#feel free to add on other instances of this theme this was just off the top of my head

[tiffanyachings]

Reaper Man / The Shepherd’s Crown / Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

[alexthemacaronian]

So I wanna ramble about the ii ep 15 trailer, maybe theorise a bit?? Idk

First of all, what is that behind Taco in this scene?

It could very well be hotel OJ, the colour scheme and window design line up perfectly but the placing of the trees throws me off

It could just be an inconsistency that I'm looking too deeply into 😭 but also why would Taco take MePad near hotel OJ?? Scratch that, why would Taco reveal herself in general? I get that she has no more direct ties to the game since Mic left, but she'd gain nothing from revealing herself

Second of all, the contents of this box

I'm actually assuming that these are Test Tube's belongings since multiple of the things shown look like her inventions, such as the tranquilising tracking dart blaster and others that were shown in the background during ep 3

They seem to align perfectly, I'm pretty sure that's one of the darts on the left

I can get how they have access to TT's stuff since a) she got eliminated, and b) she did technically give them all permission to use her stuff in ii14 as far as I can remember (even though it probably was at least a bit sarcastic), I just don't get why they'd have it all gathered in a box??????

The trailer does seem to focus to some degree on TT's inventions, with them being seen multiple times throughout the trailer via the box, Microphone's bow being stomped on by who I assume to be Taco and Suitcase wearing Mic's bow.

I think it's also fair to assume that the Suitcase invisibility clip comes before Mic's bow is stomped on.

Third of all, I'd like to point out how this trailer has themes of destruction. Said destruction can be divided in two main categories:

• Burning (there are about 3 other instances of burning imagery in the trailer if we don't count the thumbnail that I couldn't add due to the 10 img limit)

• And Taco's weird obsession with stomping on things (one picture of which was shown already)

I'd also like to count MePhone's line at the end of the trailer, "Don't mention that again," as adding to the themes of destruction since sentences like that are usually used to hide things or try to push them back, ykwim

Currently, my only guesses as to what'll happen in episode 15 is that they're going to burn either a few specific inventions or everything in the box. It's the only logical conclusion I can make for now, but even I don't think that's fully right. I mainly just wanted to talk about the stuff I noticed lol

If I missed anything, I'll update this (since I took a long break in between writing this, I might be kinda out of it lol). Feel free to add anything if I missed it 😭😭

@shadow-blackout

[lefinx]

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Review

I know I said I was doing a series of spooky games, and I plan to hold up to that, however last week 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' released and in a moment of weakness I caved and bought it, and what a good decision that was. The past week i've been completely hooked, casting aside my seasonal spooky games, and instead having so much fun exploring Hyrule. Its got cats! and dogs! and even cows!! what more could you want?

Disaster has struck! in an effort to save the princess, Link has be captured by the enemy! Now, it's up to Zelda. Using her powers of wisdom, she pairs up with Tri and sets off on her own adventure to find him and save Hyrule from the mysterious rifts opening across the land.

Echoes of Wisdom is a 2D action-adventure, puzzle game, developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, and published by, of course, Nintendo. It released worldwide on September 26, 2024, and it is the first main Legend of Zelda game with Princess Zelda as the playable character.

In Echoes of Wisdom, you will use 'echoes' to help solve puzzles, reach new areas, and fight off enemies. 'Echoes' refer to various items and/or monsters found throughout the game. Using Zelda's Tri Wand, you can duplicate and manipulate these items, which is essential for progressing. The majority of the game focuses on puzzle-solving, either in dungeons or around the open world, so you will be using these echoes a lot!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with the different ways I was able to solve various puzzles. You are limited in how many 'echoes' you can create at one time, so some puzzles may require you to experiment a little to find your way around.

Minor gameplay spoilers!

Most reviews do mention this element of gameplay, so it is not a huge spoiler. However, due to the game having only released a week ago, I wanted to include the notice just incase some players are unaware of this feature and would prefer to discover it on their own. Personally, I was unaware of this feature before playing, and it came as a pleasant surprise during my play through.

In addition to creating 'echoes', Zelda can also enter a 'sword fighter form', where, for a brief time, she has access to Links abilities. This form is limited, however, it helps to mix up game play and add newer elements to the puzzle solving and combat.

End of spoilers

To top off each gameplay element, you have access to a surprisingly large map, full of additional small quests and objectives outside of the main storyline. These enhance exploration, extending your journey or bulk out the game after completion. Throughout the game your free to do what you wish and experiment with your echoes and the world around you, creating an incredibly fun, and unique game.

I have heard mixed reviews on the art style, some do not like the chibi look, whilst others do. I personally love it. It's cute, simple, and almost childish element really add to the whimsy of the game and are enhanced by its soundtrack. The soundtrack is cheerful and upbeat, its simplicity matching the games visuals, with catchy tunes bound to get stuck in your head.

The game takes a new approach to its usual leitmotifs. For instance, the well loved 'Zelda's Lullaby' has been remade and reused to create the 'Hyrule Field Theme'. Instead of a slow, calming piece at 100BPM, it jumps up to 300BPM, adding an energetic and adventurous feel. This helps paint Zelda as the main protagonist and a hero, just as other Hyrule Field themes have done in the past with Link, by rewriting 'Zelda's main theme' (commonly associated with Link) to create the track.

The one drawback I had with this game involved its UI. In order to select 'echoes', the game uses a long scrolling category bar which over time becomes more and more difficult to navigate as you progress.

Another common complaint I’ve heard from others is that the frame rate occasionally drops in the overworld. While I didn't personally notice this, I tend not to pay much attention to a game's performance unless it significantly impacts my gameplay. From what I understand, the frame drops seem to affect only the visual experience, making this drawback more of a slight inconvenience rather than a game-breaking issue.

Another common complaint I've seen is that there are too many 'echoes' and that most of them go unused or are never needed. While I did have several 'echoes' that went unused throughout the game, I disagree with this criticism. Having access to a wide variety of 'echoes' allows players to approach the game in their own way. In fact, some of the 'echoes' I didn’t use were frequently used by others in their playthroughs.

As you might expect, the game is released on the Nintendo Switch and retails for £50 on the eStore. However, you can find it for slightly cheaper on other sites, with some places even holding release sales at the moment.

The main story is estimated to last around 20 hours. Having just completed it myself, I've sunk around 30 hours into the game and still have additional content available to play through.

Echoes of Wisdom is a game fit for any Zelda fan, cozy game, or puzzle adventure enjoyer, and it is all I personally am going to be talking about for the next week.

Buy the game here!

[helldidntwantme]

The New Denpa Men for the Switch:

I haven't played any of the 3DS Denpa Men games so I couldn't fully tell you if New Denpa Men for Switch is faithful to them or not, but I'm enjoying New Denpa so far. New Denpa Men uses a f2p model with optional micro transactions. Currently I don't see anything that you can't get with jewels (the premium currency) that you can't also get through grinding in game for free. You get a gem the first time you defeat a dungeon, for instance.

There's also a stamina system where each dungeon you enter takes some of your stamina and if you don't have enough stamina you can't enter the dungeon. Stamina renews again over time, or you can use jewels for an immediate refill.

I love games with silly little guys and Denpa Men is definitely a game with silly little guys. I'm not sure if they're randomly generated or if there are pre-made guys, but your guys grow as you progress throughout the game and some of the guys are more special than the other guys, and the way you catch them to add them to your party is fun. There is armor you can equip to boost their stats and make them look cute and silly.

As far as combat goes, it's very simple, about on par with Miitopia. You tell your Denpa Men to attack, guard, use a skill or item, or run away, and that's basically it. Sometimes they'll use skills without you telling them to. Healing, whether through skills or items, does not take priority in battle, so I've had a couple of faints from poorly timed heals and low hp. If you're having this problem, try switching armor or Denpa Men with higher speed.

The simple combat might be a turn off for more die hard RPG fans or anyone wanting more of a challenge. It definitely feels like a free to play game, but I haven't felt bombarded by attempts at cash grabs yet. The NPC that offered me jewels for 99¢ was hidden in a side path in a cave on my second run of that dungeon. Which is an interesting approach, almost kind of like an "Oh you're grinding? Care for the good stuff~?" kind of approach to me. (Although I could have just missed him on my first run) There are also higher level monsters cornered away in the dungeons that you can always come back to later which is a nice touch.

The game has a YouTube channel in English and Japanese that goes a little more in depth on some of the game's features, and I imagine will post update videos when the game gets an update.

https://m.youtube.com/@DenpaNingenRPG

Seasonal/limited time events seem to be planned for the game. There was even a small fruit themed dungeon event going when I started the game on launch day.

So TLDR should you play The New Denpa Men on the Switch?

Watch the trailer and if it's something you think you'd enjoy, go ahead and download it and give it a try. It's free. It definitely gives me a more casual/kid friendly kind of vibe but sometimes those can be nice. But if watching the trailer didn't excite you, then the game probably won't either.

[hogwarts-legacy-confessions]

What is Hogwarts Legacy Confessions?

@hogwarts-legacy-confessions exists for fans to share your "confessions" related to Hogwarts Legacy.

For example:

you might have a crush on a particularly unpopular character.

you secretly love certain dynamics in fanworks that your friends would not approve of.

you may loathe aspects of the game that other people enjoy.

perhaps you have other insights or opinions that you feel would not be well-received.

Whatever you'd like to get off your chest - to say to fandom at large about the game and the characters is welcome to be posted.

Frequent Topics: Shipping Discourse (frankly, we've had enough of it), Smash or Pass, Polls, Ship it or RIP it, Hogwarts Legacy MC (and of course the usual character tags!)

Other themes you're encouraged to explore: Would You Rather, Fuck/Marry/Avada, Favorite Minor NPC, Discomfort Characters, Too Much Information, True or False, Two Truths and a Lie, Bookmarked Fics, Fucked Up Ships, Unpopular Headcanons.

We're always open to suggestions!

Rules & FAQs ↴

1. Nothing that targets a specific person will be published. This includes a specific MC, OC, fic, or other specific fanworks with the exception of praise or a recommendation, with the exception of discussing your own work.

2. Please avoid negative posts about fanworks or creators. We want to foster a positive environment in this blog while expressing our opinions respectfully. This includes all types of fanworks - not just writers and artists. 3. Please be polite when referring to members of the fandom (ie: us flesh and blood folks.) You can be rude, insult, and use profanity/slurs against fictional characters - that's fine. Just please avoid using them in reference to actual people. If you're criticizing an aspect of fandom, do it politely. If your post is worded too harshly, we may take the liberty of rewording it while preserving its message. 4. Please keep your responses to comments and reblogs. Please do not respond to confessions by submitting a new ask. If a confession prompts a topic you think warrants its own post, feel free to submit it, but I don't want this blog to become an endless cycle of replies on the same topic. 5. Provide details and avoid redundancy. We have confessions on many subjects already. For instance, don't just submit an ask that says "I hate __________ character," please provide unique reasons why you dislike them. Or why you like a hated character, for that matter. 6. I reserve the right to abstain from posting low effort confessions or those that come across as being purely provocative.

General Info

ADMIN: Feel free to DM at any time with questions, comments, or concerns.

POLLS: Your post may include a poll to gauge the fandom's reaction to your confession. You may opt out of having a poll added to your post. Just add [no poll] at the end if you have a preference - otherwise we will add polls at our discretion.

