#the life series are murder games but they're also More

[justathingfromthebrainvoid]

Okay so Gem throughout Secret Life (and also the one episode in Limited Life) has been so fascinating for several reasons. (hello i'm back, yes this is the brain rotates the gem post, welcome.)

so first off everyone is fairly Aware of her pvp prowess, GeminiSlay is a name they know. So for the most part, no one tries to fight her. She's brought down by fighting blazes & an enderman, the red horde going after everyone (them fighting back) and eventually Scar's bow, and then by and large Grian's tnt minecarts before Pearl and Scar together kill her in a 2 v 1 fight (that for the 1st part mostly-ish bows, something she isn't quite as good at). People talk about how they don't want to fight Gem. Not unless they have to.

This affords her a level of safety. If they're scared of fighting you, they don't go after you.

And then she's the New person. She's the only New Person. She's cheery and happy even as she goes on her murdering sprees. Even Lizzie and Mumbo, not back since Last Life, have a different edge to them and then they're out so quickly they don't reach the line where the server goes into murder and betrayal. Cleo says it in the last session: Gem doesn't know what is about to happen.

And she doesn't. Not in the way everyone else does. It is a murder game, and Gem treats it as such, but she doesn't get the weight of what happens in those last sessions.

She loses her first life and is mildly bloodthirsty, she opens the end, sends in greens in hopes of getting more yellows, she gets a task that says kill every non red at least once and does so without hesitance, she turns red, succeeds 5 red tasks in her next episode and gets her two teammates to sacrifice themselves to her along with killing Pearl, and she smiles throughout the entire thing.

When the last session starts she's happy, ready to go out and murder some more people, and sure it's a bit "erie" and "quiet", but she's having a great time on the murder camel, looking for Skizz, figuring out how they can kill Etho/Cleo/Grian.

The other players Know what's about to happen, and she doesn't. Scott stays with her almost the entire episode. He knows what's going to happen. He already decided how he's going to die.

And then they come back from the Nether and Gem loses about 30 of her hearts, she panics slightly and a bit more when she finds Grian behind a wall (alone and down a bunch of hearts her first thought is run), but she goes back to the fight, kills Grian herself, and, oh, it's only them and the mounders left, time for the last battle apparently. She tries getting her murder buddy on their side again but Pearl refuses and it's not like she's leaving the Scotts, so they shoot arrows and run around the server a bit before retreating up the stairs back to their base. Pearl shoots her, Impulse dies, and Gem is starting to think they are going to as well (it's fine, that's what the game's about), but Bdubs and Joel are killed pretty easily and then she and Scott are running again (run, shoot, run again, why'd it have to be a bow fight?), there's a close call with Scar (it's fine, she gets away, where's Scott though?).

But I don't think she really gets it yet. Not until she joins back up with Scott and the first thing he says is "I need you to kill me. I've got 2.5 hearts, you need to kill me." And Scott throws items at her, food and an end crystal, and takes off his armour and Pearl and Scar aren't far behind...

Gem doesn't even get time to process. Pearl and Scar weren't far behind. She runs and fights and holds her own even in a 2v1, but it doesn't matter.

Gem is the new person. And she makes it all the way to 3rd, she's proud of that, should be proud of that. But she only thought of it as a fun murder game right up until Scott died. Sacrificed himself for her.

[yanderes-galore]

May I request a romantic Light Yagami vs L from Death Note rivalry concept please?

As if their canon dynamic wasn't bad enough, huh?

Yandere! Light Yagami vs L Lawliet Concept

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Stalking, Possessive behavior, Hidden cameras, Murder, Dubious relationship(s).

These two are already playing 4D chess with one another.

The two are constantly researching and watching one another, cameras everywhere, mind games, etc...

That's just with them trying to catch one another.

You throw an obsession into that?

Well, things just got worse.

I like to imagine you're oblivious to this whole thing, just trying to live your own life.

You're just trying to do college or something, unaware these two men are doing mind games over you.

Even worse if this is during the arc where L introduces himself as a student to learn more on Light.

That way they both have a chance to be near you.

Making the rivalry even worse.

Let's be honest, your house/dorm/ apartment is being bugged.

Cameras, recording devices, everything.

These two are master manipulators who could easily outsmart their obsession.

But they also know not to let too much slip.

This rivalry isn't physical.

In fact, most of it would occur just like the series does.

It would be all mind games, trying to make one another slip.

It just has the added goal of trying to get the same obsession now.

Light is charismatic, often wanting to be around you to talk and study.

He's popular which may make it easier for him to get closer to you.

After all, you won't suspect him of anything, right?

Everyone likes him.

L, whom you know as Ryuzaki, is less social.

He's strange... but not really a bad person to you.

He seems a bit like he's studying you at times but acts like a student similar to you.

In reality, it's a ploy to get closer to Light...

Then it becomes a way to get close to you.

The two may be focused on finding each other out, but they end up both meeting you.

L probably ends up learning about you through Light since he notices you around him so often.

You start off as a suspect, yet soon their focus shifts to you for other reasons.

Both may find you as a distraction... but notice the other is also eerily into you.

L is the one most likely to put up cameras and other devices to monitor you.

He'd sit in front of those monitors for hours while he researches Kira.

Light on the other hand, ends up dragging you everywhere he goes.

You're most likely going to befriend them both in some way.

I say this as I feel if you're involved with one, the other will follow due to them researching one another.

Maybe it's for the best that you're unaware of all of this....

Do you really want to learn your best friend Light is killing people, some even because they were too close to you?

That or the fact Ryuzaki has bugged your home to watch your every move?

Should you know that the two are trying to get rid of one another, perhaps even one of them getting you to themselves afterwards?

Sometimes it's nice to be blissfully ignorant.

To you the two seem to get along fine, maybe with some tension here or there but...

Nothing too bad... right?

....

No, it's really bad.

I feel it's worse that they're both romantically interested in you.

That means I feel both of them would try to take you on dates.

But since they both like manipulating you... it comes off as subtle manipulation.

Invited for sweets with L? Date.

Hanging out at Light's house? Date.

It's honestly a gamble if it will be a normal hang out or not.

They both would enjoy messing with you.

You're just so oblivious to the fact they want each other dead.

Well, Light wants L dead...

L is... debatable.

The only murder that would occur in this rivalry is people around you... and it's all Light.

If he can't get rid of L, he'll make do.

L mostly prefers manipulating you into staying beside him or framing people.

In terms of kidnapping, neither would want to give each other away.

They're both subtle and masters at what they do.

Kidnapping brings too much attention.

Even if L sort of likes the idea of keeping you in a small space to observe you....

Now, who would win this rivalry?

I'll stick to canon for this and say Light would.

He's going to figure out L at some point.

Light's tired of being hunted.

Eventually he'll find L's name, write it down... then the rivalry is done.

Now you'll come crying to Light... scared for your life...

Only for Light to carefully take you in his arms...

The whole time grinning over your shoulder, knowing that he's won both games he was playing with L.

[bellshazes]

ethubs + tango dead bird theory is like. listen. last life is when everything ethubs changed forever despite it being basically the same shit they've always done forever but after that their coworkers start calling them boyfriends on camera. this is funny to reflect on now but there is no better illustration than tango's position in the life series (and hc) before and after.

in s7 tango is the one who basically canonizes Bdubs as the sleep king, and he spends more time on the game district with etho (& even the advent calendar with bdubs) than ethubs do together. when etho & bdubs are doing the Get Out of My School routine, he's allied with the Crastle and bdubs when things go to shit in 3L. s8 kicks off with etho and bdubs floating more collabs (horse course) but it's tango who allies with bdubs in the big eyes and earns the spot of bdubs' storage system.

in LL they all team and also skizz the rpf warrior coins the word ethubs and never gets any thanks for it. fortunately it's mostly just tango that bdubs and etho feel comfortable using as a proxy in their psychological torture flirting where they make tango give up a life to sustain bdubs. bdubs plays this up back in s8, where tango tries to say he wasn't thinking about revenge but bdubs is when they're working on builds in the big eye district. tango (like impulse, when bdubs does the whole "oh this isn't THEEEE clock" routine the first time they meet in s8) will remember this. especially as he continues to get dropped between etho and bdubs like a dead bird left by cats as a gift. i also love in s9 when tango accidentally takes the basement key and they think it's on purpose so they swiftly murder him in synchonous, cold blood before tango even knows what he did. dead birds and doorsteps.

in double life tango's mostly free dealing with the only deader bird than him due to Fate, while bdubs plays up impulse's resentment meter for a change. limited life etho and bdubs do family psychodrama and make it tango's problem after the mob farm convo about loyalty to the end. wild life, they're all three teamed and bdubs and etho agree they'll turn on tango first, though they're all so doomed they never get a chance. and it works bc tango's got his own bizarre homoerotic relationships, he is not part of the polycule per se in the way that ethubs are treated like zoo animals for their freak4freak nonsense, but he IS load bearing in dying so they can have some narrative friction against which to be freaks to each other.

