#true facts about the basil

[jupitermelichios]

Hey, we need to talk about the way Batfamily fans write Cass using ASL, because a lot of it is really fucking ableist

But Cass can't speak, of course she needs to sign!

Not true! There is nothing physically wrong with Cass's vocal chords or mouth, there's nothing in her brain stopping her from making sounds, and she is not an elective mute. She actually learns to speak individual words really quickly after she puts herself into an environment where that's a useful skill. Basil teaches her to quote huge chunks of Shakespeare in Nu52, and that's easier for her than forming simple sentences. That would definitely not be the case if she had any physical limitations on her speech.

Cass's disability is that she was not taught any language, and so she is having to grok the entire concept of language from the ground up. Grammar and syntax; tonality; how to combine words to convey more complex ideas; how putting two words next to one another can change their meaning; how to break down a whole idea into the individual parts needed to turn it into words; the fact that people's words might not line up with their tone and body language so you have to pay attention to both; how to tell if someone wants a response or is stating a fact; how to work out meaning from context if a word is new or someone has an unfamiliar accent; how to know if someone is using a new word or if they actually just have an unfamilar accent and all the ways words can be bent and changed before they become something new; the fact that two words can use the same sounds but have the same meaning; the fact that there can be two different words that mean the same thing. This is all stuff she didn't learn as a baby, and not knowing it would be just as much an impediment to learning ASL as learning English (for accent, swap out things like having limited movement in their hands, or having learned slightly different forms of the same sign, using a lot of home-signs etc, it's the same concept in a different medium).

There is no language on earth Cass wouldn't have these problems with. ASL is not any kind of shortcut.

But she reads body language, and ASL is kind of like body language right?

Not true, also pretty abelist! Just as the sounds which make up spoken language are essentially arbitrary (there's no objective reason why the sound "gud" should mean good, English speakers just all agree it does) so most of the signs in ASL are arbitrary! There's no reason for

to mean good. ASL users just all agree that it does. Cass knowing body language would not help her any more with ASL than it would with English, and if anything, it might make it harder, because sign uses the whole body and therefore changes the way people use body language so unless she saw a lot of ASL users as a child (and there's no particular reason to think she did), she would have to adjust what she knows about body language to account for those differences!

But she signs in the comics!

Nope! She uses hand gestures to communicate sometimes, but that's not signing. Pointing at food and miming eating to convey hunger is not sign. Pretending to punch someone and pulling it at the last second to convey you could hurt them but won't (Cass's actual first communication with Bruce in the comics) isn't signing. I've done the point and mime thing in countries where I didn't speak the language, that does not mean I knew that country's native sign language!

But she learns ballet, that's like a physical language, so sign is the same thing!

Nope! Also low key kinda abelist. Dance is a method of communication, but it isn't a full language. There's almost no grammar or sentence structure, the vocabulary is extremely limited, and also you can just make up new dance moves or use moves from different styles of dance together and still convey your meaning (you cannot just make random gestures or use BSL and expect ASL users to understand you, because they're full complex languages). Cass vibes with dance pretty hard, but that's precisely because it isn't a language, it doesn't require any of the skills she struggles with in order to communicate emotion.

But ASL isn't like a real language, it's not as complex or nuanced as spoken English so it would be easier for her to learn

That is so fucking gross I don't even want to have this conversation with you. Go and sit in the timeout box and think about what you've just said, and then commit to doing better.

But I just think that once she learned it, she'd like using ASL because [it's very expressive/she's used to her world being very quiet/she can use it on stealth missions more easily/etc]

Valid, understandable, have a lovely day

But I'm writing an AU were she uses ASL because her backstory is too comic-book-y to fit in no-capes AUs but I didn't want to erase her communication difficulties so I've written her as having a different disability

Cool. Send me a link when you're done.

But what if I write her using makatong?

(For context, makatong is a form of sign developed for people who have intellectual or phsyical disabilities that affect language use, which uses more descriptive signs which require less precise hand possitioning than other sign languages, and which has very simple grammar, making it easier to learn than ASL). Yes this would be easier for her, because it's intended for people with similar difficulties to hers, but since her difficulties stem purely from a lack of experience which can be (and are, in canon) overcome with practise, it would be kind of needlessly limiting compared to her just starting out with very simple spoken language, and wouldn't give her as many chances to develop those language learning skills. Makatong is also not mutually intelligable with any other sign language, so she couldn't easily transition from that to ASL once she got used to signing, she'd have to start learning it from scratch.

But I HC her as deaf

There is 0 comics evidence to support that, but it's a headcanon, so who cares. You do you. Have fun.

But learning sign language would be better than learning to speak anyway because it's a universal language!

That is not even slightly how it work. Go read the wikipedia article on sign languages around the world or something. Do some research.

TL:DR; Cass does not use ASL in the comics, and nothing about her disability or sign languages in general would make learning ASL easier or more convinent for her than spoken English. That does't mean writing her signing is inherently bad, but you should examine your reasons for doing it to ensure you're not just perpetuating ableist stereotypes about the language.

[respectthepetty]

Peach's Heart is Home

@blatantprinterpropaganda's post got me thinking about HomePeach x Hugs.

Because I'll never be over them.

I'm being completely normal about how Home wouldn't even touch Peach in the first episode.

Yet each episode has slowly shown us that they are a natural source of comfort for each other.

Home isn't even bothered when Peach is clinging to him.

In fact, it seems like Home invites it.

He wants to be a place of support and relief for Peach.

So now, regardless of the circumstances, they always turn to each other first.

And even in the seventh episode when the boys didn't touch at all, they still turned to each other when they signed "LOVE"

So, of course, they would hug the moment Home woke up because this is the evolution of their love for each other. They are each other's safe space. There is love and comfort in their hugs, and there is peace.

For two boys that punch first when scared, the series has shown us several times that they now hug each other when scared.

And even when they could punch each other,

They care for each other instead.

Because even in their dreams, they comfort each other.

But in their worst nightmares, they hurt each other.

So Home would run to Peach even in death.

His spirit wanted to go home.

Home's grandfather told him he needed to learn the true meaning of what a home is and in death he finally figures it out.

Home's limbo was HIS home with his grandfather there. The club was reserved for him as his future home and his grandfather has always been his connection to his home, but in that ethereal holding space, he realizes that home is no longer a place.

It's a person.

Home is where the heart is.

And Peach's heart is in his food.

So when Home was struggling with finding his heart and will to live, his grandfather reminded him of who he needed to go back for.

Home is where the heart is, and Peach's heart is in his food, so by making that meal with basil for Home, which is symbolic of love, Peach gave Home his heart.

The first episode where Home wouldn't even touch Peach was "Welcome Home"

And the episode where Peach gave Home his heart was "Come Back Home"

Home came back after eating Peach's meal. Once Home ate the meal, Home took Peach's heart and returned to his body. Home now has Peach's heart.

Peach's heart is home (has returned). Peach's heart is home (the place). Peach's heart is Home (the person).

[nav-i-nav]

Actually, while we are at it, can we talk about how awful a lot of the fanbase treats Basil? My man can’t catch a break because almost everyone misinterprets him one way or another.

Where do I even start? Literally everything he does is taken the wrong way. There’s the people who characterize him as an obsessive yandere who only cares about Sunny and did everything in his power to isolate him. On the other hand, we have people who just remove one of the basic core aspects of him as a whole and make him an empty husk with no real personality.

Headacanon him however you want, but also try to understand him? I don’t know how people can say he only cares about Sunny when it’s clear he deeply appreciates his friends. He has a stronger bond with Sunny, but that doesn’t mean he’s a possessive and obsessed person who is toxic.

He definitely fucked up along the way, but his actions were never intended to hurt Sunny intentionally. He was in a panic and all he wanted was to keep his best friend safe. People constantly treat him as he’s a disgusting person for simple fact he shows mental illness signs, which is incredibly disheartening because there IS people in real life who act this way and can’t help it! What a relief it is to know people will treat me or my friends like this if we dare show an ounce of distress or panic!

Being mentally ill does not justify your actions, but this also doesn’t mean you are allowed to treat people who suffer from them like scum. People like Basil deserve to get help, to have people who support them so they can start healing. Basil clearly didn’t have that support, the only person that was there for him being his bedridden grandmother who he eventually lost.

And on the other hand, we have people who just choose to get rid of Basil’s personality altogether and characterise him as this character who is all suffering and trauma based off things that are NOT canon. It’s true that Basil’s life doesn’t exactly fit a “normal” childhood (having to live with his grandmother for unknown reasons) but that doesn’t immediately mean he is beyond traumatized? Basil is a little shy, sure, but a lot of people are. Basil used to be a smart and lively kid who loved his friends dearly. It wasn’t until AFTER the incident that he spiralled to the point he is where we see him in game.

People either disregard his trauma and paint him as a villain (let’s make one thing clear, there are NO villains in OMORI), or try to give him even more trauma for no apparent reason. All we know is that his parents aren’t really present in his life, and while that may bring some issues, from what we can see in cutscenes and the photo album, Basil lived a comfortable life surrounded by a loving family member and friends who cared about him.

You are free to explore Basil’s character however you like, but there’s a point where it no longer feels like Basil.

There is nothing wrong with showing his gentle side, just as how there’s nothing wrong to explore his unhealthy behaviour. But focusing on only one of the aspects of his entire self just turns him into a one-dimensional character with no redeemable qualities.

In my opinion, Basil is one of the best examples of a person struggling with mentally illness in media, yet people choose to ignore the complexity of his character to have either a selfish and dangerous yandere or a cute and shy femboy who’s only there to look pretty.

Write him like the mess he is. He is unstable. He is resentful, he is paranoid. That’s what makes Basil’s character so loved. That’s what makes him feel so relatable and human. Ignoring one side of his self takes away all of that. OMORI is a game about acceptance and forgiving. Why shouldn’t we apply those terms to their characters? It’s rather hypocritical for the fanbase to treat Sunny as a poor boy who only did what he did due to stress and trauma and then mark Basil as a psychopath with no redeemable features as if he wasn’t also a scared child who witnessed his very best friend push his sister down the stairs.

[epicspheal]

Bring the Storm! A Raihan Analysis

It’s 2019. Gamefreak and TPCi are expecting that their Pants with Directions Galar champion would be the favorite of the fans. And while Leon is certainly a favorite of Galar (even if a tad controversial)…a certain 8th gym leader became a runaway favorite.

Raihan!

