#and I've read some that are wonderful

[ringwraithmd]

this might just be a me thing, but the older I've gotten, the warier I've become of "what if x character made a different choice" fanfics.

I do really love those types of fanfics, and I know the whole point is to suspend my disbelief, which I do happily and often, but sometimes I just can't? Idk. Like I agree that a character could have made a different choice, but if they're well written or at least written consistently, by the very nature of who that character is as a person they would not make any other choice. I guess with the "what if x character made a different choice" I'm more interested in what would push a character to make that other choice different than what's canon.

It's like. Hmm. Let's say I go to a cafe, and I have the choice of ordering either tea or coffee. Now, theoretically there's a 50/50 chance of me ordering either of those options. However, the fact that I do not like tea needs to be factored in. Therefore, while it means I have the choice to order tea, I'm unlikely to. That doesn't mean that it isn't possible there is a world where I order tea, just that it's unlikely. For me to order tea, some variable of this equation needs to be changed in order for me to make a different choice. Maybe they ran out of coffee and I desperately need caffeine. Maybe in early childhood I started drinking tea idk. Either way, as I am currently, I wouldn't order tea.

That's a very simple, small scale example, but it's just something I've been thinking about.

I feel like some of the "what if" stories I've read don't address that, or they want a character to make a different choice without addressing any of the variables that factor into a decision. This includes stuff beyond "oh the character missed the train so they didn't decide x". Yeah, obviously that stuff could change a character's decision, but I'm talking about how who a character is as a person (greedy/impulsive/arrogant/intelligent/kind/compassionate/honor bound/dutiful, etc.) affects the choices they make. How do you change their circumstances so they make a different choice? How do you change them? But then, if you change that character, the character may become too OOC. Maybe that's what the writer is going for, maybe not. But if you don't want to write your character that's OOC, how do you then write the character so that they make a different choice? How do you get a character to make a choice that may directly contradict a major part of who they are?

I think I struggle with reading stories where a character makes a snap "what if" choice, at least with regards to major decisions tied to who that character is (i.e. in the 100, Lexa leaving Clarke at the Mountain). Like coffee vs. tea, the choice may appear simple on the surface, and theoretically there's a world where a character chooses differently, but how did they get there?

I think there's some characters that I can't see make different choices, not without significant changes to multiple variables.

[starflungwaddledee]

from: @starflungwaddledee to: @post-it-notes7

message from santa: "happy holidays post-it-notes! 🎄🥳 i know you very politely only wished for a few modest things- characters high fiving, or struggling in christmas attire- but i hope you'll still enjoy this given that i kinda went the opposite direction entirely! i'm an enormous fan of your work and most times you post anything i wind up browsing your art tag from tip-to-tail in enraptured delight. as such, i thought it was only fair i give back something a little more significant in gratitude for all the joy your work has given me. i knew i wanted to do a comic, so i was thrilled you already had a whole storyverse for me to work from!! this scene seemed the most obvious choice (chapter 8 of "wishful thinking" on ao3) given that i enjoy a dramatic fight scene 😂 i tried to stick as beat-by-beat to the writing as i could and worked in as many details as possible; i hope it'll be fun to see it envisioned this way! merry christmas! ~starflung 🎀🔔 "

[kori-senpai]

Fanart for @honeydots Fire Emblem fanfic. I've been using it as a reason to fluke out of social interactions for the last two weeks and boy oh boy I will continue to do so >:)

[ratgirlexe]

To wrap up my thoughts on HDG as horror, now that I’m no longer in severe pain and writing my thoughts at 3 am:

I think the best summary of it all is that it’s hard for me to go into any given story and feel truly horrified, because I know on a meta textual level that everything is going to work out in the end, and the characters will likely be happier than when they started. I don’t know how to suspend my disbelief in the idea that ultimately things will work out, so even if the main character goes through any number of acts which are horrifying in *theory*. I almost empathize more with the affini putting them through that experience, more so than the character who’s point of view I’m seeing things from.

Are you a rebel feralist being put through awake surgery for your haustoric implant? It might be the scariest experience of your life, but that just means you get to be a floret now! You’ll have someone to care for and love you forever, and you’ll never have to be alone. Give it a week and you’ll be thanking them for doing so.

