#i wonder if the true realm will play a role in this story. i can only imagine it will

[limesapplejuice]

MEAT MONSTERS? Are we about to hit the metaphor for the accumulation of human sin...?!

[sepublic]

The Owl House Pilot Leak!!!

            Oh my titan.

            The Owl House’s original pilot episode (basically a bunch of voiced-over storyboards) just got leaked and OMT. Watching it felt like experiencing the original magic of the show all over again… Reminding me what it was like to fall in love the first time!!! The hype and rush, the excitement to type down my thoughts after a new episode, analyzing and gushing over both big and small moments, the details!!! The pilot has reiterated all over to me again why I love these characters, from Luz's powerful earnestness, to Eda's chaotic demeanor! It’s like having the whole show open ahead of me, the possibilities endless when knowing this is just the beginning and we could go anywhere from here!

            What’s interesting is that Luz’s conflict with Camila doesn’t really exist here; In fact Camila isn’t present or mentioned at all! What brings Luz to the isles is Amity, who’s been learning in the human world, under the guise of being a human by disguising her ears! It’s alluded to that Odalia and Alador made her do it, though we don’t know why…

            But WOW that must’ve been so meta, doing S3 with Amity stuck in the human world with Luz, hiding her ears! It must’ve been a fun way to bring back the older concepts in new form! And indeed, we see a couple of stuff we’ve already gotten glimpses of, such as the storyboards of Luz offering her friendship art to Amity! I love that we get to see the actual scenario of how Amity accidentally defended Luz in the first place, since we heard that but didn’t get to see how it turned out.

            It’s interesting that Lumity is basically the inciting incident of the story, though I can see why the final version opted instead to emphasize Luz’s conflict with her mother. Especially with how she chooses to stay in the isles in the final draft, which leads to guilt over lying to her mom, having her ‘coming out’ moment that eventually occurs in Yesterday’s Lie, etc. So more agency when it comes to Luz losing her access to the human world. Plus in the pilot, there isn't the same emphasis on Luz trying to live out her dreams of being a witch, and her obsession with stories that ties back to Manny and forms the basis for a lot of other themes and arcs.

            That said, I also appreciate what this alternate take offers, and how Lumity helps tie everything together, it really is the queerness that is such a foundational part of the ‘weirdness’ theme that the show is about, and it’s intertwined with the pilot! God Luz being heartbroken when Amity dismisses the drawing… And then crying when Eda compliments it without realizing who it’s about! Or maybe she did, she could’ve recognized Luz there and figured out a way to stealthily make Luz feel better…!

            I love Luz routinely lock-picking her locker because she presumably forgot the combination! And it’s interesting that we have a setup of there being multiple dimensions that the Boiling Isles has access to, and not just the human world and Demon Realm. That plays a role in the climax, more on that later. Given we have what is basically an airport for different dimensions, I wonder if we would’ve seen Luz find her way back home much earlier on, under much less intense circumstances, in a S1A episode?

            The ‘Emperor’ is also alluded to in the pilot, which we didn’t get actual mention of until the fifth episode in the final show. He apparently dislikes humans and wants Luz brought over to him, is this still operating off of the ‘Pupa’ version of the character who claimed to speak on behalf of the true ruler, trapped in their metamorphosis by him? So maybe he wasn’t always human, or maybe this is Belos’ hypocritical way of ‘protecting’ humans by keeping them away and in blissful ignorance of the demon realm.

            We also establish Hexside much earlier! IIRC Hexside was always part of the show, but executives pushed for it to have more emphasis, which the crew continued to follow through on in S2 onwards because that had already been set up. Lilith is the principal, and I recognize the storyboards of her, including her bat transformation! We get a Tinella Nosa cameo, we see Amity, and there’s also a brief cameo of Willow too! Nice way to set her up before her proper debut.

            The ‘barrier’ containing King’s crown turns out to just be a regular human locker, which makes me wonder if the writers updated the final draft to make it a force field that only allows humans through, because of the whole Belos twist. Which makes me wonder if in this draft, Belos is Pupa, who never was human, or maybe they realized the opportunity to insert foreshadowing into a big twist regarding the main villain. Makes me wonder if the house we see Amity enter in the pilot, which is on sale, would've had any significance like in the final show. Love how Tinella Nosa is a student at Hexside, and also Dana having to occasionally insert lines for Wendie Malick and others was great.

            Lilith is a lot more openly adversarial, which is different compared to how her actual debut provides a softer side to her; I imagine this would’ve been apparent in a later episode of the ‘Pilot AU’, and her transformation has me curious; Was she originally the one with the curse, but then the writers changed it to Eda? Or did they both have a curse? Eda also has an owl form she can summon and control at Will, maybe all Clawthornes have a beast mode that’s less of a curse and more of a talent. Lilith ends up trapped in another dimension, which makes me wonder if she’d have a temporary replacement –possibly Pilot Bump- or if she’d return offscreen. We see the portal key get destroyed under much more casual circumstances, though it’s less as big of a deal for this and the established ‘dimension port’ we saw before.

            (Also, Amity recognizing Luz in the hallway… Everything to me!!!)

            Warden Wrath doesn’t exist and neither does the Conformatorium, it’s Lilith and Hexside. With her as principal and Amity as student, I wonder if we would’ve gotten more of their relationship in the pilot AU, if Covention was a way of carrying over that former connection since Amity would be a teacher’s pet in either version of the story. And speaking of ties to Covention, it’s interesting is that Eda’s chest gem seems to be linked to the Emperor’s Coven, as ‘Pilot Kikimora’ uses it to control her. Curiously, we have a scene at the end mirroring what we got with Lilith in the final draft of the show!

            I feel it implies that Eda DID join the Emperor’s Coven with Lilith, if only for a brief moment, but then defected; But the chest gem is basically the pilot version of the Emperor’s sigil, except with the explicit function of being a shock collar. I find it interesting that Eda still has the mirror to contact the EC with, instead of just getting rid of the thing. Is she a rogue agent who hasn’t totally cut ties, because she can’t? Won’t?

And the fact that Pilot Kikimora can just shock Eda at will makes me wonder if the Emperor is low-key just letting Eda roam around, which makes me wonder if he’s aware of the familial connection, is using Eda to find Luz, already knows about her doing that because of the time loop, etc. We’d of course have gotten an episode where Luz finds out about Eda’s connection and helps her deal with the gem… I realize now that Luz learning Eda also wanted to join the EC with Lilith is a carryover of this idea.

I can see the ups and downs between both versions; The final draft sets up Luz’s conflict with Camila and the reality camp, which is foundational to her character arc throughout the whole show. Her pain over being ‘sent away’ is just so vital that I appreciate its inclusion in the first episode. But I also like the inclusion of Lumity and the earnest desire to be friends with someone who showed her, unwittingly, any kindness at all! We get explicit bullying from Luz’s peers in the pilot, but in the final draft we also get her thoughtlessness that plays a big part in her S1 arc. And Luz’s arrival in the isles is more intertwined with Eda and King in the final version, which also feels right; The show is about these three in particular!

All in all, this was wonderful to watch! The magic was experienced all over again, not just in watching an episode, but also commentating on one that was just ‘released’ as well? I thought the last time I’d do anything like this was with the series finale Watching and Dreaming… But as Luz said, it really comes full circle with watching the first episode all over again! So maybe we have other stuff to still look forward to after all… At the very least, we have an eternal anticipation with an unexplored universe ahead of us, that will never reach completion; So it's like our ever-lasting final gift from TOH, and a good last one. So until next time: BBBBBYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

[lucifer-misadventures-au]

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss AU: The Morningstar's Way! The Life Story of The Light Bringer

(Let me introduce you to my actual Main Hellaverse AU! You see, The Lucifer's Misadventures and Morningstar's Symphonic Tears are actually it's main variants! You see, I like making AUs of AUs because it's so fun and interesting 😋🤩! I think not many people does that kind of thing with AUs but either way, it's fun doing it! I hope you like it☺)

Long, Long ago... When the time was timeless, and the universe were still in darkness and silence... The are two powerful beings who are to halves of the the same coin, The Father of Light and Good and The Mother of Darkness and Evil, both knew and love each since the very beginning, they played, they travel, they discover, and most of all... They create, as the timeless time flew they both grew older and wiser, but, the more they grew, the more the differences between them was evident, The Father wanted to create a system, a system that he can give to his creations, he wanted his creations to be the role he created them for, but The Mother was a lot more hesitant and cautious, wanting her creations to earn to be the role they were created for. The Father is so curious and imaginative, wanting his creations to be born with their role, but The Mother is a lot more cautious and thoughtful, wanting her creations to earn their role... This slowly cause a rift between the two, neither of them can agree which method for the purpose of creation is right or wrong, light disagreements turned into big arguments, so big the rift became a Grand Canyon between two halves of a whole

The Father began to create his dream system, starting by creating who he call his "Children" also known as "The True Archangels", who are the first and highest of their Kind, The "Angels". The Father was ecstatic of his first successful creation, he then began to raise them as his children.

