#said unfinished version is under the cut

[bluebirbbb]

mock me with flashing lights alt versions under the cut!

it was supposed to be a diptych. kind of a before and after but i lost motivation so have an unfinished version at least.

[retellingthehobbit]

Retelling The Hobbit Chapter 15: Unattached First chapter / Previous / Next Read full comic on: Webtoon/A03 

Other blogs : Instagram/Tumblr Sideblog

Thank you for reading! The next chapter of this comic adaptation of The Hobbit will be titled (drumroll)....The Song of the Lonely Mountain!

Check under the cut for notes on the callbacks to previous chapters of this comic, and to Tolkien stories like the Unfinished Tales! —-

—-

One of my guiding ideas for this comic is that the story is being written/drawn by Bilbo Baggins, an  “unreliable narrator,” who has a biased way of recounting events. As the comic goes on, parts of the story get retold through new perspectives (or through the eyes of other characters), and you realize the initial version you read was incomplete. 

A lot of you probably noticed that this chapter features a ton of callbacks to the earliest chapters of this comic! We saw child Bilbo and Gandalf's friendship told from Bilbo's POV in Chapter 3.....but in this chapter we see it retold from Gandalf's POV. However, Belladonna Took is our biggest instance of that!   Not to overexplain my own writing, but��Chapter 1 is an older Bilbo painting an idealized happily-ever-after fairytale picture of Belladonna, while Chapter 15 features a younger Bilbo telling a far less optimistic version of her life.  While there's truth to both of them, neither of them is the full truth.

In the Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo tells Frodo that ‘books need to have good endings,' like endings where everyone "lives happily ever after." If I were to continue this comic to the end of the novel, Bilbo’s habit of “rewriting things to be happier" would become a whole Thing. 

Second: Much of this chapter is taken directly from “The Unfinished Tales: The Quest For Erebor.” That story was Tolkien’s attempt to unite the tone of The Hobbit with LOTR, by having Gandalf explain what The Hobbit looked like from *his* perspective. The gay line about Bilbo feeling incapable of settling down into a Traditional Marriage with a Wife And Kids is taken almost directly from the Unfinished Tales. So are all the lines where Gandalf reflects on what Bilbo was like as a child, and the moment where Bilbo reflects that all of his desire for adventure has dwindled to a private dream.

Third: Obviously, the other big influence on this chapter (outside the original novel) was a similar scene in the PJ film. The little bit where Gandalf reveals the lore behind Bullroarer took monologue is the only dialogue I’ve directly lifted from that scene. ;3

Fourth: some of you may have caught that I used a quote describing Frodo’s wanderlust in the Fellowship of the Ring to describe Bilbo. The bit describing "the maps that only show white spaces beyond their borders" is also why I emphasized Bilbo’s canonical nerdiness around  maps in earlier chapters (chapter 5 especially, but also in Chapter 6, Chapter 7, and a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in chapter 14.) 

Fifth: one of my favorite things in the original book are all the scenes where Gandalf does fun Whimsical things with smoke/smoke rings. In the book he usually makes them change color or race around; in my comic he usually makes them turn into butterflies (he also does this in chapters 3 and 11.) you may have noticed that Butterfly Symbolism is a big thing in this comic.  But yeah, in another callback: Gandalf finally had time to blow smoke-rings with Bilbo, which he said he 'had no time for' in Chapter 2!

Thanks again for reading! I tentatively plan for the next chapter to arrive on November 13th.

[kravchikfreak]

I'm sorry if this ask is coming out of nowhere, but I have been looking for posts that talk about how S2 has declined in quality and there have been virtually NONE. Even tags like 'arcane critical' or 'anti arcane' don't show up even though I know there are posts that are tagged with them. I'm losing my mind. Has nobody else noticed this downgrade? The ideas could have been good, but they were not executed well and the whole thing reads like they wrote it really quickly without any real editing and then rushed to get it out. It feels hollow, like we're seeing a botched or unfinished version of what it was supposed to be. What kind of random ass shit is it that an enforcer comes up to Vi and says, "cait said good things about you," and Vi is just like wow you're right, I'm sold! Even though she already knows Cait has a high opinion of her and that wasn't the issue in the first place! Also who was that random homeless man? Why am I supposed to care about these people? Fans get defensive about the pacing and argue that s1 did a lot in a minimal amount of time too, but I don't think they realize that pacing has to do with making something feel organic. Vi's heel turn into becoming an enforcer was not organic. Viktor's two second goodbye was not organic. Both of these things could have made sense if they'd given these moments even just a little more effort or care. There were so many unnecessary scenes that could have been cut out to give more time to things that desperately needed it (like caitlyn's sad wordless montage about her mom. Why did it drag out so long? Her grief is apparent in every other scene. We did not need an entire abstract slideshow of her making various sad expressions.) There's also the animation. The animation is leagues above a regularly animated show, but if you look closely it is actually not as good as s1. There is less detail, the lighting of the background doesn't always match the characters, and there are moments where the lips don't always sync with their voices. These are minor things that I wouldn't usually care about, but for a multi-million dollar show like Arcane? Riot games recently laid off a whole slew of its creative team, too, and I wonder if they've been making similar cuts before that. It would certainly explain the drop in quality. I wouldn't put it past corporate greed to nerf one of the most groundbreaking animated shows in modern media if they thought they could profit more by cutting corners.

I'm sorry to ramble in your inbox as a random stranger, but it boggles my mind that there are so few people mentioning s2's flaws (not including rage bait, which is annoying because it only delegitamizes real criticisms and discussions.) I feel like I'm screaming in the void like is nobody else seeing this shit??

well hello there! first of all, "arcane critical" is what i was looking for when i was writing that post. gonna put it in tags now before i forget

secondly, i love asks! so no need to apologize. thirdly it's a bummer you went under anonym, i don't believe you get notifs for your anonymous asks, so unless you actually hang out on my blog regularly there's a chance you won't see me appreciating your thoughts and agreeing with you (expect for the animation part, cause for me it was great, i have no questions on that regard. but for each their own. i'm a big fun of the dragon prince first season's animation and still sad they get rid of their 13fps style, so...)

anyway, i got bored at the beginning of my rumbling that time and didn't get into some deep analysis but yes, the first season also had events to go fast and forward, but at the same time they made sense. it wasn't rush or dragged, every scene had a meaning and weight

YES to the burial scene. like i get it, it was drawn pretty and it was sad and grey for cait but my god how many hours can we watch vi going away from 317 different angles? i was actually shocked to see her at cait's, cause after 10 minutes of her hiding in the crowd and leaving before cait saw her i was legit sure the show tried to tell us they broke up for now and won't see each other for a while

and it all feels so odd, as if on the one hand writers had too little allowed episodes to work with their ideas, like they came up with all these important story points but had no more screen time to add actual story development between the points, cause the season is like 10 episodes too short to fit a full coherent story. but on the other hand they have too much unused screen time, like they wrote only 5 episodes but they had to make 9 so now we will just fill the equivalent of 4 episodes of free time with mute repetitive long scenes

who the fuck is that mute lizard cop? is he actually mute? or there were no budget on one more voice actor? what's his problem? why he always looks like he's mad at everyone? should i even care he's always displeased? does he even matter? if no, why he has so much screen time and close-up shots? if yes, why he has no meaning or story or character or name? i swear to god, in the first season that one future-junkie dude had more of a meaning and weight in his two minutes scene than these lizard cop and the new jinx's sister during two episodes

and it all would've been fine, really, if it was the first season, or one of these already bad shows that you don't really expect much of. but arcane was a masterpiece, and also we've been waiting for it for three years. so it's the feeling that we know how GOOD it can be, and the feeling that it just chose not to

w....wait... what if they also tried to do great? and failed to do good in the process

or maybe, as you said, just some internal kitchen shit. i never actually follow media creation stuff and staff so maybe that's just it. still not make it all better for me as a viewer who was too excited to learn at 1 am that the act dropped and stayed up until 7am to make sure to watch it before getting to sleep

HEY THANK YOU for giving me opportunity to rumble about it again

[comicsandconstellations]

Emerie “Chance” Karr’s armour breakdown for my AU. ( To match Echo ‘Domino’ s design)

“Well, why don’t you take a chance on it?” Her eyes lit up at his words, her smile brightening but her voice almost hesitant.