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Man Gross by Penelope Scott is such a Life Series Shiny Duo Song, specifically from a Gem point of view.

Analysis under the cut, warning this song has a lot of cursing:

“It was so easy with you, so salty and gross

Made me feel clean by comparison”

Gem in Secret Life telling Pearl she’s scared of her when she’s red. Her saying Pearl and Scar’s 2v1 was gross. To Gem, Pearl makes Gem look good next to her.

“I'm never gonna feel good again

I've played this game all the way to the end

Look at this stupid little song for you

You're pretty good at this game, too”

Objectively Gem knows Pearl is good at the Life games. She’s won one after all. And she knows she’ll be good at it too, it’s why there’s such a target on her. But both times she has failed to anticipate that Pearl is better than her at playing the game. Not at fighting or killing, but at the game. Because unlike Gem, Pearl isn’t playing offensively, she isn’t challenging people to 1v1s, she isn’t jumping into fights. And that’s frustrating.

“I wish I didn't miss you

Or that I liked you at all

I wish I had the guts to fuck my own life up

I wish I had your set of balls”

Gem is only egging Pearl on because she misses her. She misses that brief moment of connection in Secret Life. She also knows that she’s a target and that makes her allies targets too. It’s why she literally wore one in WL.

“But I'm a chemical compound

I'm just the ring you take off

I'm just the next little girl you fake it with

Before you go, make it work with the one that you love”

Gem was, in her eyes, discarded by Pearl in SL. Sure, they didn’t have a formal alliance, but Pearl and Gem and the Scotts had a friendship. Gem and Pearl had the murder camel. Gem calls Pearl over to her side and Pearl does the same, neither willing to budge. Pearl attacks Gem and says she doesn’t know why she’s doing it. And Pearl makes Scar a Mounder, takes his side, lands a blow on Gem to solidify it. She chooses her team over Gem.

“I wish I never met you

Or that I wanted you still”

Gem doesn’t want to be Pearl’s ally in Wild Life, she makes that clear. She taunts her and threatens her and tells Scott to keep her in line. At every chance that Pearl reaches out, Gem slaps her hand down. But she still remembers their red life spree in Secret Life. She tells Pearl they can be friends when they’re both red. She’s grasping at memories of a dynamic they no longer have.

“I wish I had the guts to fuck my own life up

I wish you'd just come over and kill me”

This one is quite literal. Gem in Wild Life told Pearl she wanted a 1v1 over and over. She doesn’t care if Pearl wins. In fact, she knows Pearl might. She just wants what she believes is a fair fight. She literally stands still and lets Pearl try to kill her in the final session.

“And I don't even resent that

Do you get that I don't even object

I don't mind what you meant

But then how dare you express

Whatever brand of respect this is

When I made sure that we both know I'm a mess”

Pearl may see the fact that she doesn’t do 1v1s as a sign of respect. She’s intimidated by Gem, that’s why she wants to catch her in traps or kill her in a group. But to Gem it’s frustrating. It’s cheap. Pearl is good at PvP, Gem keeps repeating that when they fight on other servers it tends to be 50/50 who wins. Whatever kind of respect Pearl is showing, Gem doesn’t want it.

“I hate it most when they're kind

When they have meaningful lives

And I'm the awful one standing next to them

It was an earnest suggestion, a real connection

Every part of me poses a threat to them”

Pearl does reach out to Gem over and over in Wild Life. Gem knows she’s being unreasonable, that she’s causing drama on purpose. She literally says to Pearl that’s she’s not even that mad about the 2v1, she just wants to make drama (which I think is her trying to look more unaffected than she is). She knows it doesn’t make her look good. That losing that moral high ground means losing her whole argument against Pearl. But she also can’t lose her emotional high ground. It doesn’t make her look good to keep rejecting someone who approaches with open arms. But it does make her look like she’s in control.

“And if you're mean, then they'll laugh

Like they don't understand

If you got it, you would fucking go home, well

Say that you want me still, say I'm just mentally ill

Or I'm just a bitch, but, you'll never know”

This bit makes me think of the RoboPearl conversation. Gem and Joel were literally mocking Pearl to her face and treating her like a dog to be ordered around and Pearl just sat there and beep booped pathetically. It wasn’t until that moment that Gem told Pearl that when they were both red they could have fun again. She needed Pearl beneath her to make the offer.

“But I'm a chemical compound

You're just the gun in my mouth

If you'd stop romanticizing who I am at parties

You'd find your way out”

If Pearl stopped thinking about Gem as the Gem from Secret Life, she wouldn’t keep coming back in Wild Life. If she could see Gem for who Gem is at the moment, someone who doesn’t want her, then she would walk away. But if there’s anything know from Double Life, it’s that Pearl doesn’t give up on her friends that easily.

“I wish I weren't a liar

I wish that I could be kind”

Gem isn’t kind in Secret Life. No one is, but she has a reputation. She’s responsible for most of the server dying because of her Boogey task. It’s why she spends so much of Wild Life trying to make friends. She needs to prove that she can be kind.

“I wish that I could trust you

That things would turn out fine”

And how can Gem trust Pearl again? She thought they had a bond in Secret Life, she thought that being friends was enough. So instead, she pushes her away and tells her to go back to her allies. She won’t be hurt like that again.

“But I'm a chemical compound

I'm just a flash in your hand

And if you don't wanna play, just say so

And you'll never ever see me again”

If Pearl didn’t keep approaching Gem, they probably would have barely talked in Wild Life. She stuck to her little island with Joel and made friends with everyone but the Gs.

[mx-pokirby]

Alright, let's get pretentious.

I've come to start resenting those super popular Mario 64 hacks as of late, like B3313, the multiplayer mod, Mario 64 with Shotgun.

People came out of the woodworks making videos and articles about them, and I kinda hate how those are now "the mainstream", relatively speaking.

And it also sucks because they're all great hacks! But the fact that that if you asked most (relevant) people to think of what a Mario 64 hack is, it's either just the base vanilla game "with a wacky YouTube Content-y™ Twist" and/or within the ballpark of just creepypasta (/derogatory)/beta content.

Aside from Star Road back in 2011, which while groundbreaking had some pretty mixed design, the general online populous who even still cares about Mario 64 have no idea about the game's entire massive & passionate modding scene, full of incredible and original standalone experiences, both in gameplay and narrative, for free.

Elise, a beautiful Yume Nikki-like with cutscenes and voice acting, borrowing the base game's sense of exploration as a jumping off point.

SM64 Kingdom's End, a genuinely haunting story about Mario struggling until the last moment to save a dying world.

Mario Party 64, our childhood dream of wishing we could play in the boards & minigames of Mario Party like an actual platformer brought to life.

Detective Mario: Murder on Ice, mapping the genre of text-based murder mystery (complete with typing in commands) into a 3D Mario level with surprising twists and required deduction skills.

Mario breaks EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY (case sensitive), a hilarious Monkey Ball-like

Ceaseless Climb, exploring a tricky, warped reality beyond the game's infamous Infinite Staircase

My Dress-Up Darling 64 which, and I quote from the game's Romhacking.com page's description, "being the first hack to use HVQM full-motion video"

There's rhythm games, Zelda-likes, horror games, shitposts, puzzlers, slide hacks, what-ifs, massive collabs, the absurdly sized Star Revenge *series*, huge hacking competitions with cash prizes and often dozens/hundreds of submissions meant to incentivize newcomers to try, Mario slips on a banana peel and fucking dies 64, and literally hundreds more I could name

I'm just really passionate about this little niche internet community, and I'm sad it only got the thinnest spotlight once a tiny piece of it ended up being profitable for content creators. There's so much more than what most people see.

Besides. It's free video games; Surely that alone makes it worth checking out, right...? Everything is suuuper accessible/user-friendly nowadays~

[emberwritesinsight]

(Ramble below, not very structured)

I'm watching episode 9 again and losing my mind over the scene where Saionji fucking kidnaps Anthy because. I forgot how actually upset Anthy is?

Like. The way Anthy is fucking shouting as Saionji drags her up to the arena. The way she tries to physically stop him from getting in! What the fuck!

The way he just bats her out of the way and we get a shot of her from behind, kneeling on the ground with a hand to her face, but we don't see her face. That's... not normal! Most of the time when Anthy gets slapped in the early series, we get a shot of her afterwards with a bruise.

Here, we don't see her face. But we can see that she's shaking, and the first-watch assumption would be that she's crying, but... I'm not inclined to view it that way given everything that happens after.

The way I read it, Anthy is pissed.

The next time we see Saionji, he's face down in the water. How did he get there? We don't see. On a first viewing, one might just assume that's a negative reaction the arena has to being opened at an inappropriate time- along with all the crazy shit going on inside the arena once Utena gets there. But given Anthy is later shown to have more control over what the arena does than she lets on, and noticeably does her flashiest magic (the sword pull, the transformations) in or on her way to the arena, I think Anthy is behind almost all of that. And I'd say she's also behind the Saionji-almost-drowning bit. You guys might remember the half-joking drawing I made of Anthy, uh, dragging Saionji into the water by his hair, and while she might not have gotten as hands-on about it as that drawing suggests, I still think she's responsible.

