#i actually had to look at what happens directly and... yikes

[natasha-in-space]

Hey mia what kind of dynamic would yoosung and saeran have in between them on the context of yoosung good/normal ending (aka saeran had blinded yoosung in one eye).

So in the yoosung valentine dlc, seven was in his jokester mood we have known him to have, which makes me speculate that between the good/normal ending and the valentine dlc (which are quite some years apart since in the latter yoosung is in his mid-late 20s) seven had rescued saeran and rika was secretly rehabilited without her being exposed of her crimes.

Seven would not keep his jokester facade and is also likely to leave rfa if he knew saeran was not okay (something he had discovered in that very route).

So with the assumption of seven rescuing saeran shortly after yoosung route and saeran meeting the rest of the rfa including yoosung. What kind of dynamic would the two have. I see both the potential for angst and some heartwarming moments as well

Pretty much the same as in SE, but with even more added trauma and guilt between them specifically.

MM endings are rather open to interpretation, so there are a lot of ways to imagine your own individual story playing out. I personally like it about them! So, it is very much a possibility that Mint Eye does get discovered and dismantled eventually, and that the twins do reunite. If we're taking a safer route, with Saeyoung staying with the RFA, and everyone working together without any added drama, then it'll pretty much play out similarly to the second SE.

Saeran will be recovering at the hospital until a specific point, and after that, he will be staying with Saeyoung in his bunker. How that whole thing plays out, and how differently it is from the SE, is completely up to you.

That said, I do think Yoosung will handle the whole crisis a bit more maturely, as well as play a more active role. If we're taking his character development in the duration of his route into account, he is way more determined to do whatever he can to help.

He also has a strong support system by his side in this scenario, so his issues concerning Rika will be resolved more painlessly and in a much healthier manner.

But, that raises the issue of Saeyoung not going through his own development that happens in his own route. And, you know what this means. Even if he doesn't leave the RFA, he'll still become distant and cold with them. The idea of Yoosung being the one who encourages him to open up and trust his friends is something I quite like. It's sweet, in a way, considering how Saeyoung supported Yoosung from the sidelines on his own route. I personally think that these two share one of the closest friendships in the RFA, so it's neat to imagine them encouraging one another like this.

So, there's that.

And Saeran? Well, Yoosung will only have a chance to interact with him directly after a long time has passed. I don't think his recovery will be any less rough than it is in the SE. Quite the opposite, actually. Poor Saeyoung will definitely experience a very difficult and stressful period. The rest of the RFA are going to be his main source of comfort and support. Maybe Yoosung and mc meet up with him from time to time, or maybe Yoosung prepares him some healthy food to eat up while they are stuck in the bunker.

I do think Yoosung will be sympathetic, despite everything. Especially after discovering all that Saeran has gone through. He'll forgive him for what he did, and he will be determined to help out in any way he can. He may not know Saeran, but he's Saeyoung brother, and that's all he needs to know. We do know that Yoosung is someone who will do everything for those he cares about. And Saeyoung is one of his closest friends.

That said... it's one thing to settle your feelings from the safe distance, and it's completely another to meet with this person again face to face. Yoosung's experience in Magenta was undoubtedly very traumatic. Despite not displaying much of a reaction in the game, he will definitely experience occasional nightmares, at the very least. I do like to think that he works this out in therapy, as he's determined to be the best version of himself, but...

That traumatic experience is still directly linked to Saeran.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, and I think Yoosung is not going to expect the reaction he will experience the first time he sees Saeran again. He's likely to freeze and enter a state of fight or flight. It's not intentional. It's a natural response to a feeling of danger. And it's something his mind and body do on their own. It won't be loud or intense, but it is very much distressing to him. Mc will probably have to put a gentle hand on his shoulder and lead him away. It's important to remind him that there is nothing wrong with what he is feeling, and that he shouldn't be hard on himself for that.

And, Saeran? He has no desire to be around the RFA in the first place. It's not comfortable and awkward. Sure, they may say that they do not hold any grudges against him... But, they are still the very same people he vowed to destroy so many times. Of course he'd feel uneasy and uncomfortable around them. It's a constant reminder of just how meaningless his life was up until this point. A cruel callback to the way he was manipulated, and just how much of a twisted monster he really is. Saeran is always quiet and closed off, but when he's next to the RFA?

It is multiplied tenfold.

And, Yoosung? Well, Yoosung is someone who he directly harmed. In a very sadistic and deliberate way, mind you. Saeran doesn't want to be disrespectful or anything, but his gaze will instantly go to the blind eye the young man has lost because of him. And then, the flashbacks will come rushing in. If Yoosung freezes up and goes into fight or flight mode, then Saeran has a straight up panic attack.

He remembers everything. Every disgusting detail of his actions. The sticky blood coating his fingers and getting under his fingernails, the sight of the whirling body before him as he holds it down without any consideration for its owner, the raging hate and an overwhelming desire to hurt clouding his every waking thought.

It causes him to feel sick to his stomach. I am talking sick enough to throw up. And he probably does.

What happened between Saeran and Yoosung on his route shouldn't be overlooked. The event was both traumatic and violent. It will leave them both with lasting consequences. In Yoosung's case, not only mental, but physical as well. And Saeran will never wipe that metallic smell of blood out of his head. Neither is he going to forget the fact that... really, he did that on his own accord. Nobody told him to harm Yoosung in such a cruel and purposefully sadistic way. He wanted to cause him pain. He wanted to make him scream and tremble from pain.

And, the worst of it all? It's not possible for him to pretend and say he didn't like it. Because he did. At the time, all he wanted was to hurt him.

Saeran already feels like a monster in the SE. I am honestly horrified to imagine how he would feel in this scenario if he ends up shooting V as well.

It's... It's a lot.

For the rest of his life, he will have to live with this. This guilt and knowledge of just what he is really capable of. And he wants to never forget what he did. Yoosung has lost an eye because of him. The least he can do is make sure that he carries some sort of consequence of that unforgivable event with him. It's a way of self-punishment. Not healthy at all.

So... yes, there is going to be a lot of very heavy baggage from both sides here. It's not impossible for them to form a stronger bond, if that's the picture you want to see for your ending. However, it will take a considerable amount of time. I'm talking literal years here. Lots of trial and error. Lots of messy situations and emotional outbursts from both sides. And, of course, therapy.

The thought of both of them coming to a sort of closure with each other is sweet, though. Maybe years down the line, as Saeran has to do a lot of healing and self-discovery of his own. But, it's possible.

[safyresky]

Two of my favourite things: talking about Crystal Springs and talking about Richard. So, anyway, if anyone was ever wondering what Blaise's hair looks like when NOT on fire: like Richard's! But a greying ginger :)

Was this an excuse to post a handsome photo of my husband? 100% yes!!! And also two handsy photos of us BOTH from last weekend's wedding we attended:

We clean up well!

And also goof off pretty well 😈

[piratefishmama]

Crashed the wedding, Part 7

Eddie had no grand speech prepared, he had nothing, his whole job was to wing it, which was probably a good thing because anything he’d have prepared to say, would have flown right out of the metaphorical window when he saw Steve.

He’d only just managed that witty quip as he Aragon’d his way through those doors, all the breath just taken right out of him god he was still as beautiful as the day Eddie left, nine years hadn’t touched him at all. His hair still impossibly perfect, even though he’d clearly not put much effort into it for the day, his glasses still made him look like the cutest pre-school teacher ever, and the moles.

Lord have mercy on his poor soul, the moles. He was too gay for this. He just wanted to skip everything, get directly to wrapping Steve up in the cosiest of sweaters, and handing him the tastiest mug of hot cocoa like he deserved, and just cuddling him for the rest of his life.

“E-Excuse me sir, we hadn’t actually gotten to that part yet” The reverend’s voice hesitantly cut through the silence that seemed to carry on for way longer than intended. The man choosing not to mention that the senior Harringtons had instructed him to remove the offer to the guests to object from the ceremony speech citing that they wouldn’t need it.

“Yeah well, it’s not like I had a damn invitation to sit in and wait, did I?” Eddie snapped right back, shaking himself up. He had a job to do, a love of his life to rescue, and no goddamn idea as to how he was supposed to do that if Steve wasn’t reacting in any way other than just staring at him with wide-eyed, open-mouthed surprise.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Steve heard from his left, turning to find his father’s face had turned a curious shade of red in apparent anger. The man quickly turning his eye onto his son hissing “did you have something to do with this?” At him. God Steve wished. He’d have given anything to have had the courage to just pick up the damn phone and call Eddie before all this shit went down.

Nine goddamn years, he wished he’d have picked up the phone each and every single day, but he hadn’t, too many missed calls, too many excuses for him to keep trying, he’d been so sure that Eddie had just… moved on, convincing himself more and more with each failed attempt to stay in touch that maybe… maybe it was just for the best.

Eddie was famous, for something good… besides the shit that happened during Vecna’s little bitch fit, Eddie hadn’t stepped a toe out of line in nine whole years, no scandals, no drug addiction stories, no compromising paparazzi shots in the papers, he sang his songs, played his nerd games, he showed up as ‘Metal Santa’ at Children’s hospitals with the other bandmates dressed as goofy elves, giving out toys all out of his own pocket, he helped out at soup kitchens on the weekends when he wasn’t busy, did charity auctions of random shit for troubled youth charities, he was good. The only time he’d had an issue was early ’88 with a mild drinking problem but Dustin knocked some sense into him on that one and he’d cleaned up his act by September the same year.

He looked mean and scary sometimes, but nobody, not a single person could ever accuse him of being anything but good. Steve was just… Steve.

A man going nowhere, stuck in his hometown with nothing to offer him. It’d been so easy to convince himself to just stop trying. Eddie didn’t need him, Eddie probably didn’t want him, he could have anyone, why would he want him?

Steve didn’t answer his father, instead turned back to the intruder, a smile fighting at the corner of his lips as he witnessed the man telling one of the bride’s huffy aunts to pipe the fuck down. “Eddie? The hell are you doing here?” How could he let his mind force him to doubt when Eddie was right there as if he’d heard that one wish Steve had spoken only in his mind.

“Rescuing you, sweetheart, can’t say I’m the most impressive of cavalry but at least I look good, which is more than I can say for your bride, yikes ma’am you just faceplant into a cake made up entirely of makeup this morning? Not a good look, I can see where the foundation meets the rest of your neck. One word, blend.” Liar, she looked flawless, but the outraged gasp of an offended bride was worth it. The shit stirring little fucker. “It will change your life.”

“Steven—” Harriet huffed, turning to her groom expectantly “aren’t you even going to—”

“No.” Steve immediately cut her off with a short, snort of a laugh, eyes still on Eddie as the man approached, his bride immediately turning to her parents to loudly complain about the interruption, Steve tuned her out completely, he’d tuned everything out, focusing entirely on Eddie “you could have worn a shirt, man.”

“And miss the warm Indiana breeze on my nip? I think not Steven.” Steve scrunched up his nose in distaste “Stevie? Steve-o, Ooh, ooh… Estebe?”

“That means Stebe and you know it means Stebe.”

“I know but you always thought it was cute.” He was within reaching distance now, so close he could touch him, could touch him to ensure he was real, that he hadn’t just hallucinated his way through his forced vows.

“I only thought it was cute cause you actually thought it meant Steve.” He reached, Eddie’s smile widening, only for it to drop, his eyes sharpening in barely concealed rage as Harrington Sr. grabbed the arm reaching out toward Eddie.

“Don’t even think about it, Steven. You will inform your brief, and unfortunate lapse in judgement that you were mistaken, that it meant nothing, and you’re marrying Miss Reid, do not make me remind you—”

“Sit the fuck down Harrington, nobody pulled your string.” Eddie snarled leaning in close enough for the man to release his grip in surprise.

“Eddie… he’s right, I—I have to.”

“No, no you don’t, I see nobody we know here Steve, your friends, your family they’re not here… why? Why aren’t they here Steve… on what should be the happiest day of your life, why did Nancy have to shoot a security guard in the arm just to get me in?”

“Nance did what?” Was that what that noise was?