“That’s it.” The cyborg paused, apprehensive about her tone, furrowing his brow slightly.

“You thought of something?”

“Chance. It’s a term used to describe taking new opportunities with the probability of success being undetermined. Hoping that the decisions you make were enough to produce the results you want but the outcome is still left to fate. It's like a positive version of X, an unknown variable, an unknown with the hope of success…It’s also a gaming term.”

“Chance?” Emerie’s smile faulted a little as he repeated it, echoed it, mulling it around in the space between them. “I like it. You certainly fit that description well, you’ve taken a lot of risky chances to get here, and I’m glad for that.” The fear in her expression softened at his approval, her fidgeting fingers finally falling still in her lap. “And I like that it’s also a term associated with games, like Domino. That’s clever.”

“You think so?”

“Does it feel right?”

“Yeah.” She said almost instinctively before taking a deep breath, sitting with it for a second. “Yeah, it does.”

“Good. It suits you.”

Emerie was not a character I ever planned on writing about but she has become one of the main characters in my AU. The above snippet is from the draft of my (very long, very much unfinished) AU that my Echo ‘Domino’ design is from. The whole paragraph does a great job of explaining the context of that segment but I cut off the other 500 words because I’m not posting that long of a caption. Echo and Emerie end up being the main duo of the AU (since the rest of the Batch have retired) and I’m loving writing her character and their dynamic as a squad. Of course, if you read my caption on my ‘Domino’ armour breakdown, you’d understand that Echo is forcibly removed from that dynamic so :(

Anyway, I’d read the annotated sketch because it gives a lot of context to her design. The only thing I think I forgot to mention in those annotations that was in the original sketch notes was that her thigh guards are designed to mimic the top of Echo’s prosthetics. Just for a nice touch. Why is her under suit purple? The answer should be “because it matches Domino’s which is purple as a combo of tbb and 501st colours” and not “it matches Domino’s which is purple because that was the colour that looked best when I made his design” but guess which ones is correct. This design will come up LOTS in my art as I am drawing a lot of these two atm. As always, love to hear what you think.

[zivazivc]

Yesterday I watched Help! I'm A Fish and I had a good time! Chuck's seriousness and Fly's upbeat attitude made me think of Eddy M and Ravin respectively.

That movie is SO bizarre. I showed it to a friend a couple of weeks ago, so I watched it twice now, and we both kept screaming at all the emotional whiplash scenes jfksjhfdjh

I think I see what you mean about Eddy M and Ravin being like Chuck and Fly. Especially in the context of your headcanon where they had a rough childhood. They're not much like those characters in my version though.

Eddy M is a rude moody teen who is very matter-of-fact and headstrong - he's a 13-year-old who thinks he knows everything, and he will let you know that with sassy remarks and comebacks.

Ravin is definitely upbeat and more positive but I wouldn't call her Eddy's opposite because she is equally a smartass. She is just very jokey, self-aware nerd face emoji about it. She'll go "errrrmm, ACTually ☝" whenever she thinks she's right about something or when she just wants to annoy you. That's a good descriptor actually; instead of being rude the normal teenage way like Eddy, she is annoying - intentionally. It's a bit and she fully commits.

Dunno how to better describe them lol

Since I know you'll appreciate, I'm sharing a small chunk of my "Floyd runs into the techno troll and their kids" wip under the cut. It's been sitting and collecting dust for a while now because I have no idea how to finish it, but you can get a bit of an idea of what I imagine these two kids being like:

(for context, Floyd is helping Bruce at the bar and guess who happens to visit? And Floyd goes to take an order from them because he is a dumbass and needs too long to realize who he's talking to... The techno troll and Floyd have a private talk, it goes poorly and the techno troll lets him know that he doesn't want him to meet the kids or let them know who he is, and then Floyd hides behind the bar going full blown emo mode... (Also this is an unfinished draft so there might be some klunky parts, idk, I don't feel like editing it rn but I'm also very self conscious about my writing in general so I need to point this out 😬))

. . .

Floyd felt an intense misery wash over him. He really was a fuck up.

He stared at his feet for who knows how long (Maybe he had begun to dissociate?) when the faint sound of light feet stopping nearby made him look up.

Couldn’t this family gathering end already???

He nearly choked on his saliva while standing up in a desperate attempt to find something to busy himself with and not deal with this.

“Uh, h-hi, random kids I don’t know.”

He gave up at the sight of the empty sink with nothing to wash, and carefully looked at the two kids like they were going to bite him from any sudden movements. He probably shouldn’t stare too hard but that was what he ended up doing while taking in their appearance.

“How dumb do you think we are?” the boy—Edwin said with the distinct attitude and mannerism of a brash teen.

“From one to ten,” Ravin added quickly after and much more cheerily, while she pulled a small journal from her hair. She clicked her gel pen and pressed it against the paper in preparation. “Be honest.”

Floyd was a bit dumbfounded to be honest. “... What?” He straightened a little where he was still leaning against the sink and not facing them fully.

“Is on the slower side…” Ravin said out loud while scribbling the words down.

“We have to do this fast,” Edwin explained impatiently and with uncanny matter-of-fact-ness. “Dads think we went to the bathroom.”

“Uh… Do what fast?”

Ravin spoke up while staring at her journal: “How would you describe yourself?”

“What’s your favorite song?” asked Edwin.

"Would you say your hair is white and pink or white and red? And since when is it white? Dad never mentioned that."

“Do you think the words ‘drug addict hobo’ accurately describe you?”

“What’s better, hardcore or emo?”

“I told you it’s not emo!”

"Do you have any health history we should be aware of?" 

“If you were a bug, what type of bug would you be?

"Do we have any other siblings?" 

Floyd’s eyes grew wide from the onslaught of questions. “Whoa, whoa, slow down!” Then reluctantly he added “One at a time, please.” without even realizing he invited them into a conversation.

Edwin looked at his sister. “What was the first one?”

“How would you describe yourself? Three words.”

Floyd didn’t like the first question.

He should probably try thinking of positives…

“Uh…”

“Uhm…”

Panic.

“I’m a good singer. Well, I used to be…”

“That’s your personality?" Edwin deadpanned. "Singing?”

“I’ll just write down: bad self-image, bad under pressure, bad at understanding questions.”

"Those aren't personality traits either, sis."

"Fine! Unconfident, anti-equanimous, intelligently-impaired. There."

"Next question?"

“What’s your favorite song?”

Floyd's mouth was hanging open. He was pretty sure he just got called an insecure some-big-word idiot.

"Hello? We have a time limit. What's your favorite song?" 

“...T-That’s a hard question," he fumbled for words, "there’s so many songs, it would be impossible to choose.”

Ravin looked into her notepad with a sigh and jotted down: “Indecisive. Gives flakey vibes.”

Floyd didn’t know how to respond to that either. Would it be weird if he got upset? Because he was definitely offended. But then again maybe he deserved this. Like some kind of delayed karma.

“If you were a bug, what type of bug would you be?”

Floyd thought about it, trying to come up with some type of direct answer at least for this question. “Hmm… A grig, maybe?”

Edwin made a face. “What the heck is a grig?”

Ravin seemed to have an idea. She wrote down: “An old soul. Depressed.”

“That’s the opposite of a grig!”

“Have you heard of reverse self-awareness?”

“No…?”

“Probably ‘cause I just made it up. But the term kinda suits you." She scratched her scalp with the dull end of her pen."I think?”

Floyd, still feeling absolutely lost in the whole situation, continued to stare mutely.

