#they have nothing in common on the surface but they're SO much more similar than they realize at first

[relicsongmel]

Over 2 years later and I still can't believe Gamefreak forced bisexuals all over the world to do the impossible and make a choice between THESE TWO

[tinydefector]

I was just interested if you were a suckered for the clothing and fabric and perfume trope as I am. In the sense where fabrics and a abundance of organic flora was considered more common for higher class cybertronains but that even then it was pretty scarce. Imagine a bot or con after getting over their fears or mild disgust of the squishness of humans so to speak the next few things they notice is how many types of hair there are. How many styles and how many different ways to dye said hair. It drives them nuts the feel such softer fibers all together to make a more denser form. Curled,staight,wavy it all catches their optics. Painted nails almost similar to paint for their frames. Tattoos so intriguing. A human willingly damaging their surface that is more fragile than their metallic frames. It's a living scar. And they can't help but slowly come to love it to when they see how much their human complain does. But fabric? God they almost get drunk off of it. When they get a hug they shiver at the smooth article that brushes on their frame. The variety. So many styles and colors. So many meaning behind patterns and techniques. They can't help but almost grow jealous hearing how far back a simple stich can come from in human history. Humanity dressing itself in plush silks and flimsy polyester but it's all gold compared to what the cybertronains have come to crave. Imagine them having made themselves smaller so they could be inside your living space and they can't help but notice all the fabrics. All the plush surfaces. Their in heaven fully convinced they're going to meet the great primes. And if you had a scented burning candle? Sweet or citrus they can't help but want to inhale deeply to capture the scent. Perfumes? God their drunk whenever a human walks into a enclosed space because all mechs and femmes are fighting themselves to not snatch you up and keep you. If you use scented body wash or scented lotion then can practically taste it on your skin if you are near or hug them. They crave it when it's late at night and they've got you sobbing and thighs shaking as they kiss and lap at your scented thighs. And if theirs multiple humans in a space? That almost has a bot slurring their words as iff they just had the best energon. Just some thoughts haha I'm very sorry it's so long. I'm just a suckered for all these headcanons and just how while they may be disgusted and have hatred for humanity some fo them can't help but swoon for so many qualitys of their human companions that are nothing like their skin. So soft and complaint and so very warm at heart.

So I do have some fics on this stuff one is

Ratchet x reader. Involving perfumes effecting cybertronians like a sex potion or sex pollen.

Then I have

Starscream x reader. Involving the infamous dress and him testing out different outfits on his partner.

This small collection of bots reacting to nipple piercings (was like my first fic I ever wrote here)

_________________

I am quite a sucker for the clothing and fabric and perfume trope. I really enjoy writing cybertronians who adore seeing their partner drapped in shimmering fabrics. Becuase to the human its could just be a satin sheet, but to the cybertronian it is luxury, it showcases so much about you and every chance they get they love getting to just feel or touch the fabrics.

Imagine: your cybertronian is sat on theirs berth which is a mix of almost foam matting(yoga mat/ expanding foam) They don't lay on just metal but it's not particularly comfortable for their human. So one day, they introduced them to memory foam, and its like the bots world has opened up. It becomes a soft, comfortable recharge. But as you start bringing sheets, blankets, and your pillows, it makes the bots feel as if they are falling in love. They love it when you drape the soft fabric over them and make yourself almost a next on their chassis with the soft bedding. To they it feels like a luxury that you are pampering them even if it's just to make yourself more comfortable. It's the fact you leave them in their suite on their berth take makes their spark clench in delight knowing you'll be coming back.

I also tend to write cybertronains have alot more nasal sensors and detectors to the point they can break down the partials to annalise them. The smell of fresh lining is something that effects them almost like catnip with a cat. They will roll around in the fabric optics wide. Engines roaring in delight. As their joints squeak and clank against the walls.

I also love writing that Fabric was something that only the Highest of society had on cybertron, but mainly due to have small the fibers are it is extremely hard for cybertronains to replicate the material, so it fetched for high prices when Imported from organic planets. If you were of the lower classes, you would be lucky if you had a tarp or some sort of soft plastic as it was also still very sort after. So you can imagine how the cybertronains reacted once on earth, even while undercover. Fabric is such a huge part of human culture that cybertronians, when they find even just a pretty scrap of Fabric, keep it as a token. As if to say "frag you" to the universe.

But I can also see a human finding the stash of Fabric cut off's and offering to sew them all together in an almost patchwork like blanket for their bot and you can bet your ass you will have that cybertronian on thier knees worshipping you for it.

______

"Hey, we have hail forecasted," their voice calls out to the vehicle parked in the driveway. The cybertronian is rather quiet as they register what was said to them. "It isn't acid rain, so it won't be anything too bad." they try to argue only to have a large old blanket thrown over them. "Hey, what are you doing?" It sends shock throught their system having something so soft drapped over their frame.

"I'm covering you up so you don't get hail damage, I sadly can't get you into the garage at the moment so the next best thing I can do is cover you up with some blankets and a tarp so you don't get damaged by ice falling out of the sky" they explain as they throw another over the vehicle. Making sure to fully cover the bot before throwing a waterproof tarp over them, too. "Sorry, I don't have anything better than this, but it will keep you dry and our of harm's way." Those words hit their spark in a way they never would have thought it would. They are left almost speechless, cosy, and somewhat warm as the hailstorm rolls in.

________________

When it comes to hair colour, skin colour, and tattoos. It fascinates them so much to see such diversity and colour on a species they originally believed to be quite dull. It gets to the point when making their holoform avatars they love exploring and expressing themselves as if making a sims character. Even going as far as some get custom paint jobs of the tattoos, they get on their avatars because, for them, it's the closest thing they can have to tattoos. But think about you getting a tattoo in a shop right across from where your cybertronian partner is getting their paint job because it was a cute couples day out.

And don't get me started on how much cybertronians love human's hair. The fibers are so different to them and they love the feeling of it, they just have to be very careful when running a digit theought thier lovers hair as to not get it jammed in the joints causing you pain.

Another thing that cybertronians are fascinated by is humans' willingness to injure themselves in the name of beauty. From tattoos, piercings, injections, and surgery. In honesty, it's not that different from frame ulteration, but they don't know how a human can do it. The bots can turn their pain sensors off while humans are just soldier on through it.

I love the idea that the bots also horde car freshners that their humans get them. It becomes a full-on pokemon card situation of them trading double ups, begging their partner to get them others so they can rub it in their friends' faces. But air freshners weren't a thing until Earth, and the bots love how it makes their frame smell different from the oil, grease, and car smell.

But perfumes gods I love the idea that perfumes have a certain chemical reaction to Cybertronian systems to the point to turns them into a raging horny bot who can't get enough of how your skin taste and how desperately they try to literally lick the perfume off your skin as if it were the riches and most expensive high grade energex on the market. It also leads to a lot of personal working with the bots not being allowed to wear perfume/cologne. Deodorants don't affect them the same way, but they also enjoy how they smell quite a bit.

But yes I love the idea of perfumes pretty much working like a pheromone spray and don't get me started on actual pheromones spray, your not leaving that bots berth for atleast 3 days, they will bring you food, water and anything you want but it literally overrides their system protocol and makes them desperate to breed you.

In conclusion, DO NOT wear perfume or Pheromone spray near the bots unless you don't intend to be leaving the berth for at least 3 days if not more becyase they can and will keep you their.

________________

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[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Hi I'm a big Classic Sans fan do you have any more HC from him interacting with all the other Skeletons?What do they all think of him?

Let's do a "What Sans thinks of all the other skeletons"!

Undertale Papyrus - His little (well not so little anymore) hero. Sans is so proud of how well his brother adapted to the Surface and he is so admirative of how he managed to completely give up the Royal Guard to become a nurse. That's so much more fitting for him and he is happy he's finally living his dream of helping people to the fullest. He's so good at his job, he couldn't be a prouder big brother.

Underswap Sans - They're close friends. Sans will never not find it funny how he's so much similar to his brother and somehow looks so disturbingly like himself. He admires Blue a lot for his bravery and strength. He wishes Papyrus could be that comfortable with how powerful his magic is sometimes. Maybe that would have happened too if Papyrus ended up being the big brother, who knows.

