#how do i imagine pretty and whimsical lighting

[abra-ka-dammit]

one of the weirder things about my job search so far has been how strange it feels to be complimented on a portfolio. my co-fired-coworker (who secured a nice job with procter & gamble, lucky asshole) looked at it and went on about YOU CAN DRAW! and how much he liked my life/figure drawings (i miss that class so much tbh)

i had a like, pre-interview on zoom yesterday with a company that owns some weed dispensaries/doctors/products(?) and the lady interviewing me was gushing about how she likes my drawings and then was like, talking about how she's interested in what I can bring to the table with my 3D skills too (????!?!?! okay, it's marketing work but I guess I could model and render a nice glass bong or something...?)

"your portfolio really stands out" is such a bizarrely flattering thing im just. not used to

i guess wallowing in my boring artstyle while following dozens of far more skilled artists made me forget that to non-artists, what I do is still super impressive, even if online commissioners prefer to pay the artists I follow (and/or am friends with) instead of me

[mrzombielover]

soap nsfw alphabet

prepare for some more headcanons while i take some time to write actual fics :)

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

he strikes me as a guy that will just fucking conk out immediately after. if you want to clean up you gotta move fast before hes dead asleep and holding you in a death grip.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

he’s pretty neutral about himself, not really insecure but not the most vain. i bet he likes his arms and hands, he’s a strong guy and likes his mooscles plus he enjoys being able to manhandle you. also proud of his leg gains

on you he likes your hair. he thinks it frames your face real prettily and loves how it smells. will start using your shampoo and conditioner to your dismay

other than that hes an ass man, so that’s probably high on his list too

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

doesn’t have a particular preference for where he should but one time he pulled out and came all over your thighs and ass and he’s not gonna let that image go any time soon.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

chronic panty stealer. i cant really imagine him being ashamed of any kinks or anything but this is something you might not need to know about for a while. he kept a pair hidden in his barracks and freaked the fuck out when ghost almost found it. he returned them later that day

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

one of the more experienced of mw characters, he’s had a few girlfriends and random hookups once in a while but pretty standard

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

prefers intimate positions with lots of skin to skin contact and eye contact. you cant go wrong with classic missionary, but he’ll bend down with his face close to yours and hold you against him. also likes when you wrap your legs around his waist.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

he def has the capability to be silly and goofy and perhaps a tad whimsical. to him, sex with his partner is about making you both feel good and he can be laid back and crack some jokes if the mood is light. not that he can’t be serious, but he likes laughing and not taking things super seriously

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

pretty hairy guy, he’s very clean and i imagine he’d keep things trimmed but i cant see him shaving lol. i bet he has a super sexy happy trail too. pubes are brown and curly like his hair

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

surprisingly romantic- in his own weird way. he can be traditionally romantic, too, if the situation calls for it like on an anniversary or smth.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

tends to quite often when you’re not there, he gets wound up very easily and uses it as a way to let off some steam, and relax before bed

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

usually p vanilla but there are times where he like to step it up. he’s def a switch so when you take the reigns it gets him all excited.

also likes blindfolds, on him and you. just thinks it’s sooo hot how it heightens your other senses and makes you extra sensitive.

the same can be said with temperature play- ice and wax. the different sensations get him so riled up and he loves the little gasps and whimpers it elicits.

Again both of these can be done on him or you this guy is the biggest switch ever.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

prefers classic bedroom, it’s private, comfortable, and you can really go all out without worry. unfortunately, neither of you are home very often, so the showers or barracks are the most common places.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

honestly everything you do. it doesn’t take much to get him going, he has a pretty high sex drive. watching you concentrate on something just gives him the insane urge to annoy you and ruin your concentration, and even more so if you’re actually doing work. especially working with your hands in some way

watching you get ready is another one, smth abt the contrast between how you look in your gear vs all dolled up really does it for him.

basically anything you do

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

hes a very clean guy, hence the nickname. not into piss or blood or a ton of dirt and grime. granted he might find it hot if you’re all sweaty and nasty from a workout or mission but that’s a very specific circumstance. this makes shower sex fair game.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

likes giving and receiving, again sex and making eachother feel good is very important to him in relationships. he can give very enthusiastic head but he’s def not gonna turn down a bj

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

tends to go pretty hard. hes a strong, big guy who can manhandle you and hold you down if needed, and usually goes at a pretty deep and rough pace. can always slow down if you need it tho hes so sweet at the same time

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

though he likes the convenience, especially as you’re both busy people, he much prefers when he can take his time with you and properly go multiple rounds

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

he can be real cheeky and smug, loves teasing you in semi-public situations. he’s down to experiment, mostly to have fun. doesn’t mind doing it if there’s a slight risk but wouldn’t wanna do it like in public

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

absolutely insane. from how much he works out to his relatively clean diet to his high test levels he can go for a while. tends to bust a little prematurely but he makes up for it in how many rounds he can go

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

doesn’t use them a ton but he def sees them as an ally, not a threat. prefers using them on you but he’s not opposed to them being used on himself aswell

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

very much so, but he also enjoys being teased. if you’re in a meeting he’ll love to have a hand on your thigh trailing dangerously high while you’re talking, trying his hardest to break your focus and embarrass you

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

he’s def on the louder side, not afraid to be whimpering, groaning and grunting all in your ear and it’s so fuckinf sexy he reminds me of those memes like “other dudes be afraid to moan in bed but i’m in my girls ear like”

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

has threesome/gangbang fantasies with you and the guys from 141, but he would literally never say anything to any of the guys nor you cause he’s worried about making things awkward with them. he could maybe maybe consider asking ghost

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

oooh do i have thoughts abt this 😭😭

so very thick and long. not the biggest (my man könig) but it’s very substantial. 6-7 inches hard and if the length doesn’t get you then the width WILL it feels like you’re getting SPLIT. base color #a95840 with a slightly lighter and redder tip

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

very. it doesn’t take a lot to get him going and on a good day he can go 3 rounds. whenever you’re in the mood, he’s in the mood and ready to go.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

as previously stated after he busts you got like 2 minutes before he’s knocked the fuck out and probably pinning you down with him. he can’t help it he’s so content and warm and he’s just gonna wanna take a nap

+ i plan on doing the rest of 141 and könig versions too :)

[ranna-alga]

I think about this conversation between Ellie and Tommy in TLOU2 a lot, particularly this line, because what if it was Ellie that died instead of Joel?

(Disclaimer: this text will make absolutely zero sense probably since I put very little thought into it and there are likely some plot holes. You can choose to dislike it or not but this is all hypothetical so let me have my depressingly whimsical wonders here)

Imagine it this way: Joel's death scene pretty much plays out the same way as it does canonically, except that the roles are reversed: Joel is the one who is pinned down and forced to watch Ellie be brutally murdered in front of him. Perhaps, in whatever way, Abby's group discover that she's The Immune Girl™ that Joel killed almost the entire Saint Mary's hospital for - the reason why Abby's father was murdered. If she's here, and is still as close with Joel as Abby may assume, then he couldn't be that far (say that members of the group saw Joel and Ellie moving together for a while before taking separate directions for whatever reason or something). The plan was to originally kill Joel, but Abby can't help but think: why do they get to live a picture-perfect life with each other as father and daughter, when he was the one who robbed me and my actual father of that life and she was the reason my father was in that position in the first place? How can he commit the sin and live without consequence after? Knowing that Joel would be looking for Ellie, the attack on her would start and continue even when Joel finds her and is made to watch - a sort of 'you took away the thing I cared about the most in this world, so now I will do the same to you and make you feel the pain I felt' message to Joel from Abby.