“Surprised you didn’t hear the gunshot. Karen wheeler practically shoved this monkey suit on me and shoved me out the damn door in hopes I could get you out of this, the only reason the others aren’t here is because these assholes did well enough to have it clash with everything going on in their lives.” Not him though, Eddie would have abandoned a whole damn tour, he’d have cancelled mid-gig, if necessary, Steve needed him. He needed them. “What’s stopping you from walking out of that door right now, baby? What’s doing that?”

He saw that crack in Steve’s already crumbling resolve at the soft use of an old pet name, such a simple, generic little name but it always made Steve just a little weak hearing it from Eddie. “Eddie—Eddie I’m… I can’t…”

There were whispers, people had stood up to get a closer look, nobody in that church recognised Eddie, as famous as he was, he wasn’t their kind of famous. Eddie paid them no mind, taking those last few steps, using what little courage he had left to reach up and skim his calloused fingers along that perfect jawline, thumb caressing the soft cushion of his cheek just below where his glasses perched. “You can, baby boy… my sweet little prince, you can walk right out of here with me… whatever it is Steve, we can deal with it, money? Baby I have more in pocket change than your family’s entire net worth combined, including the shit in those offshore accounts ol John here doesn’t think anyone knows about it.” Steve’s father leaned a fraction backwards in surprise, how the fuck did Munson know about that? He could move all he wanted, Eddie wasn’t paying attention to him, his soft eyes were on Steve, watching as the man let his own drift shut, leaning into the palm cupping his cheek. “Hawkins? Sweetheart… I got here in a day, I flew first class, very fancy, if anything happens, we’ve got it, we can be back here so fast whatever that freaky-ass place throws at us, we’ll be ready for it same as always… so what is it, big boy, what’s stopping you?”

Steve let his eyes open halfway, taking in the man in front of him “I’m not worth it Eddie… just… just go, it’s okay… I’ll be fine, m’always fine” so why did that smile look so sad “…I’m not worth what you’d lose if I were to leave.”

Part 9

[genericpuff]

Rachel did a live Q&A in the LO Discord server and gave some news about the Animated Series, it’s still happening! (Surprisingly) Any thoughts on that or things you’d like to see from it?

Right, like every other time she's said it's "still happening" with no evidence to actually support it. That's always been the issue and still is.

Sorry, that's not me being snarky at you, I'm more so frustrated and absolutely fucking done with all the empty promises and platitudes.

Best case scenario with what was said during the Q&A was that she said "it's still happening" (worst case was that she didn't address it at all).

Like, how is this:

"I can say that… we are currently doing work on it… and it is going well.. and that it looks really cool and that I wish everyone could see what we’ve done because it looks really really really cool, and it’s happening, but that’s all I can say at this point… I can say, making tv shows takes a really long time, it takes so long" (last night's Q&A)

Any different than this:

Any different than this:

“Um, it’s been really interesting. It’s been educational for me. So, what I—what has been done so far is beautiful. Like, if I could share it, I would. But I can’t. Because it’s very naughty.” - Girl Wonder SDCC (July 2023)

She's been saying this for the last two years since people started getting suspicious it wasn't happening in the first place, and despite all the reassurances that "it's still happening", it doesn't seem to have anything to show for itself. Cast list? Nope. Director? Nope. Writers? Nah. Just a showrunner whose bio still says "TBA" and who, despite having a whole ass 40 minute long interview with Girl Wonder, still didn't have anything to show for what's to come, just more empty promises that it's "still happening" (and a lot of banter about Stephanie's life, rather than her involvement with LO).

In fact, most of what Stephanie talks about in the podcast concerning LO is pitching it, not developing it. And this interview happened just a few months ago. Go listen to it yourself if you don't believe me.

So at this point, I see "it's still happening" as "don't panic" corporate speak for "we're still pitching it and trying to find a network for it so we can actually move onto development." Yes, animation takes a long time, even Hazbin Hotel took about three and a half years to finally release after Prime bought the rights to it in 2020. But LO, again, clearly hasn't even started the animation process yet. And while we're comparing it to Hazbin, note that HH actually had LOADS to show for itself along the way of being developed and did a much, MUCH better job at staying relevant and pulling in new people and hyping it up. Even people who never watched Hazbin before in its indie days on Youtube were hearing about it, it made an active effort to sell itself to new viewers and break out of its bubble on Youtube. Is LO doing that? No, not really. Most of the people who know about it are diehard fans who refuse to read anything that isn't shown directly to them on Webtoons, and diehard haters who are tired of the garbage that gets advertised on Webtoons. Ask anyone who doesn't use Webtoons, and best case, they'll know someone who reads LO, worst case, they won't even know what a webtoon is.

Shit, even the new upcoming Zelda movie has names attached to it, including Avi Arad, Wes Ball, and Derek Connolly. And my god, it's gonna SUCK DICK with that bad of a line-up (the guy who ruined the OG Spiderman trilogy and created Morbius, the guy who directed the Maze Runner films, and one of the leading storywriters behind Rise of Skywalker, fucking YIKES) but hey, at least it has more than one name attached to it.

But okay, if we're gonna play the comparison game, let's be fair and compare LO to some other works in its own lane. Let's Play announced last year that it would be getting an animated adaption, and it already has a studio backing it that is FAR more suited for it than JHC is to LO - OLM, the same studio whose animated for massive franchises like Pokemon, Yo-Kai, and Gudetama. JHC meanwhile has animated... motion capture kid shows like Word Party. Because that's the only kind of animation they actually specialize in when it comes to their in-house services. Sure, they also have Harriet the Spy, but that wasn't animated by them, that was animated by Titmouse Inc (heh sorry).

I'm the Grim Reaper recently had its own animated adaption announced, and who's in charge of it? Oh, only SAM FUCKING RAIMI-

And look, maybe the Let's Play and I'm the Grim Reaper adaptions won't happen either. I just think it's ironic that they both have more to show for themselves in terms of credible names attached to them than what LO has managed to scrape up after five years of promising that it's "still happening" (especially when one of those series is nowhere near as big as LO and the one that WAS as big as LO walked away from Webtoons entirely). For Webtoons' own "worldwide phenomenon", they sure have given LO the shit end of the stick by pairing it with a family-with-kids-under-10 production studio that doesn't specialize in animation and a showrunner who got her start with the Cosmopolitan (weird how LO has so many plugs with Cosmo, huh? Why is JHC producing the show again?)

At the end of the day, nothing's changed. It's still just the ole' "it's still happening" record on a loop, while the comic itself falls further out of favor with people. And it's likely gonna be going behind DailyPass soon, so just think about what that's gonna do to its relevancy after it gets sent away to the equivalent of the Webtoons graveyard.

As I've said countless times before every time this topic comes up, at best, if it is still happening, and I'm wrong about all of this, they are doing the worst job I've ever seen at hyping people up and keeping them informed. It is NOT a good thing that people have to keep asking Rachel if it's still happening.

As for worst case... you wanna know what other projects come to my mind that have fallen into the same state of development hell and decay as LO's TV show? YandereSim and Cryamore. What do you think the popular opinion is about those works and their creators now? Because if you don't know either of those names and are about to google them, let me give you a heads up warning - it's not positive.

If it happens, it happens. It will hopefully be before I get all the therapy I need to undo what LO has done to my brain so that I don't have to make repeat visits LOL But if it's after, hey, maybe the show will be good! Assuming Rachel doesn't, y'know, E.L. James the whole thing. Because frankly, the show will need to cut and rework a LOT of stuff to be any good IMO and I don't think that will be possible if Rachel gets directly involved. But I'm not even hoping for that scenario because there's literally NOTHING to give me that hope, "it's still happening" is nothing more than "don't panic" corporate speak to me at this point. It's cynical, but I just can't waste my energy caring about it anymore.

[upslapmeal]

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

Can't wait to find out that Ruby's mum is the Rani

they're really going with the flying tardis this series aren’t they

UNIT theme!

‘how’s your uncle’ awww

what a weird way to ask about your other self Doc 

though tbh maybe actually less weird than directly asking how your other parallel split past self is

Lenny Rush is so great!

though quick question Kate do you employ two children

....does UNIT have HR

good thing Fifteen could grab some episode footage for those Susan Twist images. given that Doctor Who Is A TV Show etc etc

S TRIAD……TARDIS?

lol 5 seconds later…there I was thinking I was being clever

‘obviously’ ‘even I got that’ OK NO NEED TO RUB IT IN

SUSAN IS THE NAME OF MY GRANDDAUGHTER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

IS IT HAPPENING???????? ok I know it won't they wouldn't have brought it up so early BUT!!!!!!

TIME AND RELATIVE DIMENSION IN SPACE BAYBEEE

‘SUSAN SUSAN SUSAN’ yeah me too

Mel!

‘It was 2004’ I feel ancient Rose Tyler is out there somewhere and in a few days will be told she'll have a great year!

Ruby and Rose instant besties <3

ah Mrs Flood our third mystery woman

‘still hoping for that growth spurt’ RIP Ruby lmao

Cherry Sunday and her cup of tea, starcrossed lovers

‘he waits no more’ yikes that was a quick turnabout

what happened to Shirley Anne Bingham?

I’d want to make a copy of that vhs if I were Ruby before it potentially (...inevitably) gets destroyed by a time window

nobody seeing her face is giving 73 yards vibes

.....Ruby is her own mother? [I'm My Own Grandpa starts playing faintly in the background]

the colonel going behind the tardis out of view…..yeah he’s not coming back

turn off the time window!!!

oh that was a Look from Kate

potentially rethinking what she said about the Doctor bringing joy

‘stop grizzling and fix it’ love u Mel

‘Doctor who?’ wahey

'do you ever dream of being an ambulance' line of all time lmao

has susan been chameleon arched???

oh the tardis is NOT sounding happy

that's the same sound from after Maestro took control of it right?

Sutekh! oh they’ve been in classic who haven’t they

pyramids of mars?? four? def one I’ve not seen yet annoyingly

(hehe as of posting I now have!)

oh susan your face 💀

'did you think I was family?' :(((( oh that hurts

And now there's just one left!! V much looking forward to seeing this again in the cinema in *checks watch* just under 2 hours!! It was never going to be Susan was it. but. BUT. I live in hope. One day we will come back!

I do kinda wish there had been a bit more Ruby Sunday in the ep but other than that great fun, very enjoyable setup, big evil dog, bring it home RTD babeey

Also interested to see how Tales of the TARDIS plays into the next ep - are they going to go into it with Ruby suddenly just knowing all about Sutekh??

[findafight]

I'm pretty sure the Duffers explicitly stated that Nancy and Steve broke up before she gets with Jonathan, but I, who has watched the show, disagrees immensely. Because the alley scene, looks like a really bad fight and not a breakup. No one says it's over and the fight ends because Steve is needed in class. No where does it really read breakup. Further more, Nancy admits to Jonathan that she has wanted to be with him since last year while she was dating Steve - that's emotional cheating. And she repeatedly calls Steve her boyfriend at Murray's so furthermore, I read that as Nancy cheating.

Exactly exactly. Completely agree. Class is an awkward time to have an argument, and it's clear that there's things unsaid. Word of god can only go so far as not directly contradicting the text?? That's not what we saw? Nancy tells Murray she's with Steve. She doesn't say "I just broke up with Steve". She says she has Steve back home! To me, an audience member, that tells me their relationship isn't over, even if they had a major fight because she's not able to be emotionally vulnerable with him and then leaves for days without telling him. Like jeez Steve probably wasn't the perfect boyfriend but??? That's harsh.

Someone pointed out a while ago that if the genders were switched, there's no way Steve would be the one coming out of it looking bad, which makes a lot of sense. There's interesting gender dynamics happening. Like if Steve were a girl asking her boyfriend if he loved her, to say it, and then being upset when he couldn't it would read differently. Just like if Nancy were a boy going on a two night roadtrip with the girl he swore he didn't cheat with, telling that girl he waited a month for her before going back to the girl who had actually made a (reciprocated) move, telling Murray he was dating someone else, and then sleeping with roadtrip girl. Like. I feel as though very few people would read that as not cheating? Female infidelity is interesting in how media views and portrays it I guess. Or maybe it's because we're supposed to like jancy more than stancy but they really don't want us to think Nancy cheated (which she did) The only reason I can think that they said that is to save face? Not have to talk about it in later seasons?