Underswap Papyrus - They're really close friends. Sans realized really fast that Honey is like him, but a little more shyer. He can't help but dragging him into his shenanigans because Honey transforms into some god of mischief when they're planning pranks together. They're a menace to society and they love it. They both have the same type of humor and they love hanging out together.

Underfell Sans - Red is so funny. To annoy, I mean. They have a cat-like relationship. Red is always suspicious when he's around and Sans can't help but mess with him whenever he can do so. He can't help it. Red is soooo easy to prank and the fact all his tries to get back to him fail is even more hilarious. Sans can never get bored of him.

Underfell Papyrus - He's not very comfortable with Edge. He can tell he went through complicated things, but Edge tends to use a little too much his past as an excuse for everything he's doing and Sans doesn't like that. Sometimes he is just mean to others for no valid reason. He prefers to avoid him.

Horrortale Sans - They have a complicated relationship. Sans has nothing against him, far from that, but Oak is resentful towards him. Sans knows it's not really his fault, and that Oak just sees a lot of his own past mistakes in him. He's a little bit his ghost of the past and Sans can perfectly understand why Oak doesn't like to hang out around him too much. He respects that and tries to stay out of his way to help him feel better. Who knows, maybe in a few years?

Horrortale Papyrus - It's still heartbreaking for Sans to think that whatever happened to Willow could have happened to his brother in another timeline. He can't fix what happened, but Sans is always nice to Willow and tries to make him feel comfortable when he's around. It's hard to ignore he is so much like his brother, even though Willow is so traumatized he's refusing to call himself Papyrus again. Sans hopes Willow knows he can be himself around him.

Horrorswap Sans - Sans can tell a lot of people misunderstands Nugget and think of him as insensitive. Even if he could never understand how he abandoned his brother in the end, he can perfectly understand all he sacrificed for his brother to not be killed, until he was not feeling anything anymore. Nugget has a lot more things in common with him than what he could be ok with. And sometimes, that scares him.

Horrorswap Papyrus - He feels terrible for Pumpkin, especially because he is so close to his Underswap counterpart. Sans can tell that whatever happened to him completely broke his spirit. But he can tell that people pitying him are not helping either. So he does what he does best and tries to bring back a little bit of Pumpkin's jokester side by dragging him into some shenanigans with Honey. He can tell Pumpkin loves being included and all his expression changes when he's having fun. He hopes he will get better eventually.

Horrorfell Sans & Papyrus - He doesn't know a lot about them and they're pretty secretive about their past. He can tell though they've been through a lot as Copper is a lot less receptive to humor than Red. He just tries to be nice to them, but kindness is obviously not what they need.

Swapfell Sans - He's not sure about Nox, he's hard to read. Sans can tell he got badly abused by someone. He was abused, he knows these things. But his universe is very, very different from his, and even if Sans is trying, it seems they haven't found a good way to communicate yet. Sans would like to know him better, as he can tell Nox is way more than that grumpy little man figure he's playing, but he's not sure how to help him talk. Sans has a feeling they are not that different though, the few things he learned about him are awfully similar to his own story.

Swapfell Papyrus - Rus is a little too much for Sans to handle. He likes him, but he likes him better when he doesn't see him for long lol. He's a prankster, but at least he knows when things are going a bit too far. Rus doesn't. Sans can tell that's probably because he grew up by himself, and that he is a lot more of a sad clown than what he tries to pretend. Sans uses humor to deflect trauma, Rus does that too but makes it his whole identity, which is actually very concerning. It looks to Sans that Rus is screaming for help but that no one is noticing. So even if he is not a big fan of Rus, he tries to be nice to him to get him to confess. Rus needs someone to talk to.

Fellswap Gold Sans - Nah. He can tell when someone tries to manipulate him and he's definitely not fooled by Wine's little game of charm. Sans can feel he has a very high LV and it makes him uncomfortable. Unlike with Nox where he can tell the LV is mainly because he didn't have a choice, it's very clear to him that with his skills, Wine had a choice and clearly chose to hurt people anyway. He doesn't trust him and stays very cold around him. He doesn't want Wine to find things he can use against him or his brother.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - And that's a shame because, on the other hand, Sans loves Coffee. Coffee reminds him a lot of Papyrus in his teen years, except that it's clear no one helped to boost his confidence a little and he stayed in a perpetual state of anxiousness that got worse. He's messing with him a little, but that's never meant, mainly to try to make him laugh a little and relax. Sans can't help but be a little protective around him, even if he tries to hold back as Coffee is clearly lacking independence. He can tell Coffee is dying to do things by himself, and can perfectly do them by himself, but that without Wine's consent, he's lost. He's not sure why Wine kept him under a dome his whole life but that clearly didn't help his brother and actually made him scared of everything. Coffee definitely needs help, he's just not sure how he can help him.

Outertale Sans - Sans loves to hang out with Moon. They're very similar, which is weird sometimes, but Moon used to live in space, and for Sans that makes him the coolest monster to hang out with. He's always go full nerd mode when he's with Moon and keeps asking a thousand questions about his universe because he's just so curious. He would love to visit his world if he can.

Outertale Papyrus - He calls him his space brother, even though Sun and Papyrus are actually very different. Sans can tell that's because space was a lot more dangerous to grow up in than the Underground actually. Sun has hyper-fixations like his brother, but it's more of a hyper-fixation on security instead of very dangerous traps. He can still remember how poor Sun almost fainted when Papyrus showed him his very unsafe gauntlet of deadly terror.

Dancetale Sans - They're close friends. They're basically twins, except Rambo is actually not lazy and does sports lol. That's the only difference. Not all people know that though and their favorite game is to prank people by making them believe they're having Sans hallucinations. Sans everywhere. They could never get bored of that game.

Dancetale Papyrus - Salsa is so similar to his brother that it happened once or twice that he mistook him for his brother. For his defence though, Rumba made the same mistake with Papyrus too. If you don't know Salsa likes dancing instead of deadly puzzles, it's hard to tell the difference. They're wearing different scarves now so people stop making the mistake.

Dancefell Sans - He's even funnier to bully than Red because Rumba is very gullible. Sans plays some of his best pranks to Rumba because he always realizes long after it's done that Sans pranked him. Sans is living for those small moments of realization. The look on his face is priceless.

Dancefell Papyrus - He's not a big fan of Tango. He reminds him a little too much of Papyrus when he wanted to please everyone Underground. Except it's working for him, and now it's clear the guy is putting way too much pressure on himself. He's not sure when, but it's pretty clear for Sans that he's going to be overwhelmed at some point and that it's not going to be a good experience for him.

Farmtale Sans - Sans sees Sam as a sort of mentor figure. It's hard to explain. They're the same age but Sam has so much older Sans energy that Sans often comes to see him for advice. He's not the only one doing that, so maybe he gives this impression to a lot of people. Sam always has good words when he's feeling a little down and somehow always manages to remotivate him a little. He's also extremely patient and always happy to help. It's clearly one of Sans' best friends and Sans tries to be there for him too when he needs it, even if it seems nothing can break Sam's spirit. Sam even manages to convince him to work on the farm sometimes, that's how good he is.

Farmtale Papyrus - Sans loves Ben a lot. He's a very shy version of his brother but with the same spirit. Sans also guessed really fast that he's transgender, just like him, and that it's really recent. Sans is helping him to accept his new body better and is glad to give little tricks to help. He can tell people were not so nice to him when he changed and he wants to prove him not all people are like that actually.

Mafiatale Sans & Papyrus - He doesn't know them that much but he knows they both have high LV, even though they never lived Underground. Sans does not trust them. That Sans looks a little more too condescending and he doesn't know what's wrong with that Papyrus, silent and just staring at people like they're prey, but he doesn't like it.

Mafiafell Sans - Despite sharing a love for dogs, that's pretty much all they have in common lol. Sans mistook him for Red once but quickly figured out Fang has a lot less humor than Red when Fang immediately tried to kill him for mocking him. Sans learned his lesson and stayed out of his way now.

Mafiafell Papyrus - That's what happened when Papyrus never got out of his goth rebellious phase. Sans is glad he escaped that. It's also clear that this Papyrus got way too many privileges growing up and his condescending nature shows it. That's clearly his brother if he got enrolled young by the wrong people. He can't hate Torpedo, but he stays out of his way. His unstable LV is worrying though. That's clearly a ticking bomb that doesn't has any conscious of the consequences of too much LV.

