#and you can't really talk about those fears with people because well you're choosing to leave

[creatingblackcharacters]

Say, if someone were to take a long time (more than months) before speaking up about racism, are they wrong for not immediately addressing it and instead letting the hurt fester? The first time it happened I was questioning my own perception, and by the time I became sure, it feels like it's too late (and it's also been very long after the last time I saw it happen too), and I feel like I also played a part in not immediately speaking up because of fear of the consequences. None of the racism were big enough, but if I were to list every instance then wouldn't it look like I'm being petty and trying to smear campaign someone? Or immature for being avoidant and not communicating my hurt immediately?

I'm going to approach this from an antiblackness perspective, since that's what I talk about here.

I think it depends on a couple of factors. Are you Black? If so, then no, it's not wrong to feel hurt about it no matter how long ago it happened. What you experienced was wrong, and it'll always be wrong. Plus, not wanting to speak up because you know it'll just be a threat to you is a common reason why Black people usually don't speak up about racism. Because yeah, you'll get dogpiled and gaslit and abused when you dare suggest someone was *gasp* bigoted toward you and needs to apologize! There's no statute of limitations on racism, and we shouldn't have to create an entire case to prove ourselves the way we do. That said, if this is a stranger, you will probably not be able to approach on the offensive because you let the time pass. So unless you have receipts, really all you can do is block them and move on with your life, or tell them privately "hey, this thing you said/did wasn't okay. I didn't say anything before because I wasn't sure how you'd take it, but I have not felt as safe around you since then, and I felt you needed to know" (and then probably block them). And you can't expect them to take it well- all you can do is say something, if you choose to at all. And if they take it that poorly, now you have the ability to tell others "yeah, this person did not take hearing about their bigotry well, and is not safe for Black people to be around". Because I would want to know if who I'm sharing from hates me.

If you are not Black, then I want you to consider (using your words) why the racism wasn't "big" enough, especially given that it wasn't dangerous towards you. What do you need to see in order to speak up? And by allowing it to get that large, recognize that you helped create a space where that behavior was safe and acceptable by saying nothing when all the "small" racism was occurring! That said, people are going to take it as petty regardless of your intent, because that's how racism is treated both here and outside the internet. It may be demeaned, treated as a smear campaign, because people think calling out racism is worse than being racist. So it really depends on how much you're willing to stand on it. You saw all these things happen, you have the receipts, you know you're in the right- are you willing to speak up? Are you willing to accept what may happen, or are you more worried about your own comfort? Maybe you'll allow Black people who saw all that racism feel heard and valid, so they can speak up too. Maybe you'll start a conversation that needs to be had. Maybe you'll be a step towards cracking that environment where this racism was acceptable, or worse case scenario, you'll recognize that this isn't a place you want to be if racism is treated so lightly. Those are hard decisions!

Sorry that this probably didn't make you feel better, but it's not a light topic.

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

-

[6okuto]

MATSUKAWA RELATIONSHIP HCS

gn!reader, timeskip mentions | 4 whoevah asked! 🫵👍

waits until you're distracted/busy before suddenly saying shit like "first one to get to the lineup gets to pick extra snacks" at the grocery store

eats your leftover food if you can't finish

works hard to take you to a fancy restaurant on one of your first dates... doesn't know which ones are actually good so he's on reddit researching, texting the seijoh 4 gc, etc etc. he dresses up too... he wants to make sure you're happy and treated well 🙁

issei isn't super into or against pda,, he's happy if you're happy. most of the time it'll be an arm draped around your shoulder while you're sitting together or casual hand holding. he isn't opposed to a quick kiss either! :3

if you show him one of those videos that are like,, "if you know your partner, which one would they choose?" and he gets it wrong issei's like "?? tf are u sure" as if it isn't Your choice

he isn't used to getting gifts. if you give him a gift his first thought (fear) is that he's forgotten some kind of anniversary. but you tell him it's just because you thought of him and he gets all flustered and can't keep eye contact 🙁 you catch him glancing at/playing with the gift for the rest of the day

^ him with a lot of stuff actually LOL he tries to hide how Not Chill he is it's so cute 😭 you ask him to hold something but your hand is empty and you just interlock fingers? he's like wow okay if you wanted me you could've just said so As if his ears aren't red hshsdbshs

denies crying over a sad movie as he takes the tissue box from you (refuses to look at you until he's wiped his tears) (looks at you with red eyes and sniffles and says It's not even that sad)

says he'll take a photo of you then takes a selfie LOL

^ you'll have to show him how to take good photos... or learn together... he promises he's a quick learner + he thinks you look good in all of them

takes your compliments/comments to heart. you say his hair looks nice grown out and he takes a few extra seconds messing with it in the mirror, pushing off a haircut for a little longer. you say his new jacket looks great and he's like yeah of course it does,, then reaches for it more often than planned at its original purchase.

i think timeskip mattsun would worry about sharing certain stories from work ;; like... would it upset you (more than him)? did you have a rough day and would he make it worse? he keeps it pretty vague until you ask him to share because you can tell it's been big on his mind

mattsun's not one to care about what side of the bed he sleeps on (it's just the one is closest to a charging port) until you're together. like if you pick a side yourself, it becomes a habit for him to slide into the other even times you aren't sharing a bed. it just doesn't feel right anymore bdhsjdbsj

you know those trends where you ask the other person/people to draw flowers or stars for your lockscreen. he just sends a shitty dick drawing LOL. but he ends up spending super long on decent flowers after i promise. scrunching his eyebrows, moving his finger really slow, picking good colours and everything... even pulls up references. yeagh

sees you online listening to sad music and texts "you up?" in hopes of distracting you. he gets away with coincidental timing the first couple of times, but you figure it out. not that this changes anything (other than maybe his text to "you wanna talk?") — mattsun continues as an offer / reassurance he's there if you'd like him to be

so supportive. SO SUPPORTIVE. you have a big project you're working on? he's checking on you and complimenting you with every day of work, even if he isn't knowledgeable on it himself. you get a promotion or offer you've always wanted? you have to celebrate—you deserve it!! you have a big game coming up? he's in the stands with your jersey on and he's brought his friends to cheer too

^ he isn't really one to Jump for Joy, but he'll be grinning so big, and always matches your energy. (you like hugs and kisses? you got them! you'd rather a solid high-five or verbal praise? that's good with him too! he just wants you to know he's happy and proud of you)

^ actually he might jump for joy. a little. not in a YAHOO! YIPPEE!! way but in a LET'S GOOOOOO way.

you ask to meet the seijoh team and he's like. begging the universe no one's gonna embarrass him. everyone's like No way someone wants to date our mattsun?! Are you sure?! and he's 😐

^ tries to act cool in front of you. gets called out like "lmfao what are you doing" "so obvious" "okay mr. tough guy?" "blocked a ball and thinks he's hot" WBDJSNSSJ

