#honestly though immense fucking respect

[chumbie]

cannot believe the overreaction people had to the dixie chicks "controversy". you would have thought they came out on stage and threatened to kill bush with a hand grenade

[makotonaegiunderstander]

something I’ve been thinking abt is how many people think Makoto is immune to despair. I don’t think he is. I think becoming the ultimate Hope was BECAUSE he felt despair. He wouldn’t have fully reached that point without Junko. Makoto becoming such a beacon was his last attempt to avoid completely falling and it wasn’t because he didn’t feel despair, it was because he was too damn stubborn to allow everything to go to waste and he refused to sacrifice his beliefs for someone else’s. His inner monologue tells me he DID experience the same new low the other suvivors did in the final trial, but at the point where he had the choice to give up and die, he looked at the others and he looked at Junko and he couldn’t allow it to happen, not out of self preservation, but because the idea that Junko would have control over their lives made him FURIOUS. and that utter refusal to die kicked in, wether luck or otherwise, and he made the concious effort for one last push while something in him was breaking. He had to be broken in order for the Ultimate Hope to come through so aggressively, bc it could only exist in the face of the Ultimate Despair. He snapped the same way she did, but in the other direction. In what could have been his final moments he chose to embody everything Junko wasn’t, and every single optimistic and luck fueled ideal in him suddenly charged forward and pushed him. It was a combination of the final straw and a choice. Makoto isn’t immune to feeling despair, he’s just too stubborn to fall into it of his own volition. I think that’s why I like that scene in DR3 so much. People were SO SHOCKED Makoto actually fell for the tape, that he actually became despair for a moment. I saw people getting mad or disappointed, saying it was pathetic and Makoto seemed to fall from some sort of pedestal for them. Honestly part of me wonders if that sort of mentality, which clearly people had in universe, affected Makoto a bit. Like he started to see himself as less of a person, subconsciously. Prompting him to take more risks, less self preservation, act way more bold. It seems he has to be reminded a lot not to put himself in danger by his friends, to not do something too reckless. All over the place I would see in regards to that scene either this frivolous ‘oh this was just angst drama with no meaning behind it’ or ‘he can do better than that. he’s so weak’ or ‘come on, there’s no way he’d fall into despair, he’s the Ultimate Hope!’ This kind of mentality, which was kind of ironic considering Ryota was there the entire time saying the same thing and treating Makoto the same way. Like Makoto was superhuman. Like Makoto didn’t feel despair the same way ‘normal people’ did. In a way that was also how Munakata saw Makoto. Makoto stopped being a PERSON to the world when he became Ultimate Hope, he became a concept, a belief system, much the same way Junko ascended beyond herself. But the difference is that treating Makoto that way is the opposite of the reason Makoto became such a representative for hope. He wasn’t doing something no one else could. He was doing something everyone had the chance to, he just… was a little more optimistic, a little more stubborn, a little more ‘gung-ho’ about things. He just took the lead where no one else did, where no one else knew they even COULD in the face of Junko’s unstoppable force. She had overcome the biggest threats and obstacles in the world, what could one person do? And the answer Makoto found was, anything. Everything. It doesn’t all rest on Makoto, he’s just the one that was inspired to try to do what seemed like the impossible. But as evidenced by the change in his friends after that trial, it’s clearly not something only Makoto is capable of. The others pulled out of despair thanks to Makoto, but it was their choice to do so.

“But… this world is so huge, and we’re so small. What can we do…? No, we can probably do anything. Yeah! We can do anything!”

[liminalimmortal]

Me reading an entire fic ONLY TO BE JEBAITED

I WAS EXPECTING SMUT I WAS READY I WA LIKE OH YEAH THIS IS A SICK SLOWBURN AND FINALLY SNU SNU BUT NO

NO

YOU DON'T GET TO HAVE IT

HAVE THIS FADE TO BLACK INSTEAD

HERE GO FETCH

I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH I WOULD REREAD IT ANY DAY BUT STILL

FADING TO BLACK?

I've been done dirty

[minarinnn]

girl dinner anon here please can I have more crumbs of Kunigami and Barou your writing for them was so good and I haven’t seen anything new for them in a while 😭🙏

I dunno if I want anything specific- maybe like breeding or something but you can do whatever your heart desires desires 🙏🙏🙏🙏

OMG I ENJOYED WRITING THAT SM NGL, this took longer than expected but honestly it’s bc i kinda forgot to post it so yh sorry for the delay lmao

content/trigger warnings: afab! reader, characters are aged up, breeding, mentions of pregnancy, pregnancy kink, degrading, praising, groping, rough sex, implied size kink

BAROU

barou always pulled out. he didn’t mind it. there was never any real desire to get you pregnant. that was until he saw you with his baby nephew at a family event. the kid was around 2 years old and you spent almost the whole night fussing over him

you played, fed, and even cuddled with him. he saw his nephews sleeping figure in your arms as your soft hands caressed his back. he doesn’t know why but barou felt all tingly inside. he never had the urge to do it but the thought of you carrying a kid that looks exactly like him turned him on immensely

so when you get to your shared apartment and barou pounces on you, you think nothing of it. you’re like putty in his big, rough hands. you really couldn’t get enough of him

the way his dick stretched you out perfectly, bruising your cervix as you moaned out his name. your pretty nails scratching and leaving marks along his back while his heavy balls smacked against your ass

your eyes rolling back over his rough pacing that immediately makes you go dumb on his fat cock. his hands groping all over your body as he growls lewd things in your ears that make you clench impossibly harder on his dick

“it hasn’t even been ten minutes and you’re already dumb on my cock, huh? you pretty little slut” the words making you whine and your eyes water. “i’m gonna fuck my baby into you” he grunted, reaching deeper into your soaking cunt “you’d like that, wouldn’t you pretty?”

you nod, babbling incoherent words as your second orgasm washed over you, making you buck your hips towards him. “i’m’a make you a fuckin’ mommy” is the last thing he said before dumping his seed into your cunt, thrusting it deep into you, making you take every single drop

KUNIGAMI

kunigami has always been a big family guy so the though of having a family of his own always excited him. but when you said you didn’t wanna have kids yet, he respected it. though he did have the habit of asking questions like ‘when do you think you’ll be ‘ready?’ ‘how many do you wanna have?’ ‘do you want any at all?’

so when you told him you were getting off the pill, not because you wanted children, but because of the side effects that came with it, he was oddly weird about it. maybe it was because he enjoyed cumming inside of you and now he had to pull out

the next few times go by with him pulling out, he didn’t like doing it, but he respected you and your wishes. as much as he’d like to dump his cum into you like he used to, he knew he had to restrain himself

but when the words “im ready” and “please cum inside” slip out of your mouth while he’s pounding his dick into you, he goes feral. his pace immediately picks up, making you moan in pleasure as his thrust went from gentle and loving to rough and quick

kunigami’s mind was filled with images of your belly growing and your boobs heavy and sore. the thought of you carrying his baby just fueled him to the max

you could feel his dick twitching within your gummy walls as his lips feverishly kissed along your entire body, his thumb rubbing circles on your thigh. “you’re gonna be such a good mommy” his sweet words contrasted his rough pace. you could feel his big cock pushing past your cervix and his breeder balls smacking against your plush ass

with a few more thrust and a few whines, he painted your walls white. resting his sweaty body on top of yours while he kissed your shoulder. both your chest’s heaving up and down while your hand roamed his fluffy orange hair

“i hope we have twins”

© MINARINNN 2023 - please do not plagiarize or upload my content on any social media platform.

