#havent yet finished world 5...

[igucci]

abyssals

[youaremysunshine-court]

give me 5 reasons not to jump out of my window

[loving-jack-kelly]

i have 5 final projects due in the next two weeks and three of them are due on the same day lmao. lmao. lmao.

[kosmic-songbird]

Throwing this one out to the universe and my deities:

My college application is great and I get accepted without hesitation. I'm able to study the way I want to and my current hormonal imbalance sorts itself out. I find the best wedding dress and fits exactly the way I want it to fit. I don't even have to think about money; it's not an issue.

✨✨✨

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 58

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

The Value of a Moment by @a-fools-errand

When Lance’s previously obsolete skills in language suddenly become very useful, he finds himself wondering why aliens can’t account for the fact that humans, particularly him, need sleep and would prefer linear timelines. (Or: an Arrival AU because I love that movie)

yall OBSESSED does not begin to cover it. i have never read a fic where lance was so goddamn cool. and in like. the insanest of ways?? like of course lance is a polyglot but THIS....this is a whole new level. i havent even finished it fully yet but like god this thing is so fucking cool. if ur looking for a longfic stop looking

2. Rest Stop by @flaming-potato-arsonarson

Lance wasn't like the rest of the world. And he had never had a loving mother tell him it made him stronger for it. So he told himself, gathering up his courage and grit to face a world of winged humanity, when he, in fact, has no wings and turns into a mermaid instead. A world that wants him to die. So he'd keep this secret like a knife in his boot, a sharp weapon until he died on his own terms. Not because of who he was. Except, Team Voltron isn't so sure why Lance is all rough edges and sharp points about showing off his wings. Or acting like a member of the Flock in general. It's clear he cares for them, but he's never shown an intimate part of him. Until he has to.

oh god this has gotta be one of my CLASSIC fics. read it a few dozen times. i read it right when it came out, six ish years ago (goddamn), i can remember curling up in my old bunk bad and eating this up as the hours ticked by. i was HOOKED. my jaw was dropped my eyes were glued. could not get enough. if youre looking for mermaid lance with a twist....brother this is it

3. Looking for Rain by @thewriter2

Like most things, it starts with the little things: his smile, his confidence, his talent. Eventually, all these little things add up to one big thing that threatens to crash over them like a heavy rain. But, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. Maybe something beautiful would come from it. A 5+1 (really a 10+1) of Lance and Keith falling in love.

oh god guys..... @thewriter2 knows how to fucking haunt you. if a 10+1 (!!) isnt enough for you, i want you to know this line has been echoing in my head since i first read: "He looks at you like you’re a storm and he’s a desert desperate to drown." UM??? EXCUSE ME???? SIMILE OF ALL TIME ACTUALLY???? keith being so so visibly obviously in love with lance is my actual roman empire shit never leaves my mind

4. Astronauts by @thewriter2

When they entered the Blue Lion, Keith was Lance’s rival--the person Lance was working so hard to surpass. But slowly, Lance found himself thinking of Keith less as a rival and more as something close to a friend. So of course, Lance’s traitor of a heart decided that it would be Lance’s kind of friend that it would fall in love with.

tags to sell you: "keith is a dork but lance loves him anyway" (dorky keith my beloved), "hunk is an a+ friend" (yes he is), "lance is a lovesick fool" (yeah), and "allura is older sister goals" yes yes YES you get it. and like....while keith pov is my favourite to write by far, lances pov as he realises he is in love....that will always hold such a special special place in my heart

5. his own worth by frogsterz

In the middle of the conversation, Lance stops talking and no one notices. It’s not like he had been leading the conversation, for he hadn’t been, but somehow the fact that his lack of input or opinion isn’t noticed tightens the grip loneliness has on his heart. He looks down at his food, his face burning, his throat tightening up.

now usually anything but team as family isnt my deal. im not big on classic langst. but keith as a knight in shining armour.....what can i say i am weak willed. deeply. also " It’s what made it worse. I miss home and I miss being held and the rain, and I loved you. I thought you hated me." got me so bad got me WEAK like i have never recovered from that line and i doubt i ever will

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[kosmicdream]

The FATE of FEAST FOR A KING

.. and Nasty Red Dogs… 

And some other miscellaneous thoughts about comics, writing, and time.... AND ENDINGS...

============= 

As I’m approaching 10 years on FFAK and NRD is currently 5, I’ve been reflecting a lot on How far this journey with comics has taken me and how far I still have yet to go. For those unaware, my first webcomic was actually Eggshells, which started in 2011, but i only started posting pages publicly in 2013. It too is unfinished, but its planned for 7 chapters. (I’m currently working on chapter 5, which probably will come out early next year.) I have 9 ongoing comics I’m working on. NINE!! 3 of those are FFAK related. (FFAK, After Dinner Treat, and the prequel series “Help.”) It is so many comics though. And beyond that! I have two other stories I’ve been working on for the past few years in secret, one being Nice Blue Cats, which I might still draw as a comic someday.. As well as a series of “one shots” that is meant to be its own collection. Slugmom and “The Teacher & The Fairy” are part of these one shot collections. Which, uh, it was designed to help me practice writing short stories. Which TT&TF is now going to be three parts long, and roughly 300 pages. So I guess that’s short enough…? Ha.. laughs… Anyway, as I was saying.. Sometimes I’m sure, readers might wonder. “Do you ever feel overwhelmed, with so many projects Kosmic?” Yeah dude. I sure fucking do. I got 9 of them! That’s more than a full pokemon team of projects that are potentially a decade + of work. A couple of them already are a decade old/older at this point. (Praeymoon is actually one of my oldest-lasting projects, even tho its first chapter only finally released in 2023.. I first attempted to draw ch1 back in 2016, but was unable to finish it and scrapped the “full color” angle i was trying then. ) All my current ongoing comic projects are as follows: Feast for a King, Nasty Red Dogs, Eggshells, The Teacher & the Fairy, Replacer, The Eyes of Miasma, FFAK: After Dinner Treat, FFAK: Help, are all written. The only one which isnt fully written is Praeymoon, which I don’t mind because the way that story is organized is almost more of a sandbox-fantasy world of mini stories. I’ll be honest, if you havent heard of Replacer or The Eyes of Miasma, I don’t blame you- its not that i don’t like those stories. They just kind of are the “most neglected” comics yet I’m also kind of amazed they exist at all, like I DONT know how I found the time to draw over 100 pages for both of them. They also have fully written outlines and all things considered, are probably only going to be under 400-500 pages in length. But that’s still a decent amount of work there. Its been ten years since I more or less started making webcomics… and as I plan, and try to calculate all my projects for the next 10 years, my main priority at the moment is well.. Finishing all of these fucking stories one way or another. Its hard! I don’t know if I can as I put way too much on my plate. But at the same time like.. Whatever. I could easily drop most of them, if I felt inclined to - but I don’t. They are my library of work, and I’ve sort of made an artist oath to myself that I will see as many of them to the end as I can. I’m excited that three are very close to its end. (Nasty Red Dogs, The Teacher & the Fairy, and Eggshells.) After that well.. I’ll see what I can cross off my list next once I get there.. That’s still going to take years to get those done. But hopefully not too many. 

