#i write in a mix of a lot of things

[destiny-in-the-universe]

This app is a fucking nightmare! /ref

Tumblr is apparently eating my replies to a comment where I’m OP so, we’ll try this a different way @rinnie-marylin apologies for tagging you, but as i was saying-

I’m very much of an angst fiend pfft. I live for it, so a lot of my recently read works for Word Girl are on Ao3 but if you have any recommendations through either Ao3 or ff.net then by all means, send them!

I’ve got a dead, unused wattpad acc and trust me, I’m not checking it out lol. Though I’m watching the series for the first time in well, a while so! I’m still a pup in the fandom and watching season two episodes-

Pleasure to meet everyone though!

[johnnyshrine]

★ 123 // “Take the next best step and pray.”

[crow-caller]

I really do think looking at bad writing is one of the best ways to learn about writing in general, especially for beginners.

the thing is, writing in general is highly subjective- a good sentence will be good in different ways to different people, or not impress someone at all.

a bad sentence? most people can spot bad sentences easy, especially if it is presented to them as 'here's an example of a bad sentence, let's unpack why.'

bad writing can also be very funny, which I think is again often more engaging than 'here's a work of literary genius go analyze it'. Like here's some bad writing from lightlark3:

The moment it was out of Horus’s grip, his body became bones. The flesh turned to ash. He became a corpse.

it's dumb as hell, but I think could foster a solid discussion when you ask 'why? what is the author intending to say? what about it makes it feel 'clunky'? How would you write the same idea?'

[spicymotte]

writing is so scary because what if it sucks. what if it's good. I'm having so much fun. I hate this. writing is all I want to do in life. I would rather impale myself on a fence than do this for a living. there are worlds inside my head that I need to get out. nobody can ever know about the emotions inside of me.

[fisheito]

yakumo kiss data

comparing tongue tango data in the style of @contacthigh520 ! for the love of wobbly science? (original post on dante kisses here)

how were kisses counted? the same as the dante post... to the best of my ability. - kiss animation counts as one - text mention is another. kisses (plural) marked as 2+. - i included kisses on places other than the mouth. - i did not count vacuum succ blowjob as kiss. ? idk why🤣

while we're here... i wanted to test if my pattern recognition skills were actually picking up on something, or if i was hallucinating... so while i was counting kisses, i counted several other Seemingly Recurring Behaviours in the yakurooms:

what do you mean by each of those categories??

tongue activation: do they lick?? turns out: yes. more than kisses, technically. i feel like it's kinda .. expected for H rooms to involve tongue, so the 100% activation is probably common among all characters. if i were to calculate a yaku-initiating-tongue-only count, it would still be a high percentage >80%.

hands: hand holding, and adjacent acts of hand gesture. once again, a lot of rampant tender hand connections here. if you got hands, they're certainly useful in many situations, huh! another stat i think would be similar across clan members.

scent: yaku or eiden specifically mentions the other's scent. i didn't count the general descriptions of "scent of essence" in narration. yaku mentions eiden's scent significantly more than the other way around. but at a less than 50% presence in his rooms, yaku's not COMPLETELY a scent-based freak... (yet)

biting: chompchomp. tbh i'm surprised yaku's not more of a biter. maybe he's trying reeeaaallly hard to stay gentle and just... mouth on eiden instead of eviscerating him 🙂 crimson phantom was the bitiest what with the whole vampire roleplay shtick. eiden bites when he wants to get a rise out of yakumo. maybe once yaku gets more comfortable/less afraid of hurting eiden, nibbles will increase? taste as you go, yakumo. never stop tasting

asphyxiation: because yakumo seems to REALLY like choking eiden with his tongue. what in the name of shoddy breathplay…? turns out, yeah! yakumo is kinda trying to kill eiden via asphyxiation! more than via biting (once you remove all the counts of eiden doing the biting)! what are you, a boa constrictor? too afraid to use your venom?? if you even HAVE venom????? eiden, if you're losing this much oxygen every other time you fuck yakumo, i'm scared for you. you need to put his tongue on a leash.

ear: does yaku's sensitive gem location influence the rooms' overall focus on ears? not really. yaku will occasionally go for eiden's ears, and eiden will rarely, but lethally ,target yakumo's ears for tactical turn-ons. i am once again surprised. expected more of eiden's earplay warfare reducing yakumo to shreds.

nipples: a yaoi classic! not many instances of nipple attention with this pair, and i personally hope it stays that way. let's spice it up, people. we got other clan members for booby nipnoppular specialisation. yaku's reptilian. we can venture outside the realm of mammals.

