#but also somehow I hope that if they're really doing lore this time it's for some kind of grand finale

[thegreatyin]

What, precisely, is fallen London, and how can I play it? Ive been told it's a browser game, will it work on my phones browser or only my computer's?

SWEEPS EVERYTHING OFF MY DESK. SLAMS MY HANDS ON THE COUNTER. you're in luck because advertising this game is apparently my specialty.

fallen london is a free browser game that works on anything with an internet connection!! laptops, phones, tablets, the decade old 3ds you have stashed in the back of your closet- if you can open a web browser, you can run fallen london. the UI obviously differs between desktop and mobile, and desktop has the benefit of extensions that can make your life marginally easier, but that's all a strictly optional affair.

as for the game's actual contents; fallen london is a text-based horror game closely reminiscent of classic "choose your own adventure" books. you play as a new arrival to an alternate history version of victorian london that now flourishes in a deep, dark, marvelous (and more than slightly eldritch!) cavern known as "the neath", with the goal of making your name and ultimately pursuing one of the four possible ambitions that brought you here to begin with. along the way you encounter a wide variety of strange and inexplicable things, including but not limited to;

men with the faces of squid (who are not truly men)

actual real soul-stealing devils (who originate from Actual Real Hell, which is also london's next door neighbor)

snakes that are eternally bound to the realm beyond mirrors (who have an infamous feud with sapient talking cats)

treacheries of time, law, and all that which the gods hold dear (including the ability to bypass death itself)

sirens who are convinced they're dead (in a place where, as stated, death is easily bypassed)

sentient landmasses that get REALLY annoyed if you don't pay your taxes on time (and are also single and ready to mingle)

fabric that is not fabric (which is held in quite high value by certain giant bat monsters)

spiders that eat eyeballs (but are, fortunately, easily distracted by shakespeare)

genres of colors you didn't think possible (in seven fantastical flavors!)

batkissing (not canonically, but in our hearts)

batfucking (this is, somehow, marginally more canon than the above thing)

batmarriage (no.)

batdivorce (in comically large spades)

The Hat Man (who's in love with and yearns to become like a sentient island)

gay people (a lot of them)

trans people (also a lot of them)

doomed love, in all possible forms (as well as those who try and collect it)

this thing (this thing)

and last- but certainly not least-

a pitiful hope that perhaps, just perhaps, all shall one day be well. (even when you know it won't be.)

it's a game with lore as deep as the ocean, and a staggering wordcount (4.5 million!) to boot. it's not perfect, but it's something i've grown to love deeply, and in my experience? if it doesn't click for you, that's understandable. but if it clicks for you, it really does click for you. i recommend it to anyone and everyone who so much as looks its way. who knows! it may just surprise you 🦇☀️🦀🌃

as a further incentive, here are some out-of-context items and excerpts:

as stated, you can play it right now for free at fallen london dot com. there is a subscription and a small bounty of microtransactions on offer if you want to support the development team, but at no point is this ever required, and you will be playing for years before you reach the end of stuff to accomplish. all major content updates are free and available to all players, and FOMO to this day remains virtually non-existent. as once again stated, the browser specs are non-existent. if you can run google, you can run fallen london.

so head on down!! give the neath a try!! follow admiralty orders and dump a bunch of bombs directly into the zee (underground sea) whilst accidentally waking up a giant grieving sea urchin that screams fire and violently pursues your demise!! (that's what we're all doing right now, anyway.)

if the browser game isn't for you, there's also other outlets with which to explore the universe. you can find the spinoff games Sunless Seas, Sunless Skies, and Mask of The Rose available to purchase right now on steam, and there's recently been a very successful kickstarter to adapt the game into a TTRPG. it looks very cool so far. im very very very excited for it :)

in lieu of having to come up with a conclusion for this ask, im instead going to direct you to the MoTR stupendium song (which you'll find linked below). it says far more and advertises far better than i could ever dream of. also, it's a straight bop, and "all ends/swords pens" has lived rent-free in my brain for months.

welcome to the neath, delicious friend. we hope you enjoy your stay ❤️

[bonus-links]

*waiting eagerly and patiently for directors commentary* :)

IT'S DONE RAHHHHHH ITS FINALLY DONE!!!!!!! I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter but I am REALLY excited to move on to what's next!!!!! i have been waiting literal years to get here,,,,

starting off with a few things: these frames are the same design from pt. 9, just damaged now. it's also uh. literally the same drawings KJSNFKJG listen sometimes I just have to make things easier on myself. also convenient crack through the hero of time's right eye >:-)

okay so the hero of time lore gives me a bit of a headache. let it be known that I understand in wolf's timeline, the events of OOT technically never happened. He knows the "hero of time" moniker bc he's met him, and i could've SWORN that name is mentioned if not somewhere in TP then in the TP manga. suspend ur disbelief for me lol

Anyway the idea is basically that post-game Wolf has done some digging to track down the person the Hero's Shade was when he was alive. I like to imagine he had some kind of bargain with Zelda where if he agreed to come to certain events she'd let him dig around in what survived of the archives after lol. I actually got stuck on this panel for a while trying to think of some other imagery that got this idea across without being so,,,idk on the nose? but i couldn't think of anything so i went with this HAHA. Even if Mask wasn't technically the "hero" in this timeline, I think he still ended up being a prominent figure, and some documentation of him would exist. An unfinished portrait, a text about the history of the royal guard, military records, correspondence between him and the castle, etc.

ALSO ALSO. how do they know they're talking about the same hero of time? well, they don't. they're making an educated guess lol. obviously whoever made this statue of the Hero of Time couldn't make it look exactly like him, but I feel like Wolf has noticed enough similarities between depictions to be like. hey wait a second

wake is trying to give a pep talk here like "come on guys, going on adventures is what we do!!" meanwhile Wolf and Loft are both like. yeah i guess leaving our loved ones behind with little notice to go on dangerous missions we may never return from IS what we do.....

speaking of which Loft is maybe technically being a little bit of a hypocrite here but I really think he's just trying to make sure Wake doesn't make the same mistake he did lol. he's feeling guilty

one of many things I really regret abt this chapter is not having Tetra and Loft have a conversation similar to the one he and BOTW Zelda have. I feel like Tetra's experience of getting to grow up outside of the pressure of the royal family or her role and then basically having it forced on her during the events of WW would be very valuable for him to hear. I had so many things I was trying to juggle this chapter and somehow that just slipped through the cracks 😭 im sorry tetra.

