#well you Have to be able to kill that guy about it

[genoskissors]

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - Initial Character Thoughts

This is going to have a lot of Danganronpa comparisons, name analysis, and just my overall thoughts on each character before the game is out. Feel free to comment your own thoughts!

Darumi Amemiya (飴宮 怠美)

"A young woman known for her mood swings and obsession with all things dark and depressing. She's a big fan of killing game stories and has no fear of death. If she has to die, all she wants is a death that's as dramatic and flamboyant as humanly possible."

Crazy thing I'm about to say, she reminds me of Genocide Jack. She sticks her tongue out a lot and seems to be completely desensitized to anything regarding death. It makes me think she's just desperate for a thrill in her life.

I don't really like her design but I think if the vibrant colors were turned down, it would be much better. I do enjoy it in a way, being able to dress however you want reveals a lot about someone's confidence. I love how she looks in her other outfit and I honestly think if her shirt was less white, I'd love her hair.

Ame means candy, miya means palace, daru means lazy, and mi means beauty. Daru is not common in names, so it definitely has a meaning. This name doesn't have any straightforward meaning to me, but I suppose Darumi is a more unique character. Her name might make sense later. I do theorize, for the lazy part, she was bored before getting into dark stuff, kinda like Junko.

Eito Aotsuki (蒼月 衛人)

"Takumi's most trusted ally. Eito cares very deeply for his friends and isn't shy about expressing those feelings, corny as they may sound. He's been weak and sickly since he was little, but his impressive intellect might be just what the team needs to guide them through the war safely."

We are all thinking about the exact same image. Anyway, I think I'll love him because it seems he has a bit of a crazy side as well (I love crazy people). He's also very forward and compassionate, so I'll enjoy seeing both sides of him.

He looks like one of Nagito's beta designs which I think tells me everything I need to know. I find him cute but his jacket being the same color as his skin kinda throws me off. I'm also curious as to why he wears gloves, he's dressed like it's winter.

Ao means blue and tsuki means moon. His first name is interesting, as the kanji for Ei is the same kanji used in the game's title, meaning defense. To means human and is also a common ending for a boy name. I find the term blue moon fitting for his appearance, and I assume his role in battle will mostly be defense.

Gaku Maruko (丸子 楽)

"A guy who's true to his personal desires (to put it delicately). He's a coward and always looking out for himself. However, there's something so refreshingly honest about his pettiness that it's hard to hate him. Gaku's also good at taking care of other people once he opens his heart to them."

I will not lie, I don't think I'm going to like him. I'm okay with a character being a coward and I'm okay with a character being selfish, but both does not seem like a mood maker to me. I think I'll find him annoying but I'll be happy to be surprised.

He's got some patchwork in his clothes, so I think he might come from a troubled past. His shirt is really stupid looking though, but it's stupid enough to circle back to being slightly cute.

Maru means round and ko means child, but together, Maruko is a type of meatball. Not exactly the same as Western ones, but very similar. Gaku means comfort. I think his first name goes well with the fact he takes good care of those close to him. In Japanese, Gaku is also a homophone for the word school. As for Maruko, I don't know.

Hiruko Shizuhara (雫原 比留子)

"Leader of the Special Defense Unit. A cold, almost heartless beauty, she always says what's on her mind, even if it means offending others. She's just as merciless on the battlefield, where she gets a twisted sense of pleasure from tearing invaders apart."

She enjoys murder, I think I'll like her. I'm very curious as to why she's considered the leader of the group. The way she's described as merciless on the battlefield makes me think she has murdered before. Maki but a little more crazy (I love crazy people).

She has a lot going on that I really enjoy, the piercings, the makeup, the hair clip. She's also 5'11, which I think will be funny next to our 5'6 protagonist.

Shizu means droplet and hara means original, but is also just a common ending for Japanese surnames, like Saihara and Gokuhara. Hi means compare, ru means remain, and ko means child. Hiruko, spelled 蛭子, is also one of the names of Ebisu, a God of fishing, wealth, and fortune. Ebisu also uses the kanji 比, which is in Hiruko's name. Her last name is also water related.

Ima Tsukumo (���十九 今馬)

"One of a set of twins - Ima is the elder by a few minutes. He acts like a carefree joker, but underneath that humor is a hint of something darker. A hardcore siscon, he thinks of nothing but protecting his sister. If anything or anyone dares to threaten Kako's safety, Ima will show them no mercy."

This might ruin people's perception of me, but I don't care that he's a siscon. Like at all. It might be an uncomfortable attribute but after four Danganronpa games, I could not be less phased. I think I'll like him since he seems silly but also a little crazy (I love crazy people).

One of the cutest characters here. I thought he was a girl at first but he just has luscious eyelashes. I love the color of his hair and the streaks in it, I think they go well with his eyes. His sprite here looks very chummy.

Tsukumo means ninety-nine, which is one less than a hundred and how many days they have left after day one. Ima by itself means now but his name only uses the “I” part of it and then uses horse for the ma part. Basically 今 = Ima and 今馬 = Ima. It would be the same with or without the last kanji, but I assume it's there to make it seem more like a name. However, I can't help but connect him to Oma.

Kako Tsukumo (九十九 過子)

"One of a set of twins - Kako is the younger by a few minutes. She's prone to spacing out, but also has a keen mind and a healthy sense of curiosity. Kako is a big fan of mystery stories and wants to be a private investigator when she grows up."

She seems like a regular teenager to be honest, but the spacing out and solving mysteries reminds me of Chiaki. I think I'll like her, but I can't really pin her personality based on this description.

I adore her hairstyle and her bow. The color of her hair looks really nice with her eye color. Funny enough, I didn't realize her and Ima were siblings until I saw the eyes. Like the uniform did not give it away for some reason.

Like her brother, Kako's last name means ninety-nine. The kanji for ka means past, contrasting the meaning of her brother's name. I like to theorize there will be a character named something including future, but that's a reach. Ko means child, it's a very common ending for female names. It might just be to make Kako seem more like a name, but perhaps it also represents childishness.

Kurara Oosuzuki (大鈴木 くらら)

"The scion of one of the most wealthy families humanity has ever known. She's proud, overbearing, and acts like she's better than anyone else. She always wears a strange tomato mask, never showing her true face."

I like the proud type of character, someone like Miu or Byakuya. She seems to be more focused on degrading others than uplifting herself though, but that's just based on her quote. I also really want to see her face but oddly if it's never shown I won't be disappointed.

I don't really care for masks that completely cover a character's face, I like to see at least some parts, but the fact the mask expresses emotions makes me content with it. I also thought it was a Jack-o-Lantern at first, but I guess it's just a scary tomato? The rest of her outfit is nice, fits the rich girl thing.

Oo means great, suzu means bell, and ki means tree. Suzuki is a very common Japanese last name, so adding great in front of it makes sense for her prideful personality. Kurara is a type of plant that is very bitter. I assume this will also relate to her personality.

Kyoshika Magadori (凶鳥 狂死香)

"A young samurai who's utterly clueless about the modern world. Has never even heard of multiplication tables, let alone learned them. She has a disturbingly close relationship with her katana, the Holy Jumonji Sword."

Kyoshika is who I think my favorite character will be. She's very Tenko like, a character I love very much. Her birthday is 11/11 which I hope is a joke about how she cut 1111 perfectly in half. While she isn't very modern, I can still see she has a reliable personality. Her name also hints she might be a little crazy (I love crazy people). Lastly, Ninja's are cool.

