#can't say I would get in the fandom these days but I'm impressed by its success and longevity

[seirindono]

you've got mlp vibes. not like 'brony' but like watched the show as a kid and kept a fondness of it

Fun fact. When you say MLP, you're probably thinking about this:

But I'm really thinking of this:

That doesn't mean I'm super old though, just hear me out ∑(°∀°)

It was not one of my childhood cartoons, but I remember being vaguely aware of its existence as a child (toys mostly, the new series was released when I was older and hard to find on french channels). I only recently (3-4 years) learned of its popularity, for better or worse.

So yeah, never watched the series, but I've heard songs from one of the movies (?) and they were really cool!

I have no idea who this is or what she does in the story aside from being evil (?) but she sure can sing, has a tragic backstory and killer clothes. That's good enough for me.

[waldau-archived]

flustered — jeon wonwoo | 1.7k | fluff

first ever work on tumblr for any fandom! yikes. gender neutral reader. no warnings.

people often think wonwoo isn't the kind of person to express himself freely. you know how untrue that accusation is. wonwoo is far from emotionless. only his close friends know what actually makes him crack up, and you're one of the very few who knows what makes him cry.

but you have no idea what makes him blush.

ever since you've been in a relationship, you've never once seen him blush at anything you've said. compliments don't work, not when he accepts them gracefully and carries on like nothing's happened. he doesn't shy away when the band makes him perform silly antics for the fans, opting to do them with the small, ever-present smile on his face.

even mingyu is clueless when you ask him what it is that could possibly make wonwoo blush. teasing him about you never works because it just makes him smile even more.

so you decide to give it a go and try everything you can to make his cheeks turn red. it's silly, but it should be worth the efforts.

wonwoo doesn't like waking up early when he doesn't have to, but when you wake up today morning, his side of the bed is empty. you get up and walk to the living room, careful not to make any noise.

sure enough, wonwoo's sitting on the sofa with his laptop on the coffee table and a notepad and a pen on his lap, occasionally jotting down something here and there. you watch him for a minute or two before you walk up to him and put your arms around his neck, bending down so your lips are right next to his ear. "good morning," you whisper in the most morning-y voice you can muster. you don't think your voice has ever been this low before.

wonwoo doesn't even flinch. he grips your hands with one of his and turns around to press a kiss to your cheek. "good morning, darling," he says, turning to the laptop to pause the video on his screen before he looks at you again. "did you sleep well?"

"till i realized you weren't sleeping beside me, yes."

he chuckles and takes his hand off yours, laying down before raising his arms to you. you've done this a hundred times before — tumbling over the sofa and onto his chest and into his arms, secure.

he presses a kiss to your head. "do you have any plans for today?"

"none, unless you count me wanting to spend the rest of the day with you." you can't see his reaction, but his heartbeat is steady as it always is. you can feel his smile against your head.

"that's what i wanted to do, too, but do you want to go to the museum today? i know you've been wanting to for a while. maybe we could catch a movie after that."

you don't have the heart to say anything but yes. it sounds like the perfect day, even if you didn't achieve your goal.

the next time you try is when you get into an argument.

it's not an argument, not really. just a minor disagreement.

about a certain cat you want as a pet, and it reaches its final stage with wonwoo on his gaming chair and you standing in front of him, hands on your hips. "are you saying you're so heartless that you can't adopt the poor cat?"

"don't twist my words! it's not like i don't want to adopt it."

"that's the impression you're giving right now."

wonwoo sighs, running a hand through his hair. "i want a cat. and i want it with you. but don't you think it's not fair when i'm not home for a lot of time? i don't want you to raise it all by yourself. what if it doesn't know who i am?"

you stifle a snort. "that's your main concern?"

wonwoo tilts his head. "what else would it be?"

"you're afraid you're going to be an absent dad?"

"is that so bad?"

you let out a laugh. "no. not at all. but does that mean we can get a cat when we move in together?"

wonwoo hesitates. "yes, but i'd rather get it when i don't tour as much, you know?"

you sigh. "you just don't think it's cute enough, do you?"

"what? no! of course not! i was the one who showed it to you, not the other way round."

wonwoo looks cute like this, you think, arguing with you about the tiniest things ever. you hope you'll always argue about stuff like this. without a second thought, you move into his lap and hold his face in your hands, pressing kisses all over it. he lets out a confused noise before holding your waist and letting you do what you want.

"i love you, you know that?" you say earnestly, looking into his eyes.

"i love you too?" he says, frowning slightly.

"you look cute when you're serious. like you're trying to be angry with me, but you're not actually angry. and you also look a bit hot."

he blinks. "are you trying to seduce me into getting you a cat?"

you gasp dramatically. "why would you think that? i mean, what if i was?"

he looks at you for a moment before he chuckles and presses a kiss to your neck. "do you really want it that bad? i'll look into it, i promise."

the third time you try is when you're at the supermarket a few weeks later. wonwoo prefers shopping late at night, especially on friday nights, because there's not many people around.

you don't mind. you like spending late nights out with wonwoo, letting time pass while the night bleeds into day. especially because the day in question is saturday.

you're currently in the dairy products aisle, wonwoo looking at two different brands of tofu and comparing their expiration dates when you suddenly wrap your hands around his waist, pressing yourself to his back. there's no one else around you, and you really hope there's no camera capturing your antics.

wonwoo doesn't budge, simply putting one of the packets back. "i think we'll take this," he says, dropping the remaining one into your basket. "you're going to have to teach me how to make that soup."

you don't respond, still pressed to his back.

wonwoo sets down the basket and tugs you off him, pulling you around so you're facing him.

then he tips your chin up, leans down, and places a gentle kiss on your lips.

you don't know what to say when he pulls away. you can't even tell if it lasted for a few seconds or some minutes. he's worn his nighttime pajamas to the supermarket and he still looks amazing. you know you look like an idiot when he smiles at you, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"you could have just asked for a kiss, you know." then he turns back to look at the other products like he didn't just steal your breath away in the middle of a supermarket close to midnight.

you were trying to get him flustered, but it's not like you're complaining.

it finally happens, but when you're expecting it the least. you and wonwoo have just gotten back from the fair that's been open near your place for the past week, somehow having time off from work on the same day.

you've enjoyed yourself for the first time in weeks, strolling through the place with your hand in wonwoo's, sipping on hot chocolate, letting him win you a mario figurine (he'd wanted to try again to get you a plushie, but you found the figurine infinitely funnier), and just taking a ton of pictures with and of him.

you've also bought a lot of little stuff which has amounted to the two bags currently occupying your hands, which is why you sheepishly ask wonwoo if he can unlock the door.

he takes your keys from your jacket without question and opens the door, letting you in first. you're thinking about whether you should set the bags aside and untie your shoes or risk a little damage by just kicking them off, when wonwoo slides past you in your stupidly little hallway and switches on the lights.

his foot catches with yours and he ends up with his back to the wall, while you trip and turn in a desperate attempt not to fall on your face and break the little jars of various jams you've bought.

you get a little more than what you've bargained for when you stumble forward and land your hands on the wall, one on either side of his chest. you're just thankful neither of you is hurt, but when you look up, wonwoo's face is slowly turning red.

for the first time in the two years you've been together, wonwoo's flustered. you're glad he flipped the lights on, because seeing him with a blush on his face seems almost alien. his vision constantly flits between your face and the spot over your shoulder, unwilling to meet your eyes.

you don't know what to say. "wonwoo. i'll fall if i keep holding on any longer."

"oh," he breathes, "yes. right." he looks at you for a moment, unsure how to maneuver you to stand without making you lose your balance, and settles for his hands around your waist. you manage to stand with his help, putting the bags on the floor carefully before a grin makes its way across your face.

"of all the things i've been trying to do to get you to blush, that's what did it?"

he looks at your eyes and then at the floor. "why would you even try to do that?"

"i've never seen you blush! i had to."

