#i just haven't had a character concept in my head where i found myself going “hm”

[invinciblerodent]

side note, it makes me feel kind of unreasonably giddy that my four "main" games of bg3, i'm playing:

a man loving a man

a woman loving a man

a man loving a woman (and a man)

and a woman loving a woman

and literally all of the characters involved are bi/pansexual.

diversity win, i'm queer and so is everything and everyone I do and make

[cormorant-red]

I played 999 recently at @xivu-arath's recommendation, and I had so much fun that (inspired by that one polygon video) I illustrated my liveblog about it!

If you haven't played 999 and you are even a little bit intrigued by a puzzle/mystery visual novel with multiple timelines that all guide you towards wild plot twists...probably don't read the text! 999 is the kind of story that is best experienced with no knowledge besides the basic premise.

Transcript below the cut:

Cormorant: characters in this game really just say shit like "have you heard the story about the crystallization of glycerin?"

as a matter of fact i haven't, june, please enlighten me

Storm: "I know we're stuck in a freezer but. let's talk about weird mythical science!"

Cormorant: it's also killing me that junpei is dressed like marty mcfly and isn't sharing any of his jackets

-----

Cormorant: this game is leading me to arrive at mathematical concepts on my own. what the heck

Storm: kshgushhsg

I take it you're having a good time then

Cormorant: trying to check lotus's work and it turns out that no matter what group i arrange to take through a door, the people left behind will always have the same digital root

so to get through door 7 with snake missing, i could either send a group with sum 16 (junpei, ace, clover, and june) or with sum 25 (clover, june, seven, and lotus), but it doesn't matter because the remainder always have root 9 and can't get through doors 3 or 8! wild!

Storm: yeah the numbers and which doors end up barred to you is so cleverly deliberate

-----

Cormorant: i'm glad i finally checked what novel mode meant, because this is way more fun

Santa cocked his head to one side, like an inquisitive bird, and looked at them.

After several long moments, during which it became apparent that Santa had no idea what the cards meant, June took pity on him.

i'll have to go back and redo the beginning after i get to the first ending

Storm: oh yeah! as I recall that was done differently when it was originally a dual screen game... but it's much better when in novel style. gimme all the descriptions

-----

Cormorant: I had a long day of sitting though presentations and so I entertained myself by calculating digital roots

I discovered that adding 9 or any multiple of 9 to a number has no effect on the digital root, which is awfully interesting bc I got to the part where snake gets killed. Assuming door 3 was opened with 12 and not 21, the options are 7+3 (motive?), 6+4 (they’d both have to be REALLY good actors), or 9+1. And if bracelets work without a body attached, and if ace picked it up in door 5…

That would be a really useful tool to get around the 3-person minimum without altering the digital root

I’m also very intrigued by the theory that zero is also in the game but I don’t know what to do with that yet

Storm: forlornly having to keep myself from saying literally anything

Cormorant: Understandable, please don’t give me any hints! I’m just calling shots for the joy of being wrong

-----

Cormorant: and how do you know that, my traitorous friend?

Santa: “The RED doesn’t need a person, you know.”

Santa: “All I need is the bracelet.”

-----

Cormorant: y’know what i think he’s bluffing. he does need June specifically and that’s why he refused to consider leaving her when they first found door 9. if all he needed was a hostage, he could have grabbed junpei and forced ace to come along, and then he would be dealing with two people under duress instead of three

i peeked at a guide and apparently i found the ending adjacent to the true ending(?) first, oh well. time to see the others!

santa: i said i don't want to leave seven alone

me: bud you can't do a heroic sacrifice too, it'll mess up all the math

reader, he was not doing a heroic sacrifice

-----

Storm: got any character opinions or theories to share so far?

Cormorant: hmm I’ve got soft spots for santa and lotus maybe just because they were in the first group I went with. I like that the game makes a point of showing that lotus is quick with the math/technical knowledge. I warmed up to clover and seven more than I expected to! I have no evidence to mistrust ace….but I don’t trust him

Snake died before I before I could say two words to him

Or…didn’t. Forgot clover said he didn’t

I got info about the previous experiments from clover and I wonder if we’re like…reenacting the past somehow? Experiencing morphogenetic resonance with the last voyage?

Again no evidence i just wonder where the pseudoscience is going

Storm: santa was so my type as soon as I started playing that I just picked all rooms with him on my first run skugrhsghu

Cormorant: AHAHA that makes me feel better about going “yeahhh door 4 I like the cut of this guy’s jib”

-----

Cormorant: “the bracelet comes off when your heart rate reaches zero” interesting then that we’ve brought up cryostasis

-----

Cormorant: i simply don't trust him not to have a spare bracelet in his pocket!!!

They climbed into the elevator and Junpei listened to it creak and rattle its way to the bottom deck. Only Junpei, Ace, and Lotus were left.

As the elevator rumbled out of sight, Ace spoke.

Ace: “Lotus, would you be so kind as to go with me?”

Cormorant: “bad end” YEAH I’LL SAY

Storm: lkksghr yeah there's a few of those!

Cormorant: santa was really quick to declare that he, june, and seven needed to go with clover. waht's his game

june and ace could have done it just as easily

Storm: they could have! good catch

maybe he just thinks seven is cooler than ace,

Cormorant: i'm imagining clover taking all her grisly trophies to the door only to find it already engaged, because lotus needed no persuading,

and regarding the true ending requirements, it's also funny that santa's like "i hate this bookmark! get it out of my sight!" and this is a huge help in junpei befriending the girl who's otherwise about to snap

Storm: load bearing bookmark

Cormorant: good thing you threw that tantrum bud or you would have been killed with an axe

-----

Cormorant: in my suspicions i forgot a critical detail, which is that he didn't actually go into the door with the body this time

of course seven has been propping doors open, so it really could have been anybody

-----

Cormorant: "where have these 16 boys and girls disappeared to?" eight for each game and then an experimenter? again with the idea that zero might be in the game...

-----

Cormorant: bad endings complete! on to the normal ending, which hopefully has less of junpei getting stabbed to death

puzzling over who could have done all those murders, especially in the sub ending...or did everyone get killed? clover thinks that snake's death was faked. or did snake do all the murders, since he was the only one unaccounted for?...and then i remember what kind of game i'm playing. can't discount the ice mummy as a suspect.

Storm: you truly cannot ignore the possibility of the ice mummy

-----

Cormorant: ah no, so santa's sister was the kid that died...

i can't figure out the connection between events! why did the last games have the veneer of a science experiment, while this one has no context given? why was it all kids last time, and a random mix of ages this time, with some repeat subjects?

-----

Cormorant: called it!!!!

Junpei: “Ace, Guy X, and the 9th Man’s bracelet.”

Junpei: “That was all you needed to open door [3].”

Cormorant: called it before i even got to an ending ehehe

what i’ve been saying!!

Ace: “(9) is a potent ally in the Nonary Game.”

Ace: “Adding (9) to any set of numbers won’t alter the digital root.”

Ace: “As you can see, (9) is a very useful number here.”

Ace: “With it, one can go anywhere, with anyone.”

Ace: “It is, I suppose you could say, a game changer.”

-----

Cormorant: okay, normal ending finished! junpei did not get stabbed but we also didn’t resolve much…I’m now thinking that ace with his pocket drugs could have easily played dead in the sub ending

glad to see that snake is okay and hopefully can stay okay in the true ending. where did clover get that riddle, and will she still have it?

0=6. how much do I read into this

still don’t understand how we get from here to santa hostage situation. he’s been so consistent about not even considering betraying or abandoning people, so either he’s a better actor than ace…or it’s staged. are he and june in cahoots

Storm: augh so close now!! soon I can actually say things

-----

Cormorant: O FUCK

Seven: “Santa’s always in the room with her. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

Snake: “Yes, that’s right.”

Clover: “What about it…?”

Snake: “That’s quite simple, really.”

Snake: “You told me that the first time you came to this room…”

Snake: “…Santa was the first to refuse to leave June behind.”

Snake: “Now, doesn’t that beg the question “why?” Why would Santa do such a thing?”

Snake: “The answer is easy.”

Storm: B)

Cormorant: i've been thinking of them as a pair because it makes the math easier! if you've got 3 + 6 + 8, just cross out the ones that make 9 and don't even bother with the addition, your root is 8

Storm: B) B) B)

Cormorant: but god!! they are a pair, do not separate (or the jig is up)

Storm: they hid it soooo well

-----

Cormorant: was wondering when we would see the last cradle guy and oh duh, he was guy X

i did think it was odd that santa phrased it as "i need to leave two of you behind" rather than "i need three of you to come with me," but if he was responsible for everything (most things?), he knew that snake was there, and he was setting up a group that could follow him. excited to see where this is going!

[dreamy sigh] this game is so elegant. what a little puzzle box

Storm: yeah it is, it's just so wonderfully crafted. so little is wasted!

