#want to read dn series again for the first time

[amorettopedri]

this two literally gave me brainrot in 2020

[thealexchen]

thoughts on LIS: Double Exposure?

This is probably gonna be my hottest take in awhile, but: I deeply dislike the idea of an official LiS1 direct sequel game existing. Excluding all my thoughts on the gameplay, story, Max's character, etc. I don't think a game like Double Exposure is necessary.

This isn't a new take either; back in 2020 I made a Reddit post saying I was glad we never got a continuation of Max and Chloe's story, because in order to have a plot, you have to have conflict. And to have conflict means your characters are forced to change or struggle in some way, and I simply wasn't interested in seeing that again. I never even read the comics. As long as Max and Chloe's future existed only in the fanbase's collective imagination and not in an officially licensed game, Pricefield could be as happy as I wanted and I wouldn't have to witness DN or D9's version of canon.

A lot of fans, including myself, are also confused and upset as to where Chloe could be in Double Exposure. Even if Chloe winds up having a surprise role, it would likely be too logistically difficult to write Chloe into one version of the story and not the other. Either way, DE is strongly pointing to Chloe no longer being the deuteragonist. If D9 was going to make a direct sequel with Max and Chloe, I could at least be intrigued by how they might write their dynamic and how they'd use Max's power in new and interesting ways. But instead there's... none of that. Chloe's nowhere to be seen and Max can't time travel anymore.

On a narrative level, Max and Chloe are the heart of the original Life is Strange. They represent the game's central relationship, and their very first interaction (Max saving Chloe's life) kicks off the entire story. Throughout the story, their dynamic advances the plot and mutually motivates their character arcs. You can't have LiS1 without either Max or Chloe; the story simply wouldn't exist without them. Now in DE, they don't even seem to be in each other's lives anymore. It's true, this series is meant to reflect universal feelings and experiences, which could include breakups, but the romantic catharsis of Pricefield as canon soulmates who defied time and space itself to stay together forever is something you can only get from the beauty of fiction. To jab DE's story with a dose of reality and go, "Eh, they grew apart. Shit happens," totally undermines everything the Bae ending stood for.

On a technical level, Max's rewind was an objectively brilliant game mechanic. LiS1 arrived onto the scene after Telltale had paved the way for the resurgence of choice-based, episodic games, but LiS1 totally reinvented the wheel by giving the player the option to go back and weigh each option before continuing, essentially save-scumming in-game. But the right choice was never that easy to determine, and Rewind brilliantly complemented Max's character arc of overcoming her indecision and learning to live with her choices. Not to mention, you could also use Rewind to solve puzzles, instead of the endless fetch quests the later games had. No other LiS game since then has given the player that kind of agency and interactivity. LiS2 had telekinesis, but the player couldn't use it, only Daniel. D9 tried with Backtalk and Empathy, but Max's Rewind was truly the narrative and gameplay jackpot that they haven't been able to recreate since.

So if you take away one half of the central relationship that made the first game so memorable, and the supernatural power/game mechanic that made it so fun to play... why even bring Max back at all? It just feels like D9 threw away their golden opportunity to build upon the major selling points of the first game and are only relying on name recognition of the Life is Strange "brand" and Max Caulfield.

What upsets me most of all about a direct sequel existing is that it proves that Life is Strange, as a series, now stands more for profits than originality. Life is Strange will always be an IP meant to make money for Square, I know that, but back when LiS1 was just a brand new episodic game, it stood out for how different it dared to be. In a landscape saturated with shooters, sexualized female characters, and casual misogyny, LiS1 instead featured a teenage girl in a contemporary setting that took her seriously and made her the hero of her story. Before it was a franchise, LiS wasn't concerned with the bottom dollar; it was a piece of art that just wanted to tell a thoughtful, unique story.

Whether you love it or hate it, Life is Strange 2 was an insanely risky follow-up to Life is Strange that refused to rely on the convenience of a direct sequel because Dontnod stuck to their artistic vision. Meanwhile, all of Deck Nine's games have leaned on the first game's following to generate interest (BtS being a direct prequel, TC bringing back Steph, and Wavelengths expanding on Steph's connection to Chloe, Rachel, and Arcadia Bay). In other words, all of the subsequent LiS games by D9 have played it very, very safe. It's worked like a damn charm because there are still elements I love about each game, but the basic principle is nostalgia-baiting fans. It's just that now, Double Exposure isn't hiding that nostalgia bait at all anymore and prioritizing profits over telling a unique story. It's sad to see that LiS has strayed so far from its risky, daring, original, and unique artistic beginnings.

Before I end, I'll say that I can't be too cynical about it all, nor do I want to be. Because I can't deny how much joy this whole series has brought me, too. LiS was what got me into narrative adventure games and pushed the boundaries of what a video game could be. If nothing else, I am truly thrilled that Hannah Telle got the chance to play Max again. D9's always been great at maintaining relationships with their actors, and the casts of their games always have consistently great chemistry. Getting recognized by Erika Mori on my own blog is still unbelievable and speaks to the amazing community that LiS has built. As you can see, I'm still posting and reblogging stuff about Double Exposure. And while I don't see myself buying or playing this game for myself, I know it'll keep all of us talking for awhile, and I still live for a good discussion.

Thank you for asking! And thank you for reading.

[motogpnewbie]

I was curious so i'm doing a deep dive on Marc's career the beginning of his world championship career to 2019 (I would do it to now but I'm going to make his post 2020 injury career as it's own series cause it feels like a different chapter in his career and I also think i'll need a bit more time to do that one cause it'll be more challenging to research and read all the articles about what Marc went through at that time. I'll also probably do a seperate post about his career before the world championships, so the spanish championship and i'll see if i can find anything on his enduro and motocross years) I think I'm going to make this multiple posts due to the photo limits as i want to include pictures of what i'm talking about (it will probably be 2008/09 together and then each season after that will be its own thing and maybe even multiple posts for each year as i want to do a deepdive into each race.)

The Deep Dive into Marc Marquez career - statistics, podiums, wins, injuries and world championships (Part 1)

125cc Career (Part 1)

2008

Marc joined the world championship in 2008 at the age of 15 racing for the Red Bull KTM team, he had to withdraw from the first 2 races of the season due to a right arm fracture that he sustained during the pre season also during a TNT interview from 2014 with Marc where Gavin Emmett is a guest host he says Marc showed up to the paddock for the first time and had two broken ankles. His first race was in Portugal where he came 18th. He scored his first every world championship points at the next race in China finishing 12th. In his 6th race he got his first podium, making him at the time the youngest person to get on a podium in the world championship. In the remaining 7 of 9 races of that season Marc DNF'd 3 times and finished in the points 4 times. He had to withdraw from the final 2 races of the season due to an injury caused by a crash in practice at Sepang (It's a cursed track I swear). This accident caused both his legs to be trapped between the back wheel of his bike and the swingarm, this resulted in a dislocation of the cartilage of his right tibia, he had to go back to Spain for surgery. Despite 4 withdrawals, 4 DNF's and 2 non point scoring races Marc finished 13th in the standings with 63 points.

2009

In his second year in the 125 class Marc started the season off in Qatar with a DNF, it was then onto Japan were he finished 5th, he then got his second career podium at the Jerez GP. Marc DNF'd 4 times in 2009 (one of them being Germany, that didn't happen again until 2023 were he DNS), he had 2 non points scoring races. His highest non podium finish was 4th and his lowest was 17th. He also became the youngest pole sitter in the class at the age of 16 years and 68 days. Marc finished this year in 8th with 94 points.

[eleonoraw]

hey queen! saw ur previous fic rec and i read all of em (so good!!) was wondering if u could do another bottom light fic rec? this one goes out to all my bottom light ppl! thank u in advance queen p.s. love ur fics so much abo lawlight is my fave haha 🫣❤️

Hello! ❤️ I'm glad you like my previous bottom Light fic rec list! I have some more recommendations, but I had to dig a little deeper into my history to find them, haha. I'm sure you will love these too then ;)

So here it is (titles, authors, and summaries with ratings) enjoy ;)

I'm yours (by PrismaRed) rating: mature

"You want meaningless sex? Then I have one condition," he hissed. Before L could reply, Light kissed him, savoring in the softness of L's lips and the sweetness on his tongue. "At least pretend to love me."

Light falls in love with L, but L doesn't want Light for anything more than his pretty face and body. They come to a deal of sorts, where "I love you" becomes a price to pay. DN Kink Meme fill.

Can't I top for once, L? (by yagafx) rating: not rated

Light has never topped before, L never lets him. It was no problem for Light at first, but now it started to annoy him. He wants to top too, at least for once.