Also yes!!! Why did they have that line that makes it seem like Nancy was just...with Steve for convenience? Because she didn't want to be alone or something? Because the guy she actually liked wasn't making a move so she got with the guy who vocally liked her? And theydon't address THAT can of worms? And somehow that makes Steve look bad? Because he doesn't know his gf has been waiting for Jonathan to make one singular move on her their whole relationship while he's actually trying to make his relationship work. I know it's probably not like that, that Nancy (probably) did legitimately care for Steve, but taken at face value....uh. yikes. Emotional cheating isn't often shown as seriously as "actual cheating" but yeah. Argument to be made that Nancy was emotionally cheating their...whole relationship and just physically cheated at the end there. Which is...pretty brutal for ol' Stevie boy!

Very frustrating that S4 seemed to bring stancy back but refused to have them actually talk about the issues they had (which, if TPTB don't view Nancy cheating as...Nancy cheating, then it can never actually be done to a satisfying end for me)

[beneathsilverstars]

MY ENTIRE ISAT LIVEBLOG

COPY PASTED FROM TWITTER LET'S GO!!!

oh my god i love isabeau

the correct reaction to an incredibly mediocre pun:

when i talked to odile i said i was gonna make isabeau sleep on the floor but that is NOT true

i was about to say i love all the sparkly stars aesthetic but... the game is literally named after them.... i shoulda known

omg isabeau what were you about to confess 😳👉👈

rock paper scissors is being explained to me in such painstaking depth... but the dialogue is cute, so it's ok

wtf i looped back to the town specifically in order to ask the cook about the openphrase for the one door but there's no option to ask!!

it was the shopkeeper 🤦🏼

so curious about siffrin's touch thing... it makes sense other people might be more conscious of a subconscious reaction to touch than he is, but he's so avoidant of the train of thought, i feel like it must be something a bit less.. subtle...?

damn... tryna give mirabelle the fan mail for the second time.... yikes :( so sorry mira........ is that what happened to the island to the north...? something about it got so retconned that it makes people sick to focus on the exact change?

oh.. siffrin's major memory problems.....

this game is sooo good

siffrin seems upset in the observatory.. at first i thought they were just getting tired/grouchy, but the game sure is named after stars... maybe stars had to do with their past trauma..??

i'm starting to wonder if this isn't their first set of loops and the bone-deep burden of all that (along with the practicalities of your memories constantly not matching reality) is why they forget words and shit....

went and looked at the castle again this loop bc i felt bad that sif never gets to sit down...

king asked if sif remembers REMEMBERS WHAT??? i just knowww after i terribly lose this fight im gonna have to go back through the whole game unlocking new rooms that like unlock my memories or smth

"not when i still can't say it" ofc the king is from the northern island... sif is obviously from there too, and that's why he can't remember most of his past... so that's the thing they both don't remember?

defeated him but like. there's still so many locked doors. i bet like sif is gonna go to sleep and they wake up from the nap like WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M STILL IN THE LOOP?? WE WON?? but they didn't win correctly yet, they didn't actually solve everything that needs solved...

head handmaiden ma'am 😳

is odile's research genealogy??

i thought the reference to "colors" being an esoteric/irrelevant topic was a one-off gag about the art style, but it's plot relevant?? fuck yeah

what if odile is trying to figure out the northern island..??

OHHHHHH

BWAHHH the bonnie quest 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

first time redoing the mira quest.... siffrin!!! be brave!!!!! not only is your new idea good, even if it was bad you could just say oops oh well and switch the script back next loop!!!!!

is siffrin gonna have to learn how to be brave and normal in order to break the loop jdhshdjf (normal here meaning "not a loop-brained convomaxxer")

i hope siffrin can just ask the baker's daughter directly for the book this time hdhdjfj i don't really think the whole goose chase is necessary for the emotional convo.....

oh thank god

ugh i can't wait till sif tells his friends about the loop. is that gonna be sif's quest

HANG OUT QUEST!! YES!!!

hm.. is loop the deity of the northern island..? if stars and astronomy are like their whole thing....

INTERRUPTED AGAIN!!!!!!! AGHHGH!!!!! i know isa can't actually confess till the very end bc it would suck having to go through more loops knowing he likes you but he hasn't actually told you / if you go through a loop post-confession surely that would change quite a bit of dialogue

but AHHHHHH!!!!

oh my god siffrin is going beast mode on the tutorial sadness?? i had to choose "attack" bc it seemed the most different and thus interesting but also omg... there goes the warm friendship glow 😭😭

but ofc that glow would die a horrible sudden death anyway the moment siffrin is confronted with the fact that he is back on that damn loop grind :(

poor thing 😭😭😭😭😭😭

INSTANT REPLAY??????????

the loop power is getting stronger.. u~u;;

I KNEW IT WOULD EVENTUALLY GET WEIRD THAT SIF'S SUCH A HIGH LEVEL... just a couple loops ago i was like damn when is everyone else gonna notice that sif has like multiple crafts that they didn't yesterday

also i noticed a loop or so ago that their battle portrait is frowning and.. i don't think it always was.....?

oh my god the memory of sadness is kinda fucked up but. so useful jdhshfj im tired of avoiding them in the hallway,,

ok but also how do my teammates not notice that they have new equipment, and sometimes a new craft..... in the case of like a hair bow that's easy to gloss over but how does isabeau not go "wtf i'm dealing paper damage?" ??

the problem w telling your friends you're in a time loop is it must be such a fucking relief. and then you loop again

aw, sif.. tell them about the universe...

lol how funny would it be if i died to the rock this time

oops... i'm doing a big check-everything run, but i absolutely didn't do all the village stuff bc i was too excited to help isa... oh well,

i did idly connect that the "weird sadnesses" smell like sugar same as the king's time magic which makes, but i finally just actually thought about it and realized they're also star shaped....

siffrin having this time loop power... is it anything at all like mirabelle's time-resistance power, blessed upon her by the high priestess? did siffrin escape from their fucked up time island, sent out with the power to eventually save it?

odile is sooo close to figuring it out... she just said "verRrRy interesting"

BWAHH new post-level-2 convos!! so cute!!!!! love bonnie's new siffrin-patting routine..... and odile has it SO figured out, when is she gonna say something!!!

siffrin was afraid that he smells like timecraft? bc of looping or bc of repressed reasons.... probably bc of looping,

time for siffy's daily bathroom stall breakdown!!

they even went in happy this time and still managed to psych themself all the way out hdgshsjf

GHOST SIF??? GHOST SIF ON THE WAY TO THE KEYKNIFE??????

BWAHHH ODILE RUFFLING SIF'S HAIR!!! I WAS WAITING AND WAITING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO PICK UP ON IT BEING OK TO TOUCH THEM!!!

"in this moment, you are loved" god it is going to be so hard waking up next loop 😭

HAIR BRUSHING!!! THIS IS SO PEAK

i'm worried that the king's "isn't this the best moment of your lives" rhetoric is going to slowly gain appeal as sif goes through more and more loops... like. they crafted the perfect loop with their found family. they *can't* change it any more, make it any better. ...

EHAT DO U MEAN "NVM" ISA!!!!!! oh my god i can't believe you won't confess until siffrin is like more emotionally centered and open and ready to handle that kind of thing... why r u sooo considerate -_- ur killin them isa

oh my god why is it even worse why is the end of the loop even worse this time oh my GOD sif is gonna be inconsolable I'M inconsolable not isabeau reaching out im sobbing on da couch

ngl i kinda hope this time siffrin is just defeated and doesn't banter about shit and everyone is worried as fuck. sorry sif i just think it would be interesting. that flash of him slaughtering the tutorial sadness was so sick. esp the unique auto-rewind. more of that shit

they did the first convo w mira fine.. nvm i guess.... if that never happens that's gonna be my first fanfiction

another ghost siffrin... after i looped to unlocked floor one to look for articles....... :o

not beau saying "normally i'd be worried about this, but sif doesn't seem worried at all!" when i'm about to touch the tear specifically in order to die...

did the king used to hang out in the observatory... did he write that word (the country's name?) on the papers, and wear out the spot on the globe....... he did find a new home here in vougarde such that he's decided that he can't lose this one too, at all, ever...

i got to loop 30 and i was surprised bc i figured i was at like 25 tops. and now im at 37? i don't think it's been 7 loops since then...???

i've started dreaming about the tick of a clock.. i'm kinda worried i've started wracking up too many loops... i did just zip back and forth across the house a half dozen times checking various items and dead ends....

AHH AUTO REWIND FROM KING ASKING WHERE SIF IS FROM???? followed by "you do not answer" which. implies that wasn't the case before the rewind.?? maybe more like "you do not think about it" l o l oh sif 😭😭😭

i was about to complain that it won't let me zone out of the dying-and-bonnie-running scene but um. different this time. thank you for not letting me zone out,

YEAH IT'S LOOP 40 NOW!! this is right after loop 37 (with a small auto-rewind between)

😭😭😭😭😭😭 isabeau pleeeeease:

hanging out with loop and - we saw the kings first attack?? but how would the rest of the party even get that far without sif?? they'd die to the first rock trap????

oh good sif noticed too. "who was the king attacking".... did a siffrin remnant help the party, has he looped so many times that he can be in multiple places at once???

was the king kmsing??? who tf would he be attackinggg

does the loop end when siffrin loses hope?? but no, then the very first time they defeat the boss they wouldn't have looped... but no, if the handmaiden is just talking shit unrelated to the looping then that coulda still made sif think the loop was fucked, which fucked the loop?

it's kinda heavy how many times you have to k your s in this game... esp when you don't actually have to but it's, like, more convenient than 5-30 extra minutes of running around

siffrin tripping so they don't seem so creepily overpowered is SO sad 😭

fsr it's sadder than going through the motions of a conversation, or tripping bc you tripped last time... it's a whole new lie to offset a whole new problem...

oh yeah my other loop theory was that it ends when siffrin gets too reminded of the northern island..? the memory of the future or whatever the fuck from the big attack idk

siffrin rewinded after his friends saw the ghost.... kinda matches my "when he loses hope" theory. when he feels alone? when he's utterly lost with no clue what to do next..? (lol sif restarting every loop just bc he doesn't have plans for what to do after winning)

NOOO I WAS SO EXCITED TO NOT HAVE TO GO GET THE KNIFEKEY EVERY TIME BUT I DO HAVE TO... BOOOOO...... where's the consistency, loop!!!

i can use a memory to equip it for the boss fight but idc as much about that.... i just wanted to be able to check out the dead end rooms more often instead of having to use the crest to get the knifekey every time....

memory of ghosts, no effect??

oh, the vision of the future happens on the first attack always.. not when the king kills you always...

having the knifekey for the fight kinda isn't worth it.. siffrin only has one measly paper attack anyway, so i usually have them on potions and items duty.... gotta keep mira brothed up so she can cast the super duper shield every single turn

"it's fine. she isn't real to you right now either" god siffrin is gonna be so fucked up when they get out. siffrin is gonna have "everyone else is an NPC" brain

finished doing all four quests together for the second time, and sif's commentary at the end is reeally hitting my "eventually sif will understand the king's pov of wanting to freeze one perfect moment forever instead of going forward to inevitably worse shit" theory :(

"you've noticed you're starting to forget whole loops" AHA...... i'm so curious tho what was sif doing in those skipped loops. ig presumably it'd be whatever they did in the next loop that they actually remember? sticking to the plan several times in a row till it sticks,

does loop remember the skipped loops??

hm. whenever the loop ends early Not due to death (the little auto-reverses) maybe sif just.. forgot everything after that moment? till the normal king attack moment ....? or whatever death they find?

i wonder if the headache of not being able to say/read/think about the northern island is caused by many tiny loops, sending you back to the moment before you said/read/thought it, happening however many times it takes for the rapid time travel to make you so sick you just don't

i teach kid's music classes, and sometimes i'll practice one or two dozen verse variations, then i get to actual class and when i actually do that song i can't remember which variations i've already done? and it gets worse with each class i teach from that lesson plan. so dw siffrin i get it,

ok but wtf is up with the head handmaiden. what's she got to do with this. she's obviously more involved than she seems, she knows Something about the end. and imo it's sus that she was able to bless mirabelle to be impervious to the curse, how's she able to do that.

assuming that the king used to live in the house (spending lots of time in the observatory), euphrasie would've gotten to know him... perhaps seen the beginnings of him getting fucked up powerful...? thought she could handle it on her own but she couldn't?

are the mini auto-loops a meta "reload from last save"? i think it's the same quick rewind sound as actually reloading... i don't do it super often bc why not just loop back and keep my silly little mistake in, but i've done it 2 or maybe 3 times....

this game does such a good job starting in medias res. level 45!! i'm past 70 now. i feel like there's a definite chance i'll hit 90 which means siffrin will have done as much fighting in these loops as they did with their friends through months of travel and adventure.

choosing all the emo answers to the loop convo about how using your dagger would be faster than finding a tear to kill you. sorry frin not my fault you are depressed as fuck

LOOP GOT POSSESSED IN ORDER TO ALLOW ME TO K MY S MANUALLY??????? ??????? damn i had something actually important to talk about this loop too

I HATE PICKING CONVERSATION CHOICES WITH LOOOOOP I WANT TO SEE THE OUTCOME OF BOTH OPTIONS IM SO SPOILED!!!!