vore: how many times has yakumo gotten cannibalistic (is it really cannibalism if one is a human and one is a yokai)? LESS than i thought, actually! eiden's got a 1 in 3 chance of activating yaku's vore tendencies depending on unit... and here i thought it was 50% or more? wow. ok. guess yakumo keeps his hunger in check better than i thought. good for you.

miscellaneous: one-offs that jumped to the forefront of my perception. the one instance of hair-pulling. the sickening scene of domesticity here and there. yaku implying that sucking eiden's dick would be a reward. ya know. fun stuff.

what else ya got? General notes. Things that happen , i think, a fair amount, but i didn't count the instances: - i don't think there has been a single time where yakumo STOPS after cumming. it's always marathon sex. R.I.P eiden's hole(s)

- something that is happening more frequently with recent units: eiden remarks that yakumo's dick feels like it GROWS LONGER DURING SEX; it feels LONGER than usual;etc. HOW? WHAT? is this a part of yakumo reconciling with his serpent side? I DONT THINK THAT'S HOW SNAKE DICKS WORK, RIGHT? THEY DONT KEEP GROWING FOREVER AFTER EVERY EMOTIONAL CATHARSIS, RIGHT?????? man is gonna be more dick than torso at this rate. every time he sticks his dick into eiden, it's gonna feel like a plumbing snake. useful for clogs, i guess. - yakumo still has a lotta work to do re: self-control. although eiden says that he's a quick study, and that he's vastly improved his angle/speed manipulation, the default is still yakumo losing control and thrusting into eiden with no remorse. no ease. all hip pain. Waiter Yakumo showed substantial progress with "patience", and i hope we get to see that more in the future... at least for room 5s. (i have zero complaint if room 2s continue to be subby yakumo breaking down and crying for his horny life 4evr)

[bberry005]

the writing for andor wildly swinging between some of the greatest i've ever seen and the most subpar character writing i've laid eyes on is truly such an accomplishment at this point

[usedtobeathrowaway]

how much do you think it weighed on Eggman's mind learning his grandfather, whom he based some of his life and ideology on, in the end wanted to destroy all humans, destroy the earth... that, Eggman, his own grandson was on?

[spotaus]

New Age AU (Obtaining Killer)

Hey guys! Through with a bot of stuff for the day and I have a sneaking suspicion that this stress headache will not leave me until I finish some projects for work, so I *may* be m.i.a. for a hot second until they stop.

In the meantime, I want to drop this! (Unedited, unrefined, raw off the slab style)

Andddd @ancha-aus and @papiliovolens ! Hello! (Mutzelputz if u see this, the tags weren't working for some reason, I apologize.)

Hope y'all enjoy!

Ccino had convinced him to leave the castle. After nearly a year had passed since his last true public appearance. Since he'd stolen the apple from his brother. Nine months had passed since he'd sent Dream away. He tried not to think about it.

Nightmare had been finding out a lot about his magic. How it made him jittery, and how he felt like he understood so much more. How it made him deeply paranoid, quick to react.

How it made people listen to him.

He figured it was because he was scary now. The negative magic condensed over every inch of his bone wasn't exactly appealing, and the extra limbs which had sprouted from his spine now acted like his own personal weapons. If someone didn't listen, didn't give him an answer he liked, the limbs moved without him even thinking.

It had taken time to learn to better control them. Even now, they writhed in his wake. His nerves expressed through their lashing and twitching as they hovered just above the ground.

The streets weren't exactly crowded.

Upon word of the King's arrival to this small providence, Nightmare had found that many people fled from his path. His travel party of several soldiers, and himself on horseback. He'd always wanted to ride horses. The traitor twin was someone that every citizen wished to avoid.

Ccino had coaxed him outside with promises of fresh air. Apparently there were promising young members of the city guard that Ccino swore would be wonderful future knights. Young warriors for him to bring up loyally under his name, no fear of betrayal.

It had made sense, at the time, but Nightmare hadn't chosen to recruit any of them.

It wasn't to say he didn't want to. Several of the humans and monsters were very talented, and he did his best to give them praise, but he could tell. None of them wanted to work under him. They didn't like him. Rejection and hatred that had pierced him immediately, he could practically taste it.

Ultimately, they would do better here in their hometown. A place they were passionate about protecting, and with people they cared for. Night would not try to mold promising soldiers into his perfect guard. No matter how smart of an idea it may have been.

And so he'd moved on.

Night had visited several smaller shops, onces which couldn't afford to refuse him, and he bought some fabrics, a trinket, some small thing from each place he stopped by. He payed exactly the price he needed for each thing. He wouldn't bribe his people, either. The best he could do would be to remain neutral.

