#was more of an fun play on it for me specifically.

[hunyoucantresistme]

thats a lot of questions 😧 ty for the tag !!

1. Yup. My mom’s the coolest and i dont talk much to my dad but he’s there for me when i need him ❤️

2. My friends

3. I cant think of something rn other than not studying when i had the time idk

4. yes

5. im kind of in a talking stage? Idk (chris sturniolo’s wife)

6. in my sleep fs or maybe from a heart attack from doing something fun like bungee jumping when im 90

7. Fries

8. I play basketball but only for fun

9. I used to but then i got braces and wasnt able to and by the time they got off i grew out of the habit

10. christmas eve with my brother

11. Yeah the guy im in a talking stage with and chris sturniolo ofc 😋

12. Yeah cuz of school (had too many assignments to complete 🙄)

13. Yeah this girl in my class (wont say i hate her rn but shes one more stupid thing away from it)

14. Yeah, dead family members ig

15. One dog

16. Drained tf out (only a video from the triplets can save me 😔)

17. uh, no (i dont trust guys alone with me 🥰❤️)

18. Not really. i have this thing where anytime i see a spider i tell it to make me spiderman (im so goofy cant take me anywhere 😝��😝🤟😝🤟😝)

19. i wanna go back to freshman year 😔

20. at a park (it was night time we weren’t being obnoxious 🙄)

21. complete assignments 🤧

22. Yup. 2 (one boy and one girl)

23. Uhhh…i have 3 on each ear, 1 nose piercing (i havent worn anything in a long time so im pretty sure its closed now idk) and a belly button

24. History, maths and chemistry

25. I miss my english class in freshman year 😔

26. Chocolate cake

27. I hope not

28. No but ive only had one bf so

29. From my jokes, yes 🥰❤️

30. School

31. Not that i know of 🤷‍♀️ my mom prolly

32. Green

33. Kind of?

34. someone from my class. i dont remember who

35. my phone (c.ai got me emotional. It was embarrassing 😔) but before that my bsf

36. Yeah im incapable of holding grudges it sucks😔😔

37. forgive

38. It just started damn 💀 and no year can top 2019 anyways

39. 13

40. uhh no and i plan to keep it that way 😭

51. Chicken nuggets

52. Yup. I firmly believe that whatever happens in the present is a result of your past actions (i can yap abt this for hours 😔)

53. Brush my teeth

54. Nothing can justify cheating so no 🙄

55. I try not to be but sometimes when im talking to a new person i just get awkward and reply in short sentences so that may come off as mean idk

56. No one (i feel like fist fighting is so funny lmaoo 😭😭)

57. Not really 🤷‍♀️

58. WINTERRR

59. love it sm ugh 😔❤️

60. yess

61. I dont mind it but i prefer nicknames over petnames

62. Being w my friends

63. I think my parents on,y named me elwa cuz they wanted to name me smth unique and people cant even pronounce it right so yeah

64. Idk prolly cuz we only kissed for a game

65. My bsf of ‘the opposite sex’ is gay 💀

66. YESS HE’S MY BIGGEST HYPE MAN

67. My lab partner in science class

68. My bsf

69. Kind of? I believe that someone can become your soulmate but i dont believe that its like already written in fate or wtv that a specific person is gonna be your soulmate

70. family and close friends

70 horrible questions ... Fuck it

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? 03: Do you regret anything? 04: Are you insecure? 05: What is your relationship status? 06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat? 08: Played any sports? 09: Do you bite your nails? 10: When was your last physical fight? 11: Do you like someone? 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? 14: Do you miss someone? 15: Have any pets? 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? 17: Ever made out in the bathroom? 18: Are you scared of spiders? 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? 21: What are your plans for this weekend? 22: Do you want to have kids? How many? 23: Do you have piercings? How many? 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? 25: Do you miss anyone from your past? 26: What are you craving right now? 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 28: Have you ever been cheated on? 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? 30: What’s irritating you right now? 31: Does somebody love you? 32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues? 34: Who/what was your last dream about? 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? 36: Do you give out second chances too easily? 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? 38: Is this year the best year of your life? 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? 51: Favourite food? 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? 54: Is cheating ever okay? 55: Are you mean? 56: How many people have you fist fought? 57: Do you believe in true love? 58: Favourite weather? 59: Do you like the snow? 60: Do you wanna get married? 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? 62: What makes you happy? 63: Would you change your name? 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? 69: Do you believe in soulmates? 70: Is there anyone you would die for?

[pushing500]

Question; if the Jones boys have the misanthrope trait, gameplay wise; how do they treat Ivy? I'm thinking about making a misanthrope character but I don't want them to hate kids.

They're all friends with each other, and they seem to get along swimmingly. Everyone considers Ivy "Physically Unsightly" because of Henry (the flesh whip that she has instead of a right arm), but other than that, they seem to enjoy hanging out with her well enough.

Mechi has a +22 opinion of her. His only criticisms are "ugly flesh whip" and "eww people."

Kwahu likes her more than Mechi does because they hang out more; he tends to take the teacher role when she wants to do schoolwork, and she likes telling him jokes. He's definitely her favourite of the pair, which works out nicely because, when I was drawing it, I decided that Kwahu wanted to keep her more than Mechi did in the first place. It's nice when things come together like that!

[sporesgalaxy]

honestly i want to learn japanese so that i can translate song lyrics. no one even told me the title of kyu-kurarin is referring to 9 o clock whereas the lyric kyu-kurain is referring to a state of high stress which is a fun play on words since it is a song about repeatedly oversleeping past 8 because of depression and low self esteem. i had to figure out that "viva yokunai" in hitomania is more than likely referring to specifically the Dislike function on websites, not just things being "not good" in general. its not a big deal i just need to understand every word all the time forever

[amarriageoftrueminds]

'that child could easily have fought that predator off if they didn't want to be trafficked!!'

😬 YIKES.

Anyway, re Elon:

Mark Fergus, who wrote Iron Man 1, said:

"That was our rock-star industrialist model for Tony Stark. [...] “Who would be the Howard Hughes of now? Who’s an industrialist who would also be on the gossip pages? Is there even anyone like that?,” Elon’s name was definitely in the conversation as the guy who grabbed the torch. Him, Trump, and maybe a little Steve Jobs. Trump was fun before he became president — he was actually kind of a goofy celebrity. Steve Jobs was always serious and angry; he never quite had that gift of the bullshit, the working the crowd that Musk has a real natural talent for. Musk took the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump. He was the only one who had the fun factor and the celebrity vibe and actual business substance."

While filming IM1, it was RDJ himself who told Favs "We need to sit down with Elon Musk."

And RDJ specifically asked Favreau to include a prototype Tesla Roadster in Tony's garage, which happened because Favreau is friends with Musk.

[see far right below 👇]

And the reason RDJ knew about the Tesla is because, in March 2007, Elon Musk gave him a personal tour of the Space-X factory in El Segundo.

