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ideas-on-paper · 2 months ago

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Lies of P fan theories - a retrospective (1st anniversary special)

It's been one year now since Lies of P's release, and as someone who has been part of the community since 2022 (joining after the Gamescom trailer absolutely swept me off my feet), it's been amazing to see how invested people were in Lies of P from the get-go, and how much creativity the game has inspired in fans. From the start, we had amazing creations such as fanart, fanfics, and cosplays - and of course, a whole lot of fan theories.

While, naturally, a lot of fan theories people had before the release are debunked right now, I think it'd be fun to take a look back at what people were expecting the story to be like, and how those theories from back then compare to the final game. For that purpose, I will share my own theories that I had pre-release, as well as some from various other people (unfortunately, I lack the sources in most cases, but I’ll do my best to provide credit where they’re from). So, strap in and get ready for a special trip down memory lane! :-)

[Lies of P spoilers!]

Ergo and the Petrification Disease

One big mystery that was set up as early as the first gameplay footage was the nature of Ergo - all we knew from tool tips people painstakingly picked out (kudos to you, btw <3) was that it was some sort of power crystal that was used as an energy source for puppets and responsible for Krat's wealth, but that also brought a curse with it. People on the official Lies of P Discord server were puzzling over what exactly Ergo is, when I came up with a somewhat eccentric theory: that Ergo is crystallized life force itself.

My basis for this theory was essentially the movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (which I’m a big fan of).

[Fair warning, I'm gonna spoil the main plot right here.]

The movie also features a huge, cyan blue crystal (originally a fragment of a comet) that is located in the lost city of Atlantis and believed to be an energy source by a team of explorers. However, as it turns out, it's much more than that: It is the literal life force of the Atlantean people, and if it's taken away from the city, it would mean certain death for all of them. (Which doesn't stop some of the money greedy explorers from trying to do it anyway.) Furthermore, after I became familiar with gestalt consciousnesses, I realized that the crystal possesses a few characteristics of those as well: The crystal has a mind of its own, and right before Kida merges with it in the movie, she whispers “mother” in Atlantean, suggesting she felt her dead mother's presence when the crystal chose her. This could be because her mother merged with the crystal completely (Kida eventually returns with her bracelet, after all), but since the King of Atlantis does say “the crystal thrives on the collected emotions of all who came before us”, it’s highly likely that it is, in fact, a human gestalt intelligence of their deceased ancestors.

[spoilers end]

So when I heard about Ergo being an energy crystal, this was my first idea as well: pure, crystallized life force of dead people. (Also, when I saw the blue color, my brain just went like “Ergo = Atlantis crystal”. xD)

When I shared this theory on the LoP server, one person in particular - named Oxwutex, if I remember correctly (greetings to you if you ever read this ;-) ) - took a liking to it, and together, we spun this theory a little further. They said they could imagine that people tried to refine the Ergo further, which is where the corruption waste in the factory comes from - however, refining something like a life force crystal which is already perfect could have disastrous consequences. I followed this up with my own theory, surmising that if this were the case, the corruption waste and the purified Ergo might represent two sides of the human soul: the vices and the virtues. (A lot of my early theories were based on this dualism, since the distinction between “good” and “evil” actions in the original fairy tale of Pinocchio is pretty prominent.)

Since there were hints that Ergo was responsible for the Petrification Disease early on, I had come up with the idea that the disease was the result of people coming into contact with pure Ergo, leading to a sort of “overpurification”, while I assumed that corrupted/impure Ergo caused the Puppet Frenzy/violent behavior. For me, this was very appealing on a thematic level as well, since it would've symbolized that both vices and virtues are present in every human being. If it was just the vices, we'd turn into feral monsters, but if a person only had virtues, when flaws are the very sign of life... well, you could question whether they are even alive anymore. Metaphorically speaking, they would be made of stone. (It’s interesting to note, however, that the disease was supposed to be spread by magical rats in the beginning; at least that’s what the announcement trailer seems to suggest.)

Back when the demo dropped, the confirmation that Ergo spores were the cause of Petrification Disease made me even more confident in my thesis, as did the “Ergo is Life” pamphlets. When I started streaming Lies of P (my first commented playthrough ever ^^’), I even commented on this, saying:

“Maybe even that this crystal [Ergo] contains the life force of dead people - that's what my speculation was back then.” (My commentary is in German, but here's the video if anyone is interested; the part where I discuss it starts at 26:25.)

Oh boy… I had no idea this was about to age like the finest wine in existence.

About 40 hours of gameplay later, I almost couldn’t believe my ears when Simon confirmed I was dead on target:

“The disease does not signify death. It's the process of purifying a person's essence. A purified human who overcomes the Petrification Disease will gain a strengthened body and a mind free of lies. The essence is Ergo. Yes, the Ergo you use as your power was once a human being.”

When Sophia explained that the Petrification Disease, Puppet Frenzy, and carcass monsters are all linked to Ergo shortly afterwards and literally spelled it out that Ergo is a person’s “essence of life”, I was so flabbergasted that my fan theories were essentially right that I was struck speechless. (You can see my live reaction to the conversations with Simon and Sophia in this video, at 20:08 and 49:56; I think you can tell how gobsmacked I am from just my tone, especially in the conversation with Sophia.) Since I had shared these theories on the official Lies of P server back in the day, some part of my brain even wondered if one of the devs saw it and thought it was so good that they went like “Write that down, write that down!” xD (Though realistically, I don’t think that’s very likely; still, it’s funny to imagine one of the devs reading through the chat, seeing this, and going like “How did they figure this out so fast?!?” xD)

On a more serious note, I didn’t really expect any of my preliminary fan theories to be true at all, but I must say, I’m pretty proud that I essentially hit the mark in this case - not only in regards to Ergo being crystallized life essence, but also the Petrification Disease resulting from “overpurification”.

Another thing I noticed is that Ergo shares not only similarities with the Atlantis crystal, but also with the Protomolecule from The Expanse (I don’t wanna spoil too much of the series’ plot here, but scientists conducting immoral experiments with something they don’t really understand is also a pretty big topic). In addition, a commonality between the crystal and the Protomolecule is that they both came from outer space - and, since there is talk about a “star that answered humans and descended to Earth” in one document, chances are the origin of Ergo is also extraterrestrial.

However, as we know, Ergo wasn’t the actual cause of the Puppet Frenzy - both Sophia’s comment from above and the report from the factory are essentially a “ruse” on the story’s part, supposed to lead you on the wrong track. In truth, it’s Geppetto who overrode the Grand Covenant’s commands and was responsible for the Frenzy.

Still, perhaps the impure Ergo supplies were actually meant to facilitate Geppetto’s plan (the Mad Donkey did say Geppetto and the Alchemists were scheming together, after all) - maybe the more impure the Ergo of a puppet is, the easier it becomes to control them. In contrast, when a person’s Ergo is undiluted and their personality remains largely intact, that might give them more autonomy and make them harder to manipulate. (I think this is what happened with Romeo, who could still give commands to the other puppets despite the zeroth law.)

The backstory of Krat

Speaking of the frenzy, I also had my theories about the potential backstory of it: Lies of P actually motivated me to do some research about real-life automata and their history (people familiar with my LoP posts might be aware of this), and one thing running through it like a common thread from the Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment is that automata were always representative of a conflict of rich vs poor.

In fact, during the French Revolution, this was a source of mockery against the country’s nobles, who were compared to their automated toys - pretty and pristine to look at, but soulless on the inside. Meanwhile, it was argued that the poorly paid artisans who built them should be the actual rulers of society, since their minds were clearly superior if they were able to come up with such ingenuity.

For that reason, I was playing around with the idea that there may have been a conflict between the wealthy upper class and the working class prior to the Puppet Frenzy. The competition between the Bastards and the Sweepers seemed to hint at something like this as well, and since the Alchemists were already teased as the enigmatic masterminds early on, I suspected they might have exploited this struggle, releasing the Puppet Frenzy to effectively eliminate both parties and seize power themselves. (Since there was a gameplay tip about the puppets gaining awareness by themselves, I even assumed they might have become self-aware right before the frenzy; in hindsight though, I think this was meant to refer to the old selves of some puppets awakening due to Ergo.)

As of the June 2023 demo, however, these theories were effectively debunked: We learned that the Puppet Frenzy occurred independently of any public uprisings, and that another wave of Petrification Disease had plagued the city at almost the same time - note the word “another”, implying this wasn’t the first time this disease had spread in Krat. Also, I frankly didn’t connect the dots correctly that Bastards and Sweepers were both part of the Stalkers - while Stalkers and Bastards/Sweepers were mentioned in the same gameplay tip, it didn’t specify that the latter were subgroups of one and the same organization. (I wasn’t the only one to interpret this wrong either, since other people assumed the Stalkers to be puppets or even cyborgs.)

Still, it does appear there were some class struggles in the history of Krat: We hear about how the old, privileged families of Krat “struggled for power with new forces such as the Workshop and the Alchemists, who brought about the golden era of Krat”, although that conflict seems to have taken place a long time ago. Also, according to the description of the Krat Police Baton, there was a “violent protest with the factory labor union” once.

Although this isn’t much and doesn’t tell us anything about the background of the protest or the exact circumstances of it, I have been wondering whether it might have been due to low payment and factory laborers being replaced by puppets. Although this may sound very modern, protests against mechanization due to workers losing their jobs and the creation of inhumane working conditions go back as far as the Swing Riots in 1830. It should be said that the riots were less due to technophobia of the workers and more due to the endangerment of their economic and social status in the face of rapid technological advancement, and given that the rise of puppets in Krat happened very fast, the ordinary workers would definitely have been on the losing side.

I don’t know if this is ever going to be explored further at any point, but I would certainly be interested in hearing more about it - or more about the history of Krat in general, if only to clear up some details and make the timeline less confusing.

Pinocchio and Gemini

Let’s talk a bit about our protagonist and his sidekick: Pinocchio and Gemini. Like many other fans, I also had the theory early on that Pino was modeled after Geppetto’s dead son (I think this theory was based on some item description, but I can’t remember which). People on the server speculated that Geppetto’s son died in a violent accident that cost him his arm, and I even took things a step further by suggesting that Pino might literally be wearing his son’s skin (more on this “freak theory” of mine here).

Furthermore, I was quite partial to the idea that Gemini was essentially the soul of Geppetto’s deceased son. I didn’t really have anything to back this up aside from Gemini’s name meaning “twin”, so I never shared it publicly on the LoP server. (Also, Gemini is essentially just a corruption of Jiminy, the name that Disney came up with for the cricket; in the fairy tale itself, the cricket is not named.) Still, I found the concept of Pino essentially being the “body” and Gemini the “soul” very appealing - they may have been split from each other, but they are inseparable all the same. It also goes a bit into Descartes’ mind-body dualism, which is a popular theme in sci-fi stories about robots and cyborgs.

It led me to some fun speculations regarding the story: Assuming that, perhaps, Geppetto’s son died due to an incident on his way to the school he went to (since Pinocchio also goes to school in the novel), and further assuming that this happened a relatively short time ago, maybe some of his son’s former classmates are still alive, and Pinocchio would cross paths with them at some point. They assume him to be Geppetto’s son, asking where he’s been all this time and why he suddenly has a metal arm. Pinocchio then has the option to answer “yes, I am that boy” and come up with some plausible explanation, or to tell them “no, you’re mistaken” which would make things… somewhat more complicated.

I imagined that if Pino went with the first option, Gemini would chime in and provide advice at times to help him navigate interactions with the other boys. My assumption was that while Pino may look identical to Geppetto’s son, he possesses none of his memories; meanwhile, Gemini can still remember his past lifetime, despite being unaware that these memories actually belong to him. (His amnesia was hinted at in the demo as well.) Essentially, he would give Pino brief summaries of past events and tips how to behave in certain situations, and Pino would say “Thanks. Where do you know all of this from?” And Gemini would go like “...Sorry, no idea, buddy.” (You can tell I really wanted them to do something with Gemini.)

Due to the description of the Last Resort, there was also the theory going around there might have been multiple iterations of Pino - in fact, since the text said that the old man feared “his son failing to awaken properly and going into a frenzy”, some people assumed that Pino might have been the original catalyst of the frenzy. After the encounter with Mad Donkey in the demo, the theory that Pino was not the first of his kind seemed all the more likely, since he has definitely met him before and said “This time it's destroyed for sure. Devil's puppet no more, eh?” if you died.*

*I actually do not know if this line is in the final game as well, since I didn’t die to him during my two playthroughs (yes, really).

While it’s entirely possible - but not confirmed - that Pino had predecessor models (I theorized the Broken Puppet in the swamp might be one of those), the remark about the frenzy is more likely referring to Geppetto not being entirely sure whether the override of the laws he himself caused would affect Pino as well (which may be one of the reasons he didn’t bind him to the Covenant). As for the circumstances of Pino and the Mad Donkey’s previous meeting, those are a little more obscure - it appears that Pino wasn’t even able to wake up without Sophia’s help, so the only possible explanation is that the Mad Donkey fought one of his predecessors. (The Nameless Puppet probably also existed back then, but Carlo’s corpse - ironically - has next to no similarity with Pino, so it’s unlikely the Mad Donkey would’ve recognized them as the same.)