He did discover, against all odds, that he was enjoying this day out. Ccino was, in fact, usually correct about this sort of thing.

The travel had been enriching. Almost exciting. He'd never gotten out of the castle much at all, this was all new and excitingly mundane.

Good things do not last forever.

It was almost sunset when he noticed it. Torches being set up, a platform prepared. A crowd gathering.

An execution, came the mutter from one of his soldiers. Though he recognized the set-up, Night had never been in attendance to an execution. He was morbidly curious. The crowd held such a contempt. A broiling hunger for blood.

He wished he'd wheeled his horse away when a few people were ushered out of a nearby building.

The prison, maybe?

There weren't many of them. Nightmare dismounted his steed, and much to the dismay of the soldiers at his side, he found himself sinking. Into the growing shadows cast by the dying sun.

He re-emerged beside the stage, where the few people were lined up. Ready for death by hanging.

That trick wasn't one that Nightmare quite understood yet, but he was always drawn to feelings of intense negativity. He knew that, now. Something about these prisoners were bothering him, even at a distance, and he found himself more curious as he stood before them.

His guards, at the back of the crowd, hadn't seemed to figure out where he had gone. He had the time, now, to loom over the small group of prisoners.

The city guards, the trained ones, had likely seen him earlier at their headquarters. They did not speak even a word against him as he stared.

Nightmare stared at these faces.

A dog monster, scrappy and scarred, black fur clashing against a few patches of white. One of her ears was missing.

A pair of humans, both men, one with long, curly red hair and another with short-cropped red hair and the beginnings of a beard. Maybe they were brothers?

A skeleton. His sockets dripped with black magic, and his soul was a piercing crimson, just infront of his chest.

A flame monster, small and stout. Their flames a flickering green and purple. One of their eyes had a patch over it.

Nightmare was not great at determining emotions yet. He was hardly versed in his own feelings, but there had been improvement recently. Understanding new emotions had been coming more naturally to him.

Sometimes it hurt, but he was learning.

Now, past the blossoms of a headache, he felt a bit baffled as he subconsciously picked through the negativity these monsters exuded. Their fear. Their pain. Their loss, and their anger.

Oh.

"Only one of you is guilty."

He'd said it without thinking, practically announcing it with a voice that still felt unnaturally deep. A voice which rattled his ribcage and seemed to force past the barrier of darkness around him.

The group before him seemed startled. Confused.

Well, all but the skeleton, who seemed to only raise his skull slightly. As though just noticing Nightmare was there.

"How could you have possibly been jailed in the first place?" He muttered a bit quieter to himself.

He knew, deep down, that there were many, many rules in place for situations like this. Laws which he could challenge. People he could speak to. He could appoint members of his court to each of these people and try to earn their innocence through the rites of the law.

Then again, he remembered the rage of the crowd. The frustration of the people waiting to see these killings take place.

He didn't know what to do.

Now the prisoners, especially the two humans, were staring at him hopefully. He'd managed to shatter the negativity a bit. He believed them. He knew this was wrong.

"I don't know..."

The mutter came again unprompted.

These people would not have the means to repay him for his help. He couldn't just waive fees, or risk his court turning against him. He couldn't afford enemies being made so close to his inner circle.

He couldn't just leave them, though. Not after he'd seen the injustice of it all.

Stuck in his own thoughts, he was drawn out of it by a snickering laugh.

"Just set them free." A voice followed, "You are our King, aren't you?"

Nightmare then found his eyes drawn to the skeleton.

The others had eased themselves away from him. He stood, now, almost alone. He seemed unbothered by speaking up, his sockets held in an almost lazy posture. Tension going completely un-held.

He grinned up as the King, and seemed to watch contentedly as the thought settled in Nightmare's skull.

He could do that. Simply waive their charges. Pardon them. He could do that, surely. Many royals had done it before him for less certain terms. His mother had plenty of times.

"And you are guilty. You'll still be hanged. You know this, don't you?" Nightmare asked.

That was when the Skeleton's lazy sockets seemed to tighten with a sort of glee. Some hidden joke Nightmare wasn't privy to.

"Hmm." This was a poor choice. This was a bad decision. "Tell me, quickly, how you came to be here. Before I proceed?"

Nightmare didn't know why he was asking. He was... curious. Just like he had always been.

Very few people would ever speak straight to his face. Ccino, that was the only one who'd done it since his change. Since the prophecy. This skeleton had done it. He'd spoken when no one else could muster even a plea.

The silence he seemed to bring to every room. Broken, just briefly.

The skeleton stared at him a moment.

"Name's Killer, your majesty." The tone was mocking. "A while back a buddy of mine got into hot water, and I decided to help them out. Now, plenty of bodies later, I'm the one stuck on death row."

