#anyway this is gooey im gooey

[queenburd]

stanley and the narrator and 432 are made to torture each other for eternity. the curator alone understands that the only way to break free of this cycle is not participating in it. the only way to beat the game is not to play.

I wouldn't use the word torture, if you can believe it. I cant really explain why, other than it feels more complex and self-oriented than that. They're not doing what they do with the explicit intent to hurt each other.

I guess one could argue that their opposing personalities are created by the devs to be in conflict with each other in a way that torments each character.... I think my brain is still rebooting after I fried it yesterday overanalyzing meta lmao.

it's true the curator has the benefit of disconnect from the rest of the game, so her belief is that the only way to beat the game is to stop running it. The issue is she relies solely on the player to be the responsible one to make that choice. (Madame Curator, I do not have that willpower. Sorry.)

It's.... aaa.

It's a conflict between story and game design. In stories, narrative foils are supposed to advance character growth by making characters acknowledge different perspectives, etc etc. they end with changed characters, who are not the same as when they started the story. that's the point.

games, of course, contain stories, and when you replay it all that character growth is "reset", and of course because it's a game with its own inworld logic, characters don't know. it's just a clean slate.

with TSP turning that on its head, making the audience aware that the characters do have that knowledge that the game resets progress, it makes us the players complicit.

In truth, Stanley wants freedom. The narrator want Stanley to be free, but he also wants to tell his story, and I don't think he INTENDED Stanley to become self aware and aware of the multiple endings and restarts, etc etc. I think he expected Stanley to be like a normal game protagonist, wiped clean, and it should be easy because Stanley is supposed to be a simple character.

432 on their part wants to keep the game functioning. He, like Stanley, became aware of his role of protagonist, but unlike Stanley, 432 doesn't want freedom. 432 wants the loops. Wants the eternity. They're right, the game is not a sacred thing that needs to be frozen in time. They want to play AND change.

They honestly would be the ideal protagonist for the narrator if he hadn't goofed it so bad. or if they didn't want to antagonize him so bad.

Im not sure where Im going with this. like I said, very tired.

but I think my own stubbornness is shouting "there has to be another option. there's always another way" to the idea that the only way to beat the game is to not play. i think my brain keeps going back to the idea that the game is meant to be loved by its audience, because in its self awareness, if it can know it's a loved thing, it knows it can be changed.

"to be loved is to be changed" "transformative nature of love" listen. listen.

I'm a sap.

[shouyuus]

figure eights has CHANGED me on another level that doesn’t even exist yet and i’ll forever be crying for joy about it. rain, thank you for writing one of the most thoughtful and intentional love stories in existence because ohmygod, it’s not even fully out yet and it’s gotta be my favorite. your talent AMAZES me so much and it should be celebrated !!!!!!

you quite literally deserve all the love.

♡ ♡ ♡

omg rAYYYYYY thank you so much slkdfjd i cannot actually begin to tell u how amazing it's been discovering (????) you as a friend ??? like WOW having someone who gets my insane vi-obsession but is also thoughtful and kind and will YELL with me about other shit ?? INSANE TBH.

sometimes soulmates aren't just meant for lovers <3

and bc everything good's probably already been said by someone else, and said better, i'll just leave a few lines from one of my favorite poems here:

they could tell you how rare this is but they could tell you how rare friendship always is the chances are slim the cards are always stacked against you, the odds are always low ... friend, i want to be the mirror that reminds you to love yourself - an origin story, by sarah kay and phil kaye

[zerotwoooo]

use all of your light and hope to kick zeros ass Kirby you can do it!

"C'mon! We can get up thisaway!"

"Are...ya sure the warp star can hold all of us?"

"uhhh.... I think so?"

"That doesn't seem too confident..."

"Perhaps it would be better if those of us who can fly didn't ride on the Warp star."

"I can certainly agree with that..."

"Oh well I guess that works too... We'll meet up in the sky!"

"Yeah...yeah... let's just get it over with..."

"..."