[utilitycaster]

I saw you reply to an ask saying Tiberius player sucks, but I never saw anything about conflict between the cast. Granted I didn’t join until campaign 2, so did something happen to make them kick him out?

I'm going to link the iconic r/hobbydrama post because I think it's genuinely excellently written and a thorough rundown, and please note that I also started with Campaign 2 so this is mostly secondhand for me. The tl;dr is that the actor for Tiberius immediately began hogging the spotlight inappropriately, avoiding things that might put Tiberius at risk thus screwing over everyone else, cheating on dice to make his character seem cooler, and ultimately in the course of one episode dominated the conversation and tried to bypass a core aspect of Percy's arc and said something sexually inappropriate in-character regarding Vex, Laura's character. He left not long after. If you watch the early C1 episodes it's very much stated as him needing to leave for personal reasons (he was also I believe legitimately dealing with some health issues), but it became clear later he'd been asked to leave.

It later came out that the actor had been hostile a few times while on the show towards fans in inappropriate ways, was frequently hostile and abusive towards many people afterwards, and stole and scammed from his own crowdfunding and employees regarding a spinoff of Tiberius's adventures.

For a bit of background, the vibe when I started Campaign 2, at least while avoiding most of social media, was pretty neutral even though Matt had definitely said some stuff that indicated this had gone badly, and TVTropes (look, I was trying to avoid spoilers and at the time it had episode-by-episode updates) honestly seemed to have been written by fans of Tiberius and was pretty sympathetic towards him. If you're not experienced with D&D or are listening by podcast it is hard to tell how bad things were until episode 27 (his final one and the one where the conflict is really apparent), especially if you have no other baseline for the cast. Tiberius's heroic death that comes out in 1x64 was, I believe, arranged by Matt to be fairly respectful, and coupled with the cast's requests to respect everyone's privacy I think it just wasn't much of a point of discussion during C1, though I could be wrong. The crowdfunding scam news came out right when C2 was in its early episodes, and I think that's when the fandom started to become more aware.

Anyway if you watch early C1, I think it is worth it despite him (and honestly while the actor sucks the character was a good concept and would have had immense potential in the hands of someone who was an honest and generous D&D player, particularly if the fall of Draconia was pre-planned even before his departure), but as many other people have said, if you haven't seen episode 1x27 you do not know what the cast looks like when they're actually fucking angry at someone. Like even when they've been upset with each other it's been a "talk it out" situation, rather than that.

[birdmitosis]

I've mentioned it before, but Voice of the Cold fascinates me and I really keep wanting to pick at his character until I figure him out better, so this is my attempt to do that. (Pretty long essay under the cut!)

There are a few things about Cold's character that really stand out to me, and it's because he's very much a contradictory person. This isn't true of all the Voices; some of them are them all the way through, though there are some others who break out of what you'd expect from them (Contrarian and Paranoid being the most obvious examples, but also Hero, Smitten, and Skeptic IMO). Cold, though. All the way through, he is consistent, but what he is is consistently… odd. "Stop feeling anything" is basically his motto, and honestly a lot of his dialogue circles that concept. He makes it clear that he thinks the best thing, the only logical thing to do in fact, is to just stop feeling what their physical body feels and to stop feeling emotion while they're at it. The former, at least, he does seem 100% on top of, not at all bothered by anything physical that ever happens while he's present -- whether it's having their heart ripped out, their ankle snapped and twisted, or being drowned or burned to death. But even with physical sensation, there's something odd about Cold. For someone who's like "stop feeling what it feels" about the body, Cold's response to The Grey trying to kill them is consistent across both chapters, no matter you choices to get there or your choices while there:

(IMO, Cold sounds noticeably more interested in response to The Drowned Grey; I personally think this might be explained by the fact that he at least theoretically understands what the process of burning to death should feel like, as he explains to the others that the pain will stop when they don't have nerves anymore, but he has no equivalent words of wisdom about the drowning experience.) Following on from this is the way Cold responds to The Razor, where he gets a tone that is… not unique but rare for him:

These are, as near as I can tell, the three times in the game when Cold registers interest in the sensations of having a physical form. They're in response to immensely unpleasant sensations, or at least what Cold imagines to be such, and it seems like the less he can imagine it, the more intrigued he is: He sort of knows about what the body goes through when burning to death, he seems unfamiliar with what it would feel like when drowning but could probably imagine it at least a little, and the Razor just fucking exploding due to blades twisting from under her skin and erupting out until the only thing left of her is her heart is something that a human being (or rather a bird person) could not ever actually experience themself and could probably barely even imagine. So he can tune into what his body is feeling, or he would like to be able to at least in certain circumstances. (Negative ones! Cold please!!) So let's veer away from physical sensation into feeling emotion. Because Cold is imo fascinating in this respect. Cold is a complete contradiction when it comes to emotional shit. It is wild and I absolutely love it actually? He says he doesn't feel emotions and repeatedly advises that the best thing is to stop feeling emotions, particularly in The Moment of Clarity but also in The Grey chapters.

(I'll return to that last screenshot later…) He's not emotionless, though. He has an understated emotional effect, might not feel emotions as strongly naturally as others, and he's very good at letting go of something when, for example, a preference he states doesn't happen or an action he tries to take doesn't work, but… Remember how I said above that the tone he gets in response to The Razor is "not unique but rare for him"? Well, the other time he does it, I first interpreted as being about him anticipating violence. But I don't think that's quite it. I think that of two major times he gets that tone of voice, one is in response to imagining a physical sensation, but the other is in response to the threat/promise of an emotional one:

This clip is a bit longer than the others (like 30 seconds instead of 5-10 seconds), but you can see what I mean, right? When Smitten is just threatening violence or killing them again, Cold is completely blasé about it in his usual way; it's the "I'll make you feel what I feel if it's the last thing I do" part that seems to make Cold suddenly get… intense. (Which is an emotion in and of itself, or at least is inherently a, well, an intensifier of an emotion, so like. Again, Cold please.) But while that's the most obvious, notable moment, there are a lot of moments where it's obvious that Cold… does feel things, if again in an understated way.

(Thank you so much to @butwhosgonnafindhim for the last two screenshots, from this amazing post which shows even more interesting context!) There are also so many times he talks (quite negatively!) about some things being boring, implying that he does feel boredom, and/or something that isn't boredom when there's a new experience:

…And also too many times for me to share screenshots where he's just not letting comments from the other characters pass unremarked-on, needling them if not outright goading them, totally unnecessarily; this is most obvious in The Burned Grey chapter with The Smitten, but also with both Paranoid and Cheated if you choose to jump into the abyss with The Wraith. The thing is, Cold is also inconsistent when it comes to the other characters in a way that really interests me. He needles them, talks about not listening to them (though I want to revisit this in a minute), if you choose to reassure the Voices in front of the mirror if he's there, he even says "You don't have to comfort them." (Sorry I can't find a screenshot of this, I've been looking for ages!) But over and over again in various routes, he also repeatedly tries to advise the characters on how not to be broken down by physical or emotional pain:

(I also noted in another post that in The Wraith route he straight-up says, as shown above, "let's throw the Narrator into a place that never ends and see what that does to him" but then if Paranoid is the other Voice with them and they go with Paranoid's plan to toss yourself into the abyss, when Paranoid gets elated that it worked Cold just has to chime in with a comment basically implying it's silly to prefer this outcome over any other:

Which I like in and of itself but he also does stuff like this kind of a lot as you can see.) (And also thank you for these screenshots, @phospolipid-bilayer!) (And can I also just make a small aside that there are fascinating implications in the phrasing of "if you can tolerate joy"?) I want to wrap this up before it goes on too much longer, but there are three last things I want to cover quickly that I think are other fascinating facets of his character. First, very quickly, I would like to note that Cold is both espousing an absolutely useful way of dealing with horrific situations if you can actually manage it, but is also advising it far beyond the point where it's useful and the usefulness of his approach is limited even in the very specific circumstances that the Protagonist and the Voices are in.