Simple. An admission of guilt.

Nightmare stared at him some more.

Finally, it seemed his frantic guards had noticed him. Found him. They rushed to his side, though not as fast as he would've liked. He could feel the frustration seeping from each armored body around him.

"You don't have an aversion to it," Nightmare voiced, "Killing, I mean."

Killer nodded. Unashamed.

It felt strangely calm, still. Perhaps it was because the crowd was still chattering. They likely hadn't noticed Nightmare at all.

The king turned to the city guard, still stood on the steps. "Free these four people. My judgement decrees them as not-guilty."

And, before any time could pass in the slightest. "Killer, I would like you to accompany me, before you abscond."

He'd noticed it. Killer had undone his cuffs before their conversation. Completely freeing himself from his weak imprisonment.

Killer seemed amused at the concept of sticking around to chat.

"If you would, I would like to recruit your services at my castle. I need a man who is willing to kill. And kill swiftly." Ccino said to establish an image. It was obvious now that his reputation would remain in the gutter, no matter what choices he made. He was not Dream.

Killer's sockets narrowed.

"And what would I get for being your little hunting dog?" Again, it was bold. It was new.

Nightmare was sure his expression hadn't changed since he'd come before the group. That same angry glare that sat permanently along his skull. The magic had an image to project.

His tendrils flicked, slightly.

"Payment, room, Fresh meals, and any other amenities you may like, so long as it does not break our treasury." He replied, "All I ask is that you simply obey me. And Me alone."

Not true. He'd probably ask for him to listen to Ccino as well. Once he knew for certain he'd stay.

Killer seemed to be thinking. He eyed they king, up and down. He looked to each of the guard around the king. The ones who were back in position now, though Nightmare could feel their annoyance. Their confusion.

Then Killer turned.

Then he turned back.

"Mm. Can't be worse than the ol' noose." Killer replied. "Funny way to run a country, my king. Hiring the first murderer you spot?"

Nightmare didn't humor that with a response. He was honestly shocked the skeleton had even agreed.

Though, all of that negativity had been swapped out for a glee. Something deep in Killer had changed during their brief interaction. A hope. Night could barely grasp the edges of its existence with his subconscious. But it was there.

.

He ignored the crowds as they grew confused. He ignored the worry pouring from the criminals as he had them released and informed them of their pardon.

He did not ignore when his guards told someone to keep their distance. He glanced up. Killer was standing beyond the guards, looking bored.

Nightmare, trusting fool he was, didn't even ask a guard to watch him to ensure he stayed put.

"Stand down." He ordered the guard, who begrudgingly allowed the skeleton to smugly slip past.

His tendrils kept the monster at a distance Night preferred all on their own. He seemed to take the hint.

"They're all gonna be dead by morning, you know." Killer voiced easily.

Nightmare turned to him, confused. What did he mean by that? He'd pardoned them?

"Are you deaf? The crowd wanted us dead, especially me." He chuckled, "Leaving them here is definitely going to get them killed. If the crowd doesn't rip them apart the second you leave, then it'll happen at night. There will be no witnesses."

Oh... Night hadn't fathomed that these people could turn on the innocent once declared. It hadn't even crossed his mind. Did they have a home to return to? A family they put at risk?

The noose was a fast death, but being murdered? That would've been so much worse.

He could tell, by the way they evaded looking at Killer, that he was right. Nightmare would be sentencing them to a new sort of death if he did it like this.

But he didn't have time for a trial. Or several. The sun was going down, abd Ccino expected him back. The castle needed him present, or they might revolt.

Someone might hurt Ccino.

Oh, he was such a poor ruler. He did not know his people well enough. How he lamented the lessons Dream had taken about crowds and current issues abd how to be likeable.

Night didn't know how to handle this. He was still learning!

A trembled in his hand. He tucked the limb quickly away from where it had been lightly clutching his tunics thick fabric, now hiding it beneath his cloak.

"Killer is right. It won't be safe here, for any of you." He spoke. Thank the gods it didn't sound as shaken as he felt. "I extend an offer to you all. You may stay here, or you may come take up positions among my staff back at the castle. Unlike Killer, I do not expect any crime from you, but you will be paid and housed."

The offer was met with a roar of frustration from the crowd, Nightmare chose to allow his guards to handle it. He watched, carefully, as the four looked between eachother.

The brothers agreed first. (They introduced themselves as brothers as they knelt in thanks.) Then the Dog. She said she had no family left to watch over, starting a new life would be for the best.

The flame refused, saying they would leave town by morning, and try to stay safe.

