#i failed to screenshot that part where mc is like

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Y'all I been doing Dazai route in eng for the collection event and I'm just.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE WRITING HERE. DAZAI AND MC ARE OFF THE CHARTS???? I FEEL LIKE I'M IN IKESEN RN HELP

I never want off this tragicomedy this is amazing. Just look at this shit:

There's so much going on here???? I'm in stitches?????

Dazai if you're going to roll with familial obligation PICK ONE ROLE, what is this madness!!!

MC full on out here UNIRONICALLY looking at Charles and going:

MC: I could make him worse twirling hair around her finger

What's even more uproarious to me is Dazai like "I must. Protect MC from his vile eboy clutches." And MC is straight up like "Dazai if you won't tap this then I will have my hot girl summer." Can you tell I love her so much for this I'm sobbing. Girl math queen of "I want what's bad for me"

Charles. Trying to whine his way into a hot night and Dazai's abrupt "Haha, no." Just imagining the delivery of that line straight up made me astral project, Dazai is feeling petty and I'm LIVING

"NotMyName-san." Do I even need to say it. MC dragging his ass and I'm wheeze--

Aight but that last screenshot. I swear to God that's where I lost my veritable shit. I think I've just gotten so used to Comte and Leonardo being so literal of like "oh yeah that f**ker can't keep his hands to himself, give me a second to get rid of him" that I just did not see Dazai's roast coming. And not only how iconic and subtle a jab that is, but the ENDLESS implications????????????

"He seems like someone who can't keep his hands out of the picnic basket." Dazai was COOKING. He said "boy's got no patience, he can't pace a relationship properly." [Note: Dazai can't pace a relationship at all, so uh, pot meet kettle--]. He said "man's going to get to third base on the first date and that is GAUCHE." I love this bit because of how much it gives him away. Dazai out here like "I'm just a silly silly goofy no thoughts guy! Hahaha!" And then the second Charles tries to drag MC around like a rag doll, Dazai comes out like "what is this. menace doing with a nice young woman. I say, young man, cease this horny shitfkery at once!" The man who sat in bed with MC naked after a month's worth of knowing her and does not explain (though in fairness he was trying to be helpful [?]). Can you tell I love him. Osamu "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" Dazai.

Dazai out here like "I just know he's going to ask too much of her, and that could have grievous implications when it comes to being a vampire." As much as it might be a throwaway line, I gotta say I see that amongst his concerns. And tbh I think he means it both in the sense of bloodlust but also in the sense that Charles is a bit wayward with his self-control (not entirely Charles' fault). Dazai out here like "I know this little shit ain't got an ounce of foresight, and I hate this for my best girl." No beef to Charles, but the man lives in the present (in some ways by circumstance) and I can see how he might not be able to have MC's best interests for the future in mind (he's got a lot of healing to do).

Man can you tell I just can't get over the way Dazai flamed him. It's giving:

Also for the record no shade to Charles as an LI, I just think it's hilarious how jealous Dazai is and how that makes him uncharacteristically choose so much violence khafjlsjkshgdfjh

I gotta say if there's one thing that gets my ass so bad when it comes to Comte and Dazai it's how they're so like. "Peace and love on planet earth~"

Charles/Vlad: hi

Comte and Dazai:

Comte and Dazai:

[surely-galena]

So I finally read Vyn’s Winterwish SR Timeless Wishes and it has NO right to be this funny. I was laughing the whole way through

First, we continue the saga of Vyn unable to handle the cold (like fair enough dude, he’s wearing THREE layers in this card -- vest, shirt, turtleneck). Attached screenshot is from the Blizzardous Threads of Red invitation where we see Vyn trying to imply he is this close to freezing. (It's because he's not wearing gloves...)

And then MC goes ahead and calls him a PATHETIC MEOW MEOW--

Next up, we have Vyn getting unintentionally psychoanalyzed by the handicraft shop owner. Hey. Hey Vyn... how does it feel to have the tables turned on you...

Then Vyn and MC return home and we get THIS BIT that still makes me laugh:

Vyn, what are you using Ogier for??? Is cleaning your room all the SPECIALLY TRAINED BODYGUARD is good for? This is so hilariously baffling to me. Does Ogier literally drop by Vyn's place just to tidy up? Is he going to walk into the room and sigh at the sight of Vyn's bedroom floor covered in a ridiculous amount of yarn? And this begs the question: what else does Vyn call on Ogier for? To deep clean the kitchen?? Ogier, my guy, I genuinely wonder how you feel about this because you are not beating the butler allegations...

Okay, and then we get some wholesome fluff where Vyn and MC exchange gifts, but Vyn looks so perplexed at MC's collection of wishing cards that I had to include this screenshot. MC truly never fails to surprise him.

And then after the card story is done, we get THIS text conversation when MC declares she wants to make... DIY slime. Vyn's reaction is what makes this part for me. Mr Fancy Two Degrees honestly had no clue what slime was and was probably mildly concerned at her suggestion (although she explains what she means by slime after the cutoff).

Vyn, expecting normal activities like crochet or pressing flowers: What shall we try next?

MC, incredibly up-to-date on all the current trends: slime!!! :DD

Vyn: say what now

-

The second text message references the Cooking Card again and I just thought it was hilarious that Vyn purposely misunderstands the point of the card. He uno reversed the situation on her, but I can't really fault him for that. It's definitely a Vyn move.

[hollowwrites]

✨Drabble Masterlist✨

✨ Link to Regular Masterlist ✨

My masterlist got too big so here’s where all the waffley, cutesy stuff goes.

~

🤍 The Bois 🤍

Oh… and keep an eye on the staircases, they like to change. - How the bois would tackle the girl dorms being inaccessible

I’m Bothered by these Boggarts - Headcanon of what our bois Boggarts would be

All aboard the Hug-Warts Express - How our lads comfort MC

Where has my Cardi-gone - How our bois react to pilfered clothing

Proper Proposals - The lads discussing how they proposed to their significant others

And a Happy New Year - The bois celebrating at a New Year’s party

The Serpent Sisters - Anne, Imelda and Evelyn defending the bois

Medusa’s Vipers - Ominis and Sebastian being protective of Evelyn

🔞 Character AI Screenshots 🔞

Ominis, Garreth and Sebastian, Sebastian again

~

🎁 Gift Giving 🎁

In game ideas for a relationship system. Like Dragon Age!! Plus I want give my favs gifts Okay?!

Sebastian, Garreth and Ominis

~

🕯️ Trio Chatter 🕯️

- Based on game files showing we could have had TWO companions. Little conversations between possible combos

Sebastian and Ominis

Ominis and Misc

Garreth and Sebastian

Garreth and Sebastian…again

Sebastian and Imelda

Garreth and Ominis

Poppy and Amit

Trio Chatter for when MC is in a relationship, how each person would behave:

Sebastian and Garreth | Sebastian and Ominis | Garreth and Ominis

Three’s a Crowd - Trio Chatter for a party with all the same house

Trio Chatter for my Ships: Part 1, Part 2

~

🔮 Random Headcanons 🔮

Garreths’ Nicknames for people

Spell Practise - Ominis and Garreth dialogue for in-game

Class of ‘91 - Ideas for classes for all our favs

Leaving Hogwarts Grounds - Dialogue for dragging our babes out of hogwarts. and some more!!

Hallway Antics - Leander trying to bully Ominis and failing feat. Garreth

Hallway Antics - Garreth and Ominis discuss the origins of Hobhouse hatred

Hallway Antics - Sebastian and Ominis contemplate Garreths’ house

House Pride (and Shame) - MC talking about their different Houses

Parseltongue-tied - Ominis teaching MC Parseltongue (suggestive 🔞)

Mother in Laws Tongue - Ominis can talk to plants too apparently…

A Very Ominous Christmas - 🎄Garreth has a surprise for Ominis

A Magical Christmas - 🎄 Gift Giving amongst the gang

A Weasley Good Christmas - 🎄Garreth giving gifts cause he’s baby boi

Crossed Wands Headcanon - Different duelling styles for our favs

A Summary of The Houses - The difference between my MCs

The Adventures of the Sallow Twins - Garreth and Sebastian discovering they look VAGUELY similar

Tis the Season - 🎃 Pumpkin spice Drabble for Ominis, Sebastian and Eve

[black-flag-if]

What kind of story is it?

A motorsports IF. You're a formula driver. It's romance-focused and deals with drama and angst while going after what's really important to you.

Can I romance more than one RO?

Absolutely. Be as messy as you want or as loyal as you want. There will be a choice to lock in who you want to pursue, but for the start, it's up to you what you do.

Will there be consequences?

Yes! Some ROs will deal with it better than others.

If I choose to be friends with the ROs, can I get on their romance route later?

As of now, no. It would be nice to explore, but it's not a priority yet unless I see a good opening for it in the story.

Is there an enemy to lovers route?

I was thinking of doing one for Ryder's route but I haven't decided yet. It fits the character the best, but it's a WIP and I will just have to see how it presents itself later on. So maybe? Not sure yet. If there's a good opening, I would like to add it but it'll just depend on how much I have on my plate.

Is Lane canon?

I don't think any of the LIs are canon. This story works just fine with trying to improve MC and focus on themselves and their career. Take out all the ROs and it's still simply about MC finding their place. It is a romance story though so if you're simply here for the plot and don't want to deal with romance, it might not be as fun but do with your time what you will. I try not to push any of the ROs onto the player, so I hope Lane doesn't feel canon. The story makes sense with any branch. Lane comes up a lot, yes, but they're a big part of MC's past. You should not have any scenes with Lane nor should your MC think good of them unless you choose such options. If you simply want to be friends - they're friendly interactions. If you don't want anything to do with Lane, they should hardly make an appearance in the story except when needed and it won't be anything romantic. So, if you feel like you have too much of Lane, then maybe reconsider your choices. The most important one is if you say you still have feelings. That's telling the game you want to explore that part more so it'll offer romantic choices and a way to reconcile but you will still get a chance to choose what to do with it all.

