#i like her so far! this mc version is super pretty too

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Meet My MC: Lyra Lexington

I'll edit this to make it cuter and more detailed while I play the story but here's what I have so far!

Nicknames: Ly, Little Miss Valedictorian, Doc, Lady, Queen

Born/Raised: Singapore -> New York -> Los Angeles

Books: Ride or Die, Queen B, Nightbound/Bloodbound, The Elementalists as a well-known Historian, and Crimes of Passion I and II (again, I haven't finished all of these books I just thought of this MC on the go)

Face Claim: Alyssa Raghu -> Naomi Scott/shredz55 (Insta)

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Zodiac: Aquarius

Fashion Style: "Girl Next Door" with a hint of Bohemian Chic

Love Interest: Trystan Thorne

Past Relationships: Logan, Colt Kaneko, Professor Ian Kingsley, Nik Ryder, Violet Hale (OC) Past Flirtationships: Mona, Cal, Vera

Education/Major: BA in History at UC Berkeley; MA in Anthropology and Ph.D in Archeology at Harvard University; Magic Training at Pendergast College of Elemental Magicks

Family:

Great Great Great Great Great Grandmother: Desire and Decorum MC Great Great Great Grandmother: The Unexpected Heiress MC Godparents: Adrian Raines and Evelyn "Evie" Rouge Father(s): Lord Elric; Detective Antonio Lexington (FC: TBD) Mother: Lilavati "Lila" Solaris (FC: Nayanthara) Half-Brother: Tialo Maternal Cousin: My Queen B OC/The Elementalists MC Children (Twins): Amber Marguerite Thorne and Alice Nayeli Thorne Pet: Arcane (A Perrikin)

Backstory

Lilavati left her extremely controlling family after leaving for college to major in Economics, where she met Adrian Raines, and the two became close friends (she was already dating Lyra's father and unknowingly pregnant). As far as her family knows, she's a Board Member/Head of Business for Raines Corporation. In actuality, she's a witch who eventually started working as a kind of supernatural diplomat to ensure peace between supernatural beings, which ended up being for the NYC vampire clans. She's under the vampire clans' protection (but she associates most with Adrian since they're the closest). She was extremely happy for Adrian when he met Evie and fell deeply in love with her. After Lyra is born, she asks Adrian and Evie to be her godparents. In my head, Evie shows up at some point during Nightbound in the Priya Lacroix scene and mentions how much Lyra reminded her of her mother (it took Lyra a second to recognize who Evie was because it's been a while but she knew Evie was a familiar figure). Antonio blames Adrian and Evie (and the rest of the BB crew) for his wife's death and ensures they stay away from his daughter by moving to a smaller home in LA.

Fun Facts:

She's a very talented Carnatic singer! Her extended family wanted her to continue but as much as she loves to sing, she didn’t want to pursue it as part of her future

She is fluent in English and Spanish but proficient in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Dravokian. She learned Spanish from her father and Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil from her mother. Her parents spoke those languages at home alongside English, but she became less fluent in the languages her mother spoke after she died. And after marrying Trystan, she obviously learned Drakovian

She’s from a wealthy family, or technically her mother was, but she left her old life to have her freedom before Lyra’s older cousins were even born. Lyra herself has an even larger inheritance after her mother died, but her father didn’t feel comfortable using her family money “irresponsibly.” She plans to use that money for her education.

[herotome]

Devlog #125

Hi-ho, Wudge here! Gosh! I missed last week's update.

Happy holidays from Herotome!!

I haven't drawn anything this year-- oh but hmm, I could do a quick edit, here -

Tadah! For anyone who hasn't already seen it, we got those 50 reblogs to make Warden shirtless! A pure version without the christmas lights went up yesterday, just scroll down my blog a bit or check out the #ro: warden hashtag.

I'm pleased with how much mileage I'm already getting from this picture, ha.

Anyway.

Seems like I'm gonna be focused on writing new scenes and drawing expressions for a while. They're some of the more tedious tasks for me, so I'll certainly be looking for every opportunity to do other things on the side - like coding.

Today I've decided that the LI sprites should have their eyebrows on a separate layer from the rest of their face, to offer me the greatest amount of variety in creating new expressions - and I've come up with a naming system for it, too!

I'm looking forward to implementing this. Eyebrow shapes have much, much less variety compared to mouth shapes, so I might even finish drawing every possible eyebrow for every LI sometime soon. I've already gotten a strong start with Warden and Mia's eyebrows.

Speaking of, I did turn in more expressions over on Ko-Fi!

Tadah!! Thank you again to everyone who has donated so far!

I'm realizing that in the set dedicated to Dia, Warden and Mia have the same mouth shape on the upper right side... A fascinating subconscious decision on my part.

Outside of art, I did write... once. Er, it went pretty okay. I'm usually the biggest hater of my first drafts.

I think my goal is gonna be to show off the abilities of all the characters as equally as I can; Warden and Jade have had their time to shine (during the job fair and flying MC home, respectively), and I think MC, Griffin, and Mia are gonna be queued up next.

I'll put the rest under a cut for potential spoilers and further rambling - as always, if you don't see the cut, make sure to check out my blog directly!

I have a good idea of what I wanna do with Griffin (it may or may not involve obliterating your rent debt, and I may or may not have written about that in the first-draft-I-don't-hate).

I've been thinking that this scene would involve a change of clothes btw, and did some fashion concepts for Griffin that I also don't hate;

I'm not super sure what I'm gonna do for Mia's eventual ~special show-off scene~, but I'm sure it will come to me.

For MC, I want to show off her relationship with the city, and showcase how qualified she is for the job in a low-key way. I recently discussed with a friend how Men in Black is a huge source of inspiration for me... Y'all know the scene where Will Smith has his interview and did things differently from all the other candidates?? I kinda wanna capture that vibe...!

And ah... I think that's about it, Herotome-wise.

Wudge-wise, honesty hour - I've had ssssome mild health concerns this year.

I don't want to go into detail; I want to say it's been like... nothing life threatening, thankfully, but a lot of small physical inconveniences that pile up and make it harder to concentrate.

I did rest a lot last week so no worries. <3 It's just that parts of my body have been weird and annoying, and I think it's helpful to acknowledge that the flesh prison can be a weird and annoying place. But I value it! And I'm doing my best to take care of it. Health comes first, etc, etc.

With this new year, I hope you guys take care of yourselves as best as you can, too. The person who's most qualified to take care of you is you!!!

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Imp spoke, “Always ticked Alec off, you know.  That you weren’t any good at holding grudges.  Too focused on the present, when it came to picking your enemies and your allies.  I wound up defending you, even.”

I don't know if this is true.

I recently saw a meta where some asshole in this fandom was criticizing certain elements of the Worm fandom for constructing a 'sanitized version' of Taylor for fanfics.

The specific example they used was someone saying that Taylor wasn't very judgmental, or something, and then going off on how that's totally not true and Taylor is super judgemental and going on to leverage that to attack Taylor on multiple levels and how the fandom version of her doesn't match her.

Now, I think I've made it very clear both on this blog and my main blog that I don't take a 'narrow read' of canon for pretty much anything. I love that lot of interpretations on characters exist, even ones I don't like or don't agree with, I don't try to police them and beyond the really extreme batshit reads on characters that are just bafflingly nuts, I don't really even bitch about them much. I'll often - though hardly always - read stories that have depictions of these characters that I think are off, or don't match mine, but seem rooted in the text.

Granted, there are some characters, usually ones I have strong feelings on either way, where there are some readings of them I'm just never gonna want to read a fic including, but even then, bar the ones that I think are just way fucking off base, I don't think they're invalid.

All that said, I don't actually disagree that A) The particular descriptor of Taylor that this asshole chose to single out and go after was wrong, and B) That there definitely are people who present a version of Taylor that is sometimes sanitized. (Not so much sanitized in terms of morality, but in terms of her weirdness or repellent traits as a character, etc). I don't agree with this asshole that Taylor is actually gotten 'that wrong' by the 'Spacebattles Crowd' as much as he does.

That could be because I'm lucky in which fics I've read - I have been breathing, eating and sleeping Wormfic for the lasts six months, and as I read Worm, I have been able to look at some Wormfics and go 'yeah, I don't really like that Interpretation, yeah that feels off base, etc' and I've even seen some TINO (though I think it is less common than many believe - I think most depictions of Taylor, even ones that get stuff wrong, are still rooted in actual parts of the text, they may just be cherrpicking or doing the common habit of taking a piece of text and taking the interpretation a few extra steps too far, either for effect or because they think it's fair to do so in this case).

I doubt it's actually a function of the fics I've read - I haven't read all Wormfic of course, but I've read quite a spread - and more just a difference of opinion about what sort of extrapolations/extensions of canon are permissible.

But to get back on topic, I think that the 'Taylor isn't judgmental' interpretation comes from a real place. It doesn't come from the particular line that I used as a jumping off point for this extended rant/meta/hit piece against the unnamed asshole/Etc, but it's the same kind of thing. Where characters will sometimes say a thing about Taylor that fits with what they know of her, but is not fully accurate. Or they're taking individual moments where she isn't being judgmental, even when perhaps she should, and making more of them then is fair. Also, first person makes it harder to separate the MC's perspective from perspective of the work as a whole, and sometimes people just... get it wrong on where the separation belongs.

So Imp says that Taylor is bad at holding grudges. I don't agree. Her meeting with Emma in Arc 20 makes very clear, despite what some people have claimed, to my face, that she hasn't 'let go', or that she doesn't hold a grudge. Even her earlier meeting with Sophia is hardly free of the history they have.

Taylor holds grudges. She held one against Armsmaster for quite some time, until reconciliation happened.

But Aisha says Taylor doesn't hold grudges, and said that ticked Alec off... because especially with the Trio, Taylor doesn't act on those grudges.

One of the things that I think is a major source of division in terms of Taylor is less the 'unreliable narrator' aspect (which I really think gets overplayed) is that some people really emphasize what Taylor does and says to people (even when it's clear she's lying, it's relevant what she's lying, who she's lying to, and how she's lying) and others what to emphasize what she thinks. And even then they want to emphasize certain aspects of what she's thinking and then taking a further step and - relying heavily on the 'unreliable narrator card' - what they think that really says.

I don't disagree that Taylor is an unreliable narrator. And I don't think that you can ignore Taylor's own thoughts. But her actions were still choices, what she says and who she says things to are choices, and those choices say as much about her as her thoughts - because after all, unreliable narrator.

And yet, the 'unreliable narrator card' always seems to get played in one direction, that Taylor is worse than other people think she is, or some variations thereof. But I would say that in many cases, the core unreliability of Taylor's POV is her own poor opinion of herself and what she's doing.

This has diverged pretty far from where I started, but just tl;dr - just because someone else's version of Taylor doesn't line up with yours, doesn't mean that they're doing a 'sanitized version' or a 'TINO'. They might be, but it could be they are trying, but getting wrong. They also could have a different perspective that emphasizes different aspects of the character in the text than you do, they have difference of opinion as to which parts of the text are the most revealing of her core character and then different opinions about how to take all that information and extrapolate it into situations the character wasn't in in the canon.

This comes down to some pretty rooted philosophical differences about canon and fandom and fanfiction and transformative fandom versus curative fandom and moves well beyond Taylor and Worm, so not really a thing that's easy to convince people on but just... have an open mind and not be an ass to or about other fans if they're not being an ass first. And even then, probably don't be an ass.

I don't always live up to my own advice, but I try.

[ecargmura]

Bucchigiri?! Episode 1 Review - Hiroko Utsumi Is Back

After the success that was SK8 The Infinity, Hiroko Utsumi returns with another original anime. She sets aside the skater boys and goes for delinquent boys and genies this time around. Will it live up to the hype surrounding her name and trajectory? It’s only the first episode, so I need to see if it’ll be as great as SK8.

From the first episode alone, I liked it. It’s pretty zany, as true to the Hiroko Utsumi formula of having very illogical premises work. The story is about Arajin Tomoshibi transferring to a delinquent high school in hopes of getting a girlfriend and losing his virginity. He then gets involved in school gang fights. Oh, and he finds a djinni who wants to grant his wish. The genie then gives him tremendous strength as a condition to his wish.

You can see that there are a lot of references to Arabian Nights. Other than the concept of djinns and wishes, you can see that Arajin is very Chinese-themed from his outfit to his family’s restaurant being a Chinese one. This is because the original story of Arabian Nights had Aladdin, the character he’s based on, as a Chinese boy. The buildings in this story are all Arabian-inspired buildings. So, this is actually a very creative part on Utsumi. I’m not too familiar with other Arabian Nights stories, so I’m not sure what other references there are.

There are so many characters to keep up with. However, I do like what I’ve seen so far. Arajin is arguably a bit one-sided at first glance as his only defining trait is his desire to get laid, but there could be a reason why he does this when he’s with Matakara. Matakara is this show’s version of Makoto Tachibana, a nice beefy dude who’s childhood friends with the black-haired MC. However, they had separated for five years before reuniting. Matakara seems like a nice guy—the ways Utsumi writes nice guys is that if they’re nice, they’ll always be nice. The other characters are pretty one-note, but I’m sure I’ll see more later on. The character I’m most interested in is Marito, who is very sultry. However, the best character so far is Arajin’s mother. She’s so cute and a super embarrassing but loving parent.

The djinn is actually a lot cuter than I expected. The trailers had him as this hulking spirit that looks all serious and straight-laced, but he’s very cute. Like, he hangs around Arajin and even watches TV in his house. He’s super chill and friendly, contrary to his appearance. Like, I think he might be the dark horse in terms of stand-out characters because I didn’t expect this character to be so freaking adorable.

What surprises me the most is that Utsumi is actually using a female lead, or a heroine, for this story. If you’re familiar with Utusumi’s works, she really likes ‘fujo-bait’ shows. With Free, there are a few female characters but none of them are too significant other than Gou who isn’t the female lead; the main characters are all male. With Banana Fish, there aren’t that many female characters as the main characters are primarily male; Eiji, a male, is arguably the heroine of the show. With SK8, there are some females, but they’re mainly supporting characters as the show is about guys who like skateboarding. I think this is the first time Utsumi is using a heroine for her works. Mahoro is so important that she’s even the main focus in the ending—this has never happened before. However, how important she will be will depend as she’s mainly a sadistic brocon who gets turned on by her brother Marito beating up her potential suitors.

Because this is animated by MAPPA, the animation is very good. I just hope they’re treating their animators well this time. Workplace abuse is a huge no for me. The anime feels very over the top, but also well-animated in that regard. The fights are handled great, but there’s also the mix of the classic Utsumi fan service sprinkled in; she clearly loves back muscles as she emphasized Matakara’s a lot.

