#man... first the hk thing now this?

[s-lay-ing]

[theinfinitedivides]

TABBER?????? WHAT THE F*CK????????

[sanzaibian]

“Sir, here are the Beatty files.” The young woman told me, handing a USB key.

I have heard a lot about these files. They were intercepted in the town after which they’re named by the secret services a while ago, but were encrypted in such a puzzling way that only now can we view them. And of course, I am the first one to be able to review its content.

I know a lot of things, as it is my job to be informed of anything and everything happening around the world. I know the plans of China over Taiwan, the successor to the Ayatollah, the contents of the talks between Putin and Kim Jong-un, and all the current US military strategy. In my line of work, everything can happen, yet at no single point could I make sense of the Beatty files. Nor could anyone else for that matter.

I excused the young woman, bidding to her my thanks for the deciphering team, and went to the unused laptop I had prepared. When it comes to matters of national security, I cannot afford to be careless, and let anyone unlicensed to get access to this. So brand new laptop, created by us, which has never been opened, to open these files.

And so I fiddled with the parameters a bit, entering the secret code, and inserted the USB key to view its contents. Inside were a few files, all of which videos. Their names were not informative, since I know for a fact that their original names were not recovered, so I just opened the first file in the list.

The video opened looking down in a white cubic room, meaning it was very likely a security camera recording. In addition, there was the time indicated on the bottom right, yet something felt weird about how it was displayed… 15:58… 15:59… 15:60 ???... 16:01, etc. Why is it not counting time correctly ? Nobody indicates time like this ! It’s wrong, it’s incorrect ! I just opened it and there’s already something I cannot in any way explain !

Taking a deep breath, I look at the center of the screen, in which I have a good view of a man sat in a chair. He has tanned skin, black hair and black stubble, and a very developed musculature. He looks to be a very attractive middle-eastern man, although I cannot say which ethnicity he precisely has.

The chair he’s sitting on is quite massive, and he looks almost as if he is… restrained in it ? Yes, there seems to be little handcuffs tethering him to the armchairs. But most striking are the numerous tubes going out from his arms, legs, torso and even head, linked to some types of medical appliances I cannot recognize, as well as to a sort of glass tank.

Suddenly, I notice the deep voice of a man. I up the volume, and hear… a language I cannot understand.

“Tzai en 19/03, 2:17, en tzoujkbruoi odogattzion program en Scipio Labratory. Ny hse Hk. Adtem, tzai widt nyn hskadiais, Sjd. Fingtrosy ÿ Sd. Vagohs, ÿ naum wom fill no tzoujketvÿsn ekspÿrians widt no #1073 bymarjen.”

At first I get some German vibes from it, but then it seems to be Polish, and then French… Whatever that language might be, it is not one I have ever heard. The man in the chair looks around, seemingly half-dazed, as if he was drugged. I don’t know what will happen to him, yet I get the feeling that it won’t be a desirable fate.

Suddenly, another voice, that of a woman by the looks of things, speaking in that same strange language.

“Hsüzmalhsÿv drël en im.”

Then a buzzer sound. There seems to be some white substance flowing inside the man’s body, through the tubes from the medical appliances. As it flows, I can see his eyes starting to become more droopy, before fluttering, and then closing. At the same time, his body starts floundering in the restraints, as if he was keeping himself from falling asleep. But as time went on and the white liquid ran dry, all of his muscles were relaxing and his stance become limp, like that of a dysfunctional robot. However, looking at his accelerating breathing rhythm, it seems to my trained eye that he is not actually asleep. It’s only his body refusing to function correctly.

“Drël ingkatzt. Etvÿsn harjimÿll.” Says another voice, deeper than the last one, but not as deep as the first one.

I don’t really know what’s happening. If the counter on the bottom-right of the screen wasn’t ticking up, I would have thought that the image was frozen. But then, suddenly, I can hear a low sound in the recording. And that sounds starts creeping higher and higher, as if something was charging up… Yeah, definitively charging up, since I almost saw some lightning sparks going off from the chair…

I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems to be malfunctioning. The sparks make themselves more and more intense, and it almost seems as if the machine is ready to explode...

Just as I say that, the first deep voice makes itself heard once again, but this time more in a frustrated or worried tone than an official one.

“Sel heont havy… Go huop sel hstill pÿrdont...”

But suddenly, the sparks stop, and while the sound doesn’t stop, beige liquid start flowing into the pipes… from the man to the tank ? What is that thing ? I don’t understand ! However, I can hear cries of rejoice in the audience, with all three voices I’ve heard since then saying incomprehensible stuff that I wouldn’t even be able to transcribe. I guess they also didn’t think… whatever this is would work ?

I take a drink from my water bottle as I keep an eye on the video. However, since I need to reach my bag, I cannot actively monitor it. Besides, according to what I hear, nothing of note seems to be happening... But when I have put down the bottle, I stop the video. I rub my eyes, but even then, I still see it.

The man seems smaller.

Somehow.

I go back in the video to the time where the man with the deepest voice sounded worried and… Yeah, looking like that, it’s even more apparent. The man has been losing mass. And the tanks have been filled by this beige skin-color liquid… Heh, if I didn’t know I was in reality, I would have said that this is muscle-juice, but this is ridiculous…

Especially since the body mass hasn’t been the only thing to change.

As I play back the video and continue through the long haul of high-pitch noise and not much else, I notice that the man’s stubble seems to be disappearing… and his head hair growing as well, somehow ? It almost seems as if he’s becoming less masculine by the second, if it even makes any sense, even though nothing about this video actually makesanysense. If I didn’t know who supplied it to me, I would have said this was a fake…

As his pecs were shrinking, his arms were thinning, his waist narrowing and his legs slimming, his stance almost seemed to be relaxing further – if it’s even possible. I mean, I don’t know ! It’s just the impression that I’m getting ! As the last of his stubble vanishes, at least according to what I can see through the pixels, he almost seems to be getting cuter ? Whence more relaxed ? Fuck, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever…

Oh. I know why I get this impression. It’s not anymore weird or nonsensical, but at least in this context it seems to make sense… I think he also is losing height. Yes, actually. Height. It’s almost as if someone took the textbook definition of a “twink” and decided to impart its characteristic on this poor fellow – don’t ask me why I know what it is.

As I continue watching in horror, the woman’s voice says, gleefully :

“Entzony as hen !”

How can they sound so… happy ? Happy to torture a man like this ? To, quite visibly, drain his muscles into those tanks that look more and more full ? It just goes beyond me ! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of horrible and unethical treatments, and a ton of unethical human experiments. But this by far takes the cake of the most disturbing thing I have ever seen ! They’re taking away what he is, his identity ! Him ! That’s the most cruel violation of human rights I have ever seen ! To gleefully disfigure someone like that…

The tanks have finished filling up, and the sound starts lowering in intensity. The man left looks only like a shadow of who he was. He still looks like himself, except devoid of any… meat, may I say ? When the machine was well and truly turned off, the deep voice rejoiced, seemingly announcing the success of that terrible plot.

“Fÿstyfuroll ! Oll fod havy kotzvong !”

Funnily enough, the first word made me think of “feast for all”, which just feels wrong given the context. On that, they all seem to have left the premises, as a nurse came in and untethered the poor man from all the equipment, and taking with her the tanks filled of muscle juice.

I continued watching, hoping that I would get to see the young man wake up.

And wake up he did, looking around, before standing up… and immediately falling. Presumably due to him not expecting to be this skinny. He then looked at himself, and had an utterly horrified look in his eyes, as if he was processing the fact that he was irremediably different.

He crawled towards the wall, and using that, he climbed back to standing, managing to take a position so that he could be looking at the camera.

And on that, the video suddenly stopped, leaving me on this freeze frame :

I absolutely don’t know what to do with that. Now I not only understand, but also feel how confused the secret services were by intercepting this message. It just seems wrong in so many ways, so much that… it might not even have occurred on Earth for all I know ! The language is unknown, but familiar. The way to count time is disturbing, but otherwise identical to ours. The events depicted are of typical mad experimentation, but in a manner that is unthinkable in my knowledge of the world.

I don’t have the strength to view any of the other videos, since they’re likely all the same amount of disturbing. So I close the laptop, and already starts asking myself the question I need to give an answer for my superiors :

Just what the hell are the Beatty files ?!

