#there are some that have a lot of plotting/ideas behind them and i'd hate to lose those

[erstwhles]

look at me, using the queue. this is the last scheduled post for now and okay! as of yesterday evening that's everything i have that i am happy to keep once the school year restarts. anything else, including threads that i haven't seen in a while, i'm going to consider dropped. i'll get to any new replies hopefully today, but also i have most of this week to get things done too

now all i have to do is resist the urge to add to my draft count again

[dragon-kazansky]

The song in our hearts

Lestat De Lioncourt x Female Reader

A musician with a heart that sings and an admirer who wishes to see his songbird thrive. Two beings in different worlds get caught up in each other when someone threatens to steal his songbird's spotlight. Loving Lestat isn't simple, and your life will never be the same again. What is eternity without chaos?

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Prepare to meet my plot device lol

Chapter Three - Third wheel

You're sitting at your piano in the empty theater mindlessly playing notes. The melody is new, something no one had ever heard before. You had taken the opportunity of no one being here to come to your familiar friend and play the tune in your heart.

You were so lost in the melody that you hadn't heard the door open and close. Nor did you hear the footsteps coming down the aisle of chairs.

The call of your name as your music ending shortly, unfinished. You sigh and look up to see the manager of the theater waiting for your attention.

“Yes?”

“I hadn't heard that one before,” he says, smiling at you.

You sigh again. “Of course not. It's new. That's not why you came in here is it?” You ask.

He laughs. “No. It isn't. I want to introduce you to someone.”

You can feel yourself wanting to groan. He knew how much you hated actually talking to people, but you wanted to keep him happy. He was, after all, your only chance to perform.

You stand from the piano and hop down from the stage. Jack, the manager, rolls his eyes at you. He often tells you off for doing that during rehearsals.

You now take notice of the man behind Jack. He's about your age, sandy brown hair, green eyes. You look from him to Jack.

“This is Noah. He's a singer.” Jack states.

You nod and look between them both wondering why he wanted you to meet this man. Plenty of people come and go from this theater, you don't usually meet them all personally.

“Noah has a request and I think it's a fabulous idea,” Jack goes on. “How would you feel about playing for him while he sings? You could be a duo!”

You stare at Jack. Noah is smiling softly from behind him. He takes a step forward and you turn your attention to him.

“I adore your talent. I have seen you perform several times and every time I hear you play I feel like all my worries melt away. I want you to play while I sing. I think we could go quite far together, perhaps even be good enough to see the world.”

Those were some strong words.

“I play solo,” you say.

“Hey now, give him a chance,” Jack says. “Look, you're our best performer here. Most of our audience come to see you play your piano. I think it's time to switch things up and try something new.”

“I don't want to try something new. I want to do what makes me happy,” you tell him.

He says your name with a smile, but you don't hang about to listen. You flee the theater and seek refuge in your dressing room.

You're alone in your dressing room for a good few minutes before you hear a knock on your door. You expect it to be Amelie perhaps seeing if you're in here, but usually she just comes in. You don't say anything for a while, preferring to stay alone if it isn't her. However, the door opens and someone comes in. You turn and find yourself face to face with Noah.

You frown.

“I'm sorry, but I couldn't leave knowing I'd offended you. Please just hear me out.”

You sigh softly and turn around in your stool. Noah takes a seat on the table behind him. “I know music is your passion. I've seen you perform many times. To be able to sing while you play… that would be a dream.”

“I play solo.”

“I know… you said that. I just… I think we could be good together. Imagine what magic we could create together. How many people would come to see us?” He smiles wide, excited by the thought.

It is clear popularity is important to him.

“I don't care. Music is all I care about.” And making Lestat happy with your music, of course. After that evening with him, he has been on your mind a lot.

“You can still play your music, just allow me to sing over it. Let me voice meld with your melody.” He speaks sweetly. Almost too sweetly.

“No.”

Noah sighs and then nods. “I understand. I'm sorry I disturbed you.”

Noah takes his leave. You sigh and slump down at your dressing table.

That following Friday you're waiting to get onto the stage to play your beloved piano, especially knowing Lestat would be watching. Perhaps he would permit you to go to his house again to play a duet with him. You certainly hoped so.

While waiting for your name to be called Noah comes up beside you. He adjusts his cufflinks mindlessly in the corner of your eye. You do not spare him a glance, keeping your eyes focused on your favorite instrument ahead of you.

“Good luck tonight,” he says.

You didn't need luck. You just needed your music.

“I'm sure you'll amaze the crowd tonight.”

You once again don't respond to him. Noah chuckles. You hear your name being called and you take a deep breath before walking out onto the stage.

Upon reaching the piano you turn to the crowd, but you're not really looking at them. You're only looking for one face. You spot him up in the boxes. You smile softly when your eyes land on him. He must notice your smile because he smiles too. Knowing Lestat was there was a comfort to you.

Lestat appreciated your music. He understood it. He understood you.

You take a seat at the bench and take another deep breath. Your fingers hover the keys. You imagine for just a moment that Lestat is beside you on the bench. You think about that night in his house when you made music together and how happy you felt in that moment.

Lestat knows.

You begin to play, a smile on your face. You're so ready to give a performance to be proud of, to make this a night to remember, not only for yourself, but for your admirer too. You wanted Lestat to enjoy your gift.

However, this would be a night to remember for all the wrong reasons. As you get into it, you're interrupted by a deep voice singing behind you. Not once missing a note you glance behind you to see Noah enter the stage. He walks to the center and sings with all his might. You stare at him with pure confusion. You did not agree to this.

Catching Jack’s eye off to the left side of the stage you can see him shaking his head at you. He doesn't look the least bit sorry. You turn your eyes back to the piano and try and focus on the music. However, that attention grabbing voice is making it difficult for you to enjoy your music.

Noah was owning the stage. People weren't listening to your music any more. They all had their eyes on Noah. Now, a crowd watching you wasn't your desire, but it was the thought that they were paying mkre attention to him than your magic that irritated you.

When you finished the piece you expected him to leave, but he didn't. He accepted the applause and then looked at you, urging you to keep on playing.

You stared at him with a frown.

“Play,” he says quietly.

You grit your teeth and begin playing the next piece. He smiled back at the crowd and then began to sing. For the next half house he sang though every piece of magic you played. He had taken your moment for his own and you hated it.

Up in his box, Lestat glared at the man. He gripped his arm rest so hard it began to splinter. Who was this fool who dared take away from your beautiful melody?

Lestat could read your thoughts. This was not something you wanted. You were upset that this man had taken it upon himself to perform with you without your consent.

That would not do.

The half hour of your performance felt so much longer to Lestat. He was eager to leave his box and go down to your dressing room, however, you were still playing and he didn't want to miss a moment to lay his eyes upon you, no matter how grating that voice was. Could this even be considered singing?

As soon as the show was over Lestat left his box quickly.

You hurried down to your dressing room as soon as you were free from the stage. You began to pace around the space of the room quickly. Amelie was first to enter. She was quickly to start chatting.

“I had no idea he was going to do that. I know you said no to his request, so I knew you had no intention of that happening. I am so sorry I didn't stop him, but it was too late. When I realised what he was doing I couldn't stop him, not without making a scene.”

You don't reply, just continue pacing.

The next one to enter is Noah, followed by Jack. You glare at Jack. “What was that?”

“That was me showing you how good we could be together,” Noah says.

“I wasn't asking you!” You glare at him and turn back to Jack. “I play solo.”

“I know, but surely it wasn't so bad to give it a chance.”

“You humiliated me!”

“You two work so well together,” Jack argues.

“No. No we don't.”

Jack calla your name softly, but it's Noah who speaks up. “Look, sweetheart, do you have any idea how adored we were? We had then on the edge of their seat.”

“They were on the edge of their seat because they were straining to hear the piano!” You bite back.

Noah laughs.

Amelie steps forward and rubs your arms with comfort. You lean into her embrace and let her soothe you.

“We could go global,” Noah comments.

“No. No, I refuse to let you spoil my moment. It's my music.”

“Look, that was the most popular you had been since you started performing here,” Jack tells you. “You need to let Noah worl with you. Surely you don't want to be stuck here all your life.”

“I like it here…”

Silence fills the room as they all look at you. Amelie is still trying to comfort you. Noah and Jack are staring you down. They want you to cave in.

There's a knock at your door and then a familiar voice. “If I may interrupt.”

You feel relief when you see Lestat slink into the room. He instantly makes his way over to you, pushing past Noah to reach you. You smile as he comes over. Lestat stands in front of you and uses his finger to tilt your chin up. He smiles.

“Are you alright?” He asks.

You nod your head slightly.

Lestat smiles and drops his hand. He joins you at your side. Amelie is shocked to see him here but doesn't say anything. You feel Lestat place his hand on your lower back.

“Who are you?” Jack asks.

“Ah, I apologise.” Lestat grins. “Lestat De Lioncourt. The sponsor for this pure talent in the room.”

“I've never met you,” Noah says, looking him up and down with a deep frown.

“I said for the talent,” Lestat retorts. He then turns to you with a smile. “Shall we go, mon chéri?”

You simply nod your head which makes him smile. Just as you're both about to make your exit, Noah steps forward. “I'm sorry, but who are you? Where are you going?”

“I don't think that's your business. Come, dear, let us go.” Lestat guides you out of the room.

As you leave the theater he puts his coat over your shoulders and walks with you down the street. There's silence between you for a little while, but then Lestat breaks it.

“Who was that man?”

“I don't really know. Jack, the manager, introduced him to me earlier in the week. He's called Noah. Claims he's a fan of my music and wants to sing to it. I tried to tell Jack I play solo… but Noah took it upon himself to join the performance tonight.”

Lestat looks displeased.

“Are you alright?” You ask softly.

He turns to you and smiles. “Yes. Do not fret. I shall not let that man take away your sparkle.”

“You told Jack you were my sponsor. I don't have a sponsor.”

He grins again. “You do now.”

You look at him in wonder. “Why?”

He chuckles. “Is it not obvious?” You shake your head. He chuckles again. “I want you to bloom.”

A warmth floods your chest as the thought that this man you have only known a short while cared so much about your passion. The smile on his face almost made you believe he knew just how happy hearing those words had made you.

“Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me,” he tells you. “This is my gift to you.”

Lestat walked you home and did not leave until he was certain you were safe inside. Even then, he took his time heading back. He was not about to let some pathetic human man ruin your beauty.

