#this one goes out to all my shadow enjoyer(s)

[e-vay]

Hey E-Vay ! Before I say anything, LOVE your work.

Okay, so I know that you're in the process of showing us how Sonic and Amy's wedding and proposal is planned out (no pressure). BuT, just curious, how did Knucks and Rouge get married? Or even how did he get to propose?

Thanks for seeing this!

Thank you so very much! 🥰 I’m so happy you like my work! 

I will not be doing a full comic or even a full fic of how their wedding goes down just because I have too many other projects I want to do (I’m only one person! 🥵). But I will give you a breakdown of how the Knuxouge wedding goes in my AU! And if anyone wants to do fanart or a fic based off it, I’d love to see/read it!

During the events of Boom!Baby, Knuckles and Rouge finally get engaged. I don’t have the exact proposal in mind, but I like to think that the two of them have been aggressively/playfully putting it off for awhile, with Knuckles constantly joking “As if I’d ever want to be married to HER” and Rouge jabbing back with “Please, you’d need to offer me the Master Emerald on a ring for me to even consider it!” But with Sonic and Amy taking this next major step in their lives, Knuckles is inspired and does end up popping the question (with a CONSIDERABLE ring full of gems that he scavenged himself!).

Knowing Rouge is an absolute diva, she’d have the most extravagant, over-the-top, dazzling wedding you could imagine. And it would definitely be a “no-kids-allowed” event. Have you seen the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”? Picture that. The wedding would be a spectacle that would last for DAYS! But, the wedding date would be expedited super fast (I headcanon that Rouge is actually very insecure and puts out a bold front to hide that about herself. She’d want to rush the wedding because she’s secretly afraid Knuckles will want to back out. She shouldn’t worry about that, he loves her very much and really wants to marry her!).

In my AU, Shadow is off-world during Boom!Baby, so though Rouge would have obviously asked him to be her “Man of Honor,” she wouldn’t be able to find a way to reach him and get him back in time for the wedding. Because of this, Omega gets pushed to the role of “Man (Mech?) of Honor” and Rouge asks Amy to be a bridesmaid instead. Note, Amy is nearing the end of her pregnancy at this time haha. I always write Rouge and Amy to have a very tense “friendship;” that’s just my personal preference. So Rouge asking Amy to be her bridesmaid was because Amy is her closest female friend, but also because she thinks it will make herself look extra fabulous when standing next to a very pregnant lady haha. She even picks out an awful yellow bridesmaid dress for Amy to wear (because Amy is still very beautiful, pregnant or not). Though Amy does agree to be a bridesmaid to support her friend, she’s actually quite upset and very self-conscious and it initially puts a damper on her enjoyment of the wedding festivities (Her feet hurt like hell, she feels like a bowling ball, she thinks she looks horrendous in this color!). Don’t worry though, Sonic cheers her up and reminds her just how radiant she is 🥰

[Sonic seeing Amy in her bridesmaid dress] S: “Wow!” A: “This yellow dress is awful. She did this on purpose.” S: “Well if she was trying to make you look bad, she failed miserably. You look like the sunshine!” A: “I look VERY pregnant!” S: “Sure, pregnant with MY baby. There ain’t a thing more beautiful than that 😉” [Rabid kissing ensues hehehe]

I picture Rouge having many outfit changes for every event that happens during their week-long wedding extravaganza, but for her actual wedding dress I imagine something super sleek, super sexy, and made up entirely of diamonds! My drawing doesn’t even do it justice. Just picture that as she’s walking, every single facet of every single diamond is sparkling! All the men would have to wear 3-piece black tuxedos complete with trousers (Sonic hates this), except Omega obviously. But he’d still wear a dapper bowtie and Sunflower & Iris boutonniere like the rest of the wedding party. (I chose Irises because Rouge seems to like the color purple and they’re a very elegant flower, and I chose sunflowers because they remind me of Knuckles for some reason. Maybe because they’re big and tall. Idk, I can see Knuckles really liking sunflowers and yellow pairs beautifully with purple). Sonic and Tails are Knuckles’ groomsmen, but Team Chaotix are also among honored guests so Vector and Espio (and maybe even Mighty) would attend all the groom-related events (like the bachelor party) leading up to the wedding.

Right before the ceremony, Rouge and Amy have a touching heart-to-heart moment and Rouge does thank her for stepping in and helping out, and she apologizes for making Amy feel bad. She admits that she has insecurities that she doesn’t like people to know about, so that’s why she goes over-the-top and sometimes puts others down in the process. Also (at least in my AU), Rouge doesn’t have very many close friends outside of Shadow and Omega, so Amy really is her next best friend. They make up, the ceremony is perfect and romantic, and everyone gets to have an absolute blast at the reception!

Lastly, because Rouge is so over-the-top… after Shadow returns back to their planet 20+ years later, I can AB-SO-LUTELY see her throwing a vow renewal that’s even more extravagant than their first wedding as an excuse to have him as her Man of Honor and also as an excuse to throw another huge bash. Though this one would be even crazier and BIGGER, I think the vow renewal would actually be way more fun because everyone (including kids) can come this time, everyone’s families are bigger (even CC would be there!), and Knuckles and Rouge’s adopted kids (Ruff and Tumble) would get to be part of the ceremony, so it’d be very heartfelt even with goofy antics.

Sorry I’m not going to make this one into a full-fledged comic, but I hope you enjoyed this condensed version anyway! And I hope nobody takes the way I write Rouge as me not liking her character. I just like to add a little spice into why she comes off so proud all the time. I adore Knuckles and Rouge as a couple. Their rivalry and catty attitudes are just a hoot!

[lookingforhappy]

Extra Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven - Transcript

(note that there is a lot of random placements & repeated paragraphs. I've tried to connect as much of it as possible, and cut out repetitions to make it flow a little better. Hope this is enjoyable/interesting!)

as much content as I could find from Viktor's book transcribed in one post, picture credit to the TUA Prop Auction:

EXTRA ORDINARY MY LIFE AS NUMBER SEVEN AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY VANYA HARGREEVES Vanya Hargreeves is well known for her virtuosic skills as a violinist. Less understood is the role she played as one of Reginald Hargreeves' adopted children, standing alongside - but never counted among - the famous Umbrella Academy super kids. This is her story, in her own words. "An incredible read... a revealing portal into the amazing life of Vanya Hargreeves and the life she has lived. I couldn't put it down!" -Gerard Way

Vanya Hargreeves is well known for her virtuosic skills as a violinist. Less understood is the role she played as one of Reginald Hargreeves' adopted children, standing alongside - but never counted among - the famous Umbrella Academy super kids. This is her story, in her own words. Extra Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven is a tell-all autobiography by one of the central figures of Reginald Hargreeves experimental and tragic team of heroic children, collectively know as the Umbrella Academy team. In this book, Vanya, ready to expose the truths behind the Academy's operation prior to it's disbanding in the mid-late 2000's, goes all in. With stories and anecdotes from her many years in the shadows. Vanya Hargreeves pulls no punches. No stone is left unturned, and no other member of the team is left unmentioned, for good or for ill.

Chapter One Our parting was sad, but natural in the end. I think about the circumstances of out vastly different births all the time. I've read the newspapers. I've seen the evidence. But at the same time I can't believe any of it. Even if Allison, Luther and all the rest of them were born and collected like the papers say, how did I become a part of this extraordinary family? Was I a dud, an unfortunate super-child who wasn't set up with the right circuitry? Or did I even come from the circle of miraculously born children at all? It made the most sense of any of my theories: a young mother, terrified by a future with a child she couldn't afford, saw the world-wide birth announcement, followed by Hargreeves' request and reward sum. I went through life cursing my mother, determined she was a money-grubbing con artist who sold me away to an eccentric, cold man who couldn't even use me for the purposes he set out. I was carted off like cattle and sequestered to a young life of self-doubt, all because my mother had wanted a payday more than she wanted me. I only sought out my birth mother once. All these news stories kept the identities of the traumatized mothers tightly under wraps, of course, but those were in the upstanding

publications. I believe that any detail about human history, if salacious or powerful enough to cause harm, can be found with the right kind of determination. I found a list of names, and scoured each for signs: did she have a boy or a girl? What had she done with her earnings from Hargreeves? Had she had other children? Where was she now? Two of the women could have lined up with my birth: Allison and I were the only female babies "found" by Hargreeves. It was easy to narrow down once I found pictures of them both: the woman with my hair, and my nose, lived in a small town off the Southern coast of Russia. At least, according to what I could find. I convinced Hargreeves that we needed to take the team there to train, after extensively researching the area's high mountains and secluded trails. It was perfect, and miraculously, he agreed! Thinking back, I wonder if he knew exactly what I was up to and wanted to help. We stayed for five days, and as the others sweated and trained, I kept records, and occasionally went off on my own. For any of the academy members to question Hargreeves' strict schedule or participate in non-approved "free" time would have been unacceptable. But as for me, I wasn't on the schedule in the first place. We spent enough time in Russia for me to track my birth mother down. I took buses, spoke what broken Russian I could to locals, and finally came to the house where I had been told she would be. We spent enough time in Russia for me to learn that the mother I had spent years searching for had died. The family of hers, and I guess of mine, who greeted me there invited me in. They seemed harmless and even kind. But I couldn't stay. Whether my mother knew I wasn't special or not, I realized I didn't want to know. I didn't want to hate a dead person any longer. Now I knew she was gone, it seemed pointless anyway. I've found that focussing on the past can only hurt me further. It's not worth spending any more of my time on the people who have all but forgotten me. I haven't gotten a call

from Allison in years, Diego's out fighting crime, Klaus has been partying himself into a stupor ever since we left the house, and Five is gone. Luther's the only one of us who stayed. I envied him for so many years growing up: Number One, the group's true leader. But now I pity him. Luther could have been anything: he could have had the fame Allison did. He could have gone wild like Klaus. He could have taken to the streets and fought against evil himself like Diego... but he stayed to become Hargreeves' pet. In the end, there was nothing really connecting the seven of us. We weren't related. We were nothing alike. We were just seven strangers living under the same roof: destined to be alone, starved for attention, damaged by our upbringing, and haunted by what might have been. We all wanted to be loved by a man incapable of giving love. Our father never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was ordinary - a hard thing for a little girl to hear. But lately I've started to wonder - what's so bad about being ordinary? From the second we're born we're told to reach for the stars. To accomplish great things. But there is a value in life lived quietly. Going about our days, little by little. Finding contentment in small victories - a promotion, a friend, a beautiful day. Sometimes, the simple things are extraordinary.

so-called rumours about Allison and Luther, no pun intended, I can't say for sure. I'd like to think that what they have transcends words - when we were kids, it was just obnoxious. They spoke in code, swapped whispers. They were part of a world in which we weren't allowed. But as we got older I realised it wasn't some fantasy world they were playing in. Their minds were off somewhere else together. They shared looks and gestures that were meaningless to the rest of us... save maybe Klaus, who can be oddly perceptive when you least expect him to. But as for a romantic relationship between the two of them, that's none of my business. Frankly, I don't want to know. Adopted or not, if it were two of your siblings, would you want to picture that? Their secret conversations were the first sign of what was to come: watching the two of them so happy together, and acutely knowing I could never belong would become an intimate feeling in my life. Soon, they were together on missions. They were training all afternoon. And they were playing games I couldn't learn the rules to. It was all too obvious that there was a club for children with superpowers, and ordinary children like me were decidedly barred. I would say it was Dad who implemented all of this. He caused my alienation through procedures, through harsh rules that we all followed for fear of the alternative. And to an extent, that's all true. I can't forgive what he did to me - but sometimes I wonder where Dad's actions ended and my siblings' began. When you consider what a mind, especially a young mind, will absorb and harness when put into dire situations, it's not at all difficult to believe that my siblings learned cruelty from Dad until they eventually made it their own. It wasn't just the rules keeping me out of top-secret meetings anymore. It just made sense that I should sit at the end of the table, so Diego could help Five's technique, or so Allison could paint Klaus' fingernails. I became accustomed to sulking and watching them from afar - most of my morning oatmeal went uneaten and but thoroughly picked at.

