#for the entire time i've played this game on main my main team has been some variation of the og national

[paper-starz]

WELCOME HOME THEORIES AND ANALYSIS! FRIDAY THE 13th EDITION!

HUH?? A surprise Welcome Home Update???

WITH LORE AND SECRETS?!?!?!

Ohohohoho! You know yours truly loves lore! And oh boy... Theres a lot to unpack here.... So buckle your seatbelts folks! I might've discovered something BIG

WARNING! THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE HALLOWEEN UPDATE! OH AND THIS IS GONNA BE VERY VERY LONG!

Ok, first things first, THE THEORY

I might've figured out who the main antagonist could be, and it's not Wally or Home. In fact, it has been staring at us the entire time, we've just never realized it.

I think the main villain of Welcome Home could be the spooky swirly void living inside of Home.

"WHAT?!?! This early on in story??" I hear you say! "This couldn't be possible!"

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE DEAR VIEWER! And truth be told, there could be multiple antagonists in Welcome Home, but all evidence points to this swirly guy being the source of everything wrong thats happening. Also, from now on, I'll be calling it the Entity. (Spooky swirly man sounds so silly!)

EVIDENCE 1: It makes people sick.

It seems like the Entity emits some kind of black "ink" that makes people sick once you touch it. It also seems like the WHRT knows about this too! Going into great lengths to order everyone to wear gloves.

Writing on sticky note atop vinyl glove box reads: Put on gloves before handling ANY art. Call me if we run out!

Not to mention that think ink also seems to effect anyone psychologically, making them want to discover more about Welcome Home, even if it harms their own health.

In the ABOUT US page:

When I unwrapped the first letter, I felt it. I heard it. Open. Open. Open. I want it out. I’m going to get it out.

In the STAFF ONLY page:

Everything is so disgusting to touch. Sometimes the mail doesn't come for weeks. I want to rip into everything I have. My head feels so muddled too. Ever since I opened the envelope.

I keep getting phone calls, now. Or at least, I assume that's what's happening. I keep hearing it ringing. All day, sometimes. I check my phone and there's no new messages. I thought maybe some of the site staff were pranking me, but I tore up the workspace and couldn't find another phone that might be ringing. All that was there were the toys for the exhibit, and obviously those couldn't be ringing. But I kept hearing it anyway. The phone ringing and ringing... ...I keep digging and digging. I've poured over every recovery the WHRP has given me access to, every inch of their website, and the things I find make less and less sense. If I didn't know better I'd say everyone was coming together to pull an elaborate prank on me. I can still hear the phone ringing now. I don't know how to answer the phone. I need to answer the phone.

The NEWS PAGE also mentions ringing! (This could be the same person who has been affected by the ringing)

So many guest signatures… So many of them are trying to communicate. What are you telling me for? Do you think I can answer? What are you trying to do to me? I’m closing that guest book, I’m not playing this game anymore. The ringing is enough.

And even affecting them physically as well!

NEWS PAGE

What is it, I hear you pleading! Clawing at your screens just as we have! Coughing, headaches, nausea- I know. I know. It will take a lot of cleaning, preparation, and polishing on our part, but it is a worthwhile labor of love.

Coughing, headaches, nausea.... The Restoration Team is growing sick, yet they are completely obsessed with restoring more evidence for Welcome Home.

They even know that they are growing sick, they wear gloves, they clean, they prepare, they polish the artwork over and over and warn anyone NOT to touch the ink, but it's not enough. They need to restore Welcome Home, even at the cost of their own health.

Heck, the entire page (and studio) is literally dowsed with black ink!

And it seems to be growing too...

Theres more stuff on the walls I keep hearing phones ring.

"More stuff" as if he's surprised, as if there were less ink on the walls than before. And he keeps hearing phones ringing... Its growing...

And it made its way into the real world....

EVIDENCE 2: SALLY'S HORROR STORY!

Ah yes! Some evidence from the Halloween Update! This time, from Sally Starlet’s Macabre Menagerie of Monstrous Mischief Making! Specifically, I want to analyze the "noticeable gap" in the audio, the only part where the WHRT did NOT transcript. (This was written by yours truly btw!)

SALLY: What?! No, no, and no! …It is because this town is rumored to have visitors at night… Something from deep within the forest, far beyond the hills and mountains… No one knows what it wants or where it’s going, just that it is persistent… Just that it arrives here. So many stories have risen about their origins… But I know what it is searching for. It is looking for neighbors who have stayed past the daytime, to gobble them up whole. That is why so few live here. It moved through the streets at night, but it doesn't break into homes. However, on rare instances, it will find itself with an appetite left…. unsatisfied by its aimless wandering. Even the occasional unfortunate insect that has crossed its path is not enough… Those who have lived through the night say it isn't quiet about it either. They always say you can hear when it gets closer to you. Do you know what sound it makes? I hear it. Every. Night. You can hear it too, if you listen. Especially if you wait next to your window. First, theres rustling in the bushes. Then, A scratching on the pavement and the walls as it crawls up. Finally, if you're quiet, you can hear its guttural sound…

Now, I know what you're asking. Why even bring up this little story at all? What does this story have to do with the Entity?

Context, my dear viewer. If you listen closely, the audio is too clear. No static, no nothing. This segment is also the only part where it didn't get transcripted because it was "inaudible". Which is strange, because you and me and you and that guy and me can hear it just fine! And THAT is why it got me theory senses tingling.

Plus, the story is about a monster too! Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

So let's analyze!

"…It is because this town is rumored to have visitors at night… Something from deep within the forest, far beyond the hills and mountains… No one knows what it wants or where it’s going, just that it is persistent… Just that it arrives here."

This could be talking about the Entity. We don't know what exactly the Entity wants, just that it looks like it's determined to reach a goal that we don't know much about.

"It is looking for neighbors who have stayed past the daytime, to gobble them up whole. That is why so few live here."

It feels like this is talking about the portal-like properties the Entity has. "Gobbling" up neighbors whole and sending them to another dimension, ours.

Sally also states "That is why so few live here", which makes me question how many neighbors used to live here before. Perhaps Julie's siblings, Howdy's family, Barnaby's mom? Were they sent to another dimension? Where are they now????

Not only that, but Sally makes it clear that it goes after neighbors at nighttime. And what time does Welcome Home usually update? 7 PM (*Now, this time could be different because of timezones, but the updates usually happen during the night)

"It moved through the streets at night, but it doesn't break into homes. However, on rare instances, it will find itself with an appetite left…. unsatisfied by its aimless wandering..."

"First, theres rustling in the bushes. Then, A scratching on the pavement and the walls as it crawls up. Finally, if you're quiet, you can hear its guttural sound…"

I think Sally is giving us an EXACT description on how the Entity managed to break into Home.

1st, theres rustling in the bushes. Home does have bushes surrounding him.

Then, a scratching on the pavement and walls as it crawls up. The Entity could've broken into Home by either climbing through the window or through the roof.

Finally, a guttural sound. Now... where did I hear a guttural sound in Welcome Home before.... Oh yeah! Wally. <- Click this handy-dandy clip and you can hear something quite monstrous right below Wally's voice!

"Wait a minute.... Did you say Wally has a guttural voice???"

I did, dear reader. I did.... Which brings me to my next point:

EVIDENCE 3: POSSESSION AND PUPPETEERING!

Throughout our inspection of the Welcome Home website, we've seen countless times of Wally becoming more and more distressed as each update comes out.

But we've also seen a lot of inconsistencies regarding our lil' Darling! In fact, I even compiled these into a theory in which there could be 2 people hacking into the website!

And while that I still do believe there are more than 2 people hacking into the website... I don't think the Question Answerer is the one doodling. He's still hacking onto the website, but unlike Wally, he writes it out.

The last piece of evidence just proves its the same guy writing this! The Question Answerer!

I want to rip into everything I have. My head feels so muddled too. Ever since I opened the envelope. (see above)

Ok but if the Question Answerer isn't the other guy doodling... then who is making all of the inconsistent doodles??

Why, the ENTITY!

Not only are the doodles inconsistent, but even the sound of Wally's voice sound... quite off if you compare enough audios.

For example! Compare the interview audio with the newest Happy Haunting audio, do you notice anything peculiar about Wally's voice? Especially in the Happy Haunting audio? (If you have trouble finding it, compare these few timestamps below)

4:08

4:51

8:45

13:39-15:29

It sounds... off. Robotic even! It's slow, and the articulation is way different from the interview audio. In the interview audio, you can hear how happy Wally sounds! Even in this audio (and this one too), you can hear Wally growing increasingly frustrated. Yes, its still monotone, but you could hear emotion!

But the Happy Haunting audio, it's neutral. Yes, it IS monotone, but it feels like someone doing an impersonation of Wally rather than Wally actually speaking himself. In fact, the audio reminds me of the phone audio right here. It has the same pauses and neutral tone, save for the very audible growl right underneath Wally's voice.

But speaking of the phone audio.... Did you catch that?

