#no matter whose route you chose

[hatosaur]

i realized that i hadn't said anything here so this is a bit belated but i'm super unhappy with the casting choices of tlou hbo, and just the general direction it's going toward.

in abby's case, it's been well-pointed out at this point her body type is a narrative device, a catalyst for showing just how her dedication and obsession with tracking joel down and killing him. i don't doubt that kaitlyn dever will be working out for this role but i can only imagine she'll end with a sort of lean muscular physique that will hardly illustrate the point of the body type, rather than one that takes fat into consideration. dever is far too small to achieve it, and what's more is, i think it's super unethical to bank on someone working out in order to fit a role. the announcement of the casting came about a month after the trailer for that new kristen stewart movie, the one where she falls for a bodybuilder, came out. there are fully actresses who lift and bodybuilder and have similar body types, and yet their choice leaves us wanting.

dina's case feels a lot more sacrilegious. isabel merced isn't jewish, nor has any of dina's defining features. granted, i'm well-aware that neither cascina caradonna, her face model, nor shannon woodward, her voice actor, are jewish, but i feel like this is what made the casting choice matter all the more. dina's a character whose heritage matters to her character, and there was such a clear chance to have her be portrayed by a jewish actor.

like a lot of people, i think that they chose the more palatable route, considering the massive backlash against both abby's body type and dina's more prominent features, which is both incredibly sad to see but also infuriating. particularly with the issue of neil druckmann's batting for jewish rep under the veil of his allegiance with israel. i obviously can't speak for the feelings of jewish fans but i imagine to pull the rug out from underneath us on a character that he has said is a connection to his jewish like this would be like spit in the face.

the whole thing has just made me disinterested with season 2 of tlou hbo. there are already issues with the games' representation of people of color, and seeing as i could tell there was a small (i cannot stress how miniscule) attempt to "fix it, i'd held out hope prior to this but...no.

IN ALL HONESTY, i'd already been content to not engage with s2. i was skeptical enough from the get-go when it was announced, but truth be told, too many red flags are cropping up. obviously, there's the zionist stuff that i think, right now especially, literally everyone can do without (though i'm sure neil and craig are rubbing their hands together over how the people NEED a great "both sides are bad, completely and totally biased view of the conflict in palestine" story), but even to like pirate is a no-go for me.

all of this to say, since i've already gotten some people asking, you shouldn't expect me to draw or indulge in any of the content from it.

[random-autie-fangirl]

Kris and Noelle/Chara and Asriel parallels

It's like a creepy human and a soft hearted monster right?

(Yes, as a matter of fact. We do have time to talk about Kris and Noelle/Chara and Asriel parallels. This is kind of an "adaptation" (or whatever) of a tag ramble so mind the grammar)

who are both the same age ("It's a twin sized bed"), one is “good” and one is “evil”....and yet they're best friends! siblings even! (I say Kris and Noelle are siblings because of Asgorudy, basically) the monster is easily scared by the human...but they like scary things as long as they're not really dangerous. (of course, Chara did actually turn dangerous later but how was Asriel supposed to know that? Chara had always been kind before). So the monster responds to their sibling's morbid pranks and creepy faces with screaming one minute and laughing the next “AAAAHHH hee hee hee” or chewing them out with a smile. Kris and Chara Dreemurr are “unpredictable” but in the same way a rollercoaster or scary movie is...they're “the good kind of scary."

Noelle and Asriel are wealthy by birth with a big house and parents with great social status. Chara and Kris are children from nowhere implied to be greatly harmed by humanity. Their time with the Dreemurrs is the first time they have ever felt safety or peace. They have known Noelle and Asriel for just as long. Both Noelle and Asriel feel like they're weak, they feel that they should be stronger and they feel like their fear or crying are a fault of character. Both of them feel trapped where they are. He wants to climb mt. ebbot "when this is all over". (I will talk about this later but remember the echo flower conversation) Noelle wants to see a city with shining lights. She wanted to see the stars back in Undertale.

...And then in both situations...“Kris” (actually Red) and Chara tell Az and Noelle to kill for them and manipulate them heavily into agreeing, pushing them around expecting complete obedience, shaming them for their emotional responses, and using Noelle and Asriel's insecurities over said emotions. Promising “strength” as a reward for doing what they're told and comitting murder on the behalf of someone too cowardly to do so themselves. Asriel gets to see the surface. Noelle gets to see her city. But both only at the cost of destroying everything living there.

And we know the difference between these situations don't we? Kris was possessed but Chara was always in control. But Noelle doesn't exactly...so it seems that in both situations that the human betrays the monster. Destroys the spirit of the person who trusted them the most. Uses the monster for their physical strength, takes advantage of their emotional “weakness”. Treats Noelle and Asriel like a weapon rather than a person. Who was warm is now cold hearted. Whose presence signified safety was the biggest danger of all. what was once a joke is now deadly serious. They were the bad kind of scary. (Please note I know it's not actually Kris this is just what might be going through Noelle's head at first, you know, before she rationalizes it as a dream).

And yes, I also know that Chara was probably doing this for monsterkind's freedom but I don't care exactly? he's still a child, ... not a chess piece, not a weapon he didn't deserve to be used even for the sake of monsterkind's freedom. Asgore doesn't force Toriel to help him? Undyne doesn't force Papyrus to help her? done for “good reasons” doesn't make them a good person!

Just like it won't make Red suddenly a good person if the weird route somehow helps lead to a happy ending. Though I like to think that Red resets or leaves the weird route before it ever reaches its conclusion. In contrast I believe Chara went back to before they died and actively chose to do the buttercup plan again when it had already failed once. Also yes in the end Asriel was able to say no when Noelle never could but he paid for that disobedience with his LIFE. Deliberately! Chara had a save file. they could have saved themselves and Asriel but they chose not to. And maybe the reason was partially punishment!

And Yeah! That's all the parallels between Chara and Asriel and Kris/Red and Noelle! Thanks for listening! =)

[midethefangirl]

it’s been long since I made a pro Tony Stark post but seeing someone try to blame the events of Civil War going south on him had me heated. look, I will admit that some of Tony’s actions in the movie where not okay at all like wanting to kill Bucky for killing his mother while under HYDRA’s influence but maybe Steve stans and a lot of pro team cap folks should realize that Steve’s actions also played a huge role in the movie as well.

for one, maybe Steve should have realized that 119 countries banding together to make a document, you feel is threatening your rights, is a serious matter. 119 countries is almost two-thirds of the countries in the UN and the world, if a great part of the world thinks you are doing more harm than good, maybe as a superhero, you should try to reason with them.

two, Steve chose to do nothing when he thought his rights were threatened by the accords. I do think there were some human rights violations in the accords that should not have been avoided, however, Steve chose to do nothing. anyone who has done a bit of activism know how ineffective that strategy is.

three, Steve’s actions were proving to the UN even more reasons why they felt the accords were necessary. interfering with law enforcement when they were out for Bucky who was potentially dangerous was a bad idea. sure, Bucky was his best friend and I don’t blame Steve for wanting to save him. however, let us remember that Bucky had killed people while he was the Winter Soldier and the Romanian government didn’t have the perspective we have and they had every reason to see him as a huge threat.

four, infantilizing Wanda by calling her a kid because Tony decided to put her on house arrest. and yes, I agree that Tony not telling Wanda was a very bad idea but let us not forget that the Avengers were still under public scrutiny after a disaster of a mission in Lagos and the accords. Wanda could have been attacked by outsiders who could have gone the Zemo route because a family member was in Lagos and that would have caused her to try to defend herself which could get twisted by the media and turn more of the public against her and the avengers as a whole. mind you, the Avengers were facing enough mistrust from the public.

