#i was thinking post game but it could add some interesting spice if it happened during the game or esp like. act 1.

[collegeoflore]

i have like 6 wips open right now and 8 more floating around but what if i wrote a xar/shart/astarion threesome. like i could see it happening. t4t4…whatever astarion has going on.

[thatdeadaquarius]

Hello there, friend I'm here for fluff

OK, this has been on my mind for a while

But like

The reader is just becoming the biggest parent to the Benny's adventure team kids

And the wolfs

We are like a parent of like 27

Knitting and making food brushing razors hair(let's be for real, you would hear a crunch when you brush it)

I'm not gonna lie

Do these kids know what spices are?

Cuz when I think about it

Razor hasn't had shit so he's has the least tolerance for spice

He would probably cry if you feed him a pepper

Bennett has tried spicy food but does go well with it

And not completely sure if fischl has had a spicy food before

But what flavor does mondstadt add to their food??

These kids need the damn flavors

AHDHAKALL FERAL ANIMAL AQUARIUS- ANOTHER PLATONIC ASK AAHHHHGGGGDJJSFHSAK!!!!!

AND ITS YOU!! ITS- ITS- ONE OF THE WRITING RULERS OF SAGAU (FOR ME AT LEAST) <3 !!!!!!!!

You cooking in genshin all anime studio ghibli style looking like food from god (literally): ⬆️

Sun: Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: Headcanons-ish

Stars: Benny’s Adventure Team! (Bennett, Fischl, Razor), Diluc, mentions of other Mond characters

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: mild cussing, & Trigger Warnings: none known.

Please comment if I missed any. /gen

☆

^^ The posts being referenced in ask, (OG Razor ask) (Benny + Razor) and a more direct sequel, a part 2? a part 4 atp?? of this post (Imposter/Not Dark AU + Razor + Diluc) ^^

OMFG

ALRIGHT LISTEN UP BITCHES

SINCE UR IN TEYVAT

YOU GONNA COOK LIKE TEYVAT

AS IN-

SHIT BE SUPER EASY TO COOK, AND MASS MAKE DEPENDING ON COMPLEXITY OF DISH

(So, like Zhongli's special Bamboo Shoot Soup is like getting made... once a year if you read the little desc. for that dish 💀)

AND THEYRE ALL LIKE-

ANIME GORGEOUS FOODS ✨️❤️‍🔥

OKAY SO

PROMO TIME-

U GUYS HAVE TO WATCH THE ANIME "CAMPFIRE COOKING IN ANOTHER WORLD"

Bc that's mostly where this inspo gonna come from to both be realistic cooking + best parts of video game cooking

A guy gets isekai’d and instead of hero powers he just gets the skill of "online grocery shopping" LMAO

and ofc he gets insta gifted whatever he orders and starts making dishes and adding spices and regular stuff you know. like soy sauce.

but the best part is the food in that world is like British medieval soup shit

like barely salted, no spices definitely, no sauces, its barren

so he ends up attracting all kinds of interest that want to eat his cooking ofc

And it gives buffs too!

dw i didnt spoil anything u don't learn in the first episode, but that's just to say that's exactly whats happening here

u DO have to manually collect more ingredients but its so worth it, also u can just buy in bulk or put a commission thru the adventurer guild

tbhhh now that i say that, that could be how u end up drawing in Benny’s Adventure Team even more, bc they just take all ur quests for collecting ingredients around Mond!!

(u have to actively sneak behind their back and whisper to Katheryne that you want to put in other food quests in other guilds tho, silly kids will absolutely go running around Liyue and crazy shit just to have an adventure and do smth for you + eat ur banger food lol)

omfg the first time u barbecue smth???

the wolves, Razor, and Andrius??? Go feral.

Fischl and Benny who were already on their way to u guys to hang out again start booking it thru the woods, dodging hilichurl camps (thatve since settled down and been v peaceful to the wolves + anyone in the woods of Wolvendom after u started living there)

they knowww ur cookin smth fucking amazing

(and u even have some hilichurls and mitachurl that wander close to Andrius’ edge of the woods to shyly beg for scraps,, u give them a portion)

Razor was actually lookin at u like u hung the stars just for him when u gave him a homemade barbecue sauce to put on his food

(u acc may have done that to Teyvatians according to Andrius + the stories u overheard from Springvale…)

ok but the amount of begging u get for desserts like-

No, Razor u cannot have chocolate cake/cupcakes after every meal, u need to take care of ur teeth

(u use ur collection of mora-monster-donations for comms for more ingredients and living supplies like fabric + furniture, u cant afford dental on top of that for ur boy)

Fischl dutifully declares you the “best chef in the kingdom” and writes down all ur recipes (u have them auto-stored in ur settings obv but it cant hurt to have a physical copy, and they look so happy doing it, u don't have the heart to tell them its not necessary-)

Benny insists on both giving u extra ingredients when he takes ur commissions, and giving u handmade trinkets or weapons for the meals!!

No!! He will not take “im good” for an answer!! ur sharing ur home-cave with him, taking care of his best friend Razor, and now feeding him food better than Liuli Pavilion!!! There’s no way he can just take all that and give nothing back!!!!

and theyre not the only ones getting some food tbh

when the knights begin patroling near Wolvendom and slowly all of Mondstadt to search for their “All God”, u break up the beginnings of a fight between 2 confused knights and the now peaceful hilichurl camp at the edge of Wolvendom

U offer some snacks u were going to give Benny’s Adventure Team when they got back (u made little triangle sandwiches, rice balls, etc. finger foods, and u made plenty extra bc u kno their teenage appetites lol)

the knights and hilichurls nearly cried with appreciation, which made for a hilarious sight when the teens actually showed up lmao

ur wearing ur cloak, bc u dont wanna take on that whole “creator of worlds” title just yet, and the kids helped verify u werent anyone suspicious (Benny + Fischl keep ur godly secret, theyre the best like that 🥰)

the knights just swing by for snacks occasionally (they also either pay u in trade or with mora, theyre not bullies)

another person who gets flavored food privileges is the lazy librarian witch herself

u also sometimes pick Razor up from Lisa’s tutoring and bring “the best tea and tea snacks in the world” along with to share with Lisa and him

(she is also fully aware after awhile of meeting u of what u are, and fully believes this is why the food must be enchanted to be so good, but u dont want to be treated super reverently she can tell, so she keeps ur secret too and is just extra flirty when u come by lol)

(Razor refuses to let his pare- Lupical move out of ur cozy cave to the library, so he sometimes hauls u away when Lisa flirts too much LMAO)

…and the moment you've been waiting for.

Yes, Diluc got to try ur food that night he was searching Wolvendom for signs of the god of Teyvat

tbh Diluc was half-convinced that shit was a fever dream.

a bunch of sleepy wolves, a coffee table in the stone colosseum, a giant spirit wolf licking a big plate clean, the wolf-kid glaring at him, and you.

you with gold eyes, staring right thru his soul, like you already know everything there is to know about him, (like the way Kaeya looked at him that night),

like he doesnt even have to introduce himself

and he doesnt, u just lightly smack Razor’s hands until he gets rid of his claymore w/a pout, since Diluc had long since dropped his,

and grab a plate, piling on what leftovers u could, and turn back around from the coffee table to smile at him, patting the cushion-seat beside u for him to join

The giant glowing wolf licks his lips and watches him, the wolf-kid’s creepily watches him, and you, with eyes gold in teh light of a simmering bonfire just past the table, watch him

he just sits down and begins to eat.

its the best food he’s ever had, its his dad’s favorite dish, but not realistically, but the way memory embellishes a dish so much it can never be tasted again, except its right here. in front of him. u pour some wolfhook juice for him, and offer him a napkin to wipe his mouth and eyes

Diluc visits often after that, obviously.

u give him snacks too, and when he lets the staff try some, Adeline will not stop harassing him abt gettin ur recipes/ingredeints so u get him to pay Fischl to get a copy of their recipe book :)

including blank pages for future entries, and Fischl is literally glowing with happiness, would not stop monologuing abt ur food for weeks (send help Oz wants some peace and quiet sometimes)

Oh Diluc absolutely told the Favonius knights he found you. But he’s not saying where LMAO

Jean is actually begging him, Diluc ik u hate the knights but this is an international investigation-

this is the closest Diluc has ever gotten to getting under Venti’s skin.

when he told him this at Angel’s while bartending, he just casually ofc said this, just his smug little smirk, and the anemo god cracked a glass and everything- esp when he said he tried ur cooking??

he's gotta start looking over his shoulder in the city bc not only is Venti stalking him, the entirety of Mondstadt’s citizens are glaring at him in envy everywhere he goes LMAOO

(Venti now has a bar glass or too on his tab to pay off as well)

mans is literally paying u in weapon/artifact materials/mora to make him lunch one day and Venti nearly lunges over the counter

(Diluc purposefully ate it in front of him 💀)

ur food is the ultimate, “u could make a religion out of this!” /ref

like Diluc fully gives u offerings of ingredients he can pay for shipping from other countries + along with regular materials after grinding in domains

does the rest of Mondstadt + the world find out where u are?

only if Diluc lets them tbh. LMFAO

☆

bk trashfire my beloved <3 love ur ideas and stuff, goes without even saying im so sorry i took actually forever to respond :’(

hope u have a great weekend and i did this little side story justice for you

Safe Travels BK Trashfire,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡my beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit / @chinuneko / @silvers-tongue

@kiyomi-uchiha777

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

im so sorry for being downright annoying but im confined to my apartment since it's 40 degrees where i live and i have nothing to do :((

could you pls do like a headcannon post for your interpretations of the 141? like you said, soap plays drums, ghost prefers solitude to being mean and aggressive, gaz doesnt get caught doing the kind of shit soap gets caught for, etc. i just find your hc so damn interesting and good. AND believable!!

here's some flowers for your kindness!! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

Ok! I want to make clear first that these are just my own interpretations/headcanons, for what I'm writing (although I'll try not to mention Riot much), so if someone feels I'm going off-canon, or I don't write them as they should be (whatever that means) just... meh

Ok, so... Gaz, Price, Soap, Ghost and Nikolai because certain someoneeee asked and I can't deny them anything (and he's going to appear in my fic anyway)

Under the cut because it's going to be long. Edited to add after I finished: God it's horribly long

He gives me elder brother vibes, as in, responsible, overachiever, trying to do the right thing, being the one making way so his younger sibling(s) have it easier

He is nice and respectful to everyone, specially his elders and/or superior officers, but finds it difficult to tolerate shit or incompetence. Still, he is diplomatic enough to hide it (mostly), and will make a good officer in the future, in both Price and Ghost's opinion

He loves cooking and baking, and thrives learning other culture's cuisine. Doesn't mind spicy food, and absolutely gets a laugh out of sneaking some spice in what he cooks to make his friends sweat

Both him and Soap became fast friends. Not only they're close in age, they're both nerds (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons...) and gamers, and play together fighting games like King of Fighters in an old playstation that Price allowed them to have in the common room.

Friends as they are, they absolutely cheat and piss each other off while playing, to the point of swearing to not ever talk to the other again.

They also absolutely prank each other. Salt in their coffee, googly eyes glued to their bedside lamp (Soap had the fright of his life), toothpaste inside the pockets...

He once covered Soap's side of the office in post-its. Took almost the whole night, but Gaz is a dedicated individual

Everyone thinks he is the serious and responsible, but he is just too good to be caught doing shit. But seriously, the worst ideas come from him

(aaah look at my baby)

PRANKSTER. In capitals.

Younger brother vibes. Like, with three elder sisters. I hc that he has a quite big age gap with his sisters and, although they love each other, they were almost teens when he was a wee boy

Loyal to the bone, will get a bullet for you. Will give you shit if you get it instead covering for him

Friendly with everyone, his love language is touch, patting your back or shoulder, or if it's with a close one, a plain old bear hug. If you're certain someone who he sees as another sister, the bear hug involves swaying and lifting you up

Can't be subtle to safe his life. Can't lie either. You'll know when he's lying because he'll grin so wide that you'll see all his teeth

Learned to play the drums in his teens as a way to channel his energy. In boot camp organized a music group with other privates, Riot included, as a way of bonding and letting out steam. He likes about anything music related, but rock, pop and folk music specially

Looks awesome in a kilt and learned to play the bagpipes when he was a wee lad, but hasn't played one in years

He is way more intelligent that he himself gives credit, and can calculate in seconds the apropriate amount of explosives needed to just demolish what he wants and not a single brick more

That said, he's obsessed with blowing things up. Only things! But if they happen to have ASSHOLES inside, so be it

He is a family man, and tries to speak with his ma as often as he can, but his ma is tiring, man... Always asking when he's getting off the military, when he's settling down, when he's growing out his hair... That mohawk, my son... that's why you're single

Flirt. Like, for fun. Just because. It works either way, because if you feel flattered, he already has you reeled in. If you get angry, he knows how to push your buttons and persuade you in the correct direction. Correct for him, of course.

He can get anything you want/need. It's his specialty after all. What was that, zólotse? You need [insert whatever you imagine]?. Don't you worry, sólnyshko. You'll have it. What does he want in exchange? Only your smile

Of course, if down the line he happens to need something of you, just a little tiny thing, not really important... you'd be a dear and help him out, right?

