#tldr: stories are awesome and can change the world

[luneinary]

I have something silly and perhaps a little lame to say about v3

So after a good 7 months of ruminating and actually Sitting Down to give chapter 6 my full undivided attention and analysis (without operating on a flu-induced fever and not half-asleep from NyQuil) I have come to the conclusion that I love v3's ending , or at the very least its message

I was initially in the crowd that was like "wow I have never stopped caring about a narrative faster" and tuned out the remainder of the trail before the mantra of "it's all fiction" numbed me first and I indeed fell hard for the cameos that Tsumugi kept showing the audience . Normally I liked meta - commentary and media that challenged the status quo so I wasn't sure why v3's conclusion sat so wrong with me , so naturally I just kept chapter 6 at an arms length while I sat on what it was trying to tell me , as the player .

Nowadays , I absolutely still wish that it was better in its execution , but it did what it was set out to and is extremely effective when you lend it some patience.

  the mechanics of the trail are deliberate , subversive , and a really great method of storytelling . It's Shuichi's UI gradually shutting down just before entering K1B0's perspective -- a little nod to Kaede passing the torch to him in her trial; it's the back route (the "lie" mechanic essentially) being "despair" to counter hope , once again calling out the surface-level dualism between the two concepts; it's seeing the inner monologues of both Maki and Himiko while convincing them to abstain; it's the trial impeding on the player's ability to even interact with the game at times (i.e. Monokuma throwing a Hangman's Gambit or a Psych Taxi in your face in a way to coax you into playing, though you aren't meant to participate)  , and that's just a few of my favorites .

Your first instinct is to be upset that everything you learned up to this point was fabricated and being laughed at for caring-- I was upset , too . But the game isn't mad at you for liking its story . If anything I feel like it would not spend nearly as much time trying to get you to care about its narrative and characters if that really were the case . It swept the rug from under our feet to force us to look inward and ask: have we truly understood what we were consuming ? Do we emphasize with the grief and loss that these characters are experiencing , despite knowing that all we can really do is watch ?

Questions that which lead me to the author;

Tsumugi is fascinating as a mastermind because she's so deeply entrenched in simply creating something consumable , that she forgets to care about her own story . If something as big as Danganronpa (in-universe anyway) went on for as long as it did , there had to be, once , a time when the franchise had the most integrity , only to be gradually diluted with each season until it became whatever for the sake of whatever-- it doesn't matter , it's just a show, everyone will tune in anyway, because the world needs it . It's silly and dramatized in the trial , but an example of consumerism all the same .

All of this, likened with the thematic constants, of truth and lies , belief and doubt -- our perception of them -- just kept changing and changing , to the point that even we couldn't make those distinctions, and it was like what are we even doing anymore ?? What even is this story ?

It only makes sense that the characters would outgrow a script that wasn't reliable to begin with, the death of their supposed author allowing them to finally reach an audience that had dismissed their experiences as "lies," in favor of keeping a collapsing franchise alive . The extent of what seemed real to her classmates , maybe even the audience , doesn't seem as such to her -- even if she participated in the killing game -- because of the lack of integrity she had in writing her own plot .

Whether you're an artist or an author or just someone who creates , it's important to remember that: Life imitates art and vice versa , and what we create doesn't exist in a vacuum . How common is it nowadays for people to share how much a game they grew up with has impacted them , or the friends they've made over a book that they've read , or see the time and energy and love people put into fanmade material for the world to see for free ? We are all human beings with so many feelings and thoughts to share, and our ever-evolving ability to express them through storytelling is a wonderful gift -- especially now, when people are connecting more to works of fiction and diverse media more than ever .

So even if it's just fiction , what these characters say , do , think , it matters -- just as much to them as it does us . Shuichi could have always been meek and unsure , but he has gone through something horrible  , seen people at their best and at their worst , met people he loved dearly , and now he isn't . And we were so proud of what he became . Nevermind if what he experienced was predetermined , because it felt real to us , and it mattered ! All of it !! It all matters !!

An author may die . But the memory of opening their book for the first time is timeless . The story isn't over because it lives on through us . Our care . And for that reason, our stories are eternal . Be honest and be real with what you create . People can tell .

[matd0]

HELLO HELOO i am. alive. ermm. ok so long story short i am very very tired and unable to do like. anything. :P oof.

here's a toby drawing i completely forgot??? that i did??? like months ago??? found it in my files while looking for any drawings I've actually finished recently and im pretty happy with it so I'm posting it here :''3

honestly i just haven't been happy with anything i've been drawing so only stuff i've done are studies because i want to improve but idk. i feel really self critical. yk how it is being an artist, never feeling happy with your skill level :p i'm working on it though, got pretty into traditional painting for a change? idk i'm trying new stuff to find inspiration. hopefully more art SOON (for sure this time) (idk if i can promise that)

okok health update:

been very very stressed out, basically. got bad again, getting better again?¿? got more help though, so i should be getting therapy maaaybe and help getting back into school, not sure, trying to make something work out. not looking at my phone has been helping

in other news; fall is awesome, love halloween !! birthday is coming up aswell, which is pretty cool 👍👍👍 been hanging out with friends again, which is very nice too. uuuhhhhh the silent hill 2 remake finally came out!!! and it's actually good!!! like really good!!! life has meaning again!!!!

TLDR: I am so very tired. but it will get better, for sure !! just need more time? maybe? in any case, i will be back to post more whenever i am able to. thank you for enjoying my art, it does mean the world to me.

[a-titty-ninja]

I love this VN😭!!!

TLDR: Read Fatal Twelve it's a visual novel about 12 characters that die and get revived by a mysterious Goddess who gives them a chance to change their fate if they can eliminate the others without getting eliminated themselves. There's multiple endings, genuinely interesting characters, a yuri subplot and a beautiful sound track.

I just want to recommend this visual novel called Fatal Twelve and talk about it a little. I came across this game some time ago when I was doing my monthly "games like Danganronpa and Zero Escape" search lol. It's of the Death Game genre but its a pure visual novel, there is only choices to be made and a bunch of endings to get to. I played it on switch and its available on other platforms too.

In the story 12 characters die and are revived by a Goddess and they enter a dream world called the Court of Fate where they are told that they are given 12 more weeks to live and have to play Divine Selection. In order to win and have their death undone, one has to eliminate another by finding out their name, their cause of death and the regret that they hold in their hearts in the real world. With that info a character can elect another that causes their fate to be sealed and there can only be one survivor by the end, but not everyone has murder in their hearts!!!

You play from the point of view of Rinka who is adorable and has cool hair. I instantly loved her and found her to be reliable and sweet.

I also want to mention that this other character right here, Naomi, means a lot to me and is very precious. Some of my other fav characters are Mao, Odette, Sofiya and Alan, the rest of the cast are awesome and well written too. I genuinely liked them all.

This story was really mysterious and heart wrenching at times but the ending is satisfying and I felt good about it by the time I was finished. There are some dark themes but that's up to you if you need to find out what they are before reading it. That's basically all I want to say because I'm not really used to writing reviews or recommendations and I don't want to spoil anything so yeah - read Fatal Twelve!

[ofmdrecaps]

11/03-04/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Gizmo Darby; Taika Waititi; Samson Kayo; Samba Schutte; Kristian Nairn; Cast & Crew Getting out to Vote; Fan Spotlight; Calendar Fundraisers; OFMD Fluffvember; PA: In Person Event Reminder: Calypso's Birthday! Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

Hey lovelies, this is once again gonna be kinda weird because major events have happened since I started these drafts.. trying to keep things vague enough for archival purposes, but also respect that things have changed since the 3rd and 4th. Sending all the hugs and love your way.

= David Jenkins =

David and Kinga <3

Source: David's Instagram

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys shared a new trailer for 'That Christmas!'

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhys Darby (@rhysiedarby)

Source: Rhys Instagram

Darby Daily Doodles on Substack!

Source: Rhys Darby's Substack

Part 7 of the Brooklyn show is up on Rhys' paid substack!

Source: Rhys Darby's Paid Substack

= Gizmo Darby =

Oh just Gizmo being THE MOST ADORABLE. He missed his Rhys.

Source: Rhys Instagram

= Taika Waititi =

Sounds like Taika is in talks to join David Williams family movie, Fing!

Source: Kidscreen.com

= Samson Kayo =

Samson being adorable.

Source: Samson's Instagram Stories

= Samba Schutte =

More of Samba's Stand up!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samba Schutte (@sambaschutte)

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian has designed some awesome jewelry! Check it out below!

Source: Kristian's Instagram

OH and in case you missed it- Kristian's got limited edition guitar picks and cool stuff up in his shop!

Source: Kristian's Instagram

= The Crew Got Out to Vote! =

A bunch of our cast & crew were out doing their civic duty! In order of appearance: Adam Stein- Writer, Lindsey Cantrell -Set Director, Christopher Corbin -"We Could Have Made Magic" Actor, and Vico! CW: Partial Vico Nudity!