The voice actor choices are actually very surprising. You’d assume there would be a cast of new faces, but not exactly. While there are some new faces like Anna Nagase, there are a lot of veterans and voice actors who aren’t well-known. For example, Arajin’s voice actor, Genki Okawa, was in Yugioh Zexal as Mizael, but other than that, he isn’t a big name. Some big named veterans in the cast are Nozomu Sasaki as Marito; he voiced Johan Liebert from Monster, Eriol Hiiragizawa from Cardcaptor Sakura, and Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho. Other big names like Kappei Yamaguchi (Inuyasha, Ranma Saotome), Makoto Furukawa (Saitama), and Ryota Takeuchi (Elias from The Ancient Magus’s Bride, Ushijima from Haikyu) are casted here but I don’t know who their characters are because there are so many introduced from the get go. The other voice actors are small names, but I do hope they get big. Everyone deserves a chance at the spotlight!

Overall, I’m a huge sucker for Hiroko Utusumi’s works so I might be a bit biased in this review. However, I can say for a fact that her works are always entertaining to watch. I hope this one is the same. If you’re watching this show, what are your thoughts?

[loopingpyre]

Shadow knife dies so hard in the original they forgot to put him in the final dungeon. This might be a bit all over the place. There was a lot. Most of the final two eps are the characters accepting their decision to be better when they get back. Izuru being on the spectrum makes a ton of sense. Not the direction one expects from the cool loner type. Unlike Mifue and Suzuna, Kotono is too straight for the female MC. Tragic. Kinda messed up you can give Suzuna codependency issues though. Shogo's was great. 13 years...and then he gets a chance to do things right the second time. And all of a sudden Thorn with the steel chair making him go through that again in the ending. My man cannot catch a break! Still, points for being the most forthcoming about how it's gonna suck for everyone when they get back. Even at the end before the Mu fight he calls reality hell. Nice reminder that their real struggles are after they get back. I can't imagine the game expected the Marie bit to be an actual twist. I wasn't ready for her transformation though. Where is she keeping all of those bombs... Super cool tie! Shadow knife's eps. If the Eiji death messed him up this bad I can't imagine how miserable Kotaro's would've been. Pretty much was a longer version of his stuff from the tower which I didn't mind. Mu kinda breaks in the second half of his and Wicked's story. Sad. Wicked though. Wtf! I was so unsure what the point of her story was at first. She doesn't really learn much of anything nor does she care to and you barely get more insight into her over the course of it. Reading that she was comatose and then seeing the hospital scene though. It stirred something within me for sure but I don't know if I can word it. Maybe it's that some people in Mobius just can't be helped? Her scars run so deep and she's also not even capable of living and trying like the rest of them when they go back. Then again her grandfather doesn't take the mask off so she's still got a chance if she wakes up? There's hope there but she's so far gone I'm not sure if you're supposed to believe in that. I will say Ike-P's comments when you are in the aquarium with Shadow Knife and Wicked and depressed Mu were hilarious. I felt so bad for him. He's too normal for all that. Thorn was certainly an antagonist. Part of me was expecting a much deeper reason with Ichika but nope just a lost love/friend. Like if they weren't whispering in Mu's ear then they could've been an earlier musician and Wicked could've been the one who wanted to destroy the world. Grand Guignol sucked. Looks awesome but man those hallways were long. Interesting that Mirei didn't need to be brainwashed of all people. Kuchinashi and Wicked being done with reality made sense but I guess there's not much left for Mirei either (in her eyes). Stay in Mobius ending was insanely miserable. As for the actual end. Happy that Mu and Aria can be together again. I will say Aria did grow on me over the course of the game and only a small percent of that was seeing the yuri vision between her and Mu. Trying to guess who everyone was in the credits was a fun little game. I really liked how even the characters who didn't have much of an image problem still presented differently in Mobius. Also liked how they didn't really show anyone's face. Makes them regular people who are back to a regular world. Seeing the musicians interacting with the club members was super sweet too. I wonder if Mirei knew that was Kotono and her kid. While there's a lot of hope, the Kuchinashi one was quite the downer. Feels like the game wants you to play out how their lives will play out including however you defined the mc. A little meta that you don't really see the MC? The person in Mobius is your avatar and when you finish the game you're back to living in reality. Might be reading too much into that though. Quick note on the last few songs. Were there like effects or something? How was she doing that with her voice?? Might have some final things to add once I sleep on it. Thank you for reading my rambling this whole time! 4096 limit.

So the fun part about the Wicked thing is that her character episodes are a bit limited. This is because there's a natural stopper in the form of an official light novel sequel to the game, that's all about her.

You can find a translation here if you're interested. I adore this thing so much, this was written before Overdose was released, so future content couldn't really contradict it. The 12 episode anime adaptation actually gives her more screentime outside of Naruko so it's less of a twist, but that anime is already more of a fun fan thing because it's not a straight adaptation of the game to begin with. The whole thing about reality and hell is that it's trying to play on the game's fancy tagline that uses a special kanji that refers to both of those words at the same time, reality is hell. Thorn is very interesting also because like, their backstory is packed with Stuff that they keep hidden from you and there's so many wild implications in the idea of assuming someone else's guise so they 'aren't dead'. Like, holy shit. I like how the ending is stylised like that. It's rather interesting in that it's an overdose exclusive addition, and Takuya Yamanaka, the game's director isn't actually sold on if it was the best thing to even add because he wanted it to be interpret-able and not just give them happiness, but he also wanted players to get a little bit more out of the characters if they'd already played the vita game. It's one of those things where I think they managed to run a smidge better in the anime due to being able to just do whatever. I like Kuchinashi and Shogo just so happening to cross paths though, that's cute. The last few songs are especially insane, the boss rush in the grand guinol is all new overdose remixes, arrangements by Cosmo@P, who also composed Thorn's theme, Distorted Happiness. They go incredibly hard and I think it has to be a combination of skills to make Ueda's voice go wild. I'm really glad you enjoyed the game! If you ever come up with any other notes about it let me know, it's been a ton of fun reading your stuff!

[animedegens]

A few things I’ve watched so far! (A thread)

1. Red Cat Ramen: Really fun & Cute shows about cats running a ramen shop! This show seems like it’s going to be dialogue and character interaction heavy! Love the attention to detail such as the “cat hair policy”. VA cast is phenomenal. One of my faves after ep 1

Who doesn’t like Nekos?

2. My wife has no emotion: really cute artstyle! I like Mina (the robot), She’s interesting! I’d like to see them dive into how she’s able to use the internet to change like she has.

Male MC is a bit cringe at times.. he makes me feel like I’m watching a Tamer version of RAG. This has been a semi funny show so far! Def towards the bottom of my list rn!

I want to see the other characters interact with them now!

Love the OP, it’s a bop & it fits the show w/ a robotic feel

3. Days w/ My Stepsister

Pretty good 1st ep! It seems like they wanna be serious & not just do it because it’s funny or taboo. Also seems like they wanna touch on the more serious side of things & show the issues that come from 2 older teens starting to live together all of a sudden.

Both MCs seem to have their own issues with themselves. I hope they stay true to what they showed us in the 1st ep & it might accidentally be a decent rom-drama. 50% chance of anime anime-ing

4. Psuedo harem

VA Saori Hayami (Yor & Yukino) shows off that she can do any trope style in this one!

Super fun, esp since Rin is basically a one girl harem act! But she’s not the only outstanding VA! Eiji’s VA (Bakugo & Himmel) really puts on a great performance in the 1st ep too! This should be a fun romcom!

5. Senpai is an otokonoko

One thing that really stands out is their use of the simplistic chibi art style when they’re trying to be funny or drive home a point. I love it!

I’m kinda wondering how deep they’re gonna get with this one? Is it just gonna be a lighthearted romcom? Or is it gonna dive deeper into acceptance & bullying? It’s also fun to note that 2 out of the 3 MCs have both male & female Japanese VAs according to anilist!

6. Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian

Really cute art style & show! I like Kuze, maybe bc he stays up late watching anime & playing games. Sounds familiar lmao.

Kinda hope they don’t go too crazy with fan service tho. But I also love that he knows what she’s saying in Russian. Which makes me wonder, who is the Russian girl he used to play with? Pretty funny romcom so far!

7. Failure Frame

It’s the typical weakest class loner dude isekai…

But I do like a decent underdog story. I love seeing them prove all the egotistical bullies wrong lmao.

But, this one is gonna be hit or miss, cause the monsters so far has been noticeably bad.. so I wanna see how they handle the fighting… we shall see!

😈 I’ll have more 1st episode thoughts soon!!

[thesketchyheartist]

02/05

Class Choice Week 1: Perfect Blue

This week I am writing my class's choice piece: Perfect Blue, an 80-minute film released in 1998. This will be my first time watching it.

For anyone curious, this film has a lot of psychological and horror stuff, so please watch with caution. For reference, think of Oshi no ko, but the idol lives and everyone is dying or dead. Because this film will not be too related to our class's current themes, I will focus on my own reaction. Also, I've never watched Oshi no ko, but I have watched some clips and have listened to IDOL song by Yoasobi and a fan-made English version many times, so I will speak on inferences of the show.

The MC Mimi Kirigoe is a pop idol who changed careers to become an actress. The film follows her in her journey from her first scenes to the end when she becomes a famous actress. During her journey, she faces identity and reality distortions. If I wasn't paying attention for even a second, I would definitely be super lost. There were quite a few scenes where we the viewers think she's finally able to speak about her problems to someone, like her manager Rumi or her coworker (I can't remember her name, but she's a famous actress at the time), only for someone to yell "cut!" and we see she's only acting in front of the camera. And I remember throughout the film how lucky Mimi has such a kind-hearted manager who advocates for her, only for her to be the antagonist all along. Admittedly though, I did sense something off about the manager when I noticed how her eyes were far apart like the Me-Mania stalker. I couldn't help but wonder if their uncanny faces are either an insult to the physically unattractive stereotypes of otakus or just to hint at their creepy energy.

But the real pain of the show is the realistic elements. Mimi is not a famous pop idol, and if she wanted to go big in acting, there were sacrifices she needed to make in a brutal industry. Yet, the moment she said yes to the rape scene, that was really when things went south. And the lines between reality and acting blurred because they began to cross over. In today's world where a computer is no longer a giant cube of metal but a part of your person, we the fans have been given too much liberty about people's lives. The celebrities we idolize are not gods who must give their blessings, nor are they gods who should be worshipped. Mimi lives in a traditional apartment with basic necessities. If she cuts herself, she bleeds. And if she's stabbed, she will die. Like Ai in Oshi no ko, Mimi kept assuming she had to be that perfect girl in her fans' eyes to be loved, and she had to do what everyone said so she can have that love.

In the end, the pretty girl with the cute dress will come home every day tired of everyone's expectations. It's only when both Ai and Mimi faced death in the eyes, that was when they were able to find the peace to their lives.

I think this film was called Perfect Blue because throughout her hallucinations, Idol Mimi was seen in her original pink idol outfit, but Perfect Blue refers to the perfection Mimi was seeking, which is the opposite of pink. We can see even when "Mimi" was bleeding, her blood was pink, not red like when she cut her hands, possibly to signify her perfections or just old animation. In the final scene, Mimi wears blue jeans and a yellow blouse, showing her simple yet ideal look as the Real Mimi.

-02/04/2024

[icharchivist]

At present there's three Alter Ego skins for the MC

Do you have a favourite among them or any opinions on them? I'd just really like to know

ooouuuh that's a cool question, thank you for asking!

i think my favorite one is the 2nd one, but as it goes:

The first one has a very good aesthetic in general, it's leaning more on the "extremely corrupted with malice" than the other two imo, which is pretty cool. I do like the crown and the hood on each of them, and i LOVE the strings/puppet imagery of this one.

If anything my problem is more than i don't find the clothes design super interesting. I know it's just a corrupted version of the base clothes, but yeah, Djeeta especially isn't really compelling to me.

And while i do like the "corrupted with Malice" in theory, i think Gran looks better than Djeeta about that and as a Djeeta main i end up getting very tired of seeing this specific sprite.

The second one is my favorite, hands down. I think both designs really rock. But i'm honestly already partial to it because it's based on Belial's design and it keeps the strong elements that makes Belial's design work so well.

I really love the hairstyle on this one, simple but efficient. Their expression is malicious but without being downright deranged in a sense? very liking it.

I also love the idea of Gran having the full apple but Djeeta having eaten her apple, considering the Apple should be based on, yknow, Adam & Eve eating the fruit, this reflects that and it's cool.

and else the details of Belial's design really stand out for the best. The boa, the jacket, it's all really cool, and i love the crop top for the both of them (though they should have made it shorter on Gran too while at it come on.)

Personally i'm obsessed with Gran's collarbones on this one.

And i do really like the designs of the shirts.

I'd say if they were going to give a sexy skirt to Djeeta with the asymmetrical legs design, they should at least have given an asymmetrical design to Gran as well, but i get wanting to have him closer to Belial's design. But as it is i do like even Djeeta's sexy design. If there's any skins that calls for it, it's the "corrupted by Belial" one after all.

The third design, based on Avatar!Belial, therefore still is based heavily on the previous design, but with the same idea as Avatar!Belial to be sexier, and more provokating. For Belial it was because he's pushed in so much pain that he double downs on how he behaves originally, esp on the vulgar-sexy.

But i'd say perhaps that on this one it goes a little too far for me.

Everything that made the previous design strong is still there, personally i just am not fan of the Djeeta decoletage and the pose she takes, even if i get the idea of it.

For Gran, i like it in general pretty well, loving the tramp stamp, but idk, i don't vibe with it as much.

It's like, the first design is basically just a quick corruption type, MC doesn't really get the time to change or anything, it's the corruption of who they currently are. So it has a bit more of an unkept vibe to it.

The second design is much more controled in that sense, it's typically dramatic villainy with a knack for presentation, and it keeps up with the "Belial type of sexy" in a way that is still more controled and elegant.

The third design, by virtue of being Avatar themed, makes it less controlled, more erratic, more vulgar than elegant. on a thematic level i find it super cool, but on a personal preference i vibe way less with it than with the previous one. I still think i prefer it over the first one though.

So that would be my opinion on the Alter Ego designs o7 and in term of preference it'd be 2>3>1 for me!

Thank you for asking it was fun to answer <333

Take care ;D

[fickleminder]

If you’d like to write or talk about your Demons Will Be Demons au and swapping mcs I’m all ears! I feel like Kirana being plopped in that world would be an unfairly convenient situation for the brothers, and au kirana’s lower demon friends would be the ones largely hurt! They lose a friend, and depending on how things play out they very well might be completely sidelined. Au Kirana in canon timeline could be fun for letting out some hard truths at the brothers, but a relationship with her old friends or even purgatory hall will be harder. The brothers are pretty possessive and protective, not only is it an issue of control over Kirana but it’s also about the safety of those outside the household and how in the canon timeline no large specific effort has been put into pushing against class divides?

Anon— Anon you and your big brain— There are so many layers to your ask I am DELIGHTED to talk about AAHHHH THANK YOU FOR THIS!