This would have been the second time he watched his daughter die. The second time he lost the one thing he lived for. The second time he's failed - as a protector, as a survivor, as a father. He had only four years with her, two of which was lost due to her anger towards him for what he did at Salt Lake City. And only the night before her murder did she confide in him about possible forgiveness, only for that to be taken from him? For her to be taken from him? After everything he did for her to ensure her safety, even if it meant the cost of her trust in him. Every part of him that died alongside Sarah was brought back to life slowly but surely thanks to this girl who stole his heart in only one year after two decades of being an empty shell of violence and resentment towards the world and himself.

His biggest fear came true - losing Ellie, failing her too - and it happened right in front of his eyes, just like Sarah.

Remember when it was heavily implied that both Tommy and Joel had a very violent and vicious past during the early years of the apocalypse where they were their darkest selves? Joel would have likely reverted back to that in this scenario. Absolutely nobody in Seattle will be safe. That man would turn that militarised city into a fucking ghost town, no doubt about it.

As for Tommy... Would he have been the same? Would he also want vengeance for Ellie as much as Joel did? Or would the pain of having another niece die + watching his brother descend into bloodlust and resentment again be simply too much to bare? Could he tolerate losing his brother and not get him back this time ever again?

It took twenty years after Sarah's death to find solace in life thanks to Ellie. He can't wait another twenty for another one - he can never go back, never again. He failed to save the lives of those he cared for (Sarah, Tess, Sam/Henry) and he feared the same for Ellie. But at least they made it into Jackson, their new home, alive and safe. But now? What more does he have to live for? How much more stronger would his self-hatred become for failing again and again and again where he can no longer see the light Ellie brought to him?

Knowing now that the surgeon he killed was Abby's father, he probably thinks it was an error to kill him instead of just knocking him out so that this WLF ambush costing Ellie's life wouldn't happen. But one thing he's certain he doesn't regret? Dooming humanity of a cure, because taking both of his daughters away from him proved Joel's decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies: to him, humanity didn't deserve to be saved, not anymore.

TLDR; I may be aromantic asexual but I'm still a proud Joel Miller simp who loves the thought of Joel in the bloody Santa Barbara appearance Ellie had in the canon TLOU2. No shame.

[esoteriamaya]

"There's something so different about you, I cant put my finger on it..." Neptune Trine Ascendant and The Mysteries Beyond This Realm

Neptune trining the ascendant people have an attitude towards life that can be pretty optimistic when the inner child is allowed to wonder. These people have a knack for connecting with other realms in their imagination. Their inspiration can come from the mundane life so they tend to take what they see and make it better. Their beliefs are uncanny to some, interesting to many. Whimsical lovers of the universe, their is so much hidden in them that others try to discover. When an individual finds their way to their domain, they immediately aren't able to describe how it feels to be around a Neptune trine ascendant person, but it is mainly felt. This could cause confusion, considering since Neptune is the illusionary planet others may be prone to putting certain descriptions on them that doesnt truly reach the surface of who they are.

Having Neptune Trine the Ascendant means you either have Neptune in your 4th/5th, or 8th/9th house. Whichever house it is in is what shows up on the surface in your day to day.

Anything that seems to be of the imagination may be real.

ghost? fairies? unicorns? they may believe these to be true while others may tell them to put the fairytale books down.

Their inner child never stopped believing in the wonders of what could be. Because remember, believing it is to see it. Not the other way around ;)

Neptune trine ascendant individuals have an amazing, captivating aura. You CAN see it, however like I said before its not easy to grasp or describe, mainly felt. These people can be like aliens amongst the common folk. Its something different about them. People try to describe them so they could mimic em, but it never works.

Neptune trine ascendant holders are the stars that came down from the cosmos and are shining their mysteriously light into the world. They attract so many to them because its like looking into a dream. Their presence its able to put you in a daze, and in a blink of an eye. their gone!

These people are also good at shapeshifting! SHAPE. SHIFTERS. they can use art to transform their style and turn into a different being/person like no other. how do they do it? we'll never know. its in their blood.

magic runs in their vains, and they are good at attracting what they want because they understand frequencies/energy and Quantum psychics/reality shifting very well.

dont ask them how they do it, because the way they explain it may 'confuse' you.

did I mention their also tricksters? ;)

[imkazz]

Can u do me a favor & drop that genmui playlist u mentioned? Also which song of that playlist is your personal favorite?

Maybe I’ll find a new song to obsess over <3

yessss (the description i have for the playlist is "pov we're teenagers in love and about to bleed out but i want to kiss you -genya" and that perfecty sums up how i feel about their relationship in the canon universe (not kimegaku) its sorta like right person wrong time) my favourite circulates but right now its "i wanna be your boyfriend" because it just feels like genya swooning over mui and it sounds so silly (i put them all in chronological order of how their love story lolll)

i wanna be your boyfriend - hot freaks

i wanna be you boyfriend, i wanna go on walks with you, i wanna have long talks with you (it just sounds like genya pining over mui what can i say)

hey lover - the daughters of eve

life's a problem in my hands, but if you really, really love me, in my heart, you'd be a big man (hey lover just sounds like something they would call each other)

beautiful boy - john lennon

beautiful beautiful beautiful, beautiful boy (just how he sings it is so sweet and how i imagine mui saying it to genya)

say yes to heaven - lana del ray

say yes to heaven, say yes to me, i've got my eye on you, i've got my eye on you (i could imagine genya whispering this in the middle of the night to mui)

paper rings - taylor swift

i like shiny things, but i'd marry you with paper rings, uhuh, that's right, darling, you're the one i want, and i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this (whimsical childish thinking that they would both survive the final fight)

i wanna be yours - arctic monkeys

secrets i have held in my heart are harder to hide than i thought, maybe i just wanna be yours (just them reciting their vows, both bleeding out and ready to die)

see you again - tyler the creator & kali uchis

can i get a kiss? and can you make it last forever, i said i'm 'bout to got to war, and i don't know if i'ma see you again (they're going to war and the song sounds like teenage love)

derniere danse - indila

je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit, je danse avec le vent, la pluie, un peu d'amour, un brin de miel (translation has really pretty symbolism and it sounds like battle edit music)

daylight - david kushner

oh i love it and i hate it at the same time, hidin' all of our sins from the daylight, from the daylight, runnin' from the daylight (genya flashing back to his backstory)

muichiro tokito theme - samuel kim

0:31 - 0:45 (love the accompaniment of the bell with the rest of the growing music)

džanum - teya dora

ova duša nema dom, ova duša nema ton, crne zore, svеće gore, moje morе, moje more, moje more (the translation. omg.)

mr loverman - ricky montgomery

i'm mr loverman, oh, and i miss my lover, i've shattered now, i'm spilling out (genya worrying over mui during the battle. mic drop.)

softcore - the neighborhood

i'm too consumed with my own life, are we too young for this? feels like i can't move, sharing my heart, it's tearing me apart (they really were too young, and genya's fear of being useless)

chandelier - sia

i'm holdin' on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes, keep my glass full until morning light, 'cuz i'm just holdin' on for tonight (desperation to stay alive long enough to be useful during the fight)

wildest dreams - taylor swift

he's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad, but he does it so well, and when we've had our very last kiss, my last request is; say you'll remember me (mui just thinking genya would survive and he would die)

titanium - david guetta & sia

i'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away, ricochet, you take your aim, fire away, fire away (muichirou telling genya to shoot even though genya could've shot him)

somewhere only we know - keane

and if you have a minute why don't we go, talk about it somewhere only we know, this could be the end of everything, so why don't we go, somewhere only we know (it sounds sad and the lyrics could imply an already-present relationship)

blood//water - grandson

we'll never get free, lamb to the slaughter, what you gon' do when there's blood in the water? (guilting kokushibo over killing two children)

[kooki914]

We all know how you feel about chapter 2, so how would you "fix" the issues with the chapter?

