#but the idea that id put so much work into translating it only for him not to read it really kills me

[skitskatdacat63]

I have to write a relatively long German paper, and man its just so difficult for me. The pro side is that I can pick any topic I want, so of course I picked Charles VI. But I've literally not written any German in months, and I'm almost 100% sure our prof doesn't actually read them. I should just write and submit boy king fic....

[moonriseoverkyoto]

Wearing your brother’s dog tags brings a lot of questions, which meant problems. Especially from men, especially at a bar where said men try to pick you up. Or strike a conversation about the mysterious dog tags. Lucky for you a certain Scot lovingly doesn’t think to ask too many questions. Not until Johnny “Soap” Mactavish’s tongue is down your throat in the back of his car on holiday do the gears begin to turn. But only, yes only after, a few odd weekends of small dates and letters when he can write, he finally decides to ask who your tags belong to between deep kisses and pants. You frown as you pull away to respond, the mood dampened.

“Oh I really shouldn’t say..” you sigh not wanting to explain the long story typically because it ruins the mood “my brother gave me these so I wouldn’t worry about him when he leaves on missions. His call sign is Ghost and…” Shit. Johnny’s whole body seizes up as his heart makes a pitfall down his body. His hearing stops as his brain repeats your joined last name over and over and over; Riley, Riley Riley Riley. Fuck why didn’t he connect the dots. Ghost always was secretive and protective about his younger sister, everyone knew he always declined to bring you as his plus one or even show photos to the rest of the 141. Damnit he knows somewhere down the line if Gaz or even worse Price hears about this that he’ll never live it down. If Ghost hears about this - shit he’ll never live. He finally zones back in to hear you say

“…but that doesn’t matter because you guys don’t run in the same circles, right?” Soap’s nervous smile gives you all the time for your heart to join his in dropping down below. But as your phone rings both of you are sure your hearts have dropped down to hell as the caller id reads: Simon Riley.

Drabble Drabble, I’m tired and I wanted to put this on paper before it slipped my mind. I’ll expand upon this later but this is mostly an idea for @glossysoap to enjoy because Glossy loves Soap as much as I do. So I hope you enjoy btw not proofread so toodles xoxo - Moon

©️moonriseoverkyoto 2024. please do not steal, copy, plagiarize, or translate any of my works without my permission. do not steal any elements of my theme without permission.

Reposts are 100000% appreciated. Also my inbox is open for requests!

[wra-1-th]

I absolutely adore writing esther + monty's relationship. it's such a fucked up bond that you literally never run out of things to explore.

where did she find him? how are familiars created? had she had any before him? id assume there's magic involved that bonds a witch and their familiar that prevents them from losing one another and allows them to communicate. does monty have traces of esther's magic? is he able to harness it? how long to familiars live? if they're connected to their witches, how long can they live after the witch dies?

had esther taken "donations" from monty before? was he used to sitting on the counter as she took blood or feathers for her potions? when did she start? did she want to get him used to the role of a familiar quite young or did she wait until he was older? was it ever used as punishment? there is so much there.

did he know? did he sit down on the counter prepared to have a feather or two plucked, perhaps a slight pain but nothing he hadn't felt before, of course, and then she tore him apart and there was so much pain that it felt like it was coming from everywhere at once? did he ever see the remnants of his old body?

was he scared, when he looked up at her? when he smiled, because she was smiling at him? he was in this new body that felt so many different things, but he couldn't feel the pain where the needle had dragged twine through his flesh. she didn't see him as anything more than an experiment. when would he realize this?

did she take him clothes shopping? did they break in somewhere? was anything paid for? did she help him, give him suggestions on what to pick out? or did everything come from the back of her closet, from the styles she had long outgrown? did she choose the crow jewelry as a way to remind him of what he really was, or did he find it and want to remind himself? was there any comfort in it?

was she ever proud of him? did she ever think he was doing a good job in fooling the agency? or did she always want him to work quicker, work harder, always putting her plan above everything else?

did she make him queer? is that even something she could have controlled? or did she just tell him to flirt with the boys and it worked out that he was queer? would it have been better if he wasn't? if he hadn't fallen for edwin and hadn't gotten attached?

does he even know what homophobia is? (with the way esther looked two seconds from a hate crime whenever he brought edwin up, id think he has an idea.) but does he know what it means? does he know any terms regarding the queer community? does he even know how he identifies?

did he feel like he could fly again while on the swingset?

why didn't he die when esther did? id think familiars are connected to their witches, to their magic or their lives. were the things esther had done to him so vile that their bond had begun to fray? was he able to find a life for himself that prevented him from dying alongside her?

how does he feel about magic, after everything? would he want to learn? esther had plenty of books, and he taught himself to read. surely he could learn something from them, but would he really want to be involved in that? and what kind of magic would that teach him? does he have esther's magic? would he even want to harness that? would he want to figure out a way to switch between human and crow on his own terms? who would he go to to learn? edwin knows magic, of course, but how awkward would that be? the cat king is a shapeshifter, but a cat and a crow collaborating is a preposterous idea.

would monty want to learn about crows? can he communicate with them, or was he only ever able to speak with esther? crow parents teach their children, but monty's family weren't crows.

I just have so many thoughts about monty and im trying to translate most of them into fic but it's been slow so far. things to think about, I guess. monty deserves so much love and happiness but I will have to angst him first!

[phantombanquet]

Main Story: Diasomnia Book Chapter 8 Episode 7-117: Preparation for Departure! (Translation)

Episode 7-117

⚠️ Major Diasomnia spoilers! Proceed with caution.

translation by: phantombanquet

Idia: MALLEUS-SHI, HUH~~~~! 

THIS GRUDGE… SHOULD I LEAVE IT UNSETTLED~~!! ¹

If that happens, that pretentious inexpressive² guy, who usually keeps up his strong chara moves up in his sleeves…..

I can't help but feel sorry for myself if I don't see his pathetic figure sobbing with a runny nose and begging for forgiveness!

Now, what should I do…… Heh… Ehehehehehe!

Ortho: W-What a malicious scheming face…

This… May have angered someone who shouldn't be angered~

Idia: Heheh…… I'll show you. The ultimate power of a lone wolf³ trained in the gloomy “underworld.”

Just you wait, Malleus Draconia……

I'LL GET REVENGE BY SEIZING YOUR SPECIAL WEAKNESS!!!

Ortho: ……That's all.

From the magical disaster caused by Malleus Draconia until the awakening of Idia Shroud. This concludes the progress report.

Grim: Oohh~~! While we were fightin’ over in Lilia's dream, that's what happened to you guys.

Silver: I see. So Idia-senpai and Ortho are outside of the magical realm. It means that there is support coming from the real world. 

Idia: Y-Yeah, t-that sort of thing…… Well, for now, we'll be playing a dummy video on the surveillance camera for a short while……

I can only do this much.

Sebek: So, even if you have woken up, Malleus-sama will fail to notice and the “darkness” will not attack you.

Ortho: Yes.. And like I said earlier, Malleus-san is currently……

Focused on putting Lilia Vanrouge-san to sleep. 

So, I expect that he has not traced down the whereabouts of Silver-san and the others.

Sebek: Hm. I honestly want to praise your skills, but it is quite complicated when you are outsmarting Malleus-sama……

Idia: Well, that other guy is a battleship-like⁴ cheater so… We're still far off from completely capturing him.

Silver: However… I had no idea that Malleus-sama continued to expand his magical realm beyond the island……

Sebek: Furthermore, if the area is forcibly destroyed from the  outside, there is a possibility that the trapped person's psyche could also become destroyed!?

Grim: Somehow it's a real mess for real.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Can we do something about this?

[Choice 2] Yuu: (If this continues on, Tsunotarou will become the enemy of mankind.) 

Ortho: Yes. That's why we need your power!

Silver: Our… Power?

Ortho: Currently, the S.T.Y.X. staff is working together to assign ID numbers to the dreams of those trapped in the magical realm. 

During that time, we captured your magical reaction as you “moved around on your own” in the dream.

Silver: Could it be that it was my “Meet in a Dream?”

It's my unique magic that allows me to cross between dreams……

Ortho: Yes! That one, that one!

When traces of someone moving from one human dream to another were discovered, the engineers at S.T.Y.X. were in a commotion.