-----

Cormorant: oh boy [akane vision label]

"through the morphic fieldset we were resonant, and we were as one" i don't think i've mentioned it before but i'm constantly pleasantly surprised by the narration in this game. it's not flashy but it's evocative in a way that's really working for me

Storm: this is where the port falls short a bit of the original version... the ds really worked well with this aspect

-----

Cormorant: the number of times i thought "this will be totally wrong but i'll say it to storm anyway"

hello??? [arrow pointing back to the message “I wonder if we’re like…reenacting the past somehow? Experiencing morphogenetic resonance with the last voyage?”]

Storm: Y E A H

Cormorant: laser-guided spitballing

-----

Cormorant: man i said that 4+6 would have to be really good actors if they were the ones that opened door 3...and while they didn't kill snake, i sure underestimated our queen of the stage akane kurashiki

the baseline was NOT where i thought it was

Storm: no one does it like her

[simpotat]

Hi if I may just have a ramble about how ace Oc.tavia may view her dad's affair (ft. my ace experience)

Now I found out my orientation at sixteen. Up until then, though not consciously, I'd always had this sense of lacking in relating to the sexual innuendos and jokes on TV or in real life made by my classmates. My thoughts on the concept of celibacy could've been summed up by: "well, duh, it's not hard". Sex in my head existed mostly as a punchline. Some fictional characters were obsessed with it, sure, but I perceived sexual desire as just that: fiction. I didn't understand why people cheated, or why sometimes teens my age got pregnant, or why it was said to be difficult and especially prudish to wait until marriage. All that evaded me. I didn't have context for my non-experience, so I figured I was the normal one and in the right. It's only thanks to the internet and my ample opportunities to have educated myself that I now see why my perspective is different, and that's okay, and the fact that allos are horny and want each other is also okay.

Via doesn't seem to have friends, and her family situation is shit, so I imagine her retreating into the internet just as much; which suggests that she would know her sexuality by now, but I for one had known about asexuality for a few years before I realized I identified with it. And some people only do when they're well into young adulthood. This kind of self-realization can take a few years to brew, so for the sake of the argument let's suppose she doesn't know it yet.

From the perspective of sex being a punchline, something completely optional and hardly motivated by urgent desire, something you can just give up with ease like skipping the orange juice to go with your cereal in the morning... how much more heartbreaking for her would Sto.las' cheating and continued simping for Blitzo be. Because she just doesn't get it. She just doesn't get why this random imp has become so much more important to her father than herself that he's willing to wreck the family and continually ignore and neglect her for him. Because it's not that they like each other, whenever she's seen the imp he's grudging and spiteful at best, and her racist ass dad condescends him at every turn, they're not in love, that's not even why this is happening, and maybe if they were that'd be something she could forgive... with time, and if she ever saw her father making an effort. She knows it's about sex, unfortunately, because Sto.las is a disgusting piece of shit who dirty talks the imp in front of his own underaged daugther.

He's having sex with an imp he's become obsessed with and in her eyes it's torn her family apart. And it was a choice. Well, of course it was, but if she doesn't comprehend the sexual frustration that would have accumulated for him during years upon years in an unhappy marriage where they haven't touched each other since their daughter was conceived, and he's gay by the way, and he's a lonely loser with no friends and no one to show interest in him, and if she doesn't comprehend the attraction or desire that can urge allosexuals to such actions so burningly and then keep them hooked, then it was an especially frivolous and hollow choice in her eyes. He occupies himself with some weird red dickhead because he cares about her that little. Sex, this non-necessity, was more important to him than keeping her family intact and caring for her. She knows her parents hate each other, now at least if she didn't already, but he continues to be distracted when she needs him at a time like this... by something so completely trivial. (Or, well, maybe she just has a freak for a father.)

And she wouldn't be wrong for thinking any of this. Because no matter how tormented the horny owl is, he continues to hold responsibility for his daughter, and he's done spectacularly terribly at attending to that. Twice he's attempted, and twice he's been distracted by the weird red dickhead... and his only selfish reason for it she may not even get.

[uncleadelheid-will-eat-your-soul]

To somehow relieve myself of the many many feelings that keep lingering in my head and somehow ease myself out a bit of my GO obsession, I started to read more of Neil Gaimans works and recently I picked up his short story collection "Smoke and Mirrors". I had already read the popular things he has written in the past, like Sandman, Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, The ocean at the end of the lane and of course Good Omens. But these short stories gave me a somewhat new appreciation for his writing.

The one story that stood particularly out for me, especially in connection with my current obsession with Good Omens, was Murder Mysteries.

I have just finished reading the story, so please excuse my incoherent ramblings and bear with me for a few minutes, if you like. My mind was a bit overflowing with thoughts and I had to write them just down. Also know, I'm not saying that this is a real theory that predicts what may happen in GO3 or anything. I just couldn't overlook some of the similarities and wanted to share my descent into madness with anyone interested.

*a note on the side: I will be using mostly he/him pronouns during this because the story is using them like that, so please don't come after me for misgendering angels ;)

For all of you who haven't read the story, here a short summary:

The story is about a man that meets a mysterious stranger at night in front of his hotel he currently is staying in while he is stranded in LA. They smoke together and as payment for the cigarettes, the stranger starts telling him a story. The story is about a murder mystery involving angels that is happening in heaven/the place before the world existed. The angel Carasel has been found dead in the streets and the angel Raguel (he has the position of Vengeance of the Lord) is sent to clear up the issue. During the story, Raguel interviews multiple angels and the story concludes in a somewhat Agatha.7-Christie-an parlour scene where Raguel tells a selected group of angels about his findings and enforces the (rightful?) punishment on the culprit that killed Carasel.

During one of the interviews Raguel conducts, we learn from that Carasel was currently working together with Saraquel on creating the concept of Death. The project preceeding this, was the invention of the concept of Love. During the confrontation at the end of the story we get the following dialogue:

Does this "[...] throwing himself too deeply into his work" seem a bit familiar? And then the "When we started to work on Death, he... he lost interest." ? This behaviour seems very similar to me as angel!Crowley was acting at the beginning so S2. This complete devotion to his work, his creation. And going along with this is his somewhat disregard of the things happening around him, like the "bigger plan" for the universe that Azi knew about or just the obvious adoration Azi was feeling for him right from the start. I'm not saying, that angel!Crowley would be as cruel? as Carasel is here, you know with the throwing away his partner after they were finished with their project, but I can't underestimate, that there are some similarities in their characters.

And then we learn, that because Saraquel could just not deal with the rejection he experienced from Carasel, so he decided that he would kill Carasel because "[he] thought... [he] hoped... that if he was gone, then [he] would no longer care for him - that the pain would stop." And i can't help but think that maybe for the fraction of a moment Azi may have had a similar train of thought during the aftermath of their break-up. Obviously not in exactly the same way, but in a "If I act as everything is alright and I am overjoyed with my new job on the outside, the pain will be maybe not as terrible on the inside as well"-way. When obviously it did not help at all and "...the pain has not stopped.".

Following this we get the somewhat very poetic execution of punishment for Saraquels crime that was fueled by his unrequited love: A kiss that engulfes him in flames and reduces him to nothingness.

I really really like the image this produces in my head. It is cruel because it punishes him with an act of love he so very much craved from his lover. And at the same time it almost feels sad and beautiful, like a last gift to him before the end. A reminder of the fleeting moments of love and connection he had with his beloved before it all went up in flames (...pun intended), until "[...] there was nothing left of him. Nothing at all." This is just sad and poetic and I love it.

And maybe this imagery I now have stuck in my mind when I think about the threat of being erased from the book of life that was looming over our beloved couple during all of S2. During the show it was always mentioned somewhat matter of factly whenever the book of life came up, but except maybe from a bit of anger and spite we get from Michael as he threatens Azi at the end, it feels a bit sterile. But this kiss, this engulfing in white hot flame, the horror the other angels seem to feel while they watch the scene. It feels right. It feels emotional and intense and devastating and beautiful. I absolutely love it. I hope, I don't have to witness it in the next season because it would probably break me, but i nonetheless absolutely love it.

And after this we get the aftermath of the scene. Noone that witnessed the horror of it is actually d'accord with the sentence, not even the executioner. They're all in various states of distress, ranging from fear to sadness to anger.

And we see Lucifer and his battle with understanding the sentence. How can it be just to erase something from existence for trying to cope with a never before perceived intense emotion and then the sudden loss of said emotion. How can it be just to punish someone for the act of loving to much and not knowing how to deal with it. How can such a lapse in judgement of an emotionally distraught being not be met with understanding and forgiveness.

Does this seem familiar as well?

And not even the executioner seems to be content with the whole situation, the way he was used to bring judgement on a fellow angel:

He feels used and horrible about his role in all of this. And with this he reminds me again a bit of Azi: He can see that all of this is really f*cked up. He even says directly to, who we know by now, God, that he disagrees with him, just as Lucifer does. In his eyes, the sentence was unjust and wrong. But in the same way he recognizes the whole situation as part of the famous ineffable plan for everything.

