#i already have scripts so maybe i'll work on some of them

[wogot3]

i dont remember if i ever shared that polaroid/compliant is conductor but yea here you go

spoilery concept stuff but i dont careeeeeeeeeee

[sukunasweetheart]

kimi ni todoke inspired, but with a twist?? except sukuna is suuuuper into your whole scary/creepy vibes (strange fetish) this is more just rambling, not a proper fic sorry, its a little smutty, scratching and knifeplay involved (he's quite submissive), sukuna's a whole FRREAK

sukuna in college au, where he has a strange infatuation with the horror genre-- has a deep appreciation for scary films, and is a huge nerd in this area, and many of his favourite celebrities are actors and actresses that starred in one of his favourite films. his brother yuuji is also a huge cinema nerd but he's not as obsessed with horror as sukuna is. and frankly, yuuji thinks he's a slight weirdo for being able to analyse them in a very detailed manner, whether it's the jumpscares or how realistic a gore scene looks.

and now this horror nerd discovers someone very noteworthy in his area. there's this semi-famous haunted house that operates year-round nearby his university, which he decides to visit alone, out of boredom.

...the atmosphere is alright. the decoration could use some work. the bloody sheets don't look convincing enough. it's too pink and tacky. the "ghosts" give an effort to try and scare him, but he gives them a deadpan look.

"can you try any harder?" sukuna keeps walking.

next, a man dressed like a typical serial killer walks in holding a real chainsaw. oh, boy. the "killer" walks up real close to him, to his annoyance. he takes the chance to inspect the mask on his face. he flicks it lightly with a finger.

"shit's made out of plastic. do better."

the man revs up his chainsaw.

"ha - that's the spirit." he continues walking.

there's suddenly eerie silence, now that he's almost at the exit of the haunted house. what, did they run out of ideas?

he thinks he catches a glimpse of someone in the corner of his eye. sukuna stops and turns back, but there's no one in sight. that gets the hairs on the back of his neck rising, ever so slightly. he likes that.

he feigns ignorance and keeps heading to the exit, wanting something to jump out at him. he hears little footsteps behind him, this time. he whips around again, but there's nobody.

"you're edging me, are you?" he says sarcastically with a chuckle.

you're hiding in a little pocket area out of view, when you hear the man mention something about edging. great. another fucking weirdo. sometimes, you feel like you should just get a new job.

the third time, you actually reveal yourself and stand still in view when he turns around. the weirdo just stands there and grins at you. the fuck??

oh, sukuna loves this one. you look terrifying. like you came directly from a horror film set. you give him the creeps.

"look at you... a diamond in the rough."

the fuck is this man talking about? you want to tell him to just leave already. but he just continues observing you silently, like someone analysing an artifact. you move stiffly towards him, even while knowing that it probably wouldn't be enough to scare him off.

"your makeup looks too real... do you do that yourself?"

you glare at him. it's part of the script anyway. sukuna chuckles, because something tells him that the disdain in your eyes are real.

"i know, i know. i'll get going. any chance i could get your number before i go?" he asks boldly, hands in his pockets. it's a half-hearted attempt, but he felt the need to really try at least once.

he must be joking. what kind of perverted man sees a woman looking like this and asks for her number? well, he probably isn't being serious anyway. silence permeates the area as you backtrack away from him, deciding you've done enough for your pay's worth.

"running away? a shame..."

you feel odd. many men have seen you and ended up running out screaming. none has ever tried flirting with you while you were in this getup. what a weirdo.

sukuna walks out feeling better than expected. that last section really saved it. not a totally worthless experience. maybe he'll swing by again, just to see you.

except, he doesn't really need to. because the next day you bump into him at uni - and he recognises you instantly, like the freak he is. you try to brush him off casually, but he can't be shaken off so easily. and then sukuna pestering you wherever you hid around on campus became part of your schedule.

"what's your deal? why do you keep following me around?" you eye him suspiciously, when he sits down next to you on the bench, unprompted.

"well, i'm interested in you, for one," he says casually, shrugging.

"listen... if this is because you have some weird horror fetish, then i'm not interested..." you tell him truthfully, shuffling yourself away.

sukuna laughs out loudly in response, which makes you jump.

"i won't deny having unusual tastes, but my interest isn't that shallow. if it were the case, i could probably seduce any other girl and dress her up instead of chasing after you."

well, you guess he's correct about that. you've received a couple of stink eyes from a number of girls after being seen with sukuna so often.

he's an annoying guy - when you ask other peers about him, they tell you he's stoic, mean, and rude as fuck. well, you understand the last two a little bit, but stoic? every time he sees you, he seems like the opposite. he's rather loud and overbearing.

"i'm telling you - you have a talent. why not make use of it?"

he's referring to your future acting career, apparently.

"and i'm telling you - stop with the nonsense! i can't be fooling around with a silly idea like becoming an actor. seriously."

you only started working at the haunted house for some cash. you're not even that into the genre itself. what's with this guy?

"why would it be fooling around? at least give it a try before dismissing it."

this back and forth continues, for quite a while. he even forces you to watch his favourite horror films, "for future reference".

and then he proposes a deal to you. that you try and audition for a small role as a ghost in a film. he guarantees you'll get picked, even though you doubt it. and if you don't he promises he'll never bring the idea up to you again. you decide to go with it, just to shut him up.

but guess what? you're selected for the role.

sukuna shrugs at you with a smug smile on his face.

"see? i'm always right."

he pisses you off.

and he somehow pushes his way into becoming your personal "trainer". sukuna revises your script with you, and gives you feedback on your acting. he sits you down and watches classic horror flicks with you, analysing every scene down to every frame. many things happen the more you spend time with him..... you find yourself getting more and more attracted to this weirdo. this horror nerd.

"are you paying attention? this part is important."

the film gets paused, and you very swiftly, dart your eyes away from admiring his jawline.

"i'm trying... i just can't concentrate. i'm hungry," you lie fervently.

"hungry for what? me?" sukuna grabs your face and makes you turn your head towards him.

"...no? whatever gave you that idea?" you ask, heart hammering in your chest.

"how is it that an aspiring actor can't even lie properly? maybe we need to go back and revise some of your acting lessons."

you know that he's studying to become a film director, and honestly you feel sorry for the future actors that'll be working with him.

"whatever. let go of my face, you ass." you swat his hand away.

sukuna chuckles deeply at you, eyes softening.

"you're lucky that you're cute. how about i give you a kiss? will you concentrate better then?"

"yeah... wait, what-?"

too late though, he's already on your lips. and damn, he's a good kisser. anyways, that embarks the start of your relationship with him. shortly after, the filming process for the short film begins, and it becomes a decent success. you're a little ecstatic. maybe more than a little. you get the feeling that a whole new life is awaiting you.

and your boyfriend is so endlessly cocky about it. "all thanks to me," he says, which is technically correct, but you don't want to openly admit it in front of him sometimes.

and...

occasionally...you do dress up scarily before sex as well. at first, you were quite reluctant and awkward with roleplaying in bed, but after you got used to it, you found that it's hot as hell to see sukuna beneath you, squirming as you press a knife close to his throat, grinding your clothed cunt against his boner, dressed as a terrifying ghoul.

a safe word was established beforehand, of course, just in case either of you suddenly feel like backing out.

you want to keep yourself immersed into the role as much as possible, but it's difficult when sukuna's cock is so big, hitting all the right spots. this time, you're choking him with one hand as you ride him like he's a toy.

sukuna's hands are guiding your hips, fingertips digging into your flesh, his dick aching from the soft pressure you apply to his throat. you look so utterly scary, it turns him on. he'd let you kill him, if you wanted. he fucks into your cervix, looking up into your eyes with a blush on his face, groaning openly at the insane look in your eyes.

choke me harder. scratch me. bite me. he provokes you through his gaze.

you do grip his throat harder. and then you dig your fingernails into his chest, and scrape them down slowly, leaving a trail of red marks down him. sukuna shudders under you and curses under his breath.

"just like that... fuck, baby," he moans, cock throbbing inside of you. your walls squeeze him so good.

he cums the hardest he's ever cum in his life that night - thighs trembling and sweat rolling down his temples, and it doesn't help that you lean down to sink your teeth into the side of his neck while he orgasms.

aftercare consists of him cleaning you up and helping you de-costume. when he's wiping all that dark makeup off your face, he tells you that you're pretty with his soft voice, flustering you.

and of course, vanilla sex also occurs regularly, to get away from that freaky stuff sometimes, with the gentle kisses and tender hand holding, in a missionary position, exchanging sweet, sweet gazes with each other. giving you the princess treatment you deserve for being so good to him.

in the future, you run around and play bigger roles until one of your films become a huge hit, and sukuna finishes his degree to become a famous film director... no surprises there! the best horror actress + the best horror film director goes hard... the two of you are already married at this point.

when the both of you finally get together to make the ultimate film, the internet explodes... sukuna is surprisingly bad at being professional. he's seen often taking care of you rather affectionately around the filming area, personally making sure your makeup is done perfectly, and bringing you food and water as if he's bragging to everyone else about his marriage. and it shows in the way he sugar coats his critique for you, when he has never done that for any other actor/actress he's worked with previously.

if there are some snooty coworkers that try to speak with him about the gap in treatment, he would simply scoff at them and say 'and? she's my damn wife.'

when he's working with you, it's all like:

"cut! honey, that was great, but i think this part can be done a bit better."

but when it comes to other actors:

"cut! what the fuck was that? sounded like you were reading off the damn script. get your shit together."

he's notorious for being relentless, but nobody has anything to say because all of his films climbed to the top of the industry. everyone is dying to score a line or two in his films.

and i'd like to think that sukuna himself dabbles into acting a little as well. there's probably one film where he stars as the killer, and it becomes a classic :) but the one featuring you and him probably becomes both of your biggest hits ✨

oh, and on days where you two finish filming together, he takes you home with his own car, but before that, some freaky car sex probably occurs around some corner with his windows tinted... (he's been hot and bothered the whole time filming, watching you act)

the end <3

Masterlist

[partycatty]

Johnny cage and mayB some others being mind numbingly in love

Like they talk to reader and everytime just feel so stupid afterwards because theyre so in love and do stupid shit to impress

i love stupid men anon this works so well for me

johnny, raiden, kung lao, syzoth > stupid in love

warnings: big stupid hot sexy men (what else is new?), bojack horseman minor spoiler?? LMFOAMOF

+ bonus surprise character at the very end

masterlist

johnny >

• have you guys LMAO have you guys seen the. DLGHSDKJ the episode of bojack horseman where bojack gives diane the D in from the hollywood sign?? johnny is SO extra like that and for WHAT.

• OR YOU GUYS KNOW WHEN TODDLERS LIKE REALLY WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING AND THEY JUST KEEP SAYING "LOOKIT" LMFAFOIFMOA

• "reader, reader are you watching - reader, reader watch -" as he's like about to absolutely FUCK UP a nerds rope or some stupid shit

• okay i'll be fr. johnny is by far the most concerningly extra of the entire group. he will put himself in stupid danger just to impress you.

• "watch me take on all these guys at once!" he'll call out to you during your time at the academy, surrounded by a dozen monks. he's in a sling and bandages the next day.

• "kenshi, i bet you sento that i can jump from the roof like bi-han did!" BAM.

• he'd randomly give you expensive gifts out of absolutely nowhere. or he'd give his one of many glasses away to you because he "has no use for them" or they're "out of style" (he's lying, he just wants to see you wear something that's his).

• oh? you briefly mention you're a tad chilly during training? oh no, johnny's top fell off, i guess he has to give it to you now. you know, to stay warm. oh, you don't want his top? okay, here's a comically fluffy, expensive coat! and it just so happens to be your size...!

• lowkey i headcanon johnny as, despite being an actor, pretty blushy if someone matches his energy or really gets under his skin. you'll pass by him with a witty comment about his fighting style, or even just to tell him he cleaned up nice after getting his ass kicked by raiden. johnny just stands there with steam spitting from his red ears, hand on his chest as he fights a stupid grin.

• he is down ASTRONOMICALLY. not even the elder gods can stop this man from being so drunk in love when you're around. he makes it everyone's problem.

raiden >

• we see how flustered he gets when he's called out by kitana. he's a grown man with dick and balls but he's also flustered very easily! he'll be decently vocal about his affection for you, but then word trickles down to your ear, at which point it's so over for him.

• walks into walls when he's so entranced by you training. like face first into a wall, his hat fluttering to the ground. kung lao loses it.

• he can't even hear what you're saying when you speak to him, it sounds like an angel muffled by the clouds of heaven. raiden's also not the greatest with his powers granted by the amulet. if you go in to touch his arm playfully, a jolt of electricity pricks your palm and you yelp. raiden can only sputter apologies as he bows down, his cheeks tinted.

• he's the type to do little favors for you, ones you barely notice. your spot at the table is tidied, the training dummy is prepped for your fighting style, or he's the first one to bring you something if you forget it. that, and tiny favors to butter you up to him.

• "reader, you said you were nauseous last training. i prepared you some tea," he'd slide the small cup over to you, fighting a goofy smile. he rehearsed his script a few times, so he sounded more static than intended.

• will ask you questions about training or the weather just to hear your voice. he couldn't even recall what you were saying, he just loved the way your lips moved.

• kung lao pokes at him for this often, nudging him or making comments about you being his partner when you're not. raiden will stomp on his foot to keep him from talking about his infatuation if you're around. as if you don't already know.

kung lao >

• he's totally the bouncing on his heels type of man. he'll stare at you with a stupid grin, like a kid in a candy store.

• "was there something you needed, kung lao?" you'd ask as you tended to your own duties, organizing various equipment into baskets.

• "ah, no, not at all," he'd wave you off with a grin. "just enjoying... the view."

• you cringe at his words, chuckling to yourself as he speaks you in a daze. his mouth runs off before his brain can stop it from happening, so his biggest downfall with his crush is yapping. he'll sit there and explain his family history to you, or how much he hated farming cabbage, or his favorite meal at madam bo's just to keep you around long enough.