also, Steve, calling a huge comfortable compound with a swimming pool an internment is a bit tonedeaf to those whose ancestors have been to actual interments. as someone who had an Asian American on his team, I’d expect he know better.

five, accords or not, maybe the Russian government has the right to know about a man controlling dangerously brainwashed men within their country. sure, it latter turned out to be a false alarm but considering the fact that this was a security threat which many countries would take seriously, Steve for some reason never considered the fact that the Russian government should be alerted to something like that. if this didn’t scream arrogance, I don’t know what else did.

six, resisting arrest and trashing public property while on international borders in the bid of resisting arrest would piss off the very people who are already pissed at you and your American passport would not bail you out of that one. even international passports come with a warning about their holders committing a crime in other countries. the fact that Steve acknowledged that his team could get arrested for that made it even worse.

this one is actually addressed to the whole of team cap, not just Steve, but seven, you cannot commit a crime on international soil with full knowledge that it is a crime and then blame somebody else for why you ended up in jail. sure, the rift and Thaddeus Ross are sketchy in nature but Scott and Clint blaming Tony for why they ended up there was funny to me because they made the informed decision to commit a crime.

eight, which is a major part being that it was the climax of Civil War, hmmm, maybe keeping the secret of the death of the parents of your rich teammate whose money was funding the search of their killer from him is a very bad idea. idk, man, I would be angry too if it were me. sure, wanting to kill Bucky was wrong but if we didn’t fault the Mayonnaise twins, T’Challa, Peter Parker and later Shuri for going after their parents’ (perceived, in T’Challa’s case) killers, maybe we could give Tony too some grace because brainwashed or not, I would have gone after Bucky too.

nine, the apology letter was the shittiest letter ever and I don’t blame Tony for not wanting to speak to Steve during the events of Infinity War. like how can you even write that type of letter to someone you offended and expect the relationship to still be intact?

there was one part I almost forgot but that quote that emboldened Steve is also dumb the more I look at it. oh yeah, plant yourself in front of the 119 countries you didn’t even bother to address at all and tell them “no, you move” is the ultimate height of hubris. when you are already on thin ice with the public? and Steve thought this was a good idea? yikes 😬

[hxlda-hxlda]

excerpt from my fic that i’m slightly too proud of !!!!!

“Evan, shut the fuck up, for Merlin’s sake it’s still so fucking early.” 

He did not open his eyes to see Evan Rosier’s overly bright morning face (that he’d always hated, the fucking morning person), however. No, Sirius came face to face with none other than Frank Longbottom. Frank was sitting on the bed across from the one Sirius had just pushed himself from, the maroon curtains and red bed sheets on which he sat were still crumpled. 

This was not Sirius’ dorm. Sirius’ dorm was not obnoxiously red, nor did it have Frank Longbottom in it. 

“Good morning,” Frank said evenly, a curl of amusement to his lips. 

“I–” 

Sirius had exactly zero thoughts. None. Zilch. Nada. Aucun, if you want to be petty or like his mother (the same thing, really) and throw French synonyms in the mix. Dim, if Remus was awake enough to say it in Welsh. 

“Sleep well?” Frank asked, picking up what appeared to be his pyjamas and folding them on his crossed legs. 

“Uh.”

He set the folded clothes back down. “You alright there, mate?” 

No. That was the simple answer, but that was probably (definitely) already clear on Sirius’ frozen face. 

“Good morning,” was how Sirius chose to respond instead, like that was any better (it wasn’t). It was an awful choice, really. He should have just said ‘no’, or thrown himself off the balcony. 

“Good morning,” Frank repeated for the second time, breaking into a full fucking grin. “Any reason you were taking a kip in Rem’s bed? Instead of, I don’t know, your own room down on the opposite end of the castle?” 

“I got lost.” 

Sirius could still make the balcony, he thought. There was almost a direct route, in fact, between the beds. Maybe this was Merlin doing him a solid; there’s your pathway you pathetic little prick. 

“I’ll say, you’re pretty lost.”

If Sirius had a response to that, which he did not, it would not have mattered. Because it was then that the sound of running water shut off. In all his confused glory, his current state of ‘whattheactualfuckisgoingonpleasefortheloveofSalazaarletthisbeanightmare’, Sirius had not registered the sound of the shower running. Until, of course, its absence. 

There were two people who could emerge from that bathroom. You can guess which of the two Sirius was hoping for. 

Frank watched Sirius watch the door to the bathroom with the same amusement he’d maintained the length of their conversation, if you could call their exchange a conversation. Frank probably knew who was going to emerge. If his face was anything to go by, Sirius should have started running for the balcony then. 

He did not. 

So when James Potter emerged, dark hair still wet and towel slung haphazardly around his waist, Sirius regretted his hesitation in that act of suicide very, very deeply. 

 “Oi, Frank, we gotta get Rem up. You know how he is without break– what the fuck?” 

The smile on the boy’s lips died as he turned toward Remus’ bed and consequently found Sirius Black, his proclaimed mortal enemy (quote: second year) standing beside it. 

“Black?!” 

“Potter,” Sirius responded primly, as though he had any hope of maintaining any semblance of dignity in this scenario. As though his hair was not ratty and dishevelled without his usual pre-bed curl routine (not that his and Remus’ acts last night had helped the state of his hair). As though he was not shirtless and did not have clear hickeys evident along his bare torso and neck. As though Sirius was not standing in the middle of James’ bedroom, the Gryffindor fucking dorm. 

James stared at Sirius with wide eyes, taking in the aforementioned sight of Sirius (see: hair, shirtless, hickeys, etc.).

When that clearly did not explain enough, he whirled his head toward Frank, whose gaze was flicking between the two of them, amused as all fuck. Longbottom was zero help, mind you, only shrugging as if to say ‘I have no idea but isn’t this great?’. Sirius was inclined to disagree with that implication. Not great. Super not great. 

“What the fuck?” Potter eventually repeated. He spun again, risking whiplash, to stare at Sirius. “What the fuck? What the fuck?!” 

It was the last one in that trilogy of ‘what the fuck’s, pitched into a shout, that woke Remus. The boy, ever the heavy sleeper, groaned.

Sirius stilled. James stilled. Frank leant forward eagerly.

There was a mumbled; “Christ, James, any louder and you’ll wake the entire fucking castle.” The sound of shifting bedsheets behind Sirius indicated he was rolling over. And then: 

“Oh shite.” 

“Morning Rem,” Frank practically sing-songed in a joyous tone.

“Frank,” Remus said from behind Sirius by way of greeting. His voice was heavy with sleep and confusion. Sirius could almost see his eyes, blinking rapidly, as they did in the early morning. “James, Sirius.” 

So it was real. That sealed it. Sirius really was standing before James Potter and Frank Longbottom after having emerged from Remus Lupin’s bed. It was not some fucked up hallucination. Lovely.

If you’d have described this situation right now to Sirius from exactly a year ago, the fifth year would have slapped you harder than Dorcas could manage.

“Remus, what the fuck is going on?” 

That was James. 

“Which part, James?” 

That was Remus. 

“The part where Sirius Black was sleeping, and definitely also doing other things in your bed?” 

That was Frank. 

“He got… lost.” Well, at least you could call them fucking consistent. So much for being a good liar, the cunt. 

Frank burst out laughing. Sirius felt his face crumple into a grimace. Would Remus kill him if he tried suicide out the balcony now? Probably. He’d find a way. That, or he’d follow him off the edge. Could be romantic, like Romeo and Juliet, if Sirius was recalling the play correctly. 

