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bane-amesta · 3 months

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Vergil's journey: The true DMC5 Special Edition (?)

First attempt ever at posting fics here, let me know if I made a mistake in any sort of way plz Basically this is my "fuck it I'll do it myself" about Crapcom's custom to make Vergil playable just a copypaste into the og campaign with no story or context at all lmao

Also is a prologue for my longer DMC5 fic (too long to post it here sadly), I'll add the links to AO3 at the end :D Enjoy!

Autoimposed rules while writing this:

1º Using only Vergil's POV 2º Make it work within the game, aka not using scenarios, dialogs, etc from other entries 3º Make sure to add sections that can be interpreted as gameplay, cinematics, and also the trope of obtaining weapons along the way (I excluded bosses since this can be just any random thing from the enemies list lol) 4º Exclude any of my fanfic shenanigans since those are already a creature on its own xD

Nightmares were always with him. It was the only thing that was always with him. And he was on the verge of wishing for death just to see if he could make them dissapear once and for all.

Until suddenly, without any explanation, that endless cycle stopped.

He opened his eyes, looked around him, not knowing where he was. But that was not important. Hell will always be hell.

Something was different, however, the eternal torture that had become part of him was gone.

Finally, he looked at his hands, hoping to see the damn armor that had held him captive for how long? Months, years, centuries?

But no, there was none of that, except his own hands, covered by the usual gloves, and the blue coat was badly damaged, but not destroyed.

This was so unusual that it took him a while to understand. But it was undeniable.

Nelo Angelo was dead. Vergil had been reborn, survived, somehow.

He tried to get up, but he was very weak, in pain. But that pain was only physical, something new, because it told him that his body, even in that state, refused to die yet. He could see faint marks on his skin, as if he were made of clay about to crack. Yet he was still in one piece, alive.

And that was enough for the moment.

Hearing the usual demonic roar in the distance, he rushed to unsheathe his sword, only to realize it was not in his hand. For a brief second horror filled his face. But then his mind brought back the memories that had been taken from him when he was forced to be a puppet of the prince of darkness.

Vergil trying to get the power of Sparda, Dante trying to prevent it. The final battle at the entrance to the underworld, with his father's sword, his hands barely picking up the amulet that was rightfully his before leaping into the void.

Mundus, glaring at him as he charged forward feigning arrogance, despite knowing that this battle could be his last.

Finally, the darkness surrounding him as his sword fell to pieces, engulfed by a sea of blood, before his eyes were covered and his mind closed, to give the last touches at the new toy of the underworld's ruler.

His head kept spinning, all that coming back suddenly was too cruel.

Vergil managed to get up at last, not so much from needing to move, as to focus his thoughts on something else, anything, but it was useless. The memories kept coming back to him.

Trish's creation, Mallet Island, Dante fighting his way with his father's sword instead of his own, and facing Nelo Angelo without knowing who was behind the armor.

What would Dante have thought after that victory, and discovered Vergil behind the creature he just killed?

He put his hand to his neck on reflex, and found only the fabric of his worn clothes. He almost felt like laughing. Even the amulet, now useless, had been taken from him.

Another noise, closer this time, brought him back to reality. This time he had no choice, he must face danger, or flee. But Vergil has never been that kind of person.

Even without his Yamato, he was going to fight somehow.

With enormous effort, he accomplished his goal. About eight bright blue swords appeared around him, creating a constantly rotating shield. A technique created years ago, imbued with the most vivid despair, when he was still a child and there was no one, nothing to protect him.

That idea made him frown. He greatly disliked having to go back to this to survive, but after thinking about it for a moment, none of it mattered anymore.

He has anything to lose, not anymore.

And he could still fight.

He walked in the direction of the noise, which turned out to be a miserable low-grade demon, which didn't last long enough for it to mean anything. At least in this state he could still have that kind of personal satisfaction.

The only thing he regretted was not being able to beat his brother one last time. He had been defeated so many times that he could no longer live or die in peace until he did. A single victory was all he needed.

How to do it was not clear yet, but he was sure that something could be done about it.

Yamato separated the demons from the humans. It was the key to isolate both worlds and separate them completely.

...Why had that particular phrase popped into his mind?

More importantly, did that phrase have a more literal meaning than he ever thought?

There was one thing Vergil had never tried, and which, in the current situation, might as well be his last chance.

Dante's power awakened when Vergil pierced his brother's body with his own sword.

Something that never happened to him.

What would happen to Vergil if he did the same?

The only way to know was to try.

The Yamato was so attached to his being, that he feel capable to even tracking the sword, as soon as he had regained some energy.

That was motivation enough to keep walking.

With effort he disposed of the garbage that crossed his path, even before they knew he was there. The summoned swords turned into spears that he could throw away, saving energy. His body wasn't in the best shape, so he wasn't going to try too hard if he could help it. Vergil was grateful for the distant moment when he received a simple but powerful advice: that disdaining firearms was no excuse for not having an ace up his sleeve, in the form of a long-range attack.

If he had no weapons, he could just try creating some other variation of the same attack, after all, he had plenty of time to experiment. And there were many demons that could give him something interesting after a fight.

The latter was an idea that he would only use in an emergency, since it was nevertheless only one weapon that he really needed. The rest was optional.

He kept walking and slaying demons, avoiding the ones that were too much for his current abilities, for who knows for how long. Time is a concept that have its own rules in the underworld, but something was evident. The Yamato was in the human world. He had to find a way to get back.

Luckily for him, the most powerful demons used to be near the dimensional holes that led to the other side, which they always used to go hunting when they were fed up with the usual garbage.

When he was not fighting for his life, Vergil heard voices, rumors of something coming, an event so strange that some no longer remembered whether it was true or not, but that those who were above the rest knew very well, and were preparing to take advantage of it.

The Qlipoth, the demon tree, was growing again, and it would soon reach the human world. And the demon who managed to eat its fruit would rise as the king, the strongest of all, just like Mundus in his day.

With such an opportunity, no one cared about the poor wretches at the end of the food chain. Something that of course Vergil used for his own purposes. Being ignored, probably for the first time as Sparda's son, deeply offended him, but he couldn't afford it, considering his state. Besides, he had more important things to do.

At this point, he had already managed to create a near-perfect copy of the Force Edge, his father's sword, which he was unable to claim for himself and ended up in Dante's hands. He was still somewhat angry about it, but lamenting was useless. This new version was part of his energy and therefore he would never lose it. That gave him a little more self-confidence.

And perhaps luck was reaching out to him, feeling guilty after ignoring him for so long, because as soon as he set foot in the human world, he knew immediately where to turn.

The city of Fortuna.

Unfortunately, his body was not in tune with his mind, since he also felt that what little strength he had gathered was leaving him again, this time with the certainty that there's no time to waste. A quick glance at the first surface that allowed it, informed Vergil that his face was beginning to crack as well. So the first thing he did in the human world was look for something that would hide his pathetic appearance.

Another unexpected stroke of luck led him to find Beowulf on his way to his destination, at the home of a collector who clearly had no idea of the weapon's true value.

In the eyes of mere humans, that would be considered theft, for Vergil it was nothing more than recovering something long time lost.

But his body grew weaker and weaker; for the same reason, his mind was focused back on that single purpose, dispatching the enemies that appeared as quickly as possible, conveniently forgetting that he had already visited that city once, and that the young man who kindly offered him something to eat might or might not to be more than just a stranger.

Why did he have the Yamato? Why was his appearance so similar to Vergil's?

Those questions disappeared immediately, the boy noticed that something was wrong, and his arm flashed to show him the threat.

That was all that Vergil needed, with what little strength he had left, he tore off the kid's arm without hesitation, and calling the sword, opened a portal, crossing it without looking back, with the certainty that he had won another enemy.

But that didn't matter. His mission was more important, he could not afford to die without achieving it first. And a child was no reason to worry. The end justifies the means, after all.

He went on his way, although this time the correct thing to say would be that he was going back instead of forward. Going back to his childhood's city was not something to take lightly.

Vergil is not the kind of person to look back. He never did it before, it was a waste of time, a useless torture. Right now, however, it was a kind of ritual that needed to be done.

To achieve his goal, severing ties permanently was a prerequisite.

And doing it in the old family home was the most appropriate thing to do.

He looked at the huge portrait of what was once a happy family. It was quite damaged, but the overall image was still somehow recognizable. Mysteriously the mother had been "saved", her features were the only ones clearly visible, while the face of the father and the two children had been lost in the black of combustion.

How ironic, Vergil thought, as he focused on the twins, and it didn't take any effort to tell them apart, it was obvious to him.