It's not just Hunted and Contrarian making some vague note about a shared experience you can't remember, though; consistently, Cold underestimates threats and is as likely to suggest a course of action that will get you killed as one that won't. Try to kill The Spectre, let The Spectre possess you and let her leave, let The Spectre possess you and stab yourself, just let The Wraith possess you and see what happens… half of those end in death, and in The Razor and The Grey chapters, his advice in the end boils down to "we're going to die, just accept it." While his lack of feeling can be of great use to push through situations, it's not so helpful when he isn't placing any value on survival at all, and that's only not a disastrous trait for him to have because everyone's trapped in a place where death doesn't stick. And now let's look back at The Moment of Clarity. All the Voices in The Moment of Clarity are shattered. This is obvious all throughout the chapter, where they're confused and have for the most part given up; they've been broken down and while they certainly aren't numb the way Cold talks about, they've been numbed and worn down in a lot of ways. It's most obvious in the mirror scene at the end of the chapter, how none of them are afraid anymore of what feels to them like the end in a very final way. But Cold doesn't seem very different, not through the chapter and not in front of the mirror. Right? He's never bothered by the mirror (IIRC he's the only one!) and he's always talking about how the other Voices need to stop feeling. But I think he is, actually. I think he broke too, and I think Cold breaking takes the form of him actually shutting out the other Voices. His trauma response in The Moment of Clarity is the most subtle, but I think it proves that he usually does care -- in The Moment of Clarity, by the time you come back to yourself and everyone is there (and has been there many, many, many times already), he just can't anymore.

Nowhere else in the game is he quite like this. In front of the mirror every other time, he either tells the Protagonist that they don't need to reassure the other Voices, or if the Protagonist decides to tell the Voices it's the end for them he tells the Protag that he wouldn't have told them Voices that/would have kept that to himself. When the mirror is actually approached, where the other Voices usually have some fearful dialogue, I'm pretty sure Cold is always silent. This lack of care, this level of coldness, is actually unusual for him, and is specifically associated with the one chapter where all the Voices have been traumatized and broken down. And I think that actually says a lot about him. (And that line about thinking he was special is also unique, only coming up if you don't do anything and let the world unravel in The Moment of Clarity chapter... I'm not sure what to make of that one, though.) Finally... just... what?

(I said we'd return to that screenshot! 🥳) But you all see what I'm getting at here, right? The former makes the most immediate sense, at least to me. The Voices are shards of the Long Quiet, and I theorize that they're sort of the equivalent of how the Princess changes completely; the Long Quiet can't change the way the Shifting Mound can, but has a part of her in them, so when her perception of them starts to change them a piece just breaks off instead. Whatever is happening, though, the Voices sprang into being the way they are, defined by their descriptions. It makes sense, then, that Cold has always been the way that he is; he comes into being in a very specific way and with a very specific identity and personality. But the latter... That has some potentially interesting implications. It's the "trust me" at the end; it makes it sound like he has experience with this, doesn't it? So is he simply talking about what the Protagonist went through when he was created, implying that this is how he was created (or how he sees it)? Or is he acknowledging that he is in fact trying to stop his own feelings, because he wants to, because there's something about them that makes him want them to stop? That would potentially work with the rest of this analysis, with Cold's inconsistencies and subtle shows of emotion (and, uh, occasional less subtle ones). Including him talking about "tolerating joy." (And even The Wraith's choice of words: "you think you are numb" but "you are hopeless and paranoid.") TL;DR... There's a lot to this particular Voice, and hopefully actually writing all this out will quiet my brain down some!

[riceballannie]

When you slowly realize that the love you have for Neil and Andrew as a couple stems from the fact that, even though they're a mess of two of the most fucked up people in existence with loads of issues and trauma, they still manage to establish a, in comparison to other book couples, suprisingly healthy and non-toxic relationship with each other.

They might not have what some might call a conventional relationship - there are no whispered sweet nothings, elaborate love declarations and romantic candle-lit dinners.

However, what they do have works well for them and it's mutual respect for each other, they feel safe and comfortable with each other and they take special care in asking for their partner's consent and accepting given boundaries.

Which honestly should be the bare minimum in any relationship but somehow Neil and Andrew seem to succeed in it, while others apparently struggle to accept a simple "No" in real life.

Even a lot of other book couples, despite having a lot of typically romantic scenes with each other, veer uncomfortably close to the direction of absolutely shit communication, emotional manipulation, dubious consent and straight-up SA.

I don't give a single fuck about how their lips softly meet under the glowing moonlight after a heartfelt love confession when the relationship is otherwise filled with overwhelmingly possessive jealousy that restricts their partner's freedom immensely, supposed sexy and dominant growls of "You belong to me/You are mine" that make their partner out to be more of a prized possession and decisions made on behalf of their partner for their "own good" without actually respecting their choices and agency - a problematic relationship where the needs and wants of one partner completely overshadows those of the other until they don't even exist as separate individiuals anymore.

I'd rather have a relationship like Neil and Andrew's - unconventional but strong where trust, consent and mutual respect is a given.

It's tragic that the bar is so low.

The bar is in fucking hell.

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Hello! I’m curious to know if you listen to Hozier? Since his music also gives literary and it’d be interesting to know what you think!

Hello! Thanks for the ask

Hozier is wonderful! I love him!

I think he's incredibly creative, and he clearly knows how to write! He also clearly knows so much about the history of music, art, international politics, and so much more. There's nothing I admire more in an artist than some real intelligence. It shows in his command of the language. I've been listening since "Take Me to Church" went viral. I was absolutely in tears listening to that for the first time.

One point I've been thinking about lately is the way he wrote "Nina Cried Power" and how it's different from the way someone like Taylor Swift name-drops in her music.

The point here is that Hozier has immense respect for the people he mentions in the song, his obvious knowledge and respect for these people is ever-present. He thematically connects them from the perspective of their own lives into the message of the song. Meaning that it is the type of song they would co-sign. It's so moving for this very reason, it's like the people in his song are singing with him. In "Nina Cried Power" he's clearly using southern-inspired gospel-esque blues to sings about the way in which civil rights activists, and those musicians who broke the chains away, sang their activism into life. It's so lovely for him to use musicality stemming from Afro-American culture to sing about the major civil rights activist and artists from the era. He's literally brilliant, and I love his perspective on how the US civil rights movement impacted Irelands own civil rights movement. He's fucking brilliant.

And this line brings me to tears, "And I could cry power/ power has been cried by those stronger than me/ straight into the face that tells you to rattle your chains." He's so compelling both in storytelling and in intercultural dialogue. Beautiful. And how beautiful it is to remind us that no matter the location, your words and actions matter- activism matters. Power is with the people.

What a writer- what a message to send. Especially these days, when so many major public figures are refusing to speak on current events. How important it is to remind the public that there is no real reason to not speak up in times of injustice.

