#the shitpost ideas ever end with this event

[inolienkiki]

I saw this video and was laughing hysterically the whole time.

To summarize:

1) video maker arbitrarily decided that the in-game, canon description of geo as “fossilised shells” was wrong for some reason. Justification for this: “there’s no way it’s just sitting on the walls like that.”

2) video maker comes to the executive decision that since the devs are obviously lying about what geo is made of in the game’s impartial description text, they have instead hidden the clues to its true nature in the secrets of how high it bounces.

(This is immediately obviously stupid because we see lots of stuff bounce in the game, particularly items. As far as I know, a Hallownest Seal doesn’t bounce any differently from one of Tuk’s eggs. Does this mean Seals are made of eggs? Oooo… I found a secret… discuss in the replies…)

3) video maker spends at least five minutes attempting to standardize a distance scale for Hallownest, via the following steps:

(3a) video maker digs up a kickstarter update from 8 years ago stating that Hornet can use her needle from 30 yards away. This isn’t a maximum, nor does it provide any further details.

(3b) video maker decides that 30 yards is therefore the distance from the entrance to the black egg temple to its inner chamber.

(3c) video maker uses this information to calculate the heights of various relevant objects in Hallownest.

I will take a moment to list all the things wrong with this insane string of deductions, in reverse order: the distance from the entrance to inner chamber of the black egg temple is not necessarily the size it appears, since there could be extra space between the rooms, as you, Mebi, should know better than anyone; we don’t know that Hornet was standing at the entrance, and actually we have no idea where she was standing; similarly, the Hollow Knight can scream and trigger this event from either end of its arena, so the distance is inconsistent; even if we could get a distance out of this, we’d have no way to relate it to the thirty yards number, since neither the black egg distance nor the number give us any information about Hornet’s actual maximum range; there’s no reasonable explanation why these insect characters would have the same units of measurement as people, so we don’t have any way of knowing the conversion between Bug Yards and meters; AND, MOST STUPIDLY, “SHE’LL CUT YOU DOWN FROM THIRTY YARDS” IS OBVIOUSLY A FIGURE OF SPEECH.

Pissed yet? It’s about to get worse.

4) video maker reveals the formula which all this work has been done to evaluate. The formula for coefficient of restitution is based on a ratio of heights. Video maker confidently says “we’ll use meters, since that’s what the formula calls for”, despite the fact that units don’t matter. It’s a ratio. Video maker could have skipped the entire middle part of the video and calculated the restitution coefficient using units of pixels. The whole thing was completely pointless.

5) no, video maker is not done yet. Video maker looks up some restitution coefficients and notices that the one for steel about lines up. Video maker concludes that geo is made of steel. Video maker then has the deranged audacity to laugh about how ridiculous it is to consider that geo could be valuable, based on one particular pricing online for an individually packaged ball bearing.

It’s the funniest Hollow Knight-themed physics shitpost I’ve ever seen.

Because this person lost their ball bearings in the process of asking an actually interesting question, I’ll also take a sec to talk about geo.

First off, it’s worth noting that “shell” has multiple specific and distinct meanings in Hallownest. It’s used as a general term for “body” in the exoskeleton sense. It’s also used as a term for certain shields. Note that many of the shield-carrying enemies are described as defending themselves with nail and shell, but Tiso’s visually distinct shield is also called a shell, which indicates to me that it’s more in reference to a type of object than a material. There’s also shell*wood*, what Zote’s nail is made of, which is probably something analogous to “sugarcane” in terms of naming convention. I’d bet shellwood is often used to make shells. (I don’t know where this wood is coming from, given we only have Root and Moss/Leaf-type plants, but areas like the Ancestral Mound and parts of Crystal Peak have pretty obviously wooden supports. I swear shellwood is mentioned somewhere else, too, but I can’t remember off the top of my head.) If we’re stretching even further, “shell binding” in the pantheons is about your masks, and we can see Mask Maker making things out of wood. (That one’s a stretch).

Anyway, shell != dead bug. Shell != made from dead bug. (!= is not equals in Python. I just did a pset, cut me some slack.)

Furthermore, lots of fossilized shells != genocide a long time ago (even though there were multiple; Hallownest’s stasis seems to suspend some natural processes, but not others, so they could very well have fossilized), and money in the walls != that money disappearing, since the only enemies that want it can’t seem to open their own chests.

Furthermore, we can infer that geo is valuable not just for being made of shells, given all the giant piles of dead bugs and shields dropped by enemies that are apparently worthless. Geo has a distinctive glint, which presumably comes from whatever material has replaced the more degradable shells in the fossilisation process. What is this material? Well, I don’t know, but here are some things we can say about it:

-It seems to be universally considered valuable. Characters from outside Hallownest, like Divine, Cornifer, and Iselda, understand it as a currency just as well as the age-old stag station tolls. So this material is presumably of some inherent value.

-Geo is fossilised in spots all across the map, and fossilised differently. It shows up in the crystals of Crystal Peak, the mushrooms of the Fungal Wastes, and in what appear to be eggs in Deepnest. From this, we can see that not only is the geo material present across Hallownest, but it’s present within crystals and living things.

-Finally, the big geo deposit in Kingdom’s Edge looks a lot like a Pale Ore deposit.

I don’t want to go too far, but it seems like maybe Geo has something to do with higher beings. Like Pale Ore, I can’t pin down the relationship, but something is going on there. Geo isn’t like gold, only valuable because it’s rare and pretty— to finally, for once in this very long post, agree with video maker, it obviously isn’t rare. I think there must be some inherent power to it that the Knight never actually bothers to find out.

If you’re sick of my sensible, rational suppositions and want a crackpot Game Theory, here you go: Divine and Leg Eater are both greedy. If you don’t have enough geo for them, they say, “why?” Leg Eater believes, as you can see in his dream nail dialogue, that if he gets enough geo he’ll become “a king”. In a land that’s only ever had one King, he says not “(like) the King”, but “a king”. I think he thinks it’ll make him a higher being. Divine, who travels with an actual higher being and might have a better idea about this, asks for an absurdly exorbitant amount. They wanna be gods.

Props Mebi. Love the maps. I know we’re all going crazy over the game that I dare not name, but it’s good to see someone else pointing out when this insanity starts going stupid.

Also, sorry for not capitalizing geo in this post. I was eating an entire plate of banh hoi and that was my priority.

For no reason in particular, reminder that:

- Most of hollow knight's world is caked in fossils, to the point that I would unironically consider the possibility that the sand, dirt and gravel we see is actually grinded up fossils eroded by the elements

- Fossilization may or may not occur faster in this world or in Hallownest in particular, as implied in the wanderer's journal entry on the crossroads statues

- Pyritized fossils are fossils formed from pyrite (fool's gold), sometimes also mixed in with other metals such as iron, instead of the more common rock ones. These are metallic and can look golden or metallic looking, just like geo. There's also opalized fossils but that's not relevant here

[r-aindr0p]

Just realized I went thru all of ur twst drawings, I hate it here. /pos

[rbbtruther]

I came into this fandom a very broken human being. I was twenty-four, had just come out and ended an engagement, and had no fucking clue who I was.

I never saw this fandom coming— the people who changed me, the people I hurt, the lessons I learned, the ways I grew. The truth is, one of the reasons I sidelined myself in this fandom is because I didn’t like the person I had become, and my actions had caused hurt that I needed to take accountability for. So I left. And I did work. And I am SUCH a different person at 34 than I was at 24. But I got that chance. And Liam didn’t. All of the nights spent awake until the early hours of the morning, shitposting and memeing and headcanoning. All of the press junkets, interviews, talk show appearances, performances, releases, charity events. All of the fan initiatives. Project No Control. Rainbow Direction. All of the laughter, some of the best friends I have ever known.

Liam had a part in that. A big part. I remember once, some fandom friends telling me that if I was anyone, I was Liam. I never quite knew how to feel about that. He was a child who was paraded, stripped down, abused, overworked, but he also became someone who was enabled, inflated, unaccountable. And I know what all of that feels like. He never got the chance to grow up, and that’s what fills me with rage the most. Coming from someone who DID get that chance, who has a life beyond her wildest dreams now. Why not him.

I keep thinking about how purely sparkling 2015 was, how giddy and bright-eyed we all were. I’m so sad. I’m so, so sad. I’m so angry, there are so many people I want to torch and pitchfork and roast over a spit. I have no idea how I’m going to ask my boss to work from home tomorrow and how to explain it other than to tell her I don’t feel well.

We have experienced lost. Jay. Fizz. Robin. Others. But I don’t think anything could have ever prepared any of us for this. It was all of our worst unexpressed fears. I just… I love you all. So very much. And I am so, so sorry. May we all remember that We Are 1D Family. We will see each other through this.

If you or someone you love is struggling, please know that I stand here as someone who will happily meet you where you’re at with grace and compassion, and absolutely zero judgement. I think we all need to feel this together, and we all need places to talk. I’m here for that, so happily— because it’s what we do. For family.

[insanelyadd]

ONE MONTH UNTIL LET PAPYRUS SAY FUCK DAY (June 16th)!!!

Don't forget, it's now the third year of #LetPapyrusSayFuck ! I will be making an additional reminder about it a week from the day (so on the 9th of June)

Another wonderful year to celebrate Papyrus and his ever-present ability to say fuck! Before I talk about the day a bit more and give prompts as usual I would like to thank everyone who participated last year, especially those that showed your support for the additional #BringBackTheCoolDude campaign, which allowed the official cool dude shirts a limited re-release with a new easter egg on the inside referencing LPSFD!

(Image ID: a picture of the new cool dude shirt, folded and displayed in such a way to predominantly feature the "COOL DUDE" design on the front, with the easter egg from the inner back of the shirt being a small doodle of Papyrus with a speech bubble that says "FUNK!" end ID)

As far as I'm aware there's still some available to purchase if you want!

Okay so for Prompts!!

Papyrus saying fuck or other swear words of your choice (maybe his puzzle electrocuted him, maybe he stubbed his toe, maybe he is tired of Sans repeating the same joke to him for the 38th time in an hour)

Papyrus commits arson

Papyrus as the Ambassador of Monsters is tired of human's political BS

Anything else your heart desires!

Bonus!

