#obviously this has some holes in it but STILL ITS A THEORY

[phoenixinthefiles]

Ok so as yall know I rewatched ATSV andddd

I HAVE A HYPOTHESIS….

ITS THE SPOT

(I know this probably isn’t an extraordinary take but I haven’t actually seen someone say it and I did come to this conclusion from just watching the movie so don’t insult my intelligence)

Ok so the whole dang movie Miles was saying, “It’s the Spot” and I think that was the writers kinda trying to foreshadow.

At Alchemax Spot told Miles he brought the e42 spider to e1610 and when Miguel was going off on his little tangent he brought how the spider wasn’t supposed to bite Miles (obvi)

And when Miles’ spider sense kicked im he saw Spot’s actions causing his dad to try and save that little girl. (“Spot does it”)

So my theory (yes I know I said hypothesis, juh vibe) is that when Spot brought the Spider to Earth-1610 he obviously disrupted canon, but all Miguel’s talk about Miles’ dad having to die isn’t necessarily true. Because SPOT DOES IT

I know that’s not easy to follow but stay with me, SPOT brought the spider to this universe, SPOT disrupted the “canon” for Miles universe, SPOT is the one trying to take everything from Miles and kill his dad, so SPOT is the key to everything (I sound like a recluse who’s a conspiracist, not too far off from reality😭)

Basically I think Miguel is wrong, because the problem in the universe he destroyed was created by him. He was the one who went and disrupted canon there but in the other canon disruptions we see the chaos was started by Spot.

Because in Pavitr’s universe, Spot was the reason for the Triangle of the Alchemax building (AHHHHHHHHHHHH, I just took a break to jump around my room cus this connection just came to me, am I a genius?)

OKAY SO Pavitr’s canon event was Inspector Singh’s death but if Spot hadn’t shown up and used the collider then the Alchemax triangle would’ve never fallen and hit the bridge AND INSPECTOR SINGH WOULDN’T HAVE TRIED TO SAVE THE LITTLE GIRL

WHICH ALL GOES BACK TO SPOT BRINGING THE SPIDER TO 1610 AND THE SPIDER BITING MILES AND THE COLLIDER GIVING SPOT HIS HOLES ANDDD AHHHHHHH

I AM A GENIUS

(If BTSV comes out and I’m completely off the mark I’m gonna be so shame😭😭😭)

[creachiergh]

guys, guys, guys. jax isn't an npc; he's a game dev/mod who got trapped in the circus.

i'm sure someone has already put forth this theory, but with the series still being in its early stages, it's hard to say exactly which direction it's going. while i don't think the npc theory is bad, i think it lacks a foundation and is more so the fandom's attempt to justify jax's moral greyness or give him depth where there currently isn't any. i just wanted to share some of my own thoughts about what his deal might be.

firstly, his design, which is honestly just my own speculation but bear with me. i know goose made some jokes about his clothes being farmer's overalls, but when i look at him, i almost get mechanic vibes? like if he wasn't such a prick, he'd be in charge of fixing any bugs that crop up during the adventures, which is pretty much what a moderator does.

speaking of which, he has keys to all the rooms, which is already pretty sketchy in itself, but it makes sense if you consider that he helped make the circus. naturally, he'd have them on hand in case he needed to access any areas of potential danger. to me, it's a bit like having cheat codes, which definitely gives him an upper hand above the other circus members. (but again, it's not like he's ever going to do his job.)

there's also the "figurine thing," which is probably either a throwaway joke or a thinly-veiled attempt at foreshadowing the npcs-- since their models resemble figurines-- but it's still worth noting. if we assume that the "figurine thing" is referring to the npcs-- which it probably isn't, but again, bear with me-- then it shows just how much jax knows about the circus. as far as i remember, none of the other characters have ever brought up the outside of the map, but obviously, if jax made the game, he's going to know its layouts and inner workings like the back of his hand. i won't go so far as to say he's all-knowing, but i'm sure he knows a lot more than he lets on, and i have a feeling we're going to see that in later episodes.

if he really can predict caine's adventures and whatnot, since he designed them, it explains why he's so unfazed by everything that happens at the circus, from zooble getting taken by the gloinks to running into the gloink queen. the only time he really seems to be surprised is when the game glitches-- when the one gloink started bugging out, when kaufmo abstracted, etc.

i think the mod theory explains jax's personality and motivations. when he first arrived at the circus, there might've been a time when he acted more responsibly, fixing all the bugs, trying to stop the abstractions, etc. he could've been caine's right-hand at keeping everything under control. but maybe he slowly gave up these responsibilities when he realized that people were going to get abstracted no matter what, as we can see from the crossed-off doors in the pilot. it's very possible that he became consumed by his mod privileges when he began acting more recklessly and faced zero repercussions for his actions. essentially, he's a step above everyone else in terms of knowledge, awareness, and grants of power-- probably just below caine on the power ladder, though pomni could also rival him as she comes to learn more about the circus. depending on how jax uses his abilities, he could either help everyone find the exit or slowly lead them towards abstraction, and given what goose has said about the future of the series, it's not looking very optimistic for anyone involved.

but what do i know? this theory could be completely nonsensical and riddled with plot holes. i just like to hyperanalyze jokes 🥲

[morallygreychaoticneutral]

Astarion was not a "corrupt" magistrate.

Hello again. Just more opinion about my favorite battle buddy. Warning, trigger words in use. Game spoilers.

It's not quite set in stone that Astarion really was a magistrate, but we are going to go with the idea he was for this thought pocket. Also this is just game as it is now info use.

I don't believe he was corrupt magistrate. There were a few things in the game that called that out, but one in particular really set it in stone for me.

His response to the Ansur lair puzzle regarding justice.

Astarion: “Mercy?! Please. Justice should be a harsh lesson. All the better to deter the next vagabond.”

This makes me think he was a bit of a hard ass as a magistrate, but not corrupt. Had he been dealing dirty in the background I really feel like this answer would have been more dismissive or flippant. But he is pretty intent that this is his stance. Very, iv said this a thousand times, type feel.

I think, he was more of a by the book, law is law type. You murder and rape you swing from the gallows. You steal from a shop keeper, you do time. Period.

My theory is, he got beat up because he wasn't lenient with a member of the Gur that was on trial.

"Leniency?! You have been found guilty of negligence resulting in the death of a innocent! You are owed nothing!"

Could you hear it?

"But he talks about being hedonistic and indulgent all the time. "

Yes, but most patriar level citizens were spoiled entitled brats that did what they desired. Have you talked to some of them in the upper city? Yeeesh.

Was he arrogant? Most likely. Prejudice? Obviously (insert gnomes here). But being a haughty jerk does not make one evil.

Sex, nudity, orgies, parties, over indulging etc are not taboo in Faerun. If everybody is consenting to be being naked in a fountain, hopefully in a private villa garden, its not a crime. He talks about that like its a memory, but I like to think his wine drunk giggly ass was actually in that fountain.

If you want to have a little rabbit hole fun, break down the name. Faerun = Fae Run = Run by the Fae. And last I checked, fairies were always down for some naked in the water time. I mean, come on, you can go to pound town with a bear. (No offence, Halsin.) You think they are going to draw the line at how may wieners you can have in the same pot? I think not.

I think the criminal behavior came after he was turned. Cazador may have been targeting him, but not because they were involved. But maybe due to him looking like his old master Vellioth? And he took advantage of a situation. Who knows, lots of ideas there.

"But he's always getting onto Tav for doing the "right" thing."

Yup, Tav is being too trusting and getting too involved with other peoples problems. Why is this an issue for Astarion? Kindness was what got him entombed for a year. He cared about that sweet mans life and was severally punished for it. Its akin to being mauled by a dog and then watching people just reach out a pet every one they see. The anxiety of that attack is still there and it paints every encounter with its opinion. Danger.

"He's not smart enough."

Oh I bet he is. You can be whip smart at a subject and socially akward at the same time. I'm very good at my job. I know it inside and out and can give you any detail, rule, configuration at the drop of a hat in the most professional and proficient way possible. But ask me to be eloquent in a social situation? HA! You are better off asking a rock to fart. Unrelated.

"But he wants to ascend, and that's evil."

That is more about who is is after years of torment and abuse. Not before.

I think the rogue role was adopted to stay alive while hunting. And what a gods awful fate to be turned into the thing you hated the most. A criminal.

I'm sure Caz was real tickled by that. Expletive Adjective.

