#sincerely terra

[awoogayanderes]

he hates you. he hates how you dress. he hates how stupid your face looks and how you smile.

he especially hates how you smile when he gifts you something. it irks him incredibly.

even when he rips a dandelion from the grass next to you guys, you smile brightly.

but he also hates when you smile at others, wasn’t your stupid smile reserved for him ?

maybe that’s why he always tries to one up everyone around you, though he’ll deny it.

but when you’re not looking, he stares at you, it’s a bit creepy, but who’s going to tell him ?

AKUTAGAWA | chuuya | feitan | sanemi | TSUKISHIMA | sakusa | alhaitham | wanderer ( scaramouche ) | your fav <3

[alexsfavgirl]

CHAT, I AM NOT A SIMP !

➪ pairing : quackity x reader

➪ sypnosis : in which alex starts getting mushy when he talks about you on his stream

➪ other notes : ahhh first post on this acc, we’ll see how this goes, it might take a while for me to get a gist on writing irl fics, non edited

you were watching your boyfriend’s stream, surprisingly this was a chill stream where he was just chatting with his viewers. you often put on his streams for background noise when you’re doing your college work, except this time something caught your attention. “look at the house we made chat,” you hear your boyfriend say, proudly showing off the house you and him made in your own minecraft world. “chat they are real!” the contrast from the previous moments before is evident, quackity getting jokingly offensive when his audience still refuses to believe you exist despite you having showed up on stream times before.

you quietly giggle to yourself as you see alex scramble to prove you’re his significant other. he then pulls up old pictures of you and him on his pc, both of you hugging each other and smiling widely. you can see alex trying to hold back his smile but failing miserably as he reminisces on old memories. “i know this sounds corny but i can’t imagine any other life without them, they just understand me,” he says, a wide smile and light blush sitting on his face, as he speaks so fondly of you. that quickly changes when his chat starts spamming “simp” mixed with “awe’s”. “chat i am not a simp! and even if i was they’re my partner so it basically cancels out !”

this goes on for a while before it cools off as he continues to tour your world. a few hours pass before he ends the stream before calling you to ask if he could come over to your apartment. obviously accepting, you finish up your work before starting to make a simple dinner for the both of you. when alex finally arrives to your apartment, his persona shifts from chaotic idiot to soft lover. it’s not often that he shows himself this way to his fans, but with you, he can feel himself relax. once both of you eat dinner, you both settle down for a movie.

you lay on top of him with him massaging your scalp and rubbing your back. you chuckle to yourself remembering this was the same man claiming he wasn’t all smitten over you. “what are you laughing at,” your boyfriend turns to you with a toothy grin. “it’s okay to admit you’re a simp for me,” you say leaning up to give him a peck on the lips. “hey you’re bullying me like chat did,” he exclaims with giggles following at the end. “well it isn’t bullying if they’re telling the truth,” you say and he dramatically gasps in offense. “my own lover turning against me,” he says with a pout on his face. the night continues on with the occasional teasing and the continuous love. it’s these moments you wish could last forever.

[shinynx]

Kingdom hearts is so fucking good y'all it's wild how good it is considering the whole, final fantasy disney crossover thing it should not be good !!!!!! It is. And they keep making more of em. It's fucked

[ohnoitstbskyen]

I know you made shorts for Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but do you have any other thoughts about Kingdom Hearts?

Ik this is kinda vauge and you get these kind of asks all the goddamn time, but I hyperfixated on those games for most of elementary and middle school and its always cool to see your favorite Youtuber talk about stuff you really like. Not to guilt trip you into answering this one or anything, just. . . I'm very tired and it would be very cool lol.

Again, saving my character design thoughts for some more shorts, but I adore Kingdom Hearts. Like, the first game really ISN'T much more than a cross-promotional branding exercise for Disney and Square, same as any of a dozen other similar crossover centric franchises; it's a Saturday morning cartoon show that wants to get you invested (or keep you invested) in a bunch of fancy IPs to buy toys of, but it's a really good one of those.

And it's a game that understands that the central thing that's going to hook people IN to that kind of thing is characters that are willing to believe in what they've got going on with one thousand percent sincerity. Which I think is the thing they nailed more than anything. Sora cares SO MUCH, and he wants to find his friend and his love interest (Kairi and Riku, respectively) SO BADLY, you can't help but root for the poor kid and want to believe in it.

Then, with the first game successfully managing to hook a solid fanbase, the creative team went "hey what if we had even MORE extremely earnest cool anime people getting deep in their feelings?" and now we're off to the races with Organizations and Oblivion Castles and fractions of 358 days.

And the thing that makes all the hyper-convoluted wheels-within-wheels plot machination nonsense WORK is that down, deep down, right at the core of what the franchise is always trying to say, is that love will save us. Yeah yeah hearts and darkness and unversed and nobodies and keyblades and blah blah blah (to be clear: I adore all that nonsense), but all of it is top-to-bottom in service of that singular central thematic clarion call.

Love will save us.

What holds Ventus together after Xehanort tears his heart apart? The love of Sora. What keeps Roxas the nobody from fading into Sora? The love of Xion and Axel, and Hayner, Pence and Olette. What brings Xion back? The love of Axel and Roxas. Hearts ring together and resonate and bind themselves to each other and there is no darkness so deep, no tragedy so absolute, no villain so foul that the cry of a loving heart cannot defeat it.

Roxas is a nobody doomed to darkness? Fuck you, Kingdom Hearts is love, no he isn't. Xion is a mere replica puppet, a failed experiment that nobody will remember? >>EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER<< get seasalt icecream'd on top of a clock tower at sunset, IDIOT.

