#and then i accidentally posted it. well enjoy the teams I guess

[moonlight-tmd]

Hi! I just want to say that your headcanon and aus are so cool! I love reading every one of them! I'm really glad i saw your blog, because my favorite character is bumblebee and blitzbee is one of my otp.

The idea that bee is more than what his team think he is really excites me (like your celestial, electro, spark-eater, and warframe bumblebee aus), because i can read bee being a badass or have some hidden trauma.

I do wonder if electro bee have any side effect with his power?

I hope you are doing well! :)

Thank you so much!

I do enjoy giving Bee more than they expect him to handle- which he handles just fine in secret. The thrill of hidden danger is too good. And yes, angst is the best.

As for electro Bee- as I mentioned in earlier posts about it, he gets his power via EM field or touch, that's why he likes being in the city- it makes him more energetic than if he was in the forest.

He can drain of electric energy anything that has it- machinery and mechs alike. He wasn't aware he was doing it until Ratchet pointed it out to him after her handed him a tool with full battery and it shortly died after Bee gave it back. Guess that's why mechs always seemed tired when he hung around for too long.

He also gets hyper during thunderstorms. You can't get him to sit still at all.

For the "bad side effects"- before he had his stingers he was struggling to keep his ability under control- he still does sometimes, if he's holding in too much emotion his static charge will rise and make electric arches across his frame and to nearby things that conduct electricity. He accidentally zapped his teammates few times when they were arguing, they try to do less yelling and more reasoning in behavior so Bee won't get too mad and get the point across.

Since Bee's circuitry is fucked enough to not make him take shock damage I imagine he wouldn't notice if he has high static charge, he's just go about his business and it often ends up in his frying something/someone's circuit if it/they are too close. Ratchet has started checking his EM field everytime Bee comes back from somewhere so they won't get hurt nor something gets broken.

A funny one- Bee is essentially a walking battery. He has a lot of energy stored for such small size, if need be his teammates will sit him down plug those weird car battery clippers to his horns and make him the backup power supply for the plant. He often just plays games on his pocket console while sitting near the braker box all upset, Optimus always gives him baked sweets to make up for these situations.

That's all I can come up with for now, thank you for the ask! And ye, I'm a lil iffy from all the shit blooming rn but I'll be fine! Have a good one yourself!

[cher-rei]

afterglow- pt 7 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter is privileged with working alongside the liverpool fc marketing and public relations team, while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends to lovers, workplace romance, fluff

[wc: 4.6k] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 11] [part 12]

notes: it's the way that I've hinted at another fic in this chapter and then another one in chapter 8... I love interconnecting my series' ughhh

spamjam._. added to their story!

"here's one for you," jude spoke from his position on the hotel suite couch to gain your attention as you unpacked your things. "bro went from liking her posts to flying her over just for some moral support."

you rolled your eyes as he read out the tweets which he had been enjoying for the past ten minutes now. the way that twitter was rioting over the situation was utterly amusing— from your post on Instagram to jude stating that you were sharing a hotel room. they were having a blast by coming up with theories as to how this even came about.

yes, jude only happened to follow you on instragram at the beginning of the year but that was not the reason you knew each other at all. if it were then this situation would be very awkward. as he would say, "luckily for you, you had the privilege of knowing me before I became the equivalent to ryan gosling."

you wouldn't exactly call it a privilege but whatever made him sleep at night. funny enough, you two met at a football match when you were still in high school. it was strange to see a 17-year-old actively engage in conversation with some random 14-year-old just because he said she was screaming too much.

that wasn't the last of your accidental meetings, however, the next was a few weeks later when your parents invited some friends over from birmingham— and lo and behold who just happened to be the son of those friends.

so here you were at 20 and 23, closer than ever but keeping it as low-key as possible.

you proceeded to listen to jude comment on each tweet, each one funnier than the last. "I swear some of these people have got to be fbi trained." he shook his head and you hummed in response, nearly jumping up when jude yelled out in shock.

"listen to this one," he turned from his position on the couch to look at you in front of the bed. "in early 2023, jude followed jamie back on Instagram and 6 months later she got her job as liverpool's p.r manager. hours later after the announcement the entire squad followed her back, the first of them being trent. jamie and trent have been seen together a lot from then on and she's even tagged him in multiple of her Instagram stories. now what do we know about trent? he plays for england. who else plays for england? jude. where is jamie right now? in barcelona with jude."

you were left dumbfounded, jude staring at you with his eyes wide and obviously impressed. "well that's one way to connect the dots I guess." you shrugged your shoulders, "they're not wrong but they're not quite right either."

a scoff left jude's mouth and he got up from the couch to look out the ceiling-to-floor window looking out at the city. "trent's not the middleman here though. like dude you and I aren't dating so there's no need."

he was right, there was no need for a middleman. it was just pure coincidence but obviously people wouldn't think of it like that. "and I thank the lord for that every single day."

he pulled a face, "stop being dramatic. I'm not that bad and you know it."

you hummed out in debate, getting your things so you could go and shower. "I mean judging by your lack of female interaction--"

before you could finish a pillow was hurled straight at you causing you to yelp out, getting ready to days for the bathroom before he could throw another.

"I talk to woman!" he yelled out after you and you laughed a little louder than intended which prompted him to get another pillow.

"female reporters don't count jude!"

you slammed the bathroom door shut just as he threw the pillow again, a loud thud echoing through the room before it dropped to the floor along with jude's hands. he huffed out in frustration, complaining for a good few minutes before he came to a conclusion that made you double over in laughter.

"just for that, I'll be keeping my eye out for interns from now on! if I marry a reporter one day I'll make sure not to invite you just out spite!"

your first morning in barcelona consisted of nothing but peace. the view you woke up to was breathtaking, definitely the most beautiful sunrise you had ever seen. you took your time getting ready before breakfast and made sure to put together the best outfit you could manage seeing as it was rare that you got to wear summer attire.

jude shot you the most confused look to date when he saw your top. he hit you with the "woman stopped wearing corsets decades ago so I'm a bit confused as to why you're torturing yourself right now."

it took a bit to explain to him that you weren't suffering at all, but he still didn't understand and left it at that so the two of you could head to a restaurant for breakfast. every step you took your eye was caught by something more beautiful than the last, your heart strings tugging in the summer heat.

"I've made up my mind. I'm coming to visit you every three months."

jude didn't oppose the idea and instead encouraged it, saying that he needed a bit more company. everything was recorded, you had your phone out and your camera for double the footage, talking to the camera as you carried on with your day.

"do you really have to film everything?" jude asked from across your table at the outdoor seating area of the restaurant as you waited for your breakfast.

you made a sound at the back of your throat and continued to go through the footage you had so far. "unlike you, I have a social media presence and people enjoy the content that I put out okay?"

"uh huh." his eyes wandered over you silently until he was told to check your instagram story, and of course he reposted it being the absolutely amazing friend he was and not because he was in any way forced to do it...

spamjam._. added to their story!

"I don't think anyone understands how crazy it is to hear jude speak in spanish so casually." you turned your camera to look at jude opposite you, adorning an expression of offence.

you suppressed a smile. "this is the same boy who asked me if 'lethargic' was an actual word or if I made it up by the way."

that hit a nerve for him and he put down his fork, and pointed a finger at you while explaining the pointlessness of the word and just how stupid it was. "who uses the word lethargic jamie?" he raised his hands waiting for an answer.

your laugh could be heard behind the camera, obvious judgement in your tone as you teased him. "people who have a vocabulary level that exceeds year 6."

jude shot you an 'oh really look' clearly not buying your reasoning. "just say that you're tired," he grew a bit more defensive and you tried to speak over him but he continued on. "it's never that deep."

you laughed again, telling him that he literally just proved your point. you could feel the stares that you were getting from people passing by— just trying to enjoy their peaceful thursday morning without two idiots arguing about words.

the banter went on for a bit, the camera now set on the edge of the table so that both you and jude were in the frame, tension heightened as you debated. he shrugged his shoulders eventually, "lethargic is not that big of a word either. it's just unnecessary--"

your eyebrows raised, "--oh really?"

he nodded in confirmation, as to say that it was obvious and that he wasn't an idiot. so you did the only correct thing at the moment which brought a wave of nostalgia to wash over jude who couldn't help but laugh.

"spell lethargic then."

he hesitated for a moment, wondering if you were being serious. "go on then, prove me wrong." you urged him, and obviously, he took up the challenge because jude bellingham was not a quitter.

"L I--"

you cut him off with a proud smile, "wrong!"

"L A--"

"wrong!"

by now jude was dumbfounded, immediately reaching out for his cellphone to google the absurd word only to find out that it was spelt with an E. you hummed happily as he complained once again, saying that spelling it with an E didn't make any sense.

"jude victor william bellingham," you began with a smile and he shook his head. "one of real madrid and england's star players at the age of 20 yet he can't spell 'lethargic'."

the rest of the day played out smoothly— sightseeing, shopping till jude's entire backseat was covered in bags, a trip to the beach and using jude as your personal photographer and videographer. now that was what you called a vacation.

the last stop the two of you were going to make would be a small picnic to wrap up the evening seeing as jude would be at practice all-day tomorrow before the match later that evening. either way you wouldn't be alone because jobe would be flying down the morning, so you were more than excited to pick him up at the airport.

your picnic blanket was set down on the grass at a park, and once again the scenery had you gawking. the sunset was to die for, the atmosphere was chirpy yet peaceful and in all honesty if this was your last moment alive you wouldn't have any regrets.

you let out a content sigh, "if this is what being a wag is like then I might have to hit up victoria beckham for some pointers."

jude let out a laugh from beside you, watching silently as you pointed your vlog camera to the sky— moving it from side to side as you took in the scenery.

"I mean you have some good candidates, and you're already in the industry so it's just up to you." he nudged you on the shoulder. "make the move jamie."

a sigh escaped your lips at the fact that he was right. everything was played out in your favour and you needed to use it to your advantage. "I'll dm colwill when we get back to the hotel."

jude doubled over in laughter at your comment but you kept your attention on your camera, settling it down in front of the both of you. "he's younger than you."

you shrugged your shoulders to dismiss his note. "age is just a number or something."

that made you both smile but for two completely different reasons. jude found it funny whereas you were washed with an unfamiliar feeling, your mind flashing back to yours and trent's midnight mcdonald's run when he said the exact same thing.

that remembrance made you keep a mental note to call him later, just to see how things were holding up on that side.

the conversation picked up again when you shut off your camera. and of course, it took the emotional route at the hour of vulnerability. it hopped from family to work to comfortability in your respective situations in a matter of seconds.

it was nice for jude to have this time to talk about stuff like this, you knew he appreciated moments like this where he could express himself more freely without a language barrier or slight anxiety.

when he first left for madrid you remembered the five-hour conversation you had over the phone because he couldn't fall asleep, too unsure and unfamiliar with his surroundings to be able to settle in. with that, you made sure to check up on him daily before bed.

time zones didn't stop you and never would, especially with someone you considered family. jude and jobe were easily younger brothers to you— jude being the irritating younger brother who acted as if he were older than you and jobe being the sweet younger brother that needed constant affection.

you cared for them both dearly, making time to see each other whenever you could when you schedules were free.