As opposed to Swift who can only name-drop people like Dylan Thomas in relation to being able to self-deprecate. Her impulse towards self-obsession shows in how she even represents the lives of others as ultimately being about her. It shows an immense disrespect and obvious distain for the people she writes about. She clearly only thinks about others when considering some hierarchal form of self-adulation. People are either better or worse than her- however, it is always about her. Dylan Thomas was an incredibly vocal activist and revolutionary spirit in his day, and Swift puts him in a cheap shot about herself? Painful, stupid, gag. Thomas was an avowed anti-fascist during the rise of the most horrific fascist regimes we've ever seen; as such he would be horrified at being eulogized by someone like Swift who lives and breathes money and power. I wish I could go back in time and unhear her besmirching his name.

Dylan Thomas would love Hozier though :) And so do I!

But anyway, I could totally write some literary criticism on Hozier, and you know what- it would be amazing because he is rich texture to dive into. His command of metaphor and mimetic technique is honestly so impressive! That actually sounds really fun and is totally on my to-do list now :)

[ticklinglady]

The Guild's actions during the story are so insane, when you think about them properly, you know? When I first read the arc with them, this moment hasn't really occurred to me, as I was too busy going nuts over finally seeing the names of the familiar writers, but now when I think of that... I am not sure, I comprehend how they managed to achieve such a ferocious reputation. I have already made a little post about how extremely dysfunctional the DOA members are, but at least those guys have a plan, which actually makes sense more or less, even despite the gang using cheatcodes/the Book. The same cannot be said of the Guild however archghhjkn. Like, what the hell were these guys even doing??? XD

So here are just some moments, which weirded me out the most

At first I'd like to address the entire story with everyone's favorite tsundere, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Her introduction leaves quuuuite an impression in the best way and nothing makes me happier than the fact, that she gets a chance to find happiness in the following chapters and actually becomes a reoccurring character! HOWEVER, her entire involvement with the Guild is super odd... I still can't wrap my head around her getting fired. She is a girl with a hella powerful ability, who got taken to the Guild from a terrible, terrible orphanage in order to fight for them in the war for the Book, so not only is she very strong, but she's also immensely dependant on the organisation and wouldn't do anything outside of its interests. Yet Lucy is also put under extreme pressure. As she herself puts it, the Guild doesn't tolerate failures and will kick her out the moment she screws something up.

Later we see that this is exactly what happens, when she messes up her first mission. Fitzgerald himself confirms that, since she failed and revealed her ability to the enemies, she's no longer useful, so now a powerful esper, like Lucy works for free as a... laundress?

EXCUSE ME??? WHEN HAVE THE GUILD MEMBERS EVER DONE ANYTHING, BUT FAIL AND REVEAL THEIR ABILITIES?

Let's be real, these dudes were successful like only once or twice...

This fact not only makes Fitzgerald look like an idiot for wasting such a talented and useful worker, because of one mistake, but also as one hell of a hypocrite, cause he is more than fine with everyone else fucking up. And in case of Lovecraft and Steinbeck: fucking up twice. To add to the oddity, we later learn, that Louisa genuinely cares for Lucy and despite her social anxiety actually stood up for her during the entire story, but even that wasn't enough to change Fitzgerald's mind on the issue, though Louisa is one of the few people, whose opinion he respects. Honestly, this is such a waste of a truly useful subordinate. And speaking of which....

The Guild has never even tried to implement Edgar Allan Poe during the war...

This man is actually rather op when you think of it. He can capture and neutralise literally any ability user in Yokohama (besides Dazai, Mori and Ranpo ofc) just by throwing a book at them. Seriously, as we see with Chuuya, they don't even have to read it, they just need to see the pages. Plus the book can be actually sent via email!!! So why has there been an absolute zero amount of strategies with the use of this ability??? They could actually try to catch Atsushi by sending him such email containing any of Poe's mystery stories and then safely carry him back to their base. And it doesn't have to be just Atsushi, it could be literally any of their enemies. Non-combatant, like Ranpo could use this pretty damn well to his advantage and it doesn't take a genius to understand the potential of the "Black Cat in Rue Morgue". But nooooo, it seems like everyone has just forgotten of Poe!!! (Tho to be honest, I can actually see this situation in a funny extra awfgbfggfjj. Not the main story however) The agency would never even learn of his existence, if he didn't personally decide to try to fuck Ranpo's life up. Like, what does Poe even do in the Guild? He's the master architect and, according to him, the third ranking man in the organization, but we never see him be of any use, so Idk. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Lucy at least got to do something, unlike this poor man.

Then there's the entire drama with the Guild's decision to destroy Yokohama. Where do I even begin...

First of all, Fitzgerald has no way of knowing that Atsushi is going to come to Moby-Dick to fight him. Poor guy is the Guild's primary goal and has already gotten himself captured once, so it would have been safe to assume that the ADA decided to hide him somewhere and not send him on any dangerous missions for the time being. That basically means Fitzgerald could have burned down not just Yokohama, but also the only person, who could actually help him find his precious Book.

But if we're to ignore this, let's also go with Wikipedia then~

"Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. Yokohama is also the major economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area along the Keihin Industrial Zone."

..........................

Good luck making up for the destruction of THIS, Fitzgerald 🖕

And if this in itself wasn't bad enough, most people, including me, tend to forget that all Guild members are actually big shots in the American government, which I think is very sad. Because first of all, can you imagine any of the Guild members actually working as politicians?!! The sheer idea makes me hysterical avshbgj. Like, just consider Lovecraft working as a senator or something. This eldritch horror of a man leaves the ocean once in three years at best LMAO. Second of all, I have a feeling, that the destruction of Yokohama at the hands of influential politicians from a foreign country would have resulted in an international conflict or two~ Like as if random deranged rich Americans arriving in Japan, wreaking havoc over there and destroying the second largest city in the country wasn't bad enough, these Americans just HAD to be super influential businessmen and politicians. Louisa, my dear, I understand that it wasn't your intention, but it's as close to a declaration of war as it can get, you know? Fitzgerald may be ready to do anything to resurrect his dead daughter, but I'm not sure, that the execution of himself and the rest of the Guild at the hands of the Hunting Dogs is something he'd like.

(And here's another funny thing that stems from them being politicians 🤭 As @originalartblog wittily pointed out, Fitzgerald wasting all his money fighting sskk has probably resulted in a market crash and recession over in the USA)

I also have some other questions in regards to this entire plan, such as why did they have to waste Moby-Dick just to destroy Yokohama? Yes, it works in the short term, but in the long term they loose a super powerful fortress with the stealth mode and as the practice shows, you better have a safe base, unless you want another lemon freak to blow it all up. I mean, you could just ask Lovecraft to destroy everything for free. Or, if the device is the only way to stop the giant whale from crashing, why didn't Fitzgerald just take it to a far away bunker or something and waited things out there without the need to spend millions of dollars just to survive the explosion? (And it would have been extremely funny, if during the fight with sskk he just threw the device overboard) But I think I have already rambled for long enough already atxhghbgv XD

The Guild is an even bigger mess than the DOA and I think that's glorious 🙌

[shortpplfedup]

Only Friends Character Rankings Pre-Air

Jojo, Ninew, Ninepinta and Vivienne have now presented their stable of hoes to us, y'all have chosen your fighters, and I am gnawing on concrete in anticipation of August 12. Since I'm gonna be doing weekly character rankings, I wanted to set up a pre-air Clown Checkpoint so I can look back later and see how wrong I was. Until that YouTube premiere countdown hits zero, we know exactly nothing, but I'm ready to predict whose gay wrongs I will most support! Here we go!