James uttered another, “What the fuck?” (if you’re counting, that was the sixth one of the last two minutes).

[parkminijiminie]

My question may seem incorrect or inappropriate to you, but I still want to know your opinion. Will you still love and support Jungkook if all his songs are about fucking or something meaningless? What if he remains a performer who will not write his own songs? Or what if his fuckboy image becomes his primary one? Will we ever find out who Jungkook is, or will he always be the Korean version of JB now? I always thought that I would support bts members no matter what, but now looking at Jungkook, I understand that this is not the person whose music I want to listen to. His interviews also give me a strange feeling. Are these really his thoughts or Scooter's? Who is this man? I just don't understand why I should continue to be his fan if his music and personality suddenly changed radically. I saw that you answered one of the anons with something like "whether we like it or not, jungkook chose this direction." So we should support him even if we don't like his new image, thoughts and music? But why? Because he was different before? I don't think he has changed because he has matured, because six months ago he was a completely different person lol. I think he's changed because he wants attention, fame and money, like the cool Western artists.

I think we shouldn't judge Jk too harshly too fast. His album isn't out yet. But I'd say this, if his music isn't your taste and doesn't align with your taste in terms of style or lyrics, you don't own him or anyone else your undivided support. We shouldn't force ourselves to listen to things we dislike just because a BTS member did them. It also sends a wrong message to them that the fanbase is enjoying something and we want more of it , when in really we don't even like it.

I believe Jungkook's new found fuckboy image is in part Shooter' doing , but in part JK's. The company probably suggested this route because it sells well , popular is in the USA and also fits Jungkook's appearance (hot guy with muscles, piercings and tattoos). I think Scooter got in his head that this is something that would be great for Jungkook to make him "a global pop star", but still JK isn't a mindless doll. The company may have suggested it, but he agreed. Clearly this image is something he is okay with, seems to enjoy and also maybe wanted to express for a while now (being more "mature").

That being said, just because JK sings and looks like a fuckboy, doesn't mean he IS one and even if he is a fuckboy in real life, I don't think this is all that he is. We've literally seen Jungkook grow up in front of our eyes for years and while every idol's image is in a part a facade and men will always be men, I don't think Jungkook changed completely or was deceitful so far.

Maybe the truth about who he is somewhere in the middle. He could still be a thoughtful, sweet guy in some aspects, and a man-whore. I only seriously wish and hope that he isn't misogynistic because I simply cannot support anyone like that. Him in that TikTok really gave me the ick but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (for now).

As I said previously, Jungkook is set on this direction for now and he doesn't care if people like it. That doesn't mean we should like it and support it though. Just like he chose this path, we are free to choose where we want to spend our time and money. It seems Jungkook perfectly understands this and expects to lose some fans, yet he still chose this career path. Maybe this is a part of himself that is authentic to him and he wants to show it, no matter what that cost him. Maybe it seems to him the reward (being more famous in the USA) is bigger than the loss.

He said he felt like now is the time to shed off the Maknae image and he is doing it. I only hope that by trying to get out of the box some people out him into, he doesn't limit himself even more. This playboy persona and "playful, lightly shocking" songs could get tiring real fast. I hope he doesn't loose all the loyal support he has now , while chasing the idea of being "the main pop boy".

In conclusion, Jungkook is set on transforming himself and his image right now and that is his right. If you don't like who he has become by the end of this metamorphosis, you have right to simply ignore his music until the group becomes active again. Personally, I've never been a fan of JB , so if Jungkook becomes a similar type of artist, than he is simply not the artist for me anymore.

[feedingtheflockministry]

Aye Aye Captain

Imagine going on a road trip with a friend whose driving skills you know are questionable. To boot, he doesn’t know his way to the agreed destination and he is not a big fan of Google maps. How would you fancy sitting back, expecting to have the greatest adventure of your life? It might make for a hilarious story but a most pitiable one, at that. Imagine getting lost or getting in an accident because you chose to rely on your friend’s very questionable driving skills.

This is the reality of most people today. They would wholeheartedly walk into a raging storm, ignoring the GPS directions that would have pointed them toward an escape route. They are reckless and stubborn, never one to accept help because they feel they know it all.

This is a trap! Trust me it is. Why choose to drive blind when you can have a trusted driver that knows every route of the journey?

It is important that you step away from the wheel and allow the One that knows the end from the beginning to take over from you. To trust Him with your whole heart and with total surrender giving preference to His voice as He tells you what to do in His time. This, for me, is the best life you can have on your life’s journey, one where you know that God will always keep you on track, no matter what happens. The circumstances may not look like ones that have been set to propel you to greater heights, but knowing that you have the best Man in the driver’s seat calms you.

Nothing can break you at this point! It’s peace, joy, and love all the way.

Prayer

Dear Father God,

I surrender to Your will because I know You will keep me on track to accomplish Your good and perfect will for my life.

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

YouVersion Bible plan In my boat Trusting God in the midst of the storms

[vilonnie]

I have distracting brainrot + this is the brainrot website here are some vague key points of VW which I could probs write an essay on but I need to get it out of my system (mostly claudethoughts):

two protagonists who don't know what's going on fighting for what is thematically a misfit underdog nation that nobody else respects who don't share the theatric tragedy of the tormented fodlan royals born into high esteem, which I think is why the as previously stated misfit-underdog route may appeal to some people more than a classic tragic hero (dimitri) or martyred chosen one (edelgard) route

^ reworded this several times to avoid sounding derogatory towards dimi and el because I like them too I just want to go through the obvious reasons why g'deer feels so tonally different

golden deer has the closest and most consistently strong/positive relationships + dynamics between classmates as opposed to the other houses whose secondary characters tend to have more complicated and loaded feelings toward one another, but I think the reason that the consistent power of friendship writing works so well for me here is because when the deer reconcile so lightly and easily again and again it's a response to the route's overall themes of isolation. golden deer found family forever etc etc

they have the power of god and anime on their side

the notable association of claude with edelgard and vice versa is probably for heterosexual reasons courtesy of the writing team or someone on it lol which I don't mind because they're both bi to me anyway but I think it's more interesting to think about it as a friendship-that-could've-been dynamic because even though they have similar ideals and could've worked together with better communication/compromise of course the golden day protag and the blackest night antag are doomed to kill each other over and over and can never reconcile lmao. also contributes to the scarlet blaze bad end being my favorite route in that game

there's a slight note of bitterness when claude speaks to or about the other lords which I think is probably is more to do with either his own self-image or the way he's perceived than anything else. yet he was still the one the writers chose to insist that he and the other two were friends in the cindered shadows story and to staunchly (and explicitly naively) claim that war between them was impossible. which is interesting to me

claude and rhea vs khalid and seiros. you know?

no matter what you have to strive for knowledge and understanding of each other and of our world

no matter what you have to strive to cultivate and cherish your bonds of friendship even after a life of loneliness

thinking also about how even though ultimately it is vital to sympathize with and humanize seiros it can still be said that nemesis vs seiros, as well as seiros and wilhelm's initial conquest that created adrestria, is a cycle that repeats itself in rhea vs edelgard, as well as the reunification of adrestia. edelgard ironically becomes seiros here in that she is a "chosen one" fighting to be strong enough so that the trauma they experienced when vulnerable can never happen to their people ever again, though it can be argued that when they come to power over the land they will inadvertently perpetuate other injustices themselves

so if crimson flower is about exploring cycles then verdant wind is about breaking them, hence it being the only route that brings the game full circle with its opening cutscene, and why relations with almyra are brought up so frequently in concurrence with the foundational history of fodlan (i.e. the timeline regarding the construction of fodlan's locket and garreg mach)

and to do this you need KNOWLEDGE and FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!!!!