"did you get what you wanted?"

he still isn't meeting your eyes. his glasses are halfway across his nose because of the angle you're at, so you push them up for him. "i didn't even plan for this to happen, you know. but it's definitely what i wanted. and you're pretty," you add, revelling in the redness of his ears.

he shakes his head and lets out a small chuckle. "is there any chance you'll let me off the hook anytime soon?"

"as if."

[spaghettiposts]

Who are some of your favourite writers here?

That's a tough one because I love A LOT of them, but here are the ones that have stuck out to me.

Firstly I'll talk about some Wanda writers:

@mionemymind: one of the most compelling writers out there. I think I have a personal bias because we're similar and share similar interests (star wars lol), they've literally written a star wars based wanda fic!!! Apart from that they have really good one shots and stories. My personal favorite one shots have to be To Be Loved Is To Be Considered, The Actress & The Geek, and my personal favorite Blood Drive.

Aside from being a writer Mionemymind is also a really great person to the community and friends, and I can't tell you how many times I've smiled because of their reblogs. Truly awesome sauce.

@targaryenmarvel: From the moment her story "Fallin all in you" came onto my feed, I was desperately hooked. Absolutely one killer of a story and I can't wait for more. Really great writing and its just so perfect, that story meant everything to me at one point <3

@fortuositywritings: I love everything about this authors writing, but my most favorite thing about their style is the humor. It's so natural and well paced, it makes me smile without fail every time. They aren't as active, and I hope they're doing amazing but if I could let this author know that their series I Said No, and Love Bug changed my writing forever, I would do it in a heartbeat. They're one of the reasons I'm writing for Wanda here today.

@ziggyzolch: I discovered their fic on ao3 first and I've got to say it has me hooked. They deal with more serious topics on series and its one of my favorite parts about their style, honestly Your Prettiness is Seeping Through has got to be hands down one of my favorite series in 2024. Amazing work and great representation to those who need it.

And lastly @wandascosmic: I haven't seen much of her until today but her new series you belong with me has quickly become so special to me that I can't help but mention her. The humor between reader and Sam is amazing, but also the interactions between reader and Wanda have my heart aching so sweetly. I feel like a leech with how quickly I've sunk into this story, you belong with me is so sweetly written and I enjoy every second of it. Amazing work.

Now for the Jenna Ortega fandom, I think I have quite a list. There's so many amazing writers out there it's crazy, I'm always so well fed by both fandoms.

I've got to start out with the legendary @cobaltperun: I binged Lost, for 2 days straight. I was HOOKED. so hooked this story got in the way of my personal life because I couldn't stay away from my phone. I love the way you write Tara and gosh did the series kill and heal me. Aside from Lost, Woe out the storm is also such a sweet story. The whole concept Raiju is so interesting to me now and damn do I love a good slow burn. Im just so deeply impressed too by their rapid request process, and how much they get done, its moving.

Another legend @letorip: First I've just got to mention, his headcannons for characters are amazing and I'm CONSTANTLY having to restrain myself from asking for more because I would only continue. I highly recommend them, they're like stories in themselves. But aside from Headcannons, my personal favorite fic of his would have to be somethin' stupid, especially part 3. The whole series is a must read and gosh do I love the writing, its so beautifully described, every inch of it.

@ajortga: every fic of hers is a fucking BANGER. there's never a fic in which I'm left dissatisfied. I love it all, eat it all. When I find her on my feed, you know I'm immediately digging in. Everything is always so fluffy and nice and just makes a girl feel better yk? I completely recommend reading Cute and Absolute, My Girl, and Bear hugs. All super fluffy and heart warming fics, its crazy <333

@persevereforahappyending: This author stabs me, kills me, brings me back to life, and then stabs me again with angst but I go back every time. Specifically to their newest series A Legacies Secret which is. So. Fucking. Good. They really cooked with that one. Every Friday like clockwork I'm checking for notifications and I'm never disappointed. Their writing style just leaves a grip on you and the plots are so clever too, they're very unique and I love them. Luck Runs Out is another great series and damn I revisit that thing once every two weeks for a reminder on what true love really is.

And lastly but not least one of my newest favorite authors of all time is @honorarysimp: Uncanny Distortion was one of the best things I ever read, the plot, whilst held similarities to scream, had such a creative own twist to the authors imagination. I absolutely loved it, Tara and Detective made my day for weeks, and then came Rumor has it and now two others hold my heart, and break it, a lot. this series feels like its gonna hurt me. But overall Honorary simp is such an underrated writer and I really hope that more people will notice you out there and give you some more well deserved attention because God damn your fics are masterfully crafted and I don't even have the words to describe how much I adore them, all I can say is that I carved a space in my heart for Detective and Lucky.

that was longer than I intended but all of these authors came from the top of my head so they mean a lot to me. Tumblr is a way better place with all of these creative souls in it and honestly I wouldn't have gotten far without all this inspiration surrounding me ❤️

[blindmagdalena]

thoughts on ep 4?

ohhhh man this is gonna be really long and disjointed because i just finished the episode. i'm just gonna be focused on the homelander stuff here bc i feel like that's what we're all here for lol

the energy he brought to that whole situation gave me the most intense anxiety. i feel like not even he was entirely sure how all of that was going to go down, but as soon as he was there, all these memories that he had repressed started flooding to the surface. obviously his relationship with Ryan is causing a lot of his trauma to come to the forefront, and this is the culmination of that.

i think what caught me the most off guard was how run down the place looked. a concrete basement with shoddy computers and post-its everywhere. a bunch of techs. it was so small, and yet it's like homelander said. it was a lot bigger when he was a child.

it was their day job. it was his whole world.

that very first moment when Marty calls him John, and he corrects "Homelander," in that boyish voice, i almost burst into tears.

the moment where he's staring at the incinerator made me feel ill for him. i already knew what was coming, and it didn't disappoint.

"I had nightmares about that exact moment, and you can't even remember it."

i had chills throughout this entire scene. it was such a succinct way to lay out how dehumanized he was his entire life. that so many people stood by and were so desensitized to his torture. they tuned out his screams entirely and played little games to pass the time. all while he watched.

this time, when Marty calls him John, there's no quiver in his voice. "Homelander," he corrects firmly, smile tight and closed. direct eye contact, waiting for a challenge. but they won't. he knows no one will stop him. not just because they can't... but because they simply won't. they wouldn't save a child. why would they save Frank?

"You're sorry? Now?"

this whole scene is such an interesting parallel to his conversation with Vogelbaum in s1, where he asks, "You want forgiveness? Now?"

something he rightfully denied Vogelbaum. in this instance, however, we see Homelander enacting his vengeance and giving that forgiveness... but only once they're dead. only once they'd paid his price. once they've suffered as he did. I forgive you.

the only time anyone expresses remorse for what they've done to him is when they're faced with it. when the regret eats away at them not for the harm they caused, but the damage done to the world, or to their own safety.

immediately following that, we see him call Marty over and not just apologize, but very specifically he asks, "Can you forgive me?"

it's perfect foreshadowing for what he's about to do to him. can he forgive the same thing Homelander is about to?

the scene that follows is so profoundly uncomfortable i had a lot of trouble watching. the reality of Homelander's life and teenage years is something that we as a fandom have always been very cognizant of, but seeing it addressed so plainly on screen was both nightmarish and vindicating.

i remember being really squicked out by his comment regarding Ryan getting Zoe pregnant, but it makes total sense that raising Ryan is bringing a lot of his own childhood sexual trauma to the surface. there's SO MUCH to be addressed here that it could be it's own post. but what's great is when Homelander calls an end to it: it's the moment Marty says he's sorry.

"I forgive you, Marty."

this is all about Homelander accepting what happened to him. facing it and the people who were part of it head on.

speaking of...

