#these images are actually relevant in the plot btw

[fruitybashir]

i know we're all still in a blowjob stool frenzy but can i interest you in ummm kind of spoilers for the first jance epilogue tomorrow 😗👉🏼👈🏼

[likeabxrdinflight]

I'm gonna find a way to shoehorn Mary into this good omens fic if it kills me

[nyaagolor]

Merry DL6mas!

I wrote an inordinate amnt of words about Edgeworth and MVK and dynamics and meta and w/e, stuck it below the cut so I don't obliterate ur dashes

So originally I wanted to make a relationship flowchart for all the characters and then realized that the amnt of caveats would make the image entirely text so I’m just forgoing the image altogether and doing this group by group starting with the VKs bc DL6mas and whatnot. It’s an essay and also unorganized so um. Have fun or apologies in advance? 

Anyway. I think AA1 intending to be standalone and then getting these additional games does some fun things to the characters but especially for Manfred. I’m of the opinion that he was not created or written to be deep or nuanced or anything. He’s the final boss, we weren’t supposed to get more on him, he’s honestly just a symbolic representation of the forces Phoenix works against rather than a character in his own right (in AA1 at least). He’s cartoonishly evil and that was supposed to be it— and then we get JFA and Franziska and suddenly Manfred gets all this retroactive characterization as the story is built beyond its initial parameters. That’s part of the reason why I’m so interested in him— all this new information comes exclusively through other characters and insinuations rather than him actually being on screen up until Investigations and even then it’s like 4 lines. We get more on Manfred, yes, but it’s a shadow on the wall. I’m sorry to bring up allegory of the cave about the gay lawyer simulator but w/e I’m a melodramatist, it’s an allegory of the cave situation. The reason I bring that up is because I don’t really think about Manfred in the same way as other characters; I piece together how I think of him though his relationships and impact on others rather than as an independent dude. His past is inconsequential to me and the ppl who flesh him out are the real troopers but he matters to me more as a vessel for narrative themes than anything. This is all to say that everything I’m doing is conjecture and just kind of filling in the gaps based on my current understanding of the text. Headcanons for the broad and far-reaching audience of me, myself, and I. 

That being said. The whole spiel I just went on about “Manfred as defined by his relation to others” works quite nicely as tie-in to how he feels about Edgeworth, because I think Edgeworth occupies this symbolic space in MVK’s mind. Yes, Edgeworth is a kid he mentors and who lives in his house and who he is legally responsible for, but Edgeworth is also this physical manifestation of his failures. Edgeworth is a child, yes, but to MVK he’s a ghost, a consequence, a punishment. He may not be a VK, but he IS karma (sound the turnabout melody I am kissing you on the lips for this line btw). 

This also means that the way MVK views Edgeworth as an extension of his own thoughts about the DL6 incident rather than solely as his own person, which is something that changes pretty drastically over time. The way he talks about and to Edgeworth goes beyond who and what Edgeworth is as a person because for MVK, there was always an aspect of the self in there, and MVK interacting with Edgeworth is as much a reflection of his own identity as it is how he feels about Miles. 

If there is one thing the entire VK family does extraordinarily well it's projection, and I think MVK has been doing this since he brought Edgeworth into the picture (and before that, but it’s only relevant to me now). This is personally how I rationalize how absolutely batshit half of MVK’s actions are. I know the actual reason is “we expanded the characters around him which necessitates certain actions to drive the plot and inconsistency results from this expansion” blah blah blah paratext more or less confirms this, but we are going full Watsonian in this bitch. 

I have talked at length about the actual medical stuff around gunshots and how bullets are typically removed from joints specifically because of how badly they damage the surrounding tissues over time, I’ll link the post if anyone is curious, but tldr bullet wound symbolism. I bring this up now because I think the bullet acts as a physical representation for DL6, it literally and metaphorically tears him up inside. No one else knows about this murder, most people have forgotten the penalty, but he never did, because he can’t. For someone who has structured his entire self on the idea of perfection, this is an event of unprecedented magnitude, and the living proof of it is eating dinner at his table every night. MVK sits with the weight of what he’s done, and whether or not he feels justified or guilty or w/e doesn’t even matter because it’s making him lose his goddamn mind. His behavior gets more intense, more irrational, because before he was just a massive, scheming, paragon of perfection (and corruption but shh) but now he is in this inescapable cycle as the result of his choices and his choices exclusively. I don’t propose to know nor care about how he felt about it or what the specific emotions he felt were because they’re not particularly important in my mind, only that the lingering ghost of DL6 is driving MVK kinda bonkers and that drastically alters how he interacts with Edgeworth and Franziska. 

I’ve seen a lot of debate about why MVK took in Edgeworth, but my hot take is that he actually doesn’t know. I don’t think MVK ever processed DL6, I think he is filled with contradictory feelings (how ironic) and that this is what eats at him through all those years. Why did he take in Edgeworth? Because he felt guilty? Because he wanted to train him into everything his father hated as a twisted kind of revenge? Because he wanted a prodigy and saw himself in Edgeworth? It’s all of them, it’s none of them, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t know. Why did he prosecute Edgeworth right before the statute of limitations ended? Was it revenge? Hatred? A way to test his prodigy? To project his own gnawing nest of emotions onto the person he felt embodied the incident? Same deal. (the real answer is that it doesn’t really matter bc we were not supposed to think about it this hard but. Shh. dw about it.)

I don’t take much interest into Manfred’s inner world because I ultimately think that a lot of his actions, while completely under his control, are him acting on impulse, on him doing irrational things because DL6, in a sense, killed him too. He comes out of that elevator a different person (not worse (can’t go down from rock bottom), not better, just a different kind of asshole), but destroyed from the inside out by a murder he committed. He’s so arrogant, so entitled, that he could never let this go, and I think that drives so much of the insane shit he tries to pull. He has centered his life around the axis of DL6 and he will always be pulled back into its orbit. The further we get from DL6 the more time he has to think, the more it tears him apart, the more the contradictory feelings about it rear their heads in turn and create this guy who is just desperate and angry. And when it’s days before the statute of limitations he just becomes completely subsumed by it all. He was always cruel, but now he’s cruel and desperate and completely willing to drag everyone down with him. The desperation is the important part. 

I will say though that he is, irrefutably, his own downfall. He molded Edgeworth in his own image, he created Phoenix Wright the defense attorney as a consequence, and it is the two of them who send him to his death. He is the one who planned the murder of Turnabout Goodbyes. From beginning to end, it’s his own hand. Manfred is one of the only characters in this series whose actions are not precedented by extenuating circumstances. It’s allllll him. He’s the bitch. He has been and will always be a selfish prick and for as much as he is lashing out because of DL6 he does so by dragging others in. 

Extremely long prelude to say that I think how he treats edgeworth varies so wildly over time and is so irrational in its presentation because of everything I mentioned before. He is Edgeworth’s greatest kindness and his worst nightmare— at the same time!! Multitasking king. He takes in Edgeworth as a snap decision for reasons he doesn’t entirely understand, and I think because of that he never quite views Edgeworth as a son (at least in the traditional sense). Edgeworth is not his child in the same way that Franziska is his child (and we will get to her in a different post I promise), but he’s not just some random kid either. Manfred is emotionally tied to him through DL6, and I think the fact colors the way that Manfred treats him. It’s a dynamic that I can’t really put a label on, because it’s mentor/student with so much extra baggage that it feels different than that. There is an emotional connection between them, a sense of atonement and revenge, and I don’t think either of them will ever be able to articulate what that means. Manfred does not address Edgeworth as his child, and I think there is an attempt in his language to distance himself from Edgeworth, but he finds himself drawn to Edgeworth all the same (bc Edgeworth is DL6 etc etc). He did not ask for a child, he does not WANT a child, but he has one! Get fucked!