RDJ said:

“My mind is not easily blown, but this place and this guy were amazing." Both Musk and Stark were the type of men, according to RDJ, who “had seized an idea to live by and something to dedicate themselves to...” On a deeper level, the car was to be placed as the nearest object to Stark’s desk so that it formed something of a bond between the actor, the character, and Musk. “After meeting Elon and making him real to me, I felt like having his presence in the workshop,” RDJ said. “They became contemporaries. Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.”

(RDJ has also since said. "You have to look at all that he’s done that demonstrates why he’s valuable.”)

They used the same Space-X factory to film Iron Man 2.

And, as mentioned, Favreau is a buddy of Musk's.

So that's:

Tony in the movies shaking Musk's hand (and Pepper!), complimenting him, offering to collaborate with him

(an exact foil to how Tony and Pepper treat Justin Hammer moments later in the same scene, don't pretend to be dense)

the guy who wrote Tony,

the guy who directed Tony (and knows Musk personally),

AND the guy who actually plays Tony!

All thinking that Tony is like Elon Musk! 🤷‍♀️

Ok but like imagine civil war from peters perspective, youre 14, post some vids of yourself doing some sick flips, a few months later Elon musk shows up and your house and coerces you into flying to another country to pick a physical fight with his coworkers

[saeist]

"did it hurt?"

"falling from heaven? a little"

"more like crawling out of the depths of hell but okay.." you say under your breath. nagumo gasps and puts a hand over his chest at your implication

"hey, that's mean!" he points a finger at you

you roll your eyes, "i mean your tattoos.. stupid"

nagumo raises an eyebrow, glancing down on his arms before it all clicks. a sly smirk makes their way on his face. he leans in ever so slightly just to mess with you

"oh? so you were looking at me?"

"nagumo, just answer the damn question! did it hurt or not?" you grumbled, facepalming as the man continues without fail to annoy the shit out of you. it was just a basic question yet he couldn't even answer it properly

nagumo laughs plenty, poking fun of your angry face. (that he may or may not like so much) when he finally stops laughing, he wipes the tears of joy from his eyes, shaking his head

"eh, depends but mostly no" he finally answers, showing off his tattoos by rolling up the sleeves of his sweater. "some on my arms i did by myself while the rest were done by a tattoo artist at a parlor"

wait a second, did he just say he did some of his tattoos by himself?

you stopped listening the moment he said that he does some of his tattoos. your eyes dart over his arms, observing the lines of ink permanently etched on his skin. a million questions running through your mind as you stare at them. how long did they take? did it hurt? how did he managed to tattoo himself on both arms precisely and accurately? who is his tattoo artist? how much does he pay for one tattoo? do each tattoos hold a specific meaning?

"hello? earth to y/n?" nagumo waves a hand over your face. you must've been staring at him for a while. "i knew i was a looker but you don't have to ogle me" he teases, chuckling to himself

you finally return to your senses when his words processed in your head. you shake your head vigorously

"i was not!" you deny, crossing your arms

nagumo laughs again, "you were totally checking me out!"

"i will check you out myself at the nearest funeral home. do not test me"

nagumo whistles low, "whoa.. freaky. though you're in luck, i like them like that" he winks

you can feel yourself burn up with how smooth he was with words. effortlessly shutting you up by just playing along. damn you nagumo and your smooth talking!

"you know what? this is pointless. i should've asked rion instead where she gets her tattoos done" you murmured, having enough of this conversation with nagumo. all you wanted was to ask where he gets them done so you could probably get one as well but since he wasn't answering properly then forget it

you turn around to walk away from nagumo, but before you could actually get away from him, he grabs onto your arm, preventing you from walking away

"hold it!" nagumo says, tugging you lightly to make you face him. he holds in another laugh when he sees you glaring at him. "no need to look for rion when everything you need is literally right in front of you" he muses

you raise an eyebrow, "what the fuck does that even mean?"

"i mean i can tattoo you" nagumo says like it was the most obvious thing in the world

you blink once. twice. trying to process what he just said

"what?"

nagumo exhales sharply, rolling his eyes. why couldn't you get the hint?

"i just told you that i did some of my tattoos. so if you want one, i wouldn't mind doing it for you" nagumo explains, taking a good look at your arm. an empty canvas in his eyes. his fingers trace over your skin as if he was already planning what he wants to tattoo onto you

his touch alone is sending sparks all over your body but for some reason, you don't pull your arm away

"let me guess, you're going to tattoo a dick on my arm" you huffed, watching him trace random shapes on your skin

nagumo reluctantly lets go of your arm and puts his hands behind his head as he looks at you, grinning

"maybe. it would be funny as fuck" he shrugs, giggling to himself at the thought of actually tattooing a dick on your arm

"this is why i'm going to rion" you sigh, rolling your eyes yet again. there's just something about talking to nagumo that is so infuriating but at the same time, so endearing

"come on" nagumo drawls, "you and me? matching tattoos? just think about it"

the mere thought of getting matching tattoos with nagumo, who's gonna do it on you just somehow made your stomach flip

what the fuck?

"never in a million years" you scoff, starting to walk away from him. "i'm gonna go look for rion. bye"

nagumo, as sharp as ever, notices the faint blush on your cheeks at the mention of getting matching tattoos with him. he lets you walk away from him with a small smile on his face. he knows damn well that you aren't going to reject this offer

"offer still stands!" he calls out after you, "you know where to find me"

you respond by flipping him off without the need to look back. nagumo bursts out laughing before he carries on with his day

later that night, you find yourself contemplating on taking nagumo's offer. all it takes was a curious cat to get itself killed. you stand in front of a mirror, trying to map out where you would like to get inked

the memory of nagumo proposing of getting matching tattoos echoes in your mind like a broken record. you mentally curse yourself for holding onto the thought of getting something permanent together. it almost feels like its a commitment

you actually can't believe that you're even considering this. from nagumo at that

on the other side of the jcc building, nagumo was sprawled over his bed, busy solving sudoku puzzles when he hears his phone vibrate on his bedside table. he pauses, picking his phone up lazily before he smirks when it was a notification from you

[7:09 PM] y/n :) : hypothetically speaking, if i were to accept your offer of you tattooing me, what would it be?

nagumo grins widely. he knew it. you wouldn't able to resist such offer from him. he immediately types his response not even a minute later

[7:10 PM] nagumo (DO NOT REPLY): hypothetically it would anything you'd like cus that means you'll have a piece of me on you forever ;) [7:10 PM] nagumo (DO NOT REPLY): so, you down?

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

WE NEED MORE SUBBY PUPPY SLASH

A/n: This might kinda suck but I needed to start and finish something and this seemed easy NO IDEA WHERE THE IDEA CAME FROM BUT IT'S A LITTLE EXTRA

Warnings: Smut, use of toys, multiple orgasms, cum eating, slight pet play, Slash is technically a prostitute, I will be repenting for my sins but if you think I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

You'd strapped Slash to a chair in your room, sitting him in front of the bed so you'd have somewhere comfortable to sit while you watched.