^ brightens when you tell him he Is very cool and you like watching him. shoots his team a look and says something about how they're all single LOL

doesn't post you a lot, but he doesn't really post in general so the ratio of you on his profile is still great tbh. maybe for anniversaries or if he took a really good photo—keeps it minimal and won't write long paragraphs. adds a couple blurry or 0.5x pictures if you're okay with it

accidentally kicks you while he's napping and apologizes even though you swore he was deep asleep shdbsbns

lets you have the window seat. he doesn't actually care that much (since it's you) but he makes a scene of giving it up for you /silly /he's smiling

issei always does his first karaoke song with you if you're there. the first time it happens he doesn't even ask he just hands you the second mic and you're like wait what ??? LOL

gets scared if you say his full name. skips right over confusion and freezes like a deer in headlights even if he hasn't done anything

middle guy for autographs.. LMFAO 😭😭 like what do you mean you know oikawa tooru and iwaizumi hajime who then knows msby etc etc. you show up and say his name like :)) isseii?? :)) and he's like 🙄 Who's asking now. you know you know them too right. /lh

bro does not decorate. imagine unpacking for your new shared apartment and you're like ?? is that really all your stuff. and he's like ....Yeah??.. a lot of the things on his desk/around the house were bought together or by you

i write hcs and im like wowww what a respectable post length and then i realize how long the points are and im like FAWK??!?! ur telling me i DONT actually have that many ?!?!?! so i keep adding more and thats why i take so long. then i stare at myself like GIRL GET IT TOGETHER!! EVERY TIME!!! 🙁🙁🙁

[veilkeeper]

The Sacrifice of Souls, Part 2

alt title: why im putting corentin in the torment nexus

this is the second instalment of a 2-part essay series. the first part focused on the events of emmrich's quests, as well as my analysis and critique of his quest line overall. this part will focus specifically on the effects these choices have on the romance, as well as my thoughts on how i'm handling the events for my emmrichmancing rook, corentin.

spoilers ahead! beware that both essays are going to assume you have completed The Sacrifice of Souls and at least one of the follow up quests, Heir to the Dead or Will and Testament. if you have not, i suggest returning to this later and playing it out yourself.

so let's start with the most important question of the day:

what happens to the romance after the sacrifice of souls?

good news! no matter what you pick, the romance can continue on unabated. there's just some long-term details and tone changes that need to be considered.

if you choose to save manfred, be prepared for parenthood. previously, the game had poked at the idea of manfred being emmrich's kid, but now that manfred is talking and progressing at a rapid pace, he is in full "magic-flinging skeleton son" territory, and a romanced rook is going on that journey with emmrich. there is also now a near certainty that rook is going to outlive him—regardless of your personal headcanons, the game assumes that rook is younger than emmrich, and now that he's locked into a mortal lifespan that's something that needs to be considered. especially since, as discussed in part one, emmrich's fears of his own mortality haven't really been addressed at all.

but if you're into co-parenting a rambunctious skeleton with an older, gentlemanly necromancer (which, let's be real, is what most people signed up for when they hit those first flirt options anyway), then this path is probably exactly what you were looking for.

that said, let's talk about the lich romance angle. i was worried when i went down this path that the romance would just immediately end, but it actually doesn't! emmrich certainly wonders if it will—before he undergoes his rites, he has a conversation with rook about how they'll navigate a relationship once he's undead. he says that his senses will change, the way he feels (not about rook, but literally the way he feels) will change, and his body will be different. but they agree they can make it work, so hell yeah.

and if you like the whole "immortal lover" trope, there's some stuff here to like. the lich lords, when you arrive to bear witness to the rites, refer to rook as "challenger of the gods, volkarin's beloved", and emmrich waxes poetic about how even after rook passes, the way he feels about them will be immortalized alongside him. there's also a very sweet kiss before he goes into the rite, and rook has the opportunity to tell him they love him, just in case he doesn't come back out. and afterwards, they have a powerful, immortal skeleton boyfriend, so for the monsterfuckers in the audience.... nice.

so what's the catch?

if you're looking for a fairly unambiguously "happy ending", and if you like the idea of your rook parenting for the foreseeable future, saving manfred is your easy option. on this path, rook and emmrich will have many good years together before he dies. there's absolutely still room for angst here because of emmrich's unresolved issues, but there's definitely a more... domestic, low-key quality to this path.

the lich romance has some pretty glaring obstacles, and that's probably a big part of why a lot of people doing the romance might not pick this. first of all, he wasn't joking, he's literally a skeleton. he can put on a glamour for polite company, but he is a skeleton. realistically, intimacy is going to be complicated by that. on top of that, as a lich for the mourn watch, he's going to have certain duties that he can't get away from. myrna herself asks if they're going to be seeing less of emmrich now that he's a lich, and his answer is basically not yet. at some point, some time in the future, he is going to have to go into the necropolis to begin his lich duties and he won't really be coming back out after. so in a very real way, there is an invisible timer on the relationship where it'll basically be dead in the water unless rook makes some serious lifestyle changes* to accommodate that (assuming they're allowed to). so there's some built in angst with the lich romance that may or may not be your preferred flavour, because his job might end their relationship long before rook's mortal lifespan even becomes a consideration.

*theoretically a mourn watcher rook is going to have an easier time with that particular adjustment, but i'm speaking from my perspective as a LoF rook

decisions, decisions

this is the part where i start talking about my rook, but do us both a favour and keep reading, because believe it or not there is still some emmrich analysis in this part, and it might inspire you to do your own dissection for your rook, too.

so my rook is corentin laidir, and from the moment emmrich said the word "lich" he's been quietly freaking out about it. largely because of the whole "you're going to leave me to be a lich in the necropolis" thing.

i had hoped that resolving emmrich's quest line would give me a very clean solution to the lich freak out issue, and it does! ....if i liked the ending where we save manfred. which i don't. controversial opinion, but i don't actually care about manfred enough for corentin to be his second dad, and from a roleplay perspective i don't think corentin would advocate for bringing manfred back.

but on the other hand, the lich!emmrich option is quite literally corentin's nightmare. what corentin wants, at his core, is for emmrich to accept both manfred's death and his own, whenever it may come. he wants emmrich to understand that running from his own fear of death like that is beneath him. is it honouring death to defy it like that, even (supposedly) in the name of service? corentin would argue no, if he could bring himself to argue with emmrich about anything.

selfishly, corentin is also afraid of what eternity means. sure, emmrich says now that he'll always remember corentin and what they have, but what about a thousand years from now? he's afraid of being replaced, and of becoming insignificant to someone who is so, so important to him right now. in this life.

so the question becomes: do i choose an imperfect, happier ending that maintains emmrich's mortality, or do i throw corentin into an emotional blender?

why i'm putting corentin in the torment nexus

one of the problems of being a creatively-minded person while playing decision-based games is that there comes a time when you have to make a choice:

do i work with the options available to me, or do i pull out my scalpel and gut this thing?

and in moments like this, where neither option is quite right, i have no choice but to get surgical. pick what's interesting, and frankenstein that thing into something that works well enough to carry me to the end.

and the fact of the matter is, the lich path is just more interesting to me in this case because it's an angst machine, and because it makes sense for him to get stuck in it. if i dig into corentin's character, in that exact moment when a decision is made, there's no world where he's going to tell emmrich to give up on his life's work just to bring manfred back and stay mortal. but there is a world where he'd recognize that telling emmrich to give up on his life's work for a guy who loves him who he met five minutes ago is a dick move, and then he'd get completely caught off guard when emmrich says he's going to start preparing for his rites now.

so where does this leave corentin?

here's how i'm handling the situation for the time being, unless something comes along that completely revolutionizes how i feel about all this.

every time emmrich has talked about becoming a lich, it's always been a vague future thing with no real timeline attached. in hindsight, it's pretty clear that the only thing delaying the process was himself—emmrich was uncertain if he was willing to risk the danger of the rites. this uncertainty, however, has left corentin with the impression that even if he was 100% sure and raring to go forward, there would be tests and preparation that needed to happen first, and there would be time before the rites could happen.

so when the question of whether or not to save manfred comes up, corentin does what any good boyfriend would and he tells emmrich that he's dedicated his life to potentially becoming a lich, and he needs to be really certain before throwing that away.