• kung lao always has this desire to keep you close by, so he continuously does stupid shit to keep you by his side. including but not limited to accidentally slicing his hands on his hat, one that he swore was a genius idea. in concept, probably.

• he wants to impress you so bad. SO BAD. anything he does is deserving of a bragging right if he's the one to do it. lao would totally try to shrug it off so you could gas him up more. any compliment, forced or not, was music to his ears.

• "yeah, i totally beat raiden," he'll check his nails nonchalantly as he leans against the wall, telling you the story of the cabbage competition for dinner against his best friend. "really swept him."

• "that's just not true," raiden would try to interject when he heard lao's version of the story. kung lao just holds eye contact with you, grinning, as he shoves raiden aside by his face.

syzoth >

• im sorry IM SORRY BUT I JUST LOVE THE HC THAT HIS TAIL WAGS I KNOW THATS NOT HOW THAT WORKS JUST- JUST BEAR WITH ME.

• you hear thumping when you're around, though you're never able to find out where it's coming from, so you chalk it up to the monks landing blows against the wooden dummies.

• but the sound lingers when you're at dinner. the table is... rattling.

• you look up to see if anyone else notices or if you were hit too hard during training. but, you see everyone staring past you. just down the table, syzoth is sitting with a pile of bugs on his plate, his tail thumping in and out of view.

• "syzoth," kenshi will gently say, leaning into his ear to whisper something. syzoth flushes a green tint and tries to resume to his meal, the bugs scurrying out of his chopsticks as he struggles to keep it together.

• out of respect for his dignity, you hold your tongue at his obvious affection. syzoth tries to keep it under wraps but he can't help it when you're just so cute!

• he'll stand close by you, inching closer and closer until you notice. he'll slip you little trinkets and flora with a small smile. anything from a rock that matches the shades of your eye, to a flower he picked by the gardens, to a stick. a nice stick, to be fair! you wonder if this is zaterran courtship.

• "it reminded me of you," he'd lean into your ear. your bedside table is decorated with various... outside decor.

BONUS! kitana >

• kitana knew she couldn't get entangled with the umgadi after seeing how risky mileena is with tanya, but my god were you breathtaking.

• you would often accompany her in the carriages as she waved to her people, eyes transfixed on her. you're devoted to her protection. it is your god-given duty. your eye contact was too much at times, and kitana would often catch herself staring at you, her hand suspended in the air. she'd forget to wave.

• "is everything alright, my princess?" you would ask innocently, in a low tone to avoid raising suspicion. kitana's mind short circuits when you call her... yours. even if you're referring to the umgadi's worship. she shakes her head and clears her throat, pulling her mask up higher to conceal her blush.

• if she were to give speeches on her mother's behalf or otherwise, she'd find herself forgetting what the rehearsed, or hell, struggling to rehearse. you were the one she'd come to for help with speeches, yet you made things ten times harder when you'd lean in to listen to her better. it makes her mind absolutely numb.

• "and you tell me to steer away from the umgadi," mileena would rasp into her ear as the sister sat on their thrones, you positioned by her side and eyes forward. "it seems you picked a favorite, sister."

• "i'm not the only guilty one," she'd hiss back to her sister, nodding at tanya. "it won't get in the way of duties, as long as mother doesn't know."

• you'd fight to netherrealm and back for your princess. as you fight off intruders or threats, kitana forgets to escape, instead transfixed on the way your muscles would contract and flex with each blow.

• she wants to be the one to care for your wounds. the power imbalance means nothing to her, you're her equal.

[guppybibi]

Late WIP Wednesday ..

(aaa km not sure if i should finish this, it started off strong but just fell off and now my brain isnt working)

Simon’s home & marriage was his refuge, until it wasn't. He knew something wasn't right when you were coincidentally prepared for his return, all dolled up when you greeted him with an “I miss you” kiss. No, he was sure it wasn't you when he saw that the dinner table was prepared with a generous spread of food on it.

There was no reason for you to come this prepared, everytime he comes home from deployment is a surprise. So..how exactly are you this ready? It didn't sit right with him, the whole thing felt like it came out of a painfully obvious scripted reality TV show.

But food was food and after countless weeks spent eating barely edible MRE’s, a home cooked meal was all he needed. Sluggishly, he sat down at his unsaid designated spot at the dinner table. He closely watched if you would sit down at your designated spot, if you didn't; that’d explained a lot. You do end up sitting at your spot, it wasn't all that hard to do though. Dinner with you was unsettling to say the least, all of the small talk you were making felt forced, it’s barely been an hour and he already feels like he's going crazy.

He knows more than to question you upfront though, having gone through enough interrogations to know that he should take his time and that you could get hostile if things don't go your way. You could be a threat for all he knew, and it's better to be safe than sorry. Unsure if it was the right decision, he starts out some sort of small talk himself, asking you some seemingly innocent questions.

“What were yer up to while I was gone, luv?” He asks mid chew. “Oh not much, I just picked up a new hobby actually. Clay sculpting! I've been watching online tutorials, I could say I’ve been getting the hang of it if I do say so myself.” Liar, was all he could think while he subconsciously nodded to your words. You hated clay, not fond of the texture it had and the way it’d get stuck under your nails. Perhaps it was another one of your impulsive decisions, jumping into conclusions should be the last thing he should be doing. It could cost him more harm than good, so he lets it slide. For now at least.

“Sculpting eh? That's new, have ye finished any?” He pauses, swallowing his food. “I’d love to see them.” A spark lights up in your eyes, but it didn't look right. There's a lit candle in there but it's far, far away. The lack of life in your eyes makes his stomach spin like there's a guinea pig rolling around in their wheel in there, it made him want to puke. He wasn't the biggest fan of prolonged eye contact anyway, so he’ll just avoid looking you in the eye to prevent making a mess. “Oh yeah I actually do! They're already displayed on top of our shelves, I’ll show them to you after.” You exclaim, if that was you anyway, which it wasn't.

Dinner passed at an uncomfortably slow pace, Simon swore he could hear each individual tick and tock of the clock, the scraping of utensils against the porcelain plates and each chew you took. He’s gone through debatably louder things than this, the booms of the explosions were unforgettable after all but this somehow takes the cake. Wanting to distract himself further, he helps with washing the dishes which you normally did but you specifically chose today to help do the other minor chores. Water, that was your weak point. He noticed it, you didn't drink water after dinner either. What kind of monster doesn't drink water to hydrate after eating roasted pork?

To test out this thought of his, he decided to ask another question. “I'm heading to the shower, luv. Care to join me?” Meekly, he suggests to you, deep brown eyes staring intently as he awaited the already expected answer. “Oh I..actually already showered earlier dear. Maybe next time.” A dishearteningly dismissive reply, just like he expected. “Alright, suit yourself luv. I'll be back.”

He thought about it, almost forgetting about the bubbly soap running down his body from how deep in thought he was. There was no doubt about it anymore, everything about you being you, pointed away. At this point, he didn't care what the fake you was anymore, rather where you actually were. You could've been dead for all he knew, replaced by the soulless woman that now roams around his home.

This was beyond cruel, beyond the pain physical torture could've caused. It was like the universe was a cat and he was a yarn ball, being played by it meticulously. The whole thing was definitely planned out by a certain someone he knew, the both of you are fairly private so it couldn't have been a random person. He couldn't handle this alone, as much as he’d hate to admit, the situation was way bigger than him to do alone. So, he decides to call a trusted someone.

“You tellin’ me ye think your wife got abducted or something..and a doppelgänger replaced her?” A gruff voice questions, lightly tapping his cigar against the side of the ashtray. Price, him and Kate are the only members of the Task Force so far that Simon allowed you to meet. Well, it unfortunately looks like the sergeants won't get to meet you under these circumstances just yet. Strangely enough, the clocks inside the pub weren't working. Must be a malfunction. The masked man nodded, sighing through his nose when he got a whiff of the alcohol-filled air in the bar.

“I feel so.” He grumbled. “Couldn't she be just having an off day? We all have those, Simon.” John opposes it, it was an unquestionable possibility they couldn't simply ignore. “No, I know my wife. In my years of being with her, she's never acted this way.” Ghost hissed back, a hint of crystal clear impatience seeping out from his words. The lack of respect in his tone wasn't intended, but what could he do when his wife is apparently kidnapped and replaced so seamlessly? “I guess you have a point, but you need to confirm it Simon. You shouldn't make any decision on impulse, if the woman in your home really isn't your wife then this is a bigger issue.”

Then the plan was set, still a little all over the place but there really wasn't any time to lose. Simon would further observe the woman who's allegedly ‘you’ to make sure he isn't making things up, then if he was incredibly sure it wasn't you, he’ll head to the police and file a report for a missing person. In all honesty, it wasn't hard to do, having gone through missions more intense than this. Yet the fact that you were involved made the bugs inside of him crawl, this was totally his fault.

He didn't hide you away from the world enough, he should've just kept you locked inside a cage like the little birdie you were to avoid any danger coming your way. Simon wasn't stupid though, that was inhumane, you were one of the only few people who has managed to make Simon feel less of a ghost and more of a human. So doing such a thing to you was unethical and out of the books, but how could you blame him for subconsciously letting his possessiveness and worry take over when you're literally so far from his grasp? Being so near before that he could easily grip at the back of your top, now so far that the trace of your scent is long gone.

It makes Simon feel sick, his core being left to rot. He comes from the pub to what felt like an empty house, not home because nothing would feel like home without you there. He’d rather be living in a pile of rocks and plywood with you than in a giant mansion without you, that would be the real hell. “Bloody hell..where are you?” He murmurs under his breath, stressedly rubbing his creased forehead. If he could, he’d pry at every surface that comes up within his sight just to find you.

“I’m back.” He whispers, unsure if the fake you was asleep or not. Anyone, human or not wouldn't be happy being woken up from their slumber. “Welcome home, hun. You alright?” Looking up from your cup of tea, you ask. “Yeah, just spoke with the Captain. That's all, no alcohol.” Simon was so used to you being a worrywart about his alcohol intake, telling you that he didn't have any alcohol is practically ingrained into the wrinkles of his brain. But the woman in front of him didn't seem to care less about his health, let alone him in general. The lack of nagging that usually filled his ears to the brim didn't feel right, he would've much rather gone through another one of your yap sessions about how constant alcohol intake affects him in the long run than..just silence.

He feels the desperation inching up on him, eating him whole. At this point, he's willing to admit he doesn't want you. He needs you. He needs to hear your fretful complaints about him getting deployed, knowing you’d shut up because you were used to it by now. He needs you to tell him to include more vegetables in his diet because he's not some kind of carnivore to be eating that much meat. God, he just needs you with him. Whatever bloody thing came with you he’d take like it was on a stupid Black Friday sale.

“Not yet..” He’d think every single night, eyes wide open as he prevents himself from making a rash decision. The woman sleeping soundly right next to him, if that was you..But it wasn't, even if he stared at the unfamiliar woman for ten hours straight, she wouldn't just magically turn into you. Well sure, she was a carbon copy of you from head to toe but she simply just didn't scream ‘you’. Whatever and whoever you were anyway.

“When all is said and done, I think it'll end well Simon. My gut feeling tells me so, it's rarely ever wrong so I’m pretty sure we should trust it.” You ramble on and on, the little amount of alcohol taking over your lightweight self. Simon was still courting you here, yet he remembers it like it's been replayed in his mind like a broken record. He trusted your gut, and he could consider that as one of the best choices he's ever made in life.

But..trusting you now? While you're probably out, all shivering & teeth clattering from the immense cold night? Impossible, he’s fully aware that you're a capable strong woman however..how far can his trust go? How far do you have to venture into someone’s soul to gain their fragile trust, something that can be easily broken with your own bare hands? Ghost doesn't trust you, but Simon does.

“You're a strong gal, you can hold on for much longer.” He supposes, deep in thought while he flipped around in bed. The fake you hasn't set off any red flags yet, acting normal. Too normal. He knew ‘you’ had a purpose for being here, one with malicious intent, though what exactly? One wouldn't simply come in here and replace his wife with a fake one just out of spite, unless they were a little cuckoo. Tossing aside to check the time, he presses the ‘on’ button on his phone. Weird, the time didn't show up. Maybe it's just a glitch in the system.

“Simon, Hey? Simon, wake up. Hurry, you need to get up.” A voice shakes, lightly nudging him in order to awake him. It's your voice, he can instantly sense its meekness. With one eye and another, they flutter open, still full of sleep in them. “Oh thank goodness, you're awake! But you seriously need to wake up, like right now.” You crooned, hoping he’d fully wake up to the sound of your voice. Groaning, Simon sat up, a few joints popping in the process. “What..? Yeah, I’m awake luv. Whad’ya need me for?” He questions groggily, eyes opening further once he gets a closer look at you. It's actually you, he can tell! The way your eyes meet his, connecting like a bee landing on a precious flower. The way your voice lilted to him like a mother bird nursing her hatchlings, it really was you.

“Wait–luv? You're here? Bloody hell, you actually are–Did you see the other gal who looked just like you? Tell me I’m not losing my shit please.” Then you shushed him, convinced he’ll continuously go on and on if you didn't. “Please listen to me closely, Simon.” You pause, noticing how his eyes bask in yours like it was long overdue. “You need to wake up, hurry.”

[tlbodine]

Stuck? Try junebugging.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we're 5 days into nanowrimo so maybe this will be helpful.

Do you want the safety and surety of knowing what happens next in your story but can't stick to an outline? Does knowing in advance what will happen suck the joy out of discovery writing? Do you try to wing it through plots but get tangled in plot holes or have a story that runs out of steam because you can't figure out what went wrong? Are you at your most creative when you have a little bit of guidance? Do you tend to under-write? Do you get ideas in your head for random scenes and snippets that drop from the sky without context?

If any of these apply to you, junebugging a draft might be for you!

What Is Junebugging?

Since you're on Tumblr, you might already be familiar with the concept of junebugging as it relates to cleaning. If not -- I think the idea was first introduced to me by @jumpingjacktrash.

