#under read more for long post

[lazuliquetzalart]

Don't watch the coin, idiot!

the boss fight of ALL time

[waitineedaname]

i was thinking my little thoughts while falling asleep last night, and a concept occurred to me: what if binghe learned about the system not from shen qingqiu, but from shang qinghua

look, he likes shang qinghua alright. he's pretty disinterested in p much anyone who isn't shen qingqiu, but on the list of People Luo Binghe Tolerates, shang qinghua is relatively high. he gave him advice on wooing sqq, after all, and sqq likes his company, so binghe tolerates his shang-shishu

but the thing is, shang qinghua is a spy. has been for decades. binghe knows this. really, everyone knows this at this point, which isn't a great look for a spy, but still. and since shang qinghua is a spy for mobei-jun, who is a subordinate for luo binghe, then technically shang qinghua is also working for him, but you don't get to the position of demon emperor without a healthy amount of suspicion for everyone in your court

so he decides to test shang qinghua a little bit. nothing major, just a little poking around in his dreams. he starts out with a subtle touch, just sifting through his memories. most of it is what he expected. he sees his time on an ding as a disciple and then later as peak lord, he sees him working for mobei-jun. he sees mobei-jun in some compromising situations, which he files away for later, and then sees him in an entirely different flavor of compromising situations, and binghe immediately decides to act like he never saw that

then he decides to take a more direct approach and starts nudging the dreams in other directions, to see how he might react to certain scenarios, test his loyalty. he expects shang qinghua to act cowardly, or bluff his way through a situaton, maybe even draw his sword if pushed far enough

what he doesn't expect is for shang qinghua to frown at the changes luo binghe made and go "I didn't write it like this"

what

binghe is so bewildered by that response that he loses his grip on the dream for a second, and before he knows it, shang qinghua has spun the dream scenario back into the way the scene originally played out. he steps back and looks satisfied. "there we go," he says. "that's how it went. you know, if I'd known I'd be dealing with this scene myself, I would've written it differently"

what the hell does that mean?

fascinated, luo binghe continues to test him. most of the time, when he toys with someone's dream, they're completely unaware of the changes. shang qinghua, despite not seeming aware that he's lucid dreaming, seems very aware of how each scene should go. except for, strangely, many of the scenes that binghe himself was in. binghe pulls up one from his disciple days, one of the times he remembered shang qinghua coming to qing jing on some errand. he hadn't even changed anything yet, had just let the dream version of his younger self launch himself at shizun in a tacklehug, but shang qinghua tsks and takes the reins from him before he can make any edits. "sorry bing-ge, but that was just way too out of character," shang qinghua says. the dream copy of luo binghe's younger self is sent further away, watching the peak lords with a sullen gaze. he's skinnier than binghe remembers being at this age, and one of his eyes is swollen with a purple bruise. that doesn't make any sense, luo binghe thinks. he hadn't been beaten on qing jing peak for years at this point.

the shen qingqiu beside shang qinghua in the dream stands with his back straight as a ruler, and when his gaze lands on luo binghe, he sneers behind his fan. shang qinghua sighs. "cucumber-bro really wasn't as good of an actor as he thought he was. he's way too soft to ever seem like the original goods."

alarmed, luo binghe dispels the dream and steps out of it entirely. sure, he knows shen qingqiu's personality changed almost overnight when he had that qi deviation. everyone knew that. he avoided questioning it much, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth when it meant having a shizun that cared for him

but shang qinghua. shang qinghua seems to know something more about shen qingqiu's personality change. something he's not sharing. luo binghe didn't like the idea that one of his subordinates could be hiding something as vital as this from him

well, this had been a test of his spy's loyalties, hadn't it? perhaps he should make a visit to an ding. he had some questions.

[cockroachesunite]

Here’s the whole thing! (Including the bit of dialogue right before my canon divergence for context)

The End (?)

Original format ☞ (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5)

[chatlote]

Thank you everyone for all your questions. I will be putting an end to this askblog after this post and returning it to its owner. I didn't know what to expect when I created it, certainly not this… but I guess this wasn't such a bad ending.

Without further ado, here's my replies to all the questions I left unanswered. And goodbye.