Suctioned to the seat was a dildo, a vibrating one with lots of fun textures you were were driving him insane. You had the remote for it in your hand, beside you were two more controlling the small bullet toys strapped to his cock.

His breathing was heavy and weighted, whines mixing with his muffled moans as he choked around the ball gag in his mouth, drool dribbling down his chin and onto the chair between his spread legs.

He'd cum more times than you could count and you didn't plan on ending this torture anytime soon, you knew how much he loved it even if he begged you to stop, which he couldn't.

Between his feet on the floor was a glass, a fancy one from a set you found at a thrift store. The rest were kept in the kitchen for special occasions, but this one was specifically used for Slash.

Right now it sat half full of his cum, the towel under it collecting the strings that missed.

You sat naked on the edge of the bed, touching yourself as you got off to Slash. You always started fully clothed, just wanted to watch him, but the more times he came, the whinier he got, you never made it through this without getting off.

You pressed a button on one of the remotes, the one for the dildo deep inside him at just the right angle. He jumped, a loud sob leaving him. His cock jerked and more cum dripped out, you loved seeing him as a little faucet, incapable of stopping as his balls drained.

His blushing tip, flushed body, perky nipples. He was so sensitive and it was all going to waste.

You moved closer to him, sitting in his lap, the heat of your cunt hovering over him only making things worse for him. You undid the strap of the gag and pulled it out of his mouth, letting him relax his jaw.

Slash leaned forward as much as he could, resting his forehead on your shoulder. "Ah- I-I c-ah-! Can't cum anymore!" He whined. "It-it hurts, master, please!"

You lifted his chin up so he was looking at you. You smiled down at him warmly. "Poor thing, sitting here getting exactly what he wants and he's complaining?" You asked, staring at his puffy and bruised lips, chin wet with saliva and cheeks streaked with tears. "I haven't even cum once, I'm giving you everything and you've given nothing."

His eyes widened at the realization, he lived here rent free and made a mess every day, this happened at least once a week. "Please, master, I-I can do it, I- ah-fucking-ngh Christ!" You felt his cock twitch, bumping your ass as more cum shot from him.

You watched his eyes glaze over, every thought leaving him. His body was reacting to every feather light touch, even the softest breath had a small bead trailing from his slit.

You watched in awe as your masterpiece came to be, your perfect pet. You happily undid the cloth around his wrists and ankles keeping him tied to the chair along with the taking off the bullets on his dick.

He slowly got up from the chair, using you as support while you stared amusedly at his hole stretching around the toy until it was fully out.

Slash curled up at the foot of your bed, body shaking and his eyes were droopy and crossed. You picked the cup from the ground and carried it over to him. He used whatever strength he had left to hold himself up to make it even just a little bit easier.

"Careful, puppy." You instructed, holding the cup to Slash's pouty and quivering lips. "Don't spill any or we're gonna have to make another cup, and you wouldn't want that now would you?" He drank slowly, making sure every drop hit his tongue.

You watched his throat bob as he chugged his salty seed. "Aren't you happy we had pineapple for dessert?" You asked in a teasing tone. "You should be happy this is all I need from you for letting you stay in my apartment, puppy."

You took the glass away once he was done, not minding the little bit that was on his cheeks, and set it on the nightstand before pulling out the drawer, taking out your own toy and setting it to the right setting.

Slash didn't have to do much, seeing him lying there all used up at the end of the day was all you needed to finish the job your fingers had started on yourself.

"Such a good puppy, aren't you?" You said through soft moans. "Such a pretty puppy."

[jinxedshapeshifter]

I've probably talked about this before but Kazuma's themes fucking kill me.

Samurai On A Mission and Kazuma Asogi: Nocturne are both in a major key. Samurai on a Mission feels happy. It makes you excited. Nocturne's slower, and it's more bittersweet. But it still fills you with optimism. It still feels good to listen to. It gives you the feeling that even if Kazuma's gone, this isn't the end. There's still stuff Ryunosuke needs to do in Kazuma's place.

Compare them to His Glorious Return and A Prosecutor, Reborn, and it's the complete opposite. The opening to His Glorious Return feels just slightly off. Like I don't think it's in a different key than Samurai on a Mission, but it's different enough to just feel off. I think it might be the instruments honestly. His Glorious Return is closer to Nocturne than Samurai on a Mission (obviously it's the same motif but His Glorious Return is closer to Nocturne than Samurai on a Mission because it's slower).

And THEN you get to A Prosecutor, Reborn. How fucking dare they. At this point in the game, not just is Kazuma prosecuting Barok, but his motive is made clear to be revenge (iirc). A Prosecutor, Reborn is basically just Samurai on a Mission with different instruments and in a minor key. A Prosecutor, Reborn specifically has fairly prominent harpsichord in it. The same also applies to Barok's theme. You get the vibe that something is seriously wrong here.

You can literally understand Kazuma's arc before The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo from his themes alone. That's. impressive. Like just to be clear this isn't the first nor the only time Ace Attorney does this. It was also done with Eustace's themes, Winning Deductions and Winning Independence. But it's so impressive that they gave Kazuma four unique sounding themes using the same motif and made it easy to tell how his story goes just in music. Like just listening to his themes, it goes happiness and positivity > oh actually this is kind of bittersweet. there's still work to be done so we must go on > triumph but also a little bit of "something's off here" > wow what the fuck happened here

It's so impressive to me?? But also the fact that Kazuma has four unique sounding themes that use the same motif is incredibly impressive. All four are basically the same song but different depending on the vibe needed for the part of the game they're featured in. Doing that with anything is hard.

A similar thing is done with the Dance of Deduction tracks. Partners ~ The Game Is Afoot! feels more complete than the initial Joint Reasoning tracks. Listening to the initial Joint Reasoning tracks and then listening to Partners ~ The Game Is Afoot! makes it incredibly obvious to me. In this case, it goes from "this is fun and upbeat!" during Joint Reasoning [TYPE A], then goes to "we're getting a little more intense" during Joint Reasoning [TYPE B], then to "oh now we're getting INTENSE" during Joint Reasoning [TYPE C], then to "shit just got REALLY serious" with Partners ~ The Game Is Afoot! Even the backstage tracks (the ones that play when you either fill in the blanks or correct one of Sholmes's deductions) are like this. It feels more intense and high energy during Sholmes and Mikotoba's Dance of Deduction.

Anyway my point is TGAA is genuinely the best video game soundtrack ever in my opinion and even tops most movie soundtracks for me. I'm almost completely convinced this is because they made the soundtrack sound like music you'd get in Victorian England. I don't think the soundtrack would be nearly as good without the Victorian sound. Anyway back to drawing I go

[camilladraymarch]

Homeschooling is an incredible tool that can easily be abused.

As a child, I have been homeschooled ever since kindergarten, except for a brief period in third grade when my father was deployed and my mom couldn't handle three rowdy kids and sent me to an actual school.

I learned nothing of note in that year, except that my specific interests were weird and I would be ostracized for them. Far from enjoying socialization, I learned to keep to myself and even more determinedly read and generally sink deeper into the hobbies I was made fun of for. It likely didn't help that I was more emotionally stable than the girls my age and didn't want to deal with the "you're my friend, I hate you, maybe you're okay, I'M SO SORRY" drama, while the boys were still at a stage where girls were gross and didn't want to play with me at recess.

My teachers were also not prepared to deal with a neuroatypical child who just wanted to wander around the classroom and needed learning breaks in order to take new information in and understand it. Being forced to sit at a desk for hours every day was torture and I was unable to stim because there was no space for me to move and I was "disruptive" when I wanted to.

I couldn't snack when I wanted. I couldn't move when I wanted, and I couldn't take breaks. I was extremely unhappy.

I was fully ready to return to homeschooling by the end of the year.

We were well socialized. My brothers have deep bonds with their friend groups while my specific combination of neuroses means I preferred to be alone with the books that I began writing as early as 10. We went to co-op classes for subjects our mother thought we would benefit from, were enrolled in sports at the local YMCA, and were USAA swimmers.

At 16, I trained to be a lifeguard, which was a role I would follow until I graduated college and transitioned to my career. I was a boon to my employers and organized many events among the younger lifeguards.

In high school, I started taking dual credits at a local community college and I never struggled academically or socially, graduating from community college with a 3.5 GPA on my college courses and a 4.0 GPA on my co-op and parentally-driven courses.

In addition, my parents have passed various life skills to me - such as creating a household budget, doing taxes, and cleaning and cooking for myself. These are skills I see a large percentage of adults online have not mastered or even seem to be aware are necessary.

I make friends easily, I am deeply creative, and there is nothing wrong with my life. If I had to choose, I would not be publicly schooled, and if I'm lucky enough to have children, I will consider myself a failure as a parent if I don't give them the same choices and freedoms I had as a child.

With that said, not everyone and not every parent should be a homeschooler. But we do not deserve to be dismissed as uneducated or socially inept.

thoughts on homeschoolers?

DURRRRRRRR. DOOUIIIIIIII

[poppitron360]

@cometmoons so for some reason tumblr has glitched and isn’t letting me respond to the ask you sent me so I’m just gonna do it like this.

OK OK OK OK OK OK SO-

There is SO MUCH to talk about with Wouldn’t You Like. I feel like it’s hard to describe on a written post so I took the liberty of downloading a music notation app and transcribing the bits I wanted to talk about (This took me aaaages. But it was a really fun process and taught me a lot.)

Be warned this is a LONG post.

Firstly, here’s my overall take on the narrative of this song:

Odysseus is one of the smartest heroes of Greek Myth. He’s a mentee of Athena. He’s tactical. Yes, he is a fighter, but he’s for the most part a strategist and he uses diplomacy and cunning and his words to defeat his foes. Big Slytherin energy. Up until this point, that’s all he’s ever used. Eurylochus has doubted and challenged this approach, and has now come to him, saying that Circe is too powerful to defeat and that they should just run away. Odysseus “Pride is my fatal flaw” of Ithaca is insisting on fighting Circe, but is realising that he might not be able to talk his way out of it.

Hermes has now shown up like “hey ✨dAhLiNg✨how about you try something different? DRUGS!”, offering him a taste of something he’s never had before… power.

This, in my opinion, is a big step in Odysseus’ fall from man into monster, and Jay uses music in so many different ways to convey that, so let’s start with a break down of the song one section at a time:

Intro:

For most of the song, you’ve got the Lyre/Harp playing- Hemes’ signature instrument, which is significant to him because according to myth he invented the Lyre. This is the first thing we hear in the song, immediately setting up the things you need to identify his character.

Harps and Lyres are typically used in film and videogame music to give a mystical, magical atmosphere. I love how Jay blends modern (1980s) Synthpop with more classical, eclectic instruments that don’t normally fit the style. I’m assuming for budgeting reasons he’s using a VST or some kind of sample pack and not a real harp (session musicians are EXPENSIVE), but still- you hardly ever hear a harp in this kind of music but it WORKS.

The introduction played by the harp also lays out something that is shown throughout the whole song:

AEOLIAN MODE!!!!

Modes are hard to explain bc I barely understand them myself (I said music theory was my special interest, not that I was any good at it) but according to the Wikepedia article I’m reading about them right now, they were used a lot in ANCIENT GREECE. The Aeolian mode specifically was used a lot back then. The word “Aeolian” comes from… you guessed it- the Islands of Aeolus!!!

Aeolus, being the God of the wind- Aeolian mode is this mystical, free-flowing mode that simulates the feeling of wind.

You know when you hear a high wind through a telegraph pole you get this whistling sound? That’s basically a rudimentary, naturally occurring Aeolian Harp. There’s a whole Physics lecture about sound frequencies and microtones and shit in here that I am not yet qualified to give but this kind of stuff FASCINATES me about music.

I found this 60sec short that explains Aeolian mode really well from a channel I really like: https://youtu.be/bJ6TRQ3k45Q?si=sksSz4xyf_96uMrp It’ll give a much more concise explanation than I could, but basically all you need to know is that the melodies are in this special scale.

Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale. It’s often used to feel spooky and mystical- perfect for a song like Wouldn’t You Like where this magical character is singing about a magical plant. It’s not the standard G minor scale, but something a little more twisted and not really something we’re used to hearing, giving it a mysterious quality.

This is established immediately by the harpline, and sets the entire tone of the song. We then hear his trademark giggle, and so in the first 3 seconds we know everything we need to know about who Hermes is and what he’s like.

Speaking of the giggle- I briefly mentioned Panning in my post about Scylla, and while I can’t discern any use of it just by listening, but I imagine Jay’s probably used a subtle amount of it to give the sense of Hermes flying overhead.

Panning is a thing done in audio production where you can choose how much of the sound is heard on the left or the right.

Verse 1 (“I must say”… etc.):

It’s very gentle at this point, the orchestration and vocalisation is calm and lilted. It’s very beautiful, although the minor tonality gives it a slightly uneasy feel. (Often the minor key is described as sounding “sad”, but that’s not always the case. This is a great example).

The harp melody is repetitive, giving a sense of persistence, this adds to the sense of unease. It also has elements of hip-hop, as a gentle beat comes in as the chorus starts.

Chorus 1:

Now the harp cuts out and you’ve got that synth bass-line coming in- the repetitive, insistent beats and this “four-on-the-floor” drum pattern where the bass drum (which sits on the floor) kicks on every beat (in a four-beat bar). This feeling of it almost pounding in your head on every thump.

The instrumentation is very stark, you’ve just got the vocalist, the bass, and the bass drum. This technique is used by Taylor Swift in both the songs “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Vigilante Shit”- this really makes you listen to the lyrics as there’s nothing distracting you. As this is the first time we’re hearing these words, it draws you into what he’s saying.