Include another character, from UT or anything else, that you want to be saying fuck with Papyrus (Inspired by the @let-them-say-fuck-tournament ) If you do include another character from Undertale or another fandom, I encourage you to make a #Let(character)SayFuck tag (no spaces so it's the same on twitter and tumblr)

Papyrus is encouraging others who deserve to say fuck for whatever reason to join him on the wonderful #LetPapyrusSayFuck Day! I already have an idea for what to do with this prompt, in addition to a completely normal standalone of Papyrus.

Rules:

Tag your posts with #swearing (if that applies) #LetPapyrusSayFuck (regardless of whether he is or not) as well as #Papyrus #undertale and any other fandom or character tags that may apply.

You don't need to go all out and paint a masterpiece, you can draw a shitpost-y doodle, write a fic, knit a sweater?? Whatever you want! Just have fun. <3

If you aren't able to get your piece done for the actual day that's completely fine! Papyrus can swear any day of the year, and no matter what I'll be reblogging as many posts as I can to @letpapyrussayfuckofficial (which you are free to tag in your post!)

Don't forget to join the festivities by reblogging and liking other participants art, fics, whatever they've made! This is a fun communal event and I want it to be uplifting and supportive! :>

Have Fun!

[cosmicstarlatte]

Reality Show: Dateables (Obey Me!)

Diavolo and the others agreed to become a part of a new demon reality show that revolves around their lives.

»Characters: Dateables // ->[Click here for Part 1: Demon Bros]

»Tags: Shitpost/Humor, Bulleted Style, Solomon On His BS LMAO, Slight Mentions of MC

»Notes: Now I do, thanks for asking Anon!♡ // CM= Crew Member

Diavolo:

"Haha! Make sure you get my good side yeah!?"

He was ecstatic, this was the most exciting thing he's done in a while

His camera crew was nervous at first but then relaxed when they saw how easy-going the prince was

Then got nervous again when Barbatos threatened them to remind them who they're in the presence of

Filming him kept them on their toes, it was either going to be an easy normal day or a chaotic one

[Camera zooms in on Dia's photo album and zooms out to an excited Dia]

"Oh, oh! And this is me and Lucifer at the carnival! And this one is me and MC! And here's us all together!"

CM: "My lord may we ask how you feel about MC?"

[Camera pans to Dia reaching for a journal titled MC Fanfiction ]

"I'm glad you asked."

Barbatos shut that down real quick and made them cut that last part that day

[Camera cuts to Dia doing selfie POV and running from Barbatos and the crew] "-AND LUCIFER HAS THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS B-"

[Camera cuts momentarily, flashes of Lucifer and Dia struggling]

Naturally, the demons loved the prince even more after filming ended, it was nice to see another side of him

Barbatos:

"Delete that. Understood? 🙂"

Hated the entire show idea and tried to talk Diavolo out of it however he lost that battle

His camera crew was scared the entire time but filming him was easy for the most part

Viewers liked seeing the day to day things the butler did for the prince like preparing meals and organizing events

[Camera shakes as they trail behind Barbatos]

"You can't follow me into my room."

CM: "But the contract states-"

"🙂"

(nervous) CM: "Wow what's that!?" [Shakily zooms in on a clean empty corner]

[Distant camera keeps panning between Barbatos and a rat having a stand off just outside the castle grounds... it runs at him]

"TELL THE YOUNG MASTER IT WAS AN HONOR-"

CM: (Scares the rat in the opposite direction)

[Camera cuts to a disheveled Barb up in a tree]

"...Do you like pastries? Luxurious rare teas? How do you like to be rewarded?"

Simeon:

"Um...hello. I'm Simeon, an exchange student from the Celestial Realm."

Didn't mind being filmed but wasn't sure how to act so:

Main Character energy, he talked like he was on livestream, very show and tell; exactly what the show needed

His crew had a pleasant time with him and viewers loved the angel

[Camera zooms out and pans around his room, focusing on a sheep plushie]

"So this is where I live...and these are my things. I love to write in my spare time!"

[Camera pans to him looking out his window]

"You can see the House of Lamentation from this spot. Always seems to be on fire on Thursdays. Explosions are Saturdays. (BOOM) Ah, right on time. (sips tea)"

[Camera quickly zooms in on his shoulders and hips losing some focus] He's unaware of the fanservice he provides

CM: "Do angels ever get crushes, are they allowed? There's rumors with you and MC-"

"Um, well, you see, oh HEY LUKE! Sorry guys I promised I'd help him with baking!"

[Camera cuts to him pulling an annoyed Luke out the room]

CM to CM: "Can angels ever lie!? Is that allowed!?"

Luke:

"For the last time, I'm not a chihuahua!"

(whispering) CM to CM: "Heh, the rumors are true. He's got a little bark in him!"

Luke was nervous about filming but Simeon helped

His crew had a hard time with him; not that Luke was difficult but more so the crew had to watch what they say or how they act around the young angel

[Camera zooms in through the kitchen door and catches Luke dropping a whole bowl of batter]

They caught him saying his first bad word

Demons liked this 👍 Simeon did not 👎

CM: "That's too high, let me get that for you."

"I can do it myself, thanks!"

[Camera pans to Luke falling, scraping his knee and tearing up]

(sighing) CM: "Come here, I got a band-aid."

Solomon:

"Is this for a cooking show?"

Would not listen and made it a cooking show

His crew rolled with it anyway since it was easy to film him

"Welcome to Solo Cooking!"

Viewers were a little confused but continued watching

[Camera tries to focus on the fresh dish he made]

CM: "Oh that looks good can we try it?"

"By all means!"

His crew had to take a few days off from nearly dying so production moved slowly

One of the CMs ended up quitting and suing but Barb took care of it

[Camera catches Solo calling & inviting MC for dinner]

Out of good faith, one of the crew took his phone and chucked it

"...You could've just said you and the crew wanted an invitation? There's enough-"

His entire crew: (start running)

Viewers were a little disappointed, they thought they'd see more of the sorcerers life

There was one clip though

[Camera catches Solomon and the rarely seen Levi hanging out and laughing]

For some reason that clip became popular and was deemed precious

⬦You might also like: MC's Livestream

[tfwyouloveher2]

/r9k/Elsa Ten Years Later: A Retrospective

Ten years ago today, on July 22, 2014, r9kElsa is Suffering was completed.

If you're reading this, you probably already know the gravity of that event. Let's talk about it anyway :)

r9kElsa is Suffering was one of the earliest fan fiction works written for Frozen, its first chapter published only a few weeks after the movie's release, and was decidedly the most influential.

It was the first widely-read modern-alternate-universe take on Elsa's and Anna's characters, and the way it painted their relationship into a reluctant and tragic romance almost singlehandedly inspired the wider Elsanna ship.

Despite its legacy, it's not the most practiced prose, nor is the plot meticulously planned.

So why did it leave such a mark on its audience? And how was it conceived?

Come with me back to 2013 and we'll find out.

A History

Frozen was released on November 27, 2013, to unexpected critical acclaim and unprecedented box office success.

The internet was quickly buzzing with thoughts about it. A hundred communities in the far-flung reaches of a simpler Web gathered in their respective forums to articulate what the movie meant to them.

Within a few days, a few thoughts began to coalesce in many different places at once: these characters are important to us. They're relatable. They're inspiring.

And, in some strange new way, the scattered diaspora found that the message had spoken to their hearts: love is stronger than fear. There is hope.

The first Frozen fan fiction to gain any traction was "Songs of Ice and Snow", published on November 23 by a lucky author with the privilege of seeing a pre-screening of the movie. It would go on to reach almost 140,000 words over the next several months, and explored the characters in their canon environment, written to take place immediately after the events of the movie.

Soon though, another fic was written with a bold twist: For the First Time was published on December 3, and suggested something previously unexplored: a romantic angle to the sisters' relationship. Niche artists and shitposters had already asserted the notion, but this very early work fleshed out the idea into something surprisingly charming. If love is an open door, then For the First Time opened it just a crack, and readers everywhere were tempted by the glow from beyond.

One specific forum that was quick to latch on to the hard-to-swallow concept was /frz/, a thread on 4chan's /co/ dedicated to Frozen. The trolling effortlessly began to morph into ironic, then tongue-in-cheek, and finally occasionally genuine consideration of what this romance would mean. The trolling never stopped, of course; but in the margins, there was a growing understanding and even affection for this relationship. Why?

Like so much well-loved fiction, it was because people saw themselves in it.

In Elsa, some saw a shut-in who just didn't want to be ostracized anymore. Some saw a dutiful figure who couldn't allow herself to be happy.

In Anna, some saw a socially awkward romantic, starving for affection and acceptance. Others saw an endlessly forgiving empath.

And in both, they saw someone who might understand them.

And in that moment, they fell victim to the fantasy: that two people could be so different and yet could love each other so unreservedly. That two people could understand each other's failings and doubts and grief, that they could be so wounded by each other, and at the end of it all, still sacrifice everything for the other.

In a world of cynicism and transactional relationships, it turns out that these sisters bound by blood scratch an itch: a need to be accepted despite all our flaws. And in some corners of the internet, there grew an quiet desire to be loved like that.

It was in this context that an anonymous /co/ reader, usually only browsing the board for DC comics, began to engage with /frz/. She hadn't ever written fiction before, but at the moment unemployed, was sucked in by the concepts being set forth. She wrote a first chapter that was an exceptional attention grabber, starting with the line "She heard the crossbow bolt thud into her shoulder before she felt it." Many readers will recognize that opening line immediately from Frozen Fractals. The first chapter was initially published in a pastebin for /frz/ to read, on December 6, with promises of violence, cuteness, and sex. Despite very little initial response, the anon is fully engrossed in her work, and posts the next few chapters in the following two days.

Over the next couple weeks, Frozen Fractals becomes the foremost image of the romantic portrayal of the sisters. The writing style is unpracticed, the character choices sometimes stretch disbelief, and the story is occasionally brutal; and yet, the work is outstanding.

The critical response is enormously positive, even reaching the point of other fiction authors in /frz/ asking the author -- having at this point earned the nickname "Fractals" or "Frac" -- for writing tips and constructive criticism. Additionally though, there are some constructive criticisms offered back, which undoubtedly aided Frac's later work.

During this same period, the image of Elsa being a broken, self-doubting recluse, while Anna waits determinedly for her to open her door to the world, begins to take a more distinct shape in the /frz/ threads.