During these past few years I had a lot of time to think, and I realized I care about being useful, or meaning something to someone. That's why I kept working at the rehab center after settling my debt with them, though I was never all that good at caring for the people there.

In terms of physical objects, I've come to care about my home and possessions quite a bit. I didn't have many things that were my own when I was the detective prince, but this home is something I worked for and gained all through my own efforts.

Ten years is a long time. I pride myself in being resourceful but even then I'm unsure if I would survive that long.

… Though in some ways I feel as if I've been lost these past few years too.

Watch movies, especially the ones that make me think more deeply about myself. I find the journey to find oneself quite inspiring. The original featherman movie trilogy is quite good at that.

I wasn't miserable in those interviews, but well… I suppose I wasn't quite myself in them either.

In relation to your questions: 1-I have picked up writing, mostly of the mystery genre, I have no plans to publish this, especially since some are inspired by confidential cases, but I enjoy it. 2-I have not travelled outside of Kyoto since moving here, I have not been recognized more than a handful of times, I keep my hair up and dress differently so no one connects the dots. 3-Galaxy Studios Park is just a short train trip away, I loved visiting when they had some special rides and attractions dedicated to last year's featherman movie. (Not that the movie was that good, but it was still fun. The wait for the rides was a nightmare, though.) 4-Yes. I enjoy no longer being in the public eye. It's freeing being allowed to be myself, even if I'm still figuring out who 'myself' is. 5-No pets, but have considered getting them... now that Akira is here (and seems intent on staying) I will have to discuss it with him.

I'm in a Reddit thread for ARG's, they are intriguing, and harmless, but still exciting to try to solve. Unfortunately, I can't participate in many due to parts of the mysteries being related to real world locations.

I think they are nonsense, no one's fate should be decided by another, much less by pieces of paper, they are also obviously just vague enough so that it applies to anyone. Still, I know Akira likes that sort of thing, so I try to not...judge too much.

Taiyaki, I wasn't the biggest fan before, but there's a vendor near where I live, I especially enjoy the matcha flavor since it's not overly sweet.

Boring. I'm stuck in bed because I have a leech clinging onto me, otherwise, I suppose it's an alright day. If you meant yesterday… it was stressful, but it worked out.

I saw this ask before deciding to leave because I realized if I left him to his own devices he would blow up half the city trying to find my apartment.

Thank you, I think. I just wear them when I'm at my laptop, the blue light filter is helpful.

I got worried of what he would do once he came to the town I've started calling my new home. Can you blame me?

It was... alright. It still feels a bit surreal, I'm still not sure if this is happening or a dream. But it's nice to know he still cares.

... Yes. It seems as if you are correct.

I always recommend the classics of the mystery genre, Conan Doyle and Edogawa Ranpo. But... Well, if you like rivalries between thieves and detectives I recommend checking out Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes.

...Not my type of song.

Turns out he is not as harmless as I previously thought.

I very much doubt that anyone else from the queer community has a similar relationship to ours. If so, my condolences.

I don't think I will be waking up alone ever again. But while I was on my own… I just looked for the small things I still cared about. Working on a rehab center helped. You get a lot of coworkers that are constantly mentioning that as long as you keep going, you will find a purpose in your life again.

And so I have.

---

That was all the questions I received. I will be logging off now permanently.

Thank you again. I was angry at first of how several of you got Akira even more pumped up into finding me, but I not understand your intentions were not malicious ones. We have a lot to talk about still, but I am... looking forward to it, I think.

Goodbye. Goro Akechi, former detective prince.

[ink-the-artist]

Rare @uncleflutus sighting

[transformrobots]

[tamamxrii]

I'm gonna try to not think too deeply about the fact that this is a few days late for Ace Week because this is an important thing to me year-round!

I've known that I'm ace for about a decade (eugh) but I've only been able to confidently declare it with pride for about half that time. I wanted to use this lil comic to express some of my experiences as an ace person in an ever-evolving queer space. A space that wasn't, and often STILL isn't, welcoming to those of us on the ace spectrum.