[qilingxiong]

九龍城寨之圍城 | Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)

I've rewatched this movie more than once, since seeing it in theatres back in August, and each time was just as good as the first if not better. Given that, I now have many thoughts so I'm subjecting y'all to listening to why you should watch it:

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (九龍城寨之圍城 or gau2 lung4 sing4 zaai6 zi1 wai4 sing4) is a martial arts action/crime film directed by Soi Cheang. It is an adaptation of the manhua City of Darkness by Andy Seto, and its source novel of the same name by Yuyi. The film's cast has established Hong Kong names folded in with newer-generation actors, starring Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Jen, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, German Cheung, and Tony Wu (Aaron Kwok gets a cameo role, too).

At a broad glance, the movie follows several major triads in 1980s Hong Kong and their power struggle to control the Kowloon Walled City (a densely populated urban enclave, which for decades evaded direct governance by either the British colonial or Chinese powers in the area). We're introduced to the KWC and the triads' major players through the eyes of Chan Lok-Kwan (Raymond Lam), a man fleeing Vietnam and attempting to make a life for himself in HK. He winds up seeking refuge in the KWC, and comes to call both the city and the people he meets in it a home worth defending.

The narrative itself is not the most complex, but if you enjoy '80s Hong Kong films in these genres, it's solid fare and a harkening back to that decade. All the major themes like brotherhood (and brotherhood vs blood), vengeance, and struggle with conflicting loyalties are there, alongside an internal search for identity and belonging within Hong Kong. But the highlight in it is that the plot connects feast after feast of utterly stunning fight choreography, made all the more impressive by the fact that, according to Louis Koo, quite a few major cast members had never filmed this kind of action before. All their training was done just for TotW, and oh, does it pay off. I can't make good gifs, so you'll have to watch and see for yourself. It's not action for action's sake, either; listening to the head stunt choreographer discuss how different characters' fighting styles were crafted shows off how fight scenes aren't breaks in the story, they tell the story, and deepen our understanding of the characters.

The setting of the Kowloon Walled City truly makes the action in TotW stand out. It's a unique space to stage all these major fights, as the KWC's buildings at the time were packed together close enough to resemble a singular block from the outside. Once inside, it's a stacked, dark maze of uneven paths, stairs, and rickety roofs, with electrical and television cabling snaking over/around/through everything. Fight scenes in these streets feel thrillingly claustrophobic, with lots of acrobatics and near-dodges as characters navigate these tight alleys of the KWC. Each impact as a character goes flying into a wall, or is launched down a flight of stairs or onto a roof, is wonderfully visceral to watch.

All credit and hopefully awards are due to the production and set design teams for their work, in crafting this environment for the story and its fights. The visual/spatial representation of the KWC is the film's other glorious highlight, alongside the choreography. Whole streets of the KWC were recreated for this, filled with every mundane, period-accurate detail from the lives of ordinary people who would have lived there. It's impossible to catch all the intricacies put into making the KWC come to life again onscreen, just from watching the film. Shots like the credits sequence offer close-ups of harder-to-see details, and videos like a tour of the KWC set by Terrance Lau, acting as his character Shin, show off things from the drinks in the fridge at the corner store to the scribbled writing on the walls by the public taps. This film was designed with a drive to faithfully represent what the Kowloon Walled City had been like, how it looked when it was lived in, and they achieved it to an incredible degree.

That dedication extends to more than just the sets, though. The emotional core of TotW revolves around the KWC's inhabitants, and how they were the ones who made the city what it was, a home for about 35,000 people at a time. The film doesn't treat the KWC as just an eye-catching location to stage some fights; its characters might be fictional and overloaded with jianghu powers, but it goes out of its way to show how ordinary people might have lived, worked, and socialized within the historic city. It shows off why, despite its (not unwarranted) dark reputation, so many chose to live in a place that was once the densest urban center on the planet.

And this brings us to the acting, because the cast all do a very good job bringing their characters to life as the heart of the KWC. Louis Koo is fucking fantastic and arguably the scene stealer of the film as Cyclone, the triad leader in current charge of the KWC. He's grumpy, magnetic, and dangerous when he must be, but he also cares so very, very deeply about the inhabitants within his jurisdiction. Terrance Lau's Shin acts as his charismatic and capable right hand man, as well as protégé to Cyclone, befriending Chan Lok-Kwan and helping him become accustomed to life in the KWC. These two, along with the snarky Twelfth Master (Tony Wu) and the masked + imposing AV (German Cheung) become a quartet with great chemistry and friendship, the next generation to watch over and protect the Kowloon Walled City. Outside the KWC cast, antagonist figures like Sammo Hung, Philip Ng, and Richie Jen's characters are intimidating and compelling as threats to the city, and the lives people have etched out within its walls.

All of these things put together, and Twilight of the Warriors is a deeply fun, enjoyable, and rewatchable film (so good, in fact, that Hong Kong has submitted it as its nomination for the 2025 Oscars). The movie doesn't lose its emotional throughline in the promise of an action-packed ride it fully delivers on, and it uses its narrative, setting, and choreography to pay tribute to an earlier era of Hong Kong, as well as highlight + humanize a piece of the region's history that might not be quite as well known to some.

(The Kowloon Walled City was demolished and its inhabitants relocated in 1993. The area where it once stood is now a park, with some historic buildings preserved. If you're curious about people in the KWC before demolition, City Of Darkness: Life In Kowloon Walled City (1993) by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot is a collection of photographs and first-hand recountings from residents, recording their lives and stories. I'm in the midst of reading it right now.)

If anything I've said has piqued your interest whatsoever, I say to give Twilight of the Warriors a try, if you have a free two hours to spare. Something in it will be worth it for you. And if I've failed to convince you with any of this, or you need one more push, here's the trailer for the film:

And if I did manage to actually get anyone to seek out this movie, please tell me! I'd love to know your thoughts.

[leapdayowo]

Redstone and Skulk au time!

To start off with, here’s cat!Tanguish college au

(ignore that I don’t know how to draw people holding a sandwich from memory)

Tanguish is a scrappy alley cat Tango found who one day escapes from Tango’s apartment. Tanguish ends up trying to steal Helsknight’s lunch, but fails at first and falls on his face. Helsknight feels bad and gives Tanguish bits of meat and bread from his sandwich bonding them for life. He then wraps up Tanguish in his theatre cloak (he’s definitely a theatre kid + does historical reenactment fights with swords and such) and tries to take him to a shelter or vet or something, but Tanguish spooks when a really loud car passes by and runs into an alleyway. HK almost decides to leave it at that, it’s not his problem, but then hears Tanguish yowling and hissing and the sounds of another cat doing the same. He rushes into the alley and gets Tanguish away from the biggest cat he’s ever seen (it’s the Demon), but in the process he gets a good slash of claw marks across his face.

From there he takes Tanguish to his place, cleans them both up, and from there they have a bunch of misadventures of HK trying to take care of this scrawny, half hairless cat while also trying to find its owner/take him to a shelter/keep him. Eventually, he would find the Hermits on campus (who I am imagining are a more chill fraternity), and comes across Tango hanging out with Welsknight. Tanguish and Tango are happily reunited, HK looks like he got into a fight with a lawnmower the other night, and Wels takes glee in pointing that out while the two (they’re definitely brothers) are unhappily reunited.

Later that night, Tanguish escapes again and follows Helsknight home. When HK discovers this, he begrudgingly texts Wels to tell Tango Tanguish is with him (having not thought to grab Tango’s phone number earlier). There’s probably some joint custody thing that happens and Tanguish gets to eat muffins from two different friend groups now :3

And on the other side of the multiuniversal coin: dog!Helsknight college au

This one is not as fleshed out, but essentially Helsknight is Welsknight’s dog who he keeps on campus, but HK has gradually grown to hate Wels. The coliseum group are all dogs too, and one day at the dog park, Helsknight runs away from Wels. He then stumbles across Tanguish (not a cat) who is getting harassed by these guys he used to steal things with along with other petty crime (not a crowd he wants to be with anymore), and when things get violent, Helsknight jumps in and attacks the guys (except Tanguish). Tanguish freaks out, but is trapped in the alleyway and can’t escape from this aggressive dog attacking everyone, so he holes up on a dumpster. When all the aggressors are gone, HK barks at Tanguish which scares the young man enough that he tries to scale the alley wall instead of get off the dumpster. He slips and falls down painfully next to Helsknight. More concerned if he broke a rib and finding some blood on him, he doesn’t notice HK checking him over until a rough paw tugs at his shirt.

