#and that's all because their murder appears basic on the surface

[ludwigoat909]

(Alittle disclaimer that what I'm about to say is absolutely not directed towards anyone in particular, it is just something I saw a lot of times)

This is something I've noticed a while ago but never really dared to talk about this. But while the milgram fandom has been known to have a lot of cases where they would woobify characters or victimize them to make them more sympathetic. There's also this other side of the spectrum that I don't see anyone mentioned where people feel the need to have the characters be completely and utterly terrible people simply because a part of us tend to find these more palatable.

If this sounds like this is about Muu. It is not. Ironically, the reason Muu had so much hate is because of the way she herself was very much victimized at first, only to have "betrayed" her audience once her crying had stopped and became more comfortable to be who she truly was.

An exemple would be how there's this theory that the reason Yuno got into milgram wasn't because of abortion but because killed a man. While I don't have anything against the theory itself... I can't help but think that origins and reasons for why a lot of people choose to believe it is.... very strange. To me, it seems the reason this theory feels more like a cope out for people who simply hate the idea that her crime is just simply abortion. As if abortion is what makes her character less intresting. And I just find it so weird.

Another exemple of this is Mikoto. Mikoto went from this extremely popular character with so many theories to just "oh yeah he exist" and it sounds like I'm exagerating considering how he is still one of the most beloved characters in the series with an absurd amount of fanart but... when it comes to analysis it's just... good lord

It seemed like the moment Mikoto was confirmed to be a system, the interest for him amongst theorists just dropped dead. Back then, when we weren't too sure if he had DID or not, Mikoto was extremely popular character amongst theorists because of how cryptic his case and character were. Yet when he got confirmed to be a system, people completely gave up on him and really just chose to boil down his character to "shitty did murder trope" and never pushed far beyound (in fact, even before milgram confirmed it, people were still very against the theory that he was in fact a system, never mind how a lot of the people that pushed the theory were also system themselves). They ended up his case "boring" because he turned out to be just ""the good one"" who is being wrongfully blamed and then claimed that the only way he would be interesting is to ngl this is genuinely frustrating to watch. Especially when these are the same people who say they prefer John way more yet fail to even make analysis on him as well. It's almost like Mikoto had the opposite situation as Muu's were while Muu became more hated for not being as innocent as she was protrayed in her mv, in Mikoto's case case he became less loved because he turned out to be a lot more sympathetic then he was in his mv.

This is coming from someone who actually do believe Mikoto was the true murderer here and not John. Mikoto has never been "more boring". A lot of previous analysis of his character from t1 are still very much applicable to this day. He is still the man broken by Japanese collectivism. He is still very much the guy who feel like he needs to fit in to the point of breaking. Still the guy who was very dishonest about his true feelings. What y'all can't stand is that he is also not that oh so much more "intresting" silly funny guy who goes "hehe what do you mean a murderer you're so cruel warden-kun you wouldn't want too piss me off do you cause I could beat you with this bat! Not that I would actually do anything like that lololol *threatnening glare*", and never has been.

[ihatemyselfhoho]

Hi again yes could you know write a yandere Wukong and Macaque. The reader is from another world okay? They take inspired from oc and they only just want to go home though they actually leave everyone alone they know that this world was once fictional and well they just want to go home. Because who wouldn't? They don't want to be in this world and like they travel a lot get it? And they always use these papers though to write their spells on or more like weird symbols that have associations with different types of elements due to the fact they were trained by an ancient being. An old man named Edward get it? And the reader basically travels all over the world they want to go home but also they don't want to become the very thing they don't want to become and they just happen to run into them. The reader' always covers their face. And think of them traveling and they travel to many places to the point they document everything. In a notebook. They know how to fight they know how to fend for themselves they're actually kind and they smell like the fresh air of the forest or wood or sometimes rain because of where they travel. Their hair is actually pretty long and messy but somehow silky but it's actually very much nice to touch or braid and well yes they make their own things on their own. I hope this is enough information for you.

You were so close that they could almost touch your silky hair and breathe in the comforting scent that surrounded you. Yet, you were farther away than they realized—always chasing something or someone, endlessly crafting spells with those papers, and constantly hiding.

Wukong and Maqaque met you in different ways, but both encounters hold significant importance for them. Wukong first encountered you during the Journey to the West arc. After being scolded by his master, he stormed away to a glistening lake. You, on the other hand, were just traveling and searching for that elusive element—snow. It didn't snow much in your home region, so you decided to leave your master’s side in search of it.

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As you walked through the thick wooded trees, you glanced at your map. “Hmm, it’s further away than I thought... Did I pack enough water?” you grumbled, rubbing your forehead. You checked the map again, and to your pleasant surprise, a lake wasn’t too far along the path you were taking. Quickening your pace, you pulled out your flask and smiled when you spotted a clear lake. 'How pretty! It’s too bad I can’t stay in this world,' you thought, walking closer and crouching before the water.

- “Who are you?!” a male voice shouted. You quickly stood up to see Wukong?! His fur appeared darker than in the first season of Lego Monkie Kid and a bit more... messy. 'It's attractive in a way—wait! Wasn't in the whole Journey to the West story arc, Wukong shown to be a hotheaded murderer?'

Caught up in your ordeal, Wukong managed to sneak right up next to you, staff in hand. He tilted his head, his tail swaying in annoyance at your lack of attention.

"Hello? Are you here—why are you ignoring me!" Wukong leaned on his staff, giving you an annoyed glare. You flinched before catching yourself, unsure of how to respond.

"I am the great Wukong! The Monkey King, the Great Sage equal to Heaven! So don't you dare ignore me!" he shouted, his arms waving animatedly in your face.

As you continued to fix your hood, you caught sight of Wukong's expression, a mix of annoyance and hunger. "Ah-sorry...um, I'm just gathering water...don't mind me," you replied, trying to defuse the tension.

Just as you expected him to retort, his stomach let out a loud growl. "Ugh, now I'm hungry, great," he grumbled.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced in your mind, transporting you back to your world. You remembered your little brother, that pesky little guy who used to pester you incessantly for food. Just picturing his wide smile when he finally got what he wanted, with juice dribbling down his chin, made you chuckle.

You couldn't help but wonder if Wukong shared that same kind of innocence beneath his bravado. Did he have a softer side too, one that found joy in little things?

"I have some fruits in my bag, I'm more than willing to give you one," you said as you shuffled through your bag, pulling out a ripe peach. You held it out to him, but in the blink of an eye, Wukong snatched the peach from your hand. He took a big bite, and juice splattered across your face. For a handsome monkey man, he sure ate like an animal. You couldn't help but chuckle at the sight—his enthusiasm was unmistakably charming, even if it came with a bit of fruity mess!-

Wait... you shouldn't have even talked to this guy! Let alone get attached! You got caught up in memories and ended up treating him like a little brother!

"Ah— I must head along now, I have a long journey ahead of me!" you said, smiling nervously as you shuffled away. But then, a clawed hand grabbed your cloak.

"Hey, did I say you could go?" Wukong spoke, his voice more stern.

In a panic, you pulled out a spell—and poof! Smoke surrounded the area.

Wukong grunted, waving his staff around. "Woah!" He rubbed his eye before angrily shouting, "Hey! What was that for? Do you want me to pummel you into the ground—" But when his eyes cleared, they met nothing. You were gone.

A strange feeling weighed heavily in his heart. Could it be a disappointment for you to leave so suddenly? Or perhaps he already misses that rainy scent you carried with you?

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Macaque met you around his shadow shows. You had been dragged by your friend, who insisted, "His show is one of the best!" With that joyful smile on her face, you hesitantly followed along.

You settled into your seat, adjusting your mask and hood as your hair flowed out like water. Twirling a silky strand around your finger, you thought, 'I would have it up, but it gets too tangled at times…'

Suddenly, the lights went out, and your friend squealed beside you. "It’s starting!" she whispered, gripping your arm tightly.

As dim lights flickered on, shadows began to crawl toward the stage. A shadow brushed against your ankle, causing you to flinch, but the initial fear soon faded into a curious realization. Wasn't there a character in Lego Monkie Kid who used shadows? What was his name? It felt like ages since you immersed yourself in this world, and the details were starting to slip away…

But that thought slipped away as the shadows formed, creating a story as it danced around, and the man on the stage spoke, his voice itching your ears pleasantly. You start to feel drowsy, as your eyes are lulled to sleep; you don’t even catch your friend saying she’ll grab some snacks to go.

A voice tickles your ear. “Was my show that boring?” The man smirked, his hood covering his eyes. Quickly jolting awake, you scramble to collect yourself.

“Ah—no! It was amazing just—” Your eyes soften. “It was comforting in a way. I remember how my father used to do shadow play with me—sure, it wasn’t as advanced as this, but!” You smile softly. “It was nice recalling that memory…”

The man paused, seemingly flattered, before catching himself. "What's your name?" But before you could answer, your friend jumped by your side with a truckload of snacks in her hands. "Hey! Let's head back to my house and we can gorge ourselves on snacks—before you go do that mysterious stuff and disappear for weeks!" she pulled you along, almost dropping the snacks.