"so you found the apartment?" jude asked and popped a grape into his mouth while he listened to you talk about your move out of your sister's house.

maya and noah were moving to london at the beginning of next year, which just so happened to be two months from now. which honestly was a great idea and you were super excited for them, but it was the househunting the was an issue for you because you were so picky.

you weren't too worried about the rent, the main issue was the interior so you took it upon yourself to do some drastic redecorating when you found one. and in four months it was ready, the only thing it was missing was you.

you nodded happily, "I can move in whenever I'm ready."

your answer made jude smile. be knew just how excited you were to finally move into a place of your own because all you'd been doing was saving up. "which is..."

"which is before christmas. and I have a little surprise on the way as well," you retorted in excitement but jude's thoughts immediately went to pregnancy and you could see it on his face, judging by how quickly his eyes dropped to your stomache.

the sun had fully set now, the air beginning to chill but not in a way that had you shivering, but in a way that made you feel relieved. basking in the atmosphere took your mind elsewhere, a glimmer of something in the back of your mind flashing.

your stomach dropped at the memory. one of the many that you've recently.

"we have to go to spain." the glee in your voice bounced off the walls of the bedroom, back to the bed where you and your boyfriend were lying.

he chuckled at your antics and the way that your grip tightened on his torso, his fingers lightly tracing your shoulder. "we'll go anywhere you like baby." he kissed the top of your head.

you looked up at him with doe eyes. "really?"

michael flashed an adoring smile, the same one that showed just how smitten he was for you. you felt a chill run down your spine at the touch of his fingers on your cheeks. "I'd do anything for you."

your throat stung at the memory, something that weighed so heavily on your chest. moments where you two promised to build a family together resurfaced, where you promised to always be there for each other, but this time accompanied by a bitter taste.

you'd accomplished so much these past few months and he wasn't there to witness it like he said he would. there weren't any flowers or handwritten cards with a hug that made you melt. you could still hear his voice sometimes and the way he would speak to you so gently.

at your graduation you could barely enjoy the moment because while being onstage you saw his face in the crowd, an unreadable expression and the words "I'm so proud of you, love" floating aimlessly through the air.

everything he ever said to you was now floating aimlessly through the air.

judebellingham

jobebellingham and 4 245 223 others liked this post

judebellingham had to go back to the hotel like thrice for her to get changed [tagged: spamjam._.]

see all comments below

jobebellingham please never take selfies again

→ spamjam._. agreed

→ judebellingham you're both walking to the stadium I don't care

vinijr ❤️🔥 [liked by judebellingham]

spamjam._.

liked by liverpoolfc and 2 345 234 others

spamjam._. 🌼

see all comments below

jobebellingham it's like you couldn't have waited for me before doing all this 😃

→ spamjam._. we're going to be together all week bro chill 🙄

liverpoolfc jamie come back, the kids miss you 🥲

→ spamjam._. they're lying

trentarnold66 you owe me a mcdonalds run when you get back [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. yes sir ���

Ibrahimakonate 🙊❤️ [liked by spamjam._.]

curtisjr my gf says you're beautiful 🙄

→ spamjam._. gf?? curtis call me right now istg!!

levicolwill okay supermodel🙄❤️ [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. check your dm's

"there's my favourite boy!"

you had your arms spread for a hug as you watched jobe walk up to you with a sheepish smile. you could tell that he was a slight bit embarrassed, but gave in anyway and dropped his bags to embrace you.

he had grown a freakishly large amount since the last time you saw him— towering over you would be an understatement and it took every bit of you not to feel overwhelmed, but how could you when he was so freaken cute??

a shy chuckle came from jobe as you continued to hug him, your arms tightly wrapped around in torso. "you can carry on when we get back to the hotel, people have places to be."

that wasn't good enough of an excuse for you. "they can let me have my moment."

when you got back to the hotel, jude wasn't there as suspected but all your bags were already packed for tomorrow morning's early flight back to madrid. the rest of the day was spent just relaxing in the hotel room and catching up as usual because you didn't want to waste your energy and fall asleep half way into the first half of the match.

"I can't believe I'm about to watch barça and madrid play," jobe commented as he scrolled through his twitter feed.

you two were settled comfortably on the couch set with snacks and the t.v playing as background noise. when you didn't reply he looked up from his phone, only to see you glued to your own with a lopsided smile.

it was unlike you to ignore him, even if it were by accident so it raised some suspicion. he kicked your thigh in an attempt to gain your attention but it didn't work, your fingers typing away at the keyboard for whatever reason. he didn't want to be one of those brothers and take your phone right out of hand and see what had you so interested— that was jude's job.

so instead he resorted to kicking you over and over until you eventually got irritated and yelped out in pain. "jobe my leg," you groaned and began to rub your thigh that he'd been taking hits at.

when you looked at him again his expression had changed, his lips slightly parted in shock. you asked him what the issue was and all he could manage was a scoff of disbelief. there'd only been one other instance where he'd seen you act like this before, and he tried to forget it at most.

"who are you talking to?"

jobe wasn't one to pry and you knew that, and when he did it was out of genuine concern. you cleared your throat awkwardly. "just a friend."

his eyes narrowed at your answer, knowing he caught you. "you don't have friends." in no way did he mean to offend you by saying that, because it was true and as clear as day. he knew you too well, maybe you could hide things from jude for a bit but with jobe it was different because everything came out unintentionally.

a sigh of defeat escaped your mouth and you set your phone down on your lap. "this is a situation my friend is in right now. you're not going to ask any questions okay?"

jobe nodded his head eagerly and sat upright so he could pay more attention. and just like that, you found yourself lost in the explanation and you were sure you nearly namedropped at least thrice but jobe remained attentive and gave his word when needed.

"I mean if they aren't dating then there should be nothing wrong with you--"

you gave jobe a look and he immediately retracted his last word.

"your friend. your friend, not you," he corrected sheepishly and you nodded.

he thought the idea was dumb. you could've just said that you were talking about yourself and he wouldn't have bugged you... that much. "your friend isn't overstepping any boundaries by the sound of it. so she should just go with the flow--"

you couldn't believe that you were taking relationship advice from an 18-year-old right now. this was your lowest. "--whatever happens, happens."

whatever happens, happens.

his advice genuinely seemed to shift some gears in your mind, and you wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in a bear hug. so that's exactly what you did. "have I ever told you how much I love you?"

the question made him stifle a laugh, the boy tightening his grip around your shoulders as you lay on top of him. "I want to say yes but no."

you slapped his arm jokingly. "you're my favourite brother too. but don't tell jude."

"how can I not??"

[bluef00t]

Finally collecting these in a post—Atomic Robo robotswap ideas. This was more of a character design challenge than a real AU, but the concept kind of got away from me.

Rambling design notes + a couple panel redraws + some ideas I had for Helsingard and ALAN 1.0 under the cut:

This idea spiraled out of an old sketch by Wegner of real-boy Robo as a genetics experiment. I'm interpreting that as basically Wolverine minus the animal motifs (and generally much more well-adjusted).

I tried to mimic more elements of his bot design; for example the hair silhouette and the thick blue-tinted glasses, swapped for goggles as his lifestyle got more active. I guess sensitive eyes are a side effect of his mutations. (The classic superhero forehead curl on babyrobo has no design justification, I just couldn't resist.) His appearance would make the public of the '20s a little uncomfortable with seeing him as Tesla's son. Which feels very thematically appropriate.

I'm still calling him "Robo" because it feels weird not to, though it would be a nickname. Appropriate for a guy who never sleeps; plausibly derived from Robert/Ratko. (The American name would be how he's introduced to the public; the Serbian one used casually by Tesla.*) Honestly, it seems in-character for him to put down Robo as his actual legal name when he finally got that chance.

*Things I found out after picking these names for their superficial resemblance to "Robo": Robert means "famous, shining" and Ratomir means "defender of peace"; literally "war for peace". Definitely an affectionately ironic moniker for a son so determined to be an action hero. Though dear monolingual Robo probably wouldn't catch on until decades after Tesla's death... Well, now I've gone and made myself sad.

The action scientists are mostly an excuse to still draw robots. Let's say they're Robo's big midlife crisis project after realizing he was going to outlive his entire first team and not think about it too hard.

Vik (inspired by Robby the Robot) is the oldest of the models. He's optimized for processing power, which is how you get a robot that will try to suggest purely hypothetical (but mathematically sound!) solutions to urgent real-world problems. And enjoys TTRPGs of Turing-complete levels of complexity.

Lang (inspired by Robo) came shortly after, more optimized for the "action" part of action science. Being made of metal does wonders for your recoil management. (I know she hasn't had the hair buns in 10+ years, but that's what I was trying to do with the "antennae".)

Foley (inspired by Alan) is the newest model, optimized for human-robot interaction. Getting wifi installed in her head early on had the unexpected side effect of making her really good at understanding networks of all kinds.

BRN-3 wasn't built to be sentient. He's just a lab geological survey bot that began showing signs of sapience one day and attributes his own "enlightenment" to the "crystals" he'd been studying. This is obviously bullshit but nobody can give a better explanation, so...

Jenkins is literally just the Terminator, except his evil future is vampires instead of AI. He was sent back to kill Robo, which clearly didn't work, so they talked it out and now he just hangs around Tesladyne on high alert for anything that might kick off the apocalypse.

(I have no idea where Ada, Ben, and Koa fit in here, but I might come back to them later. Using their Agents of CHANGE power suits as android designs felt like cheating.)

Not included in these drawings are Helsingard and ALAN, but I'm considering switching around parts of their premises, too.

Helsingard was a Nazi supercomputer meant to calculate the perfect world-conquering strategy. Instead, it realized that Germany's loss was imminent and hid copies of itself around the planet. Every once in a while, someone accidentally boots up a copy and it tries to take over. In the modern age it's a total dice roll as to whether this will be horrifying (what major infrastructure isn't computerized these days?) or just kind of pathetic (it's too old to understand the internet and can easily get itself trapped in an office printer spitting toner and stacks of paper that read BEHOLD HELSINGARD).

ALAN (potential rename pending; the Turing connection is rather lost in the version I'm going with for now) is the world's second successful "unkillable" genetic experiment, a govt project during the Cold War to ensure that the last man alive in a nuclear winter scenario would be British. But it turns out telling a guy he's the next stage in human evolution and sealing him in a bunker for decades to await a chance to inherit the earth which doesn't come isn't great for his sense of compassion or morality. Eventually, ALAN decides to hurry things along before we inferior humans end the world in a less convenient way, and Robo has to... well, you know this part.

It turns out there was a secret phase 2 to this plan, which would have been to populate the solar system with perfect immortal mind-networked clones of himself. The single under-baked clone that it does manage to spit out before being shut down is our Alan :] He needs someone to look after him while his crazy healing powers fill in the missing chunks of his body and brain, and he didn't get a full memory upload from ALAN, so it's free son boy!

No changes were made to Dr. Dinosaur. He's already perfect.

[sonicphobia0601]

Well... I guess it's time for me to be serious. This marks the seven year anniversary of my dad passing away. I still remember the date.

February 11, 2018. I was in my dad's room, watching videos on YouTube and playing Sonic Dash on my tablet. With zero explanation, at 4:30, I lost complete interest in what I was doing. It was raining. My mom came home that night and told me the bad news. That night, I said goodbye to my dad for the last time.

We had his memorial gathering on his birthday. It was supposed to be his sixtieth birthday. A lot of people came to see my family, including the kind of family I don't like giving attention to.

Enough pity on the past!

Why don't you show how you grew as a person? I know you miss your dad, but show what happened afterwards!

Okay then.