(demons will be demons AU here and here)

Okay so, a big factor in how things after the swap play out is where exactly in the DWBD timeline Kirana is. I’m assuming you’re coming from when the brothers are in the “groveling” stage trying to make amends with her so let’s start there:

Kirana in DWBD!AU

Hoo boy, the poor lesser demons. So much confusion on both sides when Kirana doesn’t seem to recognize them at all, and maybe they start to think the Avatars have something to do with it, finally having had enough of playing nice and resorting to using magic to forcibly “repair” their relationship with the human they mistreated. They definitely wouldn’t put it past them, but throwing around accusations like that is a sure-fire way to get maimed so they go to Purgatory hall for help.

Solomon can be a good actor when he wants to and I feel like he’ll have no problems getting close to Kirana to determine if she’s under a spell. All he can discern are faint traces of Barbatos’ magic on her (my working idea is that Barbatos fell sick and somehow switched the two Kiranas during a sneezing bout) but other than that she’s acting completely of her own free will.

Kirana’s pretty chill and open-minded by nature though, and while it sucks having to start over from scratch since she doesn’t have all those precious memories of them, the lesser demons have a good chance of rekindling a friendship with her (if they can get her away from the Avatars to begin with).

Speaking of, this is the brothers’ dream come true! The human they’ve had a change of heart about, whose good books they’re desperately trying to get into, suddenly treating them like family? It’s free real estate Sign them the fuck up! And if Kirana and Satan are already together in canon, DWBD!Satan will be over the moon. They know, they know this isn’t the same human who’s learnt to maintain a polite distance from them, but they’re not about to look a gift horse in the mouth and swear to treat this new Kirana like royalty.

Meanwhile, Kirana would be so confused at the brothers falling all over themselves for her (more so than usual anyway) and she can definitely tell something’s off. Lesser demons she’s never met claiming to be her friends (vouched for by the Purgatory hall gang), the brothers not familiar with her habits and tastes, Barbatos down with some strange illness that turns seedlings into trees when he coughs… She’s jumped timelines before so the idea of alternate realities isn’t that far-fetched, but the problem is whether or not she can go home.

And don’t get me started on the pacts oh good lord. Maybe the brothers are being rowdy, maybe Kirana finds herself threatened at RAD, or maybe the Avatars pick a fight with the lesser demons who insist on spending time with her—

Kirana single-handedly brings the seven demon lords to heel and suddenly no one is sure how to feel about this super-powered version of her anymore.

DWBD!Kirana in canon

Mom can you pick me up I’m scared This Kirana’s support system is just gone. The brothers are nice to her, too nice, and she can’t help but think they’ve been replaced by clones again. Satan is an absolute gentleman, speaking to her softly and treating her so delicately, and it’s something from a fantasy she’d abandoned long ago ever since he made her cough up blood from putting Devildom spices in her food.

While the Purgatory hall gang are more than happy to have her over whenever she wants, it’s hard to get away from the brothers who constantly compete for her time and attention. Poor girl is so not used to this and is absolutely confused. She’s too suspicious of their intentions to buy into their sincerity and let her guard down, and at the same time they don’t trust her to associate with people outside their household.

Anon you made a fantastic point about class divides and relationships outside those with the brothers because the idea of Kirana preferring to hang out with lesser demons is simply preposterous! How dare she have other demon friends, they’re not safe to be around unlike us hypocrites so just be a good girl and listen, okay? And even if they could be friends in canon, the brothers don’t give her a chance to try.

Maybe this is the point where DWBD!Kirana finally snaps. She has a mental breakdown over how everything is just wrong and how she wants her old friends back and the audacity of the brothers to cozy up to her when all they did was make her life miserable—

Satan’s pact with her is dormant, and that is the moment he is certain this is not his Kirana. He’s had his suspicions of course, she’s been acting strange ever since she visited the castle to deliver some homemade soup to Barbatos, but now she’s spitting out things that never happened between them and is practically inconsolable.

Pactless and alone in this new world, DWBD!Kirana is straight up not having a good time. The brothers are also horrified at how their alternate selves treated their favorite human so poorly, and even though DWBD!Kirana has no power over them, they do their best to loosen their hold on her and let her seek out her own comfort and safety.

Even if it isn’t with them.

(The swap happening early on in the DWBD timeline is a whole other can of worms asdfghjkl but I’ll save that for another time)

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Demeter

Have I been using this series to vicariously punish Belphie for the events of Season 1? I cannot confirm nor deny that statement.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter

Lucifer

Didn't think too much of the "human" when they popped out of the portal. Sure they had a straw hat and a huge basket full of produce but it wasn’t like they were… Wait… No… Were they…?

Oh no. Oh nonononono, this is not good…!!

Demeter is notoriously doting and protective of her children (see her freakout and breakdown after Hades abducted of Persephone as proof) and they've pretty much done the EXACT. SAME. THING. here!!

It was a mad scramble by him and Diavolo to contact and appease their godly Mother Bear before she came roaring down to Devildom herself to turn them all into barley. Thankfully, Zeus must have intervened at some point because though she was indeed PISSED, she didn't threaten to barge in… yet.

She made one thing very clear. Bend so much as a single hair on her precious child's head and there would be WAR…

The MC received a 24 hour security detail after that. Just Mammon wasn't going to cut it, he needed NO chances. It was a full rotation of Mammon, him and Beel for the entirety of their stay (Asmo and Levi both threw hissy fits at the prospect of babysitting, Satan couldn’t be trusted not to kill them just to irritate him, and Belphie was out for… obvious reasons).

In some ways, it wasn’t so bad. The MC was a very mild sort of person, rather even tempered. He’d dare say they were pleasant, mostly content to just tend to their gardens and be out in the moonlight…

But the problem was, he just could not convince them to stay OUT of nature. Including the forests, which were full of hellish beasts fully intent on gnawing their flesh from their bones… and their specialty was plants, not animals, sooo…

Their habit of sneaking out to wander the woods got so bad that he very nearly considered pulling a Belphie 2 and locking them in the basement for their own good. But Devil knows what damage their mother would do if she found out…

At least they make for pleasant company… And Diavolo seems to like them quite a bit himself so the mortal gets a pass from him. Now if they’d only consider their own safety for a change…

Mammon

They make him a KILLING.

Like, no seriously. Their produce is insane!! He’s never tasted food so good, especially stuff that’s come fresh from the ground! It only took a few berries for Mammon to throw on a straw hat himself and start harvesting! He’s a farmer now, baby!!

Weeellll not quite. He’s still absolutely only in it for the money, but anything he brings to a farmer’s market goes so fast that he can hardly care about the labor! He’s never made this much Grimm in his life!! And it’s totally legit for a change!

He bought himself another car, paid off half of his debt, and even got Levi back that 2 or 3 grand he leant him centuries ago. Really, Mammon’s living his best life and it’s all thanks to MC!

It’s a good thing his blatant grifting doesn’t hurt his relationship with them at all, in fact they seem to enjoy having his help regardless. They bring him drinks on hot days or invite him on picnics and stuff, it’s… it’s really sweet. They’re very nice to him and he appreciates it…

But… COULD YA JUST STAY PUT ALREADY???

It drives him INSANE that they won’t stay out of dangerous places!! After he started caring about them for more than just a meal ticket it only got even worse!!

He’s not usually one for monitoring someone’s every move (that kind of control freak behavior is more a Lucifer thing) but he eventually had to set up familiars around the House just to keep them from sneaking out at night...

What was so interesting out there anyway?? There wasn’t any kind of plant that he could bring them himself! They didn’t have any need to be out there!! 

They’d keep telling him they’d be fine but it’s not like he’s going to actually buy that. They were too… nice to be dangerous or anything so why would he believe them?

No more running off, MC! Please, he’s beggin’ ya!!

Leviathan 

Wait, gardening? Like, being outdoors and stuff? Ew. No thanks, he’ll pass.

That was more or less his first reaction when they showed up and it never really got much better than that…

He admits that they’re friendly and it’s not like he dislikes them or anything, but their thing so far from his thing that they just don’t have a lot in common… you know?

For starters, they get So. Antsy. when they’re inside for too long! He tried to invite them to a marathon once, but they could hardly keep still and kept looking around like they were searching for a window… He said, “to jump out of.” They insisted just for some fresh air, but he didn’t buy it...

They’re nice enough to listen to his rants, but they’re barely ever inside for him to do so and like HELL is he going to leave his room and stand around out there for that long. Ranting is at least a one to two hour engagement! What if he gets hot out there? And have you SEEN Devildom bees?? Hell no!!

He has, however, asked them on multiple occasions to reproduce flowers he’s seen in different anime, especially ones that have a very unique look and they’ve done some real wonders with that!

He can now claim to be the only person to ever own a Ruby-Jade Vine plant, straight from the pages of TSL when it was used to brew tea for the Lord of Lechery during his brief illness and-is anyone even still listening anymore?

The point is, it’s a flower so rare it was imaginary but now HE has it!... or had it for about a week until his utter incompetence of all things plant killed it…

He begged the MC for another but they were out of the plants they needed to make it and would have to go back to the human world to find more… He’s still mourning his loss… Poor Henry 4.0…

Satan

Well… He’s called this MC “salt of the Earth” and he does truly mean it. Take of that what you will.

He doesn’t get much in the way of intellectual conversation out of this mortal UNLESS he’s talking about plants, farming, or botany… Interesting topics and complex in their own right to be sure, but that’s pretty much their wheelhouse and they like it there.

That being said, the feats that they can perform are genuinely mind-blowing! They are the ONLY person he has ever met who can cultivate the Devildom’s own ultra-rare Phantom Orchid, a plant only blooms when it reaches a perfect state of undeath (i.e. both taken care of and neglected just enough so that it's only barely alive. The balance is so tricky to master that one hasn’t bloomed down there for centuries!)

There’s also something just genuinely relaxing about watching them work or helping them in the gardens… More so than he’d ever expected from such a simple activity.

He admits that he’s taken quite a few strolls through the flower-filled courtyard of the Demon Lord’s Castle just to admire its beauty... But anything that they can grow just blows all of that out of the water!

They even taught him several magic botanical techniques so now he can grow some pretty mad plants himself. Lucifer never expected to find that giant Venus Flytrap in his closet, but one was there regardless. 😏

Just… out of curiosity one day, he asked the MC if they could make him a new kind of catnip. Not for any nefarious reason! You know… just for research purposes…

The nip they made was so effective that the House grounds were FILLED with nipped-up cats for a whole month! He was in Heaven!! (and Lucifer practically wiped those plants from existence so he couldn’t get any more… asshole...)

That must have inspired them because they apparently made a demons-only version that they told him about WELL after the fact. Had he known, he probably would have burned the stuff on principle... Do you know how dangerous demon-nip could be to them? Experiment responsibly, MC!

Asmodeus 

Ehhhh, gardening SOUNDS like one of those things that should be super Devilgram-able, but then you realize how sweaty and dirty you get in the process and it’s a huge turn off… Sorry MC.

When they first came down to the Devildom, he thought two things: 1) Such a sweet little flower child, as adorable as they were, would never survive; and 2) even if they could, he would never ever see eye-to-eye with them on the “wonders” of getting all up in the dirt.

Well, he was right about 2, but certainly not 1. Personally, he thinks his brothers worry about them too much, they ARE still a demigod.

At one point he saw a pack of hellhounds almost trample one of their vegetable gardens and they lost it. Word to the wise, never try to take on a child of Demeter in their own garden. Those hounds were wrapped up in rose vines before they could even yelp...

Yeah, the MC would be fine.

That being said, while everybody else clamors over their produce, he thinks that their flowers are really where it’s at!

Taking just five minutes in one of their gardens is something else... He’s never seen blossoms as healthy and immaculate in all the Devildom before! Their beauty could (almost) rivals his own! What they do isn’t just a hobby, it’s an art.

He’s taken multiple pictures with their blossoms and they go viral every time. It’s so rare to actually see gorgeous, petal-filled flowers in the Devildom, most of the native plants are of the man-eating variety.

His only complaint about this MC is that they seem to feel much more at home in work clothes and dirt than they do in any sort of party-look he tries to give them… Cute as they are, they can afford to gussy up sometimes can’t they? Mud and grass stains don’t make for a good look, sorry.

Beelzebub 

Beel gardens and the MC gardens as well. Add on that they seem to be able to grow all manner of fruits and veggies and he likes this one. A lot.

They had just finished apple-picking when the portal nabbed them so they had a massive basket of apples at the time. Naturally, Beel more or less stole the thing on sight, but the apples inside were so juicy and good that he almost shook them down for more on the spot!

Imagine his surprise when they, half pleadingly, explained to him that if he got them some seeds they could just grow more… and it wouldn’t even take that long.

To be clear, the formula he saw was this: Get seeds > bring seeds to mortal > mortal grows seeds > mortal makes endless supply of food….

Congratulations MC, you’ve now earned the sixthborn’s eternal loyalty after a grand total of… two minutes. He didn’t even know their name, but he was willing to take a bullet for them (provided he got more of those apples).

The next several months were spent with Beel attached to them to the hip in some way, but honestly? It was just so wholesome anyway…

If he’s helping in the garden, he never complains. He does most of the heavy lifting and actually likes being out there with them (unlike others...)

Many afternoons were spent sitting under fruit trees and talking. Sometimes, they go to the trouble of preparing a picnic or something but it would always inevitably end with Beel plucking the whole tree clean of whatever ripe (or unripe) fruit he can get his hands on with a smile. 

The MC never minded though. That’s just another excuse to grow more, right?

His only problem was when the MC would sneak out to the forest… especially when they get too antsy and just go alone. 

He HATES it when they do that! How is he supposed to keep them safe if they just wander off?? He knows that they have a special connection to nature and all, but it isn’t safe…

He’s flown in and scooped them back up to the House on numerous occasions and his “talking tos” get sterner after every rescue... Please stay put, MC! He’d have so many reasons to be sad if you were eaten… 😔

Belphegor 

Okay, he was looking for a capable, if not gullible, human. Not a shoeless flower hippy!

He honestly wasn't expecting much out of this one... Damn their little heart because they did genuinely believed his lies, it’s just that they weren't… well… They were really good at gardening.

… And it grew kind of hard to keep hating them whenever they'd show up just to give him fresh berries or a bouquet to see him smile… He may claim that his heart is made of nightmares and orphan tears, but who doesn’t enjoy being given a batch of flowers? 

Damn their sweetness too… Right to here.

When it came time to kill them he had a heavier heart than he thought he would, but kind of saw it like putting down the sacrificial lamb. Gotta be done to reach better goals... Stiff upper lip and all that.

Unfortunately for him, they had taken to carrying packets of demon-nip with them as a self-defense measure…

He wasn’t exactly sure what he expected when they shouted “Get nipped!” at him mid-attack, but it wasn’t a face full of some smelly herb! Like, really smelly…! Actually, that smelt kind of good… Hold on.

Turns out murderous rage really doesn’t last long after you get what is effectively ultra-strong catnip thrown in your face. They ended up having to go and tell Lucifer what happened themselves because Belphie was way too blissed out on the floor to do anything... They were legitimately worried they might have fried his brain...