So that was Silver-san's unique magic, after all. Magic is a really mysterious power, huh.

Silver: However, my magic is to reliably travel to the dream of the person I'm targeting after, like you guys. I can't call someone into my dream.

I don’t know what else to say; it's hard to explain… It's a very intuitive kind of magic……

That’s why I was really surprised when Ortho appeared in the Dream Corridor and led us here. 

Ortho: What are you saying?

S.T.Y.X. prides themselves on their super computers and experts in magical engineering and magical analysis. 

They tried their best to analyze magic and they finally found a way to travel from dream to dream. 

Moreover, it is difficult to say that the current method is 100% reproducible so they said: “it's still a beta version.”

The mere fact that you can do it intuitively is astonishing.

Sebek: Hm. So the “power” that you need is Silver's unique magic?

Ortho: That's a part of it, too, but…

Sebek Zigvolt-san, Grim-san, and Yuu-san, your cooperation is essential.

Grim: Hmph! You're just trying to make us do the messy work, aren't ya!

Ortho: Wow♡ Grim-san, you talk too fast. 

[Choice 1] Yuu: This pattern is similar to the headmage……

[Choice 2] Yuu: I don't see any other reason to  be called out……

Sebek: Hmph, I don't like this sluggishness. Get to the point!!

Idia: S-So, uhhh……. While you guys were chattering in Lilia-shi's dream..

I-I was trying to think of a way to escape from my dream world……

Or rather, I've been trying to come up with a strategy to deal with Malleus-shi.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Is your strategy to get him to cry and beg for forgiveness while his nose is runny?

[Choice 2] Yuu: Is it a strategy to take revenge by capturing their special weakness?

Idia: Y-Yeah. That… Hih, hihi.

Anyhow, I made a video to explain that strategy…… W-Would you like to watch it?

Grim, Silver, Sebek: Video?

Idia: Waah~♪ Only good things have been happening lately~ It's so fun every day~ It's just like a dream~♬ Well. It was, in fact, really just a dream. Welcome, all you carefree people who live in the world of empty dreams. I am Idia Shroud. So for today, a cheat trick to create a dream world using magic — — was used by The Most Evil☆Final Boss Mage. Let me explain the strategy used by Malleus-shi. The magical realm that Malleus-shi created is kinda like a server running a huge MMORPG. And each dream of someone sleeping is managed individually. Malleus-shi is using himself and his alter ego to keep an eye on this server. To give you an idea, Malleus-shi is a server admin. And his alter ego is cracking down on users to commit violations in the online game — like a gamemaster. Malleus-shi, with the authority to operate and manage over the entire server, is currently in the state of a demon king who has the world right under his thumb.

Under Malleus-shi's control, we have NO chance of succeeding…… BUT! Because of the super geek hacker group S.T.Y.X. and Ortho's attack, all of the server's source code (construction formulas of the magical realm) has been analyzed and is now completely visible!

So — I'm going to use that data from my dream to develop and build a cheat tool. And then get rid of that damned invulnerable status! It seems like a perfect strategy at first glance, but in fact, there’s actually a flaw in this cheat strategy……. If Malleus-shi (the server admin) discovers this during development— IT'S GAME OVER IN AN INSTANT. But hold your horses! Despite that his alter ego uses autonomous magic, with the total population of Sage Island, monitoring and managing the dreams of about 20,000 people is not an easy task — even for Malleus-shi. If a problem happens here and there in your dream, there's a high chance that you'll have to deal with it by yourself! Therefore — I’ll be developing a cheat tool. I want you guys to catch Malleus-shi's eye and gather party members so we can subdue the demon king.

When everyone wakes up, we'll hand out invite codes that will allow them to travel to my dream.

Then, when all the preparations are ready, Malleus-shi will be lured to my dream and that's when the cheat tool that I developed turns on!! As planned, Malleus-shi's invulnerability will be canceled. And by using the invite codes that were diligently handed out, everyone will gather in my dream! We're going to beat him up with our sheer numbers of forces!

If things go as expected, Malleus-shi will also lift the spell and free us—! How was it!? “A lone wolf magician engineering guy explains how to capture the demon king in three minutes video.” If you think this video was good, leave a like! And this was Idia Shroud.

Grim, Silver, Sebek: ............

Idia: Ummm, e-everyone… Thank you for your attention. ⁵

Th-that’s why……

I ask you guys to go on a journey to gather “the strongest party members who will take on the challenge of defeating the demon king!”

Grim, Silver, Sebek: EHHHHH~~~!?

TO BE CONTINUED...

translator notes:

¹ - 「この怨はらさでおくべきか」 is an old Kansai (Osaka) dialect phrase. This phrase, although it seems like one will forever hold a grudge, actually means something along the lines of: “Shall I leave this grudge unresolved? (No, I actually have to solve this),” due to how the phrase is structured (which would be too deep to delve into but it’s mainly because of the か and べき/べし in the phrase).

² - 「スカしま」 is a Japanese slang usually used as an insult

³ - 「陰キャ」 is yet another Japanese slang used to describe someone with a gloomy or reserved personality or introverts. I used a known English slang instead of translating literally to preserve the meaning of the word.

⁴ - 「弩級 (どきゅう)」 is the Japanese translation of “Dreadnought,” which is a type of battleship in the early 20th century. Idia was just being a nerd again by using game-like terms so I decided to stick with using “battleship” instead of the literal translation.

⁵ - I wanted to note that Idia addressed them as 「皆様」which is a polite way of addressing others due to the inclusion of 様 (sama). Also, the “thank you for your attention” line was written as 「ご清聴アリガトウゴザイマシタ」 in the text instead of the usual 「ご清聴ありがとうございました」 which I think it's just to note Idia's personality www.

personal notes: this wasn't jp proofread so there might be inaccuracies;;; additionally aniplex jp actually posted the "how to subjugate the demon king" video but it's only available in japan.. you can still access it by using a vpn though~

[non-plutonian-druid]

[ID: 11 doodles of Umbrella Academy characters in a style imitating the webcomic Paranatural. Allison, Luther, Diego, Klaus, Viktor, and Lila are drawn as kids, approximately 12 yrs old. Ben is a similarly aged ghost. Hazel, Cha Cha, and the Handler are present as well, all looking vaguely villainous. Five is drawn to be maybe in his twenties. All of them have colorful smoke rising from them indicating the powers from Paranatural, except for Viktor and Lila, for whom the smoke is white. End ID.]

Look, a Paranatural au! I wish I had been hit by this muse in time for Masked Author/Artist, but alas it was not to be. If you've read Paranatural is you can probably guess.... basically everything there is to know about this au. If you haven't read Parantural, you should!! It's a wild ride! But also I rambled for a super long time about it under the cut

Everyone has cool spirit powers and can see the dead, so Klaus isn't special sorry Klaus. I'm making up for it by making him directly possessed by a spirit that gives him superpowers, instead of everyone else who has to use a possessed object to get superpowers. I didn't put a ton of thought into what Cool Accessory (possessed object) to give the kids so I could change that later, but for now Allison has a megaphone, Diego has a yo-yo, Viktor has his violin, and Luther doesn't have anything because his dad thinks he needs to learn to control spirit energy on his own. Klaus doesn't have any either because he's possessed directly. I adjusted the rules of Parantural slightly because [Paranatural spoilers!!] in the comic someone with white energy can connect with spirits whose energy is any color. Viktor's should absolutely be white by show rules, but that power set suits Lila a lot better. So in this au, the rules are adjusted so that white can only connect with white, and Lila's is actually colorless (IE, it only looks white now because the background is white). She can't bond with any one spirit for long, but she can bond with any of them for a short time.

Hazel, Cha Cha, Five kind of, and the Handler are all members of a version of Paranatural's Consortium, which I'm just going to call the Commission again because why not. As you may be able to guess, it's slightly more villainous in this au than the Consortium. I wanted AJ to be a high ranking member, but if I made him the Handler's spirit then we wouldn't get to see him ever, so I made him Five's. This was before I remembered that people possessed by spirits look more and more like their spirit over time so the fish head thing could still totally work, so I might revisit that. Hazel and Cha Cha's spirits look like thier masks, of course. I didn't spend much time on the mask/spirit redesign so they're not as fun and funky as I'd like, but they're still reasonable stand-ins. The Handler is this version of the Boss Leader because.... duh. If you've been keeping up with Parantural and are wondering about how That One Thing About Boss Leader translates... I haven't decided yet.