@awanderingghost @theprettiesthead @cosmixstar @theblueslytherin @katherine2098 @sawendel @floofdeloop @sitkafay @bigbaddie45 @bluscryn

@secretisme4

[watermel0ns-dumb-cringe]

Have the silly Swap/John Doe AU me and @marys-ghost have created !! (Yes I consider you a creator of it you help me with ideas /silly /pos)

Yes I'm aware that there's already some aus & designs (I saw like. one andy! Ezra/John design once) of this already but FUCK YOU (/lhj) THIS IS OUR TAKE ON IT !! (no hate to the other ones btw they're all silly)

Penny Lamb ; " The Guiltiest Girl In Town . "

&

[ █▅▅▅ █▅▅█ ] 'John Doe' ; " ██▅ █▅▅█ █▅▅▆▅▅▅ ▇▅▇ ▇▅ ▇▅▅▅ . "

Elaboration under the cut

small summary ! What if Ezra & Penny had swapped places? Well, here's our take on that concept!! :]

Both of them went to the fall fair with the choir, but Penny decided not to go on the Cyclone (as she has a fear of roller coasters), staying behind to try and win some prizes for her and her little brother while he went with the choir's family/friends(the cut characters). Penny tried winning a Raggedy Ann to match with the Raggedy Andy that Ezra had won, but ended up with the porcelain doll we're all familiar with instead. She's grown rather fond of the thing,, but yeah. Temporary split up, and then the Cyclone accident happened. Father Markus prevented Penny from seeing the aftermath of it all(or. he hoped he did,, up to interpretation!), and Ezra was left unidentified once Father Markus died from a heart attack. Penny's been searching everywhere top to bottom— but she knows Ezra's gone. Yet, she doesn't wanna believe it, and. Carries a lot. of regret & guilt. Nobody ever listened to her when she tried to identify him, due to her reputation as a "psycho cannibal kid that maimed a dude, born & raised from a place where all the adults were higher than freakin' skyscrapers." Plus her. Criminal record in general. Therefore, Ezra was labeled as John Doe.

While in limbo, he ain't doing too hot either, supposedly! Unlike most versions of Jane, John is purposefully pissed off. Knowing he's been fucked over entirely but can't completely pinpoint it. I'd like to think he gets along well with Astrid,, but he & Corey might have a rivalry similar to Penny & Ocean's. haters frfr/silly

Also yeah Ez gets Raggedy Andy head the Lamb siblings r so Ann & Andy coded /pos

So. the choir never die, but the cut characters do. Unfortunately includes Talia, as we need 6 people dead. 😭

Oh yeah Penny's also filled with spite & a sheer hatred for Uranium. She will throw hands or kill a man as seen here

still kinda in progress & I do have more info for it but that's the basic plot line !!

Definitely gonna draw them a lot they're silly/vvpos

Bonus

the fornication under consent of the king bit is replaced with John beatboxing/rapping. Trishna is terrified.

[2deadkat]

i'd love to hear ur complaints abt modern geronimo! If u'd like to share that is

Thank you for asking anon, I’d love to share and you have inadvertently entered the dragon’s den/lh

But fr tho, it’s a lot. It’s mostly pertaining to the writing.

The reason why I hate modern Geronimo is in the biggest nutshell possible, they screwed up the original dynamic for the Stiltons, a majority of the books is just one big game of Geronimo torture porn between the other characters, and overall a lot of wasted potential for unique interactions between the wider cast and the rest of the Stiltons as its limited to just Geronimo himself. Hell a lot of the plots could have the input from the other Stiltons if they were brave enough. And there seems to be a new character every few books and there’s no rhyme or substance to it anymore. Since when did trap reproduce???

And you’re telling me von Volt has another relative???? Yk at some point you just stop reading the books. Oh and do not get me started on the Thea problem…

Let me start with the Stiltons real quick, somehow they got worse by watering down their personalities to a bunch of cheap jokes.

What made the classic (or early) books work was that the whole point of Geronimo’s character is that yes he’s a wimp, but that’s because he’s a tired boss who gets dragged into his family’s shenanigans, and by extension his friends and allies around him. Everyone has some eccentric personality that shocks or baffle him in some way, and that’s where the comedy comes from. He’s able to stand on his own because of his duties and eagerness to stay in his comfort zone is where the meat of the interactions come from.

His family especially Trap and Thea were meant to be respective foils to him. Trap consistently bullies him and Thea is meant to be the direct opposite of him, she’s the driving force in the group and has more pants to cover up what Gerry doesn’t have. She’s the one behind a lot of their adventures or scoops, hell she’s also the one who keeps finding them in the first place and drags her family and connections into them which makes sense because that’s her job and also where a lot of the plots start from. She fills out the spots that Gerry doesn’t have. Trap is just pure comic relief and is basically that outside force to the group. Hell the two even have a dynamic of their own where’d they just fight over the most trivial things and that makes us side with Geronimo more because of the ridiculousness of his family, that’s what made it click (to me). Highly recommend you read the early books, it shows the strongest character imo (#1-20).

Now Geronimo has all his autonomy stripped away and he’s been reduced to a nothing but a punching bag for everyone around him. I hope I’m not kidding here but try reading a classic book (let’s say #7 or #26) and compare it to the writing in a modern book (let’s say #46 or #74) it’s very jarring. They put more emphasis on different ways his day is ruined and give him no room to breathe or stand on his own. There’s just no charm to that anymore. There’s no fine line with his relationship with the other characters (Run for the Hills Geronimo is probably the worse one and represents everything I don’t like about the new dynamic)

Now over time that initial draw to action is also done by Trap, which I thought was cool because it still plays into the idea of Geronimo’s family dragging him into their shenanigans and the motives make sense to him specifically. It’s like he keeps getting calls from his relatives on schemes which is fun. But the more you keep reading the modern books the dynamic gets skewed over time and here’s the part I’ve been waiting for…Thea gets shelved completely. And now it’s somehow the GOD DAMN GINGER BROS SHOW?????

Now I think about it, Trap used to be a lot more clever in the classic books as well, he’s essentially a bumbling fool who keeps falling into the wrong situations to make a quick buck which slowly backfires on him. If you know me that well you know I’d call him a less scummier Grunkle Stan. The fact that there’s no Thea to balance it out or at least ground the dynamic to some level feels really annoying now.

You don’t really see much of her anymore as she’s either smiling at the back or doesn’t say more than five lines anymore, which is baffling because she’s the one who can pick up the pace the most. I really wished they showed more of her involvement again…They’re a trio, not a duo…and the books are suspiciously phasing her out to make room for the ginger bros fail routine and it ultimately feels very empty…there’s not much acknowledgement or involvement from her really like they could say she’s busy at mouseford or something but nope! Shelved completely without an explanation or a missed opportunity for a tie-in mention.

So far the only redemption I see is the Mayan Mystery one and the Soccer one where she had a more integral role which are way more recent but it still bothers me that they just shelved her for a majority of the modern run.

Listen if the modern books weren’t cowards she would SOLO all these people

she’d probably have an interesting dynamic knowing that she gets along with everyone well and is technically an adventurer. It’d be such a good parallel to her brother to play off of.

hell it’s even worse in the comics. Like there’s legit no acknowledgment of her at all, when trap is absent that gets an explanation but she’s just suspiciously…gone and the only time she does have a major role is when she’s used as a fake mask for a psyche-out to the villains (I’m sorry but if the comics are gonna pull that shit then I’m baited to believe that Thea and (cat lady) would have a homerotic switcheroo fight akin to Ms.Bellum and Sedusa. SHES THE TOUGHEST AND SMARTEST RODENT, USE HER GODDAMIT)

Idk man I tried reading some of the comics and it never worked out that much, again the dynamic feels suspiciously empty with zero acknowledgment. It’s not the Stiltons it’s just the fucking ginger bros for some reason. It doesn’t feel solid like it used to. I really can’t get into them which is a shame, and tbf why would I want to read a comic where Geronimo goes back in time and helps a colonist do his thing 💀

I’d be very happy if someone here can give me one good reason to get into them somehow, I want to like modern Geronimo, please/s

Look if there’s one character I don’t mind them putting in complete absence it’s probably the unaccompanied minors/s…Or Petunia which makes much more sense since she’s a family friend!

Look I actually like Ben and Bugsy as a duo, I think their whole concept is really wholesome, but the books don’t really push their parts that much, like there’s no meaningful interaction they have with the adults which is a lot of missed potential that or it’s just limited to Geronimo. Like listen I get that the whole point of the books was that it was from Geronimo’s perspective, but it’s not like everyone else was just “present”. They had more active roles and Gerry would just write all his observations down. You want a good example? The Mona Mousa Code.

Still…Benjamin had more charm and a bigger role in the classic books…that boy can hyper fixate and master niche skills in anything and was the emotional rock for Geronimo. But now he just goes along with his uncle being a punching bag routine :/ and I KNOW they could do a lot more for Bugsy here, especially since the paws are practically family friends.

—-

But you know…I’ll do give it credit here this era has one of my favorite art styles in the series and notably the one I grew up with the most (classic books illustrations still hold more charm imo) but the way action and expression is illustrated is just *chefs kiss* there’s a certain bounce to it that makes it so memorable.

And I’ll do admit all those geography facts (even if it’s just basic facts I mean it’s a kids book) and long detailed lists or charts about a characters detail is really cool and somehow makes it more immersive.

And it’s really nice to see the universe get expanded.

But overall, the writing is not the same anymore, the original dynamic is screwed up, and lots of missed opportunity to round up the cast together. It’s either empty or I’m just getting too old…Maybe I’m just nostalgia-biased in different areas who knows. But that’s pretty all my thoughts I can pull out.

[noodle-made-a-mistake]

A short list of things that bother me about the Magisterium canon:

Forgive me in advance for rambling, I have to get these thoughts out of my brain lmao (also it's been a couple years so correct me if I'm wrong! (I really hope I’m wrong on some of these :’) )) Spoilers ahead obviously!

● The lack of Calron :(

● Not taking the opportunity to develop Tamara's character and keeping her static until she's randomly just different. Strong female characters aren't just skilled and perfect until their one flaw (usually it's having feelings like any other human being) is revealed shockingly (that's just sloppy characterization), they should be crucial to the plot and not overlooked in favor of developing other characters (from what I remember she literally was my favorite while reading the series until she just got annoying (??) after a while, of course that could just be because the story is told through Call's perspective but still)

● The entire school system that I need more info on bc it sounds so unthought out and not like something that has existed for hundreds of years

● The forceful nature of making people serve as masters?? That makes no sense? Like, “Congratulations on not dying during your schooling or in the war(s), your prize is forced labor 👍.”

● Also THE COLLEGIUM WAS MENTIONED AND NEVER ELABORATED UPON

● TGT. Least favorite book. Get out. Tgt truthers how do you do it??

● The Maugris plot twist. It destroys the meaning behind the past four books. It's just so uncalled for and frankly just sloppy ig? I love the idea in a way, but only if it's foreshadowed from the beginning. Also I'm too attached to the complicated dynamic of Alastair raising his possible ex-bestie for it to end up like that

● The fact that the iron trio is out of school for half the series, I'd like to know what's normal, y'know??