Let’s talk about his name first! In Japanese, his name is Kibana which has “kiba” in it which means fang. Which checks out considering he is a dragon type specialist. However his Japanese name also references “kibanafuji” which is the common laburnum. In fact many of his name translations also reference the laburnum. So what is the laburnum? The common laburnum (also known as the golden chain) is a tree in the pea and legume family. The laburnum tree produces legumes that are toxic to some species like humans, goats and horses, but deer and hare can earth them just fine. This duality has given the laburnum magical properties in folklore. The symbolism is most closely related to “beauty” and being “forsaken” This dual nature that we see in Raihan’s main namesake flower I think really represents Raihan in relation to the Galar League and the fan culture surrounding it. He’s a very handsome man and very talented and many admire that of him. Yet we know his fans can be cruel to him online when he loses showing the toxic side of celebrity status. Also he himself has been frustrated with his losses in the past and perhaps parts of him worries about being forsaken by the league and the one he considers his greatest rival.

His English name Raihan comes from Arabic and means Basil. Basil comes from the Greek word basilikon phuton which means “kingly herb”. Very appropriate for someone whose gym is in an ancient castle and is strong enough to be a champion in another region, thus the king of the competitive battle circuit (not to mention his German/Spanish/French/Portuguese name is Roy which is literally “king”). In addition, the basil plant has a lot of symbolism regarding spiritual worship as it was used to help safeguard passage and warding off evil. Again given that Raihan’s gym is located in a castle, a symbol of protection across cultures this definitely shows that Raihan is meant to be seen as a protector

Now let’s take a look at his team. Raihan is unique in that his team switches up throughout the playthrough, something that’s typically only found in rival characters (yes gym leaders and elite four do add members for rematches but Raihan’s team goes through some more significant shake ups). However, since Raihan is the one true rival to Leon (before the player exists) and Leon is in many ways a stand-in for a protagonist it does make sense that his team switches up.

His first team is probably the team he is most famous for. A sandstorm weather team that has given birth to a number of his signature quotes. Despite being a dragon type leader, we see that Raihan does not restrict himself to just dragon type Pokemon. This isn’t exactly odd as Clair in gen 2 has non-dragon types (but draconic Pokemon) due to the limited number of dragon type Pokemon available (which of course is rectified in rematches in HGSS). However, Raihan is working with Galar dex, which though infamously limited, has a large selection of dragon types available. This once again reinforces the idea of him being a Rival to Leon’s Protagonist role as his team composition mimics Blue’s Viridian Gym Team in having a varied selection (with the key differences being Blue does not claim a type speciality, while Raihan is seen as a dragon type specialist).

We can see from his gym-team that it has a knack for dealing chip damage. Be it from the Sandstorm (which he can set up with Flygon or Sandaconda) and also Stealth Rock and Sand Tomb on his Gigalith. If he can get burn damage from Fire Fang on Sandaconda this also contributes to chip damage. His widespread use of chip damage shows Raihan as a person who doesn’t just like to rely on one path to victory and respects that the little things matter. 

He also enjoys using attacks that can paralyze (Thunder Fang, Glare), Burn (Fire Fang), Flinch (Crunch, Iron Head), further solidifying the fact that he employs multiple strategies in order to cinch victory. This also provides very needed type coverage allowing him to counter most strategies against him.

And of course we can’t forget the fact that his team is very doubles oriented, a rather unique style among gym leaders showing his willingness to stand out

Now let’s take a look at his team for the championship tournaments. Most notable he switches from his gym specialty of double battles to the single battle format for the tourneys. With this it changes the team composition a bit to include more weather options (sun and rain) which further exemplify his ability to have variety and be unpredictable.  He still maintains his ability to do chip damage and having a wide movepool for coverage but it's clear here his main goal is to throw the opponent off with using multiple weather formats.

Now let’s take a look at his league cards

"Raihan is commonly regarded as the most skilled Gym Leader in the Galar region. He has striven for victory in every environment, and as a result, he has adopted a battle style where he utilizes weather effects to their fullest. It is rumored that he could easily become another region's Champion should he choose to move, but it seems that to Raihan, defeating Leon is much more important. His uploaded selfies are quite popular. Occasionally he'll post a photo that only shows a sandstorm." - Normal League Card 

We can see with his normal league card the reason why his team line up is so varied with what it can do. He truly wants to be able to have a win condition no matter what. This shows him to be a very thoughtful and intelligent gym leader that has earned his spot as the strongest gym leader of Galar. Furthermore we get confirmation that he is champion level strength, which is a feat that only has been done with three other gym leaders in the past (Blue, Wallace and Iris). That being said you can tell he cares more about just the rank of champion since his goal is Leon. It would be expected that many people of his caliber who were stuck at the rank of eighth gym leader would move to an easier circuit to gain the title. But for him it matters not just that he becomes champion, but who he beats as champion. It shows Raihan to be very principled and not just seeking glory. 

"Raihan started taking selfies so as to never forget the pain of his defeats, but more recently he has been taking photos showing off his training routine, his fashion choices, and the like, causing some fans to leave harsh comments whenever he loses to Leon. It's true that Raihan is on a ten-nil losing streak against Leon, but no other Pokémon Trainer has managed to KO as many of Leon's Pokémon as Raihan has. Raihan no doubt looks forward to taking a selfie after finally defeating Leon." - Rare League Card

I wanted to talk about the selfies Raihan takes here. A lot of people in the fandom have reduced Raihan to just being a selfie hog which isn’t the case. Yes as we’ll see in future quotes he is just a tad vain (and this isn’t inherently bad because it’s not a flaw so big that it becomes a fatal flaw and in the end it makes him more human and thus more endearing), but in reality the selfies are meant to document his life and growth as a trainer. He started taking them so he could remember the moments where he lost, to remember the sting of failure and embarrassment so he can strive to do better. Rather than wallow in his losses and give up he chooses to use the negative feelings spawned in the moment as fuel forward. That’s extremely commendable. However we also see how the selfies ended up turning into a side hobby he can do outside of being on the gym circuit. This of course gives us insight on the rather cruel nature of the Galarian fan circuit because of the harsh comments he gets when he loses. 

Alright let's take a look at some of his quotes!

"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end—when I beat you here today!" - SwSh intro scene

Here we get our first glimpse of Raihan (and for many the start of their crushes on him). This is straightforward pre-game banter but it sets up the competition we see between him and Leon.

"Oh! If it isn't the Trainer endorsed by the Champion! Let's see... What was your name again? Ah, right! <player>!" - first encounter with Raihan

Here is our first chance as the player to meet Raihan and we get to see a third role Raihan plays…being the keeper of the Hammerlock Vault. In classic Pokemon “Rival can’t shut up about their rival” fashion his way of greeting the player is in relation to the fact that they are endorsed by Leon. In game he’s actually scrolling his phone to get your name which plays into the fact that he is a content creator therefore has to keep up with the buzz online

"Gaining a better understanding of Pokémon by studying history certainly isn't a bad idea." - at the Hammerlocke Vault

Even though we don’t get to see him involved much with the uncovering of Galar’s lore we can see he does indeed appreciate history. Even one of his TCG cards shows him with his Flygon pouring over plenty of books showing that he’s very well read and educated. He’s not just a meathead battler as some like to claim.

"The tapestries in the vault depict the heroes of the Galar region's past. I suppose if we've got any modern hero, it'd have to be our Champion, Leon." - Hammerlocke Vault

Raihan, stop bringing up Leon every 5 seconds challenge- impossible. Jokes aside, it’s really nice to see that even though Raihan really wants to bring Leon down, there’s still a level of mutual respect between them both (as also seen in Leon’s words). Raihan acknowledges a heroic quality to Leon.

"The Gym Challenge is meant to be, well... challenging, wouldn't you say? Naturally there aren't too many Gym Challengers who can make it this far. And that's why I provide a format where you can really show off the brilliant combinations you and your Pokémon should be capable of!"

I really like how Raihan wants to challenge those who manage to make it to him not by gym mazes but by being versatile enough to battle in multiple formats. I feel like realistically a good future champion should be competent in both double and single battles and it’s nice to see that acknowledgement here by Raihan who makes sure those who beat him can battle in a double format well.

“Come on, Sebastian! You'll be first! Time to face the second Trainer! Come on, Camilla! You've made it to the third and last Trainer! Your moment to shine, Aria! - During his gym challengeThis is a little bit that I just always love seeing whenever I do my playthroughs of Sword and Shield. It’s really nice that Raihan seems to be a bit closer to his gym trainers than most other leaders in the series as he calls them by name and gives them encouragement right before battle. He really puts the “leader” in the phrase gym leader as he’s not just lording over the gym as the strongest trainer, but that he cares about the personal growth of those who serve under him. As we’ve seen in later installments of the franchise, being an ideal champion is more than just being skilled at battle, but being a role model to others and setting a positive example of leadership. This to me above all shows Raihan’s potential as a future champion. He embodies the skill and ideals a champion is supposed to live up to

"And you aim to defeat Leon... Do you have any idea just how high a hurdle that is? As his greatest rival, I guess that I—Raihan—will have to show you! Gym Leader Raihan doesn't simply control the weather. He also seeks two-on-two battles! You must be prepared for any situation against a foe like him!" -pre gym battle quote

Bringing up Leon unprompted count: 3 Once again we really see how despite his desire for victory, he still holds Leon in high regard. But also circling back to his team composition and normal league card we once again see confirmation of his tactical mindset by not only being a double battler but using weather tactics as well.

After the player used Hail "Ho? Not bad—changing the weather to Hail like that!"

After the player uses Sunny Day: "Pulling out a Sunny Day! Hah! That's not a bad countermeasure!" - during battle if weather changesAnd here we get to see he holds respect for the player too when he compliments them using the weather to their own advantage. He really holds a chivalrous mindset which makes me question how in the world people got “feral” out of him. 

"I might have lost, but I still look good. Maybe I should snap a quick selfie...In the aftermath of the furious battle... I feel as pure and refreshed as when the sky clears after a storm. What can I possibly say? Calling myself Leon's rival? Seems I'd grown quite conceited for someone who can't even claim the title of Champion! Overconfident in both myself and my team!" - post loss

One thing I really appreciate about Raihan, is how human he feels with his flaws. He’s a little vain and at times a little conceited. But he acknowledges those flaws within him. It honestly makes him more endearing and real.