Five is the Mr. Spender of this au. He is possibly the least Mr. Spender-like character to ever exist, but look me in the eyes and tell me that acting as the teacher-supervisor of a club of unruly kids that can see ghosts who is secretly part of a nefarious (?) organization is not where he belongs.

I have a few more doodles of this waiting in the wings! Mostly of Five because I love him. But also if you have stuff you want to see, send it in. No promises I'll draw your suggestion, but the main obstacle between me and drawing more of this is not having concrete ideas for situations to put characters in

[lu-is-not-ok]

While we're psychoanalyzing the EGOs, what are your opinions on Dimensional Shredder? Deffo something on freedom there, but I'm having trouble putting it to words myself.

Alright, another shared E.G.O. Cracks knuckles.

You know the drill, under cut we go.

So let's talk about Wayward Passenger as an abnormality first. It's a representation of the horrible things W Corp puts people through on their WARP trains given form. In a way, that makes it similar to abnormalities like Mountain of Smiling Bodies or CENSORED (if you subscribe to the smoke war monster theory).

The dungeon event in which we meet Wayward Passenger is especially telling in what themes it wants to carry. The narration mentions that the corporation responsible for disappearance will simply pretend that this person never existed. The reveal that the Passenger was actually a W Corp employee further adds to this.

(Also, random tangent, but am I the only one that got reminded of Bongcheon-Dong Ghost by this abno's event? Something about having to point a terrifying monster in a direction away from you and hope it doesn't come back just brought back memories. At least the Passenger has enough manners to not jumpscare you.)

When it comes to the abnormality itself, Wayward Passenger carries themes of corporate exploitation and negligence, specifically in the way W Corp might find its employees expendable and doesn't care about inflicting suffering upon its clients as long as they profit from it.

There are also some themes of abandonment and being lost, but also tenacity in spite of it. Despite not being able to escape, Wayward Passanger still searches for a way out and never stops moving forward.

So. With all that being said. How does it all tie back to Hong Lu and Yi Sang, as they are the ones with Dimension Shredder?

Thanks to Canto IV we now know that Yi Sang absolutely fits under the exploited by corporate greed umbrella. It's a major theme of his whole chapter in fact! The themes of being lost are also reflected in Yi Sang's aimlessness after the League collapsed. He was completely lost and effectively abandoned by everyone except Gubo, only to be further exploited by even more corporate greed.

Hell, you could even say his character arc in his Canto represents that tenacity in spite of being lost I mentioned. Though his goal might not be all that clear, he still wants to keep going and keep moving forward, no matter what.

When it comes to Hong Lu, we don't have nearly as much information... But we can speculate! I think in this case the "corporate exploitation" is less literally corporate, but still applicable. I'm talking about Hong Lu's family, of course. Though we don't know much, we do get quite a few hints about his family exploiting him for their own gain, especially now that we're getting a Hong Lu ID that is quite literally based on the idea of paralleling that part of him with Actual Corporate Exploitation!

With how cagey Hong Lu is about the deeper parts of his past, and how hard it is to tell when he's being genuine, it's honestly hard to pinpoint any of the other themes onto him.

However, we could work a little bit backwards here and see how Wayward Passenger might apply to Hong Lu's recurring themes of freedom.

In that way, we could be onto something here. Wayward Passenger is no longer under W Corp's protection, if it ever was. It's lost and abandoned by the thing that was supposed to be protecting it... But on the other hand, it is free now. W Corp can't reach it anymore. It can go wherever it wants and nothing will stop it.

If you want to translate that to how that might apply to Hong Lu, then you could interpret that as a sign that Hong Lu can only attain "true" freedom by severing ties with the thing exploiting him, aka his family... At the cost of losing the comfort and protection they offered him, as little as it may have been.

You could say that idea is reflected in Tingtang Hong Lu. Yes, he is probably the most free when it comes to authority bearing down on him compared to all his other IDs. ...But he's also a gambler living in the Backstreets leading a gang so incompetent he has to threaten them with death to keep them in line. He may be free, but his life is far from comfortable.

...I think it's funny that I already wrote that much and I haven't even touched the actual E.G.Os themselves, whoops! Let's go do that.

First thing to note about Dimension Shredder is that its damage type is Pride, especially since Yi Sang's version doesn't even *require* Pride resources. In fact, Dimension Shredder is the only non-base E.G.O that deals Pride damage.

To go a little bit deeper into that, all of the base E.G.O that deal Pride damage seem to imply taking an action while ignoring the consequences that might follow them. Rodion's What Is Cast is the most obvious example here, representing her murder of the pawnbroker without considering how the Middle would react to one of their family being killed. Likewise, Outis, Meursault, and Faust seem to carry similar ideas. Outis reminding herself of the Odyssey's purpose, as if trying to cope with the unforseen consequences of her actions. Meursault acting out despite noting how doing so only tightens the chains of those judging him. Faust opening herself to knowledge and possibilities regardless of what it may do.

In a way, that is what Pride is at its core. Performing actions purely because of what benefit they bring to oneself, without considering the drawbacks and consequences.

There's a couple of ways we could interpret that with Dimension Shredder.

For one, we could zoom back out to what Wayward Passenger represents. Dimension Shredder being a Pride E.G.O could be signifying the Pride inherent in corporate exploitation. By its very nature, it's an action done purely for the corporation's benefit, without considering the consequences on other people.

The other is a bit more directly applicable to Yi Sang and Hong Lu themselves. It could represent how they, and the abnormality included, continue moving forward regardless of what may stand in their way. Regardless what the consequences may be for doing so.

During the attack animations for both Dimension Shredder Awakenings, we see Yi Sang and Hong Lu enter a dimensional rift they make, with both of them notably hesitating before doing so. Judging by Hong Lu's expression when he exits the rift, it's not exactly a pleasant experience. And yet, they both do it anyway. The benefit of continuing to move outweighs the damage it may inflict on them, so they ignore the consequences. I think it kinda points to my second interpretation above.

When it comes to Sin Resources, both Yi Sang and Hong Lu require Gluttony, but while Hong Lu requires Pride, Yi Sang requires Sloth. Let's dissect it one at a time.

Gluttony in Limbus Company has two meanings, in my opinion. On one hand, there's the Greed-adjacent aspect, where it represents the want for more and more. This neverending need for growth, for consumption, for progress. On the other hand, when it's seen in a more sympathetic light, it can represent the actions one commits for the sake of one's own Survival.

When it comes to Dimension Shredder, I think it's a little bit of both for both Hong Lu and Yi Sang. They both need Gluttony to survive in an environment where they're actively being exploited, but at the same time they need Gluttony to keep moving further and further forward, to keep making progress endlessly.

For the other Resources that each of them uses, I think it specifically represents what part of them is what allows them to be easily exploited by those above them.

Sloth for Yi Sang represents his apathy and passiveness. He gets exploited because he doesn't care enough about himself to fight back against it. Why bother? It doesn't matter, everything and everyone else was exploited, so why stand up to being exploited yourself? While this is something that Yi Sang starts to come out of by the end of Canto IV, I doubt it's a habit that will be easy for him to break just like that.

The fact that Pride is a resource here for Hong Lu paints his passiveness when being exploited under a different light. He doesn't buckle because he's apathetic like Yi Sang, it's because he believes that the benefits of letting himself be exploited outweigh the drawbacks enough to ignore them. If we apply this to his family exploiting him, it paints a pretty vivid picture. Sure, he is being used and hurt by his family, but just accepting that it happens means he still gets to enjoy the comfort and "love" they give him. Because what happens if he stands up to them? He likely gets punished. He loses that comfort he relies on. So he'd rather just bear the pain and pretend everything is okay, because the alternative is far worse.

Now, let's examine the dialogue lines, because I think they are very interesting with all of that analysis behind us.

For starters, I think for both Dimension Shredder users, their Awakening lines are a reflection of their coping mechanism in the face of being exploited being pushed to its absolute limits.

Yi Sang's Awakening line is a reflection of how he tries to throw himself into research and scholarly pursuits as a form of escapism from his reality. Whether it's his activities with the League, or his dependency on the Mirror, we see in Canto IV that he turns to acting the part of a researcher when faced with corporate exploitation.