So here's the resemblance between Raguel and Aziraphale. Raguel adresses that the behaviour and sentencing of God that just occured through him was wrong. And Azi does the same, even though it may not be as directly spelled out in GO as it is here. But we know that Azi disagrees with a lot of the things that are going on in heaven. But even though both characters feel heaven is acting cruel and wrong towards it's creation, they nevertheless still believe in the overall goodness, the ineffable-ness, of heaven at the end of the day.

And last but not least, we get the offer god makes to Raguel: "...you may forget all this. All that has happened this day. [...] However, you will not be able to speak of this to any other angel, whether you choose to remember it or not." And this gets me thinking about Crowley.

We all have read the various posts about Crowley and how his memory was wiped during the "vague saunter downwards". Maybe Crowley has had a similar conversation with God shortly before they were cast out. Maybe he chose to forget everything that happened as a kindness. Maybe he still remembers everything but is not able to talk about it openly. Maybe his lack of communication with Azi about things that are going on is deeply installed in him because god forbade him at the start of his "new" life to talk about the things that were going on.

Or maybe, and hear me out on this one, I'm just reading waaay to much into this, because I am mad.

[fiercehildr]

I read something about someone stealing one of your commissions but I haven't seen anything about it on tumblr. What happened???

Hello, nonnie! ❤️

That's going to be a long post... so buckle up.

Basically a commissioner took one of my old elucien piece (one where we see Lucien and Elain's head as a ying and yang and features related to their characters like flowers or autumn leaves circling around them and linking together) as "inspiration" for a commission of theirs except it became a complete plagiarized piece.

It looked like it could be the other side of the mine and the commissioner took all the credit for the "concept" in the comments.

To explain the whole situation:

I)

I woke up at 6 am to an artist friend of mine sending me a DM telling me to "not stress but someone plagiarized you" and my first thought was "leave me the fuck alone *sigh*". I went and checked it out and yeah, indeed.

I showed it to like 10 persons to make sure I was not crazy, some of them being family members who have no idea that this fandom even exists, and they all confirmed the uncanny similarities.

So at first, I was mad and made a story about it. I was sure that this person was one of my old bully since their IG name were so close. Turns out I was wrong here.

The story was made in anger ( but no name dropping or picture) and so I deleted it when I realized my mistake. I was also just... exhausted? Like... here we go again. Obviously, that was done on purpose.

_______

I decided to send this to the artist and basically told them "here is a piece which I think was plagiarized from our commission." and she ended up making the relation between the "shipwar" and "trying to bother me" all by herself and she's not even in the fandom.

I wanted her to decide by herself about the best course of action. Do we do something? Does she? Do we keep silent? All up to her. I care little about this shipwar now so it obviously wasn't about this stupidity but about the audacity and the nerve of it.

In all honesty, except for a few game polls in my instagram story or some gwyn mermaid commissions, I have little to no interest in this book series and even less in the shipwar now.

Our conversation was like... 6 messages and I never talked about how this person and I had conflict. I didn't even talk about the commissioner themselves.

II)

Now I'm saying this because the other commissioner then made a public story (sent to me in DMs by friends who were following the story) which accused me of unfairly antagonizing her.

I had to unblock this person to go check for myself becauseI had them blocked for days now (I like "curating your own internet experience" by blocking accounts my for you page propose and which are not my jam. Shocking I know.)

In this story, they basically accused me of spying on their account. Now I found this funny because:

1- I couldn't give less than a fly's shit about their entire existence.

2- Clearly I have more relevance in their life than they do in mine and it's very funny to me that they thought the contrary. Sorry but who stalked and copied here? Hmm?

In this story, this person also said I made this fandom toxic (me, not the person who plagiarized an artist to purposefully get a reaction) and that I was basiclly a shitty person for telling the artist about this situation.

They also said that they needed to write this story because they basically found it incorrect to involve artists in shipwar situations which was ALSO very funny:

This was only a shipwar situation for them. I don't care about elriel. Do your stuff, love what you love. I don't give a fuck anymore. I'm only a low key elucien shipper who mostly made this commission for a friend of mine (@amandapearls). If my commission was Slauren initially and they had done this with Emilia and Wrath, I would have STILL told the artist.

If the roles were reversed they would have done the same as me and possibly worse.

They should have thought ot the artists (and the consequences of their actions) before pulling this.

They also provided pictures of references that they apparently used. As a commissioner of some time now, I can assure you that these pics would not have given this piece in the end. It was pretty clear to everyone, sadly for them. And I just know that every single person who defended them did it as a loyalty move because you can't be that blind.

III)

When I realized the commissioner had brought this in their stories, where everyone could see, I figured that shots were fired and I had to defend myself and my honor.

I made my own stories, where I said everything I said here and even showed the two commissions next to one another. I repeated again and again that I tried to handle this discreetly (in DMs and between the artists) but that she wanted otherwise (obviously, I suspect it was bait ayway)

Then came the friends of them. Here are the stuff they said:

*goes on with the same repeated arguments no matter my answers*

*implies that I'm an horrible person for answering their public story*

*implies that I shouldn't have opened my mouth*

*gives infomation about how the artist handled this which don't concern me anyway and with no receipts of course*

*tells me a friend of mine vague posted about the commissioner in their story and it's super mean and scared her*

*implies that me letting the artist decides of the steps to take was no good and I should have go to the commissioners' dms*

*tells me that the commissioner is considering leaving the fandom because of me*

*insists on my past experiences and how I'm 'not like that for real' (turns out they don't follow me at all and only know of my past bullying because they were friends with my bullies lol)*

*tells me that for someone who was bullied, I bully too (refers to me answering the story by one of my own)*

*implies that I scare her and insists that she's full innocent and that I have no proof that it's copied (it's a copy paste and several artists and commissioners reached out to me that it was "fucking wild")*

So yeah, I blocked these people and that's the end, really. So just another bait to insult me over and my mental health took another hit but I don't hear much about it, funnily enough, so I'm just answering this one ask. I think everything is here anyway.

Thank you to everyone who supported me, even when I was feeling really low at this moment. You all rock ❤️

Have a lovely day, Nonnie. ❤️

[the-fiction-witch]

Wedding In White Habour P3

Media IRL

Character Jojen Reed

Couple Jojen X Reader

Rating Sad

Concept Arriving in Greywater

Soon enough we arrived at the keep of the grey water watch, it was a strange keep it had to be said. The Dreadfort was a tall stone castle with an open keep for the tables and staff, and that was much the same for every keep I had ever visited but not Greywater. It was made of wood the jetties all came to a head for these large wooden walls made from the trunks of trees so much so they were still rounded with points at the top, gates of wood guarded by men with tall spears once we passed the gates I saw more jetties that people all moved back and forth busy with their work, the place surrounded on all sides with the wooden fence and the marshy water littered with small wooden huts with straw and moss roofs rarely any stone in sight, I continued back through the labyrinth of walkways until I found the watch itself. the front was a large tower built around two large trees whose roots were deep in the marshes mud, the tower was utterly wooden with a watch tower at its top where ravens perched. behind the tower was a large building the shape of a barn with moss and hey on its roof with a long line of what I assume were rooms and chambers coming from either side, the only lights small lanterns that emitted an odd green glow from the many light bugs and fireflies that had been trapped inside. The whole place like the walkways moved with the marshes, floating on the mud and water moving fluidly. I suddenly understood the stories about greywater if you didn't know the way you'd never find it, and even if you knew it would be easy to get lost. From above I imagine the place was completely hidden. I followed Jojen and his father inside the keep it opened up to a large hall of wood and green carvings put into all the beams painstakingly, two chairs at the end one covered in dust where the Greywater had long been without a Lady. 

"Ahh Meera" Halon smiled to someone who came through to greet us dressed in the same muddy furs and fabrics as many others in the keep with a string of fish over their shoulder I looked closer seeing the tall girl with dark curls who greeted Halon with a hug and Jojen with a playful shove "Good your here, This is Y/n Jojen's new wife," He says "Y/n this is Meera my daughter Jojen's Older sister" 

"Nice to meet you, Need any help adjusting let me know," She says 

"Thank you" I smiled 

"Come on, I'll take you to your room" Jojen snapped I nodded and followed him down the long corridor and he unlocked a door for me, it was a very sweet room with windows to look out across the marsh, a large wooden four post bed with intricate carvings in the wood, green fabrics and furs laid across the bed, those same small lanterns about the place,  a large bath in the corner and other such amenities 

"It's lovely" I smiled as I saw my things had already been left here for me 

"Make yourself at home. I'm sure I'll see you" He says going to leave 

"wait. Aren't you going to be here with me?"

"No. I have my own room." He says 

"But Jojen we're married? we haven't even-"

"I know." I snapped "I'm sorry y/n." he softened holding my hand "Its been a rough few days. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or inconsiderate but just give me time alright?"