Meals became the one time of day we were all forced to be together - and I met them with equal parts anticipation and dread. Would today be the day I engaged Allison? Could I stand up to Diego's taunts? Maybe I'd show Five the musical piece I'd been working on for weeks. Though prone to arrogance and outbursts, even more than the average preteen, Five was my sole confidante in the years before he disappeared. It almost seemed fitting that of all the siblings to leave us, it would be him who I fully trusted, and who fully trusted me. Five was almost always one step ahead of Dad's manipulations, and he didn't play into the games of favourites like my other siblings. Five always told me that ego was man's most unattractive weakness - he thought himself above competing for fatherly love and prizes. Even then he was beyond his years. I think about Five often, and where he is now. The others say he's dead, caught in a terrible accident, or shredded up in the time space continuum. But I know Five, and I know he was too smart for that. Reckless, maybe, but he's brilliant. I wouldn't be surprised if he were living it up in the seventies now... but hippie hash wasn't really his style. For all I know he's gone to the future and never looked back. If he has, and he's happy, then I am happy for him. I'm sure none of us can say we never had a moment where we wished we could escape. Not just run away, but also go somewhere where Dad couldn't track us down and pull us back into his web. Surprisingly, I only ran away once. Despite everything, it took so much for me to believe I could belong anywhere else but the home in which I was abused. Shortly after Five dissappeared, I took his lead. It was about time I saw what's out there. But I knew nothing other than what I had been taught about myself and my life: I was simply not special. But I asked myself on that day: What if I was special, to somebody else? The rest of the world was ordinary. Maybe the real world was where I belonged all along.

One morning, I left the Academy - my bag stuffed to the gills with clothes, snacks, and mementos I couldn't leave behind. I think I even brought a dream catcher, for fear of nightmares from home following me wherever I went. I only made it to a bus stop, and I sat there all day long - and strangely, for the first time in my life, it hit me that I was completely alone. I had thought I was alone my entire life, but this was something new and entirely different. I was afraid of what I didn't know, and would choose Dad's torment any day over the endless dark that stretched down our street. Buses came, but I waved the kind drivers away. That night, I walked back through the front doors, and no one knew I had ever left in the first place. I wonder how long it would have taken them to realize - the extra girl they never needed was absent. Would it have made a difference? To this day, I'm not sure. The next time I left that house was when we all did. After what happened to Ben. Our everyday existence was full of evidence that Dad had stepped into treating us like experiments. Not as children, but like animals. And what happened to Ben was the last straw that finally shattered the illusion for the others. I regret that though I knew all along what they realised that day, I didn't have the spine to leave on my own. It wasn't until Allison took off for Hollywood and Diego cursed out the old man for good that I realized we were, ultimately, a broken family.

I had always kept up hope that my family would accept me into the fold. I thought that as long as there was a club to belong to, one day they would notice me and invited me in. Everyone would apologize: Vanya, we can't believe we wasted so much time without you, you're our sister after all. But it was then that I realized something massive: there was nothing for me to aspire to be anymore. It was liberating - the life that I had wanted for as long as I could remember was had finally fallen apart. Without "The Umbrella Academy," I had the freedom to be whomever I chose. Suddenly, my violin playing wasn't stupid - it was something that made me special in the real world. It made me enough money to afford an apartment - it's small but it's mine. It got me into an orchestra, a position I got all on my own talents. This meant I could teach young people how to be special for themselves. Teaching became my passion - my own, personal super power. I treated my students how I had always wished my father had treated me: I trained them, I listened to their problems, and I made sure each of them felt loved in their own, special way. Teaching may seem such a small profession to many, but it became the best part of my life.

[kalinara]

So as someone who immensely enjoys disliking Charles Xavier, I have to admit, I was utterly delighted when the X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (in Krakoa age, one of the rare times it did not involve Nature Girl murdering people) decided to do what is, essentially, an "It's a Wonderful Life" plot for the guy.

So if even if you've never seen the original movie that the plot comes from, you've undoubtedly seen a parody or homage, (at least if you're American). Sitcoms particularly like to use the idea, but occasionally even serious shows will do it too. A character goes through some shit, is dreadfully unhappy, and is shown what life would be like without him.

Now the thing about X-Men, is that we did see what the world would be like without Charles Xavier in the Age of Apocalypse storyline. And admittedly, it's pretty bad. Scott has long hair. Enough said.

And of course, the gist of this story is that Xavier ends up in the Age of Apocalypse world (or maybe just dreaming about it), and introduces them to the Krakoa concept and gets a big ego boost.

It is what it is. The part that amuses me is what drives Xavier to the point of needing this ego boost. And it is an AMAZING level of petty.

Since there are a lot of scans, I'm going to put them behind a cut. Enjoy! (These are all from X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #62, by the way.)

So we start off with Xavier's daily schedule:

It's a pretty busy itinerary, admittedly. So now, let's see how Xavier's day actually goes.

We actually start off with Xavier waking up, disgruntled, at 6:00 AM. I'm not actually going to show this, because I am not a morning person either and can't make fun of him for it.

Also, he's shirtless, and not being named Max or Erik, I am not into that. Sorry.

But, let's look at the rest.

6:30's resurrection of Rusty Collins

Xavier was apparently a bit slow, and Hope decided to resurrect the dude without him. That happens. You can hardly blame a teenager for leaping at the chance at grown-up responsibility.

Also, she's a Summers. So it's pretty much inevitable.

--

So then we get the 7:45 meet and greet.

A small child adores Kitty. Kitty is a little meta here, but not wrong. After all, part of what the Marauders do, at this point, is rescue people.

Now, Xavier looks kind of neutral here, but given that this is part of the litany of disappointment, contextually, one must interpret this to mean he is disappointed.

But here's the thing, Chuck. You're not an "X-Man". You're the dude who sends them out from the shadows. You didn't even publicly admit to being a mutant for decades. And while, yes, you did have some physical issues that made being a field operative impossible, it's not like you're going out on rescue missions NOW.

Sorry, I shouldn't rant. There's more to mock.

--

So how does the 9:15 teaching session go? We don't actually know. Presumably it's not notable. Despite the fact that teaching is the one thing Xavier can claim he actually does.

Instead, we skip ahead to the 11:05 parole hearing:

I mean, you can't actually be surprised by this. I'm not even sure that Sabretooth is still IN there. But he's busy torturing people, if he is. So no, he's not getting out.

You could let the kids out though. Poor Idie.

--

This bit makes me laugh:

Got stood up by the guy whose mind you forcibly wiped. You can't be shocked by this, Chuck. That was a fucking dick move and you know it.

(Especially since you decide that Franklin isn't a mutant after all.)

--

How about the X-Corp Review?

Huh, who'd have thought that multi-millionaire business people would have the business shit handled?

I mean, to be fair to Charles, he does seem to never lack money, so he likely has business sense himself. But meh. I can't blame Warren and Monet for wanting to go off and canoodle or whatever.

--

I admit to some sympathy here, just a bit:

I've mentioned that I'm not a really a fan of the Arakko focus on Omega mutants, and how that kind of spoils my enjoyment of Storm basically being amazing up there. (I feel like it'd be more satisfying to have a non-Omega show them that sheer power isn't the only measure of awesome. I did like watching her use teamwork to kick Vulcan's ass though.)

That said, why did you not realize this would be a thing, Xavier? Arakkans make no secret of how their society works.

--

Now, sadly, we skip the legal conference about the X-Babies. Presumably it goes well and no one mocks Xavier, but I'm kind of fascinated by the idea.

But then we get the official Treehouse lighting ceremony:

...are you really feeling left out because your two former child soldiers are getting honored as "mutantkind's greatest heroes".

Fucking REALLY?

Are you living among humans and saving them from various threats? Heck, are you sticking around to help hand out meals, as the mayor mentions? Because you're not down there, and your itinerary says you'll be having a meeting about Orchis with Beast in like an hour.

It presumably goes well, because we skip ahead to sparring with Logan.

This goes pretty straightforward. They have a heart to heart, which I appreciate, because I'm still utterly boggled by that bit in X Lives of Wolverine where he claims that, despite their respective ages, Logan sees Chuck as a father figure.

By the way, Logan doesn't act like a "son" in this scene at all. He does give some legitimately good advice though and asks the question that's the point of all this:

And for FUCK'S SAKE, Xavier. The fact that this is apparently an armor piercing question, after a day where the WORST thing that happened to you was having a few appointments go on without you, getting stood up by a dude who's got every reason to dislike you, and seeing Kitty, Scott and Jean get SOME MEASURE of weak recognition.

THAT's what leads to the "It's a Wonderful Life" moment?

I mean, presumably, the interview with Trish Trilby which happens before the sparring match goes well. Meaning you're going to be on the fucking news as the face of Krakoa again. But that hardly matters because the Mayor of New York considers your SURROGATE CHILDREN to be the greatest heroes.

You couldn't even be HAPPY for them?!

(I also can't help but note that upon meeting AoA Cyclops, who assumes Xavier is an escaped clone and tries to kill him, we see no sign of the ACTUAL character's complexity or depth. He's just a random villain here. Because in the end, it's all about Xavier's ego.

He does refer to Scott as "the most pragmatic man I've ever known", which is a really interesting description that I'm not sure I agree with. But that's an analysis for another day.)

Anyway, as mentioned, the rest of the story is basically just fueling Xavier's ego. I mean, Age of Apocalypse IS a hellhole. (Though a friend of mine suggested once that possibly the only thing Age of Apocalypse proved that Xavier was necessary for is preventing Mr. Sinister from regaining control of Cyclops. I think I'd have to reread the story to see if I agree, but since I hate Xavier, I DO like that thought.) And he does bring them Krakoa and joy.

But I'm just going to bask in the fact that Xavier's deepest pain on Krakoa is that someone occasionally recognizes other people instead of him. I bet he hated Scott's Rolling Stone cover too. :-D

[anpanham]

Hazbin Hotel character thoughts / impressions (Episodes 1 & 2)

1/12/24

UM. what a weird first actual post for my blog for this year... this is long, and i miss making ACTUAL blog posts instead of small threads... And i've explained on my twitter my thoughts on Hazbin / Helluva from a critical standpoint and artist from art separation, yadda yadda yadda---

ANYWAY... Episodes 1 and 2 of Hazbin are (Officially) out now, and i have some thoughts on the characters i wrote down after watching (In bullet points, because most of these are fresh-from-the-brain thoughts i wrote on my tablet from my bed)

(Spoiler alert, Sir Pentious isn't ruined and I AM SO GLAD. my snake babygirl... ilu)

Read on, if you wanna, spoiler warning btw!!!!!

CHARLIE NOTES

-Charlie is good., Charlie is cute, but i fear for her safety, not everyone can new redeemed. she's like steven universe at points i stg 😭 (not a jab but i think it's funny)

-i like how they gave Charlie bags under her eyes a lot, she is a tired princess just like all of us

-She gives off elementary school teacher vibes but in a wholesome way

-Charlie's hair is SO CUTE MESSY..

-PERFECT voice /gen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VAGGIE NOTES

-GIRLBOSS (still, but more)

-Vaggie is still cool, she just loves her gf and is sick of everyone's bs but is still supportive...

-If she doesn't get into a bloody death match with Alastor (and win) i will be disappointed /hj

She doesn't seem to have as much of a temper as she did in the pilot, but seems more dead inside

-Good voice!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANGEL DUST NOTES

-Angel... hm. Angel. he's Angel, for sure. Hi, Angel!

Insecure about a lot, but also YOU CAN BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT!!!!! if vox doesn't kill val angel should. please and thank u.

Also his voice is alright, just need to get used to it a little more

Also i hope he's not too bratty jealous of sirpent / whoever else charlie praises because again, it's ON HIM TO COOPERATE WITH HER CAUSE MORE??? ignoring his other stress sources (Val)

-Waiting for him and Husk to kiss. I know it's coming

-Just fucking block Val's number and rip up the contract (YES i know it goes deeper than that...)

-NUGGS. I SCREECHED IRL /POS

THEY GAVE HIM A HEART ON HIS BUTT!!!!! S TIER REDESIGN

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALASTOR NOTES

-At first i was kinda Eh about his voice but it's grown on me, the radio filter is a little more subtle than the pilot but it's still there which i'm glad for

Delightfully passive aggressive

-Weird magic still, there doesn't seem to be any limits to it... we need to know what his weakness is...!!!!! please (maybe that will come later??) ....... i theorize he has underworld contact (Shadow-world, because of the shadow imagery?) , the underworld might be different from Hell maybe? (Where do those fucking tentacles come from, also weird monochrome demons)

-Interesting he was gone for 7 years. 7 is an angelic number. HMMMMMM (sealed away by angels somehow??)