AT LAST!!! ANNA FROM FROZEN!!! when all that was going down a few weeks ago i was like GUYS GUYS WAIT. HE'S ALMOST HERE. does this mean I have to get a new icon now

in case its not clear (and it probably isn't) he's in the ALTTP lost woods!

okay so some of you may have noticed this, but up until now we've basically been following the thread of mainline games, starting where the timeline merged and working our way back to where it split in OOT. ALTTP is technically part of that, as the timeline where the Hero of Time dies. I have them all connected through the Lost Woods. The pitch for this was basically "wouldn't it be so fucking funny if Mage could've joined the story way earlier but didn't bc he was the only one with enough sense and also enough gall to just throw something through it." and then I couldn't NOT do that

so on that note, this is the BOTW lost woods. If you look closely, you can see Wolf in the distance.

I wanted to do something to establish him as a magic user! he could have just pulled these out of his bag but where's the fun in that. you might also notice that he's not wet because the rain isn't actually hitting him

ALTTP ZELDA MY BELOVED!!!! that's all

that's all i've got for now!!! bonus links turned 3 years old 3 days ago which is. wild. thank you all for sticking with this story for so long!!!

[eloquentornot]

This reminds me of something someone once said about how the best logical way to win a life series would be to hide the entire time, and how they play it for entertainment and make decisions they wouldn't if not for...

Wait.

They really are doing it all for the Watchers, aren't they?

one of the most fascinating things about the secret life tasks to me is this:

you don't have to do them.

oh, if you roll a hard task, that's different--you'll lose hearts if you don't do the task. and if you're low on health, yeah, sure, doing a task probably feels better than not doing a task. but the thing about the tasks is this: there is no consequence for not doing them. there is no consequence for going "i'm on high health, i won't risk playing in a really bizarre way that often could get me hurt worse than if i just played normally". there is no consequence for going "nah, i'm not gonna."

...and yet.

the thing about the secret tasks is that you don't have to do them. and yet,

[bhaalest]

god this is so overdue. im finally making a bg3 side blog

for a first post i wanted to list some of the artists i've been (mostly) refraining from reblogging to main for many months at this point. i meant to only do my favorite few but then i couldn't decide who my favorite few were so... here you go

@meanbossart draws absolutely beautiful art of his absolutely beautiful du drow, and also has an amazingly well-written and well-characterized story about what he, astarion, and shadowheart get up to post-game

@kawareo goes deep how his durge strike suffers from both the urge and orin's attack, and into strike before orin's attack. i love the standalone art and comics, so when i say his writing is my favorite thing he's done that's high praise

@velnna's tav staeve is another very pretty man and i don't know how to describe what i like most about his art other than "very pleasantly textured", it catches the eye in a very pleasing way

@lucklessrat has incredible dramatic and comedic timing in their comics of lethean, and i love what they do with leth being old. you don’t see that often

i have a soft spot for half-orcs and paladins so naturally i think about @everchased's finch constantly. they have several of my favorite bg3 comics ever but the SMITE one is... just gonna say i agree with astarion there

there is so much to say about @jeeaark's tav greygold, from the jokes to the relentless optimism to the visceral (in a very good way) art style, but my new favorite thing is the dark urge (godsdammit) companion series, it's really fun to see DUG and greygold interact and i can't wait for more. also, another half-orc!

@ejoym's durge devlin is wonderfully deranged, i love the dark humor in the comics, the art is really crisp, and the artist makes really great use of colors. i love how pointy everyone is also

@ohpsshaw's durge typhus is going through it at the moment. love his expressive face (and the expressiveness of the whole art style) and puppydog vibe, i can't wait to see how much he... enjoys... the rest of the game as daddy's chosen. also check out the artist's entertaining commentary on her main(?) blog

@taygra5shaon's big scary durge jacq somehow can do adorable and terrifying equally well, sometimes at the same time. this is another artist who has great timing in her comics. i especially like the young jacq ones.

@angiemaniac's tavella and durge companion au presents durge from a different and very interesting perspective. and she does a great job including every companion into the story, while tavella is still a compelling character on her own!

cae is the most beautiful durge you've ever seen and @hellothisisangle's art does such a good job of making him feel dangerous. it's incredibly beautifully rendered, the poses and fashion are always amazing, and on top of it all cae's lore is fascinating too

@wellen-katze's comics are really in a league of their own. their comics vary but my favorites are the ones that hurt to read. my favorite series is this one with ascended astarion and a nameless durge dealing with the tragic aftermath of the story. their comics hurt in an incredible way that i can't get enough of.

ghost, aka niro, by @oathbreakerapologist is wonderfully fucked up. he has a really upsetting presence (/positive) and i can't look away from his relationship with orin. this is probably the least sfw blog i'm linking, which i hope comes off as a complement

with @mistercrowbar's aldiirn it's hard to pinpoint specific things i like because the art and comics are so well-rounded, but if pressed i would point to aldiirn's visual design and the skill with which the artist makes his desire for approval and will to break the rules mesh together. i'm not sure if i want to be his friend or study him like a bug

i love @crocodiller's pining dumbass (affectionate) rowan so much. there's a lot to like about the comics but my favorite is rowan's supportive friendship with karlach. they're also very well-paced and some of the crispest art i've ever seen

i found @ryvenarts and sullen literally yesterday but i'm already very interested and excited to see if there will be more

another recent (to me) discovery, thirkuir by @jayfitzmaurice. i really like his design and the expressiveness of all the characters

@quess-art has an adorable baby durge who still has a compelling backstory i'm excited to see more of. plus the wagging tail is just perfect

@3eefstud's durge Einar is really nice to look at, with amazing colors and gradients. i'm surprised i didn't find them until very recently

i thought @panksage's Ebony Darkness D'urge was just a joke at first but no, the comics are sincere (and also funny) and just beautiful, especially the colors!

i do not know if @arianiziolek's durge has a name. catty little murder lizard (affectionate). has some of the funniest comics but more importantly the best durge facial expressions

@bajablast666 is double dipping with durges kaethan and kelrath. both their art and writing have an intensity that i love (the red outlines they use often are so good) and their writing in particular conveys emotion and visceral feeling so well

karl by @beltart is another on the surprisingly long list of people i initially found from their art, then read their writing and was blown away. i don't think i've seen anyone else depict the weight of the urge as intensely as this and i love it

and finally, a palate cleanser from all the durges, @wirywyrm's tav arthur who's in a sitcom as opposed to a horror story. i really like the texture and detail of their art and also how much of a dork arthur is. least smooth bard(adin) in the realms

incredibly i did leave out a few people, mostly people who draw companions rather than their tav/durge because i sort of locked myself into this format, so i may come back and update this later!

[aimasup]

Just finished the Villainous official comic the Risky Heist and I gotta say. I just gotta say. Gimme the mic lemme just

A small part of me wishes the protagonists are Illuminarrow and Mawrasite instead. They're small-time villains in a world tangled with power-hungry maniacs and corruption that begins from the very top of authority, they fight their way to a better life and it's really interesting to see the world from their point of view

Uuu may nothing but good things come their way (•͈⌔•͈⑅)

I love?? How the exposition isn't dumped and boring?? And the leagues plus locations are set up in a really solid way! The pacing is somehow better than the cartoon I feel. And!! And the dozens of random characters are SO ENTERTAINING <3 Just brimming with personality in the brief periods they show up!!

