#no diss to the other phases

[rock-holmes]

How do i say i love phase 1 but without sounding like an elitist

[sl-vega]

ᯓ★ MY HEART BEATS FOR YOU

Pairing: [BASSIST!] Scaramouche x [GUITARIST!] Reader

Genre: rivals/enemies to lovers, rivals to friends to lovers, fluff, crack (?), comedy, angst (?), slowburn, high school au, band au, modern au, social media au, smau

Synopsis: You're the lead guitarist for your band, C✧LESTIA and Scaramouche is the bassist of 5WIRL. The two of your bands have a friendly rivalry, but you and Scaramouche don't. On top of being academic rivals, you and him have never been on good terms. Always one-upping each other in grades and in music. Even your bandmates have grown tired of your constant bickering with each other. But when your usual practice hub gets flooded, you and the rest of C✧LESTIA are forced to find a new place to rehearse. So when 5WIRL offers to share their studio with you who are you to refuse? Of course, this forces you to spend time with your sworn rival whether you like it or not. But maybe the two of you can overcome your differences and actually be friends?

Or maybe even more?

CW/content tags: swearing, profanities/innuendoes, bad music puns, ooc (?), reader is described with she/her pronouns, images used are not meant to depict the reader's appearance and are only used for the pose

⋆🎶₊˚ෆ STARRING

C✧LESTIA ll 5WIRL ll THE FANS

PLAYING TRACK...

PROLOGUE-tear drops on my guitar

ALBUM 01-go fuck yourself! /affectionate

01-we're in treble

02-diss track

03-fret not

04-i'm not that desperate

05-starting on a sour note

06-practicing but we're already perfect

07-shits and gigs

08-vip pass // 8.5-enemies to ???

09-stealing the spotlight!

10-obsessed much?

11-alone at the after party

12-call me maybe (read; never)

13-more than rivals, less than friends

ALBUM 02-pov: falling in love with your rival

(TBA)

ALBUM 03-i love you like a love song baby

(TBA)

✮ BONUS MIXTAPES-true love <3

additional notes:

-my bandori phase caused me to make this

-this one will probably start soon because i need a break from writing sticking to the script

-bare with me and my bad music humour

-working on profiles as we speak

-i'm gonna tag my other scara smau taglist cuz smth tells me y'all would be into this: @ladyninggs, @featuredtofu, @levianamor, @veekoko, @glxssmemories, @foomeowmeow117, @scarasbaby , @d-d3arest , @heavenforyyou , @seternic , @danfelions , @jf-117, @kukikoooo , @uuyuomi, @rozariwho , @freyao7 , @lapinaenmicoche , @thatoneswordgirl

-no pressure to read tho :3

-this taglist is open and the smau will start soon

-decided to give myself more freedom, this smau isn't planned out as much as my others

(CLOSED) TAGLIST: @featuredtofu, @levianamor, @danfelions, @thatoneswordgirl, @lolmeowing, @bananasquash, @xiaosantenna, @glxssmemories, @kaitfae, @mujiwuji, @zestyseggsydaddy69, @peaceindreams, @freyao7, @rinquin, @justpeachyteastea, @cocomi, @b2ne, @skyoverkill1, @scaradooche, @morallyrainyday, @adres-tia, @justadvena6, @agaygothicmushroom, @huanator, @seaofdata, @kyon-cherri, @aether-darling, @ukinya, @sketcheeee, @ibawa, @shutingstar, @eutopiastar, @kunimix, @wonderful-worlds, @ectomotive, @yourfavoritefreakyhan, @b4tm4nn, @animegirl-12s-world, @h3xi2g0n3, @lalaloveallmydays, @st4xs-3, @valentinasgirly, @kazuieee, @hikoiaa, @princess-peachys, @feikyuu, @dainsleif-when-playable

[vigilante24ish]

🌙 Moon Phases 🌙

Agatha Harkness X Fem!Reader

Chapter 1. - Chapter 2. - Chapter 3

Chapter 4. - Chapter 5. - Chapter 6

Word Count: 1470

Chapter 7:

The door closed behind you as the last of you entered, but no one was bothered by it. Instead, everyone was busy staring at the luxurious interior that did not match the vibe of the house outside.

"It's not exactly the stuff of nightmares." Jen commented, passively proving Agatha that such things were more to her liking.

The decor, the rich life and everything was something that Jen would easily have in her life; if she did not have her magic bound and forced to make "vegan" candles and products for ridiculous low prizes while fighting lawsuits for "little" accidents.

"The Road changes for the coven." Agatha explained bluntly.

However, it was Lilia that took notice of something else... her clothes.

"It changed us, too." She pointed out, making everyone look at themselves and at one another.

Indeed, the clothes had changed to fit the mood more; now, all of witches resembling rich housewives than anything else.

You dared to glance at yourself, eyebrows shooting up in surprise at the outfit the Road had chosen for you.

Your vest and tie were gone. Instead, a nice baby pink shirt had replaced the three buttons open and was rather generous with your cleavage. The outfit matched with a set of bright white pants and a white/creme jacket.

Bonus point, you were no longer barefoot, though you were not sure how to feel about the open toe ankle strapped heels

"My amulet!" Alice exclaimed in panic, searching for her very special necklace.

By instant, your hand went to your neck where yours was always tied but did not find it. Before panic could settle in, though, you took notice of one of the many bracelets you had in your arms.

One of them was your amulet, the three moon phases offering you some comfort.

Amulets were important for all witches, special symbols chosen by otherworldly powers, and each one unique to each witch. They carried fragments of your power. They symbolised your affinity, and more than once, they were enchanted to offer protection against lesser evil.

Everyone started to walk inside, some like Jen looking for a mirror to fully admire their new outfit and hairstyle, others the decorations; and some like Teen; took notice of something that stood out in this serene living room.

You stayed where you were, ready to take a step forward when you took notice of Agatha slowly heading for the door, only to realize there was no doorknob and no way to exit.

You shook your head faintly and placed one hand on your waist, connecting your gaze with hers.

"Ags," you said softly, and she offered you an innocent smile, as if you had not observed her trying to leave the room. "You know how it goes. There is no way out once a trial starts"

She huffed faintly, knowing that too well, but she still was willing to try. She was never a patient woman, and right now, she had no reason to be. She needed her powers as quickly as possible and to get away from everyone; hopefully stealing you with her along the way.

"Well, it was worth a shot," she argued and fixed her outfit, not hiding her dissing at the turtleneck and the very boring cliché outfit chosen for her.

"You know, this style is not that bad on you. Think you could pull it off, " you commented, hoping to take her mind off something at least.

Agatha rolled her eyes as she walked your way, confident as ever. "Oh, please. You liked anything I chose to wear. Terrible company for shopping"

You could not help but smirk. "True," you agreed, not once offended by her cheeky remark. "Though you could never truly blame me"

This might have been the longest talk you had with one another in a long time, and you did not want it to end. This back and forth comment and slight flirty remarks were always your thing; perhaps was also what had exposed your relationship the first time.

Back then, the world was not that tolerant with your preferences, and even now; sometimes it felt as if your feelings for the same gender were illegal, a mistake.

She stood between you and the door, head held high. While you were the same height, these heels did add you a few inches to make you taller than her, and somehow, you knew she did not fully like it.

Her gaze remained locked with yours and yet she could not help but let her eyes trail down your body, attracted by the open top of your shirt.

It had been too long since she had seen you in tempting clothes, buttons, and ribbons close enough that she could tease and remove without much of an effort.

You titled your head faintly to the side, drawing her attention to your delicate neck.

It was frustrating how easily she was attracted to you, a deep need to recreate all your past moments that never left her memory. She would never allow it to happen, not with others present and not before she had obtained her powers back.

You knew that, but still seeing the way she would look at you, the mood changing when she had her chance to comment on your words made you happy.

It was proof that despite the passing years, despite the time you spent away from one another; you had not become complete strangers... not yet.

There was still this spark between you that could easily be fed and grown into a huge fire, if only you would both let her.

You took a deep breath, fighting back the need to grab and kiss her; even if it was for a mere second. You knew now it was not the Time nor the place to try and bring back the spark you always seemed to have for one another.