● THE LACK OF ELABORATION ABOUT THE FIRST GEN I WANT TO KNOW MORE I HAVE TO KNOW MORE

● They did my man Constantine especially wrong, give him some ✨️character✨️ aside from E V I L and problematic (trademark) and charming (???)

● AND ALASTAIR GOD TELL ME MORE?? He's characterized as distant and obviously traumatized with his hate of his magic involved past but I just need to know what that past was like. Like who was he before his dead wife syndrome?? Idk but I'd of liked any excuse to know more about it just so I can understand him more??

● Please give me a single character trait of Declan's?? Like he was mentioned a handful of times and that's all we got. He was just some guy and I am hating it !!

● And Sarah. Like. She was a mom and liked peace as a concept but she also made a cool ass knife. That's a lot of things left up for interpretation. And I know Call wasn’t allowed to ask questions for plot reasons but god i wish he had more information about his own dead mother for Christ's sake

● Also other than a victim, who was Jericho? I need to know who this kid who drew scribbles in the margins of his very important journal while writing about how he was slowly being killed was. What was his relationship really like with his brother if he was so scared to say that he was dying or what gave him the impression that he didn't care?? It's fascinating and I need him under a microscope immediately

● Also the lack of queer representation until the last two books. AND THEN IT WASN'T EVEN ANY OF OUR MAIN CAST. Literally the saddest L ever :(

● AND AARON WAS NEVER CONFIRMED QUEER LIKE WHAT THE FUCK JUST L O O K AT HIS CHARACTER AND INFACT ALL OF OUR CORE CAST IS AT LEAST BI LIKE C O M E O N (ik they're like kids but even I knew I was not straight when I was like 11 and i lived in the most conservative non-LGBTQ-friendly town known to man)

● Low key, callmara was so bad, like I love them but not the way it happened, horrible set up. Tamara deserved so much better and to not have her entire character destroyed by becoming a love interest. I wish they thought about her as an independent character instead of the means to implement a romantic subplot in tgt, they did so good in the first books with that

● Also there's no elaboration on what chaos is. It's the mystical 5th element. Wow! Let's go girl, give us nothing! You'd think that if Makaris were so exceptionally rare and special that we'd get some explanation on how they come to be and what it is exactly that they can control but we're just left to assume it's the special "chosen one" type of thing. Idk it bothers me for some reason :/

That's just off the top of my head and it's been years since I read the series all the way through (I should do a reread soon). For the most part I adore this funky series and I hate to bash it but I felt the need to ramble about it's shortcomings because I'm not crazy, right?? It had so much potential! Anyway, I'm sort of glad for the blanks in the story despite complaining about them because it leaves room for fics and fan interpretations that I always love to see, but on the other hand, I'd like for the story to feel finished and not like a last minute science fair project.

Thanks for sticking around for my late night rambling lmao

[rebelfell]

every time you post pornstar!Eddie I feel like that picture of the wolf tearing his shirt open

if I didn't have a fear of being perceived and also digital footprint I'd be in your comments posting that image 0.2 seconds after you hit the publish button

but since I am and tumblr won't let me send images from anon, just know that I am thinking that picture so hard hoping the vibes go through my little device and to you <3

WAIT ALSO

I have a lore questions

What do they do outside of the porn stuff? Like they can't be doing that 24/7 but what are reader's hobbies? Also will Eddie be using more of his masseuse skills (reader probably needs it in their shoulders from nights spent hunched over the editing software)??

Also what about interactions that are outside of the porn realm? Do they get coffee? Do they stumble upon each other at the store? Can Eddie even go to the store as porn's new hot star or does he have to go in disguise? What's it like without all the cameras and the moans and the nakedness? Is it more vulnerable with their clothes on??

I know there's still more content to come but I really want to just dive head first in and swim through all the details and longing. no more dragging out the plot!! I'm slobbering against the glass. let me in please. I promise I don't have rabies :D ignore the foaming at the mouth I'm just excited!

I’m so glad you like them, bubs! And ohhhhhhhh my gosh so many good questions! You gave me lots and lots to think about the last few days…

I’ve not thought too much about the lore of this story because it started as a horny drabble, BUT I’ll throw some too many thoughts under the cut.

I think at least in the beginning, there was not much outside of work that R had time for.

In my head, you were kind of carrying out every task on your own cos you just really wanted this new endeavor to work. It’s not that you “hated” porn, you just always had felt like you were more suited to being behind the camera and you finally had the opportunity to prove your mettle.

So it wasn’t 24/7, but it took up a fair amount of your time and didn’t leave room for much else.

And I think the basis of your connection with Eddie was in your working relationship, so most of the things you do together would be work stuff. He absolutely offered massages and you initially turned them down, not wanting to cross any boundaries or blur any lines (nice try).

But after one particularly long editing session… it’s just too good an offer to pass up. Plus, it led to him telling you about massage school, and...

Well, we know how that turned out.

I would also like to think R is a big movie buff. Sort of like a less-annoying Dawson Leery where you made movies with a shitty camcorder in your backyard and just really enjoyed the idea of bringing an idea in your head to life.

Definitely a very creative/imaginative type.

And I feel like you got into the porn industry thinking ‘I can do this for money and then work on my stuff in my down time’ and eventually got to a point where you were just phoning it in, and you weren’t working on anything, just kind of going through the motions. A little lost.

Then Eddie shows up and he becomes your muse and collaborator all in one neat and tidy package. You feel inspired again and you get this urge to Create that you haven't felt in a long time.

Outside of work, you are definitely friends. But I think Eddie had to do a lot of coaxing to get you to ease up on work. Once you start generating some buzz and revenue for the studio and start getting more funding/crew etc, Eddie is the one who has to remind you that you don't have to do everything anymore and you can (and need) to take time for yourself once in a while.

With him, if you want 🙃

I could see you two walking around a museum or art installation and talking about the pieces and getting into long debates about them. I don't see Eddie as a big ArT gUY, but I think he likes looking at the things you look at and trying to see them through your eyes. I think he's just fascinated by your mind and your vision and that's one way he's able to somewhat experience it.

And it’s during these moments away from all the lights and the cameras and the grunting and the moaning and the squishy noises that he feels so much more intimate with you. Because neither one of you is being your Work Self.

Eddie also feels 1000% more vulnerable with his clothes on. For someone who is naked for a living, he feels so much more exposed when he reveals something about his personality like a band he likes via a t-shirt or something like that.

He's still carrying around that Hawkins-induced shame about being a "freak" for the kind of music he likes or being ostracized for his hobbies. And I think there will always be a part of him that fears the judgement of that side of himself.

And for you, seeing him in clothes feels almost more intimate than seeing him naked? Because when he's naked, he's working, he's got his game face on, his bareness is like armor almost. When he is in his regular clothes, he doesn't have those walls up anymore and you feel like you're seeing the real him. That's not Eddie Munson, Pornstar.

That's just...Eddie.

for your viewing pleasure

[yuseirra]

Hi there, lovely artist!

I have no idea if you answer these kinds of question, but considering what we see in the manga. Do you have any headcanons on how the twins see Hikaru and how Hikaru would see the twins? What would they like/dislike about each other? Or would the twins just hate Kamiki, without feeling anything else?

Hello lovely anon! I can't promise you that I will, because I have to say, I'm not very confident about talking about things I'm not sure of.

In terms of fandom, I tend to focus very hard on these very specific plot points I get interested and intrigued in... as for the rest of the work, I would have broad ideas. I would care about how things flow overall, but I don't really feel like I could ever be one of those fandom experts who come to answer every part of a work in depth. Some people can do it, and they're really amazing!///

If there's something I really want to talk about or have thought in depth, I feel I would come to bring it up on my own eventually. 'v')/ So if I had to choose between "yes, I answer them" and "no, I don't", I'd say it'd be the latter because I can only talk about the things I have a strong idea or a sense of conviction towards!

You're really nice though, and your question here is a little bit on the border(?) in terms of what I thought about, so it's something I can try and answer a bit on my end, but it may not be as well as I'd like at the moment.

I've been drawing a lot of fanarts of Hikaru, right?

I drew some comics with him hoarding some familial feelings towards the twins, I feel he acknowledges/considers himself as their father.

In the third one that I linked, I had him say "I like it. I like having kids who take after us(him and AI). They are what you've left behind." I think that's a summary of how I think he thinks of his kids.

The idea that Hikaru has fatherly feelings for the twins comes right out from his mouth in CH 153, and there's no reason to take that as a lie. He didn't need to say that at all, and he was preparing to leave Aqua and be gone for good out of their lives(hey Aqua you didn't need to point your knife at him then;; he was already planning to do it in the first place)

I also wrote quite a few analyses that he does care for his children and he loves them all. I wrote about that even in my first in-depth analysis of him- I'll just bring along the full phrasing I had in that post.

Kamiki advising Aqua and Ruby aligns with my interpretation of his character. These actions seem sincere. Given his affection for Ai, he may feel some warmth towards their children, as he once referred to Ruby as "our" children. He's also been able to see through how Aqua is in a very accurate sense, he seems to have watched him intently. Hence, when Aqua approached him, he expressed his feelings honestly.

To Aqua, he says stuff like "you might find me detestable, but I was glad to talk like this with you", and he gives some advice to Ruby too in a pretty kind way, actually. These actions are likely genuine. It's only natural to find the children, who resemble themselves and their loved one, adorable. Just as Ai told the twins, while dying, that she was glad to have given birth to the children, I think Kamiki, even if they didn't love the children as much as they do for Ai, would at least be happy about their existence. I believe Kamiki would have kept a distant watch over them all along. It's just that he couldn't approach them.

I feel like he'd have been a good father. He's being really patient with Aqua in 160 as well, he does not get agitated or show signs of frustration even while having a lot of strong words and accusations being thrown at him. If all went well and Ai and he really had become family.. he'd have been a very soft and loving kind of dad I think. I drew a few comics with that sort of idea. If he'd actually gone and went to meet the kids, he'd have been soft around them and Ai. The way I see it, he CAN give his life for his kids as well as for Ai's.

What he'd like and dislike about them, huh?

I'm not sure what he'd dislike about the twins... I actually don't see this character having a dislike in people because he never harshly treats anyone (come on, he STILL adds a -kun to Ryosuke's name, it's just-;;)

He seems to be watching Ruby's performances intently, I think he really likes seeing his daughter shine, and he visibly shows happiness when she claims she'll be an idol that surpasses her mother. For whatever reason, he's HAPPY. and he's watching Ruby's performance through his phone in 159. I was thinking that maybe he was going to go sacrifice himself for Ai (in 155 he did leave on a note saying he's going to do something for Ai, right...) but he's seeing Ruby's stage last thing before he has to go? Could THAT be it if that plot point ISN'T a lost cause? Anyhow, he really seems to like seeing his daughter.