[absurdumsid]

I need info on saejun an you obviously know him better than me, so can i have you favorite hcs, theories (how he joined the mtt), or interactions on him w/ the mtt :)

OF COURSE U CAN !! so sorry, it took me a bit to compile all of this from my older notes aaaa have a compensation doodle bc i took SOO long GHGHHHGH

anyway saejun nation pspspspss

saejun !! THE beloved if u will

he regularly speaks korean but learned english after meeting nightmare and killer

i love to think he's very very strong, he can beat the mtt in a fistfight kind of strong (not like he would, but he'd win)

he can cook decently but he'd choose his brother's cooking any day (even if pilsu is still um learning)

he also really likes spicy dishes !! he bonds over that with dust !

he'd forgive ppl who steal from the farm but he wouldn't forgive harming the crops

he HATES pesticides (i think this is canon actually) but also really hates strong smells in general

sleepy 24/7 he lays in the grass to photosynthesize (he just passes out, pilsu wakes him almost every time)

probably knows a lot of offhand herbology/biology trivia (he can explain the aerobic and anaerobic cycle by heart)

his general attitude toward the mtt/bad sanses is not to pry unless they're the ones who open up to him (even now he only rlly learns about their situations through nightmare who doesn't talk that much about it anyway)

he accepts mtt with open arms and its that accepting (almost forgiving) nature that makes them so super attached to him !!

for me, it's the concept of meeting a version of yourself that lives the most peaceful life and being happy for him, but ALSO not being shunned by that alternate version for being violent and hurting the people that you both love

as for how saejun met mtt, my general interpretation of it is that nightmare struck a deal with saejun for food supplies in exchange for manual labour (so mtt and nightmare help a lot with the harvests! the only ones who really know about it is pilsu, saejun, anseung, and suggu)

killer // 고통씨 (Mr. Misery/Grief)

saejun meets killer first and was the only one helping around the farm

i don't think saejun would be the type to pry into their pasts so he doesn't question killer about himself or anything

killer is the one who opens up to him one stormy night after a stage 3 episode where he holed himself up in the shed and saejun found him cold, shaking, and curled up embracing himself

he calms killer down and tells nightmare abt it and that's how he finds out about killer's past (he doesn't bring it up, but he's always there to help killer after his panic attacks)

he likes to do the chores with killer most of the time just in case he has a run in with chorongi or suggu (the kids are very silly and tend to mess with him and he doesn't know how killer is with children)

they photosynthesize together and sometimes nightmare just comes to get killer in the evening and finds them in the grass

horror // 취급주의 (Handle with Care) or 주주씨 (Mr. Vermillion)

he meets horror second (after he gets kidnapped by nightmare) and saejun isn't really scared of him because he figured that he probably has some hidden issues like killer

saejun thought horror was really fragile at first (because he was very thin and had a skull injury) so he actually had him do mostly little chores like going to the market or gathering eggs from the chickens

after a few months killer doesn't come in (was sent to a mission somewhere else) and saejun needs someone to handle the heavy hay bales (<- he could've done it himself but hes lazy) and horror just kinda Does It and surprises saejun

he starts to depend on horror more and actually admits that he was underestimating him out of concern for his wellbeing and horror says its ok because he was also underestimating saejun (until he saw him carry killer AND a bunch of crops home that one time)

they start to cook together and do the heavier chores (while making silly jokes abt killer) together

horror starts to learn korean by talking with dorihye, saejun, and pilsu as well as asking nightmare for some reading material ! (after finding out that dust also speaks korean, he starts practicing conversation with him !)

dust // 유골씨 (Mr. Ashes)

saejun's meeting with dust was noooot planned at all, nightmare just kinda forced mtt into a portal to farmtale during one of errors visits

horror mostly stayed with dust at first who was just dead silent and stayed in one spot (saejun asked if he wanted any drinks and it took ten excruciating seconds before horror had to answer water for him)

its not until pilsu comes into the house and greets killer and horror and makes a remark about a new brother that he starts to actually talk

dust doesn't exactly warm up to pilsu and more like forces himself to because pilsu starts to ask him what his favourite pasttimes are, his favourite food, if he wants any snacks, etc (killer and horror went through the same thing)

dust eventually gets carried off to the kitchen to cook with pilsu and that's how pilsu finds out dust speaks fluent korean even though they have different dialects

saejun goes into the kitchen and has a little talk with dust (where he learns they both speak korean !! and that that's why dust wasn't speaking that much !) and they bond over pilsu's silliness (dust talks about how his papyrus also loved to cook etc etc, saejun notices that its in past tense but doesn't dig any deeper)

dust eventually starts to visit farmtale with horror frequently to exchange makguksu and ramyeon recipes with pilsu !!

dust is also relatively close with dorihye, anseung, and suggu who tend to remark that "the other saejuns dont really talk much" to which horror always chuckles

that's all (for now) !! TYSM FOR ASKING ABT MY BLORBOS BGHGHRGRHG

[bluemoondust]

Hello! May I req about reader attempting to piss off/surprise attack Dazai (BSD) so that he would kill them please? Just one character, and in scenarios would be fitting i think or it can be up to you. Thanks!

✧Attempting to Provoke Him✧ — Dazai Osamu

First time writing for Dazai, so hope this is good!

Warning(s): Talk of Suicide and Death (Thanatos Theory), Hints of Manipulation

Currently Playing: Two Breaths Walking (Reloaded) cover by Rachie

"Hey,

What are you living off of?

Who is it that drives you to go on?

Who is it that you think of?

Have you learned all of the words to say?"

It seems like you're under the influence of Thanatos. The desire of death; your untimely demise.

Something all too familiar with Dazai. However, his approach to the concept is different from yours. Well at least, in terms of how you'd like your end to be. His own methods have changed, but oh...some things just stay the same even after years have passed.

He thinks about how empty you must feel. What drove such a hole into that heart of yours in order to cause this need to have your short life ended. He'll find out that answer eventually; he always figures it out in the end. It's futile to even try to hide your true reasoning behind it. The kicker of it all being that you wish for Dazai to be the one to cut your life abruptly.

Something was wrong with this. No human being would want to commit a death that is by the hands of someone else. They'd rather do it by their own hand; to feel that sweet sense of control they never had in their lives. Why do you want someone to kill you? Well no matter, it is something he'll find out. He knows too well you won't give an answer. No person is ever honest when it comes to their darkest emotions.

Your attempts to annoy/surprise him, amuse Dazai greatly and he never takes them seriously...on the surface. He simply plays along and laughs like it's all a joke. Treats it like a game. "Oh! Nice try~ You'll have to be more stealthy than that!" Your actions are met with head pats or affectionately pinching your cheeks. You're adorable. Just like that silly little head of yours to even believe you can achieve what you want.

Those methods are in vain as he can clearly tell its you ever time you try to catch him off guard. You think just because these methods are a clear plead to be killed, they would actually give you what you want? Oh, you're naive. Dazai had already known your intentions. Everyone else could assume you are being silly, but he knows better. He's seen the glint in your eyes when you approach him with a new scheme. He's seen it before.

You're his darling after all. He knows you more than you know yourself. You want to know what does piss him off? That you want to leave this world on your own. Without him. Dazai internally scoffs at your attempts to ignite a strong reaction out of him, but they still amuse him as said before.

So let's get things straight, you are not going to receive what you desire, darling. Well, at least, not on your terms. One, you're not dying until Dazai decides it's time and two, it will be in the form of a double suicide. In order for that to be, you have to be on the same page as him. Don't worry though, Dazai has that all figured out. You'll eventually come around to the idea if you're initially against it. Wouldn't you rather see the experience of pure bliss on your beloved's face before you go? It's better than seeing resentment.

For now, you're obviously a danger to yourself, aren't you? It seems like you're at a point in your life where you simply have no control over it. The reins are no where to be found; hands feebly trying to grasp them. Someone else has to grab them for you. Whether you want it or not, that hole in your heart will be filled...with him. Dazai will make you see him as your reason to live. The absolute control over your life.

He smiles at the thought of it. What a lovely thing to think of. It will not remain just a thought though, as he plans to make that a reality. He will commend you, despite how foolish your efforts are, you certainly gave Dazai something interesting to work with. Things were going to be simple, but now a bump in the road is present. Even if it is a minor one. You're making things easier, but the good kind.

Challenging your perspective will be fun. Making you question what you initially believed will be a joy. Your original reason for the desire of death will change and Dazai will look forward to that. He looks forward to seeing you look at him like he's your lifeline.

"From today you’ll be the air I breathe

your breath is everything in me

The "I love you's" we tried to say

That we screwed up, but not today"

[rooniper]

The inevitable Ralph Lore Masterpost

Here it comes. After my second re-read and a week of talking about this fictional cringefail tragic girl dad to anyone who would listen, here it finally is, because I felt a need to write all of this down for future reference and also because I am very close to exploding at any given second of the day.

Also: do keep in mind some of this is my personal speculation/theories/ramblings and probably not canon, but I did try to stick to just the book as much as possible. This is not a coherent essay. Really, it’s a word vomit because I can’t stop thinking about the funny Phone Man. I still probably missed some things, feel free to chime in in the replies, might make a Part 2 unpacking some of the lore/non-Ralph related bits in the future who knows.

Anyways, in no particular order (AND OBVIOUSLY; SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT):

Pre-Freddy’s Era Details I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else (Or: Upbringing, College and some Coppelia’s Mom Speculation)

There’s not much info about Ralph’s childhood from what I could gather, except two things: he was bullied in school to the point where he had to hide in a locked bathroom stall to get away from his classmates, and his father was a major a-hole who had extremely high expectations for him and also used to scare him out of wanting to play hide-and-seek with him which. Goddamn. The quote “all your life you’ve gotten used to not pushing buttons” really, really doesn’t help the horrible parents allegations. So yeah the man has daddy issues, jot that down.