Source: / Adam Steins Instagram / Lindsey Cantrell's Instagram / / Christopher Corbin's Instagram / Vico's Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Fundraiser Calendars =

= 2025 Gentlebeard Calendar =

A new 2025 Gentlebeard Calendar is available! Preorders are open from Nov 4-15! Check out this gorgeous work by some of your favorite artists, and make a positive impact as well! Check out @poorlyformed's Shop for more info!

Source: FidisArt Twitter

= All Fired Up =

Another awesome Charity Calendar Preorder is up as well! All Fired up Firefighter calendars are available for preorder over on Ko-Fi!

Source: Ko-fi / Orphaned Nebula's Twitter

== OFMD Fluffvember! ==

Perfect timing -- it's Fluffvember! I'm a little late with sharing this-- but there's some awesome fluff prompts going on over at ofmdfluffvember on twitter!

You can follow along on twitter or AO3!

Source: OFMD Fluffvember on Twitter

== PA: Calypso's Birthday ==

Reminder for all you PA folks! There's a Calypso's Birthday Event going on at Hardo's Haunt in Pittsburgh on Nov 9 at 6pm ET! More info on their instagram!

Source: Harold's Haunt Instagram

== Love Notes ==

It's weird sometimes writing love notes for past days. Today (the 6th) is so much different than the 3rd/4th and so I feel strange writing things when we all can change in a day. So tonight I'm going to mention something I'm seeing all week.... all the time even. I have watched you all from so many platforms this past week, and I continue to be in awe of you. I see people sending each other love notes from across the planet. I see artists who are drawing things JUST to help reduce people's anxiety and give them some distractions. I see people stepping out of their comfort zones and sharing WIPS because they want to make people smile in these hard times. No matter what happens in this world, you are the good in it.

Please remember to tell yourself that. So much kindness, to strangers, to moots, to acquaintances -- people you've met in person, to people you've never met but talk to online. You are the change this world needs. You are the kindness this world needs. They can't take that from you, only you have that power. You are strong, and you are brilliant, and kindness is your strength. Keep shining lovelies. You're doing all you can, and it makes such a huge difference in so many lives.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Just these two being the goofy dudes they are. Gifs courtesy of our dear @celluloidbroomcloset and @meluli <3

[audioroleplayconfessions]

On the subject of fanart limits;

If you're referring to VAs imposing strict limitations on the kind of fan works people can make, then I agree. People have come to me really nervous about making fan art of my characters because they'd had bad experiences with another VA who basically disallowed headcanons. The artist was unsure if they were allowed to even come up with OCs set in VA's universes. That sucks. Headcanons and OCs are awesome, seeing what people come up with is some of the most meaningful response I can imagine to storycrafting, showing that my stories have stuck with people enough that they're still thinking about it after the audio is over!

One of my favorites was when a trans artist asked if it's okay for them to share art where they headcanon one of my characters as trans. I treasure that.

Conversely I can't agree with the other asker saying there should be no limits and that the VA should be paying you if you make things they approve, a request to not make adult content isn't a commission. For a lot of people, especially when you're writing your own characters, you put a lot of yourself into them. Most of my characters are explorations of my own personal insecurities, I use stories to explore these feelings in a fictionalized world as a way to try and understand and overcome some of my flaws, and because I think that putting a bit of myself in my characters makes them feel more real, more relatable, and if people get something like that out of my stories then that's fantastic. I think it's fair to ask people to please not make NSFW art of my characters, since the asker was replying to another asking about NSFW fanart. One of my main characters is built out of my own self-doubt, and is deeply personal. Making porn of that character would be inappropriate.

Come to think of it, something a little like that happened. A channel started stealing my scripts a while back, and that particular character's script was changed to be all flirty with them calling the listener "cutie". That felt deeply violating. The script theft was bad, but the changes made me feel sick.

There's a reason there are rules in places where you can share scripts for VAs to fill that stipulate a VA can't change the script without the writer's knowledge and consent. Characters and stories can come from a deeply personal place, and I think it's important to keep that in mind. Whenever artists ask me what my limits are with fanart, I tell them go nuts, I love seeing what people come up with! I don't like limiting artists, and when they ask for refs I often add to say feel free to go off-model. That said, I think some limit is fair, and I draw the line for most of my characters at NSFW things. I understand some VAs are cool with that, especially if they themselves make NSFW audios, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask people not to make porn of my boys.

To the original asker, most VAs I've talked to are cool with headcanons in art, but if you're asking specifically about NSFW fan works, especially for a VA that doesn't do NSFW audios, it's probably best to ask first.

TLDR I remember a VA imposing strict limits on what is allowed for fanworks. That's dumb. But also I can't agree with a blanket no-limits at all.

.

[nadekofannumber1]

need to know what you thought of Nadeko Around

Honestly I blasted through the book pretty quick and I’m gonna prolly take a reread and put out more thoughts later. However, what I think of it now is that it’s a good Nadeko finale in a sense. I’d of course love to see more Nadeko but she really got her shit together in this one so a lot of character growth isn’t really something I see in the future. I’d like to see the confidant kinda mean Nadeko thrive!

More info below

I feel like it kind of went through all the major tennants of Nadeko:

Learning to want to live and feel alive

As a member of the “nadeko detested living to the degree she doesn’t want to live” believer club, I’m proud to announce that Nadeko is learning to feel alive and let go of inhibitions. Nadeko goes from feeling guilty for being “so spoiled” because she didn’t know shit about island survival scenarios, to being actively proud and happy when she wins to dropping her guard living ungracefully and actively going feral. Nadeko experiences the joys of it all and it’s wonderful.

The love of creation

Nadeko draws, Nadeko draws a lot it’s the whole thing she creates and she does things that are special. Nadeko becomes a wizard and that’s so awesome. The thesis of this book is the love of creation and how it drives people to truly live.

Society, roles, clothes, and appearance

Nadeko in this story abandons a lot of what society finds pure with her appearance, being gaunt, tanned, covered in wounds with calloused hands, building light muscle, having short hair. A ton of traits that make certain types scream and throw up in hatred for “not being pure”. While Nadeko does wear the uniform it’s a complex thing where it’s comfortable and there’s identity in it but Nadeko feels as if she’d prefer to wear other things even changing for the final confrontation. Honestly it makes me wonder about how they’d adapt it into an anime outside the obvious bc Nadeko acquires a ruggedness I think some would find hard to market unless simplified aesthetically. My final wonder is what outfit Tsukihi put her in as nademono had threads of the concept of Nadeko reconnecting with concepts of femininity and repairing that relationship but putting Nadeko in a cute outfit feels wrong. Personally I’d prefer perhaps something gnc or masculine and maybe trendy but also I’d take something mature aesthetic wise. I just feel that doubling down on the tomboyness (and also other potential read’s of Nadeko’s character with gender) would actually suit Nadeko well as one that forges their own path and doesn’t necessarily need to conform to tradition (being something entirely self made, for the love of creation).

Recognizing and self actualizing one’s own circumstance

Nadeko though this arc looks at her past and decides that it is the past and she was done wrong in said past. This includes Nadeko acknowledging that her parents did see her like the stuffed toys they bought her, Nadeko is self aware and understanding “I was sheltered but shit is fucked” and “I also get what my parents meant but I’m not changing carrier paths.”

Getting meaner on purpose

Nadeko’s arc involves her getting less cute and more mean on purpose. Urako tries to get under her skin but Nadeko is just like “whatever bro, don’t care, gonna save you btw.” Nadeko being allowed to be mean and falling from that grace can be also analyzed via parallels with hanekawa and shinobu but I think that’s a big post topic. TLDR Nadeko becoming more open and rude and honest is a break from society and tradition and Nadeko doesn’t need that. Nadeko needs to be free to go off and live her atypical life even if others don’t get her. Even if Nadeko works in the “real world” she doesn’t become normal and take normal paths set for her and I’m proud of her for that. Nadeko can work with others but doesn’t have to pretend.

Kind of the autism power fantasy jk(unless…..)

That current of homoeroticism that isn’t stated but definitely came to something

Nadeko got her “first kiss” (mouth to mouth with Yotsugi) and she spent so much time on that island thinking about drawing naked women and women’s bodies, and then the urako moment happened, and of course the beloved mention of Tsukihi in a pure positive light. Even with believing these characters are just friends nisio sure does love ramping up undertones as much as he possibly can. That it kinda becomes a cope to look away from their importance to Nadeko.

Even in a straight Nadeko scenario the image invokes a concept of experimenting with one’s self and identity which is integral to the coming of age aspects of Nadeko’s character arc (i also think that what Nadeko did with araragi was trying to experiment safely to test waters and limits, and that can still even apply in the straight Nadeko scenario.)