[Spoilers for potential LENGTHS of FFAK/NRD.. And other things.. I speak very transparently about writing and working on comics here AND including my thoughts on ENDINGS.. You’ve been warned]

I’m comfortable enough sharing that the fairy comic is 3 parts, Eggshells is 7 chapters, but when it comes to FFAK/NRD.. Its much harder to give an estimate, or if sharing those things will only be disappointing or annoying to hear about.. If you have ever been around me for more than 10 minutes, i am constantly talk about the “length left” on these projects a lot anyway. At night, i count them in my head. In the day, I write little lists as if I’ve forgotten the names of them.. They are MY LIST.

 But for those who do not know and wish to, NRD is likely going to end with 10 chapters. I have extended this in the past, so it could still change.. but it only really has gotten “longer” due to pacing of scenes rather than the actual content. And Honestly, it was paced out specifically to avoid this next chapter. Not that I didn’t want to draw it, its because i was Scared to do it.. Why? Because there’s cars I have to draw in it. And dogs. I have drawn those things before, at least once or twice. But I do not enjoy drawing cars or dogs. Dogs are okay now, but i hate that they have legs. Dont give me references, i have those. Its just how my brain is, with those fuckign legs and how there’s four of them. I know practice makes perfect. Or do-able. I have drawn amost 1000 pages of NRD, i dont remember how they bend and i’ve forgiven myself for knowing there’s just some things god cannot do, which is to give kosmic the ability to look at a dog leg and understand. Anyway. Because of this reason, somehow, finishing NRD with it only possibly being 4 more chapters, still feels harder than finishing ALL of FFAK - which (drumroll) might be .. only around 10 or 12 chapters left. Yes, you heard me- for the second AND third arc. 10 or 12 more. Will that also change? Probably!!!!!! Like, yes… its been 9 years and I’ve completed a lot more than just 10 chapters of comics in that time.. But wrapping up a story is way harder and I dont know what that’s like..yet! But i feel still confident that i will. I mean, i don’t really have any other choice than to experience it. I used to recoil and fall apart just emotionally contemplating finishing FFAK. my FUCKING baby. My joy. You mean that has to end?? NEVER. My attachment to it and the characters was incomparable to anything else I had done, and in my mind ever WILL make… (and that is still true.) But.. I’m okay with that now and I actually look forward to seeing how it could end up. Even if its bad! 

Its kind of weird to say, I just don’t really think it will be.. super good? Like.. it could be? I don’t know how readers will react. I dont even know how I feel about the whole thing.. I have felt so many feelings about this comic already, now I’m kind of.. Past it in a new stage. Zen like peace almost. There’s just.. so much that I wanted to PUT in FFAK and so much i could STILL put in. But I kind of just am okay with what i wrote, does that even make sense? The whole comic has felt like such a fluke to me, from the very start. And I managed to accidentally make so many great things in it I don’t actually understand sometimes. And my dreams for the comic has been nearly limitless. I couldn’t possibly contain all the feelings I’ve had over this story over the many years I have been making it, and all the incredible narrative outcomes I could see the characters going in.. the possibilities, the parallels.. The anime music videos..  I would NOT compare my writing style to GRRM, I haven’t read his books. but I can’t help but feel a bit like a weird baby version of him with the amount of cast members I have to push around and draw.. And I want to be clear. If FFAK was written as a book, it wouldn’t happen. I cannot write books. I do not think writing books is easier/faster than making comics, but sometimes it is hard to have to draw everyone. Point is, I understand the reality of a long-term comic project now, I have numbers and logs to prove it  and my range. And I’m fairly consistent, even in my low days. So.. in recent years my writing style has.. has changed to accommodate.. Those.. General Realities i’ve observed in myself. 

That’s why the second arc excites me. It has a lot of uhh, urgency that underlies it. You might have already noticed a change in the tone in chapter 16, which I’ve been working on for almost a year now. (I mean, I’ve been working on the written version for.. LOL.. much longer.) Maybe you haven’t! It could all just be from my own POV with how differently i feel that I delegate time to characters now. I did not start “writing” FFAK until chapter 10, and then i did not really start WRITING writing ffak until about.. Honestly, i want to say as late as 2019. It TOOK SO LONG you guys. I dont even know how many fucking thousands of pages of madness word documents I’ve got, with revision after revision and trying to list, contain, every possibly plotline… character backstory.. Blah blah blah.. Ive cut it down so much its impressive only to me. I don’t remember my lore anymore , and i love it. My readers probably know my lore better, and I don’t love it. Except when it benefits me. Then Its good. I would not describe myself as a RUTHLESS cut THROAT author, im actually too way sentimental to really let go of anyone. That’s why it took me so long to kill off Rock, but also because I wanted spoon to look really sexy and evil and that’s hard to do sometimes when I cant remember what half side he is. And when he was flipping around, I had to actually make a paper doll for him so i could TRY .. TRY to draw his arm on the correct side. Sometimes I didn’t. I just let it go if the drawing is good enough and i let it be a fun game for the readers to catch. But anyway, That’s why characters like Aeschylus are still around. Now that time has passed, I kind of regret it. Rome was right.. I dont need Aeschylus here and I’m mad he brought his friend Randall too. That being said, they’re some of my favorite characters in this arc even if they’re totally useless. In general, i have tried my best to not repeat all my writing sins and all my regrets of arc 1. I would not have been able to do this without the help of NRD to help get me to see that I can get attached and motivated to write new stories. When I hit my writing block in 2016/2017, it almost broke FFAK. FFAK still continued, but it also didn’t. But i was patient, and i worked through it.. And now I look forward to the ends of my comics, not because I want them to end but I’m very deeply excited for all the new opportunities my imagination to go to. I don’t know what that will be like. I don’t know how long it will still take me to get there, but I have it on [digital] paper and it does feel good to see that. Its affirming. I feel like i have a clear mission and I feel strong enough to really do it and commit to it. The second arc has barely started but in my heart I’ve made peace with the ending, whatever it might actually result as. 

Plus if I finish it and its so bad, I’m sure that will be inspiring in itself! People might actually write fanfics!! I think a lot of readers are NOT going to enjoy the ships, for one. The MEAN greedy part of me hopes they don’t. That’s the most ruthless part of my writing to me is the ship choices. Oh! My evil mind. I mean theres no possible way to please everyone, or even myself, but there is a possible way to displease a lot of people. Including myself. So that’s kind of the route I find myself drawn to. Why? Because it gets me out of the hole of like.. I dunno, being stuck. 

I used to write out a lot of big posts but over the years, I’ve kinda stopped. Mostly bc they were honestly really repetitive..or about lore that didn’t truly matter too much… That hasn’t really changed. This post is more or less “im still working on it, everyone! Just hang tight! Wow it’ll be a crazy wild ride” but it also is something I wanted to write to myself as words of encouragement. This has been a tough year. Like so tough that its hard to think about. But its very nice to feel like, i guess, my drive for my stories hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, i really feel like i’ve gone through the mourning and ego death of “not being able to write a thing how you want” and now I’ve made total peace with it. Its just gonna be what it is, and I like that actually. When my life is tough, my comics at the moment serve as a place of hope for me - and assurance that I can survive through tough years. That’s the message they have ultimately given me, finished or not. And… I honestly don’t think of FFAK or NRD as my masterpieces or anything, but i know they might very well be the only stories people will know of when they think of me. If they think of me! So I wanna do a complete job with those. Rest assured, it’ll get there. I cant make big promises about all the comics I work on… even the bonus comics for FFAK, but at least those main two are my main priorities. That has not changed. THE FIRE is still in me. Even if FFAK took a like.. Mental.. 5 year hiatus its back baby. 