"There you are, Leon's little brother! Don't worry—I'll give you a battle that'll make you want to quit the Gym Challenge altogether!" - when Hop comes to challenge

As mentioned above when he meets the player, we see him once again relate the challengers, this time Hop, to Leon. I’ve been saying this since writing up Blue for gen 1, Pokemon is actually a masterclass in environmental storytelling. This quote really actually highlights Hop’s story in that he’s often not seen as his own person, but an accessory to Leon, something that changes over the story as he grows. And that even Raihan unintentionally plays into this by calling him “Leon’s little brother”

"I'm going to win my way through every round, then I'll be the one taking on Leon! If I don't, then I'll have failed to repay Duraludon and the rest of my team for all their hard work!" - in the locker room before the Champion’s CupJust like he holds Leon, his challengers, and his gym trainers in high regard, Raihan also has a lot of respect for his team of Pokemon that work so hard to bring him victory. It shows how good natured Raihan is.

"You're really something else, kid. You've made it all the way here! I guess that's why the Champion himself endorsed you, yeah? Leon's my rival—and he chose you. So I've got to first prove I'm better than you if I'm to beat him! I've reworked my whole team, and now we're all geared up for one-on-one battles!" - pre-match quoteHere we see a slightly more subdued version of Raihan compared to his gym pre-match quote. You can see he acknowledges the strength of the player. But also you can get a hint of self-doubt in this dialogue as perhaps he’s questioning his ability to call himself Leon’s rival (something he already did when the player beats him in Hammerlocke). He’s wondering how he can truly call himself a rival when he hasn’t claimed victory. Yet we know from previous dialogue with Leon that the champion does hold the dragon type gym leader in high regard and considers him a rival despite a 10-0 record. 

"My lovely Pokémon and I have become much stronger than we were before... But you just blew right past us! Beyond anything I'd imagined! I'm still pretty young myself, but it just goes to show that there's always someone younger coming up, reaching further than you ever dreamed... And you've got your whole future ahead of you! Keep up the momentum! Prove that Leon's not unbeatable!"

As much as people like to claim SwSh “doesn’t have a story” we can see one of the clear motifs in this line of dialogue about passing the torch to younger generations. We see Raihan can acknowledge that while he’s still young and has room to grow, those younger than him are still brimming with potential.

"The key thing is that no one's been harmed. We Gym Leaders worked together with the city's Pokémon, and we've got everyone evacuated." - Hammerlocke gym during the Darkest Day part 2

A long-standing criticism of the Pokemon games is “why aren’t the gym leaders helping out?” Well we can see here he and the rest of the Galar gym leader’s to help evacuate the citizens.

"Especially you, Piers! The way you battled me in the Champion Cup... You really had my Dynamax Pokémon up against the wall! [...] And Piers! You and I have got to battle again. This time, no Dynamaxing for either of us!" - post-game arc 

I really like this moment too. Even though we know Piers lost to Raihan in the champion cup, we can see that he still gave Raihan a run for his money and that Raihan acknowledges this. The writers could’ve easily had Raihan only focus rivalries on trainers who could beat him, but the fact that he now extends his rivalry to Piers shows just how much respect and humility he has as a person. Him finding other rivals besides Leon and the player is a really nice touch. Not to mention his willingness to battle Piers without Dynamaxing reinforces the fact that he wants to be able to achieve victory in many conditions.

"When it comes to putting dragon Pokémon to good use, I'm not picky about their types. There're Pokémon perfect for the job all over the place. Probably even in the tall grass over there."

I really liked this quote as it gives a bit of an explanation as to why you see a rather diverse set of Pokemon on his team. His priority is about making the best use of his dragon types and non-dragon types that can support them are good teammates

"We're the strongest team around!" - To Raihan with Blue on Team-up I had to put this on here because as many have mentioned there are a lot of parallels between the Red-Blue rivalry and the Leon-Raihan rivalry. So seeing that Raihan has special dialogue with Blue outside of the usual suspects (Piers, Leon, Lance) was nice to see an official acknowledgement of the parallels between the two characters. 

"I let my guard down 'cause she's just a kid... This isn't looking good! [...]Ah, you probably did. Sorry we didn't pick up on it, Poppy!"

I really enjoyed Poppy's debut and Raihan’s involvement. Sure he lost to show off how strong Poppy is, but you can see that it was mainly due to him not taking Poppy as seriously due to having preconceived notions of who she was supposed to be. It’s really refreshing to see such a powerful trainer like Raihan have moments of letting his guard down and underestimating his opponents

"If I can learn to make proper use of Duraludon's abilities on uneven terrain while a sea breeze is blowing, I'll be unstoppable! You've got to help your partner overcome its weaknesses while working on its strengths. That'll give you more options in battle, you know? [...]To tell you the truth, I once lost a battle to an opponent who had a terrain advantage[…]That was a really painful defeat. But I don't want to make the environment an excuse for any battle I lose."

And here we get some insight into Raihan’s mindset. He wants more options to cover weaknesses while also enhancing strengths. Which as we saw in the team analysis, his teams have a lot of options to deal with various opponents

"After all, Flygon was the reason I adopted a battle style where we utilize weather effects to their fullest! [...]I was looking for a way to win in any environment and was thinking of utilizing these weather effects, right?"And more insight here, with us now knowing it was Flygon where he started his use of weather moves on his team.

"At the time, I was only thinking about becoming the Champion. Nessa and Sonia were also competing with us, and they also only thought of becoming Champion. But Leon was different. He had a clear vision of what he wanted to do after winning. That's why he could beat the previous Champion. Well, now I have a vision of the future–and the others do, too."

I really appreciate the quote here from Raihan’s lodge story as we get some more insight about the gym challenge he went on with Nessa, Sonia and Leon. Leon was the only one of the four that had a clear thought about the “what comes next” after being champion whereas everyone else stopped just at becoming champion. Raihan realized that in order to be a champion he needed to think beyond just winning the title but how he wanted to keep growing after. This gives callbacks to how Alder confronts Cheren in Black and White, and how Blue lost his title so quickly. There’s more to being champion than just winning the title itself. I really appreciated this self reflection and from Raihan showing how introspective he is.

All in all Raihan is just truly a fun character and it’s easy to see how he ended up being the runaway favorite of the Galarian Cast. I’d love to see more of him in Pokemon Masters EX (Sygna Suit Raihan when?) where we can see even more interactions with him among trainers from all regions.

[oyasumicloseyoureyes]

I hate it when the Omori fandom shames people who ship Sunnflower because they think it's "trauma bonding", "manipulative" and "abusive", which is simply not true.

Basil isn't "obsessed" with Sunny as people claim, just because a person idolizes someone doesn't mean they're some crazy yandere. He saw one of his closest friends dying in front of his eyes, which left him traumatized, causing all the delusions and the denial. All of the stuff he did (like hanging Mari or "saving" Sunny from Something), he did with good intentions, even if he did end up making things worse. That's his character flaw and it makes him human. He tried his best to protect his friend, and people who say he's toxic or manipulative are just media illiterate.

And the fact that people think that Sunny legitimately hates Basil is so bizarre to me, the game has shown so many times how important Basil is to him. How Sunny dives into the lake, literally risking his own life to save him despite having aquaphobia, or how he wants to find and save Basil in Headspace despite the fact that Basil ruins everything by reminding Sunny of the truth, and it would be easier to forget about Basil altogether, like he did with Abbi, but Sunny doesn't do it because he can't see his dream world without Basil, are all examples of that. He even dreams of hugging him right after Basil stabbed him in the eye, for God's sake.

There are only two moments in the game when the player might think that Sunny dislikes Basil. The first one is when Omori kills Basil in Black Space, but that only happens because Omori wants to protect Sunny from the truth, not because Sunny hates him. The second moment is when Sunny leaves Basil in the bathroom. Again, he does it not because he hates him, but because he's afraid, Basil literally says himself:

"Sunny...W-Why...Why do you look so scared?"

Not angry or disgusted, but scared. Sunny was afraid and it made him leave. And that's Sunny's character flaw, he's afraid to face problems so he runs away from them, hurting people in the process. He didn't abandon his best friend for 4 years on purpose. Only in the final fight with Basil he found the courage to face his fears and stay to save him. Saving Basil is mandatory and without doing it you can't have the good ending and Sunny can't have a healthy, happy life. His healing is tied to Basil and people tend to ignore that.

Omori literally shows that these two care about each other more than anything. And yes, realistically their relationship would be unhealthy at first, but so would every other relationship in the main group, they all have problems that they need to work on, that's why therapy exist. So It's really hypocritical to hate on Sunnflower for being toxic and then ship the other characters.

On that note, If you think people with trauma can't form healthy relationships, don't deserve to be happy and won't ever get better - you're completely wrong.

The whole Sunnflower discourse proves people only see trauma victims through that lens, and completely disregard their previous relationships and characteristics.

Sunny and Basil's struggles make them feel real. Their trauma doesn't have to define them. They can grow and heal and be happy again and if you think otherwise then you completely missed the point of Omori.

[woodchipp]

OMORI and Detroit: Become Human's Plot Twists - How A Bad Plot Twist Ruins The Story Instead Of Enhancing It

In the 2020 game OMORI, the story's plot twist is that the main protagonist's sister, Mari, didn't kill herself as the player was led to believe - instead, the main protagonist himself accidentally killed her in a fit of rage after an argument they had and his best friend subsequently covered that up by staging it as a suicide.

In the 2018 game Detroit: Become Human, the plot twist of Kara’s story is that Alice, the seemingly human child Kara took care of after the two broke free of Alice’s abusive father, was actually an android all along. 

What do they have in common? The answer’s simple - not only are they emblematic of their respective games’ shoddy writing, they detract from the story they’re supposed to elevate.

First things first - both twists don’t make sense upon scrutiny. OMORI’s plot twist in particular hinges on a huge contrivance - the fact Basil just so happened to be present in Sunny’s house (for reasons the game leaves unexplained) at exactly the right time to witness Sunny committing manslaughter and come up with a plan to absolve him of any blame. Furthermore, the twist’s insinuation that Mari overworked Sunny and didn’t tolerate his mistakes comes out of left field, as Mari was consistently portrayed as kind and flawless (both in Sunny’s dreams and in the real world via the photo album)  throughout the game up until that point.