...Do you know who I am? [The heart beat and ambience resume.] [Gasp.] Oh no. Well that’s not neighborly at all. We’ve never met before. But don’t worry. Even though you and I haven’t spoken before, I’ve seen you... Every time you have looked into my eyes. I want to know… What did you see? [Silence.] I hope you saw a friend, but I’m not sure you saw a name... Stand still. Let’s start over. Ring ring ring. Click. Hi, I’m Wally. I’m so happy to finally meet you, I think you’re the absolute most.

...That's strange, isn't it? We definitely HAVE met Wally, not formally, but we do know about him (this fandom is proof of that!) So how come Wally is saying that we haven't?

Especially when in another audio, he says that we DO 'know him'.

…Why won’t you answer me, neighbor. Why can’t I hear you. You know me. You do. Please open. Let me in.

Contradictory, isn't it? We can't both know Wally and NOT know Wally at the same time. That's impossible....

Unless the phone audio Wally isn't our Wally... its the Entity.

Technically, we DON'T know about the Entity. It's not a character in Welcome Home and the things that we do know about it are just mere theories and speculations. It is our 'first' formal meeting with it.

Then why did it introduce itself as Wally? WELL BECAUSE ITS POSSESSING HIM! It's trying to convince us that it is Wally, using his signature catchphrase and even saying 'I hope you saw a friend'. Besides, if you were a weird portal monster, I doubt you would introduce yourself as one if you wanted to trick someone.

And if this possession theory does turn out to be true, it does explain the major inconsistencies happening in the website! Such as the doodles!

The Hearts!

THE HANDWRITING

THATS NOT WALLY'S HANDWRITING! He writes in CAPITAL LETTERS and in RED (not all lowercase and in blue!).

WALLY CAN'T DRAW HEARTS SO WHO'S DRAWING EM???

AND BOTH OF THOSE BARNABY DRAWINGS SURE DO LOOK INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER. ALMOST AS IF SOMEONE WITH LITTLE DRAWING EXPERIENCE DID IT.

But if you still need a bit more proof to convince ya, here's some more!

W a L L y: You won't write back Wally: You're looking for me. Silly. Silly.

I think W a L L y is our Wally! He's getting desperate, but he knows that we won't be able to write back. Wally on the other hand is the Entity, it knows that we are looking for the main big bad antagonist, and it knows. It even mocks us.

And I think we've seen evidence of these possessions before. Look at none other than the bug audios!

In every single one of these bug audios, we are in the perspective of Wally himself. But in these bug audios, Wally doesn't say anything at all. Rather, he sits unmoving, listening into the conversation whether he has been invited there or not!

In this bug audio, Wally has been listening in on Sally and Howdy's conversation the entire time!

But thats not all! All of these bug audios are connected according to the conversation between Barnaby and Home! Which means that all of these bug audios are happening on the same day at a very short period of time, which is concerning on just how frequent Wally appears to be disassociating. Or if that's even Wally at all!

If that is the Entity controlling Wally, it feels like he's observing them, studying them. Perhaps that's why the audios always cut out whenever a neighbor says Wally's name, it snaps him out of that trance and reminds him that he is in fact the real Wally!

Which brings us to our latest bug audio (and by far the most worrying one), the Candy Spider! The Halloween Bug?? Idk it's this one <-

We've just gotten proof of Wally munching on an apple. This would've been fine and dandy in any other situation, but remember viewer! Context matters! Especially if we put into consideration that that is not Wally.

BARNABY: ‘Ey, how’s my little devil doin’ over ‘ere? You guardin’ my apple for me, pal? [There is a brief pause. What is he doing.] BARNABY: Oh— heh, I guess ya didn’t do a very good job at it. [Barnaby calls out to the room] Hey! Who took a bite outta my apple? I think I see some fang marks, Frank!

Yeah that SURE is definitely not worrying. Nope, none whatsoever!

Oh boy... I think that's everything. Well, not everything everything. I still don't think the Entity is the only bad guy, just the main one! The Playfellow Workshop is very suspicious, and while I do believe Wally and Home are most likely victims of everything that is going on, I don't think I should say that they are quite innocent yet.

In the banner, they are the only two NOT separated by hearts! It seems to me that they are working together to give out more evidence to the WHRT.

And Marlo... another company that is VERY suspicious. What did their logo look like again?

A house logo with an eye in the middle.... Why does that look so familiar?

AH.

Well that's clearly not suspicious!

[kradeelav]

status update ~

thought i'd write a summary of what I've been up to, and what's next art-wise! honestly, I'm finding that I work well mentally consolidating projects to quarters of the year; it gives me hard deadlines while allowing nuttiness to blow up two weeks (or more) of my life at a time and still not be stressed.

year recap first!

(Q1) collaborated with @/lululeighsworld to give gunter the fabulous possessed gacha entrance he deserves!! leigh's writing here to this day feels uncannily and perfectly in-character, no small feat with the mind games this devious possessed old man likes to play ~

(Q1) also finished the 140k your ruin, my ruin gunter/corrin revelation fic! the reception from y'all has been absolutely exceptional and while I don't think I'll ever write another fanfic of that length (lol) being able to point to it re: my fire emblem fates: revelation feelings is so ... satisfying. the ossan smut holds up pretty damn well too.

(Q1) NaZine (I) anthology printed and completely sold out, but the digital version is eternally available on the shop if you're still interested. I'll admit that anthologies are not normally my thing for being too prim and milquetoast, but this is anything but. if you've been dying for more sleazy uniform fetish, we got it there!

(Q2) Comics-wise, both Dead is Calling and YRMR:[Epilouge] were finished and ready to be collected in my planned gunter/corrin doujinshi called ashes and ghost; there's one more (eye-blistering smut) strip planned there with a few internal pages.

(Q3) Website-wise, IRON CROWN moved to rarebit from wordpress, and the main landing page was revamped entirely to better pave a road for preparations to self-host the website.

that's not even counting the smaller flash artwork like the fe: alphabet challenge, and hellsing exchange work also done in between everything else.

what's next?

(Q4) you might have seen me show wip's from a FE:Heroes (gacha) comic; while it's tonally softer than my usual work, It's 14-ish pages of some very, very guilty pleasure topics. raw feelings but in a different way? idk, you'll see.

(Q4) I have a personal deadline to get the website updates done by November, namely moving my art/update logs off of wordpress, and also likewise either moving to a different host or self-hosting the entire site (on a rasbpi lol) and removing the middle-man entirely.

(Q4/2025) finishing ashes and ghost (the gunter/corrin doujinshi)! I've been taking a needed break from it (something learned back in the webcomics days) but I can't wait to get back in some hentai level smut that's frankly, going to push me in so many ways. :D;;

(2025) NaZine II will likely be printed in the upcoming year with the same team heading it up. There's delicious stories already planned including multiple shotas and Daddies, oh my - needless to say, it's the kind of sleaze and sauce i dig.

that's all for now!

[kranagok0]

Oh boy, this Is a complete love square....

Guys, I don't know what I have about polyamorous romances but it's like a strange feeling of 'look at that, no one is sad and everyone loves each other.'

That just crossed my mind when I saw the new member of the trio of strange friends (now it's a quartet).

Louise is a breath of fresh air among the extroverts that make up the group.

Louise is practically an introvert. Someone closed who was even the last to be chosen on the boat trip (if we leave aside the trio of protagonists). Louise mentions that she has been in the Sparrow Scouts for some time now but has made almost no friends (or so I think).

I understand what it's like to be an introvert, more or less. I am the type of person who acts with a lot of concern, nervousness and gets serious so as not to say something stupid the first time they meet him... However, when I gain the necessary confidence I transform into someone different. I go from being 'a mouse thinking carefully about its next move' to becoming 'a monkey with a shotgun'. I hope I'm not the only one to have that strange way of being....

My life aside, I'd say Louise is kind of like that too. At first she tries to fit in by being normal with the team, but then she begins to get to know them and identify what things the trio of friends think are right or wrong and that is when Louise begins to show more of her personality. It emerges from the cocoon like a butterfly to show its true colors.

And in short: it is perfect for the trio of friends. It's so weird and different that I feel like it's necessary for the group, and I'm speaking in a positive way when I say weird. A good time.Now the main topic..... Romance.

I've seen a lot of Frida X David, Hilda X Frida, David X Frida fanfics and blogs, there's literally everything. But with the arrival of Louise the combinations are doubled. Now it could be Louise X David, Louise X Hilda, Louise

*Music from a 80's TV game show plays*

Hello ladies, gentlemen and other magical creatures who visualize us! I want to welcome you to this little head-canon idea I had of what each character in the trio of friends would be like if they were Louise's partner!

To do this, we will see the qualities of each suitor and what their dynamic with the character would be like:

Let's start with the one who represents better than anyone the shyness and courage that exists within us, he died twice to try to demonstrate it. Here we have David.

David may be a scary guy, but he will definitely come to save you if you are in danger. This kid would literally show what he's made of on a battlefield if he feels like he needs to prove something.... Don't tell me no, we've all seen the Vikings episode.

Our next contestant is not only smart in school but also in witchcraft. If you ask him about a certain topic, rest assured that when he finishes his talk you will at least have knowledge of the entire topic and its related subtopics. She is willing to do anything for her friends, she would even open a portal to the unknown and create non-existent spells just for you. Let's give a big, fervent wave of applause to the young city witch: FRIDA!

Frida may have been a bit of a perfectionist in the past, but after meeting Hilda and experiencing several events she went from being miss perfect to becoming the smartest friend you can count on. To be honest, sometimes Frida can be a bit boring, but that doesn't stop her from reaching your heart by showing great gifts of her intellect and the magic she possesses means that any topic can arise from a conversation. So, if by 'boring' we mean a lot of context and extremely long topics that she explains to you with excitement and great happiness, then boring is pretty good.

Finally we have the icing on the cake, or in this case the blueberry. Coming from the wild and with more extroverted energy than any of the other candidates mentioned above, we have a young woman with blue hair as long as she could grow it (I don't doubt that she would have let it grow longer if it didn't bother her in her adventures). This girl can literally make friends with almost anything and her circle of friends is huge, ranging from elf scribes to giants who are no longer on this planet. She would be the one to always take the first step in battle with her sword if I see it necessary and— Wait, where did he get that sword?

With you, Hilda!

Seriously, where do I get it from?

Hilda is by far the most outgoing and curious person I have ever seen. Don't you remember what Tofoten was triggered by his curiosity? Dude, it was literally the end of the series. And if you hadn't already noticed, this girl would fight barehanded against a king to save her loved ones. She would be the first to take up weapons to save her friends, she is capable of moving every rock in the entire city to find her pet, she is even capable of doing an act of terrorism just because the bells were bothering her friends.

Oh my god, I'd be afraid of this girl if I were someone who played some practical joke on David in the past or something. I would be locked up at home for what might happen to me. Better confinement than meeting Hilda on the street and having her recognize me.

So.... In a little while we will see Louise's possible choices about who she would like to be with, why I think they would be a good couple and also about what their relationship would be like. And it wouldn't just be from my point of view. Indeed, dear reader, you can also have your opinion. Comment what you think a relationship between Louise and any of our favorite trio of friends would be like.I retire to write incorrect quotes and more about this romance because I am burning with emotion. See you later

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

Ask game for Skye?

Aw yes our beloved tiny Cockapoo XD

My first impression - Why is there only one female pup and why is she so much smaller than the boys-- Is she a Cocker Spaniel?? Could've been a bit bigger...

My impression now - "Thank you Mighty Movie for giving her some lore and anything at all other than what little the show gives us"

Favorite thing about that character - She's one of the only three characters who are girls in PINK that I think the color actually fits them really well, instead of just color coding girls with pink just because. She DOES look good in it, it fits with her actions and general behavior, just as well as all pink/violet shades she wears with other colors for highlights. It may sound of not much importance, but pink is a strong color, not a "feminine" color. It shouldn't ever be "lowly/lazily coded" for girls just because girls, it can and should be used by anyone, as long as they get it. Don't see pink as "feminine/gay" color, see it as "lighter red, passion, fire, love, care, nurturing, protecting". Someone who takes others under their wings and care for them, protect them, fight for them. Skye is persistent, she cares, she's passionate, she's always giving it her all and some more. She deserves the pink color.

Least favorite thing - Being the only girl in the main team when there's a demand for female rep makes it so she's exhaustively OVERUSED to the extent of shading out other pups who would be more suited for certain kinds of rescues, kicking them out of the scene only for being males and their need for showing more girl power. I've been missing Everest showing up more times, heck she lives just close to them, it's closer than Liberty, at least they wouldn't need to overuse Skye so ridiculously much...

Favorite line/scene - This scene lives rent free in my mind

Favorite interaction that character has with another - That moment in the first movie when she went to pick Chase from the rooftop and bring him back down to ground level. I think she could understand he was panicking and made sure he would hear her voice, state her intention and next moves "I'm coming to get you" so he wouldn't be caught by surprise, she asked what happened, made sure he would know people were safe now and he could let go and go with her, she was a total darling there. 10/10 emotional support pup.

A character that I wish that character would interact with more - Chase and Liberty. First I miss Skye and Chase being absolute dorks together, second I loved Skye's dynamic with Liberty in the Mighty Movie, with the two often talking and throwing shade at others or being generally sarcastic to make each other laugh

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character - Uran, from Tetsuwan Atom, specifically the 2003 anime version - you might know her as Zoran, Astro Boy. But the American dub for that anime literally changed EVERYTHING to the point if you watch the anime dubbed and subbed, you feel it's two entirely different stories. "Zoran" was nothing like "Uran", they managed to change and reshape her personality in such a way they're literally two completely different characters, so I'll be precise and say I'm talking specifically about the Japanese Uran character, not the dubbed Zoran character.

A headcanon about that character - The show gave me nothing to develop ideas about her, sadly. So I don't have any interesting headcanons to go about- just that I believe she loves strawberry bubblegum scented shampoo lol

A song that reminds of that character - "Defying Gravity"

An unpopular opinion about that character - I prefer her movie verse over the show verse. I can't feel a "personality" in the show... She's cool, but if it wasn't for the movie, I feel like we wouldn't ever have anything to work about her at all?? She's just-- always happy, likes to play Pup Pup Boogie, flies her 'copter, is afraid of eagles. Isn't it weird that I just listed four things about her and still feel like I don't have much to work with her at all??? The only friend I know who has her as his favorite pup told me it's because she's the flight rescue pup - he's hyperfixated on aircrafts. It's not for who she is, only for her being the one to fly 'copters/jets. It could be ANY pup instead of her. That's just freaking SAD. The Mighty Movie wasn't perfect but at least it gave her SOMETHING ELSE if you get what I mean now.

Favorite picture - I didn't get there in the show yet but this is my favorite outfit of hers already, hands down. She looks hella cool.

[andydrysdalerogers]

Cross-Checked ~ Chapter 1

Andy Barber x OFC Leighton "Leia" Andrews

Summary:

Andy Barber is having the best year of his life. His game is on point. It’s gets to play with his best friend and his fiancé just... dumped him?!. 

Reeling from a sudden change in status, Andy decides it’s time to just focus on hockey. Until his best friend's sister comes out with news that rock the entire organizations world., 

Andy has always carried a torch for the untouchable Leighton but in her hour of need, is now the time to shoot and score or risk getting cross - checked again? 

Warnings: Cheating (but not by the MCs); slow burn; friends to lovers eventually; SMUT!; pregnancy; jealousy; evil exes...

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Banners by me!

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 1: it's supposed to be my year - Andy 

Third Person POV 

The Red line is a good place to hide from the world. 

A dive bar that's only really known by locals and a perfect hideout for the local team, The Boston Bruins. This is where we can find the hero of our story. Or a broken heart reeling from the shock of a lifetime. The bartender puts the third glass of Glenlevet 12 in front of the broken man at the corner of his bar.  

Andy 

“You want something to eat Barber?” 

I shook my head. The idea of food just made me want to throw up. This must be the worst day of my life. Sitting at our local dive, all I wanted to do was to drink myself to sleep. Maybe then I'll wake up from this nightmare. Have you ever been stood up at the alter?  No? Lucky you. 

“Knew I’d find you here.” I looked over to my best friend and alternate captain Lukas Andrews. He signaled to Mike, the bartender, and pointed to my glass. “You ok?” 

“I'm great. Just perfect.” I pulled at the tie on the collar of my tux. “I mean I paid for an entire wedding and the down payment on a house, but my bride decided to fuck my team mate the night before our wedding and lucky me I overheard them arguing about it right before she was going walk down the aisle.” I slammed back my drink. “Oh, and she runs away with said teammate.” 

I signal for another. And dropped my head to the bar. “Andy maybe you should slow down?” Luke said. 

“Why? I don't want to feel Luke. I just want to numb the pain.” Can’t he see that I just want me heart to stop hurting.  I was betrayed by two people that I trusted tremendously and now have to deal with not just one heartbreak but two.  

“I know buddy but maybe you should sleep?”  

Luke’s a great best friend to have.  He always tries to take care of me and I’d do the same for him.  But right now, I don’t want to take care of myself. “No, we drink.” 

That's the last thing I remember. 

Please let me be dead.  

That could be the only explanation as to why I was in so much pain. The alternative is that its a massive hangover and that would suck worse. I cracked an eye and sunlight hit me like fucking a truck. Fuck, I’m alive and it was going to be a hell of a day. It took everything to get to the bathroom and throw up like I’m a goddamm teenager.  

I’m a 31-year-old professional hockey player. I don't get drunk anymore. 

At least I didn't before yesterday. And it hit me that the love of my life screwed one of my best friends and teammates the night before our wedding and I got listen to him beg her not to marry me. 

Fuck Fiona and fuck Craig Bailey. 

I wandered downstairs, the aroma of fresh coffee hitting me like water in the Sahara. This is why Luke is my best friend. Fully expecting to see him sitting at the island, I'm stunned when I see my other best friend and Luke's sister making breakfast. “Morning?” 

Leighton Andrews.  

If there was one girl I wish I could marry it would been her. I’ve known the Andrews siblings since Luke and I were in kindergarten. Hell, I've been around since Leia was just a sweet little baby. She was an annoying brat for most of my childhood. But then when we came home for Christmas our freshman year of college and every change. Leia was only 14 at the time but she grew up way more than that. She had always been short, taking after their mother but everything else had grown up. She had tits that were perfect, a banging ass that I wanted to feel in my hands. 

There was just one small problem. 

She's my best friend's sister. 

To call Luke overprotective would be the biggest understatement in the world. After their dad died in a freak accident, Luke took his job as “man of the house” very seriously. He made sure that his mom didn't feel lonely, and he made it his mission to protect his sister by any means necessary. 

As the dutiful best friend, I, of course, helped him in his mission to protect her. 

Did I have selfish reasons? 

Yes.  

Did I tell him that? 

I'm alive so what does that tell you. 

“Hey Andy, good morning!” Leia chirped.  She had always been a ball of sunshine and it was something that I loved about her. Except, wait, how did she get into my townhome? 

“I say this with love, Leia, but what are you doing here? And how did you get into my house?” 

She flashed me that goddam smile that makes me give her whatever hell she wants. “Mike called.” 

Sadly, that's enough of an explanation. 

“Where's lover boy? I thought you guys were attached at the hip?” I poured myself a cup of water, drained it with two ibuprofen and then moved on to coffee. 

“Bret is on a business trip right now. He'll be back on Friday.”   

Bret.  Blah, the man was a waste of space in mine and Luke’s opinion.  He’s a stockbroker for some Fortune 500 company. When Leia started dating him, he was the epitome of douche bag. For the last year, Leia had subtly changed.  She used to be a free spirit, dressed however she wanted.  But Bret wanted a sophisticated partner that was like the other wives of brokers in his company.  He would spend money to upgrade her wardrobe and then they bought a house together six months ago.  I hated that. Even when I was with Fiona, I knew Leia deserved better. But she’s happy, and that’s all I can ask for.  

“Was he even at my wedding? Or as I call it the implosion of my life?” 

Leia came over and wrapped her arm around me and put her head on my shoulder. “He was there. He told me to tell you how was and sorry that Fiona was a complete bitch.” 

“He did not say that.” 

“Ok, fine, it was me but that's because it’s the truth.” Leia smiled at me sadly. “I’m so sorry, Andy.” 

“Thanks, Leia.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I guess I'm just glad I found out before I married her.” 

“She's an idiot Andy. I mean who in their right mind ditch a man like you?” 

This really wasn't the time to get a semi. Her compliment is doing things to me.

“Please don't tell me she did it because I neglected her or drove her into another man's arms? I mean I know I’ve been busy but I was trying to secure our future, you know?” Fuck, did I screw this up? I was working to be named captain this upcoming season.  The Bruins made that announcement a couple of weeks ago.  It had been awesome at the time but was it tainted now? 

“I don’t know. She’s been with you for like three years. She knows what it's like to be a WAG. She’s a fucking idiot Andy.” She moved to rub my back. 

I looked around my townhouse. “I have to move out of this place because I have a new home. That she wanted. Fuck,” I dropped my head onto the kitchen counter with a thud. “Ow.”  

Leia chose at that moment to let out a series of adorable giggles, her second-choice weapon in her arsenal. “Feel better?” 

“No,” I mumble. 

She came over and kissed my forehead. “Everything is going to be ok. You are the captain this year. Your best friends are right beside you. And we'll always be by your side.” 

I looked up at her. “Promise?” I held out my pinkie, something the three of us have done since we were kids. She took it with her own. 

“Promise.” 

“Fuck, who turned on the brightness?” Luke wandered into the kitchen. He took a seat next to me and lowered his head into his arms. “I’m never drinking with you again Barber.” 

“I didn’t say you had to match me drink for drink Andrews.” I looked around, searching for his girlfriend. I vaguely remember her coming with him to the bar. “Where is Miranda?” 

“She’s sleeping.  I tried to wake her, but she said she’s not getting up unless I can promise pancakes and bacon in bed.”  Luke looked at his sister.  “I love you.”  

Leia rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, yeah.  I’m doing this because I need to make sure you guys were ok. I gotta get back home for a meeting.” 

I smiled at her. “You’re the best Leia.” 

“And don’t you forget it.” 

After the banging in my head subsided, I went to the new house. I needed to make this place my own. Fuck whatever Fiona wanted. I would make this the home of my dreams, not hers. As I walked up to the front, I saw someone sitting on the stoop. “The fuck are you doing here?” The nerve of this guy showing up to my house. 

Craig stood up. “I just want a minute to explain.” 

“Explain what? How you "accidentally" slept with my fiancé or how you were trying to convince her to leave me?” I raged. This fucker has balls, I'll give him that. 

“Andy, it’s not like that. I'm in love with her. I have been for a long time.”  

“You slept with her once and all of a sudden, you've been in love with her for forever? Bull shit man.” 

“It wasn't just once,” he said quietly.  

I stopped. “Wanna run that by me again?” I must have not heard him clearly 

“It wasn't just the once. We've been seeing each other for the last year.” 

We all heard that right? 

“You've got to be kidding me! You've been fucking my fiancé for the last year?” I don't even let him respond. I deck him across the chin and drop him to the floor. Lucky for him, Luke shows up just when I go to hit him again. 

“Andy! Stop! He's not worth it.” Luke grabs my arm and pulls me back. Another set of hands takes mine. I look back and see Leia and I calm a little under her touch. 

“I fucking hate you! You were one of my best friends and you did this to me. Fuck you! You're dead to me!” 

“We are on the same team Andy!” Craig argues. “I’m sorry but I love her, and we didn’t mean for this to happen.” 

“I don't give a shit. She was mine and you fucked me over. I'll work with you on the ice, but I never want to speak to you or look at you outside of the arena ever again! Go back to your bitch and tell her I'll send her shit to her mother's.” Luke pushes Craig away from me and down the drive. I turned away and Leigh wrapped her arms around me, and I buried my head in her neck, sobbing into her. “Why?” I asked her. 

“I don't know Andy but I'm right here.” She rubbed my back as Luke dealt with Craig. “Let it out, I've got you.” 

This was supposed to be my year. I had the captaincy, I had a championship caliber team and a fiancé that I thought loved me.  

This was supposed to be my year.  

Now I know what it's like to get screwed over with my pants on. 

Life is funny like that. 

NEXT

Taglist:

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

@sunnyhummingbee

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@peaceinourtime82

@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

[hovershiplogos]

Guess who's doing rewatches again? It's me, and well, not entirely a rewatch:

Yes, that's right, it's Enter the Matrix. Because it's criminal that for a blog named for the little ship that could, I've haven't actually done a deep dive on the game itself! So I'm going to fix that!

I'm also going to play through as both Niobe and Ghost, as depending on who you're playing, the missions play out slightly different, and the cutscene dialogue varies as well. Also, not going to do like a  blow by blow kinda thing. Only going to comment on things that caught my  interest, or seem rather amusing to me.  If you want a little more context, I suggest checking out the couple of playthroughs/cut scene compilations on youtube.

Also of note, the game picks up right after the Animatrix short Final Flight of the Osiris.

Anyway, let's get to it!

AND IT'S THE MAIN REASON I'M STILL HERE, BECAUSE OF THIS PESSIMISTIC SNARKY COWARD RIGHT HERE. And he's self aware about it as well.

Also interesting to note is that according to this cutscene, Sparks has been operating on board the Logos for 3 years. Now, a standard US navy tour of duty (and I'm going with Navy rather than Army as Zion's army is referred to as a Navy fleet) is between 2-3 years. Not really going anywhere with this, but it's interesting to note.

Niobe is a 'my way or the highway' kinda person. No wonder it didn't work between her and Morpheus. It's also telling that Ghost has known Niobe for long enough to know that this is what she's like. I wonder if Ghost is the glue in this ship dynamic? As in, he knew Niobe and Sparks separately before they knew each other, if that makes sense?

And it's the little hovership that could, the little lightning bug of the fleet! Those red lights on the ship look like they're the same as the ones on the sentinels. I wonder if a bulb blows or something they scavenge one from a deactivated squiddie as a replacement?

It's not particularly clear, but I never realised that Niobe's hair is tied with what looks like string with gold in it? Maybe a metal band with gold on it? I'm not sure, but it's pretty!

Also, I appreciate that they give a reason why Niobe is going after this drop, rather than waiting for someone else (ie: Neo) to go get it.

Also, saying are you red or blue on this is a very cool in universe way of saying are you with me or not?

The subtitles are missing here, but what he says:

"You know me Niobe. It's not a choice, it's a way of life."

Ghost, you're awesome, you know that, right?

I get Sparks' complaint here, there are only two of them, and it would be a lot safer to wait for back up to help them out. But nope, you know what Niobe's like, get it done.

Also, as I remarked earlier, the fact that Niobe is willing to risk going in without support , especially given what she says about Thaddeus not using the drops unless he had no choice? And now they're all dead? They definitely need to get that package before the agents do.

I personally love Niobe's little eye roll here.

I also love that Ghost is more chill and amused by Sparks than exasperated like Niobe is. Yeah, Ghost is the glue holding the team together.

