#this one isn't really spoilery i don't think

[serenescribe]

OOOHH for ficlet frenzy, I'm thinking the song Reflection (Mulan) with Silver's insecurity about being only human to his fae father!!!

I imagine at the start of his training to being a knight, he was having a difficult time coping with Lilia's standards.

and he feels dissapointed at himself for not being strong, for not being as magically gifted as Lilia... Its probably because he's not Lilia's biological son that he can't meet his expectations, so if he can't succeed at being a decent son, nor a decent knight,,, what else is he supposed to be?? What good is him, a mere human to his strong fae father?

[✐] ficlet frenzy

"That's enough for today."

The sound of his father's voice calling for an end to his first day of real training should fill Silver with relief. His every muscle screams in agony, desperate for some kind of respite. His skin is slick with sweat, coating him like a second layer of flesh. Panting, he feels his chest rise and fall from where he lays on the ground, and it is only the feeling of a shadow falling over him that gets Silver to turn his head.

Lilia smiles down at him, any trace of the strict coach he'd been earlier now gone. Left in his stead is the person Silver knows much better — his father, kind despite his eccentricities, and loving despite constantly needing to go away.

"Up you go now, Silver," Lilia says, whisking Silver to his feet with a flurry of magic. Patting him on his back, Lilia pushes him in the direction of their home. "Go freshen up, hm? I'll make sure there's a hot, steaming plate of dinner on the table when you're done!"

And Silver does. He goes to the bathroom, fills the tub with water from the rusty old tap, and settles in to wash all the sweat and grime off his skin.

Normally, he would bathe quickly, wishing to get out as soon as possible, not wanting to waste time. But staring at the wavering, dull reflection of his face in the warm water, Silver feels...

A void that slowly split open within his chest, slowly growing into a yawning abyss until Silver could not deny it anymore. Disappointment, that is what it is; it first formed within him as early as earlier that morning, when Silver had taken beating after beating, constantly being smacked down and defeated in his father's grueling training.

A lump clogs his throat. Hot tears prickle at the corners of his eyes.

He's just a human — ordinary in every way, lacking the powerful magic of the fae, along with their strength and swift grace.

What hope does he have to ever live up to expectations — his father's and his own?

What good will it do to believe he is capable of becoming one of Malleus' knights?

[egophiliac]

A-anime?

you know, sometimes I forget that Twst is actually an isekai that starts with the protagonist getting run over by an inexplicable horse-drawn carriage. and every time I'm reminded is a delight because that's AMAZING.

also. look. okay. there's a lot of very fun stuff in the trailer but I am obsessed with that Crowley surprised pikachu face. me when I spend all my keys and gems literally hours before they announce overblot SSRs and drop the anime trailer:

[erinwantstowrite]

Wait did Loki already know about Dick and Jason and all that because he did research /before/ Peter got sent there on not just he was there without telling Peter? And that's why he ended up in that universe specifically cuz he had family there? Or I did I misread something?

oh no Loki is fully lying out of his ass right now. but really he's not lying, it's more like he's not telling the full truth ? idk how much I can really tell you guys cuz I don't want to spoil it... alright, so i can't tell y'all what he was doing specifically but i can tell y'all his general plan and some character insight

i'm feeling in a slightly spoilery mood so!!! if you don't want to know anything about what Loki is up to, don't continue reading! but be aware that at this point in time, there are some things that we just won't know about Loki in the fic itself that i'll talk about here!

before all of this he had absolutely no intentions of teaming up with Peter, he was just exploiting a weakness and trying to get Peter out of the way (this is the same as to what he did with Thor). he knows that Tony would be distracted, and in their efforts to find Peter they would probably be stressed out and their forces would thin because finding usually involves splitting up. they would also have to deal with Mysterio and Ohnn (....and a secret third character 👀). it would give him plenty of opportunity to go in and try and pick them off one by one. except it's not working on the Avengers side. we'll get more to this later 😁

after his first meeting with Peter, Loki figured that Peter would probably be a good place to get some intel if he needed it, because Peter trusted him and was not aware about Loki and his past with the Avengers (or at least not fully aware). the more that he learned about the Bats and Peter's relation to them, as well as learning about Peter, the more he figured it wouldn't hurt to have Peter on his side. he thought that he could twist Peter into believing the Avengers weren't coming. his plans have been shifting around, meeting his needs since the beginning. he's been standing off to the side and pushing the characters around trying to figure out what they will and won't do, like he's observing a game and they have no idea he's moving pieces around when they weren't looking.

however this plan was going to take a lot more time... and Klarion summoning Thor ruined it completely. he had to speed up the process and make his offer quite literally months before he thought he would. so in a way, we can thank Klarion for derailing Loki's plot

Loki had no idea what would happen when he directed Ohnn and Mysterio towards Peter. he knew that Ohnn had been traveling between worlds for a couple of months, but he had no idea if Peter would even survive going to this other universe. he also had no idea about Peter's relation to the Bats until he started digging around for his new plan (Plan: Exploit Peter's Love for his Parents). the thing is, is that his plan would have failed no matter what, because Loki failed to see that Peter's adopted family cares deeply about him, and this bond means just as much as any blood ties he could have. his own insecurities about his standing within his own family got to him. when he was digging around in Peter's life he saw that Peter's foster experience had failed. and he might, maybe, just a little bit... feel bad that the family that was going to adopt Peter were killed because of what happened in the Battle of New York.