Alice’s twist only works because the story lies to the player: Kara finds a magazine with a picture of Alice’s model at the beginning of the game, but it’s conveniently blurred. While there are some hints that Alice is an android, such as the fact that she refuses to eat even when food is presented to her, this clashes with one of the main levels of Kara’s story, which has her looking for food and shelter for Alice’s sake. This implies that Kara deliberately ignored Alice’s true nature, for reasons that will be elaborated on later.

Alice’s twist, however, does have some solid hints at the very least. That brings me to a problem exclusive to OMORI’s twist - the game spends most of its runtime hinting at the red herring of Mari having hanged herself as opposed to the twist of her having been shoved down the stairs. The only tangible clues to the twist are the prevalence of staircases in the brief cutscenes before Sunny fights his fears and the hands motif, but they are not enough. If the point of the reveal is that Mari didn’t kill herself, what’s the point in hinting she did?

Secondly, the twists’ linchpin characters are flat in terms of personality. Alice is the quintessential “little girl” in videogames: cute, small, withdrawn, barely cries (she doesn’t even go into hysterics at a concentration camp), constantly needs to be cared for and protected, at most steers you in the right moral direction if you do something “problematic”, even if for her sake. This, allegedly, is supposed to stem from her background, as she was abused by her father, but even the android that Kara spots and that makes her confront the truth has the same quiet, demure, sad demeanor, implying that it’s simply how Alice’s model is programmed to be. Alice is not a character: she is a pet you are supposed to find adorable. The twist that she was never a “real” human, therefore, falls flat on its face: she doesn’t prove anything about the depth of emotions androids can experience. For all intents and purposes, she is the doll racist humans see androids as.

Aside from a brief interaction with Hero in the first several minutes of the game (which is promptly forgotten as soon as it ends), Mari spends most of its runtime only as fuel for Sunny and his friends’ grief. She is given no personality beyond being the Team Mom, isn’t fleshed out in any objective flashbacks (as in, flashbacks not colored by Sunny’s perception of her), and if the vision Sunny experiences on Two Days Left is her ghost, she isn’t plussed in the slightest by her dear little brother profaning her memory by deciding to keep up Basil’s lie. The one flaw the game tries to give her - perfectionism - has no bearing on her character until the moment the game uses it to give Sunny a reason to lash out at her, and the negative impact said flaw had on her life before the argument is glossed over. OMORI’s point that her desire to be perfect was the reason for her downfall, therefore, falls flat on its face: for all intents and purposes, Mari is perfect. 

Finally, both twists are detrimental to the stories they are in.  Supposedly, the twist of android Alice is meant to make you question whether or not you, the player, are going to love her all the same even after learning that she’s not human (although the question should be moot since all three protagonists are androids and the most popular one in the fandom is the most machine-like one). What the game fails to answer, however, is why Kara refused to accept reality and deluded herself into thinking Alice was human to the point of endangering both of them for the sake of playing pretend (this, on top of everything else, makes replaying the game much more frustrating, as you no longer care to give Alice proper shelter as she doesn’t really need it). The implication is that she, herself, believes an android child is inherently less deserving of love as a human one, an interesting concept of internalized bigotry that is never explored. Even worse than this, what before could be seen as a touching relationship between an android and a human, who despite the hatred surrounding them can form a family out of natural love, is now nothing more than two androids following their programming: Kara keeps being a caretaker as she’s supposed to do, and Alice keeps being the perfect little child as she’s supposed to be. While they both rebelled against their abusive master, it means that, at their core, they didn’t even deviate in the first place, and instead forced themselves back into their pre-programmed roles. This is the complete antithesis of the message of the game, which is that androids are more than their programming and they are, instead, people.

Similarly, OMORI’s plot twist turns what could’ve been an interesting story about such topics as teenage suicide and suicide bereavement into a farce. It’s one thing to play this game under the impression Sunny and co. are struggling to live a life their beloved sister and friend unexpectedly removed herself from, but it’s very different to replay it with the knowledge that all the pain Kel, Hero and Aubrey went through was pointless since Mari never killed herself in the first place and stemmed from one of their friends desecrating her corpse. Without warning, the story turns from being about overcoming the grief of losing a loved one to suicide into being about grappling with the guilt of a manslaughter and a huge lie that destroyed multiple friendships - a lie Sunny directly facilitated by lying to his friends by omission to save his own skin. The only character in the game to call Sunny out on this is his suicidal depression (!!!), and its arguments are framed as irrational self-loathing so they’d be easier to dismiss; the game’s best ending, meanwhile, has him conveniently avoid the consequences of his confession by moving town, not caring anymore about the feelings of his friends (or the well-being of Basil, whom he leaves to bear the brunt of the consequences). None of this would’ve been a problem if the game simply focused on Sunny moving on from blaming himself for his sister’s suicide instead.

So, this brings me back to the post's title - not only should a good plot twist be properly foreshadowed, but it should enhance the plot when experienced multiple times. The twists in OMORI and DBH fail to do so, and create the impression they were haphazardly inserted into the plot for the sake of subverting the audience's expectations, with little thought given to how they retroactively affect said plot.

Unfortunately, the only expectation they manage to subvert is the expectation of a completent story.

[fermiomoriblog]

The pitfalls of every Sunny ship

Diving straight into the hot coals with the first post. But it has been on my mind lately.

The setup in Omori is naturally quite mentally (and in some cases physically) taxing on every main cast character, and a shipper can very easily be overenthusiastic about getting a "happy ending" for their preferred pair, glossing over inconvenient problems and dynamics. I think that it really is rather contrary to the game's themes that this occurs, but it is also understandable that not everybody does a full psychoanalysis of every plot point in their story. I'll list some "common" problems I've personally encountered with people making content about sunburn, suntan and sunflower. I'm more familiar with the dynamics common on ao3 than elsewhere, so if you have any other observations or things to add, please feel free to do so.

# OMORI SPOILERS BELOW #

Sunburn

The "canon" ship. The fact that the ship is explicitly mentioned in game means that the ship is viewed as the "default", and it can lead to some lazy dynamics or lack of justification. You have to remember that no matter what headspace says (and headspace says a lot of things that aren't true), the first thing Sunny and Aubrey did after four years is beat the shit out of each other. Sunny knows nothing about the Hooligans, even though we do, and Aubrey thinks Sunny abandoned her (which is a feeling unlikely to abate after the truth). There needs to be basis for the ship as well - they aren't going to just pick up where they left off (presuming they had anything to leave off in the first place) right away. Which leads us to the first common problem:

Basing the relationship entirely on the past

This is the default reaction and requires the least writing creativity, so it is not surprising that it is common. Simply porting the HS dynamic or the swing scene to the future and copy-pasting is fun and cute and all, but it ignores the fact that both Sunny and Aubrey have changed massively. There's a lot of guilt that is going around, both with Sunny for obvious reasons and Aubrey for pushing Basil in the lake, and Aubrey has a bunch of new, closer friends whom depending on your interpretation are either theatre kids or delinquents. This is not really just going to get talked away on the swing set - they involve third parties.

I would venture to argue that this is actually a very problematic pitfall, despite it being generally not a very serious transgression in real life. Omori, as a game, is about moving on from the past. If you write a fic where the characters forget about bad things in the past but hang on like hell to the good things... that's Headspace. You've just put Sunny in a new Headspace.

Getting Basil out of the way

Even among sunburn/suntan shippers, it is pretty generally accepted that Basil was somewhat attached to Sunny even before the accident. So if you don't want to do sunflower, how do you deal with that?

You can write angst, where Aubrey and Basil end up fighting over Sunny. Weirdly, I've never seen this actually happen (probably because it's too heartbreaking). You can have Basil go to therapy, and get rid of an unhealthy attachment. You can also go the seriously angsty route of Basil hating Sunny for abandonment, Sunny hating Basil for his role in the incident, or a less intense version which just puts a barrier between the two. You can also have Sunny reject Basil. Or you can argue that the attachment was platonic, which is entirely fair.

What you cannot do is have Basil be romantically interested in Sunny, but "get out of the way" for Aubrey "so that Sunny can be happy". Or, well, you can do that, but you can't frame it as anything but serious angst from Basil's POV.

Unfortunately, many, many "pure fluff" Sunburn fics do this, because "pure fluff" fics don't want to untangle the whole thing as most methods involve some degree of emotional turnmoil. This is no ordinary infautation - Basil has waited for Sunny for four years. Nursing unrequited love like that is really, really painful. It is certainly not something that someone with Basil's character and history can do with a smile on their face. If you need any further convincing, I point you to Note to Self: Don't Be Gay in Faraway Town by witheredahlia.

A version of this which I think is a lesser sin (because it is at least framed with some nuance), but a sin regardless, is Aubrey getting annoyed at Basil for "stealing" Sunny's attention from her. This gets dangerously close to the reddit comments you see about "the friend group will be better off if Basil never joined".

Suntan

Despite sunburn being the "canon" and sunflower being the natural alternative, I actually think that this is the default. After all, Kel was the one to bring Sunny out, generally saving his life, and is his first friend, etc. Kel is also a clean slate character, with nothing anyone can particularly hold against them, and as a result suntan is the "healthiest", "least questionable" ship. This commits the customary mistake of believing Kel's parents when they say "eh, it's Kel, he'll be fine".

"Kel's fine"

No, he's not. He's spent the better part of four years trying to forget the happiest times of his childhood, and has been going around doing nothing but fixing and saving other people, putting others' needs far above his own, for the entirety of pre-canon and foreseeably for a good part of post canon as well. Suntan, especially with Sunny still in a vulnerable state post-canon, can very easily be written into Kel being Sunny's unpaid, untrained therapist, and his mood/health being Kel's only/majority source of validation. Kel's self-worth independent of his friends needs addressing and development, and without a lot of development, Sunny alone is not really equipped to provide that.

In all fairness, while I would be somewhat confident in saying that the majority of canon-compliant sunburn fics run into the problems above, suntan fics do usually handle it better. That might just be because there aren't that many suntan fics though.

Sunflower

It goes without saying that sunflower has the highest potential to be unhealthy. But precisely because of that fact, people writing sunflower are usually very careful to address it. Either the fic is written as a work exploring codependency/attachment/trauma/other general unhealthiness (which you can make your own judgement on whether it's a legitimate art form or problematic), or there is at minimum an attempt at pacing, therapy and general juggling of the various mental issues the game leaves Sunny and Basil with (for a shining example, see These Days Without You by Smitty1899, my go to answer for when anyone says "but sunflower toxic!!1!").