BARBARA. i know she's public enemy #1 right now, and rightfully so, but i found her so profoundly interesting. did she know Homelander was there? she didn't seem surprised at all. why would she come without backup? how did they even contact her with everything shut down? i don't know, but whatever the case, i really got the impression she already knew what she was walking into. she made a real attempt to get Homelander away from the other scientists, but he wasn't going to be swayed. they were already doomed.

she antagonized him. They were just doing what I told them. It's not their fault. It's mine. Leave them alone.

it's very apparent to me that among his fractured personalities, she represents the kinder motherly one. she, like Stan Edgar and Vogelbaum, are elevated above the other scientists. she's a figure of authority and she spoke to him as such.

"They were scared."

"I was a child."

"They were scared!"

and he does recoil at that. we KNOW Homelander hates being feared. it was his trigger with Madelyn, it's what kept him from lasering that crowd, and it's a blatant, desperate lie when he says to Starlight, "...being feared is a-one okie doke by me."

"Everyone was terrified of you from your first breath."

she breaks his heart a hundred times in this scene. from the reveal that he killed his mother in the same way Vogelbaum told him his son did—the source of that lie?—to the statement that their greatest success was making him obedient by withholding love. by turning his heart into a pit of need.

a sharp juxtaposition to Vogelbaum's You're my greatest failure.

and then she says to him no matter what you do, you will always be human.

here's the thing about Homelander's humanity. he doesn't associate it with kindness or love. he associates humanity with all the worst things that have ever happened to him. cruelty. selfishness. betrayal. his entire life he's been used and abused by the people who were supposed to protect him.

of course he doesn't want to be human. doesn't want his SON to be human. look at what humans have done to him. they're vile, they're vicious, they're dirty.

in another life, that desire could have been his drive to be good. if he'd only had a single fucking example of it.

"I'm not human. And neither is my son. And I'm gonna raise him so that he knows it."

in other words, he'll raise his son the way they failed to raise him. Homelander wants desperately to raise his son with the love he never had. he just doesn't know how to.

ultimately, like Vogelbaum and Stan, Homelander can't bring himself to kill her. he tears apart the people she tried to save, and he leaves her to stew in her own fucking mess.

[alexa-fika]

Hello got another idea 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

Okay so Dad Mihawk struggling to make blind reader (his son ) wear shoes and it is because like Toph he can't see when he's wearing them

I got this idea after bribing my niece with candy to wear her shoes 😂

🐼💕~

Fruitless Negotiations (Mihawk x male!blind!child!reader)

A/ I'm sorry 🐼 💕 I sold here, it is not very dura dura as the kids would say, What do you think? Also were you the one who originally asked for the blind!reader? I had to delete the original so im not sure? Regardless… here you go 🙏🏼 I ‘ll do better

Dividers by @/saradika

“Reader, you have to wear shoes; we are going into town, and you will injure your feet once again.” Mihawk says sternly.

The swordsman had been trying to put shoes on his young child for over thirty minutes, and he was growing frustrated

“I don't want to!”

Mihawk took a deep breath and tried another approach.

"I understand that you won't be able to utilize your ability to its full extent, but the town is closed to eradicated, there is debris all around, and you will hurt yourself

“But I can’t see with them on.”

“I know that, but you also can’t perceive your surroundings if you were to injure them... I am aware of your conundrum, but for your safety, I have to insist that you wear shoes.”

He sighs as he watches the child, still apprehensive about his request

“Will you be disposed to put the shoes on when we enter the town? I will sanction you to walk barefoot on the way, but once we near the village, we must wear them.

“Will you hold my hand when we get to the town?”

“I promise… As long as you are willing to wear shoes once we get to the town, I will hold your hand… Do we have a deal?”

“Yeah!”

Mihawk sighs as he finally makes some headway in getting the boy to comply,

As he is leaving, he gives one last reassurance to his child.

“I want to make this absolutely clear: once we reach the town, you will wear your shoes... Understand?”

“Okay!”

With that last exchange, Mihawk was confident that this time, the child would wear his shoes.

“Very well... We shall be going into town now... Let us go.”

Reader laughs, jumping and running on the grass, occasionally stopping to ‘see’ any interesting critters or objects lying in the way, all the way to the town

Mihawk sighed and followed behind the child; he was impressed with how he navigated with his devil fruit and even enjoyed observing the child marvel at every little bug or insect he encountered.

The day was calm and pleasant, with a light breeze passing occasionally, along with birds chirping. It was an unusually serene time for the swordsman, but one that was also welcome.

Reader ran along with no shoes on, and Mihawk just watched the child explore, his sharp eyes never leaving him.

After some time, Mihawk could see the outskirts of town approaching, and he could also see the child was beginning to slow down.

“Are you beginning to get tired, Reader?”

“No!”

His body betrayed him, however, as the boy yawned after his declaration

Mihawk's eyebrow raised at his actions, shaking his head and beckoning closer, scooping him

up in his hands

“Not tired,” he grumbled, lying his head on Mihawk’s shoulder

Mihawk chuckled and carried the boy,

“Your actions beg to differ; I think a nap is imminent, isn’t it?”

His grumbles eventually settle down, his breath evening out

Mihawk smiles to himself at the child’s sleeping state.

The swordsman was quite enjoying this moment; years of fighting, climbing his way to the top, and dealing with incompetent challengers made moments like this most welcome in his life.

“All that hassle, only to fall asleep before even stepping foot on the town,” he rumbles with a small, rare smile on his face

Yeah, I’ve got a few ideas on my mind that I think I can cook on but any requests are welcomed, including requests for other fandoms 👀 Want to challenge myself and expand

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

[kerubimcrepin]

Crepinlore and the 30-50 random games 90% of fandom has never heard about

This post, like everything else about this blog, is very self-indulgent. I discovered many things during its making, and I simply can't not share. So, let's begin with something you likely have literally never heard about, and go to more popular things from there:

KROSMASTER ARENA 3D

Krosmaster arena online was a video game it seems nobody played, and honestly, I am mentioning it here because I fear that if I don't document it, it will disappear, and it will turn out that it was simply a vision I had, as if in a David Lynch movie. Evaporating, like tears in rain.

I don't think anyone ripped/tried to rip/found a way to rip the models from it — and considering the fact they're pretty... mobile ad-core, not much may have been lost.

Anyway, here's Keke beating the shit out of some guy.

Wakfu Les Gardiens

Joris appears in the quest "The Tree of Life" of this game, which, as far as I'm aware, was updated in time with Wakfu episodes.

Even back then, Ankama knew that 1. Joris is very sus and 2. you cannot let him get close to you during a battle, or it's OVER.

It's all very cute.

There is something interesting I wanna say about this sprite, actually:

An alternate version of it exists, made as a concept for the Dofus MMO. I am assuming it was Juien Druant elaborating on the ways Joris might look in the game. The first two designs are: baby Joris (probably not used because he looks too young to be a 200 year old man...) and Welsh & Shedar 60yo Joris. They were combined to make the iconic Dofus MMO-era 200yo Joris design.

I'm quite sure that this sprite references the Les Gardiens one very heavily.

One More Gate: A Wakfu Legend

The first game in this list that actually has implications for real lore, and yet its plot is literally "it was all a dream that Oropo was having while inside the Eliacube"

For this reason, the events of this game are not entirely reliable — but are probably based in some way on the memories Oropo has.

The main contribution this game has to Crepinlore is a third Crepin, who might be an ancient ancestor of the brothers, whom Oropo met and remembered, some sort of cousin, or he might be based entirely on fiction, and inspired by Kerubim (though ehhh I severely doubt Oropo would care so much about him that he'd hallucinate a guy like him within Eliacube's fake world).

I really want to headcanon that the events of the game are based on something he really experienced, waaay before forming the brotherhood. But that's just my brain disaeses.

Here we can see the store itself.

Krosmaga

I saved the best for the last — Krosmaga.

A video of the casts of Dofus and Wakfu beating the shit out of each other

There are characters besides Atcham, Joris, and Kerubim in this game — Julith, Jahash, Lou... But I choose to concentrate on my favorite three ones. Or I will die fr.

If this Ecaflip gives the impression of constantly having a bad hair day, it's precisely because he doesn't have any! Brother of Kerubim Crépin, Atcham is fiercely jealous of the man he considers his worst enemy. And how could he not be, when not only does he occupy the prestigious position of Ecaflip's favorite son, but also displays his dense, silky fur without any modesty or sensitivity?