I love her outfit, especially the katana on her hip and the huge cape. She also has a normal ponytail, not often seen in Danganronpa. I like how her ponytail looks like a shuriken. Her face reminds me of Maki a bit, another character I love. I also love the colors. I just really love her so far.

We have a very straightforward name here. Maga means bad or unlucky and dori means bird. Unlucky bird? Crows are often associated with death, but that might not be the message it's going for. Kyoshi literally means crazy to death. Ka means scent, but is also just a common ending for a girl name.

Moko Mojiro (喪白 もこ)

"A young woman who is blowing up on the high school pro wrestling scene. Her courage and boundless energy is a source of inspiration for the entire Special Defense Unit. Whenever she has a problem, she faces it head on. She didn't choose the wrasslin' life - it chose her."

Her personality reminds me a lot of Aoi. Probably with more courage though. She seems like she'll get along better with girls than boys. The boundless energy makes me think she'll be fun to play, but we'll see.

We finally got ourselves another buff woman, Sakura fans rejoice. I like how her hair, face, and outfit are cutesy, it shows she can be physically strong while still being girly, something Sakura wanted.

Sigh... I don't get her name at all, Mo means mourning and jiro means white. Her first name is in Hiragana so I don't know the exact meaning, nor do I really have an idea on her last name. I thought about Peko and how pekopeko is an onomatopoeia. Mokomoko is an onomatopoeia for something thick and soft. Not sure if that relates to her personality. I'd say her last name is a death flag but everyone dies in this game so that doesn't mean much.

Nozomi Kirifuji (霧藤 希)

"A high schooler who combines a kindhearted nature with dogged determination in battle. She's very passionate about the Special Defense Unit's mission, but also seems to be hiding something. For some reason, Nozomi is identical in appearance to Takumi's childhood friend Karua."

I'm a sucker for characters hiding a big secret, so I'm excited for hers, I assume it's related to Karua but how so? Much to think about. She's kind and passionate, so I think she'll be very easy to like as a character.

Cute, cute, cute, cute, cute!!! She is adorable from her hair to her shoes. I really like her hair especially. Her name is cute too. I think she's my favorite design overall, it's pleasing to look at.

Kiri means fog, which, like Kirigiri, I believe represents the mysterious aspect of her. Fuji means wisteria, which are purple just like her. Nozomi means hope, which is a name I was surprised Kodaka never used. I always thought Nozomi would be a great name for Chiaki, but I'm getting off track. Overall her name is peaceful but mysterious, fitting her description.

Shouma Ginzaki (銀崎 晶馬)

"A young man who, by his own admission, has absolutely nothing going for him. On a scale of one to ten, his self-esteem's at negative five. He's constantly putting himself down."

It seems like a lack of self-worth is gonna be his whole thing. I'm not really looking forward to it. Nagito did it too, but was also a very positive person, but it seems Shouma is just depressed. I just don't want everything he says to be about how he's worthless.

His design is okay. I think I'd like it better without the hat but it's not too bad, just makes him look a little immature. I do think his face and haircut are cute. He's also very small.

Gin means silver and zaki means small peninsula, but is mostly associated with being an ending for a surname, so I doubt it changes the meaning. Shou means crystal, and like in Ima, ma means horse. The silver and crystal parts are definitely connected, maybe he's wealthy? Or maybe it symbolizes his personality instead. Not very sure.

Takemaru Yakushiji (厄師寺 猛丸)

"An old-school delinquent who lives to ride and rides to live. Despite his rough-and-ready demeanor, Takemaru's really a nice guy on the inside. Impulsive, straightforward, and honorable to a fault, he's sworn to never use his strength to bully the weak."

He seems like a generally good character but I can sense there will be a lot of him yelling. Honestly, he just seems a lot like Mondo to me, so I don't have much to say. I like Mondo but I'm not sure we need another one. Also he says he doesn't hit girls, kids, or the eldery, so first thing I know is he sees girls as weak.

Give him the corn hair and he's literally Mondo. I do like Takemaru's hair though, it's kinda cute. He's got a lot of scars on his face, so I feel like he might be a little reckless. All the characters have dull skin but I feel some vibrance would do him good.

Yaku means disaster or evil, shi means master, and ji means temple. The temple part adds up with the old school aspect, like in Saionji and Shinguji. The first part likely just represents him being a delinquent. In his first name, Take means fierce and maru means round. I think this is mostly just a pun, “Takemaru Hair” is a hair style associated with delinquents.

Takumi Sumino (澄野 拓海)

"The main character of this story. A completely average high schooler from a completely average family. He can be a little indecisive and pessimistic at times, but when he has something to protect, he'll fight with everything he's got."

Classic average high schooler as our protagonist, expected for these kinds of stories. I'm in no way a hater of the archetype, I love Makoto, Hajime, and Komaru lots, so I think I'll like him too. His introduction is pretty negative, but I find pessimism to be an endearing trait, so I feel like I'll love him.

I'm not really a fan of the bright red hair, but it's not bad. I would like if the red and black in his hair switched. Also, classic ahoge. I find his eyes beautiful, they're very sharp, great for a pessimist. Not much to say about his outfit.

I don't know why but I really like his name and the kanji used in it. It just sounds and is written nice. Sumi means clear and no means field, but it's also just a common ending for surnames. Taku means opening land and mi means ocean. I think the opening land part fits the fact he's in a new place and the sea is more metaphorical for how vast it is.

Tsubasa Kawana (川奈 つばさ)

"A young woman who knows a lot about machines and what makes them tick. She had a bright, lively personality, but isn't good with stressful situations. When she gets nervous, she gets nauseous, and then..."

She is so cute I already know she'll be one of my favorite characters. She's energetic and social but gets sick when nervous, I can very much empathize with her... If this game has things like free time events, I'd like to spend some with her.

I absolutely adore her design. Her hair is beautiful, her entire outfit is cool, I like the way she carries herself. She also has the classic Danganronpa mouth mole, a need for all of Kodaka's games. Her necklace thing is odd but I'll look past it.

Kawa means river and na means doubts, however, the kanji for na isn't really known for its meaning and is mostly associated with being a part of a name. The last sentence implies she throws up when nervous, so, for lack of better phrasing, maybe the river represents that? And doubt is what fuels that nervousness? I think I'm reaching here. Tsubasa means wings, which I think is bright and lively like her personality.

Yugamu Omokage (面影 歪)

"A striking young man who's been in the business since long before the war started. Unlike the rest of his family (who are also assassins, by the way), Yugamu believes that killing should be done with love. He enjoys torture and other immoral forms of pleasure."

He's crazy like for real crazy (I love crazy people). His description makes me raise an eyebrow about what exactly "immoral forms of pleasure" are but I won't make assumptions until the game is out. He kills for love which reminds me of a character I love with all my heart. He'll never compare to her but it's okay.

The outfit is very nice but the random organs are a bit odd. That's probably the point, but it's just really random. I find him ugly and I love it. His hair is also bad and I love it. I love this ugly boy.

Omokage means face shadow, referring to imagining someone's face with your mind. Kind of like imagining someone, usually dead, is there with you. Yugamu means distorted. Another on the nose name. Remembering a face but it's distorted, could refer to his own scarred face, or perhaps forgetting what someone who has passed away looks like. He has a strong connection with love, so perhaps someone he once knew. It likely just refers to his own face.