Expanding on the previous point: a lot of his parenting of Coppelia seems to be directly influenced by his own upbringing. The paragraph-long tangent about how he’s purposefully awful at hide-and-seek because he never wants Pel to feel as scared as he did is an obvious example, but he also brings her gifts from work pretty much constantly (and sidenote: he thinks of taking things from his job that he never breaks the rules at to bring to her all the goddamn time, while being actively hunted by murderous animatronics. That’s so goddamn wholesome I’m sorry even when he’s scared out of his mind he’s constantly thinking of her). He never puts her down the way it’s implied he was put down as a child, he seems really supportive of her hobbies by the way he talks about her reading. I have more to say about his parenting skills, but the fact that he’s terrified of becoming like his own father/parents seems to be a giant part of them.

He’s a college dropout who majored in psychology, aiming to specialize in child psychology, which makes so much sense but also I find incredibly ironic considering he later exhibits very VERY obvious signs of what’s probably PTSD and doesn’t clock it at all. But that is also going to be its separate point, put a pin in that.

It’s not just implied, but pretty explicitly stated by Ralph himself that he’s a massive overachiever. He was probably pretty academically successful in college, considering he mentions it was a surprise to most people that he’d drop out to get into security work. It’s pretty strongly implied this was mostly because he was pressured into succeeding by his parents. My man has that helicopter parents burnout syndrome, and escaped it by going into a job where he could still interact with kids like he wanted to as a psychologist but actually be happy, and that means a lot to me actually.

(Very important sidenote, because I don’t know where else to put this: the fact that his real dream job is to make children’s toys is just so real to me, especially as someone who’s also experienced academic burnout. It makes so much sense for him to want to do something with his hands where he can create something tangible after being pushed into being traditionally ‘successful’ in academia by his environment. Also put a pin in this as well because I have another point to make about the whole toymaker thing)

He seems to be at least low-contact with his family, which is understandable from what we know about his father - I’d say it’s likely he even cut contact completely after dropping out of college. The fact that he never mentions his parents as a possibility when he talks about babysitting options, or the fact that he doesn’t even consider them taking care of Coppelia when he is literally about to die seems pretty telling to me. I mean, alternatively, they could both be dead, depending on how old Ralph is, but since Coppelia’s only eleven that seems a bit unlikely.

Coppelia’s mom is a mystery. There is exactly one mention of her in this entire book and it doesn’t come from Ralph, but from Pel, so we know she does in fact exist but that’s about it. When Ralph talks about parenting Coppelia he never mentions her mom, even as far back as when Coppelia was one year old. They probably divorced when Coppelia was really young, and Ralph likely has full custody, since he never mentions Coppelia going to her mother’s for the weekend or anything like that. And that’s all we know.

Freddy’s and Related Tidbits (Or: I Stuffed Everything Related to his Relationship to Fazbear Entertainment in this Section)

He’s worked at Freddy’s for at least eleven years, because he mentions Coppelia being a month old when he already had the job and recorded his first training tape. If FNAF 1 indeed takes place in 1993, that means he was already working at Freddy’s by 1982 and likely earlier. Which, side-tangent, would imply that either Fredbear’s Family Diner was removed enough from Fazbear Entertainment by then for him not to know anything beyond the vague existence about the bite of ‘83, or that FNAF 1 takes place after 1993. But at this point the timeline is confusing enough that who knows.

He’s never moved up to management despite being there for more than a decade, also doesn’t appear to know Henry or William (especially if you believe the whole Dave-is-probably-William theory).

He was employee of the month 22 times. He also likely competed against his murderer ex-boss in disguise for the longest employee of the month award streak which is the best goddamn thing I’ve ever heard.

He’s written some of the rules at Freddy’s. Because of course he has.

He leaves passive-agressive notes to the dayshift guard and also thinks about shoving a ballpoint pen in the cleaning staff’s faces. And also talks about reporting people for slacking off. What I’m trying to say that he’s probably not the most popular of people with the rest of the staff, and doesn’t appear to realize why that could possibly be. Worst enemy of folks who don’t want to take their shitty minimum wage job extremely seriously.

On a related note, he takes his job so seriously oh my god. He does like twenty other jobs each night while the animatronics are trying to kill him. He’s probably the only person still doing reports. Management is very much implied to never read them. He writes them anyway. The fact that he was genuinely called ‘the Phone Guy’ and also was in training videos is also amazing (and also pushes the Trans Phone Guy agenda for anyone who considers Kim from the FNAF movie to be a stand-in for him).

This is specifically night-shift related: While it’s true that his survival instincts are absolutely shot, he is, when pushed, demonstrated to be capable of extreme violence against animatronics, which actually good for him. He kicks Bonnie’s head off. He beats Chica to death with a mop. He shoots Foxy with a watergun and also throws a lightbulb at him. This is not particularly important to anything but it’s extremely important to me.

Anyways, he’s really, really loyal to this company. Like, too loyal. Like, he was very much responsible and instrumental in shutting down rumors and speculation among staff after the bite of ‘87 and likely after the MCI as well too loyal. He’s management’s mouthpiece for their dirty work and that makes me feel a certain way because it’s so obvious he cares a lot about this shitty kids’ restaurant, enough that he’d defend it at all cost even when there’s so much evidence against it. This will come up again when I talk about him gaslighting himself.

This is mostly me speculating on the previous point, but I’m pretty certain a lot of his defending of the company is also a coping mechanism that he uses to grapple with the trauma brought to him by the fact that he’s spent a huge chunk of his life working for a conglomerate that’s gotten people killed. He genuinely insinuates Jeremy was responsible for getting chomped, because he must’ve done something wrong, the animatronics would never attack anyone without reason (right?). When he talks about how the media blew children going missing out of proportion, it seems less like he believes it and more like he doesn’t want to believe it - especially considering he’s only brought Coppelia to Freddy’s once in her life. He never lets her near it. He shuts her down immediately when she talks about working at it. Which, at least to me, demonstrates that on a subconscious level, he knows what he’s saying isn’t true. It’s just easier to say it than face the facts.

And lastly, he’s so clearly and passionately loyal to the Fazbear’s franchize. This fucker genuinely loves working here and is sad to go, even though management treats him like shit. We already knew that, but still, dear god those people could not care less if he lived or died and he STILL takes his night guard duties so goddamn seriously. He’s so clearly really invested in it, he talks about what a magical place Freddy’s used to be for kids, he talks about how much the job means to him, all the while it’s actively trying to kill him, he defends it to the point that it’s actively ridiculous, and in multiple endings he still gets blackmailed, disappeared or worse by the people he’s defending. And- I don’t know. It just makes me really sad. Again, I do believe his over-the-top enthusiasm for his job is probably him compensating for the fact that he doesn’t want to face the incredibly traumatic stuff happening to him, especially because as the week goes on, he gets less and less enthusiastic with every night, and just- Yeah. Fazbear Entertainment doesn’t deserve him.

Characterization, Diction and Things Like That (Or: Everything Else)

Let’s get the more positive stuff in this section out of the way first: we already knew this from the phone calls, but the way this man talks just sends me. “Time to make the donuts” when walking into a shift my favorite of his Phone-Guy-isms, but also unironically saying “oh boy!” and “what rotten luck!” right when you’re about to die is equally important to me.

Kind of related but not really: this man truly is a dad through and through because MY GOD the amount of bad puns and/or stupid references he makes is criminal. The fact that they get him actually killed in some of the endings because he keeps laughing at his own terrible jokes is also great. My favorite examples include thinking “my, what large ears you have” immediately before Foxy mauls him, the Irony Curtain, the how many night watchmen does it take to change a lightbulb, and so on. The fact that he also finds all of this absolutely hilarious means so much to me. Ralph truly is a cringefail girl dad, RIP to him he would’ve loved those awful shirts with puns that were popular with dads going to Disneyland in the 2000s.

Not gonna lie, and I’m not sure if this is just me reading too much into it, but he also reads as at least slightly neurodivergent to me. And I am ready to die on that hill. He doesn’t really seem to be the best at social interaction or with figuring people out, from the way he talks about not being able to tell if his coworkers are only laughing at his jokes to be polite or not and how he doesn’t seem to understand why they would be upset with him shoving minimal errors in their faces. He notices a single hat out of place in one of the Party Rooms and immediately goes to correct it. He makes a point about how much he hates messes and the whole “you need order, you crave order in your life” quote resonated so deeply with me that it’s uncanny. He’s a “stickler for rules”. The fact that he worked at one place for eleven plus years also makes me think he’s probably not the best with change. I could go on. I don’t know, I wouldn’t be able to tell you why, but I just can’t see him as fully neurotypical.

He’s also just a really curious dude, to the point of his curiosity overriding his survival instincts. Which is a horror protagonist trope if I’ve ever seen one. The scene where he lifts up a strange robot cupcake he just found directly to his face with zero hesitation is just. Yeah.

He loves Foxy, which we already knew, but also the fact that he explicitly states that he’s still scared of him and Pirate Cove by association makes me kinda sad. Also, related point, he’s a self-proclaimed fan of pirate stories, so I’m pretty sure that’s where Coppelia gets her taste in books from, but that’s besides the point.