Nadeko’s family doesn’t want to talk to her much even though she’s successful and is forging her own path. Mangakaphobic, they really did hate her for coming out (as a mangaka) to them, they thought they had a normal daughter who wanted to be a bride and put it on forms of what she wanted to be when she grew up. Pay no mind to the fact Nadeko is masking her true self and picking what she’s supposed to. Nadeko a cute innocent girl but she came out (as a mangaka) and they hated that, Nadeko always had a secret she kept in the closet that she felt her parents disapproved of and yet in that closet was her real self (mangaka), the wanted the image of her to remain pure so even when Nadeko came back home and cut her hair short they hoped Nadeko would choose to go back on the path they wanted for her (not a mangaka), and yet that ended up with her homeless and taking odd jobs, years later Nadeko tries contact but won’t give up on being who she is it’s a them problem that they won’t accept her at this point, Nadeko will never stop being who she is and won’t closet herself in this society (from openly being a mangaka)

Nadeko valuing relationships with others

Nadeko’s aquisition of friends is more emphasized in Nadeko draw by presence but here it’s emphasized by silence how much Nadeko values her relationships with others. Yearning pining and surviving!

Nadeko not really thinking about Koyomi

A fun one! When you see a lot of character’s internality you can kind of see those opinions, and progressively through arcs Nadeko truly realizes those feelings were kind of misplaced and generally doesn’t think about the guy almost at all compared to a lot of other characters in subsequent arcs, Nadeko doesn’t really even bring up the guy herself until she’s about to die from that snake, there is reflection in urako of course but it’s a beautiful metaphor of scale peeling and “shedding one’s skin”

—————-

Even after this there’s a lot of fun implications with urako making the snake charms and kaiki dealing out fake ones that accidentally ended up activating. Real fascinating enriching chewable concept.

I got more I suppose but that’s all for now, expect other Nadeko brainrot posts in the future (and maybe something about shinomono 1 if I find motivation)

Nadeko’s autism truly has evolved into evil autism (congratulatory)

[pickerelstripe]

Hiya! Recently I've been trying my hand at creating some FanClans. They're based in a setting inspired by the Taal Volcano and lake region in my native Philippines. Super super excited over developing it but also a tiny bit nervous! Could you perhaps give some insight/tips on how you developed ClayClan? I'd be really grateful if you did 🥹 I'm a tiny bit overwhelmed and don't know where to start.

P.S: here are some cool photos of Taal+some extra info below bc I'm a nerd and can't help myself lol

Where's the volcano, you may ask? The answer to that is: it's the lake you see in the photos! Basically Taal erupted so much in prehistoric times that the rock collapsed inward+downward into the empty magma chambers, forming a bowl shape (otherwise known as a caldera). It's also got like, a fuckton of vents and craters that it also erupts out of too sometimes. She's funky and I like her!

tldr volcanoes and cats r pretty neat :3

WOAH that's so cool!!! :0 This is awesome, thanks so much for sharing! I loooove seeing unique fanClans, it's such a versatile prompt. And a caldera is a GREAT setting! What a pretty one, too!

As for advice... I've been making fancontent for Warriors for a decade now, so a lot of it just comes naturally. I'll explain how I made ClayClan then give some tips I find helpful! And thank you for asking, I'm really flattered :]

(Info + tips below the cut to keep this from being a huge text wall!)

ClayClan started as a worldbuilding project to support a story I was tossing around in my head. At the time, this story was unnamed and followed Minkpaw, a new apprentice who joins the Clan and unravels a mystery.

At this point I only knew it was set in a swamp. I like taking reference from National Parks, so I started searching for Parks with swamps, and after some googling I found out Arcadia National Park has a ton of wetlands! So I started compiling a species list. As I worked I gradually switched the model region from Arcadia to a general Maine wetland, as this was more appealing to me.

Once I had that together, I started working on ClayClan's culture. This was largely a matter of tossing ideas at the wall and seeing what stuck! I wanted there to be a new rank between warriors & deputy, so I gave them captains. I like exploring religions unique from canon's StarClan, so I gave them the pantheon. I couldn't decide if I wanted their camp to be in the woods or by the lake, so I gave them two camps. Once I had down my base ideas, I just refined them until they felt complete, and since then I've been adding fun tidbits to my own liking.

As I worked, I realized that Pickerelstripe - a supporting character in the original story, as Minkpaw's mentor - was much more interesting to me than Minkpaw herself. So I decided to switch the story to her perspective, and it began developing into the Heart Rot that I love!

With this switch came a change in tone, as Heart Rot is much darker and more serious than my early plans. So I made some worldbuilding changes to fit! ClayClan's religion solidified, kepbon sculptures came into existence, that sort of thing. I'm still making tweaks here and there to tighten everything up.

Okay! Thanks for sticking with me through all of that, here's some random tips! :D

A good place to start is with location! I'm a total nerd about ecosystems, so I like to make my Clan territories as close to their real-world inspirations as possible. iNaturalist is a great reference for finding species in a specific area! Google is also your friend, and I've even used physical field guides in the past. It's a really fun process and enriches your knowledge of the real world - win-win!

Of course, not everyone's interested in this level of detail, and that's all good! I would, however, recommend having an idea of your Clan's territory and the types of animals/plants they regularly encounter. It can be a good springing-off point for worldbuilding! Take ClayClan's bobcat lore as an example, that came directly from wanting to do something cool with bobcats being in Maine.

Is this worldbuilding for a story? If so, what story are you trying to tell? Try and focus on worldbuilding that will affect the plot and see where it leads from there. For example, if your story focuses on family ties, you can explore how your fanClan views family!

Does your inspiration region have any interesting history? If so, you could try and tie it into your Clan's mythos! For example, the setting you've got makes me really curious about how your Clan views the caldera, and all its vents & craters. Do they believe the caldera has always been there? Do they have some lore about the ancient volcano? How do they rationalize the vents? There's lots to explore!

What do you want to see expanded on in Clan culture? The rank system, naming, religion, social structure, etc? Go ahead and change them to your liking, then see how that impacts the world! This is your Clan, after all, play with it how you'd like.

Focus on what's interesting to you! At the end of the day, this is your project, and you should enjoy working on it. If something doesn't interest you like it used to, you can take a break from it and find a different focus, or toss that part entirely and start over. Do what makes you happy!

I hope this is helpful! Sorry for rambling haha. Thank you so much for sharing your new Clan, I wish you the best of luck with developing it :] If you end up sharing any more on Tumblr feel free to send it to me, I'd love to see what you come up with! Have a great day/night!

[praxieuser]

🎯 ❤️ 🍀 🧠

🎯 - What do they do best?

be gay /srs

jk But if i had to say: adapt. You already know Wilson's super secret super awesome lore, but for the uninitiated, the first few years of Wilson's time in hogwarts he has a really vague, fuzzy sense of identity and for lack of better wording, has a "front" and changes his personality to cater to whose around. He has a crippling need to belong or "be worth being friends with" because in his eyes, he needs to do so make up for being a subpar human being (He basically has depression and disassociative tendencies but he doesn't know that's what those are so he feels like there is just something deeply defunct with himself 😔)

He pulls off his personality shifting by having a library's worth of notes on the likes and dislikes of people he cares enough about, what behaviours they react best to, what they expect of him, etc. He then also has the flexibility to recall and mix-and-match his behaviours to fit whoever is around, whether it's just one person or the whole gang. He also has a set "polite" act that serves as a blank slate for people he doesn't know yet that gets filled the more he interacts with them.

tldr; He's good at extrapolating, recalling, and applying information when it's urgent/when he really wants to.

Outside of its use in becoming a social chameleon to try and cope with his mind rotting insecurities, I'm sure you can guess that this sort of flexibility of his applies to other things he does, like saving your friends from dying in the forbidden forest at 2 AM bi-weekly for example. It's not like he applies it to everything he does nor is this trait of his completely foolproof, but he's good at it :].

❤️ - What is one of your OC's best memories?

I know i already told you before that his first kiss with Daniel is one of Wilson's best memories, but I am retconning that and I have NEW super secret super happy memories for Wilson AND YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT ABOUT THEM!!!!! maybe

But just to give you a vague idea: he hangs out with Daniel in the summer sometimes, and he has a lot of fond memories chilling with Daniel and Esme :]]

🍀 - What originally inspired the oc?

To be honest. I just wanted to have somebody kiss Daniel.

OK BUT TO BE FR, I don't really have a clear memory on what pushed me to make Wilson. I think I was just having a lot of fun playing HPMA? The HP world looked fun, and I was really liking the goober I had in-game, AND I saw other people with their ocs online, so I thought might as well!

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

That's a bit hard since I was never good at pointing out my favorite trait/aspect of a character, but if I really had to say... his personality?

It's my first time in a long while actually seriously creating a character from scratch instead of just interpreting from canon sources. And while I definitely still have a lot of cleaning up and organizing to do, Wilson as a character with a story and a personality that I can put into Situations™ is just a lot of fun to me! I'm having a great time with him :D!

I'd say a close second is his general aesthetics— like his clothes and looks and stuff, and his animagus dog form. Just a silly guy :]

[bonetrousled]

i. LOVE. your character designs. SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!does your ocverse have a story or anything i can learn about... or can i hear their lore...