so: while he has been very intentionally manipulating Peter... he was thinking of Peter's best interest after a certain point. instead of him not caring what happened to him as long as he was out of the way, Loki did start preparing to make sure that Peter could stay in this world and that he would be taken care of. because i don't believe Loki is an evil person, and even now he's just a little silly. he might have been a little bit crazy with Thor, but to be fair, every other time Loki had a plan and he wasn't crazy enough, Thor came out of it. I feel like they have different standards than what we would as humans. because if you have a sibling then I feel like you'll understand me here... me and my brother used to fight a lot and while we never actually chased each other with knives, we did chase each other with other weapons (whatever wouldn't actually kill but was within our reach) and I think this is their version of that. like me and my brother are super close now but when we were kids we tried to kill each other a lot lmfao. so Thor will probably forgive Loki because that's his brother. (and I'm pretty sure that Loki was under some form of manipulation by Thanos during the Battle of Manhattan/New York??? correct me if I'm wrong, but if that's the case Peter would eventually see that Loki isn't an evil person.) Loki is very chaotic neutral in my eyes, leaning towards evil or good depending on the day. so he's gonna get his ass kicked for trying to take over the world, but like, that's just his enrichment... you gotta let him try every few months/once a year or you're not doing enough to entertain and care for your sneaky God Alien Guy

[taki118]

Kirishima and Other Women

Among the criticism and complaints of Raise Wa Tanin Ga Ii aka Yakuza Fiance the most common is about how Kirishima "cheats" but what if I were to tell you this aspect of him actually serves an important point within the narrative? Because it does, in fact it serves a few.

First and foremost this is common in the Yakuza subculture. The series is a bit of a send off to Yakuza subculture and media with references that tend to go over your head unless you are into it (most go over mine). This is no different. While this isn't as narratively important it is important to know overall, the series embraces all things Yakuza the good and the bad (unlike some other Yakuza series but that not a rant for here) And like it's implied pretty much all the guys in the series to it to some degree yes even Shoma. I only have some knowledge of this myself so I won't get into it but I would recommend looking into cause it is interesting and makes sense for the series to incorporate on some level due to this and it would feel wrong to not mention it here.

Now lets go onto to something more meaty and kinda spoilery, so don't read if you dont want. (though I don't think it will ruin your enjoyment)

So these other women actually help to better understand Kirishima and his relationship/feelings towards Yoshino. One detail the anime leaves out is who these women are and they are women. All college age or older, and all some kind of working professional who has skills or connections Kirishima does not have. Remember Kirishima is not technically Yakuza so he does not have access to resources that actual members of the group have but because he is involved with that world still he has to find a way to make up for what he resources he lacks. The safest resource he has found over the years is women.

Just like how Yoshino unintentionally raises the ire of women, Kirishima does the same to men both intentionally and unintentionally. He has difficulty connecting with people which is a topic in and of itself, but because of this he has learnt how to gain connections on a superficial level so he only does so with those he can feel some control over or feels safer. AKA Women. Kirishima knows he's attractive, and he knows how easy it is to charm people but those he had an ongoing connection with are those who understand it's a game and want something back.

It's all quid prop quo, he does something for them and so they in turn do something for him. FYI I'm pretty sure what he's getting out of it isn't psychical pleasure, information, connections and a safe house for sure but actual enjoyment from sex? Not likely again the anime doesn't show it very well but many manga readers have noted how disconnected Kirishima looks during these moments. (Which I will fully get to later) It's an exchange when Yoshino calls him a gigolo she's not wrong, and there is a greater discussion to be had here about how early Kirishima started doing this and all the messy stuff that comes with it but because we don't have enough information on how that started I won't get into it. (and its a little off topic)

Overall all though this shows the audience that Kirishima has a kind of warped view of sex and intimacy, he views it as a resource he can use much like his fighting ability, to him it's the same thing. At least at the start.

When Tsubaki tells Kirishima that he is actually very easy to understand when she has Yoshino there to compare, I believe this was a hint the author was giving us. To understand Kirishima and how he really feels about Yoshino one just need to look at how he is with other women.

It is INCREDIBLY telling that the closest thing Kirishima has to an ex-girlfriend is Nao, because notice how that term is never used within the story by the pair as to what their relationship was. Nao calls Ozu an ex but not Kirishima, he's just a guy she had a fling with (with a weird age gap) even though she seems to care more about him than Ozu (another deep dive I'll probably do). Kirishima also never uses the term, he does note that he did like her to some degree more than likely a little more than the other women he has similar situationships with but it was still at its core transactional. They both wanted what the other could offer more than them as a person. (also just fucking for weeks isn't a relationship) Kirishima always keeps everyone at a distance, keeps everything close to the vest, makes sure the situation is advantageous to him so he can't get screwed over, every single one. Except Yoshino.

You see it constantly in the series as Kirishima WANTS to connect with Yoshino. He wants to better understand and connect with her in ways he has never bothered to before. In fact you can argue that Kirishima is actually more emotionally unintelligent than Yoshino as he has such difficulty in understanding what Yoshino wants from him. He's so use to being fake, to acting the way women around him want him to that it throws him through a loop that Yoshino doesn't want that. She forces him to be a person not a persona.

Because of that, like Tsubaki says, he is desperate to understand and connect with her unlike with the women who he is connected to in a superficial way. I know it weirdly upsets some viewers that these women "Know" Kirishima in a way Yoshino hasn't but they don't actually know him Yoshino does. People often conflate love and sex as being the same thing but its not, sometimes it overlaps (and like that should be the standard but its not). This series sort of forces you to confront that assumption, because the real moments of love are in the smaller things.