This is the kind of ask that would've made me go apeshit in excitement a few years ago. TL;DR, I made an AU specifically addressing all my issues with Chapter 2 (and the future of deltarune as a whole), it's called Kingdomrune and you can find it here.

If you want the in-depth explanation, continue under the cut.

First and foremost, visual overhaul of cyber city. It kills me because the concept art for the city that was released recently looks gorgeous but something is just lost in translation when trying to make the concept art a playable area rather than just a purely visual piece of art that you can take in at your own pace. Limiting the palette and making it a bit more muted is the option I pivoted to for Kingdomrune, but I'm admittedly not very good with colours, so make of the result what you will

(Added bonus - there's a parallax effect in the windows of the buildings that reflect the rest of the city, what would usually be street lights is replaced with wi-fi antennae that visually call back to the cliffs, a lot of the floating ads are, instead, replaced with "bug checkers" and loading icons which are animated but not so fidgety to be distracting, and a lot of the "blocky" looking items (trash cans and balloons) are more just stylized in-universe rather than actually clashing with the rest of the environment.) (Also, I hate "WELCOME TO THE CITY" so just imagine "a cyber's world" being the theme of the city instead)

Additionally, the city shouldn't be 90% of the chapter, it just gets boring after a while. My solution to this is splitting the City into two parts, the iconic Cyber City as the second of the two, with the lead-up to it being a place called Hardware Outskirts. I don't have spritework for it, nor presentable concept art sadly, so just imagine a cross between old soviet brutalist buildings and old yellowed computer hardware, and you've pretty much got the mental visual for it. The music I associate with it is anything by Molchat Doma, but more specifically This Song, which adds a necessary tonal contrast to the City's vibrant feel.

Second of all, SOME KIND of conflict in the wider world outside just the kids' adventure. There's hints scattered throughout the game that Queen is planning something big in the city and that nothing's running on time because of it, but we don't get explicit payoff for that. My way of resolving this, and tying it back to the light world, is that Cyber City is essentially at war with the rest of the library.

The new tech is trying to conquer and replace the books and stories that have been there much longer, and the Bookbound Kingdom (in my version of events, at it's head are the card queens that are missing in chapter 1) is fighting tooth and nail to keep the "Evil" Queen at bay. The Bookbound Kingdom is themed after fairytales and textbooks and stuff, the kinds of things kids would most often check out at the library, and it would provide a very necessary tonal and visual contrast to the Cyber City that actually makes it's GOOD aesthetic and thematic choices pop. Where the Bookbound kingdom is wild and whimsical and outdated, Queen's kingdom is rigid and complex and new.

It also gives Queen a reason to ransack the first area like we (implicitly) see her doing in the game. She's actually, violently trying to take over Bookbound and that's when she found Noelle, and decided to kidnap her. Sweet Cap'n Cakes get a bit of a rewrite as well, originally Queen's scouts and allies until the protagonists befriend them through dancing during their battle, which causes them to turn on Queen because their new friends treat them better than she's treating them at the moment (giving us in-universe characters reacting to Queen's change in character caused by the fountain that, in-game, is just told to us rather than shown).

Thirdly, write out Berdly. Entirely. This is probably a controversial take, but I genuinely think Berdly's arc would benefit from having his OWN chapter dedicated to HIM specifically (one I dubbed chapter 2.5 in my AU), instead of him being at odds with Noelle for screen time. Setting up a context where Berdly's the character very clearly out of his own depth and not thriving with people claiming to be helping him, is a much more compelling way to get (me specifically) invested. Put emphasis on Berdly and Noelle being friends and him overcoming his comphet crush on her, no more weird love triangle shit with him inserting himself into Susie and Noelle's business, and most of all, Ralsei and Kris bonding with him in their own ways. Give Kris a REASON to forgive Berdly for the way he treated them, give the two common ground and let Berdly GROW into someone who WANTS to be nice to Kris, rather than whatever the hell happened at the end of Deltarune's chapter 2.

And lastly, I need to talk about Noelle. Like, a lot.

While she was (and still is) my favourite part of Chapter 2, there's still improvements to be made. For one, going from "freezing up completely at conflict" to "ACTing with kris to spare enemies" after just ONE conversation with Virovirokun that completely breaks the flow of battle is... kind of odd to me. In my rewrite, Noelle's first escape from Queen is with SCC involved, they target Noelle as a lightner they can beat (because they can't beat the heroes) and in doing so essentially open her cage. Queen is furious with them and while Susie tells Noelle to get the hell out of there, Queen is trying to coerce her to stay, and Noelle is frozen in place. She doesn't WANT to stay with Queen, but she's rooted in one spot and can't move. When something loud/startling happens, it FINALLY makes her budge and she's able to run away.

Freeze -> Flight

When Noelle first joins Kris' party in Hardware Outskirts, it's not because Susie and Ralsei ditched Kris out of nowhere with weird traffic cones to block them (??? im still salty about that), rather it's because there's a two-way puzzle (kind of like the December puzzle) that makes Kris' team split up in two, and Susie chooses to go with Ralsei because she trusts Kris'll be fine on their own. For context, in my AU there's also chapter 1.5 where the team more firmly learns how to work together, specifically through Kris learning how to bond with them one at a time, so Kris trying to cling to Ralsei and Susie in chapter 2 is weird from those two's perspective because Kris should know by now that a team of two will be fine, the three of them don't need to stick together like glue all the time. Susie and Ralsei aren't completely out of the picture, for the record, they're still checking in on Kris and Noelle and making sure they're okay, even distracting Queen to give them opportunities to get out of dodge. (again, instead of the weird love triangle stuff, I still don't know why that's there in-game.)

Noelle at first runs from every battle that happens. Kris has to fight every darkner on their own, leaving them at a huge disadvantage, because Noelle is too scared to fight them. As you may have guessed, this makes the snowgrave route not possible the moment Noelle enters your party (I'll get to that). Noelle eventually gets forced into battles with Kris during a car chase minigame, where they compete with Ralsei and Susie to see who can take out more enemies in a semi-enemy rush. The problem is, Noelle still doesn't contribute, and when the teams get separated, Kris ends up encountering WareWarewire, who they can't hope to defeat on their own, and at THIS point Noelle runs away again, which opens up the option for KRIS to flee as well (essentially unlocking a new mechanic). Once they're both safe and enter Cyber City, Noelle starts to feel bad for constantly leaving Kris on their own, and asks them to tell her what to do next battle, because she wants to be stronger.

Freeze -> Flight -> Fight

THIS is where the snowgrave offshoot can happen. Once Noelle is with you during battle willingly, she listens to your every command and that can include freezing/killing enemies if you so choose. You can completely erode the positive aspects of her development and ingrain "fight" as the only valid response to stress to her, which undermines the journey she went on for the sake of making battles more convenient for the player. This entire portion of the game after Noelle joins your party would be specifically curated to not make it feel bloated when seeking out enemies and doing puzzles no matter which route you take.

On a normal route, Noelle's character continues to progress steadily, but the one thing she still refuses to do are spelling puzzles, with a bit of emphasis put on it. Her and Kris bond for the first time in a long time without being interrupted by Berdly or Queen, and in the end, she's able to help you do the December puzzle. Together, Noelle and Kris are able to move past their trauma, at least partly, and become closer friends than they were before.