"Yes my lord" I nodded

"I'll do my best to come see you, Later." he says before leaving me alone, I sighed and unpacked my things putting all my little items in new homes making the place seem more like myself I took my little stool sitting it by the window and sat my harp with me so I could look out the window seeing how the marshes and this keep moved as I plucked and plaid my little songs watching the rolling fog. 

[atthebell-moved]

💖, 👻, and 🖊!!

ask game

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

i like my descriptions a lot, i think they come the most naturally to me and i like including little details that really capture the characters/dynamics

👻 What is one WIP you think you may never pick back up?

one? 💀 jk the one that most comes to mind is from your fingertips-- i started that one out with a complete outline but haven't been able to get myself to write much despite adoring the concept. hopefully i get back to it eventually but we'll see :/

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

Snippet of the first chapter of stale fries & parking lots, a modern au where the l'manberg crew ran a food truck or something before Wilbur left town without warning & came back just as suddenly five months later. He may or may not be better. Wilbur uses she/he for clarity.

Anyway twinsduo moment:

Wilbur sighs, breath fogging up the glass by her head. She was hoping to avoid this exact conversation, but Techno is too nice (and isn’t that a ridiculous thing to think) to let it go unspoken.

"Phil told you, huh?"

He watches Techno nod in the glass. 

“I’m guessing he ran his mouth to everyone?” She tosses out, wondering if anything she says can shake the iron grip her dad and Techno have on one another. It’s a loyalty she nearly can’t comprehend. 

Techno shrugs, nonplussed as ever. “I’m assumin’ Tommy knows, from your letters,” and here Wilbur winces, because of course she hadn’t written as much as Techno probably thinks, nor as much as Tommy would’ve liked. Had basically ghosted everyone, in fact. It’s a miracle he’s made it this far, honestly, without a proper support system. His therapist certainly had hoped for more. 

Regardless, she nods, hoping Techno doesn’t question it. He’d sent him maybe two letters total over the five months she’d been gone, and Techno had responded to them both with perfect politeness. Ever the fucking gentleman.

She’d sent Phil more, no doubt. On his worst days he wrote out pages and pages to him; after she found out about the van getting impounded, she’d called him and screamed until a nurse pulled her away. He hadn’t had anything worthwhile to say in response. 

Wilbur shakes off the memory to continue the conversation. If Techno notices him wincing, he doesn’t comment. 

~

(also for clarity: this is an adaption of what happened when cwilbur died, it's not a reinterpretation of utah & the finale. This is basically wilbur coming back from limbo, except its a modern no fantasy au, so she's in recovery and hasn't been revived from death.)

(also also: will involve eventual t4tntduo)

[irregularmelody]

I don't exactly know when my passion for writing began. One of my earliest works dates back to 2016, where I wrote for popular media back at the time like Miraculous Ladybug and Five Nights at Freddy's. I was a child with a phone in my hand and infinite liberty on the internet. Perhaps I fell down a rabbit hole and came to realize now. 

Like everything I do, I felt insecure about it. I still do. Even though I was eleven years old, half mindless of my online behavior, I put effort into it. My lexicon wasn't perfect and my writing style was terribly wonk. Lots of spelling mistakes. Formatting? Never heard of it. Planning concepts and scheming out a proper narrative? Nope! Wrote whatever came to my mind, regardless of continuity. 

It naturally came to me, inspired by the works of the others. I wanted to give it a try. And it naturally flourished. With it, slowly was born things such as media literacy, analytical skills, comprehension of symbolisms and metaphors. You know, the whole deal. It was a journey of learning and growth through those eight years. 

I self-taught myself by the way. I analyzed others' works and carefully picked out elements that interested me and those that didn't. Never did I watch or read tips in writing or ever participated in circles meant for beginners. Like always, I prefer to be an autodidact. If there's a word I don't know, I immediately go after its meaning. I have read pages about literary movements such as surrealism, symbolism, realism. I ended up finding my place in symbolism. And just like that, little by little, I molded my writing style. It's nothing special nor revolutionary but I am proud of it.  

Then, I stopped it. 

What do I mean by that? I stopped writing for IPs as a personal project of mine created and assembled in 2020 was born. During that time, I have watched Neon Genesis Evangelion (2019) and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (early 2020, before the pandemic hit). Its themes, its narrative and the overall way they were told made an impact on me. That was it. It was the trigger for the desire to write something original. Something that came from the deepest parts of my mind, unstoppable creativity.

It's still in progress. 

As I focused on this project, I haven't written anything for a piece of media I knew in a very, very long time. I had settled in being a reader rather than a writer out there in places like AO3 and Wattpad. Of course, being the way I am, I developed the art of analyzing (characters and narratives) and writing walls of texts picking apart the smallest of details I found interesting. Madoka Magica is there as proof. Nowadays, poor Null. 

And speaking about Null. Oh, well. What a shocking plot twist. I never saw this one coming. 

A flame I thought it had long lost has been snuffed, rekindled. And the culprit? The Baldi's Basics franchise. More specifically, Null and his little spectacle in Classic Remastered. It has been a while since a character got such a firm grip on me. Homura Akemi was soloing her stay on the podium for four years and this invisible bastard came and decided he wanted to share it. Yes, share it because I love them equally. Same level of obsession. 

It is kind of a rabbit hole of how I got into BBIEAL only now when I knew the game since 2018 but the earliest checkpoint in this entire thing is after the completion of the 404 page arg in the Basically, Games! website. The password one. Skipping a few details aside, the Down by the Docks arg (created by someone who later became my friend, woohoo!) happened and after a few days of its end, a terrible, horrid voice came to my head.

An idea and a proposal. Write something for it. And post it.

…I don't want to spill too much details of the absolute mental torture I put myself through when this popped up in my mind. All I got to say is, HOLY SHIT, IT WAS HELL. I was constantly beating myself over it until I finally got a grip, wrote it and posted it under anonymity. I didn't have the balls to expose myself out there yet. I called the creator and showed it to him and waited for the inferno to arise while I hid in the shadows. At least I had an advantage, they will never know it was me!

Incomprehensible whiplash followed suit as I was met with positive reactions. They liked what I wrote. Even called it a love letter. Maybe it is, I was so overcome with emotions while I wrote that and it spilled onto my words without me knowing. It had been so long since I wrote anything outside my personal project and it was for the Baldi's Basics franchise, for a fantastic arg, for Null. My notes on that work shows my dumbfoundedness. I was surprised with myself. I was surprised by everything.

Time moves forward, other experiences happened and I found myself writing again. Not for my project but for… Yeah. Baldi's Basics. Null. I am a writer inside this community. I am a writer for this community. I vaguely remember once tweeting on how I would stop being so shameful of my works and proudly expose them for the world. So I did. I removed the anonymity and now my name is there for all eyes to see. 

As I speak here, I currently have five works for the Baldi's Basics tag on AO3. Every time I receive a comment, I want to run away from it like a frightened child but all these feelings dissipate when I see that people actually enjoy what I write. Hoping for more. Call me stupid, call me emotional. It makes me want to cry sometimes. 

This insecurity of mine is a matter I have to work on but I promise, as long as I keep writing for this community, my name will forever remain in display. Writing is my tender love and writing for a circle that received me so well is deserving of my blessings. Thank you.

[drop--pop--candy]

i hope you didn't miss me too much~ tis i, ever-sparkling sylvie, gracing your inbox at a timely twelve am! at least, in my timezone. please don't worry about my sleep schedule. i find myself awake during these hours a lot of the time. i hope you're enjoying whatever hour it is where you are ♪

i really did mean to hop in at least once in the past, what, twenty-four hours? but whenever it passed my mind it slipped right out and i'd totally forget. but now i've remembered, yay!

i'd just like to tell you that i suddenly got hit with a burst of inspiraton and creative clarity? it's CRAZY. i was thinking about one of my fic projects, kind of just twirling the characters around in my head—a more graceful interpretation of rotating them as if in a microwave—and it kind of just...came to me. and i kept on thinking, kept mentally writing, telling myself, oh, this is really good, until it came to the point where i thought: man. do i have to ground this somewhere.

i don't know if anyone other than myself does this, but i like to look up locations that pop up in my stories that i haven't personally been to, or just pull inspiration from real places that have found their way into the file cabinet labeled 'inspiration' in my heart. to me, it grounds the scene and gives my concepts a backgrop. and what i was struck with, then, was good enough to be grounded. so i started looking at airbnbs in seoul! (some context: fic is set in korea; character a is visiting & character b is based in kr; scene is about cooking; story has more of a homey feel so i'd rather have this & other important scenes take place in a proper house rather than, like, a kitchenette hotel.) and oh my goodness. within a minute i'd found the most beautiful house... it's clean, white, and with wooden accents. not the most cozy, per se, but definitely serene. and it has the most lush, peaceful back garden. i fell in love! truly, i fell in love. i can't wait to write this scene. but first, i felt the need to tell you the good news, because it'd been an unintentionally long while since i'd last reached out & i wanted to compensate. i know a day or so isn't so long, but i really did mean to reach out to you during that time. lol.

i hope you, too, are struck with the inspiration, motivation, and energy i have! in all honesty i've been having a rough patch so i feel as if this came to save my day. i hope that today, something saves your day, at least a little. my apologies for going on such a long tangent about myself. thank you for entertaining me! i hope my message comes as a sweet surprise to you, in the same way my muse so kindly came to me.

