different – a different angle as it is beginning to tackle the notion of rehabilitation/redemption/leniency head-on. The former was all fun and games but the moment the latter got raised I was immediately in a battle stance).

[Me, pulling up my sleeves: “oh so this is how you wanna play this huh. Bringing in the Big Guns with Phoenix being on his side- you talk a big game but see, not sure if you’re gonna be able to back this up buddy. Biting off more than we can chew, it looks to me.”]

Okay and the other reaction I had to this casual mention of “oh btw Phoenix is gonna be defending Lex”? IT WAS REALLY FUNNY BECAUSE IT WAS THIS SUDDEN JARRING MOMENT WHERE IT WAS LIKE OH, THIS IS ACE ATTORNEY FANFICTION. Okay I want to make this clear – I never at any point “forgot” this was Ace Attorney fanfic, of course. But like. This whole 4th fic so far has been focusing on Lex – now so far removed from the counterpart we see in canon, and Benny, an OC altogether, has also been so prominent and under focus. You of course, still have characters like Bobby and Simon but, see, at this point, this is the fourth instalment of the series, and we’ve been with these characters for so long now. We’ve been spending so much time with them that – these characters – the canon characters that were getting all the focus at this point were just about all VERY removed from the centre of the ace attorney series. It feels so very, very tucked away in this – such a niche little corner of the ace attorney universe with some very specific characters interacting and driving the plot forward, and having spent so much time with them independent of the rest of the ace attorney cast it’s really felt like they’ve well and truly taken on a life of their own that’s attached to this series specifically. Reading so much about “OC”s like Benny and Lex (because in AA canon there is no “Lex”!) and everything and then all of a sudden casually throwing the central character of all of the mainline ace attorney games casually back into the plot like this felt jarring in the best possible way. It was just like “oh, RIGHT. Phoenix. He actually EXISTS in this world. He’s still around, I mean, obviously. This is Ace Attorney Land. Oh my god. In spite of everything – in how much EVERYTHING has evolved and separated itself from and focused on this one tiny little realm of ace attorney characters and canon… he’s still around and can actually get involved in the plot like this. That’s so wild.” LIKE. I MEAN. It well and truly felt like Phoenix Wright was from A Different Universe, so independent and separate from a world where Lex, Benny, Alive & Post-Randy Bobby, and even Blackquill (after how much this fic has focused on him and a specific interpretation of his character) exist. Honestly to even think that Phoenix Wright and Alexander Luster Jr actually exist in the same canon fic verse… whoa.

“The fate of execution does not necessarily mean perfection. If leniency is deserved, leniency is what the prosecution is meant to support,” Simon found himself arguing despite his better judgment.

Me: “SIMONNNNN NOT YOU TOOOOO”

Me at this, on top of the whole Phoenix Wright Defending thing: [resigned, frustrated sigh] “You’re not gonna kill him, are you, Author? You’re not gonna go through with it and kill him off, are you?? I told you like two fics ago to KILL HIM.”

I was a) a phantom fangirl & had been for years (of course) b) “Lex is great how can you not love Lex?” c) Uh… still actively advocating for his execution d) NOT pleased that it looked like said execution was not gonna be followed through on by the narrative.

Okay, but this line from Simon was also frustrating for another reason: it engages with real-life morality, just as Benny’s assessment that Lex being “taken out back and shot” is not something that he feels is “the right thing to do” does.

I was sitting in an ever-so-simplistic corner and not critically engaging with how the ace attorney universe’s punishment system actually functions. The death sentence, as we all know, is so very prominent in this universe. If you kill someone, you die, them’s the breaks it seems. That’s the universe’s rule so that’s the rule we go with, right? Only taking this universe’s criminal justice & punishment system & morality into account, it was So Very Easy for me to sit there and fiercely be all, “the Phantom killed people, and even if he can feel things now, that won’t bring those people back, therefore he gets executed because THAT is justice according to the laws of this universe and justice won’t be served until that’s carried out.” This simplistic stance bypasses entirely any questioning or attempt to consider the actual “justice” of such a system, and flatly refuses to even question the ethics of capital punishment – a topic that can be so very controversial IRL.

It was frustrating to me personally because the narrative seemed to be bringing real life morality into this. In real life, so very many places have abolished capital punishment altogether. It’s a lot harder to flatly argue that Lex should be executed when considering that, realistically speaking, rehabilitation is the far more desirable option and if at all possible should probably be strived for in real world scenarios.

I was arguing for execution on the basis of Ace Attorney Morality and the narrative was retaliating with a taste of Real World Morality which gave me pause. I was so steadfast and convinced of my stance that to have it momentarily shaken like this was exasperating, because “no see, I know I’m right, see, I have to be right, because the alternative is just too far out of reach. It’s too absurd, it’s a pipedream… The phantom was just that sucky that even applying IRL morality… I must be right… right? Yeah. Anything else is just unrealistic. It can’t be done.” I shook it off, and ploughed onwards with my stance.

Leniency from the court system didn’t mean there would be leniency from those outside the courts. With so many people out for the Phantom’s head, there was no telling how fast any sentence that wasn’t the death penalty would lead to a furious rebellion. There was no telling how fast someone might attempt to hunt down Alexander and finish the job that the executioner was deprived from.

“Whoa, very good point. Okay, so maybe there’s a chance he’ll get executed after all since not getting executed is not necessarily being shown as the “better option” in this regard by the narrative. There’s still hope for an execution yet. A nice, clean execution if the alternative isn’t being portrayed uncritically as the “best” option.”

Simon wondered vaguely if he should apologize for all the times he’d thrown a blade at the defense or sent Taka their way. Ultimately, he decided against it.

Sdkjdskj

The scene with Bobby and Palaeno just before the trial begins… How worried Bobby is and how much he truly cares for Lex… It’s just not a joke anymore. It hasn’t been a joke for quite some time. It’s being played completely straight. There’s just nothing to even really laugh at or be amused by here?

Back in Haunted Specters a lot of Bobby’s behaviour towards/concerns for the phantom can largely be written off as Rule of Funny and also accepted BECAUSE of its intentionally surrealist nature & impression it leaves the audience. I readily accepted it because it slots into the character dynamic(s) role and set-up crafted by the story so perfectly, and it’s so much fun.

I, of course, could see the direction Simon and Bobby’s behaviour was heading towards… Yes, they were getting too attached for their own good, to the point where things would become painful. I knew it was coming and I accepted that and, in fact, I was READY for it.

But Lex.

What I did not foresee was the huge, HUGE transformation that took place. Lex changes everything. It changes the dynamic that is subsequently involved. It negates anything about Bobby’s behaviour being “kinda funny in a misguided way”. The existence of Lex changes it dramatically from “haha funny & surreal behaviour from Bobby” to just plain “Bobby is very invested in this man and very worried for him” and there’s nothing funny about it. We just feel plain bad for Bobby and that’s it. I’ve focused on Bobby pretty exclusively here because he’s the one whose narrative thread we’ve been following the most in this particular regard, but. There are many characters (like Palaeno) who care about Lex, and it’s played straight.

It is a scenario that can very much be pulled off and played straight with the emotionless phantom, but Lex’s whole existence throws an unexpected curveball in HOW the situation is played straight and the subsequent impact had on the audience.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 14

“Quite a long list of murders, several attempted murders, grand theft identity and all the crimes that accompany such a thing, terrorism, vandalism, assault, perjury in a court of law, selling government secrets… To name only a few.”

“And the defense’s assertion?”

“The defense’s assertion is that every single one of those crimes was committed by the Phantom- WAAGH!” Phoenix broke off into a terrified holler when Von Karma snapped her whip at him.

SDJBDKJSDJK perfect.

Volent smiled, his kindly demeanor at odds with his rather arrogant response. “Instability, Your Honor. The concept is exactly what it implies- the defendant’s emotional state is not stable. To put it in layman’s terms, he suffers from severe mood swings. I couldn’t uncover enough symptoms that would allow a full diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, yet I would daresay that further therapy might’ve confirmed such a thing. … It wasn’t my job to diagnose any sort of disorders either way.”

Whoa WHOAAA SPECULATION OF A REAL-LIFE DIAGNOSIS…!

This was SO good to see. I really REALLY liked – no, LOVED this a lot. It was just like, of course, of COURSE…! It’s not just cartoonish “hehe look at how emotional he is!” THERE PROBABLY WOULD BE AT LEAST SOME LEVEL OF CONNECTION THAT COULD BE TRACED TO REAL-LIFE DISORDERS…! I don’t know how to express how cool I found this kind of connecting-it-to-real-life to be and introducing mention of a REAL-LIFE disorder.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 15

Benny taking his testimony and turning everything around on its head was SO awesome. So very awesome. Only reason I’m not elaborating is that I have so very much to cover in this post…!

Simon’s. Testimony. My god, Simon’s testimony. I KNEW it was coming but ohhhhhh wow…! I’m still in awe, dude.