-Punchable (Vaggie please)

-Weirdly enjoyable and not genuinely hateable like some of the other characters, but i also want to see his demise, maybe his sadism is rubbing off on me, but i want to see it badly...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SIR PENTIOUS NOTES

-Sir Pentious... u are so good.. probably has some of the best writing so far, maybe... he's my favorite so. hhHHmm

his voice is different but at the same time it's what you'd expect, i like it a lot... so silly, i pat him and his silly hat

-Pathetic old man. You win my heart (50x as much)

-Only one egg spoke so far, i wonder if they'll all have unique voices this time (the Japanese dub of the pilot did that lol)

-Genuinely a joy every moment he was onscreen (Too fucking cute... GRRRR)

-How did he get into contact with Vox? Why would Vox want anything to do with him if he thinks he's a loser? (I guess easy access into the Hotel) ...Fuck em either way (DON'T BE MEAN TO SNAKE MAN)

-Cool temporary stunning hypnosis, maybe we'll see him coil and bite next, the snake attack traits are fun

-His autism vibes grow stronger and it's canon in my heart

-We LOVE a redemption song. please stay in the hotel with everyone, don't fuck it up!!! you're a good noodle.... 😭 The song was genuinely so cute... it's probably going to be the highlight of EVERYTHING for me, besides Nuggs..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HUSK NOTES

-i luv u kitty

-His voice is different but captures "Grumpy old alcoholic" perfectly

-His heart needs to be melted...

-Him holding the script in front of the camera was great

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NIFFTY NOTES

-Niffty is a BIG COWARD. you can still love a "Bad boy" who's a redeemed bad boy!!!! just because he's not morally bad doesn't Not make him a Bad Boy. fuck u (i still like you)

-Her voice is really cute, also her nightgown.. though finding out she doesn't have dark bug limbs but is just wearing gloves and stockings surprised me more than it should've... put them back

-Also autism vibes, love it

-She still frightens me a bit

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

V TRIO NOTES

VOX -----

-Seems to carry the team, voice has grown on me

-I can't stop looking at his weird finger claws, they almost look like

he's just wearing things over his fingers, i dig it

-Interesting hypnosis power, i assume Alastor is immune

-Why can't Alastor and Vox just compromise and create a podcast?

-Hates Val (sorry shippers) ,,... kind of expected it since in old official sources it's been shown that he's been abused by Val too

-This isn't a note but everytime Alastor said "THE TV IS BUFFERING~" in their duet, the player kept fucking up 😭

-Decent song, I like seeing him and Al argue

-I surprisingly don't hate him! i'm glad. i wanted to like him (though, it's only been 2 episodes so far...)

------

VALENTINO ---------

-More manchild vibes than i expected tbh

-Voice is alright but his accent is weirdly inconsistent for some reason???? interesting direction

-His manipulation is shown well in the voicemail scene with Angel, he's literally got the "Nice Guy" energy

-Surprisingly didn't order Vox around as much as i thought he would

-Why does he have girl Fizzy bots...

-Die?

------

VELVETTE

-Fashion design isn't something i expected, but then again i didn't know that much about her prior other than she's obsessed with social media

-British is also not what i expected but cool

-Uh. she didn't really stick out to me that much...sorry..... she's fine tho

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADAM & LUTE NOTES

-Personally do not like how these angels look so menacing, i get that they're technically bad, but... make them look more angelic besides halos and wings??? they could easily be mistaken for hell residents. Also again, i feel like angels should swear less and drop swears in critical / good timed moments, it would be funnier... subtlety is not a thing i guess

-Adam's guitar solo was good tho, not really feeling his character tho, he's just an asshole but that's the point

-Adam looks like the fucking dress meme. I can't unsee it

-Lute is pretty...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KATIE KILLJOY & TOM TRENCH NOTES

-Brandon Rodgers

-They sure were there for a second!

-i luv tom

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all...

Episode 1: 6-7/10

Episode 2: 8.5/10

[mochiwrites]

title: an act of kindness

co-author: @idioddyssey

warning(s): blood and injury

chapter(s): 1/1

relationship: scar/grian

summary:

With those threats made, the stranger goes slack in his hold. His face is still pressed into the cobbled brick wall of the alley, the two of them hidden by the shadow of night. Not an ounce of light hits them from the streetlamps or moon. Rain continues to pour down around them, slamming into the pavement with each drop of contact.

“What’ll it be, my moonlight attacker?” Scar questions. “Will your blood be joining mine?”

“You’re the mayor, right?” the man asks instead, red eyes glancing at him. “Are you sure you really wanna be taking out one of your own citizens on the street like this? Anyone could walk by and see. Not very smart if you ask me.” He shrugs in Scar’s hold.

read on ao3 here!

reblogs do more than likes!

taps mic. is this thing on? any crime au enjoyers hearing this? beCAUSE WE’RE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER BABY!!!! CRIME AU RETURNS >:D

and oh man. oh man!!!!!!!!!!! I’m excited. there’s a lot in store, a lot of plans. this has been the HARDEST secret to keep oh my GOD. but welcome back crime au! I hope you’re all excited >:3

[merakiui]

OH MY GODS MERA, FATUI LYNEY. PLEASE EXPAND PLEASE OH GODS OH GODS OH GODS.

FOAMING ST THE MOUTH WHERE DID U GET THI S IDEA???

(spoilers for act one of the Fontaine Archon quest)

AAAAAAAAAA SO I RECENTLY FINISHED ACT ONE AND IT'S REVEALED THAT LYNEY AND LYNETTE ARE WITH THE HOUSE OF HEARTH (a Fatui organization overseen by Arlecchino, who everyone calls Father; this also gives me so many ideas about a Promised Neverland au hehe, but I digress). Lyney admits to the Traveler after the trial is over that he is indeed a Fatuus and that he's with the House of Hearth, but that he and Lynette only wish to help save the people of Fontaine from the prophecy, which (according to him) is also Arlecchino's goal. She saved the twins from an abusive noble when they were both young and thus offered shelter and protection to the twins because they both had similar plans.

So, after hearing this information, naturally I had to think about what he might be like if he was more than just a Fatuus but a powerful Harbinger. >:) omg can you imagine how easily he would be able to hide such a scary, secret identity? And you'd completely underestimate his strength, too swept up in his theatrics to even question things. You fail to see the soldiers who lurk in the shadows, watching over you and Lyney, ready to strike should you prove to be a threat to the Lord Harbinger. Lyney seems so harmless, albeit a little silver-tongued, but he appears to be just a kind magician dedicated to his craft.

You have no idea this same magician holds so much power in the palm of his hand, commanding troops and having a seat amongst the rest of the Tsaritsa's Harbingers. Lyney doesn't take any twisted enjoyment in frightening you. Rather, he loves you and wants to show you all of the pretty, pleasant sides of the world, even if the concept of love is abstract and foreign to him; and he isn't one who truly understands romance in all of its capacity. But the love (infatuation) he feels for you is so special. You can't blame him when he frets over you and your safety. You can never be too careful! He's just looking out for you; ignore those undercover Fatui agents who seem to linger near and around your house and other places you frequent.

Lyney isn't hollow, though. He's smart and calculating, but he isn't a monster devoid of emptiness. He only goes as far as he must, never pushing it unless he absolutely needs to, but when you've witnessed so much misery and bloodshed over the years, whether directly or indirectly, you'll become numb to the horrors. He promises you won't be hurt so long as you just listen to him. Please let him explain. He never intended to deceive you! This was just...an unfortunate happening. Really, he'd rather you remain blissfully ignorant to who he is outside of the sparkling title of magician.

But it's all right. He'll fix this. After all, he's a renowned magician who can make anything and, by that extension, anyone disappear. Only, unlike on the stage, you won't be reappearing. And it isn't magic that keeps your disappearance sealed shut, but you can pretend it is when you wake in his home, pampered and waited on. Lyney only wants what's best for you. But sometimes even the sweetest romances are tinged with a little difficulty and angst. This he understands well enough.

[skaruresonic]

idk man I would have been just as happy with a Sonic Generations remaster without a Shadow campaign stapled on. >>Doom Wings have no narrative use because Shadow doesn't suffer in any meaningful way because of them. For all of fandom's claims that SxS Gens would deepen the character, his biggest problem is the wings are physically painful. But it's not as though they foundationally shake his view of himself like his existential angst over being a weapon of war in Battle; he simply goes "Cool, another weapon to bludgeon Black Doom to death with" and moves on with his life. Much character development, many depth, wow.

To rub salt in the wound, they control like complete ass? It's just a slower Super Shadow, and sometimes when it's egregiously bad, it reminds me of Rouge's gliding in '06. The concept would have been easier to swallow if it actually wasn't unwieldy, but nah.

>>The White Space music is so dire? Why is it so dire??? bro chill out? It's fine the first five minutes, but it drives me insane when it loops for the millionth time two hours in.

>>AFAIK, collecting all 80 pieces to complete Orbot and Cubot's spaceship does nothing. tfw the game is so peak it offers no incentive for fetch quests.

>>Unlike Gens vanilla, which gave you a choice of challenges to unlock Boss keys, in SxS Gens you must complete all missions in order to obtain Boss keys.

Granted, you only get about 4 missions per boss, but the fact that progress is locked behind mandatory challenges makes the experience feel more constrictive. You don't like a certain mission Doom Surf challenge my beloathed? Get bent, I guess.

>>Radical Highway Act One was the only point in the game where I found any real enjoyment because the mechanics were pared down. Coincidentally, your Doom powers are disabled in this level, forcing you to rely on Chaos Control and Chaos Spear. Reducing the gimmicks made the experience more streamlined, which let me consider the application of my moveset in greater depth.

I strongly feel that had ST instead channeled their focus into structuring the level design around creative uses of Chaos Control and Chaos Spear instead of scattering them across several Doom powers, the gameplay experience would have been a lot more enjoyable.

>>Outside of character interactions, which were tbh the best part of the game, SxS suffers from a general lack of whimsy. Everything is so ~srs bsns~ in tone that it almost suffocates.

There's a little ironic humor to be found in the fact that Shadow goes "no. perish" when Mephiles screams that he wants to exist, but I doubt that was intentional.

>>"Somehow, Black Doom returned" is an actual plot point. Don't question it. Shut up.

>>The boss fights suck ass. I'm sorry but they do. Every single one, I was like, "Thank God that's over."

>>Bosses are placed in odd, incongruent locations; Mephiles is found in a cave under Chaos Island while you encounter Metal Overlord in Kingdom Valley. Although Gerald handwaves this as spacetime instability, that's not how White Space functioned in Sonic Gens.

>>No, Patrick, stapling a Surfer Blooper gimmick to Metal Overlord doesn't suddenly make his fight peak boss design.

>>The one boss fight it would have been thematically appropriate and germane to include from a gameplay perspective, SA2's vs. Sonic? Just a cutscene. Even if Shadow needed to "lose," surely ST could have rewritten a Shadow win so that Sonic manages to get ahold of the fake Emerald anyway. Shadow could have done something as simple as said "Fine, take it. Clearly you need it more than I do."

>>You're gonna make the campaign a crash course on Shadow's history but not include Shadow androids, even though they'd have more reason to exist in White Space than Mephiles? I am disappoint.

>>While the White Space dialogue is pretty much the game's only draw for me, a few of Omega's lines are still a little wonky. For some reason they felt it appropriate to have him say he and Shadow showed Metal "mercy" after Sonic Heroes. He also gives this jargon-filled speech on his power source, which based on context clues makes me think he's powered via Chaos Drive.

[hualianff]

Vampire/Witch

Vampire HC’s loyal servant, YY, alerts him of a new presence that has settled in an abandoned cottage in his territory - on limits of the nearby village - HC wants to scream. 

It occurs on the evening YY shows up to HC’s main office with a slightly burnt pie in his hands.

“What is that- oh god, why are you bringing it closer?” HC asks, sitting up in his desk chair. 

“Our new neighbor, a witch, just visited. Said it was for you,” YY answers blandly. He tries to hand it over to the older vampire, who jerks away in disgust.

While HC can consume human food, he gains nothing from it. No nutrition, no enjoyable flavors, no satisfaction of being full. Alas, HC gets his much-needed-blood through offerings from the villages in his territory. He also imports exquisite animals for meat and blood for indulgent times. 

HC glares at the atrocious baked thing YY holds in his clammy hands, hoping it combusts into flames. 

“Dispose of it immediately,” HC orders.

“But sir-”

“That witch is definitely up to no good. They never are,” HC seethes, rising from his chair to look out his office window. There’s just enough visibility that the small cottage comes into view. “A home-baked pie? Out of the pureness of one’s good heart? Ha! As if. They’re probably trying to poison me.” 