Over and over again characters sink into despair and loneliness, they fear that their connections are fake or fading, they fear being forgotten or left behind (Riku in the first game, the breaking of Ventus, Aqua and Terra, Roxas thinking nobody would miss him, Aqua in the Realm of Darkness), and over and over again they are proven beautifully wrong. There is always a hand reaching out, there is always someone who will miss you. Love will save us.

And this absolutely gets hokey, of course it does, it's a saturday morning children's cartoon. It's a bit simplistic, maybe a bit naïve, but honestly in a world where you can't walk two steps without bleak-minded doomer cynicism forcing the assumption that nothing truly good is possible and that the worst will always happen, Kingdom Hearts is a story so absolutely drenched in hope, sincerely held, that it feels like a fucking balm.

Also, LITERALLY where the fuck else are you going to get Woody from Toy Story reading an edgy anime villain for absolute filth? Nowhere, that's where. ONLY Kingdom Hearts.

None of this is to suggest I don't have criticisms of the franchise or that it's faultless. I could talk for several hours unbroken about all my gripes and problems, chief among which is LET KAIRI DO THINGS OH MY FUCKING GOD the franchise is low key misogynistic towards its female characters sometimes but I am talking about the things I love here let me just be happy for a second.

[bbrokenbback]

I guess it`s somehow an addition to the previous post with crazy pairings, but this time it`s not about dices deciding on our future but me. So, I present you the worst and the best questionable pairings from Warhammer 30k. The position of the character in the *name*/*name* thing is important.

Sanguinius/Rogal Dorn and NOT the other way around.

Sanguinius, just as Vulkan, can be paired with anyone if you`re brave enough, but I think he looks the best with that Imperial Fist in his ass. The Siege of Terra is the basis of their relationship because nothing attracts people to each other better than shared suffering and the same tragedy.

Sanguinius is the soldier who`s general doesn`t want to let him go to the field because he values him too much personally. But he still goes, yet, as he was asked from the general, never says “goodbye”. And Rogal is dying inside while trying to keep track of everything that is going on in and out of the Palace, receiving special reports about the Angel`s wellbeing. He just cares about him too much, and, since he technically has the right to prevent Sanguinius from throwing himself out only to be eaten by a bunch of heretics, he uses it quite often. Even if it doesn`t stop the Angel at all.

The hawk boy is just happy to come back to someone who waits for him from the battlefield.

I sincerely believe that the future in which there`s only war we desperately need some angsty fluff, and those two make the best of it.

2. Vulkan/Ferrus, for the balance of universe.

The previous couple was all about softness and fluff, about how feelings bloom in people in spite of the Great War. But these too exist only because they match.

They are both from death worlds, and both Medusa and Nocturne, if I remember it correctly, are not actually considered to be death worlds, but they are. It`s probably because Vulcan didn’t want to send people away from their homes and Ferrus was just to lazy to apply for the status of his homeworld.

Ferrus also needs someone who`d kick his ass, and there was a scene in canon that showed how desperately he wanted to fight with Vulkan in his special training cage for strong opponents, but Vulkan refused. Probably because he knew too well that Ferrus` pride would not hold against the reality in which he`s not the perfect one.

But I think eventually he would agree, after Ferrus made him a little too frustrated with his demeanor. He`d brutally beat him and then calmly explain to him why it`s so important to be polite and respectful to people.

Fulgrim also does not deserve Ferrus so let the forge boys stay together please.

3. Roboute Guilliman/Perturabo

That`s pretty simple actually. I don`t remember who exactly said it here, but Roboute is just Forrix with no spice, and Perturabo, being Greek, probably hates spicy food. Roboute has a thing for fixing everything around him, and Perturabo desperately needs someone who would fix him.

Or they can become worse together, it depends on how you look at the couple.

They both are also two representatives of high-functioning depression, but Roboute is someone who tries to hide his condition by throwing off formal parties and dressing in colorful clothes, while Perturabo shows it off, bearing his burden proudly in front of everyone (it makes everyone uncomfortable). They have incredibly similar personalities if you look closer, their perfectionism, their intelligent sarcasm and their intelligence and education in general.

Also, Roboute is not that calm and collected as he is usually shown. He`s got a short temper just like Perturabo, his rage rises in a matter of seconds. He just knows how to control it and most of the time does not allow his frustration to affect his actions. Unlike Perturabo.

They make a great team in work and for both of them this fact is very important. Roboute likes to plan everything, Perturabo likes to follow plans. Perturabo is a tactician and Roboute is a strategist. Roboute is the sword and Perturabo is the shield.

I can see them having a noble slow burn with lots of long conversations about philosophy, art and history, during which Perturabo finally gets to talk about the things he actually like and Roboute gets to know the man behind the armor. They fall for each other slowly but surely.

And Roboute can keep Perturabo loyal, not to the Imperium, but to himself.

4. Mortarion/Lorgar Aurelian

This might be the strangest pairing so far but don`t worry it`s the last of them. I`ve already mentioned that to me there`s no greater basis for the relationship than shared suffering and I want to add hate to everyone around the couple to it.

Mortarion is a gentle soul. He has a tough personality, but he`s soft in hearts, so he protects them at all costs. And Lorgar knows too well how to treat gentle souls properly.

Aurelian probably sees Mortarion as his own younger self, treating him like he would like to be treated in his past. He listens to him, allows him to rant about the grudge he holds against the Emperor and simply gives him the much needed understanding.

They have a few similarities in their pasts too, they both were raised by some freaks and that traumatized them. They could discuss and treat each other`s daddy issues. It`s like mutual masturbation but it starts with their minds.

Speaking of mind, Aurelian is a psyker and Mortarion is allergic to it. But with time he could see that there`s no monster behind those powers, and although he`d still prefer Lorgar without them, he can tolerate it.

