#i can feel it in my bones that i'd talk about this game and its portrayal of everything for hours

[asvidema]

i am enjoying kcd2 a normal amount for sure. got lots to say about it already

[ohisms]

↪ 𝑽𝑨𝑵 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮 . ( a collection of sentence starters from the 2004 film . adjust phrasing as necessary . mature themes present . )

oh , [ name ] . it's just you .

where are you going to run , [ name ] ?

what are you saying ?

why do you think i brought you here ?

you said you believed in my work .

i would kill myself before helping in such a task .

you've been so kind to me , [ name ] .

you can't kill me , [ name ] .

so , you're the great [ name ] .

we all have our little problems .

let's make it your decision , shall we ?

i wish you a week in hell .

why don't you do something about it ?

this is all a test of faith .

i can curse all i want , dammit .

you . turn around .

strangers don't last long here .

the laws of men mean little to me .

i don't need your help .

you stay here . they're trying to kill me .

nice to see you too , [ name ] .

did i do something to you in a past life ?

i hope you do have a heart , [ name ] . because someday i'd like to drive a stake through it .

your reputation precedes you .

i am hollow ! and i will live ... forever .

please , say you will not try again .

do not fear me ... everybody else fears me .

i was unprepared . it won't happen again .

do you understand forgiveness ?

i would rather die than help you .

don't be boring , everyone who says that always dies .

may he rest in peace .

how long has it been , 300 , 400 years ?

you don't remember , do you ?

what exactly is it i am to be remembering ?

it's no surprise you would know all about me .

we have such history , you and i .

have you ever wondered why you have such horrific nightmares ?

[ name ] , it's alright , i'm taking you home .

what , did you think we haven't tried everything before ?

no one knows how to kill [ name ] .

i could have used that information earlier .

would you like me to refresh your memory a little ?

allow me to ... reintroduce myself .

i think we've overstayed our welcome .

don't give me that look .

you were right . i'm sorry .

monster ? who's the monster here ? i have done nothing wrong !

look , there's still time .

you were right . i'm sorry .

do you have any family , [ name ] ?

if you value your lives , and the lives of your kin , you will kill me .

evil may have created it , may have left its mark on it , but evil does not rule it .

now you know why they call me a murderer .

oh my god ... you've been bitten .

so much trouble ... so much trouble .

now you will become that which you hunted so passionately . may others be as passionate in their hunting of you .

don't worry , god will forgive us .

how many commandments can we break in one day ?

oh my god , you should be terrified .

how does it feel to be a puppet on my string ?

neither of us has ever settled for half .

you make my skin crawl .

i'm not gonna like this , am i ?

one brief moment of pain , and we can be together forever .

you have no heartbeat .

you are nothing but damned bones , and damned souls .

well , that doesn't sound like a good thing .

we don't have a choice . just don't get killed .

you don't understand , it doesn't matter what happens to me .

god is not the only one that can create life .

you can't go until i say you can go , and i say you can go when you're dead !

you're supposed to die .

we are both part of the same great game , [ name ] , we just find ourselves on opposite sides of the board .

you are being used , [ name ] , as was i . but i escaped , so can you .

if you're going to kill someone , kill them . don't stand there talking about it .

all i want is life . the continuation of my kind .

some things are better left forgotten .

[666anxiety666]

can you maybe do Ler Swansea headcannons :3 (if you’ve already done that sorry I haven checked your blog💔)

Was gonna make a whole headcanons list for all the characters, so it thought I'd just answer this here. 🙏

🪓Mouthwashing tickle headcanons.🩸

♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎

Curly

LEE

🧡 this man loves tickles but will never admit it.

🧡 his tummy and ribs are his most sensitive spots.

🧡 gets embarrassed when tickling is brought up in convo.

🧡 would always lose tickle fights to jimmy when they were kids. Sometimes on purpose

🧡 will try to keep his laughter as quiet as possible before it becomes too much, and it turns into deep cackles.

🧡 "noho, wahahait! wahaHAHAHAIT-!"

🧡 hadn't been tickled in years until Daisuke, in Daisuke fashion, found out.

🧡 blushes a lot.

🧡 doesn't try very hard to get away as he doesn't want to hurt the person tickling him.

LER

🧡 as a ler, however, his confidence is brought back.

🧡 will want revenge if he's playful and will chase you down to get it.

🧡 this man will tease you the whole time. he likes to play innocent as if he isn't wrecking you underneath him.

🧡 "What? what's so funny? me? tickling you? i have no clue what you're talking about!"

🧡 "Geez, you must think I'm hilarious if you're laughing so much..!"

🧡 he's strong. the strongest guy on the ship aside from Swansea. so pinning you down won't be an issue for him. no matter

🧡 he doesn't want to hurt you or take it too far, so he will check up on you afterwards.

🧡 he's actually very good at tickling. knows everything in the god damn book to get you screaming.

🧡 his favourite thing to do is the claw with his had on the lee's stomach.

🧡 he'll also give killer raspberries. Also, the only reason he attempts to grow his beard.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Anya

LEE

🩵 she isn't overwhelmingly ticklish but still is.

🩵 she's ticklish all over, really. but the spots that really get her are her underarms, neck, and her feet. (not in a weird way obviously.)

🩵 she's a giggler in the beginning. but get one of her worst spots, and she'll be squealing.

🩵 her laughter is soft in the beginning, but after a while, she's howling.

🩵 "nohoho, plehehease..! ple-! PLEHEHEASE!"

🩵 will squeal loudly if you surprise her.

🩵 she actually doesn't mind tickles. she finds it strangely comforting. but I didn't tell you that.

🩵 she squeaks. she once did it when Curly was tickling her and was so embarrassed.

LER

🩵 she gives big sister energy when it comes to tickling honestly. her tickles can be either soft or rough depending on what they're for.

🩵 she'll be gentle if she's cheering someone up or if you're, i don't know, not Daisuke. Curly isn't off the hook either.

🩵 however. if you've pissed her off, it's war. Daisuke is a frequent victim.

🩵 she teases no matter if it's soft or rough tickles. either way, she has a way to make you flustered as hell.

🩵 "Come on, it's only a little tickle. It's not so bad... you sound so cute..!"

🩵 "Too much? maybe don't cheat then, you little asshole!"

🩵 her nails are a killer.

🩵 will feel bad if she's taken it too far, which is often the case during board games.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Daisuke

LEE

🩷 MY BOY!

🩷 this mf is ticklish everywhere isn't not even funny. more so where there's muscle or bones.

🩷 his worse spots are his tummy, thighs, and hips.

🩷 he'll be giggling before you've even started. he hates anticipation. It makes him very flustered.

🩷 hates it when people blow in his ears. He'll squeal.

🩷 be ready to give chase if he's not sitting or lying down. cause this man will run for his damn life.

🩷 he secretly gets in lee moods a lot. its makes him very flustered and has a hard time asking for help.

🩷 was also very confused when he first got one and was freaking out.

🩷 that's why he'll annoy and provoke anyone around him.

🩷 on the very rare chance he has asked for tickles. he's very, very embarrassed about it.

🩷 he's very weak to rib counting and raspberries.

🩷 has a very loud and high-pitched laugh. you'll think someone is being murdered.

🩷 "NOHO, STAHAHAHAP! IHIM SOHOHOHOHORRY!

🩷 is sensitive to any and every form of tickling.

🩷 will giggle like crazy at soft tickles.

LER

🩷 like Anya, he's giving older brother vibes.

🩷 he's surprisingly strong, not Curly level strong, but can pin you down well.

🩷 knows where everyone is ticklish and it's scary.

🩷 his teases are ruthless. knows exactly what will make you flustered.

🩷 "Aw! right here? it tickles right here, right? I'll have to stay right here then!'

🩷 "At this point, i may never stop!"

🩷 he definitely knows every trick in the book, and one hundred per cent tells jokes to make it seem like you're laughing at them.

🩷 will sometimes take it too far. but will always try not to and make sure you're okay.

🩷 will get excited if anyone asks them to tickle them. he'll act like he's just been asked to serve the country.

🩷 teams up with Anya on occasion.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Swansea

LEE

💜 I can't really think of much for Lee Swansea.

💜 I'd say he's a little ticklish on his tummy and sides.

💜 but will quickly swat you away before telling you off. (Daisuke 👀)

💜 has a very wheezy and gruff laugh.

💜 "h-hey-! enohough yohohou..!"

LER

💜 now ler Swansea is different.

💜 he raised two daughters, to he used to play tickle monster with them both.

💜 and ever since Daisuke came into his life, the intern is like the son he never had. so poor Daisuke gets it the most.

💜 when he's in a playful mood, he'll tickle Daisuke for anything. not listening, to cheer him up, to wake him, or just because.

💜 he knows every technique in the book, too. He was a former tickle monster, after all.

💜 he teases a lot. like, this man's will make sure to make you feel even worse better than you already do.

💜 "Listen to ya! squealin' like a damn girl."

💜 "Maybe if ya had gotten your lazy ass up, we wouldn't be here, would we?"

💜 always knows when to back off or when you've had enough.

💜 sometimes will laugh along with you. Only if he's feeling playful.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Jimmy

(I know, I know it's jimmy, but let's just pretend he's normal... ish. he's still mean, but he doesn't do any of his crazy shit he did in the game. 😭)

LEE

❤️ he's definitely ticklish, yet he'll never admit it for as long as he lives. he claims it's weak.

❤️ Curly is the only one who knows where he's ticklish and is the only one allowed to tickle him.

❤️ he's a fighter and will kick or punch.

❤️ the only spot he's really ticklish and will get a laugh out of him is his knees.

❤️ squeezing them will get a yell out of him. he'll kick and do anything to get you off.

❤️ his laugh his wheezy and grumbly.