He’s told the effects of the demon-nip lasted three days. He doesn’t know, because he hardly remembers any of it... They described him as like he was high on “weed” and “ecstasy” at the same time but he doesn’t know what either of those are either so it wasn’t helpful…

Truthfully, they were so nice to him while he was recovering that he couldn’t even be mad afterwards so all's well that ends well? Either way, he’s sleeping under their orchard trees from now on. It’s peaceful out there...

They burnt all that nip though. It’s some strong stuff...

[vynegar]

So... finally getting around to (partially) answering @alyss-mermaid-motel with my Marius card thoughts. Thanks for your patience x)

I figured a tierlist would be a fun way to do the short version of my opinions! Below are my explanations and ramblings about each card.

You can see my post ranking Vyn’s cards because the same disclaimers and explanations to my thought process apply, but the main disclaimer is that these are just my own personal opinions!

Btw, I’m pretty sure there are subs for all the cards on youtube (many by Jin Yamashina or Sherry’s Gaming Notes); for some, you just might have to search using the Chinese card title. So go watch them first if you care about card spoilers!

S Rank

For me, this card is worth getting

Fabulous Feast: I’m obsessed with Marius’s formal outfit and I managed to get this card so I’m a little biased, BUT. There are really memorable fun moments in this card, while also being MC’s introduction into Marius’s family lore and his world of hypocritical social politics. It showed that MC can still manage to carve out a place for herself in there and help Marius in her own way, so they can still express themselves.

All Through the Night: Most obviously there’s the iconic drunk!MC scene and him talking about his mother and the story of him in the forest as a kid, but throughout the card there’s just so much of Marius caring about MC in his own particular way, showing how special and important MC is to him. Tbh I haven’t fully read the card until recently, and I think what really struck me about the card was Marius’s understated gestures of affection, like offering MC something to fall back on and spending a family tradition with her. The story is probably tied with Fabulous Feast; maybe the former is there to display him in his professional life, and this card follows it up by showing his private self.

Desert SSR: This card had me SCREAMING with the plot twists oh my god!! The plot of the card is so suspenseful and the main story of it is genuinely enjoyable; it really takes advantage of the AU setting to intensify aspects of Marius’s stories. One of those was showing how Marius has many different sides to him and turning them all up to eleven, while affirming that he’s still Marius in the end. Another is the pressures and risks and loneliness of Marius’s high status being stretched into life-threatening extremes, forcing him to escape in a drastic way (while irl… he does not have the option to escape). But it still really felt in-character the whole time, with some moments almost having a sense of déjà vu with how similar it is to canon!verse Marius (I had written down that it stood out to me how he had his suspicions of MC because she wasn’t trying to get something more from him, which reminded me of Fabulous Feast when he mentions everyone has expectations of him except the MC, and he’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing). Anyway this card should be ranked higher, but I stopped myself since it’s an AU and technically doesn’t progress the relationship :/ But honestly, probably my second favorite card.

Ancient China SSR: So far this is the closest we’ve gotten to true obsession and enemies to lovers in tot TTTT I love how MC becomes the target of some of the more dangerous sides of his personality, and if the desert card is Marius completely shackled by his identity and status, then this card is if he completely indulges in his emotions and art. I liked how MC was the one who was on a hero’s quest basically, but there were decisions that felt too ooc for her, and the story resolution was a bit abrupt and felt like a copy of the desert ending. Bonus points for Vincent getting a sprite and being friends with MC though, it’s what he deserves!!

A Rank

 it’s a good card and i enjoy the story!

In the Darkness: This is one of the early cards so it still feels like MC doesn’t know Marius super well yet, but throughout the card story they definitely learn a lot more about each other! I like how MC got Marius to open up, and how he ended up the more vulnerable one in this. The main card story was a bit better than I expected too; there’s a bit of genuine mystery as to why the NPCs set up this fake treasure hunt, and why Marius would play along with them, and the answer just ends up being very down-to-earth, human reasons. Also the final card evolution art is probably one of my favorite Marius artwork; his open and longing expression makes me go feral.

Eye of the Beholder: His tone saying “How pitiful! He has no friends” lives rent-free in my mind… This story is still pretty random but it manages to introduce a lot of the tropes that’ll show up in Marius’s route, like a LOT of him acting cute, him being greedy about being the only one in MC’s eyes, him being very forward (sharing a dessert!) while still being very careful and thoughtful, expressing his feelings for MC in art, Mc getting him to open up, his idealism, etc. Anyway, I distinctly remember this story making me like Marius a lot, so I think this really did a good job as an initial SSR! Also the end when he admits to himself that he just wants to see their two names together… I love it when the men are so down bad for MC>….

Anniversary SSR: Honestly I wasn’t sure how to rank this; it could be a few cards lower but I’ll tentatively put it here. The card art and the fact that it’s a culmination of his feelings would help its ranking, but after all, the entire “plot” of the anniversary cards is “he wants to confess” so it’s very simple and short. I think the reason I rank it higher than Vyn’s was ranked is because the Marius’s intense nervousness the night before was cute and refreshing to see, and his interactions with his wingmen Vincent and Payton were amusing. His confession method represented his overflowing emotions in a way that’s very true to him, with lots of small nods to previous events, and it just makes perfect sense. (Opinion of this could improve after I read his chapter 4).

Will of the Trees: I loved hearing Marius talk about Giann (his voice was soooo soft and gentle when reminiscing ;;) And how MC is seriously thinking about what it would be like to be with Marius. It’s kind of a more straightforward story, they travel together and learn about the local legends, but the info about Marius’s brother and childhood and the clear progress that their relationship has made are really satisfying!

Daytime Aurora: The main card story is more on the fluffy side, but the side story involving the old man, and Marius’s past experience, really makes it hit home how heavy a responsibility Marius has and how high of an EQ he has to be able to handle all of it well. It makes my heart ache for him TT

Sweet Fantasy (Dreams of Childhood SSR): It’s a cute story that also gives us more insight into how Marius processed his mother’s passing. I also liked how it directly referenced previous events. Basically it’s a nice story with good, profile-picture-worthy art, and I have no complaints~

B Rank

I have some mixed feelings about the card but I still enjoy it overall

Cozy Couple’s Getaway SSR: His whole speech about possessiveness is SUPER fascinating… I just kinda wish he had done something more extreme to warrant it? Which, the writers are in a tough place about this, bc you don’t actually want to show one of main characters treating the MC badly since they need to be a fantasy partner, but stories still need conflict. (This is why I like his ancient china SSR so much since he actually got to get a little unhinged.) But it’s still an interesting element to have, and having Marius shelve his original plans for the trip to try to make MC feel better is a good way to show his self-sacrificing nature again, in that classic Marius story way.

Revisiting Youth SSR: It’s a pretty cute story (and the card art!!!!!!!), and I love to see jealous Marius (and I like how the reason ends up not quite that straightforward). There’s also extensive backstory of Marius’s high school life that once again reminds us of his self-blame and loneliness… I initially felt like it kind of goes against Matching Tattoos, but maybe it still fits because Matching Tattoos was technically about a college friend, and you could say that it makes sense he wouldn’t talk that deeply about heavy things so soon after getting to know MC…

Tideborne Romance: Whatever he’s paying Vincent, double that salary for making him third-wheel here.This card is super fluffy in the first half, but in the last two parts it gets a bit more serious and shows how free-spirited and Romantic Marius is, how much he believes in those stories and legends and longing for that in his life. This card makes it seem like he’s truly felt alone for all his life, and since at least his college years he’s been wanting to find his True Love, the person who would be that kind of story-like figure for him. I think… there’s nothing really wrong with this card but it just happens to focus on aspects that I’m not as interested in, so it doesn’t rank highly for me.

C Rank

Something feels off about the card and overshadows its merits; or, the card doesn’t have much that is unique about it

Limited Top-up card: Lol this card is for the people who want a spicier story 👀 I think it’s interesting that they’re dealing with the realistic complication of MC dating Marius, that they have to decide if/how they’ll be public. I just feel like the scene at the end is like… too secondhand embarrassment for me since the manager is still RIGHT THERE. Like it’s one thing to not be afraid of going public but it’s another to go… beyond PDA in the middle of what was supposed to be a PR negotiation. So I feel like maybe the resolution was still a bit too idealized where I expected the game to feel more grounded? (But it’s an otome game so maybe I’m the one who’s being unrealistic)

Narrow Road: Pretty straightforward story that shows Marius’s capable, yet very compassionate, business. Since it’s early, it makes sense that they’re establishing baseline character traits (that Marius is not an asshole despite being rich) like this. This ranks so low because it just doesn’t really stand out to me compared to the other cards.

Glorious Coronation (birthday SSR): Maybe I got influenced by the more critical comments I saw about this card, but I agree with those comments TT So warning for a very negative review ahead. It feels more like the artist team REALLY wanted to draw Marius in actual king-like outfits for his birthday card, and then tried to reverse-engineer a story to work with that. For the vast majority of the card, I felt nothing; it just seemed like due to a series of random coincidences and luck, MC ended up in this game with Marius. A few of the lines felt too overtly lovey-dovey to me too, or the card just felt more fluffy/sweet than an actual Marius/MC story. Only the last ten or fifteen minutes give some context that add meaning to the card, but… too little too late? They could have spread some clues throughout the card to make the whole thing interesting.

Matching Tattoos: not Marius calling himself an omega and wanting MC to be his alpha Um anyway, fanfic trope connections aside, it’s a pretty straightforward story with Marius up to his usual tricks, and a friend which causes Marius to talk a bit about his college life in Florence. I feel like his Revisiting Youth SSR implied that he was rather alone for the entire time at Florence (even though the card focused on his high school days), but I prefer this part to the backstory since I want Marius to have had good friends that he was able to feel simple camaraderie and joy with. I also think his return to Stellis is more meaningful if he had to give up so much in Florence. This card still rates low for not being super memorable and bc I really can’t bear to put a birthday card as last ;;

Anyway, I once again question my own thoughts immediately after trying to organize them.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: April 13th, 2021

And we’re back again with more replies so soon, haha. Thank you for the asks!

Your game literally saved me this hell ass year. Thank you so much for the most perfect piece of art I've ever laid eyes on 😫 ... Do you guys have a rough idea when step 3 DLC will be released? I hope I'm not coming off as rude. I just really really love your game.

I’m sorry for the late reply on this! You might’ve already seen the answer by now, but the Step 3 DLC is coming out on the 16th. We’re almost there :D

This may be a silly question but did Jeremy's parents ever find out that Pran had lied about his age and if so, when/how? :3

Pran came clean to them after a couple of years, when he felt secure enough that it wouldn’t ruin the relationship. The Kings were a little embarrassed, the dad more than the mom, but they’re quite good at brushing past those kind of mistakes so it was all water under the bridge pretty fast.

hi! i know you’ve answered a question about alterations in the our life moments by playing them in different orders, but i was wondering if there was a canon order that the moments for each step happen in? i figure with such a customizable game the “canon” timeline for the moments is whatever order the player completes them in, for example in step 1, i like playing the runaway moment pretty early, since cove trying to run away early in summer makes more sense to me personally. thanks!

Yeah, there’s no canon order we’d insist on. Whatever you like can be the official route for you! And that’s a neat way to look at that event.

What if your character isn’t that into physical contact but still wants to be in a relationship with Cove? Would he be offended if you shy away or something along those lines?

He wouldn’t be. Cove knows how hard that can be and is very understanding. If you set his initiative to low, the game always checks to make sure if you want to be touched or not rather than assuming that you do. And if you do choose that you don’t want to, there’s no stress or drama about it. Cove will just say that’s okay!

Hellu! First off, I want to thank you all for such a wonderful game, it's been the best feel-good game I've ever stumbled upon and I can't express enough how much it has meant to me. Second, I've seen lots of people having trouble with making Cove confess before MC which makes me wonder if people will have the same problem in the dlc when you can propose to him. Is it possible to post a guide for that as well when it no longer could count as a spoiler? Again, thanks for such a beautiful game <3

I’m really happy you had such a nice time with it c:. We’ll answer questions about it on tumblr/in the discord if they come up and, if need be, we’ll find somewhere to upload a guide.

Do we get steam key from buying dlc on itch io?

I’m afraid not. That’d be unfair to those who get it on Steam. Plus, Steam isn’t super cool with giving out thousands of keys to be handed out for free on other sites anymore. They can refuse to give us the keys if they feel we’re trying to take advantage of their system.

hi! so if we reject cove's confession in step 3, can we still have MC and cove get together in step 4?

You can confess to him, yeah. But Cove won’t ever try confessing again if the MC turns him down in Step 3.

What if MC acts like someone Cove doesn't like, like Lizzie or Baxter lol

You can’t do what Lizzie or Baxter does to make Cove dislike them. You can play the game and try, but it doesn’t work out. The MC is just too compatible with Cove if you’re fond/crush/love, haha.

Hi! I absolutely love your game, I love the characters they’re all so amazing, thank you for the game haha

I was wondering if you would get the NSFW DLC no matter what Patreon level you were at, or if you would could get it at any level? :)

&

What pateron tier do we need to get the 18+ content for Our Life? It's my new favourite game, keep up the good work!

It will eventually be available at the $5 tier and anything above that! Glad you both like OL ^^

On a scale from 1 (being the worst) to 10, how well do the XOXO jerk squad including JB handle horror?

JB: 8

Everett: 5

Nate: 4

Shiloh: 10

Bae: 10

Jeremy: 8 for non-gore horror, 2 for gory horror

Pran: 9

hello!! i was wondering if any of the boys from the Jerksquad would ever wear a skirt/dress?

None of them wear skirts/dresses out of personal preference. But if there was some kind of reason where they had to do it, none would be that bothered.

How does the jerk squad feel about Christmas? 

Everett: He fucking loves it. That’s the best time of year.

Nate: Commercialized nonsense.

Shiloh: It’s wonderful! So he claims.

Bae: He likes it quite a bit, but only for the joy it brings children/family. He thinks that’s sweet but is too mature to be whipped up into a festive fervor himself.

Jeremy: It’s awful.

Pran: He hates it.

does cove have any pet allergies? yes I know this is a little weirdly specific

He doesn’t! The lucky boy isn’t allergic to any animal.

Very important question: Would Lee and a musical-theatre loving MC run around belting Into The Unknown from Frozen 2? Because I feel that they would 

Probably, haha.

This might seem like a dumb question, so I’m sorry, but with the Derek DLC are we gonna get to hang out with him in person instead of just calling him in step 3? 

The Derek DLC adds events in Step 2 and Step 4. It’s part of his story that you don’t really get to be around him in Step 3. But you don’t need to apologize for wondering!

hello! i'd like to ask if it's possible to play the android version of the game with the dlcs after buying the dlcs from steam. i wasn't expecting my android version to have my dlcs since i bought them from steam, but it had my step 2 dlc for some reason. is this a glitch or does the apk actually detect what dlcs you already have on your pc? if so, how come i don't have the step 1 dlc appearing on android? thanks!