Likewise, while using Dimension Shredder he makes notes of his surroundings like a researcher traversing the space. Noting the enchanting colors and how he can't memorize the path he's on. However, his tone of voice is a lot more... manic? It's emotional, seemingly entranced by what he's seeing. I think it signifies how, when pushed to his limits, Yi Sang would completely throw himself into his research, to a perhaps almost obsessive degree.

Hong Lu's Awakening line on the other hand reflects how he tries to keep a happy tone regardless of the circumstances. His defense mechanism is hiding what he's truly feeling behind a mask of smiles and jokes.

Tingtang and Kurokumo Hong Lu are probably the best examples of this. While having a constant jovial tone, Tingtang Hong Lu is an utter piece of shit only using kindness as a thin veil to hide his actual intentions. Kurokumo Hong Lu on the other hand uses a somewhat polite tone despite the fact he clearly does not respect anyone. It's even more obvious with the latter when you examine his post-uptie illustration more closely. While he wears a smile on his face, the veins shown on the hand clutching his sword say that he's not as calm as he seems.

While using Dimension Shredder, Hong Lu tries to keep up his smiling facade... Except this time, he fails. At his very limit, he's too worn down and tired of the abuse to pretend he's fine. The words do come out, but he can't make them sound the way he wants to anymore. The mask finally cracks under the pressure.

Matching with how the Awakening lines share a specific theme, the Corrosion lines do as well. Dimension Shredder Corroded dialogue lines all seem to express some form of realization that they are finally free.

Yi Sang's Corrosion line describes how the alley he's going down does in fact have an exit. It's an open one. Not only is it a reference to Poem No. 1 from Crow's Eye View, but the way Yi Sang speaks it is very interesting here. His tone is fully confident, and even seems to lack the usual tired breathiness that Yi Sang usually has.

Good thing I'm writing this after Canto IV has come out, because... All of that is reflected in Yi Sang's character arc. He does realize that the alley is open. He does realize he can keep moving forward. And, most importantly, he does gain the confidence to not let himself be stopped.

With all of that context, let's look at Hong Lu's Corrosion line. His dialogue line expresses how nobody (or nothing) is forcing him to "be located there", causing him to fall into a fit of gasping laughter. There is something. Incredibly disturbing about this line to me. It's this dichotomy between Hong Lu hesitantly realizing that he's no longer stuck, that nobody is ordering him around anymore, and his downright histerical sounding delivery.

Since we don't have Hong Lu's Canto just yet, I can't do the same comparison as I did with Yi Sang... But I could try to predict what Hong Lu's Canto could end on if we assume this line is foreshadowing it the same way Yi Sang's was.

I think Canto 8 will show us Hong Lu finally break. There will be no more mask to hide behind, just a flood of emotions that had been held back for all of his life. Most importantly though, it won't be pretty. If there's any Sinner who will be in need of emotional catharsis through a mental breakdown boss battle, Hong Lu seems like the perfect candidate for that. Either that or Hong Lu just straight up fucking murders someone on screen. Ideally both.

There's probably more I can analyze based on the visual designs of the E.G.O... But honestly this already got way fucking longer than the Roseate Desire analysis so I'll just leave you with the mental image of me chanting Hong Lu Commit Fratricide.

[laithraihan]

Would you be comfortable sharing any personal info (age, profession, relationship status, etc...)? Completely understand if you're not but it's always really interesting learning about the lives of ppl I admire. Again, if that's not something you wanna do it's totally understandable! I love your art!!

Ah thank you so much 🫶 and sure I dont mind sharing some stuff but to be very honest Im not an interesting person, so I'm sorry in advance for disappointing you.

So I'm a woman (or something like that) even though I use a male pen name for art, Im 22 years old, 151cm (4'11"), the eldest daughter who has two teenage siblings who are both taller than me and make fun of me for being short. I do not have a profession and I do not go to school due to a disability I will not disclose. Im a lesbian engaged to a butch, we've been together for almost 4 years (our anniversary is in August)

My favorite season is winter because all the bugs are dead and I despise summer because the bugs are alive. Im also really scared of butterflies for some reason. Im scared of winged bugs in general. Ive never seen a cockroach in my life but I'd probably kill myself if I saw one. I really hate bugs. The winters are harsh here but I like walking outside when theres light snow falling at night. Im also a bit obsessed with Christmas lights but I dont celebrate Christmas, I dont follow any religion in general but my family is Muslim so Ive been raised with that. If I could just put Christmas lights in my room all year then I would do that. They look really pretty.

About my ethnicity I think everyone knows Im Algerian already, well Ive only been to Algeria once when I was like 8 years old so I dont really remember anything. All I know is that my uncle would keep telling my dad that I convinced him to stop smoking and that he's eternally grateful for that but I literally cannot remember what I did or said back then so I just pretended I knew what he was talking about. Anyway. Id like to go there again one day. I most likely will go soon in the future so it makes me happy to think about it.

My first language is French and Im somewhat fluent in English but it needs more work. Whenever I speak English I have to think harder about the words that come out of my mouth and I start saying things that dont make sense. But my pronunciation is good so other people just assume Im fluent. Also I understand Derja (Algerian Arabic) when people talk to me out loud but I cant form sentences and respond back so I just answer people in French. I know how to read Arabic script and I understand basic words but again I cant form sentences. As for Japanese I can only read Hiragana and Katakana and a bit of Kanji, and my understanding of the language is worse than Arabic, so I practice by translating Japanese song lyrics, reading news articles and talking with Japanese users online

Honestly I dunno what else to say, I dont really have any special skills or anything like that. Unless you count memorizing all the metro stations in Montreal but thats only because I had to use public transport all the time when I was a kid because my parents never felt like driving me to my appointments. At that point I probably visited every single station because I had to go to many random places. I dont have a drivers license but I prefer walking to places in general even though there are no stores near my neighborhood, but I think it's better for me because I get to walk more. I think I really like the idea of travelling in general but I dont have friends for that, my parents also wouldnt allow me to hang out with friends so it's a bit unfortunate

Oh and lately Ive been enjoying making eggs for some reason, I think Im good at doing that. But I only cook whenever Im hungry and I rarely feel hungry so I dont cook many eggs. I also dont like cleaning dishes so I avoid making huge meals in general. I dont really eat much in the first place but I still like food. I really like going to restaurants too. I just like going outside in general. I like listening to music and talking with people, normal stuff like that. Im running out of things to say so I'll probably just stop there.

[st4rwon]

stars and raindrops

8. don’t piss your pants

looking at the stars, the only thing seungmin could think about was you, that’s why he loved them so much. the regret of breaking up had filled your hearts, so when you run into each other after a year what happens?

written portion under the cut!

you were covered with blankets and squished in between changbin and han. “ji i thought you said you could handle horror movies?” you said to the boy, whose head was hidden in the crook of your neck to protect him from the screen. “i’m not scared just tired” he lied. “whatever you say buddy” you chuckled

you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket, it was late so you were confused on who would be calling this late. you put you hand into your pocket, grabbing your phone and checking the caller id, to your surprise you saw a name that you never expected to see, seungmin’s.

changbin noticed how your eyes widened and looked down at your screen as well, you cleared your throat and excused yourself. the minute you got up a jump scare played and jisung quickly grabbed onto the closest person to him, being changbin.

you headed over to the hallway and answered your phone hesitantly, “hello?” “yn! i misseddd youu. why won’ you text me backkk” seungmin said slurring his words. “seungmin are you drunk?” “only a bit” you stayed in silence for a bit, “where are you?” “at home” he responded slowly. you sighed in relief knowing that he was safe, “is minho with you?” “no… he went to his parents for the weekend” “i’m going to hang up now just so you don’t say anything you are going to regret. but i’ll talk to you in the morning” “that’s what you said last time…i don’t want you to leave me yn” “i promise i’ll call you tomorrow, bye seungmin” you said hanging up

you stood in the hall for a bit longer, you could hear the hurt in him voice the entire time, knowing the fact that you caused him such pain made it much worst. “he still likes me…” you mumbled to yourself, not knowing what to think about it. or maybe you had the whole situation wrong, he probably just missed the idea of you.

you shook your head from all the thoughts. it would all be cleared up tomorrow, well hopefully it would.