Oh without spoilers I love it when characters are;; characters? (Only when they're intended to be deep by the writers of course) If that makes sense?? Like they have motivations and stick to their goals, with beliefs and hobbies, it all ties into what they symbolise and how they react to things RAARAFGHH GOLDHEART WHERE ARE YOU IN ALL THIS

Also the dread is so good. Like the events happening here are actually scary. Not to spoil but, the plot thickens. The plot was already thick but it thickens. I really hope the cartoon doesn't rely on the comics for lore, though it's pretty much accepted that Villainous is a multi-medium story right? At least Alan is telling the story how he wants. It would only be a little troublesome for us to piece the events together with internet now at least✌️ ( ಥ⌣ಥ)✌️

I'm telling you, it all comes down to power in this world, like the reputation kind

God the LAYERS

THERE'S ALWAYS A BIGGER FISH ETC ETC- how BH org influences the world down to the smallest details is done really well, you can really feel how imposing they are and how much control they have, the kind that can only exist in rumours even

But I canNOT GET OVER HOW THE FIGUREHEADS OF VILLAINY HERALDED AS PRACTICALLY MYTHOLOGICAL IN THEIR STATUS, AS TERRIFYING AS THE SUN IS TO AN ANT, ARE:

1. A sopping wet milk-soaked mop of a man who wishes, on a daily basis, that he couldn't Comprehend The Horrors

2. Que Lindo

3. Mr. 'Forgets His Lines Doing A Snack Commercial' over here

4. This fucking thing

And they all live in the same house and they hate each other.

Scary and silly is such a hard combo to balance!! Mate!! This godforsaken cartoon will haunt me until the day I die!!

[under-the-stars-au]

How are you feeling now, Bon?

Yeah don't worry, they're fine now, when your tummy is full you can't be mad, that's just science fact

________________

Okay ! Lots of stuff to say here ! There were some details I wasn't sure of about the lore of this mixed UT/ISAT universe, but recently I made myself a little memo of everything and I'm more sure of my stuff. So I made it clear in this one : Chara is here ! And they are here to help....maybe.

Siffrin thoughts and Chara's narration are kinda here at the same time...which must be super confusing to live honestly, but you can still see the difference. I will not develop here why Chara is with Siffrin instead of Frisk, but if you want a small explanation, their wishes mixed together

I personally think that there's a lot of ISAT stuff in this AU and not enough UT, so the next one (the one I really wanted to make for a while) will be more about UT, and it will be out...tomorrow ! Yep, I already started it before I decided to make that one first, so you'll have another answer really soon, whoo oh !

I hope you like this one for now though ! See you soon !

(Also did you notice the new brush I used this time ? I love it honestly, it looks super cool, I think I'll keep it)

_________________

DIALOGUES IN CASE YOU CAN'T READ MY HANDWRITING

1 :

Bonnie : Mh.........

2 :

Odile : Bonniface, I get that you are upset, but can you please be faster ? Even I don't walk that slow

Bonnie : I'm as fast as I can 'dile !...

3 :

Isabeau : Hey, Sif ? Sorry to bother ya but, huh... Could you talk to Bonbon ? I think they might need it...

Siffrin : Huh ? Why ? I'm not really the feelings person of the group

4 :

Isabeau : Listen buddy, I... I don't think I'm the good person to tell you about it. Just...talk to them, okay ? They'll tell you...eventually

Siffrin : Huh... Okay ? I'll go do that...

5 :

Mirabelle : Huh ? Why did we stop ? Siffrin ?

6 :

Siffrin : Heya Bonnie

Bonnie : ...Siffrin. What d'you want ?

7 :

Chara (internally): Oof, wow, such a sweet kid. They even "Siffried" you

Siffrin : It seems that you're still angry since you flee earlier, and that it's...kinda my fault ? I'm not sure to really understand, but huh, I'm sorry, for whatever happened. I didn't wanted to upset you.

8 :

Bonnie : Huh uh. Yeah, sure. I forgive you

Siffrin (internally) : It doesn't sound like they do though...

9 :

Chara (internally) : Stars, that kid sure is difficult ! Just continue okay, they are not worth it

Siffrin : ...

10 :

Siffrin : Hey Bonnie ?

Bonnie : Hum ?

Siffrin (internally) : No, no don't say that. They'll ALWAYS be worth it

11 :

Siffrin : What if I tell you that I still have a piece of Toriel's pie in my secret pockets. What d'you say ?

Siffrin (internally) : In every loop, every fun changes, you party will always be more important. If you have to proceed, it will be with them

12 :

Bonnie : ...Well. First, I say that it sounds super gross to keep pie in your pockets just like that

13 :

Bonnie : ...And then I say that I want it

14 :

Siffrin : There you go !

Bonnie : Thanks...

15 :

Siffrin (internally) : ...You know, it's nice to have new interactions with them. They almost became actual persons again, you even remember their names !

16 :

Bonnie : What ? WHAT ?! Why are you laughing ?! You makin' fun of me ?!!

17 :

Siffrin : No no, just thought you look like a bunny when you eat, a "Bonny" hehe. That's cute

Bonnie : GAASP. So you are makin' fun of me !

18 :

Bonnie : But huh, actually, I'm not mad at you somehow, guess it's because of the pie

Siffrin : Oh ? Really ?

Bonnie : Yeah, it's just that good

Siffrin : Huh, good to know

19 :

Bonnie : Yeah yeah, just go back to your place now. And stop being an idiot !

Siffrin (internally) : I guess they are okay now ?

Siffrin : Haha, okay okay

[bantersnatch]

vianca makes me feel So So So ill why the Fuck did Real Life Vic Michaelis and Their Legendary Director Tamar Levine and whoever else deliberately make bianca—FORMERLY JUST KIND OF A JOKE CHARACTER—have a surname alluding to LITERALLY OEDIPUS and meanwhile we dont even have the finale yet and lisa looks diabolical How the fuck do u think lore will pop up from that Whta the fuck i think i need to go lie down?

all i ever do is warn people not to go near vianca because it's the worst ship ever and terrible and it will ruin you but noooooo everyone touches the cursed amulet and now look at where we are. i hope you're all happy.

it's . uhh. yeah it's So rough out here i keep oscillating between Fear and like . weird numbness. this show is so scary because in like one or two lines of casually dropped lore it can drop absolute nuclear bombs on you and you just have to Deal with that like it's fine. real ones remember how earth-shattering the "bianca and vic are the same age" reveal was. sent me into over a year of spiraling i (quite evidently) have yet to recover from.

so. it's really hard to speculate about what the finale might look like. let's see what we have to work with.

what we know about plot direction:

(generally, the meta plot of vip is just about the host's personal life, which is to say, their relationship with david and bianca. this has been more true in season 2 than ever, and if the finale provides plot progression it will be in the form of stepfamily nonsense of some flavor.)

the host plans to seek a divorce with their husband, david. this resolution seems to have had a liberating effect on them.

bianca's last name is, to me, a red glowing neon sign pointing at bianca and vic and telling us they are psychosexually entwined. we Know they went to college together, and the guiding light of the childhood friends theory has yet to lead us astray.

the vianca speculation paradigm is, in my humble (not humble) opinion, defined by two main options: they are college exes, or they are childhood friends who never escaped the codependent homoerotic teenage friendship bond. i have consistently believed the second of the two is more likely. did i also write dozens of thousands of words about the first option? why! yes. because it makes me want to gouge my eyes out less! yay.

it seems the host was repressing their sexuality so hard that it took putting their childhood hero in . ahem. what was the term people were using after that episode aired

ah yes.

