#gET ONLINE MORE AND ACTUALLY

[egophiliac]

Hello ! I positively adore the running joke of Idia unknowingly finding Lilia to be the coolest guy ever whenever he doesn't know it's him, like when Silver described his father, or obviously with muscle red. I can't say what'd be funnier, Idia finding out his online best friend is actually Lilia, resident spooky hyper fairy; or them both never finding out, and it'd become even more ridiculous as time goes on. How do you think it'll play out ? You're always so on point

(Also, though it makes sense, I'm still devastated bat boy didn't get a ticket for the Halloween skeleton train : ( does anyone mentions him at some point ? Like how he'd have fit right in with all those Halloween town little freaks, and how he'd have impressed them with his spooks and scared techniques; after all he's been every Briar Valley's children worst fear on Halloween for centuries. I'm on the eng server and I didn't wanna spoil myself by watching the whole thing on youtube)

Have a nice day !

you and me both, Idia and Lilia being oblivious online BFFs (+ Idia being incredibly intimidated any time Silver brings up his jock gamer dad) is my favorite running joke/subplot. 🤝 it's SO good, to the point where I also am unsure if I actually want it to ever be resolved or not...maybe, like, as a post-canon stinger or something? everyone's standing around covered in overblot ink, and Idia and Lilia's phones go off at the same time...

(legit I do think this is part of why Idia couldn't be present for Lilia's dream, because for some reason Lilia decided he was going to just. embody his past self online. he probably quotes his own battle strategies or whatever in the middle of boss fights. Idia didn't pick up on the whole "oh how weird that we both live on a super remote island" thing, but he would spend thirty seconds listening to General Lilia describing siege warfare and be like "w-wait")

all that aside, however it does end up happening, I do see Lilia being very blasé and all "oh! cool!" about it. y'know, taking it very much in stride! and Idia...very much not.

(can't tell if tumblr is going to chew this into illegibility or not, this will be a fun surprise ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ)

as for Lilia sadly missing out on Halloweentown shenanigans...he does get one little mention as part of an offhand reference to the light music club, but so far no one has brought up how this basically is just Lost In the Book of Liliatown (Sebek's been too busy yelling about not getting to be in the same group as Malleus). 😔 honestly though, it's probably for the best that he got left out, because he would just settle right in and refuse to ever leave. canon would shatter. we would miss out on all the delightful angst of episode 7 because Lilia is too busy eating poisonous shrubbery inbetween practicing his very best screams, and no one can pull him away from it.

(I can hope for a sequel next year though...)

[maleficore]

I've seen a lot of people talk about how the game doesn't give you any leeway when you play The Dark Urge, how it makes it very clear that Durge was A Bad Person, but I haven't seen it pointed out that Sceleritas seems VERY well versed in gaslighting the hell out of them and steering Durge away from any doubt or guilt in regards to their actions. Makes me think that they've probably had those types of conversations before because Durge actually always had a soft spot, only it got smaller and smaller in time. I have not had the opportunity to see the Heal cutscene yet, but I've got the butler in my camp now and he had some interesting things to say, like

[Durge: Can you tell me the worst thing I ever did?

Sceleritas Fel: There was one time you gave a beggar some coin while we were en route to the Devil's Fee.

Sceleritas Fel: You didn't kick him or spot on him or anything! I was so shocked I almost fainted!

Sceleritas Fel: I still have nightmares about it to this day. But I'm sure you only did so to lower the suspicions of the Flaming Fist. Surely?]

and it struck me because tossing a coin to a beggar is a bit of a thoughtless act isn't it? You don't put much thought into it, you just see someone in need and you do it. Out of empathy, generosity, something The Murder Incarnate should not be capable of. Sceleritas' uncertainty of Durge's reasoning for it totally convinces me it was NOT intentional. A simple act of kindness that slipped out.

ALSO

[Sceleritas Fel: The only way for a Butler to die is if we are not of use to our Master. But you have always needed abundant assistance.]

They always needed abundant assistance. Why? Because they kept slipping out of Bhaal's grasp? We know they did at least once, with Gortash. Maybe it was not the first time, maybe there are more "Letters of Forgiveness" tucked away somewhere.