It's Kirishima helping Yoshino with her garden, its him trying to get her focus on him, its him talking to her about mundane things, its him seeking out the things she wants, its him telling her his birthday, and yes it's him sleeping with other women to keep her safe. A LOT of people don't realize this but it is right there in the text he only reconnected with Nao because it would make the situation in Osaka more advantageous for him to keep Yoshino safe. There is a very good likelihood that if the situation would 100% not get Yoshino involved that Kirishima would have just stayed out of it. (which like damn sucks for you Nao) In actuality Kirishima likely would have preferred just a normal trip to Osaka with Yoshino (even though the chaos does help him confirm his own feelings again) Kirishima wants so desperately to be connected to Yoshino in anyway he can but you don't see that in how he is with other women, and it's in seeing that you can see his authenticity.

For further reference to something I noted earlier look at how Kirishima looks in these scenes with women both during and after sex.

There's little to no actual emotion or care, he operates almost robotically like you see when he fights someone he doesn't really give a shit about. It is something he's doing cause he has to not cause he wants to. Now compare these reactions to how he reacts when he finds out he accidentally/unconsciously felt Yoshino up

It's this flurry of emotions you can't even fully quantify like he can't even fathom he really did that. Kind of a strange reaction to give to someone who has done way more for way longer, but it makes perfect sense if you remember love and sex are different. With these other women he didn't care, sex didn't mean anything they could have been anyone and in all honesty if he could get away with not doing it he'd probably prefer it. But he loves Yoshino so he actually cares, he is actually turned on, he actually feels something.

THAT is the point of the side women. Kirishima is very hard to understand his character is a mystery for a majority of the series (and to a degree still is) these women help to solve that mystery if you take the time to really look at what's happening and not get parasocially angry that he is "betraying" his love for Yoshino. In his mind he's not because love and sex are different, sex to him until Yoshino is just a tool, its one of the many things that Yoshino changes in him over the course of the series. Lets not forget that one of his side women actually makes him realize the situation with Yoshino isn't all that great (the scene is better in the manga) cause he doesn't have the emotional intelligence to realize that himself and is a catalyst for the two actually growing closer. Like I keep having to cut myself short cause I'll just go off on how wonderfully complicated and uncomplicated Kirishima is as a character, but this is an important aspect to understand and shouldn't just be written off as "He's a red flag".

These women give us insight into how Kirishima is Pre-Yoshino and shows us how far he's come Post-Yoshino, in a way that could not be done otherwise. So maybe it makes you uncomfy for a bit but it's not bad writing it serves a purpose that could not be done otherwise.

[blueskittlesart]

without dropping anything super specific what do you think of EoW's story? in particular i'm kinda worried over if they made Zelda basically replaceable with any other silent protag and i'm holding back on getting the game if that's the case...

I think they handled a playable zelda incredibly well actually! In particular I was impressed that although she is a silent protagonist, she is NOT link, and the game takes care to remind you of that in everything from dialog to physical gameplay. Though she does technically have the ability to wield link's sword, in practice it's almost always more practical to use echoes, her own unique form of gameplay, to get through combat instead, which is a good reminder to the player that this isn't link's story, and we're not going to be able to beat it link's way. You're required to be ZELDA and think like zelda, utilizing mechanics unique to her, in order to progress through the story, and those mechanics emphasize creative problem-solving in a way that clearly envokes her core trait of wisdom. so in that regard i'd say she's definitely a unique protagonist and I never felt like she could have been replaced with someone else! (mild spoilery note: in the final battle you do actually have link fighting alongside you, and because of that, your sword ability is removed entirely, meaning you HAVE to end the game on zelda's terms, with zelda's abilities, which I thought was a nice touch.)

In terms of actual story, it's honestly a fairly classic zelda formula, but the twists and turns were well-written and kept me VERY engaged throughout. The act of searching for link felt different not because chasing after a captured friend is uncommon in a loz game, but because HE was different. The things you learn about link and how he ended up in this story compel you to keep searching for him in a way that you almost... don't need when you're link chasing zelda, because OF COURSE the hero is going to go after the princess. but this game had to engineer a situation in which the PRINCESS wanted to go after the HERO, and a hero she'd never met before at that. and that to me is what made the story interesting.

I will say, don't go into this game expecting it to have the same amount of story as a 3d installment like botw or totk. this is a topdown classic-style game, and it treats itself like one. the story is good, but it's not pushing the boundaries of the genre or anything. eow is a game that knows what it is and what it wants to do, and it does it exceptionally well. I think where the game really shines is in the implied narrative of the worldbuilding--pieces of personal memorabilia in characters' houses, little hints of the past and references to previous games in map design and details that allow you as the player to theorize and put together the less overt pieces of the story on your own. this has always been one of the things that I personally really enjoy about zelda games, so I absolutely LOVE how much detail is left for the player to find in eow if they're paying attention.