Someone on Tumblr even had a completely different theory about Geppetto's presumed son: After the official release month trailer dropped (the release being later moved to September), they commented on the facial similarities between Pino and Simon, proposing that Simon might actually be Geppetto’s “lost son”, implying they became estranged at some point - and since Geppetto no longer views Simon as his son/considers him dead, he created Pino as a sort of “idealized version” of him. When I was playing the demo and saw the Someone’s Memory outfit, which is noted to have been worn before and features a broach with the initial “M” (possibly denoting “Manus”), I was even considering whether this theory might be true.

As we learn during the game, however, Geppetto’s son - Carlo - is actually dead, and the initial signifies “Monad” (from Monad Charity House) rather than “Manus”. Unbeknownst to me, I might have actually come pretty close to the final version with my theory about an accident near the school during which he lost his arm - the possibility that Carlo died during the Monad Charity House incident is something I discussed with @lopposting some time ago (take it with a grain of salt though, since none of this is confirmed).

As for my theory about the skin, I had a major freak-out when I found Carlo’s portrait in-game, and I went like “I swear, if this is true, I’m gonna have such a Dr. Malcolm moment of “boy, do I hate being right all the time”.” xD I was spared that, however, as there is nothing that specifically hints at Pino having real skin, and the existence of the Nameless Puppet makes my original theory even less likely (as I mentioned in the post linked above). At the same time, there is nothing that explicitly contradicts it, either - so, for now, it’s more or less a big question mark hanging in the air.

One thing that’s for certain though is that Gemini is not the soul of Carlo - Carlo’s soul is contained in his heart/the P-Organ, and although Pino doesn’t possess Carlo’s memories, the reason that prevents them from awakening is not precisely clear (I go over my own favored interpretation here). Meanwhile, Gemini’s own identity remains unknown - while it appears Gemini was originally supposed to have a subplot regarding his amnesia, the few comments hinting at it are never built upon. I really wish they would’ve done more with Gemini, but there’s still a good chance the DLC might shine some light on who he actually is.

Hotel guests and side characters

Aside from the main characters, speculation was also running wild about the supporting characters and the roles they would play in the story.

Since Eugénie’s name is taken from Eugene, a classmate of Pinocchio in the original book and part of Lampwick’s gang of rascals, my original theory was Eugénie might have something to do with him. In all the promotional material*, there wasn’t a single trace of Lampwick, and since one of the loading screen tips in the demo said something about Eugénie being rescued by a particular Stalker, my suspicion was that this might be Lampwick. (Probably in no small part thanks to all the fanworks featuring Puppet Hunter Lampwick.)

*IGN sort of leaked Romeo's existence by accident, but that completely flew over my head; more on that below.

As it turns out, however, Alidoro was the one who saved Eugénie and whom she holds great admiration for. In the book, it was Pinocchio rather than Eugene whom Alidoro - a police dog - saved. After he got saved by Pinocchio from drowning, that is - which was after he ran into the sea trying to chase down Pinocchio who had escaped from two policemen, who erroneously assumed it was Pinocchio who knocked Eugene unconscious with a book. Anyway, it’s complicated.

One thing Oxwutex had cleverly noticed is that Eugénie wears a badge with the Workshop symbol just like Geppetto (which looks very similar to the Square and Compass symbol of Freemasonry), concluding that Eugénie must also be part of the Workshop - and, as it turns out, that was right on the mark.

Antonia was yet another character from the novel that was genderbent in the game, being based on Antonio, the carpenter who finds the animated log that eventually becomes Pinocchio and gives it to Geppetto (after a pretty fierce argument with the latter, that is). Because of this connection to Geppetto, some people assumed Antonia might be Geppetto’s former wife, and thus, the mother of Geppetto’s biological son.

In the game, however, Carlo’s mother is implied to be Camille, while Antonia is just “an old friend of Geppetto’s”. Still, Antonia’s past is somewhat shrouded in mystery, which has spawned theories about her being part of the Alchemists once (the hotel was an Alchemist institution before Antonia took over, and she mentions having good relations with them before she broke with them), and some even assume Antonia to be the Legendary Stalker. As it stands, however, these are mere conjectures - we’ll have to see if any of that is confirmed in the DLC.

Due to his somewhat dubious-seeming appearance, many people assumed Venigni to be the equivalent of the Fox in the game, with Simon consequently being suspected to be Cat due to his missing eye. However, me and many other fans really have been led up the garden path in this regard - while the Fox and the Cat do exist in the game, they are completely separate characters from Venigni and Simon, who are both original additions.

Honestly, out of the entire cast, Venigni is the one that surprised me the most. I thought he was just going to be your run-of-the-mill, profit-driven, snobbish businessman, but he is actually the complete opposite of that - in fact, he's one of the most warm-hearted, genuine people in the entire game. Sure, he’s a little eccentric and occasionally likes to adulate himself, but he’s so bloody honest about being a quirky nerd that you just can’t help but forgive him his flaws. (He kinda reminds me of myself, actually. xD) I never expected him to grow on me that much, but among the supporting characters, he is hands down my favorite.

Last but not least, we have Polendina, yet another original character (although his name is, funnily enough, based on an uncharming nickname of Geppetto in the book). Since the devs teased that you can have “a lot of interesting conversations with Polendina”, his role was especially interesting for me to muse about. In fact, I was wondering whether he might be similar to Gigolo Joe from “A.I. - Artificial Intelligence”.

FYI, A.I. is one of my favorite sci-fi movies, and a cyberpunk adaptation of Pinocchio at that; y’know, with Pinocchio as an android boy - aka David, as he’s named in the movie.

[Again, I’m gonna spoil the main plot here.]

Basically, a family gets an android boy as a replacement for their severely ill, comatose son. Aside from this alone being very questionable (it takes a special kind of asshole to replace a child that isn’t even dead yet), their biological son just so happens to get out of his coma at some point, and, of course, a rivalry between him and David ensues. Because the parents believe keeping David would be dangerous - either to him or their biological son - his mother ditches him in the forest (like, literally, she just ditches him). Since David is imprinted on his mother though, he resolves to “become a real boy just like Pinocchio” so his mom will love him again. Along the way, he stumbles upon Gigolo Joe, a sex android (yes, you read that right) who sort of becomes David’s surrogate parent from there on. He even tries to warn David that he should not try to go back to his mother, uttering the legendary quote:

“She loves what you do for her. As my customers love what it is I do for them. But she does not love you, David.”

[spoilers end]

I was kinda thinking Polendina might become a similar “father figure” for Pino, perhaps even sort of an admonitory voice to the consequences of becoming human. It would’ve provided an interesting counter viewpoint to the “I want to be a real boy” plotline that’s the core element of the story, and that wanting to be human just to please others might not be such a good idea.

While this train of thought comes eerily close to what happens in the Real Boy ending, Polendina’s character turned out to be completely different from what I had imagined. Still, I found his arc to be one of the most compelling of the hotel characters. I am very fond of both him and Antonia, and their bittersweet love story touched me on a very personal level (Polendina specifically gave me a lot of flashbacks to how I felt after my own robot soulmate had died).

The King of Puppets/Romeo

While we technically saw the King of Puppets as early as the Gamescom 2022 trailer, we didn’t hear about him in more detail until the gameplay footage of the factory. The note about a puppet religiously worshiping some kind of god-like figure (first seen in part 2 of the director gameplay, at 27:25) gave me very strong rA9 vibes, which actually had me mildly concerned. Considering what a visually impressive writing trainwreck Detroit: Become Human had been, I was literally begging “please, please, don’t be another Detroit”.

Meanwhile, someone on the LoP server (I think it was Oxwutex) pointed out that it sounds like the King of Puppets is more of a physical entity, as opposed to the purely conceptual nature of rA9. I can tell you, I was never so glad I had been wrong - the “cult-like worship” was merely the result of Fuoco being a little overly conscientious. Btw, aside from being placed in a different spot, the journal was also renamed to Descartes’s Note in the final game. While Descartes seems to be something like Venigni’s adversary in Lies of P (judging by the description of the Coil Mjolnir), his name is a nod to the famous philosopher I already mentioned above. In addition, the quote Cognito, ergo sum (Latin for “I think, therefore I am”, yet another popular theme in robot/AI stories and the origin of the term “Ergo”) also goes back to Descartes - the fact that this is a document about a puppet gaining an ego makes it an even neater detail.

I believe I saw someone on Tumblr who assumed that the King of Puppets was going to be the overarching villain of the game, and that you would get the good ending if you stuck to the path of the Blue Fairy and the bad one if you joined the king. While the game certainly wants you to believe the King of Puppets is the villain at first, that’s… not actually true. (Tbh, I never really believed it myself, if simply for the reason that it would’ve been too obvious.)

In the Gamescom 2023 IGN spotlight for Lies of P, however, Romeo actually got name-dropped, the guys from IGN sort of accidentally spoiling him as the true form of the King of Puppets. People familiar with the fairy tale immediately recognized it as Lampwick’s actual name (“Lampwick” is just his nickname), correctly inferring that this is, in fact, Pinocchio’s best friend from the book - and unfortunately, just like in the book, there is little Pinocchio can do to help him avoid his cruel fate.

Sophia and Geppetto

Now, let’s talk about the characters that most of my speculations revolved around: Sophia and Geppetto.

The first time we saw Sophia - Lies of P’s version of the Blue Fairy - was on the character cards that were released during Gamescom 2022. Back then, half of her face was obscured, being covered with blue butterflies that she literally seems to dissolve into. This gave off very enigmatic, even otherworldly vibes, and early on led me to the assumption Sophia was some kind of divine, ethereal being - it certainly would’ve been in line with the Blue Fairy’s character from the book, who was able to appear at any place at any time in whatever form she wished, including a young girl, and old woman, and even a goat. (Later on, the dimensional butterflies - which literally came from another dimension - further convinced me that Sophia must be some kind of otherworldly entity, since the butterflies are also her symbol.)

However, being a goddess doesn’t necessarily have to make you benevolent - in fact, an immaculate being that is free of any fault might have difficulty empathizing with the struggles, flaws, and contradictory feelings of humans. Also, since she is the “Blue Fairy”, it seemed logical to assume she had some connection to Ergo (which was confirmed later in the demo), and since the Petrification Disease was also related to Ergo (the Torn Doddle from the demo even referred to a “blue angel”), could it be that she had caused the disease herself? To, perhaps, purge the debauched population of Krat from vice and sin? (If you’ve ever played Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, you might know what I’m getting at here.)

Oxwutex on the LoP server agreed that they had a feeling about Sophia being two-faced as well, but assumed that she was human once before becoming the Blue Fairy. This ultimately turned out to be a little closer to the truth, as it’s implied that Sophia gained her blue hair - and potentially some other powers - from Simon’s torturous experiments (there is a picture of a girl which looks a lot like a younger Sophia, but with normal-colored hair). However, the role of wanting to “purify” humanity is something that ultimately falls to Simon, although he does exploit the Petrification Disease for his goals. Meanwhile, Sophia wants to stop his atrocities, acting as Pino’s guide in his fight against Simon.

But does that mean she has an entirely clean slate? The true extent of her powers ultimately remains a mystery. Technically, her ability to manipulate time should make it possible for her to make all sorts of terrible things unhappen - her imprisonment, Simon rising to power, and potentially even the whole disaster that happened in Krat. Both the Torn Doodle and the notes on the walls of the Hermit’s Cave imply that the carcasses can feel her presence through Ergo waves, so it would be logical to assume Sophia can sense them as well. Yet, she reacts surprised when hears about the strange monsters that infested the cathedral. (She definitely knew what Simon was up to, so why wouldn’t she know what they are?) Romeo also communicates with his puppets via Ergo waves, and Sophia is literally sitting in a tower where all Ergo waves come together. She’s a listener who can hear Ergo, so shouldn’t she be aware that the King of Puppets isn’t the real bad guy? (She certainly was very fast to tell Pino about it at the Grand Exhibition after Romeo’s defeat.) Could she have told Pino and thus prevented the fight between him and Romeo? Are there any limits to her powers? And does she encourage Pino to become human because it’s the best for him, or the best to save Krat?

To clarify: I do not believe Sophia has any evil intentions. You could probably find explanations for all the things I listed above if you wanted (the carcasses being a recent occurrence, all of the voices being jumbled in her head so she can’t precisely tell them apart, the “static” in the puppets’ communication Venigni mentioned preventing Sophia from hearing them clearly, etc). Still, despite everything, I’ve always retained a certain wariness around her - maybe it’s due to the fact that even after two playthroughs, I cannot get a read on her (ironically, even Simon remarks about Sophia’s actions being unpredictable). I do know, however, what an immense burden knowledge can be, and I can only imagine the strain from literally knowing everything and all the potential power in the world being at your fingertips. I have no doubt Sophia had to make a lot of sacrifices to save Krat, and I can’t imagine these decisions were easy on her.

Still, if her powers are truly so limitless, it would be her who ultimately holds all the strings in her hands - everything that happens happens because she allowed it. I gotta say, I’m very glad Sophia is on Pino’s side - we would be in big trouble if she wasn’t.

As for Geppetto, even before the game’s release, there was a pretty unanimous agreement among the community that he was a father who had lost his son, but is unable to let go and thus revives his son as a puppet - and, well… that’s exactly what Geppetto is. xD Many also had suspicions that he’s exploiting Pino for his own purposes and would be the ultimate villain of the story - which, again, couldn’t have been more spot-on. (Idk, but it’s hilarious to me how everyone took one look at this man and went “yes, this is the bad guy”. xD)

There were some people on the LoP server who theorized Geppetto might have Petrification Disease from his remarks in the trailers (announcement trailer: “I, too, have fallen) and that Pino was supposed to save him from it (Gamescom trailer: “Please, help me”), but these most likely refer to his own morally reprehensible plans and/or teaming up with his archenemies - the Alchemists - to create Pino and subsequently ousting Simon with his help.