❤️ will swear and insult you through his laughter.

❤️ "g-gehehet the fuhuhuHUUCK OFF MEHE-! FUHUCK YOHOHOU!"

❤️ i wouldn't try to tickle if you're not Curly. you will not survive.

LER

❤️ he's evil. very evil.

❤️ this man is not letting you go until you physically fight him off you. or you're in tears.

❤️ the only two people he's tickled before are Curly, who he's more careful with. but Daisuke? Daisuke had learned his lesson way too many times not to poke fun at Jimmy.

❤️ rough tickles. Damn rough tickles.

❤️ this man will hunt. you. down just to teach you not to mess with him.

❤️ is mean even when he's tickling.

❤️ "It tickles? that's kinda the point, dumbass."

❤️ "Jesus, just how sensitive are you? its kinda embarrassing..."

❤️ will fight you just to pin you down.

♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎

Absolutely loved writing these. They were great fun! 🙏 you can tell who my favourite character is. 💀

Make sure to send over your own headcanons if you wish.

[laylasverse]

🍉,🍒, & 🍑 for the fruit game!

fruit ask game ( 🍉 🍒 & 🍑 )

ꪆৎ will you guys be mad at me if i just use this as another excuse to talk abt jason but this time in my better cr .

🍉 : JUICY WATERMELON . . . what’s your favorite thing about your lover in your dr? the way they smell like home, how they make your chest hurt with laughter, how they take care of you. maybe the way their hair falls in their face just so.

yea, i'm just gonna ramble about jason for a bit . . . sorry. his lashes are dark and longer than mine (im a little mad abt that but yk). his eyes are the perfect shades of dark greens. sometimes its difficult to listen to what he's saying when he's talking about his little books because of the sparkle in his eyes. they're very distracting. he'll give me a look when i make a stupid joke, that he knows he shouldn't laugh at, trying to hold it together before finally giving in and laughing. he laughs so hard and smiles so big that little smile lines show.

he is a big guy (bro's 6'4??), so it's amusing when he sleeps so soundly with my pink blankets with little cats on them. jason takes up most of my full-sized bed and i have to shove him over so i can lay in my bed. he's just a big cat that i drag around with me.

🍒 : BLOODRED CHERRIES . . . what is your biggest fear in your dr? you don’t have to get deep if you don’t wanna—it can be as small and horrifying as a spider or the dark. something that truly rattles you to your bones.

this isn't a deep emotional fear but here ya go. in all my drs, my biggest fear is heights. i hate them so much. yk that feeling in your knees when you go up above ten floors in an elevator? yea that shit makes me feel sick.

🍑 : OVERRIPE PEACH . . . what kind of a future do you imagine for yourself in your dr? white picket fence material, with marriage and a couple kids? perhaps childless but continuing on your adventures til old age, or all of the above?

i know that i'll have a career to brittany broski (w/o the extreme & continuous hypocrisy). i'd love to post creative & entertaining yt videos while also having a talk show to interview interesting people. also a podcast because everyone has one.

but in the other aspect of my life I honestly i don't exactly know what the future will be like in this dr. i would love to figure out more of myself before having others depending on me.

but yk hopefully jay mans up and gives me a ring. i would like to live in an apartment overlooking a city like chicago or seattle (new york scares me) for a bit then settle down on the outskirts in a pretty house with a big backyard & gorgeous greenhouse. and yea i already know what i'd name our kids even through idk if we'll have any yet.

ꪆৎ : tysm for the ask franny 😘

2025 ⓒ LAYLASVERSE

[misteria247]

1981 Journal Entry #2:

I've lost track of how long I've been plagued by the nightmare. All I know is that I get very little sleep, and it's starting to take its toll. I've been trying to research what I can about that Mystery Caller who had started this whole thing. There's very little I've been able to find. I'd gone through countless documents and books and everything that Gravity Falls has to offer. Yet it alludes me, the answer to this nightmarish game. I'm starting to turn to the more docile anomalies to try and find answers. And what I've been getting has been.......unsettling.

For example, the other day when me, Lee and F were on a field expedition. The Leprecorns (which I personally do not like) were talking to F and Lee. Seemingly enjoying their presence and conversation, while I took notes and drew rough sketches in my journal. When one of them approached me. He was an older Leprecorn, with a slightly weathered face and eyes that held the sheen of an older man. He was staring at me, not saying a word, to the point where it made me squirm from it. It felt like he was staring straight through me like the eyes that lurked in the shadows in my nightmare.

After what felt like eons he finally spoke.

"......You've been marked laddie."

I don't think I'd ever felt my stomach drop so fast at a simple sentence, that by all accounts had nothing to do with me. I glanced up to make sure that Lee and F were still distracted before I responded to him in a low tone.

"What do you mean by that? I don't-"

The Leprecorn interrupted me at that moment, his tone firm and damning.

"Ey, I recognize the look son. You haven't been sleeping have ya? It's because yer marked. By something foul, something dark. I've seen it before. Others who've been marked by the beast."

I couldn't breathe, because I knew somehow deep in my very bones that he was talking about that anomaly who had called into the station. The anomaly who had been haunting my dreams.

"The beast....? Who is this creature? What does it want with me?"

I'd inquired, perhaps a bit desperately, wanting to know what I was up against. Instead I was met with a grim, somber expression. Like.....like he was staring at a dead man.

"I don't know much myself lad. No one really knows about the beast. But......we do know that those who are marked do not meet a good end. Just.......be careful boy. He watches."

And then he'd left, seemingly done with the conversation. Leaving me shaken beyond belief. It took everything I had to not show it when F and Lee were finally done with their conversation and we'd packed up to head home. I don't think I was successful though, because my brother stuck to my side for the rest of the evening. As if he sensed that I wasn't okay at all. I don't know what being marked means, nor do I want to. I just want this to end, before someone else is dragged into this eldritch horror.

I'm going to try and get some sleep tonight. I can't let whatever this thing is win. I'd rather die than let him stand victorious over me. I'm going to do research on how to stop the calls as well. One encounter was enough.

Signing off

Stanford Pines

1981 Journal Entry #2 continued time 3AM:

I can't stop shaking.

I can't stop, my hands they're trembling from the nightmare. It was different, after so long with the same thing it changed.

The voices from the shadows they spoke to me. They said my name, surrounded by the static of that anomaly. His tone sounded cheerful but somehow I know that it was a rouse. He wasn't cheerful at all.

He was angry.

Like a lion in a cage, he had his fangs bared towards me. He....he'd said that if I keep digging, if I don't play his game........I was going to regret it.

I don't know what he means by that. But I can take whatever he throws at me, I'm not weak. I can handle any blows he's got for me. And yet.....

Why can I not shake the feeling that something awful is on the horizon?

Signing off

Stanford Pines

[ilsolefiesta]

my Groom Persona Chart observation

spoiler alert: I try my best to remain as critical as possible and avoid falling into the delusional sea, because below you can find a description of my ideal type (obviously, this is not fully true, as there are some significant flaws). *here I'm using Tumblr's astrological justifications and rules for calculating degrees. for entertainment purposes only.

ASC: 18° (Virgo) of Aquarius. ☌ with Uranus (17°) and Juno (18°) in the 12th house. I don't know if there is any chance that I won't be scared during our first meeting. such an amazing, rebellious energy. probably, a thin constitution with a noticeable bone structure (Aquarius has Saturn as its initial ruler). a strange person, with some features that make him stand out among others. maybe changing hair styles too often or having tattoos/piercings. may like to draw attention to himself through his appearance. I'd also add an outstanding, exaggerated style, but 18° is Virgo's one. so, I assume he would wear something casual and plain. glasses (I'm willing to die) are also possible. overall, despite seeming a bit provocative, he may look smart and nerdy (Aquarius and Virgo, along with Gemini, give off these vibes, in my opinion). damn frightening aura for an introvert like me - chaotic, vocal, extroverted, unpredictable. but there is a nuance here...

Sun: 20° (Scorpio) of Scorpio, the 8th house. mercy... pure Scorpio. well, it's in exact ☌ with the cusp of the 9th house. I'm a big fan of Scorpio men, as they are deep thinkers, and it's always interesting to engage in mind games with them. at least I won't be bored in this relationship. here we come to this very nuance. Scorpios are really hard to reach and understand, as they tend to keep everything hidden. having the Sun influencing 9th house, I suppose here we have a person who delves deep into education and the spheres of their interests. probably can be interested in metaphysical or religious topics. here, I come to the assumption that, despite being outwardly, Aquariously prominent and active, this person's emotions, thoughts, and true self are far more hidden than they seem.

Moon: 27° (Gemini) of Taurus, the 3rd house. ☌ with Saturn (28°). my Taurus Moon is in the 9th house. this seems like a gift from heaven - I suppose that, since the way of "feeling" is very similar, communication should be really comfortable. It may be easy to understand each other's emotions. 27°, the 3rd house - double Gemini influence. with my 9th house, we both may feel comfortable learning new things together. very talkative and broadening each other's horizons relationships. Taurus is one of the most stable and calm signs when it comes to emotions. Saturn also adds here to make this Scorpio-Aquarius madness more stabilized. but it also means stubbornness, emotional detachment and lack of attention to other's emotions to some extent (again, hello, Saturn). so this similarity may lead to frequent quarrels due to each other's unwillingness to compromise.

Mercury: 1° (Aries) of Scorpio, the 8th house. mercy x2... let's continue with our mind games. very strategic and analytical, with good intuition, similar to X-ray vision. a hypnotic way of communicating, very persuasive. probably may like to curse, haha. very sarcastic and sharp-witted. however, for my Libra Venus, this suppressive and even manipulative way of thinking may be way too harsh... for now, I consider it an interesting experience, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about it when I have to deal with it directly.