"Oh my god!" Sharon shouted, worrying you all that something happened. Yet, when the mortal woman walked back into the living room with a smile on her face; your worries washed away. "Bury me in that kitchen."

"Careful what you wish, Mrs. Davis" You could not help but mumble, your mouth working before your brain could stop it. "Wishes are a powerful thing"

Your words did not seem to ease the atmosphere, and you could not help but receive different looks from your fellow witches. Your words did sound little too ominous for their liking, and considering you seemed to have some connection to Agatha, it made them even less willing to trust you right away.

Thankfully for you, Teen was there to save the day.

"Hey, check this out!" The boy called, making you all look at him; temptations and sinful thoughts pushed to the back of your minds.

You quickly noticed that in his hands, he held an envelope, and your curiosity got the best of you. You walked towards him along with the others, only Agatha trailing behind; careful of what might happen once that envelope was opened.

"The Witches' Road cordially invites you to The First Trial." He read the outside of the envelope before daring to open it. "It's a riddle. My age has value. I'm no fun alone. I mess with your mind. My tricks are well-known."

You held back a scoff. By the divine godess, did you hate riddles, always messing with your head, and unfortunately; you were never really good with them either.

Perhaps that was why they frustrated you that much.

"That's a gorgeous card stock. Double-sided, too." Sharon said, quickly taking and inspecting the card with the riddle on.

"What does it mean?" Jen asked.

"That it's really expensive."

"The riddle, Mrs. Davis." You explained to the human woman, who was once again lost in her own little world.

"My age has value, no fun alone, i mess with mind, my tricks are well-known... " Alice mumbled as she read the riddle out loud.

Agatha thought for a moment. "Sounds like a witch

Jen quickly grabbed the chance to comment. "Sounds like you."

An intense staring started between the two women, Agatha, even daring to minic Jen and not helping with the situation or the riddle.

Suddenly, Sharon turned and noticed something that was not on the table a moment ago. "Wine!"

Immediately, everyone realised that this was the answer.

"That's it. Ten points for Mrs. Hart." Jen said and all turned to look at the bottle of wine, accompanied by 6 wine glasses.

"Wait, we don't know what'll happen if we drink it." Lilia voiced out as Agatha grabbed the wine bottle.

"But if we don't follow these obvious breadcrumbs, we can't move forward, and we won't get to big prize," Agatha argued. "So, does anybody have a corkscrew?"

Chapter 8

[ryin-silverfish]

Is JTTW Buddhist Propaganda?

(Hmmm...I could swear I wrote something about this one before. Consider this post an expansion, then.)

But first, let's analyze what this question means, and gives it some context.

When people say "JTTW is basically Buddhist propaganda", they often point to the caricature of the Celestial Realm, the mocking of Daoists, and how Buddhists are not subjected to the same degree and intensity of satire.

Which is true, and I'll agree that JTTW likes Buddhism better, but I still disagree with the statement as a whole.

See, the "JTTW as Buddhist propaganda" takes imply that 1) JTTW is promoting Buddhist doctrines and only Buddhist doctrines, and 2) Buddhism and Daoism can actually be divided into two distinct, totally dissimilar camps in this period, and you cannot believe in both at the same time.

I'll use this Reddit post as an example, which is what sparked the discussion that inspired in the first place.

Here, the OP summarizes Subodhi and SWK's exchange in Chapter 2 as "Subodhi listing a bunch of Daoist immortality methods that Don't Work, which SWK rejects, before he teaches monkey how to actually be immortal via proper Buddhist ways."

Except...well...Subodhi doesn't actually teach him immortality via proper Buddhist ways. Here is the mantra he recites to SWK after the monkey solved his riddle:

This bold, secret saying that's wondrous and true: Spare, nurse nature and life—there's nothing else. All power resides in the semen, breath, and spirit; Store these securely lest there be a leak. Lest there be a leak! Keep within the body! Heed my teaching and the Way itself will thrive. Hold fast oral formulas so useful and keen To purge concupiscence, to reach pure cool; To pure cool Where the light is bright. You'll face the elixir platform, enjoying the moon. The moon holds the jade rabbit, the sun, the crow; The tortoise and snake are now tightly entwined. Tightly entwined, Nature and life are strong. You can plant gold lotus e'en in the midst of flames. Squeeze the Five Phases jointly, use them back and forth— When that's done, be a Buddha or immortal at will!

It's full of Daoist metaphors, like the reference to 精气神 in line 3, the triad of fundamental forces in internal alchemy. The talk about Jade Rabbit/Moon and Crow/Sun, as well as the Turtle and Snake, are alluding to Water and Fire, the Kan and Li trigram——again, very important in internal alchemy.

And it's not an isolated case. There are enough internal alchemy stuff in JTTW that multiple Qing commentaries are dedicated to reading JTTW through a Daoist cultivation lens, to the extreme of finding internal alchemy metaphors in every line and paragraph.

Nor does JTTW only poke fun at Daoists while portraying monks as paragons of morality: Elder Jinchi, the start of the Wuji Kingdom arc where the local temple head acted like an asshole to Sanzang and was threatened by SWK into providing him lodging, the acolytes of Zhenhai Temple who were seduced and eaten by Lady Earth Flow...

So is JTTW a secretly Daoist work in a thick Buddhist trenchcoat, then? The Chan Buddhist allusions and the dissing of Daoists would beg to disagree.

But more importantly, the idea that JTTW has to be either Daoist or Buddhist propaganda implies an "exclusivity", that if you are promoting one thing, you have to be a doctrinal purist for that thing while thoroughly rejecting the other things, which just isn't how religions work in imperial China.

Though the "Three Teachings as One" tradition does not mean there weren't back-and-forth dissing between Buddhists and Daoists, they usually don't do it by proclaiming that the other is Wrong and False and Needs to Go Away, but "Sure, they have something to offer, but it's actually the same thing as our teachings, and we can do it better anyways".

Thus a Neo-Confucian following Wang Yangming's school of thought could incorporate Buddhist ideas into their philosophical writings, a Daoist could believe in karma and reincarnation, and a novel about attaining Buddha-hood could be laden with internal alchemy jargons and symbolism.

Constant borrowing from each other aside, Daoism isn't a monolith either. JTTW did not portray external alchemy——making elixirs of immortality with actual chemicals——in a favorable light, but it has no problem with internal alchemy.

Like, pay attention to the Daoists who were made buffons of (and usually turned out to be yaoguais in disguise). They got where they were by promising the kings of the local kingdom immortality elixirs.

The White Deer Demon is the most notable example, but the Three Immortals of Chechi Kingdom were also promising the king immortality elixirs, after they cemented their superiority through their rain-calling rituals.

Such cases are pretty remiscient of certain Daoism-obsessed Ming emperors, like Jiajing/Ming Shizong (the novel might have been written during his reign, but even if it wasn't, the author would be quite close to, and aware of what came before).

What I'm getting at here is, JTTW is perfectly capable of criticizing the sort of Daoism and Daoists it doesn't like, while also believing that internal alchemy is a valid and worthwhile framework, compatiable with the Buddhist pursuit of enlightenment.

Conversely, just because the novel poked fun at all three religions and made their deities very human, doesn't mean it is somehow a purely secular/atheist work.

It still believes in what it thought as the common "core" of the three religions: the inner cultivation process that underlies Daoist internal alchemy, Buddhist pursuit of enlightenment, as well as certain Neo-Confucian schools.

This coexistence and syncreticism, even if individuals or groups may lean more towards one school or teaching, is pretty hard for modern people to grasp.

I guess my best analogy is: if you visit a Buddhist temple in modern China, you can often see Guan Yu being venerated as a guardian deity in one of the side halls, as well as the occasional Wealth God.

The presence of those Daoist deities doesn't make it stop being a Buddhist temple, anymore than a Guanyin statue in a Daoist temple does.

JTTW is kinda like this temple. Technically, it is still a Buddhist one because it has a Buddha in the main hall, and is occupied by monks.

But it also has numerous Daoist deities in the side halls, and there's a souvenir store at the entrance selling Taisui-warding talismans and zodiac animal charms, like most popular temples.