Macaque’s gaze darkened, how annoying. His ears listened to your heartbeat, slow yet strong. Macaque sighed, why was he acting so despondent? And why... why did he crave that rainy smell close to him once again?

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Wukong and Macaque think of those moments much, almost obsessively. How can one person, whose face is unknown, whose name is just a dream to hear, do so much on them? They can’t let you go so easily, not now, not ever.

Be careful on your journeys, and always make sure to double check the shadows, and question those colorful birds that watch you eagerly. You may never get back home if you don’t.

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(This ended up becoming a short story, then head cannons! Sorry...but I hope you at least like it!)

[suchawrathfullamb]

reconstructing the poorly constructed female characters in nbc hannibal. by lamb. do yours, too, I'd love to read it.

alana bloom: the unspoken annoyance of this character is that the protagonists like her, yet the writing fails to show the audience why (probably because the author assumed her appearance was enough reason given she's the most conventionally attractive woman on the show and it's not a coincidence she was chosen as "the girlfriend"). so make her likable and interesting ffs. what would attract will graham and hannibal lecter? not an average person, for sure.

so let's have her more quiet, mysterious, intriguing, give her strange and vague lines, make her seem like she knows more than she lets on.

I'd introduce her as a someone who is interested in profiling Will and does consider it, without fluff about wanting to be his friend. "yes, I would profile him...but I don't want to. seems like that would cost me more than I'm willing to pay. so thanks, but no thanks."

make her weary of him, not with the pathetic savior complex. it's the contradiction again...she's supposed to be smart, but the writing fails her, making her look stupid and clueless. so make her fucking smart. make her attracted to will but aware that there's something boiling beneath the surface. "you're hot but you freak me the fuck out."

some weird murderer of the week is being analyzed and she says "yeah I know all about that", hinting at her mysterious life and past. maybe she had a psycho for a father, maybe she was married to some crazy person.

make her useful to abigail, not the generic psychologist the poor girl could never truly open up to. "you only know love through the cold steel of a knife. be careful what abuse you confuse with care." make her a little bit more realistic? what sabe woman wouldn't question a middle aged man's fixation on adopting a 19 year old? idgaf if he was your fucking mentor or whatever girl, as a psychiatrist that's absurd behavior that she never even once asked H what was up or warned Abigail to be less open. "I know him, but he's a man and you are a girl, and that's honestly a bit inappropriate so please think about your choices." give the girl an actual option. "you don't need to spend the night at a man's house, a man you barely know, stay with me if you hate the hospital so much". cause like...why bother crying about her death on the car if you didn't try to help?

when she comes to will, make her less hesitant. have her own her attraction. "I'm gonna have sex with you but I can't date you". he would literally be like yes girl, ideal, thanks lol. why can't she fuck the guy she is attracted to without all this fluff? give her more emotional agency and autonomy. she could fuck him without it meaning anything, ffs she's a grown ass woman.

maybe he gets weird during sex and she's like damn I'm kinda into it. make her self aware (as a fucking psychiatrist) of her own crap. make her turned on by it, willing to explore it with agenct!! because they do that in canon but make her look like a clueless idiot which is contradictory.

also. her being "the female character who loses her emotional control" is so annoying and boring. she doesn't need to yell to showcase emotional reaction and sensitivity. "you are all so selfish and self centered you don't care about anything other than personal victory". call them out.

when will goes to prison, drop the savior complex ffs. "i knew there was something going on with him but fuck why am I even more attracted now that it's gotten worse?" make her fucking face her own fucked up patterns, they're supposed to like her for a reason right?

also. she should've suggested a threesome lol (an actual, intentional one). oh come on, she should've. stop playing the naive woman.

when she decided to date hannibal she should've at least been like. maybe if I get closer I can actually gather evidence to decide what I believe. maybe I'm smart enough to know not to trust men. maybe I have basic instincts and know that I should always keep my eyes open. maybe there's a reason this mf fits the profile.

and my god, if the point was to say "hannibal's soo good he manipulated even this smart woman", it failed dramatically because the writing does not depict her as smart. quite the opposite.

so make her weary, make her suspicious, make her follow him, snoop around his house, ask pertinent questions, have the idea of learning how to shoot on her own. if she's that smart.

and when all hell breaks loose make her smart enough to not go to his goddamn house alone??? or make her angry at least, give us a good fucking reason to get her there by herself. a moment of realization setting in and anger boiling up and she thinks of abigail, and she goes because fuck everything and everyone.

then idk man, make her actually attracted and interested in margot lol.

tagging moots in case they want to rant/hop in/get creative.

@charleemoon @patchouii @honeygrahambitch and whoever wants to.

[mixiury]

Character(s): Wanderer x GN Reader

Summary: Just him falling in love with you

A/N: Sorry for disappearing for two years, I actually forgot about this account XD. I had this on my drafts, so i thought of posting it while i cook something new. I also plan to come back to writing, so feel free to send me any requests :)

To live for centuries means to see people come and go, all of them different in small ways but overall the same when you see them in the big picture. As time goes by, everyone just becomes stains in the wall, amusing when they first appear, at least until the novelty turns boring and plain.

They are all going to be washed away by the time anyway. Why should he brother on finding out a meaning behind their existence if they never mean to stay?

That same mentality is one he has kept for many years, slowly losing interest in everyone who he crosses paths, only finding purpose in keeping around those who can be of use for him. But you? You are not useful at all. Actually, you are not even boring, like most of the other mortals he has met. No, you are straight annoying. Frustrating.

Frustrating your tone to speak; unable to hide his irritation every time he hears your voice, never afraid to say your thoughts aloud for others to listen and making it everyone's problem, echoing through the deepness of his mind as a haunting melody that he just can't seem to get rid of

Frustrating your sense of humor; the same one that makes him wonder if there is any braincells left inside that empty brain of yours, and the same one that causes so many pity laughs and smiles to those around you, wishing that he was the one hearing your jokes instead so he could tell you on the face how unfunny they are.

Frustrating your eyes; lighting up with enthusiasm everytime you talk about something you are passionate about. Blindly sharing that light and joy that only you are capable of creating with anyone interested, not even realizing how easily it can be extinguished if left within the reach of others.

Because it doesn't matter how many times he tries to come with a logical conclussion, Wanderer simply can't understand how someone so gullible and naive has survived until now; for everyone he knew who was fool enough to remain soft over the progression of time ended up murdered at the hands of the reality.

Everyone but you, apparently.

That's what he can't wrap his head around.

You, somehow, against all odds, have managed to stay true to yourself without letting others hands drown you and, at the same time, without falling into the cruelty of this world. Soft but steady. Sparkling but constant. Defying everything he knows and everything he believed to be an absolute truth, the puppet finds himself in an endless internal conflict over you.

You have took a shape and color in the wall of his life that he had yet to see.

It's stupid how complex humans can be. He could almost hear you laughing at him for not understanding somethingas basic as humanity. But you don't do it. You never do. And that makes it all more frustrating.

Unable to get the answers he search for, trying to guess your hand in this card game that you are not even aware you are playing. The different possibilities run through his mind as he attempts to figure out your next move, reading between the lines for any hints and hidden meanings.

Maybe it is all an act you are performing. Maybe there is more in the surface than he can see. Maybe you are hiding your true self behind a facede he has yet to uncover.

There has to be something. It must be.

However, all his conclusions quickly discarded the moment your hand lingers with his, just like a soft breeze in summer days, able of take away all his doubts with just one touch; strong enough to blew away each of the cards on the table, only for him to realize that there was never a winner in the first place, for it was never a competition but only a way to spend time with you.

And it's frustrating. It's frustrating how you can just tear down everything he took so many years to build; How all this time he spent analyzing your every move over and over was for nothing.

But somehow, now that he is in the other side of the conversation, listening to the same unfunny jokes he has heard before, instead of pointing out all their flaws as he once wished, everything on his mind is how he doesn't want you to ever stop speaking.

To think you are the only person able to shine like that. To make him feel like that.

[dailyreverie]

Snowbound

A/N: Kicking off the holidays with a cute snowy moment with Poe ☺️❄️ I hope you all enjoy this, and all the stories that are coming!

1. Ice skating

Pairing: Poe Dameron x reader

Word count: 1.1K

Holiday prompts ⛄

You walked for what felt like ages, until you could swear your joints were frozen from your feet being buried under snow for so long. But Poe wouldn’t hear your complaints, dismissing them with his usual confident smile swearing you were close to the town you were supposed to reach for supplies.

���Remind me again, why you landed so far?” You complained as he helped you jump down a snow-covered rock. 

“This place is basically hidden under the trees. Besides, the last time I came here the weather was nothing like this, I was able to land closer.” Poe defended himself and his ‘no more than a 15-minute walk’ promise he gave before you left. Your landed right in front of him after you jumped, meeting eye-to-eye with him, his hand not leaving yours in the process not letting you slip onto the cold ground; still, you glared at him. “Don’t hold it against me.” He tried one last time.

“I won’t be able to if I freeze to death.” Ever the gentleman, Poe lifted your hand to his lips and gently kissed your knuckles. “Don’t try to charm me, flyboy.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” In between his rosy cheeks, hidden under the hood of his puffy jacket, you saw that cheeky sparkle in his eyes that you’ve always loved.