[comradesummers]

one of my favorite genres of youtube video is people explaining early 2000s fandom drama in great detail. these were more popular a few years ago, i think most youtubers have sadly moved on to more current internet drama. but for some reason, to my knowledge at least, no one has ever covered the buffy fandom in one of these videos. i assume this is primarily because as big as btvs was, it obviously wasn't the cultural juggernaut that harry potter or lord of the rings were. so while i know there was fandom drama, and there were certainly ship wars, it probably was just never big enough to create msscribe or (god forbid) thanfiction levels of insanity. but i am curious, if anyone who was around back then is aware of any btvs fandom scandals beyond the expected ship war bullshit? feel free to share btw, i'm genuinely curious.

the only one i know, and this is due to research i did for a very a weird and self-indulgent paper i wrote as an undergrad (long story) is that "seeing red" was actually leaked in advance. or, to be more accurate, there was some sort of mistake made by the network involving something called wildfeeds (tbh i don't really understand the technicalities here) that allowed a small community of fans that relied on piracy anyway to pirate "seeing red" a week early. unsurprisingly when that happened spoilers for the episode spread immediately. and obviously that's a hell of an episode to get spoiled for, so i was curious what the fandom response was. i managed to find like one fan group whose conversations during the week in between the leaking of "seeing red" and its airing have been miraculously preserved on google drive. honestly, the response isn't that interesting. i think i was hoping to find like full on conspiracy theory denial of the episode, tjlc style, and some people did suggest that the episode was fake, but for the most part people seemed pretty cognizant of the fact that there was no way in hell that upn and mutant enemy would film an entirely fake episode just to mislead a few online fans. so it didn't turn out to be much of a fandom drama story (or much of a paper either).

that said, if you are curious as to what the immediate reaction was, here are some links to various posts from around this time:

“A fake wild-feed maybe? SPOILERS.” Alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. May 1, 2002.

“BtVS officially sucks now (‘Seeing Red’ spoilers).” alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. May 8, 2002.

“Forum Question: What are ‘Kittens’ and ‘W/T Shippers’???.”alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. April 30, 2002.

“Is the Big Scooby Death Such a Bad Thing? (Spoiler- whatever, we all know who it is).” alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. May 7, 2002.

“Is TV-Fan Posting Counterproductive? 5:30 AM Musings..” alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. April 6, 2002.

“Keeping the gay vote (spoilery speculation).” alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. April 25, 2002.

“Seeing Red’ Wildfeed... (SPOILERS).” alt.fan.buffy-the-vampire-slayer. April 29, 2002.

[meanbossart]

I finally thought of a question! What does your Astarion think of all that's happened to him, now that it's all Over, and what does Drow think about what he knows about Astarion? Does he ever contemplate and compare, does he have passing thoughts like "Oh yeah, he told me this" brought on by nothing in particular? If Drow or Shadowheart were to bring it up either when drinking, or after a heated moment, what would happen?

Thank you so much for your art and your words! Your handle on Drow made me really crack open my Tav like a nut

AND WHAT A GOOD QUESTION IT IS.

(I use some dialogue excerpts from for A Novel Experience here to illustrate my points that some might consider to be spoilery, I don't think it's stuff that would affect one's reading enjoyment too much. Still, just figured I would mention it for anyone who minds it.)

In regards to Astarion, it is understandably complicated. I think the way he's found to get by so far is by not dwelling at all in what has happened. He's tried to turn the symbolic new leaf that night in the cemetery and likes to think of himself as not only freed, but a new man open to what life has to offer him and unburdened by his past - when memories rush back, he pushes them away. When something bothers him for reasons that relate to his past experience, he tries to push past the discomfort because he doesn't want to be defined by it. He is fairly self-conscious of being seen as a weakling or a victim, especially when he's constantly confronted by DU drow's utter indifference to his own past.

He has, by all intends and purposes, done well. He understands that he's a grown man who's been given a second chance at un-life by an exceptionally lucky turn of events, he absolutely does not want to waste a second more of his own time by being sullen, broken, or guilt-striken. He thrives for as long as his past doesn't directly confront him - but when it does, the avoidance catches up and he very easily loses his cool.

His feelings regarding the decisions he made underneath Cazador's palace are mostly rigid. He's happy to not have Ascended and content that the spawn were set free, but he does not like to dwell on what their lives may be like moving forward and, if ever discussing it, does so with callousness and indifference, shutting down the conversation before it can begin. While he doesn't bask in the feeling, he does take the smallest bit of pride in the fact that he has sacrificed eternal power for the freedom of thousands - when doubt arises and he's haunted with the could-have-beens, he soothes himself with the fact that his sacrifice had a purpose.

DU drow has no moral quandries with what Astarion did while under Cazador's control or regard for the people he victimized at all, but he dwells constantly on the suffering he's endured. He flip-flops between thinking of Astarion as a perfectly capable individual and someone who is overly sensitive and finicky the moment something upsets him - someone who needs protection. He has a grand hero's complex about him and at times difficulty trusting Astarion's capacity to make his own choices - since he didn't have the opportunity for such a long time. He isn't controlling, but Astarion knows him well enough to read the doubt in his face even when he's quiet about it.

Interestingly enough, this seems to mostly apply to when Astarion's ideas go against his own, or make him feel powerless or unneeded in some way or another. He's perfectly happy to go along with his impulses otherwise - even when they seem to be made in bad judgement.

It also applies to intimacy for a while, with DU drow proceeding to avoid sex even after he's rid of his urge - not only because he's still afraid of his own desires, but also because he doesn't trust Astarion to express his agency during the act.

But that's an issue that they solve fairly quickly (well, ten-chapters-in quickly. sixteen if you only count when they first have sex since the events of the game) , especially as Astarion asserts himself as the more dominant half of the relationship.