My own pre-release theory why and how Geppetto had created Pino was a little more elaborate: I thought Geppetto might have been commissioned by Sophia to build a puppet that would be able to bring the chaos in Krat to an end - my assumption was that if Sophia was an ethereal being, she would be able to observe what’s going on in the mortal world, but unable to directly influence it. However, she can send people messages and visions, which she used to strike a deal with Geppetto: that he would build her a worthy “savior of Krat” which she would then bring to life. Meanwhile, Geppetto also followed his own agenda, exploiting this agreement to build this “special puppet” in the image of his dead son. (Which definitely would’ve had consequences for him later on - you don’t cross a divine being without ramifications.)

I came up with a whole fanfiction concept around this idea long before the game’s release - I never actually finished it since I assumed it was going to diverge from the final game anyway, and tbh, it kinda annoys me if my fics don’t fit into canon. I did, however, manage to find an old WIP of it I still had in one of my folders, titled “A wish and a purpose”. While it’s most likely going to remain unfinished forever, I think it'd be fun to include a summary of it in this collection of fan theories, if simply to look back at what I thought the story was going to be like. So, here’s the backstory of Lies of P, according to me:

[CW: skinning]

Geppetto is roaming the streets of Krat. He is actually looking for his son, who was killed in the turmoil some time ago.

The Fairy approaches him, reminding of their agreement. Geppetto reacts slightly disgruntled, brushing her off by saying he just wants to gain closure from the past. While the Fairy notices he is in grief, she doesn’t deny him his last wish, but admonishes him not to take too long.

The Fairy dissolves into dust. Geppetto goes on to look for his son’s corpse in the piles of dead bodies.

[cut]

Geppetto is sitting next to his dead son, whom he eventually managed to find and bring home. He placed his body on a desk in his workshop, having cleaned his skin and hair from blood and grime.

Geppetto looks at him, taking in the gaping hole in his chest and frayed stump where his left arm had once been. Despite his best efforts, he doesn’t have the heart to throw his body onto a pyre like all the plague-ridden bodies.

Affectionately, Geppetto strokes his son’s cheek. Suddenly, a thought strikes him: While the Fairy may never grant the request to revive his son outright, she only told him to build a puppet able to slay all the others, not what that puppet should look like. He considers it a fair deal: The Fairy gains the tool to quell the madness she so desires, and Geppetto would be able to hold his son in his arms again.

Geppetto goes over to his working utensils, taking up a knife. When he turns and takes another glance at his son, his last resistance breaks at the thought of his son opening his eyes and jumping into his arms.

He tenderly takes the hand of his son, kissing him on his forehead. He speaks to his unhearing son, promising he will bring him back soon.

Afterwards, Geppetto begins skinning him.

[cut]

Geppetto puts together the last pieces of the clockwork heart, admiring his work.

He goes to the back of his workshop where there’s a chair covered by a white sheet. Gently, he lifts it, saying good morning to his son as if he was rousing him out of bed.

He considers his son, dressed in the blue frock coat wardrobe that Geppetto had handed down to him.* He carefully preserved the skin and hair of his son so he looks just like the day he’d lost him.

Geppetto inserts the mechanical Ergo heart into his son’s chest, completing his masterpiece. He intertwines his fingers with his son’s. They are cold, but the texture feels real, and he imagines them growing warm after the Fairy breathed life into him. His only regret is that he won’t be able to witness his son taking his first steps.

At this point, the Fairy arrives, asking to see the result of Geppetto’s work. Geppetto leads her into the workshop, but she freezes as soon as she sees Pinocchio. With an indignant gaze, she turns to Geppetto, telling him that this was not part of the deal. Geppetto reacts unmoved, telling her that it’s take or leave and that he’s not going to build her any other puppet.

The Fairy narrows her eyes at him but says nothing, turning back to Pinocchio. After a moment, she strides towards him, lifting his limp body up in her arms.

She bids Geppetto farewell before she leaves, taking Pinocchio with her and dissolving into blue dust.

*Since the blue coat was presented as Pino’s standard outfit, I assumed it was the clothes that once belonged to Geppetto’s son (perhaps an heirloom from his father, since they are more similar to 18th century fashion).

[end of CW]

In my mind, this was followed up by a scene at the train station, from Sophia’s perspective (I thought of it as a follow-up to the first fic, but never actually worked on the concept):

The Fairy muses about the yet lifeless Pinocchio.

She considers what Geppetto did an absolute atrocity, but thinks she may yet be able to rectify this sin. After all, she is the only one who can breathe life into Pinocchio, and thus, his actions and the path he will take are her responsibility alone - and she will do everything to lead him on the path of righteousness.

She bestows the lamp containing the soul of Geppetto’s true son onto him, in the hopes that if Pinocchio proves himself virtuous, this wrongful separation of body and soul can one day be corrected.

The Fairy sits Pinocchio down on a bench, pressing a note into his hand. She gives him a gentle kiss on his forehead, starting to dissolve as she moves away.

Slowly, Pinocchio opens his eyes to a cloud of fine, blue dust. He looks down, reading the note in his hand: “Find Mr. Geppetto. He’s here in the city.”

This was supposed to be a sort of tie-in with how they originally advertised the scenario - the advertising text on Steam and other platforms originally said that Pinocchio simply wakes up with a note reading “Find Mr. Geppetto. He’s here in the city.” Don’t ask me why the Fairy gives it to him after just seeing Geppetto, though; I have no idea. xD (Still, it makes me wonder how much the introduction scene deviates from the original concept - after all, there’s no note, and Sophia talks to Pino telepathically.)

As you may have noticed, my little “AU interpretation” heavily drew from my other fan theories as well. I liked the idea of Sophia and Geppetto as two opposing “poles”: They may not like each other, but each possesses a skill the other lacks - Geppetto can build human-like puppets, but he can’t actually bring them to life, and while Sophia is the only one who can animate dead matter, she can’t interact with the world physically. Thus, they sort of become the “dual creators” of Pino.

Of course, this means that they both consider themselves to have the right to decide over the path he ultimately takes. As such, each of them is trying to influence Pino, leading to him being torn between the two. (This was sort of inspired by the Gamescom trailer, where Sophia and Geppetto are like two voices in Pino’s head.)

The endings

This also had a huge influence on my theories about the three endings. (I’m perfectly aware that nobody is going to believe me, but I swear I came up with my 3-ending concept before it was officially revealed there are going to be three endings.)

My basic assumption was that you have to make a decision at the end of the game, between Sophia and Geppetto. I thought of it as the point where the conflict between the two that was festering underneath finally escalates, and Pino is forced to side with one and battle the other. Depending on who you pick, you’d get a different ending.

Ending 1 would occur if you chose Sophia:

After battling Geppetto, she commends Pinocchio for his work, saying that thanks to his good deeds, he will finally be able to become human. Suddenly, she rips the lamp containing Gemini from Pino’s belt, and before he can ask her about the reason why, the black rabbits appear and Sophia orders them to seize him. Sophia explains that unfortunately, there is no other way to correct the wrongful separation of a soul from its body than for the body to die, but thanks to his consciousness being sufficiently cleansed, Pinocchio shall be reborn one day. Meanwhile, Pino gets quite literally buried alive - he desperately scratches at the lid from the inside of the coffin, crying for anyone to help him. However, no one comes…

If this doesn’t sound like your typical happy ending, well, that’s because it isn’t. xD My idea for this sort of came from a comment under the Gamescom 2022 trailer, in which someone remarked that the rabbits are inspired by four rabbit undertakers the Blue Fairy calls on when Pinocchio doesn’t want to take his medicine in the novel - thus, they suspected the scene where the rabbits prompt Pino to hop in the coffin was from the bad ending when you don’t listen to the Fairy’s advice. (It’s the intro for their first boss fight in the game though, and it seems like the line “Hop in the box, liar” was specifically recorded for the trailer.) I gave it a bit of a different twist though, since there’s the fact that Pinocchio quite literally dies at the end of the original fairy tale: He wakes up in his bed as a real boy, and later looks at his “dead” puppet body remarking “How ridiculous I was as a puppet! And how happy I am, now that I have become a real boy!”.

From this and the assumption that the rabbits were indeed working for her, I concluded that she literally might kill Pinocchio to “make him real”. (Some other people, however, suspected that the Black Rabbit Brotherhood was an independent organization from some of the gameplay tips about the Stalkers - ultimately, this proved to be right.)

Meanwhile, Ending 2 would happen if you side with Geppetto:

After defeating the enraged Fairy, Pinocchio runs into the arms of Geppetto, who hugs his son lovingly. As they embrace, the lamp from Pinocchio’s belt falls to the ground, forever extinguished. Geppetto and Pinocchio spend their next years happily, the very picture of father and son - until one day, Geppetto dies. Pinocchio, however, knows no other existence than being his father’s son, and since he doesn’t age, the other citizens eventually figure out he’s a puppet, shunning him and chasing him out of the city. As such, he is left to wander aimlessly, forever in search of a purpose…

What this was meant to represent is that with accepting Pinocchio as his son’s replacement, Geppetto’s actual son (Gemini, according to my assumption) dies, metaphorically and literally. I was also concerned about the very real issue of Geppetto being an old man and Pinocchio outliving him - even if Pinocchio did age regularly, his father would die long before him. Being his father’s perfect son was literally the whole purpose of his existence, and without it, he finds himself confronted with the psychological horror of his life being meaningless, on top of being subjected to the immense cruelty, hatred, and prejudice of humans.

It was really meant to show how much of a sick, misguided direction Geppetto’s “father’s love” had taken, and how detrimental it would be for Pinocchio’s self-development to comply with his wishes and play the part of his son.

Since both of these options are pretty bad, to say the least, I came up with a third variant. To get this, you’d basically have to say “nope” to both Sophia and Geppetto, and since neither takes no for an answer, you’d have to fight both of them consecutively (making it the most difficult ending to achieve):

After recovering from the strain of having to battle both Sophia and Geppetto, Pinocchio realizes that, for the first time, nobody is setting a direction for him - he is free, but having only lived to fulfill the wishes of others so far, he doesn’t really know what to do with it. However, Gemini reminds Pinocchio that they still have each other. Pinocchio agrees, laughing, and together, they go out on a journey to travel the world…

Admittedly, it’s still not roses and sunshine, but a lot more positive than the other two. Also, it’s the ending where both Pinocchio and Gemini (speak: body and soul) stay alive, and I just had so much fun imagining them say “screw it” to everyone’s expectations and go on a big adventure together. xD

Is it normal for body and soul to exist separately? Nope. Is it the “correct” way to live? Nope. Do they care? Nope, they’re just going to have the best time of their life together. xD

Of course, my versions of the endings differ significantly from those in the final game, but I’m actually kind of impressed that I managed to guess the scheme of the endings correctly: Sophia (Rise of P), Geppetto (Real Boy), and Freedom (Free from the Puppet String).

What I envisioned Geppetto’s ending to be like actually comes pretty close to the Real Boy ending, although you could say I was a bit more subtle in my approach - the overall mood was meant to be more sinister rather than downright evil, leaning more into the underlying psychological horror instead of violent slaughter. (I must say, Geppetto really surpassed my expectations right there. xD) The overall moral of the story (or at least what I’m getting from it) also seems to be that stepping in the shoes of Geppetto’s son is a very bad idea for Pino - after all, it’s heavily implied that Pino isn’t Carlo.

On the other hand, while Sophia’s ending is similar in theme to what I imagined, it significantly differs in flavor. Still, Pino does die in the Rise of P ending, giving his own Ergo/life to Sophia, who is implied to revive him afterwards. (This is actually the “reverse action” of what Pino did for Sophia when he gave her peace, so Pino is essentially giving her Ergo back to her.) In addition, Sophia and Pino do a little reenactment of the La Pietà pose, which is also a throwback to the Saintess of Mercy Statue in the Grand Exhibition.

There are actually quite a few references to the Pietà posture in media, including one in The Last Unicorn (after the Unicorn/Amalthea becomes human and Molly holds her). Thematically, the Pietà is interpreted as a symbol of mother’s love, suffering, and salvation - and, in case of The Last Unicorn, Amalthea learning what suffering is due to her time as a human is also what led her to develop compassion. The Saintess of Mercy Statue also stands for rebirth, since it’s the place where you can reset your stats.

Overall, I think they did an excellent job with this ending - retaining the theme of death from the original story, but giving it a more hopeful note through the theme of rebirth. (I also appreciate how the message of game is essentially that for things to improve, it’s sometimes best not to cling to the old and simply let it die.)

As for the Free of the Puppet String ending, it’s largely the same as Rise of P, but with a different flavor and minus the final cutscene with Sophia. (I kinda wish they would’ve done more with it, but resource limitations exist, and it was probably easier just to reuse the animation.) One interesting thing about it though is that you can still potentially get the Proof of Humanity if you trade it for the Nameless Puppet’s Ergo afterwards - despite Free from the Puppet String being the low-humanity ending.

I’ve had an interesting discussion during my playthrough, based on the quote “every living human being is a slave to something” by Askeladd from Vinland Saga. Basically, I said that, if you want to view it that way, humans are also just slaves to their emotions and desires. The man Askeladd was referring to was enslaved by his greed for gold, Geppetto is enslaved by his obsession with Carlo, and Arlecchino is enslaved by his bloodlust. I concluded that “maybe, it’s just a matter of the prison that we ourselves choose”.