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please don’t spam like posts, repost, translate, or use my work without my permission. all work is fictional and only used for entertainment purposes. © azurez 2023

[mamasplat]

ooooooooo ive been keeping up with the huge thread.. <3333

is the fic smth you actually want to do? id read it 👍

have you got a timeline in mind?

also hows the run going?

im still in the middle of playing y, im almost at the snowy city, check out my squad 💪💪💪💪💪🐺

The true Calem run is coming along great, I only have one spot to fill in my team and I just got through the power plant!

Now regarding actually writing the Kalos vs amour story, I want to, I’d LOVE TO. It’s something younger me wanted so badly to do- however I am not exactly confident in my writing.

I’ve dabbled under a few sites with a lot of different “pen names” if you will, and I’ve never been too fond of my own work. I struggle with coming off as redundant when I use one word too much without realizing till after the fact, but in my defense! I’m entirely self taught with reading and writing so It’s surprising I’m even a little bit literate.

I can’t say I have the confidence to get a beta reader either as that would mean letting someone read my messy work which- yeah that kinda makes my skin crawl. So it could be a great exercise for me! But it would be a big step. I haven’t publicly written anything since 2019 and it was all small fandom stuff.

But I do have a rough list of story beats? Kinda? Ideas really.

Serena leaves for her journey on a whim to see ash, but in the process she neglected to tell anyone other than her mother. Which means Calem would have no clue where she went until he went to Grace. The dialogue “I was starting to worry until I saw you on pokevision” definitely dings around my skull a bit.

He was a member of the summer camp team with Shauna Trevor and Tierno, he was just too shy to talk to Serena again after she up and left without warning, especially seeing her proximity to a guy who is wearing HIS EXACT JACKET

Yeah no I’m making that a thing, the fact him and Ash dress nearly identically is going to freak him out in some way.

When I envision this as animated scenes, I can see him as a faceless character watching from the sidelines. Obscured but noticeable, coming to a head at the end of the episode where there’s a scene between him a Shauna. In a cabin kitchen at camp, It reveals him and Shauna specifically are traveling together. His face still unseen she’d pry at him for information on why he was so distant and why he hid from Serena. He’d dodge the question with an ever brooding “I don’t know” and the silence would linger as whatever midnight snack is being prepared. A camera angle change and turning to face Shauna for the first time during the conversation it ends with a single line. “Who was that guy she was with anyways?”

We would then see him again officially in a later episode with the appearance of Shauna, he and Serena finally reconnect over an awkward apology for her sudden absence. He’s familiar with Serena, his behavior is starkly different around her to anyone else- even Shauna. And while it might not peek anyone else’s concern it would get Bonnie’s gears turning, the kid is perceptive and comes to the conclusion Calem likes Serena, but that also turns into distrust thanks to Calem’s inherent standoffish nature. She would recognize him as “no good”

Also insert plot of Ash being super hyped like “oh yeah! New rival! Let’s go!” And Calem being violently uncomfortable around this hyper short stack who is dressed just like him and traveling with his run away neighbor-

If you couldn’t tell, I’d have no clue how to pov this. A third person pov makes the most sense but with a shift in focus from our main cast to Calem and Shauna- idk-

I’ve put more thought into this as actual anime episodes rather than written pages, so it’s all art stuff in my head and might translate weird to a fanfic

[v-a-m-pxe]

Strange - Miguel O'Hara x Reader

TW: Blood, cursing, Sexual talk or activities, Surprises i guess...

A/N: here's part 1 if you missed it part 1 i use google translator because my Spanish is not the best

Part 2

The door opened...

Your heart dropped to your ass, nothing could ever scare you this bad. You stood up back up against the corner of the tub "M-Miguel" you said, The realization hit you hard your eyes were wide you covered your mouth in disbelief.

You knew Miguel had a brother but he wasn't alive or look like Miguel so who was this man that you just almost had sex with,"ven aquí" (come here)Miguel said holding you by the waist staring the man that looked exactly like him. All you could do was stand there so much was happening in one night only because Miguel left home.

Miguel whispered in your ear telling you to go to gabi's room and close the door, You asked why his only reply was "Now" he never really acted this way which made you concerned. You sigh exhaling all the fear that filled you up, You slowly walked up to gabi's room looking back every minute to see if Miguel was watching you.

His eyes glowed red as you watched from a little crack in the door that was supposed to be closed and locked. BOOM, you hear one good shot that made you slam the door in consternation, your body was trembling seeing your husband shoot a man was terrifying.

15 minutes later you see the door open and Miguel was covered in blood from his shirt to his feet. He walked towards you hugging your now froze body " lo siento, no quiero que seas testigo de eso" he said rubbing your back slowly sitting you down on the chair in the corner of the room.

You didn't know what to do with, all you could do was cry away the fact your husband shot a man that looked really identical to him.

"come on lets go rest its late" he says still holding you,walking you to the shared bed.

6 months later...

It's been 6 months since the situation, Miguel finally told you how he's Spider-man you took it well but it really surprised you. He showed you around the multiverse which was actually very fun to you and little gabi.

Gabi and Mayday got along very well, Everything was back to normal and life was much easier being able to to go with Miguel during work so nothing strange happens again. You smile to yourself as you see gabi pulling Miguel's hair making him wince in pain earning a slight giggle from you, All you need was them...Your little family.

You grab your daughter from Miguel grabbing her bag as well making you way to his desk to picking up a watch and summoning your portal to your world, Saying your goodbyes to Miguel and walking through back home...

Suddenly a yellow hologram popped up on Miguel's watch.

"is he gone lyla" Miguel says swiping through files

"Yes, Miguel O'Hara executed sir Gabriel"

Good...

A/N: idk where i was going with this but so many ides was flowing i just put it together also if you guys have any ideas or things you would like for me to write or change just let em know i'm all fingers and eyes.

[blindedguilt]

Omg there's gonna be a Leonard visual novel? Ahhh please link this id love to support it!

Also you have an alt account with Leonard art 👀👀👀👀

//No idea if that bit at the end is a solid "i know what you are" or a "this you?" bit but just in case, i do!! i will refrain from posting it here (For privacy, though when you find it you should be able to clock it like "THIS IS THE BITCH" immediately anyways lol) if you would like it i can give it to you through DMs (unfortunately tumblr doesnt allow private answering to anon asks :( if i could i would...) but please dont feel pressured at all to come out!!! i enjoy chatting with you, anon *pats*

//But to answer your question, yes!! Technically it's already out though its currently only available in Japanese. I will say I have spoken with the writer though, and I'm very happy to say they've expressed interest in helping me make an English patch :3<! Once I'm done with playing the game for myself (I'm about halfway at the moment, I think? ;0) I'll hopefully start work. I've been playing with a friend and already have a few scenes (roughly, more or less) translated.

//Anyways, I'll put the links to both the trial and full version at the end of the post so they're easier to find vs. just sandwiching between my rambles about the VN!! because BOY is it good, this was made for leonard fans BY leonard fans and its SHOWS AAAAAAAAAA

//More under the cut~ (I'll be rambling about this for a w h i l e)

So the game is called Onaplus, and lemme just post my TL of its official Booth description for you before i try summing it up myself:

Play Time: About 5 hours Routes: 2 Endings: 4~5 Stills: None This is a visual novel game where you can - or can not - enjoy a "Psuedo-Romance" with various versions of Leonard from before he formed his pact, DOD1, DOD2, and LoV. The game is mostly linear; only a few choices on your path outside of the 4~5 different endings. You are the protagonist, a woman who travels through four different "Times" with Seere at your side. You can enjoy the story as it's nature changes between two vastly different routes; choose to spend a sweet and heartfelt time with Leonard, or take part in a good measure of slapstick comedy instead. Includes a number headcanoned details, otakuisms, and out-of-character gags. A game for those who believe no man is beyond forgiveness...

That's pretty much it!! I dunno how much I'll spoil by saying it, but it was NOT KIDDING when it said the main two routes (The more serious N-Route, standing for "Not Shotacon Route" and the gag S-Route, standing for "Shotacon Jerking Off in the Backwoods Route") were different.