TIMING: We will publish the current number of queued confessions from time to time. Currently, the queue is set to post every few hours, more or less in the order that the posts were received. We may adjust the queue frequency based on the number of queued posts.

TAGS: No trash-talking posts will be tagged for any specific character. Positive posts may receive more specific tags if warranted.

CONTENT: Posts are not checked for factual accuracy.

"Why was I blocked from this blog?" - Chances are you were blocked because you have the admin blocked or sent asks intended purely to stir drama or insult an admin. Kind of a no-brainer.

Pretty please

Try to post something positive on @hogwarts-legacy-hype if you post something negative here! Positive posts are also welcome here although they still need to fall under the realm of a "confession" - ie: something you would not say publicly.

This will help keep fandom morale up.

Why wasn't my post posted?

Unfortunately given the anonymous nature of posts there is no way for me to provide feedback regarding why a post was not approved. Here are some common reasons a post may not be posted:

It violates a rule above.

Off topic. It's not a confession of any kind (if the queue is low I might post non-confessions but at least make it interesting) and/or it's not about Hogwarts Legacy or its fandom.

Recently-exhausted topic. If your confession is similar to others posted lately, I might reject it or save it for a later date.

Have patience. Depending on the length of the queue, most posts will appear within 2 or 3 days.

Please don't post posts about why your post didn't post. (DM instead, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.)

The Unrestricted Section discord is a good place to discuss posts.

[gnotknormal]

Do you run a social group, online or in person, and you care about accessibility for people with neurodivergence or anxiety?

As a person with anxiety and neurodivergence myself, I find a lot of social events just are not accessible to me. Currently your three choices are often;

In person meets

Scheduled video/voice chats

Discord servers or Facebook groups

They each have their own accessibility issues, and I find that often people presume that ONE of those choices will work for you - when in my opinion, quite often due to the increased energy and time it takes to meet our own needs and advocate for ourselves, none of these choices really ARE achievable. For those of us who struggle with new experiences and places (in person meets) and problems such as auditory processing and difficulties with technology (video/voice chats), we often feel like the only viable choice is the 3rd option. Discord servers, Facebook groups and other online spaces. And in these spaces the chat is ongoing and persistent with a lot of challenges that I don't see people talking about.

We really do miss out so much from these experiences. I recently saw a post of an answer by ms-demeanor (sorry didn't want to be annoying and tag) about the basics of making friends and Discord servers really throw a spanner in the works for how humans naturally make friends.

(I won't repeat the post but I will link it somewhere just ask if you need it)

Basically the problem with Discord servers etc is that there is no end time, no log off. It's either CoNsTAnTLy inTERAcT or MISS OUT. Which is particularly dificult for those of us with neurodivergence and anxiety. Often being in a Discord server feels so lonely because you are adamantly aware that you're not part of THE GROUP - which is often young people who have more free time and the capacity to be online more often. No shade on those young people but it does add to the isolation felt by those of us who cannot commit like this.

Don't get me wrong, I've found a good few servers where there are lot of those low stakes interactions that could lead to friendships. But that's not the point.

My suggestion for those of you who run social groups/interest groups or whatever and you want your neurodivergent and anxious members to feel included and to get involved is to run what I'm calling a Type In Chat social.

You pick a time as you would with an in person meet or video chat or seminar or whatever, but take the Discord server route. You have an hour or two for people to hop into a TEXT CHAT and talk about the theme or the interest or to just chat and have some of those less stressful, less pressure interactions in a situation where they can put the time aside with their sensory/anxious needs being met - for instance part of my stress with video chats is that I can't have background music or play on my phone to regulate my attention.

And then at the end of it everyone can say "goodbye, see you next time!".

Of course it isn't perfect, but this is a format that I personally haven't seen being used and I think it could really help a lot of people to feel involved and included without being put out or stressed by the struggles of the other options. I think we deserve this 4th option.

Lemme know what you folks think and please reblog if you think it sounds like a good idea to spread around. I'm going to start hosting some of these in my private Discord and see how it goes (though is a very small community so! We will see).

Have a great day folks, c ya.

[rainerhammond]

so,

welcome to a post about SV by someone who has never played it!

This is about one of the new DLC pokemon. Read on at your own risk.

As soon as I saw Terapagos, I fell in love because this guy is just so cool. Let's talk about the possible references this pokemon was based on.

First off! Besides the obvious design choice to base it off of a Galapagos turtle, this beast is most likely based off of The World Turtle!

"The World Turtle, also called the Cosmic Turtle or the World-bearing Turtle, is a myth of a giant turtle supporting or containing the world."

We can see the themes tie in here, especially the cosmic themes with all those lovely purples.

"Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle."

To furthur support this? Check out the description of the Discworld series. Another instance of the world turtle in popular literature... and what's this? Discworld is the series name?

And what's the dlc's name? Indigo Disk? A nice but almost subtle reference there. That's not all though.

Have you heard of the Voyager Golden Records?

"The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find them. The records are a time capsule."

That's right; to sum it simply, discs sent into space containing evidence of humanity on it. This reminded me of the new dlc and pokemon; we see images of the energy types on its back, evidence of pokemon life perhaps?

I thought this was very interesting, and decided to share. Nonetheless I'm excited for the dlc and to get my hands on the game itself! If anyone has any other connections or theories on it feels free to add on :)

[dmclemblems]

if it's alright, can i ask why you like dimi/claude so much? like, the particular reasons you like them lol hope that doesn't come off as "how the hell do you like them" kind of thing

Yeee, tis fine! I feel like I’ll probably miss some of the reasons why I love them so much, but I’ll try to cover everything.

uh oh it got beeg

Things from the game itself:

I like that they hang out together sometimes (in the main story and in the DLC), when the lords don’t usually hang out together in their free time. Out of all the combinations of them, only Dimitri and Claude hang out together (with a story based exception during the DLC with Dimitri and Edelgard that never gets touched upon again even though it’s actually important and story relevant). There’s also the implication that they train/spar together in GD, with Dimitri saying “as ever” he has proven to be no match for Claude. During the “going to GM cutscene”, they’re walking together and talking together (a theme that Nintendo uses in their official art in almost every official of the three lords lmao).

Claude’s crest symbol is a moon, and Dimitri’s route is called Azure Moon (which is also coincidentally the only route they’re able to ally in because Dimitri dies in VW)

They’re a package deal in the game and in official art from Nintendo! Cipher promotions? Both of them got plastered on it together. The 2019 happy holidays artwork? Sitting down together while Edelgard is standing up (with Dimitri ??? staring at Claude with this oddly happy and dreamy look??? hey, Nintendo???). the artwork of Edelgard turning around while the lords are walking, but she’s behind the other two who are both walking together and talking? And... so on.

Another instance of “damn, how much time do you actually spend together where we aren’t aware of it” is Dimitri referring to Claude as his “friend” in the DLC to Aelfric. That point of the game is still very early on, but Dimitri doesn’t just toss the word “friend” around with everyone. He uses other terms like acquaintance, companion/companionship, etc. Rather than use any similar words for Claude, he just outright uses “friend”, and he doesn’t use that term unless he really believes it.

In the game itself, the start of it is Edelgard almost being killed and Byleth protects her, but with the other two nowhere to be seen for... some reason. When Edelgard is safe, suddenly they both come running up together and smile at each other like “lol sorry we got distracted by each other’s beauty but hey glad you’re both safe uwu”. Listen, it’s a tiny thing but WHEN IT ADDS up...!

Very cute moment for me when, if you’re playing GD, Dimitri takes a keen interest in Claude’s “schemes”. Most people consider his supposed schemes to be a bad thing and dread it openly. Dimitri is just out here like ooo tell me more, I wanna know! 

During the mock battle, Claude tries to tease him and fails miserably. By the time of the actual Battle of the Eagle and Lion (and Deer, wah wah), Dimitri is used to Claude’s teasing and jokes with him! Instead of a deadpan response where he just doesn’t know Claude well enough to know how he behaves, this time Dimitri is used to him and responds to him with a more “lol okay Claude” vibe. It’s much more apparent in the JP dialogue that he’s aware Claude is teasing/joking, but he goes along with it.

There’s a bit more of a rivalry between Dimitri and Edelgard, oddly. Even this early, he’s seeing her as more of an adversary (maybe to foreshadow, since the BotEaL had a boatload of foreshadowing) and seeing it as a more serious competition. With Claude, he’s much more relaxed and seeing their battle as more of a test of skill and mutual gain to learn from. He says he will “happily” battle Claude and urges him not to hold back. In contrast, he tells Edelgard that the thought of fighting her is “troubling at best” and is bothered by her “joke” (Claude jokes with him too and he’s much more receptive. Edelgard’s “joking” was more foreshadowing, but he doesn’t take well to it and that same joke/response happens again after the battle too). The direction of both conversations is the polar opposite, and he doesn’t feel at ease when fighting her.

Following that, his relationship with Edelgard is tense, and it’s a huge contrast to how he feels around Claude. That is, notably, whenever him and Edelgard interact there’s a wall between them (such as when she’s walking by with Manuela, going to their mission, and her and Dimitri have a misunderstanding that ends in a tense ending to their conversation) Due to their circumstances, their relationship is pretty rocky even during the first half of the game in BL. Throughout the first half of the game, this aspect of their relationship is static (until of course he finds out her identity as the Flame Emperor and it just goes downhill from there). Then we have him and Claude, where starting at the mock battle, Dimtiri misses Claude’s silly behavior and is more serious about the battle as mentioned before. Over time though he’s obviously learned what Claude is like, and during the official battle you can clearly see a difference in Dimtiri’s overall attitude when he hears Claude joke with him. This time he knows what to expect and is receptive to Claude’s behavior, going along with it and being glad to have this battle with him. His demeanor toward Edelgard, however, doesn’t change at all. He still doesn’t like the idea of fighting her seriously, nor takes well to her “jokes” and  yet seems to see her as more of an adversary to overcome. Around Claude, Dimtiri has more friendly vibes in both their routes and is pretty open to learning about Claude and talking to him casually.

Kind of a small instance but with a little more meaning to me?: them fighting side by side at Garreg Mach when the Empire invades. Dimitri was in his Very Nutty state, and even more so if you’re playing BL. He’s so out of it that Dedue has to direct everyone in his place. Due to the BLs knowing what he’s going through, you’d think at least one of them would be keeping an eye on him during the battle. Instead, it’s Claude he’s fighting alongside! Dimitri was very expressive about wanting to be the one to reach Edelgard in that battle, but the cutscene shows him with Claude, rather than rushing for Edelgard.

Gronder! Even though Dimitri gives out his famous, stolen-from-Miklan-because-Miklan-said-it-first-and-apparently-inspired-Dimitri-to-use-it-later-in-life line, “kill every last one of them”, his actual dialogue with Claude is very different from that (on both routes). All he says is that he wants Claude to move and has no time to talk. If he meant it that he really wanted to kill people from the Alliance or didn’t care about Claude as a person, he would have tried to run him down for getting in his way. Claude even said he wouldn’t budge, which normally would prompt Dimtiri at that point to attack him and kill him to get him out of the way. In AM Claude retreats when defeated, but Dimitri lets him escape and doesn’t mind at all that he’s fleeing. Because of that you can specifically clarify that Dimitri doesn’t think of him as an enemy, because he chases enemies down and kills them at that point (remember all those dead soldiers we were hearing about early into the timeskip?). When Edelgard tries to escape, Dimitri doesn’t just let her go without attempting to follow her. This clarifies that he sees her as an enemy, because again, he’ll chase down anyone considers his enemy. When Claude left, even though he can intentionally stand in Dimitri’s way, Dimitri won’t kill him even though he probably could.

