#background character in which I am the most hype about

[raycatz]

Hopkins in spirit? 👀

I have a silly thing I've decided about the hotfooted frogs in LU and it is that every hotfooted frog for the time being is Hopkins. They may be different frogs, but they are Hopkins in spirit, like the Links xD (except not literally)

I have an art prompt about frogs as well and thought I'd fit sillies into that.

Something like this:

Hyrule: This one is Hopkins, too? Wild: There are multiple frogs, but they're the same in spirit. Hyrule: So like us? Wild: Like us! But we eat these ones. Hyrule: That makes sense! Wars: *quietly, face is his hands* wtf *hates that it makes sense*

I think the fandom's take on Hopkins is great. Hopkins is like a Schrodinger's / quantum frog. I think the possibility that Hopkins is in the potion that Wild gave Hyrule - the not knowing for certain - is the best part! Hot footed frogs make hasty elixirs which are blue and tireless frogs make enduring elixirs which are green. Hopkins (most likely) and the frog from the items art are hotfooted frogs so the sunset frog likely isn't potion BUT - the fact that it's a joke for the fandom and the possibility that Hyrule drank that frog is very funny to me xD Hopkins is both potion and not potion simultaneously.

Also! The frog being part of Wild's inventory in the items art! Did he pick up the frog from the sunset arc, maybe? Is the frog going to be a reoccurring character? I hope so! I think it'd be great if Wild ends up giving it to Flora to show off the critters from different eras.

[icewindandboringhorror]

everyday I miss miitomo .. aaa

[chaos-in-deepspace]

Love and Deepspace 2.0 Live Overview

Okay so the live ended about 20 minutes ago and I watched (and recorded) the entire thing! We have confirmation that this will be released on July 15...so we have a little over a week! So here's the biggest highlights of the live...however first the new codes!

DEEPSPACE2 - 200 Diamonds, 20,000 Gold, 200 Energy

20240715 - 10 Empyrean Wishes

Portrait Mode

We're getting a new photo mode over in the Photobooth! Portrait Mode will be featuring:

Ability to move the camera around out characters. We can finally have more angles and full body shots.

We can move the posed characters around the screen so they're not right next to one another. This means we get to make cute little scenes guys and I am so hyped over this one.

Dynamic lighting and clothes! Not only can we choose were the light source in the photo is as well as the tones of it, we also have clothes that move with the wind directions that we can choose from!

More backgrounds, and from the looks of it the backgrounds will also be dynamic and move!

Premade photo templates will be available in case you're not super creative or good with photo booth modes, and we can also make our own templates to use later.

Abyssal Chaos

We're going to be getting an entirely new mode over in the "battle" section and oh boy does this one look super interesting (and a little complex to explain for me). This is word for word how the kitties explained the premises of it:

"The Abyssal Chaos is a site hidden in the corners of the internet, it focuses on selling information and commissioning bounties. It's the most secretive and anonymous trading platform on the dark web right now!"

Selectable Companions - So unlike the other battle modes where we pick and choose from several of our cards, we choose one of the companions we have available to go through the battles with. Memories in the Abyssal Chaos will use virtual data so the companions will be Level 80. You'll also only be able to choose one companions per period to team up with, as well as the weapon for these trials.

Wontony - The Admin AI the Abyssal Chaos features that gives us these commissions. It'll show us the algorithms and maps to complete the commission.

Gameplay - This mode seems to have more than just combat in it. There will be a series of events and obstacles for the hunters to go through with their companions. From the looks of it there are mazes and memory games, but who knows what else we're going to be getting. These will most likely just work as mini games, in the preview it shows Zayne in a box after getting trapped and our hunter having to run to little boxes on the ground in a certain order for a memory game to free him.

Randomly Generated Nodes - Ya, you saw right...it's going to have randomly generated settings so we're going to be going through different things every single time we play (hopefully). Even the maps are randomly generated it seems. There's also three nodes (similar to branches that we're used to seeing in choice based games) that leads to different outcomes. It's a rougelike gameplay mode where after you make a decision you can't go back during that run, you live with the choices and consequences.

Node Refresh - When you complete the current node according to the map, the system will randomly refresh a few branching nodes and give you new options. They also correspond to different follow up missions. The situation will be different for every option you make. Which means who freaking knows what's going to happen during your playthrough.

Chats with Characters - From what you can see in the video itself, it looks like during these missions you'll have little pop up chat windows where our companions will be speaking with us. If we're lucky it might give us some lore, but most likely it'll just be random conversations about the Abyssal Chaos and possibly their suggestions on how to go about it?

Deduction - I'm not entirely sure about this one but I think the "deduction" is the space in between the battles were you chat with characters, get enhancement items, and choose which node to go to next.

Mission Rewards (Codes) - After completing a mission we'll be getting 'codes' which are basically just item enhancements that (from the looks of it) we get to keep. Looks like they're separated in categories as well: HP, Dodge, Summon, Shield, Negative, Combo, Charged, Active. There's also exclusive ones for your companions as well. There's a total of 9 types of codes right now. If it's all confusing then thankfully Wontony will be willing to tell you which codes he'd recommend you use.

Enhance Codes - As you work your way through this mode you'll be getting Enhance Codes and Special Items in order to enhance the power of your team. Since the characters will default to Level 80 these will be important since it's set levels. Aka it's all catered towards based 80 characters so we need these items if we want to stand a chance getting through these. Of course they're randomly given though so they can either be useless or super helpful. From what they're implying these items are only good for that round in the Abyss Chaos and the next playthrough you do you'll be starting from scratch, giving the mode more playability!

Combo Codes - It looks like by mixing and matching the codes you put on your companions you can unlock even more combos and just overall cool combat specials with your companions! We're going to be getting a major boost in power if we're allowed to move these codes over to Deepspace Trials, however from what I saw it's not 100% confirmed if we will be able to, or if codes are exclusive for Abyssal Chaos' Battle Mode.

Chaos Keys - This is like currency during the mode were you can buy or enhance your codes to help progress through the current deduction you're going through.

Factors - After each deduction you'll be getting things known as factors. There's general factors and companion factors. General Factors will increase the power of your team, while Companion Factors will strengthen just your companion's ability to fight in the Abyssal Chaos.

Reward Exchange - After completing deductions we'll earn points which can be exchanged for a lot of diamonds. Which means we might have another method of farming for diamonds before events, which is a very good thing judging by how the banners are increasing how many pulls you need to do in order to get a guarantee of the card you want (our last event was a whopping 200 Pulls for a reward box).

Sylus Available - Looks like from the start we'll also be able to use Sylus as a companion. He appeared in the exclusive category of the code section.

Sylus + Game Updates

As we all know, Sylus was revealed earlier in June, and went against the wishes of the team for Love and Deepspace. At the end of their livestream they went into detail about the regrets they had since today's livestream was supposed to be his introduction, and how such a reveal was stolen from us as an audience from people leaking information. However I personally think that in today's livestream they will did an amazing job in showcasing Sylus. They gave him a video and song to go with it, and it was honestly amazing. Not to mention we heard his voice for the first time (okay I know there were leaks on that too but still)

Sylus has still been officially revealed to us! After the update on July 15'th he's going to be unlocked as a roman cable candidate which means all the normal interactions will be available! Which means we get to have Sylus get us plushies and poke in Destiny Cafe! From what we're seeing he's not a totally evil guy (one of the livestream kitties mentioned seeing him on a roof and was picked up by his scruff. Sylus jumped off the building then gently places him on the ground. What a sweetie).

Now with Sylus' release here's what we have Story Wise:

New Story Chapter - Long Awaited Revelry will be unlocked soon

Main Story Branches - From September to December we'll be having main story branches for our love interests! Looks like those who said we'd have branching storylines for the boys were correct. So strap in and see how MC is gonna be when actually romancing these men in each of their branches (damn can't have a polyamorous relationship with all these boys RIP). Hopefully this will make the cards and memories easier to understand because main story MC barely knows these men, but all of us are seeing memories of MC tossing them on beds and tables. So we finally get to see how we got to that point.

Free Cards - After the update there will obviously be an event. In that we will be getting a 5-Star Memory of Sylus, as well as a 4-Star memory...for free. During the event we'll also be able to get about 20 Empyrean Wish Tickets, so if you pair that up with the free code, we're getting about 30 free wish tickets to help us collect cards on Sylus! There will also be a log in event for another 4-Star memory of Sylus so make sure you log in for those 10 days.

New Outfits: Do you guys recall those cards that we all looked at like "Where tf are these outfits?" You know, the one where Zayne is staring sexily on a chair, or Rafayel in that suit with like petals around him? Those outfits? Ya we get those during the events...for free!

5-Star Memory Event for Rafayel - We'll be getting a new 5-Star Card for Rafayel at the end of July, Heartfelt Gift, will be available as well as apparently another free 5-Star card for Raffie (or maybe the Heartfelt Gift Card is the free, their wording in the stream was a bit confusing). During the event we get a 10 pulls, 2,000 diamonds, and tons of materials for free.

Wish Update: We're getting an update on the normal wishes. We'll be able to choose 3 of the 5-Star cards in the wish pool to get a rate up boost for them (so we can finally start getting 5-star memories we don't have easier). You can also change the three cards at any time you wish.

Illusio: A new feature called Illusio will be available for kindled memories for a limited time (July 15th - July 31st). You can select different outfits for the characters the click the kindled version of a 5-star memory to see them in that particular outfit (and I am expecting all you guys who have the towel outfits to record ever kindled memory with them wearing it. I ain't playin frfr).

There will also of course be new events popping up in the series, one of them being over in August that's being called "Embroidered Silk Ball". So we have so much content coming our way with the 2.0 version!

Well I think that about covers it all! We have a lot of funs tuff happening in L&DS and I can't wait to see it all! I do apologize for any typos, I wrote this before going to work as fast as I could!

[lovemyromance]

SJM: I thought it was obvious??

AKA - No analysis needed. The clues are there. Things are already happening.

Please keep your 80 page PowerPoints and highlighted words from your “8 books of canon” (none of which are actually from ACOTAR, btw) to yourself.