He not only is a fixer, but he is a trader. He trades anything, information, documents, intel, weapons, vehicles, favours. He doesn't need notebooks, he has it all in his head. All the debts, paid or unpaid, all the people that owe him something, all the people he owes something, people he can convince to 'help' other people so he can kill two birds with one stone, etc etc

He has that ability that can't be learned, of being able to sway anyone his way just with his words. One look at you and he knows what he needs to say to get you on his side, or to make his bidding. Do you need praise? Threats? A pitiful plea? He sure can act the way you need him to, even if you don't know that you need it

If you are friends though, his help comes with no strings attached. Well, maybe a tiny one. Or two. But completely easy things to do. Promise

(that's like my favourite gif of Price, he's so damn hot)

He seemingly has endless patience, but only with his subordinates. He has no patience nor tolerance for idiots in the higher ranks, and has no problem speaking up against them

Everyone knows/thinks Gaz is his favourite, but in reality all of the core 141 is his favourite, he chose them after all. He trusts each and any of them with his life, and would die for them without second guesses

He knew Ghost before he was Ghost, and seeing what he became destroys him. He was the one to recommend Simon Riley for the Special team that went after Manuel Roba, so he feels responsible of everything. Simon knows and has assured him many times that he shouldn't feel bad, he couldn't have known.

If he shares a cigar it's because shit's about to go down and there's no way out or against all odds you got out and needs to be celebrated. No in between, you won't get a whiff of them ever unless he's smoking them. Except if you're Simon, he's the only one with whom he shares, and it's not unusual for them to go for drinks alone or just share a drink and a cigar in Price's office from time to time. Sometimes they don't even speak.

Acts way older than he is, he's always been an old soul. That said, the shit he has to go through every day keeping those muppets in line makes him feel like he's three hundred at least

But if someone dares to raise their voice at HIS muppets, that someone better prepare for hell to rain upon them. No one gives shit to his kids except him

He smells bullshit when he's faced with it. Nobody knows how, but he knows.

Protective, obsessive, bossy and gruff, but loyal to his last drop of blood

That's why he's 'dad' to his kids, even if they don't call him that. But all of them go to him when they have doubts, Gaz and Soap even go to him to ask for advice about this or that, or how to...? Even Simon does ask him things from time to time, and it's not unusual for them to just drop by his office for no real reason, just needing dad

Stern, taciturn, solitary, stoic. Seemingly cold, but he is only guarded. He finds it difficult to trust, even before Roba, due to his childhood.

Stiff upper lip: displays fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion

He can be aggressive and mean, it's part of the job, but he takes it with an attitude more like 'Does this need to be done? It needs to be done', and Simon mentally checks out and Ghost takes the wheel, that way he can preserve his sanity and try not to feel like the ones who made him like this... both his father and Roba

He is slow to trust, but if you manage to get through his walls, his loyalty is unwavering. For example, he'd follow Price to hell, only asking 'when are we leaving' if his Captain would ask him to.

He has a soft spot for Gaz and Soap although he doesn't show it, physically or verbally, but with little things. His love language for others, if he even knows what that is or even remembers what it was, is acts of service. Little things like buying them snacks when they run out and haven't had time to go to the store, or taking over their watch turn when he sees them nodding off.

The love language you would have to use with him would have to be maybe quality time at first, even without touching, just spending time together. Having a smoke at midnight behind the mess hall, doing paperwork together in his office or yours, watching films together in the common room. After things progress, it'll evolve into a mix of physical touch (he's so touch starved it's not even funny, and once the dam is broken you won't get rid of him easily) and words of affirmation, but mostly touch.

[vigilskeep]

so a bunch of your posts made it onto my dash and i got really curious and ended up playing dragon age for the first time ever, and i wanted to say thank you cuz i love this game and now that i (mostly) know what you're talking about, i love seeing your posts! i played as mahariel, romanced alistair, spared loghain, didn't do the ritual, and left alistair to marry anora while my warden made the ultimate sacrifice and now everything hurts real bad :c

i'm going to play again and shoot for a happier outcome, but now that i've finished my first run i wanted to ask, if you could add any different origins to da:o what would you pick? i don't know a whole lot about the lore but reading the codex entries it seems like there's a lot of interesting groups! and i didn't think there were mages in the dalish at first because it wouldn't let me play as one, but i think i would have liked that a lot.

omg!!! excited that u ended up playing dragon age and apologies for the way i may have influenced it towards turning out JGSHSJSJK but the drama is so good

hmm any different origins... any kind of apostate mage origin would be really good but that’s more towards taking the existing origins and spicing them up e.g. apostate human noble, apostate dalish elf, apostate city elf. the most important thing abt the origins to me is the insight they give you into different parts of the world and the unique perspective you can have on events, and i’m trying to think of a group—within ferelden—where i feel like there’s missed potential. some kind of human commoner would be good just bc humans always have to be nobles which is lame. maybe like a bandit origin or idk redcliffe castle servant origin so people can have a connection to that quest or ummm oh a soldier origin maybe where you’re one of loghain’s or howe’s? an orlesian origin would be incredibly spicy. every persuasion check with a fereldan should get doubled in difficulty for that. i know they scrapped plans for an avvar origin and people have come up with the idea of having a chasind origin before... oooooo for a connection to haven there could be some kind of. i don't know. secluded andrastian sect origin. you could also have like a templar origin that would be crazy. tevinter origin is a push but it could happen...? idk

i’m just throwing ideas onto the drawing board here and i don’t think any of them are super compelling, i haven’t thought a lot abt it. the origins really are very good as introductions to ferelden and orzammar and i don’t feel like there’s really majorly significant groups they missed

[saby-chan]

So it happens that I am somewhat of a writer too and I’ve been thinking about something lately... Would you guys be interested in reading a Chichiya centric fanfic focusing on his life in the Borderlands before The Beach and the events of the manga/show (aka ante-Arisu timeline)? Cause I have this story I write for myself as a personal hobby of mine (I picked writing back up as a means to cope easier with stress during my mid-term exams this year and this fanfic turned into a project I am currently very dedicated to) and since I managed to complete the Prologue and up to chapter 5, I guess I could post it online if anyone would like to read it.

As a whole it would be like a spin-off of ‘What if AiB’s main character was Chishiya instead, the cynical man with no purpose in life?’, as he wanders these waste lands trying to find a way out, while he’s being pestered by the presence of another human being, whom Chishiya made the ‘mistake’ of saving their life in an extremely rare unusual moment of pity. Personality wise, I tried to combine TV-show!Chishiya with manga!Chishiya (with an additional touch of my own personal style of writing him that adds a little bit of spice) so I think he could come off as entertaining to the reader (Chishiya is my favorite part to write, ngl, trying to get into this man’s train of thought is a real experience).

For the sidekick part, it’s OC-based tho, so it won’t have reader insert, but the character I built specifically with Chishiya in mind to be complementary to his personality, meant to accompany him on his journey, could be relatable enough for the reader, for them to actually come to enjoy her (she’s not an idiot and if I were to compare her to a canon character, imagine a combination of Ippei’s pure hearted optimism and compassion towards humanity and selflessness and Urumi’s cunning skills of manipulation, although a bit toned down to fit a kinder person). She fits most criteria in this post, so for the people looking for something like this, I guess I got your back.

Genre wise there’ll be romance (coz I am a sucker for love stories and fluff and Chishiya needs a little bit of company in his life), but it’s very slow-burn (just to give ya’ll a mental image of what I mean, kissing won’t happen until like after page 180 or so), I also tried to add some action by creating my own games for them to partake in and, of course, there’ll also be comedy and fanservice too (a bit of everything I guess, but don’t expect much gore or detailed horror scenes).

So yeah, if anyone’s actually interested to read this thing, just let me know. This might not be the best way to describe and present the story concept to the public, since I suck at self-promoting my stuff, but I tried to add and summarize the general ideas. I’m still not sure if I should post it or not (hence this random post), but if there’s enough interest from others, I’ll post the prologue and chapter 1 as a test run, since I am open to feedback and opinions on the story. For anyone wanting to know any other details, my asks are a friendly open space for any and all questions (except hate, please don’t send any forms of hate).

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and let’s see what happens.

Yours, Saby

[igb220-jack-wightman]

Post-Mortem Asteroids

So, a lot has happened with the Asteroids game. I wanted to strive to create something unique when I changed genre for the game. But first I started with the ground works for an asteroid game. Lives, Score, and Power Ups. Lives were already added so I simply made sure the different asteroids did different damage. Score was added in, Small = 50, medium = 100, Large = 200 points. The score will allow players to track how well they are doing each time, as it's not about surviving the longest but getting the most number of points.

Then power Ups, I have added one power up, a boost mechanic, and a health boost item. The Power Up I mentioned last blog was the Burst shot, shooting a burt of three shots across the map at a slightly slower rate.

In my initial implementation of the feature the shots that were firing from an angle would fire incorrectly but that has been fixed by separating the triggers for each shot. Secondly There is the Boost mechanic, which while trying to implement a speed boost power up I came across the fact that in GDevelop if I sped up the player fast enough they would just teleport on screen. This created a warp effect which I found more enjoyable to use than a speed mechanic which often lead to taking damage due to the large volume of asteroids.

When the Boost is activated for a short period of time the player will see this player sprite rather than the base one. Then for gameplay I finished on a healing system which allowed the player to heal 3 HP by collecting the health pack

This spawns every minute and a half, to maintain a decent challenge for the player maintaining a state of flow. It was important that It wasn't too forgiving nor too harsh, I decided on 1 and 30 second refresh periods as any more and I found it hard to last long, but any shorter and I found myself gaining health over 10.

Finally, I wanted to do something that was unique. While playing the game I didn't like that the asteroids would just fly over each other so I implemented a collision feature. It's rudimentary in how it works but I am happy with it. Collision system: Small + Small creates Medium Asteroid

Medium + medium = Large Asteroid

Large + large = 3 small 1 Medium Asteroid

This creates a consistently changing landscape without it just being randomly spawned in asteroids. The new asteroids spawn where the previous one was. On the Large Asteroid, I had an issue with implementing the additional asteroid spawns. At first, I had it spawn them randomly which I didn't like so I opted for using the asteroids X and Y position + Random(10) which worked like a charm. If I could continue the development of this game, I would implement sounds and music for the game as it begins to become boring silently click away. Secondly, I would add more detail to the asteroids changing them from black to more of a grey allowing the background to be black which would sell the aesthetic some more. I would also add a leader board, so players can track their progress over time which will encourage further replay ability.

Finally I would look to add more depth to gameplay, adding more movement mechanics, and power-ups to spice up the game some more. If I were starting from scratch I would look to implement rudimentary AI and add occasional other ships that would create more than a static challenge for a player. While I think my dynamic Asteroids created some spice I don't think it was enough to maintain player interest for long, perhaps opting for levels rather than just one play space.

[thedawntreaders]

I know this probably seems odd and random but - assuming you read fanfic - what's an area you think hasn't been explored properly, in canon/near-canon/could-be-canon (books)? what would you like to see done that isn't done enough?

(full disclosure: I'm looking for ideas for my next fic xD so I went to see if I can find somebody who has interesting takes, read like one of your posts and went THIS PERSON. THIS PERSON LOOKS INTERESTING.)

Going anon mainly because I like to keep my tumblr separate from my fanfic :)

hope you have a lovely day and that you're not too bothered by this annoying random ask....

ahhhh my first anon, hello hello :D

i do read fanfiction, lots of it, in fact! not to mention i've been a writer for many fandoms as well so i'm familiar with both worlds, thankfully.

as for areas that i would like explored, hm... it really depends on what kind of fanfiction you're writing and where you want it to go. i'll add some stuff that encompasses the book/disney film versions (as those are the only ones i'm familiar with, sorry bbc) i haven't seen as of yet:

the golden age? or the gilded age? (plot intensive) running a kingdom since childhood has its ups and downs and it's nowhere near as golden as narnians make it seem. what i would like to see is the pevensies dealing with the ramifications of what they set up as a government right after they were newly coronated. the court, who they trusted growing up, turns slowly corrupt until there's no one but their original friends (tumnus, oreius, and the beavers) who they can count on. cue assassination attempts, angry mobs of narnians with pitchforks and lit torches, the whole drama! how will the pevensies react? i'd even throw in international opposition for a little bit of Spice™, but that's just me. if you find that you prefer no resistance from outsiders, imagine inner circle nobles showing their true colors and admitting there were no regents appointed for the pevensies because they expected the siblings to mess up so badly to the point someone new would ultimately assume the throne right afterwards. power struggle, baby!

undercover shenanigans (fluff) if you prefer something a little more lighthearted, choose a monarch of your liking and have them go undercover as a civilian and write an adventure for them. will the king/queen be able to pass through town undetected? why did they go undercover in the first place? are they treated the same as any common civilian would be? how do they react? do they run into someone special? is there something that gives away their identity? when this happens, is it to the wide public, or to one individual?

of visions and secrets (angst; reflective) susan was shown to be the only one who wanted to return to narnia rather than chase out the white stag or go past the lamp post in the books; wouldn't it be strange yet interesting if she had a dream of the same sort years ago? you can even build upon this — maybe she had the gift of foresight that followed her back into earth. the catch? she never let anyone know, even her siblings, for it haunted her. maybe she knew that one day she wouldn't be allowed back into narnia, maybe she knew that one day the rest of her family wouldn't be either, and when they try, they'll go past the point of no return. that would explain why she tried her best to regard it as a children's game, to protect herself and the others.

tropes (free for all) modern day au where the pevensies are born around the 21st century rather than the 20th, reverse au where a narnia friend (cough cough cough caspian cough cough cough) accidentally enters the pevensie's world and the siblings have to hide/assimilate the individual to avoid suspicion and panic, detective/spies au where every friend of narnia are somehow related to the private investigating profession and aslan assigns them to uncover jadis "the white witch" charn's crime syndicate and maybe miraz is a mob boss working for her (can you tell i'm freestyling at this point)

i hope this helps give you ideas for your new fanfic! best of luck :)

[wutheringmights]

Can I be greedy and ask for all of the boys ? And any characters you have strong opinions on? Pretty please? With lots of cherries and chocolate on top? ( for the ask meme ofc)

Anon, I'll finish up all of the boys in the Chain just for you. And trust me, I have an Infinite Amount of Strong Opinions. You have no idea how Opinionated I Am.