I don't think either DU drow or Shadowheart have the nerve to use Astarion's actions while enthralled against him. DU drow because he doesn't care or thinks he's held accountable in any way, and Shadowheart because she knows better. That said, things do come up between him and other characters and then - well. He doesn't deal well with it at all:

[suzukiblu]

If we are highlighting specific characters (re:the bart asks) I just want to say as far as less-popular characters, I love love love your portrayal of Bernard! Not sure if he's in anything other than think pink, the very most recent update of interdimensional kidnapping (which I was SO overjoyed about), and the timberkon soulmate au of yours. If there's any I've missed, I'd love to know!! I just think his perspective is so silly and fun the way you write him!! His character has the potential to be a very cool non-hero/vigilante perspective that is relatively moldable given that there's not a whole lot canon-wise on him, and I think you have really done a great job at making him a delight to read!

Ty! 💛💛 I find Bernard very enjoyable to write, hah, I try my best to balance him between his OG "weirdest dude in Tim's civilian life" characterization and current "most normal dude in Tim's vigilante life" characterization, YES I fully consider him that despite the pain cult and also his taste in men, lol.

ummmmm lemme see what I've got besides those three, I don't think there's a TON of others but one sec while I double-check my WIP list, haha, OKAY:

Kon is not a virgin (( chrono || non-chrono )) - Kon asks Bernard if it's okay to have sex with Tim for reasons that are definitely not trauma-based whatsoever. Definitely not! [ past rape/sexual assault; will eventually be nsfw ]

weird amnesia Timberkon (( chrono || non-chrono )) - This one I suspect is the one you will most enjoy of the WIPs I am currently linking you, given it's specifically from Bernard's perspective and also leans into the silly/fun/genre-savvy version of his perspective ( and also, like, people seem to like it probably the most of these WIPs ). Though also it contains some Emotional Doom(tm), definitely, hah. Bernard does not know why Superboy is so bad at secret identities and Tim does not know who "Superboy" is. And neither does anyone else. :)

honorable mentions for "so far Tim has just internal-monologued about Bernard but this AU is eventually gonna be some flavor of polyam and also smutty, yes that IS a very specific category, thank you for noticing, it isn't a lot but it IS weird that it's happened twice!":

stray cat strut (( chrono || non-chrono )) - Tim goes to a totally normal charity event for a pet rescue center and everything is totally normal. Especially the pets. All the pets are SO normal. [ eventual nsfw ]

Timkon xeno (( chrono || non-chrono )) - Tim has a fight with Bernard, finds out Kon has a very inconvenient alien breeding cycle to deal with, gets safeworded and cockwarmed, and cannot get his boyfriend to text him back or his best friend to talk to him, not necessarily all in that order. Text-resistant boyfriends may ( eventually ) be closer than they appear. ( also, for clarification purposes because infidelity is a personal dealbreaker for me and I haaaaate to read it, no cheating occurs in this fic: this is a "pre-established hall pass meets Pon Farr" situation, Tim just feels kinda shitty about it due to the timing. ) [ nsfw ]

Also Bernard will likely cameo/get namedropped in a couple of the longfics I'm working on and I do have at least one more WIP that he is def gonna show up and get some dedicated screentime in, but that specific development is both a ways off and a lil' bit spoilery so we're not gonna clarify which one it is just yet, haha. And eventually I might write "Tim gets a(nother) Pocket", as another installment in the "[ CHARACTER ] gets a Pocket" series that I've got.

[isat-headcanons]

Alright I'm sending in my Island and Universe belief related headcanons let's go!!!

Again, spoilery spoilers.

I feel like the Island would probably have been open to visitors and would have encouraged their members to travel (this explains the decent frequency of Islander language in the House (which we can basically treat like a library for the purpose of this headcanon) and why there were Islanders that ended up elsewhere instead of being censored out by the Universe like the rest of them. The Universe leads them wherever they shall go, even outside their own borders.

Wish Craft had to have been a very common thing on the Island. Siffrin used it almost automatically prior to the loops, indicating it's a habit/almost second nature for him, and the lack of memory of learning that could link to it being a memory of the Island! They probably used Wish Craft for tons of tiny things.

I feel like, given the cloak being a very recognizable thing for the King, the only other confirmed Islander we see (beyond Loop but they don't count here) who acknowledged it as a way to identify Siffrin as being from the Island (Evidence: Act 5 King fight: "And.../Your clothes.../Aren't they..." and then immediately after that "I can tell we hail from the same country"), we can assume this cloak isn't exactly one-of-a-kind. It could be that the Islanders were really the only ones that made these kinds of clothes in large amounts, and when the Island got censored by the universe, there were only a few left and as such price went way up. Also, that means Island probably created a lot of clothing and such, so they probably exported some too. Either that, or they're the only ones who had people that could/did make that kind of cloak, but I like my idea.

I like the idea of Universe-related celebrations focusing on one or more out of the following: community (all stars are still a part of the sky; all people are still a part of the community; all things are still a part of the Universe), the vastness of things (think artworks that you can't even see the entirety of at once or something; we are but a small part in a large picture, yet we contribute to the picture all the same), and impermanence (nothing lasts forever, but it is beautiful while it lasts).

Addendum: The prior could also work into Wish Craft rituals! At the Favor Tree you take a small part of a whole (vastness), so what if you could write your wish on the sands and let waves take it away (impermanence) or something else similar? (Also if you know who I am from that specific Wish Craft ritual no you don't :D)

This is getting Long™ so I'll leave it here for now! Have fun with your wishes!