OUR HR GRH EGG RHRTHANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS SO AWESOME esp coming from you i love ur art and ocs i just lurk and i’m like WAOW… heath flameshield.. i know those creatures BUT AUUUHM

it depends on the characters. there’s like Two main stories which r discovery zone/thinktank toys (current poll. tldr evil speak and spell takes over the world) and villainmotel (last poll. tldr shitty low tier supervillains live in a motel together and get into circumstances. kevin villainmotel lives there) but those both take place in the Same universe albeit at different times (vmotel is like.. current day and dzone is like. early 2000s to the 2010s)

then there’s like.. misc characters that don’t really fit into any specific universe shaking trembling. whichever ones u want to hear about i will infodump Forever. i DO also have a toyhouse but a lot of the profiles r out of date and personalities have changed a lot

[kaolinite91]

About Dune

So I just watched the first part Last night on Netflix and the second part today on the nearby IMAX cinema...

First of all, a mini rant about that nearby IMAX cinema, the screen kinda like regular screen??because I see that the screen not that big like when I watched IMAX at Pathe Arnhem...is the IMAX screen actually can differ at each places? UPDATE: just realized what made me feels that was because the length between the screen to the seats kinda far away.. not like at regular IMAX that I knew...

Anyway... (Spoiler)

About Dune.. tldr it's another story about the chosen one, but this time it takes places in the desert planet with spice as a great commodity in the entire galaxy because this substance is the only one that makes interstellar travel possible...

How? I dunno..they never really explained this part..

Disclaimer, I never read the novel, the reason I watched it was because there's Timothee Chalamet, and my boss keep asking about this movies and coincidentally my Netflix subscription ends last night, so I thought, "well it could be interesting to watched Dune part 1 before my Netflix deactivated". So, I did.. and for me, I like the first part more. Maybe because I watched it on my bed and can paused it to do something in between.

What I like:

- the new type of power, (the voice)

- Duncan!!! ;A;

- Lord Atraides!! ;A;

What I don't like:

-The Harkonnen

How about part 2?

Hmmmm....

The 2nd part, have many actions but.. it's so difficult for me to keep on focusing, especially 1 hour before the ending... I felt tired and sleepy, but what I dislike the most is how I didn't care on any characters in the part 2 at all.....(Well I kinda intrigued with Na- baron tho... I hate that he's very cruel, but his one on one battle with 2 Atraides pretty awesome. But that character kinda insignificant considering his screentime)..

In part 1, I feel intrigued with Paul's relationship with his mom, his dad, his mysterious power... How he could use the voice, some fragmented prophetical dream? Who is she?? That girl in his dream?!

I was feel bad with Paul, his mom, Duncan and Paul's father (yeah maybe because they're played by Jason and Isaac hahaha my faves), but it seems clear in the beginning that the Emperor were actually corrupt, and they're only a sacrificial lamb... Thus Paul was the oppressed and need to survive on the desert with his mom.

In part 2 however, Paul's changed... He was a humble young man, but started to accepting his mom scenario as the Messiah and accepting his lust to revenge and power... He seems to swayed from his father's pricipal and honor...and kindness.

From world view we can also understand that the one who actually plotting was actually his mom's organization..(yeah those lady in black and billowing fabrics). Aaand,

If I had a nickel' for everytime Timothee Chalamet played a character who fell in love for a girl, but later chosing Florence Pugh's character as his wife...I got two nickels! Which is weird why it's happened again after the Little Women ;A; (did Hollywood paired them together or what?). It's not as hurtful as when I saw Little Women tho..because I actually didn't really care about Chani and Paul's relationship. Yeah maybe actors chemistry in RL kinda impacting the performance?

Part 2 made me don't care about Paul and his Mother...also Chani... I knew how terrible what Paul's did for her but I cannot feel anything...

Yeah, I think Dune is just not a suitable movie for me. So if they're making the third one.. I may actually not watching it. If I watched it probably only when it's on the streaming services..

Tldr. I like part 1 more than 2.

[hdsudsfest]

HD Sudsfest: Week Three

Week Three of HD Sudsfest has ended, and once again we are bowled over by the quality of the brilliant bathing beauties we got to showcase.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on all the sudsy goodness we posted this week, then here's our weekly roundup - dip a toe in and you'll see, the water's perfect!

[FIC] The Metamorphmagus Needs A Bath! by @aprofessionalprotagonist { T | 4k }

Despite doing their best to avoid each other, Draco and Harry are tasked with babysitting Teddy Lupin... together. That's not going to be awkward at all.

❤️You had me hooked from the first hilarious sentence! Draco's narration is so on point here... It's perfect! The last sentence is such a perfect ending too 🥰 Their banter is so sharp and cute throughout, and Teddy is freaking adorable!!! A true chaos monster 😈 Loved this, thanks for sharing! - InnerLilith

❤️adorable 🥺🥺 i found it so endearing how genuinely excited Teddy seemed to be to be with both of them and have “awesome boy time”!!! SO CUTE! you can just see them slowly getting softer and more comfortable with each other as time goes on! so lovely! thank you so much for writing and sharing 💛- onbeinganangel

[FIC] Possessed by @shah-writes { T | 9.1k }

“I think you’d be surprised, Harry, at how much of him is in me,” he says, changing the subject again. Harry scoffs. “Isn’t it the other way around?” “I think I’m evolving,” he whispers. “I feel every memory, every emotion as if it is my own. Maybe it is my own. The line begins to blur. When you are surrounded, overwhelmed with someone else’s thoughts and perceptions, at what point do they become yours?” — tldr; a sentient curse possesses Draco, leading to a whole lot of Auror action, magical theory, and baths! ft. draco malfoy being smart, a rubber duck, and ron weasley being the love of my life.

❤️omg, i could not put this fic down!! the concepts of the curse and the IO and antibodies were so gripping, and the walls between the IO and draco blurring so the IO falls in love with harry ... what an incredible fic! this line at the end absolutely gave me chills: "I have a ravenous will to live. And you will not stop me from feasting." shah, you continue to amaze me with how creative and unique your fics are. thank you for sharing this one!! - corvuscrowned

❤️Ahhhhhh!!!!! This is such an incredible fic! The world building is so excellent and compelling, and then your writing is so visceral, I felt Harry’s desperation and drive and fear, all underlaid by how deeply he cares for Draco!! I also loved how you tied in this wildly creative sentient curse with canon - iota

[FIC] Or Else a Scar by @rain-beee { T | 4k }

Harry shows up on Draco's doorstep, injured and nearly unconscious. As Draco does his best to fix him, he's reminded of another time he had to wash blood off of his hands.

❤️ This is brilliant!! Its so well written and I think you just get their characters perfectly!! Loved reading Draco's POV about sixth year and how much Harry means to him! Loved that Harry kept coming to him, I think that's very Harry James Potter! This was brilliant, thank you - jawgee

❤️This fic is amazing. I just found it for the first time tonight, but I know I will be rereading it many times from now on. Your writing is beautiful, and I am hereby adopting your description of the sectumsempra aftermath into my official headcanon. This is utterly incredible - WouldItWere

[FIC & ART] Steal/Keep by @shealwaysreads and @babooshkart { E | 4.6k, Digital Art }

The stealing was all Hermione’s idea, though Harry still doesn’t think anyone would believe him if he told them.

❤️Oh this was utterly FANTASTIC! I looooove that they're all criminals together and being gay and doing crime and giving the profit to those who really need it... I devoured this! I'm giddy over the two of you working together! Boo's art for this was INCREDIBLE and fit the vibe of the story PERFECTLY, and I was AGOG from the start. This was sharp and sexy and wonderful, the both of you! <333 - lq_traintracks

❤️Fuck-ing-hell. Just gorgeous. And Draco’s face in the first image, his expression is so pleased. The detail of the jewellery is wonderful. The second image is so hot my eyes melted and I’ll be sending you guys the bill for my replacement eyes - Moonflower_Rose

[FIC] to be a bit of warmth (for you) by @softlystarstruck { M | 9.3k }

As some of the only eighth years to return to Hogwarts, Harry doesn't know how he and Draco will manage to be roommates for a whole year without resorting to violence. But Draco is too quiet, and too thin, and wears layers of sweaters that he tucks over his fingers. So they fall into an unspoken routine, one that soothes Harry as much as it helps Draco, one that's so much easier than Harry thought it would be. Until it all falls apart, and Harry realizes he holds the world in his hands.

❤️This Draco is so soft (I love soft Draco) but also broken, and it made my heart ache. The way Harry reverently cares for Draco, heals him... The last scene in the bathtub is so beautiful and sensual. Intimate. I enjoyed every line. Thank you for such a wonderful fic!✨💙-moonlightmoth

❤️when i tell you i cried, you best believe it was the sideways sleeping, one eye leaking, painful cry because this was so bloody well written and hats off to the writers cause 👏👏👏👏... i could imagine every scene so vividly and thats down to brilliant writing and insane imagery. what im trying to say is... thank you, thank you for writing this publishing it and letting us read it cause its art, it truly is. thank you 💜- turtle

[FIC] Float by @shiftylinguini { E | 5k }

After a night out, Harry wakes up feeling like he slept on concrete, like his body's made of sand, like he accidentally pissed on his housemate the night before. Because he did accidentally piss on his housemate the night before.