Edwin was watching him judgingly. "You think there's any awareness there at all?"

Ravin gave a vague hum before getting back on track. "What do you do for a living?" 

"Rae, don't waste our time with stupid questions. It's obvious what he does."

Maybe, Floyd thought, he could finally impress them with something. "I'm a musician, actually."

"Yeah okay, music boy." Edwin replied without missing a beat. "Is the apron a new fashion accessory I don't know about?" 

Floyd’s mouth hung open (if it ever even stopped hanging). These kids were savage…

[gabzilla-z]

ok quick thoughts, spoilers behind the cut.

Pros:

Halle. HALLE. H a l l e. Her voice, her face, her mannerisms. They took what made Ariel special in the animated movie and built on it and she was the perfect person to pull it off.

Her beauty was distracting.

So glad they finally got a singer for a live action, I couldn’t take another B&B autotuned disaster.

Made me want to get to the nearest rock and play mermaid ngl.

I had my doubts with Jonah but he did a great job with Eric, played the shy, kinda awkward potato prince charming to perfection. Loved that they expanded his backstory and his interest in adventure and the sea. Also A+ for the movie knowing he had a white shirt on while surrounded by water and using every chance it had to drench him.

Eric still being caring and worried about Ariel even under Ursula’s spell? 10/10 no notes.

He came to chew bubblegum and be dreamy and he was all out of bubblegum.

Halle and Jonah’s chemistry was insane, I need them to do ten movies making eyes at each other.

Seriously the movie could have been 2 hours of them interacting in that library and it would have been money well spent.

or just two hours of them being cute smol and tol in a boat idc

TRUE LOVE INDEED

Can’t wait for this movie to be out in D+ so I can reblog all the gifs.

Part of Your World and all reprises were ofc gorgeous. Vanessa’s Trick is haunting and exactly what one would want for a siren song. For the First Time is gorgeous and underrated, felt very Broadway-esque. Eric’s song was corny but in a good way.

The rest of the songs are adequate but are not as good as the original ones.

Gotta said, song aside, the Kiss the Girl scene was more endearing in this version. When she helps him figure out her name?

Melissa was good as Ursula and made the character her own, though I think she was not as scary as she could have been. Better than I expected, though.

The actress that plays Vanessa knew she had 5 minutes to make an impression and used them to the fullest. Delightful.

Cons:

The CGI felt unfinished and so did the color grading/lighting. I edited all the movie images in this post (just played with the saturation and the contrast) and I’m mediocre at best. HIRE TUMBLR EDITORS, DISNEY.

Halle deserved to wear more outfits, I can't believe Disney missed an opportunity to sell more dolls. Would have given her a dress for each day on land and the water dress. Mouse, I thought you liked money.

we could have had it all

Wanted more of her sisters tbh. And less Triton, Javier phoned it in imo. I know Triton and Ariel’s relationship is an important part of the original movie but idk if it was his half assed acting or me wanting more of the sisters, but I wasn’t moved.

Flounder's weird character design was saved by his stellar voice actor and Sebastian grew on me, he was hilarious. Scuttlefina was tolerable but gosh she’s always playing the same character, stop casting her in everything.

Less I say about Scuttlebutt the better. Kids are probably gonna love it, though.

The ending was kinda weird? It felt rushed and the battle with Ursula was disappointing. Which is a surprise because the OTHER stormy scene at night was wonderfully done. 

Up to Ursula taking Ariel back to the ocean it felt really cohesive but the second Triton appears to save her it was like they were trying to speed things up and it got... weird.

Didn’t mind Ariel being the one that killed Ursula, after everything she put her through.

Cannot believe the movie robbed us of Jonah screaming “I lost her once, I’m not gonna lose her again!”

Overall it was a well paced (up to the finale), entertaining, charming movie. Despite its faults, the only Disney live action I want to rewatch (outside MAYBE Cinderella).

8/10 Justice for the foam dress.

[twisted-in-underland]

“You’ve never had a friend like me? Hehehe, I seem to get that a lot!”

Unique Magic:

Friend Like Me: By entrusting their lamp to another person - or “master” - Maram is able to access near cosmic powers. The spells must be made in the style of a wish by the “master” that Maram then fulfills. Due to the strength of the magic, Maram can only fulfil three “wishes” before to much blot is accumulated.

Info template belongs to @unfinished-projects-galore!

Side note: Maram is not a student at NRC or RSA, I’m just using the Scarabia template because it fits the aesthetic of the character in general 👍🏻

Other info: Concept sketch & information

[image updated due to unnoticed spelling errors]

(More info under the cut)

I know I said I was going to work on Yuri and Roma’s sprites…but Maram has been on my mind and I needed to get them in colour 🫣

For those who are new, Maram Grant is twisted from Genie from Aladdin and takes inspo from both animated and live action versions! I mention someone named “Ali” later on (like once lol), that’s my TWST!Aladdin; his full name is Amir Ali but he often goes by just “Ali” or “Al”.