“Did you hear, mommy? It must be true love!”

OKAY YEAH OKAY THANKS FOR HAVING WACKED ME IN THE FACE WITH THIS LITTLE REMINDER WHEN I WAS STILL LICKING MY PHANTOMQUILL WOUNDS DFKJSDKLSDNS

BUT ALSO I REALLY LOVED THIS LINE LOL CAUSE LIKE? There’s a kid out there in this fic’s universe who canonically ships phantomquill. But it’s more than that it’s like!!! Phantomquill as a ship is definitely grouped in some of the LEAST kid-friendly ships I know. When I think about phantomquill the LAST thing I think about is a kid being aware of it let alone shipping it – it’s such an interesting juxtaposition to have (presumably) a child, given the information they’ve been presented with, immediately go “Oh True Love!” about what is, in standard practice, an unbelievably dark, twisted and angsty ship.

But in any case, it was around this point that I just kind of started thinking to myself “Oh my god… Oh my god… The author is actually gunning for this, she’s ACTUALLY gunning for a full second chance for him, THE ABSOLUTE MADMAN. BUT WHAT’S EVEN CRAZIER IS THAT SHE ACTUALLY APPEARS TO BE PULLING IT OFF.”

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 16

Crack! Franziska cut him off with a quick snap of the whip. “You must pay due respect to Cohdopian court regulations, Your Honor! This trial has an international nature, thus we can apply international rules. The defendant has recently regained his Cohdopian nationality and this method of questioning is a common occurrence in his home country’s court of law.”

This is ABSOLUTELY allowed, I’m not even gonna attempt to dispute it. Rule Of Drama is in full effect here and I LOVE it, it has my full support.

“Now then, witness. My first question,” Franziska leaned forward, resting one arm on her bench. She was watching Athena with a smug grin on her face. “Do you think the image of your mother’s corpse will ever be erased from your mind?”

OHHH MY GOD. I am… here for the brutality of this direct approach. It’s… necessary.

Lex had turned a few shades paler in a matter of ten seconds.

GET READY LEX. GET READY LEX. Strap in buddy. You WILL sit there and you WILL suffer. You are fantastic and amazing and my favourite character but :^) you’re on your own here.

Franziska shook her head in exasperation. “Tsk tsk. Very well then… Witness, is it true that the defendant took you hostage after he escaped from the federal prison in February?”

As we know, Chasing Phantoms felt like a separate entity from the rest of this series to me, and I had been somewhat less engaged while reading it. This just made me go “oh my god… she’s right… that happened in this series too…!” YOU WERE NOT ONLY TRYING TO ULTIMATELY GIVE THIS MAN A SECOND CHANCE IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING HE’D DONE IN CANON, BUT HE HAS ACTIVELY DONE EVEN FURTHER TERRIBLE THINGS IN THE CANON OF YOUR STORY ON TOP OF ALL THAT. And you WEREN’T even shying away from acknowledging it either. You were shining a spotlight DIRECTLY on this fact as you ploughed forward against the incredible odds. AMAZING. You ALREADY had your work cut out for you and you had gone ahead and actually ADDED to that workload, you absolute madman, this was wild.

But not only this, you were, here, in this scene, drawing a direct link between Chasing Phantoms and Lifting Spirits, with their two such vastly different narrative landscapes. You are reaching out and reminding the audience - having the audience acknowledge the part of the story when the phantom was at his worst while showing us him, a changed person, at his best.

You’re not even trying to hide or gloss over a damn thing.

I don’t even know what to say about Phoenix’s cross-examination of Athena it’s just so good. So vivid. Like, I can picture it in my mind.

It was Lex who spoke up. It was Lex who pushed himself to his feet, his manacles producing a soft clanking sound as he did so.

Oh my gosh… Here it is…

This whole scene where he says thank you. It’s soooooo sappy but I don’t care, I don’t caaaaaaaare I LOVE IT IT’S PERFECT and I will eat it up I WILL eat this sentimentality up forevermore. I’d actually misremembered this scene as being complete with gratuitous tears and big, glistening eyes listen it’s over-the-top and I LOVE it being over-the-top. IF YOU’RE GONNA GO ALL OUT WHY NOT GO ALL OUT? And it DOES do just that SPECTATOR’S COOING I. I LOVE this goddamn series oh my GOSH.

I was so very stubbornly trying to work against my favourite character, but you brought your A-Game. You put in overtime for this character. it felt like WHY DON’T YOU JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD AND DRAW A FLIPPIN’ HALO ABOVE HIS HEAD?! DSJNKSDKJNSDNKJ. So much of Lifting Spirits was me BEGGING you to stop encouraging me to such a ridiculous extent, to no avail.

And noooow it’s AURA TIME.

Enter: Aura Blackquill.

A smile flickered across Aura’s face, but it disappeared again the moment her eyes fell on Alexander. Even from such a great distance, Simon could see it: the raw hatred that was shimmering through. It was no wonder, really, that Alexander cowered in his seat. Most people would think to duck for cover if they were on the receiving end of such a terrifying glare.

OHHHH MY GOD… AHAHAHA… YES.

“I have quite a few things to say to that miserable excuse of a defendant,” Aura began, her tone of voice as venomous as the look on her face. “but such words aren’t befitting of a lady and it appears some clods thought to bring children to this courtroom, so I’ll keep that particular feat of vocabulary to myself.”

Alexander cowered even further. Surely, he understood just how much Aura hated him. Just how far she’d be willing to go to see him hanged. Having her here in the courtroom must’ve been agony on both ends, for Alexander feared for his life and Aura ached to end it.

OMG. GET HIM. MAKE. HIM. SQUIRM.

“What I will say is this. If this monster hopes to be human, he needs to understand that real humans don’t get second chances at life. Especially not those who rob others of their only chance. We live as flawed beings and we die as flawed beings- the size of the handicap makes little difference. Why should he deserve to go on while others don’t? The rules of life and death apply to everyone, no exceptions.”

What a horrific speech. Leave it to Aura to spew something like that.

“I MEAN… SHE… HAS A POINT… SHE RAISES A VERY GOOD POINT…”

The worst part was that from the corner of his eye, Simon could see Apollo Justice nodding.

HHHHHHHHHHHH

Aura slammed one of her hands down on the witness stand, her shackles clattering loudly as she did so. She was addressing Alexander directly, now. “I am not speaking only for myself, I’m speaking for everyone who’s lost someone dear because of you. I’m speaking for everyone who’s suffering because of you. Believe me, we are great in number. We will not forgive and we will not forget. You can’t run from us.”

Ohhhhhh GOOOOOOOSH I WAS 100% CHEERING HER ON DURING FIRST READTHROUGH OF THIS SCENE BUT I AM TERRIFIED OF WHAT TRACKING GHOSTS COULD ENTAIL PLEASE SEND HELP

Alexander shivered and hid his face behind his hands.

PLEASE I JUST. PLEASE. NO MORE. Look at him.

“Hm. No, I believe I’ve made up my mind. Taking all the testimony into account, it’s clear to me what needs to be done.”

The judge raised his gavel. This was it. The moment they’d been working toward. The moment they’d been working for. Alexander’s life hinged on these next words. Nobody dared to speak. Nobody dared to move. Bobby’s hand once again found Simon’s own. He squeezed it in return and glanced sideways to see that Ambassador Palaeno was crossing his fingers.

Me: [Shakes head ruefully] “Well, okay, very well. You did it, author. You earned this, well and truly. Go ahead. You can have this. You actually did it, I suppose. I can’t believe you did it, but you actually earned him his right to a happy ending. So… I won’t object. It’s all yours for the taking.”

I mean, the fact that the trial was ending just after AURA’S testimony was a little foreboding, but… It just wasn’t enough to balance out the rest of the trial and the tone of the entire fic. The verdict felt so clear, I mean, c’mon. C’mon. And the narrative slant, too. The narrative and the POV characters that we are following are so very biased in his favour. This IS what the entire fic had been building towards, and the entire fic had been so terribly biased towards him and the notion of salvation.

So I’m like [rolls eyes], “alriiiight, go ahead, if you must. Give the man his verdict of lenience like ya set out to do. I’m not complaining like I thought I would be. You win again. You set out to do this and I don’t know how, but it looks like you actually got there in the end. If you insist, then he doesn’t have to die after all. I accept that.”

”It pains me to conclude that rehabilitation and civil commitment are impossible in his case. That is why this court finds the defendant guilty and hereby sentences him to immediate execution.”

…Come again?

Um.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 17

They'd known from the start that there could be only one ending to the Phantom’s tale. They'd known, yet they struggle to accept the bitter disappointment that comes with it.

Execution… Immediate execution. How soon was immediate? Quite soon, apparently, as Lang gestured towards the Interpol escort.

WHAT THE F U D G E

They saluted and made to surround Alexander. To grab him and drag him from the courtroom. The spy jumped up from his chair and backed away in painfully apparent fright, but there was nowhere for him to run. The agents snatched him by the arms just like that. The spectators became even more agitated.