The issues that can make sunflower unhealthy and problematic are generally pretty obvious - shared crime, codependency and attachment, commitment and abandonment issues, and the whole "getting together before their friends forgive them" thing (which can still be done well, but from the POV of especially Hero can be kind of eh, and unlikely to be conducive to a healthy relationship given that it kind of depends on their friends' pending "approval".) As a result, there aren't a lot of works that don't address them in one manner or another. However, I do think there is one major pitfall that some fics fall into in the other direction:

Having everything in the relationship be dependent on someone else's approval.

In an attempt to make sunflower as healthy as possible, some authors make it so that Sunny and Basil effectively never make decisions on their own. There's always a third party present to psychoanalyse them, tell them what's fine and what's not, etc. and every step they make in their relationship is with the express blessing, support and help of the rest of their friends. The problem is, that's not healthy either.

I feel that the value of sunflower is greatest in the context of the themes of the game of moving on and forgiveness. Making it so that Sunny and Basil hang on to their guilt forever and robbing them of any "right" to decide for themselves what makes them happy is very much contrary to that - they're on crutches for the rest of their lives, and the point of the good ending is the hope that they won't need to be. It also is just not a good thing for any third party to intervene so extensively in a relationship.

Conclusion

Omori is emotionally deep, with many, many themes to explore. Ships in Omori have unique meanings and themes, which in a canon compliant context is quite hard to simply wipe away. Rushing into a ship with insufficient pacing and development, which works in "cute" fandoms, generally leaves lots of outstanding holes in Omori.

This post doesn't necessarily mean that I think less of any particular ship mentioned - to reiterate, every ship has unique meanings and themes which is interesting to explore and form a part of the message of the game. It is however true that some pitfalls in some ships are easier to fall in, and overlooked, than others, and the obvious problems get a lot more bashing than the non-obvious ones. (Yes, sunflower bias. Sue me.)

And of course, in a plotless or AU context, cute art is cute art.

[melodygatesauthor]

So you know how you did that lactation kink with Steven? Can we have one for Basil

NONNIE CAN YOU HAVE…

Yes…yes you can (below the cut)

NSFW, forced pregnancy, lactation kink

Basil, much as we love him, would do anything to make sure you can’t leave him. He already doesn’t think he’s good enough for you, you deserve to be with someone who doesn’t have a monstrous face - his words not yours - , and he’ll go to toxic lengths to trap you.

This includes, but is not limited to…

Poking holes in the condoms you insisted he wear since your first time together.

Being nice enough to hand you your birth control pill instead of you going and getting it from the bathroom on your own. (It’s a placebo).

Being overly possessive and begging you to keep the baby when you discover you somehow got pregnant despite all the measures you were taking to prevent it.

Basil isn’t shy about his excitement toward your leaking, milky tits. They’re practically falling out of your shirt, taunting him with every step you take, bouncing slightly. The moment he notices the dark spots from the spillage through your clothes, he’s feral.

Your breasts are already a point of comfort for him, making him feel safe and warm, so when they’re filled with a delicious, sweet liquid…he just can’t get enough.

He’s constantly on them whenever the opportunity arises, but he especially loves when it’s at night, you’re sleepy and pliant for him, and he’s tugging your shorts aside desperately. Basil’s always been needy, whimpering while he ruts against your clothed ass, thigh, or whatever he can rub his cock against. He’s not picky.

But now it’s different. Now he’s biting at your shirts, making little holes in them so they’re easier to tear while he whines pathetically. He’s pulling your tits out and squeezing them until you cry just so he can drink every last drop you have.

He’s apologizing because he knows it hurts but he can’t stop. He’s crying too because he kinda feels bad, but you taste so good it’s infuriating.

You need to stop crying because it’s pissing him off.

He puts a hand over your mouth to shut you up while he keeps fucking you and sucking your engorged breasts until they’re empty. He knows he’s an asshole, in fact, he murmurs this several times over your nipple, but he can’t help himself. It just feels too good to stop. If you love him then you should know that, and you should know why he needs this.

Maybe you don’t love him.

You tell him you do, but you’re probably making it up. He knew it was too good to be true. His teeth graze your nipple, forcing you to cry out. His thrusts get more forceful, more possessive. Why do you toy with his emotions like this? Why would you let him fuck a baby into your belly if you hated him so much.

Your hand in his hair grounds him almost immediately. A small gesture, but to him you’re saying “it’s alright, take what you need, I’m all yours.”

When Basil finishes, his hips churn lazily against you, as if he’s savoring the moment, feeling the way your walls contract over every inch of him. You’re so wet, so full of his cum again. It’s his favorite look on you, fucked out and leaking everywhere.

“Are you okay baby?”

He can only nod, looking up at you with a milk-drunk stare. You kiss his forehead before he collapses contentedly on your chest. You wipe the drool and milky remnants from his lips.

“Good boy.”

Basil Stitt Blurbs

Main Masterlist

[hugemilkshake]

https://www.tumblr.com/hugemilkshake/764816678039240704/day-2-of-oc-kissing-may-i-give-rex-cookie-some

That’s great, I’ve actually been thinking about the same thing as I go along with this! I’m really curious as to how your ocs would even react to receiving the kisses themselves!

Well here you go for that! (I’m not drawing their reactions-)

How my OCs would react to being kissed!

Starfruit Milkshake only wants kisses from Snake Tooth

Snake Tooth only wants kisses from Starfruit Milkshake

Bubbly Milkshake would cover her face since she would be blushing a lot

Burnt Caramel would probably purify himself but then give you a pat on the head

Rex Cookie would say thanks and not act like she’s happy but her tail would be wagging so she kinda gives herself away

Sugary Jello will be giggling a lot and asking how did she taste. Don’t worry she’s a bit of a freak at times

Cinnamon Spider is grinning like a idiot and will probably ignore any illegal stuff you do for a bit

Red Fruit will act confident but will internally be questing if your the one and wether or not he should introduce you to his grandma

Blackberry Shade is chuckling and then peppering your face with kisses, she has to one up you.

Powdered Basil is softy smiling and giving you a kiss in return… you don’t know how much that means to him

Simmering Onion won’t notice you kissed him until a few minutes later, after that he’ll be real embarrassed

Grilled Tomato is smiling and giving you a big old hug, you probably both fall after she tried to lift you up

Scorched Garlic will smile but kindly ask you to not do that again, not because it makes him uncomfortable but because he doesn’t feel like he deserves it…

Bubbling Oil smiles at you and will ask if she can kiss you back, if you say yes then she will kiss you back, leaving you with a warm and joyful feeling

Adele Penguin doesn’t like kisses but hugs are always appreciated since they’re are super cuddly!

Wild Basil is tricky, I mean if you kissed him I think he would be shocked and either A- keep you around at all times or B (and what most likely will happen) he will shove you away and run off.

Barbecue "Dragon" will try to not show he’s blushing by acting high and mighty and that he let you kiss him

Gran-Berry she will only accept either forehead or cheek kisses due to her age but she will be very happy

Minty Snail is stuttering a lot but will ultimately hug you

Dark Apple he will punch you if you kissed him. No kisses for him. But maybe a fist bump or a side hug will work

Tabby Cat gets no kisses, but they will sleep on your lap, not as a sign of affection but because they are very eppy

Pink Mantis will be giggling and writing you lots of love letters

Blushing Snail won’t accept kisses, they will basically shrink down into their cloak if you do

Emperor Caterpillar will give you a lazy grin and offer a date to you

Peach Novius will try to complement you but will be stuttering to much

Leaf Sheep Slug would be blushing if he didn’t have to worry about a crazy ex, so instead of being all giddy he’s going to probably protect you from Blazing Spice

Adenosine Cookie is certainly interesting. The fact you got close to them is crazy in the first place, and since their face is hidden it would be in their hand that got kisses, which is more impressive so honestly you’d probably get a compliment before they leave, they are the type to commit to stuff

Water Cookie is a minor so no kisses, but a hug would be good

Salt Water is a minor so no kisses but a high five will do

Sugar Water is a minor so no kisses and nothing else.

Snake Skin will chuckle and give you some stollen money after he quickly flirts with you

Weeping Begonia will flirt with you while sneakily stealing stuff from you. Him giving it back or not is the true question

Purple Mold will be a little confused but will ultimately be super chill with it

White Flower won’t have much of a reaction but hopefully you didn’t kiss her on the lips, she has a parasite that wouldn’t mind switching bodies

Blazing Spice would be flattered that you’d kiss him but unfortunately his heart belongs to another… which might be a good thing for you since he’s a bit crazy

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

QUALIFYING ROUND: 113th Tilt

Hugh Beringar, Cadfael (1994-1998) VS. Prince John, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Propaganda

Hugh Beringar, Cadfael (1994-1998) Portrayed by: Sean Pertwee

“The One True Hugh! He deserves much support. I love Sean Pertwee's portrayal of the saturnine, intelligent Hugh, and the way he captures the character's warmth and humor and the frequency with which he is just Done. Also those cheekbones could cut glass, good LORD.”

Prince John, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Portrayed by: Claude Rains

“He is extremely handsome and extremely suave and absolutely unprincipled. He's also very relaxed about it, which is sexy. His underlings are uptight; he's just having a great time being the smartest person in the room and using this power to Scheme™. His reaction to being publicly confronted by Robin Hood is to look him up and down (Errol Flynn in tights, so, fair) and say: "You're a saucy fellow. Robin, I like you!" Then he invites him to dinner. This is a BENCHMARK performance for insouciant, ruthless, well-dressed villainy, is what I'm saying. Claude Rains floated suavely so later generations of villains could walk, or something. TL;DR: I believe what the youths call it these days is serving cunt.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Hugh Beringar:

“Idk what Sean Pertwee had going on in 1994, but whatever it was, I am HERE for it. The way he turns the keen gaze of those piercing blue eyes on you, and stands there, arms folded, back arched, intimidating yet approachable. Mmm! What crimes must a girl commit to get My Lord the Sheriff’s Deputy to give her the third degree? He’s not only stern and intelligent but he’s also so noble, and chivalrous, and he got his position by killing his predecessor in trial by single combat as the only way to settle a charge of murder and also preserve the dignity of his lady love. He’s a KEEPER.”