I'll keep what I know limited, but I've completely finished the S-Route (much to my dismay, IT WAS SO GOOODDDD I DIDNT WANT IT TO END) and have JUST started the N-Route, so I'm looking forward to what's in store!! I dunno what the "5" stands for though in five endings, unless the N-Route has one I'm unaware of... 👀 but a quick breakdown

Where the N-Route is a very genuine, heartfelt ""Love letter"" to Leonard from his fans being like "We care about you!!! youre such a lovable guy!!!! please take care of yourself!!!!" and essentially plays as an "I can fix him" game, the gag "S-Route" ramps Leonard's "Shotaconness" up to an ABSURD degree to the point one or two scenes were complete "had me completely red in the face, unable to look at the screen"-level wreckage. one scene in particular around the DOD2 mark also made my heart DROP but im not saying what happened or what it is :)))) S-Route Ending A was also extremely difficult to TL because i had to search a few things up and do........ research............ to find suitable english-audience alternatives. it had me GAGGED ngl, but i would never do it again........... i'm turning red just thinking about it now dsjfhkshvwkslahsdfhj (the endings are so good though, and there was ANOTHER thing in Ending A that had me "!!!!!!! yippee!!!!!!" but that's another story.)

I've only finished the endings of the S-Route right now, but some of them were surprisingly (And welcomingly so!) heartfelt for what was 96% a gag route :0!

AND THEN THE PROTAGONISTSSSSSS okay so i was NOT expecting a little "heehee, we made leonard psuedo-dating sim" VN TO HAVE PROTAGONISTS THAT ARE LITERALLY LIKE A HYPERFIXATION FOR ME RIGHT NOW????? trust me when i say these are NOT typical "blank-slate-self-insert" protags their characterisation is so strong and entertaining i was HEARTBROKEN finishing the s-route because it meant saying goodbye to its protagonist more than anything, i literally have made ship fanart of them together i ADORE them so much and i need them in my life...... lately ive thinking about hdcing names for them i love them....

N-MC is so SWEEEEEEEETTT she's a lot more "Expectable" for a "Romantic" visual novel (At least for now... who knows, she might be hiding a dark secret of some kind though im like... more than half sure she's innocent? RIGHT????) and is just a little sweetheart whose dedicated her life to helping others as her parents always wished!!!! she has a ✨tragic anime backstory✨ and for leonard fans is THE embodiment of looking at this sad sack of shit and being like "Oh my god, he's so miserable, i just want him to be happy :((( i can fix him......." her relationship with seere is so SWEETTTT too it makes me melt, she's the one he NEEDS and im just aakshskhsdkvhsdkfh...... though honestly even if its 9/10 unintentional listening to the way she talks about seere sometimes has me like "hmmMMMMMM..... perhaps youre more of a shotacon than s-mc........" ("ara ara, seere-kun~" has become my new tagline for her, i admit..... you seem a bit too taken with him buddy...)

BUT THEN S-MC, I ADORE HERRRRRRRR me and a bud have been playing it together and their design for her has become like the unofficial one i literally use/WILL use no other for my own doodles and that is a FACT. how do i explain her... the game calls her "Caim-like", basically, but that's not enough. you see, S-MC is an over-exploited, sleep-deprived, brash, violent, porn-addicted shotacon (+possible femcel) otaku who's main goal in life is to find a decent person to get married to and whose only reason for living is to keep indulging in her PG (and not PG) fiction. she's more than eager to beat the shit out of anyone at the first opportunity (which she does) and wax poetic about her favourite games (which she does) and UNLIKE """N-MC oneesan""" and their (Unintentional) far-too-friendly comments towards seere S-MC spends makes it her GOAL to ensure nothing happens to the kid despite her annoyance with him, who is far too innocent for his own good dsfkvjhsfdkhvsdfj

The VN is written by the very talented Pixiv fanfic writer Kyon, whose works I would VERY much recommend checking out if you can read Japanese and are a fan of Leonard (They are my GO-TO for Leonard content, just talking with them was such an honour i was like "uUUWAUAaaaAUUGHhhHHhgaaghgH" they do his characterisation so good and they understand the tragedy and facets of what makes him compelling so well and im just UGHHHHHHH THEYRE SO GOOD ANON YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS WITH THEM WRITING THIS, CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!!!)

Interestingly enough, they did write a whole fucking novel on Leonard's past and life leading up Ending D and do reference part of that in this VN!! Albeit not heavily, though reading the preview on Pixiv I saw it was like "AYYYYYE" so I would recommend it if you can read it ;0 i hope to buy the full thing soon....

Also, I was actually skeptical of this going into it but Kyon is SO good with their writing they did write a Faerie x Leonard Modern AU smut fic I'm now also hoping to get the full version of well... do you know how good something has to be for me not ONLY to spend money on it, but to go from SKEPTICAL "this isn't my thing and i dunno why i'm even reading it" to "I need to read the rest of this NOW GET HIS ASS" i truly marvel at their talent and im so happy at the chance to work with them im.............

The illustrations were done by the also VERY popular Suiden, who you might recognise if you spend any time on Leonard's Pixiv tag in general!!! I admit, I kind of expected more as far as the quality of their contributions to the VN were concerned, but honestly, the character sprites are so charming in their own little VN way (Leonard's DOD2 sprite i ADORE) and i was so excited to see both recognisable artists i adore in there, I don't really have any major complaints so far outside the fact i sincerely wish there was a 1.3 leonard....... ONAPLUS 2 LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN‼️💥👏👏

Oh, and I also learned a LOT about LoV and its system through this game (and how much injustice they did leonard in the sequel, jesus fuck...) which was apparently all thanks to Haruoka's help advising everyone on the LoV bits (Though whether that stands for just gameplay or actual lore, i have no idea.... yet)!! You may also recognise some of the nice Leonard art they have on their Pixiv if you've dug through the tag as deep as I have lmao

it could happen

... Anyways, that SHOULD be enough rambling from me!! If you have anymore questions, do lemme know because this VN is my LIFE right now all I can ever think about is playing it and I'm literally going to be so sad when it's time to put it up......

If you think you'd like to check it out for yourself, please do check out the trial version!! You can get it free on Kyon's Booth and I think you SHOULD be able to just G-Translate your way through the N-Route with minimal confusion just based off of how clear I remember it, and the S-Route should be roughly understandable as well but uses a LOT more slang and "catechisms" with its spelling than N-Route, so you might have a couple more difficulties translating it if you use a machine.

The full version is a psychical disc copy that sells for 500 JPY (3.24 USD/3.05 EUR, i believe) and you CAN buy it through a proxy site like Buyee like I did!! Ofc that will include packing and shipping costs, so you might actually expect it to come up to around 20 USD as it did for me :,) perhaps the real pain though comes in how long you have to wait for it to actually arrive (just under a month for me)

But if you're a Leonard fan? Speaking as the self-proclaimed head of the church of ona, it is so worth it. ive never been so utterly enamoured and in love with a game, its kinda starting to concern me...

Either way!! It will still be a while till an English patch comes out since I've been very busy with work and unable to play it :(

I recommend you try it for yourself!!!

And please do refrain from posting screenshots of the game if you decide to play it (at request of the creators), you can quote it but if it's on a public platform like Tumblr or Twitter or anywhere outside of DMs, please no screenshots!!

Here's a link to the trial version (Free)

And if you like that enough...

Here's the full version!! (500 JPY)

...If you can, please give this your full support!! I very much don't think you'll be disappointed, especially as a Leonard fan~

As far as the English patch goes, I dunno how much I should share out of respect for the creators at the time other than

i plan to start working on it

But I am DETERMINED to finish this translation, i dunno how it might even be spread (Whether it will just stay a small-scale thing spread through the wings of tumblr dms or also posted on the authors booth) but either way!!!

This will be my first time working on a videogame, and if I'm allowed to say this in confidence, I'm 100% certain this will be my best translation yet. :3 perhaps better than even magnitude negative, im REALLY liking the way this is looking right now, even by the rough drafts.... i really only give my all for leonard i've realised, but that's not an issue for me <3

Anyways, anon, if you ever play it please do send some thoughts about it if you're willing (To either blog~)!!! and any questions, please ask!!! i'm so excited to see more people talking about this, thank you anon!!!!