“IMMEDIATE” EXECUTION?! THAT’S… THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS THOUGH. That’s SO fishy. You can’t – you literally can’t just take someone out back and promptly shoot them IMMEDIATELY after a sentence is handed down… can you? THAT’S NOT HOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. THERE’S SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE, PROTOCOLS AND PAPERWORK TO BE FILLED OUT AND SCHEDULING TO BE DONE… DON’T tell me they’re just gonna – WAIT. JUST WAIT. HOLD ON NO YOU CAN’T JUST – NO.

At the very least, “immediate” execution seemed like it would be carried out a few days after the sentencing, not… like… ACTUALLY immediately. BUT THE STORY SEEMED TO BE PLAYING IT LIKE THIS.

Just because it felt unrealistic, unrealistic to the point it was fishy, didn’t mean the story couldn’t be about to implement just that, though.

Yet, even through the chaos, Phoenix Wright’s shouts were heard.

“OBJECTION! Your Honor! The defense…-! The defense would like to cross-examine the last witness after all! Your Honor!”

But the judge was already getting to his feet. He was preparing to leave the trial behind. That was only natural. The verdict had been delivered and once that was done, no one could change it.

This is the bad end. This is the game over. God DAMMIT Phoenix you should have LEARNED by now that if given the option to further question the witness or not, you ALWAYS take it lest you choose not to and get an immediate game over. Okay. You need to listen to me. You DID save right before Aura gave testimony, right? So you need to press the start button and reload at an earlier save point and then when given the option to PRESS you- sdkjdflndslksdkj

“Lex!” Athena rushed out from behind the defense’s bench to block the group of Interpol agents. To stop them from dragging a struggling spy out the back door, towards the prosecutors lobby.

YES ATHENA SAVE HIM. SAVE HIM.

It didn’t do much good; there were five of them and only one of her. She was shoved aside as if she wasn’t even truly there.

AAAAAAAAAH

Alexander… He was attempting to fight back like a madman now. Perhaps he was a madman. He was digging his heels into the ground, moving every which way to try and slip through a crack in Interpol’s escort, yet their hold on him was too great. He was screaming, he was shrieking. […]

He would be taken away to be killed. A fate he’d accepted for himself a few months ago, yet things had changed. His desire to live had grown too great.

NO NO NO NOOOOOO. NO!

Phoenix Wright stood motionless by his bench, head buried in his hands.

The miracle never happen.

“I can’t. I have to… I have to see Lex,” Bobby insisted once more.

“No. Last will and testament need to be compiled and you would only get in the way. We’re taking the Phantom to be executed the moment all the final arrangements are done.”

THAT’S SO MESSED UP. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! THAT IS SO MESSED UP. “LEX. IS LEX IN THERE? IN THE ROOM? WHY CAN’T WE HEAR HIM HE WAS YELLING SO MUCH BEFORE WHAT’S GOING ON.”

“This is the only ending this story could possibly have and you knew that from the start.”

Oh how daaaaare you turn this line back around on me like this, against me. The first time I ever heard the equivalent of this line in the series, I knew it was planted with the intent to come back to bite the audience. I was all “hah, you don’t scare me. Joke’s on you because that ending to this story is EXACTLY what I want, so TRY me.”

Seeing it again NOW was terrifying. It was a threat. I did not truly believe that the story would end like this. But this line… embedded into the narrative as it had been, was effective at convincing me it was plausible… it was POSSIBLE. Recurrent lines like this would destroy me on a regular day when I know that they’re coming. I had done NO preparation to handle this line doing exactly what I figured it intended to do when it inevitably came back around because back then, when it was planted, it is exactly what I had wanted, and therefore felt like I didn’t need to. And in the interim, the narrative had gone soft, so very soft, so very, very soft on him, and appeared to no longer have what it takes to go ahead and kill him off, the arc words laying forgotten. Until now, being wielded with full force. Didn’t like the sound of this at all.

Now I would like to break down different aspects of the scene(s) that unfold in the aftermath of the verdict, because there are so many angles at play here:

1. The verdict is still unbearably painful even when clinging to the thought/hope and possibility that he isn't dead/manages to survive/will not die

Because we've spent the entire fic being shown just how much Lex is brimming with emotion and personality and potential from head to toe, only to be told at the end that all of it was worthless, that all of it IS worthless: that he is unworthy of salvation, that all of the striving was for absolutely nothing and MEANS nothing. That, even if the plot allows him to go on living, even if the characters and the narrative (and the audience!) clearly believe he is worthy of a second chance, the law and the legal system doesn't. That in the eyes of the law, his life and newfound being is not worth preserving.

A solid three fics spent on development - and the verdict declares in one fell swoop at the end of it all that he should die, the verdict declares he shouldn't even get to live and should in fact be killed as soon as possible.

The law does not know and does not care about the things we and the characters have seen, the things that the characters have been through together, or the extent of his suffering and STRIVING all the way up until this point. The law doesn't care.

The narrative seemingly turns on its audience in an instant with a snarl. "Well, what did you expect? You're an idiot for expecting anything more than this. Haven't you forgotten who that man is and what he's done? Don't tell me you were actually stupid enough to have hope. You're naive. Just as naive as the characters are. Even when you could see for yourself they were getting too attached for their own good, what did you do? Did you actually follow in their footsteps? You should have known better. You should have had more foresight than that. In fact, you DID have the benefit of foresight and you WASTED it! You have even less excuse than the characters!"

At least, that's the stunt it TRIES to pull, and momentarily, for a horrible, horrible point in time it almost works. But then I'm yelling my defiance too. It's like, "no, actually, story, stuff you, I wasn't stupid at all for having hope, because the narrative itself was the one to give me that hope and that belief in Alexander Luster Jr in the first place. It's wanted us to believe in him from the very beginning, so it's no wonder. This story has been ridiculously biased TOWARDS him, and I know that for a fact because I've been fighting against his having a second chance the entire time and received nothing but opposition in terms of the narrative's directional slant."

So it's like, okay, it wasn't stupid at all in terms of narrative portrayal. The audience can't blamed; it's no wonder they believed. But were they objectively right in doing so or was their belief misplaced after all?

There's this dizzying moment of "WAS the verdict right in its decision? Is what the judge says really true? Is there genuinely no hope for rehabilitation in his case? Is there something that the Judge can see that we can’t?"

The thought of it is so painful. Are the characters supporting him and the audience just idiots, but the court - the judge can objectively see the "full unbiased picture" that we aren't getting, in order to have reached this conclusion? Is he really not worth a second chance? But how? How?! How can that be!

And then the thought passes, it's shot down. No, no. Rehabilitation - a second chance - is obviously possible. How can it not be possible? How can you tell me I'm wrong?! It has to be, look at him. if you've been paying attention to Lifting Spirits for five minutes-

2. The verdict was not the right decision to make and does not bring about any kind of justice.

The verdict is wrong. That's the conclusion we arrive at. There is nothing just about this situation. There is no victory here.

“No! This can’t…! This can’t be right!”

This is wrong. This is not justice. The narrative doesn't even attempt to say otherwise: that's how it's being portrayed. The narrative AGREES that this is wrong.

“Let go of me! This isn’t right!” she hollered, hoping to free herself from Lang’s grip. “You can’t execute him! He’s not a killer anymore! Let go of me!”

Up until the very end... Even as the verdict was being read and I was convinced it would side with lenience, I wasn't entirely sure of what the right choice was, even though I had finally decided to accept such a verdict of lenience.

In the aftermath of the verdict's announcement, I still wasn't sure what the "right" course of action was, how best to handle his case, or what "should" be done.

But it didn't even matter any more. I didn't - I didn't care. I no longer cared about that. It didn't matter what the “best” decision was anymore, I wanted him to- where, where is his lenience?! Give - GIVE it to him!

I was desperate for him to have this regardless, to have this second chance, it was painful and this didn't feel right.

In a sense, when it came to the question of what "should" be done, or what side I was ultimately on come the end, that alone - my feelings and response to this situation - clearly gave me my answer.

And if he didn't die, if he managed to escape death somehow, that wouldn't truly be good enough in alleviating all the pain of this. No, that's painful and would imply still that he's not good enough. But that is antithetical to what we have been shown, and the idea hurts. He needed to be fully, properly have his second chance recognised in the eyes of the law. It got snatched away when it was so close and I couldn't - it needed to happen.

It’s torturous.

3. The main characters that we have been following are actively invested in his survival and his second chance. They WANT him to live and they do not WANT him to die.

Wasn't this what I wanted?

But the thought of his impending death was hurting our main characters so much more than the alternative. They weren't asking him to die. They weren't expecting him to die. It's a very different situation.

For Alexander Luster Jr, the chance of redemption hinges not upon accepting death, but in being granted life.

This idea of him needing to die... One of the key ideas it comes from is that to give him a second chance is disrespectful to all the people that he murdered and all the people that he's hurt, emotionally and physically.