He cautiously lets HK sniff his face and hands before getting up and slowly walking himself home. HK looks scary and is a big dog, but for some reason he has chosen to stick by Tanguish. They get to Tanguish and Tango’s apartment (roommates :3) and Tanguish has to introduce Tango to the Big Scary Dog that saved him and wants to be their third roommate, only to find out the HK is Welsknight’s dog who ran away a few days ago. At any mention of Wels’ name however, HK pins his ears back with a low growl. Regardless, Tanguish and Tango try to take HK back to Wels, and when they do everyone can tell just how unhappy HK is with Wels (he just doesn’t like the man’s vibes). Not knowing what else to do, Welsknight lets HK stay with Tanguish and Tango as a trail run to see what happens.

So yeah, Tanguish ends up with a big scary dog who keeps unwanted people away from him :3 HK eventually gets less hostile towards Wels over time, but still is not very friendly towards him. And yeah, dog versions of the coliseum crew playing in the dog park :3

Last one :) warden!Helsknight au

even less fleshed out than the other two. I like the idea of Tanguish being able to do the shrieker sound, but then thought what if he could actually summon a warden with it?

So Tanguish is an inexperienced witch (maybe, or is just magical) who can do basic ice related magic, but one day he steals from a woman part of a larger crew of bounty hunters or something, and he gets chased down by them. He gets corner in a strange part of the woods and does the shrieker noise three times to ward them off, which doesn’t work until after the third try a tall armored warden!Helsknight emerges from the soft soil and scares off the bounty hunters.

I don’t really have much else in mind except Tanguish sitting on Hk’s shoulders while the two try and figure out what to do in the world (which is very vague I know). I’m not sure what HK’s relationship to Wels is like or if Wels would also be a warden (if he was I imagine he’s been on the surface much longer).

uhhh yeah! If anyone wants to run wild with any of these ideas, go for it! Maybe just mention me as an inspiration if you make something from these, but yeah they are free for anyone to develop further if you wish :)

[octuscle]

Cursed Ken, part 5: Kev, the bouncer

"Ajith" meant "the invincible one". What a silly name. Ajith thought of it regularly. But what could he do, he couldn't help his name. Ajith was one of those IT nerds that everyone needed but no one took seriously. Ajith was the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave in the evening. At some point, his hard work would pay off. He was sure of that…

It was already quite late when Ajith walked towards the cafeteria. The coffee machine in his department had already been cleaned and switched off. And if he wanted to keep going for another two hours, he urgently needed a coffee. The corridors were deserted. He heard footsteps coming from somewhere. A giant was heading towards the exit. A muscle-bound guy with a shaved head. Obviously one of the janitors. He was carrying a bin liner. Suddenly Ajith saw something fall out. A box. And although it would certainly have been sensible to point it out to the janitor, Ajith didn't. Instead, he walked as inconspicuously as possible towards the box. Ajith immediately recognized the box as a prototype toy. Professionally made. But clearly not a product that would be on a toy store shelf in this packaging. Or in a sex store, Ajith thought to himself. The young man on the packaging didn't look as if Ajith would let his daughter, whom he didn't yet have, play with it. And definitely not his son.

But Ajith was clever enough to realize that there was a market for this type of prototype. Fags were certainly willing to spend a lot of money on something like this. And Ajith could more than use the money. He cursed not having a jacket or a bag with him. But there had to be paper bags in the cafeteria for the sandwiches you could get there. And even if he had just found a treasure, he still had a few things to work off and he needed a coffee to do so.

Ajith's leather pants creaked with every step he took. He loved the feel of the unlined black leather hugging his thighs. As expected, the cafeteria was deserted. Only a young guy sat bored at the cash register, playing with his cell phone. When Ajith put the tray with the Coke and pastrami sandwich down at the till, the impressive bulge in his leather trousers had to be almost exactly at eye level with the young man, who was lying more than sitting in his seat. The young man's eyes widened in shock as the sight and smell of the leather snapped him out of his daydreams. Ajith asked with a grin if he liked the sight. The young fellow grinned and said that he had seen worse. He kneaded the bulge that appeared in his jeans. Ajith was sorry, but unfortunately he had to work. But he would be at Boxers HK from 22:00. If he felt like it, he would be happy to welcome him there.

Kevin wondered why he was actually sitting here in the cafeteria eating a really bad sandwich instead of eating at the store where he worked before his shift started. Shit, where was he anyway? Oh yeah, right… He had hooked up with the guy working the register for a quick blowjob via Grindr. And the boy had blown like the devil. And that had made Kevin hungry. But now he was late. If he wanted to be on time for his shift, he had to take an uber. Fortunately, there was one available nearby. The driver also seemed to like the passengers getting into his Prius. And Kevin wasn't exactly disgusted either. He liked Indians. They were polite and pleasant customers. And submissive and docile in bed. At the next red light, Kevin moved from the back seat to the passenger seat. And his driver didn't necessarily reach past the gearshift more than once by mistake. No wonder with an automatic gearbox. And with the pole sticking out of Kevin's pants. Shit, after the driver had operated the wrong gearshift a few times, he had to pull over again. And suck the pole next to the gearshift.

Being late was not good. But Kev was basically reliable and his boss overlooked the ten minutes. However, starting the service completely horny was never perfect either. Customers tended to stare at Kev's crotch rather than his face because of his hard-on. And with a hot guest, Kev sometimes disregarded the rules of the club. If the guest was a potential after-hours victim, he was allowed in the club. Kev was perhaps not the toughest bouncer in town. But he was one of the hottest and horniest.

[hirocimacruiser]

What are old cars like to drive now?

Mazda Familia 3 door full time 4WD1600DOHC turbo review.

The second generation FF Familia tends to be overshadowed by the success of the first FF Familia. The Familia underwent a Key Concept model change in 1985, and the sports version of the 1.6 (twin cam turbo + full-time 4WD) became popular. Yasushi Shimono drove to Osaka for the later model after minor changes.

Text | Yasushi Shimono Photos Chihiro Abe

The other day, I rented a Familia car in Takamatsu, Shikoku. If you see Nippon Rent-a-Car, Toyota Rent-a-Car, and Nissan Rent-A-Car lined up at the counter in the airport lobby, if you're a car fan, you should probably rent a Mazda Rent-A-Car at this time of year.

It's a personal choice, but the Familia 1500AT I rented was actually very nice. The engine and suspension have the solid feel of a German car, and it feels great. Even though I've already driven over 20,000km, I can barely see any wear and tear.

During my summer vacation two years ago, I took a Familia rental car at the station in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, and it was a great ride, and my family was happy with it.

For test drives, members of the media always ride in the manufacturer's so-called PR vehicles.

However, when they later try the same car in a rental car, they are often disappointed to varying degrees. I don't have the space to write about the reasons in detail here, but Familia is an extremely rare example of people rediscovering their charm through rental cars. It feels like a very seriously made car.

I am holding this.

FULLY MASCULINE NOUN CAR

In downtown Osaka, I was given a ride on a nostalgic Familia. 1988 model 3 door twin cam turbo 4W.D. It is a full-time 4WD high-performance model that was part of the second-generation FF Familia series that debuted in 1985.

I splurged on expensive 200,000 yen 0Z racing aluminum wheels for the car I bought this spring. There is a bright red mudflap in the wheel arches.

The guard hangs down. The hobby of the owner, Mr. M (35 years old), who really wants to drive a Lancia Delta Integrale, seems to be depicted on the outside.

The inside can also be customized.

It is. The front seats are BRIDE bucket seats. The handle is MOMO's Prototipo. At the tip of the shift lever is a plastic shift knob that looks like a white ball.

The main body of the 1.6LDOHC turbo engine has not been modified, but the muffler and air cleaner have been replaced with "HKS''. The suspension also uses Mazda genuine sports springs combined with GAB dampers. I'm not Kiyoshi Nishikawa, but I get the strong impression that he was trying to do things one by one, starting with what he could do. Mr. M, who works as a tire wholesaler, is a pleasant young man. It is the year of the year. When I pushed in the tape whose head was peeking out from the set, it played Mr. Children, which doesn't really suit Osaka (?).

However, once it started running, the Familia Integrale was a much more radical car than the standard.

First of all, the suspension is much harder than you might imagine from the specs. The ride quality is almost that of a competition vehicle, reacting honestly to the bumps and undulations of the road surface and transmitting short, jerky vibrations.