Sirei and Nigou (ＳＩＲＥＩ) & (ＮＩＧＯＵ)

"The principal and commanding officer of Last Defense Academy. To put it another way, a weird little robot that orders the members of the Special Defense Unit around. Under his command, Takumi and the others will be working to wipe out the mysterious School Invaders." "Sirei's assistant and second in command. An odd little robot that has a gentle, caring personality, but is also prone to making careless mistakes. He's completely loyal and subservient to Sirei."

I'll keep it short and simple, if these two aren't funny I won't care for them at all.

I kinda like their designs. It's unique how you can see their brain and heart, but I think that's because those two are the most vital organs. Also, what's with Nigou's lips? I don't even know their gender so I'll just use they/them for the time being. The English description says "He" but the Japanese text doesn't explicitly use he and there no other instance to use.

Their names are romanized in Japanese as well, so they don't have an obvious meaning, but I have a theory! I believe Sirei is 司令 “Shirei” meaning in command and Nigou is 二号 “Nigou” meaning number two, as in second to Sirei. Sirei and Shirei are pronounced the same in Japanese.

Final Thoughts

I'm hyped for this game. I haven't talked about the gameplay aspects but my absolute favorite thing in games is multiple endings. A hundred endings is a paradise for me. A lot of the sneak peaks leave me curious, so I'm excited to play it. April 24th! I think I'll enjoy the cast. I also like the majority of Kodaka's characters because they're so complex, so I have no doubts about loving this new cast.

Sorry for any spelling errors, this was a lot to proofread.

[solidaritygaming-fanblog]

(using u as my own personal soundboard rubber duck method yada yada ya if anyone wants this u can have it)

SO villain/vigilante jimmy au

like no one suspects him. why would they? it's jimmy. sweet jimmy, harmless jimmy, can barely keep himself alive jimmy. jimmy the normal guy, the civilian in this au (which I have now decided is a modern day superhero au ig)

Jimmy? a (kind of) villain? dude cries over babies and kittens and despite being afraid if spiders always asks that they get taken outside rather than killed. the man is so oblivious. he isn't even. aware that basically all of his friends are involved in the superhero life (hero, antihero, vigilante, villain or otherwise) obviously he must be protected. everyone on all sides agrees that Jim's little shop (birdie bakes? codfathers chippy? big man flowers idk dude I'm bad at names u choose) is a neutral zone. everyone has to play nice. can't break poor timmys heart after all

but canary? the harbinger if chaos? oh he's bad. the domino that sets everything in motion leaving destruction in his wake. it's not so bad, most of the time. sure there's a lot of injuries and trauma but rarely any death. except when there is. except when ur reminded that canary isn't just a prankster who likes causing property damage but someone who has a body count. someone who is truly terrifying when he wants to be. someone who's casual, friendly disarming demeanor should not EVER be mistaken for harmless.

his identity is anyone's guess really, no other villain has seen what he looks like or gotten even a hint if a name. most are too afraid to ask and the ones that aren't (or so they insist) haven't asked either. not because they're afraid of having the canary on their bad side of course they just not interested. totally that and nothing else

(they're terrified. after all, he's an unknown that everyone knows isn't all that stable. a ticking time bomb. a canary in the coalmine, that has everyone afraid they'll miss his silence until death catches up with them. no one knows anything, and it is only human nature to be afraid of the unknown)

somehow, canary is able to thwart almost any plan aimed at him. this makes him all the more terrifying. after all, the man seems to know their every move. is he a traitor? does he have access to their plans their bases, their identies? even the villains are unnerved. after all, they haven't exactly escaped unscathed either. sometimes, canary is gunning for them explicitly and many a villain has lost a base or two to the man

(the small listening devices planted in bags, within gifted potted plants, wherever, are too small to be discovered unless one is looking very, very carefully. but why would they? it's just a gift from jimmy. lovely, sweet, harmless jimmy).

and the heroes about to plan a big bust of canary's base? well they've come down with a little bit of food poisoning or smth. nothing too harsh, just enough for them to be taken out of the field. just enough time for canary to catch wind and pack up and move before anyone can prevent it. big villainous plan going up in literal flames that not only steals Ur thunder but leaves u on bed rest bc of the burns? at least jimmy gives out free stuff and a hug when ur down

(and Jimmy loves his friends, cares for them a lot. but he is a survivor and will do anything to make sure he never has to feel powerless, to feel like he is less than anyone or anything. he loves his friends but he knows they see him as less, as an outsider, as weak. as a thing that needs to be protected, rather than protected against. so the addicting rush of adrenaline from pulling of a heist, destroying a whole street, from leaving a trail of blood in his wake whenever he's feeling particularly villainous is made so much sweeter when it's done right under their noses

it's a wonderful feeling, testing the limits of your power when no one, not even you, knows where they lie - especially when they're terrified to find out how far you're willing to go)

rubber duck method! I can't wait to see this

Yes. 100 hundred percent yes.

Its just Jimmy! He would never hurt them :)

[sarcasticallyexplicit11]

id KILL for a lil bit of pony n darry angst (always🙂‍↕️) where they get into a fight n pony brings up some absolutely foul, targeted shit n instead of yelling back darry just genuinely breaks down. cannot handle it. (absolutely ADORE ur writing love🫶🥹 keep up the good work like ALWAYS can't WAIT to see what u cook up!!💕🧡🫶)

Darry angst and Ponyboy being a little shit? Count me in! I’m glad you like what I do and I hope you enjoy this too! I’ve written something similar in the past but this one’s a little heavier (oops) Post Windrixville but Johnny and Dally are alive because I said so 🙂‍↕️

Darry wasn’t sure what crawled up his littlest brother’s ass and died but he needed it out as soon as possible.

He had seemed to be in a mood ever since he had gotten home from track practice that afternoon, huffing and puffing all over the place. Darry couldn’t get more than a sarcastic quip or silence out of him when he would ask Pony about his day or how practice went. His attitude made it almost impossible for Darry to be around him, not trying to pick a fight.

The rest of the gang slowly trickled into the house throughout the evening. Soda, Steve, and Dally sat on the floor playing a heated game of poker, Pony and Johnny curled up on the couch together, and Two-Bit sat on the kitchen counter while Darry got started on dinner.

Walking towards the fridge, Darry’s foot collided with what felt like a sack of bricks. He looked down and saw Ponyboy’s bookbag lying on its side by the table. Two-Bit let out a small chuckle before a sharp glance from Darry had him snapping his mouth shut. Darry took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep his frustration at bay. He knew that Pony had been struggling ever since Windrixville. He knew that Pony was a teenager. He knew all that but Pony’s foul moods and constant disregard for his responsibilities were starting to wear on Darry’s last nerve.

“Pony,” Darry yelled, “come get your bag!” He heard a huff from the living room and stomping footsteps making their way towards the kitchen. Darry took another deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm himself.

Ponyboy rounded the corner and grabbed his bag with a loud groan. “I don’t ask ya to do much around here little colt, so leave the attitude out of your chores next time.” Ponyboy shot Darry an irritated glare, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He muttered something under his breath, just loud enough for Darry to hear but not loud enough for him to understand. “Pump your breaks, what did ya just say to me?”

Two-Bit, sensing the heightened tenseness that filled the room, hopped off the counter and made his way into the living room to join the other guys in their game. Though nobody was playing anymore, too focused on what was going down between the two brothers.