In general, he just really loves the animatronics, too? Like he waves at them after his shift. Like I already mentioned, he talks about how much they mean to him, and how much he loves the fact that they brought joy to kids. It’s kinda sweet.

The most questionable thing about him is the way he. Uh. Talks about guns/cops in a way that kind of makes me remember he was raised in Utah around the 1960s. There are a few specific passages that make me extremely concerned about what his opinion on the second amendment is. But that is luckily left unspoken so I’ll be moving along.

The job stresses him out so much he consumes a packet of raw poptarts because he’s so hungry by the end of it. Which, while iconic, is also very deeply concerning. Which brings me to my biggest point

My god this man has Trauma. So much Trauma. He represses so much. The entirety of the beginning of Night 3 is just him describing that he forgets details about his shifts as soon as he leaves them. He gaslights himself constantly that nothing bad is happening (after Night 1, for example, he calls the entire shift the night before a bad dream and convinces himself he’s just “misinterpreting” events, which is goddamn concerning), but he’s also actively wasting away despite telling himself he’s not (my man looks into the mirror and his only and first comment is that he looks terrible). Not to mention the dissociation. He spaces out when he comes home on two seperate occassions, and loses and entire hour each time without realizing it. God I hope in the endings where he survives he eventually gets therapy.

Coppelia and Life Outside of Work (Or: This Section is Concerningly Short)

This man loves his daughter so goddamn much. So, so much.

No but seriously the interactions between him and Coppelia are so pure and well written and they were my favorite part of the book, somehow, even though I wasn’t originally sold on the concept. The “with what?” “excellent point, I’ve got nothing” kills me still. The scene where Coppelia curls up next to him after he comes home from his shift makes me want to sob. He makes her pancakes and they banter and she test limits but it’s obvious she also loves her dad, and that is- AAAAAA

Back to my bullshit, though: Ralph does kinda read as the type of parent who’d spoil a kid rotten if given the opportunity to do so. At some point Coppelia directly says that he “gets her everything she wants”, and- yeah. This is similar to the point I made previously about him bringing her gifts all the time. She does seem like a good kid, though. He’s just a girl dad to the extent that he’d probably wear a shirt with girl dad written on it, you know?

He’s also really protective of her. And worries. A lot. Not just when he calls home or rushes home to check on her, but also when he talks about being a security guard at her school and whenever he forbids her from ever ever going near Freddy’s. Say what you will about him defending a company to a possibly unethical extent, but he’s not about to endanger his daugher over it, and I respect that.

The only concering thing about him and Coppelia is the fact that Coppelia apparently drew herself stabbing him when she was little. Which is. Well. Not ideal. The fact that he finds this completely normal is very in character, though.

On Coppelia by herself, though: the fact that she ‘tinkers with stuff in the basement’ concerns me. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if after the canon ending, she ends up to be a technician at Freddy’s at some point. Also, the fact that she’s a gamer warms my heart.

Now, on other outside-work activities: I love the implication that my man not only bowls and always pays for dinner, but that he bowls and pays for dinner while dining with his serial killer ex-boss. God, that’s awesome, I love that so much.

Tying back to a point I made previously and also to a point I saw some people make that I really, really resonated with: there are actually a lot of parallels between Henry/William and Ralph, especially concering parenting. I don’t think the fact that his dream to be a toymaker is accidental, either, or the fact that he goes out of his way to point out that he wants to make toys that aren’t at all mechanical. Because even though he’s also a dad trying to make his kid happy with his creations, unlike William and/or Henry, he doesn’t want to make anything bigger than himself, or anything innovative; just wants to make simple things and make a kid’s day better. I don’t know man keeps me up at night, you know?

And, because this is only important to me: he owns a Kit-Cat Clock. This is somehow the most fitting thing I could’ve read about his taste in home decor.

And because I don’t know how else to end this: that’s a wrap! Was this book perfect? Hell no. The Bronwen plotline makes my brain hurt. But was it incredibly fun? Oh hell yes. And now I have a reference point for any future writings I do where Ralph is an active character, so that’s a major bonus. I have many thoughts but not enough time to put all of them down so I’m stopping here, major thanks to @graceandtheidiotsquad for pushing me over the edge and making me actually finish this with a reply lmao. And that’s all! Phone Man please get out of my head now before I go insane.

[skykidsam]

Study of Sky's Colored Lights

This was honestly more confusing than I anticipated and I may need help.

The Season of Enchantment lights - source: Sky Wiki

Urchins at geyser - orange; mix of orange and blue or cyan in water (they look cyan but their trails look more blue)

Clams: blue

Turtle toots: cyan or green (looks more greenish, but the streak when you collect looks cyan)

Treasure Reef eel: blue or cyan

Not pictured:

The candle in the tunnel at the bottom of Crescent Lake has a blue light.

All dark plants burn orange.

The trail attaching a skykid to a manta is purple

The lights in the habitats you collect them for Enchantment

The lights and how some relate to the Trials

The lights and how they may appear throughout the Aurora concert or any of the questline

Potential examples of the lights in the Nine-Colored Deer quests

Lights in the clouds of the Wind Paths (were they cyan? I don't remember)

What we know:

Blue light clarifies water

Cyan light creates wind

Green light acts as a fertilizer

Orange light restores light and life

What's unclear:

Purple seems to represent some spiritual or magical connection. The wiki's blurb on purple goes like this: "Players are told that the Spirits now pray for Purple Light, and that 'it is said they hoard ancient secrets'. Upon returning the Light, the Doze (Snoozing Carpenter) Spirit uses it to decorate the Ark in colorful tassel-adorned tents, draped tapestries, hanging lamps and drifting bunting lines. Day turns into night; a crescent moon now glistens through one of the holes in the clouds, drenching the area in an enchanting moonlit glow." Its use is vague and hard to put to words in a broader context.

Red. The first light in Enchantment we're asked to find, and the only light we see in two different parts of the map (other than the regular golden-white light we collect throughout the realms for dailies). The quest quote goes, "This Spirit longs for Red Light. They can be found where darkness prevails." The wiki states, "A cutscene shows you giving the Red Light to the Nodding Muralist who uses the light to illuminate the murals painted on the ark. The murals remain permanently visible after the quest is done." Obviously it represents darkness, but did it have a use? Does it just fly around aimlessly or is there an environmental impact? How does it accumulate? (Tbh, how do any of these accumulate?)

How are these lights formed?

My current theory:

Orange: regular light + extreme heat/fire

Blue: regular light + extreme cold/ice

Cyan: regular light + steam

Green: regular light + plants and/or animal waste

Purple: regular light + meditation and intent

Red: any light + darkness

Looking for collaboration to gain more information and potentially create a more coherent theory, please and thank you!

What's needed:

More photos of the lights pictured with different lighting, backgrounds, with and without trails

Pictures of the Crescent Lake candle and Wind Path cloud lights

Pictures of examples of the lights in Enchantment, Prophecy, Aurora, and Nine-Colored Deer

Maybe someone to take various color samples (once we have enough of them) and see if we can solve which colors are which out in the wild

Help seeing if there's anything I missed (bc I'm still relatively new and almost certainly missed something)

[petarabbit2]

Realistic Deuce Spade + Headcanons

Deuce Spade + Realistic artwork done with Art Breeder and edited in Clip Art Studio:

Ready to meet the goodest boy? I am. (always)

Sidenote: When headcanoning Deuce and all my other characters I take both factual and some of my personal thoughts/beliefs of the character to construct my headcanons.

Back to my rendition, I didn't give deuce any flaws necessarily (moles, acne, freckles, etc.) since I can not picture deuce with bad skin and he just seems like he tries to keep himself tidy and neat after being accepted into NRC. (Even if he did have a bit, after his change in behaviour he would try to fix it to again look more tidy and put together).

However, it's not shown in the art since it's not to that level of detail but he has a couple of past holes in his ears from piercings and he has a reverse tramp stamp above his yk yk from his rebellious days. How’d he got it without being of age? Idk really but probs a fake ID or something. Anyways it's just a simple design I chose from pinterest which i'll draw him with someday but it's basically just a spikey sorta design?? Idk how to describe it.

I also made this deuce half asian, Japanese to be precise, as I have seen a lot of people headcanon it, plus it makes sense to the extent that a sign of rebellion in Japanese households is dying hair which deuce mentions he did back in middle school.

For his features, Deuce has hooded eyes, a bit thinner and higher eyebrows, a straight nose that is upturned at the end, sorta longer eyelashes and an upside down triangle face shape, most of this is taken from his character model but taking some liberties to make the cast more diverse in terms of appearance.

For his body its a trapezoid shape so wider shoulders and a smaller waist, however he has pretty muscular legs (from track and field) and I’m caking my boy up 🫡. He has just regular size hands and feet but slightly longer fingers.

Aw yes, another slight british accent, sorry not sorry 🤭 – used to use heavy slang but stopped after getting accepted into NRC but it slips out here and there.