I didn't think it was power steering at first either. I slowly turned the steering wheel to turn off the engine and realized for the first time that it had power assist. That's how responsive it is. Basically, the normal engine is so energetic that it's hard to believe. Power is already 140 yen on NET display. However, it is more powerful than the face value, and at the signal Grand Prix the acceleration of all four wheels is like that of a rabbit.

I'll show you.

Even though it is a turbo, it starts to crash immediately after idling.

Delivers comfortable torque. The response in the low rotation range is also not bad. Tachometer red zone from 7000rpm. However, the latest 4-valve It's not as smooth and light as the unit.

It has been replaced with an air cleaner for competition. So, at the top end of 6500 or higher, the engine noise, mainly the intake noise, becomes louder.

Air conditioner control panels, air vents, and

-Dark areas where stereo units, ashtrays, etc. are crowded.

There was a designer who once described the center part of the dash as ``the most expensive part of the car's interior,'' but this car has a panel that says ``FULLTIME 4WD'' embedded in part of it. There is. It was kind of noisy. There is also a shiny silver switch inside the spring, and this is for locking the center differential. The owner once benefited from being muddy.

Apparently there is.

The turbo is effective without any noticeable bumps.

It starts to work, and what's more, it works like a turbo. I miss the way the green snail lights up in the instrument panel every time the turbo kick explodes. What's more, every time I shift up and release the accelerator, I hear the resonant whine of the turbine, which is nostalgic. I wasn't able to do it this time due to time constraints, but I was able to drive on mountain passes and some dirt roads, and it still looked really interesting. Manly and sweaty, a perfect masculine noun.

It's Luma.

Of course, the current Familia, which no longer has a sports model in its lineup, is not such a macho car. However, the Familia has always been a car that has not had a fancy feel to it for generations. Fancy is something like ``a womanly thing that a man has come up with.'' I like the character, which is unusual for domestically produced vehicles, but I'm sure there are people who say that's why it doesn't sell well.

PIC CAPTIONS

The second generation FF Familia underwent a full model change in January 1985. It has a 3/5-door hatch and a 4-door sedan body. Initially, it started with 1.3ℓ and 1.5ℓ NA and turbo units, but a 1.6ℓ turbo unit was soon added. The photo is of the later model. The body size is: total length x width x height = 3990 x 1645 x 1405mm. Wheelbase 2400mm.

The steering wheel has been replaced with "MOMO" and the seat has been replaced with "BRIDE". When the New Familia was announced, the company emphasized the improved quality of the interior, saying, ``If the packaging is the same, the quality of the interior is important.''

With minor changes in 8 years, NA unit

The remaining old E-type units were wiped out and replaced by B-type units. Photo of 1597cc 16V DOHC turbo with 140ps @ 6000rpm and 19.0kgm torque @ 5000rpm

Mr. M's Delta Familia has a majestic red mudguard. The ``GAB'' and ``HKS'' stickers and white OZ wheels clearly reflect the owner's taste.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I got to thinking about that "Hawk Moth does the Villain with Good Publicity" angle idea and I love it but it needs some tweaks to work I think.

1: He needs to know there is a Guardian and suspect they are in Paris, rather than rely on the "Chaos will reveal the Black Cat & Ladybug" angle, he's specifically trying to get at another human & coax them out.

2: He needs to collab with the media, mayor and more, so he's likely out in public as himself at first and does a lot more public perception handling than Ladybug or Chat ever did to help maintain his public profile.

Plan:

With that in mind he likely stages and or orchestrates several accidents and criminal situations. Some of which definitely target Chloe cos why break the habit of a life time. & he uses these to establish himself as the Heroic Hawk Moth!

Adrien being at school is so helpful for this.

Fu is suspicious cos he can sense rancid vibes but the guy hasn't done anything wrong yet or even seems to know about Akuma. He ends up tracking him down when transformed to talk & hinges turn ugly when HK reveals' he wants the LB & BC.

Hawk Moth uses a civilian, again maybe Chloe, to goad Fu into attacking him, they have a fight and Fu saves the civilian and gets away but is pursued by Nathalie, turns out Gabriel was just hiding his Akuma. Still, Fu gets away, but they know his general area.

HK claims to have been ambushed and severely wounded by a 'thief;. He claims himself to be the Guardian of the Miraculous & that while injured he can now create champions. The mayor is all "We must do all we can to help our beloved hero Hawk Moth!"

So, Paris is looking all over for a short older man who might have the Miraculous. Police are poking around all over, Hawk Moth's champions are on the move & Fu realizes he needs allies.

Story thoughts:

The thing here is that this totally changes the dynamic and type of story being told. The powers that would be useful to hand out, even how many people Fu would want active given he's specifically being hunted. Let alone how public perception and such would effect things and more to the point the heroes strategies and motives and methods!

Hell, Fu may well end up looking for entirely different personalities and people for this task. Or find himself pulling from whoever is left over from conspiracy theorists to the universally contrarian, to people who were caught up in Hawk Moth's staged crimes but came away suspicious.

So yeah, that'd be my set up anyway.

Honestly a fun part of this could be that as Chloé was targeted, she'd know the truth.

And Gabe doesn't think much of her as anything but a tool, so he'd never expect her campaigning against him to ever get off the ground. But it's enough for a small rebellion.

[demonicnarwhale]

I've been going through some drawings of like "the first drawing I completed of The Felt" members and then I wanna compare them to how I draw them now (and HK's there too because seeing her half-assed design made me wheeze)

Deadass all of these first timers are just Tricotiana based/inspired

Starting off with Die geheheee, 2021 and now. Jesus fucking christ

gewh mf looked like a damn kid. Get that 2021 shit outta here, also the hair. eel didn't understand curly hair (i still dont but it's better than that)

haha 2021 HK wow. i

Yay Crowbar, another 2021 moment. oh, i love that half-assed shoe

woah a 2022 (guh huh get it) moment???

Geheeee 2021 gaugh man Fin my boi...

2021 Traceee oaugh man.

2021 Yay. Itchy.

2022 I had no idea how I wanted to draw Cans. I still don't but I wanted to attempt to mess around with beards annnddddd. Thinking about his hair, like short or to his shoulders??? hrmmmm. Also he's the only one with a mustache in The Felt gwehehe

2022 Sawbucks!!! YEAHHHHH. Like Cans I kinda just messed around with his hair as the previous designs were pretty similar to the others like Trace with the wave back part.

Also this 2020-2021 portraits thing!!! I could've used these instead of the other drawings but that's boring

[jayoonology]

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰/ 𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐮

𝗮/𝗻 - procrastinated and then gave birth to this. I low-key want to make the Beomgyu part a proper one shot but idk if I should.

𝘄𝗰 - sb (331), yj (324), bg (346), th (314), hk (290)

Choi Soobin | 최수빈

manga shopping date

It took him weeks and I mean weeks to ask you out. He sits behind you in class and Beomgyu swears Soobin spends more time looking at you than he does at the teacher. From all that creepy staring (as Beomgyu likes to call it) Soobin noticed your wallpaper. Is that jujutsu kaisen..? No way! If it was somehow possible Soobin likes you twice as more. After some (bad) hyping up from Beomgyu and an entire night of pondering he finally decides to ask you out.

Low-key he zoned out while he was talking to you because he couldn’t believe he was actually interacting with you. But somehow he didn’t mess up and asked you if you wanted to check out a manga shop with him. And you said yes?!?! Soobin was still zoned out so didn’t actually process it till later but Beomgyu (who was rudely eavesdropping was SHOCKED) 

On the day of the date, however; Soobin was NOT calm. Man was internally freaking out, he must have changed his outfit at least 3 times. When he did make it there he couldn’t help but overthink the entire thing. Are you actually coming? Do you know this is a date? Is he wearing his shirt backwards?

All his fears melted away when he saw you though. The conversations flowed easily and he sort of forgot it was even a date, everything seemed so easy with you. The both of you spent hours at the shop, browsing and recommending each other series. Most of the time both of you were just freaking out that they had every single jjk manga, even the super rare first edition ones. And by the end of the date the both of you had two heavy bags full of books. You two agreed you’ll never have a date again at the manga store as you’re both most definitely broke now.

“Next time we should go to watch the new jjk movie!”

“next time?” MAN WAS OVERJOYED!!!!! 