Instead of stomping over to the pitiful building he definitely did not recall selling off, the ancient vampire merely exhales an irritated grumble. He’s had enough of witches - and every other creature - to last numerous lifetimes. They can never mind their own business, inevitably becoming nuisances by asking for more favors from HC than he ever wants to deal with. 

Well then. It looks like HC has a new goal for the week: Do everything in his power to get this trespassing witch to LEAVE.

***

The first thing HC tries is intimidation.

He pops out of the shadows in his most terrifying form, claws extended and fangs bared.

Yet, the witch never shows any signs of fear. He greets HC with a small wave, then rushes into another room stating he has several potions he must keep an eye on while brewing. 

Unacceptable, HC sulks.

He hovers behind the witch, swaddled in his crimson robe, repeating, “Leave this area at once. You do not belong.”

The witch hums absent-mindedly, like he’s only paying half attention to HC’s words. 

“I won’t. I bought the property and everything,” he calmly says. He then goes on to explain every reason why he has the right to live in the cottage, including the official ownership transfer. 

HC flounders for a rebuttal. 

“But- you are on MY territory,” he growls. 

“According to the State Bureau of Ancient Estates, your ownership of this territory expired six years ago,” the witch cuts in.

HC rears back, crumbling on the inside. WHAT?

He quietly zooms to the other room to call YY up through their mental connection. 

“What is the meaning of this!?” HC exclaims after explaining his predicament. There’s a long moment of silence on YY’s end. 

Then-

“Oops.”

HC wants to scream bloody murder. Again.

(YY: [shrugs] “Hey, sometimes, the immortal life gets to u”)

HC enters the room again, this time sitting on the couch layered with fluffy blankets and patterned pillows.

“I take it you’re coming to terms with everything?” the witch asks. 

HC huffs. He refuses to answer. 

“Well, my name is Xie Lian - your new neighbor. It’s nice to meet you!” XL says. 

“I am leaving,” HC announces, standing up with crossed arms. 

“Works for me,” XL says. “Next time you visit, please knock on the front door instead of hiding in my basement.”

***

The next tactic HC tries is manipulating the weather to mess up XL’s crops. Meaning thunderstorms for days straight, and switching to the driest weather right after, just the poorest conditions for plants. 

In his bat form, HC spies on XL. He feels a spark of satisfaction as he watches the witch sigh in disappointment as his fields are all but flooded one day, then drying up the other. 

However, the satisfaction only lasts a few more days until a new person shows up on XL’s doorstep, donning jade-green robes and a straw hat. 

“The weather has been quite terrible this past week. I really had no choice but to call you,” XL speaks warmly. “Perhaps you could help address the cause of it?”

YSH narrows her eyes. 

“I might have an idea.”

That night, HC receives quite the scolding when YSH barges into his manor with a disapproving frown.

“I didn’t give you that climate stone just for you to abuse its powers!” YSH reprimands, exploding in a gentle way only she could achieve. “And to abuse it for such a petty matter. I thought you were better than this!”

HC hangs his head low. Though he is almost two heads taller than her, YSH still seems to look down at him in disappointment. 

“I’m sorry, you’re right, it won’t happen again,” HC mutters. 

After that, YSH officially gifts the climate stone to YY. When she leaves, HC side-eyes his servant with a glint in his eyes. 

“You little-”

“I cannot give it back to you even if I wanted to,” YY informs with a heavy sigh. 

HC’s right eye twitches. 

***

Determined not to give up just yet, HC’s third and final tactic includes spying on the witch and hoping to find some dirt that would allow him to threaten XL off his property. 

“Sir, don’t you own this land that extends all the way to the east?” YY asks right before HC leaves to carry out his devious plans.

“Yeah well, NOW I do, since you decided it was time to renew the ownership rights,” HC says bitterly. YY blinks twice like a goldfish. 

“That was my fault, I apologize. But my point was, is allowing a lone witch to occupy a small piece of your territory…so bad?” 

HC has never wanted to throttle his servant so much until this very moment. 

“It’s the principle of the matter! First, it’ll be a lone witch. Next, it’ll be a colony of witches, or goblins, or trolls- or worse - HUMANS,” HC rambles on.

“You used to be a-” YY starts, but then feels his throat constricting as he’s lifted up into the air by nothing but HC’s telekinetic tantrum. “Okeh- ok, s-sorry-”

Seconds later, YY’s body drops to the ground like a dead weight. 

“That's what I thought. Now, your next assignment is to find as much information on this witch as possible,” HC orders. “And I will conduct some recon this week to see how I can make him leave, once and for all.”

***

XL knows HC is spying on him. How could he not?

The witch is currently undressing to prepare for a wash in the river. First, he neatly folds his white robes into a flat square. Next, he places his jewelry with special charms on top. Even with the numerous runes etched upon XL’s back, arms, chest, and neck, his honey-golden skin still catches the sunlight beautifully.

XL is no ordinary witch. He has lived his own fair share of centuries. He has plenty of secrets too. For example, Ruoye, his sentient cape that has been with him through disaster after disaster. Ruoye who likes to chase after bat HC and playfully wrap around the bat like trap, much to the vampire’s dismay.

Or the fact that XL has been blacklisted by his own people. He has been driven out more times than he can keep track of. Yet, this is the one thing he’s got going for him in a long, long time. 

Besides, even if the vampire is intent on chasing him out, HC’s presence is somehow comforting. XL isn’t completely alone

XL currently washes his long hair, back turned to bat HC who helplessly thrashes in Ruoye’s hold. 

(HC: “GAH- lemme go I’m trying to spy, damn it!!”)

A sly smile forms on the witch’s lips.

***

w/ @no-one-says-hi

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #46

Good morning everyone! After this post goes up I'm booking it to get to an a capella performance I'm in

Finished:

Shadow by Anne Logston This was an absolute delight to read, and makes me really glad that I pick up random fantasy paperbacks in used bookstores whenever I can. the protagonist Shadow is so endearing if you love bold messy women, and the action/mystery plot in it was gripping enough, without drowning out my enjoyment of Shadow as a just a fun little blorbo to follow around. great and entertaining

sturm und drang by spit_kitten on ao3 a little hobby of mine is wading through the muck of ao3's Original Fiction tag to find whatever gay romances are being posted there. This is an old favorite histrom of mine from doing that: incredibly earnest young man gets irony-poisoned painter to Feel Something. I especially love the side character Harry with all of my heart. go check it out if you want something light and sweet

Blue Box, Vol. 5 by Kouji Miura, translated by Christine Dashiell Blue Box continues to really scratch that high school romance itch.I love seeing Chinatsu's like style sense being so casual. I like that a not-very-feminine girl is just casually the main love interest (without Chono the more girly girl in the love triangle isn't given shit for being very fem)

"Monstrous Fantasies: Reinforcing Rape Culture in Fiona McIntosh's Fantasy Novels" by Lenise Prater I am so glad I found Prater and all the people she's citing so I can cite her and them in my own MA paper, and also so frustrated that she slipped through the cracks of my initial search! I really only have myself to blame bc I checked and a different article of hers to cited in an article I already found, but aaaaaaaaaa. because I'm so late in the semester I mostly skimmed this for what I could immediately quote and incorporate into my paper

Introduction & Chapter 1 from Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick I've been meaning to read Sedgwick for a while, and I'll definitely read more, but for now I just got this so I could cite its direct relevance to my paper on my advisor's recommedation

"Medievalism and the Fantasy Heroine" by Jane Tolmie found through some citations, has some great bits to quote in my own work

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz, audiobook narrated by Jonathan Davis and Staci Snell read on the recommendation of Hope in my grad program (thank you Hope for gifting me a copy). Honestly i find the way it engages with pop culture/nerd culture a bit abrasive and name-drop-y, but so it goes. I guess that is the way of love of nerds engage with nerd culture

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 6 written by Kanehito Yamada, art by Tsukasa Abe I continue to not be all that impressed with the first-class mage exam arc. It's way longer than basically any previous arc in the manga, and I think that really bogs it down. A lot of the charm of Frieren for me was it's shorter more self contained adventures, so having this multi-volume long Thing that basically ignores one member of our core three is very tedious for me

Until I Love Myself: The Journey of Nonbinary Manga Artist, Vol. 1 by Poppy Pesuyama, translated by Emily Balistrieri This is a manga about the artist's experience with sexual harassment through their life and how that has often coincided with and worsened their gender dysphoria as a nonbinary person. Pesuyama really excellent captures the transmasculine feeling of like the trauma of sexual violence getting muddled with already distressing feelings of dysphoria to create a very powerful self-loating and blame for having the body you have. Very well done, but I actually found it more triggering to read than I expect, and had to go play video games for the rest of the evening instead of reading the second volume

Started/Ongoing:

Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey I'm kind of obsessed with the romance between Vanyel and Stefan. go wizard go! Have a kinda problematic age gap relationship, where the younger party is the active pursuer because you, a sad gay wizard, have committed yourself to celibacy because of your fear of emotional intimacy! this is like a gift to me specifically I'm really vibing with it

[legofrans]

Fire emblem tier list based on my own personal enjoyment of the games. Don't ask what happened to the colors I'd like to know too. Tiers are ordered.

Obviously heavily biased towards my own tastes, but also to the expectations I had going into each game. This is in no way intended to indicate the actual quality of the games.

Short thoughts on my experience on all the games below. It adds up to a pretty long post.

Fates: I originally played it back in late 2016. Dumb as I was, I thought "oh hey if I just play revelation it'll kind of be like I get to experience both routes right?"

Well it turns out revelation sucks ass. I got to the final chapter but Soleil (I had an affinity for lesbians back then. Wondered why that was) got countered with a 3% crit, I ragequit, and I haven't touched any of the games since.

New years resolution is to play conquest. I've heard good things about it's gameplay so if I go in with 0 expectations for the story I think I'll be able to enjoy it.

Dark dragon and the blade of light, as well as Gaiden, have several problems that can be very neatly summarized: they're old. Not much here in terms of story to comment on.

. . . Engage. Let's start with the good: the gameplay is fantastic. One of the best in the series. Most games add some unique spin on the formula to make it their own, and for most it works out well. Engage takes that and goes above and beyond. Smashing weapons (forgot the term) is a fun addition. Engaging is also a really interesting strategic aspect. Skill management is really, really good. (although I wish weapon durability had also been a part of it.)

Problems start coming with the story. It's pretty much a stock standard Fe story. Evil dragon gets resurrected, we gotta stop him. This is considerably less interesting here than with Marth though. Marth was kind of a nobody (crown prince of a minor country but who is keeping track) while Alear is like. The Divine Dragon. Everyone knows them and loves them and is willing to bend over backwards or the nearest countertop for them. It just does not make for an interesting story for me.

There's also the Emblems! As said, fantastic gameplay addition. Story wise they first make no sense. Secondly, if you're going to put some of the most beloved characters from a franchise in a game, you should make sure they represent how they were in the game. Engage kinda falls flat here imo.

Then there's also the artstyle. I dont think Mika Pikazo is a good fit for fire emblem. It works for a few characters, but overall it leaves me wanting something else. Especially for the Emblems, I don't think I like how any of them look except like Roy and Camilla.

For most of the games in the series I can genuinely say that my critique comes from a love of the game. Im not sure I can say that in regards to Engage. It definitely comes from a love for the series as a whole, but I think engage is the only entry in the series which I actually dislike.

Shadow Dragon! Not too much to say here. It's Marth! You girls know Marth right?

The plot and gameplay are both very basic, and not much to write home about. Marth being s bit of an underdog makes him more interesting than Alear. The reclassing is interesting in concept, but I never really got into it.

New mystery of the emblem is kind of just more of the same, but with a larger cast and everything is happening again. It kind of works.

This entry and Shadow Dragon could kind of go either way, but ultimately the Gaiden chapters are enough of an interesting addition to put new mystery ahead.

Three houses was a pretty fun game! But I don't think it's a good fire emblem game. there's a lot I could say about the monastery and the class system, and the skill system and the grinding and the completely uncapped levels! I have a hard time considering it a mainline entry.

In short, around 70% of the game is either grinding or non-FE gameplay and I didn't enjoy that. What's more, I started with CF, and that route is straight up unfinished.

Three hopes isn't here because it's not a mainline entry but unironically enjoyed it more than Three houses.