How about if you’re a terminally ill patient at end-of-life, or in excruciating pain that even the affini can't somehow solve? That's okay! We'll get you on a nice tasty regimen of class-O's, and you'll never hurt or be afraid again. There will be nothing but unending bliss, and you won't even realize that you're hurting. Not all suffering can be prevented, and eventually it all has to end, but heaven is real, and we've placed it inside you. Even in that last situation, which is the most personally scary to me, there's a certain level of bitter sweetness to it all. Maybe it's just the pain I've been in, but there aren't quite as many ways to end someones life that are as kind as bliss never-ending.

Ultimately I think it's just the fact that I know the affini are benevolent within the story, which makes even the most harrowing or scary events take on a more lighthearted tone for me. Yes, getting to where you want to be, where you *need* to be can be really scary. I'm autistic. Change is terrifying, change is death, and some changes can feel too monumental to ever surmount on your own. But to me HDG is a true escapist fantasy that says "Even if this change is scary, even if you can't choose to change for the better, even if the process hurts or makes you feel like you're dying, I'll be here with you to hold your hand and guide you through it. You don't have to go through it alone, and by the end you'll be able to blossom into who I know you can be."

And to me that's just not scary or horrifying. That's something that I yearn for each and every day.

[lafaiette]

Veilguard spoilers under the read more

So, years and years of fan theories confirmed through six cutscenes one can watch one after the other in one sitting, especially if they have explored the Crossroads extensively before the first meeting with the Inquisitor. No suspence, no crescendo, no hype at all. Okay.

I wasn't surprised by learning that Solas - and all ancient elven people - are spirits who got a body, this was heavily implied since DA:I

But I was surprised to see the key to this was lyrium. This seemed to be addressed differently in Trespasser, where it actually looked like the Evanuris stole lyrium to become stronger/gain more power. And Solas and Mythal being the cause of the Blight makes... very little sense. We knew that Mythal locked the Blight away ever since Trespasser, yes, but her and Solas literally being the cause of everything? Bruh.

The Blight always seemed like a biological response to intruders, like a high fever - not a countereffect of Tranquility. Does that mean that a Tranquil mage can become blighted? Why are only Titans affected by their dreams being severed this way?

Also, the way Solas and Mythal's relationship is addressed is a bit... heh, I don't know, almost malicious, as if Weekes were smirking all smugly while writing it. It's clear they went on a field trip while writing the scene where the companions discuss "love" and whether "they were doing it" or not. I can't believe they genuinely thought Solavellan fans would be okay with it - it's not just a cutscene, it's an entire game basically built on a previous relationship, one that the writers hint as still being strong. What is Lavellan, then? Because at this point she really feels like a dalliance, with Mythal being the reason Solas couldn't stay with her. A distraction from who is basically an abusive friend (or more?) who forced him to get a body and serve her.

I'm still in Act 1, but for now the game just isn't doing it for me. I adored the way DA:O, DA:I and even DA2 gave us lore, leading us little by little towards big revelations. DA:I was clearly made for the fans - in DA:TV they instead hurry to tell you everything, to confirm fans' theories, as if the devs were saying "Yes, you were right, happy? Time to wrap everything up and finish this, because we're fed up with it".

[hooked-on-elvis]

Those are absolutely two of my favorite pictures of Elvis. Of course I like the details and all the info I can get on the pictures. One thing I have to say is that in that moment Elvis was in his 7th season at the International Hotel in Las Vegas (August 4th - September 4th 1972), and it was the first time he brought Linda Thompson to accompany him during the concerts (prior to that she had only accompanied Elvis during rehearsals in July). You can imagine how jealous I am of her because, well, just look at Elvis! 🫠🥲 Anyway, here's a little story about the fans with Elvis in those pictures:

Las Vegas, NV. Monday, August 28, 1972. Elvis with two Italian fans. The woman is Nicla Crippa and the man was the President of the Italian fan club, his name is Livio Monari. Livio Monari started the Italian FC in 1962. Together with Nicla Crippa, a personal friend and member of his Fan Club, they met Elvis just after the Midnight show on 26th August 1972. Photos taken that day didn't come out, so they asked to see Elvis again... to have new ones taken on the 28th August (2nd meeting) which are the ones shown above. They had just attended the Dinner & Midnight shows on the 28th Aug: when a waiter approached them - that Elvis was waiting for them.