Choi Yeonjun | 최연준

chill evening at roof top bar

you and Yeonjun both work the same shift and for months now there’s been so much playful tension between the both of you. Enough to make your coworkers think there’s something going on. Now Yeonjun can’t lie, he does like you a little bit (a lot) and he admits you’re gorgeous (the most breathtaking person he’s ever seen) but he also knows that you’re his coworkers and things could become awkward (he’s too much of a pussy) This game of cat and dog had been going on for a while now and frankly, you’ve had enough of waiting for Yeonjun to make the first move. If he isn’t going to do it, you’ll do it yourself. So you super confident go up to him and don’t waste any time on pleasantries.

“Yeonjun there’s a new rooftop bar that opened down the street, do you want to go—”

“Yes.”

Literally the two of you bolt the second your shift was done. This is your first time seeing Yeonjun outside of work, and there was something different about it. The two of you seemed even more unhinged, even more flirty. You didn’t even need alcohol turns out you just needed to leave that grey office. When you were at the bar the two of you ordered almost every drink on the menu and refused to leave before closing getting absolutely wasted. It was fun sitting on a skyscraper looking at the tiny people below you.

As far as first dates go, it must have been the most brilliant one you’ve been on. You and Yeonjun didn’t leave a single topic uncovered discussing popcorn flavours to white sand beaches. And you have to admit, it was kinda cute how Yeonjun got wasted, he looked like a lovesick boy. And then there was when drunk Yeonjun went on a tangent about everything he likes about you. (you made sure to never let him hear the end of that)

Choi Beomgyu | 최범규

vinyl shopping

So Beomgyu ended up getting a vinyl player from Hyuka for his birthday, the only problem is, he doesn’t have any vinyl albums. So now he has two options:

Sell the vinyl player and make some cash.

Ask his pretty roommate to go vinyl shopping with him and blow his entire paycheck.

Logically, Beomgyu chose the latter. He isn’t exactly sure when he started developing a crush on you, he just knows that one day he woke up and no one seemed to matter except you. But there’s a little bit of a problem, how is he going to make the outing seem like a date? As roommates you practically do everything together, this needs to be special. He knows that you like music and him buying your favourite vinyls could be called romantic but with no previous warning, it’s just platonic.

He’s determined to make this seem special, but how? Naturally, he watched a romcom, sure he could have consulted his friends but they’re bitchless anyway: how could they have even helped. He landed on getting you flowers, that’s the most romantic thing a guy can give you right? So the next day as you get ready he quickly runs to the grocery store and back and gets you a bouquet of tulips, awkwardly handing them to you.

“uh what’s this?”

“flowers.”

“but why?”

“cause this is a date.”

“okay cool.”

OKAY COOL? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Does that mean you like him too? Does that mean you’re uncomfortable? You can see the gears turning in Beomgyu’s head and figure you should probably help the poor boy out. You grab his hand, dragging him out of the apartment. Beomgyu’s face was pinker than the tulips he got you.

You two spent the entirety of the afternoon picking out cool records you found at the shop (and emptying Beomgyu’s pockets) buying the most obscure music you could find. Despite the long day, it was rewarding cause the two of you just chilled the rest of the day, playing the music you bought and eating takeout.

Kang Taehyun | 강태현

escape room

You and Taehyun have been project partners for a while now and instead of completing your project, Taehyun has spent more time falling for you. He’d vowed to himself that 2023 was going to be the year he was going to focus on school but here you come knocking his walls down.

Now Taehyun knew for sure he was going to ask you out, it was clear to the both of you that you liked each other, you were just patiently waiting for Taehyun to make the first move. The dilemma is, Taehyun doesn’t know where to take you. Sure he could be a basic bitch and take you out to the movies or a restaurant but you were more important than that. He wanted you to enjoy and remember the first date. He thought of many things like bowling or going to a school game together but they’re so crowded and loud, how will he be able to focus on you?

It was like a eureka moment when it struck him while having a shower. He could take you to an escape room! It’s private and fun, plus teamwork. The two of you were good at that (despite not finishing your project that was set 2 months ago) When he proposes it to you, you were overjoyed. Not only have you been waiting for Taehyun to make a move, but he also made the perfect move.

You work together to decipher the clues and solve the puzzles, using your teamwork and problem-solving skills to make your way through the room. Taehyun's quick wit and intelligence are a valuable asset, and you can feel yourself growing more and more impressed by him with each passing moment (his plan is working !!) now not only did you and Taehyun enjoy working together and talking about your interests, but it was also the most memorable date you’ve been on.

Huening Kai | 정카이

create your own plushie workshop

You’ve been trying to go on a date with Kai for weeks but something or another always comes up. First, you two had a planned a picnic and it turns out it was going to rain, then he gets called to pull an emergency shift, and then your car breaks down. You’ve been wondering if it’s a sign from the universe, the universe is definitely against picnics and you know what it’s fine, who wants to sit on the grass surrounded by weird bugs anyway?

So you decide to come up with something new, something fresh and better. So scour the internet for new events happening in your hometown. Wait, what’s that? A plushie-making workshop? If that isn’t the universe giving you a sign you don’t know what is. Kai loves plushies and wait for it, it’s happening this Saturday when the both of you don’t have work. It’s perfect.

So you call up Kai, telling him to write it down in permanent marker cause there’s no way in hell that this date is going to get cancelled. Luckily the two of you make it there early and basically have the workshop all to yourself. With the help of the instructor, you work on making a plushie together.

Of course, it had all the essentials, plus a little note the two of you wrote, hiding it in the stuffing on the plushie. Your plushie was perfect in every way and the icing on top was that you got to make it with the guy you’ve been crushing on for ages.

[alaskaartz]

Silk Song RAMBLE.

I have a really hard time containing my excitement so

SPOILERS FOR SILKSONG! do not read anymore of this if you want to go into silksong spoiler free!

OK BUT LIKE- The updated HK wiki was a thing today and I went and looked at the silksong part of it. and OH MY GOD- I know most of these things already but everything about silksong makes me just so excited- silksong has a lot of things that I love and adore already and team cherry really just picked up everything I love and put it into one game, which makes me literally wanna jump around my room cuz I'm so happy

Ok rambling about things now

Up first moss grotto:

THIS PLACE MAKES ME SO HAPPY. I love moss, and I love lily pads. I love EVERYTHING about this place! I love the atmosphere of it and the feeling it gives off. It feels very comforting in an odd way, with all the moss and plants mixed with what I assume to be bones makes a really comforting place. The enemies shown here are also really really cute, I just wanna hug them, they look like they'd be soft. Something about moss grotto makes it seem like the perfect place to come sit and stay if you needed some alone time, I know that sounds weird but it's the best way I can describe it- Random but in the nintendo treehouse live from forever ago you could see the shell shards ROLL on the ground! and when Hornet walks on the moss it actually looks like she's walking on it! I bring this up because of how cool but more, real feeling? It makes everything feel. The fact that the currency and the shell shards roll on the ground gives it more gravity and just- overall a very cool feel to what it would be like to, idk, hold it? Geo in Hollow Knight kinda bounces around so it's like, not as realistic idk man- Another thing is Hornet, she seems to have more gravity to her, she can't jump as high or walk/run as fast as the knight did making her almost feel, heavier. She seems like she's much heavier than Ghost was

Next up, Deep docks: (the second one is my PC's wallpaper lol)

Deep docks feels very, hot, for obvious reason. Something about deep docks aesthetic is just SO COOL. I'm writing this part from memory of the treehouse live so if I'm wrong about stuff, sorry I love the rocks and bones in Deep docks, actually I love the amount of bones in most of the screenshots and trailer things I've seen- so cool, but also in deep docks it's really cool to see the bones, rocks, magma, and machinery all mixed together I really love Lace's arena, if you look in the background you can see some moss vines (?) hanging down so that makes me think It's really close to moss grotto, but it also gives her arena a more of an overgrown feel, which is really nice ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT LACE'S CRAZY AIR ATTACK?? That attack is probably my favorite out of all her moves, the way she comes back down to the ground and shakes the whole place is SO COOL- she's definitely gonna be a hard boss for me to beat but DAMN she's gonna be a fun boss Also the fact that Hornet and Lace are just fighting above flowing magma like it's nothing is badass The Citadel:

HOLY SHIT?? THERE'S SO MUCH I CAN TALK ABOUT WITH THIS ONE SCREENSHOT. The way the floor is makes the room feel very omen and very big. The room also feels old, and dusty- What seems to be torn cloths and curtains around the place makes it seem like that place has been there for a very long time. I assume and guess the Citadel is doing to play a very big and important role in the story of this game, and in the lore of Pharloom. Idk who this warrior is but he seems cool, two swords and everything. There isn't much footage of the Citadel at all which makes me a little upset because this place seems just so, so grand, so big, so IMPORTANT. I also don't know why but the colors make it feel royal. This- Place:

I'd live here, saying that right now, I'd live here. I'd find a cozy little bell to live in and stay there forever. I know the guy to the right of Hornet is singing so maybe this is a safe space in Pharloom? I would think it to be like how dirtmouth is, shops but also a calm place to be after fighting for your life for the millionth time. It's really cool how bells have been turned into homes, It's a really cool touch to this place and it makes it feel really cozy. I think the bell homes would be hanging from the ceiling, cavern roof, whatever you wanna call it- And the bug either fly or climb ladders to get into the bell houses! This place just radiates safe, and homey- once again, I will find a bell and make it my home.