“You better,” after a playful push of his shoulder, you kept on walking your never-ending trail of snow.

“I promise we are close now, and we’ll stay the night in the coziest inn I can find.” Your chuckle told him everything he needed: you were not mad, you were just cold. “We only need to reach the lake, surround it, and we’ll be no more than 5 minutes away.”

“And are you sure we are not lost? If there’s a lake nearby we should at least be able to see it, and no offense honey but- woah!” The next step you took made your foot slip, almost making you fall backward if it weren’t for Poe’s hands catching your back. “What the hell?!”

With cautious feet, Poe stepped and slid his foot on the ground. “This is the lake.”

As you and Poe stood there, recovering from the unexpected slip on the ice, the sudden appearance of BB-8 added a new layer of chaos to the situation. Poe's attempt to warn the droid about the icy surface was cut short as BB-8 rushed past you both, completely unprepared for the slippery terrain. “BB, watch out! Everything in front of us is-” Poe’s words died in his throat as the droid rolled past you, not slowing down a bit and clearly not expecting to slide around the ice. The droid began to let out high-pitched beeps, screaming in surprise into the cold air. The scene in front of you sent you both into a fit of laughter as the droid kept spinning around, doubling in laughter as BB tried (and failed) to stop his round body from whirling on the ice.

In the midst of it all, Poe found your hand, warmth meeting cold, and he pulled you onto the icy surface with mischievous intent. “Hey! What do you think you are doing?”

“Come on, let’s join Beebs.” His eyebrows did a swift up and down motion, almost convincing you. 

“No way, Poe! I’m not planning on breaking a leg!” You protested as he kept pulling, and much to your dismay, he managed to successfully pull you into the ice. “KRIFF, POE!” You exclaimed between laughter as you slid, Poe’s hands on your waist steading you as he pulled you, sliding himself backward not to miss any expression on your face.

As you reluctantly found yourself on the icy surface of the lake, Poe flashed you one of his famously mischievous grins. “Why do you look like you are about to murder me?”

You stared at him standing still as a rock, not risking moving and dramatically falling on your bottom. “Because I just might do it.” If it weren’t for the tremble on your legs, Poe would’ve been sure of your threat. It didn’t help you, though, that the second you tried to move away from him your feet began to wobble on the icy surface. Poe was quick to steady you with firm hands on your hips, but that didn’t stop him from erupting in laughter, loudly and with his head thrown back, his melodic laughs echoing around the snow-covered trees that framed the lake. “I will kill you, Dameron!”

“Come on, sweetheart! It’s not that hard,” Poe expertly slid to stand behind you, his chest against your back and his grip still tight on your waist; you knew that whatever happened next, he was not gonna let you fall. “One foot in front of the other, just like walking.” He encouraged you, pushing you softly as your feet began to move.

With Poe's guidance, you reluctantly began to take cautious steps on the ice, trying your best to maintain your balance. His warm presence behind you and the reassurance in his voice eased some of your tension, and soon he let you go and stood still to watch you gracefully slide across the ice.

“Told you! You are a natural!” Poe cheered, followed by a few beeps from BB who had finally managed to slow down to a soft spin. “You did not do it better, bud, you couldn’t even stop.”

“I’m way better than you, BB!” You couldn't help but smile at Poe’s infectious enthusiasm, and soon enough, you found yourself actually enjoying the unexpected detour from the mission. You couldn’t seem to remember the cold, your hurting joints, and the mountains of snow, right then, the only thing on your mind was enjoying this little moment Poe created out of nowhere for the two of you.

Poe joined you soon after, skating quickly to catch you by surprise. His hands landed on your hips as you squealed, even more so when he pushed you across the ice to test your abilities. “Oh, you’re in for it, Dameron!” you declared, a mischievous glint in your eyes as you skated back to him, challenging him to a race.

“The winner can have the shower first.” Poe grinned, the twinkle in his eyes matching the snowy landscape around you. 

“Or…” You stood dangerously close to him, your noses almost touching. “If I win, you won’t get to shower with me.” Poe’s eyes widened, he was sure your sultry tone alone would be enough to melt the ice - if he didn’t melted before. Before he knew it you were skating away, laughing at his shocked face.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Poe caught you and twirled you around on the ice, your laughter mingling with his as you both ran away from each other. The worries of the mission, the biting cold, and the challenges of the journey melted away; you always wondered how Poe did it, how he could make you forget everything that was wrong with such simple things. Turns out, his only mission these days was to see you smile.

🚀❄️⛄🚀❄️⛄🚀❄️⛄🚀❄️⛄🚀❄️⛄🚀❄️⛄🚀

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it!

[lauren-no-why]

@selfchiller your poor account but I love that this workaround always works!

I'll direct you to the birds one I just did (it's birds of prey, not all birds, but I do have to get work done eventually today and to be honest these are still basically my top 5 birds anyway).

So! Top 5 LH tracks! Oh man. Well, you all know my biases by now.

Ancient Names (both parts, because they go together, but part 1 if I'm forced to separate them). This is the song I credit with me actually being part of the fandom here. I had heard all of Strange Trails before I heard Vide Noir, and I liked Strange Trails well enough, but the implications of dark ancient horror mysteries in this song along with the rock (it just sounds so damn good, Miguel's bassline holy shit) is what made me stick around and start asking questions about what exactly was going on in this music. I don't think there's anything else like it but if anyone else knows of cosmic horror jams like this one please let me know.

Until The Night Turns. I have so many thoughts about this song I wrote a whole fic about them. For whatever reason it's super rare to find other people who count this song among their top favorites, but I love it so much. Again, great little rock tune, but it does SO MUCH to give us worldbuilding and characterization. Poor Johnnie tripping so hard he sees his own end coming and wants to just party while he's still alive anyway? I mean, come on. That's so good.

Way Out There. What? It's not a Phantom Riders track?? No I love that this and Yawning Grave are included as Traditional rather than being given an artist - that alone tells us so much about this world, that these are the sorts of old tunes that are so well-loved they've been passed down long enough for the original writers to have been forgotten. And this song in particular appeals to me for my love of the mysteries and the unknown, and the desire to explore as much as I can while I have the time. Plus, it has Miguel on theremin and that automatically makes it a top tier tune.

Vide Noir. I am SUCH a sucker for a dark tragedy, that's consistently a thing I love in fiction, and this song for sure exemplifies it. Presumably this is written in honor of Johnnie, and I just can't fathom what Dale goes through when learning not just that he died but how it happened and then writing a song like this in response. It's utterly heartbreaking and gorgeous. The AFWP version is extra trippy and haunting at the same time. This one is the real tragedy to me that closes out the album - I love you too, Emerald Star, I love you a lot, but Buck's failure is not quite as sad to me as the memorial to a kid lost too soon to murder via overdose.

Lonesome Dreams. Spectacular title track and another one that seems like it gets overlooked a lot. Huron is such an interesting character to me, and his realization here that he has been to the land of the dead before and will return again is so fascinating to me. This is where I realized that this album has something more going on in it than it appears to have on the surface - this isn't just the story of some explorer in the midwest setting off for adventure, but rather that there's some kind of haunting personal cycle he's going through where life and death may both be temporary states and that he possibly can retain memories from one cycle to the next.

[confused-rat]

I seen you bring up Lily's Siege of Canterlot and if I remember correctly it's also a rewrite/ fan fiction of a fanfiction/fan comic. I think the original was called the Fall of Equestria (note: Lily I don't think had anything to do with the OG Fall of Equestria comic/ fanfiction she just really hated it but she said she saw potential in the ideas the AU presents). From what I can vaguely remember Fall of Equestria was about these Menatars who take over Equestria. They are a very patriarchal society so the Menatars make every female at the complete mercy of all males. And because it was a fanfiction from I think 2013 if not possibly earlier this back drop is just used to make NSFW content usually noncon in nature. I don't remember if in the OG FoE series it was all unicorns but all the princess have their horns broken off and they are made the personal "toys" to the head Menatars and are "mental broken" so much that the princesses grow to love their new "role". I don't remember much else as I only remember being aware of the series because of Lily actually. I remember being a fan of her when I was teenager and she brought up her new story (at the time) was a rewrite of the Fall of Equestria story. So I went snooping into what Fall of Equestria even was and found a lot of graphic comic panels linked to the story but I also found a bunch of stories all written by different authors that were tagged Fall of Equestria on Fimfiction and all took place the same universe. I even remember stumbling apron a few tumbler ask pages that took place in the FoE universe. Thought most appeared to be from the same artist so it probably wasn't multiple ask blogs for the story/ AU. Thought I don't remember her liking the Fall of Equestria AU/ whatever you want to call it. Or her framing it as a good thing at the time if that's worth anything. I hope this helps if you are trying to find context to her stories/actions.

Oh yeah, on the fanfics Lily originally posted to FiMfiction, she had this little warning posted.

The Siege of Canterlot basically took the plot of Fall of Equestria, but added in the Val’Kyr as an opposing force that came in four years later to stop the Menatars-equivalent (the Caribou). 