I hope one day they will team up, kick their first captains` asses and have their happy ever after.

[remembrancer-of-heresy]

Replica (Part 1)

Summary: A serf attracts the attention of Perturabo, unaware that she looks exactly like his deceased sister Callifone.

Perturabo/fem!Reader

Warnings: incest (kinda? it's not his sister but she's her copy)

Word count: 1022

This is my first work on Tumblr. I haven't written anything for a long time but I hope that next time it will be better. English is not my mother tongue. So hope that everything will be more or less readable.

Song: Mitski - Washing Machine Heart

“Almost all of my assistants died as a result of one... incident. So we are definitely lucky to have found you among this herd."

You could only purse your lips at that statement. Lucky. In a sense, this was true. Almost all the slaves were immediately sent to hard labor, where only death awaited them. But one of the primarch’s sincere serfs was just looking for a literate slave. So you haven’t really had time to experience all the horrors of a new life before you got a chance to survive yourself.

Still, you continued to think. Why did the Iron Warriors attack a loyal world of the Imperium? If you broke the law, Rogal Dorn would always find out about it and reveal the villains. But like a bolt from the blue, Iron Blood appeared and the assault began. All who miraculously survived were sent into slavery. Almost all the people were from the lowest classes, and only you, the local chronicler, somehow miraculously found your way among this whole crowd.

Your mentor said that lord Perurabo didn’t tolerate illiteracy and ignorance. He didn't want to see such people. That’s why the serfs of the primarch had to do more than just monitor the library. But also carry out other tasks that regular servitors could do.

That's how you start cleaning the primarch’s room. You, three other servants and your mentor briskly huddled around your duties in the hope of not bumping into lord Perturabo. But fate decreed otherwise, and after a couple of minutes the door opened.

“Lord Perturabo,” the mentor spoke by mail, bowing before the primarch. You and the slaves stood near the wall, humbly lowering your head. - “I apologize for disturbing your presence.”

He didn't answer. He didn't even move. Several minutes passed, but he continued to stand in the doorway. Your mouth started to dry. You tried your best not to fidget, so as not to bring down the primarch's wrath. But you still couldn’t shake the strange feeling, as if he...

looked straight at you.

You so wanted to close your eyes and leave this room as quickly as possible. But you could only wait for his order. Goosebumps ran through body. The tension grows. Even your brave mentor became worried. It was immediately clear that such behavior was not characteristic of Perturabo.

“Out.”

A relieved groan almost escaped your lips. It was unbearable to be in this place. Almost suffocating. You hurried after the slaves, continuing to look at the floor. You were almost over the threshold when you were stopped by a huge hand on your shoulder. No. Why? It was your first day. You almost believed that you could adapt to your new life. Maybe it would be better if you died under the rubble. And you never ended up on the Iron Blood.

"Except you".

You almost heard the serfs' thoughts. How they feel sorry for you and how glad they are that they are not in your place. You were still standing when the door closed behind the last serf, and the primarch sat down at his desk, turning his back to you. He didn’t touch the blueprints, instead staring at the table and clenching his fists tightly... as if he was holding himself back from anger.

Startled, you decided to go back to cleaning without waiting for his order. In the end, you managed to overcome your fear, and you were even able to relax. If a mentor were here, he would definitely scold you. But you cannot do your job quickly and efficiently. How could you ignore all these things?

A model of an amphitheater, the structure of Ancient Terra, an unusually shaped clock, puzzles. Never in your life have you seen more skillful work. But most of all, you stayed close to the golden birdcage. It was made so exquisitely and with such love that you kept wiping the non-existent dust off the table. You even saw images of birds and flowers on the bars.

"Like it?"

You shuddered involuntarily when you heard the primarch’s voice. Turning around, you were surprised to see Perturabo. He was still sitting with his back to you, turning his face just a little, as if he didn’t want to see your whole. His eyes shone with curiosity and wariness. He still didn’t touch the drawings.

“Y-yes, very much.” - you whispered, holding the rag to your chest. The primarch continued to glare at you, and you decided to continue the conversation. - “But why is it empty?”

"What is your name?" - Perturabo ignored your question. Confused, you almost whispered your name. Perturabo's face smoothed out slightly. - “Were your ancestors from Olympia?”

You shrugged in confusion. How were you supposed to know? Your family was not poor, but you did not wallow in money. You did not keep records of your family as you did. Perturabo continued to ask you the most common questions. Who you were before becoming serf. As if he was trying to know something that you didn’t understand.

You thought that talking to such an insignificant person like you only disappoints the primarch. But he only relaxed more and more. But when you said that you only have two brothers, he winced. Finally, he turned his gaze to the drawing. Before you could return to work, he suddenly looked at you. There was something in his gaze. You couldn't say exactly what it was.

"Do you wanna take a look?"

Your lips parted in surprise. When you boarded the Iron Blood, you thought your life was over. That you will never see your home world again and will forever be locked in this terrifying place. But here you stand before a primarch who strikes fear and worship into the hearts of humans. And he asks you, YOU, if you want to see his work.

“I'd love to.” - you nodded, holding back your excitement and unrest. You were really curious to know what Lord Perturabo was working on. Perhaps it was your imagination, but a shadow of a smile flashed across the primarch’s face.

Maybe he'll even let you come home.