When Claude requests aid, he doesn’t ask for Byleth’s help. He doesn’t ask for Seteth or the Church’s help (which is working with Byleth/the Kingdom and the direct enemies of the Empire). He asks for the Kingdom’s aid. This Dimitri centric view continues through all of chapter 19, with him specifically believing in Dimitri and his mentality.

Hurray Failnaught! Normally characters give their Relics to Byleth (for game mechanic/convoy purposes), but Claude gives him specifically to Dimitri. Since he plans to leave Fodlan and return to Almyra where they don’t fight with these weapons, he likely feels he has no reason to bring it with him. Instead, he leaves it with someone he trusts both with his family heirloom and Fodlan itself. Claude doesn’t trust easily, but he had faith that Dimitri would finish the war and restore Claude’s second home.

In the same chapter, Claude... somehow knows a LOT about Dimitri. Obviously he learned everything offscreen and we don’t know how or why, but not only does he know that Dimitri can still be reasoned with (Teach will talk and he’ll listen), suggesting that he’s aware that the person Dimitri was is not gone despite the meeting they had in Gronder, but during the “here have my family heirloom” scene, he tells Dimitri that the dead cling to them without regard for their own/the living’s lives. During the Academy phase we don’t have any indication that he knows what’s going on with Dimitri... but then, I recall them fighting side by side during the invasion of the monastery, so perhaps Claude started to put the pieces together if he was able to see the state Dimitri was in. Canon? Not necessarily, but it’s something I consider when I want to answer why Claude knows this stuff about Dimitri when Dimitri didn’t tell him about it.

Yes, Teach will talk and he’ll listen, but by then Dimitri had already  made the decision to help the Alliance- er, well, Claude. The Alliance itself? Hm. Claude? Yes, let’s go help Claude-- er, the Alliance, he means! The Alliance! But... but also Claude! Okay, I’m kind of joking. Kind of. A lil bit. By which I mean, Dimitri is very vocal about saving Claude more than he is the Alliance. Leave the latter part to Lorenz, I guess. It’ll make him happy and that would make me happy!

So, on the topic of him already making the decision to go aid Claude, not only was Claude correct, but Dimitri literally went to begin their march to the Alliance the next day after they recaptured their own capital. They celebrated and then the very next day he’s like “uh yeah sorry for this guys, but Claude wants our help so we’re leaving. Now. Pack your things. If you’re not ready in ten I’m leaving without you. Claude needs help.” I’M JOKING. Mostly. A lil bit.

They reach the battle destination and Dimitri is uh, very specific that “they will not let Claude die”. He only recently came out of his nommy nom, chewy enemies state, and he’s already over here like hell nah we ain’t lettin’ Claude die. I didn’t spare him at Gronder for nothin’. Let’s go, let’s go!

Claude, who he doesn’t know nearly as well as the BLs, “crosses too many dangerous bridges for his liking”. For sure, Claude does some risky things, but he’s not someone who is within Dimitri’s immediate friend group. All the same, Dimitri worries about him (a lot in this chapter, too) and expresses that he doesn’t like Claude taking these kind of risks (that could endanger his life).

“This must be one of your jokes”. Not sure Claude was ever really one to often make jokes that we know of? The way it’s phrased, “one of your jokes”, sounds like more of an inside thing? As in, “I know you well enough to know you behave like this”, kind of thing. Doesn’t sound like much, until I start adding up all the times they’re together/talking to each other. For reference, times such as ones I’ve mentioned in this post (walking to GM with Byleth between them and Edelgard, if you’re playing GW Dimitri implies he’s sparred with Claude and uses “as ever” as if to say it happens often enough that it’s a familiar result, them hanging out during their free time after the mock battle, them fighting side by side during the invasion of GM even though Dimitri insisted he was going to basically rush the battle and ker-slice Edelgard’s head off and show up at Enbarr with it in hand...) Suddenly it doesn’t seem so odd that they might know each other a little bit more than the story that we get to see lets on. Even if it was small talk, enough of that and enough sparring/fighting alongside each other would add up enough for them to start learning things about each other.

Kudos to Dimitri for being the only person in the game that gets a pet name from Claude. Teach is just a casual way of saying “professor”, and “princess” is literally what Edelgard is. Princeliness is... Quite A Title I Guess. “Princess” is dropped and Claude refers to Edelgard as just Edelgard in the timeskip, but Dimtiri gets a nickname update! Now he’s “Kingliness” instead!

Some Hopes ones (I shipped them way  before Hopes was a thing but these made me happy!):

Background similarities! In Hopes if you play AG, they talk very early on (before the timeskip) about Dimitri’s life after the Tragedy. To sum it up, he was being targeted by his own family with murder attempts and he was very isolated (one NPC describes it as nearly being like house arrest with how isolated he was). Even if you don’t consider Hopes to be too much canon with its character background lore, the isolation part checks because in Houses, Dimitri says he didn’t have any friends left after the Tragedy. He only had Dedue for companionship after that in the castle itself, unable to see his other friends as often due to them living in different territories.

Another similarity from Your Hopes Truly is Dimitri being paranoid on expeditions. As he puts it, he “can't help but peer over his shoulder lest an assassin lodges his blade in his back”. He’s literally paranoid of assassins... a lot like how Claude sleeps with a knife under his pillow. :’( They both worry a lot about having to be vigilant because they could die at any time. Even though Edelgard is also royalty, her trauma expresses itself differently and she doesn’t worry about assassins as outwardly (possible also because she has Hubert around, who would be more likely to catch assassins lurking around than the people around Dimitri and Claude). I’m sure she knows people will be after her because she’s royalty, but she doesn’t worry about it in the same way.

This one is more recent and Hopes based, but in AG the game decides to be Big Dumb and is like “nobody in the BL house trusts Claude... for some... reason...” but Dimitri is gung ho adamant that they can trust Claude. His portrait even switches to his smiling portrait! “I’ve never known him to be a liar” despite how little time they had together at the Academy in this game is a big amount of trust imo.

On the same note, AG is like a mirror of AM’s chapter 19! Claude trusts Dimitri and that he will show up to help. In AG, they need the Alliance’s help and Dimitri trusts Claude to show up without question. When the Alliance shows up and Claude isn’t there, he wonders where Claude is, and when Claude does show up being the smart little sneaky not-literal-bastard-because-he’s-actually-a-legitimate-child bastard he is, Dimitri is like :D I knew you would come no matter what. This man literally implicitly trusts Claude. Sounds like someone had a crush when they were younger... Now his crush is helping them and he’s all bubbly and excited inside... uwu... uwu... UWU...

More Hopes stuff despite the bad writing moments. In SB, Claude confronts Edelgard because they were so focused on locating Rhea that they didn’t even consider Dimitri’s motivations for being part of that battle. His portrait is even his upset portrait for them “not even sparing a thought for Dimitri’s motivations”, in his exact words. He’s not all too happy that they were so determined by their goal that they didn’t consider Dimitri, specifically.

Similarly, if you get the Arval chapter, Dimtiri worries for Claude’s safety if Claude tries to take the Church out of power. Despite that Dimitri lists off reasons why That’s A Really Fucking Bad Idea, he also includes that he doesn’t want Claude to be in danger, and their discussion ultimately ends with Claude saying “you really are too good for me!”. Claude, that’s sus.

Not game specific, but motivated by the contents of the game:

Claude is a very casual person, and Dimtiri wants that in his relationships (of any kind). Actually, he repeatedly asks people to be casual with him and doesn’t want to be treated like a prince. In no way does Claude treat him like a prince and just treats him exactly the way Dimtiri would prefer, without even having to be asked to do so. This is part of what makes me wonder if the reason Dimitri is so receptive to Claude and why they bounce so well off each other’s personalities, despite seeming so different in demeanor, is because Dimitri experiences those kind of informal exchanges with him that most others won’t grant him.

More often than not, even in GD, Claude expresses being an outsider. That means that even though the people around him are mostly/generally pretty chill with him (i.e. his GD classmates just treat him like another classmate and not the foreigner in the class), he still doesn’t feel totally accepted there. Likely, it’s the little things he picks up about them, such as Hilda’s negative comments about Almyra. They’re pretty chill together, but he’s Almyran, and royalty at that, yet she doesn’t know that. For him, that could be like, okay so she’s one of the people I proooobably should definitely not tell my identity to, like, ever. I’m not saying Hilda specifically is the only person he would have to be wary of, but the problem is still there.

On the other hand, Dimitri... literally does not give a fuck who is a foreigner and who is not. More than anyone else besides, equally, Claude, he pushes to have people from other lands seen as equals to those in Fodlan and wants them to be just as accepted.

Also, Claude’s post timeskip advice box:

What did these two do, share notes? Pass notes in class? Skip class and hang out in the bathroom while they skipped?

To be specific, Dimitri highlights all aspects that Claude guns for too. He hates that he’s been hated all his life for his lineage and never saw it as fair. Dimitri wouldn’t see that as fair either. Claude doesn’t think his lineage or bloodline matters when it comes to being accepted and what relationships he has. That’s also Dimitri’s line of thinking when he insists he doesn’t want to be treated as a prince. He just wants normal relationships. This also applies to Crests, where in which he doesn’t believe having or not having one should decide a person’s, well, anything.

Being two races, Claude has struggled to feel accepted on either side. Meanwhile, Dedue has struggled a lot to get by in Garreg Mach because of the prejudice against Duscur’s people. Even if some of the people of Duscur did do what everyone accused them of, they’re dragging those accusations well beyond that and treating Dedue as if he had anything to do with it. In Dimitri’s B support with Dedue, he makes it extremely clear to his own soldiers that he’ll have nothing to do with that behavior. He sees Dedue as another human being, as he would anyone else. Even though most characters don’t care what race someone is, most of them don’t actively try to fight for justice for other races of people being mistreated in Fodlan. Dimitri is one of the only people who will walk up to someone and tell them to fuck off for being racist, and mind you, if this wasn’t a T rated game and more explicit curse words were allowed to be used, I am quite positive Dimitri would quite literally tell those people to fuck off. He acts all upstanding and polite, but he’d also curse at someone who deserves it and is definitely angry enough to be a semi-big curser lol.