It will be inaccurate to classify the whole thing as exclusively Buddhist, in the same way a Protestant church is exclusively Christian. However, the mix-and-match of deities and the souvenir shop don't make it a shopping mall (entirely secular) either.

[cryptomiracle]

more creepypasta headcanons

(+ marble hornets)

WARNINGS:

Ooc? Idk

I started this at 2 am and you can tell

Cursing

I write on my phone so the format may be a little weird

Any brands, games, or characters mentioned in this do NOT belong to me, nor am I sponsored by them in any way.

This is very unserious, I've noticed that a lot of my other hcs usually take a "dark" turn and so I decided to make some that didn't.

You could even say they're a bit... silly.

You should totally check out my masterlist for more hcs (it's pinned)

◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎

Characters: masky, hoodie, ticci toby, jeff the killer, and BEN DROWNED.

◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎

Jeff:

he's extremely hard headed, he WILL argue/fight with someone over the dumbest things and he'll never stop arguing, even if he knows the other person is right.

He has an "emo accent"

He likes to start drama between people, and then leave the crime scene.

He is so ashy you could strike a match off of his elbow

He's been wearing the same beat up converse since 2012, them things are being held together by duct tape and a prayer.

His favorite animal is a raccoon, he says they're sneaky and nocturnal like him.

He refuses to get a new phone, he won't even steal one.

He curses all the time just cause he can, sometimes he'll even jumble random curse words together.

BEN:

He listens to vocaloid and he doesn't play about miku

He runs one of those "rage bait" accounts that are painfully obviously bait

Still quotes old memes and refuses to let them die

Example: yeet, t-posing, and "sanic the hedgehog"

He scams old people on Facebook and e-daters, he doesn't feel bad about it either.

He uses the money he gets from scamming to buy v-bucks and overwatch coins

He once doxxed someone for dissing miku

slender had to take away his mic privileges because he was keeping everyone up at night by yelling bloody murder at people on fortnite/overwatch

once showed up at someones house because they emoted on him after killing him in game

Toby:

He vapes, and thinks he's so cool cause he can do "vape tricks" and he makes people watch him while he does them

Someone once gave him apple cider, told him it was alcohol, and he pretended to be drunk.

His phone gallery is filled with random photos, like there'll be a low quality picture of a tree and then right beside it a picture of a ceiling. Just random stuff

Mint chocolate chip ice cream enjoyer

He's really flexible, although he has bad posture he can do back bends, the splits, etc

more on his terrible posture; when he sits he literally looks like this: ) )

When he first started working for slenderman, he REFUSED to live in the manor and lived outside. While he lived outside he became friends with a lot of the wildlife, slender eventually made him move into the manor because there was a rumor that toby was going to make a "possum army" and try to overthrow slender

He will fight anyone and anything he really doesn't care about his, or their well-being.

Had a "weeb" phase when he was in middle school and he still has nightmares about "naruto running" away from his bullies.

Hoodie:

He can make a killer sandwich (lol) he's not the best at cooking other things, but if you get him to make you a sandwich, he'll bless your taste buds.

He loves karaoke, he can't sing for shit but he still does it anyway

He acts like a millennial (I'm sorry) not to the point where it's completely unbearable, but he will send people "relatable memes" every now and then

He enjoys online arguments, he'll never participate but he will scroll through different threads of people arguing for hours on end

He likes for people to say stuff like "GO WHITE BOY GO" to him

He blushes when he lies, he's a scarily good liar but if you ever want to catch him in a lie, point out the fact that his cheeks are red.

Whenever he has a drink with a straw, he holds the straw in-between his tooth gap.

he sends streaks.

Masky:

He has a NASTYYY side eye, and sometimes he'll scrunch up his nose while side eyeing someone just to make it sting even more

Contemplated getting a mullet once, he never went through with it though.

He coughs like someone's grandfather who smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for 40 years

If someone says a word that reminds him lf a song he likes, it'll automatically get stuck in his head and he'll hum it all day after that.

he isn't weak when it comes to stinky smells, but if it's stinky enough to make him gag he's extremely overdramatic.

he learned how to sew because of how much he ripped his jeans, shirts, etc.

Sleeps so hard sometimes people think he's dead, he'll just be laying there looking casket ready but everyone is too scared to check on him cause he gets super grumpy when woken up.

he always keeps a little money hidden somewhere, even if it's just a 5 dollar bill.

he's superstitious, if he sees you attempt to walk under a ladder he will physically drag you back and make you walk around it.

he has a pair of brass knuckles which he only saves for "special occasions" they're his favorite things ever, he even named them.

he only uses his phone to call, text, or search something up, and that's it.

he doesn't even have YouTube installed.

◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎◎

I will be reading over this to check for any errors, ty for reading - M

[citrustale]

CITRUSTALE SANS AND PAPYRUS!!!

aka Cam[ka:m](Sans!) and Quýt[kwit̚˧˦](Papyrus!) Designs done by my wonderful friend A0_Inavader on other platforms!!! Sorry about the quality, they got compressed. :( AOI'S STRAWPAGE IS HERE go look at it!

Yes, they're edible.

I'll make a post containing basic info about citrustale later!!

random little facts about them! Nerd siblings, niblings if you will.

Cam(Cam sành)

-Cam is wearing eyeliner! -Cam is a boyfailure! -he's also a fundanshi and a roblox player, certified dti rager. -very aware that he is part of a hivemind. -He also has brainrot humor. -He and Alphys do their makeup together! -Eats the orange juice boxes after he's done drinking them. -Insane vocaloid listener. -first thing he does when he gets out of the underground is go to a hatsune miku concert -moderator on an undernet forum called the Quýt fan club (He's the only one in it) -He/they pronouns -mom found the yaoi -puts salt in halloween candy to troll kids -Cam had an emo phase (that's why he's so good at doing his eyeliner) -FUCK YOU!!!! --Cam goes to the barber (when your barber gives you a bowl cut, wht are you gonna do?) -low alcohol tolerance -he's an outcode -"Oh, that's lovely!" [distain] -I'm not like you normies I like [very obscure sanrio character] -a little insufferable, sucks at rythm games.

Quýt(Mandarin)

-Quýt is a vocaloid fan, his favorite is Rin! (Him and Cam are so Rin and Len coded) -He likes his spaghetti with mayonaise and orange sauce. -He's a fan of J-fashion! (as is everyone else in this au-) -Casual vocaloid listener, Iyowa fan. -Religiously makes those gummy food things, he finds them in the trash. -WOULD LOVE TO BE APART OF AN IDOL GROUP if he wasn't going to be a royal guardsman that is!! -forgets to eat sometimes, he's very busy!!!! -would make a drake diss and Cam would hype him up -WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT THE SOUP STORE!? -He ate a rock -Absolutely CRACKED at monopoly -naturally high alcohol tolerance -sings in the shower -REJOICE!!! AUTISM BE UPON YE! -likes Hello Kitty -would put together Gundam figures -cracked at rythm games -AKAKAKAKAKAKAKA -"Cam...we have to cook..." -Cries over Skylar White and Jesse Pinkman -Cam made him play dti just to vote him 5 stars every round. -favorite pokemon is cherrim -would play infinity nikki if his pc could run it -Actually a morning person (unlike Cam)

-Both of them get noise complaints from late night karaoke

quoting something Aoi said while I was writing this: "I love Papyrus, but I love yaoi more."

"This project is not beating the secret music project allegations," (Cam and Quýt have utauloids lol)

"Assistant! I need you to type out my Hatsune Miku hyperfixation."

"Orng horng horng."

[flowerspeakz]

Lmao I remember seeing images of vi as a pitfighter and thinking "noo spoilers 😭" (I didn't want to know ANYTHING about season 2 before watching it--get the best experience, yk?).

But like,,, Vi's pitfighter phase was so insignificant? Like actually so brushed over? I totally forgot about it because it had one stupid montage and that's it.