1. Nick

I just want you to love only me!

Audience ranking: 6

Ever since Mark Pakin showed up in that pilot trailer scheming and sex-taping, Nick has been MY DUDE. I want him to be the most manclown character of all time. I want him to be DESPERATE AND PATHETIC for Boston's dick. ANSWER EVERY BOOTY CALL NICK, I BELIEVE IN YOU. HE WANTS YOU TO DO A THREESOME? NO PROBLEM, WHATEVER YOU WANT BABE. I want Nick to call his bestie (Sand?) crying because Boston came over at 3:02 a.m. and left at 4:37 a.m. and 15 minutes of that was him taking a post-coital shower. I want crying and begging and clinging and devious acts. Khun Pakin has the chops to make my dreams come alive, make it happen boo!

2. Mew

My type is pretty simple. I'm not a picky kind of guy.

Audience ranking: 4

Right up until time of posting I thought my #2 seed would be Boston, but something is telling me that when it comes to manipulation and making grown men cry, Mew will emerge the champion. Something in this butter-wouldn't-melt expression is telling me this man is the true demon from hell whereas Boston is merely a top-tier-yet-still-garden-variety slut. Him shit-kicking Boston into the pool and then jumping in himself to finish the job is the kinda deranged shit I respect immensely. Kill them all Mew. You deserve.

3. Boston

You should be glad to be my favourite.

Audience ranking: 5

I may have called this man a garden variety slut, but I love a good slut though! Especially one who will lend his toys to help out a friend. And then almost instantly regret it. And then cause chaos and problems for himself as a result. And then make it everybody else's chaos and problems. Basically, I expect Boston's job to be throwing hole around Bangkok and ruining lives, and I expect him to do it WELL, and I expect him to do it in the sluttiest rent boy outfits I've ever seen.

4. Ray

You think my life will be better with you? It's only fucking going down to hell.

Audience ranking: 3

Speaking of chaos and problems, OUR BI DISASTER IS HERE GUYS! Bisexual? Bipolar? Why not both? The trailer is letting us know from jump that Ray is A Mess With Money and happy to use that money to buy himself some company, but also not able to keep those lines from getting blurred. I’m expecting this character to make me fall in love with him but also want to strangle him, Teh Krittikorn Saetun-style, so expect this ranking to go up until he is somehow my fave.

5. Sand

Friends don't charge friends. Besides, you should save your money for a shrink.

Audience ranking: 2

First Kanaphan’s job at GMMTV is to rip our hearts out roughly twice a year, and he’s right on schedule. It seems like Sand never learned not to fall for poor little rich boys, so we will all have to suffer with him. Honestly his ranking is this low right now because I see these guitars and microphones and I want no part of them. There is a short list of GMMTV boys allowed to sing at me and as much as I love First he is not on it. Ditch the microphone and bring back the baseball bat bb, I’m ready to see you bust some heads, kneecaps, car windows, whatever in pursuit of your love.

6. Top

When I take aim, I never miss.

Audience ranking: 7

Ah yes, the hoe-turned-seeming-housewife who’s actually still hoeing. The village bike. The community top. Boston basically turns him out and he’s not only fine with it, he falls for the john. Delicious. I desire his ruin like I’ve desired nothing before in media.

7. Everybody we don’t know nothing about yet (Yo, Nam/Syrup, Nes, Lesbian!Nonnie, A Wild Papang, various and assorted surprise guests I’m pretty sure we’re getting)

Friends don't do this to each other.

Audience ranking: 1 (combined score)

We await the tea on all the side characters, but the casting is superb, and I’m ready to see how high in the rankings they can climb.

LET THE MESS COMMENCE!

[i-professional-procrastinator]

It's really funny how Gale clearly has more haters than Snow.

It's strange how Snow has sympathizers even. Don't get me wrong, I love him, he's so well written and I thank Suzanne Collins' pen everyday but being a great character doesn't make him a good character...? Tom blyth did an excellent job and I have nothing but love for him. But people act like his Snow and Donald Sutherland's Snow are two different people. I personally don't think Snow had an ounce of goodness in him, or anything to question his fucked morals. That man made deliberate choices. He took the wrong actions on purpose. He chose himself over doing the right thing each time. Sure he was shaken up by Sejanus' death or killing for the first time in the arena (remember though, that made him feel powerful, that says a lot), but that didn't stop him from choosing to do that again. He got worse with time. He was always evil just not accustomed to the consequences I guess? There's not a lot of gray area when it comes to Coriolanus Snow. The sympathizers (there are SO MANY on twitter) often forget that Tigris went through the same things and still chose to be better. Snow was always a terrible person. I can't think of a suitable way to add his inner monologue to the movie but honestly that would have helped immensely because HIS THOUGHTS ARE ALWAYS INSANE and give so much insight into his growth...from a bad person to a far worse person.

Gale on the other hand is a product of war. War has no winners and Gale is the prime example of that. Sure he fought for the "right side", he fought for his people, he fought to save lives but that's didn't protect him from getting innocent blood on his hands. Gale also took the "wrong" actions I guess but unlike Snow, I don't think he had a choice. As Katniss said he's fire, like her. He fought because there was no other option, and he went in with all his heat. He got burned too. He lost a lot, putting aside Katniss, the PTSD and the trauma. He deserves to get shit for killing civilians but there was a lot behind that awful step than just "Gale evil, Gale wanted people (read Prim, most of the fandom would not have cared if it wasn't Prim but that's a topic for another day) dead."

Gale is a far more complex person than Snow (I didn't say character because I'm not talking about writing, ofc the villain is better written than a supporting character ) and he deserves respect for that. I think the early/mid 2010s shipping wars did a lot of damage to his rep. And all this is coming from an everlark shipper so just think about it for a second.

Ignore typos it's 3:31 AM. Thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk. I do not respond well to constructive criticism.

[mychlapci]

Maggy anon once more !

I saw you mentioned insecticons sex. So let me combine that with something else : Knockout, doing a bad job at grieving his husband, is trying to get laid to distract himself. However he has only a few options :

_Vehicons : not appealing to him, definitely too small

_Starscream : currently missing

_Dreadwing : too respectful of Breakdown and Knockout to agree to anything

_Soundwave : need i even explain

_Megatron : Knockout is in need but he isn't crazy yet

Which only leaves him with the Insecticons. So he figures out which of them is the.. smartest, in terms of sentience, and soon enough he's got that freaky large spike absolutely ruining his valve.

Then another day it's another Insecticon. And another.

He slowly but surely fucks his way through the entire hive.

ohohoho Knockout seems to be, by general consensus, the most popular choice for tfp insecticon fucking, and i'm honestly living for it. Just the fantasy of this extremely beautiful, pampered mech being debauched by some brutish, beastial insecticons… it's really good. 

Knockout grieving Breakdown and all he wants is to get some laid, no strings attached, no weird feelings regarding his deceased conjunx, just a really good dicking down is what he needs. Unfortunately, his only remaining choice are the insecticons, which turn out to be extremely easy to seduce. Knockout is not surprised. He has seen them fight each other over scrap metal, they would probably fuck anything that gave them any hint at having a hole.

mhmmm The insecticon he chose is not gentle with Knockout at all, which is arguably exactly what he wanted. He shoves his fat, barbed spike into Knockout in one smooth thrust, and thank primus Knockout prepared himself before-hand because the stretch was immense and torturous, and the insecticon wasted no time starting to thrust, making those high-pitched little howls whenever Knockout clenched around him in pleasure. Knockout is taken for the ride of his life, squealing like some kind of virgin while the insecticon completely destroys his valve, leaving it gaping open and sore, maybe even bleeding a little bit. He's not exactly sure, he just knows that there's just a lot of fluids pooled underneath him once the insecticon is finished. (hgrhghh the insecticon bowing his head between Knockout's thighs and licking him clean with an impossibly long tongue, bringing Knockout into a couple more quivering overloads...) 