[salvatoreren]

i cannot actually get over how scrumptious and delightful bbrae is in the 2003 comics like they're so obviously in love with each other but they just don't know it till they're in the morgue and they kiss each other in the middle of the apocalypse because it might be the last time they see each other and might die trying to save the world and garfield constantly grapples with the idea of raven loving him or the kiss being real, like look, i have not read the whole thing so i'm quite unsure about the terra incident within the comics but i have read blackest night which is a crossover to the comics and you can see just how much terra has made an impact on gar, and how she'll always haunt him and he'll always love her even though it wasn't real, gar is so obviously scared to fall in love again because of that and loses the meaning of what's real in front of him because of terra, he loves raven but he's scared to get hurt again and i think that there's this frustration that runs through within, of him wanting it to be real and asking her if any of it was, as a means of validation of their love and their relationship because he's scared that things may not seem as it is.

and raven, of course, actually, again, i'm not really sure what's going on because i've barely scratched the surface but i'm sure we get the gist when raven feels emotions and how it is for her to handle them, especially the intense ones and love is obviously one of those and like falling in love, being subjected to such a powerful thing like romantic love is incredibly overwhelming but also exciting? to the point where everything you feel for that person is somehow always heightened than the usual and it's bound to make you lose control, raven, as we can see is scared to fully indulge in loving garfield in fear that she might lose control and puts herself at risk if not the world but the thing is, she cannot bring herself to not love gar because he's essentially part of her, in issue#88 she mentions how his love for her has changed but her love for him still persists.

and speaking of gar being part of raven now, it goes the same for gar because he mentions in issue#100 that he tried to date other girls, he tried to move on from raven but all he could think about was her the whole time.

like they constantly overlap and linger within each other's lives and i absolutely adored their buildup and what i got from it, their love borders on unconditional where they continue to love another even if it meant they won't receive back that love or where they just love and accept each other for who they are, their relationship revolves around as just being more than humans but also being a person bigger than the pain that has molded you as who you are in the given and has thus removed your ability to be able to indulge in little things in life as well as giving love a chance, whether it be the first or second time and growing back together with that person you chose to give a chance.

they're so absolutely precious in the comics and i sincerely wish that this kind of writing comes through to any adaptations of them because it's so deliciously complicated and profound and just...the miscommunication, the slow burn, the yearning is there and god, i love them so bad :((((.

[novankenn]

The TA -- Joan(Jaune) Arc

Artwork Inspired Posts - First / Second / Third

(Artwork created/owned by @pilot-boi, No rights Claimed/Implied by the author of this story)

Joan(Jaune) had a quandary on her hands. She had opened the box that had been addressed to her. Inside she found two sets of shoes and several packages of clothes. Well five clear plastic wrapped sets actually. Four where standard slightly modified Beacon female uniforms. Blouse, skirt, blazer, socks.

The fifth was significantly... different. Joan(Jaune) liked the fifth one. It had a certain allure to it. There was even a card with it!

"Welcome to Beacon Ms Arc. I hope you have an enjoyable time with us. The Beacon uniforms are dull, so after speaking with Mrs Cotta-Arc I was able to assemble something I hope is more to your liking." -- Sincerely Headmaster Ozpin

"I think I like this outfit better." Joan(Jaune) whispered to herself, a sly grin on her face. "And I know just the accessories for it!"

"Joan(Jaune) we're going to be late!" Glynda called out as she finished touching up her hair. "Aren't you dressed... WHAT ARE YOU WEARING???

Joan(Jaune) shot her Aunt a Cheshire grin as she posed in the doorway to her room. Joan(Jaune) was almost in a complete copy of Glynda's own outfit, except for the fact Joan(Jaune) was wearing what looked like tailored black pants, instead of a skirt. Very well tailored pants. They hung perfectly, clinging in just the right places.

The outfit was topped with a tasteful white blouse, and a black corset type vest, that gave Joan(Jaune)'s lackluster chest a needed boost. Then of course there were the accessories. A pair of black wire rim cat's eye glasses, and what had to be at least four inch high stiletto heeled calf high black boots.

"You like?" Joan(Jaune) asked a huge smile on her face. Glynda was getting a headache. She knew exactly who had snuck this outfit into the order she had made for Joan(Jaune). "Well?"

"You look good Joan(Jaune). You do, but... the glasses? The heels?"

"The glasses i can toss, not that I need them, but the heels..." her voice grew dark, and sinister, a scowl crossing her once happy features.

"Joan(Jaune)?" Glynda asked a little shocked at the sudden emotional shift in her niece.

"Were a gift from Saph an d Terra. No one touches them!" Joan(Jaune) hissed. Yes actually hissed.

"I was just..."

Glynda was cut off as Joan(Jaune) strutted past her with perfect poise and balance. Grabbing the attaché case Glynda had given her last night, and without any sign of faltering or flaw in stride, Was out the door.

"Joan(Jaune) wait up!" Glynda called after her. "We have a staff meeting first!"

After a forty minute staff meeting, that really could have been handled in ten minutes, or even better and email. Joan(Jaune) followed her Aunt into her first class of the day. The bustle and hum of active conversations abated as Joan(Jaune) watched her Aunt take center stage.

"Attention class! I am Professor Goodwitch, and this is your designated Combat Class." Her voice was strong and powerful. Commanding respect and attention. Joan(Jaune) half listened, as she tried to determine how she too could get the type of voice her mom and Aunt both used so easily.

Pyrrha had tuned out Professor Goodwitch's opening speech, to focus on her inner turmoil. She noticed the person who entered with the Professor, and recognized them instantly. That was were her current crisis was focused, as her mind fractured and began arguing with itself.

"She's a babe!" voice one.

"Don't be stupid. He's a dude." voice two.

"Are you sure. I think those are boobs." Voice three.

"I don't think they are." Voice four.

"I swear to you all NOW. That is a girl! Look at the clothes, the bust, those hips, THAT ASS!" Voice one.

"I agree with the ass, but I don't a bust. So I'm going with a dude." Voice two.