-Dante...

His twin brother, the only living relative he had left, the reason he was there, about to abandon everything, hoping to regain his lost honor back, in one last desperate attempt.

Turning his back on the portrait, to his family, he focused on what he had come to do, he didn't know what would come of it all, but again, it didn't matter anymore.

Separating man from demon was his last hope, and along with it, he also took care to cut off everything he considered a weakness, the reasons for his defeat, the nightmares that constantly reminded him that he still had not managed to obtain the power that he had sought so much.

He stabbed himself with the sword while he recited that spell that, to tell the truth, he no longer remembered where he found it.

As pain stalked him again, he felt that his plan had worked, his human side and his nightmares were successfully discarded, and something grew within him, a raw and savage power that grew ever greater.

And so Vergil ceased to exist... for a period of a month, or so.

When V achieved his own goal, and plunged the cane into the demon king to unite the two halves again, the being known as Vergil returned. As he watched the pieces of the illusion fall, the mansion disappearing, he realized that he never predicted this outcome. V had been discarded and his mission was fulfilled at the exact moment of his "birth", but he did not expect that, instead of lying down to die and accepting his fate, that remnant of his would do the opposite.

However, to say that he was upset about it would be a lie.

Because thanks to that, this time he could finally face his old rival in the same conditions, a fair and long-awaited fight, because yes, Urizen had also left his mark on this new Vergil and he remembered his battles, but for some reason, it was not the same.

Perhaps the human side of him was much more complex or important than he ever thought, but Urizen, powerful as he was, was far too… simple. A creature with only one purpose in mind was not what Vergil wished for when he thought of a perfect demon, and his victories were far from truly satisfying.

Vergil didn't have an answer to this question, and he would probably never find it, but that was past.

At this moment, something more interesting was in front of him: Dante, tired, but in the mood for a fight.

Beside him, that boy, Nero, his expression showed with brutal frankness the confusion he felt in this strange situation. He had helped V, but of course he never imagined that V was a part of the individual who stole his arm. Even with V's explanation, he didn't seem to understand why this was absolutely necessary for the brothers, something inevitable.

However, instead of going straight for the attack, Vergil looked to the ground, where was the book that V had taken with him from the first seconds of his existence. Again, he wondered why he had held onto that object so vehemently. It was not a weapon, nor was it a pleasant memory, yet he couldn't help it. Now, as Vergil, he did the same, pick it up, and put it away. Something unusual about him, but there was no time to think, Dante made the first move.

Vergil felt refreshed, this time, stronger than ever thanks to the fruit of the tree, which gifted him with a couple of new skills that he was eager to try, and dispatched Dante almost effortlessly. He even felt the luxury of giving his brother a chance to rest, before the final fight.

For some reason he couldn't understand at the time, he turned around, looking at Nero before disappearing through the portal.

-Thank you, Nero...

Why he said that? Those kinds of words weren't his style, always used to getting what he needed on his own. But denying the boy's participation was absurd, even when V didn't hesitate for a moment to use him as a tool to achieve his goal, Nero as well didn't hesitate to help V when he was so close to die.

Vergil opened his eyes again. This time he was at the top of the demon tree, thousands of meters above the city, waiting patiently for Dante, and in that span of time he had done something unbecoming of him: look back, reflect on the past and all the decisions that led to this time and place. It must have been a bad habit inherited from V, who had perhaps become too used to that mental torture, as he searched for the discarded nightmares in a pathetic attempt to confront Urizen.

But that little lapse had come to an end. Dante had arrived, demanding the sword that belonged to him by right, and that this time no one would steal it ever again.

-If you want it, you'll have to take it. But you already knew that.

-I had the feeling you'd say that.

A smile was born from both of them, aware that this time would be the last. Years of conflict and rivalry, condensed into a decisive battle.

One of the two would die here. But even so they smiled, remembering old times and accustomed from their earliest childhood to solving everything that way, their own particular way of relating as a family.

That last word, however, ended up attacking Vergil in an unexpected way, when Dante in the middle of the fight, remarked casually (or perhaps with a well-calculated purpose), that Nero was his son.

-You cutt off your own son's arm for THIS?

-My son…? That means nothing to me!- Vergil replied immediately, without stopping to think about what Dante had meant.

The confrontation continued almost like nothing, but when Vergil was about to be defeated, he stepped aside to throw Dante away, and in that moment, his brain finally made the missing connection.

-Nero is my son?- He asked wearily, unable to hide the disbelief in his voice.

-Yeah, dumbass- Dante answered with a slight laugh as he got up-, You can't remember through that thick skull of yours?

If Vergil stopped to think, yes, it all made sense, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before, even that annoying bird hinted at V more than once the same thing. Something that, in those moments of uncertainty, did not matter.

Although it was more correct to say that he deliberately ignored all the clues.

But then, something else passed through his mind, a memory that he had believed dead and forgotten, a woman's face that...

-Well, well, that was a long time ago- he said without further ado, ending that topic.

-I guess you were young once too. As much as I'd love to hear that story, I think it's about time we...

-...Ended this- Vergil answered immediately.

That was too deep of a secret, which he preferred to take to the grave, and would do everything he could to make sure of it.

Dante would never know about that matter. If he already had motives to kill him before, now he must do it at any cost.

Both men drew their weapons, took their most powerful form, ready for one last attack.

They charge at the same time, intending to finish it all in one strike.

The dreaded final slash never happened. Something appeared in front of the brothers, stopping them with a hand on their chest, also holding the hands that wielded both swords at the same time.

A demon with long white hair and blue wings.

They barely had time to recognize Nero, before he threw them away, and gave his own opinion on the matter.

-This ends, right here. I won't let you kill each other.

Vergil couldn't help but react when Nero in one blow sent Dante flying as he tried to pull the boy to the side, without even looking at him. Maybe the boy was indeed his son after all.

He was aware that Nero was still upset about being called a deadweight, and knew immediately from whom he had inherited that spiteful trait.

Unfortunately, he couldn't celebrate seeing Dante on the ground, because now Nero turned in his direction.

-There are other ways to settle your differences. I'm putting a stop to this sibling rivalry.

Vergil couldn't help but laugh. Nero made it sound so easy.

The situation was so absurd.

A child trying to teach adults a lesson.

-Ah, you came all this way just for that.

-Vergil, V... Whatever you call yourself. Dante won't die here, and neither will you. You have a problem with that?

Okay, now this was unusual. V witnessed in the front row his talent to hold a grudge, how Nero was determined to defeat and eliminate the bastard who cut off his arm. Perhaps knowing now that they were family had made Nero reconsider, despite what Vergil had done to him?

Would he forgive him just for that?

No, of course not, that was not what Nero had in mind. He would not be a descendant of Sparda if he chose the peaceful route.

So this kid wants to fight. Vergil understood his motives, of course, but that was not equivalent to taking him seriously. Having a new power was not enough. Vergil tried to engage Dante, tempt him to fight again and thus pushing Nero aside, but he completely ignored him.

-Whatever, I don't really care, I'm just gonna sit this one out- said the younger twin, laying down on the ground ready to take a nap.

Damn it, Dante.

So it was Vergil vs Nero.

-When this is over, I'll make you submit… Father.

That word sent a chill down his spine. It was strange, unknown, and he immediately knew he would never get used to it.

Again Vergil tried to not engage in the fight.

-This has nothing to do with you. Stand down.

-Nothing to do with me? It has everything to do with me!

-Nero…

He suddenly realized something. It's not just that he has no reason to fight Nero.

Vergil doesn't want to fight Nero.

But why?

It's not fear, no. The boy is stronger now, but he is still too young and inexperienced to compare up to the twins. Or maybe, maybe yes, because Nero wants something very particular out of this fight, and Vergil isn't willing to even think about it.

He just dodged, and launched weak attacks. He really did not want to take the situation to a point of no return, but the boy would not listen to reasons.

-Fuck you!

-You…

The kid is angry. Without even seeing him grow up, Vergil knew that he had inherited the method of solving problems with his fists. It brought back memories of those old fights with Dante over anything and everything, but this time the motive was more important, getting Vergil to recognize him as his son.

-You feeling accepting yet?

-…Your existence, or your strength?

-Both you fuckin' asshole!

...If Nero wants recognition from him, then he will have to earn it.

It was time to check the boy's real strength.

Vergil had no choice but to fight seriously, an oversight could send him flying, just like Dante. He wasn't going to let himself be humiliated by the boy, not when he could see Dante out of the corner of his eye, sitting down and enjoying the show. He wanted so badly to kick his ass when it was all over...