On the surface that might sound fine, rewriting a gross series to where the rapists get the shit beat out of them—but this is Lily Orchard, and she had to add in disgusting shit like: male characters who played along with the rule to “protect some ponies” getting praised for brutally assaulting them, a literal baby getting murdered because her parents were traitors, the ponies brainwashed into liking their assault being “mercy-killed” with zero thought or effort put into trying to HELP THEM?, and worst of all in my opinion-

Adding a real, actual fifteen year old girl’s ponysona into the story and making it canon that she was raped and assaulted for years by her friend (AND OH GEE, I WONDER WHO THAT WAS).

[imagionationstation]

I know you said you hadn’t watched much of the ‘03 series, but do you know about the SAINW arc? I imagine most people in fandom have regardless of their preferred era at this point lol.

If so, what are your thoughts on a ‘12 Donnie SAINW arc and how would he react when he got home?

YOU- gave this Ask to me forever ago.

I WROTE SOMETHING FOR IT. IT WAS REALLY LONG.

And Tumblr deleted it. I was a very angry human.

And when I get upset I ignore things until I get better. So I ignored your Ask until I forgot. But!! The recent shorts that I’ve been working on reminded me of this and so now I’m back to procrastinate them.

…I mean to fulfill my duties :)

(WHAT DOES TUMBLR HAVE AGAINST MY RANTS-)

Ahemmmm

I have as of this moment seen all of the ‘03 series! One binge to satisfy all my curiosities. But do not question me on things!!

I was very confused. A lot. During the series.

This binge was a long while ago. It happened, but the ‘03 boys didn’t really stick to me. I was all for Donny until the Nano episode where he tried to commit murder and I just couldn’t come back from that. /jk

*sniffles* Nano was just a little guy….

Anyhow~

Yes! I have seen the SAINW arc and I have many thoughts about one for the 2012 bois and how it would all work.

As I do not have time to explain everything, we’re going to do a summary with additional Wattpad screenshots for emphasis.

NOW THEN

The first question would need to be how does Donnie end up in another dimension/timeline?

Kraang. It’s always the KRAANG

Them and their dimensional abilities always getting in the way.

Donnie finds a mysterious device and takes it despite everyone telling him not to play with shiny things. Then he ends up having a very dramatic argument with his family. He locks himself in his lab, plays with the device in a heat of fury, and accidentally turns it on!

It explodes with light and knocks him unconscious.

And when he wakes up, he’s alone!

He’s alone and the lair’s been ransacked! He takes it well.

Well, since there’s no one in the lair- guess he’s going on a trip to find them! Only he leaves the sewers, and the surface is not much better. Crumbling buildings, demolished cars, no humans- is that a crystal tree- AND WHAT HORRIFIC CREATURE IS THAT-

He does not like the new decor. Or the Kraang army that spots him.

But he’s saved! By Mikey! Only he’s- um.

Not very happy to see him.

Mikey tries to leave. Donnie takes that well too.

But then it turns out Donnie’s a- teen?? And they’re quadruplets. Even Mikey knows that he shouldn’t be a child anymore. So Donnie tells him what happened! Mikey’s tune changes drastically at the news. Mostly because he’s helping protect the resistance and he can’t in good conscious abandon a scared kid on the streets.

So Mikey has no choice but to bring this needy child home with him to present to the resistance head of security!

Like everything else, that goes so well.

But Leo does not chop off his head, so it’s going better than anyone expected. Explanations are given, confusion is expressed by all parties, April appears somewhere in there and announces that Donnie is not a pathological liar, and Donnie wants his Raphie :(

So they send someone out to find him.

Yay! Raphie!

Oh no! They’re playing an intense round of “who can stab who first”!!

Turns out a Kraang-pocalypse is not good for family bonding. And this is basically how every interaction between them goes. With the current track record, you think Donnie wouldn’t be surprised, but he is. He reveals himself to prevent a blind man’s death.

And considering this is Raph, he’s ready for the worst.

Plot twist!! Raph is a weak pathetic softie so no one dies

Who would have guessed.

But yay! Group’s back together!

Things can only get better, right?

Right???

Well shoot. His brothers aren’t actually all that helpful.

So it all falls to Donnie to figure this out on his own.

And he does it without dwelling on the trauma around him as he tries to help the rebellion and without sinking into a depression about his uselessness, and definitely gets a solid amount of sleep every night without working relentlessly to fix literally everything.

And his brothers totally appreciate it. And don’t argue about literally everything and anything every time they’re in a room together.

And that stuff that never happens doesn’t weight heavily on him at all. Not in the slightest. He handles their blame games with maturity.

So anyway they get tired of his drama and emotional manipulation (oooooo, he’s just a baby! We’re mad at an innocent baby!!) and decide to help him (there are hugs, yes) do what he needs to do.

And we ALL know how that episode ends.

But Donnie manages to stay alive! And he goes home!!

The lair is intact but empty! And he reacts like anyone else would!

Only he didn’t bother to actually check anywhere and it turns out that Splinter was vibing in the dojo and heard his mental breakdown.

Embarrassing~

And the 1st story would end there.

The SECOND story (unwritten) would begin with Donnie now drinking tea. He’s comprehending that Splinter’s still alive- did I mention he was dead? Wait, it’s in a screenshot- and listening to him on the cheesephone, trying to convince himself that his brothers are simply out searching from him, just like they did when he went missing that fateful day in the alternate dimension.

Donnie can barely contain the urge to bolt and check.

The brothers come back, try to scold him for disappearing, but he’s too focused on how normal they look to care about how petty they’re being. Mikey, the only one who seems to notice that he’s one wrong word away from bawling, asks him what’s wrong.

That is, in fact, three very wrong words.

So now they have to deal with a blubbering brother who won’t stop apologizing without specifying why, whimpering about how they still have eyes and limbs (???), and practically has a heart attack when an uncomfy Raph tries to excuse himself from the situation.

And then they getting a closer look and- hold up- did he always have those scars? And bruises? And he was not that thin yesterday, was he? Jeez, why did he look like he hadn’t slept in days?

All good questions that their very unsound of mind brother can’t answer between pathetic sobs and desperate keens.

Needless to say, he has some serious separation anxiety for a long while. He keeps double-checking his reality, touching Mikey’s arm and looking for Kraang bots, and mentioning people that they’ve never heard of (who the heck is Mondo?). Not to mention how weird he is about the lair’s security and food rationing now.

Also there’s an impending invasion so he begins working nonstop, insisting that he can’t stop because he knows what happens when he’s not around to do what needs to be done, and then panicking when his brothers try to argue with him. (There’s a possible future where his brothers think the worst of him. Could they think that here? Could they be thinking it now? Do they hate him?)

Nothing he does feels right. Everything that happens seems wrong.

It takes a solid few chapters for him to learn to cope with this. The invasion doesn’t take place over the course of the story. It would probably be more of an epilogue (?) or OneShot (?).

So anyway. He probably has plenty of similar attributes, fears, and paranoias as 2003Donnie (at least in fanfiction).

Kinda wish I finished this. Ah, well.

[aalinaaaaaa]

LADY OF THE MURDER — Claudia Emar

Basics

Name: Claudia Emar

Age: 303

Gender: Female

Type of Being: Fae (crow-shifter)

Nationality: Feudranian

Ethnicity: Feudranian

Magical Abilities:

Shapeshifting — Her main ability is to shift in or out of crow form, a humble rook. But over the years, she’s branched out a bit, becoming able to shift between two modes of height (the one before and after her inheritance of the Mark), alter the size of her crow form as well as some minor alterations (such as masking the scar on the left side of her face). She’s deliberate with her usage of it, often doing it after stopping/landing on a suitable surface.

A side note, the appearance of Eshani into the fray gives her a bit of insecurity over her own abilities, because Eshani can shift into literally anything, in addition to having other powers on top of that.

Occupation: High Councillor

Role: Antagonist

Personality

A general description of who she is: Claudia exudes a cool sort of aura, coming across as rather grounded, but quick to snap if one angers her.

She has a code she abides by, but determining what it is defies many. If one earns her approval, they will have a truly powerful ally by their side, on account of the loyalty she offers to those she deems worthy of it.

But if one was to offend her, then anything could happen. At her side is a murder of crows whose numbers are in the thousands, scattered all across Morilaste and North Helinda especially. The extent of her espionage and manipulation has resurrected Helinda’s negative view of crows, and made even her fellow High Councillors wary to keep in line with her. She attempts to pull their strings, so they cannot pull hers.

That being said, she offers a lot to her court, and to Morilaste as a whole. The crows in her manor express their gratitude for giving them safety and solace, especially from predators. Her fellows also benefit from her crows and their activities, in addition to her house wine gaining infamy and her efforts contributing to a promising trade link between their court and Feudrain.

Beneath her hard shell, is a softer side she doesn’t show to many. There are certain people in her life she deeply cares about, and she’ll do anything for them. It’s her heartbreak over her sister’s death and a deep motivation to solve the mystery surrounding the swans plaguing her hometown that got her here, after all.