Anons start to see Elsa as one of them.

And so it began, slowly at first. But over the next couple weeks, this idea started taking center stage in threads.

And then, the first greentext from the character of /r9k/Elsa:

There grew a consensus, a common understanding of who this persona was.

It was initially tongue-in-cheek. But later, like Elsa's monster, it was often the person that we most fear to be.

And the storm raged on.

Then, the next day, a turning point is reached: a greentext that realizes the core of the character. These 12 lines precipitated years of community fixation and the story that would come of her.

And the rest is history.

Over the next few days, an onslaught of r9kElsa greentexts are posted. For a short while, threads are overwhelmed with discussion of the character. People can't stop talking about it.

Some suggest temporarily banning it from threads so as to stop derailing every discussion.

Despite the proposed ban, some discussion continues behind spoiler tags. Frac is wrapping up Frozen Fractals and becoming increasingly engrossed in the character.

Then, finally, on the Winter Solstice 2013, Elsa's first birthday, tfw She Loves You is posted on Fictionpress.

Frac posts it under an alias in an ultimately-doomed effort to fly under the radar.

Over the next few days, up to and through Christmas 2013, Frac cannot stop writing. She writes ELEVEN CHAPTERS in four days. The rest of /frz/ is caught up in the r9k storm right along with her.

And then, there's a pause. A couple days go by without update. Finally, a few days later, chapter 12 Drawfriend is posted, and Frac seems a little burned out. Anons ask her what's up.

She realizes that her story is beginning to diverge from the greentexts that /frz/ has written. What started as a collection of one-shots based on scattershot 4chan replies is beginning to feel more important than that. None of the offered greentexts are hitting the spot like they used to. Somehow, the characters need more.

From this moment onward, Frac takes a new direction. Only a couple chapters after this point (16 and 21) are based on greentexts, and even those are loosely adapted. Instead, the fic ceases to be a collection of one-shots and starts forming into a true story, the story that everyone now knows and loves.

She posts the next chapter the same night. Chapter 13 Past is in the Past is a unique installment in the series, going back in time to detail the moment Elsa believes that she fell for Anna. It briefly scales back the angst and drama, and gives a cute slice-of-life of a simpler time for the characters. Some consider it the most human chapter in the story.

From this point on, the story progresses in a remarkable way. In case you haven't read it, I'll avoid too many major spoilers here. But as you can imagine, certain chapters (like 20: Implode-Explode) prompted clamorous reactions from the /frz/ threads.

After a few more weeks, other sites start taking notice of what's happening here. Tumblr picks up on the fic and begins rallying behind it. Artists begin painting r9kElsa portraits. It's when r9k starts wrapping up that r/Elsanna is founded and starts gaining traffic.

Other well-known stories also start being published once r9k hits its stride. During a very short period between mid-January and early February 2014, you see Extra! Extra!, A Formal Arrangement, Feel, Don't Conceal, Drum Major, You Are, A Snowflake in Spring, Winter Girl, the Cake Fic, and others published for the first time. Almost every modern-AU fic can trace its characterizations at least partially back to r9k. In some cases, e.g. Tessellate, much more than partially!

A Reason

If you read any post or thread from any Elsanna community in 2014, you'll find one thing repeated over and over: r9kElsa is Suffering brought me here. The story is the most common elevator pitch for the ship, because especially at that time, it meant something more to people than just sexy cartoon girls (though it undoubtedly meant that too).

In a world of isolation, where many traditional sources of community have been whittled away, people are desperate for hope.

This is the core of why Frozen succeeded so tremendously.

It came at exactly the right cultural moment, when both adults and teenagers the world over were feeling more alone than any prior point in history; and it showed that there's a reason to open your door. Even when you're feeling like there's no way out, like no one could ever see past your faults and doubts, you can remember that there IS hope. It's not in Prince Charming or a genie in a bottle. You can have hope in knowing that there are other people, broken in their own ways, who WILL love you for you. Unreservedly.

Frozen has been criticized for its resolution being too easy. "Love," they say, "what a shallow fix for everything!"

They are wrong. Love is an anomaly of nature. It breaks every rule. It is supernatural and spiritual and it is real life magic. And realizing that you can always choose to love the fixer-upper beside you is the surest way to thaw your own frozen heart.

r9kElsa is Suffering has likewise been criticized for its ending. Readers wanted to see something sexy, thrilling, or at least certain. Instead, they got something ambiguous and thoughtful.

Personally, the last two chapters are my favorites of the whole story.

We see a broken family trying to piece itself together. We see a father reckoning with his abject failure, and seeking a new way of living with his family. Any parent would feel overwhelmed, angry, afraid in that situation. He doesn't want to be consumed by fear and frustration. He just wants to love his daughters. And he does. Even after everything, he does.

And critically, he trusts Elsa to make the right decisions, even when he himself doesn't know what they are anymore.

And then, ultimately, in the final chapter, we read a beautiful mirror of the first. Elsa is in her room, but the curtains aren't shut anymore. Sunlight streams in through the window. Anna enters freely, their tension long released by their figurative walls having been dismantled.

In an often-overlooked moment of clarity, Elsa ceases to be consumed by her preferred method of isolation, her computer. Whereas in the first chapter, she can't look Anna in the eye, and only stares at her ever-illuminated computer screen; now, she does something new. She turns off her monitor and momentarily contemplates her reflection in the black mirror. Who is the woman she sees staring back at her?

She would be unrecognizable from the girl who sat in that chair six months before.

Finally, in the last moment, Elsa is faced with making the "right decision".

Unburdened by fear or requirement, she is prompted for the first time to determine honestly what the right thing is, for herself, for Anna, for their family.

She hesitates. What is right? Is it right to push Anna away?

She decides. She loves Anna, and she's never going to erect a wall between them again.

Her father asked her to remember what's important. Anna is what's important to her. All of the rules, all of the shame, all of the worries -- they don't matter.

You love her, and she loves you. That's all that matters.

Dear reader: today, now ten years older, remember what matters to you. Love the people in your life. Love boldly and selflessly and unreservedly, and frozen hearts will begin to thaw.

- tfwyouloveher

---

A/N: many thanks to the people and resources that made this retrospective achievable

frac, also known as @kate---kane and anonelsa, who so many of us have to thank (or curse?) for our years spent in this community

desuarchive.org and archived.moe make this digital archaeology possible

/frz/ will hate me for posting their activity across the web but I don't mind :)

there is a wealth of fascinating and entertaining material in the /frz/ threads of these archives. I spent weeks reading through old threads long considered lost for this post

neiromaru and @spooths are among the top connoiseurs of frozen fanfiction, and their ancient lists made this research much easier

the various archivists on r/elsanna and elsewhere who saved so many important pieces of fic history before they were deleted

the dropbox and mega archives were instrumental

enormous thanks to my editor, who ended up rewriting most of this post, but who wished to remain anonymous. seems unexpectedly appropriate :)

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 18/01/2024

MAGFest 2019: SiIvaGunner Presents - High Quality Ripping

Season 3 Featured on: MAGFest 2019

Presented by Nape Mango, Omknee, ShonicTH, Chaze the Chat, Harmony Friends, Trofflesby, Craz Xexe, Agent

Yeah, okay, this is cheating in a lot of ways - this is not on the SiIvaGunner channel, and its obviously not even a rip. But I felt it necessary to commemorate, as I mentioned briefly in Because I Love You, its finally time for MAGFest once again, and the SiIvaGunner team is to host their own panel there tomorrow! And in the spirit of that, I want to just...talk about SiIvaGunner and MAGFest, at least for a little bit. Because the first two panels in particular, the ones that marked the beginning and end of Season 3, are some of my all-time favorite videos associated with the SiIvaGunner channel.

A big part of the identity and gimmick of the channel itself, as you're likely well aware, is the bait-and-switch - to present it as a faceless entity simply uploading video game music, only to instead feature jokes, shitposts, edits, and so forth. Part of maintaining that kayfabe, then, is to intentionally obscure who makes what behind the scenes, to keep the real people under wraps for those who aren't going to dig deeper, in order to further sell the illusion of being an official VGM upload. The team does of course still give credit when its relevant, as any rip can be featured on an album be given full credits there, but just that degree of separation alone between casual fans and ones willing to download an album has probably led to a few too many people being unaware of who made their favorite rips. Back then, I typically fell somewhere in the middle - I wasn't actively using music listening software and thus missed out on listening to albums for a long time, but was still aware of some of the big names you'd see in comments sections, saw some shoutouts from Twitter, the works.

Yet with the two MAGFest panels of 2018 and 2019 respectively, it felt like the first time that the magnitude of what SiIvaGunner is and how much it means to people was revealed to me for the first time ever. The uploaded recording of the 2018 panel, posted by Chaze's own account, features a shot about seven minutes in that turns the camera to the crowd - and it's an absolutely packed-full room of nerds just like me. And even though I've never been able to go to any of these MAGFest panels due to travel costs and complications...just seeing how many people truly do care about SiivaGunner, in such a tangible way, something more than a number...it resonated with me, yknow?

Beyond that, these panels are just such fascinating pieces of history for the channel, such good time capsules in so many ways - and that's in a lot of ways why I chose to highlight the 2019 panel in particular. Rather than discussing the upbringings of the channel, it features members of the team reminiscing and going through Season 3's timeline of events in particular, going into surprising detail into the thought process and direction the various pieces of the year took - while also giving insights into the production of the Christmas Comeback Crisis, King for a Day Tournament, and more. I feel like with the turn from Season 3 to Season 4 Episode 1, you can really notice that the idea of "hype" for SiIvaGunner content becoming so much more prominent, so much more deliberately handled by the team, which is made all the more evident by the King for Another Day Tournament reveal live on stage.

Man, look, it's an hour-long panel, and there's so many small things that I still remember from it, despite last having seen it five years ago. The members talking about their favorite rips, giving a round of applause to all the rippers who couldn't come join them at the panel or on-stage, the very funny last-minute rips made to "celebrate" the channel being terminated a day earlier (one of which I've embedded as the Bandcamp link), and even some slight discussions on what SiIvaGunner as a channel means to the team, what it represents, and what their goals have been overtime. And, of course, the fucking incredible PowerPoint hijinx with Inspector Gadget, which I am 100% going to take as confirmed canon that Gadget's level of sentience and awareness of the real world is just the same as Woodman's and The Voice.