Murphy's law (by yagafx) rating: mature

L and Light gets stuck in an elevator. L suggests having sex in order to get out of there because of Murphy's law.

Truth or drink (by yagafx) rating: mature

The famous couple L Lawliet and Light Yagami, known as L and Kira from the TV series called 'Death Note', was invited to play the game 'Truth or Drink' by the popular YouTube channel 'Cut'.

The couple are going to ask each other a set of random questions. They can either answer the question or take a shot.

Lipstick kisses (by Rachello344) rating: teen

In order to catch a notorious gangster, Light goes undercover--it turns out, he's the man's type. Now if only L can survive watching Light flirt with a man while he's looking... particularly attractive. He can only hope.

Fuck me (by ricehat) rating: explicit

L fucks Light what more is there to say :^)

(so basically Porn without plot :D )

Are We Going To Do This Again, Light? (by cantdoausername) rating: explicit

Yagami Light loses a bet and needs to give L his reward.

Syrup (by retroelectric) rating: explicit

Where L and B are detective brothers, Light works for them, and the brothers are interested in having Light to themselves.

(This is some L,BB, Light action ;)

vertigo (by crimesofhallowed) rating: explicit

Light finds L fascinating in the way a grade schooler might find dissecting a frog fascinating. He’s curious about what’s underneath the surface, the parts that make L tick a rhythm so off-beat even Light has to up his tempo, and how it all fits together into one, disordered, semi-cohesive whole. He wants to understand, but there’s no love there. A frog is more useful dead than alive under a scalpel.

Or: Light is certain L will be dead soon, and decides to make use of him one last time. He gets a little more out of it than he bargained for.

Seeking his hand (by magic_mind) rating: explicit

Soichiro asks: "Why do you want to marry my son?"

L stares at him for a moment, then sighs almost imperceptibly. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. …or husband."

A historical regency-esque romance AU in which L seeks Light's hand in marriage. And that's only the beginning.

(fic is not finished, I hope the author will come back to it one day)

Lawlight Tumblr Not-Quite-Drabbles (by magic_mind) rating: explicit

A collection of prompt fills...some explicit, some fluffy, some from the SHH-verse, some not...still being updated!

[wistfulstarling]

Devils Night By Penelope Douglas

My thoughts on the devils night series

Trigger warnings: All tws from DN series, sa mention, grooming mention, this is not a positive post. Note: Credits to @pro-logue-epi-logue for giving me the motivation to write this (girl I was about to write a whole essay in your comments) this is the first and last time I talk about this series because I swear it gives me a headache. Also, i think there might be too many heart emotes here (╥‸╥)

So, i read the DN series a while back (all the damon-winter content had me hooked and they, at least, did not disappiont but more on that later). This series was not what i expected for one, and for two i literally did not expect it to be a series at all. My opinion is probably biased based on my liked and disliked characters, if you disagree, scroll.

I'm dividing this into two different sections, the books and the characters because as a writer myself, (and someone who has analyze and review books thoroughly as her 2024 goal) i think the two deserve to be viewed separately as much as they do together. This is by no means meant to hate PD this is again just my personal thoughts on the series.

Also, I read this series some time ago, so my memory isn't very fresh. Feel free to correct me (gently).

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ THE BOOKS ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

ღ Corrupt [Erika Fane and Micheal Crist]

‪‪❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬⁠♡♡

Three stars for the first book in the series. Why? Well, to be honest, it was boring.

I think, while the book was boring, it held potential. Everything was setup nicely, and I feel like everything went just downhill from here.

Rika, at least in this book, was an okay character to me. She was a lost girl (understandably so), she wanted to live a little, get into trouble (like every highschooler in a piece of media not written by a highschooler). Even her obsession with Micheal was understandable. The plot was nice, it was mysterious, kept me hooked and didn't bore me (too much). The pace was a bit slow for my taste but by the end of the book i knew why it was slow and i enjoyed it.

The writing left a bit to be desired, but i think that that's just a me problem. I like a very certain kind of writing style which involvles a lot of deep thought from the characters and a lot of internal monologues (this style gets executed flawlessly by Trisha Wolfe, in my opinion) but I understand that characters from devil's night (at least Rika and Micheal) aren't people who'd have that kind of thought process.

Overall the book set a pretty good stage for the rest of the story to unfold. Rika felt relatable, Micheal was okay (a little dumb but he's not the brains of the group) unless of course we mention the grooming but we'll do that at a later time.

My only complain was that, in the begining the book felt very confusing but again, that might've just been me. I loved the aesthetic the story was promising and the atmosphere built by the story telling was mesmerising and immersive.

ღ Hideaway (Kai Mori and MOTHER Nikova Banks)

❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬⁠♡♡

Banks carried the book on her back, I said what I said and I will not be taking it back.

Anyway, so three for this book too because this book had potential but it was ruined by PD's favoritism for Erika. Listen, I understand self insert characters and even I have some in my stories and I love them more than life itself but I don't think Penelope accomplished what she wanted by shoving Rika down everone's throats.

The writing and pacing was all over the place. Rika was in scenes that had nothing to do with her and overall i think PD jumped too fast to some scenes and took way too long for some others.

The book would've been so much better if PD's editors or beta readers would've helped with the pacing. As an author myself, i understand how hard it is to not include your favriote baes in everything but that's why we have editors. So, this one I'm not holding onto to PD enitrely. (Despite the injustice Banks was done.)

ღ Kill-Switch (Damon Torrance and Winter Ashby)

❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬⁠♡♡

Boring ahh, virtually no plot whatsoever, my girl winter was done so dirty and overshadowed by Erika and Damon throught the entire of the book. #SoftWomenCanBeJustAsBadassAsTheCunningOnes.

This, ugh, I can't figure out if i want to put this in the books or characters. But god help me, the idea of feminism is flawed asf with this book is not great. Now, I don't know whether that idea came from PD or the fandom, but characters like Winter and Emory are constantly overshadowed by either 1. The men in their lives or 2. The other "badass" female characters (Alex and Rika, I'm so pissed because I wish I could add Banks here but my girl barely gets any screentime)

Overall, it was just Damon and Winter's love story before getting into the finally book. Not too much to say about it. I already said what I had to about the actual main character being overshadowed by Rika who, surprise, is not supposed to be the FMC of this particular book.

ღ Nightfall (Will Grayson and Emory Scott)

Warning: My opinion is going to be biased asf here because I'm someone who suffered physical abuse as a child.

❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬‪‪♡♡♡

One star because in this book there was only 1 star, that was the star of the show, Emmy.

I'm kidding. Two stars because, yeah. This book held a lot of potential but I think either PD just doesn't work well with series or she was rushed to do this because all the potentiometer went into a fiery drain.

Actually most of everything was okay. PD could've solved the plot very easily by making Will's plan succeed but the moment Alex popped out of her little hiding spot, I cringed. So hard. (Cue me trying to keep my emotions in check while writing this)

This wasn't Alex's book and she shouldn't have been there. And I felt so SO bad for Emory throughout the entire book. I liked past Will but present Will irked me to no extent. It's like PD saw the vision of the character arc of "sunshine gone dark" but she kind of missed.

As someone who suffered emotional and physical abuse, this book was slightly triggering (grrh, Alex) but overall two stars.

One for not messing up Emmy's character and two for building good character relationships with Emmy and her two sidekicks in the story. (I forgot their name I'm sorry, Rory and Micah? Or something similar?)

The plot, the pacing, the resolving. Everything left me wanting more. It just wasn't right.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ THE CHARACTERS ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Going to try and summarise my thoughts on them with as little words as possible so I don't ramble

ღ Erika (3/5)

She was understandable at first, she could've been a great example of someone who's kind, empathetic but still can be strict when necessary but the writing of the books failed her. I can understand why she turned the way she did at the end of her arc (Micheal literally groomed her and felt insecure when he couldn't control her anymore) but I think she's a strong character despite being annoying most of the time. I like that she looked out for the girls (a little bit, before the writing failed her and she turned into a pseudo feminist pick me who thrives from male validation) Deserves to break away from Michael's grooming and become her own person.

ღ Micheal (3/5)

Boring, boring, boring. Groomer. His personality got more drained the more the books went on. Manchild.

ღ Banks (5.5/5)

One of the only two people with brains. Literal the strongest character in the series. Can't relate to her but I wish I could. She survived so much. Kai doesn't deserve her. Someone needs to make her happy, like actually. She deserved so much better than what she got.

ღ Kai (4/5)

Boring but not as boring as Micheal. Has a personality, ig. Has (some) braincells. (Thank God the asain genes didn't fail) He should've listened to what Banks went through. Does not behave like a very healthy partner from what we've read.