MVK is obsessed with his own image, with this idea of perfection, and insofar as Edgeworth is DL6, Edgeworth is an extension of MVK. He pushes his ideals and tactics onto Edgeworth the second Edgeworth decides he wants to be a prosecutor, because even more than Franziska, Edgeworth is MVK’s living legacy. He is quite literally Manfred’s midlife crisis and I think Edgeworth wanting to be like him and becoming this Demon Prosecutor is this insanely fucked up kind of catharsis in MVK’s mind. And as Edgeworth becomes more like him, as he takes up MVK’s mantle, he becomes a mirror— that is where shit gets fun. I don’t think I need to spell out the ways in which MVK was simultaneously caring and cruel to his kids— you’ve seen Sound the Turnabout Melody, you’re seen Turnabout Goodbyes, we know this song and dance. 

The more time Edgeworth spends around him, as Edgeworth reflects more of Manfred back at himself, MVK simultaneously becomes proud and revolted. Edgeworth is growing beyond the consequences of DL6 and into a mirror of his adopted father figure mentor person. He is, from the ashes of DL6, becoming Manfred von Karma, and I think that drives MVK insane. He is becoming firmly entrenched in MVK’s life at this point. For as much as Edgeworth is DL6, he is now MVK himself. He becomes a walking contradiction, and Manfred’s projection then manifests as this rapidly oscillating clusterfuck of reactions. Edgeworth is out of his control but he’s super important to MVK— recipe for disaster. 

He builds Edgeworth up, teaches him everything he knows, starts to treat him like a son while at the same time irrevocably traumatizing for the rest of his life. He loves who Edgeworth is becoming while hating everything he stands for, and I think this absolute garbage pile of a child-rearing philosophy is as much a projection of himself as anything. It was never about Edgeworth the person. At first, MVK does not care in the slightest about Miles Edgeworth and it is only when he does, even a little bit, that shit hits the fan in my mind. Edgeworth the physical manifestation of DL6 is being overtaken by Edgeworth the Demon Prosecutor, and MVK starts to be proud of him— but this is an eventuality he did not plan for and cannot do anything about. For both of them, it’s personal now, and no amount of pushing each other away is really going to fix that. 

Anyway I don’t think literally any of this was intended. Manfred is not this deep, I am making literally all of this up, but it’s fine. If you got this far I salute you. Miles time. To pivot to Edgeworth’s POV for a while, I think that from the very beginning, Edgeworth looked up to MVK. It’s not the same idolization that Franziska does, but it’s up there. Obviously he idolized his father, but DL6 not only served as a complete evisceration of his family but also his ideals. Gregory the man was dead, but if criminals can kill his father and get away with it, that collapses the foundation on which Miles built his understanding of justice. Gregory the defense attorney– his ideals, his legacy, his philosophy– he died in that elevator too. Edgeworth pivots, completely independently, from a man who wants to protect to a man who wants to punish (and I firmly believe that this was his own decision and not Manfred pushing him into it, if MVK had not adopted him he still would have become a prosecutor just not so much of a dick). 

But so Manfred takes him in, and was spectacularly ill-equipped to handle this. I always saw Manfred as emotionally distant on the best of days (he’s born in the 50s what did u expect) but for Miles, who he barely considers a son at all, he isn’t capable of being the emotional support he needs. He never would be and never wanted to be. That’s layer one of baggage. What MVK does provide for Miles, though, is a purpose. Miles does not wallow in his father’s death, because he is taken in by someone who acts as a paragon of Miles’ new worldview. Manfred never lets a criminal get away. He is perfect in that way, and it gives Miles a tangible (albeit impossible) goal to strive for. MVK mentors him in this worldview and gives him the tools to outlet his grief and rage into something productive— fucked up and wrong, maybe, but productive. That’s layer two of baggage. 

For as complicated and twisted and contradictory as MVK’s feelings towards Edgeworth are, Edgeworth for most of his childhood sees MVK as this pillar of everything that is good and treats him with intense amounts of respect. He accepts any cruelty as tough love, he adopts his ideals and his tactics and his suit. Edgeworth needed *something* after the grief of DL6 and MVK is what he got, so Miles latches on and never lets go, for better or for worse. Miles Edgeworth is not Manfred von Karma but he actively tries to take his shape because whether or not it’s reciprocated, Edgeworth loves him and everything that he stands for. Manfred cares about him in that respect at the very least. And ultimately, this is my big take on Edgeworth: I think Edgeworth actively chased MVK. He became MVK on purpose. It’s a result of trauma and built entirely on false pretenses, but Miles is the one who takes the initiative and Manfred indulges him— And then Turnabout Goodbyes happens. 

Everything Edgeworth is, everything he made himself become, is wrong. Edgeworth has molded himself into a person he does not recognize and that person turned out to be a monster. The person Edgeworth idolized, respected, and maybe even loved is the very person who destroyed his life. He is wearing the skin of the monster he wanted to destroy, and he did it on purpose (in his mind). This is not to say he had much if any agency in this situation— this is not a path he would naturally take, this is structured entirely under false pretenses, and he was clouded by grief, traumatized, and most importantly nine, but what matters here is that Edgeworth FEELS like it’s his fault, and the complete collapse of his worldview AGAIN is what drives all the bullshit of RFTA. Edgeworth is not MVK (and you can tell because he is capable of self-reflection which MVK is ostensibly not (or at least unwilling to)), but it still drives him to this complete and utter devastation. He sees Manfred in himself and it isn’t until AAI1/2 that he’s able to see Gregory as well. MVK filled a need for Edgeworth at the lowest point in his life (and absolutely made him worse but that’s not the point). Edgeworth respected and loved Manfred’s ideals, STILL chases the idea of the man, and because of that still cares about him. He becomes aware of who the monster he loved is, and how has to reconcile with what it means to be that person’s reflection and legacy despite knowing— and feeling, and BEING— all the harm he caused.

Those contradictory feelings that I talked about earlier? Love and hatred all mixed together— questions that cannot be answered and actions taken without knowing why? That’s Edgeworth’s final gift from Manfred: he inherits the bullet and the legacy he carries forward. Unlike Manfred, though, Edgeworth takes that pain and shares it, lets other people in, scoffs at the veneer of perfection and allows himself to be hurt and vulnerable and it is only in that way that Edgeworth can break out of VK’s shadow and break the cycle. He holds onto the ideals that he learned from Manfred, separates them from the nastiness and acknowledges the place they came from. It’s obvious in the way that Edgeworth carries aspects of that legacy forward that he’s capable of disseminating everything that Manfred is, acknowledging the way he’s been influenced by him and what he still respects about the man despite it all, and make peace with the rest of it. The cycle of violence and corruption started with Manfred and Edgeworth makes sure that it ends with him too. 

I have a ton more to talk about with respect to his teaching methods and the nitty gritty of how he interacts with his kids but that’s for the Fran post. This is more of the “whys” than the “hows” but I’ll get there :)

Anyway, I think that’s it. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing but my head is beyond empty rn and I can’t think of anything else I wanna talk about with respect to these two. I know I literally just spewed 3k words about into this textpost but I do love chatting about them (total shock I know) so if u also have thoughts or ideas abt anything related to them lmk :3

[peacock-patrol]

Cover Analysis Games Untold

Let's starts off with the fact JLB said those stories will take place before TGG + will focus on the characters from the main trilogy.

I highlighted in Yellow the 4 stories that I think will actually have elements on the cover (because the two in Black have already been published and the two in Red sound quite light-hearted in tone).

1) Roses in the Backgroud - romantic themes

2) A Few Calla Lilies — The fluffier possibility is a story focused on Gray's casual search for Lyra after the phone calls have ended. But instead I think That Night In Prague will finally explain the implications of the flower - and why Lyra's father gave her one.

3) The Sword — This could go multiple ways. Grayson theme OR a symbolic element for fighting/tension OR a sword showing up without having massive plot relevance: kinda like how the TGG cover has a sword and (very minor spoiler) although swords do show up a lot in the Game show we still don't know their intended purpose.

4) Glittering Cowboy Boot — Obviously Nash (and apparently their story will be narrated from Libby's POV let's gooo).

5) The Ring — This could be from Libby's story as well. We only ever get to see the ring that Nash gives to Grayson (described as black opal). Never the one HE got for her.