❤️This is incredibleeeee 🥵😍 Their voices are perfect, it’s simultaneously so sweet and hot and funny and genuine. I love their dynamic ❤️ - CousinCecily

❤️okay look, LOOK.LISTEN. This was. LISTEN. I'm incoherent. LOOK. I LOVE THIS OKAY? I can't even-- This is. WOAH. You ...it's so hard to write about this kink, right, and you did it so beautifully. I'm absolutely amazed. Everything about it was perfect... I love your Draco. He's so cool and controlled, and respectful! It's the sweetest thing... And...the bathroom scene was so HOT but also sensual, I don't know how to explain? It was perfect. I'm repeating myself but I can't help it. It was everything I needed and more. And, I want this comment to be some more 10000 kudos. I crave this universe fully now. I love you. Like, thank you. WOW. - MarchnoGirl

[FIC] A Portrait of Recovery by @moonstruckwytch { M | 5k } for@the-starryknight

Since he was attacked and nearly drowned in the tub, Draco’s been struggling. He can hardly be in a bathroom or take a shower, never mind a bath. It feels like his life has fallen apart. Harry’s there to help though, and he’s not going anywhere, no matter how long it takes. A story about love and healing.

❤️Oh, this is so soft and lovely and wonderful ❤️❤️❤️ I could almost physically feel Harry's warm embrace at the end there, the descriptions were so sensorial ❤️- OTPshipper98

❤️This was so gorgeously soothing. I love the way you've crafted this story of healing and care, composed through Harry's gentleness and Draco's understandable anxieties. Your Harry is compassionate and careful, understanding and so, so loving, and his patience -- with Draco's anxiety, with holding back his feelings for Draco -- was so beautifully constructed. I love the way you write about Draco's panic, I could feel it bubbling up anxiously in my own chest when you did, which of course made Harry's gentleness feel even warmer. All the beautiful details you incorporated into this fic -- from the Tate to the scones to the smell of Draco's shampoo -- made the story feel vibrant and alive. Thank you so much for sharing this gorgeous piece - thestarryknight

[FIC] and i’ll piece you back together with my bare hands (and you’ll kiss the cuts your sharp edges make) by Helpneedmorefanfics / @zarnzarn for Lyssaroses { M | 5.5k }

Draco reaches over and flicks him on the nose. Harry bites his finger. "Don't be daft, Potter." He says, "I've spent years in possession of a mirror. I'm not one to be swayed by cheap imitations of beauty and attraction through pheromones and magic after so long of having to see true beauty." Harry is giggling maniacally by the end of his sentence, making ripples of mirth in the hazy bathwater. Draco smiles. "I have butterfly wings, Draco," His husband protests, although his hands stop shaking. "I look like a bug." "A very pretty bug," Draco agrees seriously, and gets splashed by bathwater for it.

❤️Loved all of the research you did! It was so cool to have such a unique take on the Veela heritage and I always love when Harry is a Veela. Great work!!! Thank you for sharing it with us 😍 - ANW815

❤️Wow, this was such a creative and fabulous take on a Veela fic! I absolutely loved the way the creature heritage manifested itself - your descriptions were so vivid and immediate, I could picture everyone so clearly. It was so uncanny and compelling how you described Harry in particular - and Draco's worshipful feelings when he saw his transformed husband. Your side characters were absolutely brilliant too - every one had such a distinct and characterful voice, and I loved the group dynamic and the way you wove it into the lovely, romantic, yet funny established relationship - tackytiger

[FIC] everything i need i get from you (and giving back is all i wanna do) by @phoebe-delia for Helpneedmorefanfics / @zarnzarn { M | 1.1k }

Revenge wouldn’t undo years of abuse—nothing could. But as Harry’s boyfriend, and a recipient of his forgiveness, Draco could do his best to make Harry’s life as full of love and happiness as possible.

❤️This was so lovely 😭😭 Draco taking care of Harry like that is everything to me! The interactions between them were so wonderful, the bit where Harry was suddenly hesitant and Draco called him on it = perfection, the soft massage and baths around the world and the tenderness in taking care of all the tiny details 🥺🥺🥺 Just wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!!! Thank you so much for writing and sharing this fic. It touched my heart 💖- RockingRobin_69

❤️This was lovely!!!! I adored Draco taking care of Harry!! The thought of trying different bathing rituals from around the world was so sweet. I always love it when Draco hates the Dursley’s as much as me 😂 fantastic work!!!! - ANW815

[FIC] Maelstrom, the water told me by @onbeinganangel { E | 11.1k }

Maelstrom (noun, /ˈmeɪl.strɒm/, from the Dutch maalstroom): 1. a large powerful whirlpool 2. a turbulent tidal current 3. an agitated and/or confusing situation or state of mind 4. a magical core disturbance occurring on an adult, not directly caused by trauma

❤️This story was somehow heartbreaking, healing, and rejuvenating all in one. Thank you for writing this, it was so beautiful <3 - written_in_ash

❤️Really gorgeous. I adore the POV and the depth of Draco's love and commitment - RoseHarperMaxwell

[FIC] Arches by @sky-is-torn / Ludicrous { T | 12k } for @the-starryknight

If a magic room is full of flames, is it really burning?

❤️Wow, wow, wow, I am just floored. This fic is brilliantly written, every word so thoughtfully crafted to build this stunning atmospheric... Almost ethereal quality? I loved the experience of reading it, and it really did feel like an experience, I was so enraptured with your prose I found myself totally lost in the story, the eerie way of shifting realities so subtly and so thoughtfully... It was brilliantly done! I loved the little nods to canon towards the end, this bit of meta made the whole destabilizing sense of the world shifting around feel incredible to read. And the details of this... oh I was on the edge of my seat - thestarryknight

❤️Wow!!! The magical theory in this whole fic was amazing!!! It’s such a Harry move to rush into danger without care for the consequences. I adored the connection between him and Draco and the different ways Draco could see him. The development of their friendship and then romance was so natural and it felt so tender. I loved the ending, perfect!!! A truly superb fic!!! -ANW815

[FIC] The Abandoned Bathroom by @cluelesspigeons { T | 3k }

Draco comes home after a long shift in St. Mungo’s, craving a warm soak in the bathtub Harry usually has ready for him. This time when Draco opens the bathroom door, the tub is ready but Harry’s nowhere to be found.

❤️I am so wholly obsessed with the idea of tender cat dad Draco - and how this tenderness and fondness suffuses the whole mood of the fic, and extends to his relationship with Harry. It is so sweet how exasperated he is with Harry, yet how it's clear that it's all a cover for the softest sweetest husbandly love! The idea of something feeling unfinished or unsatisfying unless he had Harry with him felt very romantic here, and was a lovely little nod to their canonical obsession with each other! Thank you so much for sharing such a charming, delightful fic - tackytiger

❤️This is amazing! I love how Draco is adorable being anxious about Harry but then doesn't care but still misses him anyway 🥺 Good job, you did so well! I love the story ❤️- Nelween

Weekly Round-up header art by MaesterChill

[fruitcoops]

Hi Eve. I have a question...what does your writing process look like? I'm asking because I've finally begun to write a story that's been in my head for a few years now, but writing isn't going as smoothly as planned. I know that it's going to be a long one, and I've already planned out my chapters, but I struggle to sit down and start writing. I'm more of a bigger picture kinda gal and I struggle to write smaller details and tend to write more dialogue than action. I was wondering if you had any advice for me? I think you're and amazing writer and I hope one day I can be as good as you

-Lillian

Congrats on writing your story, Lillian, that's awesome!

Half-Joking Advice: Tea + computer (and charger) + whatever it was that gave you inspiration for the story in the first place (movie, book, news article, etc)

Actual Advice below the cut:

Unfortunately, I don't really have a process for writing--since I mostly do oneshots, I'll sit down, pick a prompt, and just go for it until it feels right. For longer stories, I like to do a vague outline to get all my ideas in one place. Details don't matter much at that point (though I like to put my favorites in so I don't forget them). My skeletons frequently change as the characters and plot progress, so it's okay if yours do, too.

The big picture is super important, but I guess my best advice for details is to remember that your readers know nothing about your story going in. They don't know what the setting looks like, what the characters look like, how anyone talks, or how the world around them acts. But you do! Tell and show them! I write a lot of dialogue as well, since I'm not super confident in action, and I tend to make up for that by combining them (i.e. "[name] said while [doing a thing]").

Writing rarely ever goes according to plan. Plots get scrapped, characters get scrapped, some days you write 1000 words and then delete them all because it feels like you're running yourself into the ground. That's okay. That's normal. The thing you have to remember, though, is that the good stuff doesn't come until the bad stuff is out of the way. Those scrapped thousand words made it onto paper (success!), and once they're gone you now have room to put down the better version. You can always go back and edit if you need to.

Also, this is a hobby! Unless you're a professional, nobody is paying you to do this, so have fun with it. Write the story you want to read, no matter how cheesy or dramatic it might seem. It's a good story because it's your story. You're a great author because you're an author at all, and I'm so proud of you for doing this. Have an amazing day lovey, and good luck!