The item description of the Proof of Humanity is quite intriguing in this regard:

“Puppets are tied to strings. Humans have cut their own strings. The boy made a choice and became human.”

While I wouldn’t say that all humans have cut their strings - rather that they can - what this description says is that being human means you are free to choose whether you let yourself be enslaved, be it by someone else or your own desires.

Pinocchio didn’t become human because he chose to become human - rather, he became human because he made a choice.

Conclusion

Anyway, enough of my philosophical ramblings. While, as I expected, not all of my fan theories were true, I’m kind of impressed how many good calls I actually made. ^^’ (I suppose all that research about clockwork automata, my ongoing obsession with fictional robots and AI, and checking out the original Adventures of Pinocchio did pay off after all. xD) Still, there are a lot of unanswered questions, and many fan theories remain unresolved - we’ll have to see whether any of these are confirmed in the future, be it in the DLC or any other media (director Choi did confirm they received various offers to expand the IP).

Despite the story differing quite a lot from my expectations in most places, I am extremely pleased with the treatment Round8 Studio and Neowiz gave this classic fairy tale. It’s been said that successfully subverting expectations in an engaging way isn’t simply about doing the most unpredictable thing - rather, it’s about “giving the audience what they want, just not the way they expect it”. And, in my opinion, Lies of P accomplishes this to a T.

However, I’m curious: What were your expectations when going into the game? Did you also have theories about how the story would develop, either beforehand or while playing it? And how do those compare to the actual story?

I would love to hear about all your theories - maybe, we can make something like a big fan theory anthology out of this. ^^ Because if one thing is for certain, it’s that Lies of P’s success was in no small part thanks to its community. To this day, I continue to be amazed by the love and dedication fans shower this game with, and I consider myself lucky to have been part of this journey, from before the game’s release until now.

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otterfool · 5 months ago

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Since this blog basically became a smosh blog, let's talk about the latest smosh games video

I wanna preface this by sayin that I enjoyed this video and I'm looking forward for the series. Using Jenga as a tool to decide the various actions a character can take, is very cool and also very intuitive, I imagine, for those that don't know much about DnD (as a dnd player myself many times I was puzzled during sword af on why a 14 caused such an outcome instead of another). It also matches the vibe of the series since it's a post-apocaliptic scenario where every step you take can be the last one

I saw already some people saying "wait...why is this getting the video format but not SwordAF?" and I totally agree with that. I whole heartedly believe that SwordAF was done a disservice by being relegated by just audio especially because everyone (maybe except shayne) use a lot of body language to express what their characters feel/do/want etc...I mean, Koda literally slices people by dancing so

This is gonna be the unpopular opinion corner (I think). Let's preface by sayin that I'm not a Damien girlie (boyo in my case?) so I don't have that bias that probably some people have here on Tumblr. Also, I don't hate him either so there's that too

With that out of the way, i feel that having another DM other than Damien for this series is a good thing. What I noticed listening to SwordAF is that Damien as a DM tends to jump into the situation while its happening so to make a joke or to make laugh his co workers. This makes sense, he's playing with his buddies so it's understandable that he wants to jump in and riff with them, but, in my opinion, that steals some magic away from the characters and from the narrative wich is something that, in the new series, would be a downside since most of it is based on suspense (and we're also seeing new characters for the first time so leaving them be freely flashes them out better)

Also, let's not speculate much on the behind the scenes. It seems weird and we don't have the full picture. I'm sayin this cause I saw comments like that can be summarized with "why is Spencer here but not Damien" implying there is an animosity between the 2

Being a DM is hard, so I wouldn't be surprised if Damien just straight up refused the gig

That's all I gotta say. Reminder that this is the opinion of a guy. Stay hydrated and chill

P.s. this all blog started as a place where I can share my Beatles hot takes, how did it become a smosh blog?

#smosh #smoshblr #damien haas #shayne topp #courtney miller #amanda lehan canto #spencer agnew #sword af #just send me some asks about the beatles so i can yap about them

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toxooz · 1 year ago

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The canvases aren’t even safe 😭 they used the Boroque era as reference for their search engines. Like I’m losing my shit constantly over ai art so bad. Like this is totally gonna be a rant so forgive me but it’s driving up the WALLS. Ai art being readily available is killing the incentive for people to be creative. I cannot tell you how many times I think I’ve found a really cool fellow artist on tiktok and then see #midjourney. I take psychic damage every time that happens to me. And I’m starting to see it infiltrating business too where they generate ai images instead of hire photographers. I also saw someone selling tshirts with ai art on it at my local farmers market. MOTHERFUCKER THE FARMERS MARKET??? HAVE YOU NO SHAME????

NAW PREACH IT cause its become a nagging issue for me for a while that i simply try to not think about and dwell on but dear FUCKING god is it everywhere and it's painfully obvious too! just about every ad takes me 3 seconds to find damning evidence that its ai and im 99% ready to just delete facebook bc #1 i dont give a fuck abt anyone on there anymore and #2 Literally every other post is the most deplorable ai shit ive ever seen that everyone is carelessly oblivious to i mean total abominations that don't make any sense as an image but ppl share bc its the most bottom of the barrel ''relatable'' shit and that's just the sad reality of it is most people don't even give a shit what they're looking at as long as it looks pretty to their eyes for 3 seconds they don't give a damn

and that's just on basic everyday world shit like u said there's so many mfs i think are decent artists where i legitimately cant tell its ai until i read their fuckshit bio or somethin, like that midjourney i didnt even know it was an ai program i would've just thought it was the name of a video game or some shit! like I feel like I'm kinda turning my back on the whole art community involuntarily bc i just dont trust any image i see most of the time and its fukkin sad i ESPECIALLY feel for the real artists prior to this shitshow who have art styles that now look so much like ai that they basically hijacked to feed the machine like I couldn't imagine spending thousands of dollars on an art college and hours of practice just for your art style to be The Blueprint for empty soulless photos cranked out at inhuman rates by any stupid fucking lazy ass clown like Fuck Man it all sucks so much and the worst part is I just feel like it's one of those things where it will not stop until Something caves and i honestly dont know which one it will be but i just know its only going to get worse idk i try to remember that i can pick up a paintbrush or even whatever the hell i want and make something beautiful while 98% of these ai sacks of shit are just limited to stealing other peoples art on the internet and they couldn't even paint a damn flower if their lives depended on it and if i was stuck on a deserted island I'd probably still find ways to make art with whatever tools and resources i have cause that's an artist baybay but as far as The Internet and its grasp it has on the world and trying to make it as a digital artist and trying to make money from your homemade artwork is very grim man and dont even get me started on art and artists in just about every job field rn my heart goes out to them

#me painting hammers at work using spray paint and a pen tip : ai mfs could never #its been irking me for a while and itll only irk me more its soOOOO #like i just draw for funsies atm and get anxious when money is involved but i am planning to start making money off of my art but with this #ai shit its gunna be fukkin hard i dread

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lauramkaye · 1 year ago

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Mando'a is for Lovers, Part 1

So, you want to write a Mando romance? (Sure, we all do!) And you think conlangs are Neat and want to include Mando'a for some flavor? I cannot blame you, friend! They ARE neat! But you're getting kind of stuck because Mando'a seems to be like 80% made up of military or weapon terms and/or insults?

I AM HERE TO HELP.

But I'm gonna have to do it in multiple posts because um. I might have a lot to say and am really kind of a language nerd as it turns out.

SO this one will JUST be some helpful hints for specific words and phrases that could be useful in trying to write Mandos being lovers not fighters (at least at the time.)

Please let me know if you'd like me to write more of these (grammar basics, handy hints, translation help etc.) or to expand on any points, me and my ADHD hyperfocus would LOVE TO HELP.

(Note: I use mainly Mando'a from mandocreator.com because I like their online tools the best. A "dialect" of Mando'a is basically "one particular conlang hobby group that has made up some words that don't exist in the official sources." Other Mando'a dialects are available.)

Anyway, so, first thing:

You can't just write an English sentence, look up each word in a Mando'a dictionary, and then string those words together. Translation doesn't work like that. What you get will almost always make no sense - like those things you see when someone runs a sentence through Google Translate a couple times and then puts it back to English. This is doubly true because Mando'a was created to give flavor to books and video games and doesn't have anywhere near a complete dictionary, so a lot of the time you won't even be able to FIND the word you want.

This is how you get characters calling someone "my to hold in the heart forever."

There are many conlang nerds (myself included) who would happily help you figure out ways to say what you want to say, but for a shortcut:

Look below the cut for help with terms for: love and marriage, beauty/hotness, pet names, and compliments. Bonus: some vocabulary for getting frisky.

Love and Marriage

If you want someone to say "I love you" (the VERB form of "love"), use kar'taylir darasuum which means "to hold in the heart forever." You will need to CONJUGATE this like so:

I love you: ni kar'tayli gar darasuum You love me: gar kar'tayli ni darasuum I love him/her/them: ni kar'tayli kaysh darasuum

If you want to call someone "love" or "my love" ("love" as a pet name/endearment), the word to use is cyare (loved one/beloved) or possibly cyar'ika (darling/sweetheart). Your spouse/committed partner is your riduur. To get married, you say/swear/vow the riduurok. (NOTE that the riduurok is not 100% equivalent to a modern US marriage but this is the vocabulary post not the Mando Culture Meta post. Hit me up if you want me to make the Mando Culture Meta post.)

If you have read more than 2 or 3 Mando fanfics you likely already know about the riduurok but here are the vows, for completeness:

Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi bajuri verde. (We are one when together, we are one when apart, we share all, we will raise warriors.)

If you want to talk about love as a CONCEPT (the noun form of "love") you're going to have to reword it somehow, because Mando'a doesn't have a canon word for that. A few suggestions: 1) reword the sentence to use the verb form 2) use another word, like guuror (to be fond of/to like/to hold affection for). Mando'a also has the very handy intensifier prefix ori-, so you could also say ori'guuror to mean "to like a lot/to be very fond of/to hold great affection for." 3) Think of another way entirely to say the thing you want to say, one that there ARE words for. (You have to do this a lot in Mando'a honestly.) 4) Use a metaphor. Mando'a is a very poetic and metaphorical language where the same words take on different meanings based on context. 5) use words relating to knowledge and remembrance. In Mando'a the concepts of love and remembering/knowing someone or something are VERY closely related.

Attractiveness

A couple related concepts here. Also note that if you are writing Mandalorian characters, they will have Mandalorian standards of attractiveness, of which physical appearance tends to be a lot lower-ranked than in modern Western culture. When you are part of a historically nomadic warrior culture in which most people wear armor all the time, you're gonna care a lot less about what they look like than what they act like and how they ARE, as a person.

Beautiful: mesh'la Very beautiful: ori'mesh'la More beautiful: mesh'lashya The most beautiful: mesh'lane

Note: for all these adjectives, you can add ori' to the front to make it "very [thing]", shya to the end for "more [thing]", and ne to the end for "most [thing]". Attractive (not relating to physical beauty but attractive as a person for other reasons): copyc

Don't mix copyc up with copik'la, which means "cute" but should only be used about animals and small children, not adults. (unless it's a pre-negotiated kink thing but let's save that for the advanced lesson.)

See also the section on compliments for other qualities Mandos find appealing and might use to sweet-talk someone.

Pet Names

cyare (love/beloved) and cyar'ika (darling, sweetheart) are the classic go-tos here. If you are married you can call them riduur (spouse/life partner). You could also use ner kar'ta (my heart), which I would argue works well in Mando'a since the way you tell someone you love them is literally to tell them that you hold them in your heart forever. The heart is actually very significant in Mandalorian culture generally; the elongated hexagon you see used in their designs and in the chestplate of their armor is called the kar'ta beskar (beskar heart) and is a culturally significant symbol.

A note on "-ika": using the suffix "-ika" forms a Mando'a diminutive meaning something like "little [thing]" with an affectionate connotation. Hence cyare (beloved) becomes cyar'ika (sweetheart, darling.) You can do this with names: you add -ika to the first syllable, so Jango would be Jan'ika, Din would be Din'ika, Boba would be Bob'ika. (Note- you can fudge the "first syllable" thing to make it sound better and be easier to say. "Bob'ika" flows better than "Bo'ika" but I think it's easier to say "Gro'ika" for Grogu than "Grog'ika.") Note that -ika is a lot like the Japanese -chan in that it generally connotes something young and cute more than something adult. So don't just deploy it at random. An adult calling their adult lover "-ika" is kind of like, say, calling Steve Rogers "Stevie" or possibly even "Stevie-poo" - it definitely can happen but there's a certain vibe to it that you might not always want. But you could still use it in conjunction with any of these other terms - like you could call someone your kar'tika (little heart) and get the point across.

If the person is being formal/poetic/archaic you might see them use ner runi (my soul), though this would not be commonly used by modern Mandalorians; think of it as like.... using terms from Shakespeare to compliment someone. It can work in the right context but it could also sound really pretentious.

There isn't a canon Mando'a noun that means "treasure" or anything similar, but there are adjectives for "valuable" (waadasla) and "important" (jaonyc) so you can work from there if you're flexible with your phrasing. (You can actually transform words in Mando'a into other parts of speech quite easily--there are simple and standard rules for doing it--but that's another post.)