2018: Dad died. The beginning of my development of personality started here. After my dad died, I only took one day off from school. I had prom on my 18th birthday and was the only time I pulled a complete all nighter due to attending prom and post prom. I graduated high school that year with cum laude. I start college living on campus that fall. And let me tell you, it's not 100% like the movies. I was on the Cheer team and accidentally discovered my love for horror, playing a bunch of FNAF. I start playing Sonic games, discovering that I actually loved Sonic. Yes, I wrote fanfiction at 16, but it was cringe and trauma dumping at its finest.

2019: I befriend the class snitch (big mistake), got gaslit by both the head of the special needs program along with the class snitch. Ended up alone. Had a mental breakdown that resulted in me getting suspended indefinitely (not proud of myself). Slowly figured out that I wasn't exactly straight.

2020: Remember that suspension from 2019? Well, it cost me a scholarship but it is a blessing in disguise... Because while I was suspended, I was not allowed on campus. And we all know what happened in March of that year. I completely avoided a tactical nuke because of my suspension. It turned out, my old college had a big outbreak of COVID. I honestly enjoyed the first part of COVID because it was quiet and no overstimulating activity happened outside. Got myself a temporary job at a gym as a custodian. It was nasty but the people there liked me. I completed Portal 2. And I attended a Halloween wedding that year. I dressed as a plague doctor for the XDs. That was fun. And I start writing on Wattpad.

2021: Uh... I'm not talking about what transpired here. But long story short, if you are drinking alcohol, GO SLOWLY. You'll thank me later. And that was when I learned of Poppy Playtime. I thought it was an April Fools prank by Zamination. It wasn't. Had fun playing it. And I start college in a community college. I decided to try Archive of Our Own as an outlet for my much darker stories.

2022: I kept getting misgendered online. So I started using they/them because of the obvious mistake. So now I figured out I'm pansexual and nonbinary.

2023: I entered the Billie Bust Up fandom because I found a short on YouTube, specifically one of Barnaby. Got curious. Fell in love with the game. Rest is history. Started a cosplay on Barnaby. Taught myself how to stim discreetly. (Yes, I borrowed Fantoccio's face pat stim)

Now, here we are. 2024. I wonder how much I would grow.

[msmargaretmurry]

I've just read the entirety of the head above water series over the course of the past day (wildly irresponsible, totally worth it) and I must say, I ADORE this universe. I love your Matthew and your Leon (so stupid, so emotionally constipated, so bad at communication and reading each other), and Quinn! Poor Quinn! I feel for this Victorian ghost child, haunted by the horrors (and pining) in every universe. I'm sure Brady will come around eventually. Probably. (I'm also loving the idea of Keith scheming for how to get Matthew and Leon on the same team, putting his experience and desire to be a part of his kids' careers to good use XD) Anyway, thank you for writing, time to reread!

awww thank you so much, anon! i'm so glad you enjoyed it! i feel a little weird posting this instead of just keeping it for myself but also i hoard nice comments like a dragon and i know if i leave it in my inbox i'll accidentally delete it or something. and that would be terrible ❤

i have barely had the time or energy to write at all this month so instead of doing that i have just been THINKING a lot, and while THINKING is of course a very important part of the writing process, it is not nearly as satisfying as putting words on the page. but specifically since people have been leaving really nice comments about the HAW anniversary ficlet i've been thinking a lot about that universe and i AM full of feelings about it. so i'm going to babble a little.

because like, obviously, the HAW is a fully separate timeline from the real world at this point. real world florida!matthew and HAW!matthew are totally different entities, not in small part because florida!matthew has a nice finnish boyfriend and several drops of serotonin. this means that continuing to write in the HAW universe means basically making up the whole future as i go, which isn't a problem — it's fun and also kind of nice being freed from the tethers of reality that i was basically ignoring anyway — but it also means that i can kind of pick and choose stuff from the real world to incorporate or not. which is all to say that in the HAW!verse, quinn definitely does still get named captain of the canucks, and feels a lot of things about his and brady's matching Cs, but also feels relieved in a way to have something so tangible to pour his future into that is not brady-shaped at all.

i touched on this in the replies to some comments on the anniversary ficlet already, but i really enjoyed writing keith in that because in HAW matthew's relationship with keith is kind of complicated and strained (his relationships with everyone are strained, lbr) in ways that i think are honestly pretty normal for a father-son relationship to be complicated even in a loving family, but the complications are so exacerbated by the headspace matthew is in. it was really nice in the ficlet to just get to be like, and here is keith loving his kid. i have a little headcanon that keith had some not-quite-out-but-not-quite-closeted teammates during his nhl days and at the time felt kind of weird about it, and it wasn't until matthew came out that he ever took the time to think about his own reaction and how he could be better/more helpful/more supportive than he was in the past. extremely typical "well this is affecting me directly now so i guess i need to think about it" reaction lmao. but he loves his kid. one day far in the future when the matthew/leon relationship is public knowledge he's going to say some very earnest things to the media about it, which matthew will find so embarrassing.

the thing is (and i think i also said this in response to a comment) that, yes, HAW was full of emotional turmoil and all that, but in my heart i am very much that austen quote about happy endings — "my characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire." HAW!matthew and leon get to live happily ever after now. they will for sure have some bumps along the way but they did their time in the angst pit and now their problems will all be minor in the scheme of things.

... unless i think of some new horrors i want to put them through. but i don't foresee that happening right now. 😂 (that doesn't mean i won't continue to play in this universe, though, i love this universe.)

thank you again, anon!! 💖

[nevermore-grimes]

The Elemental Rhythm Tumblr Dashboard Simulator!!! 🎵

I was going to make a part two for my last tumblr dashboard simulator, but then I was like, “Lemme make one for my paracosm’s band AU!” and now here we are.

Also a quick note: The urls and pfps are the same as they are the first part for the sake of ease.

TW: Crude humor

🎤 the-elemental-rhythm ☑️ Follow

Catch our latest single, a cover of Vana’s BEG!, coming to anywhere you stream your music!

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

I have so many questions. First of all, who tf owns this account? 🤨

💄 hopeless-hottie Follow

Uhhh… We all do? Do you not have access to it?

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

No??? Wtf???

💰 i-am-iron-man Follow

Yeah, well, your PR team strongly advised against it, so no Elemental Rhythm tumblr for you, Red.

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

Damn…

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

Dude, you’re asking all the wrong questions. I just wanna know who bought the verified checkmark.

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

I did! I wanted us to look official. ☺️

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

Well, now we look like desperate sellouts.

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

Oh.

#I thought it was cute at the time #Sorry

(9,293 notes)

🎤 the-elemental-rhythm ☑️ Follow

Check out our full discography, now compiled together on Spotify! It'll be coming to other streaming services soon!

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

I'm fully convinced my sister's making most of the posts on this account. 🤣

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

Did I make it that obvious? 😅

#Whoopsies! #I guess I do make them all sound super cheery #but that's just because I love us! #Hehehe!

(1,898 notes)

❤️ a-random-fan Follow

Ahhh! The Elemental Rhythm made the perfect choice for their lead singer! I just love how Nevermore always puts her whole Embussy into every song.

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

...My what?

#Also #You know the others sing too right? #Like I'm not THE lead singer #I'm one of four #Also please never mix my former hero name with the word 'pussy' ever again

(213 notes)

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

Yo, i-am-iron-man. Dude. When's our next tour?

💰 i-am-iron-man Follow

First of all, I'm your manager. Don't call me dude.

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

What do you want us to call you then, dude?

💄 hopeless-hottie Follow

I vote we start calling him daddy~ 😏

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

...I'm not doing that. 😳

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

I miss when this thread was about our tour dates.

#Can we go back to that? #Please? #For my mental health

(429 notes)

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

A member of my PR team just called me, sobbing and begging me to shut the fuck up- 💀

#Like damn #I'm not gonna #but damn

(236 notes)

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

They don’t. They fuckin’ love it! Never miss a show. Front row, in fact.

And neither should you! I'll send you a ticket to our next show so you can see us perform Kiss Me You Animal by Burn the Ballroom live. I think you’ll enjoy it. 😌

#I don’t know about flailing #but there will be much moaning #See ya there anon!

(10,528 notes)

💰 i-am-iron-man Follow

I need to have a discussion with my band in regards to their social media usage. Clearly, PR isn't doing their job very well.

💄 hopeless-hottie Follow

Does this mean I can't promise to flash my tits if we hit a million streams on our latest single?

💰 i-am-iron-man Follow

WHAT??? DON'T DO THAT!!!

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

"You ladies"? 🤨📸

💰 i-am-iron-man Follow

Oh, come on. Don't twist this around. You know what I meant.

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

Me watching everyone in the notes flame Tony for accidentally sounding sexist:

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

Also, to the person who said "You'd know a thing or two about heart problems" in response to his tags, you may be going to hell, but you have my utmost respect. 😭

#Also I laughed so hard I started choking #and one of my boyfriends had to do the heimlich on me #So thanks for the failed assassination #I'll still be seeing you in hell #just not yet #lmaooo

(13,840 notes)

🎩 petition-to-kill-the-fedora Follow

The petition to get Nevermore to stop wearing fedoras is currently at 1,257 signatures. Let's keep it going!

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

First of all, it's one fedora. ONE. Second of all... Y'all hate it that much?

#This ain't a democracy #No amount of signatures is gonna get me to trash my hat #but damn...

(258 notes)

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

not-ember-blade mirror-mirror hopeless-hottie Do you guys watch our fan edits, too? I think I fell down a hole. Chase said I was watching them for three hours straight but it only felt like two minutes. 😅

🪞 mirror-mirror Follow

The first and only one I saw of myself was a thirst edit. Never again.

💄 hopeless-hottie Follow

Speak for yourself! I watch fanmade thirst edits of myself every morning!!! They're like affirmations, but in video form while that one mashup of Pony by Ginuwine and Bloodline by Ariana Grande is playing.

🔥 not-ember-blade Follow

I'm with Gif on this one. I watch thirst edits of myself at least once a day. My favorites are the ones to random German songs.

💧 sweetest-otaku Follow

I mean, I was talking about the cute edits where we're all dancing... or holding hands... or singing... or other cute and non-sexual stuff, but good for you...

#Now let's stop talking about this #You two worry me

[versatileginger]

HIDDEN | CHAPTER 5

Billy Russo x OC (Ava) 

Warnings: Not canon, violence, weapons, stalking (not MMC), murder, everything you'd find in The Punisher universe, no betrayal. 

Summary: Billy meets someone that piques his interest. Did he mention she carries a knife?

A/N: Another friday, another chapter. genuinely suprising myself by the consistency of my posting. We're picking up the pace from this point forward!

As the conversation flowed and laughter filled the room, Billy savored his last bite of pizza and leaned back in his chair, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"So, about our date," Billy mused, "I've heard there's this fantastic sushi restaurant in town. I've been eager to try it for a while. How do you feel about sushi?"

Ava's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Sushi sounds perfect! I love it. Let's go there."

After savoring their pizza, Ava and Billy gathered their dishes and brought them to the sink. As Ava reached for a glass to rinse it, her enthusiasm got the best of her, and she accidentally dropped it back into the water, causing a big splash that soaked Billy's shirt.

Ava couldn't help but giggle nervously at the unexpected waterworks. "Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry about that," she said, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't mean for that to happen. Let me put it in the dryer for you."

Billy, who had already started taking his shirt off, chuckled. He pulled off his shirt, revealing a well-toned physique that left Ava momentarily astonished. Her gaze wandered to a few scars on his torso, and she couldn't help but wonder about their stories.

"No need, I have a spare shirt in my bag. How about we just hang it to dry?" Billy suggested.