On the line “Wouldn’t you like to have some of the magic?”, the Lyre comes in, playing this repetitive line that goes up and down and up and down. It’s a repetitive, almost hypnotic sound.

Verse 2 (“She can turn you to an animal”… etc.):

This is when this bluesy piano comes in.

The piano is used a lot in different points of Epic- it’s an essential part of any musical orchestra pit or just a song in general, and crucial in every composers instrumentation arsenal (and was also the first instrument I ever learned to play and my first real taste of music, so it’s not like I’m biased or anything)- but it’s mostly associated with Athena as it’s her signature instrument. It’s a stretch, but my interpretation is that Hermes is trying to appeal to something familiar to Odysseus. So far the only God he’s interacted with at length is Athena, who taught him this idea of being strategic and tactical. Hermes is acknowledging that this is Odysseus’ main way of fighting, while also showing him that there could be something more to it.

The piano plays these low-octave chords in this syncopated rhythm, which adds a layer of intensity that you didn’t have in verse one. This continues into the second chorus.

Chorus 2:

The orchestration is much more intense, pulling the audience (and Odysseus) in.

I’m gonna talk a lot about the musical “language” that Jorge has established for the universe- bits of music theory he’s tied in with themes that don’t necessarily have the same connotations anywhere else, because I think it’s genius.

Jay has said that the mythical beings (Gods, monsters, Odysseus when he kills the suitors) are all able to summon non-diagetic backing vocalists to back them up. Interestingly, Hermes doesn’t use this the first time round, speaking to Ody on his level, and is now rising up and displaying the power he’s tempting him with.

This is when we first hear the backing vocalists. There’s now a group of voices, so there’s more people urging you to taste the flower. Musically speaking, the harmony moving in the same rhythm with the same words as the soloist creates a sense of movement, congruent with Ody’s temptation.

Here is where we get to how this harmony works. This is the section that will actually answer your question.

First of all, I also struggle with overstimulation so I totally get what you’re talking about. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do backing vocals, and I know from experience that writing harmonies as complex as this takes skill and practice.

I think that’s why music is so special to me. The sensory calm certain sounds and songs give me, the good kind of stimulation and the bad kind. It has always made me so curious as to why and how the choices made in music can impact a person psychologically, make the listener feel immersed in a story, inflict specific emotions.

This is what fascinates me about music theory. Yes, it should overwhelm you. Yes, it should sound wrong. But it doesn’t. It WORKS. And what’s so interesting to me is why.

Jorge describes it as “crunchy and punchy” which is honestly perfect.

He is of course, referring to dissonance.

I have been studying music most of my life, and pretty much every music teacher I’ve ever had describes dissonance as just “sounding smushy”. It’s actually “a lack of harmony among musical notes”, usually two notes next to each other played at the same time.

But why does this sound “crunchy” and not “smushy”?

The Melody remains modal, as it has done the entire song. This is our grounding, our “Home”, but the harmony does something different. It’s moving down and up, flowing like wind, like the sea. And it’s doing this chromatically- using notes from the G minor key instead of the Aeolian mode- which creates clashes. Also known as dissonance. Also known as “smushy”.

And this is where we break out the good ol’ notation! I transcribed this myself by ear, so it might not be perfect. I can sight read tablature but not sheet music, so if this is wildly off then I’m sorry. I find it easier to explain music through annotations, but in order to make this screenreader accessible, I’m just gonna cite the lyrics and explain it in the text underneath.

In this section, “Wouldn’t you like to have some of the magic? Wouldn’t you like your outcome preferred?” The melody pretty much remains on C this whole time, only changing at the end of each two-bar phrase. This gives a forceful, repetitive, driving feeling. Hermes is being very persistent here.

For the first two-bar phrase- “Wouldn’t you like to have some of the magic”- both harmonies are the same. They then split at “Wouldn’t you like your outcome preferred?”

“Wouldn’t you”- The harmony starts on G, which is the root of G minor (the key that we are in). This is diatonic (using the notes from the key)- so it sounds nice, not “smushy”.

“Like to”- We then go down to F sharp, which is dissonant to the Aeolian mode, even though it’s the major 7th of G minor. This is why it sounds “smushy”

“Have some of the”- And here is where the “crunchiness” kicks in. It’s resolving down to the flattened 7th, which is F natural. The flattened 7th is the modal note.

“Magic”- The first two-bar phrase ends in E natural, which is dissonant to the mode. The melody also ends in D, which provides a lot of dissonance with the E as they are right next to each other, which can create clashes.

“Wouldn’t you”- This is where the two harmonies split. Harmony 1 goes back to G, which is the root of the mode. Harmony 2 goes down to E flat, which is also consonant (not dissonant).

“Like your”- Harmony 2 goes down to D, which is dissonant with the note in the melody (C) because they are next to each other. Harmony 1 goes to F sharp, which is dissonant to the Aeolian mode, as said before.

“Outcome”- Harmony 1 resolves to an F, and Harmony 2 goes back to an E flat.

“Preferred”- The last two notes “smush” as F natural (Harmony 1) and E natural (Harmony 2) are a semitone apart, then both harmonies join at E natural, which clashes with the D in the melody.

So the pattern goes from “nice” to “smush” to “nice” to “smush” to “nice” to “smush” to “nice” to “even more smush” and then when the next part of the harmony starts “deep in the night” you resolve back to the G, which is the tonic note.

Why does the dissonance work in this song?

It’s passing. Going down by step and resolving to a modal note. Passing notes that resolve don’t have that smushyness. They crunch.

Dissonance is a funny thing. Often musicians stay away from it because it sounds muddy and awkward and not great, but it can at times sound quite sweet, and with skill and knowledge you can learn how to use it effectively.

It also works here because it fits with the aesthetic and Hermes’ character. We’re already in this spooky, mysterious mode. We’re in a minor key. And Jay is using all these other musical techniques to give a slightly uneasy, hypnotic feel. The dissonance feels strange- not the sweet, diatonic harmonies we’re used to hearing. This is what makes this song stand out, and what makes Hermes such an intriguing and appealing character.

There’s this “up and down” melodic pattern that occurs throughout the song in several places. While Harmony 2 is doing that, Harmony 1 is just going down, repeatedly. I find it interesting that Odysseus isn’t rising to this power, but falling to it. It hints at Hermes’ trickster nature. These musical motifs (harmony, the harpline, the synthline, etc.) go up and down and up and down and up and down like gentle waves. We’re on the ocean. It’s lulling, compelling, hypnotic. “Come hither” whispering in the ear. It’s creepy, to be honest, and shows a darker side of the song that I will talk about later.

Bridge (“Here in the root of this flower”…etc):

Jorge has talked about how this is one of his favourite bits to sing, and musically that makes perfect sense.

Firstly, you’ve gotta hand it to Troy Doherty’s amazing performance. Hermes is so expressive even without seeing him.