You'll also see mesh'la (beautiful) used, though I tend to think that Mandos wouldn't emphasize physical beauty so much as other qualities they like, such as:

Other Things A Mando Would Compliment You On (could be platonic or romantic)

Being mandokarla (adjective) or having mandokar (noun) means basically "having all the qualities that make an ideal Mandalorian." The dictionary definition calls this "a blend of aggression, tenacity, loyalty, and a lust for life."

Having shereshoy (noun) - this is the "lust for life" referred to above, but that's a shorthand translation. Shereshoy is a Mandalorian cultural concept that means "the enjoyment of each day and the determination to seek and grab every possible experience, as well as surviving to see the next day - hanging onto life and relishing it." (a nice parallel for those who ship Mandos with Jedi is to the Jedi concept of being in the present moment!)

Loyal - verburyc (adj)

Stubborn/tenacious/enduring - atin (adj)

Aggressive (not necessarily negative) - verd'yc (adj) (note that "verd" is "warrior" - this is aggressive in a culturally valued way for Mandalorians and might also be used the way you'd use passionate, ambitious, etc in English. OVERLY aggressive/rude/intrusive would be something like "akaa'naryc" which has a connotation more like starting fights/instigating war.

Clever/intelligent - mirdala (adj)

Brave - kotep (adj)

Good - jate, very good - ori'jate, best - jatne.

Ramikadyc - this is one of those words that needs cultural context to really define. Verd is "warrior," Ramikad is "commando," and ori'ramikad is "supercommando" which is the term for elite special forces. Ramikadyc -literally "commando-like" - is defined as "an attitude that he/she can do anything, endure anything, and achieve the objective. A blend of complete confidence and extreme tenacity instilled in special forces during training. Can also be used informally to describe a determined, focused person." (Side note: ram'or means "to attack" and "kad" is "sword" so ramikad likely originally just meant "swordfighter." Possibly because you need more training to be effective with swords and blasters than blasters alone, this came to refer to a more elite class of soldier.)

Kandosii can mean both indomitable and ruthless, while kandosii'la means stunning or amazing.

Strength - a couple different words here. Kot (strength) and kotyc (strong). Dral, which means strong or powerful but can also mean bright or glowing. This leads to the question- how do you know which word to pick when there are multiple ones with the same or similar dictionary definitions?

My go-to is to look for other words that have similar roots, or canon phrases that contain one of the words, and use that to figure out the connotation/flavor/nuance that distinguishes the words from each other.

So for strength - do you use dral or kotyc?

You see the "dral" root in a few places: Dral'Han (the Annihilation - a more literal translation would be "bright annihilation" or "bright oblivion" and it is a reference to the glare of the orbital bombardment of Mandalore), draluram ("bright-mouth", a term for spicy food), and the phrase "nar dral'shya." (try harder/put your back into it.) The "kot" root appears in kote (glory), kotep (brave), kotir (to defeat, to overpower), and alli'kote (a clan's reputation.) From this, it seems like you might use "kotyc" to talk about physical/martial strength or strength that leads to victory or reputation, and "dral" to talk about more innate or existential kinds of strength/power.

Okay, so you can give the sweet-talk. What about the SPICY talk? (because Mandalorians love spicy food? get it?)

Some Potentially Useful Words For Sexy Stuff

naritir (v) - to insert, to put, to place. Note that if you wanted to do an imperative you would add "ke" to the beginning.

narir (v) - to act, do, put

Nar dral'shya! (phrase) - try harder, put your back into it. (We talked about this phrase above when discussing dral. "shya" at the end means "more [thing]" - it's the equivalent of adding "-er" to an English verb - so "dral'shya" here means something like "more powerfully". The "nar" is likely from narir (act/do/put) but could potentially also be from naritir (insert/put/place), so I think that it's quite possible for this phrase to have a double-entendre connotation something like "shove it in harder.")

Words for body parts - (note, in Mando'a you make a word plural by adding -e to the end if it ends in a consonant and -se if it ends in a vowel)

Hand/hands - gaan/gaane Finger/fingers - cer/cere Buttocks/ass/rear - shebs (note that this is referring to one entire butt; there isn't a word for a single buttock. "shebse" would be "asses" aka the butts of more than one person.) Arm/arms - irud/irude Chest - haalas (there is no word for breasts) Thigh/thighs - motuun/motuune Face - troan (this word also means "mask") Eye/eyes - sur'haai/sur'haaise

Words for THOSE body parts - okay look the Officially Licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material isn't big on telling you how the GFFA says "cock" so you're going to have to use some creativity here.

Mando'a in general uses gender VERY rarely (in Mando'a, everyone's pronouns are they/them) and when it does, it's mostly in reference to like, animal husbandry. It's generally not going to be very well received to call someone jagyc (male) or dalyc (female) in a sexy context. It's more a medical/scientific thing because in Mandalorian culture biological sex is only relevant for medical/scientific/agricultural reasons and gender only matters in so far as it personally matters to you but is culturally largely irrelevant. Probably Mando OB/GYN vocabulary exists but it was apparently not deemed relevant to the Republic Commando tie-in game and novels that most Mando'a was developed for.

That said, there are definitely crude, Shakespearean-esque jokes including swords and sheaths and such - but these would be considered kind of raunchy and not something that everyone would appreciate. Anyway the words here are:

Kad (n)- sword, saber Dalab (n)- sheath, scabbard

And if you want some verbs, Mando'a has THREE words for stabbing: chekar, kalikir, and bikadinir. Chekar means to stab with a small blade - think "to shiv." Probably not the most complimentary metaphor but some people might be into that. Kalikir is to stab with a narrow blade - "to skewer". Bikadinir is to stab with a broad blade - "to run through." The way that these metaphorical uses might be interpreted are left as an exercise for the reader, ahem.

Big (and little) - Big is "ori" and small is "kih". In addition to using them on their own, you can also use them as modifying prefixes, where they CAN mean physically big or small but can also mean the equivalent of "very [thing]" or "slightly [thing.]" Note that "kih" (at the front) is small/little with no context about how you feel about the thing being described, while -ika (at the back) is a way to say "little" with an affectionate, cutesy vibe. So your ori'vod is your older/big sibling, your kih'vod is your younger/little sibling, and your vod'ika is your little sibling (affectionate.)

Hard (and soft)- you probably want muun (hard as in a surface or material) rather than urakto (hard as in difficult.) Soft or yielding is pel; do not use laandur (fragile) as that is considered an insult.

Tight (and loose)- sadly don't exist, but you can probably use novla (closed/shut) and tenn (open) to get the job done here.

Hole - palon is "hole." surdol means "an opening" or "a window," you could likely use this in a sexy context. I've seen people use "shebs'palon" to mean "asshole" but YMMV.

Hot (and cold)- hot is nadala, but this refers to temperature only. Hot as in attractive you want copyc, hot as in physically appealing you probably want mesh'la. Cold is ciryc.

Wet (and dry)- wet is piryc, dry is haast.

Show - tenganaar is "to show" or "to display" with a root from "open hand" (like you're showing something in the palm of your hand.)

Want - copaanir is the verb "to want." Me'copaani? is "What do you want?" or "what would you like?" vercopaanir (literally future-want) is "to wish" or "to hope" and vercopa is a wish or dream. If you say "Vercopa" followed by a statement, it means "I wish that/may it happen that." So like - "Vercopa mhi me'dinui an" would be "I want us to share all." Vercopa can also have a connotation sort of like the one when someone says "I'm manifesting this" - like, you are urging the universe to make it happen for you. The related word copad (noun) is an ambition or desire.

Okay that got really long but I hope it is helpful to someone! Because I've spent way too much time thinking about this. :)

#mando'a #mandalorians #conlang #mando'a is for lovers

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rorywritesjunk · 1 year ago

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For these foamy green hills are but saltwater desert

Richie, Mohji's lion, isn't doing so well. The crew end up at a small island with a dwindling population to seek help and Buggy meets Midori, the mayor who is far more stubborn and trusting with his crew than he can really comprehend.

Rating: PG-13, gonna have smut at some point later though. Warnings: Buggy being obnoxious, of course. I'd call this a fast paced slow burn. It takes the place over the course of the week and days are split into two chapters. There's also some drama and other pirates. A/N: Full confession. I honestly wrote this because I have been watching the anime and Richie is one of the best characters. Do I know a lot about the anime? No. Is some of this chaotic and characters OOC? Of course! It's a fanfic. Is it self indulgent? Hell yes. I had fun writing this and wanted to share it. Also, I wrote this more with anime!Buggy in mind since we don't get to see Richie in the live action. Title comes from the song "Dryad's Promise" by Tricky Pixie.

Chapter 2

Day 1 pt 2

“Here, this should do the trick.” Midori said as she handed him the roofing tiles, hammer, and nails. Buggy grumbled as he took them from her. Once she learned what his Devil Fruit power could do, she asked him for help with replacing tiles on her roof. There was an area that was too high for her or anyone else to reach with even the tallest ladder, but with his abilities, she saw a solution.

His hands and head detached from his body, floating up to the problem area. She sat on the roof across from his body, watching with fascination as it remained still on the roof, not seeming to care that it lacked a head and hands at that moment. It also allowed her to really see his physique. He had left his hat and coat in her home while they climbed the roof, so now he was just in that bright red and white striped shirt and turquoise pants. It was definitely a bright outfit, but she liked it. The shirt fit rather snug, the sleeves showing off the muscle definition of his arms. His pants were a little looser in the legs but the way they hugged his hips had her wondering what he looked like underneath those clothes.

He came back to his body and handed her tools back. “I fixed a few other ones that were about to come loose. You should be fine for the next few storms.”

Her eyes lit up and she smiled brightly at him. His cheeks pinkened and he looked away. “Thank you, Captain.”

“Yea, well… whatever.” He grumbled as he made his way over to the ladder to climb down. She followed after him, hopping off the last rung of the ladder and planting both feet on the ground. She smiled up at him as she set the toolbox down and hoisted the ladder up onto her shoulder before heading to the barn to put it away. He sighed and picked up the toolbox to follow after her. “... So, you take care of this farm on your own?”

She glanced back at him and nodded. “My parents moved me and my five brothers here when I was young. We all helped run it, but then my parents died and my brothers decided to move on, so I’ve been taking care of it for the last ten years.”

“Ten years? By yourself?” He asked, sounding surprised. It wasn’t a large farm but it was definitely too big for one person to manage. “Why don’t you have anyone to help you? Why aren’t you married so someone can help?”

“Hm?” She chuckled. “Well, I tried to get married, but he wanted to leave the island and… I just wasn’t ready to do that. This place is my home and I’ll be the last one here.” She glanced back at him with a smile. “I know I keep repeating myself, but this place is so beautiful and peaceful. I don’t want to leave.”

“So you’ll die here then? When you’re the last one?” He scoffed as he opened the barn door for her. She stepped inside to put the ladder away and he followed in after her, closing the door. She replaced the ladder then pointed out where the tools went for him. “How are you that stubborn?”

“Why does the idea of me staying here until the end bother you so much, Captain Buggy?” She asked as she crossed her arms and leaned against one of the supports of the barn. He flushed, looking embarrassed and frustrated all at once. She didn’t look bothered, only smiling at him. It was getting on his nerves.

“You could have the chance to go anywhere, see the world, but you want to stay on some island and rot?!”

“I guess.” She shrugged with a laugh. “Where else would I go? I have no one left, you know. There’s already a family talking about moving off the island, and if they do that, it drops the population down to 8 people. It’s a young couple with five kids, and I wouldn’t blame them for doing it. It wouldn’t be sustainable for them to stay here.”

“You’re… stubborn.” Buggy told her. “Frustratingly stubborn!”

“Why does it bother you?” She asked, smile fading. “I bring you into my home, offer you my food and drink, and you’re calling me stubborn because you can’t accept how I want to live. Why is that, Buggy?”

He flinched when she said his name. “That’s Captain Buggy!”

“Never heard of you.” She smirked. His eyes narrowed and his hands popped off, grabbing her by the front of her dress and jerking her towards him. She looked a little surprised by the strength he had to do that; she thought his limbs would be weaker once they detached, but the way he was holding her to him, seething as he glared down at her, surprised her just a bit. Apparently she struck another nerve.

“I’ll make sure you remember me by the end of the week.” He growled.

Midori grinned up at him as she placed her hands on top of his. “Is that a promise, Captain Buggy?”

He let out a frustrated growl and released her before stomping out of the barn.

Buggy showed up for dinner, looking like a stray cat that wanted to be anywhere else but Midori’s kitchen. She let him inside and he sat at the table, arms crossed over his chest as he watched her move about the kitchen. She was preparing meat and vegetables, which looked to be quite a feast for just two people, but he didn’t say anything. He stayed quiet as he watched her, but then she opened her cupboards and let out a sigh, looking up at the top shelf.

Without a word, his hand went to help her, grabbing the jar she was reaching for and bringing it down to her before returning to his body. She looked over at him with a smile before opening it and added some of the contents into the roast pan. While he was stewing in the silence she was embracing it, humming a tune softly as she worked. Buggy didn’t recognize the tune.

“What is that?” He asked. She looked over at him. “The song, what is it?”

“Oh, just a song my mother used to sing to me and my brothers when we were kids.” She told him. “I don’t really remember the lyrics at this point since it’s been so long since I last heard it. I just remember the tune.” She put the food in the oven and looked over at him. “Is it bothering you?”

“No, no… just wondering.” He muttered as he looked away from her. She grabbed a dish towel and wiped her hands on it before joining him at the table.