Why did she even become a pitfighter? Ik that it's her coping with her life falling apart, by why pitfighting? And also where's the pitfighting happening? And why is that vander replacement there? What??? Can they not like continue the insane worldbuilding they had from before please?

ffs I'm tired of people claiming that people critiquing arcane have no media literacy and want to be spoon fed. Be so fr the first season of arcane is so so SO GOOD because the reasoning behind characters' decisions were explained/shown before the decision was made. (silco choosing that kid to be the first human shimmer weapon because that kid fucked up his recon mission on vi/powder/mylo/claggor so badly, powder wanting to prove that she isn't a jinx because mylo keeps dissing her about it, marcus being a mess of a dirty cop because his family's safety is in silco's hands, etc, etc)

Characters are not real people. Sure, a real person can make decisions out of left field. Yeah, real people have microexpressions that can tell you a lot about what they're thining. But a character's motivations and how they think should be clear to the audience (generally, ofc there's exceptions im not stupid yo).

Yeah, I know why each character did what they did in s2, but not in the way I did in s1. Not in a way that matters.

I mean, I totally forgot that Mel and Jayce were in a relationship in s1. Where did that go?? I guess people are so obsessed with jayvik that they were probably celebrating that the writers forgor about that important character/plot point. You're telling me not a single character has ANY curiosity??? Jayce sees that Mel is a mage and doesn't, yk, insist on getting the full story??? And vice versa??? Even if they implied that that conversation happens off-screen that's not enough. Seeing how these two very close characters express these very traumatic events to each other would be such a good look into their internal mindscapes and how they view the crazy shit that just happened to them. But nooo. We can't explore their relationship together because jayce needs to be obsessed with viktor.

GOD I want a bi character in a show to come out of a same-sex relationship and end up in a "straight" relationship just to watch the internet fucking implode. Every bi/plurisexual person deserves a smooch on the forehead and a little voice that tells them 'love who you love, nothing could make you less queer than you are. yeah, people sure do think otherwise but fuck them ong holy shit'

omggg dont even get me started on caitvi... can we not get a healthy wlw relationship that isn't rooted in codependency and general toxicity?? "people just cant let lesbians have anything can they," i've heard people say in response to people criticising the caitvi sex scene... NO! I want sapphics to know that they can have healthy, non-abusive relationships where you, yk, actually talk to your partner and ARENT just the dirt under their nails. tf.

[dmwrites]

It was said that the Decked Out dungeon was alive.

The hermits, gathered in the halls and cubbyholes of Decked Out, talked about this factually. The dungeon was laced tradition and superstition.

The hermits said it ate people, that it craved blood. Some hermits had lucky cards or items, others touched parts of the dungeon before going in. They all joked about the dungeon having a crush on Etho.

Hypno thought this was all bullshit.

And while he wasn’t one to diss other people’s superstitions (at least not in a hurtful way), the way some of the hermits talked about the dungeon was… weird.

Hypno could only shake his head and stay quiet. “It’s chance! Chance and RNG and skill! The dungeon is a machine, not some beast in need of hermit butts to keep it satisfied!” He wanted to say. But he didn’t say anything, just stuck to the sidelines, quiet and thinking about his own runs, what he could explore next.

Regardless of differences, the hermits could all agree on one thing: decked out was addictive. Hypno had spent more hours then he cared to admit in the dungeon, just so he could be near the place, hear strategies. And he liked to play, had a bit of a knack for the dungeon itself. Phases one through three had been tons of fun, tons of exploration and death and success. But Phase four…

“Damn it!”

Hypno wondered if there was a death speedrun record yet for Decked Out, and if he’d just done it. Killed by Skill Issue almost as soon as he’d cleared the first room. The whole week had been like this, he hadn’t succeeded once.

“Too bad, man.” Hypno could hear Cub saying from beyond the door when he respawned.

“Appreciate it, man. Ugh!” Hypno hit the button to open the door and went to sit on the floor next to where Cub was leaning against a wall. “I’ve had such bad luck this week!”

“That sucks. Maybe the dungeon is just mad at you.” Cub suggested, looking down at Hypno.

Hypno put his hands to his face. “Cub, what?”

“Well, you know, I mean, of everyone here, I think you and I have penetrated the dungeon the deepest.”

“Don’t say it like that, please.”

“It’s the truth, though.” Cub continued. “You play that dungeon rough, and maybe it’s tired of you. Wants the annoying bug named Hypno to get out as fast as possible. And how to you get rid of something that’s annoying you? You smack it.”

“The dungeon isn’t alive, Cub.” Hypno said, looking up at him. “You do know that, right? It’s just a game.”

“I dunno, man…” Cub looked down at him. “I pay my respects to the dungeon… maybe you should consider it too.”

It dawned on Hypno, in that moment, just how much the sculk had spread across Cub’s skin, curling into his eyes and staining his skin an inky blue. Hypno shivered, and wondered just how Cub was “paying respects” to the dungeon.

——

Hypno went again as soon as the dungeon was ready. He and Cub hadn’t said another word since their brief conversation, and Hypno could feel Cub’s eyes on his back, watching him in silence. Those glittery, dark eyes. The door closed in between them, and Hypno tried to shake off the kind of damp, uncomfortable feeling on his skin.

“Right, hard mode, let’s do this.” Hypno murmured, pressing the correct button from the list and placing his shulker box. A minecart appeared, and down into the dungeon he went.

The problem was, with the minecart ride, was that it was far too long, with too much silence for thoughts to creep in. Of all people, Hypno hasn’t expected Cub to be one of the hermits treating the dungeon like a living thing. But then again, Hypno reasoned, was Cub really all Cub right now? But regardless of who was in charge of Cub’s form right now, Cub ran the dungeon great most of the time.

But he’s just good at the game, a little voice inside Hypno argued.

But so are you… another voice argued back.

The minecart ride ended, and Hypno was facing the doors of the dungeon. He took a deep, centering breath, tightened his bandanna. The dungeon isn’t mad at you, the dungeon doesn’t have feelings, it’s a building, Hypno assured himself.

He grabbed the compass- a simple level one- and snuck his way thought the icy rooms and halls. He had an ear out for ravengers, but something was different. It smelled different. Rather then the kind of cold that blocked out everything, the air smelled stale, but slightly metallic. Hypno smelled his shirt- it wasn’t him, although he was sweating like crazy. A ravenger suddenly roared, barreling around the corner, even though Hypno was out of sight. Hypno ran, jumping over the river of souls and into the crypt. He had half a mind where this compass location may be, and pounded down the stairs. He wasn’t sure what it was, Cub or just a feeling, but he didn’t want to be here too long.

He found the compass location and threw it in, getting his own bandana artifact. The second he picked it up, the dungeon groaned, metal against metal, ice against ice. He could hear ravengers bellowing, running towards him. Hypno looked around, but there was nothing that suggested this was all some kind of prank.

“What is happening?” Hypno asked himself. He tightened his bandana, took a deep breath, and ran back up the stairs, only interested in leaving this place.

The coffins around him were rattling, someone was pounding against the stone. He could hear vex screeching, even though he was nowhere near max clank yet. He kept running, sure of his way.

Ravengers lunged at him.The walls were contracting, shuddering violently as the dungeon screamed in his ears-

He fell onto the pressure plates that marked the exit, scrambled to the short chute that would send him to the end of the dungeon, and maybe he could get out and touch some grass or something. He jumped down into the hole, taking deep, gasping breaths as he fell. And he kept falling. Before he could really process that this was a far longer drop then any other time he’d finished the dungeon, he hit a puddle of water with a splash.

“Yeah, dungeon isn’t happy with you, man.”

Cubfan stood before him, like he’d been there the whole time. The room Hypno had landed in was caked in sculk, all shimmering and almost bulging outwards towards him.

“Where are we, Cub?” Hypno asked hesitantly, trying to steady his breathing, slowly moving to stand on solid ground. Every instinct the dungeon, and life in general had taught him was that something was very, very wrong.

“The Burning Dark, of course. You’re a smart guy, I bet you knew that already. The dungeon thinks you’re smart. Hates that you’re smart. Hates that you don’t fear it like you should.” Cub paused, and in that silence was the heartbeat of the dungeon. “Are you scared now, Hypno?”

In a place so void of information, with only sculk and the creeping realization that Cub was not here to save him, Hypno’s mind raced, but came to no conclusion.