ღ Winter (5/5)

My baby. She deserved so much better. Underrated opinion, she's actually so strong. Takes everything life throws at her with a smile. The sweetest badass ever. I will defend her with my life.

ღ Damon (5/5)

My baby (derogatory). I'll protect him with my life but I'll punch him first. Actually probably the only guy with actual brain and the only one who wouldn't cheat on his wife, given the absolute chance (imo). Manchild (affectionate). I love to hate him and hate to love him. Call me Winter cuz I'm blind to his red flags.

ღ Emory (She's so amazing she broke my scale and I swear I can treat her better than Will)

Screaming, crying, throwing Alex against a WALL for what she did to my baby. She's so me. I understand her. She deserved better than Will but I'm glad she gets to be happy at least.

ღ Will (3/5)

He treated Emory horribly but past Will was the cutest sunshine ever. He deserved better. Manchild (derogatory). Idiot (derogatory). I'll fight him (affectionate).

[Not going to give it for Alex or Aydin becuz they're not main characters but Alex gets negative seventeen out of five because she's a bitch (no, not a bad bitch. Just a pick me bitch who told a recovering alcoholic she preferred him drunk) <33]

[away-ward]

Hello! I wanted to take a moment to address some up coming changes.

I can see that I've been getting a lot of new followers lately, and as always, this comes with an influx of new asks and messages. I want to be clear: I am not, nor have I ever, been bothered by receiving an ask or message. I love getting things in my inbox. Sometimes the content of the message bothers me, or I disagree with what's been sent, and that takes some time to navigate. But the act of communicating and starting a discussion has never been the issue for me.

However, this blog as has been functioning more or less as a Devil's Night fandom blog since 2022, and I've been receiving messages in my inbox since about October of that year. Just recently, we passed 300 messages (which, WhooHoo! yay us for having a (mostly) drama free time!)

Because I get new followers frequently, those who have just finished the series or who just found the blog, I tend to get some pretty similar messages. Since I've had this conversation before, I usually don't have anything new to say, and I don't want the blog to become the same post over and over again. At the same time, I have a hard time not responding to people who have sent in a message with genuine interest.

I have done a lot of hard work to make sure the tags are for organization, and not just for visibility or talking to my followers. For instance, if you want to find all my thoughts and views on Emory Scott, you can search for "#emory scott" on my blog, and it will bring up every post that is about Emory Scott. Because I don't tag for visibility, I will only add a character tag when the post applies directly to them. There's more about my Tagging System on the master list posts. This is true for all characters. I also frequently use "Character discussion" and "Series Discussion" or "Ko's dns tag" for posts that are more general about the series.

If You Are New: please, please, please, go through the character tags before you send me a message. I have been responding to messages for almost 2 years, 300+ replies. Someone has most likely already expressed your thoughts that I have responded to. I know it's a lot of backlog and you just want your thoughts responded to, but at least try to make sure I haven't already said the thing you're looking for.

Plus, the character tags are fun!

Again, I'm not mad! It can just be a little exhausting if all you're looking for is my thoughts, that I've already posted them somewhere else. Maybe you're not looking for my response, and you just want a place to post your thoughts anonymously. If that's the case, please clearly indicate that, but know that I won't post it. I'll read it! But I have no interest in being an anonymous message board (though maybe someone else can start that blog cause it sounds like that would be very popular...).

The only exception to this is Alex. Because I acknowledge that I get a lot of, what I would consider, Alex hate messages I don't like tagging it as Alex Palmer, because then it will go into the Alex Palmer tag, and readers who do enjoy her character will be forced to either block me (which is fine) or endure the several posts that hate on a character they like. I hate the idea of doing that to someone, and so I tend not to tag her.

Brings me to our first change:

Going forward, I will be tagging all the posts that have Alex as a topic of discussion as "no alex tag". It's just kind of funny to me to have a tag that literally is "no tag". It's, like, a joke.

When I come to a past post that is Alex centric, I'll be changing that as well, but it'll take a while to get through. However, I know I have some major Alex posts, and those I will tag immediately. My thoughts on Alex rarely change, though I go through phases of intensely disliking her to being mostly indifferent. I wish I had reasons to like her.

Second Change:

I usually try to respond to asks quickly, and in a timely manner because I hate making people wait. Waiting for someone to read and respond can give me anxiety, and I probably project that on to other people. That's my issue. However, I don't always have the time and I don't always like having huge sections of the blog that's just messages. If they're short enough it's not a problem, but I rarely receive messages on the shorter side. I know it can also be overwhelming to others.

So, I'm going to start queuing or scheduling my message replies, limiting to one or two a day, depending on how long they are or the content. This, hopefully, will avoid creating huge blocks of text on my blog and your dashboards.

Last time I made a change like this was when I started numbering asks and answerers, and that worked out great. People started using the numbers which made referring back easier! I hope you appreciate that I'm trying to keep the blog a bit cleaner and easier to navigate, avoid being repetitive, which is tough especially for new people coming in and not wanting to read a huge backlog of posts, and creating a more fun blog for everyone.

Thank you to everyone for understanding and working with me on this! The messages in my inbox will becoming out soon. Will open the anon messages if anyone has anything to say, though please be aware it might take me a while to reply - Thank you!

-KO

[blue-opossum]

Three Fictitious Daughters and Teacher Jamie Farr

        Three Fictitious Daughters and Teacher Jamie Farr

        Tuesday morning, 19 September 2023

        2 minutes and 30 seconds to read

        DN-183,352 (estimated dream number without numerical suffix)

        Setting: Unknown, indoors and outdoors simultaneously, undefined city street near an intersection integrated with an undefined classroom

        Protoconsciousness: Lebanese-American actor Jamie Farr from the television series "M*A*S*H," wearing glasses, two versions of him, proto-cognizant response form, followed by a somatosensory response form, influenced by seeing him in a scene from "The Blackboard Jungle" (though as a student, not a teacher) last night

        Additional Characters: Three unfamiliar tall and thin dark-haired eighteen-year-old fictitious daughters, several unfamiliar boys of various ages under twelve

        REM Atonia Somatosensory Response Props: Hexagonal FBI or NSA badge (incorrect appearance) in ID wallet that opens from the side with the badge on the left side (while it faces out while I open it), a silver revolver with loose rust particles, several matte copper bullets that fall into the palm of my hand

        Virtual Amnesia: No recall of my real-world existence

        Dreaming Mode: I intuitively recognize that I am only experiencing my imagination while deliberately creating my dream content

        My three imaginary daughters stand facing the "street," about eight feet apart, with their backs to the outer wall of a building, while the boys are closer to the street. They all seem to be waiting for the same bus even though they are attending school simultaneously (an unknown subject) taught by Jamie Farr.

        I open my ID wallet to show the students my badge, but I cannot decide if I should pretend to be from the FBI or the NSA, though with a bias toward the NSA. It takes an additional mental effort to materialize the badge after I hold up and open my ID wallet. It takes at least three attempts (short reset loops).

        I mentally materialize a .44 caliber American Bulldog silver revolver in my pants pocket (right side) after placing my hand over where I want it to appear. Again, it takes at least three attempts (during short reset loops). First, it is empty - but then I mentally load the chambers. I consider that it should be matte black (instead of silver), but I do not attempt to change it or hold that thought very long.

        I realistically pull the ejector rod and push out the cylinder to empty the chambers, and bullets fall into the palm of my hand. The setting predictably vanishes (for a short time), but my awareness is much more defined and vivid here.

        Meanwhile, I notice sparse rust particles over its silver surface. I brush some of it off. I ignore this "mistake" in my dream-making intent.

        I hold up the revolver and mentally load it again (with "different" unseen bullets), dramatically saying that what happened was impossible (inferring "magic" but not directly implying this to the other dream characters). Jamie Farr appears slightly puzzled. I do not recognize him as a celebrity or from any role.

        I push the palm of my hand onto his chest (as he stands leaning back against the wall and facing the street from the opposite side my fictitious daughters had been), initiating my somatosensory protoconsciousness link, telling him he will be responsible for my daughters after I am gone.

        FACT FILES:

        When my eyes are closed, I cannot see real-world details.

        When my eyes are closed, I can touch or feel real-world details and often know what they are.

        When my eyes are closed, I can manipulate how I feel kinesthesia. For example, if I am on a train speedily moving forward, I can vividly feel what I choose regarding the train's movement: rotating to the left or the right, moving up or down, moving backward, etc. without feeling nauseous.

[litterateur97]

What are the reasons to ship lawmane? It’s so unpopular and I’m genuinely interested in your reasons, I never saw any ship potential in DN and I’m just curious because this one seems one of a kind?