But characters such as Athena, Bobby and Simon are members of that group of people hurt by the phantom, and they are the ones advocating for him, they are the ones who are desperate for this chance and his survival - for him to have a chance.

There is, of course, a very impressive list of other people hurt by the phantom for whom his death is deemed important and necessary. But we have not followed their POVs. As it stands, when we think of who the phantom has inflicted harm on, many of the first characters that may come to the reader's mind are those who /want/ him to live. So what meaning does "disrespectful to those who have suffered because of him" continue to hold when they are our main point of reference?

It does still hold meaning. But it's far more difficult to uniformly advocate for the man now known as Lex to die when this is how at least some of the phantom’s victims feel.

4. The bar for his salvation is set very low, and the severe injustice invoked by that bar seemingly not being met by the court's standards is portrayed very strongly.

The bar is so low. A) There is no need to forgive the phantom of all his many crimes, but merely to acknowledge Lex as his own person b) lenience. Just. Lenience. Not “all charges are dropped you are free to do as you wish”, lenience.

And in contrast, everything about the fake-out screams injustice, almost outlandishly so. The speed at which everything happens – he’s hastily carried away. Bobby and Simon not getting to say goodbye. The characters, the spectators who were on his side screaming their defiance. Everything is taken to its extreme in a mad rush.

And then, of course, there's Aura.

5. The narrative makes no pretence at ignoring the harsh reality of what the phantom was like and what he has done. There is unabashed acknowledgement.

I'm glad Franziska asked Athena if the image of her mother's corpse would ever fade. At that point I was a little like "whoa, okay, at least we are acknowledging this. We are ACTUALLY tackling this angle, I’m impressed.”

And then Aura just came in and blew me away. Aura came along and put my very own thoughts into words, she said EXACTLY what I was thinking, right at the last minute. Words I thought would be left unsaid, and would therefore leave me feeling somewhat frustrated and unsatisfied. But she voiced them and forced the story to confront the fundamental unfairness of the killer getting a second chance when he took away his victim’s only chance.

6. The narrative fully acknowledges that there is no way to make everyone happy and satisfied regardless of whatever outcome is chosen.

“In light of all the information and all the opinions shared with this court, I believe there is no way to please everyone.”

Through both the wording of the judge's verdict and the extremely divided and opinionated spectators, it's abundantly clear. This was a great signifier for me because to give him a happy ending, favourite character or not... It can be very hard to be fully satisfied when the consequences of his past actions are ongoing (e.g. people who are still feeling the losses of loved ones that can never be replaced) or if it feels like certain perspectives are being conveniently ignored/overlooked so as to justify a happy ending.

I fought against Lex's salvation partly because I was convinced that there was no way I could be completely satisfied with it, and that it would therefore feel somewhat hollow or sour if thought about in too much depth.

But the narrative just went right ahead and said "you might not be 100% satisfied, and that's fine; not everyone is going to be 100% satisfied in-universe anyway. Such a thing is impossible. If you're expecting all of the characters to be satisfied before YOU accept the ending, then I am telling you right now that you're asking for something that's never going to happen, because it's just not realistic."

The narrative also played a sneaky little game of "okay, if you're not happy with this, then here's a glimpse of the alternative. Now tell me, which ending do you prefer?"

I’d already conceded and accepted the presumed outcome towards the end, but the story wasn’t satisfied with my mere acceptance. Ohh no, it was like, “not good enough, you’re going to REALLY want this. You have to REALLY want this.” And BOY, AFTER THIS CRUEL FAKE-OUT DID I EVER.

The ending made itself all the better because it forced me to really work for it. Noooo way in hell was it gonna feel even remotely hollow, no way in hell EVER, I am no way no way gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

The acknowledgement of ANY ending’s inability to satisfy absolutely EVERY angle of every perspective in and of itself made me rush over to embrace the ending in all its splendid glory.

“That’s ridiculous! We’re just as much Lex’s family as Palaeno is!” Bobby blurted out.

There it is. There it is. The conclusion… The inevitable conclusion of what this entire series has been building towards since around Haunted Specters.

There’s only so far you can take a joke before you have no choice but to play it straight.

1. Set up and frame a seemingly absurd/surreal/odd scenario and seemingly play it for laughs

2. Keep playing it for laughs

3. Keeeep going. Keep running with it

And through both escalation and narrative reiteration and reinforcement…

4. It’s not a joke anymore and the audience is invested, Actually. No matter how odd the set-up seemed originally.

I loved that Lang immediately responds with anger to Bobby’s proclamation. I loved that. It makes sense that he would. In fact, it is a completely reasonable response. And we have spent so long building towards this. Lang’s irritation and misgivings about Bobby’s level of investment have been clear as day for a long time – he’s made no secret of it - and they have been building, and right here, Bobby confirms to him beyond all shadow of a doubt that he is too far gone, he is too far gone. He crosses a line. He crosses a line and it is too much for Lang. Two powerful opposing perspectives come to a head in this single moment as they both explode forth at once.

You played Bobby’s investment completely straight… and then you turned it back around on its head again as it is confronted like this by Lang. It is not enough to merely play it straight, but here, the narrative goes one step further and asks “if it is played straight, if it is grounded undeniably now in the character and the narrative’s reality, what does that mean? In what way should it be approached?”

Lang was right; this was bordering on Stockholm Syndrome. They shouldn’t care this much about Alexander.

I am. Floundering.

You are MEAN. YOU ARE MEEEEEAN. XD.

Maybe it was a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome.

No, no. This was a horrible kind of stinging slap to deliver.

Lang framing it that way was fine.

But a character like Bobby potentially internalising it was so very harsh a punch.

For other characters to react to and interpret Bobby (and Simon’s) investment in Lex in a realistic way was one matter. For the characters whose POV we’ve been following the whole way to take up the same line of thinking… felt like a horrific intrusion on some kind of sacred space. An unbreachable, unwritten narrative rule supposedly laid out by the series itself felt as if it were being mercilessly snapped clean in two here.

It seems so very cruel, narratively speaking, because it felt to me like the reader was never ASKED to frame the behaviour and dynamics of the characters in a realistic or critical manner. It was. A JOKE. It started as a surreal joke, serving its specific narrative purpose and then moving on its way. To have ever been realistically critical of the characters’ behaviour felt like it would have only hindered what the narrative seemed like it was trying to do at the time. And of course, it became more than a joke but the narrative has been tailored for the audience to be invested in these characters’ connections. To abruptly rescind on this unwritten rule of “this is fiction and therefore we can have some fun with it and set up some interesting character dynamics!” was like stinging betrayal.

Or rather, we ARE perhaps asked or even encouraged to be critical, but perhaps not in the way it is suddenly portrayed here. The reader does in fact pick up on the fact that Bobby and Simon are getting too invested and that this investment is perhaps not in their best wishes. But that investment seems to be portrayed so as to be compelling, something we are drawn to… not… like this. Or maybe that was just how it felt to me.

For a character like Bobby to be thinking about Stockholm Syndrome… It is not a clear-cut case of Bobby being hurt and grieving. He ponders framing his own grief and attachment in a critical manner. That he “shouldn’t” have been invested or cared this much. That felt so negatory of Lex and his whole existence… It felt negatory of the very plot that the readers had become so very invested in.

Cruel, cold realism.

You finally brought this particular narrative thread to a head, made it so very realised, and then immediately you appear to set about deconstructing it. Through Lang’s reaction. Through the internal thoughts that go through Bobby’s and Simon’s minds.

But my instinctive response is, "no, NO. Your attachment means something. It MEANS something! It's NOT just Stockholm Syndrome!"

If it was the emotionless phantom who had died that they were mourning, then sure, to think of their feelings in this manner... I don't think I would object.

But Lex is full of emotions, he cares!!!!

They can't possibly turn their back on the bond they'd ultimately grown with Lex like this. They can't.

And they aren't. They are just suffering a lot right now, trying to make some sense of this situation - anything, anything to try and make it stop hurting, to force it to hurt LESS. The narrative seems to teeter dangerously close to borderline dismissing the bond they'd grown with Lex through gritty, negative framing tied to a sense of realism. But ultimately...

It didn’t matter now.

Does it, would it even matter, how it's framed at this point? It wouldn't make a difference anyway. What's done is done, what happened is what happened.

The hurt inflicted by Bobby's internal thoughts in this moment and my instinctive objection to them is drowned out and washed cleanly away as we return to focus on the hurt caused by the overall situation and its magnitude. "Does it even matter?". It's like, who cares, who cares about analytical dissection right now, this is where we ended up either way.

It’s something Bobby considers but he’s just too tired to ponder it much because what difference did it even make? That same tiredness to fight back against the framing applied to me, as there was so much else to worry about in this moment.

What was perhaps the most cruel aspect of it all was that Alexander- no, the Phantom had attempted to shield them from this sort of devastation.