in the end, again, it is always about understanding

claude and byleth is about how if you feel like you're all alone and the only freak of your kind among your peers do not worry! there is a circle of ride-and-die weirdos just waiting for you to become attached at a truly unnatural pace <3

hilda and claude is actually one of the most interesting relationships for me because I love their whole rose-colored boy vibe they have going on like with the "hand heart even my neck" quote which is unironically my favorite and I think has a lot of implicit nuance, the relationship has a lot of risk/danger to it inherently but snowballs into such casual trust it leaves you breathless, even though the environments they were raised in would suggest they should be afraid of each other and each other's natural enemy, I think it's because they cultivated such a lighthearted, mundane, fun-loving teenage friendship that the weight of their absolute devotion and loyalty to each other later on feels meaningful, the "imposter complex gf who sucks (affectionate)" and "deranged workaholic bf who won't let up" dynamic is so fun and I think just as hilda allows claude to relax and open up claude motivates hilda to expect more from herself and be her best self, I love how despite his self-image hilda sees so much kindness and integrity in claude and despite her self-image claude sees so much strength and brilliance in hilda, also since I have problems I like how they die in crimson flower lol

aaaaaaauguughgh. sword lord

ok thats enough for now

[haxorus612]

This is a less interesting proposition than it seems, because the companions in fallout new vegas are all very carefully chosen. They're all people who've been failed by the institutions they're associated with. (except raul, kinda, although his institution, community, still failed him) Veronica is the most clear-cut. She has a vision, and the brotherhood is incapable of delivering on it, no matter her ending. Lily, who you did not mention here, was failed once by the vault system, then by the master, and finally by jacobstown, that couldn't help her or any of the nightkin. Arcade Gannon is working for the followers, possibly the most ideologically pure faction, but they just don't have the resources to pursue his vital medical research. The NCR has the resources, but Gannon can't work for them. He would've been a fantastic researcher in the enclave with their endless resources and his family connections, but that route was closed off, permanently. Boone was failed by NCR command, and the people of the wastes. Rose of Sharon Cassidy is your crimson caravan companion. Thanks to their monopoly, everyone else is naught but target practice. Rex shows off the technological limitations of the kings. No amount of love can save someone you just don't have the expertise to help. and finally, Ed-e, similar to Rex, was built by an enclave that could not afford to finish it.

Out of the cut content, Ulysses was meant to be your Legion companion. He was part of one of the many, many groups that Caesar allied with, then betrayed and enslaved to break them into the legion. And Ulysses was broken. His loyalty to Caesar over-rode every other part of his personality, despite his posturing to neutrality. In comparison, Vulpes Inculta doesn't even do the posturing. He's just a die-hard legionnaire. Benny was another proposed companion, and he would've been your house companion. Taken in by House, who stripped their identity nearly as thoroughly as Caesar, Benny chose to lean into it, going as far as to try taking over the strip himself. The final proposed companion that I heard rumours of was Father Elijah, one of the biggest monsters in this game. Not only is he redundant with Veronica, it's hard to blame them for failing his self-destructive and deeply evil vision. While some of these would've been really cool, it makes sense why they made the decisions they did: With the limited development time, focusing on one, more developed route, and giving each companion besides Raul a deep connection to the NCR as it developed makes more sense than spreading their resources too thin trying to do everything.

The Boomers have many, many points of failure, but the biggest one is their insane militarism. Having a companion, whose purpose is to follow you, shooting enemies, would've been a little off-message. Saying "i want to kill more people, just not here" isn't really a rebellion. The little romeo-and-juliet story they get is a much better rejection of their ethos. The Great Khans are a people in decline. The walking dead. Joining them at all is a rejection of their story, leaving them is simply what's expected. The fiends are even worse off. Motor-runner outlines several ways in which their faction fails its members. Any number of them could be introduced to a slightly more healthy lifestyle just by journeying with the courier, which means that none has a unique story. Goodsprings and the powder gangers run into the same problem: they're both broadly opposed to the NCR and they're both nearly unconnected from the rest of the wasteland. The powder gangers also aren't really a community, they're a short-lived movement, a powder-keg if you will of hot-blooded action that doesn't have enough momentum to keep them going. Similarly to the fiends, goodspring, the powder gangers, and sloan, Jason Bright and his followers aren't really a faction, they're a questline.

The reason why F:NV is still so beloved to this day is not just because it's a big, long, ARPG with a good story: it also *shows* you how to find the fun parts, through its companions. Even Raul, who doesn't have explicit connections to the factions of the Mojave, still encourages you to seek out characters you might not otherwise, and put into context the community that they've built around each other. How much fun would it be to experience that journey for the first time with some generic Mr. Handy? Perfectly fine from a gameplay perspective, but perhaps less than fulfilling story-wise. Characters in a story need a conflict to remain interesting, and the companions we have don't just have conflicts with the world, but also with themselves. When proposing new companions, how would you place someone in that position?

If FNV was perfect (and kinda excessive) you’d get one companion for each faction I think. In theory it might look something likeeee NCR Companion: Boone already fits the bill for a solid NCR companion imo. He could be a little more interesting though.

Legion Companion: I think Vulpes Inculta was already a cut Legion companion, but it makes sense that a Legion spy would accompany the courier to infiltrate/attack the NCR/Strip.

House Companion: Mr. House already used Victor to keep tabs on the courier, so it makes sense to me that Victor could become a companion. Or just a regular securitron.

Independent Companion: I think a lot of companions already fall under this, but both Benny and Yes Man work too. Both are just as invested in making Vegas independent.

Boomers Companion: I don’t think any of the Boomers would want to leave their base tbh. Also I have no idea besides one of the Mister Gutsys maybe.

Brotherhood of Steel Companion: Veronica is already the perfect BoS companion narratively but I think it’d be funny if you could drag McNamara around.

Followers of the Apocalypse Companion: Arcade is already a good Followers/Independent companion but while it doesn’t make complete sense for her to follow the courier around instead of helping at the Old Mormon Fort… Julie Farkas :3

Great Khans Companion: Melissa Lewis is just kinda hanging around Deathclaws with nothing better to do anyway, like.

Crimson Caravan: I don’t think anyone is begging for a Crimson Caravan companion but it’d be kinda neat if there was a caravan guard up for hire with nothing better to do. Also, Ringo.

Mojave Express Companion: I’m still kinda shocked there’s only one courier companion mod out there. Anyway I think there should either be a courier who wasn’t targeted by Benny and/or Ulysses companion (he was already a cut companion too).

Fiends Companion: Driver Nephi is the meme option but I think there could easily be a Fiend hanging around Vault 3 with nothing better to do but leave.

Goodsprings Companion: I can’t imagine Sunny Smiles leaving Goodsprings to travel all over the Mojave, but I think she could accompany the courier for the first third of the game maybe. Because reasons.

Kings Companion: Rex already exists but I’d love a human Kings companion with a lot to say about every spot in Freeside and the Strip. Maybe a guide/bodyguard.

Powder Gangers Companion: I still think Boxcars would make a cool early-game companion after passing a medicine check, but anyone from the NCRCF could be looking for a good opportunity to leave.

Bright Brotherhood: I think it’d be funny if Harland decided to go with you to deal with the Nightkin and then just kept following you.