-🌸 Flower anon

Ooo!!! Yess omg. I love these. Worldbuilding headcanons are always peak

Also, not sure if you meant to send this ask twice, but I have it in my inbox two times lol, I'll delete the other one

[not-poignant]

Hey, I just got back from reading chapter 9 of Underline The Red! I don't know if this is too spoilery, but do you have any potential conflicts with Caleb over Kenneth in store? It's something I wondered about since he's been introduced! ^J^

Hello!!

I'm answering this one not privately because I think it would be helpful to a lot of people!

The first answer is very honestly - I can't say for sure, because I'm not working to a chapter plan.

The second is that it's likely there will be some conflicts between Caleb over Kenneth, but that I think they will be quite respectful when they come up. There's a really interesting power dynamic I get to set up here which really helps in the future, which is that Caleb meets Kenneth first as his student, and Kenneth is his teacher, who Caleb has to yield respect and time to, and be humble around, because he is learning from him.

So Caleb must come to Kenneth in the plot first, from a position of grace and yielding (as an alpha yielding to the superior knowledge of a beta), and consultation.

And this sets them up really well honestly when it comes to Faber, because it means Caleb isn't automatically used to throwing his weight around with Kenneth, or being immature around him, or even possessive around him. Because they were consulting literally over someone Caleb was bonded to, and Caleb couldn't afford to be possessive and hostile in those moments.

So while I foresee that there will be conflicts because I'm me and I write the stories I write, there is already an interesting power dynamic in place between Kenneth and Caleb to shield them and all of us from the worst kinds of conflicts.

I think the biggest sticking point between them will mostly be Kenneth being concerned for how Caleb has treated Faber in the past, and how he might treat him in the future. But Caleb is actually a pretty thoughtful, compassionate guy, he's good at taking things on board once he is actually given knowledge, even if it's 'how dare you hurt him that way' knowledge. I'm actually really looking forward to showing the more mature sides of Caleb's personality!

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

Onyx Storm Predictions!!

I wanted to do a full theory post but the clock is TICKING and I decided to get sick last week before I could write one up, so this will have to do!

Predictions below the cut! I'm going to re-blog and re-spoiler tag with extra info from the apple books preview, so no onyx storm spoilers on THIS post.

I'm going to start off with my most controversial prediction and say that I don't think Xaden is leaving! The bond is still in place (re: end of IF) and Sgaeyl evidently still gives a fuck about him (again, re: end of IF) and so I don't think she's going to break the bond! I DO think he might try and leave, but I think Violet will stop him.

This is probably the second most controversial (at least to me) but I do think Violet might be part/half venin. I think Lilith turned when she was pregnant with Violet. I don't fully know how being part venin would even work, but we know next to nothing about how being FULL venin would work, so I'm not gonna sweat it. There's a huge theme (motif?) of being two things at once in these books (violet's hair, her eyes, her two dragons, her two signets, scribe/rider, Xaden's two signets, etc.) Further, you have Lilith's cure-investigation, and also the matter of the extreme amount of parallels between Lilith and Xaden. I think they both turned to protect Violet.

The subsect of that prediction/theory/whatever is that I don't think Xaden can drain her! If you read the fight with JFB in FW wherein Vi is "shaken by an internal force (she doesn't) understand, as though he's forcing his own power into my body, shocking me with a thousand stings of vibrating energy" while he has his hands holding her face. A couple paragraphs later, it's confirmed his eyes are red-rimmed. (Fourth Wing pages 294-295). I think this is JFB draining her to a certain degree. It HURTS Violet, he gets power, but no hand prints! I actually really wanted Xaden to leave sexy handprints on her, but in the last like 4 days I've changed my mind. I foresee a sort of vampire-esque power drinking thing!

I keep calling myself controversial but I'm going to keep doing it. My NEXT controversial take is that I don't think they're going to the isles yet! I think Vi may WANT to go to the isles, but I think she'll have to go to Poromiel first, then head to the barrens!

I think Vi's second signet is one of two things: the type of mirroring signet I used in Teach Me, or a straight up inntinnsic. Both of these are used in the throne scene, as I spelled out in that fic! I don't mind Vi being an inntinnsic*, especially since all the men in her life have a direct line into her head. I really think it's only fair if she can get back at them, IDK.

I don't think we're meeting Xaden's mom this book! I think that's book 4. But while we're talking about her, I think she has a second kid Xaden doesn't know about, and I think they'll meet this secret sibling first and it will be a moment of tenuous trust between riorgail (in that Violet will have to grapple with the possibility of him keeping secrets from her AGAIN, only to find out her isn't)

I'm saving my thoughts on who dies for the spoilery part!

I don't think Xaden is getting "Cured". I'm not entirely sure there will be a cure on a person-to-person basis, because I frankly think that defeats the purpose of the metaphor.

This MAY be a book 4 thing, but I'm going to add it here anyway! My IRL bestie and I talk a lot about how the story of the 3 brothers here is the Deathly Hallows reborn, and we've been joking about how Violet must gather said hallows to defeat Voldemort etc. However, we joked about it a little too much, and now I'm convinced: at some point, Vi will be the dragon rider, the gryphon flier, and the venin

OR: Mira is the gryphon rider* and Brennan's the venin.

This is wishful thinking actually but the quest squad somehow ends up being just x, vi and the dragons!

This is more of a theme prediction, but every book thus far (all 2!) have been about unpacking a level of propaganda. FW is Navarre's propaganda about war, and IF is Navarre's propaganda about Poromiel. Therefore, we have at least 2 more forms of propaganda to unpack: whatever the fuck is going on with the dragons, and the idea that venin are inherently evil. I think we tackle one of these book 3 and one book 4! Or perhaps both together, because they are intertwined.