And while there has been strives towards representation pretty recently (like the fact that an actual LIST of ace rep in media can now be compiled! wow!) in the grand scheme of things there's still a long way to go. 🖤💜

[meanderfall]

i will never be over the perfect slow burn of leonardo's deteriorating mental health from s1 to s3 in tmnt 2003

he's a pretty reserved and quiet guy but we still get to see him be a dork in s1 and act like a typical teenager!!! having fun riding his scooter during the blackout with his brothers, getting SO excited over perfecting his split kick, and the background stuff too, like reading a book (and getting interrupted by the battle shell almost running him over in "fallen angel" rip), and eating junk food with his brothers.

but you get further into the series, and a lot of that stuff just kinda... fades away. he'll still mess around and play with his brothers sometimes before the plot starts, but the more obvious dorky teenage stuff sort of stops, and 99% of the time in the background shots in the set-up to the plot, he's training. And it's not even the fun, "i REALLY want to get this move right, hey look guys i did it!!! :3", kind of training like with the split kicks. he's taking it 100% serious, like it's life or death. And well..... I think for him, it definitely feels that way.

I mean, Tales of Leo pretty much shows us what is most important to him. (and i always go kind of bonkers over just how explicit they are in laying out just who exactly Leonardo is and what makes him tick in that single episode. Obviously the show does it at least once for the others too bc it's a kid's show, but once they give us the basics of personality early on, they let the characterization come through more subtly. In comparison, this episode comes late into the season and it kind of feels like them grabbing us and going "are you paying attention? this is important. it will be important.")

we get to see how focused he is, how he's been there to save his brothers when they get into trouble, how they trust him and his judgment, and most importantly from splinter's tale, protecting his family will always outweigh any fear he has. Leonardo is at his bravest when his family needs him. and we get proof of this moments later when he wakes up from his coma ("Leonardo, my son, you must gather all your strength and confront your fear"), he wakes up because he heard his family tell him they needed him.

and I think, pre-series, this protective drive, this responsibility he has gladly put on his shoulders, wouldn't be that much of an issue. Obviously, there were dangers but. Intermittent ones. Ones any of them were fully capable of handling on their own and as kids.

But then the show starts happening and their adventures get more dangerous, more lethal. And the stakes keep getting higher and higher.

And Leo feels this change the most keenly because he feels so responsible for the lives of his family. And, unintentionally, his family ends up reinforcing this belief, inadvertently places expectations on his shoulders, because at least once per season there's some big high stakes fight and everyone looks to Leonardo to pull through and finish things.

And obviously if they knew, if they realized how this might be affecting him, they would say something, do something, but Leo would never tell. He wants to protect them. He's probably happy and proud that they rely on him.

And so the series goes on, with his family none the wiser of what's happening, but, imo, you can see the cracks in the façade.

We know from Return to New York with the way he freezes and has a flashback when fighting the Elite that he most definitely has a little trauma from the Shredder Strikes Back. That he was afraid during that fight, even if he didn't show it. That he might've been scared during other moments in the show but didn't show it because his family needed him.

When he makes a mistake, he's so harsh with himself. In s3, Hunted, Leo steps on a mine and he immediately goes "stupid, stupid, stupid!" at himself. In the recap episode of s2, Raph points out that Leo isn't so perfect considering how he almost believed the Shredder when he tried to get Leo to join him. And unlike in the first episode of s1 where Leo pushes back against Raph's taunts, he just full-on agrees with Raph here. Splinter tries to let him know it's not his fault but he brushes off any comfort or reassurance, because in his mind, he should have been better.

All of his spare time now seems to be spent on training, because he needs to be ready for anything. And on that point, his hypervigilance is through the roof. If there's someone in the shadows, some quiet sound hinting at an attack, it's almost always Leo that notices. I think constantly of the moment in Hunted when Mikey would have been sniped if Leo hadn't noticed the glint of the rifle and got him out of the way. I'm sure what could have been haunts Leo. And it's those small moments, where Leo needed to be ready and able that keeps reinforcing Leo's belief that he has to be on the look-out, has to protect his family, because if he isn't, they will die.

And it just builds and builds and by the time you get to season 4, where Leo is spiraling and isolating himself and lashing out, it feels like it's been a long time coming.

[shepscapades]

looking through your docsuma tag.....love them. wish they had one more combined braincell so they could realize their feelings

HERE'S THE THING THOUGH OKAY the problem is actually that they're both too smart about their feelings. you've got me down a horrible rabbit hole okay let me do my best to explain without being a freak(reading this back over, i failed <3).