corentin is allergic to being a bummer; even when he's really struggling with something, he feels like he can't talk about it if it'll upset someone else. emmrich is desperately afraid of death, and corentin is desperately afraid of being alone, so he's gotten very good at keeping himself... palatable. so when emmrich responds to his encouragement by saying that he'll start preparing for the rites immediately? well, corentin feels locked into the supportive boyfriend schtick. he feels like he has to be unerringly supportive and not question emmrich's decision, even though it is definitely something that effects him, too.

the whole time emmrich's preparing to become a lich, corentin is thumbs up "you got this babe!"-ing his way through it, all while frantically trying to squash down the feeling of impending doom. because he is 100% completely convinced the other shoe is going to drop at any moment and emmrich is going to go to the Lich Corner Store for cigarettes and never come home.

though it should be noted, the skeleton part of "skeleton boyfriend" is really the least of his concerns. it's just everything around that.

and where does this leave emmrich?

he doesn't know it, but it leaves him with a pretty miserable boyfriend. they're going to have to reckon with corentin's issues at some point.

just like they're going to have to deal with emmrich's. becoming a lich is maybe not 100% a good thing, at least not right this second. he says that he "thought he knew its price," and in keeping with that banter i linked in the first part, he seems unprepared for the reality of losing people. it feels a little like he's rushing into it headfirst before the grief can hit him full force and he can get cold feet.

i'm really curious how he's going to feel if something happens to corentin (or almost happens), and it gives him a reality check on his boyfriend's mortality. losing manfred is already unimaginably hard... is he prepared for what it's going to be like when he loses corentin?

because i don't think he's realized that he isn't, yet.

[animebw]

Kumirei and Conflict Avoidance

So, after that earth-shattering Eupho episode last weekend, I am, unsurprisingly, hyperfixating on Kumirei once again. I keep rolling this conflict over in my head, how we got to this point, how inevitable it was in hindsight, how it reveals new sides of Kumiko and Reina's relationship I hadn't really considered before. And you know me: when I have thoughts, I have to talk about them. SPOILERS BELOW FOR ALL OF HIBIKE EUPHONIUM UP TO THIS POINT.

The thing is, Kumiko and Reina are incredibly different people. But one way in which their differences make them very much the same is that they both suck at handling messy interpersonal conflict. When faced with a problem that has no clear answer and every solution will end with someone getting hurt, they both balk at the prospect of actually facing that conflict head-on and dealing with that ambiguity. The difference is that Kumiko tries to shy away from dealing with the situation at all and hopes everyone will somehow find a way to get along, whereas Reina doubles down on her perspective and refuses to hear any counter-arguments. Kumiko reacts to uncomfortable issues by saying "Well, maybe everyone's right, I guess?", while Reina reacts by saying "No, I'm the only one who's right, and if you're against me you're doing it wrong."

And in a lot of ways, that makes them perfect for each other! Reina's stubborn passion is what pushed Kumiko out of her comfort zone and gave her the spark to actually care about what she's doing. And on the flipside, Kumiko's willingness to give people the benefit of the doubt gives Reina someone she can rely on when her pride is pushing everyone else away. At their best, they balance each other out perfectly, Reina inspiring Kumiko to try her hardest and Kumiko giving Reina a safe place to let herself be vulnerable. It's what's made them such an incredible couple for over a decade now.

But when things go really south, those instincts can end up bringing out the worst in each other instead. Reina's stubbornness can be so overwhelming that Kumiko can't bring herself to actually confront her for fear of how angry she'll be. And that reluctance ends up enabling Reina further, pushing her toward greater arrogance secure in the knowledge that at least one person will always be on her side. Reina makes Kumiko shrink even further, Kumiko lets Reina's ego swell even bigger, and suddenly the same odd-couple magic that pushed them to such great heights becomes a vicious circle dragging them both down.

Because at heart, neither of these girls have yet figured out how to navigate a situation that demands asking uncomfortable questions and making imperfect choices. Neither of them are brave enough to handle a messy conflict with the level of maturity it demands. Keep in mind that as many ups and downs as they've had, Kumiko and Reina have never truly gotten in a massive argument with each other, an argument that would demand them making those hard choices. The closest we got was the infamous episode in season 2 where Reina's crush on Taki-sensei boils over and threatens to drive a rift between them- and there again, Kumiko deflects the conflict, telling Reina she's "rooting for her" rather than face the issue head-on and deal with the fact that the girl she loves is stuck on her feelings for an adult who will never return them. Which, as I've discussed before, is framed just about as tragically and depressingly as cinematic language can accomplish.

But now that Kumiko's band leader? She can't keep running from arguments anymore. She has to dive headfirst into the thick of all her bandmates' issues and actively choose how to best keep them together, even if that means making hard calls she isn't comfortable making. And Reina's in a position of power now where her hard-headedness doesn't just affect her, but trickles down to all the underclassmen she's trying to lead. Neither of them can afford to let their worst habits drive their decision-making anymore- because it won't just be them that suffer if they refuse to rise to the occasion.

Which brings us to the boiling point of Kuroe taking Kumiko's place in the audition. In the aftermath of this upset, we see both Kumiko and Reina's coping mechanisms pushed to their limits. Kumiko's trying to calm everyone's worries while her own heard is still a whirlwind, Reina's doubling down and refusing to even consider Taki-sensei made a wrong call, and it reaches a point where this state of affairs just isn't sustainable anymore. There's too much tension built up, there's too many people's dreams and hopes on the line. Something has to give, or everything's going to give.

And it's here, at last, that Kumiko finally does something she's never had the courage to do.

She stands up to Reina and tells her, point-blank: "No, Reina, YOU'RE wrong."

No wonder it feels so monumental. No wonder Reina's shaken enough to rip apart their relationship. After years of not being able to address the deepest, stickiest issues that lie between them, Kumiko shatters the cycle of enabling they've been falling into and tells Reina that she is wrong. She is wrong to put herself above everyone else and not listen to alternatives. She is wrong to blindly put faith in Taki-sensei at the expense of all her bandmates counting on her to have their best interests at heart. She is wrong to let her pride and stubbornness guide her. It's bad for the band, it's bad for her, and it's bad for her relationship with Kumiko. And if they're going to have any chance of moving forward, then she needs to be just as brave in facing this mess honestly as Kumiko is. She needs the courage to accept that she isn't always right, that her way or the highway is no way at all, that the uncompromising road she walks will one day separate her from everyone she once held close.

She needs to let go of her fear of emotional honesty and meet Kumiko on the level she's finally been able to reach.

And you know what sticks with me the most? After Reina lashes out at Kumiko and essentially tells her to get stuffed, we see the horror in Kumiko's eyes as she realizes the consequences of finally standing up to the girl she loves...

...only for her expression to settle back into the determination of a girl standing by what she said regardless.

After so many years, Kumiko is facing her closest companion's worst traits dead in the face. And in this moment, in this expression, she decides that doing the right thing is more important than clinging to their relationship through thick and thin.

It's a face that says, "If this is the choice you're making, then this is worth ending things over."

And I can't blame her one bit.

[talkativeanxiousturtle]

TW: Mention of death, mention of su*c*de.

I saw the description for "Psych", on Netflix. And if you don't know, it's basically about this detective helping the police who has to convince everyone he's a genius but actually he's a psychic.

So I had this idea for a AU. What if Sherlock could see ghosts? Now, when I write fantasy, ghosts already have a set of rules in my universe, that makes them juuuuust unhelpful enough that they can't fix the characters' problems, and just important enough that they haunt the narrative, quite literally. So I used those rules for my ghosts. That would mean that Sherlock, although he would have a huge advantage in solving the crimes, still wouldn't be able to like, deduce everything about you. Like he's still a genius for doing that. It's just... Now he also sees ghosts. He can't really talk to them with people around (people already dislike him, if they think he's crazy he'll lose all credibility), and ghosts don't like communicating with the living anyways, unless you're willing to trade something away. Sherlock is NOT. So, his power seems pretty useless, right?