As for Aqua, I think he relates to him and views him as his son who's been going through the same struggles he's been. I think he worries/is concerned over Aqua because.. he's been there, in the same places he's been. That whole mention of the black star eyes in 160? I think that's him trying to relate to him, seeing how his son is so keen about lies. You have those same eyes, you've been doing the same things I've been doing, it was fun, wasn't it(a question meant to be answered on a negative note)? I think that's what he's trying to get at, actually.. Although Aqua doesn't take it that way and the whole chapter addresses it in a really ambiguous manner. He was quite understanding of Aqua in 152 too.

So for Ruby, I feel Kamiki sees her as a daughter who will go beyond Ai (he's proud of her) and for Aqua, I think he takes him as his son who resembles him in ways he actually didn't want for it to be- thus has some concerns over.

I've made a lot of analysis about Hikaru in order to characterize him in my fanworks of him well, so I could talk about how he'd feel, I actually haven't thought so much of how the twins would feel towards him and I'd just take what the manga throws at me on this XD Here's what I got though,

Ruby wasn't able to forgive him and really loathed her father for quite a while in the plot, but somehow, she decided to forgive him even before Aqua could. Maybe this was because she decided to move on to the future and save everyone by becoming the best idol ever, and maybe it was because she played the role as Ai in the movie and understood the feelings her mother had towards her dad. She still wanted to inquire him as he left in 155, though, so I wonder what would have actually happened if that happened.

Aqua is a bit confusing for me, he's the one who played as his dad in the movie, so theoretically, he should be the one who understands Kamiki the most but I'm not so sure if he actually does. That part is still left pretty vague. Is he harsh towards his dad because he knows his true colors? Are his accusations towards him in ch 160 really how things were in an accurate sense? Because I hope not, it does not make sense for me if it is, not because I favor Kamiki but I just can't stand the idea of Ryosuke and Nino being the ones that have been manipulated into stabbing people. It CAN'T be that way, the story will be so ugly if it leads to that conclusion. It's just weird, too.

He still says he feels like killing Kamiki when he talks to Ichigo after he's left... so I think he hates him. From what I've been getting from 160 is that he's aware that Ai really wanted to save and loved Kamiki, but he thinks he's beyond hope, and is a despicable liar who's murdered people for his own gain so he needs him gone from his life. So it's mostly dislike I see. Aqua associates his negative characteristics with Kamiki and that could mean he does have something he finds he can relate to in a sense, but is this really an accurate depiction he has? Does he know about his dad as much as he should? I'm really biased on this one at this point but I feel like he STILL doesn't understand either his mother, or his father. He says he wants to fulfill Ai's wish, but he wasn't aware that she could cry until Ruby made her performance. He might have gotten a better grasp of Ai at this point compared to that, but.. if he realizes how much love she has for Kamiki, then he'd see how strong her wishes were. Was there really no room for Aqua to see his father in a better light?

In short, they all do have complex feelings towards each other but

Kamiki>Ruby,Aqua: Pure love. He does have fatherly feelings for the both of them and cares about both his children

Aqua>Kamiki : Hate. Feels he's irredeemable, associates him with his negative sides and feels they are the same in that aspect. Wants him gone.

Ruby>Kamiki : Ambiguous, but I don't think she has any initiative to have had any positive feelings towards Kamiki? Maybe a bit of sympathy, understood Ai loved him, but still Dislike. A little less hate compared to Aqua but that'd be because she wants to "head on to the future" and focus on her idol work. "Forgave him".. but really?; She probably didn't want him to die by Aqua's hands and get further associated with him that way as a foul memory.

Long post, I hope you enjoy! :) My comics tend to reflect the impression and my interpretations and I really care about the relationship dynamics when I draw them, so you'll be able to infer how I think about them through those too!

Hope you have a nice weekend!

[escapedaudios]

I'm thinking of bringing my Patreon back. I want to keep using professional sound effects but those cost money, and I've been hit with some financial setbacks. Nothing too major, but enough to hamper the money I have on hand for my little protects.

I never wanted to run this channel for profit, it was always about creating art and pushing the medium of Audio Roleplay (an art form that I adore) to the next level. I've always worried about financial incentives "corrupting" my work once I get a little too used to them, that and I didn't like the feeling of obligation when I had my Patreon.

What I'm saying is I need some ideas. The only real value I provided was early access before, but I didn't always get that done in time. So many audios were finished last minute that the only way to make early access "valuable" would be to artificially extend the release date for everyone else.

My work is so collaborative and story-based that I'm afraid putting plot behind a paywall would ruin the experience of listening to my audios (that are designed to blend together into one movie-like experience). I'd also hate to have other VAs on and give them minimal exposure by pay walling something where only like 1% of my usual audience will actually hear it.

I won't do patreon shout outs because they disrupt the seamless flow of the playlists. Maybe I can do text-based ones? But that's usually not enough to motivate people.

A lot of VAs with profitable patreons do NSFW or borderline-NSFW "spicy" boyfriend roleplays on their Patrons and I absofuckinglutely will not do that regardless of how much money it makes. I literally just am so out of ideas, I'm almost ready to just set it up as a tip jar and leave it at that.

What should I do? I'm so stumped.

[away-ward]

I don't know if you've answered this query before, but I'd love to hear your opinion on one of the most controversial devil's night's characters... Damon Torrance.

He's a very divisive character in the fandom and for good reason. Yet, Damon arguably has the highest importance in the series due to how he is both an instigator of many key events, and he is also the character connecting a lot of relationships links and plot threads together.

In particular, I think Damon's relationships with both Will and Banks are fascinating to think about. Two people that he did dirty in the series (Will in Corrupt, Banks all through hideaway), yet he also claimed to love both to the point of insanity. It's an interesting paradox, yet for Damon character, it does make perfect sense that love and suffering are entwined for a good while.

Heyy! Adri, how are you? hope you're good.

I have talked some about Damon, certainly received and responded to plenty of rants about him, but don’t remember if I’ve ever had a question specifically about him like this.

If you are ever curious, I am usually pretty good with my tags, so you could search ‘#damon torrance’ but that might not bring up everything. And it's probably not as fun as my #will grayson iii tag, but what can you do? (most of the good stuff is in the tags)

Anyway. I probably don’t understand Damon very well. I’d like to think I do, but the truth his way of thinking is sort of an anomaly to me. Which is probably for the best.

He gets a lot of hype for being so dark and mysterious. But I wasn’t impressed with him? He just seemed to me to be the king of sad and mean, and a lot of his darkness felt like posturing. This isn’t to discredit what he went through, but… I just didn’t get the vibe that "dark" is who he really is. I think he was just hurt, and once that pain had been addressed, he seemed okay? He's not normal by any means, but then none of the these characters are, and I think that's the point.

However, much like everything with DN, I like the concept of Damon more than the execution. He is the driving force behind the serious, and most of the time, the group is either reacting to actions Damon took, or ones he might take. It seems that he’s the foundation of the group, and everything goes through him or is linked by him. On the one hand, I think this is great. I love the idea that these characters are so intrinsically connected. But I hate that Damon seems to be the only character this exists for. I hate that it seems like he’s the glue, without which this group would eventually fall apart. A true found/chosen family feels different. Each character is a piece of the puzzle, which together creates the final image.

I also think his relationships with Will and Banks are the most compelling for his story arc. Likewise, Banks and Will being the two he did the worst to is so interesting, because it’s an insane concept to wrap your head around. He was so focused on “saving” them, that he caused them seemingly irreversible pain and suffering. His claws were dug in so deep; he wasn’t just drawing blood, he was tearing them apart. There was a part of him that would rather see Banks and Will dead than alive and happy without him. He needed them to need him, because without them… there was nothing good left.

And speaking of goodness, in a weird way, he was “saving” them by trying to keep them innocent, away from anything dark and painful, almost to their own detriment. It’s like he wanted to take anything good left in him and pour it into them, to keep it safe.

What I wished for Damon, if he had to be in this role (and as we’ve spoken about before), was that he was a true guardian of the group. Always watching, always suspecting, always ready. I’ve also written about his relationship with Emory, and how I think those two should be the ones who know when things just need to get done and do it. No debating, no questioning about the method or the “right time.” Just quietly handle whatever problem comes up. I really do see him as somewhat of an enforcer. I remember in Corrupt, when Michael was talking about Damon’s playing style:

“He rarely thought about anything he did, and if someone put a wall in his way – justified or not – he came in swinging without hesitation or regret. This had been a useful quality on our high school basketball team. His reputation spread, and just the sight of him by the opposite team had them pissing themselves.”

This version of Damon is my favorite Damon. I understand he had to grow up. He needed to start thinking seriously about things. But a Damon that had this sort of backbone that also planned his moves? That’s dangerous. He just didn’t seem to have any of this drive or seriousness in Nightfall, which was a bit of a let-down.

I also have a post discussing the Damon and Christiane issue (which basically says Rika’s right, but she needs to mind her own business anyway). I used to think Damon was just being stubborn because PD needed him to be so he and Rika can fight, but after thinking about it, he has every right not to want his children around Christiane.

Overall, I think what this serious is desperately missing is an understanding of out each character interacts and relates to each other character. We have the most understanding with Damon. And yet, after Corrupt and then Damon’s redemption, I’m still unclear how he and Michael interact. Michael’s the leader, but is Damon really a follower? Is he happy to let Michael lead now that he’s gotten everything he wanted, or is it like “I let him lead because I can’t be bothered.” I don’t know. Strangely, I think we would understand Damon better if we also had better insight to the other characters.

Let's see, some more fun facts...

I've previously stated that instead of weird group sex to be the "initiation" into their "gang", everyone should get the chance to stab Damon and if they can do it, they're in. I stand by that.

When I hear NF, I think of Damon most of the time. Occasionally, it's Will.

I headcanon that weddings are weird in Thunder Bay because when their old schoolmates invite the town locals to their wedding, local business owner Damon Torrance shows up with his (2) two previously unknown sisters, conveniently married to his best friends, and his (1) one and only business partner that's married to his other best friend. That first year, nobody focused on the brides and it ruined everything.

I also headcanon that Damon wasn't supposed to be in the literature class with Will and Emory in NF. He was supposed to be in whatever class he had with the lit teacher from the beginning of KS, but he wanted to be with his friends and none of the staff had the energy to stop him.

I think Damon being good with kids actually fits his character really well, and I like that it was included (dude, he threw out his entire build and started over when he learned the kid like pirates just because. This is a man who cherishes children, no matter how gruff he is about it.). I wish it had been made clear that this is a unique trait for him, but it seems that the whole group just magically knows how to parent or has kids perfectly suited to their style of parenting.