Pony whipped his head around to face Darry who was stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the counter. “I said you’re always nagging me to do shit though.”

Breathe, Darry thought to himself, he’s pushing your buttons on purpose.

Ponyboy had gotten a little taller over the course of a couple of months, now able to look Darry in the eye, which he abused for his own benefit. Darry usually didn’t mind, but right now he wasn’t using puppy dog eyes. There was a certain deep-seated fury sitting in them that Darry had never seen before, something that had him backing away from his little brother.

“Well I wouldn’t have to nag if you just did what I asked you,” Darry said. His heart was pounding in his chest, an anxiety that had been ever-present since his parents died. Ponyboy stepped towards Darry, fist clenched at his sides and Darry could feel his breathing speed up.

He wasn’t scared of Ponyboy, but his body hadn’t gotten that memo.

Darry could hear the distinct sound of crutches heading towards the kitchen, with four sets of footsteps following behind. Pony took another step towards Darry and said, “and I’d do what you told me if you weren’t such an asshole all the time.”

“I’m an asshole because I care, you’d see that if you got your head outta the clouds.” Darry could see the gang standing in the doorway out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t bring himself to care that they were witnessing this.

Ponyboy snickered, a hint of defiance deep within it. “Funny, 'cause you never act like you care about anyone but yourself.” Darry flinched backward, back slamming against the counter as he did so. “I don’t even think you cared when two of our best friends almost died.”

After the words left his mouth, Ponyboy knew he had fucked up and everyone else did too. The whole house went still, as if any movement would cause the whole thing to collapse. He expected Darry to get angry. He almost wished Darry would just be furious and ground him for eternity.

Nobody was prepared for Darry to break down into tears.

He crumpled to the floor, any strength he had completely zapped from his muscles. Everyone was frozen, like the lakes on the, very rare, coldest days in Tulsa. Ponyboy tried to say anything to fix what he had just broken but the words just wouldn’t come out.

“Darry I-,” Ponyboy started, but Soda’s hand on his shoulder had him snapping his mouth shut.

Nobody moved for what felt like an eternity, until Johnny moved further into the kitchen, lowering himself carefully to the ground to sit next to Darry. That was the catalyst. Dally then pushed the other guys out of the way to sit on the other side of Darry, keeping a little distance between them.

Darry finally lifted his head, tears still flowing down his cheeks. “You don’t know the first thing about how much I cared, Pone. Who do you think is paying off their hospital bills?” Ponyboy shrunk backward and shook his head. “If I didn’t care, neither of them would be staying in the house right now. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be killing myself working over 60 hours a week to make sure there’s enough food on the table for everybody. You don’t know how much I care because I keep it quiet.”

Ponyboy squished himself onto the floor next to Johnny and crossed his arms on top of his knees, laying his head on them. “I’m sorry.”

Johnny looked over at Darry and chewed on his lip, thinking about what to say. He was eternally grateful that Darry let him stay, sleeping on the Curtis couch is far better than toughing it out in the lot. He also felt a little guilty about taking up space, but Darry would always shut that down. “You said something when you thought I was asleep when I was in the hospital. I heard you say that you’ll always take care of your little brothers, and that meant the whole gang. You don’t say it, but you’ll sure as hell show you care,” Johnny says, picking at the hem of his shirt.

Darry took a deep breath as fresh tears poured down his face faster than he could wipe them away. Dally nodded in agreement with Johnny, a small smile gracing his lips before he could catch it. “Yeah man, Buck woulda kicked me out by now with all my complainin’ yet you still keep me around. That’s how I know you care.”

The rest of the gang slowly made their way to the floor, packing together like sardines. Darry could see the guilty look on Ponyboy’s face so he waved him over to sit in front of him. Pony scooched over to Darry, settling himself in his big brother’s lap and burying himself in his shoulder. Darry smiled and wrapped his arms around Pony.

“Kid I care more than you’ll ever know, even when you think I don’t,” Darry says, squeezing Ponyboy against him. “And you and I are gonna talk about that attitude you’ve had.”

Pony nodded against Darry’s chest, then lifted his head up and said, “I’m really sorry Dar.”

Darry squeezed him once again, a silent acknowledgment of his apology. “Now, who’s ready to eat?”

[pain-in-the-riri]

One sentence Wolfstar prompt:

Remus is an English teacher; Sirius teaches math across the hall.

The new maths teacher has been here for a week and one day, and Remus's life has rapidly degraded into a hell of his own creation.

Before school starts, he's in his classroom before Remus even makes it into the building, no matter how early Remus gets there, and the second he hears Remus's door opening, the new guy is hovering in the doorway cracking jokes before Remus even gets his first sip of coffee (it is FAR too early in the day for jokes.) During lunch, he's taken to sitting next to Remus in the teacher's lounge. Even between classes, he's out in the hallway saying goodbye to his students and yelling something silly across the hall at Remus through the door of his English classroom.

The worst part is that Remus has hardly been able to string together a single coherent sentence in all of these encounters. Surely he must be doing something right, because Mr. Black keeps seeking him out for some reason, god knows why, but nearly the instant that they part ways Remus feels like he's exiting out of a fugue state and has close to no recollection of what he said during their conversation.

Most days, Remus would describe himself as fairly well put-together and of sound mind and body, but the instant Sirius Black is standing in front of him, suddenly he finds himself stuttering and grinning until his cheeks hurt, and ready to say yes to whatever is asked of him. "Oh, you need help carrying ten boxes full of maths textbooks up three flights of stairs? Sure, I have nothing better to do." Fuck!

And after school ends, when Remus is puttering around his one bedroom apartment, he catches himself grinning down at his pasta as it boils remembering the time that Sirius threw a meatball at a kid in the cafeteria when he was picking on another boy, distracting him and letting the poor bullied kid run off, or laughing about a joke Sirius told that morning because something on the television brings it back to mind, or finds himself letting the shower water run cold because he's distracted thinking about how good Sirius's hair looked up in a bun that day, and how good he smells, and— FUCK!! It's torture!

It's not as though he can ask him out on a date, he doesn't even know if he's queer! Or single! And besides that, there's probably some sort of rule about fraternizing with fellow teachers…and also, it's not like Sirius would even say yes, he's a complete smoke show and Remus is…well…Remus. And, fuck! He probably thinks Remus is a complete idiot by now, with how he stumbles over his words when they're speaking— and he's so fucking obvious about it that even the kids have started picking on Remus about his crush, GOD!!!! Kill him now!!! There is nothing worse than a teenager figuring out that you have a crush on someone!

"Hey, Lupin!"

Remus looks up from the hole he's been scribbling mindlessly into the pages of his notebook with a biro as he's been emotionally spiraling during his free period. Sirius is leaning into his classroom, hands braced on either side of the door frame and looking muscular and gorgeous in his black button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, Jesus Christ, this is simply too much to handle, Remus is going to have to quit and find a new school to work at.

"I'm taking you out for drinks after school, hope you aren't afraid of motorcycles!" Sirius says, winks, then whisks away, striding confidently down the hall.

Remus stares, wide-eyed and silent, at the now Sirius-free doorway. Maybe he'll wait another couple of weeks to consider whether or not he should hand in his resignation.

[kingmaxstatic]

Goodmorning, Goodbye and Goodnight: A Post About Farewells.

