#one of the people who ends up missing an eye is the protag

[dawnforger-fr]

i'll become a villainess who goes down in history is sooo good (I binged the anime last night), but it has... no fics on ao3 :{ :{ :{

[the-acid-pear]

On: today i dreamt...

What started as a story about a group of gangster breaking into an abandoned (but not really?) prison to film their movie and being caught soon devolved into an international conspiracy filled with subplots about love and corruption, culminating with both groups that we thought were equally righteous finding out not everything was quite as it seems.

[symphonic-scream]

My shitty Persona 6 idea

(self indulgent)

So the main idea is, all persona users have gone missing. SEES, Investigation Team, Phantom Thieves. All disappeared one night. (In the future by a decent amount)

The story starts five years later. A teen boy living on his own is on his way to school, leaving his small apartment to take the train. Light flashes through the windows, time seems to slow, and his head aches. Then, all is normal

But. As he's walking, people are staring. Following. He gets chased into an alley, where the world seems to warp around him and the people following him become shadows. A voice calls out to him, telling him to Wake Up, and he gets his persona. He opens his eyes and they glow, and after the fight, a woman approaches him with a dog at her side, a cat on her shadows

It's Nanako! She's an adult! Koromaru barks from beside her, and Morgana, from her shoulders, explains the basics and that they need to leave

Nanako explains that this kid is the last one she's been trying to find, and asks him if he'd like to help rescue his parents and save the world. He pauses, petting Koro, but agrees

And she takes him to a private academy, owned by the Kirijo group, and he gets a dorm and reunites with younger siblings he lost track of in the system. He meets some friends and goes to the basement after school to learn about the mission and stuff and meet the team

The woman leading the program? Sae Niijima. Nanako Dojima is able to stay awake in the Slumber, which is the persona world in this, so she's their Guide. She has been tracking the kids of the old persona users down with Sae, and taking care of Koromaru and Morgana

Edit; I FORGOT TO MENTION!!! Teddie is the velvet room attendant! He's got no memories and can't leave until the protag reaches the end of his journey. All he knows is that he has to leave

That's the concept. Under the cut are my ideas for the team

So. Here are my Persona Users!

It's a team of 10. Cause I say so. Three third year students, five second years, and one first year. Then, their "mascot", a Kirijo Group ward who somehow fused with their persona. As in they're half human half cognition

I'll go down in age order, the Protag's name will be in green so it's easier to recognize which one is him

Yakuya Takeba, Third Year student. Son of Yukari and Mitsuru

[name meaning: evening, amber, to carry on]

Yakuya is the oldest of the group. He's been under a ton of stress as the defacto proprietor of the Kirijo group, but since getting the support of Sae and Nanako, he's been able to kick back a bit

He's got honey brown hair, which he keeps just long enough for a little ponytail. It's pretty straight. Dark brown eyes. He's extremely fashionable, softboy core. Cardigans, slacks, he looks good. Always.

Yakuya is their leader on the ground in the Slumber. He's a fast thinker, very intelligent, but he's extremely dense. He says things and the others just. Stare at him. Cause there is no way he doesn't get the joke there. Right?

Ukiwa Narukami, Third Year student. Daughter of Yu and Yosuke

[name meaning: love, hope, peace]

Ukiwa has been living with Nanako since her dads went missing. She's been on this mission the longest, been able to stay awake in the Slumber the longest, most in tune with her persona

Messy silver hair, she's dyed her tips orange. Just reaches her shoulders. Big grey eyes, a very squishable face. Tactical fashion. She's more worried about finding her parents than looking nice. Pockets everywhere

Ukiwa is very focused on the mission. It's all she really thinks about. She was a huge daddy's girl for Yosuke, used to smile so big. Now she's just, so desperate to get them back. She doesn't get on the others for wanting to do things and have fun, but she won't join in. If she's not working in the basement area, she's working out or looking at old photos

Shinji Sanada, Third Year student. Son of Akihiko, and Kotone and Aigis

[name meaning: named after Shinjiro Aragaki]

He's biologically Akihiko and Kotone's son, and was split custody between Aki, and Kotone and Aigis. Shinji knows about Shinjiro, and warmly refers to him as his second father

Shinji keeps his hair shaved short. Clippers with a number 3 across his whole head. The fuzz is dark brown. Grey eyes. He looks big and bulky, and wears big hoodies with anime characters on them

He's the mom friend. Loves caring for people, it's his way of showing he cares. He's the party's main healer because of this! Between a stressed out Yakuya and a too dedicated Ukiwa, he's always pulling someone out of their dorm to eat. He makes sure the second years and first year aren't being pushed too hard

Hirohide Okumura, Second Year student. Son of Makoto and Haru

[name meaning: vast, outstanding]

Our protagonist. He has two younger siblings that have been living with Sae, but he got lost in the system. He's been bouncing around homes across Japan for five years, and has been a loner. He's eager to bring his family back together. His velvet room is House of Mirrors themed

Hiro has Makoto's leather jacket, and wears it whenever it's not too hot. He even wears it with his uniform. He looks like a mini Makoto, too. Red eyes, mused up brown hair. He's got a few piercings in his ears, wears a wallet chain and dark clothes, but has a bracelet with blue, pink, purple, yellow, and grey beads to represent his family members (purple and yellow are his siblings)

Hirohide has what I'm calling "resting Makoto face". A bit of a pouty frown, always looks kinda mad or like he's thinking too hard. But he's hella snarky. All of his dialogue options are snappy or snarky or just. Sarcastic.

Satoma Kujikawa, Second Year student. Son of Rise, Naoto, and Kanji

[name meaning: wisdom, defend]

Older twin. Biologically Rise and Kanji's. There is a third Kujikawa sibling, too young to help out. Satoma goes by he/they actually, and lives for the moment cause that's what their parents would want

Satoma has wavy brown hair, sort of the short long where it barely passes his ears, and dyes blue and purple highlights in it. To represent their dads. Grey eyes, needs glasses. Bro cannot dress well. Closet of cargo shorts, graphic tees with poorly translated phrases, and the loudest collared shirts

He's a total goofball. Doesn't think before he acts, has the most fun of anyone you've ever met. Cooks really well, can sew, epic cleaner, but he's in the chat asking who wants to push him down the big hill in a giant tire cause he got bored

Meika Kujikawa, Second Year student. Daughter of Rise, Naoto, and Kanji

[name meaning: bright, beautiful]

Younger twin. Bio parents are Rise and Kanji, but she was always closest with Papa Naoto. She's the top mark holder for the second year students, but she's usually daydreaming in class, or absent for other school activities or missions reasons

Meika looks remarkably like Rise, but she wears her hair in one ponytail. Well, before she dyed her hair dark blue/black. She also needs glasses, but can't keep track of them. Overalls wearer, but baggy and one strap down. Hoodie underneath, an older Risette tour hoodie she found in her parents' room

She's a bit floaty. When it matters most, she's able to keep up and get them out of tough situations, but otherwise it's hard to tell where her head is. She's also in the most clubs, and doing something at all times. She's in band, she's on student council, she plays tennis- it's like she's trying to keep herself distracted

Momori Amagi, Second Year student. Daughter of Yukiko and Chie

[name meaning: peach, orchid]