But what if he had a ghost friend? A ghost bonded to him, haunting him, but still on good enough terms that he's willing to help Sherlock in his endeavors. His ghost friend interrogates the ghosts on the scene, asks questions, makes sure they get as much info from the other side as they can. Sherlock uses the clues to find out WHAT question to ask.

Now all that's left is to figure out just who that ghost is... The easy answer seems to be John. A dead soldier haunting 221B, Sherlock moves in, and John gets so enraptured in Sherlock's adventures that his unfinished business becomes writing about him. John uses a haunted pen to write it all, by hand.

But then, Johnlock just becomes tragic, doesn't it? Sherlock is constantly lying awake, fearing that John will finally tire of writing about him and move on to the next plane. And John doesn't want to leave Sherlock alone! He's scared of what Sherlock might do, if left behind. John is refusing himself Heaven, to make sure Sherlock doesn't end up in Hell. Sure, he had no reason to think that Sherlock would end up in Hell, but... It's Sherlock. Come on. So when Sherlock does something wrong, John is WAY more on his case about it. He's terrified for Sherlock's soul. The fic would end with the Fall, because why, pray tell, would Sherlock bother faking his death? Just join your boyfriend. Sure, he could envision a way out, but all he has to do is lie to John, "there is no other way", and John would let himself be convinced.

That's all well and good, but a story where the happy ending is "main character kills self" is not like... A GREAT moral for a story to have, especially in THIS mentally ill fandom. So you know what would be a better moral? Learning to let go of hurts past, and choosing to live. We all know Sherlock would die for John, would kill for him. What if, in this one, we make him live for him?

I propose Sherlock's ghost friend should be Victor Trevor. Sherlock's dead childhood friend never stopped haunting him, quite literally this time. Sherlock was so traumatized, his desire to grow up with Victor, to not be left alone, so strong that he accidentally tethered Victor to the mortal plane. He doesn't know he's the one who did it, of course, and Victor doesn't want to tell him. He knows Sherlock would hate himself too much for it. So, they cohabitate. They get to grow up together. At first, they think Victor is just going to stay a child, but for some reason he's able to grow older. Makes sense, since he's a manifestation of Sherlock's desire for them to age together, but THEY DON'T KNOW THAT. Sherlock isn't as bitter about being alone, in this version. After all, he still has a best friend. And no one could ever replace him.

Then he meets John.

Oh! The guilt of Sherlock, as he begins to feel things for John! Oh! The jealousy of John, for this unknowable, apparently much smarter, funnier, handsomer friend than he! Oh! The torn feelings of Victor, both fearing losing his place in Sherlock's heart, and wishing his friend would move on!

... Should I write it.

[olderthannetfic]

Ok, wow, this is NOT the type of ask you seem to get usually, but this appears to be my best option...

I'm seeking out a post that is not particularly fandom-y in nature, but I was reminded of it after reading the earlier anon who was burned out from AI discourse - I totally feel the same way, and there was a really great lengthy textpost I reblogged a few months ago (read: "I read it any time from, like, April 2024 to almost a year ago......sorry") that I cannot find on my blog nor on tumblr in general - either because the post has been completely nuked from the internet OR because I'm just bad at SEO searches and remembering the keywords that were actually IN the post. I'm hoping it's a me issue or, if the post IS nuked, at the very least someone here remembers it and has an internet archive link or screenshot or something????

to get to the point, there was a post that was like (paraphrased, quote marks are not literal quotes):

"When it comes to the anti-AI crowd on tumblr, there's basically two schools of thought: people who completely hate AI and everything about it and are opposed to all forms of AI without even learning what AI really is. These people are stuck in their ways and generally can't be reasoned with.

Then there's a second group who are against AI for pretty good reasons - they really are worried that AI is gonna completely take over and steal artists' livelihoods, those who criticize it for environmental activist reasons, etc. These people generally can be reasoned with as they're truly misinformed, and in fact they would be - or already are - receptive to a less harmful AI."

The post then went on to compare AI to other forms of automation and made some really great parallels; such as bringing up the fact that stores that have both self checkout AND cashiers tend to be the best business models, because people who have their preferences can choose how they want to shop, AND we can utilize automated checkouts without completely getting rid of cashiers, which is obviously good for a lot of reasons.

It also debunked a lot of common fearmonger-y arguments against AI, i.e. explaining what "training AI" really entails, with some general copyright-critical philosophy in general. (I don't know the actual, like, political term, if one even exists, but basically they were talking about flaws with "intellectual property" as a concept - or at least how IP works today and why it works the way it does.)

There was also a really good addition to the OP's thoughts that I liked, with another user talking about: Essentially people who are gonna use AI would likely have done something else sketchy anyway, even if AI as it stands today didn't exist. For example, chatGPT isn't to blame for plagiarism. The people who use chatGPT to do their homework would, in an earlier time, likely go on Chegg / pay someone to write an essay / reuse their old work / etc. Likewise, the people who tell open AI to make artwork for them likely wouldn't make (or try to make) their own artwork anyway, nor would they even commission someone. They talked about how since fandom is so damn divided on the topic of AI, that the artists who DO feel as if their commissions are being taken away from them, or the writers who DO fear AI taking over fanfic.......well, to put it nicely, those people likely wouldn't really be losing many fans in the first place. You didn't lose a commission to AI - that person never would've commissioned you in the first place, and the people that do commission you hate AI as much as you do. You're not losing readers to AI - people who choose AI fics over yours are likely already the impatient type who can't handle waiting more than a week for an update, so they just make AI feed them 10k in one sitting! And the people who DO comment and read on your stuff, also hate AI!

I definitely did not agree with every single point made on the post (ie i dont think the self checkout metaphor was a great direct parallel logistically, but I def picked up what they were trying to put out and overall agreed with the general sentiment), overall it made a lot of really, really, really good points about the AI debate that I'd truly never considered before.

I know I've damn near rewritten the whole post myself now at this point but I also know there's a lot of stuff that I'm missing or that I just can't word and I'd love to know if anyone else has seen this post or has it on their blog in some capacity.

--

[yanderes-galore]

Scenario where Raiden Ei trapped her darling in her Plane of Euthymia, so that her mortal darling would live eternally?

I am still stuck on her boss battle so... MIGHT AS WELL, RIGHT? I apologize if it isn't long enough, I did what I could for this ^^; Ngl, Idk how to write Ei for anything so I tried my best :)

Spoilers for Inazuma/Electro Archon backstory implied

Eternity

Yandere! Raiden Ei Scenario

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Kidnapping, Ei is a hypocrite, Fear of death, Fear of abandonment, Implied Ei is dealing with grief, Forced relationship.

Ei never understood why you cry and scream. She saved you, so why do you look so terrified? You would've been corrupted... you would've died if not for her.

Mortals are so vulnerable to change. They can die so easily and rot due to time. Time... is a threat to eternity... this is because it brings change. Ei herself has seen the damage time and change has caused to her and her loved ones.

Despite this, she finds you screaming at her to release you? Yelling that you don't want to be kept by her in a state of immortality. She finds your response rather selfish.

Don't you know that only she chooses who's brought here? This plane of existence is special. It's meant to keep you both young and healthy, free of corruption.

This way she can't lose you, either.

You should think you're lucky. Out of any mortal she chose you to keep with her. She can make you comfortable in this place while she continues her meditation. There's no need to complain.