[fivveweeks]

hi its me it's verdante angst anon (angstnon? idk) again

shaking ur hand SHAKING UR HAND you get me you get me you fuciigndnsn get me

"They're a tragedy, the both of them. Dante's fine with that. (They have to be, they have no choice in this) Given enough time a tragedy turns into a comedy. Maybe they'll be able to laugh about this in the end. Maybe it'll even be divine."

you don't undertsysnds how feral i am about these two. i am firm staunch zealous believer in verg not seeing himself being worthy of like anything good not until he has payed for his sins or wtvr he wants that to mean. i think he exercises a lot of self control to make sure he has like an arm and a leg and several bodies worth of space between him and anyone trying to get close to him (xcept Charon ofc). actively turns and runs from that shit bc 1. he doesn't deserve it. 2. he literally does not have the time for that shit

dnate on the other hand— chronic workaholic, to the point they can and will push personal feelings aside for the sake of their job. if u look up the word professionalism you WILL see Dante Limbus Company as a synonym. they keep their feelings in check (under several locks and keys) in the back of their mind aging like fine wine. they're aware they're not a choice and they're okay with it. it's their fault anyway, they're such a silly little fool.

it has always been doomed from the start. do you understand? it has always been hopeless. it was never meant to be.

dante knew/knows/accepts this, they do not have a choice. (but then again when do they ever?)

ANON YOU'RE SO FUCKING INSANE I NEED TO TWIRL U AROUND LIKE HOLY SHIT U GET IT!!!

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how much of a firm believer i am about Dante being a chronic workaholic. NOBODY FUCKING TALKS ABOUT IT YET BUT literally i do not think they need to sleep/they cannot sleep/gets little to no sleep at all and instead spends all their time up night reviewing battle plans and rewatching past battles on their little PDA. its a combination of anxiety and wanting to step up as a better manager (if we take into account of limbus players dissecting the gameplay meta of EGOs and ids we can literally translate that into Dante pouring over how to better manage the sinners). god forbid them from stepping out of line due to personal feelings bc they a) do not want to piss off vergilius and risk his wrath b) do not want to piss off vergilius bc they respect him (and like him) as a coworker, a boss, a color fixer and their guide too much. they are the EPITOME of professionalism. their work and responsibilities as a manager COMES FIRST

Vergilius too, you put it into words on him as a person. Literally he doesnt think he deserves it AND he doesnt have the time for that shit (for real verg in canon seems to really hate ppl wasting his time over trivial shit). i think even theres some distance between him and charon but he mostly crosses the space bc he's too guilt bound to deny charon some form of connection (bc it is his fault in the first place), so he is soft to her and her only.

it's like watching two parallel lines running along each other and no matter how close they get they will NEVER touch ever. ISNT THAT A TRAGEDY???

but its not all angst, they at least find a little light in the situation. verg would come to appreciate how dante respects him and his circumstances and would be pleased that they are like-minded enough to keep things professional between them, so he is comfortable in confiding in dante on certain topics (in canto 2 where verg and dante stands together by the side to watch the sinners get their ass peeled and verg telling dante why they should experience it for once lives rent free in my head bc he actually bothered to explain to dante wauhgshfh). he admits that dante is the only sinner that he can have a convo with. he fucking told dante to not befriend him after sharing a little history on charon. dante would appreciate the little moments they get to spend with him

just brief pockets of time with each other, despite everything. i like to think they are both the kind of ppl who would accept that things are just not meant to be, so they will take what little they can (what little they're allowed).

in the grand scheme of lcb and the city they are both nothing but a pair of pawns trying to make the best of their situation without getting in the way. they have no choice.

and to come across another who understands this is a rare, rare gem in their crapsack world, so how can we blame them for having a little bit of pining among the acceptance. mutual respect blooming into requited love that is unable to be acted upon. a divine comedy in its own right. im going to kms

[myarmsaretoolong]

20 questions (for fanfic writers)

cheers for the tag @sarah-sandwich <3

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

57.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

412,260

3. what fandoms do you write for?

mcu but mostly just irondad, though i stopped writing that for a bit when a small (large) marauders obsession hit so now i write both depending on the fic im working on. also taken a side step into parkner recently

4. top five fics by kudos:

A Different Future - peter snaps one-shot

Futures are Made to be Broken - more in depth follow up to peter snaps one shot

The Best Day of Harley's Life (and the worst of Peter's) - classic field trip fic only harley is like the tourguide and makes it his mission to ruin peter's day. not actually parkner but for sure the beginning of my growing love for harley

Not my First Time - part of webpril challenge one-shot, tony and peter are stuck under a building, conversation ensue

Where Do You Think You're Going - urrrmmmm good question. its a whumptober one-shot so peter must get beat up. pretty sure its by quentin beck and his drones, lets assume tony finds him and saves the day (its less than 2000 words i could read it and find out but im lazy)

5. do you respond to comments?

i do my best!

6. what is the fic your wrote with the angstiest ending?

ermmm *checks notes* Is This It? springs to mind first. you know the deleted scene of tony snapping and seeing morgan? well in this one he sees peter, only peter is a good few years older and has sorted his life out a bit. its sad obvi, but also kind of happy? the end lines are sad sad though :( so either that or 01/11/81 (if you're a marauders fan you already know that date) which basically very closely follows remus throughout the entire day after james and lily are killed etc. its very angsty all the way through, mary is a sweetheart, and at the end he's left all alone...

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most tbh. im going to say Past, Present, Yet to Come because that's my baby. (peter is the ghost of christmas present, tony is scrooge, only its like the ryan reynolds film spirited, very good)

8. do you get hate on fics?

nope! (and please dont :) )

9. do you write smut?

nah

10. craziest crossover:

well ive only ever written one and it was mcu/glee and there's a reason i never finished it (nor am linking it [insert skull emoji])

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that ive noticed

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope! im a solitary kinda guy

14. all time favourite ship?

what a question... wolfstar is a classic, ineffable husbands are precious to me, doctor/rose is nostalgic... i can't pick favourites

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

besides all of them? all of them.

no but really there are so many and i have this problem of thinking of idea -> getting excited -> writing beginning -> not knowing where to take it -> get excited by new idea -> repeat. im working on it though and do genuinely plan to finish them all

16. what are your writing strengths?

yknow i honestly think my general writing is at a pretty good level. defo room for improvement but there always it, int there? id say that's a general strength, but specifically i think im goooood at making things angsty. and i love doing it so win win

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

well... finishing anything. plotting out full stories is a big problem. (though ive recently started a notebook for random ideas for fics and its helping) um... tbh i can struggle with everything from time to time. i think getting characters voices right can be hard cos i often find people saying things they would never say and having to go back and and put them straight. er,,, action can be next to impossible if The Vision isn't there.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i dont have many. if its a language i cant read i just skim past and sometimes read an end note translation but if there's too much im just going to go with the flow

19. first fandom you wrote in?

mcu

20. favourite fic you've written?

again, Past, Present, Yet to Come is my babygirl. love him to pieces. can i say fics ive not finished yet? because parkner hunger games au and marauders doccy who are fire and one day will see the light of day (and get names)

tagging @winter-turtle @helloliriels erm ive forgotten everyone who has ever existed... @ anyone who i followed in the boopening who writes and @ anyone who just wants to (no pressure at all obvi)

[dedalvs]

Thanks so much for answering my question. And I’m also loving the Valyrian glyphs too. I’ve always loved the idea of being able to write in High Valyrian as well as speak it.

I'm glad you like them! Let me tell you, I am soooooooo grateful to have been able to do this writing system. You know, way back when I started working on Dothraki—during the competition—in stray moments I thought about what I'd do with High Valyrian, since if Game of Thrones was successful, I figured I'd get the chance to create High Valyrian. It was so exciting to me to learn that High Valyrian had a writing system, since the books make it explicit that Dothraki doesn't have one. Writing systems are my favorite thing, and I wanted a chance to show it off.

When I got the chance to create High Valyrian, I shared with the show runners that I could create a writing system for it, since it was textually supported, but they declined. In future seasons, Valyrian was actually shown on screen, but it was always written in the Romanization, which I found unrealistic (or, rather, inauthentic). Every season I asked about it, but every season they declined. It's totally random, show to show or film to film when I get to do it. Some producers/show runners/directors see the utility of it; some can be convinced of it; some can't. And even if they see the utility of it, some let me do it, some don't (for example, in The Shannara Chronicles, there's some kind of writing system you see on screen in places, but I didn't get the chance to create it; the art department did [and it's terrible]). It's not a huge surprise I didn't get to do it for Game of Thrones. Frankly, it's enough they even wanted authentically created languages!