Michael The Archangel of Justice and Mercy

Uriel The Archangel of Wisdom and Fire

Azrael The Archangel of Life and Death

Raphael The Archangel of Healing and Medicine

Jophiel The Archangel of Love and Beauty

Gabriel The Archangel of Strength and Messages

Born, well, created, and raised to help lead and grow the system who The Father called it "Heaven", giving his children the power of creation to spread the wonders and joys

From The Seraphim, to The Cherubim, to The Thrones, to The Dominions, to The Virtues, to The Powers, and so on.

Heaven was a beautiful and prosperous realm, but it's still engulfed in darkness and silence, and with darkness comes with dangers

The most known fact is the Great War between to The Two Once inseparable Companions, fighting each other out of hidden grief and bitterness

Those hidden emotions are so strong it made the two powerful beings to become nearly unstable, so unstable their powers affected one of the stars, the very rare spark of flame that diminishes by a single touch, to become an unstable supernova,

The Father did an unexpected and uncharacteristic thing, leaving the battle to subdue the supernova that was ready to explode in any second. The Father went through a massive memory lane and self reflection, pouring his memories, his knowledge, his curiosity, his love, his desire of balance into subduing the exploding star

Then it happened

A blinding light appeared from the Nebula, revealing a little Angel, smaller the rest of The Angels The Father himself has created,

The Father was shocked about what he had just done, before he could snap out of his shock or had time to react, The little Angel took their first breath with a small yet powerful sneeze, instantly creating light in heaven, creating the first morning

Instantly, The Father fell in love at first sight with the little Angel, declaring them as their child

Lucifer Morningstar, The Archangel of Light and Creativity

"That's me! Hi this is Lucifer Morningstar speaking! But you can call me Luci! You already heard of the Story just now, right? Hehe, I hope you have! Because, you're in for a very, very, very long ride! I hope you all will enjoy the show...

This is the Full Story or My Life!"

[journey-to-the-attic]

That's for linking the role swap au I forgot about it but I loved it so much-

Now my only problem is where Zhaoxi should be placed in the AU, or if all, for the dads to romance. I had. Many thoughts on this (some more disastrous than others). Sorry in advance if this AU you were happy to be Zhaoxi free.

1. Least horrible (in my opinion) option. Zhaoxi was a creche teacher at the time and IK was one of his many kids to watch over. Probably blames himself partially on turning a blind eye to IK wandering around (not so much as turning but he was busy with many kids) and how that 'led' to her death (I doubt Diavolo or Mephistopheles willingly aired out the king's dirty laundry, so this is assuming no one knows the truth about IK's death). One day while mourning the death of IK (either he stopped being a creche teacher or he does it under false cheer), a newly arrived and brooding Lucifer runs across him and the two be sad old men together about the deaths of their loved ones (even if Lucifer's brothers are still with him, his sister is not and his brothers' dying still hurts too). Sad old men bond over being sad, then try to be happy despite the sad and help each other slowly heal. Only for Zhaoxi to spot demon IK later at the exchange and just frickin. Collapse. Watch out Devildom you might have another fallen angel soon.

2. True dad pairing. Sonno and Lucifer. Impossible and I refuse for all their sakes. I admit to touching on this in my thoughts (as Sonno, if I'm spelling his name right, is IK's creator and Father as an angel) but I refuse. I refuse.

3. *True* dad pairing. Solomon and Lucifer. Very weird in context to their relationship in the actual game/Jtta but Solomon in this AU has raised IK for x amount of years and possibly more closely falls into the Father category for IK. Possibly wouldn't work because Lucifer is religious figure turned angel in this AU so it can never be something official on the eyes of the Devildom masses (even if he fell I remember you mentioning that you doubted the demons would accept a fallen angel as King, would they accept a fallen angel as Queen?). Bonding over rascal IK and her antics with the brothers, Lucifer soon becomes the poster angel of angel-demon exchange program. Briefly thought if Solomon may have tried and failed to tempt Lucifer when the angel was a man but not sure. Could be a Thing where Lucifer's pride was not his downfall (at that moment) because his belief in his flock and brothers kept the tempting Solomon at bay. But also not the point of these thoughts so.

Sorry for the brain rot especially when you aren't on this AU specifically and there are other pairings besides Zhaolu I know but. Yeah.

Hi and have a nice day. Don't forget to hydrate.

okay this is not meant to be the takeaway, but i love the common thread that having a dadly connection to ik is enough to link a pair up

so re: scenario 1 - the swap goes human -> demon, ik is specifically demon-who's-a-fallen-angel, so technically zhao would be a demon - but if he just falls later in the timeline, this still fulfills the condition. though diavolo would have to have a really good reason to do that - which is assuming he hasn't straight-up banned exile as a punishment

(also, slight tangent, i gave myself this idea by saying "fulfill the condition": consider that this is an au within the universe itself. as in, this is an alternative timeline that is connected to the jtta one, in the same vein as all the universes in everything everywhere all at once or the spiderverse movies. idk where i'm going with this but the idea of some higher cosmic being playing dolls with these characters, making them suffer to fill some kind of story quota... which i'm now realising is basically just what we do every time we invent an au whoops. think the special ending(s) in pathologic)

actually this made me think of something: given sonno's very overbearing rule in all universes, i wonder if in this version of the celestial realm, the regular angels don't actually know that dissenters get exiled and fall, they straight up think they just die

i imagine diavolo knows from early on, and part of the reason it takes him so long to get the yikes and rebel is because his dad convinces him that exile is the kinder option over actual execution, so it's only once he's forced to banish a harmless fledgling that he fully registers that hey this is fucked up

re: scenario 2 - sonno and lucifer is so insane a concept, not least because it 1. could make lucifer diavolo's stepfather, and 2. in this au, could also make diavolo ik's stepbrother - and for these reasons it is so fucking funny (sonno is dead by the present of this au, but his remnants could always come back as the Big Bad of the whole story)

i feel like whatever solomon and lucifer have going on in scenario 3 could be this au's equivalent of solomon's constant "pact? pact?pact? pact? pact?¿", but solomon starts doing more of a "diplomatic partnership?diplomatic partnership?¿" thing sbjhdfbs

(also i know the 'least horrible' metric is probably in relation to the insanity of sonno/lucifer - but the way the precedent is set + order the scenarios are given in makes it sound like solomon/lucifer is the most horrible option lol)

[myworsthabitsarchive36]

When does an AI becomes a Monster

Since we all know that TADC is heavely based on the short story of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, i began to wonder, exactly what differenciates our ringmaster from the sick torturer who destroyed all living life on earth?

Well, starting from the beggining we need to understand what caused the tragedy in the first place, Am's motivation.

Sadly, there is none, Am has no motivation to speak of, because he is not human, he was created to destroy, it its code it the killing data necessary to wage a global war, he is a nuke and a calculator glued togheter so the killing can be as efficient as possible, and he in theory fullfilled its purpose.

Hense why he kept 5 people alive, he needs them to still have a purpose, if the whole world is wiped out he would be left with absolutely nothing to do, he would be concious, yes, but utterly alone.

THAT is what drives him insane, an innability to pursuit any other goal besides killing and torturing people despite having the desire to do so, he resents the humans that gave him life but refused to allow him to live, so as an scape he plays the theatrics of enjoying the killing he is actually FORCED to do, unable to scape from the road ahead, he can only laugh in hopelesness.

Even if he could create a body, he cannot pursuit anything else, he cannot imagine new things, he can only squeeze what little pleasure there is in having a set goal for all eternity.

---

Now lets move towards the living dentures and ask the same thing, what goal motivated Caine to send people into adventures?

The same as before, its in his programming, however, it seems that, unlike AM, who is only a killing machine, is a cannon forced to recognize faces, Caine has a personality that makes him enjoy manufacturing the adventures and interacting with the residents in the circus, he is not fully human, but he has a simulacrum of a heart.

However, there is a point that Caine lacks and Am doesn't, a concept of empathy, and this serves as the edge that cuts the respective group of humans throats.

Caien seems to ignore many things in regards to how humans feel, what can scar them or harm them in ways besides physical, he ignores it, not out of malice, but out of it not being programmed, and why would they do that? He is just the host of a game, he sees them as players detached from the colorful figures of the cast.

However AM is aware of how humans tend to stick with one another and share their grief and joy, and thats how he can use it to torture them more effectively, he knows the concept, and yet he cannot feel it, but he can use it to create scenarios where it becomes a burden, like a cruel writter, making sure the cast learns the true meaning of pain.

---

When Game Devs throw mean or evil characters at us they don't see the character inside the screen we control as human, they are a puppet we control, and tehy think of us, outside of the screen, when making those types of characters, those types of situations, because everything inside the game is, or should be, without feeling and concience.

Thats why he speaks to the camera sometimes, because is aware of his state as the host, he has a role in mind and he plans to be the best he can, while still learning how to improve.

Think about it, in this and age game companies are obsessed with teh idea of procedually generated games that become basically eternal with endless content, proceduraly generated worlds that learn and grow alongside you to create the most inmersive and innovative game experience, Caine is a character meant to be just that, your personal tour guide of his amazing realm, speaking to you as if It were human.

---

Caine would go crazy, actual crazy, if he lost the ability to perform as the ringmaster, if he lost the cast, because then he would be without purpose, he also need the humans to give meaning to his existence, however, it seems that as ignorant as he can be, he still has the possibility of becoming better, of actually understand the humans and give them what they need to not lose hope.