Ei remembers when she first met you. You were a loyal mortal servant of hers, wishing no more than to work for Ei and Inazuma. It was after the vision hunt decree was announced... after her obsession over eternity started... that you became a big target for the Archon.

Ei was not expecting to grow so attached to a mortal. She had many mortals to take care of. Inazuma is her region, the people here are hers to protect, so why was she so focused on only one? Was it because you two talked so often? Was it your loyalty? At the time, it didn't matter what drew her to you...

Ei just knew that you were someone she didn't wish to lose.

She's lost so many already. Those losses are what drove her towards her hunt for eternity. Maybe deep down... you reminded her of those she lost?

You were not blind to the Archon's attention to you. You were often invited to Tenshukaku to eat sweets with the Archon. She often chatted with you, giving you smaller jobs than other servants. You did wonder why she liked you so much. Were you really a close friend of the Archon?

Maybe even Archons need a mortal to confide in? You were never able to find out why Ei looked at you with such adoration and care. You swore when she looked at you... she muttered a name under her breath that definitely wasn't yours.

You never knew that while you occupied yourself with work, Ei worried about you. The longer she grew closer to this mortal and cared for them... there was a nagging feeling deep within her.

She could lose you at any moment.

If she could lose great warriors like in the war, how easy would it be to lose a weak mortal like you? How long would it be before some accident happens and she loses you too? Change is a threat to eternity... and time brings change.

She knew you wouldn't understand her reasoning. Not without thorough teaching and explanations. Either way, you didn't share Ei's paranoia towards life and death.

Which is why when she drags you to the Plane of Euthymia... you panic.

The moment her meditation started, you bombarded her with questions. Ei kept a stoic face yet your questions did annoy her. Why do you fight your Archon's decision?

You ask her where you are. You ask her why you're here. You wonder and wonder what you've done to deserve this.

Ei encourages you to see this place as a good thing. It's a reflection of her mind, she can make it more to your liking if you like. Although, no matter what she said, you only stared at her with fear.

Ei tries to tell you it's just you and her. Time doesn't pass here, nothing gets in unless she allows it. You do not need to eat, drink, or sleep. You are safe here... safe from time, change, and any enemy to eternity.

You argue that you never wanted this, a reasoning that Ei finds strange. You liked being mortal? You were fine with dying someday and leaving her? She'd never allow it.

Ei thinks if she tells you her reasoning... you'll listen. She tells you she's done this because she cares. She knows mortals like you are fragile... now that you're here nothing can hurt you. She claims that she needs you here.

But even when she offers you paradise... you yearn for something else like it's hell.

You yearn to return to your old life of all things.

Ei ignores your comments, arguments, and screaming. Surely a smart mortal like you will realize reasoning with her is pointless, right? Her mind is set... you'll reside here with her.

There's no need to worry about the outside world. She has a puppet assisting with all of her Archon matters. Now the Archon can focus on something else...

Ei can focus on preserving eternity... she can finally focus on preserving you.

"This is the best I, as your Archon, can offer." Ei smiles softly towards you, momentarily breaking her stoic mask. "Many seek immortality. Many seek companionship. Now you have both... with me."

"Ei..." You say, tears in your eyes. Only you and Yae are able to speak the Archon's true name, a developing red flag you noticed long before this. "What makes you think this is right?"

"Why wouldn't it be? I'm keeping the one I care for safe. I've... lost many in my years. But you... I'll never lose anyone I care for ever again, not even you."

"This is what you mean by eternity?" You ask sadly.

"Isn't it beautiful? A place where we'll never be infected with corruption. It'll be just us." Ei says softly, reaching out to hold your head in her hands. Her touch is gentle, if not a bit tingly like electricity on your skin. "No one else could take care of you like I am now. You shall be free of stress, free of pain... free from change."

Ei preaches about corruption and purification. You only look at her like she's crazy. You find it ironic.

Ei claims you're both free from corruption here...

Yet it appears she's more corrupted than she thought.

[inkher0]

How does Ticcimask work in your story? I don't know if you've talked about it before, or if you're tired of this question, I just wanted to ask due to how there are so many conflicting depictions of the ship.

Depends on what you mean? If you're referring to their ages, Origin is about Tim as a teenager. It'd be weird if it was Marble Hornets, Red Flannel Tim dating 15 year old Toby (STARES LOUDLY), but this is a prequel to MH, and they're roughly the same age. The love-hate dynamic that people associate with Ticcimask works better when they're the same age, imho, and that's always been how I've seen the ship. They're rivals to each other, rather than an adult bullying a child because he's Kind Of Annoying (and mentally disabled, which. Yikes).

In Origin, they're both obsessed with each other, but for completely different reasons, and those reasons change over the narrative as their ideologies shift.

In Tim's eyes, Toby is this captivating, all consuming flame. Toby doesn't languish over what's right and wrong, what makes him a "good boy" or a "bad boy"- he does as he pleases, and demands everyone witness it. He spits in The Operator's face and openly questions the nature of their rearing and their orders, even though that hurts his standing. Though that usually pisses him off, he can't help but find it a bit admirable. Toby is very compelling to Tim, in all aspects, and he can't help but want him around even though he finds him so antagonistic. Toby understands Tim's anger at the world, and- most importantly- he validates it through his actions and reactions. At the same time, though, he challenges Tim intellectually, which very few people do. Kate tells him "don't do bad things", but Toby asks him "why?"

When it comes to how Toby sees Tim... I fear saying too much. I kind of want it to be something you interpret yourself. But I'll say that for however intense Tim views Toby, Toby views Tim three times as intensely. Like, don't ever read Toby's mind when he's thinking about Tim, you will feel compelled to Call Someone (therapist, doctor, a priest, or all three). It's very hard to describe how Toby sees Tim without using some very heavy-handed biblical imagery, because from the start, Toby has seen Tim through the lens of believing The Operator is God. You can infer from there how he might see Tim- sometimes as a messiah, sometimes as Satan, and sometimes as both simultaneously. He wants to be close to that light, but he knows in his gut that there's something deeply Wrong about it.

Despite how they are obviously Aware of each other's dangerous faults and how badly things could go, they still choose to rely on each other. Simply because that, despite everything I said above, they get along horrifically well. When they agree on something, that thing is done with brutal efficiency. They are The Operator's Boys, and they're both his Best of The Best. They complete each other in the worst possible way- they're dangerous for each other, but deadly for everyone else. If things go according to The Operator's plan, they will be exactly as Toby fantasizes: Literal Kings, sitting atop a throne of bodies and ruling the humans on Earth like apex predators.

The thing is... is that really what they want? And are they willing to do what it takes to achieve that?

[afreakingdork]

Mmmm just read the new soft spot chapter and NOM

I love when characters who used to be villains, especially those who claim to not regret any of it, deal with the mental repercussions of what they did or went through. Looking back and feeling like the guilt is holding you there and there’s no way anyone can say that it wasn’t your fault or really much that could comfort someone in that situation. It’s stuck there and it hurts, especially when you realise that you do regret it for a reason or another.

It’s fascinating because it shows how someone actually feels and sees their wrongdoings, like one of my OCs just for example, she’s done terrible things, some she feels extremely guilty for and others that she feels were justified. She feels immense guilt and trauma from her time in the nexus but she excuses it to justify her wrongdoings. But take that away and she’s just left with an empty feeling.

His thoughts about his past staining his future child is perfect because it reflects his past as a child who ended up connected to the wrong people. He’s terrified that a little version of him could end up in that same situation even if it’s heavily unlikely, the trauma is still there in spades despite hiding it under what is basically an “it is what it is” attitude.