Before the December puzzle, though, there's a miniboss, and instead of a Berdly, this section would actually feature Rouxls as a miniboss. In my mind, he's using the boat as a way to traverse a minesweeper puzzle and tries to stop Kris and Noelle in order to give them over to Queen. On a normal route beating him always leaves him somewhat injured and fleeing, with Noelle worried about his safety. In a snowgrave route, Rouxls is painfully outmatched and while Noelle isn't particularly invested in his safety as an individual, after being forced to do Snowgrave she's in shock, both because of what she did, but also because Lancer leaves your inventory to check on Rouxls.

Oh yeah Lancer, remember Lancer? He was here the whole time!!! Your actions have consequences.

He's very clearly distraught and doesn't fully understand what happened to Rouxls, and his distress at his "lesser dad" being unwell and dying without him being able to do anything rings a little too close to home for Noelle, who's losing her own dad to illness that she can't really stop. She leaves the scene, feeling responsible and out of place, while Lancer stays by Rouxls and refuses to go back to Kris' pocket. Kris enters the mansion without Queen trapping them and encounters Susie and Ralsei inside, grateful Kris caught up to them but confused at Lancer's absence. The rest of the snowgrave route would play out as expected, Spamton taking over the mansion and Susie trying to help Noelle even if she doesn't really know what's going on. Same with the light world, except Noelle doesn't have an "oh Berdly, you overwork yourself too much" moment, rather she has an imposter syndrome moment with Kris and Susie coming to the library together and, apparently, being there long enough that its late in the day and neither of them bothered to wake her up to hang out with her. She's glad the dream is over, but the waking world isn't much better.

On a normal route, though, Lancer helps get you out of the cages and rooms Queen put everyone in. In my AU, he doesn't turn to stone (lore bending go brrr) and instead lets the team do their own thing and find Noelle and the fountain while he goes and looks for his lesser dad. And then there's the mansion. God the mansion. This is such a nitpick but I hate that in-game it geometry makes no sense, so I literally devised a map in which the progression essentially stays the same but the building kind of actually makes sense.

(Bonus - specifically mapping out how her giant robot body upholds the mansion/where each body part is referenced and is most visible)

Once Noelle is rescued, she briefly joins the rest of the team before deciding to help them in her own way, disabling security that Queen has around the fountain in order to grant them access from the inside (because she's still scared of confronting Queen). There's only one fight against Queen, also, none of the giant mecha stuff. She has her speech about the Knight as the protagonists approach and Noelle is already caught on her hand. Noelle is essentially stuck and forced to watch the whole fight as the gang try and fail to set her free, or beat the shit out of Queen. Either way, when they seem to have the upper hand, Queen pulls out a second giant hand and knocks them all down. Tired and almost defeated, Queen turns to Noelle and releases her from the hand, telling her to make another fountain, just like in the base game, threatening Susie if Noelle doesn't comply. Noelle turns around and stands up to Queen, just like in the base game, and in response Queen rethinks what she did. She tells Noelle to choose the world that makes her happy, and uses the giant hands that kept the kids trapped as a makeshift throne that she sits down on and gets carried out of the scene with.

On their own, the kids slowly recover while Susie and Noelle still muse about how much better the dark world is compared to the light world. When Susie offers they open a fountain on their own terms, Ralsei stops her and explains the roaring. Essentially the same as the base game from here on out, except Noelle comes with Kris and Susie once the fountain is closed, filling in the gap on Kris' right when closing the fountain that Ralsei will (hopefully) one day fill.

The rest of what I'm about to lay out is pure wish fulfillment and is less "fixing" chapter 2 and more just adding things I want to see:

Susie tells Noelle the dark worlds are real after she wakes up on a normal route, and offers to take her to Castletown since that's basically a permanent dark world without any of the immediate danger. Noelle promises to keep it a secret, visits her dad at the hospital, then visits Ralsei with Kris and Susie. While those two eventually leave to explore Hometown, Noelle decides to stay in Castletown with Ralsei for the rest of the day. She has a lot to learn from him when it comes to magic and the dark world, and I just want them to be besties.

There's explicit references to Berdly in Cyber City mostly as an homage to the fact that he was once part of the story line of it. They reinforce that Susie and Kris don't like Berdly (kind of like how some of the Hometown kids talk about not liking Susie, it's framed as kind of childish and closed off), while Noelle kind of defends his intentions as positive at their core. It's entirely setup for ch2.5 where Berdly is slowly redeemed not because Noelle holds his hand through his character development, but rather because Kris and Susie are antagonists that want better for him than his so-called allies of the chapter do.

Ralsei and Noelle also have a brief bonding moment in Cyber City, mostly revolving around Noelle being curious as to who Ralsei even is, and him genuinely not having an answer to that question. It reinforces Ralsei's identity crisis during the chapter as well as shows why Noelle is so well liked by other kids in class (she's perceptive and tries to get everyone involved even if she doesn't know them that well).

All in all I think most of the things that would "fix" the chapter for me could genuinely take a lot of the whimsy out of it for other people. I prefer more sombre and subtle emotional beats, but the original chapter 2 was very clearly not aiming for that, and people enjoy it for its peppiness and hype in a way that I just can't. To me it feels forced and unearned, to other people it feels entirely natural and warranted. There's no one way to appeal to everyone and, outside of the structural problems of the chapter (not idiot-proofing the maps so I got lost and frustrated for a while, no save in front of Berdly's fight for snowgrave reasons and not taking into account that the battle is difficult on a normal playthrough and quick resets would be necessary for people not that great at the game, the general unnecessary fluff around that weird teacup puzzle where Noelle is there in the party as well and it's just a very confusing portion of the chapter that doesn't even lead into anything later on that unironically made me scrap the idea of the teacups for Kingdomrune altogether, etc) that could be fixed with trimming fat or just quality of life small tweaks. There's nothing Fundamentally wrong with chapter 2, it's just not what I wanted out of the game, personally. So, if you don't like my rewrite, more power to you. It's literally meant to appeal to just me and no-one else lmao

[amaiguri]

Worldbuilding My Magic System FOR REAL

So Yssaia has HAD a pretty developed magic system for a while. And to recap it for you... I'm going to paste my half of me raving about this on Discord (thank you to @zebee-nyx and @galacticsand and @reaperofcrows for being so cool and letting me be an unhinged worldbuilding mad lad XD):

"What is Ysse?"

So the way Ysse works is its basically invisible dust floating in the air. And if it hits itself at certain velocities and in certain volumes, "spontaneous effects" happen -- like water materializing out of "nowhere" or fire exploding or wind gusts. You're limited a little by Avatar Last Airbender bending logic (you can't summon fully sapient creatures, you can't teleport, you can't control people's minds unless you're like... touching their nervous system, etc.)

So Mages invented the first writing as a way to record what patterns of movement did what. And eventually, used them to communicate these patterns as a shorthand for more generalized concepts...

So writing also got invented sometimes BEFORE agriculture...

"How precise do these movements/velocities need to be?"

It needs to be PRETTY precise. And this is why the average person CAN'T learn magic -- because Ysse in low amounts is invisible to the average person

But mages can see Ysse, which helps a lot. And they can see these shapes OCCURING in the natural world too -- when the wind blows, its because Ysse particles FORMED the Wind Rune/Sigil in the sky BUT this still doesn't guarantee that they cast any spells if they don't have the physical discipline too

So, in theory, "anyone" COULD move their hands PERFECTLY to spontaneously start a fire. But they PROBABLY won't

"How does this impact the natural world?"