♡, sylvie

hi sylvie!!! i'm glad you're back!! i was afraid i scared you off lol

as i'm writing this, it's creeping up on 2am. that's not weird for me tho i stay up this late all the time during summer. dw abt not popping in!! i am the most forgetful person like ever lmaoaoao so i get it

that's really good to hear!! it's always great when inspiration strikes like that :3 i've heard some of my other writer friends look places up to help with their stories. personally i tend to just make stuff up when i write but i totally understand how basing it on a real place could really help with being able to visualize it!!

i haven't had anything massive that's "saved my day" or anything, but i have had a handful of really nice interactions with my friends over the past couple of days :D and that's really all i can hope for yk?

really it's no worries at all! i like hearing people talk about things that bring them joy it's sort of like they're sharing that feeling with me if that makes sense :> it was a nice surprise!! asks pretty much always are, they're not exactly frequent but i cherish all of them <33

[cherokeegal1975]

Article below is what I wrote on my post on DeviantART for this game idea that I very much know isn't going to happen. I thought it might if I could find the right game developer that would be willing to work with me, but I quickly discovered that game developers do not like outside ideas, especially unsolicited ones. I can't do it myself partly because I can't afford the classes or the resources needed to get it done...and I'd probably need a team, which I'll never get. Also, I look at myself and realize that even though I'd enjoy games and probably do well in them, I write stories okay, but I don't have it in me to create challenges, different outcomes or puzzles. I'm not talented that way. Even so, it was a fun idea to think about. I look forward to putting this artwork into my art journal when I can afford to get it made.

    I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's a stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since out grown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is a enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did down play the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game when ever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.

[void-talking-to-the-void]

So, the book. I read it. Started anyway.

The words are good, the words are flowing, there is a rhythm to them, though it might be my own. Which is fine.

There are scenes and stories. The scenes are tight and tense, they are there for a reason. And the stories tell me something, serving their function.

It's a good book. It is literature.

There are also quotes I picked, and this one feels like it has to be repeated elsewhere:

He was conscious of little but a profound hope he would not have to vomit.

I might see to it.

Another one is this:

He weighed the moral discomfort against the practical advantage, and found the latter heavier.

It is not ubiquitous, yet I have seen it a few times, this... carrying on of meaning, not exactly repetition, but a transfer of ideas from one word, one part of the sentence to the next. I like it.

And the last one, though there were many others:

His sore throat had been joined by a terrific headache, of which he had only just become aware.

A simple concept, the thing that happens, it is simple, but it requires changing the perspective, the state of matter for one to feel it with the person, and such a wording, such a progression did the job for me.

As for the contents, well... It's a book. It is about something and somebody. Books aren't, sadly, words, books are mostly people, so there is buzzing in my head, maybe too much of it. Too many people at once and then none at all, they all pass in front of my eyes and go somewhere, and I'm left to wonder where is that place from which they all arrived. Can't I, like, go there? Should I? Shouldn't I?

There are too many of them, yet I don't excatly understand why they are gone.

Another thing I do not understand and never will is gender. It is another world, they aren't "people". They aren't people and not only in one sense. They haven't lived in here, no one is referencing anybody who was unfortunate enough to suffer from possessing it, they are "characters". And then they also don't live in the same literary world, they are on different planets, might be even different species. But still.

There is a wall and there is a road, there're some space ships, all okay, there is a man, a woman, fine, people can be anything, but then, suddenly, there are k.i.n.d.s. of people and yeah, here you have lost me.

I just don't get it. I'll never understand why anyone would choose to keep it, to accept it, to absorb it, to fucking identify with it and then to recreate it for no reason whatsoever, for others to get harmed by it. Why would you choose spreading the disease. Why keep it, when you could, you could take it off, be bare, naked, free of it.

Why do it, when there is no pleasure in it, only useless, pointless pain.

Why cause it to the others???

I do not understand.

What's even funnier, the book, it talks about it. Gender is one of the recurring topics, to some of which I have similar objections. It talks about it, explores variety. it clearly states it can be this and can be that, it can be different or nonexistent, it talks about freedom, but. Does it? The thing's still there. And it's not just anywhere, it's not lurking in dark corners, it isn't an example of what shouldn't be, it is in the very center. Sits there like a reference point. It can be this and can be that, it can be different or nonexistent, see, it's freedom, but, actually, it is like this. It is like this and all those modal verbs I used, they aren't "can", they are "could". It could, maybe, be not like this, in my or your imagination, but it is not, it's what it is. It, maybe, could, I speak of it, but I myself do not believe it. It could be this, but never in a place that is real.

It's crazy how many shitty things one embraces, accepts fully, doesn't even notice that they do, on a quest to find something else.

[volterran-wine]

what inspired you to make this blog and share a nice glass of volterran wine with everyone? I thought I would hop on the questions bandwagon

(If you are one of the people tagged in this and am confused about who I am, Hi! your blog is one of the reasons I began writing again and falling in love with Twilight after many years of absence from the fandom. I just wanted to send some love your way. Tags are at the bottom)

Oh dear darling Anon where do I even begin...

Much like the rest of the world I found myself home alone.. a lot. Boredom was also overtaking me, so I went down the rabbit hole of rewatching things from my teenage years around January of this year. I think you know where this is going. And watching Twilight as an adult vs. when the movies came out is an entirely different experience.

I had a good time so I hopped on Tumblr, to see what people were talking about. And what did I know, Twilight was having a renaissance and there was much to look at and read. I have spent 10 years on this site, and god is there a lot of content I still haven't seen.

I simply fell in love with the ideas and the extreme detail that some of the content creators put into their work. The Twilight fandom has some magnificent writers, and I was drawn in by the worldbuilding and headcanons and the rest is history. There are so many neat concepts in the saga that has so much potential.

So I created Volterran-Wine on a whim a little over a month ago. I have always been a creative person (I'm a graphic designer by trade and an artist), so I wanted to express myself and my new found love for these characters that live rent-free in my head at this point. I was actually very nervous, because when I wrote my first One-Shot called Snowfall, I had not done creative writing for 10 years. When I started to get a lot of support I was very overwhelmed, I didn't think people would resonate with how I write the characters.

And that's the story of how Volterra go its very own wine.

Now, I will tag some creators/blogs under the cut that was a huge part of dragging me back into Twilight. Sadly not all of them are active anymore, but they still deserve a shout out and for you to send some love their way. I truly would not be here, and falling in love with writing again without you.

@kyilliki @volturisecretary @zzinvolterra @loyalmuse @raindancer2004 @like-rain-or-confetti @the-volturi-diaries @volturidoll13 @mytwilightimagines13 @wallwriterstuff @imp0strsyndrm @alilaro @captain-yeet @ravxnqueen @jessicanjpa

[cowboymantis]

Let's talk about Kazuto Arase

Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami , Yakuza 3 side content spoilers. Later on Yakuza LaD too, but I'll give a warning before that especially since a lot of people haven't played that yet.

So I have a lot of thoughts about Yakuza on my mind and just want to scream into the void about it somewhere to write 'em all down somewhere! I'm starting with... Arase.

Yeah, I know, a mostly very hated character (personality and battle-wise) that has so little screen time on top of it all too, is the first thing I'll be talking about.

Hear me out, I actually really love this character and only really started to appreciate him after I went for the Yakuza 3 platinum trophy... I've replayed this game so many times, I didn't mind it when I played through it first but seeing all the hate it has gotten, I went to replay it just in case and with that replayed it again and again because I just somehow loved it so much-

And you know, one part of Yakuza 3, also completion related so there was no way I could've missed it, were the Hitman missions. In general, after playing through all the main games I started to come back to a lot of characters I didn't like or minded the first time playing that are now some of my favourites (other examples are Tamashiro or Lau Ka Long, hell even Katsuragi)!

To come back to Arase, let's start with, well, the start: Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami.

Introduced already in the very first Yakuza game, Arase is just there for a brief moment in the game, yet has a heavy impact on the game's story and Kiryu. It starts with Arase's oath brother Shinji being shot by Arases subordinate, Mochizuki, at least it looks like it. Shinji came here to rescue Reina, whose corpse then gets dragged on the roof of the Dragon Palace by Arase, Sergeant of the Nishikiyama Family. Now that's a pretty... heavy and sadistic first image for a character introduction, and honestly, his strong personality like that seemed also to be the reason he wasn't exactly loved by other members of the Family.