That is some kind of glitch. It isn’t possible for the Android DLCs to be unlocked by having them on PC. Maybe in one of the old builds we accidentally didn’t lock the Step 2 DLC properly. Sorry for the confusion!

Does Derek and Baxter have canon sexualities? Will Derek still flirts with the MC regardless of their gender?

They’re both pansexual and can like the MC regardless of what gender they have.

I was wondering if Miranda had a crush on Cove in Step 3? I'm not sure why, but I got those vibes from her?

She thinks of him only as a friend. Cove isn’t her type, haha.

This is probably a dumb hope, but I hope Cliff find someone he loves after Cove is grown up and everything. Or at the very least he has someone he's very close with after Cove leaves. 

That’s a really sweet thought to have. Cliff stays single, but he’s graysexual and not-particularly romantically inclined. He only dated when he was really young ‘cause that’s what everyone did. Family and friend relationships are more important to him, and he has plenty of that in his life ^^.

Heya! I was curious if there might be a nickname system in N&F? I kind of pull an Elizabeth when I play and choose a different variation of a name like having Rosie in step one and changing it to Rose in step two, then maybe Rosetta in step three for example, but it also feels a little bit odd being scolded using my nickname hehe. That's all I was wondering about, thank you for your time and the wonderful games!

We are hoping to include the option to go by a nickname in Our Life: Now & Forever. But nothing has been programmed yet, so we can’t 100% guarantee it, haha.

Just curious, what would Liz's and Cove's relationship be if MC wasn't around? I feel like they wouldn't get along as well as they do now, especially during the first and second step 

They’d definitely have a lot of friction growing up and they’d likely avoid each other as much as possible. Once they were both older, I imagine they’d be decent neighbor acquaintances. But they still wouldn’t be nearly as close as they are with the MC bringing Cove into things.

What do the customizable eyes look like in the game? Do they look as they are in the creating avatar section? Or do they look different when actually playing the game?

That’s up to you! The doll is just meant to be a general idea. You can apply it to your imagined MC as much or as little as you prefer.

Did Cove go through a "phase" during his adolescence? I don't really wanna headcanon it so I wonder if there's anything (cringy) canon since we missed out on the ages of 14-17 hahaha

Not really, aha. 14-17 Cove is pretty recognizable to his 13 and 18 year old self.

Hello! I'm sorry to bother you, especially with all the messages you get. I was just wondering if the religious wedding venue was exclusive to a church or if there will be different religions of weddings? Also, I love this VN so much, it's so well written and every character is so amazing, thank you for making such a beautiful game.

The church is treated as a historic building rather than anything actively religious, but it’s not the only option like that. There’s a historic synagogue and stuff too! And that’s really nice of you to say <3.

How differently would it play out If MC told their moms about the 20$ deal back when it happened? 

They wouldn’t have been happy and would’ve been far more skeptical of Cliff, aha. But they wouldn’t want to keep Cove away from the MC, so it wouldn’t have been too different in the long run.  

Hello may I ask what Cove's favorite fudge/ice cream flavor would be? Its alright if its not answered 

He appreciates them all, but his top favorites would be the fruit flavored ones and the ones with nuts.

Hi! I really wanted to make mc's house in a game and tried really hard to figure out the floor plan, but I wondered if you have the floor plan of the mc's house so that i can try again with more accuracy?

Thank you a lot for this game, i loved it a lot! (my first play took me 8 hours lol)

I’m really sorry, we don’t have anything like that. But at least you can headcanon that what you did is correct and nothing can prove it wrong, haha.

Hello,I recently started playing lake of voices (I put it off for a long while since I’m usually not very good with horror) and I’m really happy I did!I’m a big fan of your games in general and lake of voices was absolutely great as well.I loved the characters and the dark setting of it,I adored the beautiful art and music and the story was great too,sometimes unsettling and sometimes very sweet.My favorite Route in the game was definitely Lu,I liked his character and was really shocked and distraught by his Route at least two times.I didn’t see the plot twist(s) coming at all!

Besides these ramblings I’ve also wanted to ask if you still remember how to get the lower two CGs on page 5?I seem to always miss them and would appreciate any help.Anyways I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother and I wish the devs a great day!:)

Thank you for all the kind words <3. You get those DLCs by going through the end of the Guide’s character path. You can use the guides on Steam to help you find it/reach the end!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for all of these questions :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ �� Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[actualbird]

// main story 6.1 spoilers, reactions from 06-03 to LITERALLY THE END LMAO, I BINGED IT I FEEL LIKE I ATE A WHOLE JAR OF CANDY aND THIS POST IS SO LONG OMFGKJFG

HHHHHHH

pls...this is such a sweet thing for mc to say [pleading emoji]

and then im immediately hit by the absolute hilarity that arTEM'S FATHER IS A JUDGE, LMAOOOO. IF IM NOT MISTAKEN, the specific judge mentioned, thats the male judge with the greying hair and the closed eyes we see in murder court, right?? NO RESEMBLANCE WHATSOEVER KAJBFKASJFA

also omg? artem's mom's ENG name isnt the translated from CN server placeholder An Wing but....Kimberly Garner. i got pretty attached to the name "An" but thats fine. what im more interested in is how she kept her surname, girlboss, but also does it have something to do with the whole nepotism shebang? or was it just a personal choice? idk, nitpicky thoughts HAHAKJDSBKFJD

that being said: MANNN, i already talked a lot about artem being a legacy kid from a legacy family but. WHY DIDNT THE RUMORS ABOUT NEPOTISM EVER CROSS MY MIND OMFG. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY, if people knew his dad is a super high ranking judge and his mom is super renowned law prof, ofc theyd think they got to his position thanks to nepotism. very interesting to me!!

AVA KENDRICKS PLS CALL ME, U R SO PRETTY AND PROBABLY EVIL BUT THATS FINE, NOT A DEALBREAKER (I JEST, SHES SO PRETTY THO)

and then boom, another thing thats living in my mind rent free that was very small but STILL

sublimely interested in how neil played into the beginning of this chapter. i hope the story maybe digs deeper into artem and neil's relationship before neil's disappearance....

also wAIT, THIS IS FROM EARLIER THAN THIS POINT IN THE STORY BUT I GOT REMINDED OF HOW INTERESTING I FOUND THIS BIT

all this time i had thought that the og nxx team was just neil and giann vs. the world

but huh! vyn was with them! implied to have been there from the beginning, maybe? this piques my interest cuz like, at first, i thought vyn would only have been connected to giann cuz of the research center. but if he was og nxx, he must have gotten some kind of close with neil too

so like, maybe vyn has personal stakes in the missing persons boogaloo afterall. for Both People

anyway, darius morgan is the funniest person alive

my MAN. U WORK HERE AND UR THE BOSS, HOW DID U FORGET IT'S A NO-SMOKING AREA LMAOKDSJFBSDK

AND THESE AS WELL HAD ME LAUGHING KFJABKS

a SCATHING grade from artem wing and also the most perplexing mid-story debate ive seen thus far akjfbaksjfkas

ugh uuGGGHHHH THE S CENE WHEREARTEM TIES HER SHOES

WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO LOOK THAT CUTE

WHO ALSO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO SAY THIS ADORABLE TIDBIT

I NEED TO SEE KID!ARTEM WITH HIS VELCRO STRAP SHOES POSTHASTE!!!

and then

jerry and the narrative and mc and artem: the apartment is quite small

the apartment: looks roomier than luke's place kjKHBSDKJFSBDGS

and then

it is CRIMINAL that the story drops on us that artem swims on a regular basis. and we have NOT gotten an IMAGE OF HIM SWIMMING. skadi invite doesnt count, hes not swimming, hes just Standing In The Water, i wanna see artem wing doing a backstroke thru the pool

and THEN

mc: how long can you hold your breath?

artem:

me: haha. this is specific. so artemcore, to give the exact time down to the second. this totally didnt make me go "oh god" cuz i have....certain context i saw from the cn server version 6.2 trailer i watched way back when. HAHA. THANKS FOR THE SPECIFIC ANSWER ARTEM.....

none of these reactions ive typed are intelligent in any manner, i will think smart thoughts on ANOTHER DAY. TODAY, I PROCESS WHAT IVE SEEN AKJBFKJSAFA

[pocketramblr]

other main character meta- Ochako, pt 1

<part 2>

“Could you send me there?” you ask, while i blink, confused. “The world where someone else is the main character? not because i have any hypocritical biases against the one i got, just curious how the fandom meta changes.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” I nod, thinking, before tapping my wand against your forehead. “Let’s start with Ochako.”

"I'm going to warn you now- I will have to slightly adjust the plot like I did with Mirio, just to actually let her be the main character."

"Yeah, that checks out." You nod, thinking about certain arcs where the female fighting teams get no coverage while the dudes get four different backstory reveals and full fight focus.

"Very well."

The show begins with a brief narration by the girl of quirks and super hero fights- all flashy. Then it zooms out to show the destruction, and a small construction team moving in as Ochako explains that just as there are new careers in society for heroes, there's also a bigger market for construction companies, one of which her own family runs.

"I've always wanted to help them with it, and my quirk would be useful"- a tiny, adorable Ochako finally appears, making rocks in a park float- "but to get a work license like that is expensive and selective- you've got to make a lot of court appearances and convince them why is a good idea and won't destroy the economy. It's much easier to get a hero license."

Then she explains: "Of course, once you have a hero license, you can make a lot more money than just by helping the company. Especially if... Your family company isn't doing very well." A series of tired but loving parents are shown working all hours to make ends meet.

"I want to help them- my parents. They've done everything for me, and they deserve a break. So that's why I'm going to be a hero- their hero."

The training montage is quick, using her quirk during school in training, after school in secret, around the house. She saves up money too, and studies, aiming for a scholarship.

She applies and tests for many hero schools, and the exams all vary widely.

The first episode ends with her looking up at UA, her final one, the one she really hopes to get into.

"Oh, that's nice." You nod. "And we even get to know her parents' quirks here."

"Yep." I agree. "In general, there's a lot more of a look at the financial side. It's pretty interesting."

"And the fandom?"

"Well, certain people get praised for the bare minimum, but I'll admit having a female lead is super uncommon for shonen jump." It's an improvement, though it's up in the air how much of one it will be. "There's also, because we saw a lot more hero schools, a ton of "students at different school" fics, either because they were expelled or because of the danger UA gets into."

"I do kinda feel like this universe is lucky for that sort of world building." You nod.

"It's very cool to see the takes on the aus. But, I will say there's a cost for this world building- the AfO stuff reeeeally comes out of nowhere and tends to not be popular with fans."

The next episode starts, and Ochako helps a boy from falling. "Love interest alert!" The fans notice quickly when the cute boy blushes and doesn't manage to say much before she walks away.

"They caught on quick." You note.

"And they aren't wrong." Not that it's any real feat to be right.

The exam starts, and Ochako is off in a flash. You see a few glimpses of future classmates- Iida, Aoyama, Kirishima.

She does well, racking up villain points and rescue points, until she's a little too ambitious and falls into the rubble. Her nausea is well established by now, everyone knows she's at her limit.

She can't get up.

The green haired boy comes back and stops the zero pointer.

And breaks every bone in the process.

Ochako saves him in return, lifting up the rubble and stopping his fall.

And then vomits violently afterwards.

"You know, I think quirks suck, actually." The fandom tends to agree on this after that episode/chapter. "But it is interesting that there's such a price for the powers, balances it really well."

"Ha." You shake your head. "They caught onto that, quicker."

"Yep." I can't even say it's more highlighted here, it's the exact same way it was shown in our universe- down to the sparkling rainbow puke.

"Though..." You can't quite imagine that's the only thing the fandom is saying isn't actually that great.

"Ding ding ding." I nod. "Did our own main character get treated just like a damsel in distress? Sure, she saved him back, but that just meant she could have floated away on her own in that time, even if it made her sick. Better that than dead. Is it the sexism?" I shrug. "Most decide to wait and see a bit, and by the time they work together in the first battle exercise figure it's a pretty even split between them saving each other."

"So no sexism?" You get happy at that thought.

I cough. "Ah, no. Both in the show and the fandom. You wouldn't believe how many grown men complain about the lady mc, even as they keep watching."

"And have her body pillow."

"Please don't make me think about that." I cover my eyes, but don't deny that it's true. "Anyway, yeah. Get ready for a lot of people to point out that even though the main character is a girl, every single other girl is flat as cardboard so far and that she only has developed friends that are guys."

"Hey, they aren't flat-"

"In the first season? Yeah they are. Unless you meant, physically, in which case..."

"I didn't." You protest. "But I guess I can see your point, at the start."

"Right. Let's continue on."

Uraraka goes to Present Mic to offer her points. The man pats her on the head, and skyrockets to the position of fandom dad.

"It's all about Dadmic and then Dadzawa here," I explain. "The fans were very disappointed to learn Mic wasn't her homeroom teacher, but yeah... He got a huge head start before Dadzawa fics got going."

"Nice. And it's all fanon?"

"Yeah, it may be a good thing he's not actually in it much, or they might realize how much they just made up on their own."

Then she gets accepted in, on hero and rescue points- she's third place overall, and she gets the scholarship.

On the first day of school, she actually gets to know her love interest's name- Midoriya!

There's also the quirk assessment, which really leads to the "expelled to another school" au and the "fire Aizawa and replace him with better Mic" aus, the first of which lasts much longer in the fandom use, but the second one was just as passionate for a while.

Iida becomes the second friend, and gives her the "Infinity Girl" nickname- which actually is the fandom assumption of what her hero name will be for quite a while, a la 'ground zero'.

Then it's time for All Might's first appearance on screen, to much applause of the students, and the announcement that they get their costumes.

During the first battle exercise, there's a lot more lingering camera work in the changing rooms. Ochako gets to expand a lot more on how she didn't want her costume to be that tight. It's uncomfortable, especially when she thinks about wearing it in front of everyone.

"Oh, I forgot she didn't like it at first... Does she just, get used to it here?" It sounds horrible for the plot to just say 'get used to it' to the main character being sexualized by costume makers outside of her control, especially as a child.

"Not on my watch." I mumble, waving the wand. "Don't worry, she'll actually get more costume changes each time, like some other characters."

"Oh good."

Mineta, regrettably, still exists. You find the fandom manages to be even more violent in his removal.

The battle does even out the opinions on Midoriya, as well as lead to a boost in Iida's with his charming little attempt at thinking villainously.

And cements Bakugo as rather hated. No one has really liked him, when the first thing he did was blow up at Midoriya, then get revealed to have called him a cruel nickname all this time. And then specifically hunt him down because all he cares about it beating him up.

"Yeah he's not gonna get a lot of fans here huh."

"He sure never gets first place in the popularity poll." I agree. "Most consider him the subversion of the rival trope to show is just stupid and violent and in real life, people like that don't go anywhere."

"Most?"

I look away. "How dumb of a discourse do you think you could see today?"

"Oh please, show me." You lean in. "It's nice to not have to deal with it in my universe, so I don't care."

The discourse is such.