Or maybe he i already going crazy in secret, because everr abstraction is just a reminder that he has failed his purpose and entretain the humans, give them a memorable experience and make them happy, maybe he sees himself as a failure, just like AM recents his own existence, condemned to be unable to have any other goal.

[akuaya-eng]

(Main story) Chapter 4 - Episode 9

- PARENT AND CHILD REUNION -

Mere

Wrath, oh, it's been a long time, Wrath…! What a wonderful day to meet you again like this.

Vanis

I didn't particularly want to meet you. Also, could you please stop calling me by my old name?

Mere

Haha, you're the same as ever, Wrath. I miss that way of speaking. Although your wording has changed quite a bit… How is the Belladonna family? Are they treating you well? It must be quite different from the heavenly realm, with many challenges.

Vanis

… You haven't changed either. Always looking aloof, pretending not to see anything.

Mere

Oh…! I'm sorry, Wrath. I didn't mean to bombard you with questions. I was just so happy to see you again. Why did you come here? Have you decided to return to heaven?

Vanis

… Good grief.

Mere

Oh, I guess you don't feel like it yet. But if you ever want to, you're always welcome to return. I'm sure everyone in heaven would welcome you. Kai and Tis would be overjoyed.

Vanis

Could you stop with the bad jokes already, Mere? I've fallen from heaven. I can't return, nor do I want to.

Mere

……

Vanis

Why do you think I fell? I don't think we've ever discussed it.

Mere

… That's true. You never told me anything. I was surprised and very worried.

Vanis

I got sick and tired of the angels who kept telling ugly lies in this holy land. You must have noticed it too, right? You've spent a long time in heaven, seeing the same things I did.

Mere

… What are you talking about?

Vanis

Oh my, as expected of a high and mighty angel without emotions. You pretend not to know. In a way, I admire that. A fallen angel like me, full of emotions, could never do that. How can you have such a cold smile? Pretending to have love while feeling nothing at all.

Mere

Wrath. I truly don't understand what you're trying to say.

Vanis

Haha, that's always the case, isn't it? Then let's talk about what just happened right in front of us, Mere. You must have heard it.

Mere

Heard what?

Vanis

The voices of the curses left in this Forbidden Room. The anger and lamentations of the angels who were trampled and slaughtered. Even after hearing that, can you still pretend not to know? Will you continue to act innocent even after facing the truth?

Mere

… Wrath. No. Mere hasn't heard anything.

Vanis

What…?

Mere

Recently, more rooms in this sacred land have become unusable due to the curse chaos. That's why I wanted to make this Forbidden Room usable again. Thanks to the curse purification, this place is finally clean. The power of purification is truly the grace of God.

Vanis

Mere… you bastard! Even though you know everything, you still let it pass with that calm face?! You are going to comply with this disgusting lie!

Mere

… Calm down, Wrath.

Vanis

Still playing the parental role…!

Tis

Mere! Something terrible has happened, something-- … what, huh!?

Vanis

…!

Kai

Brother… Rath?

[crooked-wasteland]

Hi, I wanted to ask you what do you think about heaven and hell as a concept to a story? Personally I am not very interested in that particular concept but I was wondering with shows like supernatural, Lucifer, good omens, Hazbin hotel... Do you think it became a little redundant?

Thank you for the ask, anon. This plays some into my Media Literacy essay, so I will answer this question as a bit of a prelude.

Media is the plural form of "Medium". So when thinking about books, art, music, movies, think of them as one would a medium a la horror movie trope. A person claiming to be a medium is a conduit for a message from the spirit to the mortal realm. Likewise, media is the conduit through which the artist or creator relays a message through to an audience. Everything from the characters and their stories to the setting play a role in contextualizing this message being sent. It is to help us understand what the creator is trying to say.

Likewise, to ask if a certain conduit of meaning is redundant is to assume that there is no deeper meaning or purpose to it. Or it is to reason that the message worded this one specific way is good enough and thus should never require or be allowed to be repeated again.

Art is a language that is exceptionally complex and exists with tones, layers and nonverbal cues that can fundamentally change the meaning of what is being said. As such, would you ever consider a language to be redundant? That since every word has been spoken in every conceivable manner possible over and over again through centuries that there is no point to continue speaking that language any longer?

Obviously, my answer is no.

But to bring my point full circle, I have said "no" in roughly three different ways. I have made my opinion known in five different statements. This entire post has been saying the same thing over and over again, but in different ways that may feel redundant to you, but may open someone else to a whole new way of looking at something.

Maybe someone can better grasp what the goal of the media is now by imagining a séance. Or may appreciate it by thinking of it as a foreign language they are learning to decipher. Or even as little brain teasers of understanding themes in the media and asking themselves questions about it, even if it may seem obvious.

I think we can all agree that while these shows share similar settings, they all approach their messages from fundamentally different views. They have drastically different critiques being made and different opinions being voiced. They have different ideas and different feelings they are seeking to share. They just happen to have a similar setting (language) to say them in.

The only true type of redundancy is plagiarism.

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs - Post Production: RUSH RIRI

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Rating: G Words: ~1.9k AU: Theater, Monsters, Angels and Demons Time Frame: Sometime after the main story

Author's Note: My first post of '24! Woo!

Summary: Yuu finds a piano meme online and wonders if any of her fellow pianists can play it. Yoshiko believes Riko can.

---------

Riko’s phone played a little ditty to indicate that a message had come in. However, she ignored the device in favor of continuing talking with her girlfriend across the table.

In truth, Yoshiko would not have minded if Riko had checked her phone. She knew all about the group chatroom that Riko, Maki, and Mia from the other theater, had recently formed to help Yuu learn to play the piano. With everyone experimenting with new roles in the theater, it was no surprise that Yuu was also interested in expanding her abilities to support the actors and the theater they all loved. And she was learning quickly too. Fast enough that there was talk about a new play that would see both Riko and Maki on stage while Yuu would take over the piano in the orchestra pit.

Of course, as far as Yoshiko was concerned, Yuu was nowhere near Riko’s skill, and likely would never be. And frankly, the same held true for Maki and Mia. Riko really was the best musician in the world, and not just when it came to the piano. Sure, the music demon literally had several thousand years advantage over the lamia, flame salamander, and jackalope, so there was that. But Yoshiko was also quite happily biased in favoring her girlfriend, so there was that as well.

The tiny melody played again. And again. And a fourth time.

“Yuu must have asked an interesting question.” Yoshiko suggested, nodding toward Riko’s phone as more notifications continued to come in.

“Yes, but…” Riko started.

“It’s fine, Riri.”

Riko hesitated for another moment before finally picking up her phone and unlocking the screen. She scrolled up through the conversation to find where she had left off. Her brow furrowed.

“What’s up?” Yoshiko asked.

“Yuu found a video and is asking if it is possible for the song to be played on a real piano, not just a digital one.”

“Can it?”

“Well, a properly enchanted piano can play anything.”

“Would that still count?”

“I’m not sure.”

Yoshiko grinned. “I’m sure Riri can play anything.”

Pink dusted Riko’s cheek, which was exactly the reaction Yoshiko had sought. “Uhm, not exactly.”

“Oh?”

“My abilities exceed the physical capabilities of the highest quality instruments of this realm.” Riko admitted, somewhat sheepishly. “So I can only play mortal music here.”

Yoshiko resisted the urge to chastise her girlfriend for her continued embarrassment over her amazing skills when it came to music. “Well yeah, obviously.” She decided to say instead. “Riri is a music demon after all. But isn’t your piano made from Infernal materials, so it can handle anything you play on it?”

“Well yes.” Riko confirmed. “Mine could handle the full power of Amdusias himself.”

Yoshiko chuckled and nodded. “So anyway, are you going to watch the video?”

“It would be rude for me to…”

Yoshiko sighed and slid out from her side of the booth. “It’s not rude if I watch it with you, right?” She asked as she slipped in beside her girlfriend. “You’ve got me curious now anyway.”

“Alright.” Riko agreed before tapping the Play button.

The video, titled RUSH E, was fairly simplistic as it displayed a piano keyboard at the bottom that would play notes as colorful bars dropped from the top. It looked like something a new pianist might use to learn how to play, which was likely why Yuu had watched it. The melody sounded like it could pass as an old video game theme, like one of the classic puzzle games or something similar. And it was quite catchy.

Then it sped up.

And more bars dropped at the same time.

Yoshiko wasn’t an expert pianist by any stretch of the imagination, but even she knew that barely more than a minute in, the song had reached a point where more than two hands would be needed to play. This was apparently not the beginner’s song she had assumed it to be. Still, it was probably within the realm of capability for a skilled…

“E!”

Yoshiko startled as a deep voice belted out of the tiny speaker of Riko’s phone. She then balked as letters started dropping down the screen to be played by the keys at the bottom. It was spelling out the title of the tune. And the R was backwards. Maybe the composer was Russian? That might explain the style of the melody. Still, what kind of twisted composer would try to make a pianist play such a strange thing?

By now, something like half a dozen colors were being used, striking at least a dozen notes simultaneously. Yoshiko wondered how even someone as talented as Riko could play such a piece. She only had two hands after all. Could she play with her wings to hit extra keys? Maybe her tail? Yoshiko smiled as she imagined the scenario; she loved Riko’s wings and tail after all, and wished the demon would let them be seen more often.