Knockout continuing to bring insecticons into his berth, experiencing the full range of insecticon fucking. Some of them have thinner spikes, with much sharper, longer barbs, leaving Knockout's valve completely ruined for days to come, some of them fuck fast and hard and some of them, albeit a small minority, go slower, though their thrusts are as hard, if not harder. Sometimes he doesn't bring an insecticon into berth, sometimes an insecticon will find him and use Knockout like a tight little spikesleeve, leavng him limping back into the washracks to clean up.

[neurunique]

reader x ram, overwatch sort of university, post-war, peace is somewhat achieved, overwatch and null sector have a peace treaty, not much detail will go into this though. ramattra is offered a job in a higher up role teaching at a "hero university" (no this isn't gen v don't worry) where reader attends/other heroes may be teachers too. class could be like omnic education/history etc

It had been quite some time since the end of Null Sector's invasion of Earth. While the world was not entirely in agreement, but then, would it ever be?, humans had accepted Omnics as equals to them, and provided equitable changes to their lives via parliament. Hate crimes occurred less, it was safer at night, and omnics were treated with more respect as a whole. Human and omnic friendships were more common, etc... (I'm terrible at writing this part).

Ramattra had been promised many things from both Overwatch and political leaders as a result of his efforts. Rewarded would not be the correct word, however he had certainly been mostly satisfied with the outcome for his people. Of course, he still had goals, he still had problems, and fury - but life was just a little bit more tolerable. Each day he saw something that would make him smile inside, and it wasn't of a violent nature. Infact, he had found more wholesome discoveries quite enchanting; simple things like people holding hands walking by, omnics and humans getting along, etc.

He was well looked after, living in a penthouse apartment (with what furniture who knows honestly), and regular income and access to technology/upgrades at no cost. He had many teams available to him, need he only ask. His status was that of a highly respected omnic, however unlike before he was not invoking terror on anyone he saw. Omnics and humans around the world eventually felt empathy for the Null sector leader, understanding where he came from, and even more so, expressing appreciation for the outcome.

About a year or so after peace had been achieved, a university had been started up in (fuck knows where? England? near Overwatch etc) London, with intent to educate more people in the defenses, in the areas of tech and fighting, omnics and humans, and hero abilities. Of course, any university starting up would need well established teachers - mentors, leaders - to get people to actually sign up. Ramattra had been surprised to receive a letter offering him a job as head of History at the university. He would be in the position of lecturing students - humans?! How fun, he thought - as well as omnics, should the university attract them.

Of course, this would mean he would no longer be as secluded in his daily life; the most of his socialisation was with his cats, Meowttra and Catnyatta, and an occasional caffeine run down the road. He had grown very comfortable to a lifestyle such as this. And now, if he were to accept... this very generous offer, he would be forced to speak with the likes of Overwatch agents, past present and future; regular humans; and scientists. Part of him felt genuine excitement, as his research and ideas could potentially be broadened; however, he felt an immense sensation of fear - him, fear? - of teaching others. His method was simple: order, discipline, or congratulate; the latter rarely occuring. But if his job was mostly lecturing and organising class topics, he couldn't see too much of a problem.

The thought of creating strong values, not hateful ones, but fair ones - in a whole fresh generation post-war, also made him feel a spark of hope. Perhaps this war could've been avoided, had there been more resources for the public before - but there was no use thinking like this now - he had a chance, a real chance, to embody himself as a leader and role model to others. To start them off right, and possibly prevent the reoccurence of discrimination; or at least, more realistically, educate enough people to take a stand, omnic or human.

You were never one to be naive, so you thought - you believed you had all the wisdom one could have at your age, all the awareness it could take to *have* what it takes, to be that one percent to rise above the rest. Even though you had your moments of doubt, you would often reassure yourself that, if you tried your best and stayed as consistent as possible, you could truly do anything you set your mind to.

And the day you saw an advertisement for (UnNamed) University, your determination that had been long gone for some time now since finishing High school had returned. You'd always looked up to Overwatch, always aspired to be a great leader, or be lead by one - always wanted to do more, see more, help more. You received above average grades in school, topped one class even - but once the stress of it all ended, you struggled to hit that motivation kickstart that each day brought when forced a certain schedule.

Sitting up from your slouch in your tiny apartment couch, you found your laptop and started searching the university.

UNIVERSITY OF OVERWATCH

ENROLMENTS OPEN NOW

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

ACCOMMODATION INFO COMING SOON

After clicking around for what felt like forever, you finally find the apply button. Like navigating a digital maze you sat, trying not to be flustered at the complexity of this damned thing, a headache starting to form from stress - you could do this, this was only the beginning, and if you couldn't make it through this beginning step, you wouldn't make it through the first DAY - and soon enough, you had finalised your application.

YN

Interested in:

x Nanotechnology and Science

x Medicine and Healing

x History and Strategy

x Engineering and Machinery

Sitting down more comfortably with the stress off your shoulders, you look back to the tv and snack on some cheap popcorn, knowing that this boring life may change soon, and that you may finally achieve what you always wanted.

Look I'm just going to skip some fucking time here because I Don't want to ruin my creativity, here's a gap jump.

Day 0one of university, reader has received a JUST enough scholarship to study and live near the university (accommodation still being built but reader has been offered a suite as they are very valuable). Reader, and no students, are aware of who the teachers are, this is the first day...

Sitting in an assembly hall, Tracer etc announcement welcomes everyone...

Lots of people humans AND omnics fill the room...

Introduces the teachers...

Some familiar names...

"And, our head of history, lecturing all history classes offered and occasional electives, Ramattra," Tracer says into the microphone, and Ramattra, standing at the back of the stage near his other coworkers, gives a small wave to the audience. (*Tries not to imagine using the annihilation ultimate in the assembly hall*)

You sit in your seat, and freeze. You hadn't even noticed him there, in the shadows of others, even though he is so *damn tall*. His posture was surprisingly relaxed, considering his original "purpose" in life; you guess that the war outcome had truly changed things, for him and the world he wanted to create. A feeling of joy and warmth swims around in your chest, reaching its way up to your throat and you quietly clear your throat. You try not to beam - even though you've obviously never met Ramattra, or anyone here, only some local omnics and friends who were passionate about the cause, you just can't help but feel pure joy, empathy and pride for the positive outcome achieved. You simply couldn't wait to experience this university, and learn from a variety of people. Learning was always your favourite part of life, and making change within yourself and watching others change and flourish always gave you a feeling inside, like a beautiful spring garden blooming, filling your chest with a fresh perspective of life.

Inspirational people always made you feel great faith.

You snap out of your daze and realise you have been staring in Ramattra's direction for an *awfully* long time, and you pray he has not noticed, but then you wouldn't know, would you? You weren't even thinking of HIM - just life itself, the future... You hope that if you have him as a teacher, he will not remember you for staring at him for a solid 3 minutes. That would not be a great start...