The fight ran its course, and to Vergil's disappointment, the youngest was the winner.

-Interesting...

-Ahahaha, oh brother, you cut off your son's arm for more power, and you still lost.

-Enough dammit! The underworld is taking over, we need to do something before it's too late.

A trembling proved Nero right.

-He's right, we need to close that portal. Hey, you lost, so you better do what he says.

Vergil wasn't going to admit defeat so easily. He got to his feet as best he could, and for the first time he felt that the weight of his age was upon him.

-I can still fight.- Nero was on guard again. -But if those roots continue to spread through town, it'll just interfere with our business.

Vergil started walking and Dante got up to follow him, leaving Nero behind.

It was not necessary to explain to his brother what they had to do. Without crossing a word they had already agreed.

-Now, that's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say. Better hurry up… We still got a score to settle.

-Evidently.

-Wait, where are you going?

Vergil turned to Nero to explain the situation.

-We need to sever the Qliphoth roots from the underworld itself. Then we'll seal the portal with the Yamato.

Nero looked at them both, immediately understanding the situation.

-Hang on, if you do that, you can't come back.

This time Dante answered.

-Why do you think I'm goin'? Somebody's gotta keep an eye on your old man.

The brothers turned their backs on Nero as they walked away.

-You can't just expect me to stay here while you both go-

-It's because you're here we can go-. Dante said suddenly. -We're trusting you with things on this side, capisce?

Vergil didn't stop to watch. Whatever relationship those two had, that moment was the closest thing to a goodbye, and he didn't want to be a part of it. It was better to leave as soon as possible.

-Make haste, Dante.

-Yeah. I know.

Of course, Nero disagreed. There was no need to look him in the face to figure it out.

-Hey, wait!

They both heard him run in his direction, and with that twin instinct, they synchronized to hit the young man and send him flying back, far enough away that he couldn't do anything about it.

-Take care, Nero. Adiós.

Dante left first, clearly intending to give the two of them a moment alone.

Vergil wasn't in the mood for a family reunion, but he couldn't just walk away.

-I won't lose next time.

He looked at the book in his hand, considering that idea that had just occurred to him.

-Hold onto that until then.

There, it was done. He threw the book to the ground, and while he followed the same path as Dante leaving his son behind, he thought that "farewell" wasn't too bad.

Now there was only one problem left: getting rid of Dante.

It was obvious that he would stick to Vergil like a pesky plague while they were in the underworld. They were heading to cut down the demon tree and the younger twin was already talking way too much. Vergil let him be, more out of boredom than anything else. As soon as he managed to defeat Dante, that annoying chat would be a thing of the past.

But again his plans weren't working, and they were already enjoying the fights as a game rather than a death battle.

-Score for Dante! I'm up one.

-Where did you learn to count? We're even.

Dante lay down to rest, as if they weren't in the middle of hell, open to a possible attack.

-You know, I'm starting to think, this is never gonna end.

-Maybe. We have plenty of time.

He couldn't deny that there was some fun, just like the old days. The only problem is that Dante occasionally threw out things about Nero way too casually for Vergil's taste, like nothing.

-By the way, how'd it felt catching up with your kid?

-There's no need for us to "catch up".

-Well, with an attitude like that, you'll never gonna meet your grandkids.

Vergil didn't take a second to put the Yamato on his brother's neck.

-That's enough. I don't want to hear it.

Dante nodded, but his expression made it clear that he wasn't going to shut up about it so easily.

At least Vergil will have plenty of time to try to silence him once and for all...

My AO3 page for those interested

https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurasakiWitch/works

#fanfic #ao3 #devil may cry 5 #dmc vergil #dmc dante #am i doing this right?

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fitzrove · 4 months

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(if you're still doing these!) 3, 8, 34 for the ask meme?

3. 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

Oaghh this is actually a tricky question!! But maybe I do know how to answer...

The Cat Returns (Studio Ghibli / Hiroyuki Morita)

It's my #1 comfort movie haha. I used to watch it with my sister when we were little, more so than any other Ghibli film (I did grow up with them and liked a lot of them - but I have to admit: I've never understood the appeal of Totoro specifically, I still think it's overrated hfhfjfj). Apparently it's widely considered to be a less good movie than the others, partly because Miyazaki wasn't that involved in it, but I think it's amazing. Also, I saw Whisper of the Heart (the one it's a spin off of) as an adult and didn't like it at all ajdjfkfk. The music, the worldbuilding/aesthetic, the (sometimes very eccentric) Finnish dub and the inherent whimsicalness of the story are very nostalgic and fun for me, and I've always loved cats, so :D

2. LOTR trilogy

It's cheating haha but putting all three under one heading. I've gone to a cinematic back-to-back marathon event of the extended edition... It took 12 hours and was one of the best moviegoing experiences of my life xD I feel like once you've done that, you're at a point where you can definitely say you're not going to get bored of it. I mean, I've been known to dip to get more snacks during some sequences (particular non-favourite is Shelob - not for any lack of fondness for spiders btw, I just find it a bit tedious as an action scene and it's at a point in the story where I'd rather be Moving On), but overall I really love these films - the story, the world, the characters, the music, the sheer amount of effort and care that went into making them and how it really shows >:]

3. POTO 2004

<333 Favourite musical film hahahahahah. I know this is controversial, but for me personally it's in some aspects even more fulfilling than seeing the show in the theatre. My favourite part/character of the show and book is and has always been the opera house!!!! I looooove theatres and theatre backstage stuff, especially big fancy old opera houses, and the movie is very immersively costumed and staged (set?). I don't watch it often (in full anyway - I rewatch the Carlotta scenes semi-often though), but I feel like if I was strapped to a chair and made to, I would just be vibing.

8. any reoccurring dreams?

I've only had one (1) actually repeated dream in my life, where it played out the same beat-for-beat as if watching the same VHS tape again, first when I was about 5 and again when I was maybe 7 years old - a weird Disney pastiche of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid haha. Repeating themes are more common. My least favourite of those was when my mental health was at its absolute lowest in my life during high school, and for around too months I kept dying in different kinds of highly specific ww2-related circumstances 😭😭 (I don't know if I started reading survivor stories too young - around the age of 10 or so...) ANYWAY yeah haha, not many specific reoccurring dreams. I wish I could repeat the one or two times in my life when I've dreamed about flying, it was a lot of fun >:]

34. any pet peeves?

Too many - I feel like half my tumblr posts are about these xD

One big one rn is that many German theatres don't let you book your tickets in just one step. They make you put in all your info and pick a seat and everything, and only then (after a 5-10 minute delay) do they send an email asking to transfer the money to secure your booking. Well, I was meant to go somewhere tomorrow, but turns out I never remembered to send the money in time and have lost my seat :----) It's okay haha it's going to thunder and rain tomorrow anyway, I'll just stay in my hometown and go see something here later lol...

#asks #tysm for asking!!! twas fun >:]

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miyakuli · 6 months

Text

Twin Mirror

I don't nod this time

I'm no stranger to the studio's interactive adventures, and they often range from the very good (Life is Strange) to the more conventional (Tell me why). Unfortunately, this one falls into the lower category… and yet we're immersed in a thriller in which our main protagonist tries to solve murders, all with the help of his mind palace, which enables him to reconstruct scenes or anticipate actions. Sounds cool, doesn't it?! if only the script and gameplay had been better worked out…

❤ I'd like to praise the dubbing actors, who succeeded in making their characters far more lively and expressive than their animated models (we'll come back to the animation in another section). ❤ Some interesting staging ideas, though too few and far between. ❤ The scenes between Sam and his double personifying his reason are the most successful; we feel the security of this voice in his head in the face of an increasingly violent and sad society, but we also understand the social isolation he faces by literally remaining immersed in his thoughts. This was really the most pertinent point of the whole game.

+/- In line with my point above, the moments when we plunge into his mind palace are also intriguing, whether to reconstruct scenes, plunge back into his memories, or confront his doubts and fears….but they are few and far between and not sufficiently exploited, even though tackling this theme of the psyche could have led to situations far richer in emotion. +/- The soundtrack includes a few nice songs, but the soundscape is very empty. I don't know if it's to suggest the bleak vision the character has of the city, but it's boring. +/- The scenery is quite beautiful on the whole, with some very successful lighting effects, but not always very detailed, and the characters' animation and expressiveness are really too bland. +/- Some characters are endearing, but none are really developed (no time). For example, Joan, the mature kid with the strong character, I only met her briefly 3 times in the game without having the time to really create a bond with Sam. Anna, with whom we spend the most time, doesn't have the most evolved dialogues with him either (even though, given their shared past, there was room for more intimate moments). In short, they're all quickly forgotten.