TLDR: Let your outlines adapt, bring your readers into your world, don't be afraid of a few rough drafts, and actually enjoy what you're doing <3

[papytonpropaganda]

sometimes I like to think about Walls Chara even though they’re not in the story. in my mind they definitely exist, they’re like a spirit that only Frisk can talk to, and they mostly like to stick around Frisk but occasionally they go follow Frisk’s family members, especially Toriel, Asgore, and Undyne.

they have opinions on pretty much everyone. they still love Toriel and Asgore as their parents. Toriel was a warm, thoughtful mother to them, and Chara still remembers they awful puns she would make. they even picked up her manner of speaking. the greatest thing about her, to them, was that she engaged in gentle parenting, giving them choices where they had previously only had rules to follow. they still had to face consequences for any trouble they caused, which was difficult, but she never went as far as Chara’s birth parents had.

they’d probably say they were closer to Asgore, though--he was far more approachable and lenient about troublemaking, which Chara and Asriel had been often involved in. they also liked that he was a sort of figurehead for the throne; Toriel had a very no-nonsense attitude toward her citizens, while Asgore gave them hope and made it so people wouldn’t be afraid to talk to him. Chara wishes their birth father had been half as wonderful.

Undyne is an awesome, badass hero. it was partly due to her changing her mind on humans that helped Chara realize humans weren’t all bad. the only thing they don’t really like about her is how loud she tends to be, but they’ve seen her tone it down for people before and imagines she’d do the same for them.

Alphys has bad opinions, but Chara appreciates her passion nonetheless. in a weird way, they’re kind of glad she accidentally brought Flowey into existence, even if they can’t directly communicate with him. they definitely enjoy popping in to watch an age-appropriate anime with her at times.

if you ask them what they think of Sans, they’d probably call him a stinky trash man, but in reality they really get where he’s coming from with his hopelessness and depression, and they’re glad he’s getting the help he needs on the surface. 

Papyrus is probably Chara’s favorite person next to the goatparents, Frisk, Flowey, and Undyne. they’d probably say he’s the most interesting and mysterious person in the family. they suspect he’s not using his pain medication the right way, but they don’t really understand what exactly is going on. they are concerned, though, and wish they could give him a big hug (even though they’re really not a hugger).

Napstablook is someone they’d probably really enjoy hanging out with. they’re quiet but creative with their music, and Chara will sometimes lie on the floor with them for hours, or read a book with Frisk while Blooky does some quiet mixes in the background.

speaking of Frisk, they’re probably Chara’s favorite person in the world now. and Chara never would have guessed they would love (platonically) another human so much. they really think nobody else on earth could have convinced them that some humans are good. they harbor no resentment toward them, despite Asriel telling them they were the friend they’d always wished they’d had. in fact, Chara agrees with him, wishing they too could have had a friend like Frisk in life. aside from that, they relate to Frisk’s selective muteness and actually genuinely enjoy a lot of their hobbies. they have a lot of questions about Frisk’s past that they have never asked because Frisk has never offered up that information, and they want to respect the kid’s privacy.

they have mixed feelings about Flowey, mostly because they’re aware he killed everyone in the family at some point or another, though they don’t really blame him. though they agree with him about Frisk being a better friend, they were still hurt by his words, and were upset about him seeming to quickly switch his seeming idolization of them to Frisk. despite this, though, they know deep down that Flowey is still their brother, trying to do his best in this world, and that love for him never went away.

as for Grillby, QC, Shyren, and Maddy, Chara’s generally not as interested in following them around. They definitely appreciate QC for the happiness she brings to Toriel, they think Maddy is funny albeit loud, they root for Shyren to become the singer she always wanted to be, and they wish they could feel the toasty warm air that surrounds Grillby, knowing his personality is much the same.

and then there’s Mettaton. Chara’s opinion of Mettaton is... probably the lowest of everyone, if we’re being honest. they think he’s inappropriately full of himself and careless with his family. besides the other family members that Chara isn’t particularly attached to, Mettaton’s probably the guy they follow around the least. or at least he was, until Devon showed up.

Chara like IMMEDIATELY got rancid vibes from this guy. like the second he stepped in the door the night he came to the family dinner, Chara wanted him gone. they don’t at all understand what Mettaton sees in this guy. they’re very tempted to follow the couple around, but they honestly don’t want to spend any more time around Devon if they had to. they did start following Mettaton around more if he was by himself, until he moved in with Devon and started spending every waking moment with him. 

if they knew what Devon really was... I think they’d actually manifest a physical body and stab him to death. and then they’d drag Mettaton to therapy and tell him they regret every bad word they ever said about him.

tldr Walls Chara loves their family and would kill for them.

[thefinalcinderella]

Scary Monsters! Story Summary (Part 1)

I don’t think anyone’s translated this story yet so I’ll just summarize it

The more events we have, the more I’m convinced that they take place in an alternative timeline or something. I don’t know if this was confirmed in the guidebook though

Wow I still can’t summarize for shit

Episode 1-1 Everyone should have fun

- Another day of school ends for MC and Grim

- Grim randomly mentions that there’s too much distance between the Ramshackle Dorm and the school (isn’t it the opposite though?)

- When they get back to their dorm they are stunned to discover that the front yard has become a weird mix of Chinatown and Halloween

- Lilia shows up (and introduces himself again, hmm) and scares us, apparently everything there is made by the Diasomnia dorm students

- This is our first time seeing Diasomnia mobs, who are arranging the decorations in the yard

- Deadbeat Crowley strikes again! Apparently he told Diasomnia that MC and Grim agreed to let them set this stuff up

- MC asks why all the decorations, and Lilia explains that it’s for Halloween! Apparently Malleus insisted that they spend Halloween at the Ramshackle Dorm

- the ghosts are out and they’re impressed by how extravagant it all is and even encourage them to do more without minding us (thanks guys)

- Grim doesn’t know what Halloween is, shocking everyone

Episode 1-2 It’s our festival!!

- The ghosts explain that Halloween is an important event in Twisted Wonderland

- Lilia explains that it’s when all the ghosts return to this world from the other world; the decorations are to entertain them

- Everyone wears costumes like ghosts and monsters because many ghosts like to play tricks on people (since there’s not much opportunities to interact with the living); these ghosts can be dispersed by giving them candy

- Lilia mentions there are also evil ghosts that can’t be controlled (foreshadowing much?)

- Lilia implies that he knows about the ghosts we met in the mine???　Or something like that??? (”I think you two also have experience with ghosts who do bad things?”)

- Wearing costumes is for scaring those evil ghosts back and driving them away...but that’s just a story from a long time ago, and now it’s just for fun cosplay

- Ghosts say not to worry about anything, Halloween was always like this since they became ghosts

- the living can’t actually see ghosts since they’re not supposed to stay in this world unless they have strong attachments or goals, so the ghosts who do stay in this world are very unstable existences *cough* Eliza *cough*; they can’t be seen in places other than places like NRC where there’s strong magical energy, so yeah ghosts are actually rare

- Ghosts emphasize that it doesn’t matter whether or not you can see ghosts or not, Halloween is supposed to be fun and that’s all that matters

- MC says that Halloween is also pretty famous in their hometown

- Ghosts (in front of Lilia): Oh MC you have Halloween back in your world too? What a coincidence (How many people know MC is from another world??)

- Lilia doesn’t seem surprised so I assume he knew

- NRC has a special Halloween event too, which we will learn about soon

Episode 1-3 It’s quite photogenic

- The ghosts start snapping pictures with their phones (yeah that’s right)

- They bought them this year online 

- Grim is jealous because he has to share with MC

- They have a MagiCam account too, they only have 5 followers

- Grim is surprised they show up on camera since usually that can only happen with the ghost camera

- Lilia explains that since Halloween is the time of the year where this world and the other world are the closest, so this is when ghosts are the most powerful which is why they can show up in photos; it’s just in NRC tho

- They tell us to look forward to Halloween

Episode 1-4 The best Halloween

- The next day in class, Crewel says it’s one month to Halloween and everyone’s excited

- Ace and Deuce are also excited, talking about decorations and stuff; even the Ignihyde students come out of their rooms for Halloween

- Crewel: The week before Halloween is “Halloween Week”, which is when the students run a stamp rally event for outsiders

- Each dorm choose a place in the school as a spot for the stamp rally and decorate it; what’s important is that anyone can freely participate--in other words, guests from outside freely walk around the school

- The reason for this is to thank the people who live on this “Sage’s Island” (where NRC is located) for their understanding and cooperation, and it’s a chance to show them how much the students have grown and stuff

- In order for the event to move smoothly, each dorm sends out students as staff on the management committee

- Naturally, this is the first time we’re hearing of this (thanks Crowley)

- Deuce tells us not to worry and ask him if we have any questions since he’s part of the committee (it’s chosen by lottery)

- Also there’s a Halloween party on the 31st  which everyone can join, students and ghosts included

- Ace’s brother showed him pictures of the food

- It’s next to prom as a big event at NRC (yeah prom exists too)

Episode 1-5 Are you ready?