Venus: 29° (Leo) of Sagittarius, the 10th house. exact ☌ with Industria. wow. "different" is the first word that comes to mind. we'll probably differ greatly from each other, as Sagittarius Venus might mean that his appearance isn't conventional in my socio-cultural context (or mine for his). foreigner? Leo degree, 10th house. old, but gold? may have an age gap with me and a profession that's greatly connected to his appearance or beauty in general, and something foreign. also may work among women. unfortunately, ironically, this is also a trait of a possible starboy hiding behind a philosophical idea of finding "the one and only". red flag, red flag... my Libra Venus can deal with that, but my Virgo Mars is like "wtf?". with such a person, you always need to stay interesting, new, and joyful to keep them interested. it's hard.

Mars: 5° (Leo) of Libra, the 7th house. once again, the idea of love at the first sight is somewhat questionable for me. romantic men who are capable of making beautiful gestures are, of course, cool. however, at this point, I can only say that all of these romantic gestures are cool within the framework of considering them as strongly positive. obviously, this is too simple and plain. and considering the possibility that placements may signify not only good personal qualities, I can say that my mr. Groom is a little bit more about feelings than rationality. for me, with Air and Earth dominating my chart, this could lead to a situation where I would want to scold and "teach" him how to live, and he would get sick of it quickly. however, if we are both able to accept these features, I believe it could be a great personal growth opportunity for both of us. in addition, Libra Mars in Libra's house, taking into account the previous placements, matches the description of my ideal partner - "my guy pretty like a girl and he got fight stories to tell" (thx, Frank Ocean). very flirty and sensitive, acting in a way that is typical of most "conventional" women. a rather interesting facade of kinda baby-girl. even if it's not my FS, I still want to at least take a look at this person.

Saturn: 28° (Cancer) of Taurus, the 3rd house. very patient in terms of achieving their goals, but with a little lack of flexibility. these people usually learn one way of doing things and then stick to it throughout their lives. however, they are extremely hardworking, especially when it comes to earning money. they may have had some childhood issues related to responsibility and discipline. in terms of ☌ with the Moon, btw, may have had a strict or emotionally distant mother.

Jupiter: 8° (Scorpio) of Gemini, the 3rd house. bingo! there is a stellium in the 3rd house. I may assume that this person has more than one sibling. two "yin" planets, versus one "yang" - probably sisters. despite the fact that school life was challenging due to discipline and hierarchical issues, they may study well and have a natural talent for foreign languages. also, may be popular at school, being a "voice" for the whole class, etc. probably has a wide range of interests as he's tend to loose interest quickly.

Uranus, Neptune: 17° and 4° of Aquarius (like mine in Natal Chart), the 12th house. I don't pay much attention to these planets in the GPC context, as they tend to stay in the same position for a long time. Uranus in ☌ with Juno. another possible sign of a cheater... active 12th house may, of course, indicate a good imagination and creative potential, but it can also be a sign of addictions and secrecy. if we consider it from the perspective of synastry, these placements relate to my 5th house, so he may activate my creativity. however, my DSC is in Pisces, and I hope that this doesn't mean that at some point I'll start to write songs like Halsey's "Without Me" about being in love with someone with addictions.

Pluto: 11° (like mine, Aquarius) of Sagittarius, the 10th house. exact ☌ with MC. well, the same goes for Uranus and Neptune. they barely change their signs and degrees. I can assume that career is a very challenging area for him - the place where he always goes through transformation. Sagittarius? perhaps career necessity forced him to change his place of residence, learn a new language, or adapt to a new culture.

another "I don't pay much attention" moment - Groom ☌ Fama in the 10th house in Sagittarius. interprete it as you wish. I'll just joke that he'll be famous af.

fun fact: in GPC Briede is in the 2nd house, in 18° (Virgo) of Aries. my Sun is in the 1st house in 25° (Aries) of Virgo. and my 2nd house is active. so, based of my Natal Groom's placement, I guess my FS should be Scorpio with Gemini traits/active 3rd house.

well, I don't know where to find him, but I hope to succeed.

thanks for reading!

Picture credits: Pinterest

[shootingstarwritings]

"Hey bro, how does a crew battle work...?"

Hey, it's me again! The name's James. Last time we checked up like this, I hopped my roommate's body so he'd get better at fighting games. His name's Korrin, but he prefers Kor.

I gotta admit, these powers were a pretty sweet deal. He suddenly had a brand new genre to enjoy and I got to play with his body every once in a while. Seemed like a win-win, right?

Well, we got caught up talking just a bit too much shit during one of the weeklies. Think I ended up messing with my roommate's personality a bit too much while I was jerking off as him. He was far cockier than before I started taking over.

"Yeah, that's right. $500 crew battle," said Kor, flexing his muscles through the tight t-shirt I had mind-fucked him into preferring to wear. "Me and James could beat the shit outta everyone in this venue. Easy."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, saying, "Chill the hell out before you spend all our rent money," through clenched teeth. In response, he leaned over and gave me a deep kiss before talking more shit.

We didn't have to play everyone in the venue, but now we were stuck in a 4v4 crew battle; and Kor had successfully pissed off just about everyone who was a regular. We had two weeks to find two other guys to fill out our team or we'd be going hungry for the next month.

The ride home was quiet, although Kor didn’t seem to mind. He stared straight ahead, one hand on the steering wheel while another was on my thigh. Occasionally, he would squeeze while smiling at me. The way his eyes lit up whenever we were together dazzled me. I couldn’t stay mad at him, especially when it was my fault he was the way he was.

"Aww, don’tcha worry," said Kor as he massaged my shoulders, another trait I had bestowed him. My bed was a bit small for the two of us, and Kor had often wondered out loud if we could fit a queen sized bed in my room. “I’m sure we’ll find some guys. Even if they’re dead weight, you and me can wipe the floor with everyone there.” Before I could say anything, he leaned over and kiss my neck. I shivered, toes curling as he greedily licked one of my more sensitive spots.

After I let out a few… unbecoming moans, Kor pulled away and tittered. “Love making you cry out like that,” he said in a sensual tone. “Well, good night. Gotta get to the gym early tomorrow.”

As the door to his room shut close, I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. I had a few other friends that liked games, but they had no interested in fighting games like me. Of course, that had never stopped me before…

Two weeks should be enough time to make two pros, right?

The first guy on my list was Jason. He was a buddy of mine that I met in college. Smart, kind, and eager to show off the gains he'd made at the gym. "I spent three years to get this bod," he had bragged to me, showing off his toned and sweaty torso. Even so, he still enjoyed playing games, particularly RPGs. He was always throwing one my way or another--with tons of fan translations and cryptic guides as well.

I'd have to play one of them to completion one of these days to thank him for the service he was about to provide.

The night after Kor made his bet, I made my move. I locked my door and focused on flying. My body slowly lost its weight, density, and then mass in general. Skin peeled away and disappeared into dust, waiting for the chance to reform once my mission was complete. Organs twisted into neat little knots that blinked out of existence. My bones ground up against each other before vanishing.

It was only during those few precious moments that my soul was free. I sailed through the sky, unable to feel the wind on my face yet elated all the same. The moon was so close to my fingertips that it felt unfair that I couldn't grasp it. However, I knew exactly what I could grip instead.

I phased through Jason's apartment with little issue and found himself soon afterward. He was playing a battle simulator without a shirt on. "It's about a 73% to one-hit KO," he muttered to himself as he clicked through an innumerable amount of tabs. I knew for a fact some of them were months old and untouched for just as long.

Probably another habit I’d have to kick, but it was hard to focus on that when I kept focusing on that tight body he had. I would’ve licked my lips of I had any in that form. Not wanting to waste any more time, I hopped into him.

“Hnng…! Ahhh…hah…!” Jason let out a moan, tongue sticking out involuntarily as a shiver of pleasure ran all throughout his body. “Wh-what the fuck—is happening—“ Jason moaned as he turned around and began to hump his seat cushions. “AH! NRGH AAAAAHHHH!” Any words Jason would’ve tried to cry out were soon overpowered by panicked pants of pleasure. His hands, which would’ve normally reached for his phone to call for help, could only play with his chest and sensitive nipples.

My will overpowered his own, but Jason didn’t seem to mind. He kicked off his shoes, socked toes curling up in pleasure, and rubbed his trembling body all over the coach. “I-I…! K-Keep go—OOAHH—Keep going!” He said, panting and laughing the whole time. His back arched once more as he let out a strangled scream while his erect cock spewed semen all over his shorts. Jason, mind drowning in a hurricane of euphoria curtesy of me, collapsed covered in a sweaty, semen-covered mess.

Eventually, I opened my new eyes and felt my chiseled body. “Mmm, oh Jason. Let’s get your hand-eye coordination to my level.” As I began to strip so I could play in the nude, I saw angry DMs from Jason’s opponent.

Smirking, I walked over to the laptop and messaged him back. “Sorry bro, too busy playing games and fucking bussy to play with a pussy like you. GG you win, loser.”

I laughed as I got another stream of profanities from Jason’s old opponent, but I didn’t care. I was covered in sweat, smelling like a real man, while I was playing my favorite game.

Once Jason was done and truly mind-fucked, I had one more person I needed to visit.

[dont-offend-the-bees]

Hi, it's Quill! For the fic writer asks, can you please answer 40, 56 and 65? 😘❤️

HELLO MY FRIEND THANK YOU 💛💛💛

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Ooooooh, now THAT'S a toughie. And and all art of my fic would be recived with literal tears of joy, but let's narrow it down lmao. Discounting my horny ass just wanting aaaallll the art of my smutty side account fic (and tbh more horny art of the Cat King in general), I think it would be lovely to see art of Lonely Bones, considering how much time and feeling has gone into it and considering I think you could have a lot of fun with moody compositions. Somewhere Beyond the Sea is only on it's first chapter but especially from chapter two onwards it's gonna have so many fun and whimsical things/characters to draw! I'd also be an absolute GLUTTON for more of mine and L and H's 1920s poly boys as seen in Keep Me Warm, Love Me Long, Be My Sunlight, but that's a bit more niche!