Ava's cheeks flushed even deeper, interpreting his offer as a sign that he might return. She found herself momentarily lost in thought, her curiosity piqued by his toned physique and his forwardness. Her eyes slowly traveled back up to meet Billy's.

Billy chuckled with a playful glint in his eye. "You know, if you wanted my shirt off, you could have just asked," he teased.

Ava laughed, feeling even more embarrassed but relieved by his good-natured response. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

With a mischievous glint in his eye, Billy suggested, "How about another round of that game? We can team up again?"

As the evening progressed, Billy couldn't help but notice Ava's endearing yawns and the way she playfully rubbed her eyes. He flashed a mischievous grin and playfully remarked, 'Ava, it seems like you're putting on quite the sleepy act. How about I let you get some rest, and I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow?

Ava giggled in response, nodding. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she replied, ''You caught me, Billy. I guess it's true; I'm starting to feel pretty tired.''

With their playful banter, they made their way to the front door. As Billy prepared to leave, she turned to him with a mischievous smile and said, 'I'll be ready and waiting, Mr. Russo.''

She embraced Billy, planting a playful kiss on his cheek as she expressed, ''Thank you for tonight. I had a blast.'"

Billy's face broke into a delighted grin. "I did too, Ava. I'll see you tomorrow."

As Billy's footsteps receded down the walkway, Ava gently closed the door behind him. She leaned against it for a moment, a warm smile tugging at her lips as she replayed the evening's delightful moments in her mind.

With a contented sigh, she realized that she genuinely enjoyed Billy's company. Their connection had grown effortlessly since they met, and she found herself eagerly looking forward to their upcoming date tomorrow. This felt different from her past experiences, as if things were simply falling into place.

Stepping outside with his bag slung over his shoulder, Billy began his walk home. The way Ava had embraced him at the end left him momentarily stunned. While he'd been with many women who had shared his bed, this hug felt different. It was a level of genuine connection he rarely experienced, except perhaps with Frank and Karen. He couldn't recall the last time someone had willingly hugged him. Everything about Ava was undeniably appealing, from the way she fit against his frame to their engaging conversations. It made him realize that he desired more than just physical intimacy, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It was a new but exciting feeling for him.

Deep in thought, Billy's phone suddenly rang. It was Frank.

"Hey, Frank, what's going on?" Billy inquired. It was quite late, and he had a hunch that this wasn't a social call. Knowing that Frank had somewhat settled down with Karen, he rarely stayed up this late unless there was a serious reason. Frank began to elaborate further, "Can you meet me at the docks? I've finally got some solid intel on the Phantom Cartel. I'll fill you in when you get here."

"I'll be there in 10," Billy affirmed, pulling up his hood. It seemed he wouldn't be heading home just yet.

Arriving at the docks, Billy spotted Frank at their usual meeting spot on the bench, ready to share his discoveries. Eager to hear the latest, Billy joined him, their breaths creating little clouds in the cold night air.

"So, what's the word, Frank?" Billy asked, anticipation in his voice.

Frank leaned in, his eyes intense. "I've been delving deep into the Phantom Cartel, Billy. Gathered some valuable intel. This isn't your run-of-the-mill gang. It's a fast-growing operation, and their leader is shrouded in mystery."

Billy leaned forward, intrigued. "Where did you get all this information, Frank?"

"From various sources," Frank replied, a hint of excitement in his voice. "You know the drill – pulling threads, following leads. Much of it comes from the streets, informants within the criminal world."

Billy's curiosity deepened. "Street-level sources?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah, folks on the inside, small-time crooks who've had run-ins with the Cartel. They're scared, but when fear takes over, they start talking. But here's the twist: the Phantom Cartel doesn't operate like your typical gang. They have a mastermind at the helm, known as 'The Illusionist.' The catch is, the stories about him are all over the place. Some say he fights like a military expert, while others claim he's a martial arts prodigy. It's like everyone sees him differently."

Frank leaned in even closer, a sly grin forming. "I've got a lead on a warehouse, Billy, where The Illusionist may have been operating from."

With a spark of anticipation, Billy responded, "Count me in, Frank."

Frank and Billy stood in the shadows outside the decrepit warehouse, their hopes pinned on discovering the key to unveiling the secrets of the Phantom Cartel and its elusive leader. The night hung heavy with darkness, casting an air of tension over their every move as they advanced toward the imposing structure.

With caution, Frank pushed open the creaking door, revealing a dimly lit interior. The space appeared abandoned, a disordered mess untouched for years. Graffiti marred the walls, and old crates were scattered about, buried beneath layers of dust. Their footsteps reverberated through the empty void as they ventured further inside.

Billy's gaze swept the area, his eyes narrowing in consternation. "This doesn't seem right, Frank. It's a dead end. Are you certain the informant who gave us this tip was reliable?"

Frank's jaw tightened, frustration simmering in his demeanor. "Yeah, I'm sure. But I'm beginning to question whether that guy was either deceptive or profoundly confused."

As they continued to scour the warehouse, it became evident that no valuable leads or evidence awaited them. Their initial lead had led to a dead-end, leaving them disheartened and bewildered.

"Looks like we're starting from scratch," Billy muttered as he rose, dusting off his hands. "What's our next move, Frank?"

Frank sighed, running a hand through his hair in contemplation. "We need more information, Billy. We must uncover identity of The Illusionist and discern the Phantom Cartel's next move."

The two men exited the warehouse, stepping into the night air for a brief respite from the mounting tension. They decided to approach the situation with renewed determination in the morning, heading to their favorite bar to recharge and regroup.

In the dimly lit corner of their go-to bar, Frank and Billy sat, sharing a moment of camaraderie. The buzz of the bar patrons added to the cozy atmosphere, and the conversation between the friends flowing effortlessly.

Frank leaned in, a sly grin on his face. "So, Billy, you mentioned earlier… there's a new lady in your life, right?"

Billy nodded, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You bet, Frank. Ava's her name. We spent the evening together, and I gotta say, it was something else. We just clicked, like we've known each other forever. Got a date with her tomorrow, and I'm damn excited."

Frank's gruff voice softened with a hint of a smile. "Well, well, Billy. Looks like you've found something real. You know I'm glad for you, right?"

Billy chuckled, his tone hinting at their shared history. "Yeah, Frank, it's been a minute since I felt this way. She's different, makes me think there's more to life than the usual grind. We talked, laughed, and I couldn't get enough. It's like I want to spend hours just talking with her. It's refreshing, man."

Frank raised his glass, a nod of brotherly approval. "To new beginnings and genuine connections, brother."

MAIN MASTERLIST HIDDEN MASTERLIST CHAPTER 6

[kariachi]

Had a mental image reading that fic from earlier of-

Kevin- pocketing some spending money he was just given and enjoying some free cocoa

Guzma- just gave the grunts with him some cash and cocoa to the grunts with him. Has a feeling that something is off but can't place it

The grunts that havent gotten their asses kicked yet by Kevin- introducing themselves to the new kid and showing him the group daps and the passwords

the grunts that have gotten their asses kicked by Kevin already- shrugging, guess he's with them now, they'll just schedule a rematch later

Plumeria- sighing b/c Guzma accidentally scooped up a punk that wasn't theirs again

Kwarrel- getting conflicting information on how worried he should be that his son got snapped up by the local gang

Kwarrel arriving in Po Town and looking around: Y'all live like this?

Okay so I accidentally deleted an entire post...

Kwarrel Ojua, 56, not-quite-fresh-from-prison, just wants to put his head down and have a mostly-quiet life (complete quiet in impossible with Kevin) and suddenly wondering how the fuck he ended up having to keep an eye on all these young people who clearly aren't managing as well as one would like on their own.

Kevin just, suddenly finding himself vaguely in a gang. Getting continuously annoyed as people act like he's heading down some horrible path meanwhile actively he's mostly just committing light vandalism, and he was gonna do that shit anyway. Also is very confused about how people act like Team Skull is a big problem. Just sitting there like 'a few years back we had some guys nearly encase a whole city in ice back in Unova and these guys are worried about petty theft and vandalism?'

Guzma just rolling with it. Quickly learns Kevin is not a grunt the first time he calls him that and nearly gets bit for it, immediately approves of his moxie.

Plumeria isn't paid enough, and really wishes she'd never learned there were more people as 'fuck you fight me' as Guzma. Will still kick your ass over the new idiot.

The grunts divided between 'oh, new brother, okay, great to have you' and 'don't think this'll get you out of fighting us (affectionate)'.

As with most shit I write, I can't say if, when, or how I'll continue it, but do know that there is 100% the intention that Kev and Kwarrel are more sympathetic towards Team Skull than other people. Between the way 'villain' teams are in other regions and their own histories? Not nearly so willing to just say 'nope, bad eggs who must Fall In Line', especially once they realize they're a bunch of people Alola failed trying to make a living and a point. Both are 'been there done that' to different degrees so...

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here my friend, happy to wish us luck on the upcoming episode, on this very normal day where the 911 PR team absolutely did not choose to unleash chaos. Here I was just hoping to enjoy the conclusion of the cruise disaster saga, especially after last week's heartstopping Bathena performance, but nooooo, I won't even get to enjoy 1 millisecond of satisfaction before I'm gnawing my arm off waiting for next week's episode and an explanation for why Buddie are *waves hand nonsensically at stills* THAT.

Anyway, I know I should remember the mantra about getting our hopes up but I can't help it for tonight, the last two episodes have been so incredibly solid and everything I love about 911 that I can't help but raise the bar from where it was (somewhere around the Earth's core) to something at least knee high. So cheers friend, here's hoping any post episode drinking is optional, not necessary 🍷🍷🍷!!!

Not me hitting post limit before 4:30 in the afternoon 🙄. This has been me for HOURS

Sorry I have fandom shit going on Tumblr, and not a lot of actual work to keep me busy. I think the post limit should be at least 500 posts a day. Just let me be unhinged!! I even scheduled some posts out to different days to avoid this but here we are. 🙃 I need 911 and FHJY to not air on back-to-back days for realsies.

I didn't even catch those stills at first since my app is still not working so I can't actually see my dash so I was just chillin in the d20 tag when I suddenly noticed 911 was trending and decided to check what was up and WHOOOOO BOY! What IS all that?! Why are they like this?! They're killing meeeee!

ANYWAY

That mess is for next week. This cruise disaster arc is ABSOLUTELY a veeeeeerrrry close second to the tsunami arc for me. That one edges it out because we got to see more of everyone on the team doing rescues while this one (DESERVEDLY) focused more on Bobby and Athena, but MAN was it gripping television! I laughed, I cried, I legit clapped and cheered when Buck and Eddie showed up to get Bobby and the little boy, I mourned for Wes the security guard, it was all SO, so, so good. And we got badass Bobby on rescue duty!! Athena taking charge and taking NO shit from anyone! We got the firefam being a FAMILY which includes bickering, tattling, gentle ribbing, and having each other's backs because you know each other better than anyone else. I had a GREAT time.