"Eh? Guys can wear feminine styled clothes just as much as girls can were masculine stuff. So that argument doesn't work, but yeah those are boobies. Girl."

"You guys need your eyes checked. Ass yes. Hips okay, yeah, clothes... don't care. Boobs? Don't see any. That's a Guy."

"You are all shitheads! That is a fucking girl!" voice one.

"Watch the gods damn language! there could be kids around her!" voice two.

"Seriously. Kids. In our own head?" voice three.

"Listen, it looks like an introduction is going to happen. Let's hear the name, and then we can have our sexual identity crisis after. Sound like a plan?" voice four.

"Okay." the three other voices agreed.

"Now as you can see their is a charming young woman who has accompanied me to this class. She is Joan(Jaune) Arc, my niece and will be serving as my Teaching Assistant." Glynda continued to address the class, her very tone forcing compliance and attention for everyone, well almost everyone.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING GIRL????" Pyrrha Nikos shot to her feet, her face a blazing red.

"Ms Nikos!" Glynda started to reprimand the four time champion only for Joan(Jaune) to decide she need a piece of the action.

"Is that a problem?" Joan(Jaune) snapped "Do you not believe your eyes? What is it my tits? Yeah, that's all your huntsmen and huntresses focus on. Big honking hooters!"

"Joan(Jaune) enough!" Glynda tried to regain control, but as soon as Joan(Jaune) started to rant, she knew the only way to regain control was to use "the glare"

"You know what I got, that is better than sweater stretchers? DO you?" Joan(Jaune) continued to rant, her eyes focused directly in Pyrrha. "Well Ms Nikos, do you?"

"I have this!" Joan(Jaune) twisted about popped her hips and gave her own behind a hard smack, causing the sound of flesh striking flesh to echo about the room. "I have an ASS that can beat yours any day of the week!"

Glynda pulled unleashed "the Glare" just as the room burst into chaos, and Ms Nikos promptly fainted, overcome a whirlwind of confusing thoughts and arguing voices that filled her mind.

"Everyone! Sit! NOW!" Once order was restored, Glynda instructed Joan(Jaune) to escort Ms Nikos and her team to the infirmary. Before Joan(Jaune) could complain, Glydna added. "This is your mess. You started it. You end it... civilly!"

"Yes, auntie." Joan(Jaune) sulked for the whole trip.

[cerastes]

What are some of the greatest/most impressive feats of strength in Arknights’s story?

Taking the overall narrative and worldbuilding into account, I believe the most effective aspect of Arknights' narrative is that they managed to make Terra feel like a breathing, living world and setting instead of a vehicle for the point-of-view character to exist in and act upon. This is specially remarkable for a mobile gacha game, as settings in these tend to be exactly that sort of vehicle instead of world that give any hints of existing when outside the player's immediately vision. The way I like to think about it is, "if a tree fell somewhere in this setting while my intended point-of-view or self-insert character isn't there to see it, did it make a sound?”. In Arknights, Girls' Frontline and SIGH Epic Seven (credit where it's due), the answer feels like a yes to me, whereas in every other game of this kind, it feels like a no, if you know what I mean.

This is intrinsically tied to the cast of characters: It is an inevitability that games where a guiding principle is to release an immense number of characters throughout its lifetime will have characters that will never have any relevance whatsoever besides existing as a minor piece in the world, and Arknights is not immune to this. Even other works of a different base nature and with a much smaller casts will be victims to this: In Trails of Cold Steel, for example, you have a pretty big cast of playable characters, some of which are very well developed and have a lot of screentime and development, and others who are Gaius Worzel. However, this leads to two aspects of Arknights as a narrative and as a game telling a story and fleshing out a world that I appreciate:

The first is that those characters that do get used, are for the overwhelming majority fun and interesting to see and accompany throughout their narrative, and rarely for me, I include the usual point-of-view character in this, Doctor. I tend to have a pretty big dislike, if not disdain, for characters you're meant to self-insert into, I sincerely cannot stand them. Doctor definitely has a big of a self-insert nature to them, but there's also a lot of the Doctor that is actually pre-established, such as them being a weirdo, tending to be very effective but also causing troublesome aftermaths that others then have to clean up, and being particularly good at bonding with assassins and underworld types, among other things. More importantly, Doctor is not present in most side-stories. This is fantastic and leads to the second aspect I appreciate.

This second aspect is that the cast has legs to stand on without needing the protagonist or POV character. You'd think this is a problem mostly limited to gacha games due to their usually flimsy narratives and structures, right? Except, this is actually a huge problem in pretty much every corner of narrative art! I can think of countless comics, manga, cartoons, anime, light novels, novels, and much more, eastern and western, that just tend to have worlds and casts that center entirely around the protagonist, for the protagonist. Whether it be a US author writing out their post-apocalyptic hoarder fantasy or a Japanese author detailing the trials and tribulations of a relatable nobody that a myriad of girls want to have sex with, and even some other pieces of art perhaps not so comically easy to make fun of, it's a consistent aspect of them that the protagonist is the center of the universe, both in terms of events and what the rest of cast thinks about, talks about, and takes action upon. Obviously, this results, in my opinion, in weak worlds and weak casts that have no legs to stand on. I appreciate that even without Doctor around, Arknights does a good job of having protagonists of their own little stories in the side stories: Olivia Silence is a joy to follow when she takes the lead in a Rhine Lab story, Kroos has been one of my favorite characters to be able to experience events through with the Sui stories, Skadi and the Abyssal Hunters are exciting to watch in Abyssal Hunter stories, and the latest event as of the writing of this post filled me inspiration, seeing Reed star in a character piece that tells us more about someone so immensely reticent to open up. It's by having interesting world events occurring throughout Terra that don't have the input of Doctor, and thus lets us see more and more of this huge cast of characters taking the lead that I think is a fascinating experience for me as a reader that keeps things fresh. It's even allowed me to come to appreciate characters I initially didn't care about, such as Bagpipe and Magallan, and see, in most games of this nature, if I don't care about a character frame one, it's probably going to stay that way because, well, if I didn't care about what their limited assortment of pre-cooked lines had to sell me on, then I'm likely not going to care about that character likely not showing me a new aspect of themselves impactful enough to change my mind in an event they'll likely just be an accessory to.