Much of Maram’s basic info is available in the concept sketch post linked above, so I’m going to try to just clear up a few other things I’ve thought of.

~~~

Maram doesn’t attend traditional mage schools like NRC or RSA. I’m really leaning towards the idea that genies have their own schooling system. This is primarily because they use their lamps in place of mage stones. I imagine young genies start learning to control their magic early on through their parents (so they can attend elementary/middle school with other kids) and go through more structured learning in high school.

Genies primarily live in small communities like towns or villages similar to humans. Some communities are more nomadic than others and enjoy traveling around the Scalding Sands. The bulk of genie communities are located in the Scalding Sands, but there are some scattered communities in other areas of Twisted Wonderland. Maram claims her uncle lives somewhere in the Sunset Savannah, and that they have a friend who goes back to the Shaftlands when school is closed for breaks.

The big thing I wanted to touch on is that “Friend Like Me” isn’t technically a unique magic like what we’ve seen in game. This particular power is something all genies have access too, but because Maram is friends with a number of mages (i.e. Kalim, Jamil, and Ali) they decided to give the ability its own name. It’s just a little bit of Maram’s fun loving nature poking through.

Aside from the obvious risk of overblot when casting such powerful spells, there’s a lot of trust that goes into casting these spells. I mentioned in the concept post that to genies their lamps are everything to them; it’s how they monitor and recover from blot and they can act like little homes for the genies if they want. The big thing is that each genie revives a lamp and pair of bracelets when they’re young and is special to the individual. Genies can’t enter the lamps of another genie unless they’re given permission which is rare. The bracelets can be replaced if necessary as they’re closer to the concept of magical pens. The lamps, however, are nearly impossible to replace if lost or broken. Given the fact that the lamp has to be given to another person, there has to be a lot of trust between both parties.

Likewise, the genie has to be sure that the person they are entrusting their lamp too isn’t going to make any stupid “wishes”. This includes things that the genie could conjure up easily, without the need to access such powerful magic. The risk of overblot is not worth conjuring up money, food, clothes, etc. which they could normally do with ease

Ngl between Kalim and Jamil, Maram trusts Jamil with their lamp much more than Kalim. As much as they love Kalim’s friendship, Maram feels like Kalim would make an impulsive request out of excitement 😅

And just a silly little fact about Maram, they really like the colour blue and enjoy big Ol’ pants like jupe-culotte/harem pants.

And that’s all I wanted to clarify! Like always feel free to ask any questions, I’ll try to answer as best I can with what I have already figured out!

[blushblushbear]

Some Natsu Headcanons

Been thinking a bit about Natsu, and this I guess also counts as roughly my version of Natsu

still have a drawing of him sitting unfinished on my computer and while I wanted to not post about this until I had a pic to go along with it, if I wait for me to get off my ass and draw we will all be waiting forever rip

BUT ANYWAYS

Younger than Fuyu but older than Haru

hey were all under the curse for 200 years (and I fully believe they stopped aging/growing while under the curse), which means Fuyu was 885, Haru was 259 and Aki was 19--- I think this leaves Natsu somewhere in his 600's-- maybe 669 cause eyyy ;3

also meaning he had 6/7 tails (another headcanon but I believe each 100 years they get a tail unless they somehow earn a tail via growing their powers hence why Fuyu got to have nine)

Natsu extremely bishonen

he's one of those bishis that looks like he's mad gay

except he's not

but he's def not straight either

actually p sexual-- p sensual

just as big of a flirt as Haru

not in the same way, he likes a little more gentler, softer, more teasing

very sly and playful

he was also mad childish

in a more calm and collected way than Aki but def childish all the same

also a bit petty

honestly him and Fuyu were a lot alike that way

that's why they either go on like gang busters or were at each others throats

there was no in between

frankly they liked being hauty and petty together

would have tea and talk so much shit

but Natsu was WAYYYY more laid back

but he was also secretly way more serious and cut throat than his sly little fox persona would lead you to believe

honestly the only one who ever saw that was Fuyu

Fuyu both deeply admired him and was also very afraid of him

Natsu was very childish after all

who knows how far he'd go to get his way

while all the kitsune took part in the clan war and ultimately made it happen

Fuyu has always suspected Natsu may have fanned some flames and pulled some strings to help it along

all the same, everyone's actions were their own decision

Natsu like Fuyu also had a love of poetry

just generally the picture of a beautiful sensual fox boy here to make you swoon and also maybe laugh a little

was really good at charming people

charmed all the other kitsune frankly

even if they didn't always trust him

well-- Aki did, but that's cause Aki didn't know any better

calls the player Mochi

'My sweet little Mochi'

'There you are my little Mochi'

could def see this dude going yandere not even as an au style version lol

he really was that dude that acted like an innocent child but was also plotting your murder just in case ya know

liked to pit people against each other cause he thought it was funny

like I said-- PETTY. CHILDISH.

was very into ink painting

but also very into lounging around

a smooth talker, a charmer, a deceiver, a fox through and through

also if he did a phone fling he'd use the fuck out of emoticons/kaomoji (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ

frankly want him to come back as a ghost but he texts you first

also doesn't seem to hold a grunge about being killed

(OR DOES HE???)

lol nah ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

unless.... ( •̀ - •́ )

[raelle-writing]

Thanks for all of your DFF analyses and research! I may be missing something, but it seemed like in the first episode they said the short film was unfinished, but in the later episodes it definitely seemed finished as they screened it in the theater. Was that screened film technically not completely done and they wanted to do edits or was the version at the house not the finished version?

Thanks for messaging me this! I've seen a lot of people talking about this and saying that it's a plot inconsistency, but it's actually not. I went back and rewatched it recently because I thought that, and I'd also thought that Tan and Phee hadn't known about the film at all in the past (or at least had pretended they didn't) so I was confused when Tan and Phee just came straight out and talked about it.

I think that scene in episode 1 was deliberately shot to be vague and a bit misleading, honestly. Not in a bad way, they just didn't want us to guess what Tan and Phee might know.

So the reason that people (myself included) thought that Tan and Phee didn't know about the movie is because White asks about it. I think we all assumes that all three of them didn't know because of that.

The only thing Tan and Phee say is "who is under the mask" and "where is he?" Which I think are fair questions. The group knows that they saw the movie in the past, after all, so it's reasonable that they'd be like "wait another person filmed with you"?

As for the film itself, I think that a lot of us thought it had never been finished because the cut they watched was an unfinished version, with Non still spliced in after the credits.

And also because they proceeded to shoot the movie, which I think a lot of us misunderstood to be "finishing" the movie, when the word Phee used was "remake."

I think that the drive Phee found was one of the very last versions of the film with Non still in it. Por must've left it there or forgotten about it when he was deleting the evidence that Non had filmed with them.

Anyway! I just think this scene was really cleverly written, because it gives so little away about Phee and Tan's characters and what they know, without contradicting what we learn later in the series.

Thanks for the message!

[butterrdream]

A little look into Apple’s profile (that is still a WIP!!) so I can introduce her a little better. Big shoutout to @einsatzzz for allowing me to use/copy her template of her wiki profiles for her OCs!!!

Appearance:

Height: 155cm (5’1)

Here’s a very quickly drawn (and unfinished) headshot of her too:

Personality and some (but not really) character relationship details under the cut!

Personality

Apologies to those who come in expecting a totally sweet unproblematic character q^q (this is only a small taste of her problems and a spoiler free version too… and if anything I was being very kind to her in the description here as character development for her does not mean she's "no longer selfish/now completely selfless" she's just more confident now lol) I only know how to write unlikable bitches /j… /hj

Appellations

I want to clarify because this caused a miscommunication and confusion with a friend. How Apple is referring to these characters and how they are referring to her in the Appellation section is after some time has passed and they have established a bond. Upon first meeting it’s last names and as formal as can be for everyone!

Edit: I forgot some people for the appellations orz… like I said this is work in progress q^q

Edit 2: turns out Lambo calls everyone just by their first name. Why did I always think he added “chan” to the girls… either way just imagine that chan is not there ❤️

If you made it this far thank you very much for reading ✨✨ this is all still a work in progress and things are still subject to change but I hope you have learned a little more about my character today ❤️

[jwofles-sims]

unfinished business set