Ink - Sans smelled problems the first time he met him and decided to not interact. He doesn't know what is the deal with that guy, but that can't be good.

Error - One day, Error told him that everyone was an anomaly but that he was ok. Sans is still not sure to that day if it was supposed to be a compliment or not.

Disbelief Papyrus - That's his second brother. Sans was wondering why Delta kept snooping around the house until he realized that's because of him. Delta was dying to talk to him and was too scared to do so because he had his own Papyrus. Learning how he lost his Sans was heartbreaking and Sans knew that all poor Delta wanted was to have his brother again. So Sans adopted him. He doesn't care if he has two Papyrus, all he saw was that his brother was in bad psychological distress and needed to be comforted. With time, Delta realizes by himself he's not his Sans, takes his time to grieve his brother, and starts loving him for who he is and to get better, that's all that matters for Sans. Sans considers him as family the same way Papyrus is and may have secretly promised on the tomb of Delta's Sans that he would take care of him so that other Sans can finally rest in peace.

Killer Sans - Killer wants nothing to do with him and made it very clear. That's good because Sans doesn't want to do anything with him either. He knows they're the same, he doesn't know how the hell he ended up with so much hatred and so much LV, but that can't be good. He's not sure he is ready to know the truth anyway.

Dustale Sans - Dune tried to kidnap Papyrus several times, and tried to kill him twice because he interfered. Sans is not sure what's his deal but he doesn't like him. He's not sure what happened to him, but Dune clearly crossed the line by pushing his magic limitations to the point LV became a part of his personality. You don't get to that point without trying to see how far you can go. You don't get to that point without wiping the whole Underground actually. Sans doesn't trust him the slightest and wants him to stay far away from his house.

[sand-through-glass]

Rambling a Commander theory again...

One thing I consistently noticed throughout the story is that whenever we're put into a "worst fear" situation with the dragons or demons, while Dragon's Watch tend to be manipulated on the topic people they've hurt/lost (Jormag messing with Braham about his guildmates, or in Mordremoth's mind when we confront his mother for example.)

But the Commander always faces themselves. This happens repeatedly in the story. Now I imagine that it's a writer's technique that they don't want to tell the player what THEIR commander is traumatized/troubled about so using a "fight your worst self" is a pretty safe bet from a writer's viewpoint to remain neutral enough that it can be built on in RP but strong enough that it makes sense for the story.

But I like to think it runs deeper than that, that this genuinely is their worst fear. That they fear what they're becoming, what they're growing into. It's brought up a few times in attempts to manipulate the Commander that they don't care about their friends. Which of course isn't true, but as a fear? I could absolutely see the Commander being afraid of losing themselves in their attempts at saving the world, that they forget how to be close to people and feel like they can no longer relate to anyone because they've just been through so. damn. much.

Eir in Gyala Delve, as well as Almorra, back this up to me. They could have gone the angle of "you were too late" or "there was more they could have done" to hurt the Commander but they BOTH said similar things to them; "I was nothing to you/You don't care that these people love you."

So it keeps coming back as a manifest, there's no one event that haunts the Commander in particular, it's what these events threaten to turn them into that they're so scared of. So whenever an enemy wants to manipulate them, the best go-to is to fight the worst version of themselves because that's what they truly fear.

Because maybe on some levels, it's true. Maybe buried deep down, the Commander is struggling to relate to the common man because after the dragons and a god, how can you go back to small talk? Maybe the Commander is suffering from compassion fatigue deep down and finding it hard to care about the smaller things now. Maybe they are as chaotic as people say, and they just don't see it anymore because the traumas of war have just all blended it together.

What if the worst version of them DOES exist, just under the surface?

[horse-girl-anthy]

Mikage: Boy of the Black Rose

I've long struggled to write about Mikage, who I find to be an intriguing yet elusive character. or rather, his character is understandable--his motives and feelings are communicated clearly enough--but his narrative is one of the most inexplicable in RGU. thinking it over tonight, I put my finger on one aspect of the Black Rose arc which I previously didn't know how to approach: specifically, Mikage's relationship with the Boys of the Black Rose.

the boys act as a kind of collective character, a mass of faceless people who whisper in dark corners. since RGU is about social reality, it often uses extras to deliver exposition or set the mood. the Shadow Girls are meta characters, existing somewhat outside the narrative, but regular schoolgirls at Ohtori can serve a similar purpose. they might demonstrate that Touga and Saionji are considered the hottest boys in school, or gossip about Ruka and Shiori's recent breakup.

the Boys of the Black Rose are slightly different, maybe a little closer to the Shadow Girls. rather than acting as bit characters in the larger world of Ohtori campus, I believe their existence is contigent on Mikage. while this could be put in various ways, in the most straightforward terms, the writers created them to help reflect on Mikage's character.

only one Black Rose Boy is given a face: the first one Mikage (Nemuro) talks to. when Mikage asks not to be called "professor," since they are the same age, the boy replies:

obviously, RGU relies on making its main characters visually distinct from "normal people." Wakaba calls them "special" and resents them. Utena is popular for her specialness, well-liked; in contrast, Mikage is an outcast for his. for a person to be special or a genius, there must be others for them to stand in opposition to. Mikage is set apart from his peers by his pink hair, by his unique uniform, and by being a professor.

after Mikage is introduced to his new work, the boys begin to gossip about him, saying he knows nothing about what's really going on at Ohtori. towards the end of this conversation, there's a shot of Mikage, and then he actually replies from the future to the gossip they were spreading about him.

this is Mikage's eternal reality: his recollection of the past. even during the "present" of Utena's narrative, he is still walking through Nemuro Memorial Hall, which is why it's still standing, unburned. the Boys of the Black Rose that the audience sees are filtered through Mikage's memory; whether or not the boys really said these things about him is ambiguous. it's possible, but the important fact is that Mikage believes they did.

this transpersonal mirroring keeps Mikage trapped, unchanging. he feels himself defined as unable to connect with others, so he keeps away from them. this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle, leaving Mikage a total outcast.

even outcasts, however, are members of society. the Boys of the Black Rose actually have more in common with Mikage than the average Ohtori student. they're all scientists working on the same project. they have much of his coldness, sense of superiority, and intellectualism. the main difference is that they're the in-group.

while Mikage believes himself to be emotionless, it's made clear that his social isolation hurts him. he doesn't want to be set apart, but he doesn't know how to break through the barrier between him and others. it's very easy to do a queer reading of the character, given the way this is conveyed to the audience.

Mikage's fixation on Tokiko and Mamiya is easier to undestand with all this in mind. the world he was living in, occupied by the Boys of the Black Rose, was a cold and alienated one. in contrast, Tokiko has genuine passion, caring for her brother deeply. Tokiko's tears move Mikage, allowing his own buried emotions to break through the surface. but she also reinforces his social isolation; he is equally as hurt by her as he is drawn to her.

this is part of why Mikage is so determined to "defeat" Tokiko; she offered him hope of connection, but he was never able to "win" her, as men so often try to do with women.

Mamiya is something else altogether; a boy, like Mikage and the Black Rose Boys, but altogether different. warm, friendly to Mikage, not intimidated by his intelligence or reputation, and insightful. in a show full of characters obsessed with holding on (to the past, to a person, to their self-image), Mamiya is the only one who can see the wisdom in letting go.

Mikage at first is open to Mamiya's words, preparing to call off their quest for eternal life. but like every character who threatens the system in RGU, he is faced with Akio. in a prototype of the later "End of the World" sequences, Mikage comes across the kissing Tokiko and Akio. this proves to be too much for him; there are some things he can't afford to lose.

the scene has significance to Mikage far beyond disappointment in love. he wanted to create a family with Tokiko and Mamiya; marriage to Tokiko would tie them together "forever." if he could be by Tokiko's side as they lost Mamiya, then at least he wouldn't be alone after his death. but if he's only Tokiko's coworker, when their work is done, he's back to being a computer.

in desperation, Mikage plays into Akio's hands. under contract, he sacrifices the Boys of the Black Rose and burns down the hall that bears his name. when justifying himself to Tokiko, he claims that this act will allow them to attain eternity. in the events of the series, he's still at it: installing Mamiya as the Rose Bride will, after all, make him eternal, even though it's the very kind of eternity Mamiya wanted nothing to do with.