“So, what about you?” She asked, catching him off guard. He frowned at her and she tilted her head to the side. “Are you married? You asked me so I’m asking you.”

“What? No, I’m not married.” He scoffed. “Why would I be married?”

“I’m sure there are pirates who are married.” She said with a shrug. “Having someone in bed with you every night, someone to wake up to, I think it’d be nice.”

“I can pay someone for that and more, you know.” He shot back. She raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t need to be married to have that.”

“I guess.” She shrugged as she looked over at him. “You can pay for anything when you’re a pirate, right? Even love?”

He made a face at her and leaned back in his own chair, crossing his arms. She just looked over at him, eyes narrowing slightly as she studied his face. He glared back at her, jaw clenched tightly as he wondered what she was thinking. She brought her hand up to her chin and tapped on it, looking thoughtful as she took him in, eyes taking in the shape of his jaw, the stubble, color of his eyes, and finally his nose. Her eyes lingered a little too long and he cleared his throat.

“What?” He demanded.

“Nothing. Just wanting to remember your face so I can tell the next person I see that I met the infamous Captain Buggy.” She grinned. “I’ll be able to see your face on a wanted poster and remember it. You have a memorable face, you know.”

“What was that about my nose?!” He snapped.

“I said nothing about your nose!” She laughed. “Honest! Why are you so defensive about… everything? I’ve done nothing wrong, Captain.”

He seethed quietly and watched her from across the table. Why wasn’t she intimidated by him? If any of his crew spoke to him the way she was, they would have been thrown overboard or fed to Richie! No one spoke to him as casually as she was, with the teasing, stubbornness, even the talking back. He wasn’t used to it, especially from a stranger.

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” He demanded. “Everyone trembles before me when they see me, but not you. Why?”

Midori looked at him curiously. “I don’t know. I guess you’re using words and your Devil Fruit powers to try and intimidate me, but it doesn’t work. Not to mention I was brought to your ship by a man who was worried for his lion, and your crew never threatened me when I came on board, so probably because… you haven’t done anything threatening to me, Captain.”

He huffed in annoyance. “Guess I’ll have to find ways to make you scared of me then.” “I’ll hold you to that, Buggy.” She grinned. He narrowed his eyes and she threw her head back to laugh. “Captain Buggy, I mean.”

#buggy the clown #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggy the clown x you #buggy x oc #buggy the clown x oc

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be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie · 2 years ago

Note

Ok first id like to share some good news: finished all my tests for the semester, and i think i only failed like 2 or 3!! More good news, more fics that ill get around to writing!! Or ill just post my unfinished drafts. I mean there's a yandere Jake (platonic dad yandere) fic and a "spider w permanant brain damage from the scanner fic" and even more just absolutely collecting dust in my drafts

New idea that I'll def finish this time tho: Humans but there unrealistically better than they are. There's no RDA, no big mining operation, no deforestation or driving natives out or dying earth, just humans being natural born explorers who are mind blown at an entire different planet with life.

And that's wild! They thought they were alone, the universe looking back on itself, explorers of a vast and endless yet lonely expanse. Then boom! Life! Life on a different planet, life so different yet similar. A life that has their own culture and languages, that's so intertwined with nature, they're capable of forming a deep connection at a moments notice! That's amazing! (Forgive me for my amazement, watching Rio and i just love the movie)

Anyway, in this au with no evil corporation only interested in money heading this operation, humans are way nicer! And weirder.

I imagine the Na'vis early experiences w humans are like what some of us think that aliens are doing (crop circles, abducting cows, just standing around naked) (and i say naked because most photos of aliens have em in no clothes. Or they're wearing a full body grey suit). I imagine that at first they don't believe humans are real because they don't show themselves often, only spotted by like a handful. Like "i saw this small pink creature by the river today! It had hair and eyes and hands and feet, and walked on it's legs!" "What the Eywa are you talking abt"

I imagine the first human they meet is a weirdo who's exceptionally brave. They walk up to a Na'vi and just start speaking in the most nonsensical Na'vi ever, that they managed to learn from observing them. They just follow them atound all day, keeps saying Na'vi phrases until whoever they're following just walks to camp and presents them and they're like "hey what is this."

Or, alternatively

Humans try staying away from them cause they're like twice their size and capable of making weapons, except for one person. This one spends their time following around a specific Na'vi and annoying them. They hum little tunes, they're spotted once and disapear behind the trees, they're daring enough to get ahold of their tools and try to study them. Then they start trying to communicate with them, little phrases yadda yadda. All while the Na'vi is going back home like "no mom, i promise i didn't loose my knife, this small pink creature stole it!"

They're like so fed up with the human and everyone around them cause they're like "what are you talking abt" so they're trying to get evidence of their existance. Eventually they do get them and present them to the tribe like "see!! I told you they were real!!!" And they're like "huh. Ok. What is this thing."

Dont have any idea how im gonna further w this but ye! Humans are way nicer and not run by a greedy corporation au

VERY EXCITING! I'm very sure you didn't fail anything. I want bOTH of those collecting dust drafts please and thank you.

No Rio and Avatar have been going hand and fucking hand lately lol. This idea is so fucking funny dude. I'm CACKLING. I absolutely adore the idea of humans being perceived as the aliens in any context and just how weird that would be, and it's not touched upon ENOUGH in Avatar because we come into the world when they have known each other. Hit us with that Grace and Mo'at developing friendship dude. I've always loved that and wanted it explored more.

#grace augustine #mo'at #avatar #avatar the way of water #james cameron avatar #melissa's asks #melissa on avatar (cameron)

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jinlizz-dragondrama · 8 months ago

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Chapter 18

Anata Wa Hitorjanai

https://youtu.be/JDMCHLpXkhc?feature=shared

(Watch this video during fight scene part)

"How could you do that? How could you just drive off and leave them?" Leo asks

"It's what Dad told us to do. If we'd stayed, we would have gotten crushed by Shredder. As long as there are Hamato there is a chance. " Raph says

"A chance to do what?" Mikey questions

"I don't know. I didn't get to ask him that. Don't worry I'm the big brother. The one who is the biggest. It's up to me to figure out how to defeat the Shredder.

"How? We've got no weapons, no lair, no sensei." Donnie retorts

"And no gram-gram," Mikey says while tearing up.

"All right we need to find somewhere distraction-free where I can come up with a plan to stop the Shredder."

We end up going to Todd's place where news flash is not quiet and plan-inducing.

"OMG, they are so cute!!" I gush over the puppies and giggle while they lick me.

While the boys are busy trying to come up with a plan.

"Raph is thinking really hard. I'm afraid he's gonna hurt himself" Mikey says

"I can hear you" Raph replies

"Oh, maybe we should try what gram-gram did and unlock our...what did she call it?" Leo says

"The Hamato Ninpo! That's it! Our family's ancient ninja art allows you to harness crazy mystic energy"

"But we need weapons for that, he said correctly and his family all agreed," Donnie says and I drop a pile of puppies onto him as they begin to relentlessly lick him.

"Weapons. Let's do those."

Todd volunteers to make some for us and they turn out to be gardening tools. Good thing I had an extra pair of my steel fans.

"Guys! Guys, guys, guys, guys" April shouts as she peddles on her bike towards us.

After she tells us about what happened to Karai the boys start their training to unlock their ninpo. Thinking I wasn't needed I decided to go do some training of my own.

"Hey," I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see April.

"Karai wanted you to have these memories" April takes my hand and her body starts to glow green, then the green moves to my body, and soon it surrounds me until my eyes begin to glow. A flood of memories goes through my mind a child Karai and another training and playing, the little girl handing Karai half of a jade lotus flower pendant, them growing up together, and finally, them being separated when the shredder took the other woman into his Clan. After the flash of memories finishes I feel something in my hand opening it it is the same bracelet from the memories.

"Knowing your mother she would have been so proud of you," Karai says in my head

I start to open my mouth to ask a question but she beats me to it.

"Questions can be asked later, now we must help the boys"

Nodding I put on the bracelet and make our way up to the treetops with the boys.

"Karai says to access your ninpo you must be calm and feel connected to one another" April says

"Agh! Not feeling too calm up here" Leo says

Mikey, Donnie, and Leo are freaking out while April, Raph and I are completely calm sitting on the top of our trees.

"How can I feel 'connected' when there is no wifi?" Donnie says

"Should we hold hands?" Mikey says while reaching for Donnie's hand which quickly gets smacked away.

Mikey whimpers in pain and I gently rub his sore hand.

April groans, "No. You know, like, connected in here. When you first open it, it'll feel like waaaaaah! And then it will feel like ooooooh. You know?" She demonstrates how it should feel with grand wiggle arm movements.

"No, I don't know. That makes zero sense! Explain it differently" Donnie exclaims next to me and I sigh.

While Donnie and April go back and forth I look over and Raph and see him struggling with something. He starts to sweat and clenches his eyes shut.

"Will you guys knock it off? We're running out of time! Everyone's depending on me. *sobbing* why can't I do this? I'm failing you." Raph says the last part Sadly and quietly.

Reaching over I put a comforting hand on his shoulder while his brothers look at him shocked by Raph and his very vulnerable moment. April also places a hand on Raph and the spirit of Karai communicates with Raph, but only April and I can see it.

"Anata wa hitorjanai," She says quietly

Raph hugs her and asks what the phrase means. She explains that it means 'you're not alone', that the Ninpo is inside us all. That it came from all who came before us.

"Trust us, like we trust you," April says

We all stand up and nod our heads.

"Don't worry Raph well figure this out" Mikey says

"I know. Because I'm not alone. None of us are. We're here for each other. Always." Raph smiles

"Raph?"

Raph leans back and starts to fall off his tree top, the boys and I rush to try and grab him. As we jump down our Ninpo is activated combining ours together we create a hand that grabs him pulls him up to us and we safely land in the river below. We all start to dance happily. I look at my body and several large pink Sakura flower designs appear on my shoulder blades and back of my hands. (One on each shoulder blade and one on each back of the hand)

"So pretty and fascinating," Donnie says while gently taking my hand and looking at it in awe. We hold hands and lock eyes and I give him a look that we are definitely having a talk later.

"Hey, don't you guys have to save your family?" Todd asks

"Yeah, and take out the Shredder.

We make our way back to the lair and see an opening for the hidden city.

"Looks like Shredder took Pops and Draxum to the Hidden City. But how do we find them?" Raph states

"There is only one person I can think of who can pull this off. Someone super intelligent. Someone who knows everything about the Hidden City. Someone who would do anything for Papa." Donnie says confidently

"Me-" He gets cut off

Everyone but Donnie says "Big Mama!"

"Big Mama? Come on!" Donnie says hurt

I pat his shoulder and giggle, "I was rooting for you!"

"And yet you were so quick to say someone other than me" he pouts and folds his arms.

"ShadowFiend is that you?" Big Mama asks

Out of the darkness of Big Mama's hospital room, we appear landing on her webs. I cringe inwardly when my sneakers stick to the Spider webs. 'I. HATE. SPIDERS.'

"Oh it's you," She says unamused.

"We're not here to fight. We need your help." Raph says

"Even though literally everything we talk to you, you double cross us, kidnap us, or threaten to destroy everything we love!" Leo pipes in while grabbing Mikey and squishing his face.

"Maybe we are here for a fight!" Donnie says

"Guys!" Raph pushes Donnie's face and turns his attention back to Big Mama while I slowly pull Donnie away while covering his mouth so he can't say anything else as I awkwardly giggle.

"Big Mama. Shredders got Dad."

"Lou? How can I help?" She asks

"We need to find him," April says

We find out that they are more than likely on their way to the Crying Titan *Insert dramatic music sequence*

Meanwhile, the Shredder is doing what he does best Shredding his way into the monument Statue at the Crying Titan and he accesses the empyrean to use in extracting the Hamato essence from Splints. He starts the ritual and the essence of Splinter emerges and Shredder chains it down. We arrive in the knick of time.

"Hey, Shred head! We heard you were looking for some Hamato energy. Guys?" Raph says

"Oh, I think I got some for him," Leo says while using his ninpo and turning his small shovel into a sword.

"That's right. It's us and we have a bit of an upgrade" April says while pulling down her hood.

"Big time" Mikey exclaims while swinging his kusari-fundo

"And this time around..." Donnie says while activating his ninpo.

"We won't lose," Raph says

"Time to kick but like a boss" I smirk and pull out my metal hand fans and brush them together making knife-slicing sounds as I also activate my pink ninpo.

"My drill is out of Beta," Donnie says while his drill bursts from the ground behind us.

"Fools your clan is doomed! And yours is just beginning" Shredder points at me and I growl lowly while clamping onto my fans.

"You haven't met Hamato 2.0," Donnie says smugly

"Stronger"

"Faster"

"Turtlier"

"And ready for battle"

"Let's get it, guys!"

With lightning speed we attack at once, taking opportunities to use our new set of skills with our ninpo. (Warch YouTube video to get full effect)

"You think your puny mystic weapon can harm me?" Shredder asks

"Great point. Everything can be improved by some... Donnie Tech" Donnie fuses his tech-bo with his ninpo extending it to his drill, lifting it.

"Your turn gorgeous," Donnie says and I use my pink vines to snake around the drill and harden them.

"All yours Dee Man," I say playfully

The drill becomes bigger with both our ninpos combined and he smashes the drill onto Shredder.

The last of Splinters Ninpo is extracted but before we could get closer Shredder uses his power to push everyone off the hand of the Crying Titan. Except for me I used my vibes to hold on.