I would have liked to know that he and Banks develop a healthy, separate relationship as they grow up, but still remain close enough to understand each other without much conversation. They naturally grow apart as their lives turn towards their families, but they can still keep their root systems.

I don't have anymore at the moment. And I hope this answered your questions... I'm not quite sure. But I'm also up to discuss certain points! Thanks for stopping in!

-ko

[snailfen]

not that anon but who's your favorite sluggy

so i never played the original MSC, but originally my favorite was the saint. i loved the idea of being able to just Leave situations and have a grappling tongue at all times as a newbie. i really struggled with platforming and survival back then, so i really liked them. fuck losing all karma upon dying, i could just Leave!

out of the vanilla scugs, monk was also my favorite back then. i REALLY hated the lore removal, but my gaming skills were already just Piss Poor in general so rain world was almost nigh impossible at first. also i liked being friends with lizards and scavs and i couldnt bring myself to attack scavs back then.

so, between then and now, my favorites have changed. between the MSC slugcats...

this is one of those few times i can answer from Every Possible Aspect of the candidate, like gameplay, campaign plot, etc. Which is really cool! when MSC dropped, Riv was the one  I played first using the "unlock all campaigns" cheat. I REALLY wanted to play saint first, but knowing from the start that the slugcats were ranked by difficulty and saint was locked behind 2 slugcats as opposed to 1, I curbed that urge and went for Riv since they were my second favorite.

now, their super exaggerated movement was hard to get a handle on, i will admit- but i hadn't played this game in a long time so i was just rusty on top of that. but i can confidently say im used to them! i love using their abilities to see just what i can do. there was a time i was playing with a randomizer and it was really fun having to adapt to each new situation like an opportunist. i wish i recorded it! but riv really helped me get over my hesitance when i was faced with predators, which was a bad habit I'd had for a long time.

campaign gameplay tested my lay of the land as well; especially by starting out in drainage system. i practically never set foot in drainage system back in the day, so i didnt know where in the world to head. I luckily detected the garbage wastes gate like, right away. trying to navigate the parts of the game more beaten off the main path of vanilla was difficult but fun! having only so much time to get from place to place was a fun challenge. then, after getting the rarefraction cell, trying to see how far i could go in 1 cycle was even greater.

now the plot is really where riv got me for sure.

looks to the moon has been a favorite character of mine for years. i never really stopped thinking about what happened between her and pebbles; every few months or so i would think about it. just how... hopeless things were for moon. It really made me sad. i think i speak for a lot of people when i say i wished that i could help her in some way. but the only thing i could do is bring her neurons, really. i never really made sense of pebbles side of the deal, like i knew what was going on with him and i felt bad, but it never really hit me how horrible things were for him. it all just felt so... tragic, yknow? that things ended up the way they did for the two of them.

exploring their superstructures was an experience. i originally planned to go to pebbles through shaded citadel after visiting moon on my first playthrough, but plans changed when i considered dealing with memory crypts, and the leg, AND underhang with my cycle limit (i had already sort of guessed that riv was after monks point in the timeline, but i didn't know that those areas got worse for riv so i was just thinking in terms of vanilla) so i went through the wall.

I kinda wish I saw at least memory crypts, but thats ok because the low gravity in the normally zero-gravity access shaft, plus the proto dll at the end, told me everything I needed to know before facing Pebbles chamber. Floating through his decayed structures... it hurt. I remember my first encounter with him in vanilla felt just a word away from being downright incomprehensible. he really came off as some god I couldn't percieve. but now, seeing the walls corroded by nothing but Rot, only small parts I actually recognized just barely peeking out amongst the decay, I just couldn't look. I felt like... like my arteries were clogged just by seeing his condition. Hearing him listen to Halcyon Memories, a favorite (previously) unused track of mine created a special kind of somber that I will Never re-experience.

Then, Moon's structure. This one is special. I got suuuper lost in here, but im glad I did. Up until a certain point, I had been taking the scenery in with a kind of reverence you would have while walking around a graveyard. I wandered for a few cycles, and at some point, Random Fate started playing. I didn't recognize the bass line yet, but when I had stumbled into what I immediately recognized as Moon's Memory Conflux, the Sundown melody kicked in.

Recognizing both things at once, I got all... like, choked up. Like... I'm finally helping Moon!  But... what about Pebbles? Why can't I help him? ...And like, I knew why; he brought this fate upon them both. But that didn't make it hurt any less. He asked me to do the only thing he wanted: to give all he had to redeem what he did. So in the end, this was all I could do to help him; in the same way that this was all Pebbles could do to make up for what he did to Moon.

Don't get me started on the ending. Seeing Moon restored to even a fraction of what once was had me so happy! It was exhilarating to say the least. But I was tearing up on the edge of my seat when she reached out to Pebbles. Watching the messages roll in slowly, seeing what she had to say, all the while praying that Pebbles could hear her.

Seeing Moon call herself Pebbles big sister is what broke the dam. From what I saw back in the day, people usually skirted that title of hers when it came to Pebbles, or never really acknowledged it. Even I did, for some time. But it never made sense to do that! Moon and Pebbles would never feel such anger, betrayal, or regret over everything that had happened if they weren't very close. I found it very important that that's who Moon was to him. Not just a great friend, but a big sister. I'm so glad the MSCteam felt that was important as well.

Speaking of which, seeing the names of community members and fans that I recognized in the credits got me sobbing again when I thought I was done. This expansion was a loveletter to the game from the fans, brought in officially by the actual developers. The Rivulet campaign especially enforced that feeling of love for the game- by having compassion for the tragedy two iterators and finally helping them reconcile.

I finally felt satisfied, not only because I was able to help Moon- but because I had also realized the tragic life that Pebbles had led. Those two things had never really left my mind.

anyways WOOOOO that was a lot of rambling. hope you enjoyed......

[y-rhywbeth2]

Is it ever revealed what Gortash got out of trading Karlach to Zariel? I’d assume it would be related to some sort of mechanical know-how he’s an artificer in my heart even if the game doesn’t really have that class option but also. My hc is that it’s directly related to him becoming Bane’s Chosen. The gods were picking their Chosen around this time, I think, and it would make sense that betraying a subordinate that trusts you with their life to a miserable existence of serving a tyrannical hell queen, in exchange for ambition serving power, would make Bane very happy. I could just be behind on my game lore, but I’m less familiar with how Gortash came around to Bane worship than I am with Durge/Orin (though those are rather obvious) and Ketheric.

Now that I’m typing this, I’m also confused about the mindflayer colony underneath Moonrise. How long has it been there? Did the Dead Three Chosen put it there intentionally, or was it just there and the Dead Three had a lightbulb moment? “Fellas, I know we’ve been plotting this world domination thing, and it’s just occurred to me that Shar has a guy whose house is overrun with Mindflayers. Should I dig him up?” -Myrkul in the groupchat

The fact that the Emperor/Balduran went there and was turned into a mindflayer really really muddies the timeline for me. Honestly, making the Emperor Balduran fucks up a lot of things, lore wise.

I'm pretty sure it's said somewhere that he got the schematics for the infernal engines, such as those in her chest, which he used to build the Steel Watchers. Not sure if that's in my head though. I don't think the game ever mentioned how Gortash converted to Bane, and information we might find on it isn't exactly reliable because the man's autobiographical notes are out of sync with other in-game information we find on the chosen, so anything he says should be taken with a grain of salt as half-truths and self-PR.

-

I don't think the colony has been directly under Moonrise for very long, though if you overlaid a map of Faerûn and the Lowerdark they might be in similar spots geographically (10-ish miles away, vertically).

Illithid primarily live in the Lowerdark; 10+ miles beneath the earth in conditions that are utterly inhospitable to most forms of life, including humanoids, half-way into the Shadowfell, in a lot of places, and would largely traumatise you beyond functioning if it didn't kill you. Small outposts occur in the Middledark, 3-10 miles down. You can find illithid in the Upperdark (extending from between the surface and the Middledark), but this region is mostly a trading zone, not really inhabited by the Underdark races in a settlement capacity. It's also the layer from which slave-taking raids are sent, which might account for Balduran. Maybe.

So the illithid colony moving into the Upperdark and building a colony directly under Moonrise is kinda weird. I guess there are some really good sea caves under that building because illithids hate the surface and the sun so much.

In a divine capacity, illithid are Ilsensine's domain, the Dead Three don't have a lot of sway here (and mind flayers don't often go in for religion - especially not for the gods of thralls.) If any of the Three had the idea to use mind flayers though, I'd expect it to be Bane (they're closest to his domain in theme).

I have genuinely no idea what's happening here, I don't think this much thought went into it. I would assume it works like this: Gortash and Durge eventually settled on "mind flayers" during the world domination brainstorming sessions (before or after acquiring the Crown of Karsus, who can say... Who even told them that existed, again? Was it mentioned in some texts somewhere? Were the Dead Three aware of it (Bhaal being Netherse, Bane having worked there)) And then they'd have to go deep beneath the earth - possibly all the way into the Lowerdark - somehow not die to a million hazards, get into an illithid city without dying or being enslaved, and then convince an Elder Brain to join the plan. Then the colony starts climbing upwards, as per the plan, and migrates to the Upperdark under Moonrise. Being situated over the sea, sea caves down there might provide a suitable environment for them (they need damn, dark, briny caves).

-

"Suprirse! Balduran is your mind flayer "ally"!" does feel a bit thrown in.

I'm still a bit surprised by the decision to make Balduran an elf, which could be canon to be fair, I've never seen anything on the guy, but I have always pictured him as human considering his namesake city is very much a human Tethyrian/Chondathan settlement. The elves were more populous back then, but the settlement was founded by humans and they very much do dominate and have for a while.

[comicbookhyperfixationtime]

Uncanny X-men #196- What Was That?!!

CW: racial slurs

Last Issue Recap: The Power Pack made a cameo and Wolverine did not disembowel a child. Callisto in the Morlocks did show up and they are as skrungly and terrible as ever. And then there was Secret Wars 2 which I have mentally blocked out of my brain because it's too pointless and annoying to take up important Nightcrawler Obsessing Space.

Anyway, HOLY HELL, how did this cover make it to print?! Its literally a woman in a gimp suit! Have I talked about Rachel's Mutant Hunter gimpsuit before? I feel like I have, but I would once again like to say, what the actual fuck.

It's Chris Claremont so I expect to be using this a lot in the near future. Also, in this cover there are spikes around her crotch that form a thong/triangle shape (super umcomfy 😬) which (spoilers) are not there when she wears the suit in-issue. Which just makes this worse.