If anyone is coming in late to this, here are the boys I have done already and a short summary of my thoughts (click the hyperlinks to get the full Opinion):

Warriors: he's best when he's the trashy anti-Link, and I like him so much

Twilight: kind of boring, but I have a soft spot for him anyway because you never forget your first

Wind: should have been aged up a little so that he can have that identity crisis I'm craving

This... gets long. Really long. 3-hours-of-work-long. Before you read, please note that even when I speak negatively about something, it’s not to diss anyone who does like the thing. I’m not vague posting or being passive aggressive. This is all written in good humor and good faith. 

That being said, let’s a-go!

-Sky-

What I love about them: He has one of the best character arcs of all the Links. I love that he starts off being lazy and kind of a jerk, but grows as a person because he wants to save his friend. And I love that he's truly the most courageous Link. He has no other successful hero of past or legacy to lean back upon to reassure him. He walked into that fight with Demise with no assurance from anyone that he would succeed. Yet, he does it anyway. Because he's a true hero and someone had to be one. And he's rewarded with a curse that he does not initially take seriously. He thinks he's saved everyone, yet he's cursed his spirit, possibly his bloodline, and his entire legacy of the kingdom of Hyrule into a doomed cycle of destruction. All because he dared to face evil incarnate. I love him.

What I hate about them: You know how I called Twilight boring? I should have saved that critique for Sky. LU Sky is actually the most boring interpretation of his character. All of his negative traits? Gone. All of his positives? Also gone. He's the blandest version of himself, and like Twilight, I now feel like I gotta add some spice to him to make him more interesting while still keeping him recognizable. Even so, he's still one of my favorite Links.

Favorite Moment/Quote: When he kicks Twilight's ass at sword fighting. That's stuff is *chef's kiss*

What I would like to see more focus on: You would think that there would be more angst out there about him realizing that he's actually been cursed, but it's still kind of hard to find. He's the Cursed Knight! The beginning of a terrible legacy! Imagine meeting a bunch of heroes for the first time, and instead of being relieved at having someone who understands your experiences, you're filled with horror at realizing that your victory was a false one. You didn't win. Your spirit will never be at rest. Imagine dealing with that realization for the rest of your life. You could never be at peace.

What I would like to see less focus on: I love that he loves his wife, but he's more just the fact that he's married, y'know? I would like to see a little less blind devotion to Hylia and Zelda, and more complicated feelings about being manipulated into being the hero.

Favorite pairing with: Sun/Link/Groose OT3! I have no reasoning behind this other than I like Groose and Groose definitely had a crush on SkSw Link.

Favorite friendship: I won't answer Groose again even if I want to, so I'll say Warriors. I cannot begin to describe how elite this friendship would be if you gave it a chance. They're just two boys dealing with unique positions of leadership and responsibility. They would probably even bond over being shitheads at different ends of the shithead spectrum. It's so good, okay?

NOTP: Ghirahim. I'm not too adverse to this one, but the ship hinges on whether you can redeem Ghirahim or not. In my opinion, Ghirahim is awesome because he's such a fun villain. Redeeming him ruins the fun.

Favorite headcanon: I have a whole life story planned out for Sky. Basically, he lives to be close to 500 years old by the power of the Triforce. He is the Link throughout the Era of Chaos who banishes the Dark Interlopers to the Twilight Realm and seals the Triforce in the Sacred Realm. He actually seals himself in the Sacred Realm as well to keep the Triforce safe, and he fought Ganondorf in when he broke in. Sky, like Time and Wind, does not get a happy ending.

-Four-

What I love about them: Four is origin of the heroes of Hyrule being known for being children. What a legacy to leave behind. He's such an interesting case of an incarnation of the Hero's Spirit, too. He fought Vaati, and he did his job so well that Demise's next incarnation had to be Ganondorf. Four did his job the best out of everyone, and it came at the cost of creating a magic sword that changed him permanently. I like to think that the Four Sword was not meant to split him, that it was a mistake he made with the design. And it's sad, isn't it? You made a defective sword, and like any good sword, it has a symbolic double edge. It gifted you with so much, and yet he can never be the same again. And his story is never well-remembered because it is overshadowed by the Links who fought the King of Evil. He's does so much, yet his legacy is underappreciated.

What I hate about them: I want to prepare you for this Opinion, because I know it's unpopular. Are you ready? Okay. I don't like the Colors. I'm sorry. I want to like them, but they don't interest me at all. Because they are parts of Four’s personality, they have to be one-note archetypes which does not make for exciting storytelling. I also haven't found a fic yet that has been from Four's POV that did the internal monologue of the Colors in a way that wasn't a pain in the ass to read. Maybe if someone can figure out how to do the Colors in a way that doesn't feel like a drag, I would like them more. But in the end, I think Four himself is more interesting than the Colors.

Favorite Moment/Quote: The fact that he didn't want to touch the Master Sword because he doesn't trust magic swords. That is every I need to know about his opinion on his own adventures.

What I would like to see more focus on: I want more of Four as Four. It's getting harder to find content of Four being his own person first and the Colors second.

What I would like to see less focus on: Four being the Colors first and his own person second. There is something about viewing Four as this cover identity for the Colors that doesn't feel right. There's a balance that needs to be strike between his ability to split, how that affects his every day life, and his own identity of being Four. I think I may have read one fic that hit that sweet spot for me, but still.

Favorite pairing with: Shadow. I'm such a sucker for befriending and falling for the enemy. That is all.

Favorite friendship: Dot! Their friendship is super cute. I like the idea of them being super close when they were younger and struggling to keep the friendship going as they age due to how much their paths in life diverge.

NOTP: This isn't necessarily a Four or an LU problem, but people who ship the Colors together? Bro. C'mon.

Favorite headcanon: I'm torn between two different Four and the Master Sword headcanons. On one hand, Four thinking that the Master Sword is just legend until he meets Sky and everyone else is just a fun idea. He sees the legendary sword for the first time and his mind is blown. On the other hand, I also like my Four with a side of hubris. What if he had the option on his quest to draw the Master Sword himself? What if he could tell that if he did that, the consequences would be terrible. He's not sure what would happen, but he knows it would be terrible. So he decided to make his own sword instead to disastrous results. Wouldn't that be tragic or what?

-Time-

What I love about them: Last winter, I did a two hour powerpoint for my friends about the Legend of Zelda timeline. During that powerpoint, I was rating every iteration of Link. What I said about the Hero of Time then holds true to my thoughts of LU Time now. Time is the original Link, more so than Sky in the lore and Legend/Hyrule in real life. Every other hero is a reflection of him. So the fact that his story is about the loss of childhood and the tragedy of that is incredible, and you can see those themes reflected in every other game. Moreso, he’s the only Link with a confirmed tragic ending. Not only does he end his life unsatisfied, but his adventure is failure on every timeline. In the adult timeline, Hyrule is swallowed by the sea. In the child one, Ganondorf returns again. In the fallen timeline, Hyrule fell. I like the idea since that the games themselves are the legends that are past down about each hero, Hylians have also remembered Time as a tragic figure. Yet, they also remember that the happy moments for his life come from small acts of kindness. Even someone as sad as him finds joy in helping others, even if it’s just to small deeds that will not be heralded as grand heroic quests. It’s beautiful.

What I hate about them: This is more about Mask than Time, but Mask is not an adult in a child’s body. He did not rewind time in Termina enough to be considered mentally an adult. He’s a young teenager at best, and that’s me being generous. He is a child who was forced to be an adult and despite the gods being done with him, he cannot conceive of ever having a childhood again. So he can say all he wants that he’s an adult, but he is not. That’s just what he thinks he is.

Favorite Moment/Quote: Anytime we get a flashback to him being a younger adult is great. I want to see more of his in this his early adulthood.

What I would like to see more focus on: I think I just want more of Time being... not a bad leader, but being an imperfect one. I honestly think he’s only the leader because he’s the oldest and enough of the heroes recognize the title of Hero of Time. But he is not the leader type, and he is struggling to keep it together and has to defer to Twilight and Warriors for help a lot. 

What I would like to see less focus on: I’m not the biggest fan of Dad!Time for any of the Links. He’s not emotionally ready for it. And I think he defaults to treating the boys like adults because that’s how he wanted to be treated when he was their age. 

Favorite pairing with: Malon. He has this great partnership of equal respect with her and it’s just. So good.

Favorite friendship: Linebeck. I know. This exists only in my head. But if these two ever meet, you cannot convince me that they would not get along swimmingly. It would be so good (once Linebeck gets over his crush on Time and stops hitting on him, of course).

NOTP: Child Timeline Zelda. Let me explain: I fully believe in Bi Time supremacy, and when in OoT, he definitely had a crush on Sheik. However, one of the worst parts of rewinding time and being in the child timeline is that Zelda is a completely different person now. They may have been friends in the other timeline, but her life experiences are completely different now. She is not the same person as he once knew. And it’s tragic to know someone as who they could have been, not as they are.

Favorite headcanon: After Termina, Time spent a lot of time with the Nabooru because out of everyone he knew, she’s the only who took him seriously even as a child. She has big older sister energy, and he considers her a part of his family. However, being treated as such made it easier for him to ignore his issues and put off his healing process by a few years.

-Legend-

What I love about them: Veteran of Heroes! What a freaking title. I love that he keeps on finding adventures, and that he keeps hustling. Even if he complains about never getting a break, you can tell that he loves helping others. He loves being on the road, never settling down, and finding adventure after adventure. Honestly, if any of the Links had a calling to be a hero, it’s him. Is he tired? Sure. Is he a little jaded after having saved Hyrule and a bunch of other kingdoms multiple times? Yes. But at the end of the day, he likes being a hero. This is who he is. His complaining is not genuine; he just plays the martyr because, at this point, he’s earned the right to.

What I hate about them: If you can’t tell by now, I have a, uh, different interpretation of Legend from popular canon. Fandom Legend is not right to me. He is unrecognizable. It is hard to write him because I feel like I have to balance what other people think Legend should be versus how I think he is. The people who are big Legend enjoyers probably feel the same way about my version of Warriors, and that’s fine. I’m not going to gel with every character and I don’t expect everyone to gel with how I see characters either. It’s goes both ways, y’know.

Favorite Moment/Quote: I like how subtly he tried to approach the Wolfie problem at first, trying to ask questions and get more proof before confronting Twilight. It’s a good touch.

What I would like to see more focus on: If I had to choose one thing, it’s this one throw away line about him never wanting to settle down. I’m telling you, folks! He likes his lifestyle! And did you see him when he does presenting the origins of the hero? He’s not bitter about being a hero! Legend is moody, but he is not angsty about the whole hero thing. Have fun with him please!

What I would like to see less focus on: If you can’t tell by now, Legend is my least favorite Link. There is a lot I want to see less of, but just to name one thing, it’s the headcanon that Fable is his sister. I live and die by common born Link, and whether he’s a legitimate heir or the royal bastard, I am more than bored with the persistent Prince!Legend content.

Favorite pairing with: Marin. It’s a good tragic story and I like it well enough. She’s cute, and he’s cute with her.

Favorite friendship: Warriors. I’m with everyone else on these two have peak sibling energy. They tease and pick on each other, but only they are allowed to mess with each other. They’re each other’s bully, and it’s always good to see.

NOTP: I do not have enough energy to have a lot of strong opinions about Legend’s romantic relationships, but I will mentioned that I have lost a lot of love for Ravio recently and am liking seeing him with Legend less and less. I have no better reason for this than the fact that I finally played ALBW and hate how many of my hard earned rupees he’s taken from me by withholding important, lifesaving items. Rat bastard.

Favorite headcanon: Remember my headcanon about him being the coolest bad boy folk hero on the block because everyone thinks he kidnapped Zelda? Yeah, I still stand by that one. I did good there.

-Hyrule-

What I love about them: If there is any Link that I would call a gutter rat, it is this one. I struggle a bit to talk about Hyrule since his games gives us so little, but in the end, I always fall back on him being a hero of the people. He is the one who has nothing and relates the best to people who are at their lowest. Yet, he is still a hero. He earns the right to be a hero because he helped Impa in her time of need. He’s selfless and competent. Even if he never got a traditional education, I bet he’s wicked smart too. He is the Link that symbolizes all of the parts of the Triforce the most. And, god. I cannot talk about him without mentioning the blood sacrifice part of LA. It’s such a cool concept, and I cannot imagine what it must be like to go from being the rough and tumble, win-at-all-costs fighting to protecting yourself first because if you don’t, the consequences are disastrous. It’s paradoxical, and it must be such a different mindset to fall into. But it must also be a blessing in disguise since now he has a reason to finally care about himself.

What I hate about them: Who started the Hyrule is innocent headcanon? Come over here because we need to exchange some words. If there is anyone who would be a realist and know how the world works, it’s this guy. And while we’re here, who came up with the Hryule is always lost headcanon? I also have some words for you. And you know what? WHILE WE’RE HERE, who let him be named Hyrule? I’m have more than choice words for you. His name scheme is the bane of my existence and the express reason why I don’t write him more. God.

Favorite Moment/Quote: That one panel where he takes utter delight in Warriors hiding from his scorned lovers? That is a central pillar in my understanding of Hyrule.

What I would like to see more focus on: Again, his relationship with other people. Even if his games are lacking in NPCs, we know from lore that he’s a good guy who will jump in to help others. He must know plenty of people, and I want to see who exists in his world with him. 

What I would like to see less focus on: I have an on-going joke with my brother that certain characters are Catholic, even if Catholicism does not exist in the world of the thing we’re watching or playing. Of course, we’re not being serious. we’re just joshing around. So imagine the gut punch I feel whenever I see people say Hyrule is Christian and realize that they’re being serious. I just can’t take it seriously.

Favorite pairing with: Aurora. It’s cute and I’m a sucker for that hero and royalty dynamic, especially when the hero is a peasant. It’s so cheesy, but I love it.