Mikage retreats into delusions on feeling the sting of Tokiko's rejection. though he is the one who betrayed her, he turns it around and feels betrayed himself. going even further, he casts Mamiya as the one who set the fire.

the Boys of the Black Rose are also used to emphasize his inability to face his own actions. throughout the arc, the boys are seen pushing coffins around. however, in episode 23, Mikage takes their place right before he is forced to face the truth about himself.

at the end of the arc, Miki claims that no one was hurt in the the fire, contradicting the previous story of Nemuro Memorial Hall. this possibly indicates that the murders are a figment of Mikage's imagination--the older Tokiko doesn't seem to react to him as if he's a murderer. more than anything, he seems guilty of self-denial and retreat from reality. Tokiko went on to accept Mamiya's death and even mourned for Mikage, while he ignored her in favor of his memories. the fact that he does not recognize her feelings is another aspect of his tragedy.

Mikage, through his fruitless revolution, loses the very things he always wanted. he attempts to throw away his past self, the cocoon of Nemuro hatching into the butterfly that is Mikage. with it, he burns away the boys who rejected him, who embodied the cold world he used to live in. he uses their sacrifice to enshrine Mamiya, idealizing him as the perfect companion. but as Ikuhara said, he was doomed to fail from the start:

Those who reject that place are, conversely, rejected by it as well. This is the nature of systems: the moment you reject them, you are forced to realize that they’re the very ground you’re standing on. Mikage noticed the trick behind the system, and he hurriedly attempted revisions. But the adult who’d created the system just said “Let’s not,” and unilaterally brought the curtain down.

the "trick within the system," is, I think, the fact that it's socially constructed. Mikage believed that on realizing this, he could simply remake the world as he wanted. he was allowed to do so for a time, when it was useful. when he ceased to be useful, he was dispatched with, because while he had operated within the system, he was not in control of it. and beneath his delusions, there was still a reality.

Mikage is the true Boy of the Black Rose: the true ghost, the true sacrifice, living in the desiccated world of a preserved flower. throughout the arc, he takes possession of Ohtori students who suffer from the same afflictions as him, and every time Utena defeats one of his duelists, another part of him is exorcised--another Black Rose Boy burned away. in the end, the only thing left of him is the ruin of Nemuro Memorial Hall, shown briefly in the final episode. he graduates at Ohtori, but only after losing absolutely everything. that seems to be the only way to step into adulthood: naked and shivering, like the day we are born.

[saturnniidae]

Sorry for all the yapping but truly, hiccstrid and just Astrid as a character, are a tragedy with their wasted potential.

Astrid and Hiccup's similarities are like never brought up, neither are the overlaps in their hobbies (they're both incredibly stubborn and protectors at heart, care deeply for their community but don't always know how to show it, astrid collects weapons, hiccup makes them, they're both artists in their own rights, etc).

In canon they have barely anything in common and are together for seemingly no reason other than Hiccup's childhood crush.

Their dynamic throughout the franchise is just consistently Hiccup continously fucking up or being unsure of himself and Astrid giving him a Motovational Speech to make him feel better, very rarely (if at all) do we see this in reverse.

Astrid exists to uplift Hiccup and nothing more. She isn't her own person she isn't allowed to exist outside of him. We barely see her interacting with the other riders beyond surface level of her 'putting up with' them despite the literal crumbs we're shown of their bonds.

(wasted potential of Ruff and Astrid friendship, the way there was a whole episode about her learning to work with Tuff and they just forgot about it immediately after, hints of her being close with Fishlegs, her dynamic with Snotlout)

In rtte especially she comes off as so mean for no reason towards people who are meant to be her friends (Hiccup very much suffers from this too 💀) or ignoring the words and ideas of anyone that isn't Hiccup.

It's honestly frustrating how at a glance, Astrid is seen by many as some kind of feminist icon for being able to fight. She is such a byproduct of that whole 'girl power' era in the 2010s where they were so afraid of getting in trouble for making women seem weak, they went for the reverse extreme by making her seem cold and unfeeling or just angry for no reason (past the first movie at least) towards everyone but her love interest.

[vasito-de-leche]

crawling back from a hole to GEEK about suitcase gang members that would get along the best 💁‍♀️

- x, medicine pocket, and sotheby: lethal IRB nightmares

- med poc and sotheby: explosive concoctions

- centurion and tennant: harbingers of serial bankruptcy

- mesmer jr. and 6: orderliness

- dikke and 6: law and order (dun dun)

- melania and bkornblume: the thief and her gal in the chair (they're a ship too)

- eagle and shamane: shamane is MAD impressed at this girl's wilderness skills + will also be willing to teach her stuff

- horropedia, an an lee, and blonney: it's always horro and blonney / horro and an an but never these three together. you can bet that blon and horro surrounds an an to ask about her ghost vacuum

- blonney and desert flannel: she's in patch 1.5 but her design tells me that she's rocking her closet which is a bonding topic with blonney

- lilya and jiu niangzi: girl is in patch 1.6 but all that is known for now for global players is that she makes killer alcohol. cue lilya as her willing taste-tester

- sputnik 1 and 37: just 37 marvelling this perfect sphere

- alien T and 37: this girl again eyeing the ufo's circumference

- kaala bauna and voyager: kaala has a question or two about the heavenly bodies

- dikke and knight: s w o r d

ohhh fun! here's a few dynamics and characters I think would get along since you've shared your own!

Baby Blue and every character younger than her--especially Balloon Party

Baby Blue is just 17 but I do like to think that, bc of her connection with Wonderland and innocence, she would act as a big sister for many of the younger arcanists. especially Balloon Party since the two reject adults or the idea of growing up!

Blonney and Bunny Bunny

both characters have a focus on movie or hollywood as a concept, both are also girls around the same age range who know what it's like to be put into very restrictive stereotypes (the blonde bimbo, the southerner). I think they'd get along, and it's very funny to think about Blonney go straight to Bunny Bunny for help if Jessica ever needs help, since Bunny Bunny's family had a farm lmfao

but I also just rlly love girls who are total opposites on a surface level being close friends bc of the small little things they do have in common

Sweetheart and Bette, following the same reasoning as the Blonney and Bunny Bunny

THE MOST FAMOUS ACTRESS AND A STRUGGLING ACTRESS...BEING FRIENDS... SEEING EACH OTHERS PERSPECTIVES....

sorry I'm very passionate abt Sweetheart being so jaded and tired of the way hollywood treated her and warped her image to be nothing but a product for the audience's consumption. and very passionate abt Bette near-delusional hope of making it into the industry

Sonetto and Zima, both being poets

I could've added Charlie or The Fool since the idea is similar, but I feel like Zima would work best?

all three of these characters cherish the power of the written word and have used it against injust systems, but I think that Charlie's insecurities would hold her back a lot from truly bonding with Sonetto thru poetry, and The Fool is too much of a revolutionary--his very open and vocal "down with the monarchy, every person in authority is a fucking fool" vibe would clash with Sonetto's obedient dog aspects. Zima, however, feels perfect to act as another poet for Sonetto to befriend and a mentor to slowly introduce her to more open ideologies

SURE hes a recluse and socially inept bc of the years of isolation in exile, BUT HES NOT SHY WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING HIS VIEWS AND THOUGHTS OR WORK. hes the perfect idea of subdued and quiet strength, I rlly think Sonetto could really benefit from having him as a mentor or responsible adult figure

Pavia and Centurion

YES, I KNOW TENNANT IS VERY OBVIOUS FOR CENTURION BC SHE SCAMS PPL AND CENTURION IS VERY LUCKY SO SHE WINS AT EVERYTHING AND PUT MANY PLACES INTO BANKRUPCY

but I'm NEVER letting go of casino dealer Pavia from the artificial somnambulism stages. these two? theyre ABSOLUTE MENACES together, the luckiest girl in the world addicted to adrenaline and thrills? with the most deranged "who gives a shit" mafia guy who does whatever he wants?

they'd be playing an extreme version of buckshot roulette together, they'd ruin the economy together just bc its funny. they dont know each other's full names. they hang out and bitch about life together. they dont care abt their respective life stories. they're the first person they call when they're bored. they've been in many many life threatening situations. they dont know each others favorite colors

do you see my vision!!!