—

Traits: loyal, dutiful, determined, manipulative, intimidating, vengeful, ruthless

Likes: the crows (especially her close cadre, but she cares for her murder all the same), wine (especially her blood wine, but some of South Helinda’s lot suits her too), flying, the moments when she doesn’t have to deal with people (or at least, anyone that’s not Petrius)

Dislikes: certain Helindian nobles (*chough* Desemir *chough*), swans, beer, indecisive people, seeing Petrius get injured, being put on the back foot

Way of Speaking: her words are deceptively straight-forward, making her seem as if an open book. However, much of what she says is either a direct order, or something said to stir fear, a reaction or something else that she wants. The things she doesn’t say are almost unsaid entirely, not even in subtext. Her actions speak louder than her dialogue

Clothing Style: her signature item is her cloak, made of the preserved feathers of crows who died. Otherwise, her wardrobe consists of lots of items in burgundy, black, light/dark gray, with some silver accessories (usually rings, or the tips of her talon chains). Many of her clothes are simple, due to her deeming her cloak to be the standout piece. But also, the simplicity comes in handy when sparring or hunting (in relation to the former, it’s usually that she partakes in it during her guards’ training, they consider an honour/privilege, she finds it useful for improving her own skills)

Habits: using ‘then’ as a full stop, plucking Charimone up if she’s in hiding nearby, banging on a surface to get people’s attention, drinking wine when she’s angry (she won’t drink herself into a stupor, but she will have a glass or two), leaning over tables during arguments/when she’s trying to get what she wants

Fears: losing Petrius/otherwise not having him in her life, losing the respect of her crows, getting accosted for what she’s done in the past,

Hobbies: flying (especially out-of-bounds, on a rest day she’ll sometimes go to one of the Helindian towns south of Morilaste and observe what the residents are up to, and may even pull a trick or two), sparring, swimming, hunting, playing the harp (reminds her of her sister)

Pets: she doesn’t really have any

Relationships

Petrius "The Bloodcarver": Her close friend, and also her Second. She trusts him with her life, and then some, one of her great fears being of him getting harmed in some way. Or leaving for good. The two of them have shared centuries’ worth of memories with each other, for better or worse, their first loyalty being the other. Even after the various conflicts and hardships of their occupation, she could never imagine a life without him. To others, it seems to be just a High Councillor and her Second (or a couple in denial/secret according to the more salaciously inclined), but when alone, that’s where the jokes, messing and warmer moments come into play.

Najsha Varesh: One of her fellow High Councillors, their relationship is a bit more straightforward than some of the other ones, a rapport forged over a love of gossip and hating on Affril. If nothing else, the lighthearted tone is a distraction from ulterior motives

Desemir Eschredaine: The High Minister of Helinda, and also a man she despises, for she sees him as weak-willed and easily swayed. She gladly takes advantage of it, but almost feels sorry for the Helindian people. That being said, she enjoys poking and prodding at him, both verbally and in terms of her having his daughter. She only wishes she could let her crows prank him, but the political risk is too great. So interpersonal rivalry it is, then.

Eshani Faison: The latest entrant of the seven High Councillors, with whom things are complicated. Claudia holds her in high regard, for both the way she manages things and the skills she has that Claudia doesn’t. That being said, Eshani also makes her secretly insecure because she does not nearly have the same amount of magical power/abilities that she has. Furthermore, Eshani’s taller than her as well! (And not by a small amount either). She’s one of the last people Claudia would want to make an enemy of, yet she can’t bring herself to fully trust her. Not with the way Eshani treats secrets like currency, anyway.

Charimone Eschredaine: The daughter of Helinda’s High Minister, and also Claudia’s prised pawn. From the day the girl literally fell into her hands, she saw potential in her, and took interest in trying to mould her into that. But she knows she has a double-edged sword on her hands, for she can’t afford for Charimone to be harmed in case of the girl’s father retaliating.

Appearance

The first thing people notice (after her cloak) is her striking dark crimson hair and light gray eyes that seem to be picking for weaknesses.

Each step in her stride has a purpose, deliberately calculated, like every word, every glance, every move of her hands. Her shifts between forms are after a pause, with exception to some movements during fights (though it’s often Petrius that brings out a more unpredictable streak in her, to counter his constant shifting).

Either way, all eyes fall on her. Her expression, though seemingly neutral, is enough to spark a degree of wariness in people, let alone say the rest of her demeanour. In certain situations, she’ll take advantage of her full stature to scare and intimidate people, and remind them of their place in the pecking order.

Beneath the façade, her build is lean but slightly toned, a complement to the subtle sharpness of her face. It is almost an oddity to see her in casual attire, for she is usually found in either formal wear or something practical.

But, despite her being a magnet for assassination attempts, she’ll still wear a backless dress by times, as a taunt to anyone who dares to try her.

Features in:

Stories and Snippets

She’s an antagonist in A Healing for the Birds!

Fading Swansong

Don’t Lose Feathers Over It

Stab in the Dark

A Thesis in Bloodlust

Control

A Dance With Death

A Sacrifice Made Twice

A Broken Seal

No Good Choices

A Lesson in Observation

Beyond These Branches

Divine Ransom

A Pawn for a Greater Cause

Tainted Orchestrations

Monsters and Their Pawns

Tag Games

The Height Comparison tag for the main cast of A Healing for the Birds

WIP Wednesday (a snippet of Chapter Two of A Healing for the Birds)

Character Voice Tag (“Do your worst”/”Fight me”)

OC in Fifteen

Ask Games

If Claudia wrote Yelp reviews

An ask on Claudia’s dynamic with Desemir

The lie Claudia believes about the world

More character asks (preferred weapon/way she moves)

An out-of-context line she said (with another question)

A deleted scene of hers (an alternate response to Flash Friday #297. Like a Weed)

An ask relating to how her relationship with Petrius may/may not be perceived

A summary of how she got her hands on Charimone

If she had a particular scent

Other:

Art of her (courtesy of @/houndsofcorduff)

Her usual style of manipulating people

The High Councillors of Morilast

—

*chough, see what I did there? Lololol

(A chough is a type of crow, found in places such as West Cork, Ireland)

Anyway, I'll be tagging the taglists for General and A Healing for the Birds for this (ask/comment/reblog, etc if you'd like to be added or subtracted): @mr-orion @the-ellia-west @guessillcallitart-deactivated20 @thereadingfoz @glassstardust22124 @original-writing @honeybewrites @ashirisu @drowsy-quill @oliolioxenfreewrites @theglitchywriterboi @outpost51 @outpost51 @seastarblue @gioiaalbanoart @rae-butter @corinneglass @thelaughingstag @oros-ash3s @jacqueswriteblrlibrary @rainbowsnowflake @fourwingedwriter @oddcryptidwrites @ark-inkweaving @bardic-tales @agirlandherquill (plus @houndsofcorduff , you might like this post 👀)

[glumet-shadow]

Do yall want lore on steroids? Where there is no true 'evil'. Cause i have a story of chaos that is basically lore on steroids most times!(its where i get my ocs)

Tw:basically every trigger warning you can think of for the most part. Its a story of sin what did you expect

Yall prepare for hours of lore(7 hour vod in depth 2 hour scratching the surface with some detail. 15 minutes with hilarious very skimmed down summaries)

Last chance to back out(anyone under 18 do not read venomania! It is a trap you do not want to fall into it! There are things children do not need to see in venomania!)

This is also where my silver theory came from.

Again. Anyone under 18 do not read venomania. There is a reason i said basically any trigger warning because it all appears at some point!

People who get scared, conchita's arcs are gorey and discuss disturbing topics!!

Fifth pierrot contains a lot of child things(like bad things) i would avoid if you dont like a kid with a knife.

Just, if yall want a version of twst where everyone is crazy and stuff this is a good read. Just be aware of all the bad things these people do.

Notable warning:Venomania(he is a warning of himself), child abandonment twice, murder(too many counts), torture, guns, crazy twins, people eating stuff they shouldnt(in short its, spiders, all kinds of things, and live things. Yes im being vague on purpose because id avoid conchita at all costs), just crap ton of gore if you look at conchita stuff, dead things, and just do not look into the crap between adam and eve or gallarien and ma, you will get an aneurysm when you see the stuff.

This is not all of it.

Chronologically daughter of evil(everything on graph before venomania) is after conchita and the OSS series is set before venomania.

Just dont blame me for trauma.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

91. They Bill You Double for Dying

When I feel uncertain and anxious and then I see that people saw my stuff I feel much better immediately <3 <3

Because VALIDATION, my life force/jk

I'm happy to inform that ALL OF THE BOOK 1 CHARACTERS ARE DESIGNED

That's 68 characters total, from my very first Murdle drawing of Aureolin back in May to the Crystal Goddess, who was just finished yesterday.

On another note the Crystal Goddess is now my least favorite design and I find her worse than Sir Rulean. Fletch colored her but I drew this monstrosity and uh you have been warned.

Nuh

Why is she another fish woman

Why are there so many of those

My original idea in my head actually was a lot less horrifying but Fletch insisted that she needed these creepy lips and NSJFSDCKSDN I hate her :'D KAY AT LEAST SHE'S NOT IN THIS EPISODE MOVING ON

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

Logico needs to do something he does not want to do.