✖ The game's biggest problem is its length. 5 short hours to rebuild relationships, investigate (and solve) the death of your best friend and, at the same time, introspect on yourself in the company of an imaginary twin? it's impossible to have time to develop anything. Everything moves too fast, and we never take the time to experience a scene or feel anything. ✖ In general, I have no problem with simplistic interactions between several cinematics. The thing is, these are far too long (and slow) and our actions are rather boring; dialogue and story choices are minimal and exploration never adds much. ✖ How predictable is your script, were the writers uninspired or what? (found culprit second 1)

I can't say I was bored by this game (I didn't have the time to feel it anyway in 5 hours xD), but I didn't really get to enjoy it because I felt a lot of laziness in its writing and gameplay. It started from a good premise, with some nice mental phases, and I think that with more time, we could have come up with something at least interesting. My spiritual twin would advise you to buy it on sale if you're really curious about playing it ;)

youtube

➡ My Steam page

#twin mirror #I hope Jusant will satisfy me better #Lola plays games #personal

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rainbowcaleb · 11 months

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3, 19, 14 for the fic writer asks!

ooh many! (from the list here)

3. What's your favorite fic that you've written?

Cheater's answer is my as-of-yet unpublished ending to Fourth Corner. (sorry, sorry) But honestly the only fic I've actually re-read by choice (and not for editing reasons) is my spicy Patience, which to this day is the only fic I've gotten direct DM'd compliments on XD

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as a comic or a film, which fic would you pick?

I think it would be unhingedly delightful to see the giant bug fight from Fourth Corner animated, as a fight scene is so cinematic. Also Catfe comics would make me weep fr. That would be such a cozy comic book to read.

19. Give us a small teaser from your WIPs.

Let's do a recent one! My luciessek monster length fic is very unpublished but I love my terrible sons so much.

Essek’s meager concentration was broken with a heavy weight across his shoulders. He had spent all day attempting to find a clean corner amongst the chaos before giving up and floating over the questionably stained cot. Light, he can’t believe he had slept on that before. Finding what he wanted amongst this latest batch of tomes was just as insufferable of a task. He was so close, so close, to a breakthrough. All knowledge was hard won, some a bloodstained trophy, but Essek knew it would be worth it. It had to be.

And then Lucien fucking Tavelle had to drape himself across his floating body and knock him half out of the air and fully out of his thoughts.

“Play a game with me Essek.” He spoke in that dangerous purr, voice rumbling against Essek’s back.

“You want something.” He replied matter of fact. With Lucien, it often was the case.

“That isn’t the game, darling.” Lucien stepped aside but didn’t let go of Essek, leaning to whisper in his ear. “Good news or bad news. I’ll let you pick.”

“How magnanimous.” Essek knew this push and pull, the familiarity like muscle memory of dance steps. He tilted his head away, wanting to make Lucien work for it. “Start with the bad news, Lucien, out with it.”

“Always the same answer, tsk. We have a leak.”

There was no way Lucien, as wrapped over Essek as he was, didn’t feel the sharp and immediate tensing of his shoulders.

“And you are sure, how?”

“Call it divine intuition.” Lucien’s teeth were on Essek’s neck now, teasing between words.

“There is nothing divine about you.” Essek snapped back. This was catastrophic, why wasn’t Lucien out there right now, predator to this prey? What they were doing could never be made public.

“That’s the joke, darling.” Hands trailed up Essek’s back, a little bit of claw to their gentle touch. Lucien dug his fingers into Essek’s shoulders; a massage and a reminder.

#fic writer asks #luciessek #if lucien/essek has 1000 fans i am one. etc. etc. if they have one fan IT IS ME #lucien tavelle #essek thelyss #critical role fic #critical role fanfic #wips #my fic #PLEASE ASK ME MORE heehee

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sergeantnarwhalwrites · 1 year

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Robots & Gardens Part 3

Everything is a draft and will be subject to change later and there will be grammar mistakes. My usual spiel XD It's been a while huh. The document was giving me hell when I finished typing this up. Finishing up this chapter as most of you voted for in the make me write tag game/poll. You can find the previous parts here -> 1/2/

The screen mounted on the wall had quickly came to life beginning to play the hyper cinematic news. Broadcasting it through the old scratchy speakers within the room.

“Tonight we show live coverage from the newest competitor from among the largest manufacturers. A multi-millionaire approaching even higher realms of wealth and possibilities. Tonight this man of many accolades speaks for all of us.”

He didn’t look like what Green would imagine a multi-millionaire to look like. It was just some pasty white dude with the sleeker pair of teched glasses and neon nail polish, oh, and a sad mustache. The older pairs felt like a couple of cell phones taped to your head. She knew because she’d stolen a few pairs easy. You could always tell the newer ones cause the color didn’t flake off the frames. His bright nail polish glittered as he covered his grinning mouth with his hand.

“Thanks for having me and for the lovely introduction. We are in the process of merging with the very notable manufacturer of Justice Robotics.”

Green felt the forehead wrinkles forming briefly pausing in her idle roaming. Maybe she shouldn’t have grabbed Peace from the protests today but the money was too good to turn down. The threat this client offered against all Peace’s protestors was worse. She knew Peace could handle herself but she didn’t have the skills to console Peace if her protestors got ran through. That newbie richie’s words sounded like an absolute disaster in the making.

A long running manufacturer that makes a majority of the bullshit and a new company known for elaborate coding and mimicked products. She lifted her knife from the holster and acknowledged the weight in her hand. Twirling her knife in her hand as she returned to her idling. Ignoring the lingering odor double fisting her nostrils with her best efforts. Frustrated that the smell didn’t seem to care about the woman’s position. This crew was soon to be hers. She was tough. She provided for those that she could. It didn’t matter that it involved breaking a multitude of laws.

“In this move, we will be consolidating our products and efforts. We will even destroy two of our old headquarters in this locale to replace it with sustainable land.”

Green rolled her eyes. Sounded like a lie. Though if there even was a follow through, they’d still have to throw tons of money at those damn filters. The same stupid filters that newbie’s company made. She mumbled aloud to herself about Peace’s future rants about how funding for this destruction would come right out of the actually important parts of the education efforts. Green wasn’t sure if she’d just be an open ear or mention that the education efforts didn’t do much for the both of them anyway.

She grunted to herself ignoring the shuffling feet of crew members shoving old shirts into the drafty windows. The smog lately had been atrocious. Green had forced her crew and Peace to use masks. Her thoughts refocused to the wealthy man babbling; maybe centering the rich idiots will make less interference and more business.

“Is this a countermeasure to the smog covering oldtown locale? How have your backers felt about these decisions?” The reporter asked.

He laughed, and it made the speakers rattle, “One can consider it that. My backers are enthused by the new move! They encourage actions like these.”

“We’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on this. From workers, citizens, and fellow manufacturer owners. Is there anything you would like to say to sway them?”

“Don’t fear change! We guarantee this move will improve air quality and all products leaving our facilities! Our companies’ profits will merge but outstanding payments will be handled from separate funds. Allowing for wages to remain as they were.”

Green continued to twirl her knife catching a new glint on the screen. The overbearing lights of their news set brought attention to a wedding band on the rich man’s slender fingers. Blinking as the screen flickered off.

“Be prepared. We might have to house the protestors after this news.” She stated, slipping her knife back into the holster.

A muffled laugh slipped past a crew member. Older. Their gray hairs sprinkled throughout their exposed chest hair. They tossed the remote aside and nudged Green. A damp shirt tossed over their shoulder, ready to fill in any gaps in their crumbling safehouse.

“After this stunt. We’ll probably be getting all kinds of wild calls.”

Green grunted in affirmation. “Yeah, and I’m sure a shit ton will ask us to murder innocent protestors.”

“They hate people that oppose their goals.” They put a hand up to hush Green and hurled the shirt at the head of a fellow member.

The shirt landed with a wet slop. Proceeding to hang off of the victim's head.

Green snickered, “Good aim. Don’t think we should cause any damage before we have to run around like wild men. Jus’ like you said. We’ll have work coming for us.”

The wet shirt returned, hitting their shoulder. They clambered to grab it before it hit the floor. Holding it against their thigh before tossing it back up into their hand.

“Tough guys gotta goof off before the serious jobs hit.”

“This is a serious job. We can’t let the smog fuck up everyone inside too. We got kids in the building.” She unbuttoned her sleeves, carefully rolling them up, “I’m gonna see if I can shake out the filters or something.”

---

The engineer sat on the floor, squinting at the laptop that sat on her knee. One hand keeping it balanced there. She viewed the video data that Donnie had left for her about their tagging incident. Well attempted. The video was fucking butchered. It was grainy, one, but then it would crash after a few minutes. She’d blame it on the tag itself if the video hadn’t been distorted from the start. Hollis was doubtful she could restore something like this. Or if it was even worth it to do so. She tried not to let it frustrate her. But who was ever chill about the tech they made not working with them?

Donnie was obviously an important person, she could tell that easily. The cyborg’s shirt was smooth– silky, and it was patterned. A dress shirt that she knew cost more than her weekly snack runs. Even if she had a tendency to apply the shove it in her pockets discount. Though she wondered how an important person could have such high-end tech go so long without upgrades. Without checkups. The man was a cyborg. Basic maintenance could be life or death. So could the tagging incident. She stared blankly at the corrupted video data.

Digits kicked the door, arms still out of commission. She had enticed her helpful roommate to stay back with the exaggerated imagery of what might happen to her arms as they got worked on. Brian had looked queasy by the time she mentioned the pain has made her vomit and then crumple into a pile on top of it. She had gone in to bash the door with another swift kick, jumping when Hollis swung the door open.

Hollis leaned against the door frame, carefully eyeing the woman. She caught sight of bronzing knuckles beneath artificial skin and grimaced. Not noticing the confusion on the woman’s face.

“Can I come in?”

Hollis nodded and chewed on her cheek. She moved aside to let the woman in.

“How long have you had those prosthetics?”

Digits’s face scrunched in distaste. The engineer didn’t know if it was from the question or the answer.

“Maybe six years. Something like that.”

Hollis nodded silently and lifted one of Digit’s arms. Concern filled her eyes as she glanced up at the woman. Careful to not let her gaze linger longer than necessary. Though she had failed at that one.

“I realize my prosthetics are an older beta model. Can you fix this or not?” Digits snapped, wanting nothing more than to snatch her hand back from the engineer.

Hollis released Digit’s hand hastily. She only asked the questions out of necessity but she understood how this situation was not the best for easing the mood. Though she knew this Hollis still grimaced. She placed her hand on Digits’s shoulder and pushed her down into a chair.

“Let me put my contacts in and get my tools,” Hollis shot a smile with too many teeth irritated, “Unable to move both arms? Any feeling in them at all?”

Digits grunted when her ass hit the chair. Arms hanging limp at her sides. Hollis felt Digits’ eyes on her back. Unbothered by the feeling. More on edge that she’d actually have to have as good vision as possible to not fuck Digits up more. This wasn’t a squint and hope for the best kind of job. So Hollis sucked in a breath and held her eye open with one hand before dropping a couple eyedrops in. Repeating this in her other eye. She popped open the case to her contacts slipping them in with ease. She blinked aggressively towards the wall until the contacts tinged her brown eyes blue. Waiting for Digits to answer.

Digits pressed herself against the back of the chair. Ignoring the quiet creak of protest that sounded at the movement.

“Nope, I can’t move them at all. Sort of, it’s just nulled a ton.”

Hollis tossed her tools onto the table and approached Digits. She lifted both of the woman’s hands picking at the artificial skin with her thumbnails.

“Well, you won’t feel what I’m gonna do to you then. I’m guessing your arms giving out wasn’t sudden. You have a tell.” Hollis’s eyes scanned over the prosthetic unamused, popping a marker from her overalls breast pocket.

“Usually a tingle in the back of my neck. Like anxiety shakes.”

Hollis trialed the marker down her three prosthetic fingers on both hands. Pressing hard on the back of her hand to try to find where the rest of the machinery was located. Mumbling to herself as she circled the woman’s wrists. She felt more artificial skin as she traveled up the woman’s forearms, following it with the marker.

“Whoever installed your prosthetics were idiots,” Hollis stated matter of fact, not marking again until she reached the back of the woman’s neck.

“And that means it’ll make your job harder won’t it?”

“Correct.”

Digits sighed loudly, feet tapping impatiently on the floor. Watching one of Hollis’s smaller bots zoom past their feet.

“I can do a temporary fix that should keep you in better shape than now. But it won’t stop the lockups. I’ll have to install a new cable in an attempt to reduce some of the stray charges. If they implanted a supplemental chip to assist with faster readings there’s a chance it’s just being overloaded.”

“Shit. That sounds expensive.”

“You’ve got me working on an old beta that didn’t survive a year past the testing stages. The fix up is gonna be expensive. I’ll just take whatever you have on you. Any more and I’d be robbing you.”

“Sounds like bullshit.”

“More shit than your prosthetics,” Hollis quipped back, “Don’t talk down on my kindness if you want somewhat functioning arms for your day job.”

Digits shot the engineer a thin lipped smile. Looking away from the engineer as she did her job. She probably deserved that. Hollis nodded accepting that silence as an answer. She scrapped off all of the woman’s artificial skin. Sighing at the mess that rested in front of her. She placed both of Digits’ arms on the table and got to work.

#writeblr #Robots & Gardens #XD Been a while since I worked on actual story components #original writing #yo I don't even remember how I was working the perspectives fuck

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dennydraws · 1 year

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What music really hypes you up?

YES SPREAD THE ASKS!!

If it's not some kinda game OST, then count me out XD; I'm an artist, I need the music to spawn cinematics in my head! And because of that it variates based on what I'm working on. Is it a battle scene? Is it some kinda tender moment between characters? Is it a scene??

Sometimes movie OSTs too but more often than not it's just Hans Zimmer... or something more old-ish ? Recent Movie OSTs feel like very generic "insert epic orchestra moment" and nothing really memorable. It really starts blending overtime.

That probably didn't give much of an answer xD;; I do make playlist for certain stories I work on that help me get in the zone whenever I find time to actually work on them!

Beyond that, idk what's popular on the radio. The music trends are extremely generic and unmemorable nowadays. My brain is still wired that 10 years ago was the 90s and I miss the happy distinct beats of the Eurodance and Eurorap era. u_u;

#Replies #Thank you for the ask!!

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reservoirreputation · 8 months

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Hi! Thank you so much for pointing me towards Dead Doggies Aren’t Much Fun. Turns out they were a lot of fun! I came for bottom!Larry but ended up staying for the plot. By the final chapter I’d already forgotten about the fact that the two hadn’t banged yet (fake ghost sex aside).

* Spoilers below for those who haven’t read it *

I loved Ending A and how it subverted expectation. That perfect moment of realisation really had me gasp in horror in bed at 2am. But Freddy’s road trip in Ending B is also so, so precious. I genuine can’t make up my mind between the two, and now understand why you included both!

Everything aside, I am sincere when I say this is the most original fic I’ve read in a while. The foundation idea that it’s based on is super strong itself, and you continue to astonish with twists and turns along the way. The almost screenplay-like style was also perfect, keeping just the right level of suspense without giving everything away. I am thoroughly hooked, and will go read all your other fics now!

Hellooooo!!!!

In my head, the title is a two parter: 'Dead Doggies Aren't Much Fun... They're a Fucking Riot'.

When you rope people in with the promise of smut, then sidetrack them with plot XD (but seriously it's a huge compliment that you got lost in the story, that's so cool)

I consider ending A to be the 'cinematic' one, and B the 'romantic' one. If I recall, ending A was all I was building up to, and then my brain went 'what if we did this? 😃' and that's how ending B was born.

I swear, this all started with me wanting to write about Larry cuddling and comforting ghost-Freddy, and it just expanded from there. Again, I also take inspiration from Mike Flanagan and his works, applied some Hitchcockian suspense, and I'm sure Stephen King is to blame for some of this, too, just to name a few.

Since you're gonna read my other fics anyway... I think you'll like 'The Snitch and The Rat'. It is (I think) very cinematic, as well as romantic, and 'Birds in the Spider's Nest' is also paranormal, more horror, and one that I personally can really visualize in my head. Both also have their twists and turns, which you'll hopefully also like! I'm biased, I love all my fics, but I think you'll enjoy those two, specifically!

Thank you again for reading the fic and sending in this ask, and I hope you have a nice day!

#reservoir dogs #fanfic #writers #writing #asks #qirunwei #fic spoilers

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tessmontyart · 1 year

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🎉🎉COCO MOON DAY! 🎉🎉

To celebrate I made some owl cupcakes 😁 Those who remember my rockcandypassion days will be familiar ;) (just like my old profile pic! Nostalgia)

We listened to the album for the first time while munching on these, and I wrote down my thoughts while I was listening 💕 so here we go! (I’m no writer so bear with me lol!)

Adam, Check Please

When this first came out, I absolutely adored it. I couldn’t get over all the different layers it has, and it uses all my favourite classic Owl City synths and orchestral sounds. At first I wasn’t keen on the lyrics, but it’s definitely grown on me!

It’s reminiscent of Fiji Water, in the similar story-time style about a moment in Adams life that, even though it was kinda strange, he’s forever grateful for the experience.

I love that crazy sound effect that happens after he says “feeling kinda small” xD It doesn’t happen again. What is it?

The “Adam check please” “help is on the way” layered vocal section is really soothing and gives my brain a lot of happy chemicals.

Such creative little rhythmic embellishments, and orchestral elements peppered throughout which elevate the song to new heights.

The funky guitar strumming during the chorus is just so catchy, I love it. And that synth solo!!! It gives me life.

It’s turns from a storytime song to a very inspiring and uplifting song towards the end; “Put in the work until your signature becomes an autograph” is such a good line!

And yes please, absolutely adore when a song ends with an outro of layered Adam vocals, like Can’t Live Without You 💕

Under the Circus Lights

Wait - from the land down under!? 😮That’s me! 🐨

I’m reminded of of Super Honeymoon, the way he’s captivated by this girl - and in turn I'm absolutely captivated by this song!

The classic Owl City lyric style that I've missed so much … very Of June / Maybe I'm Dreaming / Sky Sailing-esque style storytelling. I’m absolutely head over heels in love with this song already. Instant favourite for sure!!

I love the time signature change to a 3/4 swing, similar to Plant Life ❤️

“That girl was raised by a butterfly” what an adorable line 💖

It really does remind me of an alternate Super Honeymoon with hints of Ultraviolet and Cinematic sounds 😮

The part with the applause and Adam yelling “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most spectacular show on earth!!" Hoo boy I cannot WAIT to hear this live!!!

This song is taking my breath away, it’s simply absolutely everything I love about Owl City, but still brand new with new twists and sounds.

Adams falsetto is absolutely heavenly!!

Such a wonderful outro of Owl City-esque circus music and sound effects, you feel like you're there 💖

Kelly Time:

I was very intrigued when this came out, it's such a treat to listen to and I was incredibly curious to know what the lyrics were about because it was so oddly specific. Turns out it's from the perspective of a beach volleyball from the movie Castaway! 🏐🏝 I need to watch that now for context! xD

The storytelling style continues, and definitely seems to be a theme for this album. I'm here for it, I've missed it so much.

Every time he yells “I’m sorry”, I feel it with every fibre of my being.

I really love the length of this song as well. I appreciate being able to “live” in songs a little longer.

The Adam Young Scores-esque orchestral embellishments add so much to it as well, it's one of my favourite features to 'modern' Owl City :)

More classic Owl City Dadadas as well as Doodoodoos :D

I feel the 2nd “I'm SOOOORRY” with my whole soul

I can't think of many Owl City songs that use a lot of acoustic guitar, so the combination of acoustic guitar with all the cute synths and piano is absolutely perfect!

Field Notes

The orchestral elements are very reminiscent of All Things Bright and Beautiful.

That dang dog :P

I love the way he says lickety split, such a fun phrase to say hehe :D Again, adoring the storytelling theme of this whole album.

The chords are so unique here! And the gorgeous plucked strings aid the excitement and push the story forward. Then all these beautiful shimmers and sparkles combined with the violins and piano is heavenly to hear .. ahhhhh ✨✨✨

“Theres a couple of things worth more precious than gold, one is your heart and one is your soul” What a beautiful line 💖

I thought it ended, now it’s getting more exciting! :0

Goodness gracious this man !!NEEDS!! to score a movie, this is incredible, I can see everything unfolding in my head!

And a synth solo accompanied by an orchestra, what a perfect combination!

Sons of Thunder

The reverse synths combined with the sparkly synths are absolutely beautiful and tickling my brain 💖

These lyrics convey such rich imagery! And I really like the line “We’ll be the odd music makers”

Oh! Suddenly it's rock time!! This is so powerful, I'm loving it. 🎸

"We'll flyyyyy" sounds similar to “I'm soooorry” in Kelly Time, this must be a Coco Moon recurring motif :D

Is that Abbey singing!? :D :D

This song sounds like all of Owl City's eras mixed into one, it's spectacular! ✨ Particularly Bird with a Broken Wing 🎶

I'm having a religious experience listening to this, despite not being religious, that's just how powerful and uplifting this song is! 😅

The Tornado

Beautiful piano accompanying Adam's lovely soft voice is always a lovely way to start a song 💖 His soft singing gives me life.

“The sky turned like a cauldron” - what a cool line! And the thunder sound effects really set the mood.

The tornado starts and sounds exactly as intense and horrifying as one would if it was a song! His orchestral skills are absolutely mind-blowing, It’s genuinely scary and thrilling to listen to, I have goosebumps allover!

Wow .. I've never heard Adam yell that hard, and the distortion adds to the terror he's experiencing. I'm genuinely scared for him and honestly hoping it's just a story and not based on a real experience ... 😰

Kelly time vibes again around 3:50, the synth sounding like “I'm soooorry” - a recurring motif, a thread that links Coco Moon songs 💕

A very well crafted, beautiful, philosophical and thought-provoking song. It's powerful and genuinely terrifying, but the lyrics still uplift as you are grateful for being alive. The outro becomes so optimistic with sweet and happy synths, but still ends with a loud terrifying BANG 😰

Vitamin Sea

This is the first of the new songs I've already learned most of the lyrics to xD it's just so silly and catchy, I love it! The music video of him playing around in the snow just makes it even more fun 😄 I hope he has more music videos up his sleeve!

Who is Nancy anyway? xD

The heavy guitar in the chorus rocks, and it's honestly hard not to headbang and sing along with Abbey and Adam 💖

The synths mixed with the marimba give a cute tropical vibe that elevates the beachy Hawaiian vibes 🏖

No classic dadadas, but an adorable dododoo ooh ooh 💕

All these songs are gonna have the most epic synth solo aren't they *aggressive head-banging* 🎶🎶🎶

Definitely the catchiest so far, my favourite part is “And I think I'm gonna stay forever” - each syllable so quick and perfectly synched with the music and so satisfying to hear and sing along to.

Wait there ARE Dadadadadadadadas! YES!!! 💕 💕 💕

Dinosaur Park

Both my partner and I are really looking forward to this one, he's studying to become a Palaeontologist, volunteers at a museum and works with fossils, and we both just love Dinosaurs in general 💖

It starts off beautifully, the cricket sound effects and soft instruments setting the atmosphere of a sparkling starry night. Very nice lo-fi beats.

When he says "starry night", you can see it clearly with the gorgeous twinkling sounds that all work together to make it sound like you're under the moonlight.

Orchestral Wolf Bite melody :D

Magical dinosaurs ... is definitely my jam. What an adorable concept. Very evocative of childhood wonder for dinosaurs ✨

The little orchestral break using a cricket's chirp as a beat? Genius. 💕

Such a long beautiful song!! 6 minutes, what a gift. I am loving everything about it. This is definitely a fav too! 💖

“What do dinosaurs talk about when they're alone?” 💖 So cute!!! I think they talk about how great leaves are :P

Such a beautiful magical song. I feel like I'm listening to a classic Owl City song yet there's so many brand new sounds at the same time.

I love all the different sections! Rather than just Verse Chorus Verse Chorus, It's more like: Intro, Verse, Bridge, Chorus, Verse, Bridge, Chorus A, Break, Chorus B, New bridge + build up, Chorus A, another new build up, Chorus B, Outro 😮 (forgive me if my terminology isn't completely correct 😅)

Such an interesting and fresh structure for Owl City!

My partner: Our future Owl City roadtrip just got longer 😄

Learn How To Surf

The opening chords and record scratching gives it such nostalgic 90's vibes, I love it already!! 😎

Adam's love for blondes strikes again 😜 I already want to draw this girl with quirky tattoos!

This is so fun and really reminds me of the Live it Up and Clap Your Hands Owl City era of the mid 2010's.

THE KING OF SYNTH STRIKES AGAIN 🎹🎵

This is so catchy, definitely another favourite!

The shortest song on the album at 3:40 mins (the rest are over 5 mins!) while still being incredibly fulfilling and awesome.