If I had to pick one singular scene, I think I'd melt like butter if someone drew Charles in subspace getting therapeutically, nonsexually dommed by Edwin with silly cat's cradle games in ’Cause You Cut Through All the Noise. I'm so fond of that fic you have no idea.

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

Character voices!! I need to rewatch DBDA again soon to refresh my memory lest I drift into made-up voices but generally speaking I think my dialogue characterisation is pretty fun and believable!

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

I am looking forward to each and every aspect of the 1920s AU I'm working on with @dear-monday and @tw0-ravens, but especially the Thomas dialogue/arc/letters. I'm also huuuugely looking forward to writing my Edge Chronicles AU, but mostly for the world, vibes and character backstories especially pertaining to Edwin -- I'm currently struggling a bit with finding the actual plot, though! I'm also SO excited for the rest of Somewhere Beyond the Sea, there's going to be so much fun and whimsy and fantasy and sweetness, I'm really excited for the bits I've added as well as the bits I'm adapting from the source material!

Get to know your fic writer!

(And because you asked me to talk about WIPs, here we go, a very short, rough snippet of the Edge Chronicles AU from my notes app -- flashback to Charles and Edwin's first meeting!)

It was freezing cold in the prowlgrin roost. Maybe not up in the nests and the roosting poles, where the big old beasts dozed by the light of the burning braziers, the lucky sods. But down in the straw and the muck the winter chill was biting, creeping through every crack in the ancient slats. Charles was huddling down pathetically, dragging the ratty old prowlgrin tarp tighter round his shoulders, when he heard a creak. Louder than the wind through the slats, slower. The door. He froze, holding his breath. The air had... changed. It was crackling with something, making Charles' hair stand on end. And then, footsteps.  Charles shrank back, tried to make himself small. But the shape that stepped into the roost wasn't any boy that he knew — anyone who might be looking to finish what they'd started. It was... strange. It was like looking at those old barkscroll woodcuts from way back; those odd, early academic knights with the leather armour, all tooled and riveted. Like something out of a fairytale. It looked at him, right at him, and pulled off its leather helmet and underneath was just… a boy. Not like any boy he'd seen, though. Pale, worryingly so, and gaunt, eyes the most piercing blue he'd ever seen; unearthly, iridescent. Like open, uncharted sky. "I was looking for the library," said the boy, softly, hoarsely, like he hadn't used his voice in a good long while. "It used to be here, did it not?" Charles frowned, for a moment too confused to be scared. Of all the things to be looking for! "Not anymore, mate. Moved it 'cuz of the rot, didn't they? That was what, thirty years back or summit." "Thirty years..." he hummed like a rumbling storm. "Right. If you might point me in the right direction — I have some very important reading to do.” Charles was starting to think the dunk in the lake had frozen his brain. "It's three in the morning,” he said, baffled. The boy knelt before him, and raised his hand. Charles watched, horrorstruck, as his long, slender fingers lost their shape and stretched, vaporous, into elongated strands of crystalline cirrus. "It is rather pressing," said the boy, deadpan.

And some of my tests of the art style so far 😊 this AU's gonna take me a WHILE with the illustrations as well as the writing lmao

[bacchuschucklefuck]

Can you expand on what you mean by Baron being "too cool" to really fit a horror monster? It's a very interesting concept and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Is it that they're too active/involved/tangible and it detracts from their scariness?

I feel like I should preface this with a wall of disclaimers lmao 1/I am a hardcore, down-to-the-marrow, avid, deeply sincere horror enthusiast, esp. horror creatures. this usually means my mileage is vastly different from the average populace's, and my scaredy bone has been disintegrated by longterm exposure. most things in a piece of horror media won't scare me! so I practically never use that on its own as the scale to talk abt horror experiences, but when something does scare me it's always a special occasion to be treasured. 2/canon d20 is never really meant to be horror horror, and for good reasons: it doesn't fit the company's output, it takes a kind of carelessness in production estimation that is always a huge risk, it's often vulnerable in a way that kinda goes against how TTRPGs usually facilitates vulnerability, and for most people it's just! stressful! d20, even with the "horror-themed" seasons, generally just plays with horror tropes and stays focused in its goal of being a comedy improv tabletop theater show. 3/fantasy high's chosen system is DnD, which as I've mentioned before is before all a combat-based game system, which means the magic circle of play is drawn based on stats that facilitate and prioritize combat. want or not this affects every interaction you have in the game, and given fantasy high's concept from the ground up (everyone's going to school of DnD stuff to get better at DnD) it's doubly relevant. 4/This Is Fine I have no quarrel with this. my meters are internal, I do not ask this show to be anything it doesn't advertise itself to be, and what it is is fucking great! I like it! when I expand on this ask's question it will be like a physicist going insane in a lab. that's the mindset we're going in with.

disclaimers done. my stance on horror as a genre is that it's a utility genre rather than a content genre or a demographic genre; it is the discard of narratives. it's the trash pile. horror, above being scary, is about being ugly and messy, it's the cracks on the ground any story inevitably steps over to stay a genre that isn't horror. the genre's been around long enough to develop a codex and a general language that medias and makers and enthusiasts of the genre can use to talk about and build onto, but if you go into individual pieces there's really no unifying Horror Story. one person's beautiful life can be another's horror story, it's just how it is.

this makes The Monster a deeply intriguing piece of the genre. thing is a monster is in a decent percentage of any story - it's just when the antagonist force steps into something past a certain line traced out in the story's world. monstrousness is in pretty much every western fantasy story, it's in any story with a hero and something to vanquish or win; more than anything it's a proxy of that thing up there. the line in a narrative's world. the monster is the guard of the unknown lands, where heroic, civilized people don't tread.

what does this mean in the context of horror? the genre is about that perceived lawlessness, that "unknown land" so to say. we're in the monster's home. that's the literary context that we often walk into a horror piece with; the monster knows more than you about where you are. it may not understand you, but it holds more information than you, and with that it moves swifter than you, has more covered than you, and is more assured in its existence in this context than you. it's a struggle to catch up to it, it's nigh impossible to get one over it, and you're never sure it'll 100% work, because you just don't have the information necessary to.

with that framing you can kinda see where I'm coming from here: horror's often about the breaking of rules. I always think a monster's most effective when it breaks well-established rules of both existence and visual storytelling. think Possum (2018) or Undertale's Omega Flowey or the Xenomorph Queen - unique change in medium, unique change in graphic, unique change in design language, etc. in that sense I actually really like how canon baron plays out: they don't really function like anything else in the fantasy high universe, the bad kids have not managed to kill them when they've felled literal gods, their domain in fhjy literally introduces new mechanics to encompass their existence! from an experience design standpoint they slap mad shit. BUT! I can't help finding their character, like as a character riz (and the other bad kids, eventually) interact with, to be very... coherent? in design. this is kinda hard for me to articulate in words, it's more often a sense you get once you've looked at enough of these scrumptious fuckers, their general design and the way they show up is just kinda too clean, so to say. always kinda newly made? fresh unboxed. it, once again, makes sense for their lore - they are looking for more about themself from riz - and their function - they're an antagonist in a game experience, they're meant to be interacted with in a way that produces results and meshes with the existing magic circle - but that shininess takes away from the implied history they should have dominion over and the person they're haunting doesn't.

from another angle there is kinda something there about how put-together canon baron is as a concept; the domain they call home is riz's deep-seeded fears, extremely vulnerable things he's drawn borders around to quarantine and refused to walk into. things that from his perspective would irreversibly shatter certain pleasant fictions his world is built on top of. canon baron, While Extremely Cool, I feel is kinda too neat to connect with and signify the apocalyticized mess that'd result from this paradigm shift. the part where they're in riz's briefcase and looking through every mirror is Very Cool And Fucked Up! but ultimately the show draws a line around them as well, by making game-physical, tangible spaces they're in (the mirrors and the haunted mordred manor) and put riz and the bad kids there only when they need to confront stuff. riz is meaningfully narratively away from baron's unknown land for most of fantasy high.

with that and all of my disclaimers in mind my conclusion here is if canon baron wants to be a Horror Monster they'd have to cross way more lines. be a Lot more invasive. hence (holds up my class swap baron like a long cat)

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: I am the bone of my sword!...but it's Studio Deen!

I just finished the Studio Deen Ver.

And I won't lie, I liked it. I liked it quite a bit actually. Most of that fondness boiled down to animation. Even though this movie was made in 2014 it retained the style of Studio Deen's earlier 2006 adaption.

In other words, it was that early 2000's animation I love but with a movie budget! This dosn't make it automatically better what Ufotable did of course but it is something I enjoy more on a personal level.

I know animation is a hell of it's own kind but I can't help but like that older hand drawn (or mostly drawn) style more. I feel more engrossed in it in a way that extends beyond nostalgia.

It is something that I can't fully explain as to why.

I personally find it gorgeous

I truly wish there were more gifs that I could add to this post. Hell, I wish I had a way to just copy & paste what I watched into this post to show what I mean.

There was so many little animation things I noticed that I loved. Such as Rider's movements as odd as some were, the battle between Shirou and Archer, or the over exaggerated bits from expressive characters like Rin or Taiga.

I think my favorite was the fight between Saber and Berserker. It wasn't as amazing as the fight from Heaven's Feel but I found myself enjoying it for its own merits.

Part between I like this older animation style and partly because it shows how strong Saber actually is.