“No.” He lied.

“The dungeon is hungry, Hypno. You die a lot, but you haven’t died for the dungeon yet.”

A sword was in Cub’s hand, and suddenly it wasn’t Cub and a creepy room, but a ravenger named “nothing, they survived decked out!”. But there was no button and door here, no pretend savior. Hypno was going to die, sacrificed to the dungeon by this person who wasn’t all Cub. Hypno straightened his bandana. Well, if this was going to be how this went down, he wouldn’t let the dungeon have the satisfaction of his fear.

“Do you know how sculk works, Hypno?” Cub was advancing, in slow, meaningful steps.

“No.” Hypno looked him down, didn’t move.

“The more you kill, the more it spreads.” The room was covered in the stuff. How many hermits had come here to die, be sacrificed to keep the dungeon happy?

“We could just leave, my guy. Touch some grass, talk to other hermits. You don’t have to do this.” Hypno said, but he knew his words only absorbed into the sculk. Cub was in front of him now, sword between them.

“Run. Maybe you can escape again.” Cub rasped.

“No.” Hypno replied. He didn’t move. Not even when the blade pierced his heart. He fell in place, sinking to the floor that would take his sacrifice. He could feel Cub kneel beside him, take the bandana off his head.

“You’re so annoying, Hypno. Can’t even die like everyone else.” It wasn’t Cub speaking.

——

Hypno woke up in the Decked Out bed. He gathered his stuff, his deck, and flew away as fast as he could. It wasn’t until the citadel was out of sight that he realized that his bandana hadn’t respawned with him. He shivered, not knowing what that really meant.

[hum4n01df00]

Kylo ren is a goth icon 🥀🗡️

Ok I know as a fandom we have already sort of agreed on this. But Ben is so friggen goth. And I’m not just saying this because I saw a “goth” by sidewalks and skeletons edit of him on TikTok the other day I’m saying this because it’s just so accurate. Here are some further things that I’d like to prove just for the giggles.

- him and Hux look like they’d have a strange ass modern dark wave/post punk/goth rock band that is only available on YouTube for some reason. Hell they even act like band members who have been around each other too long. I reckon kylo would be like vocals/bass and hux would be the keyboardist. Idk what their band name would be but the thought is still funny.

- he has an alias and it’s obviously kylo ren! Idk that concept is so funny and I saw some angst teen kylo fan art of him asking his family members to correctly refer to him as such. Like he’d be so on their ass about it too! I mean he still is but he is more linient when Rey calls him Ben.

- he has at least one issue with a family member that doesn’t accept him and it’s luke (for obvious reasons) but yeah idk why but that might add to this list.

- his lightsaber is red and it looks like an upside down cross! It looks like one of those lights you’d see at a really obscure goth club. That just seems so goth to me.

- he is a hopeless romantic and wants Rey to convert to the dark side. Bro probably listens to disintegration by the cure on repeat(love song being his favourite) and just picturing him doing that is so funny. Just that idea that he is so devoted and has an emotional side is so goth. Also, I just know he fw non goth bands like new order or the human league. It’s so in character of him in a disturbing way.

- his clothing is all black and he fancies cloaks and big boots a lot.

- he definitely box dies his hair (ik Adam drivers hair is naturally that black but the thought of it makes so much sense). In addition to this reason both of his parents have brown hair and I know he feels rebellious.

- if kylo existed on earth, he would definitely be a fan of guy liner and black nail polish. I don’t make the rules!

- in one of those costume/prop (idk which one pls don’t diss me) books it’s stated that he has a calligraphy set and the thought of him writing angsty poems about his situations is so silly and I can totally see him doing that.

- if he existed on earth, he’d totally have an emo phase as a teen and find a connection to goth music later in life. (I know this is specific but it just makes sense to me).

- going back to my first point, his mask would totally be a piece of his stage persona.

In conclusion, kylo ren would be the most perfect goth ever (in my opinion) and all of these points make sense to me in a really strange way. I just know he’d worship Robert smith or something.

Ps- I made a playlist for him so let me know if y’all want to see it.

[skiiyoomin]

ღWhat the JJK characters listen to part 2

ʚCharacters included: Yuuji, Megumi, Nobara, Inumaki, Yuuta, Maki

⤑Back to navigation ⤑part 1

a/n Nobody asked for a second part. Do i care? no. idk if im missing anyone anyways YO THIS IS FUN

Yuuji Itadori

Honestly, he screams Shakira to me, and Jennifer Lopez too.

His entire music taste consists of 2000s pop music thats super nostalgic and at the same time makes you cringe.

ALSO, he has the Backstreet Boys on repeat. Like literally on loop all the time.

Tried, keyword tried, getting into classical music just to seem cultured and fancy but he ended listening to piano covers of Call Me Maybe and Britney Spears.

He´s the type of person you´d take with you to do carpool karaoke cause you know he´s gonna play the songs everyone knows.

Honorable mention: NewJeans (cause he´s secretly not so secretly a kpop stan)

Megumi Fushiguro

Isn´t it obvious?

He´s SO Lana Del Rey coded.

ALSO, he had a Melanie Martinez phase that´s really not a phase but he says it is.

Other than Lana, he listens to soft beat type of songs, like Cigarettes After Sex, Men I Trust or Clairo.

Even if its not his usual vibe, he lowkey highkey really enjoys Coldplay after Yuuji showed him one of their songs, especially their softer tuned songs. (aka Sparks im gonna cry hol up)

Honorable mention: Billie Eilish

Kugisaki Nobara

SHES A BARBZ ALL THE WAY

Her whole vibe is hot pink and a hot girl typa gal. That applies to her music taste as well.

Shes very much into female rappers like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion too.

And lets not forget the classic pop stars like Ari or Jessie J.

Shes honestly in that sense a lot like Yuuji. They both connect because they listen to a lot of older pop music, except Nobara listens to more girly ish songs or in general songs that are very much female empowerment (queen behaviour)

Honorable mention: SZA (she had Kill Bill at full volume on repeat every time the boys annoyed her)

Inumaki Toge

Okay listen. I see a lot of headcanons that Inumaki is a huge gamer, like Fortnite type of gamer.

The first thing i thought of when i thought of this was dubstep and electro music. Also underground beatboxing.

Like bro i´m sorry im not but to me gamers are equivalent to that when it comes to music and im telling yall cause i had A PHASE (very cringe one we do not talk about it)

I also feel like he tried to be emo once but he only got as far as listening to Twenty One Pilots which isnt even emo so.

Honorable mention: Pitbull, he started listening to him as a joke because of the memes but its not a joke anymore

Yuuta Okkotsu

Ok ok to me he´s very soft boy coded, kind of like Megumi but more bright and cheerful.

HES A SWIFTIE. I dont make the rules sorry

You know that 2020 phase where everyone listened to soft music like Clairo, mxmtoon, Conan Gray, etc? Yeah he never got out of that phase.

BUT, hes evolved yall, his top genre is indie music.

lowkey feel like Inumaki got him into Twenty One Pilots and now he uses their music as an excuse to scream. He´s hella good at rapping their songs too like zayum.

Honorable mention: One Direction cause he never got over their disbandment

Maki Zenin

HEAR ME OUT

Before yall say anything listen to me.

I had to think this one through but shes very much rapper vibes to me, like og 2000s rappers like 2pac and Eminem.

I dont even know WHY but she just screams west coast thug life type of music.

Disses on modern rappers except Kendrick Lamar and MAYBE Travis Scott but thats saying too much.

I´m also convinced Yuuta introduced her to Joji and she cried in her room afterwards.

Honorable mention: Bruno Mars, dont ask

[huntingpeople-savingsam]

I know this point has been beaten to death and I’m not shaming J for feeling how he feels, just pointing out a sad twist of irony..

Jonathan in Season 1: Nancy Wheeler, she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does, until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now, hey, they get it.

Jonathan in Season 4: I can’t leave my mom and my brother to chase a dream that isn’t mine! [..] if I told her the truth then she’d just throw her dreams out the window to come out here and be with me and I just can’t take that! This huge knot of resentment would build like some cancer until eventually she hates me and then before you know it, we’re just like my mom and dad. I’m divorced, my kids hate me, shit! I mean it’s all SHIT. The cycle never ends!