Without & With Face Makeup:

Personality and backstory headcanons + a bit of character analysis:

Deuce, like Ace, is one of the first characters/friends we meet in the game, he is presumed to be a very sensible and hardworking student (which he does try very hard to be) but always ends up getting himself into trouble. We later learn of his past as a delinquent which we can connect to his still aggressive nature towards hostile people who threaten him or his friends. I haven't seen much extreme mischaracterisation of Deuce personally because he's an extremely hard character to mischarcterise as the game is very straight forward with his presentation and past.

But diving deeper into his character we can discover why he's the way he is. Its cannon that his parents are split with his father completely out of the picture, and we never hear of a grandfather (maybe due to another divorce or death) so he grew up around all women which in theory is great for a boy since they learn all about how exactly to care for them but can also be straining.

Even if Deuce loved his mother and vice versa, he still would have wanted a father figure, which could be why he became a delinquent. Obviously the other delinquents were either kids of his age or a bit older which were the only ones in his eyes that could maybe fill in that role as a father figure. I know it's canon he became a delinquent because of his slow learning, feeling the need to just not try at all but subconsciously, it could have meant more to him.

When he heard his mother on the phone crying about if she's raising him wrong, if she’s a bad mother, etc. it made Deuce realise what he's been doing, that he's been taking the easy way out of things. Even though he probably didn't (and still to this day) realise he was hanging around the older delinquents because he saw them as potential father figures. (help my boy plsssssssss)

We all already know Deuce is a big mama's boy, not the sharpest tool in the shed and can have a bit of a temper when provoked, I believe Deuce is also emotionally aware of his friends. Women are known to be the more emotionally aware and supportive gender stereotype, and with Deuce only being around them he must've found his foreground (we using the big english essay words) on being able to see when someone is upset and/or mad at him or something. Even though he may be able to see it he might be a bit awkward with the comfort as again, he's still an awkward teen. 

With deep conversations, he will try his absolute best to understand and will ask questions to further his knowledge on the topic even though he might not completely get it. He would never try to avoid or show immediate distaste for these conversations because he feels he really gets to know the type of person you are based on them (Ace learn something from Deuce). 

Deuce appreciates quality time with friends alot, and especially appreciates people he knows are there for him as well as those who he knows he could tell anything to and would never be judged. He probably had to fake things about his childhood and personality to his old delinquent friends and never really realised it until he got real supportive friends like Ace, Grim and Yuu.

My editor/assistant cause I can’t grammar or spell to save my life: @cyb3rpnnk 

SIDENOTE: DO NOT REPOST MY REALISTIC RENDITION OF DEUCE OR ANY OTHER CHARACTER I DO AS YOUR OWN. EVEN THOUGH THE BASE WAS MADE WITH AI IT IS STILL MY CREATION!

However you are permitied to use my headcanoing as your own for art or stories or whatever, just not my realistic rendition.

Also if you want realistic dating headcanons with the cast please leave a comment and I might do it! Btw if I do, these headcanons will be based on my normal headcanons of the characters.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Dybbuk - Day 131

Race: Spirit Alignment: Dark-Chaos October 21st, 2024

A lot of people think of Judaism as just being Christianity with a different coat of paint, at least in terms of the people I know IRL. Many of the unique ideas posited in it are rather brushed over, and while most people are aware of at least some of the differences between Islam and Christianity, most Atheists I know don't see many of the unique things that Judaism brings to the table. In my eyes that's a huge shame, though, as many unique figures and aspects of Jewish myth are incredibly interesting in their own rights. Of course, there's the Golem of Prague, perhaps the most famous Jewish story, but another incredibly interesting and unique rabbit hole has to be today's Demon of the Day, the Dybbuk- a ghost that latches onto and possesses those left behind in its life.

Put simply, a Dybbuk, also spelled Dibbuk, is a possessive spirit in the most literal sense, as it latches onto a person and enshrouds them, possessing them. A dybbuk is said to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, particularly being a ghost who was detached from its body and not given proper rest, instead banished to roaming the world by its lonesome. The spirit, one of a sinner, would then approach and attach itself onto a virtuous person, making them begin to act out in sinful ways as it'd possess them. Those gotten by a Dybbuk would begin to act out or have sinful thoughts, such as strong sexual urges and a desire to act out in counter-cultural or aberrant ways. This would continue up until the person who was possessed, who was always a young man, would be exorcised through a typically violent method. One could also drive a Dybbuk away from their home through hanging up a Mezuzah, or they could even apparently consult a psychiatrist about a Dybbuk to drive it away.

Now, this is a personal theory, but I think that a Dybbuk may be connected, in some way, to Puberty, as a way to explain it in a mythological context. The specific possession target almost always being a young man who was previously virtuous now having sexual thoughts and acting in out-of-tune ways does tie in with a lot of the effects of Puberty, after all. I don't see this discussed much anywhere, so I might just be talking out of my ass, but it's some food for thought in any case. In most communities, the Dybbuk is also used to talk about and refer to uncomfortable topics in a far more socially acceptable way- whether it be sexual or violent urges, either one would, and could be, explained by a Dybbuk's possession.

Dybbuk Possession is also said to be connected to forms of Hysteria; it's believed that many of the symptoms of a Dybbuk's presence are synonymous with hysteria, and as such, maybe the Rabbi who suggested consulting a psychiatrist was right. Still, Dybbuks have become a bit of a staple, even if not as much as the Golem or many Christian/Islamic figures. The idea of a ghost that wraps itself around someone is a very interesting and kinda terrifying one, and the design in SMT does this perfectly. The shroud of a specter with a human's face wrapping itself around a person is inspired while also, obviously, tying itself in with the general folkloric conception of the Dybbuk. Overall, a great design belonging to a very interesting topic- something SMT does well in all iterations.

[angels-heap]

I mentioned this in my post but what even happened to freemance in 2020?

Hoooo boy. To make a very long, very weird story as short as possible...

Prior to the Half Life: Alyx announcement and subsequent emergence of the Half Life VR But the AI is Self-Aware (HLVRAI) fandom in 2020, freemance was by far the dominant ship in the Half Life fandom. It seemed like most active fans at least passively shipped it, the vast majority of fanworks featured it in some capacity, and people who preferred other ships or didn't like freemance just... didn't like it. They didn't act like they needed a reason.

However, after the aforementioned events led to a huge surge of new Half Life fans, freehoun (Gordon/Barney) became much more popular, practically overnight, for some combination of the following reasons:

Lots of new Half Life fans were discovering the series via HLVRAI, where frenrey (Gordon/Benrey) was/is a popular ship. Some of these new HL fans essentially transposed their preferred frenrey dynamics into freehoun fanworks, often with very little knowledge of (or interest in) the HL games and the relevant lore.

Large fandom did what large fandoms do and gravitated towards shipping the two hottest white guys, regardless of context.

Old and new fans who enjoyed ships other than freemance became more active and creative when they were no longer in a minority.

And this was fine! A little annoying at times, but had it stopped there, we wouldn't still be talking about this. Alas, around mid-2020, a couple of kids (independently, as far as I can tell) wrote "callout posts" about freemance and its shippers in an effort to justify their personal tastes... and all hell broke loose. These posts, and the many, many posts that followed, relied heavily on the following argument:

Gordon has known Alyx since she was a small child (he hasn't) and may have even been a father/uncle/brother figure to her (he wasn't), which means pursuing 24-year-old Alyx romantically would make him a pedophile (it wouldn't) because he's been "grooming" her since she was a child (despite having been in stasis for approximately 83% of her life) and is obviously imagining her as a child every time they smooch (and they think we're the weirdos?). This means freemance shippers are also pedophiles because they condone this behavior (no), and also they are anti-feminist/homophobic/racist for shipping Alyx with a white man who's actually 47 years old (Gordon is canonically 27 in HL2) instead of shipping him with a man and her with a woman or not shipping her at all (despite the fact that Alyx is canonically attracted to Gordon).

If this sounds insane to you, it's because it is. This is an Olympics-worthy reach. They 100% pulled this whole theory out of their asses. But these posts picked up traction quickly, given that a large slice of the fandom had little to no knowledge of actual Half Life canon and really wanted a reason to dunk on freemance beyond "ew boring straight ship." It was like this awful game of fandom telephone, and the wildest part was that a lot of these kids (and yes, it was mostly kids) actually believed these accusations, despite having never seen or sought out any direct evidence of them.

For the following 6 months or so, freemance shippers faced relentless harassment -- death threats, doxxing threats, accusations of child sex crimes, etc. Here's the long post I was eventually forced to make about the situation, which includes several examples. Check out my ship discourse tag for more highlights if you want to go down the rabbit hole. Things settled down a bit after the original shit-stirrers left the fandom, but the harassment continued on and off for a couple of years and it still crops up every now and then.

It makes me so sad to remember all the cool people I met in early 2020 who ultimately left the fandom due to the harassment. The overall fandom vibe was so rancid that even people who didn't ship freemance just couldn't take it anymore. I've stuck around because Half Life is an enduring fixation for me (and out of spite), but the fandom lost a lot of amazing artists and writers and I hope they're all living their best lives out there.