Oh no nooooooo. This hurt. Just twist the dagger in some more hhhjghj. It was absolutely true. The phantom had foreseen this. When it came to something like that kiss scene – I was busy focusing on so many other aspects of it, and very distracted by so many narrative threads after that and into Lifting Spirits that I totally failed to seriously register that attempt to shield a character like Bobby from this pain. I should have been prepared for that particular narrative angle to circle back around and I absolutely was not, I had not taken it seriously enough and had been far too distracted. I had been very dismissive of the phantom’s actions in that regard and found him so very stupid for it. Like, “yes, Bobby is too attached, this is apparent, but for GOD’S sake…”

Should have probably expected this, but I did not, and therefore it came as a very harsh shock that the phantom had seemingly been Right All Along.

This was so worrisome. Was the story REALLY about to dump a “this is the best outcome in a sense, as Bobby and Simon’s attachment was too unhealthy anyway, so this was the only way. It’s the best thing for the characters who should never have allowed themselves to senselessly get attached” on us?!

I knew there was one more fic to go in this series. I knew that much, and I did my best to cling to that, to cling to how suspicious and fast this all was, that they didn’t even get to say GOODBYE, but some of the narrative framing was so very scary. I did start to feel a tiny bit of panic, struggled to keep it at bay. But I was on the verge of becoming VERY, VERY upset. I could not allow myself to do so until I finished this fic, because if I allowed myself to become upset – to lose hope over this - it would be all over – there’s no telling how much it would’ve crushed me.

I just needed to power on through and keep reading as fast as possible before I had the chance to become upset. Just… keep reading, keeeeep reading, until I could relax once more… There had to be a reveal that he is okay, there had to be, because the alternative was too unbearable to consider.

The mere possibility of this truly being how this fic ends was way too terrifying.

It was like you suddenly out of nowhere grabbed my arm and BRUTALLY twisted it and just went “oh my god, shut up about phantomquill. Shut up about phantomquill. And will you STOP complaining already about every godforsaken little thing? I’ll kill him. I swear to god, I will kill him. I’ll do it. Do not test me. I’ll do it.”

This couldn’t be the end (could it?!) but there was no way in hell I was going to risk growing complacent and trying to call your bluff. I was terrified. I could NOT risk this all being real no matter what, no matter how small the risk might or might not be I was so scared.

“Please… Just… Just… Don’t do this. Please. Just let him still be alive.”

And he was.

“So… will you finally shut up about phantomquill? Will you finally be GRATEFUL once more and ACCEPT what you are given?!”

Oh, yes. Yes, Meowzy, please, just don’t hurt me.

XD

When there is a defining moment in a story that causes me to flatly deem that moment and by extension everything after it technically “non-canon”, it is VERY hard, nigh impossible, to win me back, because it tends not to matter how fantastic anything that comes afterwards is – because the line of continuity to get to that point had been fundamentally broken in my eyes, usually senselessly so. The appreciation of great stuff from afterwards doesn’t feel “complete” because I am no longer capable of considering it the “true timeline”.

By “win me back” I don’t mean “enjoy the fictional work in question”, because I am still completely capable of doing that if there’s still awesome stuff going on. I mean “restore the work’s claim to being the “true timeline” in my eyes.”

A lot of the Lifting Spirits journey is winning me over and winning me back over. I had already largely gone “okay, okay, I guess… all of this stuff is just so awesome that it’s still pretty much the true timeline. It’s just so good.” Unlike in some other instances where I had made the “non-canon” declaration in the past:

-There is absolutely no drop in writing quality whatsoever. The work demands its place in the true timeline with the rest of the series because it fits in seamlessly

-Just about everything going on is so great and awesome that you’d be hard-pressed NOT to want to fully accept and embrace it all

-The occurrence that I had declared the work was “finished” over (Fake Phantomquill kiss) was so very inconsequential and minor in the grand scheme of things. The declaration loses its meaning when it becomes to seem like just a blip in the radar of all the amazing stuff going on

-The actual goings-on of the scene do fit in fine with the rest of the story, and the scene is not TOO central or relevant to what takes place afterwards so as to be a constant reminder or thorn in my side that I had been baited. The story moves on from the scene after it plays out to far more pressing matters.

But still, STILL, I had withheld its right to Full Canonicity in my eyes. I had been “wronged” XD.

But the fake-out… and then the ending… I was nothing but grateful. True timeline. True timeline. This WAS the true timeline; this is the true timeline and I fully acknowledge it 100%. I embrace it. Why would I EVER throw this golden ending away for the sake of some one-sided phantomquill, if I had to make that choice?! Never.

I’ve much more to say and/or elaborate on, and I will do so… in the next post!

Wow. Looks like one more post and I will have finally done it. That’ll truly take us to the end of Lifting Spirits…

[crystu-cii]

Of course!! 💕💞💕💕💕💞💞

What a MOOD XDD OKAY I FEEL YOU ON THAT ONE SHOT THING TBH- LIKE IF YOU TAKE TOO LONG TO GET TO THE GOOD SHIT ILL JUST GET BORED YALL--

wHEeze okay mood-- I actually went in my backyard with a mask on today(not intentionally, my sister sprayed febreeze and I'm sensitive to fragrances soo-- but the entire time I was like "wtf I'm telling crys about this later" XDD

XDD YEAHHH-- XDDD oms MA'AM GO GET SOME SLEEP WH..... TAKE A NAP MISS......

XD also baby jail- puts a laundry basket over him- there now I'm safe-- dangg never had a pet?? I recommend a dog(specifically shelties/sheltie mixes!! They're beautiful and playful!! And the type of dog I've had all my life :3) I.. ban?? Like ban ban??? Wh????

I am! XDD I'd (at least probably) say something if I wasn't-- of course!!!! 💞💕💞💕💞��💕

Me too!! I miss hanging out with them :/ but so many live super far sooo :,D OH DEAR-- yeah nonononoooo-- Do Not-- YEAH better safe than sorry nO--

I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE PUMPKIN AND CHERRY PIES WERE DELICIOUS, HAVEN'T HAD THE BIBLE YET- AH YES PHONE WERE EATING A BIBLE HOW COULD I THINK IT'S CALLED A COBBLER-- XDD WH- HOW DARE SHE INSULT PUMPKIN PIES LIKE THAT-- /HJ it sounds fairly weird but hey if it's good than cool!! XDD

BUT tREEeEeeE!!!!! DO YOU NOT ENJOY DRESSING UP??? WHAT ABOUT THE CANDY SALES DIRECTLY AFTER???? WH-- AAAAAAAH HOW COULD Y'ALL-- XDD

Yeahh, I decided not to take any more creative classes in school anymore anyways--they don't suit me at all-- OH DANG-- YALL REALLY OUT HERE PISSING OFF THE CHOIR TEACHER??? DAMNNN-- XDDD YESSS-- awwwwhh :( oh well, on steam you can mood games sooo-- if you haven't asked for it, I recommend the portal games 👀 they're SO GOOD and I'll simp for both Glados and Wheatley, don't test me (unless you're Glados or Wheatley) /hj BUT THEY'RE SUCH WELL-MADE CHARACTERS-- BUT VALVE CAN'T COUNT TO THREE SOOOO-- (but there is a cool portal 2 mod coming out in April 2021(plus another from the past I think!) that looks incredibly promising!!!) and oooooohh I actually haven't seen much about it 👀 but from what I have seen it looks fun!!!!

opens calendar app-- can I just say it's so rare to meet people born in the early months-- like January and February, especially SO EARLY in the months of just unheard of XD I have a singular other friend born in January, on the 21st-- and I knew a girl who was born February but like I don't really like her or know her well so she doesn't count--

lEGITTT LIKE- im OUTTA HERE- xDDD

and omgg XDD im lowkey sensitive to fragrances to- when its too much and all- like i would only spray myself with perfume ome to three times while my mom is here doing like tWENTY SPRAYS AND IM LIKE "hEYo BRO I CANT B R E A T H E" /nm- its wild XDD

AND LEGITTT My mOm NEEEDS SLEPPP- quarantine has ruined her so hard- its ironic- I M supposed to be the rebelious one- XDD