It’s kind of sad but everything Jonathan was telling Nancy in season 1 about how depressing her life would be if she married Steve is now how he views his own future with her. Boring, depressing, filled with resentment, just like their parents.

And alternatively, you see Steve’s dreams for the future as bright, hopeful, optimistic, and it’s not in spite of but because of Nancy.

Remember the dream I told you about? About the Winnebago? About seeing the country with my six little nuggets? It’s all true. Every last word. But I left one part out. It’s the most important part. You’re there. You’ve always been there.

And while we still don’t get a clear picture directly from Nancy about her future and what she envisions for herself, the closest we get is when she describes why she says she loves Jonathan while talking to Fred.

He’s caring and compassionate. He’s so protective over the people that he loves and he’ll never back down from what’s right, what’s moral, no matter the pressure, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I love him.

And while Jonathan is caring and compassionate and protective to an extent— he does back down when there’s a personal cost. And he’s not totally wrong all the time on that, Nancy did risk their jobs knowing he needed it more than her. But he has never put her needs ahead of his own or at least his family’s own and he only stands up for what’s right and moral if it will help or avenge his family.

And on the other hand Steve, who was not willing to risk anything in the beginning of season 1 and beginning of season 2, risks everything for Nancy and the kids and Robin by the end of season 2 forward. Starting in season 1 when he comes back to save Jonathan and Nancy from the Demogorgan, then protecting the kids in season 2, and protecting Robin and the kids and saving Nancy in season 3, and then all of season 4 following Nancy on every hunch and fighting to keep her, the kids, and Robin safe. It is Steve who has been beaten bloody every season protecting the people he cares about. It is Steve who comes back to apologize and save Nancy without expecting anything in return. And again I’m not dissing Jonathan, he has his own very valid reasons to prioritize his family after everything they’ve been through even before the Upside Down with all the abuse from Lonnie. But he’s not ready to be in a relationship, and he’s not checking all of those boxes she spelled out to Fred, and even though she might not’ve realized it then, Steve did.

[annoying--moth]

No matter how many times it is explained to me or I talk about it with someone, I can't fully grasp what exactly is going on with art in the arc of a scythe universe. Because like,

It's stated multiple times that post-mortal art is "bland" and "uninspired" and "redone to death," and while I can certainly understand SOME art being like that, surely not all art is like that?? And I understand this in the sense that like, everyone's constantly remaking/repainting/making their own versions of famous paintings and such, but also there still has to be people who don't do that, right??? Like maybe I just have zero reading comprehension and somehow missed the bigger picture, but I feel like all this talk about art being redone to death implies that no one is making original art anymore? Which just. doesn't seem feasible to me?? Because as an artist myself, I can't see immortality taking away my ability to draw or come up with cool ideas. I don't draw because I'm going to die one day, I draw because I like it, and it's a form of creative expression. You can always come up with something new to draw- whether it's a cool oc, or someone you know, or just something random and abstract. The possibilities never end!

Of course, I suppose there is the argument then that people just aren't creative anymore, but I also find that hard to believe. I couldn't imagine ever truly running out of ideas. Like I mentioned above, OCs people??? I highly doubt there's no one in the post-mortal era still making weird, whacky, badass, or just cute OCs. Heck, I'd expect scythe ocs to be really popular! I wonder if it's like a thing for every kid to have a scythe oc phase..? Or at least kids in certain communities/fandoms (like scythe card trading- maybe they make their own cards for their scythe ocs!)

And also, it's confirmed that fiction is still very much a thing in the post-mortal era (I know zombies are referenced in one Gleanings story) so it's not like people can only connect to non-fiction. That's another thing that's discussed more in terms of theatre and writing- people not being able to connect to the themes because they're so far removed from it in reality. But my thing is, I've never experienced war or death (until very recently at least) and I still don't find myself unable to sympathize with people losing their loved ones to death or war or disease, although I suppose this could also have to do with the nanites. Plus the fact that death and war still exist in society as an actual thing that happens, but idk.

Also by the way- I feel like that one Gleanings story The Mortal Canvas has a subtle diss on digital art? And I have nothing against traditional art- heck I probably draw traditionally more often since I'm always doodling/sketching, but I feel like just because art is digital doesn't mean it's "uninspired" or whatever people were saying in the books. In fact, I've found myself moved emotionally by more digital pieces than traditional ones (although I don't see a lot of traditional paintings compared to digital ones tbf)

Also also I want to say- I don't exactly know how well this relates to my point but that one dude in The Mortal Canvas who made the others' artstyles into filters was a huge douchebag. AI art type shit, I was ready to strangle him reading that.

I remember the bit in The Toll about Ezra the artist, and how he said he was just "decent" or "moderately good" or something along those lines when we first met him, and I was going to make an argument about that part too but to be honest it's been a little while since I've read The Toll so I'll have to come back to that one once I reread it. But I think it also had to do with the emotional/creative aspect of art, which again, I refuse to believe immortality has such an influence on creativity that no art is original or interesting anymore. Sure it might make certain things harder, or make motivation worse, but I feel like if someone is truly creative it doesn't matter? Though then again, I'm not immortal so what do I know.

I briefly mentioned nanites earlier, and that is one thing that I do think probably has an impact, and I specifically mean emo-nanites. Since post-mortals can't feel as strong emotions as us mortal humans, perhaps that's also why their art seems more uninspired or whatever, because they can't put as much emotion into it. However, an excess amount of emotion isn't exactly needed to make art either. Like as I was writing this I was looking through my own art and realised that for some pieces I wasn't putting any emotional thought whatsoever into the pieces, yet there's still a clear emotion there when you look at them. Joy, wonder, whatever.

Anyway in conclusion, I think that it's unrealistic to say that all post-mortal art would be dull, uninspired, and meaningless, because I believe there will always be creative people who will make art not because they're gonna die one day, but because they want to and enjoy it, simple as that. Thanks to whoever stuck around long enough to read this far, I really hope it made sense. It's kinda late while I'm writing this and tbh I'm half-expecting there to be some huge detail/plot point that I missed that makes my whole argument totally invalid, whether that's me misinterpreting all the bits about post-mortal art or just being a complete dumbass with zero media literacy. Either way hope this was a fun read, I don't write long-form posts like these super often (note the lack of confidence in my media literacy skills) and if I made a really bad argument/missed something huge please be nice in the notes, I have a fragile ego :(

Uh yeah anyway I think I got everything as usual don't take my rambling *too* seriously, I just always found it confusing how post-mortal art is said to be so "uninspired" (I keep using that word cause I reread chapter 3 of Scythe today and Faraday uses it there) when I personally can't imagine not being able to be creative, though perhaps I'm just self-projecting. So uh, yeah.

[kozachenko]

A Retrospective Analysis on Touhou 17

So it's finally here, and even though I know for a fact that I am not going to be able to get the Keiki drawing done by this time (I'm having trouble with the eyes, for some reason it's always that aspect of drawing her that's difficult for me, I can never really capture the essence of her character no matter what I do) I still wanted to post something about this game today since it's the game's 5 year anniversary. I have a lot of thoughts on it, and my views on the game have changed quite a lot throughout my time being a Touhou fan. This is going to be very long so I'll put the rest under the keep reading tag.

So for some background, Touhou 17 was the first Touhou game I ever played, I got into the series during 2021 shortly after my Hunter X Hunter phase ended (since the manga was still on hiatus at the time) and I remember playing 17 during that time as well. I'm pretty sure that the reason I played it was because of that one nitirushh animation where Keiki disses the animal spirits so hard that they die (still my favourite fan-depection of Keiki tbh, it's just really funny to me) and that set my interest in the game itself. It was also the newest Touhou game at the time and none of the other games interested me as much. Then I actually played the game and at the time I found it insanely fun. I remember feeling so excited playing the stage 1 of the game and thinking to myself "Holy shit I'm actually playing a Touhou game" and having a lot of fun with it. Even though the game itself is the easiest out of all the Touhou games, it was still a challenge for me at the time since I had never played a bullet Hell before. For this reason, the game as a whole struck a chord with me. Funny Touhou animation aside, I don't know if it was because I had only recently gotten out of my Hunter X Hunter phase after finishing the whole 2011 version of the anime and had caught up with the manga during 2020, but maybe some aspect of 17 kinda scratched a similar itch in my brain and it really stuck with me IDK.