Of course, a part of that is due to Saber's servant body and I know it's a joke in the visual novel that she's weak as befitting her frame when not using mana to reinforce her body.

But that shows just how monstrous her mana core is. In life she was seen as a goddess of war on the battlefield. She became the legend of King Arthur thanks to that mana core and the raw power it applied to her body.

In conjunction with her earnest work and training to be a knight of course. All the power in the world is useless without temperament.

My point here is that I appreciated seeing her be effective against Berserker without the Saber Alter enhancement. It's great to watch in it's own way but I like this too.

Granted, even with my hyping of Saber's power, this is still Heracles we're talking about. If you rely on brute force alone even Saber's normal (fully healthy) form will struggle after a while.

A funny thing I noticed was that one of the most popular Saber gifs actually come from this movie. Specifically the shot of her disappearing.

But I must digress. I'd love to showcase more of what I mean but I'm finding difficulty with gif hunting for this specific movie. Not a surprise tbh but a let down.

Even if the style of animation is something I specifically love I at least wanted to show it more. I'd hate to ask any reader, the few I get, to search them on YT.

But oh well, ONTO STORY-

Or lack thereof

Just like with the Heaven's Feel movies I expected them to skim over things. It's disappointing yes but it's a given. I've stated it many times but the original 'Fate/Stay Night' is a visual novel.

A book in the form of a video game with a multitude of narrative pathways, several endings, varying scenarios, and a large cast. It is impossible to truly adapt that to an animated form if I'm being frank. Especially since every route is a timeline that does happen in the broader Fate universe.

This is why most Fate anime adapt the story as best they can. Deen's take on Fate in 2006 did this by trying to adapt several aspects of multiple routes. It wasn't the best approach but I could fully enjoy it due to having lore context prior.

The same can be said of this movie. I have seen the UBW anime since then, the Heaven's Feel movies, I know the parts it's skimming so while disappointing it's not deal breaking for me.

If you're new to Fate however or if you're unaware of 'Unlimited Blade Works' as a story route you will have lesser impressions. Although, if you've read the Fate Stay Night remaster made for Steam & Switch you may enjoy this movie even more than I.

There is no better place to start nor any better place to gain context than that remaster.

Something of Note

While there was little in the narrative that caught my attention there was some things. Mostly it was just me noticing small differences. Some funny and others appreciated. I was very happy they combined the Rule Breaker scene of the 06 anime and the UBW story route.

The whole Taiga exchange earnestly irks me so I like that this movie fast tracked it. That said, there is one thing that did catch my eye. It was during the Shirou vs Archer scenes to which Shirou says that he'll;

"I don't care if someone manages to beat me but I will not lose to myself!"

And that- well that is beautiful to me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think Shirou is a fool and I've stated as much in my UBW post. (link)

But just because I find him a fool does not mean I find him badly written nor this battle without weight. My biggest reason for thinking him the fool is that he's undermining his own dream due to how little he values his own life.

You can't save anyone if you don't at least prioritize yourself to a degree.

But I agree with what Rin says in both adaptions of UBW. I do think the world needs more of a fool like that. Shirou's heavily flawed but that's good writing imo.

I admit that I like his growth in Saber's route or Heaven's Feel more because he grows beyond that flawed part to be a specific person's hero. Those versions of him somewhat escape the trappings of Kiritsugu's shattered ideals.

But this, this line here is also good. One's greatest enemy is themselves and Archer embodies that. Even his desire to kill Shirou is a flawed plan because heroic spirits exist in the Throne and the throne exists outside of time.

By virtue of the very paradox that lets him and Shirou exist in the same era he's still going to exist even if this Shirou dies. The Fate world is full of timelines that either die for reasons or persist and Archer comes from a timeline that's already spun it's story.

Killing a part Shirou won't free him, it'll only create an alternate history that may or may not end up "pruned" by the cosmic powers that be.

I could make a joke about how Shirou did technically lose to himself but that'd be nitpicking a joke. No.

Shirou is right here. Not in the sense that justice always wins or that his way of living is okay but because he refuses to let what he stands for to lose to his own weakness.

And yes, the UBW anime also has this message but it comes off as them arguing in circles to me. Heck, I still do not think Archer is fully wrong either as he speaks from experience.

The nuance that I seemingly missed with the UBW anime (I reread it as I typed this) is that core message. Shirou hates that Archer gave up.

I still think they're arguing in circles but not in a bad way. It's meant to show the cycle they are trapped in and the hypocrisy of the dream they have. The flaws in the way of life.

But losing for reasons beyond your control and losing because you gave into that lesser side of you is two different things. You should always strive to be better than your yesterday.

And the fact that Shirou gets that happy afterlife with Saber in the later versions of the novel shows it imo. He still lived that tragic life but unlike Archer, Shirou found a hope and respite at the end of it.

Conclusions

Tbh this was smaller than my usual Fate post and has fewer meaningful words. This is because the UBW anime put three posts worth of ranting in my brain.

For me, the best part of this movie was the aesthetic, that animation or even the small things it skimmed that I didn't like otherwise. (such as the Taiga hostage swap)

Heck, I even liked the battle between Archer and Shirou more in this one. It's not as grand as the other UBW but I like that personal fight more because it's a very internal and external struggle. I even like that Shirou managed to physically adapt and best Archer even though that should be impossible.

But most of all I just enjoy that it was a fun return to that 2006 style of Fate that I liked more than I thought I would.

I'm sleepy now, bye~

===========================

For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[saturnniidae]

4, 7, and 14 for the Httyd ask game :0

4. What is your favourite type of dragon and why?

I can't narrow it down to one, but my top three are probably: Deathsongs, Stormcutters and the Boneknapper

Deathsongs because they remind me of rainwings from wings of fire (my first dragon media obsession) with the bright coloring and ear frills as well as the amber being vaguely reminiscent of the acid rainwings spit.

Stormcutters because I absolutely adore Cloudjumper. The way he moves (owl + dog like body language) is incredibly fun to watch and his design is gorgeous.

And the Boneknapper because I had an obsession with the special as a little kid as well as having a one in SoD, iirc. Also, the concept of a scavenger dragon coating itself in an armor of bones is badass.

7. Do you have any OCs? If so, talk about their appearance, backstories, and personalities.

No, unfortunately. I've not really been into OC making since middle school. Not sure what happened, but I kind of lost interest and shifted to focusing on pre-existing characters 😭 I'd like to make a Dragon Rider sona one day though if feel the inspiration to.

14. Which part of the franchise has your favourite animation style?

The first movie era, hands down. The rough, somewhat bleak (in the beginning, at least) gritteness of Berk's scenery, the textures and lighting, Toothless' original design (Cat-like, sleek, very clearly built for speed over raw strength, you can literally see the dust in between his scales) and the original designs for the all the dragons tbh, they feel more.. textured and wild (which I guess makes sense. Later, while they're still, very much wild animals they've become accustomed to being cared for. But still.)

And with the human characters as well!!! I love how much personality their designs have alone; Hiccup has crooked teeth and so many freckles, Astrid has really choppy, greasy looking bangs that she's always shoving out of her eyes, Snotlout's actually missing a tooth, and most of the kids have like, visible dirt on their skin and clothes.

I love how 'imperfect' the designs for all of them are!! And like of course they are!!! Like these kids were training to wage war against dragons! Of course they're gonna be grimey!! I dunno, I just feel like a lot of movies/shows aren't willing to have that level of perceived realism in their character designs. Httyd's cast feels so real to me despite how insanely stylized some of the characters are, and its an absolute shame they seemed to have lost that in the later installments.

(Hiccup's teeth magically get straighter, his freckles fade, Astrids skin is no longer ruddy, her hair looks like it's been shampooed or something, her freckles are completely gone and that's just the second movie. As it goes on the characters' designs and the world around them feels less full of life and more like shiny, plastic figurines. Especially Toothless.)

All the first movie era stuff has just a completely different feel to it that the rest if the franchise hasn't been able to replicate

Anyways, tysm for the ask! I had a lot of fun answering these!!!

[cainluvr69]

Let Me Tell You The Story Of A Rainbow - Chapter 2

Previous Chapter

Figaro: In the end, we still had to run around the whole manor.

The rain Oz had called had subsided. A few wizards were still in the hall, looking tired.

Akira: The rain couldn't put out the fires that had started inside, after all.

Shino: We wore ourselves out putting out fires instead of cleaning.

Mithra: Truly. Being put to work like that is simply the worst.

Snow: And just whose fault was all this, hmm?

Figaro: Now, now. If nothing else, everyone did all work together like you wanted.

Rutile: We sure did. It was pretty fun running around with everyone, too.

Akira: Ahaha… By the end, it sort of felt like a game where whoever found the fires first won.

White: Indeed. It did certainly cultivate harmony between the lot of us.

Snow: Everyone's spirit of cooperation shined bright! Even if it felt like our bones were getting broken by the effort!

Shylock: I believe there's room for debate on whether or not we've deepened our bonds with one another, but I do enjoy sharing a certain amount of fatigue with others. A pleasant kind of exhaustion can be exactly what the heart requires.

Faust: Are you sure? I never feel like I've had a break if I end it tired…

Shylock: I am sure you will sleep soundly tonight. Thinking of it that way, wasn't this a fine way to spend your day off?

Figaro: It's not very often we have a day like this where we don't have a single request to investigate things or put down magic beasts, huh?

Shino: I'd rather be on a mission. Something nice and distinguished and impressive, preferably.

Rutile: Rest is important too, Shino. If you're always keeping yourself on edge, your mind and body won't be able to do what you need them to when it matters most.

Murr: Ooh, like how they say it's always calm before a storm? Maybe right now is the moment before a biiiig incident rears its head!

Murr twirled in the air before peering into my eyes.