Crack Pot Theories

Papa Sorrengail's first name is Adam.

I don't think Halden is Violet's ex. I think it's literally two random ass infantry guys. Also Xaden gets to kill Halden :)

I think Brennan killed Naolin! I also think they were gay. I think it’s a mirror to a different way to handle someone turning venin for you than what Vi and X will do

I may edit this and add more. Why am I blanking on every thought I've ever had about onyx storm in my life.

[evelinessa]

Forgive me if you've already talked about this one, but what's Lion's Den?

I've actually never talked about this WIP anywhere or to anyone, I believe, so this is the first time! This is a Miles & Kristoph focused fic, with background Krisnix and Mitsunaru. While I don't plan for Phoenix to make an appearance, Kristoph is currently dating him. It's also clear in Miles' POV that he has feelings for Phoenix, which is also something Kristoph is able to gather.

Months before I had even started writing fanfic at all, I came across this set of Miles & Kristoph fanart that really intrigued and inspired me. I imagined Miles was there trying to discreetly investigate Kristoph and both of them trying to get under the other's skin. A lot of being very strategic with what they say and how they say it, I guess.

I didn't really think of it more than that until last year, when I was browsing exchange requests to potentially treat for, and saw someone requesting a Miles & Kristoph focused fic. It reminded me of that fanart, and this time I actually thought of more of a story to form around it.

So the premise is that Miles is trying to secretly investigate Kristoph on his own due to suspicions of him being involved in Phoenix's disbarment. Something where Miles strongly suspects him, but doesn't have proof, and Phoenix won't really listen to his accusations, especially without any proof. Plus Miles and Phoenix are on rocky terms, which isn't helping things, and Phoenix has been trying to shut Miles out a bit.

Miles also has a lot of eyes on him right now (more so than usual), since he's preparing to run or is already in the midst of running for the chief prosecutor position.

He heads to this bar that Kristoph frequents. The location is questionable in itself, since it's suspected to have deep ties to criminal activity. It's the kind of place that Miles wouldn't normally go or would want to be seen there, especially now. This is where the game of pool and that conversation/battle of wits takes place.

I don't have anything solidly written currently (other than a few lines of dialogue that are a bit more spoilery), but have it mostly planned out. It should only be a one shot and less than 5k, by current estimates.

Thanks for asking! 🥰

See the WIP game here.

[warrior-of-waistbands]

GUESS WHO JUST GOT BACK FROM WATCHING DOG MAAAAAAAAAN

*MAJOR spoilers under the cut*

AAAAAAAAAAH so okay okay okay I have to get the general non-spoilery stuff out of the way first: overall, the movie is GOOD! It's fun and it's enjoyable and it really captures the energy of the books, it's very much like the CU movie in that way. But, since I'm comparing it to the CU movie here, I do have to say this—it's definitely not as tight of a mash-up as the CU movie was.

The CU movie felt a lot more focused with what elements from the books it combined, whereas here, the story feels more like a..... like a highlight reel of major story beats from the books? Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, I still felt like the movie had a solid structure overall, it just could've been put together a little bit better.

uuuuh okay other more specific spoiler stuff that I liked/disliked:

- LIKED: THE MOVIE VERY BRIEFLY TOUCHES ON THE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF DOG MAN'S CREATION?!?!???? There's this little moment at the beginning, when Dog Man goes back to Officer Knight's house and he realizes he doesn't fit through the dog door anymore??? And then he has to remember that he can use his hands to open doors now???? AUGH shit had me BAWLING.

- DISLIKED: I don't see what Grampa was doing here, frankly. Definitely could've done without him.

- LIKED: THEY RECREATED MY FAVOURITE MOMENT FROM THE ENTIRE SERIES, BEAT BY BEAT, WORD FOR WORD, THEY RECREATED THE PANEL ART AND EVERYTHING. "HEY KID, LOOK UP."

- DISLIKED: Kiiiiiiiiiiinda don't get what Flippy was doing here either, sorry. He's just sooooo underdeveloped and he comes in too late in the game to make a real impact.

- LIKED: Lil' Peteyyyyyyyyy good GOD Lucas Hopkins was the standout performance here, to me. I'm still not fond of Pete Davidson but I think I'm used to his voice now, it doesn't bother me as much as it did initially.

- MY ONE REAL DISAPPOINTMENT: No George and Harold framing device 😞

- also this isn't specific to Dog Man but THEY ADDED ROZ AND BRIGHTBILL TO THE DREAMWORKS LOGO LET'S GOOOOOOOOO

[doubledeadstudio]

Hey! Hope you’re having a great day

My question is that for any/ all of your games, do you have any cut content? As in like, events, concepts, characters, backgrounds, dialogue, etc etc that were originally meant to be in the game but for one reason or another was cut out from the final product? If so, why were they cut?

This question is deeply exciting to me, and the answer is: Tons and tons. (I won't mention the ones that could be spoilery about future plot developments.)

Reanimated Heart

Cut content:

I think the most memorable one is Black's HATE tattoo around his collarbones. As I developed the game, I started disliking the design, so I switched to seraph wings. A lot of people wanted it back, so I moved it to his abs.

Got a lot of complaints about the usage of "guy/dude" in a gender neutral way from women, lol. I just scrubbed most of those instances from the script now.

Florentin was supposed to be the 4th LI in Reanimated Heart. He was supposed to be the doctor that had the potion to reanimate Black. I still wanted to do something with him, so you got Pygmalion's Folly. (This was so early on that there isn't even concept art.)