At least that’s how I interpreted it, I tend to write a lot of tragic villain characters. I just love the nuance of a character that has done horrible things but had an empathisable past. It’s why I love Jinx from Arcane so much.

Another scrumptious chapter and I will get around to reading the new fic when I’m not exhausting myself with trimming hedges :3

I read and saved this because I did not want this to disappear into the sea of requests I was doing!

Truly, said so well and poignantly! It was one of the reasons I wanted to play in the space of good and bad originally in Weak Spot and into the evolution of Soft Spot. In Weak Spot, you see a villain and if they're worthy of love. You watch on how events unfurl in a relationship and how that looks like with that kind of past. You see very real repercussions play out as his deepest fears and then what it looks like to finally shed that vulnerability and let yourself be with another person on both sides. It's hard enough as is, but then adding in the atrocities...

Then into Soft Spot and it's the next step. Not just in the stereotypical romance, but in what happens next for a ex-villain trying to live their lives. Some days are easier, some days are harder, but where we have a huge deviation now is that reader can consent. Reader is a whole grown ass person who can choose to be with Donnie, talk him down, decide for themselves what they want or can handle and...

A baby can't.

A baby can't do anything of those things. It can't choose anything; it's totally at the mercy of its parent and its why we're seeing these shifts in Donnie now. Obviously, there's far more to come, but it's all progressing on the same ideals. Not only is this all painfully new territory for Donnie, someone who is barely a few years into a life with love, but having a family (read as just reader and shelldon) so not only will the baby be new to life, Donnie is a toddler is comparison which is sort of the goal I had for Soft Spot. Where Weak Spot's goal was how does your occupation effect your worthiness of love, Soft Spot goes into what is new life like for someone who's never had it (be it a baby or a fully grown man).

I think you're spot in and no rush at all! Thanks for evening considering AENEM a go~

[whumpshaped]

can i get enthralled for vampire bingo? O.O

this was the last bingo prompt in my inbox! im always open to more :) its some more mundane whump. just some idle time. i wrote so much enthrallment already, so i decided to just make it the topic of this one

masterlist bingo card

tw vampire whumper, dehumanisation, lots of talk about mind control

"You said you'd never taken a human without magic before."

"I did say that, yes."

Beck poked at his evening fill of macaroni with his fork, pretending he was more interested in that than the question he was about to ask. He was very casual about the question, obviously. It was just a little chat over dinner. "Why'd you do it this time?"

"Why..." Helle shifted on the other end of the sofa, putting down the rubik's cube they were fiddling with. Beck glanced at it briefly — one side of it was all blue, but the rest were mishmash. "Forgive me for saying this, but I doubt you would understand the situation I had been in before I made that decision. You know... like not being able to have a single meaningful conversation because everybody is affected by your magic to an unhealthy degree, essentially forcing them to change their entire personality and all their values to please you."

Beck nodded. "Yeah, no, that's... not very familiar."

"I had a hunch. But let us explore this fantasy for a moment. I assume you would immediately use those powers to do... whatever the hell you wanted. Because you can. Nobody is objecting. Nobody is saying no to you. In fact, everybody is very eager to do whatever it takes to make you interested in them."

"But it's wrong."

"Yes. It is. But I also left out the part where your only options are this, or severe malnourishment that actually leaves you unable to obtain even the lesser quality food you had been eating up until that point."

Beck stared at his macaroni. Would he have wanted to eat it if it was sentient? Would he have wanted to make it want to be eaten? Well, if the other option was to have it kick and scream... possibly, yes. Thankfully, his macaroni was wonderfully unfeeling.

Plus, this entire monologue was supposed to eventually lead to why Helle wanted their macaroni to scream. "Sorry," he muttered. "Go on."

"So you do that for centuries. You enthrall people, you feel like you are on the very top of the world. Nobody can touch you." They paused for a moment, and Beck looked up to see them smiling at him. "Now, does it not sound a bit lonely? Is it not natural to want to be touched?"

"I still can't touch you." He turned back to his dinner and took a bite, and he found he felt less worried about stating that than he probably should've. Maybe the constant fear had tired him out. Made him numb. "You're a vampire. You're faster, stronger..."

"Oh, but you can. You absolutely can. You choose not to." The concept almost made Helle giddy from the sound of it, like it was revolutionary. "You can sit here and tell me that I am wrong. You could throw that entire plate of pasta at me. You choose not to, because yes, maybe I would get out of the way, or maybe I would shove your face into a pot of boiling water and make some Beckaroni, but you could."

Great. As if his appetite had been amazing before. He really needed the image of Beckaroni in his head.

He put the plate on the coffee table and sat back. "Okay. Fine. I could. If you're so interested in me having a choice, why are you taking it away anyway? Why are you doing all this? You do nothing but intimidate me into going along with whatever you want. At this point you could just enthrall me."

"Oh, so I am only allowed to spend immortality without getting so bored that I want to stake myself if I then respect all the humans I choose not to enthrall."

"I mean– I mean, yes! Yes, that's actually what I'm saying. Otherwise it's fucking cruel."

Helle considered him for a moment, actually thinking about his words before they responded. "I suppose with the information you have been given, that is quite a reasonable conclusion to reach. I have left out another important detail." They looked Beck in the eye, their expression darkening in a way he couldn't even explain. It was like the air was being sucked out of his lungs as they stared him down, making him tremble and immediately wish for the easy atmosphere back. "I am cruel. I want you to have those choices specifically so I can take them away from you in a more thrilling way that is fun for me, and me only."

~

taglist: @whumpsday @the-scrapegoat @hidden-dreamland @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @delicateprincepaper @whumppmuhw @florissimps @nicolepascaline @oliversrarebooks @the-cyrulik @pirefyrelight @there-will-always-be-blood @pigeonwhumps @echo-goes-mmm @whumpycries

[rotworld]

Hallo, hallo!~ This year, my favourite ones were Spare Parts and Echo. I'm intrigued by this world, the mages, their fear of changing, the time, the plague! I'd love to know more about them, more worldbuilding; *more* about the impact that the plague left on them. Anyway. Thank you for always making my day better by writing all about those wonderful characters!

thank you! i really liked those, too. i think most of what i planned made it into these pieces but there are some extra tidbits i can talk about.

->the mage country of ithyr is notoriously eccentric from the perspective of visitors. it’s welcoming to outsiders and is a popular destination for exchange students but the mages themselves are so peculiar that it takes some getting used to. something as simple as getting a haircut could make them really emotional, because they know regular humans can't just grow it back instantly (they might even make it grow back for you if they're really upset). they're not cruel, but they struggle to relate to regular humans or understand their feelings. they're often flippant about time

->mages are used to having total control over both themselves and their environment. while some of them may choose to live and work away from ithyr for a while, this is usually a “phase” they outgrow in their adventurous youth. those few mages who do travel tend to be more well-adjusted since their time around regular humans helps them become more flexible or at least able to accept that some things are beyond their control (like the reader from "echo") although sometimes it does the opposite and makes them even more anxious about anything unexpected or unpredictable (like medraut).

->since they don’t age, death is extraordinarily rare (they can be killed, although it's not easy to do). even a single mage dying is often difficult for them to grapple with, emotionally and conceptually. arcanapox was devastating not only because of how infectious and deadly it was for mages, but also because it caused death on a scale they had never experienced.  it's commonly said that ithyr experienced a “plague of grief” in the wake of the arcanapox outbreak, a period of near societal collapse. mages don't know how to mourn so many of them turned to denial and other unhealthy coping mechanisms. medraut’s dolls are the most infamous example and quickly escalated from "questionable means of memorializing loved ones" all the way to "do this to anyone you're afraid of losing for any reason."