6) Fire (roses burning no less) — Likely Hannah&Toby. Their love story started and ended BECAUSE of a fire.

7) Key — No comment, it's appropriate for any cover in the saga.

8) Compass — You'll find quite a few in the books. BUT maybe the most relevant compass is the inheritance Tobias leaves to Skye: the one that starts off his daughters game. Wouldn't be a leap to assume THIS new compass will have something to do with Hawthrone family secrets and tragedies.

9) Pearl necklace - definitely for Alice!

Pearls sometimes get mentioned in relation to Zara (she wears them often + we get mentions of killing-with-pearls) and sometimes Nan - who inherited the entire jewelry vault (and who's name is Pearl O'Day btw).

The most important pearl is in Brothers Hawthrone: Jameson has a pearl filled with poison that he got from his mysterious night in Prague. All those pearls keep coming back to something Alice-related.

10) The Open Book - No clue. It can mean anything.

11) Coin - left my favorite hint for last because it's just so random. It's an Aladdin's Castle token! Yes I had to image-search it. Apparently you would get them for playing arcade games in the 70s and 80s. But since the last american Aladdin's Castle closed down in 1989 - whatever coins remained in circulation are now just collectables. They seem somewhat* rare but not very valuable.

What could this mean? Something to do with the childhood of either Zara/Skye/Toby? Or will it be something related to the grandsons? I can picture Xander coming up with a Hawthrone version for retro games.

I'm going feral over the TGG ending. I CANT wait until November for new content 😩

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #8 (Part 1)

ODIN WEEK! ODIN WEEK! ODIN WEEK!!! It's PKNA #5: Portrait of the Hero as a Young Duck btw. Please enjoy my epic edit- I mean real panel I mean totally real screenshotted and unedited comic panel.

Also, I try to put spoilers for the comics I'm reading about as they happen in the story, but this time I couldn't help myself so beware of reading this if you haven't read the whole chapter yet.

I already have this panel saved in my folder, it's so iconic in my head. He wanna be Batman sooooo bad.

Gotta love these military guys opening fire like their lives depend on it and PK is just behind them making silly little jokes like :D

Wow this guy seems interesting I wonder what his opinions on AI art are

Gorgeous panel and some gorgeous one-point perspective here. Sorry for being an art student but we made a lot of drawings like this and it made me learn that drawing buildings makes me want to die. So this is even more impressive to me in that regard.

Lowkey cute asf for Odin to just put a whimsical little garden in place of where Ducklair tower used to be

Donald is so SAD it breaka my heart 💔 RIP Uno who is totally super dead 💔💔💔

Donald is SO SMALL. Shoutout to the PKNA writers for pushing the entire main Duckverse cast to the side so that they could create an all-new roster of characters that all fucking TOWER over Donald in height. Lyla, Angus, Xadhoom, Styvesant, soon to be Odin in like a few pages. If you need to know anything it's that Paperinik is a little SHRIMP and he is so tiny and small and the most specialest boy ever.

haha..... yeah..................

DEFEND UNO'S LEGACY DONALD!!!!! Also Lyla... okay and I guess Geena cause she's the ACTUAL robot he's defending-

This is the part where I look at the camera like it's an episode of The Office btw. If you know you know.

babygirl

OOOOH SHIT IT'S YA BOI!!! I forgot about him trying to meet Donald by just slamming his ship into theirs. Like I GUESS that's a surefire method to speak to someone...

Cheeky son of a-

GEENA YOU FUCKING NARC

Snitches get stitches Geena... (imagine a little text pops up on screen like in a video game and says "Geena will remember that")

Hmmmm where have I seen this shot before.... *flashback to issue #0.1 which I put a filter over to make sure you know it's a flashback to an earlier chapter*

oh right.

Crying over this shot they BOTH wanna be Batman man 😭 two dumdums that were made for each other

He's so cheeky I hate him (affectionate)

So obviously they bring up that Odin just means "One" (or Uno) but it's also worth pointing out what an Eidolon is. Eidolon is a Greek term, meaning "a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form" (at least according to Wikipedia).

"ODIN EIDOLON" LITERALLY TRANSLATES TO "UNO'S GHOST" I FUCKING HATE HIM. I'M SMASHING HIM WITH HAMMERS. AFFECTIONATELY.

Anyways to wrap up with some final thoughts-

Something that doesn't really get addressed in this comic (probably for plot reasons, it's not super relevant) is just how comforting it must be for Donald to travel to the future and see that the Evronian Empire is all but wiped out, a shell of its former self. Obviously timelines can still change, we saw that in Day of the Cold Sun, but it still must be nice to see that all the fighting he does is going to pay off in a big way.

Btw remember that bit in an earlier chapter about Uno finding Lyla attractive? Yeah well I should think so considering that YOU'RE THE ONE THAT BUILT HER- Okay well he's not the DESIGNER but still I think that connection is funny ok. I wonder if Uno scanned Odin's gun and was like "oh"

I like this comic, I think it's another really good one. I mean it's no Earthquake but still, between Day of the Cold Sun, Earthquake, and then this volume I feel like we've just had banger after banger after banger. I'm also super stoked to have Odin in the story now, even if thinking about Uno way outliving Donald and being excited to see him again after 200 years makes me really depressed if I think about it too hard. I'm happy that he got to escape the confines of Ducklair tower and even got a cunty green suit in the process though, good for him. Donald is REALLY gonna regret not accepting that explanation from Uno though, RIP 🙏 SUUURELY he'll figure it out one of these days guys. Like EVENTUALLY. Right???

[melodiousmonsters]

Alright for the first somewhat finished page for my "monstiary" project is blow't because a friend asked me to draw one, I got hyperfixated, and then ended up with a whole bunch of drawings.

btw I'm going to start infodumping on almost all the art posts I make for the time being because I want to talk about my cannon-adjacent version of the monster world more so here we go.

Blow'ts are large amphibious monsters with anatomy somewhat between that of a fish and a mammal. btw I feel like blow't is a very underrated design because people tend to base what's cool or not on a more "terrestrial" frame of reference. But if you think of fish or something (particularly spiny lumpsuckers in this context) something may seem much more interesting design-wise. Like lumpsuckers they have those weird suction cup fins on the bottom of their bodies, which are mostly used for walking actually. Unless it's a baby, then they'll stick to whatever they want whenever they want with no regard to anyone else's wishes

To support their massive sizes blow'ts are filter feeders that primarily eat the stardust that falls from the aurora monstralis out of the air (or water if it ends up in there). Their spines are obviously covered in ridges, but what's less known is those ridges are full of openings to chambers that absorb oxygen and stardust like an unholy combination of lungs and the intestines.

Blow'ts breath in through their spines to not constantly be making noise and out through their non existant noses. Adding nose holes would clutter their face too much so just pretend they have noses ok? When blow'ts breath out of their spines they produce a sound, and the sound vibrates their spines in a way that makes them glow various colors of the visible light spectrum depending on the note played.

Because biology and evolution leans towards things making music, often inconvenient body plans or biological processes will remain if they mean the creature can make sound, especially in monsters.

While adult blow'ts tend to stay on land a majority of the time, the babies are very fond of the seas around light island and they tend to stay in the water. Because they are smaller and their fins are bigger in proportion to their bodies they can swim. To get enough food to grow to their adult size they may occasionally eat fish or any other small critters they come across, thus the fear this lightsquid, a critter endemic to the oceans around light island, is expressing in the presence of one of it's most efficient predators.

Anyway, if you read through this I hope you enjoyed because this is probably how most of my posts will be formatted. There's going to be more pseudo-scientific monster biology posts later on but if you just want some information without any images you can ask me and I can just type stuff out, maybe with a skribble or two alongside it. Doesn't even need to be biology related if it's just about my msm au thing I'll probably answer it if it's not relevant to the barely existent plot thing.

[boyfridged]

if you got complete control over DC and got to write a Jason solo comic, how would you go about it? or like what would be the story??

you're indulging me!

well, my first preference would probably be writing a jason-never-died elseworld and this is what i'm doing with my series robin vol 2. or something like 80s retroactive but longer, so essentially a robin jay series that we were robbed of.

but i'm presuming you are asking about what i would do with the main timeline... i guess if you've been following me for a while, nothing on this list will come as a surprise, because it's simply a combination of my own meta dressed in plot points... i'm just not sure how i would organise it, since i mostly think about these in terms of fanfiction, so it's a bit fragmented in my head. but i think it would be doable to combine those:

addressing the current mess in canon: unavoidable. i always imagined (and by always i mean i've had that image in my head for at least 5 years now) if i were to write a comicbook script for jay i would start with the classic simple layout showcasing the more sunny (early days robin jay's) version of gotham but with panels shaped like shattered glass imposing on it, displaying different contradicting pieces of canon and culminating with the question of who *the real* jason todd is, as a nod to countdown asking the same. dc actually attempted to do something like that when the infinite frontier was first introduced, it just wasn't very well executed... (btw. and as far as i know the hypertime is still supposed to be relevant so it would work...)

since i already started talking about countdown it could also contain some multiversal insight into all the other worlds in which jason todd is alive.

or maybe an idea i once dropped here, with the mystical serpentine of magical fog (the one from the lost days and the end of the utrh when jason presumably is brought back to life once again) traveling through the scenes of flashbacks of other characters (perhaps even just a reflections of retcons!) tarnishing jason's memory when he's dead, cut to kid jay literally stirring in the coffin, and finally an adult jason waking up with a jolt in the final scene. so many options.

you get the image. i wish that dc utilised the weirdness of the meta in a serious way, and that the talk of the past was a talk of the history of comics in a sense... as i previously expressed here.

as you all know by now my reading of jason (and batman in general even) is mostly based on the 80s... and so it would be a love letter to this era. i would definitely want to include some robin jay stories there as well, maybe make jason investigate cases that date back to his childhood and are somehow interconnected, creating a bridge between the narratives and reconciling them.

ending what i call the long funeral - jason's era of remaining dead both socially and to the narrative. what i have in mind is an arc in which he is working on a case that seems to have to do with magic/ghosts, but that ultimately turns out to be a case of corruption and plain police brutality. two things here: i would want him to fuck up spectacularly so that he starts questioning his modus operandi and dedication to vigilantism in general. and it would set up the ground for the introduction of abolitionism and link the story to his early ethical framework.

a retirement arc. jason's proper come back to the crime alley and reintroduction to the land of living (the alley might be a graveyard to bruce but it's a home to jason...) and very importantly, a cast of civilians! leslie is definitely back. i would also love to use dana & denise, and maybe even some pre-crisis characters.

i would fridge bruce. put him out of commission basically, death or not. and i'm not saying batman jay era but actually i am saying batman jay era. (i once again can't find a link to the post explaining my bat jay agenda but if it's of your interest i can elaborate.)

a two-face story. about forgiveness or rather about the fact that it never quite passed. and about willis.

the themes... the motifs... you know me. ouroboros and self-mythologization and the sacrifice and catholicism (probably not in a way you think) and family duty. and politics. here you can also guess what i'm thinking about, and it's a revolutionary abolitionist turn.

and to conclude: big words but i would use jason to bring love back to the gotham lore and batman titles in general. he is a character that has always stood in the centre of both values and challenges that the story faced. if he's not treated with consideration and not taken seriously, nothing in it is.

[goose-books]

please check out @yvesdot's remastered debut! trust me, it's worth a read and a reread and a re-revisit. for the blog tour, i give you... another blast from the past, an old-fashioned writeblr-style comic sans powerpoint!

Something’s Not Right, published by tRaum Books, will be released October 10th 2023 and is available to preorder at Amazon, Bookshop.org, and itch.io. It will also be available upon release signed from Bookshop Santa Cruz. yves. will also have a local event at 6:30 PM on October 12th at the Santa Cruz Diversity Center and another on January 4th 2024 (to be announced) at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

(my sixth favorite story is koschei, btw. shoutout to koschei. sorry i left you off the slides)

(slides described under the cut)

all slides are written in white comic sans on a black background.

slide one: text reading "FIVE reasons YOU should read" over a cropped image of the cover for Something's Not Right, featuring the title. smaller comic sans next to the image reads "by yves."

slide two: at the center of the slide, text reads "1. IT'S GAY!" smaller text boxes, scattered around the slide, read:

so many transgender people

you want fluff? we got fluff. you want angst? we got angst. you want high octane drama? we got it

you like metaphors for queerness? we’ve got metaphors for queerness

some characters’ identities are plot relevant! some of them just happen to be trans!

there’s even an m/f couple i actually like!

there’s literally a lesbian robot what else am i supposed to say

first book where i ever saw a they/them lesbian referred to as a woman and they at the same time <3 <3 <3

you want monsterfucking? we got—

between the first and third boxes is this image of feathers. beneath the monsterfucking box is this image of a halo/eclipse. beneath the they/them lesbian box is the anakin image from this post, reading, "dyke business. go back to your drinks"

slide three: the top of the slide reads "2. CLEVER USE OF TROPES AND TALES." the bullet points beneath read:

the author was a lit major & lovingly: it shows

fresh takes on everything from sexy vampires to demigod/human romance

do you like russian folklore? do you wish it was set in your high school

hansel and gretel story followed immediately by wlw fairies

STORY WHERE VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN GOES TO A PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE

an arrow points from the sexy vampire bullet to an image of edward cullen, captioned "this guy isn't in there." another points from the frankenstein bullet to a picture of the book Frankenstein, captioned "this guy is, tho"

slide four: at the center of the slide, text reads "3. DELIGHTFUL NARRATIVE VOICE." smaller text boxes read "the sheer range of the range of character narrations in this book is impressive and so fun" and "we got teen talk we got litfic prose we got monsters narrating we got ordinary people." there are also three quotes from various stories, set in speech bubbles:

“Everyone’s cousin Tanya says she’s done it with an elf dude. That doesn’t mean shit.”

“And all of these things were true, and simultaneous, and all of them were occurring only a moment before she might be killed, and rise again.”

“At first, the plants seemed quite innocuous, and Ephraim watched them pile up on the windows of the little greenhouse with mild curiosity.”

there is also an edited image of the "she doesn't have the range" meme, reading, "they have the range."

slide five: the top of the slide reads "4. DON’T LIKE ONE-OFFS? NO PROBLEM!" the bullet points beneath read:

do you prefer your short stories unrelated to each other? completely tonally variant?

SNR has got that!

do you prefer your short stories interconnected? do you like recurring characters? do you want to see… characters from OTHER yves. projects?

SNR has got that too!

smaller text boxes read "Red and Eliza from Forest Castles are there!" and "maybe avner too. i'm not allowed to say"

there is also a picture of hannah montana's "best of both worlds" album.

slide six: the top of the slide reads "5. THERE ARE NEW STORIES IN IT!" the bullet points beneath read:

already an SNR fan? already have a copy? you haven’t yet read the new content!

THREE new stories

what if the alien abductee you were interviewing had questions… for you?

what if you had to love-potion your crush… for someone else?

what if you had to come out to your date… AS A MONSTER?

there are clipart images on the side of an alien spaceship, a bubbling potion, and a lit candle.

slide seven: word art with a glowing green shadow reads "max's favorite stories :)". each story blurb goes with a corresponding image:

Six Hours Under: the woman on the L train is crying, dead, and very very pretty. [clipart of a train]

Monsters and The Guy: there’s a guy in Arrivals. he’s being weird about it. [clipart of an airport]

The Hands and The Mouth: the story-speakers speak only in script. there are only a few of them left. [clipart of rolling waves]

Don't Feel Guilty: a teen’s plant collection starts to unnerve their father. [clipart of a leaf]

Blood Orange Tea: getting trapped at work with your crush is awkward even when you’re not a vampire. [clipart of iced tea]

slide eight: large text reads "THANK YOU. GO FORTH AND BUY SNR." in smaller text is the information paragraph from this post.