Xisuma takes longer to realize, first of all. He's got so much to deal with coming out of s8 and through the beginning of s9 that quite frankly he's really just grateful to have another friend he can count on and trust, and he's so consumed by getting the androids back in working order on top of his actual season 9 plans (on top of Cleo shoving self care down his throat and demanding that he make a better habit of taking breaks and taking care of himself, which takes a LONG time to adjust to, if it can be argued that he ever does) that he doesn't really realize he's developed feelings for Doc until his heart beats him over the head with it randomly one day. Probably sometime in S10. Even then, because of said busy-ness, I think Xisuma has a very hard time getting over the meta-ness of a creator developing feelings for his creation and the selfishness of that reality amidst all of his other responsibilities, and he is likely too scared/overwhelmed to entertain the thought of the feelings themselves, much less the likelihood of reciprocation or the fantasy of a relationship.

Doc, on the other hand, realizes he is developing feelings for Xisuma kind of steadily throughout the course of s9, since that's when they start spending so much more time together in the lab working on androids and improving android tech. As a general statement, Doc is very aware of himself, all of the time. His awareness of the self is very important to his sense of normalcy and control, so any time he experiences a new emotion, he notes it, logs it.

So, while he's very aware of the feelings he's developing as they happen, he doesn't quite put a name to it/realize what it actually is until he talks to Tango and Etho, funnily enough--It's definitely one of those moments where Tango or Etho or whomever are explaining their struggles with the physical manifestations of their... idk, lovesickness-- ie, thirium pump rate irregularities, temperature fluctuations, influxes of feelings they've described as a combination of longing, affection, want, happiness, yearning... and Doc, as the unbiased third party to put 2 and 2 together, explains to them that those are obvious signs of romantic attraction, only very belatedly realizing several hours later that those are the exact symptoms he hasn't quite been able to put a name to. Naturally he's exceptional about being quiet about this realization until he slips up during a maintenance check-in with Tango sometime after, who is not doing well in s9, and Tango (mid romance-ranting) catches the passing of a wistful expression on Doc's face and calls him out for "totally thinking about someone right now" (Teasing aside, tango promises to keep Doc's secret).

So, despite knowing well his feelings before X ever develops his own, Doc is actually very, very careful about them-- He knows more than anyone else how busy Xisuma is. He knows how stressed X is. He also knows Xisuma seems to be more knowledgeable when it comes to emotions and feelings, and despite the clear signs that Xisuma shows interest(?) in him as well, Doc can only assume there is a good reason nothing romantic has happened between them-- he trusts Xisuma more than anything, and he--firmly-- will not breach this trust by acting on something Xisuma does not seem to be ready for (or does not seem to want yet(yet?)). Therefore, Doc is patient, and even though as Season 10 develops and Doc becomes aware of the likelihood that Xisuma could return the feelings, he trusts Xisuma's emotional intuition more than anything. He, painfully, recognizes Xisuma's discomfort (or hesitation), concludes that there must be a missing variable in this equation he cannot grasp, and decides to let Xisuma lead because of it. He will not push farther than he feels Xisuma has.

It's definitely one of those "fell first" "fell harder" type situations I think. I'm normal about them. can you tell

[crossbackpoke-check]

blessed be (lorscher bienensegen) | telling the bees (wiþ ymbe)

"Bees" [remixed, abridged], Claudia Emerson // "Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now" [remixed. abridged], Matthew Olzmann // "Letter to my Great, Great Grandchild" [remixed, abridged], J.P. Grasser | Len Redkole, Nina Weiss, Brian Babineau, Christian Peterson, Mitchell Leff, Dave Isaac, Megan DeRuchie

[farshootergotme]

"Dick Grayson has anger issues-" okay, but does he actually? When I thought that was true I come to find that most of the evidence to make that claim come from a time in which Dick was being mentally controlled by Brother Blood or right after the death of his parents which obviously would cause anger after finding out they didn't even die naturally but were murdered on top of that.

[telafel]

Some behind the cut-scenes stuff I found today: Janosh and Adder edition during the Italian Job fight against the Praguers

So the only thing really of note that happens prior to the fight is Adder staring down the Prague line like THIS (that you never would see otherwise which is such a shame imo???)