The assembly concludes, and people start to shuffle out, some looking at their timetables, others checking their phones. On the stage, you notice some staff talking amongst themselves, walking around a little and introducing eachother; you smile. and while you cannot see Ramattra anywhere, you hope that he's there too, getting along with humans...

"I cannot *imagine* Ramattra as a teacher," a voice says as you walk out of the auditorium door. It wasn't staff, just a random student - and as you look at them closer, you are surprised to see its an omnic?! "Just... don't you think he's a bit too abrasive?"

"You talk as if you've met him," another student said in response.

"Well, I know enough about him to take a decent guess. I mean he despises humans -"

"He did," you interrupt quietly, but much to your surprise, you were actually heard - "erm... I mean, he did hate humans. He hated their actions. And now that's changed, right? So I don't see any reason for him to be... aggressive... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"You're fine," The omnic smiled and held out their hand. "And you're right. I still don't see him as being very warm. I mean, he is male after all, I don't think I've ever had a *warm* male teacher..."

The door shuts behind you giving you a startle.

"Alright ladies," a bright british voice says, belonging to none other than Tracer; "And gents, and whomever - how about we make a move, yeah? I'm sure you all have classes to get to."

You wonder if she heard what you had been talking about, but you say nothing and smile at everyone there. "Catch you later everyone, nice to meet you all."

You swear as you walk away you see something move in the curtains of the corner window, and it reminds you of how Ramattra had been on the stage, hidden but visible; a shiver runs down your body and a slight cooling of the temperature affects you. You shrug it off, and walk to the nearest cafe (luckily, there were many), assessing your map at the same time.

(Maybe end of chapter? Coffee make brain go fast, coffee make brain go nervous if too much. Nomnom coffee tasty.)

PART 2

HI GUYS THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAT IVE WRITTEN this is just the first part I hope you enjoy! I would love some feedback! 💜❤️

[ilovemygfz]

Agatha All Along—I’m a bit disappointed (Spoiler alert for ep. 4-8)

i love ALL witchy stuff. Literally all Witchy media, as hocus pocus, wanda vision, coraline is kinda witchy, all of it. Or i guess coraline is more whimsigoth. Whatever. Anyways, i was raised a Christian and around age ten, I realized, I’ve never believed or felt any connection with this religion.

In fact, I honestly was mad at Christianity (and colonialism) for stealing things from other religions such as Easter from Eostre, the goddess of Spring and Fertility, or the Christmas tree, two examples from paganism. Yet, I’ve always respected Christians otherwise, and all religions.

So i started researching other religions to find mine. Because I’ve always believed there’s someone up there. But I believed there was someone, and others, as I am a pantheist. And I’ve always had a strong connection with nature and the five elements and I’ve always believed in reincarnation. I also started using crystals and incense around age thirteen and fourteen. I’ve found that those beliefs, and more I hold, strongly align with Wiccan Paganism.

i felt it was perfect for me because ive also always been…different. I’ll hear or see things others dont. I see visions of the future (though usually not immensely important ones 😒) and I strongly believe in ghosts and the like. (I believe you can be a ghost with the classic ‘limitations’ unfinished business etc and be reincarnated after theyre solved or never if theyre not.)

ANYWAYS. I’ve always loved “witchy” media, even before that journey through the past years, and I was so excited for this one. I loved it SO MUCH…until episode five.

The end, where Alice died and Teen through Lilia and Jen off the road, very much disappointed me in Marvel yet again. I know they love killing people off and making people mad but come on, don’t make teen evil. Alice was enough.

then Lilia and Jen came back to help with the next trial right? Until Lilia died. Like what the fuck. Anyways, I was satisfied with hers because it was a death that was actually meaningful. I was not happy with Alice’s because it was just…I dunno. You know what I mean.

i thought she was going to die when that thing landed on her in the trial with fire, where they had to play music. Which was in episode four i think, maybe early five. That wouldve meant something. But, no. I’ve forgiven it, though, because I’m happy with the queer roles and the fact that Alice worked at hot topic.

Now, i REALLY wasn’t happy when Teen turned out to be partially Billy. I would be okay if he was a random kid, but I expected him to be Agatha’s son until the sleepover trial. And i did not like the fact that the road was created, but especially with his magic. I really hoped if it was fake that at least it became real with their magic or something, but ugh.

It’s marvel. Disney marvel. a disney marvel SERIES. I really should’ve seen this coming from a year away. Its giving the disappointment with she hulk, but a weaker dosage. I liked all of it before these parts. Finally, I wish there was more to it instead of that abrupt ending.

Perhaps they could write a season two with the place Agatha and Teen (i refuse to call him billy, and its easier than william) went next. Maybe we could run into Jen in a future show or movie, or even episode. It’s okay, though, in total i’d give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[7grandmel]

Rip of the Week: 01/07/2024

KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter)

Season 8 No Album Release (Read More) Carnival Night Zone (Act 2) (Nov 3, 1993 prototype) - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Ripped by Madinstance

I pondered long and hard about this post, of what rip to make it about - I'm sort of back in the groove of things after my break, and I'm happy to see people are enjoying the graudally-increasing trickle of variety posts already, but I also feel as if I'm still regaining my footing in how to pick these rips for the blog. Alas, amidst all the requests and the all-time classics, I do inevitably hold recency bias close to my heart - bias you've already seen with rips like Last Freight-train Night, and that rears its head once again with KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter). Because no matter what happens to me or the blog, I am but merely a Sonic fan, an Undertale enjoyer, and an absolute CONNOISSEUR for Madinstance's work. The madlad's done it again.

Like, look - I've featured the guy so many times before, I've featured Undertale music on here so many times more than even that, blah blah, blah blah...can you sincerely blame me for picking this one? Madinstance has been featured on here plenty for their incredible arrangements like M-O-O-G City and Thwâmpröck Desert, and I've always sort of taken them as the kind of ripper who puts their heart and soul into rips of games and music that they genuinely just care tons about, most evident with their Minecraft tributes like Fell From a High Place (Reprise). But lately it feels as if that view may have been wrong - or Madinstance is just growing as a ripper to where they're becoming willing to take on any arranging project so long as it sounds cool. Honestly though, I can't blame them with a concept as sick as this - meshing together prototype Carnival music from a Genesis Sonic game with Undertale boss music is the kind of lunatic concept that I don't know how one comes up with but also wouldn't be able to help myself to pursue.

There have been a lot of times where I've worried that I've covered too *much* Undertale music for the blog...but the more I sit on it, the more I realize just how core Undertale's music is to both SiIva's viewers and its rippers. Undertale blew up just a short few months before the SiIvaGunner channel itself did, and its fans have thus grown in almost direct parallel with SiIvaGunner's own fans - and on top of that, Toby Fox is the exact kind of online meme freak that SiIvaGunner itself attracts the most. Is it any surprise that we've had banging Undertale arrangements on SiIva like Hoopache, SUNGORE, and indeed Madinstance's very own Fell From a High Place (Reprise), since the very beginning of the channel, from just about every one of the team's rippers? Undertale is endlessly beloved, and moreover - endlessly versatile for arrangements, its leitmotifs and melodies so well known as to becoming a series of online anthems all in their own rights.

