#i like that they die protecting the other in diff routes

[ashi-cookie]

ummm.... yeah idk how to draw blood lol

anyway i like their relationship. it’s interesting :-)

[waspenned]

congrats on 200 followers!!! <3 i'm loving scenes from italian restaurant

🎵 born on a train - samia

god if i had time to write i'd just use

i'll have to go when the whistle blows, the whistle knows my name

just for the responsibility of being spiderman dragging peter parker away from who he loves but i'll let you analyse the rest of it yourself haha

penn's 200 follower celebration

BYE SAMIA CAME UP ON MY RECCOMENDED BEFORE AND I PANICKED BC I THOUGHT IT WAS THIS GIRL I HAVE BEEF W AHAHAHA but it was a diff spelling so we move. analysis under cut!!! thx for the degree practice LMAO it's all been """"theory""' so far this year I haven't been able to do the bits I like lol

anyway this song is so beautiful and twinkly the sad music girlies are rlly doing their jobs recently like its giving devastation... also the warm lighting rlly reminds me of like.. campfire light so I think we're seeing smith reminiscent of honey dont feed me(i will come back) in terms of setting/sad factor

this song is soooo Peter btw like the opening imagery is rlly evocative of nyc at least in my experience. also the idea of 'ghost roads' in terms of getting lost in the city and "paths not taken". the idea of missed opportunities/the you that made a different decision as dead/a ghost is sooo interesting to me, esp in terms of Peter as a person (think John Locke's theory on personal identity which was super interesting when I studied philosophy and was also used in the good place!!). I write a lot abt peter's separation of the self and spider-man, and I think his essence as a character really resonates with the idea of the past self being 'dead' or maybe even murdered. it's a common trope in superhero media for the protagonist to mourn or 'kill' the person they were before they put on the mask but I won't wax lyrical abt it LMAO I just think there's some interesting ideas in there in terms of character.

the chorus is v similar actually - esp in terms of the train imagery which reminds me of the nyc subway, which in turn relates to the working class, and routes peter's character in the poverty that is a huge part of his identity AND also in terms of not being able to 'belong' anywhere/having to constantly be moving so people don't know his identity. Peter and the idea of 'responsibility' also take up. so much space in my head in the way that he treats debt - esp to other people and to the city as a whole. I read a rlly interesting article actually abt Peter and an 'unpayable debt' which I cant find rn but I'll have to go looking for lol... Peters commitment to the 'job' and/or guilt that comes with it is a huge part of him and what he considers morally "right" - which the line about not being able to keep promises rlly reminds me of !! 'The whistle knows my name' is SOOO spider-man tho like maybe in terms of Peter not really knowing who he is without spider-man, and particularly tom!Peter in that he doesn't have anything OUTSIDE of spiderman ; the 'whistle' (aka the call to responsibility) really would know his name in this context bc 1. no one else does and 2. spiderman is perhaps the only thing of his former life he has left. THIS IDEA IS ALSO IN THE BRIDGE WHERE THE SPEAKER TALKS ABT BEING FORGOTTEN.... omg so sad I cant

I know that you were never young And I know you probably won't get old But, honey, nobody's gonna hurt you anymore And nobody's gonna make you want to die

the 2nd verse is where things get interesting for me bc there's the introduction of a new voice and the pov changes if I was to convert this to fanfic... this ( for me ) is the reader talking to Peter. this idea of never being young (his youth was proverbially 'robbed' by grief/the responsibility of being spider-man) and never growing old (spider-mandom is dangerous asfuck youse...) as well as this theme of protection is smth u dont see much in s-m films. The hero is the protector and the love interest is the protected, we dont get to see the reverse which is a shame bc it would be super refreshing (@ marvel u see zendaya 's hand on toms hip give us that in the films pls). I write a lot of the reader taking on the 'protector'/caretaking role bc I just think it's rarer than the whole 'damsel in distress' cliche u get w the films and this verse is exactly the vibe I would go for ???