The basic idea is that you tackle cleaning by way of controlled chaos. You pick a specific area you want to focus on, like your kitchen sink, and then wander off to deal with other things as they occur to you, but always returning back to that area. You end up cleaning a little bit at a time in an order that may not make sense to an outsider but which keeps you from getting overwhelmed and discouraged.

How Does Junebugging Work in Writing?

OK, so that's great, but how does this work with writing? Well. In my case, the general idea is to jump between writing linearly, outlining, and writing out of order. It usually looks something like:

Start free-writing a scene, feeling my way through it and enjoying the discovery process.

Thinking, ok, now I have this scene, did anything need to happen to lead up to it? Do I need to go back and add some foreshadowing? Does this scene set anything up that needs to be paid off? And then jump forward/back to make those adjustments.

I'll usually have a bunch of disconnected ideas of ideas that have popped into my head, so I'll write those down in a list somewhere and then try to figure out what goes in between them and what order it goes in.

I'll write what I call "micro-scenes" which is where I'll just sketch out a few essential elements of what's going on without worrying too much about details, description, etc. -- just he did this, she said that, the setting was this, real bare-bones script. Then I can come back through and flesh out each of those microscenes into an actual scene later.

Got a story that has a complex structure? No problem. Write through each storyline one at a time and then chop them up and weave them together afterward. Write all the B plot scenes first then come back through to do A plot and C plot. Move the pieces around like legos. No one ever has to know.

This method works for me because I can't "decide" story elements in advance. I have never been able to just sit down and "figure out" what happens in a story beyond a couple steps ahead -- I have to discovery-write my way forward. But at the same time, that gets really daunting. So I zoom forward with micro-scenes, roughing out the beats in the most bare-bones way possible, then when I run out of clear vision for what happens next I backtrack, flesh out those scenes, build in connective tissue, etc. and by then I will probably find more inspiration to jump forward.

It's basically folding drafting, outlining, and revising all together into a single phase of writing, which is chaotic and goes against everything people teach you, but if it works? then it fuckin works.

Anyway, sorry for the jumbled-up post, I'm dashing this off quickly while I heat up a pizza and I'm about to dive back into my WIP -- but I hope this was a little helpful. If nothing else, take this as my blanket permission that it's 100% OK to jump around, write out of order, write messy, outline sometimes, pants sometimes, and do whatever else it takes just to get through the story. You've got this. Good luck.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been trying to focus on thinking about things I enjoy about the idea of the TWST anime. And regarding overblots, I think an anime version would really help illustrate (even more) how terrifying the process is. I really like how the manga shows Riddle's OB, and I love anime as a medium, so I'm pretty hyped to see how it will be conveyed in it.

I really hope they accentuate the horror of it- I'm aware that they might not go all in w the horror like I would personally like, but the thought still excites me. What kind of music will they play? Will the animation change like it does in some animes when the characters are distressed (wobbly lines, glitchy effects)...? What sort of directions will the voice actors get? I mean, they already voiced the game, but anime gives them more room to do voice stuff. I'm really hyped for this aspect tbh...

And I'm also excited for the possibility of dubs, since I'm quite a fan of the whole dubbing world. (I know some ppl have their fears about this last possibility, but in my case even if it turns out to not be so good, I think we could still have a good time w something like that. Plus I've seen some popular eng dub actors hyped about the anime and wanting to be casted for certain characters)

I also wanted to apologize for my previous ask ᕙ⁠(⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠)⁠ᕗ I already did so in the comments, but I felt bad about doomposting on your inbox. My mind's first reaction is usually to see the negative first and become anxious, and it's something I'm working on, but it sometimes goes out of hand. But now that a bit has passed, and specially thanks to your advice, I can sit down and try to focus on the things that excite me rather than the ones that scare me. Sure, building too much expectation could backfire at the end— but as you said, we have little to no information at this point. So I think focusing on the things I'd like to see is a better usage of my time. If they turn out to disappoint me... That's something I'll worry about next year, I'll suppose. I'm still a bit anxious and scared, but there's also lots of things I'm hyped for. I'll try to take your advice and focus on those. 🫂 Sorry if my previous negativity made you uncomfortable.

[Referencing this news! Asker’s prior post here.]

I’ve seen a lot of fans speculating that the OB transformation sequences will resemble magical girl ones! While that’s a fun idea, I do feel like it makes more sense for the anime to portray OB as something scary and all-consuming, similar to how it is depicted at the end of animated dorm commercials and in the manga. For the characters experiencing them, it’s not meant to be glamorous… All that agony, the dripping ink leaking out of their orifices and dripping like blood. Overblot looks incredibly horrific, and I think that should come through in the animation—whether they change the usual style for these segments or keep it the same.

I think the anime would reuse (or maybe do remastered versions of?) the Twst soundtrack for a lot of the show. The compositions are already there, so might as well. Maybe experiencing the anime will help to make the music more memorable, since it seems the game soundtrack alone isn’t doing it for some fans.

No clue about the JP voice cast; I did see some people worrying that they could replace the game’s voice cast for the anime, but as I’ve mentioned already, that’s an unfounded claim. If the usual VAs are there, surely they won’t just reuse the already recorded lines from the game?? 😂 I’d think they’d at least have to rerecord those based on how the script and its scenes are laid out, plus additional dialogue to fill in the gaps (such as new scenes).

No confirmation of an English (or other language) dubs yet either! (Again, this is another topic related to the anime that sparks worry, but I must stress that it’s pointless to get into a tizzy about something that isn’t concrete yet.) But yes, I’ve already seen English VAs expressing interest in certain characters; Daman Mills wants to audition for Malleus, Alejandro Saab has made it known he has Twst on his radar and wants to voice Leona, etc. (The latter has done Twst dorm leader impressions for fun before; I think Mr. Saab could make for a decent Leona or even Malleus!)

Don't worry about the previous ask ^^ I think it's better that we discuss these things with one another rather than post or tweet into the void and allow those negative feelings to fester. If you want to view it in a different way, think of it like the OB boys actually getting therapy/finding someone to confide in instead of being allowed to stew in their own emotions and risking OB a second time. Sometimes all it takes is that gentle nudge or a reminder to step back and take a deep breath. When we let our emotions get the best of us, we end up thinking and acting in irrational ways, and then that can lead to people--whether yourself or others--getting hurt.

[kerubimcrepin]

Dofus: The Production - what is left of the old movie

Originally, the movie was supposed to tie in with the game and the Welsh & Shedar series, and be a trilogy.

As we had already explored on this blog, this did not happen for a variety of reasons.

Welsh and Shedar got cannibalized by other projects due to its cancellation, and the script of the movie "Dofus Book 1: Joris Jurgen" had to be completely rewritten from its old plot;

In that movie, Joris was likely supposed to be a street urchin, who survived together with Lilotte, who was a rogue, and the trailer we have for the older version of the movie reflects that:

As we can also see from the trailer, and the poster featured earlier, proto-Kerubim is also a part of the movie, and Khan was not yet meant to be a boufbowler.

(And considering the posters, the cat that inspired Kerubim's design was also a part of the movie. I wonder if it's related to Welsh's cat from Welsh and Shedar? But maybe I'm just crazy.)

Subsequently, the movie came out at a much later date than planned originally.

(two images included because, bizarrely, there are two versions - one with Joris's tail censored, and the other with his tail uncensored. This proves that already at this point they had a draconic backstory in mind for him, though we do know that at the time of Wakfu season 1 (and, likely, the cancelled DS game, as was noted in my post about it) it was not the case.)

Also, interestingly, it is the only art of this time to include the tail. A possible error on Xa's part, or something that was considered very briefly?

In the end, Kerubim (as well as Simone) swallowed up not just the design of Welsh's cat, clothes, and Ecaflip friend;

He also got the role Julith was supposed to have, both metaphorically, and also literally.

Or not entirely — considering the fact that Joris was supposed to spend time with him anyway, since we have art of Joris on his mount from that old draft.

It's quite interesting, to think of all that could have been different in the 2009-2012 version of the movie!

But even during the making of the second draft of the movie, a lot of things have changed. From the first idea of Joris winning Kerubim back at a pachinko machine, to the concept art of Joris's non-possessed appearance.

The movie was being actively rewritten at the time of the making of Aux Tresors, so some of the early drafts were already tied in with its canon — taking place in Astrub, to be specific — but not with its ending, because the show was still ongoing.

At one point there was supposed to be a whole cast of Huppermage characters, and judging from the fact one of them is mentioned in the following text, they did play some sort of role in the plot:

It is likely that from this early draft it was decided that Joris would be a boufbowl fan, which was then worked in as a plot point in Aux Tresors.

(Stélina may be a proto-version of Bakara.)

It also seems that at this stage, it would be likely that Lilotte was reworked to be the Princess of Bonta, before eventually becoming the Ouginak we know and love.

After this Ankama once again returned to the concept of Lilotte as an orphan, though — even when the movie was still set in Astrub!

And it seems that the draft involved travel between Astrub and Bonta, judging from the usage of a Zaap to attack Luis.

And even at this point they have come up with the tragically cut "Joris and Khan go to adult industry workers and Joris (10yo boy) engages in depressed underaged drinking" scene.

(I'll never forgive Ankama for cutting this. I still argue that it's in character for Khan, our detested/beloved turbovirgin, to do this — as long as he doesn't get together with any of the women due to thinking himself "too good" for them.)

Also, at some point the gods were supposed to play a role. And personally, I am glad it was cut — it feels a bit too grand for the first movie in what was supposed to be a series.

I don't have any grand statement, or conclusion, but it is interesting to see all the ways the movie has changed.

[abiatackerman]

The winter weekend nights

Event: @levievent "Levi Month 24"

💕Day 21: Post-war: Children💕

Canon universe! Tea shop owner Levi X Doctor Reader! Postwar Levi! Sweet af! Fluff fluff and fluff!!! 1K Words!

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

The snows are falling uncontrollably and the wind is chilly enough to freeze anything. But the scene inside the Ackerman Tea shop is different. It's a duplex wooden cabin made very elegantly by the shop owner Levi Ackerman himself.

Rumours say that once he was a strong soldier and his wife was a great doctor in the same military section he used to work for. Some Marley people don't believe it because he is a man who uses a wheelchair and lost his eye and used to serve candies to kids once. Not to mention he serves the most splendid teas and looks so gentle and vulnerable now. Maybe that's just a rumour after all.

Well, the thing doesn't matter actually as long as he serves great teas and his wife works as a kind doctor to them. They don't have any problem with the Ackerman couple or their twins.

The most nosy woman in the neighborhood was thinking this as she looks outside through the window. The Ackerman Tea Shop is invisible due to the heavy rainfall. What's happening there?

As soon as the five year old girl finishes reading her script, you burst into her laughter. She tugs her hair behind her ear shyly, blushing. Her hair is just like you, her eyes dark brown which resembles yours. Though the other features are the same as the "Mysterious Tea Shop Owner Levi Ackerman".

"Mom, why are you laughing? Did I write something wrong?"

You daughter, Lily looks up at you and somehow you stop your laughter. She was currently reading the paragraph she wrote randomly. You both are snuggled up against each other under a warm blanket. You hug her and shaking your head, you caress Lilly's hair.

"Just look at your father and brother. They look alike."

Levi is sitting on the sofa which is settled just in front of you so you all are facing each other. He and his son are sharing another blanket, not cuddling but still sitting close enough to feel each other's warmth. Your son looks just like Levi, just the slightly round shaped face is from you. His behaviours are the same as Levi too. They're both sitting in the same position, hands crossed on chest, one leg is on another. They both even "Tch"s together.

"Stop copying me, dad!"

You son grumbles and Levi looks at him with disbelief.

"You're the one who's copying me, brat!"

Your son sticks his tongue at Levi as you and your daughter laugh at them. Both levi and your son glare at you two to stop laughing but that just fuels your laughter more.

"Ok ok... No arguments!!!! I'll prepare hot chocolate for everyone!!!! Now, kids.... Take your dad to the bedroom!!!!!"

You say and get up from the sofa, removing the blanket. You hiss due the slight cold but your daughter happily jumps and runs to bring her dad's wheelchair. Your son nods and takes off the blanket he and Levi's were wearing and starts to fold it.

Your kids are so well mannered that you can't help but feel proud all the time. Smiling, you walk towards the kitchen to prepare hot chocolate for your kids and tea for Levi. When you're done your kids have already taken Levi to his room and helped him to get into the bed. Your daughter is sitting on Levi's lap as Levi reads a story and your son is leaning on Levi's arm and trying to read with Levi too.

Normally your kids share different rooms but specifically on the winter weekends you four sleep together. It strengthens your bonds and all of you love it. During the cold weather when it's snowing heavily, all of you are on the huge bed, under the warm blankets, cuddling each other.... It's the most favourite moment of the Ackerman family.

"How many Marshmallows, mommy? I want 5!!!!!"

You son pouts and you chuckle, getting into the bed. Just like Levi, he's a mommy's boy.

"Both of you have gotten 5! No worries."

You hand them their hot chocolate and Levi his tea. You've taken a hot chocolate too since you prefer it more than tea.

"Dad's tea tastes horrible. I don't even know why he takes that thing."

Your son complains as Levi sighs. You decide to stay silent about it since it's a topic for Levi to explain.

"Unlike you brats, I didn't have the money to buy hot chocolates and sugar. So I've always been drinking only plain tea which your grandma used to make for me. My tongue has gotten used to the bitter feeling so I can't drink anything sweet."

Levi says calmly as he sips his tea again. Your daughter and son scoots closer to him and Levi's face softens.

"I wish I could meet grandma."

Your son says softly and leans his head on Levi's arm.

"Me too"

Your daughter says softly, sipping her hot chocolate messily.

"Me three"

You say, making the kids chuckle. Levi shakes his head, smiling softly. As all of you finish your drinks and you clean up all the cups, you all lay down on the bed together. Your son and daughter between Levi and you. Just like your son hugs tightly, your daughter hugs Levi in the same way. Slowly four of you start to fall asleep together with a content smile on your faces as the snow keeps falling heavily outside of the cozy "Ackerman" cottage.