Gimpsuit aside I don't like this cover. The composition is meh, and its the same sort of misdirection we saw in the last issue. Is Rachel going to beat the shit out of the X-men and get stabbed by Wolverine? Of course she's not. The splash panel on the first page is pretty striking though.

The title is uncreative, but I do adore when writers try to work their issue title into the first page's dialogue or onomatopoeia or something (Thor #366 is my absolute favorite example of this). This is a fantastic first page, not only does it immediately set up tension, mystery and stakes while quickly delivering exposition, but it cleverly uses the in-universe curtain behind Professor X as a tool for adding motion and energy, whilst directing the reader's eye around the page.

I half forgot that Professor X is actually a professor and that he didn't just make that title up to sound cool. Hell, since he has a PhD it should actually be Dr X but that sounds a little too much like a porn knockoff of Dr Strange for my and Marvel's liking. Jesus Christ I bet he's the sort of proff who never ever grades essays in time because he's too busy fucking off fighting Godlike entities in space. I'd give him a 2 on Rate My Professor so fast.

Several students in this packed classroom are smoking. Oh 1985, how the times have changed!

As his students leave, Professor X laments that he cannot simply read their minds and figure out who's thought this was. Not because this would be highly unethical, but because his mind and body has been weakened ever since he got the shit kicked out of him by anti-mutant muggers a few issues back.

Meanwhile, Storm is home in Africa on her self discovery tour, where she is- shot in the head and left for dead by the racist poachers she'd fought before?!

I know logically this is just a fakeout but I'll be damned if it isn't some good tension! Also; the racist poachers are a brother-sister pair named Andreas and Andrea. Their parents must have hated them even more than I do.

We immediately cut to Kitty talking about Ororo's letters at a team meeting just to hammer the stake further into my goddamn heart. The Gang has gathered in a deli to discuss Professor X's mystery, including Magneto (whose presence goes undiscussed, probably because it was explained in Secret Wars 2) and some blonde lady named Aleytys who I have no idea who she is. (Edit: I know who she is- Lee Forrester, Scott Summers ex-girlfriend who apparently hooked up with Magneto in New Mutants. What an absolute power move.) Something I haven't mentioned yet because it hasn't come up is that Chuck has been hiding his growing frailty and power loss from his friends and teammates for some reason I've forgotten but which is probably stupid. Also he can walk at this point in continuity but that's not important.

Rachel sees the Beyonder shows up for his editor mandated plot interruption for a few pages and I'm not going to discuss it because I Don't Care.

My thoughts exactly Kitty.

Speaking of the best boy, he is off at his parish, talking to the priest about his crisis of faith.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to go into confessional with a superhero he has heard some shit someone redraw this man in that one stock photo of the priest.

The monster Kurt is talking about his the Beyonder because goddamnit I guess I can't just ignore that motherfucker. TLDR, he was the ultra-powerful being who started the excuse plot for the original Secret Wars. In Secret Wars 2 he comes to Earth to learn the meaning of life or some bullshit and wanders around causing problems before turning himself into a baby (probably, idk I never finished it, Jim Shooter did that before so he'd probably do it again.) Kurt's faith has been completely destroyed by the Beyonder's sheer power which is like no being he's ever seen before- oh please.

This whole scene sort of pisses me off. First off, its more wanking off about the Beyonder and I really don't want to hear about this guy. Second, its another reason to leave Kurt out of this weeks plot and that pisses me off, give my boy more screentime! Third, this really doesn't feel justified by the Beyonder. Nightcrawler saw Dr Doom hand him his ass in Secret Wars, he knows he's not omnipotent. Nightcrawler having a breakdown is fine but there's way more interesting stuff for him to break down over.

Back on the main plot, a group of shadowy figures sneak into Professor X's office and plant a bomb under his desk! I see someone has been reading Hitchcock's quotes on suspense.

Rogue and Rachel are flying over Columbia U having a dramatic irony-laden conversation about how much less nasty this current timeline is than Rachel's home time whilst she mind-scans for the culprits. They don't find them, but they do find a mugging in progress and stop it.

I'll tell you what else is a crime, that hairdo! Yeesh.

It turns out the civilian they saved is a anti-mutant jackass who was grafitti-ing the words "Muties die!" when he got jumped, because Marvel civilians are assholes. Kitty and Wolvie take a quick break from crimefighting and have an conversation that's too cute for me not to share.

Kitty phases into a building because she sees a light on in a lab after hours. She finds some of her student acquaintances skulking about and, despite having doubts that any of them could be murderers, is immediately suspicious. I personally think the fact they ordered pizza with anchovies on it would be enough to peg them as supervillains on the spot, but Kitty is more of an optimist than me. The terrorists realize Kitty is a mutant and confront her about it.

Kitty Pryde just said the N-word. This isn't ok. I don't know how the editors at Marvel ever thought it was ok, and it speaks volumes that they did. "Mutie" isn't a real swear. "N-----" is. That word is hateful and terrible and affects real people and it is not ok at all to equate it to a made-up slur. The X-men are supposed to be an allegory for suffering that empowers minority groups. This just hurts them more. Hell no to all of this.

I took a hot minute to absorb what I just fucking read and then moved on with the issue. The terrorist kids get the jump on Kitty and chloroform her before she can phase out, with intent to kill her. Meanwhile, Magneto, Professor X and Rachel Summers are in the Prof's office, discussing the case and the Beyonder's continued presence because he's been stalking them like a weirdo. Rachel tries to psychically link the three so they can sense the Beyonder like she can, but using her psi-powers sets off the bomb, which is actually not a bomb but a "psi-scream," a device that amplifies and reflects psychic energy back to its source. This is a massive plot-hole; how did they know Xavier was psychic?! As far as I'm aware its not common knowledge Professor X is a mutant at all, let alone what his powers are! And these are just normal Columbia U college students with no connection to any supervillains or secret organizations whatsoever, there's no way they'd have access to this info!

The bomb overloads Rachel and she accidentally destroys the office, sending out a shockwave of energy that sends Professor X and Maggie flying. Rogue has to catch them both which I find sort of curious because its always so inconsistent whether Magneto can fly or not (my personal headcanon is that his costume has metal soles and he levitates them). Rachel senses Kitty's distress through their psychic link and freaks out so bad she manifests her BDSM Mutant Hunter costume. She flies over to the lab, explodes the anti-mutant students and rescues Kitty in a very hetero way.

Cannot imagine what goes on in Kitty Pryde's head. Must a beautiful and terrifying place to visit.

The guy in the pink jacket from before regains consciousness and tries to shoot Rachel, but its a bit like trying to stab a rhinoceros with a butter knife. She's about to kill him, when Magneto shows up to stop her from making the same mistakes he has.

I don't know bout you but if Magneto in a suit told me to do anything I'd drop whatever I was doing immediately. I love reformed Magneto, such a richer and more interesting character than racist whiny asshole villain Magneto. I sure hope Marvel lets him continue to grow as a person and don't constantly regress his character for the stake of a stupid status quo! Haha. I hate the Endless Wheel of Comic Book Samsara.

The conversation between Magneto and Rachel is honestly really beautiful. Two people who've never interacted before, but understand each other's pain better than anyone else can. Its a fantastic scene only slightly marred by the final panels being of the Beyonder observing the scene and giving some pointless, longwinded commentary. Its too long for me to screenshot and post here so I super recommend you check this out for yourself!

On the plus side, next issue is Dr Doom!

Final Thoughts: This issue had some really high highs and some really low lows. I'm honestly super shocked the panel of Kitty Pryde saying the N-word isn't more infamous than it is, because holy fuck that was awful.

[sibillascribbles08]

Oh it's aro week ! Here's a short Off Colors drabble for the occasion feat. Leo and April

April watched the credits rolling up the screen of her TV. Leo sat on the bed with her, his shell pressed against the wall and her legs rested over his, as usual on movie nights.

"So..." April broke the silence. "That was pretty good, right?"

"I guess?" He shrugged.

"You guess? What's wrong with it?"

"You know." He waved a hand. "Once again we have this intense adventure plot going on and there's some romance involved."

She sighed. "Leo, that doesn't make it bad."

"I know, I know." He tossed his hands up before crossing them and slouching down further in his seat. "It just has to come up every single time. And like, why? Do people really want romance in all their stories that badly?"

"I mean, yeah? Most people do, I guess." She climbed over Leo to reach the remote and turn the TV off. "Though I kind of get it. Like, why does it always have to be a guy and a girl. We need more girls falling in love with girls."

"No offense April, but I'd probably stick my tongue out at that too." As if to emphasize, he did it now.

April lightly kneed him in the stomach as she returned to her usual seat. "You don't have to complain about it that much."

"It's just... frustrating." He mumbled. "You say it's normal. Dad says it's normal. Hueso says it's normal. But I can't wrap my head around it."

She sank into her pillows and put her legs on his lap again. She took a moment to swallow her anger, after all Leo wasn't trying to be rude about it. He probably really didn't get it.

She tilted her head. "And you're certain it's not a find the right person situation?"

The turtle rolled his eyes and held one of his hoodie strings, swinging it around. "Well gee, how would I even know that? What other teenagers do I interact with besides you? Love you, by the way, but not like that."

"Good cause I don't like boys." She lifted a foot and used it to give his head a light shove.

He pushed her leg back down in an instant. "Dad keeps saying I'll get it when I'm older but he's been saying that for years. Like hello, I'm thirteen now. Doesn't it happen to most teenagers sooner than that?"

She shrugged. "I guess. But you're not exactly most teenagers either."

"Quick, google sexual maturity of red eared sliders."

She snorted at that, and was glad to see Leo crack a smile, but it didn't last.

Then, it gave her an idea.

"Actually, hang on." She climbed off her bed to grab her laptop off her desk. "I might have an idea."

"Are you actually going to google it?"

"No." She smiled and sat back down. "But you remember the whole thing with that flag on my pin board yeah?" She pointed to where it probably was behind her.

Leo nodded. "Yup, lesbian flag. Which you lied to me about at first and convinced me it was a country until my dad had to explain it."

She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at that old joke. "Right, well there's a lot of other flags out there. I did some brief reading on them and I think one might help explain some things." She pulled up her internet browser and began to type.

He moved his legs and crawled over to sit next to her. "You're telling me there's a flag for people who hate romance?"

"Not exactly that but..." April scrolled down the page, glancing at the various lines of colors until she finally saw the one she remembered. "There, that's the one!"

Leo leaned closer to the screen, studying the bars of green, white, grey and black. "Aromantic?"

"Yeah." She clicked on the hyperlink which brought up the full page. "People who feel little to no romantic attraction." With it loaded she slid the computer onto his lap to let him scroll and read for as long as he wanted.

Which turned out to be for a while. April felt awkward with the silence so she climbed off the bed and grabbed all the empty bags of snacks and soda cans. "You want some water?"