Will there be jealousy/break-ups?

I get this one a lot. Not sure if that's a good thing or something you all want or are just afraid to explore, but yes, this game has all of that. It'll depend on the RO because not everyone is jealous, but expect some angst, arguments, breakups, etc.

Why is there no back or save button?

I am working on a save button for future update. Back button will still not be implemented simply because it will be a coding issue for this game.

There's a bigger chance for errors if I let you go back to fix something because some codes use a variable that tracks choices. An example is I sometimes use "history macro" and if you visit the passage more than once, the code won't work so you'll end up with missing information and it will fail to properly connect you to other passages.

When are updates?

I don't have a schedule. It's a WIP, it's a side project, so whenever I have time or energy to write, I do, and update at the end of every chapter.

Why am I not answering you?

I don't purposely avoid comments unless the messages are rude. If I don't answer, but you want an answer, please try again. I could have simply missed it. Send in with a username instead of anon so I can actually get back to you. If I have something to say or add to your comment, I usually do unless it's repetitive. If it's already answered in FAQ's, it's also another reason I might not answer from now on.

Find spelling, errors, or mistakes in general?

I appreciate people letting me know and yes, send them in, but PLEASE let me know WHERE. The sentence or screenshot will work fine just so I know where to look. If you just say there are mistakes, I have no idea where to look and will most likely stay that way until it comes up again. If you want a reply but not make it public, please give a note stating so and I won't post it publicly. Instead, I can just reply to you personally if you don't write as an anon. Thank you to everyone that sends the mistakes in, especially to some anons that take their time to write out every sentence where they saw a spelling mistake. I appreciate it and you make things loads easier.

[undercroft-files]

Bringing in the MC

Hello again, it's ya boy (god I'm cringy 😣). I have ABSOLUTELY no drawing skills when it comes to faces and people so y'all just gotta bear with me on screenshots I've taken from my own game from Hogwarts Legacy.

I don't have all the screenshots I want because I didn't come up with the idea of having my MC even be a plausible character in my works until recently. Also, part of the reason I don't have as many screenshots as I'd like is because of the update that has been frame rate dropping me and also kicking me out of the game every five seconds so that's fun. 🥲

Anyways, here's the boy and all his info (I'll write fics for him on Ao3 and I'll provide links)

Yes, I know he looks like Harry Potter.

SHUT

I try to make myself and every time, without fail, they end up looking like Harry Potter or Leon Kennedy from the Resident Evil franchise and idk how to not have that happen.

Anyways, here's some of his info that's kinda basic.

Name: Jeremy Carter

Birth Date: December 1st (whatever year this takes place because idk 😭)

Where In Europe Is He From?: England

Blood Status: Half Blood

Height: 5'7 ft

House: Hufflepuff

Wand: Pear wood, 11 three quarter inches, quiet bendy, phoenix feather core

Patronus: Stoat (they're like the ferret's prettier cousin)

Father: Wizard, deceased

Mother: Muggle, alive

Relationship?: Jeremy has eyes for Natsai Onai (changed for a smoother plot)

Extra facts

Jeremy has autism (at the time, they probably didn't even know this existed but they all take kindly to Jeremy and give him patience).

Jeremy's father told him about Hogwarts and the wizarding world before his father's passing.

Jeremy's mother thinks the father is lying about everything.

Eleazar Fig becomes the closest thing Jeremy has to a father.

Mirabel Garlick becomes the closest thing Jeremy has to a loving mother.

Jeremy and Ominis become best friends (through traumatization from Sebastian).

Jeremy's favourite class is potions.

So yeah, I'll post some chapters for Jeremy's story on Ao3 along with a gallery of screenshots (when I decide to end the story) for you all to enjoy! Stay tuned for those updates!

[sixosix]

hi hello

I'm here to write about my experience while reading the latest writing of wanderer. (it shall contain what I'm doing as I'm reading and my reactions - so if you don't wanna read it - that is a-okay!)

I'M STANDING IN -3°C OR EVEN LESS ON A TRAIN STATION FREEZING. I'm reading this by taking a glove off of my hand to scroll and then switching it to the other (taking the other glove off putting this one on) - pain fr, and then smiling to myself like a love struck idiot at 6 FUCKING AM. ON A FOGGY CROWD FILLED TRAIN STATION.

you did say in the a/n that the first part was "unnecessary" but I enjoyed the potrayal of friendship - it fleshed out the mc fr. also didn't except Heizou to be so touchy bUT THEN I gave it a second more of thought (lol) and I can see it. wanderer wearing all black is fucking canon in my eyes in modern!teyvat/world/somewhere.

the flashback was written really cutely, managing to catch the good vibes and capture, in a quite the short amount of text, the history the two have. (except like why does he think he hurt them-myb he thinks it is cos they left? idk listen I'm still sleepy if I missed something dO NOT HATE ME I WILL REREAD LATER TODAY)

next, I manage to find a spot in the train to sit, now nice and warm, chuckling at the boys & mc interaction in the hotel room

takiNG PAUSES - TURNING MY PHONE OFF AND LOOKING OUT INTO THE DARKNESS OF THE MORNING WHEN THEY KISS???? WHEN HE SAYS ANYTHING? I'm out here yet again smiling to myself and looking out of the window before continuing my reading

little love confessions cute! cute! cute!

thE FUCKING CUDDLES THE CUDDLES THE. CUDDLES. as a deeply touched deprived person with main love language being physical affection (with only selected few I care for, otherwise I hate any physical contact) my reaction is - YES. tysm. bless, thank you for your service.

it warmed my heart, perfect perfect perfect. ALSO THE LINE - I JUST RECALLED, THE LINE "You think I'd settle for less than you" - screenshoted, screamed internally, felt special, felt pain no one in this bitch ass world has me yet like that - no one ever will prob let US BE REAL (I'm mentaly dating all of them fictional mfs) , looked out of the window, paused, thought about stuff, leaned my head back to reimagine the scene as I try to also nap and fAIL cos I'm too hyped to read it - like man! 5k words - a LOT (it indeed was not a lot, I forgot how fast I read even when I reread lines and pause, and that I finish a thick ass book in 2 hours.)

it was slow burn without the slow but you worded it so nicely, paced it out, captured the essence of the thought proccess of a "crush" and stuff. also heizou being mentioned so much DOES make sense in the way - that ofc you'd think to tell your bsf this shit and chat with him DUH.

the detail of Aether texting his sister warmed my heart.

roll back a bit earlier - did I mention my train arrived late to my station - and in the freezing dark cold morning I smile and was like "ehe" cos I get to read this in PEACE for 15 mins longer - cos of the late train.

roll back to the present. after the kiss someone sits next to me so I'm putting my phone away, like I'm reading straight up smut of some shit, yet again rethinking everything you wrote.

then I see "a/n" - cut to me screaming, yelling, crying internally for more - feeling like it just began - I need the two days, I need more of the kissing, I need how they solve the end of vacay, and how they work all of it out - ALSO WHERE IS XIAO AMONGST MY ANEMO BOYS

on the topic of xiao I do understand it would be difficult for me as well to put the two boys I love the most in the same fic and just not have anything with one of them. furthermore, I understand one of your notes on a Xiao writing you did as a Xiao main. Listen me too, I could not write about my beloved. it would be a struggle just like it is for you but I KNOW WHY LET ME TELL YOU WHY - to quote Jane Austen "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more" I rest my fucking case.

I CAN FURTHER SUPPORT MY CLAIM WITH THIS - I'm talking to my friend the other day about genshin and he's like tell me about you favorite character, I say a bit while also trying to keep it spoiler free but I struggle so much, because my mind just fills with everything about him, every single thing Xiao has been through and dear gods how do I say it all, how to get across everything he is, has been through. yeah. the quote is true.

I beg on my knees for somehow another part of this wanderer writing I'm just gnawing at a train plush soft cushion (not literally).

every timE I READ ONE OF YOUR THINGS ABOUT THE SHORT SNARKY BOY I'M ALWAYS SMILING TO MYSELF ALWAYS PAUSING LOOKING AWAY, WHAT DO YOU PUT IN THIS WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?

I am very aware of how long this is, hope it wasn't boring - but HEY it is an ask, so technically you can ignore me

I probably didn't manage to caputre all my thoughts while reading it cos I'm just still very tired - hope you have a great day

ps. I could very well write an ask about how I started enjoying (read: liking) Wanderer + how the pulls went (it would be more put together than this ask honestly lmk)

pps much love, keep writing stuff x

hi hello! of course id love to read. i love the trend of sending long asks like this!! the only time i dont like long asks is when readers are requesting something---i dont like that at all :/ but youre not doing that!!! youre talking about your experience in reading my works and it really really warms my heart reading through it

OH NO T__T i cant even imagine. my countrys temperature never falls below 25-30°C so i cant even imagine surviving outside when the numbers are NEGATIVE T__T

the first part was absolutely unnecessary HAHA but thank you for justifying it. My hopeless crush wormed in and i wrote too much to just delete it sigh…

now for your question--scara moved out and essentially left the reader. it was more of a reference to scaramouche's canon backstory. he felt hurt that ei left him! and now, he's leaving the person he cares about. of course, in my head, he would assume that you'd feel what he felt. its why i put scaras mommy issues in the tags hahaha

im glad you like their interaction!! i loved writing their banter so much. i love writing scara talking to anyone in general because the way he talks is the way i think irl LOL

im so glad you also like the "you think i'd settle for less than you" line!!! ill tell u a secret. a few minutes before posting the fic it wasn't even there, but after reading through it i thought it would fit perfectly with the way i wrote scaramouche's character :D

and im so glad u pointed out the pacing!!! in all honesty i am far from confident with my pacing. i never know if im doing it right so thank u so much for saying that!!!!!!!! T__T <3 i dont know if i should clap for the late train for letting you read in peace? ??