AHHHH FRIN FIGURED OUT THAT IT's THEIR COJNTRY! THEY TALKED ABt JT! THEY TRIED TO SAY IT!! BWAHHHHHHHH that was so fucking sadddd oh my godddddddd sif's poor clueless friends trying to stop whatever the fuck was happenin 😭😭

is the king's 9999 attack just saying the country's name, lol

wish craft . . .

oh my god oh my god he's gonna torture my friends to death in front of me oh my god holy shit oh my god oh no oh no oh no oh no

say the name siffrin!!! think the name!!!!!!! it'll fuck you up bad enough that you loop!

oh... sif is repeating their wish over and over..... like when they carve

well. finally a loop where sif wakes up freaking out so bad that their script with mirabelle gets way way off track. lol. just like i wanted. haha. shit

I CAN READ THE ISLAND BOOKS NOW???????? damn worth it fr sorry bonbon

i forget if i mentioned that i was thinking about how siffrin doesn't rly have much to look forward to, like his friends are about to disband...?

i was chatting w ari about it lol when she helped me defeat the king earlier, she was very concerned about how sif didn't have a home to return to, all his friends were talking about going back to their homes but where would sif go, isn't that sad

speaking of ari. very four year old raised by lesbians quote: "i like isabeau's name but i don't like his gender..."

siffrin dont get emo about how they don't hug you that first evening you literally already know why, they think you don't like it

damn. forgot about the rock

i had been thinking that the way the island was erased must be similar to the way the loops work, but couldn't fathom how time manip could erase a whole island. the magic being more general makes more sense. did someone wish away color as well....

i love magic systems where belief in a thing makes it more real but jeez this is scary

i was pretty on track with guessing that non-death loops happen when siffrin loses hope. it's whenever he goes oh fuck oh god i wish that hadn't happened

gotta say. i'm getting soo sick of running around unlocking doors so that i can go down a tear dead end for the nth time. plssss let me loop to "some doors unlocked; tear crest not used" 😭

i'm also starting to get low on loop-forward sparkles...

oh wow. siffrin had a really bad dream this tear-touch loop-back. i really can't ever use the dagger he would get plagued by the horrors. not that he isn't already, but,

i love to draw characters with horrifiedly blank expressions and very very tired eyes i can't wait to draw siffrin. lol

this game was made in a lab for me

every time i accidentally get into a fight with a sadness i'm like "siffrin is so fucked up at this point he should be able to just glare at them and scare them the fuck off" and then i remember that i literally currently have that mode equipped, me and the sadness just dodged in the same direction

can i at least get a memory that lets me one-hit KO the sadness crests- wait holy shit i just opened my craft menu and i literally have a new scissor craft called (just attack) when tf did i get that

.... was siffron's island erased specifically because they got gud at wish craft, and that's a power that the world shouldn't be able to harness...?

OH FUCK THE "remembering the name" STAR WAS SO SYMBOLICALLY STRIKING THAT I DIDN'T RVEN REALIZE THAT IT WAS ACTUAL COLOR...

nooo.. no one even reacted to being poked in the gardening room squeeze? right when sif needs it the most? let's make this set of the loops the worst set ever 🤗

what the Fuck is up with croissants though

i can't believe loop got siffrin to admit to themself that beau was planning to confess and siffrin is just using it to beat themself up. "poor isabeau, he probably can't help having a crush on shitty ol me".

i wish i could give siff a good loop but doing the missions makes them sad now 😭

wow. earlier i was like "what if the king is actually siffrin, weird-magic-shenanigans style". bc sif does have some similar thought patterns. but i was like no that's silly. but now this sad diary is talking abt making another self to talk to????

i also wondered if loop is some kinda shade of siffy??

i am writing this tweet while i let siffrin look through the big window in the observatory for a while. as a treat :(

OH THANK GOD.. ISABEAU IS TELLING SIF A NEW JOKE...: that's a much better treat 😭😭😭😭

oh no nvm their second thought was "i'll need to remember to laugh next time"

why don't siff's friends react anymore when he pokes them in the gardening room. it doesn't make sense.....

finally.. my "sif is quiet and moody and everyone notices" loop.......

sif has been super hungry in the commentary lately... more than normal i think... all those wish loops taking a lot of fuel?

have ppl not been reacting to sif's pokes bc they don't want to bother him when he's already obviously having a rough day...

i liked when they sat on the floor after bumping into the table. so real

finally got that death talk with bonnie.... i wonder when i'll get talk #2 with the other characters... odile has been quite sus of me for ages when's she gonna come out with ittt

ISABEAU PUSHING SIFFRIN AWAY.... probably bc siffrin was being very... sudden and depressed and desperate about it...?

did the daydreaming one's sister move to the northern island or something...

THE LIST IN EUPHRASIE's OFFICE!! it's who wished to save vougarde, and who wished for something else!!

bwuh. thinking about the strength behind the wish "i wish i hadn't fucking done that" when you reach out to someone and they push you away

loop confirmed/unified my theories about why siffrin loops back without death sometimes heheh... the specific wording of "something that feels like the world is ending" or whatever also seems in line with my theory that siffrin is scared of leaving their friends tomorrow

they've got croissant trauma. they've got banana trauma. a cheap continental breakfast is siffrin's worst nightmare

poetic that euphrasie finally heard and replied to me on loop 99. waking up on the big double O more hopeless than ever! ☺️

gotta say it so funny that siffrin is forcing themself to try to get everyone's skills in order to beat the king faster when i beat him easily in probably less than half a dozen rounds last time. forgot to even equip the keyknife! these half-assed quests are taking longer than that...

fucked up house??????

i keep accidentally walking right back out of the door i walked into, lol. this is fun though!

also. ghost ✨???

oh.. the ghost ✨ figure i saw was siffrin, with a black hat..?

maybe.. this is the universe's way of granting both wishes...... vougarde is saved, but stuck in time forever. looping the same day of salvation.

i had wondered what would happen if (once?) siffrin totally lost hope, sure that there was no chance of ever, ever getting out. bc when they lose hope they restart. so they'd just. restart immediately. constant loop. with no chance to do anything to regain that hope.

ghost sif time :3c

mal du pays means homesickness...

SIFFRIN TRIPPED AND IZA CAUGHT HIM.. they're touching !

i've been playing at work but i have to stop and actually do some work now.... ty for taking good naps today baby :')

i can't believe mirabelle and siffrin are canonically moirails now

BUT... BUT WHY DOES SIFFRIN HATE CROISSANTS???

also i saw something on a map i was using about a starry hat?? i never got a new hat...

i also never managed to find the book with the tree on the cover again, now that i could read it...

i'm gonna have to find a full 100%ed playthrough to watch on youtube 🫡

---

reading through ISAT socmed... the first time i saw one of the in-world swears in the game i was like "lol stormlight archive vibes" so it's very funny that one of the first posts i see is "my world building advice is to learn from brandon sanderson" i was sooo right. so true

---

makes no sense to me that mirabelle asked siffrin to not spoil her on their convo topics... not spoil on where the convos *went* sure, but how does she not want to know the basic facts that siffrin now knows about her 😭 so wild

if one of my friends was in a time loop i would be like. please sit down and summarize everything we ever talked about so i can be caught up. but thats just me

---

found some youtube video compilations of missable dialogue/events we are so back

AGHH why does this person not show the full cutscenes 😭😭😭 pls i don't want to have to do a whole ass entire top to bottom loop w like 20 object interactions...... maybe i'll just do it at work tomorrow while the baby naps 😩

at least it was pretty easy getting the initial croissant scene ☺️ but i am NOT redoing the entire last two acts to get the related final loop scene or whatever it is -_-

yayy that one's big enough that i found a video of it ☺️ i do wish i'd been able to do it in game myself instead, but. not redoing half the blinding game rn

---

i Am doing a full loop to get the odile thing though... and in doing so i realized apparently i didn't go through the friend quests manually enough times, sif just had a bit of a mental breakdown abt odile's. which does lead up to the last-loop breakdown better!

NOOO I WAS 3/4 OF THE WAY THRU THIS LOOP TO GET A CERTAIN SCENE AND i was on autopilot and meant to use a crest on the tears but i didn't have the crest yet so selecting "yes" meant touching them and dying fuck meee

i hadn't saved at each floor bc i didn't want to touch my save files w this new offshoot canon...

i'm not actually quite sure what info gets carried over from the previous loop when you loop back to the same floor instead of the beginning or forwards? i'm just gonna try and do floor 3 again and see if it works....

either relooping level 3 messed it up or i wasn't able to get enough suspicion points bc the plantain chips didn't make me sick. gonna go slip on the banana five times and try again

---

... i just used the dagger for the second time and now i'm stuck on a plain black screen and i legitimately can't tell if the game is broken or if the game is making me sit and wait for sif to bleed out

ok it's definitely a bug. wow this is so poignant it really does feel like i fucked around and found out

this is so funny i can open my pockets but i can't use the dagger or call loop.

---

I DID IT I GOT THE SCENE!! it was good i'm glad i saw it. wish i hadn't fucked up and had to do it all twice but i DID IT

[longhands-the-second]

Trimax vol. 3 notes

UGH UGH UGH

This cover is so sexy. The colors make my brain go brrr

I read and typed this the night before, oops. I needed something to make me less bored and sad and by god I got it. (<- has so much homework he doesn’t even want to look at it)

1- Based on what i’ve seen of future installments there’s a trend in the particular kind of body horror nightow likes to draw huh

The color of blood? Literally blood? I wasn’t sure if he was actually crying blood in the previous volume or not or if the tears were just darker bc art shit. I think his vibes are like that of a bird of prey. If that’s what we’re getting at here? (At least this version of him is. Stampede is a different beast. Somehow both cuttlefish and like, crow? I’m still yelling about the stampede finale-)

Does having high bullshit tolerance make you less human somehow…? What’s the logic here?

Is wolfwood saying that to him directly? Fucked up if so. He does NOT need more piled on him right now

2- im just flashing back to 98 wolfwood saying he’s never fired a gun before-

Does gray have the same sort of top that Vash had? The almost-tubing on the sides? Or is that just a favorite design thing?

That was pretty much all just fight scene huh.

3- EW EW EW

god, it’s only just now hitting that these are the faces of people he knew. People he cared about. Christ.

:( i want to get off of mr bones wild ride

I’m not like. Gagging or anything i just hate it.

The thing about Vash being quiet angry is that it’s almost got this elegance to it. Like his mind has left his body and he’s just running on his experience and skill now. He’s pissed and he’s dissociating. I feel like the whole room gets icy when he’s like that, even if you’re outside in the suns.

NO OH NO GOD-

FUCK I KNEW THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN AND I STILL WASNT READY

4- does. Does he know him???

Oh hell.

He set off the sprinklers???

WET HAIR VASH

5- brad is much more of a character than i was expecting.

God i can just hear wolfwood in that moment

Well. Yikes.

HAHAHSJSJJS milly jumpscare

6- what the fuck that piano is so cool

Seeing vash with both arms feels illegal somehow

Or no, does it have some kind of cover on it? Or is that what it looks like below those gloves?