As for what I think of the game itself now.... gameplay wise, it could be better, it's still fun but there was so much potential for the game to tell it's story through the medium it chose to present itself in. Why did we not have more similarities between Eika and Keiki's danmaku styles to show their connection? Why did we not have a moment similar to what happened in TD during the final boss fight where Mayumi comes back in to take over during the fight in a last ditch effort to protect Keiki? It's the final boss so go all out! The animal spirits could also be balanced a lot better as well, especially with Youmu becoming incredibly overpowered with the wolf spirit, and visibility is a bit of a problem in this game. Some of the tracks could use a bit more polish too, I commend ZUN for being experimental with his newer tracks but the stage 3 theme and staff roll theme are both kinda eh, and while the boss themes have a lot of good punch to them and can be really good, it still feels like some extra spice could've been added to really make them stand out (which is why I love the theme remixes Saki and Yachie got in Touhou 19). I also wish the Animal Realm got explained better within the lore of the series, mainly because it raises a lot of questions about how Hell was founded and it kinda needlessly complicates things. I would've rather it be introduced as it's own region of Hell rather than being a separate thing entirely that just so happens to be located next to it. I also wish that we got more stuff with this setting that explains how it connects to the rest of the worldbuilding a lot more, I definitely feel like actually having it explained more in the mangas would definitely help to make it feel less convuluted, but unfortunately the closest we're getting are cameos in Lotus Eaters and very brief mentions of the games themselves. I still like the game though, as I've mentioned I do love a lot of the music and I love all the characters we got introduced to in this game. I've been appreciating Eika a lot more recently, I do like Urumi but she's neat and I like her design a lot, Kutaka is a fucking shithead who kept FUCKING UP MY 1CCS IN BOTH 17 AND 17.5 THE FUCKING BITCH- who is very funny and I love seeing more insight into Hell's management. Yachie's great and I find her relationships to the other characters in this game very interesting, Mayumi is awesome and the more I think about her the more I like her, and I love how Saki contrasts Yachie in her strategies. That being she has no strategy and just goes "fuck it, we ball" with no hesitation lmao.

I'm pretty sure you all noticed the absence of one character in particular, that being Keiki. I've made it no secret on this blog that Keiki is my favourite Touhou character, and a lot of that is because of her role as an antagonist in Touhou 17. I always found it really fascinating how ZUN created her as an allegory for AI (I don't know if Apollo just randomly blessed him with the gift of prophecy because MAN does that statement hit harder now more than ever) and the fact that she's portrayed as a very morally grey character in the game itself and Reimu's reaction to her, stating that she can see an "evil aura" in Keiki. I've already talked a lot about Keiki on this blog and I don't know what there is that I haven't said, but I wanted to start off with her because it ties into a big part of why I still find this game's story interesting. That main aspect being it's parallels to Gensokyo and Touhou's overarching them of humanity's relationship with nature.

So to step back from 17 for a second, I feel like we should look at what the Youkai represent in the story. Youkai in Touhou are created from humanity's fear, and back before science was able to properly explain anything, this fear very often manifested into a fear of nature. Natural disasters would end up wiping out villages, dangerous animals would often lurk in forests and end up killing anyone who would go in them. Overall nature isn't very kind to humanity, and humanity knows this. This is why humanity would often try and find reasons as to why these things would happen. This brings us back to the Youkai in Touhou who are the embodiment of the unexplainable. In manga like Forbidden Scrollery and Lotus Eaters, we often see how the humans in the human village are at the mercy of these Youkai, the only reason that they aren't being slaughtered is entirely for their own benefit so they don't run out of resources. The only hope the humans in the village really have is to turn to the gods, another product of man's desire to explain the unexplainable, to potentially save them. The survival of the people in the human village will always be in the hands of beings beyond their comprehension. No matter what, humanity will always be at the mercy of nature.

Coming back to Touhou 17, we can see that the relationship between the human and beast spirits isn't exactly.... pleasant. The beast spirits all see the human spirits as slaves essentially and they gain strength from their torment. The only way that the human spirits are even able to stand a chance against them is to submit themselves to a god and pray for their protection. And even then there's no way in Hell that they're getting out of this situation since the god they're praying to views them the same way as the animal spirits (whether they are aware of it or not).

So if you haven't noticed by my word choice, there are quite a lot of similarities here with the dynamics of the Animal realm and Gensokyo. That's not even mentioning the fact that in both places we have at least 3 different parties fighting over control of the humans, whether it be animal spirits or Youkai. Hell, this race for power in Gensokyo is a plot point in Lotus Eaters and Forbidden Scrollery, so it's not like this is a new concept for the series to explore either.

There's also something to be said about how Keiki and the technology she brings with her are seen as a threat to the order of the animal realm. Throughout human history, humanity's creativity and ingenuity have always been major factors in our survival as a species. We created tools to use the nature around us and make it work to our advantage, we created weapons to more efficiently hunt and find food to survive, and we created art and literature to document our histories and make sense of the world. Going back to 17, Keiki is the epitome of humanity's evolution and creativity and she is the one who responded to the human's cries for salvation. Another thing to think about is that in Gensokyo, the best the villagers are going to get in terms of technology are old computers that are very limited in their use, and even then barely anyone will have any idea how to use them. The reason that Gensokyo even exists in the first place is to preserve the Youkai and Gods that would become forgotten by humanity's technological advancement. In both of these places, technological advancement is seen as a threat to the natural order and must be suppressed at all costs.

Of course in Gensokyo it isn't as extreme as the animal realm. The Kappa, the Tengu, and even gods like Kanako are all quite technologically advanced and/or are introducing new technologies to Gensokyo (those are just the ones I could list off the top of my head, but please tell me if there are more that I forgot). But here's the interesting thing, notice how none of the examples I listed there were humans. The only way for the humans of Gensokyo to have these technologies introduced to them is if the powers that be, nature, let them have those technologies. Going back to the animal realm, even after Keiki is defeated we can see that the beast spirits are still using the technologies she (most likely) introduced, i.e. that one chapter in Lotus Eaters where one of the otter spirits introduced what is essentially a GameBoy to the Kappa and Nitori saying stuff like, "oh yeah the animal realm is actually pretty technologically advanced nowadays" as well as that one story in CoLA where Ran and Yachie deal with the AI Sumireko made. Once again, the only times when the use of technology goes unprotested in this series are when it's kept out of the hands of humans and back into the hands of nature. Even when humans are able to fight back and create their own technology, nature will always win in the end, no matter how hard humanity tries to defeat it. The way Touhou 17 ends is indicative of this, with Keiki being defeated and the Animal Realm returning to it's status quo.

However, Gensokyo has never had this kind of issue before.... or so it may seem. Yes there's never been any technological uprising by the human villagers and with the way things are there most likely never will be, but when you take away the potential for technological advancement from humans then the next best thing would be magic. And when humans in Gensokyo use magic to find a way to gain power and be more than just fodder for the Youkai, they end up being punished. This is most prevalent in Forbidden Scrollery when Reimu kills the fortune teller. I don't think I need to go too in depth about this moment since I already did so in my Forbidden Scrollery review but this once again shows a parallel between Gensokyo and the Animal Realm.