SORRY FOR WAFFLING I JUST RLLY CONNECTED W THIS ONE ANYWAY IN SUM: id write smth sad asf along the same lines as 'honey dont feed me' but while hdfm(iwcb) is more angry on the reader's part and their relationship is more dysfunctional - I think this would work well earlier in that relationship, before their break up. I'd go for a classic "reader patches up s-m" fic but with more on the side of wishing things were different for Peter. ive looked at Pete's relationship w s-m and quitting in drown it out, but I think if this was in hdfm(iwcb)-verse he's more inclined to bury his head in the work and treat it more like a Kantian duty?? yes a heaping pile of angst >:) I'd be more likely to use tom!Peter tho I think , I write a lot of universal/"penn cinematic universe" Peter but tom's circumstances would fit better imo

[i0990]

Piofiore no Banshou -ricordo- - Review

Since I finally got a Nintendo Switch I decided to try Piofiore no Banshou, what with 1926 recently released and all. I know the English ver (Fated Memories) came out earlier this year, but I played the Japanese one so I won’t be commenting on quality of translations and such.

What actually caught my eye for this game was the art, especially the number of different outfits and hairstyles Liliana had. I’m neutral about the mafia setting. Most of the reviews I read were positive, especially the ones for the eng ver, so I decided to give it a shot. Overall I had a decently fun time with it, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourites.

Piofiore is real pretty to look at, but suffers from poor writing at parts. The personalities of the guys tend to flip-flop depending on the route. Liliana, while very cute, is not what you would consider a ‘strong heroine’. The plot wasn’t that interesting to me and the finale route was underwhelming. Still, the characters were for the most part entertaining enough that I didn’t consider this a waste of my time and it didn’t bore me.

If you love this game to bits you might want to stop reading here.

*spoilers after the cut*

Plot: The heroine, Liliana, is an orphan who grew up in the church. The city has 3 mafia gangs(Falzone, Visconti, Laoshu) each controlling a diff part of the city, as well as a neutral area. A mafia controlled Italian city in 1925 sounds liked a fun setting yeah? In each route she basically gets attacked and is rescued/taken in by one of the gangs and spends time helping them with their stuff. We learn that she’s the latest in a line of chosen maidens who supposedly act as the key to unlocking a holy relic, which is why various parties want to kill/protect/possess her for their own agenda.

The overall plot is to... actually idk because there is no overarching goal common to the routes except maybe to not die. Liliana herself doesn’t seem to have any of her own goals to achieve. Therein imo is where the story writing gets a bit bland. Dante’s route is where you learn more about Liliana being the chosen one since the Falzone family are the guardians of the relic, but in the end it was just sth like “If a Falzone and the holy maiden sleep together you can unlock relic” -.- Nth wrong with it being so cliche, but it also makes this rather irrelevant in the other routes. In the other routes Liliana being the chosen one just becomes an excuse for the game to pile all sorts of abuse on her.

Regarding Liliana... If you are the sort who really wants a strong heroine you’ll probably hate her. She puts up with a lot of nonsense and abuse, especially in Yang’s route. Admittedly at times it’s a matter of suck it up or die but she’s still rather lacking in personality. The producers designed her to cater to the self-insert player base so her backstory and character are left as vague as possible. Her being the holy maiden also comes with zero special powers so she literally is just a helpless damsel in distress. I personally wasn’t too bothered by it but just find it a waste given how they had such a potentially good setting to work with.

What mainly bothers me with the writing was how characters tend to change personality depending on the route, as well as them making pretty stupid decisions when they should know better. I think Orlok’s bad end is a well known example of this for Dante. Nicola’s goal in his route makes zero sense, and also poor Robert who suddenly goes yandere. Jozef is suddenly a good guy in a couple of the routes. Yang is pretty much the most consistent guy, except that he is consistently an arse. When the route with the guy who abuses the heroine the most is the most entertaining route, you know the writing is messed up. 

The finale route was also pretty meaningless and felt a bit lazy since it branched off from Gilbert’s route when there was no real reason for it. I mean, if you want to have a secret love interest can you at least give the guy some decent development and his own route?

As for the plus points, I’d say the game is still pretty entertaining to play through. It’s mostly carried by the art and characters themselves rather than the plot. I also like the darker and more mature feel of the game since I’m not a huge fan of fluff games most of the time. There really is a lot more violence and sex in this game than you’d usually see, although sometimes it feels a bit forced just so they can have the shock factor. It’s not super long like HnK or super boring like the KBO fd so that’s good. It’s actually remarkable that despite the poor writing the game was still rather fun. Maybe that’s the true power of the holy maiden hmm.