Middle Amagi daughter, but the oldest can't assist cause she got hella hurt and is recovering in the hospital. Momori is more determined to help, to make sure she's the last of the three to have to fight

Momori has very dark hair, nearly black, kept in A very neat braid. Warm brown eyes, and a few little freckles across her face. Stompy sneaks, fun printed skirts, and soft sweaters with mock collars on them

So loud. Big personality. Explosive, even. Moving always, very physical with her friends, she's always picking people up or latching onto them in big hugs, or tackling them. She is thinking of going into nursing after her big sister got hurt

Kyoai Suzui, Second Year student. Daughter of Ann and Shiho

[name meaning: fragrance, affection]

Kyoai is somewhat lucky, she still has one of her mom's around. Shiho still has to walk with a single crutch or cane, and struggles without Ann. But she's trying, for Kyoai and her son. Kyoai doesn't want to stress her mom anymore, so she hasn't told her she's trying to find her Mama

Her hair is a dirty blonde, real silky and fluffy, in a stylish bob. Dark eyes, a lil beauty mark by the right edge of her smile. Athletic wear central. Shorts over athletic leggings, tanks and jerseys and team shirts

She's the second in command for the chaos unit. She hates to worry her mom, doesn't want to make things worse for her, but she's also the first to volunteer for Satoma's ideas. She often makes suggestions that make them worse, even

Tatsuoki Sakamoto, First Year student. Son of Joker and Ryuji

[name meaning: to achieve, heart]

The youngest of the group, born sickly, it's Tatsuoki. He's been living with Mama Sakamoto, visiting with a torn up Sojiro. He used to be very close with Sumire and Futaba, since they were his godparents. He's the Navi of the group, and more tech-aligned than the others

Messy dark brown hair, half his head is dyed red, and dark eyes. He's got Ryuji's big smile, and Joker's eye for chaos. Gamer shirts. So many gamer shirts. Leblanc themed windbreaker, a casual pants boy, paint splattered shoes

Total agent of chaos. Drinks coffee a little too much, but he's often joining in with Satoma and Kyoai, to distract himself from missing everyone. Has the most joyous laugh you've ever heard

Atsurou, Ward of the Kirijo Group.

[name meaning: genuine, bright]

More info coming

----

HEY. THIS WAS A LOT FOR ME TO MAKE. SO. OD APPRECIATE SOME INTERACTION PLEASE

Also I'll totally post more if y'all want it

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Carter and Lovecraft, by Jonathan L. Howard (2015)

I really wanted to like this book.

I've read a few Lovecraft novels and stories, and I liked them. So when I saw this on my friend's bookshelf, I borrowed it, and read it.

Tried to.

The first real fly in the ointment? NYPD protag sees his partner take a 9mm retirement in front of him on a creepy case, and becomes a private detective. Mysterious lawyer shows up at his office one day and says there was a bookstore owner in Providence, Rhode Island, who has been missing and just declared dead.

The protag gets the bookshop. He's not sure why.

Protag goes to the bookshop. Owner's niece, Emily, is there. She's been running the shop alone since the owner vanished, and she co-ran it when he was alive. Also, she's biracial. Would be played by Zoe Kravitz in the movie, he thinks.

Her name is Lovecraft.

As in, she's a descendant of ol' Howard Philips.

She notes the irony; a black-ish "mulatto" descendant of an anti-black racist.

"Okay," I think, as I checked the publication date. "You've gotten that token bit out of the way. Now, can we move on?"

Apparently not.

As protag starts looking into the disappearance and other weird stuff, he decides he needs to get his eye in. So he goes to a gun range, where he needs to sign up for the NRA first

and ends the session by "re-engaging the safety" on his Glock.

Fun fact: stock Glocks don't have manual safeties, AFAIK.

In the next chapter, protag thinks about how he used the gun. He hates the NRA and the whole "gun fetish" thing, but he needs the iron, just in case.

Two strikes. Three if you count the safety thing.

Yes, I know an NYPD cop might be a bit bigoted about the issue, especially considering how his partner died. But it really feels like the writer's opinion.

In fact, let me just-

Yep. The writer is British. This sounds awfully familiar.

It was about this time that I realized something. The protagonist has no traits that aren't directly related to being a cop or detective. Absolutely none.

I don't think we know what he does in his off hours. No friends. Nothing but the job.

Heck, Miss Lovecraft has more personality than him, and she takes up a lot less screen time.

Protag decides to give Lovecraft half the business, so he can become a silent partner. People start dying in physically impossible ways - like the dude who drowned in his dry car in a parking lot - our hero looks into it.

He also ends up learning about a local family, the Waites. Rich, keep to themselves on their own land, been around since before the area was officially settled, apparently.

The local who tells him about all this says the younger ones are oddly attractive. The family has distinctive big eyes.

Anyone remotely familiar with HP Lovecraft just went "Oh, right, they're fishmen. Got it." I've seen this trope done better before, like in the comic Shadowgirls.

Hero looks into the archives, finds records of a racist Town Council rant by an early Waite, back when they were still into trading. Including slaves. Specifically, patriarch Newton Waite went to a council meeting and said black people should serve others, and shouldn't have self-determination.

The archivist intern says it's was "a different time", and that's just how people were back then.

Of course, he adds "People who talk like that now - no pass for them."

End scene.

Like this extremely mainstream, boring opinion is some kind of

In the next scene, protag chats about the fit he had near the Waite place. Learns about another mysterious death. When he chats about it with Emily, he suddenly realizes she's hot.

Then the narration tells us that he was a racist bigot in his teens, though he thought he was being sensible at the time. He now knows he was wrong, but he still feels sparks of it when he reads about some black kid doing some stereotypically black thing, which gives certain white people "a hard-on of righteousness".

And, of course, his time spent walking away from "instinctive racism" means his dating pool opened up. Like Emily Lovecraft, for example.

The most stereotypically black thing would probably be crime. Or being a single mom or deadbeat dad.

 Sadly, I know of plenty of black people - from my black majority home country - who fall into one of those categories. Or two. Three if you include "poverty", but we're Developing, so that barely even counts.

Also, this basically came out of nowhere. Not Emily being hot - I mean, look at Zoe Kravitz - but his unsolicited thoughts on racism.

All of these issues have also been issues for many concerned black people. For decades. The 'stereotypically black things' might be bad themselves, not because they make racist white people feel smug.

This is precisely where I closed the book for good. I would've put away the bookmarks, but I needed the page so I could write this rant.

Honestly, writing all this made me realize that I should've given up long before I made it halfway through the book. But I just kept hoping it would get better.

Doing the same well-worn cliches in a modern setting doesn't really make them interesting. Neither do the little 'racism is bad, mmmkay?' bits.

[giratina-and-the-skys-bouquet]

Faraway hidden details compilation/personal thoughts. (did my best to leave it vague bc spoilers for maigoen)

(exactly what it sounds like. There's a bunch of details in Faraway's MV that I wanted to compile. pls feel free to correct me in the replies for the kanji bit) (website used)

0:10, if you pause at EXACTLY the right time- the kanji 欺 is shown

欺- "deceit", "cheat'- Kanata (that's the MV's protag, btw) is a prankster and withholds important info just to see others reactions

0:16/ 3:13- the kanji's 蠖, 翫,備 and 鄂 are seen

蠖-???