LMFAOOO IM SO SORRY. this is exactly why i avoid reading fanfiction out in public even if i dont read smut. these strangers cannot know that i read about scaramouche kissing me.

and also fun fact!!!!! in the previous author note, it was not written that way. let me show you proof!! i cant find it rn but ill go into the version history version of my docs :D

AHHH that quote is so real im stealing that sorry. Everytime someone brings up why i dont write xiao enough ill pull that up !!!!! i know exactly what u mean :/

and about a part two… some people are already asking for it but i just don't do part twos T__T unless its stated in the fic that there's another part coming--it means that that's it…… your imagination will probably do better than whatever i can cook anyway !!!

[cooltuna69]

Crimes of Passion 2 Thoughts

I'm replaying CoP before the second book comes out and having a lot of thoughts about book 2

Note: these are my speculations (pre release) but I'm gonna put them under cut in case people don't want to see them or have the experience spoiled

Thoughts on plot:

Drakovians are gonna take Trystan back by force, along with Marguerite for "failing to do her duties" by not forcing them

MC will frantically fly over to Drakovia after them, hopefully followed by the rest of the gang

We're gonna have at least a full chapter or two without Trystan's active presence when MC tries to reach Trystan

Then MC will rush in headfirst to Trystan's side, getting themself in a royal mess (literally)

There might be a few empty compliments about catching Sonja's murderer

Thoughts on the emojis in the last newsletter:

(Screenshot credits to @korgbelmont)

So, we have eight royals, five daggers, and two skulls. It's not hard to guess where this is going. Skulls definitely portrait murders, and with what book one set up, one of them most likely belongs to Juliana. The other could either be a new victim or MC's dad. (To be honest I can't see how Jimmy Rose's murder could have anything to do with Drakovian royals. A new murder on the other hand is a good way to raise the stakes even higher.) The royals definitely portrait the Drakovian royal family, but the most interesting part is the daggers. Because according to this, 5 out of 8 members of the royal family are responsible for 2 murders, which also means 3 aren't. Now, depending on whether Marguerite and Trystan are part of the emojis, there are at least 1 and at most 3 new characters we can trust. Who they are is yet to be known. (Personally, I'd like to think Marguerite is and Trystan isn't, but we'll see.)

Final Thought: In book one, it's heavily implied that the queen hates Trystan. Also, in the extra sneak peak at the end, we can see a faceless 'your majesty' seems to know too much. With how circumstantial the implications are, I'm betting my money on the queen being one of the innocent royals and the king being the mastermind. That's just how crime books work.

Feel free to share your own thoughts!

[angryteapott]

A reflection on why the introductory episodes of Alchemy of Souls part 2 are putting me off so much, featuring mild spoilers:

(TLDR if you like AoS’s softer female lead as of part two ep two, I really think you’ll like the show Lighter & Princess even though it’s contemporary. Check it out!!)

To be honest, I think the reason I’m grumpy about the current direction is the exact reason other people are liking it. While both seasons lean into the salt and fat style of making entertainment (always tastes better with More), part one uses breakneck pacing and shenanigans as it’s flavoring (which I prefer) where part 2 is using wildly popular romance tropes.

IMO, part one’s buddy comedy feel suits AoS’s anachronistic hairstyles, fast and tone flopping dialogue (that part where naksu almost gives uk to the soul shifter and instead of going all angsty they have him go “hey!” never fails to crack me up) and balls to the wall world building. It’s a romance, but a romance of two people who are first and foremost partners in chaos and who treat their goals as seriously as they treat each other. While a lot of its elements are common fare for its wuxia roots (ie introducing a new technique, saying it’s impossible, and giving the MC a hack to do it anyways within 10 minutes), AoS part 1 makes itself feel fresh by not lingering on its own self importance but instead on how batshit, amoral and funny its main characters are for using duct tape power ups as they scrabble towards the finish line, all while delivering surprisingly solid character arcs that emotionally anchor the decisions about arbitrary magical problems. It reminds me of the first few episodes of sword snow stride if sword snow stride thought women were people. In other words, it’s an absolute banger.

And now part two has launched, the ostensibly darker finish. After the teasers I personally was hoping “darker” meant the same pedal to the metal feel while it treated itself less lightly. However thus far (although it’s early days), this season’s MSG seems to be “dark” id appeasing romance tropes . They’re leaning into the fairytale elements more, which could be fun, but with this comes a closed off ML/ wide eyed FL romance and resultant overwrought angst (FL in her rapunzel era! she cries defeated until he whisks away the boat!! Marriage of convenience!!! Uwu she’s too insecure to even try with the lantern :(!! “She’s my wife” FL starstruck moment 🤩!!!). Which I’m not against as a concept, by the way!! I mean I just devoured lighter and princess and that’s a whole cheesefest. But thus far naksu’s uncut sweetness makes the simultaneous attempts at chaotic hilarity not land for me, and it doesn’t really jive with the previous emotional knots driving character actions approach as much as it does an angsty arbitrary romantic drama. Case in point is the writing giving the actress very Naksu ACTIONS (entrap a strong husband at all costs!!!) while direction is likely what’s making her give the most calf eyed, spaced out performance as she does it, which barely even makes sense. She doesn’t look frustrated at all with her “mom” for trapping her, even though she plans on escaping (and wrecking the jin reputation and harming her “mom”) in the next scene? She’s desperate enough to say something as vicious as jang uk’s so alone that he should marry anyone willing, but with a soft, spineless tone? Sheltered rich girls can have a spine, just see Lighter & Princess! For me, the screenshot parallels people are posting are the real knife in the gut- why are season one’s expressions so good while season two’s are just slightly confused? The hair is still wacky, the world building’s still like swiss cheese, and everyone else is still trying to banter… and I’m supposed to be swept into this played straight disney princess routine? While people seem to be loving the love affair, I keep waiting for why I watched in the first place.

That said, Uk and the crown prince still have mad beef in a way that feels both emotionally honest and funny (CP’s reaction to the wraiths was exactly what that plot point needed to deflate its self importance), and evil guy fieri remains delightfully schemey. So maybe they’ll bring the magic back!! For now, everyone else seems to be eating up the tropes, so maybe I’ll just stay grumpy alone.

[choicesarehard]

I keep my streams about Wolf Bride light-hearted. It’s been a hell of a year, and I think we all need a space where we can laugh together. But part of responsibly consuming problematic media is being aware of where it fails. And that’s why I think it’s important to talk about Morgan, and Wolf Bride’s troubling depiction of blindness. 

Morgan is one of the first Love Interests in Choices to have a canon disability. She is representation many players with disabilities, like myself, are eager for. But like any form of representation, writing a blind character requires research. A quick google search will lead you to numerous visually impaired voices who outline the tropes and stereotypes that harm their community. Wolf Bride has included nearly all of them. 

signal boosts are appreciated

Not All Blind People Wear Sunglasses

Morgan is shown wearing dark sunglasses from the moment she appears on screen. And there are certainly blind people who wear sunglasses — particularly those who (unlike Morgan) can still perceive some degree of light and dark, and experience painful light sensitivity. But no context is ever giving for Morgan’s use of sunglasses. In fact, they aren’t even addressed for four chapters. 

[ID: Two screenshots from Chapter Four of Wolf Bride. The first features a text box over a forest background, and reads “You glance at Morgan, and are surprised to see the dark glasses still covering her eyes.” The second features a labeled image of her sunglasses, placed over a black background, with a selectable button that reads “What does Morgan look like without these?”] What follows is a scene Pixelberry could have used to provide insight into an assistive device the sighted community may not be entirely familiar with. They could have touched on degrees of visual impairment, or why some blind individuals need dark lenses while others don’t. They could even have explained that for some individuals with visual impairments, dark lenses make tasks like reading or navigating dimly lit spaces harder.  Instead, and far more troublingly, MC is given the option to ask Morgan not to wear them anymore. And depending on your choice, the book is coded to remove the sunglasses from her sprite in future scenes. This reduces an assistive device to a fashion choice, something our MC can wish away if they don’t find it attractive. And that isn’t okay. 

Unusual Eyes

[ID: Two side-by-side screenshots from Chapter Four of Wolf Bride. The first features a text box placed over a forest background that reads “With a start, you realize her pale eyes aren’t looking at you, aren’t seeing you, aren’t seeing anything.” The second features Morgan’s sad sprite in the same forest setting, and a text box that reads “...I’ve been blind since birth.”] Morgan has a customizable sprite. But regardless of the ethnicity you select for her, she is depicted with pale blue eyes. And that troubles me. Because the stereotype that all blind individuals have cloudy, distorted, or unusual eyes is pervasive and harmful. 

Even when it isn’t tied to another harmful trope — the blind character as mystical seer or psychic — this stereotype create an expectation that blindness is something that always manifests in a visible way. And for millions of blind individuals, that isn’t the case. 

And while cataracts, trauma to the eye, and corneal infections can all cause the clouded effect most of us recognize from media, none turn your brown eyes into blue.  Heightened Senses

Another common stereotype in media is the blind character who’s remaining senses have become heightened as a compensatory mechanism, often to a supernatural degree.