[poke-poke-poke]

He's lost (lol)

uhh (first) 'lineart' and stuff under here - nothing fancy-

haha i uh. couldnt figure out what expression i was gunning for here or the vibe tbh the lineart only has the old expression oops

[ratatatastic]

florida panthers @ anaheim ducks | 1.21.25 (x)(x)

[garaviel]

Watched twisters yesterday and had a miniature dose of what Actual Scientists must feel when sci fi movies bs what certain materials do

[ittybittybumblebee]

was doing really bad now im doing really good bad times dont last forever man the good times come back around thats what all this is about youre gonna be ok we r all gonna be ok guys can you believe that with me ? we can do this guys life can be really fucking beautiful lets always hope for those times when it is and cherish them together :]

[rebornofstars]

Boutta start Cursebreaker but I looked at all the art for it first trying to guess if the chain has figured out he’s 13 yet (as of chapter 21). I have no clue, but I’m living for Peepaw Wind. As far as I can tell he’s everyone’s pirate grandpa. I think I’m gonna have a blast.

HI ANON. did you know i love you

[aimless-aimz]

did these in a car ride. enjoy

[ladysqueakinpip]

listen. listen. Kendra and Donnie are THE most kismesis people ever. fated nemesis. rivals trying to outsmart one another. common interests. intellectually matched. driven and competitive and cannot stand the other. i feel like im out here with a megaphone trying to give away a 2024 car for free and everyone is walking past me.

[phagodyke]

yeah I'm not gonna talk abt it am I...

[recapitulation]

so odd how (most of the time) if I immediately love a piece of music then I find it annoying and repetitive later. but the ones that I'm tearing apart with my teeth for years and years on end are the ones that I either initially didn't like at all or thought they were like. fine

[honeydots]

If you want another prompt: ❛ because i care about you, okay? ❜ Leokumi

"Because I care about you, okay?" 1.2k, leokumi (background xanlow) from this ask game

Takumi is sick in Nohr, and he hates it.

He’s laying here, in one of their hugely fluffy Nohrian beds, wrapped in blankets and feeling gross. He was already cold, but now he’s shivering, and the air tastes weird. It’s an all around bad experience. He’d rather be sick anywhere else.

Leo’s decided to just hang out with him while he’s dying here, for whatever reason, working on something on a desk near Takumi’s bed. It’s seriously embarrassing enough that everyone knows Takumi got sick, Leo doesn’t have to stick around and watch him roll through the covers miserably.

That’s exactly what Takumi’s doing, too. He groans, and he flops onto his side, as if facing the left will make him any less sick than facing the right might. “I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that weird fruit,” he mumbles, pulling his knees closer to his chest.

Last night, Takumi had a typical Nohrian dinner—which is to say it was pretty damn atypical for Takumi’s tastes. And ultimately it was fine, just not what he’s used to, but there was this one thing. A Nohrian fruit with a skin covered in bumps to peel off, that was mushy and sweet to eat. And he didn’t hate that either, but he had a bad feeling about it.

“We don’t know it was the food, you know,” Leo comments, obviously not working and rather eying Takumi with his legs crossed. Takumi squints at him.

“I ate it, and now I feel sick. What part of that doesn’t point to the food?”

Leo shrugs at him, of all things. It isn’t Takumi’s fault Leo fed him something weird. Takumi shuffles more under the blankets, feeling just as gross but also moody.

Leo, still not working on whatever it is he’s working on, leans forward in his chair. “Have you been able to stomach anything I gave you?” he asks. Takumi frowns, and he glances over at the plate of food Leo offered earlier. Much more simple stuff, easy grains and soup. Takumi sighs.

“Kind of,” he says. “The crackers were okay.” His stomach is in complete knots, and those were basically the only things that didn’t make it worse. But he can’t say he has an appetite anyway.

Leo hums. “The water?”

“Don’t want it.” Which makes Leo frown.

“Not even a sip?”

“Later, okay, I don’t want to vomit.” Mostly Takumi doesn’t want to have to sit up to drink it, actually. Leo gives him such a look, too, like he knows. Takumi gives him a look right back. “What’s with you?”

Leo raises an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“You’re being pushy.” Which doesn’t seem to bother Leo as much as Takumi would’ve liked it to. Annoying. “Go somewhere else. I don’t get why you’re sitting in here with me.”