To me pre-tadpole Durge is just terribly mindbroken and indoctrinated person hooked onto the sense of safety, purpose and acceptance of their dark side that the cultists and their father give them. Yeah they enjoy murder, gore and all that. That's the curse of their blood, but I don't think they were ever entirely consumed by it. Morality, guilt and empathy have always been there on the edge of their mind. Losing their memories (depending on player choices I know, but bear with me) was what they needed for them to be finally brought forward.

[elbdot]

Ooooo. Alola disliking Mega evolutions but Haru and Guzma being okay with Dyna-/Gigantamaxing is so fun take

My understanding of pokemon lore and gimmick mechanisms are vague at the best, but honestly... If we remove the increase of size, what is the difference between mega evolutions and gigantamaxing?

Is Alolans issues with megas based on how it "forces" a physical change and therefore potentially painful for the pokemon? Gigantamaxing does the exact same thing or even "worse" changes (in my personal opinion: mega vs dynamax gengar)

Is their issue about mega evolution making the pokemon more violent? Dynamax raids and a huge part of the Galar story line proofs that dynamaxing does the exact same thing. One could even say it is even more dangerous since it can not be predicted/controlled without modern science.

Is it because Megas are based on "mystery energy"? Again... Dynamaxing...

So either there is history between Galos and Alola that has lead to huge bias or Alolans just like Galar's culture more due the similarities it shares with their own (the Galar Legue being quite similar to Alola's Island Challenge but with a big stadium fight at the end)

As said... I probably forgetting some lore that explains this all (outside the multiverse and Alola being older region than Galar, ergo could not comment about Dynamaxing in their pokedex) but I am really interested to see how the boys will justify their stand on dyna-/gigantamaxing IF you decide to take the story there.

I postponed answering this ask to THIS WEEK since my reply would've been quite spoilery for todays update

PERSONALLY I like to think that Guzma and Hau *ahem, excuse my strong language* are talking out of their asses and don't actually know much about Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing and especially not the problems Galar is facing due to the unstable energies causing Pokemon to randomly turn gigantic in the wild.

If they were more informed about it, I think they'd be far more critical of it, since you are correct: Dynamaxing causes FAR more damage and is an active threat in the region, unlike mega evolution, which is a state that doesn't randomly happen and CAN be controlled.

But Hau and Guzma literally only know Dynamaxing from watching the League matches on TV - and with Galar hosting one of the biggest and most reputable Leagues in the world, how could there POSSIBLY be anything wrong with Gigantamaxing, riiiight?

It's the typical scenario we're all too familiar with of knowing a little bit but thinking we know everything about something without actually having done much research on the topic.

[starry-bi-sky]

yall ever think Shen Yuan went through like, internet withdrawal after being transmigrated into Shen Qingqiu? Like, he's canonically a NEET shut-in who did nothing but spend his time online, you can't tell me that for the first week or first few weeks of being SQQ he wasn't twitchy.

Like, reaching instinctively to his pockets for a phone that wasn't there, having an obsessive itch in the back of his mind that he should check and see if X or Y novel or webcomic has updated -- only to realize he can't anymore and being irritated by it. Wanting to go and see if there's new posts about this or that, but again realizing that he can't.

When he's bored or uncomfortable or just feels like wanting to escape he tries to go for his phone to distract himself, but oops! Not there anymore, and now he has to find a new and different way to distract himself from his feelings. And going through system notifications, quests, etc only does so much.

And there's that Tetris Effect too. SQQ makes a mistake while writing and instinctively goes to backspace on it except hey-ho that's not a keyboard and now he just dipped his pinkie into a bottle of ink or on a still-drying letter.

With him scrambling to fix his reputation and learn how to be a peak lord, I think his abrupt cold-turkey from all things internet would just be another straw on the camel's back that he promptly Ignores until it goes away on its own after he acclimates to his new surroundings.