翫-"Play" "caring for" "appreciating" "Toy"- Hinata (The panda toy with the unicorn horn) is a toy, but Kanata pretends he [it? idk] isn't. Kanata cares for Hinata a lot, i.e: appreciates

備-"Prepare"- Kanata is preparing for an attempt to leave with Hinata. (Could also be as in "planned pregnancy"??? probably stretching)

鄂-??

text at the end: "Thank you for visiting Uropia, our esteemed park."- Green flag that he'll live and leave the amusement park.

0:41- nothing to note other that these pink orbs are balloons :)

0:47-0:49- Kanata and Hinata are sharing a table. If you look closely, you can see both Hinata and Kanata have food in their bowls, even though the former is a plush and therefore, cannot eat (most likely meaning is Kanata lying to himself about Hinata sentience, although this could mean that his parent[s] are again, playing along with Kanata's behavior, pretending along with him that Hinata's alive and everything is fine). The image (besides the paintings in the background, the apples in the serving dish [idk how else to describe it] and Hinata) is actually mirrored, you can tell by looking at the tables you can see in the corners of the foreground and the serving dish. The flooring has the missing texture used in video games. To quote some dude on Quora that appeared first on Google search results:"The colors purple and black are meant to stand out to the creators to get attention of them to fix it" This means that Kanata treating Hinata like a person is getting him attention. However, nobody, in his family at least, is doing the "fixing" (helping him move on) part and turning a blind eye to the issue.

Finally, we see a large family gathering displayed on the center of the wall, but Kanata and Hinata are alone, sitting at a much smaller table. He's presumably at the kid's table, far away from his other family members, both emotionally and physically. In Kanata's eyes, nothing is more important than Hinata, and his parent(s) take no issue with this. (also said painting may or may not be referenced from the famous Christian painting "The Last Supper", since the other paintings are clearly referencing royalty-free Victorian paintings.)

0:53- You can see Lion (another character) being represented by an actual lion plush next to Kanata at the top.

Add-on 1- from 1:10 through 1:14, you see Kanata playing with Hinata with unopened presents surrounding him. This has a nice double (quadruple?) meaning. Of course, the first one is that Kanata is only really concerned about Hinata and nothing else is important to him, but also the presents could represent all of the people in his life who love him, and yet Kanata either ignores (that's why their unopened) and/or annoy. But kanata can always open the presents up (start having connections to other people than Hinata) but chooses not to because just having Hinata is easier than stepping out of his comfort zone. The gifts could also symbolize the truth, so Kanata wraps it up in a bow and ignores it (stay in denial about Hinata; everything is fine, Hinata is still with him.) The final reading I could think up is that the gifts could be a metaphor for embryo eggs, and Kanata was the only child of his parents to be successfully birthed without dying in utero along the way.

Add-on 2- At 1:29, at just the right time, you can see this (The text translates to "Stop, right now")

Misc/transitory scenes- you can see a mouth screaming. According to some JPN maigoen fans, it's saying "No, stop that!". It might also be screaming in labor (giving birth), which if you know abt maigoen's plot.... yeah.

Misc/multiple scenes- you can see crosses in the background on top of a mansion (I think? it looks too fancy and big to be a house.) This could mean that Kanata's family has a history of miscarriages/ stillbirths and Kanata was a successful attempt in a sea of failed pregnancies, since crosses are usually placed atop of graves.

Misc/multiple scenes- Okay it might be just me but when Kanata is placed in front of the ferris wheel, it kinda looks like a halo? Since halos can symbolize sacredness, maybe this is metaphorical way of showing why Kanata acts the way he does, at least a part, is because his caretaker(s) don't correct his behavior, since they see him as "a little saint who could do no wrong" (could also explain the mansion, his parent[s] spoil him rotten with affection. Him being the parent[s] only child who didn't die during/quickly after birth likely is the main reason for this)

Misc/multiple scenes- a censor box is placed in front of Kanata's eyes, which is way of showing that someone is presumed/ is dead. (might be Kanata and co. labeled as an unsolved missing person case since they went into Uropia that fateful day.)

TL;DR- Kanata is a Catholic.

[maspers]

A little something inspired by @canyourfavesurvivecastledracula , since doing a search on their blog for either of these pulled up nothing. Admittedly my tumblr search is... odd... at times, so if I'm retreading previously treaded ground then oh well.

Could ASH and/or RED from Pokemon survive Castle Dracula?

Yes. Both of them could. But for very different reasons.

In the case of Ash Ketchum: Nobody should be surprised by his survival. This boy has plot armor nearly as strong as Makoto Naegi's.

Ash would, of course, take the crucifix. He's an unfailingly polite young man (at least by the end of the series) and so of course he would take such a nice gift from such a nice lady. In fact there's a decent chance that he'll inspire enough sympathy from the townsfolk that they'll be particularly invested in keeping this kid from dying. Pikachu will pick up on the ominous vibes. Ash will not.

Ash will not think anything is a problem in the slightest upon arriving in the Castle. Sure, Dracula is a bit weird, but this Castle is so cool! How nice of him to let Ash stay here. If Ash does end up wandering around and meeting the girls (which, let's be honest, is happening whether Ash means it to or not) he's probably falling for their mental manipulation hook line and sinker. Sure, Ash is pretty much a doofus shonen protag who does not understand love, but this ain't love, this is mind control, and Ash has been susceptible to that before (then again, mind control is a bit hit or miss with Ash. In the words of the Beeheeyem, "It's hard to hypnotise stupid people"). Regardless, Ash will still completely fail to realize that Something Is Up.

But by this point Pikachu (and likely some of the other Pokemon) will have already figured the whole thing out, and be desperately trying to drag Ash out of the place. Shenanigans will ensue, Ash will somehow have Dracula's true nature revealed to him, cue escape sequence. If Drac tries to pursue after Ash has registered him as a threat, he will be surprised to discover that this kid is very good at what he does, and what he does is train monsters that go toe-to-toe with gods. That's enough of an incentive to leave Ash be. Additionally, Ash is practically indestructible, the rock wall and the wolves are barely an inconvenience to him.

The story ends with Ash reuniting with his friends, then the end credits roll. This has basically been a regular day for him.

In the case of Red: Compared to Ash's plot armor turning causality into knots to justify his escape, Red's survival is delightfully straightforward.

Red would accept the crucifix. It's obviously a Key Item. Into the bag it goes. The townsfolk are extremely weirded out by this silent kid. They don't give him further info. Heck, they might not even give him the crucifix if they can't figure out why he's in town to begin with.

In contrast to the overly-trusting Ash, Red pins Drac as extremely sus from the get-go. Red knows a villain when he sees one. He also knows a haunted mansion when he sees one (even though Castle Dracula isn't really a Haunted Mansion in the traditional sense) and is already pulling out his Silph Scope to keep an eye on things. In the traditional RPG Protagonist manner he wanders around looking for loot. He unfortunately doesn't find anything useful. He will of course run across the girls during his investigation of every nook and cranny, but since his Silph Scope has immediately identified them as some form of undead he'll just be like "not Pokemon, not my business" and leave before they even think to turn on the charm.