[writingquestionsanswered]

Anonymous asked:

[ask edited for length and content]

Egodeath/Jealous Anon. Thank you. I feel better after your response. I wanted to clarify two things, just if you want more context: With the similarities, I think I'm afraid that if I do get published, my books will be instantly rejected because people think it's just another copycat. I've seen people instantly reject a book just because it was similar to one that's already popular. I put so much effort into making sure my ideas are my own, it would really hurt if readers thought the work was copied and not my own.

You are deeply overthinking things here.

If you want to be a published writer, you need to reconcile yourself with the fact that everyone isn't going to love your books. And that's fine, because no one has EVER written a book that was universally loved 100% across the board. No one. Ever. In history. Every single book ever written has its critics. Every single author whose ever put pen to paper has people who don't like them. This is just a reality.

If some people don't like your books because they're similar to another book they read, that has nothing to do with you. That's their prerogative. Other people might dislike your books because they're not similar enough to another book they read. It's pointless to worry about it because you will never please everyone. Why people don't like your book is none of your concern.

I guess with ACOTAR it was just too many specific things. The character design and role of Rhysand. The telepathy between the love interests. There was a whole lot more but I put it down so long ago I've forgotten most now - but at some point it just felt like reading my own notes when I opened one of those books. The worst was when a fictional name I made up was used in that book - and given it's popularity I 'd probably have copyright issues if I tried to keep it in my work anyway. I think that was just the last straw to make me quit the series.

It happens, and it's honestly not as big a deal as it feels like it is now. Again, ideas don't come from nowhere. As much as you strive to make sure your ideas are your own, our "creative wells" are all filled from the same places, and human experience is only so varied, so the odds of multiple people coming up with the same things over and over are actually pretty likely. You're holding yourself up to impossible standards by expecting yourself to create stories that are wholly original and share no similarities with any other story.

Let me share a few times when this has happened to me in hopes it will help you see it's not that big a deal...

A few years after I wrote my first novella (which was not yet published at that time), I saw a commercial for a new TV show. The background concept, setting, and many surface details were pretty identical to my novella, but what KILLED me is one of the main characters had the same name and nickname as my protagonist... and they weren't even that common a name/nickname for that time period. I was sick... absolutely sick. It completely derailed my plans to flesh the story out into a full novel and publish it. Now, YEARS later, I just laugh when I think about it because the things that felt like glaring similarities now are nothing. The plot and conflict of the TV show are completely different from my novella. In the intervening years, I've come across countless other stories with the same background concept, same setting, same surface details, similar characters... and all of those shows, movies, stories, books, video games, comics, graphic novels, plays--whatever--have people who adore them and DGAF about any similarities to some random TV show.

Less than two years after my debut novel was published, I was reading a newly released book and was absolutely floored by the number of similarities. Two less common names, two unusual titles used in a similar way, and three unusual descriptive words used in the same way. Plus, 24 bigger similarities like setting similarities, plot point similarities, situational similarities... Were it not highly unlikely that the author had read my book, and had it not been for the short amount of time between my book and their book, it would have been tempting to think they'd intentionally copied me, because the similarities were just that glaring. But the reality is, we're just two writers who think alike, and in the years since, I've found a few other writers with whom I constantly have these kinds of similarities. They happen, and they feel world-ending at the time, but I promise you they're not as big a deal as your brain is making them into.

So, seriously, stop worrying about it. Similarities are going to happen, and they're going to be glaring sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it. There's absolutely no way you can write a book that has not a single similarity with an existing story, and even if you could, that's not going to mean you'll write a book that will be universally loved 100% by everyone. People are going to dislike your book no matter what you do, and some of those people may see similarities between apples and oranges. There's nothing you can do about it. You're not writing for them anyway. You're writing for the people who are going to LOVE your book, and that will be the majority, similarities or not. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[always-amity]

Blubberwing

(Book Series)

Headcanons/Design Details below cut

Blubberwings are deep ocean dragons found far from shore. They used to be somewhat common, but have become an increasingly rare sight, especially around inhabited islands due to excessive hunting.

Unlike many other Sea Dragons, Bluberwings have not adapted gills or other methods to extract oxygen from the water, and so still need to come to the surface to breathe. Though they can hold their breathe for quite a while, often only needing to surface every 4 hours or so, though they can go up to double that without a breath if they're not exerting themselves too much.

Blubberwings were once incredibly friendly, curious dragons, not too dissimilar from Golphins, but due to the extreme hunting they faced from humans for their meat, bones and blubber, most have become incredibly timid.

Various Blubberwing products have become incredibly expensive and in high demand thanks to their newfound scarcity and the fact that most individuals who are hunted are juveniles, not much bigger than a slightly bigger than average riding dragon, who have not yet learned to fear humans and their ships, rather than adults, who can grow to be even larger than viking longships.

---

Blubberwings are one of the many, many species who don't get any art pieces or much of a description, just a handful of mentions of their fat being used to keep swimmers warm in cold water, so this was another case where I had pretty much nothing to go off!

I took inspiration from Northern Bottlenose Whales for these guys for a few reasons. One is that I just think Beaked Whales in general are super cool animals that very few people even know about the existence of, so I'll take any opportunity to introduce even a single person to those amazing creatures.

The other, and more specific reason why I chose Bottlenose Whales specifically rather than any other Beaked Whale is the fact that they were heavily hunted in real life! Populations in the North Atlantic were targeted extensively for more than a centaury thanks to the fact that they were particularly friendly and produced a lot more oil than other whales of similar size.

[olasketches]

Hey, I am asking you because I think as an artist you can answer this better.. So I have seen people saying yuuji , wasuke, jin and sukuna look the same. But isn't it just artsyle of gege except for their hair.. Because I have seen most manga characters look the same face wise except minor differences. For example, these people were calling hazenoki the guy who fought kenjaku before takaba and kashimo similar to gojo... By their logic they should be related too.

hey anon! Thanks for stopping by, I’ll try my best to answer your ask.

yuuji, jin and wasuke don’t look the same but they definitely look similar in some ways due to them being related. sukuna also share some similarities with them and yes, the hair seems the most obvious and common charectaristic that ppl tend to notice first but then inumaki had the same hairstyle in volume 0 and he looks nothing like yuuji, sukuna, jin and wasuke. in case of hazenoki, kashimo and gojo, there are some similiraties in their design but to be honest hazenoki’s face reminds me of that one guy from demon slayer who I don’t even know the name of lol and kashimo KINDAAAA reminds me of pre unsealed gojo (he has such a baby face imo), which is probably why gege modified gojo’s design later on and gave him more sharper features. the thing is that when you want to have characters who are closely related to each other to share some similarities you would focus on their facial features the most. I would say that what makes yuuji, jin and wasuke look so similar to one another other are their eyes.

yuuji could change the colour and length of his hair and he would still probably look similar to his grandpa and father. In sukuna’s case I would say that he shares the most characteristics with wasuke.. but the thing is that the facial features don’t have to look exactly the same. the trick is to get their likeness right to have the viewer associate these characters with each other. hazenoki, kashimo and gojo don’t really have that cause they all have at least one distinctive facial feature that separates them from the other two. like hazenoki and his thick eyebrows, kashimo and his sharper eyes (similar to yuuji actually and YET they look nothing alike cause the don’t have a likeness to each other the way yuuji, jin and wasuke do) and gojo’s white eyelashes. 

so when you want family members to look related BUT NOT THE SAME (unless their indentical twins) you would focus on their facial features the most (hair colour and hairstyle can help but that’s not what determines their likenesses), but then again it's really not about drawing the exact same features in the exact same way but drawing them in a way that makes them look very alike. I think you can think about it like when you draw a pair of eyes on a small piece of paper and then you stick it to different surfaces that have similar shapes like a balloon and a ball

and then there characters who have similar designs but don't look like they're related to one another cause of this one or two very distinctive facial feature that separates them from the other.

the thing is that, gege is not only a writer but he's also an artist and I feel like the majority of the fandom mostly associates that with his art style alone. art is so much more than just art style tho. it's also what the artist wants to convey through their work. as an artist myself, I believe that he's very much INTENTIONAL about the way he draws and portray his characters. he wants his readers to make certain connections just by the way he designs them (or makes them act or draws their facial expressions). for example the majority of the fandom knew that there must be some relation between sukuna and yuuji's family, not only because of kenjaku but also because they look like they could be related. and this was deliberate on gege’s part.