Murr: After all, there's no such thing as peaceful free time with wizards. Soon enough, something interesting's gonna come in with a BANG! And besides, I want something interesting to happen! What about you, Master Sage?

Akira: Umm, well… Something interesting would be fun, but if it's a whole incident I wouldn't want that, I guess?

Arthur: I've returned, Master Sage.

At that moment, the big door to the entrance swung open, letting in a clear, refreshing voice. The heels of Arthur's shoes clicked against the floor as he walked in, followed by the evening wind…and Cock Robin.

Akira: Welcome back, Arthur. Good work today.

Arthur: Thank you for the kind words. Huh…did something happen? Everyone else seems more tired than I do.

Akira: Umm, well, you could say that…

Figaro: Moving right on, I see you have Cock Robin with you, Arthur. Do you have something you need to talk to us about?

Cock Robin: Yes, I do. Rather, I have something I'd like to consult you about…

Shino: Nice, we've got a new mission already. That was a brief bit of peace.

Murr: Miss~ion! Miss~ion!

Shino and Murr immediately advanced on Cock Robin, and he hastily put up both of his hands to stop them.

Cock Robin: N-no! It's not about anything dangerous. Actually, an exhibition is going to be opening in one of Central Country's old castles…

Cock Robin presented us with an envelope, complete with wax seal. It seemed to be an invitation of some sort.

Cock Robin: The host is the head of a noble family, and a patron of the arts who has given many gifts to the Granvelle family. He's planning to hold a large-scale event gathering art and artists from around the continent, with a focus on Central Country. It's apparently an extension of his hobbies…

Arthur: It should be very impressive for a privately-sponsored event, and I think it's going to be quite a large exhibition of the arts. And to that end, I was asked to invite everyone here.

Akira: An invitation to an exhibition…? For everyone? You're sure?

Cock Robin: Yes! The Sage's wizards did save Central Country from the Umbra Volans and everything that came along with it, after all. It sounds like he's incredibly grateful to all of you for what you did… He wants to express his gratitude to the Sage's wizards for continuing on afterwards to quell the various incidents that sprang up around the world.

Faust: Sound convenient…for him. If he wanted to express his thanks, he should've just come here himself.

Arthur: Oh, don't say it like that. I'm sure the host is making the invitation as a show of respect.

Faust: I wonder. Humans are creatures beholden to the whims of society. Who knows how they'll feel when tomorrow comes. We wizards stick to our hearts, but it's a different story for those with shorter lives.

Arthur: …You're worrying about it. Thank you, Faust.

Faust: That's not worth thanking me over. I just stated the truth.

Arthur: The family inviting us is one that's had a long relationship with the Granvelle royal family, and one that offers understanding to wizards as well. Even from the invitation alone, I can feel the sincerity of their goodwill. That's how much you accomplished back then. It wouldn't be incorrect to say that you are Central Country's saviors. So please, allow me to thank you again.

And with that, Arthur put a hand to his chest and bowed deeply. His dignified back told a tale of his pure, honest heart, one lacking any trace of falsehood. The rift between wizards and humans may have seemed to have been filled in, but cracks still formed…and just when it seemed like everything would completely collapse, a bridge spanned the gap. And so it would repeat in perpetuity. For as many steps forwards as they took, they'd take as many steps back. They made each other happy and then they hurt each other, over and over, tracing the path that led us to "now". Arthur raised his head, and his eyes, the clear blue of the summer sky, pinned me to the spot. His simple, straightforward gaze held the power needed to take the next step beyond "now", to continue into the light.

Akira: …It's true that the incident with the Umbra Volans was impressive, but it's not the only thing you've done with merit.

I was startled by the words that had suddenly formed on my tongue. I had simply opened my mouth, as if invited to by the prince of Central Country's clear, unclouded eyes.

Akira: During the five countries' peace conference…you were the one who saved me when I was held prisoner in Granvelle Castle under all the thorns. It feels a little lonely when I think about how because everyone in the castle was asleep, they can't remember what all of you did, but… But I remember. I remember how all of you came together as one and bravely faced your foes.

Arthur: Master Sage…

Akira: So if there are other people who recognize what you've done, like the person who gave us this invitation, then I'm very, very happy.

My thoughts formed into words all on their own as I looked between the faces of everyone in front of me. There are people who think fondly of my precious friends who follow their hearts freely and openly, despite their various eccentricities. That reality made my heart feel like it was soaring.

Arthur: …Thank you. I'm very happy that everyone's efforts have been acknowledged as well. And at the same time, I am very proud. I hope that we can continue to communicate what wizards do without anyone misunderstanding us. …That's right. I have something I want to show you, Master Sage, and everyone else as well.

✦✧☾✧✦

Cock Robin: Here, this is it. The sponsor of the art exhibition has presented this as a gift.

What Cock Robin handed me was a single book. It was big enough that I needed both hands to hold it, and its cover wore a delicately lovely illustration.

Akira: Is this…a picture book?

Rutile: Oh! I adore picture books. Is it okay if I open it?

Arthur: Of course! That's what it's meant for.

A bright smile bloomed on Rutile's face as he took the book from Cock Robin.

Rutile: Mitile, Riquet, let's look through it together. Chloe, you come join too!

Chloe: Wahh, are you sure? This cover is so amazing! It's such a lovely design I don't want to look away from it.

Chloe's violet eyes sparkled as he spoke, passion for his craft shining brightly in his voice. Riquet's voice, colored by his curiosity, spoke up next as he traced over the cover.

Riquet: I wonder if I'd be able to read this book, too. I've been learning the spelling of more words recently, so maybe…

Mitile: I'm sure you can. If there are any words you don't know, I'll teach you what they are!

Riquet: Alright. There are some beautifully written letters on the cover…is this the name of the person who illustrated the book?

Rutile: Luca Carroll… What a lovely name.

Akira: Is that a famous author?

Shino: I don't know anything about books or authors. If you wanna know something like that, you should be asking Heath.

Heathcliff: No, I don't think I've heard of them… But considering how this book came into our hands, it should be fairly valuable.

Murr: Wow, I'm getting kinda excited!

Murr had been peeking at the book from the air above Rutile, and he twirled around delightedly.

Murr: Something fun's gonna happen. I guarantee it!

Arthur: Hehe. I shouldn't expect anything less from your intuition, Murr.

Arthur had been watching over our poking at the book, but now he looked up at Murr and gave him a million-dollar smile.

Arthur: This book has yet to go up for sale, but its author, Luca Carroll, seems to be a wizard.

Akira: A wizard…?

Arthur: Yes. The books she writes contain magic within their pages.

Arthur's eyes crinkled in a mischievous little grin. His words made everyone's attention turn to the book in Rutile's hands.

Mitile: Magic in the pages…! If a wizard is the one drawing the pictures, then magic just goes along with that, huh.

Riquet: I wonder what kind of magic it is. Let's hurry and open it!

Murr: Hurry, hurry!

Rutile: Okay!

Like lifting the lid of a treasure chest whose contents were unknown. Like a nameless flower unfurling its petals for the first time… Rutile opened the book. No sooner than he'd cracked it open did the aroma of a forest wreathe its way around us. A gentle breeze caressed my cheek.

Next Chapter

[gorillastraylight]

4e Project 0: Let's Talk About Worms

Alright, hopefully my players have blocked the tag. With that done, this is the first *real* post in my series of records and thoughts as I try to convert a long-form 3.5e D&D campaign to 4th edition. In this post, I want to talk about the campaign itself and provide some background info - a kind of overview before we get into the nitty gritty. Going forward, I'm going to have main posts that go in depth on the conversion process for each individual adventure, with some smaller posts (called "worm food" in the tradition of the campaign) containing thoughts about what the process is reaching me in regards to philosophical differences between editions, game design, etc; or just like individual parts of an adventure that I find especially interesting. There'll be a table of contents post here. Now, let's talk a bit about the campaign I'm trying to convert: The Age of Worms. At the risk of doing an xkcd's comic abt quartz here, I'd say AoW is one of the more famous prewritten campaigns to come out during D&D's 3.5 era, it's one you hear a lot of discussion about on forums and already has a fanmade conversion to 5e (which I'll be using as a reference point throughout my project). The campaign path consists of 12 separate adventures, all published serially in Dungeon magazine between 2005 and 2006. Each adventure was designed for a 4-character party and was intended to elevate the party by a level or two, taking them from level 1 all the way to 20 - this is a serious ass long-term campaign. The plot ramps up pretty decently from standard low-level shenanigans (the stated motivation for the party in the first adventure is literally the classic 'raid tombs get money'), to being heavily focused on stopping the return of a horrific eldritch-horror-undead demigod (Kyuss, who's been lurking in the background of various D&D books since like AD&D) about halfway through. It's apparently notorious for being pretty deadly as well, and I certainly believe it. Adventure 1: The Whispering Cairn

It's kind of odd by the standards of modern prewritten adventure design, but this campaign starts off with a classic dungeon crawl in search of treasure. It opens up into a more interesting quest afterwards, trying to find a ghost child's bones in order to get to the dungeon's real treasure, which will lead them into their first hints of the coming undead worm problem. A lot of the traps here are really nasty, and the dungeon is pretty combat-dense; also I can envision some parties getting pretty annoyed with being sent off on this crazy chase just to finish up a dungeon; but overall I'm a fan of this adventure. 1.5: Diamond Lake

There's a lot of info on this shithole mining town that the PCs start off in, with tons of cool locations and interesting NPCs, to the point where I feel like an AoW campaign would be incomplete without the DM adding at least some plotline with the party getting wrapped up in the local power struggle between mine owners. Fortunately, this won't be a problem for me, as my group will almost certainly try to start unionizing the minors and upending the town's power structure ASAP. The fact that the campaign seems to expect player groups to be basically fine with how shit the town is is definitely a mark of how the "default" game has changed.