Nicla said the following about the meeting:

1972 was a special year for me, I picked up all my saving of a year and together with Livio Monari at that time president of the E.P.F.C. of Italy, I flew to Las Vegas in August to see Elvis performing. When we arrived we were so excited that we started immediately to ask anybody of Elvis entourage if we could meet Elvis, crook Col. Parker was at a gambling table with his cigar and he said very rude "NO, you cannot met Elvis", then Joe Esposito who said No too, and when I told him "Hey Joe you are Italian like us" he answered "I'm not Italian, I was born in Chicago" very rude too... until I saw the name of Emilio Muscelli on an office door, I knocked and entered and I said with all my 18 years old enthusiasm (in fact I was not yet 18, I would have turned 18 on December 30) "Hi Emilio, we are Italians and we are here to see Elvis concerts and meet him"... well he took it good to his heart and from that point on he treated me like his daughter - he was 50 years old. We saw 14 concerts in 7 days and we met Elvis TWICE, the first time on August 26 but the pictures Joe Esposito took with Livio's camera did not come out as Livio due the emotion charged an already used film in the camera... the second time on August 28, this time we called a professional photographer to take the 2 pictures to be sure. When I saw Elvis the first time coming out of his dressing room I ran towards him and I almost jumped on him, I hugged and kissed him and he returned the hugs and kisses to me and he asked me "Hey baby how old are you" I answered "18" and he said "And you came all the way from Italy just to see me?" "Yes Elvis" and he "Oh baby..." and he hugged me again very tight. We stayed with him for 15 minutes, we gave him a trophy we brought from Italy unfortunately we have no picture of Elvis with our trophy but I saw it at Graceland Trophy Room in 1987. He wrote a dedication to me, and one to Livio, on 2 LPs we brought with us, he gave us a yellow scarf each, but especially I held his right hand in my hands for a long time, and he did not withdraw it, on the contrary he caressed my hands. He was such a gentle, sweet and tender person, he made us feel at ease and he slowed down speaking English as at that time I could not speak English well. We asked "when will you come to Europe?" he said looking at Joe "I definitely wanna go, after a project I have for January 1973 (Aloha from Hawaii) I'll ask Parker to organize a tour to Europe". The night after Emilio gave us seats in the first row, Elvis saw me from stage and he stooped down and he put a red scarf around my neck... and on August 28 we met him again same place backstage and he said "Hey you are still here, good", he had such a sense of humour. Those 2 meetings with Elvis still are the best moments of my life!

Credits: elvis-collectors.com

[lucdoodle]

this is so cute... omg🥺💖

[syvrae]

tell me what's on your mind , huh

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

Danganronpa × RAIN CODE Crossover ①

Yuma and Shinigami meet the Danganronpa characters for the first time. (In this manga, only the protagonist of DR2 appears.)

日本語版はコチラ。

*This may not make much sense to non-Japanese speakers, so there is an explanation at the end.

------

Background information: There are four different ways to read the name "日向", the most common being "Hinata", but there are also the readings "Hyuga", "Himukai", and "Himuka". Also, the character "創" is generally read as "Sou", and the reading "Hajime" is a special reading that is only used for people's names. So it is generally difficult to read this name correctly without clues. The reason why Shinigami was disappointed is that Hinata Hajime sounds much softer than Hyuga Sou, the reading she first predicted. Hinata and Hajime are not really lame. However, the name Hinata could be used as a first name for girls, so it gives a cute impression to Japanese speakers. 😄

[fisheito]

i told myself that yakuei only had one position then i proved myself (sorta) wrong

my fave face here:

[dare-to-dm]

Well, I finally beat Dragon Age Veilguard. And my spoiler free opinion is that it was really good, from beginning to end.

I honestly don't understand how this game has so many haters. I've seen a lot of bad takes. So many that I kept expecting something to happen that would change my opinion, or maybe that it would have a really bad ending. But the ending was exactly what I wanted it to be, and it made my heart sing.