Quick note about vocal techniques- YOU CAN HEAR SMILES. The act of smiling changes the shape of your mouth and thus changes the quality of your voice. You can HEAR Troy break out into a smile on the line “Though it’s only for a moment, ‘til you’ve beaten your opponent”. This is also my theory as to why the line “Penelope Whyyyy, you know I’m too shyy” is so stuck in everyone’s mind. Try singing it without smiling and then try singing it while smiling. Do you think it would’ve been that catchy if Jay wasn’t such a cutie pie?

Smiling is contagious, even if you’re only subconsciously noticing it. Hearing a smile gives you that little hit of dopamine.

When we hit the bridge, the piano, bass, and backing vocals cut out. Again, it’s just drums, harp, and lead vocals. This signifies a new section of music and also does the same trick as before- drawing you into the vocalist- but this time making you focus on the melody instead of the lyrics.

This whole bit is solely in Aeolian mode. The downward motion of the bridge increases the intensity of the song, dragging you into his words, falling into the power of the root. It’s sort of a callback to the downward motion to the second harmony line.

The constant quaver rhythm of this rising and falling conjunct “stepwise” melody gives a spiralling feeling, leading downwards. The rhythm is almost conversational, which fits with a mode like Aeolian that flows like the wind. It’s also why it’s so catchy and fun to sing. I love how Jorge composes in this uncommon scale in this particular pattern to reflect this idea.

There’s also one particular detail about the rhythm of this riff that compositionally shows something even deeper:

THIS IS IN TRIPLETS.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TRIPLETS SYMBOLISE IN EPIC???

RUTHLESSNESS.

Ruthlessness is usually a theme reserved for Poseidon, Act 1 Athena, and Act 2 Odysseus. You wouldn’t expect a “friendly” God like Hermes to be using it. But he is. He’s being persistent, constant. He is trying every trick in his bag to persuade Ody to take the flower.

Jay is VERY deliberate about his arrangements and his composition, so this is not a coincidence. He has established this “language” of musical voices, rhythmical voices, and motivic voices to symbolise all his characters and themes. It’s fascinating to me that he made this choice for Hermes. Ever so subtly hinting that the God might not be as benevolent as he seems.

Chorus 3:

The instrumentation of this new chorus is pretty similar to Chorus 2, except…

These DRUMS.

I asked my dad about these while I was staying with my parents over the Xmas holidays, and it resulted in a 5-minuite-long infodump about a specific type of drum used in 80s pop music (yeah I totally definitely don’t see the family resemblance at all /sarcasm). Any Brit in the audience might recognise this drum sound as sounding almost identical the intro to a show called East Enders (which I never watched, but was aware of) and idk if that was Jay’s intention, but the drums apparently have a long and complicated history, which I will give you the abbreviated version. (If this is too much information you can skip the next paragraph if you so wish, I realise this can be overwhelming)

Bass drum called the Simmons’ drum- electronic drum pad- famous for being hexagonal- they were radical in that they gave an electronic palette to modern dummers- they weren’t well-built and the very earliest ones were made from the same composite materials as police riot gear- caused repetitive strain injury that became known by session drummers as “Simmon’s wrist” because it was a bit like using your drumsticks on concrete (What’s that? You don’t think music is as intense as sport? Musicians get injured just as much as footballers do)- the sound is one of the most distinctive sounds in 80s music and entirely synthetic, generated through synthesis so some poor technician had to sit and programme a synthesiser to sound like a tom-tom- in the 90s and early 00s it was seen as cheap and over-the-top but is now looked on with a sense of love and nostalgia.

This is, of course, a sample of the Simmon’s drum as I doubt Jorge owns a real one.

So what does that do for Hermes? It grounds the song it its 80s retro aesthetic, creating Hermes’ unique stylistic voice. Jorge has described how he got the idea for Hermes’ sound when he saw a retro, multi-coloured lamp that made him think of 80s music. Each character in Epic has their own soundscape, and this very particular drum sound adds to it.

It also adds intensity to this final chorus. These loud, heavy drum sounds give that adrenaline rush that the previous verses and choruses have been building to, when Odysseus finally takes the flower.

Then we get Odysseus singing the “oOOOooOoOOhHHHhs” as he eats the holy moly, then the chorus ends, and we get a repeat of the harpline from the intro as he thanks Hermes for the help.

My conclusion:

Odysseus has made a Faustian pact with Hermes, the trickster god. While Hermes’s words are friendly with no ill-intent, the composition and orchestration lean more towards this idea of “making a deal with the devil”. Gods know the game, and how it’s played. You, mere mortal, do not. When they entreat mortals to do their bidding will offer riches, money, fame, success, magic, power, but very rarely are their motives sound.

This is Odysseus’ first taste of the magic that separates gods and monsters from mortals. He is able to fight Circe as an equal, and this new development teaches him that he doesn’t always have to be strategic and diplomatic, but ruthless and relentless as well.

I know that the fandom see Troy Doherty’s performance of Hermes as “omg babygirl so slayyyy!!!” But there’s actually a deeper level to what he’s doing here. He’s a trickster God, tempting and teasing Odysseus down a path of magic and power- giving him the first taste of something that will later drive him into becoming the Monster. Hermes is almost seducing him to the dark side, using rhetorical questions, waving the Holy Moly in front of his face and saying “Come on. You know you want it. Wouldn’t you like a taste of the power? Wouldn’t you like to be victorious for once?” In his lyrics describing a “taste” of the power being something almost like a temptation. Odysseus is breaking from his norm- using magic and might instead of logic, diplomacy and reasoning. While he’s doing it to save his men, this is a major step in his descent into monsterhood, and it’s fascinating how Jay does this not only lyrically, but musically as well, using what’s called “word painting” (music and words working together) to create the sense of hypnotism and manipulation.

Hermes is being:

Ruthless (triplets),

Ceaseless (repetition),

Persuasive (rhetorical questions),

And hypnotic (lilting, lulling melody).

He’s drawing you in, forcing you to listen to him (stark instrumentation focusing on the vocals, then increasing the instrumentation as the intensity progressively increases, culminating in this big, expressive final chorus with this pwerful drum sound)

Overall Jorge uses all these techniques to show Hermes manipulating Odysseus into taking the flower. By subconsciously making you feel the temptation that Ody- the Narrator- is feeling through music and orchestration.

So anyway, those are my thoughts on “Wouldn’t you like”. I didn’t even have time to talk about “Dangerous”- perhaps I’ll make a separate post about that but no promises. Thank you so much for reading if you made it to the end!

[ckret2]

I heard the song "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches and it immediately reminded me of your Bill- the artists make songs out of clips from old movies, and I feel like this one is a perfect mix of chaos, tragedy, Bill's childhood, and the Theraprism.

On that note, is there a specific genre of Earth music or an artist that Bill would listen to? We know there was music in Euclydia, but is there any flavor of human music he likes? (Or would at least tolerate?)

