#it's been. kinda dormant but also not. clearly.

[overdevelopedglasses]

You know the hyperfixation is bad when your brain births a D&D character from it....

[pink-nubes]

What leads AGS into finding each other again? They seem split up all over the globe LOL

Thank you for the ask! They really are all over the globe lol

This will be a bit of a long answer, but also there is more art under this!

So, Angeal and Genesis are the first to reunite. It was a very emotional meeting, they really thought they would never see each other again. They reunite in their hometown, Banora, when Angeal travels back there (though not much of a town anymore). Angeal stays at Genesis' house, they catch up, talk about their feelings. All the things that are going through their minds, be it degradation, regrets, etc.

They kinda naturally gravitate towards each other, they have been a part of each other's lives for so long so it's kinda natural they would feel comfortable even after such a long time. Besides now with the degradation dormant, they can actually think and act more clearly and just be more sincere.

Angeal tries to keep his distance at first (Honor and blah blah). He sleeps on the couch for like two days until Genesis annoys him into just sharing a bed. "We have shared beds since we were kids, don't be stupid".

Genesis talks to Angeal about what he has been up to for the past five years, studying the lifestream, the goddess, and the planet. He tells Angeal that something strange has been going on, and weirdly Angeal tells him that he feels it too. At one point this feeling gets the better of them and they decide to investigate, they leave Banora after a few weeks after meeting again.

And that's what leads them to Sephiroth.

Out of all things, they didn't expect to find Sephiroth, who at this point has been living south of Nibelheim for a bit over two months. But after a few weeks of traveling, they find Sephiroth having a really strong migraine on the side of the river, this particular episode being so strong that it made him physically crumble. The moment Genesis and Angeal see him they know that this was what the lifestream was trying to tell them.

On first instinct, they run up to help Sephiroth. Sephiroth is completely disoriented, most probably thinking that the friends he is seeing are just some strange hallucinations. One thing is for sure, he is desperate to get back to the shed. He knows that these extreme migraines somehow affect the children and he wants to get back to them at all cost.

He mumbles some things to Angeal and Genesis and not knowing what to do, they both just follow his directions and help him walk back all the way to the shed. The moment they get close enough to hear the babies' cries Sephiroth just barges in to comfort them, leaving the other two stunned at the door. These children are the only thing that Sephiroth has, and he is determined to care for them.

Angeal and Genesis are too shocked to see the image of Sephiroth holding three babies close to his chest. They just think they are some random children at first, but when they see the hair and the eyes, they just know there is something else.

[yanderenightmare]

Bakugou Katsuki

TW: platonic to romantic yandere, no transphobia but transgender themes, bullying, not proofread

male to fem reader

had a crazy idea about a platonic yandere bully Bakugou, who's always pushed his childhood friend around ever since he found out he was quirkless (just like BakuDeku only with reader)

but then, one day, reader gets hit with a gender-switch quirk, turning him into a girl. at first, he decides to wait it out at home, but then several weeks pass, so he decides to go see the doctor - who then tells him that since he's quirkless, there's nothing preexisting in his system to fight off the foreign cells that have mutated his body - basically telling him that there is no cure that will change him back to the way he used to be, but giving him the same option one would give any girl who wants to transition.

just think about the fucking change in dynamic.

like, Bakugou would continue on with his bullying bullshit, but the reader finally puts down his foot, telling him he's going to file sexual harassment if he doesn't keep his sweaty hands off him.

and Bakugou's just like ??? you'll fuckin' what ???

and Bakugou's friends are all, "it's kinda lame to be pickin' on some girl- we're a little too old to be pullin' pigtails..."

and again, Bakugou's like ??? fuckin' what ???

and then he's like, "well, if i can't bully him as a guy, then..." and reports you for not wearing the girls uniform, thinking he's being so fucking clever.

but then you show up in a girl's uniform, and everyone's just fawning over how cute and perfect you are.

you have other girls asking you to sit at their table, fixing your hair with cutesy clips and your face with some lipgloss.

guys are stopping you by the lockers, a little awkwardly since they know who you used to be, but fuck- you're just so adorable- it really suits you

and Bakugou's forced to look at it all with his eye twitching. you used to be such a fucking loner; he could have you all to himself and know people want to be your friend and shit, or worse...

and then boom, platonic yandere turns into romantic yandere

and everything is so fucking awkward on both sides...

because he'll still bully you, but it's changed very clearly from getting the crap beat out of you and being stuffed in a locker to...

well... a whole new range of things

from being told that all the boys only flirt with you as a joke and that you look like a fucking clown with all that makeup on - even when you're only wearing chapstick and have been so dim in your boyish mind to even have noticed that anyone's been flirting with you.

but then there's this one guy who's been sending you love letters almost every day who decides to corner you and confess, and even though you turn him down, he still refuses to let you leave. and there's this instinctual terror blossoming inside you that you've never ever felt before once you see him looking down at you with that predatory look in his eyes, and before you know it, you're standing there fucking crying even though he hasn't even touched you yet.

and then comes your unlikely hero, and Bakugou just fucking thrusts this guy up against a wall with his hands balling his collar, sneering at him to fuck off

and feelings of relief are so confusing you end up just standing there awkwardly, blinking your eyes that won't stop spilling with tears for some odd reason you're not yet used to. you end up saying a small "thanks," but even the small gesture makes you blush and feel flushed because fuuuck wasn't that kind of attractive what Bakugou just did for you ???

but no, you hate that guy ??? he used to give you swirlies and wedgies and black eyes, and even now, he still bullies you

being a girl is so confusing

but being Bakugou is also confusing because he's feeling the simmer of other instincts that had previously lied dormant - protective instincts and something else that makes him have to fight off a boner standing there seeing your pretty little face all teary and cute

[dearlot]

I love the anon who sent thoughts about mermaid!Lottie because now I can't stop thinking about mermaid!Nat and looking at my moodboard of her

https://www.tumblr.com/theprismyyy/758982146787606528/mermaidnatalie-scatorccio?source=share

Mermaid! Natalie would definitely be a half-human child, as if her mermaid mother had gotten involved with her human father (I'm getting Merlia Summers in Barbie vibes). Maybe she could shapeshift into a human form like the girls in H2o, but she doesn't really do that... like, she lived part of her childhood as a human but it didn't work out for her, so she went to the sea where she feels most at peace.

Mermaid! Natalie has a golden orange tail like the girls in H2o...maybe with slight purple patterns that are kind of chromatic, because I imagine each of the girls having different colored tails. The colors of mermaids' tails can indeed be repeated and I think the most common color would be navy blue, while the rarer colors would be orange/gold (like Nat's), slightly grayish purple with details in shades of white and baby blue (like Lottie's) and green with details in blue and purple (like Shauna's, her tail would be similar to Ariel's).

Mermaid! Natalie whose main fun is to make fishermen's lives hell, but not just any fishermen, for example she doesn't do anything to those who do it respectfully, without dumping trash and respecting marine life, without catching more than necessary and stuff like that... now, she loves to make the lives of illegal fishermen a complete hell :)) she's just a little devil with a tail who will tear their nets, pull their fishing rods so hard that they can't pull back and they break or get released, sometimes she just takes the bait off the hooks and leaves them there like idiots😭 she would also scare away the fish nearby and steal any item left on the edge of the boat while they were distracted ;)

Mermaid! Nat likes to peek at the coast of islands and watch people hidden, she finds it fun and I can easily see her appearing to some poor unsuspecting child who was watching the sea😩 she would first scare the child by suddenly emerging from the water, but soon she would start talking to him and stuff :))) some children leave crying with the scare, others leave totally enchanted screaming for their parents to warn them about the "magical mermaid", others are little cheeky ones who engage in a fun conversation with her and ask to touch her tail after promising not to tell anyone <3 in all cases she has so much fun with these little pranks.