“I thought it was obvious” = no deep dives needed. No extrapolation or analysis necessary. The words are already on the page. You don’t have to work harder than SJM to come up with your own theories (*cough* see HOFAS crazy hype theories vs actual book)

“I thought it was obvious”

The ONLY couple currently mutually attracted to each other is Elriel. They have had moments since ACOMF. ACOSF did not end them, it gave them the setup for the next book. They are set up for the greatest tortured forbidden romance of the series, how can you dispute that? Why would you WANT to dispute that love story? I don’t want ACOSF 2.0 which was all physical and no substance. I want an angsty, slow forbidden romance. I want to fall in love when the characters fall in love. Elriel will give us that.

“I thought it was obvious”

The other ships do NOT exist on the page at the moment. Elucien, I will give credit to because they are still mates so that COULD happen still. But right now, where ACOSF ended, they had barely even seen each other in a year. The only romantic coded interactions have been between Azriel & Elain thus far.

“I thought it was obvious”

Elucien & Gw*riel have not shared any romantic moments. There is no romance between them at this current time in the series. I am not talking about “what could happen” or “what could Sarah be setting up” because she said it was obvious. That means it’s there already. There’s no reason to hypothesize and theorize about ships that don’t currently exist in the book. Because - and say it with me-

“I thought it was obvious”

What is obvious about elucien? Other than the fact that they are mates. That’s it. That’s all they have. Not even a conversation on the page. Not even a shared shy glance or brush of their fingers. It’s the equivalent of an arranged marriage neither of them seems to want. Analyzing 20 sentences about flowers and sunlight, going out of your way to prove feyre is an “unreliable” narrator when she questions the bond (but Cassian, fashion police of Velaris, is a very very reliable narrator)-Why? Is any of that obvious to the casual reader? No.

“I thought it was obvious”

I’m not even going to spend many words talking about Gw*nriel, as I don’t see it as anything more than a crackship. They have like 4 platonic interactions. Friendly. Banter, sure. But not all banter is a clue that people are predestined soulmates. Most people who read their interactions are not going to overanalyze spark and glow and shadow behavior. They shouldn’t have to because - again - none of that is obvious.

“I thought it was obvious”

Shy glances and subtle scenes in the background wasn’t enough for those who claim to be reading experts. So SJM released a bonus chapter where in clear black and white text, you see both Azriel and Elain desperate for each other. This man is willing to BEG on his knees for a taste of her/ the end. Why would you even want him with anyone else after that?

“I thought it was obvious”

All these characters I’ve mentioned have been supporting characters this entire series. Nothing concerning them is going to happen in someone else’s book-but the seeds have been sewn. Any scene with Elain could have been written with Lucien or her sisters instead of Azriel - but it wasn’t.

Ex: when majda says, “if anyone can figure out what’s wrong, it’s a mate”

Lucien is THERE. Feyre is THERE. Nesta is THERE. But who figures it out - not her mate, nor her sisters - Azriel.

Lucien could’ve shown her the garden, feyre could’ve sat with her and listened to Elain’s garden plans till 3am - but no - it was Azriel.

And this man is the only one in the NC I’m convinced that has an actual job and responsibilities. So he is choosing to spend what little free time he has with ELAIN. What’s not clicking, folks?

“I thought it was obvious”

Sarah-we love her-but she is Queen of cliches. Her writing is not some insane thriller level that has you gasping every page turn. She likes threes, she likes happy endings, she likes her male LIs desperate for their female counterparts. The answer to Amarantha’s riddle was LOVE. CC had “through love all is possible”.

You really think she wrote the line “hoped love would trump even a mating bond” and it meant nothing?

SJM doesn’t do anything easy. But she said it was obvious- because it IS.

[vampyrekat]

cant believe i forgot about maleficent and her emo boytoy omg thank you for cleansing the timeline🫶

I am so pleased to bless the timeline with a fine vintage ship, come join me in savoring it. I checked out the novelization on a whim (commuting) and I was like, oh right! I forgot this movie and specifically this ship was made in a lab for my brain. So now I've rewatched the film and I'm lost in the sauce.

I love that Maleficent/Diaval is the story of two people accidentally raising a baby into a teenager together and the whole time Maleficent is oblivious (not her fault! she has bigger things going on!) while Diaval is like "that's my wife, she's terrifying. i love her. <3" Even when Aurora meets them properly as a 15 year old, Maleficent is Going Through It™ while Diaval is just so hype to finally introduce himself to his child.

Pictured above: moments that really did a number on me. He raised this kid and now he gets to finally meet her properly and they're both so delighted by it while Maleficent watches from the corner like }:-(

I really feel like the most beautiful and unique part of it is the genuine backtalk; Diaval might start out subservient and he certainly maintains that position but as time goes on he proves himself perfectly willing to correct or backtalk Maleficent. He basically functions as a reminder of her heart and moral compass while she is recovering from her hurt (and subsequent revenge bender) and it's delightful to watch because you rarely see a position where a male character is so open and honest while the woman gets to have the delicious redemption arc. Maleficent is going through an enemies-to-godfamily relationship arc with Aurora while Diaval is patiently waiting for her to realize he's got heart eyes (AND for her to realize she does actually love Aurora, that's another great element, he realizes this LONG before Maleficent does and tries to gently nudge her over to that revelation). But also this:

He really said "I am just pretending to be afraid of you; I know you won't hurt me even if you push me around" and he was right. What a lovely thing to be playing out as the B or maybe C-plot. There's enough insane drama happening, it's nice that there's something a little lighter and more steady in the background of the story.

Another thing I was musing on through the book and film -- as much as I adore found family and platonic love, it's nice to see a story where a victim of what is clearly coded as sexual assault and is at least intimate partner violence finds love again. I know Maleficent & Diaval isn't technically 'canon', but again, the film was juggling enough relationship arcs with Maleficent & Aurora and Maleficent & Stefan. It's okay, in my eyes, for the romance element to be subtext, when it's clearly still important and given some narrative space and weight.

I had a more coherent thought but finally found a gif of just this moment (thank you, @raainstorms, you spoil us all) so instead you get this. I love it. Maleficent really said "go defend our kid who I haven't realized yet is our kid" and Diaval said "understood". Never proposed but nevertheless they've been married for years.

"Who fell first vs. who fell harder" is defunct. "Which one is the evil minion who adopted the baby on sight and who is the Evil Empress who had to slowly realize they love the baby" is the vintage yardstick everything else has to measure up to. I will read 100,000 fanfics of Maleficent only belatedly realizing that somewhere in the process of acquiring her goddaughter she also acquired a husband. Maybe she acquired the husband first, she certainly does not know. Diaval understands this and is okay with it, Aurora probably doesn't understand in the slightest how her godmother did not pick up on anything.

And the sequel! I realized after reading some other posts that I did NOT remember the sequel correctly because my memories are "fairy genocide and also Diaval and Maleficent are co-parenting". Apparently somewhere in there Maleficent is shoved into a love triangle with two men who are not her long-term boytoy/coparent/external moral compass, which is ridiculous, because the film ends with them attending their daughter's wedding in matching outfits.

If Maleficent 3 (boo hiss at Disney, make something new, cowards) isn't about Aurora parent trapping them I am going to riot in the street.

TL;DR: My roommate described maleval as this post and I have not been able to shake it from my mind because it really, really fits:

[veninorchid]

Bridgerton S3 Review

Dearest gentle reader, I am disappointed, sadly.

And as I respect your opinion, so too, shall you respect mine. I'm not here to bash on #Polin fans and the fact that they enjoyed it, but what -was- season 3 of Bridgerton truly?

I love the Mondriches, but do they really need so much screen-time? What did their own ball add to the story exactly? Had the same feeling about the Dankworth-Finch ball at the end, but at least that one proved its necessity as -the reveal all- ball. Because there was of course no Duke of Hastings (Simon) to host it, so they improvised.

This season had too many stories going on at the same time which were all fighting for the spotlight when it should've focused on #Polin, cause that is what was advertised/hyped. It did not deliver…

Season 1 - Daphne and Simon They had the most screen-time and all other stories got a little bit of shine. But even then some of those had either Daphne or Simon in the picture/background. (Marina-Colin, with Daphne as chaperone is one of the examples) None of the other stories distracted from the main focus.

Season 2 - Kanthony Same here. While there was a lot going on in this season with Anthony courting Edwina and going all the way to the alter with her (creative license, since it didn't happen in the book) and then on the other hand we were seeing the other side with his having the thickest desire and longing for Kate. You could cut that shit with a knife, I tell you. But no side stories were overpowering. It was 90% lead character -stuff. Season 3 - Benedict---, I mean #Polin -minus the actual #Polin Were their (the directors/screenwriters) initial thoughts that we've been seeing them for 2 seasons, so we don't have to pay that much attention to the leads? Wrong! That was friendship, this is love, longing and passion. So much new ground to explore for these two. Little scenes like dancing in the church, stealing loving glances is cute and all, but we got nothing more than that. Nothing memorable.

No wait, we got carriage frolicking in part 1 and a mirror first time in part 2. You're right, I apologize. Anything else? Name any other thing you remember from this whole season. I'll wait, seriously.

Did maybe the night scene come up in your memories? Where they had an angry make out and he once again let his hand venture below? I felt the anger/passion in the coming together and pushing her against the shop, sure. The quick flash of him reaching between her thighs was more of a recycled scene from episode 4 or even from S03 Kanthony. I mean honestly. Was there really even a chance he'd take her in the streets? It felt unnecessary and forced. The dialogue was good and would've been better at their home where it's believable they could enter an intimate scene that -could- be finished if they so wanted it. Or not if his anger won over his desire. Did I mention they were both drinking before they met? I didn't say drunk, I said drinking.

I guess they improvised the whole Mme Delacroix scene (before the angry make out) with her offering advice and booze just to give Pen a reason to drink and coincidentally be in Colin's path for the scene? Wasted screen-time. Do I also need a drink to feel the -love- this season?

First part, Colin helping and chasing Pen. Second part, let's ignore and distance myself from her. They really stretched out Colin's pulling back from her because of the whole Whistledown thing, when they could've done fast forwards, saying things like 'Colin, it's been weeks. Or it's been so long, can we get passed this' just to show the time frame. But instead we get long minutes of silence and ignoring each other. Filming Colin from the back, zooming in. Then from the front zooming in. Then him watching her leave the house, slowly getting up from sleeping on the sofa, walking towards his desk. Lifting and opening and reading her old letters. Do you have any idea how long that feels? When she exited the bedroom and delivered her dialogue he could've already been behind his desk. Did we see Simon (S01E02) walk into the room, open his father's desk, take out the unopened letters etc.? No, the flashback ends with him already seated and holding the letters. Same thing could've been done here.