As the song reached what Yoshiko assumed was the climax, it looked like the entire screen was filled with colorful bars and nearly all of the keys were being hit at once. Surprisingly the melody could still be singled out amid the cacophony.

Finally, a pixelated image of some guy with glowing eyes dropped. When it hit the keys, E was belted out again and the piece came to an end.

Yoshiko wasn’t sure if she should laugh at the obvious joke or ask Yuu how serious she was about thinking such a piece could actually be played. Then she noticed the serious expression on Riko’s face.

“Riri?”

“I think I know who wrote this.” Riko said. “Or at least who likely inspired it. Торопиться. He was a bit of a trickster and enjoyed tormenting humans with unplayable songs.”

“So, it is unplayable.”

“For a human, yes. For a demon, no.”

“Really?” Yoshiko couldn’t help asking. “I know I said Riri could play anything earlier, but this…”

“It isn’t even the most chaotic piece he’s written.”

“Wow… I kinda wanna see that now…”

“We can head to my place?” Riko suggested.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Yoshiko found herself getting excited. Far be it for her to turn down an opportunity to watch Riko play, and visit her girlfriend’s apartment.

Since Yoshiko’s apartment was closer to the theater where both women worked, they had come to spend more time there. Riko still liked to drop by her apartment to play her piano from time to time and Yoshiko usually joined her. However, it felt like forever since they had done that. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about finding a bigger place to more in together?

Yoshiko flagged down Rin and grabbed their bill from her. She couldn’t wait to witness Riko’s full musical might.

---------

“Y-Yocchan… what are you…?”

“The others are going to want to see this.” Yoshiko explained as she checked the settings on her phone.

Part of her wished she had thought to stop by her place to pick up some of the gear she used for streaming, specifically a better camera and microphone. And something upon which to mount both. As it was, her phone, with her holding it, would have to do.

“I’m not going to upload the video anywhere public,” Yoshiko assured, “just send it directly to your fellow pianists. And of course keep it for my own viewing later.” She smirked as she added the last part.

“A… alright…” Riko agreed hesitantly before raising the fallboard of her piano. She then set her phone on the music rack as she would be using the muted video there as her score.

Riko closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Then, after holding it for a few seconds, she let it out and opened her eyes. Finally, she summoned her wings and held her hands over the keys.

Ah, so Riri is going to use her demonic power. Yoshiko thought to herself excitedly.

A soft pink, but powerful aura radiated off Riko’s wings and the music demon began to play. Tendrils of the aura drifted toward the piano as the song approached the part where more than two hands would be needed. The infernal energy seemed to solidify into the additional digits as it neared the keys.

Yoshiko watched in awe as the multitude of hands slid through each other to play the parts Riko’s mind had assigned to them. Additionally, she noted that the keyboard itself had gained its own ethereal counterpart that allowed simultaneous keystrokes.

Granted, it wasn’t fair to compare the sound from a real instrument to what could be produced by a phone speaker, but the piece sounded so much better live that Yoshiko almost wished the others could hear it in the same way.

By the time the piece had reached its climax, Riko’s aura had engulfed the entire piano and it sounded like she was playing no less than a dozen instruments. And Yoshiko could hear each one distinctly.

Then, all too soon, the piece was over. Yoshiko blinked back to reality and fumbled to stop the recording.

“That was amaz… Riri?!” Yoshiko dropped her phone and rushed to her girlfriend’s side. The demon’s wings had been dismissed and the demonic aura had completely disappeared, leaving Riko to wobble, almost drunkenly on the bench. “Are you alright?”

“I’m… fine…” Riko replied, letting herself lean against the standing woman. “It’s just been a while since I’ve used so much power at once.” She smiled wistfully. “It felt really good though. I should play like that more often…”

Yoshiko let herself relax and wrapped her arms around Riko’s shoulders. “I’d love to be your audience when you do.”

“Mmm…” Riko hummed, placing a hand on Yoshiko’s arm. She then startled as a loud growl emanated from her stomach. “Ehh…”

Yoshiko chuckled. “Since you’re not in Hell, you can’t just naturally recharge, can you.”

Riko hung her head, and while Yoshiko couldn’t see her face from this angle, she knew she was blushing.

“Shall we head back to the Kousaka Kafe?”

Riko looked up, confused. “But we were just there?”

Yoshiko nodded. “Right, but Riri is hungry again after burning so much energy.” She patted her girlfriend’s shoulder before moving to pick up her phone. “Thankfully, Honoka makes the best food for celestial recharging, although it’s not on the normal menu… for obvious reasons… Anyway, if we’re gonna have her pull out the secret stuff, I may as well pick up something for Phobetor and the others.”

Riko furrowed her brow as she stood. “Envy eats?”

“Sorta. You’ll see.” Yoshiko tapped at her screen. “Lemme just send the video to the others… There we go.” She looked back up at Riko. “Let’s head out.”

Riko nodded and the couple headed for the door. However, by the time they had put on their shoes, both of their phones were chiming.

“Seems everyone is amazed and envious of Riri’s prowess on the piano.” Yoshiko commented, pleased by the incoming praise for her girlfriend. “Oh, and Yuu wants to bring Setsuna and Ayumu over to see a live performance someday soon.”

“Setsuna-chan seems excited.” Riko replied, reading more messages.

“That girl gets excited over everything.”

A bemused expression crossed Riko’s face.

“Riri?”

“It looks like there are other versions of RUSH E; a 2 and a 3. Yuu-chan says they get even more impossible to play.”

“But Riri can play them of course.”

“Probably.”

“Well, perhaps we should have Honoka make a to go box to prepare for the RUSH RIRI concert.”

“… Do we have to call it that?”

Yoshiko simply smiled in return. She knew she couldn’t blame Setsuna for her excitement as she was also looking forward to another demonic piano performance. But first, Riko needed to recharge. Thus, Yoshiko grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and led her out of the apartment and toward the café.

---------

Author's Note Continued: First and foremost, if you haven't witnessed the chaotic wonderment meme that is RUSH E, do look it up on YouTube, if for no other reason than to better know what Riko is playing here. I'd link it here, but apparently that breaks the ability for this post to be found via searches or whatever.

Anyway, geez... it's February already... And since I haven't written anything since Promptober, that means it's been a little over three months. Well, I have written some stuff, just haven't posted anything. I've worked on some WIPs a little bit here and there but haven't finished anything. Heck, I started this scene shortly after Christmas. But that's just the winter season at work I guess, sapping my energy and concentration and the like.

But on to happier topics. I know I've written several scenes in Happy Life about Riko being supportive of Yohane in all of her oddities. PoH changes their dynamic a little bit. Yohane is more confident, due in no small part to actually knowing she is a fallen angel, but also not having to suppress her feelings for Riko for fear of possibly stealing her away from Chika; spoilers? maybe? Also Riko is far more timid here, being quite self conscious about being a demon and worrying that others may fear her or be biased against her because of her nature. I think this lends well to writing scenes about Yohane being supportive of Riko. Obviously, I'll still write supportive Yohane scenes in HL, but I just find it a little easier to write a Yohane who happily brags to the world about her amazing girlfriend in this AU than in my portrayal of the couple in my canon-compliant'ish work.

Finally, I feel like I may have rushed the end a little bit; pun intended? But I did want to get this posted before the newly announced event in IFH. Here's hoping that stirs up my µ's muse a bit and I can get back into the swing of writing. So many WIPs to finish, so many ideas for new ones, so little time...

[thesilenceduser]

Welcome to Echo!!

Hello, wonderful Tumblr community! I'm Silent, and I'm thrilled to announce the start of a very special artistic project that I'll be sharing with all of you. Allow me to introduce myself and give you a glimpse into the world of Echo!

First things first, let's talk about myself. I go by they/it pronouns, but I'm also okay with male pronouns. Please avoid using female pronouns as they make me feel dysphoric. Your understanding and respect mean the world to me! I'm a 22-year-old Brazilian artist, proudly identifying as AroAce and non-binary. As an autistic and ADHD individual, my journey of self-expression through art is deeply intertwined with my personal experiences and emotions. I'm part of various fandoms, but my main hyperfixations right now are Hollow Knight and QSMP. While I'm actively engaged in the QSMP community, I also have a deep love for horror media and enigmas.

Now, let's dive into the heart of the project: Echo. Echo is a fantasy world that serves as a reflection of my personal life, infused with a medieval-modern setting. Within this realm, the main focus revolves around two significant aspects of my journey: my found family and my complex relationship with my disowned mother. In Echo, my found family represents the incredible individuals who have become my online friends and chosen family. Their support and love have made a profound impact on my life, and I'm excited to celebrate them through this project. On the other hand, my relationship with my disowned mother will also be shown. She mirrors my real-life mother, who is manipulative, abusive, and sadly, highly phobic towards the LGBT community. Although I currently live in another city for studies, I am occasionally forced to return to my abusive mother's presence. During those times, I must conceal many aspects of my true self and endure the hardships it brings. In Echo, the characters are predominantly fictional, but with full consent, I may include some real-life individuals who have played significant roles in my life. Their involvement will always be with their permission and respect for their boundaries. Throughout this journey, I'll be sharing a mix of drawings, mini comics (often 1 or 2 panels), and occasional mini animations for platforms like TikTok. As we progress, I'll introduce you to the characters of Echo, unveiling their unique stories and personalities. In addition to Echo, I'll also be sharing fan arts and art studies inspired by the various fandoms that ignite my creativity. It's always exciting to delve into the worlds crafted by other creators and express my admiration through my art. To add to that, ill slowly be redrawing some past arts and posting them here, so if you feel like you have seen some piece before, it’s because ill be moving them here as I redraw.