I don't know how to end this post on a non-cheesy note so I'll just say it feels nice to finally refer to this whole thing (mostly) in the past tense and I am excited to see new folks joining the fandom who are unburdened by the Freemance wars. Live your dreams. :)

[shinxeysartgallery]

The Murder Drones brain worms got me in a chokehold rn

Anyway, I got thinking about the Solver again. Ever since Episode 2, it's been established that the Solver is capable of creating flesh out of seemingly nothing. And we also know since Episode 1 that Disassembly Drones (as well as Workers with the Solver) can regenerate any wounds inflicted on them as long as there's sufficient material for it to use.

The latter seems to imply that it's still abiding by the Laws of the Conservation of Matter - matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Makes sense; it took the materials in the area and transformed them into new body parts to repair damage. Nothing was created or destroyed in that regard. But then what about the flesh?

Episode 7 gave some interesting implications regarding that. We got to see a flashback where the Disassembly Drones were deployed to hunt down and devour humanity, even getting a little scene of V ripping off and swallowing some poor sap's arm and N drinking the blood out of some dude's neck. But here's the thing about that: those two particular humans that were explicitly shown being eaten obviously weren't the only ones that were killed and eaten by them. Much like with all living things, there's only so much room for food inside the body, which also applies to the Drones. Since they're robots, they obviously can't digest it or go shit it out later when they get full like a human or animal can, so where did all the blood and flesh they ate go?

In Episode 2, we see J's core teleport away in a black hole after N stabs it several times with his tail. We've also seen other instances of the Solver being able to teleport or open black holes/wormholes. We also know that all Disassembly Drones have a core like that inside of their bodies. Both Episode 2 and Episode 7 confirmed that the cores can act independently from its host body and still possess Solver abilities. So my theory is that their cores were teleporting the flesh and blood somewhere as it entered the Drones' bodies. Where exactly? It's hard to say, but likely to wherever the source of the Solver is. No, not Cyn, but whatever it was that originally possessed her. She was Patient Zero, but the Solver clearly existed before she woke up in the dumpster. Whatever its source is, that's likely where everything went. If it's still abiding by that scientific law mentioned before, then it explains how it's seemingly able to create it out of nothing - it's not; it's basically moving it from one place to another through use of wormhole magic when its powers are invoked. This also explains how the Disassembly Drones were able to consume what seemed to be an infinite amount of humans without them ever getting full.

(We know its very existence and its other behaviors still break several scientific laws, so this might be a moot point, but it's still interesting to think about!)

It also gives some more interesting implications to Cyn's comment about being hungry before jumping into the giant flesh pit to the center of the planet. Maybe the stuff was being teleported directly to the entity's stomach? And if that's the case, then that's maybe why the portals it makes are so fleshy? It's basically ripping a hole into the entity's stomach that's already full of flesh and blood from its previous kills.

Also as a side note, Episode 1 established that Disassembly Drones require them to drink oil every so often to keep from overheating - a symptom that also exists in Worker Drones with the Solver. We saw in Episode 4 that when Uzi used her Solver powers too much, she began to overheat and go a bit crazy until she was able to consume some oil. What if the Solver entity itself has something similar going on? We don't know what it's doing behind the scenes, after all. What if it's like those Drones, where it needs to consume blood and flesh to keep up its energy, much like how they need oil? If that's the case, Cyn's remark likely implies that it's used up a shit-ton of energy on something, which does not bode well for the future of Copper-9 or its inhabitants... (Or any other planets/exo-planets in that universe, for that matter.)

I'm probably over-analyzing stuff again, but still think it's interesting. lmao

[basslinegrave]

i was being a completely sane person today (/s) and was creating a timeline tree for snm would anyone even be interested in that. and collecting my shipping thoughts (or specifics about them being a couple etc). know that i still consider my knowledge of the franchise as poor. its just tidying it up in my head so when i talk about something i can pinpoint a specific thing (i was too deep in fnaf theorizing so now i have to suffer thru a franchise that doesnt even have a canon)

in short/tldr the comics are the base that happened in every possible timeline and everything else is derived from that, happening after, except the cartoon, which shows some events the same way so that would be more intertwined; not everything is connected/within one timeline. and the cartoon is my most fav and where i see them as a true couple.

long rant ahead

on one hand i really like the time travel theory where its like comics -> ttg -> cartoon etc by them travelling back in time for that, however there are many holes especially thinking about their families and stuff so

i like the idea of things branching off. one branch is comics - htr - cartoon, as something more intertwined

second is comics -> ttg -> poker night 2 (since it references ttg events) (idk bout 1 i havent played/seen that)

third would be comics -> ttiv (or comics -> htr -> ttiv, i have no idea atm if bosco's is mentioned in the comics but it is in htr and mentioned in ttiv. ttiv is also set in the year it came out, so theres a huge gap inbetween ttiv and htr but i wouldnt say its where the ttg games happened!)

and i dont mean this in like a multiverse way, since the creator seems to dislike that, its simply just a very loose canon that differs with each installment (simply due to different people working on these imo. nothing too deep imo)

but the juicy part!! i even made brackets that im too lazy to remake digitally so i will just write it out for each bigger installment. im excluding poker night 1 as i havent played it nor watched much gameplay

M = married, BF = best friends (in all technically)

comics: M - unlikely; BF - yes absolutely

htr: M - possible; BF - yes

cartoons: M - i take it as canon here. BF - yes million percent

ttg all seasons: M - no; BF - yes.

poker night 2: M - not sure, implied dating, i take that as good enough; BF - yes

ttiv: M - absolutely not. not a couple at all. BF - they seem too tense, yes, but from my experience playing, their interactions were imo the worst in all of their media, so i wasnt buying it at some points

note - ttiv has to be like the straightest they ever were and i also see it in S.P.'s more recent work. im looking too deep into that, perhaps, but im just thinking were never gonna get anything similar to what we got from back in the 90s again, if theres any future projects

people are also saying they got married like 4 times and its making me a bit confused here. do people mean cartoon, htr dress up card, cake topper and tdph ring scene or am i missing something big?? because to me that is married once, other ones being just for jokes (first one as well but its less vague), and in the ttg games its so extremely vague i cant count that (being realistic here) that said its still fun to joke about them getting married several times, but in this case wouldnt it be more of a marriage per timeline?

and to end this, a personal tierlist

my most fave obviously is the cartoon. not only is it the easiest to work with for me, with the fast pacing and short watch time (but ofc i wish it was longer) i absolutely love how their relationship is depicted there, even if a lot of stuff there is just jokes, but if everything is a joke then its also fine to take everything as canon within this media, to me! like when haters say that people only take the wedding scene out of the intro and ignore the rest - as if the other stuff couldnt happen (isnt one of the shots them fighting a giant octopus, which they end up having an episode about too. like cmon. anything goes here) even if it was contained within this specific part of the franchise, im ok with calling them a couple here. and its S tier overall

another S tier is the comics. nothing else to say

HTR is like A tier to me, only taking off points because its soooo sloooowwww and playing it after watching the series took 3 years off my life immediately. otherwise gud game.

ttg is like A to B tier for me, because of some specifics and preferences but thats just me being nitpicky so, the games overall are good. A- it is. thats all

poker night 2 is fun, i watch the gameplay a lot lately when im too tired at midnight to do anything else, A tier

ttiv. oh how mixed i am about you. gameplay by itself and my first experience with the game - S tier. it made me so giddy more than one time and i kept wanting to come back until i finished the game fully. i dont mind the bugs, its just what i expect in VR games and even tho it made me a bit frustrated at times it wasnt all that bad. its also the only vr game i played for over an hour once and didnt get motion sick - the exception was the level at the store which seemed too bright and actually made me nauseous. which is a feeling that somehow comes back whenever i think about this game. what i dislike was the dialogue, while most of it was fun and fine, i had moments where i just burst out laughing, they (or max especially) were way too mean towards the player. i know its a joke and you could chalk it up to max being unhappy with us/jealous, but it got like, generally unpleasant very quickly. with stuff like good throw - "nice!" bad throw - *neverending insults* and the second was how painfully straight it was and like. the vibes i got from them two was like, oh theyre fed up with each other and my shipping self was just left quite disappointed. i did not get all lines during my gameplay which made it great but upon going thru every line manually after, i was just more and more uncomfortable with what they said in their banter. this drops the game to like C for me? maybe B if i squint. being generous. i also got sick of their talking animations over time... the models are fine just got to be too much. bonus points for max ragdoll physics tho. coming up with a conclusion that this is a completely separate timeline and has nothing to do with anything other than the comics and perhaps HTR. i talked so long about this one cause its the one thing that prompted all of this lol.

but its not that serious! i just knew this franchise for ages as "oh its the two animal guys that are married and its funny" and now that i got into it fully, i see a lot of the shippers are obviously daydreaming and taking things out of context - which is fun, i agree!! i also do that. but it just painted a completely different picture for me. so no. theyre not married, theyre not a couple, except for the cartoon, where its implied, which stays on top for me. but in ttg at least, they love each other, its not as romantic, but i can ship them there (so i ship them in the context of the cartoon and ttg basically)

anyway. nothing is canon for them, everything is canon for them, and everything they say or do is a joke so. its not that deep at all. they gay tho

[moth-p]

TPOT 13 RAMBLE

Huge spoilers obviously.

How we feeling BDFI fans?