He has to drive.

LOGICO: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOT ANOTHER CAR!!! [mature sobbing]

He has to go to a new law firm, because he HAS to get out of this stupid contract. No more fucking around in Hollywood with his stupid boss and his stupid film crew - he’s not even PARTICIPATING in the movie. When he gets there (and kicks his rental car like a man), he sees the lobby, which is the size of an entire grocery store. That’s just the LOBBY!

LOGICO: Hahahaha, I can’t afford this. ???: LOOK MURDER! LOGICO: Fuck

Blaxton and Argyle followed him to the place!

LOGICO: WHAT DO YOU WANT?? BLAXTON: We knew you knew things, and we wanted them!! ARGYLE: Ay we want yer money.

Blackstone and Pine are also there.

PINE: [snort] Haven’t seen YOU in a while. BLAXTON: AND I JUST WANT TO FUCKING SIGN MY LIFE AWAY!!! LOGICO: All RIGHT, you already spoke.

BLAXTON: Get out of my life, I’m going to go drink coffee with that hot girl!!! I mean drink hot coffee, with the room-temperature girl - YOU UNDERSTAND!!!

Logi, fed up with the puppet man, gets statements.

PINE: Judicially, whoever had the antique- LOGICO: NO! Stop. Retry, but WITHOUT the character-relevant prefix. BLACKSTONE: I-I’ll give you my statement now and my bill later. LOGICO: Ohoho I am not paying you. BLACKSTONE: I’M SORRY MAN!! I’m just… I’m freaking out! Something just doesn’t feel right. I need… money??  LOGICO: Relax. It’s probably because this building is larger than is physically possible on the land surface available. 

Logi gets a really blunt email from Irratino and blushes anyway, because even his most basic words float like whipped cream.

LOGICO: [weird giggling]

But he figures out the truth!

LOGICO: AGENT ARGYLE! You weren’t following me, I was following you! You were here before I was, and you killed that random person! ARGYLE: HISSSSS!!! It wan’t a ‘RANDOM PERSON’! It was a LAWYER! I wanted another percentage point of a mutual client’s revenue. He disagreed. We negotiated, and long story short, he died. Is THAT A CRIME, YOU LITTLE BUSHHUGGER? PINE: [at a computer] You know what is a crime? I just sold your house on Zillow. ARGYLE: WHAT?!? PINE: Serves you right. You just got JUDGED!!! BLAXTON: WHAT JUDGED?? WHAT’S HAPPENING?!?!? BLACKSTONE: STOP… SCREAMING, YOU LITTLE PUPPET MAN!!

Blackstone tackles the puppet and fights with it stupidly. 

ARGYLE: I didn’t think my empty heart could feel depression, until I saw THAT.

The marshmallow man finally manages to rip the little blue guy from his roots. The ‘real’ Hack Blaxton appears to be… a clone of Blackstone? Wait a minute!

LOGICO: He murdered you! BLACKSTONE: I murdered you! How… how??? BLAXTON: I… I… 

The red-tied doppelganger picks himself off the ground.

BLAXTON: I didn’t really die. You were so controlling, so demanding, all the time… the only way I could get away from you was to pretend that you killed me. I just didn’t want to see you again. BLACKSTONE: Hacker… you… really felt like that? I… I don’t want you to think of me like that, I really thought… we were a good team… BLAXTON: I work here now, in Hollywood. I write movies. It’s… what I really want to do. BLACKSTONE: …It’s okay, man. I’m sorry I ever scared you off. I just… I can’t believe you’re alive. I…

They hug and cry. Pine clutches her heart. Logico does a long, withering sigh of confusion. 

LOGICO: I hate this contract… I want to die… why can’t lawyers… why can’t anyone… [LE GASP!!] WAIT! I know who can get me out of ANYTHING! 

He giggles and runs away like a penguin, with an idea in his circular head.

The end!

Yeah Hack Blaxton actually looks exactly like his twin bro, just shorter, with slightly different hair, and a red tie.

Some of the dumbest 'new lore' to come out of the cartoon! ...As if the puppet wasn't already problematic

But with all the designs finished, that means I can start book 2 as soon as the final episodes are published <3

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - VARIOUS (BUBSY)

[Image ID: Two screenshots of the wasp from Bubsy In Fractured Furry Tales /End IDs.]

Yep, you read that right, we're covering this bobcat bastard today, or at least, some of his adversaries. This may be a short one though, just a quick, mostly-visual analysis because, understandably, people aren't exactly out here doing a whole lot to document Bubsy enemies. Regardless, we do still have a few different bugs we can have a look at here!

Starting with what we've already seen here, the first wasp in this franchise, the one from Fractured Furry Tales! And honestly? It has that Bubsy stink on it but it looks mostly alright. Obviously, the head is inaccurate, the cone "nose", the teeth, and mammalian eyes are all absolutely wrong, and I have to say, the mid-gameplay sprite makes the presence of antennae unclear. But otherwise, in the above screenshot on the left, we can clearly see that this is based on some form of black and yellow species within the genus Polistes, possibly Polistes dominula, although the markings are not quite right, especially around the mesosoma. The leg count is right, although, the wing count is unclear (it looks like they only have two). The antennae are clearly present here, and they look alright apart from the color. They seem fairly straight apart from the "elbow" bend around the pedicel, which would be about accurate for a female paper wasp, which, surely this wasp would have to be, given the presence of a stinger.

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, Charles J. Sharp | Image ID: A photo of a black and yellow European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, on a grey stone surface /End ID.]

One thing that I can take note of that's not more on the visual side of things is that these enemies seem to attack with extreme prejudice regardless of the presence of a hive as well as doing so without provocation, this is strange, as wasps will only attack when provoked or if alarmed in defense of the hive. Although I suppose one could say that the presence of Bubsy The Bobcat in their vicinity is enough provocation for anyone to get murderous (As evidenced by the behind the scenes stories of Bubsy's development). Speaking of their murderous intent, venom from a single wasp would not be enough to kill a cat, however, given that these wasps appear to be roughly two feet in length, assuming Bubsy is a similar size to a real bobcat, it may be possible that the dose administered by these giant Vespids would be enough to grievously injure the iconically beloathed platforming mascot.

However, these aren't the only Hymenopterans Bubsy has to deal with! Enter, first, the least documented enemy here, the Hornets from the critically just ok 2019 platformer Bubsy: Paws on Fire!

[Image ID: An image of the Hornets from Bubsy: Paws On Fire! /End ID.]

... Yeah this is the only image I can really find of them. Still, we can see these enemies only really have a basic resemblance to real hornets, with an almost reptilian head-shape (Gex, is that you?) with teeth, too-bright solid colors with no real markings to speak of, once again an alright pair of antennae (although not long enough), heads that are too big, red eyes with no ocelli, only two wings as opposed to the four they should have, and only four completely unsegmented legs. Things are not looking good for this depiction, it's almost funny (Providing humor, in a first for the Bubsy franchise).

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, Yasunori Koide | Image ID: An image of a black and orange Asian giant hornet on a white background /End ID.]

Well, we do have one more, from Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back! It's a bee this time. Although this one doesn't seem to have been specifically made for this game, it's allegedly an unused asset from Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams! Let's just have a look here an-

[Image ID: A render of the bee model from Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back /End ID.]

OH, GOD... Well, I do believe this one speaks for itself. If this review was just about this affront to nature of then we'd probably be looking at an automatic 0/10, however, the other foes faced by this fearsome feline shown here do a little bit of work to make up for it, although not enough to cleanse my soul of having witnessed it, so, with that said-

-

Overall: 4/10

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

[s-talking]

while i do often say that envy falls under the ' yandere ' trope, seeing how it's a more broad & generally popular term to describe someone with excessively possessive / murderous tendencies linked to their warped outlook on love, that's actually not quite right in regards to him. since you've kindly asked, i'll do my best to delve deeper into what envy actually is. now let us start from the basics, a short summary of what the trope stands for.

THE YANDERE: a common archetype defined by an intense & obsessive love that often escalates into possessiveness, jealousy, & violence. while the yandere characters may appear sweet & devoted on the surface, they may go to extreme lengths ── such as stalking, manipulation, or even murder ── to protect or monopolize the person they adore. their emotional instability typically arises from fear of rejection or abandonment, & their actions, though often irrational or terrifying, are driven by a warped sense of affection. yandere characters are frequently dramatic & shocking, used to explore the darker sides of romance in fictional settings.

while envy does indeed harbour some of these aspects, i'm sure you've also just tilted your head at the keywords such as ' sweet ' & ' afraid, ' because you are right, those don't apply to him whatsoever. envy isn't ' sweet ' but merciful, he isn't ' afraid ' but controlling, which strays from the umbrella term of yandere & falls directly into a subcategory known as kyou ai ── the perfect definition for him.