[ID: Two side-by-side screenshots from Chapter Four of Wolf Bride. The first features Morgan’s surprised sprite in a forest setting and a text box that reads “I guess I sort of...feel things. Like the place on my cheek where the branch blocked the wind.” The second features Morgan’s neutral sprite in the same forest setting, and a text box that reads “I can smell the dew on the leaves, and the moss on the bark. Can’t you?] Individuals with visual impairment may learn to rely on their other senses to navigate the world around them. But they do not suddenly gain the ability to sense the location of a branch based on wind patterns, or to accurately throw a dart at a carnival game ballon based on its smell. 

[ID: Two side-by-side screenshots from Chapter Eight of Wolf Bride. The first features a text box placed over a carnival background that reads “Pop! Pop! Pop! Three darts fly through the air, striking their targets.” The second features the white MC with straight blonde hair. Her sprite is surprised, and beneath it is a text box that reads “So you did that by smell, too?]

This trope may seem harmless — after all, it gave us Daredevil, a beloved blind superhero — but it contributes to the unachievable expectations we often place on real-world individuals with visually impairments. And that isn’t fair. 

Of course, we all suspected Morgan’s abilities were due to something other than heightened senses. And that in and of itself is a problem. 

Magical / Supernatural Abilities

To the surprise of no one, Morgan exhibits these unusual abilities because she is a werewolf. But choosing to give a blind character magical abilities should only be done after asking yourself some challenging questions. As visually-impaired Tumblr user @mimzy-writing-online explains:

Your blind characters don’t need a magical ability that negates their blindness. [Ask yourself why it’s so important to you to give them one]. If it’s because they can’t do all the things you want them to do without it, then should you really have written them as blind in the first place? 

And that’s the thing. Morgan isn’t actually written as a blind character, not when it counts. Morgan shoots bullets with accuracy, runs through unfamiliar terrain, and navigates moving objects with ease. She doesn’t use common assistive devices like canes or screen readers. Her sunglasses are discarded at MC’s request. The scientific papers that fill her research facility are not digitized for accessibility or written in braille. 

Even her dreams, which should be reflections of how she perceives reality, look identical to Bastien's — which makes no sense for someone who has been canonically blind since birth. 

[ID: Two side-by-side screenshots from Chapters Five and Eight of Wolf Bride. The first features a scene from Morgan’s lucid dream. Set in a glamorous hotel, it includes visual details like twinkling lights, and patterned carpets. The color is tinted a grey-blue and the exposure on the image has been increased to an unnatural level. The second features a scene from Bastien’s lucid dream. Set in a forest, it shares the same tinted and over-exposed qualities as the first.]

Her blindness isn’t an integral part of her character. Instead, it’s a narrative device, paraded in front of the reader when it can further a central — and deeply disturbing — plot point. [content warning: discussion of discrimination and child abuse / abandonment ahead]  Morgan Was Left to Die Because She Was Blind 

And Jesus, what a plot point it is. In Chapter 11, we learn that Morgan was left to die in the woods because she was born “wrong, sickly, blind.” But the only canonical disability or illness she is ever shown to have is her blindness. 

[ID: Three side-by-side screenshots from Chapter Eleven of Wolf Bride. The first two feature the white MC with straight blonde hair’s shocked sprite in front of a forest background. The first text box reads “I don’t understand...” followed by two dialogue options “Why was Morgan abandoned?” and “Is that what you do to full moon babies? Kill them?” The second panel’s read box reads “Just because she was blind?” The third panel features  the old woman Noemi’s sad sprite, placed over a forest background. Her text box reads “If we know an infant will not survive, it is best to let it die quickly.”]

I...am frankly having a hard time thinking through the screenshot-induced fury to make a coherent argument here. To imply that blindness is an impairment so limiting that death is the only foreseeable outcome? That being born blind somehow makes a child “wrong”? The ignorance and prejudice shown in this scene is staggering. 

But equally troubling is the response of the main characters to this revelation. Yes, in fiction, bad people sometimes do bad things. But Noemi isn’t shown to be a bad person. Neither is Bastien, who knew what his pack had been guilty of in the past, and even seeks to justify it to a limited degree. 

Most shockingly, Morgan herself, who in the second screenshot below has just overheard that she was left to die as an infant because she is blind, isn’t angry or upset. She’s almost apologetic, still seeking a place within the pack. 

[ID: Two side-by-side screenshots from Chapter Eleven of Wolf Bride. The first features Hispanic Bastien’s sad sprite in front of a forest background. The text box beneath him reads “It doesn’t happen often, Clara, but...” The second features white Morgan’s sad sprite in front of the same forest background. The text box beneath her reads “I didn’t mean any harm. Especially after...what I just overheard.”]

By introducing the idea that a child born blind cannot survive, let alone thrive, without superhuman abilities, and then failing to soundly and thoroughly refute that idea through the characters we identify with, Pixelberry is unintentionally perpetuating the same false beliefs that have led to real-world instances of infanticide for centuries. And that isn’t okay. 

I don’t know where Pixelberry will go with the story from here. Perhaps in today’s chapter some of these concerns have been addressed...but I doubt it. In the meantime, I’ve also written to their support staff to express my deep concern and disappointment in the treatment of Morgan’s character. And I’d encourage you to do the same. 

Will I continue to keep streaming Wolf Bride? For now, yes. My VIP subscription is already paid for, and frankly, I want to see Morgan’s arc through. I guess the small part of me that was excited for the representation is still hopeful the narrative can be corrected. 

But I’ll be adding a content warning at the start of each stream for ablism, and that’s something I never thought I’d have to do.  Screenshots courtesy of CrimsonFeatherGames on Youtube

[missnight0wl]

What do you think was JC's purpose in adding this in the Weird Sisters SQ? I suppose the note says different things depending on the year the person does this on? You think it means something or was it just them being quirky?

This actually might be one of the biggest mysteries of the whole game.

All right, let’s start with a brief history of this quest. “The Weird Sisters” TLSQ was one of the first time-limited side quests ever released for HPHM. I believe it was like… the fourth one? We were in early Y5 at the time. Then, after a while, it was pulled out, along with some other quests (some regular ones, some time-limited). Jam City claimed that they did it for adjustments, whatever it means. Still, the quests were gone for a very long time. Interestingly, in the case of the regular ones, they often are still referenced in the main story – even if you didn’t complete it! For example, in Y2, there was a regular SQ where you learn Episkey. Currently, it’s gone, but MC still claims in Y4 that Madam Pomfrey taught them the spell in the past.

Anyway, only recently some of the quests started returning, and “The Weird Sisters” is obviously one of them. I don’t really know if any adjustments were actually made, but… this very scene is surprisingly exactly the same as it was. This is my own screenshots made in November 2018:

As far as I know, it wasn’t different for different years. Although I admit that I don’t know of anyone completing this quest in Y7… But because Jam City didn’t remove it in general, and it was originally written so early on, I personally believe that it is in fact important – or at least it was supposed to be. Moreover, I suppose it refers to the Gillyweed/Coral key which appeared in the main story twice – and both cases are pretty interesting on their own.

First, Rakepick manipulated MC into finding the key in Filch’s Office (Y4Ch9):

And I’m sorry, but this is such a bullshit explanation. Dumbledore basically hired her to deal with the Cursed Vaults. There’s no fucking way he wouldn’t simply give her permission to search the Office. She wanted MC to know that she can trick them. But if she was always a bad guy, why the hell would she do that?

And then, we found the key with Sicklewoth in Y5Ch32:

Again, if Rakepick was looking for that key for that long, why she didn’t take it with her? Like, she knew she’s about to betray MC in the Portrait Vault, right? What? She was planning to kill everyone in the Vault and then return for her things to Hogwarts? It doesn’t make any sense. Now, I’m not saying that she wanted Sickleworth to deliver the key to MC, but…

Seriously though, all those situations feel too similar for it to be a coincidence, so I guess that it all has to be about the same key.

Now, I have to mention in this place the events from the end of Y6 (the Sunken Vault) to discuss it further, but as always, I’ll try not to spoil too much.

Basically, the note is never mentioned in the main story, at least as for the current point (Y7Ch18). In fact, we totally forgot about the Coral Key Sickleworth gave us, too. However, while the game wants us to believe that we’re done with the Cursed Vaults, I really doubt it’s the case. And it’s not just about that damn key. The Sunken Vault was simply… off. Yes, I’m sure that for a big part, it’s the fault of bad writing, but still. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we’re gonna return to the Sunken Vault yet, and then, it might turn out that the key was super important all that time. And perhaps, we could talk about that letter again as well.

In other words, I assume that Jam City simply wanted to use this opportunity to build the ground for future events. They just failed with execution, as usual. Although I have to say that they also fucked up with it a bit from the beginning by putting it in a time-limited side quest. I mean, no important information like that should be placed in a TLSQs, simply because not every player is gonna complete it.

So yeah, I don’t think it was just about being quirky. I do believe it was supposed to be important, and I hope it still will be. I also hope it answers your question! If I wasn’t clear about something, feel free to ask for clarification.

[thejolteonmastertjspoilers]

The Monoma Meta Nobody Asked For

I don’t remember who it was on Reddit that said it makes sense for Monoma to be one of the most empathetic characters in BNHA cuz of his Quirk, (his quirk allows him to walk in the shoes of other people in ways most will never be able to even if for 5 minutes at a time), but let’s talk about it for a minute.

Monoma is a character full of contradictions but there’s a method to the madness. 

Let’s take a real deep look at the manga shall we?

It’s pretty much canon that Monoma trash talks 1-A so much in-part b/c he cares that much... too much... about his own classmates.  It’s implicitly obvious based on the way he interacts with his classmates and phrases his rants at class 1-A. 

The fact that he’s obviously influenced by Vlad is just the cherry on top. 