His battle theme in the first Yakuza game is called "Turning Point" which also puts more emphasis on how important this scene is, Kiryu breaking down, his scream when he sees Reina's body... It's really a turning point in the story.

In Kiwami, his new theme "Virtical Point" is also used as the intro song (or at least, the intro song "Vertical Point" is similar and shortened). Which also once again shows the importance of this piece.

Of course, he's not the most important character in the story, but it's still interesting to see how much there is around him other than his rather short appearance.

Then, his fighting style. Yeah, most hate this too and also the fact that starting from there, other bosses also sometimes use his moveset or a similar one. Like, take Jiro or Jo Amon or Andre Richardson... Basically just the usual dual wielding guns while being an athlete on crack - layout. It is actually not that bad, it's even less bad when you've got the right equipment but I have to admit I didn't really have that much good equipment when I first played all the games and basically just rushed through them because I just couldn't stop!

Arase's goal here of course was also to beat Kiryu but well, just like every other character ever, he couldn't do it and got beat instead.

And that's the end of that... The end of his part in the story and also the end of his part in the Nishikiyama Family, because he got disowned right after his failure.

Which is so... hmm... It makes me think. Many others have tried to take Kiryu down, too. And I mean, Arase was normally a very successful assassin, right? Yet this one failed attempt, at which everyone else too failed, got him disowned? Seems to me like they didn't like him and gave him an impossible task to have a reason to throw him out, huh?

And with that wonderful transition, let's get into his appearance in Yakuza 3.

You get introduced to the concept of the Honest Living Association, in short the HLA pretty much after Kashiwagis death. An association, founded by Kashiwagi to help Yakuza / former Yakuza who weren't meant for this life or just wanted out but just couldn't do in it on their own. For some, all they knew was the criminal life, so having a thing like this is especially helpful. Although, I'm kinda sad this was never a thing anymore after Yakuza 3. The whole concept of it was very cool.

Kiryu gets asked by Ibuki to help the HLA because there is an organisation of hitmen, also known as The Reapers (or The Avengers on PS3) whose goal was a different one than the HLA's, it was to kill Yakuza. The Reapers consisted of former criminals, mainly Yakuza, who were wronged by their superiours and expelled, disowned, you name it. Basically what happened to Arase.

Apprehending those hitmen is a totally optional part of the game and I have to admit, I didn't finish it my first time playing. Which is such a shame because it goes by so fast too when you play it after finishing the game! And the individual stories are all so interesting too, I've really enjoyed this side content and also replayed those missions already. You don't really expect someone like Arase to be behind all of it when it turns out to be him who is the founder and the leader of it all. I was already taken aback by Shinzaki being the lieutenant, or part of it at all. I often stopped by to listen to his guitar playing and talked to him, often asking myself is there's anything else up with him.

And once this one hitman contract came in and guitar playing was mentioned, I was just thinking "It can't be him...?", god, this whole side storyline just was so good. And here people come and say Yakuza 3 was a bad game.

The whole build-up to then reveal Arase was just so cool, honestly. It made me start to look more into his character after this confrontation. The fight was really cool too, just having to fight Shinzaki so many times wasn't really necessary, but Arase seems to like to fight alongside others, so fair enough.

And his theme "End Point" is also just so good. It's more similar to Turning Point than Virtical Point was. The name is also again fitting, since this is the end for The Reapers and Arases power.

It is made clear here that Arase has a strong hatred against the Yakuza and especially holds a strong grudge against Kiryu. He sees Kiryu as the reason he got wronged and had to leave the Yakuza behind, while also seeming to be very aware of the fact that the others there probably didn't like him at all.

He's so angry at him, he holds this whole speech and talks about revenge while Kiryu tries to talk some sense into him, eventually Ibuki also joins and tries to reason with Arase too. Telling him how that's what Kashiwagi wanted, even for Arase to find a new, honest life.

Arase is too strongly lead on by his grudges, so even though it seems like he might be thinking about turning his life around, he decided to not let them help him. Then he goes on about how he will definetly return to take revenge on Kiryu... Well. That's the end of that.

It becomes clear that Arases stubborn way of thinking is kind of childish. Not taking responsibility for any of his actions, thinking that his vile personality and actions are in fact the reason he got disowned. Failing to beat Kiryu was just the final puzzle piece to have a solid reason to throw him out. He's clearly unstable, doesn't think twice before shooting someone, he could turn on anyone and wouldn't be sorry for it. Just, he doesn't seem to really think about what he does.

I guess he probably thinks he's strong enough, he doesn't need to be careful. Also fitting for that is his fighting style in Dead Souls, how when he gets low on HP, he pretty much fends for himself, disregarding orders and just charging head first with full strength.

His Dead Souls appearance is also interesting. Okay, we all know, this game isn't canon, it's a spin-off and just doesn't fit in to the story. But it is interesting how he teams up with Kiryu for a bit and then leaves again. The game itself takes place after the events of Yakuza 4, meaning at this point RGG did remember that hey, they have a rival that swore to beat Kiryu one day. But after that... radio silence.

Really, this is such a shame. Just alone from his short appearances I can talk so much about Arase because he really is an interesting character with so much more potential! The only thing that's good about it is that he didn't die, making him technically one of the longest surviving characters in Yakuza which really is a great achievement.

Okay, we don't exactly know that he's still alive, but assuming due to there not being a mention of him being dead, he's probably alive. He might be, might not. Schrödinger's Arase.

One other thing I thought about is Jo Amon. I mean, his outfit and fight style is also similar to Arase, but that's not what I'm mainly thinking about. So the name Amon is for the greatest assassins, right? And they have a strong hatred against Kiryu at the beginning too.

So, putting those things together, Arase being a former assassin in the Nishikiyama Family, then the leader of a dangerous hitman organisation... Then, to fight Jo Amon in Yakuza 3 you also need to do all the hitman missions other than the substories and the IF7 fights. And to start the search for Amon, you also need to go to Ibuki again, where you got all the other hitman missions.

Yeah, it's a bit far fetched, but ... not too far fetched to think that maybe Arase and at least Jo Amon could know each other. I'd say, they could team up in a future game but. Well... Yeah.

Now some more things I thought about, I'll put a warning here though.

Yakuza LaD spoilers ahead!

Soooo, in this game we've gotten a couple of characters "back" ... Some more real than others... Thinking about Joon Gi's body double.

But one character that survived is Kashiwagi! Now the bartender of a bar named Survive. What a fitting name. After surviving such a heavy attack and believed dead by, well, everyone, it was the best approach to keep a low profile, start a new life. Also, he doesn't seem to be fit for any fighting after the incident.

So Kashiwagi is still there. And, now I just thought about, what if there was a possible redemption arc for Arase? Kiryu is believed dead now too, alone the fact that it seems that Kiryu never met Kashiwagi while being in the same area is kinda sad. I like to imagine they met each other...

I think it could go either way, Arase somehow got information on Kiryu being in Ijincho. He is a professional after all. Plus, by now Kiryu is also, well, not really working with... but. You know, not fighting with the Amon Clan anymore, even having Shin Amon to help determine Ichibans strength with the (True) Final Millennium Tower.

And, now, maybe there can be some other comnecting inside the Amon Clan and some info got out to Arase, ah, hell, I don't know, it's all so far fetched but I just like to have those possible headcanons of Arase somehow coming back!

Another possibility could also be Arase thinking Kiryu has died, just per chance being in the area and just going to the Survive bar? He'd probably be way more open about the thought of redemption and with Kashiwagi probably being pretty good at talking former Yakuza into that, given how the whole HLA was his doing.

Just... Thinking about possible things.

Yakuza LaD spoilers end here!

Well. That's that.

At the end of the day, the chances of Arase returning are pretty much 0, other characters you never thought of reappearing sometimes appear in one way or another, so it can be possible, but probably won't.

But one thing is clear, looking more into this character made me really appreciate him more. I guess that's the fact with a lot of characters, not just in Yakuza, but in general.

The characters in Yakuza are just so well written and even though it has some very weird and silly plot points and plot twists, I just love this game so much and looking more into it and replaying it is just so much fun.

I even started to like the minigames in Yakuza 3, even though I got very hopeless at the last pool opponent and the goddamn Mahjong completion, ugh. But at the end of the day it's all just really fun once you get the hang of it. It hasn't aged too well when you play it after the other Yakuza games, but replaying it on all the difficulties and then casually, then trying to beat it as fast as I can just made me love the game more and more every time.

So, uh... I don't know if it's a blessing or curse for me to often really like the characters that either everyone hates or have almost to screen time. Because well... there's such a lack of content and appreciation but hey that's what I'm writing this for!

I hope maybe someone starts to appreciate Arase more after this - if anyone even reads further after learning that I love this character. :D' I swear I tried to write it with as little bias as possible. I do know he's a morally very very grey character but after all, it's a video game character. (...There's no way I'll ever like characters like Yoneda...Ogita...Or Kume though... ugh)

Well anyway, with that, I go!