Compared to the more popular tunes like Megalovania and Death By Glamour, it feels as if ASGORE doesn't get as much attention from remixers and rippers. And perhaps that was part of what made me fall head over heels in love with KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter) right from the moment go - it shows such a profound respect and understanding for not just the original ASGORE theme, but the iconic Bergentrückung prelude that introduces the battle, here weaving the two together damn seamlessly in the rip's intro. It's immensely impressive just how atmospheric and intense the rip still sounds despite, again, it's baseline track being the borderline juvenile carnival music used in Sonic 3's recently-unearthed prototype versions, a series of cheerful clapping samples introducing the track yet never overriding the emotional sincerity of the melody leading the rip. I feel like the emotion in large part also just comes from how fucking cool of a sound Sonic 3's music in general has, a lead synth that sounds unlike anything else on the genesis playing a sort of melodic back-and-fourth with a second synth lead that sounds just as distinct yet far more chipper and bright, almost reminding me of something from Rivals of Aether...? The back-and-fourth feel is an amazing touch either way, is the point!

KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter)'s final touch, of course, comes toward the finale, the section in which the original ASGORE battle theme takes a step back from its intensity to reflect, a calm in the midst of the storm. Madinstance brilliantly uses this interlude to throw a complete curveball that still fits the arrangement perfectly: using samples and sounds from the *finalized* Carnival Night Zone theme, the one created by Michael Jackson's soundteam, and featuring that distinct glass shattering sample from Jam. I talk about escalation in rips a fair bit on here, but it wasn't as it the rip was in any need of it here anyway given how amazing the arrangement already was. It's just the sort of thing that pushes the rip from great to godlike, the kind of touch you'd mainly expect to see from a Sonic the Hedgehog superfan committed to their rip, akin to what MtH did with Youkoso Twinkle Park e. But again - perhaps, somehow, I've underestimated just how far Madinstance will go once they've landed on a concept they truly click with. Season 8 may well be the silly season in many ways, but it's all too clear that each one of the team's rippers are growing more powerful by the day.

[miscelliteeous]

Been thinking about Spandam again a lot lately for some reason. I was majorly into him back when the Enies Lobby arc was coming out a looooong time ago (please understand this makes me feel very old!) like I printed off pics to keep in my school folders, had a very elaborate selfship (well over a decade before I even heard that term) and all that jazz. Held off on posting this for over a week because it feels a little weird sharing this since they're super old concepts.

Anyways! All that to preface that these headcanons are a tiny bit new, but most are very old concepts from my selfship getting dusted off. Some are a bit toxic, but I mean, it's Spandam, of course they are.

Spandam Headcanons

-General Relationship/History-

He met you through his father’s connections when the two of you were children. Your parents and his arranged a marriage and you and Spandam are expected to accept it.

You spend a month with him every year while your respective parents have a vacation together at a resort.

Spandam whines and bosses you around and you’re expected to put up with it because he’s a year older and his father is a higher rank than yours and this trend continues through the rest of your relationship.

Despite this, you do somewhat enjoy his company, as his weaknesses mean you get to step up and play hero to him often, even if he isn’t the most grateful. And around your teens you realize you do find him cute, even if you would never admit it.

The yearly meetings end when you’re in your late teens and instead you’re stuck having to help plan a reluctant wedding that neither of you are sure you want.

The wedding is long and boring, but you and Spandam surprise each other by having a good time complaining about everything together.

As the years go by and he rises in rank (cough nepobaby cough) you’re by his side, and you get to see a side of him others rarely see. After about a year together, he’d shocked to realize he actually DOES love you, in his own way.

He can be sweet! He likes to spoil you by buying you gifts, and he makes sure you know how expensive/rare they are.

Please join him in being a smug asshole to others and he will be over the moon. Assert your authority belittle, demean, he likes having someone to back him up when he's talking shit.

Honestly can be a pretty shit husband, not gonna lie. You’d need to learn basic combat skills (ideally you’d be trained to an almost Cipher Pol 9 level but he can’t always get what he wants) because in addition to being married to him he’d be expecting you to defend him sometimes.

Do not expect him to put himself in harms way for you though, and he would push you to the ground if it would buy him more time to save himself in a crisis.

No matter how many “spill proof” cups you buy him, he constantly proves them wrong. At least he’s easy to buy gifts for.

It bugs him IMMENSELY that CP9 vastly prefers interacting with you and they actually have a little respect for you.

He does brag about you a lot to his underlings, but its usually in a "my wife is better than you" way, putting others down.

You get to see him without his mask more than anyone else, and he often uses it to elicit sympathy and praise from you. When he’s in a bad mood he’ll sometimes say his face is your fault for not protecting him.

Spandam goes between phases of “no PDA in front of anyone” and “clingy and handsy”, depending on his mood.

The relationship can be rather ‘slap, slap, kiss’ at times, but he doesn’t really hold it against you if you give as good as you get. Sure, he’ll whine and complain that you’re unreasonable, but he’s known you long enough to not take it personally.

So basically: he won’t hesitate to slap you if he’s in a bad mood, so slap him the fuck back! Just be careful, he’s a lot weaker than you. But he’s pretty durable.

Regardless of any fights, he has trouble sleeping at night if he’s not curled up with you so any issues are cleared up before bedtime. He’s much more manageable when it’s just the two of you.

-Family Relationship-

He'd be perfectly happy and fine with never having to see your family again if you don't.

His family though? You’re stuck visiting Spandine any time Spandam wants to.

You’re both expected to continue the family line asap.

Spandam wouldn’t be any extra help during pregnancy, the most he’d do is hire you some assistants or have Funkfreed out more often for you to lean on or to bring you things.

50/50 on if he would miss the birth. It depends on if there’s a work opportunity or not. If he has a chance to rise in rank, he’ll take it.

Same goes for birthdays, anniversaries, and any other holidays. Anything to boost his own standing always comes first.

I’m sorry but there’s a good chance the child would inherit the darker face markings too, or at least the eye ones.

An even worse father than he is a husband, leaves the childcare to you or a nanny. Will not change diapers, clean up throw up, etc.

Still has a fondness for his kid because it’s his, especially if the kid reminds him of himself.

The type to try and buy his kids love and respect.

Unless you took massive steps to curb it, the kid would likely grow up to be a spoiled brat who looks up to Spandam and never realizes how lonely they really feel in his company.

-Misc-

The type to toss and turn in his sleep. Not because he’s tormented or anything but because he can never find the perfect angle to sleep in.

Spandam would only admit it when you’re alone with him, but he likes to lay his head in your lap and have his hair stroked, very calming for such a stressed out guy.

Goes between extremely secure in the relationship to worrying he might lose you to one of his subordinates if you talk to them too long. Then he’s clingy for the rest of the day.

His favorite date spot is anywhere that has a good and highly expensive steak. The price is important because he likes reiterating to you that he can afford very nice things/bragging.

Even if you’re taller, he’d likely call you things like “my little Y/N”, because it makes him feel big and powerful.

During anniversaries when he IS there, he breaks out the good whiskey and likes to has a drink with you.

He acts like he likes black coffee but when he can, he has a SUPER complicated drink order at coffee shops and gets very annoyed when it’s wrong.

You have to put up with him going “don’t you know who I am?!” in public with the dignity and grace that he severely lacks.

If push comes to shove, he wouldn’t hesitate to put your life at risk for his own but he would be very moody and shockingly (to himself) upset with himself for a long time, feeling guilty is something he’s not used to at all.

That being said, it would almost certainly not come to that and you still rank higher in his heart than anyone else.

He’s at your mercy when healing from the Enies Lobby incident and badly injured, but he deserves to be smacked hard for almost leaving you behind during the Buster Call.

Is a lot less smug and a lot more humble towards you after his extensive recovery and being moved to an underling position in CP0.

He becomes a LOT more clingy too, and would prefer you be at his side at all times.