THE KYOU AI: a less common archtype which defines a love so intense & distorted that it transcends mere obsession, manifesting as a warped ideology or personal truth. unlike the emotionally unstable & impulsively violent yandere character, the kyouai one is often calm, composed, & terrifyingly rational in their madness, genuinely believing their actions are not only justified but necessary in the name of a ' purer ' or ' truer ' form of love. their devotion is absolute & unshakable, sometimes expressed through manipulation, control, or even sacrifice, all under the belief that only they truly understand or are worthy of their beloved. this pattern of thought may not always resort to physical violence; instead, they often exert psychological dominance, isolating or reshaping their love interest's world to fit their own twisted vision. kyouai love is something that rewrites morality, bends any form of personal boundaries, & in its most extreme form, seeks to redefine what it means to love at all.

after reading all this, i'm pretty certain you can see why envy's pinned post never stated straight-up ' yandere ' themes, but ' yandere-esque, ' because he was never precisely that. it's just easier to use an umbrella term which everyone is familiar with & not always bothered to research terms online. moving back to the main point however, here's a little tdlr for those who prefer a picture instead of blocks of text.. ~

all in all, i greatly enjoy writing fictional characters who rest in psychological motifs, let them be horror or merely slice-of-life, & envy just so happens to be a favourite. i've written many villains or morally grey types over the years, like izaya orihara ( drrr! ), dottore ( genshin ), lucilius ( gbf ), ferid bathory ( ons ), goro akechi ( persona 5 ) & etc, etc... but only envy really stuck with me for so long because of just how much has been carefully packed into that human shell. a concept of a fictional character who seems so straightforward at first when it comes to matters of twisted affection, only to reel you into deep-dive where love & devotion turn downright pathological with all boundaries intentionally blurred, like an all-consuming force which will end up changing you even if you manage to somehow escape it... quite like how envy doesn't just kill rivals, but embraces the very meaning of annihilation in name of love.

[mariacallous]

I was watching NFL football when the news appeared of a rifle poking through the bushes at the former president’s Florida golf course not far away from where Trump was playing golf. The Secret Service’s quick action averted a tragedy, and a suspect soon was detained.

But it didn’t take long before I saw posts on my social media sites saying, “are they just missing on purpose to stir up drama?” and alleging that Trump was “trying to get sympathy.” The shocking inference that the incident was staged reminded me of similar responses from liberal friends following the more serious Pennsylvania attempt where a shooter came within half an inch of landing a bullet in Trump’s head. The instant response on the part of some of those people was that the GOP nominee had engineered the shooting in order to increase support for his presidential bid.

Conservatives at that time also had their own conspiracy theories. They wondered out loud whether the Trump shooting was an inside job on the part of the Biden-led Secret Service to harm the leading opponent of the president’s then-reelection bid. The idea was that Biden was not doing well in the polls and law enforcement supporters intentionally let the suspect close enough to Trump in order to fire off several rounds in an effort to end that political problem.

Dating back to the John F. Kennedy shooting and beyond, assassination long has been a fertile ground for misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and wild conspiracy theories. Decades after the Kennedy murder, there remain wide-ranging theories that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, Fidel Castro was behind the assassination, the mob ordered it out of revenge for the administration’s tough actions against organized crime, and Lyndon Johnson somehow was behind the effort in order to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming president.

The persistence of false narratives around many assassination attempts shows the peculiar nature of our current political times. With its toxic combination of intense polarization, radicalization, social media frenzies, and easy dissemination of debunked theories with very little evidence, the contemporary period shows why misinformation and disinformation flourish in so many different areas and why false stories represent such a threat to democratic governance. When people have their own facts and there are wildly varying interpretations of social, economic, and political developments, it is difficult to make sense of new happenings and agree on what happened.

Without those basic ingredients, it is hard for leaders to bring people together and for individuals to see one another as sharing in a common enterprise. Instead, it is easy to divide people, pit groups against one another, and encourage people to seek scapegoats for things they don’t like. We see that clearly in the immigration area because as opposed to making meaningful efforts to address border security and long-term migration patterns, leaders blame the other side, claim immigrants are behind high crime rates, that they steal people’s cats and dogs to eat them and argue opponents are not to be trusted with the future of America.

Assassination attempts also generate wild and unsubstantiated claims because by their very nature, they are violent, shocking, and impactful events. America has prided itself on its long history of stable, democratic rules and peaceful transitions of power. Things such as the Civil War are seen as an aberration in our political history.

But we all know that beneath the surface of a supposedly peaceful country are mass shootings, violent episodes, and occasional efforts to alter the course of civic affairs through violence. Assassination is the ultimate disruption that does alter the course of history and makes people suspicious of one another. There is survey evidence that in addition to rising political mistrust in the United States, Americans no longer trust one another. Questions asking people whether they trust their neighbors show our declining confidence in one another. Adversaries know this and are quick to spread false narratives designed to intensify public passions and divide people from one another. If you can’t trust your neighbors, you can’t trust anyone.

In our new Brookings book, “Lies That Kill: A Citizen’s Guide to Disinformation,” Elaine Kamarck and I argue that even in a crazy time period with mass shootings and targeted violence, we are not doomed to live in a fact-free world where lies prevail and distort our civic discourse. We can start by encouraging people to bring common sense to their interpretations of political events. For example, would Donald Trump seriously hire a 20-year-old guy who was not a very good shooter to put a bullet within a whisker of his head? Would the Secret Service deliberately allow a killer close access to a presidential candidate in order to remove him as a political competitor? No reasonable person should believe either one of those things.

People need to learn how to evaluate digital sources, spot the telltale signs of foreign influence operations, distinguish partisan from nonpartisan material, and not fall for crazy theories. Unless we do those things, America will continue to be bedeviled by blatant lies and false narratives that turn people against one another. We will lurch from one event to another and be fearful that the other side will use the most nefarious techniques to impose its will on others. We need to tame the torrent of misinformation and disinformation to address our country’s many problems.

[thesporkidentity]

an incomplete list of texts i sent as i slowly lost my mind over the second book of rivers of london, because i fully intend to drag at least one more person into this pit with me. come read with me i promise you're gonna feel so good and normal over this book, come closer

wow okay peter remains the absolute horniest bastard ever. is he a tits or an ass man? yes

oh we are just getting the surface levels hints of nightingales MOUNTAIN of unresolved PTSD and i am very 🥺

you ever feel like a character was written specifically to appeal to you? i'm getting so many tantalizing hints and i KNOW he's going to destroy because he's catnip. he is bait specifically designed to hurt my feelings

also his description makes me think of lee pace or like, 90s/00s paul mcgann and that's just Very Good and i'm being deeply not normal about it

also nightingale reads as SO queer to me, and the potential in fic to explore what that means insofar as how he has navigated the changing landscape of queerness from 1900 to present day is so tantalizing. i don't care that the author says he's not, in this case the author is wrong lol

i must say, i do not care for simone. if we absolutely MUST have hetersexual nonsense in this book i would like beverly back please. she was cool and not a cheating homewrecking jazz groupie lol

still not impressed with simone. i mean, far be it from me to judge a woman's grieving process and all, but she doesn't seem very broken up over her within-the-week dead lover. i mean, i LOVE peter and all and he's hot shit, but immediately falling into bed with him? sus

in conclusion bring 👏 bev 👏 back 👏

also peter, buddy, WHAT ARE YOU DOING

he's a disaster so even though i'm screaming DON'T DO THAT i am unsurprised he is being led around by his dick by a beautiful woman throwing herself at him

but i just. i Don't Trust Her. she doesn't make sense, and i can't tell if this is a case of male author writing wish fulfillment and thus not giving the hot girl adequate motivation of her own

or whether i AM supposed to find it suspicious the way she basically doesn't mourn the man she homewrecked who died very suddenly and then IMMEDIATELY jumps into bed with the magic cop investigating his very probable murder

and i REALIZE the only way to find out is to keep reading, it's just frustrating that women are written poorly so often that, even if he's written good women before, i still have to debate with this is a subtle clue or just Male Author Syndrome

oh my god he finally twigs that this may be weird behavior. peter. bud.

at least he got it before trying to sneak her past folly wards?

side note: god lesley really got the short end of the stick. like, her face fell off, her teeth are a fucking mess, and she probably has brain damage. she got royally shafted

peter "i'm totally straight" grant, talking about how he wants to take a muscly guy by the shoulders and kiss his cheeks and making sure to mention how many phone numbers her got while canvasing the gay bar.

hmm sure, jan

look i KNOW peter is Incredibly Horny All The Time when near any attractive woman, but simone appears from NOWHERE half dressed while he's canvassing for the jazz vampire and he just skives off like that? while looking for a potential killer? that doesn't seem like him he's not that irresponsible. that smells like conspiracy and glamour and i don't trust herrrrrrr

like, peter was already horny wanting to motorboat mama thames (lol don't think i didn't catch that pun) last book. but this book has been a whole new level of horny, and peter may be distractible but not THAT distractible surely

another side note. i love molly and nightingale's weird friendship they've developed living basically with just each other for decades.