He is SOOOO not okay right now

Woah damn is that what luida looks like here?

Im sure he’s just beyond relieved to see people lived.

Oh wow. Im… proud of him for admitting it? Something like that? God he looks so tired

“Woah vash you’re fucking ancient aren’t you???”

7- he is a solid 70% leg. Good for him.

He looks so normal it’s very strange.

True immortality???? Maybe that’s why knives is baby smooth every time we’ve seen him. (Ick.) (there’s some part of me that wants so badly to like knives on the grounds that I understand where he’s coming from but he’s literally the fucking worst.)

There goes his arm. Again. Why is it always that one?

He genuinely reads like a different person with his hair down. Maybe that’s just me.

Did. Did nightow give mike mignola a copy of trigun. Better yet did he read it? We’re asking the real questions here.

(I made a poll for Vash’s vibes and the results are mostly exactly what I expected? Will post my findings. Manga Vash has the most variety so far.)

((Will I be able to do anything cool for Vash’s birthday? Who knows. Crossing my fingers I can hold it together that long, I am SO done with my summer classes and I wanna go home.))

(((I have had the worst stampede brainrot recently. It’s the purple color scheme and the flowers and the everything at the end. It fuckin EATS. I want to hold him gently.)))

[hapigairu]

Genuinely not trying to get into anything here, just wanting to learn more. What about Khalid and Nader's writing is a poor example?

Don't worry about it! Asking questions out of curiosity is always a good thing :)

People directly concerned with this topic will be more apt to give a detailed answer, but I'll do my best.

People from the Middle-East as well as Northern Africa generally have a bad reputation around the globe and face discrimination as a result. This is especially true of immigrants. Like, where I'm from, they're seen as untrustworthy, thieves, even murderers or r*pists. There's also the fact that they're associated with Islam, so on top of facing racial discrimination, they also face religious discrimination (whether they're actual Muslims or not). Not everyone thinks that way, thankfully, and I believe some states are trying to address this issue. But then, you have the police who sometimes (often...) have no qualms about arresting people or violently repress people because they look a certain way. There were riots in France a few months ago because a policeman shot a young man - Nahel Merzouk - of Moroccan and Algerian descent to death. You can find articles about this on sites like The Guardian if you want.

Now let's return to FE3H/FEW3H.

In Houses, we learn that Almyra invades Fodlan for funsies and the soldiers then celebrate the fight with a big feast. So killing people (or getting some of your people killed) is basically treated like a joke... Fodlan's throat was built to better protect Fodlan from these attacks... which are treated like a game by the interloping party. That's... really not great. But we also learn from Claude's B support with Hilda that his father - the king of Almyra - tied him to a horse and dragged him around because he was a "brat" sometimes? And her own mother just laughed when it happened (granted, she's not Almyran, but still... nobody seemed to think that Claude's treatment was disgusting)? So physically abusing a child is seen as something funny. Again, reaaaally not great. And Cyril tells us (well, Claude technically) in their B support that his parents died in battle, and he had to survive on his own without any help, especially not from the king. And he was serving in the army at age 11/12 (possibly younger). Whether he was forced or not... I'm not sure, but it's entirely possible he had little choice if he wanted to survive somehow. ... not great at all.

In Hopes, we have Nader looking forward to "taking some souvenirs" aka pillaging and Lorenz - a white nobleman - telling him that pillaging is not allowed in Fodlan. Not Claude. Lorenz. Important Almyran general (and probably most of his soldiers lbr) thinks pillaging is fun for the savages from Almyra so we need local white nobleman from Fodlan to teach him that it's bad. Yikes. Then you have Clod who... well, first of all makes the worst possible decisions in part 2 (why side with the country that did nothing to you when you can help the one that intends to invade you?). He also believes Edelgard's words about Rhea without... I don't know, find a way to verify the information he's been provided? And he's shown to be a backstabbing, untrustworthy scumbag with the Randolt chapter for example. He uses morally reprehensible 'tactics' to invade a country that has done nothing to him (e.g.: inciting Sreng to attack the kingdom). He centres power around himself and suppresses the nobles who want to bail because they're not happy about this. Oh and there's Shahid, a prince so stupid he doesn't recognise his own brother in chapter 3. He attacks Fodlan to get a better chance at inheriting the throne. That's quite... ugh. This is when a sensitivity reader and a diversity editor would have been GREATLY beneficial to this game's writing (can also be applied to Petra and Dedue tbh). Sadly, it's not a thing in Japan as far as I know. Also, I probably forgot (or overlooked) some stuff, so any correction or addition is more than welcome!

[thebiscuiteternal]

would nmj's fate change in the larger age gap au? with the changes in relationships and political dynamics, i just can't see jgy finding it as easy to decide to kill him in this version.

I think it would, for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, no matter which version of canon you use, Nie Huaisang is going to push the "ge" button in the back of Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao's brain hard. I wrote a little snippet of them meeting on Discord using the non-CQL setting

Please imagine that during Sunshot in the greater-age-gap Nies timeline, something comes up at the Unclean Realms and since Mingjue can't leave the battlefield for whatever reason, he asks newly-minted 18yo aide-de-camp Meng Yao to go handle it.

So Meng Yao goes to the Unclean Realms and is met at the gate by a 10/11 yo with a grumpy expression.

"You're not Da-ge," he says, clearly disappointed.

Oh, this is the Sang-di that his sect leader is always talking about.

He's adorable.

Meng Yao smiles. "Sorry, but even your brother can't be in two places at once. This one is Meng Yao; his assistant."

Nie Huaisang brightens up just a little. "Oh! The really smart one!"

(Zongzhu actually said that in his letters home? Meng Yao's a little touched.)

Huaisang takes him to meet the supply overseers who needed assistance, but sticks around instead of going back to whatever he'd been doing.

Meng Yao catches the boy watching him a couple of times, but every time, Huaisang quickly looks away, face red.

They don't talk about it before Meng Yao leaves, crisis averted.

Cute little creechur! Who clearly thinks he's cool despite growing up around all these powerful cultivators! Meng Yao is smitten.

And then add in the fact that Mingjue and Huaisang's relationship is much more stable, with it being evident to anyone with eyes that they're each other's foundation, and Jin Guangyao would have a much harder time justifying the damage to a Huaisang that killing Mingjue would do.

Especially since, if I haven't fucked up my own timeline, he would be all of fourteen when his big brother died and he got thrown into an inheritance crisis. Yikes.

Of course, there's also another option.

Supposing instead that Jin Guangshan were to go the route that Nie Mingjue dreads the most, the very reason he'd held off on making Huaisang his heir to begin with: he is very young and very vulnerable and it would do a lot of damage to sect morale if anything were to happen to him.

Suppose Jin Guangshan decides the best way to remove Nie Mingjue from being a pest politically is to get rid of Huaisang.

Now, I've had a story where Jin Guangyao goes through with it; most of you have seen that.

But again, it's much harder to justify killing a 14yo than it is to kill a 20-23yo, especially one that clearly loves you.

Angsty soul-searching ahoy!

So I think either way, he'd try to stall for time. Maybe he can't tell them directly what's going on without feeling unfilial to his father, but he can drop hints and let his father braid enough rope to hang himself.

Whether or not it would work is still up in the air.

[asm5129]

RWBY V9 Thoughts & Analysis: E7 - The Perils of Paper Houses

So I thought there were new images of the blacksmith in the opening of this episode on first watch, but a friend told me they were always there and i checked and he was right. Oh well. Moving on

From the first shot we can see the creativity put into the design of the town with the paper lantern acting as their "sun"

Yang and Blake appear to have slept directly next top one another, which is adorable. Yang's also a snorer, because naturally.

Jaune...literally sleeps in his armor. Yikes. that's not a good sign.

And then Ruby...Ruby, you poor girl. I desperately hope you weren't awake all night stewing in your negative thoughts while staring at CR. Honestly though, considering what comes later, i wouldn't doubt it--we'll get there.

"I'm late!! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" As others have noted, Jaune holds allusions to the white rabbit

"You can fix it. You always fix it." Ooh boy, that's not a good sign.

"Ruby, where's your weapon?" Ruby dismisses this as her being tired, but it's clearly hinting at her actually not wanting to pick up Crescent Rose again.

"Hurry, people are counting on us!"

Ruby needs a break, but she's expected to be able to fulfill the role of Hero at any given moment. No time to rest, there's a new crisis to deal with!

btw I'll be talking more about Weiss' role this episode--and honestly, this volume--when i get to the final scene

Love this bit of foreshadowing--the vocal performance of "Three cheers for the Rusted Knight and his White Rabbit" is extremely flat and inauthentic. I noticed that the first time, but i wasn't sure what it meant. Now i know.

In fact, nearly every single moment with the Paper Pleasers gets new context on rewatch.

For instance, blatant disregards for their own (presumed) safety, like "Hello water, how may i serve you?"

Oh so Alyx did leave Jaune to die. It was a lethal poison. I stand by my theory that Alyx genuinely thought of the Ever After as make believe though, not to mention that it's quite possible she thought would Ascend--especially if she had topped believing he was actually from Remannt

Jaune's spent decades literally putting out fires whenever one pops up. He runs himself ragged, but as he says--at least the crises in this village are "predictable"

Oh no. He named the Paper Pleasers after everyone he feels like he failed. Oh no.

Ooof, Yang and Weiss accidently feeding the idea that Jaune is a failure through their tone about him not having any leads. This whole episode is "hurt people hurt people"

I won't go in depth here, but i highly recommend reading through Jaune's to-do list. It's wholesome and heartbreaking and a great look into his psyche at this point in time. I'm really happy they actually filled it out and gave us a good look, they easily could have made it squiggles or something.

So...hot take: I actually think Jaune's plan isn't that bad. But I also get why WBY are hesitant to take him up on it. From their perspective, this absolutely would feel pointless.

"This isn't crazy...I'm not crazy..." Poor Jaune. he's genuinely terrified he IS crazy, that he's been driven mad by isolation and pain, which is why he was so angry when CC implied it last episode.

"We can be frustrated later. Right now, Jaune needs us."

Ruby hasn't talked at all since they sat down, and she's not looking too good. and Little is noticing.

"Who does that leave us with? It's obvious we need someone to guide us"

Ruby speaks up for the first time "Well if that's how everyone feels--"

and gets cut off. If she hadn't been, I think what happens later would have happened here. She was already getting genuinely angry, clearly feeling like her team was saying they had a problem with her leadership. Except, maybe it wouldn't have been quite what it was in that final scene. Maybe it would have been more manageable. We'll never know.

So here's the thing. Arryn's great, but this isn't a town of "suicidal origami." The Paper Pleasers have no wish to die. If they were suicidal, they'd want to get eaten by the Jabberwalker. The problem is, Jaune doesn't understand that Ascension isn't death. I know to us and to him it sounds like it's indistinguishable from it, but it's been made explicit that to Afterans it is not the same at all. If they were the same, there would be no reason to worry about getting eaten by the jabberwalker. No, Ascension is a continuation of life to them. We may not understand it, but it's simply their reality. And that's why what Jaune has done is so awful.

To be clear, I'm not demonizing Jaune. I have deep empathy for him. He was desperate, and in pain, and isolated, and again, to him Ascension is death. But his own trauma and trust issues and subsequent willful ignorance about how the Ever After works ended up pushing him to craft a fantasy where crises can befall the people he loves (or stand-ins for them, anyway) and he can save them, again and again and again and again and again, forever.

Yang is totally right-- no one has the full story, not yet.

"he's clearly not...all there"

"Is that what you think?!"

There is a surprising lack of empathy for Jaune from Weiss and Yang in particular this episode--and we see the direct consequences of it right here.

"We're not listening to [the cat] We're listening to the Afterans"

Someone mentioned this somewhere and i think it's right--this is Blake's social justice side coming out in the aftermath of the visit to the herbalist. Listening to those with the authentic lived experience, rather than accepting the biases that come with her own.

Oh Jaune. Your trust issues are so deep.

"Then why do you care so much about this village?"