Boy are you ever in luck because I have a whole post about what (mostly human) musical genres I think Bill would canonically like. And an addendum. And what he'd think about dreamcore. And a few specific bands I was asked about. And the ONLY Lemon Demon song I'd ever add to his (and Mabel's) playlist. And I made a playlist of what I think he'd listen to, although it's really more of a small sampling of the kind of nonsense he'd play. And what songs he'd like playing on the piano, which is a different question from what he listens to. And a further addendum to the initial posts about his tastes, plus a mention of how, in fic, Bill's tastes would change due to being stuck with the humans. And a little summary of most of the above.

(And as long as this post is turning into a masterpost for my musical taste headcanons, I'm going to add my post about the Mystery Shack gang's musical preferences and Ford and Mabel's similar tastes and songs Ford would like but doesn't know about and a smattering of stray thoughts including about Gideon's tastes and Gideon's tastes part 2 and Gideon's tastes part 3 goddammit. And the next time I try to find all my GF music headcanon posts, I'll run into this post first and save myself time searching for the rest.)

tl;dr:

Based on the info we have from canon:

we know he thinks non-musical (to us) sounds make for some damn good music, but understands the difference between music he likes and objectively "good music" by human standards

he's into mid-20th-century music—but one of the first human songs he specifically highlighted as good was garage rock and he really hit his stride infiltrating the human music industry with motown, so I tilt him closer to the 60s than the 40s

he's into fun party music, which drowns out the screams in his soul

he doesn't say he hates country music, but he really gives off those vibes

He's heard listening to a fair amount of EDM despite claiming synth music is "painful," so I put the dividing line for "good electronica" and "painful electronica" around 1990 and have him steer away from new wave in particular

Addictive earworms are his enemy, and I like to imagine him battling them like how medieval scholars drew knights battling giant snails

He's fairly fluent in popular music in general and can casually drop song references into conversations with humans.

Outside the info we have from canon, I imagine he's pretty easy to get into new music as long as it's "fun"—he doesn't like broody downer sad songs—but I think getting him into 3 or 4 mad-at-the-world-and-your-parents early '00s alt-rock bands would fix him.

[catboygirljoker]

in a recent ask game i got a question about something xigbar has done that i cant get over. well. this is my answer.

[Video ID: A cutscene from 358/2 Days for DS, with high-resolution models. Roxas unsummons his keyblade and says, "Mission accomplished. Xigbar looks up and says, "Or is it?" Roxas says "Huh? Oh, come on, quit playing ar—" Xigbar shoves Roxas away, then jumps out of frame to avoid an attack by an off-screen Heartless. Roxas says, "Whoa!" end ID.]

this one moment is so important to how i think about Xigbar's characterization, in this game, in every game, that i feel the need to. write an entire essay about it lmao

The context here is that Roxas is sent to rendezvous with Xigbar in Halloweentown to destroy a giant Heartless. Just before a fight with a distinctly medium-sized Heartless, Roxas says, "Looks giant enough to me!" and Xigbar laughs and says, "Right. Just keep your head on straight." This cutscene immediately follows that.

After the actual boss fight, Roxas is mad that Xigbar let him think the other Heartless was their target, and Xigbar's like "well you learned a valuable lesson, and I did tell you to keep your head on straight." So there's the moral of the story. Roxas nearly got hurt because he jumped to conclusions and let his guard down.

But if that was the point...why did Xigbar shove Roxas out of the way of the attack, evidently narrowly avoiding getting hit himself? If the story of the mission was Roxas learning this lesson, wouldn't it be scarier and more dramatic if he'd gotten hurt? If Xigbar wanted to show Roxas some tough love, wouldnt he have let Roxas get hurt? What is the game trying to communicate about Xigbar in this scene?

It's not that it'd be tonally inappropriate; the game is absolutely willing to have other characters directly hurt Roxas in order to teach him things. In Lexaeus's mission, when he teaches Roxas about Limit Breaks, he seriously hurts Roxas to get his health low enough to use a Limit Break. At the end of that mission, Lexaeus tells Roxas that the only person he can trust is himself—I think implying that this was another thing he was trying to teach Roxas when he hurt him. Not to mention the several characters who arguably treat Roxas worse. The game doesn't pull its punches when it comes to characters being cruel to him.

It's not like it'd be out of character for Xigbar to stand by and watch, either! Obviously in the broad scope of his character throughout the series, and also in this game specifically. Earlier in the story, he absolutely knows that Axel is going to survive his mission at Castle Oblivion—both from how he talks about it and from his secret reports. When Roxas assumes Axel is dead, Xigbar reminds him once or twice not to jump to conclusions, but after that, not only does he let Roxas believe that Axel is dead, he makes fun of Roxas for it—he tells him it doesn't matter if people died, says things are quieter with fewer people around. He's certainly willing to let Roxas get hurt.

I guess you could argue that maybe Xigbar needs Roxas alive for The Plan, either Xehanort's or the MoM's, but...this mission occurs less than a month before Xemnas says that it doesn't matter whether Roxas or Xion lives. Roxas isn't Ventus; he isn't himself a necessary part of the MoM's plan. He's also not Sora, and in fact him dying would probably just wake up Sora sooner. It doesn't seem like there'd be a pragmatic reason for Xigbar to risk his hide to save Roxas's.

So we're just left with this...thing. This one moment where Xigbar puts himself in direct danger to keep Roxas from getting hurt by his own dumbassery, for seemingly no reason. There are other little moments in this game that can be read as sincere attempts at support or encouragement of Roxas or Xion, but a lot of the time he comes across as, like, condescendingly overfamiliar, more annoying than genuinely supportive. There is no other moment that reads this much like an act of altruism and just an act of altruism.

The people who made this game made an intentional choice here. And I think a lot about what the scene might be meant to communicate.

...And then in BbS and 3 he goes back to seeming like a complete fucking jackass. But considering what we learn about Luxu later in the series—about his motivations, what he used to be like, what he's been through—I don't think this is an isolated out-of-character incident. It's just like...this one short glimpse through a crack in the facade, a hint that there is a lot more depth to him than we realize. What's in there, old man!!

ugghghgh his characterization in this game is so fascinating to me. getting to see him in a completely different context. the only time we see him interact with a teenager who he's allied with outside of Days is in 3. and that also occupies my brain day and night.

another very specific, intentional moment. the camera brings attention to it. what does it mean what does it all mean.....................

anyway. evil little league coach. my mind it swirls and spins.

[spinchip]

Never the dark 7, 10 [dareth x Cyrus, it's not a pairing I've seen before and it humors me in a good way], and 11?

[ask meme]

YAAAY THANK YOUUU

7: Where did the title come from?