Bakugo is gay-coded for Midoriya, the violence is a result of him being shoved off for a girl's love interest when she should be single and independent, and the homophobic creator is vilifying all gay people by saying they are predatory to poor straight boys with refused.

"They............... What."

"If it makes you feel better, that's a very brief minority of the fandom. My favorite response to it was "he's not gay-coded, he's bully coded you sanctimonious sumph of a shmuck.""

"Oh good," you sigh. "I'm glad we don't have to deal with actual queerphobic tropes like that."

I stare at you.

"What?"

I sigh. "Nothing, put a pin in that until I bring up the predatory bi thing with Toga."

Your eyes widen, and you start to have some regrets.

"Anyway, we can talk shipping later. Time for more."

The 'exit sign Iida' gives him a boost in being shipped with Ochako, (as well as Yaoyorozu) and also the general idea that "Ochako has two hands."

That one hand can have a boyfriend with a lot of cash to spare for her and the other is also played with.

"I missed the main trio, like this." You smile as they walk off into the sunset after school.

"Yeah." I agree. "Anyway, time for some near death experiences."

The USJ marks the start of the gradual, gradual growth of Dadzawa fics. It also focuses far more on Ochako, Mina, Sero, and Iida having to think strategically to get around Kurogiri. It's only after Iida escapes that we cut back to a slightly abridged version of how Midoriya was doing, then the other kids, before help arrives.

He does still through his first non bone breaking punch though, which makes the audience happy.

All Might saves the day. Aizawa is battered afterwards. Many fans start out by saying they were disappointed, since this was supposed to be the first big fight, and the kids didn't do much. Many others say in response that's the point- we're looking at first years, they had to think and help each other, but in the end they had to rely on adults.

And then the sports festival is announced. They want to do well, because this is how they get work-week placements, which could become internship offers.

Ochako thinks about Hado Nejire, the only intern of a top ten hero, and senior at UA, along with a few others who are on the up and up. She's determined.

"Really? You're bringing in the big three early?" You ask, glancing at my wand.

It's not sparkling.

I cross my arms with a huff. "Look. Nejire is at this point the only intern in the top ten, she would have been recognizable to the students for that, even if they didn't recognize the big three (which really means that they aren't actually called the Big Three by everyone, or at least not a wide enough group for it to be as big a deal as it's treated. Anyway.) But she wasn't, even if she should have been the most famous of the bunch, considering the coverage the first years got in just their first night. That's because a certain someone doesn't actually think of his female characters much, but he has to in this universe, so."

"Ok, yeah, that's fair. So does that change the sports festival?"

"Not... Much." I admit.

“What?”

“Well, keep in mind in the first universe, our main character didn’t make it past the second round in the one-on-one’s. So she’s not exactly guaranteed a win here either.”

You have to nod, admitting that is true.

“And the conflict isn’t so much about having to live up to any predecessor or breaking down some people’s walls via breaking bones.” I tap my wand against my chin, thinking. “There really is two- one about Midoriya, and one about Ochako’s parents.”

“Oh?”

“One, there’s been the Uraraka’s not happy about how much danger Ochako’s been in. Its been hinted at in the phone calls, but really shows up when we get to see them at home before the SF for the first time since she moved for school. They aren’t sure if she can stay there herself, or if the right thing to do would be to pull her out and maybe try a smaller school.”

“I suppose that's fair, if they haven't been able to actually see her or her progress.”

“Right. The second one is- well. in this, Izuku’s win of the first round, and then breaking out of brainwashing, is more about really piling on how good his mind is- all that brain power. This adds more pressure when we see Ochako being offered a plan from him to beat Bakugo.”

“Oh that does sound neat.”

“Yep- but of course, she still refuses. It’s held up as a worse thing, strategically, initially- but then she comes up with a plan that Midoriya confirms in the stands is better than his, and proves to her parents that she’s smart and skilled enough to handle continuing at the school.”

You smile. “That is a cool arc to do, i guess, if very not traditional. But what about all the character setup and growth with Shinsou and Todoroki?”

“Oh, Shinsou’s largely gets delegated all the way later for the joint training arc, where Ochako’s team is directly against him. Todoroki...” I begin to giggle.

You wait for me to answer, getting more concerned the longer i laugh.

“Pocket?”

“Sorry, sorry, yeah. He actually tells her himself in this canon, a bit after stain. Oh! right, i forgot- the cheerleader incident.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes. of course they need this merch opportunity! But yes, it happens. The... shall we say, non-body-pillow portion of the fandom, generally saw it as the end of any goodwill to Kaminari, who had previously been seen as a tertiary possible love interest, since he’d flirted with her on the first day. Flirt, but harmless, and unlikely to be important. Then there was that breach of trust and international embarrassment, and anyway he’s basically the second least likely in 1a to be shipped with her now.”

“Wow. So none of that changed?”

“Well, the setup wasn’t under narration from Todoroki about how his mother was bought for her body and how much that sucked and impacted her and the family while on screen we see multiple girls tricked into barring their bodies and its treated as a laugh instead?”

You stare at me. “I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.”

“Neither am I.”

“So, the Todoroki reveal?”

“Right. So, first you need to know the Stain thing- the claims he has against ‘false’ heroes focusing on money is better spotlighted. After Stain’s arrest, Ochako hears a couple of sidekicks at Gunhead’s agency-”

“Wait!” you interrupt. “She still interned with Gunhead? Then what was the point of showing Nejire and Ryukyuu earlier?”

I try not to massage my forehead. “To build up to it. She only made it to the first of the final round, she couldn’t get an internship with a top tenner yet. She’s also got to learn how to disarm someone who fights with a knife. These things build up over more time, small steps.”

“Ah.” You’re satisfied, and let me continue.

“Right, so, Overhears a couple of them talking about Stain’s philosophy and ends up just feeling really bad about it for a bit, trying to figure out if she’s actually being selfish or a bad hero for, you know, wanting her family to not be crushed due to capitalism.”

“Poor girl.” You shake your head in sympathy, the freeze. “Oh. did not intend that pun.”

“It’s alright, i know what you mean. And yeah, she bottles it up for a bit, until the second day back at school. Then Iida reminds her that him bottling things up last week got several kids in mortal danger, and she begrudgingly admits that he has a point and tells them about what has been bugging her.”

“And they comfort her?”

“Well, Todoroki also offers to tell off Kaminari because at this point his mention of stain upset both her and iida, but yes, A lot of reassurances.”

You squint. “I feel like shippers.”

“You’re learning! Yes, Todoroki is just a bit behind Iida in terms of popularity shipping with her. and she does basically get shipped A Lot with each girl in her class too, like imagine double to triple the amount with each girl now, and for the minor guys- but yeah. There’s a lottttt of ships. This was basically called ‘todoroki’s introduction into ochako’s harem’ in the fandom.”

Shipping. fandom just can’t escape it.

“So, then she learns about Todoroki’s past? oh, and what about Hosu? Does she- and everyone else- actually think Endeavor saved the three??”

I snort. “Oh, no. Todoroki’s flat ‘yeah my father totally helped us, as you read on the official report’ basically tipped the fandom off that something else had. But nothing confirmed either, you know? Filling in the hosu gap is another trope in fics that is pretty common.”

“Neat.”

“Yep. But yeah Todoroki tells her his backstory a bit after his introduction into her ‘harem’ of friends. It’s really played up more to caution Ochako- its alright for her to want to help her family, and to work for money to do that. But Rei accepted the marriage offer for money for her family too, and it ended up breaking her. Ochako has to accept a balance- she can work to help her family, and its good, but there are some things she cannot morally do to help them, and other things that she shouldn’t do because she has to take care of her own health first.”

“Ohhhh.” You hadn’t quite expected that, but you sorta liked it, now that you thought about it.

I smile. “It is pretty neat, yeah.” I glance at my watch. “Look, i hate to cut you off, but this post is gonna end up thrice the length of Mirio’s and i think tumblr might stop me, so we’re gonna have to do a two-parter.”

“That’s fine.” You are gracious for what you’ve gotten so far, and do have questions that you’re excited to see answered for the rest of the series. “It’s been fun.”

“It has been.” I agree. “Lets take a break, but you can ask me any questions too, before I return for part two.”

<part 2>

[spencstan]

Six of Crows re-read

(i also did this for the shadow and bone trilogy so read that if you want to)

spoiler alert obiously

i'm SO EXCITED FOR THIS this is my comfort book (with crooked kingdom of course)

JOOST HI

oo fun fact this was my first grishaverse book and i read it with no context whatsoever except that the mc is an emo boy and morally grey

so IMAGINE my pure confusion when JOOST appeared

i was like ?????? weird take on morally grey character but ok

joost trying to figure out how to flirt with a girl is a mood

anyone wanna teach us how to???

i kinda wanna skip this part so i can see the crows..

but i won't don't worry

(won't I?

"I think Yuri may be quarantined"

aaaand?

so are we you are not special

i feel like it's very important for me to mention that i read this book in spanish first

and then i got into the fandom and i was like who the fuck is the wraith? i only know El Espectro

Heartender who??? ooo you mean Cardio

Tidemakers? nope, i only know Maremotores

for real i was so confused i had to re-read it in english (not that i mind tho)

say whatever you want about the spanish version but we have to agree that this design is pretty af

another one yay: "Retvenko was a Squaller" vs. "Retvenk era un Impulsor"

(should i also say that in my pfd english version the book is 294 pages long and in my pdf spanish version its 532????) (i think it's because in the english one the speces are way less like the lines are so close together wtf

i've decided that i'm bored so i'll be skiping this chapter

anya is super badass tho

skdgfalsdgfliaysvfascvhjl yesssssss inej

Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

KAZ

INEJ

I MISSED THEM

omg now i can picture amita and freddy SDJGKASKGLASG THIS IS AMAZING

we interrupt our regularly scheduled program to watch the shadow and bone trailer once again to hear freddy's beautiful voice

ok moving on!

now hear me out i'm giving you all permission to make fun of kaz for this one: Dirtyhands = Manos Sucias

hello i am Kaz Manos Sucias. nice to meet you!

AAAAA

AAAAAAAAAA

JESPER FAHEY

JESPER LOVE HI

SJDGHFKAHSGDLAJSDFSJ,AHFLHDSGF

I MISSED HIM OMG

OMG NOW I CAN PICTURE HIM AS KIT

can you tell jesper is one of my favourite characters?

i really love the fact that kaz is pissed about the murder of that ambassador ONLY because he can´t figure out how it happen

he´s such a nerd

i can't believe one of the firts things we hear jesper say is threathen to kill someone by writing "forgive me" with bullets

AND HE CALLS HIS GUNS "BABIES" OMG

picture saying hi baby and wylan thinkin he's talking to him but actually jesper's talking to one of his guns

Jesper rolled his eyes. "It's about sending a message. What's the point of a dead guy with forg written on his chest?."

"Compromise," Kaz said. "I'm sorry does the trick and uses fewer bullets."

ooo thank god we have kaz to come up with creative solutions /j /s

honestly i love how they talk about kaz's cane like it's the scariest weapon ever (which it kind of is)

nothing will ever disappoint me more than finding out that in english their gang name is "the Dregs". like i don't even know for sure what that means

in spanish is "Los Indeseables" (the undesirables?) which sounds a lot more badass

no hate tho i like the dregs

but i was confused af bc i expected it to be sometihng like "the undesirables" or"the unwanted" or whatever

and it said "the dregs"

which in the translator means something like shit or something

anways moving on:

If he'd (kaz) ever been a little boy

i love how lowkey all the crows think he was just born exactly like he is now

imagine a baby kaz all dressed in black and threatening people

cute

"No mourners," Jesper said as he tossed his rifle to Rotty

"No funerals," the rest of the Dregs murmured in reply. Among them, it passed for "good luck".

YES

YESSS

i wonder what wylan's doing right now :))

i can't wait for the next book where he has a pov

the first time i read this book i literally looked at the title of every chapter to see if he ever got one (i was disappointed to say the least :((((

Besides, she was the Wraith - the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.

ma'am

marry me please

i'm gonna cry so hard once the show is out and we get to see inej omg

me simp

That Kaz had chosen Jesper to be one of his seconds was no surprise. Twitchy as Jepser was, with or without his revolvers, he was at his best in a fight, and she knew he'd do anything for Kaz.

idk why but i just love it every time kaz implies or shows that he cares or trusts jesper

it makes me soft

But every one of Inej's senses told her that was not how this was going to play out. Her father would have said the shadows were about their business tonight. Something bad was going to happen here.

underrated saying from Inej's father right there

"I'm a business man," he told her."No more, no less"

"You're a thief, Kaz."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

i-

i see no lies here

not to be annoying but i hc jesper as adhd (i mean is pretty much as canon as wylan's dyslexia) so i'm gonna write here every time i see evidence :)

jesper with adhd part 1: impulsivity

Jesper snorted. "Stomach, spine. What's next, spleen?"

"Shut it" Oomen snarled. The rules of parley dictated that only the lieutenants could speak once negotiations had begun. Jesper mouthed "sorry" and elaboratedly pantomimed locking his lips shut.

he know he couldn't speak but couldn't stop himself from making a comment (i relate way too much to that lmao)

hoestly poor jesper he had to watch hid friend get shot and kaz do nothing about it

i would've been mad too

"I like it when men beg," she said. "But this isn't the time for it"

KAHGFAHLGSFGASFLGSAFS

this is one of the best quotes in the book by far

YASSS KAZ POV

Kaz could have tol Jesper that he knew he wasn't dirty, reminded him that he'd trusted him eough to make him his only real second in a fight that could have gone badly wrong tonight.

cute

but kaz is petty af

he didn't even have a reason not to tell jesper that!

i love that kaz knows inej is following him but doesn't say anything because he wants to wait until she's ready

i LOVE the scene where kaz in in the van eck mantion /srs

idk why but it's so good

And, of course, there was the mystery of Van Eck's son.

wonder what that could be!!! /s

He grinned at her (...)

"Hmm." she said noncommittally, pretending to examine one of her knives, determined to ignore that grin.

KANEJ YESS

HE'S BASICALLY SHOWERING IN FRONT OF HER OMG

this is so funny poor inej is getting flustered

"And I'll need Wylan waiting at the Crow Club tomorrow night."

YES WYLAN OMG

One minute he made her blush and the next he made her want to commit murder

happens to the best of us :/

"Please, my darling Inej. treasure of my heart won't you do me the honor of acquiring me a new hat?"

if kaz doesn't say this on the show we riot

agreed?

it's so amazing how nina found a way to use her powers to get money instead of having to like steal and murder like the rest in the gang

NINA'S POV YESSS HIII

nina and inej omg

their friendship is just perfect

POOR MATTHIAS HE HAS TO FIGHT THE WOLVES

i would straight up cry

Matthias was dreaming again. Dreaming of her

i'm gonna cry damn it

this is the enemies-to-lovers we all needed

jesper has adhd part 2:

"Jesper was supposed to wait until three bells." said the pale boy

"It is three bells, Kaz." replied a small girl (...)