To be completely honest, my number one reason for most of my ships is usually because I like both characters a lot and/or find them attractive and decided they would be happiest together. A lot of the time it's just because I found the dynamic between two characters interesting, or thought the characters had potential for an interesting dynamic, or thought if the characters had ever met they'd have an interesting dynamic. I disregard canon for a lot of my ships and usually like fanon stuff more.

Now when it comes to Death Note, I first read the manga when I was like 12 and didn't initially ship anything. I just liked the plot, but really wished L hadn't died, which eventually led me onto the path of fanfiction. By the time I was 13, I had been neutral to a lot of the pairings, but one in particular stuck out to me. I had started reading fanfics where L survived and found L x Misa fics in my search for good stories where L lived. And honestly a lot of the fanfics were not that good, but hidden within the fandom were these absolute gems that made me realize the two characters actually had a lot of potential as a pairing.

As a bisexual, nonbinary person who is also autistic, very pale, loves sweets, and has a hard time in social settings, naturally L became my favorite character because I relate to him. I also liked Misa a lot because I thought she was very cute and had the potential to really fuck up the story. I was kind of waiting for her to betray Light the entire time during my first reading of Death Note and was genuinely surprised when that moment never came. Also Misa wore gothic clothing and had blonde hair and that was kind of my type back then.

While reading fanfics of the two, I realized there was a lot of potential for L to win if he just used Misa, which made me want the two together so that my favorite could win, but I also started to realize how cute their dynamic was. The socially awkward freak and the attractive young model. They were the opposites attract trope and the enemies to lovers trope and the enemies to buddies to lovers trope, which were all tropes I really loved. I also liked how they would tease each other, but also had intense sexual chemistry, but also had all this drama with Misa often being torn between Light and L. Fanon really made me see the pairing in a new light, and that combined with the fact that I already really liked the two characters individually, made me ship them.

I eventually watched the anime and went back to reread the manga and realized there was even subtext for the pairing in canon. I'll give a few examples because I know myself and other lawmane shippers have already talked about this in detail in other posts:

L's treatment towards Misa is very similar to boy who pulls girl's hair because he likes her

He locked her up in a fetishy way that wasn't necessary even if he wasn't sure what her powers were exactly

He is often perverted towards her, but somehow unaware of it, or so he claims, indicating repressed sexuality

He always leans in suspiciously close to her when he is speaking to her and she often leans in as well

They tease each other a lot and enter each other's personal space often (like Misa pulling his hair or L complaining about her acting)

The kiss and "I could fall for you" moment, which was probably a lie, but could also show there's something there under the surface

Both L and Misa are sexual characters and the only ones to really talk about sex in the series

Misa called L unique when she first met him and seemed to genuinely like him until she was arrested

Misa is nicer towards L once again after the "I could fall for you" moment

If you consider L Change the World canon, (personally I do not), he admits he genuinely liked Misa and hoped she would live a good life after the events of Death Note

So taking some canon elements, I started to build the pairing up more as this sexually repressed pairing that tried to ignore their feelings, but would get put into circumstances that made it impossible to ignore their feelings any longer. Honestly, despite L x Misa being a straight pairing, there are a lot of queer elements to their relationship in canon and fanon.

There's plenty of subtext for L being queer that I don't think I need to dive into, but there's actually subtext for Misa as well. She's the one who notices and calls out L's behavior as queer (gay recognizes gay), but also explicitly makes it clear that the only reason it upsets her is because she thinks L is trying to seduce HER boyfriend. She also has no problem with Rem being in love with her despite knowing that Rem is female. For Misa, it seems she sees all love as equal and valid, and it is even implied that she would still be in love with Kira had Kira been a woman. Also her whole relationship with Light reeks of compulsory heterosexuality on both sides.

It's no wonder that the major ships for L and Misa are Light and Rem respectively when both characters come across as queer. But they can be queer and still be in a relationship with each other, like bi for bi. In fact, in a lot of L x Misa fanfics, at least recently, one or both characters is written as bi. Gender is also not significant in their relationship as even in the old fanfics people would sometimes write Misa as filling the traditionally masculine role in the relationship (there are a number of fics of Misa pegging L) and L filling the traditionally feminine role in the relationship (seduced by Misa and receiving a lot of sexual pleasure from the relationship).

I also liked how a lot of L x Misa fics would acknowledge Misa's potential as a character and give her a more complex role in the story. Sometimes she was a villain, sometimes she was a victim, and sometimes she was a confused girl who didn't really understand the impacts of her decisions. I liked how they would make Misa more likeable or more villainous. Meanwhile, L would be written as more likeable or more vulnerable in a way that made me relate to his character even more. The pairing made me enjoy both characters even more, once again giving me more reason to ship it.

The ship also adds to the story of Death Note in complex ways. If Misa has feelings for L, how will this affect her relationship with Light? How will this affect her being the Second Kira? Will she betray Light to save L? Will she find a way to save both men if they are equally important to her? Will she sacrifice herself for one of them or both of them? Will she betray L and give up on their relationship to save herself and Light? And if L has feelings for Misa, how will this affect his relationship with Light? Will he throw Light under the bus to save Misa? Will he find a way to save both Light and Misa? Will he give up his values to be with Misa, but still condemn Light? Will he arrest Misa anyway and put the case before his feelings? There's a lot of potential for more drama, love triangles, and complicated manipulation and mind games.

So, in conclusion, I think there are a lot of reasons to ship these two. They are hot together and have a lot of chemistry. The relationship adds more to the characters and to the plot. They are a straight pairing often written in a queer way where gender doesn't really matter. There is subtext for the pairing in canon that fanon expands on in a lot of fun ways. If you want L to survive and for Misa to have more autonomy in the story, putting them together is a fun way to accomplish that.

They are very interesting characters that I love separately that have an interesting dynamic with plenty of potential for more had the original story used what they had to their advantage. And they are both hot. The end. Lol.

[my-one-true-l]

Hi Asraella!  it was a long summer evening, I missed DN, so I decided to read LABB for the first time. I kind of liked it, I mean Naomi and B are great characters, and the story was intriguing, and there is even a little bit of L...also I loved all those quirky names and surnames of the victims! However, when I finished reading I had so many questions concerning the plot. Is Mello writing it from beyond the grave? How did he find out about the case? Is he a reliable narrator? My questions are: Did you like LABB? Have you written any analysis of it or stories around it? I'm interested in your opinion.

PS I send it here, not via ask box because, as always, my ask is too long to be accepted. I already wrote to you about negative traits' of L, and if you want you can use my name if you publish my message. Take care!

Hi!!! I really love talking to you about this stuff. Your submissions remind me of how much I loved Death Note when I first watched and read it and wanted to delve into every bit of spin off material I could get my hands on!

I have such a love/hate relationship with LABB! Lol! The plot discrepancies between Another Note and Death Note proper drive me insane and honestly, I don’t love the way Naomi is portrayed (I know that is a super unpopular opinion, but she just didn’t match what I thought she would be like), but I love Beyond Birthday and the crime he orchestrates to get L. I will gladly take all the plot holes and flaws if I get BB as a character! 😊

It’s been a while since I read it and these are just my thoughts, but I personally don’t think Mello is a reliable narrator in any sense of the word. From what Mello writes, he’s putting this story down as a record of the events of the LABB case so someone someday could read it (presumably Near), so I don’t think it’s from beyond the grave. He says L told him this story the one time he ever saw L (which again…from DN canon we are under the impression that the kids never met L in person, which I don’t buy at all but that’s a whole other post, so if what Mello says is true, this is such a flex on Near lol and could very well be a lie).

To answer your questions, yes. I did like it a lot. However, I have not written an analysis on it, at least not one that was for Tumblr. I tore that story apart when I was writing my DN AU though lol. When I first joined the fandom I had a small group of friends and we all would analyze and discuss it at length, but it was nothing that ever became a post. As for writing stories around it, what happens in LABB is a rather significant part of my L wins AU series, but that aspect of my universe focuses around L and B’s relationship and how things came to be rather than the actual murders. I do have a fic that centers on B after he leaves Wammy’s, but I still have to edit and post it.

I’m happy to keep talking about this if you have specific things in mind you want to discuss! Take care!

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “A Chance.”

A continuation on the Dr. Krill lecture series about humans.

The room was large and echoing, voices raised up towards the ceiling, and despite their being enough room to fit more than three classrooms of the original size, there still wasn’t enough room to fit everyone, with some students standing or sitting off to the side. Cameras had been brought in to observe the lecture, and were being mounted as they watched, so other students from other universities could Audit the lectures.