I have, of course, been told a number of times that I overanalyze SiIvaGunner, that I'm uncovering depth that's clearly not intentional, looking too much into a silly meme channel. And sure, I'd admit that I do overthink things to a degree, anyone who read Vote Responsibly!! should be able to tell you as much. Yet its stuff like these in-depth behind-the-scenes looks, these moments of getting a face and a voice to attach to the works, that really just felt super validating to me even back then - that the intentions and goals of the channel that I myself had picked up on were in fact some sort of direction that the team itself were steering toward. And though Nape Mango does indeed declare in this very panel that "Everything is a coincidence with SiIvaGunner", I'm forever in awe at just how good the team has been at lining those coincidences up into something genuinely incredible.

We SilvaGunner, We Rip.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Jude Jazza - Fake Lovers Event + Sweet End

(AKA Villainous Love That Unfolds on a Moonless Night but fuck that title it's too long)

I make no guarantees on accuracy. I make no guarantees on seriousness. This is, on multiple occasions, a shitpost in summary form - but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

~~~~~~~~

Our story opens on Kate - her lips hot, her heart pounding - telling Jude that she never wants to be the ‘lover’ of someone like him, ever again.

Jude thanks her sarcastically, before telling her it should have been him turning down someone like her to begin with…and Kate’s in total disbelief, wtf is wrong with me style, at the fact that his cruel smile is kinda doing it for her right now.

Absolutely fucking not, she’s telling herself. IX-NAY, FULL STOP, BAD OVARIES DOWN GIRL.

~~~Rewinddddd~~~

After she’d become the fairy tale writer, Victor had come up with an idea to help Kate get to know the boyos better, her first task. To pick one of the members of the Crown and spend the day as their ‘lover’. She’s like, nani the fuck?? How am I supposed to pick someone for that? But Victor’s clearly evil accounted for this, because he’s got the solution - if she can’t decide, he’ll decide for her. With DARTS.

Already prepared for this, Victor hucks a dart at a target and then immediately turns to her all soberfaced and apologizing. Not feeling that apologetic though because the next moment he’s smiling as he says she might be in for a bumpy road. He leads her to the lounge and goes right up to JUDE, of all people, which has Kate utterly dismayed. He literally managed to pick the WORST person possible, didn’t he?!

Jude is far from pleased at being interrupted, looking up from his paper with bitchface as Victor explains his proposal, and his answer is clear. A flat nope.

Just because she’s a woman, he’s supposed to have her pose as his lover? He doesn’t think she’s got the stomach for it in the first place.

Victor cheerfully tells him he’ll bump up how much money Jude’s getting next month, and Jude’s still far from pleased at the idea but money clearly talks, and with a patented-Jude ‘tch’ and a sneer he turns to Kate. 

Jude: Once we’re outta here, I don’t wanna hear whining anythin’ like ‘I wanna go back’ or ‘I hate this’ or whatever. Promise that and we’re on.

She’s thinking fine fine, she’s come this far already may as well give it a go. She’s gotta take this first task and do it well  so that she can be trusted as a fairytale writer and get out of this castle.

Kate: Yes! I promise!

Jude lets out a sigh like he can’t believe she just said that so enthusiastically, and Roger chimes in looking totally gobsmacked. He warns her that she’s just earned herself a rough go of it, making a promise to Jude - Jude’s deadly serious about keeping promises he’s made, but he expects the same of anyone else, and he’ll exact cruel ruthless revenge on anyone who breaks their word. 

Kate’s all kinds of nervous hearing that now, and when she echoes it she glances over to find Jude with a cruel smile on his face, as if enjoying her fear.

Jude: Don't make promises so easily, Princess. I’m gonna spend the rest of the day teachin' you that.

~~~~~~~~

It takes her only a few minutes to regret her life choices, wishing for nothing more than to go back home already.

Jude and Ellis had told her they were going to work, so she tagged along with them, and it had taken only a brief while before Jude had ducked into an alley off the road and there been accosted by a man with a knife. He jumps out, yelling about how he can’t forgive (a thoroughly unimpressed) Jude for wanting to make the man lose his mansion, his property, everything he has. No matter how much he works he’ll never pay off his debts, the man shouts. His family will be ruined! It’s ALL Jude’s fault!

Jude merely says Ellis’ name, and in a blink Ellis has the man pinned to the ground, disarmed.

Leaving Kate shocked by how fast he moved and how deftly he handled that. 

Jude reminds the man it was HE who broke his contract - if he wants to starve to death paying for a lawsuit he can’t win, go right on ahead. Tossing those words at him all casually as he simply walks by, leaving the man wailing on the ground. 

The dude seems pretty defeated, so Ellis lets go of him and gets up to follow Jude…but Kate is conflicted. Obviously she doesn’t have any clue what sort of deal the guy had with Jude, or how he broke it, but he seems pretty busted up and too pathetic to just leave him lying there in the dirt like this. Feeling bad, she takes out her handkerchief and hands it to the man - but all that ends up doing is enraging him, feeling like he’s being pitied by a girl like her. 

He grabs her leg rather than the kerchief, causing her to squeal and tell the man to let go of her, but he shouts at her for mouthing off to him. 

Just as she’s frozen in fear…a well-polished shoe smashes the man’s face. 

Jude: Don’t just touch something of mine.

Kate’s aghast as she follows the leg attached to the heel still grinding into the man’s face and finds Jude standing there, looking down at the dude and looking pissed. The man manages a few grunts, but that just causes Jude to grin and say how much he’s relishing the man’s miserable expression. Laughing at the sight of the blood running from the agonized man’s nose before turning away.

Kate forces herself to follow Jude, leaving the broken man behind, but she still carefully leaves her handkerchief beside him before she goes.

~~~~~~~~

Though the method might leave something to be desired, she’s gotta admit to herself that Jude protected her, and so she thanks him when they get back out to the street. But Jude just scoffs that she’s a sheltered princess, and tells her he didn’t do it for her. It’s because right now she’s supposed to to be ‘his woman’, and if he lets someone doing something to her slide to her it’ll only cause problems for him - AKA he’s gotta keep up appearances.

She thinks to herself that she’d rather he just accepted her thanks, since he did help her, but she gets why he was so vicious about it at least. And she broaches the subject of the guy, asking what the deal was with him, but all Jude says on the matter is that the guy made promises he couldn’t keep, and now he’s paying for them. 

Jude: Pretty sad, pathetic, and hilarious, innit?

She’s trying to figure out how Jude’s so chill about a dude hating him enough to want to kill him - actually, scratch calm, he looks almost like he’s enjoying the whole thing. Like he’s having fun. And she thinks back to the write-up she’d seen on Jude:

‘Curse: The 13th Fairy. Ruthless, arrogant, and vindictive.’

Sounds spot on, she’s thinking. 

Jude reminds her to watch herself, lest she end up like that dude, because he knows she was just thinking how she wanted to go back home and how she hated all this. (AKA about to break her promise too)

Kate: I might have thought it, but I didn’t SAY it.

Jude: A shame. I went into that alley and put you in danger and everythin'.

Cue Kate like…whaaa? She asks incredulously if he's saying he tried to get her attacked on purpose to make her break her promise?!?

Jude smirks and implies she managed to guess right, which only enrages Kate.

Kate: You’re the worst!