[bladekindeyewear]

Beyond Canon 2024 October and November Artist/Writer Commentary

So the new Artist and Writer commentary for this month's latest upd8 popped up on Patreon, and even though I've been working (pathetically slowly) on a draft post that goes back through the commentary in order from the past where I left off, I feel like the last two updates have been HAMMER BLOWS in terms of the seriousness, hopelessness, et cetera and I feel like everyone wants answers as badly as I do, and the teaser we got at the end of the last upd8 to whet my excitement can offset the bad news only SO much on its own. So even though I'm kind of too sick to be doing this today, I want to help myself and others cope by liveblogging the last two months' posts of Artist and Writer commentary each so we get some more... words from the word of God on why they're subjecting us to this.

As much of this is Patreon exclusive content I won't be quoting everything, I'll be making just a couple out of context quotes and summarizing or paraphrasing things that I find important to point out about what I'm reading.

I'll put a TL;DR here above the cut once I'm done-- ahem: "Oh yeah Rose was even more doomed to feel fucked in that sort of situation than I realized, and also there's a hiatus because an animation is coming to kick off the End of Act 1 / Start of Act 2, holy shit. Maybe I’d have known that already if I’d read the news posts, oh well".

10-24 Artist Commentary

This is the artist commentary for the update I liveblogged starting here.

They mention how it contains a lot of standout moments, "things are coming to a head in the story"-- there was indeed a climax between this update and the one that followed it, I certainly agree. Since this is the artist commentary, they talk about their appreciation for proposed pacing, the jaw-dropped yelling of some on reading the proposed script... there's a shot of the story board, of course.

They go into some interesting detail on how they went about devising how they wanted Jade's "Space force fields" to look.

Everyone loves Jade's paw-print gloves, as they should.

Haven: this panel showing “how rose ‘sees’ things now” was added late into this update's production and floral didn't have a description other than “haven go wild” 

Yes I can certainly believe that. Nice touch in retrospect thematically coloring Rose's blood with her color instead of the literal red it'd be.

"generic troll soldier bumps into a god"-- nice how they're lumping Kanaya in with the god-tiers when referring to the Gods of this world.

Oh I never actually noticed the rebellion's "massive crab tanks" in the background of all these other shots, no wonder they surprised me the following update.

The full hemospectrum of Blood around them grasping hands:

Haven: sometimes very blatant symbolism is the way to go.

exactly, noted, noted...

Some notes on how they did up Jane's office and her bridge, and the storyboard for that BRUTAL scene with Jane and Jake, ow.

Practice the different artists had at drawing Jane and Jake in "Guardian Mode", which is the new clearly adult sorta-hero-moded silhouette term that I probably would have gotten from reading the other artist commentary in order.

Nice thoughts on how even the framed photo of Tavvy next to the blaster button is a distant shot-in-passing photo that doesn't communicate a close family.

The shot, the heal, the turnaround and beatdown.

I got storyboarder brain and I love the excruciating anticipation of making people hold their breath between panels... When you know something’s coming but you can’t help but clasp your hand over your mouth like, “OH NO…”

Yeah, no kidding...

Nothing too concrete to note in this artist commentary, the writer commentary's probably going to be richer. So to save my sanity I'm going to do the next Artist Commentary first:

11-2024 Artist Commentary

This is the artist commentary surrounding the most recent upd8 i liveblogged.

Oh holy shit, this one has some big news I wasn't aware of!

Chumi, hoping you guys had a Happy Thanksgiving: Welcome welcome! 🎉🎉 We’re really getting into the holiday season with this one! Unfortunately, this is our last update until the Flash Production break. Look forward to the Flash guys, we’re working really hard!

I didn't expect them to start off our new session with a big flash, but if they're going to bust out some Animation to really emphasize any new stepping stone in Beyond Canon, the introduction or pre-introduction to The New Session™ is probably the time to do it. I'm pretty busy and/or sick lately (the annoying sort of sick not the dangerous kind) so I'll be glad if it takes a little longer before the next upd8 than it did this one.

They talk about how they carefully gradiated the sky over past updates to reflect the danger closing in, much appreciated.

Tavvy writes with something called "Magic Link" handwriting apparently; they go more into it here.

An Andrew-embossed-seal reference, huh? I'm not gonna elaborate on that but it is funny.

Rose covering the kids' eyes before the shot:

I thought I was so clever putting a bit of shadow underneath her hands… Because her aspect is Light… She’s blocking the Light / knowledge from reaching the kids…That’s why she’s a silhouette too… Heh…

Yep.

Kim: This particular bit gets me every time I think about it… Jade loves her child!!! The way it completely throws Jade off her game when the most precious thing in her life right now is suddenly in the middle of a freaking battlefield of a WAR. These kids just can’t stand still for one minute can they!!

Gahhh, it just tears my heart out. Rose could have stopped this with a word, earlier, but didn't... why not?! What does she KNOW where she sees this path being the better path forward than others?!

Jade getting shot...

Floral: I can feel how much this hurts, it’s so good.

Guhh my heart. Owwwwuch. Can bad things just stop happening to Jade Harley for once? Can some good things start happening where she gets to be cool and not shoved out of the way unceremoniously by the narrative? :C

Okay there's something interesting here.

Floral: I did a single panel for this update too, featuring Dirk’s bell tower and the rest of the human city that stands between it and the meteor site. So much to parse. Wonder what the significance of it all could be.

Implying this has some significance... does it have something to do with what's brought into the game session? With how much IS and how much isn't? Or are dramatic things happening at "Dirk's bell tower" repeatedly being themed to be brought home by something else happening there later? Hmm.

Oh:

The impact is also knocking over whole tanks and the trees around the area, so the Rebellion guys near the meteor are totally vaporized. Sorry fellas. The two peeps in front are just some random soldiers to fill the empty space HEHE.

This explains my confusion around the explosion. The crab tanks I hadn't noticed earlier that they helped point out above, and these indeed being two random soldiers and PROBABLY not a stealth inexplicable Aradia appearance. PROBABLY.

So the "End of Act 1" bit:

Chumi: We are not done with Act 1 just yet…

I was wondering how much the "psyche" meant, if it meant psyche regarding our place within the story, how much was left to go, whether this was a real act ending et cetera... apparently the end of Act 1 is coming somewhat soon from the sound of it, and that gives us an idea of what exactly is planned for this lovable clusterfuck that is Beyond Canon. Is this a three-act tale we're planning, or effectively one, sort of like our three most major build-ups and climaxes across the six acts in the main story (Descend, Cascade, Collide)?

A slight preview sketch of the computer exploding in GC's face you can see if you opt for the Patreon commentary, and that closes out that. Now we'll have a look at the really, REALLY juicy stuff for the last two updates, the WRITER commentary. I'm dreading seeing them drill down into the dread these last two updates gave us before the hope of a new session with our favorite new kid-kids in it, and I'm desperately hoping that as they explain their choices they sprinkle in some EXTRA hope they hadn't given us with Rose's twisted hopeless perspective, because I could use the positive reinforcement.

10-2024 Writer Commentary

Been so excited/apprehensive for this update to drop!! It’s been months and the entire time we’ve been going back and tweaking and playing with things to perfect it and it was worth it. Super satisfied with the response.

Any writers getting ready to write such meaningful dialogue and traumatize their audiences are going to be chomping at the bit to, I've had the taste of that in my mouth before as someone on the writing end and the twists you're ready to unleash can have you salivating even when you know they're going to cause suffering. ESPECIALLY when you know that. It's the entire author's curse that is essentially THE ENEMY in the form of Dirk Strider in this narrative.

And I was inspired to handle it in a way true to a Seer or Light, heavy in lore and reminiscent to Rose’s GameFAQs Walkthrough of the SBURB Beta.

That's a very good inspiration for putting most of Rose's predictions in her narrations below her walking away from that conversation.

They go a lot into the idea of her creating a Spatial shield, whether it would fall into the confines of her powerset. I like a lot of the keywords used here:

A stray missile comes towards them and the shield won’t bounce it off but manipulate and control the space around it.

Note the keywords 'manipulate and control', the change/control/manipulate keywords we've always held so central to the theorized Witch role and possibly the Heir role by extension.

And ultimately:

I think in general, a lot of aspected powers are limited only by the user’s imagination!  But even putting that aside, it makes a lot of sense to me that she’d have the tight control necessary of a spatial perimeter necessary to do something as basic as maintain a shield.  We’ve seen her do way crazier shit before.

--who could disagree?

FLORAL: There was a lot to explore with this conversation between Rose and Jade, the first one they’ve had privately since fucking… ACT 5, 2011?

Yeah, they barely got STARTED with the unpacking. And Rose refused to continue it because she foresaw that it'd be ultimately pointless.

Many thoughts of how their dynamic could be and how their dynamic would evolve under current conditions went into it and it was so fun!! Writing two people that obviously understand one another so well while feeling completely misunderstood and frustrated because they’re not being empathized with is complicated! But exactly how you show a character's specific perspective the best in my opinion. Rose and Jade share a lot of experiences, especially considering their Aspect switcheroo fake out, and have taken such completely different lessons from them. I love their friction! 

What's also unsaid here is how their Aspect switcharoo fake out was also secretly potentially paired with a REAL class switcharoo in the form of role inversion that they BOTH underwent, Jade getting a distrust of Seeing and Rose gaining a distrust of Witchcraft in making any ultimate difference as this wasn't the way they were best meant to operate as themselves, but can't help but project onto each other when stressed.

We know from Meat that even without all of Candy’s baggage they aren’t close. So why? There are very probable, passive answers and then there are equally probable drama answers, that actively communicate parts of these characters we never got to see clash.

Really interesting. And yeah, we DID get to see that from this update.

MILES: I think, and this is something that we’re going to touch on later in this commentary/update, part of that is that they really aren’t that compatible in terms of their interpersonal problem solving styles. 

We talked about this in a great deal of detail surrounding the update in question, and I'm glad they were intentionally provoking us to think about these things!

Okay there's a section here that I'm going to quote in FULL from the Patreon commentary, and it also outlines a divide, a HUGE rift between Candy Jade and Candy Rose that Meat Jade/Rose wouldn't have experienced, and the tragedy of its basic inevitability because of how events turned out:

MILES: And speaking of dear, sweet Yiffy, and the way Rose and Jade’s attitudes differ, there really isn’t a better example of their incompatibility than the two entirely polarized attitudes they take towards Yiffy’s existence: Rose’s detached view of Yiffy as amounting to nothing more than an inconvenient favor she did for a friend, as part of a cosmic obligation she barely even understands (more on this later), spits directly in the face of Jade’s knowledge that Yiffy is, without question, the most important thing in her life.  It’s arguably “right” that Rose chose to completely sterilize any feelings she might possibly have had (but probably barely even ever did) for Yiffy in terms of maintaining some modicum of emotional fidelity to her Actual Wife and her Actual Daughter, but obviously that’s going to chafe Jade.  Jade’s a lonely person!  Yiffy was a way to fill that void, and although having a daughter has absolutely brought some purpose, companionship, and stability to her life, the complications that came along with it have absolutely served to isolate her even more in other ways. 

:'(

With all the setups being given to us like Dave's stuffed corpse falling out of Jade's pocket, or the idea of Kanaya finding "new love" before Rose is saved that she refused to Foresee (I'm still banking on that Light Between Space OT3, you can't stop me), I'm really hoping that Candy Jade can both live through this and come to a MUCH LESS LONELY peace than she's come to in other timelines we've been forced to witness. I don't want Meat Jade to be the only Jade that comes out of this healthier and happier than she went in.

The commentary gets into Jade and Rose's debate on what Truth means, from a Light perspective or a Space perspective almost...

That’s why it was felt important to comment on Rose’s estranged relationship to Roxy too, in her ramble. Really cementing questions that were hinted at before, can you find closure in another, younger version of your dead parent? How does that evolve over the years?

I really hope that we get a version of Rose and Roxy out of at LEAST one of the two ongoing timelines that end up MUCH closer than this update implied Rose's parental relationship had forced them to stay estranged rather than get closer like they could have, possibly should have. I want them to come to terms with each other because they could be SUCH good sisters to each other. And maybe in the Meat timeline when they're put into direct conflict, when Roxy achieves some sort of victory over Rose, Void over the gaps in Ultimate Light, that it finally punches through her emotional barriers and lets that version of Rose accept her essentially-sister the way her Candy Self never let happen.

And now we get to that horrifying future-sight screed of Rose into the narrative text zone...

FLORAL: Everything Rose talks about in her monologue was so, so nerve wracking to write, to take so many points of what makes this character who they are laid out for the reader.

Yeah, it made so little sense why she'd say such callous things to Kanaya earlier unless she had been DELIBERATELY trying to push her away... which as it turned out in this monologue, she absolutely had been, having foreseen her own coma.--

Which is hard for serialized media because you guys don’t get those answers the way you would if you were watching a movie or a book, there’s real time waiting completely out of your control. It’s anxiety inducing! I’ve had a good deal of Homestuck induced anxiety myself lol.

Hell to the fucking yes. We're all feeling that incredible anxiety and only the writer knows, for sure, that it's all going to turn out okay, but we the readers have to wait in limbo with our anxieties gnawing at us all the while.

MILES: I totally get where you’re coming from, on that.  This bit felt like a part we really did need to write, partially for that exact reason; taking the readers on an exciting voyage to the twisted shores of Rose’s nihilisthmus is a peek behind the curtains that hopefully DOES serve to contextualize just how checked out she is and provide some more clarification on why it is she’s acting the way she does.