I'm absolutely loving how the synth is almost saxophone-like and distorted to make it sound even more epic than a normal synth 🎷

I actually loved this song way more than I expected to! 💖 I had heard a snippet of the chorus before and thought it was literally an instructional song on how to surf lol, but in context it's actually SO GOOD 💕

The Meadow Lark

This Isn’t The End vibes straight away ... also the same melody as Country Hymn! 😮

The oohs are really gorgeous 💕 I like the imagery of this lovely Meadow Lark singing between the two soldiers.

It sounds like a Mobile Orchestra song in the new Owl City Era 😮

Unfortunately I'm not too into the lyrics, but the music is still really beautiful.

I love how even though the chord progression stays the same and keeps repeating, the instruments that play those chords keep changing as the piece goes on.

The bird sound effects really elevate the song as well.

Unfortunately I'm not religious or comfortable with war, so this one didn't grab me much lyrically, but I'm sure it is beautiful and moving for my religious friends, so I'm keen to hear their thoughts on this one 💖

My Muse

Ahhh precious boy singing about Abbey again 💕 I love that we get to hear more about that fateful day, and more little tidbits - I love their relationship and I'm relieved they’re still together. I wasn’t sure for a while!

My GOD

They did marry!!! AAahhh 💖

As soon as I heard “The Altar” I seriously just looked at my partner all “!!!!!!!!!!!” Then started sobbing happy tears 😭

Hearing him describe everything he loves about Abbey is absolutely beautiful and heartwarming. Definitely need tissues for this song!

The accompanying music is fairly simple so you can just focus on the absolutely gorgeous lyrics. Usually Adam's vocal + piano songs are quite sad like Silhouette and Lonely Lullaby, this one is the total opposite emotion 😭💖

Such a beautiful contrast to Lonely Lullaby.

I have never cried over a song before. I’m speechless and sobbing, and can't even think of more words. That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing this with us, Adam! 😭

🎉🎉FINAL THOUGHTS 🎉🎉

So overall, the production quality is absolutely mind-blowing, the best he’s ever done by a landslide! I love the storytelling style of lyrics, that has always been my favourite part of Owl City. 💖 There's a lot of whimsical songs, catchy songs, powerful and beautiful songs. There's something for everyone! The religious songs are very powerful and gorgeous without making non-religious listeners feeling left out.

I'm so pleased with how long each song is, most being over 5 minutes and having so many different sections to them, rather than just verse chorus verse chorus. Each song is a highly meticulously crafted work of art. So much richness and variety and passion is packed into each and every song, and you can tell each one would have taken months to perfect.

I just wish there were more tracks 😭 Even though they are longer than the average track, I still felt that “oh, we’re on the last song already?” feeling at the end. I think it needed 2 more songs at the very least, or even 4 to bring it up to 15. But I digress.

Overall, absolutely amazing album, I think it may be my favourite, or a very very VERY close second. I will need to listen to it more to fully decide whether it beats All Things Bright and Beautiful or not, but it comes pretty damn close!

I'm honestly so happy, over the moon for this amazing gift Adam has worked so hard to create for us all. This is peak Owl City, there’s something for fans of all his different eras, with unique new fresh sounds, structures and concepts. I could hear a lot of Cinematic, All Things Bright And Beautiful and Ultraviolet, even some Of June sprinkled in, but it definitely has it's own unique flavour too, a sort of theatrical breathtaking storybook universe of wonder and beauty. 💖

Favourite tracks: Under the Circus Lights, Dinosaur Park, Learn to Surf and My Muse 💕

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tsunderesalty · 8 months

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Well, well, well. It has been quite some time since I last left you an ask of any kind (more like rambled forever on a tangent, but whatever lol). Anyways, this game seemed super cool, so I decided to return to Tumblr to do the thing... and here I am now! So onwards...

1 - So... this is very well timed, with you falling back into Arcane, but my favorite fic (beyond your lovely gift fics for me) was actually It Carries Over! And mind you, I'm not just saying that as a general sucker for 900 word fics (though that was a clear bonus, but because it felt so same-brainy in a way? The presentation, the emotional and relationship evolution between Cait and Vi over the three scenes feels like the perfect intersection between your style and my own, so it was very ooooooh to read and my brain really clicked on it! Of course, that was also a fic I reread (answering #12, alongside the gift fics).

Speaking of the gift-fics - both of those works, A Flower in Hands and A Brush in Hands, were super thoughtful and amazing (and were the 900 word type too)! Seeing you and @sliebman10 (who also wrote two super cool gift fics in my world... and I just realized I forgot to mention that in my ask to her oops, time for a part 2 ask after this XD) get your brains invaded by my idiots and writing pieces that are uniquely yours, even if closely aligned to my stuff, was really special and technically fascinating! Naturally, I've reread those pieces too XD

8 - The same-brain is strong, but the whole "building a scene in your head, and playing it like a movie" deal! I love how our brains are really similar in that outcome, but the way we get there is so different but similarly effective! But you already know that I revel in the details XD

9 - I am super excited for your new project! I don't want to spoil so much here, but after seeing you ramble on and on about the Lethal Company AU! It's always so delightful to see you ramble on about something you're super passionate about! That, and Part 2 of your inevitable Arcane brainrot, naturally XD

-Mizuka

I swear, every ask of yours starts with "Well, well, well", and all I can picture is us facing off like Perry the Platypus and Doofenshmirtz XD

Anyway, onto this wonderful ask!

I see you're still gloating about my Arcane demise -_- But seriously, all of the Arcane fics were so much fun to write, but It Carries Over holds a special place in my heart! I think it was the only real angst I wrote for CaitVi, and I liked exploring the changes they went through and how the world had to change just so they could keep meeting.

I'm very honored that you like the gifts I wrote for you so much, but I have to say only one was planned. Beau really went "Nah, you aren't doing a One-and-Done, pal! Get over here and help me with my beautiful hair!" It's like @udaberriwrites always says, blame Beau!

Look, my brain puts in soundtracks and cinematic angles for basic fics! I hear quivers in voices and can see facial expressions change! My brain is operating in 4K UltraHD! I just wish it would do the same for my own writing, that is, for actually writing the damn fics and not just daydreaming about them! Though I have to say, our brains seeing nearly the same thing while reading, down to the color of the scene, is just eerie and cool as fuck!

LETHAL COMPANY AU

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

IT'S GONNA BE SO FUCKING EPIC AND COOL AND ANGSTY AND HEARTWARMING AND HEARTBREAKING AND AND AND AND AND

*Ahem*

Yes, I'm still very normal about it. I'm as normal about the Lethal Company AU as I am about Arcane. Also, how dare you decide I'm writing more Arcane!

*Shoves the five ideas I already have under the rug*

Come on.

#asks #ask game #ask #Mizu enables #What else is new?

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jennajaeger · 1 year

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My general feelings on my F/Os' canon love interests and how I picture my dynamic with each of them:

Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid):

Eric is MY GUY. BESTIE. HIMBO EXTRAORDINAIRE. We high five each other as we pass each other in the hallway because we both have the best wife in the world. Literally the epitome of this meme:

Me: "The stars are so beautiful tonight."

Eric: "You know who else is beautiful?"

Both of us in unison: *sighing dreamily* "Ariel~"

Keyleth (Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina):

So admittedly I have not finished the series yet but as far as I can tell, Vax and Keyleth have a very "right person, wrong time" type of relationship? Like, I get it, they're always gonna love each other, they're just never going to be in a place where they can BE together? And I mean......that works for me :P I feel marginally bad about stealing her man because she's so sweet and deserves a break, precious bean, but if it works it works <3

Meryl Stryfe & Milly Thompson (Trigun Stampede):

I felt so bad the moment I started watching the show because I was like "oh god another female character I'm gonna have to throw under the bus in the name of self shipping" but honestly so far in the 23 version I read their dynamic as platonic?? And just in general, I love her <3 She's a tough little cookie; and I haven't properly met Milly yet but I just know I'm gonna love her :P girl frankly you deserve to have Nick maybe you'll mellow him out a little good heavens XD

Helen Wick (John Wick franchise):

I will always have a moment to pay homage to our lord and savior Helen Wick who died to give us the best action franchise of the modern age, girl you were a real one and rest easy knowing I am going to RIDE THE TRAUMA OUT OF YOUR HUSBAND

Tess Marshall (Barbarian):

SHE DESERVES S O MUCH BETTER OH MY GOD I mean they both do, they're stuck in this terrible movie :P In a better world I would love to be friends with Tess, and act as Keith's filter because good lord boy you're cute but you're dumb as fuck sometimes XD Also if I ever see Keith's ex-gf I'm throwing hands

Alt Cunningham & Rogue (Cyberpunk 2077):

god I'm glad these two are Johnny's exes XD I'm sure I would have liked Alt a lot more had I known her when she was, y'know, alive, but as a......tech ghost or whatever, she's not a lot of fun :P As for Rogue, she's a bitch, I KNOW she's a bitch, and I respect her for it. She DID stab Johnny in the back though and I'm not about to let her forget it.