[itsclydebitches]

Your meta about the heroes/victims maybe is the reason why a lot of people latched onto the adults of RWBY more than they did the kids. Like team RWBY and JNPR are fun to watch. But there's a weight attached to the sacrifices Ozpin, STRQ, and even Ironwood have made that isn't there for the kids. The kids haven't really sacrificed anything except a personal sense of safety. Or resolved to do anything except defeat the bad guy centuries of heroes haven't managed to yet.

Obviously answering the question “Why do you prefer these characters over others?” is a multi-layered, beyond complicated thing that I’d never want to attach one (1) answer to. But yeah, that could definitely play a part. Related to this, I’d be fascinated to get some hard data on the fandom’s faves + the fans’ ages. Just because, from a purely personal standpoint, I think I would have latched harder onto the RWBYJNR group than I have if I’d gotten into RWBY as a kid or a teen. Just because I knew who I was back then, someone who didn’t appreciate - let alone empathize with - a lot of the complexity in the adult crowd that I really connect with now. Much of what I once would have seen as failures are now things I recognize as pretty unavoidable hardships and conversely much of what I would have found exciting now reads as reckless and childish. I can easily picture a 13 year old Clyde getting pumped over airship theft and looking disdainfully down on Ozpin because yeah, how dare you keep secrets from me! - I mean the characters who I am totally not projecting onto... Now that I’m an adult I find myself, if not outright gravitating towards adult characters (because that isn’t always the case), at least having a much better understanding of where they’re coming from that makes them both compelling and sympathetic. What would I sacrifice to keep the world safe? How would I keep going without any support? If seven teens unexpectedly showed up at my safe house would I have the strength to divulge secrets connected to my personal trauma? Trauma spanning more years than they’ve been alive? How can I burden them with that? What are my responsibilities here, both to the world and to the minors in my care? Etc. etc. These are questions that - removing the fantasy aspects - a 25 year old is more likely to have grappled with than a 17 year old.  

As said, faves are a hugely complicated thing but I’d be interested to know how much of our personal experience generates that investment. The 16 year old might indeed be more primed to see Ruby’s actions as strength whereas a 30 year old is primed to see them as foolish; the 60 year old fully understands that there often aren’t easy answers in life and thus connects with the adults grappling with that, whereas the 10 year old wants to know why these characters haven’t fixed everything like adults are supposed to. The mere concept of a sacrifice requires seeing the RWBY adults as people rather than just removed authority figures, something that I think the writing portrays well (Ozpin sobbing on his knees, Ironwood with his head in his hands) but that the characters continually ignore. They remind me of kids who don’t really get yet that adults have the same emotions and needs that they do and thus react strongly to the adults doing things they’re not “supposed” to do. Like making mistakes. Or crying. Or needing help. Regardless of age, I think those who are invested in the adult crowd get that. It’s a reaction of, “Oh. You’re human. I can connect with that” as opposed to “You’ve failed in your duties. I never had those duties and I’m still trying to help. Therefore that makes me superior to you” which is how the RWBYJNR group has been acting lately. Which may translate to the fandom and, consequently, have an impact on who in RWBY you start paying more attention to. When the 30+ crowd starts sacrificing things and yet still fails to fix the situation, does that generate feelings of understanding or feelings of betrayal? 

[thelucyverse]

I have idk yet one or a few new characterssss in the lucyverssssee: Universals of one [insert Central names for any birthname- Severus Snape s]!

Ronin Prince

Soooo I got the general character background from The Billow Effect by Sheankelor on ao3, perhaps with a side of from Advice from a old timer by the same author, my brain hasn't decided yet (btw I don't go looking for characters to steal or ocify lol, I just read tons of fanfiction and sometimes a character sticks in my head, and I make up stories with them in the lverse, either like oh xycharacterialreadyhave could do that, or like oh a new universal! Or of course sb entirely new who doesn't have established universals yet, but, like, unlikely when it comes to HP fandom... Also if I actually wrote fanfic about the character I'd ask in advance and tag inspired by!)

Anywayyz I rly like the thing with the house elves, I feel like he and Clarissa would have a lot to talk about (not that I ship them, Kingcissa 4 life), just politics and stuff, and when they meet try to compare how far each universe got, which bills were passed etc... Cue Clara going 'ugh mom found someone to talk to again... I rly didn't think it'd be worse than with Sarin, but Tara'n'Tara did warn me...'

I haven't come up with a first name yet also bc I'm not entirely certain these aren't one and the same person, haven't had time to rly think through whether or not it all fits yet, but if it's a second person I rly want the last name to be Prince too...

...just so Saarin Snape (well, Snape-Alcott) is the only one to keep the name (apart from some evilies but then they wouldn't get central names anyways), solely bc a) he knew he'd take Lizzy's name anyways b) it sounds cool and by the time they did actually marry he was known as Sarin Snape so he hyphenated.

So for second lastname-Prince dude I'm uuuuuh ok sorryy I don't even rly ship this myself and I know it's quite cringeworthy to most who ship the things I ship, but I started reading fic bc a) authors I like write it and b) I just... Stopped caring?? I mean especially with HP bc it's just such a fandom where you could use 2 dice with character names on and one with types of relationships and like- find fanfiction for it (btw that is a game Central ppl espesh Kasha and AKA etc would play... Not the fanfic part the rolling dice & betting on who gets real ones or sth), but also in general bc the concept of OTP or just shipping a person in one relationship (not saying with one person bc poly exists) doesn't make much sense when a) you don't believe that a person is only destined to be with one soulmate or whatever and b) your headcanon universe is a multiverse where universals (=different universes' versions) of the same person can have totally different experiences and meet different people or the same people at different times etc etc...

Long story short: Snarry.

Just.

The ethical dilemmas of a multiverse

Where ppl also have the possibility to meet ppl from a different 'verse

Aaaaaaa

I mean imagine you're dating someone. Bit of an age gap, but like not too bad, and while you've known each other for longer you've only /really/ gotten to know each other in recent years, both adults that know what they're doing, and you're starting to date...

...and then ppl from a different universe show up where the dude you're dating adopted other you??? (not central-politically correct phrasing, correct would be 'a universal of you was adopted by a universal of him', but like, rly don't think you'd give much of a fuck in that situation).

Like, who's in the wrong here?

Clearly, no-one is- like, you can't tell two consenting adults to stop dating just bc if things had gone differently they could've been father and son instead. Just as you can't tell a father to un-adopt his son because in another universe his univ fell in love instead.

(Vicky, when asked, would just shrug it off like wtf I'm not the relationship police)

Sarin (LIS Snape) would be mildly uncomfortable just because it made him think that that option might have existed... But he had known, really known, His Harry since the boy was eleven, and his parental feelings for him aren't going to change. Plus, he's been with Central for years, he has an understanding of how being universals, having shared genetics and/or partially shared experiences doesn't make you the same person. (Then he just occludes so he doesn't have to think about it anymore.)

Har would be a bit uncomfortable too but then, he saw evil!Snape a few years back, nothing can top that really... Plus, that other Harry wasn't in Slytherin, so it's not like he could've gotten to know Prince/Snape as well as he knew Sarin at that age... And he has been told (Dray) that his dad really does look good. He can't really see it... Well, okay, he can, but it's his dad! Ew. Anyways, he gets how without already being father and son them liking each other might make sense. The age difference is a bit weird maybe, but then not much worse than Tonks and Remus... All in all, he's seen worse (Blaise's mother's husbands died every other year, so that's that for unhealthy relationship goals).

Prince (and I still don't know whether that would be Ronin Prince or not. On the one hand, it kinda fits? He wouldn't have actually gotten to know Harry during his school years, neither the other way around, so them getting together would be later, maybe both as professors or sth... Plus I don't know anyone else to ship him with apart from obscure crossovers for punsies sake *cough*Ronin/Ronin*cough*, and I don't want a character like him to end up all alonesies... On the other hand I have epic fight ideas that don't fit the theme xD althooooough I guess Ronin could fight without Central's help, or at least keep stay at acquaintance level... So when Central does meet him years later, we still get the situash above^^... And then maybe second! Prince could be the one from Advice From An Old-timer, so I don't merge them all... Btw yes I read literally all of sheankelor's ff in one go, that's how I'm on the Snarry track rn in the first place, bc of This Is My Life and other ffs)...

Prince would be mortified. Is the age difference really bad enough for him to be Harry's father??!? Well, obviously, he went to school with Harry's parents, but still... He hasn't thought of Harry as a child in years, the same way he doesn't think of other adults as children just because they are younger than him. But this... Ouch. Feels kinda quilty now. Although... Not for long, because as always it's Harry who comes onto him...

And that Harry? He can't see him as a father figure at all. He's half a mind to call him 'daddy' as a prank now, but- maybe he'd better wait until his lover isn't quite so disturbed anymore.....