It's upon this base that I think Arknights stays interesting and fresh: A solid foundation that I can agree with and that keeps things dynamic and interesting. Specific events and story beats that I think are interesting are a natural result of these baseline aspects, but it all traces back to the cradle, to these baseline aspects that facilitate those cool narratives in the first place.

[awoogayanderes]

“sometimes you’re just hard to love,” you say, looking out into the night sky, with tears in your eyes, an argument pushed you over the edge.

he simply looks at you, despite the breath he was holding, he didn’t want to make your life harder than it was but he couldn’t help it.

“then leave, i’m not stopping you,” his mouth moves faster than his thoughts.

he sees the light leave your eyes as he says that, immediately regretting what he said, swallowing the dry spit in his mouth.

so you do as you’re told, you leave. ‘i’ll apologize in the morning, it’s fine’ your lover thinks to himself. he will never see you again.

OSAMU DAZAI | chuuya nakahara | XIAO | diluc | sanemi shinazugawa | eren yeager | levi ackerman | sasuke uchiha | ban

[alexsfavgirl]

REAL IN THE FLESH

➪ pairing : oliver quick x reader, implied relationship with felix catton and reader

➪ sypnosis : you didn’t have a lot of time to talk with oliver, but now you do, and it’s terrifying

➪ other notes : currently can’t write for bsd, but saltburn is currently my new obsession

the summer sun beams on both of you as you lay down on the green grass. oliver was sitting up next to you, gazing at his surroundings. “we haven’t gotten to talk much have we oliver ?” you ask him, you turn your head towards him. “suppose not,” the quiet boy says. “do you like it here ? in saltburn, i mean,” you say, attempting to form conversation.

“it’s lovely, better than home,” he simply says. home. home to oliver seemed monstrous, well from what felix had told you before. “where’s your home ?” oliver asks you. you hum, taken aback from the question. “not far, we have a nice house but i’ve always passed summers here in saltburn, since felix and i started dating,” you respond sighing.

“do you like it ?” he asks. you look at oliver through your sunglasses. “of course i do,” you say, almost scoffing. who wouldn’t like living in a mansion even if it were for a couple of months. “how long have you and felix been together ?” oliver asks. “since sophomore year in high school, well on and off but you know” you respond, liking the flow of the conversation.

felix had mentioned to oliver that you and him and been on and off because of…well felix’s cheating, not that he explicitly told you. but felix couldn’t seem to let you go, after every break, he’d manage to crawl back into your bed, saying that he was forever “your guy” and that all the rumors of him with other girls aren’t true.

“well there’s a reason why he keeps coming back to you,” oliver sighs. you snap your head towards him, “and why is that ?” you say. “you’re fucking beautiful, who wouldn’t want you back,” he says, words rolling off his tongue. you try not to be flustered, you really do. yet a smirk crawls onto your face. “felix would kill you~” you say in a singsong voice.

“you’re different from everyone else here,” oliver suddenly says. “am i ?” you ask, almost confused. “like you’re…you’re authentic,” he says and your breath hitches. “like you’re actually real in the flesh, why is that ?” oli continues. “my father wasn’t there and my mom barely made it through with her job,” you confess, and you realize it’s terrifying.

it’s terrifying that a man you barely knew, now had a glimpse of what your childhood was like. why did you tell him ? why did you tell him ? was it because oliver is kind, too kind for his own good ? you don’t know but suddenly your oversharing has made you uncomfortable.

“i um have to go, uh find felix, wanted to talk to him about something,” you clear your throat as you get up. “you know, he’s cheating on you, he constantly is,” oliver says as you start walking away. “i’m well aware,” you quietly say. and that’s when oliver realizes that you aren’t as stupid as he thought you initially were.

“be seeing you…ollie,” you say, walking towards the mansion that oliver one day would claim as his. a smile falls on his face, one that he had been holding in for a while. maybe you weren’t so useless after all, maybe one day he could fit into felix’s shoes. maybe you just gave him a reason to keep you along for the ride.

[rosie-kairi]

I'm gonna say something controversial ready? Okay here I go.

Skuld is the better big sister to Ven than Aqua.

Now I'm not here to put two bad bitches against each other. We love both girls in this household but! But, I have to say when asked which relationship I prefer I gotta go with Skuld. Besides Lauriam Skuld also spent the most time with Ven and was always the first to comfort and defend him. She just loves that kid so much and if she is subjective x I sincerely hope they can reunite and pick up where they left off

Gee Ven how come Nomura let's you have two sets of big brothers and sisters?

Now I also know Aqua went through literal hell to keep Ven safe for a decade and he was the guiding light she needed to keep hope alive for herself. I love in 0.2 how Ven is what keeps Aqua going and how his memory is so cherished by her.

But Skuld sassed Darkness right to their non face and bashed her key blade into them multiple times and was there when Ven was a baby. I just have so much love for them, her, Lauriam, and Ven are like a pre BBS traumatized trio (the daybreak trio?).

Just Skuld being the big sister of all time to Ven man.

Being Ventus is suffering, but at least you get Free Siblings :))

I think a Lauriam/Ventus/Skuld trio would be really interesting to see going forward, assuming they all have at least a vague grasp of their khux memories lol. Lauriam + Skuld vs Aqua + Terra custody hearing. go.