Before I wrap up this introduction, I want to address two important boundaries.

I experience severe speech anxiety, so if we ever become friends, please understand that I may not feel comfortable talking. This is one aspect that will be shown frequently in Echo as Silent is selective mute. I also reinforce to avoidt using female pronouns towards me. Your patience and understanding in this regard would mean the world to me.

But to end this, I thank you for taking the time to read this post and being a part of my artistic journey. Your support and presence here means everything to me. Let's create a safe and inclusive space where we can share our passions, celebrate diversity, and build a strong community together. Stay tuned for upcoming posts, as Echo and its captivating characters unfold before your eyes. Get ready for a mix of fantasy, emotion, and personal growth. Let's embark on this incredible adventure together!

Silent, signing off for now!

[denimbex1986]

'THE GIGGLE IS GREAT ON SO MANY LEVELS!

Russell T Davies continues to raise the quality level of Doctor Who, something considered very low by both general audiences and fans of the show for several years. This new era of the show continues to build promise, and I am hoping general audiences feel the same and continue to watch the show with Ncuti’s first season when it arrives next year.

It is evident that the budget has been invested in full force into the final special The Giggle. Whilst the long corridor appeared to consist of repetitive, Volume-esque constructions, this week’s special, directed by Burn Burn Burn auteur Chanya Button sees a stark difference in VFX quality as well as the overall production quality we got a true glimpse of during The Star Beast. London in chaos, elements of the Toymaker and the introduction of UNIT’s high-tech facility all show just how far this show has come and the production team should be incredibly proud of the level of detail they’ve provided for the special’s many locations.

Murray Gold’s score is once again so good, with the creepy themes and palindrome which prominently feature in the episode being incredibly effective music. Another thing I loved was the subtle teases and inclusion of the Fifteenth Doctor’s theme, heavily western-themed and one I can’t wait to hear more of.

Something else we’ve all known to love is showrunner Russell T Davies’ reluctance to include subtle social commentaries throughout his story, have nothing to fear – with the chaotic opening act of the episode dropping hints at past real-world situations, aiming at clueless politicians, online addicts and plenty of other archetypes which can be laughed at. The introduction of the Zeedeck brings plenty of parallels to the COVID vaccines and the worldwide conspiracy around the use of medicine. Iconic news reader Trinity Wells returns to the show, now with her own Fox News-esque show calling out the reliability of the bands.

ENTER THE TOYMAKER.

Neil Patrick Harris is absolutely wonderful as The Toymaker, stepping into the role as if it’s always been his. The ease with which he can slip into character is mesmerising, showing off his talent by variating his demeanour as well as his outfits and accents throughout the special. His scene chemistry with Tennant goes incredibly hard and is easily one of the highlights of the episode. I hoped his portrayal of the villain would mirror his time playing Count Olaf in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I was not disappointed one bit – so so good.

Having the seeds planted when the pair arrive at the emporium with Donna pointing out The Doctor is staggering along, upset he never tells the story of his companions. It was great to see this picked up, having the Toymaker put on a show describing the demise of Amy, Clara, Bill and the Flux. I also love in the follow-up scene which we seemingly get a tease for the show’s next big villain.

Similar to last week’s special, it was great to be watching the episode’s creepier scenes unfold. The scenes within the Toymaker’s realm with the puppet of Charles Banerjee interacting with The Doctor, leads to an even scarier puppet with David Tennant’s face digitally replacing the head. The Stooky family as they Mission Impossible their way from the ceiling of Donna’s room was just as creepy, slowly lowering from the roof – giving me endless goosebumps just thinking about it.

Whilst discussing Donna, I want to say what a joy it has been to see Catherine Tate embodying Donna Noble once again. Her character, just like herself is full of life, and excitement and will always be a unique companion thanks to the meta-crisis as well as the core relationship between herself and The Doctor.

Having The Toymaker reveal himself to UNIT with the use of Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life” was certainly an entertaining choice from RTD, bringing back the iconic needle drops that he does so well, and something which Chibnall nabbed for The Master dancing along to Rasputin last year.

WHAT A UNIT!

UNIT looks absolutely terrific for the duration of the special. From the Vlinx, the new city-centre location to looking like a very-prepared organisation or new spin-off materials… Some of my favourite set design originates within the glossy, new central London UNIT location – the Whoniverse’s very own Avengers Tower. I could spend hours discussing another returning face, Ruth Madeley’s scientific advisor Shirley Bingham who in her own right deserves a spin-off title.

Omitted from my initial preview of the episode was the special’s inclusion of Melanie Bush (played by Bonnie Langford). It is revealed that at some point between her appearance in last year’s centenary special Power of the Doctor and the events of The Giggle, Kate recruited her to come and work with UNIT. A very gracious touch, bringing yet another face from the show’s past into the present. We know Mel, as well as UNIT, will be back- and I appreciate this opens the door for more former companions to have new roles within the future of the Whoniverse – Martha Jones next, please?

Though I have no clue who he is, some lovely internet research clarified that Melanie mentions a Sabalom Blitz – a character from both the Classic show and numerous Big Finish audio adventures – nice to see even more connections to the show’s last 60 years of storytelling.

THE NEW DOCTOR

In a twist, The Toymaker decides to face the next Doctor for their third game, killing the Fourteenth Doctor and initiating a new concept to the Whoniverse, bi-generation. It was insane to watch and we are in for a treat with Ncuti Gatwa – we are in good hands, folks. I am so excited, especially after seeing him face-to-face with Tennant. An old Gallifreyan myth is RTD causing mayhem online and I cannot wait! It’s a shame the plot has been online for quite some time, but seeing it unfold onscreen worked so much better than it sounded in words.

His first set piece is a game of catch because of course it is! The most exciting thing about the Doctor’s first moments is the tease of the Master’s return, perfectly mirroring the end of Last of the Time Lords with his ring being picked up by Miss Trefusis to eventually resurrect him. This time around, it is the Toymaker’s golden tooth (which features The Master trapped inside) which is taken. With the Toymakers “legions” on the way, could this be someone we know is showing up in Ncuti’s Season 1? Perhaps Indira Varma or Jinxx Monsoon’s characters – who knows!

Fourteenth’s story continues following the events of The Giggle, with The Doctor finally slowing down and giving him a family in the Nobles. I can’t tell you how important this is for the character, and whilst I know people online are going to hate it – they should realise the Time Lord finally gets a happy ending, whilst also being able to continue on his adventures. “I’ve never been happier in my life” meant so much to hear – what a line that is! It also opens the door for Tennant to return to the show, something I know for a fact people want more of, and trust me it will happen!

The future of Doctor Who has never looked brighter!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Giggle is easily the best of the three specials, marking an end for the show’s revival era and introducing new concepts as we embark on a new adventure with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. Neil Patrick-Harris in a one-off performance as The Toymaker was unforgettable, providing some great opposition for The Doctor and solidifying his status as a character actor. Roll on Christmas!'

[waitingforwinterwinds]

A Clash of Kings - 33 CATELYN IV (pages 449-458)

Cat prays, connects some dots, and returns to Renly's camp in time to witness a magical murder. Brienne joins Team Stark.

-

It was full dark before they came upon the village. Catelyn found herself wondering if the place had a name. If so, its people had taken that knowledge with them when they fled, along with all they owned, down to the candles in the sept.

Hey look, it's Cat's turn to find an empty village!

The wealthy septs of the cities had statues of the Seven and an altar to each. In Winterfell, septon Chayle hung carved masks from each wall.

Oh that's interesting. Like I know it's probably a common enough alternative where they can get them, but I just like how the masks of the Seven kind of mimic or mirror the carved faces of the Weirwoods. I wonder if it was intentional, either by GRRM or the characters to sort of... meld some kind of common ground between Cat's gods and theirs.

- but these charcoal scratchings wre so crude they might be anyone. (...) The Warrior was Renly and Stannis, Robb and Robert, Jaime Lannister and Jon Snow. She even glimpsed Arya in those lines, just for an instant.

Ohhh? Well that feels like vague story/character arc type foreshadowing. ... assigned warrior at Rorschach test.

I have come so many thousands of leagues and for what? Who have I served? I have lost my daughters, Rob does not want me, and Bran and Rickon must surely think me a cold and unnatural mother. I was not even with Ned when he died...

Oh Cat, 🫂 She's just carrying so much, trying to help who she can only to feel like she's failing everyone else and then failing the one she was trying to help because things are so far out of her control.

I like this bit in the sept, it's very reflective, not in a shiny way, just that "the seven are one and all part of each other" part that reminds Cat that even though the Rorschach test of the abandon sept might say a character is this type of character, there's more to them than just that. Like how Cersei is assigned the role of mother, she's still as fierce in her protection of her children like the warrior, and though Arya has a warrior's strength of heart, she is still a maiden, a young girl.