Instead of taking individual text blocks, Miles is going to give us the whole shebang summary, so I'll pull it straight out of the patreon commentary wholesale since anyone suffering like me probably ought to hear it with me:

Overall, as a Light player trapped in a universe/timeline/whatever-you-want-to-call-Candy devoid of “real” narrative consequence (and thusly, devoid of any “real” fortune that might seek to inform her Light-aspected guidance), she’s been sort of adrift!  Imagine having access to a cosmic intuition that points you towards what’s “best” and then, one day, you notice it’s broken.  Still trying, but broken nonetheless.  Rose is already predisposed towards existential malaise; she’s always needed action to fill that void, and when the little voice in your head suddenly starts telling you that you live in a world where action is fundamentally meaningless, coping with that reality probably... fucking sucks!  She has nonetheless done an admirable job of trying to keep herself anchored with a wife she DOES care for and a daughter she DOES love, but fighting the creeping thought that none of it means anything at all?  Having what you believe is objective cosmic confirmation of nihilism woven into the foundation of the reality you inhabit?  That’s scary shit.  Honestly, it’s kind of a wonder she’s even as sane as she is, but Rose, for better or worse, is quite the badass. Not great for the people around her, though.

I'm starting to see, that's useful additional information. Rose's Seer of Light powers aren't just telling her that this timeline doesn't matter, they're also almost broken to the point of uselessness by the fact that so little 'matters' in the entire world. And those malfunctioning powers have been reinforcing her nihilism just as much as the message that this is a Doesn't Matter Timeline is. Gosh that's depressing... and I hope what Vriska, the Plot Point, and the New Session pulling in their children does manages to eventually shake her out of it, even if she needs to get miraculously saved from a coma first.

Moving on...

Karkat and Kanaya clasping hands being awesome, yeah.

Jake and Jane's confrontation. As much as they wanted in their hearts to give Jake a win, they had to make him lose here because Jane is just too wildly powerful to fall to him when he'd only just turned around, and had to make it sentimental and personal instead of doing something cold and unloading enough lead into her to kill a God of Healing, which wasn't something he'd prepared himself to do, doing something more Jake and "cinematic" instead.

Then we cut back to the kids, and the next update:

11-2024 Writer Commentary

Okay, here we go. What are you going to give us from that last update that was such an emotional whiplash of impacts?

FLORAL, loving some bacon: THE HOMEWRECKER IS DEAD!!!!!!

God damnit XD You fucking jokesters.

Some comments they have about Jake's letter here, which seems unintentionally tailor made to provoke Vrissy into a frenzy:

We’ve been trying to give him a little shade of passive aggression, just a hint of spice, and I think this letter was a fun place for that.  “Sorry but you guys are kind of weak as fuck, can’t do a single backflip, and so you need to sit here and eat these considerately provided packages of snacks while a real gymnast handles shit.”  It’s a flex, but I think it also demonstrates his caretaker tendencies.

I'm trying to dissect what they're saying about him and more could mean about, like, his potential Class and Aspect, but I'm coming up with bupkis aside from all our previous scattershot analyses. Gymnasts can be Breath, Breath can be Provokers, and plenty of classes can be Caretakers, but... I'm still not entirely sure where Tavvy is going to land on the hero spectrum.

MILES: Unfortunately, he probably should have accounted for the fact that these two aren’t really inclined to listen to him.  When Tavvy flips the script on their established relationship dynamic, as he has quite a bit these days, it rubs at least Vrissy the wrong way. 

Yeah it didn't seem like Tavvy was TRYING to provoke Vrissy to run out in rage and try to do something heroic to keep her kismesis from showing her up, but he definitely had that effect unintentionally as hard as it possibly could have been, and any variety of Breath player could have unintentionally managed that, even a Bard. The Caretaker thing is being reinforced by the soda and snacks though, and this writer commentary... is it pointing to a specific caretaker class like a Maid of Breath? Hmm.

On Jade dying right in front of them:

Clearly shit is popping off a bit more flagrantly than the kids imagined.

To put it mildly, yeah.

Tensions have been building for a while, but blood’s been definitively drawn now.  It’s been a lot of setup to get to this point, but it’s super satisfying to see it all reach a boiling point here, even if it comes at the cost of poor sweet Jade’s cranial structural integrity. 

Everything this entire-- well, "Act", now that we KNOW it's an Act, has been building towards THIS climax in particular. A moment where so much shit goes down that we can officially say in every way that Shit Has Gone Down, and they had to herald it in with SOMETHING shocking I guess... especially if they want to neutralize the lingering macguffin that is Candy Calliope's spare Ring of Life if I had to guess from the hints they've been dropping.

The act curtain drop, the psyche, and...

MILES: You’ll notice that, with this little gag (which felt so fun to do, by the way), we’ve returned to the ACT structure, abandoning the CHAPTER format HS^2 utilized before the production change.  This was a point of a lot of thought, for us, but ultimately we think that the Act structure makes more sense for the story it is that we’re trying to tell, for a variety of reasons that I’m not gonna get TOO into here.

With a new session on the cusp of starting, I can really imagine why.

That said, we’re coming up to the climax of what we consider... I don’t know, the “setup” period of the plot?  It’s been a long, long road, and it’s tough to say what final percentage of HS:BC this whole saga is going to represent, but capping it off all under the purview of one Act feels appropriate.  Everything, from the beginning of HS^2 to now, has been dedicated to fully selling the transition from the Epilogues to what has become Homestuck: Beyond Canon.  It’s been just over a year of updates on our end, and it’s so crazy to see this arc getting ready to finish!

That confirms a feeling I was getting but wasn't sure whether to confirm. That the entire time we've been experiencing HS^2, interrupted by that long hiatus in between, was meant to be a setup for THIS moment where we realize a new session is starting, and we're dumped fuck deep into the Game Session format with all the establishing situations and incoming vectors and player collisions to come laid out like bullets streaming in converging on a single point of impact.

And to finish it out, they analyze our new Dark Purple Text Friend!

HAVEN: “Negging” this is new! And again with this 108 number pattern, how curious.

I genuinely forgot they did that 108 earlier in Vriska's plot point. Read back on my Homestuck Liveblog tag for people pointing out the significance of that as HS:BC's act number.

This person seems to drag on each sentence... Before snapping back to finality.

A trait I hadn't noticed besides the bombs, but a trait one bomb-and-fuse oriented could be reasonably said to have without indicating to us which Doom class this obviously-Doom-player is.

HAVEN: A lot of information here! TC and AA, who are curious characters and what could their roles be? (well I suppose you could guess their upcoming roles.)

There probably ARE hints to TC and AA's literal hero roles, their classes and aspects (such as Oracle being listed there), but we don't have enough of them on hand to tell the wheat from the chaff just yet beyond that. I'm sure we're going to be getting piles of hints in the coming pages both up through and after and possibly within whatever flash-like animation they're taking extra time to cook up for us to celebrate the miracle of this new beginning.

They point out GC's "and we did spend a lot of time on it..." meaning they're the ones that must have coded this new incarnation of The Game out of the Ruins codebase.

HAVEN: Here I think there was going to be a line specifying they had “47 friends lined up” but it got switched out.  JAMES: I wonder if that's important. I guess we still need to be sort of coy about it.Which is horseshit. HAVEN: Yeah, that IS horseshit! Anyway our coyness continues.

I like how they wanted to make at least a JOKING reference to a 48-player Squiddle session that isn't going to happen, because I'm still betting that somewhere between 8 and 16 people is the most we can comfortably fit in a new plot like this, not to mention the Gene pattern that seems to be being followed so far, but we'll have to see.

Alright, that's the end of four posts of commentary. I've gained a LITTLE bit of meaningful information and some expectations on the upcoming timeline, and I hope you have too, and I also hope I didn't pull so much out of the Patreon exclusive info that y'all don't feel discouraged to chip into Homestuck Beyond Canon too like I'm doing if you have extra dosh to spare (but only to spare, don't impact your livelihood if you need the money for important/life things, that's advice they and anyone else would give you).

I'm feeling slightly less sick by luck now that I've rammed all this typing out of my fingers, and hopefully y'all feel a little less of the ominousness that can't help but hang around recent in-canon events. Phew.

I see in the Patreon comments some commenters are extrapolating from that cut "48" that Dirk wants to create the session that made the TROLL session (with the trolls' 48 star signs) to complete a solid loop, which I concede is possible, but I doubt his goals are really all that pedestrian, that wouldn't make him the most important the way he's aiming-- you already have my counter-speculation in hand that Dirk intends to create the session that gave birth to the chess game ITSELF, that gave birth to the Prospit/Derse system and the very seed session for the propagation of Paradox Space. Alt!Calliope seems like they're practically in alignment with him on the goal, wanting to tie Beyond Canon back down into a neat self-causing loop excepting that Alt!Callie's intending to ensure he doesn't get to make himself the Author Of All That Exists, no matter who it hurts when she forces the issue, which makes Alt!Calliope not much different from him. And between these dueling forces, we have the ever-underestimated plans of Calliope and Roxy across both timelines, the Muse of Space and the Rogue of Void, who seem to have SUCCEEDED in collaborating knowingly or unknowingly across the timelines to use Vriska as a shunt to SOMEHOW get the Candy Kids to be important friends and players in this new Game, bringing things all full circle in a way not even Alt!Calliope thought would save their home timeline but quite possibly can. How exciting!

It hurts, sometimes, but gosh do I still love Homestuck. See y'all whenever that next hiatusy bombastic probably Flash-animation-like update goes up in a month or two or however long it takes them, bless their diligent crazy hearts.

[goldenempyrean]

Beyond The Office Walls

〚 Day 14 - ‘‘I shouldn’t be worried about you, but for some reason I am’’ 〛

〚 Pairing - Lena Luthor x Reader 〛

〚 Summary - She may be your boss, but it takes getting to sick to realise that she maybe more than that. 〛

〘 Check Out My Masterlist! 〙〘 Sicktember 2023 Masterlist 〙

Looking out over the office, something just seemed off. Nothing was out of place per say, but everyone seemed to be getting on with their business like any other day. But that was when she noticed it. The desk by the window - your desk - was empty. 

Not empty in the way someone leaves it when they just pop out for coffee, no. Your desk was empty. No bags or files in sight. Every other reporter had already arrived by now. That wasn’t just odd. Quite frankly it was concerning. 

Ever since buying CatCo you’d always arrived at least 20 minutes earlier than required, regularly arriving at the same time as herself. As such the two of you had gotten friendly, often grabbing a coffee for that other and Lena couldn’t quite place it but there was just something about you that made her heart flutter just a little. 

She was just tapping into your number on her phone when she saw you shuffle into sight, planting yourself down in a less then grateful manner. Something was wrong. 

Your eyes, usually bright and full of energy, were dulled by exhaustion. Your normally impeccable attire looked dishevelled, as if you'd hastily thrown on whatever was within reach this morning. Lena couldn't help but notice the way you kept sniffing and rubbing at your nose, and she could see the telltale redness around your eyes. 

Concern etched across Lena's face as she watched you, unable to contain her worry any longer. She sent you a quick text message: "Hey, are you okay? You don't look well at all." She watched as your phone buzzed on your desk, hoping you'd read her message. 

Meanwhile, she discreetly reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a packet of tissues, slipping them into her back pocket before standing up and heading over towards your desk. She made small talk with other employees as to not seem so intruding before she came to sit on the corner of your desk. 

“I didn’t see you this morning.” She said as she casually picked up one of the reports you’d laid out, smiling at your perfectly scripted notes. 

A series of soft sniffles punctuated the air as you leaned back in your chair, looking up at Lena with tired eyes. Your voice was scratchy as you replied, “Yeah, I was just running late.” You stopped to clear you throat, which didn’t really help rid it of its raspy edge, “Sorry if I kept you waiting or anything.” 

Lena arched an eyebrow, her concern deepening. "You don't sound so great," she commented, her fingers lightly touching your forehead as if checking for a fever. "You're not coming down with something, are you?" 

You shook your head, only it did little to change her mind, “I’ll work through it I promise.” You coughed to the side before shifting your attention back to your work. 

Lena couldn't help but feel a pang of worry deep in her chest. Your insistence on pushing through didn't sit well with her, not when she could see how uncomfortable you truly were. She continued to observe you, her concern growing with every sniffle. 

She sighed and softly uttered, "I think you’re trying to just power through when you really don’t need too." Her voice was filled with genuine concern as she looked into your eyes.

You hesitated for a moment before meeting her gaze, "I’m okay," you murmured, your voice still raspy. "I'll be fine, really. I just have a lot I need to finish today.” 

Lena's hand moved to gently cup your cheek, her thumb brushing against your skin in a soothing manner. "You don't have to be a hero, you know," she whispered softly. "Do you really think it’s smart to be working when you’re obviously feeling like shit.” 

Your eyes widened, you hadn’t heard her swear at work before but nonetheless you found yourself leaning into her touch, closing your eyes briefly and savouring the warmth of her hand against your face. "I just... I don’t want to let anyone down, we’re all on deadlines here." you admitted, your voice cracked slightly before you spluttered off into a cough. 

Lena's expression softened even further, and she leaned in closer, her eyes locked onto yours. "You're not letting anyone down," she said earnestly. "And you certainly aren't letting me down.” 

You tried to smile but you were interrupted as you sneezed down into your elbow. Unable to resist any longer, Lena reached into her back pocket and pulled out the packet of tissues she had stashed there. She placed it gently on your desk, right next to your elbow. "Here," she said softly, "you might need these." 

You gave her a weak but appreciative smile, accepting the tissues. "Thanks, Lena." Your voice was even raspier now, and you couldn't help but wince as a particularly nasty sneeze overtook you. "Ugh, sorry about that." 

Lena waved off your apology with a caring look. "No need to apologise. You shouldn't be working in this condition, you know. It's good for you at all."  

You shrugged, attempting to sound nonchalant despite the obvious discomfort you were in. "I've had worse. It'll pass, I just need to get on with this.” You tapped your pen on the side of your desk, only it slipped through your fingers and rolled onto the floor, landing at your bosses' feet. 

Lena sighed as she picked up the pen, placing it in your hand gently before she leaned in closer, her voice lowered to a more intimate tone. "You know," she began, "I shouldn't be worried about you, but for some reason, I am." 