This:

Not much to say about it because I know so little about it, but the fact that Hornet is fighting what I assume is I giant robot bug? omg, Also it looks like it's rusting so is it not affected by the magma but affected by something else? Or is that just weird red plants, Idk

Coral Place:

THERE. ARE. FISH. This place feeds my internal love of pirates, and anything ocean. The coral looks so alive and this place seems like it's gonna have cool stuff in it

PLEASE TELL ME THIS GUYS IS A PIRATE OR SOMETHING- He looks like a pirate, I'm not the only one who think that right? Like, a knight pirate This arena feels very small and, humid. Probably because it is either underwater or close to water. it seems really misty in there. The fact that the lanterns are held with coral, vine, things is so cool- Also there's pipes in the background! Maybe those are connected to something? I'm not trying to theorize everything I just think the possibilities are cool- I'mma call this the swamp place:

This looks like a swamp, what kind? an eerie one. It almost looks like there's ash in the air! Also the vine things in the back? so cool, the more faded they get makes this area feel very misty or foggy, which gives it a feeling of, idk, eeriness? spooky? The guy here looks like he's using a fishing pole as a weapon- which makes sense given the amount of water. The grass and, I forgot what those are called. SWAMP REEDS- are really big so it makes this place feel WAY bigger, or hornet way smaller. Not sure but I can't wait to explore this place and Probably get lost along the way.

GEARS:

I don't know what this place is, what it's for, but it feels almost steampunk so that's an automatic love from me. Also love these little flying guys, they're really cute and yeah- The gears are also super cool! It almost looks like she's inside a clock :0 This place feels warm but not, dry or humid. Just warm, a comfy warm

This section is just stuff I wanna ramble about/add so:

Cutely going insane over the fact that this place is probably a Giant rib cage

THIS PLACE. IDK WHAT IT IS OR WHAT IT'LL DO BUT I LOVE IT. JUST LOOK AT THAT BACKGROUND- Like, the 'sky' looks blue. ARE WE OUTSIDE? omg- I also love all the building in the back I just OMGOMG- It also looks like there's giant pipes, maybe it's close to the Citadel? Idk but this place makes me feel so happy I just wanna stare at it, I WANNA EXPLORE-

If you've made it this far thanks- This was the only place I could actually let out my excitement over a game that's not even out yet so- yeah- If you have any questions about stuff I rambled about or said then feel free to put something in my inbox about it so, yeah-

[transmogrified-in-the-void]

Symbolism in Hollow Knight is one of the most interesting and amazing parts of the game and story.

Overall, the story has a very interesting take on Light and Dark. Not that one is better than the other, not that one is more powerful than the other, but that both are inherently selfish because when they are present there can be nothing else. Nothing except for people, who cannot be all encompassing.

The Radiance, the White Lady, and Pale King all dominate something for the better or worse of those weaker than them, or those around them. The Void consumes all that enters it without discrimination.

Even those who are Infected but still are not 100% zombified are those who chose Infection out of selfishness. All the Traitor Mantises wanted power, and idk what to tell you but it's called a Colosseum for a reason.

Not to mention things such as the King's Brand and Delicate Flower, which can be interpreted in many ways. Personally, I see the Delicate Flower as a symbol of 'I'm not fragile, just delicate. Handle with care, I'm not leaving.' It's persistence within softness and gentleness.

The King's Brand I interpret as taking on responsibility not because you want to, or because you have to, but because nobody else is strong enough to. It's not necessary to beat the game, but by taking it you learn just how far down the rabbit hole goes (haha get it)

No to mention how the characters are. They are caricatures first. The failed oldest child, the forgotten daughter. The desperate king and his parasitic wife. The vessel. A man who can't stand on his own feet, only the ones he paints for others to see. The girl who doesn't think she's good enough unless someone else tells her she is. So many!!

And then there's Jiji who eats stinky eggs lol

But Shades!!! I don't see people talk about how Shades are talked about as stains of regret. Ghost can't be a pure vessel because of that line! They are filled with regret.

Think. Why do you come back, but nobody else? Why do you get a shade and nobody else? It certainly can't be a vessel thing, we don't see it anywhere else but the Void, the Pale King's greatest regret.

The game starts with the screams of the Hollow Knight, and Ghost going to the place those screams came from. Every single ending of the game releases the Hollow Knight from the Radiance.

So I ask again. Why do you get a shade?

Well I have one answer. Because dying is leaving the sibling you thought left alive to a fate worse than the Void. Because leaving them to that endless agony isn't what you came home for. Dying is regret and anguish and a determination to continue, because there is no way you leave anything the way that it is now. For the first time, a vessel not only lives, but wants to live.

The power of three Beings runs through all of them, it only takes the want to harness it to show that.

anyways if you have any other thoughts on HK symbolism n shit pls add on

[firedjinni]

🍓🥤🔪☁️

(for this ask meme)

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?

I think it's something I've been doing for a long time, maybe before I fully understood what it was, but my first proper exposure to fanfiction on the internet was via elementary-school me searching the internet for crossovers between different things I liked (mostly ending up on Fanfiction.net and dedicated single-fandom archives.)

My first experiences actually writing fic, from what I remember, involved posting through my friend's account while over at their house because I didn't have an email and couldn't make one myself, haha. (Of course, that account is long deleted now…)

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

Aaaaaa oh man I have to think there are so many--

I basically have a big reclist for longer completed works on AO3 here: rainy day longfic <3, so I'll go for a couple of authors off the top of my head:

Seebright (@/lackadrastical): beautiful Hollow Knight fic! I have both of their longfics in my longfic reclist, but they've got some lovely oneshots as well. I love their Ghost and general sibling trio characterization so much. <333

CourierNew: wrote another really good HK longfic, but also I love love love their Deltarune oneshots! Their prose is so good and sharp and eerie and there's a perfect sort of tone to it I don't know quite how to describe…

tls1314 (@/tls332): beautiful Rain World fic!! A time travel fixit that's ongoing, and some quieter oneshots. Also a Hollow Knight oneshot which is probably the only (or one of the only) fics I've ever seen to pull off first person POV with Hornet.

NoelleHolidayStanAccount (TerminalMiraculosis): as the name suggests, really good Noelle-centric Deltarune fic, but also the formatting?? The CSS?? It's so fucking cool and creative to see, and I wish more authors really leaned into the ability to make AO3 do fun stuff like that.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I can't quite decide, so I'm just gonna leave a list of highlights. Ironically, most of this pertains to fics that have never actually been posted.

half an hour of staff training videos on hospital de-escalation techniques

multiple Youtube searches for "breath of the wild meat pie man" (unsuccessful)

how to harvest spider silk

symptoms of acute radiation poisoning (this is a lie i just like to read this page for fun. don't look at me)

a bunch of stuff about reproductive behaviors of various invertebrates (for, and i cannot stress this enough, worldbuilding purposes)

how big can a slug get (answer: the size of a very drippy football, apparently)

Large Animal Immobilon, some very weird back of the napkin math, and the discovery that 500mL syringes do exist and will haunt my nightmares forevermore (same fic as #1)

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

My original username, Firedjinn, came from me being really, really into Golden Sun at the time I signed up for an FFN account, haha. I think I originally had some other GS-djinni-themed names in an old word doc somewhere? But this is apparently what stuck, and I've kept it around for continuity.

(Also funny story: the reason this account is called 'firedjinni' is because someone has had the URL firedjinn since 2013 where they have posted one (1) cosplay photo and nothing else since. I assume it's an active user since the name has never expired? Anyway uh yeah.)

(Rubber Chicken with a Keyboard I picked because it just sounded funny, though.)