This is also how animals and plants can do magic too. Tree roots in the north have roots that have specific patterns that warm up the soil, so snow can actually MELT and give them water and the tree doesn't die

And this is also my excuse for why so many things have bunny ears -- normally, long ears in colder-than-average climates (i.e. All of Yssaia) would be bad. But in Yssaia, these long ears are convergently evolving to channel Ysse. What they channel, exactly, I haven't decided (probably heat lol or something to increase air density so sound travels farther???)

AND all this is ALSO why the Demons are such an abomination -- because their Blood Magic doesn't obey particle physics, they just fucking do whatever they want

"Why do you need to know all this?"

The question at this point, I guess, is basically "How do I make fantasy technology that looks whimsical but also looks at least hypothetically functional under closer scrutiny?"

Yeah, and the full Answer TM to that right now is just <insert the entire design philosophy I haven't discovered yet here>

"So how IS magic going to shape technology, when you design it for the Untitled Yssaia Video Game?"

...Yeah, okay, after brainstorming all this, I think here's my strategy for how I'm going to tackle technology:

Step 2) Create a master list of technologies I will worry about/actually visualize in the game I will want to keep an OPEN LIST so I can add more things to it as I do research/find really specific use cases (such as scrollcases or chopstick holders)

Step 1) Establish symbols for a handful of common things in both the North and the South that at least vaguely make sense with the concept of the particles. So things like: - Fire/Heat - Water/Melt - Ice/Slow - Wind/Quicken - Earth/Apply Force - Sun/Light - Moon/Closing/Locking (Thanks to @zebee-nyx for this one!)

Step 3) Design simple sprites for things that can later be shrunk down and used as set-dressing for maps BUT at a little bigger in scale so they can be shown to other people sensibly (maybe on the same sheet at the walking animations for scale?)

AND WITH THAT, after 5 years of only vaguely imagining all this, this is what I designed, using a combination of symbols I had already designed and dice that I pushed around on my desk to see what kind of patterns they'd make:

Are some of these a little funky and don't really work with real particle physics? Yeah, fair. I'll take notes, if you got 'em. I'm open to critique, if you wanna lol

Last comment that didn't make it into the big discussion with my buds tonight: Ysse particles are how temperature is distributed. So, hot areas have fewer, cold areas have more. I know that isn't how thermodynamics work but does anyone else really?

(Something something eldritch horror thermodynamics post... And my magic-god is an eldritch horror! See? It's perfect!)

Thank you for coming to my #WorldbuildingWednesday post! If you liked this, don't forget to REBLOG and follow the #Yssaia tag or something🥰 (Are calls-to-action cringe? Publicly shame me, if so)

[mscapgras]

does anyone have any neat headcanons about pyrovision? i'll start.

i like to think of pyrovision as the lasting effects of medicine the medic is prescribing to pyro, think like quaaludes. medic implies that they're to help pyro's manic tendencies, but really it's extremely experimental medicine that makes pyro even more manic.

SUPER HEADCANON TERRITORY but i imagine pyro was one of the first mercs hired to work for mannco. whisking her away from the mental hospital she was put into after burning her husband and two kids alive, the company expected to have a easy, gullible psychopath that they wouldn't have to convince to light people on fire. The exact opposite happened, and Pyro was TERRIFIED once on the battlefield. Engineer's response to this was to be friendly! allowing pyro to stick around his buildings and help defend. Medic though was asked by higher ups in the company to develop some kind of mood stabilizer to make pyro essentially a zombie who would follow orders, and ofcourse medic agreed to this, even if he might have gone a little overboard.

It basically makes all their emotions go to extremes. Pyro sees something boring? Blech! they're all just grey blobs. If she hears anything they have no interest in it just becomes white noise. this part of the comic highlights this pretty well

If Pyro is engaged with something they like though, it becomes much more fun and whimsical. Fire is most often the thing that triggers this response. similar to this following part in the comic.

i imagine what we see in "Meet The Pyro" is the medicine doing its absolute most. Pyro's completely gone, can't even recognize the other team as human beings, and is seeing all sorts of things. She's essentially a helpless passenger in her body in this state.

I do think that, either from the general experimental nature of the medicine, or from pyro just neglecting to take it, they probably have varying degrees of sobriety in short bursts. she still doesn't remember who she used to be, or what she's doing at Mannco. , but she can more properly engage in discussions with her friends, like engie and pauling.

there are a lot of holes in this headcanon i'm aware, like how was pyro still high out of her mind after being fired and no longer receiving pills from medic? but idk, i just like this idea. feel free to ask any questions about it since im sure ive messed some stuff up. i'm not great at writing as you can tell.

Overall, TD;LR, Medic is using pyro as a guinea pig for medical experiments with cray cray drugs.

[raw-law]

Just curious....what is your favorite book? Fiction and/or non-fiction

Light:

Well, my favourite fictional book probably's got to be Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The name may be a mouthful, but I quite enjoy his whimsical collection of short stories. They're imaginative, and provide a much-needed break from the world with their creativity and resonance with many people. Personally, I really enjoy it, and you might wanna check it out someday!

My favourite non-fiction book, on the other hand, has been a book I've read recently: How to Be Perfect, by Michael Schur. It's a beginner's guide to philosophy, in easy-to-understand language, and it's the perfect guide--if I do say so myself--if you're looking to get closer to the subject.

There's another one which I also find rather interesting: Why Politics Fails, by Ben Ansell. The title is pretty self-explanatory, and he talks about five main political 'traps': the democracy trap (no will of the people), the equality trap (equality of rights being undermined by equality of outcomes), the solidarity trap (what we want for ourselves not being what we want for others), the security trap (wanting protection but not at the cost of our freedoms) and lastly, the prosperity trap (what we want now shortchanging the future). I heavily recommend this comprehensive guide to politics if you're interested in that kinda thing!

Sorry this turned out a little long---hopefully the bolding, italicising, and text colour helped with comprehensiveness---but thanks for the ask all the same, Anon. I quite liked answering your refreshing question.

L:

... this might be where i have to admit that i prefer my non-fiction media in video essay form... because the only books i can think of are fiction. and even then, they're more on the shorter or childish side. i guess i'm not that much of a reader, at least in the sense of seeking books out on my own accord.. whoops.

my favorite book might just be If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. yes, i do know it's a child's tale, but it's the only book i can think of that i really enjoyed. i also remember being fond of Margaret Haddix's The Missing series. i only read the first book and never picked it up again, but i did like it when i was younger. so i guess there's that too. hopefully that counts..?

light wins on this ask. like i said, i prefer things in video form. but thank you for the ask anyhow, anon.

[uriekukistan]

hello hello!! Here with some asks for you ^^ !!

What is your favorite thing about Megumi? Like a trait or maybe a certain thing he does :)

Who were you rooting for while Watching Death Note? :D I see a lot of people that say they were rooting for both L and Light so I'm curious!

What is your favorite thing about writing?

What are some musical artists you listen to! :D ( list as many as you want!)

Did you know that you're a great fic writer? Cuz you are!! >:3 ( I feel like I tell you this almost every time I interact with you but you actually are like my favorite itafushi writer) (I'M SO HYPED FOR SUMMER LOVIN' CHAPTER 3, WHENEVER YOU RELEASE IT!!)

What is the fandom you're most active in besides JJK? :)

How do you describe your fashion sense? :3

I'll probably ask more another time!! If you don't want to answer some of these you don't have to! Answer the ones you want :)

Don't forget to take care of yourself!! <3 Take breaks and just breathe ^^

<3!

hiii thank u sm for the asks :3 hope youre doing well !!