Then once the fighting is about to start, all the npc's are kind of staged for their area of the fight (which teleports some people around, don't worry about it) but THIS is how Janosh and Adder are posed together (Janosh's shield despawned and his axe is floating, the lightsource for the intended framing (Kubyenka) is beamed into Adders Face)

It seems like their entire choreography for this fight scene is this dynamic of them fighting side-by-side, then getting separated briefly in the fray, then Adder running to help defend Janosh.

This happens twice as a whole background thing (although the one time is almost impossible to see because of lighting), then in the actual cutscene you'll see it play out slightly different, so I'm guessing they just used two takes and one became used as a sort of filler in the background.

well, that's about all from this cutscene, but I still find it cool that this is the dynamic they wanted to focus on with them and how much they are a unit. Watching it closely it almost seems like Adder is very protective of Janosh because Adder is always able to quickly take care of one enemy while Janosh is overwhelmed, then Adder rushes to help him. It's like Adder always has an eye out for him, even if Adder gets a little lost in the sauce fighting. (Also the seeing behind the curtain with these cutscenes is so cool)

Here are some bonus Adder faces:

[skunkes]

something silly and badly formatted

[cathalbravecog]

final daily high roller before april toons! see you tomorrow at the show! ;)

did not expect myself to pull off a "fancy drawing" today, and yet here i am! sappiness below, i suggest my friends read at least parts of it! i apologize beforehand for how long and personal it is.

well by cog, it's been another year, hasn't it? i can't describe how nervous and excited i am for tomorrow! or rather. today. it's 5 am. yeah, this was a bit of a crunch. but i managed to pull it off!

i actually intended 2 smaller pieces (the other being frostroller/selfship based.), each with different messages underneath and meanings. but i guess i'll put a compressed version of both in here. it certainly isn't a massive dedication piece as my dedicated piece from last year - but considering how special this all is to me, attached to this piece - i'll use this place as my Ramble Zone. note, i am very sleepy. if this makes less sense, gimmie some slack! ;p

high roller is like the ultimate representation of corporate clash to me. bold, chaotic, unique, new... something created by the hands of passion. breaking the limits of what can be toontown, just for the sake of it! for fun! to create. to play!

and as we all know by now, corporate clash (and high roller especially) mean a lot to me. but i want to make this more about clash in general.

i never expected myself to get this attached to toontown, or this server for that matter. it's possibly the most intense interest i have had, staying on top no matter what. interests come and go for me alongside it, sure... but toontown i figured is just where i feel safe.

now now, i do have conflicting feelings about the fandom/community that i am vocal about. but by safe i mea just... this game as a whole. the characters. the toons, the cogs. the silly world. and most importantly, as cheesy as a big cheese as it is, the friends made along the way!

i can talk about how much an escapism and comfort media this little world is to me. but it genuinely would not be the same without my friends. the dear friends i made thanks to corporate clash. genuinely some of the best people i have met in my life, that i cannot imagine my life without now.

i cannot even begin to describe how thankful i am. and this is why i want my friends to read this - you!!! all of you. i love you so much. i know i can be a lot, but i cannot thank you enough for... just being there. for being my friends. for existing! you are truly incredible people and have helped me so much.

from being shoulders to cry or vent on, to someone to share countless laughs with, to someone who i just hang out in vc for hours doing nothing at all, to someone who will listen to my passionate infodumps. or someone to help me train drop on an alt. good lord.

i am sure i would have crawled out alright even without any of this. with just the people i knew before, and some other hyperfixation. but i'll tell you out right. i am so happy my life has lead me to these moments. even if it has been genuine torture at times. i would not change it at all just for the fact i get to be friends with incredible people.

i would have been a different person, for sure... and i am just so glad i am who i am right now. there's still so many flaws, but i know i got my friends with me. and it's all thanks to clash! all because i decided to play on a very specific time that allowed all of this!

and now if i may, i'm going to get a little sappy about high roller, as i haven't quite yet. i don't have much time to type left (sleepy.) but i have to gush about my f/o a little bit. obviously, i did not go into clash for high roller. hr happened after and was just... the perfect bundle of chaos and themes for me to get attached to.