Also, a little mention of Zion funerary practices. As someone pointed out to me years ago, I suspect that the gardens is similar to the Exodus fleet's method of burial, but who knows?

Yup, words to live by!

Once again, Niobe is rolling her eyes behind the sunnies. This is what she has to put up with. Also, I would love to think that one time Sparks pranked Ghost by running some program that sent his guns soaring upward.

I always used to think that Ghost was the serious, no nonsense one in the crew, but I'm beginning to think I'm wrong on that front.

Sparks, why do you want his boots? They're too small for your big feet!

Niobe has great taste in old muscle cars. Good old 1967 Pontiac Firebird, in eggplant purple instead of black. Very stylish!

That's all for now, next up will be the post office. See you then!

[samuraiondo-mace-1177]

Yakuza/Lost Judgement Headcanons: Sexuality, Gender, and ASD/ADHD

Strap in boys, this is a long ass post (some spoilerish stuff)

(I may not mention certain things since it's side content, and that's written by a separate team of people. However, some things are character accurate, but that's rare)

These are personal views so if you don't HC them aswell, I'm chill w/ that

Kiryu Kazuma - Biromantic Asexual with ASD

Yeah, he's quite gay with Majima, but I feel like a lot of people forget the fact that he's had 3 female love interests in the main story and rizzes up entire cabaret clubs in every game. So, he should probably be called bi instead of gay. As usual, asexual since he shows no interest in sex, seems to be repulsed, and sexual thoughts don't appear easily in this man's head. For ASD, he has some processing issues (socially, not physically), a hyperfixation on Pocket Circuit (knowing everything abt it), barely understands social conventions and how people act, and seems to have some sort of selective mutism.

Little note abt the whole Transmasc Kiryu thing: I'm pretty sure people are confusing the signs of autism with the signs of a transmasc character. Ya see, a lot of trans people are autistic and the signs I've seen people mention have just been signs of autism, not him being trans.

Goro Majima - Bisexual Genderfluid with ASD

The first two speak for themselves. Kiryu and Makoto. Then Goromi. Simple. The ASD tho. I'm aware a lot of people say he has ADHD but I don't think that's the case. See, he shows traits of Autism throughout Yakuza 0 and, at the end, basically says to Sagawa, "nah I'ma be insane for fun." He appears to be masking the ADHD traits. Due to him being able to focus well and remain sitting still in Y0 and not doing that in the mainline titles. There's a lot of stuff I could say, but then this would be a three hour read, lol.

Daigo Dojima - ASD

Literally nothing else other than he's way too much like me and one of my friends (we're both autistic woooooo)

Shun Akiyama - ADHD

(Someone on here told me abt the signs, and I got to Y4. So, I can wholeheartedly say that I agree)

Excessive tiredness is a sign of ADHD, and so is a terrible sleep schedule. He struggles with keeping track of time (a.k.a. time blindness). And obviously, issues with balancing general chores and work.

Ichiban Kasuga - AuDHD (possibly Demisexual or Ace)

He struggles to focus, jumps from a new idea to another, struggles with chores and remembering stuff. He's hyperfixated with Dragon's quest to the point where the first game is just him pretending he's in it. Ichiban also has a lack of personal public perception. Resulting in him not focusing on his own behaviour in public and acting in ways others may see as childish. Other members are shown to play along but may then feel a bit embarrassed after or during. He also doesn't seem to immediately think of sexual thoughts when it comes to things (like when you meet that fortune teller dating app woman in Infinite Wealth). Although, Ichiban appears to think that those sorts of things should only be done with a partner you have a strong bond with (tho, this is from memory. I need to rewatch cutscenes)

Joon Gi Han - ASD

(also information that someone told me)

He lacks an understanding of jokes and sarcasm. Typically speaks out of turn in conversation. Joon Gi is also naturally isolated from the group, showing his disappointment and sadness when this happens.

Takayuki Yagami - Biromantic Bigender Demi/asexual with ASD

The only reasons for the Biromantic and Bigender HCs is just because I've seen way too many clips of Kimura being Flirtatious with men and women, and dressing as both masc and fem, that I can't unsee Yagami as anything else. Demisexuality tho comes from the cutscene in Judge eyes/Judgement where he mentions that he takes relationships slow, and doesn't jump to having sex as soon as possible. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's scenes where he gets incredibly grossed out and sexual related things or doesn't immediately see something as sexual. Alright, this man stims, has issues processing info, hyperfixates, has issues expressing himself, large emotion meltdowns, confused by social behaviour, doesn't know how to comfort others, comfort clothes, repetitive behaviour, lack of sympathy/empathy, MASKS ALL THE TIME.

Makoto Tsukumo - ASD

He is a Hikikomori (a full time shut in basically) and a large amount of those are autistic. He has severe social anxiety, hyperfixations, finds it hard to communicate socially, avoids eye contact, and acts strangely.

Kazuki Soma - AroAce with diagnosed ASD

He follows the same stereotype as me, high intelligence and lack of empathy (I'm getting better at it though!) Soma has a low immune system, having an IgE allergy (prevelant in those with Autism). He blames his failed plans on the execution from the others, and not the plan itself. The AroAce bit tho. Idk, it just felt right for the character. He kinda reminds me of an aroace friend of mine in a sense so uhhhhhh

Note for Soma: You may be aware of the meme I posted of "Can Opener and then Leg Opener" w/ a picture of Soma. That was made out of a joke with the aroace friend that I previously mentioned. It was kinda making fun of the fact that I've seen people drool over that psychopath and there was a level of satireness making the meme. Idk dude, we made it at like 3am or smt, anything is funny at that time

(if you want me to give evidence or elaborate on something, just send me an ask lol)

[thewadapan]

In light of the good news, I've finally sat down to watch skibidi toilet. It's pretty good, not too surprisingly! Absolutely no wonder that Michael Bay seems to have such a genuine fondness for it, considering how much of a love-letter it is to his work on Transformers and how dedicated it is to just producing spectacle above all else.

The first-person-POV of the cameramen in the show is easily its most inspired element, giving an intuitive structure to the episodes (about 50% of the time the episode ends because the cameraman gets fucking bodied). As it escalates in scope and ambitions, you see the device being used in more impressively inventive ways towards narrative ends, as cameramen and TV men are used to diegetically transition between subplots. But it's also used in more subtle ways, with different effects or overlays, or simply in how the cinematography itself can communicate the emotions of the cameraman doing the recording.

Moreover, the whole thing is very video-game-y, isn't it? Not even just in terms of the assets, but in terms of the action, the beat-to-beat plotting. It's a lot of sneaking around open-level environments, picking up new weapons from dead enemies, encountering new types of enemies or bosses with their own attack patterns and weaknesses. It instantly transported me back to being a teenager, fucking around in Garry's Mod, playing Team Fortress 2 with my mates, getting through Half Life, and all that. The SFM-filmmaker aesthetic isn't just a mode of convenience—although obviously the fact that DaFuq!?Boom! has managed to maintain a pretty prodigal output can be partly attributed to the fact he's using software and assets he's clearly very comfortable with—but rather, it informs everything about the storytelling.

People love to performatively (or ignorantly) act like skibidi toilet is some incomprehensible, unprecedented "brainrot" that the kids are into, but it's nowhere near as absurd as everyone likes to pretend. I feel like I've seen something very similar to it before, but the closest thing that comes to mind is the old trend of stick-figure fight animation borne out of Newgrounds. Or if not that, then yeah, the Transformers films! It's like the entire back half of Dark of the Moon depicting this huge guerrilla war in occupied Chicago—that's clearly the main touchstone.

It's a crime that the most absurd (and often disturbing) part of the show, the SKIBIDI DOB DOB DOB YES YES earworm constantly being repeated by the skibidi toilets, has seemingly been copyright struck, resulting in many portions of the official uploads suddenly just going silent for multiple seconds. It actually incenses me that someone, or some organisation, has been able to do this. I don't really have an ethically-consistent model of how copyright should work, but in cases like this, it seems like obviously a net negative for the world. For whatever reason, the Shorts versions of the episodes seem unaffected, but they're unideal for their own reasons.

The main thing is that past a certain point, the Shorts clearly become cut-down extracts of the main widescreen episodes, which presumably have the intended aspect ratio. Some of the longer uploads have what the content-slop lore freaks describe as "secret scenes", added-in, revised, or unabridged, often containing more of the long-term plot points. The idea that these might be "secret" from the perspective of anyone just watching the Shorts is really funny to me. Also, the fact that the episodes are being collected into "Season" compilations is hilarious to me in its own right—in what attention-deficient world can 20 minutes of a show be described as a full season? Gen Alpha is so cooked bro.

Thankfully, I was able to find a Google Drive where somebody's managed to archive the full series so far with uncensored audio. But then I was checking the YouTube uploads, and I realised some of the newer ones actually have closed captions for certain lines of dialogue! As in, the reversed speech of the cameramen etc, or even what some of the skibidi toilets are saying! These subtitles are missing from that Google Drive archive, meaning it's not a perfect way of watching the show either.