A group of four students, two Vrul and two Tesraki sat together on the far right of the lecture hall. They had been forced to pair together for another one of their class projects and just ended up naturally gravitating towards what was familiar, sitting next to each other as they waited for the lecture to begin.

“Did you guys finish the assignment?”

“I did.” Of course the two Vrul had, that was to be expected.

The Tesraki looked down at their papers, work halfway finished because they had a tough time from telling what was myth from what was fact.

“Humans, dn not, in fact, cannibalize their young.”

“Where the hell did you hear that.”

“I had an older classmate tell me once, and I saw it in another news article.”

There was muttering, “Even we knew that.”

The other vrul shuffled their papers studiously, “Humans do not have hypnotic gazes that can paralyze their prey.” “Really, I felt for sure that that one was going to be real.”

The Tesraki’s ears drooped, “Well apparently, human stomach acid IS powerful enough to eat through metal.”

There was silence.

“No really, that can’t be true.”

The Tesraki nodded, “It isn’t a myth.” He sighed in frustration, “Everything I looked up about humans was true. Human bones are stronger than steel, the human liver can regenerate,  humans can transplant organs from one human to another and it will work. Humans have a system of language that doesn't require the use of noise, it's called sign language by the way.” 

One of the Vrul vibrated their antenna, “I am sorry to hear your search did not go well, perhaps if you had read more disreputable news articles it would have been better. Some of the major newspapers have the ability to contact better sources, which means their articles are most likely to be right.”

“Did you know the human jaw is powerful enough to bite off their own fingers, but humans don’t do it because number one, that hurts a lot, and number two, their brain doesn’t allow them to even consider it.”

There was a silence.

“Is that a fact or a myth.”

The other Tesraki sighed, “that is a fact.”

Just then the lights overhead blinked once and then twice. The students turned to look down at the room where Dr. Krill was making his way across the floor. Making his way in that unnatural and predatory way he had. His body moved with a fluid grace in comparison to the normal jerky movements of his species. His legs rolled one after the other in a wheel that kept him moving forward, never breaking. The shoulders on his body swayed slightly back and forth lending the power of his arms into the movement of his legs. 

The way he moved his head around the room, seeming to focus on each one of them in turn rather than taking in the whole scene at once was…. Unnerving to say the least his helium sack sat mostly unused against his shoulders and upper back as he moved into the room. Not once since he had started here had anyone seen him use it. 

He said it was too slow and made keeping up with humans difficult unless you were being dragged behind them.

It was…. Strange to watch…. How he never seemed to stop moving. Even when he spoke his four hands and his head moved to emphasize his points. When speaking to students coming up to see him, his body shifted in reaction to their words. His hands wide, then closed then open again, up and then down. His chin rose and fell in greeting to people and students he knew and to those he didn’t know so well.

It was a fascinating scene to watch, and one they were not entirely sure if they liked.

Dr Krill made a strange noise deep inside his throat, that over the speakers had the entire class turning to look at him. It was a strange sort of barking cough mixed with a hum. THey couldn’t have known that krill was imitating  the way humans clear their throat when they want to speak.

“Students, I hope you all had a good week, and I hope you were all able to complete my first, and easiest assignment?”

There was a soft muttering around the room.

The doctor clapped both of his hands together, producing a sharp noise that brought attention back to himself, “Well, as I have said, today, as a special treat for staying….” He turned to look around the room before muttering, “And multiplying, apparently.” He frowned when none of the students seemed amused at his joke but continued, “I am going to be talking about the human fight flight or freeze response and the entire reaction of the sympathetic nervous system.”

Students withdrew their holopads to begin taking notes.

The cameras zoomed in on doctor Krill.

“We discussed last week how humans are technically considered predator animals, and they are as they eat and consume other animals daily. However, humans are not an apex predator as it isn’t often that they consume other predators. In fact, for the longest time humans were some of the weakest, and easiest to kill preditors for larger and more intimidating animals. In this way that lead to the development of the sympathetic nervous system.”

He turned around the room, and the two Vrul cringed back as his eyes seemed to fall on thim. His antenna were unusually still,

“The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems account for two sides of the same coin. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the workings of the body when the human is relaxed. It focuses primarily on digestion, relaxation slower breathing and even blood flow through the major organs including the eyes. It has other properties too of course, but when a human is relaxed their parasympathetic nervous system is the one generally in charge during those times.”

He turned to the projector, “Now assume you are an ancient human out on your natural habitat of the savanna -- without their adaptation the human’s natural habitat is warm and relatively dry with lots of open grassland and the occasional tree.” he flipped a picture on the projector and the class pulled back a bit in surprise at the picture that unfolded before them. It was a strange creature standing upright tall but remarkably hairy accept for on its face and hands, “This is a 3D rendered recreation of what early humans might have looked like based on skeletal remains found in their fossil record. The development of the human sympathetic nervous system likely started long before humans looked like this, but still the visual aid is one that I find compelling.” The class stared at the creatures thick face, heavy brow and sloping shoulders.

Humans today were much more graceful, though much less powerful than what this beast looked like. It was strange trying to determine which one was the superior. They supposed the current human, as its head size looked much bigger in comparison.

Krill pulled up a side by side comparison with his earlier diagram.

They recognized the modern human as he had been rendered in textbooks thousands of times since he had first been studied.

Very pale with his fine blond fur compared to the hulking shape next to him, with course brown fur that covered his entire body.

“Not the evolutionary changes that had to be made to get from this human.” He pointed at the hairy one, “To that one.” He motioned to the pale one, “The hips grew smaller, the spine took on a sharp S curve, the ratio of legs to arms changed dramatically, leaving the human with longer legs and comparatively short arms. The jaw and the face shortened, while the cranium expanded and hair receded across the body. The current human skeletal structure is finer and more delicate than its original counterpart, with a focus on precision in movement over power, which has become so important to their survival today.”

Dr Krill pointed to the picture of the old human, “This human tried its best to stay alive.” He pointed at the other human, “This human seems to be lacking in a lot of those same survival skills as he is constantly trying to get himself killed.” Krill sighed, “Modern humans are a little bit more complicated than their ancestors, but I digress.” Now imagine either on of these humans being faced with what might have been their natural predator on the savanna.

He flipped the image and the crowd gasped as a massive alien shape leaped up into a third projected spot. It was long and sinewy walking on four legs and a had a fur color like the tanned grassland. It’s eyes were face front, and on its massive paws there were huge hooked claws. Dr. Krill pressed a button to start the looping animation that allowed the creature to lope along with a sinuous grace that made the human lok clumsy and awkward in comparison, all three of the animations moving. 

The creature opened its mouth and the entire class pulled back as huge razor sharp teeth glinted in the light, as it yawned, shook its head, and then continued walking.

“This is an African Lion, a female of the species weighing in at only 280 lbs. Now while some humans can weigh that much, a human of comparable fitness like our modern human weigh in at around only 210 lbs as an adult male. Now this female lion has a higher muscle to body mass index than the human, can run faster, jump higher, and bite harder. She has long and protruding K-9 teeth and retractable claws. The human has no chance….. or …. Does he.”

The class shifted slightly in their seats  muttering 

Krill waited for a long drawn out moment before, “No, statistically he is going to get his face eaten off, however, he does still have a slight chance.”

“The human will see the predator, and immediately upon seeing the body is going to flood the system with a hormone called adrenaline. Adrenaline is a natural high for humans that can result in increased strength, speed, and heightened visual perception. The Parasympathetic system is switched off for the sympathetic nervous system. The heart begins to beat faster as blood is routed into all the major muscle groups, those being primarily the legs. All activity in the internal organs shuts down as that blood flow is routed outwards. Blood can even be funneled away from the brain, despite that seeming a bit counter productive, causing tunnel vision in the eyes. Despite this, the brain begins to work faster allowing the human to see at more frames per second which seems, to a human, to slow down time.”

He turned to look at them, “Now a human has three opinions in a dangerous situation like this, either fight, flight, or freeze. All of these responses would have been adaptive in an environment like this with fight being, hopefully, the last response. Many predator animals are geared for a chase, so freezing will give a human a better chance of survival because if they run they will most certainly be attacked. ON the other hand sometimes this will not work, and being able to run as fast as possible is their only option. Backed against a wall and unable to run fast enough, a human has to fight. Some humans do not react in this order.” 