I’m about 30 pages in to my 50 page script for chapter 16, so I guess it’ll be around 300-400 pages more before its done. Things are picking up speed! So it could be less. I am also preparing for the monster that is the 7th nasty red dogs chapter. I cannot stress ENOUGH that this next chapter, I have put off since chapter 4. Yes, I’ve actually buffed the story out to be longer than it intended, just to avoid drawing it. I even put a horse guy in there, I never draw horses because those ALSO have legs but they’re worse than dog legs. And, its not that i didn’t want to draw this part of the comic! But I didn’t think i could do it. It intimidated me. It still does, but, I’m gonna do it already. I know chapters 8-10 will be hard too but like…eh… I know in my heart its gonna really be about 7 for me. It always has been about 7 to me.. 2024 will be a big year for my comics for sure, just because of that alone I think. Not only will I have chapter 16 done, as the first step of the 2nd arc and a new adventure of my apocalyptic wormy drama, I’ll be facing my fears of the dog variety. Its TIME. 

I’m so happy people have stuck around for my work, or shared it with others, even if they’re a strange mess. Its interesting to see, who comes and goes. I still enjoy refreshing my comments every morning when I wake up, and right before I go to bed. Its comforting.

My closing thoughts on this. I don’t HATE the ending of FFAK. I… like it! Its an ending. But I LOVE the ending to NRD. i think that ones legit good, i hope. With FFAK, part of me kinda hopes that turning up the pressure on myself of proceeding anyway will help the story. I don’t really know, or expect the ending to change though LOL…. Maybe i’ll come up with something better, but it will be too late so I cant do it or something, and then we can ALL write fanfics together of something else. Then sometimes I think about GUNNM and how the first ending was retconned but then last order was like? Basically the first ending again? I dont know actually, its hard to remember. THATS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BTW. Also the ending is not everyone dies, even though that ending is fun and tempting. I didn’t do it, because end of evangelion already exists and its got a great song to go along with it too. YES it is also tempting to have someone go “WELL That was A FEAST.. For a KING” as the like final line, but I.. it wont wont. I prommy i take the ending seriously.

The reason I wanted to write all this, with webcomics, I think in general too people are so scared about writing their big comics that take 328523895235 years and the ending being bad. I see so many webcomics just, kinda die before the finale.. Which I totally understand, But I just.. Wanna show everyone that its much better and much more satisfying to just write the ending even if its a fucking disaster LOL. Because ultimately, its a webcomic. I don’t even know how to spell but people read mine! And so.. If theres anything I feel like i can promise and deliver to the world of the internet/my readers, is this big fucking disaster mess.. But it will end someday! And I’ll miss it. I hope readers will too, when that day comes (?) in probably another… 10 years…. idk.... BUT UNTIL THEN.. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of chapter 16!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Kosmic Dream

[lazulian-devil]

"Into the Frayed" Project

Im making a little masterpost for my audio drama WIP, which will allow me to conveniently send you where you need to be sent if you're interested in it.

Here are all posts I've ever tagged with "Into the frayed". And here are all the ones that relate specifically to the production process. Theres also the gods, if you want to look at the worldbuilding.

Whats "Into the Frayed"?

Into the Frayed is a fantasy audio drama, told via letters. It happens in my fictional world of Valfern (Val coming from the german word "Wall" meaning wall or fence, Fern coming from the german word for far, in the distance, or yonder). If you wanna know how to say that properly, google how someone would say Walküre (thats Valykrie) in german. The "fern" is honestly fairgame because I say whatever feels best. Sometimes more german, sometimes more english. Go bonkers.

Valfern is a world in which magic isnt perceived as positive, instead being a corrupting and malevolent force. Unfortunately, magic doesnt care much about its public perception and therefore sinks its teeth into many a thing, including people. These people are called "Jinxes" and generally ostracised. Theres a whole lot more to it (old gods and new gods and a surprising amount of plant research) but thats the gist :p

Our protagonist is Vaughn, a person (because I havent cast any voices yet, they could be any gender) who is slowly developing into a Jinx and needs to run away from their village to save themselves. They take this journey together with a Ravensworth (thats a fancy title for a mercenary) and write letters to their last ally among wolves: Franzis, their childhood friend. Vaughns goal is to make it beyond Sentinel, the city at the mountains border. Its a known story that the people beyond dont view Jinxes as Jinxes and if they just make it that far, they would be fine.

So only one question remains: Will they make it?

So, what now?

I'm working on finishing a "Proof of concept" episode, that has the first exchange between Vaughn and Franzis and is about... 5 letters aka 10-15 long? If that works out and I like it and enjoy making it, I have enough of a plot outline to script a small seasons worth of content (no more than 90 minutes total, because of sanity).

I did plot out the entire storyline and the supporting cast, but one needs to start small and grow steadily instead of burning once and brightly.

Anyways. I hope this gives you some insight into what I'm doing. If you have any questions, do ask. Especially world building questions.

Otherwise, I'll just start word vomiting all my research in small tidbits into my Tumblr.

Bye :)

[housefreak]

tricked him again and we are having so much fun >:)

1899 🥰 tricked a friend into watching the first 3 eppys with me <3

[stephschoices]

I LOVE YOUR BLOG! can I ask you some questions?

hope you don't mind the sheer mass of details. - Which 5 interactive fictions are you most looking forward to have an update? demo out already - Which 5 interactive fictions are you most looking forward to have a demo out? no demo yet - Which 5 interactive fictions are you all time favorites? fully published - Which 5 love interests are your all time favorites? a) from published games, b) from wips - Which 5 mcs are your favorites? they don't even have to be from any of the interactive fiction above - Which 3 tropes are your absolute favorites that you would always go for? - If you had to pick between your favorite love interests, which would you: marry, kiss, smash, kill? - what kind of interactive fiction was not written yet but you hope somebody will write it one day?

Now more personal, again, only if it is ok for you.

- your favorite food - your favorite (printed) book - your favorite love interest from a video game - which celebrity would you like to meet if it could be absolutely anybody?

thank you for hearing me out steph - hope your day is beautiful

Thank you for all the questions lol 😂 sorry it took me a while to answer!

This is gonna be long so under the cut!