So, like... why?

Why does this piss her off so much? I mean, sure, Saionji absolutely has it coming, but Anthy's been through worse. She clearly doesn't like Saionji and messes with him whenever possible, but to attempt murder and then set up an elaborate illusion designed to upset him as much as possible is... a little extreme. I don't think she even goes that far with Nanami, unless you consider the elephants to be legit murder attempts (which I do not- I think that was Anthy scaring Nanami, not trying to kill her, because I can't believe Nanami would survive that many encounters with elephants that actually wanted her dead).

I think the answer is that, for all the shit she takes from the duelists, Saionji is one of the only ones who breaks this many rules. Not only does he mistreat her when they're engaged- something she's used to, but that seems to be at least frowned upon, if not outlawed (given Touga felt the need to call a "stop hitting your girlfriend" meeting in episode 1)- he mistreats her afterwards. He refuses to let her go, he acts as if she still owes him something. And then he goes and pulls this. He kidnaps her, takes her to the arena without a duel scheduled, and tries to enter the arena- all things that are against the rules of this stupid game that Anthy, however much she knows it is a stupid game, lives her whole life around. And he tells her End of the World is responsible, which Anthy knows isn't true, because if Akio were planning something this batshit, she'd know about it! Of course she's angry, this goes well beyond the threshold of nonsense her job usually entails!

I don't know if she was aware of Touga's plan to play the hero for Utena and get Saionji expelled- if so, she obviously wasn't aware of all of it. The freakout on the way up to the arena is too intense for me to read it as anything but genuine. She's shaking with effort trying to stop Saionji from opening the gate. Things do fall perfectly into place for Touga to get between Saionji's sword and a defenseless Utena, but I honestly think Touga's plan may have been to just...

1) Impersonate End of the World and tell Saionji the castle is coming down, this will incentivize him to go up there and break the rules.

2) Tip Utena off that Saionji has kidnapped Anthy.

3) The castle doesn't come down, upsetting Saionji and heating up his inevitable confrontation with Utena enough that he tries to kill her and Touga can step in at the perfect moment.

4) Profit.

I don't think he knew Anthy was going to Do That. For one, the plan was to get Saionji expelled, not kill him- Anthy's stunt there could have ruined the entire plan if Utena hadn't dragged Saionji out of the water. And Touga is drinking the "Rose Bride doesn't have feelings" juice. Evidently, he doesn't put two and two together after this, because he's still beating that drum in episode eleven!

I don't think Akio knew much about this either. Touga is telling him about it over the phone, so Touga didn't tell him, and Anthy didn't know, so she couldn't have either. I think he probably got woken up in the middle of the night by all the chaos and had to dial Touga up after the fact to ask him what the fuck was going on.

[lologoinsolo]

I'm usually just a lurker when it comes to fanfic buuut I've gotta say that your "In The Shadows" series is so wonderful. It's scary in the best way, and the way you describe scenes and imagery creates such a vivid image. Every time you release a new chapter I'm torn between reading it because 'Eek new chapter'! But then I'm also like 'Noo, what if something happens :('. The story has me on the edge of my seat every time. I also really love your world building (I'm likely a bit biased) especially with the 141. The way they function and are describes has me grabbing at every detail you give. They're so scary, yet I want to know so much more! It has me hooked for sure. I probably wouldn't survive a single night in the town if I was this curious lolol Sorry this is so long, I'm a rambler. Thank you so much for doing what you do! You are such a wonderful writer, and I hope you're taking care of yourself. Stay hydrated! (PS: Hoping this won't submit more than once, my internet is being iffy. So sorry if it does! Aaah so embarrassing Dx)

I love when people ramble in my inbox, I could listen to people all day if I could. I’m so, so, so glad you love it and came off your lurker status for it (you’re making me blush btw)

I am glad that you’re getting scared by them. Taking a crack at horror is not for the weak. I keep second guessing if this is horror or more of a suspicious/mystery drama…. I need to add more scenes of them killing. Welllllllll actually!! I don’t think this will be spoilers when I talk about Gaz and Soap’s way of killing/hunting. Under the cut is gonna be bloody (hahaha)

TW: Talks of past murders and death and just a general sense in how Soap/Gaz hunt…

I didn’t want to make them all the same kind of killer because in game and in their bio they’re all completely different in skills and overall character.

Soap’s way of hunting is flamboyant in a sense. It’s the thrill, the chase, the desperation in seeing his victim(s) try to run or outlast him. Before the rock was used (this isn’t a spoiler cause in the From Series the Sheriff is the one that found it) he was having the time of his life. He’s artistic in sense that he’ll rearrange bodies just for the wow factor that he knows it’ll bring to his later victims. But with that stupid rock now in use he’s been itching for fun. Goes far too overboard to sate himself when someone’s stupid enough to try their luck at night. (Now, can he jump the gun and scare off people because he’s overly enthusiastic? Hell, yes. Is there someone or someone’s that can rein him in… hehehehe, yeah.)

Gaz’s way of hunting is subtle. He lures, gains trust, speaks gently and kindly. Doesn’t want a poor little rabbit to run and make him work for it. He wants them to come to him. Everyone second guesses on Gaz because he makes himself personal. Plays on their fears and says to them, “oh, poor thing. It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. I promise.” And when that ‘poor thing’ opens the door or window well… maybe it’s their own fault for being so trusting. It’s an added bonus if they fall in love, everyone wants the big, bad guy to be soft for them so who is he to deny them their little fantasy. (Honestly I can talk about Gaz for hours. I love Soap but Gaz? Oh, yeah. I’m opening the door, baby.)

[upinthecloudss]

NVM ignore my newgen suggestion, I just read your hsl hc and I'm in Nostalgia Mode TM. I'd love to read your more detailed insight about the friendships between Kim and Violette, Castiel and Iris, Nath and Lys (I feel like even if not bffs, they would have got along well??), and any other "pairing" that comes to your mind!

hehe you inspired me with the other suggestion so i'm writing both if that's ok :> i'm always on mcl nostalgia mode - so i'll prolly finish this one before the new gen one

also thank you for letting me yap about mcl even more bcus there is sm to say

MCL HSL RELATIONSHIPS

my personal ramblings + ideas

Kim and Violette

i never really knew if they were intended to have a something more than friends vibe going on but i choose to believe that maybe they did have feelings for each other but never realised it

have a super supportive relationship nevertheless - romantic or not

and one of the most wholesome in the class, i loved seeing it whenever it came up in-game

kim helps violette go out of her comfort zone and to speak up for herself, that's the most obvious one to us as players

but i feel that violette helped kim put down her 'walls'

kim is a pretty guarded person, we as the main character don't get to learn much about her personal life throughout the whole series even if she does consider us to be friends - we see that kim tries to regain contact when candy is back in town in UL

but idk she seems pretty uncomfortable with letting people into her life, and being vulnerable in general

i feel that violette is one of the only people outside of her family that she confides in

violette is very authentic to herself and doesn't judge, and that made kim feel more comfortable with opening up to her

besides they have history

very long friendship - they give me childhood friends vibes

i just realised this but kim definitely helped her through violette's grief of losing her mother years before mcl canon

even if kim felt lost in helping someone through their grief, she tried to always be there for violette, even if it meant sitting in silence under the tree in the school's courtyard while violette sketched and destroyed many drawings of her mother over and over and then wordlessly stood up to go home after a few hours

violette will forever be greatful for her friendship during that time

and at any time tbh

violette feels a bit lost without kim (e.g when she wanted to cancel on iris´party when kim had to cancel) but she got better at going out to the world by herself because she knew that kim wouldn't be forever with her

even though kim plans on being her friend as long as she can

they defo hang out by themselves outside of school a whole lot

by themselves, because of violette being less comfortable in larger groups and kim enjoying violette's company more than anyone elses

besties for life i don't make the rules

seem so different but they complement each other perfectly

also kim would murder for violette and the latter knows this

mcl new gen confirm that they're still friends (and maybe gfs) in ep 11 AND MY LIFE IS YOURS

maybe were each other's first kiss who knows

but that's just a theory

a game theory

i shipped them back in 2016 and still do im sorry

Castiel and Iris

they also give me childhood friends vibes but it is revealed that iris came into Sweet Amoris a few years before candy so maybe its a high school friends thing

we see that they're close regardless - even if in ep 9 they didn't go to the beach together i imagine that they started doing it a little after that to hang out

they were also a pretty unexpected friendship to any outsiders, but they make sense in a way

theyre literally sunshine x sunshine protector

iris is a pretty empathetic person, and i feel that she wouldn't be too taken aback by castiel's initial bad temper and cold attitude to strangers, but try to understand how to make him feel comfortable around her

she is such a sweetheart how can you hate her

castiel appreciates her because of that, she never pressured him to be the socially acceptable 'friendly' and just let him open up to her by his own terms

over time they grow to have an understanding with each other

hang out every now and then, aren't super besties but they enjoy making plans together

iris loves demon, and since she lives in a neighbourhood near the park she usually makes plans to go on walks with him and castiel

castiel babysat thomas a whole lot - even during his time with deborah

when they were leaving out the door thomas stopped castiel by pulling on his sleeve - he was 7 at most by that time