Favorite friendship: Legend. But not the way everyone else pairs them up as the grumpy one and the sunshine one. I think of it more as them being the pinnacle of boys being boys. They’re shitheads. They do stupid shit together. They both have a dark sense of humor. They joke that they’re practically the same person sometimes.

NOTP: uhhhhhhhhh.... Is he paired with anyone else?

Favorite headcanon: I love the idea that he just likes his way of life and refuses to accept anyone saying otherwise. Legend wants to teach him to read? Sorry, but he’s never had to read before in his life so he’s pretty sure he’ll never need it anyway. Want to participate in the treasured Hylian tradition of piercing your ears when you come of age? Why would he ever do that when a monster could rip those earrings off? He’s stuck in his ways and it frustrates everyone else to no end, but he has no interest in ever changing.

-Wild-

What I love about them: When I was 9, I spent my time online on Legend of Zelda forums. I remember one of my forum friends saying that they wanted a Legend of Zelda game where Link lost. And I think of that friend whenever I think about Wild. BOTW Link is the best Link that has ever been. He is the epitome of every trait we associate with any Link. He’s smart and sassy. He’s hard working and kind. But underlining all of that is the fact that he’s still the one who failed. If Demise’s Curse in SkSw is the set-up, the Great Calamity is the payoff. And I haven’t even talked about how confirming him as being non-verbal before the Calamity does so much for his characterization. I don’t even know where to start or how to articulate it. By game storyline alone, Wild is one of my favorites.

What I hate about them: You guys knew this one was coming, but I’m going to have to say it anyway. Fandom Wild.... not good. I’ve said it for half of these boys so far, but god is it true. I have a way I see Wild that is rarely done in the fandom. Fandom Wild has a lot of the traits I also see in Wild, but to all of the extremes. I will mention one thing in particular as being a pet peeve, and it’s how some people headcanon him as always being nonverbal. I know what they’re trying to do, and I think they’re on to something, but they’re also missing the point of what BOTW Link’s character arc is. I just wish more people would forget fandom and work more off of the games for how to characterize him.

Favorite Moment/Quote: Weirdly enough, my favorite moment is when he got mad at everyone for making fun of his Gerudo outfit, so he dumped Goron Spice in his cooking. It’s encapsulates a part of his character I think a lot of people forget about.

What I would like to see more focus on: I think he has a really complicated relationship with his past. He said himself that his old self felt like a different person, and I think that should be explored a lot more. That idea actually fascinates me so much that instead of CTB, I almost wrote a character study fic about Wild. His emotions are not as simple as feeling guilty about letting his friends die and not preventing the Calamity. His emotions would be so complicated and because I don’t have the time to explore it, someone else needs to do it for me.

What I would like to see less focus on: There is a weird fascination with Wild having memory loss and essentially being like a kid again. And this feels infantilizing to me. It honestly bugs me a lot every time I see it.

Favorite pairing with: I can’t decide between Zelda, Mipha, and Revali. They’re all different dynamics and they’re all good.

Favorite friendship: Paya. I firmly believe that Paya is Wild’s best friend. I am the only one in the world who believes this. But I am also the only one in the world who is correct. 

NOTP: Wild is good with everyone. Good for him!

Favorite headcanon: An essential scene of my Wild character study I will never write is one where his horse dies. He goes into shock and walks back to Kakariko to talk to Impa. But once he goes to her, he breaks down in tears and has an absolute melt down over the horse. And Impa sagely says, “It’s not about the horse, is it?” She’s implying that he’s actually mourning the loss of his friends, Hyrule, his life, everything-- but through his tears, he keeps tell her that she’s wrong. He barely remembers them. He doesn’t know them. He doesn’t have any feelings about them. He just really loved that horse. But Impa refuses to listen to him, just repeating over and over again: “it’s not really about the horse.”

And that’s it! That’s all of my opinions! I know a lot of my opinions are polarizing, but everything I said is in good faith, and I am not trying to diss anyone for how they approach these characters.

I welcome you to send me your Opinions on the Links, even if it’s just to disagree with me. I’m cool with it, and I like knowing what everyone else thinks!

[skellebonez]

Cotton Tails and Borrowed Time: Chapter 5

Edited (and planned) with the help of my friend Bucky! Couldn’t do this without you!

A couple notes: And we're back! After this chapter expect slightly longer waits between them, but not quite as long as this wait. So this fic doesn't end up taking 3 months and 20 chapters to post we are trying to make these chapters a little bit longer!

Also, I would like to shout out blizthegoatboi, pyggy-baby, and mysteriesinmyminds for their art inspired by the fic! Thank you all so much, all links are directly within the appropriate usernames!

Check out the AO3 link and look at the chapter titles for a fun little Easter Egg, btw.

“So, what up, Monkey King?” MK asked once they were out of the door to Tang’s apartment’s line of sight. “You got a plan for how we hunt down the bros?”

“Sorta,” Sun Wukong said with a half a chuckle. His successor’s excitement and eagerness to help his friends and family (and he knew very well who the younger considered family) was something that the sage found endearing about him. It was part of the reason why he picked him in the first place, part of what made him a fit for the role of Monkie Kid. “What do you remember about that fight the other day?”

“Nothing all that exciting,” MK answered with a shrug. The two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against them as they talked. “Jin and Yin were following us around for a while. I think they thought we didn’t notice... but it was kinda obvious. They attacked us once we were closer to home and gave some kind of speech about how they were gonna ‘prove they could outsmart the Monkie Kid!’ And then they actually tried to fight me. Put up a decent fight for once.“

“What do you mean?” Sun Wukong asked with a raise of his brow, suddenly a little more intrigued.

“Most of their past schemes were basically a two-step plan they either didn’t think through or thought too much about,” MK said with a cringe, clearly remembering his past run-ins with the Metal Brothers. “It was weird though...”

“Weird how?” The Monkey King asked, interest piqued immediately at the confused tone of his successor.

“It was like they planned out the fight in advance,” MK muttered as he scratched the back of his head in thought. “That’s not really their thing, ya know? It was almost like—”

“They had help,” Sun Wukong said simultaneously with MK. “Makes sense, with everything that happened a few months ago. A lot of the demons in the area have relocated and formed new alliances. I know I saw the Bull family welcoming a few people from the Lantern City whose homes were damaged, and now there’s a lot more travel to their fortress on the regular from demons and humans alike who they’ve helped.”

“Really!?” MK shouted in surprise, laughing once he processed the information. “That explains why Red has been so tired during our video calls and game streams! He still doesn’t wanna look soft in front of us, he keeps saying he’s working on robots but I bet he and his dad have been cooking for everyone.”

Sun Wukong couldn’t help but smile at the thought. From what he had seen flying over the area on his cloud? MK’s guess was probably right on the money. His nose could always pick up the telltale smell of that spice the fire wielding demon liked to add to his cuisine.

Things had changed so much since the defeat of the Lady Bone Demon. Yet at the same time it was almost like they were back to the simpler times before the Lunar New Year. New friends, old foes, new allies. Sometimes old foes became new allies.

They hadn’t had the chance to visit Chang’e again, though it wasn’t exactly a secret that Pigsy and her had exchanged contact info to work on recipes together. Nezha visited from time to time now that his duty of guarding the map was no longer necessary. Sun Wukong still found it odd to see the Third Lotus Prince rolling around on roller skates, instead of his fire wheels. Nevertheless, the Great Sage was happy that Nezha was able to enjoy parts of modern life with MK, Mei, Red Son, and Bai He.

Speaking of Bai He...

He knew that wasn’t her actual name, but no one would tell him what it was! It was almost like a running joke to keep him out of the loop, making it so he only knew her nicknames instead of her actual name. Bai He and Nezha made up the “Lily and Lotus duo” next to the “Traffic Light Trio” of the others. She was always ready and willing to get the Great Sage tongue-tied with wordplay or make him fall into a joke he didn’t see coming.

To think that the Hostess of the Lady Bone Demon was such a joker... it made him happy. He was glad that they were able to save her and that he hadn’t had to do what he feared he might. She was a smart kid—young but incredibly bright—and creative to boot. She adored Sandy’s cats with all of her heart, loved helping Pigsy making noodles, listened to MK and Tang talk for hours, helped Mei and Red Son with their tech, was the key player in helping Nezha get used to things around the city, and played games with everyone. It turned out she was quite the tabletop roleplay enthusiast!

The more she hung out with MK’s friend group the more she blossomed. “Uh, Monkey King? Earth to Sun Wukong! HEY!”

“AH!” Sun Wukong yelped in surprise, blinking and finding his vision filled with two angry eyes and a whole lot of pink. “Pigsy! Hi! W-When did you—?”

“When you were lost in whatever thinking you were doing,” the chef answered as he straightened back up and walked down the rest of the few stairs he had stopped on. “So... what’s the plan? I assume you two are cooking one up already.”

The two powerful monkies looked at each other and then back at Pigsy with a simultaneous shrug.

“We’re still workshopping it,” MK said honestly. “We need to figure out where they are and, since they’re probably working with someone, we need to figure out who that is too. And then... figure out the rest of the plan?”

If the enthusiastic smile the young man gave Pigsy was reassuring in any way? The chef didn’t show it in the least.

“Please promise me you’re actually gonna come back after you leave tomorrow?”

“Aaaactually...” MK chuckled nervously, glancing at Sun Wukong for a split second. “I was thinking we should start now? I mean, the sooner we start the better for Tang right?”

“Makes sense to me!” Sun Wukong agreed. “The sooner we start on recon, the sooner we can come back and make an actual game plan.”

“Are you both sure you’re ready to head out?” Pigsy asked with a raise of his brow. “Shouldn’t you get some sleep or lunch first?”

Sun Wukong opened his mouth to protest, but he was beaten to the punch by his own stomach growling at him. “...Heh... I might have... been making myself something before MK picked me up.”

“Yeah, you’re not goin’ anywhere,” Pigsy said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “Let’s get you fed, at the very least. And set up a time limit, I don’t want either of you flyin’ around when you’re half awake!”

“Does that mean you’ll buy us coffee on the way back to the shop!?” MK asked in excitement.

“Only because Bai He asked me to pick her up some cheese tea, but Monkey King is—”

“Still banned from caffeine, I know. Geeze, you punch a hole in a wall one time...”

~

“And that’s the gist of it,” Pigsy said as he finished his recounting of what happened before he came back with dinner. “They flew off right before I started working the lunch rush so they’re probably still flying around as we speak.”

Tang couldn’t help but smile at this information. He knew that they would do anything to figure out what this was, of course they would, but the fact they wanted to do it immediately? That just... made him happy. To remember that everyone cared for him this much.

“You think they’re going to find the brothers in time?” Tang asked softly as he rolled the fruit back and forth in his palms. It felt odd, if he were to be honest, to not quite feel the strawberry under his fur. Like feeling it through mittens.

“Even if they don’t?” Pigsy said in return, grabbing a blueberry and popping it into his mouth. “You’ll still be you. We’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

The words made Tang pause.

Pigsy was right, when he thought about it. As long as they figured out what the curse was and made sure he wouldn’t turn into an actual rabbit after his demon transformation was done? It wouldn’t be impossible for him to get used to it all. Sure, the fur would be difficult to get used to, and his ears would take time to work around. His increased hearing would take a long time to adjust to. But... he was still him, human or rabbit demon. And besides! Maybe some of whatever new abilities he had could come in handy in day to day life. He knew the hearing would make it a lot easier to hear and corral any unruly students in his classes at the very least.

It was just... scary. Knowing he had no control or consent over the changes, that they weren’t even meant for him at all. The uncertainty of when they would stop, if they even would. And the reason...

If he was just turned immediately—poof and Bunny Him!—that would be one thing.

But why did he have to change when he thought of Pigsy? That was the worst part. Worse than even the pain of the transformations themselves. It felt like he couldn’t even be honest with himself in his own head anymore, lest he change without meaning to. He wished it was easier to be honest. To just come out and tell Pigsy how he felt. Heck, he’d met his parents! His parents liked him! Tang had nothing to worry about except the cold harsh dose of rejection he was certain he was in for. But then again..

When one denied their feelings for over a decade... could they really be surprised it was hard to admit them at all?

Tang popped the strawberry in his mouth while he thought, smiling a bit at the sweet tartness of it. It tasted... better than he expected. “These are good!” he said with a chuckle. “I was never that big on strawberries but if this change means I like them more now? I could totally live with that.”

“Heh, and here I thought I would never see the day you admit you disliked a food that wasn’t carrots,” Pigsy said with a soft chuckle and a smirk. Tang couldn’t help himself.

Just... the way he smiled. The relief he seemed to have on his face.

It just slipped out of him.

“Stop being cute like that.”

“You think I’m cute?” Pigsy asked in slow surprise, the smallest hint of an awkward smile forming on his face.

“N-NO!” Tang said without thinking, immediately regretting his knee jerk reaction and attempting to fix it. “I-I mean! You’re more... uh, h-handsome?”

A blush might have formed on the other’s face. Tang wouldn’t know. He was too distracted by the urge to sneeze that took over.

Then the sneeze, the feeling like he’d been slapped in the face, and then the sound of his glasses hitting the table.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Tang was lucky that he was nearsighted and thus still able to see Pigsy even without his glasses on. The chef stared as Tang reached up and touched his nose. His very much no longer human nose.

“Uh... Y-You... Uh...” Pigsy started slowly, gesturing to Tang’s face slowly.

“Oh, COME ON!” Tang yelled in frustration, holding his nose and squeezing it to make sure it was really a rabbit nose now. The pinch of pain confirmed it. “No, no, no, no, I wear glasses! Now how am I going to see? They were already barely staying on squashed onto my human nose! They’re definitely not going to stay on like this!”

“Tang...”

“Is every part of me going to change!?” Tang groaned out in frustration. “Is every part of me going to be different at the end of this? I can’t keep one thing? Are my eyes going to change? Do contacts work on rabbit eyes? What if my eyes get worse!?”