[Photoset]

For Prince John:

“My favorite fact about this character is that Claude Rains saw this wig and immediately said I will play him as a gay man. I still wonder if Prince John wants to fuck Gisbourne or if he wants to fuck Robin. Or maybe both? Anyway he has great scenes with Basil Rathbone. Rody McDowall was sure Rains based his interpretation of Prince John on Bette Davies, and he didn't say no. Also please... 🥺 My tiny king Claude Rains never get to go to the second round of any poll ever. Please let him win a poll for once in his life 🥺 Prince John is such a fun villain he deserves it”

Look at him enjoying himself so much! Isn't he a perfect little bastard? <3

[Gifset]

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Thinking about how Hero and Kel are both very selfless people but in different ways that really boil down to the fact that Kel is willing to set boundaries that Hero isn't. While they would both do just about anything for their loved ones, Hero is basically "The Giving Tree"—willing to be completely destroyed in a sort of silent martyrdom without setting any boundaries because he's too conflict-avoidant and lacks a certain sense of self-preservation that his brother has. Whereas Kel is selfless, but he isn't a doormat. He doesn't struggle nearly as much to say "no" when he needs to and can prioritize his own needs and self-care when appropriate and necessary (perhaps precisely because Hero was there constantly putting Kel's needs first for most of their lives).

Ultimately, at least on some level, Kel feels his needs matter and that he matters enough to set boundaries, even when he is taking care of other people; however, no matter the situation, Hero will always consider himself last and has trouble believing he has the right to ever put himself and his own feelings and self-care first.

More ramblings under the cut (Warnings: OMORI spoilers and heavy subject matter. Mentions death, grief, trauma, and depression).

This is really showcased in their reactions after Mari's death. Kel eventually reaches this point where he decides that he can't sit in that hurt anymore and needs to carry on living even if he is heartbroken. Despite how much he wants to keep everyone together, Kel starts to worry that all of his attempts to help are just making everything worse, and because he has this sense of self-preservation, he distances himself to protect not only his loved ones who he feels might be better off without him (even though that isn't true) but also to take care of himself and to distance himself from these feelings of failure and of being too weak and too helpless to care for his suffering friends, especially his brother. He does feel guilty about that, but ultimately, he makes the best decision that he can at the time. He never gives up on his friends and on the hope that they'll eventually be reunited (he keeps knocking on Sunny's door even after all these years, after all), and he hopes that taking care of himself and carrying on with his life will give him the strength to be there for his loved ones if/when the time comes that they need him.

Hero, on the other hand, never processes his own feelings, and his trauma and related feelings of guilt cause him to believe that he doesn't have the right to care for himself (even though that couldn't be farther from the truth). He sort of implodes after losing Mari—curling in on himself and spiraling into a deep depression, wallowing in his grief in a way that is all-consuming but understandable. He comes out of that not because he has reached a sense of closure and peace, but because he feels guilty—feels he has burdened and hurt the people closest to him with his problems. He begins to feel that putting himself first and getting the help he needs would be selfish, so he pushes his issues aside and tries to ignore them as if they will eventually just go away, which they don't.

After a year of spiraling in his own grief and misery, he swings to the completely opposite direction: living a listless life of "fake happiness" and pretending that everything is okay when it isn't. He blames himself for Mari's death and for Kel, Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey's suffering and feels like he should have been stronger and taken better care of them, but he also feels his hands are tied and there's nothing he can do. He wants to help, but he doesn't want to cross his loved ones' boundaries, pry into their business, or create conflict so he often chooses inaction and to give his friends space. Meanwhile, his own feelings of grief and guilt are, at times, too overwhelming for him to bear. He has been so beaten down by the trauma of the situation that he feels his own pain, suffering, and needs don't matter, and he can only derive a sense of self-worth from being useful and helpful to others. Caught between a desperate desire to be needed and a crippling fear of conflict, Hero never sets boundaries and feels his only chance at surviving this new life is to shove his own feelings away and take care of everyone else around him, without any consideration to how he may be hurting himself.

Hero and Kel are both incredibly kindhearted and altruistic people, but Hero's manner of “selflessness” can be unhealthy and, ultimately, harmful to him if it leads him to neglect himself and his own basic needs. The truth is he really can’t take care of anyone if he doesn’t take care of himself first. Kel understands this, but Hero does not.

[essayist-unexpectedly]

And Hear Me Out, He Was A Child: In the Defence of Basil

Basil from the video game OMORI can be a controversial character. While some players love him for his design or personality or the complex way he was crafted, others will attack and hate on him with a less nuanced view of his character. Now, it’s completely valid to dislike a character for many reasons, be it disliking their design, their hobbies, or almost anything else. The only real exception to hating a character is when one decides to hate on them for their actions without actually keeping their canon personality in mind. This is what happens with Basil, as people will claim that he is cold hearted and evil, ignoring his true motivations on the day of Mari’s death, and the fact that the opposite is true. 

When it comes to the arguments of why people hate Basil, there are a few big ones that are just easy to disprove. One of the big mischaracterizations with Basil is that he is cruel and cold-hearted, a person who could act callously as easily as he breathed. Another argument is that Basil was completely aware of what he was doing while he hung Mari’s body, calculated in his actions. When it comes down to it, all of the arguments against Basil typically portray a very different one than is shown in the game.

First thing is that Basil was someone who deeply cared for his friends. It is seen in Headspace as well as Basil’s photo album that he was a kind soul, one who wanted to keep his friends close to his heart for as long as he could. He cares deeply for them and he thinks of the group as those who are most precious to him. Not only did he care for his friends, but Basil also attempted to be like Mari, the one who people felt safe with, who was optimistic, and was always there for everyone. Basil wanted to be someone who was optimistic and kind, as is revealed when he talks about the sunflowers he grows in Headspace - all of which was memorised by Sunny from Real World Basil’s own flower talks. If he were truly cruel and cold-hearted, then none of these traits would have existed as persistently as they did within Basil. While yes, some people are able to hide darker traits behind facades of kindness, there is an innocent sincerity that Basil is portrayed as having within the game.

The next point is that it seems really unlikely that Basil was fully there mentally when he hung Mari’s body. While Sunny was the one who the players can tell more obviously goes into shock due to his denial of Mari’s death altogether, it can be inferred that Basil also wasn’t fully mentally there either. Not only is there no real reason to assume Basil was fully stable during the time after the accident, but the photos that show the death of Mari are seen in Basil’s perspective, and they don’t seem like that of someone mentally well. The photographs that show Mari’s death and the cover up of her murder are somehow in Basil’s view, and unlike any other photos from Basil, seem to truly reflect the negativity in his mentality. The photos are grey and shaky, only showing glimpses of the scene. This could be a hint towards Basil being out of it, not processing things properly because of his fear of what he just witnessed. Really, anyone would be shaken up from witnessing their best friend accidentally kill his older sister, who was basically the sister to the entire group. These photographic memories serve as evidence to Basil being not fully aware of what he was thinking or doing when he hung Mari’s body.

Another thing that seems to be ignored is Basil’s motivation. Unlike how some people want to claim, Basil was not completely selfishly motivated, rather he was more so motivated by fear and panic for Sunny. Basil had no way of knowing what would happen to Sunny should he have been the one to take the blame for Mari’s death. He could likely only jump to the conclusion that it would end up extremely badly for the younger boy - be it because he would become a hated outcast, or he was sent away - likely to juvie or somewhere else. Really, it seemed that Basil wasn’t sure what would happen to Sunny, and therefore wanted to protect the other boy from anything terrible that would happen to him. Instead of some sort of twisted cruelty being the reason for Basil to have hung Mari, one should again remember that Basil was not only deeply caring, but also extremely loyal to Sunny, who he was the closest to at the time of the accident. Basil’s true motivation was the desire to protect Sunny, an ideal that is both selfish and full of love and loyalty to the younger boy.

The final piece of Basil that appears to be ignored by those who don’t try to see nuance in his character is his age. While not always a factor in characters, age should be taken into account for Basil. Yes, some people are able to put up kind and loving facades to manipulate those around them, even at a young age, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Basil. If it was, then what would the end goal have been? Typically, there is a goal in manipulators and Basil seems too genuine for that to be his case. This means that his age is a contributing factor to how he acted that day. Rather than being an adult or even an older teen who should be able to deal with a situation such as the one he found himself in, Basil was 12 years old when he witnessed Mari’s death. Nobody should ever witness or go through something like Mari’s death, it’s incredibly traumatic for everyone involved, but imagine it from the perspective of someone so young. Basil was a child, a 12 year old, who should not have had to handle something so serious, making it no surprise that he would react in a terrible way to what he witnessed.

In the end, there will always be people who simply glaze over Basil’s character and will hate on him for reasons that aren’t true to his actual character. However, that doesn’t change that in spite of what some seem to believe, Basil is a much deeper character who deserves more time and analysis than to simply claim that he is an absolutely heartless demon of a character. As previously stated, it is still fine to hate Basil, especially for what he did to Mari, as it is incredibly messed up. However, let that hate come from either a completely different reason, or at least let it come from hating him for his actions while still understanding he is complex and not some flat, callous villain.

[brightest-stars-if]

if may i ask for one favor (that i ask with no sense of entitlement and that you may feel completely free to refuse), should you ever want to edit the demo:

i really love picking the culturally significant names you provided (Calista and Basil are my favorite, respectively). would it be possible to come up with one more cultural name but have it be unisex, and then have that one name be put in both the m!MC and f!MC name options?