[thelemonsnek]

Lmfao @ tmau: There must be a bit of an adjustment period for the strange new things that keep happening around the bosses since they got back. Emmet just shows up to work like a zombie out of the floor sometimes. How does boss Ingo seem to always be in the other room when we need him/ gossip about him?? I didn't even know we had a room there. I swear that room was not there before.

Also. Apocalypse ds. How did that pan out for Jon and the crew?

Yup! There's a bunch of stuff that the commuters, challengers and staff all need to get used to shdjd for example, Curio and I made it canon that Ingo eats paperwork if he's not paying attention, as a reference to a fic we both read!

Cameron: hey if you have a moment I'd really appreciate your feedback on this form,

Ingo, not paying attention: [eats the form]

Cameron:

Cameron: hey Ingo could you check out this other form too,

To keep things even Emmet gets to have dirt snacks. As a treat <3

And YEAHDJDJ Ingo just always being in the perfect place (for him)

Isadore voice guys I think Ingo has been gaslighting me, I don't know how he's doing it but he is

Ingo peeking around a doorway that definitely was never there before: what?

Isadore: HW-

And godd the idea of Emmet just rising up like a classic horror movie zombie in their office is SO funny

But yeah to be clear, despite the joking around it's not. Good. And the only ones who know how bad it really is are Ingo, Emmet, and their victims

And the apocalypse ds

[image id: an edit of a cat's face that has been heavily edited. The eyes are edited onto the ears, and nose and mouth are both vastly larger, taking up the majority of the face and giving it a big ol dopey smile. A few heart emojis surround it. End id]

Gonna be so real we haven't developed this as much as everything else, except we definitely know that there's just a beat up old ds cartridge spinning at the center of it all. Honestly maybe it's still kiiind of the eye reigning over everything, since it's Jon's game?

Ingo and Emmet do get domains btw :3c which becomes plot relevant later on in the story

@curiositykilledtheradiostar is there anything else we developed about the apocalypse that I forgot about?

Actually also. Wouldn't it be so funny if the equivalent for the pupil were just. Someone playing the game. To be king of a ruined world you've gotta give in and become a gamer, Jonah 😤

[haliaiii]

so.. virgil.. he’s one of my new favs his neuvilette-esque design and bloodlust have captivated me…

Man oh man what can I even say about Virgil, he’s really something that’s for sure

Ok so kicking it off with some fun facts about him before I start my 3k word essay:

- His job title is Chancellor

- Basically the existing world is currently ruled by one empire (the country’s called Carmenta) and at the head is the emperor. There’s also the council that acts pretty much as the Parliament, with 7 total members, who are also governors of the main 7 cities making up the empire (all are named after planets btw, with the capital called Jupiter). Virgil is the head of the council, and holds a pretty high position in the government, basically he kinda acts as the Emperor’s advisor too.

- He pretty much leads the meetings and makes a lot of important decisions for the country itself

- Also Kalani lives in Jupiter, and basically works as a policy adviser, Virgil is pretty much her boss

If you want to know how she feels about him, pretty much

- Anyway politics aside, if you haven’t noticed yet from my last post about Virgil, he’s not really a great guy

- In fact he is retrograde’s main antagonist !!

I can’t talk too much about his past without spoiling a large portion of the story but let’s just say he has a weird obsession with Sam and likes to make Val suffer

Anyway here’s some more old art

That first one was a really old drawing back when I was trying to figure out his design, second one isn’t really a canon look but I do like the design so idk I might use it maybe?

- About his eye: you’re probably wondering why he hides his eye, and that’s cause it has something to do with his past! (I told you specifically what happened to him but for the general public who sees this, they won’t know but it’s related to what happened 500 years ago) but all you need to know is that it’s pretty ugly, if you do some digging on my instagram, you’ll probably find that animation I did of his eye so it’s not really a secret- 😞

- Also the whole council has some pretty weird outfits so he doesn’t really look that out of place tbh

- Another fun fact: Back in the concepts, his origin used to be that he was actually a robot that survived the Cataclysm 500 years ago (now it’s not too far off but there’s some very big differences, he’s not a robot tho now)

- He's definitely lost a lot of his humanity over the past years, and cracks are really starting to show

- For his weapon of choice, he uses a sword, similar to a rapier

- He does come across as friendly to the general public to maintain a good image, being a good looking guy has certainly helped his popularity too

- He definitely has something to do with Val's past, and is intrinsically linked with Sam

- Despite Kalani being on edge around him most of the time, he remains friendly with her and has even invited her to lunch on occasion

- He's met Kain only a very few times, and Kain's opinion on him is that he's a friendly guy like on TV but there's something kind of off

- Val turns the TV off every time Virgil's face shows up

- Sam feels a vague familiarity

Anyway that's all I can say about Virgil for now!! He's very very much so plot relevant

(also p.s. did you know I have Pinterest boards for like most of my ocs, even the ones I haven't talked about publicly yet? If you wanna look at their styles and aesthetics you can check it out here: https://pin.it/a6YnFld )

[froggychair05]

Bakery Au! It seems pretty cool! I came from your Jesskas cookie making fic thought it was great btw

Did you have any other hcs for the Bakery Au? Or any drawings?

Thank you!! I loved writing that fic, I’m glad people like it so much!! I guess I just have a thing for writing characters baking, haha

And ohhhh boy, do I ever! I uh. May or may not have just reached over 5000 words in scribbling down notes alone about this…so I’ll only go into a few so this doesn’t get ridiculously long. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, though, I’d be happy to share more! (as long as it’s not a major spoiler, that is)

This got…very long already, so I’ll put a cut here.

Some of these are plot-relevant, I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which ones 🙃

- Jesse is very good at cooking, but absolutely horrible at baking. Just absolutely terrible.

- He cannot drive. Like at all. Axel drives him everywhere (Axel makes jokes that he shouldn’t be trusted to drive, but he’s actually very good at it)

- Speaking of Axel, he has a rock collection that he’s very proud of

- He works as a demolitionist (because, you know, griefer? I wanted to give him a job where he could blow things up)

- Olivia works from home as a programmer. She has her own room while the other two have to share because of it, and also because they snore really loud.

- She handles all of the scheduling of appointments and stuff because the other two always forget

- Lukas takes a cheese sandwich and a granola bar to work for lunch every day. He also likes to put whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles in his hot chocolate :)

- He has a pair of clip-on stud earrings that he got as a gift from Petra because he never wanted to get his ears pierced but he did want earrings (he doesn’t wear them to work for fear of losing them)

- Petra met Lukas in high school and they became really close— she’s kind of a sister figure to him and they talk on the phone a lot

- She spends a lot of time traveling to gather things for her adopted dads’ (Jack and Nurm!) antique/pawn shop thing. Also she rides a motorcycle.

- Nell is great at handling rude customers. Lukas is 90% sure she does weed in the bathroom (she does)

- Radar organizes the display cases, like, all the time. He’s in college and he cleans when he’s stressed, so the bakery is always very clean

- Stella is genuinely good at business, but only the social parts. Binta helps with more of the technical aspects. (They are girlfriends)

- Aiden played football in high school, Maya was a cheerleader, and Gill played soccer.

- The three of them (plus Lukas) have been hanging out since middle school, and they still have the matching leather jacket thing going on

- Ivor works as a pharmacist (because potions and stuff? medicine?); he’s also Jesse’s dad/weird uncle figure (more on that another time)

As for drawings, I started doodling some character designs! Because the headcanon list got so long, I won’t go into a lot of detail about them, but again, I’d be happy to answer any questions about design choices!

The words got kind of blurry, so the first image says (from top to bottom):

- construction worker, always covered in dirt

- work uniform

- nether star tattoo on her arm

- I have never drawn him before this

And the second image, from top to bottom:

- runs counter/baking, also in charge of daily cupcake display

- bakery logo

- in charge of cleaning, organization, and finances

- owner/manager/supervisor, handles the social aspects of the business

- helps with the technical aspects of the business, also delivers from the ingredients supplier

I have other designs in progress and I’ve started doodling some of the scenes, so those will show up eventually :) I have some big plans for this AU. Thank you for the ask!