[silverkit]

the girls

i wanted to combine the designs of all the soul riders. including the concept arts (and star academy for lisa). im always imagining them as something between the designs of starshine and sso, so i thought i'd do something with it for once

i wrote an essay in the tags so sorry about that lol

part 2

[not-kayvalencourt]

Let's all put on our thinking caps and see that there is no actual evidence that iskall didn't do anything but his own word. There is, however, massive amounts of evidence that he did.

If you follow me and support iskall (or stress), unfollow me. The bullshit tantrum he just had and the amount of people there are supporting him is actually disgusting. If you genuinely believe him, you need to look up manipulation tactics. He is going to use his fame to get people to trust him, just like he did to his victims.

[spearxwind]

Happy 10th birthday to Cercerion!

OUGHHH UR RIGHT CERCIE IS 10 YEARS OLD NOW !!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY BELOVEDEST DID NOTHING WRONG EVER IN HIS WHOLE LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lale-txt]

i couldn't care if y/n killed a man or is some reincarnated deity or works a job i have zero knowledge about, but if the fic starts to feel a bit too american i'm so taken out of it

[jasperthejester]

me: finally accepting theres a good chance im autistic and starting to work up the courage to ask my parents to see if i could get a diagnoses but being scared to

my mom: do you ever think you have adhd? if you want to do a screening for add next time your at the doctors you can

me:

[theriverdraws]

HEY UH, TOBY FOX VOICED A CHARACTER IN "WE BABY BEARS"???

OKAY????

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

How close do you think Kaveh and Alhaitham were back in the Akademiya times?

Hiya! Akademiya days haikaveh are so precious to me, so thank you for giving me an opportunity to ramble about them <3

Outside of the character stories detailing their argument, Alhaitham and kaveh’s initial friendship is most touched upon in-game in their current, informed knowledge of each other - when we first meet kaveh, alhaitham says that he knows kaveh extremely well, and kaveh describes the perceived flaws of alhaitham’s personality

there are a few mentions of their initial friendship during kaveh’s hangout where kaveh discusses first approaching alhaitham in the library, as well as them briefly discussing their joint thesis and the reason for its abandonment, and kaveh also mentions that over an undefined number of years, he and alhaitham have discussed, or ‘argued’, about kaveh’s philosophies

Also, their past friendship is mentioned in a parade of providence when alhaitham uses the language he and kaveh learnt together during this thesis in order to solely communicate with him, which creates an exclusive intimacy between the two

Outside of in-game information about their past closeness, alhaitham’s character stories outline their friendship, but only in reference to their joint project, where it’s explained that they fell out due to differing perspectives – which is similar to what he says to the traveller in kaveh’s hangout

Overall, other than describing kaveh as his ‘former friend’, alhaitham’s character stories omit any significant detail regarding their friendship, as well as omitting any detail after his graduation, other than moving into the house he and kaveh would have shared, and then how alhaitham met him once more when kaveh was bankrupt

Other than kaveh, there is no mention of alhaitham maintaining or even forming any other friendships in his time at the akademiya – and this is highlighted in his character story where it states that due to his detachment from others, he only partook in one joint project in his student life, and that was with kaveh, with kaveh leaving it up to alhaitham to decide the topic for their project

Alhaitham shares the same values as kaveh when it comes to their opposing philosophies being a strength, as the topic he picks harmonises their mirroring fields of interest. Additionally, this is highlighted in his character stories where he believes he and kaveh are mirrors of each other, and that this is essential in achieving a ‘perfected’ vision. It’s only when personal issues arise that this harmony is threatened, and that it is ‘personality’ issues, rather than philosophical issues which is the basis for their falling out

the surfacing of their issues stems from kaveh’s desire to help the others involved in their project at the cost of his efforts - this is more speculatory, but as kaveh left it with alhaitham to decide the topic, it could be that a group project wasn’t what alhaitham had in mind when agreeing to collaborate with kaveh.

in alhaitham’s character stories, there’s no mention of other scholars involved in the project, and only kaveh is mentioned as someone that alhaitham would willingly involve himself with in a joint project. For me, it seems that alhaitham initially agreed to work with kaveh, and kaveh alone, only for people to join over time, encouraged by kaveh.

(although kaveh’s character stories state that he realises that he and alhaitham handle social situations differently, he believes their differences aren’t altogether a bad thing

I think this is so interesting because when working on the group project with others there’s this heavy implication that, before this, alhaitham and kaveh were distant from other people when spending time together, as this project seems to be the first time that they’re confronted with the influence of others to such an extent, as this becomes the catalyst for voicing their concerns/issues with the way the other deals with people)

Alhaitham choosing to work on a project with someone when he never did so previously, and never does so afterwards, highlights kaveh as an anomaly for alhaitham, and shows that the two must have been very close at the time, especially with the knowledge that people in sumeru undertake research projects to form an academic family

This is also relevant in considering the theme of ‘home’ both for kaveh and alhaitham, which is most explicitly seen in kaveh’s character stories, where we learn the origin and the end of their friendship, as well as the few key details that indicates how close the two were

We can infer that alhaitham fills an integral role in kaveh’s life as he is written to have met alhaitham immediately or soon after his mother left for Fontaine, leaving him alone, and without family, in sumeru – just as alhaitham joins the akademiya after the passing of his grandmother, where he is then approached by kaveh. this implies that they fill similar, familial roles in the other’s life

Overall, alhaitham was disinclined to interact with others outside of kaveh, and his exception of kaveh when it comes to a group project shows how much value he placed in his bond with kaveh, a bond which is prioritised by alhaitham throughout their falling out, and to the present day

It isn’t certain how long alhaitham and kaveh were friends for after meeting, only that it was enough time for kaveh to form the opinion of alhaitham being his ‘best’ friend, and for them to decide to undertake a thesis together (which, as discussed, and is something I refuse to get over, can be equitable to forming an academic family, relating to the roles they have respectively taken in each other’s lives)

kaveh considered alhaitham as an ‘intelligent corroborator’ at the beginning of their joint project, which he considered to be rare, and after their falling out due to differences, kaveh believed himself to have been thinking wishfully about their compatibility

Their argument informs us how much the two actually know each other, in that alhaitham is thoroughly aware of kaveh’s father’s passing (which, according to kaveh’s hangout, wasn’t uncommon for students to know of as he recalls feeling judged because of this)

however, the difference lies in that of personal admission. Alhaitham is aware of the context of kaveh’s altruism in relation to his grief, something which other people, such as Layla, can only guess at

Whilst it isn’t certain whether kaveh informed alhaitham of any guilt he felt previously, as this supposed weaponisation of said guilt is the cause of kaveh ending their friendship, judging from kaveh’s reaction to alhaitham’s usage of this knowledge, being that of feeling ‘cut to quick’, kaveh essentially feels betrayed of the trust he placed in alhaitham - considering their implied and explicit past closeness (with kaveh's voice line stating that if he and alhaitham were as close as they used to be, he wouldn't hesitate in showing gratitude for alhaitham helping him) and their definitive informed knowledge of each other, I think it’s very likely that they did talk about these things, or enough for alhaitham to form his own understanding of kaveh’s situation

Additionally, Alhaitham is aware of kaveh’s lack of immediate familial attachments, comparing them to be similar in this sense, even though kaveh’s mother is alive and living in Fontaine, which indicates that alhaitham is aware of their lack of correspondence, and in turn kaveh’s deliberate distance from his mother

Although kaveh is described as being popular and having many friends amongst his classmates, these classmates are not mentioned by name or explored, either in his hangout or his character stories. Kaveh’s bond with alhaitham is the main focus of his character stories in comparison to the nameless friends of kaveh’s school days and post-graduation; since alhaitham can truly see through kaveh, this appears to be a bond to favour, regardless of all the unpleasantries this can bring from being innately known – encapsulated in kaveh piecing back together the thesis cover that he tore up, which signalled the end of his and alhaitham’s friendship

Beyond their initial meeting in the house of daena, and kaveh coming to talk to alhaitham which instigated their friendship, there aren’t many details as to what their original friendship looked like (only that kaveh, at first, believed them to be on the same wavelength, and to have a ‘completed’ view, only to realise that although their viewpoints differed, this wasn’t a negative, and actually strengthened their friendship), but there are a few specific anecdotes of what the two did/experienced together during their initial friendship which I thought would be fun to explore

alhaitham remembers that kaveh used to annotate books in the house of daena and even earnt himself a nickname, which he references to fluster kaveh, only for the traveller to have no clue what this refers to. I think this is a really nice detail, as it shows the history between the two, and that they both hold a deep understanding of each other outside of the traveller’s knowledge 

The other anecdote is that alongside the two learning the script from king deshret’s civilisation together (or if alhaitham knew it beforehand and helped kaveh in familiarising himself, it isn’t clear), alhaitham also read kaveh’s favourite books pertaining to ancient architecture for their thesis, and recorded his own notes, alongside kaveh’s. it’s an intimate detail I think that kaveh recognises alhaitham’s handwriting, which I presume is something that is reciprocal <3

Another thing of interest in kaveh’s character stories is an excerpt of an essay in his old sketchbook, which refers to the individual’s beliefs being prioritised over the backing of the collective, which resonates with alhaitham’s philosophies in his character stories when asserting the importance of the individual over the collective

additionally, kaveh's essay also outlines that the purpose of existence is not to solely pursue knowledge, and that it lies in people, with knowledge existing regardless of if it being understood by people - aligning with alhaitham’s character stories of knowledge not being the final destination of humankind, and that it exists externally, outside of human pursuit, in the logic of the natural world

This highlights that despite their key differences, their views can ultimately find a middle ground, which also contextualises the original founding of their friendship, and why kaveh believed that their united viewpoints were ‘complete’ before realising their fundamental differences

Overall, in their student days, i'd say that alhaitham and kaveh were each other’s prioritised bond, fulfilling roles of intellectual corroborators, mirror opposites, best friends, and family <///3 (i would love to get some snapshots into their lives as students, like the details we get about tighnari and cyno’s student days together recent events)

[dreamsy990]

YAY I GOT THIS DONE ON HIS BIRTHDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAJIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YOU RUINED MY LIFE AND ALSO MAYBE SAVED MY LIFE. WHO THE FUCK KNOWS I DO LIKE YOU A LOT THOUGH

[knifeforkspooncup]

my bad i forgot this was the morality ocd purgatory website where thought crimes are more damnable than real crimes and you can catch Being Evil like it's TB in the 1800s just by looking at problematic media

[sappi-papi]

whateverrr *flipnote studios your jungle*

[ribbononline]

frye fits i might as well share since i doubt ill do anything w em

[loosethreadsofyoursoul]

ok this is a controversial opinion but like….. to me, henry spencer was actually not a shit father….. hear me out.

i understand that there’s a lot of subtleties that go into emotionally abusive parents, and i’m not trying to dismiss that, but honestly i just don’t see all the negativity that gets associated with him so often. also, between henry and madeleine, one parent actually seemed to be there when shawn was growing up, and it wasn’t his mother.

let’s look at shawn’s childhood. in all the flashbacks, henry was the one who volunteered at shawn’s school, who took him to movies and was around for all of his new hobbies and interests. he was the one making sure shawn did his homework and hung out with his friends and learned life lessons. granted, some of his teaching methods were not appropriate for a kid shawn’s age, so yes i can see where the criticisms come in and i agree with them. but he was so much more than his mistakes, he was the parent who cared.

when shawn grows up, yes there’s animosity between him and his father but to be quite honest, i’ve never met one person who doesn’t have unresolved daddy issues so that in itself doesn’t condemn henry in my mind. we see how much henry saved from shawn’s childhood and how much he remembers, and to me he actually does quite a bit to help shawn when he needs it. this is particularly telling in comparison to madeleine, who isn’t there to begin with and eventually we find out she really did leave her kid behind, and to me that does a lot more damage than any one thing henry did.

shawn and henry have issues, i won’t argue with that. but i really don’t think henry gets enough credit for the good he did and the way he tried when shawn got older. above all else, he was there and he was there for shawn, and that’s important. god knows it’s not everything, but it’s something.