overall, i think it could just be interesting to see whay a unisex name looks like from this world that is so heavily gendered. and i also think it could be of comfort to any players outside of the binary who, while willing to play a character within one of those said binaries, may feel a unisex name option of in-game cultural significance as a salve (i say that as a they/them who leans moreso towards one gender end of the spectrum than anything else)

but if you want to hear why i specifically ask for this indulgance, it is a bit convoluted. usually only come up with one MC per i.f. game, and i think it'd be really fun to have this "one MC" have an alternate universe as a male and as a female. and normally, if i felt that inkling, i would just fucking do it lmao BUT i usually also feel no connection or drive to pick one of the pre-suggested names. so then i just pick a unisex name that fits within the game in question and manually type it in per replay. BUT i so love when fantasy games (especially i.f. as i so rarely see it done) gift the player names that have a cultural significance to the world they are in. so i wanted to ask if that could be coded in for selfish reasons too (tho i do genuinely believe in the former reasonings as valid; i just also dont project my they/them gender identity into my MC within this game, so im personally not upset this world doesn't have a Genderless Child MC option. and a huge part of this is thanks to your well-polished craftsmanship in how one of its main focuses of this story seems to very well be, in fact, the arbitrary futility of the binary with characters assigned in these two (semi-)strict gender roles. so like. i am being selfish in this favor request being for indulging my interest in "play one MC but switch the genders and see how the story impacts this specific personality as things go on + haa a culturally significant in-universe unisex name", but yeah, also, i do think it could be a comfort to other fellow nonbinary people and i do think seeing how this heavily gendered fantasy world would construct/react to a unisex name would be fascinating from a world-building/character-reactive perspective. bc it doesnt seem unusex names are too common, apart from Lux themself's name. and as an example of a character-reactive perspective, i bet m!Lux was worried about [unisex named m!MC] being a possible girl until informed otherwise that [unisex named m!MC] was another boy. ans, in a world-building sense, i also wonder if Lux and [a unisex named MC] would be treated differently bc of the seeming unpopularity of unisex names; but Lux has the protection of their father as king, whereas [a unisex named MC] has, though many protections, less than Lux and may be more often given the proverbial "a boy named Sue"/"a girl named Freddie"/"the initial elusivity of a child named Sam" treatment of others' distaste/mocking of their name, especially if it is or is not a true 50♀️/50♂️ unisex name. tho, again, i am only asking for one unisex name and to have that one unisex name be in both m!MC and f!MC's name options, im just saying not all unisex names are regarded with the same reputations of "unisex". but if youd like to add multiple unisex names of varying "it's unisex but tends to more often be a girls's name/it's unisex but tends to more often by a boy's name/it's unisex and perfectly divided between both genders in popularity" i would never step in to stop you lol)

but yeah, again, no expectations of entitlement towards this and you have every right to refuse, as it is your game 🤷 i just thought "eh. worse that'll happen is a 'no' lmao so whats the harm in asking??"

regardless: thank you for reading this far, i know i rambled a bit towards the end there. im a name-nerd, and so i LOVE it when authors say "this pre-suggested name has meaning in-game 👀", and the differing reputations of unisex names being dependent got me excited lol but i digress. thanks for the excellently fun game!! have a great day! 💗💕

So I read through this, and then I thought about it. And I figured yeah, I absolutely don't mind including a gender-neutral name option for the MC!If it makes people feel more comfortable, I don't see why not. And it's just a good option to include regardless. It will appear in the naming options after chapter 2 is uploaded.

Regarding Lux's name, honestly them having the ONLY gender neutral name was not intentional. It's just that if I'd named then Lucius/Lucia, for example, then I would have had to just call them L, and the thought of that didn't appeal to me. And besides, the meaning of their name is an important connection to the game. So that was my reasoning for Lux's name.

Every other character I named was off of meanings I'd found, pure vibes, and/or both. So the lack of gender neutral names was not intended to create a social bias against them, it was just a coincidence.

For the gender-neutral name I'm adding, however, I'll probably add some flavor text. If you choose it, then the MC's namesake is a woman. And so reactions to the MC being named after her will, occasionally, vary due to that. So it's sort of "a boy named Sue" situation, but not exactly.

TL;DR: yes, I'll add at least one gender-neutral option.

[aluria-sevhex]

I CAN KILL SIFFRIN. WITH ANAPHYLAXIS. but... will have i have to do the second floor again...

Notes time~!

-please the child say it's yummy

-:D Mira can unfreeze people

-gonna stop for the night

-my break lasted all of yesterday but now i'm back baybeeeeeeee

-i still love the title screen music

-are the enemy names in French?

-yeah i think they are

-eh i feel like dying

-hm looping forwards costs memories... another incentive to fight! yippee i actually like fighting in this game

-i get the kid's drawing every loop :]

-asked Isa about "the hand thing"

-hmmmm methinks there may be... ☆gay☆ :3c

-:0 mysterious 4th hand shape?

-PHONE HAND

-time to loop forward. plantain peel time

-i feel so bad for the frozen people...

-i got a pair of garden scissors! <insert joke about how i've said that Siffrin reminds me of Basil here>

-aw... Mira's anecdotes about the frozen people...

-lol Mira's dying plant

-ooo the Head Housemaiden's office

-love how Vaugarde isn't a monarchy but they call the King that because it's the title he chose and calling him something else would be rude. Vaugarde unsurprisingly supports trans rights

-FUMKIGN ROCK

-FUCK. THE KEY IS IN THE OFFICE.

-oh nice a helpful icon to indicate you've fucked up

-i feel like Loop has some sort of weird thing for Sif...

-exploring elsewhere on the floor

-oh hey a classroom

-how many classes have you taken, Mira? >:)

-ONE HUNDRED FIFTY??? GIRL. DAMN.

-"Someone wrote on the board "Don't stay with your mistakes! Don't be afraid to start over!" You nod! What a true little fact!"

...cheeky

-"no eating snacks" live Bonnie reaction: chomp

-why yes i am writing commentary on a bunch of little bits of narration, it's my notes and i get to make the rules

-bonding earrings? hmmmmmmmm

-oh cool Vaugardians tend to give people multiple names

-fuck yeah trans rights

-oh? Odile has another name?

-Isa doesn't want to tell his because "if i do change again, i want it to be a surprise" again? 👀

-:O THE STYLISH LADY'S NOTEBOOK

-fuck. another weird Sadness

-aight looping time

-my favorite part of the game was when Siffrin said "it's looping time" and looped all over the place

-Mira and Isa: getting hopeful and romantic about how this couple's reunion might go.

Bonnie and Odile:

-hmmmm why u wanna know what a bonding earring is, Sif?

-:0 library? LIBRARY

-"people don't REALLY kiss in plays, do they?" Bonnie. actors do a lot of things.

-your honor they're friends

-the fuck happened to the island. does this have something to do with Loop and/or the King

-how fitting that a game centered on time shenanigans puts so much emphasis on change

-BONNIE CANONICALLY NARUTO RUNS???

-ah yes the Opposite Sides of the Age Spectrum Alliance vs. the Beauty Alliance

-bruh. i picked the wrong way

-"grape juice for adults"

-bonding earrings explanation!

-"I wanna know what happens when prople love each other very much, no one's ever told me!" XD oh, Bonnie

-"And if the bonding is between three or more people, you'd make as many earrings as there are people!" VAUGARDE SAYS POLYAMORY IS COOL

-kinda cool that they basically do wedding earrings instead of rings

-"Not my kind of thing" eh fair

-Isa, Mira, and Bonnie are now overthinking the normal earrings because Siffrin pointed it out

-Mira doesn't seem to want to get bonded... hmmmm... 🟩⬜️⬛️?

-:0 Mira has beef with the trap room guy? >:O he stole her shit!

-that was a tricky boss

-hehe Isa is hungry

-ISA WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT... fair actually. what WOULD they do with any bodies?

-WAIT. THE PINEAPPLE THING IS COMING UP. I CAN DIE OF ANAPHYLAXIS?

[switch-writer]

The Fate of the Cards

A/N: AHHH. Okay, despite all the requests I gotta do, I THINK THIS IS A PERFECT PROJECT TO COME BACK ON. THIS IS MY PART IN A ART/WRITING TRADE WITH @giggly-toybox WHO IS A SWEETHEART. Genuinely give them a follow. BUT! They’re the biggest Basil Hawkins and X Drake fan around, and they deserve some fun shenanigans 😤 BUT THANK YOU FOR THE PATIENCE AND I APOLOGIZE IF ITS SHORT. And I hope you enjoy very much🫶🫶

Ah, yes, The Supernovas, otherwise known as the worst generation, were known to be… aggressive. Monstrous pirates of thieves and brutality… similar to the warlords in a weird way, except the worst generation weren’t Government dogs.

Not that most warlord’s did their jobs anyways… But that’s besides the point.

The point is that the supernovas were brutal pirates who wouldn’t team up for nothing. Not a chance. At least that’s what most would assume. Yet, here they were, Basil Hawkins, the blonde who happened to enjoy tarot card readings, and X Drake, the former marine who swapped sides and who’s since been a pirate.

These two were… reasonable enough to get together and make a strange sort of team despite differences. Although they argued a bit. Drake was more quiet, so was Hawkins… but Hawkins certainly didn’t hesitate to ask questions and came across as harsh. But didn’t most Captains? Especially since X Drake would give him the same attitude back.

“Relax, Hawkins.” X spoke with his usual calm, dead serious tone. While Hawkins typically had that same tone, Drake managed to get him worked up. Over what you may ask? “I refuse to believe that you won fair and square.” Basil accused harshly. This wasn’t what he predicted after all! It had to be cheating!

“Then keep not believing it. Doesn’t make it any less true.” The former Rear Admiral spoke with a careless tone, scoffing in slight disbelief. “Are you actually upset?” Hawkins shot a glare towards the man in response, making it clear he was upset.

“…Oh come on.” X spoke with a deadpan tone, but nodded slowly. “Lighten up, Hawkins, I don’t want to—“ He was cut short by the tarot reader tossing the poker cards of sorts at him.

Silence… a long… dreading… moment of silence.

“Basil Hawkins.”

“…If I had to assume, something tells me that was the wrong choice.” Hawkins spoke calmly, but his eyes showed uncertainty. Was this supposed to be what his previous reading was about?

Drake kept his cold stare as Hawkins slowly shifted his foot, ready to dash if the situation called for it.

“Do those cards tell you when to run? Because only a fool would sit here.” X Drake spoke.

“…Does that mean—“ “yes, it means run!” And suddenly, the zoan devil fruit user dashed forward, and if Hawkins didn’t go in slight shock, he would’ve squawked. However, he didn’t! Instead, he had let out a much more manly noise! Instead of a squawk, he gasped dramatically and then yelped like a dog as he stumbled backwards and began to run.

The long haired Blondie found himself rushing around a room, practically playing tag and using a structure for ‘protection’ so you can’t be tagged. Except this wasn’t tag, in fact, it was cat and mouse. And Basil had no clue what happened when the cat caught him, the mouse.

“You… idiot—! Woah—!” Hawkins spoke with a strong spike of frantic nature in his tone as Drake attempted to fool him by double backing around the couch. “Don’t be stupid—! Stop playing this game!” Basil spoke harshly, attempting to be intimidating and tough.

“You accused me of cheating, I don’t take it lightly. And that was before throwing cards at me.” “You had to cheat—!” The paramecia devil fruit user accused. Which the man who had reddish-brown hair inhaled, before giving a slight smile.