“Whoa, whoa, breathe Tang,” Pigsy said softly. He reached up, putting his hands on either side of his face and...

Tang froze.

It was... nice.

He had never had his face held like this by anyone before. And Pigsy’s hands were so warm, not too soft and just barely pressing against his fur.

He felt silly in that moment, for reacting as strongly as he did.

“Sorry...” Tang said softly, leaning into the touch without meaning to. “I’m...”

“Scared,” Pigsy finished for him. “I get it. But we can figure something out in the meantime. You got any of those hair clips Mei bought you for your birthday lyin’ around?”

~

“There,” Pigsy said with a soft chuckle. “Shake your head and see if they stay on.”

Tang frowned, slowly shaking his head from side to side to test out the solution. He could feel the hair clips pulling on his fur... but his glasses stayed mostly in place. Just to be sure, he decided to shake his head a little harder to test the limits of this solution.

Or he would have had he not immediately smacked himself in the face with his own ears and yelped in surprise. The sound of Pigsy’s laugh made him freeze before he could even react further, moving his ears out of the way to look at the other through his crooked glasses.

“We probably should have factored those in,” Pigsy chuckled. He reached up and righted Tang’s glasses again.

And then booped his nose.

Just. Reached up. Poked his nose with a finger. With the same kind of little “boop” Tang had heard Mei do before.

Pigsy was redder than Tang had ever seen him once he realized what he had just done.

“I’M SORRY, THAT WAS WEIRD!” Pigsy yelled out before he realized what he was doing, immediately grimacing and turning away as he groaned out. “I’m sorry, really, just... just forget I did that! I can’t believe I did that, so stupid, aaaaahhhhh—”

Pigsy continued to mutter to himself, embarrassed to a degree the scholar had rarely seen before. Tang was going to say it was okay, that he wasn’t bothered by it so much as he was shocked. It didn’t seem like something he would expect the chef to do! But then...

His ears picked up something just under Pigsy’s muttering. Maybe it was because he was getting used to his hearing. Maybe it was because somehow all of his neighbors were out or quiet at just the right moment. There were fewer cars on the road for him to hear through the walls.

Whatever the reason, he heard it all the same as clear as day.

"Shhh,” Tang said as he held up his hand for a moment. Without meaning to, he tilted his head, ears lifting softly as if on instinct to pick up the sound clearer.

“Uuuuuh Ta—”

“SHHHH!” Tang cut Pigsy off, tilting his head the other way. His eyes widened as he finally realized what the sound was. Smooth and rhythmic and relaxing to hear. “I... I think I can hear your... heartbeat?”

~

“OK, snack time is over!” MK announced as he shoved the last bite of the bun Pigsy had packed for them in his mouth. “TIME TO GO!”

“Hold on, bud,” Sun Wukong said as he wrapped his tail around MK and pulled him to stand next to him. “I have an idea.”

“Is this going to be a surprise lesson again? Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?” MK groaned in mild frustration, though the Monkey King was not in the least bothered by that. Not this time. “We need to get moving, now, I—”

“I think it’s about time you learn how to ride this thing properly,” Sun Wukong said with a smile as he moved aside and gestured to his cloud. “Can’t have you holding onto me forever, after all.”

MK looked between his mentor and his somersault cloud, mouth agape in shock. “Wait... Seriously?”

“Seriously! I’ll help you until you get the hang of it, then you’ll call the shots. It’ll be way faster than you guiding me around the city like we’ve been doing.”

“I take back my complaining. This is the third best day of my entire liiiiiiiiiife,” MK breathed, immediately falling face first onto the cloud and giggling as he sunk into it.

“What are the first two?”

“Day I met Mei and the day Pigsy taught me his noodle recipe.”

“Fair enough!” Sun Wukong said with a laugh as he helped his successor jump onto the cloud and find his balance. He joined him quickly, hands on his shoulders and tail wrapped protectively around his waist like a lifeline. Just in case. “Alright, make your movements purposeful and light, the cloud will listen to your movements. A small press with your front foot will make it go, but a huge one will make it zip fast enough to knock us off.”

“It’s kinda like riding a hoverboard!” MK laughed out as he wobbled slightly on the cloud. “A poofy, not completely flat hoverboard.”

“Never rode one of those myself so I wouldn’t know,” Sun Wukong said with a chuckle. “But if it is anything like this, the key to both is balance. Once you get that and you know how to convince it to listen to you, you’re good.”

“Wait, is your cloud sentient?”

“You know, it’s really unclear.”

The glance MK gave him was a mix of confused and concerned, but he listened intently as he was guided through the basics.

And then they were off. Soaring through the air, a little too fast at first at first but MK got the hang of it in no time. The yells of excitement as he somersaulted them through the sky made Sun Wukong almost forget why they were out and about flying.

Almost.

“Hey...” MK said almost so quietly that Sun Wukong could hardly hear him over the rushing wind around them. “Mr. Tang is going to be okay, right?”

There was a moment of quiet between them, the wind the only sound either could pick up as it rushed through their hair.

“I don’t know,” Sun Wukong said honestly. “But whatever happens, it would be without us doing our best to make sure he will be.”

[yanderecandystore]

hellu, can I request how would Delinquents, teachers, and bullies react to female reader pepper-sprayed the twins for self-defense when they try to beat up reader?

Hello, it's been a while, I'm sorry it took so long- I've been dealing with a lot of school assignments and I can't lie that I have frequent breakdowns over this-

I'll try and upload the requests that I already have and see if I should open up for requests again, or leave it be closed until the waves of work I need to do gets less overwhelming.

I hope y'all are doing great, stay safe everyone.

I'll make this a very short scenario boo.

TW: this is basically a civil war at this point- // for each pair, I'll add a different context (since technically the delinquents aren't from the same institution as the bullies) // female reader // bullying // self defense // anxiety // bullying (verbal and physical) // mentions of stalker behavior and brief mentions of distrust and paranoia

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Triple Spice combo [Yandere!Teachers / Yandere!Delinquents / Yandere!Bullies x F!Reader - Scenario]:

🎇Let me set the stage for a quick sec!🎇

So I'll explain what will happen- This is basically a post with three different timelines, each one based on each character type you're more interested in (example: you want some sour delinquents? You can follow the delinquent timeline and see how they react). Each follows almost similar circumstances, but still a bit differently to be able to fit for each individual timeline.

Come with me boo cause this one is long!

🎆: 🍒Bully's Timeline🍭

You have been the target of bullying for some weeks now, ever since you crossed some rich kids while going to your college. Unfortunately for you, they seem to be heading to the same location as you, apparently they also studied there- Although it should have been quite obvious. You're not the type to confront people physically, and you don't really feel like capable of fighting people of on your own, but because with their constant presence in your life you started to feel the need to get yourself prepared for what was going to come- Especially since you didn't feel like you could count on anyone.

You bought pepper spray in hopes of being able to stop your tormentors from continuing with their sick game.

That's when the incident happened, you were minding your own business when they came looking for trouble. You took the opportunity to finally put a stop on this by spraying their eyes with it.

✳️🍒Bullies🍭:

→ Alexandra Coldwell:

It was so fast and so painful that she couldn't even understand what just happened- Like- How dare you?! How fucking dare you?!! You think this is funny? This wasn't supposed to happen at all!

"- AAAAH!- what?- OH MY GOD-" Alexandra wasn't able to even finish her sentence, the pain was too much for her to handle. As she dropped to the ground trying to clean her eyes out, she couldn't help but feel confused as to what had even happened.

How could you do something so cruel to her?? Yes, she followed you, bullied you, made rumours about you, pulled your hair a couple of times and maybe she did throw insults towards you- But she didn't try to blind you!!

The worst part isn't even the humiliation she is going through, it's the fact you thought you would be able to pull a stunt like this and go away without any scars- She is so, absolutely livid by your stupidity.

Alexandra knows you must be liking this- And you know what? Enjoy your last free moments cause she will make sure you'll pay for it. She'll make sure to have a proper revenge under her sleeve, a proper punishment for harming someone like her in public.

Darling, darling, I hope you start looking behind your back from now on, never know what could happen when the person who is obsessed with you is just as insanely pissed off as they're madly in love with you.

→ Adrien Coldwell:

It was so fast and so painful that he couldn't even understand what just happened- Like- How dare you?! How fucking dare you?!! You think this is funny? This wasn't supposed to happen at all!

"- What- Oh my God I'm DYING!-" Adrien would be a lot more dramatic about it, even if he can articulate in great detail how much it hurts. In his panicked state, he started trying to wipe the substance with his sleeves- Which only helped to spread it more.

How fucking dare you not only hurt his precious eyes but also humiliate him on public like this?! What has gotten into you?? Yeah- I guess he did say hurtful stuff, followed you around to torment you, did throw stuff at you- But ya know- He didn't try to take your eyeballs out!?? Now that he thinks about it, he probably should have.

Adrien has a very weird view on your "relationship"- He thinks you're above him and so he must push you down, he loves you but being gentle with you will leave you to pull this kind of shit.

You're probably laughing to yourself now, the man is temporarily blind and you are laughing at him, you're somehow worse than he thought.

Still, he'll make you pay for it, don't worry about it dearest- You're fucked regardless. You tried to stand against him and now sadly he'll have to put you in your place again. Don't worry, it won't be so early- He still needs to prepare his plan.

Darling, darling, I hope you start looking behind your back from now on, never know what could happen when the person who is obsessed with you is just as insanely pissed off as they're madly in love with you.

🎆: 🍎Teacher's Timeline📕

You have been the target of bullying for some weeks now, ever since you crossed some rich kids while going to your college. Unfortunately for you, they seem to be heading to the same location as you, apparently they also studied there- Although it should have been quite obvious. You're not the type to get physical when it comes to defending yourself, but you felt that you still needed to do something about it- You talked with the only person you could trust in this moment, since they were your mentor and you needed some guidance from someone that could potentially help you solve this out.

Their idea was to be able to personally see the harassment happening so they could have visual proof of who is doing what to you, hopefully being able to expel the ones causing you harm.

They personally gave you pepper spray in hopes that if they aren't near you to help you, you can at least defend yourself in some way.

That's when the incident happened, you were minding your own business when they came looking for trouble. You took the opportunity to finally put a stop on this by spraying their eyes with it.

✳️🍎Teachers📕:

→ Matthew Robinson:

Although you thought to be in a situation where no one would be able to help you- Causing you to use your only item of self-defense- That couldn't have been further from the truth, as Matthew has made sure to pay close attention to you after you came by and ask for his guidance. It was a call for help and he would have been a horrible mentor to not make sure you'll follow his instructions, and it seemed like you did perfectly fine.

He got to be present to not only see the ones causing you harm, but also to see how well you're able to take care of yourself. He was going to intervene as soon as he saw them come closer, but you managed to stop them all by yourself- Honestly he is very proud of you for being able to stand your ground.

Since Matthew was able to see them starting the aggression just like many other witness surrounding the scene, he felt like he had an argument strong enough to be able to properly punish your bullies- Of course he is aware that the Coldwells have a reputation for getting staff members fired for trying to reprimanding them, but honestly he has been inside this place long enough already.

Getting fired isn't his problem, his problem is not being able to give them what they deserve for frightening you, and even worse than that: He needed to make sure you would stay safe in and out of college- You came to him saying they were following you outside of your classes, so of course he'll be worried for your safety.

After expelling the Coldwells, Matthew will just need to find a way of keeping you safe and under his surveillance, you may need more guidance after all, and it would be extremely worrying to not have you by his side. He just needs to plan out a better schedule for you two, one where he can be more present in your life after you're done with your classes.

I wonder what plan comes to his mind.

→ Madeline Allen:

Although you thought to be in a situation where no one would be able to help you- Causing you to use your only item of self-defense- That couldn't have been further from the truth, as Madeline has made sure to pay close attention to you after you came by and ask for her guidance. Madeline has been following you while you walked through the school's halls as she recorded every interaction you had with any of the other students. After you called her for help she entered full protection mode, she was set on getting your tormentors expelled.

However, Madeline hasn't been inside the institution to be able to earn the trust of the other teachers, or even the principal themselves- She needed some evidence and better witness testimony than those from students who were terrified of getting in trouble with the bullies around this place. You could say she had a guess as to who could be causing you trouble but she wouldn't be allowed to take action unless she could prove their identity and involvement in bullying you.

She gave you the pepper spray hoping you would feel less worried, to feel calmer in knowing you had not only something that you could use against them but also to symbolize how she would be there for you if you needed. Seeing you using it for the first time as you spray in the eyes of the culprits made her realize that she was in fact correct. Of course it's them, right?

If there is something wrong happening in Amaryllis, you can almost always pin it for being the Coldwell's fault. Bullying it's probably the least surprising thing this little demons have been accused of- Still, their rein over this institution and your worried little mind ends today, she doesn't care if she lost her job or if they try ruining her life by blackmailing her and such-

They can try but she is pretty sure they won't have any luck finding her, what can I say, she is good at burning evidence. What worries her though it's what will happen to you if they ever try to take their frustrations out on you again. She can't allow that to happen, you'll end up getting hurt and she'll feel awful if it was because of her interference in the case.

You need her help after all, right? You did come to her asking for guidance, and clearly you know nothing about physical self-defense- You clearly need someone to take care of you dearest. She needs to plan this out carefully, not only so the twins aren't allowed in school's grounds but to hopefully be able to guide you even if she is not your teacher anymore. But how could she have you near her everyday after classes?

I wonder what plan comes to her mind.

🎆: 🍋Delinquent's Timeline🐍

You have been the target of bullying for some weeks now, ever since you crossed some rich kids while going to your college. Fortunately for you, they didn't seem to go the same college as you did- Yet what you should have known was that nothing in life could have been so simple, you would still see them again over and over again after that incident. You started to feel anxious knowing that they were probably stalking you to know exactly when and where to find you, and since you already have to deal with going to a horrible institution and fearing for your own safety everyday.