Mermaid! Natalie would also steal items forgotten on the sides of any other boat, like a silly hat left by a snobbish old lady on the side of a speedboat :))) Does Nat need this? No, but it's fun and there's always something that ends up interesting some of the girls.

I'm a huge fan of H2O: Just Add Water and I can't stop thinking about this whole AU taking place in the same universe as the series, just in a different time... maybe modern?? Whatever, but think about all the mermaid girls living in the dormant volcano pool on Mako Island😩😩😩 imagine that still around the island there is an entrance to a much larger sea cave that is where they actively live and it's so big and cool<3

Something like this, but completely decorated by the girls with everything they find cool or interesting:

I love mermaids and I clearly got excited

YESYESYES!!! mermaid nat my beloved <3 mermaid nat whose tail can change colors based on how she's feeling? like when you first spotted her, she was kinda surprised and shy, so her tail blushed with hot reds and dark oranges.

maybe reader whose dad is one of those fishermen nat hates??? you go along with him one morning because you really have nothing better to do and you HAVE been wanting to fish for some time. she spots him and scowls, but she tilts her head curiously when she notices you. i think she'd still fuck with you a lil, probably splash some water or hold onto the hook and suddenly let it go so you stumble 😭 but she's just a menace with your dad. he definitely ends up in the water at one point. thinking of spotting her while you're cleaning up and kinda just staring at each other for a moment before she scurries away.

and UR SO REALLLL i loved h2o as a kid bro.....literally top 10 shows ever. thinking about scuba diver!reader who somehow gets injured underwater near the cave and mermaid nat who rescues you!!! dragging you by the fins too because she's kinda apprehensive. maybe she was supposed to be out looking for food and the yjs joke about how it's too early to resort to humans when she brings you 😭 they all help put you on the surface and try to fix your wound, and nat kinda gets attached? idk. thinking of her slapping the other girl's hands away when they try to touch your face or arms because maybe they've never been this close to a human and are curious.

GAHHH. thinking about dates with her in the cave???? nat shoving all the girls out because ur swimming over 😭 bringing a lil picnic basket and a towel to put on the sand so you can lie on ur belly and face her since she'll be in the water and you on the surface. she'd probably decorate the cave with whatever she could find in the ocean and it's so cozy and cool looking 😞

okok i remember the full moon like fucking with the girls powers in the show..... mermaid!nat who turns into a SIREN during the full moon????? thoughts??? suddenly she's so clingy and possessive and maybe she goes onto the surface for the first time in years just to show up at your house.

[baileypie-writes]

Can you write something platonic with Joker? Like, idk, maybe Joker taking care of the reader? (Inspired by a Cai bot by AVeryTiredCatBoi and also an earlier post of yours about reader being the kid of Pierrot (idk if I spelled that right))

There's a lot of romance with him, maybe it's time for something platonic! :3 /nfaa

—wisp/smoke anon

A/N ~ Sure! Hope you enjoy!

~Rest Up~

Joker + Pierrot’s Kid!Reader

~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~

Fandom: Smile Pretty Cure!

Fanfic Type: Oneshot

Reader: Gender neutral(they/them pronouns), Pierrot’s kid

Relationship: Platonic

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 758

Synopsis: Joker is your temporary guardian while your father’s not present. So he follows his duty of taking care of you when you’re sick.

Warnings: Kinda short

~Masterlists~

~Smile Pretty Cure! Masterlist~

‼️Glitter Force stans DNI‼️

~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~

As the sort of “right hand man” to Pierrot, Joker is expected to watch over and care for his child while he is still dormant. While he doesn’t enjoy those on the younger side, Joker actually grew rather fond of you. You’re truly your father’s child. You have a love for the dark and sadistic, and wish to give the world a bad end. And, to Joker’s delight, you also are quite mischievous. So while he was only acting as a caretaker to please Pierrot at first, he grew to genuinely care about you.

~~~~

Joker strutted up to your room, figuring that you had slept in long enough. Though it’s always dark in the Bad End Kingdom, it was around eleven in the morning. He usually lets you sleep in, but this time, he had something to discuss with you.

“(name)? Are you up?” He asked, knocking on your door with the knuckle of his pointer finger. After hearing no response from you, he let himself in. “(name), I know you like your beauty sleep, but I have something to discuss with you.”

A low groan could be heard from under the mountain of blankets and pillows on your bed. Joker sighed, figuring that you were just being difficult. He walked over, and whipped everything away, exposing you to the cold.

The moment the warm plushness was removed, you curled up, shivering. That was odd, considering that when he did that, you’d normally be yelling at him. That’s when he noticed how awful you looked. You were noticeably more pale, with flushed cheeks. It looked like you were not happy to be existing at all.

“What’s the matter? You don’t look good.” He asked playfully. But he quickly realized that it was much more serious. Instead of giving him a normal response, you simply groaned again. It sounded nasally and scratchy. With a hum, he placed a hand on your forehead to confirm his suspicion. He was correct. You had a fever.

“Hm. I’ll be back in a bit. I’d tell you to stay put, but I know you’re not going anywhere.” Without waiting for a response from you, he disappeared with a flurry of cards.

Just a few minutes later, he reappeared in the same fashion. In his hand was a bottle of cold medicine and a small spoon. “Sit up.” He said while pouring the sticky liquid into it.

You obeyed, but not without small, bothered groans. “Did you get that from Majorina?” You asked, your voice hoarse.

“Goodness, no! I got this from the human realm. I didn’t want to risk you turning into a frog, or something of the sort. You know how that old witch is with her experiments.” He chuckled.

You laughed a bit too. Joker then gently raised the spoon to your lips. Reluctantly, you downed the bitter syrup. Afterwards, you made an exaggerated face of disgust.

“You’ll be fine. Imagine what it would’ve tasted like if Majorina made it.” Joker said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” You sighed. You began rearranging your blankets and pillows to where they were before being moved. Joker helped you, tucking you back in as he did.

“What did you need to tell me?” You asked as the last pillow was placed.

“Oh, yes.” He said, remembering. “While it’s been a bit slow, your father is on the right track of being revived!” He patted your head, clearly happy for you.

“Really? Yay! I can’t wait to see him!” You quickly sat up due to your excitement.

Joker chuckled, before gently pushing you back down. “Careful. I know you’re happy, but don’t push yourself.”

Once you were all settled, he made his way out of your room. “Make sure to rest up. You’ll wanna be in your best shape for when your father returns.” After getting a nod from you, he closed the door behind him.

He let out a sigh as he made his way back. He didn’t expect to have to take care of a sick kid today, but he guessed it couldn’t be helped. Besides, if he had to be around any sick kid, he’d pick no one else but you; the only kid he enjoys the company of.

He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t been enjoying being your temporary guardian. You were a fun child. So while he couldn’t wait for his master to return, he could definitely bear having to care for you for a bit longer. Friendship way not be his thing, but you’re definitely an exception.

~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~🃏~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[princess-of-the-corner]

Amnesia!Dabi

Ok, I said it briefly before, but I feel this needs its own thing.

Dabi’s been staying at home the Todoroki’s  He’s been staying with the Todoroki’s for a bit. He’s had a few triggers pulled, he’s starting to believe he’s actually Touya. He digs through the minor stuff he brought with him, pulls out his notebooks full of theories and stuff he knows about himself. He keeps the one full of stuff he knows, but decides to chuck out the one full of theories. I mean, he knows who he is now, (right?). Only, Shouto sees him with the notebooks, and asks what they are.

Natsuo comes in ten minutes later. Stares a minute. “Sho. What are you doing?”

Shouto: “We’re looking through Touya’s theories on who he is, and why he might have memory loss.”

Natsuo: “… . but we KNOW who he is.”

Shouto: “That means nothing. We don’t know what happened after.”

Natsuo: “… . really.”

Dabi: “I still say government experiment would make a lot of sense.”

Natsuo opens his mouth. Closes it. “Let me see.”

An hour later, Fuyumi walks in to the three of them (and Himiko) debating how likely it is Dabi is a victim of time travel.

-

Oh yeah no it!

That is probably one of the larger mysteries for them because like. They have no idea what happened between the fire and Toya waking up with amnesia. And that bothers them because clearly something did happen or else he would’ve been found in the aftermath of the fire.

But also they’re going nuts with the options so.

Enji: “You know what I’m throwing my vote in for government experiment. That Commission Representative was real upset I wouldn’t let him get his hands on you.”

Hawks: “Oh I’m going to unpack that red flag of a statement later, but I don’t think it’s the Commission. They wouldn’t let you escape, and if you did they wouldn’t let you talk.”

Himiko: “You’re going to have to explain to me how that statement was /less/ of a red flag!”

Shoto: “I’m arguing in favor of AfO being involved. It would explain the horns and tail situation.”

Enji: “Oh no that makes the most sense about this.”

Natsuo: “How does that make sense?!”

Enji: “Whatever he went through caused another Awakening, sometimes Awakenings pull from dormant genetics instead of evolving a Quirk, so you rolled the dice and got my father’s Quirk.”

Toya: “Back up. What do you mean ‘another’ Awakening?”

Burnin: “I was kicking your ass in the Sports Festival and you got so mad about that your fire went from normal red to blue.”

Toya: “... Okay follow up question because this is the first time anyone’s mentioned grandparents so Grandpa has a Mutation Quirk?”

Enji: “Before you ask further, my parents are dead and Rei’s parents fucking suck. It was kinda funny to think about them realizing the potential for their grandchildren to be ‘some filthy mutts’.”

Fuyumi: “Actually now that you mention it, I’m throwing them in the ring for this situation. They’re sketchy as hell rich people I wouldn’t put it past kidnapping.”

Himiko: “I’m voting on Fuyumi’s side!”

[doom-nerdo-666]

Horror does have a place in Doom

(Mainly felt like making this post after a video by thebeansprout13, even if this comes out later because it was in my drafts for a while)

This is a very talked about, overplayed topic on Doom and it tends to repeat, sometimes because certain opinions/observations are more popular than others.

I think horror is an element in Doom and there's a lot of ways to talk about this, both in favor and against or even somewhere in the middle.

The 90's games

We all know about Doom Bible's canned ideas of the characters and story but even then, Doom is clearly inspired by Aliens, Evil Dead, DnD and so on.

But maybe this mix of inspirations (And the weird presentation of the games) means there's different things to pick apart.

If Doom was a movie, it could have been a B-movie with a goofy, campy nature and still have some eerie atmosphere or gross practical effects.

At first we have:

Some dark, suspense based music tracks.

Darker areas meant to show off lightning and "slow" moments.

Probably the default movement speed and the history behind "ALWAYS_RUN".

Doomguy being hurt in the box art and ingame status bar.

The Arch-vile's intended design of an eerie HR Giger inspired alien.

Textures like the flesh walls with metal pipes, twisted faces and some hanged corpses people thought were based on a real pic of Mussolini (But it's actually GI Joe figures).

But then there's:

The fast gameplay and combat that can happen.

Cartoony designs and assets.

The metal music (And other tracks like those that sound kinda like jazz).

The campy writing style in the manuals and intermission screens.

The presentation of Daisy's death.

Some of Doomguy's faces.

The name "BFG" and how some assets were made like using toys to make the guns.

Maybe whenever a level was clearly gimmicky and "gamey" or experimental.

The ridiculously low-tech aesthetic with blue carpet floors and maybe how Phobos' sky doesn't look like Phobos.

So it seems Doom always had a mix of elements and that's why people even argue over this, though i also see benefits of Doom being a "blank canvas" when it comes to its staying power.

Doom 64 was the more horror focused classic game with its take on Hell and some demon designs (But still not showing Doomguy's bloodied mugshot or some assets of classic Hell).

Even its theme song was barely metal (And i think John Romero really liked the PS1 port).

And D64 is also seen as "the real Doom 3" though this is a bit of a topic i mentioned in a different post.

Doom 3

A "reboot" of the series and a new entry in a time after the series was dormant (And mostly carried by fan mods).

D3 pushes things to a specific direction that John Carmack thought it was natural.

Some fans think the same, others thing it's opposite to what they expect out of Doom, some even accept it as a new thing.

D3 is much more story focused, with a bunch of cutscenes, background/lore, characters and most if it isn't goofy.

Demons are redesigned and some barely resemble their original versions (Might be because they looked "goofy" even if we have fanart that knows how to make them eerie; Meanwhile, D3's Arch-vile didn't capture the original design that much).

New demons represent a new art style that makes them "more serious and scary" or at least surreal.

The UAC stuff is still low-tech but in a more detailed, "professional" way.

Gameplay is slower, with a focus on reloading and the lantern.

Darkness focus and horror etc.

More serious tone, with little music.

D3 marine never smiles and looks worried most of the time.

Besides UAC and Hell, there's the Martians as a way to "extend" the universe but they're still mostly mysterious and not shown a lot.

The premise of a UAC marine having to fight demons after the UAC unleashing Hell is technically there, but it's also differently done from the original games (At least/specially if you look into the "lore" in the old manuals).

This game divided some fans, though a prespective i like to hear more is one that likes the idea but not so much the execution and i also always bring up how unfair it is that later versions (BFG edition and others) tend to have new problems or cut content for no reason, while not fixing certain flaws.

Because you'll still find some older fans thinking Doom was supposed to have some form of tension or horror, compared to those that prefer the fast action side of things.

Oddly enough, Hell in the series always had potential to be weird but D3, the game with the most experimental demon designs, didn't really took advantage of those elements.

At least D3 has some mods that fix some people's issues with the game, whether or not it leads to them respect the game more.

If you ask me: Doom 3's horror isn't just the dark corridors or slow "doomed" marine, but it's the crazy designs like the Bruiser having a screen on its mouth or the Revenant having transparent skin.

And i think D3 has its fair share of goofyness like the Turkey minigame (And the others in RoE that later versions deleted for no reasons) or that one fat zombie going "mmmm boy" that farts.

Doom 2016 and Eternal

D2016 is like an extreme opposite to D3: You are the horror and gameplay is more focused on movement and projectile avoiding that there's barely hitscan enemies besides the Possessed Security and maybe the Hellrazer.

Besides the arena focused combat, there's the Glory Kills, alt fires, upgrades, Mick Gordon's music, the character of the Doomslayer and so on.

But bits of D3's style are still present, speciall Mars and Hell a bit since Doom technically wasn't always "Mars" (Otherwise, more people would bring up the classic Phobos aesthetic and specific textures but even Hell still doesn't carry certain elements back).

(In fact, when D2016 was revealed, people complained about the lack of color and even said the demons looked "MOBA-ish")

The Hellknight is clearly inspired by its D3 design but one major difference is being eyeless instead of the weird eyes (Or are they sockets?) it had in D3.

Most demons have a rather "focused" aesthetic of chitin armored creatures and even lore explaining how they work or even how the UAC was involved in some being created/modified (Which may or may not affect the appeal of Hell being a weird dimension of evil that Doomguy has to put up with).

It's also somewhat known that D2016 was influenced by outside factors for Doom: The Doom comic ("Rip and tear") is obvious but there's probably other theories like anything to do with Death Battle or internet copypastas/webcomics joking about Doomguy (And i guess Brutal Doom but there's still arguements about it).

Doomslayer being a killing machine that scares demons is like an inverse to the "doomed" D3 marine: Putting classic Doomguy in the middle since he's both a strong action hero but still gets hurt (Even his portrayal in the 90's comic is like this).

The existence of D2016 is also a result of Doom 4 being cancelled: A game that was so deviated from Doom, it didn't even feel like a D3 sequel (And maybe it wasn't).

In a way, D2016's appeal relies on some bits of fanservice and at least getting basic ideas that people associate with Doom, which contrasts D3 not relying on "outside factors" but also chosing specific parts of the series while also executing them in a way that i'm not sure if it was ideal for D3 itself.

Then there's Doom Eternal, which builds up from 2016 in a lot of ways (And in was that people either like or hate it but it's still a very beloved and popular title).

The aesthetic is more colorfull and brings back some classic designs (Not entirely as they're put inside the new aesthetic), there's the concept of the "Doom universe", lots of new mechanics and a lot more to like (But also things that divided some fans).

Eternal's "videogamey" pickups were technically based on how some people thought pickups in D2016 overlapped with the environment, even if people liked how items in D2016 "existed in the setting" (Because even in classic Doom, you didn't have those kinds of pickups).

There's a lot of debates about Eternal's lore and aesthetic that leads to comparisons to 2016 but i'm thinking on making a post dedicated to that (Specially with some prespectives, opinions and stuff that most people don't consider).

Regardless, Eternal has clearly different media influences compared to the originals and feels like a different genre.

Basically, if classic Doom is a "campy B-movie", Eternal is a "saturday morning cartoon with gore" (And D3 is a serious sci-fi horror movie, i guess).

(And let's not forget: Different people are behind these games, in a series where people already interpret them in their own ways)

Sometimes, i think Doom is like the Planet of the Apes movie series:

D3 is closer to the original premise but 2016/Eternal are seem to be the more liked iteration of the series.

(Meanwhile, we have Mighty Doom as the most cartoony Doom game but in a cute way while the RPG Doom's had a different cartoonyness and sense of humor and a rather serious intro comic)

"Horror" in Doom to fans (And what else)

If you look at some pieces of fanart (Or even fan redesigns) and some mods, there's definitely an appeal of Doom being more horror focused and tense, even without affecting certain designs or the personality.

It's why one could not only defend D3 but even think that D3's issue isn't being different but rather doing a flawed job at its own direction.

Because 2016/Eternal also have their own differences from the original games but they seem to mostly nail their own direction.

I even see "horror" complement the "power fantasy" concept of modern Doom: Making Hell weirder and stranger, which makes Doomguy/Slayer feel even stronger.

Because "horror" as a concept can mean a lot: Not just dark corridors or walking slow, but it can lead to really interesting designs that make Hell feel threatning and weirdly creative.

After all, if it's possible to make a game out of "fans want a Doomguy that is more powerfull and the gameplay is fast", i don't see why we couldn't have one that is "fans want a tense, bone chilling experience and the demons look scary but still cool", even if you see those cool fan redesigns as better than what we got in D3.

(I like to believe that different types of Doom can coexist)

Even D3 haters may find or cherrypick some parts of the game they like (Which also makes me think it's another good reason why MetaDoom is a really cool mod).

I believe it should be possible to make a game that has elements of both "paths" represented, even if it means like a level with disturbing environments and then you find a goofy collectable toy in a secret.

I also said this before but i kinda get D3 hate coming from older fans but not people who got into the series at 2016 and after, because you technically "skipped" the "dark age" that some fans went through.

How hated D3 really is depends on which opinions or mindset overcome the others, because fanbases and hobbies almost tend to have an "anglicized canon" that is rather pushed by some specific people.

Anyway, i tried to add as much i could in this post but i'd like if someone like a Youtuber or older fan were to analyze this and even add more to this or correct potential flaws.

It's a topic that could be more explored, because even people that argue "Doom was always X" overlook elements that support their claims.

Other links to check, i guess.

How i think a good D3 re-release could be.

Doom 3 power ups and Doom 3 enemy roster rant.

"Doom 3 alternatives" for some picky fans.

The D2RPG intro comic.