And so, Nightmare left the town with four new party members. Each had been provided a horse, each tied to one of the guards. Aside from Killer, whose steed was held personally by Nightmare.

He figured Ccino would chew him out for this, for bringing criminals into the castle when he was sent to collect soldiers, but Nightmare had a good feeling about these ones.

They did not hate him. Or fear him. He was helping them. And it felt good.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2025: ADRIFT IN CURRENTS CLEAN AND CLEAR by Seanan McGuire.

Ah, yes, my favorite January tradition: heartbreak in tiny series installment form :)

This one is about a turtle-obsessed disabled Russian girl who gets adopted by an American family and fitted for a prosthetic she doesn't ask for, want, or need, and then she splashes through her Door.

I love Russian language and culture things (shout out to accidentally double minoring in college), so I was excited for a Russian protag and a Russian-coded Door world! Excellent enrichment in my enclosure. Neat cultural expansion on the Wayward Children universe (multiverse? cosmos?? insert appropriately scaled setting word here).

I also liked the aquatic nature of Belyyreka--terrifying giant frogs and delightful giant turtles and delightful talking foxes on the riverbanks were all lovely, and the worldbuilding about different weights of water was neat! Very mind-bendy kind of setting, I dig it.

This installment felt very slim (146 pages in my copy), and Our World Heavy--the first 46 pages were in Colorado, and the last 100 were in Belyyreka, but it felt like we did More Frequent and Larger Time Skips in Belyyreka compared to Earth? Kind of speedrun mode, sans Quests, really (this one was a lot more oriented toward Finding/Building Your Family, which was signposted pretty clearly upon our arrival in Belyyreka). Mostly a quieter installment up until the, y'know, Typical Impending Tragedy of Return at the end. (Did I almost put it down at 1AM last night with 30 pages left so everyone could Be Happy? perHAPS,)

Overall: I had a good time! But, ow, my heart (once again and forever).

[lurkingshan]

When this show started it felt like a very knowing and intentional corrective for all the things 2gether got wrong, but as it’s gone on it’s gotten a bit weird and started making its own baffling choices so… idk

[necrotic-nephilim]

For the ask game

Au where dick tells the titans about him and bruce when he's 18 but it's clear to everyone in the room that they've been together for a while at this point, how do think they'd react? if dick told them to keep it secret do you think they would?

for the ask game!

ooh this is SO fun. you know i love realistic reactions to complicated relationships, especially when it comes to BruDick.

i think Dick telling the Titans first serves twofold. first, he's telling people he considers family something he knows is important. and secondly, it's a sort of field test. seeing how they react will reflect on how the hero community at large will react. because now that Dick is 18, Bruce is getting more and more bold with public affection/possessiveness and people are going to notice. Dick tries to tell them casually. he drops it into conversation as if he's mentioning going on a date with a normal person his age, but inside he's panicking, waiting for a big reaction. and he doesn't really *get* one. there are shared looks, but really, they're going off of Dick's lead. if he doesn't make a big deal about it, neither will they, since they knew already. which throws Dick. the one thing Dick inherited from Bruce is his ability to keep a secret, so he's a little thrown off-kilter by the idea that they all already knew. it makes for an awkward conversation. Dick knows how this looks, even if he's in some level of denial about the whole thing actually being what it looks like, so he's ready to be on the defensive with a bunch of rehearsed arguments in his head and so to realize everyone knew already kills a lot of those arguments.

on a personal level, reactions would vary. for some like Donna or Garth or Kory, they're not entirely used to human culture and what the boundaries of accepted human relationships are. they can tell it seems unhealthy, Batman is controlling of Dick. but maybe he's just protective, so they're not sure. and i think all of the Titans notice at different times. they don't talk to each other about it because for a while, they don't know if they others know and are defaulting to keeping Dick's secret. Dick telling them would be the first time anyone's ever said it out loud, even if a few of them have shared knowing looks. on the side of the more human reactions like Wally and Roy, i think it'd be incredibly negative. Roy's life runs pretty similar to Dick's, and he couldn't *imagine* Oliver behaving that way toward him. Oliver has always been vocal to Roy about the boundaries of their relationship and how even if he's Speedy, Roy is still a kid and Oliver wants him to understand that in how he navigates social situations. Roy's always been huffy about this, feeling like it infantilizes him, but now, seeing Bruce and Dick, it clicks for Roy, what Oliver meant. i think if anyone says something, it's most likely to be Roy or Wally. Wally trusts Barry with a *lot* and will go to him about almost anything if he needs to clear his head. so it'd be hard for both of them to not say something.