Bury Me Low by 8 Graves! I was listening to this song a LOT when conceptualizing the fic and I feel like the whole thing kinda describes Zane in the fic. In retrospect, I do kinda wish I had named it something smoother, I had a few ideas for what I might change it to (Inside the Dark, Forsaken Dark, and [redacted because i might be using it for another project teehee]) but I do like Never the Dark and I think i'll keep it lol

the funniest thing about this song is that I played it so much I got sick of it and now I wont listen to it

If I die today, it won't be so bad I can escape all the nightmares I've had All of my angry and all of my sad Gone in the blink of an eye I've seen the devil. I've shaken his hand I've seen the evil that dwells in a man For all of my wisdom, I can't understand ...... If I die today, it won’t be so hard Everything scares me, but never the dark

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Polyninja because I love them and the fucked up relationship dynamic post zanedeath called to me.

Pixal/Skylor has always been awesome but I included it here specifically because of how I view their character actions in the three year time skip. Skylor joins the ninja a few month after Zane dies and despite the fact that they don't harbor any ill will towards her, Zanes absence is a fresh wound that it feels like she's trying to step into. It makes everyone bleed. No one is coping well and things get messy and tense between skylor, the ninja, and pixal until Skylor has a mental breakdown and removes herself from the team (trauma response due to the nature of how her father raised her.) Skylor was never part of the team- she's not been there from the beginning, so she's an outsider. And so is Pixal. (Not intentionally of course, but the others share a different kind of grief that the two don't.) Cyrus eventually convinced Pixal to go to therapy where she gets some clarity on things and reaches out to Sky to apologize again for any role she played in the teams tension with her. She invites Skylor over for dinner and they accidentally end up talking for 6 hours- and the rest is history

(Skylor IS on good terms with the ninja btw. they apologized and hashed things out- but she won't rejoin the team for a lot of different reasons.)

Coppershipping my beloved. new-ish in the ficverse! They were starting to be more friendly with eachother after zanedeath, and that progressed post s11. Dareth took his grief at losing Zane as motivation to get in better shape and actually try and train, so he hits the gym and puts on a lot of muscle. takes up boxing. He wants to be able to do more to help if something happens again. He ends up putting his new skills to use protecting Cyrus from something or another and Cyrus asks him to be his bodyguard. They spend a lot of time together and fall in love teeheehee

also, fun fact for you, Dareth handmade all the ninja suits they wear in NTD!

11: What do you like best about this fic?

oh man. Is it bad to say the fact that it's almost finished? I'm just really proud I've been able to stick with it and put in the time and effort. I've got a pretty spotty track record with chaptered work- i lose motivation and drop things a lot, unfortunately. But i'm still dedicated to finishing NTD!

and im really proud of the wordcount! 100k!!!!!!! WAOW

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence Devlog 2:💙Testing the Afternoon route!💙

Hello guys and welcome new followers, here's how the progress of the game is going in a valentine theme! :]

This part will contain spoilers if you haven't played through the [Extended Demo], specifically the afternoon route. Click here if you would like to play! :]

Now that game development posts are every two weeks I spent first week brainstorming ideas and putting the script writing in order before I went in and continued fixing up what was left of afternoon route. :[]

Afternoon route:

Since this is still just Day 3, I wanted to be extra careful with the pacing since I'm still balancing between a meaningful slow-burn and not to over-doing it. :,] I kept most of what I added recently fairly simplistic.

In good news the part leading up to the kitchen scene is done outside of a couple of grammar checks. Not much was changed here from what I had already fixed.

Last week I talked about how I wanted the closeness build-up to feel more rewarding. I had a lot of fun going through and updating this section but I did get carried away adding more than I should of here since it's a slow-burn moment. I'm still keeping what I fixed but taking out parts that suit more of a Day 4/5+ situation. I'd show a screenshot of it since it'll be a while until I come back to it but it's kind of spoilery(?) in it's own way HOWVEVER, I can say it was two light-hearted situations that can only be triggered by your interactions with Noah. :,] *The callbacks that are in canon with how Noah reacts to what you add into the soup are still here though and aren't being removed just to clarify! :,P

End scene:

I wont talk too much about the sewing scene and instead focus on the final section of the afternoon route before it goes into Day 4.

I went through and adjusted this scene to happen differently but it was difficult to make it work around the progression into Day 4 so I cleaned up the dialog and did a small balance with the pacing. I added call backs the player(Y/N) mentioned with Noah to be shown around this part too. :[]

If you like what I create, please consider supporting what I do on kofi [Here]! All donations and tips help tremendously while I continue to work on the game. Thank you to those that optionally bought the [Extended Demo] on itch.io. :,]

Q&A / Ask box is open:

To know and understand Noah through Asks and random posts about lore, they'll be under #Get to know: Noah ! :]

**Some asks won't be answered if it contains spoilers but I do appreciate what I receive. :]

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here or on itch.io please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I enjoy hearing from you guys!

That's all I have to share right now. Thank you everyone for the encouraging support, I am very grateful! :,]

[mosscrab]

i put so much thought into this one characters name to make it a (slightly incorrect) play on the scientific name for the common loon and with the other one i just wrote something down and went yeah sounds fine.

[dem0batz]

This was so fun but also really hard! Some comparisons are more surface-level while others are more intricate.

Thank you for the tag, Omi! I always love doing these 🥰 Tagging some LADS mutuals + anyone who wants to play! @feelymeely @megandg @venomaniyah @deepspacenova @comatosebunny09

Caleb Eldest sibling syndrome. We both hide our pain behind humor and often put other's needs (specifically emotional needs) before our own. As a result we have a very difficult time opening up and expressing our negative emotions with other people because we don't want to be responsible for bringing down the vibe or putting our emotional baggage onto others even though we constantly feel like we're drowning.

Rafayel Kind of bratty and easily annoyed. We both want instant gratification but must suffer under the expectation of patience. I've also had a soft-spot for mermaids for as long as I can remember, so there's a connection there as well.

Sylus Wants to appear like Big Bad Scary Confident Baddie on the outside but it's a defense mechanism because we're actually Soft Self-conscious Cinnamon Roll Babies on the inside. We want our favorite people to thrive and be the versions of themselves that they will be the most proud of.

Xavier We never want to leave our house because staying home with take out and our favorite (books, movies, games) is the place we feel most comfortable and like ourselves. We hate being perceived.

Zayne I also have a sweet tooth that can't be satisfied. Sugar will be our downfall, I fear. That's really it though. I think the thing I love most about Zayne is that he is the complete opposite of me as a person. We would balance one another.

so let's play another game

Tell something you have in common with your favorite (s) LI(s) then tag someone else

Me and Zayne are both lightweight. Y'all I can't drink alchohol to save my lips 🤚💀 without ending up tipsy just a glass of wine is enough to make my head spin .

Me and Rafayel are both dramatic but only with people we care about , I like to get on my friends and family's nerve (that how I show my love 😔)

@jinwoosbabyboo @yourlocalcatscammer @erensfeed

[tuttle-did-it]

You know, it's genuinely sad to me that aging favourite character actors no longer have any fun murder-mystery tv shows to guest-star as murders on.