Oh, let's not forget side character-stuff. Let's talk more about that.

Again, I cannot stress it enough. Mondriches. Duke of Kent stuff and moving up, is fine. Seeing them struggle constantly onscreen is not. Wasted screen-time. You can easily have us hear about that in conversation. How miserable and sad he is because he had to close the bar when he became part of the ton. So many ways to handle that. Moving to part 2. Why did we have to get the whole preparation for their ball? What did it add to the story exactly? Just let everyone arrive at the ball and let that be the first we all see of the decorations. Did we see Lady Danbury prepare for the huge conservatory ball in S2? Lady Trowbridge's ball in S1? All of Her Majesty's balls? No, so it was wasted screen-time.

Francesca's story was sweet, bless her, but also unnecessary detailed. Was it the autism angle they were trying to push forward? I'm all for it, but only when you have a series with more than 8 episodes. (God, I miss 22 episode series) Because she is still a side character in #Polin's book, no matter which way you turn it. At Francesca's wedding we had the whole vows scene and everything and the two LEADS!!!! were stealing glances at each other while standing behind the whole ass family. You're the leads, act like it! It felt like S1 and S2 with them being in the background.

We all know Bridgerton's known for taking liberties with the wardrobe. The tailored waists for Pen enhance her body beautifully, but Cressida's wardrobe is bordering… scratch that! has taken a 250 MPH free-fall, into ridiculousness. I also absolutely did not care for -seeing- the reasons behind Cressida claiming to be Whistledown. Should've just kept her as a bitch. That's what we enjoyed about her. Fine, you decided on that development for her character, so here's an idea. She was so chummy with Eloise. Could've just had her tell Eloise that she was being pressured by her parents to marry and then being send to the country to live with a horrid aunt. Wasted screen-time. You only have 8 episodes to work with for crying out loud.

And then there's the side character of all side-characters. Benedict. Didn't they make the very -deliberate- decision to push back Benedict and Sophie's story in favor of #Polin as S3? To then give me so much useless Bentilly sexy time; Time that could've easily been given to #Polin things. If you can make up stories about him being confused as to his sexuality, you can just as easily come up with new, none book, stories for the actual leads. Could've left everything they forced on us about Benedict for his actual season. What's gonna be left for his own season? Wasted screen-time. Should've made him absent, continue the art-school in the background, anything. I mean, an extended honeymoon for Kanthony instead of a forced story to have them onscreen. Do the bloody same for Benedict and focus on #Polin. Every time we saw Benedict, he was playing twister with Tilly and later with what's his name (don't even care) It's not relevant, it's wasted screen-time.

I'm gonna end my review (rant!) with one last thing.

Shallow kisses. Heck it's acting, so you don't have to shove your tongue down your co-actor's throat, but keep your lips open and hollow out your mouth to at least make us think you're playing tongue-twister. As soon as their lips touched, they closed their mouths and it became a fervent peck-fest. Like kissing air and practicing in front of a mirror. Yes, they look good kissing each other, but the kissing itself was bleh.

First kiss in part 1 was going the right direction and was pretty believable, but after that… shallow as f*ck. And to think they were supposed to be increasing in passion after that first kiss. All of them were closed-mouth pecks, I'm sorry. Was it the height-difference that didn't allow them to actually suck each other's face off? ---------------

I will not do a TL;DR, because if you skip this review/rant, you will not have missed anything. Have a great day people.

Yours truly, Venin Orchid (aka Lady Regency-nerd) PS: did anyone notice the nice touch at the end? The Whistledown Silhouetted lady on the top of the page had been changed to look more like Penelope. You're welcome <3

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 6 ALL KNOWING AND ALL AGONY vs. TEAR DROP

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for AKAA:

"AKAA is wonderful song with such bitter irony, bc that doesn't look like song someone who was voted inno… And we know more about Haruka! we see his mother! AND "MAKE MY DREAMU COME TRUE"??? NO I AM NOT CRYING YOU ARE CRYING (also I should say this is first song i heard and I love AKAA so, so much <3 let's do it <3)"

---

1. It establishes so much of Haruka's character and backstory that was omitted from Weakness!! It helps shape Haruka's character so much and really helped with voting.

2.THE VOCALS OH MY GOD. This song really lets the voice of Haruka's VA shine!! It has some really nice growls but also has that soft part in the bridge!!

Overall it's just really good I love Haruka Sakurai

---

Propaganda for AKAA:

Definitely one of the most hype songs from T2

The vocals are Banging

Absolutely love the taxidermy symbolism

Haruka is a sad little puppy

Everyone stand for the Mommy Issues Athem 🫡

Propaganda for TEAR DROP:

"yuno kashiki enthusiast here anyways tear drop propaganda WE BALL

let's start off with the lyrics! holy fuck, i'm so glad yuno finally got to say what she's wanted to say!!

and she fully shows the fact that she does compensated dating through the lyrics ("the wanted wanting the wanted")

and even if it sounds like she's scolding the audience for the song, she's also scolding her clients! they only perceive her as a certain type of character and deciding that's all she is. She's upset that we decided based on how "naïve" she looked instead of her actual crime (to be honest, I could write a whole analysis into why her murder is perfect for her character anywa) and she doesn't care what will happen to her, she needs her opinions heard

also kinda rap section?? banger fr

THE VISUALS!! GOOD LORD THE VISUALS!!! THEY ARE SO BANGER!!! they're really pretty and gosh i literally don't know what to say, the scene where vampire is in the background and it transitions to yuno sitting on her bed... the pink tinted glasses (YES FUCK I LOVE THAT MAN!!!!) THE COAT!! THOSE INBETWREN SCENES i'm obbing

AND THE INSTRUMENTAL!! PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU ALL LISTEN TO THE INSTRUMRNTAL OF HER SONG THERES SO MANY SMALL DETAILS!! SIRENS, TEAR DROPS RAHHH THE CLAPS/CLICKING TJE TECHNO PIANO GUITAR??? THE INSTRIMENTS I CANT NAME I THINK THEY ALL HAVE SOME READON OF BEING IN THE SONG AND I WILL FIND OUT IN AN ANAKYSIS POST I JUDT LOVE IT AUEUEU

literally tear drop is the banger ever i listen to this shit religiously thank you for listening to my tear drop propaganda"

---

-Yuno’s voice. Enough said. -The imagery in the MV is brilliantly used, and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of Yuno’s line of work. -Vampire cameo!!! -Almost Lo-Fi vibes to the instrumental?? I can’t really explain it but it’s a vibe and I’m 100% here for it,

---

"For teardrop: The pink aesthetic in the MV as a whole makes it super nice to look at :D"

[azure-firecracker]

The X-Files Season 4 Review (First-Time Watcher)

It has been a minute but we are back!

(Full disclosure - I am actually a little ways into Season 5 as I write this. College has given me more time with energy for watching than energy for writing. Such is life!)

Life seemed to stand between me and this season. I finished the first half in about a week and a half, and then the second half in three times that because…college happened. But we got there! And oh boy did we get a lot.

This season was hyped up to me even before I watched it (it won my favorite seasons poll a while back) and it DID NOT disappoint! I think this season managed to merge the melancholic energy of season 2 with the consistency of season 3. The first half was especially consistent (out of the first 10 episodes, there wasn’t a single one I didn’t like), and while the second half was a bit more uneven in terms of quality, when it hit it hit hard!

I thiiink Season 2 still takes my favorite spot among the seasons, but this is a close second. It’s just so good, and the second half especially has this looming sense of heartbreak that I haven’t seen in the other seasons. If Season 1 is a campy monster flick, Season 2 is an alien soap opera, and Season 3 is an action movie, then Season 4 is a Shakespearean tragedy of epic proportions, wrought with miscommunication, near-misses, and hurtling towards an unavoidable, doomed ending that lurks in the background even of the most mundane moments. I’m a sucker for a good tragedy, so I loved every moment we got. I was also happy that Scully got to have a real emotional arc. Especially in Season 1 and 2, those usually belonged to Mulder, but the cancer arc is first and foremost about her, and the show takes a lot of care to keep her at the center of that story - which I appreciate.

I found the MSR dynamic this season to be fascinating. It’s like they’re in this territory - even before the cancer arc but especially during it - where they’re realizing how much they mean to each other but also how much it could damage them both. They’re closer than ever and yet more at odds than ever. They’ll cling desperately to each other in the face of death but run away from each other in the daylight because they’re afraid of what it means. It’s tragic and less fun than what we’ve seen from them before, but it’s also fascinating.

As always, I do have a few gripes. My biggest is that, while the cancer arc is beautiful and heart-wrenching, I wish they’d explored it a little more. Only Memento Mori, Elegy, and Gethsemane center around it (and Never Again, if you go off of airing order instead of intended order). Maybe Zero Sum too, but that’s about Skinner and kind of its own thing. And I just felt like there was some wasted potential there. Scully was literally DYING and losing control of her life and Mulder was powerless to stop it. There’s so much plot and character potential there that really wasn’t touched on, and it felt like they really only scratched the surface. Of course, part of the fun of this show is that they leave a lot for us fans to do ourselves, but it feels a bit like a wasted opportunity on the show’s part (friends: please be kind and point me to the fanfic now!)

Also, while I love the cancer arc for emotional value, I do have some qualms about yet another major arc about Scully having her bodily autonomy taken away. Why must all of the female protagonist’s arcs have to do with this? (I wrote about it in Season 2 here).

But frustrations aside, I think this is objectively the second-strongest season after Season 3, and subjectively my second-favorite after Season 2. Its overall arc is maybe the most compelling of the show, and the individual episodes (for the most part) are all fantastic.