Characters: Due to the writing being all over the place and the flip-flopping personalities I have no true favourite for this game. If I had to say I’d pick Dante, because he likes cats and for the most part he seems to care about Liliana even when it’s not his route. Gilbert is a close second because he just seems like a fun guy to hang out with and yay shopping. Orlok seems more like a younger brother. Yang, while very entertaining, has an absolutely rubbish personality. Nicola’s route ruined the character for me :/

I’d usually spend some time here talking about the heroine’s personality but she doesn’t really have one. Pretty standard nice, likes baking, will take a bullet for her guy kind of girl. But yeah, no goals of her own.

The sub characters in this game are so-so. My favourites are the Laoshu twins because of how they somehow make every scene they are in more interesting. Emilio is just there to conveniently make things better for the characters involved. But hey, everyone looks great! 

System/Interface: It’s nice and suits the setting. Not much to complain about. I would have liked a ‘skip to next choice’ option for this game. The newspaper clipping style main menu is kinda cute. No trophies to collect since it’s on the Switch.

Art/Music: RiRi’s art saves the day. Even if the characters do stupid or mean stuff, at least they look good doing it. Tbh this is the first game RiRi has done so far where I really like the art. Also kudos for Liliana’s multiple hairstyle and clothing changes. I would have liked more CGs featuring the characters interacting with one another and not just Liliana. Overall the art was prob what I liked best about the game.

Music wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed it while playing but nothing that really impressed me enough to want to buy the soundtrack. I like the various faction themes and they do a decent job of conveying each gang’s mood. OP/ED didn’t stick in my head.

Overall. my main feelings about the game would be... mild disappointment? I was expecting a more action packed, dramatic game. I don’t regret it though because it was fun enough and there’s lots of eye candy. It’s mostly the wasted potential that annoys me. Sorry if this came across as more of a rant than a review. I know a lot of people love this game lol. If you’re interested in darker and edgier games this is still worth giving it a shot. I also have the FD so I’m hoping it will improve my opinion of the series. Will probably start on it after the new year ^^

[llendrinall]

So i got another fic idea in my head The dates are very important. 1 (May 1998) Percy was a Ministry spy and he worked closely with Albus. He saved a lot of lives no matter their blood or if they were creatures. And at the battle of Hogwarts he saves Freds life but hes in crit condition George is a total ass (He's angry and takes it out on Percy) going off at him saying nasty things along the lines of that Percy isn't welcome at the Weasley home anymore.

2 When he tries to go to the House to talk to them he's not treated very well ("Dont wanna hear excuses Percy"). He just give up, packs his things in his flat, & the next morning he goes, gives his mission reports that date from the start of his Ministry career along with his resignation letter on Shacklebot's desk. Then he's off to America to start over he snuck into Freds hospital room & used Snapes healing charms as a way to 'set things right' before leaving.

3. Percy is now in New York, gets a job, and then spends the next 6 months working diligently and whatnot. Then he meets Audrey Smith, they end up going on a few dates and she introduces Percy to her local gym and they become gym buddies and soon start dating. (Aug 2000) After 2 years together (They're married) Percy and Audrey find out they're expecting. And then the twins are born on the 2nd of May 2001. Percy laughs a bit as Audrey pats him the shoulder and says "They sure chose the date"

4. Sep 11 2001) Audrey dies in the 9/11 attack (she was a muggle) & Percy is left a widow with 2 daughters to look after. (June 2002) He bumps into Oliver who's on a quidditch training exchange. They catch up. (Oliver doesn't bring up the fact that Percy's fam has been looking for him for years and that he's saved so many lives) As December rolls around Oliver spends it at Percy's, meeting the kids and hearing Percy tell him everything (His wife, his family and the war)