He’s prideful of not just himself but also his friends.  Let’s break down the nuances there.

Ch196 above, Ch207 below.

Empathy

The kid has a way with words. 

The kid has a weirdly poetic way with words.

He goes out of his way to encourage or reassure his classmates in a deeply thoughtful manner at every given opportunity.

He hyped up Setsuna Tokage before her battle with Bakugo and we saw him grin in pride when Komori took down Tokoyami. 

Whenever Monoma does criticize his classmates, it’s always frank, honest, but constructive, with the intention to help them improve.  He’s even contrasted with his own teacher for being relatively more kind in the delivery of his criticism (see the next screenshot).  Given that Monoma’s shown to be strongly influenced by Vlad, this particular difference stands out.

You never see an anime/manga character get fancifully philosophical & genuinely helpful like this unless they are an adult, usually the MC’s mentor.  Monoma’s legit acting more like an anime mentor than any of Deku’s multiple mentors.  lmfaooo.

Realistically speaking, all of this, the philosophical speeches & level-headed advice, takes an incredible amount of emotional & mental labor.  The kid’s practically doing half of Vlad’s job for him.

It’s during the joint training arc we begin to see why his classmates put up with him and are on friendly terms despite how obnoxious & cheesy he can be & how often they need to keep him in check.

It’s clear even as far back as the sports festival that his classmates don’t actually hate him, despite the smacks & tough love they also just shake their heads with a smile on their face as they say “sorry about him,” cuz that’s just the way he is.  They love him anyways.

He’s an annoying little sh*t but he’s their annoying little sh*t.  Perhaps they even realize why he acts the way he does towards class 1-A, it’s because he cares too much.

Sketch translated by @aitaikimochi​

Putting Up An Act

I think there’s actually even more to it when it comes to his rowdy & brash behaviors. 

Monoma is empathetic because of how his Quirk works.  He needs to learn to use the Quirks of others in order to become a hero.  In doing so he logically needs to become privy to all the Quirk’s weaknesses, not just their strengths.  Not only does he need to become privy to these often deeply personal details of one’s lived life, he needs to experience them, even if for just five minutes at a time.  It’s natural, even necessary, for Monoma to become exceptionally close to his classmates.

But he’s only like that because of how his Quirk works.  It’s his naturally nurtured self.  His conscious self, though, is notably different.

What we see when Monoma says he and Shinsou need to do unheroic things to get by is not his naturally nurtured self, but is a conscious decision.

At some point in his life, Monoma came to the conclusion that being too kindhearted all the time will be weakness.  This is clearly implied, almost outright stated when we heard Monoma’s thoughts when faced with Deku’s Black Whip, “All of the hopes and dreams in my mind from when I was younger are gradually becoming these heavy burdens... like some sort of curse.”  I am 99.999% sure it’s Monoma’s thoughts being shown there because the speech pattern & context don’t match up to Shinsou or Midoriya at all.

Basically, Monoma is a little sh*t because he saw his own empathy as a weakness, and overcompensates for it.  He’s trained himself to be brash & mischievous, likely from a very young age given how consistently brash he is.  We can see a little bit of this when interacting with his class-B classmates as well.

It was @thyandrawrites​ who first noticed this in this post, but here we see Monoma scolding Kendou after losing the beauty contest, giving perhaps too much tough love & TetsuTetsu steps in to Kendou’s defense.

Given how Monoma during the Joint Training arc clearly said everything he did to motivate his friends to do better, this is likely not an isolated occurrence.  The dude cares way too goddamn much for anyone’s good.

Yet there’s something else up with the guy too, something else that contributes even more to his unhealthy obsession with the rivalry vs class-A.  The dude has some serious self-esteem issues but is too prideful to seek real help.

Self-doubt

The fact that he’s the only member of class-B who failed the midterm despite having an intelligence stat of 5/5 speaks for itself.

Him failing the academic exam would be a sign of serious issues going on under the surface in itself, him failing the practical means he probably failed b/c he couldn’t hold his own and his teammate had to pick up the slack.

Him failing b/c he held back his teammate would have hit very close to home since we now know he was told “You can’t be a hero if you can’t do anything yourself” since he was a kid.

Basically, yet another reason he continues to antagonize class-A is a textbook example of someone pushing their insecurities onto someone or something else.

For something often played off as comedic relief there’s a lot of layers as to why Monoma does what he does.

But wait, there’s f*cking more.  There’s actually a particular reason Monoma expresses his insecurities in this unhealthy manner, and that reason ties into what I’ve already begun to address about his empathy.

Another Act

I don’t think it’s accident that the first time we see him have a real heart-to-heart with someone is when he’s attempting to do it for the sake of someone else.  Even if it is in a clumsy manner that ends up annoying Shinsou, it’s the intent I’m interested in here.

We almost never see Monoma receive or accept praise or reassurance, he’s always the one giving it.  He always makes it a point to put himself in the position where he’s being the emotionally strong one. 

He got over class 1-A securing their victory exceptionally fast, ready to put on a strong face for Tokage and the rest of his class.

The few times we do see him genuinely depressed, he’s distancing himself from others.  

He’s afraid of holding others back not just as a hero, but emotionally as well.  His instinct to be emotionally strong for the people he cares about stems not just from his strong empathy and caring nature nature itself, but also from his pride, insecurities and conscious decision to do everything he can do.

This is why he’s too prideful to seek or accept real emotional help & ends up venting his emotions in unhealthy & destructive ways.

His many depictions as an actor of sorts was intentional.  He juggles many acts, he puts on an act of emotional strength for his classmates, and he puts on an act of cruelty to get by as a hero.  To antagonize people in an attempt to throw them off their game.  Sometimes... oftentimes even, he misapplies these charades & gets carried away.  Oftentimes he fails entirely, he’s trying to do some hella complex things for a kid.

Finally, His Pride

Let’s not kid ourselves here, the dude has a major superiority/inferiority complex.  He fails to see how needlessly cruel he’s being when saying class-A asked to be attacked by villains etc.

I’m willing to bet he’ll be in a phase denial for a while now that Class-B and Class-A have gotten more openly friendly in recent chapters.  But because he cares so much about his classmates he’ll likely eventually come around to adjusting to a new frenemy relationship with 1-A... with much difficulty when we take his pride, insecurities & self-righteous envy into account.

He’ll probably end up being Tsundere about everything to protect his ego and so Horikoshi can keep using him for comedic relief lol.  Even if he does realize a lot of what he’s done was f*ked up, he’s too brash of a prankster to ever go fully soft on them either.

TL;DR... Monoma is a piece of mf work.  Not surprising really.

[fansofvow]

Interview with Eve Golden Woods!

Many of you know who is Eve is. She's a writer and artist, a part of Dreamfeel studios whose beautiful game If Found won Best LGBTQ Narrative and Best LGBTQ Indie game at the first ever Gayming Awards presented by EA games. I am really excited I had the chance to ask Eve some questions about herself, her time at Lovestruck and her creative process.

Congratulations on the two Gayming Awards (Best LGBTQ Narrative, Best LGBTQ Indie Game) for "If Found" from your game studio, Dreamfeel. What was the inspiration behind making the game?

If Found... was a game that emerged out of a collaboration between Llaura McGee, the founder of Dreamfeel, and artist Liadh Young. Liadh's background is as a comic artist, and so when they started working together Llaura had the idea of showing off Liadh's art by making a diary game, and using an erasing mechanic she had previously developed to let the player move through the diary in a fun way. By the time I came on board at the start of 2019, the game had already been in development for a while, so in some ways my work on that game was similar to the work I did for Voltage, because it was taking existing characters and concepts and writing a lot of scripts for them. Unlike Voltage, though, my work for Dreamfeel was a lot more collaborative and I had a lot more creative input. I really enjoy taking something and helping to make it the best version of itself that it can possibly be, but I was also really happy that I got to reflect a lot of my own experiences in If Found. Llaura and I both grew up on the west coast of Ireland, and although If Found... isn't autobiographical for either of us, it was definitely really meaningful to be able to tell a story that reflected our own experiences of growing up as queer teens in a similar kind of environment. Since the game came out we've had fans reach out to us and tell us that they also connected to the experiences of the main characters, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes me feel like I achieved everything I wanted to.

You are a writer and a visual artist. Does one come easier to you than the other?

I used to think of art and writing as talents, and I always felt like my art was at a very mediocre level (that's probably still true, lol). So when I was younger I focused a lot more on writing. It was only later that I started genuinely trying to improve as an artist, but when I did, I think I had a much healthier mindset, and approached it as a skill I could learn with patience and effort. Because of that, even though I still have a lot more confidence in my writing, I find art more fun and relaxing, and I don't stress about it as much.

Did you always know you would follow a creative path?

Kind of? Both my parents are artists, and I grew up surrounded by artists and writers, so it was something that was always very familiar and accessible to me. On the other hand, I didn't exactly have a clear idea of how to make it into a career, or what kind of work would be involved. But there's never been a point in my life where I wasn't doing something creative, even if it was only writing fanfiction.

What did your path to working professionally as a writer/artist look like?

I did a creative writing masters in college, but after that I spent years teaching English as a second language. That was really fun and I got to live abroad, but it was so busy and tiring that I didn't have time to do any writing outside of the occasional fanfic. I only started to take art seriously again when I became interested in games and comics as ways of telling stories. I did some critical writing, which led me to speak at a few local events and get involved in zine fairs. That was how I met Llaura, the director and lead of the Dreamfeel studio, and it's also what gave me the confidence to start applying for actual writing jobs.

Is there any work of art, visual or written, that you look to for inspiration?