Leo, pretty pointedly, does not get up. “Because I care about you. Or is that not allowed?” he says, which is also annoying. Leo turns to his work, still clearly not intending to leave, and then glances back to Takumi. “Just drink the water.”

Takumi scrunches his nose. But he’s too sick to think of a retort, so he shuffles up onto his forearms and finally takes his drink. And yeah, it’s nice, whatever. It doesn’t cure him or anything. But it’s about as tolerable as the crackers were.

It’s almost more irritating that Leo doesn’t give Takumi a haughty look, but instead just an average one. “You should probably sleep, too.”

Takumi scoots back into the covers. “I’m too tired to sleep.”

“Interesting. Any other hypocrisies you’d like to share?”

It’s a lot easier to deal with Leo when he’s being himself. “You’re such a pain.” Takumi barely knows what to do otherwise. Especially while he’s sick—which is also why Leo’s being weird, for sure, so this is just a useless situation all around.

Takumi does mean it when he says he’s too tired to sleep. It won’t work, plainly, he’s just stuck staring at the ceiling feeling miserable. He’d love to pass out and get better so then hopefully Leo will stop being nice to him because it’s intolerable—but he’s stuck conscious.

So, he flips around again, and also flips his pillow, and tries to look at the papers on Leo’s desk. “What are you working on, even?” he asks. Leo looks his way briefly, then sighs, finishing a sentence before he puts his quill down.

“It’s for Camilla,” he explains, rubbing his fingers absently. “It’s this orphanage program she’s trying to put forward. I’m giving her some financial estimates.”

Takumi blinks. “Oh yeah?” Takumi wouldn’t have guessed, exactly, but that’s not unexpected for Camilla. Leo nods.

“She’s always been interested in developing one. But… Ever since Siegbert was born, she’s just been—I don’t know. I wouldn’t call it baby fever, but it’s something similar.” And then Leo starts working again, just like that.

Takumi guesses it is pretty significant to have a baby around the palace. People were freaking out when Shiro was born, Takumi included. He’s still kind of freaking out about that. It’s been a little while now, though.

“Their other kid is close, right?” Takumi asks, then elaborates more. “Your brother and Laslow's.” Takumi’s met Siegbert a few times, and he’s cute, but it felt like he’d barely been around long before it was announced they were having another. Takumi doubts Ryoma’s going to have more, since Shiro’s already a rascal as a not-even-one year old. But Siegbert’s been calm whenever Takumi’s met him, so. Maybe that spurred them on.

“Quite,” Leo says. He looks away, out towards the door. “I wonder if you’ll be here when it’s born.”

Kids are something that seem really far away from Takumi. He’s too sick to even think about it long. It was crazy enough to suddenly have a nephew. There’s a weird way things have felt like they’re moving both faster and slower, now that there isn’t a war to worry about. And to be honest, Takumi’s not in the mood to go fast.

Leo tilts his head, looking thoughtful. “You know. I think Laslow might’ve gotten sick when he ate that fruit for the first time,” he says. “Maybe it’s something you acquire a tolerance to.”

Takumi, feeling right but way too sick to appreciate it, huffs. “Don’t feed it to me again, then.”

“You only gain tolerance by repeating the process, you know.”

“What if I’m just allergic? I don’t want it,” Takumi says back, not eager to experience this stomachache again. “I’m not sure I liked it enough to really want to try, anyway.”

Leo gives him a ghost of a grin, then gets back into his financial whatever. “I really think you should sleep,” he says. Takumi buzzes his lips and pulls the covers over him more.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, mind getting foggier by the second. He might be too tired not to sleep now, thank goodness. “Wake me up when the baby’s born.”

And—it’s kind of nice. The last thing Takumi hears before he drifts off is Leo’s light chuckle, and the sounds of quill on paper.

And he really, seriously, barely even thinks about the kid stuff.

[intertexts]

spiked decaf iced coffee & sitting out in my backyard woods & listening to the cicadas & writing fic save meee

[arolesbianism]

Anyways incorporating new saint hcs into my semi au Sliver lore means that now saint gets to continuously experience ascending Sliver forever 👍

[inutaffy]

trick or. TREAT??? 🎃🐀

my grandma likes these