Here are his three forms:

I'm.,. unwell about the white one. I have to draw Atcham in a Bontarian getup one of these days.

They're really giving a fight to this Joris costume recolor from a Christmas event in one of the MMOs... (Now I want to see Kerubim in red too!)

On topic of Joris,

Adopted son of Kerubim Crépin, Joris is a curious and mischievous little boy. His favorite pastime is listening to the childhood adventures of his beloved "Papycha". And when he's too busy serving customers in his antique store, he's off playing with his best friend Lilotte! An avid boufbowl player and fan of Khan Karkass, Joris also hopes to become a star of the horned ball. While his destiny may already be mapped out on the stadium pitch, his origins are much less clear… But the good thing about not knowing where you come from is that you can imagine anything! For the little boy, there's no doubt: his parents were great boufbowl players, and it doesn't matter if it's true or not!

Here are his alternative forms:

I LOVE THE WAY HIS ADULT SELF IS DRAWN IN THIS GAME... I'm insane.

And now, last but not least: Kerubim.

Judging by his adventures, Kerubim seems to have had more than 9 lives! From small-time opera rat, to Bontarian police officer, to lawyer: the least we can say is that during his youth, the man Joris calls his Papycha never stopped working! So much so that today, the owner of the antique store Aux Trésors de Kerubim takes advantage of his free time to purr quietly in his armchair, or to tell his adopted son about his past adventures. Past? Well, not quite! Because when the terrible witch Julith arrives to retrieve Jahash's Ivory Dofus, and seems intent on attacking Joris, the old tomcat doesn't hesitate to get in her way. With Kerubim, there's no age limit to being a hero!

Once again, it is confirmed that the store's name s literally "Aux Trésors de Kerubim". Sorry, I'm insane about the name of the show being the name of the store.

And his alternative forms:

He's beautiful.

[greenerteacups]

Hello dear, first I want to say how happy I am that you are back and I am ecstatic that you are prioritizing your health first. You are a treasure to the fandom and I know I'm not the only one who would wait happily for decades to read even a scrap of your writing. I feel like I take up 20% of your inbox with my random questions but what is your hogwarts house? Do you think it changes as we age? I am of the opinion that we all have qualities from each house and it’s hard to define us to one.

Thank you, my friend! I wish the Tumblr search function wasn't fucked because I feel like I wrote a long essay about this some time ago, but basically, I think each House is a culture that shapes those who are Sorted into it, and that people are given a House that either challenges or reassures them in whatever way the Hat deems best for their development. For the kids with strong personalities, that means giving them somewhere they can meet other like-minded kids and develop their virtues together. For the kids who are still figuring themselves out, that means a place they can fit in and grow, or possibly somewhere that helps them find themselves, even if they don't fit in at first. That means House might not necessarily reflect one's personality, especially early-on, but that it will usually reflect something about you by the time you graduate.

My personal, un-evidenced, un-peer-reviewed, blind-speculation conspiracy theory is that the Hogwarts Houses were never meant to be as significant or divisive as they came to be by 1991. I think they would have started out as literal dormitories stewarded by the respective founders, for ease of labor distribution — "houses" being the usual way you divide space in British boarding school — and not much more than that. I don't even know if I buy that Gryffindors would have been sorted because they were per se brave, originally. Like, the whole story of them going "how do we chop up this batch of kids into four parts?" and Gryffindor going "I've got it! my hat will decide!" is, in my opinion, a pretty solid metaphor for pulling names out of a literal hat, which you could back when you only had a few students in any given year. The Sorting Hat, in this view, would be an invention created later on to make the process easier in large numbers, and to give the impression of order in the Sorting process. 

[Sidebar: I've always been eager to know where the Sorting Hat comes from, and what kind of enchantments are on it. The answer that we get in the books is that the Founders made it, but in no other part of the series is there any other kind of magic that has the ability to fully read a human mind and make sentient deductions based on its findings. (I'm reminded of the iconic Arthur Weasley line: "Never trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain.") Maybe that's just early installment weirdness; maybe it's just magic, and I shouldn't think too hard about it. But if I were the author, I would want readers to pick up on how obviously and chillingly well Arthur's line applies to the object that is responsible for a vast majority of things that happen to Harry after Chapter 7 of The Sorcerer's Stone. End sidebar.]

This raises the question of how the Houses became associated with characteristics in the first place, if the first cohorts were really random selection. I think it's more that the first batches of students in Gryffindor's house naturally followed and emulated him as a model, and over the years, that developed into Gryffindor having a culture of bravery/recklessness, after Godric himself. Same with Ravenclaw and Slytherin — though there's a sticky wicket in that Slytherin seems to be on record from Day 1 as being against muggle-born students in his hosue. The line "We teach those whose ancestry is purest" comes from the Hat's song — but like, that couldn't have possibly been an original stipulation for Slytherin house, right? Because they were having disagreements about whether to admit muggle-borns well after the school was opened, implying that either there weren't really enough muggle-borns for that to be an issue beforehand, or that Slytherin tolerated it up to a point, reached his limit, went "well, I'M not fucking teaching them," and banned them from his house in a pissy gesture of so-there-ism. If that's the case, it could be that the blood ban was the first institutional requirement to be admitted to a certain house. (There's still an open question of whether there are any, or have ever been, muggle-born Slytherins. If I'm an administrator, I see absolutely no reason to respect some asshole's wishes to have a literal Blood Segregation House after he's resigned and/or died; but that's also assuming a progressivism that we can't fairly assign to wizarding administrators from the 1600s, say). There's Rowling ephemera about all of this, but in my view, the books are inconclusive.

Hufflepuff makes even more sense in this light, because then you don't have to wrestle out the inconsistent characterizations it gets in the series — is their House virtue "loyal?" or "hardworking"? or "determined"? or "free-spirited"? — and don't have to square Helga Hufflepuff going "I'll take the rest" in the Hat's song, because then it's just like: oh, yeah, Helga was a really easygoing lady, she didn't cultivate a cult of personality among her students, and that means Hufflepuff House never developed a really clear identity based on her profile. Things like the House Cup, the point system, the quidditch teams, and the various reputations/rivalries (like Slytherin being the "Dark wizard" house in some circles) are all traditions that could have developed over the centuries.

None of this is necessarily supported by canon. I just think that it would be a neat way to explain some facets of the Sorting Hat and the House system without having to resort to "because it's magic" as an answer.

[descendant-of-truth]

A Rudimentary Translation of: The Dark Mage, Schezo

(The video here is not mine, it's from the channel "The Madou Puyo Archivist." It's just here so you can follow along the translation with audio)

So, I was already considering doing something like this, since so many of these Puyo Drama CDs remain untranslated as far as I could find. But upon seeing this post from @douglasanondr, I ended up checking out this particular CD, and after deciding that it seemed doable, I got to work.

I'm definitely not fluent in Japanese yet, so some parts are missing with a summary of the general gist, and the phrasing isn't always the most accurate, but! This fandom needs all the translators it can get, so even if I'm not the "best" person for the job, I still wanted to contribute. I also included translator notes when applicable.

With the preamble out of the way, I hope you all enjoy it!

-The Dark Mage, Schezo-

Schezo: S-stop it! Don't lay a hand on him!

Witch: Aaaand… got it!

Schezo: Please, Witch! Stop!!

Witch: Now then, here we go! *cheerful effort sound*

Onion Pixie: *despair noises*

---

Witch: *giggles* I've gotten the magic skins from this big ol' onion!

Onion Pixie: *sad onion noises*

Schezo: O-Onion's skin…! YOU DEMON! VILLAINESS!!

Witch: What's the problem? I only took a single piece of it, it's fine!

Schezo: But he's so cute, don't you feel bad for him?!

Witch: …You…

Schezo: What?!

Witch: Somehow, it feels like you've grown soft.