"With this power, this world will kneel before me" he extends a part of himself and starts to suck the essence.

"Cass let's do this!" I smile and reach a hand out to her

"Like old times" she smiles back with tears in her eyes

We jump onto Shredder's extended arm thing and stop him from continuing.

"You dare defy me, General?" He says flabbergasted

"My name is Cassandra!"

"And we think you've had enough fun!"

Together we jump and push him back kind with our feet, but before we can get another attack in Splints Lou Jitsu's essence form punches the Shredder and sends him flying into the water below. The boys come and break the chains.

"We must stop him"

All of us jump down to him and attack as one.

"I expected this kind of betrayal from them but not from you my prodigy" He laughs evilly. "What would your mother think of the person you've become".

Having flashback of the memories that Karai shared with me, tears roll down my cheeks and I yell. "She'd be proud of me!"

"Join your mystic powers!" Splinter yells

All of us grabbed onto the spear, trying to use it to pierce the armor but it was difficult. Calling upon the Hamato Clan and seeing Lou Jitsu's mom was a nice heartwarming touch. I even feel the warm embrace of someone familiar. Together we yell "Hot Soup!" A great burst of energy that you could probably see in space exploded from the armor once the spear collided with it.

We did it, we destroyed the Shredder armor and reunited Karai and her dad.

"We did it pops!"

"Let us go home my family"

"One last thing, hey Barry wanna crack this egg open and bring home the people of New York City!"

Draxum opens the egg and all of New York and its bustlingness returns to normal.

After Splints tells us how proud of us he is and drops a bombshell Leo is now the leader and we all gasp.

"Wait? What!" We all shout

"More on that later, Aqua don't you have a prom to get to?" April says butting in.

Getting the feeling that what we've been through is just the beginning. But snapping out of it and looking at the time on my phone I gasp. Quickly jumped off the building we were on and made my way to the now-destroyed lair. April and Casey follow after me.

Donnie goes to follow me but Raph stops him.

"Wait up bro. Forgetting something" Mikey pulls out a tux for Donnie.

A small smile appears on Donnie's face, he gratefully takes the tux and gets dressed. When he is done he also sees that his brothers are dressed well.

"Let's live it up baby because we deserve it!" Leo shouts

The boys head to the school.

Back at the lair, I'm freaking out trying to fund my dress and makeup. Thankfully my girls got my back found my dress and started doing my makeup. The girls also get dressed in their prom dresses and we make our way to the surface.

"I was planning on us getting a limo, but I think the turtle tank is more our style," April says while giggling as we pile.

Autopilot for the turtle tank kicks on and it drives us to the school.

"Honestly, k don't think Donnie will ever trust me to drive the tank" I sigh

April and Cass look at each other giving a knowing glance. Arriving at Prom we are swarmed by the yearbook photographers and a bunch of flashes go off. Quickly running into the school and shutting the door behind us. Catching our breaths, going into the bathroom to check on our hair and make-up, I grab my phone from my purse and text Josh.

Me: I'm here

Josh: ok I'm in the gym I'll meet you there babe ;)

After fixing ourselves we walk into the gym it's beautifully decorated with a huge disco ball hanging from the glass ceiling. Looking around for Josh I end up seeing him over by the punch table, I point to Josh and the girls wave me off happily while they go to the dance floor. Josh sees me and gives me his signature smile, smiling back shyly I wave and stand next to him. He's drinking a cup of very spiked punch.

"You look nice," He says his speech a bit slurred.

"How many of those have you had?" I ask hesitantly

"Eh lighten up, it's PROM." He downs the last of his drink, grabs my hand, and pulls me to the dance floor. "Let's dance".

'Sexy Lady by Shaggy' was blasting from the DJ booths speakers, we started dancing, and the lights from the strobe lights danced across the swarm of people, I'm so into the music that I didn't notice how close Josh got to me until I feel hands on my hips. I gasp a bit and try to break free, but he has a tight grip on me.

"Don't fight it" He says slowly in my ear, taking a long wet lick from my collarbone to under my earlobe with his hot alcohol breath making me recoil and gag inwardly.

"Let. Me. Go" I enunciate each word trying to not to have fear in my voice as I ball my fist trying desperately to not to use my powers. Looking around for a teacher chaperone to get their attention but to no avail.

He grabs me firmly by the shoulders and spins me around to face him, he smiles hungrily at me but before he can do anything else a three-fingered hand grabs Josh's shoulder, and a familiar face is lit up by a strobe light.

"I think the young lady has asked you nicely to let her go, let me help you with that".

Donnie POV

We make just when the party starts my brothers and I walk in and take in the scenery. It's alright looking definitely would have chosen a different shade of purple but hey this'll do. Noticing that Aqua hasn't arrived yet I decide to grab a drink before the knuckleheads decide to spike it. Soon music starts playing and more and more students spill into the gym.

"Still no sign of Aqua?" Raph says

"No not yet" I answer trying to hide my...disappointment

"Don't worry she'll be here soon" Mikey says trying to do what I assume is to relax

"Yeah cuz when she gets here she's gonna wanna dance with moi first," Leo says while pointing at himself

Raph and Mikey groan, while I roll my eyes and concentrate on taking sips of my drink. A few minutes go by exactly 40 minutes later but honestly, it felt like hours after trying out the photo booth, dancing a bit and eating the finger foods, Mikey pats me on the back and points in the direction of the entrance to the gym.

"Oh oh oh there she is!" Mikey loudly whispers with stars in his eyes

"Wow, she's-" I'm then cut off by my annoying twin

"She's smokin' hot in that dress, am I right?"

Raph groans and smacks Leo behind the head, ignoring him I pull out the purple rose and the corsage I made for her. My mouth dries up and I try to moisten my throat but swallow nothing in my air.

"You got this Dee," Mikey says encouragingly.

"Of course I do, gotta keep up my bad boy image" I start to lift my hand to wave at her but she makes her way over to someone else.

Seeing her smile and have fun with someone else gave me this horrible feeling in my gut and heart. Could I the Ultimate bad boy be...jealous? No couldn't be....maybe? April and Cass come over giggling and start chatting with us but I tune out of the conversation. I finally snap out of it when April pokes me.

"Hey, what are you still doing here? Aren't you gonna go over to Aqua?" She asks expectancy

"Why bother? She's having fun with "Josh" I say tightly

"Let. Me. Go"

I hear Aqua's voice and she sounds scared. Looking around the crowd for her I see her with Josh holding onto her. Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists I make my way over.

"Go get 'em' bro" Raph says while popping his knuckles.

Everyone moves out of the way as I make my way over to them. Once I reach them I place a firm hand on the dirtbag's shoulder.

I think the young lady has asked you nicely to let her go, let me help you with that".

I quickly punch the guy square in the face, he crumbles to the floor with a pitiful groan. April quickly hijacks the DJ booth and changes the song to get everyone distracted. Raph, Mikey, Leo, and Cass quickly take Josh and take care of him.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Y/N POV

After watching Donnie punch the living daylight out of Josh and him being whisked away by the gang I look at his fist and it has blood on it.

"Hey, are you ok?" I ask

"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine" I look at his fist and shake the blood off it. "But never mind me are you ok? What else did that creep do to you?"

"I'm OK, thankfully you showed up I was almost about to use my powers." I smile and tears fill my eyes

"I'll come rescue you whenever you need it," he says quietly as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Promise?"

"Promise"

The song changes to a slow dance, we awkwardly look at each other. Donnie holds his hand out to me, I gently take it and we start to dance.

Cass rushes over and snaps a quick picture of the both of us and runs back to the gang.

"So um, I got something for you," He says shyly

Looking at him questioning what he's got for me as he slips something on my wrist I look at it and it is a not-bloomed flower. He gestures for me to touch it, so I do with the tip of my finger it slowly opens revealing a purple rose that's illuminated like a neon sign. My face lights up as I look at it in awe, when I look up at him again he holds a purple rose and I take it as well.

"Titanium?"

"Of course, only the best for you"

⚠️*Warning there be slight smut here read at your discretion* ⚠️

Leaning my head on his shoulder, I take in his cool body against my warm body it's refreshing, taking in slow steady breaths I smell his cologne and it compliments mine so well and isn't too overpowering. I see both April and Cass giving a thumbs-up up and I smile while I close my eyes and let him lead the dance. I hear him swallow, opening up my eyes ajar I see his Adam's apple Bob up and down , pushing away from his shoulder I glance up at him. Gently he puts his hand on my cheek and trails his thumb down to my chin tilting my face up more. His mouth parts slightly and I close my eyes once more as he moves my face closer to his. There's a kiss, awkward and tender. Once I start to reciprocat he grows confident and the kiss becomes more hungry. His warm tongue swipes my lower lip asking for entrance, slowly giving him access the kiss deepens, our tongue dancing together, exploring and tasting. I couldn't help a small moan from escaping my lips, a small barely audible churr rumbles from his chest. My core starts to heat up and rub my thighs together to lessen the tension I'm feeling. We don't break from the kiss as he tangles his hands in my hair and we continue to taste eachothers mouths, his tasted sweet like the punch. I know for sure my silk panties were soaked as I press my body against his pelvis. Not wanting to break the kiss but having to, to breath we pull away slowly with a trail of spit connecting from our lips. My fave is flushed and he has a dark blush on his green cheeks. My heart feels like it could burst from my chest from how fast and hard it's beating. Placing my hand on one of his cheeks I smile lovingly at him and he places his hand over mine.

"Hey Aqua, there's something I want to tell you, something I should have told you long ago"

"Yes?"

"I-"

A loud crash sounds from the glass ceiling, pink tentacles reach down and snake around my body squeezing tightly. I reach out for Donnie desperately as I'm lifted off the ground. Pure chaos happen as everyone starts to vacate the gym, teachers shouting for everyone to not push and shove, the gang yelling out my name.

"Aqua!" Donnie shouts activating his battle shell and flying to try and grab me. But another tentacle comes out of no where slapping him away breaking his mystic goggles and he hits the ground hard.

"DONNIE!!" I shout as I struggle to break free, I'm pulled outside but as my eyes adjust to the darkness I see the silhouette of a woman, my pressure point on my neck is pressed and I pass out.

Donnie POV

I reach the roof and there is no sign of her, we all reach all over the school and all that was found was my crushed corsage thar Leo found. I gingerly take it from him, holding it close to my heart as hot tears roll down my face.

Its been two years since then I'm 20 now and I still haven't given up looking for her. My family worries about me as I eat very little rely on coffee too much and never leave my new lab. But I can't sleep knowing she's out there somewhere. Looking at her picture from that day keeps me determined

"Don't worry Aqua, I'll find you"

(A/N Phew sorry my Dragons that this chapter took a while. I had this one finished for a while and was working on the next one but it didn't really make sense so I had to go back and change this one for the next chapter to make sense. Again I apologize for the wait to make it up to yall I have some art for you guys credit goes to the artists listed. Just imagine its y/n)

Art by @kaysdenofchaos here on tumblr

Art by @scrimblyteetlez on tumblr

#rottmnt #rottmnt donatello #rise donatello #rottmnt x reader #rise donnie #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #donnie x reader

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bengiyo · 1 year ago

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Hi! I'm here for the ask game and ready for you to choose violence! I'm interested in questions #3, 12, 18, and 25. If you don't mind, I want to narrow these questions to BL only, unless you have a particularly violent non-BL answer that's too good not to share. I don't have any specific BLs in mind, but if a restriction like "only those that finished or will finish airing this year" or "not this year" is interesting or productive, have at it. Thanks!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I'm just gonna keep talking about La Pluie. I saw multiple reactions calling most of episode 8 boring. I am sorry, but if you came to the show interrogating the concept of soulmates and were bored because the two romantic leads said that they choose each other even if they aren't destined to be together, I think you are too jaded and need to take a break from romance.

Sincerely, it baffles me to see people engaging with genre stories and seemingly getting mad that a show is playing around with the conventions of the drama. The spoiler culture brain rot is destroying media literacy and it really makes me sad that it seems like we're chasing the high of something new and unexpected. This on the website of the people reading the same kind of fanfic for the umpteenth time to get their fix.

I just don't get going into romance and being mad that they're doing the big romance things in a show literally about big romance.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I am going to interpret this to mean a character that the fandom doesn't like, and not just someone that folks don't know about. I could write about Uncle Man from 21 Days Theory, and I've already written about Framboise.

So I'm going to write about Korn from UWMA. Sometimes I will say on the podcast that "y'all don't like gay men when we're not pretty, funny, sexy, or entertaining." I have to suffer through comments about how Kao is a bad actor or that Korn sucks all the time, and both are wrong. Y'all just don't care about the stoic gay boys that try their damndest to pass and quietly suffer.

Korn is a tragic character because he was trying to be the man that he was expected to be, and then Intouch came along. He was harsh to Intouch throughout much of their romance because he knew what he was going to do. You can see the pain leaking out of that man's eyes the entire time. Intouch tried to save him. Hell, they brought Perth Tanapon to cry about their deaths to hammer home how sad the whole thing was.

It just makes me really sad sometimes around here that we're only ever going to get worked up about the loud and flamboyant characters, or the especially pretty and charming ones.

I am here for characters like Korn (UWMA), Mamoru (Kabe Koji), Shiro (WDYEY), Mitsuru (EY), Teh (IPYTM), Cairo (Gameboys), Shin (3WBF), Inthawut (180DLPTU), and many more.