[themuskrater]

The Lizard and Killer Croc

Everyone knows Marvel and DC steal ideas from each other. Getting mad about it at this point is lame, we just have to accept it. But it's still fun to compare characters that were clearly taken from the other company. And two I see get compared a lot are Marvel's The Lizard and DC's Killer Croc. This is lazy, I'm gonna tell you why, and then I'm gonna provide a much better example to match with The Lizard.

First let's compare the similarities between Croc and Lizard...They're lizards. That's it.

Doctor Curt Connors is a scientist who lost his arm while he was serving in the military, so he dedicated his life to creating a formula that would allow humans to regrow limbs. Using reptilian DNA, Doctor Connors tested the treatment on himself, and while it did regrow his arm, it also turned him into the villainous Lizard.

Waylon Jones is a normal man who, depending on the continuity, either just has a severe skin condition that results in him forming scale-like calluses, or a degenerative mutation that causes him to progressively form more reptilian features. Waylon was raised in the circus as a freak show act. He was treated like a monster, and thus, he became a monster: building his strength, learning to hold his breath for long periods of time, and developing a taste for human flesh.

These two have almost nothing in common. If only there was another scientist who uses the genetic makeup of an animal known for their enhanced abilities to cure his own disability, but tragically results in him becoming a monsterous creature and losing all control...oh wait.

Doctor Kirk Langstrom is a scientist and, again depending on the continuity, either is deaf himself or is seeking to end deafness in others. Thus, Doctor Langstrom uses the DNA of a vampire bat to create a drug that would repair the hearing in whoever took it, but instead when testing it on himself, Kirk Langstrom was transformed into the terrifying Man-Bat.

Kirk Langstrom and Curt Connors are the same characters. They have nearly identical stories, near identical villain identities, only one got turned into a bat and the other a lizard. What's even funnier is we didn't have to search very hard to find a better comparison than Killer Croc since they're BOTH Batman villains.

I think people compare Lizard and Killer Croc because they're not really familiar with these characters or their stories. They see surface level similarities and assume they're copies of each other. Similar to how people compare Batman and Moon Knight. They're right to assume DC and Marvel copy each other's characters, but just matched up the wrong characters

The Lizard and Man-Bat

[elisgeorge]

Did you know there are services that offer free university-level modules, for free?

I am one of those people that are obsessed with learning, but structured courses are expensive. Not these. Here are some links if you, too, are obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and want to learn something (for FREE!)

EdX is my personal favourite. It offers loads of subjects that are usually taken from university courses, and the ones that I have done are pretty good. These can all be taken for free, or you can pay £40 to take the assignments and recieve a graded certificate. Now, the catch here is that most of the courses are archived, which means that, occasionally, some of the links won't work and you have to be creative with the readings. I have found this to be a pretty minimal issue though, and it is worth it.

I recently took this EdX course about 19th Century literature and it was excellent. Some of the links were broken so I took some creative liberties with the readings, but I read all of the books discussed and used the course materials to critically analyse them as I did so. I didn't follow the course exactly, but it was still an enriching experience and something I wouldn't have thought to do otherwise.

Another good one is OpenLearn, which is a branch of the Open University. The OpenLearn courses are usually pretty good, although some can feel a bit lackluster and basic. Don't expect super in-depth courses, but they're good for an introduction to a subject, or to top up your skills in somethign you haven't done in a while. These offer free certificates of participation, so they're great if, say, you want a career change but you haven't studied data science since college. I enjoyed the classes I took, but I wouldn't say they were as challenging as EdX.

I recently took this OpenLearn course about Hadrian's Rome. Classical history is something I'm interested in and this was a great way to guide my study of an aspect of it.

Coursera is a very popular one. Similar to OpenLearn, these courses can sometimes be a little surface-level. These also have a much larger focus on building transferrable skills than developing cultural knowledge and learning for your own enrichment. Even so, there are some wonderful gems on there if you're willing to scroll through and find them. Coursera is also great because it has project-centred courses, where you work towards a finished product under the (virtual, recorded) guidance of an expert. Think of it like a corporate skillshare.

Last summer I took this Coursera course about screenwriting. It was project based, and I came out of it with a fully realised first draft of a pilot episode of a TV show. I realised through this process that maybe screenwriting wasn't for me, but it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone with writing and explore that avenue that I would have probably always wodered about.

OpenCulture is a good database of free courses that then redirects you to other websites, but you have to be willing to sift through the sludge with this one, as some are more worth your time than others.

Another good way to find free courses is to search for them on university websites. I have found that most US universities (and loads of UK ones too, though it is less common) offer free online courses. You have to be careful here, because sometimes they will say they are free but actually the 'free' part is viewing the syllabus.

You might be thinking 'what is the point of a course that doesn't get me a qualification?' and I'd say 'I get you, because I felt the same way,' but if you're anything like me and love learning, they're a godsend. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from finding all of the course content online, and I'd actually encourage you to do that alongside the courses, but knowing where to start is the difficult part. There is so much information to learn about any given topic that it can be overwhelming. These courses provide you with a structure that you can then use within your own wider research to learn about subjects you maybe don't want to commit to in a formal setting.

I'm not paid by any of these websites, I just think the monetisation of knowledge is wrong and awful and disgusting and anyway to beat that should be celebrated and shared and used as widely as possible.

Happy learning! :)

[evelhak]

hi, hope you’re doing well. different person this time around, but you’ve talked abt kuroko & haizaki interactions and how they perceive things, so i’d like to ask abt midorima & akashi in that same context if u don’t mind

Thank you anon, I hope you're doing well too. ☆

You definitely asked a useful question for me, because I'm going to start writing an Akashi centric fic pretty soon, and I haven't explored the relationship between Akashi and Midorima much, which I obviously will have to do when I start writing. So, it wouldn't hurt to think about it already.

There are definitely some things about Akashi's and Midorima's personalities that would make them gravitate towards each other, because no other person in their middle school friend group can really share these things with them to that level. First of all, they're both perfectionists on their own level. For Akashi it's broader and driven by a debilitating fear of mistakes and failure and for Midorima it's more detailed and focused on a particular thing and driven by more of a strictness and inflexibility of thinking, but they both certainly are always going towards some holy idea of perfection. If they do things Right everything's gonna be okay.

However, I think this is where it gets interesting. Midorima seems more arrogant and high and mighty on the surface (at least compared to Oreshi) but he's actually more humble inside, because he places the ultimate control outside of himself, he sees himself in the end as only a human who will always do his absolute best, but it's never a guarantee of anything. Akashi (at least Oreshi) seems a lot more amiable and humble on the surface, but inside he's completely alone, he sees himself as the centre of the universe in the sense that no one will save him, there's nothing bigger than him, therefore him letting go of control would mean total chaos. It's kind of like Midorima sees himself as superior because he knows he is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, unlike the fools who don't know this. While Akashi sees himself as forsaken, and he's compensating for it by trying to be a god, like if he's perfect and in control then maybe he can have some resemblance of a real place in the world. I think these qualities also draw them towards each other, because control is a very big thing for both of them, and they have in some ways similar and in some ways the opposite ways of dealing with it, so they would have a fascination for the way they overlap and differ. It's a lot easier to dismiss someone's way as wrong when you have nothing in common, but when you already have a lot in common and then differ in a major way, it can have a way of encouraging you to find out more about the things that seem so foreign to you, so I think there's something like that going on with these two.

Their differences of course affect the way their relationship works. For Midorima, Akashi seems a bit more like a puzzle to solve, and for Akashi, Midorima seems more like a sounding board to reflect upon, if you simplify it.

They are also the only true "numbers" people in the group, the ones who live and breathe efficiency and have a plan for brushing their teeth. (Sorry for mocking, it's only because I'm completely useless in that department, and my own strategies are completely opposite that I can't pass by a chance to make fun of it. :D I swear I also make fun of my own ways.) I can just picture them as adults, discussing economy and infrastructure and shit like that in a way that my brain just immediately checks out of. Good for them. But again, Midorima has a more detailed and concrete approach to this numbers and plans game, while Akashi has a more abstract, broad one.

I think because they are like this, having both significant overlap and differences, their several common or compatible interests not only bring them together but will make them stay as friends, because their differences will keep their relationship interesting. Because it's one thing to have a friend who likes what you like and approaches those things in pretty much the same ways as you (that's a comforting relationship that doesn't challenge you to grow) and it's another thing to have a friend who likes what you like and approaches those things about half same and half opposite ways from you (that makes a relationship comforting and also challenges you to grow).