It Seems The Host Was Repressing Their Sexuality So Hard That It Took Them Putting Their Childhood Hero In A Mating Press To Realize They Are, Perchance, Gay.

okay so "jocasta" tells us, to be crass, that vianca either have fucked or they're gonna fuck. and that it'll be weird and terrible yayyyy. given the host's profound repression, i think the future option is more likely. so uhhhhhhhh. that's my . that's my prediction. is that at some point they'll. yeah. not on-screen. probably. but the wrestling episode showed us that apparently dropout will let Anything air as long as everyone keeps their clothes mostly on.

.

uh. where was i going with this.

what we know about the finale:

lisa is probably the scariest person in the dropout pantheon.

lisa and vic are long-time collaborators, know each other well, and are obsessed with each other (in the way many of these la improvisors are obsessed with each other).

lisa will look like this:

when this character was described as a "sleep paralysis demon" to tamar, she said this wasn't too far off. she also said the team knew this episode would be the season finale within the first five minutes of shooting.

our season 1 finale was a prolonged dream sequence and character study of the host, characterized by massive lore dumps twisted through the lens of dream logic, and the world may never be the same. i think our season 2 finale will be even worse. somehow.

bianca cameos as setup:

casting bianca, giving her a face, is a chekhov's gun. it's a promise of some kind of payoff. so far we've gotten reaction shots, a cursing, and an argument, but no sense of closure or moment of revelation as to what the hell her deal is.

that gun is going to fire at some point. at Me.

at this stage we have two options: either we get some form of bianca closure in the finale, or our bianca moments in season 2 have been setup for future seasons. my personal sense of narrative is that we need some big thing from bianca in the finale -- but this is improv, so perfect narrative cleanliness shouldn't be expected, and i'm also hugely biased. in that i'm obsessed with bianca. so.

i'm going to be bold and predict that we'll get bianca dialogue in the finale, which would be huge for me. i miss her so very much. however, i am (again) catastrophically biased, and i'm also trying not to get my hopes up too high.

whatever is to come, i can't wait to watch it unfold! and i'm hoping we get a "cut for time" episode this season like we did last time, which might have even more tasty tasty lore nuggets hiding inside. it's going to be a crazy ride, friends. but they can never take "jocasta" away from us.

[micia-posts-stuff]

Some ramblings about chapter 113 of Spy x Family

I know I'm one week too late and all of this stuff has probably already been said by other people, but I have been too busy and tired to write down my thoughts earlier and I still wanted to do it, so here they are anyway :D

Spoilers under the cut

This will never not be funny part 1

This will never not be funny part 2

All jokes aside, I love how Endo uses manga as a medium for visual gags. Having Damian fight the sfx of his feelings and changing style for dramatic shoujo scenes, it seems like he's having a lot of fun coming up with these. Also Damian seems to be an expert when it comes to breaking the fourth wall ahah. Franky may be the one interacting with the readers outside of the story, but within the story itself, Damian's tsundere tendencies are too strong even for the fabric of their reality ahahah.

Also Becky being an absolute menace as usual, we love her for that. She's having way too much fun messing with Damian, who needs Berlint in Love when you can watch those two interact every day?

First of all "If you got problems, talk to us!" They are such good friends to him, I'm so glad! I'm so glad for every person Damian has on his side! He needs all the support system he can get. They are so precious!!!

Second, no it's not about language studies, if fact, that is a rare occasion for him to interact with Anya ahah.

Third, him clenching his heart in agony and literally fighting demons in his sleep, it's so cute, his crush is the cutest thing in the world I can't-

And lastly HE REALLY WENT FOR THE "IT'S NOT FOR ME, IT'S FOR A FRIEND OF MINE" EXCUSE. It's too funny T.T

AND OF COURSE THEY BELIEVED HIM T.T

These two I swear!

They know they are Damian's only friends, but no, he can't be lying! So instead of questioning him they assume there must be someone else! Comedy gold T.T

And it works because they are kids! I love how every miscommunication trope becomes more realistic and less annoying because they are kids and so it makes sense.

This whole chapter was a big win for Mr. Green, absolute MVP. Great advice for the characters and the readers. This chapter really resembled one of those kids cartoons ment to teach how to deal with different aspects of life, it was very nice.

I hope we get to see him more often, every time we see his mentoring skills they're an absolute treat!

Oh my heart!!! "You guys are my only true friends" T.T and their happy faces all sparky T.T

These three and their friendship are so precious to me!!! I really want to see a little chapter about how they met and how Ewen and Emile have come to respect Damian so much.

I really like how Damian tells them they're his friends here. Their dynamic was a bit stereotypical of the bully with his goons at the beginning, but I'm soooo happy that after that Endo has been constantly showing that no, actually, they really are friends. Tbh sometimes this friendship was a bit missing from Damian's side (Ewen and Emile jumping in the river for Damian and Emile not running away from the terrorist because Damian had "a bomb" on his neck, whereas Damian wanted to ask Ewen for his handkerchief to avoid getting a tonitrus < although this was also because of the panic about his father, but still) so for a long time I wanted to see him showing his affection for them somehow and in this chapter we finally got just that! For someone that has such a hard time dealing with his feelings, telling them "You guys are my only true friends" I'm sure means a lot. And you can see he's a bit embarrassed saying it, but he does it anyway because they're important to him!

First of all, very cool design for the Paradise Fist and Damian's dream sequences in general, but also veeery interesting lore drop about Donovan (dropping important lore like that in the middle of a silly chapter, classic Endo).

So Donovan was most likely in power when the war ended and that's probably where the idea that he stopped the war came from, at least from Damian's perspective. We know that Donovan is (likely) trying to start a new war, so it's very interesting that Damian considers him a man of peace. Is this his personal belief because he puts him on a pedestal or is it somewhat of a common idea amongst citizens? Did Donovan contribute to the birth of this image of himself or was it just a natural consequence? Does he want to be seen as a man of peace? Why did he even stop the war? A lot of interesting questions.