2: The Three Faces of Evil

Usually recognized as "the shitty one", this adventure is pretty much entirely a big dungeon crawl. It's super lethal, the connective tissue between it and the first adventure is weak as hell, and frankly I find the whole "three faces" cult and its relation to Kyuss to be a bit bizarre, like in a weird misdirect-villain way. Also the text is full of typoes and some maps are labelled badly. Of all the adventures, this one is the one I suspect I'll be altering the most. 3: Encounter at Blackwall Keep The first of many "go talk to a wizard about this wacky shit" hooks, Blackwall Keep has a fine adventure trapped in it somewhere (that adventure is mostly 1982's 'Danger at Dunwater'). The players fight off lizardfolk raiding a frontier keep and then track them to their lair to rescue a wizard they need to talk to about clues uncovered in Three Faces. The fact that the adventure really wants them to kill the lizardfolk does not read well today, it's definitely reflective of the more morally ambiguous character of the default adventurer back in the day. The "villain" of this one is literally an escaped arena slave lizardfolk, no offense but I doubt my group will be killing him. It does a good job really setting up that this whole worm thing is becoming more of a problem though, and the initial siege fight of fighting the lizardfolk could be fun. Plenty to talk about with this one. 4. The Hall of Harsh Reflections Another "talk to a wizard" hook, this adventure takes the PCs to the Big City (Greyhawk by default, but could be whatever)! This is kinda neat, taking them from po-dunk Diamond Lake to the city is a good representation of escalation. Really, this is the first part of a 2-adventure arc, and has some genuinely neat intrigue elements involving doppelgangers impersonating the PCs to commit crimes, a hidden mind flayer overlord, and ending on the best cliffhanger/forboding note yet. I suspect I'll have to make very few changes to the actual storyline of this one.

5. The Champion's Belt *Fuck* yeah. Cool ass tournament arc where the parties are also trying to stop an evil cultist plot to kill the audience and raise them as undead (very reminiscent of that one bit of the dnd movie). All kinds of neat gladiator shit, opportunities to meet and roleplay with other adventurers, a dungeon crawl through the hidden halls of the under-arena, and an iconic final fight against an Ulgurstasta. The dungeon bit is pretty long, and I think there'll be some interesting challenges in adapting the Ulgurstasta. 5.5. The Free City

Like Diamond Lake, this is a big background section about the Free City (again, Greyhawk by default). This is helpful, but I like it less than Diamond Lake just bc the connection isn't there. The PCs should for sure have an opportunity to have a Big City Caper(tm) here, likely between adventures 5 and 6. 6. A Gathering of Winds Fuck that title, this is Return to the Whispering Cairn baby! This gimmick of going back to where you started to do new shit gets me hype every time. This adventure also gets points from me for having A FUCKING DRAGON FIGHT! HELL YEAH! (for now, these will get much less cool and special later on). As written, the dragon devastates Diamond Lake before the PCs arrive, and I like that - especially if they took time between adventures to work on making the town better (which mine certainly will), it feels devastating and adds a personal stake to the adventure. This one also has a long ass dungeon crawl (making use of both Ds is always nice), and feels like a fitting send-off to the more episodic early parts of the campaign. From here on, it's all kyuss all the time, baby.

7. The Spire of Long Shadows. There's some wack-ass shit in this one. Spire is the big lore-dump adventure, where the PCs learn about Kyuss and his backstory and whatnot - and the dungeon crawl through his ruined city to get it has some very neat survival horror potential. Outside of talking with a wizard (yes! it's the third 'talk to a wizard' hook!) at the start, there is very little non-dungeon crawling combat content here, which is fine but will present a challenge to 4e-ifying it without murdering the pacing. Also, there's a weird inclusion about a Pit Fiend who wants an artifact that the PCs found in the last adventure but who is never mentioned again and has no connection to Kyuss - might be cool, I guess, but just seems strange. Finally, this adventure sets the PCs on the trail of Kyuss's cult all the way to [next location].

8. The Prince of Redhand FORMAL BANQUET, YEAH BITCH! I FUCKING LOVE NOBLE PARTY ARCS!! After a great deal of dungeon-crawling, Prince of Redhand is a pretty welcome diversion into the realm of intrigue and heavy roleplay. The vibes are fucking rancid, which is exactly what you want for this tense intrigue story. Any more will have to wait until the detailed writeup, but this adventure might be my favourite of the lot.

8.5. Alhaster Another area writeup, this one's really great! Less shenanigans for the PCs to get into between adventures (which makes sense as the plot has ramped the fuck up), but does a great job detailing the town and creating an atmosphere of like, I dunno, New England creepy oldness? Also there's a scary evil angel of Hextor here who fully activates my switch reflexes.

9. The Library of Last Resort 🎵It's the Mystery of the Druids, they all have an attitude🎵 Much in the vein of Spire, the PCs talk to an expert and then go off in search of secret knowledge - in this case knowledge of Kyuss's great lieutenant's (the dracolich Dragotha, allegedly the first dracolich) phylactery. They travel to a hidden island with an ancient druidic library, undergo trials to impress the library's fey wardens and access it, and then trip balls to discover the phylactery's location. It ends with a kind of neat idea that because the knowledge is no longer sealed up in the library, it's back in the world again and Dragotha will be able to remember it soon, setting off a bit of a race. Pretty cool - also, the Hand of Vecna is here, which is fucking sweet.

10. Kings of the Rift Oh boy, this is one hell of a dungeon crawl. Now, to be fair, the PCs aren't really expected to do all of it, and it's also fucking sick. They're caught in the middle of a battle between a city of giants (where the phylactery is) and a flight of dragons sent by dragotha to go and get said phylacery. It reminds me a little of the one part of dark souls 2 where you witness the giants invade Drangleic. We get some reoccuring NPCs here, and the fact that you don't have to fight the giants is pretty cool - I'm excited to dig deeper into this one.

11. Into the Wormcrawl Fissure Here it is - the dungeon crawl to end all dungeon crawls (at least as far as AoW is concerned). With his phylactery destroyed, all that remains to the PCs in preventing Kyuss's rise (as far as they know) is destroying Dragotha in his lair. Unfortunately, his lair is an eldritch realm nightmare death-zone infested with his subordinate dragons, undead worms, and a ton of disgusting terrors. It follows the same trend that several dungeons so far have (go around and find several parts of a thing to advance), but does it in a kind of new way - Dragotha is a terrifying boss fight and a great capstone to a really nasty dungeon. It ends, of course, with the knowledge that one of their benefactors betrayed them and Kyuss is going to rise over Alhaster etc etc - it's one hell of a lead up to the finale.

12. Dawn of a New Age. Man, this one would be hell to run in 3.5. As the world falls to madness around the PCs, they desperately try to stop Kyuss's emergence in Alhaster (I guess it makes sense in the story, but I almost would have liked to go back to Diamond Lake). There's some very dangerous encounters here, and two pretty funny details - 1, that it's still formatted like an AoW dungeon in that the party has to do three side objectives before the finale, and 2, they have the opportunity to travel to the actual factual Tomb of fucking Horrors in order to hijack that sphere of annihilation in the first room for use against Kyuss. Is this fucking rad or wack ass fanservice? I don't know. The ending post-Kyuss is cool. I like it a lot.

Hoo boy, big post. Probably mostly useful for reference, and it's worth noting I'm more familiar with the early adventures at this stage. There's definitely stuff to pick at and change here, and the campaign's heavy reliance on dungeon crawls (or perhaps, the fact that that's notable) is a neat indicator of game philosophy gone past for D&D. I'm gonna have my work cut out for me porting all this for sure. Excited to get more into Part 1: The Whispering Cairn! My first post there is going to cover the Cairn itself, with the one one after that going into the conversion process for encounters!

[marshmallowgoop]

Hi, thanks for the reply to my ask on Honnōji Academy! (I feel kinda silly about my second ask, thinking you didn't wanna talk about Kill la Kill anymore xD, but thanks for clearing that up) I have another question on my mind, but I wanna build up to it by gushing about a track for a little.

Now, despite not having watched the show, I'm also familiar with the Kill la Kill's OST. Well, somewhat. I've heard a little of Before my body is dry (slapper) but I wanted to gush about Nui's theme.

I am in love with Nui's theme. It's honestly one of my favourite themes for a villain period. The continuous escalation, the malicious playfulness, the crescendos that can only be described as if psychotic glee took musical form. It brilliantly summarizes everything about Nui's character with sound alone.

That off my chest, what is your favourite OST out of everything you've watched? Bit of a loaded ask, so you don't have to list just one song/track - you can list multiple soundtracks if you like. Sorry if this sounds self-indulgent - I love gushing about OSTs sometimes (I listen to FFXIV tracks every day xD) and I'm always eager to hear more kickass music.

Aw, I really appreciated the care and consideration 🙏 And it's super sweet that there's still interest in my thoughts all these years later! Answering the ask got my meta brain going again, and that's definitely something I need more of these days. I miss it!

This is a fun question! I'm also a big fan of Hiroyuki Sawano's work (on Kill la Kill and elsewhere), and that's an absolutely beautiful, spot-on description of Nui's theme. One of my personal favorites from the OST (apart from the vocal songs and tracks using those melodies) is the first section of "Kiっ9=KELL," which I tried to write about way back, but describing music is hard.

And that actually reminds me—as this ask did—of a video essay about Frozen 2's music:

While of course largely focused on Frozen 2, The Sin Squad discusses the difficulties in judging music and considers film music as a whole, and one segment, starting at 14:29, particularly stuck out to me. In it, various similar-sounding tracks are played, and the viewer is asked to pick which one is from Frozen 2. After the game, The Sin Squad remarks:

It was easy enough to go, "Oh, I know another score with a wistful flute." But when I went to chop up Treasure Planet or How to Train Your Dragon or Ice Age or whatever, I could never find a solid nine-second stretch of “ubiquitous film music” without some kind of specific theme cropping up and giving the game away. I never realized how many films from my childhood feature such distinct musical themes until I tried and failed to mine them for parts.