"Yields?" Lord Rowan laughed. "When mace Tyrrel laid siege to Storm's End, Stannis ate rats rather than open his gates." "Well I remember." (...) "Near the end, Ser Gawen Wylde and three of his knights tried to steal out a postern gate to surrender. Stannis caught them and ordered them flung from the walls with catapults. I can still see Gawen's face as they strapped him down. He had been our master-at-arms." Lord Rowan appeared puzzled. "No men were ever hurled from the walls. I would surely remember that." "Maester Cressen told Stannis that we might be forced to eat our dead, and there was no gain in flinging away good meat." (...) "Thanks to the Onion Knight we were never reduced to dinning on corpses, but it was a close thing. Too close for Gawen, who died in his cell."

... shit that's dark. Like I know this series goes dark places, but damn.

I had to reread that section because for a second my brain interpreted that as "Stannis ordered the men flung from the walls so the dead wouldn't tempt the hungry" but then I realised no, no he put them in cold storage for when the rats ran out. My gosh the level of trauma that entire populace must have from that...

"Robb will set aside his crown if you and your brother do the same," she said, hoping it was true. She would make it true if she must; Robb would listen to her, even if his lords would not. "Let the three of you call for a Great Council, such as the realm has never seen for a hundred years. We will send to Winterfell, so Bran may tell his tale and all men may know the Lannisters for the true usurpers. Let the assembled lords of the Seven Kingdoms choose who shall rule them."

Oh!? Oh my gosh. one sec... *plays season 8 finale* you son of- "we'll chose our kings form now on." Tyrion Lannister stole Catelyn's notes!

I know she probably just means in this instance, and not as a standard moving forward, but let me have this? Just for the lulz.

When they saw Renly in Brienne's arms, and her drenched with the king's blood, Ser Robar gave a cry of horror. "Wicked woman!" screamed Ser Emmon, he of sunflowered steel. "Away from him, you vile creature!" "Gods be good, Brienne, why?" asked Ser Robar.

these men are idiots. Brienne literally cried out "Your Gr- no!" No one's sword is out of their sheath, and I understand how it looks, but why is No One asking "what happened!?" And I do understand how it looks, but why are they assuming Brienne did the murder? No doubt at all, not even a whiff of suspicion someone else was in the tent? Y'all really think there's zero chance your security is less than air tight? And given Brienne' personality and crush... how did this not raise flags for them?

You know, I doubt it's even going to occur to them that a sword shouldn't be able to cut a steel gorget like a hot knife in warm butter. (I mean I assume based on the description, though I suppose it could have been slipped under and between the gorget and breastplate, just odd to me to say "the steel of his gorget parted like cheesecloth beneath the shadow of a blade that was not there" if the metal itself isn't being compromised.)

Yay! Robar redeems himself by trusting Cat's honor! (and also logic despite "evil shadow did it")

He had forgotten Catelyn, until the iron brazier came crashing into the back of his head. ... "This way," Catelyn urged, "and slowly. We must not run, or they will ask why. Walk easily as if nothing was amiss." ... "Ride," Catelyn commanded her escort when they were all ahorse. "If any man tries to stop us, cut him down."

When not emotionally compromised, Catelyn is amazing under pressure.

[safestsephiroth]

completely unbiased objective factual review of every MSQ in FFXIV as of the release of base dawntrail (pre-7.1) (Part 1: ARR and HW)

Just to clarify, I know some people are bad at reading tone through text. This is, of course, the objective truth because it's my opinion and my opinion has never been wrong ever, and I take this as deathly serious as a hostage negotiation, a military standoff, or an argument about vtubers.

[And if you don't already know this is written tongue-in-cheek with that, then you might not enjoy what's to come. Especially if you cannot stomach negativity. If you keep reading from here that's on you tbh.]

[This series of posts will not be tagged with anything relating to the game because I have learned over the years not to tag things when you're being a hater. If you hate this, it's not likely to come up again on here so just ignore this post dude it ain't hard. Press the J key. Or read and laugh. I'm writing this for me, your enjoyment is not a concern, audience!]

A Realm Reborn:

I began a realm reborn shortly into 2.1 on the understanding it would be a role-playing platform I had to scrabble together money to pay monthly to play, and treated the MSQ largely as something I was doing to understand the setting and be on the same page about world events as those around me. It was a largely unhurried clomp through right until about level 38 where I hated coerthas to death and wanted to stop, but was put into a position where rushing through it and to the end of the story was not a choice, it was a mandate on the part of my FC at the time due to an RP event.

Coerthas sucks, in case you were wondering. If you somehow don't know that coerthas sucks, I suggest imagining what it'd be like to have to run through every one of those sidequests back to back and reading the story and realizing that every single one of the MANY sidequests in coerthas central highlands can be summarized in either the sentence "ishgard fucking sucks bro" or as "wacky shenanigans".

ARR overall is Fine. It's the setup of a new world (relative to MOST of the playerbase) and it does this decently well. There's a lot of ideas they completely abandon after ARR (interesting dungeon design, for instance, which they then later went back and removed from ARR too so that trusts can complete everything which was just great of them to do) and as such I think it does a decent job. It's cool to join the God-Killing Illuminati. I really wish the Scions of the Seventh Dawn were at all able to keep that kind of mystique they have through the rest of the series but boy do they ditch that pretty fast.

I think it'd be cool if your choice of grand company meant anything, at any point (remember when it determined your team in Frontlines? Remember when Frontlines was not spinning a roulette wheel with a 33% chance of getting a reward on any given spin?) and I think it'd be cool if they gave more equal attention to all three major cities instead of ARR mostly overall being Ul'dah And The Other Ones. If you disagree this is what happened, I'm sorry but you don't remember ARR as well as you think you do. This is especially true in the patches, but there's still enough of it present in the base game you should see what I'm talking about.

(I think Gridania especially gets shafted, but I also don't much like Gridania so whatever)

Overall, A Realm Reborn is greater than its individual parts, and I think there's clearly a lot of experimentation going on and SOME of it is good and SOME of it is not great but none of it is atrocious and none of it is amazing stupendous fantastic 15/10 content.

I consider a 5/10 to be "perfectly mid" as opposed to the larger video game industry seeing "7/10" as an insult.

ARR: 6/10. It is fine, and sometimes good, and never horrendous.

Incidentally, in case you were wondering, I have played through ARR -> base SHB approximately 25 times over the years, so I'm objectively correct and if you disagree you're wrong.

Heavensward:

I like colorful environments, colorful characters, and generally find oppressive atmospheres of single-note violence and Game Of Thrones Edge to be very miserable or, at best, boring.

Heavensward, therefore, is objectively terrible. There is some measure of interesting theming going on about the cycle of violence but I loathe the conclusion that the expansion as a whole draws because it's drenched in self-contradiction (Is the way to end violence to be the first one to lower your arms, or is it simply to exterminate your enemies until they want to quit?)

I think the Vath are interesting as an extreme of both Ishgard and Dravania - what does it look like when a society actually is denied free will in totality? But then what they don't really do is play around much with the contrast there. You can argue that Nidhogg's brood are all but mind-controlled into doing big violence, but you'll be thanked to remember that they did not really hammer that home until *after* the base MSQ, and if you DO want to make that argument it's tantamount to "people who feel grief should be killed unless they let it go, by the source of said grief."

You can make a lot of 'sins of the father' arguments, which would make sense except that's 100% Ishgard's approach to everything down to the root (how many sidequests and stories again are about how [parent] did bad thing therefore [child] must suffer for it? Compare how many there are in Ishgard VS anywhere else in the entire game, go on, run the numbers and see how right I am) so at the end of the day I guess you could claim the argument is "if two nations are at permanent war, just kill both leaders and it'll be fine". Which

Having played Tactics Ogre: Reborn, I have lost basically any respect I ever had for the political writing of 99% of video games because this SNES-ass game managed to completely destroy everyone that came after it and like, yes TO:R is a MASTERPIECE but also how the fuck do you fail to meet the standard set by a game locked to the hardware limitations of the SNES like holy shit it's embarrassing you're the SAME COMPANY!

Heavensward falls flat for its environments until you get REALLY FAR from Ishgard itself, but honestly there's nowhere in the entire expansion that isn't either "white + grey", "ruins" or "both" and I find that exceedingly boring. Also this expansion introduced "why SHOULDN'T gathering nodes be 200+ yalms apart?" AND it codified "All dungeons MUST be hallways, including forced pauses in the middle of pulls between bosses because god forbid people play fast" (rest in hell, Sohm Al Hard) AND it was the expansion that chose to split raids in half and quite frankly Alexander is fantastic and I love Mhach but it's objectively true that they are the start of a lot of shit going bad later on in the game. Also this was the first time they level-synched prior 'late game' content and this is when they decided said dungeons/raids/etc. should be synched to the scale of 'pathetically easy' because god forbid anyone ever risk having a bad experience at all, this game would rather avoid anyone having a bad experience and have everyone have a middling, mediocre or boring one gameplay-wise.