[bitterrobin]

a TAXONOMY!verse summary

since I realized that I haven't actually given a summary or a main post about the au that actually explains the thing.

The TAXONOMY!verse (or the Flamebird-in-Gotham au) is an au that centers around Bette Kane and Damian Wayne's introduction into the 2009/2011 Batman era, where Bruce is "dead", mantles are shifted, and the entire Batfamily and Gotham goes through changes. It is entirely self-indulgent but also a genuine attempt at including characters I like into storylines that could be made better.

Bette's comic history will be acknowledged and streamlined a little as she enters Gotham and is plunged into the chaos. Damian's storyline as of the 2009 era stays mostly the same, but the background context of his life and childhood changes drastically. I'm bringing Son of the Demon back into continuity and completely scrapping/rewriting the Resurrection of Ras al Ghul storyline through dialogue, flashback and inner monologue. The bodysnatching-possession plot is still revealed to Talia and Damian though, spurring them both to separate from the League. (BTW Ras is still dead, but doesn't mean Nyssa or Dusan aren't around and plotting). I'm also taking pre-Morrison Talia al Ghul back into the fold and trying my best to re-contextualize Damian's childhood with her different characterization.

the first fic that I'm currently working on is CHIROPTERA - a Battle for the Cowl (2009) full rewrite.

While Dick still becomes Batman as in canon, it doesn't last for long as the "Battle" shifts from a city-wide disaster into a personal/philosophical slug-fest between Cassandra Cain and Jason Todd as the family splits and debates who carries the Batman mantle and who restores the city. Dick is reluctant to let anyone shoulder the burden, Tim is insistent that Gotham needs a Batman, Stephanie is trying her best to not get dragged into things but is tempted to be a vigilante again, Barbara just wants to get Gotham back into control, and the various rogues of the city are all vying for their own regime change. Basically, everyone's struggling, grieving, and like this close to punching people around them.

In the midst of this, Damian arrives in Gotham for the second time in his life. Because I'm changing Resurrection of Ras al Ghul, Damian has never met Dick Grayson before and he doesn't get any additional time with Bruce before his death. His relationships with Dick and Alfred are not going to be the same. Tim stays Robin as Damian doesn't trust Dick or Alfred enough yet to meet with them, but there's still a lot of conflict between them as Tim does not trust the kid one bit and Damian refuses to correct him.

A couple years have passed since Bette's time in LA with Beast Boy, and after another Titans West revival falls through, she decides to reconnect with her family and help out in Gotham after being informed of Bruce's death. Bette wants to prove herself in a dangerous city and rebuild her image with the side of the hero community that still doesn't acknowledge her. Damian wants a glimpse into the life of a father he never got to know, while still reeling from the betrayal of a grandfather he thought loved him and a League that's really gone off the rails and is trying to get him back.

Bette and Damian meet by accident, and Bette takes on the difficult mentorship role while Damian begrudgingly follows her around a city they're both unfamiliar with. He doesn't really get his own vigilante identity until circumstances call for his involvement with the wider batfam. Tom Bronson is also there, getting into the Gotham chaos after leaving the JSA and becoming attached to Damian and Bette. Alongside him, there will be cameos of Maxine Hunkel, Rory Regan, and Charlie Gage-Radcliffe. Charlie specifically will be getting more plot relevance as she involves herself into things, and the later parts of the au are plotted out.

Inevitably, Cass becomes Batman by the end - giving Batgirl to Stephanie (her own decision, not Bruce's). Jason goes back to Red Hood, but maybe a little changed by their struggle (not too much though, Jason works best when he's still villain-flavored). Dick reverts to Nightwing and Tim takes up as Robin by Cass's side.

CHIROPTERA is fairly simple and hopefully, won't be too long of a fic considering how short the Battle for the Cowl comics are.

Of course, the family can never not be drowning in interpersonal conflict or outside chaos, so this au will not stop at Battle for the Cowl.

I have plans for Batman and Robin 2009, Streets of Gotham, Gates of Gotham, Bruce's return and the almighty void that is Batman Inc's Leviathan arc. Oh boy, do I have thoughts about Leviathan and Damian's death.

Ending this to say that all of the other bat family/bat-related characters that aren't Bette and Damian will be getting researched.

Any characterization ideas specifically for the 2009 era would be appreciated, since I have not read every comic leading up to Final Crisis/Bruce's death.

[ionalottabookmarks]

Duela Dent in Kingdom Come

So Duela is never actually called Duela here. She’s never called anything in the main series, really. But she seems to be intended to be Duela, and people will use names that indicate this in another Kingdom Come story that we’ll cover later.

She does have a cool look, here, with the green and red harlequin pattern and matching hair. Very different from her canon look.

Cool gadgets, cool gloves, cool makeup.

And here she is falling off a boat.

I realize I haven’t talked about the story at all yet. It’s the future. Everything is bad. The heroes all kind of went their own ways for a while, and now they’re back because things have gotten really, really bad. Duela’s a minor-ish bad guy, just hanging out in the background being bad. Not super relevant to the plot, so I’m not gonna talk much about it.

I’m not including every single image this time, BTW.

So. Duela in Kingdom Come. There we go. Not her most spectacular appearance. She isn’t recognizable, she doesn’t have a personality, and she doesn’t play a real role in the plot. But whatever. An appearance is an appearance.

[potted-cilantro]

🖊 Vivi

I found old art yesterday from the sketchbook where Caveat was created as a concept/person(ehh?? why both idk) and there is so much art there that is just pure 'screw the story im just gonna draw what i think is fun'

Examples:

And i'm leaving it there because the images are so big and i can't resize them but like ANYWAY

I've found myself wanting to do that again and lean into it and wow! A lot of story moments are coming out of it actually! Including a few plot holes in the Multiplayer AU (i. i can infodump about that one but it'd take ages and also i need permission) which is Awesome. Also I've been writing my stuff in Discord sporadically and that's probably gonna get full again whee!

And i guess some basic info about the art that i post just for. Clarity's sake because there's not a lot!

The stripe design is when she's in the Underground and I refer to it as the Main Story officially although it's. There's no cohesive plot just a few Things That Happen (like the. The soul incident) (Btw the art up top is not relevant to that cause that came. after that sketchbook. i think thats battle art because of how her powers work) The long hair and the dino hoodie design is when she's on the surface with her sister Echo (and. nobody else, depending haha oops)

The surface one does come from a rp with Echo's creator and that's through ponies mostly and thus that ones. A lot more off the rails but I'm sure that'll change lmao (as in the Main Story will be off the rails. Or maybe get a track in the first place depending on the perspective)

[liberty-barnes]

Tom Holland and (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds Find Out Who Their “Heartbeat” Soulmate Is

Part 7 of the (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds series

Tom Holland x Singer/Actress!Lively-Reynolds!Reader

Summary: Tom and (Y/n) go on BuzzFeed to find out who their Heartbeat soulmate is. It goes about as well as you can imagine it.

Warnings: uuh, cuteness? The difficulty in choosing song lyrics, tom holland calling (Y/n) pet names so watch out, tom gets (Y/n) grounded and that ends horribly for him

Word Count: 2.1k words

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

A/N: I do actually have the entire plot to this movie in my mind but I’m decidedly Not Thinking About It because if I do, it’ll become a Thing and I don’t have the mental stability or posting regularity for that. I recommend you do the quiz first, personally, but you do as you please. DON'T HESITATE TO DO THE QUIZ AND REBLOG THIS WITH WHO YOU GOT I WANNA KNOW (I got William btw)

Also, in case you missed it, there are three bonus chapters added to this series, you can check them out on the masterlist or here:

BONUS 1 | BONUS 2 | BONUS 3

LINK TO THE QUIZ

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Click.

The image opens with Tom Holland and (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds sitting at a table in front of a red background. In front of them are two open laptops.