"castiel, don't bring that nasty lady again, please."

thomas knew something was up with her (what an empath)

he still babysits him but iris feels bad asking him to do it too often

castiel doesn't mind, he enjoys thomas' company, and helping iris out

even if he finds him perplexing

iris asks castiel to teach her some basics of guitar so she can bond with thomas

castiel thinks it's a very strange way to bond with someone but he does it anyway because she's his friend and she asked him nicely

on that topic castiel is unable to say no to iris this is canon

they have,,, an extensive history for sure

there was a time when they were starting to become closer to each other where they hung out a whole lot (after dark to an abandoned skate park kind of plans)

skater girl iris btw

anyway

i don't see them being romantically involved but they def kissed at some point when they were around each other a lot and came to the conclusion that they don't go well together in that way

castiel would pretend to be her boyfriend to get creepy guys off of her back if she asked to though

i feel that castiel drops this piece of information in the middle of some convo with lys years later as if it were some random fun fact with no substantial importance

because to them it isn't really

and lys doesn't react as vigorously as anyone else would've in his situation (candy and armin, for example, basically backflip when castiel mentions it during a round of truth or dare at iris´ house)

obviously he is shocked at first, but after thinking about it he realises that it makes sense that it happened

honestly anyone that knew them the years before candy came into school would get it

it was obvious that they were close-ish, relatively

given that castiel was civilised with her and lys more than anyone else, yea, she's a close friend

amber used to be very nasty towards her out of jealousy, calmed down over the years

iris was also quite supportive during his first breakup with deborah

while lys was a comforting presence whenever he needed some to be quiet near someone, iris offered comforting words when he felt that his world was falling apart

was kinda cold with nath for a while because of the situation, but nath doesn't resent her for it

castiel really appreciates her for that too

they don't hang out nearly as much anymore but they can still get on each other's wavelengths pretty easily

they have a pretty solid friendship, based on mutual understanding

and surprisingly, shared interests

iris is a scene kid in my mind, but she enjoys music similar to castiel's tastes

they had an MCR phase together (never really left)

also this is just a silly headcanon of mine but i like to think that they went emo together for a while

maybe lasted a few months but everyone remembers it very clearly as much as castiel wishes they didn't

iris finds it funny and reminds castiel a whole lot

she's the only one who can remind castiel of it without getting murdered (not even lys, the topic is off limits)

nath always wanted to make fun of castiel for it but that would mean making fun of iris too and that he couldn't do

also i love the fact that iris IN CANON said that if she were to choose anyone to help her hide a body it would be castiel

castiel acts shocked but honestly i think it's sweet to see that he allows her to say those things without him getting mad at her

because i feel that if someone else he doesn't get along with said it, he'd take it the wrong way

"so you think i'm a criminal or something"

he's such a little drama queen - it was impossible to raise his lovometer without guides most of the time istg,,,,

my condolences to castielettes or however tf u call yourselves lmao

they're just their authentic selves around each other, and feel comfortable doing so

i imagine that candy in castiel's route has some insecurities regarding this friendship, but they make it clear that they're nothing more than close friends

besides iris is more than happy to see castiel with a girl who will actually treat him right

she was deeply dissapointed with deborah's actions in ep 16

not just because she was a fake friend, but because of how she planned to use castiel

tried her best to make castiel come back to class during the time that he became kinda depressed after ep 16

worried about him like a mother lmao, got mad when he went awol

veredict? sister and brother from a different mother (and father)

used to hang out a lot, but not as much nowadays

life gets in the way

doesn't mean that they don't care for each other deeply

Nath and Lys

this friendship is such a big brain moment because yes - they prolly did get along well

another case of beemoov wasting potential urghhh

they at least have some respect for each other

nath appreciates when lys gets castiel off of his back - he realises when his best friend is going too far with him picking fights with nathaniel

lys appreciates nath's respect for other people's boundaries and trusts that nath wouldn't read his writing without his permission if he ever finds his lost notebook

curiosity is a very ugly defect after all

got so nostalgic saying that holy shit

lys also respects nath's position as head of student council, something that nath rarely sees from any student, and his respect for teachers is something that nath also appreciates

lys probably managed to get a copy of the basement's keys from nathaniel because

if it had been just castiel asking, nath would have absolutely NOT given a copy over to him

but since lys asked in an actual civilised way (unlike his bruteish excuse of a best friend - nath's words, not mine), nath asked for special permission for them to practice there after school

they appreciate and connect with each other more easily than with the other guys in the class because they have some essential personality traits in common

they can be in comfortable silences together

and maybe get book/novel/poetry recs from each other

nerds (lovingly)

not the closest, but they have a pleasant friendship (acquaintainceship?) - they're kind of between the line of being friends or just classmates who get along

they don't stay in touch after high school is what i mean, even if they don't necessarily hate each other

after nath gains his independence, and he allows himself to delve into music-related hobbies that his dad would have not approved of, he goes to lys for advice

lys is very patient in introducing him to music (even if he kind of already did for the concert some time prior)

even if nath turns out to be absolutely tone deaf, he appreciates lys' help

they do consider each other friends around the time where nath comes out of his shell (post ep 23 approximately)

however, they have a key thing that they will never agree on

castiel

nathaniel will never understand how lys can stand him - not to talk about being best friends

lys will never understand nath's inability to change his close minded attitude towards his friend, he knows that nath could choose to tell castiel about deborah's lies, but he does know of their history and how the damage that they caused after the incident cannot be solved as easily

so they both get that they will never be able to be on the same page with that topic

agree to disagree, in a way

apart from that, they get along just fine

they defo have potential - if it hadn't been for the rivalry with castiel, and nath's home life which made him focus on studies rather than friendships, i feel that they would've been able to develop a deeper bond

i do feel that nath kind of is jealous of lys in a way - deep down

they're both similar people, but come from completely different family environments

good students, model ones at that, calm introverts, lovers of literature, and similar ways of percieving the world

lys will never know what it is to be scared of his father, or the need to be perfect, or to have a sibling that he doesn't get along with

all that is nath is good at, he did it to appease his father

lys did it because he wanted to

and nath will never have that, and lys reminds him of that sometimes

so he avoids being around him too much maybe

i feel that they kind of reflect each other well

what would have been of fairly similar people in different home environments - even if ik damn well that beemoov prolly put any thought into that ever

but that's me reading WAY too much into it

okay that's too much realness for me for the night

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Insufferable Love Interests Poll Round 1

Propaganda why Riri is insufferable as a love interest:

"GOD i HATE this little yellow fuck. I freaking rage quitted the anime once they introduced Riri as Anzu's love interest UGH. Riri did nothing but force Anzu into situations she was uncomfortable with purely because Riri cant understand that SHES NOT INTERESTED IN ROMANCE. Just thinking about it pisses me off."

"Doesn't know what consent is"

"Annoying voice, took Anzu's cat away from her, is constantly pushing her to be in romantic relationships when she doesn't want to, constantly physically assaults her to make sure she ends up in dating sim scenarios, and when they finally do something that she actually would like, what happens? Not only are they initially taken away for dramatic effect, but they're then made to stick around as the potential canon love interest because they apparently fell in love with Anzu?! And Anzu claims Riri might be a potential canon option?! I'm kind of glad that Romantic Killer never got further in the manga because if Riri became the canon endgame partner I'd burn every copy of this manga within a 3000 mile radius."

Propaganda why Solas is insufferable as a love interest:

"Egg ass bitch"

"Arrogant, condescending asshole who’s currently trying to commit his third genocide. But everyone thinks he’s peak romance because he’s (allegedly) hot (???). If romanced he has a relationship with someone based on lies and then breaks up with her because the knowledge that she’s actually a real person gets in the way of his plans to murder everyone and he really wants to murder everyone. Also, kinda racist."

"An optional romance in the third game of the series, but a huge chunk of fandom acts like it’s the canon story and also the most important thing in the whole series. Some of the writers also seem to be under this impression. The romance is locked to female characters of a specific background (dalish elf, an oppressed ethnic group in game) and Solas spends the entire game belittling her culture. He actually disapproves of dalish player characters standing up for and being proud of their culture, and approves when they join in the dismissal and belittling. He tries to remove incredibly important cultural tattoos from the pc when romanced. He breaks up with the player character, and is then later revealed to have been the villain behind the inciting incident of the game, and also plans further villainy. For some reason the romance is still made central. In the next game the default worldstate is for the romance to have happened and for the cultural tattoos to have been removed, because isolation from your culture and family is oh so romantic. This default player character will wax lyrical about how much she loves Solas, who is actively trying to destroy the world and kill everyone in it, because he does not consider them to be real people. She has not spoken to him in over ten years and they were together for less than a year under false pretences. The “romantic” ending of the game has her throw her entire life away and imprison herself in a magical prison filled with deadly corruption to be with her ex from ten years ago forever, with no way out. This is presented as romantic. THIS IS PRESENTED AS ROMANTIC."