"Since when is Jesper punctual?" the boy complained with a glance at his watch

the time blindness come one

(btw i love the fact that kaz plans around jesper's time blindness instead of like threatening him to be on time)

i really love how every one feels the need to take the time to say/think that the masks are ugly

its so unnecessary lmao

yessss inej is a badass that kills monster we stan

and matthias is lowkey impressed lmao

as he should

"Thank you, Jesper," said Nina

"You're very welcome, gorgeous. See, Kaz? That's how the civilised folk do"

THESE TWO OMG

JESPER IS THE LOML

INEJ OMG LOOK:

She stepped aside as if she's known he was coming, languidly hooking her heel behind his ankle. Matthias let out a loud grunt as he landed on the stones

(...) "Clumsy, this one," the bronze girl said impassively.

i-

that's what happen when you underestimate her bitch

AAAAAAA

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

TIME TO FREAK OUT

WYLAN IS HERE

AND HE'S DOODLING STOP IT'S SO CUTE

ok jesper has adhd part 3 i think:

"Just how crazy is he?" asked Jesper, fingers drumming on the pearl handles of his revolvers.

ok first of all: stimming

second of all: hyperactivity

i rest my case

ok 2 or 3 things here

"I believe you know Nina," Brekker continued. "The lovely girl freeing you is Inej. (...) and this is Wylan, the best demolitions expert in the Barrel"

"Raske is better," Inej said

The boy looked up, ruddy gold hair flopping in his eyes, and spoke for the first time. "He's not better. He's reckless"

"He knows his trade"

"So do I"

ok 1: kaz calling inej lovely omg kanej

2: YES WYLAN STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF

2.5: kaz calling him the best cute af

3: honestly why do people think wylan is like an innocent soft boy or whatever. he's in a room full of murderers and thieves and the first thing he does is correct them and stand up for himself

like i wish i could do that

i would be crying like a bitch

AAAAAAAA

"Meet Wylan Van Eck"

KHDSGFALSGFIASGFAL

HI WYLAN BABY

YESSS JESPER'S POV NOW

I'M SO HAPPY also look at this it's the first thing in his pov

Jesper stared at Wylan

do i sense some wesper?????

ok everyone is being so mean to him right now

they are aclling him useless and an idiot and other shit

poor boy honestly he had to deal with this + taking part of a heist he is definetly not ready for + he has to hide the fact that he can't write or read

it so distrubing that kaz is literally the nicest one to wylan right now

"See that? Hidden depths." (...)"He's good enough at demo, and he's got a fine hand for sketching, thanks to all those pricey tutors."

(...)

"There you have it," Kaz said to Jesper. "Marketable skills. Wylan is watching you, Helvar"

GET READY

ARE Y'ALL READY?

OK THEN:

"Scheming face," Jesper whispered to Inej.

She nodded. "Definetly."

THEIR FRIENDSHIP OMG

AND THIS QUOTE

I NEED IT ON THE SHOW THEY BETTER GIVE IT TO US

"Who's Mark" damn wylan (but pretty good comeback to jesper tho)

"What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?

"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.

"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.

"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.

"You're all horrible," said Matthias.

tag yourself i'm jesper

KJSFGAL kaz just told wylan to tell him everything he know about his dad's company

and he said he doesn't know and kaz was like "and you never looked trough his documents????

AND THEN HE GOT SAD AND SAID HE HADN'T (and kaz believed him this is sad)

AND NOW JESPER CALLED HIIM USELESS

ok you know i love you jes but if you keep this up

idk i can't do anything you're a sharpshooter

but stiiiiiil

LMAO MATTHIAS ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE COULD BEAT KAZ

nice try

demjin

*insert spongebob voice* demjin

WE'RE GONNA TAKE A MOMENT NOW TO APPRECIATE INEJ GAHFA

BECAUSE KAZ DOESN'T

The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.

*ugly crying*

Many boys will bring you flowers. But some day you'll meet a boy who will learn your favourite flower, your favourite song, your favourite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won't matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.

*uglier crying*

TANTE HELLEN IF YOU DON'T GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE

SOMEONE PLEASE STAB HER FOR ME

jesper has adhd part ?? (i have dyscalculia you can't expect me to remember the number):

That sound - the swift, shocking report of gunfire - called the scattered, irascible, permanently seeking part of his mind into focus like nothing else.

do i really need to explain this?

ok just in case.. an adhd brain doesn't actually have a deficit of attention(the name just sucks) it's problem with controling that attention. the brain is always looking for new sources of dopamine which is why it shifts its focus so much

i love that jes thinks of matthias as "tha giant"

like sir

have you seen yourself?

you're tall af

HE GOT SHOT

WHY DID I FORGET JESPER GETS SHOT IN THE LEG HERE

"Close your eyes!"

"You can't kiss me from down there, Wylan"

"Just do it!"

i love the energy BUT NOW IT'S NOT THE TIME JES

YESS WYLAN SHOW THEM THEY WERE WRONG CALLING YOU USELESS

inej just stabed some guy int the d

good for her!

KAZ YESSSS HI

AWWW SHE'S WORRIED HE DOESN'T HAVE HIS CANE

KANEJ FOR LIFE

oh no wylan got shot too???? (just barely but stilllll por baby)

my Wraith omggg

ok 3 things about this:

Without another word, he tipped Oomen into the sea.

"No!" Wylan shouted, leaning over the railing, his face pale, stunned eyes tracking Oomen in the waves. (...)

Jesper set his hand on Wylan's shoulder. "Let it go."

"It's not right-"

"Wylan," Jesper said, giving him a little shake."Maybe your tutors didn't cover this lesson, but you do not argue with a man covered in blook and a knife up his sleeve"

1. wesper yasssss

2. wylan just argued with a mant hat had just tacken the eye out of someone. he literally called him out for being an asshole. like damn wylan is brave af i love him

3. do you think seeing kaz trow the guy out of the boat reminded wylan of when the same thing happened to him???? this makes me sad

he's brave and a good person and i just-

"Man with a knife, remember?" he said over his shoulder.

"Man with a gun!" Jesper called after him

this had no right being so funny

AND THEN KAZ GAVE HIM THE MIDDLE FINGER STOP I CAN'T

nina is the biggest kanej shiper no one can tell me i'm wrong

unrelated but if jesper had gone to the Little Palace and had studied there with nina they 100% would've had a crush on Zoya and bonded over it

like you can't tell me those two bisexual disaster wouldn't be absolutely in love with Zoya

jesper has adhd part ??:

Jesper scrubbed the back of his neck, touched his hands to his gunds, returned to his neck. He always seemed to be in motions

hyperactivity right there

and restlessness

"Do you know the best way to find Grisha who don't want to be found?" (...)

"Seems to be if they don't want to be found, you should just let them be" (jesper says this)

this conversation must be so stressful to him omg

LMAO JESPER CUT MATTHIAS HAIR THIS IS SO FUNNY

AND HE SHAVED HIM

ok you all know i love all of them but they can be sooo stupid

like wylan wrote no names on the drawing and he's excuse is that he doesn't know fjerdan?

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN TRUE he literally said he learned school fjerdan which means he should know how to write it too (we know why he can't but the tohers don't)

and even then like the excuse doesn't make any sense. why would having the original name be usefull if no one can fucking read it????

the worst part tho? NO ONE QUESTIONED HIM

THEY WERE LIKE "yup makes sense" AND WENT ON WITH THEIR DAY

i wondered how they didn't figure wylan's secret sooner but now i now

it's because theya re idiots

"I'm just doing my job. Stop glaring at me"

wylan baby let's not make the gigant mad

Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. "Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost."

Brekker's lips quirked. "I'll just hire Matthias ghost to kick your ghost's ass."

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost," Matthias said primply, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.

i had to put this here i don't want to get murdered by the fandom

jesper, inej and nina have the BEST friendship

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE JES AND INEJ TOGETHER ON NETFLIX

"I know some people don't understand, but Kaz told me ... he said it was my choice, that he wouldn't be the one to mark me again."

i love this because it happen when they had just met

he did it because he understands her trauma and he respects her not because he loves her (i doubt he did at the time)

Kaz had been impressed with the sketches. (...)

"Just learn to take a compliment. Kaz doesn't hand them out often."

I'M SO PROUD OF WYLAN

and yess kaz only compliments wylan (and inej but that's sarcastic so it doesn't count) because he's a proud dad

"And you don't belong here, either."

"I beg your pardon, merchiling?"

"We don't need a sharpshooter for Kaz's plan, so what's your job - other than stalking around making everyone angsty?"

He shrugged. "Kaz trusts me."

Wylan snorted and picked up his pen. "Sure about that?"

DAMN WYLAN DESTROYED HIM

also

"If you aren't born with every advantage, you learn to take your chances."

"I wasn't-" Wylan left off and set down his pen. (...)

aww cute neurodivergent boyfriends bonding

Wylan had turned back to his work, his disappointment obvious. For some reason, Jesper felt disappointed, too.

ajgflasjgfjagslfiuusgflgdfsgdflasdgfsd

wesper

aww jes checks on inej every morning and every night i love him

"Thank you for keeping me in this world when fate seemed determined to drag me to the next. I owe you a life debt."

Nina blushed deeply. "I was teasing, Inej"

LJFGALKGFALGA another cute friendship right there

(and i can see why people ship them romantically)

STOP INEJ AND JES ARE BONDING SO MUCH (page 127 so i can go back and read it lmao)

Van Eck writes to Wylan every week, and Wylan doesn't even open the letters

"They just said the same thing again and again: If you're reading this, the you know how much I wish to have you home. Or I pray that you read these words and think of all you've left behind."

should i kill him? anyone want to join me?

Inej bumped her shoulder against his."Then at least we're both the same kind of stupid." (...)

"You're too good for him, you know?"

"I know. So are you"

jes and her bonding over their stupid crush on a white boy

Because I've been looking for an excuse to talk to you for two days.

jfsfdajdhmgkfutdjrgsg ok i can't blame them for having a crush on him anymore

this chapter is full of kanej i love it

"What do you want, then"

You, Inej. You forever.

jksdgfoagsdfgsdgfklasgdflaghsldfgksdgfkahgsdfghjlkf

kaz's backstory makes me sad

"When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm," said Kaz. (...)

"I´m gonna pay someone to burn my kruge for me."

Kaz fell into step beside him. "Why don't you pay someone else to pay someone to burn your kruge for you? That's what big players do."

"You know what the really big bosses do? They pay someone to pay someone ...". Their voices trailed off as they tomped ahead, and Matthias and the others followed.

JES AND KAZ HAVE THE BEST CONVERSATIONS

i can't believe we get to see nina and matthias meet and their whole backstory in less than a month omg

"It's not natural for women to fight."

"It's not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand."

QUEEN

YOU TELL HIM

oh no the dead grisha

this part breaks my heart every time

"Do you have a different name for killing when you wear a uniform to do it?"

.....i'm just gonna leave this quote right here

anyways acab

stop nina tried to kill the survivor so they wouldn't suffer but she couldn't do it

and jesper did it for her without hesitation i wanna cry

and inej didn't want to do it either i want to hug them

"Because our crime is existing. Our crime is what we are"

..........

i'm gonna leave this here again

do with it what you will

"Don't mock what you don't understand."

"My mockery offends you? My people would welcome you laughter in place of this barbarity"

i- this conversation is so important

AAAAA JES AND WY ARE A GREAT TEAM I LOVE THEM

WYLAN TROWS BOMBS TOGIVE JESPER TIME TO GET READY TO SHOOT

INEJ AND KAZ ARE A GREAT TEAM TOO

THEY LITERALLY DID THE SCENE LIKE IN THE AVENGERS (but without the shield WHICH MAKES IT BETTER)

Jesper shouldered his rifle. "Wylan earned his keep."

Wylan gave a little jump at the sound of his name. "I did?"

YES BABY YOU DID GREAT

kaz getting self-conscious for his hair is pure comedy

but nina how can you say that have you see his hair on the show???? it's perfect

"Remeber our friend Mark?"

HELP I CAN'T

"Any other impossible feats you'd like us to accomplish?"

The bearest smile flikered over Kaz's lips. "I'll make you a list."

once again jesper and kaz being besties

unrelated but nikolai and jesper would love each other

the amount of sass they have between them it's unparalleled

"Mmm," Inej murmured, taking a sip from her mug. "Maybe you're just not enough."

DAMN

ma'am marry me please

kaz fainted damn poor boy

unrelated unce again but this is so much betetr than shadow and bone

like you can tell leigh improved so much

her characters are better and their arcs are better developed

the writing itself it's better

or maybe i'm just biased because i love soc so much but i think she definetly improved

INEJ IS TRYING TO GIVE HIM SPACE EVEN WHEN SHE'S TRAPPED AND LOCKED ON THE WAGON

I JUST - THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SO MUCH

Though he'd trusted her with his life countless times, it felt much more frightening to trust her with his shame.

Inej had once offered to teach him how to fall. "The trick is not getting knocked down," he'd told her with a laugh. "No, Kaz," she's said, "the trick is in getting back up"

inej is smart af

Kaz was usually unshakeable during a job, but now he was on edge, and Jesper didn't know why. Part of him wanted to ask, though he knew that was the stupid part, the hopeful farmboy who picked the worst possible person to care about, who searched for signs in things that he knew deep down meant nothing - when kaz chose him for a job, when Kaz played along with one of his jokes. He could have kicked himself. He's finally seen the infamous Kaz Brekker without a stich of clothing, and he'd been too worried about ending up on a pike to pay proper attention.

ok i got a couple of things to say about this part

first of all it makes me so sad that jes cares so much for someone who dosn't deserve him. because no hate to kaz but they would never work as a couple and kaz already treats him like shit most of the time

i think this part shows who a lot about who jesper really is. a boy that grew up having to hide parts of himself, who thinks he's worth nothing but it's smart and capable, who's loyal and brave and caring but doesn't even know it himself. he's someone who feels he doesn't deserve good things and thinks he's not good enough, and that's why he unds up in all the wrong places with the wrong people. he left uni bc he fell in with the gangs, because he didn't think he was smart enough or even prepared to be in studying in the university. jesper is constantly hiding behind a mask or running from things because he's scared of not being enough

an kaz is everything jes in a way wishes he could be. kaz is secure in himself (at least on the outside), he's stable, he's smart, he's "unshakeable". and most of all, he doesn't care about others (we know that's not true but that's how he presents himself)

and that's the thing that causes jesper all his problems. because he's insecure because he thinks he's not good enough for the poeple or things he cares about. and he's always trying to do what's best for his loved ones: he went to the ice court to pay his debt for his father, he follows kaz everywhere beacause he cares about him, he offered to read to wylan (knowing it wouldn't be easy for him to be still that long).

and yeah it often doesn't work out becuase he's messy and he has problems but he tries. and he hates that. he hates that he cares so much about people because at the end of the day, that's what makes him feel like he's not good enough

one more thing and i'm done i promise

unpopular opinion but i love that leigh made jesper have a crush on kaz. 1 beacuse it's refreshing to see someone not get otgether with his first crush. and 2 because i love that it shows that we sometimes get attached to people that are not good for us, but that we can learn to move on. jesper ended with wylan who respects him and values him, unlike kaz

ok i'm sorry that was probably all bs

oo one more thing, jesper definetly has rsd (rejection sensitive disphoria), which is something most poeple with adhd have

"My father used to take me everywhere with him"

this is so sad. bc they probably had a good relationship when he was little. and then they figured he coudln't read and now his father treats him like shit

it's even worse than if he haf been horrible from the beginning because wylan knows he can be a good father. and so he thinks it's his fault and he deserves to be treated like that. i hate van eck

"You're cuter when you're smart"

(...)