I love all the Dragon Age games, and they're all good for different reasons. But this one is just really polished and high quality overall. I loved the writing, the visual design, the companions, the combat and the twists. I look forward to replaying it many times.

There's a lot to talk about, and I'll be happy to share my opinions in more depth in the future, both the positive and the critical. But I went through this as fast as I could, so I know there must still be plenty of fans out there who haven't had a chance to finish it yet, and it's definitely worth not being spoiled.

[crescentfool]

the persona 3 protagonist 25th anniversary nui in food appliances!

[nonbinaryeye]

I am certain that plenty of metas regarding shapeshifter's and whose copy version is whose has already been written by lots of people but let me add my take on it.

First let's start with Laois'. The biggest one belongs to Senshi. Senshi is naturally the one to have the least accurate takes as he's traveling with them for the shortest time. Laois is tall man so of course he sees him as tall and the tallness would seem most prominent to someone short so likely to either dwarf or to half foot. Also he looks a bit older than Laois actually is and Senshi is the one most unsure about Laois' age, assuming than unlike Chillchuck and Marcille, Laos is the oldest one of them. The Laos obsessed with monsters probably belongs to Chillchuck. He's the most accurate looking except for his babbling about monsters and Chillchuck is the most observant of them. Marcille of course could be the likely culprit as well as she seems to be the one most done with Laois' obsession with eating monsters but I really think that the Falin like Laois belongs to her even though she claims they are nothing alike. The fact she is the one to point it out is already good enough reason to suspect her. But also she knew Falin first so it's quite imaginable she would see her sibling through the similarity as much as she woukd of course love to deny it. (Also all the Laois x Marcille hints through the series which are closely intertwined to all Falin x Marcille but that's its own conversation I won't dwell into right now)

Regarding Senshis. The one with inaccurate helmet has been already told to belong to Laois. Chillchuck have quite strong opinion about Senshi being handsome so I think the handsome Senshi cones from his mind. Not to mention that overall Marcille is more likely notice less about his cooking equipment as she always tries to distance herself from his cooking as much as she can so it makes the most sense that the one with inaccurate cooking equipment comes from her mind.

Next Marcilles. As I've said Senshi is travelling the shortest time with the party and he does not always see eye to eye with Marcille. It is safe to say the most inaccurate Marcille is drawn from his mind. It can always also be deduced by elimination because Chillchuck is quite observant so it probably is not from his mind and I'm quite confident that Laois is the one whose Marcille is the most accurate. Because Laois is the only one familiar with her magic book as he studied it for quite a while when he was trying to figure out how to cure her from her bite from Cockatrice. As observant as Chillchuck is, he's never been interested in her magic and never saw her book up close probably so only one who could plausibly create somewhat accurate looking book must have been Laois.

Last we have here Chillchucks. Again Laois' Chillchuck is said to be the inaccurate one because of wrong neckband and eliminated first. Then the one with wrong tools is the hardest one to guess but I think it's how Senshi views him as Senshi is likely to know and notice less about his toolkid then Marcille because he was quite clueless about traps disarming and Marcille traveled with him much longer and should know a bit more about his equipment because of it. Also I think that one looks the youngest and Senshi is the one assuming Chillchuck is a kid. But this one I'm the least certain about so really feel free to argue with me and share your takes.

[sofipitch]

I just realized on this reread that Harrow's theory of Lyctorhood wasn't wrong compared to Palamedes'. What she describes here is John's power. He has a continual well of energy that is the Earth soul

Palamedes and Ianthe figured out what the Lyctors did, Harrow was sniffing under John's door. Little does she know it's not under the First but the Ninth

[starpros-sunshine]

Eichi gives away the mask so easily because it was never meant to be an "engagement ring" like you delulu wataeis imagined it to be lmao. It was wataru saying that he will continue playing tsumugi clown role in fine and won't leave it for hokuto's mother troupe after graduation. Do you dumb fucks even read the stories? Eichi didn't even understand tf that mask meant when wataru gave it to him and wataru referenced fucking tsumugi in his "proporsal". I dunno why the f you think it's ok to lie about "! EnDiNG wItH wAtAeI EnGaGeMEnT" when the chapter it happened wasn't even close to the end of ep:link. Cope

PS: how do you live with the fact that Eichi clearly admitted to never being in love in his life and Wataru said that even though Eichi likes him, he still can easily discard him for the sake of his objectives?