Binding Blade! Good game. Good FE too. Pretty basic plot, but it's good enough. I'm not at all fond of the "true ending" stuff and also there's the hitrate issues for everything that's not swords. Roy as a protagonists is also one of the weaker ones in the series I think. Sorry man.

If I had played fe6 before 7 & 8 I'd probably have rated it higher. But all the GBA games are good, and everything that's C-tier and aboveis something I'd recommend.

Genealogy of the holy war is a very different fire emblem, but unlike 3H it is still distinctly Fire emblem. I didn't have much in terms of expectations going into this one. It has a lot of quirks, both good and bad.

The typical story formula has a very nice twist on it this time and keeps things interesting. Which is good since the story is one of the biggest draws, since the game offers a bit less in terms of challenge when compared to the other games in the series.

The gameplay quirks are very interesting, such as weapon kills, but because some units are extremely heavily favored in this game, it only ends up mattering for very few units or if you go out of your way to use other, worse units.

Shadows of Valentia is a game I really would've liked to put in high A-tier. It is probably the best remake of a game I've ever played.

But it's too faithful to the original. My problems with Gaiden were not just that the graphics actually hurt my eyes and that the menus were confusing and everything looked kind of weird. The maps. . . . also kind of suck.

There's too much weird terrain with too powerful bonuses. There's also too much open field. Enemy starting locations feel random. Many maps have one chokepoint to get through and that's all the features there is to it.

And then there's the story. One problem with having the script be about 300 times that of the original is that you can fit so much more misogyny in there. And they did.

Thats the negative stuff out of the way let's go to the positive. The class system rules. I'm a big fan of promotion bonuses going to a class base stat instead of adding flat numbers. The magic system with learned spells and HP cost is also really cool.

The weapon system is also great, with being able to promote certain weapons into other things with special features and skills. I like it! It's interesting! Items are kind of whatever though.

Radiant dawn is a mostly fantastic game with two very big problems and one major nitpick. The latter is that there's true ending bullshit again.

The problems are: the new support system. It's boring. Less opportunity for characterisation for everyone that's not a major player in the story.

The later chapters are also just a slog to get through. If you've been in the Fe fandom for a long time you've probably seen memes about RD enemy phases. It is like that.

Good things! The bonus XP system! It's fantastic. Being able to almost pick which stats you want a unit to grow in if you know what you're doing is great! Makes it so practically every unit can be good.

They did kind of screw over Laguz units though. And the Renning bullshit pisses me off so bad.

Blazing blade is a very good game and was many peoples first FE game. I don't have many thoughts on this. If Blazing blade was a dish it'd be bread dipped in olive oil. Simple. Fantastic. You don't need much more.

Awakening was also the introduction to fire emblem for a lot of people. According to some it saved the franchise, according to others it killed it.

Personally I had a lot of fun playing this. It has many well designed chapters, and a simple and fun skill and class system. Though, it has some issues in overleveling and access to grinding. The pair up mechanic is also somewhat of a double edged sword, which I really like. Do you want one stronger unit, or multiple strong ones? It's interesting! . . . . Until you get to A support or unlock dual guard+ at which point there's just one correct choice.

I really liked how silly the writing in awakening got. Very funny script, and a lot of memorable characters.

Mystery of the emblem turns 30 in a few days, and looks surprisingly good for its age. I started playing this a few months before three houses came out, and I had already played all the other games in the series ('cept fates) at that point. I had low expectations considering how bad DD/Gaiden felt to play, but mystery of the emblem feels almost good to play.

I don't miss weapon level being a stat like all the others. But I do miss the starshards (growth modifiers my beloved) and the very funny again staff.

S tier :)

Sacred stones was the first turn based strategy game I ever played and I've been hooked since. No, real chess does not count.

It has a really good tutorial, it's not that difficult of a game, and it has a very simple and easy to follow plot. It's definitely the best game to play if you want to get into fire emblem.

Chapters are well designed, the graphics are charming, and the characters are too.

Again, all the GBA games are very good. There's not too much to say here.

Path of Radiance features several of my favorite characters in the series. Titania, Ike, Soren, Lethe, Jill, "Eat rock" guy, Leanne, and Lucia.

This is probably the best the series ever got in terms of writing. It breaks of from the typical "oh no the evil dragon is being revived" formula and manages to have a plot that feels much more centered on the characters, which I love. The base conversations really help with that.

It's not just the story that's phenomenal the gameplay is also really good. The skill system is a bit limited, but the decisions feel all the more impactful because of it.

The class system has a pretty unique twist in that your units are promoted by leveling past level 20 this time around. The bonus XP system also helps a lot with that, although the Bonus XP system this time is just random stats, unlike in Radiant dawn.

While not the game I enjoyed the most, it's definitely the game I recommend the highest.

Thracia 776 is almost infamous in the fandom. Its known for being one of the hardest, if not the hardest game in the series. It has a lot of peculiarities, like capturing, leadership stars, movement stars, movement growths, magic and resistance being the same stat, stealing equipped weapons, forced dismounting, no Langes indoors, FUCC, Infinite duration statuses etc. . . Theres a lot going on.

But most of it is really good. And more importantly. Almost all of the bullshit goes both ways. Sleeping enemies sleep permanently. Enemies can capture your units, too.(which also has strategic value since it halves their stars) Your units have leadership stars. The fucking thief staff.

It also features one of my favorite mechanics, the crusader scrolls. It's essentially the same thing as the starshards but this time around they also help preventing crits. The modified growths together with thracias extremely low stat caps means effectively every unit can become very strong. Though there's still FUCC, movement stars, and skills to consider. All units are not created equal.

Thracia also has one of my favorite narratives. It is the smallest scale conflict (except Lyn mode) in the series and it makes for a very interesting change of pace. It's not a grand heroic adventure, but just about Leif trying to live to fight another day.

And that is also pretty well reflected in the gameplay. Thracia introduced both Escape and defense maps. It would've been a very different game if it had been all rout and seize maps.

All in all though, the game does at some points feature some actually unfair and unfun things too. Xavier's recruitment. 24x's warp tiles. Ch.4 if you don't know. Going into Thracia completely blind is a decision you'll have to make on your own. I tried doing that and had to hard reset upon hitting chapter 4. Then I opened a guide, and honestly, I don't regret it. But you should play the game if you haven't. It's good.

Also here's a tier list on how good of a game I think every game is, while trying to be impartial.

[sapphicdib]

FIRST: Looks to the Moon! And if you want to Hunter as well?

HEHE YOU KNOW ME SO WELL <3

Fav thing about them:

Moon: Her. Just her. Her entire adorable being. Her structure, how calming it is to be inside it. The way she hangs upside down on her rig a lot, especially when examining you. Her cute nicknames for you. The way she thanks you for bringing her things. Her lil beepy voice she has before giving you the mark. Everything. Her personality, her puppet, her breathtaking structure. I can’t choose one and I will not.

Hunter: Her story! How selfless her mission is, and how she’s a little creature doing her best to save someone she’s never even met before. She uses her limited time to save someone who suffers the same fate as her—body breaking down, seizing and collapsing. I also like that she’s pink :)

Least fav thing about them?

Moon: Impossible. Nothing.

Hunter: I guess…how neglected she is? She’s never anyone’s favorite campaign (just get good at the game, scrubs), and she was the only scug that didn’t get an updated ending/attention in downpour. Obviously artihunter means she’s popular within the fandom, but game-wise a lot of ppl seem to forget about her, when it’s honestly a REALLY fun campaign!

Favorite Line:

Moon: “And so clearly, this forced broadcast is directed to you, Five Pebbles.”

Idk what it is about this line specifically, but I legit cannot read it without bursting into tears. I managed to hold it together but I read that line in her broadcast and just lost it. I cried for like 30 minutes and had to go hug my mom.

Hunter: Obviously she doesn’t speak in the game, but here’s one of my fav line(s) from a fic Im writing:

She’s very proud of her name :)

brOTP

Moon: Is it weird to say Moon and Ruffles? It’s so cute that Moon named her and Ruffles seems to stay around even after the campaign. I headcanon that Rivulet struck out on her own to find out who she was, and after many adventures, decided that Ruffles was who she was.

Hunter: Ruffles too!! I see them having a cute sibling dynamic thanks to lilypad :3

OTP

Moon: LILYPAD OF COURSE!! DOOMED YURI MY BELOVED !!! Sig n Moons personalities work together so well and I love them sm ;-;

Hunter: APPLE JUICE!!! Monk x Hunter!!! I would have said artihunter but apple juice has captured my heart so hard i can’t help it.

nOTP

Moon: I don’t rlly like Eclipse but that’s just cuz I hc Moon is a lesbian. Also Waning Crescent/Slivermoon just doesn’t do it for me.

Hunter: Cherrypie…sorry cherrypie enjoyers I just can’t see it :( I feel like gourmand would see Hunter as more of a daughter figure.

Random Headcanon:

Moon: BEEPS! She beep-snorts when she laughs and often tries to hide it but Sig has made it her life mission to make Moon beep-snort-laugh as much as possible hehe

Hunter: She acts a LOT like Sig. Despite her ferocity in battle, she’s pretty goofy and playful during less intense moments. She also considers herself as Sig and Moon’s daughter (as do they)

Unpopular Opinion:

Moon: SHE IS NOT JUST “BORING FEMALE CHARACTER.” She has personality! She’s insanely stubborn when it comes to using her seniority privileges and obviously takes her role as local group senior very seriously. She is “nice and kind” but that doesn’t make her flat/stereotypical. Of course she’s gonna be nice to the player, you’re a little helpless animal.

Hunter: PLAY HER CAMPAIGN. PLEASE. It is not as daunting as you think it is, ESPECIALLY if you’ve beaten downpour cats! It IS challenging, but for me it really brings back the spirit of the original game: youre a helpless little creature. You can’t generate spears out of your ass, you can’t make explosives, all you can do is run slightly faster and throw spears slightly harder. You have to use your wit and skill to get through it, but it is so worth it.

Song I associate with them

Moon: Afterlife by Shadow Cliq

Hunter: No Mercy by DeathByRomy (it’s an artihunter song but god it goes hard)

Favorite Picture of Them:

MEWNIE…

And not to suck my own dick here or anything but this is my fav drawing i’ve done of hunter, my new year’s resolution was to learn to draw scugs so here’s my fav drawing of her i’ve done so far :3

TY FOR THE ASK!!

[danceofthephilos]

Ichiro Okouchi Interview (SK8 the Infinity Official Guide Book)

Skateboarding was the peak of fun.

Series Composition & Screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi*

*(though his name is romanized "Ohkouchi" in the book, I'm choosing to write it "Okouchi" as he is usually called in English-language sources.)

PROFILE

Screenwriter and novelist. He was in charge of the series composition and screenplays for major works such as Lupin the Third PART 5, Princess Principal, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, among others.

—First, how are you feeling now that episode 12 has finished airing?

FAN & FUN! In working on this series, I myself became a FAN of it, and it was a FUN series to create.

—Could you give us your honest impressions of what you thought when you heard the outline for the series?

When I heard it was an original work by Director Utsumi, I accepted right then. Utsumi-san's series have been so enjoyable to watch, after all. I only heard definitively that it was going to be a skateboarding anime after that. I had never ridden a skateboard before, but working with Utsumi-san was so appealing that I wasn't anxious in the slightest.

—Do you have any favorite episodes, or scenes that left an impression on you?

Episode 2 might be the one that made the most lasting impression on me. How I imagined episode 2 and the episode 2 the director wanted to create were different, so it was the episode that made me think, "Ah, it's this kind of series," and solidified the "image" of SK8 the Infinity in my heart. Thinking back on it, it was an important episode.

—Were there any episodes or behind-the-scenes developments that you hated to cut? (lit. "cut while crying")

There are! But, I can't say definitively that we won't use them in the future, so they're secret!

—Do you have a favorite character? Could you explain your reason why?

I like all of them, so it's difficult to single one out. Langa is dazzling, I love him. Reki, I understand your feelings! MIYA is a good kid who diligently worries about others. Shadow, I'm glad you grew up into a lovable character. Joe is an incredible adult, and if I were a woman I'd fall in love with him. Cherry Blossom might be the most pure-hearted. ADAM is the most incredible heel character, and elevated this work to the next level. Kikuchi, please keep supporting Ainosuke from now on!

—Could you tell us your impressions of the voice cast?

Of course everyone's performances were excellent, and the arrangement and balance of the youth and adult groups was wonderful too.

—Can you tell us about the appeal of skateboarding we felt in the series?