[woven-in-christ]

Aye Aye Captain

Imagine going on a road trip with a friend whose driving skills you know are questionable. To boot, he doesn’t know his way to the agreed destination and he is not a big fan of Google maps. How would you fancy sitting back, expecting to have the greatest adventure of your life? It might make for a hilarious story but a most pitiable one, at that. Imagine getting lost or getting in an accident because you chose to rely on your friend’s very questionable driving skills.

This is the reality of most people today. They would wholeheartedly walk into a raging storm, ignoring the GPS directions that would have pointed them toward an escape route. They are reckless and stubborn, never one to accept help because they feel they know it all.

This is a trap! Trust me it is. Why choose to drive blind when you can have a trusted driver that knows every route of the journey?

It is important that you step away from the wheel and allow the One that knows the end from the beginning to take over from you. To trust Him with your whole heart and with total surrender giving preference to His voice as He tells you what to do in His time. This, for me, is the best life you can have on your life’s journey, one where you know that God will always keep you on track, no matter what happens. The circumstances may not look like ones that have been set to propel you to greater heights, but knowing that you have the best Man in the driver’s seat calms you.

Nothing can break you at this point! It’s peace, joy, and love all the way.

Prayer

Dear Father God,

I surrender to Your will because I know You will keep me on track to accomplish Your good and perfect will for my life.

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

YouVersion Bible plan In my boat Trusting God in the midst of the storms

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

What It's Like Selling Your YA Fantasy Book At A Local Holiday Market: Tips, Tricks, & Lessons

This past holiday season, I had the pleasure of being a vendor at a local holiday market where I had Fire & Flight, the first book in my YA fantasy series, and Heirs of Tenebris trilogy-inspired book swag, available for purchase. As an introvert, putting myself out there to sell my books and spread the word has been quite the challenge, as I imagine it is for many of my fellow authors, so I thought I’d share my experience and a few tips I learned from my first two author events.

Now I know a local holiday market isn’t the traditional route for authors to take when it comes to selling their books, but there’s two main reasons why I chose a market full of other local businesses and artisans over a bookstore event (though I’m very excited about my upcoming appearance at an indie bookstore!). The first reason is quite simple: I’m an introvert. Whenever I think about author events, I immediately feel panicked by the thought of being “the main event.” But then I remembered another local author I had met at—you guessed it!—a market!

Here I was, shopping around a flea market a few years ago, merely months before I’d decided to publish Fire & Flight after a year or so of researching publication options and poof! there was a local author selling and signing books at this flea market. Ever since then, I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind as an option to explore for author events, especially as an indie author.

With that said, the second reason why I chose a holiday market over a “traditional” book event at a bookstore, is because bookstores are hard to get into. In all honesty a lot of my reservations about bookstore author events really stem from my fears of being “the main event” and also the thought of “what if no one shows up?” Those are some pretty terrifying things, especially as there are times when people just don’t show up, no matter how much marketing you do, and I think that’s certainly impacted my approach to bookstores (though I won’t give up on getting more things lined up)!

Another reason why I chose a holiday market is actually a good piece of advice I'd like to share. I LOVE holiday and craft markets, and I’ve been to many over the years with some being better than others. I chose this particular market because I knew I wouldn’t be the only one advertising it, as it was a pretty established market and hosted in an economic mecca over a local school/church/place where people wouldn’t already be inclined to go unless they were associated with it in some way. If you want to explore the possibly of an author event at a holiday/craft market, choose one whose organizers have a good following and advertise the event as well as boost their vendors! I know, I know, if I’m so introverted, how am I okay with posting all over social media or writing up a press release?

Well, it was a struggle to get to this point, but it’s starting to become second nature to me. Granted, I’m still introverted, but I’m beginning to embrace the self-promotion part of being an indie author, especially as I genuinely love connecting with other writers and potential readers, so that’s certainly helped break me out of my shell!

Don’t be afraid to create that Facebook event or blast it over your Instagram, but know where your audience is. Because this was a local event, I stuck mostly to Facebook and Instagram to help promote these two events, as that’s where most of my local following is and I knew it would be easier to get local attention than it would be on my Twitter and Tumblr, where most of my followers are either overseas or whose location/actual non-Tumblr identity is completely unknown to me. Alongside my posts, I re-shared stories from the organizers and tagged them in most of my posts to help let people know I would be there. So not only was I posting about it, but the event organizers were and they were sharing other vendors who were also posting about the event! It was marketing heaven for me because the success of my book signing wasn’t wholly dependent on me!

Thirdly, SIGNAGE IS YOUR FRIEND! This is a lesson I learned after five-straight hours of chatting, explaining, and connecting with people at the first market I attended. Once I explained who I was and what I was selling (the first book in my YA fantasy series and accompanying book swag), people were really interested! But by the end of that first day, my throat was so raw from speaking, I’d wished I had some sort of sign to break the ice. I did, however, have a tabletop sign in an acrylic stand with Fire & Flight’s synopsis and a QR Code to download the e-book if people preferred, though I had nothing that explained who I was, that I was a local author, and that I had copies of my book to sell and sign. And that’s what led me to ordering an expandable banner stand from a trade printer*. On it, I included my social media links (via QR Codes), excerpts from Fire & Flight’s synopsis, a plea for people to sign up for my newsletter, and a big headline that announces who I am and that I’m a local author. This not only helped to explain who I was at the second market, it also drew people in as they caught sight of it, though the amazing book swag created by my graphic artist did a really good job of that too!

Overall, I do think my first two author events were a success, and I’m eagerly looking forward to my first bookstore event on February 18th! I was able to get a feel for selling my book (and myself to some extent) without feeling like there was an abundance of pressure on me to draw people in or like all of the attention was on me. Doing these two markets was not only a fun way to break the ice, but it was amazing to be able to interact with people, to swap some behind-the-scenes stories about my writing and the inspiration for Fire & Flight, and to realize how supportive my local community is if only I just put myself out there a little more.

I hope that these few tips and the things I learned can help other authors like myself. As nerve-wracking as it was to prepare for these markets (looking at you, card reader/e-commerce set-up pitfalls), I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for more opportunities like this, especially as I look toward setting up more bookstore events and local market appearances (with the possibly of publishing Fire & Flight’s sequel) in the coming year.

*I have connections marketing and have a background in the profession myself, so this resource had proven to be invaluable to me as an indie author! If you’re US based, check out 4over.com for your printed materials, though I should warn you, their site is a little hokey!

[nightshadedawn]

You know, I like this. Editing skills are topnotch. My only issue comes from the fact they don't look related.

Now, before I start my absolute madlad rambling, looking through other reblogs also partially inspired this and I did use edits made by Megumi_Bandicoot and rutherfart on Reddit to get to the basics of what I needed. (This post of new M!Byleth hairs, this post for F!Byleth hairs, and this post for switched hairs)

Let's do some lore.

Beleth - He/Him, Golden Deer, Major Crest of Seiros. Was initially going to say "lore reason he looks like like #2 is because they were fertilized by the same egg and they're identical twins" but male/female identical twins aren't possible from my understanding. But this is based on anime which runs by different rules, so who knows.

Byleth - She/Her, Blue Lions, Major Crest of Seiros. Despite not technically being identical twins, I'd say they're still probably the closest out of their siblings purely for the fact I used the OG bases and barely did any editing. Because of their closeness in this AU, Blue Lions and Golden Deer would always be allies no matter whose POV would "win."