You bought pepper spray so you could defend yourself not only from your stalkers but also from any possible classmate that could end up trying something weird with you.

That's when the incident happened, you were minding your own business when they came looking for trouble. You took the opportunity to finally put a stop on this by spraying their eyes with it.

✳️🍋Delinquents🐍:

→ Jackson Macnee:

He doubts you noticed that he was there when that happened, he doubts that you even care if he is staring at you at all- He always thought you were probably too scared of him to even tell him to stop, most people aren't scared of his appearance but are at least aware of his title, so they at least respect the path he walks. He is already used to this.

But let me tell you, to see the Coldwells come so near his territory seemed pretty interesting at first- Until he discovered why they were dumb enough to come here. He didn't know you were being bullied, let alone by these brats- He did notice you had changed your behavior recently, although he didn't pay any attention to it because he thought you were just getting accustomed with the way things work around Saint's Bernard hellhole of a place.

He was hoping that maybe you were just having issues with settling in- It is a rough place after all, and although he wishes deep down to be able to help you feel stronger he still feels like he shouldn't make you do something you don't want to. If you wished to talk to him, you should just go straight to him (even if he is aware of how terrifying that could be).

However, Jack was so far from the truth. His assumptions were confirmed fake after he saw the twins Coldwell treat you like he treated him- It was unbearable to watch, it was like he was seeing his past collide with his present self, you were reminding him of all the things he hated about himself, while also bringing his blood to boil in a desperate need to help you out. Yet he didn't need to do anything about it, you managed to defend yourself on your own.

It wasn't as rewarding to watch as he wanted it to be, but you sure did crack their ego pretty badly- He shouldn't have doubted you, after all he has been stalking you for so long, he should have known what you were capable of doing. Still, he doesn't trust the Coldwells enough to just let them run away like that, they would probably come back soon.

In the meantime, this should be a good excuse to get to talk with you, right? You clearly need some actual training, some flimsy pepper spray bottle isn't going to stop them from coming back. I hope you're ready to be trained by a lovesick delinquent, he won't be soft until he knows you can stand on your own.

→ Jannette Sartorius

She doubts you noticed that she was there when that happened, she doubts that you even care if she is staring at you at all- She always thought you were probably too scared of her to even tell her to stop, most people are scared of her. She is trying to get used to it.

Janette thinks she has every reason to observe you from afar, you're beautiful and you seem too precious to be in a place as horrible as this one, it must suck a lot for you to be somewhere like this-Seeing people like her.

She considered calling you to join her gang, but she is sure that you'll probably deny the offer- Physical confrontation was never your thing right? She can respect that.

Although you don't talk with her, or even interact with the other students at all, she did notice you were acting a bit more- Reclusive these days. Something was wrong, and sadly she would have to find out about it way too late.

Janette didn't know the twins personally, she knew they were rich and famous but- Yeah, she didn't really care about knowing anything about them, they're just some pretty faces amongst the others in the fashion industry. She does envy them a little bit, but tries to avoid anything relating to them since she feels self-conscious looking at their pictures. Now she has a new reason to hate their porcelain faces, they were stalking you.

They were stalking you and taunting you, and if you didn't do anything to stop them she would have already jumped in. They were alone, and honestly she doubts they have any idea of how to go one on one with someone- There is no way these brats have any experience in fighting, right?

Well, she didn't get to know that since they ran away after you sprayed their faces with pepper spray, clever girl.

She knows this is probably not the end of this, they did threaten to come back and hurt you for defending yourself. But you know- She doesn't plan on letting that happen, not again. Consider yourself lucky cause now you just got a new best friend who I set on protecting you.

Is there something wrong with that? Aren't you happy with being her friend? Well, you could just go to "girlfriends" if that's what you want- She wouldn't mind it at all.

Janette prefers to take care of you without you having to watch her beat someone's ass- But she could teach you a few things if you wished to, hey, spending time with someone so cool it's always nice, so of course she'll take every chance she can to spend as much time with you as possible.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[beevean]

逆転裁判　逆転のトノサマン Part 2 (捜査 1)

I will finish this game. I promise. I just need to speed things up.

I’ve decided to cut the vocabulary section, as that was my main drive to analyze everything and waste so much time. I think the small localization differences are more interesting anyway.

This post goes from the first meeting with Oldbag to the end of the first part. Nothing exciting happens here. Here’s all my playthrough from the beginning.

Oldbag says about Powers 「お茶の間に出せるシロモノじゃないよ。メシがまずくなる。」, “He’s not a fine thing that can be served during tea, the meal would go bad.” Somehow she sounds even more condescending. Speaking of which, she always refers to herself as “oba-chan” and to Powers as “that kid”. (why is she popular in japan i have no idea)

Yet another example of AA1!Phoenix being translated to be ruder: when Gumshoe tells him that Edgeworth is all sad after losing to him, Phoenix replies in Japanese “I... I didn’t know that”, with something of an apologetic tone「し、 知りませんよそんなの 」. English Phoenix responds with a far blunter “Umm... so?”

“That’s my endearing character trait!” was a far more drastic “My identity will crumble down!”「あ。。。あいでんてぃてぃがホーカイするッス！」

Mr. Monkey is described as a tenguzaru (テングザル), or proboscis monkey. I understand why they had to simplify it, but I found it interesting. Of course, the next comment isn’t “what kind of monkey has a nose like that?” but “do tengus have such a round nose?”

Typical example of localization: in Japanese Oldbag seems to like tea and yokan, which in English became coffee and donuts. Of course the English translation also took the opportunity to sneak in a “cops love donuts” joke, which in Japanese was Maya praising “the oba-chan of Nippon”.

As a reversal of the typical “AA1!Phoenix was ruder in English”, “I'm glad someone around here seems to be enjoying themselves” was an even more sarcastic “People can laugh so cheerfully”「人間って、こんなに朗らかに笑えるもんなんだ」

I may be wrong, but it looks like in the English version there’s a piece missing: if you investigate the drain grate in Studio 1 (and specifically the grate, not the drain itself), Phoenix comments that it’s bent and it would be a hassle to fix. It’s not that crucial to the plot, but this is the first time I’ve noticed that the translation straight up cut an object that could be investigated.

Another cute example of localization: the vending machine in Studio 1 sells “tea, miso soup, shiruko, kudzu tea and oden” instead of “cola, candy, chips and gums”. Similarly, on Will Powers’ table, there are wagashi instead of “cookies”. I honestly had no idea that the first game was so Japanese, I thought they started to add stuff in the second game.

Again related to localization, Will Powers has “Western clothes” mixed with “Japanese clothes”, instead of “some regular suits in among the costumes". Interesting.

Penny seems to be slightly more formal in Japanese. For example, when Maya introduces Phoenix and herself as Will Powers’ lawyer team, she says in English “I don’t envy you guys one bit!”, while in Japanese it’s just “That must be hard”. Or when Phoenix asks her if she knew that Powers was sleeping in his room, Penny says “No!” and it’s clearly embarassed in English, but simply “I didn’t know, I’m not so improper” in Japanese. They also did no effort to convey her use of the “masu-desu” form. (tbf it’s not like she has a shining personality anyway, so i don’t blame the translator for spicing her dialogue up)

Fun untranslatable detail: “Nick! You're craftier than I gave you credit for” was “うわあ、なるほどくん、おぬし、意外と悪だね”. Which means roughly the same thing, but おぬし is an archaic pronoun to refer to equals and inferiors, the joke probably being that Maya is speaking like a samurai. How can you even translate this sudden word choice?

I’m happy to report that the “ladder-stepladder” running gag is perfectly intact and the translation was faithful :)

“Eat your miso ramen hamburgers Maya.”

[alyblacklist]

Hey!!

I am new to your tumblr but I read your fics all the time (and reread them more often than I should admit lol)

I think you’re really amazing!

I’m so relieved that you answer asks and discuss speculation because I really need someone to talk this through.

So, I have watched a couple of other thriller series along the same lines where the makers don’t have any issues killing off major characters off the show.

There are a couple of things that are happening in this show which I think (and I honest to god hope I’m wrong) are building up to them killing off Ressler.

They get together, they partially admit their feelings (which we’ve been waiting for too Damn long) - so they get closure. Ressler is in the hospital, they show him deteriorating, he goes into v-fib.

And all of this is not that much of a game changer but hear me out. The task force is being dismantled and they need to give the viewers sth that they won’t expect. And bring some new spice in s9. With Liz going full time into crime, it seems a lot easier for them to kill off Ressler.

My only counter debate to my point is that they would have killed him off the moment he got shot (like they did with Meera) rather than show him being treated.

I really need to know what you think. Please tell me he’s not gonna die cause honestly who on earth will watch the show then?

Hi there! I have to say a special thank you to you, @alrightygirl, and to my anon (above) who I have lumped in, for the shoutouts on my stories. I came to Tumblr in the first place during the hiatus between S2/S3 in part because I realized some of my fav fanfic authors (@aussieokie !) were here so I am especially happy to read this.

I'm not sure people realize how much we fanfic writers thrive on feedback, and especially on the multi chapter works we invested so much time into. So thank you, and I have to say I really am looking forward to the end of the season so I can step away from the BTS hunt and my inbox and get back to just creating. Hopefully the writers will leave things in a good place in 8.22 so there's plenty to work with. Ok, on to the substance of your ask and I'll put in a jump because I can already tell this is getting long.

I really do NOT think Ressler will die. I didn't think so before 8x19 and I still don't think so after the "medical drama" of 8x20. Because that's what I think they're doing - they're creating drama because it's the end of the season and they want people freaking out and guessing over who will survive. Call it the curse of cable, or thrillers or whatever, but we as audiences have been conditioned to believe that major characters have to die every year, even if it's pointless.

The thing is, The Blacklist has never been that show. They have killed three "main characters" in the life of the show. Meera in S1 (and I later read Parminder only had a one-year deal), Tom in S5 (with huge fanfare and foreshadowing and an entire "hero" arc following a failed spinoff with a new series eagerly awaiting him at NBC), and Samar in S6 after the actress specifically requested to be released from her contract after S5 and gave them time to write her character an appropriate conclusion arc which also had huge foreshadowing.

Could they go a different route this year? Sure. We're late in the life of the show and twists and cliffhangers and budgets all come into play but the thing is - I just still really don't see it when it comes to Ressler.

For me, the characters' perspective is always paramount. What purpose would Ressler's death serve? It would make Liz more upset (because, you know, Sam, Tom, Katarina, her sister, her whole team weren't enough?). And other than that......?

The audience already knows the gravity of the stakes. So does Liz. So does every other character. The only purpose Ressler's death would serve that I see (and to be clear, I am focusing only on the characters in the show not the irrational fandom hate for his character) is to "punish" Liz more, to make her feel worse about what she's done, to deal another body blow on top of all that she's suffered already.

I don't think Liz needs that. (I'm positive nearly all of Reddit disagrees).

She turned herself in to Cooper because she recognized the bloodshed needed to end after she FEARED losing him. She stayed by Ressler's side and spoke her entire speech in the hearse and by his unconscious side because she can't handle losing him too. This is exactly the scenario the writers teased when Eisendrath teased all those months ago that maybe he would use her feelings for him to get her to come back.

Source (X)

He didn't overtly "use" her feelings in the end because that is not Ressler. He is not that guy. But in the end, her feelings for him were EXACTLY why she turned herself in.

I don't think Liz doesn't need to be punished further or suffer more in anyone's eyes except those who still can't come to terms with her war against Red. I don't think the writers feel that way about her character. To the contrary, they introduced a hallucinated Kaplan to try to give her a pass and also had her give lengthy explanations to both Ressler and Aram defending her behavior. I think from all I have read and seen that the writers view Liz as a victim of circumstances caused by Red - something Cooper has also articulated to Panabaker along the way in defending why Liz has done what she's done under extraordinary circumstances. We can all agree or disagree on the why and the method and the extremes but the bottom line is that I think the writers still view Liz as more "victim" or "forced criminal" than diabolical villain so killing Ressler, on top of everyone else Liz has lost, is just another deep blow on top of all the blows that have turned her into who she is. I think we're past the point that that is necessary and we'll be even further past that point after 8.21/8.22 when Liz learns some truths.

This has gotten crazy long so I'll just add these final thoughts which I have also articulated in prior posts:

- I think if the writers were going to write out Ressler - an original character from the Pilot - they would do so with more hype and fanfare and story than what he's gotten this season. Sure he was present in 8x19 a lot but it was really Liz's story. She was the heroine saving him and moving them from place to place while he suffered. I think the writers have enough respect for Diego to give him at least as much substantial story as Tom and Samar got in their sendoffs if this was really the end. He's a good guy and a good character and he deserves more than for his final moments to be a quiet fade to black in Vfib in a hospital with only Park present (or even Liz present for a final, vague, goodbye). A show that can't do that isn't a show I'm interested in watching, you know?

- his agents congratulated him on the S9 renewal back when it was announced. Hardly an indicator that a major character is getting jettisoned.

-You'd also think, if he was leaving this season, that he'd be doing more to elevate his profile on social media like he did at the end of Homeland to gear up for a new gig. He's done NOTHING.

-Finally, there has been literally nothing in JB's recent interview with The Blacklist Exposed, any of the BTS, the press, the episode descriptions, the crew photos, or anything else to date to indicate that a major actor/character is leaving. I know people can hide the ball but usually in this show, something slips through. So far - nothing. (No, I don't take Megan's thank you's or wrap party photos that way).

Anyway, hopefully we'll all be here at this time next year (or a few weeks earlier if things are back to normal), analyzing S9 and all that has happened. Thanks for the ask!

[iaintyourbro]

Shipping Makes Me Question My Sanity

I learned about the FFVII waifu wars after playing the remake. I played the OG many moons ago, replayed it a few years ago, but really got interested in the character dynamics after playing FFVIIR. 