Both of them discuss faith with Byleth, too. While Claude doesn’t like the idea of praying to gods and often talks about how he isn’t in with the whole Sothis religion, Dimitri says the same thing, basically. In his Goddess Tower conversation, he expresses his feelings about “the goddess”, and it pretty much equals that he couldn’t give a flying fuck about her because she doesn’t help those in need despite supposedly watching over their land. He feels that she’ll watch and do nothing to help, not even reach out a hand to people who need her. Dimitri firmly does not believe in the religion that Fodlan follows, even despite literally being the crown prince of a nation that was legitimatized by Rhea herself. Neither of them care about Fodlan’s religion personally, but they both accept people who do and don’t badmouth her in front of devout followers. For example, Claude talks to Ignatz about the goddess and jokes with him. He doesn’t try to tell Ignatz he’s wrong for being faithful to a goddess that Claude himself doesn’t believe in. Dimitri doesn’t care about the Seiros faith at all, but he’s very friendly with Seteth and on great terms with him (especially in Hopes! They’re very close in AG!). Even if Seteth personally is not very devout (which is actually the truth), he’s still Rhea’s second in command. You also have people like Mercedes, who are extremely if not almost excessively devout, but Dimitri never puts her down for that. That’s how Claude is with Ignatz, and Ignatz is very devout. Basically, both Dimitri and Claude hate the idea of believing in the goddess of Fodlan, but they never judge someone who does believe in that very goddess. In fact, after Duscur, I’m sure Dimitri felt he could never forgive the goddess for not saving his father, Glenn and all the others who died there. Even if she wasn’t from a goddess of Duscur, she didn’t even attempt to save Fodlan’s people, at the very very least. It’s not a surprise in that sense that Dimitri isn’t devout.

In the case of ideologies, both of them even use the exact same word here. No matter what someone believes or thinks should happen, no matter how people think lands should be managed, neither of them feel like that’s cause to judge someone. They both feel that people can have different ways of thinking no matter how vast those ways of thinking might be, and still get along just fine.

This basically sums up both of what they want tbh, and it’s something they both strive for as early as the first half of the game.

Other aspects I love:

Other than that, I like to think about their personalities too! They’ve been through a lot of the same things and have a lot of the same feelings, so I think they would understand really well how to help each other. While Claude doesn’t think he deserves the treatment he gets, Dimitri tends to think he deserves all sorts of bad things. I feel like Claude could teach Dimitri to care about himself more and to stop thinking so poorly about himself. For Claude, I think he’d have “might get killed at any moment” ingrained into him, but I think he’d feel safe around Dimitri but also accepted and loved. Dimtiri is extremely straightforward and honest, and I think Claude would know for a fact that he can trust that Dimitri is honest about his feelings. He wouldn’t have to question if Dimitri actually loves him and if he secretly hates that he’s half Almyran. Because of how Dimitri has always been, I don’t think he’d actually worry about that and any worry that might nag him in passing he’d be able to tell himself is only a paranoid habit.

Also, Almyra loves strength! Pretty sure if Claude walked back into Almyra with a 6′2 superhuman-strength Blaiddyd on his arm that Almyra would be, to say the least, impressed lol. Not only would Dimitri be on par with their strongest generals, but if he got the attention of royalty, regardless of their feelings on that royalty, I think they’d have to take notice. I have headcanons about how the Almyran children would love learning from Dimitri and eventually run around pretending to be as strong as him when he starts helping them train. 🥺 Most of the adults wouldn’t like Dimitri at first because he’s from Fodlan, and even more than that a royal form Fodlan, but I think they’d come around after seeing how much the kiddos respect him and how kind he is to them. Even if they were meh about him being with Claude, I think they would start to respect Dimitri as an individual and not only appreciate when he’s around, but enjoy having him there for competitions, because Dimitri also loves being competitive and training.

You also get the silly opposites aspect with their homelands! Claude would be freezing in Faerghus, especially Fhirdiad. You know he’d be stealing all the blankets and be a Claude burrito by morning. Dimitri would have to accommodate him with lots of warm clothes because poor Claude would be shivering in full armor! It gives lots of room for cuddles and snuggies tho!!! !!! !!! 6′2 warm man and lots of blankets means lots of warmth and comfy sleep zzzzz...

Then you have Dimitri in Almyra and he hates hot weather (specifically, hates, so he says in an advice box letter). Claude would have to tend to him to keep him cool, sure, but I think Dimitri would whine a lot about the heat and I think it’d be rly cute and I think Claude would also think so. He’d have to bring Dimitri to the sea to let him stay in the water for a while, and then struggle to get him out of the water.

Something else I like to consider is how Dimitri would probably love to learn Almyran since he’s bilingual as it is, and I feel like he’d love to learn their culture and whatnot as well. Like I said, he’s really big on people from different places mingling, and he’s been trying really hard to get Duscur to be seen as an intendent land again. In Hopes, he’s trying to fix relations with Sreng (which Claude even considers Sreng in VW when mentioning his dream in full toward the end of the game). Getting to learn about Almyra would be something I feel that Dimitri would love experiencing.

Personality wise Dimitri’s a lot more on the formal speaking side, but they can absolutely both joke and be little shits! I’d love to see them banter with each other because they both have it in them. In fact, I think it would lead to lots of laughs and silly times and I think after everything, they both really need that!

tap tap am i missing something am i missing anything from this fic-sized essay tap tap my cat was staring at me for at least 50% perfect of this. i mean, straight up just staring and watching me from my bed and i just think that’s something i should share

OH YEAH I also love the interracial aspect because it really drives home their desire about race and everyone getting along. 🥰

Also, I feel like Claude needs someone he can really, truly trust and Dimitri needs someone who can make him really start to care about and respect himself again.

[askwolfsbaneband]

(blows the dust off this blog)

HELLO FRIENDS! it is i, your humble wolf's bane mod. i'm coming back! in fact i am very nearly done with an 8 panel answer that i will be posting soon!! i assume most of you follow me on my main anyway, but if you don't, i have been... drawing nate nonstop. the interest wasn't gone i just was focused on different types of drawings.

now, the blog is a bit outdated, both artstyle-wise and information-wise. the blog's pages (linked in the pinned post) should be up to date, but i may have added things elsewhere that i forgot so i will be redoing those. the art is also absolutely out of date. the versions of the bios on the desktop theme are also out of date; the information i've added/changed is minimal but i do want it to all be accurate to my current ideas.

so i will be fixing those things, but give me a second to do it, i wanted to actually put out some asks first. if you want an undoubtedly current version of everything, i've made a second account on the fediverse, which you can find here. it doesn't have anything new but mild lore changes i already mentioned would be happening, plus it links to a retrospring account instead of any sort of native dm system. asks sent here and asks sent to retrospring will all be answered on both accounts, so you won't be missing anything unless it ends up inexplicably too horny to post on tumblr (lmao, it's possible). no pressure to join the fediverse or anything, i know it's a bit complicated. (and if you already have an account on some other instance, it might not federate with aethy, bc aethy is pro-kink and pro-fiction and some people don't like that.)

please feel free to send new asks either way! you don't actually need to know about anything nate-related i've been posting outside of this blog, bc none of it has become relevant yet (or may never at all). this account is self-contained!

i'll be posting the 5 new busts alongside the old ones in just a sec here, bc i am proud of them, but it might take me a bit to actually add them to the blog. but don't worry...

eeeeeverything is under control.

[theladyragnell]

Hi Nell, a writer question! I am kind of planning to do the same thing you did, which is to publish a retelling of my D&D campaign on AO3, and I was wondering if you have any tips on how to go about it in a way that's interesting to more than the six people you played with? Thank you:)

Oh excellent, good for you! Let's see what I can think of.

So, to start, outside of prose retellings, my group started off with a powerpoint presentation that lays out characters and locations and a bit about the plot. By no means did everyone who has read some of our D&D fic look at the powerpoint! But if nothing else, I think it helped solidify for us sort of what character tropes and focus points an actual fandom provided with our "canon" would lean on. (Someone in @scribescribe's (damn, it won't tag) group similarly did a fandom primer for one of their campaigns like it was an actual TV show, which let me read some fic while, again, knowing what points I should be focusing on.)

For the retelling itself, a few pieces of advice you should take with a grain of salt, because while I've written lots of D&D fic, I haven't done what you seem to want to, which is what I think I'll call a novelization of your game!

Don't feel the need to include every single thing that happened! Elide things that don't fit your tone (for instance, if your game is overall horror and there was one session where you went through a portal to Candyland, that may be something to skip), sidequests that went nowhere, streamline what you need to. D&D campaigns are shaped very differently from novels and D&D pacing.

On the other hand, feel free to add things in! In my first D&D fic, where I was basically doing a backstory for my character followed by a quick summary of the campaign in her eyes, and I took advantage of that to establish some character beats we glossed over because the DM for that campaign didn't facilitate a lot of RP. Likewise, for You Feel Just Like the Sun, which starts with moments from the last third of the campaign, I wrote dialogue and moments that didn't happen "onscreen" because they fit the themes better.

You don't have to fully stick to D&D rules! In fic, I rarely stick to strict rules for spells or rests or a thousand other things. I often describe a spell's effects rather than assuming that a reader knows what Blight or Vicious Mockery does. I do my best, when I'm writing action, to find ways to describe it that don't lean on D&D terminology (for a masterclass in this, read the final battle scene from @samyazaz 's we are all cinders from a fire burning long ago, it's an AU but three of us actually played that battle out and she took extensive notes and then went back and wrote it out gorgeously).

In some ways, to conclude, writing fanfic for a D&D campaign that doesn't have a devoted following like Critical Role or Dimension 20 is more like writing original work than fanfic. The audience doesn't already know and love these characters, so you can't use shorthands to start out. I think the smartest thing my group did is that each of us started our D&D fanfic spree with a backstory fic for our specific characters that then went on to encompass important feelings and arc things from the campaign. It gave us a place to build from before we went on into shipfic and AUs and such.

Happy writing! Wishing you lots of fun writing this out, D&D fandoms are the best.

[beardisable]

REAL!!! REAL SHIT!!!

Understanding this is I feel a prelude to understanding the end of homestuck itself tbh... Like I can't say I know for sure if the type of ending we got was planned from the beginning or if it came about on account of how difficult it became to finish. But I've seen so many analysis/opinions of the ending like "oh this is bad" "this is nothing, lazy" "nobody besides x got a good arc" "it was unsatisfying" "they left before the epic boss fight???" etc etc. And those complaints and criticisms are valid from the pov of an audience reading a story and idc if people feel them. But I also so strongly feel that they've missed the whole point...

They left! They got the fuck out! The surviving characters saw the regimented story structure/heroes journey for what it is and fucking left!!! They don't owe us shit, they don't need to complete satisfying arcs for some kind of end goal. They don't need to complete the game properly or 100% it for our lore satisfaction. The thing they always wanted to do was get out and live peacefully with their families and friends! Like Dave said, real people don't have arcs. And to themselves they are real people!!!

They completed the "requirements" of the game in a more convoluted and circuitous way than expected(based on how it parallels the growing up process, could reflect for instance how in reality people take a longer time getting through school, or pursue alternate education, trade school, get a job immediately, do something else than a conventional job to aquire money, leave their family early... Etc ways people subvert the expected growing up process in different ways) and got the fuck out!!(free to live a life they want with their chosen family and in their chosen ways. But which based on beyond Canon will still be influenced by their upbringing and instilled values) and they deserved to fr!