Beres - She/They, Agarthians, Major Crest of Flames. They're the only Nabatean, the only one born to look like Sitri. (Tiny detail, but she's even got the pointed ears.) They were born dead, but Sitri begged Rhea to save her, so Rhea gave them the Crest of Flames. Her distrust of Rhea is high because of Rhea's obsession, and it gets worse when Rhea tries to replace them with Sothis. Before Jeralt's death, she's approached by Tomas or Kronya about protecting themself and their siblings from Rhea and becomes the next Nemesis. Possibly different circumstances lead to Jeralt's death so it's not weird for Beres to join Those Who Slither, but also maybe yes and it's just the much higher ups who do it so Tomas and Kronya can be recruitable on this route. This is, however, "everybody loses" route. Well, students are recruitable. (Except for those directly harmed by Agarthians like Lysithea and Hapi) but the goal is for Fodlan to fall. All three house leaders and Rhea must die in this route.

Bereto - He/They, Church, Major Crest of Flames. Mister Bereto "They fucking killed our father, are you crazy?" Eisner. He doesn't get along with Bileth. Also not a big fan of the church because of Jeralt's words and his lack of trust in it, but if it's the church or those who killed their father, Bereto knows who they're siding with. Is tied with #5 for height and acts he's like the oldest despite being fourth in line. Absolute Daddy's kid.

Baleth - She/He/They, Ashen Wolves, Minor Crest of Flames. She's more a follower than a leader. He'll side with whomever the POV is, or whomever asks them first. To them, Abyss was just immediately more peaceful. Less people, less chaos, full of freaks. Gentle giant, and would absolutely have the easiest time recruiting students to Abyss, including house leaders. Much to her chagrin. Because, you know, more people. His POV in the lead would result in the one and only "Golden Route."

Bileth - They/Them, Black Eagles, Minor Crest of Seiros. They're a short little spitfire, with a chaos that would probably fit in more with the Golden Deer than the Black Eagles, but they chose their house and they'll stick with it. They'd probably be willing to ally with Beleth and Byleth, but if Edelgard thinks peace isn't possible, they'd follow her lead on the matter. Would fight and kill each of their siblings if it came down to it, but would have a worse breakdown each time. Because each of their siblings would side with their specific lord, Bileth would have to fight all of them, except Baleth if she's recruited. Beres would side with the Agarthians so be a playable ally at first, but then comes the betrayal, so ouch.

Other lore possibilities included:

Having Beres having originally have inherited the Crest of Seiros from Jeralt, and getting the Crest forced two Crests to exist simultaneously in them and making her hair go white, and being misled to believing Rhea was the culprit of all issues of dual Crests because of Rhea's weird obsession, but in my person headcannons that's scrapped.

If you didn't catch it, this wasn't intended to be one cohesive story, but more a jumping point. Like, if the prologue extended over the entirety of White Clouds. Then everything starts going to shit when the war starts and you'd have to choose who "wins." Playing Golden Deer Route, Beleth and Claude win with all that entails (Beleth becoming the leader of a united Fodlan) but Byleth and Dimitri still survive due to alliance. Blue Lions route Dimitri becomes king but has more help from the Golden Deer than in the initial timeline. And so on and so forth. (Maybe Bileth doesn't need to kill Beleth? As long as Claude is left alive, Beleth can be allowed to run off with Claude, as long as Claude is fought first for the dialogue to happen)

Literally no wonder Sitri died in this AU. Already sick and weak, and she gives birth to six children at once in a time period based off where there was shit medicine, even if there's magic obviously in cannon Rhea's magic was useless. (On this line of thought, the reason they all have similar names is because they only had one picked out and Jeralt's an idiot. Only "Baleth" is not anywhere referenced as an alternative to Byleth. On the wiki for the demon Beleth, Bilith, and Bileth are given alternatives. On the fe3h wiki Bereto and Beresu are the Japanese names for Byleth)

I assume Jeralt thought that Sitri was just pregnant with one very large baby and not six. Love the man though, was a single father raising six children to moderately functioning adults while on the run.

Beres and Baleth have different expressions to the rest because not everyone has "resting blank face." Gave Beres a "resting ticked off face" using the anger expression and Baleth a "resting smile" using the... smile.

I struggled with getting Bereto and Bilith's hair color exactly the same as Jeralt's, so they're lighter than his because Jeralt's so old he's mixed with gray hair.

The reason I have so much to say about the Beres plotline is because I have a series (more of a thought experiment and more in the barely put together plot points) that explores if the other leads were traitors and had diverging routes. The Beres one explores the player being the traitor themselves. To activate that part of the story you'd have to reach B with all the Agarthains in Garreg Mach, and there'd be at least two more added alongside Tomas and Kronya. Route with diverge on the "Jeralt Dies" chapter, and you'd have to go to Tomas and agree to follow him when he leaves (he doesn't leave after Remire? Or you follow Kronya instead? Who knows). Anyway, I'll probably explore more thoughts on this in a different post so I don't get off track.

Look, the game is great. Objectively, twin Byleths is awesome because you've gotta ask yourself the deep questions like, "Do they both have the powers of the Crest of Flames?", "Who got the heart?", "Do they both have the ability to communicate with Sothis?" and "Does Sitri count as a Nabetean, and if that makes them half-Nabetean, does that give the potential for a new, never before seen Crest and does that make it too overpowered or would it just be better to inherit Jeralt's?" (oops, you've reached my latest conundrum with my twin AU)

But I raise you: Byleth triplets. She/he/they, each one teaches a different class, dates a different leader, unifies Fodlan because they refuse to fight each other.

But then, consider: Byleth quadruplets. It's the same as above, except there's an elusive fourth sibling who uses they/she/he interchangeably because they're genderfluid and chose the Ashen Wolves house exclusively. No one knows if the other three are all actually working together or if some people are getting confused, because they all have a variant of the same name: Byleth, Beleth, Bileth, and Baleth.

Consider the chaos.

[vendetta-if]

If Ash will follow MC no matter what, so does that mean we'll be able to romance them in any route if we choose to? Like if for example, we decide to go through with the heir route, but end up rejecting the marriage proposal with Rin, would we be locked out of romancing Ash?

Sorry if my question comes off as dumb!

Yes 👍🏻 Ash will follow MC no matter what ending MC chooses. The way I plan right now is each RO will have each of their subplot divided into 3 sections interlaced in between the main plot points.

Readers will be able to focus on 2 routes per one playthrough. Once you choose and start 2 of those routes, you’ll be locked out of the other two (meaning you’ll have to see those two routes you chose and started to completion). And then there’ll be a time where you’ll have to choose one of the two ROs whose routes you picked and lock in your choice.

I kinda get it that the other two ROs whose route are not chosen will not shine as much in that playthrough. But there are only so much MC can do and spend their time with logically since the whole story will probably only take place at around 2 weeks max? Not really sure on the timeline yet.

And no, anon, your question is not dumb at all! ❤️ So, in your case, you’ll only be locked out of Ash (or any other ROs for that matter) if you don’t pick their route or if you pick their route and then decides to lock in Rin (or any other RO) as your chosen one first instead of Ash. I hope I’ve explained the mechanics well enough 😅

[grimrester]

Deltarune: Whose Choices Matter? (major spoilers for all routes)

I'm so extremely sure others have discussed this to death already, but I'm obsessed with the themes of "choice" in Deltarune. What's really stuck in my head are these three things:

1. At the start, you, the player, are told no one can choose who they are in this world and that your choices don't matter. The character you make gets thrown away.

2. Pretty much the second you're in the dark world, Ralsei starts telling Kris that their "choices are important too."

3. Toby has said many times that there is "only one ending" and, in one interview, that there's "something more important than reaching the end."

Lots of people have said that Toby was lying since there obviously are differences in both chapters depending on the choices you make. But I don't think that's true. Toby's the type to use clever wording to tell half-truths, but not straight up lie.