WHWHWHEEZE B AB Y JA I L- XDD and yeahh- well my brother has an aussie dog (the one i said their name was also astro xD) but sometimes im just like- "yeah- thats my dog too-" i even mentioned it on a introduce yourself assignment for school xD and omg i dont know my dog types but i searched up what sheltie dogs look like and OMGG???💞 YESS A FLUFFY DOG I always dream of having a dog soo fluffyy- but i expect that it would be a pain to clean up the fur all the time XDD and well i MeAANn- not really ban but like- whenever i speak about pets at all to my mom- it would go like- me: we cant even have ONE pet? | mom: no | me: how about a fish?? | mom: wELL ***-BRINGS UP EMBARRASING ACTION I DID AS A TODDLER-*** ) so i just assume thats her way of saying- no fish. XDD

and phew thats good! the least thing i'd want is make you uncomfortable in any way ;w;; 💞💞 gosh- even hanging out with friends is like russian roulette- XDD before covid and all i would always go to Larie's house every single weekend because my mom would always go there every weekend to play mahjong (its a little gambling game) and i would just be like "YEAH IM COMIN TOO-" - like OMG- literally friend's moms being friends with your mom is just the definition of LIFE GOALS- and it would be so fun every time i go there too- my mom would play with them till midnight or literally up to 3 am- so me and larie would just do the most wackiest stuff- along with eating loads of snacks and watching random shows or anime XDD ahh its only months ago since it stopped but it already feels nostalgic xD

awh NoW I WANNA TRY PIEEEESS- AND ABHAHAHAHA "HAVENT TRIED THE BIBLE"- I GOT SO CONFUSED WHEN I FIRST READ THAT XDD phone: its the BIBLE | astro: its a cobbler— | PHONE: YOU QUESTION THE WORDS OF THE MIGHTY JIMMY? ) XDDDD

and LEGITTT- WHENEVER we ask them "hey what you gonna dress up this halloween" thEY woULd JusT Be Like "huh halloween whats that--" XDDD but they end up trying to celebrate it with us at the very least- xD anD YEAP WELCOME TO WHEN its the time of the year where the month names start ending with "ber" aka CHRISTMAS CHAOS TIME- /hj xDDD

mann for my school we had to choose between three music electives- band, orchestra, choir- i chose orchestra and it was AWESOME- until it was my last year and THE FUCKING ORCHESTRA TEACHER QU IT (it was reasonable actually- she had a sickness) and the cLASS JUST TURNED TO SHITITITHKAHTLQJF I HATED IT it came from my favorite class to the WORST in an InSTANT im SOBBING- but even the whole school is just utter bull- during that same year- i had six classes(a teacher for each) and guess what- THREE OF THOSE TEACHERS LEFT- LIKE EXCUSE YOU?? my 2020 was already RUINED before even COVID CAME like WTHHH- so yeah it was crazy- at that point we were all in despair and the school became more ghetto than it was before(everyone would keep saying "wErE In The GheTtO RATTATATAAA" every time we reach school grounds- its funny cause its true- XDD) yeah its crazzyy

and Oh YEHAH the mods are sickk- mods make my dont starve together gameplay so much better xDD and ooh i have seen portal before but i never actually played em- i think i was watching the walkthrough of both games just to try to learn what the game was about- but in the end- i forgot everything from what the heck our objectives of the game was other than to solve mind blowing puzzles- XDD but cAN i JUST SAY THE SONGS ABSOLUTELT BOPPED THO? THE ENDING SONGS STILL ALIVE AND WANT YOU GONE GOT ME LIKE in TEARS to how good they were- like i jammed to them for a long ass while xDDD and ohhh i never seen any portal mods before! i didnt even know portal mods were a thing but that sounds SICKKK

and omg xD and wth- now that you mention it- like- SAMEE?? real life wise- the birthdays are scrambbled up- but lately on tumblr almost everyone has their birthdays around the the "ber" times and this has now made me realize it- like omg- XDD

[henriiiii-1001old]

rambling pt 9(?) - a lot of stuff xddd

sooo i’ve been coming up with a few hcs that i wanna share, and i really hope you guys don’t mind. i haven’t rambled in a while anyways sooo yeah

gonna put this under the “read more” since i might put a lot, but here’s what i’ll be rambling abt:

fnaf 3 updated hcs! fnaf sb (just a lil since the game hasn’t come out yet) william and herny’s springlock incident (warning for most of the hc being very deailed in how the incident went and being set in a hospital setting!!!)

enjoy!

updated fnaf 3

sooo this honestly only has a few changes to it, but i’m gonna explain it in detail bc why not.

char still gets the job at fazbear’s fright and hope is still the phone dude/gal of this universe (she just checks up on them every night before their shift to make sure they made it there alive). so char’s first night goes pretty well, they slept half the shift and just decided they’d leave an hour early just bc nothing was really going on. next night though, they see something on one of the far cameras that had recently been installed: a giant, rotting bunny suit. char decided that it was a good idea to see the fucker up close, so that’s what they did.

and then william, now springtrap, awakens with no memory of his life. the only things he remembers are the name “henry” and the memory of seeing yellow eyes. everything else is hazy to him. char thinks that someone had maybe died in the suit a long time ago, and they decided that he was now their friend (and they called him fluff butt just because his tail was still fluffy unlike the rest of him xddd).

weeks pass, and springtrap gains a few of his memories, growing close to char as they are his only friend. he thinks that char is henry for a while since he saw char’s amber eyes, and henry has yellow eyes. char’s boyfriend (his name is franky say hello uwu) eventually ended up visiting one night bc char invited him over, and he got to meet the big guy himself. char was being a bit of a butt to springtrap though since they hadn’t gotten much sleep, and franky didn’t blame them. they really didn’t like him calling them henry, and out of pity franky told spring that he could call franky henry. that’s when springtrap also remembered the name “ryan”, the other bitch he slept with when henry wasn’t around. (they did later figure out that springtrap was william bc of this fact but no one wanted to tell him yet bc char thought he could maybe change since he lost literally all of his memories).

another few weeks pass and springtrap remembers a lot of his life now, if not all of the memories he had before he died (somehow. not even he knows how he gained his memories). springtrap is now exhibiting behaviors the old william did, cocky, master of manipulation and guilt tripping, the god complex shit, etc. one day, char told him everything about him, not knowing that he had regained most of his memories. he then decided that maybe he could try and get some remnant by betraying char and killing them, but they quickly caught onto what he was doing and was chased around the building. henry and mk (not michael this time surprise surprise :D) rush in, char’s arm gets broken, mk gets char out while henry beats springtrap with an axe, lights the place on fire, and everyone rushes char to the hospital.

oh, and charlie just.. watched the whole thing happen bc she didn’t want anyone knowing she was still around, so char and charlie don’t become friends anymore. sorry guys :’(

fnaf sb

short section thank goodness. sooo all i really have planned out for sb is that annabeth (tape girl) gets a job at the new pizzaplex, gregory is some random kid who got lost one night and he got home safely when he found annabeth. cult hears abt this and decides they’ll take the kid’s remnant, but thing is char, hope and their two other friends, jake and sammy found them about to kill him. sammy decides he’ll bolt into the group and snatch the kid and.. it actually works? gregory eventually ends up safe but sammy gets kidnapped by the cult. char tried saving him but alex the bastard shot them >:(

i do wanna say something else but i’m gonna save that for later lol (it’s spoilers for the end of my au qwq)

the springlock incedent

aiiight this one i’ve actually been thinking recently, so sorry if things get out of place quickly

another warning just in case: this hc has a somewhat detailed explanation of ho the event went, and it mentions a lot of blood, suffocation, and the hc is set in a hospital for a while. please look away of you are sensitive to this type of content.

henry and william were practicing for a performance one day, and things were going great. their wives just took care of the kids outside since it was a weekend. plus the kids wanted to come and watch the performance. henry and will first practiced in a lone room so the kids couldn’t see yet. thing is... something reeaallly bad happened.

something set off the springlocks in fredbear, but henry didn’t make a sound. he trained himself to shut up when he experienced pain, so he just stood there and took it. william noticed and then realized something went wrong, so he then panicked as he tried getting henry out of the suit and instead made springbonnie’s springlocks set off as well. through the pain, suffocation, and lots of blood loss, william managed to get both of them out of the suits. he had no energy left in him, and henry had already passed out from blood loss, so all william could do was sleep..

carol came in to check on them and thought they had died. she and kathryn immediately called for medical service, and henry and will were rushed to the hospital. the kids wanted to come to see if they were alright, and carol and kathryn had no choice but to let them come along. they were not allowed to see them in person yet since the image of seeing them extremely bloody would leave the children scarred, and they didn’t want that.

william wakes up the next day, quickly adjusting to his surroundings. he tried sitting up, and while it was very painful he managed to sit up. he saw that kathryn had stayed with them for the night, and she was asleep on the couch. he also saw henry in the same room as him, sleeping peacefully. a doctor comes in and lets him know what had happened.

kathryn eventually wakes up and got to talk to william for a bit. she tells him that the kids are okay, but she was informed that henry actually had less of a chance to live since he was punctured by the springlocks much earlier than william, so they had dealt more damage to him.

they stayed in the hospital for a couple of days, william soon beginning to be able to walk around a little bit since he seemed to be healing faster than one normally would (ahemremnantahem). henry still made little to no progress in healing. it was getting to the point where he might even pass away...

henry’s heart monitor suddenly started going flat, and william was the only one in the room. he did whatever he could to save henry, messing with whatever he could in case something worked, but nothing did. he called for doctors and after a very quick and tense 20 seconds, henry was breathing and his heart was pumping, slowly returning back to normal. two hours passed and henry was finally awake.

it did take a while for henry to recover since he was asleep for a while. william did help him a lot, and they got released the next week.