As the line in the series goes, "fun!" is what it's about. Not just when you're skating yourself, but talking to your friends, seeing your buddies' tricks, diligently practicing, and falling down are all fun. I interviewed all kinds of skaters, and it was striking how all of them made even the painful parts sound fun.

—Could you tell us any stories you would like to include in a spin-off?

I already wrote two spin-off scripts for the Blu-ray and DVD bonus CDs, so if possible, I'd like to write a continuation of the original work next.

—Do you have any anecdotes about Okinawa, the setting for the series?

The production staff and I all took our skateboards and went on a location hunt around Okinawa. It was spring, but it was already incredibly hot, and we had to scramble to buy hats. In that brightly saturated scenery, skateboarding was the peak of fun.

—If "S" opened in the real world, what part do you think you'd be most interested in?

I'd be happy to be an irresponsible spectator. But I'd at least like to try participating by Adam dragging me by the leg around a corner. (laughter)

—Can you send a message to all the fans who loved SK8 the Infinity?

Thank you so much for watching and loving SK8 the Infinity! The responses echoed stronger and stronger with each episode and filled all of us creators with strength. It was a work where we could feel the strength of everyone's support in a way that's only possible in this era of social media. I'm grateful!

(from SK8 the Infinity OFFICIAL GUIDE BOOK, released December 22nd 2021)

[soulsillk]

🕸️ ABOUT ME:

• V, she/her, 25 | [ I played the MM game right when it came out and it rewired my brain completely and gave me Spider-Men brainrot in ways still unknown by man— I approach insanity every day because of them. I write fanfic on AO3 about soulsilk (my ship name for Peter/Miles, though I know others have their own :D) and I literally can't shut up about anything Spider-Man related, comics or game-wise. Seriously. It's an obsession at this point. Come share in the obsession with me. Fellow soulsilk enjoyers, new besties, and random asks are always welcome here 😌 ]

• What I'm obsessed with: [ Soulsilk, Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Kaine Parker, Miguel O'Hara, Flowerfang, Scarletfang (Miguel/Kaine), my Web Polycule AU I created with my friend Kos (Peter/Miles/Kaine/Miguel), Insomniac's Spider-Man games ]

• Spotify Profile | Fic Playlists:

Tu Sangre Es Mi Sangre, Es Tu Sangre [Book I]

Midori Lights, I Taste You in the Moonlight [Book II]

It's Not Love, But I Love You (Only When I Can Hurt You) [Club AU]

Spinnin' Like Cartwheels Inside Your Mind [1995 No Powers AU]

SOME OF MY PLANNED WIPs ARE BELOW THE CUT! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

• Tu Sangre Es Mi Sangre, Es Tu Sangre: your fic, what's it about?:  [ After playing the MM game it was like experiencing this giant, eye-opening revelation. The connection between Peter and Miles is one of a kind. It's so unique and complex and such a interesting bond to play around with, especially because of their pasts and their individual circumstances.

I wanted to explore that bond they share in a more intimate way. Both with what it is in the canon world and then what it could be in a different world where they made different choices— where they always choose each other. It's the devotion they carry for each other, the extremes and deepness of their love for each other and what it would translate into inside a romantic relationship. The aspect of co-dependecy between them is my favorite thing to play around with. That inherent notion that they can't live without each other: because they were made to be in each other's lives, to help each other, to be there for each other, to care for one another, to be both lovers and friends. Peter and Miles were simply (and very literally) made for each other.

I'm a sucker for forbidden love (the star-crossed lovers, the secret relationships), for doomed love, for soulmates, for the "love will triumph over all," for the absolute symbiosis of lovers and the conjoining of their souls together for all eternity... and my fic tackles all of these themes and more: the loss of innocence (coming of age), and how growing older is bittersweet, but also lovely if you let it be, the tragedy of being forced to grow up faster than you're ready to from experiencing such traumatic and devastating grief, the warmth of a love that nurtures and heals you, Peter learning to trust Miles and let go of his past and all his guilt, Miles growing into his own and finally learning to be Peter's equal and his life partner, the strength of love and how far it goes— that without it everything will be doomed from the start. Love will always win. ]

🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️🕷️🕸️

Planned oneshots:

• Stripper AU | Rating: Explicit - [ Miles gets a tip that a local strip club is actually a money laundering scheme. The workers are being stiffed and he's there to put an end to it. Though the money laundering scheme is real, he was brought in here by Ganke (who figured out months ago that Peter's been working there, and with his knowledge of Miles' years-long crush on his mentor, quickly concocted the funniest— and most evil— plan imaginable).

Miles waits seated, listening in for the informant, his back to the velvet curtained room. Peter walks in then, neither knowing they're about to run into each other. As Peter steps out of the shadows, his hand slinks across the back of the chair before he comes around to the front. As soon as he sees Miles' mask he's mortified— it's a set-up, they both realize just a little too late.

Mayhem insues and crushes develop (on both sides).

This is an intervention, and they're gonna fall in love, damnit. ]

• Spinnin' Like Cartwheels Inside Your Mind (1995 No Powers AU) | Rating: Explicit - [ It's about to be the summer of 1995 and Miles is on his last year of high school. In Forest Hills, on the other side of the fence, lies the object of all his affections: Peter— his neighbor— is funny, smart... and a twenty-two year old college senior.

As the hot days roll on, Miles is stuck between acing all his classes and helping Peter fix up his old bike on the weekends. Except the more they hang out, the more apparent it becomes that Peter (maybe) likes him more than a friend.

Or: it's almost the summer of 1995 and Miles is in love with a beautiful boy. ]

• There's a Neon Halo and There's a Crown: They Both Belong On Your Head | Rating: Explicit | Flowerfang (1992!Miguel/Insomniac!Miles) - [ Called to help for a mission in Nueva York by Miguel, Miles finds that a week is all he needs to fall head over webs in love with the crabbiest and most hardheaded of the three Spider-Men in his life. Going undercover to discover the distributor of a brand new drug that's going around Downton, Miguel and Miles must pretend to be a couple for the upcoming Alchemax corporate event.

There's a party, there's a confession, and then there's blood, and in the end, Miguel isn't so alone anymore. ]

• Screwball: Live! | Rated Explicit (Non-Con) - [ Unknowingly lured to a warehouse by Screwball to disrupt an arms smuggling ring, the boys arrive to the scene only to find an empty warehouse with no supply line in sight. Now caught unawares, they're swiftly knocked out with a sedating gas. Once they wake up, the boys find themselves in a padded room with no exits and a solitary camera on the ceiling... and an indestructible metal shock collar affixed to Peter's neck. Forced to drug each other with an aphrodisiac by Screwball, the Spider-Men must now put on the show of their lives or risk being slowly suffocated to death by the quickly depleting oxygen levels inside the room.

"Awwww, you wouldn't let him die, would you? Because if you did, it'd totally be your fault." ... "Take the drug and relax, little Spidey Jr. After all, the show's about to start." ]

• Jeff Lives AU | Rated Teen - [ Jeff survives the award ceremony and continues teaming up with Peter for the rest of the investigation, but because of his injuries after the bombing, he's put on temporary rest until he's released from the hospital. Except, Miles being who he is, sneaks into Jeff's case files and gathers all the evidence to finish the work he started. He contacts Peter pretending to be his dad and shows up to one of the Demon warehouses... where Peter quickly realizes that he's been bamboozled and Miles is very much not Officer Davis.

Throughout the next several days, Miles steadily becomes Peter's new crime-fighting partner, but not before a whole lot of "You're just a kid, go home. I can't have you getting hurt. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you and I had to explain to your dad what happened," and, "Y'know, there's other ways you can help me... how about you head over to F.E.A.S.T. and lend them a hand." Miles being stubborn, now acts as an OP!MJ that won't leave Peter alone because his dad would never give up when it comes to doing the right thing.

Miles goes to F.E.A.S.T and meets Peter anyway and they get close there, even under different circumstances. And meanwhile, still inside of the suit, Peter and Miles keep meeting because Miles starts investigating things on his own. Until eventually the lines start blurring, and one night Peter comes to Miles' fire escape, still as Spider-Man, and they talk and it's just, "Oh.... I'm in love with you. And I can't be. Not now."

Peter lets Miles continue coming on missions with him and slowly they build a more intimate relationship where Peter comes to accept him as his partner. And then Miles gets bitten by the spider anyway, and just like that it's the beginning of the end for them.

After several years of Peter suffering through the internal monologue of, "I'm going to look away and ignore all the signs and I won't acknowledge that you have a massive crush on me and it will all go away." It's 6 years down the line and they're sitting together in a diner and Miles just goes, "So, um, y'know I'm 21 now, and I'm super, super single and so are you, and I'm also Spider-Man... and, well, there's kinda also the fact that I'm still like really, really in love with you." ]

• It's Not Love, But I Love You (Only When I Can Hurt You) | Club AU | Rating: Explicit - An alternate "What If?" scenario where "Tu Sangre Es Mi Sangre, Es Tu Sangre" went horrifically wrong, and what once started as a secret FWB relationship, turns into bitter resentment between Peter and Miles as they proceed to destroy each other throughout the years.

On the last night before Miles officially goes off to college (hoping to finally leave their relationship behind once and for all), Peter invites Miles out to a local club for one last hurrah. Except as the night progresses, things take a turn for the worse— argument after argument leading both to retreat to Peter's house in Queens. With MJ gone on a business trip, Miles and Peter have one last night together before everything comes crashing down once again.

Or: it's the last night before the rest of Miles' life and his heart's already breaking. ]

[stcllxr]

*       if you’re hearing EVERYTHING I WANTED by BILLIE EILISH playing, you have to know GABRIELE CASPER MORRETTI (HE/THEY; NON-BINARY) is near by! the 31 year old JAZZ MUSICIAN AT PANDORA'S BOX/COMPOSER has been in denver for, like, SEVEN MONTHS (THIS TIME). they’re known to be quite ERRATIC, but being HUMOROUS seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble KEIYNAN LONSDALE. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those HAIR COLOUR CHANGING AS OFTEN AS THEIR UNDERWEAR, COUCH SURFING THEIR WAY AROUND THE GLOBE, AN EAR THAT CAN PICK UP A TUNE FROM JUST A FEW NOTES vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the RIVER NORTH ART DISTRICT long enough!

basics

full name : gabriele casper moretti

name meaning: god is my strength, treasure bearer, dark hair worker

nickname / alias: cas, the friendly ghost

gender / pronouns: non binary, he / they

sexuality: pansexual

age, birthday + zodiac: 31,

place of birth: newport, rhode island.

accent : denver. 

occupation: composer & jazz musician

song: everything i wanted by billie eilish

appearance

faceclaim: keiynan lonsdale

height: 5″10

eyecolor: green/hazel

haircolor: dark brown

build: lean, bordering skinny

tattoos / scars: large white scar on their right palm from a broken beer bottle, half sleeve on their left upper arm made up of small tattoos related to places they have been / lived.

personality

positive traits: humorous, good natured, sarcastic

negative traits: anxious, introverted, erratic

relationships

parents : carmen moretti ( mother, deceased ), angelo moretti ( father, deceased ) 

siblings : x moretti ( eldest sister ) , x moretti ( eldest brother ) , x moretti ( middle sister ) , x moretti ( twin sister )

children : none

pets : cat ( small / medium rescue puppy , mixed breeds )

history

part one

gabriele moretti is the final of the five moretti siblings to be born, barely two minutes after his twin sister but a whole fourteen years after the eldest had come into the world.

life is at first, positive. he remembers very little of the early years, just loving parents and a sister that formed the other half of him. but in a household with so many vying personalities, he felt small. unnoticeable. like if he kept quiet for long enough, they might forget he existed at all.

the desire to disappear is heightened further when their parents are lost. it's a sudden, crushing, grief. he is only eight and his world is turned upside down. he misses most the twenty minutes before bed when his mother would read them stories to help them fall asleep and he would feel the whole weight of her love, undivided. and his father's laugh that filled a room with mirth, that sent him into spirals of childish giggles, as if their bond could be founded on humour alone. when they are gone, a house that was so full of noise is silenced.

the remains of the siblings are moved to denver, to live with their aunt. he does what he is supposed to. goes to school, tries his best. but his mind is unlike most and he cannot concentrate, cannot focus. math, science, literature, they're frustratingly challenging. he is smart, he swears he is, but school makes him feel inept.

all apart from music class. it's the one class he holds out for each week, looks forward to. music just makes sense. it doesn't matter the instrument, he finds a way to learn it - figure out its quirks, how to find the path to the right sounds. he learns that when he has a voice, when he uses it, it's enjoyable.