Schezo: Huh?

Witch: Like, it feels as though even you're expression's gotten softer than before.

Schezo: Hmph! What nonsense are you speaking? I am the Dark Mage, Schezo. To say I'm soft--

Witch: Yeah, yeah. Well, it might just be a misunderstanding on my part. Now then, have a nice day!

---

Schezo: I've gotten soft, she says? Hmph! That can't be… but then again, it might be possible that I've been influenced by this place called Primp in some ways, lately. After all, it's peaceful and quiet here--

Amitie: Ah! It's Mr. Pervert! Heyoo~!

Sig: Pervert--!

Lidelle: H-hello!

Schezo: Who. are you. calling. A PERVERT?!

Amitie: Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! [something I can't make out] But honestly, what does "pervert" mean, anyway?

Sig: "Pervert…"

Sig: I'll explain! It is the process of a bug changing its shape, with the purpose of developing from a pupa into a proper insect.

Lidelle: So that's what it means…

Sig: Uh-huh.

Amitie: Impressive!

Schezo: Who are you talking about?!

Amitie: Hey, Mr. Pervert, when will you transform into one?

Schezo: I WON'T!

[Side note: this might be a play on the words "hentai" (pervert) and "henshin" (transform). Perhaps Sig got the second half of the words mixed up?]

Lidelle: Aah! I-I'm scared…

Amitie: Whoops, I guess we got him angry?

Schezo: Hmph! Do as you please! Farewell!

---

Schezo: The children here sure are carefree, and stupid, and full of it! [another thing I can't make out, he might be proclaiming himself a "stoic"] If I've gotten soft, then it's their fault! I need to look for a way back…!

*sounds of Raffina training*

Raffina: Not done yet! RAFFINA SPECIAL!

*boom!*

Schezo: Hey, you.

Raffina: KYAA!

Schezo: What are you doing?

Raffina: I-interrupting a lady's training, that's awfully rude of you!

Schezo: I see. Training, huh?

Raffina: Yes, pay attention! …If you would!

Schezo: But if you're training to be a mage, you shouldn't be practicing martial arts, but spells… hm?

Raffina: Shut up, if you please! That's my choice, isn't it?!

Schezo: I see, you're similar to Rulue, then.

Raffina: Huh?

Schezo: You're not very good at spells, so you use martial arts, isn't that right?

Raffina: H-how… how do you know about that?

Schezo: I understand power when I see it.

Raffina: Ah, is that so? Well, that's enough. Get going along to somewhere else. I need to continue my training. …Hey, wait!

Schezo: Hgk! What with this?! It's quite heavy…

Raffina: Don't just randomly try to pick up one of my dumbbells!

Schezo: Well, I'm somewhat interested in it. However, I think it's a little too heavy for a "lady"--

Raffina: It's not "a little too" anything! If I'm going to aim for the top of my school, then I'm going to need strong muscles!

Schezo: Hmm.

Raffina: Wh-what?

Schezo: Why do you work so hard for that?

Raffina: Huh?

Schezo: This "Primp" place is quiet and peaceful. You don't need to be strong to live here. Even the magic school's students are peaceful simpletons. I don't think it's necessary for you to go to so much trouble for it.

Raffina: I don't understand what you're babbling about!

Schezo: Like I said…

Raffina: I'm doing all of this to reach my ideal self. Whether it's peaceful or not, I don't care in the slightest! O~hohohoho!

Schezo: Ahh! I see… Heh. I get it now.

Raffina: Huh?

Schezo: It's nothing. I just think you have the right idea.

Raffina: Well, I'm not really sure what you mean, but alright. That aside, you mentioned the other students from the magic school earlier, right?

Schezo: That I did.

Raffina: They're… t-they're, they're sort of my friends, so I would rather you didn't make fun of them.

Schezo: Hm?

Raffina: It's true that they're awfully carefree, but at the same time… well, at least to some extent, they're working hard, too.

Schezo: Oh?

Raffina: That's why, I've decided that I'm going to shine the most out of all of them!

Schezo: Hm.

Raffina: So… um, so that's… hm? AAAH, I FOUND HIM!

Schezo: AAH, what's this, all of a sudden?!

Raffina: It's him, it's him! It's that guy I've been seeing that guy a lot around here lately!

Schezo: Hm? That's… Satan?!

Raffina: [can't quite make out what she says here, but basically she plans to challenge him to a Puyo Battle]

Schezo: Wait, no, he's--!

Raffina: Hold it! You there!

Satan: Hm? And the reason this person is interrupting the Demon King's lovely stroll would be…?

Raffina: You're pretty strong, aren't you? [Another thing I can't quite make out, she's making an offer of some kind but it doesn't immediately sound like it has the word "battle" in it]

Satan: Hmph. How interesting… to approach the great Satan, you must be strong yourself, no?

Raffina: *giggles*

Satan: I won't treat anyone who comes at me differently, even if they're a girl. Let's go!

Schezo: W-wait!

Raffina: O~hohoho! That's exactly how I want it!

*puyos go bloop bloop*

Satan: Ohh? It seems you're actually pretty good. However, it's too bad; nobody else can match the great Satan! Let's go, Catastrophe!

Raffina: H-he's fast! There's no way I can keep up! My chain isn't enough, it's going to collapse!

[I couldn't make out if she actually said "collapse" or not but it was the closest thing that made sense]

Schezo: Hm! Dunamis!

Raffina: Eh? I've… been protected?

Schezo: This battle… is on me.

Raffina: Don't underestimate me! Even without your help, I--!

Schezo: Don't get the wrong idea. This geezer is still too much for you.

Schezo: Besides…

Satan: Oh? The Dark Mage, huh? What's wrong? You've got a good expression on your face today.

Schezo: Besides! For some reason, I've suddenly felt like competing in battle.

Satan: HAHAHAHAHA! It's been a while since we've had a serious competition. Come at me, Schezo!

Schezo: I was thinking the same thing! Let's go, Satan!

Raffina: Urrgh, even though this was MY battle…!

Schezo: Just as Witch said, I may have gotten a little softer. But no matter where I go, no matter who I meet, it doesn't matter. I strive for my ideal, regardless of where I am. I'm the most spectacular Dark Mage, Schezo!

-The End-

[moistvonlipwig]

BtVS for the favorite things ask game?

ok!!!

my favorite female character: Cordelia of course.....though if we're counting her more as an AtS character then it'd be poor beleaguered Anya, who has too much sense by far for the rest of the Scoobies to handle.

my favorite male character: Spoike my horrible little man who is faking his accent and cheats at kitten poker <3 he sucks sooo bad (affectionate) (also objectively true since he is a vampire)

my favorite book/season/etc: This one's tricky -- I think S5 probably takes it in the end, although I think the overall arc of S2 is very impressive and the highs are higher. But I prefer big sister Buffy to only child Buffy and the later seasons cast line-up to the early seasons cast line-up, and S2 has a lot of bad episodes, whereas S5's worst episodes are just kind of whatever. S3 is also very strong overall, but it doesn't emotionally grab me the way S2 and S5 do.

my favorite episode (if its a tv show): This one's even trickier! I think "Becoming" (especially its second part) is definitely in the running for its amazing character work for Buffy and the whole cast. "Lovers Walk" gets points for the sheer amount of fun it packs into its runtime. "Who Are You?" is another contender, largely due to SMG's absolute tour-de-force performance as Faith. "Restless" would be a contender if it weren't for the horrifically racist treatment of the First Slayer that infects the entire episode, which knocks it soundly off its otherwise well-earned pedestal. "The Gift" is very, very good as well. (I'm not as big on "The Body" as everyone else -- it's good, I just don't think it's one of the show's top episodes.) And I think "Dead Things" is probably the most challenging episode the show ever put forth, which I appreciate deeply. (I enjoy the songs in OMWF a lot, but as an episode I don't think it's super cohesive, so while it's up there for me, I don't think I can say it's the show's best.)