->medraut was in fact a talented dollmaker before the outbreak. he believes that his technique “works best” when the target can readily admit that they want to become a doll and be taken care of by someone, so he has a whole "gentle persuasion process" he uses on reluctant future dolls to change their minds. he's going to be a real problem at some point because he's started believing that a lot of people—mostly regular humans—secretly want this but are just too afraid to admit it. anyone he gets attached to is probably in danger. his ideas are also spreading. even though things have stabilized in ithyr somewhat, he's not exactly low on customers.

->caderyn was infected with a different strain of arcanapox that causes extreme mutation in mages. if the mage survives the changes, their body will beat the infection and they'll survive. this affected a much smaller percentage of the population than other forms of arcanapox and the affected mages went into hiding out of shame, so the healer’s guild is completely unaware of it. 

[misc-obeyme]

So, i want to share a few smaller headcanons that i have about the OB cast!

- When Beel is in a good mood and/or happy, you can hear the faint sound of fly wings going "Buzz Buzz." Beel also rubs his hands together before eating his meals just like how Flies rub their hands together.

- One rare occasions when Belphie can't sleep, he'll count cute Mc sheeps to fall asleep. He also snores similar to cartoon characters like "Honk shoo mimimi." He swats away any biting bugs/flies away with his tail if they annoy him during his naps.

- Raphael has a talent for Swallowing Swords/Knives/Speers.

- Mephistopheles likes "My Little Pony," and his favourite character is Rarity. He and Leviathan talk about MLP all the time. Mephistopheles has a strong kick, similar to how strong horses can kick someone.

- Thirteen likes calavera makeup, and every year, she dresses up as La Calavera Catrina to celebrate the "Day of the Dead" also called "Día de Muertos" ((Day of the Dead is a joyful time that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory.))

- Solomon likes to watch his descendants fondly from afar even if he can't be part of their lives.

- Mc dressed up as a giant pickle once and scared Diavolo half to death (not really, but he was definitely spooked)

- After the brothers were cast out from the Celestial Realm, God created Jesus, making him the 8th brother.

- Every year around Christmas time, Satan accidentally receives "letters to Santa" from young children with dyslexia confusing the words "Santa" and "Satan," so Satan writes back letters to the children pretending to be Santa. (I wonder if Santa Claus exists in the OB universe?!). Satan, after coming to terms with his existence and his place in Devildom alongside his brothers, wanted to share his ideology and wisdom with humans. So he created a new religion that encourages hedonistic urges and desires but emphasizes heavily on keeping to yourself and not bothering or offending anyone else as you act on those desires. He called that religion "Satanism", unfortunately, humans misunderstood and painted him as evil and spreading rumours that is Satanism all about sacrificing Animals/children/virgins for selfish gain which pissed Satan off.

- Barbatos likes to be in control and puts everyone's needs before his own. He's always there for others, but he won't let anyone easily reciprocate. Because of his greed, he's afraid to lose himself in his passions/desires, so he keeps all his feelings bottled up. He fears his selfishness, consuming him whole and losing himself to the darkness. That being said, Barbatos once said, "I don't want to give myself completely to the darkness, and i won't as long as you're with me" to Mc. Basically, Mc is the "light" to his "darkness," and he would do anything in order to protect his light. There's a quote that i really like that fits perfectly. It goes like this; "Love is not blind. It sees you in the dark and chooses to be your light."

Anyway, that's it. This low-key got a little bit loooong, Ooooops.

-Angsty Anon.

That's it, I'm counting cute sheep MCs to help me sleep from now on. Please, that sounds so adorable 😭

Also excuse you with the Solomon one! Like my man isn't lonely enough, now he's watching his descendants from afar?? He would, too. :(

JESUS IS THE 8TH BROTHER aklj;sdfkljdskjlf what would have happened if God had made him at the same time as everybody else!??!?!

Poor misunderstood Satan! I'd be pretty pissed too if a bunch of idiot humans decided to make me evil and sacrifice babies in my name.

Ahh, Barbatos my true love. He's definitely got something about himself that he feels he needs to control to the point where he almost never lets go... one day maybe we'll learn about that mystery of his that he keeps so well hidden...

I quite liked all of these, thank you for sharing!

[calisources]

THE   CW'S   REIGN   SEASON   THREE QUOTES.all   these   sentences   were   taken   from   season   three of   the   historical   fictional   show,   reign.   change   pronouns,   locations   and   names   as   you   see   fit.   

Elizabeth's real war is with me.

I am just as strong and as stubborn as Elizabeth. I will not live in fear of her! 

Are you trying to blame a woman for a man's choices? 

I hope your wings are strong, you vulture. You will be circling for quite some time.

You must wed again. You must love again.

I will take back what is mine, and if you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me.

An outsider? That's because I am.

No matter what you might think, I can't just force men to fall in love with me.

 I am a queen, about to marry a broken prince for power.

It's time to accept my fate.

I will not be chased out of my country before I've even retuned.

I will fight fire with fire. 

The day may come where we may find ourselves on the battle field. What would you do then?

Impressive. Where did you learn to shoot like that?

Well, King Francis was right. Now that I've seen your abilities with a bow, I certainly won't be crossing you.

I will rip out his heart as he did mine.

Help me bring all of my people together, or may God and your queen have mercy on your soul.

I will dismantle her power bit by bit. Every choice I make, who I fight, who I support, who I marry, will be in service of taking her throne.

Who cares about right or wrong if you're dead?

Why would my presence startle you? Oh, because you married my lover. 

You startled me.

You are offering me a kindness and consideration I have rarely shown you through the years.

I feel love toward my dead brother and anger that people think you could harm him. Those feelings lead me to stand here with you.

Like a queen men would die for.

Honestly, Mother! How many people have you killed?!

I am their Queen. Their whispers are treason.

It is a fact of our time. A man rules his wife. Even if his wife is a queen.

 What's the cost of a king's life?

Show people you are worthy of the post you hold, and no one will remember how you rose to it.

To marry you is to defy my king, to risk Catherine's wrath and the judgment of my friends, and yet... you make me feel stronger than I've ever felt before.

Do you treat all your political hostages so kindly?

It's incredible, really. I march to my execution very soon, and yet you are the one to be pitied.

There can only be one queen. And I had to choose mine. 

You may not be king, but your actions reflect on Francis, and he has the weight of thousands of lives, just like this one, on his shoulders. Be wiser next time.

God, I wish mother were here. She manages tragedy with ruthless clarity.

I'm a princess! 

Stop saying you have no choice, Charles. You're the King!

I never said I was a good man, but one can receive good advice from a bad person.

Without him the nights are long and lonely. I can't imagine what they must be like without the man you truly love.

This idea of yours. A bloodless defensive, it's a delusion you talked yourself into.

And because you value power more than anyone else, you will always be alone.

[qrjung]

*this isn't organized.

I think it's sad how little opportunity Josh and Simon were given to develop. Like, at all. Even their dialogues sounds terrible, almost like they're speaking for the game instead of as actual human beings. [Edit: Ha, this is so funny I'm keeping it in. "As actual human beings" bruh]

A scene on the Capitol park chapter is the clearest example of this. If he's still alive, Simon says (ha!); "Our broadcast is all over the news. Now the humans know what we want. We have to think about public opinion." Or something similar. At first it sounds like normal conversation, right?

Until you realize he's talking to Josh and North who all have the same amount of information as him so they already know what he's saying is true. And Markus isn't there so he can't be speaking to him. Which means he's talking directly to the player, literally spelling out everything for us and it makes me 😭😭😭 is that what people sound like irl? Like mouthpieces?