when Dick finally admits to it, he does add that he doesn't want them to say anything, because the relationship is still new. he's lying out of his ass about that part and they all know it. but now that he's admitted to it, it's harder for them all not to tell people. the Titans always trust each other first, and none of them want to betray that trust, especially to Dick. i think for maybe a few days they'd keep the calm, tense atmosphere. no one says anything but everyone feels awkward about it. it'd probably be Wally who breaks first, blurting out a flurry of questions. Dick is prepared for this part. he has all his answers ready, but when he tries to start, they stop him and point out that they know it's been going on for a while. and Dick just. awkwardly deflates and is forced to be more open. he still dances around questions like how long it's *really* been going on, because the truth is, he has no clean answer. it just sort of happened gradually. they ask if Dick feels safe, if he's happy, etc. and Dick is defensive, almost too defensive with all his answers. the truth is he *is* happy with Bruce, but admitting it out loud means looking at some of the uglier sides of the relationship. he knows how possessive and overbearing Bruce can be and how that looks to an outsider. he tries to convince them it's just how Bruce is and all relationships will have their flaws, but obviously, this is different. and he knows his friends are worried about him, which is the worst part. it's all just coming from a place of love. the conversation is long, with a lot of confusion, but eventually they reach some kind of conclusion and hug it out.

the real aftermath of Dick admitting it is the Titans becoming hypervigilante of Bruce. all of them keep a close eye on him whenever they're around, do their best to sus out his feelings and intentions. i think some of the more bold members like Donna would even give Bruce something akin to a shovel talk, which Bruce would not take seriously one bit. and that's where they catch him up, because if Bruce doesn't take the Titans seriously, seeing them just as teen sidekicks, then he has to admit the same applies to Dick. so Bruce is forced to take them and their care for Dick a little more seriously. he has to have real conversations with them and accept that they're Dick's family as much as he is. because Bruce has always denied just how important the Titans are to Dick and tried to separate Dick from them. this is the first time he's acknowledging them as important members of Dick's life. it's uncomfortable for everyone involved. none of Bruce's answers satisfy the Titans, because he dances around the questions even more than Dick does. the Titans want to believe and trust Dick about this relationship, because they know at the end of the day there's nothing they can do to stop it, but it makes them uneasy and definitely untrustworthy of Bruce. even when Bruce notices this gaggle of teenagers keeping a close eye on him, there's not much he can do about it because he knows Dick will be upset if Bruce retaliates against his friends. it makes for an awkward stalemate.

i think in the end, the Titans end up telling their respective mentors. even knowing it'll betray Dick, they have to talk to real adults about this. of course most of the League members are livid. none of them would dream about viewing their own proteges in that way. long talks are had with Bruce and i do think someone like Diana or Oliver would try to remove Dick from Bruce's care altogether. but Dick *is* an adult and technically, they have no dirt proving anything illegal is going on. everyone just sort of has to accept it for what it is. and the betrayal of the Titans telling would drive a wedge between them and Dick. which of course, Bruce would spin to his advantage because he always has to find a way to win. he comforts Dick, and sows seeds in Dick's head about maybe distancing himself from the Titans, for a bit. just to let it all cool off so he can approach them with a level head. it ends up bringing Dick and Bruce closer. Dick would reconcile with the Titans eventually, but the wedge will always be there and they all know it. no one can get between Dick and Bruce so telling adults didn't even really do anything. the only real winner at the end of the day, is Bruce.

[yellowsubiesdance]

i think i’ve learned a lot when it comes to not applying my own values to the media i consume

for my script analysis class yesterday, we discussed two gentleman from verona, and nearly every classmate of mine was up in arms about how sexist the story is.

and i'm not saying it's not, or that it's not infuriating to read. but i'm also not putting my energy into getting upset about something written 500 or so years ago. and i'm not about to put my own beliefs onto these characters that are not me. i'm going to let their choices speak for themselves, and interpret it in the context of the story.

all that said, this now brings me to the point of alastor in episode 5, and how viscerally people are responding to it. those of you up in arms about the choices he’s making, and the violent threat he gave husk, you’re missing the entire point of his character, of this place they’re in, of the story being told. he’s an overlord, and he became an overlord by killing much bigger overlords and broadcasting their deaths over the radio.

HE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON.

if you started this show with the belief that every character working the hotel is a good person, you’re in the wrong place. watch the good place if you’re looking for a good wholesome story about getting dead sinners into heaven, because that’s not what this show is about.

you’re more than welcome to hate him after seeing the way he exerted power over a being whose soul he owns, but you’re doing the media you’re watching a disservice by writing it off so quickly. if you don’t like to be uncomfortable watching media, watch something else. this is an uncomfortable show, it handles uncomfortable topics, and it’s going to be an uncomfortable ride, and if you’re not up for something like that, then you should take a break from it and pick up something else. you don’t have to get online and defend your own ideals while you watch a show that goes against your ideals.