No, the surprise came when Ryan Condal, show runner for House of the Dragon, actually asked me to create a writing system. I didn't even know if I'd get to work on the show, because I'm usually contacted well before production starts, and the show was already announced before I was ever contacted. And then he asked me specifically if I could create a writing system for High Valyrian—and then they used it, on screen, in key places! This was an absolute shocker. It's not something that usually happens, and I am so grateful to him for that.

In truth, my plan was to create something after Game of Thrones was done, show it to George R. R. Martin himself, and hope he'd kind of put his canonical blessing on it, and make the writing system "official" that way, since it wouldn't be used on TV. And then this happened! It absolutely came out of left field—especially because it wasn't a part of me joining the show. I was asked to do this a few months after I started working on the show! I was already translating dialogue before he ever asked me.

There's an important take away here, by the way. In something like a TV show, there are tons of people that work on it, and there are people who are in charge, and people who are in charge of those people, etc. It's a hierarchy like anything else. But this applies to businesses and organizations of every stripe. Wonderful things can happen, and there are people who do wonderful things, but sometimes that wonderful thing only happens because someone in the chain says yes. I got to create writing systems for the Defiance languages because Kevin Murphy gave it the okay after I pitched him the idea. All of these shows I've worked on had to be greenlit by someone. All along the line, there's someone who has the power to say whether some project, or some aspect of a project is going to happen, or if it's not, and often that decision gets overlooked.

Even apart from recognizing that person, though, I want you to realize that there may come a time when you are that person. When someone comes to you with an idea that's wild or totally out of left field and potentially brilliant, and you are the one with the power to say whether it lives or dies. And this might not be in an official capacity. This may be a friend who has some idea that they're very hesitant about, and they reluctantly bring it to you, saying something like, "It's stupid… I don't even know why I'm showing this to you". And if you look at them and say, "I don't really get it... I don't think it's a good idea", that idea may die right there, never to resurface. But if you give them encouragement—even if you don't fully get it—you may be the one to help them create something truly magical—something the world has never seen—something that may mean a whole lot to people you may never meet. If you're ever in that position, remember this. When someone comes to you with an idea, they're giving you a lot of power. Wield it wisely; wield it with kindness.

[noel0999]

my story - pt 2 - russia

i was born in tula, russia. i don’t know much about the start of my life other than what is documented in the adoption papers.

Within the adoption papers, there are different accounts of what happened those first few years.

basically, at some point within the first year (so it seems, based on the wording on the paperwork), i was left with a male friend while my bio mom went to mosco. after an unknown amount of time the male friend brought me to a neighboring apartment where he said that he was meeting my bio mom in mosco and they would be back in a week or two.

after a few months of them not showing up, the neighbor called the gestapo. they came and took me.

this is where the story kind of gets confusing. the timing of things doesnt seem to add up to me.it seems like there is a skip in the timeline of the paperwork. after the gestapo took me, i end up in a hospital with kidney failure.

while i was in the hospital, there was a family (we will call them family A) i met that was there getting a check up on a little boy they were adopting.

this hospital was falling apart. the doctors and nurses looked like they worked in a butcher shop because of the blood smearing their white coats, that were covering the winter coats they had to wear because of the lack of heat.

in the mitts of this grimy place, i caught the eye of family A previously mentioned.

They were white americans, who had a child by birth at home in michigan.

They were adopting a boy younger than me, a little red head. they asked about me, about my story. The poor little orphan girl with no one.

they were given information to look into, and to my understanding started asking about adopting me as well.

after about 3 months in the hospital, i was sent to an orphanage. this is still all in tula, to my understanding.

i was about 3 at this point. which is where my confusion of the timeline comes in. how did i get to be 3? Where was i during this time?

I have ideas, which will come up later.

while in the orphanage, family A was working with people in russia to figure out how to adopt me. there were issues because the russian system needed to either make contact with my bio mom, or rule that there is no contact available, and no family available to take me. they started reaching out to different ares asking about bio mom.

After not being able to locate or contact any living relatives, they put me up to be adoptable.

Shortly after this happened, a woman came to the orphanage claiming to be my bio mom. the orphanage said she needed a birth certificate for proof and sent her away.

she never returned.

while at the orphanage i had a friend. his name is in the paperwork somewhere, he ended up being adopted to a family in italy i believe.

i also remember faint things. almost like images. its hard to recognize that is actually real and what my brain has conjured up over time. some of those memories include a bare room with only a little corner of limited toys. cold 'oatmeal' type food for most meals.

i can see a room with many beds, day clothes lay at the end of the bed, if you had any.

everything was dirty. outside was grey and bland. i can picture the "court yard" of dead plants and bushes. a train track runs along the right side of the building. a little path running through the "court yard" leading to a little bench.

i have always had a strange memory of an older man sitting on that bench. id go and say hello and talk with him.

family A was active in sending me photos of them, and asking to have messages from their emails translated to me in russian.

after about a year of back and forth, family A got the go ahead for the adoption.

they came to russia, under instruction to not speak to anyone as americans were not liked at the time.

family A made friends and accountancies during their year of emailing back and forth. when they came to adopt me, they took me to visit some of the people that helped facilitate the adoption.

i have photos of these people, but have no memory of who they are. they seem sweet. they seemed to care for me, and i them.

family A also took me to mosco, going to a fish market, and seeing a play.

ill find out years later, while reading a journal that was kept during this time by family A, that while walking around and interacting with strangers, family A thought i was behaving like a child prostitute. In paperwork later contributed, it states that i would walk up to men sexually and 'present' myself. whatever that means.

family A then continues the quest and bring me to the state of michigan.

(there will be typing and punctuation errors, fyi)

#trauma #abuse #lifestory #adoption #russia #sharing #divorce #blog #healing #depression #anxiety

[ineedacalicocat]

Ngl i actually thought you are a korean by looking your anon replies but ig I'm wrong 😅 moving on, let's talk about jimin for a bit. Man he slayed the dance that Bighit posted today!! He is absolutely stunning while dancing, his passion for dance just oozes out. I became jimin stan after seeing his dance and vocals, later I observed him in various contents, how pretty calm kind guy he is. The way he speaks and never have a dull face (except maybe last year for that Spotify video) so good human. Also, I'm excited for his album. It feels surreal thinking how REAL we are close to getting one solo album of Complete Jimin voice, dance, MV(s) and much promotional contents talking about his music, his idea in those concepts etc! Finger-crossed, haha! Also when do you think jimin album gonna release?

Oh why would u think that? Im surprised actually ahahah i dont look or talk like a korean sbshsja i just used the translation if its about the things we talked. For your question i guess its near thingking that jimin finally came and talked about it. Maybe end of february or beginning of march? But its close. I think if it was uo to jimin he would realese it maybe a couple of months later thinking how perfectionist he is. But this is bighit were talking about they gonna rush them because of that god them military service thing so i dont thing we would wait that longer. But seiing jk and tae still not doing anything considering they literally began working on their mixtapes in 2019 and still didnt come up with something tells me mybe they wont realeade anything soon so maybe jimin still has time. I mean wouldnt it be better to not rush things? I hope thats the case. But it doesnt look like that. Its juust that ive been waiting for this so long that it still feels so unreal. Cant believe we got with you and vibe. Like a whole jimin music. But we still didnt get a full jimin. These are still duets. I just want a whole rnb jimin album or anything jimin related just him dancing for a whole 5 minutes. I used to split bts songs just so i can only hear him. I dont know about you guys but jins voice just irritates me. I just wanna hear my man. Like give me the god damn album already bighit. They are so late for this. This should have been happened in 2018. But money tasted good so they stayed as a team. They were gonna disband. Oh i hoe i wish they did. Like 5 years of jiminless songs. The only album they had full of jimin was i guess in 2018-2019? I mean bts has good songs but its just so tasteless when there id no jimin and full of jk and jin. Like gimme some emotion man. And they started putting jimin in the back? Tae in front? Like are you kidding me? He just wasted his time in bts. Thats what i hate man. He should be in broadway or royal academy being on stage. Not in korea man.