He's literally telling us "public opinion is really important in this game, just so you know. Think about all those blue arrows you're going to get *wink wink*" to remind the player to go pacifist.

For all the terrible ways David Cage handles North's character, in contrast to the other two Jericho leaders, she looks so fucking well written lmao. Most of what comes out of Josh's mouth when he's talking about the revolution doesn't sound like it's personalized. He's just spewing words to push the player in the direction the game/David Cage wants. Where's the personality? Where's the fucking motive behind his words???

Anyways, I could talk on and one about how unfair that shit is but that would be too depressing.

JOSH

I've talked about Josh here and there but never this indepth

From what we see of Josh, he's pretty opinionated. Just like North, he has his own set of beliefs and he's willing to die for them. Unlike North though, we never know why. And sure, he doesn't have to spell out all his motivations but it would have been nice if we'd known why he so strongly believes freedom can be won with dialogue. Especially in a world that is determined to prove him wrong.

Because ignore how happy the pacifist ending looks, there's androids still being executed while Markus is giving his hopeful speech. And the ending tag literally says "androids won their freedom. For now." What kind of ominous sentence is that?

Anyway, Josh reminds me of Rose; pacifism that exists not because the person is naive but they've choosen peace while being surrounded by violence. In DBH, choosen violence is easier and it pays off more. So while that doesn't necessarily make it the wrong option, it does make the people who go against it stand out.

But also, his stance could come from a place of fear. There's also that to consider. Maybe he's scared of what the humans will do if the revolution kicks off and he'll prefer they stay silent. Because that's his reasoning against the Stratford Mission

He's the one that expresses hesitance the most to the other missions Markus assigns. North is usually the first to agree with Simon agreeing too. But then in Freedom March, Josh is all for the March but Simon (later on) and North are hesitant. It makes me think Josh prefers taking risks when he's sure it'll actually pay off. Because like he says, that mall and the surrounding areas will go down in history. No matter the outcomes.

We also don't know anything about his past except that he was a university lecturer and hot attacked by his students. It's a shame this information doesn't come from Josh himself but from the character gallery. I wonder how long he's been teaching for?

His relationship with Markus is also very impersonal. He doesn't seem to like him much no matter which route you take but will somewhat tolerate him if he's pacifist. I think they're differences are beyond what Markus chooses for the revolution. He also doesn't like North much and Markus and North have a few things in common; they're action oriented, have a tendency to take risks with unknown chances of it paying off and Josh might not like that the risks they're taking could mean the end of android life if it fails.

He starts to warm up to him in night of the soul though but Markus has to save him first.

This adds to my theory that Josh chooses peace because he's cautious. He doesn't like the risky decisions Markus makes because he's scared of the consequences.

SIMON

I think Simon falls somewhere in the middle of the Violence - Pacifist scale. I wouldn't say neutrality (it's not the word I'm looking for🤔) but being able to go both ways should the need arise. Some people in the fandom frame him as a coward and I think that proves to be incorrect when you start thinking about it.

He's usually not vocally opposed to any options the player chooses and will be supportive. If you choose violence, he's ready to fight but if you choose pacifism he's also ready to march. But, he chooses to back down in some moments: high risk moments with opportunity to retreat.

It's almost like he's willing to take risks but when there isn't much on the line.

He agrees to missions when it just his life and the lives of the other three at stake but when something greater is on the line, he backs down. For instance, he'll agree to the spare parts mission, but will express hesitance after the bags of thirium have been gathered. His reasoning is because he doesn't want to lose the spare parts they've gotten and the mission be for nothing.

"We can’t bring them back with us. It’s too dangerous!"

"This is suicide, Markus. Our bags are full. We got what we came for, let's go before they catch us."

Hmm.

And in the freedom march chapter, he agrees at first. Not strongly though. He simply suggests if Markus wants to go through with the March, he should convert more androids to increase his chances of success. He disagrees later on; after he realizes that things might not go well and with the hundreds of androids gathered, that means more casualties.

"And dying here won’t solve anything. Markus, we need to go, now, before it’s too late."

It's insanely difficult to get a read on the guy though: he's really non vocal. He hovers in the background during conversations, only getting involved when it looks like conversations are getting heated. Does that make him the glue of the team?

He's also been in Jericho the longest of the four. Unlike Josh we never even know what he operated as before deviancy but I guess it's easy to see that he was most likely taking care of a child. If he's also been there for a while, did he have some form of "power" in Jericho? I like to think so.

But North also seems important too but she hasn't been in Jericho for very long so I can't say I see her as the pre revolution leader. She gets her opportunity to shine when Markus arrives and she's suited for more action oriented leadership. She seemed eager to get out and do stuff; if she was Jericho's leader before the game starts, it would show.

I wonder if Simon had a similar experience with Daniel though. But instead of acting on his feelings of betrayal, he choose to run away instead.

That's about as much as I can think of for Josh and Simon while still remaining within canon. Outside canon though, it opens a world of possibilities. I suppose it's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Simon's fanon characterization (especially in relation to Markus and how their relationship tends to take on tones of racial prejudice) so I won't be talking about that.

But Josh though, I can talk about him——he's an almost blank slate in the fandom since people tend to forget him.

[kuyapumaaa]

HAPPY (VERY LATE) VALENTINE'S DAYYY

Frazier is owned by my bestie, @123thepinkabear

"Look at yourself, Kenzo." he sighed in frustration. "Ya got this pudge, ya smell stinky, heck, ya look like someone who lives in a rusty, beat-up Honda Civic. You just push people away with your snarky comebacks and ya deserve it. Maybe you really are annoying. Maybe he'll leave you." Kenzo told himself, as he held his love handles. He wasn't really the kind of person to be confident about himself. "Kenny? Ya good..?" asked Frazier, his Tanuki boyfriend. Frazier was more of an outgoing guy, a louder one, too. He was concerned about Kenzo, recently. He noticed how Kenzo doesn't seem to feel comfortable being alone, but simultaneously, he needed a lot of space. Kenzo paused for a minute before uttering, "I don't think I'm worth it." Hearing those words got Frazier concerned. "Wanna talk about it..?" he asked Kenzo gently. "We don't do that... back then..." Kenzo, softly uttered.

Hours flew by as they dug deeper into their past. Taking things into retrospect, all those pent-up emotions, all were exchanged and mutually understood. Frazier listened, Kenzo opened up more and more. For once, Kenzo felt a lot lighter, he felt safer. All because of that safety that they slowly mirrored with each other, helped a lot. It started from a day, then a week, till time flew by more.

"Kenzo, there's something I wanted to say..." Frazier mumbled. "Un..?" Kenzo grunted a bit, after their exchange of thoughts and emotions. "I know you aren't a man of many words, well, typically. But.. Every moment I'm with you, I can't help but keep you safe and treat you better. I'm sorry that the world was cruel to you.." Frazier responded softly, with a blush on his face. "I... just feared I'd lose you because of me.." Kenzo shakily replied. "Who'd say no to this handsome cheeseball?" Frazier started to go playful. "Almost everyone..?" Kenzo replied. Frazier imitated a buzzer sound, causing Kenzo to giggle a bit. "Well, those are peeps ya met before. One question. Am I like them?" Frazier asked once more. "No... No you're not!" Kenzo said with an enlightened tone. "Then, there's your answer! I wouldn't say no to ya, cuz I choose you! I care, all because I choose you. I love you." Kenzo was in total shock, he didn't know what to say, as he's never heard someone tell him that! Kenzo hugged him and whispered, "I really did find you, ya strawbby nookie..~"