Jude (100% unrepentant and grinning): Why thank you. I’m lookin' forward to finding out just 'ow long that sassy attitude of yours lasts.

~~~~~~~~

She’d assumed saying they were going to work meant an office or something, but instead they bring her to the dockyards. Makes sense though she guesses, when you own a trading company. 

Jude sends Ellis off to prepare for some unspecified ‘thing’ that might happen tonight, and Ellis seems to get what he’s alluding to, bidding Kate a cheerful farewell and leaving her wondering just what they’re talking about and where Ellis is going. Pondering that she follows along after Jude as he moves about the dockyards, giving instructions here and there. He speaks with dock workers and the foreman and she finds herself a seat between crates to watch him as he does. Taking in the way everyone looks at him with a mixture of fear, nervousness, and sometimes hostility - tempered with respect.

He finishes up the conversation, and a friendly young man comes rushing up to Jude, who pulls a face at how loud the man, Jack, is. Jack is delighted that Jude remembers his name, and Kate’s a little surprised to see that someone out there is a Jude fan. 

That’s about when Jack notices her there, and asks who she is.

Jude: Oh, my woman.

Jack’s about to losing his mind over this revelation - holy what?? Bossman’s girlfriend?? And he’s practically shouting, so loud that Kate’s cringing as a sea of eyes turn her way. It freaks her out and she wonders if it’s all in her imagination that she feels like people are all jinxing her.

Jude scowls and says what of it? What if he does have a girlfriend? Jack’s left trying to make excuses and apologize for making a spectacle, until Jude just long-suffering sighs and tells him to get back to work

Felling hella uncomfortable, Kate’s scrunching herself down between the crates and such trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, when she senses Jude’s amusement and looks up.

Jude: Yeah, good, stay small like that. There’s plenty of people who’d kill you just for bein’ my woman.

She asks if he’s meaning to say she might be attacked again like she was before, getting nervous all over again remembering that guy who’d grabbed her leg.

Jude asks if she’s scared, and she starts to say OF COURSE but she stops herself, trying to decide if he’d consider it a complaint if she did. (AKA a violation of her promise)

He snorts at that and steps closer and says of course she’d be terrified - a sheltered, defenseless princess like her? It’ll be a miracle for her to make it home unscathed after all the things that’ll happen to her. 

Only when he finishes does she realize he’s backed her up against the crates, with nowhere else to run - a fact he gleefully points out. He wraps his fingers around her throat and squeezes, not enough to hurt or cut her air off, but tight enough to make her blood run cold. 

Kate: Sto-!

She keeps herself from finishing that too, not willing to tell him to stop and risk breaking her promise. But being unable to resist like that only amps up her fear more.

Jude: If I put just a bit more strength into this hand, you’re never going back to the castle. Alright?

Kate’s thinking NO ACTUALLY THIS IS FAR FROM OKAY?! But she can’t protest so she does the next best thing - glares at him furiously.

Jude lets out a little laugh and says he likes that face, it’s the cutest thing he’s seen all day. He almost feels bad for her, because she clearly wants to go home but can’t say it. If she breaks her promise, he’ll do terrible things to her, no?

He seems amused, clearly seeing right through her fears and conflict, and she wonders if THIS is what he meant when he’d threatened to show her that she shouldn't make promises so easily. But that’s just what she does.

Pissed off now, Kate finds her voice, and furiously she tells him it’s not because she’s afraid of his vengeance that she doesn’t protest. It’s simply because she doesn’t want to give up on earning their trust and earning her freedom.

Jude looks taken aback, as she finishes by telling him that’s why she will keep the promise she made to him.

He clicks his tongue and lets go of her, and the sudden rush of blood to her head makes her dizzy. She staggers and starts to fall, but he grabs her by the upper arm and hauls her roughly back to steady on her feet.

Jude: Can’t have my woman just falling down can I?

She’s fuming to herself about how he’s still quite literally The Worst, when he tells her he’s going to be taking care of some business so she’s on her own for awhile here, and with that he just unceremoniously leaves. And stays gone, for hours…long enough for Kate to be left wishing for home once more as she’s freezing her ass off once night begins to fall. 

The young man from earlier, Jack, approaches her, and she recognizes him. Jack tells her that Jude’s sent for her, and she’s fuming internally at him leaving her along for friggin ever and then summoning her whenever he damn well feels like it…but she forces herself to smile and accepts Jack’s offer to take her to him.

He takes her through the streets to a business warehouse, and inside she sees an unfamiliar man dressed in black with a bowler hat on, and guards surrounding him. 

Bowler Hat Man: Are you Jude Jazza’s girl?

A wary Kate tries to back out, but she’s grabbed by Jack. Appalled, she asks Jack if he’s stabbing Jude in the back, but Jack tells her it’s not betrayal - it was just contracted work, and he’s found a better-paying job. Who wouldn’t take it?

Jack hands her over to the Bowler Hat Man, who evil chuckles over how he figured Kate would make a worthwhile hostage so he’d had her brought in - that man bringing a woman along is something that never happens. Kate asks if by ‘that man’ he means Jude, and the Bowler Hat Man agrees. He tells her how Jude killed a dude who tried sending a woman to seduce Jude for his own gain, and that Jude seems to surprisingly give a shit about ladies. 

Kate’s like uhhh are you sure you’ve got the right person here?? This amuses the Bowler Hat Man a ton, but he says basically that Jude’s got some dirt on him, and he’s going to leverage Kate’s safety in exchange for negotiating.

She asks what’ll happen if Jude refuses, and the Bowler Hat Man simply says too bad so sad, that’ll mean she dies. THAT scares the shit out of her, because she knows there’s no freaking way Jude’s going to negotiate for her. She’s gonna have to figure out how to somehow get out of this all on her own.

Kate tries to tell the guy that she just tagged along with Jude to work today, but Bowler Hat says nah girl you were spotted getting all flirty at the docks today.

Kate: Did that seriously look like we were flirting? He was strangling me!?

Bowler Hat Man says hey, some people are into that kinda thing, and Kate’s about ready to choke at that.  She starts vehemently protesting that she really truly doesn’t have anything to do with that man (Jude), this is all just a huge misunderstanding!

Jude’s voice: What a terrible thing to say about your lover…I’m wounded.

She turns around at the sound of his voice and the thump of something heavy falling to the ground, and sees Jude there walking in past an unconscious guard, tossing out a snarky greeting and an apology for interrupting.

SWEET END

The man in the bowler hat recognizes Jude, and he grabs Kate, wrapping an arm around her tightly and pressing something up against her forehead that she realizes, to her horror, is a pistol.

Jude: Ha, that’s a great look, Kate.

She’s bracing herself for the inevitable moment where Jude says she’s not his lover and he refuses to negotiate, at which point…she’ll be killed. Just the thought has her shaking like a leaf with fear - and Jude seems to be genuinely enjoying the sight of her in terror as he laughs and says how much he likes the frightened look in her eyes. 

He asks if she wants his help, and she’s thinking NO SHIT ISN’T THAT OBVIOUS?

She’s nodding YES desperately, only to be left more and more of a nervous wreck as Jude strings her along, until the Bowler Hat Man is like, so much for a sweet reunion between lovers?

Jude’s a little disappointed he’s got to stop enjoying the sight of Kate in distress and pay attention to the man, but he switches his focus from her to Bowler Hat and states that it seems the guy is using Jude’s warehouse for business other than they’d agreed on. Jude doesn’t give a shit if he wants to use it to sell guns or whatever other nastiness - BUT. They had a contract that specifically said no buying or selling of PEOPLE didn’t they?

Kate’s thinking, holy crap they’re trading in people?

Bowler Hat wants Jude to overlook all that though - after all, he says, even poor people can fetch a good price when sold. It’ll line Jude’s pockets and help clean the filth from London’s shithole excuse for a port.

Jude’s just silent at that, and the guy keeps wheedling - Jude loves other people’s misery, and money, so of course he’d let something like this slide, right?? If Jude agrees to it, he’ll give Kate back unharmed.

She’s summing this all up in her head, that obviously what’s going on here is the guy broke his contract with Jude to use a warehouse he’d rented from him to engage in human trafficking. And now he’s trying to threaten Jude into letting it continue.

The whole thing makes her sick to her stomach, and while she doesn’t WANT to die she can’t wrap her head around sparing herself at the expense of ignoring the awful shit this guy’s up to. 

She could never, ever, do such a horrible thing.

So, biting her lip to hold back her fear, she looks squarely at Jude and puts all her effort into keeping her voice from trembling when she speaks. 

Kate: Jude…that nod earlier? I take it back.

He startles at that before he answers.

Jude: You’re seriously hopeless, you know that?

But her heart skips a beat at the smile he’s wearing when he says it - pitying and dumbfounded, but somehow still gentle. She’s honestly having a hard time believing what she’s seeing.

Slightly warm fuzzy moment all gone though when the smile falls from his face and he says he doesn’t need to be told what to do by her, so quiet down. His eyes are cold when he turns back to Bowler Hat and says there’s a few things the man seems to have misunderstood about him that he’s going to clear up. 

First - that Jude loves other people’s misery and money. What he loves is eating the rich, basically. He loves the despair when the high and mighty, like Bowler Hat, fall from their comfy lap of luxury. 

Bowler Hat has only a moment to be like, wtf? Before the air in the warehouse is torn apart by gunshots and screams, as the guards surrounding Bowler Hat all collapse. He’s so dumbfounded that Jude easily darts in and takes advantage of the distraction to twist his gun arm back. 

Secondly, Jude tells him, is that no matter what kind of leverage someone tries to use against him he’ll never let anyone get away with breaking a contract.

Jude: Third…

He rips Kate away from the man and into his own arms on a sneer.

Jude: Whatever my answer is, I’m gonna be sure to get her back without a scratch.

He drives a knee hard into Bowler Hat’s stomach at that, and the man falls over on the spot. Kate’s still trying to catch up to the fact that Jude’s helped her again…and trying to tell her pounding heart to chill out. It’s most definitely NOT racing over Jude saving her bacon, or because he’s holding her. Absolutely not. Clearly it’s just because she’s scared.

Clearly.

She knows she’s telling herself lies nobody would believe, and in the meantime Jude aims the pistol he stole from Bowler Hat at him and tells him not to worry - he’s not going to turn him over to the police. In return for that, he just asks the man to be the subject for some dangerous research. Jude takes perverse delight in the idea of Bowler Hat experiencing the ‘joys’ of physical labor for the first time.

When the agonized man finally passes out, Jude calls out for Ellis to carry the guy off, and Ellis materializes out of the shadows with his own gun in hand. He observes on a smile that Jude seems pretty pleased right now, which only leads Jude to pull a face and tell Ellis to go get his eyes checked if that’s what he sees, after dropping this dude off at the lab.

Ellis seems a little disappointed, but he does as asked and disappears with Bowler Hat.

Kate asks if the man is going to be killed, and Jude tells her that he accepted this mission on the condition that if he could destroy the human trafficking ring, he alone got to decide whether the target lived or died.

Jude: I don’t see why I should let condescending bastards, living comfy and cushy lives while they exploit others, get off with something as easy as dying. It’s the way of the world that what goes around comes around, and it wouldn’t be fair for them to die before suffering through the same hell, right?

Kate’s still reeling from the revelation that this was all a mission though, and says as much aloud. Jude grimaces at her screeching and says what the heck else would it be?

Kate: So you didn’t come to my rescue because I was kidnapped by accident…

Jude tells her he knew they’d try anything to get him to negotiate with them, so she’d make a natural target if she was seen out and about with him. Kate’s like, wait you KNEW THAT and you left me alone?!

They devolve into arguing, Jude exasperated that she’s gotta pester him with so many obvious questions and Kate still furious that hello?? She might have been KILLED?!

Jude, scoffing: I’d never do anything to get my bait killed.

Kate’s just seeing red over having been used as bait, and she tells Jude, once again, that he is The Worst. Jude’s practically rolling his eyes as he tells her she already used that line earlier, doesn’t she have any new ones? Lighting up a smoke, he walks out of the warehouse - pausing on the way to land a hard parting kick on Jack, who is lying on the ground with the rest of the defeated guards.

~~~~~~~~

Back out at the docks, Kate questions Jude as to the nature of this ‘dangerous research’ he’s going to use that man as a subject for, but he tells her it’ll never have anything to do with her. 

If it’s so dangerous, it seems like it might have serious and permanent effects, and she’s wondering whether Bowler Hat will come seeking revenge on Jude if he survives it. Also remembering with a shudder the hatred in the man’s eyes who threatened Jude with a knife in the alley. She could never stomach living with people constantly hating you and wanting to see you dead.

Kate: The more you torment people, the more they'll just hate you…why do you have to torture them?

Jude just smirks and tells her it’s the price of a delightful hobby, and she asks if it’s really fun enough to risk his life over. He stops at that and turns back towards her, causing Kate to almost crash into him, leaving them almost nose to nose. 

Jude: Can I torment you until you hate me so much you wanna kill me, just to be sure?

Only for him to immediately break out laughing when Kate gasps, and say he’s just fucking with her. Quite pleased with himself at having her at a loss.

He tells her that a sheltered princess would never get it, and she thinks that she doesn’t understand and she doesn’t WANT to understand. 