“Hello everyone! My name’s Tom Holland, I play Michael…"

He turns towards (Y/n).

“And I’m (Y/n), I play Helena, and we’re doing a quiz to find out who our Heartbeat soulmate is.”

She nods with a smile and turns towards Tom.

“So, before we start this, who would you like it to be if you could choose?”

He looks at her quizzically.

“Well, you, obviously.”

She purses her lips in thought.

“Yeah, I’m stuck between wanting it to be Helena or Queen Diane.”

He stares at her with his mouth open in shock.

“What? It’s Jennifer Aniston. She’s hot as fuck.”

“She’s also your character’s mother!”

She shrugs.

“That has very little relevance right now.”

The screen turns towards a picture of the poster, captioned with the words The cast of Heartbeat finds out which character is their soulmate.

“Okay, first question, How would your friends describe you? Loyal, rebellious, courageous, charismatic, determined, or compassionate?”

Tom tilts his head slightly to the side.

“Should we do this for each other? Like you put what I think fits you the most and vice-versa?”

She nods.

“Good thinking. I would 100% go with courageous for you. You do backflips. That’s insanely brave in my book.”

He smiles at her.

“Well, you’re the most determined person I know, so I’m saying that.”

They each click on the answers and move on to the next one.

“Question two, What would you rather be doing on a Saturday? Going out to an amusement park, going to a World War II museum, volunteering at a nearby shelter, hiking in a beautiful forest, doing some kind of creative project, or going to see the Swan Lake ballet? These are all very good choices…”

Tom immediately answers while (Y/n) takes a while longer to decide.

“I’m gonna go with hiking. If you do it with the right people, it can be really fun, and there are amazing views.”

She nods.

“I’m gonna arbitrarily decide that the nearby shelter is an animal shelter and choose that one cause I wanna play with puppies and kittens.”

Tom smiles fondly at her as she clicks on the answer.

“You’re adorable.”

“Focus on the quiz, not on my face.”

Tom rolls his eyes but reads the next question.

“What would a perfect gift from your soulmate be? A ticket to go skydiving together, a visit to a drive-through zoo, a giant trampoline, a day at a cat café, an annual pass to the theatre, or a pendant made out of a silver bullet? Oh man, you’re gonna have trouble with this one, aren’t you?”

(Y/n) bites at her nails nervously, eyes flitting between the different answers.

“BuzzFeed must hate me to make me choose between these.”

Tom snorts.

“Alright, well, I feel like going through a drive-through zoo. Maybe I can make friends with a lion, or something.”

(Y/n) side-eyes him.

“So long as I’m emotionally attached to you, you’re not allowed to go near things that could possibly be dangerous without appropriate protection and supervision.”

“And what would that be?”

“In this case? Me.”

“Fair enough.”

She turns back towards the screen of her computer and starts thinking out loud.

“Now the thing is, a day at a cat-café spent with my soulmate would be awesome cause, well… cats. But an annual pass to the theatre shows that they take what I love into consideration, and I love theatre. But then again, the pendant sounds nice cause I can play with it all the time and it’ll remind me of them…”

She nibbles on her lip, eyes flitting between the options.

“Alright, fuck it, I’m going with the cats.”

Tom smiles goofily at her.

“You’re adorable, you know that?”

“I do, actually, got it from my Momma!”

“Ryan’s gonna be sad you didn’t say you got it from him.”

She pursed her lips.

“Well, yeah, but he also raised me not to tell lies, so… I figure I’d show him how well I can remember what he taught me!”

Tom pulls out his phone.

“Oh, this is gonna be good.”

Cut.

When they come back, they’re sitting further away from each other, while (Y/n) looks royally pissed off.

“Which of these would you rather wear? A sapphire ring, citrine bracelet, sunstone choker, aquamarine pendant, lapis lazuli earring, or jasper ring?”

Tom hums.

“I really like the way that choker looks, actually, and it’s not something I wear too often. I feel like being adventurous, let’s go with that!”

(Y/n) scoffs.

“I hope it lives up to its name and chokes you.”

Tom sighs.

“Princess…”

“Don’t princess me, Thomas Stanley Holland, you got me grounded!”

“It’s no big deal, it just means you won’t get dessert at your parents’ this Sunday.”

He might as well have slapped her across the face from how offended she looks.

“Not a big deal? Mom’s making pineapple mousse! You know how much I love that!”

“You can still get it some other time, it’s not like this is the only time she’s ever making it.”

(Y/n) looks at him with her eyes starting to glaze over, voice breaking.

“That’s not the point…”

Tom’s face immediately softens at that, rushing to hug her to him.

“Baby, I’m sorry, I promise I’ll fix it.”

Cut.

(Y/n) is seen sucking on a lollipop, visibly happier. They're now sitting glued together and (Y/n) periodically rests her head on Tom's shoulder.

“Alright, so you went with the choker, right? I really like the earrings, but the bracelet’s so pretty!”

Tom hums.

“The earrings match the suit you bought the other day.”

“Earrings it is. See, this is easy!”

Tom looks at his watch.

“Well, I mean, we’ve been here for about three hours and answered four- I’m gonna shut up now, yeah. Next question! What is the quality you search the most for in a partner? Understanding, loyalty, encouragement, intelligence, humour, or boldness?”

“Is there an ‘all of the above’ answer?”

Tom starts laughing.

“No, but it would make it easier, wouldn’t it? I think I’m gonna go for humour, it’s worked well for me so far.”

(Y/n) fights back a smile.

“You’re such a sap, oh my God. I’m going with understanding. Sometimes when I talk to people I feel like they can never understand what I actually mean, you know? I don’t think I could be in a relationship where the person doesn’t get me.”

Tom’s hand moves towards her chair. From the angle of the camera, we cannot be sure, but it seems that he’s rubbing her thigh in comfort.

“I’ll always understand you, darling, you know that, right?”

She turns to the side and lightly kisses his shoulder.

“Question number six. Which of these would you say apply the most to you? I can be insecure, I have trouble settling down, I can be manipulative to get what I want, I find it hard to be independent, I would sacrifice my happiness for the well-being of others, I tend to use humour to hide my real feelings.”

Tom stretches to the side, and presses I tend to use humour to hide my real feelings on (Y/n)’s computer.

“Hey!”

“It’s true!”

In retaliation, (Y/n) presses I would sacrifice my happiness for the well-being of others.

“And don’t argue, it’s just as true–if not more so than mine.”

They look at each other for a few seconds, seemingly arguing back and forth through their eyes only, before settling back.

“Alright, I’ll concede. Which of these colours is your favourite? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple.”

“I call blue!”

“You can’t just call a colour, (Y/n).”

“I just did.”

He sighs in irritation.

“Fine, guess I’ll go with red, then.”

(Y/n) smiles happily, scrunching her nose, although the happiness fades from her face as soon as she sees the next question.

“Oh, God, not a song lyrics question. And what the fuck? You want me to choose between these? You got Walking in the Wind by One Direction, The Man by Taylor Swift, and Walls by Louis Tomlinson, it’s like you want me to fail!”

Tom smirks.

“Well, as you said before, I call Walls!”

(Y/n) looks at him with an affronted look on her face.

“You bitch.”

She looks back at the screen.

“The thing is, I deeply identify with The Man, cause feminism, and patriarchal society, and constantly being underestimated. But Walking in the Wind is such a beautiful song! It’s like, the perfect amount of feeling and scream-it-until-your-voice-breaks. Also, this specific line really makes me laugh. Just close your eyes and see. Idiots.”

She clicks that one.

“I just want to say that this was an impulsive decision that I will probably regret and un-regret twenty times in the next five minutes.”

Tom nods.

“Question nine, only two more. Choose a spirit animal. Wolf, hummingbird, cow, tiger, dog, and bison.”

He frowns at the screen.

“Not gonna lie, those are some pretty weird choices of animals.

(Y/n) immediately clicks on the wolf.

Tom goes for the dog.

“Ha! Your spirit animal is a weaker, domesticated version of mine.”

He opens his mouth to start arguing.

Cut.