Regardless, I think this is also very important for Damian' character, that he admires his father because he thinks he stopped a war. First of all now it makes even more sense why he looks up to him so much. I mean it already made sense, but if we add the fact that, in Damian's pov, his father is responsible for the current peace, it's obvious that he'll keep admiring him, regardless of how cold he may be. Second it is very important to establish Damian's morals. Ever since he talked about his father during the war, in the bus hijacking arc, I wanted to know what he actually knew about his father's role in the previous conflict, if he aligned with his views and if he was indoctrinated somehow. But if he's convinced that his father stopped a war and he admires him for that, then it shows Damian is actually a pacifist, which will also make it all the more tragic when he'll eventually discover what Donovan is currently plotting.

Also it's interesting how Damian even ended up with these morals. Is Jeeves teaching him that? Does he do it following Donovan's orders or does he go against him? Or maybe it's just Damian's own personal values, it's not that weird that he naturally came to appreciate peace, I guess I just find it kinda weird that he wasn't taught the opposite. It's s very interesting.

Anyway, moving on

Yeah I think you really broke him Becky, he was fighting a Buzz demon in his sleep! The poor boy can't take any more! (The fiscal manifestation of the Paradise Fist is adorable!!!)

I love love loooove this part. The truth is that both Anya and Damian are geeky kids that have a lot of interests in common and they would have so much fun playing pretend together, if one of them wasn't so mean 👀

Anya likes the real Damian, the kid that likes action stories and has a big imagination. I really like that, because it shows she is not after him just because of Strix, it's obviously just his attitude that is throwing her off and that she actually appreciates his true self. I hope he'll start to realise that and embrace it. Like look at him! All the happy sparkles, he's so glad to have her attention. And the buzz going away. C'mon Damian don't you want to feel like this more often? Just a happy silly kid!

Also side note, he made the same face he made when he said Ewen and Emile were his only true friends! Adorable!

It seems like Damian has acknowledged and accepted his feelings of jealousy and that means that he has or he will acknowledge and accept the reason why they're there, the progression may be slow but it's definitely there and I really like how it's done.

Perfect way to end this chapter ahah, not only because it's funny, but also because it showcases yet another type of jealousy/envy. Showing that jealousy can come from different sources like friendships, crushes and parenting/mentoring and that both kids and adults are subject to it, once again helps with the message of the chapter about embracing these feelings and making peace with them.

All in all I loved this chapter. We finally explored Damian's feeling of jealousy, learned some interesting stuff and it had a very good moral message. Although I'm very biased because Eden chapters are always my favourites eheh. If Eden chapters have a million fans, then I am one of them. If Eden chapters have ten fans, then I am one of them. If Eden chapters have only one fan, that's me. If Eden chapters have no fans, then I'm dead.

(Btw I'm going to add 3 more pictures in a reblog of this post, because I reached the image limit. I don't have too much too say about them, but I really liked them and I wanted to highlight them. So you can't check them out in the notes of this post if you want.)

[kaija-rayne-author]

Dragon Age, as a series, deserved so much better than Veilguard.

Spoilers for Veilguard and maybe other DA stuff.

Obligatory 'I'm not an asshole' disclaimer. Feel free to jump to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I was on media blackout while I played DAV. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Note. None of my writing on DA, but especially DAV, is edited. This is just my off the cuff writing. I don't have the time, energy, or heart to edit them properly.

The Solavellan romance deserved a much better end than 'die and go to fade prison'. I agree that Inky would likely be happy to leave. She's as traumatized as Solas for having to lead when she didn't want to. But I needed more than a craptastic Romeo and Juliet ending.

I refuse to do the heavy lifting for the writers. If it wasn't shown in the game or in supplementary materials, it didn't happen. Showing us the story was the writers' and devs job, not mine.

I mourn what will never be, even as I work on a Solavellan fix it fic.

How could they betray the IP so badly?

How could they betray their fanbase so badly? The fanbase that kept hope for that game alive for 10 years. I've seen so many people saying they've lost their interest or passion for the entirety of Dragon age. That they're not even remotely interested in another game because absolutely none of the choices we made in previous games matters anymore. They've wiped everything clean... or blighted it anyway. (I have absolutely no interest in another DA game. Not with Epler/Busche/Weekes involved. And whoever designed that ridiculous fighting system.)

The only way I could possibly be interested in another game would be if they loudly decanonized DAV, gave us a DLC (they've already confirmed there will be no DLC) that showed us Solas and Inky happy and not in a horrible place. One that showed us that somehow, something changed for the elves.

But that's so unlikely it's laughable.

The elves deserved a better ending. Are the survivors still enslaved or living in alienages? What actually changed for the elves except the largest portion of the Dalish being dead from blight? (That’s a real elvish win, isn't it?)

I'm a stubborn person. I refuse to let Epler's 'hate-revenge on Solas fan fic' ruin something I've loved for years. I still have the first 3 games. I'll make an actual happy ending and a decent romance for Rook in my fic.

And by the fact they paid a fortune to big gaming magazines while denying game keys to bigger honest reviewers... they knew.

They knew gamers wouldn't like it and tried to blow so much smoke up our asses with the interviews and AMAs.

How do they even sleep at night?

I'm a creative too, I write, do graphic design, digital (learning) and traditional (good) art.

My stories are important to me. They deserve not only an ending, but an ending that respects the characters, lore, and world that I've created.

My readers deserve that, too.

I, as the creator of my stories, deserve a decent, respectful ending.

Dragon age deserved it, too. A good, well thought out, and well written ending to the story of the Dreadwolf storyline, which, if you're paying attention, is intertwined through all 3 games. It's not just in Inquisition. One that made sense to the collected Lore, his struggles and mistakes, his literary role as an anti-hero.

I would never be able to do what they've done to a beloved series. I could never knowingly mislead fans like they did.

It's just a really painful reminder that beloved stories can be utterly destroyed in the wrong hands. And a reminder that there's so much talent and skill in Fan fic.

Busche worked on the Sims. No wonder the companions often feel as interesting as wet cardboard. Most Sims NPCs do, too. (I actually enjoy the Sims, but the NPCs aren't why I like it.)

And she had the gall to blame 'culture wars' and 'identity politics' for why the game is tanking. Rather than take ownership of the incredibly bad calls made for DAV.

It's just gross. I wish I could stop thinking about it. But Dragon Age got me through some tough times. It means a lot to me.

And it just deserved better. So did we.

[yanderes-galore]

yandere pets🐱🐶? Reader either accidentally eats something weird or comes into contact with alien pollen that makes the Xenomorphs reject their current Queen n make them view reader as their new “leader”. They become overprotective domestic pets. Platonic ofc

I love the idea but I'll do a version closer to canon if that's fine ^^

Yandere! Xenomorphs Seeing You As Queen/Leader

Pairing: Platonic/Pet-Like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female/Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Stalking, Kidnapping, Territorial/Possessive behavior, Forced companionship.

This idea reminds me of something similar to the fourth Alien movie.

In this case you'd be similar to Ripley 8, some sort of experiment involving a human harboring Xenomorph DNA.

This would naturally make you connected to the Xenomorphs.

However, the non-canon Alien pollen also seems like an interesting idea.

Maybe the "spores" seep into your skin and make you smell like a Xenomorph, somehow altering your DNA in the process?

These are the ideas I came up with that could make this concept work.

We haven't really seen Xenomorphs reject a Queen, however I could have missed it in lore.

As a result I would assume they'd react similarly to insects: they'd most likely kill the old Queen if they are somehow attached to you.

It's that or the Queen has already died at some point and the Hive is looking for a new one.

Which makes them choose you due to your smell.

I'd assume this concept would go like this, you have a whole Hive under your control.

It doesn't matter if you like it or not, the Xenomorphs see you as their new "Queen" regardless of gender.

While they would prefer you stay in their Hive, Drones would try to follow you just about anywhere.

Honestly towards you they may just act like pets.

You can't lay eggs or reproduce so the colony is doomed to be small.

That is unless a small group of Drones break off with you while a new Queen actually settles in the Hive.

If we go with that idea then I suspect you'd have about six-ish Drones following you at all times.

Obviously if they all saw you as leader than they'd fiercely protect you.

Even if this is a small group that separates from the rest of the Hive, they'd probably try to make your home a new Hive.

Wherever you live this new group will infest, they think they're helping.

After all they only know Hives as homes, they have no idea you live differently.

Expect the waxy and wet coating of Xenomorph Hives to quickly coat a sections of your home.

I'd assume they'd pick one of three places; your basement (if you have one), attic (if you have one), or your bedroom.

They'll make a section of your living space theirs then try to drag you into it as their leader/Queen.

You'll notice they smell rather acidic/earthy... yet they don't have a strong smell.

Even if you already smell like a Xenomorph I can see them trying to rub against you or cuddle you to make the pheromone smell stronger.

Xenomorphs would most likely be territorial of their new leader and home.

You can't really prevent it, either.

Better hope no friends come over as they'll be quickly attacked by one or two of the large Drones.

You may not even get to experience human contact again.

Your new Xenomorph followers would probably find a new place to make a nest then just drag you there.

Humans are a great source of hosts, yet they see them as too dangerous for you to be around.

They could harm the colony.

They could harm their Queen.

As a result, your overprotective Xenomorph pets would most likely become territorial to the point your life is now in isolation.

Sadly, you don't have a choice in the matter...

Until you eventually pass... you'll be their Queen/leader... away from humanity until something changes (if it even does).

[thighguys]

Phan Fic Recs #3!!

here is the requested long fic list! these are all 100k+, not all of them are finished (i didn't put any on here that aren't actively updating tho) and all of them are SO good so i hope you enjoy :)

Silver Arrows To The Heart by @evermorepeyton (137k WIP)- this one is a duplicate from the other list but there might be a few on here, ignore that<3 anyway this fic is AMAZING!!! dan and phil formula 1 drivers au- they're both on Mercedes and lots of awesome teammates to lovers hijinks ensue<3 this one gets a special shoutout for having some fantastic female characters (who are dare i say just as intriguing as dnp themselves?) and also bc the author is a beautiful human who i love<3 a super fun fic and very in character for both of them (somehow lmao, you wouldnt expect it with racecar drivers but somehow it works so well)

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) by kishere (123k)- imagine all the 2009 phan lore but if dan and phil were figure skaters. yep, it's a yuri on ice au where dan scores a spot in the famous Lester training gym and meets phil, who is one of the most well known figure skaters in england<3 fantastic fantastic fic, such perfect vibes and lots of great lester family cameos<3

Strictly Come Dancing but make it GAY! by @natigail (176k)- the final duplicate from the medium list<3 this fic is AMAZING!!!! this is the one that got me back into phanfic in general afterhaving not read any for about 6 years, it's a strictly come dancing au where phil is a hot pro dancer and dan is a celebrity/gay activist, and they accidentally become the first gay couple to compete in scd<3 FANTASTIC outfit and dance descriptions, i listened to all the songs while reading it and it was honestly so lovely i felt like i could see it so clearly<3 also- the lore references are AMAZING lol i felt like a pro every time i found a little easter egg. amazing fic, i HIGHLY recommend it<3

A Semester Abroad by @everything-is-as-it-was (162k WIP)- this one is really fun!! lots of domestic phouse vibes as it is about an american college student who gets stranded in England after a study abroad housing situation falls through and who gets accidentally taken in by these two random british guys with a REALLY weird house... sooo funny, it's really quite cute and i highly recommend giving it a read! I love outsider pov and this has an abundance of funny moments because dnp are Weird

Broke, Gay and New in Town by @natigail (347k)- do you want the softest, cutest, most magical and compelling story to ever exist??? literally look no further because right here is the dan and phil stardew valley au and it is SO CUTE!!! dan inherits a farm from his grandfather and decides to ditch his boring life to go and run it, and he has so many adventures along the way. oh yeah phil is there too and hes SO CUTE and they fall in love :3 seriously so cute, also you don't need stardew valley knowledge to enjoy this it is independently perfect (i have never played the game and actually learned what it was From this fic so ur good lol)

linger on by dizzy, waveydnp (184k)- this one is so so so sweet... non youtuber au where 33yo phil has been living with his parents, but when his dad dies his mom decides to sell the house and phil has to find somewhere new to live. so ofc he becomes roommates with some guy called dan, and ummm they fall in love? honestly they are SO perfect in this fic, i adore it<3 highly recommend

L'Histoire Française by danfanciesphil (105k)- suuuuper fun teachers au! phil is a history professor and dan is his TA. this fic is SO FUN!!!! genuinely adore it lol, it's one of the first phan fics i ever read and it has stayed with me forever<3

So Many Stars by transdimensional_void (152k)- another teachers au :) dnp meet when they both become english teachers at a school in japan and this is VERY cute <3

okay there's the list!! sorry this one is shorter than the others haha, there are too few long fics in the phandom :( but all of these are so so lovely and i hope you enjoy! lol some distractions may be needed during these trying times <3

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

When it comes to miraculous and how the holders get chosen to be heroes, I just don't really like it. It's literally "hey kid. Here's a magical jewelry that makes you into a hero for this time. Why you? Because you happened to be the closest and I may or may not be friends with you in my civilian form."

Since Miraculous Ladybug is suppose to be influenced by magical girl shows, why not make it so the holders need to show themselves worthy of the gods (kwamis) and they become the new chosen one. Making it more special and less "you're a hero now, but we can simply use your miraculous ourselves or give it to someone else if you're not available, but it's still yours." Like, really? One magical girl franchise I like the getting chosen trope in is Precure. There the girls show themselves worthy to become a precure and their transformation item actually gets linked with their souls, so only them can use them.