I know we have been pretty good at keeping our expectations down but for right now, I'm felling a little more confident in the show as a whole to deliver good firefam stuff so I'm raising that bar a little bit. As for Buddie, well. I guess we'll see? I'd be lying if I said I was excited about seeing them dating other people AGAIN, no matter if it's supposed to "set the stage" or whatever for Buddie because I just think going the route we SHOULD have had after the shooting. Getting them both keeping their feelings realizations secret from each other and then having a third party confession come out with Chim/Maddie and Hen each getting one side of it and then accidentally cluing each other in has a better feel for me, especially with the delicious flavor of Eddie still having a gf at the moment. But I'm reserving judgement FOR NOW, on how it could ultimately play out for Buddie. It might be fine in the end with how it all comes together, but I'm not going to "settle" for just being happy if Buck comes out and taking whatever relationship we are given instead of the one that's been built up since season 2. But I'm also not throwing in the towel because we don't know where it's going yet. I'm firmly on the "fine but I'm going to complain the whole time" train at the moment with regards to Buck finally dating a man but for some god-forsaken reason it's not Eddie. (At least we lucked the FUCK out and someone else gave AK a job so we don't have to put up with THAT nonsense again.)

For now, I'm going to revel in the show ABSOLUTELY coming back with a bang and feeling like the 911 and firefam we all know and love and have DEEPLY missed. The difference between this arc and that blimp emergency is LAUGHABLE. Bless Tim for coming back and giving us this incredible arc and really showcasing Angela and Peter and the Bathena relationship. I'm excited to see what's next!

[devil-of-the-field]

CFV Persona 5 AU

Let's talk about this one! Since this is my first post for this AU, it's mostly spoiler-free as per usual. For reference, here’s the quick summary I wrote before:

Kai moves to a new city for his second year of highschool to escape his past. Unfortunately for him, his normal highschool life already takes a turn for the worst on his first day, when he accidentally stumbles into a different dimension with his classmate, and comes across a talking cat rambling about “palaces” and “phantom thieves”. Despite wanting to stay out of all of this, Kai soon gets sucked into the world of phantom thievery, makes new friends, steals hearts, and maybe saves the world in the process.

This is a fun one. In case you don’t know anything about Persona 5, let me catch you up real quick:

What is Persona 5?

Persona 5: A short summary

Persona 5 is JRPG about a group of teenagers who stumble across an alternate universe called the Metaverse, where the distorted desires of corrupt adults materialize by distorting the places they reign over into so called “palaces”. But through the power of their rebellion against society, our teenage protags gain the power of the Persona, a materialization of their rebellious spirit, which gives them powers to fight in the other world and change the corrupt hearts of the adults.

Now, I don’t want to just copypaste the story of P5 for this AU. My goal is to create a story that can be read, understood and enjoyed by both Persona 5 and Cardfight Vanguard fans without prior knowledge of the other franchise, while still telling an original story. A tall order, I know. But I am nothing if not ambitious.

Characters

- in case you don’t know, the first 5 members of the Phantom Thieves are usually portrayed as its own very tight knitted group. So I thought it would fit really well if they were represented by Team Mates from Legion Mate! - every major character in the story is assigned one of the 22 Major Arcana (I don't have them all figured out yet, ideas welcome). This goes for all the teammates too. - there's 8 Phantom Thieves in canon (with some more additions in the extended universe). This AU will have up to 10 Phantom Thieves. Their identities are already set, but since a new Phantom Thief joins every arc, those would be spoilers, so you'll have to wait and see! - every teammate has a persona (aka a mythological figure, from things like history, religion, literature or even urban myths) that represents their inner self. I don't have them all figured out yet either, but I will likely be reusing already existing ones from the Persona wiki and only make up my own when necessary. Again, ideas welcome. - The magic attacks personas use have different elements. And every teammate has one assigned element. The elements in question are: Wind, Electricity, Fire, Ice, Nuclear, Psychic, Curse, Bless and Almighty. They are already assigned, but feel free to try and guess which character would fit what element! - Everyone's got weapons too. In game everyone has a melee weapon and a gun. I've still left that open, because finding 10 versions of each is bit intense, so I might given everyone either a melee weapon or a gun.

Kai

Arcana: The Fool (as all protags are)

Persona: ??? (as the protagonist, he's a Wildcard, so he has actually more than one persona unlike everyone else, but he would have an original one...)

Element: Fire(? again, he has unlimited personas, but the original one is probably a fire one)

Kai is new to the school here and just wants to be left alone, but then he runs into Miwa! And then they run into an alternate dimension by accident! Whoops. And then Kai awakens to a mystical power, and starts seeing a weird white-haired boy in his dreams talking about "rehabilitation" and "changing the world". He just wants to be left alone, but his new friends have other plans!

Kamui

Arcana: ??? (The Magician perhaps? or The Chariot...)

Persona: ??? (maybe Asura bc of Asura Kaiser, but that seems overpowered)

Element: Wind

so there is a VERY annoying character in the core five, and Kamui is the perfect character to parallel him. :) That character is a simp, and also a cat. So Kamui is a cat in this one. Don't ask. He's just been turned into a cat, and he wants to become a human again, and he simps for Emi. He already knows a bit about the Metaverse and is the second team member, and he works as the initial guide.

Miwa

Arcana: ??? (also a good candidate for Magician, or Lovers?)

Persona: ??? (This one is hard. He doesn't have distinctive avatar card)

Element: Electricity

Miwa gets sucked into the Metaverse alongside Kai on their first day of school. He keeps going along with all the crazy stuff of course, because it's Kai! He awakens to his persona on their second visit there to protect Kai. If it wasn't for him, Kai probably would just hanging out in his room all day (or on a random bench in a park, lol), but Miwa forces Kai to actually build relationships with others.

Misaki

Arcana: The High Priestess (? or the Empress, I'm not set yet)

Persona: Amaterasu (who else? She has been used as a persona before, but she fits Misaki so well)

Element: Psychic

Misaki is member number four. She's the smart one, who does analysis for the team. Miwa is the one who dragged her into the Metaverse on accident. She's overcoming her apathy and striving to get justice for others.

Naoki

Arcana: ??? (The Chariot perhaps?)

Persona: ??? (I have NO idea honestly)

Element: Fire

Naoki's the last core member to join. It's a typical Naoki moment, following people around and stumbling among them being cool and being like "I wanna do that too!". He has a strong sense of justice and is just and all around good bro. I really wanna expand on his relationship with Kai.

Other Notes

- Some non team member characters that Kai forms a relationship with (aka Confidants) are definitely Shin, Mamoru and Ryuzu Myojin. Those provide some perks to make the palace side of gameplay easier. Here it's more for just fun and character building. - A big aspect of P5 is the time management aspect. Do you go to the palace today, or hang out with your friends, or go somewhere to get your stats up? So I might let you, the audience, decide how Kai spends his days. That will mostly mean deciding who Kai will hang out with and form relationships with first. - I still need to figure out the owners of most of the palaces, aka the bad guys. That's the real sticking point. There's only so many human villains in CFV... I might have to take a Persona 4 approach if you know what I mean. - You might notice that there are some major character I haven't mentioned yet. Don't worry. Their time will come...

[lunzoic]

After finally beating the game...

Big spoilers for Scalet/Violet ending!...

I think I'm echoing a lot of other people's sentiments when I say 'Huh, so that's where half the budget went'. I don't even mean that in a salty way, I'm just kind of baffled that there's such a strong contrast between the effort that went into this final area and the rest of the game. I seriously underestimated how much there was going to be too since the Pokemon tradition is that post Elite-Four content is kinda lacking, and the only hint that Area Zero was not 'postgame' was that credits had not rolled yet. I was really expecting Area Zero to just be an afterthought, similar to the usual optional postgame dungeons. Or like Ultraspace, in which: you go there, leave after having one big fight, and optionally come back later to find more ultrabeasts. And instead we got a fairly expansive dungeon that both contains the really cool paradox pokemon as well as like, the game's entire narrative weight, interesting character interactions, a big fight I was definitely not expecting, and all the actual intriguing plot elements in one ultra-concentrated dose. I actually prefer a fantastic ending to mediocre game rather than the other way around, it's just very surprising to see it happen when the opposite is so common. And yeah some of that perception is filtered by the bar of expectations being set so low by the rest of the game, and of course it was by no means a perfect ending. The jank still allows you to accidentally skip if you jump off certain cliffs, the scripted encounters with paradox Pokemon are just ok, and navigating Area Zero without Ko/Miraidon can be a pain if you take a wrong turn. But the pacing, the dialogue, the way the characters play off each other, the gradual reveals, and the whole final fight was actually incredibly well done. And it makes me feel a little sad to see that the dev team was clearly capable of making great story-driven game segments, but that it was only at the very ending of the game that they really got to flex those creative muscles. I feel like it's also created a weird dichotomy of people who could not abide the jank and put the game down or decided not to buy it in the first place/refunded it and the people who stuck it out to the end and got an unexpectedly quality finish. Good for us I guess? I definitely would have lost interest a lot sooner had friends who finished the game not given clues that they really enjoyed the ending...

More specific ending spoilers and commentary: Having an AI character being aware of having their own will being overridden was equal parts fucked up, heartbreaking, terrifying, and really effective. The way they're clearly fighting against it even as they taunt you, their whole speech about freedom and treasure, that moment when they seem to intentionally succumb to the programmed will in order to sincerely tell Arven that the original professor loved him (oh my FUCKING god)... Now THAT'S how you break the mold in terms of creating a different narrative hook than the usual formula! For me it really did retroactively change the feeling of the entire game, knowing that the 'professor' who started you on your whole journey was actually patiently waiting for you to become strong enough to venture into area zero and do what but their programming did not allow them to do. That they were vicariously enjoying every step of your adventure along the way, because their very nature as an area zero anomaly meant they could never leave themselves. Their final decision to send themselves to the past/future in order to disable the time machine, while kind of cheesy and nonsensical, was something that they willed with their own heart and wholly defied the original professor's wishes. That in their vast intellect they decided to stake the future on a bunch of teenagers is still pretty goofy but hey, it's Pokemon. Like a lot of people I did suspect that there would be some sort twist with the professor, but I did not expect THIS, nor did I expect a Pokemon game to handle a sympathetic AI character in a really emotional and interesting way. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised given that Pokemon as a franchise has had various created/artificial beings who are treated sympathetically? But it does also kind of highlight once again that the game feels kind of hodge-podge in regards to what audience it's catering to, due to the entire game feeling hand-holdy and kid-friendly in its appeal and then... that entire ending happens. I can imagine some kids not even being able to finish the game, not even due to difficulty spike but because of finding the Arven and robo professor story too scary and sad. On the other hand, Pokemon at its roots has always some pretty damn heavy themes, so I guess this could also just be considered a return to form? Pokemon themselves being fully sentient creatures forced to serve their masters no matter what, the entire arc of Mewtwo being created and then destroying its own lab... I remember finding those too sad to contemplate as a kid so I kind of just. Didn't. But those aspects were never really explored to the depth they could have been within the main game's stories (I do know the movies/anime/comics have darker storylines, but those are all 'extended lore' as far as the games are concerned). So this is the first time where elements like the death of a main character and having the villain be a human (in appearance) ally with explicitly programmed loss of will who doesn't want to turn against you are THIS front and center in the story of a main series game. And it was actually done pretty emotionally and effectively, so I do applaud the decision to take a risk and make a more mature storyline happen at all.

And yes, it is not lost on me that both a reluctant final boss and the subtle use of the menu interface in the finale are reminiscent of ah... a certain other game? I might be seeing stronger connections than I should due the killer music contribution by Toby, and I don't really care if it was intentional or not, but I'm just really happy to see any game make use of those tropes to great effect.

[scottxlogan]

Writer’s wrap, 6, 13, 16, 20 pls!

Thanks so much for the ask! This has been really fun and such an interesting series of questions to answer, so thanks for that!

6. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Okay, so for me this is a toss up because there are a few that really stand out (I know I’m supposed to pick one, but I just can’t so I’ll pick 3 lol)

Damaged: Not going to lie this story was my saving grace at the beginning of the pandemic because it was my way of coping with being in lockdown for a very long time. This story also is a spin on most of my other post-DOFP Scott/Logan stories where Scott is essentially so damaged in ways by life/his sense of duty/his pain/losses/life experiences/etc. that I don’t often explore most of my in fics. He’s at a dark place and Logan just is this beacon bringing him back and opening him up to finding something that in this world he never had before not even with the Logan that was a part of it before this Logan arrived (yes it sounds complicated, but if you read the fic you’ll get it I promise and it won’t disappoint). It follows the theme of second chances and finding your soulmate against impossible odds. I know it’s another long story, but it’s one that a lot of people have enjoyed and told me how it’s touched them along the way, which means a lot because it’s special to me. 

Home Again: This story is so special to me because it’s about healing and forgiveness and love and basically me trying to fix some missteps in the MCU. I’ve had a lot of fun with this one writing ghost!Tony with Bucky that I’m probably (absolutely) stalling on the ending and I do apologize for that, but this one has been so special because I took a supernatural spin and knew from the very first word just how it would end and it has been such a fun journey for me. As for the future with it, I can promise it fits into my popular ‘additional tag’ on AO3 lol.

End of the Line: (Read the answer to the next question to find out why lol, but it was a triumph of writing for me at a time when I wasn’t sure where my writing future was at lol)

13. What’s your longest work of the year?

My longest work is End of the Line (766,117 words) This one is my longest work EVER and it started a little bit at the end of last year, but I imagine it will be the lonest fanfic I ever write and I did it for a reverse bang, which in retrospect was kind of crazy lol. The cool part about writing it is that it was the first time I wrote WinterIron and I was so inspired by the art/conversations that I had with @massivespacewren during the creative process that I wound up writing this epic story (at least in terms of length) where I posted a chapter every day for 68 days. It was a labor of love and a challenge unlike any other I’d taken on. I know the length sounds intimidating, but man was it fun to go all out and try something new. This AU story finds Tony rock bottom after he walks away from the team when an accidental misstep on a mission drives him away from being a hero. He’s caught up in his guilt/pain/grief that he leaves everything about his old life and finds himself in isolation where a chance meeting with a mysterious, handsome stranger turns his world around and brings him back to finding himself again. Along the way he seeks out redemption, love and a means of forgiving himself for the sins of the past. There’s so much I could say about that story and some behind the scenes secrets as well, but yeah that is probably my longest work in terms of fanfic of all time I think. Nothing will probably ever top that one lol. 

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Angst with a happy ending (would be my guess) lol I am a sucker for stories where the reader knows at the end no matter how bad the obstacles might be that they will be rewarded for their time invested in the story. Some have said it takes away from the suspense element in putting that out there, but for me I like to let people know that yes there’s going to be a big payoff at the end and it’ll be well worth the wait :)

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most? Um, probably not one I’ve posted on AO3 as I was writing an original novel that I was kind of deeply invested in for a while. If I had to pick something I’ve posted on AO3, which is what this is about I suppose lol I would say probably Under Your Spell as it was a challenge someone gave me that I had fun with. I haven’t read it in a while, but there’s something about Logan drinking a ‘love potion’ and finding himself head over heels for Scott that was really fun to write. Another one I’ve enjoyed rereading every now and then is Date Night (which is the 2nd one shot in my Better Together series as it opened the door to Scott/Tony bonding with Bruce Banner and deepening their friendship in it. It kind of set the tone in a lot of ways for the multi-chapter fic (Better Together) that followed and honestly if people look deeper into the Better Together story you’ll probably not think of Waffle House the same again lol. Hands down that scene I’ve probably read a few times since it was super romantic and fun. And now I’m going to stop rambling now, but these were a lot of fun! Thank you so much for asking!

[stargazers-telescopes]

She's a Runner, She's a Track Star

She’s a runner, She’s a track star

Author’s note: Hieee everyone it's been awhile since I posted (one year to be precise) and I was in the thick of my final year at highschool, now I'm in college and have a lot more time than I thought I would…. Anyhoo here's another novella type story for you. This one is pretty long… but it all ties together towards the end.

Inspiration: Since My stories are heavily influenced by my own romantic escapades (disasters) this one is based on the time when I uh ran away from my crush because he found out I liked him…not through a diary but because, much like Arya, I cannot keep my mouth shut when I like someone and I uh accidentally confessed because my brain which is usually uh functional decided to shutdown. Anyway that relationship ended awhileeee back and thank god, I heavily regret it.  Also, like many problems Arya faced, I did too at school, the constant expectation and managing outer as well as inner- perception were issues I faced. Of course, Arya’s a whole other girl, but she is a direct reflection of me.

I guess this story is a tribute to my friends in many ways, who really helped me keep it together in my last year at highschool. I have no Brandon In my life, so to speak, so he really is just a plot driver… but maybe one day I will be as lucky as Arya. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story of A LOT of second hand embarrassment. Love you~

..............................................................................................................................

One thing that differentiated Arya Kumar from most was her incredibly volatile attitude. Zero or nothing. One to one hundred. She had never been good with the in-betweens. Of course, if she had to be moderate, then she would be, but she hated it severely. Not doing things made her feel like she was gonna spontaneously combust. Being in the last year of schooling meant extreme scrutiny from everyone around her. She did relatively well at school, engaged in multiple extra -curricular activities apart from her track athletics. And she knew she had her stuff going for her… all except one thing. And that was Brandon Ashford. 

Ashford had come into her life out of nowhere, and soon she found him nearly everywhere. Captain of the male’s swim team and vice president of the astronomy club, their lives should not have coincided. It started rather innocently too. It went from a random phone call one evening to clear some trouble in the student body council to random texts almost everyday. 

Then it became cheering for her from the bleachers at the tracks to irritating her while she tried to conduct her club meetings as president of the debate club. Then at the library and then on her way back home after school. And soon it felt wrong to go even a day without speaking to him, soon his smile sent her heart into overdrive and his voice canceled any coherent thoughts in her head and just like that…Arya developed a big fat crush on her newfound friend. 

She soon found herself running around the whole school just to get a glimpse of his face if by chance he hadn't shown up in front of her that day, and her best friend had to endure all the behind-the-scenes dramatics Arya never thought herself capable of producing. And that was the only person she told. Hardin had to hear Arya gush about Ashford’s twinkling eyes, and his actually terrible jokes that somehow sent his usually sensible friend into fits of hysterical laughter. 

“For the love of GOD, Ari, get a GRIP on yourself mate”, Hardin scolded her, which really didn't work too well because: firstly, Hardin refused to swear and secondly Arya was too stubborn and obstinate to listen.

“You’re lucky I still put up with you”

“Yeah but you love me too much, so”, Arya said, smiling cheekily as she put her gear on the bleachers and tied up her unruly brown hair into a high ponytail.

‘Hmph’, Hardin sat with a plop as he watched his best friend go to warm up.

Keeping her crush a secret was something Arya struggled with terribly, because she was a person of action. And not taking action meant keeping quiet. This was rather difficult because Arya wasn’t by any means a quiet person. So, she had to keep quiet momentarily otherwise she would quite possibly accidentally start a riot dealing with the frustration that was the heart-rendering problem of Brandon. So the only two places that had knowledge of Arya’s secret were the jail-safe mind of her best friend and her journal that she kept in her running kit

Arya started journaling when she was 14 because it allowed her to rant and complain and detail out everything that annoyed her. It also allowed her to set out her goals and plans for she had many things she wanted to do, learn and see in her life. She often went through her older journals and cringed at her entries but that's the fun of it, that was what she was feeling in the moment and it was almost laughable how she was nervous or excited or scared or happy and what she wrote about it. 

She prided herself on her good handwriting and grammar because what was the use of knowing how to write if one did not write well? Oh, and she had a lot to complain about this year.

And then there was the issue of the winter dance which was a much anticipated event 3 weeks before final exams and one week after mid-semester tests for the seniors. And that was around 3 weeks away. And there was the issue of Mara, the perennial pain in her ass, in the same class as her and on the track team too and as impertinent as ever. 

Mara for whatever reason decided she wanted to be the most annoying twit Arya had to deal with. Taking a special liking to constantly questioning her decisions as Captain and taking jabs and shots at her whenever possible, she nearly drove Arya to madness. However, Arya in her own right was equally as obsessive about dealing with her ‘Mara Problems’, as Hardin had coined the term.

[sleepymunchlax]

While posting the stories for my A Perfect World series on AO3, I was reminded of the long forgotten fifth story in the series that I never finished. I decided to write down what I remember of the plot, for the sake of archiving it as a part of my fan fiction history.

As a heads up, this was a very Mario & Luigi: Dream Team inspired story! If you aren't familiar with the game, some of this might not make sense.

The first chapter opened with an explorer/historian (Think his name was Damien. He was an OC made for this story) and Starlow (who was like his travel partner) seeking an audience with Mario and Luigi to discuss Pi'illo Island. Damien asked the Bros. to join him on an expedition to visit and research the mysterious island. Dawn and Dusk get to tag along, as well.

During the boat ride to the island, a storm hits. Starlow is nearly blown away by the wind, Dawn tries to grab her and they both end up going overboard. Dawn and Starlow wash up on a part of the island, unharmed. Worn out by the experience, Dawn falls asleep on a pillow-shaped stone. Dream Team mechanics kick in and she ends up in the dream world.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group dock the boat and try to find Dawn and Starlow. Luigi also ends up sleeping on a pillow-shaped stone and gets to dream world as well. That's pretty much all that happened in the chapters I published.

As for the rest of the plot: the "stone pillow" Luigi slept on was Prince Dreambert, who Luigi rescues in the dream world. (Dawn rescues Bedsmith, because he was my favorite. :3) Dreambert explains to everyone that his kingdom's enemy, an evil bat king named Antasma, had turned all of the Pi'illo folk on the island to stone, leading to the ruin of the kingdom. The gang agrees to help free all of Pi'illos as they explore around the island.

Antasma is eventually found, also in a petrified state, and accidentally released but he flees when the heroes try to fight him. It's later revealed that Antasma wasn't the one who petrified the Pi'illos. (This is A Perfect World, canon villains aren't allowed to actually be evil, lmao!)

When people stop fighting him, Antasma is able to explain what he knows: the Pokemon Darkrai caused all the problems when it ended up wandering onto the island. (This story was going to be a two-parter, with the second half being a Mario/Pokemon crossover after the reveal.)

The Darkrai used its power to put all of the Pi'illos into a deep sleep, which resulted in them being trapped in the dream world and unable to leave their pillow forms without outside help to wake them up. (I don't remember whether I decided Darkrai was evil, or it just wanted a place of its own and unintentionally caused problems because of the nature of its power. So its motives/morality are up to writer interpretation, I guess.)

With Antasma's help, Darkrai is convinced to leave the island and the heroes wake up all of the Pi'illos. Everyone realizes Antasma isn't such a bad guy after all, he's just misunderstood and a bit of a loner. Dreambert and Antasma formally become allies and peace is restored to Pi'illo Island.

A celebration is held in honor of the Mushroom Kingdom gang, who are now heroes to the Pi'illo Kingdom, and after some time to rest they go home. Damien and Starlow stay behind to actually do the research they came to do.

I know this summary seems kind of rushed, and I'd like to think there was some more to the outline, but this is really all I can remember now. 😅

If you read this whole thing, I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!