“Accuse me of it, and I’ll do it—!” He claimed, suddenly jumping over the couch, his cape/cloak flowing in the force and wind from his dash and jump, and he almost tackling Basil, wrapping his arms around him as they stumbled together, Hawkins almost fell down as Drake caught both him and the card reader, getting strength in his position and firm in his stance.

And they were stable.

And silent. Hawkins didn’t want to say a word. No. He couldn’t. Or else the reddish-brown haired man would strike—

Suddenly, out of the blue, the man began to feel giggles bubbling in his throat, a smile twitching on his face, his body even feeling that tingly feeling, causing him to squirm. “H-Hehey—!” Hawkins reflectively squirmed upon recognizing the feeling. A ticklish feeling caused by the ‘former’ marine’s fingers.

“Didn’t run well enough.” Drake claimed cleverly before his fingers spidered up ‘the magician’s’ sides and ribs, causing the man to panic and finally let out built up bubbly giggles.

“Y-You’re sohoho insuhufferable!” Hawkins scolds, attempting to remain tough despite it failing miserably. He was a bunch of giggles! And now that the giggle dam broke, it couldn’t stop.

But in response to his tough reply, X decided the best course of action was simple, his fingers teased and tapped across his ribs, occasionally making a stop to scribble between and on the sensitive nerves through there, causing a small squeak followed by soft giggling, and Basil squirming side to side, trying to get out of his grasp.

“Q-Quhuhuit it! Yohou’re a evil, awfuhuhul man—!” The insults kept flowing, and suddenly, Drake moved his hands, making them crawl up to his neck and spidering around his neck. Those feelings across Hawkins neck made him straighten up his hunched over posture and squeal, causing chuckles and a small soft laugh.

“Apologize.” Drake required in exchange for mercy.

However, the fellow pirate was quite stubborn! He refused, shaking his head and grabbing at the ‘X’ tattooed man’s hands in a strong attempt to win. “N-Nehever!” The man in the white wavy sleeved shirt stuck up his nose, showing strength…

Until the marine strikes right at his stomach, scribbling and wiggling his fingers across it, causing the almost electric sensations to spike. And within seconds, that brave face was a smiling one at the least, Hawkins laughing out as he slowly went to the floor, throwing his head back in laughter.

While he squealed, his actual laugh was deeper. Granted, it wasn’t as deep as his speaking voice, but it was still deeper than those girly and sweet squeals and squeaks that only a group of mice could hear.

Drake however was amused by it, his fingers moving quick and effectively, causing the man to squirm and curl up, practically rolling around.

“DRAKE—!” He called out, squeezing his eyes shut with a sweet smile, kicking his legs a little bit as he felt those fingers scribble and poke at his belly, causing more cackles and laughs. “PLEHEASE—!” The blondie softly spoke, his voice weak due to his breathless laughter.

“Hm.” Drake acknowledged, sitting on the man’s legs to prevent him from rushing off, but his fingers stopped. His hands pulled away as the man giggled breathlessly, his hair messily in his face.

“Y-You’re ehevil—!” “I could be worse.” The man reminds the giggling blonde pirate, who begrudgingly agreed. “…But I have no doubt you cheated.” Hawkins states, a wobbly smile upon his face.

…He was still on about this?

Admittedly… Drake wasn’t completely honest. His morals were honorable, but he may of… fibbed and happened to rig the cards in his favor. He was just surprised that the man who always had cards in his hand noticed so fast, or rather was consistent in his accusations.

But due to the man being so quick on his feet and keeping up his accusations, Drake felt himself get… flustered.

“No denial—!” Basil spoke out, causing Drake to immediately claw his hands at the soft tummy, causing the man with the power of straw to start laughing with a happy tone, he certainly wasn’t opposed to this currently. “I’ll shut you up! No cheating was involved.” The darkly dressed man who happened to wear a feathered hat spoke with authority… although a smile grew on his face as he kept tickling Hawkins.

“qUHUHUIT—! BUFFOON!” Hawkins yelped, squealing before scrunching his nose up, a bright smile on his face. “Apologize, then say I won fair and square.”

And the tickling ensued due to stubbornness, the blonde shaking his head before laughing, using his hands to cover his mouth, refusing to show his smile now, his laughter still vocal and quite lovely to listen to even if muffled.

But, during that monent, Drake striked by wiggling a finger right into his belly button, causing a snort to suddenly come from the usually cynical man’s throat. With that, more laughter flowed from Basil’s mouth, a finger teasing and tickling right at his belly button. It was driving him crazy!

But it stopped, causing the magician to slowly open his eyes, shocked it stopped. But the moment he opened his eyes, the zoan user lifted his shirt and brushed a feather across his belly, causing a squeaky sound of a laugh to leave his throat, and immediately. He caved.

“eHEHE—! IT’S FAHAIR!”

Yelled the tarot reader, causing the man holding a feather to raise a brow. “Hm?”

“…And I’m… begrudgingly sorry.” Hawkins spoke softly with a huff.

“Much better.” And for good measure, Drake gave him a congratulations stroke from the feather in his hand, causing the straw-man to tumble over with a small laugh, causing him to hold his belly to attempt to block tickles. “T-THAHAT’S ENough—!” He exclaimed with a laugh, his hands batting at him now.

And with a nod, the reddish-brown haired man moved off his legs, letting his breathing even out… and finally… he relaxed. They both relaxed in silence. Hawkins was sprawled out on the floor, and Drake sat calmly nearby…

“…I did cheat.”

“…” and a slow head turn with a glare occurred, and within a moment, the blonde was on top of Drake. “You’ll pay for feeding into a delusion!”

As dramatic and loud as his wording was, it was silly… and X Drake found enjoyment in challenging Hawkins… as for Hawkins… if anyone were to tickle him, he supposed it’d be best for it to be him…

Especially when he could get his revenge.

[the-scribe-and-her-scribbles]

I tried to choose one part that I wanted you to talk about but they're all so good I couldn't choose 😭 So instead, here's a ⭐ to talk about the part you've been dying to talk about

Warning! This gets steamy towards the end!!!

----------

I think I really want to talk about feral!Gilbert.

I have a lot of thought on how I wanted to write the Fae/unseen folk. I wanted the fae-folk to have something off about them. Just that when a human were to look at them for long enough you could catch a glimpse of something else, or maybe a lack of something, like how the closer you look the less you actually see.

I wanted it to be very clear that Gilbert is not human. He’s a fae, a creature, a monster. Not some fairy prince.

In the unseen seen world, Gilbert’s body and soul are at home, so to speak, so he has an easy time holding in his true form, especially when he’s around you.

In fact most civilized fae are able to hold back the feral creatures the the wild magic makes them, even if for some it’s harder then others.

He loves you. And he loves you in a way that is gentle for his kind, with soft touches and vigilant eyes that keep you safe in their view. These are the tame parts of him, the places he keep separate from what the wild magic makes him, the parts he’s kept alive only for you. He loves you, and he doesn't want to upset you, so the charming, almost normal side of him is still of use to him.

But he's still fae, he's still a monster, and this means he loves you in all the dark and sharp ways too.

He would never hurt you, his soul wouldn’t let him, but his soul also drives him towards you like a wounded animal on bloody paws. His limbs bloody and aching, pain at the back of his mind as he throws himself, drags himself closer to you.

He’s a fae and you're his soulmate, his other half, so your his.

(Why couldn’t he keep you? He’d keep you safe, oh so safe. And well fed and well fucked. You’d love it if you were his. He would bring you any clothing or jewelry you could think of, he’d build you a library where you could sit and read forever, he’s even go get you that half-fae, Basil, that you met in Arbourly, to bring you novels from that human world you love so much. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you if it meant he could keep you, so let him, let him, l̴̰̮͎͈͠e̴̩̰̥̋̍̐̏t̴̝̱̒̿ ̷͕̚ḫ̴̱̤̗́i̷̩͛̍̈́͝m̵̮̓.)

If Maus does manage to get back to her human world, Gilbert isn't staying behind. Just because you're back home, doesn't mean your free of him.

Unlike in the Unseen world, Gilbert has a much harder time blending in. He rarely ever had to visit before you, and the mortal air messes with him. When his magic seeps out, its far more noticeable. His pale form seems to flicker in and out when not looking directly at him. You can almost see something else in his place, darker and smokey, whipping away at the edges like ash.

And Gilbert acts different too... more intense. He's almost aways there, following you. Either from far back behind you, (you think he like pretending to stalk you) or right at your side, holding your arm in his and helping you to where you need to go.

He's lingering, appearing in your room and around corners, unable to keep his hands to himself. He's rubbing his hands up the sides of your arm and whispering soft things to you. Other times, he's grabbing at you (you can swear you feel claws when he does.) He's still kind, just protective? possessive? Nipping at your cheeks and neck. If you aren't wearing gloves, he's even kissing and nipping your wrists. Muttering about how 'they(???) keep coming loose', how he'll have to give you more.

So he gives you things. Kisses and affections, small trinkets and foods, because he's a fae, and they gain little tethers with the humans they give favours too. He doesn't do it to lord over you or control you, just to protect you, keep tied to you, strengthen the ties that he already has from your deal you made all that time ago, and to protect your soul-tie.

It makes that dark thing inside him purr (you swear you've felt it one or twice). All those golden string, the single red one of your fates intertwined.

Make no mistake Reader, Gilbert has no intention of letting you go anywhere without him. You're his. He knows this, and you know this. But he's also yours. And he tells you this often.

"You can go anywhere, Maus," he whispers, hot breath (unnaturally so) fanning on the space behind your ear. You whine out at him and Gilbert can't stop himself from pressing you further into one of the bookshelves behind you counter of your father's store. Your skirt is hiked up around your waist, his hips pressed to your center with your knees help up by his arms. "But I'll follow you. I'm yours, hum? Say it, say I'm yours, say you love me, Schatz." He kisses you again and when you pulls away, you nod your head. You're whole body is as if its been set aflame. The lovely strings tied to your soul tug and pull in the most delicious way.

"Your mine, Gilbert. I love you," and as the words leave your mouth, his eyes burn brightly with devotion. "Thank you, Maus."

You smile into the next kiss.

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This was not edited. Forgive me for errors!!!

I am heavily inspired by @ghouljams portrayal of the Fae (especially soul ties. I think its such a great way to describe fae deals!!!) I wish I had their works to read when I was starting my Fae au years ago, because I agree with them so much. If you like Call of Duty, and like Fae AU's , you’ll love their stuff!

Tags???: @jtownraindancer @redrosesociety1 @xxruinaxx