That would have been a better way in miraculous, the heroes actually getting chosen by a higher force and are the only ones able to use the miraculous. And with the butterfly, like I suggested previously. Make it different from a miraculous, or have an evil force choose Gabe because of his sorrow over losing Emelie.

In other words, Miraculous Ladybug should take inspiration from precure and other magical girl shows when it comes to being chosen to become a hero.

I will give canon a little grace for how Marinette and Adrien got their miraculous. While I fully agree that it feels too easy, Origins only had ~45 minutes to do everything it needed to do. In that context, speed running the miraculous acquisition make sense. I would have personally implied that Fu already had Marinette and Adrien in mind somehow, but I can forgive canon for not doing that and just add it in as a somewhat forced headcanon. Fu goes on to be Adrien's backup Mandarin tutor, after all. Maybe he'd done that before or maybe Adrien's usual tutor is Fu's informant about potential candidates since they clearly have a relationship of some kind. Either way, It's an easy enough fix and there are plenty of ways Fu could have met Marinette pre-canon.

I'm way more judgmental of the way the temp heroes were chosen. The show had seasons to set up these characters as the perfect choices for their various miraculous and yet most of it feels incredibly last minute. Rose is about the only character who feels like she was perfectly setup for her miraculous. Everyone else feels interchangeable. Outside of Anansi, I don't think that Nino ever acts like a protector. And Alya's tendency to jump to conclusions has been shown as a bad thing, not a strength, making her a questionable choice for Illusion. If that was always the plan, then she should have been shown to come up with logical, good-quality stories and not stories like, "Chloe has a spotted yo-yo so she's obviously Ladybug even though that makes zero sense for her character."

I also fully agree that the kwamis should be the ones who make the call. The guardian is just there to protect the miraculous and pick potential holders that are then presented to the kwamis who make the final yes or no choice. But then, there are a lot of elements of the kwamis writing that bother me. Canon basically presents them as slaves who have to do whatever they're told. They just have to hope that their current master is a good one. I get why the choice was made - they needed to explain why Nooroo couldn't escape - but I personally come up with other ways to explain that element while keeping the other kwamis free when I'm doing anything lore heavy. The only way I'd keep the slavery aspect is if I was actually going to address it in the story as I'm personally of the opinion that slaves should only be introduced if you plan to free them especially in the context of children's shows. (Yes, they're fine in historical settings and dark settings and probably a few others, too. Don't be pedantic.)

[mliter]

Zenless Zone Zero.

This is the third game to come out of post-2020 Hoyoverse.

This game spent a lot of time being teased and marketed before it's release. With me, a game to really grab my attention is character design. This company already puts out solid stuff, but it's the aesthetic that doesn't get me. Star Rail and Genshin Impact's detailed lean into fantasy, while executed well, doesn't really get me.

You're put in the shoes of two siblings, Wise and Belle, on their journey to uncover what happened in the past, and clear a loved one's name. That's so freaking cool! They're even doing illegal shit on the down-low! That's so freaking cool!

Then comes along ZZZ. It's setting allowed for more of a grindfiction (i hope i used that word right) look. I saw people describing this as Jet Set Genshin Impact, hilariously.

For one, this game's character designs are top notch. They're not quite as busy as the previous two games I mentioned. They're fun and relatively simple. Clean color schemes, big shapes, differing species and unique silhouettes can be found across the roster. (Still no black people though. At this point, I shouldn't expect it.)

Continuing on with the characters, like any gacha game, they're the stars of the show. The team puts special care into each of them.

There's a serious sense of community between a large chunk of the cast. Everybody knows somebody, somehow. Either through a shared interest, a job together, school, or childhood. Everybody's got their own thing going on, and the writers show each of them the love they deserve. Thanks to this, it is very exciting to see two characters we know well meet for the first time.

While having their own presence in the world and lore, they can also be the main character of an update, out of the blue. Either through the main story, a special episode, an event, or an agent story. What's an agent story? An agent story is a story made for that specific character. They're usually released by the update. Everything that happens within them are canon, and they flesh out the character to a satisfying degree. (most of the time.) characters grow from the point that they were before the agent story, like Anby wearing her silver squad uniform in the most recent story chapter.

So what's this one about? Surprising most people today, this is a post apocalyptic story. This takes place in a earth where 90% of humanity has been wiped out by a mysterious force that produces monsters. A majority of the game takes place in New Eridu.

The more you read into the story, the more you learn this event's effect on society, and the drastic measures that have been taken because of it. Through the lenses of two siblings, you learn that It's everywhere. In the storytelling, in the characters, and in the environment.

ZZZ's gameplay is modeled after action games. Fast paced, flashy and exciting. You can tell that the developers grew up on titles like Tekken, Street Fighter, DMC and so on There's an attack button, a special button, a dodge button, and an ultimate button. Each character has their own passive system that can be activated through any of these buttons, keeping gameplay unique. Some of them aren't even activated by these buttons, they just work in the back!

There's a lot of things the player can do to maximize unit performance. W-Engines, disks, stat watching... It's pretty well made actually. It's just that in my case, it makes my head spin. Much to both my friends & followers's dismay. Luckily i have them to help me out with the number crunching and basic common sense.

My favorite bit from it is the parry animation. Special care was put into it. A cool camera angle, satisfying sound, and an exciting visual makes for an awesome experience. There is so much love put into this game.

Now that we have that out of the way, presentation. For me, it's the best part of the game. ZZZ takes a specific kind of care in its worldbuilding, aesthetic and character design that rivals Splatoon, actually. From the marketing, to the animation, to the options menu, there’s style to be found all around. Story beats are presented with AAA artwork in the style of an animated comic book. Casual conversations have a stylish transition to another screen where every character has their own animation. Character trailers are AAA productions in the style of... well, anything. They can, and will do anything. I see it as a celebration of creativity and art. There's a lot of professionals out there working in positions that don't let them to get this radical with what they're working on. I'd imagine any creative would enjoy working on a product like this.

Speaking of art, one thing i really like is when hand-drawn art is heavily incorporated in a videogame. ZZZ does this so well. I think my favorite example of this is the mindscape cinema. This works in stages, a piece of art of the character fully clothed. As the player whales out and rolls for more versions of the unit, a greyscale version of that art will be revealed to the player, more and more. Then, a final version of the character missing some articles of clothing is revealed. With how this game goes about suggestive content, you'd expect this to be crazy, but they're actually pretty tact about it. Regardless, it's a really cool display.

Zenless Zone Zero is one of the strongest titles to ever hit the scene for me. From the art direction, to the art itself, to the presentation, to the look, to the art, to the world, to the music, to the characters... I could keep going. Whereas I'm not too good at the game, i get my fun out of it by being lost in the world, the stories told within it, and the characters this story is about.