Your eyes met hers, and in that moment, you could see the genuine worry and care reflected in her gaze at she stared down at you. You didn't know how or why, but it warmed your heart somehow. It made you feel warm inside. "Lena," you whispered, your voice betraying your exhaustion as it rasped and cracked, "You don’t need to be worried about me. I promise I can take care of myself.” 

Lena's fingers lightly brushed against your arm, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Well, I can't help it," she admitted, her voice filled with sincerity and sympathy, "There's just something about you that makes me want to look after you. There’s something special about you, and I want to know what it is." 

As Lena confessed her feelings, you couldn't help but feel a flutter of hope building up inside your chest. Maybe, just maybe, this had brought something unexpected into your life. You leaned in a little closer, your noses nearly touching, and you whispered back, "I'm not sure what it is, but I feel the same way about you.”  

The loud chattering office seemed to fade into the background as the pair of you shared a moment of connection, your illness momentarily forgotten. The air between you was charged with unspoken emotions, and you both knew that something special was happening. Something which could change your futures. 

Lena's thumb gently traced circles on your arm as she leaned even closer, her lips barely an inch from yours.  

"You know," she murmured, her voice soft and inviting, "maybe you don't have to work through this cold alone. Maybe I could... take care of you." Her warm breath brushed against your lips, causing your heart to jitter and flutter with anticipation. 

Your eyes locked onto hers, and the world around you seemed to vanish. You were no longer in your office surrounded by colleagues, you were with her and her alone, "I'd like that," you whispered, your voice filled with a mixture of desire and vulnerability, “I’d like that a lot.” 

Lena closed the remaining distance between your lips, and the kiss that followed was gentle yet electric, filling you with a warmth you hadn’t felt in years. It was a promise of something new, a connection that went beyond the office walls. 

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[kerizaret]

Hello everyone and welcome once again to my brain! Today I want to ramble a bit about

✨️ Tsukasa and Rakunosuke (Emu's grandpa) parallels ✨️

Because I feel like we don't talk about them much. Or at all actually

Now, I'm not pulling this out of nowhere. It's quite literally stated at least once, outright, in the game, that Tsukasa is really similar to Emu's grandpa (or even twice – but the other time I'm unsure 100% whether its about Tsukasa specifically, which I'll get to later). That's not to mention the other little things throughout the stories that I think similar between the two

So here's just some thoughts I've had on the topic after rewatching some events, more or less cohesive

1) Tsukasa's PXL auditon & WMS speech

Starting at the very beginning, we've known ever since the wxs main story that there's something in Tsukasa that has drawn Emu in to him already the first time she's ever saw him, at his audition for PXL, which made her hire him herself. She says "found you" at that moment, as if she's been searching for someone exactly like him. Out of all the possible candidates who applied who she might've seen, why Tsukasa specifically?

It could be just about him boasting about making fantastic shows, which of course is a part of it. But I feel like this isn't all, that there was something else that she noticed, that maybe she didn't fully realise at that moment

Then later, in Wonder Magical Showtime, after Tsukasa's motivational speech, Emu specifically thinks back to that audition and how she felt something special there. And, most importantly, she thinks it as if she's talking to her grandpa – like he's somehow tied to it, to her realisation that Tsukasa is the one

Putting aside the fact they were fighting for Rakunosuke's park, which obviously makes Emu think back to him, there's something more. Emu doesn't think anything of the sort about Rui, even though he was the one who came up with the night show, or about Nene. Nor did she mention any kind of this strong feeling/conviction about having them on the Wonder Stage in the main story

She's focused on Tsukasa, because he's the one that brought all these people together and gave them the last push they needed to fight for PXL. He's the one they listen to, he who understands what this park was all about and why they need to save it. He's standing on the stage her grandpa built, looking at all those people working here, and he's leading them, telling them this dream CAN be made a reality and it's more important than anything else

And I feel like she could have looked at that and been reminded of her grandpa a bit, with how much he loved the park he built and brought people together with the same ideals and love and made dreams come true

2) Miles

Speaking of WMS, I'm sure we all remember Miles, the sorcerer Tsukasa played in the night show in WMS, and how he was a character very clearly based on Rakunosuke. It's not very surprising it's Tsks who got this role, but it's still interesting to me. It feels like no-one else would've been able to get this character right and neither would Emu as Shao with someone else playing Miles

I won't get into what "Miles" Tsukasa says in the play, because that's just the script and not a representation of Tsukasa himself, but I do want to draw attention to the specific scene where Emu's father is watching the night show and looks at Tsukasa, then says this:

This is the first time that – i suspect – Tsukasa is outright "stated" to be like Rakunosuke. Here I say "suspected" since I'm not 100% sure of it for two reasons. One of them being that as we know, the ensekai translation is sometimes often bad. For that I looked up the original text as well as an old translation of the event on YT to check for differences

The line ends up being similar in meaning, more or less, but a bit more vague. That also ties to my second doubt though, which is that Emu's father might be referring not to Tsukasa himself, per se, but rather to the character of Miles he's playing

I feel like both can make sense, in their own way (and the event is a Tsukasa focus for a reason, too), but for here I'm throwing it more as a hint than any kind of outright proof. Food for thought

3) Tsukasa and Rakunosuke's deams

Then, as we reach Popping in my Heart! and learn more of Rakunosuke from Riley's pov, there's another interesting thing that pops up. That is, the fact that Tsukasa and Rakunosuke share the same dream

And then, that's when Emu confirms what I've talked about before – that this whole time, she's felt something about Tsukasa being so reminding of her Grandpa

So Tsukasa has all this time "carried the same spirit" as Rakunosuke – which is possibly the reason why Emu has been feeling strangely drawn to him from the beginning

4) The Wonderland SEKAI

Hey. Hey. Remember this line?

(tl by tsukasa's #3 fan on YT)

Yeah, this one. The same reason why wxs even has "Wonderlands" in their troupe name

You know what else has Wonderland in its name?

That's right! Tsukasa's SEKAI!

Tsukasa's SEKAI. A different world that's created from his feelings, that's a place born from his desire to make everyone smile with his shows. A world that just recently expanded to include plushies representing all those different shows – different worlds – wxs created as a troupe. It's a world that Tsukasa, in a way, made by himself (albeit unconsciously)

Oh did I mention the Wonderland SEKAI is also, primarily, pre-wl, a theme park? With a big ass ferris wheel and several stages and a castle and a train and a merry-go-round, a rollercoaster and more? You know, kind of just like Phoenix Wonderland? Which was built by Emu's grandpa?

Do you ever think about that? That both Tsukasa and Rakunosuke "made" their own "Wonderlands"? That the SEKAI is so similar to PXL? Because I do

Anyway. Those were the main similarities or references I noticed, but I still have some few other miscellaneous thoughts i had aside from that that I'll sum up a bit quicker

Tsukasa and Emu's grandpa both care more about the shows (& pxl) themselves and the effect they have on people to make them smile than any kind of fame or recognition

A reminder, too, that despite the movie's popularity, nobody really knew that Rakunosuke worked on "Smiley" (or that it was even a Riley Entertainment movie at all)

There's also the fact that both tsks and rknsk get stuck more on the excitement they want their audiences to feel rather than on the technical sides or worries about how it would be possible – as seen with Rakunosuke convincing Riley to include all his dreams and ideas in "Smiley" without focusing as much on the budget and all to install that wonder in the viewers, and Tsukasa doing anything to perfect his acting, and also agreeing to most of Rui's stunts and experiments and production ideas as long as it gets the audience to become more immersed

I noticed as well that they're both people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, who easily get emotional and enthusiastic, who empathise a lot with the others' emotions and struggles, becoming happy when something good happens to them

^ he cried here. And later at the fan festa seeing nene sing confidently and happily he teared up again

And also just *gestures vaguely at pandemonium event and Rui's "tsukasa's friends' happiness is his own happiness" line*. Yeah

Most importantly, Tsks and Rknsk both care so, so much about shows ending with smiles and not tears

And overall about everyone smiling and being happy. Like Tsukasa telling Emu in the main story, on the ferris wheel, that when her grandpa meant making EVERYONE smile, it included Emu, too, and he wanted to make sure she's happy as well

There's also everything with Emu, too. The way she's very clingy with Tsukasa, always throwing herself at him (not that she isn't with everyone, but she does seem to jump at him the most often)

She's also implied to open up a bit more around him – in Smile of a Dreamer, when wxs expressed their worries about emu hiding her problems, KAITO implies that its unusual she "hasn't told EVEN Tsukasa"

And it's Tsukasa who first understood that, despite how it may seem that "she always is so optimistic and says whatever's on her mind", in the end "the bigger the problem, the less likely she is to talk" (paraphrased quotes from smile of a dreamer). And also underdstood what's the most important to her and how to give her a push to voice her worries to them

It's Tsukasa who Emu first got so scared of leaving their troupe and her behind

I simply feel like Emu is aware of the similarities her grandpa and Tsukasa share and, subconsciously, trusts him a lot and gets attached to him easily

Anyway. This is just a bunch of thoughts that came to mind that I wanted to share and hear your thoughts on maybe too. I love emukasa so much they have such a great dynamic, and I feel the implied similarities between Rakunosuke and Tsukasa add a lot to that too. I'm really curious if it'll be something they'll explore more in future events. Because I feel these parallels are there for some reason

[ppenguinpperson]

Without thinking, Siffrin says, “I’ll kill you.” The words leave his mouth before he even understands them. When he does, his eye goes wide, horror dawning upon him. Why did he say that? He doesn’t want to kill Loop?? Why would he want to do that?? What's wrong with him??? “I perfectly parry your blow and survive,” Loop shrugs.

Siffrin isn’t sure what loop they’re in right now. 90, maybe? That number feels terribly wrong, though. Both too small and too big at the same time.

They’ve spent an eternity in this town. They know the House like the back of their hand, having walked down each hall a thousand times. Every crack in the wall, every useless trinket, every torch; all of it is engraved within their mind, sure to never be forgotten. So, it can’t only have been 90. They know too much to have spent that little time here.

A bitter smile creeps up on their face. Despite it being ‘only’ their 90th time looping, it’s still not over. ‘Only’, because they know it’s far from the last time that they’ll wake up in this meadow.

This will go on and on until he forgets what the counter inside his mind is for. He already forgot his family’s names once, who’s to say he won’t forget again? That he won’t forget who he is?

Or worse - what if he forgets who Loop is? Will he forget that he has someone to remind him of these things?

… No. Siffrin’s memory is fickle, but he’d like to think that he knows himself well enough to say he won’t forget Loop. He can’t say it confidently, but still.

Siffrin perks up at the thought of Loop. It has been some time since he last talked to them in person. He doesn’t even call them that much anymore… Ah, well, they’ll understand. They’ll probably just say something like “You’re back?? I was starting to think you were serious when you threatened me with bonding-divorce!!! Thank you for giving me a second chance, I promise I’ll go to bonding-counseling with you once you escape these loops.”

On autopilot, they get up. The meadow looks the same as always. Their talks with Mirabelle and Isabeau are a blur, same as the walk to the wishing tree is. This part of the script is the easiest, they’ve long since stopped trying to look for any changes. It’s always the same.

Just as everything is always the same, there’s one thing that never is. Loop might not have noticed yet, but Siffrin has; they’re not the same Loop that they met at the start. Every now and then, they catch him by surprise and say something that he’d never thought they were capable of saying back when they first met.

It could be that they’re just showing him their ‘true self’. He hasn’t even known them that long. Maybe they’re getting comfortable around him, taking off their mask bit by bit… but that doesn’t sound like Loop at all. He’s known them long enough to semi-confidently say that they’re changing. Just like he is.

Wordlessly, the traveler sits down across from Loop before Isabeau even left the scene. Their hands are in their lap, legs crossed, leaning against the tree. Their pose rarely changes, but enough so for him to notice.

“Well, well, well! If it isn’t my precious Stardust!” Loop speaks, clasping their hands together. Their voice turns to an imitation of hurt. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”

Siffrin hides under his hat. “I was busy.”

“You know I’m here to help you with that, right? ‘Helpful Loop, always here to help with the loops!’ Or have you forgotten?”

He bites the inside of his cheek. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to stop himself from answering a question that there’s no right answer to. He feels like a dog getting scolded.

A beat of silence. “I can’t always do all the talking, you know. You should try it sometime. You should get yourself your own Stardust – someone that never contributes to the conversation, so you have complete control over it! It’s really something. Gets boring sometimes, but you’d at least get to practice your conversational skills. Stars know you’re lacking.”

Without thinking, Siffrin speaks.

“I’ll kill you.”

The words leave his mouth before he even understands them. When he does, his eye goes wide, horror dawning upon him. Why did he say that? He doesn’t want to kill Loop?? Why would he want to do that?? Why is he saying something he doesn’t think??? Sure, they were annoying him, on purpose to add, but?? He doesn’t want them dead???

He opens his mouth to speak again, but nothing comes out. His mind rushes to find something to say to fix this situation.

“Just a joke, haha, laugh now please” “...r haters” “Did you hear something? Huh, must have been the wind”

But nothing comes to mind!!! Crab!!! No, no, no!!! Loop is his only real companion these days!! They’ve been by his side for all of the 90 loops he’s been through!! Not ‘only’, but!! 90!!! They’ve been with him, and he just possibly ruined their relationship with this stupid, stupid joke, that he doesn’t even know why he said in the first place!!!

“Who said that” “Anyway did you see me catch that fish, pretty cool right” “I’m like super hungry right now do you wanna eat Bonnie's snacks together”

No… he can’t salvage this. This is beyond repair. He visits Loop for the first time in however many loops, and he says THAT??? Of all things?? They’ll never want to see him again if he doesn’t say something right now, but he can’t!!! He’ll be all alone now. No guide, no confidant!! All alone!!! Because he spoke without thinking!!!

He shuts his mouth. He feels a tug on his-

“I perfectly parry your blow and survive.”

… What?

“What??”

“You fight with a dagger. I parry your blow, and I survive.” Loop shrugs, “You didn’t even scratch me.”