- 10 items, including clothes, objects, skin overlays & reshade presets

- items are missing swatches and proper thumbnails etc

a small collection of things that have been sitting on my hard drive for 2 years, and saying goodbye for now... (download under the cut)

hi there, it's been a while since i posted anything here. my page really took off during covid / lockdown where it was almost like a full-time hobby, but in the last few years i have finished my university degree, moved house several times and got a full-time 9 to 5 office job. creating takes too much of my time, and although it hurts to scrap all the fun ideas and future i had imagined, it's just not possible to keep this going - and i'd be lying to myself if i said i'd come back to it. my pc now is just collecting dust, but i at least wanted to get these files off there and quickly upload this set as i thought someone might be able to get some use from it. thank u to everyone for the support up until now, i've enjoyed creating and being a part of the community so so much. maybe i will be back one day who knows... sims 5 anyone?

anyways enough of that... here are the downloads:

1 secretobject02.package puffer jacket as an object, found in sculptures - use with a hanger cc object

2 secretobject01.package ftop01 as an object, found in sculptures - use with a hanger cc object

3 skin-normal-mouthcrease.package normal map overlay for male sims - adds a texture to skin that reacts to light. found in occult right cheek. may clip with some tight clothing due to how the normal map mesh works. credit to thisisthem for the skin texture used to make the normal map. found in the mouth crease / occult cheek category (so it requires you to have a pack that adds occults).

4 jwofles_sim-glow.package adjustable skin shine for all sims. great for taking pictures as it makes the skin look more shaded. works great with the normal map above. found in the occult eye/head category (so it requires you to have a pack that adds occults).

5 jwofles_sim-glow-full.package same as above, but is the glow-iest version. this full glow is better for certain lighting situations.

6 newpufferjacketTEST.package puffer jacket accessory. doesn't have the orange swatch in the promo picture oops. found in the ring category.

7 fbottom01.package female bottoms, to be used with an ankle high shoe

8 ftop01.package female top

(bonus - reshade presets)

9 off-new.ini it's called off but it means on

10 off.ini same as above

[danganronpa96]

HIII :3 ok soooo u said in in the notes of dr69 chapter 6 that u CHANGED the mm so who was the original mm u had in mind b4 miku ??

I've been holding off this ask for a while because. The answer is so dumb and cringe and silly and I was a bit nervous to share it but then I realised I have shared it with other people before anyway so. I guess it'll be alright to say. But under the cut because I can.

The original planned mastermind for DR69 was actually going to be... me. Get it? Oh, it was the author this whole time that's so whacky.

To be honest, I started making DR69 without a proper mastermind in mind because I didn't really know how far I'd ever get with the fic, and I assumed I would figure out the mastermind a little later on when writing. I decided to stick with me for a while, like, a long while. There's was a completely different plan for how the final trial was to play out with me as the mastermind. I have a completely different unfinished first written version of the trial that diverges at the mastermind reveal. I have art and videos I drew for it.

I don't 100% remember why I decided to scrap the idea. I think it was because most people wouldn't understand who my sona was meant to represent, and some people just don't like self-inserts, even if I was going for a completely meta route. It's a good thing I did though since that was with my old sona design and personality lol (also because I love MM!Miku with all my heart).

I mean, if enough people want it, I don't mind sharing all the scrapped art and story ideas I was going to do with me as the mastermind, such as the inclusion of Mr. L!

[duplicitywrites]

Thank you so much for replying to my other ask! I completely understand not wanting to revisit a fic you had wrote when you weren't doing the best, and I hope you're feeling better now! 🩷 I adore 'evermore' so much even though it's quite depressing aha 🥲 The way you wrote Harry's mental health and escapism was so good and Id love to hear some spoilers if you were up to it 😅

One thing I love about fanfic is the freedom of it all, and like you said "What is fanfic if not an ode to writing that felt unfinished?". Your interpretation of Harry as an abused child at his core in works like "damaged" always get to me. It always felt weird in the HP book series that Harry had such an awful childhood and was as well adjusted and happy in the future.

Another one of your works I was really interested in is 'perfect boys with their perfect lives', the Harry/Cedric aka a certain dark lord one. It really had me thinking about what could have happened in the graveyard if Harry hadn't escaped 🫣

i am, thanks! it was around covid, which was an awful time for everyone i'm sure, with weird life stuff piled on top of it.

i was going to answer all of the ones you mentioned, but evermore is actually one of few stories i have planned out in detail. this is why it has a planned chapter count (though that hasn't stopped me from going overboard before lol).

i guess i'll just give you the whole thing in case i never finish it kljsdgkljdgs it's pretty long, so under a cut it goes! but first some context for everyone else:

🍃 Evermore

Tags: Alternate Universe, Unhealthy Relationships, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Manipulative Relationship, Infidelity, Past Child Abuse, Dream Sequences, Depression, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Plot Twists, Happy Ending, Surprise Ending, Healing

Summary:

Harry is a married man who is living a charmed life. He has no need for the fantasy potions gifted to him by the Weasley twins—or so he thinks. After falling asleep on the train ride home, Harry dreams of the perfect man, a man named Tom Riddle. As Harry explores his dream life with Tom, he realizes that his actual life is not as charmed as it seems. The pristine image of his faultless marriage shatters, revealing a darker reality, and Tom Riddle becomes an oasis, a sanctuary for Harry to escape to. However, no sanctuary is eternal and no oasis is truly perfect. Harry must eventually confront his demons, inner and outer, before he can find real happiness for himself.

Notes:

these notes are arranged in order from where the most recently posted chapter left off.

there are probably some divergent points that occurred during the actual writing process, but this plan below (i'll admit i'm not quite brave enough to reread it all) is what the general storyline will be.

-

reality four - right where you left me

maybe harry's been harbouring fears of his potions being found? :thots: or his husband's made note of his changes in behaviour, accuses him of not spending time/being devoted

they get into an argument where harry gets a looooot of shit for stuff he doesn't deserve to get shit for, stuff that's not even true

harry yells back but gets hit, idk if by magic or not :thots: and he backs down, distraught. then once he's alone, he goes straight for the dream world

dream four - no body no crime

it'll be a much shorter version obviously, and the character roster won't be the same

i hadn't nailed down the specifics of the background and so i'm not sure how it'll look, exactly

harry is NOT married in this dream, he knows dream-husband but they are only friends

dream-husband is ginny's role in this particular iteration

but the climax of this scene is where harry is snooping around in the house, where he happens upon the dream-husband's diary

he's been looking for evidence to prove the murder

harry reads through the diary

and in the diary are tragic entries describing depressive thoughts, details of emotional (maybe even physical) abuse, etc.

this is a pivotal moment for harry, who up until this moment has been in denial about the failings of his real life marriage

reading this in the framing of it happening to someone else is enough for him to realize that it's wrong

what happens to him is not okay

but of course it's not that easy to just, shrug off years of marriage all at once; harry once again exits the dream, thus ending that particular dream universe

he's partly in denial but it's not as bad as before

he's been using the dreams as a coping mechanism up until this point

i've made it sound kind of frustrating but the dream worlds that harry goes to are meant to be very lush, romanticized

while we realize that harry's dream worlds are not ideal, he doesn't realize it right away

he thinks he's still doing something wrong

reality five - coney island

uh so next is probably another real life scene which shows tension between harry and his husband, only harry is no longer acting the way he did before aka accepting things without question

after the dream, harry starts to... notice things. he picks up on the slights, on the manipulative behaviours. he doesn't argue back for most of it, because he's still figuring it out and he's in shock, but he does start acting differently, which is noted by his husband

it escalates things further, a landslide of 'harry is no longer listening to me, is no longer under my control' type of deal where it results in more attempts to manipulate, which harry now sees is bad

voldemort grew addicted to power, made deals with politicians, gained a following

he looks back on past events and picks out the red flags, realizes that his marriage is not a marriage of equals. but just because harry knows these things, doesn't mean he knows what to do. he goes back to the dream world for comfort/answers

dream five - cowboy like me

this one is 'cowboy like me'

harry is there with his husband staying at a hotel, they happen across dream-husband, who is a con artist attempting to swindle an older woman

either harry is also a con artist in a similar vein, or he is mistaken for one - i'll probably decide once it's written out and i get a sense of the vibe