So what am I trying to say with all of this? I've been bringing up a lot of the similarities that these two places have but similarities can just be chalked up to coincidences that don't mean anything. What I've been trying to say with this whole thing is that the Animal Realm represents an extreme version of Gensokyo, one where every ugly aspect of it is dialed up to 11 and the law of the strong eating the weak rules all. It's a Gensokyo without a spell card system to level the playing field. I do want to say that I don't believe Gensokyo is a grimdark setting, sure some parts about it are bleaker than others, but there are also many good aspects of Gensokyo that I feel like I should bring up. It's a safe-haven for the forgotten, and if we continue viewing the Youkai and Gods from the lens of both of them being allegories for nature, Gensokyo is a place where nature can fluorish outside of humanity's hands. Unlike the Animal Realm, Gensokyo was never established with the intentions of harming people. Nature is both beautiful and terrifying, and where Gensokyo displays the beautiful sides of nature, the Animal Realm displays all the ugly sides of it. Even then, there is some overlap between the two, Gensokyo does have a nastier side to it and the Animal Realm is a place where nature can exist unrestrained by humanity (even if the place is still a shitshow overall). Now that I think about it, this sort of duality between the two realms is kinda fitting for Touhou, and I can't stress enough that when I say that Gensokyo and the Animal Realm have some parallels I am not trying to say Gensokyo is a grimdark dystopia. Hell even going back into the Lotus Eaters manga, the otter spirit that escaped from the Animal Realm even said that Gensokyo was a better place to live.

So yeah, I don't really have any good way to end this aside from saying happy 5 year anniversary Touhou 17. You are a flawed game but god do I still love you. Oh yeah, and if there's anything I missed or any mistakes I made, please correct me/let me know.

[doubleddenden]

Wrestletuber2024 was everything I ever wanted real life wrestling to be

We got roided out sins against humanity teleporting, punching, and throwing furries

We got trash talk and a diss track from an entire galaxy to the last dinosaur

We got to see babygirls, girl and boy failures humbled and fumbled

Announcers putting their entire BALLS into the introductions

Commentators giving us THRILLING and hilarious observation of techniques like "London Bridge is Falling Down" or the diaper meta

A snake!

An AI little girl vs a Text to Speech lady's paid stand in dad she found in the woods

Bottoms vs dogs

FUYOMAN WITH HIS BACK TO BACK TO unscheduled BACK WINS

And my personal favorite bits:

1. Smaller vtubers hanging out and befriending bigger vtubers- especially Juna and Kai from IdolEN, who had big roles to play. Juna was a fun interviewer and Kai's commentating with Octavio was hilarious

2. Surprise Mint, and also the unbridled half a braincell chemistry she and Doki had together. I need another collab with them now

3. Whatever the hell was happening in the Mint v Matara match. I was losing it

4. My first real stream introduction to Bettel being him winning by complete surprise against the diaper meta and be crowned champion for all of 5 minutes before he was folded like a lawn chair by U-Man Usan

5. Nana's complete domination over Jurard. There's disrespect and then there's just MURDER

Need more of this. Next year I hope they go even more all out

Some other VTubers I need to see next year that I think would eat this shit up

1. Ollie

2. Biboo

3. Heavenly

4. Henya

5. Alias Anono (oh my God she'd love it, she actually watches wrestling)

6. Michi Mochievee

7. Bao (God help us, there ain't anyone more of a bottom than her)

8. Onigiri

9. RPR and Regis Altare, to complete Team Snake Bite

10. And a lot more smaller vtubers that need their moment to shine, like others from smaller corps like V4Mirai, Phase Connect vtubers, indies of course, etc

And for commentators I'm just gonna highly request Matara join in, and Haruka Karibu for additional unhinged energy

And just outside this, I want more Doki Mint collabs. I just love how stupid they are together

Ah man, what a fun 2 days and 10 hours

[meekahy]

Passenger Princess

Road-tripping with Matt was always so fun. You both were headed nowhere in particular. Matt just wanted to get out of state and spend much-needed time with you. Matt designated you as his passenger princess. He drove while always keeping his hand on your thigh or wrapped around your hand. He also let you pick the music. Matt is always into his metal music but will let you play whatever your heart desires. You played everything from Sleep Token to One Direction to Taylor Swift to Jesse McCartney. You had all bases covered.

Since your liked songs were on shuffle, you sang Good Girl by Carrie Underwood. She was the only country-type artist you liked. Your voice was nowhere near Carrie’s voice, but your voice was good nonetheless. 

“Why, why you gotta be so blind? 

Won't you open up your eyes? 

It's just a matter of time

'til you find 

He's no good, girl 

No good for you

You better get to getting on your goodbye shoes and go, go, go,” you sang along with Carrie while the music was loud and rubbed your thumb over Matt’s hand. He watched you as you sang your heart out. He knew you only sang in the shower and around him. 

The opening tune of Mercury:Retrograde by Ghostemane started to play immediately after Good Girl.

“Ask me if I give a fuck about a clique, aye

Ask me if I give a fuck about a diss, yuh

Ask me if I give a fuck about fame, yuh

Recently I just don’t give a fuck about a thing, yuh,” the dramatic switch of genres didn’t phase you as you sang along bobbing your head to the beat. Matt occasionally gave you weird looks from the change in genres.

After that song ended, You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray played. Knowing every single word, you performed just for Matt. 

Getting into character, you sang,“'Cause you can't stop the beat

Ever since this whole world began

A woman found out if she shook it, she could shake up a man

And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it the best that I can today.” The chorus went on. Matt was dumbfounded by the reverberation of genres. He usually stuck to the same genre while you had made him listen to just about anything and everything under the sun.

“What’s next babe,” Matt inquired, ready to hear you sing again.

You checked your phone, “Um, Papaoutai by Stromae,” you giggled.

“What’s that? French?” he asked.

“Yes. Exactly, babe,” you laughed before singing along in perfect French.

“Oh, shit, I forgot you took French in school,” Matt realized. You squeezed his hand.

“You should see the dancing in this music video. So cool,” you suggested.

Matt looked over at you, a little longer than he should have since he was driving. But he was just admiring you as you sang beautifully to your liked songs. He loved that you loved so many different genres. Matt pulled your hand to his lips and left a sweet kiss on the top of your hand.

You smiled as you sang quietly while looking lovingly at him. You loved that Matt was so sweet with you while he had a sassy exterior with others. The song stopped and a mellow song started to play.

“This is one of my all-time favorites,” you confessed as he looked you in the eyes. Still holding his hand, you closed your eyes as Killing Time by City and Colour filled the car. 

“Right now it feels like killing time

I’m running from the shadow of my former shadow’s life

Sometimes I think that I was never really there

Right now it feels like killing time, killing time,” you sang sweetly with your eyes still closed, feeling every word and feeling of the song. As the song ended, another random song played. Ignoring it, you opened your eyes to find Matt just about to look at you smiling.

“I love it when you sing,” Matt revealed, “It’s comforting to hear your voice.”

You leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek before you laid your head against his shoulder. Placing your other hand on top of his, you whispered, “I love you so much, Matt.”

“I love you more,” Matt professed.

[9w1ft]

People just don’t understand that when you’re confident about your beliefs, you don’t wring your hands at every single thing. We have come to our own conclusions about what songs mean based on our beliefs, which are set. So here singing a song that other people think is a Karlie diss, does not phase us. Because to us it’s not a Karlie diss, it’s about her moving on after the trauma of the masters sale and Scott b betrayal. (Or whatever exactly you think it’s about 9. I don’t want to speak for you.) So for us, her singing this song that’s tinged with sadness with a giant smile simply tells us she has moved on and is in a better place now and we are happy for her! And fandom dynamics don’t matter as much as that, just like they obviously don’t matter to Taylor.

yes to all of this

in this sense i can appreciate how something like this might matter more if you are either not confident in your kaylor beliefs, or if its important to you for kaylor to be legitimized in the eyes of other groups, which i think is something that’s more of a pressing matter on some forms of social media where you’re having to socialize with people who are out to disagree with you. such is the predicament for places like twitter, i think, if you don’t heavily curate what you’re looking at and who can talk at you.

i guess for tumblr (and other places) it can also feel tough if you have a goal line in mind and taylor doing something or not doing something is taken as a sign that she is not on track to meet the goal you have in mind. then it can make you a little more tired, i think, if it becomes something that pushes something away that you’ve been looking forward to, right when you thought the end was in sight.

but i would definitely agree with you and say that for tumblr kaylor by and large things like these are like water off a duck’s back. an english phrase which means, something potentially negative having no effect on someone by nature of how they are built. and to your point, it’s even to the point of being a nice thing, at least to me, to see her singing it in a non pointed way—im happy for her about that!