Alys Rivers & Helaena Targaryen (House of the Dragon):

I haven't properly met Alys yet but I'm looking forward to it, I feel like I'm gonna like her :P And Helaena is A SWEETHEART, an absolute darling, I would love to sit with her and have tea while she does her embroidery and listen to her talk about anything that comes into her pretty little head because THE GODS KNOW SOMEONE HAS TO. I will also be her "dump your shitty husband" friend so fast XD Like, LOOK AT AEMOND. LOOK AT HIM. HE'S RIGHT THERE GIRL I WILL SHARE.

Anyone Dream has ever been romantically involved with and yes I'm including Hob Gadling (The Sandman):

I have nothing but love and respect for Dream's past partners (Calliope babe I'd die for you) and I just love the idea that we have like, dinner together and they all just spill the tea about the shit Dream got up to in past decades :P

Vision (Marvel Cinematic Universe):

I have no problems with Viz, he was a good man. Wanda really could have done BETTER in my opinion, but y'know, she could have done a lot worse too, so :P And thanks to Viz we have the boys, Billy and Tommy <3

Martin Blackwood (The Magnus Archives):

I don't hate Martin. He's a sweetheart. But I need him to not even BREATHE in Jon's direction, because that is MY MAN. Nothing personal :P

Mikasa Akerman (Attack On Titan):

I will meet that bitch in the FUCKING PIT IT IS ON S I G H T LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!!!!!

#save tag #mine #long post

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stripeydani · 2 years

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AO3 Meme

Because I’m bored and pondering a new fic.

What is your total posted word count on AO3?

97,305. Pretty tame really, but I am a one-shotter more than anything substantial xD

How often do you write?

Back in 2015-2016 I wrote constantly, then Life happened and I moved away from fandom to write LARP character stuff, then More Life happened and I stopped writing entirely until 2022 when I decided to pick up an unfinished fic. Now I’m considering a new one, because I am a masochist xD

Do you have a routine for writing?

Scene-appropriate music is a must. Usually something without lyrics so I don’t get distracted xD

What’s your favorite tropes/pairing?

I’m always a slut for angst. Hurt/Comfort is a favourite. Also I have a strong love of strong blond men submitting. So favourite pairings are Steve Rogers and Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes/Thor or Cullen and Samson/Dorian/Iron Bull. I am a simple gal with simple pleasures xD

Do you have a favorite fic of yours?

I’m very attached to my ridiculous Cullen/Dorian Hipster!AU ‘Normal In Shoreditch’ because it has so many good memories attached to it. Same with the Cullen/Samson Zombie!AU ‘Best Served Cold’ because I smashed it out in 2 days because I loved writing it so much. And despite it not getting a lot of love, I’m still proud of my red-Templar Cullen/Samson ‘Red Suits You’... The rest is mostly just plotless smut because... simple gal xD

Your fic with the most kudos?

Beloved And Precious, a hideously fluffy single-dad-Cullen/Dorian fic that exploded for some reason xD It’s still in the Top 10 Cullen/Dorian fics on AO3 and that makes me laugh. It’s cute, and I didn’t hate it on a years-later re-read so that’s something!

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

Brevity. I’m way too quick. I’ll never be one of those writers who can churn out 100,000 beautiful words. I wish I was able to flower up my writing more! I also wish I could write Marvel Cinematic Universe, but something about it never feels right so I have to stick to Dragon Age...

Now something you do like?

I am really good at dialogue. I can hear the voices quite clearly in my head and my fics usually start as just back-and-forth conversations then I build the rest around it. It’s both a good and bad thing xD

#writing meme

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thevalleyisjolly · 4 months

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uno reverse card for you: top five favorite things you've written! and also, top five most memorable moments you've gotten to play with your character(s) in a ttrpg?

*proceeds to draw 4* This is how you play Uno, right? XD Thank you so much, this is a lot of fun! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Favourite Things I've Written:

To date my most popular fic, in the face of death's mystery is one of those rare things I've written where I look back on it and I remain satisfied with how it turned out. It was a big passion project that started out as a crack post and then turned much more serious into an actual story with themes and arcs. After months of writing and rewriting sections, I can still remember the thrill of realizing one day that it could be finished in time for ACOC Week 2021 (all credit to Jackrabbit for putting that together!) and that really gave me the final push I needed to get it done.

My Middle English literature course did a capstone project where we performed some of the York plays, and since there were far more people interested in acting than there were roles, me and two other students formed a scriptwriting team to combine the plays and write new characters and lines. We didn't write in Middle English, but I'm still really proud how much we managed to capture the rhythm and patterns of Middle English verse in contemporary English rhyme.

The credit for this one starts with you, because I read One With The Shadows and it not only inspired me to write ACOC fic but it also specifically inspired me to write the manner of things (in the dark). Probably the most poetic prose I've ever written, and I'm still really happy with how it turned out. Writing body horror and eldritch imagery is pretty far from my usual wheelhouse, so it was really fun to experiment with a new style and dive into the characters through this lens.

Perhaps it's recency bias, but I just had a lot of fun writing Contrapuntal Calculus. I know my writing thing is very niche fics with incredibly specific scenarios, but this was particularly niche even by my standards and I'm still quite happy with it. It's also serving as a nice little reminder to myself to write the fics I want to write and not worry about how it's going to be received. Get ready y'all for more incredibly niche fic concepts once I figure out what a writing schedule is ✌️

I once took a Shakespeare class where one of the projects was to reimagine Shakespeare in another medium. Being a musical theatre kid, I rewrote and performed "Satisfied" from Hamilton for Lady Macbeth as "Safe at Night." I'm not posting the recording because I'm not a singer and it was bad, but I stand by my parody lyrics because they were fucking incredible.

Memorable TTRPG Moments

My character technically wasn't there to witness it, but we were infiltrating a temple of our cleric's god to find out whether its priests were on the side of the villainous pirate lord (not to be confused with the non-villainous pirates), and our DM narrated this absolutely incredible scene where our cleric looked into the scrying pool and saw the pirate lord's forces attacking his home town, only to be met out in the harbour by one of his oldest friends, a fellow cleric and pirate. He sailed his ship into the middle of the attacking fleet, killed one of the pirate lord's lieutenants in personal combat but suffered a deadly wound, then messaged our cleric farewell and ignited all the gunpowder in his ship. It was such an emotional and cinematic moment, beautifully narrated by our DM, and it'll stay with me forever.

That time Vyce, with a handful of HP left, leapt over a burning tar trap, jumped up onto the back of the giant undead corpse of the villainous pirate lord, stabbed out his cursed emerald eye, and then yanked his head back as he fell so that our cleric could behead him. Simply an incredible HDYWTDT, that was about the coolest Vyce has ever been and it was the coolest he'll ever get.

I played a goblin monk in a Spelljammer mini-campaign, and our DM ruled that monks could use their Deflect Missile ability on large missiles in ship-to-ship combat. Me and the other party monk (yes we had two monks, yes I apologize to the DM but hell yeah, we had two monks) spent every single battle standing on the prow of our space ship just deflecting giant ballista and boulders with our fists. At one point, I rolled a Nat 20 and the DM narrated this tiny little goblin catching a whole boulder and lobbing it back at the other ship. On the flip side, I also got one-hit KO'ed after getting hit by a Nat 20 boulder (we were playing with brutal critical rules), but that was equally awesome in a different direction and our very merciful DM allowed me to live if the ship took damage instead.

That time I played polecat!Matt Murdock, started flirting with a big beefy otter sailor, rolled so well that we became boyfriends, and then we ended up adopting a child together <3

Before we found out his backstory, Vyce's nemesis was a mysterious bard named Frode who kept appearing, dropping lore, and generally being completely insufferable. During one such encounter, Vyce attempted to intimidate him by taking a bite out of a whole lemon with the rind still on. Now, Vyce has a -2 to Charisma, but I'm sure you can already guess what he rolled on that check. The fact that Frode was just mildly amused made it all the more worse for him and all the more entertaining for me. I love my cringefail uncharismatic son so much <3

#tysm jade!!

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