(I think this is part 5? Idk its 2am here) (Jan - May) They spend a lot of time together after Xmas and slowly Percy begins to heal a bit more after Audrey's death. Oliver ends up going back to the UK and Percy misses him. (July) Oliver comes back with news that he's transferred to an NY team "They might not be big on Quidditch here but they're extremely good, Perce" (Its not because Oliver has been inlove with Percy since Hogwarts. Neither is it because he loves Molly & Lucy to death either)

6 (Feb 2004) The UK Papers get a picture of Oliver, Percy the twins out and it BLOWS UP. Charlie (The only one who even heard Percy out back after the war ended, He knows the others did wrong by him) floos in and then warns Percy about everyone knowing he's here and that they're gonna be coming in 2 days. So He ends up having Charlie take the girls. He ends up meeting with his fam and it takes a long long time for them to heal and fix things.

7. His Fam only get to meet Molly and Lucy when they're 6. When they're 7 he and Oliver gets married. Idk why but i seem to only send you these fic ideas when im hella tired and at 2am. T_T Why am i like this? So Audrey named Molly and Perce named Lucy (After each others moms)

 Honestly, What can I say at this point? You have the whole story thought out. Go for it and write it!

It’s not the kind of story I write, though. But since you dropped the materials here, I can share how I would assemble it.

I would avoid New York. Big cities have a character. They are characters and you have to treat them as such. In Life skills, London is a character, complex and big and hard and beautiful. In Secret language of plants, even though Draco and Harry end up in London, I had them stay in the house because London was too big of a character for that stage of the story.

So, no New York. If I had to use a well-known city I would go with Boston, I think. Otherwise, a small one with a nice name.

Audrey doesn’t die on 9/11. Well, she dies on that day, but not on the attack. It’s something as simple and dull as a traffic accident. Percy wasn’t with her, not that it would have mattered. Yes, wizards have potions to mend bones instantly and protective charms and spells to stop the momentum, but Audrey died instantly, and no one could have seen the car until it was on her.

The driver was an old man, fumbling with that new invention, a mobile phone, trying to call his daughter who worked in New York.

Magic Law on the States is a bit… over the place. It would be extremely simple to put a curse or a hex that man. If Percy was clever about it, it wouldn’t be too illegal. But he doesn’t. Percy realizes it wouldn’t make him feel better.

 Percy doesn’t particularly like the States. The tea is terrible, the coffee is weak, the spelling is painful and people are entirely too talkative. But it’s sunnier than England and the orange juice is good, so he stays.

He goes to Romania every summer to visit Charlie. The girls love it there and it was always easy to talk to Charlie. Charlie who had such a promising career in Quidditch and rejected the fame and fortune for a thankless career working with dragons. Not even training dragons for bank security, which is a cool and profitable career, but fighting that very same use.

Charlie only goes back home for a week during Christmas, so he gets it. They don’t have to talk about it, never mention that weird state of loving your family and not wanting to be with them, to fight, to have to explain and justify your very existence and your life decisions.

He meets Oliver in Romania. Supposedly Oliver is there to see the sights and rest his left shoulder, that was injured at the end of the league. But he is not the first Quidditch player who has a crisis of faith and comes to Charlie with questions. So far, none of them had taken up dragon-protection, but one became a broomstick racer and another is the head coach of an Italian team.

Charlie only thinks about dragons. Oliver only thinks about Quidditch and is in the middle of an existential crisis. So it’s perfectible understandable that the topic of Percy, his war heroics and his semi mythical status is never brought up. To be fair, Charlie doesn’t know much about it because he doesn’t read English newspapers and his family never talks about Percy when he is around. Oliver just thinks that Percy is the first Competent Adult he has ever met and is much more interested about this Figuring Life Out than any hero status.

So it’s fair to say that the headlines come as a surprise.

Someone snapped a picture of Oliver and Percy sitting very close together in a park, with twin stupid loving smiles. It was all perfectly innocent. Molly was doing something cute out of frame and they never kept any physical distance between themselves, not even in Hogwarts. But it doesn’t matter. The picture is sold as proof of the mysterious war hero and the dashing sport star carrying a secret love affair. It’s a beautiful story, powerful. Percy is the tragic handsome hero and Oliver the right person to bring love back in his life after years nursing the wounds of war. Or perhaps Oliver is the sweet and honest good boy, the boyfriend every mother wants for her daughter, seduced by the man living a life of exotic and daring adventures.