... How do you break away from something or a piece of yourself for so long? Or at the very least, do so in the public eye?

Let's not beat around the bush.

I'm not happy in the Sonic fandom at the moment.

(More below the post)

So let me make this PERFECTLY CLEAR I have not fallen out of love for Sonic. I still adore Sonic and I will more than continue to enjoy it!

But I'm unsure if that enjoyment can really be.. public.. for the time being.

For a while I've always couldn't help but notice that the fandom is a bundle of bickerers. Makes sense. Most of us here are ND and VERY opinionated!

But this all came to ahead when I was watching a video about Amy Rose. And as I watched, as interested as I was. A video dissecting her current writing I realized something...

I was fucking miserable!

Why do I CARE so much about other people's opinions about something I enjoy? Even if I cringe at that one bumblecast clip of Ian saying "he wishes he could redesign Amy".

Even IF I understand the concern.

I still LOVE Modern Amy! I was letting this video give me insight, yes but it also made me feel guilt for even LIKING IDW's take on Amy (and IDW in general).

Infact guilt is something I've felt A LOT in the fandom.

Shit man, Starline is my FAVORITE character in sonic, period. But it feels like both the fandom (and the writers, to an extent) want to guilt you into not liking him.

That liking him is some moral failing on YOUR part? (Literally Ignoring the fact we've literally had a few years to grow attached pre-imposter syndrome and that he didn't just magically appear post-Chao Race Arc)

Yes, Starline sucks. Yes, he (in canon) used two random mobians for cyborg stuff. I know this. He's still an enjoyable character and I don't excuse his canon actions. It's even why in my own canon of him Imposter syndrome isn't canon.

I'm tired of the stress, man. I'm tired of not enjoying Starline. I haven't been able to properly enjoy him in a wile.

For my birthday I actually bought a Bad Guys physical copy!

And I have not touched it at all.

The stress of keeping up with this fandom has actually caused me literal anxiety shivers. I don't have fun any more. There's just.. too much discourse.

And I think it's best for me if I take a step back from it. At least.

So.. What Happens Now?

Well! What happens now is that I take a public step back from the fandom! Like I said I still very much enjoy Sonic.. I just don't think that enjoyment will be AS public any more. Gush about it with friends! Play the games! Draw art.. For Myself!

This doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on my sonic moots (you haven't gotten rid of me JUST yet!) but it does mean I'll probably start blocking tags. Taking some breathing room. Finding that love for Sonic again on my OWN time. Be a lil selfish with it!

I still love and adore my ocs (and they'll still be around on Toyhouse and Art Fight!) But their stories are mine to share.. and sometimes I can just.. not share them!

What happens to this Blog?

SHIT MAN! I'll still be around! I probably just won't be posting in the sonic tag any time soon. I'm in OTHER fandoms right now (Nicktoons, Crash, Etc) If you like my writing and my art In THIS fandom surely you'll enjoy it in others!/pos

Even if those fandoms are more.. obscure to say the least? This Blog, at it's core, has always been ABOUT multifandom stuff and It feels like it's finally returning to that!

Nature is healing! KingMaxStatic is finally posting about WEIRD fandoms only 3 people know about again!!

What Happens To Starvoltz?

Though not an as.. urgent question. It's one I feel has held a lot of weight, at least to me. I know people are GENUINELY such big fans of Starvoltz and I think it's been the ONE BIG THING keeping me back from making me step back from the fandom...

So... I'm killing both Starline and Voltz off..../j (I would never)

I still LOVE and ADORE Starline and Voltz! They mean the world to me (and even the MOON to me!) But over the course of the past few months I've felt a nagging GUILT about them.. and I don't want to feel that anymore. I want to ADORE Starvoltz like I used to...

and In order for me to do that I GOTTA step back.

If you wanna get a lil cute about it, you can think about it like the two going on a honey moon or a vacation!

If you've made it thus far.. thank you. Genuinely. Thank you for understanding! I hope you understand. I love sonic, I will always love sonic. But I need my own space to love Sonic.

I suppose maybe like the main character I need to be free.

Free like the wind.

[cars2-renaissance]

Oh shit you guys I woke up this morning with another headcanon. Ughhhhhhhh this one really fucked me up. I’m gonna post it under a cut cause theres discussion about death and su*cidal ideation and it’s just super depressing. So please don’t read if you’re not in a good headspace.

I think this is the worst one yet. It's just pain.

So I always noticed that Finn is really quiet in Big Ben when they're tied up. Mater is talking back to the lemons and engaging with them but Finn is COMPLETELY silent.

Now maybe it's cause he's an experienced agent and knows not to open his big mouth. But when has Finn ever not been on the spot with these jokers? Why is he so quiet and resigned here?

He's resigned! He doesn't even try to escape. He's glad that Mater makes it out (maybe??) but after that, he's just like oh well guess I'll die?

Finn is incredibly crafty with cheating death. I mean just look at the oil rig scene. Even after the extreme shock of seeing Leland dead, he's still able to make split second decisions to save himself and make it out. And that was when it was just his life on the line! He doesn't even seem to care about Holley's life at all in this scene! And this is the same car who seemed genuinely gutted by seeing the wgp racers getting their engines blown in the second race, these random strangers he doesn't know. You can't tell me he doesn't care about others!

So what the FUCK did they do to him to break him that much??

Well. They had him prisoner and while they kept Mater gassed the whole time in between races, we don't know what happened to Finn or Holley. We don't know that they were unconscious the entire time. But we do know certain among the lemons are complete sadists. I've wondered for a while if they filmed what they did to Leland. Zündapp wasn't there for it and he seemed to take personal satisfaction in the aftermath. It's completely plausible that Grem recorded the whole thing even to just show the professor later.

But you know who they would take particular delight in showing a snuff tape of Leland Turbo to?

Finn.

And that would be enough to keep him quiet in Big Ben, to want nothing more than to die there, crushed to death just like Leland, because he deserved it after not getting there in time to save him. He wanted to die there so bad that even Holley's life didn't matter. And when he did get out of that situation (thanks to Holley), the only thing on his mind was going after Zündapp.

They just found out there is an actual bomb attached to Mater and he's heading for a highly populated civilian area IN LONDON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD; this is likely Finn's home town. You'd think he'd stop at nothing to go take care of that situation and not leave it to the total newbie.

But no. He is out for BLOOD against Zündapp. Holley can save London—who CARES about London or any of these cars he's gotten close to over the past two weeks—Zündapp is on the loose and Finn is not going to let that slide. He puts himself in deaths door yet again to catch this motherfucker. He barely flinches while getting heavy artillery shot at him. And his grand solution at the end is to blow them all the fuck up.

The size of that explosion SHOULD have killed them all. Finn was more than willing to kill himself if it meant Zündapp died with him, plus Tony Trihull who at this point he probably knows is the location of Leland's death. They can all just get blown to hell.

But he and Zündapp survive somehow—I don't think the same can be said for Trihull—and we see them later, finally pulling up to the races. We also see that Zündapp is completely tangled in Finn's grapple lines in ways that could only be possible if he was flipped around multiple times in all directions. Finn got him to the bomb site but not before beating the ever loving shit out of him. He is FURIOUS and doesn't bat an eye when Holley tases a car in full custody. Because it's Zündapp, and Finn only just stopped short of killing him.