But the thing is, I also think adding subtitles to the show is a huge misstep on DaFuq!?Boom!'s part. One of the things I found most surprising about skibidi toilet is that, for the most part, it actually requires the viewer to be paying pretty close attention in order to follow any of the "plot", insofar as there is one. You have to be able to tell apart all these near-identical and often silent appliance-head guys. Sometimes the POV will be some random cameraman, but other times it'll be a recurring character, and noticing that will add something to the viewing experience. Most of all, the lack of speech (and lack of expressions) for most of the characters forces you to constantly be interpreting their body language to understand what they're communicating to one another.

The subtitles stand to ruin this aspect of the show. Also, the dialogue itself is poorly-written, bro. It's nice that the writer does have something in mind for everything they're saying to one another, but it's a complete mistake to actually present that as part of the text. Frustratingly, I can't even commit to just watching future episodes without captions, because what if he decides to seriously start putting load-bearing plot stuff in them?

(According to DaFuq!?Boom!'s word of god, all the skibidi toilets can understand all languages, they just choose to speak their superior skibidi language. God I love that.)

The main completed arc of the story, set in and around a bunker, is honestly fantastic, thrilling stuff, with some individual (rudimentary) character arcs and tons of great setpieces. My favourite episode of the show, in the immediate aftermath, delivers a legitimately great twist in a brilliant way. I'm excited for the next episode to drop, but moreover, I'm on the absolute edge of my seat waiting to see how skibidi toilet transforms itself for the mainstream media of TV and/or film.

[mewmewpercy]

Hello there! Recently I saw your reblog regarding the hoyoverse boycott about whether we should play continuing playing Genshin or not. That same twt user made a thread about how will it no longer participate make any twts about the boycott and how disappointed they are with the boycott is failing.

https://x.com/KinichCEO/status/1823430343157780740?t=uus6sG-A30Vw44EET-rlqQ&s=19

While I can understand their reasoning I feel like they are still missing out some key details.

For example with the upcoming Captain American movie coming out the BDS wants everyone to boycott everything thats related to Marvel/Disney in order to remove Captain Israel or Sabra from the movie. As of right now I haven't watch a single Marvel or Disney media since the release of Sabra but that doesn't mean I can still like and enjoy Spiderverse and the only merch that I have bought that is Marvel related are usually from artists who are selling their own merchandise. Not something from official Marvel/Disney

Like you said it's hard to boycott a gacha game and the only way you can do that is by attacking their main income. Which is why many encourage to be f2p. What many fail to realize is that idea that hotoverse game has a BIG community of whalers. When in reality that only a small community many do not have that privilege on having a c6 5 star. I have been a f2p since the 2nd Lantern rite and I only spent money on the game on 2 characters out of 13 chatacter that I won by saving

Aiya you bring up a very good point I've forgotten. You can very much like a product and hate the creator.

The idea that every hoyo gamer is a whale has to be the product of youtubers. They have the privilege to spend money the average player can't. A lot of players are young and jobless. A lot of players don't think spending on games is necessary. I play star rail f2p and the only reason I have very few limiteds is because of the lack of interesting male characters or the unfortunate timing of reruns. I feel like it's an unfair assessment to assume an entire playerbase spends thousands because a loud minority does.

Back on the like the product hate the maker idea though. I like music from genshin and star rail. I won't deny that. I also enjoy many character trailers. Am I inherently a terrible racist because I enjoy products made by a shitty company? No. No I am not. Maybe I'll use less than ideal routes of enjoying them to avoid profiting the company instead. Maybe I'd rather commend the work of entire other teams of people separate from the higher ups that are most likely the issue. I've stopped liking content. I don't look at all the art posted. I download whatever I deem useful off the tiktok pages and share with people who play to avoid them getting even a cent extra.

The 5.0 program is supposed to be Friday. Normally I watch them or scrub through vods. I'm not even bothering because I'd rather engage with fans reposting the info than looking at the source. Most of my enjoyment stems from fans anyways and I'm always subject to spoilers about 20 times day of so why bother?

All in all people generalise these games players way too damn much because they assume what they hear loud youtubers say is true for everyone. They assume everyone is dropping hundreds or thousands of dollars. They assume people even spend a dime on refreshes or welkin or small amounts of currency.

People also act like you should be burned at the stake for daring to enjoy things. I can enjoy game lore and music without enjoying the rare time I could be represented being full of races not even close to mine and all white in game. I can say yea I do enjoy someone's trailer and still think they deserve melanin. I don't support the company I support the workers trying their damndest to do what they can to represent cultures.

Just because people play doesn't mean they aren't boycotting and it's a dick move to try and push people to quit or be hella negative just because some loud people say they'll spend. People who whale have decided to skip entirely. People who barely spend went f2p. Even f2p players are debating skipping banners or only pulling on a few. The community dividing over shitty assumptions will be the reason we fail not because people play without paying.

[ournachojesus]

I just saw your death note time loop au (which is everything I've ever looked for in a death note time loop au btw thank you so much) and I have a game to recommend! It's called In stars and Time and it's about being stuck in a time loop! It's a really really good game and I hope you try it!

Oh ya! I saw that in my recommendation at seem point and started watch a game play of it. Didn’t make it far since I didn’t have time but just from the get go the entire time fast forward concept is super interesting to me cause it has some bases in how our brains work.

Let me explain. Do you ever noticed how the drive home always seems shorter than driving somewhere new even if it’s the same amount of time? The reason is, your brain isn’t interested in things it’s already seen. When taking in new information/surroundings you end up being more in the moment. A lot of the time you are partially spacing out when you are seeing the same thing. It’s part of the reason why time seems to go faster the older you get! Lots of things are just not new anymore. Of course being super engaged makes time fly by fast but if it’s like medium level then you experience all the time.

Sorry but I’m going to say stuff about death loop since I want to bring this up. Light and L are eventually going to start having failing memory and/or start showing signs of mental health decline due to this reason. It’s not the only reason and isn’t the main cause for a lot of their weird/horrible behavior but it contributes. Like how animals in zoos need enrichment, so do they. First, failing memory would set in sooner not just because of the amount of time passing; even with each reset that brings their minds back to peak health it doesn’t stop the effects of memories. The body catches up with the mind. I feel they’d be smart enough to avoid this outcome. The behavioral systems though, they’d probably be dumb enough to only due onto what’s necessary, to keep their memories intact. Boredom, they’d start hurting themselves and others (they’d already be doing that due in a different way due to the NPC effect as I’m dubbing it). Like touching a burning stove or grabbing someone too hard. After a couple small moments like these they would probably be told by the team in the loop it started in to go on a vacation cause everyone thinks the case is taking a toll on them (kind of right). So they go to some European country in that loop and stay till the next reset. Every few loops it becomes a habit for them to go out on these vacations. It be weirdly sweet? More scary if you’re anyone but them. 

The behavior they’d start showing to eachother when the vacation stuff starts to become a habit is more of an accepting codependency. After the two incidents would this take place. The minimum stimulation they’d been doing to not go crazy from nothing new would end up frown out the window for a bit after those two incidents. The mix of this and the trauma of what they both did leads to the hurting thing (honestly isn’t the worst thing they’d done during the loops to the other people. Really tame compared to other stuff but it’s the first loop they are doing something so low level.)

The dependency they have is disturbing because they are getting more physically affectionate, not cause they are building a bond in a healthy way. It’s literally the case of being the only to captives in a prison. Light hold onto the bend of L’s arm when they walk the streets of Toronto or L pressing his forehead to Light’s as they listen to the sounds of people in the streets below their hotel in Taiwan. It isn’t the soft quiet content you have with a loved one, it’s the shaky breaths you take as you try not to cry. Breaking usually means things end or you pick yourself back up and move on. Change is an opportunity that has been robbed of them. Only the free will to act upon one another is all they have left.

[thatsuccessfulpokemontrainer]

// 🎙️ hmmm how did you come up with your silly guys? sprite, beedrill, mari, etc

did you start off with a solid idea for them or did they kinda just form as time went on or smth else?

I've rewritten this so many times because I kept making it too long but its still too long but jsnjkfskv.

So !!

I played pokemon crystal off of a piracy website in 2023(?). Off of one tab on my computer. I had to keep restarting the game bc I kept accidentally closing the tab I was using. Ah the fun times.

And it fucking reignited my pokemon hyperfixation with a vengeance (and its still going as my main media interest).

But! I spent!! Like actually the most time in the entire game trying to beat the elite 4. Like embarrassingly long. Too long. way too long.

And I went. realistically I would've just. given up by now and gone home with no money or anything. And then I went! Huh! What if i made an OC about that.

For most of the first few months of sprites accounts it was just make shit up as you go along (has since changed to be pretty structured and the stories very planned along with solidified lore. I did not know what i was fucking doing at first), but one of the few planned bits of sprites backstory. was mari.

And as much as I love her, Mari isn't really my oc (or at least one I created), she's my friend @/marithefriendlyghost 's, who saw my silly pkmn irl account and wanted to join in making pokemon oc's. I drafted up an idea for why sprite and mari weren't friends anymore and they agreed, doing most of the writing for mari before her account (for her blog takeover for sprite and asks and such). Back in the early days, me and Ghost joked that Mari was voids "Bitchsona" since she was much crueler in her early days.