Speaking of which, let’s get into the individual episodes! Quick disclaimer- because this season took me so long to watch, it’s been quite a while since I watched the earliest episodes. Just something to keep in mind:)

Herrenvolk: Unfortunately, I feel that this was the show’s weakest season opener so far. It’s not bad by any means, but it falls victim to the same gripe I have with many mytharc episodes, which is that it prioritizes plot over character work, and that rarely works for me. On top of that, the plot here was kind of hard to follow, especially Mulder’s half (Scully’s half was easier because she was literally explaining everything like the scientist she is I love her so much). Also they were separated which is never fun. At this point, I sort of feel like the show is just adding more and more elements of the conspiracy without explaining what we already have, and it’s getting to be a lot. I did adore the hospital scenes between Mulder and Scully, though - it’s a vulnerability and openness we rarely get from both of them (and I think it scares the shit out of them both - hence why their dynamic for the next 3 episodes is kind of weird). Anyway I’ll give this one a 7/10

Home: I know opinions on this are mixed, but I really liked it. It was genuinely SO creepy, especially the scene where the Peacocks are beating up the sheriff and their car music plays in the background. I agree with @graciehart who says that Mulder and Scully’s dynamic in here was odd, but I kind of get it. Scully represses a lot of her emotions, and it would make sense that she might not think or talk about motherhood until she sees a distorted version of it, and she can examine it from a more scientific angle. For Mulder’s part, @theswisscheeserag said that this episode was sort of an exploration into Mulder’s privilege, and how he’s a little bit immune to the darkness that lurks behind the small-town American ideal (in part because that ideal is something he never had). All of that is interesting. I also liked Scully really taking the lead on the case, especially when they thought there was an innocent woman in danger. This show has a trend of victimizing women, so it was really nice to see Scully, who’s been a victim of this trend herself, fight against that. Overall I’ll give this a 9/10

Teliko: I am never safe from the ethnic flute, am I?

Plot-wise, this episode was boring. The pacing was slow, Mulder and Scully were fantastic when together, but that wasn’t a lot, and really not much happened the whole time.

But that wasn’t the real problem - the problem is that this is a “cultural episode.” And a bad one. They sort of half-engaged with all of the racial issues, and they said some super out-of pocket stuff that they then didn’t elaborate on, and it almost seemed like they got what they were talking about for a second but then they didn’t and the whole thing was weird but definitely problematic.

When I tell you I have never hated a score more - TRIBAL CHANTING AND DRUMS SHOULD NOT BE USED TO SHOW HOW OMINOUS YOUR VILLAIN IS! DO YOUR PROPER FOLK MUSIC RESEARCH!!

Alas I would love to 100% hate this episode, but I love the climax SO much. This is the first genuine kidnapping loss-of-bodily autonomy role rehearsal that I’ve been begging for since Season 2, and this is my favorite trope, so I devoured it. It’s also SO sweet. I wrote a meta about it. It’s here.

Anyway my love for the climax will bring this episode up to a 6/10 but without the climax it’s like a 3 lol.

Unruhe: Okay. Kind of like Our Town, I have to separate my feelings about this episode from its actual quality. Because in quality alone, this episode is fantastic. The villain is interesting, the tension is palpable, the climax is gut-wrenching, and Mulder and Scully’s dynamic has this fascinating push/pull that’s reminiscent of early seasons but starkly more intense. The way they yell for each other when he’s saving her from the van (trailer? Large vehicle) is haunting, especially for her part, because Scully never screams like that. And the outro of this episode - Scully talking about finally being forced to understand evil and how it can be inside her and come for her while a single tear slides down her face - is my favorite of the whole show.

But it seems I am not recovered from Season 2, and the second I saw violence against women I knew exactly where this was going. I spent the whole episode waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it did I was more annoyed than anything else. There is one hilarious frame right after Scully wakes up in the trailer where Gillian stares into the camera and looks annoyed af as if to say am I seriously filming this kind of scene again? and I was like same, girl, same. But with the understanding that most of this comes from me and not the episode itself, I’ll still give it a 10/10

The Field Where I Died: I have mixed feelings. I like the idea of past lives here, and the idea that Mulder and Scully were always friends, I love. I know it bothers some people that they weren’t together romantically, but I don’t think they need to have been romantic in past lives in order to be romantic now. I actually really love the idea of the same souls reconnecting in different lives but always in different ways (I’m thinking of the musical Ghost Quartet if anyone here knows it). I also love the concept of Scully always dying before Mulder in past lives - it adds another layer to the tragedy.

But also this episode feels like it’s missing something, and introducing a one-off character to be in the reincarnation cycle was kind of weird, and even though I think the concepts are cool, I just can’t quite love it. I’ll give it a 7.5/10

Sanguinarium: Finally a short episode review! This one was spooky and fun! Nothing in particular to love or hate about it, just a really creepy good time. A good episode for spooky season. 7.5/10

Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man: Naturally, I missed Mulder and Scully during this, but I thought it was really interesting! I’d much rather take a tour of CSM’s past than see another meeting with the high school board of trustees shady government organization of white men that I don’t care about. I also love that he’s an aspiring author and that he sucks at it - he’s kind of a bad bad guy too if you think about it. My favorite thing about this is that it wasn’t a tragic backstory and that he wasn’t redeemed! A tragic villain who redeems himself is great, but it’s also great to let your villains just suck. 8/10

Tunguska/Terma: Okay Mulder/Krycek shippers, I may not live on your planet, but I now see the roots from which you sprung. Their dynamic in these was actually wild.

This was overall an excellent two-parter! It focused more on character tension than alien plot, which I feel is always better. I liked the juxtaposition of very different high-stakes scenarios for Mulder and Scully - the Russian gulag and Scully being held in contempt of Congress, and kind of the implications that all corrupt governments are the same with that parallel - all good stuff! Although, for being hyped up as inescapable, Mulder sure got out of that prison camp real fast. Also…Mulder being injected with the black stuff is a HELL of a plot point to never touch again, but it is in character for the show. But TELL ME why there are no post-ep fics for this! There’s so much angst potential! Anyway 9.5/10

Paper Hearts: *cries*

See this is what Oubliette could have been if it had properly utilized Mulder and Scully’s dynamic, because Mulder’s search for Samantha is him making all the wrong choices, knowing they’re wrong but always digging in the dirt anyway, and Scully seeing the inevitability of Mulder’s downfall but standing there and letting him hold onto her after he breaks, coming back again and again because he always needs her and she’ll always follow him.

I do think the climax was a bit underwhelming given the emotional weight of the episode. I think Mulder maybe figured the killer (forget his name) out too early. But the post-climax scene is, of course, phenomenal, as is this episode overall. Point me to the fics for this one too! 10/10

El Mundo Gira: And this time the ethnic flute is accompanied by a vaguely Spanish guitar! And a boring plot! And some actors who are supposed to be native Spanish speakers who are very obviously not! 2/10

Never Again: Yes, I did watch this before Leonard Betts, and I’m glad I did, because I think it’s more interesting to look at Scully’s actions through a lens of her reaching breaking point than as a trauma response. I know this is controversial- the wonderful @mulders-too-large-shirt and @thursdayinspace aren’t the biggest fans, but I’m going to have to disagree and say I adored this one. Scully episodes are always treats for me, and this one was no exception. I know that people don’t like the implication that she sees Mulder as a disapproving authority figure, but I saw that as more of a manifestation of her fears than anything else. Scully will always crave the approval of those she loves, no matter how much they show her that she doesn’t have to earn it, she will try, and especially with Mulder, who can be a bit oblivious, the extent to which he values her can go unnoticed, and she’s left feeling like she’s bending over backwards for nothing. She doesn’t feel this way all the time, but here that feeling reaches a peak for her, and she gets these desires to break the mold and do something else and just try everything she never tried before. And as someone who also has a good girl identity, this really resonated with me.

The ending is also killer. Mulder wanting to say it’s become mine but he can’t finish the sentence…especially knowing what’s coming for them…GOD. This is in fact a 10/10 for me.

Leonard Betts: I mean, this is really just cancer arc setup. All of that, and the last few scenes with Scully, are fantastic. Individually, this is pretty good! Nothing to really complain about. 8/10

Memento Mori: *cries* I seem to be doing that a lot this season.

What a fantastic introduction to the cancer arc. I adore that this episode starts with Scully’s narration, to really emphasize how this is her story, and she will be taking center stage. I love how this episode showed Scully and Mulder’s reaction to her disease, and really dove into their psyches in a way they really wouldn’t again. It’s Scully’s desire to maintain her strength, to keep going, to just accept it and keep working as she does so many things. It’s the way the fear of death hangs over her, and she accepts it with open arms because it would almost be more vulnerable to fight it, but Mulder fights it because there’s nothing he fears more than losing her, and yet when she calls him he’s there in an instant, because he’ll give up every answer to be with her. It’s One Breath all over again.

And of course, the hallway scene. Gillian Anderson the actor you are. They both look at each other with so much care and grief and tragedy and love, and it’s fantastic. Though this is not the show’s first forehead kiss (there was a blink and you’ll miss it one in Irresistible) it was the first noticeable one, and it’s so tender but also heartbreaking. I was sobbing in my dorm room. 10/10

Kaddish: I did enjoy the parallel to Mulder not wanting to let go of Scully. And I loved the score, which actually drew on elements from Yiddish folk music (Yiddish is a very prominent folk music for Eastern European Jews). Makes me wonder why they couldn’t do that for the non-white “cultural episodes.”

They seemed to be a bit more clear on the messaging regarding antisemitism than they are when they’re dealing with non-white cultures, but it still felt a bit muddled to me, what with the villain being one of the Jewish people (sort of). I’ll give this a 7/10

Unrequited: What’s that? There was an episode? I must have fallen asleep. 3/10

Tempus Fugit/Max: My lovely friend @california-112 loves these - alas I must disagree. These fall victim to the “too much plot, not enough character stuff” thing that I don’t like. I want to emphasize that this is a subjective taste thing for me, but it does impact my viewing experience nonetheless. I was just annoyed that there was a big mytharc two-parter and Scully was LITERALLY DYING OF CANCER and it wasn’t about that. It felt like that whole plot was just sitting there, wanting to be used, and it wasn’t. And while the plot with Max was nice, it seemed like an awful lot of significance to give a one-off character. If he had been recurring, I might have liked this more.

But I did, of course, love the birthday bookend scenes. He finally celebrates her birthday because he thinks he may never get to again😭😭😭 And her explanation at the end. I love them❤️ Overall these two are a 7.5/10

Synchrony: I actually really liked this one! Maybe it’s because I’m a physics girlie but I liked the time travel elements of the whole thing, and I thought the continually unraveling mystery was really cool. I guessed some of the plot twists for sure, but not all of them! Also Mulder literally quoted Scully’s thesis at her, which was especially fun because, as a physics student, I now know what the Twin Paradox is. Anyway this was an 8/10 for me.