This man’s a cold-hearted, arrogant, ruthless sadist…but…when he put her in danger today, it was Jude who freed her and kept her safe. If he’d really made that promise to her with ill intent, she’d not have made it through the day unscathed. 

That moment where Jude had promised to spend the day showing her the folly of making promises so lightly comes back to mind again…and she realizes he’d done exactly what he’d said he would and taught her the rules of this dark world she’s stepped into. Maybe because he knows the importance of a promise. 

That doesn’t make showing appreciation any easier to swallow though, leaving her to force herself to thank him for today. 

Jude asks what’s with the surly attitude saying it, would it kill her to smile more? Aaaand Kate’s back to exasperated with this man, but she tells him she learned a lot about the dangers of making promises and that she’ll be more careful next time, all on a smile this time.

Jude snarkily praises that…then grabs her chin with a cold smile, setting her flailing and asking what he’s doing.

Jude: You’ve done a good job of keeping your agreement with Victor and your promise to me…but I saved your life two times today. You owe me twice.

Kate’s in disbelief, even as ruthless amethyst eyes glint at her bewitchingly. Like a cunning predator, toying with its prey. Then Jude smirks and wonders aloud…what exactly should he get in return for saving his ‘sweetheart’?

FIN

(The little scene we get at the start of the story is from the epilogue)

~~~~~~~~

<< Bitter End | Epilogue >> (TBC)

~~~~~~~~

@violettduchess @just-simping-over-genshin

[professor-walten]

just a seventeen year old forced to save the world, again, you know how it is.

he/him only, don't let the tits fool you ✨

Lee's my real dad lol. If I ever say "dad" I mean Lee.

Owner of Motostoke's one and only Hop Walten Labs. Ireland's Pokémon researcher, rescuer, rehabilitator, and releaser. Giving every Pokémon a chance is my job and passion. I am a Pokémon rights activist and I believe in league abolition. You would know if you read my book. Nobody in Galar really has. Legally classified as a "shiny hunter," but it's just conservation efforts

Callaghan Psychics know all of the known universe. Not other universes, I guess. That's kind of why I'm here? The multiverse kinda needs us atm

DID system. There are ten of us here if that matters to you. If you want to ask questions about it take this guide. Not being specific on ages because like none of us are normal humans lol

🌨️ - Tori, she/her, adult | 🌌 - Janus, thon/thonself (they/them if that's difficult), adult | 🐐 - Tobey, he/they, teen | ⚾ - Marcello, he/him, teen(adult) | 🪙 - Auryn, he/him, adult | 🍀 - Ryan, he/him, adult | 🔥 - Rin, he/she/they, adult | 🐉 - Zabi(maru), she/he, teen(adult) | 👻 - Aoife, she/her, child

And me of course -(🐏)

The fate rests in the balance of a bunch of mentally unstable children. It always has, huh? My work is important to me, and so is understanding the multiverse, so you can always give asks about either. Cool 👍

[ooc under the cut :3]

pfp is a gift from bunnyhasaknife on instagram

disclaimer banner art is commissioned from littlebumblebe9

account banner is just dubwool from the anime

EDIT FOR CLARITY: The start of PULT takes place 3 and 1/2 years after the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Everything about the games is history. Leon isn't the champion, Hop is a professor, etc etc. Keep it in mind

EDIT 2: this will generally be lighthearted but the lore for hop in PULT is quite serious to certain topics like drugs miiiight end up being brought up. I'll tag each post with (tw __" so you can block it if you need to

HI, I'M HOP! Yes, my actual name is Hop too. He/him for admin as well. I've been wanting to make one of these for ages but only just now got the balls lolz. A little rotomblr/rotumblr based on my characterization of Hop for my Pokémon AU I've been working really hard to write, Pokémon Unown Legends Tale!! Read about it on my main @irlkisukeurahara I have a tag for it. I don't want to post it officially until the Unova book is done so I can provide weekly updates, so for now I wanted to make a little RP thing for it to kinda get people interested I guess

This blog 100% will spoil some aspects of it but I mean whaddya gonna do. I won't spoil major plot beats.

This is mostly just shitposting and talking about my character lore because I'm really attached to it. Having roleplays with stakes is fine but for the most part this is just silly behavior

Since the multiverse is canon in PULT I love the idea of other Hops/professor Hops/literally anyone interacting here and whatnot!! Who gives a shit about doubles I'm here to be silly

No explicit NSFW, sexual or self sexualizing jokes r fine but propositions or shit like that are obviously not

Hop has a bunch of ships in this universe (polyamory not a gay harem anime) - two OCs + two canons + one of his alters. Feel free to ask about em lol

The ships: Bede, Arven, Miles, Nico, Marcello

Feel free to ask DID questions here in or out of character, I just make Hop like this because I have DID too lol

I might say "fag" once or twice but otherwise no slurs plzplzplz but swearing is obviously fine because I will do it A LOTTT

If this gets any traction I'll make Leon and Arven accounts too

Pokémon teams: (some characters share Pokémon)

✨ = shiny

Hop

Doesn't have a full team because he isn't a trainer but his 3 main Pokémon are

Dubwool ♂️, elderly Pokémon he got from Leon as a birthday gift at 3, can use Electro Ball like a god

Azumarill ♀️, a chipper girl who saved his life

[✨] Saakash/Spoons (Alakazam) ♂️, reincarnated dead 7 year old boy with a major attitude problem, Hop's half brother (yeah.)

Tori

[✨] Kurama (Alolan Ninetales) ♂️

[✨] Toshiro (Glaceon) ♀️

[✨] Ryu (Kommo-o) ♂️

[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️

[✨] Saakash (Spoons) ♂️

[✨] Yukina (Froslass) ♀️

Janus

Cruinne (Cosmalenia) [Fakemon] ♀️

Supernova (Metagross) ♂️

[✨] Saakash (Alakazam) ♂️

[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️

[✨] Cosmo (Espeon) ♀️

Rukia (Clefable) ♀️

Marcello

Bucky (Crobat) ♂️

Doomshell (Cloyster) ♂️

Thunderstrike (Electrode) ♂️

Furyblade (Scizor) ♂️

Kickzilla (Hitmonlee) ♂️

Velvet Vogue (Lopunny) ♂️

Auryn

[✨] Goldbricker (Steelix) ♂️

Crypto (Gholdengo)

Ponzi (Corviknight) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Alolan Raticate) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Scrafty) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Honchcrow) ♂️

Ryan

[✨] Kagome (Clefable) ♀️

Hawkeye (Decidueye) ♂️

Luffy (Infernape) ♂️

Aizen (Malamar) ♂️

[nickname incoming] (Weavile) ♂️

[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️

Rin

Sesshomaru (Houndoom) ♂️

[✨] Shippo (Ninetales) ♂️

Hashira (Blaziken) ♂️

[✨] Val (Delphox) ♀️

[half shiny] Usagi (Cinderace) ♀️

Helios (Volcarona) ♂️

Zabimaru

Hihiou (Vaporeon) ♀️

Nozarashi (Haxorus) ♀️

[✨] Hiei (Hydriegon) ♂️

Kommo-o ♂️

Harley (Garchomp) ♀️

[✨]Shenron (Dragonite) ♂️

Aoife

[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️

[✨] Seanchaí (Spiritomb) ♂️

Fomorian (Golurk)

Shadow (Hisuian Typhlosion) ♂️

Morrigan (Gengar) ♀️

Caelum (Cursola) ♀️

[prolestari]

I was tagged by @hils79, so here we go!

1. why did you choose your url?

I put my old penname lickitysplit through a Google translator and ended up with prolestari, and I thought it was neat :)

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

I have my writing one at @prolestariwrites that I still use. I have an art one from when I used to draw and a couple of fandom event types but I don't use any of them anymore.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

I joined at the end of 2016 because my friends were using it.

4. do you have a queue tag?

No, I have no idea how to use it lol

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

To check out fandom stuff and to promote my writing.

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

My icon is Gelda from Nanatsu no Taizai. This is a picture I drew of her that I've always been proud of.

7. why did you choose your header?

I don't have a header because I'm too indecisive!

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

I honestly don't know, but I guarantee it was something dumb. Maybe the Scooby Doo DMC joke I made?

9. how many mutuals do you have?

I would say in the 40-50 range?

10. how many followers do you have?

I have 1791

11. how many people do you follow?

I only follow 342 people, which seems super low.

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

I used to make them all the time actually lol, and will do so occasionally

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

I check it in the morning and then after work I'll scroll through and reblog stuff

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

No comment lol (but yes)

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts

I ignore them, I'm curating my own space

16. do you like tag games?

I don't mind them, I don't usually participate though

17. do you like ask games?

I used to like them a lot but now I'm worried I won't get any asks lol

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

Probably @bettybattaglia, her stuff is always amazing and she is amazing too!

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

Unfortunately I don't but I admire them all a great deal!

20. tags?

Tagging my lbfad mutuals: @harocat @sassybluee @moonsorchid @eldritch-bisexual @circumference-pie @canglanjueeeee

[jadedpiper]

Light trigger warning for Suicide, Depression and Car Accidents

oh boy stalger posting time, i had this absolutely wild fucking idea enter my head so i downloaded chatgpt to write me an excellent shitpost story.

With honour and pleasure, I present to you, Strelok stops Sonic The Hegehog from Fucking Killing Himself ™️

"In the bustling city of Station Square, Sonic the Hedgehog found himself in the darkest of places. The once lively and vibrant hero had become a shell of his former self ever since the tragic day Tails perished in a car accident. It was a sunny afternoon when Tails had taken his beloved Red 2002 Toyota Corolla for a drive, promising Sonic he'd be back in time for their weekly chili dog feast. But fate had other plans, and now Sonic couldn't shake the guilt that haunted him day and night.

Standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, Sonic gazed down into the crashing waves below. His heart felt heavy, his thoughts consumed by memories of Tails and the overwhelming sadness that gripped him. He had lost his best friend, his partner in countless adventures, and the pain was unbearable.

Just as Sonic closed his eyes, preparing to let go and fall into the abyss, a voice broke through his despair.

"Hey, buddy. What's got you standing on the edge like this?"

Sonic turned to see a figure approaching him cautiously. Clad in worn-out gear and a gas mask, it was Strelok from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Despite being from different worlds, Sonic recognized the earnest concern in Strelok's eyes.