Her friend just let out a hum of acknowledgement that she took as a yes. She carried the trash to the kitchen and tossed it in the bin, passing by her mom in the living room.

"Movie done?" Her mom asked, watching her own TV.

"Yeah, just chatting for a bit."

"He can stay the night if he wants, but you both aren't staying up all night."

"I know." April sighed. It wasn't a school night–they never did movie nights on school nights–but her mom was still mad about three weeks ago when the pair of them accidentally stayed up talking until one in the morning.

She pulled a couple of water bottles out of the wrapped plastic next to the fridge and shuffled back to her room, replying to her mom's quick good night.

Leo was still on the laptop when she returned, though now laying on his stomach and staring at the screen like it held the secret to life, love, and everything.

April wouldn't interrupt. She set his bottle on the nightstand and opened her own, taking a few sips and settling back onto the mattress.

"So..." Leo finally spoke up. "Maybe it is normal? That I'm not into romance? If this is apparently enough of a thing to make a group name for it."

She smiled and lightly scraped her nails over his shell. "Yeah! You might be ace too."

"I assume you don't mean that in the sense of 'extremely cool.'"

She snorted and leaned across his back to use the touchpad. She scrolled down to the related links, clicking on asexual.

"Hm, not as crazy about that flag." Leonardo raised a brow. "Prefer the greens." He scanned the page for a second. "Wait, is there a difference between romantic and sexual attraction?"

"Yeah." April tapped her mouth with the lid of her bottle. "I mean, I don't personally get it but it makes sense? After all, ace people aren't sexually into people, at least not always, but they still fall in love?"

"Hmm, yeah I don't think I'm into any of that."

"Then in that case..." April, still laying on his back, scrolled down again and clicked on the aroace page.

"Huh? They have a different flag?"

She laughed. "There's a lot of those."

"I like this one though." She could practically hear the smile in his voice. "It has blue in it. And orange! Doesn't yours have orange?"

"Yeah!"

"We could match! Sort of!"

"Yeah!" She giggled, and Leo responded, and soon both of them were falling into a fit of laughter.

April rolled off him while catching her breath, and then took another sip of water.

Leo got up and grabbed his own bottle. "It's not weird for me to just go with that, right?" He tilted his head as he frowned. "I mean, what if Dad is right? Maybe I'm still not old enough or haven't meant the right person or something."

She shrugged. "You're allowed to change your mind, Leo. I mean, I thought I was bi until I realized my interest in guys was just me trying to match what the girls in class were doing. Helps that my mom has knowledge about this though, I guess."

She kicked her legs. "Anyway, point is, you can go with it and change your mind later."

He smiled and drank some water. "I almost hope I don't. What if our flags stop matching?"

April snorted and tossed an arm around his neck to pull him close. "I'm sure we can find something else to match."

Leo's smile became softer and he turned to pull her into a proper hug. "Thanks, Apes."

She returned it, though she wasn't entirely sure what he was thanking her for. Could be any number of things, and she chose not to ask.

"Of course, Lee."

[cirrus-grey]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @magnetarmadda; thank you!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

252, of which a full 227 are TMA

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

905,246

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Recently? TMA/TMagP, Discworld, and Good Omens. I'll jump into anything that gives me plot bunnies though, and there's been quite a few different ones over the years!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Yesterday is Here

Déjà Vu

Misfiled and Misinformed

Humanity

Against All Probability

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always! I try to clear my inbox weekly and/or before I post a new fic, though I'm falling a bit behind right now with JonMartinWeek.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, probably Wedding Blues - it's a bad-ending Lonely!Martin fic

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So, I write a lot of happy endings and I'm not sure how to rank them. Probably either Yesterday is Here again, or the Castaways series.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I think I've only ever gotten one hate comment? So no, not really.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I... try? I'm not very good at it and it takes absolute ages. It's been described as "very polite" smut, though I'm attempting to get a little raunchier with it as I get more practice.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Yeah, I've written a couple! The craziest is probably the first one I did, a Good Omens/Skulduggery Pleasant crossover that I'm still quite fond of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yep, Unsent and Courage in the Dark have both been translated into Russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't know if I can give just one, honestly. For different reasons, both JonMartin (TMA) and Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens, primarily book not show).

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

This is a throwback but I still have notes for an epic, multi-part, 100k Gracious/Donegan origin story fic from back in my Skulduggery Pleasant days. I wasn't a good enough writer back then to finish something that ambitious and I doubt I'll ever get invested enough in the fandom again to go back to it... but it still lives on in my daydreams.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hmm... I'm good at conveying character emotions in a scene, and with pacing a story to make sure each new development or twist lands the way I want it to. I like to think I've got a knack for making dialogue sound in-character as well, even if I've put the characters in a situation that their canon selves would never be in.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes. Balancing conversations between more than two people without having some of them drop off or dominate the scene. Keeping track of large casts of characters in general - I've written so many 2-person romances, I just don't have practice with larger groups.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I love it when other people do, but it's not something I've attempted myself. I'm only fluent in English and I'd worry that I'd written something completely inaccurate if I had to rely on google translate or similar.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Good Omens! (Book)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh, do not ask me that, I beg of you. There are about a hundred fics I've written that could all qualify, depending on the day and what mood I'm in.

...I'll say Vous, et nul autre, for now, because I'm really proud of how that one turned out and the fact that I finished it at all - it's one of those that I had the idea for years before I was good enough to write it, and I really like being able to look at it now and see how far I've come.

Tagging... @my-lonely-angel, @fridayyy-13th, @grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks - only if y'all want to!

[nothingenoughao3]

Victor Frankenstein-Reanimator

Since whether or not a thing is a fanwork, or fannish, or fanfic has been doing the rounds lately, I thought I'd contribute my take.

This started because @andalusiapunk and I were debating the merits and demerits (mostly demerits) of classifying "Frankenstein" as fanfic. This led us to consulting different academic definitions of fanworks. I was technically the devil's advocate, but not because I believed "Frankenstein" was a fanfic--it had to do with a related point, which I'll make by asking another question.

Why isn't Lovecraft's "Herbert West-Reanimator" fanfiction?

"Reanimator" was openly labeled by Lovecraft as an homage/pastiche/parody of "Frankenstein"... terms now often used to describe fanfic. He wove references to literary works Shelley quoted/relied on... a tactic also used by fic writers to ground their works in the original canon. The cultural impact of "West" primarily lies in "Frankenstein" adaptations, for 'Victor as a total madman with a slavishly-devoted assistant who hates and fears him for reasons unclear in the text' is not even slightly justified in the original work... but that is the plot of "Reanimator". Similar to how Kirk Drift will occur in fandoms where headcanons displace the original characterizations.

So what gives? What makes "Reanimator" an original work? It can't just be "capitalism", my original answer, because "Frankenstein" was very much licensed back in its day.

The difference, I feel, is that writers used to have a sense of ownership over their words, but not their ideas.

Lovecraft didn't own the Cthulhu Mythos, and he didn't originate a lot of its ideas. Most of what we refer to as the "King in Yellow" aspects of the Mythos actually originated with Robert W. Chalmers... who also borrowed and reworked terms, such as the name Carcosa, from other writers of weird fiction. Much of what we think of as codified and settled canon in the Cthulhu Mythos also came from August Derleth's works.

IOW these weird fiction writers considered publication to be something they could profit off of, but also the moment where their own ideas became available to inspire others. It does not seem to have occurred to any of them to sue, or threaten to sue, someone else who worked the Necronomicon into their story--for that was the point, tricking readers into thinking the book was real because so many disparate authors claimed it existed. (Which, for God's sake, actually worked.)

This relates to some of the action we saw on the Holmes front in the past few years. For decades, the Doyle estate claimed (incorrectly and illegally, IMO) that they controlled the ideas behind the later parts of the Canon, and not just the words. Accordingly, you could write original fiction featuring Holmes, Watson, et al., so long as you didn't refer to or rely on those later works without permission. If you wrote something for that part of the Canon, it was fanfiction.

Recently, their hold expired. Now you can publish original works referencing the latter part of the Canon. (I'm going to get around to publishing mine, which is, funnily enough, a Sherlock Holmes vs. The King In Yellow tale.) But there was nothing meaningfully different between one year and the next--solely the perception that, legally, the estate could no longer force people to label their works as fanfiction.

The strict definition of "fanfiction" involves writing based on works that are licensed to another entity--meaning, somebody else has the publishing rights. But again, Shelley had the publishing rights to "Frankenstein", and Lovecraft had the publishing rights to "The Festival"... but it never seemed to occur to either them or the holders of their literary estates to demand that publishers quash anybody writing pastiches, parodies, or works referencing corpse-construction or the Book of the Dead.

Whether or not fanfiction is forbidden by license holders is immaterial to whether or not fanfiction exists. We see Gaiman approving of fanfic all the time, which (not to accuse him of anything untoward, because it's fine for him to do this) does have the convenient effect of nobody trying to profit off tales of Aziraphale and Crowley. Notoriously, Anne Rice used to send cease-and-desist letters to fanwriters, -artists, and archivists who produced works related to the Vampire series. This did not stop fannish works from being created. But it did create a category of "fanfiction", which could be defined as "anything related to the Vampire series which was not produced by or approved of by Anne Rice". Conveniently, Gaiman has the same definition of fanfiction for "Good Omens": anything not written by or considered canon by Gaiman is fanfic.

"Reanimator" is not fanfic because the license holders of Shelley's works didn't think of it as fannish. Because, in part, the category of "fanfiction"--despite attempts at legitimizing fics by retconning various stories as such--was an invention of, primarily, Paramount to differentiate between "legitimate" Star Trek-related writing and the "illegitimate". Which stories they were willing to take a cut of and which stories were banished to the shadow realm of zines.

What makes a work fanfic, then, is whether or not the license holders consider it to be fanfic.

Which, when you think of it, is a sobering thought.

[catgirl-catboy]

sorry if this comes off as rude or in bad faith but i'm interested in hearing your reasons on why you dislike saiouma? again, not trying to be rude, i'm just interested since it's one of the big popular ships and i think you have interesting danganronpa takes

@crowssoul2 sent another ask with the same idea, so allow me to respond to them both here instead of trying to cut an essay in half.

Nah! You didn't seem rude at all! I am more than happy to overanalyze Danganronpa, since I love Danganronpa to death. I am just as happy to be asked what I thought they failed @ then to be asked what I liked. Hell, I'll even enjoy civil discussion about why you disagree with my takes. (except maybe my take on the great Chihiro discourse, since bystanders always get pissy at that one)

Also, to preface this, this is a ship and let ship blog. I'm glad all you Saiouma shippers are having fun. Also, I love all the ship art you make. If you enjoy what we got, this isn't a personal attack. Honestly, I wish I were one of you since there's so much more content that way.