[fishylife]

Thoughts on FFTA2

I'm not going to do an official write up post on this game. I've never been a big gamer so I don't feel I have much to add. I'm just going to dump thoughts.

As of right now, my team is about level 50. I've beaten the game (all three parts of the last battle), but came back to do the postgame content.

From browsing FFT reddit, I think FFTA2 is the least popular because of its lighter tone. Personally I prefer the lighter tone because I honestly don't pay that much attention to story when playing video games. Gameplay tends to be more important to me.

Thoughts on Gameplay

I thought that I wouldn't enjoy the generic characters but I love them a lot. The few special characters are enough to keep the story going.

It took me a little bit of time to figure out the ability point system, the bazaar system, the auction house system. Thankfully I won't be so lost in next playthroughs.

I was playing on normal the first time around. I guess like any tactical RPG player I should try hard next time.

I thought that there wasn't grinding in this game since everything is quest based, but there are repeatable quests which are essentially grinding, even if they don't give so much exp and ability points. The random encounters are hard to find because you can't see them on the map.

Like with other tactical RPGs, the beginning of the game was harder, I regularly finished battles with one or more dead characters lol. That changed as I was able to level up my characters.

I've found loot management to be challenging at times. I tend to save up loot so I won't be using my sole piece for an item, but I recognize that sometimes you might as well just use it so you have a weapon/piece of equipment now to use.

On the topic of the bazaar it's annoying that the bazaar list can't be rearranged in alphabetical order. It's also annoying that I have to consult a guide to craft my items and that there's no in-game mechanic to keep track of it for me.

I always accidentally break the laws during battles. I wish there was a pop up to remind me when I was going to break a law v.v

Thoughts on Jobs

For Humes, I much preferred the magic and archer/hunter classes. Love my seer/illusionist and my hunter/archer. For much of the game, I cycled Luso and Adelle between the parivir, paladin, and ninja classes and never really got anything good out of them. Paladin is fine as a secondary class because of its holy attacks and healing (nurse being able to heal stone is really helpful). I have heard that ninja is largely a poor class and that it's only good for building speed and getting dual wield. As for parivir, it's been disappointing for me. Maybe it's because I need to get the geomancy support ability but parivir hasn't been fun for me. Or maybe it's just that Luso and Adelle's stats up until then had been disappointing and therefore not able to show off the abilities of those classes :/

For a period of time I was trying to get a blue mage, but it was too much work. I think the general strategy is to bring a beastmaster into battle with the blue mage to learn skills. When I decided to try for blue mage, I was past level 30 so I recruited an underleveled Nu Mou and trained them up to be a beastmaster but it was still just...not fun for me? It's not worth the effort.

As expected, Nu Mou were great magic classes. Death and drain on arcanist were awesome. I tried alchemist for a while but I wasn't clicking with it. I knew I wasn't going to go for scholar because I didn't like that it hit everyone. I only started checking out sage later but I see why it's a good class. Some helpful attacks, including an ultima attack! Black mage, white mage, and illusionist were all solid on nu mou, as they are generally solid classes.

Viera! (I love the girls, viera and gria are my favourites <3) Viera classes are all terrific. The only one I didn't really care for was green mage, but it was just that I found it boring; it was still a pretty decent job. Elementalist was one of the most easily accessibly magic classes at the beginning of the game and it continued to be such a versatile and useful job later in the game. I thought I would never need summoner but admittedly summoners regen and healing spells are incredibly helpful. As for physical classes, sniper has such awesome and diverse abilities. Assassin is decent too (and it has the viera's ultima attack). Admittedly I did not start using the fencer line of jobs until much later in the game and fencer was surprisingly really useful?? I should have started with this class lol. Spellblade...listen I didn't realize blood price was this useful. But I get it now, I have seen the light. And like with elementalist, the fact that spellblade does damage and debuffs is just super helpful. Love vieras <3

Bangaas are generally decent but I think they're most useful in the straightforward physical damage dealing jobs, mainly white monk, master monk, and gladiator. I think templar and defender are meant to be the defensive classes. They're alright, but their skills aren't as interesting. For support Bangaa, we have bishop, cannoneer, and trickster. I call bishop support because I mostly use them as an emergency heal, but frankly their magic isn't very good (which makes sense). Cannoneer and trickster on the other hand are good for debuffs and cannoneer specifically has long-range healing. I think in my next playthrough I might try a cannoneer/trickster.

Moogles took me a long time to figure out because I just couldn't figure out how best to use them. I still don't really, but I've figured out which of the moogle jobs I prefer. Black mage and time mage are pretty solid but these are jobs that are shared among different races. Otherwise, the only other jobs that I felt were useful were juggler, fusilier, and moogle knight. At the beginning of the game, I was going for juggler/tinker because I heard it was a good combination. Juggler has some really good buffs and debuffs but in my opinion tinker is only good for its red spring ability. Fusilier felt like a good class because of its massive range. On the other hand, the other moogle long range physical class, flintlock, was hard to use because it required two turns to use any of the abilities (the hand-cannon has to be primed first). I discovered moogle knight way too late. For some reason I just never paid attention to it, but it's the sturdiest of the moogle's physical classes, and also has its ultimate attack. I had seen some recommendations for juggler/animist so I had checked out animist for a while. It's fine as a debuff class but I wouldn't say it was a favourite. Chocobo knight is unfortunately a gimmick class that is occasionally needed if only for the rancher's request quests. I'm so far into the game and I've still only completed two of the rancher's requests because it's difficult finding specific chocobos.

I only had one seeq during my playthrough so it took me a while to check out the various jobs. Berserker is a general damage job, ranger is for traps, viking is for stealing, and lanista is for draining HP. In general I've kept the berserker as a secondary class for my seeq while I cycled through the other jobs, but only because I got berserker first. I'd say that lanista is my favourite of the four because I like draining abilities. I like ranger too mostly because it can equip bows.

Grias <3 <3 My bat girls <3 <3 Grias being able to ignore terrain makes them so versatile. Both my grias were recruited as raptors so I kind of started backwards in that they started in a secondary job. In any case, I think raptor, hunter, and ravager are all very decent job. I'm starting to see a pattern that jobs that are shared between races tend to be very solid, and the same goes for hunter. Hunter is so useful particularly for the sidewinder and ultima abilities. Raptor is a pretty decent class with its crush abilities and its two wind abilities. Ravager is a bit more hard hitting; its sneak attack ability can be so powerful. As for geomancer, it just isn't meant to be for grias. I also am not the biggest fan of abilities that are environment-based, so a lot is out of the user's control when it comes to geomancer spells. Geomancers have great reaction and support abilities though. I had both my grias spend time as geomancers to get at least magick counter and avoid traps.

Bard is a pretty solid buff class! It takes a bit of work to get all of the abilities because of the whole thing with brilliant theorbo and shining lute only being available in quests. But overall a solid job including the ability to heal, cast regenerate, to deal holy damage, and to exorcise spirits.

Dancer is meant to be the opposite of bard in that it focuses mostly on debuffs. To be honest I mostly just use forbidden dance and mincing minuet for Penelo and not much else. Maybe I will get around to using blade dance but for me Penelo is mostly a debuffer and support character rather than a damage dealer, as opposed to Hurdy who can still deal decent damage while as a debuffer class.

I'm not too big on the sky pirate class. It's a stealing class, but I've never really focused too much on stealing in the game. Other than life of crime and some buff abilities I don't find sky pirate to be terribly useful. Plus, my Vaan doesn't have great stats and I had trouble figuring out what to do with him. Right now I'm seeing how he would fare as an archer/hunter.

I'm still only in the process of getting the heritor abilities so I don't have any deep thoughts on it. I think it might be a pretty awesome class based on the few abilities I have so far though.

I haven't gotten Al-Cid yet so I don't know what agent is like.

Thoughts on Abilities

I have to admit, ultima attacks are SO MUCH FUN. It's so satisfying when a character finally builds up enough MP to launch an ultima attack.

I'm really basic in that I generally focus on abilities that deal damage lol. Well, I do sometimes use buff skills when a character is not in range of an enemy they can attack. And I do use debuff skills too, particularly ones like disable or charm.

As I mentioned, I don't really care much for stealing items so thief and sky pirate abilities don't do anything for me.

It's really satisfying when you have a character who is a long-range damage dealer who has a short-range secondary job. Eg I'm working towards getting a fusilier/moogle knight so that my moogle can use an ultima attack from long ranges. But yeah it's the reason why I like gladiator as a secondary job for bangaas, so that they can use the ultima attack.

I often got confused over how to heal certain debuffs. It took me so long to figure out that confuse, charm, and sleep could only be cured by hitting the character and "waking them up." I also still have no idea how to cure doom or stone, other than hitting with a white staff and nurse respectively. I'm only in the process of getting esunaga for my sage so maybe that might help. But I couldn't even find too much information online :/ It also took me a long time to figure out the difference between disable and addle. In general this game has a lot of information that just isn't available within the game :/

I don't like the abilities that hit everybody regardless of friend or foe. Which is why I don't use the scholar class at all. With tinker, at least there's a chance factor, but I still only use tinker for red spring.

Quicken is an ability that's surprisingly useful. So time mage and jugglers are very helpful in that regard, particularly when I want my heavy damage dealers to get more turns in.

For reaction and support abilities, I tend to pick up as many as possible so that I can choose between them based on the battle. Eg against a lot of magic using enemies I would equip evade magick or magick counter etc.

Pretty much all my magic users have halve mp as their support ability. I wonder if I should start using geomancy for some of them though (the ones who can get it).

Thoughts on Races

Races are as good as their jobs are to me lol. So this section is just kind of a summary of the jobs section.

For me, humes are only good for magic and archer/hunter classes. My seer/illusionist is so sturdy.

Nu mou were generally great as magic damage classes. I think it's almost a bit of a waste to assign nu mous as white mages if they have other damage dealing options. But I do sometimes set my nu mous with white mage as secondary jobs when the team I'm sending in doesn't have any other good healers.

Vieras are 10/10! While they may not be the hardest hitting when it comes to physical damage, the fact that most viera jobs have debuffing abilities makes them really helpful. There's such good range in their job set and ability set. Plus bunnies <3

Bangaa are generally good physical damage dealers. Because they are sturdy, I think they'll still fare well in their defensive and support classes. It might be a bit of a waste to have a defense-oriented bangaa just because I think offense-oriented bangaas are still pretty sturdy.

Moogles are a mixed bag. I think there are really only a few jobs that are pretty useful and the others are just a bit too gimmicky. Moogles are cute though, kupo!

Seeq is alright. I didn't care for them enough to get two seeqs, I just had one seeq cycling through all the different jobs. In terms of physical damage, my bangaas already would have been doing that, and as I mentioned, I don't really care much for stealing in the game. I'm also not much of an item user in the game, so the ranger job with mirror items isn't really something I use a lot.

Grias are 9/10! As I mentioned, I loved their mobility. I think it's cool that we have a female class that is offense-oriented. All of the gria physical damage classes are solid.

Thoughts on Characters

Luso and Adelle join in the game early enough that they're basically blank slates.

That being said, Luso wasn't really impressive to me. He wasn't even the biggest damage dealer for me, it was just that he tended to be a little higher level than the rest of my team because he had to be in important battles.

Actually, Adelle is a little advanced for the team when she joined me, but she was soon beat out by the others because of her poor damage dealing. So next time I'm probably going to try to put her in a sturdier class. Right before she was about to get heritor, I had Adelle master seer because I heard that magick frenzy would work great with heritor abilities. I will see if that's true.

Cid was a typical bangaa unit, pretty solid.

Hurdy was good! It took me a long time to figure out how to use him but once I did I thought he was so useful. I was going with a black mage/bard combo which was pretty solid. But now I'm trying a juggler/bard combo to see if it's helpful. The smile toss is pretty helpful.

I kept seeing Frimelda being hyped but I haven't been impressed with her. She's generally too slow for me to be able to do anything with her :/ She does come with dual wield, but a lot of her weapons are two-handed so I can't always take advantage of dual wield. Maybe I should forget paladin as a secondary job for her and instead just focus on speed classes like parivir or ninja. Then she can take advantage of dual wield and get her speed up. For now I'm trying out fighter/paladin.

Penelo is fine. I'm working on making her a white mage/dancer mostly because I don't know what to do with her tbh.

As mentioned, I'm also very confused about what to do with Vaan. I was thinking of making him a fighter/sky pirate, but I currently already have Frimelda training as a fighter. I don't foresee Vaan being a major damage dealer so that was why I'm trying archer/hunter for Vaan. I saw some people suggest parivir with geomancy which I guess is always an option but eh. I'm not crazy on Vaan. I think maybe he's more fanservice for people who like FFXII.

I haven't gotten Montblanc or Al-cid yet. I'm a little curious about Montblanc, but I heard he doesn't have good magic stats so he isn't useful as a black mage. I'll see how he is. Hurdy was solid as a black mage so maybe I could make Montblanc the juggler. As for Al-cid if he gets the human job set then honestly I'm not too interested.

I know Cid was given the bangaa job set and Penelo was given the viera job set to spread things out a bit, but we still have way too many hume characters >( Luso, Adelle, Frimelda, Vaan, and potentially Al-cid.

Other

I don't know if I'll consider playing the other FFT games because they're not on NDS. But they seem to be more popular. We shall see. But playing FFTA2 has reignited my interest in the older tactical RPG games. Before, I only ever played Fire Emblem (the new 3DS ones and a bit of Shadow Dragon) and very occasionally Pokemon Conquest.

FFTA2 has also finally gotten me into final fantasy's job system. I never really connected with it but getting into FFTA2 has finally gotten me interested in its jobs that we see across different games, like white mage (healing), black mage (damage), red mage (hybrid), blue mage (wild card), dragoon (jump and spear), monk (fists), etc.

[neonfretra]

HEYYYYY ^_^ rambling below the cut

@sevennone

"New Spanish-Language Website Highlights Latest LosVGK Initiatives" from vgk

The new site is accessible by clicking “EN” or “ES” or the globe icon on the top right corner of the English site. Vegas is the first NHL team to produce a version of its website in Spanish and the second to offer two languages (joining Montreal, which has English and French).

NO WAY???

i doubt yall want to see me recite the los vgks (vgks hispanic and latino inclusion initiative) accomplishments but if i ever cared about what yall wanna see i dont think we would be two reblogs deep here now would we

(you could see it for yourself on the article itself!)

because THEIR PODCAST HATES ME i can only find the episode i believe youre referencing (Knight Time at Noon, episode #97) on amazon music. it is also a 47 minute episode and im not transcribing that within a reasonable span of time.

...unless?

the answer is i actually dont usually do well with podcasts cause i accidentally start tunin them out and then i gotta rewind it over . i do this a couple times LMAO

(also my bones disagree with transcribin right now. this post does NOT need to be longer trust me.)

for the interested, the section concernin los vgk goes from bout 15:10-23:20!

brings a tear to the eye :') genuinely worth the read + listen!

@stereax

right off the bat i had no idea what hockey night in canada was until right now LMAO i am unfortunately a sharks blogger through and through i dont know anything about hockey outside of the san jose sharks

(for anyone in a similar boat, hockey night in canada is the cbcs nhl cast ^_^)

IN PUNJABI? YOU PROMISE?

i will make an active effort to be normal. but thats CRAZY <3

(hello, neonfretra in the future! i failed.)

its fairly unfortunate that its ALSO a post season exclusive service, punjabi speakers canNOT listen to nothing games ... !

(i do wonder WHY its such a common trend but my guess is just finals are when viewership spikes and thats when broadcasting companies benefit the most from multiple language streams. unfortunate!)

theres this segment from "Hockey Night in Canada, with Mr. Chapared Shot" by Harnarayan Singh that piques my interest actually! (warning: the article contains sikhophobia and islamophobia against a sikh person)

The most famous term on the show, hands down, is chapared shot. We don’t have a word for slap shot in our language, so we took the word that means a slap to the face and added on shot at the end. It’s been a HUGE hit. I’ll be out shopping or something, and I’ll hear, “Mr. Chapared Shot!” Or kids will come up to me and demand that I say it. There are others that I really enjoy, too, though. When we mention the penalty box, we use Punjabi words that equate to “the box of punishment.” And we’re always referencing chai tea. Like, if your team had a bad period … maybe they need a cup of chai tea during the intermission.

THIS IS CRAZY FOR ME ACTUALLY...

PUNJABI CAST IN JOKES AND MEMES... thats awesome... hello... sounds good sounds natural... <3

actually i cant stress enough how crazy it is to read when casters put cultural terms into casting to ME! its really fascinating to read, ESPECIALLY because the two broadcasts we have read in this post so far are about selling the sport to a new demographic of nonhockey fans

to me it does feel like a sort of bridging of the gap in that sense with their new fans by not just tossin them into the deep end with technical terms or literal translations

which is what makes something a good translation and adaptation while existing as a completely separate cast!

yeagh...

A lot of times, it’s spur of the moment, but I’m proud to say that the general style I use has its roots in Punjabi culture. If it’s a big enough goal, and if the name fits, I always try to let the last syllable go on as long as I can — at the very least, I try to beat out the goal horn. And that comes from Punjabi singers, who are known for trying to compete with each other to see who can hold a note the longest.

(note: emphasis my own)

AWESOME. NO NOTES. i have nothing of worth to add. i love the way cultural raisings imbue you with certain associations .

(again the full article is worth the read! it follows the personal journey of singh as a caster and the work put into getting hockey night in punjabi off the ground and on air)

i feel the need to stress that there ARE other leagues and that nhl isnt the only way to watch a game in preferred languages. but it would be incredibly nice to be able to watch an nhl game in punjabi or asl any time of the season the same way french and spanish are options (AND WITH LIMITATIONS AT THAT...!) (the french are region locked.)

however i will spare the side search of what other leagues out there are and what languages they broadcast in.

REALLY cool is that hockey night in canada actually has provided broadcasts in other languages as well: italian, inuktitut, cree, hindi, tagalog, mandarin, and cantonese

im lookin at wikipedia sorry yall LOL

they chose these based off the most popular languages in the city each canadian team is based in, which does raise the question of WHY THE HELL IS THERE SO MUCH PUSH BACK... its not even love thy neighbor its more just. can we start with thy neighbor EXISTS??? racism is stupid and more breaking news with neonfretra at 6.

also it was baffling to see fully serious, uncritically posted pro forcing assimilation views. hold your opinions, ill hold mine, my opinion is you people are a tar pit .

but to be a little bit embarassing, it is actually incredibly exciting to realize how much there has been on a larger scale level for quite a few languages <3 its not a secondary language, non white non english speaking communities DO exist and ARE worthy of acknowledgement and involvement <3 i WANT other people to watch my terrible no good team. EYE know that anyone, me or my friends or my enemies or the stranger i will see twice in my lifetime, have a place in somethin as indulgent to watch as sports without havin to assimilate to the english speaking demands of the times!

... but only for the playoffs

do you see the problem with me talkin about my personal feelings towards these sorta casts. nothin new to be said and anythin of interest ALREADY covered in these articles <3

@planesandtrainingwheels

oh howdy! :) unfortunately this years schedule hasnt seemed to be posted yet u.u but aptn has a designated hockey in cree page if you want to look out for it! i wouldnt hold my breath, last seasons schedule was posted in january

they also have a dictionary of key vocabulary which is always interestin! ^_^

not all phrases included have an english translation and im not goin to try to figure how to do it myself in live time, so ! make do ^_^

(but if you ever wanted to learn a new language you can always hit up the plains cree language resource website though! just dont make me do it over the span of one post)

Roughing – ē-wī-pāspinē-nōtinikēt (he is almost going to fight someone) (...) Slashing – ē-kakwē-wīsakatahiwāt (he is trying to hurt him) this one can be translated several ways but the intent of this is trying to impede another player with their stick by hitting them and hurting them Too many men – ē-osāmiyaticik (there are too many of them)

you know what this actually explained the difference between a roughing and fighting penalty to me LMAO

(also laughed at there are too many of them. THERE SURE ARE! its a really good penalty name in both languages)

i do like the more literal meaning these compared to the more abstracted concepts because let me be honest with you. its INCREDIBLY hard to summarize some of these rules (and even then . how the heck we goin to even simplify slashing here!) (he is trying to hurt him why not) (you could argue they are in fact tryin to hurt each other the way an axe tries to hurt a log)

all this talk does make realize WOW hockey rules have some pretty weird names huh (WHAT IS INTERFERENCE!!!)

another article that caught my eye personally was "Veteran broadcaster hopes Cree 'Hockey Night in Canada' can help save language" by Gemma Karstens-Smith

i really did mean gatherin interest and supportin language learners in my first post (im part of the problem of dying languages! HELP!!!) and to know that hockey night in cree shoots for the stars does make me. you know. want to just carry that same hope! ^_^

The 60-year-old broadcaster from Canoe Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan is set bring the sport he loves to his community in a whole new way next month with the debut of "Hockey Night in Canada in Cree." "It means a lot. We're losing our languages across Canada," said Iron, who'll do play-by-play in Plains Cree for the six national NHL broadcasts. "We're trying to save the Cree language. And it'll help. Even to call a hockey game in Cree, it's a big thing."

one of the major things about castin in all these different languages is the connection ^_^ watchin sports is honest to god one of the biggest social experiences ive had and its an easy conversation facilitator.

ive observed a LOT of readings of peoples personal gaining from these casts being that they created connections with their peers that they felt a cultural gap with, having a similar grounds for a love of sports, and their family members they felt a generational gap with, learning the language of their family or having a way to include their non english speaking relatives in the conversation.

and from a completely unrelated angle, how many friends do you got tryin to learn japanese or korean because of the things they watch or read or listen to! my friend found music and television to be a massive help in her own journey to learn a language!

bringing your own culture and language to a massively popular platform like the nhl is HUGE to sharing and keeping it alive

crack open a broadcast in a different language! toss yourself into that show whose tropes you think are weird! its fun, trust me :)

also unrelated, their tag line? of sorts is "kitāskwēw, pihtikwahēw" means "he shoots, he scores" like baby i wish my team knew how to do that

GOD I NEED TO CUT MYSELF OFF. we are NO LONGER going back to elaborate. we are NOT adding any more.

thank you yall for real though! would not have known bout ANY of this otherwise <3

and POST!!!

maybe nhl in asl has given me a taste of the epic highs and now i am too spoiled . whats stopping us from doing this all the time ... whats stopping us from casting games in whatever popular languages in the area of a teams are ... maybe spanish speakers want to watch nothing games as well as the stanley cup final what then ... have you never wondered what kind of translations of your favorite players names there are out there ... heres how we can force people to actually learn those two or three or four languages theyve always wanted to pick up ... gather interest in learning less well known languages ... ill go first and then get dragged for exclusively sayin nothing related to the game LMAO