Idk I guess you can make the case that this theme is not conveyed properly thought out the comic, and yeah maybe... But tbh imo you cannot properly understand homestuck unless you read it about 3 times at the very least, and intentionally seek out authors notes like this and background context to this decade+ old work. And yeah you could say that makes the comic bad or unfriendly to readers ig. But idk imo some media is just more that you can get one one read/watch/playthrough... And it IS supposed to imitate a video game with splitting timelines and game overs and different endings after all

OK idk yeah I had thoughts here they are

If someone wants to add on to this/reflect off my thoughts to continue ily, but also disclaimer that I Do enjoy Beyond Canon and am fascinated by its developments and how it adds to this theme, despite how it kind of breaks the ending(well it is still presented as just one of a possible way to continue and not the ultimate Canon so imo it doesn't break it any more than any other fanadventures do) and do not wish to engage in unnecessary bullshit discourse, criticism and discussion is fine

this is one is important as fuck i see so many people not understand this and it drives me crazy

"Sburb ruins, mythic challenges, and personal quests generally tend to come off as shallow busywork, stage props, or set pieces in a spurious Hero's Journey. Rose either faintly glimpses this truth at this early stage, or she's just hitting her rebellious teen stride. Either way, she doesn't take the surface value of the quest seriously at all, and only wants to smash it apart and loot the secrets. My sense is that the average reader reacts to this impulse unfavorably. Because readers watch the formula play out so often, they are trained heavily to respect the journey of the hero, to anticipate and crave its fulfillment, to see it as something verging on contractual in their relationship with a story. So a gut-response to this recklessness is like, "ROSE, NO! STOP THAT! You simply must complete your quest and play the rain!" What comes with this view is the feeling that her evolution as a character is only being delayed for a bit while she gets some anti-narrative foolishness out of her system, and then we'll get down to business and watch her do her quest, play a whole BUNCH of rain, and reap the narrative satisfaction. There's just one problem: she never does that. This candy-coated Kiddie Kwest is at no point ever taken seriously by Rose or the narrative itself, nor should it be.

When trying to parse character arcs, we look out for certain beacons. So when we hear "play the rain," we're like, ah, GOT IT. That's Rose's arc. Once she finally gets over this destructive teen bullshit, she can wise up, play the rain, and her arc will be finished. Wrong. This is almost a red herring arc. Her quest on this planet, its patronizing presentation, its intrinsic shallowness, is a mirage surrounding her that represents a fully regimented series of milestones for achievement and personal growth, much as society dubiously presents to young people in many forms. The true arc-within-the-arc is actually an upside-down version of what it appears to be. What Rose is doing now, which seems to be misguided recklessness taking her further away from the truth of herself, is actually better seen as a good start to her real journey: breaching the mirage of regimented growth, exposing it for the charade it is, and pulling the truth out of it. The real conflict in her arc comes not from the fact that she refuses to take it seriously, by destroying it and taking shortcuts. It's the opposite. It's that, upon trashing her planet, she continues to have this nagging sense that she should be taking this quest seriously, much like how a young adult may have a nagging sense of guilt that they aren't "being an adult right" by the time they approach adulthood. And this nagging, unanswerable guilt arises from the truth that the regimentation of adulthood is completely fake. It was always a mirage. Learning this, making peace with it, is part of the growing process for many, and it is for her too." -Andrew Hussie

intrinsically queer as fuck, too, btw

[digitaltravelexpert]

Be an Unpredictable Travel Content Creator: Shake Things Up!

Learn the art of being an unpredictable travel content creator, and find out how to stand out, engage your audience, and build meaningful connections. In the crowded world of travel blogging, the quest for improved SEO rankings can often feel like a never-ending cycle of keyword research, formulaic content creation, and following trends. But what if there was a way to break free from this monotony and stand out in a way that not only captures your audience's attention but also keeps them engaged? Today, I want to introduce a strategy that has worked wonders in my SEO journey: being an unpredictable travel content creator. While consistency and reliable content are essential, embracing unpredictability can give you a significant edge over your competition. Here’s how you can leverage unpredictability to enhance your content and visibility.

How to Be an Unpredictable Travel Content Creator and Beat the Competition

1. Embrace Keyword Variety One of the key advantages of being unpredictable is the opportunity to rank for a wider array of keywords. Instead of zeroing in on a few popular terms, experiment with diverse topics and angles related to travel. While your competitors may stick to a narrow focus, branching out allows you to capture long-tail keywords that can lead to increased organic traffic. Consider creating unique travel content around lesser-known destinations, unique travel experiences, or even unexpected travel tips that can set you apart from the pack. 2. Adapt to Seasonal Content Changes Travel content often has seasonal relevance. Certain topics may become more or less applicable depending on the time of year. By remaining unpredictable, you can pivot your focus and create content that is timely and relevant. This adaptability not only enhances your relevance in search rankings but also ensures your audience finds value regardless of the season. For instance, instead of just seasonal travel tips, consider writing about off-season travel to popular destinations or the best-hidden gems to explore when crowds are minimal. 3. Create Surprise Factor Unpredictable content has a unique surprise factor that keeps your audience engaged. When your readers can anticipate your next move, they may lose interest. However, by introducing unexpected themes or surprising insights, you foster excitement and curiosity. Whether it's an unexpected travel mishap or a quirky local custom you stumbled upon, these surprises not only captivate your audience but also encourage them to share your content with others. 4. Diversify Your Travel Storytelling Mixing up your topics and styles can lead to more diverse storytelling, appealing to a wider audience. Instead of sticking solely to travel guides or tips, consider incorporating personal anecdotes, interviews with locals, or even cultural critiques. This variation enriches your blog and showcases your versatility as a content creator. For example, a post about your experience volunteering in a foreign country can add depth and attract readers who are interested in social impact travel. 5. Stand Out in a Saturated Market Travel blogging can often feel like a saturated market where many creators are following the same trends. By breaking away from predictable patterns and venturing into uncharted territory, you can differentiate yourself from competitors. Create content that challenges conventional travel wisdom or highlights lesser-known experiences. This unique perspective will not only catch the eyes of your audience but also draw the attention of search engines looking for fresh, original content. 6. Offer Fresh Perspectives In an era where travel content often feels repetitive, offering unique insights can inspire your audience and evoke strong emotions. Share your reflections or lessons learned during your travels that go beyond typical travel advice. For instance, discussing the impact of tourism on local communities or highlighting sustainable travel practices can add significant value to your content. This fresh perspective can resonate deeply with your audience, making them more likely to engage with your posts and share them with others. 7. Tap into Viral Potential Unpredictable content has a higher chance of going viral. When your content surprises and intrigues your audience, they are more likely to share it across social media platforms. This increased visibility not only drives traffic but can also boost your SEO rankings as social shares are often considered by search engines. Think about crafting eye-catching headlines or incorporating multimedia elements like videos or infographics to enhance the viral potential of your content. 8. Cultivate Authenticity Being unpredictable allows you to express your true self authentically. Readers appreciate genuine voices over polished, commercialized content. Share your unfiltered travel experiences, including the ups and downs, to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Authenticity builds trust, and when your readers see you as a real person with relatable experiences, they are more likely to engage with your content and return for more. 9. Stay Adaptable The digital landscape is constantly changing, and travel trends can shift overnight. If there is a single piece of advice for you who want to become a digital nomad, embracing unpredictability is the best. You can stay adaptable and responsive to these changes. If a new travel trend emerges or a major event occurs, being willing to pivot your content strategy can keep you relevant and in tune with your audience's interests. Regularly revisiting and refreshing your content can also help improve your SEO as search engines favor up-to-date information. 10. Foster Creative Exploration Unpredictability fosters a sense of creativity that can enhance your storytelling. Trying out new formats, styles, or mediums can breathe life into your content. Consider experimenting with video content, podcasts, or interactive travel maps to diversify your offerings. This creative exploration not only keeps your audience engaged but can also attract new followers who resonate with your innovative approach. And by the way, this is also a clear move to monetize as a travel content creator. 11. Encourage Community Engagement Unique, unpredictable content can spark conversations among your audience. When readers feel compelled to share their thoughts or experiences, it fosters a sense of community around your blog. Encourage discussion by posing questions at the end of your posts or inviting readers to share their travel stories in the comments. This engagement not only enhances your blog’s sense of community but can also improve SEO through increased interaction and time spent on your page. 12. Maintain Sustained Interest Finally, regularly surprising your audience keeps them coming back for more. When you provide varied content that diverges from their expectations, readers are less likely to become bored and more likely to return for new surprises. This sustained interest can lead to better SEO rankings over time as search engines prioritize sites with high engagement rates. Now, Let's Talk about How Mapping Out Your Unpredictable Content Works: A Guide for Travel Content Creators

In the travel and hospitality industry, where authentic travel experiences and meaningful connections are paramount, it’s crucial to develop content that not only captures attention but also fosters genuine engagement. In a landscape saturated with viral, sensational content that often prioritizes shock value over substance, it’s essential to chart a different course. Here’s how to effectively map out your unpredictable content strategy, ensuring that you create meaningful narratives that resonate with your audience.

Understanding Your Audience's Journey|Brainstorming Unpredictable Travel Content Ideas

1. Define Your Target Audience Before you can create unpredictable content, it's vital to understand who your audience is. What are their interests, travel styles, and pain points? Use tools like surveys, social media insights, and analytics to gather data on your audience’s demographics and preferences. This foundational understanding will help you tailor your unpredictable content to meet their needs while also incorporating unexpected elements that will keep them engaged. 2. Create Audience Personas Once you have a grasp on your target audience, develop detailed personas. Consider factors such as: - Travel preferences (luxury, adventure, family-friendly) - Preferred content types (blogs, videos, infographics) - Common pain points (budget constraints, safety concerns) These personas will guide your content strategy, ensuring that your unpredictable content still aligns with your audience's interests and needs. 3. Diversify Your Content Formats One of the most effective ways to be unpredictable is to diversify the formats of your content. This could include: - Video Diaries: Share spontaneous travel moments, showing real-time experiences instead of polished narratives. - Interactive Maps: Create dynamic maps that allow users to explore destinations in a unique way. - Infographics: Provide visually engaging content that summarizes tips, statistics, or unexpected travel insights. - Podcasts or Interviews: Feature local experts, travelers, or even locals who share unique perspectives on a destination. 4. Experiment with Themes and Angles Vary the themes and angles you explore in your content. Instead of sticking to standard travel guides, consider topics that may not be typically covered: - Behind the Scenes: Share insights into the hospitality industry, such as how hotels prepare for guests or the challenges faced by local tour operators. - Cultural Deep Dives: Focus on local customs and traditions that travelers might overlook, providing a richer context for their experiences. - Travel Mishaps: Write about unexpected challenges you faced during your travels and the lessons learned, adding an authentic touch to your content. 5. Leverage Local Stories Incorporate local narratives and stories into your content to create meaningful connections. Engage with locals to uncover unique anecdotes, traditions, or hidden gems that can offer your readers an authentic glimpse into the culture. This not only enriches your content but also fosters a sense of community and belonging.