[laudaddysmitten]

~Stunning View~

Chapter 7 teaser/mini chapter (sorry): Terra Firma, Part 1

GOAD Writer's Guild official

Rated E (for Eventual Smut, not to that yet, a couple of past chapters have some barely M-ish content)

Today is my ANNIVERSARY as a writer! I started my first draft a year ago today, which is just insane to contemplate. But that is why it was important to me to get an update out today, which is why it's not the full chapter, for which I sincerely apologize, especially after the long hiatus. Hope to have the full chapter done "soon", but I've learned my lesson about trying to estimate that.

Chapter Summary: 

We see the immediate aftermath of Crowley's utter shock in the face of Aziraphale's declarations that he is a "Darling Demon", and everything that went along with that.

Exerpt: 

The angel's embrace was unyielding, an epoxy to the loose conglomerate of demon in his arms. Aziraphale whispered sweet nothings of comfort Crowley couldn't fully comprehend over his own wet and shaky breaths, he just knew they sounded like safety.

Fic summary:

Rated E (eventual smut; not there yet)

(Picking up at the end of the minisode The Resurrectionists, 1827 Edinburgh, aka Laudaddy)

When Hell fails to notice Crowley’s Very Good Deed, he is left in an Edinburgh graveyard trying to navigate a world tilted by laudanum. Fortunately for him, Aziraphale has no intention of leaving him to fend for himself. And Crowley's compromised brain-to-mouth filter leads to a far more enjoyable evening than they expect.

Start from the beginning:

Thanks @goodomensafterdark  Writer's Guild!

Thank you to betas!!

@totheendtimes @ladybracknellssherry @olfactoryventriloquism

@outrageousring5655   @happynachohologram

And @lexarturo for the art

[moraxsthrone]

so...as lovely as the idea of tighnari bringing you a single pretty flower or a whole carefully selected and arranged bouquet sounds...

he doesn't like to pluck live flowers or the bases of their stems. hence why he always picks leaves and flowers from the forest floor, after they've already fallen naturally.

plus, he'd much rather give you something that has the potential to live for decades, not something that will wither and die in a matter of days.

he's far more likely to dig up a small flowering plant, or take a cutting and place it on a mist table until it roots. then he'll transfer it to a little terra cotta pot, taking special care to ensure that it has a healthy root system and the best potting mix.

he'll bring it to you when he knows you'll most likely be home and offer it as a romantic gesture. it's not a huge, colorful bunch of picked or cut flowers. it's a small plant that only has its green foliage bc the blooms it had when he found it in the wild have long since died and fallen off in the time it took to stand on its own as an established, healthy plant.

but knowing that he's cared for it for weeks after taking a small cutting off one of its mother's branches, that he went to such lengths and meticulous effort to ensure it became its own plant, able to grow and bloom once again in its own right...just for you? you don't take a single leaf for granted. you smile brightly and take the little pot between your hands and immediately start looking for the best place to put it in your little cottage in the trees.

"where do you think would be the best place to put it, nari?" you ask, looking this way and that.

he fights back the smile that threatens to overtake his whole cute face and nods towards your quaint kitchen window. "how about there? that's where it would get the best filtered afternoon light, which it likes the best."

you twirl around and place it lovingly on the small window ledge next to a couple of other plants which have been living there happily for a long time now. you run a gentle finger over one of its little leaves before turning to face tighnari again, a wide smile gracing your lovely face. from the first time he saw you, he's always loved the way the sincerity of your happiness reaches your eyes when you smile at him. the corners of his lips can't help but lift for you in return, his multi-colored eyes widening when you throw your arms around his neck and hug him.

"thank you, nari," you murmur against his neck. "i love it. i'll take really good care of it, i promise."

he relaxes, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist. "i know you will. i wouldn't entrust you with its life otherwise."

you pull back to meet his gaze for a moment. then you kiss him, his tall ears turning and leaning back against his head and his tail swishing quietly behind him when he exhales against your soft, slow lips.

he's so content in this moment, so happy he found someone as beautiful and intelligent as you. but the fact that you obviously care so deeply for plant life...and him...is what is making him fall helplessly in love with you.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #17 – Terra Incognita by Connie Willis

Connie Willis is a name I have heard come up a lot with regard to late 20th century American Science Fiction, but in a slightly odd way. The only thing she’s actually written that I’ve ever heard of is To Say Nothing of the Dog (a delightful-sounding book that tragically has a multimonth hold list at my library). Instead, I mostly know her from other books’ acknowledgement sections, or semi-mythologized folklore and anecdotes about the culture and community of the era. So I really picked this up as a matter of curiosity, to get a sense of what Willis’ whole deal is.

The book is a collection of three novellas, each basically totally unrelated with only the faintest attempt at a unifying theme to justify bundling the three of them together. Each work is pretty different from the others in everything from length (the longest is something like 3x the length of the shortest), tone, setting and subject matter, the works really. The first is a sort of romcom farce about surveyors charting an alien world that has, well, aged. The second and longest a love letter to classic classic hollywood and movie musicals as told from the POV of a self-hating drunk who pays the bills going through and retroactively editing the studio’s back catalogue to meet the whims of the executive of the day. The third and by far shortest is a lighthearted and very fannish comedy about a teenager getting conscripted to be a space cadet against her own ferocious objections.