So... this only scratches the surface of Midorima and Akashi together, because I haven't really gone there too much.

If you want to read some crack, I have a story about these rich boys going to McDonald's. It's complete trolling. (And it's the type of story where someone adds random adjectives in to make it funnier. It's probably confusing, there are some references to other crack fics I've written too. It might be a "you had to be there" kind of funny, but. In case you're curious.)

[kyogre-blue]

Okkkk, done with the 12th month (aka goodbye Jeralt)

The fantasy action/adventure stuff continues apace. The Tomas/Solon thing was pretty smoothly set up, though I would say Monica/Kronya was much less so. She's mentioned like once, then gets one quick textbox of nothing on the stage immediately before the stabbening, so it really comes out of nowhere. It doesn't help that the cutscene is quite rough and doesn't really convey things too well.

Aside from that, we progress from Miklan turning into a monster while holding a Relic, to the Crest Stones being related to shapeshifting, to a mystery group who experiment on humans all the way to turning students into monsters with crest shards... and who also happen to be able to change their appearance. (Minor FE lore tidbit: in the old Archanaea games, there was a dragonkin who could shapeshift into other people. So this is all potentially part of the same experimentation.)

We also get into the mystery of Byleth's birth, but while Jeralt's diary makes it clear that he freaked out, Rhea herself doesn't come off as particularly ominous or suspicious. If anything, her reactions and the details that surface make her look burdened but not particularly culpable for anything. Actually, I am getting very attached to her. She's so pretty and so sad. Why can't I do her A rank? Why can't I S rank her on this route? :(((

The other major player is Claude, but... tbh I agree that the relationship with him feels weirdly floaty. If anything, I feel like it would at least be better if he said he had thought his dream might not even be possible, but seeing Byleth makes him feel like it might be achievable after all. At least it would add weight to it that way. As it is, the lack of anything concrete from him, along with his brown-nosing makes him come off as trying to manipulate Byleth more than forming a genuine connection.

The Golden Deer on the whole have a similar problem. They are nice kids, and the combination of their supports + paralogues does create a certain sense of community and group connection. I went around and listened to all their little dialogues about trying to comfort Byleth after Jeralt's passing... (Getting Leonie B rank immediately after tho... lol)

But it feels like there's a lack of some major anchoring event or cause to serve as the focal point, presumably because no one in the class can really interact with the plot and they're too disparate to share a similar broad motivation. Like, I don't instinctively reject their promise to meet in five years, at the Millennium Festival, but I can't say I'm all that invested in it either.

It also really doesn't help that the writers didn't bother fleshing out some of them. A lot of them cross the line from having traits that strongly influence them to having 2 jokes that they repeat in every support. Disappointing but unsurprising, it happens especially prominently with the commoner characters.

And again, liveblogging notes:

Rhea is so unsubtle about Flayn, "your... sister is like family to me," if we ever thought Flayn was really Seteth's sister lmao

And then Lysithea is like "she looks my age but seems so much older!" when she herself gets accused of acting too mature several times. lmao they were not subtle At All

Immediately after Tomas jumpscare, we get a required chain of dialogue highlight how he's so sus, he's been asking about Flayn before he knew she was missing, he was asking about Byleth and Jeralt too, he directly calls you out for finding him suspicious and tries to handwave it with "oh, I was just curious" aka the weakest excuse ever

I keep killing the other enemies before getting to Death Knight. Twice now! It's so rude because I didn't know he'd teleport out if I killed some other dude? Lysithea could one shot his ass, damn I'm not redoing that stage tho

At least I finally managed to grind out enough Armor to recruit Ferdinand. His C support is really funny because he wants to talk about what you think of Edelgard, but like... I've seen her like twice. I don't care, dude.

They mention that Byleth has started smiling twice in a row. This writing is not subtle lol

eeeeey got a paralogue AND a relic

Several mentions of Almyra, and these proper nouns are finally starting to sound a little more familiar. I have almost all C ranks and it's getting into the B ranks now.

Claude brings up wanting to use the Sword again. He's really hung up on that.

When Byleth suddenly falls over in the Remire month, Sothis mentions that she's felt dizzy before, but I can't remember what this might be referring to. She later says the feeling is very familiar, so it seems to be related to her? Mysterious.

Lysithea casually drops that she has multiple crests in conversation. We haven't discussed this before....

Claude points out that the Crest Stones on the Relics have the images of the associated Crests. He doesn't seem to know what Crest Stones are, though he knows the name.

He finds a picture of the Immaculate One and notices it might have a Crest Stone on it, linking it to the ability to transform. Which is... not incorrect.

Claude directly confronts Seteth about his censorship. Claude is so fond of the bludgeoning approach to conversation.

Monsters attack merchants all the time (at least in Alliance). Generally, monsters don't just occur naturally in FE settings, but I guess it's just a thing in Fodlan? These do seem to be mutated animals (holding "Dark Stone") rather former people, I suppose.

I actually kind of like Raphael. I wish his writing wasn't so much 2 jokes though.

Raphael and Ignatz paralogue suggests that Lorenz's dad got the "previous Duke Reigan" killed but like... the current Duke is Claude's grandfather. It seems like this is referring to Claude's uncle, but he's other times referred to as the previous heir, so...

Incidentally, two merchants were killed along with this previous Duke, who were Raphael's parents and went instead of Ignatz's parents by chance.

Claude describes his father as "extravagant" and his mother is apparently like a warrior goddess. She seems to be able to back it up, including getting into a fistfight with a famous warrior.

He's not very subtle about hiding his background. Like, bro, if you talk about having a combat instructor who has won a hundred battles, that's... not normal....

That reminds me of Claude expecting Cyril to recognize him. They don't have TV, so how would a regular commoner kid recognize the crown prince on sight? Does Claude's portrait get passed around? Is he Almyra's top bachelor of the younger generation? Or is he just that out of touch?

Solon was at the monastery specifically to get Flayn's blood. The Agarthans need it for their plans.

Flame Emperor jumpscare lol

Edelgard says she would have totally stopped Solon's experiments if she knew, promise. And smoothly goes into pointing out what a threat the Agarthans are.

Jeralt suggests running away from Rhea was a mistake. Claude suggests that maybe exposing the church's secrets might not be for the best.

Apparently Jeralt had told Byleth they were born after he left the monastery.

Tomas joined the monastery 40 years ago, then left 8 years ago, and returned 1 year ago. He was recommended by House Ordelia. Jeritza was recommended by the Imperial nobility.

Seteth and Flayn's paralogue is kinda... weird if it happens before the war.

Flayn B theorizes that maybe she and Byleth are related, it's possible given "everything Rhea has done." But Seteth doesn't know what could possibly be up with Byleth, so...

Getting both Claude B and Leonie B right after Jeralt's death is... sure a ride.

tbh the cutscene for Jeralt dying was kind of unimpressive.

Fun fact: it seems like you have to choose the Dancer on the very first weekend of the month, and it no longer works on subsequent weekends. Guess who overwrote their only save of that by accident. No dancer in this run, I guess.

[piperslovebot]

zenmasters for the otp asks

Omg Anna! It’s been too long! Hope ur doing well!

1. Who fell for the other one first? Hyde for sure. I used to say Jackie because of season 3 but that mostly seemed like obsession looking back.

2. Was it love at first sight? Not at all lol

3. Was it lust at first sight? I can see that tbh. Even though Hyde and Jackie didn’t like each other, I highly doubt that neither found the other attractive.

4. What do physical trait do they love the most about each other? They both love each other’s eyes and smiles. Also their bodies lol.

5. What personality trait do they love the most about each other? Hyde loves that Jackie has a big heart and how genuinely tough she can be. Jackie loves Hyde’s honesty and heart.

6. What random everyday object/activity makes them think of each other? At the makeup salon, there’s a Led Zeppelin painting, making Jackie think about him. And with Hyde, some of Jackie’s favorite music will be sold in the store.

7. What is something they'd want to change about the other if they could? Hyde would probably change her bossiness and Jackie would change his closed off ness. But aside from that, nothing.