I feel like I dislike Saiouma because their canon dynamic went against the themes of the work. Kokichi, as a character, represents lies, which is one of the major themes of Drv3. (The same way Makoto represents hope and Junko represents despair) This seems really obvious to say, but is important to my point. A characters relationship with Kokichi should mirror their relationship with lies.

A good example of this done right is Kaito. Listen, his writing irks me, but his relationship with Kokichi is one of my favorite things about him. (Still can't get behind Oumota bc of Kaito's personality, but that doesn't mean I dislike the foils OR the shippers)

Kaito pretends to hate lies, as heroes should. But his heroic personality is in fact, a lie he tells. Not out of malice, but because that's who he wants to be. (Think Kaito:Hero as Gundam:Dark God) He lies to protect people, and hide his illness. As a result, he's willing to work with Kokichi to... protect Maki, conceal his identity, (which includes hiding his illness) and from a certian POV, be a hero! It makes perfect sense.

Another good example of this is Maki. She hates Kokichi, because she hates lies. Her hatred of Kokichi is actually tied to him revealing one of her lies, a lie that was causing her quite a lot of stress. But... she also directly benefits from Kokichi. He saved her life. Unrelated tangent (sarcasm), what was revealed to be a lie in Ch6? Her feelings for Kaito. Let me rephrase that sentence: She hates LIES but she also directly benefits from them (her feelings for Kaito improving her mental health)

I wish that theme carried over into other characters the same way it did for those two. There are some other parallels I can draw (Ryoma liking Kokichi to an extent, Kirumi playing tag with him) but those two are the most obvious and explicit.

So its sad that characters with a complicated relationship with lies don't also have a complicated relationship with Kokichi, the embodiment of lies.

Himiko lives a lie. Lying is needed for her job. But her lies almost got her killed in chapter 2, and Tenko going along with her lie doesn't help. How does this reflect in her interactions with Kokichi? It doesn;t.

Kaede lied to us, the motherfucking audience. Honestly, thats arguably just as impressive as Kokichi ever pulled. What is her relationship with Kokichi? Kokichi acts sort of like a mentor figure to HER in the tunnels, and stands up against her. I like that, but give that plot beat to someone else. (Kaito makes the most sense, but give it to Tenko since I love her.)

Danganronpa itself is a lie, a work of fiction. And Tsumugi is obsessed with it.

In fact, this applies to the v3 casts dynamic with Kokichi as a whole. Almost everyone dislikes and distrusts Kokichi, despite the big reveal of being liars themselves. I'd write it as "everyone pretends to hate Kokichi (lies), but actually don't mind him that much. However, they think everyone else hates Kokichi so they go along with the group." to foreshadow the big reveal that they themselves are lies told by Tsumugi.

And Shuichi suffers from this the most.

Shuichi's Ch1 arc is summed up by "Shuichi learns to face the truth for the first time with that case, and stops averting his eyes." In other words, on the Truth vs Lies scale, Shuichi begins the series aligned with LIES.

The rest of the game shows Shuichi gradually becoming a paragon of Truth to go against Kokichi's lies- ONLY FOR IT TO BE REVEALED IN CH6 THAT HE HIMSELF IS A LIE.

That he is, a fictional character and a pawn in someone elses game. It then becomes a Schrodinger's cat on the alignment scale I mentioned earlier. Was Shuichi's journey to the Truth end of the scale fake or not?

The game settles upon a hesitant no at the end of it, (I disagree, since the games mechanics tell a different story) when Shuichi ventures out into the world with the other survivors to find the truth upon whats out there.

Thats a HECK of a complicated relationship with lies. It should equal a heck of a complicated relationship with Kokichi, right? WRONG.

The canon Saiouma dynamic is basically

"Kokichi likes and teases Saihara, while Shuichi is annoyed by Kokichi until his death, when he gradually begins to come around. Despite this, Kokichi (and the lie mechanic) is surprisingly helpful in trials"

(actually the localization changed this quite a bit, but I'm going off the English version since this is what I actually played. That being said, its a fascinating topic that you should look into if you're as obsessed as I am.)

While the fanon is more akin to:

"Shuichi gradually gets drawn in by Kokichi and learns to accept his quirks."

(maybe shippers will disagree with me about those dynamics, since again, not my cup of tea.)

Meanwhile a Saiouma dynamic I can get behind is:

"Shuichi is drawn in by Kokichi (lies), and feels a sort of magnetism to him. But he knows it isn't a good idea, and he knows it isn't right. Kokichi's feelings are unclear at first due to his nature, but it turns out he has a love-hate relationship with Shuichi (truth). He'll rely on him sometimes, but rebuff him at others with seemingly no logic from his end."

In other words, I'd do a semi-reversal of the canon dynamic.

NOTE: I am not saying I'm a writing genius or anything. Hindsight is 20/20, and I'm sure if Kodaka could magically remake his games he'd stomp my rewrite to the ground.

You asked why I dislike it, and that's my explanation. But please allow me to go a step further and speculate why things are this way.

At about the same time you sent me your ask, my good friend Crow sent me this:

"I don't like Saiouma because well Komahina is exactly what the black romance should be while Saiouma is just feels like another Shuichi ship. Do you get my point?

Shuichi and Hajime is entirely different characters while Komaeda and Kokichi different af too like, they can't hit the Komahina dynamic like they intended to do, this is why Saiouma is just another Shuichi ship while Komahina is THE SHIP.

If you want to do a homoerotic Shuichi ship who would be the next Komahina you shouldn't do that with Kokichi at all, maybe Rantaro? But Rantaro isnt work well too like there is no Komaeda for him to work the Komahina. Saiouma felt poorly executed idea of a black romance, if I need to be honest Oumaede would be more fitting for the Komahina dynamic despite Kaede is just pov character.

So yeah there is no Komahina in drv3 because they tried to play the same tropes with very different characters and very different stories, I even felt more interested in Saihoshi despite Ryoma only been around 2 chapters than Kokichi. That is the problem in here"

I felt like I can't answer one of these asks without referencing what I said in the other ask, so I just both answered them both together. (no hard feelings?)

In case you haven't read Homestuck (wise call, honestly) Black romance is basically non-sexual hatefucking. Usually, there's an undertone of mutual respect, but not always. Felt like that context was important.

Komeada and Kokichi ARE different characters. From a narrative standpoint, Komeada completely turns existing themes like Hope and Talent into complex issues in the Drverse, while in THH they were pretty black and white. Meanwhile, Kokichi's introduction is the introduction to the theme of truth vs lies.

In other words (Makoto is to Nagito (and later to Hajime and Izuru) as Kokichi is to Shuichi) The second takes the theme from the first, and massively expands on it! ...Despite Shuichi and Kokichi being in the same game.

Despite this, the reason people think they are similar is because Kokichi piggybacks too hard on Nagito and Komahina's success.

What does Nagito have in common with Togami, other than being an antagonistic force. Not much, actually! Togami fucked up a corpse while Nagito fucked up his own body, and that distinction is all that needs to be said I think.

Togami would look down upon Nagito if they ever met, and Nagito'd be into that.

What does Kokichi have in common with Nagito?

They want to make an unsolvable murder in which poison was involved and they got someone to kill them.

They both have a one sided crush on their protagonist, that the protagonist doesn't think exists. (Kokichi confessed, but perks of being a chronic liar)

They both are the MVP in almost every trial they are in, with one notable exception for each of them. Thats... kind of a lot, actually! I do think they are noticeably different characters, especially on a thematic level, but I can see why people notice that. I can also see why people would find that bad! Nagito was the star of Dr2, hands down. If you were one of the few people that isn't a total Nagito simp, then a very simmilar character getting screentime might be annoying since you have Nagito fatigue from the last game. and if you are a Nagito simp, then Kokichi will likely never be his own dude with so much in common. You'll see him as a lesser Nagito and want him back. I agree with Crow when he says "Saiouma just feels like another ship. I found it hard to articulate why I feel that paradoxically feels like a rip-off of another ship I liked, but also had no bite to it. And then it hit me. Until Chapter four, Kokichi never did anything that warranted Nagito levels of hatred. (of course, this is entirely subjective. I hate Kaito pretty much for being annoying and fitting into tropes I dislike without commenting on it. If you think this is enough to hate Kokichi, power to you!) By the end of chapter one of Dr2, Nagito:

Attempted to 1st degree murder a fan-favorite character, with a deliberately confusing and unsympathetic (at this point in time) motive to do so.

Goaded another character (that most fans hated, but still) into committing that murder FOR him. The only time we ever saw that level of insanity was Celeste, and Teruteru is no Hifumi in terms of gullibility. (Celeste had plot armor anyway.)

Sat back and monologues while everyone's ass was on the line. If Hajime and the others voted wrong, everyone would have died.

Showed NO remorse over any of it. Seemed to enjoy it.

This one is more meta but: he shows despair eyes, which previously were only seen on the big bad of the first game. Characters have every reason to hate the guy. Soda and Nekomaru were absolutely correct in taking him out, and I'd argue that you should maybe go father by putting him in a public area and gagging his mouth unless it's mealtime. Meanwhile, by chapter three, Kokichi has:

Stood up to Kaede in the tunnels, which most students agree was the right call.

Showed emotions over Rantaro's death, but due to his lying they can't be sure if they were genuine.

Was civil (if a bit wierd) to Kaede right before her execution.

Bullied Kiibo. Yes, bullying is- bad but look me in the eye and tell me its worse than murder. You can't.

Shared the motive videos in the insect meet and greet. This is the major strike against him, but its reasonable to assume he did this with good intentions.

While doing that, tortured them with bugs when it wasn't really needed for the plan to work.

(okay, this one didn't actually happen and I will die on this hill, but the main group thinks it did so I'm counting it) Tricked Gonta into helping with his plans.

Saved our asses in the second trial.

Saved our asses in the post-trial portion of chapter 2

Not joined a cult that was forming in our school. Also did not stop Gonta from joining the cult, which doesn't point to a pattern of controlling behavior from Shuichi's POV.

Was key in getting to Angie's body. Pun intended.

Helped out during the seance.

While arguably not the MVP in trial 3, he still contributed a great deal. Do those lists of crimes seem equal to you? It takes Kokichi 3 chapters to do something that is, at most, Hiyoko level. Maybe Byakuya level, but thats pushing it. Yet, the characters treat Nagito and Kokichi with about equal annoyance and disdain. The v3 cast, of course, doesn't know that Nagito exists. But we, the players, know. Its like we got prologue Nagito for almost four chapters, but prologue Nagito was also kind of a bitch? But also possibly well-meaning and OP as fuck. This concludes my analysis! Do you agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear thoughts.