And, yeah! The OSTs I'm most drawn to are certainly the ones with character and personality. I like Sawano's work, but I don't think it's interchangeable, and I don't think I'd mix up a Kill la Kill track with a Promare one, because each OST still has its own particular flavor.

Long tangent aside (sorry!), I think I might have to point to the first How to Train Your Dragon as having possibly my favorite OST of all time (it's got that flavor!). The music is actually what made me interested in watching the film at all (and is pretty much solely the reason I did watch it.) I love "Test Drive" and "This Is Berk" and really just so much of it; I made a John Powell Pandora radio station because I was such a fan.

I'm also a big fan of Yoko Shimomura's work on Kingdom Hearts! One track that really gets me in my bones is "Fate of the Unknown."

And with my current Detective Conan brainrot, I picked up an ultra-ridiculous Blu-ray of Movie 27 semi-recently and finally watched that film for the first time (English-language home release in 2026 maybe? Hoping!), and I was blown away by the music (something I sadly can't really say for a lot of Conan). The 44th track, "解けゆく隠し場所の謎" ("The Mystery of The Hidden Place is Solved"), was actually so beautiful that it was maybe distracting! But I also adored it to such an extent that I literally rewound the film after watching it and just played that part over and over, and I'd definitely take that over a score that's unmemorable. I really felt like M27's score had that personality to it that might be missing from a lot of film scores—the circus music for KID maybe exemplifies that best! That was a very new and different sound for him that was so fun!

I'll stop at one more to keep this from getting too much longer, but I also have a huge soft spot for the music of the early Sonic games. "Endless Mine" has an absolutely indescribable effect on me. There is just something about that song that activates something.

Not sure if I answered this right, but this was really fun! I also love OSTs (and love Final Fantasy tracks, too! VI, VII, IX...) and wish I knew how to write about music better. Thank you for the ask!!

[purple-plum-petals]

Hello! Please forgive me. If its alright with you, can I get a romantic fnaf security breach matchup? I want to change some matchup details

My pronouns are she/her and I am an introvert. I am straight and prefer guys but if that doesn't count than you can ignore. I don't really like revealing much about myself so you can say that I'm shy and mysterious. My hobbies include dancing (especially ballet and sometimes kpop) and video games like Street Fighter and Mobile Legends. My talent is fitting into kids clothes because of slender my body is. I am a little pale and I get cold very easily, and I guess a little fragile (my bones pop often). My expression tends to look very distant and sad. I cannot emphasize enough how much I want to look like a Ball Jointed Doll, so I try to get as many sweet lolita dresses as possible. I love candy (especially strawberry flavoured ones), but I love tea and coffee more. I also like wearing (and buying) anything pink. I don't like heavy or gourmet meals (or food in general). If I were to be an animatronic, I'd be a cat.

Thank you so much! Feel free to ignore this!

Thank you for sending in a match-up; I think that either Sun or Glamrock Freddy would be good matches for you! I also incorporated the love languages you had mentioned in one of the other asks you had sent me.

Sun is nearly the complete opposite of you personality-wise, but I think that could be something that could benefit both of you in different ways; he could help brighten up your day while your more reserved nature reminds Sun to hold back a little when it comes to his own outgoing (and occasionally overwhelming) personality. Sun loves seeing you smile, so he'd do whatever he can to turn your usual resting frown upside down. Sun also enjoys dancing much like you do, and he would love to watch you dance or even dance with you if you were alright with that! He may look scrawny, but he's actually very strong and could lift you up into the air with no problem. Sun also tends to run on the hotter side so, if you ever needed to warm yourself up, he'd be happy to be your personal heater. I feel like Sun would adore your sense of style as well, always excited to see what cutesy and frilly outfit you put together; he'd be your #1 cheerleader and would be sure to hype you up whenever he had the chance! You and Sun also have very similar love languages (physical touch, words of affirmation, and gift-giving), so you'd both be able to express and receive what you need out of the relationship easily.

Freddy is a very understanding and caring individual who will always be there if you want to talk or need any kind of support; this animatronic is the king of affirmation. While not being very light on his feet (or paws, in this case), Freddy would still want to dance with you if you ever wanted to show him first-hand your love of dance; when not dancing with you, though, he'd be happy to play some music for you and simply watch you from the sidelines. Despite not being that great when it comes to video games, he'd be happy just being able to spend time with you playing the games you like while you most likely completely destroy him in Street Fighter; he's a great loser, though, and always makes sure to compliment you on your amazing wins. Freddy would also keep a stash of candy on his person at all times just in case you got a sudden craving for sweet treats, always making sure he's stocked up with strawberry-flavored candies as they’re your favorite. Freddy also makes sure to compliment your outfits every time he sees you, almost in awe of your style; he doesn't have the opportunity to change much about his appearance, so he loves seeing what outfits you manage to put together whenever he sees you.

[italicized-oh]

director's cut ask for chapter five of hello operator, if you so wish!!! it's such an excellent chapter and i LOVE the way you write porter's headspace - it feels so tangibly real and specific and unique to read, and I'd love to hear you talk more about it!

oh my god anon???? thank you!!! that's so kind i love this ask game and i love love love yammering on about my own writing choices so. thank you for this opportunity. feat. my philosophy about porter and also theorizing about barbarians and chronic pain. here's the chapter if yall arent familiar. cw for serious nsft and extended discussions of pain below the cut

i think i posted something to this effect when the chapter went up, but porter to me is so fucking embodied. like. his entire gig is blood and bone and muscle and. well. no, i shan't say.

The silence is odd after the bloody gorgeous sounds he’d wrung out of Jace, whimpers and moans and the euphoric gasp of still my god. Porter lets muscle memory carry him through the cleaning ritual that’s almost as familiar as raging and sets to sorting out his thoughts (and feelings, adds a sharp-eyed Zara in his head.) He rolls his shoulders and absorbs the sting of annoyance that thought brings, fanning it into a bonfire that will help him focus. Porter carefully takes stock of his body, letting himself inhabit every nerve, every joint, every sinew. He can still feel the zing of magic against his skin and – amusingly – on his dick. The backs of his thighs sting where Jace’s nails had dug into them; the already-healed pinprick from Jace’s wand burns against his throat; even his cheek throbs where Jace backhanded him. 

but that's also bc rage, like all emotions, especially strong ones, is located in the body. i needed porter to be doing something with his body in order to get in his head, and i had just been reading about caring for leather (no i don't have a good reason i'm just autistic and kinky, oops), and the description of that had so many different types of sensations involved that i was like. perfect. this will keep porter in his body so i can wriggle my way into his head and make him have Feelings in addition to his emotions.

These sensations aren’t pain. They’re something much, much worse than pain. The muscles in his right hand flex, and Porter can feel the pulse of Jace’s carotid artery under his thumb, the taut silk of Jace’s hair wrapped around his fingers, the scrape of cinderblock against his knuckles as he controlled Jace’s head, the wet trail of Jace’s tears around his wrist. 

the other massive part of this chapter comes from my experiences with chronic pain. when your body feels severe enough pain for long enough, and when you have nervous system diseases (hi hello it's me), it will stop sending you pain as such because your body can only actually register so much pain. so it sends different feelings - i get tingling, or buzzing, or sometimes a throbbing - instead to get your attention.

He knows pain. Intimately. Porter thinks pain might’ve been the first thing he ever experienced, and he knows in the rock of his bones that it will be the last.

and while irl i'd love to be a caster with my whole heart, there's something about how harsh on the body rage (and divine magic, let's be real) is that really resonates with that. like. how does the body just not take as much damage and deal more explicitly without magic? well fuck wotc, i think it's by frying the nerves and overloading the muscles at the same time, so that even if you are, in fact, sustaining injuries, your body is so used to it that its tolerance is (unhealthily but usefully) extended. like how folks w adhd (hi again it's me) can sometimes just. ignore biological needs not bc we don't have them but bc our brains actively work around them.

and so we move to maybe my favorite bit of writing i've done so far, which is the end of this chapter:

Porter knows rage. He knows pain. He knows lust. And now he knows Jace. As far as Porter knows, Jace is not a feeling or a sensation or an emotion, or he’s all fucking three like some goddamn overachieving asshole. Goddamnit. Porter needs to talk to Zara, badly, because if there’s one thing she’s good at– (Zara clears her throat in Porter’s head.) Porter needs to talk to Zara, badly, because she’s a fucking brilliant person with a knife-sharp wit and something akin to rage in her blood and she’s good at everything and is that better, lady? (Nothing.) –and Zara knows many, many things very, very well, one of which is Jace motherfucking Stardiamond, who is probably not an emotion but sure fucking feels like one. Uncontrollable unless you embrace it fully. Porter's fucked.

bc the other thing about chronic pain is that it's just as predictable as it is unpredictable. sure, i never know exactly when a flare will hit or what it will be like. but boy do i know the tone and tenor of my body in pain, and it's familiar, and i've gotten to where i can almost greet it. not quite, bc that's a little to romantic for the situation i'm actually in w/r/t my body, but something like it.

and so the things that feel really, really good to me are intense, new sensations. tattoos. spicy (like thai spicy) takeout. intense impact play with a partner i trust. dunking myself in the pacific ocean in winter.

and they feel good precisely bc they're strong and new and i haven't met them yet. and in my head in this chapter that's what jace is for porter. an intense sensation that's goddamn addictive in its unfamiliarity/unpredictability