Whatever it is, the world wants to believe in it. So much so that bloody Draco Malfoy pops up to warn them that there is a dozen of rabid, ruthless, paparazzies coming their way. He knows because Malfoy owns the most read magazine in England and has put a bounty on a photo of the two of them kissing.

Paparazzies don’t have a concept of trespassing, but breaking and entering into a dragon reserve has certain difficulties that can’t be bypassed with an alohomora and a lack of morals. Percy and Oliver spend the rest of the month in the reserve, not daring to go out. Twenty-two days in each other’s company, hiking in the mountains and playing with the girls. Molly and Lucy have decided that Oliver is similar to Charlie in all the right ways, so they like him.

On day nineteen, they kiss. Someone gets a picture of it, but, in his excitement, the photographer wanders into a nest of young dragon carps. He is recued three hours later sans pants or shoes. The photo of their first kiss is lost.

Oliver says he is almost done with his existential crisis but now Percy has one of his own.

You see, there is something Oliver hasn’t said. Something he didn’t mention at all. And Percy doesn’t know if Oliver just hasn’t noticed (it took him two years to realize all the Weasleys were siblings) or if he noticed but… doesn’t care?

There is more than one reason why only Charlie has met the girls.

Even now that Percy has received letters from every family member (including Freaking Aunt Muriel) and even a surprise visit from them (he has a life debt with Charlie for the heads-up) and they have begun the unpleasant work of fixing their relationship; even now, they haven’t met Molly and Lucy.

It’s because of the Weasley cousin they never talk about. The accountant.

Percy knows that it’s perfectly normal. Many wizarding children don’t exhibit any magic until they are at least seven. But he also knows that every single person in his family was levitating toys (Bill, Ron and Ginny) or stopping spilled milk in mid-air (him) or shooting sparks (Charlie and the twins) by the time they were three.

Molly and Lucy had done nothing magical so far. Nothing at all. And Percy knows, in his heart of hearts, that if anyone makes them feel inferior, if anyone dares to say anything against them, he will go the Dark Lord route and kill every single person prejudiced against squibs. He might kill every single wizard and witch and eradicate all magic, so his girls won’t feel inferior to anyone. He found in himself the strength to forgive the man than took Audrey’s life, but he won’t do the same for the person who speaks against his children. He can’t.

 On Christmas Percy reluctantly agrees to go to England with the girls because Charlie promises he will be there too. It is not easy. It is, in fact, very, very difficult and tense. He is forever grateful at Lee Jordan, who is glued to Fred’s hip cracking jokes and defusing tension. Also, Angelina Johnson takes George and Ginny to the kitchen and informs them they are the biggest idiots she has ever had the misfortune of meeting and that helps to avoid anyone saying something unforgivable they will regret their whole life. On Christmas’ Eve Harry Potter takes everyone’s wands because he is Harry Potter “and I do what I want” which means no one hexes anyone and they can overindulge the punch.

Oh, why bother? The whole thing is terrible and awkward and it hurts. But it is a necessary painful step, either to fix things with time or to say that he tried, actually tried, and never look back at this moment with regret.  

Also, he gets to meet with Oliver. It turns out that Oliver hadn’t noticed the girls’ lack of magic, but he also doesn’t care. Why would he care? Are you- are you supposed to care? Is this another thing Oliver missed because he only thinks about Quidditch? What’s wrong with not having magic in any case? Oliver’s mother is muggle and it is agreed that she is wonderful.  

(Even Potter says so. Percy has no idea of when Harry Potter met Oliver’s mum, but he speaks of her in the highest terms).

 You can read about what happened next on issues of 32, 33 & 34 of Alakazam as well as special issues 17, 21, 22 and 25. Draco Malfoy earns 1.5 million galleons with issue 33, setting a record for most successful print in wizarding history. Then he obliterates that record with a single stolen picture of Percy and Oliver’s wedding. He committed around a dozen crimes to get that picture, got drunk on champagne and victory and asked Harry Potter to marry him.

(He also donated all the money to a newly created society for the support and trade education of squibs, but only two people in the world know that).