Beedrill's character was inspired by an IRL friend of mine who is a tech whiz, but thats where the similarities end I promise. He's developed so far from the original idea I had for him that it's insane, he's entirely unrecognisable. Beedrill originally went by the alias of 'anonanon' or 'beedrill anon' and sent strange asks, and also pelipper mailed people weirdly spesific meme shirts. Team Fauna was always in the back of my head while writing him after he actually became a character that appeared on sprites blog sometimes, but looking back I don't think I did enough to foreshadow it.

Ahhh I've been rambling! anyways !! Thanks for asking

[syn4k]

digital media i watched this year that i really really enjoyed: a (non-exhaustive, non-ranked) list

hi everyone! ray keys here. i'm writing this on Dec 21st because I know I'll forget to post this on time if I don't schedule it beforehand.

i don't watch things on streaming services because i don't have any of the apps downloaded on my phone and most shows just aren't my thing anyways (ATLA has been the only exception) so all of the links here go to YouTube or other (free) sites

here we go!

Misc. Series and Standalone Videos

17776

17776 is a multimedia webnovel (?) about American football in the year of, you guessed it, 17776, written in 2017 by Jon Bois. It's told through the communications of three space probes made by humans and it's genuinely comforting as someone who's generally terrified by the concepts of eternity and immortality. Trigger warning for unreality at the start.

17776

20020 (the sequel, written in 2020 by the same author)

Code MENT

Code MENT is a YouTube series made by PurpleEyesWTF, of which the first episode was released in 2010. It's a fan-made abridgMENT of the anime Code Geass, voiced entirely by one guy (or at least i think so), and some parts of it have become legendary (see: Soup Store). Trigger warning for murder, infrequent use of the R slur, and depictions of blood and gore.

Code MENT playlist

Star Wars The Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West

Star Wars the Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West, uploaded to YouTube by GratefulDeadpool in 2017, is a video where somebody put the entire script of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in Google Translate, translated it to Chinese then back to English, and dubbed over it. Yes, it's the entire movie. No, it somehow hasn't been taken down yet.

Star Wars the Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West

Mianite (S1)

At least some of you should be familiar with Mianite, seeing as how it has taken over my entire blog over the past month or so. The World of Mianite is a vanilla Minecraft SMP launched in 2014. It was streamed live, but the recordings of those livestreams were later uploaded to YouTube. The main members of the serverlist are CaptainSparklez, II_JERIICHO_II, SynHD, and OmgItsFirefoxx. Mianite has had three seasons so far, but I've only watched the first from one perspective so that's what you guys are going to get.

CaptainSparklez' Mianite S1 Playlist

MAMASb0y's Mianite Animations Playlist

Mianite Purge Highlights Playlist

Alan Becker (and his Team)'s Work

Hi! This channel gets a special section all to itself because I just finished the Animation vs Minecraft series and I'm pretty sure my life has been irreversibly changed forever.

Animator Vs Animation

Animator Vs Animation (shortened: AVA or AvA) is an animated YouTube series by Alan Becker. The first episode was originally posted in 2006 and was later reuploaded to the platform in 2018. I recently binged the entire thing and was NOT expecting it to be as fucking incredible as it was. This is the de facto best place to start if you want to jump into Alan's other works featuring these characters, which I highly recommend because all of them are fantastic!

Animator Vs Animation Series Playlist

Animation Vs Minecraft

The stick men play the block game. Do not read the comments of any of the episodes until you have finished the entire series. Do not go in with any prior knowledge if you're able to. Set yourself up with a bowl of popcorn and a big ol' glass of ice water, sit back, look really closely for continuity because it is there and it is GLORIOUS, and enjoy.

Animator Vs Minecraft Series Playlist

[gentle-giant-swag]

Gentle giant swag

Apricot bracket semifinals battle 1

TOTORO (my neighbor Totoro) vs FEZZIK (the princess bride)

PROPAGANDA UNDER THE CUT

Totoro propaganda

Is the gentlest giant

i've never watched totoro but he looks so big and soft i want to nap on him

Same than previous anon. Haven't watched it but he looks very huggable

Also I have several childhood friends who absolutely loved him

(Totoro fans, wake up, your propaganda is made by people who haven't even watched the movie)

Fezzik propaganda

Fezzik is like actually a giant man (played by famed wrestler Andre the Giant) but he has a huge heart and a strong sense of fairness. He manages to work with Vizzini for a long time, which involves a lot of belittling, and not strangle the little bastard. He is ordered to kill Westley by smashing him with a rock before he has a chance to fight back, but he does not consider this a "sportmanlike" battle, so he challenges him to hand-to-hand combat instead. He joins up with Westley and Inigo to save Princess Buttercup from being killed and basically spends the whole movie being a cinnamon roll despite being the largest and strongest person around by far.

just a very nice and polite man. loves his friends!!! and big

I mean who is more of a gentle giant than this wonderful man?! Sure he is an accomplice in kidnapping the prince’s fiancée but he spends much of the time very calm and playing a rhyme game, and he seems to care about her more than the other two. He is on the brute squad (he IS the brute squad) but he takes care to help sober up his best friend and tell him about what’s been happening since vinzeni’s death. Speaking of that, I forgot to mention that Fezzik didn’t really know what “his way” was and, sure, he threw a giant rock at Wesley and is trained in group and individual fights, but he insisted on honorable rules and encouragement. He did not want to kill Wesley. His main violence comes from not knowing his own strength and playing off other peoples assumptions, which if you’re a giant is kinda understandable. Plus he got a holocaust-cloak from Miracle Max just cuz! Fezzik speaks so gently and when the other two were off chasing vengeance/rescuing princesses, he found his way to the stables and was able to lead four horses out and around to his friends. Plus, you think if he wasn’t a gentle giant that Buttercup would have jumped into his arms like that?

Absolutely the archetypical gentle giant. Hired to kill Westley, but doesn't want to fight dirty or kill people even though he could have easily won just by throwing stones at him. Teams up with Westley to rescue Princess Buttercup. I once fit an entire orange in my mouth but I didn't think ahead and it turns out it's much harder to get an orange out of your mouth than it is to get one in. This doesn't have anything to do with the character but I figured since you gave me this opportunity to provide you with unnecessary extra information I might as well use it.

He likes rhyming and takes time to have a polite chat with the guy he's supposed to kill, while he's actively trying to kill him

[leupagus]

Live Gus Reacts! After a nap

So this one isn't going to be long because my carpal tunnel is acting up, but I loved this episode. Yes, there were some after-school-special elements, but I think Chuck Hayward knocked it out of the park, especially considering this was his only screenplay for this show (of course, he's won Emmys for Wandavision and is about to run his own show so dude knows what he's about). It felt much more interwoven than last week's, and certainly flowed a lot better.

I'm hilarified that Edyta Budnik's Polish background was used for Jade's character, similar to how most of the Richmond players' actual backgrounds are used on the show (and why I had her reading a book in Polish in the WifeGuy fic I'm writing). I will say that Rupert, specifically, clocking that was an interesting moment because there is a very real (and ugly) history of prejudice against Polish immigrants in England; Rupert was not being charming there, by any means. The whole interaction with Rupert and Nate in this episode was really fascinating, because Rupert's clearly alarmed at the fact that Nate is getting outside support — he was so effective at cutting Nate completely off from everyone at Richmond, but here Nate is, building his own network here (Roger's invitation suggests to me that this isn't the first time Nate's been out with the West Ham staff/team after a game). And for Rupert, that's unacceptable — Nate's become as much a "possession" to him as Rebecca once was, so he's going to try his best to keep Nate isolated. Unfortunately for him, Nate is still The Great and is learning to balance his newfound pride with his enduring kindness. So however that shakes out will be fun to watch, I think. (All the fingers crossed that it ends with Rupert getting struck by lightning, because really how could you improve on mardia's masterpiece.)

One thing I hate about this storyline, though, is that Nick Mohammed is still having to field abuse from racist fans who think he hasn't "atoned" enough to be allowed happiness or character growth; I love seeing more of Nate, but not at the expense of Mohammed having to deal with this bullshit.

Re: the Colin storyline, I can't really say whether or not it was handled well or poorly, because my personal reaction to it has overwritten that kind of objective analysis. I've read a few reactions, which run the gamut, and I can see how those scenes may have left people disappointed/elated/angry/satisfied. For me, knowing that this episode was written by a Black man my age, from my mom's alma mater (and uhhhh glad to see they changed the mascot from when she went there) and that he and Dylan Marron were the two writers "in charge" of Colin's storyline does make me more inclined to see the choices — Ted's ridiculous Denver Broncos analogy, Isaac's lashing out and somewhat remedial "how does gay work" questions — as deliberate explorations of how straight men can and do react to finding out their friend is gay: not perfectly or even well, but borne out of love and respect and desire to protect. I was very grateful that the entire team immediately accepted Colin, because the last thing I wanted in that moment was "realism." Ditto with Colin's playing improving in the second half of the game, now that his two lives are (at least partially) connected; that's likely not what would happen IRL but I didn't care, even a little bit.