While Dracula would probably view Ash as a harmless doofus, Red is the kind of guy who immediately seems threatening so Drac would probably be a bit more proactive in trying to bring about Red's doom. This would be a mistake. Red's silence has a tendency to invoke monologues even in those less inclined to monologue, and Dracula would inevitably confirm Red's suspicions about him before the kid can be properly dealt with. Two seconds later and Red has Gigantamaxed his Snorlax and destroyed the building.

From that point onward it's just a matter of escaping for Red. The wolves certainly won't be a problem. Neither is the cliff face, Red's just leaving through the (demolished) front door. If Drac and the girlies try to pursue then Red will just view them as equivalent to enemy Pokemon and deal with them accordingly. If Red can take down Mewtwo, then he can at LEAST put up enough of a fight to convince Dracula that pursuing him isn't worth it.

So yes. Ash and Red could BOTH survive Castle Dracula.

"Oh but they shouldn't have their Pokemon with them, part of the Castle Dracula experience is being isolated". Bullcrap. Neither Ash nor Red go anywhere without at least one Pokemon on hand, and that one Pokemon is usually enough to handle extreme circumstances. If their Pokemon weren't permitted to accompany them on this trip to Transylvania, then said trip AINT HAPPENING.

But sure, let's consider this. Ash's plot armor is just as thick regardless of his Pokemon's presence. He's making it out of this alive no matter what. His escape would probably be much the same as described above, except instead of Pikachu helping him he'd spontaneously snap out of the hypnosis at a critical moment or whatever. Red obviously would have to have a very different plan, but he has the smarts, genre savviness, equipment, and athleticism to recognize the sus things about the castle and make an escape with little to no issue.

Gary and Blue Oak, on the other hand, are definitely dying within 24 hours. Possibly even within 12.

[unmellowyellowfellow]

15 Questions — OC edition!

tagged by @sender-paulson !! thank you omfg

I'm going to tag @anonymousfoz @macabremoons @cabbojage @athenswrites and anyone else who wants to go on a rant about their OC's! tag me if you do it so i can see them!!

i will be doing this for Dixie, my protag for chalk mountain. she's a hotheaded mess but i love her <3 under the cut!!

1. Are you named after anyone?

my great grandma, dixie anne. she was badass. she's the only alvarez that isn't a total dick wad

2. When was the last time you cried?

when i was in my kitchen and emilio and frankie had to hold me down. it was really dramatic and i don't like to talk about it, but yeah

3. Do you have kids?

HELL no, and i do not want them. no offense to parents but full offense to mine. i am not a mother and i will not put a child through a parent who doesn't want them

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

no.. :)

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

their humor. the way you laugh and the jokes you make are really telling for you as a person

6. What's your eye color?

brown. unpopular opinion, or whatever, but i like brown eyes. theres more layers of depth and plus we master puppy dog eyes better than you blue eyed demons

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

scary movies because happy endings are just not realistic

8. Any special talents?

i can do a back-end pretty easily. it's like a party drink. drunk people love it; i've caused a lot of other peoples concussions though (lol)

9. Where were you born?

in the back of my dads beat up pickup on the side of a random farm road. dad said he knew a shortcut but instead we had to call an ambulance after my mom gave birth without any drugs. honestly, i don't know how she didn't kill him

10. What are your hobbies?

i used to drum in a band with some old stupid friends. we don't talk anymore, but i miss them

11. Do you have any pets?

no but i used to have a cat. i really want another one, but life is a little busy with the whole Evolved thing or whatever

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

i played t-ball when i was a kid with my brother, but we never played again after

13. How tall are you?

height is fake (i was always bullied for being tallest kid around so let's just not Talk About It)

14. Favorite subject in school?

history. it's easy and the alamo is my favorite story

15. Dream job?

i never had one. i don't want to spend my life working. i plan on gaining my inheritance after my parents kick the bucket and then riding the high till it kicks

[danganronpafan777]

Just finished Danganmon…

Wow… what a ride.

Thank you for requesting for me to watch this fangan!!

I didn’t and still don’t know a lot about Pokémon but the characters and the plot were super freaking good.

The ending made me tear up, and it’s all such a good message.

Here were my reactions to this chapter: (SPOILERS!!!!)

How have they not registered that they’re Pokémon turned humans yet? The tv literally talked about 16 missing Pokémon bruh

My dumbass forgot that there’s 18 students here, so I’m guessing it’s the two knowing traitors? And the mastermind is separate? Wonder who the unknowing traitor is….

Another Cyrus fte? This might be a death flag…

Kami: What’s the outside world like?

Monomoth: Totally fine, but I could be lying

Kami: I don’t trust her

Juno and Cyrus: *offended*

Idk it’s funny to me

Fryyy! I missed him sm

What if dream Fry is actually him from the afterlife? Maybe hes trying to pass on Zoro’s message?

So Cyrillo and Wemi watched Beauty and the Beast together? Could that have been their movie? :(

Wait, could Wem have been the “she” Pearl was talking about??

Kami and Cyrillo watching ratatouille is hilarious tho

Yeah, Cyrillo is MEGA suspicious

CAMERAS IN THEIR EYES?? Oh hell nah

Kami taking the knife: that’s a surprise tool to help us later

Pearl’s raising way too many death flags

Sooo “lil pichu” name is Raichu? 

Literally a Saw motive lol

DAMN IT PEARL!!

Poor Sylvia…

I think the killer/mastermind is Cyrillo tho

Why tf did Cyrus’s hair change color for one panel? 

I’m conflicted after Pearl’s message in the elevator. Like, ur not gonna rat out the mastermind cuz their your friend, even tho they forced you to be the headmaster and kill you?? The complexity def adds some nice depth to Pearl’s character tho

My guess: Cyrillo is the mastermind, and Juno is the unknowing traitor

Damn it Cyrus :((

The closing argument was amazingly done, now I’m just waiting for Cyrillo to go apeshit lol

“She is still alive” ?? Are they talking about Kami or Sylvia or is Cyrillo getting delulu about Wemi??

WTFFFF

The mastermind sprites, the fucking eye holy shit-

I fucking love this 

Cyrus being the traitor was my second guess, and him turning into protag is so cool

THEY FUCKING FRANKENSTEINED WEMI

Afterlife theater bouta be hella awkward

NOOOO JUNO DONT DO IT

Plz let Cyrillo step up and self destruct the building instead plsss

Cyrillo’s mastermind character and motivations are so well done. It was kinda predictable, but the character change and morality, even reciting his story which we thought we knew… He’s obviously not right, but damn I love this villain arc

THREE PEOPLE DYING IN ONE FUCKING EXECUTION WTF

Juno’s last words being that he hoped he was finally useful fucking hurts

Glad Apollo reunited with Yanny from his video, and Cyrus… man is getting by at least

Kami’s message at the end almost made me cry, and I love how she has a Pokémon of her own (No idea what it is, or if there’s some kinda significance to it, but it’s v cute)

The last afterlife theater was perfection ✨

Thank you all for recommending this to me! 😊😊

[valkyrjavalhalla]

Strange kind of body horror....

I realized I was trans this year. I think there were some signs I had picked up on, like how if there was a button that would magically turn me into a girl, I would push it. I was always aware of trans people, I've had trans friends since middle school, but never once did I ever consider that perhaps I was also trans. I had read articles, listened to personal stories, and watched videos that analyzed and dissected the trans experience. I felt comfortable with my masculinity, affirmed I was a boy, wore masculine clothing all the time, and went through high school with little pretty much zero question of what my gender was.