Which 5 interactive fictions are you most looking forward to have an update? demo out already

@theunseelieif

@fallenlightsif

@esper-game

@sekhmetswrath-if

@unwilling-souls-if

Which 5 interactive fictions are you most looking forward to have a demo out? no demo yet

@pavedinashes-if

@inkandlaces-if

@dereliction-if

@ellawrites-if (whisper in the mist)

@indeepertidesif

Which 5 interactive fictions are you all time favorites? fully published

i dont read many fully published ifs so if i had to choose some that have at least one fully finished book-

@barbwritesstuff (blood moon)

when the night comes

@the-passenger-if

@seraphinitegames (wayhaven chronicles)

@gb-patch (our life now & forever)

Which 5 love interests are your all time favorites? a) from published games, b) from wips

finished:

cove (@gb-patch - our life now & forever)

vadeyn (@underbliss - ebon light)

marco (@barbwritesstuff - blood moon)

nate (@seraphinitegames - wayhaven chronicles)

hadrian (@anathemafiction - the golden rose)

wips:

morgan (@theunseelieif)

pepe (@inkandlaces-if)

xander (@unwilling-souls-if)

tie between blade & red (@shepherds-of-haven)

griffin (@bodycountgame)

Which 5 mcs are your favorites? they don't even have to be from any of the interactive fiction above

this is really tough, but at the moment i'll say

tie between indigo & este & jade (paved in ashes / ink & laces)

fleur (unwilling souls)

cyra (the unseelie)

tie between rumaiza & leliana (disenchanted)

tie between ellery & arainia (shepherds of haven)

Which 3 tropes are your absolute favorites that you would always go for?

best friend or childhood friends to lovers

monster who thinks theyre unlovable x person who loves them unconditionally

arranged marriage

If you had to pick between your favorite love interests, which would you: marry, kiss, smash, kill?

marry: vadeyn, morgan, xander, red

kiss: cove, hadrian, pepe, blade

smash: marco, nate, griffin

kill: NO ONE

What kind of interactive fiction was not written yet but you hope somebody will write it one day?

anything based on my favorite media, right now im thinking video games; dragon age, swtor, fallout, bioshock, mass effect, tbh wouldnt mind one based on bg3 lol

your favorite food

taco bell

your favorite (printed) book

gonna be real honest, i havent read a book in many years lol but for the sake of answering i will unironically admit i love the twilight saga and read them all at least twice in middle and high school

your favorite love interest from a video game

official: Cullen (Dragon Age), Anders (Dragon Age), Alistair (Dragon Age), Theron (SWTOR), Gale (BG3), Kaidan (Mass Effect), Danse (Fallout)

unofficial: Butch (Fallout), Max (The Outer Worlds)

which celebrity would you like to meet if it could be absolutely anybody

hmmm this is tough but I'd say all members of Day6, Mamamoo, Ateez, and Itzy. And also DPR Ian <3 I'd say VAV too but I've already met them ~

[itssbriar]

It’s time, for Black Myth Wukong, my thoughts after finishing. I havent watched any actual explanation videos yet, so this is my interpretation too.

Tldr is give this game, game of the century

Spoilers proceeding —>

With how Journey to the West is and how it’s got Buddhism massively mixed into it from Chinese culture, I’m honestly not surprised it showed so much emphasis on life and such

This game heavily focuses on life, death, misdeeds, truth, and what it means to take a journey and move forward.

Bit of context:

Sun Wukong denied the opportunity to ascend to buddahood, to have immortality, so that he could live amongst the world and be free. He is killed, and you start your characters journey to collect Wukongs lost relics to allegedly revive Wukong.

However, by the end, its revealed you were always in a cycle, a cycle that meant you would always come back to this place after journeying to the west collect Wukongs lost relics, and that you would die and the cycle would restart.

The true ending however, after collecting the armour and staff, allows you to travel to a previous area and fight Erlang, the person from the start of the game, once again. Upon killing the four heavenly kings and defeating Erlang. Its revealed that he was never an enemy. In fact, Sun Wukong and Erlang werefriends. And another truth is revealed. Erlang had infact hidden the sixth relic of Wukong (mind) the entire time, and after you defeat him, he returns it too you. And with that, after defeating the Wukong boss, this time, before the crown is put back on you, you remember in one of the most beautiful sequence I have ever seen, it flashback replays the real Journey to the West story in reverse order, showing how by regaining the memories, you can refuse to wear the crown again and break the cycle.

You were always Sun Wukong, trapped in an infinite cycle from that old monkey. However the old monkey was infact, by reading into his outfit and the text, a member of the celestial court, creating this cycle and grooming you into your supposed path each time.

The most important parts are each of the chapter endings, and prior to the Sun Wukong boss fight.

The chapters each always show an important lesson. A missdeed of mortals in some way. Each related to the buddhism ideals. And this links into the other part, right before the fight. You travel in a boat, with the old monkey telling the acts of Wukong through his life. The things he did wrong, and badly. And they all relate to the chapter endings, on how the final bosses you defeat also comitted these same acts. The greed of Yellowbrow, the lust of Baijie. How everyone always wants to be free, but also to ascend to buddahood, but one cannot have both, and shouldnt have both.

And the entire point of the true ending, is that you are meant to overcome those misdeeds and wrongdoings, by learning from not just those you take down, but from Wukongs past itself too. And you do this by finding and fighting Erlang and killing the four heavenly kings. Thats the way you unlock the real ending, because you overcome those past trails and you finally break into being better. Your journey the entire time, it wasnt about resurrecting Sun Wukong, it was about learning to be better, to move forward.

Wukong wasnt perfect. He did a lot of bad things, but the one thing he still remained was that he was infact a hero to many, and a villain to others. But the most important thing too him, was that he was free. Freedom he lost the moment the crown was forced on him at the start, and ever since he died right at the start and generations past, he had been in a cycle over and over and over.

The journey all along was about finding the way to be better than those wrong actions, and in doing so, you find englightment. You find peace. And with that true ending, it takes us all the way back to the start of the story. The start of the real Journey to the West story.

PS: Chapter 5 was the real start to the tease of the cycle. The ending story part was a big hint. And in a past cycle, you actually killed the fox girl that was the daughter of the bull. Well, Baijie did, so she was never even alive by the time you played that Chapter. It was always the son in an illusion. Its why the bull says that wherever you go you always leave a broken family. Its why the water guy says you dont even know what you are destined for. Its why a lot of the bosses make reference to you coming back not just from death. Youre stuck in the cycle.

[tryhardgwen]

hi gwen!

tysm for writing and posting, I really love all of your work!

quick question just for fun: if someone could only read five of your fics and no more, and you got to pick which ones, which five would you want them to read? you can include wips if you want

happy writing and i can’t wait for your next update!

anon i am so sorry for the late reply, i just. had to think about this a LOT. then i may or may not have forgot about it. oops. but thank you so much for the submission and for enjoying my fics!!

ok we are NOT including wips because that would make this answer infinitely harder. also because i can’t really judge them because… they’re not… done. im also not counting i want your violence, since it's not finished. i AM including kim suhwan vs. the world, however, because it's essentially finished. so i'm picking out of my 25 fics. that being said, here is my list of my 5 fics i would want people to read:

kim suhwan vs. the world

all my love

the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb

and all of my dreams, they’re growing lucid (i mean, can we do two here? just the whole busan boy series. this and the beach.)

don’t blame me

pour one out for the fakenuts sure, but i havent written one im incredibly proud of yet. if the one im working on turns out good, then well… 😶‍🌫️ but thats neither here nor there since it is NOT FINISHED and i dont wanna torture myself with choosing.. really op i have 26 published fics and ur making me choose FIVE of 25. ok, i will delve into my reasoning under here.