I foolishly looked up “Is the remake pushing Cloud and Tifa more?” I found the shipping wars... That I never knew existed. 

You see, I played the OG and it was pretty clear to me that the story went a certain way. In fact, I didn’t even associate FFVII to romance. 

FFVII was a story about a villain who was pissed off that a grunt killed him, so he finds a way to come back from the dead through clones that his father made to fuck with said grunt and get revenge on all the humans that wronged his Mother. 

(This is my explanation in as few words as possible, because we all know explaining FFVII would take multiple posts). 

So why did I look up my question about Cloud and Tifa? Well, I was shocked at how they presented them. I didn’t remember this from the OG. Like I said, I didn’t associate FFVII to romance like I did with VIII, IX, and X. Those were clear. FFVII didn’t have this as a main theme. FFVIIR created extreme sexual tension between Cloud and Tifa. 

I remember when you finally found out Cloud wasn’t a SOLDIER, that he actually DID kill Sephiroth 5 years ago, and that he did come to save Tifa - he fulfilled his promise. The part when the main theme plays and he takes his helmet off... chills. Even now, I love that part. Still, I associated this with us finally getting answers to some of the weird shit that happens earlier in the game. And I was way too young and dense to understand the Under the Highwind scene. 

Needless to say, I wanted to see if others had the same impression. It seems they did, and those posts were then overpowered by the other side. “Yeah, I used to ship Cloti, but the remake made me see that it’s clearly Aerith.” What? What did I miss? 

So I questioned my sanity a bit. I played every quest - I did both Tifa and Aerith’s discovery quests. Until the point we get back to Tifa in Wall Market, I still was kind of iffy on how they were presenting Aerith and Cloud. They removed a lot of stuff from the OG that was a bit more direct from Cloud’s end. They also removed a lot of the jealousy scenes between Tifa and Aerith. Seems they gave all the jealousy to Cloud in other scenes. 

Cloud clearly is soft with Tifa. He remembers The Promise, he calls her beautiful, you have no choice but to give her the flower. No matter what choices you make with Aerith. He still gives her the flower. He gets jealous whenever he even thinks a guy is talking about her in a romantic/sexual way.

Then I see things like “Cloud was so emotionless and mean until Chapter 8″. HOW? And this goes beyond Tifa. Cloud had a ton of character growth during the first 3 chapters, and it continued on until Chapter 8. This was not something where he suddenly turned nice to Aerith. He had a ton of people help him out before.

Take Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Cloud was a dick to them. I mean, he really was. I was sad for Wedge, cuz I think he’s so nice, and Cloud was just mean to him. By the end of Chapter 4, he’s much nicer to them. He’s left out of their celebration, and I think maybe this was a reference to him as a child. He thought he was better than the other kids (except Tifa). He treated everybody like shit (except Tifa) in the first three chapters and Barret told him to gtfo. 

Jessie made sure to let him know she wanted him there. Now, I’m not a fan of how thirsty Jessie is. I mean they REALLY slam it on you how bad she wants to get with Cloud. Cloud then says what I was thinking “Are you seriously that desperate?!” Yes, she is, and it’s obnoxious, but I think it’s a hilarious addition to the story. However, I think it was a light bulb moment that he would be included if he was a bit nicer to people.

Cloud and Barret start getting along more as time goes on as well. This is all before Chapter 8. So I actually have commented on these posts... “Did you play the first 7 chapters? Did you play the rest of the game?” There’s so many points during FFVIIR where Cloud clearly has character development outside of what Tifa and Aerith do. 

They ignore this. That’s my issue. The ignore everything else in the story. They ignore reality, so that makes people like me question themselves.

It reminds me of a personal situation with my job. We had a really bad leader. Like, cruel, mean. And he got away with it for a long time. You can say, “just leave”, but I think anybody with a family knows that’s not as easy as it sounds. Not when you rely on your job for not only income, but benefits, retirement, and stability. Not when changing buildings causes months of legit mental breakdowns (imagine changing companies completely?). So, it wasn’t really an option.

The worst part during all of that was knowing and seeing the reality of what was going on and having people flat out try to tell me that what I was seeing wasn’t true. I had conversations with other co-workers who started to question their sanity. Is it us? Are we the problem? Are we wrong? What are we missing? And that’s tough, especially when it goes on for so long.

In the real life example, there was a resolution earlier this year, where finally the guy was fired. And a lot of people were fighting him. More than you’d think. But they were scared, so they had to be careful. This is real life, not a game, so the stakes were much higher. The truth all comes out after this type of thing, and it was actually worse than we thought. There was a lot we missed, and a lot we just weren’t aware of. We weren’t crazy - there was just a group of his followers trying to brainwash us in to thinking he was great. 

The shipping wars give me the same feelings I had during that. I question my sanity and don’t get what I’m missing. This is beyond how you interpret the LTD. This is legit ignoring parts of the story as it’s presented. SE put these Cloti moments throughout the Remake to make a point. They have Aerith say things to make a point. They even have Aerith stop making moves on Cloud after Tifa comes back and she sees the obvious “thing” between them.

There are tons of analysis on multiple scenes and how Cloud reacts. Facial expressions tell a lot, so does voice acting. There are reasons they put these scenes in. There are reasons they are part of the main story and not part of side quests. There are reasons that the devs responded the way they did in interviews. 

The Ultimania clearly talks about Cloud’s feelings. The OG talks about them. 

So why do I still feel upset when I see these? Well, for one, the posters that say “I was a Cloti until..” in most cases are probably shipping the other side, but this is a great way to make people question themselves. It may make new fans not enjoy the story as much.

Then you have Twitter. And it’s a shame, because there’s some great fanart on Twitter. But, you can’t search for “tifa” without seeing some really bad posts. And it’s the same accounts over and over. There isn’t a large amount. 

The entire goal of these posters is to fight people who don’t agree with them. They also start posting similar complaints about a week after the Cloti side makes them.

The most recent being that Cloti fans are going after Nojima and it’s not going to change anything. What? I saw a similar post about the C////erith side about a week or two ago. Why are Cloti’s going after Nojima? So I went through some of his posts. I found one where he posted about FF7R. The only Cloti posts I saw were thanking him. The C///erith ones were over the top trying to say how it was all C///erith and there was no Cloti in the remake. One even said that “millions of fans want Aerith to survive.” No, I’d say the majority of fans want the original plot points to stay. 

Nojima himself liked a fanart of himself... where they called him the Cloti king.

So where are the Cloti’s going after Nojima? I only saw praise... 

The next new one is that C///eriths aren’t racist and Cloti’s are. I’ve seen this argument in reverse as well. It seems they scope out some things and repost them in the opposite argument. 

I just don’t understand the extreme nature. You can ship who you want, but you can’t erase parts of the story to make it work. Why even bother playing the game? The romance aspect is SO SMALL in the OG. 

In the remake its a bit heavier, but it’s different times. Sex sells. Let’s add some spice to the game, and they did. I felt no sexual tension between Cloud and Aerith. Jessie tried HARD. The only mutual tension felt was between Cloud and Tifa. That deep, dear lord please do something to release this tension, feeling. Cloud and Aerith had cute little moments similar to a Disney movie or a kids movie. Tifa and Cloud had the moments you see in more mature things. 

Some of these moments are optional - the resolution scene you can technically avoid every time you play if you choose to. The Clotiscrew tunnel roll is a bit harder unless you KNOW you can avoid it and/or are terrible at the game. You literally have to try hard to mess up to not get that scene. 

The Clotiscrew tunnel scene is also hilarious to watch people react to. Cuz you do feel like you need to take a quick walk to cool off from that heat. Even my husband who doesn’t give a shit was like “wow, yeah, okay, that’s... intense.” 

It didn’t have to be, it could have been a roll and release, but he holds her and says “You okay?” in that soft af voice THAT HE ONLY USES ON HER. Her response is equally sexy. Then they get up and stare. Once again, not necessary.

All the “unnecessary” touching that goes on is fun to point out. People are still finding moments, I think. During battles, in the background during other scenes. They’re making this a point. They make it a point to show shots of those two during other scenes in the game. They aren’t being subtle anymore. 

So I don’t understand how you can erase all of that. 

The other side has a small group that is completely shitting on Tifa to do it. I don’t see that as much on the Cloti side towards Aerith. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, I bet it does, but it’s not as easy to find. Almost EVERY shipping fight has something about Tifa’s boobs, Tifa not telling Cloud about his past, something. They make stuff up in some cases.

All of this is a way to recruit people to their side. To “convert” them. I feel bad for the streamers who like Tifa and you see a group come in to try and “correct” that thought. Why do they care so much? 

Maximillian Dood doesn’t seem affected by those opinions - he’s a great supporter of Tifa as a character. He was very happy with the way they handled the remake, and that says a lot. He also has some great reactions to parts of the game. He also is a more experienced streamer, it seems.

My thoughts are... the Remake has blown expectations on how it was supposed to go. Probably a lot of fans assumed they’d make a point to build up Aerith as the love interest... but they didn’t. Tifa is in almost every chapter (2 is the exception). She is referenced multiple times in Wall Market - especially if you actually listen to the lyrics for Midgar Blues. Why place that song in during that part? 

So we go to the attack mode of survival here. They’re going to change as many opinions as possible. They’re going to make people question themselves. Make people feel bad. 

The reality is, there’s a clear cut story - they’re making it that way. There’s multiple hints that there isn’t going to be a love triangle. There’s multiple hints that Zack is going to be a thing in the Remake. They’ve definitely put it on more heavy that Aerith still loves Zack. 

I can only hope that things are made clear. That this can stop. I still say people should ship who they want. Hell, I ship Vincent and Lucrecia (this was my only romantic love in the OG back then...). However, canon is that Hojo and Lucrecia married and had a child. I wanted Vincent to secretly be the father so bad, but he’s not. That doesn’t ruin the game for me, at all. 

It would ruin the game for me, in a sense, if they completely pull a 180 in Part 2 and try to “remove” all of the stuff from Part 1 from a character dynamics perspective. It would feel wrong for Aerith to tell Cloud not to fall in love with her, tell him that everything isn’t real if he does, and also have her back off completely after Tifa is back, and then all of a sudden throw herself at him. It would erase all the friendship scenes between Tifa and Aerith.

And how could you just “turn off” Cloud’s attentive nature to Tifa? It wouldn’t make sense. It would ruin it for me because that is legit trying to erase parts of the story.

I don’t think that will happen. But I still get anxious when I see shit on the internet.

[crossdressingdeath]

Okay yes I will ask your thoughts on Anders :D

Well, to start with something simple (and I assume not particularly controversial): the sequence of events we’re given for how Anders ended up in Kirkwall makes no fucking sense. I mean, it makes sense that the Chantry would ignore the Right of Conscription and try to drag him back to the Circle, but where the fuck is the Warden in all this?! If memory serves in some piece of the canon it’s implied or outright stated that the Chantry went over their head to get Templar agents into the Wardens, but they’re still the Warden-Commander? We’re expected to believe that the Warden, someone who will in most saves count Anders and Justice as dear friends and can be adamantly against the Circle, the Templars, and the Chantry as a whole, would just let a bunch of Templars run the two of them out of Amaranthine? The Warden would permit the cat they gave Anders to be taken away from him without so much as a fight? They may have to answer to Weisshaupt but even so! If Weisshaupt was interfering in the running of the Ferelden branch that much I’d expect it to be at least mentioned! If you played your Warden as someone who cared about the people under their command Anders and Justice getting forced out by the Wardens makes no sense. Honestly even if they don’t give a shit about their people Anders has friends! At the very least there should have been some mention of how exactly this was allowed to happen (maybe the Warden and the Awakening companions minus Anders and Justice were called away for some extremely long mission or something), or preferably Anders and Justice should have been chased out of Amaranthine through means entirely unrelated to the Wardens; you could have a bit about Anders being scared that after merging with Justice he’d bring trouble down on the Wardens that they couldn’t weather, it would be good and give him an element of connection to the people we spend the entirety of Awakening watching him bond with, and most importantly a connection to the previous player character that both Oghren in Awakening and Varric in Inquisition get but he doesn’t. Like, think about that for a second; Oghren obviously already knows the Warden and Varric pretty much waxes poetic about how great Hawke is every time they come up, but Anders doesn’t even react to learning about a fucking assassination plot against the Warden! Give me some friendship points for dealing with that, at least! And when you run into Nathaniel if memory serves Anders doesn’t even ask about the Warden, who Nathaniel is presumably still serving under! He doesn’t ask Zevran about the Warden either, even if you romanced him in Origins! Basically just the fact that DA2 doesn’t acknowledge your approval value with Anders even while remembering such things as whether or not you slept with Isabella in the Pearl irks me. This is your carryover companion, Bioware! Try a little harder to remind us of that!

Anyway, moving on. Honestly so much about Fenris and Anders’s dynamic bothers me? I remember seeing a post about how maybe actually after a while they settled into actual discussion and learning from each other but Varric decided to spice it up by keeping them super aggressive in his storytelling, which I do like better, but in the canon story? I mean, they’re just playing hot potato with the misery poker at this point. And do not get me started on the guy with the spirit of justice in his head approving of selling someone into slavery. I don’t care how much he hates Fenris, Justice disapproved of having a pet cat in Awakening! And Bioware seriously expects us to believe that the guy with, again, the spirit of justice in his head would wave off fucking slavery because “mages have it worse”? I do not buy that. It makes far less sense now than it did in Awakening, where Anders had spent most of his life in a tower where elves were at least nominally on equal footing with humans and was only just getting out in a way that was likely to be permanent.