oh jesus that's fucked up

oh the severed head is talking

oh. oh no. it got worse

peter, darling, beloved, is now REALLY the time to be talking about how hot your boss is? like i appreciate your dedication to the thirst but time and place, bud

oh never mind i forgive you nightingale is so fucking cool, i get it, i love him

he's so good. the most tragic backstory and perfect stiff upper lip old fashioned english gentleman on the outside, and then just below the surface he's a daredevil and a bit of a bitch and he fucking CARES just SO MUCH and have i mentioned how much the casterbrook wall HURTS ME?? this was revealed in the last book but i just remembered it and it stabbed me again

okay i'm done

i feel like peter has miscalculated making a deal with his cousin to teach her if she aces latin. that's gonna come back to bite lol hope you like teaching too smart for their own good teenagers cuz that's gonna be your life now

"but sir, what do we do if you die??!" "well, that doesn't seem like it will be my problem at that point :)" he's such a bitch sometimes and i LOVE him, mother

ohhhhh. oh no. the pale lady looked like molly and now molly is obviously not okay after she died, that resemblance wasn't just coincidence she definitely knew her 😢

and this is the first person peter has killed, no matter how accidentally. and nightingale is back in the hospital with his chest infection. wow everyone is just having a terrible time right now

okay. i realize that as a memory for him this probably isn't a GOOD one, it's from the war and probably much scarier and MUCH more traumatizing than he makes it sound with his dry narration of it. but god. nightingale knocked out two TANKS. by himself. with his mind. fucking sexy lol

oh damn it why can't they just let me be horny about how powerful he is instead of immediately following it with the fact that he was rear guard and making emotional that it means he was the one trusted to watch over and protect the rest of his men while they retreated as that one final shield between them and enemy fire

hhhhhhhholy shit what did simone DO to mama grant???!!!!

she just bitch slapped her!

OH MY GOD SHE TRIED TO HOMEWRECK HIS PARENTS TOO???

she's PLAUSIBLY IMMORTAL???

fuck i was right she was sketchy as hell!!

she's a fucking jazz vampire and she's been glamouring and sucking him dry! buddy, get to dr walid STAT for a brain scan and make sure she's not turning you into cauliflower!

peter don't you make excuses for her you KNOW it's possible, stop lying about your mum and trying to make her feel better you need to take her in she's a m u r d e r e r

i mean, glamour yes i realize but god, frustrating

good lad peter, i see you fighting it 💪🏾

ohhhhhhhh. oh fuck. she didn't KNOW. she didn't know she was from the 40s and killing people. oh this is bad

nightingale, attempting to show concern: "that was not the most intelligent thing you've done" xD 10/10 nailed it buddy

umm, nightingale? this may not be the black and white moral situation you think it is to go in guns blazing...

it's both funny and little sad how militant both molly and dr walid are when nightingale is injured like. i do LOVE when the person who is SUPPOSEDLY in charge gets lovingly bullied, but it hurts because that's also probably the ONLY way to make him take care of himself is if they FORCE him. and peter's not any better, he's gonna need bullying too

i do love when they team up though. molly and nightingale ganging up against peter like. nightingale gets the special treatment and a hot cocoa from molly, but peter gets the dog's leash and smug little "i'm on bedrest :)" or nightingale foisting the rest of his kidney pie on peter while molly is out of the room then grabbing his empty plate back to pretend he ate it all himself when she returns xD

the cases are interesting and all, but i think it's the core characters that are really the standout of the novel and the reason i keep reading even while i'm asking myself things like, but WHY is she killing via vagina dentata instead of literally any other assassination method? i think it's also why simone stood out so much. she HAD no background that we were told (until now) aside from being sexy. which of course i now know was intentional

"this is your brain, which is not only clean and unsullied by thought..." i love dr walid. it probably says something about me that my favorite characters all have to be at least a little bit of a bitch

oh no i'm having feeeeeelings about both nightingale and peter trying to keep the other out of the vampire raid to shield them from the emotional effects of it, just from opposite ends. nightingale doesn't want peter to have the pain of ANOTHER death on his hands, this one purposeful as opposed to the accidental death of the pale lady, so he's trying to just cut him out of it. and then peter ALSO doesn't want NIGHTINGALE to have the weight of more deaths on his soul and wants to protect him from what he sees as the unfortunate necessity of having to off someone who isn't intentionally hurting someone but still may be too dangerous to live. nightingale trying to save peter from his bleeding heart and peter saving nightingale from his practicality overriding his morality 😭 i just love when characters try to take care of each other in mirrored ways

uh...uh oh peter...no i don't think those are the police OR nightingale's paratrooper buddies

okay the audiobook is fucking excellent though, his infomercial voice while extolling the virtues of doc martins is KILLING me

oh this posh wanker. "oh what is feeding on people but another form of exploitation, and we all know there's nothing wrong with exploiting workers, equality is morally bankrupt anyway" god i hate you already you're insufferable

like of COURSE a dining club oxford nose wipe would think that way. he thinks he's sooooo slick and original with his chimeras they're such exciting new COL crimes but it all just boils down the the exact same rich white bullshit mentality

he would hate it if he realized how dull and banal his villainy is once you strip back the shock value of the trappings. just another entitled prick who views people as things, fuck this dude

i'd be tempted to say the faceless man's signare smelling like pork was a dig at david cameron and piggate if i didn't know it was written a few years too early for that lol

peter: oh no nightingale is going to give me SUCH a bollocking nightingale, obviously so relieved he's alive: very much does NOT give him a bollocking and instead tells him how impressive it is that he didn't just immediately die against the faceless man

"for a terrifying moment i thought he was going to huge me, but fortunately we both remembered we were english just in time. still, it was a close call" 🤣🤣🤣

oh ouch peter. just use all his dead friends against him. effective but also, low blow

god he wants so badly for peter to be right, too, that they and HE doesn't have to kill anyone anymore, that how that it's not Just Him ALl Alone they might have the support structure for other options. oh no i want this to work so badly so that hope is validated, but i just know something is gonna go wrong

welp

i didn't like her but i didn't want her fuckin DEAD you know?

and now the ones left standing have to deal with the trauma and the fallout

oh lesley :( they're both trying so hard to be normal about it and they're such good friends 🥺

LESLEY DO MAGIC?

LESLEY JOIN TEAM FOLLY???!!

also don't think you've been sneaky there and that i haven't noticed SOME sort of thematic symmetry of lesley struggling with having lost her face involuntarily from magic, and the faceless man having voluntarily masked himself. involuntary vs voluntary loss of identity. i'm sure there will be more parallels in the next book but like. i see you. i see you setting up face themes with these two

hopefully with lesley regaining her face somehow and thus reclaiming identity while the faceless man is unmasked thus losing the identity he built for himself and revealing the true one he hid. maybe hopefully? i want good things for lesley and bad things for the faceless one.

[x-i-l-verify]

Okay, so while I may be shadowbanned on tumblr currently, I need to get this out there just for the record, because I have not seen a single other person in the Poppy Playtime community talking about this, and if it turns out any of my musings are right, I want to be able to point to this post and say I called it.

So. We know that the new character Dogday from the Smiling Critters line of toys will feature prominently in Chapter 3. In the accompanying cartoon show, he is described as the bright and energetic leader of the Critters, with a sun motif to contrast main antagonist Catnap’s moon motif.

However, the name "Dogday" is also a reference to “dog days,” which you might have heard in Florence + The Machine’s Dog Days Are Over. From this website right here:

“[The term “dog days” are a reference to] the Dog Star, Sirius. When it was closest to the Earth, all the animals would get languid and sleepy and when it moved away, they’d wake up. Sirius is the brightest star in Earth’s night sky. The term refers to the time when Sirius would appear in the sky just before the Sun which was believed to mark the beginning of the hottest days of the year somewhere in July. In other cases, this period was also associated with bad luck since the heat brought about thunderstorms and droughts.”

This potentially gives a ton of insight into where the devs might be taking Dogday’s character in chapter 3, and there are basically two different outcomes I can come up with right off the top of my head.

1) Dogday’s name is a clue as to his real nature. He is not an ally to the player, and even if he might not be working directly with Catnap, he will be hostile to the player. Catnap could have also possibly broken him due to the imprisonment and torture, and he might be doing Catnap’s bidding through direct or indirect control. Either way, he lives up to the original meaning of his name.

2) Dogday is a staunch ally to the player throughout the whole game, because his name is meant to be deeply ironic while also being a pun of a dog character being associated with the sun and daytime. It’s a similar way to how the name “Catnap” is both a pun and deeply ironic. A “catnap” is a brief, light sleep, like a power-nap. Catnap the character, however, puts people into long, deep sleeps. The character is also a cat associated with the moon and nighttime. So, with this logic, the meanings of their names fit the characters on the surface, but the deeper meanings are subverted.

Of the two theories, personally, I believe 2 is much more likely. Dogday has already been set up through context clues to be a foil for Catnap both thematically and narratively, and while yes, Mob Games could subvert that for shock value or because they have a different direction for the story to take in mind, I personally think it would be much more interesting if we had Dogday on our side during the entire chapter. For example, him “chasing” us through the Playcare in that brief clip in the trailer could easily be explained away by him simply following us around, like we’re escorting him somewhere. He doesn’t have to necessarily be chasing us down to murder us.

So yeah, them’s be my thoughts. Only time will tell if I’m right or not.