my favorite cast member: I honestly don't really tend to get super invested in actors, so, idk? I guess I'd say that, while she's nowhere near the show's strongest actor -- in fact I would argue she's one of those actors who is extremely good at playing one specific part and basically can't play anything else -- I nonetheless have a lot of respect for Eliza Dushku as a person, what with how she's spoken up about the sexual abuse, harassment, and mistreatment she's faced within the industry, and how she threw her full support behind the people speaking up about Joss Whedon despite having a positive experience with him herself.

my favorite ship: Most of my favorite Buffyverse ships are AtS ships, but my favorite BtVS ship is ultimately probably Buffy/Spike, despite, um, everything -- I think they have a lot of really fun interactions and I buy their friendship in early S6 and S7, and I appreciate that the show made some attempt (YMMV how successful it was) to deconstruct and problematize the enemies-to-lovers trope. That said, my ideal endgame for them is that they end up as friends, not lovers. And the way some people talk about that ship on here is......well. It's something innit. In terms of other ships I like: despite what I'm about to say about Giles below, I do like his interactions with Anya a lot and I feel like there were some romantic implications in "Grave" that weirdly never got picked up again in S7. I think a Giles/Anya romance would be a lot better than S7 trying to resurrect the shuffling corpse of Xander/Anya. ...Although, I'm also a "Willow should've killed Giles in Grave" truther, so, I'll also propose a Willow/Anya romance, because they had good chemistry in "Selfless" and it'd be funny.

a character I’d die defending: It used to be Dawn and Cordelia, but honestly the fandom has cooled off a lot when it comes to hating those characters, so, uh, I definitely still defend them ardently when needed, but they don't need it as much these days as they used to. Buffy still gets some very weird things said about her which I think she should be defended from, although I also think there's pockets of fandom that act like she has never done a single thing wrong in her life ever, which is a point of view I also don't subscribe to. Faith I think is in a weird position where she has done some legitimately awful things, which some of her more hardcore fans gloss over, but some people are strangely hellbent on making up things she didn't do to get mad at her for, which I can't abide. People are also deeply weird about Joyce, as you know, but, like, I'm not a Joyce Fan or anything, I don't even think she's a particularly amazing mother, I just think people seem entirely incapable of seeing things from her point of view and weirdly insistent that her relationship with Buffy was worse than it was. So, IDK. Most of the women, I guess. Except Willow. Sorry Willow, I'm sure some people are weird about you too, but the narrative is too nicies to you already.

a character I just can’t sympathize with: Yeah, it's Giles. He's the character who has gone down the most in my estimation over time, particularly as I've gotten older. S1 Giles is arguably sympathetic, with his fate somewhat paralleled to Buffy's, but as the show goes on, the character and worldbuilding develop to a point where it becomes pretty irrefutable that this is a guy who profits off of Buffy's suffering and could stop doing that at any time, who abandons her when she needs him most, and who then has the gall to act like he should have any say in the decisions she makes about her life afterwards. Additionally, the way he seems totally indifferent to Xander's home life and clear desire for a non-abusive father figure/masculine role model, and even more egregiously (given that it is literally his job to 'watch' her) the way he seems totally indifferent to Faith's lack of a home or family or any kind of support, is profoundly foul to me, and yet another thing that's made worse by the retcon that Giles is well-off and gets paid to do this. (The Faith stuff is even worse when you remember that Giles, too, has accidentally killed people, yet he makes no effort to try to reach out to her. Angel's attempt to reach out may have been bad, but at least it was an attempt.) I've read a lot of meta on here about how Giles was deeply affected by Jenny's death and how that made him feel like he had somehow doomed her by loving her, or even when Jenny isn't brought into it a lot of people will say that Giles thinks he is an awful person who makes people's lives worse and that's why he holds himself at such a distance, and like, that's a fine interpretation, but I don't actually see any evidence that that's true? To me that's in the realm of "Xander hates vampires because of Jesse" -- it's something that could psychologically make sense for a real person, and you could write about in a fanfic and have it be quite interesting, but I struggle to see any real basis for that idea in canon. And of course I should add that I think Giles should probably suck, for the show to work; if he's a good father figure the story doesn't really happen. But he sucks in such deeply baffling and unsympathetic ways to me that I just really don't like him anymore at this point, aside from the occasional Buffy-Giles emotional beat or snarky one-liner that makes me smile.

a character I grew to love: This one definitely goes to Buffy -- I think pre-Dawn Buffy is a well-done but ultimately fairly typical Campbell-style comic hero, whose character is largely elevated by SMG's iconic performance and by BtVS's strategy of using monster-of-the-week episodes to mirror Buffy's internal journey. I like her fine in the early seasons, but it's only really in S5 that she starts to grab my emotional attention, and it's in S6 that I truly love her -- S6 is a mess, but I think Buffy's arc in that season is utterly compelling and beautiful, and it gives me so much more affection and appreciation for her character. As for S7...well, let's just not speak of that, shall we.

my anti otp: With apologies as always to my Bangel followers & mutuals, I find Buffy/Angel to be not entirely uninteresting to think about (especially in S2, which is when I think the writers had the strongest sense of what they wanted to say with that relationship), but they are profoundly tedious to watch. Melodrama that is played straight is rarely appealing to me, and I can't for the life of me imagine them in an actual adult relationship -- what would they talk about? As Buffy herself admits, they were never actually friends, and so many of their conversations on the show just revolve around how they shouldn't and/or can't be together but they want to anyway. I also think, as the shows go on, they develop different values and their lives go in such different directions that I don't think they would work as a couple in the future, either. Both of them are better off, IMO, moving on and living separate lives.

[teamcavota]

deciding I'm going to catch up on HNG the weekend right after I finish my math class. then MML then pnf before it gets season 5-6

anyway bored so doing favorites questions but I'm asking them to myself

favorites and stuff from each show:

-pnf:

character: perry :D

episode: night of the living pharmacists or dude we're getting the band back together (I'm sorry for being generic)

ship: bujeet clears lbr. but of the canon or implied ones canderemy. if I'm lucky these will one day be the same answer

song: idk how the fandom would feel about these answers but I had like 3 that came to mind instantly and that's dance baby, disco miniature golfing queen, and ... happily evil love song. but like really all the classics are so good.

unpopular opinions: need more doofs daily dirt. but keep it in the old era still.

-mml:

character: ok everybody get ready. this will be very shocking. you'll never guess it. (whispers) vinnie dakota

episode: first impressions. absolutely adorable a plot then gay crazy b plot, perfect for me. and the linkage is one of my favorite small plot choices in the show. the vibes of it are just top tier too.

ship: do I need to say it

song: again feel free to judge me but last halloween. yes its for the reason you think. if I had to choose another then taking a stroll or sphere and loathing

unpopular opinions: can't think of any, I agree with the fandom on a lot. does chop away not being a top 5 song for me count?

-hng:

character: Fred. need her to be the gay rep I was sorta (kinda loosely) promised

episode: TBD...oh but itll probably be a Pruett one

ship: honestly kevin and hiromi is just adorable, but I'm kinda hoping there's going to be another episode with Fred and cheerleader girl (Naya I think?) so. that could take it

song: TBD, but I remember really liking the la ballad of cebolla

unpopular opinions: I agree its not perfect, and hard to look at sometimes... from what I've watched still greatly overhated and largely by people who never gave the show a chance

[bluegekk0]

25 for PK?