"Definitely cuter when you're smart"

wesper yesssss

i love them so much

ok but why do people think jesper is stupid. like the boy just made a bunch of criminals pass out by mixing some chemicals

and he was going to the university at like 15

AAAAND NOW THEY KNOW HE'S A FABRIKATOR

amazing plot twist

also:

Wylan coughed. Flirting with him might actually be more fun that annoying him, but it was a close call.

oooo come on jesper we all know you just love getitng him to blush

and you love him

who said that? definitely not me, nope

awwww jesper misses being around animals that's cute

imagine him coming home to wylan one day with a puppy because he just couldn't resist

cute

Better terrible truths than kind lies

just leaving here more of inej's wisdom

ok this may be a reach but jesper has adhd part ???

Yellow Protocol? Red Protocol? He couldn't remember which was which. (...)

"The alarm was Yellow Protocol, a sector disturbance."

Jesper pushed at his temples. "I don't remember what that means"

a bad working memory? sounds familiar

kaz loves puzzles

it's canon

"I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue."

this part where wylan and jesper see the banner made with grisha's kefta kills me every time

I would have worn purple, Jesper thought, if I'd joined the Second Army. (...) He'd beenwilling, even eager to risk capture and execution as a thief and hired gun. Why was it worse to think about being hunted as a Grisha?

this makes me want to cry so much

another thing super sad: the fact that since his father is Kaelish and had some supersititons towards grisha, jesper grew up wondering if his own father was scared of him. he had to hide his powers and he was almost taught to be afraid of them

"Is it safe to leave them, you know-"

"Alive? I'm not big on killing unconscious men."

"We could wake them up"

WYLAN

NO

damn the boy needs therapy

it's amazing how nothing went like they planned

not a single thing

PEOPLE GET READY

ARE YOU READY?

NEITHER AM I BUT WHO CARES

"What do you like?"

"Music. Numbers. Equations. They are not like words. They...they don't get mixed up."

ok dude the clues are right there he's basically saying it

"If only you could talk to girls in equations."

There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, "Just girls?"

Jesper restrained a grin. "No. Not just girls." It really was a shame they were all probably going to die tonight.

wylan really said a straight man?? couldn't be me

this is the definition of bi panic "jesper restrained a grin" bitch we saw that

btw i love the slow burn

like they hint something here but they don't actually start liking each other until much later and they don't get together until almost the end of ck

i also love that the fact that they both like guys is like out in the open now. bc i'm not a fan of when queer characters have a crush and there's the whole thing of "are they queer too or not?"

like they both know htey are queer. but they don't get together right away bc they have to start liking each other before. they don't get together bc they are the only queer mlm characters

matthias fake betrayal killed me

i tought it was real

I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept fom this oath.

this is just-

also foreshadowing?

YAYY KUWEI HI

There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.

She's laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and got drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.

if i ever have a s/o and they don't tell me this at least once i don't want it

He needed to tell her... what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn't pull himslef together into some smeblance of a man for her

THIS

THIS IS LOVE RIGHT THERE

they are the only straight couple that matters

everyone else go home

Wylan had scratches all over his cheeks and neck. He was beaming. Inej grabbed his hands and sqeezed.

so cute omg

"You can explain why our illustrious Shu scientist looks like one of Wylan's school pals along the way"

KAZ

i mean it's true but you didn't have to say it

KAZ IS SMILING OMG

EVERYONE FREAK OUT WITH ME

HE'S "grinning like and idiot" STOP I LOVE HIM

"We are all someone's mosnter, Nina"

"I will have you without armour, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all"

this part breaks my heart and i love it

"Stay," she oanted. Tears leaked from her eyes. "Stay till the end"

"And after," he said. "And always."

i just- helnik is perfect

AWWW JESPER MISSES WYLAN

my daily dosis of wesper :)

ok but in like 2 pages jesper tought of wylan like 10 times bc he's sad wy isn't with him

Jesper scanned the empty deck. He's assumed Wylan would come up to see them off. (...)

Jesper knew he was being selfish and stupid, but some petty part of him wondered if Wylan had deliberately kept away from him on the journey back. Maybe now that the job was complete and he was on his way to his share of the haul, Wylan was done slumming with criminals.

*charles boyle's insinuating voice* and why do you care so much???

btw YOU ARE WRONG. HE'S LITERALLY GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO BE WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH HE CAN'T SPEAK

this scene where we find out the truth about wylan hurts so much but it's one of my favourites idk why

I LOVE THAT EVERYONE IS AS MAD AS I AM ABOUT THE LETTERS NOW

"Your're a fool," Jesper snarled. "He smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you."

YES TELL HIM

the fact that wylan just heard him say that omg

"Deserved" amended Van Eck. He blew the whislte twice.

SOMEONE BETTER GRAB ME BEFORE I KILL HIM MYSLEF

THAT IDIOT

I HATE HIM SO MUCH

I'M GONNA CRY CAN SOMEONE KILL HIM FOR ME

Jesper screamed in rage and raised his guns.

YES EXACLTY WHAT I MEANT

JUST KILL HIM RIGHT NOW

"I'm not big on bludding, am I Inej?"

"Not as a rule"

Van Eck's lip curled. "And why is that?"

"Because he'd rather cheat," said the boy who was not Kuwei Yul-Bo in perfect, unaccented Kerch.

THIS WAS PERFECT

THE BEST WAY TO REVEAL THAT

(...), and Jesper flinched

baby he recognized wylan's voice

The Shu boy held out a hand. "Pay up, Kaz"

BITCH THIS IS AMAZING

THIS BOY MADE A BET WITH A CRIMINAL THAT HIS OWN FATHER WAS GOING TO TRY TO KILL HIM

AND HE WON THE BET

A nearly perfect replica of Kuwei Yul-Bo stood before them, but he had Wylan's voice, his mannerisms, and - though Kaz could see the fear and hurt in his golden eyes - Wylan's surprising courage, too.

i love it when they compliment him

my boy deserves all the compliments ever

AND KAZ IS PROUD OF HIS SON WE ALL KNOW THIS

Wylan cuold draw a perfectt elevation. He's made a drill that could cut throu Grisha glass from parts of a gate and scavenged bits of jewellery. So what if he couldn't read

this is taking me to some real places

i may cry you've been warned

WYLAN DIDN'T CARE THAT HE MAY BE STUCKED LOOKING LIKE KUWEI

this is making me cry

"A fool would have been waiting to be smashed to bits on that ship. And as for "traitor", you've called me worse in the last few minutes alone."

EXACTLY

YOU TELL HIM WYLAN

Instead, in that moment of threat, when he should have thought only of the fight, he looked at Inej.

BABY

i would've done the same tho she's pretty

amita is sooo pretty i'm gonna die when the show comes out

Jesper was staring at Wylan, his eyes roving over the black hair, the golden eyes. "Why?" he said at last. "Why would you do this?"

nothing to say here except: wesper

You... how many times was it you standing beside me on the deck at night when I tought it was Kuwei?"

"Every time."

i want to cry so bad

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't know!" Jesper said angrily. "Maybe I liked your stupid face."

a very staright and platonic thing to say of course

i know jes we all liked his stupid face

"Jesper made a mistake," said Wylan. "A stupid mistake, but he didn't set out to betray anyone."

YES WYLAN DEFEND YOUR BOYFRIEND

And maybe he'd kept him in the dark about Wyllan because he wanted to punish him a little

even kaz know they like each other come on

Jesper sat with elbows on knees, head in hands. Wylan deside him wearing th face of a stranger.

wylan give him a hug fro me please

he needs it

"Scheming face," murmured Jesper.

"Definitely," agreed Wylan.

i miss inej already

And I'm going to get my girl. Inej could never be his, not really, but he would find a way to give her the freedom he´d promised her so long ago.

i'm ugly crying and so what?

and now we're done....

i want to read this book again omg this is unhealthy

[putschki1969]

「Wakana Botanical Land “Music Party Vol.2"」 Live Report/Commentary

Don’t forget to tune in to today’s event! A live stream option IS AVAILABLE for these two fan club exclusive performances. There is STILL time to buy a ticket so be sure to use that chance! If you can’t watch it live today, you can rely on the archived version which will be uploaded after the event and is available until June 6! (Tweet by Wakana staff)

EVENT DETAILS (find ALL details and a tutorial HERE): ■ May 29, 2021  ◇ Day performance Open 14:15 Start 15:00 (JST) ◇ Night performance Open 17:15 Start 18:00 (JST)

Note: I will try my best to do a live commentary/first reaction kind of thing so this post will be updated as the day goes by. I really hope they have fixed the streaming problems they had last time with the Spring Shark Festival. It worked fine once they got it working but it took quite a while to get there. They don’t have that luxury today since there is an on-site audience, it’s pretty much impossible to delay the performance should any streaming issues arise. On a side note, I am keeping my expectations low as far as the audio-quality is concerned but we will see, maybe it’s good. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

Live Commentary

Okay, it’s about to start, there are some weird noises in my headphones but it’s manageable. Otherwise, it works totally fine! I think they fixed the weird noise issue for the evening performance. Haven’t heard it yet. Video/stream-quality is perfect for me (no freeze so far), they have a few different angles which I appreciate. A bit of shaky-cam here and there but nothing too bad. I feel like they improved quite a bit on the camera work for the evening performance. Sound is also surprisingly good.

Setlist

Happy Hello Day: The atmosphere is already so nice, everyone is clapping enthusiastically. I love it! The arrangement with piano and guitar is perfect for this song. Poor Wakana forgot the lyrics though so they had to start again. Awww, so precious, I wanna cuddle her already! Loved the “lalala” at the end! No mistakes for her night performance. Everything went smoothly. I feel like the atmosphere is a bit more toned down compared to the day performance.

瑠璃色の空 / Ruriiro no Sora (DAY): Okay, I have never really liked this song but this acoustic version is actually pretty nice. I may have actually become a fan! :P Thank you Wakana, for this beautiful rendition. Hard Rain (NIGHT): YESSSSS! So much win! While I didn’t mind this version of Ruriiro no Sora, I MUCH prefer Hard Rain.

ひらりひらり / Hirari Hirari: Not my favourite of the “magic moment” album but I really enjoy listening to the live version like this.

442: OMG, I am already blown away! This IS SO GOOD!!!! The live version (especially with this acoustic arrangement) is a REVELATION, everyone needs to listen to it! I am so glad we are also getting this on the Blu-ray this summer!

Talk Corner: Awww, once again Wakana embarrasses herself by introducing her host Bunta Nagamatsu with the wrong name. Seeing her this flustered is super cute but on the other hand, I feel sorry for her T_T They are answering some of the simple/casual questions that fan club members were able to submit in advance. It was interesting to find out that she stretches for quite a long of them a few hours before a live and that she carries pretty much all of her belongings in her bag on a performance day XD Will be summarising them properly once we get the archived version. They are using different questions for the evening performance! YAY! At the end they are demonstrating their kendama skills but Wakana fails to catch the ball the first two times but then on the third try, SUCCESS! She is so happy! At the evening performance she looked like she pulled a muscle doing the trick but yay, she managed to catch the ball on her first try

海を見ていた午後 / Umi wo miteita gogo: Yuming-cover chosen for Takebe-san due to a connection. They picked this song because it features places in Yokohama (today’s live is taking place in Yokohama). Too short but very nice. Not a particularly big fan of the voice she uses for the song though.

アイノカタチ / Ai no Katachi: Misia-cover chosen for Ishinari-san due to a connection. His guitar playing is actually featured in the original recording of the song. Wakana also sang this in one of her fan club videos (where she did her nails). Wahhhh, I am in love!! Such a beautiful cover! This hit me right in the feels, even more so the second time around! *bursts into tears*

I have a dream: Kalafina-cover chosen for Wakana due to a connection. *sobs* Ahhhhhh, this is beautiful. I have no words. Not all Kalafina songs work as a solo song but this one certainly does. Wakana nailed it!! That Kajiura-go part!! Btw, random question for everyone who has been watching the stream, where is that drum/percussion-like sound coming from? It’s noticable in almost all songs but it’s obviously not coming from the piano or guitar. Just curious since I am not an expert on that kind of stuff so I wouldn’t know what tools they have to create this sort of sound without an actual drum set or whatever. Thanks to @sa-nyan for replying, it is INDEED Ishinari using some sort of pedal.

翼 / Tsubasa: Oh wow, already digging the acoustic arrangement. Can I just say how much I appreciate it that Wakana has two super talented and passionate musicians on her side. She deserves to be accompanied by the best. This is one of Wakana’s oldest solo songs so you can tell she is very sure of herself, no hesitation whatsoever, just powerful vocals. Perfection!

恋はいつも / Koi wa Itsumo: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! You all know this is one of my faves so I couldn’t be happier!! Wakana showing the audience how to clap :P SO CUTE! I can’t clap in rhythm for the life of me so I am kinda glad I am not there to embarrass myself :P Too bad the audience was able to sing along this time (probably because of COVID regulations). A little lyric slip-up at the beginnging but Wakana dealt with it professionally.

ENCORE: 金木犀 / Kinmokusei: Ohhhhhhh! And another one of my all-time faves!! Such a good setlist!! As always, beautiful!

ENCORE: あとひとつ / Ato hitotsu: Wakana explains the reason why this hasn’t been released on CD yet. She wants it to be a special experience that is reserved for live performances. She feels this exclusivity is nice. The PERFECT ending just like every other time she sings it.

DAY: Wakana is wearing a lovely salmon/orange/pink (?) coloured toga/tunic-sort of dress. She looks so pretty! It’s off-shoulder (always the best look for her!) and there is a white skirt layered underneath. There is also some binding around her waist. her hair is in an elaborate up-do. NIGHT: She changed into a lovely wide blue gown which goes well with the evening flair. Her hair is in a cute high ponytail. She is wearing her clear chain earrings again.

During the first MC of the day performance Wakana is already getting carried away talking about this and that so Takebe-san has to remind her they are on a tight schedule. XD At the end of the live Wakana announced an online release event for her Blu-ray. It’s gonna take place on August 21. The after-talk is now available. They filmed it after the evening performances answering a few more fan questions.

The archive videos for the day and night performance are already available! Please enjoy!

Be sure to fill in the survey to let Wakana and her team know how you felt about the event!! There will also be a Bokutachi no VOICE thread to share your impressions!