Structuring Your Content|Measuring Success and Adapting|Authenticity Over Sensationalism

6. Create a Content Calendar To effectively map out your unpredictable content, develop a flexible content calendar. This calendar should include: - Content Types: List different formats you plan to explore (blogs, videos, podcasts). - Themes: Identify overarching themes for each month or quarter, allowing for seasonal and timely content. - Surprise Elements: Dedicate specific slots in your calendar for surprise content that may arise from current events, trends, or spontaneous experiences. 7. Balance Predictability with Unpredictability While unpredictability is essential, it’s also crucial to maintain a balance. Consider implementing a “formula” that includes both predictable and unpredictable elements. For example: - Weekly Features: Have a consistent theme each week (e.g., “Local Flavor Fridays”) while varying the topics or experiences you cover within that theme. This structure keeps your audience grounded while also allowing for spontaneity and surprise. 8. Monitor Engagement Metrics As you implement your unpredictable content strategy, closely monitor engagement metrics to see what resonates with your audience. Key metrics to track include: - Page Views: Are certain topics or formats driving more traffic? - Social Shares: Which pieces are getting shared the most, indicating a strong emotional connection? - Comments and Interactions: Are readers engaging in discussions or sharing their own experiences? By analyzing this data, you can identify patterns and refine your approach to ensure continued relevance and engagement. 9. Be Prepared to Pivot The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and audience preferences can shift overnight. Stay adaptable by being willing to pivot your travel content strategy based on feedback and engagement. If a particular format or theme resonates well, consider doubling down on that approach while continuing to experiment with new ideas. 10. Prioritize Meaningful Connections In the travel and hospitality industry, the ultimate goal is to foster meaningful connections. While catchy, viral content may attract attention in the short term, it often lacks the depth and authenticity that create lasting relationships with your audience. Prioritize creating content that reflects genuine experiences, insights, and connections with the people and places you encounter. 11. Resist the Temptation of Sensationalism While it can be tempting to chase after sensational travel stories for clicks, resist the urge. Instead, focus on crafting narratives that are authentic, insightful, and engaging. Your audience will appreciate the depth of your content, leading to a more loyal following and improved SEO performance over time. Takeaway: Mapping out your unpredictable content as a travel creator requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. By understanding your audience, diversifying your content formats, leveraging local stories, and maintaining authenticity over sensationalism, you can create meaningful connections that resonate deeply with your readers. Embrace unpredictability in a way that enriches your content, allowing you to stand out in a crowded market and cultivate lasting relationships within the travel community. As you embark on this travel content creation journey, remember that the goal is to inspire, inform, and connect—one unpredictable travel story at a time. Being an Unpredictable Travel Content Creator: FAQs How do I become a travel content creator hard to chase?To become a travel content creator that’s hard to chase, focus on delivering unpredictable, authentic stories that showcase unique experiences and insights while diversifying your content formats. Regularly engage with your audience and leverage local narratives to foster meaningful connections, setting yourself apart from the competition.How much can you make as a travel content creator?Well, how much do travel bloggers get paid? As a travel content creator, earnings can vary widely, typically ranging from $30,000 to over $100,000 annually, depending on audience size and engagement. For those who do it as a career in the travel industry, monetization methods include reviewing niche travel products, affiliate marketing, and creating content for brands and magazines. Don't just play with keywords like"methods monetization", and "profitable content creation niches" but instead focus on your capacity to produce something unique. How hard is it to become a travel influencer?Becoming a travel influencer can be challenging, as it requires consistent quality content and genuine engagement. Instead of labeling yourself as an influencer, focus on creating impactful travel experiences, and brands will recognize your influence and seek collaboration. Conclusion In a highly competitive landscape, being an unpredictable travel content creator is a powerful strategy to enhance your visibility and engage your audience. By embracing variety, adaptability, and authenticity, you can craft unique narratives that resonate deeply with readers and improve your SEO rankings. So go ahead, take that leap of faith into unpredictability, and watch your travel blog flourish! More Resources on Unpredictable Travel Content Ideas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uTuhbLylmw Read the full article

[music-industry-updates]

Unlocking Creativity: A Live Streaming Guide for Artists

Hey Tumblr artists! 🎨🌟 In our digital age, live streaming has become a game-changer for creatives everywhere. Whether you're a painter, musician, or performer, live streaming can help you share your art with the world, engage with fans in real time, and even make some money. Ready to dive into the world of live streaming? Here's your ultimate guide to getting started.

The Magic of Live Streaming

Live streaming isn't just about showing off your skills; it's about creating a space where you can connect with your audience in a genuine and interactive way. It's a chance to let your personality shine, share your creative process, and build a community around your art.

Finding Your Platform

Choosing the right platform is key to your streaming success. Here are some top picks:

YouTube Live: Perfect for artists with a YouTube channel. Great for long streams and detailed content.

Facebook Live: Ideal if you have a strong following on Facebook. It's easy to notify your followers and get them to tune in.

Twitch: Best for live performances, especially music and interactive art sessions. It’s built for real-time engagement.

Instagram Live: Awesome for quick, spontaneous streams and casual interaction with your followers.

Each platform has its unique vibe, so pick one that feels right for your art and your audience.

Setting Up Your Space

1. Gear Up: You don’t need a Hollywood studio setup, but a few key pieces can make a big difference.

Camera: A good webcam or your phone's camera can work wonders. If you want to splurge, a DSLR is top-notch.

Microphone: Clear audio is a must. USB mics like the Blue Yeti are fantastic.

Lighting: Natural light is great, but ring lights or softbox lights can really make your art pop.

Internet: A strong internet connection is crucial to avoid lag and ensure a smooth stream.

2. Software Savvy: Software can help you add a professional touch to your streams.

OBS Studio: Free and highly customizable. Great for adding overlays and managing multiple inputs.

Streamlabs OBS: User-friendly with built-in themes and alerts.

XSplit: Easy to use with high-quality streaming capabilities.

3. Test Runs: Before going live, do some test runs to check your setup. Make sure your audio and video are in sync, and troubleshoot any issues that come up.

Spreading the Word

1. Teasers and Promos: Build anticipation by sharing teasers on your social media. Use eye-catching graphics and videos to announce your stream.

2. Collaborate: Partner with other artists or influencers to reach a broader audience. Joint streams can be a fun way to mix things up and attract new viewers.

3. Hashtags and Tags: Use relevant hashtags to increase your stream’s visibility. On Tumblr, tags like #livestream, #artist, and #digitalart can help your post get discovered.

Going Live: Tips for Success

1. Be Authentic: Your audience is there for you as much as for your art. Be yourself, share your thoughts, and let your personality shine through.

2. Engage Actively: Interact with your viewers by responding to comments and questions. Shout out to regulars and make new viewers feel welcome.

3. Interactive Content: Keep things lively with polls, Q&A sessions, and live requests. Ask your audience what they’d like to see or hear.

4. Post-Stream Wrap-Up: After your stream, continue the conversation. Post highlights, respond to comments, and thank your viewers for tuning in.

Monetizing Your Streams

1. Donations: Platforms like Twitch and YouTube Live have built-in donation options. Encourage your fans to support your work with small contributions.

2. Subscriptions: Offer exclusive content or perks to subscribers. Twitch, for instance, has a great subscription model.

3. Sponsorships: Partner with brands that align with your art. Sponsored streams can be a great way to earn while doing what you love.

4. Merch Sales: Promote your merch during your streams. Whether it’s prints, music, or apparel, live streams are a great platform to showcase your products.

Inspiration from Live Streaming Artists

Check out these artists who’ve mastered live streaming:

Ashley Longshore: This pop artist uses Instagram Live to share her vibrant, eclectic art and engage with fans.

Lolo Zouaï: The singer-songwriter has used YouTube Live for intimate acoustic sessions, giving fans a front-row seat to her creative process.

Danny Casale: Known for his surreal animations, Danny streams his drawing sessions on Twitch, creating a chill space for fans to watch and interact.

Live streaming is a fantastic way for artists to connect with their audience, share their creative journey, and even make some money. By choosing the right platform, setting up your space, and engaging authentically with your viewers, you can create a vibrant, interactive experience that showcases your art and builds a loyal community. So grab your gear, hit that go-live button, and let your creativity flow!

Have you tried live streaming your art yet? What platform do you prefer and why? Share your experiences, tips, and any questions you might have in the comments below. Let’s support each other in this exciting journey of live streaming! 🌟🎨🎤

[blzzrdstryr]

Chrysalis

Yandere!Albedo x gn!reader

Wordcount:2115

CW:Yandere themes

Working for Albedo isn’t that bad - the payment is good, the knowledge he provides is even better - a chance to delve into exclusive alchemical research with a widely acknowledged genius is a far more valuable award than any amount of mora or jewels could ever be. Said prodigy isn’t an awful person to work with either - he’s polite and well mannered, careful not to offend anyone even if his words can be cold and cutting sometimes. Most of the time Albedo is a pleasant company to be around, if one would turn a blind eye to his quirks.

For instance, he has a weird and frankly unnerving habit of staring at you - his teal eyes track your littlest movements as you set up an alchemical apparatus and prepare needed solutions. At first you thought he was overseeing you, checking if you had made any mistake as a fledgling alchemist, yet this hypothesis was quickly disproved when you caught him gazing off working hours. You never voiced your complaints - you wanted to keep your job and study, and maybe he is too socially blind to see how his behavior could be received by others.

Today would also be a great example of an alchemist's lack of tact - he requested you accompany him everywhere for the last few weeks, taking you from the cold heights of Dragonspine to sunny and bustling streets of Mondstadt. You two are sitting in the corner of his laboratory designed for rest and food and share a meal: two portions of his favorite fish, despite being nothing more than the employer and employee or teacher and student.

Albedo doesn’t seem to get or mind what kind of rumours he causes with this seemingly blatant favouritism before you, no he looks as calm as usual as he plunges into the dish with fork and knife.

“[First]”, he says, after the first bite: “Have the aches stopped bothering you?”, a hint of concern and something else. Two or three weeks ago you developed a strange soreness in the different parts of your body - wrists, neck, heart, legs - it would appear suddenly, burning and throbbing and making you gasp, leaving you tired and nauseous afterwards. No one could find the source of the problem, not even Albedo, yet after some time these far from pleasant sensations got subdued, easier to bear and endure.

His hand reaches for your left wrist, thumb caressing the skin, and he pulls it closer to his face, eyes examining the sore spot. You don’t protest, stunned by his sudden action.

“Hm, that’s”, he mumbles, more to himself than you: “that’s good”, he concludes, letting go of your limb.

“What’s good? Did something change?” you inquire, instantly forgetting to take offense at his grabbing.

“You could say that”, Albedo ambiguously says and returns to his fish. You ask the alchemist what he meant, but all you get are even vaguer answers and long silence in the end, as he finishes his meal and nudges you to start your own sunshine sprat.

In the end your questions remain unacknowledged, as Albedo leaves displaying you to accompany him. Surprisingly he heads for the gardens instead of the library, his step light and fast. “Master Albedo” you start, seeing that alchemist is in his creative mood again: “shouldn’t you bring an easel or sketchbook with you?”

“No, [First], I don’t intend to draw, not now. This walk is for me to get some inspiration”, Albedo quickly replies, still walking ahead: “In this time of year the environment changes so rapidly, it provides a mind with a lot of good ideas. You should come with me too, alchemy is a science of change, creation and destruction and nature is better at these three aspects than any of us”. He adds, seemingly sensing the next question you would ask.

He walks near the bushes, teal eyes focused on the blooming fragrant flowers, before he squats, pushing some of the wigs back.

“[First]”, he turns his head in your direction: “you should come and see”. You comply, curious what has caught Albedo’s attention, squatting near him and looking at one of the inner branches usually hidden by others.