Small Potatoes: I need David Duchovny to star in a comedy immediately. This episode gave us some much needed levity in a pretty gloomy season. All of the jokes landed for me, and I love how pathetic of a villain Eddie is…and that’s exactly why he’s dangerous. I also love every second of body-swapped Mulder and the way the show takes the opportunity to make fun of itself. “Where do I sleep?” might be my favorite joke in the whole show.

I also like that this episode has layers, and kind of gets sadder the more you think about it. Read what I wrote on that here.

All that being said, I do agree with @california-112 that this episode falls into the trap of belittling women who were victims of SA, and I do think that that’s generally icky and a problem. With that in mind, I’ll give this episode a 10/10 for my personal enjoyment but an objective 8/10.

Zero Sum: Another Skinner episode! I do feel like Avatar gave us more insight into his character than this, but I still thought this was intriguing. I thought the push-pull between Mulder and Skinner was entertaining, and the thought that Skinner was willing to go to such lengths while Scully was sick is an interesting one - but most of this episode escaped my memory and I did watch it fairly recently, which I think is telling. So 6/10

Elegy: *cries* Scullyyyyyy

First of all, the ghost makeup in here? Terrifying. It got me. And I’m not easily spooked by this show.

But I loved Scully’s reaction to this. Her in therapy, only admitting how much she needs Mulder when she knows he can’t hear it, because she’s still fighting those same battles with her emotional walls and her self-image. Her refusal to believe in what was happening to her because of science, but also because she doesn’t want to admit that she’s dying and that things aren’t normal and they can’t be normal and they can’t go on. I also don’t know if this is the episode where she finds out her cancer has metastasized (what we learn in Gethsemane), but her final argument with Mulder hits so much harder if you think it is. I know what you’re afraid of, because I’m afraid of the same thing…and what that really is is being apart. And the final shots of her in the car…this season has so much Scully crying and I hate it but I love it. 9.5/10

Demons: Dare I say…tied with Irresistible for new favorite episode? I’ve already made a meta about this, so you know I adored it. Plus it takes place in my hometown which is awesome!

All jokes aside, this episode was so sad but so wonderful. Mulder feeling like his life is spinning away from him and he can’t save anyone, taking desperate measures to find answers, and just being fully swallowed by his self-hatred, willing to go further than he ever has because there’s no hope left.

And Scully, who is his beacon of hope, following him and believing in him when no one else does. She stays until the case is solved and she puts every single piece together herself because she has to. She follows him into the house and stares down the barrel of his gun because she will never fear him, no matter how far he goes, and he will run endlessly into the darkness chasing the truth, and she will run just as far to pull him back.

God. He’s so broken and she’s so devoted to him and this episode showed both things in spades. It was beautiful (and, on a more self-indulgent note, played into all of my favorite tropes. It felt like an upgraded version of one of my fanfics). Obvious 10/10

Gethsemane: Like Talitha Cumi, this is more of a precursor to Redux than a finale in itself, but it’s still a really good episode. High stakes all around! This really digs deep into the question of is it aliens or the government or both, and that’s an ambiguity I’ve always loved, so it was nice to see it back. Scully saying her cancer had metastasized absolutely killed me, but what really got me was the ending. Holy shit! 9.5/10

I think this may be my longest review so far, which is fitting for Season 4! Please feel free to tell me your thoughts on these episodes or the season as a whole, or to send me asks about TXF or anything at all! There’s truly nothing I love more than fangirling with all of you! I’ve had such a stressful few weeks with college, and you’ve all been so kind to me, sending me asks and commenting on my writing and chatting with me, and it’s just meant the world to me, so thank you❤️

On another note, my birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and I’d love to make something special for it, so if any of y’all have ideas, please let me know:)

Until next time!

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 10 Thoughts: History Lessons

What an episode. I'd love to do a bit of preamble up front but there is a load to talk about. No one needs me to ramble before the ramble. This will be a long one so buckle in, kids.

Spoilers for episode 10 below the cut.

Another episode that jumps straight into the incident. I really enjoyed this one. Both for its novel format and also for the way it lays the foundations of what's to come. It's also nice to see an incident that is mostly mundane. There was very little in this, outside of an allusion to something more sinister, that was out of the ordinary. A fairly British dude telling a unique British story. However, I don't think there is an awful lot to say here that isn't quickly expanded upon later in the episode or that won't be best served talking about elsewhere.

So let's get to the more interesting bit of this case. For those of you not from here, or a little too young to remember, the reason it's all so authentically British is because Mr. Bonzo is TMP's version of Mr. Blobby. A very real TV show mascot from the 90's. A lot of what was just discussed in that interview is lifted from Mr. Blobby's real history. He first appeared on a Saturday night variety show called Noel's House Party in its "Gotcha" segment. He was first introduced as a children's TV character to prank unsuspecting celebrities. He got very popular and became a mainstay of the series, became a huge icon at the time, launched a fairly massive range of merchandise, plans to create a Mr. Blobby theme park happened, and he even had a chart topping single. Blobby was a big deal and still pops up a fair amount. He didn't do any murders that we know of, and no one dressed as him to kill either. There is also this which I think everyone should watch to better prepare themselves for Mr. Bonzo, or to soothe the horrors he's already inflicted.

Colin's back! He's still weird! Not much to say here but it's nice to see him and Celia interact.

Next up were hear Alice and Sam, via Sam's phone, exploring the damp ruins of the Magnus Institute. There isn't a whole lot to say in this portion of their exploration but it's nice to see them outside of work again.

Gwen's section of this episode was really the standout IMO. Anusia is killing it and continues to kill it more and more each episode. I think Gwen is now my #2 blorbo. Colin had an early lead with a great email but is more of a background character at the moment. I am really excited to see how Gwen is going to react to this down the line. Whether the abject terror of meeting Bonzo is going dissuade her from pursuing Lena's job or further stoke that fire. I also wonder if she's going to assume what a lot of us are assuming. That the more recent Bonzo related murders are perpetrated by Bonzo, and that the envelope she gave him was his next target, which further plays into the golem references. Can't wait to hear more about what his role is in regards to the OIAR.

But no one could possibly replace Mr. Bonzo as #1 and I'm sure we can all see why this episode. Just everything about how he's being handled is perfect. A lot of history to ground him, incredibly ambiguous origins, his teeth are not soft, topped off with one of the most impactful "screen presence" of the entire TMA cast. Everything I was hoping for.

For those not a part of the ARG, and not a part of the Statement Remains discord server for it, Mr. Bonzo quickly became a massive fixture of basically everything that happened on that server. It's where my blog's name is from. Which is to say Mr. Bonzo has been a HEAVILY anticipated character and has had no small amount of hype built up around him. RQ have managed to deliver on that and then some. It's really pretty amazing he's managed to show up and not be a disappointment if you were part of that crowd, but they really pulled it off.

Bonzo Fact: Did you know that Mr. Bonzo is entirely unique in all of TMA? He's the only character to have a canonical design. He's the only character we can truly behold, and his visage is glorious and awe-inspiring. He is, quite literally, more real than any other character in the show. (Ignoring historical characters we never met)

I'm sure lots of you will have seen what Mr. Bonzo looks like but for those who haven't and have missed it on my posts, it's this.

If you checked out the links earlier, which you should have, you'll see that he's very close to Mr. Blobby. And, yes, he is kinda creepy if you're grossed out by weird mascots but he's not "Oh my god!" levels of horrifying. That's the original Mr. Bonzo, Mr. Bonzo the suit, not Mr. Bonzo the monster. This is who Gwen met.

Which really raises a rather interesting question; when did the suit stop being just a suit? Which in turn raises a more interesting one; why did the suit stop being just a suit? It's pretty clear that Mr. Bonzo really did start off as something mundane but whatever he is now very clearly isn't.

After all that excitement we return to Alice and Sam fumbling about in a ruin. Interestingly we're no longer listening through their phone, but a tape recorder. Which is actually a fairly big deal. Not because it's a TMA thing but because it's an analogue format that's not being digitised. So far that's not been something we've been able to listen through. Which means "Freddy" has some tricks up its sleeves, or "Freddy" isn't the one listening. The actual contents of this part isn't terribly important for the most part. Archivist's office, worms and trapdoors for an allusion to TMA, mystical symbols maybe, lots of books, etc. The real revelation here is "why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me". Likely confirming that the contents of CHDB (see masterdoc) was mostly the first step. Sam "failed" and wasn't chosen for whatever came next. It also likely confirms that Gerry wasn't chosen either as the two had remarkably similar test scores. Anyway, after that they call it quits and head on home.

Now, if you weren't reading the transcript's you'll have missed the introduction to a new character, [Error] played by Beth Eyre who voiced Lucia Wright from MAG 130: Meat. As Alice and Sam leave a padlock rattles on a trapdoor before a key twists and the lock pops open. The trapdoor opens and [Error] emerges. Very very little to really say here. Imprisonment below the Institute probably isn't a good sign, and they're the likely immortal overarching villain of either this season, or the show in general. But combined with strange PoV on those events, what was likely a mystical prison, and it being under the Institute that was burned down for a reason it's not good news. Unless it was burned down to free them, then who knows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet (I added the Magnus Institute's child psych eval. sheet to it)

Somewhat notably here CAT1RB2275 is also very close to the trailer's case number of CATIRB2275.

DPHW Theory: 2275 is actually a pretty interesting number. For clarity this refers to only the initial recording that Celia heard, not anything related to Mr. Bonzo beyond that. 2 in Death is pretty reasonable as the statement brings the subject of murders up but doesn't dwell on them much. 2 in Pain falls under the same explanation. The 7 in Helplessness tracks well too because not only was the format of the interview a bit of a gotcha, but the content dealt heavily with imprisonment. Both in context to the show's premise and the legacy's impact upon his life. It was also eerie and weird and mascot-centric which is good Weird fodder.

The reason this is all so interesting is because it's possible this is an entirely mundane incident that still happens to line up well with the DPHW of Mascot (Kids). What occurred in the interview didn't seem supernatural, what was described in it also seemed mundane. It's only really the last couple of lines that hint towards something supernatural occurring but notably none of that happens in this recording itself, the details of it discussed, nor are any of the people on the recording first hand witnesses to those events and retelling them. But despite all of that the mundane occurrences of the interview still heavily reflect the supernatural ratings of the section (subsection).