Oh, and why did I start thinking about new Shape universals in the first place? Back to The Billow Effect! Sarin just strides in a powerful elegance, Ronin gets his robes to billow manually and the other one started putting a spell on his robes later in life. Similar stiles, different origins and different executions! I like :D would also be fun in a movie: practical effects for Ronin, animations for the other billow effect!

[bunny-rambles]

get ready for the numbered list once again but for once i actually did start this ask by just scrambling fast a list of things i had to say beforehand so i hopefully won't have to send another ask to correct myself lmao :'

1. tea does become addictive once you get used to it (also! if you need an energy boost and caffeine doesn't work for you, i've found out that ginseng works well for me — it doesn't contain caffeine and is a very strong energy booster - also it tastes pretty good ahah -, the only thing is you can't drink too much of it like i'd do with tea because it spikes up blood pressure ahah)

as for the green tea tasting bland, if that didn't depend on the quality of the tea leaves themselves, that might've depended on like, water temperature or infusion time but i won't get ahead of myself because i'd write a whole paragraph and that is so not the case in an already long ask. but ye! matcha is always good but like, for future reference it's best if you just drink it in shops rather than making your own because it takes a lot of attempts to not make it like, full of clumps :'

2. if that kind of things interest you i'd actually really suggest looking into commedia dell'arte and all the like. first of all, because there are some very interesting stories to be discovered, and then it gives also an interesting background knowledge of many of the harbingers which is always fun :3 (also as an italian i love it because it sounds always very funny seeing the english va's or like generic english speakers trying and failing to pronunciate the word 'tartaglia' lmao)

2.1. of course zhongli was an art critic. he and venti had a sort of frenemy thing going around where zhongli openly criticised all of venti's music because he thought impressionist music was weird and venti made it even weirder on purpose. and diluc totally has a bar everywhere he goes — in this fic he also kind of used it as a shelter for homeless artists (like benny, razor and the likes) whom he like, fed and left with a roof under their heads, it was really cute. (grumpy accidental dad of grown ass teenagers diluc is a super funny concept to me lmao). the history with the harbingers is actually still in the working because it was supposed to have a bigger role in the second half of the story, i just haven't reached to writing that point :') (but like, the idea at the base was that the fatui were some sort of like, organised criminal businessmen working on shady commerces on like, drugs and weaponry and such and they managed to cover up their wealth by being the most successful opera crew in town — and, as scaramouche kindly explained in one of the paragraphs, they could hide any type of weaponry amongst the stage props ahah)

i would love to send you snippets but like ;;; i've reread the entire story up until where i had stopped writing it and like a ton of parts taken out of context don't make too much sense if they're not with the rest of their paragraphs. but since xiao had the funniest lines, i'll delight you with some of my favourite xiao thoughts in this story, like "On most days, Xiao wondered why the gods had made Zhongli so tall and broad shouldered and stable. It was unfair, because Xiao was a man with a frail mind but a strong body, yet still no match to the other when he tried to lift him up and throw him out of the door.", and "Truth to be told, Xiao didn’t really know Childe, but he was too handsome to be real, looked positively shady and was, most terribly, an extrovert.". yes, poor xiao was the outlet of me being a mostly comic writer writing a serious story. yes, i enjoyed it way too much, his character was the best to write. // also he and zhongli were kind of like brothers subtly but steadily judging each other's life choices and i lived for that

literally the only true context for the harbingers business i had ever written was in the scara centric paragraph (which featured a lot of unnecessary makeup description of our dear angry gremlin) and it went like this: "The hands he was washing his face with had seen blood, and had enjoyed every drop of it. Debtors, trade enemies, rival businesses a bit too cunning for lady Tsaritsa’s liking, all had been slain by the knives looking innocent into the mass of stage items. So what if Scaramouche woke up every day wanting to crush someone under the tip of his fingers, because it only took the rising of the moon for his dreams to come true."

to close this paragraph, of course kazuha wrote poetry on the side. he wrote poetry about everyone in every time and most of his screen time was him gushing poems about some pretty things or people he saw or playing an instrument. my sweet artistic son, sigh.

3. flowery english is the best ngl. but good luck with starting uni anyways!!! :))

4. oh believe it i will never be tired of getting scara food ahah ;; will be waiting for the new works then!! <33

5/6/7 and onwards. as i already say, like, always reply to me only when and if you feel like it. i don't mind listening to you if you need to like vent out or something but i also can and will wait until you feel ready to reply so really don't worry to much and don't apologize for being late. i hope i can think you're feeling better right now, though.

also for miscellaneous things: heart shaped rhinestones would surely look gorgeous on you and i'm glad that makes you happier, and as for mint syrup in italy you just usually find it in normal grocery stores, but if you find it hard to source and you can only find mint leaves there's i think tons of very easy recipes you can use to make your own :3

with this i'll tune off because it's almost time to start worrying about lunch. ti voglio bene anch'io, buns, take care! <3

hugs,

- 🍓

Here we go,,,

1 - I had the green tea at some restaurant and I got it for free with my noodles, it didn’t taste like much, just,,, very faintly flavoured hot water. I didn’t taste any of the flavour at all, nor can I recall it. Just,,, leafy water,,, hot leaf juice. Hehe. If you get that reference, I’ll be very happy. I’ll look into getting matcha at a shop then if I ever stop by a tea shop !! There’s plenty of them where I live, but I don’t really have friends in my city and I’m scared of going out alone so I’ve avoided them like the plague. But I’ll be out n about soon so, I’ll keep this in mind :,)

2 - Ah yes, the infamous Tart. I believe the t is silent, so it’s tar-tal-ia, am I correct? I would look into but there’s just,,, so much lord in Genshin my tiny brain can’t keep up. If I stumble across a video dumbing it down for me I’ll 100% watch it, but goodness research on my own would be super complicated to keep up with AND connect to the game. (Still confused with Enkanomiya and the Sumeru crumbs,,,,)

2.1- god I love that, and I can imagine Venti having a shit eating grin on his face while he plays while Zhongli is very visibly judging him behind his tea cup. FOUND FAMILY DAD DILUC SUPREMACY!! I love this trope with him, and I find it so sad that no one brings up Diluc being a mentor for Razor.

(AND KAEYA BEING ONE FOR BENNETT TOO !! It’s completely glossed over in the game but Kaeya taught Bennett how to fight with a sword, that’s why their styles are so similar!!) ( Kaeya and Diluc both having young ‘students’ that have similar traits to one another as well - Bennett because of his drive and determination and passion, something young Diluc probably wasn’t lacking in either. And Razor, this one’s a little more complicated, but he’s like a lost little puppy. He’s strong, fiercely loyal to his family, but for such a young boy he has so much on his shoulders. Kind of really reminds of how a young Kaeya would be, and Kaeya is fiercely loyal because let’s face it, he wouldn’t be in Mondstat if it wasn’t for his brother. I love these two oh my god, I hope they reconcile because in subtle ways, it’s extremely obvious they miss each other, and it shows in their ‘prodigies’) ( ALSO ALSO Razor and Benny being best friends? Come on T^T)

Hm, as someone who has many oc’s and au’s surrounding them (that I don’t really talk about but constantly daydream about), I feel like your pain. But, as these things go, it’ll hit you one day and it’ll finally slot together perfectly. Don’t be afraid to take some inspiration from things too if you’re really stuck !! Also that Scara snippet?? THAT- chef kiss. Absolute chef kiss. Magnificent.

As for Xiao, god I felt that one in my soul. As a moody 5’something short introverted lady, I too hate extroverts. (Okay well SOME, but most of them are just so,,, ugh, like where’d that energy come from? Take a nap-) and everyone wonders why I think he’s the character most similar to me. Short, moody, awkward, secretly soft, looks very intimidating and takes a while to open up, secretly hating tall people, a tragic backstory that has made us who we are like- if I www a fictional character, it’d be Xiao. Kazuha is more what I’m like online with flowery English and a soft, friendly exterior, but irl no I’m Xiao. Awkward, quiet, moody, everyone thinks we hate them but we just don’t know how to speak to people, I can keep going on. Oh and people like Hu Tao are the ones I gravitate to and find hilarious, much like how Xiao finds her numerous. Ah okay rambling over I just see a lot- a lot of similarities in us. I’m curious, who do you think you’re most like? Or who do you think I’m most like? We’ve interacted quite a bit to give you an idea of someone, no? If not I’d love to hear who you think the character resembling you is. You remind me of Albedo quite a bit, but with some Venti/Kazuha mixed in there. Oh! Zhongli too ! Very soft, intelligent and extremely interesting to talk to <3

3 - Scara freshly served, there’s a post out right now <33

4 - I would honestly hate to vent out my feelings to you. I want to be a source of positivity or happiness when you speak to me, I don’t want you hearing all my problems. Am I feeling better? Um. No. Not particularly. But it’s not forever. So it’s okay.

ti voglio bene my dearest fragola amica <3 (google translate don’t let me down)