This all changed in about May. I was playing a video game and I was playing as a woman. I've always preferred to play women in video games, but this one was different. It is the only game I've played that allows you to select your genitalia, regardless of body type. I thought this was cool! And as I played, I realized that I actually wouldn't mind if I were a woman with a penis. "Not minding" the thought of being a woman turned into going to bed begging to wake up as one.

Constant weighing of my options and choices I had led me to conclude that, in some form or another, I was "not cis." In the game, the character's full name was Valerie. It's only said a few times in the game itself (the protag goes by V regardless of gender), but Valerie just sounded like such a nice name...so I picked it, and it's my name now.

At first, everything was pretty okay! I came out to my close friends, who were all incredibly supportive, and I started researching what my next steps should be as the months passed. As time has gone on, however, my mental state towards my transness has depleted itself of all its positivity. Where I was once comfortable with being assigned a different gender at birth and separating who I was then from who I am now, this is no longer true. Things that didn't bother me before have started to affect me more than I thought they ever could. My hands are massive, my torso is generically male, my hips are rigid and not pronounced, my face is a big jaw with a decent-sized nose and itty bitty eyes, and I have hair in more places than I can count. I am no longer comfortable with most of this (the nose I can honestly live with, I think it will look good on Girl Me).

While I am bisexual and have a boyfriend, I have a pretty strong preference towards women, especially as I've gotten older. The unfortunate truth is that positive cis WLW posts that end up on my feed make me extremely jealous. I've read endless adorable stories about young WLW relationships or loving one another's cis bodies as women, knowing I've missed that, and will never have that.

I feel like a kidnapping victim who has realized their whole life was a lie. All these positive memories from my childhood are fraught with a lack of femininity, and it brings me to tears. I love my boyfriend more than anything else in the world, I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but it hurts so deeply that I never got to be a young queer cis woman. I don't care how more challenging my life would have been. I want to hit reset.

What I am experiencing, and what many late-bloomer trans women experience, is this strange kind of body horror. Where once you were at least kind of okay with having a man's body, now this body feels increasingly wrong. Surely this can't be the same body I have had for the last 19 years of my life...

As my brain was swirling with memories of childhood and transness, I remembered something my mom said to me in 6th grade as she dropped me off at a friend's house. She was always supportive of my queerness and is queer herself. (She was a lesbian for decades, and learned she was bisexual when she met my father) She told me then that if I did not feel I was the right gender, if I felt they got it wrong and I was in reality a girl, she would get me puberty blockers and the time to get them was now. At the time, I was a clueless kid. I thought I knew perfectly well who I was and what my gender was going to be for the rest of my life. I turned back to her and smiled, saying "No, it's okay! I'm a boy!"

I will never get to go back and tell Little Me to say yes.

I know, in the end, I will be okay. And if you read this far, you will be okay too! Besides this bullshit, I am doing very well mentally, and everything is looking up for me! (I start HRT later this month) I plan to continue to write about my trans experience and overcome my haunting feelings surrounding my identity. I hope one day I can look back on this and cringe, or at least reflect. I hope I feel different. I hope I am different. I hope I'm happy.

Stay safe out there girlies <3

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 2, MATCH 29

Propaganda under the cut!

Kageyuki Shiraishi

Propaganda

He's a terrible unfeeling person. He is insensitive, he teases people to the point of tears and he's the type to use being brutally honest as an excuse to be a jerkass, and despite that is also a consummate liar. He is also part of a terrorist organization, but he was brainwashed by them as a kid.

Anti-Propaganda

first off kageyukis whole personality is literally a cause of his horrible upbringing ( he was a bastard child born to a powerful political father + a mother who was only obsessed w said man ) and the fact that he grew up basically in a facility run by a religious cult / terrorist organization that taught him that he was a dispensible pawn and that feelings dont matter ( he was like. 10 man ) later before the start of the game, kageyuki is finally sent to the outside world on a "mission" for this terrorist organization and he begins to craft this "terribly honest, strange and offputting guy persona" when the protagonist meets him at the beginning of the game she actually suspects him of being part of the terrorist organization but he convinces her otherwise and so they begin this tentative partnership to find out more abt this terrorist organization. over the course of their partnership they often do not see eye to eye and he makes the protagonist upset, but doesnt actually do much harm to her and he slowly begins to actually LIKE being w her. but ofc his upbringing does Not Allow him to feel emotions in a Normal way so he kinds just fucks up over and over but its shown that he does have loving sides for her even when he tries to reject the emotions. this eventually leads to his endings. major spoilers for both good and bad endings if uu wanna avoid those !!!! in one of his bad endings, kageyuki actually ends up dying after trying to go after the terrorist organization boss in order to free and help the protagonist ( from her collar. i didnt explain that she had a collar but yeah. it had like poison and stuff in it that cld literally kill her and he didnt want that to happen so ) in his good ending tho, he takes her to the terrorist organization base and attempts to barter for her collar removal in exchange for her to be "initiated" into the organization thru killing him. he actually anticipates that the protagonist will say no tho and so she ends up shooting the boss guy, however this triggers the poison in the protags collar and so shiraishi frantically searches for the antidote ( which just so happened to be on the boss guy ) and he uses it on her. however she then falls into a coma and he nurses her back to health for a year. once she wakes up from her coma, shiraishi discovers that she has amnesia and cannot remember basically anything that happened, and so out of his love for her he simply tells her he was her doctor and that he had been nursing her back to health over the past year after she had a traumatic experience. he then calls up their mutual friends to come and help take care of her bc he had planned all along to turn himself in as part of the organization to atone for what he did and let happen, snd so him telling her nothing abt his feelings was his way of letting her go and be w someone "better for her"..however when he takes them to their friends they surprise the two of them w a christmas party since they had missed it the last year and it gently helps the protag regain her memories and she has a whole confrontation where they confront their feelings together and she decides that no matter what she will wait for him and its very sweet and very cute AND SO IN CONCLUSION KAGEYUKI SHIRAISHI IS VERY DATEABLE HE GOES THROUGH MUCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND HE DESERVES THE WORLD !!!!!!!!!

Lucy

Propaganda

Her rent was DUE!!! 😫😫😫 …and she didn’t pay it. Smokes weed in our shared apartment. Lucy we share a wall please be quieter when you bring people over to fuck smh. She’s a good person and kind of hot but she’s annoying as hell and for that reason I’m submitting her.

[musicismymoirail]

Ohhh fellow dragon age player???

Tell me more about your protags 👀👀👀

Oh, yes! :D It feels like I've been playing it forever at this point. But, okay! I do have sideblog for my da bullshit here but I haven't chatted about my protags in ages, so let's go! Apologies for the length ahead of time. ^^;;;

The Wardens: Left to Right.