The stories are all perfectly modern in, like, structure and pacing, but they still absolutely feel like they were written last century. Part of that is just word choice (the only thing that ages worse than old euphemisms for sex is old attempts to create futuristic slang), but it’s also just a general sensibility. Which is most cringe-inducing in the first story, both for its portrayal of the native species of the planet being surveyed (directly compared to native americans a few different times, characterized as relentlessly opportunistic penny-wise but pound-foolish hucksters leaping at the chance to sell their land for cheap imported consumer goods), and also just for a handling of gender and sexuality it’d take more time than I’ve got to really dig into. (I have a sense of where all those tomboy versus girly girl memes ultimately descend from now, though.) The other two more just felt out of time than actually wince-inducing, with the third story especially feeling like an affectionate nod to the fan culture of a different era. That said, the second one’s whole horrified preoccupation with a Hollywood that refuses to make anything new instead of just remaking the same sure things from its back catalog forevermore either never stopped or has looped back around to feeling real topical.

Insofar as I’m already reading romances, I admit I do have a real soft spot for the whole ‘idiots compensate for total refusal to communicate feelings with grand romantic gestures and hoping the object of their desires will get the idea. It doesn’t work.’ thing that’s a bit of a recurring beat in two of the novellas though.

Prose and characterization wise, all three were pretty well done – though riffing off tropes and archetypes that I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve seen played sincerely and unironically, which did always leave me feeling I was missing context on how to read them. Which is pretty much what I was hoping for going in, to be clear – what’s the point of reading older stories, otherwise? Which is nice, because the actual reading experience of going through it was a bit of a slog. The first one was the real trial, but just overall I’d say the book’s more interesting as a cultural artifact than an artistic work. Oh well, c’est la vie.

[topiealdohats]

I remember the first day I saw Sora. I didn't know then how much I would end up loving the guy, but fate works in ways we don't expect. I was walking outside of my house holding my mom's hand, and there he was, riding on his dad's shoulders, the two just passing by. Our parents greet each other, and Sora and I make eye contact, but we don't get to interact until much later.

One of our preschool teachers loved taking pictures of kids she was in charge of, so there were a lot of pictures of us from that time. Even from the time I was too shy to be friends with him, there's pictures of those moments. Us sitting next to each other with Sora just looking elsewhere with a cute smile, us eating on the same kids’ table with him looking like he's really enjoying the food, those kinds of moments were just proof of how much of a withdrawn kid I was.

There was this moment when Sora sang a really old but classic song on karaoke for everyone to hear, and I was enamored by his voice. He sang that song so well. We only really realized what the lyrics meant when we got older, which is kind of hilarious to think for a small kid to sing about, but it never stopped being a song that I associated with him. I wanted to be his friend back then. And I got my wish.

I cherish the times when it was just us two. We met Terra and Aqua when it was just us, his dad taking us out to our special island to play. That time when I saw him suddenly shed a tear, with something squeezing him inside, and I just said what made sense to me from what I knew at the time just to help him. I remember feeling a sense of relief that my words calmed Sora again. The stars that night were beautiful, and I just remembered how happy I was being there with him at the time. We were best friends at that point. Sora said so himself to Aqua. I could never call him that and be that sincere back then, but he knew I thought the same of him. And weirdly, my own sincere feelings were easier to say when I was talking to Terra, because it felt less vulnerable to share how I felt about my friends… well, my best friend, with a stranger than with Sora.

And then the night of the meteor shower, Kairi arrived. She was the new girl at the mayor's house. We all became friends, all three of us. And we got to hang out at Sora's place all the time if we weren't on our special island. The island eventually became hers as much as it was ours. And I felt Sora being so enamored with Kairi the way I was with him. I felt pressure to start feeling the same for Kairi as well, because I couldn't admit feeling the same for him. And in a way, I did grow to care about Kairi so much that I didn't have to pretend anymore. But I also wanted to selfishly have Sora for myself again sometimes, and our toy sword sparring and constant attempts to one-up each other ended up being that small way to still have something for ourselves.

When we were younger, I wanted to go on adventures with him. I wanted to be grown up. I wanted to see the world, get stronger for Sora (and eventually, for Kairi, too). But I also treasured the moments when it was just us three being kids and really spending so much time together that I couldn't think of a reason why we'd ever be apart. All three of us fit on the same bed because we were so small, and even when we grew up, we laid down a larger mattress just to sleep over and be with each others’ warmth.

Eventually, the events of how the islands fell happened. And it hasn't been the same ever since. Sora and Kairi grew closer in a way that I could never do with either of them just from a societal standpoint, and I felt like the third wheel all the time. I don't really like talking about how stupid I was during those years, and I went through a lot of moments of growth after it, too. I said goodbye at the door from the Realm of Darkness’ side, asking Sora to take care of her. And I meant every word.

When we got to return to the islands after defeating Xemnas for the first time, there was a short time when everything felt the same again. Granted, we were much older, and we had already gone through our own battles with our personal demons. I had to do a lot while Sora was asleep, that whole thing with Roxas and Xion, but I knew I had to do it for him. Kairi was safe on the islands, but I also knew she needed a way to defend herself if danger came her way again, so when I got Destiny's Embrace, I knew it was for her.

I also solidly knew at the point in time after the Xemnas battle that Sora and Kairi had each other in a way that I never could with either of them. I had them as my best friends, but that was all I could have. I still dream about Sora, and the dreams became stronger after becoming a literal Dream Eater for him, but I think that's all they are.

I know I have to rescue him for him and Kairi to be together again. But I also know that I love him, and I've gained the strength to protect, not only Kairi, but also and especially Sora, the person most special to me, if I needed to. That's why I have to save him myself. The way he risked his life to save Kairi multiple times, that power is with me for Kairi and for him now. He needs to come back. I need to be there for their wedding, when they're old enough to get wed. And in my dreams, I can imagine being married to him, too. We went through so much together, and I spent so many days apart from him thinking about him, from the day I first laid eyes on him. I just want him to be happy.