CAT# Theory: CAT1. [Insert your favourite screaming reaction GIF here.] I've got no clue what to make of CAT#'s at this stage. This one wasn't particularly elucidating. Gonna be a long few weeks.

There are a couple of theories floating about that I'll briefly mention because someone will do it if I don't. The Subject/Agent/Catalyst theory presumes a lot of stuff about the OIAR I don't think holds up, and assumes they're happy to throw away information which I don't think they are. See here for more. The Person/Place/Object theory overlooks that Dolls (Watching) is CAT2, and not a place, and that Agglomeration (Miscellany) is about a collection of objects despite it taking place at Hilltop. A location only important to us listeners. If you do like those theories by all means keep liking them. I'm just not convinced by them and it seems prudent to mention that I have seen them.

R# Theory: B is right in line with what I outlined last week. Bonzo-themed murders are not overtly supernatural but they are something that definitely happened. The Klaus doc also have a few incidents with the note "Mr. B", including the only known S rank. With Gwen's reaction being so strong I think it's a good indicator that S rank's follow the pattern.

Header talk: Mascot (kids) -/- murder is just another header that seems pretty weird. The section (subsection) bit is all pretty normal but that crosslink again shows that crosslinks have very little structure to them. I'm starting to wonder if they're actually relevant at all, or pre-assigned like other elements are. They're starting to seem more and more like vibes than anything.

[fandomxo00]

I’ve been summoned! 🫡

to answer the Hugh hyperfixation question—

pretty similar to you I think, hon. actually never really cared for the Wolverine at all, hadn’t ever seen the X-Men. I knew about HJ only, really, from word of mouth and Showman—honestly I’d heard more about his theatrical background than acting. I remember seeing Showman in 2017 and at the time I was writing film review and raved about it at length, still firmly believe it’s one of the greatest masterpieces of our time. gave him high marks but never really like…cared about him?

I stumbled upon Wolverine content thanks to tumblr and after a few fics, a few gifs and seeing some people talk about DP&W—I went, “I should probably investigate.” started in X-Men 2000 and Australia and by the end of his performance as Drover, I knew it was over for me. I was lost for other men.

it wasn’t until I saw a clip on Reels (yes I’m an old millennial) showing that Wolvie is converted to Christianity by Kurt, complete with Wolverine kneeling before a cross saying the Our Father in X-Men ‘92 (I think). seeing not only a mass media character, but a superhero no less, share my faith was wild—from that moment I knew Wolverine would dethrone my two-decade obsession with Batman as my favorite hero.

and now here I am. Logan I think is one of the best pieces of film I’ve seen in a long time, Wolverine’s hero journey not only arch’s and completes from a series perspective, but also within this linear story. his death made me sob—and I mean ugly cry. he makes peace with his life and dies justly, something that cannot be said for, I’d wager, 90% of screen story in the modern world.

and after watching Real Steel, this week, I realized that not only was HJ just simply eye candy, he’s a tremendously disciplined talented actor. and I say disciplined with conviction because not many in the craft these days are dedicated and disciplined—they soar into stardom and “play themselves”. he defies this, and the end of Real Steel again made me sob, restored my faith in film.

so here I am. kinda convoluted but 🤷‍♀️

like after dopf i think i read a fan fic here or there just bc im like im not gonna not enjoy it and then it was like i couldn't stop consuming lmao...

when i rewatched dofp god, i was fucking feral kept squealing like a child when id see him bc it was like my brain would have an orgasm every time he came on screen i mean dofp logan is other wordly i swear

i love that you found that connection with logan, i think that's another part for me is because logan has been through a lot of trauma not in the way he has but our behaviors can be kinda similar, destructive and isolating at times and idk he's the first character in a long time who i think would actually see me if he met me, he'd see a little bit of himself in me and even if it was never romantic for him i feel like we'd still habor a friendship of some sort (im delusional and i would be in love with him cause i am brah its delusional)

like sooo many ppl boost rdj as ironman which is valid he is amazing but where has the hype been for wolverine? i mean besides blade he's been a HUGE character for Marvel even in the Fox universe, and he's a symbol in my brain for mental health in a way that isnt shown a lot. i feel like he's journey though sad, his actions were realistic (for the most part) the only part i cant cope with completely is him dying romantically alone ik he has laura and i just rlly hope that before storm died he had some time with her or someone he loved bc he rlly deserved it.

omg i love real steel it made me cry at the end i was just like all that kid wanted was to be around his dad he admired him sm and it reminded of the way laura just wanted to be there with him and that was enough. The other character im really obsessed with is mr eddie alden, been rewatching someone like you ALOT. but i also have the other side from the greatest showman on repeat bc his voice urghhh

[bubblesxo]

I love your fic!!! I fucking adore de-aged Bruce fics and Gotham!Bruce is such a fun way to go about it!! And oh, is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to writing with Bruce and everybody? Or anything you wanna share about the process? I’m super curious!!!

oh thank you so much!!! that means so much to me to hear <33 i'm really glad that you're enjoying the story! i agree, gotham!bruce is a really fun way to tackle the topic of bruce's youth.

i'm really excited to write more bonding between bruce and his kids, as well as some alfred and jim scenes coming up!! (of course, harvey will be making another appearance, don't worry! he's just basically in dix's position in gotham canon here---very knowledgeable, very seasoned, but a bit older at this point. he's happily retired with a wife, and is distinctly spending it away from gotham XD) this fic was made with family relationships in mind, so i'm excited for when bruce finally begins to trust them a bit and starts to care about them more. (as a sneak peak for the next chapter, i'll say now that damian makes an appearance very soon!)

speaking of alfred, i really need to lore drop about him more coming up.

anyway, one of my favorite things ever to include in the fic is bruce random lore-dropping. like, his family has NO IDEA about most of the stuff he casually says, it's just such good comedy fuel for me XD i need some comedy to offset the trauma that all of the characters have, after all!

i have some plot points coming up that i am so so so excited to write!!! more short-term, i have a character coming up that's been mentioned a few times in-fic already as a bit of foreshadowing. he's only in like one chapter atm but miiightt make an appearance later. *wink wink*

more middle-term, there's an arc coming up soon that is gonna be both angst and comedy gold. it includes a character who has been mentioned by name but not discussed haha. he's around for a while (meaning at least a few chapters as a very very prominent character and probably a few as more of a background character) and i know that people are probably gonna be super hype when i introduce him, especially from the time period i'm taking him from!!

finally, i have an important long-term plotline that's going to go on in the background for most of the fic. i was thinking about writing it in a bit more blatantly in about 4 chapters, but now looking at all of this written down, i think i'll shove that chapter into the next round and write something a bit more foreshadowy for now and less obvious. i don't wanna give the plot away too soon, after all! (if you try, you can probably guess the character i'm referring to here, though probably not his name...)

i'm thinking of doing a special babs chapter coming up to talk about her whole parentage thing in this ficverse, too! do you think that would be interesting to anyone? LOL

i also am going to start tying selina in more often in the future, which is going to be a ton of fun!! and looking back on all of this, i'm starting to worry about just *how long* this fic is going to be XD but hey, whatever! i'll go with my muse.

looking back on what i wrote, this seems to be suuuuper vague, and i'm sorry about that!! but mid-term and long-term ones are a bit of a surprise and a mystery, respectively, and i don't want to spoil the fun too much XD

thank you so much for the ask!! i love talking about things on here, especially my fic! feel free to send more asks if you ever feel like it<33 and of course thank you so much for reading and enjoying my fic !!<33

[grimmcheems]

Rest In Peace Toriyama 🕊️💫🐉

DragonBall has always had a place in my heart for the way it was ever-present in my childhood. I grew up loathing weekend mornings because my brother would always drag me out of bed to watch it with him. I suppose that’s why it’s extra special for me, it was a simpler time when me and my brother could just sit and watch what came next in the current arc. The days always felt warmer then, but now I’m grown.

I’m glad Toriyama made this series and ignited something in me, though his passing was harsh and unimaginable for most of us, I hope he has found peace in knowing how many people he’s inspired to be better, and the many that he will continue to inspire. I wish his family healing and condolences for their sudden loss.

.^An extra illustrating what those Saturday mornings felt like. Dragon Soul was my alarm clock for the better part of my childhood. (It’s also my fav op)

I remember we even had a vhs tape of two specific episodes in which the bunny boss ended up on the moon. I always had bulma’s personality embedded into my head whenever I thought of her in that bunny suit.

I never appreciated that time then as much as I do now. Maybe it’s Goku’s loving nature and fatherly care that left an imprint on me and kept me from forgetting him, or maybe it was the way my brother was obsessed with the series, either way he was somehow always in the back burner of my mind. I even remember having to play with my brother when he got Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for his PlayStation. He even bugged me to wake up when Super came out (though we had already graduated and i would be resting on my days off from work, he was also only visiting for the month) and tried to get me to watch it with him, but Super never really had the same appeal to me as the og series.

Perhaps the connection it has to my brother is what draws me to it time and time again, I feel as though I can’t understand him as well anymore after we’ve graduated and he’s moved on with his life and out of the house. I never thought this random shounen series my brother forced me to watch every Saturday morning of our childhood would have the effect it has on me now. It was last year that I decided to rewatch the entire series since I figured I didn’t actually know what was ever going on, I was just always intrigued by the action and the characters. Surprisingly my child brain remembered the arcs pretty well and I could just have it playing the background and know what was going on for the most part.

Did I mention that my brother also collected the dvd series? Lmao. I was so hype when the Broly Movie came out and when we watched it it felt like I regained that connection to my brother momentarily.

It also inspired me to draw when I was in elementary school, though I thought of it as something I could show off rather than take it seriously like I do now. I never thought I’d draw again after middle school until I got to high school and got back into it. It wasn’t until last year that I first drew something dragon ball related since elementary school, and it felt so surreal to look at how far I’ve come in my art journey.

It was never intentional for me to start drawing dragonball, it was just stuck in the back of my head and it wouldn’t leave me alone until I brought my ideas to life by sketching them out. I literally have two drafts DB related as I’m typing this.😅 oddly enough there’s many things I think about when I think about dragon ball, but they are too many to list. There’s just so much I love about it and so many characters I love. The thoughts never leave me alone when I come up with an idea or headcanon for them and it’s actually so hard for me to try and forget them that I always give in and do something with the idea. It will always be a part of me.