I love you anon thank you for giving me a nice reason to ramble again beautiful ask 10/10 I'm sorry this is probably not how you hoped this would go but this is such a funny block of text delightful really thank you for the enrichment please marry me

But okay yes now to get down to the actual ask just to disclaim I am solely relying on translations seeing as I do not speak japanese well enough to understant the original text so if anyone has anything to add to this or to correct me on please feel free to do so.

Now to get started I'm not sure if one could say Eichi gave away the mask "So easily" seeing as he claimed that it was "a hard choice to make"? Which, as one might know, implies unease with an idea and pondering and debating and a general amount of thinking behind a decision so? I know this isn't really the main focus of this ask but I'm just a tad miffed with the semantics of it is all. And in either case giving the mask back to Wataru while expecting it back still shows a certain degree of trust in their relationship it wouldn't have been such a big deal for him (as it apparently was) if the mask didn't have a lot of sentimental value to him (the both of them really if we look at the whole exchange).

Now to the claim that the mask was "only" Watarus promise to stay with fine and "continue playing Tsumugis clown role". This is not entirely incorrect. Regarding the acting troupe and staying with fine bit at least.

I'm assuming this bit in EP:Link Deadend/7 is what you are referencing, and I see where you're coming from. But the bluebird line

from literally three dialogue lines further down, which references this line of dialogue (notorious Eichi line everyone should be familiar with)

kind of somewhat really recontextualises that? Because you see this is a reference to a fairytale about a pair of siblings and they get sent out by a nice fairy to find the bluebird of happiness for her sad daughter to make her happy again so they both go on an adventure and travel far and search and search but they can not find the bluebird of happiness and then when they return home again, disappointed because they couldn't find the blue bird, they realise only one night has actually passed and the journey was probably just a dream. But then their eyes fall upon their pet dove in it's cage which appears blue all of a sudden and so they gift it to the fairies sad daughter which becomes happy again and sets the bird free. The real bluebird of happiness is a dove. At least in the version of the story I'm familiar with but I mean everyone sees the symbolism right? It's. very hard to miss.

And then dropping this?

I'm not sure how to say this properly but in the overall context this makes it pretty clear that Tsumugi has nothing to do with this anymore this is Fully between Wataru and Eichi. And I am the last person to dismiss Tsumugis significance in the course of Wataeis relationship as characters I will be among the first to protest when someone dismisses the importance of Tsumugis and Eichis relationship in favour of some image they have of Wataei but he has nothing to do with this one.

Yes Tsumugi gets namedropped but - again - I don't really see how that would lessen the sentiment Wataru is triying to convey here? Because. Yes. Why wouldn't he mention Tsumugi?

The entire conversation pretty much boils down to "Yes I was initially only in this because I thought I could replace Tsumugis role in your life and then I wanted to leave but we have spent so much time together that I realised that that is definitely not working out because I really do love you. I love you as a teammate; I love you as a friend; I love you as a person and I am very angry at myself for not managing to get that into your head. So please allow me to stay with you for as long as you'll have me." And then also Eichi not understanding because he has the emotional self awareness of a very emotionally unaware loaf of bread and also because he hates himself that is a very big thing about his character huge part of his character arc actually that he. you know? Hates himself? And feels guitly for his actions during the war? And doesn't think he deserves love and companionship? Which is why Wataru wanting to stay with him for him and not for some twisted form of revenge is such an alien concept to him? Because he is projecting his insecurities onto Wataru? As one is wont to do when they hate themself? "EiChi Didn'T eVen UnDErStanD WhAt tf ThAT Mask MEAnt" Yeah. That's. That's the point? So he can think about it and come to that conclusion himself which works as a keymoment in his characters journey from hating life and himself to enjoying being alive and wanting to live on because of the people he's surrounded with? He literally explains why he didn't immediately understand the mask during the EP:Link Epilogue/4

And to get back to the "I dunno why the f you think it's ok to lie about "! EnDiNG wItH wAtAeI EnGaGeMEnT" about which I have two things to say:

"Lying" implies further intent and an effort. Neither of which exist in this case.