[dailycass-cain]

Can you tell us more about Gabrych and the end of the 2000 run? Why was it cancelled?

Near the end of the comic book event "Infinite Crisis", Batgirl Vol. 1 was axed. This was not due to low sales (several DC Comics at the time were selling worse and continued on when the relaunch "One Year Later" program was to hit) but for a rather sexist reason.

Back in 2010, the inker for Batgirl Vol. 1, Jesse Delperdang, posted on Deviantart the real reason the series was canceled, "canceled to make room for the coming Batwoman."

That "coming Batwoman" was an ongoing series by Devin Grayson, and would never see the light of day (DC got cold feet when the character got more publicity than they realized and decided to retool the character (which we got with Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III over in Detective Comics a few years later).

Because more than "one female bat comic" was one too many. Not only that but just last year Dan DiDio posted on Facebook the original outline he had for "OYL" regarding Cass:

Of course, DiDio always changed his mind and instead, we got the racist caricature in OYL. Nor would this be the last time DiDio would change his thoughts on what to do with Cass (2009, 2011, and 2016. Each a can of worms of themselves).

So that's why Batgirl Vol. 1 was canceled, due to sexism.

As for Gabrych, he continued to work with DC until an Omega Men mini in 2006-2007 and began to go back to his life outside DC Comics. He did come back to write a 2010 graphic novel Frogtown for the Vertigo label.

The thing is, DC Editorial under DiDio was a nasty business. Sometimes you followed the edicts or didn't and walked altogether (Kelley Puckett for a brief run with Supergirl Vol. 5 in 2008 and Dylan Horrocks with the "War Games" event when he and Grayson objected to Stephanie Brown being brutally murdered and DC taking away Babs from the comic too). Or you got nasty pricks in editing to deal with like Eddie Berganza (a noted DiDio toadie). It was just a toxic culture altogether, and I'm glad it is over when DiDio got fired in early 2020.

Two have left comics altogether (Puckett & Gabrych) and Horrocks is doing indie comic work in his native New Zealand, but avoiding the Big 2 after the "War Games" experience.

The sad truth is, if you write a Batgirl ongoing there's a 75% chance you're gonna get out of the industry. Literally, there's only a handful of Batgirl writers who've done stories on the ongoings and not left.

We just got Bryan Q. Miller back to DC in a few months (they're also reprinting the Batgirl Vol. 3 run he did), and that's probably cause most of the old regime left (see an SDCC 2020 Batgirls panel he was on with Sarah Kuhn and others where he goes onto a tale regarding his clashes with the heads over Cass).

Puckett did do a new foreword to his Batman Adventures run which got an Omnibus recently. So MAYBE there's hope for him too.

I hope I answered your question to the fullest on why Batgirl Vol. 1 ended and why Gabrych left the industry.

[harley-rose25]

In which I give the longest explanation of my opinions on Eremika and why I don't like it.

If you see my other AoT post, I likely give the impression of being a hardcore eremika anti; and while I'm not clearly not a fan of the ship I also don't believe that it just came out of nowhere, or was completely unexpected; like some eremika antis seem to think. Seasons 1-3 I honestly expected an eremika ending. Season 3 I had some thoughts that maybe we were getting a erehisu instead, but ultimately I assumed either an eremika or a no-pairing ending even by the end of season 3.

This is not because I thought the ship was built up well or had really good moments pointing towards a mutual romance/love. There are some moments where Eren shows some level of care or affection towards Mikasa; but, to me, it doesn't come off like he's in love with her. It can be interpreted that way, but I felt it was more like showing general platonic care and that those more romantic feeling could be built up or in some cases like his feelings were moving in that direction. The reason I assumed it was the most likely end game ship if there was to be a ship is because of other cannon ships where one character is in love, often obsessively so with the other and the other is either oblivious, doesn't really care, or actively seems to dislike them until the end of the series when suddenly they're also in love. ie; Sakura and Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto, Aang and Katara. Eren and Mikasa dynamic reminded me of these, especially Sakura and Sasuke.

My main issues with the eremika ship are: 1. how it compares to erehisu; Eren and Mikasa do have deep emotional moment together but Eren and Historia have deep emotional moment because of each other. That is, Eren's emotional moment with Mikasa would be just as emotional even if she wasn't there, where as Historia is integral to the moments she has with Eren. In season 4 the erehisu ship is really build up by how desperate Eren is to protect Historia, how he angrily jumps to her defense, how he's shown visiting her at the farm, how he smiles at her and no one else. Even other characters notice this; in season 3 Jean tells Eren he should stop holding hands with Historia all the time (I'm aware that the hand holding was because they were trying to get more memories/activate the founding titan, but it means that Eren and Historia had a lot of confirmed off screen time together), and in season 4 Hange looks at Eren smiling at Historia and then later tells Eren that She thought He would never sacrifice Historia; strongly indicating an assumption of a deeper level of care. All in all I think erehisu had better scenes to building a relationship of mutual care and understanding and also better scenes showing that Eren cares about Historia in a way that isn't shown with anyone else (save maybe Armin) This means that when we end up with eremika now it feels a little cheap or just off. If we got more moments showing a deeper level of care and understand between Eren and Mikasa or if The moments between Eren and Historia, and Erens reactions to Historia didn't have so much weight then an eremika ending would make more sense.

reason number 2: What it does to Mikasas character; Mikasa's love for Eren seems born out of an obsession that comes from losing her parent in a violent murder/kidnapping and then being saved by him. This is then compounded when Eren's mom dies since she was like an adoptive mother to Mikasa. She's a traumatized young girl who never actually deals with her trauma and instead hyperfixates on Eren. Mikasa entire character arc is her chasing after Eren like a neglected dog until that one scene where for like 5 minutes she finally starts to see Eren for the violent psychopath he actually is and questions what she had seen in him; but never mind that because she's back to being so obsessively in love with him that even after he dies she spends that rest of her life visiting his grave with her (probably husband and kids) and also never takes off that scarf.

reason number 3: Mikasa doesn't understand Eren. People argue that Mikasa understood Eren in a different ways, that she understood certain parts of him, but that's literally just admitting that there's clearly parts of Eren she doesn't understand. Actually, I'd argue that as its depicted Mikasa doesn't seem to understand Eren on a fundamental level. Examples: When he failed at the initial ODM gear test she told him to give up being a soldier and then went on to say that he needn't drop out alone, that she would be following him; when he passed the ODM gear test she says that he's relieved that he wont be separated from her. She assumes that the reason he'd be upset about failing to make it as a soldier is related specifically to her and not wanting to be apart from her; When Connie is angry about Eren laughing after Sasha's death he asks Mikasa why he would do that and she can't answer; despite the fact that she's witnessed him laughing in an emotional and traumatic situation before and should have been able to understand that he does it as a coping mechanism. She'd also completely blind to his obvious anti-social personality disorder (psychopathy), though to be fair so is everyone else including most Eren stans. (like, I love Eren, I stan Eren but he is like text book certifiably ASPD psychopathic)

Edit on 6/6/25: sinse a couple people have commented on it, I want to say that I've changed my arm chair pop pysch diagnosis of Eren Yeager from aspd to bpd. My original assessment was based soley on the anime; and I have sinse been reading the manga. Though i feel you could still interpret Eren as aspd if you like, idk, squint a little.

[halcome]

Oh gods I didn't even realize it was Saturday, new Wild Life ep let's go!!! Wooo!!!

(reacting as I watch below)

Gonna do my heart a favor and just edit this post as I watch, seems to be a calm session but with the speed mechanics its only a matter of time before I see someone run off a cliff. Still recovering from the snails, small morsels of content are a must.

Grian's Wild Life Ep. 4

Grian and Mumbo doing their best to help Skizz murder is a delight as always, but I feel like their plans always seem to benefit them in the end and not Skizz.

Already terrified of the minecart cannon Grian made and I dont think theyre fast enough yet to launch it far.

Made some breakfast, some scrambled eggs with peppers and a side of, OMG SCAR

I probs should've guessed he'd immediately put a tnt minecart down to test it but everyone was so close by, gave me a lil scare. Also does Mumbo not have self preservation instincts? Cause everyone backed up but he kept staring at it, barely inching away. Guessing his redstone and curiosity instincts were stronger than his need to stay yellow.

Grian: Mumbo, is the moon fast?

Omg he said the line!

If I remember correctly speed + tnt minecart = more power, Grian holding up a shield was a good effort but dear lord that was quite the death.

Genuinely, what on earth just happened?

Mumbo died the most Looney Toon death I've ever seen, running for water and turned to ash. Scar was an absolute menace too, shooting Grian off that ledge was a very Hot Guy move. I wonder if he'll make it to the very end? I know Grian's targeting Scar now but something tells me he's gonna survive by sheer dumb luck.