With a dev team that seems somewhat different from what hoyoverse is given trouble for... I hope more people play this game. It's a serious gem. I'm having so much fun with this game. And i can tell these guys are having just as much fun making it. Maybe even more.

[mellohiizz]

Idk this is a random thought about the whole "Spoke distancing himself from his friends" thing, but here I can see that the only major differences between S1 and S2 are that Spoke is, well, distancing himself/being a loner, and that the vibe is completely different (it's more goofy silly, Spoke constantly narrates his actions/addresses the audience/breaks the fourth wall)

My theory for S2 Spoke is that somehow, between the S1 finale and S2 beginning, Spoke somehow learned about the fourth wall and that his whole story is scripted, so he's sort of trying to get used to the thought. He's also feeling less and less attached to things in the world because he realized that they're essentially fake. He thinks it's not worth interacting with people because they're "not real", and it would be a waste of time to get attached. Plus he's terrorizing people because he doesn't see the consequences of his actions anymore due to him not believing the "characters" receive any real impact when shit goes down.

Idk I hope Mapic and Planet are forming a therapy support group with all people affected by Spoke's intentional abandonment :P

Wait oh my god. Anon you are COOKING. I actually really like the idea of Spoke accidentally becoming self aware and that being the reason why he's acting the way he does. Because since UU always have been very scripted and plot driven, that would explain very well the way Spoke have been breaking the fourth wall and purposefully addressing the viewers and in-game mechanics.

Him not caring about killing people and ruining their lives because he now knows that none of it matters anymore since it's all fake. Him constantly mentioning the server as just that, a server, and him talking to the viewers, telling us things not in the lore sense, but in a sense of how normal videos for simply entertainment do, would make so much more sense.

Him acknowledging that all of this is just something to entertain the viewers and leaning into it as a way to cope with everything. Even him having like 100 other buckets with his fish would also be considered a fourth wall break, because it's like acknowledging that in a sense, George is also just a prompt and can be replaced.

And like you said, him distancing from his friends because he knows they're probably just playing their role. Which also reminds me how he completely disregarded Ash when Ash was speaking to him in the first episode, being completely honest and talking about how Spoke ruined his life basically. Spoke cracks up, because he knows it's all fake.

My brain is running, OMG. Such a cool theory, I LOVE that!!

[rebornofstars]

Hey, so recently I’ve seen a bunch of posts about the Legend of Zelda, and have only just figured out that it’s you rebooting things from an AU. Unfortunately, I’ve never played more than one Zelda game and have no idea what any of it means but that’s not what I care about. I have no idea where to start searching for answers regarding what the AU is about. How would you introduce it to someone for the first time?

hi friend!!! yes that's me, somehow i've become a lot of people's Zelda Moot 😭 sorry if i've drowned your dash, it will happen again

long story short you can find this fancomic on tumblr! it's called @linkeduniverse and if i was introducing it to someone for the first time i'd say: it's an AU in which all the different links (protags of the zelda games) meet up via time travel and go on an classic fantasy-video-game-style evil-killing adventure together! it's what's known as a linksmeet - they're quite popular within zelda fandom - and it is the first afaik but not the only. it can definitely get confusing sometimes on tumblr because there are approximately ten billion different versions of every different guy who is himself technically just one guy! and none of them are going by their actual names because they all have the same name. pain

zelda lore is a hot mess and i'm not sure how familiar you are with it - i'm not even really sure how familiar i am with it, after all this time - but basically the general mechanic is that link zelda and ganon are cursed to reincarnate over and over and over again. hence why every game is totally different in style and story and worldbuilding and continuity (strangles nintendo in the background) but still reuses the same main characters. if you're looking for info specifically about LU,

the blog's archive post is the place to go for a complete list of all comics

this is the og post that started it all back in 2018

this is a bit what the zelda timeline looks like from a LU pov (everyone say thank u @linderosse i love this timeline so much)

this is a REALLY GOOD character guide for the 9 links as they appear in the comic (everyone say thank you @arecaceae175 because it's invaluable)

there's also a tvtropes page that i found quite good for trivia when i was first checking things out, although it's not the most up-to-date

and finally, a youtube video i just found, it's a little slow but you can start around the 2 minute mark & watch on 1.5x if you are allergic to long attention spans and patience like me, and it does touch nicely upon not just the AU but also its relationship to the franchise - linked universe takes place within general zelda canon and references it pretty closely, but some elements such as the links' personalities and appearances have been altered to provide more individuality for a guy who is, by design, a blank slate for the player

...wow, that was a bit of a long response. just a bit. just a little. sorry for the mountain of text!!!! i hope you're doing well. thanks for giving me a chance to Ramble and Provide Helpful Links (hah), both activities i enjoy doing 💛

[aquareegia]

hey! do you mind to explain what's going on in the sleep token fandom these days? what have these "fans" done now? I'm reluctant to search anything about st in any social media/google but your posts/rbs have me intrigued, so if you don't mind answering, I'll be really greatful 🙏🙏

Sure, I can give a little summary. I don't know every detail, though, because I haven't followed it too closely.

So Sleep Token has started this game leading up to the release of the new album in May.

There's a weather guy named Chris Michaels who sneaks lyrics of bands he likes into his weather reports. I've had him show up on my fyp a few times, and I guess that's also how Sleep Token/their team noticed him. They decided to incorporate him into the game and share clues for the next single.

He never claimed that the song would come out on the dates, but that things would start developing from there. But some immediately jumped on it and claimed a song would come out for sure and when it was just another clue and date, people started to harass him and even his regular viewers, who were just there for the weather on (I think) a livestream. (I believe they already started harassing him on Saturday, but it got worse on Monday, with the second date.)

Apparently, the harassment and bullying got so bad that Sleep Token dropped the Caramel teaser the same day instead of today, where it should've been posted originally.

And even under that video, people were still calling Chris names and saying he lied. You know... as if he didn't work directly with the band for this. He didn't lie, some people were just massive cunts to him, so the band had to take the attention away from him. Somehow, some think that they're entitled to a new song and think it's appropriate to berate someone, who is also just a fan who got the cool opportunity to work with a band he obviously likes.

That's basically what happened the last few days, but personally, I've noticed people started acting up since the game started, and it honestly got worse when Emergence dropped.

Like making shit up about a second Vessel and getting angry when people point out that Vessel 2 is ii. And that the "other voice" is just Vessel with a vocal filter. Insulting people for their song and lore theories. Using AI to make "fanart" and getting pissy and blocking everyone who calls it out, etc.

I think Emergence was the introduction to ST for a lot of new people, and it seems that some of those people unfortunately just lack basic manners and common sense.

However, I think it's good that more people actually started calling this behaviour out.

Hope that explains the gist of what's been happening lately. 🫶