- A month later, 8 days before Halloween

- the committee gathers, it’s composed of Deuce, Cater, Jack, Azul, Jade, Kalim, Vil, Epel, Idia, Lilia, and Malleus

- Deuce was an hour early to the meeting lol

- Idia is there in person

- Vil is the head of the committee, he talks about the stamp rally and how guests who collect all seven stamps get candy at the entrance gates

- Cater: “Wow Headmaster you’re so generous!” Jade: “It’s a small bag of candy that isn’t even 100 madol” (I wonder about the finances of the school sometimes)

- The stamp rally is from 10 am to 10 pm, they have to be there at all times so they’re excused from classes, taking turns in each dorm

- It’s going to be a hectic time but everyone’s fired up

- They decide to go around and see all the different dorm setups and costumes, Diasomnia is first

- Malleus chose Ramshackle for the stamp rally place because it’s a dump basically (Deuce: Sorry MC)

Episode 1-6 They are crying with joy!!

- The committee’s at Ramshackle; Sebek is as Sebek as ever

- Malleus and Lilia change into their costumes which is eastern dragon ghosts

- Diasomnia was traditional ghosts last year but decided to change it up this year

- Sebek is simping so hard he’s crying lol

- Vil made the costumes for them; he complains that Malleus gave an 1 hour lecture about how “eastern dragons (ryuu) and dragons are completely different” after he said that it was meaningless for Malleus, who is a dragon, to dress up as a dragon

- Malleus goes at it again and is apparently talking very quickly like Idia, what a nerd lol

- Crowley says that when the rally first began, everyone just wore sheets over their heads, but some students started putting more effort into it and then everyone started doing it too and the dorms are basically competing against each other 

- Silver says that the Ramshackle decorations are inspired by a country Lilia travelled to before; Lilia says that some ryuu are even the guardian deity for a family

- All the decorations use up a lot of magic to maintain, as expected of Diasomnia

- Next they’re going to Heartslabyul’s spot, which is near the greenhouse

Episode 1-7 For a scary taste

- They’re in the Sub-Tropical Zone, where it’s decorated with the theme of graveyard, and the costumes are skeletons with white ribbons as the bones

- They had a hard time balancing authenticity and the fun of Halloween

- Deuce suggested they be “skeletons covered in mud” lol

- Cater was the one who came up with the idea of using ribbons and lace from looking through his MagiCam likes

- The heart you can see through the “ribcage” is made of roses

- the gravestones are made of styrofoam

- The Heartslabyul students are used to working hard for Unbirthday Parties and following rules so it wasn’t hard for Deuce to order his upperclassman around; it’s actually more relaxing since there aren’t so many weird rules

- Malleus: As expected of Rosehearts, you discipline your students well every day Riddle: That makes me sound like a tyrant! (Uh...)

- Next is the alchemy classroom where Octavinelle has their spot

Episode 1-8 The richest

- Everyone agrees that the classroom is too creepy and will probably make little kids cry

- Floyd: I know right??

- The Octavinelle costumes are mummies

- They decided on that because it’s the complete opposite of merpeople

- They combined the old-fashioned image of mummies with style

- The decoration theme is “Mad scientist’s lab”

- The culture tank looking thing lights up at night

- Everything was finished up by a contractor since they’re busy with making a Halloween menu for Mostro Lounge

- Kalim is confused since all the dorms get the same amount of money for decorations and costumes

- Apparently Jade is in charge of accounting and he’s supposed to make sure no one goes over budget or there’s no weird money transfers and stuff like that (Who assigned him this job?)

- Jade: Me? Do something suspicious? Why I never! 

- What they focused most on was cost optimisation

- It involves haggling and using old stuff; they used up all their budget

- The remaining money from the other dorms will be used for the halloween party

- TLDR Octavinelle is scary

- Next is Scarabia, near the shop

Episode 1-9 Isn’t it an awesome idea?

- They arrive at the shop which looks all messed up

- Jade: It’s just like MC’s Ramshackle Dorm 

- Scarabia’s costume is werewolf

- Jack says there’s a legend in his hometown about becoming a werewolf if you stay up late

- Kalim tries to act scary but fails bc he’s too cute

- Jade: It’s like a visiting a petting zoo

- Kalim says that the rugs and fabrics they used for the decorations are all made from plastic bottles and recycled plastics, and that they’re aiming for a society where humans and nature coexist happily--in other words “Sustainable Halloween”

- It’s all Jamil’s idea of course

- Next is Savanaclaw at the colisseum

Episode 1-10 We worked hard!

- there’s a ship 

- Savanaclaw’s costume is pirates

- Jack talks about reading a book about a pirate who fought against a giant crocodile in elementary school and how he pretended to be a pirate

- It’s a famous series apparently, called the Adventures of Captain Beard

- Wow Leona is acting like a dorm leader for once? This really is an alternate timeline

- You can go inside the ship and Ruggie made the gold coins

- Even Idia is impressed by how good the replica is

- Everyone is shocked when it’s revealed that the Savanaclaw students made everything by hand; they’re able to do it because of training everyday for magift

- Next is Ignihyde in the library

Episode 1-11 This much is just common knowledge

- Ignihyde does projections of jack o’lanterns and creepy looking trees

- Ignihyde’s costume is a pumpkin knight

- The pumpkin knight is from a horror movie called “Pumpkin Hollow” which no one except Idia has heard of

- The pumpkin knight is filled with the hatred of uneaten, undecorated and thrown away pumpkins and it returns to the village it was harvested in to attack people each night

- the decorations are recreated from the movie and Idia is supposed to show up as the pumpkin knight

- Idia can talk normally bc his face is covered

- Now for the last dorm, Pomefiore in the mirror chamber

Episode 1-12 The Dual Play of Terror and Beauty

- Idia can walk around in the armor easily because it’s made of light materials, and the sound effects come from a speaker (what a nerd)

- Usually, the mirror chamber is closed to outsiders, but Halloween Week is an exception

- Photography of the mirror of darkness is forbidden since it’s so important

- They get there and it’s...not decorated at all!!

- Rook explains that the mirror chamber is already beautiful so there’s no need for decorations

- Vil: Our existence is the greatest collaboration that will make the mirror chamber stand out; it’s important to dress to match the location

- Pomefiore’s costume is vampires

- Everyone’s speechless by the beauty lol

- They also focused a lot on the makeup so it will give the impression of captivating vampires or something like that

- the aim is “degenerating beauty”

- Vil and Rook are both sad that vampires can’t look in mirrors, so they can’t see their beauty lol; that is why they are so attracted to the mirror chamber (I think this is their backstory or something)

- They only put up signs banning photography

- Crowley: Look! The mirror’s happy too! Mirror: ...

- Halloween Week starts tomorrow

[conspirwbytheorist-inactive]

Some Cinder Thoughts

So I saw this post from @hoepunkausta a while back and was going to reply. Then I realized that this was the first time I’d actually sat down and taken a good look at Cinder and holy cow is there a lot to this character. Anyways, it got me thinking about Cinder's potential background and, while I've always seen her as a foil and tied to Ruby, I never realized how she could potentially tie in to ALL of team RWBY. Which is. . .pretty awesome from not only a narrative point of view but in regards to character redemption as well. Full take under the cut.

TLDR: If we assume Cinder’s backstory is in keeping with the popular version of the Cinderella tale, it ties-in to a lot of the our heroes’ traumas, giving each of them a reason to relate to her. Currently, Salem maintains control over Cinder by presenting herself as the fairy godmother, because were Cinder to see her as the stepmother she was, she would potentially leave. Were she to break away from Salem, recognizing her shared traumas with the members of Team RWBY could provide her with the connection needed to grow and heal as a person.

***Content Warning: Mentions of abuse/abuser tactics***

Intro

The post itself is pretty simple. Do we think Cinder came from an abusive background or do we think she came from a normal family that died under tragic circumstances before she met Salem? I’d always gotten the vibe that Cinder came to Salem searching for power after a life of rather horrific abuse similar to a more traditional Cinderella story.

The way she craves power, not just as a resource but as something she desperately needs for her own survival (her line about Pyrrha “taking her fate into her own hands” in V2 and the “I refuse to starve” of V7 come to mind), leads to believe that she came from a home that didn’t allow her much freedom or agency. She seems to know exactly what it feels like to not be in control of her own life and, now that she has found her escape from it (Salem), refuses to ever go back.

But how does this translate into ties to Team RWBY? She obviously has been foiled with Ruby, but the other 3? Kind of a big leap to make. Well, stick with me. Naturally, when thinking of a Cinder backstory, it makes sense to look at her main allusion, the Cinderella fairy tale.

A Cinder Story

Cinderella doesn’t start her story with an evil stepmother and step sisters. By most accounts she started out fairly privileged. With that in mind, imagine this woman, who we have come to know as a murdering power-driven villain, as a small child with seemingly everything she needed. A loving family, relative financial stability, decent social standing, etc. until one day, out of nowhere. Her mother dies. And suddenly she finds her world turned upside down. Her father remarries to a woman who loathes her and, who, after his death, does her best to control her, isolate her. Everyday she is told she is lesser than her sisters, meant to act as a servant. To cope with the difficult circumstances, she daydreams about a perfect place (in the main story, the ball/landed nobility but in Cinder’s case perhaps the opulence of Atlas) where if she can just prove herself good enough, endure enough pain, she can finally earn a happy ever after.