I wasn’t planning on making a painting of Goku ever, yet here I am. I don’t really paint either, which makes the time it took me to make this that much more surprising. I wanted to portray an ease in his expression, something peaceful. I hope it comes across that way, he somehow looks like he’s sleeping and it’s funny because I don’t think I’ve ever really seen Goku relax like this at any point.

[northwest-cryptid]

I don't think I can really explain this without sounding like some elitist prick to someone out there, and that's not the intention or the thought process at all; but the thing is I really do want to like Limbus Company. However I've not been able to bring myself to do so for a lot of reasons.

Look this is gonna be a long one because I'm gonna keep it 100% with you, I have been having a LOT of thoughts about how we're never getting another game like Lob Corp; or even characters who can commit to their most surface level key design features.

I know I've sorta touched on this in the past, and every time I do I get anons by the dozens; (anon is turned off before anyone tries) telling me to kill myself or that I'm stupid and wrong. Which like, look I get it, but you need to understand that a jab at Project Moon and Limbus is not a jab at YOU.

Project Moon used to be one of my favorite game companies, I am the self proclaimed "#1 Project Moon Fan" so you gotta understand that I'm coming at this from a perspective of love for the series as a whole.

I think Limbus fundamentally fumbles the whole bag when it comes to what it could have been vs what it is. That's not to say it's entirely garbage or something. I'm not just going to say everything everyone likes about Limbus is absolute dogwater bullshit.

However as I've said before I can't shake the feeling that what I see when I look at Limbus is like a parody of what it wants to be. It's a husk wearing the corpse of Lob Corp like a cheap costume. Does it have some cool characters? Absolutely; yea I love seeing all the cool EGO designs and such, shame that so many of them cost real money and are still a gamble since many of them reveal things about the characters.

Which like, hey that's a good thing; they SHOULD reveal things about the characters, they should have cool little extra details; they should be important and plot relevant. If they weren't it would just be some cool costume for the characters (and let's be honest, some/most of them absolutely are...) However the fact of the matter is, what we were promised was that this would be a means of continuing to tell us about The City while funding other big projects.

I remember when they said we were going to get a proper open world game set in The City, where we were going to be able to make our own character and explore everything. Do you have any idea how hype I was for that? Limbus changed very quickly from the planning phase to the execution phase. It's success rapidly shifted the focus, no longer was it just a side project to sort of run in the background and "give us something back for donations and funding support." Suddenly it was THE focus of Project Moon.

I understand that since the launch (and even before the launch) of Limbus, Project Moon has had a lot going on. As in, things have come out that the company kinda sucks, that their practices are less than ethical; there was a very short lived boycott over the rights of women in Korea, and the sexism seen in the workplace at Project Moon.

It was genuinely saddening to me to see that fail so quickly because you know, the entire community/fandom built on the shoulder of "we need to oppose shitty business practices even when it's hard." Couldn't manage to oppose shitty business practices and sexism, because they needed their blorbos or whatever.

HOWEVER, that's all been talked about into the dirt, what I don't often see discussed; though it does happen on occasion, is just how much the tone of the game has shifted. Lobotomy Corp, back in it's original heyday; was actually really interesting. Because it was one of the few horror games where sure the graphics were pretty mid and the overall visual aesthetics may not be consistent. However that didn't matter because the characters and story were actually well written and compelling. We were seeing a game explore horror in a very human way, beyond simple shock factor and jumpscares. It still had monsters, and they were the least frightening part of the whole thing.

It felt like the Abnormalities were there as a sort of reminder; here are the monsters, but what's actually scary is what's going on at the company. What's going on with the people, and how you're involved, and the fact that these characters are suffering from very relatable, understandable; and human traumas. The scariest part of Lobotomy Corp for me wasn't Nothing There or The Woman Facing The Wall; it was the relatability of these characters, the fact I couldn't help but see a piece of myself in characters like Malkuth or Chesed.

It was also really interesting that at no point (other than MAYBE Netzach) does the game outright throw something in your face. Not once does it tell you "Malkuth has ADHD" or whatever. It doesn't need to, you see it; you understand it. You feel the futility of it all, understanding you're in a loop, you can't change how things will play out; you can't fix the past, you can do everything in your power to lessen the suffering but it won't fix it.

It's insane that we go from a storylines like Tiph's to the height of horror being "scary" monsters and in-your-face trauma. We even saw a bit of this formula in Library of Ruina, though I believe it was handled a lot better. A lot of people tell me I'm just bias, I was one of the "originals" by which I mean I remember being in THE (at the time) Project Moon discord server when there were maybe like 20 of us who were really mentally unwell about this series. Making mods, making content whether it be art or writing or whatever, I remember staying up all night going through the code and the data and the unused assets. So sure I have a lot of love for the original Lob Corp and such.

However what people hate to recognize is that yes, I'm aware of my bias, and where my bias lies; and no that's not influencing my opinion in the way you think it is. Believe it or not I DO like the characters in Limbus; I actually don't mind at all that we see some fresh faces. I wouldn't be happy with them dragging the corpse of Chesed into Limbus just so I can see my dumb blue haired coffee man (don't think I'm generalizing my favorite boy I swear to god.) I'd be mad that they really dredged up the corpse of a more or less complete character story just to pull some fan service.

My issue with Limbus is just how unfitting it feels. This doesn't feel like the same writing at all, it feels to me as though there's so much more shock value and fan service and "hey isn't THIS cool!?" Rather than striking at the heart of horror. I'm not saying these characters aren't still relatable to people, I absolutely know they are. I'm saying that we've seen Project Moon drift closer and closer to safe marketability over interesting storytelling.

Marketability really is the core problem for me, from the need for monetary gain to the lack of risk being taken with the narrative. It feels like a cheap cash grab, and it's taken over the entire company. We won't ever get another game like Lob Corp, it's just not going to happen. Even if we do get those other promised things; like a "Project Moon Land" or an open world City exploration game, it's going to be a shell of what it could have and should have been. Because it's sharp edges and gripping narrative is going to be smoothed down and made to be marketable to the highest paying audience.

I feel like Limbus more than any other game in the series is so black and white. These are the good guys (who have done bad things uwu) and these are the bad evil guys. This is the characters explicit trauma, we're going to bring this up again at the end very directly. All our characters are SO quirky and fun, this one talks in acronyms! This one exclusively talks in the third person! This one is autistic! But What if they had REASONS for being like that?!?!?!??!?!?? It all feels so, I don't know; it's like those youtubers who make horror content for kids saying "DON'T CALL DON QUIXOTE AT 3 AM!"

I'm not even saying you can't have quirky characters, or characters who talk in a specific way, or characters who are autistic. I'm saying that the whole thing with Limbus feels so half-hearted and phoned in. I've tried to get into the game several times, and if it's not that I'm literally missing out on stuff because I'm actually poor and can't afford to spend hundreds on gacha every time they release a new one; it's the fact that it just feels so predictable.

This could very well be a ME problem, and I fully accept that and I'm not here to tell you that you can't like Limbus Company. I'm just blogging on my personal blog lamenting (heh) the fact we're never going to get another Lob Corp; or even a Library of Ruina. Because at the end of the day I have a deep love for those games; but Project Moon isn't the company it once was, and now that it has had a taste of this success it's never going to go back to being the company it once was. Especially not after you know, firing some of their key figures, burning bridges with creators and artists; and ultimately shooting themselves in the foot 8 times over because hey it doesn't matter, check out this new EGO we made Don's a spooky vampire now!

If you actually want a really good example of what I mean when I say it feels half hearted; look no further than the very first major plot arc with Gregor. That's my boy right there, I love that guy; but they really do just pull an immediate one two punch only to miss both swings with the whole "here's Yuri, he likes Yuri like a sister; uh oh someone has to protect her who are you going to send? It has to be Gregor; it has to be, you can't actually pick anyone else, like sure you can but we've set this up so you HAVE to pick Gre- OH NO HE FAILED and she's DEAD and he's SAD and you should be too!" But more than that, let me put it this way; what's Gregor's key design thing? If I was to line up the sinners and have you point out something unique about each of their designs; what would it be for Gregor? Is it his arm? You know, the lack of a human arm? You know, the thing he has trauma about? The physical and visual representation of his trauma? The fact it's a weapon? A sharp, jagged, inhuman wea- oh wait hang on...

Yea sure I guess he can just have that back for this ID. Why not. Fuck it, we can't even commit to this one thing entirely. "That's LITERALLY only 1 EGO dude."

Okay.

Another one. "That's a fucked up thorn claw that doesn't count." Fine dude, fuck; here,

That's CLEARLY a fucking hand with some butterflies on the arm. (Sick design mind you but come on man.)

My point with this whole bit here is that they really feel like they can't even commit to what feels like a key visual design element for a character's trauma because hey the rule of cool will sell more if we make him look badass!

And like the other big thing is that we actually know that in The City robotic prosthetics and the like are COMMON, so something like this?

That would be seen as just a mostly functional arm or something he could get replaced with a fully functioning arm later. Not a weapon, not an instrument of trauma for the poor guy.

That's ALSO just an arm. Here's another Prosthetic:

And another arm:

And ANOTHER ARM:

Look what I'm saying here is that of his 8 IDs on the wiki, only 3 actually have a hook, claw, or non-hand/arm appendage that is actually a weapon. Of the 6 EGO on the wiki 4 of them are either just hands/arms or at least vaguely hand/arm adjacent with only 2 being the centipede and orb thing.

So the take away for me on this is that they couldn't even handle committing to the most surface level visual key element of this character for the MAJORITY of his IDs and EGOs. What's the point? His character arc is predictable and just tries to hit you in the gut with "he's a victim of war, he was experimented on; he loses everyone he cares about!" Then goes "oh and don't worry about him being a cockroach man because that doesn't matter actually..."

I hate it man.

I miss when this company made single player focused games, that told an interesting story; and actually understood horror and trauma beyond buzzwords and flash in the pan "ANGST" moments. I'm sorry but half of the Cantos have these very predictable storylines that really demand I get invested to side characters who we know aren't going to make it out alive because "Death = Sad and Emotion Response = Good!"