1 - hmmm this was hard to narrow down so i'll talk abt a specific scene that's been on my mind. okay ig honestly the detention center is Always on my mind because it's the first time we get a really good look at megumi's character and what he values. but mostly i was thinking abt the part where megumi takes the name tag from the guy he was so adamant about not saving for his mom. i don't think he changed his mind, but to me, it just shows how much he cares about his friends. like i think when he originally took it, it was so he could give it to yuuji so he could give it to the guy's mom, but then when he thought yuuji was dead, he delivered it as a way to pay respect dkfgjhd idk current top megumi moment

2 - nowadays when i rewatch it im team near & mello actually🤞 and pretty anti-light, but i think the first time i watched it, i was so wrapped up in the back & forth between light & l that i probably did root for both this was like 10 years ago tho so i dont remember fs 😭

3 - ooh i think like. in terms of writing fanfic its like when i was a kid & played w dolls like it gives me the same type of feeling, but also i've always been the type to use imagination as escapism, so being able to bring the things in my head "to life" is really satisfying as well

4 - kfgdjdkg theres so many im like always listening to something different. recently i started listening to this artist called juliet ivy, her songs are all super relatable and have a rlly whimsical sound too. another artist i'll always promote is dream, ivory, i've been a fan for a while. i've also been into deftones recently. generally im more the type to listen to random songs rather than specific artists

5 - THANK UUU im always a bit hard on myself so its nice to hear that (new summer lovin' chap july 10! i think)

6 - tokyo ghoul probably? i used to be suuuuper active but im more passive w it rn...i need to do a reread of the manga soon (<- been saying this since my jjk era started sorry to my tokyo ghoul oomfs i love u all)

7 - wait this is so hard...ig like misa amane if she was on tumblr in 2016?

thank you againn for the asks <3

[your-local-uwu-artist]

how's the smurfing going?

it's going good! my google doc is at over 5 pages, I got some nice sketches and the responses have been very helpful and fun >:D (shout out to isopod guy) the only problem is trying to not make my bias of who's my favorite smurf to be tooo obvious fndkjsa

plus the constant struggle between needing to do research and rewatch episodes and read wikipedia articles and the fact that i get what i call 'withdraw-l'... bassically I can only go so long before I just gotta doodle fdnjak

anyway: I SUPPOSE i might as well explain what the fuck I've been doing (if anyones noticed a lack of posts in the past handufl od days: the reason for my absence is that I was busy iwth my smurfing fdja )

bassically I've always had a LOT of questions regarding the smurfs, (many of which I've had sense childhood) and it's been plaguing me because nobody else seems to care to answer these questions, I'll be like 'what chemichal do you think makes them blue?' and 'what form of asexual reproduction do you assume they use' and 'i don't think it makes sense that they'd crush on smurfette, i'd imagine their mono-sex mono-gender society wouldn't really have those concepts or well, be heterosexual for that matter' and everyone responds with 'what aere you on' (the autism spectrum) 'why are you asking me this?' (i want to here your answer) and 'it's just a cartoon' (AND SOMETIEMS YOU GOTTA ASK SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT CARTOONS) so I decided if I must do everything myself so be-it.

essentially I'm planning to make a very silly half video essay half my nonsense 'if i was in charge of a smurfs reboot' video. heres some of the doodles so far!

vanity's always been my favorite so i'm having a hard time convincing myself to draw some smurf other than him fndasjkfnask (Azrael has always been my second favorite lol) I'm really excited to draw more fo smurf village! mushrooms houses my beloved <3 tbh the village is def a plus for the live action films, while giving the smurfs eyelids and lashes and pecs did not work I do enjoy seeing cute fantasy mushroom village in a photorealistic style <3

anyway one very fun thing i learned about while researching is about these really pretty very epic and pog mushrooms that are native to new zealend and just the most brilliant shade of blue

these things are blue-tiful! And there are actually pigmented! (a lot of things in nature aren't actually blue and rather the structure of it refelcts light and shit to give it a blue appearance) the thing that gives em the blue pigment is a kind of 'azulene' but somehow just a brighter varient: they're so whimsical looking!

a funny thing I've found just through research is that a LOT of people aren't aware of smurfettes origin story, or thought that the origin story was from the live action films, this is so strange to me cause like ????? it's been there sense the begining comics, and theres plenty of episodes where it's mentioned

I'm also suprised by how many people seem to be fond of the new female smurfs: so I guess I'm on the unpopular side here, I've always imagined them as sorta sexless and generless, and that female smurfs (excluding artificially made ones like smurfette) just discovered and decided they preferred feminine gender expression/presentation. (i do wish i included a question asking if people as kids assumed them sexless, cause i always have)

idk I'm still working through the new cgi series and my cartoon pirating site doesn't have the second season, so maybe I'll change my mind on them

ufdnsjafnsdk sorry for rambling the hyperfixation has taken hold lmao

[not-alien-girl-v]

Hi! I love your blog sm!! Could I pls request the evans with a manic pixie dream girl gf? Or just a Tate fic about having a manic pixie dream girl gf bc Tate is my absolute favourite 🥺 thank you !! <3

The Evans x MPDG

warning: idfk. soon i’m not gonna tag for language because this is tumblr you can’t expect to not see the word fuck

note: no jimmy, rory, austin, or whatever the fuck was in apocalypse because i haven’t bothered to watch seasons 4 and 10, and i just don’t want to write about ginger or bowl cut evan today. sue me. also i feel like i’m missing someone here. if i didn’t write about your favorite character i’m sorry

Tate:

tate is kinda like the sad boy archetype that falls in love with the mpdg in every movie

his life is boring and pointless, then he meets you

he’d write some poem about you, calling you ‘his sunshine, the only light he’d ever known’

and one day you’d drag him to an open mic night at a coffee house and force him to sit amongst the masses

you read out his poem and he’s absolutely mortified

but he waits until you are outside to kiss you, his way of saying thank you

he mostly just entertains your madness, he lets you come to him with all your bullshit things you say and he listens

he never reciprocates it much, never being high energy or whimsical, but he always admires you for it, whether it be by words or just by the adoring way he looks at you

you give all his favorite songs new meanings, you take him to do things he’s never done, and before he realizes it, he’s finally living, instead of merely surviving

you’re truly a spectacle and he never wants to take his eyes off of you

Kit:

he loves how silly you are,, finds it so endearing and pretty

he loves joking around with you like kids, and your spontaneity charms him every time

although sometimes you are a bit much for him

he loves you so much, and he wants to marry you and settle down and have kids

but you’re not sure the words ‘settle down’ will ever be in your vocabulary

it’s nice to have someone solid to fall back on when things crash and burn but he wishes things weren’t always crashing and burning with you

he cares too much about you, and doesn’t want to see you get hurt one way or another

and you’re so magnetic to everyone around you, he’s always terrified of losing you since he never matches the energy you give to him