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Currently, I feel some kinda way about how people keep looking for reasons to hate Patts in La Pluie, as if his ideal partner signalling is somehow to be mistrusted. It's just a bit sad for me that folks seem determined to hate the lead in this.

I don't really ever get second lead syndrome that often, so everyone on the Lomfon-Tai train confuses me. Lomfon is RUDE, and I do not fuck with that boy.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Not a specific complaint, but I've said many times around here that I really hate when folks abuse the tools of criticism to say that they didn't like something. Y'all really don't need to pathologize why you don't like something and reach for flaws in the storytelling or production to justify why you don't like something.

We are a niche fandom. We are not seeing the huge sums of money poured into our productions that huge setpieces are going to get. Y'all need to show a little fucking grace to the creators bringing these things to us.

🔥 choose violence ask game 🔥

#answered #ask game

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vendetta-if · 2 years ago

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Even though that execution was brutal (& a complete override of what I initially wanted lmao), Ash’s justification made a lot of sense! Then they were really genuine & understanding about it in their reaction to MC, too, so I wasn’t even that mad in the end. But even if I was, I wouldn’t really want them to change? Because I can definitely see how & why Ash came to be who they are lol & I wouldn’t encourage my MC to change a core part of themselves for an RO so ig I’m not gonna encourage an RO to change a core part of themselves for my MC. Smoking is one thing! But Ash’s moral code & mentality, which is especially appropriate for the world they live in, is another thing. Besides, opposites attract so. . . 😅

I’ll say, anon, I’m really touched by the understanding and consideration that you’re showing to Ash 😭 Reading this ask made me smile 😄 It’s really sweet 🥹

I’m glad that you really understand Ash here. I hope you don’t mind me using this opportunity to further explain a bit more about the way Ash thinks and sees this whole situation.

I’ve said before that I really tried to treat and write my characters as their own people, instead of being more of a prop for the MC. I know Ash may seem like a simp for MC 😆 but they are not some kind of robot or dog that will obey all of MC’s wants; they still have their own thoughts and beliefs that they took into consideration when they overrode MC’s decision to let the Commissioner live. They really meant it when they said that they are doing it for MC’s good too (at least in their view).

Considering the cutthroat and dog-eat-dog world that Ash and MC’s family operate in, it might be the best course of action for MC’s future.

Now, when the words spread that the young Morozov is as ruthless as their uncle and their grandfather, a lot of other criminals would be more afraid and wary of MC instead of underestimating them. After all, fear is an excellent tool to keep people in the criminal world in line and violence is the only language that they all share and understand.

Imagine you’re a hitman, or just a lowly gang member who are being offered the task of assassinating MC. Would you be as ready to take it if you know or hear that your target is ruthless and is capable of killing or ordering someone’s gruesome death? Add that with the already fearsome reputation built by Luka and Grandpa, others would be more ready to believe that MC would be like them or even scarier than them (if you executed him gruesomely).

Also, what would it look like on the Morozov’s reputation if it’s found out that the they decided to let the person who has been actively working with other gangs to take them down live with not even a slap on the wrist?

Returning back to Ash, they really do believe that they’re helping and sparing Merciful MCs from having to soil their hands. They would be willing to do all the dirty deeds necessary for MC’s own good, rather than forcing Merciful MCs to do those themself.

And some of you might already notice, but if your MC didn’t want to kill or was hesitate about killing the commissioner when they were given the mission, then during the breakfast with Luka, MC caught Luka nodding at Ash, reminding them of their objectives, which were to make sure the target is dead and to protect MC. So, they are actually ordered by Luka and Grandpa to make sure the commissioner is dead, MC just wasn’t really aware of it.

#asks #anon ask #if: vendetta #chapter 2 #ro: ash #char: mc #char: luka #char: grandpa #if game #if wip #dashingdon #choicescript

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demonfox38 · 1 month ago

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Completed - House Flipper 2

All houses are living creatures of chaos, when you get down to it.

There are many arts I'm not great at. Most fiber crafts for one. Watercolor painting, two. Interior design, big time. Like, I'm not going to let my house get filthy, and I'm going to keep everything running to the best of my ability. (Hell, there's something empowering about replacing a toilet's float!) But, by nature? I'm just about keeping things picked up and in general functional order. If you're gonna ask me about what's fashionable when it comes to interior decorating, you're going to get a response that looks like something out of a 1970s Sears catalog. I'm about being functional, economical, and comfy when it comes to my house. Not cool or trendy.

Cool people don't have a wood-paneled basement, oak-laminate particleboard cabinets, or CRT television sets.

Since I'm an aficionado for mid-to-late century American interiors (and the weird vibes they can produce), I tend to follow blogs online that showcase such rooms that still exist in the modern era. Two such blogs include Unteriors and Roomhole. As a response to Unteriors, another blog called Unteriors-In-House-Flipper-2 has crossed my dashboard from time to time. Their skill in rendering such locations is shockingly good. Like, I think you could trick people into thinking these were real-world images. As someone who has dinked around with a few 3D editors, I was fascinated about the tool they were using. What was "House Flipper 2"? How could its users make something that looked so good so fast?

Well, practice is an obvious answer. Familiarity with the tools. A good understanding of lighting, too. But, having the tool be pretty good to begin with also helps!

As the name implies, "House Flipper 2" is a design tool/game that simulates the reconstruction (or straight up construction) of various spaces. You can do this either to your own whims or to those of various clients in the game's story mode. While a person can just dive right into a sandbox and mess around with tools as they see fit, the story mode does give structure and context to how each tool works. The plot there is nothing to write home about, but the houses themselves…man. No shit "Crime Scene Cleaner" is a game that exists. Garbage-based jump scares abound, and I'm not just talking about the awful wallpaper your character's parents keep putting up.

Hmm. Both "House Flipper 2" and "Crime Scene Cleaner" are under the Playway publisher page in Steam. The games have different developers, but I do wonder if their staff members were talking to each other. Perhaps even sharing employees…

If a player is hoping to get something a little deeper than an HGTV television show in terms of plot, they may come away disappointed from "House Flipper 2." I'm not saying that a person can't draw their own conclusions from the details they find around the house they are cleaning. (I'm pretty sure a couple was copulating in the bathroom at one house concert, for one.) You're just not going to deal with anything more complicated than cleaning up a house post-flood. Which, trust me. At the risk of beating a dead horse, I have a lot of empathy for that. But, it's not exactly navigating the factional relationships between Pinnacove town citizens and designer corporation Accenzo, like being in some kind of housing-based "Shin Megami Tensei" RPG. It's just generally trying to make people happier.

I mean, if we're being super honest, most of them pissed me off via jealousy over familial/economic stability and being able to pursue their own dreams. But, I did think it was pretty cool that one of my clients had vitiligo. I mean, I guess all video games with Michael Jackson in them also star someone with vitiligo, but that's a unique and thoughtful design choice.

To complete your jobs, you get (or gain access to) the following options:

Hands (for moving objects around)

Flipper Tool (responsible for selling or duplicating items, as well as changing their appearance post-purchase or copying their style)

Collecting Trash

Cleaning (for stains and windows)

Vacuuming

Demolishing (for wrecking walls)

Building (for building walls)

Edit Wiring (to hook your electronics up to switches)

Surface Finishes (for tiling, wood, and wallpaper)

Painting

Most are intuitive, once you get access to them. The more you use them, the more perks and abilities you can unlock for them. Since there's not a great real-world equivalent for the Flipper Tool, that one may take a little more time to get used to. Just remember that it has a submenu for selecting its various features, and you should be good to go.

Client demands are highlighted on your tool wheel with yellow exclamation points. Getting into your quest menu will also show you an itemized list of tasks to perform. When you have a tool selected, you can hit a Flipper Sense button to have what needs to be acted on highlighted in yellow. Very handy, especially when you can't see what to destroy or clean up.

Usually, you'll have the best luck doing the following in order:

Sell off unwanted stuff.

Bag trash.

Vacuum.

Clean stains.

Clean windows.

Paint.

Resurface walls and floors.

Buy wanted stuff (and arrange as desired.)

Unpack boxes (for stuff the client has already purchased.)

Some of your objectives get hidden behind furniture, so be sure to fling that aside if you get stumped. Might as well spam the Flipper Sense, too. You do get points for it, after all!

The only "threat" you have is your budget. I put that in quotes because, assuming you are following the client's requests, you should never go anywhere near running out of money. Even in your own projects, you can repeat previous jobs to get more cash, should you get in a pinch. Just put in enough attention and elbow grease to max out your job to three stars, then cash out.

You do get into a lull, working through those jobs. At a certain point, you may hit a level of brain fatigue with redesigning whatever items your customers want you to purchase and just give into their requests, regardless of how you feel about the style of the products you are purchasing. The game's just checking that you made the right purchases, not that you placed them well or used a certain style. Perhaps this brain fatigue is what makes coming across a junked-up room all the more shocking. You're just trying your best with making an efficient, pleasant space, and wham! Thirteen pizza boxes chucked across an attic space, complete with grease stains sinking into the hard wood floors. Like, there's worse things to find in a house. I've seen worse in real life. But, it doesn't mean that it didn't make me curse or shudder.

Man, though. I get where real-life house flippers just keep doing the same crap over and over again. White walls and gray laminate floors aren't just the results of creative bankruptcy and penny pinching. It's also mental fatigue and executive dysfunction.

Additionally, the game will occasionally treat you with a furniture assembling mini-game. Successfully getting at least 2 stars on your assembled product will grant you a small discount to purchased items of that class in game (somewhere between 2-6%, depending on the difficulty of the item in question.) They work well enough, despite some arguments I had with the game's camera. Whoever made the time limits to beat on those mini-missions needs to have some kind of intervention for whatever stimulants they are abusing, though. Like hell I'm repeating something that took me 20 minutes to put together just because they think it can be done in 15.

You can also platform across "Floor is Lava" maps, but man. I'm just here to fix up houses.

If you did want to cut out the story and get right to the point, a sandbox mode is available for you. The tools aren't an exact 1 to 1 with the tools you get in the story mode, but there's enough overlap that playing the story mode will help you out here. Additionally, there are tools for assigning quests, jobs, etc. in the event that you want to upload your map to mod.io and have other players play your map. You can also control the lawn growth and punch holes in the map, which man! Would have I liked those options in the main game.

When you are allowed to take full control over a house and exercise your skills, you will likely be happy with the variety of colors, textures, and items to play with. The furniture is somewhat restricted to modern creations akin to something you'd find in IKEA or on Wayfair, with only select deviations made for the occasional appliance to look mid-century modern. (Which, for someone who has a fair amount of CRT television sets around the house, is a bit of a bummer. The one CRT they have in game is just not the vibe I'm going for, either.) Each furniture item and texture set can be dyed in at least three sets of color styles separated by vibrance, sometimes also coming with different pattern, wood, or metal types. In the right circumstances, you can also use photos off your own computer for additional artwork! For someone that remembers the more static days of the original Sims release, it's particularly impressive! Significantly fewer dead people around, too.

I'm always amused when guys discover exactly what gals did in "The Sims" games. Those games were pool-based slaughterhouses. Girls had to get their cool graveyards somehow.

When I had hiccups with the game, I could get around most obstacles by figuring out how to talk to the game in its own logic. Like, once I removed a timber log to paint behind it, then had to resize said log into a sliver to get it back into place, then resize it once more to its original size. Hooking up electrical wiring also wasn't explicitly taught, but I figured it out after messing around with light settings in a ranch house. The only problems I had that couldn't be fixed were being unable to cut triangular shapes out of bricks or placing bricks down in spots where the game arbitrarily said no. Annoying? Sure. But, that's a surprisingly low limitation.

Although, it would have been nice to be able to manually freeze items into a single group. Or, just have a bunch of items for purchase as a group. (Like, I'm talking having a block of books instead of having to arrange one at a time. I suppose you could put them onto a tray, move them, then delete the tray, but man. That feels weird.) Also, it's kind of weird that there are so many toys, but not a generic teddy bear or doll. Like, there's action figures for fake games, but not much in the way for dolls or stuffed animals. I don't know. Just seems like a thing kids would have.

Another weird thing—I ended up having this intermittent input issue with a Nintendo Switch controller that I was using from time to time. For whatever reason, right stick input would lock into a counter-clockwise circle, and I'd have to shake it out of that bad behavior. I doubt many people are using Switch controllers for PC gaming, but hey. Guess I’m weird like that. (I didn't have any issues with an Xbox 360 controller or the standard keyboard and mouse, for what that's worth.)

"House Flipper 2" is an awesome tool that happens to have a decent game mode attached to it. I am wondering how this could be used more as a partner tool or competitor to something like Sketchup more than expanding the boundaries and lore of Pinnacove. I imagine an average interior designer could get a lot of use out of something like "House Flipper 2," even if that's not the exact purpose of it. A person is never going to get exact furniture matches with it, but I imagine you could at least mock up a room relatively quickly with it. To those in the right industry, that might be pretty neat.

The base price for "House Flipper 2" is around $39.99 with a bonus DLC Starter Pack for $9.99. I suspect this price may change depending on how many people they want/need to pull in for co-op playtesting, so watch for any potential sales. I'm not exactly certain how many of my readers would be into building homes and decorating them, so for them, this may be too expensive. But, hey. It's important to engage in non-violent, constructive play, from time to time. This is a good way to do just that.

Although, if an option opens up to smash some digital NIMBY or HOA president's car in with a sledgehammer, I'm all for that, too. Gotta make this housing market more affordable somehow.

#post game evaluation #house flipper 2

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