when he is out of the shadow of his family, he forces on a personality - the class clown, the joker. he in part craves the attention, in another hides behind the mask it allows him to create. as the happy, wise-cracking, goofball nobody expects to him to have an ache in his chest that feels suffocating. nobody notices the way his hands shake whenever attention is turned to him, or the way he has to seek out a quiet isolated place to find calm again, to let it all swallow him whole.

part two

he makes it through school, just about scraping it by. he's promised himself he's not going to drop out ( for mom, for dad, though he's not sure they'd remark on it if they were still around ). and then his life can really begin, right ?? something about lakeview has always felt too enclosed, too limited, and at 18 with the world at his feet he takes off running.

he travels, anywhere, everywhere. ticking off continents, countries, cities. experiencing cultures that seem so much bigger than small town life. and he takes his guitar everywhere he goes ( though he prefers a piano, at times, it's a lot harder to attach to a backpack ).

he writes and composes music, tries different styles, but always ends up coming back to the music of his home - jazz. he moves to new york, manages to settle briefly, and even gets scouted while performing at a run down bar in queens. suddenly, he is thrown headfirst into the life of a professional musician. he gets studio time, works with a few big names, records an album - even gets the start of a tour booked.

all the while, gabriele feels that something is missing or doesn't quite add up. that the face he presents is still packaged up in the form that's most permissible but isn't true to who he really is. it's a friend in the industry that finally sits him down and helps him confront what he has been avoiding most. himself. or, perhaps more importantly, themself. he begins to explore the pronouns he finds most comfortable, learns about different terms and definitions and what that might mean for him. he dabbles in different clothes, different looks, trying to find who he is underneath years of avoidance.

gabriele is a ghost he decides; and therein lies the joke. if he is to be a ghost, he will be casper. the friendliest kind. at age 23, five years after leaving denver, gabriele in a short but sweet text to those that matter, makes the request to be called casper. there's little explanation given, he hopes he doesn't really ever have to. after all, running from the real shit is still his best skill.

casper gets rebranded ( despite a bit of uproar from their label ) but it leads to greater success. their fans, old and new, like the intrigue and the heart it gives to their music. the booked tour leads them around the u.s. before taking them of all places, to mardis gras.

it's on a float shaped like a sinking ship ( yeah, prophetic irony or what ) that their anxiety gets the best of them. a panic attack results in the utter butchery of 'what a wonderful world' and casper bolting from the parade. with nothing but embarrassment shaping their career, they bolt from louisiana and head on the next tour stop as soon as possible.

part three

living their life on tour, half settling in cities all over, begins to chafe. and they find themselves yearning for something unexpected - home. after all this time, casper decides to relocate back to denver.

they start of fairly non-committal, couch surfing from friends and families homes for a month or so. but then they reconnect with a girl they once knew, a few dates leads to exclusivity and suddenly casper has a girlfriend. one that, for once, they're not expecting to end things with. so why not try to stick it out ??

a room in an apartment becomes available, a few other people - some that he even grew up with - and he jumps at the chance. these are roots in as much as casper is capable.

seven months later and here they still are. they work from home, writing and composing new music - their label is expecting something good, something to push their sound into the mainstream - and to pay the rent they perform at pandora's box with friday nights being their regular slot.

wanted connections

current girlfriend childhood best friend/will they won't they

[thejackofalltrades42069]

1. Stuff I learned from reading Vagabond.

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes.

Vagabond is a manga (Japanese comic) written and drawn by Takehiko Inoue about the life of the most famous swordsman from Japanese history, inspired in true events and characters from that time (around 1600's).

I'll write some quotes and then my interpretation, my input, and stuff I thought about.

I divided the post in parts so it can be read a bit at a time.

1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

Takuan: “There is no light for those who do not know darkness. Live on and endure the shadows Takezou! And brightness shall come your way”

Interpretation:

Not everything in life is happiness, and happiness as a goal is a bad idea because during many moments in life there will be unavoidable tragedy (earthquakes, the death of a loved one, an illness, breaking up with your partner), and we have to do stuff like working 8 hours a day which is not usually enjoyable.

If we accept that a part of life is “suffering” and/or doing things we don’t like, we will have a better time in life because we won’t fight and try to avoid something unavoidable. Trying to avoid things you have to do only leads to stress, and to becoming a good for nothing. For example when you have to do a bunch of work, but instead of doing it, you start checking social media or procrastrinating somehow else, eventually you just feel more tired and stressed than you should be and haven't got any work done.

Experiencing tragedy is a natural thing, if we endure and overcome tragedy, and learn from it, we will be able to have amazing moments in life, and appreciate them more.

Quote:

Takuan: “Don’t be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety, effortlessly. That is what it means to truly see.”

Interpretation:

If you focus too much on a single thing, it can be at work, at a hobby, doing whatever, you might miss the bigger picture.

Sometimes when working on solving a problem, for example, healing lower back pain (it’s a good example), we think our lower back is the problem, and we think we need to apply heat, rest, and then strengthen our lower back. In many cases, we need to strengthen the parts around the lower back that support it, the legs and glutes, work on having a better posture by strengthening our chest, the upper back, and the abdomen. 

Sometimes thinking that a very specific thing is the problem won’t let us see the stuff around it that could be what’s actually causing the problem.

This quote could also mean: after you practice something a lot, and learn a lot of information about it, part by part first, practicing those parts separately, then all parts together at the same time, eventually you’ll be able to “truly see”, to be really good at something, and to get the bigger picture easily, applying all those individual skills without thinking about them consciously.

This can also be applied to life in general, the more information we learn (like science facts and useful practical information), and the more we practice things, all becomes easier in general.

2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dialogue:

Musashi: "These wicked thoughts… they're distracting me from the way of the sword."

Takuan: "Wicked thoughts?" "Are you suggesting that Otsu (a female character) is wicked?"

Musashi: "No, I didn't say that! It's just that… My thoughts about her are."

Takuan: "Your thoughts aren't wicked. They're perfectly natural feelings. You think these feelings go against the way of the warrior. But they only get twisted and bent out of shape when you repress them and try to keep them contained."

Interpretation:

Absolutely any thought that goes through your mind is natural, and it’s not a good idea to think they’re wrong, or that something’s wrong with you because of having those thoughts. Everyone will have many useless thoughts yes, and thoughts that you shouldn’t pursue. If you keep thinking about something too much, it's likely you'll eventually do something about it. For example, when you do something about a thought that will cause trouble (like messaging with your ex, or like taking steps that can lead you towards cheating on your partner with someone from work, or like stealing something).

Whenever there’s a thought that is a bad idea, or “useless”, the best thing is to just keep doing something else and see that thought from a distance, it will go away eventually. To achieve this, it’s useful to have things to do (like hobbies, or work), and engaging in those activities with minimal distractions. Meditation is also a useful practice to improve concentration and stop thinking about so many things at once.

Even if thoughts are outside of our control, we can bias ourselves into having better and more useful thoughts (or, worse ones). When we engage in a certain activity for a long time, it will be natural to have ideas related to that activity, and less ideas about something we're spending less time doing. We actually have a huge amount of control when it comes to influencing ourselves in a positive or negative way.

To give an example, spending a lot of time on social media will worsen every aspect of daily life because it will increase our negative thoughts, such as thinking the world is awful, thinking people are stupid (because people mostly post impulsive things), thinking we want something that others have (possessions and experiences). It will increase our anxiety (because we will want to keep looking at our phones) and it will make us feel unsatisfied because of all these thoughts, and because it messes up with our dopamine (reward) system, we will feel more tired and uninterested in life in general.

Quote:

Takuan: “Once your heart is preoccupied, your sword will not be true. Then you will die.”

Interpretation:

Engage in what you’re doing, try not to get distracted, and try to enter into the state of flow* at least once a day.

When we’re doing a task, such as work, reading, or playing videogames, if we keep looking at our cellphone for whatever reason, usually our productivity decreases more than 60%, we take a lot longer to finish what we’re doing, we don’t learn as well what we’re doing, and we get a lot more tired.

If you don’t believe me, watch yourself carefully next time this happens, and then try to put your phone in a drawer in silence, at least for 1-hour periods (also avoid checking any social media early before doing other things, leave that for the afternoon, or just don't), if you do this often, you’ll see what I mean.

When we’re too distracted and don’t practice doing things with no interruptions, we won’t get good at doing anything, such as work, a sport, a board game, anything.

This skill is like a muscle, the more we practice doing activities with no distractions, we will be a lot better at it, we will make less mistakes. Being in the zone* like many sport athletes while doing anything feels great and is great to work this skill.

*Being in the zone, or flow state, is a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in an activity. It usually takes about 20 minutes before you can access this state. I’ve felt it many times while doing sports, working on character animations, and playing certain video games, games like Tetris or "Bullet Hell" games are really good for practicing this skill. This can be achieved at work if you're not being interrupted every 10 minutes.

3

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Quote:

Sekishusai Yagyu: “There is no limit to technique. There is always room for improvement.”

Interpretation:

Whatever you do, you can always get better at it if you keep working on it in a smart way.

Sometimes simply practicing the way one's used to won’t help improve much though. Different approaches, learning different information, and learning skills about different subjects will increase one's general knowledge, and you’ll become better at everything in general.

Even people who are "not talented" at something can work hard and get good at it.

As a side note here. Specialization is good, but overspecialization is a bad idea, someone overspecialized will have a very narrow understanding of the world. An example can be a medic who's great at doing surgeries, but doesn't know much about anything else.

Quote:

Inei Hozoin: “Swimming in the middle of an ocean, one can never realize how vast it truly is.”

Interpretation:

Paying too much attention to one detail, and we’ll miss the bigger picture.

We usually try to achieve things by doing whatever our body and mind dictate at that moment. We can try taking a short break, investigating, thinking it through and then acting. It's most likely this will bring better results.

Quote:

Sekishusai Yagyu: “Invincible. It’s merely a word. To be “invincible”. The more you think about it. The more you squint your eyes in desperation to see, the more obscured the answer becomes.”

Interpretation:

Sometimes we get way too fixated to some ideas or goals.

It’s usually hard to distance ourselves from some ideas because of our culture, our environment, and our biology. I’ve found it very useful to learn basic psychology, philosophy, and biology to better understand myself, other people, and the world. Learning facts from science is also hugely important if we want to better understand everything in general.

Words are a huge simplification of objects and concepts that we probably don’t understand fully. For example, the word “tree”, we use it to refer to a zillion amounts of trees, small trees, big trees, cherry blossoms, oak trees, etc. We can be very biased due to these big simplifications our language does, and because of how each one of us uses language differently.

Taking a distance from our own ideas, our dreams or goals, our usual activities, and learning about random facts, reading a good novel, all these will give us a lot of new insights and will help to avoid being so fixated with the same stuff that can cloud our judgment a lot. What we do daily or often causes us to think or behave in a certain way or to have a specific ideology or tendency, doing something different can have a huge positive impact and help us better understand many things.

Quote:

Musashi: “The “me” in your mind. The story in your mind. That story reflects your own self, your true self. It reflects you as you are now.”

Interpretation:

Be careful, do not think dishonestly, understand what truly is and isn’t.

Sometimes we believe that other people are just like us, and that their situation is like ours, this is not always the case. Talking with people, being honest with them, really listening to what they say, having deep conversations can provide a lot of insights about other people's lives, feelings, and beliefs. Some stories (novels, series, etc.) do the same, but you must pay close attention and ponder on it to really get it. For example, watching some youtubers analyzing characters and events from different series turns out to be a great place to learn.

By understanding that every person is in a different environment from us and have different biology from ours, we can truly get that some people are going through something completely different from us.

Another example; being stressed, angry, or tired won’t leave you with any resources to have empathy for others. I’ve found out I’m really tired and unfriendly right after work. Also, if I use my cellphone (or social networks) a lot during the day, I end up being more moody and tired than I should (it consumes a huge amount of energy and time if you analyze and experience it objectively).

We all have different biases, there’s no such thing as an “unbiased” person or thought, but we can try to better understand everything and have a less biased judgement.

4

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Dialogue:

Inei Hozoin: “Young one, you hold such aggression in you. I thought you were going to kill me.”

Musashi: “You’ll have to excuse me, but, you have it all wrong. I felt like you were going to strike me with that hoe. Or was I just imagining things?”