Do you remember when FNAF came out and everyone and their brother made youtube videos about how, "Jumpscares are cheap horror because it's an involuntary response!" Because this is that but for writing; they just want you to feel sad or angst or whatever because they know triggering any kind of emotional response in you means they got some kind of reaction from you. Gone are the days when you actually had time to get to know and care about a character; gone are the days when the characters were going through shit that actually did impact you in some way. Now we get 2-bit here and gone flash in the pan side characters to kill off, they exist solely to be expendable. I really miss when the games forced me to assume the role of a fucked up little guy and let me fight against the very nature of being a fucked up little guy in a fucked up little world. Only to come to the understanding that no matter how much I try, no matter how much I struggle against the horror; I can't undo the past, I can't save his wife; I can't end their suffering; I can't undo her decades of pain. I can only go forward as a better version of a fucked up little guy.

[inevitablemoment]

My Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Experience

First, I just want to say.... HOLY CRAP, I had so much fun! I have waited for this movie for so long, and while there are a few things that I were waiting for that didn't happen, it still lived up to the hype.

Spoilers under the cut.

So, my parents and I saw this in an MXC theater at our local Marquee. The seats were recliners that went back and forth with a button, and I loved that. But the sound system was... very loud. Let's just say, it's like if an audio version of 3D and THX had a baby. It was cool, but I didn't like that. And there were a lot more room in the aisles than their standard theaters.

The previews were surprisingly short, which was a relief. I have been waiting for this movie for MONTHS!

So, first, THAT CHASE SCENE AT THE BEGINNING!

It's no secret how much I love Callie, and seeing her as a Ghostbuster makes me so happy.

When Phoebe called her mother "Callie," my heart dropped a little and I just knew that we were in for a rocky ride.

Hearing that familiar staccato motif just put a smile on my face... which then turned into tears when Egon was mentioned.

But knowing that the music video for the title song is in-canon as well is fucking hilarious.

Ah, Dickless. I did NOT miss you.

Also, how did Peck get elected mayor? He is probably the most unlikable character in the Ghostbusters universe. But then again, a certain someone involved in many legal battles was elected President, so why should I question it?

I LOVE the domesticity of the firehouse scene; dinner, movie night, laundry, all the background.

Also, there's something hot about Callie wearing her flightsuit as pants with the top half tied up.

"GHOST DOG!"

"We both got some action." "Yeah, we did." Okay, already, this film has solidified my love for Callie and Gary as a couple. I am soft for them.

Gary trying to be tough and then apologizing instantly.

Callie Spengler laughs and it cleared my acne.

I know that they're trying to stop the containment unit from blowing, but PHYSICAL CONTACT!

Also, Callie is surprisingly BUFF. Can she hold me, please?

RAY STANTZ, MY SWEET BOY!

He's all but adopted Podcast, he just needs the paperwork.

"The hammer gets the views."

Honestly, I think the Stay-Puft company should just go defunct, with all of the paranormal shit.

JANINE, MY GIRL! SHE'S BACK!

Callie lounging on the couch, scrolling through her phone while sipping a drink is a whole ass mood.

Poor Trevor... but goddamn, it's still as funny now as it was forty years ago.

That longing look on Ray's face as the Ecto passed by the shop...

I did not have "Phoebe Spengler likes girls" on my bingo card for this movie, but... I love it.

Part 2 will be coming soon. I just don't think that I can fit in everything that I loved about this movie into one post.

[majorproblems77]

Oh AUs you say??? Tell me more

I HAVE BEEN ENABLED! :D

Okay okay, So if you didn't know I've got a Links Meet AU that I'm working on in the background called Exodus, Its a space themed Links Meet AU where the Skyloft is invaded and Sky (Sksw link) Has to travel across space to gather likeminded people to help him take back his planet basically.

I am very excited about it and want to talk about it more and get more people into it because it's everything I love. Space, Cool weapons, Zelda. Like just going through my notes and stuff makes me so excited.

I've got various things already made including a prologue for the main story where Sky is escaping from the D3 organisation (Led by Lord Demise.)

I've got locations, family dynamics, and a space station which I think will be the next thing I reveal and the more I work on it the more I wish I could draw with my pc because I'd love to make a comic with this but writing it is so much fun too. I've got so much planned. Space ships because space travel is cool and everything.

I've taken everything about the Zelda universe I love and thrown it into a blender with my fave things about space and sci-fi to make something that makes me excited to work and write about it.

As these links are my versions of the mainline game links it makes me so excited. I just want to scream about my boys and show them off because i love them so much and I'm so proud already of what I've got and am so excited to show more.

I've got files made for Sky /[Crimson breath of the celestial sphere] (Sksw link), Chronos (OOT/MM Link) and Skipper (HW Link). With the rest of my characters named as follows

Fen (BOTW/TOTK)

Smithy (FS/MC)

Twilight (TP Link)

Saga (LA/OOA/LTTP/OOS)

Sprite (LOZ1/LOZ2)

Tempest (WW/PH)

Crimson wave of the great expanse (The First hero)

I've taken bits from each characters game and changed them to fit in the universe. I think my favourite so far is Sky's story. He's fought the D3 organisation and won before but lost a huge part of himself in the process. Which he's had made for him. Fi is an artificial intelligence that Sky has embedded in his head as a part of this transplant.

Skyloftians have natural Wings, and so when he fought demise the first time he had his wings ripped from him. A story which I plan to work my way to at one point after I've got the main AU story off the ground with chapter 1 which is in progress rn!

I'd love to go into more detail id love to ramble about it all day. If you want me to I can! :D

I just want to hype about my bois but I know people dont follow Zelda for the space aspect haha. So I try to keep my excitement on the down low for the most part

Thank you for letting me hype about my bois

If you wanna look at it? Exodus-AU

[autisticempathydaemon]

Ohmygod I love matchups

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why?

Too sweet by Hozier ofc ofcm I looove Hozier and the way he sings about relationships 😭 Im like not fixated on a specific lyric, I'm fixated on the wedding bells in the background of the chorus

What is your Enneagram type?

Okay it has been a FUCKTON of time since I looked at that stuff but iirc it was 2? Me being an infp is literally the only thing I can consistently remember bc ADHD brain

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why?

YESS I listen to them whenever I'm playing Sims or working on something. Any of Jenny Nicholson or Li Speaks’ videos are common for that Nostalgic Essay Stuff. SPECIFICALLY Jenny Nicholson’s jeff the killer fanfiction book video because I OWNED THAT BOOK. I WROTE CREEPYPASTA FANFICTION AND I OWNED THAT BOOK

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend.

I did not have one and I pretended to because everyone else did and I felt weird for not having one

What is your go-to way to fall asleep?

Imagining being loved and cared for 😭 or whumpy fanfiction scenarios no in-between. But they usually overlap

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?)

I named myself after a character cause I relate ofc but I also named myself echo because it was another birth name in consideration for me and it feels like… whimsical

What is your favorite of Redacted’s audios, and why?

ITS STILL “FLIRTY VAMPIRE LOSES CONTROL” BECAUSE IM OBSESSED WITH SCENES WHERE THE HUMAN PARTNER OF A “MONSTER” CHARACTER IS DIRECTLY CONFRONTED WITH THEIR MONSTROUS TRAITS AND LOVES THEM ANYWAY.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.)

Gavin </3 I am simply not a sexual person and it puts me off a bit lol

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to.

This spectacular show called dramaworld about a girl whos obsessed with kdramas and gets sucked into the world of them, but not in a “the events are real” way, in a “the entire world is a setup for the same characters to go through various plots, forgetting and falling in love over and over again” and it's hilarious and it's such a comfort show even though I can't watch it anywhere anymore I don't think. The main romance is top tier. It's so funny. And the stakes and plot twists are actually pretty good

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend?

Probably Sam? I want him to be my dad. I have issues.

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.)

Apparently when I'm half asleep I start talking about horses? But when I'm still conscious, I mostly talk about like. Vampires mostly.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo.

doritos dinamita and mountain dew yes I am basic

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment.

I don't have favorite playlists so much as I play 4-6 songs over and over on repeat until I'm sick of them. Currently, those songs are too sweet by Hozier, no more birthdays by sophie may, and Every Chappelle Roan Song.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why?

I love bad romance novels the more ridiculous and bad, the better. kresley cole's immortals after dark are fun to make fun of (no. Hate if you like them)

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are!

Uhhh my favorite form of interaction is parallel play. irl or digital, in a digital sense it means “we're liveblogging two separate things we're doing at the same time” lmao

- Asher-Echo/vampire-bite

Ooh, there’s a lot of good info to consider here. Initially, it was hard because I find Type Two’s easily compatible with most of the Redacted bois, but what said about “not being a sexual person” made it easy to choose Ollie for you.

Because he has never and will never get a BA, I love to headcanon Ollie as either asexual, low-libido, or both, so that’s one reason I think he’d be a good match for you. I also love that y’all would like so many of the same things like open-world games, bad/silly romance novels, and spending time with one another without the pressure to actively interact or engage with each other. (Also creepypastas. I love to headcanon Ollie as a horror, creepypasta fiend, given he grew up on the internet around when Jeff the Killer came to be.)

Every day with Ollie would be so comfortable and domestic, so sweet. Like, on a long weekend like this one if you’re American, I can see y’all spending it at home, a little staycation. He’d be in the other room or one end of the couch reading, and you’d be on the other reading one of your romance novels. Cattywumpus would be on your lap, because you’re his favorite. Your music is playing in the background, and you both stop what you’re doing to dance to “Hot to Go!”, because Ollie would totes love Chappell Roan.

Song:

Spillin' wine and homemade drinks/ We throw a cheers, the worries sink/ Damnit, it's so good to be alive/ We know that we don't got much/ But, then again, it's just enough/ To always find a way for a good time

Ollie strikes me as the type of guy who loves simple, feel-good, folk-esque music, someone being honest and emotional with a guitar. That’s one reason I like this song for y’all and can imagine it shuffled with yours as y’all hang out. The other is that this love song is sweet, catchy, simple just like Ollie~

Runner-ups:

Your love of the Sims and cheesy paranormal romance novels compels me to give you Elliott as a runner-up, because he could bring the things you read and create to life in your dreams, and that’d be so fun! In contrast, your Enneagram type and identifying yourself as nonsexual makes me want to pair you with Cam who gives me an asexual, easily affectionate vibe.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