Suibhne Tabris, the pragmatic & polite rogue whose always up to teach folks the old alienage proverb of 'no child of Adaia Tabris makes empty threats'. Push him if you dare. He's my technically canon warden and the leader of Origins ragtag group. Mainly because he's very stoic and chill. Mhm. He was left at the Chantry as an infant before the Tabris family adopted him. He loves his family dearly, and took Adaia's death very hard. Like he didn't speak for years after and people feel like he ended up as very muted version of his chaotic child self. But grief can change you, and that's okay. He romances Zevran (utterly smitten~), Morrigan is basically his sister, is the one that does the Dark Ritual, and he'd love to meet his son but respects Morrigan's wishes to keep away. He's just a chill sweetheart who will murder a whole castle of nobles to save his loved ones~. I love him. c: <3

Nari Aeducan, the iconoclastic & favored former princess of House Aeducan. Oh, Bhelen. You can keep the throne but you will never feel safe within the walls of Orzammar again. <3 Nari is... my newest Warden, and not super fleshed yet. She lost her eye in her childhood during a training match, and asked Daddy Dearest to get her a lyrium prosthetic eye. Because it neat. In my canon, she misses out on meeting Duncan and gets to roam around the Deep Roads until the Origins group finally stumbles over her like two months later? She's a survivor~~~ She also enjoys sweetly terrorizing her baby back-stabbing brother. <3 No idea who she'd romance, honestly? Probably no one. Her mind is just set on causing chaos in Orzammar. Bless her.

Raniel Surana, the tempestuous and diligent mage that lasted like four days outside of the circle before she turned to blood magic. To be fair, she was dying at the time & Mouse is cool. Raniel was my very first Warden~~~ Sooo. Her and Tabris both met Duncan before going to Ostagar, and she's both enthralled and terrified and so bitter at Jowan, so she's just bouncing in every direction. During the first fight, the orge atop the Tower bites off her arm and Rani, not wanting to die with her new friends, asks Mouse for help. She's Super Bitter and Pissed for most of the story, as losing your home and arm will do to someone. No one really questions the weird white mouse that travels on her shoulder. But Leliana and the others sloooooooowly bring back her old romantic self. Stories and stars do the soul so much good. She ends up as the Teryna of Gwaren, is a happy little blood mage and since Leliana is my canon Divine, is basically married to the highest religious figure in Southern Thedas. Go Raniel~~~~

I never got as attached to my Hawke as my Wardens or Inquisitor (weird as DA2 is my favorite game so far), buuuuuuut this is my current one.

Revelry Hawke, the stepford-smiling put-upon third parent of the Highly Dysfunctional Hawke family. All they wanted in life was to keep their family together and safe, and they Failed! Constantly! Carver died in Lothering! Bethany died in the Deep Roads! Leandra died in Kirkwall! And Revelry blames themself fully. :'D They're technically a rouge, but personal headcanon is they have magic too but just for Entropy spells and this goes unnoticed by all until the Arishok stabs them in Act Two. Losing one's family does have a way of letting you let go of a lot of things, does it~~? Forever sides with the mages, I do imagine they got offered the Viscountship post-game (because it's dumb that's Templar-locked) but Revelry stepped down after like five days. They're known as the Five-Day Viscount now. And they, idk, probably ended up in a polycule with everyone accidently. That seems like a very Revelry thing to do. o:

Do I have a favorite protag of the lot? Yes, it's Mir. :D

Mir'uvenan Ruoho Lavellan, aka Mir, aka Miracles, my beloved and endlessly chaotic Inquisitor. Left his clan because of his toxic and deeply codependent relationship with his twin brother, Mir is basically a shattered mosaic of trauma, impulse and passion. He doesn't know why he's here, he wants to burn the Chantry to the ground and steal its foundation to boot, and people are! Praising him?!? Him? Why! Whhhhhhhy!?! He's not a leader! TToTT!! Except, that's all the gaslighting talking. Mir is stupidly clever and intelligent, endlessly caring and absolutely has no issues telling off Ancient Tevinter Gods and their Fake Archdemons. He lost all his fucks when he got the Anchor, so fuck it. He'll do his best because he's kinda stuck here anyways. TT____TT

(And Bull's like 'this is why you're the Inquisitor, Kadan~~')

Mir's an absolute little nerd who adores mixing his own alchemical concoctions because smashing highly volatile flasks against his skin is just Heaven~~~ He ends up losing his hearing Quite A Bit because of all the explosions, but whatcha gonna do~? Dagna and Rocky teached him Dwarven Sign Language to help. He likes hanging around Dagna to learn magic in the non-magic way too because It's Fascinating! o: <333

Mhm. Romances Bull but it's pretty open. Sera is his BFF, and Dorian a close second. Never gets comfortable being the Herald or the Inquisitor, doubly so after the Jaws of Hakkon, triply so after Trespasser. He disbands it, and is happier for it just being a Red Jenny with Sera and just finally enjoying life at long last with a good support system of friends and connections. I always play the game as Mir slowly working through his miserable self-worth and healing through all the trauma his brother put him through, so I like him ending the game having more neutral-positive outlook. He is actually Not The Worst, and ain't that nice? c:

(He's still gonna punch Solas in the face if they meet again tho. Because friends don't let friends destroy worlds, and he already proved people are just as worthwhile now as long ago.)

And if anyone actually read through all of that, thank you and bless you for reading about my silly little protags I've put Far Too Much Thought into over the years! ;;v;; <3

Also, enjoy a silly comic of Mir buying 57 hand puppets. <3

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @somethingclevermahogony!

Five Senses Tag

Rules: share a snippet to represent each of the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell)

Let's see if Secrets of Salis (MG book 2) has anything good!

.

Sight:

Well, slather me in radium and call me a sorcerer…. Astra’s eyes grew wide as she took in the spotless streets and sculpted stucco columns. It was like stepping from hell into heaven. Fountains made flowing music on every corner and there were even decorative pines in planters along the sidewalks. Every window frame was plated in brass, turned luminous by the wrought iron gaslamps.

And the people! For once in her life, Astra saw no humans, goblins, or selkies to balance things out—just a sea of white and gray faces framed with donkey-like ears. The elves here dressed in delicate pastels, not even the ash from the foundries beyond daring to cross the inner wall. Most walked at a stately pace, shooting her vardo the sort of well-bred glares the witch was accustomed to in Yewbury.

“This place is fuuuucked,” she whispered.

Sound:

The shades giggled as she tried to breathe heavily, but the air wouldn’t come. This time, they sounded like little Agri and Twayun who’d lived at the end of her street.

At the end of this street though, Vermir could finally see her destination. She hadn’t been certain of the location, hence why she’d set down the door a ways away. It wasn’t like she’d really been in Unity for that long, despite haunting it for nearly a year. Even so, getting the directions wrong galled her.

Taste:

Astra awoke slowly and miserably. The first sensation that came back to her was, unfortunately, taste. This was unfortunate because her mouth tasted like a week-dead mushroom.

Touch:

The second sensation to return was touch. This was even more unfortunate for two reasons. One, she was tied to a chair. Two, she was dressed in the itchiest, most unflattering shift known to man.

Smell:

Mashal gave a lungless sigh. “We’re getting close…”

Astra laughed from her place within the vardo. “Sure are! When you can smell the pig shit, you’re officially within the city limits of Nakaow. I’m pretty sure that’s the law, at least.”

“I don’t have a sense of smell.” Mashal tapped his sculpted bronze and steel nose for emphasis.

The witch winced at her misstep, then suddenly took on a thoughtful expression. “You know, I could try n’ build ya one. I fixed you up with those temperature sensors and that new arm on the way down—I reckon smell wouldn’t be too much of a bother after alla’ that.”