Well, you're about to find out what I am feeling so lets get into this nonsensical ramble since y'all seemed to like the last one for some reason

1. ONEE??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?

Okay so ANY chance that One isn't a villan is uh. Dead and buried. And honestly it should stay that way I really enjoyed her this episode! BFDI was lacking a true villan

I actually predicted their deal with Basketball in this episode a while ago soo yea (more about Basketball later, dont you worry)

What about Bell and Bomby (And now Needle and Barf Bag)? WHERE ARE THEY? Well, dear reader who probably does not care, I have a theory!

I think that they are in One's version of the EXIT

If my theory that the place TPOTs eliminated contestants is a "Two EXIT", is correct, it is likely that every algebralien has something like that.

Did One and Three interact like I hoped they would? No. Buut another thing that I really fucking liked in this episode is the confirmation of One's motives. And that, as you have seen is

Two's power. Why does she need it? We don't know. To free Three, to take over the world to do something else.. I honestly can't wait to find out

TLDR: I loved One in this episode bro

2. Yuri (cw basketbot if you dont like this ship scroll to point 3)

LET IT BE KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC THAT I WAS HARDCORE SHIPPING THEM SINCE I WATCHED TPOT 7 AND I HAVE BEEN FED. GOD.

BASKETBOT FOREVER BABYYY

"The best version of you is the one we have here" honest reaction

This ship should be way more popular

HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAY BASKETBALL LOOKS AT ROBOT FLOWER WHEN SHES HERSELF AGAIN.

Okay basketbot ramble over

TLDR: lesbians

3. Eliminations and the rejoin

So I got a few things right in my tpot 13 predictiom post (i think) but I have been completly wrong with who will be eliminated

Barf bag: I was kinda expecting it..? I mean I'm still VERY sad about her elimination DONT GET ME WRONG but I kind of knew that her time was coming. But

NEEDLE?!: GUYS. GUYS COME ON. I THINK THE ONLY THING MORE SHOCKING THAN HER ELIMINATION WAS FIREAFY ANGST IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2024. I actually thought that she would EASILY be in top 3 but I guess she wasnt. But the whole thing with pen was so good rahshsggdhshs im still not over it

The double rejoin was a welcome suprise, even though I know it will have a huge impact on the story later. I voted for pencil because I wanted to see her interact with the alliance (and she did yippie), but LIY joining is also very good, she was eliminated way too early imo

I voted for pin because. Shes pin. I love pin (and I also think that Tree and Black Hole will get enough votes to stay no problem wait apollo what are you doing no put the dodgeball dow-)

I also voted for snowball! He was great in the last few episodes and i hope it will stay like that

TLDR: Needle deserved better

4. Random shit (this will be long)

1. THE MENTION OF GELATINS STEAKHOUSE IS ENOUGH FOR NOW BUT PLEASE, WITH THE FIREAFY SIDEPLOT THING LET HIM APPEAR AGAIN JNJ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I WILL BE SATISFIED WITH ONLY SEEING HIM IN THE BG AS LONG AS HE APPEARS PLEASE (you will not guess who my favorite character is)

2. Fireafy? In the year of our lord 2024? Am I repeating this joke? Maybe?

But seriously, their appearence was a huge suprise and seeing as Leafy (probably) got kidnapped by One, it will most likely turn out to be a sideplot (bonus points because the robot flower one ended)

3. Gatys paint falling off a bit. Idk why but that detail was so good rahdgsusghejs

4. Fanny and BH being friends is something I did not expect that much but its cool. (They are MLM WLW solidarity to me)

5. Im a bit dissapointed that Three didnt make an appearence in this episode but whatever. (They will appear in tpot 14 guys trust me)

6. Congrats to Pillow for actually doing something and not having your team be UFE again seriously I think it was like 3 times in a row

7. I know it was basically nothing. But seeing Price Tag and Book interact with each other makes me so happy you have no idea

8. I KNOW IT WAS BASICALLY NOTHING. BUT SEEING TB AND GB INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER MAKES ME SO HAPPY YOU HAVE NO IDEA

9. Two sleeping was kinda funny (this also implies that algebraliens need sleep)

10. Four and X going on vacation. Thats it

11. (II 16 SPOILERS!!!)

Someone (me) will draw Needle and Barf Bag getting deleted by mephone X

I think thats it if I will have the need to ramble about this episode more then it will be reblog time

[therotatingvillain]

Funny things in Baby Steps, my unfinished Pokevillain fanfic

Alright, after spending too long in a severe depression hole and also spending like way too much time at work, here I am again!

This is gonna be my first update on the Pokevillain fanfiction that my last post was about. What I’m doing is reading through those 43 pages and just get a base understanding of what the fuck I was even doing.

To have all of you be part of this, you’ll get my live thoughts about it! So be ready for some shitposting and a few sneak peeks at the story haha

Cyrus insisting on just being called ‘Cyrus’ because ‘Mr. Akagi’ reminds him of his father is such a mood. Also, yeah, I use their japanese names as their last names, except Guzma, because Guzmas japanese name is Guzma lol So for him I just used his german name ‘Bromley’. Such an ass name

Having stayed in a hospital for the first time not too long ago, 2020 me was surprisingly accurate when it came to hospital food

“What do you think? Aren’t you supposed to be incredibly smart?” She kept smiling, but Cyrus knew it was fake. It had been ever since she entered. It was the same smile his mother always had when talking to guests or clients. God I hate Cyrus nurse, I made her such a bitch lmao

Forgot I made Cyrus lactose intolerant lol

That smile made Cyrus want to go back into the distortion world No comment needed

‘New Guy’ seemed like a major downgrade from ‘God of a new dimension’ but for now, having terribly failed the latter one, the first one was acceptable. 2020 me had banger humor

Guzma looking at Cyrus and just going “You’re my friend now” is how I make all of my friends

Ah yeah, Giovanni is there because of another failed attempt, except for Guzma the rest is there because of court mandation and Guzma is there because Nanu got him a spot.

almost like touching a Rotom that couldn’t quite control its energy. Foreshadowing? Maybe

Guzma immediately having Cyrus back even when Cyrus is clearly in the wrong is so funny to me

Aaaaaaaah gays bonding over piano music

Ah yes, Maxie and Archie are divorced husbands. Yes, they still love each other, yes, Maxie still actively wears his wedding ring while Archie always has it on him somehow

“Hey fuckers, time for lunch!” Mood Guz

Lysandre desperately trying to socialise with his roommate only to routinely be fucked over by his own shitty mental health and eating disorder is too real man

Dr. Roberts is such a kind soul, he’s the therapist OC I created specifically for this story and he’s just a sweetie who’s fantastic at his job and also, obviously, gay and married with a couple kids.

Cyrus went to college (duh) and majored in: Electrical Engineering, Economics, Computer Engineering, Political Science and Computer Science. And finished all his majors in 4 years. Yikes dude, my boy just wanted to study the stars but he was denied by his bullshit parents

Ah yes, Cyrus sister. Buckle in people, time for a bit of lore:

So we all remember the Old Chateau in Eterna Forrest back in gen 4, right? Right. For a long time there was a theory that perhaps Cyrus grew up in that house. How did we come to that conclusion? Basically, Cyrus in Platinum (and the USUM Rainbow Rocket episode) has a severe obsession with the Pokemon Rotom, supplying Charon with detailed notes and diaries all about it and in the Rainbow Rocket episode, he nearly has a breakdown upon seeing the Rotom dex. Now where do you find Rotom in Gen 4? Hiding in a TV in the Old Chateau. So, we theorized that Cyrus grew up there. What else do we find in the Old Chateau? The spirits of a butler and a small girl. So, the theory goes that Cyrus used to have a little sister, but she and a butler of the family were killed in an accident, probably involving the Rotom Cyrus kept, most likely hidden from his parents. Afterwards, his family moved to Sunyshore, leaving the Chateau, where Rotom was still hiding, possibly having come back in search of it’s friend (Cyrus) and then hiding in the TV because it was scared as it was alone, Cyrus nowhere to be found, and sought comfort in the electrical appliance. That’s how the theory goes. This theory is true in my story.

Maxie and Archie being extremely angry bordering on violent with each other makes me sad. And I wrote this shit!

The fact that Cyrus, on his first day there, immediately has a panic attack in the evening is relatable.

Also, Giovanni helps him through it and they start bonding and being cute hehe

For every scene involving stargazing, be aware that I have zero idea about stars. I grew up in the middle of fuck nowhere, so I can see them very clearly each night, but I still have little to no idea about how to read stars lol

Lysandre has anorexia and Cyrus is way too oblivious to understand that it’s ana so he’s just constantly like “wow youre thin” until it clicks lmao

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Charon are just codenames and Cyrus never bothered to learn their actual names. Is this also foreshadowing? Maybe hehe

YES CYRUS STAND YOUR GROUND TO THAT PISS POOR EXCUSE OF A NURSE i hate her so much man

Cyrus is a deeply kind person. I will not elaborate yet

Yes, Maxie and Archie get over their shit and back together

Yes, it spirals Giovanni into another suicide attempt

No, I shall not elaborate how one leads to the other

But yeah, there’s a pretty intense part of this that deals with Giovannis shitty mental state and his active suicide attempt (that only barely failed) and Cyrus ends up having a severe breakdown because of it. Like I said in my last post, this story deals with some heavy topics.