ahem. so, to start with... kim suhwan vs. the world. i feel like this one is a little self-explanatory, if only because it's my most recent fic. i do think it's one of my best written (my older fics are definitely lacking in skill, i didn't get good at writing until late 2023 i'd say) and i just... love the plot. so writing quality is great, concept also great! description amazing, dialogue amazing. my best work so far... i guess that makes sense, since im improving in skill as i write and grow more. i love peyz. i love writing fics about love and growing up and coming of age, and okay i DID project a bit onto peyz because i too have an unrequited crush and uh... i struggle with my emotions being a "lot" a lot. especially as of late, ive been "feeling" a lot. i get angry, i get sad. i mean my dad died lol! (i do sort of separate my fics nowadays as pre-dad death and post) but this story is just so special to me. you can see my growth as a person and a writer in comparison to my first fics. i mean, its been two years, pretty much. suhwan here is so special to me, and so is jihoon, honestly. wangho is too, and... god i do love geng 2023 so much. AGH. i know chapter 5 isn't out yet, but it will be tonight, or tomorrow! before t1 geng semis, at least. i hope.

next, all my love. also self-explanatory i think. it's my most popular fic, and even though i don't even really like onerzeus, i love this story and i love my iteration of them. i really badly wanted to write a second chance homecoming story (fun fact, aml was almost a bengifaker instead of onerzeus!) and i ended up doing that. i chose onerzeus since i thought they fit it. and then the fic sorta snowballed. i initially wanted 3 chapters, 10k each, 30k total word count. hoo boy that didn't happen LOL. EVERYTHING snowballed. i started putting all my favorite music in it, and putting cars and stick shifts in, and making the almost-family have an auto shop. i put jojopyun in bc i fucking love the guy so, so much. i put many bits of myself and my dad into it (i look back on this fic with a tad bit of sentimentality because it has so much of him in it. i did write that fic before he died). but i put just.. things i wanted to put in. it was SO self indulgent! gumakeria marriage, jojopyun, music, and cars... i remember working super hard on this fic in particular, and i think it paid off. all the "surprises"/cliffhanger type-things were something i put a lot work into. i think the writing quality of this fic is... halfway decent/pretty good... description was almost amazing, and dialogue was pretty good. conceptually, one of my best. this fic will always be special to me.

next would (maybe surprisingly?) be the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb. conceptually, i believe this is my best fic conceptually, which is why i chose it. i really don't think this shows my best writing at all (not even top 5 best writing) but i think i execute the CONCEPT well regardless! i did write it in pretty much one sitting because i was in the midst of burnout and i just got the idea and knew i had to get it out, so that's my excuse on the sub-par writing quality and possibly choppy plotline. it has pretty okay description, not bad dialogue. i definitely could've made it smoother. but in general, i just love the "lck mid holy trinity" of faker, showmaker, and chovy. i love lck midlaners so much. the idea of showmaker and chovy being kindred and faker the grey man descended upon me like a blessing from the gods. BY GOD DID I COOK. i didn't write a ton of au fics prior to this fic (ntm any fantasy aus), but i really should more. i love it so much, and i love the ending (which i wrote at like 4 am in the morning in a haze because i randomly thought of it half asleep!) i'm super proud of this conceptually and i need to write more lck mid fics in general (this time with scout too!?)

okay, i really wish i could count the busan boy series as one. but i cannot, so i am choosing and all of my dreams, they're growing lucid. despite it ill be talking about both fics in this section. i think this is my best work slash series of canon-compliant gumakeria i've written thus far--(i haven't written a ton since it came out, if at all, honestly). i feel like i really perfected their characterization here, over writing so much gumakeria. the reason i pick aaomdtgl over the beach is probably writing quality/skill. busan boy is by far my "favorite" of the two concepts, but it's lacking in execution, and it's noticeable especially in comparison to its sequel. the beach has okay writing, pretty decent description, and amazing concept. and all of my dreams has great writing, great description, and great concept. i was always grumpy the beach got so much less attention than and all of my dreams, but... i guess it's for a reason, lol (also bc its um. SAD! they LOSE!). (please go read the beach if you haven't though... i do love that fic so, so much.) also stream niki and the neighbourhood... read! my first songfics i guess, i just love those two albums. also i was a tad bit insane for these two fics--i wrote the beach because i was like, worlds in Korea? lets win. time to write losing in Korea fic first to set up for it. then i wrote a large percentage of and all of my dreams before t1 even won worlds because i was so sure of it. 2023 gwen was insane.

lastly is don't blame me. this is largely because of concept, because the writing is ass. don't blame me was my second published fic, so that's my excuse. the writing IS bad, i was waltzing along lacking in skill... yeah. the prose is so short and empty and fucking hell i could nitpick all day. i guess it sort of fits the fic?? (no im lying to myself lol it just sucks.) the description is meh, the dialogue gets the point across. but CONCEPTUALLY... the fic eats! it slays! demon keria yes pls! good job 2023 gwen! you did slay! my au fics do slay, and i had so much fun with this. i really fell into the rabbithole of league lore... god i love it so much. it's just so fun to write. and the ending! i love the ending a lot and i just like the tone and mood of the fic. i mean, its chilly, a little haunting... im not sure. dbm still has unwritten sequels LMAO i may or may not choose to write... i want to, but it's been a long time... i guess only time will tell.

so... yeah! that'd be my list. if you're interested in hearing why i DIDNT include some (one) fic, keep reading :] (wjnstt was the only one i wanted to address.)

now i think the main question to myself when choosing was... do i include we just need some time together or not? i know its a rather popular fic of mine, but i nixed it in favor of dbm i guess because i prefer dbm. and in terms of canon compliant gumakeria, busan boy clears it and does it a whole lot better in everything (characterization, writing quality, dynamic, everything). i don't... like wjnstt, not really. i mean, i haven't read it in a long while, so i couldn't tell u if that's 100% accurate of a conclusion, but. it was the first fic i ever started writing, and you can TELL. hoo boy writing quality be IN THE GUTTER. oh my GOD. to be fair, again, i haven't read it in a while so my judgment is probably a bit skewed/i could be misremembering. but i haven't reread it because IM SCARED OF IT. IM GOING TO GET SO MUCH SECONDHAND EMBARASSMENT AND CRINGE AT MYSELF OH GOD. ITS SO ASS. FUCKING HELL. my characterization is kinda ass (all of the characters), my writing quality/skill is unpolished... so many things. my description is okay... meh... i guess. my dialogue is probably the best part of the fic, and that's only halfway decent. but at the same time, i remember pouring my heart into this fic. i really do. conceptually, i think it was okay, and i remember it meaning a lot to me. i guess i just... sort of grew up and out of it. i mean, its been two years, pretty much. i wrote it in the midst of a bad depression slump, and i was younger, and... a lot changed since then, bascially. okay maybe i should reread it. fuck. we'll see i guess. i have a love hate relationship with this fic, that's all ill say for now. it'd probably make... top 6 or top 7. yeah. not sure. not top 5 though, sorry.

anyway, thank you so much for the question again op, and i'm so sorry for the late reply! and for yapping. i yapped a lot. hopefully you liked reading it though. much love, hope you have an amazing day, and let's gear up for worlds semis this weekend!!

[quijabored]

I always see those "They could never make me hate you, [Insert character whos problematic]" and I was trying to figure out which character I related that to.