Kyle:

the most manic pixie dream boy on this list

not kidding either

in a mainstream way, if that makes sense, like you would still have to introduce him to good music

niche but i imagine this song being ‘your song’

often times you butt heads with who gets to take who on an exciting, life changing, world shattering date because you both have something planned

he doesn’t always have the time to be crazy with you, but if you catch him in the right mood, he’d be willing to drop class for the day and drive out of state

late night impromptu dates, like grocery shopping or graveyard visiting

on that note, he’d take you to a graveyard and make up stories about the most unusual graves, like the youngest ones, the ones with strange gravestones or notes, and whoever can make the best story doesn’t have to pay for dinner later

he’d always end up paying, you’re just too good to beat

James:

you’re a breath of fresh air to him, especially once he can’t keep murdering hotel guests anymore

you keep things interesting, eternity in the hotel doesn’t seem so bad when he has you by his side, finding new things to do everyday, throwing him off daily but he loves you for it

he’s very hesitant to do some things, however, like throwing water balloons at people from the roof, but he enjoys the chaos and mild inconvenience it bestows on the victims

and he does love your weird food combinations you come up with on the spot during dinner, he tries to stomach them every time, even when you mix strawberries into your soup

he really doesn’t mind how little you sleep during the night, he doesn’t sleep at all, so he can just spend the empty hours alone with you, which is more than he could ever ask for

he reads you his favorite books from his youth and without fail, you give him a new way to look at the stories, a new perspective on things

he cares an awful lot about you and your eccentricity, and he always avoids saying no to your schemes

Kai:

pisses him tf off

hates when the attention is on you during cult meetings

ignores you and your madness at all times

certainly does NOT get all soft when you’re alone together

absolutely NEVER plays into the little stories you make up on the spot or random impressions you do when you’re bored

DEFINITELY DOES NOT do silly little things like letting you do his makeup to look like you, buying you books of poetry, or flowers that reminded him of you

is in NO WAY effected long term by your spontaneity, certainly he doesn’t enjoy his life 10x more since you came into it and made it inherently better

this is kai anderson we’re talking about, he’d never cuddle up with you and listen to you talk all about your adventures from the day, all the dogs you shook hands with, all the strangers you greeted like friends, the ‘meaningful’ pieces of trash you collected off the ground to plaster on your bedroom walls

no, he’s a cult leader, he would NEVER buy into all that sappy shit

[starswordneo]

In Chapter 2 of Deltarune, Queen says that Neo Dark Fountains could exist. We've got absolutely no clues on what they're about, but we can speculate with a couple safe guesses:

1. A Neo Dark fountain is a Dark world in a Darkworld.

2. This could be a place "Darker then Dark," a place "Dark, Dark, yet Darker."

3. Lightners gain Dark World outfits.

4. Dark Worlds are called a dream, Neo Dark fountains would be a Dream within a Dream

With these in mind, a "Darker World" might give Darkners like Ralsei and Lancer a "Darker World design." Don't know about Kris, Susie and Noelle, either they'll be unchanged, or something else may happen... I'd speculate they'd be hindered somehow by being too far from the light.

A "Darker World" would have it's own "Darkerners," But considering the Dream within a Dream status, I'd imagine it'd be more abstract and strange.

Though, if possible... Imagine a "Hyper Dark Fountain" A Dream within a Dream within a Dream. I imagine a "Hyper Dark Fountain" would be very far gone. Maybe something akin to Yume Nikki. Incredibly abstract and far detached, the "Darkest World." What would a "Darkestner" even be like? Would they be intensely whimsical and nonsensical, or would they be like what you find in the deepest pits of the ocean, considering the liquid nature of Deltarunes Dark worlds.

You could put these worlds in a layer system, Light World -> Dark World -> "Darker World" -> "Darkest World." Of course, I think you could go EVEN deeper, but There'd be pretty bad consequences I imagine. Going too deep into the ocean is a bad idea considering the pressure.

Thinking about this, it's sorta similar to FNaF world, yeah? Layers within layers, things getting more abstract and strange... Perhaps Gaster went too deep and became the "Old Man Consequences." Dark worlds typically have you fall down into them, or layer wise, ARE deeper. It's said Gaster "fell" into his creation.

Either way, I LOVE the idea of Darker Worlds, Darkerners, Darkest Worlds and Darkestners. Creatures getting so abstract until they're barely even related to what's in the Light World.

Plus, the idea of a Darker World Lancer & Ralsei just seem SO COOL to me! I'm imagining they'd simply have more exaggerated designs due to already being Darkners. Queen wants Power from a Neo Dark Fountain, if she gained Darker World powers, she'd be able to do QUITE A LOT considering how Formidable she is. I'd imagine Lancer and Ralsei getting a Power boost too, while the Lightners are weakened.

[writing-till-i-am-dead]

Omori x HoO - Part 3

0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

“Sunny,” Piper said, putting her charmspeak into her words. “I really think you should go lay back down.”

Everyone stood cautious around the boy. His smile was scary. They had no idea what he was capable of. 

“I just want to have something to eat,” Sunny said, which caught her off guard, and not just because it was the first time he had ever formed a sentence. He was surprisingly good at ignoring her charmspeak, which was unnerving. 

“And you can. When you lay back down. We’ll bring you something.”

“No. I need to walk. And move. I need to see everything..”

She stared at him for a long emotion, trying to figure his face out. Aphrodite was a goddess all about emotions, and hey she could not figure this kid out. She remembered when she first met him on the deck when he passed out, when he seemed dazed and terrified. Then when he woke up and he seemed nervous and sheepish. And now he was.. an emotion she couldn’t figure out at all. Manic? Crazy? Wild?

Piper could only imagine how he saw the world. The way he looked at everything was unlike she had ever seen. His eyes always sparkled and seemed so far away, like he saw an alternate version of this world she could only dream of. Which was weird, because the whole demigod thing was already pretty ‘whimsical’ enough. 

“We understand. But you are injured,” she said softly. “It’s for your own safety.”

Once again, he was unaffected. In order to really make the charmspeak work, she had to figure out what he responded to well. But she had no idea what that could be. Sunny was a strange guy. She could not figure him out. He almost reminded her of Nico di Angelo. 

“Please. I-I remember hearing you guys talk in the halls outside my room. Something about ambrosia and nectar..?”

“That only heals demigods. We don’t know if you’re one or not. And if you’re not… it would turn out.. bad.”

Sunny sucked in a breath and Jason took a step forward, ready to fight back if Sunny tried to fight back. But she shot Jason a look to tell him to back off. She has 99.9% sure this guy was no threat. Unnerving, maybe a little, but not threatening. 

“Sunny..” she said slowly, taking a slow step forward. Everyone around watched anxiously, not sure what they should do or say in the moment. “Why do you want to eat with us?”

“I.. um.. you..” It seemed all his words left him suddenly and his face shifted back to a look of skittishness and shyness like it has been. It seemed her charmspeak in that question managed to make him self conscious. Not exactly the reaction she was looking for, but at least it subdued him a little.

He reached into the pocket of his hospital gown and pulled out a paper he had been given by Hazel this morning. 

“It gets lonely.”

The response caught her off guard and she was filled with sympathy. It didn’t surprise her too much, that he got lonely being in his room, but still. 

“Also. I want to see everything. Let me see this new world you all have introduced me to.”

“Ah..” Piper said, reading the paper “That’s.. to be expected.”

Percy peaked over to read the paper and he made a light humming sound, as if he were remembering something. 

He glanced over at Sunny then back at the paper and then to Annabeth. 

Piper was a bit confused before looking back at Sunny. “Just let me talk to my friends about it first. Ok?”

Sunny anxiously and slowly nodded his head. Piper smiled and her and the others all huddled together to figure out what to do next. 

[aspiringsophrosyne]

Episode 7: The Fey Realm.

If high fantasy's your thing, have we got a show for you today. Cursed swordsman, mysterious faerie realms, and grappling with destiny. Just make sure to get your seat before the lights go down.

The Good.

I appreciate Keyleth's freak-out after they realized they were separated from the gnomes and Grog. Too often, when characters don't get a moment to be distraught, it makes the stakes feel lower than they should. Or makes it feel like the cast doesn't care about each other all that much. So that was refreshing. 