"BECAUSE I CAN ACTUALLY PROTECT THESE PEOPLE"

Ugh, my heart. Refer to my paragraph about Jaune creating a fantasy here

OH NO, JABBERWALKERS

Again, they aren't suicidal, otherwise they wouldn't be running in fear from the walkers

"then we won't run this time"

Ruby stays back for a couple seconds, but as always there's no time. She has a responsibility, right? She's the hero. There's no choice but to fight, no matter how much she doesn't want to, because that's her role.

Weiss and Jaune acting like partners in this fight while Ruby stands off on the sidelines, ugh. And that look he gives to Ruby when he notices she isn't fighting? ouch.

I hope i'm not misusing the term, but what's happening to Ruby here certainly seems like PTSD flashbacks. And the way they're animated and visualized and framed really puts us in ruby's headspace, it's heartbreaking. Plus that shot of Salem? Yikes

It was literally going to eat her and she was just...paralyzed.

Yeah, so yang's weirded out--definitely more than a semblance evolution here.

Regardless, Neo's closing in. I expect a lot of her tomorrow, but we'll see.

Meanwhile Jaune is lashing out, framing her paralysis as cowardice and selfishness, yet Ruby can't even hold Crescent Rose, the thing she once called her "sweetheart".

everyone knows that's a big deal, but hey--there's another crisis! There's always a crisis.

Clear mirror to the fall of Atlas.

"I was supposed to save them, and they're dead." -Jaune

Explicit spelling out that they're gone, but not dead

And here it is. THE scene. Let's break it down

"Why are you asking me? Because I'm the leader? Because I'm just supposed to have something to say? Cuz i don't. I mean, why do I have to be the leader anyway? Why do I have to be the one who always picks everybody up? What about me?"

Everyone has always looked to her for inspiration, because she's damn good at it. But it's waaaay too much pressure. It's funny--Yang once said something ruby desperately needed to hear, but she said it in one of her worst moments and Ruby didn't know how important it was.

"Sometimes bad things just happen"

And the thing is, without intending to, a lot of people--people who genuinely love her--relied on her to make that not true. To make every bad thing seem manageable, or to mean something.

They relied on her to make the world more like a fairy tale, because they didn't know how to cultivate the same spark she seemed to have.

Ruby's pain was always quiet. Actually, funnily enough, a lot of the audience fell into similar assumptions--that if Ruby's development wasn't loud, didn't get the spotlight, that it didn't matter. But it was always there. And just because not everyone's pain is loud and obvious, doesn't make it not real--If you were paying attention, you could see the groundwork being laid for this in every volume, including the ones that get the most gripes for doing her dirty.

But, the thing is, WBY and co aren't the bad guys for not being able to help her. She wasn't able to be helped, and they had their own baggage to deal with. Everyone can do their best, and someone can still get extremely hurt. WBY did the absolute best they could, and Ruby was still hurt. Those can and do coexist.

To Weiss: "No time, right? Gotta get home! Gotta help Jaune! Gotta find someone who isn't going to screw everything up!"

So, i personally take this line as coming from Weiss' behavior in this volume--the complaints about the Ever After, the blaming of team RWBY for the evacuation plan going wrong, being "tired of leaving places in ashes--having been internalized by Ruby as remarks about her failures.

Remember, Ruby blames herself for getting everyone stuck in the Ever After, so every time someone expressed frustration with the Ever After, or impatience over not having gotten out yet, she would have internalized that as slights against her.

When Weiss' frustration about the Ever After comes out, Ruby hears it as "You got us stuck here, you lost my home, and I'm miserable because of your choices. and you aren't even able to get us out."

BUT

I ALSO think it has a lot to do with her behavior in volume 1

the FNDM talks a lot about the impact of Oz's words on leadership on Ruby, and for good reason

But i think we overlook just how much of an impact v1 Weiss likely had on Ruby's psyche

Ruby came to Beacon riddled with insecurities

She was worried about making friends, worried about being a leader, worried about not deserving the skip to Beacon Oz granted her, and worried how people would treat her because of it

And Weiss hammered at ALL of those

Reapetedly

Hell, Ruby only got that awful advice from ozpin because she wanted reassurance that he didn't think weiss was right about her inability to be a leader

Again, not demonizing Weiss. We know why she was like that, it wasn't her fault. But i think it's something we oughta talk about more.

To Yang: "Gotta stay positive, right?! Smiles all around!! Maybe even get our feelings sorted out!

We've seen Yang very explicitly put Ruby on a pedestal multiple times. Most obviously in volume 5, but a bit even as far back as volume 1.

in volume 1, Ruby is expressing her desire not to be seen as a freak or imposter for skipping ahead two years, saying she doesn't want anyone to think she's special, while Yang piles on the praise telling her she is special

in volume 5, she stays to fight Salem after learning about all of Oz's lies and explicitly states it's because Ruby is doing so and she "always knows the right thing to do"

In volume 7, despite her hesitancy around lying to Ironwood, she tells Ruby they'll follow her lead

in volume 8, she says "We said we'd follow your lead when we got here, and that hasn't exactly worked out", unintentionally laying the blame for Ironwood's fall and all the other Atlas crises at Ruby's feet

Again, not demonizing Yang. She gave up her childhood for Ruby to be her parental figure when Tai was in his depression, but that doesn't mean she knew how to be a mother, not at that age. She would have no idea how to deal with with the complex and messy emotions of someone the age Ruby was when she was raising her, and Ruby herself would have felt pressure not to make an unfair job for Yang even harder.

To Blake: "Good for you, by the way, we're all so happy for you!"

RUBY IS NOT BEING HOMOPHOBIC. Can't believe I have to say that. She's not even genuinely unhappy for them I'd wager, she's just resentful that she didn't get to be happy too.

The thing is, there always seemed to be time for everyone else to slow down and sort through their feelings, but to Ruby that meant that if they needed that time she had to pick up the slack. That's why she went to Haven. It's what happened with the Apathy. If everyone else has fallen apart, someone has to hold it together and save lives. Someone has to hold it it together and lead. And she could, so she should...right?

"i'm sorry is this a bad time? Are we supposed to be mourning Jaune's make believe friends?"

and then Jaune goes on to blame her for everything she's already blaming herself for, and ooof that painful expression she makes, it breaks my heart (RWBY facial expressions are such an underrated part of the series btw--they're so good)

Jaune was her first real friend at Beacon. He gave her his hand in support for no other reason than that she needed it. I'd say that they genuinely might be best friends. They were always there for each other.

Hearing these words would always be painful, but hearing it from Jaune cuts straight into Ruby's soul.

He immediately apologizes. "I'm sorry, I know I'm not okay, I know I'm not right.... but how am I supposed to be?"

That bit of self-awareness is what could save you Jaune. Hold onto that.

"I've been alone for so long...Here...on that bridge...I was the only one that could do it, i was the ONLY ONE. And now I have to live with that forever. In here or back home." I think he's talking about killing Penny.

"Guys, i know things are bad but--"

"Shut. Up.

Don't do that. Just...don't."

When you know all the right words to lift people up, but you've stopped believing them, hearing them from others feels...almost insulting.

God what a brilliant episode. Im excited for what comes next, but also utterly terrified. I'm not sure any other story has affected me quite as deeply as RWBY. I'll have to do some RWBY meta on why that is at some point, but right now I've already spent far too long on this.

Good luck everyone! We'll need it 😅

[painted-fanbird]

And SPEAKING of blorbo from my video games, Sylvanas Windrunner?? The Blorbo from my Video Game. By which I mean the version of Sylvanas I made up in my head and not whatever the heck is happening in game. Because uhhh yikes fam.

Like, I like what we had prior to Legion! Which wasn’t exactly much in terms of strictly WoW lore (as far as I remember. I also don’t know what she was up to in Warcraft lol), but it was cool! A woman driven by the need to kill the man who killed her, raised her into undead servitude, and turned her against her own people. And she gets that! Arthas is killed, her vengeance is fulfilled, and with nothing left in this unlife for her she jumps from the top of ICC.

Only to be met with Warcraft Hell not the Maw because that’s dead to me and the reminder that her people still need her. If I remember her short story correctly lol. So Sylvannas comes back, tied to the Valkyrie and with a renewed sense of purpose for her life.

Now imagine, if instead of whatever mess that is canon, Sylvannas instead got an arc that focused on her becoming a protector of the Horde. A ruthless, bloodthirsty one, but a protector nonetheless.

In Cata she’s just vibing and bolstering the Forsaken and maybe connecting more with the Blood Elves. Because I’m not sure how much of that she’s done yet XD But mostly she’s lying low and sassing Garrosh when he comes around and probably still causing problems for Gilneas XD

In MoP she’s chomping at the bit to get Garrosh gone when she realizes he’s a problem, and she realizes she kind of cares about the Horde as a whole and not just the Forsaken and the Blood Elves. Starting with the Pandaren of all peoples. Seeing them get abused by Garrosh, alongside the Forsaken and Blood Elves triggers some long dormant instinct from when she was alive. It’s a protective one lol.

WoD is another lying low expansion, because we as players spend all our time on Draenor. But in the background Sylvannas is actually becoming a close advisor to Vol’jin. Because Vol’jin deserves to be warchief for longer than five minutes lol, and I think him and Sylv as warchief and right hand would be great. He’s more chill and Sylvanas’s first response to most problems is murder.

Legion is her moment to shine, leading forces against the Burning Legion as a military commander like in her Ranger-General days. She’s a beast in battle, she looks out for her forces, and is fast to accept the demon hunters once they prove their worth, because she’s becoming somewhat of a champion for the outcasted <3

BfA is more Sylv as a commander, following the logic I think she had in one of the novels. We’re at peace with the Alliance now, but what about in 5 years? 10? 15? We should be claiming the Azerite now, just in case. But with no burning of Teldrassil. It could still burn, but N’zoth is probably directly responsible for that if so. She didn’t do it lol. Also Azerite is probably most commonly found on the coats, and places ravaged by the cataclysm. For flavor! Also Tyrande can have her little vengeance arc early and turn the moon warrior stuff on the old gods! It’s a win win!

Dragonflight would be a backseat Sylvannas expansion. She’s probably back in Org with Vol’jin chilling. If she drops by the dragon isles, she gets to learn how to relax in between shooting primalists XD

[squeakytoy136]

so i wrote a little thing with dark arven in it

Hyperfixations really make things happen, Dark Arven based off of this

also featuring my oc momo, with area zero spoilers

Reflections

It all started with an unfortunate stumble. A follow up trip to Area Zero that had Arven somehow disappearing into the crystal he bumped into, leaving only his shadow. And then, his shadow got up.

"Dark Arven…?"

It all sounded like the evil doppelganger trope Momo's seen in stuff she read about before. There was definitely no way this was real. There was no way her boyfriend stumbled through those mystical crystals like it was actually some funky magic portal. There was no way this shadowy-looking clone of him happened to stumble out in his place. But yet, the words escaped her lips, and they were heard.

"Well… at least this universe still has a Momo in it…" He rubbed at his head. "And what's with the name? It's just Arven, y'know."

His frown was authentic, and so was the judgemental look that whipped towards her. He still had that teal colored stare, but everything else almost seemed like a trick of the light of the research station's roof. His hair, clothes, and even his backpack carried pitch black hues, making for a bold aesthetic Momo never expected from her Arven.

Her thinking cogs got turning as she stared at him, and he seemed to be doing the same as he stared back. He almost seemed to be looming over her as he gazed at her, with a presence so imposing that Momo felt the need to lean back and gulp.

"Okay, you're definitely not Arven."

"And you're definitely not my Momo. Too bland." His tone was unsurprised, unimpressed even. He looked back towards the crystal he just stepped out of. "Great, and now that gateway's out of power. I'm going to have to find a new one."

"Too bland? Gateway? Huh?" Momo looked to the crystal, which had lost its glow. She had all too many questions, but there was one that was at the forefront. "Did that… crystal really just suck up my Arven and leave me with… you?"

He scoffed as he turned away. "Guess I stumbled into a universe that doesn't have this. I'll make this quick for you, Not Momo. The multiverse is real, my poor excuses for parents got themselves killed looking into it, and now I'm pretty much stuck in your universe for now. Riddle me this, did your professors here trifle with dimensional travel? That's what these crystals are supposed to power, right?"