YEAH SO I HAVE NONE OF THOSE

Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony?? He's INCREADIBLY problematic in his own fandom and for good reason. He's an ass, he's responsible for 4 deaths, he's a liar, he's a manipulator, HES NOT DEFENDABLE. AND YET HES MY FAVORITE CHARACTER??? HELLO??? I might post more Ouma art tbh, love drawing the stupid idiot. ISTG I HATE HIM JUST AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON, BUT HES SO... STUPIDLY WELL WRITTEN AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY???

Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus. Not AS problematic as Ouma, but still relatively dislikes throughout the fandom. Jax is a jerk and while I'm hoping we get to see why or more of his character, he's still a jerk. AND YET AGAIN, HES MY FAVORITE???? WHY. WHY. WHY. I HAVE LIKE 5 OTHER CHARACTERS I COULDVE LIKED, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM????

Fyodor Dostoyevsky from Bungo Stray Dogs. HATE THAT MAN WITH A BURNING PASSION. HES A MANIPULATIVE BASTARD, HES AWFUL TO ATSUSHI, HES PROBABLY GONNA KILL NIKOLAI, AND HES SO.... SO STUPID??? I HATE HIM???? WHY IS HE IN MY TOP 5 AGAIN??? WHY DO I WANT TO BASH HIM AGAINST THE SIDEWALK IN A LOVING WAY???

Wanderer from Genshin Impact. STUPID IDIOT CRINGE 2020 SOUNDING ASS, I HATE HIM. He's so??? GOD EVERYTHING IN MY BEING WANTS TO KILL HIM. I love Wanderer so much hes such a well written character but GOD he's annoying. HES ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHARACTERS BUT AAAGHHHHH HE MAKES ME WANT TO RIP MY LUNGS OUT which is honestly a good thing cuz that means they're doing his character right BUT AAGHHHH

Mahito from Jujitsu Kaisen. OKAY I HAVENT FINISHED JJK YET IM STILL ON SEASON 1 (Mostly bc Ive seen hella spoilers and its just taking me a while to actually watch it since I already know what happens) BUT AAGHHHHHH MAHITO SUCKS I HATE HIM. HES SO CHILDISH AND HE KILLED JUNPEI, MY SON, MY BABY, MY ADORATION??? SO WHY THE HELL IS HE MY SECOND FAVORITE??? First place goes to my GOAT MEGUMI but yk ✌️ HES SUCH AN ASSHOLE AND HES SUCH A BRAT BUT JESUS CHRIST I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 😭😭😭

Kyuubey from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. He's not my favorite character since he could never replace Homura and Sayaka, but I also really really like how his characters made?? BUT THE THINGS HE DOES ARE IRREDEEMABLE AND I HATE HIM??? AAAAAAAAA???

chat I'm trying so hard to think of more examples

Okay weird example, but Rascal from Glitter Force. HES A MAJOR VILLAIN, HE LIKE ALMOST CAUSED THE END OF THE WORLD??? AAAAA??? BUT HES SO FUN TO WATCH ON SCREEN OH MY GOD I LOVE HIM

Sunday from Honkai Star Rail. FAVORITE CHARACTER, HES MY GOAT, HES SO AWESOME BUT OH MY GOD HE MAKES ME WANT TO TORTURE MYSELF AND NOT IN A HOT WAY. I HATE HIM SO MUCH HES SO AAAGHHHH HES SO PATHETIC AND HES SUCH AN ASSHOLE BUT THATS ALSO A GOOD THING CUZ THAT MEANS THEURE DOING HIS CHARACTER RIGHT BUT AAAGHHHHHHH

Yuri from Spy x Family. Hes WEIIRDDD and I hate the incest trope guys please please please please WHYYYY. Still, he's my favorite character and I like watching him but he can get hella annoying fr 😔

Dare I say the plantain chips my mom buys? Dude I HATE plantains but oh my GODDD is that seasoning yummy 🤤🤤

Love Aku, but if anyone hates him I'm personally getting into a fistfight with them. /j

[cerealmonster15]

THE RESULTS ARE IN!!!! i didn't feel like finishing the sketch so this is all im posting LOL but art fight 2024 personal results!!!! this is the number of attacks my top 4 got. i was gonna do top 3 like last year but i wanted to include shellada because she was close, and during the first half or so, she and fidel were DOMINATING until yale and orion snuck by yet again lol. i really thought she or fidel were gonna win this year but NO. IT WAS YALE. AGAIN. as it should be <3

honestly i was surprised fidel got as many as he did fkjsdjf shellada also kind of surprised me considering shes just a character i spawned from a dream i had, but i'm glad people liked the design i came up with in the waking world lol. she and fidel came in w/the power for 2 characters with barely any lore vs yale and orion who have Way Too Much Lore in their bios :3

i havent posted any attacks ive done on tumblr yet bc im intimidated by the amount and i have to figure out how i wanna sort and tag them lol ;A;

i counted out all the other hits on the characters i had up for art fight [excluding when i included them in my own attacks] and here r the final numbers:

yale 10

fidel 7

orion 6

Shellada 5

scorpius 3

goose 3

cedric 2.5

lyra 2

jenette 2

dañarte 2

steve 2

nanjuul 2

flannery 2

edmera 2

jammi dia 1

tav 1

sangaki 1

jazzy zu 1

jam 1

char 1

[allgremlinart]

hi hello hi u were lookign for some superbat fics w some clark angst on the side so here's some fic recs in no particular order. mind the tags before you read!

bricklaying by evocates - [E] [DCEU] [148k] a fic ive only recently read and has blown my mind out of the water, mostly because of how it tackles organized crime and the dynamics of dceu superbat. it does a wonderful job of worldbuilding and bruce and clark's dialogue is just poetic and philosophical at times its *chefs kiss*.

Didn't Know Which Way Was Home 'Til I Found You by watchingthestars13 - [E] [DCU] [312k] a bit of a meaty fic, it mostly centers on the superbatfam, because its a canon retelling of the batman mythos IF superbat were together since the start. there's this one arc where they all cope with Bruce being dead lost in time and Clark's POV chapters are gut-wrenching with grief and mourning. If you wanna skip to that part it's on Chapter 19.

Porridge (New And Improved) by ren_makoto - [T] [DCU] [19k] - ok this is like. ANGSTY. and kinda dark? the author doesn't tag much but i assure you this is sad, like clark-mourning-for-bruce sad. i don't wanna spoil you because I consider this one of THE superbat classics since this author's been writing superbat since their fanfiction.net/livejournal days. they also have a sort-of sequel wherein its bruce being fucked up called everybody knows the plague is coming.

what is (and what should never be) by TheResurrectionist / @frownyalfred - [Not Rated] [Batman - All Media Types] [2.7k] - a lil tumblr prompt fic from one of my fave superbat authors! its got bruce getting cancer and clark being angsty. what more could you want?

When the Hummingbirds Return by Emanium - [M] [DCU] [19.4k] - i havent finished this one yet actually, but its been recc'ed to me and on my fic reading list for a while now. its about the aftermath of bruce being put into a coma by bane and its reaaaal thick with the angst

5 Times Superbat Had Sex and the One Time They Admitted It Was More by April_Blooms - [M] [DCU] [19k] - despite what it says on the tin, it's also surprisingly angsty! because its about the pining!!!!