And of course, the big one: the whole thing where the narrative flattens Anders forcing a confrontation by blowing up a building that’s closed at night and only really has a couple people in it even during the day to kill the woman signing off on the mass slaughter of innocent people with the expectation that if the Templars are really interested in justice they will execute him instead of killing the mages of the Circle to just “crazy mage blows up a building and kills huge numbers of people to force everyone to go to war” pisses me off. This is a series that allows you to justify abandoning an entire town to be killed by skeletons! In this game you can sell your friend to slavers! And yet there is no serious moral discussion about Anders’s actions. It’s bad, case closed, no possible justification for it. And... other people have made this point more eloquently than me, but it seems pretty obvious that they made it a big, dramatic (and incredibly nonsensical, what the fuck is even happening with that explosion, was the point not to do it without magic, why did it look like that) explosion to set off that knee-jerk “explosion = terrorism” response that most people have; a public killing didn’t have to involve blowing up a church, now did it? I don’t believe for a second that a man who could plant a bomb in the Chantry without anyone noticing despite being a known apostate couldn’t find a way to get Elthina out of the Chantry and into a public area where she could be killed dramatically and without any risk of collateral damage from his own actions, especially with the situation reaching the point where she was having to directly interfere to keep the chaos from going too far. Hell, even burning it down would’ve been better (and honestly more satisfying I think, given how much time every other part of Kirkwall spends in flames)! Note also that in Trespasser, which would’ve been written well after 2 came out and people started talking about how Anders had a point, they have a bit where Varric talks about massive death tolls and enough rubble to change tidal patterns in a port city. The destruction of one building cannot do both those things! I don’t actually think it could do either given we’re shown that it is practically empty when it goes up, but it certainly couldn’t do both! We were not supposed to actually... think about this explosion. We were supposed to conclude that Anders was wrong because explosions are Bad and then when people didn’t come to that conclusion they crammed in a bunch of nonsensical bullshit about death tolls and tides without considering whether that made any sense from a logic standpoint in an attempt to push us to stop questioning it. And... in a series that put so much thought into complex morality in the first game, that was just a massive disappointment and step back in the complexity of the morality. And almost certainly the first step towards Inquisition’s “Well actually in this conflict where one side wants to be allowed to imprison and torture people and the other side wants to not be imprisoned and tortured both sides are just as bad as each other” bullshit, which just makes it even worse.

Basically at the end of the day Bioware took a complicated character with every reason to hate the Chantry and a brilliant plan for exposing just how uninterested the Templars are in justice (a plan that works, may I add; the Circles didn’t rebel because the Chantry blew up, they rebelled because the Templars proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would use anything as an excuse to murder their charges even if they had the actual perpetrator of whatever they were using as that excuse right in front of them) and flipped the narrative to “crazy terrorist mage who killed infinitely more people than logic would suggest was possible while still doing all the other shit they claim that explosion did”, and I hate that.

[inventors-fair]

New Year’s Resolutions: Group commentary

Welcome to the group commentary! As I said in the winner’s post, there were a lot of white cards in the inbox, and that’s an obvious sign that white needs a small rework to keep up with its buffed up brothers.

@misterstingyjack​ White does lover its planeswalkers and tying card draw with a powerful card type could be reasonable since card draw is white’s main weakness. However I would like it more if this loyalty extension was offered by a creature, so at least you can keep the game rolling.

@askkrenko​ MaRo has mentioned the “elemental” supertype quite a few times in podcasts etc, but its really too late to add this element to the game. But we’re here to dream and create, and Strike Twice would be a sick card, if not a staple, in that parallel universe. Also this is the most badass a Pichu has ever been XD

@ignorantturtlegaming​ There were no additional notes other than this crazy card in the inbox, so I can only guess that the creator wants more group-hug effects in red. I want to say Fires of Renewal is on the expensive side, but the effects it offers unconditionally are all very impactful. The Melvin in me appreciates all the instances of “2″ in the card!

@wolkemesser​ gave life to an ancient mtg character from the Shattered Chains book and boy, she’s a truly solid card. Ordando has decent stats and gives some additional staying power to monowhite decks. I like the whole flavor that is so tough that she can protect others and come back again, but the execution feels a little off to me, as discard and mill decks can abuse her in non white ways. Since we’re going for the flavor win, I would like it more if in order to protect something she exiled herself with a promise counter (which in turn allows her to be cast from exile.)

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ A disgustingly evil win more card? Sign me up! The philosophy of the card plays very nicely in black, especially with low cost high stated creatures that ask for their tribute every upkeep! Counterspells in black are a big stretch in my opinion, but no one can’t deny this card is a big flavor win!

@col-seaker-of-the-memiest-legion Speaking of counterspells, here’s another suggestion for them being in white. Many protective cards can be treated as counterspells, so we could find a loophole and treat this as a very wide protective spell. I think we could have cards like this in the future, but it’s still treacherous terrain because they must be so efficient that might replace blue’s role in the game.

@naban-dean-of-irritation​ I have mixed feelings about Korair. Flavor text matches with the card’s name quite nicely but it doesn’t connect with the actual gameplay. Also venturing into the unexplored “emblems matter territory” is surely exciting, but I don’t like the fact that is creates emblems by itself, and with that ease to boot!

@mardu-lesbian​ Hindsight is pitched as the blue/red shared keyword ability. I view it in a positive light, meaning I think it’s both flavorful and makes sense for those two colors, but it’s a bit unexciting that it matters only once in the creature’s life on the battlefield, while other shared keywords are combat related and have a greater impact in the game.

@deafeningsandwichpeach​ Hexproof for player is a rare sight, usually preserved for white and green, but there’s also Leyline of Sanctity and Witchbane Orb and this changes things to the point I would even tell this card is overcosted. Cost aside, I really like Seal into Darkness!

@snugz​ I would really love blue getting a combat ability that’s not straight evasion, but going full throttle to lure all creatures is a bit much, given that existing cards are usually uncommon. It could be like old fashioned provoke ( forcing a one on one fight) or even a numbered mechanic, like lure 1 or 3 etc, forcing 1 or 3 creatures to block.

@hypexion​ ​  Lapse of Certainty is definitely  a card, but there’s a reason why it was not repeated. Here, Mean’s to Delay, like Unexpectedly Absent, is an X spell where usually the correct way to ply it is for X=0, turning it into a slightly better counterspell. Not against counterspells in white, but be cautious.

@deg99 With this Angrath design, deg wanted to build more on the Rakdos color combination, through caring about stolen creatures and you know accidentally sacrificing them before returning them to their rightful owners. The power level is quite high, but it’s so enticing that I would gladly playtest this card to enjoy the crazy ride!

@hiygamer​ Sooner or later, we will see this card printed, I’m sure! When that time comes, I hope it costs a little less, and also that it has an equally inspiring flavor text! Really nice design!

@thedirtside Our friendly snailbear wanted magic to be a little more weird, and what’s weirder than a procrastinating Eldrazi, looming over the battlefield, doing it’s own things. Given, its practically impossible to interact with it and this takes away a lot of points per say, but I love suspend and bizarre triggers that feel like a disturbance in the Force. But we must cling to simpler things to make it happen.

@stormtide-leviathan​ The proposal of this design is sponsored by “Horse United” inc and pushes WOTC to pass an errata to merge all Pegasi, Unicorn and Horses into one race XD On the actual design, Swifting Steed is a real treat for limited!

@teaxch​ here tacling on the big issues of mtg, the shared keyword for blue and black! Feint is surely flavorful and it would make combats really interesting, but the main requirement for a shared keyword is to be able to mix with the other established keywords of the color pair. Blue and black have a lot of evasive abilities so an ability that matters when you’re blocked might not get the green light. That said, I definitely want to see this ability here and there in sets. A little guile spices things up! Also, neat flavor text XD!

@dimestoretajic​ With a quick read I was quite thrilled, but then I realized that you had collective care about itself. That leads into being a bit clunky, and also it goes from 0 to 100 in 1 sec because it’s either you have not 3 collective so no draw for you, or you got 3 , which means 3 triggers and thus 3 cards!! With a small tweak, this brave insect could be holding the fair’s coveted trophy!

@corporalotherbear

​ It’s true that there are some dryads that care about multicolored shenanigans, and I really like Manatwist Dryad playing into this space and establishing this trend. Because if green can’t care about multicolors, who can?

@fractured-infinity​ Edit: I forgot the commentary for this entry last night. My sincere apologies! A new card type is always an exciting gift for our inbox! Strongholds can die from damage like planeswalker do. They make sense in white and I could see them secondary in blue as large structures are products of community and science.

Watcher’s tower has two passive abilities, the vigilance granting requires 0 effort, while the buff requires you to “man” the stronghold with the garrison activated ability. I wish phasing was still relevant so the creatures would phase out instead of exiling themselves, because things can quickly get out of hand with blink shenanigans.

The +2/+2 buff might be a bit much because it isn’t that hard to get it online on turn 3. But all in all, Watcher’s Tower is very interesting and I hope Wizards will explore this space in the future.

@partlycloudy-partlyfuckoff Sometimes you see a mechanic and it’s not in the color it deserves to be. Mentor in Green seems like a perfect fit, and the non human clause gives this Leonin a greater sense of camaraderie. All in all a good design and future proposal.

@gollumni​ I saw this card in a very positive light with the first read. I like investigate after all, and I had good memories of it pulling its weight in Shadows over Innistrad, giving White a taste of the forbidden fruit that is card draw. But with the second read, I feel the card is too efficient, taping two creatures and two lands for an instant speed draw is quite good, and adding the overrun option felt a bit too much. But other than power level concerns, I really dig this design.

@corillion​ This might seem like an everyday card without context, but the change suggested involves first strike and double strike being relevant in fights. I’m all for it, but I got a feeling that the closer we will get to this is like a first strike lord that allows only first strikers deal damage in fights.

@kytheon4-4 said let there be hatebears, but we got hatebirbs instead XD but instead of harassing your opponent, this feathered boi plainly protects your side of the board so you get to play uninterrupted, but only on your turn. Fair and square.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ Ending the same way we started, with planeswalker support, this time in Red, as it is proposed to be the secondary planeswalker matters color. I can get behind this idea, as red has a sense of wanderlust thematically, and in terms of game, it cares about noncreature spells so planeswalkers are game too. On the card itself, the etb trigger is quite nice, even dealing two damage is fine. About the alternative loyalty ability, a mere ping is something that you would encounter on a weaker planeswalker, so it could at least be a + 2 loyalty ability, to ensure the survival of your planeswalker, as red isn’t really good at defending.

[encrucijada]

DAY 12: have you ever abandoned a wip? what do you think of it now?

i have abandoned many wips but here’s a sensible 3. putting it under the cut because this got a little long.

while i have revamped HIDEOUT into “fantasybane” the story and characters are so different that i consider the original version discontinued. the story was about eight kids who could control the elements: diana who had powers related to the mind (not an element but okay if 14yo me had been more clever i would have said her element was aether), gideon who controlled water, summer who controlled fire, james & luke who controlled lightning, victoria who controlled nature, laura aka leo who controlled ice, and lilly who controlled wind. the plot was about them being stuck in an artificial forest, put there by diana’s dad, away from society so they couldn’t harm anyone. and they could also all shift into animals: diana was a snake, gideon a dog, summer a fox, the twins raccoons, victoria a dove, leo a badger, and liilly a mouse. they had their own little underground base and were colour-coordinated, all they did was train and hunt all day. intrigue kicks in when they are faced with wolves, which aren’t supposed to be in the forest. but at some point i just made it about the love triangle between summer, james and a girl named monica who was the nightmare elemental (idk) and could turn into a black cat. the big twist was gonna be that across the cliff that supposedly marked the end of the forest was diana’s sister evanna, the darkness elemental who could turn into a condor, and she had gone crazy or something. the finale included the forest being covered in snow and killing evanna i guess.

overall: it was trash but it was my emotional support trash and i really loved to read it out loud to my high school best friend when i went to her house. we also larp-ed with my characters and her characters who could also control the elements so i have warm and fuzzy memories.

next to “hideout”, THE KIARA MARK was my other big project. most of its development came from a rpg i had with two internet buddies at the time. the idea came to me in a dream: a lot of fire imagery and a rebel gang of some sorts. the world of the kiara mark was a sort of post-apocalypse where the rules people abided to were that of the wild: predator eats prey. there were two groups: the hunters and the kiaras. my main character was valkrey, a 13yo who was by herself after her older brother died. she joins the kiaras, obviously. our main cast was composed of: valkrey who was little more than a meek little girl, ella aka fallout who was the mary sue oc of one of the girls i rped with she specialised in bombs, emily who was also just a little girl but was 10yo, abigail the rebel leader, felix abigail’s cousin and fallout’s love interest, jasper who was valkrey’s love interest, and lola who was just there to be Loud. i don’t actually remember much of the plot??? i later changed it so they could shapeshift into animals to add more spice. but really the beginning is all i remember clearly. no wonder i only even wrote one and a quarter chapters.

now i am working on revamping it but the details are a little fuzzy. the title is changed to “butterflybane” but i’m thinking of choosing another because i don’t think it’s going to companion fantasybane anymore. all the names of the characters are changed, or most of them, and now it’s less diet-hunger games and more science fantasy.

i honestly have no idea where this idea came from. POISONED PARADISE was fantasy mixed with post-apocalyptic, a far future where people are hunting creatures of legend to experiment on them. i do remember i kinda figured the plot out while spacing out in church but if you put a gun to my head rn i wouldn’t be able to tell you how i decided the story was gonna end. the intrigue was in this midas touch-like sickness that appeared in the werewolf packs that turned people into precious jewels. there was a council of dragons that basically ruled over the creatures. the beta of one of the wolf packs got captured and was being held in an experimentation facility where they were also experimenting on humans and gave them superpowers?? bottom line is i overcomplicated everything and it was so convoluted i don’t think anyone, even me, knew what the hell was even happening in the story. i got to like chapter 5 and stopped writing, and this is the only story in this list i don’t plan on revamping in any way.