"I... I lost someone important to me," Sonic murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Strelok nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of loss all too well. "I lost many friends in the Zone. It's never easy."

Sonic hesitated before blurting out, "It was Tails. He... he died in a car accident."

Strelok listened quietly as Sonic recounted the events, the guilt pouring out with each word. When Sonic finished, he stared at the horizon, tears glistening in his eyes.

"I don't know how to go on without him," Sonic admitted, his voice trembling.

Strelok placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, a rare display of comfort from the stoic stalker. "I get it. I really do. But you can't let this be the end. Tails wouldn't want you to give up like this."

Sonic wiped his eyes, trying to find strength in Strelok's words. "But... I feel so lost."

"You're not alone, Sonic," Strelok assured him. "Sometimes life throws us into the darkest places, but there's always a way forward. Remember the adventures you've had, the lives you've touched. Tails may be gone, but his spirit lives on in you."

Sonic took a shaky breath, contemplating Strelok's words. The chaos emeralds, the battles against Dr. Robotnik—everything they had faced together flashed through his mind. He knew Tails would want him to keep fighting, to keep running.

"I still have my own Shadow in Chernobyl," Strelok continued softly, his voice filled with a somber resolve. "I still hear the Call of Pripyat, I still remember the Clear Sky, but I'm still here. And you, Sonic, you still have a world to protect, friends to cherish. Tails wouldn't want his death to be the end of your story."

Sonic looked at Strelok, gratitude mixing with determination in his eyes. "Thank you, Strelok. I needed to hear that."

Strelok nodded, a faint smile hidden behind his mask. "Take care of yourself, Sonic. And remember, no matter how dark it gets, there's always a light waiting to guide you back."

With those words lingering in the air, Strelok turned and disappeared into the shadows. Sonic stood there for a moment longer, the weight on his heart feeling a bit lighter. He wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but he knew one thing for certain—he wasn't alone. And for now, that was enough to keep him going."

[freelanceexorcist]

So I'm a-speculatin' again. I was bored, and you know how these things go.

Wouldn't it be funny if any of my crazy shitposts end up actually happening? Maybe some of my dad's talent rubbed off on me. He was a wizard when it came to guessing the twists and endings to stories. My mom never let him live down spoiling the ending of The Sixth Sense in the middle of the movie.

Anyway, on with the show. Under a cut for spoilers and length.

I’ve had the feeling lately that Ever Crisis’ First Soldier story doesn’t take place in the prime timeline of Remake. There are a couple of things that lead me to think this.

First, there's a retcon that Sephiroth was given a picture of Lucrecia and knows she's his mother but was given the wrong name. But what if it wasn't actually a retcon?

What if in another timeline Sephiroth having at least a picture of Lucrecia made his story progress in a different way? In the original game timeline, which I presume Crisis Core takes place in, him not even knowing what his mother looked like was a big deal. It's probably a big part of why he so quickly cleaved to Jenova. He didn't have anything to compare her to. What if the past change that the end of the Whispers enabled was for Hojo to take at least a little bit of pity on the kid and give him a picture of his actual mom?

Another one that may or may not be a whiffed translation has Sephiroth saying that he’s one of Hojo’s SOLDIERs. That implies that he wasn’t the only one produced by Project S. Him knowing how different he was contributed to his isolation and feelings of otherness. What if there were others in this new timeline who were like him? Yes this could absolutely be a localization brain fart that conveyed something that wasn't intended.

I mean, even if they thought he was a Cetra at first, it would make sense for them to engineer more than one of them. It’s not smart to put all your eggs in one basket. What if he got sick and died? What if he ran away? What if someone kidnapped him and put him in hiding? Then it would be back to the drawing board and all those years wasted.

So they made some more. The heir and the spares if you will. But that would mean that Sephiroth wasn’t so damn alone growing up. There were others like him. And like him, they were all repurposed as SOLDIER when the Promised Land Finder thing didn’t pan out.

They could be his half-siblings or the product of incentivized (or let’s face it, forced because this is Shinra we’re talking about) pregnancies. I actually had a fleeting idea a while back for an AU where Shinra pulled off a secular version of the “crisis pregnancy center” scam where they lured abortion-seeking pregnant women in then pulled a bait and switch with “if you continue the pregnancy, we’ll take care of all your needs, pay you a stipend then pay you handsomely to give the kid to us for adoption once it’s born. You just need to undergo regular ‘medical care’ (wink, wink). Don’t worry about those visions of your kid murdering everyone, that’s just pregnancy brain messing with you.” The women who changed their minds at the end and tried to escape with their babies were, of course…dealt with. *makes knife slash gesture across throat with thumb*

There’s also the potential difference of “recreate the Cetra” not being a thing in the first place. What if creating child supersoldiers who are better able to withstand mako infusions was the objective from the very beginning? If any of the original First SOLDIER game lore is in play, the program began fifteen years before the events of Sephiroth’s chapters in Ever Crisis. Shinra stopped giving mako treatments because they were killing the potential SOLDIER applicants and they went instead with the P-0 SOLDIERs who got their skills and strength through Training from Hell (warning: TV Tropes).

If I was a human rights-violating psychopath, I'd say that it would make more sense to mass produce kids who already have the ability to tolerate a lot of mako infusions than to expose the company to the PR nightmare of a bunch of deaths.

It just makes sense for there to be more than just one if Sephiroth was such a successful outcome. It makes sense for there to be a small army of Sephiroths trained up, indoctrinated and ready to make short work of all of Shinra’s enemies worldwide.

Anyway, I feel like I kinda veered off track, so I’ll wrap this up by saying what if Ore Sephiroth is Baby Seph all grown up and his life turned out quite a bit differently?

If you've stuck around this long, thank you for reading!

[primamchorus]

tldr; i'm saying goodbye to something i used to love.

for a bit, i've been struggling with something that i claimed to love doing, though over time, it's come to a point where i ground to a halt and just...had to swallow whatever stubbornness i had left in me about it and accept the fact that i've fallen out of love with roleplay. it still stings to admit, because i used to be so very active in rp communities and had excitement and genuine love for doing rp and rp events.

i feel like...since i've gotten more reclusive and withdrawn from people, it's not so much that the excitement for collaborative storytelling and world building dwindled? it's more the fact i realized that i'm kind of the only one in my group of friends that ever felt particularly strongly about doing rp events.

it gets so...tiring. and lonely.

i've also felt this way about some art things, but less so because i can enjoy drawing by myself. i guess in a way, i miss being able to do some shitpost or even serious art alongside some friends that felt just as excited as i used to about creating scenarios and moments in story that felt significant.

it just sucks, and the fact that it's been impacting my mental health so viciously has sucked even harder.

it's been making me assume the worst about the people around me, and i know it's just my brain being mean. though, even if there's some level of recognition there, another part of me believes that i'm just not the friend that people in my friend group like enough to want to do things with.

i've honestly worked so hard and tirelessly on rp things that i hoped felt inclusive and open ended enough to allow people to come in -- whether they're new to rp within my friend group, or feel like they've done a lot of it to consider themselves more of a veteran at the art. i look back on a lot of the things i've put effort into and have gotten feedback on from those around me, and it all just kind of feels pointless. like...why?

why did i put so much effort into something -- and not even just this something, but the something before that when i was part of the other rp fc that had been put together by friends prior? why did i expend so much time and effort into things that feel so...meaningless?

like...i get that other people have lives outside of the internet, i truly do. fuck, i have my own shit that i have to take care of in forms of just making sure my hospital visits, mental, and physical health are taken care of. i have to make sure i meet my own deadlines. so i get it.

what hurts the most is that i've always felt like i'm just the bottom of the barrel friend. the one that is the, "i guess they're doing something that people can do with them" person.

i thought more and more about it when my partner asked me what i wanted to rp, and i literally just sat here and went, "i don't know..." and that was when it hit me that i just...

maybe it's less that i've fallen out of love with rp, but more it's the idea that i'm just not allowed to love it. i'm not allowed to have like-minded friends about it. i'm not allowed to find people that feel like they like it as much as i do to the point that we mesh well enough to do rp plots and building together.

so...all of this to say that i've pulled the events plug on my fc, and it still hurts that i felt driven to that point because i genuinely felt like i'm the only one interested in any of it.

it just feels awful.

i'm honestly debating deleting all of my rp characters off of balmung and mateus just so i don't have to look at them and all of the time i feel like i wasted.

[irnid]

Tumblr is my safe haven cause at the end of the day, nothing feels as meaningless than a post here on this abyss of memes and shitposts where I'm practically unknown.

No one here would ever see me writing about my own inability to reach the surface where I believe others to be while I'm drowning in my own issues. We're all falling into puddles and climbing back out, but there's some peace to knowing that I'm not the only one. I just happen to be the only in my own little world. And due to some events within my life, I'll probably always feel watched no matter where and when I post. No matter the setting. It just feels like there are eyes on me and it's unsettling and I hate it. When I embrace it and try not to care, the fact that I'm being watched is violently shoved into my face and I'm labeled as a pick me. I really just want to cry. I don't like who I've become in the past decade. I don't like a single thing about myself or how I'm nearing 30 and I still don't know what I'm doing. I feel like I'm quietly digging my own grave while pressing myself to replace it with the dirt just freshly dug out. Pleasing with myself to keep going and to release the idea that I have an expiration date. Hugging myself to comfort what's left of who I feel I am because no one else can tell me I'm okay unless it's coming from me. That the only way I'll be happy in a relationship is if I fix myself because the last time I tried, I utterly failed beyond belief and I showed little to no remorse for my terrible actions because I saw it as a means of no return and got the karma I deserved.

Now I'm here. Cold. Shaking. Reteling these emotions that are withered up inside of me in hopes of maybe someone seeing this but knowing it's not going to be the person or people I want, yet finding peace with that because God damn it, aren't I pathetic? I feel pathetic. I feel lonely. Yet saying that I am makes it feel like I'm ungrateful to those around me who have been with me.

I yearn for the warmth of an embrace and a pat on the head, soft spoken words of encouragement and being told that it's going to be okay despite the rabid dogs at my heels nipping at me and ripping into my spine, growling that it won't be okay and that those gentle words are simple lies.

I just want to be lied to for a while.