Cardboard World by dracoqueen22 - [E] [Justice League Cartoon] [10k] - pain. and sad. there's a reason why this is tagged apocalypse

The Only by pasdecour - [M] [DCU] [3.7k] - oh this one hurts. this one genuinely hurts. i need to sit down

and anything by these authors honestly: susiecarter, FabulaRasa, liodain, mithen, amyritter, Resacon1990, serephent, batsy_rocks, rotasha

hope this helps!

((first of all so sorry this took so long to get to, my asks have gotten very backlogged lol))

THANK YOU... for this feast.. a lot of these authors are very good and I would recommend their works in general so 👌

[thesrctsoftheuniverse]

finished season 4 last night and i once again have thought i would like to write down!!!

this time written on my phone bc im on holiday and havent gotten the wifi password for my laptop yet so bare with me

- may grant!!! I love that she got a bigger role this season. she’s so great and seeing her grow and learn the same way maddie had to learn was so beautiful to watch. her relationship to her mother is complicated but beautiful and i love that athena learns to accept that may is her own person. I hope we see more of her in season 5 and i hope we see more of athena and may together as well. her listening to her mom’s phonecall to 911…. I cried

-speaking of smaller characters getting bigger roles: josh!!! i LOVED what was basically a “josh begins” episode, he ATEEEEEE that one call where he had to direct several groups of LAPD officers around.

-bobby this season made me fear for a relapse. im so glad that he didnt relapse but im scared for him and worried. I hope he and athena can talk more and tbh i would love to see him open up again to the season 1 trio. chim, hen and buck helped him get sober after his relapse, i want to see them bond and vent together!!! the episode where he and michael played detectives LMFAOO

- i think ive mostly mentioned what i loved about athena this season in previous paragraphs, her relationship with may and her relationship with bobby. i absolutely LOVE how hard she went for that missing her, i loved her rescuing bobby from that sniper. there were some excellent scenes. i love her and hen together, my bestieesssssss!!!! i do wish to see her and bobby in more vulnerable scenes together, the fight and then aftermath of it was beautiful

-hen my love. what a rollercoaster. first of all i love her mom!!! she’s so fun and clearly trying to fix whatever went wrong between them. hen at med school is sosoosososo cool and i love her med school friends. she’s so cool being in med school even with everything else. I love seeing the main cast’s friends OUTSIDE of work, it adds so much to the characters . her and karen truly are so fucking important to me. the foster daughter arc with nia was so beautiful and heartbreaking. like im sorry you KNEW this could happen. but i love that they’re open to new placements even with the pain. and denny being involved!! and being scared of being taken away!!! Pls im gonna cry, the exact fear karen has

-chimney at the beginning of the season pissed me tf off. but then he was there for maddie in person and they were amazing!! girl dad chimney!! i love him, he loves his kid so much pleaseeeeee… and him telling the people who raised him how imporant they are to him. i love his character idk guys, hes just so wonderful to me. even if he clearly didnt see the signs of maddies post partum depression

- albert literally almost dying while his niece was being brought into the world was so fucking stressful jesus christ. i love him and i love his friendship with buck. uncle besties 4 life!!!

- maddie i love you so much. she was so beautiful this season, she deserves the world. she was so ready to be a mom but then post partum depression hit :( i hope she gets better, im glad she asked for help. her and buck’s storyline this season… the secret brother… for fucks sake how shocking and how HEAVY of a burden that must be to carry for so long. I love her so much.

- buck this season going to therapy…. Damn dont get too mentally stable or else they won’t know what to do with you anymore hahahaah!! nvm watch your loveofyourlife bestie get shot in front of you, have to crawl under a truck even with your trauma to save him and then literally try to keep him alive until the hospital only to then have to tell his son what is happening. heres moreeeee traumaaaaaaaa woooohooooo!!! ngl i liked him and taylor kelly this season, i kinda wish they would remain friends but i can deal with her as a love interest for now. shes an interesting character! his whole world being turned upside down when he was just starting to get better from the therapy by her sister admitting to them having a brother and him being born for spare parts. love you king, sorry you never get to be fully happy with yourself!

- eddie diaz you absolute cutie pie. will you ever be happy? Idk but you sure were bitchy this season. i fucking LOVED it, please tell me we get your bitchy ass back for season 5. him in the jinx episode??? I laughed so hard, truly an icon. I love ana flores but that man simply doesnt know what to do with a woman like her. oranywomanforthatmatter. him and chris is always beautiful, that is MY family. he loves that kid so muchz and him putting buck in the will?? hand in marriage next…. I knew what was coming from spoilers online but him being shot and the scenes after that of buck getting him inside the truck were so fucking nerve racking and also FUN!! what a moment.

-carla is back for 2 seconds and already spitting facts LMFAO

-the jinx episode was so fun and sossoossoso good pls more of it and more of ravi as well

-the treasure hunt episode was so good too!! I love episodes where they all get a bit silly

-the dam breaking and mudslide disaster was really good, especially with may being freshly at 911 dispatch and her MOM being stuck in a house that crashed down the hill. nothing tops the tsunami tho

- i want more buck and diaz scenes. and by diaz i mean chris.

thats all i can think fo rn my brain is tired i love travelling but it makes me so tired

[minterim]

i just finished filling out @janmisali's how many Super Mario games are there now survey! it was a ton of fun, i recommend giving it a shot to see how you think about murky video game taxonomy!! however my explanations of my methodology got a bit wordy, so much so that i couldn't submit my response LOL. so i'm putting them here instead :>

Page 4:

my (loose) criteria are: for pre- super mario brothers games in this bracket, all are non-canonical (to the extent that a mario canon exists), and only count as being non-canonical if mario is clearly in the game from the outset, whether that is clarified through the title, or other surrounding material (manual, flavourtext, widely accepted history for donkey kong, etc). the other condition there is that i have to be able to find evidence of mario's presence with very little effort.

if a game doesn't have mario in it at all (dk3 and so on), then it's not a mario game because the other ones barely are in the first place.

Page 5:

ok this is becoming slightly more complicated now. the game watch and game and watch games are minor spinoffs, they remain canonical in that they are adaptations of super mario bros for different devices. given that they are adaptations, they dont count as distinct entries in the super mario series.

ive decided that sports games and other games that mario appears in as the mascot are also extra-canonical -- i dont think mario, in the story of the mushroom kingdom such as it is, ever went on a big bar in space to play alleyway. ymmv. the principle holds for golf and tennis and whatnot, for the entries so far at the very least.

i think it makes sense for games that predate super mario bros 1 which feature franchise characters/world elements to be non-canonical as opposed to spin-offs; you can't spin off of something that doesn't exist yet, in my assessment. games taking place in the mushroom kingdom or featuring franchise characters doing things in contexts that make sense count as minor spinoffs, e.g. yume kojo doki doki panic and super mario bros special. NOT counting dk classics because they werent spinoffs initially, you cant retcon them into spinoffs. again, ymmv

Page 6:

ok. the allstars games and other such re-releases ARE mainline mario games, because when you boot them up you play a mainline mario game, but they are NOT distinct entries.

the -land games are spinoffs, wario is a mario character, and remains a part of the mushroom kingdom mythos up until warioware, which ill have to decide upon sooner rather than later.

dk for gameboy IS a mario spinoff, because the narrative has been change to 1. exist and 2. match (closely enough with) other mario games (bros 1 and odyssey, as far as i can tell).