but he and dream-husband have some interesting conversations, flirting, etc

the theme of this dream i think will be further strengthening the similarities between harry and the dream-husband he's made up in his head

this dream ends with a bittersweet farewell

something along the lines of, despite their attraction for each other, they must part ways? :thots: or some other thing

but there will be a bit of a cheeky 'see you soon'

aka referencing the fact that it's a dream/dream world, that the dream-husband is a recurring character in harry's mental space

reality six - happiness

harry's down to two vials now, the bittersweet farewell of dream five has him realizing that time is running out in the metaphorical sense; we understand that soon he will need to make a choice

i might loop back to infidelity at this point, maybe in an attempt to bring harry to heel, his husband starts flaunting an affair? :thots: cause in the past, flirting with other people probably worked to make harry upset and easily manipulated

but y'know now harry is armed with his brand new knowledge of Marriage Should Not Be Like This and also he's got some shiny self-worth stored up, courtesy of dream-husband

dream six - ivy

in this dream world, harry is married to his current husband, but he is having an affair with the dream-husband; not in the sexual sense, but in the emotional sense. drawing on the dream five, harry is seeking comfort and solace from his bad marriage

this dream is meant to remove more of harry's doubts and encourage him to see that his current situation is bad

and i imagine we start to break through the fourth wall; dream-husband speaks directly to harry, referencing real life events that have occurred

he encourages harry to leave

harry is doubtful, obviously. this is all he's known and he's been gaslighted, manipulated, mistreated

he's terrified he will be found out and punished for it

but the dream-husband reassures him, promises him that things will be okay, etc.

he makes harry promise to take care of himself

and i'm thinking in true romantic sense, maybe they spend the night together? :thots:

reality seven - closure

we solidify that harry deserves better, that what has happened is not his fault, etc all the important, healthy things

we have harry reaching out to the people that have been slowly pushed out of his life (mostly by his husband). he’s reconnecting with them, being healthier, i think this section would end with harry going to ron and hermione and telling them the truth, telling them everything

harry is down to his last vial, so he's been saving it

like, he could obviously go and get more, they would give it to him for free, even, but you know it's kind of like

he shouldn't have to rely on that as a coping mechanism any more

dream seven - evermore

i'm thinking harry goes for one last dream, they sit together outside(?) or somewhere else that has significance for harry

they hold hands, harry talks about how much the support has meant to him, what he's learned about himself, what these dreams have taught him

sometimes things don't work out

he knows he needs to walk out and move on

i'll probably cry writing all this so you know it'll be good

the end - it’s time to go

then like i mentioned before, there will be a scene of harry signing divorce papers. his friends are with him, telling them they support him, and he feels... relief. he feels hope.

the story ends with harry attending a party, this time by his own decision. he's here to genuinely mingle with people, with his friends, and have a good time

and then he sees someone

much like the previous dream, it's someone who he once knew

they talk, they catch up, but this time it doesn't feel odd or uncomfortable

harry feels secure with himself, and we end on the hopeful note that this could go somewhere good

[mllekurtz]

shadowgast wip rec list part 4

(part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 3.5 - part 4 - part 4.5)

It's been a while since I've done a rec list of work-in-progress shadowgast fics, so here's a curated selection from my Subscriptions page (under a cut because there's a lot of 'em).

All of these works, listed in no particular order, are wips that have been updated recently or semi-recently, and have the only common denominator of being liked by yours truly. Feel free to reblog and add your recs (or better yet, make a rec list of your own! They're fun and make the day of everyone involved).

It goes without saying that these works are active wips at the moment of posting this list. Past lists may contain works that have been completed or abandoned since.

Lastly, a shoutout to @aeor-is-for-reccing and their weekly rec lists, which inspired me to put together a new one ♥ check them out for more recs!

zwiefacher (15/20 chapters, E, warnings: CNTW & Rape/Noncon) by VillainIHaveDoneThyMother/@villainihavedonethymotheronao3 - this fic juggles so many plates (t4t shadowgast, memory loss, extreme trauma, kidnapping, gaslighting, even more trauma, systemic racism, and lots of other fun things I'm forgetting) and does it incredibly well. Not a light reading, but if you want something substantial to sink your teeth in, I can't recommend this enough.

You Be You, And I’ll Be Busy (3/10 chapters, T, warnings: CNTW) by theprophetlemonade/@the-prophet-lemonade - top notch characterisation of both of them (but I'm especially in love with Essek's). The sexual, romantic and just plain tension are well executed, and while all the fics listed here are outstanding for their style and prose, this one is truly no exception.

Unfinished (5/? chapters, E, warnings: CNTW) by road_rhythm/@road-rhythm - read this with a notebook, some red string and a cork board. Roadie is so good at taking a premise and building a life-like, in-depth story around (under, over, beside, inside) it; both the prose and the content are sharp and unforgiving. And I know we're here for shadowgast, but this fic's Beau is the best.

Love Letters to Toss Into the Fire (10/? chapters, T, no warnings) by Anonymous - props to this fic not only for the excellent premise (Caleb and Essek secretly write letters to each other) but for keeping it up for so long while always making it interesting. The ciphers, spells, devices and tricks they use to send each other letters are always different, interesting and believable, and the relationship between the wizards grows in a delicate, emotional way.

The Chosen AU (18/? chapters, E, warnings: CNTW) by Anonymous - not a purely shadowgast fic since it starts as Verin/Essek, as in sibling incest, with Caleb joining their relationship later, so if that's not for you be warned (but honestly the relationship between the Thelyss brothers is wholesome and well-handled, so if you're on the fence because of that, you should definitely give this fic a try). When this fic goes dark, it goes dark; when it's lighthearted, it's deeply funny and sweet. Come for the blorbos, stay for the lovely OCs, the engaging subplots, the fleshed-out world-building, the very effective non-linear narrative and just an all-around riveting story that kept me glued to my kindle for a whole weekend as I was catching up with it.

all this, heaven never could describe (10/28 chapters, M, no warnings) by kaeda/@the-kaedageist - a sequel to the delightful More Things in Heaven and Earth, which you should definitely read (to understand this fic but also because, as I said, it's a joy to read), it follows the adventures of Alternate!Bren and Essek as they try to put their own version of the Mighty Nein together. The shadowgast dynamic in this one is juicy and fun and unlike anything you've ever read: they're competitive, they sleep together, they annoy each other, they're so obviously in love.

if you must live, darling one (3/11 chapters, M, no warnings) by essektheylyss (midnightindigo)/@essektheylyss - Megs is one of the (many!) writers in this fandom who are really good at conveying demisexual feelings in a way that's believable both for Essek's character and the demi audience, at least in my experience. This fic is very interesting in that regard.

Kintsugi (15/? chapters, M, warnings: Major Character Death) by Chekhov/@thechekhov - first of all, the major character death is temporary and integral to the foundational concept of the fic, which is brilliant; yes, there is a lot of heartache in this one, but the payoff is entirely worth it. You'll find Chekhov's trademark brilliant, clever, polished style in a story that doesn't pull any punches and will make you cry and crave for more after each update.

the fugitive's version of shelter (5/6 chapters, E, no warnings) by hanap/@callingvoicemail - the latest instalment in the here is a world where you love your executioner series, which is partly a retelling of the second half of campaign 2, partly set post-canon, with the variable of Essek being pregnant with Ludinus' child. The whole series is recommended, as well as necessary reading to appreciate this one; it's an original take on a will-they/won't-they dynamic that makes for some deliciously complicated shadowgast.

Hold Me Close, Cut Me Deep (1/4 chapters, M, no warnings) by CatgirlTheCrazy/@catgirlthecrazy - this fic is effectively summarised as "Essek has his own light 'em up, pretty moment." Do I need to say anything else?

presque vu (13/?, T, no warnings) by element78 - (also known as the fic that kept me sane while I was in work hell last summer) Caleb suffers from memory loss for mysterious reasons and doesn't remember being friends with the Nein or being in a relationship with Essek; the fic starts with an amnesiac Bren waking up and then proceeds with a slow, painstaking rebuilding of trust and relationships. The memory loss plot device coupled with Bren/Caleb's pov is great for narrative irony, the shadowgast dynamic is heart-rending, and everyone cares about each other so much (well, maybe not Kingsley, but he has his reasons).

The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings (8/?, M, warnings: CNTW) by Sethrial/@rockshitty - I always love a good modern AU, and this is an excellent one with a supernatural twist. Seth is really good at including heavy plot points with the right dose of dark humour, and at writing realistic banter (the chats between Caleb's colleagues are a highlight). Being the demon that haunts night-shift worker Caleb, Molly features heavily in this fic, and he's an obnoxious, mephistophelian delight.