“And last question before we find out who our soulmate is! Which character of Greek mythology would you rather be? Apollo, God of the sun, music, and dance, Hestia, Goddess of the hearth, Eusebeia, personified Spirit of loyalty and duty, Athena, Goddess of strategic war, Prometheus, the Rebel Titan, Midas, King of Phrygia. Well, you know I’m going for Athena!”

Tom nods.

“I wanna be Prometheus, he sounds like a cool lad. Also, he gave humans fire so, thanks!”

(Y/n) snorts.

“What a nerd.”

Cut.

“Oh hey, I got me!”

Tom smiles, happily reading the description.

“Your soulmate is...Michael, Captain of The Storm's Fear! Bold, outgoing, free at heart, every day will feel like an adventure with this handsome pirate Captain. A relationship with him is a constant adrenaline shot, travelling the world together is a must. He won't give up his freedom and may sometimes be overwhelmed by his fear of commitment, but don't be fooled by his aloof exterior: once he's got you, he won't let you go. Aw, that’s such a nice description!”

He turns towards (Y/n).

“You look happy! Who did you get?”

She smiles from ear to ear.

“I got the best possible answer.”

“You?”

“Nope, I got Jen’s!”

Tom’s face drops instantaneously.

“What?”

“Mm-hm. Your soulmate is...Diane, Queen of Elyksos! Generous, compassionate, always ready to help, Queen Diane is the Beauty with a heart of gold. Honest to a fault, when she compliments you, she means every word of it. Even though her people's well-being comes above all else, as long as you don't try to do something stupid like cause their poverty for your own gain *cough King Edmund cough*, she will love you completely and unconditionally. My soulmate’s Jennifer Anniston!”

He gapes at her.

“She’s your Mum!”

“Only in the movie!”

“And she’s like, thirty years older than you!”

“Yes, and?”

Tom shakes his head, defeated.

“For fuck’s sake…”

Cut.

“Alright, and that was all we had for you today! I hope you enjoyed us being tortured by a quiz. Don’t forget to watch Heartbeat, out in theatres on August 21st!”

“Bye, everyone! I’m off to take a ride on Captain Michael’s ship!”

Tom chokes on his own spit.”

End of video.

Recommended:

Heartbeat | Official Trailer (2022)

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One Direction 12 year anniversary tribute video

65,91,315 views ● July 23rd 2022

31M 👍 654K 👎

289,369 comments

yn_my_beloved: tom being mad that (Y/n) didn’t get him is peak comedy

tomynschild: “baby”, “darling”, “princess”, that’s it, i’m dead, i died

slutforreynolds: i love that (Y/n)’s a 23yo adult independent woman, and yet Ryan can still make Blake ground her to the point of actual tears

tomfuckinghotland: does anybody know why (Y/n) was crying? Like is there some deep meaning behind the pineapple mousse that i don’t know of?

steppingstonesholland reply to tomfuckinghotland: i think i read somewhere that it’s the first thing blake taught (Y/n) to cook and it’s been her favourite dessert ever since

tomfuckinghotland reply to steppingstonesholland: oh well great i’m crying now :’’’)

thereynoldsfamownsme: tbh those song answers would make me cry too, how can someone choose just one?

(Y/n) Lively-Reynolds ✔ reply to thereynoldsfamownsme: THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING, I WAS STARTING TO THINK I WAS ALONE

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Taglists: (if your name is striked through it means for some reason tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you)

PERMA TAG

@adriannajackson123 @evermoreholland @inlovewithmobtom @andycanbeemotional @officiallyunofficialperson @lost-in-the-stars03 @jeezkiddo @a-singleboat @parkersbliss @highlydisfunctional1 @inthecornerchair @harishaanne @anjalika03 @peterspideyy @lozzypoz321 @mendes-marvel @sovereignparker @dracoswhore007 @ilovemarvelanne1 @rayisthehoe @shreya-varghese @every-marveler-ever @crystallizedth0t @im-bored-help @jenniferrvsesi @tpwkstiles @girl-in-the-chairs-void @sp1derm3n @sins1n01 @klyons01 @moonchild-s-blog @moonlighy @elizaelainex @abmariexo @khadijahisham @shesbiochem4 @harringtonstudios @dcvilslvr @ready-4-fanfiction @antistellxr @sara4444 @jamisen2002 @l8ves-mcu-spn @xcharlottemikaelsonx @hallecarey1 @wondergal2001 @winniepooh213 @9daykrisr @daykrisr9 @august-cardigan @sesamepancakes @lovelyy-moonlight @davinaclaire12 @sesamepancakes @arination99 @katieaguamenti @abis-mess-up-mind @lupinsera @holy-macncheese-balls @kaitieskidmore1

[daeva-agas]

Ayakashi Koi Meguri/Ayakashi Romance Reborn production behind the scenes (part 8 & 9)

(full series of Behind the Scenes posts)

Part 8 

Artist’s commentary on the “Ten Night of Dreams” event to match the writer’s remarks in the previous one. The character art includes items that are relevant to the stories they’re based on.

Aki’s key item is the dagger, Toto’s is the goldfish, and Aoi’s is the hat (a “Panama hat”)

Koga’s card has white lilies. It’s inspired by the “first night” story of the Natsume Souseki collection mentioned in the previous one. In the story, the narrator was asked by a dying woman to wait for her by her grave. 100 years pass, and a white lily grew on her grave. 

The kanji for lily is 百合, which is shortened from a Chinese phrase meaning “100 years of harmony” (lilies are native to China). 合 in Japanese sounds similar to 会, which means "to meet". So the artist drew this with the image of “waiting to reunite for 100 years”. 

(I have not read the card stories so I cannot confirm what the stories are like)

Part 9: Koga and Kuya behind the scenes. 

Beware of spoilers

Koga

The Ayakoi staff’s goal is to create characters who are cool, but also “human” (relatable) , with realistic weaknesses and struggles. Koga’s design was a reliable leader who is fearless, but also considers himself not worthy to be a “hero”. This characterization makes him someone who embodies the “theme” of the game very vividly. Perhaps it was why they chose him to be the “poster boy” of the game? 

The writer feels a bit complicated with how they didn’t write Koga declare his love more than once. Still, they felt it was more in-character for him to be that way.

They said they got player feedback saying there’s not enough uwu in the route, but according to them it’s because they want to convey love in different ways than just direct “I love you”s or kisses.  The “route” is actually more of a “budding romance”, so the uwu stuff will be more in the events or cards.

In one of the events there is a scene where Koga and MC looks at the sunrise. This midway between light and darkness was something that ties to Koga’s character. He looks forward to the hope like a dawn after the darkest night, full of positivity, but also knowing the inevitable darkness. It’s a particularly poignant scene.

(event was released in Eng around January 2021, forgot the Eng name of the event OTL) The writer commented that the text design had Koga’s horns and a feather, and that was a neat detail. 

Teaser: Koga’s father will be important to the plot somewhere in the future (!!!!)

Kuya

When they were making Kuya the prompts they use was “Trouble child from the mountains” and “really lazy”. 

The image they had was this type of character from shonen manga (why always shonen LOL) that is super lazy, doesn’t look strong, but actually can do a lot of things and is super strong ONCE he stops being lazy. The dynamic with MC is like a “nosey class rep and a lazy troublemaker”

Ayakoi’s cast have a number of people with mature, big brotherly characteristics, but Kuya has a more “smart younger brother” vibes. He’s a bit careless, but not obnoxiously so, and that’s what makes him cute. 

He shines in the first Ayakoi event, the autumn one, where he encouraged the girl who’s looking for a script. He is a kind person after all. In the Dawn routes, Aoi and Kuya also butt heads over differing approach, but they can still understand where the other is coming from because they can understand the good heart behind it.

Kuya really likes ice cream and Ouji’s omelette rice. Writer is like “hehe did I overdo it with the food?” 

(I really hope this gets translated someday BTW... these Behind the Scenes are almost like personal blog posts by the writer and artist, so it’s really better to see a direct translation of how excited and adorable the staff are being)