SmallishBeans' Wild Life Ep. 4

Cool guys don't look at explosions! Something, something, TNT takes 4 seconds to explode. Timings are demolished.

8:00 Joel on his ballerina arc.

Took a break to finish homework, came back to Jimmy trying to take a chunk out of Joel's "somewhere" ??? Usual shenanigans it seems.

Seen Skizz frolicking in the sunflowers twice now from 2 different viewpoints, he's really enjoying his time on a death game server, proud of em.

Absolutely loving how proud everyone is of Mumbo getting a kill, always nice to see the little reminders that even though this is a death game of bloodshed and betrayal they're still friends in the end. Though I have seen clips of Bdubs holding grudges, so while everyone is friend shaped, they are not forgive and forget shaped.

Joel giving so many diamonds to Lizzie is incredible. Man's forever smitten with his missus. Lizzie the absolute queen!

Absolute chaos at the end with how Joel edited it. I know it was technical difficulties but it just fits so well with how chaotic it was.

Mumbo Jumbo's Wild Life Ep. 4

I know Mumbo placed the creeper from Grian's POV but goodness he's a little rascal given the chance.

Omg that Scott kill though was smooth as heck. He waited so long and it paid off big time. Little block break and plop, there goes the Scott! Absolutely loved how simple it went, the silence from Scott as his brain caught up to him was amazing too. I gotta watch his POV next for sure!

Is it just me or is Mumbo really going after Scott? Tasted blood and immediately became addicted to the one source. If Mumbo ends up being the reason Scott's out of the series ima laugh. The amount of paranoia Scott would have by the end of it would be immense.

And he gave up... Welp, can't wait to see him try and kill Gem next session!

[minyard-05]

hello! i am here to share more Aaron and Andrew thoughts™ though i won’t lie i had a little sleep since earlier and cannot remember whatever it was i was thinking so i will make up some new thoughts for u <3

so, in the extra content i think nora says that aaron starts playing exy to get out the house so he can avoid tilda, andrew starts playing exy in juvie, which was another way to keep andrew (and subsequently aaron) away from drake. so, for both of them, exy is a way out of abuse. so it’s fitting that they both use exy raquets to stop abusers - drake, and riko. i could honestly make a whole post about how exy appears to represent coping mechanisms in the series, but ill leave it at this - for aaron and andrew exy was an escape from abusers, so they helped others escape from their abusers by using exy equipment.

another similarity: they both immediately assume the other’s partner is a repeat of their abuser, whilst simultaneously hating the partner because they believe they’re taking their brother away from them. they’re both so anxious about losing each other but neither of them are used to getting the things they want. i fully believe the hatred that is displayed between aaron and andrew is, (whilst in part due to frustration and feeling betrayed) because looking at each other is like looking in a distorted mirror and more than anything they both hate themselves. and it’s very difficult for both of them to watch the other be in pain, but their self-hatred makes it equally difficult to actively care for the person who reminds them so much of themselves.

this one’s just a headcanon, but if aaron were to get a tattoo, i think he’d get an ouroboros. they symbolise the life cycle, representing death and rebirth. he’s an aspiring doctor with a murder charge, the concept of life and death is not something he can easily run away from. but crucially, aaron’s murder of andrew’s abuser is what breathes new life into their relationship; considering the ‘transmigration of souls’ that is tied to the ouroboros, you can consider aaron and andrew’s relationship to have been reborn off the back of drake’s death. thus, the cycle of life. death and rebirth. obviously other things have to happen before they truly start to heal, but drake’s death is the first step towards aaron understand andrew and everything he’s done. i think if he were to get it he’d get it on his wrist, of the hand he primarily held the racquet in to truly drive the point home. and if andrew eventually gets a matching tattoo, then what?

i read this ask literally like four times before i could respond because oh my GODDDDD you've got it you've got it so perfectly spot on i'm OBSESSED and PAINED

i literally cant stop thinking about the exy thing like. it's a sport they both agreed to a scholarship for because it got them out, it got andrew away from everything that wasn't the 2 people he cared about and it got aaron away from his mother's memory. i would love for you to elaborate on exy as a coping mechanism across the book but for them especially like they're both good at it but don't care, aaron's dropping it the second he gets into med school, and andrew just doesn't care. it's also one of the central factors that kind of holds them together as brothers, like neil says a few times, aaron and andrew function as this one defense Team despite whatever they hate each other for off court. they can trust each other to do what they need to do, andrew knows aaron will check anyone he has to whenever he has to, carded or not, and aaron knows that andrew will lock down the goal when it matters (i mean the guy blocked 137/150 shots in one game). so possibly even because of how they know each other off court, they're kind of an unstoppable force on it. that tied in with them both protecting people they care about with exy racquets? ough....

the MIRROR thing oh my god. part i actually had to read over and over because That's so right that's literally it that's literally all of it you've got them perfect. kind of everything that happens with the twins, what they do to and for each other really stems from a deeply skewed sense of justice and loyalty. i mean andrew says it himself, tilda was nothing and no one to him, not meaning he didn't know what she meant to aaron, but he told her not to hit him again and she didn't listen so for that she had to die. because that's how simple it is in andrew's head, that's where his justice, his protection comes from. initially he has nothing against you, it only starts if you hurt one of his own. i think the part that was hardest for aaron to process wasn't that andrew had done it, but that andrew had done it for him. it'd been a little over, what, five months since andrew moved in? aaron, after the 'fuck you' letter, probably always assumed his new brother hated him, and that Evidently didn't change when they got to palmetto, and we can see from his reaction to neil saying "so now you know why andrew killed your mother". like i think he might've suspected something, but didn't say it, but he chalked it up to the fact that tilda hit andrew instead of him. but neil says it himself, again, andrew will fight tooth and nail until somebody relents or dies to protect who matters, but when it comes to himself, he won't. aaron couldn't process that that's what andrew was willing to do for him, five months after meeting him for the first time.

but there's a difference between planning a murder and instinct. tilda's accident was planned, carefully. aaron simply was holding the racquet and able to move. but the outcome is the same, somebody dies, to save one of the twins. the other is the one who kills. intrinsically, they are linked, if andrew was able to kill tilda faster and get away with it, he would've. aaron doesn't exactly get away with it per se but the difference occurs when matts mom posts bail and andrew is gone.

just a quick aside with what you said about partners– that's exactly it, yes, and i think that's exactly what kind of justifies aaron's reaction to andrew and neil. like if we think about it, aaron was raised catholic, by the same and probably similar people to who raised nicky, aka a highly homophobic environment. this means everything aaron knows about queerness and queer relationships (note: set in 2006) is what they told him, and nicky. unfortunately, neither of those are particularly good references, aaron knows the stuff nicky says about neil in the first book, and, i hate to say it, his third point of reference is drake. its shitty and it sucks, but andrew will never talk to him and neither will neil so what's aaron supposed to think? he wasn't there in any of andrew's previous homes, so he couldn't know how to recognise it if that's what it was. whether thats what he actually believe by the time he confronts neil at the cabin is debatable in my book, but if anything, its the same as andrew 'talking' to katelyn in the library. it's nothing more than a scouting mission, aaron's not going to seriously do much to neil (except get punched by him), same way as andrew was never going to seriously hurt katelyn. all it is is the twins looking out for each other in the only way they really know how.

i LOVE that hc so much actually that's absolutely perfect. i think andrew does have one tattoo for aaron, and it's a two-headed calf (not mine i think i saw it somewhere on here) but the ouroboros idea is AMAZING i'm adopting that into the aaron in my head. literally the cycle of life and death and how he comes to terms with it in his own messy way, and how at any point in the circle, the centre seems to be his brother

[the-au-collector]

Hi I loved your sicktember series you did last year (only just found out you have tumblr XD) !!!!!!

Do you have any information about the 'Time is batman' au? I love it so much

AHHH THANK YOU 💖💖💖

I have... quite a lot about that AU actually. The basic jist is, of course, Time is Batman and adds each of the Links to his family. They're all still named Link in this AU but they still use their LU nicknames. The vague idea I have is to have a series where each of the boys get their own book about how they end up getting adopted by Time. Some will get more books loosely based off their games or if the plot deems it needed, but everyone gets at least one.

So, all of them live in Termina City, which is this universe's equivalent of Gotham. I'm not quite sure how the wider world works yet, but most, if not everything, should center around Termina City. Also, this universe's Justice League is called the Council of Courage.

Ummm I guess here's a rundown of the Links, Malon, and Granny? (putting it below a cut because its kind of long)

Time (Link Treewood I) - Bruce Wayne/Batman equivalent. He's called The Mask. Was formerly a superhero known as the Fierce Deity, but that hero began becoming a symbol of fear instead of hope, so Time changes his persona to be The Mask instead. He's divorced (with an eventual remarriage to) from Malon. He was adopted as a kid by a guy named Deku Treewood, and after Deku's death, was taken care of by the house maid, who insists on being called Granny.