[loonaticskr]

Welcome To The Official Loonatics KR Blog!

Account made by me @kervinfire

NOTE: Under construction and repost due accidental deletion

Has anyone remember @purpleluckystar popular Loonatics Unleashed fan fic reboot called Loonatics R (aka Loonatics Revamp). It was one of the best fan-fics out there for the underrated fandom wanting to have a reboot. It has featured revamped characters from the show. Rebooted backstories from our favorite Loonatics and it even has a compelling story and new characters that this fan-fic has to offer on Tumblr and DeviantArt. It even has the ask the Loonatics in the Loonatics R Blog from the characters that Purple revamped.

Everything was going great until this fanfic was canceled due to her health problems (I hope you stay safe Purple). Which means almost without warning. Purple almost tried to delete all the Loonatics R-related content including the fanart in Deviantart. When she announced that she would delete her Loonatics R blog I had to save the fanfic including the asks that Purple made and transfer all her Loonatics Chapters from my Wattpad. I decided to try continuing the fanfic but time is trying to stop me and it would be impossible to continue the fic alone. That is @draze-a came in.

In Discord, we talked to each other continuing the fic and making new characters. I even have @mysticinternetdinosaur to join alongside me including @segamarkiii and @loonamonium who join in the KR project and even DarthCraftus from Deviantart who now joins in the project.

With a crew like this. We will try our best to do whatever it takes to keep this fanfic alive. And the best part. She gave away all of her OC characters and now I now finally adopted all the characters that Purple made. from Loonatics R

So again. Welcome to the official blog for Loonatics KR...

If you are new here visit the original Loonatic R Fanfic that I save in Wattpad

And please help me give me donations in PayPal

Or at FundraiserMe

CHARACTERS (More characters and Links will be added soon)

Main Protagonists (Canon Characters):

Ace Bunny

Lexi Rabbit (renamed to Rabbit by Purple because she said that they won't be related)

Danger Duck

Slam Tasmanian

Tech E Coyote

Rev Runner

Allies (Canon Characters):

Zadavia

Other Characters Adopted and Owned from @purpleluckystar:

Alonso Gonzales

Boomer Goldfist

Caren

Dotty Bunny

Ella Rabbit

Johnny

Marina Quack

Nao Bunny

Upton Rabbit

Jason Raccoon

Con and Doyle

Professor Snout

New Characters Made From Loonatics KR Project Crew (More characters added soon)

Tiger Leaps - Made by @kervinfire

Cane Lupo - Made by @kervinfire

Rage Shards - Made by @kervinfire

Roary Roar Lyon - Made by @draze-a

Koale Hypaethral - Made by @mysticinternetdinosaur

Sam Soojin - Made by @mysticinternetdinosaur

Jett Reighland - Made by @mysticinternetdinosaur

Q & A

Q: What is Loonatics KR?

A: Loonatics KR (also known as Kervin's Revamp) takes on the same fanfic story of Loonatics R. Not just the KR version will continue the story for the unfinished chapter but it also brings more in a Snyder Cut-styled story that features new characters and new scenarios

Q: What is the purpose of why making the fic?

A: The purpose why I wanted to make this fic and take her place is because I wanted to keep the Loonatics Unleashed Fandom alive. Official Warner Bros continued to mock that show from Animaniacs, Teen Titans Go, and even New Looney Tunes. But this not stop me to prove that I am one of the people who have my love for Loonatics Unleashed. until its recognized for a reboot.

Q: This takes forever to make. When are you going to post it?

A: We can't promise when the release date will be. Sometimes making fanfic takes a lot of time. We completed chapters and retells but its best to keep it fully complete before we publish it again.

Q: Can I draw your characters from Loonatics KR?

A: I keep my characters protected and treat them like my creations. If you want to draw my characters (especially my adopts and the canon fan made revamps that I owned) Always ask permission and tell me what are you going to draw. Especially with my Discord friends

Q: What other sites will you use aside from Tumblr or Wattpad?

A: For the future, I may also plan to put it in Deviantart or Instagram

Q: Will your Asks remain open in Tumblr

A: There are not enough people asking for now so yes it will remain open

Q: Just in case what would happen if you quit the project or when you die while making the fic,

A: I'm not going to quit this project. This fanfic that I owned and am now in the making is everything to me. And even if WB already made a reboot I am going to make this my Loonatics AU (alternate universe). But when I say I would gladly let my project friends take place if I passed away. @draze-a would probably be the first one or @mysticinternetdinosaur

[blindedguilt]

Apparently the dialogue in Japanese during the "Leonard's lament/hunger" is a lot more explicit about his inclinations, would you know anything about this? I've heard that the fairy explicitly tells him to do the nasty to the fallen child soldiers but I've seen no confirmation of this

What WAS Changed from Leonard's Hunger to Leonard's Regret - Drakengard Analysis

//Hey anon! I assume you're talking about the game, right? Because I actually DID translate the full script from the World Inside 10th Anni box for the Leonard's Regret/Hunger chapter a while back (It was the only translated part of an unfinished project to do the WHOLE script that likely won't be finished), but that has in-game comparisons between the NTSC-J and NTSC versions as well! I'll link it here if you're interested. Note: This covers only the EVENTS in the game, and not actual in-game dialogue, as I haven't translated that. Sorry! For ease of access, I'll also provide a hopefully adequate summary below the cut detailing the differences between the original script (Later edited into what would be the NTSC-J version of the game), the Japanese version of the game, and the English localisation! Believe it or not, there was actually more cut content between the script and the Japanese version of the game than the Japanese and the English (Which certainly does have it's blunders, but nowhere near as steep.) And of course, if you have any other questions about this, feel free to reach out to my Discord at barnabism or just send another ask! :) Here's the info, strap in for a LONG post ahead:

So to start with the first scene in Leonard's Hunger, there's a couple points of interest right off the bat, actually!

Pointing Out Leonard's Survival

While it was toned down in the Japanese and toned down even further in English, when the Faerie points out the conscripts in the script it was actually an intended jab towards Leonard's absence "Hiding under the trees" which led to his unintentional survival!

(NTSC) "Hark you, hark! Look in the shadows of the trees. The ones hiding away are probably fine." "......" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey, look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The ones who hide beneath them might be alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The one who does that might survive alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!"

I wouldn't chalk this up to "censorship", however (At least not in the case of the English), it honestly kinda reads like a bad game of Telephone which is something you'll see a LOT with the English translation. Where the Japanese seemed deliberately toned down to give more "Insinuations" at best or just to outright write around it at worst, the English seems like its trying its best to pick up on that nuance without... Actually knowing where it's coming from? Without that base point of reference (The script), it seems like there was a lot of grappling around in the dark for those poor English localisers to do. :( *That said, there are some instances where things are explicitly written in Japanese but unable to be fluently translated, like Furiae's confession scene, or sometimes... They ARE just outright changed, like the infamous "You smell very nice" line from Ending D. The Drakengard fanbase DOES commonly assume that the latter is the case all-around, but there's a lot more to it than that! Moving on, here's an example of something that was VERY intentionally taken out from the NTSC-J release to the NTSC release.

"Something Else" - Deleted Snippets From Changed Lines

(NTSC) "Oh, it smells fishy. What will you do? Doesn’t it feel dangerous? Are you shaking? Over here! Here! Here!" (NTSC-J) "It smells fishy. What will you do? Can’t you sense it? Isn’t it dangerous? Hahah! Oh? Are you trembling because you’re scared? Or is it something else…? Ahahahahaha! Here! Here! Look here!" (SCRIPT) Faerie (Maliciously): "You can’t see them, but you can smell them, can’t you? Can’t you? That lively scent is your favouriiite~! Right? A large army of smooth, pallid, soft legs is here!"

So as you can see here, the bit from the Japanese - "Oh? Are you trembling because you're scared? Or is it something else...?" was taken out in the English release, but this original Japanese line that appears in the game is COMPLETELY different from what was written in the script!

And if that edited line in the NTSC-J edition of DOD wasn't clear enough as to what the Faerie was hinting at, here's something that's DEFINITELY more explicit. But unlike the English completely removing it over concerns to content, here it seems toned down as a result of differences in writing systems.

"Inexperience" - Pay Attention to the NTSC-J Line

(NTSC) "Right, right! Young soldiers right out of training, gutted like fish!" (NTSC-J) "Right right, ahaha! Still just sweet little things, lacking and inexperienced!" (SCRIPT) "Right, right, ahaha! Boys, boys, beautiful boys! How appetising~!"