Also: I have finished a bit of fpk AU writing… are your DMs open so I can drop it in? Just making sure I don’t bug you by randomly showing up.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

unfortunately i fell victim to all the fandom jokes, and saw him as a saw obsessed horrible father that tossed the vessels into the void if they weren't pure. but i remember watching a video on him one day, i can't remember what it was exactly, but it went into more detail about how the vessels actually hatched from within the abyss, something i unfortunately missed while playing the game, and it made me think more about pk as a character. there was also all the fanart i saw of him that went outside of those tired fandom jokes and actually explored him as a character, and i found that fascinating. didn't take long for him to become my favorite

and, well, you can already see where i am now. my au version definitely evolved way past the canon, there's so much that i personally projected onto him and that makes him very special to me, in the way no other character before him was. he brings me comfort, i love drawing him and thinking of all kinds of scenarios with him involved, but it goes beyond all the fluff. the morally grey nature of his character, the guilt and shame he feels, and all the traits that i gave him that go alongside what the canon implied, they give him that little bit of angst that helps build his character. if it wasn't for what happened in canon, i don't think i would have made him struggle with his confidence to such an extent, and so i wouldn't be able to relate to him nearly nearly as much as i do

i may not enjoy a lot of the fandom interpretations of him anymore, it's nothing personal, i just have such a clear idea of fpk as a character that it feels wrong sometimes. like, it's a whole "he would NOT say/do that" thing, and it makes me unable to engage with it as much as i did before the au was created. it has its moments of frustration, but it just makes me get even more attached to fpk. he's my guy now, and if anything happened to him i would kill everyone in the room and then myself

---

as for the second part of the ask. if all the porn/spam bots messaging me on a regular basis are anything to go by, then i'm pretty sure my dms are open. so sure, go ahead haha

[tobiasdrake]

Oh, and then we have to deal with the fallout of the bad motive.

So, that First Blood Perk. Obviously the game wasn't going to let that actually be a thing, because it would deprive us of a core feature of the games: the Class Trial.

Honestly, I might have more respect for the game's whole "Rise up against Danganronpa itself!" thing if they had. If they actually let the killer claim the First Blood Perk and walk. Fuck you, no fun Class Trial will be had here!

That would be aggravating. But it would be aggravating in a way that feels truly resonant with the game's ultimate goal of tearing down Danganronpa brick by brick. The game is later going to say that the fandom is part of the problem and appeal to them to become part of the solution. So. Yeah. It does piss you off that we never got to play the fun trial game, doesn't it? Maybe you should think about that.

(Though I still wouldn't want the killer to actually be Kaede, especially with the crime scene clearly showing that she couldn't have done it. I'm not actually that impressed by "Your PC is the Blackened" after we already did "Your PC is the Mastermind" one game ago.)

But no. You knew they were going to cop out. I knew they were going to cop out. Despite insisting repeatedly at the end that they are making an unsatisfying Danganronpa experience on purpose, they are still trying to do that as a satisfying Danganronpa experience so they wouldn't dare deprive us of such an important feature.

So how do they cop out? Is it because the killer themselves don't know they're the killer and thus can't claim the perk? Could it be that the killer wants to weaponize the Killing Game to kill us all, like Hina and Nagito have tried in the past?

Nope. The killer decides she wants to get caught and die so that Shuichi can develop and grow as a character. That's it. That's the reason.

This is how Kodaka, recognizing that what he's about to do is a pretty shitty thing to do to an audience that he's spent time getting hyped for this character, tries to grease the wheels. It's not technically a Fridging because she wanted to die! She chose to sacrifice herself on the altar of Shuichi's growth! She climbed into the refrigerator and slit her own throat! That was her choice! So you can't be mad about it! She had complete agency over the reduction of her character to a footnote in the real protagonist Shuichi's personal journey! I didn't do it! SHE did it!

Whether these are valid reasons that make it Okay, Actually or if they're just overcompensating paper-thin excuses to justify an incredibly mean-spirited prank, that's up to you. I think you know where I fall on that dichotomy.

What's especially weird about the First Blood Perk is that it makes sense in retrospect. Trying to cancel the Class Trial makes perfect sense as something Tsumugi might do to conceal her own involvement in Rantaro's death and role as the true culprit. But it was offered well before any plans for killing were ever even a teensy-tiny thought in the back of anyone's minds.

So either Tsumugi is secretly an omniscient 4-D chess predictive grandmaster who knows every single thought that will ever pass through the minds of every single person in every single second of every single day only pretending to be an incompetent hack, or this was pure serendipitous coincidence. Something that seems complex and compelling but is actually a hollow, vacuous shell devoid of any real meaning.

Which is true? Eh, whichever you want to be true. The game's actually proud of itself for never committing to its own story, so there is no actual truth behind anything that happens. Even the reality show stuff ends on "But what if THAT was another lie and the REAL REAL real plot has never been revealed!? I'M SO CLEVER."

"This seems meaningful but actually it doesn't really fit quite right and in fact it might just be clever-sounding nonsense the more I think about it" is basically V3 in a nutshell.

[lonewolflink]

TO-DO LIST

- keep asking about 2yeon

the fluffy blonde hair was. wooh boy. on one hand. little mushroom. on the other hand. hi hello hiiiii jeongyeon. fancy mv chaeyoung is SO. the fact that she pulled that outfit off amazes me daily. though i have to say i think black hair chae may be my favorite

michaeng, dahmo and 2yeon are some of the big ones, yeah! some people consider them outdated but they’re just haters. the sana…..ooooooooh im giggling i love her so so so much. heart pounding thinking abt chapter 3. if sana and jihyo interact then idk ill probably explode into a million pieces

the sketches are sketching so 🫡🫡 1-7 days depending on how busy school keeps me, probably.

also the planning documents r so funny. its very nice to see someone else be an insane planner bc i have like. room layouts and maps for my fics. i have personalities for characters who will never appear. i have the ikea furniture page open so i can make sure that the furniture im describing matches the realistic budget they would have. it never ends and that is why it takes me 5000 years to write anything, so i think its deeply impressive that you’ve got actual things happening!!! like wow!!!! the hyperfixation note is also so true, sometimes they really just. grab you by the throat and go “Now. The Thing. You Must.”

-wsc’s #1 fan (official title) hambbyong

(sidenote, i genuinely thought ddeongies and snowddeong were the same person for like. the entire time ive been in the itzy fandom. just now realized they weren’t. crazy.)

ok first of all i have to say thank you again for your chaeryeong wsc art i literally can't stop looking at it and i'm obsessed with it i love it sm

(do keep asking about 2yeon, i'll do it eventually. i've possibly even already committed to it emotionally...)

fluffy blonde jeongyeon bro i. god. we're not getting into chae bc i don't think i can handle it emotionally so we're just gonna end this topic with these photos

i think you will enjoy all the twice moments i have planned for wsc...every member is going to get some real screen time and pretty awesome moments on and off the ice :)

(one of my personal favorites is a small but awesome dahyun moment that comes during act 2, it's not like super plot heavy or anything but i love it so much because of how it marries something very particular to actual dahyun with something incredibly niche even within hockey that i personally love)

"i genuinely thought ddeongies and snowddeong were the same person for like. the entire time ive been in the itzy fandom" i love this so much and will leave it here for them to take joy in themselves ahahaha

[some-name-in-progress]

Week 2, and I'm back with 12 more stories. So I tried to keep a pace of 2 stories per day, but I honestly got tripped up on SpoJoy, and it threw me off. On the bright side, if I make up the 2 stories I missed and keep up with 14 stories per week, I should finish in about 4 1/2 weeks, just around the time for 4th Anni (for reference, if anyone did this method staring from Saki’s first focus, it would take them around 10 weeks). Anyways, here are my thoughts.

What Lies Beyond Guiding a Lost Child:

This event honestly hit kinda hard. The dynamic between Mafuyu and her mother feels painfully real. I know that this is the beginning of Mafuyu being put the metaphorical blender, but this event felt very nice at the end.

Desperate Times?! Island Panic!:

I genuinely forgot that there's an event where WxS nearly dies. I honestly don't have much to say about this event, but I didn't really expect it to really drill the fact that WxS might disband. On the other hand, have this meme from the translator of this event (Arvon Oven)

Let's Enjoy Together! SpoJoy Park:

No offense to any SopJoy shooters, but I don't care for this event much. Nice that there's more character interactions. Also, I'm praying Kanade gets therapy eventually, because what do you mean you don't think you should have fun.

The Vivid Old Tale:

The devs really wanted to see how much foreshadowing they can cram in one event, huh? I can't remember how many times I saw something and thought, "Oh my God, that's evil."