Finn is a hot mess throughout the movie. He takes unbelievable risks and pulls ridiculous stunts. BUT he always has it pretty under control and above all, he shows genuine care for those around him. But there is a definite shift in his values and goals after Big Ben. There's a real possibility that it's because he had to watch Leland die in that window of time.

I hate this headcanon so much but I had to write it out this morning

This was all just off the top of my head a few minutes after waking up, haunted by this headcanon, so I’ll go back and rewatch the scene to see if anything sticks out to me. I’ve combed over the opening of the movie so many times to analyse it but I want to go over the Big Ben scene again to comb over it too cause it’s got a lot packed into it.

But yeah. Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!

[worldfianna]

Severance Theory

(Anotha one thank yew)

Buckle down and be patient with me because this is going to be the biggest reach of a theory anyone can possibly have mustered up, luckily it's not as stupid as miss huang being mark and gemma's daughter, but it still has some considerable holes. BE NICE, be patient, and feel free to argue otherwise AMICABLY. okay enjoy guys because i seriously started doubting myself when i got to the end of writing this. I was like "wow I'm actually crazy" but this show is crazier so.

Okay so maybe this is so so obvious, but i need to get it out there in case nobody else kind of thought about this either. So i finally convinced one of my friends to watch severance, so she came round mine and we got up to episode 3, and we got to petey. Now, petey has reintegration sickness right? So bad that it essentially kills him, but he also just disappears from work, he can't have resigned because otherwise he would've gone through the whole "goodbye" process of it, he didn't get fired, and cobel says he's still missing and they're actively searching for him, she believes he's been reintegrated and the board is like "oh no no no girl". I'm outlining all the holes in this theory before anyone else can. But I'm wondering if perhaps on the off-chance that the procedure COULD'VE gone wrong and that workers still have some memories from their job, they built in some kind of mechanism in the severance device that causes pain and eventual death? Petey is under the impression that people are after him, and i could be wrong but i don't remember Asal mentioning any post reintegration pain (forgive me if she did and disregard this entire theory) I'm thinking maybe petey began showing visual signs of reintegration, so much so that they activated the pain mechanism, to prevent any information about Lumon being brought to the outside. It's definitely clear that the severance procedure wasn't invented just so that your life is your free-time and you never have to worry about work again, they clearly want whatever is happening at Lumon to remain a secret, but need to disguise it as something else. Any information that gets out could be detrimental to their end goal so they need to eradicate any possibility that this could happen. I think they knew that Petey knew something - i mean, he doesn't show up one time and they say he's not with the company anymore instead of assuming he was like bed ridden or in hospital and wasn't able to call in sick. That's assuming this takes place on a monday, why would they contact him on the weekend? So that means the last time anyone will have seen him was friday. They must know that he knows. And i think the board knows that he knows something, but they have it under control because of the possible pain feature. When it get's really bad he can't tell what's real and what's not, making him appear crazy, giving lumon some plausible deniability. I feel like I've worded this theory terribily

In a nutshell.

Outside:

Lumon made severance device chip thing > device chip has pain inducing feature > pain inducing feature can cause death > pain inducing feature causes petey's death

Inside:

"Petey's not with company anymore" > bro missed 10 minutes of work > not fired? > not resigned? > they're looking for petey > why? > why look for petey if you think he's not a threat > threat to lumon > lumon knows petey's onto something > lumon knows reintegration is possible but lie about it > shows that authoritative figures like cobel don't actually know the full plan of what lumon is trying to accomplish > everyone is freaked > the eagans are cray

Does that make sense??

Also why would cobel theorise he was reintegrated if he missed one day of work. HE HAD TO BE SHOWING SIGNS.

I do genuinely believe irving reintegrated as well and that the paint/ black goop situation was similar to when mark saw helena as gemma in the tent in season 2. But I've written enough.

[midnightshindig]

what if cecil’s spouse was one of the guardians omniman killed in the first episode 👀

Cecil x OgGotG!Reader

Damn we all need some therapy, huh?

I've been getting a lot of angst requests and if you requested angst, and I haven't done it yet- especially if it's a Viltrumite reader, it's mostly because I'm mentally quite soft and it takes a lot more out of me to write good angst than good smut or fluff

Don't let this make anyone feel bad or stop requesting, I love it, but I just wanna be transparent about my process

You guys are amazing at requests though I eat this shit up EVERY time

Fic below the cut!!

I'll be honest idrk how to format this

Cecil and you are married in secret due to your status as a Guardian of the Globe

and it actually works out quite well

He's able to trust you to not die, and he's not constantly anxious you're going to get murked in battle

your power is super healing, like on some Deadpool type shit it should be virtually impossible to kill yo-

what the fuck.

Cecil and Donald arrive on scene at GHQ and there's blood everywhere.

Literally.

Everywhere.

Now Cecil is a tough man, he's been through stuff that would make the average person lose touch with reality

But this makes him almost throw up.

By far the worst part is that he can tell which blood Is yours because it's actively bubbling and trying to pull itself back together

The rescue team is trying to scoop you into a pile so you can reform, but there just isn't enough of you

Just blended and mashed guts and viscera, like your insides had been slushies before you'd died, and you'd been torn to shreds

but your blood was bubbling

could you even really die? Could you feel this? Could you think? What was Cecil going to do?

He watched you struggle to come back, and after THE IMMORTAL couldn't be resuscitated, he knew it was over

Your blood levelled and there was no effort to reform

maybe you'd finally died, perhaps you'd just given up

He didn't know.

He's pissy when he gets home, he can't cry, he's not sure he physically can

He wants to, but he's alone now, in his house, there's nothing stopping him

but he can't.

He looks at your wedding photos on the mantle, and down to the band on his hand

The cleanup team leaves yours in a box on his desk the next day

and he sobs.

He sobs so hard and so violently Donald clears the room, before excusing himself.

He hasn't cried since he took his job the GPA, this is decades' worth of tears just built up and pouring out of him as he clutches your ring to his chest

His was a black tungsten band, yours the very same band with Lonsdaleite set in. The two strongest materials available to him so you could wear it in battle.

He remembers asking you to marry him, and sobs harder

The two of you are on the beach, a ridiculous venture to get Cecil over his distaste for it. He's younger then, shortly after accepting his position at the GPA

"Y'know-" you start, adjusting your sunhat as he grimaces on the towel laid out for him, under a large umbrella "I don't understand how you can hate the beach, it's so cheery!"

"You get sand in your ass and the water is polluted, there are screaming children everywhere and this beach allows dogs."

You roll your eyes, leaning over to kiss the top of his head before standing back up

"Well I'm going into the water, you don't hate me, do you?"

"No, of course not. I know what you're doing, Y/n, it won't work."

"Noooooo, of course not" You wink at him, leaving him under his umbrella as you head into the water.

Ah hell.

He adjusts so that the ring box in his pocket isn't so obvious

This should go well. This has to go well.

You're at the beach until sunset, when Cecil is so anxious he springs into action without any thought

He doesn't have a speech prepared

He doesn't have anything prepared except the ring in his pocket

but fuck, it's so picturesque.

"Y/n- Y/n get out of the water!" He calls to you, but you just stick a tongue out at him

"If you wanna talk to me you have to get in!"

He can't believe you're doing this to him- or rather, he's marrying you because you do this to him.

And so Cecil plunges into the water, all the way up to his hips in it before he reaches you

You smile wide at him "Ahh you got in!! What's up?"

The wind blows the hat off your head as Cecil pulls out his ring, unable to kneel due to the water

"Will you marry me?"