I'll admit I VERY much dig Rebecca as Tough Mom character this season; she's been doling out some extremely good advice to people, and it's delightful to me. Yes, she's a main character who's not getting enough to do, but like Ted I think the show still works when she's not in the spotlight, and when she gets to be the one offering support rather than needing it. And I adore her and Roy's weird-ass relationship, it's just incredible to get these glimpses into how they see each other.

Other than that: Sam giving Jamie the middle finger AND a beautiful smile was amazing, Jamie being pleased to be clocked as queer was interesting, the Higgins And Rebecca Buddies Fun Time is still great, and I want every one of Trent Crimm's t-shirts. And a clementine.

[nietr]

it really sucks being a silent hill fan for years and years now... its always sucked being a silent hill stan ever since post golden years (post sh4), our fanbase has been fucked time and time again and unfortunately it has led to some shitty things that have directly effected the overall disposition of the entire community at large extremely negatively and this makes me sad.

first of all, nowadays the community is absolutely toxic. it seems like konami is actually trying their best (for the most part) this time and the community behind silent hill just nitpicks every single tiny little thing. like, i don't think konami could ever in a million years make this community happy no matter what bloober or any other developer would do with any sh1-4 remake. the nitpicks i see people complaining about are just... silly at times. that's not to say some of them aren't valid. there are things i've seen in the trailers i'm not a fan of at all. it's not like im stanning and defending the remake, willing to die on the hill of "it's going to be good no matter what, it's a silent hill 2 remake." It's not like that, it's just that this community is absurdly toxic and salty. and the sad thing is, i get where this vitriol comes from. this community, we have been constantly just thrown under the bus. the IP has had its history of just, absolutely not handled with respect at all and it has sucked, so the community is in this place of, "we're going to be salty no matter or how good it is." it seems like.

look, i'm not a fan of consulting firms being hired for a fucking horror game for 'inclusivity', like what the hell is that? I don't get it myself. But that's not the point. The main contention and memes i'm seeing are solely based on Angela's face rn being a little bit more boxy and not up to par with the absurdly realistic faces of other characters.

Okay, well, it is a trailer and not the final product so seeing all these memes and mockery (as funny as some of them have been), i have a feeling her face will be changed, probably quite a bit, like James' face was. Maybe her character's face was not completely finished, I don't know. But, her face did need the most work. She is supposed to be a teenager and looked like she was ~30 in the original, so I get needing to completely rework how she looks. That being said, her character was always going to look completely different from the original in a reimagining in a game with photorealistic character design. the character design for Angela wasn't always the best out of the lot of all of them, so ofc she needed the most redesign and i'm not even mad... idgi and this is coming from someone whos favorite game of all time is SIlent Hill 2.

It's just, so much of this criticism seems very contrived and it seems like people are just shitting on the small knit-picky bullshit things because its the bandwagon thing to do.

Meanwhile, the first trailer had some problems. This second trailer shows Bloober team willing to listen to the community and tweak the problems people were having with what they saw and I was blown away by some of what I saw...

I'm just willing to have an open mind to all of this, because at the end of the day this WILL be the best Silent Hill installment we've gotten in YEARS, and despite the couple of gripes I personally have with what I've seen so far, I was BLOWN away by this reimagining of Silent Hill 2.

Again, this is coming from someone whos favorite game is Silent Hill 2. I personally think this is an absolute massive undertaking, because at the end of the day, I do believe Sh2 was a literal masterpiece. I think it is a must play game because it is. in my opinion, one of the most profound pieces of modern media, period. So, I'm willing to accept the fact that a remake will NEVER, no matter what, ever live up to being just as good as the original. To me, this is going to be a welcome return, reimagined in the modern age, with far different gameplay and mechanics, so it may not be a masterpiece at the end of the day. (Maybe I'm wrong, I'd love to be proven wrong.). but it will be a very awesome and fun return to my favorite place in the world and from this new trailer and what i've seen, I think this is going to be an awesome time.

I just hope they fix a couple of things. They do need to make Angela look as detailed as other characters, for some reason she doesn't, maybe they're still working on that. They need to get rid of the red "i'm hurt" border, that shit is lame. Some of the physics sometimes look unnatural... Other than that, I'm fucking stoked.

People need to just stop shitting on things to shit on them, and if you've never played Silent Hill 2, and you like horror games, do not wait for this game. The original will always be a masterpiece, something absolutely fucking rare as all hell, and it is absolutely worth playing. There's no reason to NOT play it if you like games.

Like, I don't get these people waiting for the remake, never played the OG games by team silent and then being like "This looks like shit." It's like, it's because you never played the original and I feel like this game really is for the fans... Like, I get it, there's younger people who don't like older games or whatever, and they want modern gameplay but the game was never supposed to be a resident evil clone. the game was never about how good the combat is... so you don't get it. PLAY THE ORIGINAL. The graphics hold up, the story is a mindfuck amazing journey, the atmosphere is mind-blowing, it's not like other PS2 games where it's like if you're a bit younger you'd go "This is too dated, the graphics are too bad and I can't enjoy this." The game is a cinematic masterpiece, it's almost like the most interactive movie ever made at times. I don't know, I just don't get these kids not willing to play the original but waiting for the remake and then also shitting on things about it... half the time it's because they don't get where they're coming from with the source material. this shit isn't supposed to be RE, even though they could be considered video game horror cousins..

there's just all these salty people and I've been livid with Konami for so much and especially with things they've done with this IP, so I get the gripe at times but people just need to stop being SO salty, there are things worth being excited about IMO....

I personally love what I saw this time. I hope the community can rebound from being mostly toxic at times, and this IP finally gets a worthy installment of praise... We shall see.

[nonbinary-sticks-the-badger]

the OFFICIAL sonatchet propaganda post from the REAL ceo of sonatchet

are you a fan of sonic the hedgehog? perhaps ratchet and clank is more your style? or maybe you like both? well, have I got the ship for you.

now, why should YOU ship sonatchet? it's simple: the franchises have so much in common. now, sonic fans, when i say, an anthropomorphic creature has to stop the evil capitalist baddie from taking over the world with his little buddy, smart as a whistle. along the way, he grinds rails, he follows his own path, not exactly good, but certainly heroic. he does this all with an absolutely brilliant soundtrack. and yeah, maybe the more recent games haven't been so good, writing and gameplay-wise, but hey, we're getting back on track.

what i have just described to you is ratchet and clank. initially created a year after everyone's golden child of sonic games, sa2, by ex-members of sonic team, ratchet and clank has been a vital part of my upbringing, more so than sonic has. for me, sonic is a more recent thing. i've been a fan since i was 5. when did i become a fan of r&c, you may ask? well, my first memory is my dad playing it in front of me, to give you an idea. i couldn't walk or speak properly, sat in a high chair, presumably eating soggy toast, one half marmite and the other of bovril. but, by that point, i was used to the experience - i can't even remember the first time i watched him play.

for any sonic fans who havent yet got the gist, imagine shadow the hedgehog (2005) with good writing that sounds like how actual people speak and less goofy weapons. edginess for the sake of humour rather than for edginess. oh also there is actual genocide in r&c1 quick heads up.

so, r&c fans, with it being far more mainstream, you're probably well aware of the overlap between the two franchises. hell, most of you reading probably are sonic fans. so, of course, i probably wont have to explain sonic in ratchet and clank terms. i want to but i wont. at the end of the day, all you need to know is that sonic is a hedgehog who runs fast and is kinda like ratchet.

THE SIMILARITIES

quickfire round! if it's in blue, it's headcanon, if it's plain text, it's canon!

transmasc and bi

somewhat morally grey, however definitely on the good side and classes themself as a hero

has a younger brother-figure/best friend who's good with electronics and can let him fly

has to fight robots

the biggest baddie is usually capitalism or actual cosmic horrors

space is vaguely related

sci fi

both quite calm and laid back but can get very serious and angry if you let them

adventurous travellers

fairly flirty but never seem to settle down (aroace reference?)

from what ive heard stc sonic is basically slightly angrier 2002 ratchet (i havent read stc though)

both almost the exact same age, with ratchet being 14-16, depending on which game, and sonic being 15

THE DIFFERENCES

ratchet LOVES weapons, with the vast arsenal being one of the main selling points of r&c1/sonic is known for spin dash

ratchet canonically has negative rizz (though i believe has had canon love interests iirc?)/sonic is attractive to almost everyone

ratchet has explored multiple galaxies/sonic has only explored a single planet and the odd space station

sonic is probably more likely to do the right thing

sonic is a giant environmentalist, literally has befriended nature/ratchet cares more about saving people than planets, unless it's an actual planet blowing up. like, the planet will cease to exist from quark's super laser piss or something

all of this ties together to create the wonderful ship we call sonatchet, a real and true yearning across franchises. truly, god made them in different game studios because he knew they would be unstoppable as canon lovers.

for any sonic fans wanting a really good comparison, id say the best i can give you is sonadow with a sonknux dynamic? though, not entirely. obviously, if there were a comparable ship, i wouldn't bother tagging in another guy from a completely seperate franchise, so please, please, understand the joys of sonatchet.