Putting aside the Script's description of the young conscripts as "Beautiful" and "Appetising" (Hard, I know lmao), the edited NTSC-J version VERY cleverly used Katakana to it's advantage to make a point that... Honestly, if you ask me, is even more direct than the Script counterpart. Here's a look at what I'm talking about:

(NTSC-J Original) 「そっ、そっ、ウキャキャ! まだまだケツの青い甘チャンばかりだぜ! 」

I've bolded and coloured the Katakana referenced here with the whole article bolded itself, "Ketsu no Aoi", which as a whole can mean "Inexperienced" or "Lacking in x" (Skill, in this case). The interesting thing here is the use of Katakana on "ケツ" here, which, typically when written like that, is used to refer to someone's bottom. So it CAN be taken as "young and inexperienced" or quite literally, "Their ass is inexperienced" which... *Cough* Yeah. This, of course, is a VERY particular use of Katakana, so I honestly can't blame the English localisers just going "Fuck it" and making it their own.

Scrapped Ideas

An added note before we go onto the next scene, which I believe isn't EXACTLY what you're looking for but something I thought you or anyone else reading this would be interested in. There's also something interesting to mention about the "Garrison" that was brought up here ("If the garrison is here, then the prisoners should be, too."), and that's three things:

This WAS originally going to be a type of "Side-quest" where you go save your Union allies from the garrison and defeating the "Monsters" (I believe subhumans) guarding them, and THEN the conscripts begin to attack you in desperation. Unfortunately, it looks like this sidequest was scrapped, though I question what circumstances led to such a specific line pertaining to the quest still remaining.

At one point, it actually WAS thought that items could be used and included - Particularly "Crystals" and "Smokebombs", though looking back, I wonder if these "Crystals" mentioned here were later saved for the crystals you use to find your path in Drakengard 2....

Remember that one conscript that summoned a ghost at the end of the chapter? All conscripts were originally planned to do that. For better or for worse, it didn't go through.

Necrophilia Jokes

As the title suggests, when you mentioned the faerie explicitly goading him on to do it with the dying/dead conscripts, there actually IS something like that not in the NTSC and certainly not the NTSC-J games, but in the script! You'll find a pretty clear example in the very first line!

(NTSC) "Hey, hey! What’ll you do about the bodies? Stab them again?" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey! What will you do with the bodies? Hahah! Is your torment growing?" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Are you even lusting after corpses? Ahahah! Aren’t you pent up!"

Which of course is it's own can of worms, but shines MUCH more brightly paired with the Faerie's next line, after Leonard states his commitment to give the fallen conscripts a proper bruial:

(NTSC) "You have time for such luxuries? Well, do you? Do you? Do you?" (NTSC-J) "Hahahah! Is this the time for such a deliberate process? Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!" (SCRIPT) "Ahahaha! This isn’t the time to be toying with corpses. Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!"

Of course, the Faerie teasing Leonard about necrophilia can and WILL go even worse into the active goading of "Do it, buddy, I dare you" it will give later on, but I want to intercept that with something the Conscript here does in the scripts that really caught my attention - The Conscript, under the influence of Red-Eye, using the weakness of his inclinations to their own advantage.

The Conscripts "Manipulation"

I'm not gonna lie, when I first detail it really brought me back to this fucked up little fanfiction I saw on Pixiv where this conscript ends up seducing and subsequently disemboweling poor Leonard. As you might be able to tell by my mentioning, it's kinda stuck with me. Pixiv is a fascinating place.

(NTSC) "I’m afraid." (NTSC-J) "I’m… I’m afraid…" (SCRIPT) CONSCRIPT (Alluringly): I’m… I’m afraid…

Through the script, there are different dialogue tags to denote the tone in which that particular line is spoken. While this tidbit in itself isn't much, I figured it very worth mentioning just for its role in the general topic of "More controversial things that were snipped out of either the NTSC-J or NTSC versions of Leonard's Regret/Hunger", not to mention the implications it has on the wider nature of Red Eye Disease as a whole! Think about it - Taking into consideration that the script implies the Conscript "Knew" about his inclinations enough to use them to his advantage, Leonard mentioning that this conscript share's his brother's voice is a detail that definitely catches my attention now. I wonder if it was just tragic coincidence, Leonard being unable to judge correctly in his grief, or perhaps RED allowing the conscript to mimic his brothers? Which is an actually TERRIFYING thought, but hey, I absolutely adore it. There is a plethora of writing material and silly thoughts to have from that alone, which, as an RPer, is probably among the best things I can have. XD

The Faerie's Goading

Back to the faerie, there's a final detail in its teasing for this scene:

(NTSC) "Oh? Oh-oh-oh-oh? Feeling pity? For the enemy? Can’t start wavering now!" (NTSC-J) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you just happening to feel sympathy right now? For the enemy? Now’s no time to tremble. Hey!" (SCRIPT) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you getting ideas already? For the enemy? I wonder if you’ll go all the way? Just as I thought! Ahah!"

As is the recurring theme here, the script is MUCH more explicit than either, where the NTSC opts for snipping out a couple more details, which in this case is the line "Now's no time to tremble". There's nothing special I have to say about this outside of jesus fuck, of course so we'll wrap it up with the final event scene in Leonard's Regret/Hunger real quick!

Another Note

Just to add, Beholders and Gargoyles were among some of the enemies planned to be put into this level, along with... Treants! It's a popular bit of folklore across Germany, particularly in regard to the Black Forest (Though it came from France) that scared the crap out of me as a kid, so I was pleased to see them here and VERY upset they didn't make the final cut :(

The Final Scene - Leonard's Botched Confession

GOD, from the first time I saw this scene, I was so disappointed. All that tension, all those hints and build-up for Leonard to finally break and be asked "What's going on here? Why are you acting like this?" You'd think you'd get something better than "It's a secret." You just know that this was a scene that got rewritten last second, and it turns out that in the NTSC-J version, it's the same exact case - but in the script? We finally get to see what was intended to be put there (And my years long grudge against that scene was finally, kinda, put to rest.)

So, when Leonard falls to his knees and asks for forgiveness, and Angelus asks (Or perhaps Caim) asks "Why this wasted pity?", the faerie responds for him (Which, keep in mind, Leonard responds to this by immediately begging for Caim to kill him right then and there):

(NTSC) "He won’t say! He’ll never say the truth! It’s a SECRET!" (NTSC-J) "He won’t say! Haha! He’ll never talk about that. It’s! A! Secret! Heehee. Ahahahaha!" (SCRIPT) "He won't say! Haha! That boy was too cute for him to say. He wanted to hold him, among other such things. Heehee. Ahahahaha!"

To add to the bit "He wanted to hold him", the exact word used is "抱きたい", and while it DOES typically mean "To hold, to embrace" among other things in certain ~contexts~ (Like Furiae's confession scene, where the same word is used) it can also mean "To have sex with". The rest of the scene actually doesn't have next to anything changed outside of a tiny added "...You can't." when the Faerie addresses his wish for death that got trimmed from the script, though I will add for context an interesting thing in the same quote a detail added that wasn't originally in the script, similar to a couple other things we've seen so far, is a distinction that can only be seen in Japanese:

(NTSC) "Huh? What did you say? Helloo! You couldn’t die, could you? Just gave yourself a little nick. So sad. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t survive alone anymore, you know. A pact. We made a pact. Don’t forget." (NTSC-J) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!" (SCRIPT) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!"

It's actually indistinguishable in either translation, so I'll highlight the Japanese text here:

(NTSC-J Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしもーし?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらい傷バリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」 (SCRIPT Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしも���?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらいバリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」

Again, it'll be hard to find a difference through all that, but you'll see the game actually added a term to the script's "ためらいバリバリ" - "A hesitant nick", with "ためらい" meaning hesitant and "バリバリ" standing for a small little cut or scar! Together it really is it's own term meaning "A shallow (hesitant) scar" The game, however, added a character - 傷 - which on the surface, doesn't seem to add much, as by itself the character quite literally just means "Wound". HOWEVER, put together with ためらい this creates a very specific term, ためらい傷 (Tameraikizu) which quick literally means "Hesitation wound", and stands as an exact term for the wounds left over when someone who attempts suicide fails and is left with lasting (Usually permanent) scars because of it. And recalling Leonard's failed attempt to slit his throat in his introductory scene... You know, I honestly wondered how permanent that scar was. Either way, I hope this post has the answers you're looking for! I really enjoyed writing it, and of course, if you have any questions, feel free to message me (Via asks, DMs, or Discord!) and I'll be happy to get back to you! Thanks so much for sending this in, just being able to talk about our boy is a treat, so again, I really enjoyed it~ :3> Again, thank you, and I hope you enjoy! :)