Bunch of stuff related to Quake and Wolfenstein.

"Remastering" the 90's Doom games.

How a Doom movie or show could be good.

I mean, there's more on this blog but these could be good enough.

[menelaiad]

hi! what are some of your fav menelaus headcanons??

oh anon you've done it now

tall. like. 6ft tall.

not broad. muscley and clearly strong. but leaner. aga and ajax and the like are certainly wider than him.

has been tall a long time. grew very fast. pissed of aga in the process. has a habit of curving his shoulders because of this. trying to appear shorter than he is.

a follower. hence the shoulder thing. he spent a lot of his formative years just. following aga. listening to aga. he was the second son. he wasnt set up for kingship or anything so he was kinda just left.

protected a lot by aga. i feel like menelaus' kinder nature was allowed to grow and flourish and wasnt CRUSHED by atreus because aga ... protected him. menelaus could be himself around aga.

ginger.

grew his hair fucking super long in sparta like the spartan men. even before the marriage to helen. because of the exile and tyndareus' kindness he just felt like sparta was home. so he kinda ... assimilated himself as soon as he could.

goes freckley in the sun.

he always makes a habit to use helen's name. not an epithet. or a title. her name is Helen.

due to not being prepped for kingship. menelaus can not read or write very well. if at all. he's even dictated to or gets people to write for him. after he became king he probably learnt the basics? but i feel all of atreus' energy went to aga (who also cant fucking read tbh)

i personally think menelaus was kinda ugly. or not like. conventionally handsome. but he's just such a nice freakin dude that people can't help but like him.

menelaus likes birds.

despite his. usually dormant nature. menelaus inherits atreus' anger. and it comes out in bursts. like strong. violent outbursts. like you see in book 3 with paris. when menelaus just drags him around and beats him. it's explosive and heated. it burns hot and dies just as quickly. but that is very atreus of him.

menelaus suffers from aches in his wrist after the paris fight and also he develops a limp from the wound in his thigh where he was shot with an arrow.

emotional. very emotional. with both the good and the bad. feels every emotion very strongly. feels others emotions (agaMEMNON in IOA) very strongly.

sharp features. sharp jaw. sharp nose. high cheekbones.

expressive as all hell. raises his eyebrows. makes faces. he is feeling things and his face will tell you what.

laughs a lot. not afraid to laugh and smile. smiles with his teeth a lot.

his smiles never quite reach his eyes but we'll move on from that.

develops a really close friendship with pat over the course of the war. that stems from them meeting at the suitor thing and they had lil chats then. often laments to him about how different things would be if helen had chose pat instead.

loses his fucking MARBLES when antilochus dies. i feel like the atreus anger would have come out again here.

after pat's death and him returning the body, achilles beats him to shit and menelaus doesn't fight back. he takes the blame ...... and the beating.

unintentionally always one of the funniest people in a room. is funny without even realising he's being funny. makes helen cry laughing several times.

i believe he was meant to marry clytemnestra. or at least that was the OG plan. they have a lot of fond yet awkward memories of each other.

blames himself for aga's death. and by extension - cly's.

iphigenia inherited the HOA red hair. watching her get sacrificed fucked him up tbh.

hermione is so SO SO important to him. especially as she was conceived around the whole 'sterile curse' thing in sparta. she is like a lil miracle to him.

honestly? can sometimes be a bit of a bitch.

gonna stop here cause that got REALLY long. but there's a handful of random ones that i wrote as they came into my head SDFGHJKL

[leminhthinking]

"add something, if youd like" ok, here is something i used a throwaway account to comment on the Double MV. i didnt reread so i didnt remember anything about it sorry but there probably is mention about internalized ableism. also personal experience. its kinda shaped like a rant

posting it here now that i came out about being plural here. yeah.

tldr (theres another tldr at the end of it but it was from the time i commented and i want to add something else here) i love representations

I keep finding myself wanting to comment something under this video, but I know I'll say stuffs about myself that I feel would be unsafe to share using my main so I'm using this throwaway account to do it instead 😔

I just want to say that I'm so grateful that Mikoto and John (and maybe other alters in their system too? saying this just in case) were ever written. Being a system who had just discovered that only over a year ago, I can almost see myself, no, I can almost see *us* in every part of their story up until now. And in a way, I feel like I've also... grown with them? If that makes sense?

I have been following MILGRAM for quite a while, enough to be there when MeMe was just released. Back then, I still thought that I was certainly a singlet (didn't have DID), despite how one of my alters - I will refer to her as my sister from now - showed up pretty regularly at the time. That's why when I watched MeMe, I remember thinking to myself, "oh shit, this guy's just like me, and because [insert internalized ableism here] I'm saying he guilty then." But then we all know what's got confirmed 😂 Funniest thing is, a short while before that, I also came to term about being a system. Dammit, to think about it, it felt like a second confirmation 😭😭😭😭

Now that I have accepted who we really are, the release of Double and their second voice drama feels exceptionally special to me, as the host of our system. John and Mikoto's situation right now really reminds me of us last year. My sister and I specifically, respectively. At that time, I tried hard to deny the fact that I am not alone in my head, and that we are entirely separate people. It took me a while (with a few tarot spreads. fuck. I'm a Mikoto kinnie now) to know that we actually are... and some actual, honest conversations to know that she actually loved me, rather than wanting to harm me... Yeah. Yeah. You see what I'm talking about? That's why I'm really rooting for Mikoto and John to have better communication... Ah, maybe if Mikoto watched "his" own second trial MV, he would understand...

That being said, I'm still not sure on what to vote... When I first watched Double and listened to the second voice drama, I thought to myself, ouch, ok, guilty because John clearly seems to be the alter who knows more right now and that would keep him fronting more to interrogate. But after a while, my opinion... changed? I don't want Mikoto to be affected too much from the verdict and maybe going dormant because of that. John maybe still there for the interrogation but fuck, I don't think he's ever been without Mikoto for a long time and I'd hate to see his heart breaks. Maybe innocent is the better solution after all for the whole system, as it might soothe Mikoto's mood and his mindset. I also trust that MILGRAM's writer team know what they are doing and therefore would not "kill off" John. Maybe they will just let him be inactive for a while if they are voted innocent, given that he's finally satisfied with our decision...

(Yes, I do know innocent = forgiven and guilty = not forgiven and I'm deciding while knowing that. I'm just calling them innocent and guilty because I'm more used to it while speaking in English.)

Hmm, that was a longer rant than I expected. I don't know how to conclude really, so I'll say something that would sound entirely unrelated 😔 If I remember correctly, prisoners can hear us audiences right? If that's really true, I just want to scream to Mikoto and John that it's 100% ok to be a system! To not be alone inside your mind! To exist alongside another person in your system and love them! It's ok to just be yourselves! And please please please fucking find a way to communicate with each other!!!

Once again, thank you MILGRAM for letting them exist... I really hold them so dearly in our heart...

TL;DR: local system getting emotional over Mikoto and John, rooting for them to have better communication.

[dragontamer05]

Finally completing Book 6 of Twst and once again I'm back on the train thinking about the under utilized fact that Yuu/MC supposedly has 0 magic

Personally still open to the idea that they do in fact have some kind of dormant underlying magic hence how they got taken to NRC in the first place but whether they do or not at the is point in time as far plot is concerned they don't.

So being that they have 0 magic in any capacity, I almost feel like their should have been more, some kind of consequence or something with them going to the Isle of Woe. Now I'm not saying they need to end up life or death scenario or critically injured but something, maybe use the fact that having no magic at all we/they can sneak past the Ferrymen as they don't register us as a threat (if take any notice at all)

Having no magic to take seeing that Azul and Riddle alone were affected by being to close to those doors to the underworld, and then you know what happened with Vil. Depending where we/they were in all this how would or what if that have a really bad affect on us. With no Mana to drain it can literally sap at the life force or something.

At the very least with all the crazy stuff going on I think an interesting twist if you will could be only upon returning home does it become known realized that Yuu/MC has indeed sustained some kind of injured, aren't quite as unscathed as every one assumed.

They've just been hiding it keeping it to themselves the whole time cause well got bigger fish to fry right now, and is only upon Malleus commenting on our well being that the truth comes out.

While on one hand yes they're in better shape then some of our friends (especially poor Vil) but also actually have been running around kinda injured this whole time- like maybe it's something that actually happens early with the odd line hinting at something going on with us/dear protag-kun now and then but with everything else going on plot wise it's also easily brushed aside.

Which I suppose given how much Malleus seems to have become fond of us/Yuu also adds to Lilia's little spiel talking about how fragile 'Children of Men are' and all that, thus more fuel to Malleus growing dilemma for book 7.

Sure maybe it wasn't anything to bad but the thought that he could have lost them?

Plus idk maybe serves as a little reminder to everyone else that although Yuu is clearly willing to go headlong into danger for their friends, unlike everyone else. They. Do. Not. Have. Magic! They don't have the same ability to defend or protect ourselves and how damn lucky it is that they managed to survive.

[aberooski]

Random yet brilliant GX/Avatar au thoughts I had after rewatching ATLA and watching LOK for the first time:

Idk if I'll ever actually write this but if I did I'd use the Japanese names because obviously they'd fit in better here but for the purposes of my random bullshit and by being my default names I'm still using the dub names in my notes lol

___

- Obviously Jaden's the Avatar lol. Avatar Jaden of the Fire Nation (since he's a big fan of red and all 🤭)

- Fire Prince Chazz, Lightningbender ⚡⚡⚡

- Dragons are a thing so Light and Darkness Dragon anyone?? 👀👀

- Atticus is a Waterbender, but Nightshroud is a Bloodbender 👻

- Atty and Lex are prince and princess of the Northern Water Tribe

- Alexis is also a Waterbender but since in the North it's forbidden for women to learn Waterbending except for healing purposes (at least it is in ATLA, clearly that's not the case anymore in LOK since y'know, Eska. But this is my brain I can use whatever lore I want aksksk), Atticus taught her how to Waterbend himself in secret 🤫

- Zane and Syrus are mixed nations like Mako and Bolin, Zane is a Metalbender but Sy is a Waterbender

- Syrus specializes in healing, not combat. I imagine Zane treats him basically like he's a helpless non-bender as a result. But in that mean basically telling him he's useless way that he would, not in a protective brother kind of way. He understands it's a very valuable skill but really wished his brother could fight and fend for himself so he didn't have to be protected all the time.

- Very high concentration of Earth Kingdom squad members lol

- Bastion gives me Earth Kingdom vibes but also I feel like he would be a Waterbender because Water Dragon 🤔 can't decide 🤔

- Jim's Earth Kingdom but a non-bender. I imagine in the equivalent to the accident that lost him his eye as a kid he just went blind. Shirley is his seeing eye Crocogator 🐊 (y'know, since basically all the animals are hybrids 🤭 i know Catgators and Crococats exist but this is funnier and I can make jokes about her totally just being a normal Croc that Jim's passing off as a cross between a Catgator and a Crococat 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭)

- Jim's a mega badass swordsman though even with the blindness. Wouldn't be surprised if he had some Earthbending power lying dormant inside him, like a fossil waiting to be unearthed (no pun intended 🤭), but he's more than content to be a regular human, he doesn't need bending to enjoy his life.

- Hassleberry's 100% an Earthbender. Dude can probably even Lavabend but that's a big maybe. (I mean volcanoes helped kill the dinosaurs and all too so)

- My guy Crowler teaches at the University of Ba Sing Se and if he's a bender he's probably a Metalbender (cuz y'know, Ancient Gears. I am taking their decks somewhat into account here 🤭), probably a member of the White Lotus

- Sheppard's got that Airbending Master status babyyyy, also the current Grand Lotus, just chilling with his non-bending wife Dorothy 😌

- Slade vs. Chazz in a fucking Agni Kai, a la episode 35 !! (🤜🔥 🔥⚡🤛)

- Jaden has a Firebending block similar to Zuko at some point, but because his fire comes from his passion, not hate. In his emo era his passion is gone and he has to find it again and reignite his inner fire!

- Jesse's got those Earth Kingdom green eyes, probably from the Earth Kingdom, but I think he has some Air Nomad heritage in there. He's very connected to his spirituality and the spirit world. Kinda gives me Jinora vibes in that area, he definitely is a very spirit heavy guy. Crystal Beasts, am I right?

- Jesse could've been the Avatar if the cycle wasn't up to fire at the time. (Literally forget any and all timelines none of that matters this isn't a crossover we're talking about. Full au so continuity be damned! All that matters is that the Avatar cycle is now at fire 🔥)

- Axel's Fire Nation I mean c'mon his whole thing is fire aksksk, strong Firebender and probably in the Fire Nation Army too somewhere. A good man though, a very honorable and just guy, not a shitty shitty bad Firebender as is the general consensus in the world about Firebenders most of the time it seems.

- Aster also gives me Water Tribe vibes but like only kinda, he's hard to nail down element wise...... 🤔 he's got the blue eyes so I'm gonna say Water Tribe atm we'll see if my brain agrees with that later. Whether North or South idk, I'm still on the fence about him being a Waterbender but water is my favorite so not gonna complain about making more Waterbenders..... 🤔

- His dad was a non-bender and was 100% killed by a Firebender though. That would cause issues with him and Jaden since Jaden is a Firebender Avatar. Oof there you go, Aster's whole like fucking "you can't hide from destiny" batman era bullshit?? He's going around beating up Firebenders because he doesn't know who exactly killed his father ooooooooo 👀👀👀 (I guess kinda like Katara I guess in a way but also not really I mean she saw the guy who did it, not that she knew exactly who he was without Zuko's help figuring that out but shhhhh remember none of that's important right now 🤫)

- Dark Spirit Yubel ???? 👀👀👀👀👀

- DARK AVATAR SUPREME KING PAST LIFE !?!?!?

- Winged Kuriboh spirit guide 👀👀👀

- oof Adrian as a bad guy Airbender now that's a yikes idea. Sorry Air Nomads, somebody's not a good noodle.

- Chumley once again representing the Earth Kingdom

- Bro not sure about Banner..... so many options.....

- Earth King Kagemaru (bro those guys are almost always shady bitches whether it's the Earth monarch or the Dai Li bro we can NEVER trust the Dai Li)

- y'all Banner is so Earth Kingdom but he's also giving me Fire Nation, like aesthetically and vibes wise he could be either. But also because of his like alchemy background and straight up making a homunculous for himself and shit like that he's also giving me secret Bloodbender I'm literally on so many fences with this guy I can't decide 😭

- Also totally in touch with some spirits and stuff, totally dies and passes into the spirit world to continue existing there like Iroh did so Jaden can talk to him like the ghost we all know and love like another sort of spirit guide and Pharaoh can follow Jaden and crew around afterwords aksksk

- Stormshipping and Spiritshipping all over the damn place! It's me. You knew that was going to be a thing here.

___

That's all I got at the moment. Like I said I don't know if I'd ever actually write this, I know I have way too much on my plate right now to even think about this in a more on the table way than this but my brain won't stop so I have to indulge aksksk

Let me know y'alls thoughts if you got any I'm just messing around here really so lord knows 🤭 anyway if I come up with anything else maybe I'll add it later but for now holy shit guys isn't my mind a wild and crazy place??? 😜😂😅

[lappel-du-vide83]

Ok maybe I'm being delulu but I always thought that the uncle (the one that took krs in as a child) was affected by the curse too? (or maybe everyone knows this and I'm kinda slow but idk why I haven't seen anyone mention it)

I'm pretty sure the curse was along the line of you will lose everything you cherish (and if says they'll die very clearly pretend I'm ignoring it and this is a fantheory) and the uncle was mentioned to have been sweet and nice before but once krs was take in he started gambling and being, well, an abuser and this made me think that death isn't the only way to lose someone? They can become distant or turn against you and partially I'm bringing this up for angst but not death because I cannot handle more death (lsh and cjs was enough thank you) and maybe that's why all he could hold were acquaintances (paired with the fact that he became emotionally distant but not really because he still had friends (?))

But this also begs the question what of his curse now? Obviously it doesn't affect him anymore (and I will cry if it somehow does because God forbid he loses anyone he cares about now) but we know it should still be with KRS!Cale since it affected his soul. Did it get nullified? Or lord help me just dormant

But I don't think it will pop up again since like everyone close to cale has not died (like hell even cjs and lsh are back) and ig that's the theme of this story where krs can finally have people that he cherishes unlike the white radish

[star-sim]

oh wise vanya please help me apparently my year of dignity and male-lessness decided to spice things up and now i’m in a Dilemma!

a bit (a lot) of context: so around two and a half years ago there was this guy who liked me and then confessed to me, at the time i liked him a little too but i think it was mainly because i liked the idea of liking someone and someone liking me?? if that makes sense.

so he confessed to me one day and i was like “oh i like you too lol” because i literally did Not know what to do in that situation and then it was lowkey awk because we mutually avoided each other at school 💀 we were really young tho BUT THEN like a month and a half later he was said he didn’t like me anymore (HE SENT THAT OVER TEXT LMFAO…) and i responded with “okay” (i realized that i didn’t really like him at that point too so i was kind of relieved tbh) it wasn’t even a relationship because bffr we didn’t even hold hands so why was bro being all like “let’s break up 😐” like… were we ever even together be honest

it was VERY awkward after that like lmao we wouldn’t even make eye contact but then a few months later we became close friends because we were friends before (idek how atp); then he moved away during the summer because he was going to some boarding school & we still kept in contact up until last summer

he got a girlfriend in may of last year?? and ever since then i’d been VERY distant like i didn’t talk to him at ALL because i have to uphold the girl code… apparently he told his girlfriend about me though and i’ve heard from a mutual friend that she doesn’t like me that much and disliked me even more after she found out that he had a saved folder of me in his photos (that’s on him tho bc wtf 💀 that’s kind of a Red Flag of him)

anyways back to today… i opened my snapchat after 8263872 days of being dormant and apparently he texted me for the first time since JUNE three weeks ago and i unknowingly left him on sent 💀💀

now i could either: a) open his message because honestly i am morbidly curious or b) leave his message to marinate forever and leave him on sent indefinitely

which would be more girlboss because i am done w men irl 😐 send help pls

ASH!!!!

liking someone purely bc you like the idea of liking someone and them liking you back is SO REAL

UGHH he is so middle school boy love.... the "let's break up" over text when the most ygs did was probably look at each other.... pukes

youre such a girl's girl, youre SO realness for not talking to him for the sake of girl code... ugh im sorry controversial opinion it irks me when ppl are angry at their s/o's ex... like u didnt even do anything to her, is it a crime to exist. if anything, she should be mad at HIM??? like who is the one keeping pictures of their ex? not you, so why are you literally the subject of her anger. ever since new years i've been trying to tone down my d1 hater tendencies but ouuuu that makes me to annoyed on your behalf like LEAVE HER ALONE 😡

i say... open the message. see what this bitchass has to say. i'm also kinda curious too. whether or not you respond is up to you, but if youre worried about girl code, i don't see an issue? he's the one doing shady stuff, your entire existence is not tied to him and your actions are independent of him, if that's hard for him or his gf to see then they clearly aren't mature does it kill them to use critical thinking

but if you DO leave him on sent... it would be pretty funny

everyone ditch his ass he deserves no one!!!!!

[rei-makes-big-robo]

Project HD Devlog #1: Late to start writing

Project HD was the second of my late 2022-2023 VR game prototypes, it progressed far within the first month of development until I lost track of what I wanted it to be and started to develop Project CWD. Project HD was sort of a half accident half intentional mix of goofy action oriented gameplay mechanics for a VR action platformer, mostly revolving around having hammers for hands and needing blood to heal (Very original I know).

The blood part was sorta vaguely because I wanted that sort of blissful ignorance for how much health you have in games like Ultrakill, need health? just kill an enemy and bathe in their blood! I still have not implemented any method of this as in it's current form it lacks any organic entities, just the Squeakers which are named from their early prototype form (and the rubber domed tutorial version) producing a squeak from a dollar store Halloween rat decoration.

Originally they were just a red block with a knife that would either stab or do a spin attack, they have since grown to be weird stabby trashcans that slide around and if you're unfortunate enough to be sitting when it attacks you might get stabbed in the eye. The big conflict with the Squeakers is that their current version uses a character controller instead of a Navmesh agent and it can be very derpy (video below), which has been causing me to consider reverting them to the Navmesh version.

So now that I've infodumped about stuff nobody will care about or find interesting here's the real shit! Project HD relies on the ability to adjust how much mass your hand hammers have with the analog triggers which allows you to jump very significant heights and distances. The problem with this is that my headset uses inside out tracking which I thought caused a lot of inaccuracy and inconsistency in these jumps, however that was not the case. My partner (romantic) has a Valve Index which uses lighthouse tracking which is pretty much the best kind of tracking if you have space for it. So after 3-4 months of leaving Project HD dormant I opened it up in Unity and prepped the testing scene for a build.

After I sent my partner it I immediately had to rebuild it with proper controller configurations for the Valve Index controllers which was as simple as clicking a button or two. After trying it for a bit her takeaway from it was that it's movement and mechanics were "counter intuitive and inconsistent". Both things I didn't expect but now I was filled with glorious purpose, a reason to pick up the hammer and smack some C# with my crappy oem keyboard. In hindsight I should have seen both these problems coming, most weird movement mechanics in VR are sorta the inverse off a mass jump leading to the counter intuitiveness of it. The inaccuracy however was just me being a moron, an absolute hamster pressing the buttons and waiting to see a red error telling me to try that again. However in this case everything worked, not well but I didn't know any better at the time I wrote a lot of it. The entire hand controller script was updating with the framerate, sounds pretty normal for most things. Until you consider the fact that half of it was controlling physics objects.

So back to the purpose stuff, today (technically yesterday but hey that's what happens when you don't sleep till 6am like some kinda vampire gremlin) I started to change some stuff around to try to fix some of these issues. I started by adding interpolation to the rigid bodies of the hammers, which makes them feel a little sluggish but they almost come out feeling better like this. I then changed the entire hand script to run off FixedUpdate, meaning it updates with the physics tics which are consistent rather than the frame rate. Clearly having a wave of inspiration from the time spent on Project CWD I started to work on implementing post processing effects to get it closer to the visual style I wanted. I also set it up to change the effects based on health which ended up working really well with the existing effects of your energy hammers fading away more and flickering.

After two gameplay tests by myself the inconsistency of the mass jumps had been resolved feeling smooth and vastly more precise to respond to my intentions. The bloom and other post processing effects helped to really make things feel a lot more alive and even made me reconsider my stance on scrapping a certain parry indicator (story for another time). Thus I have begone developing Project HD again by accident and this time I wanted to share it somewhere other than Discord creative channels. I'm still very uncertain of what I want to do, I really like to make stuff like this and I really think it's a very fun game concept but my financial situation forces me to consider it as business and I'm not sure I'm good enough to ship a product worth paying for. My skills are varied across so many fields and none of them have a diploma to my name or are relevant to my existing job experience. That's part of why I post to accounts like this to serve as a sort of portfolio to prove to myself that I am capable of making things. That the years I've invested into this haven't been a waste. I've been considering trying to apply for a digital art position at some game development companies, but I'm also very much afraid of losing my time to projects I have no passion for and not having time or energy on the side to do what I really want to be doing. To anyone that read this far thank you and sorry. Writing this has given me some confidence that this is what I should be doing, that I should keep crawling like the worm I am.