I'm tired. This world and it's events are tiring. People are dying. People are starving. People are poor and I can't do anything because I'm reckless in more than one way. Even when I tried to help I was taken advantage of and left bitter, hoping that people would treat me as I treat them, only to turn it and treat others how they've treated me, cycling through hatred and pettiness and grudges. I hate it. I tried. I don't want to try again but I know I'll do so anyway because giving up just doesn't seem right but trying doesn't seem worth it.

Am I finally free to feel my own feelings without the worry of another feeling them with me?

I just want to lay down and not get up.

I don't want to exist where I am unwanted for who and how I am. I feel displaced. Uneasy. I'm not from some other timeline though. I just feel like I shouldn't have been allowed to exist for this long. I fear I'll exist far too long.

Note: The best thing about my week so far has been being able to pet a friendly cat outside in an unfamiliar neighborhood for a couple of minutes.

[mantis-lizbian]

okay, coming back to explain this, and underscore how this is not actually a shitpost.

(this is all about the finale of Cowboy Bebop, so obviously spoilers abound)

it's more than just a silly little callback or cameo, it's a relatively extended scene. focus shifts entirely to Alfredo and his mom during it. there's interplay. we even get a decent idea of who Alfredo is as a person, and some hints about the relationship he and his mother have. and then it's gone. if you aren't paying close attention to the show, you might not even know that this is the same guy we've been seeing on those clips of Big Shot. they just... disappear off-screen into the background of the world. but only after having made a clear impact on the viewer that they are here in this world. that they clearly have lives and events that have been and will be going on when the audience is no longer watching.

just like when Faye and Jet drop off the screen for the last time, and we are following no one but Spike. the show ends with Spike's death because it needs a definitive point to end at. the creators didn't want to risk getting roped into making Cowboy Bebop an ongoing seasonal anime.

but we don't ever cut back to Faye and Jet, despite how these characters have become at least as important to the show as Spike ever was. to me, their absence after Spike's death has always felt palpable to me. as the credits scroll and the camera pans up, i'm always half-expecting to get a cut back to Jet cooking bell peppers and beef, to Faye lounging in the main room with a face mask on and her hair in a towel, perhaps filing her nails or painting her toes, both trying to lose themselves in their usual routines. maybe instead they're just sitting in silence, barely having moved since Spike left them, needing each other's company in his absence, but too emotionally distant from each other to acknowledge it.

when the sky fades to stars, i start to at least expect to maybe see the Bebop, off in the distance, slowly flying to wherever they're going next. but we don't even get a shooting star we could maybe trick ourselves into thinking might have been it. when the credits end and it becomes clear we won't be getting any closure for anyone other than Spike - and even that, barely, because perhaps by now we realize that we barely even learned anything about his mysterious past, and the shape of his relationship with Julia and Vicious is only gestured at and loosely outlined. how did he lose his eye, anyway?

but then, we remember Alfredo and his mom. how they briefly stepped into the story and then were gone, but how very clearly that story continues in both directions. we don't know why his mom was at the spaceport, but we know there definitely was a reason. we don't know what's going to happen when they get home, but it's clearly going to be something. just like Faye, just like Jet, just like Ed, just like VT, Pao, Andy, Domino Walker, Sally and her granddaughter, and the Three Old Men. we realize that that's what this entire show has always been, little glimpses into the lives of countless people. some that we see the end of, some that we see the beginning of, and most that we see neither for, just one weird day... and then screen cuts to black, and it hits you...

You're gonna carry that weight.

hot take: the most important scene of Cowboy Bebop's finale is the one where Alfredo picks his mom up from the spaceport.

[eldritchdraaks]

Furry Visual Novel Hell

Quick context for this post, it is written by my boyfriend who has been through furry visual novel hell over the past few days. He has not been on tumblr in years, and has shitposts running through his brain daily. I’m posting this for him because his thoughts need to be made public. I love this freak.

SPOILERS FOR: Echo, Route 65, Arches, The Smoke Room, and The Burrows.

His mad ramblings begin now!

I have no idea why im typing this but I just cant let all this bounce around my head with my classes starting up in a day.

SO, after a few rather poor lifestyle choices I stayed up watching videos of furry visual novels. This little rabbit hole led me down to a familiar visual novel by the name of Echo. I’ve heard of it through a video talking about the film everything everywhere all at once. The only other form of context I had with Echo was that its creator went to make the very well proclaimed visual novel by the name of Adastra. For anyone wondering, the one of the main characters of Adastra (A black wolf named Amicus) is part of the “You have never felt the warmth of a man” starter pack as seen below

(Sidenote: I am so fucking mad literally two of the characters there are from the Echo series. These motherfuckers are everywhere)

So after that, Echo was stored somewhere in my subconscious or something. Honestly the exact sequence of events escapes me but I do know that I was watching one of Samwiz1’s videos of him dicking around as engineers,I was just going down another twitter rabbit hole. In the video, the first game he joined had a group of 5 medic bots 3 of em with names of characters from The Smoke Room, A sort of prequel to Echo. As for the twitter rabbit hole, I think hoyoverse (the company that made genshin impact) released a new game going by Zenless Zone Zero. One of the characters you could play was a big bear bastard named Ben which Eld and I immediately latched onto. A few days later, I saw that someone modded Ben into a fighting game called Guilty Gear Strive as seen below

AND GUESS WHO HE WAS FIGHTING???

That twinky lookin stoat swinging his little scythes in the gayest way you could caught my attention. Then literally a few tweets below I find this

And there he is, in the replies I found the twink in question was named CLIFFORD GOT DAMN TIBBITS???? How can you find a cuter name than Tibbits?? Not only did it reveal his name but also the visual novel he comes from called The Smoke Room. (Also the coyote in the suspenders is in the You have never felt the warmth of a man” starter pack is from The Smoke Room).

So in a misguided attempt to find it, I confused it with another visual novel that I found out was called The burrows. The Burrows was one I found myself enjoying other than the tangled fucking mess that is Echo.

So im actually going to talk about echo first.

Echo is a story about an otter named Chase who returns back to his hometown, Echo, to work on a college project on the town in 2015. Echo is a dying mining town that screams southwestern gothic with a mysterious past. Chase joins his childhood friends a native American fennec fox named Jenna, his ex boyfriend a wolf from El Salvador, a timid lynx named TJ, a blunt gila lizard named Flynn, and a ram named Carl who smokes weed to cope with his demons.

The thing that ties them together was the death of their friend Sydney. In the story a lot of paranormal shit happens regarding the town of echo, possession by ancestors, straight up cursed cryptids, murder, all on top of drama and slight hints of romance. This is a bit too much for my brain to process whatever the hell is going on. The story is a mess and I don’t think I will ever be able to process it in it’s entirety. The only characters I really like are Jenna, Carl, and TJ. God poor TJ… OK SO I WENT THROUGH ALL THE ROUTES AND JESUS FUCK I don’t think that my insanity will end anytime soon but Flynn’s route really fucked me up. Its so fucked, all you do is go around in circles AND I STILL NEVER GOT MY AWNSER IN HOW THE SMOKE ROOM LINKS INTO THIS LIKE WHY IS SAMUEL POSSESSING CHASE AND EVENTUALLY FLYNN???

WAS IT TO CONTINUE THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND SECRETS THAT ECHO LIVES ON??? god its so fucked, and Flynn actually becomes the monster Jenna talks about and TJ saw the day Sydney drowned in his endless pursuit of the truth of what happened as he wanders into the mines and turns into the plug-faced monster (prolly a wendigo) Jenna mentioned. So many questions… God its so fucked Speaking of The Smoke Room…

The Smoke Room is set 100 years before Echo and focuses on the ancestors of the main cast as well as the locals of Echo in 1915. Following an Albino Mountain Lion sex worker by the name of Samuel who was trying to leave Echo, but was ambushed by the guy who was helping him and out of self defense killed him in the mine. This murder sets the town ablaze with problems as Samuel and his associates encounter something is unleashed and latches onto a guilty party.

At this point, I just looked at Clifford’s route because he is admittedly adorable but kinda stopped there.

Then while browsing other Visual Novels I found this fucking affront to god only to find out its in The Smoke Room

And holy fuck I thought it was bad on my phone but it is so much worse on my computer. Something in the mines where I think Sam, one of his closest clients a badger that goes by Nikolai and a tiger named Yao are trying to escape the deeper part of the mines or something. What’s even worse is that it looks to be made from body parts of the main cast which is so fucked up in so many ways.

Then we have Arches and Route 65. Arches follows a bear and a coyote named Devon and Cameron in the town of Echo after its been abandoned in 2015. All I know is that the Coyote gets rufied and ends up dead in the mines. Route 65 is an actual prequel looking at the main cast of Echo at a Halloween party in 2008. Don’t remember what happens in this one other than character setup. ANYWAY, echo aside now I can talk about The Burrows.

This one I know from an artist that I like going by Captain Nikko. The Burrows follows Grey, a possum living in New Orleans in 1928. On his way to commit suicide, he stops into a bar run by a round rabbit named Virgil. He makes a deal with Virgil and he gives Grey a card and after a trippy sequence of infinitely falling, he finds himself in front of his old house in a field of yellow flowers. He meets 4 other souls, Mark a Maned Fox who works in a museum in New York, Gabriel a shark training for his school’s swim relay race, Ken a panther who is a cyclist, and Yasahiro a Japanese fennec fox that is an engineer.

When they suddenly disappear with Grey crying, the card Virgil gave Grey begins to glow and 4 other cards appear. Each of them have unique designs for each character, Though only Ken Gabriel and Mark are available at the moment. Each card Zaps Grey into the future with the order being Ken (1958), Mark (1965), and Gabriel (1987). You then find out that the reason that they are linked together is suicide. Grey then becomes determined to protect the character you chose. At this point, you go through the route, make important choices that affect the outcome of the route (only in mark’s route though as of late) and grow close to who you chose. I eventually broke down and downloaded The Burrows and played through the new content of Gabriel’s route and got damn i am unashamedly attached to this man. Like, he reminds me of myself of one point body image issues, feeling useless, jovial bastard. Mark has some pretty weird vibes that he gives off, lot of questions for him that will be answered hopefully soon. Ken is just really damn mean and beats the hell outta some kid that was messing his bike up. Hiro doesn’t have a route out yet so we know next to nothing about him other than he’s working with a german engineering company and he is thinking of committing suicide.

I would totally recommend The Burrows and not for you to binge the entire Echo project saga at 4 in the damn morning.