[janiedean]

www(.)slate(.)com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/02/how_sensitivity_readers_from_minority_groups_are_changing_the_book_publishing(.)html This seriously worries me. Tumblr mentality spilling over real life

... yey.

okay, no rewind. first thing, I’m sad to say but tumblr mentality has spilled over irl a long time ago and at this point the only thing we can do is hoping this historical moment passes a long time ago (it had already spilled over the moment I had to read actual articles about people actually asking to remove Ovid from a ***classic literature*** curricula because there are rape scenes in the metamorphoses). whatever.

now about this, the problem is: I do think that if someone writes about X character that belongs to a minority they should do their research before touching the topic if they care to write a good book (if they don’t then it’s another problem entirely but let’s just assume they do), but it has to be a thing you do before you actually write that shit. I absolutely don’t agree with write what you know only because otherwise we wouldn’t be publishing a damned thing and honestly some people also write so that they don’t have to always rehash what they know, but if you’re doing a socially sensitive theme you have to try and do it right - if I decide I write a book with a trans character I can’t do it before I talk to a sizable amount of trans people and I don’t read more than a bit on the subject, same as if I decide to write a book set during idk the vietnam war where the protagonist is a ptsd vietnam veteran I can’t do it if I haven’t read a ton of lit/history books about the vietnam war and talked with a few psychologists or psych students or read something about ptsd. but that’s a thing that’s your duty as the author, if you want to do a serious book about a serious thing. if you just want to dick around it’s another problem entirely but let’s just say that I want to do that, it’s on me to do it, not on my **sensitivity readers**, and anyway a sensitivity reader (which once upon a time should have been called editor but never mind) shouldn’t have that much power, ie: once I read a tumblr post which basically said ‘white writers couldn’t ever write poc characters because they possibly can’t understand [now what POC meant in that sense is an entire other question that was left unanswered of course, bc poc doesn’t mean just black but nvm] but they have a moral obligation to because poc writers aren’t as popular/are hired less than white writers, and even at their best they will never get it right and they’ll fuck the poc characters up but who cares, they have to do it and take the criticism so they realize how it feels to be discriminated’.

now, I personally would never hear any advice from THAT above person if they were my sensitivity reader, because the concept that if I’m white then I can’t possibly get it right means that they already decided my work is going to suck ass even if it’s a masterpiece, and then... fuck that? I mean, I have no moral obligation to write anything I don’t want and with that attitude you basically make sure that someone is never gonna try to branch out. and where were the sensitivity readers when fifty shades came out, and all the subsequent YA porn books where it looks like your ideal man should be a stalker? we just don’t know, but no one cares to have sensitivity readers on ***that*** shit because guess what, it sells.

like, the problem shouldn’t be that you as a writer might offend someone with your writing because that can be because you’re actually offensive or because you’re nabokov and you wrote lolita and people who don’t get the point of it think it’s offensive and that it should be burned. you can’t start writing shit thinking of whether you’re going to offend someone or not with it because otherwise you’ll never get anywhere and you couldn’t touch one single sensitive topic (and on this, I’d appreciate sensitivity readers when it comes to atheist characters but NEVER MIND THAT XDDD /joking). what people should do is encourage potential writers who want to write socially sensitive stuff to talk to other people first and research their topic if it requires it.

What I mean is, let’s do a practical example: let’s take the basic lady chatterley plot (woman has a husband that neglects her both sexually and as a person and finds happiness with another guy who lives just under the husband’s nose). the original lady chatterly is already socially sensible because it has class issues and whatnot, but if you just want to write your torrid romance novel about the white suburban mom falling in love with the new white hot neighbor while her white husband doesn’t notice her existence and they have all the a+ sex in the world you’re perfectly entitled to and like, just get yourself an editor that will tell you if your porn sucks or not. there, this one’s easy.

but, let’s say that you want to have the white suburban mom being a victim of domestic violence instead of having the husband being just neglectful then you should research something about domestic violence and the effect it has on people. it has already become way more socially sensible, because you can’t just shrug it away and the sex she’ll have with her new guy won’t be the same as the sex she used to have with her husband, or alternatively, if the husband’s neglectful only you can have a difference between quick missionary and hot steamy long fucks with the new guy, if he’s abusive and he abuses her sexually you have to have nonconsensual vs consensual which is already a whole new heap of problems.

or, let’s flip it around: the domestic violence victim is a man, the wife is the one abusing him, he falls in love with the new female neighbor next door. this implies that you have to look into female on male domestic violence and research how frequently men aren’t taken seriously especially if the perpetrator is a woman, so you have the above plus this.

or, the victim is a man, the perpetrator is a woman, he falls in love with the male neighbor next door. in this case you have to make sure you know how to write a guy who has to get out of an abusive relationship and have a sexuality crisis if he didn’t know he was also into dudes.

or, all three are male, or all three are women: you have to look into statistics to see how male on male or female on female abuse works, on top of all of the above, on top of you have to know how to write an abuse victim. and, if there’s children involved? you have to deal with that too and you have to make sure the abuser isn’t a complete stereotype or some kind of boogeyman because that kind of story is effective if the perpetrator is someone who doesn’t look out of a twilight fanfic *cough*. if you make any of those characters trans then you have to look into it, too, if you make any of them not white or not your ethnicity you might wanna look into that too, and so on. and if you wanna throw in the lady chatterley class thing then you have to also think about what it means if some of the characters are rich, if others are poor, if they’re all middle class, if they’re all poor, all rich and so on.

what I mean is that the same plot, with some changes, can require zero research beyond what metaphors to not use while writing porn (example one) to a whole fucking lot of research and it’s on you to find people to discuss it with before and then to possibly proofread it before you send it to any publisher so you at least are sure you have a thing in your hands that doesn’t suck or has glaring inaccuracies. at that point your sensitivity reader should be able to give it a look and maybe give you advice which you should be able to reject if you don’t think it sound - for example, let’s say I write the above book in its most socially sensitive approach. like, dunno, let’s say the abuser is a cishet white man, the protagonist is a white ftm trans person who also can’t/won’t transition because of their abusive husband and the neighbor is, dunno, a black cishet woman. this would require a shitload of research should I try to write it. but then let’s say I do it and then I decide to write it from the pov of the abusive husband. which is a legitimate literary choice and I’m taking it with the entire intent of making him an abusive asshole without trying to justify his actions and to pull a less skilled humbert humbert in the world (because I’m not nabokov and no one is, but one could and should be able to write villains as a POV if they want to) and that I made sure to depict him as The Worst. if my sensitivity reader says that it’s offensive that I would write it from that guy’s POV in the first place and nothing else matters, it wouldn’t matter if I wrote the best book of the last ten years, it would still be deemed offensive. and that is a thing that shouldn’t fly - meaning, that if this is just a background check to make sure you don’t do bad representation (which you should have already done yourself anyway) it could have its usefulness, if it becomes a way to say that you can’t write what you want or problematic characters/villains shouldn’t be a POV choice even if you show them to be terrible then we’re straight into censorship land and that... shouldn’t be a thing.

tldr, you didn’t even ask for this entire rant but tbh I’m worried about that possible outcome (especially since that article mentioned roth which on this website is already hated as the champion of the white old man protagonist who wants to bang his students by people who don’t understand shit about either roth or writing in general) more than about checks on whether a thing is offensive or not, which anyway seems to me like is thoroughly ignored if the book sells (see: every other stalker seen as an ideal dude in YAs post-50 shades *sigh*).

[salytierra]

@hetaliafandomhub EMBASSY : SPAIN

WRITING REFERENCE: REGIONS & CHARACTER TRAITS

Spain Works a little bit like a federation… except not really. The different Spanish regions are called “Autonomous Communities” and are semi-self-governing territories that were established following cultural and historical reasons, almost 40 years ago.

This has brought some problems, but also a lot of hilarity, because the rivalry between some of the regions created a ton of funny jokes and stereotypes.

There are 17 Autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities.

So there’s no such thing as one and only, defined, version of Spain and Spanish people, rather Spain is a sum of all its differences. Like a real person, our country is polyfacetic, complex, and often contradictory in its behavior, preferences and personality. But at the core, there’s just something that we all have in common and that sets us apart.

I prepared a little, humorous piece on each region, highlighting its traits and most common stereotypes. Of course, this is oriented towards writers that want to make their character representation richer and more extensive.

You can use any of the following for Antonio and combine them at your like:

THE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES 

Aragón: Legend has it, that not long ago the people from the aragonese Pyrenees still communicated with each other by yelling over the mountains. Whether that’s true or not, Aragón is considered the land of loud and headstrong people. And when I say headstrong I mean so stubborn that they will rather change the laws of physics than admit that they were wrong about something.

Their capital is Zaragoza and the cold is manufactured in its train&bus station. Seriously, its manufactured there and then exported to the rest of the world, I shit you not!