Guz and Ly really take on the roles of dads to Cyrus, to help him be more open in his expression and just be who he is and I think that’s beautiful

His breath was caught in his throat, his chest and stomach spreading a comfortable warmth through his body.

What was this? A heart attack? 

No, those felt different. There was no stabbing pain. I love writing Cyrus

THERAPY POKEMON EVERYONE yes the leaders are getting therapy Pokemon

Here’s a list of who they get:

Giovanni: His Persian

Maxie: Toxel

Archie: Hypno

Cyrus: His Rotom

Ghetsis: Castform

Lysandre: Levanny

Guzma: His Golisopod

I’d love for yall to theorize on why each leader gets their respective Pokemon! I actually put some thought in all of them haha

Cyrus grandfather has a big role in Cyrus’ recovery, and it starts with a simple visit that is still one of my favorite parts of this story so far

Cyrus grandfather (Paul Akagi) is the polar opposite to his parents, Paul is kind, loving, supportive and really just wants Cyrus to be happy and their relationship???? it warms my heart

A big part of connection for all of the leaders, specifically everyone else and Ghetsis, is a broken piano in the common room that they all work together to fix and that piano really is a symbol for Cyrus’ recovery and especially his willingness to get better.

GUZMA IS TRANS and this is a fact because I am trans and I said so. Also Ghetsis is a bigot. End of sentence lol

Ghetsis saying some transphobic shit and Guzma then going to PULL HIS NON PARALYZED ARM OUT OF ITS SOCKET is such a girly pop move

Also yes everything I’ve written so far ends on Maxie and Archie remarrying and Dr. Roberts allowing everyone to drink alcohol in celebration and yes of course it escalates lol

Alright everyone, that’s it for now, I’m all caught up, hopefully I’ll get some time to actually write a bit more the next few days. 

As always, please please please interact with this, tell me your thoughts so far, ask questions, I NEED IT okay cool thank you.

I have work tomorrow so I shall go and kill myself lol

Have a great whenever you are! Stay hydrated

Love all of you.

[digitulworld]

theres a lot of things about bob that interest me and i want to know more about. because i am a lunatic. warning for dozens upon dozens of paragraphs about my favorite evil man

first of all. his pendant. obviously he lived through multiple gunshots and getting run over, but because the pendant was injured, he weakened. once it was removed, he died. i doubt he'll come back nor will the cult want him to come back. then again we have no idea what role he played in the cult or if he was in it just for the immortality

he does Not strike me as the type of guy to willingly involve himself in the supernatural, and in his concept art we see that he doesnt wear the robe all the time, instead hes in his boys & grills outfit serving food to the other members. tldr hes just the cults lunchlady

i do NOT know if bob thinks of himself more highly than others. i have a very weird theory that bob eats human flesh because he knows he cannot succumb to any illness that follows from it thanks to the pendant he wears. it might be why hes so eager to eat candy n shit off the floor without thinking twice; he thinks he'll be fine! he can indulge as much as he wants and flaunts his knowledge on how dangerous consuming human flesh is at the same time, or how common drinking blood is, or how to kill someone quickly and painlessly. he seems like hed be a showoff... he knows too much. or maybe hes always just been really interested in meat and eventually got a little Too into it

also i am aware eating humans at all can make you sick, cooked or not, but i like to believe that because he puts the meat in greasy burgers, people assume whatever sickness they get from it is from the fact that its fast food, and not assume theres human meat in whatever they ate

related to this, theres gotta be some connection between him starting off most of his lines with "did you know..." then having one of his last lines start with "yall dont know anything!"

second of all... his connection with lila also interests me. when it comes to the fat + thin thieves, we know theyve been trying to collect images and items from her husband who is implied (or confirmed) to be part of the cult. therefore they attempt to break in multiple times. bob does the same thing with the intent to kill, more than once, and im wondering if he plans to kill her for consumption, or for the cult. that or he does intend on killing her, and has permission from the cult to do so. orrr hes doing all this against their wishes...

its hard to pinpoint any specific motives from him other than he just wants to Eat. he gets easily sidetracked when trying to target someone, distracted when attempting to corner and kill someone, and frustrated once he begins to realize after a Long day of effort that he will not get what he wants

this isnt to say bob is an idiot. he clearly has experience. he uses the kids motives (wanting candy) as a lure, and does what they want (hide & seek) in order to come across as "safer" for them to approach, before he eventually gets them. it just feels like he treats this like a game. he spends so long savoring his time stalking and playing with the victims, then gets upset when they manage to escape. what did you think was gonna happen man

i say all this even though this is your typical villain behavior stuff. a villains gotta act a little stupid and egotistical in order for the protagonists to win yknow. but its still fun to tie this in with his gluttony, since it shows that not only is his desire to eat others his motive, but also his biggest downfall

all this considered, once the pendant was removed, i have left to wonder if it was just the gunshots that killed him, or the arm he ate not long ago

also something something the bullet holes on bobs chest look like the heads of the cult robes. did they know

TO SUM EVERYTHING UP: i cannot be typing all this for a guy named bob this is ridiculous

[adobe-outdesign]

Any thoughts design-wise on the Beldum line?

(This is the last request in the inbox right now. Send 'em if you got 'em, otherwise I might just do some randomly generated picks.)

I find it disappointing that GameFreak did a non-dragon like pseudo-legendary one (1) time and then never again. I like dragons as much as the next person, but why exactly does every pseudo-legendary have to be one nowadays? It would be like if every legendary was a psychic-type.

But part of the reason I find it disappointing is that the one time they did do a non-dragon pseudo, it absolutely slapped. Beldum hear is this bizzaro, alien-like magnetic creature with a single eye and claws on its end. I'm not even sure what it's supposed to be (I guess it's vaguely dumbbell-ish, based off its Japanese name), but it's such an interesting monster that's almost ultra-beast like in its presentation.

Visually, the body shape has this great scraggly look to it that I really like (Gen 3 has a lot of these. Solrock and Regirock are two other examples), and the red eye with a black background really pops against the blue body. I'm not sure why it has another hole by the eye, but it does give it a nice sense of visual asymmetry.

Metang makes it clear what this line's going for, and it's really cool—each stage fuses together, so two Beldums make a Metang, two Metang's make a Metagross, etc. I'm not a huge fan of evos where they just copy/paste the same Pokemon twice, so this is a good solution that's in the same spirit but actually gives us a unique design.

Also, because of this gimmick, Metang does a good job of transitioning between stages but also being its own thing. It's the only one of the line to sport only two arms, each one obviously a former Beldum, and it also sports these claw-like structures and horns that none of the rest of the line have.

Visually, it keeps most of the things I liked about Beldum, like the striking red-and-black eyes and the chiseled body shape. The only thing that I don't care for is the horns on the front and back of the body; they feel a bit tacked on, and I don't think it needed them considering it still has the claw structures on the sides of the body.

And, unsurprisingly, Metagross itself is really cool. It now has four legs, arranged less like a quadruped and more like an arachnid of some kind, which makes for a really distinct body shape and silhouette. The four limbs also help convey the combination theme, with it being made of two Metangs this time.

Another cool thing about it is that it has the intelligence of a super computer, now having four brains working in tandem. That's a nice extension of the concept and gives it a bit of personality beyond just being a cool metal thing.

Per the other stages, it also keeps the same good elements, creating a sense of consistency. The new element is a large X across the face, and while I have no idea where that came from, it really works. Just a great 'mon all around, very refreshingly abstract and plenty powerful looking.

Metagross also got a mega form. It's not terrible, but I do think it's the weakest of the line, on the grounds that it's just entirely too messy and visually busy. I get what they were going for, as the 'dex states that this is another fusion between one Metagross, one Metang, and two Beldum (why not two Metagross? that would've made more sense given the previous patterning):

This is a good idea in theory, as it gives it a meaningful theme and reason to exist, instead of just being a regular Metagross with Stuff tacked onto it. However, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense lore-wise with what we know about mega evolution (needing others from the line to mega-evolve a Metagross would actually be a cool mechanic, though a bit of a pain), and it's just way too much.

In addition to rotating the front limbs so they face forward (probably to match the X shape on the face, also because this debuted in XY), it also adds four extra limbs in the back (because of the combo thing), Metang's extra claws and horns, two holes on the face (probably Metang's eyes), and it's all just A Lot. I think the problem is that it tries to integrate too many elements; Metagross just keeps the limbs but none of Metang's accents, so the mega probably could've just had the eight limbs (maybe the four in the front are reflected in the back, to create a pattern) and dropped the extra claws and horn.

All that said, it is good conceptually, the addition of gold to the palette works nicely and makes the X really pop, and the actual arrangement of the limbs is interesting. If you can ignore the excessive details, there's a good concept here.

So overall, the main line is incredibly strong—cool design, strong concept, unique design and body shape. There's a good sense of consistency between the stages, and each stage is distinct in their own way. The only weak part is the mega, and that's just due to a bit too much detail.

(Also, final side note: the shinies for this line slap.)