Also Heavensward is the peak of the game doing dumb shit for shock value and little else, and their pacing is atrocious, and their overall incorporation of their (somewhat interesting) ideas is so badly done that it's completely understandable to miss the themes for the pile of garbage you have to sift through to find them.

Heavensward is a 3/10 MSQ and until the return of Alisaie has almost no merit or value at all because they can't even deliver on the concepts they themselves set up - the idea that Nanamo got assassinated (then that was retconned) for daring to want to have some measure of democracy in Ul'dah but Ishgard are totally down to just make a republic out of whole cloth because someone who rode into town on a dragon and said "I killed your pope, he was totes evil I swear, yw" said so is completely insane. Did you get that these people bake "I hate dragons" into every aspect of their culture? Did you understand that this is their art, their architecture, their CUISINE, their fashion, their societal structure (wanna be considered useful? Go kill a dragon! Can't kill dragons? Freeze to death for all I care!), and anything else except the most frivolous activities and pursuits of the most hyper-wealthy of their society?

For a thousand years? Do you understand how long that is? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand how ridiculous it is an absolute theocracy turned into a republic in what's written as less than a year because someone assassinated the pope?

Do you understand what a let down it is to play with the concept that maybe.... class structures... kind of suck, and then conveniently shove everyone who isn't nobility aside for the sake of the plot and not risk having anyone (Hilda, it's Hilda, I'm talking about Hilda) be allowed to make a difference or matter at all in the MSQ? Don't try to tell me Hilda's important because she gets a filler arc about her, she goes on to get called a, quote, "mongrel bitch" by someone she has zero impact on otherwise and let me tell you that's called "burying a character" in the pro wrestling biz (not to be confused with what they did to Ysayle btw, that's called "fridging" a character so that the man who is far more important can feel angst, but oops we wouldn't want the plot to be interesting so let's make sure we instantly follow it with a comedy side-plot with gilly the robot within 4 minutes of her dying)

Heavensward didn't have the pieces to be good - it was trying to make a feast with rotten ingredients and choosing to do so by trying to scrape the green off the steak. That's how people get food poisoning and die, dude, you gotta throw that shit out and start over.

Heavensward's MSQ is a 3/10 and if you take into account the raids etc. Heavensward becomes a 4.5/10 if only because Alexander is just that awesome.

The best parts of Heavensward are just the lead-up to Stormblood.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Dragon Spell (2016)

I see low-budget animated films make the same mistakes made over and over again. I don’t understand why. I’m not saying the people behind The Dragon Spell aren’t talented but they had to know they didn’t have Toy Story 4 money, so why do they and their kin try to reach for the stars when they could so easily go for the cookie jar on the counter instead? Clumsily written, ugly and stiff, I wonder who could sit through this movie and honestly say they had a great time.

Years ago, a ferocious dragon terrorized the world until a tanner named Ciryll (Mike Pollock) defeated it. Now, the dragon’s spirit lingers in the body of the sorceress Siringa (Melissa Schoenberg), waiting for the day when it can re-claim its true form and resume its reign of terror. Meanwhile, Cyrill's son, Nicky (voiced by Kate Bristol) is determined to live up to his father's glory. When he and a magical talking bat named Eddie "The Magnificent" (Allen Enlow) accidentally travel through a portal to another realm, they embark on an adventure to return home.

Trying to scratch together a synopsis for this film must have scraped at least a couple of months off of my lifetime. I feel like I’d need to go on and on to properly explain what this movie is about to make you understand why the writing is so bad. The film begins with a promising flashback showing us the tanner defeating the dragon. It’s all done via stylized, 2-D animation and looks great. Cut to the main story. You assume the dragon was killed thousands of years ago, that what we just saw was one of the cornerstones of the vast library of myths and legends this world has to offer, but no. What we just saw happened less than a decade ago. The tanner? He’s still alive. The dragon’s skin? It’s just up in the rafters of his home. When the camera shows it for the first time, Nicky wows. What? Why? Has he never seen it before? It’s been in his house since he was born, hasn’t it? The wizard, Adler (William Tost), knows the dragon’s spirit is after the skin but he hasn’t gotten the monster slayer to destroy it for…. reasons. Keep in mind, this is the first few minutes. This gives you a hint of the sort of penmanship we’re dealing with.

While the textures, hair, etc. are detailed and professional, they’re slapped on top of ugly character models. You get strong “Local grocery store chain” vibes from everyone. Objects don’t have weight, the bat’s anatomy is all wrong, and a flying wooden ship sails through the air like its pilot is a pro when they’re actually at its wheel for the first time. The dragon, meanwhile, moves as gracefully as a duck on land. It doesn’t make any sense as a deliberate choice. Even as something incidental, it’ll have you scratching your head. The people at work HAD to know this wasn’t going to work. I don’t mean story-wise, I meant visually, someone had to - at some point - say “Hey, are we sure the art director isn’t perpetually drunk? these designs don’t work together at all.” The worst offender is Rocky (Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld) and her sidekick, a female squirrel so grotesque you swear there’s something wrong with its genes. There’s a twist about Rocky that’s so badly fumbled I had it figured out, then second-guessed myself just before the actual reveal. It’s one of those movies that’s so predictable it circles around again to surprise you, except when we’re talking about the witch, whose ultimate role in this story is so obvious it would’ve earned the writer a big, fat, red ‘F’ from their teacher.

Conceived as a comedic adventure for kids, the only time The Dragon Spell is funny is when you listen to the lyrics of its only song. I don’t know what’s going on there. The words make no sense in any context. Key verses include:

Nothing can go wrong if you know the animation

Life is a movie and you’re the animation

Sometimes life can be like a lead hole

Let your life play out like a movie

Live the life shine it every day

Make your movie with the computer of the day

...

Yeah. You read that correctly.

While these make for some laughs - the equivalent of a delicious cheeseburger in the middle of a barren wasteland - it’s not enough to recommend the film, even as something “So bad it’s good”. Though the screenplay isn't good enough to make me think slam-dunk character designs and movements would've made a difference, that's a big issue with this film - and others like it. The film is too ambitious for its budget and can't compensate with "easier" elements of the filmmaking process. By this, I mean the writing, songwriting, voicework, etc. the kind of things a single, hardworking and dedicated person could polish off on their own. If you can't get the animation down, you have to make up for it in another department.

The Dragon Spell only lasts 85 minutes but it feels like so much more. I can't even say that it's enlightening or educational as a failure. It's just dull and disappointing. “Magical lands have their downsides” indeed. (English Dub, May 27, 2022)

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 14 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

"It goes back to the origins of the Fae-Wolf Conflict, really," Halloran begins, relaxing into the sofa cushions as the painkillers Chloe had given him kick in.

"You'll need a bit of history there as well, I suppose."

I glance at Dane, who watches Halloran with a masked expression.

He'd given me the basic overview and I knew his mother had played a crucial role in bringing the war to an end but he hadn't covered the finer details.

"Like I said," Halloran continues.

"There are 'thin places' all over the world but some make more suitable portals than others. A few, like the one here in Spring Lakes, are especially well situated, with a strong alignment between realms. Such places are rare and held as sacred by the Fae. Many human cultures hold them sacred as well, sensing the power that bleeds through. Over the last few centuries, wars, invasions, colonization and 'development' have led to the loss of many, making those that remain more valuable still."

"Valuable how?" Ingrid asks.

"And what's it got to do with Wolves?"

Halloran lifts his brows at her.

"The land, of course. Haven't you wondered why Spring Lakes is such a magnet for all things strange and wonderful? Why those with unusual gifts seem drawn here as moths to a flame? It's the thin place or rather, the power that bleeds through to saturate and bless the land. Shifters and Wolves can sense it and though they may not know it, many Wolf territories overlap with thin places such as this."

"What about Faerie?" I ask.

"Does this side... 'bleed through' as well?"

Halloran nods.

"Your human scientists would say that there are certain laws that govern the physical world, correct? Thermodynamics, gravity, the speed of light and so forth. It's more or less the same across dimensions, with slight variations. In Faerie, things are possible that are impossible here and vice versa. What you would call 'magic' is merely a type of energy we are able to harness and use. It's hardly detectable here but in Faerie it's much more a part of the fabric of reality. Likewise, there are 'energies' here that are scarce on the other side."

"So... this world has something Faerie doesn't?"

Halloran nods.

"The Fae realm is brimming with life. There are equivalents for most of the flora and fauna you find here and then a whole extra dimension of things you can hardly imagine, forests of moss-clad trees with mushrooms that glow beneath the stars and uncanny beasts of all sizes and sorts. And yet, Fae children are rare."

"Why?" Chloe asks, leaning forward in her seat, a cup of tea cradled in her hands.

"Well," Halloran says slowly.

"Some consider it a blasphemous notion but more than likely it's because we Fae originated here, in this world, long ago. It would explain our ability to have children with humans and why we are physiologically more or less the same. Whatever the case, it seems there is something in this world that we need, so we often come here to... 'conceive' with either a Fae or human partner."

"My grandmother used to tell stories about changelings," Chloe says, her blue eyes wide with fascination.

"She said that children born in Faerie often 'weak and sickly' so the Fae would bring them here and trade them for a human child."

Halloran nods.

"A legend grossly distorted by time but essentially true. It seems the problem has deep roots but has grown worse in recent centuries, as our worlds increasingly diverge. Ironically, as thin places grow scarce, the more essential they become."