[dropout-ninja]

The Hollow Knight, Bretta, Nightmare King Grimm

One of these is solely because I want to see you admit your favorite ship on main, I cannot stop myself

I think I need to not attempt ask games because I am too talkative and make long ass posts help

The Hollow Knight: What was the saddest part of the game for you? Which ending is the most sad to you?

All of it

But seriously, so many moments. I’ll throw the Nosk Den out as one, alongside the Abyss. A lot of the settings give feels, like the empty basin. The White Palace’s everything always makes me feel Emotions. A lot of the ghosts make me sad. MARMU. Agh. 

Which ending isn’t sad? That said, I am going to go with Sealed Siblings as the worst feeling ending. It feels like the one that has the most damage caused and the least hope. Dream No More is a ‘good’ ending, though, but it gives many sad feelings (just of a different nature than the long scream of SS/THK ending)

Bretta: Favorite Hollow Knight ship? Favorite fanfic?

Why you do this

I have so many ships, because I’m the type of person to read what looks like a crackship and if it’s written with crunch then now I’m shipping it (hi grimmnet). It doesn’t take much and I don’t tend to have notps, my personality is a continuous shrug (me out here sometimes reading pale nightmare and causing you unknowing psychic indigestion) 

Grollow was my first HK ship and I’d probably call it my favorite. I also really like Pale King/White Lady. Some of the more cursed ships I favor are Pale King/Radiance (or PK/Radi/WL) and Radiance/The Hollow Knight, exceptionally messy and toxic. There you go, Ashe, get me on main saying it all. 

All of yours are the answer XD (I mean it). From Eyes to W&G/Red Sky to Butterfly, sorry not sorry. Other favorites are Soul of God, Form of Moth by @basilbellona, which has been my favorite HK fic since April 2022, and In Defiance of Time (and associated oneshots) by @ganondorf--apologist. 

Now for a list of absolutely random things I’ve got in my bookmarks, which are excluding the multiple HK fics I have open but am still reading. I’m going to make too long a post just because I always want fics to get more love. Some of my other non-Ashyr favorites from bookmarks (no specific order and genre) are: Captivated, Until Dawn Shall Break, Not Too Late for Second Chances, Hold The Future With Silver Hands, Camouflage of Great Renown, It’s All Well Above Wonder Anyway, The Clock Stopped Ticking Forever Ago, Pale Revival, A Tribe Betrayed, Void Given Focus, Workshop Safety, To Reclaim A Dream, To Love A Lamprey, Moving Onward, Will Terribly, If You Will At All, I Swore I’d Have No More Knights In Shining Armor, We’re So Close But So Distant

Someday I’ll have even more to recommend when I finish reading the fics open in my tags (hi Tori fics, hello)

Nightmare King Grimm: Which boss battle was the most intense for you? The most satisfying to defeat?

What if I said Nightmare King Grimm

Each one I came across the first time I played faskfsdaf. I’m going to go with Absolute Radiance just because I remember the noises I was making on stream when I accidentally beat her in P5 the first time. But in terms of my favorite boss fight/the one I’m most satisfied about my skills in, I’ll go with the cliche of the NKG fight XD My one skill in this game is being able to absolutely bully the man and kill him hitless before the best part of his song plays. I put all my irl XP points into getting good at him. Other favorite fights are Sisters of Battle, and probably Pure Vessel even though they are gatekeeping me so hard in my all bindings P4 run and so I cry.

[flame-shadow]

Got an HK oc but don’t really have anything with them aside from the concept, any pointers?

Short answer: Put them in a situation that interests/engages you as the creator.

Long answer: This will get rambly as I have many thoughts and will include personal examples. You have been warned.

First thing to keep in mind is that people often tackle their character creation/development processes differently, so while I'll offer a few thoughts and methods, if they don't work for you (or whoever else is reading this), that's okay! I hope they'll at least help spark something that will help you get there. :)

To elaborate on my short answer, there are sooooo many ways to put a character in a situation, and what situation will be most inspirational depends on the character and the creator. (note: I will conflate situation and conflict. for the purposes of this post, they mean pretty much the same thing, as a situation wouldn't be a situation if there wasn't some sort of conflict qualifying it as such)

For example, I am a fan of Man vs Nature and Man vs Self. These conflict types include a character working against some natural process (Charon vs the crystals which trap his mind and animate his body) and a character working against some aspect of themself (Koretta dealing with her guilt and self-loathing while desperately wanting to form connections with other characters). If I want to develop these characters, I would put them in situations where they must confront these things. (Charon wants to destroy all the crystals so he can die, but the more he does that, the more the crystals regrow and the less autonomy he has. Given who he is, he will not stop, and neither will the crystals because of what they are. His actions and fate are futile but inevitable)

If you haven't developed a character far enough that you know what conflicts would best suit them, then think about what they already have (any personality or physical traits, any motivations, any associations with the world/other characters) and think about how one or two of those things might be explored and elaborated on. If you're trying this out, make sure you loosen up and remind yourself that it's okay if the idea doesn't end up working out or fit the character!

Sometimes, I go, "hmm, how would Fraught deal with this? let's try...." and then by the time I finish thinking or writing about it, I decide that she would not actually do that. And guess what, that's great! I might not have figured out what she does do yet, but I now know for sure something that she doesn't do, and I likely figured something else about her during the process that'll help me build on the next exploration.

Another thing that might help is to think about how the character fits into and interacts with the world! I like to keep the scope small, associating each character mostly with one or two regions that I most enjoy (Kingdom's Edge, Greenpath, City, Deepnest. most of my HK characters are associated with at least one of these areas). What do you like about the region? What questions do you have or details would you like to explore, and can your character help you dive in? (Cyra spends a lot of time in Kingdom's Edge because it's quiet and lonely, and I really like booflies, so I gave her Jerome, a boofly who becomes a friend and helps her work on being less lonely and antisocial)

Also also also!! Don't be afraid to indulge yourself! Maybe you have an idea which really interests you but which you aren't sure if it really fits. Or maybe it's something you've seen other people express disinterest or dislike in. Well, fuck that. This is your character, and if you want to make them a character you enjoy working with, you should make them fun! Give them magic! Let them be a master at all the martial arts! Make them the baddest bug around! For a less extreme example, I know some people are iffy about making vessel OCs who can speak, and that's fine if it makes their vessel OC more engaging to them, but the vessel is already "imperfect", so why not give it an "imperfection" which will ensure you enjoy writing them? It could be a simple voice (and think about what they sound like and if they like how they sound), and then there's how they speak and where/who they learned from. Or spice it up by having them be able to mimic voices, for example, if you want shenanigans! That could be fun, especially if they manage to maintain a guise of being voiceless.

Alternatively, if you like problem solving, then explore the limitations of your character. Continuing with the vessel example, leave them mute and then explore how they might communicate with other bugs. Are they good at charades? Can they learn sign language? What if reading/writing is too hard for them? Perhaps they learn Morse code instead? Or maybe they don't give a fuck about communicating with other bugs! How do they feel about the reactions that other bugs have to this? How do they deal with being misinterpreted? How do they react when someone gets angry at them "ignoring" being talked to? Etc, etc.

I'm sure there are other things I could add, but I want to wrap this up with a synthesis using an example of a character of mine who quickly became a favorite but who I almost didn't make at all. Mossy Fool! Take a gander at this specimen:

[this ref is a few years old, so it's a little outdated, but it's a snapshot at a point in his creation while I was concluding the exploration stage and before I had fully developed him]

So, what's so special about him? Well, let's start from the beginning! I am a big fan of the Mosskin Tribe, and I love the Colosseum of Fools. Because those are often in my brain, I noticed one day that the moss knights and the shielded fools are kind of similar. In addition to general body proportions, they also both have nail and shield. So I gave myself the design challenge to combine the two. What if a moss knight joins the colosseum of fools? What would they look like?

I was just focused on the visuals. I did many sketches, came up with many ideas to combine the two aesthetics and accessories and features. Eventually, I went with one of the simpler but most cohesive designs. And then I thought that was it! I liked the design, but I didn't have any sort of personality in mind, no motivations, no skills apart from "can swing nail and block with shield" which is suuuuper basic.