So many! I try to read and watch as widely as I can, although there are touchstones I always return to, like the works of Ursula Le Guin and Terry Pratchett. Right now I feel very passionate about the actual play podcast Friends at the Table, which manages to combine really thoughtful worldbuilding and storytelling with cool, fun characters and great action scenes. I'm also reading a book called The Memory Police by Youko Ogawa, which has extremely beautiful prose.

Do you have a favorite piece of your own art, whether it is something you’ve drawn, a screenshot of something you’ve written or something else?

My favourite piece of art is usually whatever I finished most recently (I think that's true for a lot of people). Especially with visual art, once a bit of time has gone by you look back on it and start to notice all your mistakes, which is very annoying. But actually I do still really like the first piece of Fiona fanart I did last year. I managed to use some effects to give it a kind of nineties anime quality that I find really fun, and I think it conveys an emotion pretty effectively. That's always one of the hardest things to predict with visual art, whether the different parts will come together to create the exact mood you're looking for.

I also really like the compass I did for Bycatch. Krissy (@xekstrin) was the one who suggested filling it with fingernails, which was such a good, gross idea! As soon as I heard that I knew it was perfect and that I had to try and draw it.

Many people who read this blog know you as a writer for Lovestruck. When you look back on your time there, what stands out in your mind?

Lovestruck was very important to me when I first started because it was my first ongoing, regular, paid writing work. It gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to get into the habit of writing consistently and rapidly, which is a really useful skill to have. I know I was right to leave when I did, though, because I am just brimming with energy to work on my own projects, and channeling that power into something that you can't control will always end up disappointing you. Also, I made a ton of incredible friends, through Lovestruck itself but then even more so through VOW (@vowtogether), and that is more than worth all the difficult parts.

Is there any character that you would have liked a crack at writing?

Oh gosh, what a fun question! There are so many, but one I do sometimes think about is Axia, just because I know there are a bunch of fans who want her route, and because I had fun writing her as a villain in Zain's route. I can see in my head the shadow of a storyline that takes place after Zain's route is over, where she's in prison and trying to understand how she lost the battle with Zain and MC. I think there's, like, a gap there, where you could see her downfall forcing her to reconsider her assumptions about power, and that could build into a very interesting redemption story. But maybe it's for the best I never got to do that, because I would have wanted full creative control over it, and also I think the story in my head is very different to the sexy, in control, menacing version of Axia that her fans enjoy.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?

Most of my current work is under NDA, but I will say that I'm doing something very exciting with other VOW members that we should be able to talk about soon(ish). Maybe I can even give a little teaser... It's not a game, but it is something you can read, and my part involves cakes, swamps, and a museum.

Do you have a favorite quote or song lyric?

It's a big long, but there's a section from The Dispossessed by Ursula le Guin that has stayed with me ever since I read it:

"For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think."

It's such a profoundly radical way of imagining the world, so different to everything I was raised with, but whenever I think about it I feel like I can see something very beautiful and powerful that I hope to come closer to understanding some day.

And of course, "Solidarity forever, the union makes us strong."

I was a big fan of the show Inside the Actor’s Studio. Host James Lipton asked every single guest the same 10 concluding questions. I’ve picked 3 of them:

-What is your favorite word?

My favourite word: for sound, I like words you can really roll around on your tongue. Chthonic, alabaster, insinuation. For meaning, I think simple words that encapsulate big concepts have a kind of power to them. We use them so often we forget how big they are, how much weight they really have, but they give us the space to imagine new possibilities. Love. Freedom. Revolution.

-What is your least favorite word?

I've heard that "moist" is a lot of people's least favourite word but it doesn't actually bother me. My least favourite word is probably one where I feel like the sound doesn't match the meaning. One of the Irish words for rain is báisteach, which I feel has a much weightier and more onomatopoeic sound than rain. Rain is just very flat and uninteresting.

-What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Oh, so many! I love history, and I think being a historian/archaeologist would be fascinating. Or something that had a physical component to it, like being a potter or a carpenter. I don't think I'd be any good, but I'd love to take the time to learn.

What would be your advice to anyone who wants to pursue a creative career?

All the work you do matters. Even the failed experiments, the things you hate when they're finished. It all helps to make you better. Also, creative career paths are often really unexpected, so chase any opportunity that seems remotely interesting. Don't work for free for anyone who can afford to pay, but work for yourself and put it somewhere. On a blog, twitter, whatever. You'd be amazed how many people get noticed and get offered opportunities because of something they made in their spare time. You'll probably have to work another job for a long time, so don't be hard on yourself if you're too tired to devote much energy to creative work. Try to make art consistently, but don't feel like that has to mean every day. Don't chase after celebrities. Make friends with your peers.

[icharchivist]

Omg icha your tags on that OBM post have me crying. I saw screenshots of that devilgram but i cant for the life of me remember what card it's from

I love Mammon so fucking much because of it, like Lucifer is over here doubting himself, regretting everything he did in the fall and believing he was in the wrong.

Then Mammon gives him motivation to keep fighting on, saying he'll follow Luci no matter what and it made me super emotional. And when you remember how Luci trusts Mammon the most out of the others it just means so much more to me, and thats there's so much more to their bond than Mammon being a troublemaker that Lucifer has to discipline.

DLKJFD HEY! it's a pleasure to suffer with you then, tho sorry for the random crying!

i found them on a post that analysed Mammon's character as the protector of his brothers and it's been living in my mind rentfree tbh! it's likely we saw the same post but since i saved the link, here's the link, and with the name of the cards those devilgrams are from, it should be those two Memory cards

(which makes me realize i have one of the two so now i know what Devilgram i'll read next-)

BUT YEAH i so much agree with everything you say!!

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

So huh i got. Carried away.

tbh i am fascinated with Post-Fall Character analysis on the brothers because man, having to go from angels to demons, with the trauma they were caring, the grief, the way their sins became bigger parts of themselves (like for exemple the way Beel's hunger developed and all - many thoughts trying not to go on tangent here), reconciling who they were with who they are becoming ... they had so much to adjust from.

and Lucifer in particular has to carry a lot about how this specific burden manifests, as one of the Favorite in Heaven, as his brothers's keepers, with the secret he has about Lilith ect... And i think esp post-fall there is an aspect of Lucifer that has to face that his anger was so violent, so powerful, he is now forced to face it as now a New Person in the family that he has to look at everyday. (i think he quickly got to see Satan as a brother and not an extension of himself don't get me wrong, but i think especially after the fall, this was the literal embodiment of his feelings and anger. Lucifer is someone who's at least prideful enough to try to stay in control of himself, and right after the fall, while he was still suffering from what the Fall implied, he couldn't forget how his anger manifested because this anger now has a life of his own).

I feel like Post-Fall Lucifer's feelings were all over the place, while also with the major pressure that he had to step up, take care of his brothers, of the impact of his rebellion, of knowing that since he had a bigger status than any of his brothers, Michael, Raphael, even perhaps Simeon, were all people who were much more on his mind regarding how he failed them, than it was for his others brothers. And the responsibility of now working for Diavolo, as well as the relief turned burden, of what happened to Lilith and the fact everyone's grief, that he had to manage with Mammon, all relied on the fact Lucifer couldn't tell them the truth. Like, all of the brothers had a lot to take in but the specific additions Lucifer had to take into account were A Lot.

And those Devilgrams especially, and those moments that shine through that shows how much Lucifer actually trusts Mammon, really showcase, to me, that the reason Lucifer is as stable as he managed to be is because Mammon is the one who stepped up and did everything to adjust for everyone.

And ofc there's also the idea of, if now they represent sins, they must have represented the opposite virtues as Angel, and the opposite of Greed being Charity has Mammon especially stepping out still also a part of his own sense of self. (re this post, yes maybe i really like the metas in here)

And tbh i would love to have more specific ideas about the way Mammon immediately reacted upon the trauma considering he immediately set himself as the caretaker, which, i think is in itself an extension of how he would show Charity. And i wonder if that's where his general gambling and stuff came from: having to fill the dread with the excitement of the moment, that living in the present was the best way to not let the past get to him, and as a result this can be how he can focus too into juggling between his brothers's traumas as well. (that and also the idea of rejecting his angelic side and all of that)

And the fact that back in Heaven Mammon was already someone Lucifer trusted a lot, i think all of this keeps adding up to cement Mammon in Lucifer's mind as the most reliable of them all because he has seen that Mammon's true nature is his ability to take care of those he treasures. He has seen Mammon in crisis that Lucifer himself couldn't handle, and saw how Mammon managed to push through and be the one to keep everything working.

And it's why he trusted Mammon with MC to start with imo, the fact he knows that despite everything "scummy" Mammon does, the scummy parts are mostly momentary, depending on whatever impulsive thing Mammon will indulge in at the moment. But that on the long run, Mammon is the one who can keep a clear head and be more sensible about the situation, who can keep a keen eye to see if someone isn't feeling well, and who knows how to handle it in case.

idk i have so many emotions about it so this text messages makes me very emotional because like... nowadays it's not like the brothers have to protect themselves from something big, and the brothers tend to be very self-reliant, so Mammon doesn't have to take care of them. And in a lot of occasions, they tend to not really back each other up, probably a mix of well "it's not that serious" and/or "well they had it coming" in some way.

but that in that text convos, basically, Mammon saw Belphie fuck up and probably just saw there his brother, more vulnerable, probably kicked in his protective instincts. And to see Mammon get protective like this, which surprised everyone except Lucifer?? i think it's likely the younger brothers don't really understand of the length Mammon went to to take care of them back then, while Lucifer is keenly aware of it. Probably also because the others brothers had to wrestle with their grief and sadness while Lucifer also had to deal with the responsibilities that came with all of this and so more than healing, Mammon helped him get himself back together so he could protect everyone else, making him even more aware of how precious Mammon's help was.

okay i kind of got lost in my point but i'm reaLLY emotional about post-fall things and the whole idea of Lucifer seeing Mammon as the most reliable of his brothers. And while the game mostly focus on the petty, silly brothers dynamics, the moments it reminds us of those serious moments really get to me

also, you know me, i'm an overthinking bastard, i'll take the crumbs i get and build a castle with them so behold the Mammon loving hours i guess????