Though a bit overwhelmed, Momo found herself slowly shaking her head. "No…"

"Ain't that typical." He rolled his eyes, before taking a book out of his backpack. Momo glimpsed at its sleek black cover before the guy stepped away from her. "I'll get out of your hair before long. Just need to find another suitable crystal and I'll be able to send myself back. Judging from how totaled this research station is, I'm guessing they're sprouting like weeds here too."

And just like that, he had left the research station. Still, as bizarre as this encounter was, Momo definitely wasn't letting this Dark Arven guy out of her sight. She had questions.

"Yikes, that's bright." 

Momo found him sneering under the light of the glittering bottom floor of Area Zero. He didn't seem to pay her much mind, but she still stomped after him. She had a worried outburst she needed him to hear.

"Hold it, Darven!"

"Arven, but whatever."

"So you mean to tell me my Arven is stuck in some sort of other dimension? Wherever you're from?"

"That's right." He licked his finger and flipped a page.

"Why does that book of yours have a bloodstain on it?"

"No comment."

"Okay then." Momo huffed. "Am I… ever going to get my Arven back?"

"If he ever gets the same idea that I'm getting, maybe." There was a smirk on his face as he spoke. "You don't sound too happy about that."

"Of course I'm not happy!" Momo exclaimed in the face of his frown. "That's my best friend and boyfriend I just lost! If I can't get him back, then that'd just leave me with… with…"

"With who? Me?" He was looking directly at her now. His stare was taunting, and under the sheen of the crystalline lights around them, it was all the more striking. "I mean, haven't you ever wanted to see what being with someone from another universe is like? Someone… tall, dark, and handsome?"

His voice had lowered into mere breaths. Breaths that were hot on her face.

"What do you say… little buddy?"

Momo could only her herself gulp alongside her racing heart. There was no denying those words, his unexpected boldness, seeing that face and voice of his taunt her like so. It was just like Arven to leave her breathless, but even then… not like this.

"You're not my Arven." Momo nodded with certainty, defiantly standing her ground.

Dark Arven raised an eyebrow, narrowed his eyes at her, and backed away laughing. "Man, you got me there. My Momo always lost it whenever I did that. Don't think I'd ever get along with anyone from a universe like this. I'd hate to see how your Nemona or Penny ended up. Least this timeline has a pretty cute Momo. Speaking of which, I gotta get back home to mine."

"Hmph." While Momo wasn't all too pleased by that bluff he just pulled, she couldn't deny the curiosity that perked up when she heard her name. "Your Dark Momo's probably nothing like me if she can put up with this stuff."

"She's passionate, mainly. Really passionate. And definitely my ray of sunshine, that's for sure…" For once, a sentimental smile bloomed on his face as his gaze tilted upwards. "The burning… devilish fires of the sun. Just the way I like it."

"Yeesh. I like to think of myself as devilishly mischievous, but that's a bit much." Momo wasn't sure what edge was worse, the steep cliff drops, or this guy's.

"Alright, Not Momo." Dark Arven put his arm around her, walking her forward and deeper into the cavern of crystals. "What kind of adventures have you gone on with Not Arven? Fun adventures? Any lawbreaking involved? Is he fun to kiss, at least?"

"Yes… maybe… and… uh…" Momo found herself blushing and fidgeting at that. "Anyways! We went on the most cool and epic adventures, thank you very much! There were these miracle herbs, and we were hunting them down, and we made some real miracles happen, and… and…" She frowned at the look he was giving her. "... Hey, what's that skeptical look for?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Dark Arven's gaze fell, his locks obscuring his eyes as his hands tucked themselves into his pockets. "Just finding it pretty funny. My Momo's got a deviously overactive imagination just like you. Miracles don't exist where I'm from, y'know. Not the life saving kind, anyway."

"Oh."

Momo didn't know what to say after that. Neither did he, from the looks of things. Still, there was a familiar concern that Momo felt. The brief but utter loss of hope on Dark Arven's face wasn't something she ever saw before, but it was a despair she used to dread happening at all.

"Your universe really is a grim one, huh?" Momo spoke quietly.

"I've seen that look of worry before." His expression perked up slightly. "Don't sweat it. I still got my moments to shine despite it all. Right now I'm just focusing on finding an appropriate gateway crystal and hoping my Momo hasn't eaten your Arven up, so we can get this quick dimensional trade going."

"Um…" Momo hesitated. "You mean that eating part as a figure of speech, right?"

"Heh. Maybe."

Momo shoved him at that. He grunted and ended up bumping his shoulder against a large crystal wall, which left it humming as it suddenly pulsed with light.

"Well would ya look at that." Dark Arven placed his hands on his hips. "There's my gateway."

"About time." Momo crossed her arms. "So how does this dimensional travel stuff work?"

"Needs a bit of equivalent exchange. Me for your Arven." Dark Arven started flipping through his book again. "Once my reflection in the crystal starts looking like yours, means the jump is good to go. Now to wait until your guy gets the memo."

"He's resourceful. I'm sure he'll come by eventually." Momo nodded, tapping her foot against the ground.

"Whew, can't wait to get back. Me and my Momo can get back to doing our thing, and you and your Not Arven can go back to…" He grimaced as his eyes looked towards the grand lab ahead. "... investigating whatever this place has got going on. Don't know why your professor would need all these crystals if it's not for fueling dimensional travel."

Momo grimaced at his grimace. "If you must know, all this research was done for time travel. There's even a biggol' time machine in there that brought all sorts of Pokémon here, so we've all l been hard at work rounding them all up."

That got his attention. "Did you say… a time machine?"

"Yes, and-"

"Change of plans." He closed the book, tucking it under his arm as he tore his gaze from his reflection. "This I gotta see."

There was a devilish smile on his face. And not the mischievous kind.

[pansexualkiba]

@panda-monium64 you've opened the floodgates. Get ready for some shit.

PART TWO OF A SERIES. I'LL HAVE A MASTERPOST UP LATER.

TOUHOU SEISONOMOTO ~ GARDEN OF ETERNITY

I'll give you three guesses what the focal point of this one is.

Fun fact! As originally planned, this story would not only be happening SIMULTANEOUSLY to WDI, but also, for some reason, to Marine Benefit, a fangame I have no affiliation with due to being in MIDDLE SCHOOL when it was released. Because it was "developed" directly after WDI, but the characters were essentially revealed at the same time, I just sorta now place them as happening consecutively.

The plot: A giant fucking walled garden has appeared along the edges of the border, somewhere between the Sanzu and the Netherworld (so not directly beneath it). Nothing has happened yet, but people are curious and want to know what's in this weird garden. This has a bit of a Subterranean Animism type thing where the subshot you pick gives you dialogue with a second character whose "faction" wants you to investigate.

Because the theme is the garden, all of the important characters are essentially plant youkai. Of course, there's a bit of cringe here and there since they were also made in middle school. Let's start here.

ENCHOU TSUTA Creeping Plant of Antiquity Species: Ivy Youkai Ability: Capable of extending her limbs The guard of the Garden of Eternity. Due to her ability and stalwart personality, she was given the position of gatekeeper by the garden's boss. She, like many residents of the garden, awoke as youkai after many years of unstopped growth. As such, she can be considered the progenitor of all vine-like plants. Unfortunately, none of this meant anything to the protagonist's strength. She was quickly defeated in short order.

I actually genuinely like this girl? Idk what it is. The cool name, the fact that I made her hair decoration be a ribbon that looks like poison ivy leaves... She's got it all. The fact that I made her some random guard that gets Got in Stage 1 is more or less because I was a real PC-98 truther back then and I wanted to call back to Mystic Square, where the exact same thing happened to Sara. Anyways, now that we have canonical vine bullets, it's a lot easier for me to imagine how Enchou's attacks would actually look.

KOURIKO TANPOPO Snow Flower in July Species: Dandelion Youkai Ability: Capable of causing snowfall A Western-style dandelion youkai. She had desired to see snow right before she had awoken as a youkai. As such, she awakened a snow-bringing power when she awoke. She's completely unaware this is her doing, however, and she just wants to dance around in the unseasonable blizzard. Despite representing both flowering and seeding forms of the dandelion at the same time, she's still quite weak. As such, her threat level as an invasive species really isn't that high. As a side note, she's begun a lucrative business selling "dandelion tea" blends.

This was my favorite back in the day (lol). She's just a little guy, your honor. A little birthday girl. That last name, tho... Yikes. You'll soon find every single girl in this section is named after their plant unless further pointed out. This ended up being the naming convention for the Beast Realm Matriarchs in canon, so, uh... Whoops? Also, I think she reappears in the phantasmagoria-type. (Why did I put dandelion tea in quotes... It is tea. Why am I suspicious of this?)

MIRYOKU MOUSENGOKE Insectivorous Flower Species: Sundew Youkai Ability: Manipulation of attraction A youkai of a carnivorous flower. Her personality is to draw in insects before eating them whole. As such, she's rather like a fisherwoman. Her ability refers to not only her ability to spew insect-attracting pheromones, but also gravitational and electromagnetic attraction as well. As such, she's actually rather dangerous, despite her rather placid nature. She attacked the protagonist because she accidentally thought they were prey. It's sort of a parable of biting off more than you can chew, in that regard.

Another girl that tries to eat the protag... What was going on back then. Anyways, this girl is like, HELLA dangerous. I like how like, the edgy bits came in WDI in the latter half, but this chick is just here as THE edgy bitch in GoE. Fun fact, this girl did some cocomelon shit to me so bad that I made one of my personal e-mails one of her Spell Cards despite having NO REASON to do that. That's the power of carnivorous plants, I guess.

FUKU INABA Sake-Drunk Rabbit Species: Rabbit Ability: Capable of controlling alcohol levels A subordinate of Tewi Inaba. She was sent to investigate the garden, but was caught by Miryoku, along with a couple other youkai. Thanks to the protagonist, they were all freed, but Fuku needs to finish her investigation. With that, she attacked. -- INOE HIGASHIOKA Spice-Laden Tengu Species: White wolf Tengu Ability: Capable of tripling an object A white wolf tengu sent as a scout. Acting under orders from Lord Tenma himself, she entered the garden and was captured for food. Luckily, the protagonists freed her, so she was free to continue her scouting mission. She attacks Reimu out of a misplaced annoyance for Aya. Her ability does not extend to living things, but it does extend to gases, so she's extremely good at smokescreens. -- SANMI FUKUMURA Red-Meat Human Species: Human Ability: Capable of using magic stones A human from the outside world. She found herself wandering into Gensokyo sometime during the Foreign Youkai Incident. She is currently employed at the Scarlet Devil Manor as an assistant to Patchouli. She was sent to look into the garden by Remilia, but she was caught easily. She was just on her was out when she was attacked. -- SUIKIN TAKISHIMA Mineral-Rich Kappa Species: Kappa Ability: Capable of manipulating ores A scout sent by the kappa. She got into the garden just fine, but was captured by Miryoku. Luckily, the protagonist set her and a couple other inhabitants free. As thanks, Suikin offered to take over the investigation, but was promptly shot down.

The stage 4 midboss squad!!! Which one you face is dependent on who you have as your subshot. Their main purpose is to show that a good chunk of people have their eyes on the garden, and also to have jokes in their titles about how they were almost fucking eaten alive. I think of these four, Sanmi was the one that my friend liked the most? Very odd, that, but what can you do. I guess that's the power of the SDM.

DONNA BELLA Flower of Cassandra Species: Nightshade Youkai Ability: Capable of seeing the future A nightshade youkai that can foresee future events. She did, indeed, foresee that the garden would arrive, and indeed, foresaw not only the protagonist's arrival, but also her own defeat. The problem is that no one believes her visions. She's learned a little trick, however: if she phrases her visions just right, people will still believe them. The way to do this is to phrase her visions as the opposite of what will actually happen, so that people believe the contrary, and therefore the real vision. With that in mind, she set off to actively guide the protagonist to the main boss of the garden, as their aimless rampaging through the area would do no good to anyone. Not that anyone would believe her if she gave her real reason. Later, she showed up to help lead the protagonist to Tsukiko, to minimize property damage first and foremost.