Briefly, Mashal actually considered it, before shaking his head. “No, I think we have bigger things to focus on right now. And I though I don’t remember what pig shit smells like, I’m pretty keen on keeping it that way.”

This was surprisingly difficult with one of my two protags missing three of his five senses

I'll tag @mysticstarlightduck @abalonetea @elizaellwrites and anyone else who wants in :)

[scribe-cas]

hi, hello!! i am very curious about the protag of your book series, the one you mentioned you have a whole murder playlist for (in the 9 people you want to know better tag)!! could you say anything more about him?

My friend I am absolutely feral over the fact that I offhandedly mention a murder playlist and that is what gets your attention

(He has more than one)

Thank you so much

This ask made my day

NOW THEN

“Is there anything more you can say”

i will talk about him for hours I’m so sorry bestie-

AHEM

Couteau M. Profane, more popularly called (but less well known) As the Silence, is my favorite fucking character on the face of gods green earth

He’s a slightly stantoffish, but all around semi-charming guy. He works at a bar in a small town in the mountains, where my book takes place, and at first glance, he seems mostly like a friendly face. He’ll tease you (mostly about how if you’re sitting down at his bar, you’ll have to be prepared to drink more than that, no matter what you order), but he’ll make sure you feel welcome. He’s got a knack for knowing if there’s something on your mind.

Long, coiled copper hair, tied back in a ponytail in the dim glow of the lights, grey/blue eyes, groomed brows, usually dressed in a simple mockery of a suit. Not quite formal wear, but clean black pants and matching jacket are his regular go-tos. White button up underneath. Most patrons are too drunk to realize he’s usually wearing mascara.

He’s a fairly calm presence, and tends to keep to behind the counter, but if you give him a chance, you’ll find he makes good conversation.

He’s easy to talk to, albeit with a bit of a dry sense of humor. But he’ll make sure you’re safe, and his smile is a smug but easygoing one.

He’ll keep an eye out for you, even as he serves drinks, despite the other bartenders hustling around him. He doesn’t have to, after all. He owns the place-

“But what kind of a boss would I be if I weren’t down here with them?”

A few drinks here, a few there, he’d keep you quiet company as he polishes glasses.

Any issues, and he’ll very carefully make his way over, leaned back as casually as he can, just to make sure there isn’t a problem.

The only thing odd about his bar is that people go missing from it.

Some of the best service in town, and they’re famous for their spiked milkshakes.

At the risk of a disappearance.

You never hear of any fights in the bar.

Around it, sure, but never in.

Never allowed to exist for more than a minute.

And, if a person goes out to the bar, and doesn’t come home?

Well. Maybe they deserved it.

Couteau is my Mankiller.

I say he’s a protagonist, but he actually doesn’t get his own book until the third one in the series. (It’ll be the biggest. Can guarantee it. He’s my favorite.)

He’s my thing that goes bump in the night, and he’s definitely not human. :>

I got tired of supernatural romances making women their victims, so I decided to kill off some guys for the plot instead /lh

Cho is a wendigo. All teeth and bones and vocal mimics.

He’s been one for about three hundred years (at least, that’s his best guess, because he stopped counting after 226, and he can’t remember his birthday.)

Uhh he’s trans, so there’s that

He mainly eats violent/predatory men but women are also at risk (especially if they touch him and he hasn’t asked for it. Usually he’ll flirt back until he’s alone with them and then just. End it.)

Nobody in universe knows this, other than a select few who are aware of the area.

Usually, you know The Silence (local Cryptid who has been stealing people off), or you know Couteau (small town bartender who’s pretty okay)

Usually not both and many fewer who know that they happen to be the same person.

Anyways he kicks ass, if you wanna know more about him I’m happy to answer questions :>

[satsuha]

you are SO RIGHT!! agnene is sooo cute and you’ve really opened my eyes to the extent of how much it works. the parallels you drew between them and temehika also make a lot of sense.

similarly, now that you mention it, i definitely understand what you mean about the crossed path story.. i haven’t played since the game released (i plan on replaying when the anniversary arrives) so i my memory wasn’t the clearest. i’d completely forgotten about yomi ooops.. and you’re right that they really should have touched more on agnea’s past, especially since both she and hikari have lost their mothers. it could have been so sweet to see them exchanging stories about them. i do wish that had happened :(

this is somewhat unrelated but i’m vehemently against the temenos/throné ship because i kind of see them as siblings? (SPOILERS BTW) idk i saw a really good theory about temenos also being one of Mr “So i inpregnated countless women” Guy’s children (was his name claude? i’m blanking suddenly) and while i’m not usually one to go all in on believing fan theories, the theory was so compelling that every time i see them shipped it makes me just a bit uncomfortable lmao. that’s just how my brain works i guess

argh in conclusion there were so many links that could have been drawn between certain characters that the game didn’t want to touch on and it’s such a shame. i get that they didn’t want to make any protags More Prominent than the others and that’s hard to pull off but my imagination definitely runs wild with all the possibilities (i will never see that end-game “why was temenos doing all the heavy lifting” scene the same way after what you did with it hehe)

hehe my agnene agenda... i unfortunately don't have enough hands to draw them as much as i'd like to but yeah they're so cute to me 😭 and yeah i understand! i'm also going through my second playthrough (albeit slowly lol i started in may and am still on it) but i do check videos online pretty often when i want to talk about something so i'm more or less refreshed on the events of the game

and ooogh... that theory... okay well for some context i only came across it when someone told me it was canon that temenos was claude's son and i was so horrified that i'd missed something but it turns out people had just misinterpreted arcanette's line directed at throne o<-< i think the theory is... fine but it doesn't really affect any part of temenos' character for me since the only real thing claude's children have in common is that they were forced into the blacksnakes' bloodbath but temenos wasn't a part of that so... i also think it suits him better that he's just some ordinary guy because his story seems to push the fact that he's in a role he was never destined for (in an "ideal" world, it would've been roi who was the chosen cleric for the story but temenos was forced to take up the mantle)

UHHH but yeah regardless of temenos' parentage i got pretty strong sibling/platonic vibes from his and throne's interactions anyway... i like their dynamic the most amongst the crossed paths pairs because temenos is just constantly telling throne off for her bad behaviour like a child and i find it amusing lol

i'm always stuck between wanting more of a certain kind of interaction (because i think some banters were lacklustre) and being fine with it because it means i can be delusional and just fill in the gaps myself lmao... THAT scene still boggles my mind i can't think of a single reason why temenos would be the one carrying the water JKFGHJKA but temehika going off as a pair regardless of what they are doing will always make me happy.... 🥰

[inkblackorchid]

For the most part, I'm perfectly okay with how this duel plays out, tbh. Misty is an excellent opponent for Aki, her mirror maze field spell is a good set piece for the whole "you killed my brother; look your own cruelty in the eyes"-angle, Aki getting to duel with zero restraint for a bit is kinda cool, and even the fact that Divine shows up again out of nowhere is fine because his exit from the narrative would have otherwise been dreadfully boring for such a compelling, minor antagonist, to say the least. (Though I do wish they'd bothered explaining how the hell he survived the Arcadia building's collapse. My personal hc is that he saved himself with his psychic powers somehow.) And the whole mind control thing, as vague as it is in canon, at least really hammers home that Divine's despicable and that Aki's better off without him. (Arguably, a version of this duel without Aki being mind-controlled at all could have been interesting, but tbh I think that would have needed to be set up a little differently. But I'm not here to talk about that.)