Glad to be able to share those emotions with you 🥺

[thescentoflavender]

Hello! Have you finished reading mlqc chp 34-35? If you dont mind... Can you tell us what happened during those chapters? Like why is Victor stabbed, why Lucien is in a pool of blood, why Kiro is in a hospital, why Gavin is suffocating and ling xiao....😭😭

Hello! I think you mean Chapters 35-36. And yes, I’m now caught up with all parts of the main story. Hooray! 

For everyone else reading this ask: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk. 

To be honest, all those supposedly “heartbreaking” scenes are rather anti-climatic. The scenes with the four guys aren’t actually real, and Ling Xiao’s gets a one on a scale of ten for heartbreaking stuff. More on that below.

Slight diversion on game mechanics:  The scenes with Li Zeyan, Xu Mo, Zhou Qiluo and Bai Qi happen in the so-called “split routes” in Chapter 36. Each “split route” is only one part long, though. Unlike in Chapter 19 where you have to grind for puzzle pieces to read all routes, here you can unlock the other suitors’ scenes for free once you’ve finished the chapter. This kind of split route/scene can also be found in Chapter 24, so what I’m talking about should be a lot clearer when Chapters 22-24 are released in the English server.

Here’s a screenshot to show what I mean:

Tapping on a particular shard allows you to read a scene with that particular suitor.

Going back to the plot, the scenes with the four guys are illusions / mental blocks the MC has to overcome during her battle with Dark!MC, to mentally prepare MC for her role as Queen because she’s always been afraid of the four guys dying. (See Chapter 24, where she’s fearful of merging the timelines and losing immortality partly because if any of the guys die, she can’t undo things.)

Anyway. To amp up the drama, everybody dies (except maybe MC in some illusions). someone please tell me they got that House reference 

Xu Mo: A truck is careening towards MC and it explodes. Xu Mo cushions MC’s fall and dies of his injuries. It’s not clear whether MC dies or just falls unconscious.

“Now, I’m finally able to embrace you without worrying about anything else.”

Li Zeyan: He randomly appears behind MC. MC, fearing that Li Zeyan is actually a bad guy, stabs him without looking at who he was first. Li Zeyan says he finally understands how painful it was for MC when he stabbed her (in Chapter 18). He dies, while MC faints. 

“Don’t cry. This is, perhaps, the price I have to pay.”

Bai Qi: MC is trapped in a burning room. Bai Qi attempts to save her but fails because the ceiling crumbles. In trying to escape being crushed by the ceiling, they get knocked further back in the burning room and become resigned to their fate. At least they get to die together... (Their words, not mine.) 

“Our end... will be a new beginning.”

Zhou Qiluo: MC and Zhou Qiluo are back in the lab as experiment subjects. MC’s Evol has somehow been stripped from her. Qiluo wants to return his Evol to her, but MC’s body rejects it. They die together, to MC’s consolation. (Again, their words, not mine.)

“I told you before, I’ll stay by your side forever.”

I haven’t touched Ling Xiao’s scene yet because it’s not an illusion. The PV is misleading because all those scenes seem to happen at the same time, but Ling Xiao’s really happens early on in Chapter 35. He’s greatly weakened by his fight with Dark!MC, whose Evol is to take away others’ Evol, but after MC takes him to the hospital, he recovers offscreen.

“...Don’t shout.”

So there’s really nothing to worry about! The stuff the guys say before they “die” in Chapter 36 might be a bit dramatic/sad but ultimately none of it is real. They’re all alive and kicking at the end of Chapter 36, including Ling Xiao. 

[ranmanjuu]

not a request but can you imagine oda forces trying to play smash against the anti-oda or they all play minecraft together

i’ll expose myself here. i have never ever played smash (although minecraft steve being announced is super pog) so i can’t tell ya that part bud. but i can with the blok game. (disclaimer that this request was made after i closed it yet my heart said No, you actually Want to do this so here i am. most probably will be short).

‎

welcome folks, to SengokuSMP.

oda forces:

—nobunaga:

would be the one that steals your iron and shit. commits thefts willy nilly, and no one is exempt from this. if he needs it, he’ll get it with or without your consent.

would kill an iron golem for the few iron it gives

before he got his own base (cause i think he’d just spend most of his time mining and getting materials to protect himself) he’s probably just barge in the nearest bed and sleep in it, regardless of the owner.

his base would probably be built by hideyoshi or sumthn.

he prefers playing pvp more than just survival. since mc placed a kind of restriction for the end (and therefore blocking them from completing the game), he goes onto servers and practice his battles even in a block game.

1.9 axe-shield pvp. he’s tactical in knowing when to strike and block and to back down, and is immaculate with his crits.

—hideyoshi:

probably spends the first few days around nobunaga to protect him. he always fights off the mobs near him even if nobunaga can handle himself.

always reminds people to sleep every night, so that the phantoms don’t come. even though a lot of the players prefer to just stay up.

built a base for nobunaga near his mine cause he needs A Place and not just mooch furnaces and beds from other people.

spawned iron golems for “protection” but nobunaga keeps killing them cause it just gets in the way

would be the one to make mines 4 blocks high so you don’t Bump your head thing, probably like 3 block width and even staircases. would also be the one to make a safety railing across any bridges he finds.

if an ally, he’d greet new players and give them some extra stuff so that they have Something to start off with

i feel like he’d be a pve player idk why

—mitsuhide:

no one knows where he is most of the time. nor his base.

unless you see his nametag (which, most of the time, he’ll see yours first) it’s kinda hard to find him when he’s off and alone.

mf is the black market of the server. whatever potions, potion ingredients, or shit like that, he has. he probably owns like several wither skulls enough to summon a wither.

he would sneak around when mc is mining and just like. scare the shit out of them. the cave noises don’t help.

(the newest screenshot hasn’t been released yet but,) y’all know the warden? the new mob? cause it’s reliant on sounds, if anyone is ever in its proximity he’d throw like snowballs at them so that it goes after them. little shit.

bow skills?? perfect. even in a game his accuracy is spot on. you know those obstacles people make with like slime blocks and maybe mlg 360s? mf can do that

he probably knows enough redstone to make traps, too.

somehow knows what everyone has/doesn’t have.

—masamune:

prank ass bitch.

he probably has like a Source of tnts in his base or something. if anyone is moving out of their old base, he’ll either blow it up or burn it, whether they wanted to or not.

fuck it. he’ll do it even if you’re not moving.

probably doesn’t often sleep and would rather fight off the phantoms than anything.

he probably wants to defeat the dragon quick, cause it’s supposed to be the game’s ultimate goal. but because of the previous restrictions you put, he just goes off and fights other players (cough kenshin, nobunaga)

and when he does kill you, expect like half of your items to not be returned.

also one of the casual thieves in the server. he just doesn’t care that it Belongs to someone and just yoinks

also a pvp player, although i find him leaning more to 1.8 style. he will jitter click you out of existence.

has dogs because idk he gives off that vibe also they Attack.

—ieyasu:

does not log on much lol. he got on once and then Never Again. it’s only when you ask him that he begrudgingly does get in in his own contrarian way.

definitely goes wayy far out for more isolation cause he doesn’t want to get caught up with whatever shit masamune has.

the only major thing he did besides mining and everything was that he got a cat. and almost no one knows about it, other than you because:

“ieyasu has made the advancement [Best Friends Forever]!”

“mc: :OOOOO!!!!”

yeah, you never told anyone.

the longest time that he logged in at first was probably when he found out that cats sleep in beds and just. sat there as the night goes by in his bunker just watching and hearing it purr. he’s a bit irritated when the others tell him to sleep, but then see that the cat went and slept on him that secretly made his heart soft.

and then you insisted on going to his base which took a considerable amount of time, and even with his denying, you decide to decorate and expand his base! you also got to name the cat, but you never knew since you just said like “i’d name it [...]!” and later ieyasu found a name tag and actually did name it that.

—mitsunari:

he doesn’t run a lot i don’t feel. primarily because he was wonky with the controls from the start.

i feel like he’d have the brain to be a redstone engineer. he spends more time like, making those cool machines than anything (probably those that’d help out everyone like an automated farm, etc.)

thing is he forgot that he could die, so most of the time he’s just starve to death without even noticing it.

much like in real life, he always forgets to sleep. and that’s why phantoms are his number 2 in his cause of deaths.

doesn’t have an actual base. hideyoshi built a small one for him, but mitsunari kind of never uses it and just logs off on the spot. at this point it just became a part of the main buildings for everyone or something.

he doesn’t do an awful a lot of collecting and often asks others for some. and when he is given it, he goes “thank you ^^ <3″ and does like the happy-shift thing. it’s honestly too cute for it to be just pixels.

probably knows a lot about minecraft stuff too, it’s just that he never uses any of it.

—ranmaru:

he was so excited the first time you told him that he was invited to the smp of sengoku warlords! would probably frequent the most.

i think he’d just vibe really. not exactly going extremely into pve or pvp or redstone or building, he plays it at a very slow place and more like an animal crossing player would.

like, he builds a small farm and stuff. it isn’t as efficient as mitsunari’s, but it is what it is. also has an animal pen with loads of one animal category and he tends to let people use it with the exclusion of some (coughs masamune) as long as they breed them again or something.

and while he doesn’t go for the big projects, he is kind of a builder? he has the Aesthetic sense while building his house and stuff yk. would maybe lean into the cute, cottagecore stuff.

favorite food in game is probably cake! it takes more effort than most other foods and it just looks cute so he likes making them.

totally has shaders on.

is scared shitless of cave noises at times. you could play 11 near him and he’d just straight up panic and log off.