Warriors (Link Castle I) - Called Warrior 16, and he doesn't really have a stand-in. I didn't want Time to adopt him so he became Time's cousin. He has a whole Plot with getting kidnapped somehow, then saved by Lana, and then training with the Sheikah Clan (namely, under Artemis). I'd say more but this whole plot is the B-plot for book 1 lol.

Sky (Link Loftson II) - The superboy stand-in for this AU, except of course he's adopted by Time. He's the son of this world's Superman, called Loftwing (*cough* First *cough*), and a hero called Hylia, who both come from another planet. His parents die and the entire first book would focus on him tracking down their killer and meeting Time. His final hero name is Crimson.

Twilight (Link Treewood II) - his final hero name is The Wolf, and he's the stand-in for Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing. He's Time's biological son with Malon, who lives with Malon, and ends up getting wrapped up in the hero stuff because his aunts Romani and Cremia (who work for the circus) get murdered, and his mom gets hurt, so he wants to track down the guy who did it and make him pay. When he's older (like, 18-20) he gets a plot about Midna (who's a witch/magician in this AU) but idk what it is quite yet.

Wild (Link Tearbreath) - The Jason Todd of this AU, but a little more stable (and also mixing in some Stephanie Brown/Spoiler). This special guy has 2 books (at least. Maybe 3)! Indeed, he dies and comes back to life. He knew Twilight as a kid before Twi moved to Termina City permanently. Wild and his family eventually moved to Termina City but tragedy struck and he was left alone on the streets. Cue him getting adopted by Time after trying to get revenge on the guy who conned his family out of money (Khoga). He goes by Zero then, eventually becomes a Champion for the Council of Courage, dies, and is ressurected because of the Sheikah. Legend ends up training him and helping him get back to Termina. Also, he's a mix of Age and Wild. In the beginning, he's called Age, but changes to Wild after being ressurected. He also gets amnesida from being ressurected.

Four (Link Smith) - This universe's Time Drake, except he's poor. Is fascinated by The Mask and figures out who everyone is, but unlike Tim, somehow ends up getting himself in trouble with a derranged scientist named Vaati and getting his soul split into pieces. That's... about the extent that I know his plot. I keep going back and forth about making Shadow the 5th piece of his soul, or his twin brother. It could go either way right now. Oh, and his hero name is Doppelganger because he gets his splitting ability after his soul his split.

Legend (Link Treewood III) - The Damian Wayne of this AU. Also Time's biological son, though this time with Lullaby, who's part of the Sheikah. He's pretty much raised to be a weapon, but when the Sheikah end up going through a civil war or schism of sorts, Lullaby takes him to Time to keep him safe. Cue a whole plot about him trying to re-gain his mother's favor by tracking down Majora (this universe's version of The Joker). What could possibly go wrong?

Hyrule (Link Advent) - He also doesn't have a clear-cut equivalent, bit I also take elements of Jason Todd's backstory for him? And a bit of Duke/Signal too. He's basically a street kid who ends up helping Time during a tough moment and Time immediately is like "I'm keeping him" and no one argues with that because Hyrule is a sweetheart. I think he's going to join the family the same time that Wind is going through his own plot. His hero name is Fairy because he can heal.

Wind (Link Castle II) - illegitamite son of Warriors and Lana. Lana gave him to Wars to keep him safe, so Wind grows up in Termina with Warriors. He doesn't know about the heroing stuff until he's about 8 and accidentally finds out, and ever since then dreams of helping them out. He ends up making up his own persona. As of right now, it's Spirit, because he can see ghosts, but I kind of want to change in case I want to somehow insert Spirit later. Anyways, Wind begins going out on his own in secret. He makes friends with a Robin Hood-type girl named Tetra (alias: the Swindler), and her gang called the Swindlers. When Warriors (and Wind's step-mom, Artemis) find out, Warriors is extremely upset about it initially and this will absolutely become the B-plot of one of these books.

Malon Lon - called Agent M, she doesn't really have an equivalent. She's Twilight's mom, but she ended up divorcing Time when Twi was around 5 because she thought Time was cheating (Time was actually just doing his Fierce Deity thing but never told her about it so he could protect her) and couldn't trust him. Eventually, she agrees to give Time a second chance and ends up helping adopt all these tramatized boys. Of course, there will be a re-wedding for her and Time. Eventually. She goes by Agent M when she's helping from the Depths (this universe's equivalent of the Batcave).

Granny Waker - the Alfred equivalent in this AU. She was a maid for Deku Treewood, and ended up raising Time after Deku died. She's spunky, and she cares so much for the boys. They all swear by her soup. She's known as Agent G when she has to help, though she doesn't like that they're endangering themselves by being vigilantes. Oh, and no one knows her actual name. She just goes by "Granny"

That's it for the main characters! I hope to add in as many extras from LoZ as possible. I already have plans for most of the Zeldas, as well as the main companions (so, Midna, the King of Red Lions, Ravio, Linebeck, the Champions, etc.), and most of the villains. Please lmk if you want to know more!

[getvalentined]

Oh! If it's not too much for you, would you be willing to do Razer from Jak and Daxter for the ask game?

💭 How I feel about this character

Razer, oh my god. My ties-for-first J&D blorbo. He's fun and scary and absolutely ridiculous and god I love him so much. Camp gay with a side of murder. He's perfect.

💞 All the people I ship romantically with this character

My main ship for Razer is Erol, but that obviously can't be endgame on account of Erol being fucking dead. I also ship him with Jak, which is wonderfully complicated after him being with Erol for so long. I also assume he's fucked basically every male character he's ever met, but I wouldn't call that shipping.

🤝 My non-romantic OTP for this character

Rayn. I feel like post-X they'd form a pretty solid understanding, he'd be brilliant as her chief lackey, and she'd treat him better than Mizo ever did. Headcanon says they have a kid later in life, but not because they're in a relationship. Rayn needs an heir, Razer won't be weird about it because he's extremely gay, it all works out.

🚫 My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't know that Razer is popular enough for there to be such a thing as an unpopular opinion at this point, but back in my heyday I did get a decent amount of shit for referring to him and portraying him as being exclusively attracted to men. Folks can do whatever they want forever, but like...it is not actually biphobic to headcanon the man who is only handsy with other male characters in all 11 minutes of his canon screentime as being gay.

🌟 One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

I would like him to have more than 11 minutes of screentime, to start, but he's a side character in a spinoff title of a series that is long since been binned, so that's never happening and I accept it.

[ for the character breakdown ask game ]

[kaija-rayne-author]

10.1 in review series for Dragon Age Veilguard

70 hours in, 68 actual gameplay

Obligatory I'm not an asshole disclaimer, feel free to skip to the cut.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Spoilers for Dragon Age Veilguard

Section 9 is here.

I haven't played yet today. I have to take my immunocompromised ass into a world that doesn't give a shit about my life to get groceries. How do I know they don't care? They don't mask. It's as simple as that. If you care about immunocompromised people, people like me recovering from almost dying, pregnant people, old people, many children, people with immune affecting issues like long covid, depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia... goddess, the list goes on, if you cared? You'd mask. It's the number one way to help us survive. And no, us masking by ourselves doesn't work very well. Everyone has to.

Anyway. Yeah. Gotta risk my life for groceries because I can't afford delivery.

I was just sitting here, and I think I figured out some of the many issues that are bothering me about this game. The great big missing I've been trying to figure out.

They didn't make Veilguard for the adult gamers who have desperately wanted it for so long. They made it for children and teens.

Epler even outright said they'd changed things hoping to draw in a younger section of gamers. (In one of the first q&a sessions after the gameplay reveals.) I wonder if he bothered to do any market studies to see if that demographic would actually be interested?

I can only judge by my two gaming kids because I'm on media blackout while I finish this game. But no matter how much they simplified it for kids, they still have absolutely no interest in Dragon age. They're far more interested in indie games than anything a triple A studio puts out. Their opinions on Triple A studios are so low it's honestly ridiculous. They don't even understand why I love games put out by them.

So, the devs chose to remove things so that parents would be more likely to let their kid play what is still listed as a M level game (ESRB M for mature).

Ooooh, no. We can't have rogues picking locks and doing all the stuff rogues are supposed to be able to do. Why? Because that means kids will be delinquents doing the same! (The trust in the ability of older kids to understand the difference between a fantasy video game and real life is astounding, I tell you. /s) This is such a boomer thought process I'm shocked to see it, to be completely honest.)

Everyone is just so... nice. Not kind, that's different. But that sugary, false nice. None of the romanceables have anything tooooo controversial about them.

Blackwall Inquisition was a child murderer and lying about being a Grey Warden. Dorian was a spoiled, enslaving Tevinter rich boy (he did actually have a growth arc in Inquisition). Sera was a thief and a Red Jenny (people who worked against the entitled, rich nobility as needed to protect people without power). Varric (even though you can't romance him) was a thief, liar, cheater, and someone you wanted at your back in a fight because he fights dirty. Cassandra was bigoted, hide bound, and intolerant of any faiths other than Andrastianism. The Iron Bull was a failed Ben-Hassrath double agent. The ben-hassrath are a combination of spies, saboteurs, and assassins, among other things. Whatever was needed to defend the Qun. Cullen was a drug addict and such a horrible person in the previous two games it actually made me physically ill to try to romance him. Solas was, well, Solas. Who we all know had a lot of bad in his background. They've certainly hammered that point home in Veilguard. With a jackhammer. The only romance option in Inquisition that wasn’t dirty was Josey. And if you do Romance her, you find some dirt on her too.