He turned to look at the image, “The human body on adrenaline is capable of some wild and unbelievable things. The average human only uses around 40-60% of their body's natural strength. Systems in the brain will not allow more because if a human were able to use all the power of their body, they could rend muscle from bone. Well trained human athletes can use up to 70-90% of their natural strength, but during a time like this, the average human can be turned into a well trained athlete or more. In dire situations humans have been known to lift up to seven times their own body weight. During this time humans have been known to lift vehicles, wrestle wild animals, and throw large boulders. However, this does not come without a price, and the human will likely receive damage to their muscular structure.”

He turned to point at the pictures again.

“I heard a story about how a human choked to death a small mountain lion, and another man who fought off a shark. Humans are statistically unlikely to win a fight like this, but it isn’t impossible.”

He stalked around the room, “Humans do not just experience adrenaline when dealing with animals, but during accidents, public speaking events, and even in conflict with other humans. Expecting to be hurt, the human body has the ability to completely shut off its pain perception.”

There was a stunned silence all around him, and then an uproar.

Dr. krill seemed almost smug as he watched them react like that, and raised a hand for silence.

They quieted down, “Yes, you heard me, the human brain has the ability to completely ignore pain, until the danger is dealt with. The first surgery I ever did, on this human right here is a good demonstration…. If you do not want to see graphic images turn your head away now.”

Even if they had wanted too it was impossible to tear their eyes away as the image popped up on screen.

The class gasped.

There was a collective sound of disgust.

“That screwdriver had gone in through the front of his eye, broke through the back of the ocular socket and slid into one of the cortical folds of the brain. He WALKED into my surgery and conversed with me like a logical and reasoning person. He did not report any physical discomfort or pain, he did not scream or show any other signs of distress. His brain had completely shut off all response to the pain.”

He turned to walk around the circle.

“You see most of the time pain is a good thing, it allows you to know when something is wrong, but there are other times, dire situations like this where the ability to feel pain will only hinder the subject. If this human had been able to feel pain it is likely his thrashing and screaming would have caused more cortical damage than it already would have. I heard a story of a woman who fell off a cliff and broke both of her legs horribly, while she was still in pain, she managed to crawl her way off a mountain, and as soon as other humans found her she passed out as the pain got worse. Another human, who had been rock climbing, ended up with his arm trapped under a boulder and with no escape. He was there for days, but, in the end, he managed to cut off his own arm in order to escape.”

More horrified gasping from the crowd as they pulled away in shock and terror.

“These are just some of the most impressive stories. Not all humans will react like this. The vast majority of humans will freeze when they should fight, or run when they should freeze. Some will simply give up and curl into a ball, but there are other humans, like this, who under adrenaline can run like olympic sprinters, lift seven times their own size and fight better than the animals attacking them. The capabilities and the possibilities of a human under the influence of adrenaline are remarkable.”

His antenna vibrated just a little in amusement, “As you can imagine, humans do not experience this much these days, but psychological studies have reported that it is actually healthy for humans to experience the fight or flight response as it helps the brain retain that ability. For something to continue working you need to use it. Scientists say that exposing a human to a sympathetic response in a controlled environment is good for their mental health.” He sighed, “Of course this leads humans to watching horror themed movies, skydiving, and recreational fighting. Otherwise humans put themselves into controlled danger in order to feel what their ancestors felt a long time ago when they were being chased by large raging land predators, but when your species developed in an environment that hostile, it is to be expected.”

The group of four stared at krill, and by extension the animation of the real living human behind him. They tried to imagine the slim two legged figure winning a fight against the massive clawed beast, but were having trouble. Its teeth, which had once seemed so sharp, now were dull and almost useless. The nails on its hands, once considered claws were tiny, flimsy and pathetic, but….. It seemed strange, there was still something in the way it moved that suggested possibilities.

Humans were survivors where many other species were not.

Humans may not have had a very high chance.

But at least they had a chance. 

[deathnoting]

I have yet to comment on your Ao3 but, I’ve read almost everything in the Nights series in like a week. Idk what to say other than you’re a genius and I am in love with your writing style and idea. I recently watched dn for the first time (ya in 2022 wild) and could not find a fic that really engrossed me until I stumbled upon Nights on reddit😭 I swear I literally stayed up til 6am and could not stop. You are crazy talented and I’m saving my thoughts on the story itself to comment on Ao3 but damn I was just shocked at how you turned a story I already loved into a whole other thing that was so nuanced and creative and emotional and just like ticking every box that I didn’t even know I wanted to read. This is just a very aggressive appreciation ask, so thank u sm for sharing your talent and also writing a top 5 fav for me, I don’t think I’ll ever not b amazed💜 💜

omg hi!!!!! you're so sweet & you've made me really happy <3

i'm so happy for you for watching death note for the first time in 2022, that is such a choice, i'm proud of you. i'm glad you like my bizarro take on the universe bc tbh all i've ever done with death note fic is take the canon & be like "but personally i would really prefer if it was like this" and proceed to go off the deep end. i'm glad you're loving it because i loved writing it (and cannot seem to stop)

also when i first got into the fandom (in 2011? holy shit. i swear i have not been here the whole time, it's been a very on again off again relationship) i really had a hard time finding good, long canon-universe fic that you could really sink your teeth into and get obsessed with (using the characterizations + themes i was interested in, especially) so i guess i was just trying to fill that niche for others. if you are vibing with the nights-verse and all of its weird sex & unjustifiable ethics then kira bless. it's for you.

[13eyond13]

hi! i saw one of your posts (or maybe it was @mikami ‘s) saying that L: Change The worLd was not part of the manga DN universe and just wanted to ask if the case was the same with the labb murder cases, I’ve always assumed it was canon due to the fact that beyond birthday’s serial killings were mentioned in the manga

Hi! It is included in the official timeline of events for the manga series in the How to Read Vol. 13 book. But I don't think that it was originally conceived by Ohba and Obata as something that was meant to be included in the manga timeline; I think it was mostly the brainchild of the writer NISIOISIN, and it was published shortly after the manga series ended as official Death Note affiliated content.

The way I picture it probably going is that Ohba just made up a name for a case that L remembered Naomi from without thinking up too many more details about it (as Ohba claims in the HtR13 interviews that he hadn't really fleshed out L's past at all whenever he first started writing him as a character):

And then later on NISIOISIN (an established professional writer in his own right) wrote the novel, and he decided to take the name of that case from the manga and to make up the story behind it. I am not sure how much O&O collaborated with him on it, if at all. The cover art for it was made by Obata, and apparently Ohba has read it and seems to like it, because he mentions it a couple times in the HtR13 interviews. Though it also sounds like some of the things that were included in it were surprises to Ohba.

These were the references to the novel I could find again while skimming the behind the scenes book:

So I think how much you want to take it seriously as canon should be kind of up to you? The way I see it, if you couldn't get the story behind the LABB case from reading the manga itself then it technically shouldn't be considered canon to the same degree that the original manga story is, especially since it wasn't written by Ohba.

But that being said, I do like the novel, and I love B as a character. I like imagining it as part of the storyline too, and so do a lot of other fans. It does somewhat create plotholes for the manga timeline and make Wammy's edgier than it originally appeared as well though, so I don't necessarily take it all that seriously. I always prioritize the manga's version of characters and rules and events over the novel's, and if the novel ever conflicts with the manga I usually ignore the novel's spin on things in favour of the manga's. To me the novel is more so the canon source for stuff about B himself than for stuff about Wammy's and the other previously established characters, if that makes sense. In my eyes it's like a fun additional thing you can look to when creating fan content, but the main source of material for when I do critical analysis of the original story and so on is just the manga itself.

[thealexchen]

You write so beautifully!! I wanted to send a response to the character study you wrote on Alex under that ask but my brain is struggling atm bc there’s so much great material to unpack and you discussed everything with so much care!

One of the things that I’ve always loved about the Life is Strange series, that I’ve carried with me for years, is that the games don’t shy away from hurting- from raw rage, crippling grief, blistering frustration, incredibly relatable and realistic depictions of trauma responses, especially coming from teenagers (and younger children in Daniel’s case) with maladaptive coping mechanisms faced with incredible obstacles and emotional hardship (and even that feels like an understatement) in the previous 3 games. That’s rare to find, at least for me. And True Colors is no different, specifically in the sense that it too fully embraces the full spectrum of raw emotion, if arguably in a more nuanced, complete way, as, not only is Alex older than our previous protagonists, the series as a whole is growing up, too. Each game has its flaws, but I’m so, so grateful for all of them, and especially True Colors. I have yet to find another series that feels as honest and visceral as this one does, even after all this time. I’m sorry that this got so long!

Hey, thank you so much! Dw at all about long asks; I'm the wrong who writes accidental essays about fictional characters, so 😅 And sorry it took a day to answer this!