Now, what’s interesting here is that in just this bare bones outline of the Cinderella story, we touch on the key traumas of each of our four protagonists. Ruby and Summer’s death, Weiss’s isolation and molding under Jacques, Blake’s experience of racism as a faunus and abuse under Adam and Yang’s attempting to live up to Summer’s ideal to cope with abandonment. Which is really fricking cool because it means if ANY of this hypothetical backstory were to come to light, at least SOMEONE if not EVERYONE from the team has a potential point of empathy for where Cinder is coming from.

Something I love about RWBY is how it (for the most part) does its best to show how people are not inherently good or evil, but rather products of their circumstances and environment. So imagine the narrative and thematic potential of a villain for whom each of our cast could theoretically look at and think “Wow. That really could have been me” instead of “look at this monster”. A moment where they realize that, had things gone a bit differently, had they not been a position to cope with their traumas and actively choose to love instead of being engulfed by their pain and anger, they very much could have been this story’s villains rather than its heroes. A moment where, through Cinder, they concretely realize themselves as products of choice rather than destiny and, in that same vein, perhaps Cinder can see the same for herself.

Okay, but what about the Salem part? If we reduce “badness” all to a matter of choice ignores another key theme of RWBY: the importance of an awesome support network and team to back you up. At every point of the series our heroes have had someone to help them. Ruby had Yang and Qrow growing up before her team and JNR after Beacon, Weiss had Winter and Klein, Blake Ilia and Sun, and Yang had Ruby growing up and Tai after Beacon. But who did Cinder have to help her through her darkest times? No one. Except Salem.

The Case of the Fairy Stepmother

That brings me to the second part of the question: Is Salem the stepmother or Fairy Godmother? Honestly I think it’s both. The real question (and what I think will be the biggest obstacle for Cinder growing as a character) is how does Cinder see it?

In the Cinderella story, the Fairy Godmother and Evil Stepmother play opposing roles. Stepmother does all that she can to keep Cinderella underfoot and away from realizing her full potential as a person while the Fairy Godmother steps in when Cindy is at her lowest and uses her magic to give her all that she needs to get that “Happily Ever After”. In theory it should be impossible for one person to be both at the same time, but turns out it’s a matter of perspective.

Imagine Cinder at her lowest point. Maybe she was a no-name seamstress in Argus who daydreamed about being swept up into the glamour of the Atlas elite. Maybe she was a scared kid who saw becoming a huntress as her ticket out of poverty and into a life of adventure. Imagine her getting that wish of her own accord. Playing the game, doing everything right, biding her time until finally, she escapes - only to find herself trapped in a new way. (a Prince Charming who controls her as a plaything, a student not willing to be a child soldier, there are so many possibilities here). Only to see that the system was stacked against her in way where she could never escape it under her own power. That’s. . . a lot to process and a feeling of hopelessness that I think a lot of us can relate to (especially in our current world-state).

Then Salem comes in and not only promises Cinder the power to create her own destiny, but delivers it. Cinder goes from having almost nothing to magically receiving the means to accomplish anything she desired. All because of Salem. I see a lot of people question why Cinder is so loyal to Salem, but given this view, it’d be very difficult for her not to feel indebted to her savior in some regard.

Furthermore, Salem seems relatively fond of Cinder. She defends her from ridicule in Volume 4, goes out of her way to praise her strengths and, honestly, seems to have more patience with her than the rest of WTCH.  Given her backstory, I wouldn’t even be remotely surprised if what drew Salem to Cinder was the chance to give this angry young woman the power she wished that she had had prior to her curse. It’s almost. . . motherly. In a way I would expect a millennia old woman driven mad by isolation and Grimm Lakes and a very traumatized Cinder to view motherhood.

But, that doesn’t mean that the two have a healthy relationship. We as the audience see how Salem’s “love” comes at a price. She never hesitates to keep Cinder underfoot: oscillating between praise and threats of punishment, criticizing Cinder’s discomfort in Volume 4 as weakness, and making it clear that Cinder is only important to her insofar as her usefulness. The whole “Without you I am nothing” really illustrates how far out of her way Salem goes to make Cinder painfully aware that all that she has, all that she has accomplished is because of Salem’s magic. Salem hasn’t helped Cinder as a benefactor. A benefactor would let Cinder proceed to live her own life. Salem has instead taken advantage of Cinder’s lack of any support network and feelings of isolation to establish herself as Cinder’s sole source of support.

While we as an audience can see how abusive this dynamic is, Cinder can’t. Right now, she’s more or less fully embedded in Salem’s manipulation tactics - Salem’s narrative is her truth. And, even if she does come to see it (don’t think I missed the hints of resentment in the trailer), there’s nowhere for her to go. What can she do? Go rogue? The woman has an entire Grimm army! Turn to Emerald, Mercury, or Neo? They’re all either children or also in on all this! Just like the Stepmother, so long as Salem keeps Cinder feeling isolated, the chances of her escaping or changing remain slim.

Seeds of Support and Redemption

So, that leaves us with two things Cinder needs in order to break away from Salem:

Recognizing Salem as a controlling/toxic “Stepmother” figure instead of a  “Fairy Grimm-Mother” and that this is NOT what she wants out of life.

Finding connections/a support network she can go to after leaving

This is why Cinder having parallels to all of Team RWBY is so frickin cool. I’m still not 100% certain of a full Cinder redemption. Like, I love her as a character. But part of the reason I love her is that she is a hot mess who will go full ride or die no matter the situation. So getting her to even pause and go “is this what I want out of my life?” is probably going to take something pretty drastic to rattle her current convictions.

However, that being said, I find it really suspicious that the team would take a character that could be used to parallel the traumas of all four main heroes and just hang her out to dry. In a different show, I might think they could set her up with a death as a warning for our protagonists. But, that doesn’t make sense. Every possible warning I can think of motivating Cinder’s death is already being conveyed by another character. The dangers of falling to spite? Adam. Isolation causes only weakness and pain? Raven. Sacrificing humanity for the sake of power is a crap idea? Ironwood.

Instead, these seems like a great way to set up a situation where Cinder can find connection. After all, if our team could potentially look at Cinder and go “This could have been me”, what’s to stop Cinder from looking at them, seeing their pain and how they support each other, and going “Huh. Maybe this could be me?”. Especially if something radical has just happened to get her to want to break away from Salem for whatever reason. Maybe I’m just crazy, maybe I’ve been sitting on this too long, but I think that that would be really cool for a show about the power of love and connection to have its longest-term “villain” illustrate how, given support and humanity, victims of abuse can grow and find genuine connection with people.

[we-love-imagines]

Are we getting any last train home updates soon??❤❤❤

A Much Needed and Long-Postponed Update

Hello Everyone! It's been a while... a long while. Sorry about that.

As I said in an earlier post, the reason I was inactive was because I was undergoing a large move. Well, I should've specified: This was my first time moving away from home to university. I thought it would be no big deal and that I would return to writing personal projects very soon, but I was so, so very wrong. Packing was a disaster. Getting everything in was a mess, but I shrugged it off as a few day's inconvenience before I could get back to work. But, as orientation ended and classes began, I became overwhelmed. Not only was this a return to classes from summer break, but it was also returning to the world after Covid had kept me indoors for upwards of a year. Needless to say, the change was extremely jarring.

So, I did all I could: roll with the punches. I learned my schedule, location, got a grip on my workload. Luckily, I made a few friends too! This transition was a very stressful time, so I thought it best to take it day by day as to not compromise my mental health entirely. The worst thing you can do when you are already overwhelmed is add more to your plate.

Now, about a month or so in, I fully considered myself settled. I know when I have free time, I know when my roommate is out, blah blah blah. The point I'm trying to get to is- now that I'm acclimated to school life, I'll start writing again!

Again, I'd like to apologize for my lack of updates and straightforwardness. I, honestly, didn't expect this to be so hectic. I've barely had time to call my parents and friends, let alone write fanfic. But, now that I have a clear idea of when I can write, all of the works I began over the summer will finally be finished. My inbox and drafts are gathering dust. And, yes, this includes Last Train Home. I have such a love for writing this fic and so many awesome ideas for what's gonna come up, I couldn't let it die. I'll probably try and make this chapter a bit shorter so I can push it out faster; I've kept you waiting for too long!

I'll probably answer a fair amount of things in my inbox tonight, but I want to thank you all for your kind words. It was really nice returning to an inbox full of sweet messages and well wishes. Part of the reason I took a break was to ensure I wasn't pushing out bad writing just for the sake of pushing out something. I really love all of your feedback, and I want to write good stories that you all can enjoy. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your patience.

TLDR; LTH isn't dead, and I'll write all the naughty stuff in my inbox, I swear. Also, Happy Stone Ocean Trailer!