I could say the same for almost every Dragon Age Romanceable in the entire damned series. They've mostly been not the greatest of people and when the writers were doing their jobs right, there were growth arcs for them that made them better people during the game. That's part of the fun of games with Romanceable characters. Picking out which broken bird fits your type of broken to romance. (And we're mostly all broken in some way.)

But all the romance options in Veilguard are... well, boring. They're nice, safe, decent people. And since most people have some darkness in them, it's probably not working for others as epically as it's not working for me.

If they're already nice, safe, decent people (even the fucking assassin!) then there's no room for growth. No room to learn that character and feel like your presence in their lives might give them a light to help them strive to be better people. They've truncated any potential for growth arcs for all of them. I'm a Romance author. When you're designing characters for Romance, they have to have a balance of flaws to good points. Otherwise they're just poorly designed characters with little potential to get hearts throbbing and knickers in a twist.

No wonder the romanceables aren't working for me. None of them have flaws big enough to make them well-rounded characters.

Moving on.

Have you noticed there's no blood splatter? You'll get a slowly creeping puddle around enemies, but somehow it never gets on the characters. I'll check if I have the energy to play after risking my life to get food. But I don't recall seeing a toggle for blood splatter in Veilguard. Like it or hate it, the blood splatter is very much a thing in games like these. They usually have an option to turn it off, but it's usually there. Especially in Dragon Age, blood splatter was a thing. A big thing. Hells, their logo was a blood splatter dragon for at least two games FFS. Edit. Confirmed there is no option anywhere I can find that lets us have blood splatter.

And honestly, having my characters coming out of hard fights looking like they've been through a meat grinder is part of the reason I enjoy games like these.

The choices for dialogue are also usually pretty 'nice'. The 'sarcastic' option usually isn't. The angry/strong one isn't either. It's all just... boring. And I'm into Act three now, so I'm thinking my hope of 'maybe the dialogue will get better' is probably an impossibility at this point.

The simplified plot points, the puerile storylines, the lack of dirt on the romanceables, the lack of growth arcs, the completely ridiculous cutting of 90% of the dark horror elements that made these games so good... we've lost all of that because they made this game for kids. And I highly doubt kids will be interested. So they've fucked over, and at least in my case, utterly pissed off the older gamers who have loved Dragon Age for so long, and very likely failed to attract younger gamers, too.

The problem with trying that, which I really think should've been obvious to somebody. Is that Dragon Age has never been a game designed for kids. It's always been bloody, often harsh, horrific, dark fantasy made for adults.

Games for younger people need to be designed for younger people from the first moment of creation. Or it just doesn't work. You technically can transfer some concepts from adult games into things for kids, but the result is invariably something as awful as Veilguard. And something bound to satisfy few people. The condescension toward younger folks in Veilguard is pretty bloody obvious. Something I've noticed kids hate? Being condescended to.

Congratulations on learning the lesson of knowing who your fucking market is.

It's crucial in any kind of content creation to know who you're making the thing for, and to not deviate from those genre expectations toooo much. Otherwise, you just have a mess of a disaster like Veilguard. They shot for two wildly dissimilar markets and failed both. Even the cartoony look of the art style is much more like a game for kids than anything like a dark fantasy game for adults.

And like... it's still listed as a mature rated game. So what, exactly, was the point of ruining Dragon Age like this? Many parents won't let their kids play M rated games regardless.

It's just so depressing. If they'd actually made this game for the people who had been praying for it for so long? It probably would have been phenomenal. As it stands, I'll be shocked if it doesn't sink Bioware. And if it doesn't, I'd think it because of bribery more than game quality.

I do have to say that you can decorate more than I thought. But you have to buy almost everything. And they're themes, so there's no intermixing possible. Like you could have Elven windows with Alamarri rugs and a Ferelden throne in Skyhold? All gifts from either people or cultures you'd helped, which tied it all together and connected it to the world... you can just change themes for the Lighthouse. It changes everything, and again, you have to buy almost everything. That really removes a lot of depth from the game.

People call all the collectibles and gifts etc. from the previous games 'filler'. But, frankly, that's a very uneducated opinion of what that 'filler' is supposed to do in fiction. The 'filler' (which is an actual technical term in writing fiction, and those things aren't filler) collectibles and quests gave depth to the games. It tied the world of THEDAS into the world of the player character. It's called world building in writing circles. And what confuses me is that I don't recall anyone having to do any of that. If all you wanted out of the previous games (especially Inquisition) was a fighting game, you could do that. None of the world building collection parts locked you out of any quests that I can recall. If you did enjoy deeper world building and collecting things, you could collect to your heart's content. There's none of that delicately intertwined, beautiful worldbuilding in Veilguard. It's stripped down to the very bare bones of mediocrity.

At heart, Veilguard is not a role-playing game. It's a fighting game. And not even a very well designed one. My not-a-fucking-rogue should never have aggro. That's not how this is supposed to work.

Why they felt going from a successful history of role-playing games to a stripped-down, poorly world built fighting game a good idea is just beyond me? Whoever made that decision honestly needs to be fired. And you will almost never see me say that. Jobs are too hard to find. But I will say it about Veilguard. The decisions made have ruined Veilguard in my honest, incredibly disappointed viewpoint.

They marketed this as a role-playing game. The expectation was for a role-playing game set in a richly detailed, deeply world built environment. Like most of the Dragon Age games have been. Especially Inquisition.

And we got a fighting game so stripped of world building that it's sad and just... boring.

Oh, heads up if you're disabled with any sort of disability that affects your hand eye coordination or ability to move your fingers quickly on a keyboard or controller. Don't buy this game. Even on the lowest setting with no death clicked on, you need a great deal of manual dexterity to use this crappy new fighting set up they've come up with. They definitely didn't think of physically disabled gamers at all in developing this. I'm just lucky my particular physical disabilities don't affect me that way. Though my hands are in agony from keeping my not-a-rogue out of the dragon on one side, stone wall on the other situation the fucked up aggro set up always puts me in.

They did bring gifts for companions back, which would thrill me if I actually had any desire to romance any of them. Which I honestly don't. And in games like these? It's often hard for me to pick which one. I often have to install a polyam mod so I can see the other romances because I'm usually so hot and bothered and just captivated by a Romanceable character or three that I won't be able to not romance them. Meaning I need the mod if I'm going to see the other romances.

I'm physically and mentally incapable of not romancing Astarion BG3. (I've tried!) Halsin gets me every time, too. Those are markers of excellent character development.

There's none of that in Veilguard.

Emmerich, and (as much as I hated his intro story, The Wigmaker,) Lucanis are the only slightly interesting characters to me.

Bellara is sweet and awkward, but they reduced her neurodivergent qualities so much it feels... off, to my neurodivergent ass. In the autistic people on tv way of off. (To date, there hasn't been much, if any, good rep of us on TV. It's all inspiration porn.) I don't feel seen in her. And I have quite a few traits she expresses. Whoever wrote her has my version of ADHD. But the way she's written, where she's constantly telling herself she's stupid or foolish or shouldn't do things? Those are markers of traumatized neurodivergence, not the ADHD itself they're highlighting. What that says is that, in her world, people have come down on her so hard for her differences, so often, that now she's mean to herself. ADHD kids aren't born like that. People make us like that. It's a sad representation of ADHD, not a celebratory or accepting one. It makes me feel like she, and me by extension, is to be pitied. Like someone like me, or Bellara, aren't worthy of respect, love, and trust. It's not a good feeling.

Neve is so suspicious and bitchy that I have no desire to even try to romance her. I want to shove Harding off a cliff.

Davrin is really suspiciously similar to Halsin BG3. Big, more blocky than usual for an elf, wants to do good, carves wood... but where Halsin really works (because of his deep character development and darkness) Davrin, while definitely hot and with an amazing voice... just falls flat.

Emmerich is a doll of prince charming manners and adorable fussiness. He's probably the character next to Lucanis who actually has the most darkness to him.

I really wanted to love Taash. And I like them a lot, but their 'you must choose only one' thing showed up really fucking early in the game. I didn't feel like I knew them yet, so they're just never going to work for my demisexual ass unless I actually replay this (unlikely?) with a polyam mod and basically plug my nose and close my eyes and leap into a relationship with them far earlier than I'm really comfy with.

So, there's some clarity for me on what's missing and why.

Genshin Impact has more draw for me as an adult gamer than Veilguard does. And that is absolutely a game targeted at teens and early twenties folks. It's also an incredibly well designed game with good world building, balanced fighting, and devs who know who their market is.

It's an old saw in content creation. But Know Your Market is a saw for a reason.

Section 10.2 here.