No seek No find:

Saki's honestly such a tragic character; it's a shame most people in this fandom are Tuskasa fans (thisisajokethisisajokethisisajoke). It's great to see her backstory, considering it's one of the best ones in the game and hits like a truck. Shout-out to Karin Isobe for her performance in Chapter 6 because she really performed out of her mind.

close game/OFFLINE:

I remember this was the event that came out on JP when I started playing Project Sekai seriously, so it's nice to finally get to it. This event is fine. It has nice character interactions and funny moments, but I don't feel strongly towards it

Chasing The Sparkle Beyond the Blue Sky:

This event is event is nice. It's your annual beach event, but you can clearly see it affects MMJ. Minori's growth feels especially nice. Also, (Spoilers for Sk8 the infinity) a heartfelt confession between two close friends with warm and cold color pallets in front of an Okinawan beach? Close enough, welcome back, Renga.

And Now, I Wear This Ribbon:

I feel betrayed by you, PRSK Tumblr. When I saw this event first come out on both JP and EN, the impression I got is that this event was about Mizuki’s gender, and I would expect that, but then I actually saw the event. This event is NOT about gender. This event is about using the internet and media as a means of escaping the pain of reality and finding people who accept you. Let's have a real moment for a second; why are you, someone who is probably a nuerodivergent minor, here, enjoying stories about other probably neurodivergent minors? Why do we spend so much time here enjoying this silly little game? The answer? Because you have used escapism to find a source of enjoyment and comfort, and so have I. Whether it be drawing, writing, or some other way of interaction, that's probably why you're here (and probably why you're on Tumblr). The way Mizuki and Ena act is very obviously escapism, and it feels extremely real.

Don't lose faith!:

It's nice to see Leo/need pushing themselves towards their dream so strongly. Their frustration feels very natural, and I like it.

Paint What I Love ♪ Rainbow Canvas:

The event is short and sweet, but it gets its point across well. The way Ena, Honami, and Emu interact is honestly kinda fun, and I honestly hope to see more of this group. Also, Hinata cameo after like a year (I think).

Walk on and on

Nice to see Kohane and Toya more involved in the process of music creation since they feel more removed from Vivid Street than An and Akito due to their backstories. Also:

(This joke is really convenient for this game)

At This Festival Bathed in Twilight:

Nice way to see everyone interact with each other, but that's not as important; let's talk about Mafuyu. I was honestly really surprised to see her open up to Emu and Rui, but good for her, I guess??? This event really opened my eyes to Mafuyu, as I was left with one thought, "Oh, this just depressed." I know that seems like a gross reduction of her character, but once you view it like that, it becomes a lot easier to understand Mafuyu. Throughout the entire game, Mafuyu is treated like someone who's egregiously far gone, but she's still a person. I feel like a good number of people fall into this pit of minimizing Mafuyu to just "emotionless girl" that she feels less like a character and more like an object, and I fell into too, but her characterization here makes it clear that she's still a person with wants and desires, she just needs to dig deep to find them.

Additional thoughts:

I've noticed a lot of overlap in the last few events, from stuff like song making to even stuff like training camps that it honestly feels a bit repetitive to have them so close together, but they feel varied enough to not really be a bother.

Anyways, onto the next batch.

[2n2n]

Hi hi I pretty recently got back into tbhk and fell harder than before lol. And I just gotta say I love your content! It's so refreshing to see someone in the fandom who.. idk... just gets it. Like the complexity of the manga and the relationships in it. Ever since I got back into the manga I've been reading all kinds of theories and discussions online, because just. Seeing people ramble about stuff they like for paragraphs gives me so much serotinin idk. But most of the time my brain would just go "he would not say that" mode gdhdvd case in point how so many still don't think Amane loves and cares about Tsukasa despite the manga basically screaming it into your face.

So yeah basically I just had to say I love your posts and godspeed 💫

ITS A GREAT TIME TO BE BACK INTO JSHK!!!! It couldn't be more exciting right now ((: every update steams my brain into a soft expanse.

AHAHA gosh well I'm glad I'm to your taste ahahaha, yeah… most discussions feel kind of "stuck" in conclusions drawn from the earliest volumes. It feels like many are still only ever looking at that bandaged classroom Amane, and drawing their conclusions off of scant exchanges between the twins from vol 4-7. It feels like everything from vol16 onwards is not really taken into consideration… !

I barely exit my own little pen but when I do, gah ahahahaha it's very "he would not say that" … completely missing the beauty and artistry of the manga!! It's quite egregious at this point, isn't it? Of course Amane loves Tsukasa, so painfully he can't look at him for long. So many scenes, and then all of Aida-sensei's doodles … I think it's just a kind of stubbornness. Some people wanna double down on their first impressions forever, I think! Especially if they made them super emotionally, or their friends did xD I think there's a kind of 'lowest common denominator' thinking that is sort of falsely elevated on the pretense of it simply being the "least risky thing to say". A lot of people these days communicate in like, big group chats, very social platforms with a lot of spectating … so what floats to the top is … the same 'safe' things to suggest or infer, you've heard 1 million times before, but everyone will 'yeah!' to. In that environment, it's best to double down repeatedly on what you've all socially already agreed on being 'the take' … you don't get a lot of "I reread the whole manga from top to bottom, and, actually I think everything we've been thinking is wrong, based on new context?" ahaha....

anyhoo…. thank you ^^!!! I really.. would make my posts even if nobody liked them at all….. but I am happy to entertain hehehe. It's such a fun manga!!! it's such a good time!!!! hope you have a lot of fun too coming back to it :DDD

[hanzajesthanza]

i'm w/ my folks rn so i can't watch your essay today BUT just know that i'm rly excited about it and i'm glad you managed to make it! i'm always daydreaming about essays on various topics so it's super impressive to see someone make a long one on something they cherish. And ALSO tbh... not to disparage good videos, but the witcher yt essay space feels kinda. Like That because it crosses over with dark fantasy/hc's fans/misinterpretation of the books so i'm so happy to see your take on it. I'll probably send a reaction in the comments/ask to show my appreciation when i get to it. have a nice day and congrats!

ah thank you so much!! it means so much to me that people have kept this essay on their mind and are eager to watch it :') hope you enjoy when you snag a chance to watch it!

also i'm glad my work speaks to you!! whatever i'm making, i'm doing it because i feel like i can bring something unique or less spoken about, and contribute to the conversation in a positive way. if all there is to say has already been said, why bother?

this is why i did not make a video mentioning netflix for a very long time, even though i wanted to talk about it, because i felt everything had already been said, critiqued, done. but when i put together the research about the origins of the witcher with the problems which netflix ran into, well, it just suddenly made sense, and was a unique take i hadn't seen before. and i could finally say something that wasn't coming from negativity, but curiosity.

with the videos i've done so far (well, this only makes two (2) lol, so not very many at all), i've done them from my heart and without putting pressure on myself to try to fit in to any specific scene or space, which also made working on them very enjoyable as i could be creative and focus on storytelling, not worrying about how it will be received.

in that regard, i was honestly really inspired by the very people and publications i talk about in the video.

the success of fantastyka and the witcher were not out of nowhere, but were reflecting a broader interest which no one had pursued with such forte and so consistently prior to their creation. (in my personal journey, i'm still working on the 'consistency' bit...)

at the same time, while trying to make something people would like, they also did not change to make themselves as consumable as possible. they embraced their genre, their niche, and they were unapologetically themselves, creating for the people that would be interested. (this caused multiple rifts and disagreements within the fandom, some of which i myself even feel strongly about, but), the work found audiences, audiences which were strongly moved and impassioned, who would probably never forget some of these things.

on the flip side of this, with netflix's example, which i talk about later in the video, what i saw when people try to cut pieces of themselves off in order to fit in, is that they eventually hack themselves to bits, lose their identity, and thus, memorability and place in people's hearts.

so it's interesting, in that the research and core argument of this video actually structured its creation and reason for existing in the first place.