C. Valenciana: If orange trees disappeared from the face of the earth Valencia would cease to exist.

It’s the birth land of the paella and they won’t let you go until you’ve understood that. They are known for their corrupt politicians and have more metrosexuals for square meter than a gay gym. Speak catalan but call it “valenciano” and demand it to be treated like a completely different language. Collectively healthy and well-groomed. Valencian people are carefree, a little bit arrogant, and enjoy living the good life.

They also adore gunpowder; whether it’s a wedding or a funeral – there’s gonna be fireworks!

Asturias: “Spain is Asturias and the rest is reconquered land” and no Astur will ever let you forget that. They consider themselves the reason Spain exists in the first place and love reminding it to the rest of the country, whether it’s in the parliament or heavy metal songs.  They really love their land, carry an Asturian flag everywhere they go, take pride in their history, landscapes, nature and… milk.

Anyway, their superiority complex is legendary and the worst part is that you can’t even pick on them for that because it’s all mostly true.  

La Rioja: If you’ve got a wine mom, have ever been in the alcohol section of any supermarket, or studied the wine selection in a restaurant menu out of boredom, you probably know the word Rioja. It’s one of the most famous Designations of Origin in the world, which often leads to the assumption that Riojanos are drunk 90% of the time. Wrong. They are only drunk 70% of the time. They’ve also got a festival that is just like one giant water battle… but with wine instead.

Okay, jokes apart. Rioja has a lot more than just wine; its people will take you in with open arms no matter where you are from and make sure you never want to leave. 

Andalucía: What the rest of the world thinks is Spain. Every stereotype you can think of? Surprise! Turns out it’s only applicable to Andalucía. Flamenco, frilly dresses and women called Carmen come from there. Sadly, they are often treated like a joke by the rest of the country, but to give them credit: take it really well.

Although in the rest of Spain we are convinced that the religious devotion is actually an excuse for huge parties and let’s be fair – you’d also siesta if the temperature outside got to 50ºC in summer afternoons.  Andalusians are also everywhere; wherever you go you’ll find hordes of them and recognize them by their funny accent.

Galicia: Other countries have china-town. We have one giant Ireland-town and it takes up this entire region. Galicia is extremely beautiful, has a lot of forests and a very unique culture, not to mention a very sticky accent and their own language; which is so closely related to Portuguese it’s difficult to tell them apart.

Now, the Galicians are the human form of “to be or not to be”; or alternatively the object of Katy Perry’s “hot’n’cold” song. You won’t find more indecisive bunch on the face of the earth. They’ve also got collective “morriña” which nobody is really sure what it means but it’s sort of a good-melancholic feeling.

Cantabria: In Cantabria, one in every four habitants is a cow. Also, the last time something metal happened there, it was in the times of the Roman invasion.

They have the best anchovies and will not tolerate any offense against them. Apart from that, they are fine people that may be a little bit cold but talk in sing-song and work very hard and a lot. A little bit hard to crack maybe, or that might just have been my former housemate.

C. de Madrid: So… turns out there’s an entire Autonomous Community surrounding the capital. Although, to be fair, the city takes up most of it.

The Madrileños are always stressed out, always! They are always rushing everywhere like devil’s got their pants on fire and still get there too late. In an eternal competition with Barcelona about literally everything. They are also really prideful, but I’ve said that just about any region till now. Also, it’s the capital, they are supposed to believe themselves the shit xDDD

País Vasco/Euskadi: The special snowflake of Spain and the entire Europe now that we are at it. Actually rumored to be aliens. Their language doesn’t come from indo-european, their genetic code is different, there’s a hereditary disease similar to chronic insomnia that only affects Basques…  What even are these creatures?

It doesn’t matter; we still love their pinchos, and making jokes about their brute strength. Because believe me when I tell you: there’re no humans on earth as BRUTE as the Basques.  Yes, I also thought that was an exaggeration, until I started sharing an apartment with one.  

Navarra: Are they actually Basques? Are Basques actually Navarros? We might never know. The truth is that the Kingdom of Navarra was one of the cool territories during medieval Iberia and now they are famous for their Asparagus.

Okay that was mean. Navarra is actually a beautiful place (with fiscal privileges) full of history and people that might never win a subtlety and delicacy contest, but party like no-one else on the face of the earth!

Murcia: When Spanish kids are little and learning the Autonomous Communities they always forget one while counting on their fingers. That one is always Murcia. Nobody knows why it’s even a region on its own. Maybe it’s because of the language? Although make no mistake, they don’t have another language, they speak Castilian… probably, but nobody understands them anyway.

I know I’m being quite rough, but my former step-dad, the man that raised me, was originally from Murcia. They are admirably good at making jokes on their own expense. Let’s give them credit for that, at least.

Islas Baleares: *currently under the occupation of German tourists*

There’s not much to say about the Balearic Islands. As any overly-touristic place, they’ve lost a bit their essence, but some charm still remains. They are also paradisaically beautiful. I remember Formentera looking like a real-life movie poster with see-through water and marine animals swimming between your feet.

But if you really want to learn about Spain, our culture and people – don’t choose Mallorca for your vacation. I’m sure at this point the locals will thank you for that too.

Castilla-León: The buffer between the green north and the barren south. Those scholars that are trying to discredit the “Duero Desert” theory obviously never had to drive through the area itself for hours. It is still pretty much a desert full of wheat and olive trees. And the occasional city from time to time. 

Now, that region is old Spain, Valladolid used to be the capital before it got shifted to Madrid, as León was before that. If you want a lungful of history – just visit any town in that region, it’s bursting with it. Also they are supposed to have the most perfect, correct Spanish and its people love visitors.

Castilla-La Mancha: Even more wheat fields… wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Finally, after days of wheat fields you see a town on the top of a hill, it’s surrounded by a medieval wall and in its heart a castle stands tall and mighty. You climb the hill and enter the city. Everyone is carrying a sword.

You stand there thinking whether you are hallucinating from the heat or just time travelled. Until a fuckboy with a Vespa almost runs you over. Turns out that’s only their aesthetic™ and you haven’t left civilization at all. Enjoy your stay, it’s f*cking magical. (srsly tho: I really want to visit Toledo again)

Extremadura: I don’t know what’s in the water in Extremadura but its natives are always ready for battle. Seriously, almost all the famous (and universally despised) Spanish conquerors in history were from Extremadura.  They are direct, opinionated and blame Portugal’s entire existence for not having a beach.

I mean it, never cross an extremeño, but having one as a friend is probably the best investment you can make. They also work the earth a lot, remain unusually religious and have a weird obsession with making dick jokes about their own region’s name. Oh, and they also make ham!!

Islas Canarias: Their days last 23 hours, shipping companies ignore them, the magazines are more expensive, and you never know how to find them on a map. No, I mean they are pretty visible on a map of Spain, there down in a small square shape reserved only for them. But try to find them on a world map, I dare you…

Anyway, they officially have the best climate on earth, receive loads of tourism, and grow the famous “plátanos” ­– Spanish-branded bananas, and I’m pretty sure also that weird bunch-y shape on the top of Toño’s bangs – along with many other things. The highest mountain in Spain is there and it’s a volcano.

Cataluña: Saving the best for last. And if that sentence is not the epitome of Catalan character then I don’t know what is. Seriously, my dearest home region needs to chill and a lesson in humility, but we are not that bad. The bit about us being hard workers is relatively true, as well as the stingy bit. We’ve got 99 problems but a lack of imagination is not one of them, for better or worse.  Hipsters be here.

And finally; we like taking risks, as evidenced by our “castellers”: human towers as high as possible and on the top, 15m from the ground – a four year old kid with a bike helmet.

Take that one, Spiderman!

THE AUTONOMOUS CITIES

Ceuta and Melilla: Established like at VII B.C. by the Phoenicians, they passed through a lot of hands.

Melilla became Spanish in the latest stage of La Reconquista, in 1497. Since it used to be a Visigoth territory too, it was symbolically important for the Catholic Monarchs to take particularly that one city, and so they did. 

But the custody of Ceuta was won in the divorce from Portugal. When in 1640 Portugal decided that the Iberian Union sucked, Ceuta, a formerly Portuguese territory, demanded to stay with Spain. Aww, such a cutie!

So this is it! I hope you enjoyed this wild ride. Aren’t we just a lovely bunch? xDD Anyway, as I already said – you can combine and extrapolate from any of these to form your preferred version of Spain.  Just don’t forget that they are still only stereotypes! ;)

Please reblog to spread the word (and so I don’t feel sad because this was quite hard to make...) 

Header and references: (x)(x)(x)(x)

And now a private word to the Spanish people around here:

¡Que nadie me venga ahora quejándose, que esto lo he hecho pa hacer guasa! Y si no os gusta, pues no haber dejado la imágen del país en manos de una catalana, cony xDDD

Será posible, que algunos países tienen como de 3 a 5 representantes y a mí me habéis dejado sola, panda de vagos. Venga, que presentarse a portavoz no cuesta nada… (porfii~ me siento solita 😢)