i've been a little crazy since day one, but i've hid my feelings behind a lot of shame and fear. but over time, i allowed myself to let these feelings blossom (for better or for worse) and open up more. through this, and the support of my friends, i have learned to be less shameful and... be myself more!! do what i want. i have always been one for that, but sometimes shame just gets you.

high roller as a character makes me very happy, and is The Guy In My Head Who Comes To Me In Clutch.

i am very happy a character like this exists. who matches me and my energy. (or, at least when i am not anxious over something, and have energy. LOL. suppose vibes is the better term! :P)

representation for someone like me is... pretty scarce to find. i know many of this is projection but... seeing a canonical character who kind of just fucks with gender, is typically masc leaning, and is just... ALL OVER THE PLACE? CHAOS INCARNATE? CONFIDENCE INCARNATE? not only is it tropes i like. but it's also just... how i feel like? (hell, frostbite is a lot of those things, they are a flawed, extreme representation of how i'd like to be, and highlighting some of my good traits! while also just... being a fun character. Anyway.)

now i am not going to go into explaining my identity, and my headcanons and how that ties with the canon for... this non canon character. but just what we have makes me so happy. it makes me seen. i don't feel seen like this almost... ever. hr being the way she is, is very encouraging and comforting for me. and entertaining! (well. it is a show host after all!)

it is no surprise that with all this genuine comfort, feeling of being seen, sheer entertainment and his charming nature, i became infatuated quite quickly. if i was less tired i would have more clever words for this. but i just want you to know how much this character means to me. a lot of it IS just. difficult to explain Mental Illness Attachment.

there's one thing that is quite private for me that this character has helped me process, that i bubbled in for my whole life. it is trauma related so i wont go into it. but i cannot believe this is what did it for me. and yknow what? i am thankful.

thank you, clash, my dear friends, and high roller for... just dragging me through shit. keeping me confident. having something to look forward to. because god. life has been hell. unironically one of the main things keeping me going IS looking forward to april toons.

there's definitely more words i wish to say, but at that point i would be repetitive, and my tiredness and brainfog would be obvious. so i'll take care of myself and end it here! pat on my head for being brave about typing all this.

that being said. i love you, clash. i love you, all my friends i have made from this game (and all others!), and of course, i love you, high roller. cant wait to drop 10000 pianos on you. die forever 10000 years That Dumb Duck That I Hate (kiss yaoi sloppy styl I HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO NOT CONTINUE THIS SENTENCE

... oh, you're still here? well alright. you get something, too! have an early work in progress version of the piece!

[embers-archive]

Piglin masterpost

A masterpost for all piglin related posts on this blog

Art

Festival clothes

Dance #1

Dance #2

The piglin god

Warped forest god

Crimson forest god

Soul sand god

Nether wastes god

Everyday outfits #1

Everyday outfits #2

Piglet outfits

Strider rider outfit

Armour trim/ body paint

Jewellery

Decorations

Persona

Michael_Beloved

Asks

Body painter oc

Headcanon dump #1

Headcanon dump #2

Headcanon dump #3

Headcanon dump #4

Clothes #1

Clothes #2

Clothes #3

Clothes #4

Clothes #5

Clothes #6

Clothes compilation

Hair

The Gods

God origins

Gods appearance #1

Gods appearance #2

Gods appearance #3

Minor gods

Gods symbols

Wither god

Herobrine as god

Food #1

Food #2

Food #3

Body paint #1

Body paint #2

Body paint #3

Technoblade

Technoblade and Phil

Hybrids

Naming conventions

Affection

Dancing #1

Dancing #2

Jobs

Scottish inspiration

Portuguese inspiration

Piglin intelligence

Enderpearls

Headcanon dump

Headcanon

Piglin dyes proposition

Others art

Warped god design

Kotikaleo's OCs #1

Kotikaleo's OCs #2

Kotikaleo's OCs #3

Kotikaleo's OCs #4

Kotikaleo's OCs #5

Kotikaleo's OCs #6

Goat's Technoblade clothes #1

Goat's Technoblade clothes #2

Goat's Techno and Cyber clothes

Areus's OCs #1

Areus's OCs #2

Areus's OCs #3

Areus's OCs #4