It's technically true that there's just one ending. No matter what the player does, the king still ends up in jail. Queen still stops her plan and joins you. Kris still opens up another dark foundation.

The changes in each playthrough are only indirectly the result of the player's actions. They are instead direct results of how the characters treat Kris and each other because of how you acted. Your actions don't matter and can't effect how the story plays out in and of themselves. But because all the key moments - the pillars, Ralsei revealing the story of the Roaring, etc - hinge on the characters' actions, their choices are the ones that matter and the ending is always more or less the same. This theme of choice and the effect of your actions on others is central to pretty much every "changeable" part of the story.

Let me provide some examples.

1. Minor Details

If you toss away the manual Ralsei gives you in chapter 1, he'll put a trashcan in Kris' room instead of a stand for the manual.

This is a really small, pretty insignificant detail. It doesn't affect the story. I personally never touched the manual again even though I kept it. If you toss it, Ralsei still gives Kris/the player tips on how to play. But Toby still programmed it in. He programmed Ralsei to notice you threw away something he worked on, and to treat you differently as a result. Maybe just as a joke, sure. But there's many other instances of characters remembering your actions and treating you accordingly.

Another example: If you step off one of the first electric wall switches before Noelle is done crossing to the other side to stand on the other button, she scolds you and then pulls the same prank on you. Kris looks hurt in response - because they're getting punished for something you did. It's a lot harder to brush this one off as just a joke when it ends with someone feeling hurt.

2. Kris' Dialogue

The player chooses a lot of dialogue for Kris. But sometimes Kris speaks on their own or chooses how they say what they're told by the player to say.

After the Spamton NEO fight, if you choose to tell Susie you're okay, Susie will think about how Kris is speaking hoarsely, and so she thinks Kris probably isn't okay. If you choose to say you're not okay, Ralsei says Kris is yelling. No matter what option you choose, Kris chooses to do their best to communicate that they are definitely not okay. It's Kris' choice here that matters and effects how the characters react, not yours.

3. Recruiting

Chapter 2 hammers in the idea that sparing enemies is important by introducing the recruiting mechanic. But recruiting doesn't seem to actually do much yet, aside from giving you some extra dialogue and dojo challenges.

At one point, there's some tutorial text from Ralsei that mentions how from now on, fighting an enemy instead of sparing it will make it unable to be recruited. Then it specifically mentions that there might be times where breaking bonds will make you stronger. There was something like this in chapter 1, too, where Ralsei seems to realize after fighting the king that the party can't always spare everyone.

This is in pretty stark contrast to Undertale, where the fight/spare mechanic basically meant choosing between life and death for any character. The character you're fighting doesn't get any say in the matter in Undertale. In Deltarune, you (or, more accurately, Kris) don't have the power to kill someone. You can only beat them up badly enough that they choose not to join you. At some point in the later chapters, making someone not want to join you might be a better decision.

4. Berdly

If you just focus on the Queen, Berdly tries to remove it himself, damaging his arm in the process. When he wakes up in the light world later, he still can't move his arm.

In the first battle with Queen, Berdly is attached to one of her plugs. You can loosen it to free him, like you did with the Werepires.

You didn't hurt Berdly. But if you choose to ignore him to focus on finishing the fight instead, his own actions in response cause him to be hurt anyway.

5. Snowgrave

Kris doesn't seem to have the ability to kill. Neither does Susie or Ralsei.

But Noelle does.

It's important to note that the player doesn't have complete control over anyone in the party except Kris. At the start of chapter 1, Susie makes her own choices in battle. Even in chapter 2, you can't take equipment off her unless you're swapping in something else (she tells you "Hands off!" if you try). The characters can just straight up refuse to follow your/Kris' orders if they want.

If you command Noelle to brute force puzzles, to "get" the ring, to ice all the Darkners, she gets used to hurting others to feel stronger. Then she can use Snowgrave - the only action that specifies it is lethal - in the fight with Berdly. When you tell Noelle to use Snowgrave, she refuses several times. She even tells you that she "doesn't know a spell called Snowgrave" to get you to stop. If you keep badgering her, she finally snaps, and chooses to cast it.

The wildest part about the Snowgrave route, in my opinion, is that there doesn't even seem to be any reward for doing it. In Undertale, the whole appeal of the No Mercy route was the epic boss fights that couldn't be played on any other route. The reward was the challenge. In Snowgrave, you skip almost half of the story and multiple boss fights. And for what? A slightly harder version of a boss you can also fight on any other run?

You can manipulate Noelle into making a terrible choice and presumably killing Berdly, seemingly just for the hell of it. After you return to the light world, the only things that change in the story are that Berdly doesn't wake up and Noelle is scared out of her mind if she sees you wearing her watch. Susie still walks you home. Toriel still asks Susie to stay over. Kris still slashes the tires on Toriel's car and opens a new foundation. Nothing major changes.

All Snowgrave seems to do is get you to the same ending faster.

Deltarune is about choices, sure. But more accurately, it's about how your choices affect the people around you, and how that informs their choices, and so on.

So, what's more important than reaching the end? It's how you - and the characters - chose to get there. It's about the journey, not the destination.

[white-tulips]

I’ve recently become extremely fixated on this NPC dialogue in Deeper Well for some reason-

“With time, what is important will change. You must choose what you will keep and what you will cast away.

Not everyone has that choice.”

I like how it plays into a lot of the themes of the game- about getting older and being confronted by the fact that things that were once so important or special to you when you were younger might be different now, and you might view them completely differently

and I find it interesting that it’s coming from an NPC whose appearance resembles Aubrey, because it makes me think about her story. how as time went on, she became more invested in her relationships with her new friends, and how she chose to cast her old friends away

of course, it directly applies to Sunny as well. it could be referencing the true route and the hikikomori route, with Sunny choosing to either spend time with his friends and repair those bonds, or choosing to continue isolating himself and casting away reality

“not everyone has that choice” kind of confuses me

my very first thought was how it ironically makes me think of the game’s ending, but specifically how it affects Basil. when Sunny tells everyone the truth, how would everyone react? I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s undeniable that the options are for them to try to work through things and fix their relationships (keep what’s important) or to pretty much cast Sunny away and cut ties (a relationship that was once important has drastically changed). Basil didn’t have a say in the matter though, he didn’t get to choose to open those floodgates and face those repercussions

or, thinking about the way that Stranger speaks to Omori, it could also be referencing Sunny’s choice to either face things, or run away, and how all of that has had an effect on Basil

or maybe it’s saying how Sunny is the one able to have those options, but no one else has been able to properly come to their own conclusions because Sunny has been keeping the truth about Mari’s death a secret

I feel like there’s so much to unpack that I haven’t been able to see

[mutable-manifestation]

I mean, Vlad would still be the college best bud obsessed w Maddie, he'd just be a lot more sly about trying to win over the kids (he has no idea why Daniel is so very cross with him at all times) so I could see it happening if the Foleys didn't step in (bc u know Sam's parents would never).

But even then I doubt Danny would ask to be ripped in half (for one Vlad wouldn't know to offer so Danny prob wouldn't know the rippers exist at all)

I feel like he'd probably do like u said & just use Vlad's portal to spend a lot of time seeking out Walker's company (side note: Walker is ecstatic. The cats are actively coming to him now. The munchkin is bound to appear...eventually. "It's only a matter of time" lol [side side note: Walker doesn't think to say anything to anyone else so they all think he's just a cat person])

If you diiiid want to go the 'Dan' route u could prob use Walker for that, actually... Munchkin making a reappearance & when he shows up and Walker's opening move is to blast him into a wall and just. Monologue.