That's a really excellent point you brought up about how LiS really explores the full breadth of emotion, and I think in that way, it seeks to tell stories about the human experience. For me, LiS isn’t about small towns or mystery or romance or even the supernatural. At its core, Life is Strange is about human connection. Love in all its forms, as well as how far we’d go for our loved ones— how Chloe was willing to sacrifice herself for a town she hated for Max; how Max can refuse to let Chloe die; how Sean faced homelessness, racist violence, and near-fatal encounters to keep him and Daniel together; and how Alex faced legal threats, death threats, and survived a 300-foot fall down a mineshaft all in her pursuit of justice for her brother.

LiS has become so synonymous with emotionally gutting stories that people joke "Can't wait to get depressed again!" But what I thought made True Colors different was that it dug deeply into the full range of human emotion. It didn’t forget about joy, and love, and hope. That for me was another way that the series showed it was maturing— even though LiS2 was set far away from the high school, the ultimate tragedy of that story was that Sean and Daniel were just kids thrown into horribly adult situations. True Colors’ determination to stay more tonally balanced also felt like a deliberate move away from the teen angst and abject misery that characterized the earlier games. It explores more complex emotions in the wake of immediate grief— the shaky sense of joy from recalling a happy memory of a loved one now gone, the excitement of new friendships, and the enduring hope that things will get better. When life deals you a bad hand, how do you learn to pick yourself up and carry on? It just overall feels like a much more adult perspective on life (even though adults were always writing these games, lol).

I also agree that the LiS series feels truly one-of-a-kind, to the point where it feels like its own genre. The first game was marketed as a sort of “playable indie movie,” and I think that’s endured despite True Colors’ AAA polish because these games have always been about everyday people and their lives. These characters feel believable not because of hyperrealistic graphics or immersive gameplay but because you can read their text message histories, cover letters (seriously, who else other than DN would bother to do that??), and journal entries. There are comparable games like TWDG or TLOU, but the LiS series manages to tell emotional stories without the need for a zombie apocalypse or other huge stakes. It has always prioritized protagonists from marginalized backgrounds but makes them relatable for everyone. Even with the supernatural elements, that’s why LiS has always felt so real to me and why I’ve connected with it so much.

[dragonbadgerbooks]

About Once Stolen:

No one with half a brain would rob the jungle’s most notorious energy cartel. The vibrations of their power-producing stones are the only thing that calms the mer-snake Cacao’s agonizing sensory condition though—and after being banished from his homeland swamps for similar thefts, he’s desperate.

When his attempt fails stunningly, a chaotic escape leaves him chained to a cartel prisoner: a self-proclaimed hero with a hidden stash of power stones so large, Cacao would never need to steal again. He’s determined to get his hands on it, even if it means guiding her home straight through the mist-laden and monster-filled swamp that exhaled him, with scheming poachers and a desperate cartel leader on their tail.

But the selfish and the self-righteous can only flee together for so long before something snaps...

Goodreads | Amazon

I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings:  Cultural ableism, adolescent abandonment, two instances of animal injury and death, accidental house fire, kidnapping, secondary character drinking alcohol including non-violent drunkenness.

I read DN Brynn’s first book in this series, Our Bloody Pearl, earlier this year as part of #GreatAceClub and fell in love with the characters, fast paced plot, and interesting universe. When I was offered the chance to read the second book, I jumped at it. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

First of all, allow me to introduce you to Cacao: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMd8WV3WM/

I am not even kidding, I came across that Tiktok while reading and immediately laughed for way longer than I care to admit.

Cacao was a delight to read and his character arc is one of my favorites. His growth and change felt natural, and the reader can easily see that he wants that from the beginning. He is one of the most tsundere characters I have come across in a long time and I loved every minute of his “no-I-don’t-have-a-crush-what-are-you-talking-about-you-baka” reactions to his obviously growing feelings.

Like with Our Bloody Pearl, the representation in this book is A+ and just an accepted part of the world. All the characters use sign language, Cacao is autistic, there are nonbinary and plenty of other LGBT+ characters and characters of color. The cameos of a couple of characters from Our Bloody Pearl also made me happy, for those wondering if anyone from the first book makes an appearance.

Also like with Our Bloody Pearl, the characters are definitely my favorite part. Each one feels fleshed out and three-dimensional and the found family dynamic hits close to home every time. I’m excited to see if Cacao’s family and Pearl’s pod ever meet up and what adventures they might get up to.

I highly recommend this book and series.

★★★★★

[douwatahima]

Turns out I have some more feelings about the manga I finished yesterday. Not naming it so this doesn’t end up in the tags. Please don’t read this, lol. The fourteen year old version of me jumped out.

I think the thing that bugged me most about this last stretch of DN Angel is how much it felt like Yukiru Sugisaki was just...done with the whole thing. Like everything felt very rushed towards a specific, easy conclusion that didn't address a lot of the interesting pieces she had previously laid down.

Like, I remember reading those last few chapters before the eight year long hiatus and HOLY SHIT there was so much! The Dark/Risa relationship all of a sudden becomes an actual threat, not just to Daisuke/Riku, but to Daisuke himself! Satoshi completely lets his guard down around Daisuke, trusting that the person he loves will make this huge sacrifice for him, and when Daisuke refuses he POINTS A GUN TO HIS OWN HEAD. AND THEN WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT HE GOES OFF INTO THE FOREST WITH. THE. GUN!!! AND THEN!!!! RIKU FINDS OUT DAISUKE IS DARK!!!!!!!! IT'S WILD AS FUCK!!!!!!!!

And then we come back and a lot of this is immediately dealt with in a comedic fashion and we just move on. Dark and Daisuke don't talk about that Risa interaction. No one goes after Satoshi. Daisuke comes up with some excuse and Riku is satiated for now.

Then we got the whole dream circus arc. Which was honestly alright. I enjoyed Daisuke coming to terms with the fact that he cannot separate himself from Dark. They are one and the same, for better or worse. And honestly, at first I thought this arc was going to lead us somewhere interesting. Because if Daisuke and Dark now understand that they are a package deal, how do they deal with the whole Riku and Risa thing???? (The answer is they basically don't but I'll get there). I was 100% ready to love this arc and then they did...the thing and I...

Okay, look. Full disclosure, I've been a DN Angel fan since I was like, fourteen. It is linked to me in a way that can only happen when you're obsessed with something at the height of your awkward teen years. And the thing that continues to be my favourite part of the whole story is the relationship between Satoshi and Daisuke. They were my number one ship, not just at fourteen, but...honestly probably through all of my teen years. Like, remember when people used to make jokes on this website about someone asking about your otp and you pull out your binder of reasons? I literally made a Satodai binder. That's not a joke. They were it for me.

And, don't get me wrong, there was never a point where I honestly thought the manga was gonna have Daisuke leave Riku and end up with Satoshi. I dreamed about it, but didn't honestly expect it. BUT I loved the way the manga addressed Satoshi's feelings for Daisuke. This is someone who Satoshi treasures above all others. The person who makes him believe the world can be better. The person he would do ANYTHING for. Like, Satoshi LOVES him.

Which is why it's so frustrating to me that Yukiru Sugisaki decided it would be better for Satoshi to have a two second dream about Risa that changes all of his feelings instantaneously. Like, I'm not here to shit on Satoshi/Risa fans, and I'm happy y'all got your ship. Honestly. But, the two of them have barely spoken before this and then Satoshi has a dream and literally says, "oh I guess my feelings have changed now" like...two volumes before the end! AND THEN THEY DON'T EVEN TALK UNTIL THE VERY END OF THE SERIES. FOR WHAT????

It honestly just read to me as, the mangaka wanted to end the series and Satoshi continuing to be into Daisuke was too emotionally complicated to quickly wrap up so he loves Risa now. And hey, that clears up the whole Dark/Risa thing, right? I'll get to that.

ANYWAY, so then we jump into an elongated story about some past Niwa/Hikari drama which would've been fun if I hadn't been growing more and more confused as I noticed how few chapters were left and we were STILL ON THIS. Like, I love when DN Angel gives us fun new characters to talk about. Hell, the Freedert arc and the Argentine arc are two of my favourites. But, when you only have a limited amount of time...It just felt like this was something Yukiru Sugisaki was maybe sitting on for awhile so she didn't want to skip it, but she also wanted to finish the story as soon as possible so the ending comes IMMEDIATELY after which makes this whole arc feel...weird. Like...we could've spent our last few chapters on the characters we know and love but...instead...