It’s an ordinary dark cocoon. You almost turn your head again, before the slightest of movements catches your attention - it’s an insect trying to break out. Chrysalis cracks and deforms as a fledgling butterfly makes way past it’s confines. One second and it stretches its wings, revealing a vibrant blue coloration, the next it leaves it’s former cell entirely, elegantly soaring into the air, it’s azure wings lazily flapping, as it makes its way to the other bush.

“Fascinating”, Albedo breathes out, eyes still on the disappearing figure of the insect: “It transformed to such a great extent”.

You hear a hint of excitement in his voice - he wants to share his thoughts or knowledge then - and nod, prompting him to continue.

“Did you know that a larva needs to literally dissolve itself to reach the next stage of its life? After caterpillar finishes its cocoon, it produces enzymes that turn most of its tissue into a liquid matter and only after that does it rebuilds into an entirely new form”, he turns his gaze back to you, usually cold and thoughtful eyes now warm and dreamy: “Sometimes, I think humans are meant to metamorphose too”.

“How so?” you ask, tilting the head.

“Humans, despite all complexity and intelligence, are still fragile creatures. They’re prone to sickness and ailments and in the end old age ends those who managed to evade death before. Wouldn't it be better if one could go through metamorphosis, be reborn free from pain and hunger and constant threat of passing away? Those humans could live on forever and dedicate themselves to the higher cause without having to worry about dying and suffering".

You raise eyebrows, surprised by the sudden “outburst” - Albedo, despite his partially philosophical nature, has never shared his inner thoughts so freely, not to you at least. He, either out of embarrassment or deep contemplation, shifts his eyes somewhere behind you, and you turn back, following his eyes. He looks at the statue of Barbatos.

Tall and proud, it looks magnificent in the day’s sunlight, golden rays making it glow and shine with the fairness of the marble. Looking at this epitome of unchanging vision, you suddenly get an answer to Albedo’s thoughts and you voice it out the same second:

“Wouldn’t it negate the meaning of life then? Nature breeds diversity - the reason why we have so many flowers is because some kinds aren't adapted to particular conditions and so they change, producing entirely new types of plants. Eternal and undying beings, unconcerned with the earthly matters would have no need to reproduce and pass on its features to the next generation, depriving the world of thousand possible combinations. No new life would be created if the old one could be perfectly sustained".

"That's how you see it", Albedo replies, placing a now empty husk of the cocoon inside your palm - the testament of the nature’s miracle, the testament of one's ability to change: “I’ve witnessed many wonderful sights for today”, he adds, still looking at you, surrounded by flowers and flying butterflies, light breeze playing with your hair and sun illuminating your whole figure with a gentle golden glow.

You part with Albedo shortly after - he closes himself in the lab, before checking up on your sore spots again, quietly mumbling something to himself the whole time. You head for your house and open the alchemical textbook, studying it until late night. That place on the wrist slightly throbs at every movement.

Only when your eyelids fill up with lead and thoughts slow down from the general fatigue you allow yourself to head for the bed, falling asleep the second your head touches the pillow. You see phantasmagorical dreams - of you being a bulging and large larva, spending days simply eating green leaves, until a strange urge overcomes your entire being and you start to build something - a cocoon. Now, surrounded by pitch black darkness you feel a burning sensation - enzymes, enzymes that will dissolve your tissue. Pain quickly escalates and you want to scream and cry, but you can’t - you’re an insect you don’t have vocal glands or tear ducts to do so. Who could have known that butterflies suffer so much?

You writhe and squirm, caged by your liquifying body and hard chrysalis around you and you are in so much agony you want to die.

And then you wake up. All sweaty and distressed you grab at your wrist - it hurts so much, your entire body is on fire, it seems that you have another episode of that strange soreness. You quickly rise to your feet, snatching the painkillers from the nightstand and downing them with a gulp of water. As medicine begins it’s work you lay in the bed again, ready to fall asleep and forget the midnight pains, as you see something that makes your breath hitch and heartbeat fasten from fear.

A strange greyish white discoloration on your wrist in the same place that used to throb this evening. You touch it and it leaves a dry white imprint on your fingers, it also doesn’t have any strange smell.

You rise and quickly dress up, barely suppressed panic and anxiety dispelling the last remains of sleep. The walk towards the Favonius HQ’s is short, especially when you break into a sprint on the way. He is here, he is working into the night today. Quickly passing sleepy knights you climb on the second floor and almost run to one particular door, loudly knocking at it.

Just as you expected, there’s a sound of footsteps and soon a familiar voice asks: “Who is here?”.

“It’s me, master Albedo”, you say, feeling how the pain returns despite the painkillers taken: “you said to report if something changes, with my aches. It changed”.

The words you say and desperation accompanying them prompts alchemist to open the door, as he gestures you to come in, and shut the door as you do so:

“Strip”, he says, mind back to the analytical mode, you comply, feeling ashamed with every second Albedo continues to observe you: “Wait, there’s something on your neck”.

A cool touch to your skin, a short yelp, another burst of pain. You fall on your knees, blinded and deafened by sheer agony. Alchemist produces a distressed noise, walking up to your collapsed figure and carrying you to the nearby table.

He pushes alchemical apparatus away, turning the table into a makeshift bed, and gently lowers you down. “[First]”, his hand card through your hair, while the other nudges a mug with some brew to your lips: “There’s nothing to worry about, your metamorphosis progresses as it should be”.

“Metamorphosis.. What are you talking about?”, you ask, panic creeping into the question. Alchemist looks you straight into the eyes, an eerie smile blooming on his face as he hears it: "Isn’t it obvious? You're going to change and I will help you with that".

“Change?! Change into what?”

“Into a better version of human of course. Do you think I would let you get old or sick and die? You’re too dear to me to do that, you should live and experience a life free from human limitations”, for the first time in your life you’re terrified of him. Albedo always seemed so knowledgeable and calm to you, like a wise wizard from the childhood fairytales, yet now he looks mad and devoid of any humanity:“You shouldn’t worry about these stains, they will disappear once your transformation is complete. Those are just chalk you see, a side effect of your tissues changing over the weeks”.

“When did.. When did you start it?”, you croak out, sensing the agony returning and growing again. It hurts so much I can barely think.

“Dragonspine. You were eating with me”.

You want to insult and accuse him, yet another wave of pain renders you speechless, short huffs and whimpers escaping you as tears start to stream down your face.

“I understand it can be very stressful to you, given how change of this scale is always carrying a great risk”, his voice adopts the same philosophical tone: “The purpose of cocoon is protection of the soon-to-be butterfly from the external harm and influence that could lead to other complications and we don’t want any of that”.

He cards his hand through your hair again, a mockery of a concern dyeing his next words: “You shouldn’t worry, I will be a good chrysalis to your metamorphosis”.

You black out from pain.

[callivich]

Sexy Gallavich Prompts - Part 2 😏😏

Part 1

Prompts for fics, headcanons, art, or discussion. Interpret these however you like and feel free to use them as just a jumping off point, you don’t have to stick to the exact prompt! Btw, if anything along these lines has been written, please do recommend them to me! Over 18s only.

During Ian’s sex ban, he’s working out more often. Mickey is getting turned on by the noises he makes. It’s driving him crazy but Ian insists he’s not making ‘sexy grunting noises’ on purpose. Mickey doesn’t believe him.

Mickey hates his Old Army uniform, Ian....not so much. In fact, Ian would quite like Mickey to wear it while they play a little game of thief and security guard.

Mickey wins a gift card from a sex toy website after writing reviews for some products he and Ian bought (‘4/5 stars - good but not as good as my husband’s dick’) but they cannot agree on what to buy.

What happens after the deleted scene - “if it was any bigger I’d be worried for your safety”?

Ian and Mickey watch their sex tape for the first time. This could either be totally hot (e.g. inspiring them to make another one immediately) or really hilarious (e.g. bad camera angles, them both getting embarrassed by hearing their dirty talk or seeing their facial expressions).

Mickey or Ian books a night at a cheesy theme motel (all the rooms are different themes - e.g. Ancient Egypt, Jungle, Palace, Ancient Greece, Sci-Fi, Pirate, Medieval etc etc) and they decide to lean into whatever theme and do some roleplay. (I googled theme motels & there are some hilarious examples including a tall and short room - “where the pepto-bismal pink room was designed to cater to couples where one is tall and the other is short - for instance, one side of the bed is high ... while the other is low.” 😂)

When Mickey gets out of prison in s10, the house is chaotic, but they manage to have a wonderful reunion - again and again. And it turns out a bit emotional, because they are both finally out of prison and able to be together. Maybe they want to take it slow, because for the first time in a long time, they can.

During furniture shopping in the finale, Mickey mentions getting his ass in “that position” Ian likes. What position is this? When they next try it, does Ian agree that a mattress that “does the lift-up thingy” would work better than how they currently do it?

After Ian’s barbarian comment, they decide to have one last fuck in their old bedroom. They find some lube they forgot to pack and start to have a good time. Of course, they are interrupted by an angry Gallagher sibling who shouts “you don’t even live here anymore!! my eyes!!!!”

What’s the sex like after they get engaged? Sweet, slow and happy with lots of ‘I love yous’? Or hilarious dirty talk mentioning the word ‘fiancé’ and things like ‘I’m gonna marry you so fucking good’ etc over and over again? Something different?

Mickey has to quarantine because of a possible COVID exposure at the gym in their Westside apartment. Ian goes back to the Gallagher house, which is still waiting to be sold, the only other occupant being Carl, while Mickey stays in their apartment. They are very bored and miss each other terribly, luckily they have their phones for lots of sexy FaceTime fun.

Mickey makes Ian a coupon book for his birthday - full of sexy coupons (complete with drawings) that he can redeem when he wants - there are sexy ones, kinky ones, some very creative ones, and some very romantic ones which Mickey insists are purely for Ian but are actually, obviously, because he loves that stuff too.

Ian makes a music playlist for when they have sex, giving it a nice title like “sexy songs” or “making love soundtrack”. Mickey immediately adds his own songs and changes the title to something like “fucking playlist” or “songs to get fucked to”. As the playlist is on shuffle, there are some surprises which interrupt their sex - e.g. “you’re not gonna fuck me to Justin Timberlake, Ian!” And “another Jonas Brothers song, Mickey? Really?”

Mickey and Ian discuss their sexual history, each picking their favourite moments of their time together over the years. It ends up with them wanting to recreate some of their favourites e.g. “the dugouts! we gotta do that again, man” and “the pool last week” “I dunno, we nearly got caught”.

[king-paimon]

HnK Chapter 95 Thoughts: The cruelest chapter of all times

AKA: The chapter everyone hated

AKA: No happy ending in sight

AKA: Haruko Ichikawa is a monster

AKA: I called it again (and I wish I was wrong)

AKA: Talk about kicking someone while they’re down

Ms. Haruko Ichikawa. You’ve truly done it. You truly are a cruel, sadistic, trolling monster. You leave us with this chapter? This chapter that truly shows us that despite every hardship they faced, Phos gets nothing. This chapter shows that Phos was destined to be in constant misery, and to rub that in with literally everyone else is free and happy? And to add more salt to the wound, you’re leaving us on an hiatus for who knows how long??

This is without a doubt the cruelest chapter to leave us on and this is probably one of the cruelest things a mangaka can ever do for a series as intense as this. I wish the previous chapter was the last one for the end of this year because at least with that one, it would have given us some sense of something.