It's a cat, it's not like it matters if it knows he's been waiting for the moment he could finally thrash the thing and take the throne.

And to Danny, Walker is the only person he really had left.

He cracks.

Dan wouldn't be a combination of Danny & Vlad in this, it would be all Danny.

A Danny who has only interacted with other ghosts as enemies (why would he make allies w/Poindexter? Poindexter wouldn't call a cat a bully. They don't know each other. He doesn't know Frostbite yet.)

A Danny whose one ghost friend turned out not to be his friend at all.

A Danny who thought he'd lost everything, and then lost some more.

A Danny full of rage and grief and an easy target: ghosts.

Sure, he turned on the portal.

But the ghosts chose to attack.

They chose to try and hurt his friends and his family and his school and his city.

It's their fault he missed so many classes.

It's their fault he barely got any sleep, making the classes he did attend blur in his memory.

It's their fault he went from an A- and B-student to failing his classes.

Their fault he didn't have a hope of passing the CAT.

Their fault he had to cheat.

It was because of ghosts that his parents and sister and friends (and teacher) all died.

It was because of ghosts that Danny was all alone.

And maybe, in that moment, he decides that his parents were right.

Ghosts are just evil imprints that should ripped apart molecule by molecule.

How fortuitous that he has claws.

------------------------------------------------------------

Homie bestie amigo friend I love you with my entire heart.

Cat duplicates.

You're a genius.

Maybe he just uses it to be in multiple places at once (ie fight ghosts, visit Walker, troll Vlad as a second cat by gaslighting him & also knocking over his vases, be at school, & catch up on his studying. Albeit he'd prob overdo it and have to spend some time practicing)

But the next time Skulker shows up, he is tackled by a veritable horde of cats at once.

This is the first time anyone sees more than one cat in one place. The shriek Skulker lets out is something he will never live down (the losing to a cat thing got less pathetic after a-they all lost to it constantly and b-it beat Pariah-Fucking-Dark)

After the rescue from Pariah Dark the sighting of multiple cats at once, the Casper students (& a lot of other people) petition to put a giant cat tree in the park.

Danny appears as like a dozen cats when they're setting it up and sits all of him in the empty shipping contain.

--------------------------------

For the Dan route may I submit: The Ghostly Yowl

Schrödinger’s cat a la DP

(why does the title sound like i’m making pasta?)

DP AU! in which everything is the same but Danny ghost for is the “Schrödinger’s cat”

When Danny had the accident he became something not alive but not dead, but also alive and dead at the same time. Because concepts, ideas and myths can become ghosts in the ghost zone, and Danny becoming the definition of Schrödinger’s cat theory his ghost form became that of a cat

Being a cat didn’t change any of his powers, he is just a little more faster agile and very hard to catch

But what makes him the embodiment of that theory is the fact that his ghost form is different every time he transform, sometimes he is a black cat that looks perfectly normal, others he is a white cat with wispy fur, also a green cat with red eyes that’s obviously a ghost, he can be a black cat that glitches in a way that people thinks reality is breaking around that cat, though the form of the white cat made of snow makes it the favorite for his friends in summer

Danny doesn’t know why his form is like that until he finds out about Schrödinger’s cat thanks to tucker, though knowing doesn’t change anything, the various cat forms are almost infinite, though they tend to repeat sometimes the forms are too random that are impossible to predict, after some time Danny learn to live with it and appreciate the pets his friends and other people give him in that form, though his favorite one, and the one that repeats more often is the form of a cat black as the void of space with stars and galaxies moving on the fur

One of the advantages of this cat forms is that no one, besides his friends and sister, knows his secret, though nobody expects a living teen to be a ghost cat, the ghost just think that there are multiple powerful ghost cats in amity and are very territorial about it, the Fenton parents try to trap the cats putting traps with cat food for ghosts in there, Danny always destroy those traps and gets rid of the food before it poison the living stray cats, Vlad plans to kill Jack always getting stopped by those cats is very humiliating and he doesn’t brag about any of it

Cujo is a good dog, he like to play with the cat boy a lot, playing is always fun for the puppy and he is happy to have a friends that doesn’t mind if he is bigger sometimes, Danny thinks Cujo is a very friendly dog that doesn’t mind cats, though he would prefer to not be licked so much, ghost dog saliva doesn’t smell good at all

[violettduchess]

Happy Birthday Leonardo!

A/N: I wrote this when I finished Leonardo's route but wanted to post it on his birthday 🎉 I think it's a nice little bookend to the angst in this fic

It's meant to take place right after the ball at the end of his romantic ending.

NSFW but not explicitly.

Pairing: Leonardo, his thoughts (and MC is there too)

Word Count: 630

This is dedicated to @aquagirl1978 for all the encouragement and support. ❤

The ball is over. Your beautiful gown, so dazzling and bright, is now a crumpled pile in a darkened corner of my room. My clothing is….somewhere. That could be my shirt thrown haphazardly over that pile of journals. My shoes may have been lost to the black hole under the bed. Did my jacket even make it through the bedroom door?

It does not matter. 

How could any of that matter when you are here, your cheek resting on my bare shoulder, hand splayed across my chest, over my heart.

You are beautiful. Is that the right word? Hard to think right now. But I'll try. I need to try and remember every moment, from the grip of your hand on mine as we fled the ballroom, impatient and eager to get away, to your nightingale laughter as we ran through the halls. Your room, my room, hell the library would have served (although Comte would have WORDS about that one). Luckily, my room was closer.

We burst through the door. Lumière wisely chose that moment to flee, weaving between our stumbling legs and escaping through the closing the door like a shadow slipping into the night.

I kissed you. I cupped your face in my hands and drew you in like oxygen, felt your sighs seep through my skin and wrap around my bones.

I am good with my hands. Always have been. I unwrapped you con finezza, peeled you out of your layers, my mouth never losing contact with your skin.

And you, cara mia, were as nimble, as breathless as I was. My clothes fell away, shed like the petals of a plucked flower.

We fell onto the bed. Only a few papers needed to be shoved aside with impatient, hurried hands.

Hands. Yeah I remember hands.

I had the hands of an explorer, mapping my way across your body, finding every slope and dip, every hollow. Retracing the paths I had learned before, finding new directions to those destinations I longed for. No part of you was left untouched.

I had the hands of a sculptor, filling my palms with you, molding and pressing and coaxing to get what I wanted out of my medium. 

I had the hands of a musician and you were my bow, bending beneath me as I played, your music filling my ears.

I had the hands of an architect, building you a soft place to land in my arms as you came down from the heights we had chased each other to. My compagna. Carissima mia. 

And then, breathing hard, flushed with pleasure, you smiled at me. Open and radiant, your love spilling out of you, the sun cracked open. A smile whose warmth I could never capture correctly, not with all the shades of paint in the world. The opposite of the smile I am most remembered for.

Now, cocooned by the night and my bedsheets, I hold you close, your body draped over mine. My fingers trace a filigree over the soft skin of your shoulder. You study the shape of your fingers as they rest over my heart.

“Leonardo?”

“Mmm?” My eyes are heavy. Such is the peace you gift me with your presence.

“I love you.”

I feel it. The way I smile, unbidden, unburdened. The broken pieces of my heart are pieced back together, repaired with the gold of your love and your touch and your time, the time you have chosen to spend with me. 

“I love you too, cara mia.”

With you, I have found that part of me that was lost. I am complete. And even when your time with me ends, as it inevitably will, the memory of you, of us, will hold me together.

I will not break again.