Ine Hozoin: “Bah, you’re still wet behind the ears… It’s that clumsy bloodthirst of yours… Me as well as others—we are only mirrors reflecting your own bloodthirst… Your own bloodthirst turns everyone you encounter against you.”

Interpretation:

The way we behave (usually an unconscious thing) can cause others to be uncomfortable, or even aggressive to us. I try to be more aware of the way I look at other people, what I say, and sometimes even about my body language. I can remember times when other people, women and men have seemed to be troubled by me being there with them (ha). It’s usually a 50/50 thing, it’s not only about you, other people can have upsetting behaviors. But being more aware of the way we behave around other people can help everyone have a better time, simply by staring at someone for a couple of seconds at the wrong time and place, we can make them feel very uncomfortable (at the gym or at work for example).

We can all have a better time by trying to be a bit more easy going. This isn’t easy, it will take a lot of practice. Learning more about people and having more empathy takes time.

*There's a book named The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease that helped me understand a bunch of stuff after reading it and then putting what I had learned into practice a little at a time. I noticed I did a bunch of stuff that was very obvious and that could upset other people. It's a lot of fun seeing what other people do, and how some are very obvious with their body language, some aren't, and some are really hard to figure out.

Quote:

Takuan: “Musashi, you’ve become kinder. You’re getting stronger I see. All truly strong people are kind.”

Interpretation:

Self-confidence is a result from learning information and technique through time, and also a result from being honest with yourself, with others, and from doing things right. There's no need to worry about things like your reputation or about results when you're doing your best and are not lying to other people.

Being kind to others and being generally more calm should come out of those good practices as a result.

Some people confuse being kind with naivety, which is not the case at all, someone self-confident will know how to deal with people that try to take advantage of them by setting limits and stopping them immediately. Besides, being nice to others usually results into them being nicer too, there will always be exceptions.

To further clarify my idea. The “self-confidence” classes or coaches that teach to for example, seduce someone by being dishonest is not real self-confidence, it’s just a pretending game that will only cause a bunch of problems in the long term. On the other hand, assertiveness training is a different thing not to be confused with crappy pretending training, it's something that's useful to many people in many contexts.

5

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Quote:

“There are always crossroads inside the mind. The middle path is the best.”

Interpretation:

When we tend too much towards something, we become extremely biased and don’t consider options that could be best. Social networks (and internet in general) are a good example, they have an incredibly advanced algorithm that throw at you all information that you want to see that’s related to things you like and things you can like, even if it’s fake information. The algorithm is trying to point you in a very specific direction and pushing you more to be in an extreme end of certain ideas, values, or ideologies (making conservatives more conservative, and making liberals more liberals). Besides, they are mind boggling, exhausting, and don’t leave us with anything useful (maybe with a couple of funny memes).

Before eliminating some choices we can make, it’s great to have input from other sources (even listening to ideas from people we don't like and trying to make sense of them), and try not to always listen so much to our own biases like we usually do.

We should try to find a balance between order and chaos, and try to flow, not limiting ourselves too much so we can keep learning, growing, changing (for the best).

I tend to have too much order in my life, when this happens, I get bored, tired, angry, and think about doing crazy things to find some chaos (which is not a good idea). Some other people's lives are 99% chaos, they sleep under 6 hours daily, never get a bunch of important things done, and have eating disorders since their lives don't have any kind of logical structure or order. They could use more structure in their daily lives so they don't end up just wasting a bunch of time daily and feeling tired, or end up doing a lot of random things that lead to nothing.

It’s great to find your weekly activities where you have order, even writing down a daily schedule if necessary, and finding other activities on some weekdays and weekends that will get you “chaos”, this doesn’t mean you have to go out, get drunk, puke, sleep at 6 am, and feel like your brain is going to blow up the next day. It can be small things like going out with friends for a couple hours, doing something different from the usual with your partner, taking a hike, trying to learn something new, taking a class, traveling somewhere, etc. (things you don't usually do and don't know what to expect of them).

Quote:

Musashi: “What is the meaning of “strength”? It’s to have a mind that doesn’t sway, while continuing to move and change.”

Interpretation:

In order to achieve anything, we need to continuously work on it, progressively (this is probably the most important thing many people don’t get, everything must be worked on starting with baby steps), and not giving up if it’s something important, and something realistically achievable.

This is a hard process, learning new information, practicing, making mistakes, learning from them, making more mistakes, moving on. Becoming our better selves by embracing new information instead of rejecting anything new on the spot and just keeping our old ideas, learning to distinguish from useful and not useful information, lies from truth.

All this needs to be done to have “strength”, this is what you’d need to do to learn a language at an advanced level, to get good at coding, to continuously work on and improve the relationship you have with your partner, to get good at your job, etc.

I have another post where I talk a lot more about this last quote and related ideas:

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I’ll finish by paraphrasing Musashi from The Book of Five Rings:

-Training morning and evening will give you what will seem to be miraculous skill.

[its-deputy-caleb]

Hi do you think you do the 4 lords reaction to finding out their GN s/o has a shadow demon that goes wherever they go and some time find the 2 of them playing board games

Hiii!! okay important note here! i decided to go a little off topic (sorry) for the purpose of a part 2 where the lord’s s/o will be an angel!! of course still gender neutral and there will be a shadow demon but the s/o will be a demon that hasn’t fully formed yet!

i’ve been really uninspired lately so this probably isn’t my best! i apologise :((

Devil or Angel? Pt.1

General HC’s

It was strange how quickly your life had changed. One morning you were just a normal villager in some godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere Romania and the next day you woke up from the cold dirty ground with a pair of huge dark wings and sharp nails.

You had been exploring some of the woodlands surrounding the village, looking for a water source which was running low when a dark figure came barrelling towards you. It felt like hours, when really it was only a few seconds of sharp searing pain. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave the village alone.

You didn’t die however, or maybe you did? You weren’t quite sure what was happening to your body. All you knew was it must have been something supernatural to make the huge black wings appear.

“Looks like you finally woke up! Do you know how fucking boring it is just waiting for you to wake up?”

You screamed in terror at the large demonic creature floating above you. It was surrounded by a cloud of black mist with red eyes that pierced through its silhouette. It had a large wicked smile aligned with sharp teeth and a set of wings that matched your own.

Behind those eyes was something much more human however, in fact it looked rather bored.

“Who, or what are you?! And mind that language!”

The creature only laughed at you, amused by the whole situation which bothered you beyond compare.

“Well I’m a demon, if I didn’t swear you’d probably think me an angel with these playful charms I posses! And to be more specific I’m your demon, it seems you fell prey to one of the other demons condemned to this world it’s quite the tragedy really.”

You were shocked at just how easily this creature, this demon talked to you. As if it was a completely normal morning and life in the village had not changed at all.

“Oh don’t act so shocked, you medieval villagers have been worshiping my kind for a lot longer than that Mother Miranda. You’re one of us now!”

Surprisingly over time the creature, who’d you’d nicknamed “red” for their glowing eyes, was slowly growing on you. You might even call them a friend.

Sure Red was cocky as all hell and didn’t hesitate to cause trouble amongst the village but they became very protective over you and showed you the ropes on life as a demon.

Life can get kinda boring when you’re practically immortal and so you and red pass the time playing old Romanian board games and solitaire. When village life got really boring you even stooped so low to play go fish together.

A lot of the time you cause mischief in and around the village while Red was practically the devil on your shoulder, egging you on to stir the pot. The lycans were particularly enjoyable to taunt.

Regardless of everything, you couldn’t see yourself without Red and to lose them would crush you. There had been one too many nights when you’d chat about everything and nothing until you fell asleep curled up underneath your wings.

That was when you felt a protective wing curl around you, one that wasn’t your own.

“Always gotta fall asleep on me don’t you, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll have you partying all night before you know it kiddo.”

Alcina Dimitrescu

It started out as a stupid dare when Red dared you to sneak into Castle Dimitrescu and steal the Lady’s lipstick after hearing the village gossip that it was expensive.

You did not expect however to get caught in the hallway, starting straight up into the eyes of Alcina Dimitrescu, a stuttering and blushing mess. It was something that Red would tease you for until eternity ended.

After winning her favour, both you and Red were invited to stay in the Castle with Alcina and her daughters. She thought you were much better company than her brother and her affluent but gothic lifestyle totally appealed to you.

As it turns out you and Alcina had a lot more in common, both being creatures of a supernatural nature. You enjoyed the lazy afternoons curled up on the couch, a glass of maidens blood in your hand as she gentle stroked the back of her hand against your wings.

You had the finest outfits that matched your black wings perfectly and everything was tailor made so you were comfortable.

Red taught you how to fly so you were able to use your wings to be at eye level with Alcina which was perfect for hugs and kisses.

It turns out that Red is a great babysitter for the girls and keeps them entertained with hunting maidens and chasing them around the Castle while you and Alcina can spend some time together.

Donna Beneveinto

At first, Donna is truly scared of you and Red much like how you were in the beginning. But eventually, with the help of Angie she saw that you were not going to harm her.

You loved to spend time with Donna and watch her make her dolls or sew her dresses. Sometimes Red will come back with Angie from a day of causing trouble to find you reading to her another encyclopaedia of plants. Her head is resting on your chest and your wings are wrapped around her protectively while you read.

Your favourite thing to do together is to take Donna into your arms and fly to the top of the mountain where the waterfall begins and watch the sunset together. She’ll always have a deathly grip on your hand the whole time even though you’ve reassured her that you’d never drop her.

One time when you leaned in and gave her a kiss, a rather loud noise was heard from the corner and interrupted you.

“EWWW you guys are too cute!! All that lovey-dovey stuff makes me sick!”

Red is standing to the side with Angie on their shoulder who is sitting there making her own dramatic faces. One of Angie’s wooden hands covers Red’s eyes while the other is held on her forehead as if the kiss was enough to kill her.

Besides from their comment both Angie and Red act like your wing man for your relationship with Donna. They absolutely love you two together and have set up many dates for the two of you.

Salvatore Moreau

You meet Salvatore Moreau one day when you’re at the reservoir playing hide and seek in the near by mines with Red.

As it’s your turn to hide you end up ducking between some planks to find a tv set up and a small couch. Sitting in the middle of it happens to be someone you now know as Sal.

He thought you were going to kill him at first, hiding his face in his hands but very slowly after some months he saw that you weren’t a threat.

Over this time trying to convince Sal that you weren’t going to hurt him and trying to spend more time with him, Red took the opportunity to tease you for your crush.

“I think someone’s in got a little crush hmm??”

Eventually you become very close with Sal and the two of you will playfully chase each other at the reservoir. Sal will swim just below the surface while you fly just above it and your fingers brush together just where the water meets the air.

One time when you were chasing Red around the rooftops of the old village, you slipped and fell into the water, something that your large feathery wings did not enjoy and Red had to pull you out.

You ended up bundled on the couch with Sal, a bunch of blankets around you as your wings dried out. It took forever and you ended up a giant bundle of fluffy feathers but Sal thought you looked adorable.

Karl Heisenberg

Karl caught you and Red taunting the lycans when he went to check on them at their den one day. At the site of you two he raised an eyebrow and proceeded to light a cigar.

“I think you two may be lost, don’t you know it’s dangerous out here?”

You can hear the sarcasm in his voice and you spread your wings out to be intimidating, Red’s black mist behind you adding to it.

“Indeed it is very dangerous out here, I’d hate for you to get hurt.”

It was then when the three of you burst into a fit of laughter knowing that you were the strongest creatures in these woods and nothing could really hurt either of you.

Both you and Karl had a mischievous side and spent a lot of time causing trouble for his sister in her Castle.

It was fun to spend time with Karl and you both grew rather close. He even trusted you enough to let you help him on some of his plans and designs.

Red was particularly fond of the idea of killing Mother Miranda.

“Ooh when she’s gone can I have my picture put back up?! Pretty please!”

Karl designed his soldats with a red glowing chest plate that reminded him of your red glowing eyes which now matched Red’s.

While Karl will deny it forever, he’s completely in awe of you and finds you absolutely breathtaking. He can’t get over how soft your wings are and always cuddles up to you complaining that it’s cold even though it’s sweltering hot in the factory.

One day Karl took you by surprise and kissed you gently but with a degree of confidence which took him months to find. You melted into him and wrapped your arms around him securely, completely forgetting Red who’s hovering in the room.

“Guys I hate to break it to you but I’m kinda third wheeling here…”

Needless to say, Red third wheeled a lot and ended up befriend Sturm as an alternative to watching you guys make out.