dkc is NOT a mario game (he is not in it in any way afaik). i would classify it as a donkey kong game, in a way that i wouldnt any of the previous dk titles. this is the point at which donkey kong becomes separate ip from mario. they cross over still, but its two equivalent entities bumping into each other, as opposed to a smaller element of one's canon re-emerging.

the dr marios arent canon, that's a different guy. mario is not a doctor in the mushroom kingdom i know. maybe this is an alt-universe mario? who knows

the karts are also not canon. or rather, they are extra-canonical, in that those ARE the characters we're familiar with from the super mario series, but they arent playing their roles, theyre playing golf or go karts or whatever. its like actors hanging out behind the scenes in character

wario blast can be a canonical spinoff i guess. wario seems like the kind of guy who would throw bombs at people like that. bomberman is there somehow too

Page 7:

games that include mario (or his friends that havent established a specifically non-mario franchise of games, read: not donkey kong) as a mascot or the main player character count as mario games.

if the mario characters in the game are not acting in alignment with their behaviour in the mainline series* then the game is a non-canonical mario game.

this includes karts, picrosses, tetris attacks and so on. if the game is a single title with little-to-no follow-up, it is a minor spinoff, if it spawns a larger series or garners prestige in some other way, its a major one.

*i dont have a good definition for this. for now: a platformer starring mario as a player character with a plot set that typically involves fighting bowser and saving peach while in the mushroom kingdom. thats the distinction for now though it definitely doesnt hold for the later games. sorry 😐

Page 8:

ok, all of my previous points still carry over wrt sports and party games not being canonical. the sports ones are the "actors" who play the mario characters hanging out and playing tennis or whatever while in character. however the rules with party seem slightly different -- i maintain that theyre non-canonical to the main super mario series; mario getting along with boos and bowser and so on seems contradictory to the series' events. plus, the mario party world seems like a separate instance of the mario world regardless, so im placing them into a separate mode of canonicity: kids playing with action figures, or game pieces, or better yet, amiibos. no hint of continuity beyond the player and the friends they party with ^_^

i've elected to dub the wariowares as non-mario games. theres a simple reason for this: he's not in them as a character. the wario that runs around is pretty well removed from the wario that has menaced mario in the past, unlike the wario in wario land. theyre not necessarily *not* canonical, but i feel this wario is more likely to fit into the "actors playing golf" canon than the "nare-do-well of the mushroom kingdom" canon, if that makes sense.

the REAL rub for this round are the RPGs. i let super mario rpg fall into the spin-off category because i feel like that could feasibly be the "main" mario (the character from super mario bros). this could be equally true of paper mario, and mario + luigi super star saga mario. and these marios aren't necessarily contradictory! the mario games have a very malleable canon! that is, until mario + luigi: paper jam, which brings two of these marios face to face (note: havent played any of these games yet, heavily referencing the super mario wiki). given that luigi finds the paper mario characters in a book, this states pretty directly that paper mario is fictional within the main mario canon: paper mario is not the same man as super mario from super mario 64. now, does this retcon mean that all the prior paper mario games are fictional within mario canon? maybe. it could ALSO be that the paper mario stories really DID happen in the main mario universe, and we (as players) experienced those events through the interpretive lense of paper... but a good amount of gags/mechanics/etc rely on paper mario being made of paper. poetic license..?

i think im going to classify the paper marios as stories ABOUT the main mario WITHIN that continuity, kind of like star wars legends 'dubiously canonical' material. i think this places them as non-canonical within the structure ive built up here, which is unfortunate, because i liked the idea of all the rpgs being different perspective cameras on the same guy... oh well

^^ take the discourse about the rpgs with a grain of salt because, again, i have not played any of them and thus they may directly contradict my notions of canon. whoops!

PS. oh yeah i think i forgot to mention this in the last one: smash games arent mario games. they are games that have mario in them. but mario would not hit his brother luigi or his dear friend peach. and thus this version of mario cannot be the same one as in super mario bros.: the lost levels.

(same theory as the mario party action figures situation. except the kids that are playing with the action figures are now teens)

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the sports ones (strikers, baseball) have started having narratives that can fit into the mainline canon, kinda. im choosing to include the baseball games - i reckon that baseball kingdom could be in there, thats fine. though ive chosen to exclude the strikers games, everyone's really angry and violent in those ones and that doesnt seem right to me

the clock and the calculator don't count because they aren't uh. games

also ive lost track of the distinction between major and minor spinoff. i had one but i don't remember what it was at this point

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with the sports games i tend to err on the side of non-canonical, even if there is a narrative in which all characters behave more or less in character. because i find it hard to believe that wario or waluigi would follow the rules of tennis

also i dont think that a crossover with final fantasy really tracks, you know?

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super mario maker isnt canon but super mario maker 2 is. because 2 actually has a story mode and 1 doesnt. i think

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i think ive covered it all in my previous responses? my system broke down a little bit but i think ive been mostly consistent!

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i think if they never got made theyre not games, and if they did get made but never came out they cant be considered mario games. because mario never appeared in them. because no one did because they never came out. i think my reasoning is failing here but i stand by excluding them

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to try and sum my methodology up: it's only a mario game if mario, or a character from the mushroom kingdom, is the main character or mascot. a character cannot make a game a mario game by their presence if they are a version of the character that has defined their own game series completely disconnected from mario and the mushroom kingdom (donkey kong games and warioware games are considered disconnected in this manner and are not mario games, however, wario lands and original donkey kongs are). games in which a mario character is a minor character in an ensemble cast also aren't mario games.

if the characters that make the game a mario game are doing things that would contradict the characterisations from super mario platformer series* or are acting in a purely mascot capacity, the game IS still a mario game but is non-canonical (assuming its a game at all. looking at you clock and calculator). additionally, if the games take place in some kind of separate continuity (mario party, strikers, paper mario, etc) they are non-canonical, or if good and evil characters who would normally take the opportunity to try to apprehend each other are in proximity and do not (kart, tennis, golf, etc), i excluded them from canonicity. for the latter category, i liken the mario cast to a group of actors hanging out off the clock while remaining in character, in the same way actors in real life might act for a charity event. crossovers are also more than likely to preclude a given game from canonicity. i do not think mario, as he is in the mushroom kingdom, has met solid snake or sephiroth. also, i maintain that dr mario is a different man from mario. as he is still A mario, they remain mario games, but because he is not THE mario, they are non-canonical.

the distinction between major and minor spin-off is foggy in this taxonomy. mainly its based on popularity, proximity to the mainline, critical and audience reception, and vibes.

mainline super mario games are platformers in which mario progresses through levels in different worlds using powerups to save someone. they also have to be considered mainline to count. not a great definition but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the iteration of a given mainline game that counts as a distinct iteration is the one i consider most Definitive. the factors that go into Definitiveness are these: earliest released version > plot that best fits with established canon (donkey kong gameboy) > version with most included game stuff.

my maxim for what counts as a mainline super mario game was: "if someone wanted to play through the super mario series one at a time, but not non-super mario games, what games would it make sense to include?" no idea if what ive ended up with here tracks with that but here we are

 this was a fun little thought experiment!! thanks for putting this together, i learned a bunch about this weird little series

PS. that mario sweater maker game is incredible btw