"..."

"...??????" He's stressing out

"...!!" You're estatic

You tackle him into a hug, plummeting you both into the water

so much for not getting his hair wet

"Oh Cecil- this ring is beautiful!"

"Haha- I know, and it's resilient too, you can wear it while fighting..."

"and never take it off..." He finishes to himself, wiping the tears from his eyes and hoisting himself up, braced against the desk in front of him.

"Ugh... that's embarrassing. I can't believe it." He tries to put back on the tough guy act, but there's a pain in his heart and in his gut and everywhere. It hurts everywhere.

This is when Donald pokes his head back in with a box of tissues and a warm beverage

He doesn't say anything, just brings it over and sits in the desk chair next to where Cecil is holding himself up

After a long silence, Cecil nods at him, taking a drink from the mug

It isn't better, but it helps.

[mismatched-ideas]

I hate making predictions about media where other people can see me because I was trained to be afraid of being wrong. But fuck it, I need to work through my thoughts about our current flashback arc.

Realistically, I think it's more likely that Shin will try to stop Sakamoto from killing Ando (whether or not he succeeds) and that it will be framing the "I know who you are" as more of a "Yes, I know you can kill and have killed, but you have the capacity for a huge amount of good. I know you can spare someone, not because they deserve it, but because it's the right thing to do." But I'm very interested by the other possibilities.

Here is my very scientific chart of what I think could happen (though most I think are very unlikely)

I'm not going to go into all of these options and I'm not even going to say what I think is the most likely because I have no clue.

I want to talk about what I think is the most interesting options, ones where Shin ends up in the position to be the one to kill Ando. I would not be at all surprised to see a reversal of this:

But with Shin being the one holding the gun. In the end, though, he won't be able to do it. Maybe Ando takes that opportunity to try to kill him again and Sakamoto saves Shin by killing Ando himself. Maybe Ando gets away.

The idea that interests me the most, but which I don't think is all that likely, is a scenario where Shin does kill Ando. This was mostly born from the ambiguity of Sakamoto's statements to Shin (present) about how he knows him. (He doesn't say "I know you're a good person" when Shin says he's not a good person. He just says. "I know. I know you.")

I don't think Shin would kill Ando out of anger or even self-preservation. I think Shin would end up killing Ando to protect someone. Maybe Sakamoto. Maybe just some innocent standers. Afterall, why is he willing to go back to the assassin life? To protect Aoi and Hana. Shin is incredibly self-sacrificing. [Literally in chapter 1 he offers to kill himself in place of Sakamoto (which I think he would've done if that guy had seriously accepted his offer).]

I think this works especially well if it comes after Shin has the chance to kill Ando but doesn't and Ando gets away.

Another reason I think this could be interesting is because we don't actually know how Shin got his assassin's license. We know he didn't go to the JCC, but when Heisuke says "you mean you got your license by a outside exam" Shin says he didn't.

We don't really know the other ways to get a license, but considering Sakamoto was in the Order, I'm sure he had something to do with it.

But what if, because Shin kills Ando (Sakamoto's target), he is given a license/Sakamoto gets him a license? And, gods, can you imagine if the first person Shin ever killed was his own father? Okay, now I'm off track.

Anyway, I don't think this is likely, just that I think it would be an interesting route and would tie in with the point that, yes, Shin isn't a completely good person, but none of them are. They're all in some way connected to the underworld, even if it is in the past now.

Like:

"I'm not a good person."

"I know. None of us are, but we can make choices. I know you can make hard choices and I want you to make the right choice here."

[crossdressingdeath]

One of the most fascinating things about Solas is how he takes something that is true of him personally and just... assumes that it applies to everyone. He regrets changing by taking a physical form, so clearly it's better for these spirits to die here as What They Are rather than live long enough to change (or rather risk changing), yes? He doesn't need to ask them when he regrets changing so much. This is better! He knows! Why would he need their input on whether they should get to live or not! I don't know if he'd rather be dead personally—if he got a second chance he'd definitely refuse Mythal when she demanded he take a physical form, but that's not necessarily the same thing—but whether he would or not the way he sees things that echo his own experiences and immediately goes "well I experienced something similar so I'm gonna do this my way" is such an interesting part of his character. See also the bit where when he's in Mythal's shoes, watching a follower who's never flinched in his loyalty to him tell him "No, you're wrong and I won't be part of this, do this and I will fight you" his response is to... kill said loyal follower immediately so he can't do what Solas himself did instead of thinking to himself "hey, when I was in Felassan's place I was right and if Mythal had listened to me we might have been able to avoid the whole mess of the rebellion and her murder and the Veil, maybe I should hear him out". (Also I'm fascinated by the question of how much he's aware he's changed; obviously he knows he's got a physical form now and regrets that a lot, but given he's clearly convinced he's the smartest guy in the room and always in the right even when he really really isn't right up to the end of DAV I suspect he doesn't consciously realize that he's not Wisdom anymore!)

Solas: Let that be a comfort, that this war did not corrupt them into something different from what they were supposed to be.

Okay, this one's just chilling. Solas willingly sends a bunch of spirits to their deaths (because his patented Solas Plan demanded their deaths, which I'm sure was because there was no alternative and not because Solas didn't bother to consider additional options, not like that's a running theme with all his plans, do you sense my Subtle Sarcasm), and then when called on it... this is his response. He thinks it should be taken as a silver lining to him deliberately leading these people to their deaths because well, if he hadn't they might have become something different than what they were "supposed to be"! And that adds quite a dark overtone to his response to Cole's quest; Varric might be more up-front about him not thinking Cole is really a person if he doesn't pick Varric's desired path, but Solas would rather spirits be dead than changed.

[nyehilismwriting]

having the option to kill rohan (and so early on too!) feels like kind of a crazy huge swing re:branching that fills me with respect but also fear. (also, unrelated, the way you talk about your writing process is really cool.) if you want to answer, how early on did you arrive at that decision? was it something you always knew you wanted to have as an option, or did it come about more organically? how do you balance maintaining xir presence/relevance/'agency' as a character while keeping to a reasonable scope for the rest of the game? (becoming increasingly agitated) does the genre appropriate scifi ghost of rohan yet haunt the dead rohan timeline? where am i? is this thing on?anyways.

yeah, I knew from the very start that killing rohan was going to be an option - while nash was the first character I really had cemented, the events of the initial chapter, and the idea of letting the player kill that character early on, were pretty much the foundational concepts for the game. I didn't - and still don't - want to pull punches re player decision-making and the consequences of those decisions, even if it means more work for me - and, if killing rohan wasn't a route I was interested in exploring, I wouldn't include it as an option. it's been a fun challenge to find ways of making sure that the plot remains coherent and roughly equivalent with and without xem, and for me one of the big joys of interactive fiction is having that opportunity for knock-on effects - decisions made in early chapters can have consequences much later, that won't always be obvious :-)

in terms of the writing process, it's actually a relatively simple one: I have a variable that tells me if rohan is dead or not, and I can divide scenes and passages by it, splitting the game into entirely separate branches, rather than trying to integrate if/elses across multiple paragraphs and make it all make sense. it's more work, but it's not necessarily harder work, if that makes sense.

as for whether xe haunts the dead timeline.....well:) we'll see:)

[methoughtsphantom]

Jason “my family doesn’t know im alive” Todd and Danny “my family doesn’t know I’m dead” Fenton going alongside each of their plans my beloved. like Danny will absolutely go head-to-head with all of Gotham to support his new best friend on all his crime lord endeavors while he drags Jason to also attend collage with him. They are roommates and there never seems to a mention of family from either side. It’s an unspoken understanding they have. They met because Crime alley as a ghost lair thrummed with so much loneliness, it was at first the perfect place for Danny to hide his ecto signature in. But then he saw the dumbass whose lair it was lean his motorcycle just a tad too much when making a sharp turn to an alley, he sweeped the floor through a lifted chain link that passed his body but not his helmet. Yep that’s right the red thing got stuck. Danny who at the moment happened to be watching through his window snorted. Much to his horror because if not a ghost that dude could’ve gotten his head flung off.