‎

uesugi-takeda forces:

—shingen:

i find him to be maybe one of those builders that stick to large projects and stuff idk why

he does other things too, mainly pvp (he likes to just head over to nobunaga’s base and kill him sometimes. not that the man doesn’t accept the challenge). would probably also be more into 1.9 pvp because he’s a very calculative person in fighting. yes even in block game.

but the first thing he built once he’s set from collecting materials, was a “restaurant”. for what, you ask? why of course he takes you on a minecraft date. that was the top of his list the moment you even told him about the smp

once the others found out (which was not that long) he just started bragging. kenshin burnt down the building later on.

but he always escorts mc or some shit while spewing out his Lines in chat, sometimes doing the bow in game thing. in response, there are several barfs in chat, and a list of people coming to kill him.

mf likes to combat log on kenshin when he’s on a Killing Spree for the shits and giggles.

—kenshin:

first time you told him about it, he was very happy to learn something about mc’s modern times, even if it’s a children’s game. unfortunately, he didn’t know what an ‘smp’ meant.

so when he logged on and saw that there were Other people, his smile turned into a deadly frown as he just began punching them to death. he only stopped when they ran off and you intervened.

he tried having you stick around longer when you were giving him a tutorial of how to play the game.

at first he only collected material to get stronger. and by that only sword because he sees no need in getting armor (he doesn’t die in battle irl, he can’t die in a simple game). but WRONG cause he got killed by shingen who, even though he had a stone axe, had iron armor while kenshin got nothing but an iron sword.

he doesn’t make a base (why do so many here don’t make bases istg). in fact, he doesn’t log on much.

at first, he only goes on if mc is on. it’s only when he sees that mc appreciates some of the work the others have put into things (like shingen’s builds, mitsunari’s redstone, etc.) is when kenshin tries to Do Things Too and kinda fail.

this man kinda has no aesthetic sense in the block game. but you give him a for effort.

1.8 pvper. he can definitely do 1.9, but more the former mostly cause his deadly anger makes him jitter click like crazy. often challenges others (consented or not) which mostly includes masamune and nobunaga, and he often surprise attacks shingen and sasuke.

—yukimura:

honestly a normal player in survival.

he makes a decent house, has some pretty strong gear, and just helps around his allies a lot (mostly {try to} drag kenshin away from trouble, scold shingen for being too close to mc {though it’s a him problem ngl} and just being a messy caretaker).

i feel like he’d enjoy tekkit tbh. sasuke would probably introduce it to him and he’d just generally enjoy it.

but this is about the smp

he got lucky the first drowned he killed dropped a trident and it’s been his favorite weapon.

probably tried at one point to build kenshin a small base but he wouldn’t listen so like. shrugs.

he’s a bit iffy with playing alongside the enemies in the same server, but they are kind of divided into two. and mc did say it was just for fun and games and they didn’t want to see actual wars be dragged into this, so he just lets it go and has fun.

he looks forward to beating the enderdragon a lot, when the end is available.

—sasuke:

oh Boy he’s having a field day. his adored sengoku warlords? playing minecraft, his childhood game??? absolute pog.

even though it was you who proposed the idea, the one who set up the server in the first place was sasuke, since he has more knowledge on that stuff.

since he got his bearings quicker than the rest from experience, and he was earlier to log on due to testing and stuff, he mostly helps you with building like the main hub, like the center place for everyone and generally things that involve helping the overall smp.

can mlg water bucket, through a lot of trial and error. he uses it mostly to make dramatic entrances where he drops from a hill and just not take damage.

^ speaking of Dramatic Entrances, he probably has a chest full of ender pearls for those specifically.

although he helps a lot with guiding everyone, at times, he pulls out the ol’ “sleep in the nether :)” suggestion just to troll

ngl he’d stick to his ninja thing and successfully make a redstone-wired door and has his banger secret base in it

—yoshimoto:

the s in smp doesn’t exist to him.

he’s just a collector, really. one of his first priority isn’t even materials like stone, the moment he finds any kind of flowers he’ll pick it up. it’s only when yukimura and sasuke actually Give him shit does he start living a not broke life.

probably dies a lot to mobs and stuff

but like legit, this man spent a long time collecting all 13 discs and almost every flower (yes, even the biome only ones) because he wants to take it all in. nevermind the fact that he can just listen to the discs online and all.

he’s immaculate in his aesthetics. even with just wood he makes his base look really cool ngl. 

some parts of it are plastered with every painting there is in minecraft, or just item frames, or flowers in their pots. every decoration you can think of, lamps, campfires, even armor stands, he has them.

you gotta give him credit, it’s a lot of effort.

he often afks just to listen to the music even though, again, he could just listen to it online.

got into a bit of a spiel with ranmaru, since he unknowingly dyed a lot of his sheep (he did categorize it with color though). and so they made an agreement to just have every color sheep, and put them in different pens. so they just shared it now

he saw the cave updates and went silently bonkers because how pretty some look (like the lush caves? hello??)

he has like. 14+ texture packs and 4 different shaders ready at his settings.

[selenecrown]

Hey, I watched a translation of the first part Twisted Wonderland Chapter 4, and I have a theory.

First, I think Jamil is the one who is going to Overblot, I mean, we see a scene of him genuinely, I honestly think he was genuinely caught off guard by Kalim's lack of care towards the grades and preformance in his dorm. I'm referring to this scene in particular:

(I took this screenshot from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5k2HU6mic , I claim no credit for the screenshots I took because my phone is really crappy when it comes to moblie games, if it even lets me download them)

While I think the other times we've seen him, he was covering his true thoughts and feelings on the matter, because that's probably what he was trained to do because in the end, he is a servant, not a member of the family he serves and doesn't really have a say in the matter at hand, no matter what it maybe. And afterwards, we seen him immediately try to hide his feelings again and be diplomatic about the situation with Kalim, which works because Kalim adores him. Jamil was twisted from Jafar, who is known to be a calculating, and smart villian. So, I think it's pretty safe to assume Jamil is the same way. I mean, multiple people have stated he is pretty smart and wonder why he isn't the dorm leader, because he's the one running the show 90% of the time. So, I don't think it's out of the question he's hiding something. But, I guess that much is obvious with the kitchen scene. So, anyway, why did it take so long for the ink to show up then? Because the ink indicating an Overblot doesn't show up in the scene when it ends, but a few scenes later.

I think this is because Jamil realizes that, his plan is kinda in jeopardy now that the MC and Grim are here, because he knows that the last three dorms that got involved with these two Overblotted and, while probably better off, where in quite a bit of trouble. And, he needs to keep the situation completely under control. Which was why there where guards outside and the door was locked on the MC and Grim. So, I think one reason why the chapter might be so long is because Jamil is going to take a while to Overblot.

Now that I have that stuff out of the way, I also have a few thoughts as to why Jamil might Overblot.

1. Kalim's happy-go-lucky attitude is bad for his own future. (This is the One where Jamil likes Kalim)

It's possible that Kalim may have always been the sunshine child we know him as today. And, Jamil thinks that Kalim is an idiot for not understanding his position as an heir, so he tried something on a smaller scale, a dorm leader. But when that didn't work out because Kalim still doesn't understand, Jamil is kinda of out of options. So, now he has to take him out of leadership because Kalim hasn't learned to properly rule over people, or at least shown it to Jamil, at all. Jamil has probably worked his whole life to get Kalim to see the position Kalim is in, but it failed. So, out of desperation, he's taking matters into his own hands and he's becoming the leader. Why is he going slowly then? Because all at once is unnatural, despite it possibly being in character for Kalim.

2. He's tired of being the sidekick (This is One where Jamil hates Kalim)

Jamil has been Kalim's hypercompent sidekick for most of their lives. So, it's also possible that Kalim has been praised for what is essentially Jamil's deeds, and Jamil remembers but Kalim doesn't. Or that Kalim is considered something that he doesn't deserve to be called, like being gifted in magic, a prodigy, or an amazing child in general and Jamil knows it because he's lived with Kalim most of his life. So, he hold a grudge against Kalim for being number two, and fails to realize how much Kalim really, really appreciates him and how other do as well, thinking it's a lie. (Basically he's got similar issues to Leona). So, he tries to get rid of Kalim to, well, get rid of his competition.

Here's the thing though.

I don't think Jamil will be the only one that may Overblot. Kalim may or not Overblot (I honestly can't tell right now for sure), but he's not getting off scott-free either. Personally, I hope he Overblots because the other option we have for Kalim is a full-on mental breakdown (which is what I think Overblots actually are, but whatever, that's not important right now.) or something worse. Because Kalim is a literal sunshine child, and unlike Jamil, I honestly don't think he's hiding anything besides his past. And, unfortunately, this is going to break his world view, knowing that the man he loved like a brother actually went to lengths to hurt others and walked on Kalim to get what he wanted. Kalim will be devastated and heartbroken, and hopefully, it'll just be an Overblot and not some magic explosion or something.So, I think Kalim may Overblot to. But here's the catch. For him and Rook Hunt, because they're based on the good guys, the Overblotting thing may have a different name or even different system on how it works for these guys. But, I don't know, maybe I'm just writing out my wishfullment stuff here. But with 49 chapters (I think that's the right number, please correct me if I'm wrong), two Overblots in one chapter would make sense to me.

That's what I got. It's probably nothing new, but hey, it's what I got.