Then we get to the endgame. So, quick poll, do we think the mangaka already had this ending in mind before the anime came out or do we think she decided to do the anime ending because she had no idea how to finish the story. I'm really not sure, but either way it felt soooo anticlimactic given that we've had the anime ending for almost 20 years. Like...what was I waiting around for if you were just gonna do the same thing????? And look, I honestly never finished the anime because I couldn't stand the way they chose to characterize some of my favourite characters (most notably Satoshi and Risa) and I'd read what the ending was and hated it lol. But I digress.

The thing about the ending that gets me most is that it all comes on so fast. Like, you wanna do the anime ending? Okay. Don't love the idea, but okay. BUT it all happens in like... 2-3 chapters. Like, all of a sudden the Black Wings is sucking up power from the artwork and, oh no, here comes Krad ready wreck shop. And then we, randomly at THE END OF THE MANGA find out Satoshi's adopted Dad is actually his real Dad and also he's a piece of artwork which makes Satoshi half a piece of artwork???? Why are you telling us this now???? Then Satoshi and Daisuke seal Dark and Krad into the Black Wings the end. Like...????? That's it?????

OH ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE HARADA TWINS ARE MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY. HONESTLY PROBABLY BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE YUKIRU SUGISAKI FORGOT TOO SINCE THERE'S NO CLOSURE ON THAT?????? (Honestly, I'm laughing because I literally forgot about this fact until just now. AGAIN WHAT WAS THE REASON LMAO!!!)

Okay, so the story's done but where does it leave our favourite characters???

Daisuke and Riku have figured their shit out and are...presumably going to do long distance??? Idk, they never really address whether they're staying together or not as far as I can remember???? Like, this is the relationship I thought we would get the most closure on but ?????????

Risa just gets to be sad for awhile I guess. It's honestly so infuriating to me that we got this awesome moment before the hiatus where Dark asked Risa if she would love him no matter what and she says yes with her WHOLE CHEST and that's enough for Dark to almost, like, take over Daisuke's body permanently. Like, her love for Dark is as real as Riku's love for Daisuke but she's not allowed to have a happy ending like her sister. She gets to see Dark one last time where he kisses her and hopes she'll always be his best girl and then he flies off into the night while she begs him not to leave. Then, she gets to cry in the street, trying to remember him while everyone else is forgetting. Well, at least she has Satoshi, right????

But like, we don't even know if she likes Satoshi that way. There's been...no indication that she does as far as I know. And as he's hugging her, Satoshi is having these thoughts hoping she'll be able to remember Dark because he knows how meaningful he is to her. So their ending is LITERALLY Risa gets to be horribly heartbroken and Satoshi gets to pine for someone else who, at this point, doesn't love him back.

Like, once again not to shit on Satoshi/Risa fans but...is this the ending y'all wanted????? Because as someone who stans them both this just felt horrible. It reads as a feeble attempt to "pair the spares" (since in the story the mangaka wanted to tell, neither of them could be with who they originally loved) but, like, even then this is the saddest way to do that. OH! And once again, if Risa is moving, ARE THEY EVEN GOING TO BE TOGETHER????? Like, what are we supposed to get from this what is the REASON??????

And then there's Dark and Krad being stuck in the Black Wings for eternity. The biggest reason I didn't like this ending in the anime. Like, look. I get that you have to end your manga somehow. BUT if your plan was to reunite Dark and Krad in this way I don't understand why you would write a whole interaction, mere chapters before, having Dark say that that's the LAST thing he wants to do. HE SAYS THAT THEY AREN'T THE SAME ANYMORE AND THAT HE DOESN'T WANT TO RETURN TO HIM. AND THEN HE'S FORCED TO DO JUST THAT. FOR. WHAT?????

Like, Dark isn't a villain. He's one of our main protagonists and has been this whole time. I get that in stories sometimes characters have sad endings. (I've already argued that I think both Satoshi and Risa's endings were bittersweet at best). But to have Dark say mere chapters before it happens that he categorically DOES NOT want to rejoin Krad and then force him to do just that feels like such a needlessly cruel thing to do to this character we're meant to love.

Once again, it just felt so much like Yukiru Sugisaki wanted to end the series as quickly as possible. I get her wanting to come back to it; she's kinda notorious for not finishing things so I get the impulse to just drive through and get at least one story done. But, it felt like so many things were skipped over or changed just because it made getting to the end goal easier and less complicated. Not addressing some of the cool shit she laid down before the hiatus, completely morphing Satoshi's feelings in a dream, writing off Risa's feelings for Dark, telling us all of the Satoshi backstory stuff at the last goddamn minute, giving Dark his worst nightmare as an ending, so many of these things done just to move things along towards a specific end goal as fast as possible.

Honestly, there's a part of me that wishes she hadn't come back and finished it at all. I was happy enough with the ending I had written in my head and would've preferred it to what we ended up getting ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Anyway, to anyone who actually read this (and a part of me hopes no one does lmao) thanks for listening to me ramble. And if you're a Satoshi/Risa fan, uh, sorry I hated on your ship lol. You're cool.

[away-ward]

I'm so curious about your favourite books (dark romance and otherwise) outside of the devils night series? Are there any other dark romance series that have stood out to you like devil's night? Any standalone that you liked?

Hey!! I wish I had something for you. A long list of recs that we all lose our minds over. That’s the best part of reading and fandoms, I think. Unfortunately, I don’t.  

Devil’s Night caught me at a weird time, when I was going through something. I read a lot of dark romance fanfic when I was an unsupervised teenager with unlimited internet access, and sort of got over it after a while. After I finished DN and still had time left on my KU subscription, I tore through a bunch of what was offered. None of it sticks out now, and it’s been a few years since then.

But for you, I went through my old kindle account. These are in no particular order, just as I found familiar names that I've read various series/books from:

Monica Murphy LJ Shen S. Massery Elle Kennedy Saffron A. Kent Callie Hart Sav R. Miller Selena

There's probably a few others that I didn't find, and several authors that I tried but ultimately didn't like anything I picked up enough to finish. I hope that helps, however vague it is.

There is one series that still comes back to me from that time, other than DN. I’ve spoken about it before, but it’s the Crown Pointe series. I would technically call it a dark romance, because of it’s tropes, but I know much darker things are published daily on KU.

Heartless Hero and Stolen Soulmate are great, and I honestly wish that DN’s writing and plot development were similar to Crown Pointe. CP, in general, uses its pages and time to serve the plot and characters better than DN. In CP, after every interaction between the main characters, I knew something had changed or progressed in some way. Even the sex served to change the dynamics between the characters, either to the reader or the characters, which made it feel more useful to the story, than just shoved in because it’s what’s expected.

(as a bonus point, the couple in Stolen Soulmate is interracial. I know some people were complaining about that with DN.)

The thing that CP lacks that DN has is an interesting cast of characters. I like the main characters for each book well enough. There were some minor characters I would like to get to know better. There were plans for those characters to get their own books, but they were never published for some reason. As you can probably tell, because my conversations about DN usually circle around character relationships and dynamics, interesting characters and plot are more important to me than the overall romance.

I’m currently reading A Walk to Remember. A friend said that the ending is different than the movie. I think it’s probably just their interpretation. Still, I’m reading to find out if I feel the same. So far, I much prefer the movie to the book. The updated setting, the changes made to the characters, and how they interact and progress are more engaging and, honestly, make more sense. As it is, the movie took the basic premise and characters names. But we’ll see. Maybe my thoughts will change. It’s my first Nicolas Sparks and I think it’ll probably be my last.

A few weeks ago, I finished a re-read of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I was once again struck by how successfully the author was able to convince me of the close, lifelong friendship between the four girls, while keeping the focus on Vivi, and her eldest daughter, Sidda, front and center. The movie doesn’t do it justice. Last year sometime, an anon that went by Z asked for stories that featured female friendships, and I still hold this one up as a good example.

Below is a scene that made me want to read the first time the horsemen were arrested. Was Will excited? Kai stressed? Damon annoyed? Did their dad's fight in the Thunder Bay police station lobby? Was Martin just a baby cop?? Give me all the moments.

But I'm also really fond of this scene on its own.

Don’t know what I am going to read next. I’ve debated before about whether I should post more about what I’m reading or watching. I know that the followers I have are here for DN stuff, though I never meant to limit it to that. As the DN fandom goes quiet on tumblr, I question whether it’s a good time to archive this blog, and leave it as it is. I’d keep it active, but only as a collection of Devil’s Night stuff. Or if I should divert to other topics as I go.

Since you’re following for a reason, I’ll ask you. Keep in mind, if I really wanted to spend the time building a new blog for what I'm reading, I would. It's not a huge deal.

Thanks for reading this far. I know it went way of track, as I usually do. I love talking, after all.

And I appreciate the question, even if my answer isn't much of an answer.