8. Do they get along with each other's friends and family? Despite Jackie’s…intenseness, W.B. really like her and thinks she’s a smart girl. Angie also thinks she can be kinda a lot, but does like her. And I think we both know how Red and Kitty feel about the two of them. They’re like parents to the two. Same with Eric and Donna (who are also like family to them)

9. Do their friends and family like their significant others? Obviously yes

10. Have they had romantic partners before? Also yes. (Tho Jackie is Hyde’s first (and probably only serious relationship))

11. Are they a healthy couple? If no, why not? For the most part yes. Minus last season 5 and most of season 7. They both love and support each other and inspire each other to be better people.

12. Do they have potential to be healthy if they're usually toxic? Yes. If in late season 7, they just talked about their issues instead of the writers reducing them to some forbidden lusty connection when they were so much more than that. I wrote a fic called Love that addressed their issues.

13. Do they have potential to be toxic if they're usually healthy? Yes. Season 7 for starters and the whole thing with the nurse and Hyde acting like the wounded party.

14. What song fits them perfectly? Paper Rings, All Too Well, Love Story, Cruel Summer

15. Do they like the same music? Not at all. But they do try to be open to each other’s tastes.

16. Do they like the same food? Some, yes.

17. What do they have in common? They both are so much more than what scratches the surface, they have awful parents, they both are brutally honest, etc.

18. What is their sex life like? They have a very healthy and active sex life. But they just talk and hangout more.

19. Would they ever lie to each other? Why or why not? In canon, they have lied to each other several times but after fixing their issues, I don’t really think so. Plus Jackie would always find out and vise versa.

20. Are they interested in marriage? Why or why not? In my eyes, they’re already married and pregnant with twins lol.

21. Are they interested in having children? Why or why not? Same as 21. But on a serious note, yes. They are both scared shitless tho because of their own home lives.

22. Do you have other ships that resemble your OTP? Dair, Bamon, Gwikki

23. Is there top/dom and bottom/sub energy? Jackie is a top.

24. Are there any kinks or fetishes they share or don't? Not really. They do try using toys one but Jackie hated it and Hyde was uncomfortable (mostly because his chick was). Jackie does dress in a cheerleading uniform and Hyde in a Led Zeppelin shirt (similar to Peraltiago on their honeymoon)

25. Are they sentimental about gifts they've received from each other? They both prefer gifts from the heart.

26. What holidays do they like? Halloween

27. How do they feel about Valentine's day? Jackie loves it because of dressing up but Hyde just doesn’t care for it. Similar to Gloria, Jackie kept trying to get Jay to dress up but for a while it didn’t work. One day, he sees his son and daughter dressed up as Mickey and Minnie and gets won over. Jackie would cheer and Hyde would try to get her to stop.

28. Are they jealous/possessive of each other? Same as canon. But for the most part, they’re both very confident in their relationship.

29. Do they like public display of affection? For sure.

30. Do they enjoy dancing? Hyde hates it but loves Jackie so he dances with her anyways.

31. What's a perfect date for them? Them going to a nice restaurant.

32. How do they comfort each other? Hugs. They’d both mostly comfort each other in actions rather than words.

33. Who is the big spoon and why? Hyde is big spoon obviously because look at them…

34. What's their favorite nonsexual activity together? Just talking to one another and also watching tv.

35. How do they deal with being away from each other for a long time? They usually call and FaceTime each other. Hyde would sometimes sleep with the pink pillow Jackie put in his room and Jackie would sleep in Hyde’s Zeppelin shirt (now I’m emotional and want to write a drabble on this)

36. What is their favorite place to kiss the other? Hyde loves to kiss her nose and Jackie loves his lips.

(Cheek, hand, closed eyelid, neck, nose, etc.)

37. Have they ever hurt each other on accident? Yes.

38. Have they ever hurt each other deliberately? Also yes.

39. Who gets hit on the most? Hyde but Jackie has gotten hit on a few times too.

40. Who tries to distract the other when they're trying to do something else? Jackie

41. Who is, overall, the smarter one? Both are equally smart

42. Who is the sensible mature one? Hyde

43. Do they fight a lot? Not really. They bicker but not fight.

44. How do they make up after a fight? Talking it out, a hug, then makeup sex.

45. If one of them forgot to log out of their SoMe, what would their partner do? Neither really logs out tbh.

46. How do they make each other laugh? Hyde would try to say something lighthearted to make her laugh. Jackie would try to sing to Led Zeppelin.

47. Are they extroverts/introverts? Hyde, I feel is an introvert in some ways. Jackie is an extrovert for sure.

48. Who would bring home a homeless animal? Neither. If anything, their kid would bring a homeless animal and try to convince them to keep it.

49. Do they match outfits for special occasions? For formal event, yes. Sometimes, Jackie would wear a sparkly black dress and Hyde, a black suit and tie.

50. Who would protect who in a dangerous situation? Both. Hyde would do anything for his chick but Jackie would kill for Hyde.

[lepetitfruit]

Oooh, an opportunity to talk about obscure stuff from work? HELL YEAH.

Diamonds and diamond stimulants are really interesting, so much so that my entire post-secondary education is on gemstones and their uses. Fair warning, this post will include some(extremely fair) judgment about people's choice of diamond simulant, because some are OBJECTIVELY better than others. Anyway, I digress.

This got suuuuper long, so explanation is below the cut.

When talking about diamond simulants, you have a BUNCH of options. This includes glass, plastic, white sapphires, cubic zirconia, and moissanite. I'll also be talking about lab grown diamonds here, because while they aren't diamond simulants, they kinda fall into the realm of 'things people use to replace natural diamonds'. There's going to be a fair amount of technical explanation here, so be warned.

Starting off with the worst options: glass and plastic. Glass and plastic are being lumped together because they have pretty similar uses and problems. Glass and plastic diamond replacements are used almost exclusively in incredibly cheap costume jewelry. Both are soft, scratch and chip easily, and look nothing like real diamonds. The "look nothing like real diamonds" thing is for a few reasons, though mostly because of surface texture and refractive index.

Surface texture refers to how the surface of the stone looks(crazy, right?). This uncludes stuff like polish lines and the crispness of the facets(facets are the flat areas on a cut gemstone. I'm never sure how much about this sort of stuff people actually know, so I'll probably explain some obvious stuff. Bear with me). Because plastic is so soft, the facets tend to have very rounded edges and are less distinct. Diamonds have perfectly flat facets, and sharp divides between them. Polish lines on plastic "stones" are very rounded, as opposed to being sharp on a real diamond. The surface texture of glass is more similar to diamonds, with facets being flat. However, glass isn't very durable and so tends to have small chips along the edges of facets.

White sapphires have become a more common simulant recently, though still not nearly as popular as cubics or moissanite. This is in part because lab grown white sapphires are relatively inexpensive (depending on size of course, but about a nice evening out for 2) and extremely hard. Diamonds are of course the hardest material available, and are a 10 on the moh's scale. Sapphires are a 9, glass is a 5.5, and plastic varies, but is lowwwww. White sapphires are a generally pretty good simulant in terms of wearability and surface texture, but don't replicate the diamond look very well for 2 reasons- refractive index, and fire.

Refractive index does matter for glass and plastic, but because the surface texture makes it immediately obvious they're not real diamonds im not going to talk about it. I'll explain more on RI later.

Refractive index is a number that represents how much a ray of light will bend when going from medium to another. In this case, that is air to sapphire(or whatever other material we're discussing). Refractive index also determines what angle a ray has to hit a surface in order for for to reflect, rather than refract. I warned you there would be science. Diamond's refractive index is 2.42, while sapphire's is ~1.76. The higher the refractive index, the more light bends when it enters the medium. Also, the higher the refractive index, the steeper the angle needed to enter the medium. Okay, I promise it gets interesting again here. Because sapphire's refractive index is so much lower than diamond's, it has to be cut differently to achieve the same result. The angle needed to make the light reflect, rather than refract, is much narrower for sapphire than for diamond. This means the stones must be cut deeper to keep the same amount of brilliance, and even then sapphires are much darker. I have a diagram, because refractive index and stone cuts are reaaaallll confusing. This one is specifically about diamonds, but it illustrates the point well.

stop shaming people for being passionate about the things that they love. stop mocking people for having unusual interests. like, honestly, i'm so tired of feeling embarrassed for being "too much". if being too much means having deep interests that fill my life with romanticism and excitement, then let me be!!! i'd much rather listen to anyone ranting about their latest obsession with 16th century swords than have a boring ordinary conversation with those who shame passionate people