Also, good call to split up the group. That makes it easier for the show CRew; no need to figure out how to write and animate seven characters at once. Plus, that divides the audience's attention, making the plot easier to follow. And in smaller groups, it gives individual characters more time to shine.

Serious kudos is deserved for the design of the Fey Wild itself. Young Heller, episode director, and guest for the watch along, nailed it on the head when he described the Realm of the Fey as a character unto itself. Honestly, it comes across as even more alien and other here than it can in the game. Unless the DM wants to change things up, the game mechanics don't vary that much when you hang out there. So it can feel like only another weird area among many, depending on the story you're trying to tell.

Watching Craven Edge soak up Pike's blood from a distance while she's trying to heal, without even a wielder, is disturbing. It gives the impression that if left unchecked, this thing could turn into something even more dangerous than it already is.

Getting rid of Craven Edge was more involved in the stream, so they knew they had to make its destruction here brutal enough that it felt like death for the sword. For my money, they managed it; Grog breaking the sword had the visceral impact of a bone breaking in half. And the small ocean of blood it expels is like all its power and evil being released back into the world.

Holy shit Billy Boyd as Garmelie. He is perfect; the design and Billy's performance are just spot on what I would imagine a native fey creature to act like. Whimsical, self-interested, sort of smart ass, charming as all hell....everything about it is fantastic. I only wish we could've seen more of him. No notes. 

Well, except for Garmelie's notes which....yeah, exactly right. Absolutely accurate to the stream. What a fabulously gross, cheeky little gremlin man.

My reactions to Pike and Scanlan's song, in order:

Oh, is this the song Sam hinted at during the pre-season interviews?

Wow, Ashley and Sam sound great together. They should do more duets.

...Wait, what are those lyrics?

These ridiculous little shits. (<-affectionate)

If you know, you know. But if you don't, it's just a good song.

Don't think we didn't pick up on those nine eyes Vex saw when she was sliding into a bad trip. It's weird and ominous to think that, in this universe, that's still around. And that the person who will trigger the confrontation with that whole thing....technically isn't even born yet.

I can't say enough about how pretty the Fey Realm is. Just....so gorgeous at every point.

And, of course, Cheech Marin is Trinket. Of course, he is.

The Bad. (Or at least not great.)

One thing that bothers me is that there are two angles they tried to hit in this episode that, due to poor execution, just...don't work. One is Percy being a more ineffective guide to the Fey Realm than he thinks he is, and the other is that the Realm Does Not Like the Matron's Champion in general on life vs. death principles.

When Percy warned the half-elves that the forest they were traveling through could pick up on a poor mood, we all knew what would happen. Vax has, understandably, been in a funk for days. So it wasn't hard for the audience to guess that the negativity-detecting plants would take one look at this boy and collectively go: get his ass.

Percy wasn't wrong about the vines; Vax was never going to be able to pass through them unscathed.

Likewise, when the rest of the group seems to think Percy doesn't know where he's leading them or is lost, that idea is undercut by the fact they've just reached the upside-down waterfall. The very same waterfall from Scanlan's vision of where Fenthras was. So the visual tells the audience Percy is actually on the right track, no matter how skeptical of him the group is in-universe.

As for Vax, the encounter with the mood forest muddles the idea that the Fey Realm is against him because it doesn't like death-aligned individuals in general. 

Because Vax was initially attacked due to his emotional state, the potential takeaway was that the Fey Realm doesn't like bad vibes. And Vax is nothing but bad vibes right now.

It's another case of the script and the dialogue telling us one thing while what's actually happening tells us something contradictory. It's frustrating.

More Grog nerfing....eh. Makes a little more sense than some of the Season 1 moments, and it makes the fight in Episode 10 go even harder, but it still feels a little cheap to me. If I'm going to be nitpicky.

And that's about it. Next is a good one folks. See you there.

[ivorybled]

╰ ┈ [ maddison jaizani , twenty eight , cis woman , she/her ] in the time of dragons , KYRA MARTELL is entering the game of thrones . said to be freethinking + whimsical , we can only hope that is the case as regrettably they are also well known to be capricious + intransigent . when asked about them , people are always reminded of hands never without a goblet full with dornish wine , high pitched giggles accompanied by rosy cheeks , grasping for as much freedom as possible with high ambitions . though they are the LADY OF THE TOWER OF JOY , their true loyalties lie with house martell and rumour has it that if given the choice they would support THEIR FAMILY above all else . those of us in the shadows wish them luck and can only hope they will survive what is to come .

i.

full name : kyra ( pronounced like key-ruh ) martell .

also known as : ky ( pronounced like key ) .

official title : lady of the tower of joy , lady in waiting to azra martell .

age : twenty eight .

gender + pronouns : cis woman + she/her .

orientation : bisexual , biromantic .

relationship status : unwed , unbetrothed .

allegiance : house martell & dorne .

ii.

faceclaim : maddison jaizani .

eye color : brown .

hair color : brown .

dominant hand : right .

height : 5'5"

build : slim .

iii.

weapon of choice : her voice probably poison tbh , not a getting her hands dirty type of girl .

moral alignment : chaotic good .

inspired by : lady kenna ( reign ) , cordelia chase ( btvs ) , young alicent hightower ( hotd ) , rachel greene ( friends ) .

pets : has a tabby cat named sunshine .

iv.

always one drawn to beauty and exquisite sights , kyra has always viewed the world in a positive light , despite learning lessons the hard way in her youth . she was able to adapt well enough to what others expected of her , even if it was the result of numerous tantrums . not ever accustomed to hearing the response "no" , kyra was raised with whatever she wanted at her fingertips . it helped that her biggest wishes were a pony in her childhood and elegant dresses in her teens , understanding there were rules and appearances to respect . she has been a perfect lady in that regard - always smiling , giggling , and ready to mingle with whoever approaches . it has taken her years to learn how to hold her tongue , sometimes she still forgets , but her intentions are never short of wanting good .

she's never desired anything less than the future that has always been expected of a noble lady - get married , have children , and live your days lavishly with a goblet of wine in your hand . kyra was wildly imaginative as a child and often dreamt of a prince , but now , she strays where she wishes . favorably among the highest of ranking lords , though she is always one to appreciate a pretty face . she just likes looking pretty herself and being left to do as she wishes .

part of her has always yearned for more , though . perhaps not in a responsibility manner , but she adores house martell first and foremost - so when she was tasked with being her cousin azra's lady in waiting , she saw it as a gift of sorts . they feel closer than cousins , siblings would be more fitting , with kyra adoring the other martells as well . she's always been a big family person so wherever she ends up , understand her heart will always belong to dorne .

in present time , kyra holds herself as a presentable young woman , devoted to her lady and interested in the idea of a betrothal ... but of someone truly worthy . she is a girly girl through and through , loves bright colors , and often enjoys being surrounded by gardens or wine ... both are preferred . though still very much spoilt and bratty at times , she has good intentions with less than conventional ways of getting there .

v. - wanted.

betrothal - kyra isn't shy about making it known she wants a family of her own one day , so this would be someone interested in that ! whether they want to marry her bc of her or for other reasons , we can plot this out <3

past flings - mostly sexual partners , though romantic partners are wanted too ! maybe they were just going separate ways or someone's heart got broken ??

gal pals - her inner circle is azra + azra's ladies , but give kyra some more friends to drink and be merry with ! a lot of fun to hang out with , just don't engage in any of her stories bc you'll be there all afternoon .

i'm an angst monster so anything pls hehe