Man. I’m both horrified and amazed by you, Ms. Ichikawa. I’m not even being sarcastic, I’m truly in awe.

Ugh.

As you can see, I have several things I have to say about this and... Just wow. This chapter. In these posts, I try my best to try and write my thoughts with the most rational mindset but... I don’t know how well I’ll be able to do that with this chapter. What a way to end this horrible year. 

But with this chapter’s ending and the implication for what is yet to come... this marks as the story’s descend to it’s bitter end, and I now wish I didn’t make that prediction last month.

I know I said in another post that I was going to write this in a few days, but I changed my mind. I’m getting this out now while my thoughts are still fresh in my mind. Please don’t mind the writing errors, I’m very tired, I’m writing this at 3 in the morning and I need to sleep. I promise I will come back to this and tidy it up later.

Anyways, here we go:

Haruko Ichikawa: Manipulator of emotions

Ms. Ichikawa really toyed with us with this chapter. So many things happened in such a short amount of time and I’m trying to process it. Also, doesn’t feel like too much happened in this chapter? Especially in comparison to the previous chapters, where everything was stretched out, to then have this chapter have so many things happen all at once. This chapter, in many ways, feels very rushed... and this style of story telling has me very worried about what’ll happen from here on out. I’ll talk more about what I mean by this later, but for now, let’s focus on the story of this chapter:

So... Antarctictite is back now. Adamant is back, too. So are most of destroyed gems, both the ones we knew and the ones we never got meet. And they are all now Lunarians... Hm.

I don’t like this or anything in this chapter for many reasons. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that I don’t like where the whole story is headed for these same reasons: 

The first reason: The emotional turmoil from the previous chapters

For the past 10 or so chapters, I’d been anticipating the destruction of the gems and Adamant. I was one of the people who didn’t like the idea of it happening, though I knew they kind of deserve it. And I remember how sad I was seeing Adamant turn to nothing but dust and seeing how everything was affecting Phos after the bloodlust ceased.

But it all led up to...this. In the very next chapter, after watching those heart wrenching scenes of the gems being broken down and Adamant’s last moments with Phos...we see him and the other gems being brought back like it was nothing.  And on top of that, they are totally happy Lunarians now. Yeah. Okay.

So it feels like the emotional tole that I felt for these characters I didn’t want to see get destroyed...meant nothing. Not going to lie: I kind of wish you all stayed destroyed.

And you know what? It’s kind of funny. In my Chapter 94 post, I said I was sad that we didn’t get to see Adamant and Aechmea interact and I didn’t think there would be a way now that Adamant is dust. Well. I was wrong. It happened. I got the interaction that wanted. Wasn’t worth it. 

So to sum up this first reason: The emotional turmoil that I personally experienced watching the characters I like get destroyed... meant nothing in the end.

Now I don’t know how to feel about these characters. It sucks. I even had a post that I was starting write about on a certain controversial character that I couldn’t bring myself to hate, despite everything, but I’m now debating whether or not I should still write it. I think I will, but there will be a lot of edits.

The second reason: Negation of personal growth

One of the things that has been brought up many times by fans is about how the gems dealt with problems. Instead of trying to address the problem and talk to try to fix it, they chose to ignore it and sweep it under the rug, no matter how upsetting it is to the characters involved. All of the gems, both Earth and Moon, constantly choose to not confront the issue and stay blissfully ignorant.

And now that they’re accepting to be Lunarians, it feels like they’re just running away again. Instead of confronting the Lunarians or having the gems properly talking with each other about how things got to the point where they had to once fight each other, they are like: Oh, we can be Lunarians so we don’t have to fight with them anymore? Awesome. Let’s do it.

Everyone is once again going with the flow, just sweeping the glaring issues that they all carried for so long, and are just accepting the new reality that they are in with no problems whatsoever. No addressing of anything means no character growth for all of them. No one grew from this experience. No one learned that ignoring the problems doesn’t solve them. They aren’t solving their previous issues, they are masking it under the belief that becoming Lunarian automatically solves all of their problems. 

No talking between Diamond or Bort. No talking with Yellow about their traumas or any of the other gems in the same boat. And no talking about how everything that happened lead to Phos doing what they did. It’s even more disappointing how Antarcticite was the only one who showed any concern about Phos or even thought to bring them up in the first place.

Edit: Also to add, the other problem here is how the are conscious choosing to remove your identity. They are not only choosing to loose their identity as gems, but they are fine loosing their memories as well. Not to mention how Cairngorm is once again being given a new identity to go by, from Aechmea, and is totally fine with it. That scene was small but once again, the fact that they are fine pretty much erasing what made them who they are is...unnerving. 

So pretty much to sum up this: Once again, everything meant nothing in the end. 

Speaking of Phos...

The third reason: Phos’s miserable fate

Phos, once again, got the short end of the stick. After everything that they’ve done, from trying to save everyone but themselves, to doing what was once seen as cruel for the sake of everyone to finally do something for themselves to go back to wanting to save the others after the bloodlust was gone... to get this ending for themselves.

But wow, what a cruel twist: Phos’s old goal was fulfilled. Thanks to them, the gems don’t have to live in fear of being destroyed or taken or anything. Thanks to Phos, everyone is free. Everyone now is going to be happy for the rest of their existance...at the cost of Phos’s expense.  

Phos lost everything. 

Their body. 

Their sanity. 

Their identity. 

Everything.

What do they get in return?

10,000 years of nothing but their own miserable existence and dark, depressing thoughts.

In the end, everything that Phos experienced not only sent them crashing down to rock bottom: it sent him to the chore of the earth, back out the other side, then back into the earth, in an endless cycle of just constant misery. 

That’s a theme in buddhism, if that’s what I’m recalling right from @rinboz​‘s posts: a cycle of continuous misery. That is clearly embodied here through Phos and Phos will continue to suffer the pain of existing while everyone else got what they wanted in the end, especially Aechmea. 

Speaking of which, I also genuinely want to know if there’s still fans out there who view Aechmea as a good guy for ‘liberating’ Phos, because as far as I see, thanks to him, Phos is now stuck in an even more miserable form of existence. At least before everything, everyone was miserable together with Phos. Sort of. Still better than what we got with this chapter, in my opinion. (Please do share your thoughts, if you do. I promise, this is not an attack. I’m just interested to hear your thoughts, if you’re willing to share)

But now, there’s no there for Phos. And unlike those other instances where Phos was in a situation and someone somewhat saves them like Adamant and Padparadscha once did before, there’s no one there. So unless there’s some Admirabilis hiding around there or if the Gem/lunarians decide to come to them, which I doubt will happen, there’s no one for Phos. No one is coming to help/save them.

Phos will have to suffer all alone. For 10,000 years. Phos is the last existing gem being now...even though technically, they aren’t really a gem anymore. 

Once again, to sum up why I don’t like this chapter nor how the story has progressed: Phos’s suffering meant nothing to them in the end. That’s the other theme I’m trying to hammer in in this post: Everything meant nothing in the end.

I’ve already seen a few fans react to the chapter and I saw one state that if the Lunarians, including the gems, were to come to Phos to pray for them, the poster hopes Phos tells them to “F* off” And you know what, I hope so too. But this revelation has me fearing for what’s going to happen the series, or more specifically, how and when it’ll officially end.

No true happy ending in sight and not exactly for the reasons you think

As always, it’s hard to predict how Ms. Ichikawa is going to end this series. Us fans made many predictions and a good number of them came true, but it’s the ending that eludes us. Some hope for a happy ending for Phos, while many, including myself, predict that it’ll be anything but happy. And now, with this chapter...I think it’s set in stone now.

Last month, in response to someone asking me how I think the series might end, I made a few small predictions. Some for a good ending, a bittersweet ending, and a bad ending.... 

...and it looks like that first sad ending is where the series is heading after all:

Everyone is gone/moved on and Phos stays behind as a lonely, immortal being.

Even though this small prediction was correct, how it’s all playing out was not exactly how I’d envisioned. It’s worse. And what’s making me even more worried is that based off of where the story is headed, my gut feelings are saying that the series ending is near. And it won’t be to anyone’s satisfaction.

Whenever I get invested in a series, other than worrying about how the creators will handle their characters and story, one of my biggest worries is about how the creators handle their ending. I’m truly afraid about what Ms. Ichikawa is planning for this series because I can’t help but fear it’s not going to end well. It’s not the worry that the series will have a sad/bittersweet ending, even though that concern is still there though I’ve accepted the likelihood, but rather I’m worried that the next chapter or so will be the abrupt end to this series. This concern is because of how rushed this chapter felt and I can’t help but worry that Ms. Ichikawa is now rushing to the end of the story. And to be honest, the addition fact that Ms. Ichikawa is going on hiatus is not helping these uneasy feelings. 

I hate being the pessimistic one but what if this happens? What if Ms. Ichikawa decides to end the series here or in the next chapter? What if the next chapter is literally another time skip, with all of the characters that I once cared about just NOT progressing, and Phos continuously being stuck in this immortal and we’re expected to accept this as the ending. Because other than Phos, everyone’s story, from what it looks like, is at their end now. I really hope that doesn’t happen. I’ve seen great series end so terribly too often and I’ve loved this story for so long that I hope that doesn’t happen with this series too. I love this series a lot and it’s characters, even the ones who I don’t think I like as much as I did after this chapter. I hope the series will end nicely... but I don’t think it will.

Back to predictions on how the story will progress: I made a post a few days ago about how I hope the forgotten plot elements will come into play and the fact that Aechmea isn’t omnipresent. More than ever, part of me hopes those elements will come back and have a positive impact for Phos’s story, especially the omnipresent part. But again, I don’t think I’ll hope too much for it because looking at Ms. Ichikawa’s past works... I don’t think they will, at least not in the way I’m hoping for.

Maybe I’m too used to Western (American/European) stories, where the protagonist somehow beats the odds and wins in the end. This isn’t always the case for Eastern stories, especially stories from Japan. They usually end bittersweet and I don’t think Houseki no Kuni will be the exception. I know I’ve said this saying many times before and with each passing chapter, these words become more and more true:

Phos’s suffering is never going to end. 

And unless someone does something to change the course of the story, which I don’t think will ever happen now, Phos is never going to have a happy ending. 

If I could wish for anything, it’d be that this story ends on a satisfying note. I know, I know. It’s foolish to still hope for that it’ll happen, given everything I’ve seen from Ms. Ichikawa before...But still. I don’t want to lose all of the hope that I have left for this series. Even though that hope is nearly diminished, it’s still there.

So please, Ms. Ichikawa. Please give us a satisfying ending for Phos. Please let them go.  If anyone deserves a dignifying conclusion to their story, it’s them.  Let them rest. End their suffering. Please give them the ending they deserve after everything they went through.

You’ll likely won’t though.  

Because this is Phos.

And to be Phos is to constantly suffer.

Well, regardless, I truly hope you’re hiatus goes well, Ms. Ichikawa. Even though you are a cruel troll, your work is still amazing and I applaud you for your story telling and your love to mess with us. I hope you enjoy your time away and when you return, I hope that you’ll continue to give us amazing content and eventually give Phos the ending they deserve. Please. That’s all I want.

I hope you all a nice holiday season, too, or at least try to.

Happy Holidays. 

Can’t wait for 2020 to end.