But I liked the design too much to leave it alone. And so, I decided since it was already a curious premise, why not go further? What are some abilities I can give him to make it reasonable that he might survive in the Colosseum? What will be fun to me? I knew just making him Generically Good At Fighting wouldn't engage me enough (no shade on those types. I have other OCs who fill that role and whom I am happy with! but that wasn't interesting for this character), so I figured I'd explore what from Greenpath might have to offer to make this Mossy Fool fellow stand out. What charms and abilities are found in that area? I honed in on Thorns of Agony. I decided that his mossy cloak would have to adapt to the Colosseum as well as the knight, so under certain circumstances where the knight is under duress/close to death/startled severely, the cloak will lash out with thorny vines! (There were body horror aspects I explored later with the cloak, but they're less relevant to early development) Not only was it a cool way to incorporate the ability, but it made drawing the character more engaging because heck yeah vine time! It looks cool!

And speaking of looks, I wanted there to be more visual association to Greenpath than just him being a moss knight, so I thought about emphasizing his association with Unn and how knights/warriors in our world have developed sigils and symbols and clan markings and so on to signify their allegiances. And I imagine being as recognizable and iconic as one can be in a gladatorial setting like the Colosseum of Fools would encourage developing an identifiable symbol, too. So, he's a moss knight which means he serves Unn, so he paints Unn on his shield! I then decided that part of his post-fight ritual would be to repaint the symbol. This habit informs other aspects of his character, too.

And then, what about his personality? Well, I recognized at the time that I had many edgy/rude/antisocial characters, as that is one of my favorite types of character to play with. However, I wanted to go against that for this guy, so I decided to explore him being a himbo! (some friends also encouraged this choice, and we had many OOC jokes made at his expense) He's kind, he's strong, he's not bright; he loves fighting but he has a personal code and will not hurt others outside the arena unless it's self-defense. This was a contrast both to many of my other characters and also to what I perceived as the typical Fool personality type (ie. superiority, over-confidence, lofty goals, super competitive).

All of this combined was developed over, hmmm, a few months? Maybe closer to half a year. But it doesn't ever really stop! Three years since inception, and I still do stuff with him, and he's still developing as I put him in more situations and even explore his backstory, working out what factors caused him to become The Mossy Fool. (I love him a lot. He is one of my favorite HK characters)

And yeah! That is where I will stop before I go on for another ten paragraphs adksjflsajkdfld

I do hope this was helpful, insightful, amusing, or something else that elicits a positive or at least bemused reaction. Thank you for the ask, and best wishes on developing your character!

[pbaintthetb]

Burya Role Reversal au- full DGS/GAA2 spoilers

Aight, so now that I've finally finished the game I thought I might note down some of my thoughts of key points that would happen in this theoretical role reversal au, armed with the knowledge of what Kaz's goddamn secret was

Cut for length and/or spoilers for both games

Ryunosuke dies- so the first difference is that after Ryunosuke eats all the chicken legs there is a chicken shortage for dinner. Kazuma eagerly signs up to not have chicken for dinner as a confirmed chicken hater, and thus is the one to eat the drugged portion whereas Ryunosuke is awake to see Pavlova and get murdered

Ryunosuke is a stowaway, while being in a first class cabin does suggest the occupant is aware of his prescence maybe it was also a coincidence. Or perhaps Ryuonsuke actually met his sticky end in the corridor. Regardless the crew decides the neatest end to cover up the murder of a man who isn't even supposed to exist is actually to just dispose of the evidence rather than set up a frame job. Ryunosuke's corpse is thrown overboard* Sholmes, being the only other person who knew Ryunosuke was there, eventually helps Kazuma prove it

*undecided if in this role reversla Ryunosuke is actually dead, because regardless if youre dead when you get chucked into the ocean it's unlikley to end well. However if this is also a fake death as in canon then a few options, one, Sholmes sets up the lie (unlikely he doesn't ahve the same motivation as canon) OR a series of unlikely lucky coincidences, i.e. they're not that far from HK coastal water and a fishing boat happens to be there pretty much as Ryunosuke drops and somehow falling into the freezing ocean from height actually just gives him the shock to regain conciousness instead of, idk, breaking his ribs, accidentally breathing in water and drowning

Sholmes, knowing of both Kazuma and Susato and having been unsuccessful in suggesting Kazuma should return to Japan as a result of his friend's untimely death is very, very, eager to keep an eye on them both. Aside from the assasination threat they are the child and ward of a dear friend and Sholmes is quite worried that Kazuma is going to spin out because he's not doing so well

Kazuma never stops wearing his headband in this, it's the closest thing he's got to a memento of Ryunosuke, after all. Well, other than copies of their identical uniforms. No armband or katana inheritance here

Post McGilded Stronghart makes subtle noises aboout Kazuma killing Gregson already. Kazuma, who in his mind has so very little left to lose now (rip Susato), points out that he came to England to learn get revenge on Van Zieks and the point of the visiting students is to get sent back once done. Stronghart angrily concedes to let Kazuma attend precisely three trials before he needs to do his duty... or face a sticky end of his own

Now this is a problem with timeline in a ryunosuke lives because it implies Ryuonsuke somehow gets to england like, nearly a year before kaz does, but I like the idea that in this au Ryunosuke doesn't wind up under Van Zieks like Kazuma does, but with no memory and a fondness for literature and the english language winds up with Natsume (in his second trial) goes off looking for a lawyer for him,,, and finds Kazuma and Susato

Around the time of the Eggert Benedict trial Ryunosuke eventually (accidenally) wanders his way off to Stronghart- he is curious about British law after alll, and winds up being co-counsel for Kazuma (perhaps after Susato leaves?). A development Ryunosuke is thrilled about and Kazuma is horrified by. Especially when Stronghart comes to personall tell Kazuma actually, 3 trials is not enough, why doesn't he defend a few more :-)

Kazuma cracks and confesses to Sholmes after the eggert trial, he would tell Ryunosuke but he just got him back and doesn't want to lose his trust so soon. Sholmes bundles Gregson off ASAP, Susato is recalled to Japan

See after the Eggert Benedict Trial Kazuma's grace period is up and he's meant to start assasinating so there is a gap in trials... unfortunately Gregson has gone awol (huh how funny). Still Stronghart has leverage and Kazuma is still in a very sticky position

In the gap Kazuma is desperately trying to get Ryunosuke to return to Japan (without telling him why), Ryunosuke refuses- he may not know what's going on but Kazuma is his best friend and he made a promise. Simultaneously Sholmes is trying to get Kazuma to return to Japan (telling him why) Kazuma refuses. (He hasn't done what he came here to do yet.) Sholmes is this close to drugging him and stuffing him on a steamship, but somehow he suspects Kazuma would find a way to come back and at least Sholmes can keep an eye on him this way.

Anyway those are some of my ideas, I'm torn about a. if ryunosuke is alive and b. like while i really do like the idea of meeting him via natsume, it also is kinda too ealry so idk. Also this whole thing was actually originally meant to be about how I felt Kazuma would deal with Ryunosuke's death way worse than the other way around becuase a. he's so angry b. ryunosuke dying is much more his fault than kazuma dying being ryuonsuke's fault and c. he's so much more isolated in it becuae susato doesne't know ryuonsuke so they can't grieve together and stuff?

I also originally considered kazuma not being intersted in 1-5 but i love gaaac 1 gina so much so, BUT kazuma in this au kind of gives up on trust but that's when ryunosuke is dead. Anyway i had a lot of fun thoughts about kazuma nad gina interacting in 1-5 where Kazuma refuses to trust people nor accept anybody's trust. But if Ryuonsuke is alive.... Similiarly, the lack of interest wasbecause initially before I knew much about spoilers Kazuma was honestly just moping and working on his plan (to take down van zieks) and like didnt actually care about trials. But now where the only way he's pushing back his assasination mission by doing trials he might care more. My first thought was he holds off on trials becuase 3 isn't many... but Stronghart probably wouldn't like that. So now we have kazuma strongarmed into trials for people he might genuienly feel bad for (gina). Also gina's complete lack of trust in people and systems could mesh really intrestingy with this jaded Kazuma

Alternatively, Ryunosuke does come back in 2-3,, not 1-4/2-2 and perhaps the only thing he does remember is this guy with a katana and billowing headbands who constantly talked about reforming courts or... tldr amnesiac Ryuonsuke makes his way to Stronghart trying to chase his memories. Stronghart is like the cat who got the cream (it's not hard to see Kazuma has been spinning out about something and now this guy shows up who dresses the same...) So stronghart lets Kazuma have an extra trial, perhaps, just to push leverage

either that or around 2-3 kazuma figures out gregson had something to do with his father's death/snaps a little further and calls gregson back to london to ask about it on the pretext of thsi case. (Sholmes is... uh not happy, to put it lightly, when he finds out)

anway great thoughts