[phantomamour]

I NEED to know your thoughts on vampire or vampire reader x Billy au

anon i think about this all the time...

i have recently thought about vampire reader and human billy who is like a (for a lack of better words) "bloodbag" to her. she saved him once from another vampire who was going to kill him. she doesn't like feeding from humans but animal blood just doesn't suffice and so he trades her his blood for his own protection. she is so gentle with him and he's so caring with her because it's clear she's seen how cruel humans can be to her kind that she doesn't quite fully trust him at first.

he finds it almost a cruel joke that, despite her being stronger than him, she can be so skittish around him too. like she's not sure when the switch will flip and he'll decide she needs to die instead. but he is constantly trying to be so kind to her, more than he normally would in fact, to reassure her that he doesn't want to hurt her, that he'll never try to.

and then i also think about the reverse with vampire billy and "bloodbag" reader and he's so confused why this kind human would offer him her blood so easily but he's more than willing to kill someone for her safety in return.

[quatregats]

Had a conversation about being perceived as South Asian with my cousin and her kids and I'm still rotating it around in my head because like. Did everyone suddenly forget that I am also half white. Like did you forget that I do not have two South Asian parents

[bmpmp3]

*clangs pots and pans together* ITS 1 AM!!!!! EVERYONE COME LISTEN TO MY SVS2 TESTS

(svp by harujpg)

[moonlitcomet]

new pokemon fangame in my has-played list thanks to a recommendation from a discord member:

pokemon tectonic

please note this post is very long and very opinionated, but that's out of love for this game! pokemon tectonic has captured my interest and i'd like to see its devs improve in their next project.

my thoughts so far, after 21 hours of gameplay and 4 badges:

it needs a lot of polish, and a lot of QoL changes.

a lot of the choices made for gameplay in tectonic are really great and fun - every single pokemon getting rebalanced at least a little bit, all the new moves, the retypings and what not, that's all fantastic. i have no complaints there.

there are a lot of QoL features - such as easy move relearners and move mentoring - that make swapping your team's movesets around a breeze.

there is also an extremely expansive in-game documentation of everything - gameplay, battles, new moves and abilities, pokemon stats and learnsets, etc. you could make a wiki out of what's in here alone.

they encourage you to catch 'em all and actively reward you for it!

consumable held items will be automatically renewed at the end of a battle. you will never run out of gems or berries.

there are following pokemon, hgss style!

however, it fumbles in a lot of aspects.

gameplay

npc trainers will know your moves, and they will act depending on what moves are in your current pokemon's moveset- before any are made.

in the context of the game, this makes perfect sense. you are given an item that allows you to preview a trainer's pokemon before you battle. species, types, abilities, items, everything. trainers will react based on what they think you will do before have a chance to do anything.

but in the context of playing the game as a normal player, it feels either downright cheap or incredibly unintelligent on their parts. they will give you at least one free turn of setup, then get brutally swept by an attacking pokemon.

it would be a good idea to adjust this npc ai so you can disable use of the trainer x-ray for both battlers. i don't want them to know what i have just by looking at me, and i don't want to know what they have just by looking at them.

removing use of this tool for both sides would keep it fair. having to look at every trainer i fight in detail before i fight them is time consuming and removes a lot of the mystery and the fun of playing pokemon games to me.

trainers in this game will switch their pokemon as often as they can, and tectonic discourages you from doing that too.

a major part of pokemon's gameplay is knowing when to sacrifice a pokemon so you can bring in a waiting, healthy team member. a pokemon hanging on by a sliver of health is better to sack in the moment so your waiting team member doesn't take a strong hit, and has a turn to set up or retaliate.

tectonic actively punishes this style of gameplay.

trainers will constantly switch depending on what they think will counter your active pokemon. usually, this just means switching into a pokemon that resists your next attacking move. this is often at a detriment to them, and sometimes you can get caught in switching loops where you and the enemy trainer will change between pokemon every two turns -

attack, switch.

attack, switch.

attack, switch.

this wastes a lot of time.

an un-toggleable feature of this game is "trainer perfection". when you beat an average route npc trainer without having a single pokemon go down on your side, the trainer will run away and drop exp candy. this is a perfect win. by default, if you do not perfect a battle, the trainer will wait until you come by again to challenge you once more.

this can't be turned off except if you happen to have a special item called a stink bomb, which forces them to run away whether you've defeated them or not.

protip, you can open the debug menu using an application in your installation folder, and give yourself infinite stink bombs.