He literally went down on one knee while making a big proclamation of offering himself to Eichi with a very personal item that works as a symbol for their commitment to each other on a starlit rooftop. The comparison writes itself.

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke

And then I expected there to be a proper reason given and instead you proceed to follow that up with "when the chapter it happened wasn't even close to the end of ep:link". I know the shame is on me for expecting something sensical from an ask which has been near constant in it's lack of correct statements but such is human nature I suppose. And you are not wrong. Deadend/7 isn't very close to the end of EP:Link. That is true.

But do you know what Is very close to the end of EP:Link? The Epilogue Chapters 3-5.

Do you know what the content of those chapters is? I do. Very well actually :)

(Eichi literally explains why he didn't get it)

So if this answers your "Do you dumb fucks even read the stories?" questions, Yes. And I think I'm a lot better at it than you. So I'd say I'm coping quite well over here :p

PS: Regarding your PS, I take the "I've never been in love before so I wouldn't know" comment with a lot of humour actually as an aroace person who's emotional self awareness also ends at "good" and "Not good" I think it's very funny all things considered especially because he mentioned the loving Wataru thing several times before that and I'm generally of the belief that actions speak louder than words and also am in a happy long term relationship with the concept of "Reading Subtext". So please excuse me for not breaking down in tears everytime someone reminds me of that one singuar line of text in one of my favourite all time enstars stories that came out three years ago which also brought us the single best card set in the entire game

as well as absolute banger dialogue such as

Among others <33

And there are soooooo many other examples of wataei dialogue that simply make me swoon but I have already had to take out so many of the one's I wish I could put here so this wouldn't get "Do you love the colour of the sky" long

And also, regarding your "Wataru said that even though Eichi likes him, he still can easily discard him for the sake of his objectives" I'll just say that no he absolutely could not. I mean he'd say that and if pull comes to shove and he has no other option then he might seriously consider it but may I mention that Wataru was gone for a few days at most but really not that long of a time during Sanctuary and Eichi stopped considering being a normal rational person that doesn't leave helpless 17 year olds in the midst of a construction site. Very different situation but I feel like it's worth mentioninh here. Another example is Eichis almost not being able to go through with the war because of Wataru. Wataru had to actively come and tell Eichi to go through with it. Wataru isn't the reason Eichi started the war, that is wrong, but he is the reason Eichi almost didn't finish it. and during the war era that was his Main objective. Again I'm part of the fraction "actions speak louder than words" Show don't tell and all that, but even the words are pushing it.

And that concludes my essay :)

[welcometogrouchland]

[ID: a piece of digital art depicting Luz, Willow, Amity and Vee from the owl house at Luz's quinceñera. The piece takes place outside the owl house at night with the characters all dancing. Willow's dress is blue with yellow and pink flowers as decoration. Luz's outfit is based on the good witch azura with a white and purple colour scheme. Amity wears a pink dress shirt and a dark blue skirt with transparent fabric both on the skirt and acting as the sleeves. Vee wears a yellow dress with white trim on the bottom. Light glyphs float in the air, the dancefloor lights the scene from below, and Hooty extends across the background. End ID]

on today's episode of "pieces I put way too much work into realistically!". Since it's unlikely we'll get a quinceñera for Luz at this stage of the show, I wanted to draw a cute scene of it, which slowly turned into posing and lighting practice

(Small disclaimer: I'm not a part of a culture that does quinceñeras! I hope that there's no glaringly inaccurate details here. As far as I know there isn't hard and fast rules for the dresses or dance floor? so hopefully everything here is plausible. Feel free to let me know if there's any egregious errors here. There's some doodles under the cut that are slightly more detailed, so same goes for those)

[ID: black and white digital doodles of owl house characters at Luz's quinceñera. The first doodle shows luz, Gus, Hunter and king, and is labeled "Gus, king & hunter = chambelands". The next shows willow, Vee, and Lilith with Luz and is labeled "Lilith, Willow and Vee = damas". There's a doodle of amity where's she's labeled "escort". There's a small full body doodle of Luz in a suit labeled "she gets a costume change!". The last doodle is Luz and hunter dancing together, labeled "Luz + hunter sibling dance". The background is purple. End ID]