There is one thing I absolutely would have changed, though, and it's precisely the scene above. Like, don't get me wrong, I love Yusei, he's a great protagonist and I could never be mad at him for saving the day. But the mind control bit is one thing where I wish it hadn't been him who'd broken it. I'm fine with him exposing Divine in front of Misty, that scene delivers some really good comeuppance and showcases yet again how good Yusei is at coming up with plans and executing them quickly; it's a smart move from a smart guy and feels earned. (And I love his dumb grin when he says "my duel disk is home-made". Bastard (affectionate).) However, I wish they'd let Aki snap out of the mind control on her own before Divine gets gobbled up by Ccarayhua. I can guess why they didn't do that—Yusei's the protagonist, after all, and this is still primarily his show. (And arguably Jack's, but that's basically the standard modus operandi for yugioh protag/rival duos anyway.) So of course he gets to save the day here, because he's already been established as the guy who was willing to be in Aki's corner even back when she was still willfully trying to hurt people at this point, too. So I get it.

But still.

Especially in light of how Aki gets sidelined once this arc ends, it would have been nice if they'd at least let her leave her spot in the limelight with a flourish. Her relationship to Divine and the Arcadia Movement are never explored again past this point, anyway, save for a few throwaway remarks that tell us basically nothing about how Aki worked through all that. So why not give her this? In light of her circumstances, it made sense that she was happy to see Divine had survived at first during this duel, but why not let the mind control thing be the moment where she realises just how much of a horrible person he is? Let her realise that he's willing to go as far as overriding her free will entirely just to use her for his cruel purposes, and let that be the moment she finally breaks free of him on her own, without anyone telling her Divine and Arcadia are bad (no matter how well-intentioned those people are). If they couldn't give us any follow-up whatsoever about how Aki dealt with being back home, with having been a part of a cult for a while, and with realising that her former mentor/protector was a genuinely horrid human being, they could have at least given us this tiny moment where Aki broke free by herself. As much as I love Yusei, I just think they should have let Aki save herself here. It could have been such a powerful moment to see her shake herself out of that control, unwilling to hurt Misty, who's grief she felt sorry for, and most of all, unwilling to hurt or let her new friends be hurt.

So yeah. Good duel, massive missed opportunity imo.

[mx-mind]

hey sky!! for the OC ask meme you recently rb'd on your other blog, could I ask: 1, 4, 11, 19, 23, 32 (feel free to swap horror out with the like.. yume nikki-esque type of game! i'm curious to know! :D) 40, 44, and 50? :]

it's a lot to ask, so feel free to skip over any if you'd like! and sorry for asking so many! your ocs are very cool and i like learning more about them ^-^/

HI SARAH thank you for all the questions I love OC questions :3 Sorry for taking so long to answer these ^^;

1. Your first OC ever?

Twas a My Little Pony OC named Western Cat (name received from a generator). This was also generated, but she was "a unicorn with flame colored hair, a golden coat, and purple eyes". I interpreted flame colored as red and yellow hair, golden coat as golden yellow, and purple eyes as. Well, purple eyes. I then turned her into a Sonic OC, and years later made a human design based on the Sonic OC and changed their gender to match mine and wait a minute... That's Sky! My OC who acts as a fictional in-story representation of myself! So yeah, my sona is actually my first OC (after dozens of revisions over about 8 years of existing)

4. A character you rarely talk about?

Hasedonia! Mostly because I don't have too much for her and her story yet, but I also tend to talk about H&R! less than R&RWG. She's another person who's been isekaid to Phitania and appears to be half dragon

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

Bailey is probably the closest to sunshine? I originally thought "just as a kid though", but she's still optimistic as a teen.

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

I don't really talk about these characters too much since I don't really talk about my regular novel stuff, but one of the main characters is a Jewish girl named Talia. She works in a bookstore and the story opens with her... not exactly in the best place. She's been fired from many places, she's a huge people pleaser and ended up getting dumped for that, she's still not over her ex, and she feels like she disappoints everyone she meets. Her arc has her moving on from her ex as she and her old friend Cassie reconnect. Instead of it ending with her and Cassie dating as would be typical of a YA story though, she just stays single. I don't think the story is really YA anymore since she and everyone else have aged up as I've gotten older, but I created her back when I kept missing an old ex-BFF. I also just like that she doesn't end up in a relationship at the end because YA stories I read at the time ALL had romance in them. Before I really started to realize I was arospec I felt like teens should have the opportunity to see characters that stay single and are okay with it in order to send the message that you don't have to date. I don't even know if Talia is arospec or not yet but either way it's important that she has the option to not date and still learn to be happy without one

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

The Sun King is a benevolent ruler who acts as Shiko's guide and confidante in his journey through Phitania, a magical world where Shiko becomes the hero. Hey, I think I should add more to this guy. *Turns around and now he's the main villain and his character and actions are now similar to the likes of King Bradley from FMAB, Kyubey from Madoka Magica, and Belos from Owl House* Oops...

So basically yeah he was supposed to just be a stock king character until I wanted to develop him more. He's still the ruler of Phitania and initially appears to be an ally, like he acts like the perfect dad towards everyone and the country is at peace, and then after Shiko dies he reincarnates him back on Earth and tells him he needs to send people to Phitania and then he can be brought back. Originally there was no real reason except hey we need isekai protags, but uhhh you know how I mentioned Kyubey as being inspiration? Yeah... Turns out everyone in Phitania is someone who had a miserable life who got "sent" there and he gave them happiness but has secretly been draining them of their hope and determination in order to become all powerful! And he was just supposed to be some guy...

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

Neil! This can work as both a human and a truck. He has a lot of trauma, and his life is basically a horror game. Even though he can drive himself around as a truck, Shiko can still take control of him at any time and that tends to happen when they have a target they need to run over. Like imagine at any moment your freedom can be taken away and you're forced to run through someone at top speeds in order to kill them. That's so fucked up

For Yume Nikki protag, I'd say Evanthe. Its whole story is it running through various scenarios to decide what to do with its newfound sentience, so the open-ended nature of a YNFG combined with a vague ending would work well with this. God now I wanna make one...

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

Jaxon is the first OC I got fanart of from my friends! This is the first attack I got of xim on Artfight, and then here's another drawn by my excellent and talented friend @lab-labrava

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

They all try to fight against their fate and have fun colored hair :3

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

Nova Armstrong! Ze's a Batman Rogue OC I recently came up with based on the Rookie from Lego DC Super Villains and the first Planet Master (old Silver Age villain who only appeared once; ze's actually related to him but I dunno how yet). Nova is a henchman for hire and can temporarily steal people's powers and strengths. Ze will also copy other people's personalities, though this is due to an effort to fit and unrelated to hir powers. Ze does this to fit in with any rogue ze wants to get hired to

Hir reasoning for working in the rogue industry is ze's trying to find hir brother, but after ze does find him, ze ends up becoming a solo villain called "The Black Hole". Now ze goes really overboard with the "steal people's powers and strength" shtick and keeps trying to find ways to make it permanent. I haven't designed it yet beyond "this needs a long flowing cloak with a hood" and "stars" but hir whole costume is based on space