Siffrin stares at them, dumbfounded. They… parried it?? That’s impossible. He’s defeated so many sadnesses, big and small, and- the King!!! He’s defeated the King!! If he can’t parry them, surely Loop can’t either. He’d take them down in one blow!! He wouldn’t give them the chance to parry, if they were ever to fight!!

Wait, no- why are they parrying?? He just threatened to kill them and they’re roleplaying?? What???

His face has twisted into something grotesque. He feels the corners of his mouth move, his eyebrows furrow, his eyes crease, but he cannot will any of this to stop. The thread he’s hanging on by is thinning by the second. If Loop were to put a mirror in front of him right now, he’s sure that it would snap.

Because he doesn’t know what to say, he says, “Okay.”

Loop puts a hand in front of where their mouth would/should be, their eyes creased. “Aww, did you really think you could sneak a hit in like that? Sorry, Stardust! You’ll have to try harder than that if you wish to so much as scratch me.”

They put their hands back in their lap. “Now, how can I help you on this wonderful new loop?”

[chirpingfromthebox]

Post-game Press Conference: MN vs NY - 12/1/2024

The season 2 home opener for the Minnesota Frost. But they lost in overtime to the New York Sirens. Final score was 3-4.

At the table were coach Ken Klee, captain Kendall Coyne-Schofield, and forward Grace Zumwinkle.

As per usual, I'll put the transcription [and my random asides] under the break.

[The video starts after a question was asked, so I have no idea what it was, but we begin with Klee's answer to it.]

KEN KLEE:

Yeah, well, I mean, it’s tough. I mean, it’s obviously exciting, I think, for our players, our coaches, everybody. Just- You know, you had the banner raising, you come out, score 30 seconds in—awesome goal—we’re rolling. You know, I think the shots were a lot to a little in the first and you know, we just gotta stay on it. Their goalie made some huge saves for them and give them credit. They hung in there. We were trying to put everything we had at them and they found a way to hang on. But it was a good hockey game. And overall when we outshoot teams 2-1, I like our chances. So, it was a good point by us and it was a good hockey game.

[For clarification, and for anyone new: in the PWHL teams get 3 points for the season for a regulation win, 2 for a win in overtime, 1 for an overtime loss, and 0 for a loss in regulation. And those points are what ultimately determines who makes it to the playoffs at the end of the season.

So when Klee says "It was a good point by us" he is referring to the fact that by taking NY to overtime they earned a point for the season, and not referring to any specific goal in the game.

Maybe that was already obvious, but I figured I mention it just in case.]

Reporter:

Grace [Zumwinkle], you had the first goal in two consecutive home openers. Can you take us through that goal?

GRACE ZUMWINKLE:

Yeah, I think it first started off with the backcheck and keeping the puck in from Britta Curl. And then Kelly Pannek made a great heads up hockey play, and I think that’s one of her greatest strengths as a hockey player. And we certainly compliment each other well in that regard.

Reporter:

Do you feel that in that moment, kind of the rush of everything that’s happening before the game kind of feeding into that momentum as a player?

GRACE ZUMWINKLE:

I mean, it’s something that I think we talked about before and it’s super exciting, super cool to see the girls come back, and you kind of relive the memory of winning. But then as the puck drops it’s a new season, it’s a new start, and I think that was something you can’t just sit and dwell on what we accomplished last season. New York gave us a great game and that’s something that we need to continue to work on as well.

Reporter:

[They’re fumbling a bit on their words a little here, but it sounds like: Grace, what went through your mind when you said you saw the banner go up?]

GRACE ZUMWINKLE:

[laughing] Sorry, can you repeat that?

Reporter:

What went through your mind as the banner went up?

GRACE ZUMWINKLE:

I think it’s super special to see it and I think we had kind of a unique run at the championship: losing the first five game- Last five games of the season and then coming through it. And I think it’s a huge testament to the group of us just flipping the script and turning it around. And I think that’s something our group is so proud of and necessarily it wasn’t an easy ride to win it at the end.

[After that question, let us take a quick moment to appreciate Zummie's messy top bun here.

How can anyone not love this woman?

Okay, back to the questions.]

Reporter:

Kendall [Coyne Schofield], did the things you thought you were going to think about is that how it went down when you saw it go up?

[I feel the need to point out that I am reasonably sure I transcribed that question properly, so don't put its bizarre structure on me. This was from the same guy who asked the fumbled question earlier and he clearly needs to work on phrasing his questions a little more clearly.]

KENDALL COYNE-SCHOFIELD:

Yeah, definitely. You know, it was really exciting to see some of our teammates be able to come back. I wish everyone could’ve back for it, of course. But I hope those that weren’t were able to watch from wherever they were. But yeah, just a reflection of so many people who made that possible and that will always be woven in that banner that’s up in the rafters forever.

[For context, before the banner was raised some of the players from the season one team who are no longer a part of the team (and not on another team this year) were invited out onto the ice for the ceremony. Nikki Nightengale, Lauren Bench, and Amanda Leveille were there for sure...I might be missing someone though. Kendall actually skated up to each of them and greeted them as she brought out the cup which I thought was a nice gesture.]

[P.S. I have still not come to terms with the fact that Amanda Leveille never got to take the ice as a goalie during an official PWHL game and now she never will. Sometimes the world just isn't fair.]

Reporter:

Kendall, did you feel the game kind of change there in the second period?

KENDALL COYNE-SCHOFIELD:

Yeah, I think we knew they were gonna push. You know, I think you look at the first 20 minutes of everyone’s season, whether it’s the rookies making their pro debut or the players who were there last year making their year two debut [laughs]. There was a lot of emotions in the first period. I thought we came out hard and we knew they were gonna push in the second. We just didn’t match that push. I thought we came back with a harder push in the third, but obviously that wasn’t enough. But the good part is it’s game 1, day 1. And we get the opportunity to learn from tonight’s game.

Reporter:

Was there anything in particular that you felt gave them the edge in power plays tonight? In kind of being able to, you know, take advantage of that when they had their opportunity?

KEN KLEE:

I think they only had one. And it was a good shot. I mean, she made a shot off the post, you know, short-side. I think that’s a shot as a power play that we’re gonna have to give up. If it’s dot-line, top of the circle? She just made a really nice shot. I think they were 1 for 1 and we were 0 for 1. There wasn’t many calls like some of the other games yesterday that we watched; obviously there was a lot of power plays. But it was a good game. I thought both teams played hard. It was up and down. I thought we did a lot of good things and in the end it was just finishing our chances. That’s kind of the message after. We played hard, we got a point, and now we just need to continue to get better.

Reporter:

Was it kind of deja vu for you a little bit? With all the shots but not producing maybe as much as you want to do?

KEN KLEE:

Not really. It’s a new team. We’ve been working on shooting and scoring and all those things. Doing the right things, going to the right areas, managing the puck. I thought our puck management was really good for a lot of times in the game where we didn’t give them odd-man rushes, maybe they had one or two, but that was it. As far as that goes we were buzzing. So we keep buzzing like that and I know we have a lot of players that are going to find the back of the net. I think Taylor [Heise] had four or five [???] by herself. So that’s- she’s obviously a gifted scorer and she’ll continue to shoot pucks and get pucks there.

[Sorry, I he mumbled a bit at that point and I'm not sure exactly what he was saying. 4 or 5 point biters? 4 or 5 points behind her? Maybe there's a slang term in there somewhere I'm not catching. I dunno! Heise had 0 points that game, but she did take 4 shots, so I'm assuming he's just referring to the fact they were able to produce a lot of opportunities to take shots {even if they weren't successful ones.}]

Reporter:

Grace, when you’re on the ice or on the bench too, how much are you aware of just kinda the fans? You know, with them cheering or there were a couple of chants. You know last year it was kind of the “Minnesota”, which they did a couple of times, there were a couple ones they tried to get started with the word "Frost." Do you guys kind of hear that? It seemed like kinda the fans were getting used to the new name as well a little bit.

GRACE ZUMWINKLE:

Yeah, I think everyone’s super excited to have a team name and something that we can all support. I know our fans, we take pride in having the best fans. And I think every city says that. But especially growing up in Minnesota and being from here, I think it’s just super special to see a packed Xcel Energy Center and that’s something you don’t see every single night. And I think it’s something that as a group we try to show our best every single night for them.

[sunfudge]

Evidence that points towards Sunday potentially joining the Stellaron Hunters

Since this theory has been tormenting my mind for a few weeks now, I've decided to compile all of the information we have so far that could maybe point towards Sunday joining the Stellaron Hunters.

Now that we know he can't return to Penacony, he can't return to Robin, and he has to keep on moving towards his goal, the likelihood of him being picked up by the Stellaron Hunters is stronger than ever.

He has a complicated past and has been left adrift and alone without a path to follow or a future for himself. He's alone and he still aims for an impossible goal - in my opinion, he is a prime candidate to join this faction now that his plan on Penacony has fallen apart with no possibility of ever coming true.

He continues to strive for a seemingly unachievable perfect paradise for all, a place where the weak can be protected and kept happy for all of their lives like birds in safe cages. He still strives for this, the only difference now is that be knows that this is no longer possible to create on Penacony.

This is made clear in the description of his new light cone 'After the Charmony fall'

'He carries the past, turns his back on his homeland, and continues towards a paradise that does not yet exist'

His old life has burned to cinders behind him in his wake. He can never return to how things were before. That life before this has ended, and he has no choice but to leave it and walk another path.

The Family won't even mention Sunday by name anymore and have attempted to delete all of the memories of what happened in 2.2 from the minds of those living inside the dreamscape.

Even Robin avoids mentioning him by name which is upsetting as she's likely been told to do so, instead calling him 'the former head of the Oak family'.

There has already been an attempt by the family to bury Sunday. He could not be more cut off from his past now and there is no future for him on Penacony.

He has no choice but to leave and spread his wings. Whatever path he may take now it doesn't change the fact that he has to either join a faction or travel alone, and I personally severely doubt he'd travel alone. For his plan to work, which he still aims for, he needs more than just himself, and he needs the help of someone who can promise ridiculous things.

First off, I really want to quickly detour into some of the misconceptions I've seen recently surrounding Stellaron Hunters, one of these being that people seem to believe the Scripts are some sort of demon contracts that cannot be broken, leaving those who follow them devoid of their own free will, even when with everything we know this is so very far from the truth. Elio's scripts are a guide and are not a forceful contract that his Hunters are totally bound to and it doesn't make much sense to assume that they are with all of the information we know about them.

The comparisons I've seen between Elio's script and Gopher Wood's grooming baffled me. They can't be compared, in my opinion. They are entirely different.

One of the reasons why many people believe Sunday will deny the invitation to the Stellaron Hunters (as I believe the invitation has already been sent, which I'll go on to talk about) is because Elio's script contains Sunday and Robin's eternal separation.

I've seen some people believing this is something Elio himself has decided will happen, however that isn't how this works.

Firefly often defies the script, she even talks about it throughout the 2.X patches in Penacony, however the script always ends up coming true regardless of this. Even Blade tells her this, he says she has a bad habit of defying what the script asks her to do.

I believe It's not that Elio has decided that this is their fate, but rather fate itself has decided this is Robin and Sunday's fate, and I believe Sunday will try to defy this fate and go in opposition of destiny.

Whether this separation is the result of the siblings treading on different paths, or it is the price Robin had to pay for Sunday's freedom, the script may still say this for the same reason that our eventually fight against Nanook is inevitable - it is going to happen no matter what.

That's not to say Sunday can't try to defy it, though.

That also does not mean that every single future path leads to a definite eternal separation, what I'm saying is that either this IS definite, it is set in stone and will happen regardless of wether Sunday joins the Hunters or not and no matter which path Elio goes down - OR it is a changeable future, likely from Sunday accepting the invitation to join the Stellaron Hunters, so that he can actively walk backwards from this fate that awaits them both otherwise.

Elio's script is a possible future he foresaw, one that he wants to lead his Hunters down as it leads to the most desired future for us.

Elio has already expressed that we should reach the end of the story in our own way and Kafka even tells us at the very beginning of the game to not make a choice that we may regret.

So, Elio's scripts are not binding contracts that force the Hunters to follow a predetermined path, but rather they are guides that lead to a desired future.

Sunday has been clear that he intends to still find another place to create his perfect paradise where the weak are protected, and who better to provide him a solution to his problem than Elio - the guy who's been making seemingly impossible promises for a long time now. It's kind of his whole thing.

I'm going to start off with the most obvious example that I feel is less of a hint and more of a slap in the face. I've been thinking about this readable ever since it became a major point of attention after it was first discovered. To me it's pretty cut and dry about what it is; it is a poem from Elio to Sunday, predicting his fall from grace before it has even happened - which is proof of Elio's ability to foresee the future - and at the end an invitation to join them in order to still make his dream come true.

Death of the Crow is a readable that can be found in Dreamflux Reef immediately after accessing it at the beginning of the 2.2 quest. It is a poem written in the style of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

The first interesting piece of information before even reading the contents is its description:

Obviously, what stands out most for me is the line

'Or perhaps, some kind of mysterious invitation'.

This poem goes through Sunday's life and then it delves into Sunday's future.

The second stanza at the beginning of the poem refers to Sunday and the Charmony dove, a story he draws back to often in 2.2 as it had a major effect on him and his current view point, particularly in the way that Gopher Wood framed that situation to Sunday when he was a child. It is a huge basis for the majority of the beliefs he holds to this day.

Gopher Wood praised Sunday's apprehension and fear, whilst he patronized Robin and called her ideas 'idealistic' and 'romantic'. He identified Sunday as the more fearful and anxious of the two and he decided he would be the focus of his grooming.

As far as Gopher Wood was concerned, Sunday and Robin are twins of the order, but only one would follow this path to the very end. He took Sunday's desire to protect the weak and ensure that no matter what they stay alive and weaponized it against him creating a situation in which Sunday was willing to sacrifice himself in order to maintain a beautiful and safe dream that everyone would live in apart from himself. His story parallels Jesus, and the plot of 2.2 is especially obvious about that.