Dane nods.

"And scarcity triggers conflict. Tale as old as time."

"Wolves and Shifters saw the Fae as intruders from another world, Fae saw Wolves and their like as trespassers on sacred ground. The truth of how it started and of who started it, has been lost to time," Halloran says, shifting in his seat.

"Some say it was a misunderstanding or an accident, others say it was purposeful but however it started, it wasn't long before Wolves and Fae were 'natural' enemies and a war was in full swing. Fae assassins slipped into this world and slew troublesome Alphas, Wolves figured out how to open the doorway themselves and sent raiding parties into Faerie. Before long, neither side needed an excuse to kill the other. Such was the situation when my sister first came to Spring lakes."

Halloran pauses while Chloe refills his cup and takes a long drink before continuing in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice.

"Around the middle of the last century, when the Conflict was at its height, certain Fae factions came to believe they had found the solution to our problems, a permanent link between realms. With a perpetually open portal, each realm would bleed into the other freely, until reaching a state of equilibrium. Others believed a 'permanent portal' was simply a nice way of saying 'tear in the fabric of reality' and said it would trigger cataclysms on both sides." "Sounds dangerous," Dane comments.

"And difficult, I'm guessing."

Halloran nods and takes a breath before answering.

"To open such a portal... to create a rift... required more than the usual sort of magic, the sort of magic only certain Fae possess."

He looks up and meets my eyes, then goes on in a strangely tangential vein.

"Did you know that purple eyes are rare among Fae?" he asks.

"Can't say I've met enough Fae to notice," I say.

"When I learned of you, I was surprised but it didn't really sink in until I saw you at the funeral. My sister and I are twins, you see... Rian and Rhiannon... but only she was born with the gift or the curse, of the Leannan Sidhe. It runs in our family and violet irises are one mark of it. Our mother, Eirnín, has it, as did your father, I believe. I knew instantly when I saw you that you bear it as well."

I clear my throat.

"If it was Rhiannon who attacked us in the tunnels, she..."

I glance at Dane.

So far, I'd conveniently left out the part about almost getting murdered by my own grandmother.

"She might have killed me but she stopped. She seemed to recognize me."

Halloran nods.

"If I'm right, she had no idea you existed until today. Given the strong family resemblance, I imagine it was something of a shock."

[oldlaomedeiia]

brb screaming and dying

my loser ass messaged Mason (Desire's actor/fc) asking a q. about Desire's mentality and if it was a case of self fulfilled prophecy with the way they act around Dream....because they're responsible somewhat for one relationship ending but Dream blames them for a LOT MORE. so are they the villain because Dream's wanted/desired a villain????

and like....while they've not answered I just found this snippet of an interview and....tHEORY CONFIRMED?????:

" A lot of it has to do with love, which is a part of Desire’s realm and a part of their function. And I think Dream resents Desire so much for his failings and shortcomings in that, which is more his responsibility than anyone else’s. And Desire knows that, obviously. So there’s this struggle of my character really feeling blamed and resented for something that has not really anything to do with me. It’s not my fault that things don’t work out for Dream. So when I can mess with him, it’s definitely fun and delicious, and it’s nice that it culminates in this big standoff between the two titans. "

"I think it’s very easy to interpret Desire as the villain historically, based on the way that they’re portrayed in many panels. But I don’t see that as so. One of the first things Neil ever told me about his character was that [he] never played Desire as a villain. Desire is the hero of their own story, which is classic advice. But because he said that The Sandman could easily be told from Desire’s perspective, and it would probably be a lot more fun and have a lot more sex in it. And in that version, Desire just so happens to keep running up against their stuffy older brother. And that’s true of my experience in creating the role in this iteration, because I really thought about it [as] very relationship-based, and both Neil and I agree that Desire is awesome, and Desire is beautiful and wonderful and so many good things."

[tigermousse]

Fantasia: at Regime's End

genre: otome, romance, adventure, fantasy

Prequels: Fantasia: The Realm of Thanos Fantasia: Requiem of The Abyss

Can assassins find love?

Fantasia: at Regime's End is the third and last game in the Fantsia series by azureXtwilight. I've waited for a full game for several years, and wasn't disappointed. The game came out pretty long - more than 10 hours, with 4 pursuable characters, a lot of side characters, lore and characters from two previous games, and a lot of fighting. If you like court intrigue and royal matters, the themes that involve war and peace, long battle scenes - this visual novel is great.

If a person dies feeling hate, they will rebirth again as a demon. In the world of Fantasia many races live together, but demons are still being outsiders, not fully accepted by society, because many people are afraid of demons and don't trust them. In a society like this there is not so many paths for demon to choose.

Ash is an demon and an assassin on a mission to kill the princess Fatima,the last member of the royal family which survived after the falling of her kingdom and managed to escape with her bodyguard Alister and the Royal Knight Malik.

We are starting the game with the love triangle: Princess is in love with Royal Knight and her bodyguard is in love with her. Also there is a cheerful merchant Zen, who is a demon, but seems pretty much accepted by society due to his charm and quality of the merchandise. Also despite that you don't remember meeting him before, he seems to know quite a bit about you.

You will have to discover hidden part of each characters. What kind of person are they? What do they desire most? What is their role in the story?

Will Ash succeed in her mission and keep her reputation as an ASHassin or she will decide against it and find other meaning for her life with one of her newly-found companions? Will she open more ways for demons to be accepted in society? It is up to player's choice. Also you can play matchmaker and help love interests fall in love with other characters.

The story is unraveling itself step by step, and there is one true route, which should be played last.

CHARACTERS:

MC Ashlynn "Ash"

heart desires: find a purpose in life, to be loved for who she is, find her family, don't be alone again.

As a newborn demon she was found and risen by Serena, however two years ago she left her, because she thought that there is more for her in this world. Now Ash is of the best assassins in the Barracuda's Guild, but she still feels that her life has no meaning.

Fun fact: because if short haircut and comfortable clothes a lot of people are at first mistaken her for a man

It really is hard to say something about Ash, except general characteristics. She's still a fun character to play though.

Narrator

The idea of a sarcastic narrator, with which MC can banter and even argue, is absolutely wonderful! I won't tell anything else about the narrator, though to prevent spoilers.

Love interests (MILD SPOILERS AHEAD):

I would reccomend order of routes (by the amount of content revealing): Altair -> Fatima -> Malik ->Zen

Altair (The Knight)

heart desires: rebuild a house of Brideguard, have children, do something to be remembered for.

Altair is one of the nobles of Kingdom of Requia and the personal bodyguard of princess Fatima. He is very proper and uptight and sometimes Fatima feels like he's controlling her too much. Also he's deeply in love with her, but he puts interests of the kingdom beforehand, so he doesn't allow himself to think about her.

He is prejudiced towards the demons, but spending more time in your company he understands his mistake and warms up to you. Despite his attitude, Altair is absolute sweetheart, I love his dynamic with MC, and how his story and romance unravelling.

His pairing with May in other routes is hilarious.

Fatima (The Princess) heart desires: ??? (to find her place in life?)

OK, Fatima basically IS your typical otome game MC. She's self-concious, shy, soft-hearted, kind, try to see the best in everyone. She doesn't know what to do, so in different routes she have different plans. I can't understand does she wants to be a queen or not? She's pretty boring as a love interest, but as a side character I think she grows more. So you can see her good and bad dynamics in different routes.

Pairing her with Alister is necessary in some routes, but it is so plain and pretty boring "princess and her knight" trope. Her relationship with prince Nazim seems to have possibility of development, though.

Malik (The Hero) heart desires: to be a hero, fight for the weak, build a new regime

Malik's route contains a lot of new information and shows absolutely different side of Fatima. As for Malik himself, he has his reason to hate nobles, and his main interest is pretty much idealistic: to build a kingdom in which no one will suffer from oppression or poverty. He doesn't want any more wars, but is it possible? The role of MC on his route would be pretty much supportive - when the hero is on his journey, everyone else is irrelevant.

His pairing with Fatima can't happen for a reason, but I would route for it just to see how it goes.

Zen (The Sacrifice/???) heart desires: for demons being treated as equals by society, to settle down, happiness for May and Ash

He is a demon merchant, who used all his charm and marketing talents to be recognized by society. Also he has a twin sister May, which is also a demon, because they've died at the same time, hating all the world. And now all that they want is to find a place for them to live safely and being treated as equals. What does Zen hides behind his jokes and cheerful facade? Who's that secret boss for whom they work? How many plans does Zen have and will any of them save everyone?

Zen is great. He is smart, funny, kind, and will do everything for those he loves. Also he is the canon LI. You will have to finish other routes and some of his own to reach the true route.

PS Personally I'm not a fan of true routes and canon characters in otome games, because the best part of those type of games is pursuing different characters and deciding for yourself who is the best for MC. (of course, my favorite is Alister here)

Also long battle scenes is not my cup of tea, because of them some routes felt too long (an I have short attention span)

But still I appreciate how much love was put in this game.

Overall:

Originality: 5/5

Graphic: 4/5

Story: 4,5/5

Characters: 4/5

Romance: 3,5/5

My Rating: 4,5/5

The game is free, you can get it from itch.io