THIS NAME........ THIS NAAAAAME......... BELLADONNA. DONNA BELLA. I mitigated my embarrassment at the time by making her theme title Italian... My little ass thought I was being SOOO CLEVER... Anyways this is a very fun weird inversion of Sagume's powers - Sagume actively cannot tell the truth, because the inverse of that will happen. Meanwhile, Donna's ability means that people won't believe her visions, so she lies so people believe the opposite. I just thought that was very funny. It's also pure luck they're both Stage 4 bosses - remember, I made this batch in middle school. Ten Desires was the hot new thing back then.

KUSURI KESHI Bitter Medicine Species: Poppy Youkai Ability: Capable of causing hallucinations The youkai of an opium poppy. She is the boss of all the poppies in the garden, especially in her field. She can put humans to sleep if she has enough of her subordinates working in tandem. However, they're all too laid-back and disorganized for this formation to ever actually work. Her ability lets her create the illusion of shifting shapes, but like all hallucinations, this vanishes when you reach for it. She actually has no relation to the overall incident, but she happened to be in the way of the protagonists.

Remember when I said I was an edgy middle schooler? My stupid little ass went "yeah let's put DRUGS in Touhou". Not as bad as it could have been, really? I sorta also mixed in the poppy field from The Wizard of Oz into this girl as well. I think it's sorta funny that I pointed out that she just has literal no fucking relationship to anyone in the hierarchy of the Garden, she's just sorta Just A Guy. Normally the unrelated mooks are stage 1 fodder.

SHIGAI HIGANBANA Necro-Romantic Corpse Flower Species: Rafflesia Youkai Ability: Capable of manipulating corpses The youkai of a rafflesia plant. Long ago, the Garden of Eternity was watched over by two humans. However, they were given knowledge, and upon defying their guardian's wishes, were exiled from the Garden. The garden, no longer watched over or guarded, soon grew untamed. Eventually, youkai began to spring forth from the plants. The immediate question was this: who was to take charge? Naturally, many strong youkai put forward themselves, but before any could act, a voice rang out. "It is only natural that I, the oldest of you all, should lead." The smell of rotting flesh filled the air, and Shigai Higanbana became known. Though centuries passed and the winds and animals carried away seeds to spread their descendants, the Garden had yet to be rediscovered by man. It got to the point where people began to wonder if there even was such a place. Thus, the Garden was moved to Gensokyo by complete accident, shocking everyone with its massive size. "Perhaps it moved to save itself." That is what Shigai thought to herself, getting ready to appear to her subordinates to calm them. That's when the protagonist arrived.

I don't think I need to explain what this fucking plot is about. I was like "oh this is SUCH a good plot twist" and as of now it's like. Yeah this could probably happen nowadays. But it seems TOO obvious. Also this was before I knew about The Last Comer so me being like "OMG....... Touhou Christianity....." but I also didn't want to just make Jesus, yknow? Anyways Shigai Higanbana is such a cool bitch. Her design has a little crown and she has rafflesia patterns on her skirt. She's leading the Garden and she has a Spellcard called "Higanbana's Monster". I love her so much. She's exactly the type of edge I'm not embarrassed about I WISH I could be this creative about OCs again.

TSUKIKO TORIKABUTO Poison Flower of the Moon Species: Monkshood Youkai Ability: Capable of manipulating moonlight A youkai of an aconite bloom. She has a nocturnal lifestyle, making her rather untrustworthy to the other, more sun-loving inhabitants of the garden. However, using her power, she can make moonlight stronger than its base form, sunlight. Despite the distrust of the other plants, she does care for everyone, and thus she leads a night patrol of which she is the only guard. Like Shigai and Donna, she actually knows what the garden's original name was, but she finds it unnecessary knowledge at this point. "Events in the past are in the past." Her power to control moonlight sent warning signs to the Lunar Rabbits currently living in Gensokyo, so they alerted the protagonists. And that is how she found her next guard shift under attack.

Technically, Tsukiko could be considered Enchou's direct superior. Make of that what you will. Anyways, what kind of fucking simplistic-ass name is Tsukiko? Love it when all these girls from like, the Fertile Crescent or whatever have Japanese names for some inexplicable reason. I think I get better at this later? Tsukiko really is just some bitch and I love her for it, but she's really just sorta here, isn't she. I ALSO love how I implied that literally only three people know the name of the Garden, but the only one who deems it relevant information is the leader of the whole place, and she never tells any of the inhabitants anyways. To be fair, they may not be curious in the first place.

If I had to place the Garden's inhabitants on a scale, I'd say they're on the Medicine Melancholy level of complete non-interference. As long as no one goes into the Garden, they're just completely unbothered about the whole thing. The only exception, I'd say, is Kouriko, who goes on to start selling tea blends to the Human Village. I don't know what she needs the money for, but it really does seem you can just sorta, sell whatever you want and no one will stop you. A fun fact about the Garden is that the closer you get to the side of the wall near the Barrier, the denser the forest gets until it's just a jungle devoid of light. I don't know where Shigai's getting the corpses for her attacks, but she IS near the Sanzu, geographically. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Anyways, in a few weeks' time, the most important Incident in this series will take place. And it all starts... With a meteor shower.

[emmettkane]

Okay, I watched Hellboy (2004). long post time. First off: context. I didn't read any of the Hellboy comics when they came out, as soon as they came out, because I wasn't alive in 1994, so I don't know what a fan of them might have thought of Guillermo Del Toro's take on it when the first live action Hellboy film released. Note, that was in 2004.

I enjoyed the tale in a very modern way: by reading pretty much all of it in a few months through the omnibus collections. That gave me a pretty clear idea of the direction of the story and the arcs of the characters, one that I'm honestly not sure that Mike Mignola had the luxury of, and it made watching that first film jarring in so many fun (see, terrible) ways.

I'm not going to jump out and say that it was bad, because I did have some amount of fun watching it, and I have nothing but respect for Guillermo.

It wasn't Hellboy though?

Okay, that's Mister Mignola's decision to make, (I know, i know, death of the artist or w/ever, but I respect the guy) but I had some serious grievances with the handling.

(If you're going to read further, keep in mind that the film was based off of The Seed of Destruction, which is the first of the four Hellboy Omnibuses)

Lets start with some critical differences 1. The nazis don't get off-screened in a b-plot due to infighting (which was critical to the comics) 2. Kroenen is just a ninja mummy now for some reason 3. WHO IS THIS WHITE GUY? WHY IS HE IN THE PLOT? (to give the audience a relatable character, in Hellboy. Yikes)

and to me, the gravest of sins: 4. Hellboy uses a gun.

Mind you The Samaritan is a radical firearm, but HB uses guns like, twice in the whole of the comics, and they blow up in his hands or otherwise fail him both times.

I could go on, about how they blew up the romance and made it central in a way that deeply detracted from Hellboy's original arc, about the addition of more generic agent characters, about not using any of the actual interesting locations from the comics and instead hosting the entire story in [LARGE CITY], USA.

I can tell you though, that after a little thought and research, all that probably came down to two things.

#1: Mike had been trying to turn Hellboy into a film for ages by this point, and people kept shooting him down (lots of reasons for that in 2004, I guess) and he probably just wanted to make it happen at that point

#2: And this is influenced by #1, but...filming restrictions. Hellboy using a gun reduced the amount of choreography work, filming in a single city reduced travel/FX budgets, having the nazis directly involved in the story shortened shooting times and simplified the overall plot. I get it. I think.

Okay, so, look. I don't know if any of that stuff makes it not-pretty-terrible anyway, but I think it's important to at least try to remember the environment people were in when they made whatever creative decisions they made. History is, if nothing else, fascinating to study. Anyway, even if I didn't enjoy the piece, I'm glad that I watched it. The real benefit to looking at "the classics" isn't to see something you'll love, but to know where the things you do love came from.

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #217

　10 HOW’S

How did you get one of your scars? Surgery directly above my asscrack lmfao

How did you celebrate your last birthday? Uh... I don't remember everything, other than Girt came over and we went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner as a family.

How are you feeling at this moment? I'm okay. My stomach's sorta bothering me, but.

How did your night go last night? Fine. I've actually been having issues with random flares of panic when I'm lying down to sleep (I have NO idea why, and I'm not even panicking over something specific), but this didn't happen last night. I read for a long time.

How did you do in high school? Academically, excellent. I was a very good student that was especially recognized for my writing. But I was dealing with very bad depression and anxiety to the point I was often suicidal.

How did you get the shirt you’re wearing? Oh I have no idea. Realistically it was probably at Wal-Mart, likely during Halloweentime haha.

How often do you see your best friend? Usually once or twice a week.

How much money did you spend last month? Zero. I don't have any money whatsoever.

How old do you want to be when you get married? I don't have a specific age in mind, I think that's weird. I get married when I'm ready to get married.

How old will you be at your next birthday? 29. Yikes...

　9 WHAT’S

What is the most important part of your life? My mental health/improving it. Girt and being a good girlfriend, working towards building our own life.

What did you do last weekend? dude I don't remember, I don't remember what I did yesterday basically

What did you last cry over? My mom being a bitch.

What are you worried about? Finances. Not having a job.

What is your mother’s name? Donna.

What always makes you feel better when you’re upset? Nothing infallibly works like that.

What would you rather be doing? I'm fine right now, I guess.

What’s the most important thing you look for in a significant other? Compassion, understanding, patience, general kindness. I would never be able to date a largely politically right-wing person, like it just wouldn't work.

What did you have for breakfast? I had Krave cereal.

　8 HAVE YOU’S

Have you ever done something outrageously dumb? Who hasn't?????

Have you ever had sex on the beach? God no, this sounds so uncomfortable, even if the beach was empty. Sand??????? Everywhere????????

Have you ever been backstabbed by a friend? Colleen absolutely bad-mouthed me behind my back, and to my knowledge, that counts as backstabbing. I wouldn't be shocked if Sara ever did the same thing when we were considered friends the dozen times we tried to be friends.

Have you ever been out of the country? No, sadly.

Have you ever dated someone younger than you? Not much younger, but yes. Sara was two years younger than me.

Have you ever liked someone who already had somebody? Yup.

Have you ever been brokenhearted? Oh y'all know lmao

Have you ever read an entire book in one day? I think so.

　7 WHO’S

Who is the last person you saw? My mom.

Who is the last person that you texted? My mom.

Who called you last? Uh... I can't remember. That I actually answered, anyway.

Who is the last person you hung out with? Girt.

Who did you hug last? Girt.

Who is the last person that texted you? Mom.

Who was the last person you said “I love you” to? Girt.

　6 WHERE’S

Where does your best friend live? Here, in NC. I'm obviously not sharing his city.

Where is your favorite place to be? I mean it depends.

Where did you sleep last night? My bed.

Where did you last hang out? My sister's house for my niece's birthday party.

Where do/did you go to school? Here in NC. I'm still not sharing cities.

Where did you last adventure to? Raleigh's big Pride event.

　5 DO’S/DOES

Do you ever wish you were someone else? Not exactly, no. I just wish I was a better me.

Do you think anyone despises you? I know very well Sara does. Colleen probably doesn't care anymore, but maybe. She was always very hateful.

Do you like someone right now? I'm in love with someone.

Does the future scare you? It terrifies me.

Do you have any secret powers? Don't ask dumb questions on surveys where it doesn't make sense for me to remove questions lol

　4 WHY’S

Why are you best friends with your best friend(s)? Because he's been there for me more than anyone, other than obviously my mom. He cares genuinely about me and my progress and seems to sincerely enjoying talking to/being around me. He inspires me. He's absolutely hilarious and I appreciate that.

Why did your parents give you the name you have? I dunno, they liked it.

Why did you get a MySpace? Probably because my friends were getting it and it sounded fun.

Why are you doing this survey? I was bored and it's been a minute.

　3 IF’S

If you could have one super power what would it be? Healing.

If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you? Yes. There are multiple things I would change.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Blue Ridge Mountains here in NC, probably.

　2 WOULD-YOU-EVER’S

Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love? ... How would shaving my hair do that, though? I mean I WOULD in whatever situation this would work, but it's an impractical situation.

Would you ever get back together with any of your exes if they asked you? Hell no.

　LAST 1

Are you happy with how your life has turned out? Ultimately, no.