my suggestion for the perfection system is to allow players to disable it for average npcs, make it optional. or, at least, give us an option to *willingly* talk to npcs to rematch them. like the vs seeker in older games.

the devs intended this feature to not force you to rematch trainers multiple times, and instead plan your routes carefully. this has the unfortunate side effect of discouraging some players from fighting every trainer and exploring the game as they want, because the forced rematches upon coming across them again [unless you perfect them] waste more and more of their time.

also, some of these npc trainers are trainers that completely block your path - difficult ones at that. if you don't perfect or scare them off with a stink bomb, you'll have to go at them again when you come back around.

as of right now, the trainer rematches are as annoying as the pokemon breeders in gen 5. they are incessant unless you sweep them.

IVs, EVs, and natures are completely removed.

to most casual players, this would be a hooray! i'm personally happy about the removal of IVs, but it really starts to kick you in the teeth as you progress in the game. instead, what these things are replaced with are called style points. style points are minimal stat adjustments that allow you to set up different styles of battling for your pokemon.

think of it like skill points in average rpgs.

these are cool in theory. but the way they're set up is limiting and feels unnecessarily strict in application. for some unknown reason, both attacking stats are permanently linked, and you must raise both attacking stats at once. raising two attacking stats only removes one point from your remaining pool, but it feels pointless to have style points invested into a stat you will not use [ie, physical attack on a pure special attacker].

i can't believe i'm saying this, but i genuinely miss EV training over this. EV training feels like it has a much stronger impact on stats than these style points do, and you have far more control [with up to 252 in a given stat rather than 20]. it's a cool idea, just not particularly favorably executed in my opinion.

it is possible to have EVs and make them not a nightmare to deal with!

pokemon reborn has a system where all power items - anklet, lens, weight, etc - will increase its given stat EVs by 32 for every pokemon you knock out, regardless of the EVs the species naturally gives. with this feature in place, EV training becomes a breeze and you can have a fully trained 6 pokemon team in less than 10 minutes, rather than the potential hours it might take the normal way.

reborn's system is, in my opinion, an almost perfect way to do EV training. the only way to make it less hassle would be to turn EVs entirely into a menu, as tectonic has attempted to do.

you cannot use bag items - other than poke balls - in battles.

as a plus, enemy trainers cannot do this either. this is mixed based on how you like to play. i can respect this gameplay decision, as much as it very much isn't my style.

every pokemon is sorted into one or more tribes that have different effects on the battle.

honestly, i don't even use this feature. it's cool for team building i suppose, but feels tacked on and isn't my style. a point in their direction for making tribes a completely optional gameplay mechanic.

story

four out of eight badges in, the story is near nonexistent. you get scraps of it every now and then, teasing you for something large. you are wandering a world that has already been conquered. and honestly, i love that premise. people talk of someone who has already defeated the evil team in the past- you see remnants of what they did to the world around you.

this, to me, is very similar to what it feels like playing b2w2 without playing the original black & white, which i did as a child. i say this positively. traversing remnants of a world that was not yours to conquer is awesome. i'd love to see more of that.

however, halfway through the main story [i assume] and not having any of the story ramping up in any fashion feels slow. there's very little motivation for continuing aside from showing up your brother, which you are told to do before you even get your first pokemon.

everyone is just... so mean to you, for no reason. none of these characters feel particularly likeable, none of them are funny or kind as a motivation to fight for them.

[cain and hardy in reborn are my favorite examples for this, i would commit war crimes for them in spite of everything sucking early on. and it gets better. so much better.]

so you're just... trudging through a world that hates you or doesn't care about you, with no incentive to fix it from anyone you like. everything feels very obligatory, as if you have no choice in the matter, and there's no urgency at all to any situation. i'll reblog this post with an update if or when the story ramps up, but as of right now it's not hooking me too much outside of the initial concept.

final thoughts

Pokemon Tectonic is a somewhat long game with a very strong premise and unpolished execution. It feels like it's too big of a scope for how small it feels, and a lot of the effort in creating this game clearly went into rebalancing every single pokemon up to gen 8 [and some of gen 9].

What it suffers in the most is lack of accessibility and lack of options in terms of gameplay - a good game dev can add features that can modify or disable parts of their game that either make it easier or harder. Tectonic feels like it's trying to strongarm you into playing a nuzlocke or deathless run, with how it punishes you for letting a pokemon faint in battle.

I think this game could be made leagues better if it felt more customizable. As it stands, once I finish this game, I will probably not be revisiting it, as much as I like what it has going for it.

That is all I have for now. My favorite part of this game is that most avatar boss battles can be defeated with Fort Unfuckable.