The poem goes on to discuss other aspects of Sunday's life that lead him to this point that we've currently reached in the story, and then goes beyond this to talk about things that, at the time of being able to find this readable, have not happened yet.

The only person really who could have sent this poem to Sunday is Elio. He can see into the future, as well as this he is heavily involved in the script of Penacony in a way that he hasn't been on any other planet thus far. His input in Penacony is immense especially when this is compared to his other scripts.

I think what's most important about this poem is:

That you can find this prior to when Sunday 'ascends the stage' and 'stole the authority'

The last verse

The name of the sender.

Going through the list let's draw attention to each one and pick the information apart.

'You ascended the stage, you stole the authority, you strived for divinity You raised the dim curtain, your self-directed farce skillfully honed. Your heart overflew with pureness, while the shadows of the puppets cast grim shadows in their play. Your soul embraced compassion, daring to forge a scale that will never sway. "Behold," you proclaimed, "the utopia of absolute bliss," Yet the dream shattered, "Nevermore."'

This is a clear prediction of future events that the sender of the poem should not know of, as they have not yet happened. I can presume this was likely written and then sent to Sunday by this 'mysterious author' to prove that the future sight that they will later claim to have upon their meeting is, in fact, real, and that he can promise him whatever it is that Sunday would possibly want.

'Your old dreams are as dead soil, barren of hope and bereft, Yet how can a noble soul wither and fade, left adrift? I shall await your arrival, with open arms and boundless hope, Here lie the truest dreams, where infinite possibilities lope. Here, all your ambitions shall be fulfilled and set aflame, The past forever transformed, and nevermore'

To me, this section is the invitation. This isn't about Sunday's past or where their plan in Penacony will lead them - this is an invitation.

Particularly the lines 'yet how can a noble soul wither and fade, left adrift?' it's clear Elio holds Sunday in high regard and would think it a pity if he were to wander aimlessly from here on forward, and 'I shall await your arrival, with open arms and boundless hope' sounds so very incredibly Elio.

'Yours, Most Sincerely Cecil Simmes'

This one is interesting to me, however I haven't played the game that this name references.

Spoiler warnings for Ghost Trick for this section. I'll leave the information pertaining to the plot of Ghost Trick between two blue bars so you can skip past this section if it's a game you plan on playing.

I first became aware of this piece of evidence via the thread by @/hxg_diluc who I believe was one of the first people to post about the Stellaron Hunter Sunday theory waaaaay back when you could first find this readable.

GHOST TRICK SPOILERS

------------

Ghost Trick is a game with an MC called Sissel (who I hear has the same spelling as the sender of Death of the Crow in the Chinese version, according to the aforementioned thread), who is a black cat with yellow eyes and a red scarf.

This character changes the fate of others by reversing time, much like Elio changing the fate of others via the scripts. With all we know about Elio this feels like a really deliberate reference.

Elio is pretty commonly known as being shown as a black cat, you see him as such in Kafka's splash art, in SAM's light cone, and in the art during the Jepella rebellion.

------------

To continue on from Ghost Trick, SAM's boss theme is called Nevermore, which is repeated often in the poem The Raven and Death of the Crow.

The description of the disk is 'Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!', which is a direct reference to Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven and Elio's version of the same poem reworked to refer to Sunday's life and future.

The next section is about Sunday's new light cone, the description of which I've already spoken about earlier when talking about how he still aims for that paradise even though he was defeated in Penacony.

This light cone contains a similar gramophone to Kafka's. This is something that as far as I'm aware is unique to these two light cones.

This light cone was voiced! The lines it was voiced with really caught my attention when paired with the lore drop about Finality we were given recently.

'May all wishes come true,

The end is also the beginning'

The second line intrugued me most.

On its own, it just brings forth the idea that Sunday is going to be treading a new path in life, which is - like, yeah we already know that lol he kind of doesn't have a choice about that, but with the context of everything to do with the path of Finality that was released this patch, the same patch that this light cone was dropped, it can be read in a new light.

The line itself sounds very in tune with the path of Finality, in fact it sounds like something Elegy could have said herself when we're asking about Finality.

'Finality isn't the end of everything. All things will originate from there and move on to the next Finality.'

I just think that's worth some attention now that this patch confirmed that the Stellaron Hunters travel on the path of Finality.

We also get to see into Firefly's notebook! (which is super cute and tells us about all the gifts she bought for everyone) but what I noticed was that Elio asked for the 'Odes of Harmony' which is a readable that can be found in Dewlight Pavilion.

Sunday has been compared to the Odes of Harmony by Gallagher, so my mind immediately went here.

This very well may mean nothing, this one is another piece of info where I could be stretching, but again I feel like this is worth pointing out because it's there along with all the other stuff. It's one of many things that when you put them together I feel it just piles higher and higher.

There's also this...

Sparkle talking about a chicken with black cat sunglasses. Which, standalone it's silly, but...

That's such a specific thing to say. A chicken that's wearing black cat sunglasses? Come on lol

We know that this relates to Sunday, because she also mentions a peacock (Aventurine) and a swan (Black Swan). The animals she talks about are meant to represent characters from the story and aren't random animals that have popped into her mind.

Since she calls Sunday chicken wing boy the chicken in question is most definitely Sunday - but giving it a white suit and black cat sunglasses? That's just so extremely specific. Especially when we know Elio is portrayed as a black cat throughout the story.

We know Sparkle has inside information because she was able to take a peek at a script, so knowing that, then what the hell did she mean by this?

There's also this image of all of the Stellaron Hunters after the Jepella rebellion and in the corner there are some crows in the air.

Sunday is portrayed as a crow in the Harmony Trailblazer splash art, but even going beyond that Sunday has crow and raven imagery surrounding him anyways. That is what Sunday is represented by.

So this could be some foreshadowing.

I also think if this is true and Sunday is recruited, he won't be our only recruited Stellaron Hunter in the story. It makes sense to me, why would Elio stop recruiting Hunters? Why should he when he sees someone of promise who could join their faction?

I'm unsure how many there could be, but I definitely see it as a possibility that two, or three, or even more Stellaron Hunters could be recruited during the duration of the game. Furthermore, I think that's a good thing. I think if that's true it's a big positive.

I feel like it would be a great addition to the story. It could even open up the oppertunity for characters to join the Astral Express too. Characters joining groups, leaving groups, changing paths - it would be a really interesting route for the game to go down.

The Stellaron Hunters have almost entirely been released as playable now apart from Elio himself, so recruiting some more as the story continues will keep them fresh and potentially throw in some really interesting interactions and character development. Plus, they are extremely marketable characters.

[1000sunnygo]

The Three Captain's Interview (2021) Part 2: Mayumi Tanaka as Luffy & Namikawa Daisuke as Kidd - Translated

The ask I received got deleted, I'm sorry! 😩

I've decided not to half-ass it, here's the remaining part of the interview with Namikawa san and Mayumi san's answers.

👒 : Tanaka Mayumi (Luffy)

🌷 : Namikawa Daisuke (Captain Kidd)

+ Kamiya Hiroshi as Law (already translated, check here)

-

Q. How did you feel when you got the role?

👒: I was mostly indifferent, as the work (the manga) itself was unknown to me back then. In retrospect, I think it was for the best. I mean, if you know it's a deeply beloved work, you'd feel greedy, won't you? That's why I passed the audition without feeling nervous. Looking back now, maybe it matched Luffy's freedom.

🌷: I remember vividly. Among the eleven rookies with more than 100 million bounty, Kidd's was the highest. I had a clear image of the voice that would express Kidd's powerful appearance, but I couldn't imagine myself playing the role of Kidd. So, I didn't know how to do the voice. I kept thinking about it while recording. I still have a hard time doing Kidd's voice, but it was even harder back then than it is now.

-

Q. Did you have any specific thoughts or feelings while playing in One Piece?

👒: In One Piece, there is the unshakable pillar called 'Eiichiro Oda' , but it's not enough to rely on him. I want people to think, "Wow, One Piece really is amazing" when - including myself, all the individual creators' imagination, music, scenarios, and everything else come together! We'd like to continue to create moments in anime that surpass the original manga.

🌷: Many One piece fans would say it's "fire" when expressing their opinions. Thinking about what makes them feel fired up, I can clearly see it in the scripts. The lines of a good scene are spread over several cuts. I feel that the timing; or rather, the process of speech delivery is given a high importance. So, in pursuit of an impact on the audience, when the scripts says "haah?" I myself try to stretch it with "HA~aah??" - to make everyone feel even more fired up.

[T/N: The Japanese word used was "hot", while "fire" expresses a different type of feeling, I think it works as a closer substitute.]

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Q. Impression of the character you're currently playing?

👒: Someone who accepts his weakness, says "I can't" when he can't do something and then relies on his friends, and never wavers from the freedom of doing so.

🌷: He's surprisingly kind and considerate of his crew mates. He'd often be like "Let's go!" and pull in some of them, but that's not because he's afraid. I interpret it as saying, "I'll protect y'all no matter what, so let's enjoy the thrill of going ahead together!"

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Q. Thoughts on Mayumi Tanaka's Luffy?

🌷: Unwavering...isn't he? The story moves on, but the same old Luffy is always there. Regardless of the state you're in while watching anime, you can always relax and enjoy One piece. I think this is where Mayumi san's Luffy comes off as an undisputed champion. It's quite difficult to keep things the same for decades, so I have deep respect for it.

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Q. Thoughts on Daisuke Namikawa's Kidd and Hiroshi Kamiya's Law?

👒: Some voice actors separate their personal lives from work, but those two are as transparent as I am! It doesn't have to do with their roles, but that makes it comfortable to work with them, so I enjoy it a lot.

🌷: Law looks cool, but he has his passionate sides; he has the calm aura, but he also becomes emotional. You need to incorporate a variety of elements to express those subtle ups and down in a Law-like manner, so I think it's an incredibly difficult role. That's why I think Kamiya kun puts a lot of thoughts and efforts in his performance.

That said, I can't help but feel a pang of jealousy regarding their rankings in the worldwide popularity poll (laughs). Law was in top 5, and Kid was 23rd. Even though they don't have the same screentime frequency, they were introduced at the same time, but the difference was so big... Like, I understand Law's charm, but it was frustrating!

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Q. Do you think it's possible to win against Kaidou?

👒: Of course, it's possible. But the absolute winner has to be Tesshô Genda (Kaido's voice actor). I don't think I can compete with that deep voice.. Well, I'll win though (laughs)

🌷: I want to believe that Kidd wouldn't lose his heart over his defeats. He doesn't intend to be beaten by anyone.

(T/N: Fun fact, Mayumi Tanaka doesn't read the manga. She only learns the manga's events when she reads her script. Sanji's actor Hiroaki Hirata does the same, and he admitted that he doesn't know much of the parts of story where sanji is absent.)

[angstywildcats]

it’s been a hot minute since ive read warrior cats so i just wanted to ask what the relationship between ferncloud and brightheart is? and in turn the general premise of your coming surrounding them? im really interested!!

It has been a hot minute since i've touched a book too, anybody is free to correct me but. In canon, they really just were apprentices at the same time.

If you wana pepe silvia it up, it should be noted that the books however included that:

Fernpaw and Ashpaw's mother is killed by the dogs

Swiftpaw would invite Fernpaw (and Ashpaw) to find out what's been out there hunting down Thunderclanners (It should be stated that Swiftpaw, I think, did this for his Warrior name and wanted support. I don't know if there was ever any mentioned other noble cause on saving his Clan or specifically his apprentice denmates)

Brightpaw and Swiftpaw leave, that whole tragedy happens.

Fernpaw is the one to confess to Fireheart (and Cloudtail, I think?) about where the missing Swiftpaw and Brightpaw's whereabouts are. Which, theoretically helps Brightpaw be found in time.

The book never really shows them interacting otherwise, as far as I can remember, but Ferncloud and Brightheart also most likely shared time in the nursery together since they have kittens around the same era... which you never see because that's in between The Prophecies Begin and The New Prophecy, and Whitepaw is an apprentice by then.

Basically I'm making mountains over underdeveloped molehills over side characters, but I think with what's given, there's a lot of emotional exploration to be had over it, while still feeling in-line with canon!

I should say as well, I was all particularly inspired by this because a couple of Warriors videos ('Danse Macabre', 'No one, Everyone, Your mama') both included a shot of Fernpaw watching them leave in the night. It's such a simple thing to include, but there's a lot of weight to seeing your friends the very moment they leave to go on a suicide mission and one of them never coming back! What would have happened if you broke their trust and just told on them to not leave! Is it your fault they died!?

Soooo with all that being said, and my absolute hunger for just... more interpersonal relationships between characters in Warriors (which they fail me for even the main characters), there's a lot of strong potential in this.

With my take on Brightheart and Ferncloud, I just see them as really good or bonded friends who grew up together. They go through a lot through shared trauma, and based on the tidbits of personality given for both of them, I think they also would get along. Fernpaw being timid, Brightpaw being caring for others. In my comic I've added a bit to also imply Brightheart agreed to go with Swiftpaw not only to support him but to do it for Fernpaw/Ashpaw as well. I hesitate to put any further label on it since... well, their children get together romantically so it would add to the tangle of bloodlines, but I def can see it as how some childhood friends have sibling bonds.

For the comic... you will have to see exactly what happens! It's short, chill. Mostly conversational, just like the Shrewpaw/Ferncloud one but i hope it still hits emotional beats. I think something just fun to chew on while I make it is... How would it feel to watch your friends try hunt something that killed your mother, and only one survives, coming out of it extremely shaken. What would seeing her again feel like.

Perhaps I have talked to much, but I actually planned to do an extension of this comic where it timeskips further on where all the apprentices, grown up, visit Swiftpaw's grave.... but I decided against this because. 1. This is already a lot of work to do this many pages. 2. It's gonna be pretty long already, and I do not like making extremely long posts on tumblr. 3. I found a different way to end the comic I preferred.

Here's the script. Perhaps maybe I'll touch on it another while but admittedly after this I may be tired of exploring the Dog Incident for a bit.

Thank you for being so kind and inquiring! It's very fun, I enjoyed explaining this.