Another early concept thing... You were supposed to be able to choose from three different backgrounds for the MC, like you were a former criminal, etc. I thought it was restrictive, so I cut it early.

Crux had a rotating last name for a while, hence why he didn't have a last name on the Itch page, lol. He's the kid of two OCs, but I didn't like the last name Knight for him? I didn't think it was fitting. I like the current one.

Vin's second romance scene was already pre-written. MC was supposed to have nightmares about him. I thought it was pretty unexciting, so I re-did it to the current one, which I'm extremely proud of.

Crux's third romance scene was supposed to be the "date", and he takes MC to an abandoned theme park. I then realized I didn't want to draw an abandoned theme park for one romance scene.

Crux's "date" scene was supposed to be him taking MC at a cafe and interrogating them and remembering all their answers in a really dynamic sort of way? I didn't think it was worth it to code, so I scrapped it.

I was going to do a point and click feature where random scenes would have something "hidden" in the background, and they'd be part of an easter egg hunt that your chosen LI will give you. That was too weird to code, so I scrapped it.

I got suggested an animal sidekick that gives you hints and stuff... I played with the idea for a bit, but decided it didn't fit the tone.

Content I might cut in the future:

Redoing the prologue. "Might" is an understatement. I'll be redoing it in a more simplified manner, which is easier to read.

I'm really thinking of cutting the MC character creator. Most of the complaints I get are from people demanding different, really specific skin tones. One of them even hatebombed my other games. Not great.

It's hard to get in contact with my programmer, so I'm thinking of lessening the item shop's presence in the future or redoing it entirely. It's sad to lose the beautiful current iteration, but I just don't know how to code it myself.

Might change the Chapter 1 title and art...

Another Rose in His Garden

Cut Content:

There was going to be a "Cheating" route with Abel and Calvin where you end up with Calvin, and he traps Abel in his office and start removing his body parts and replacing them with mechanical parts. That was a wild one, lmao.

Pygmalion's Folly

Cut Content:

Originally, I was going to have Emily specifically be a third ghoul... but I couldn't really justify that, honestly.

There was supposed to be a part where MC could call his police station by stealing his/Flor's phone, but I thought it was a boring ending.

There was supposed to be a vivisection sex scene but I couldn't justify it with the short time frame. Maybe the DLC?

[blank-house]

hi hi random question! i hope this isn't too spoilery :') but who from the boys would you say is the one who pays the most attention to details? i don't know why but i was recommended on yt old videos and somehow i remembered those typical "who knows me better?" videos where it was boyfriends vs best friends lol i wondered if any of the guys has that kind of privileged memory where they remember even the tiniest of details? feel free to ignore! but i hope we get to see anything related to it... 👀

it depends on what details you're talking about! i think percy's easily the best with remembering the things you tell him. so, he'll remember little stories that you give and tell, when you say that you like something and so on. elio, by comparison, i think isn't as great at remembering those (though he's not awful at it lmao) but is really good at picking up on your emotional cues, so he'd know like how your face looks when you're happy, sad, when you're lying, etc.

jamie's, like, more of an all-rounder but that makes him kind of mediocre at it lmfao. it's not necessarily because he isn't paying attention, but it's because he's not used to giving people that much attention. like, even with his best friends, he misses signs and indications here and there, though he cares for them deeply. it's a learning curve for him, which is sweet in a different way.

we'll see if it ever comes up, but that's kind of my thinking here.

[colourme-feral]

Thoughts on Love in the Big City THE MOVIE

I saw LITBC today and here are some of my spoilery thoughts on it under the cut. I have a bad memory, so I don't remember a lot of the book, which I'm rereading now to refresh my memory before the show.

It's not the same story from the book. Some of the bigger plot points do appear, but in essence, I didn't think it's what the plot of the book was like. Essentially, the beginning and end are the same, but the journey there isn't the same despite some familiar points

I didn't hate it as a movie, but it wasn't the story in the book

Yes, there is no Kylie or the urology incident, which Heung Soo fears is an STD

The movie essentially makes both Heung Soo and Jae Hee leads

It's a sanitised take on the Jae Hee chapter of Heung Soo's life, so it does feel very much like it's a movie with a gay lead, not a queer movie if that makes sense. It feels like the platonic love story of two best friends and their lives

The movie feels a lot more upbeat and comedic than the book did, ending on a fairly positive open ending for the pair's friendship and both leads are a lot less cynical than they were in the book

In the book, both leads are huge partiers who also sleep around without much care, but the movie only really focused on them partying, which I thought was the movie playing it safe because it feels like it's trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience

In the book, the two of them are unapologetic about how they live their lives, but in the movie, both characters are given scenes questioning the societal expectations of each of them

Movie Heung Soo is trapped by his fear of being outed and this is a huge point of conflict with his love interest, whom I think is a movie only character, because his love interest open about it and wants to come out to his parents, unlike Heung Soo

Movie Jae Hee has an abortion, which is caused by a one night stand, caused by her possibly getting drugged at a club while waiting for Heung Soo and when she's shouted at in the abortion clinic, she runs out and cries to Heung Soo about the frustrations of judgement on her

Movie Heung Soo's mother doesn't have cancer. While she is still very religious, he isn't sent to the psychiatric hospital

For @callipigio, your nephew, Kwak Dong Yeon plays one of Jae Hee's hook ups who gave off mummy's boy vibes

And next week, hopefully, I shall be watching some durian throwing action in The Thai Durian Show