[wild-selenite-caffine]

i like to think its because he has a Palace, which means he doesn’t technically show his “true self” until around the fist fight he has with Joker on the collapsing bridge, and also because technically Azathoth isn’t Maruki’s personal Persona? if that makes sense based on how i understand it since its been a hot minute since P5R has rotted my brain

long rambling ahead, spoilers for P5R, not sure if all makes sense but feel free to read it all!

just to expand- and also kinda rewind a bit- Azathoth initially introduces himself to Maruki by saying “I am the other you, dwelling in mankind’s hearts.” and Maruki doesn’t have the reaction I would expect from the half; as far as i understand (and in P5’s case), the Shadow calls out to the Self, which forms the mask, if the Self chooses to “rebel”, the mask is ripped off and the Shadow manifests as the Persona, and also it comes with pain and ripping off the mask as the “acceptance of the contract”.

Maruki clearly doesn’t follow this pattern; doesn’t react much beyond disbelief that Azathoth is right in front of him and that something is happening. I’m sort of leaning towards multiple things:

a) the Metaverse and reality merging throughout December did play a factor because it causes most of the people to be apathetic

b) the idea that Azathoth may not be Maruki’s true Persona; Azathoth can be compared to Yaldy more than a Persona, since in scope of their abilities alone is setting Azathoth a bit apart

and c) a little but of both plus the fact that Maruki is somewhat familiar with what the “Persona” is, because of Joker and cognitive pscience studies, so supposedly he already has a mental image of what one would look like.

so fast forward a little bit to the post-fight, specifically the animated cutscenes as the PTs escape the Palace; once one of the tentacles reach towards Mona, it cuts to Maruki’s mask being gone. then shortly afterwards when he talks to Joker, the whole attire vanishes + Joker’s mask fades because the Metaverse is disappearing.

how i understand this is, Azathoth took on Maruki’s mask to be his Persona, and once defeated, he no longer acts as it and supposedly lies dormant once again. Maruki’s attire meanwhile is essentially a mix between what his “Shadow” self is, and his “true self”, and since the yellow attire is changed to the white one in the cutscene, the white one is what i understand to be what his “true self” could be. (Azathoth could also potentially be just a corrupted Persona? since it takes on Yaldy’s place rather than be a manifestation of Maruki’s rebellion) and so with his fight with Joker, he’s fighting in his true self; a man stricken with grief and consumed with an idea that he could burden all pain by himself, and he’s finally starting that journey to move past it and that he doesn’t need to burden pain alone.

so where does it all end up? Maruki’s change of heart.

i honestly found how Maruki’s change of heart happened compared to everyone else’s. for most, its stealing the Treasure, then there’s Futaba who confronts her Shadow personally akin to P4 patterns, and Sae who changed on her own since her Treasure was never stolen. then there’s Maruki who is simply implied to have a change a heart, albeit not directly shown to us aside from becoming a taxi driver (because to be fair, he does need therapy and shouldn’t be the one giving it).

maybe Azathoth is his Persona, but not to that big of an extent? maybe some tweaks and knocking down the playing god details i would say, because for me, Azathoth leans towards a Persona consumed by human desire (hence being a Blind Idiot God). same goes with Adam Kadmon, its leaning towards extremities and not entirely capturing who Maruki is at the holistic core of it all i would say.

maybe there is some mythological figure that does have the middle ground, or does connect with Maruki better, but yeah, i do like Azathoth and Adam Kadmon because of the many connections it has to a bigger scheme of things; Maruki, his Palace, the whole 3rd Semester, etc

ranting all this while in bed is sure a ride, i hope theres some sense to it lmao

So, I had a thought about Persona 5 Royal. And while the game has been out for a while I will still tag this as spoilers...

So, I'm sure everyone's noticed in a fight, whenever you summon a Persona, the Thief's (or Akechi's) mask disappears.

However, when we see Maruki transform, and summon his Persona...

His mask stays. Even at the very end, when he's inside Adam Kadmon, his mask is still on.

[moemoemammon]

⚾️A Ball to the Balls ⚾️

(Feat. The Demon Bros)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

Lucifer was happy to indulge you when you suggested playing a popular human world sport called 'baseball'. He's all for expanding his horizons, and it's a nice day out, so why not? It outta keep his brothers occupied for a while, too.

But,,,,,, he wishes he would've told you no, because generations of children have just been murdered by your mean throwing arm.

No one can remember the last time they've seen Lucifer crippled with pain, but it's as amazing as it is absolutely terrifying.

He's silent when the impact happens, but immediately turns away to hunch over and you can see him trembling. The brothers are staring at you, praying for your safe passage to heaven. Goodbye, MC. They'll never forget you...

Oh shit oh fuck oh no no one can help you now you're gonna di-

Mammon

"Obviously, you're gonna be on MY team! No exceptions!"

Yeah no, you've decided not to do teams, since there'd have to be two teams of four and they'd fight over which team gets to have you.

Even if he can't have you to himself, Mammon's cheering you on like the good husband he is. Also actively encouraging you to throw the ball as hard as you can, because he'll DEFINITELY hit it with no problem at all.

Pretty sure you just knocked Mammon Jr clean off of his pelvis. Goodbye dickenballs

Mammon is on the ground and you can hear him sobbing from all the way across the field. Even his brothers, who act like they hate his guts, can't help but comfort him....

Levi

Levi's played enough wii sports to know how to play baseball, but he doesn't get the appeal of actually playing the sport. Why get all sweaty when you can just play inside??

But you manage to coax him out anyway, and he can't say that he hates it per se. though, his throwing arm isn't anything impressive....

YOURS on the fucking other hand... Yours is clearly the result of some sort of ancient evil curse, or a dormant power finally becoming active at the height of the plot

The power behind your throw has essentially neutered Levi and he's currently unresponsive. Someone's going to have to carry him to the hospital

Can we get an F in the chat

Satan

Satan was pretty happy to play a human game, and even more so that you seemed so excited about introducing them to it. It was bound to be a good time!

But thanks to your horrible aim he ended up with an involuntary vasectomy and ain't too happy about it

Like, at all. Dude gets so fucking mad but he can't ever stay mad at you, so he's hissing and spitting at every brother near him

You literally have to rely on Lucifer to tame him because Satan has reverted to feral mode and is no longer mentally with us. The trees are on fire. Mammon is screaming. Levi exploded. Asmo is missing. Beel has run off with Belphie.

Maybe sports just aren't for nerds after all? 😔

Asmo

Yeah... he wasn't really a fan of the whole 'baseball' idea. There's only ONE situation where he's alright with the possibility of balls hitting him in the nose badum tss

But he DID have fun designing everyone's baseball uniforms with Levi, so there's no way he’d miss out on seeing everyone run around in them! Kinda wishes he did though, after the tragedy that happens on this fateful day

You thought Asmo's voice was high pitched in the beginning? Just wait until you hear the octave he reaches after you destroy his ween

Good thing he knows a guy who does great pp reconstructive surgery because uhhhhh his shit's obliterated.

Beel

Beel is a huge fan of sports, so he's definitely down to give baseball a try, though he wants you to watch out for his throw. Also wants to be on Belphie's 'team', even though you literally said you're not doing teams.

Speaking of throwing, Beel never expected you to have such a strong arm... and such bad aim. Unless you were specifically aiming to remove his di-

Doubles over in pain the moment the ball makes contact with his precious crown jewels.

He should've stayed home. Food would NEVER do this to him.

He'll forgive you for sure, but expect Beel to be a little cautious around balls from now on. Definitely takes an interest in protective gear. Clearly his sheer muscle isn't enough to protect the more delicate bits.

Belphie

Belphie doesn't mind going out. It's comfortable sleeping under a tree when the weather is nice.

Yeah, he wasn't planning to play at all. He'll cheer Beel on from the sidelines and offer you a place to rest if you get worn out, but that's all.

Or that was the plan, until you sent a foul ball sailing straight into his nuts, and his soul to the next life.

Boy astral projects into the next plane from the force behind that ball, and it instantly puts him to permanent sleep

If you think he sleeps for a long time now, you'll be surprised to see how long this coma lasts. His body's gonna need a whole lot of rest after the absolute trauma you just subjected him to.