Still, the scene was ridiculous.

On a whim he irrationally sees the police closing in on the guy and panicked at the thought of the guy using intangibility to free himself so Danny phased them both through his apartment wall and left the guy sprawled in his couch. Jason didn’t freak out but that’s normal when one’s got a concussion, one the guy immediately denied having as Danny laid out the medical supplies. The idiot proceeded to almost flatten four steps to the door with his stubbornness. He also said “I’m asexual” in the most deadpan voice as Danny dropped him back in the couch.

Danny sighed. Clearly though, he’d done so too early in the night because the guy kept trying to go, kept trying to knock Danny out, kept trying to slash him with knifes Danny didn’t know he had stashed. He’d only disarmed the guy from his guns. The visible ones apparently, cause at one point the guy did take out a gun and shoot until the ammo ran out and then teetered the thing like it was an art prop and hit his moon lamp.

Danny "yeah you aren’t officially my friend until you’ve tried to kill me" fenton my guys.

Anyways both keep having the same argument over if Danny technically kidnapped Jason or not. Danny holds the fact that the police at least didn’t see the guy make the ridicule. Jason argued that happened cause he was sporting a concussion. Danny argued he got that after.

Jason at first thinks the guy's a meta, but no. Danny introduces himself, sheepily now that he recognizes this is who the lair he invaded is from. He bandages him and tries to cook for him. If Danny didn’t have ice powers he most certainly would’ve burned the apartment. Jason then proceeds to kick him out of his own kitchen and make them both enchiladas. It’s the most normal both had in a while with another person and the air seems oddly settled. From then on, Jason constantly invited himself over, under the pretense that this was his territory and therefore he could drop in unannounced. Danny who has actual powers says he only allows this because Jason cooks very well.

Danny stays away from the crime fighting business unless his buddy is in deep shit he can’t get himself out. Also it’s Danny’s turn to cover for his vigilante friend which Sam and Tucker give him so much shit for. (but also advice)

And they were roommates. (omg) Danny effectively derails Jason’s big comeback plans by casually dropping ghost lore every two days. Like,

Jason, talking about how he doesn’t want Bats snooping on his territory:

Danny: Just don’t let them in

Jason: ??

Danny: yeah!! Hasn’t Batman died and got revived??? You can totally kick out death touched people you don’t want entering on your lair.

Jason: …I can?

Danny: Yep dude, your lair’s supposed to feel safe.

Jason: wait does that mean I can kick you out?

Danny: First this is my apartment. Second, im dead, not dead touched. Third, it’s too late to get rid of me. bitch.

Anyways Jason is super excited. You mean to tell him he can actually deny people over to his territory haunt?? (Yes it’s only to people who have died and came back but still!! The sample size is exactly the type of people he doesn’t want to see—!)

Joker my beloathed can’t step foot in Crime Alley.

(Jason’d feel a lot safer if the clown was dead but the possibility of his murderer turning into a ghost and their little loophole not applying on the clown is too scary to contemplate.)

Anyways, Jason loves experimenting with the power. It can go from simply making people shudder and not want to enter crime Alley to straight up not letting them enter like there’s an invisible wall blocking the way.

Jason because he’s hurt that Bruce never even patrols Crime Alley and also because he’s petty put B under the category of “invisible wall” blacklist. His reasoning is that the man doesn’t even attempt to enter Crime Alley. To him it’s surely just a place shadowed in tragedy. (anyways that’s it’s the place he met Jason)

Ironically, Jason totally forgets that Batman does venture into Crime Alley one day in the whole year. The day he met Jason.

Okay. He didn’t forget at first. The first year Jason remembers cause it was only a few months till then but then the next— Jason forgets that today’s the anniversary of the day’s Bruce’s parents died. He forgets to allow B in when he feels a slight tug and dismiss the feeling that prompts Bruce to investigate because he literally can’t enter Crime Alley. He starts the trialsTM, he scouts on the very edge and sees people the whole day enter and get out and cross with no problem but Bruce can’t.

It’s literally just Bruce.

Time to call Constantine, i guess.

[kayvalencourt]

Watched Creature Commandos recently

Can you tell who my favorite character is.

[motoriks]

To volve

Aka My horrid amalgamation of different scenes from batgirl 2000 for @casscainweek day 4 (quotes|panels) :)

[ganondoodle]

so with echoes of wisdom .. i havent watched any of the trailers beyond the very first one and the thumbnails/screenshots and what others have said about it-

but with the world inside the rift being called "Welt des Nichts" aka "world of nothing/void" in german ('still' in english, for some reason) and demises title in french being "avatar of nothing" ... yeah my anxiety is shooting through the roof again

(hopefully you can be a little more forgiving for me being anxious/weird about it bc demise is my blorbo)

i had similar worries with totk, that werent proven true thankfully, but the darn book is making it all worse again with all those weird lore things the game doesnt even so much as hint at AND potential retcons- im in for a really rough time huh, not just stress in real life (more in tags.. its alot) but now about my specific hyperfixation from two things even (AND artblock still..)

weird as it may sound, i dont want demise to get more lore, partly bc i dont believe theyd do anything with him that i would like (given their track record) but much more importantly- the fact that he has this little lore about him is precisely one of the reasons why i fell in love with him, i tend to like characters that are neglected by the narrative, and his story being both so flat and already done meant i can be very creative with what i come up with for him without necessarily contradicting anything in canon (which is ... or was a big point of how i wrote destiny's story and lore, working with canon in a way that reframes it all without straight up ignoring it ... but i suppose i urgently need to let go of that and accept i spend alot of time working things that will go to waste :( ) AND not having to worry that there will be more stuff with him that would massively change not only what im writing but also potentially how i feel about him since the game he was briefly in was the oldest chronologically and ended with his death- i didnt expect them to mess with anything that far back and thought theyd just go forward and leave the timeline behind and wouldnt mess with it again, given how botw seemed to be a sort of 'fresh start' that seemingly regarded the past as the past that needs to rest and that the timeline was finally no longer a discussion if everythings unified through botw and one thing going forward

but i suppose i was very wrong with that .__.

right now the only thing that motivates me still is the left over determination and spite to work on my zelda comic, since i have never gotten this far and really want to get something done for once, but i cant lie that im feeling like i should pause all work on it too to wait and see waht the book and the new game will do .. either to determine if i still have the will to keep working on it after those things are out (my love for tloz has been taking alot of hits lately ..) or if i have to change stuff (mostly bc of my lore problem trying to not ignore it ..)

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

Tim Drake: oh man i hope there’s not an evil inverse me with reversed initials vying for my spot as smartest batkid

Duke Thomas: