#what am I even doing what do I even want to dooooo

[none-tadashi-left-hiro]

It's like....m my voice and my actions have the power to influence things.... But yet something always stays the same.... And to what extent does it change things..... Is there ever positive everlasting change from any of my actions......... What am I doing all of this forrrr who am I doing it for.......

[samaraxmorgan]

I need to “do it scared” my way into writing smut but I’m too nervous to even open a word doc skskskssk

[josecariohca]

.

[mifflebat]

ggguys whatvis tumblr etiquette like

am i meant to reblog a bunch of stuff ir?? because rn my blog is just stuff i’ve said/made grbfjnenfkg

[pepprs]

mission failed we’ll get em next time 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[thelittlebeekeeper]

fellas do you ever just get hit with the crushing weight of all the responsibility on your shoulders all at once??

[barbielanno]

Shut up and kiss me

warning : smut

summary: you are oscar's girlfriends' lily's friend and she sets you up with lando norris

“Where are you?”, I text to my bestfriend Lily as I’ve been waiting for her in a cafe for about 20 minutes now. “I’m sorry y/n, I can’t make it. I’m busy but I sent someone to pick you up. Please be nice to him. I told him about you and you’ll recognise him when he comes ;). I hope you are wearing a good pair of innies”. WHAT THE HELL! What does she mean? Who did she send? “Hello Miss. y/n”. LANDO??? SHE SENT LANDO NORRIS TO PICK ME UPPPPPP???? “I’m Lando Norris, Oscar’s teammate. Lily requested me to pick you up, Osc is quite sick and she is keeping him company.” Fuck… the words aren’t coming off my mouth. I’M froze. “Hi Lan, I have seen you on tv. You are more pretty in person. I’m so sorry, I would’ve booked a cab if she texted me earlier. Sorry to waste your time”. “First of all, thank you for calling me pretty as I’m too mesmerised by your beauty. And secondly, I offered Lily to pick you up. I’ve seen your photos with her and thought you were very cute.” DID LANDO NORRIS JUST TOLD ME I’M CUTEEE? ANY LACK OF SELF ESTEEM FROM THESE DAY ONWARDS WOULD BE AN INSULT TO LANDO. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DOOOOO? I CANNOT TELL THIS MAN THAT I’VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH HIM SINCE 2019. “What are you thinking pretty, are you uncomfortable with me?” “NO, no Lan, I um I uh um I just am starstruck at the moment.” “Haha, so shall we?” He tilts his head hinting me we should go to his car.

“Yes, let’s go” and I follow him. “you have a very pretty car”, I say and he opens the door for me. Ugh!!! Such a gentleman. “now I’ll have a pretty company to drive this pretty car” he replies SUCH A FLIRTTTTTTT. We sat In his car and he drives. Suddenly I get a text from lily. Oscar is having health issues so we are in the hospital. They do not allow visitors at this time so spend time with your crush ;). I sigh looking at text and Lando asks me if everything is alright. I tell him what lily texted and that we cannot go to them right now so he should drop me at the hotel. Lando: “well,  it’s your first time here in London and spending the evening at the hotel is not the most rational thinking. Let me show you the places if you are not uncomfortable.” “Uh no, I’m totally fine but you must be busy considering you have a race next week.” I say. “Trust me y/n, I can make time for you”. Oh my god. He has his way with words. My heart is melting and if I spend even a minute more with him, I’m gonna fall in love with him. He takes me to watch sunset but fuckkkkk uk’s weather. It started raining as we parked the car and went 10 mins up walking. Now idk what to do. I’m drenched and I’m wearing a white shirt.  He looks at me with his intense eyes and gives me his jacket to cover me up. “Uh thank you” I say. “It isn’t for you, it’s for me. I dont wan’t anyone looking at you when you are looking this hot”. What did he just sayyyyy? We rushed back to his car.

“ Look y/n, I really wanted to show you the sunset and ask you out for the coffee and since that didn’t work out because of this damn weather and look at you at the moment. You look so sexy with this wet hair and the white shirt. I’m known to be a good driver but at the moment you are driving me crazy. Please let me take you back to my apartment please?” My heart races as I hear him say those words. I’ve been thinking about him a lot specially when I’m alone at my room but now since it is happening in real life, my brain cannot process this all. We go back to his apartment and it’s amazing. I open the jacket he provided me earlier and give him back. I need to change my outfit. 

I want to ask where the bathroom is but he has been staring at me since I opened the jacket.  “Lando, I um ” . “Don’t look at me with those big brown eyes, I dont know what I’ll do next” he says. Fuck he is so hot, it’s turning me on and his curls are wet and I can’t stop thinking about what’s underneath that shirt of him. “SHOW me”. I say

He looks at me confused and says “what?”. “Show me what you’ll do next”. before I could see his reaction to my words, he pulled me by my waist and kissed me. That kiss, like a fairytale crescendo, outshone every sensation I've ever known. I melted right there. I wanted the time to stop and I didn’t wanna let that man go. He pulled back and looked into my eyes “so you have wanted this no y/n? You were just playing hard to get. Your body wants me as much as I want you sweetheart”. I was too turned on to reply what he had to say. “Shut up Lan” I said as I pulled him by his collar. Fuck why isn’t he coming close. “Y/n, my baby, I have a good neck exercise. You’re too weak for that”. This man is a tease and I need him right now. “Lan, I’m gonna walk away from here and sleep with the first man I see if you dont kiss me right now”. His eyes darkened as he heard those words coming from my mouth. He grabbed me by my neck and pulled me closer. “Cocky? Huh I know no one can make you wet if it’s not me, tell me you are mine and I’ll touch you”. I know I have to give myself to him because he will not touch me if I don’t say what I’m told. “Lan, I’m yours, all yours. Now, pl..” I couldn’t even complete what I was about to say an he kissed me. Harder this time, much intense and much sexier than earlier. He bit my lower lip and used his tongue. He is a pro. He slowly goes down to my neck and place soft kisses and I’m already wet. I try to unbutton his shirt but I can’t because my hands are cold and they are shivering. He understands what I need and rip his shirt off. Oh god he is so hot underneath that shirt. I look at his body with lusty eyes as I kiss his chest and proceed to move down while holding eye contact with him. He doesn’t let me go down and pulls me up and kissed me. He unbutton my shirt and undo my bra. He kisses every square inch of my body and squeeze my boobs. “Wow!! They are handful, I love them” he says. “Baby, can I go down on you” he asks me as if I was about to stop him. Who in the world could resist Lando Norris? I bit my lower lip and say “please”. He kisses my inner thighs, teases me and licks me. Wow he sure is best at everything he does. He press my lower abdomen as he continues eating me out. I moan in pleasure. “Uhh umm Lan”

“Baby” I roll my eyes. “keep making those sounds for me love” 

“I’m about to .. uh”

He knows I’m about to finish so he pulls himself away. Such a tease 😈 . I know what he wants.

“Baby I need you inside of me, NOW.” I say and didn’t even notice him taking off his pants already. “See what you’ve done to me”. He looks at my eyes and demands me to see him. “Can you take all of it?” He winks. “ try me” I say. I know he loves playing so I go along with it. He puts his little (BIG) lando inside of me and I scream in pain or should I say pleasure. “Baby you feel so good” he thrusts faster. “Harder Lannie” he knows the rhythm. He knows when to go slow and hard and when fast. “Mhmmm” he moans near my ears and I know he is enjoying it as much as I am. “Baby, I’m about to come” he says. And goes faster. We both finished at the same time and that was amazing. He takes it off of me and places a kiss on my forehead. “We need to clean the mess we have made baby.” And lays beside me. “I’m too tired for that Lan. Let’s clean it later” I say. “Y/n, will you be my girlfriend? I don’t want this to end. I want you everyday.”

Oh my god this man is a GENTLEMAN.

“Yes my love”. And we cuddle and sleep. 

[simpforboywonder]

Is it tooo much to ask for reader to not have such a strong personality 🤨. SHES NOT MEEEEE if she’s doing a wholeeeee bunch of things I would never do. If the author had put “Original character” in the tags or told us guys I’m writing a self-insert or making a character. HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO DESCRIBE THIS SKINNY WHITE GIRL JUST TO TELL US IN THE COMMENTS THAT YOU TRUED TO MAKE IT NONDESCRIPT. Bc I hate to break it to you dear author. YOU FAILEDDD. And it would’ve succeeded if you said this was notttt a reader insert. I’m sorry guys I’m just genuinely tiredddd. We are reading reader-inserts because we want to put ourselvessss inside like come awnnnn now🤨. I have to do sooooo much mental brain work as of late having to compartmentalize every new character trait that the author has now appointed me. Alsoooo on that note NOT EVERY FAT GIRL IS INSECURE AND SELF- CONSCIOUS. Anyone and everyone can be insecure but why does EVERYYYYYY fat reader have to be insecure and just start dumping hate on their bodies. I would never hate on myself the way these authors be acting like we do and honestly THAAAAATS triggering. Imagine it’s 2 am, you thought you found this great chubby reader fanfic BUT NOOOOO the first 1k (out of 3k or something mind you😒) it’ll just be a whole bunch of degradation like ewwwww I’m not going from having my body randomly degraded and then some man having to convince me that I’m beautiful to sex is NOTTTTT THE VIBEEEEE. I love myself and every extra pound on me. And you know what I haaaate even more is when I point out that this is weirddddd and odd somebody pipes up with “then go write it yourself”. Skinny girls don’t have to go write it themselves yet the average size of an American woman is between 16-18. THAT IS NOTTTT A SKINNY WOMAN. At some point we gotta start being serious because anythingggg can be a book these days. Literally we got cow-fucking, monster and aliens and all that stuff YET I CANT GET A PLUS SIZE MC IN ANYTHINGGGGG. And if I dooooo it’s just a whole bunch of hatred, insecurity, and degradation the whoooole time. Bc we knowwww it isn’t a book with a fat MC without them being randomly bullied for their weight at least ONCE.

[snakeeyesdraws]

Overly Analyzing Fortune Street character dialogue (Mario and Luigi)

So I've spent a lot of time browsing Mario wiki pages (organized easy to read information about a current hyperfixation makes for great destressing material) and one of the pages I've been really into is the quotes from Fortune Street (2011)! I've been thinking about talking about and discussing some of the character dialogue from it, since some of them actually have some fun character tidbits, and after seeing this post from pianokantzart (please go check out their stuff!) I decided to go ahead and do so!

Today we'll be focusing on Mario and Luigi's dialogue, and dialogue that involves them! If you would like to view these quotes for yourself, you can do so here and on the character's quote pages. I'll mainly just be highlighting some of the fun ones under the cut!

Mario

"Brr! This ship gives me the creeps! Best to win fast so I don't have to hang out here too long!" (The Ghost Ship)

This is an area-specific dialogue line for the Ghost Ship, and I find the implication that Mario is a bit creeped out by ghosts/haunted places, seeing as Boos/ghosts are an enemy that have notably defeated him numerous times via the Luigi's Mansion series.

"Wow! What a fancy palace! But I still think Peach's Castle is the best…" (Castle Trodain) "Ha ha! I'm gonna do well here. Peach's Castle is like a second home to me!" (Peach's Castle)

Simple but cute!! He thinks of Peach's Castle as a second home and feels safe there!! This is extremely important to me

"Dooo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo! Hey, I love this tune!" (Super Mario Bros.) "Doooo--doo-doo doo-doo-doo! That sure is a catchy tune I've got stuck in my head! Oh, sorry, is it my turn already?"

He also really loves the Super Mario Bros. theme! The theme that is associated most with him and Luigi ;w; I like to imagine he hums its to himself whenever he's working

To Yoshi: "I'll help you find your cookies, Yoshi - just give me a second to brush these cookie crumbs out of my mustache!" Yoshi to player: "Yoshi! Yoshi! (Nice job on that promotion, (player's name)! Here, have some cookies to celebrate!)" Mario's response: "Why no cookies for Mario? Can't I have just one?"

There's also a running theme of him wanting Yoshi's cookies which I think is so funny. The Legendary Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom cannot turn up a tasty snack. Some people seem to push back against the idea that Mario enjoys eating?? But I think it's such a cute characteristic of his (and the fact that he basically admits to Yoshi's face that he swiped his cookies jsadjkkdlsa)

"Not to look a gift Yoshi in the mouth, but I was hoping for more coins..."

Mostly highlighting this one for the substation of "horse" with "Yoshi" in this quote. Fun little world building tidbit of Yoshi's being the Mushroom Kingdom's horses.

After player warps: "Ever get a stomachache when you warp, (player's name)? That happens to me sometimes!"

Even though he presumably uses the warp pipes all the time? Interesting... (side note but because I'm movie brain pilled, you could potentially read into it more here for that verse 👀)

After landing on a Take-a-break square: "Heroes never take the day off! What am I supposed to do with myself - go to the beach?"

Bro that is not a good mindset let yourself take vacations!

"Thank you for your patronage! You're very generous, (player's name)... Just like me!"

There's a lot of playful lines like this from Mario, I like when we get to see his competitive side and how he has a teeny bit of an ego (he's still overall humble and kind, but he knows he's the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom)

After player buying his circus tent: "I can't believe you took over my circus, (player's name)! Didn't you like my fireball show?"

FIREBALL SHOW???? HE PUTS ON A FIREBALL SHOW????? I am desperate for any crumbs of reference to Firebrand (even though he likely used a Fire Flower for this but still)

To Luigi: "Hey Luigi! Stick with me, Bro, and we'll win this one together!" Luigi's response: "You got it, Mario! We'll show (player's name) some real Mario Bros. teamwork!"

To player: "Nice work, (player's name)! But Luigi and I aren't going to give up quite yet!" Luigi's response: "Right you are! The Mario Bros. are just getting warmed up!"

THEM........ 🥺💖 WE LOVE TO SEE THEM WORKING TOGETHER

To player: "Psst! Hey, (player's name)! Princess Peach is watching, so I'm afraid I just can't lose to you today!" Peach's response: "Mario, I heard that! But don't you worry - I'm the one who's going to win!"

Dude is SMITTEN for Peach and it shows. He wants to impress her! I do like that we get to see that Peach is also competitive and playfully rolls with it

To player: "Keep going, (player's name)! It's way too early to give up!" Peach's response: "Hey, Mario-what gives? You seem like you're more concerned about (player's name) than you are about me!"

That said, Peach clearly likes having his attention on her LMAO it reminds me of the scene in Paper Jam where M&L Peach visibly got a bit jealous of Mario getting blushy and flustered over Paper Peach

Bowser to player: "You're in luck! If you beat me, you automatically get to become one of my minions! That's the law around here!" Mario's response: "Don't listen to him, (player's name)! I've beaten him a million times, and I'm no minion!"

Almost all of Bowser's quotes that invoke a response from Mario play out like this; Bowser provokes or taunts the player and Mario immediately snaps back or defends the player. It's fun to see a version of their rivalry here, albeit one in a much more relaxed and lower stakes setting. They will get extremely competitive even when it's just a game for fun

Bowser Jr. to player: "You're just being a big show-off, (player's name)! I'm NOT impressed!" Mario's response: "Don't be jealous, Bowser Jr.! Sure, (player's name) is doing great - but you're not doing bad yourself! Try to stay focused!"

While Mario will do the same if Junior taunts the player, here we can see him being encouraging towards him. It's a cute little moment! I feel like Bowser's Fury enjoyers will like this quote lol

Peach to Mario: "Hmph! Why does (player's name) have all the luck? Mario! I order you to go out and gather me some gold coins!" Mario's response: "Sure thing, Princess Peach! But, umm..how?"

I mean it when I say dude is smitten. One order from the princess and he's ready to drop his competitive streak to go fetch some coins for her LMAO

Toad to player: "I'm impressed with your business acumen, (player's name)! I wish I was more like you… Mario's response: "You can be, Toad! Just keep up the hard work!"

Friendship between Mario and Toad can be so personal, actually... and more encouraging and sweet Mario! Never forget that this man is kind and caring before anything else

To Birdo: "Ouch! Birdo, you're charging me an arm and a mustache! That's precious gold I'm never going to see again!"

AN ARM AND A MUSTACHE HE SAYS............ this man is a DORK

To Bowser Jr.: "I'm surprised you're charging folks so much to shop here, Bowser Jr. ! Just like your daddy, you are!" To Bowser Jr.: "Bowser Jr.! You're just like your daddy. Always getting in my way!"

He'll be encouraging and overall gentler with Junior, but it doesn't change that fact that Junior still gets in his way a lot JADSKK

To Donkey Kong: "Hey, Donkey Kong! Would you mind if I paid you in bananas? Ha ha ha! Oh, I bet you get that joke all the time!" To Donkey Kong: "You sure know how to roll that die, Donkey Kong! Almost as well as you roll a barrel!"

oh my god he's so obnoxious sometimes you KNOW this man is telling dad jokes even if he's not a father. And it's a small hint towards the DK and Mario rivalry that started in the old games!

To Luigi: "Oh, Luigi! Can't you give me a special discount or something? I thought we were the bestest of buddies!"

the bestest of buddies I could cry.... it's a very sweet sentiment, even though clearly it's said in a bit of teasing tone here. I now HC that Mario calls Luigi his bestest buddy whenever he wants something from him

To Peach: "Looks like I need to start picking some flowers for your victory bouquet, Princess Peach!"

THIS. MAN. IS. SMITTEN.

To Waluigi: "I hate to fraternize with my brother's nemesis, but it looks like we're going to have to work together! Let's swap shops, Waluigi!" To Waluigi: "What!? Waluigi's about to win!? I don't think Luigi is going to be too happy about that…"

Interestingly, we get to see the Waluigi / Luigi rivalry acknowledged by someone outside of them. I do like the implication that out of principal, Mario avoids anyone who has beef with Luigi.

Luigi

”Eek! No one told me there would be gh-gh-ghosts here! I wish I'd brought my Poltergust 3000 with me.” (The Ghost Ship)

LUIGI'S MANSION REFERENCE!! An obvious one, but it makes me happy whenever it's referenced regardless

"Leaping lasagna! This place is even bigger than Peach's Castle!" (Castle Trodain) "This place is wackadoodle! It's turning my brain into spaghetti!" (Good Egg Galaxy)

HE DID IT HE SAID THE FOOD JOKE THINGS!!!!

"Looks like my bro really cleaned this place up! I hope they gave him the key to the city!" (Delfino Plaza)

this one is just, so pure and cute???? supportive Luigi confirmed??

To player: "Hey, (player's name)! I'm Luigi! Oh, you've heard of me? I'm so flattered I think I'm blushing!"

This is also so cute and a bit sad - he thinks it's amazing that someone has heard of him enough to know his name outside of just "Mario's little brother"

"This game has got my mustache all mussed up! Where's my little comb?"

Implying he carries a comb with him specifically for brushing and cleaning up his mustache! Which makes total sense, considering these other lines of dialogue from him;

"I take a quick time-out to trim my mustache, and someone buys up almost all the shops! What gives?" "Ack! One shop left? All I did was take a minute to trim my sideburns… I need to stop doing that!" "Who bought up all the shops? Guess I was too busy grooming the 'stache to pay attention to the game…"

A lot of people interpret Luigi as very neat and tidy and almost obsessively keeps himself cleaned, and this dialogue most certainly solidifies that! People pointed out in the recent film that Luigi's hair is also a lot neater than Mario's, which lends to this idea. Apparently more than once he's been so focused on grooming his mustache and hair that he's missed something important lol

"It's not so bad being in second place. As a matter of fact, it feels just right! I wonder why that is…"

Ohhhh buddy,,,,,, the eternal player 2 mood LOL

"One day I'm gonna dominate this district. Then everyone will see who's the real brains behind The Mario Bros.!"

JDSJKASDLDASKLA this is such a sibling quote. Though it is interesting considering many people consider Luigi the more strategic of the two

After player lands on a Take-a-break square: "You've been working so hard lately, (player's name). Promise me you'll take it easy on your day off!"

A lot of characters will gleefully remark that they can advance while you're on a day off when you land on a Take-a-break square, but Luigi seems to genuinely want you to take it easy and I think that's neat

To player: "Did Mario teach you to play this game, (player's name)? 'Cause you've definitely got some sweet moves, just like him!"

CUUUUUUUUUUTE Luigi thinks the world of his brother, so of course if you impress him, he will compare you to him!

After player builds a tax office: "Built yourself a tax office, (player's name)? That was a calculated move! Ha ha ha ha!"

"You got any hobbies, (player's name)? I'm into lots of things: golf, tennis, basketball, beating you at this game…"

DORK I am going to lovingly push him into a locker. This was the blueprint for "You just got a-Luigi'd!"

After building an estate agency: "I bet Princess Daisy'd be really impressed if I owned a few more shops! Help me out, estate agency!"

One of the most favourite moments for Luigi/Daisy enjoyers. Because it really is cute! He just wants to impress her!

Going bankrupt: "Bankrupt!? I'm gonna get laughed right out of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

highlighting this one just because every time I read it all I can think of is "they're beating my ass in the QRTs"

Daisy to player: "If you win, (player's name), maybe I'll invite you on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Sarasaland!" Luigi's response: "Wow, what a prize, (player's name)! I wish I was in your shoes!" Daisy to player: "Yay! You got your salary, (player's name)! I guess that means you'll drop by my shop soon, right?" Luigi's response: "Wow, Princess Daisy! You're good…"

THIS. MAN. IS. ALSO. SMITTEN. I find it so funny that both Mario and Luigi are so head over heels for their respective princess GFs.

Waluigi to player: "Hope you're comfortable in last place, (player's name), 'cause that's where you belong!" Luigi's response: "Knock it off, Waluigi! I'm pretty sure you're the one who belongs in last place!" Waluigi: "Luigi, (player's name)… Is there anyone they DON'T let into this thing?" Luigi's response: "Ha ha! You're one to talk, Waluigi! How did YOU get on the guest list?"

LUIGI, KILL!!!!

More of the Waluigi / Luigi rivalry, and it's interesting to see someone who is usually more timid and soft spoken like Luigi be so confrontational and angry addressing someone who is clearly getting on his nerves. Waluigi seems to be one of the few people who can really push his buttons like that.

Mario to player: "Nice job, (player's name)! You're a real hero - just like Mario!" Luigi's response: "I wish Mario would call me a hero sometime…"

The post I linked before delves a bit more into this, but Luigi has a couple of dialogue lines about wishing Mario would think more highly of him. It doesn't come across as out of spite or disdain; it just reads as a younger sibling wishing he could impress his big brother who he looks up to. But as we all know, Mario clearly thinks the world of Luigi and he even shows it in this game;

Mario to Luigi: "Great job, Bro! Ha ha! You're my hero!"

They care about each other and I will hear NO arguments.

[vinelark]

fic writer meme

thank you [checks notes] @megafaunatic, @cairoscene, @englishsub, @yuebings, and @cafecliche for the tags ilu

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 15! which is solidly 14 more than i ever expected to have on there when i made the account

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 277,844

3. What fandoms do you write for? on ao3: mdzs/cql, tgcf, shl, and dc. in groupchats/dms/my own head i’m running wild all over the place

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 🐉 this river runs to you 💍 i’ll have you and you’ll have me 🪐 i will be chasing a starlight ⚔️ you’re the trouble that i always find 🌊 a wave crashes to shore

5. Do you respond to comments? not often; i have made multiple attempts to start replying regularly but all have eventually failed in the face of me desperately wanting to show my earnest and genuine appreciation for each comment vs. wanting to hide my blushing face under a pillow every time. also, because of who i am as a person, each time i sat down to do it i ended up spending hours making little progress and eventually decided that i will make an effort to spend those hours writing or commenting on other fics instead. i am honored by each and every one though!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? while i tend to write angst it is always firmly of the “with a happy ending” sort. the one exception is my shortest fic (originally posted on twitter) never been away so long, which is more of an ambiguous/open ending with implied angst. i dooooo outline the eventual happy ending in the endnotes, though. also as it CURRENTLY stands buy back the secrets ends on one hell of an angsty note, but there are two more chapters in the works to fix that.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? despite the wangxian star trek au having like 20k of deliriously happy post-misunderstanding sex, i think trrty has to have the happiest ending because not only does the fic end happily, but there are also multiple very happy codas in which wwx gets a good night’s sleep, finally gets to bang his dragon boyfriend, and, my personal fav, one by aubreyli where wangxian go flying in a thunderstorm.

8. Do you get hate on fics? not so far, for which i am grateful but mostly lucky.

9. Do you write smut? occasionally; on ao3 there’s the aforementioned trrty coda, plus the aforementioned cowritten wangxian pon farr sequence 💪

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written? hmm, i’m not opposed to crossovers—i’ve read some really fun ones (recent fav crossover read here)—but i’d have to be really compelled by both source materials and have a very clear vision for how they interact to want to write one myself. i’ve written a few fandom fusions (aforementioned wangxian star trek au; i also started a wangxian dragon age au but again, no dragon age characters were going to show up, just the world/setting) but no full-on crossovers. i did have one partially drafted wangxian fic that was going to have a hua cheng deus ex machina, alas.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i’m aware of! it’s not something i really go looking for/concern myself with, but so far, like with fandom hate, i’m grateful to not have encountered it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? yes! my wangxian wedding fic was translated to russian.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? i co-wrote seventy thousand words of published fic with @feyburner! and probably two hundred thousand words of unpublished fic and outlines and story ideas just for fun. even when we aren’t co-writing we tend to talk through our individual fics with each other so we’re pretty in sync when it comes to writing. i also spent like a year in @cairoscene’s DMs concocting whole outlines/zerodrafts for batfam fics together that i still cherish and reread (notable favs: tim drake ella enchanted au, concept where the waynes are cursed to suddenly feel nothing but apathy about tim and he has to deal with that, story where robin!tim gets de-aged and oops red hood is the first one to show up…). i’d say the OCBFEU is fic-adjacent and cowritten by a group of us. also shoutout to the mdzs threadfic @cafecliche and i brainstormed/zerodrafted where lan qiren gets cursed into an owl and post-cql wei wuxian is the one who unknowingly saves him.

14. What's your all time favorite ship? oh yeah it’s [loud truck goes by]

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? cyborg!wwx…i still think of you fondly. the only ao3 fic i’ve ever posted knowing i probably wouldn’t finish it but wanted to share just for fun.

16. What are your writing strengths? pangs… mining little character details for humor (or, more often, for more pangs)… i also think i’ve really improved my action writing/pacing over the last few years.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i write actual drafts/prose fairly slowly, which can be frustrating for me. also like @yuebings i often get very caught up in trying to perfect one small part of a draft before moving on. ummmm describing outfits/settings for reasons other than immediate plot-relevant details, i’m terrible at that + remembering to do it—i literally make myself do a What Are We Looking At Here Pass while revising sometimes.

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics? i’m not totally sure what this question is asking tbh, but it’s something i think can be done incredibly well—and, like with many things in storytelling, it’s the sort of thing where if you don’t actually speak the second language you need to be willing to put in work beyond a cursory google to try to achieve what you’re doing, and be willing to admit if it’s beyond your capabilities. i really like how the portuguese dialogue in bbts ended up and that’s 100% because @tigerjpg translated it for me and also already understood the scene/concept/characters; without them i would have found a different way to approach that scene. also, stylistically, i personally like when dialogue in other languages isn’t italicized unless there’s a real reason for it to be.

19. First fandom you wrote for? oh it was [a second loud truck whooshes by]

20. Favorite fic you have written? right now it’s bbts, because i think it’s also the fic i’ve had the most fun writing. trrty, though, will always hold a special place in my heart.

and i tag! @tlumeti, @burins, @smilebackwards, @bonesbuckleup, @hearteyeshayley, @sonosvegliato

[actual-changeling]

ohhh okay Idk how much meta you can get outta this...but I find the idea that Crowley has no idea what Aziraphale feels about him interesting. I actually think Crowley is FULLY aware of how Aziraphale feels, and that's part of why it all hurts so badly. Honestly my biggest reason for thinking this is s1 when Aziraphale is all "I don't even like you" and Crowley without hesitation responds "You dooooo" like he KNOWS, and similarly with the line of them both pretending to not be on their own side. He's aware of his feelings and he's aware of Aziraphale's feelings, and that's why everything sucks so damn much hahahha Aziraphale saying things like "we're not friends. I don't like you" etc etc doesn't bother him because he knows Aziraphale is lying, it's when Aziraphale STILL refuses to be "a team of two" and leave Heaven (as seen in the Bandstand break up and s2), that the hurt really starts to hit

On the flip side though...Idk if Aziraphale knows Crowley's feelings, I really don't. I think deep down he does, but he's so scared he forces himself to remain oblivious lol

Thank you for asks!! Definitely a good topic to think about, so let's dive right in.

I think Crowley and Aziraphale are both aware that they have 'feelings' for each other, although neither of them is capable of calling them what they are. They are, just as everything else in their relationship, vague and undefined under the excuse of 'plausible deniability'.

Aziraphale thinks that they cannot openly like each other and not even be friends because heaven is constantly watching them like perverts waiting for them to kiss and fuck. However, the emphasis is on thinks. None of this holds up if you look at the facts, which I will quickly do.

Throughout all the flashbacks, neither heaven or hell gave a single fuck about what they were doing as long as their jobs get somewhat done.

In 1941, the only reason why Furfur even has an interest in Aziraphale's and Crowley's relationship is to get a promotion - and fails. This is also HELL. No one in heaven cares.

Heaven and hell are not monitoring their relationship. They aren't. It's as simple as that. When Michael digs up proof in season one, it's the equivalent to trying to find a needle in a haystack because they have ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY in some sort of fucked up horror archive. Michael probably had to use some miracles to dig up three grainy ass pictures. They did not have them at the ready, they did not CARE, they weren't LOOKING.

Crowley knows that. Aziraphale knows that, too, but can't admit it to himself. So he uses it to "excuse" his shitty ass behaviour towards Crowley with 'heaven is watching not my fault'. Just that they're not. Yeah.

What heaven and hell care about are their impact on the earth's morality scale. If they tip it too far one way the person who's not supposed to be doing that gets punished. Other than that, there is no monitoring, they don't fucking CARE.

Aziraphale's constant and rather insulting rejections are because he is unwilling to confront his screwed up views of heaven. He'd have to confront all of his and all of their actions, and he is, and I am saying this with love for this character, a fucking coward who rather lies to the person he loves than risk making himself uncomfortable.

That's why they hurt Crowley so damn much. Aziraphale is lying because he is scared of accepting that the world is not black and white, meanwhile CROWLEY was forced to confront that fact rather quickly and got punished for it severely time and time and time again. Aziraphale does not understand that and doesn't want to understand that.

Additionally, with the way Aziraphale handles it, the impression Crowley gets (which like. whether A knows it or not is the truth) is that he is not good enough. He is an evil, bad, irredeemable demon that cannot be loved by someone holier than thou like Aziraphale. Aziraphale loves the angel he was and the angel he thinks Crowley could be again - but he doesn't love Crowley, fallen angel and former demon, who belongs to earth and earth alone. On top of that, the mere thought of loving someone like him has Aziraphale running away from him, insulting him, and a whole load of other shit.

The message is "you are unlovable, loving you, a demon, is so horrible that i would be punished for it, I will only love you once you're an angel again."

Crowley is trying to tell Aziraphale what his existence is like, all he gets is "you were an angel once" with this fucking face:

And then the whole speech afterwards. Aziraphale KNOWS what he is saying and how hurtful it is and then does it anyway.

And then he gets what he wanted, knows he's fucked up, but still doesn't care about Crowley.

He never apologizes for any of it, just sends him away again and again and again, expecting him to come back like a fucking boomerang. Aziraphale digs his own graves and those of other people, all the while proclaiming that heaven is holding a gun to his head, but he and everyone else know that there's no gun. He is doing it because he cannot confront his own trauma and the resulting maladaptive coping mechanisms - which is NEVER an excuse for hurting someone, especially not someone you claim to love.

[turnstechgodhead]

well regardless of where you got it from i really love that line, i think it adds an interesting angle to their relationship. what do you think bro knew about the nature of the game and dave’s destiny for him to think of raising dave that way? im also curious about the subject matter of the fics you may have gotten inspiration from

thanks i think so too

i dont remember unfortunately; in regards to the fics. i dont really read fics nowadays and i do tend to read short ones to avoid This happening- where i absorb something and forget about it

more about bro under cut

i feel like bro knew some things; i like to keep certain parts of the 'game' aspect of their reality away from them

like for example: bro doesn't know EVERYTHING about what hes supposed to do. like he wasnt spawned in with I am A Guardian in his brain; he was a whole ass human person for 24 years until he got dave

growing up a lot of his information came from cal because since he was destined to be a guardian, he had nagging feelings in the back of his mind telling him to do certain things: get this apartment, do this that way, etc. and cal just enforced those

i think dirk's reason for raising dave that way is a combintion of the fact that thats the only way cal(iborn) referred to dave and that bro was never allowed to actually bond with dave (because caliborn made him believe that platonic affection is in fact not platonic at all and is instead sexual[the implications when bro is constantly carrying around cal with his arms around his neck btw. insane.])

i've talked about it a lil bit with input from error707-thatdude (whos training to dooooo... something w psychological development of kids or something? sorry i forgored) on stream and the lack of interaction/affection can be potentially fatal to human children

so every time dirk wanted to do what honestly, his instincts were telling him to do (hold dave, be gentle [even if stiff]) , he wasn't able to because he had caliborn in his ear whispering that he was being deeply fucking inappropriate with his goddamn son which . Jesus Christ. (ive come to the conclusion bc of this that the daves we see in canon are the daves that made it past childhood, as error707 said: the exceptions)

the fact that caliborn constantly told him about how dave was the knight and he needed to be the knight. he needed to enter the medium. if he didn't enter the medium then everything that dirk's entire life has been leading up to has been a disappointment, a mistake, and he doesn't want to disappoint his very dear best friend cal does he? hee hee hee.

he also told him about how dave is SUPPOSED to be. cool, stoic. that kinda stuff, bc calibrn has a bit of a gay thing for both of them im sure.

+ the deep feeling inside of dirk that he Knew cal was right (something something; destiny/fate/will of the universe/etc), that dirk existed to do this; to get cal into the medium, to get dave into the medium, to make them stronger, led to dirk thinking of dave as his goal instead of anything remotely resembling family-

all of that accumulates into his brain dissassociating dave from himself as family and instead as a goal and a figure of something he NEEDS to polish or it wont work when the gear is inserted into the frame

things like this are delicate and they HAVE to be taken special care of during assembly, or you'll be left with nothing. (go watch how its made- wristwatches. its like that.)

sorry if all this doesnt make sense; feel free to ask for clarification and ill happily provide

[dangermousie]

OK, my patience with Hyun has just expired. Dude, sure she may have murdered your dad, but like HE MURDERED HER WHOLE FAMILY!!! The whole indignant how can you makes me wonder if you are brain dead, lacking in morality and sense of justice, or just utterly solipsistic. (He wasn't even a good father - he was abusive, murdered your mom, and was a rapist, murderer, terrible ruler etc. You being all hot under the collar about his demise makes me think less of you.)

Let's go with solipsistic actually - that is what concerns you?!

Gotta love his "you are probably gonna get tortured to death, sucks, but I am not into doing anything about it, gl!" attitude. The thing is, Akhee eventially comes out and saves her but (a) the fact that Akhee had to beg and talk him into it, Hyun was just gonna leave her does not endear the Hyun personality to me and (b) Hyun was still not gonna go along until Akhee is "I can find who offed daddy" - so clearly saving Gyera was not enough motivation, but who murdered a man who should have been murdered was. GROSS. It would be appalling enough if Hyun wanted to save her and was distraught about being weak and not able, it's another if he is whatever this is. Immensely unlikable, that's what!

You the freaking ruler, you can stop whatever you want, you pathetic excuse for a man!

By now they deviated so far from the webtoon, they are basically sharing names only. Gotta say, they neutered the hell out of Gyera (Gyera with memories back was a Bad Bitch and dommed the shit out of anyone in ten mile radius) but also Hyun who was a cold and scary MFer and I can't say I always rooted for him, but good luck to anyone who relied on him going "I want x but I can't dooooo anything about it woeeeeeeeeeeeeee I am too weak..."

Anyway, PJH is doing a great job, I am enjoying the drama etc, but if they want me to root for Gyera x Hyun, they are screwed in the head.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What is your favourite Friends to lovers novel? I am looking for one where something Sexual happens and they both thing "what have we done!"

I have a hard time with friends to lovers, tbh. All too often I feel like I'm sitting there all "okay, but what EXACTLY is stopping y'all from just being together", which is annoying.

Ones that I love include:

Historical--

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall. In this one, the hero and heroine were best friends before she transitioned, and she faked her death at the Battle of Waterloo in order to do so. She comes out of semi-hiding to help her friend because he's incredibly depressed due to survivor's guilt and chronic pain, and while he initially doesn't recognize her, the moment he does is BREATHTAKING. This is definitely one of those where they've really been in love for forever and didn't realize it.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian. In this one, one of the leads is NB and disguised as a man, and they become friends with the hero (who is bisexual). They share a kiss, and then he finds out their birth identity as a woman and assumes that they were trying to blackmail him--and so, the plot unravels. This is one where they kind of become friends with benefits, and the "WHAT HAVE WE DONE" comes when the hero like, proposes marriage while fucking the other lead against a wall and they're like "UMMMMMMMM THAT IS NOT IN FACT WHAT I WANTED YOU TO DOOOOO".

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. The hero and heroine have been friends for years and she's very much in love with him, but he's kind of a societal outcast due to his decision to recognize and raise his illegitimate daughter, and he doesn't think the heroine can handle being on the fringes like that. So she basically convinces him to teach her how to attract the attention of a guy who is definitely not him! Lol, this guy has a lot of "..... I really went.... a bit far........ with that...." moments after like, eating her out and stuff.

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian. 1950s m/m romance between two reporters who end up sort of like, sloooooowly falling in love after they move in together (and they were roommates) while one of them has his bi awakening. I do think they handle their feelings before anything sexual happens, though.

One Season with the Duke by Addy Du Lac. This one definitely doesn't fit your "omg something sexual happened" vibe because they get married in order to keep the heroine from being seized by the villain, BUT I do really like how this one very much has this sense where it's like "oh. Shit. We are friends. But now we have to. Do sex?" And it turns out to be a very fun and sexy time for them.

Contemporary--

Give Me More by Sara Cate. Definitely has the "oh shit what do we do now" vibe lol. It's MMF, one hero and the heroine are a married couple, the other hero is their best friend. The husband basically walks in on his friend and the wife after they've been roped (haha) into this rope play demo, and he's like "..... I am intrigued" while also noticing that they're into it, despite themselves. So he asks them to fuck in front of him, basically, THINKING he's a cuck, when in actually he's really just wanting to have sex with both of them. I think that after the first encounter the friend hero storms out of there literally like "WHAT AM I EVEN DOING".

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck. A When Harry Met Sally retelling, CLASSIC for what you're seeking. The hero and heroine initially get off to a bad start (they're both fucking the same woman) but over the years become best friends. He's very aware of his feelings, she's very in denial about them, and when things get sexual one night it very much RUINS the friendship lol.

Friends Don't Fall in Love by Erin Hahn. The heroine is a country singer, the hero is her friend/her fiance's songwriting partner. Basically, her life blows up and her fiance dumps her, which leads to her and the friend getting drunk and hooking up, and then it's like WE MUST NOT SPEAK OF THIS... Flash forward a few years and he's her landlord and the things of which they must not speak bubble back to the surface.

Reckless by Stella Rhys. Another great example. He's her boss, she's his best friend/Girl Friday, and after her fiance cheats on her they have a very CHARGED moment, which leads to them spontaneously being like "let's get it out of our systems" iN HIS OFFICE. This... doesn't go as planned.

The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan. He's a newbie NFL player, she's his agent's daughter, and they spark up a friendship over text. While becoming very close very fast, shit gets weird when they're in the same country, and this does lead to an amazing moment that I think is definitely what you're vibing with, and it does involve Accidental Phone Sex.

The Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan. Another one in her football series; in this one, the hero and heroine end up being roommates after her apartment burns down, which does lead to some light fake dating stuff (basically just to reassure his family that He's FINE on a visit) and then things get sexy. During a movie screening. When the whole family is present.

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Alternative Chapters 3 & 4 of v3

Cute idea for how to promote a friend's AU: airing how I made them cry with my suggestions when they asked for ideas

Read Vespertin-y's Clockwise talent swap AU https://vespertin-y.tumblr.com/post/721299444787740672/clockwise-talentswap-lore-pt-1

Ves: ack. what do i dooooo for the ch3 motive i cant just use the necronomicon again can i

that depends, who do you want to act on a motive?

Sini: Kirumi or Gonta would probably make good chapter 3 culprits in my opinion

Ves: kirumi is the ch1 killer. gonta...oooh i haven't decided how to handle the survivor/adventurer thing with him yet. maybe survivor but it's for surviving the wilderness instead of dr??? ough i ought to get rid of himiko at some point for tenko angst purposes

Himiko could be the collateral second kill of ch3

Ves: yeah…maybe she just walked in on body hiding shenanigans? ohhhh tenko would be SO mad YOU KILL HER ALMOST-GIRLFRIEND AND NOT EVEN FOR A GOOD REASON THE AUDACITY

just what I had in mind

Sini: That cute moment between her and Gonta at the end of chapter 3? Yeah, forget that here

Ves: i think that i will let artist kiyo throttle anthropologist mugi with a garotte wire. as a treat. revenge for a past life i quite LIKE anthropologist mugi but what can ya do

Sini: Keep it to two victims and two culprits >: )

Ves: wouldn't gonta be SO fun as a survived killer though…hmm i am going to make all of kokichi's favorite people into murderers and bully him into not viewing the world so black and white

Sini: Your bestie is a murderer? Well, he’s still alive. What you gonna do about that? What do you think of that, huh?

Ves: your bestie is a murderer so is ur boyfriend HITS U WITH NUANCE STICK

okay, so Kiyo kills Tsumugi, perhaps frames Himiko like he tried to in canon, and Gonta accidentally kills her in a confrontation?

either early in the investigation, or Himiko first found the body and was seen running away by Gonta (aka Hyioko being the main suspect in ch2 of sdr2 type beat)

Gonta doesn't mean to hurt anyone, but. He's stronger than he thinks and Himiko was freaking out since to her, he might as well have been the killer, she hasn't seen anyone else out and about either so she'd try to get away from him

so it'd be just like knocking out Shuichi in canon, except, well.

Ves: that's so SAD fuckkk gonta :((((( tenko would lose. her. mind.

still rotating the possibilities of what Kiyo's in-game motive could be, I want to say that it's still a crime of passion, Tsumugi does piss him off with something

Ves: making him lose control of his own strength like that is the meanest thing ive ever heard. i might change it to him accidentally chasing himiko somewhere dangerous bc that's SO sad ACK I ALREADY DID THE ACCIDENTAL TRIPPING MURDER IN CH2 THOUGH WAILS yeag i haven't quite figured kiyo out yet… i think strangulation works better with a premeditated crime, what with him coming up behind her…but the clay cutting wire WAS just sitting around in his lab. hrm. mb she angie's herself by coming across him plotting a crime, that seems like the easiest option and i do want moogi to be an observer-type character, always watching in the background

maybe she gets too nosy not really on accident, too much accidents around here she ends up knowing too much not a plan, but a secret, a motive to get out, personal, and she wants the tea, it's scorching hot, you're going to burn yourself, Tsumugi

snhdfghf yeah…got too silly [pensive emoji] she just wanted to knowwww she's a little Too fascinated by people and with someone with as many secrets as korekiyo that is Not a friendly trait oh maybe that's the motive!! secrets, like in thh ch2

Ch4

so the deaths are ch1: Maki, Kirumi ch2: Ryoma, Miu ch3: Tsumugi, Korekiyo, Himiko ch4:??? ch5: Angie, Shuichi ch6: Kaito plot armour: Kiibo, Tenko, Kokichi

Kaede and Rantaro, is it fate? the only other option is Gonta

Ves: AH FUCK HOW DID I DO THAT BY ACCIDENT

congratulations

I mean, you could Sakura Gonta since he's definitely not doing fine

but Kaede doing nothing for the whole game is a little ooc, girlie takes the matters in her own hands

boy's not coping after ch3 either way

Ves: i was looking through my past randomizers and found a ch5 where kaede kills himiko after being tricked into thinking she's the mastermind…i could move that up to ch4. but why himiko..

Himiko's dead already tho

Ves: idk i haven't committed to that yet,,tricking kaede into thinking rantarou is the mastermind feels. cliche

what if she thinks Gonta is the mastermind since he got away with murder

Ves: what kind of fucking machine would bbygirl have to build to take out GONTA poisonous insects???

she's just setting up a trap still, a wrong person could walk in it, she sets it up at Gonta's lab but Rantaro walks in for something

Ves: NOT AGAIN [sob emoji] THAT'S SO FUNNY ACTUALLY SHSL UNLUCKY RANTAROU REAL

yes, she releases something venomous in his lab, little buggie just wanders off

or it does get Gonta, cause. He would be so devastated when he finds out that he was the one supposed to die. Literally so much worse for him than dying

Ves: HOW DID THIS WHOLE THING TURN INTO GONTA BULLYING I CAN'T HAVE HIM ACCIDENTALLY KILL SOMEONE AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DIE IN HIS PLACE THAT'S OBSCENE my poor son [sob emoji]

back to Sakura arc, he finds out about the attempt without anybody getting hurt

Ves: i'll figure it out in the shower probably update: i took a shower and didn't figure it out [pensive emoji]

Sini: Maybe keep the idea of Gonta killing Himiko and Kaede killing Gonta, and then have Rantaro die because he broke the rules in some way? You could pull a Mukuro on him

I got another idea too, what if Rantaro kills Kaede if you were to use the card key motive again, what if he gets ahold of it, frustrated just like others with Angie insisting they just don't use it and stay there forever when it could be an exit or used to reveal mastermind's identity, so he steals it from her and finds out about the end of the world, so he snaps, "we should have died with everyone" kind of thing, Kaede is the easiest target to start with (if Himiko is already out) since she's weaker than him and trusting (unlike Ouma)

Sini: What if….You mixed the two? Like, Kaede is the one in Rantaro’s place, whose character throughout the game has been kind of regressing as time has gone on. Growing more pessimistic and untrusting. She would also be eager to know if the key could reveal the mastermind’s identity in any way, since she’s been looking for them since day one and growing more paranoid and bitter about it. Once the key card motive is revealed, she steals it from Angie and parallels Gonta in that she believes the others should all die. She could still kill Gonta because she finds him suspicious, and if he’s not, then he’s actually a pretty easy target to lure. She also might want to kill him because she believes it’s what he deserves after what he did (in that case, the character regression would be very real). Or, she could go full Gonta, and believe killing Gonta is best because he was the nicest of the group and has already gone through sm pain that he deserves to die first/not through execution. I feel like Kaede would definitely be the type to take the burden of living if she had to

having more time in the game Kaede's whole preaching cooperation and trust would slowly crumble away, seeing how in canon she was trying to reassure herself as much as the others at the start and failed to, coming to conclusion that she needs to do something herself, that Shuichi's plan is not enough, that she's not going to hope Kaito's group comes up with something. Here she had time to simmer in it and get so much worse

and I'd love to see that, let her run out of positive things to say, hang outs to distract herself with, mantras to fall asleep to and hopes that all of that was a bad dream. She can't keep waiting for something to happen and then the next thing that happens is another murder instead of the awaited rescue, to get out she is going to make it happen

guess, she was wrong when she got there, maybe you can't trust people, maybe they're all out for blood, maybe somebody else is already planning her demise

Sini: Yeah…. And there’s no point. The world is destroyed There’s no home to go back to She might as well take a chance at killing the one person she can suspect as the mastermind

she regressed so far that she reached the pg Kaede mindset, no faith in humanity, they're all capable of murder, perhaps they're there because they deserve it

Sini: YES! If even Gonta can kill…Nobody is safe. Nobody can be trusted She kills him with the poisonous bug, but the others wouldn’t know that until ways into the trial. They might think it’s classic poison. Calling back to canon chapter 4 with the poison left on the seat. Both are diversions

if they all die, then there will be no more humanity, no more cruelty, betrayal after betrayal, it'll be over

Kaede humming "no children" by mountain goats while picking out a poison to plant on the crime scene

Sini: Imagine for a moment Kaito is framed, again? Cause he’s the ultimate detective, the poison might’ve came from his lab

Sini: Also, this would hurt Kokichi sm. He’s already been questioning himself with the reveal of Gonta being the second culprit. He’s alive and he doesn’t know if he can even look at him anymore… His feelings on the matter conflicting with one another. And then to later find that he’s dead? O O F

framing Kaito is a good idea, but also what if she staged it as a suicide, really take Kokichi out of investigation with a gut punch imagine he said some shit to Gonta after the 3rd trial he'd blame himself

Sini: So I was thinking with this that maybe Rantaro doesn’t vote for Kaede in chapter 4 because if the world is really destroyed, then his sisters (if still lost in this au) are most certainly dead. However, I don’t think he would do that unless he was 100% certain that the world was destroyed. He’d have to see it for himself to truly believe, as he has his doubts on the legitimacy of all this. So what if in chapter 5, if they all see the outside world and later become depressed, TW Rantaro actually commits to killing himself? He’d do it in front of everyone so that there is no case to solve. The guilt and grief he’d feel….He’d see no point in living anymore. He might even feel guilty for not being able to be useful in preventing the murders or doing more to uncover the truth. He’d consider himself a failure in every way. Maybe he does so through breaking another rule? Again, typical Mukuro, but just done on purpose

no 4th survivor, huh

Ves, reading up after leaving for a bit:

well first of all i think im never leaving you to babysit an au again. second of all AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA kaedeee :((( also rantarou :((((( also gonta :((((((- you did not leave anyone untouched huh

Sini: HEY! IT’S UP TO YOU! Rantaro doesn’t have to die, that’s just if you want to keep the survivor count the same as in canon

Ves: i think im gonna up the survivor count…maybe by making ch3 a single murder? nnnn. kaede killing gonta is sounding real good though Sini: She could still do so, just maybe it’s as simple as Gonta is an easy target and he’s the nicest so he should be spared an awful death

Ves: NSHJDBGHSGDD….she said fuck ALL YALL except for you gonta you're an angel and we're all glad you're here- i think abt the gonta&himiko scene where he asks how he can help and she tells him he radiates so much mana he can just stand there and it'll help her simply Having A Gonta Around does wonders for magic

Sini: IT DOES But man, that just reminds me how sad Gonta killing Himiko is If you make it where just Korekiyo is the culprit, maybe have him kill Himiko instead. That way we can have the Tenmiko angst, just reverse. Also, we’d get Tsumugi as a survivor, which I think has potential. Let Tsumugi have a character arc!

that would made ch4 weaker, but ig that would mean Himiko getting Angie'd since he only had a motive to kill Tsumugi?

Ves: i think maybe. do something to make gonta think of it as his fault even if he didn't directly off someone

but think about Kokichi's character arc

Ves: AH FUCK I FOROT ABT THAT maybe he kills kiyo???? no execution on a technicality bc kiyo killed first,,

then he'd get executed cause monokuma wouldn't have anyone else to execute? Like Celeste?

Ves: there wasn't the first come first serve rule in that game though "Rule #15: If two different murders by different murderers occur at the same time, only the one whose victim was found first will be the blackened." do i have to HIDE kiyo then?? what vague wording

and in ndrv3, Monokuma only introduced the rule in ch3, knowing what happened to sow distrust but Gonta wouldn't want to get away with murder, so he wouldn't hide the body

Ves: but i also wanted to have more survivors :[

Sini: Mind you, Kokichi can still have that moment to himself cause Shuichi exists. But Gonta being a killer could do wonders for his character as well. If you have it where Kiyo kills Himiko and Gonta kills Kiyo, then it’s very likely Gonta could still get executed cause he’s the only culprit left alive.

then stick the the og idea, you can save Rantaro instead of Tsumugi

Ves: so like. himiko runs away from the crime scene, gonta tries to catch her, breaks her spine like a rabbit at the vet?

nothing's going to have the same impact, this is good because it's Gonta and she isn't even the culprit and he doesn't get executed

this is what hits the spot for character arcs for Tenko, Kokichi and Kaede (her last fucking nail) and anything else would be softening the blow, that's no what DR is about, hit them with the hammers

Ves: you're right and i hate it ○|￣|_ kokichi doesn't make up with gonta bc of his own pride and then gonta FUCKING DIES, and that feeds nicely into his forgiveness for shuuichi…i see the vision

(edited by Ves)

and to finish it off, my take on the Themes in the AU:

what an interesting theme for the entire season it paints, the power struggle, having people who try to define and control you, use you for entertainment vs the abused, overcoming, getting from under the shoe SWINGING, finding ways to be their own person. Tenko's crisis would fit in nicely, and have parallels with Kaede's arc downwards. They both start as leader types that might come over a little bit too strong, Tenko loses faith in herself, Kaede loses faith in people, Tenko gives up on leading and falls in step with others, Kaede gives up on others and starts acting on her own, behind their backs. Kaede wants to make the decision for everyone that life's no longer worth it. Angie wants to decide what's best for everyone. Kaito wants to decide their lives, treating them like puppets. But their lives are their own. And true leadership is guidance, not force. Shuichi is the tragic example, showing how important having community is to be able to stand a chance against abusive authority. well, for M1-U it might be more dying on her own terms at best, would be cool if she self-destructed after getting hauled-off to the execution of found a way to make the execution go differently than Monokuma intended

Sini: Shuichi had access to community but couldn't truly be a part of it due to how Kaito controlled him. You could maybe contrast that with Kokichi who goes through a positive arc of letting people in and teaming up with others more. Him representing what a good leader could look like

it was too little, too late for Shuichi

Sini: OOOOO! YEAH! That's perfect! She died doing her own thing and by her own hands OH SHIT! That's actually really poetic. Cause in canon, Kaito is the one who died on his own and not by Monokuma's hands. Now he's the villain who got beat by his own alternative actions

Ves: haha loser get thematically reversed

[blindrapture]

THURSDAY JULY 28TH, 2011 (Synecdoche)

9:40 AM WOMP WOMP diddle liddle WOMP WOMP WOMP w-WOMP WOMP dooooo wackadadackada WOMP WOMP I'm awake, I'm awake. What. Sounds like Legsteps.

9:41 AM Donnie's got the grumpiest expression. "I never even liked dubstep." I'm going out to the street.

9:42 AM Well, it is Legsteps. Those black legs from yesterday have woken up, and the speakers have appeared. They look like boomboxes rocking above the skyscrapers, on comically long stilts. Then there's smaller Legsteps on street corners, some even down this way. And the fires from yesterday have spread even further, with black smoke filling the sky in every direction, but not in San Francisco itself? Smack-dab in the center of the city, there's some kind of trippy teal-colored.. rising pillar of teal fire instead. I can hear screams now. I think there must have been a population that didn't want anything to do with the RAF, and they stayed indoors yesterday. Or I guess it could be the Indisen who were left? I don't see anyone from standing here, there's just.. noise. Screams and dubstep. The soundtrack to the end of San Francisco. Frankly, this is a mockery. The future of this city was already dead. The Archangel saw to that quite thoroughly.

9:44 AM Donnie's coming out. "Oh my god…" Yeah, I know. ..oh, she's looking at Tiger, lifeless on the curb. Yeah… "He.. he didn't want to see what was coming. He didn't need to see this." No. He didn't need to see this. "God." she's crying. holding her hand.

9:47 AM "It's.. it's time for us to leave this place. Long past time." Agreed. We need a Door.

9:49 AM Gathering whatever supplies we can from the house. Got bags. How are we gonna find a Door? "There's plenty of buildings here, there's got to be a Door in one of them." Yeah, but, searching every building? We've been here for five days and I never found a Door. Did you? "No… and I'd rather we didn't split up to search." Exactly. This is a tall fucking order. "Can't we leave the city? Search for Doors out in the rest of the, er, state? Like the bikers?" There's smoke and glow in all directions. I think we're circled in by fires. "Okay, well, you think, you don't know. That's what we should try first."

10:18 AM Took the car. Didn't take that long to run into the southern fires. They cover every street, laterally. We're still not done checking, maybe there's an opening..?

10:33 AM No. No such thing. And we already know the only way out to the north was the Golden Gate. The east had a bridge too, but Donnie's not optimistic about our prospects. (Then the west is all Pacific Ocean. Even if there was a miraculous way across, we're not going to end another month riding on an even longer ferry.) These fires blocking us cut through the buildings, like they're ethereally placed. They're spreading real fires from them, but it's clear we're just not allowed to leave. If there is a way out of this deathtrap, it's by finding a Door.

11:00 AM "ONE HOUR" that stopped us in our tracks. it came from the sky, I think from where the teal fire's going. maybe it was just part of the music… We're still going door by door, looking through the houses that aren't locked. Donnie, this is way too slow. We'd be better off trying some big department stores or something. "But those are going to be up there, closer to where the green fire thing is!" Well, it's either that, or still be doing this when an hour's up! "Please don't yell at me!" I'm not, I'm-- look, just. We should look for offices, apartments, workplaces, malls. They offer more doors, more chances for Doors.

11:10 AM How about this one? This one's pretty far from the center. Stonestown Galleria.

11:14 AM I realize we can't be that thorough, but god, I'm just seeing regular abandoned and ruined shops. God, please, please, give us a sight of another sky, another world… Please...!

11:21 AM Hobby Lobby Checkers Nordstrom Foot Locker Office Depot Barnes and Noble American Eagle Bad Bambi San Francisco dies, piece by piece

11:34 AM We've left the mall and are on the search again The sky in the center of the city is an increasing whirl of spinning dark clouds We're seeing people now, glimpses of panic inside the windows of their houses Corpses fallen out of front doors Scattered on the streets Some are on rooftops, some are half hidden in manholes Some with bubbling skin Some with frostbitten limbs Some with slit throats Some with maggot-infested coats San Francisco dies, piece by piece

11:39 AM "There!" What! "In front of that window! Behind that van!" What! What! "That's not a zombie! Is it an Indisen? Wave at it!" What? "Wave at it!" It saw us, then ran away, cracking its broken foot on the floor again and again. Then it got grabbed by a blonde woman in dungarees, both hands around its throat, and she saw us and stared at us. Now she's coming this way, dragging the body in staggered steps.

11:40 AM The one who had run from us is unconscious now, carried on the dungaree woman's shoulder. And now that she's closer to us, I'm realizing, by the dead look in her eyes (and living human body), that this is a Camper. "Why are you still here?" Um. Hi, Salmacis. Was that an Indisen? donnie "I'd hoped it was a Camper." "Well, you've found one all the same. Now, why are you still here? I thought your plan was to leave this city last night." We.. decided to sleep instead. "That was foolish. Now you cannot leave." We, uh. We've noticed. We were looking for a rabbit hole. "That will be your only chance, yes, but with eyes all over the city, I have seen no evidence of one." Then! Then what? We're fucked, then? "...I will not allow you to die. Not here. Wait here while I decide what to do with the Indisen, and I will send more Camper to protect you." IloveyouEAT. the camper walks away, saying "I told you: Call me Salmacis."

11:42 AM Approaching sound of a lot of feet BIG HORDE OF CAMPER turned the corner on the street ahead. Some have wings of flesh, some have growths on their neck that vaguely resemble attempts at second heads, some have extra arms. They're passing us now. One has stepped out of the crowd and onto the sidewalk with us. It is a dorky pencil-pusher with thinning hair and office shirt. donnie "nice." meh. I prefer the girls. salmacis "I know. But this is what you're getting. Now come, we will stick near the mass for safety in numbers." walking! Are these the Camper that were on their way before? "Yes." So they got here okay. donnie "Did they meet any resistance?" "The undead to the south, the Indisen to the north. The Fears within the city know not to pick off my bodies; the undead are the Archangel's pawns, but they still have autonomy and are driven by hunger." Wait, Fears within the cities? "They are gathering." Which ones? "All of them." o_o "Something big is about to happen here, something from Xanadu itself, and they wish to see it for themselves." So that's why the Legsteps are here? "The stereo sirens? Yes. It is also why the Indisen have gathered, according to interrogations I have made. Answers are predictably vague, but the Rapture is moving into its next stage."

11:45 AM Salmacis is taking us to a location it believes to be safe, though there really is no telling what's going to happen at noon. It will send a squad of 25 Camper to do the rabbit hole search for us.

11:52 AM Grassy hill. Fancy modern building, with some damage, atop the hill. There's big windows on the front, letting us see the center of San Francisco. Or, I mean. We can see some skyline, and we can make out the teal pillar. I can see the Legsteps stepping back and forth, having established their perimeters. They're moving in a pattern. Like a ballet that towers over the city.

11:53 AM The dorky Camper will wait here with us. It would also like to see what's about to happen.

11:55 AM camper "Now what are they doing?" What? Huh. Flocks, land-darkening flocks, of birds coming in from all sides. They're all the same type, and Are those the Morphs? "Yes." They're entering a formation, moving as one, spinning with the clouds. Like the clouds, they're increasing in speed.

11:56 AM Sheets of paper, crumbling flyers, abandoned hats, fly from the streets and into the air as the Morphs whip up a tremendous wind. They're forming a tornado. And they're still going faster and faster.

11:57 AM The Legsteps are starting to pump less and less music and more and more.. sounds. Old-school sirens, shrieking glitches, sweeping noises like a sea of violin strings in a combine harvester. It's hurting our ears, but we can't look away. Donnie and I are transfixed with morbid fascination. And Salmacis is engaged.

11:58 AM The roads are swirling up, forming corkscrew mountains of tarmac and pavement. The buildings are inverting, flipping, floating. The smoke clouds overhead are gathering thicker. The Legsteps aren’t even playing music at this point. They’re echoing back the sounds of the Morphs’ destruction. Speaking of, I think the Morphs are starting to form specific structures out of their carnage. o_o; It looks like they’re forming a giant… …courtroom in the sky.

11:59 AM They’re done, they stopped on a dime. All sounds abruptly cease, and all life has stopped to watch. Extra Legsteps drop out of the clouds from above. These ones don't have stereos. They have cameras. Do we have a TV in here? Quick, turn it on. … All channels are displaying the feed. I suspect the whole earth is allowed to watch this. “Judgement begins in one minute.”

12:00 PM "Let the Judgement of San Francisco commence." The “jury box” made of debris and tarmac contains at least five-hundred Indisen. Some of them look like they’re trying to run for their lives, but they quickly flinch and sit still. In the defendant’s chair is a terrified man. There is no defense. In the prosecution’s chair is the Archangel, looking slightly surprised to be there.

12:03 PM The clouds overhead are parting, forming a cir SCREAM WHAT Oh my god the Camper’s eyeballs sizzle sockets Donnie. Donnie, don't look at what Salmacis looked at. Whatever you do. Look at anything but that circle in the clouds. I'm sorry, I would have warned you if I'd have realized. ._. camper "I should have known. It's the Judge."

12:04 PM The voice from the clouds booms, "The Judge has been watching from the sun all this time. The Judge is here to give the city its final judgement. Court is now in session."

12:07 PM The defendant is floating in mid-air and screaming out of terror. "ELON MUSK. YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED IN REPRESENTATION OF THE POPULATION OF SAN FRANCISCO. YOUR JUDGEMENT HAS COME." Elon is saying he doesn't even live here. He's asking what he did wrong. "YOU ARE BLINDED BY YOUR HUNGER. YOU RIDE OUT THE WAVE, CONTENT TO FEED ON THE MACHINE. YOU BLEED AMERICA TO DEATH." Elon is begging for clarification. Now for forgiveness. Now for anything. "ONLY THE PROSECUTION SHALL DECIDE ANY MERCY YOU RECEIVE." The Archangel stands up, composure regained. "Trap him in a car. Throw the car off a cliff." ..Elon’s being dragged away by Indisen, kicking and screaming. …he’s gone now. "As for the rest of this miserable shithole, with its insubordinate uppity young fucks, throw it all in the Rapture!" …what. O_O "THE PROSECUTION IS ONLY HERE TO SUBMIT THE SENTENCE FOR THE DEFENDANT. I WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF THIS CITY, AND LIKEWISE THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE." "Of course, Your Honor. I got ahead of myself." "FURTHERMORE, I AM ALSO TASKED WITH DECIDING YOUR FATE, ECCLESIARCHWAY. YOU WERE THE PROSECUTION FOR THE PRIOR CASE. NOW YOU ARE THE DEFENDANT, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EARTH'S PANTHEON OF FEARS." "Come again?" "AND I AM INCLINED TO GIVE YOU THE SAME SENTENCE THAT I GIVE TO SAN FRANCISCO." "You what?" "YOU ARE HARDLY WITHOUT GUILT IN THIS. THE HUMANS HAD TO FOLLOW EXAMPLES, AND YOU IN PARTICULAR HAD YOUR FINGERS IN THE POT." "Hang on a moment, I'm on your side in this!" "I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU ARE. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANYONE BELIEVES YOU ARE." "Well! What about the Fears as a whole? Surely you're not going to give me a severe sentence-- I mean, give them a severe sentence-- just on my actions alone! You're a Fear too! Remember me? Remember the good times, Osiris?" "YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT. THE FEARS, AS A WHOLE, WERE NOT ALWAYS ON BOARD WITH YOUR PLANS. SOME OF THEM NEVER WERE. WE WERE THE GODS. YOU WERE JUST A CHILD THAT WE PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY." "How dare you!" "THIS MATTER CLEARLY REQUIRES MORE THOUGHT. I WILL CONSULT WITH THE POWERS ABOVE." "Powers above???" (Yeah, powers above??? o__o) "IN THE MEANTIME, I MUST DELIVER THE SENTENCE FOR SAN FRANCISCO, AS THAT IS THE MATTER ALLOCATED FOR JULY 28TH. THE PROSECUTION WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEFENDANT'S SENTENCE, AND THAT HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN. THE COURT CONCURS WITH IT AS SYNECDOCHE." loud bang. a gavel? "AS BELOW, SO ABOVE. SAN FRANCISCO, YOU WILL BE GIVEN TO THE RAPTURE. LET IT BE DONE." roaaaaaars and screams The sky is turning purple. We have to get out of here, we have to get out of here now.

12:12 PM The now-blind Camper is ushering us to the exit of this house. "My Camper have found a Door; I will do my best to lead you there. Don't look back. Don't look up. Don't ever turn around. Just follow me."

12:24 PM been one long run. salmacis has allowed us to pause for breath. we're not looking around, even though we hear no screams anymore. what I hear is something far stranger. a rising pitch. a vortex of rising pitches. snapping strings. warping sirens. like the intersection of a thousand mutually exclusive worlds, and our world of sense is not the one that will survive. we don't want to see it. as much as we’ve been wondering ever since May, we do not want to see Rapture. we want to know what it is, but we don’t want to see it.

12:37 PM we pass a flood of little children they’re holding decapitated arms above their heads, the individual fingers burning as human candles. make a wish?

12:40 PM The Legsteps have begun womping again. They’re pumping Conker’s Bad Fur Day— wait, A Clockwork Orange— dubstep out there. I seem to recall this piece wasn’t originally A Clockwork Orange. I think it was a funeral piece from centuries ago. Queen Mary the first? It’s… kinda fitting. Vaguely. Depressing, for sure. Awfully surreal. I grew up with this piece, though from Conker, not the original two sources. And now I watch a western Babylon be thrown into the fires of Rapture set to this. San Francisco’s funeral, the fires of the Archangel, the flames of the Judge.

12:54 PM "We are nearly there! The Door is in a department store just up here." Goddammit, we were searching big stores and malls! We just didn't get that far!

1:06 PM Chase Center. God, my heart is pounding. The ground is rumbling. Salmacis says the Door is in a manager's office at the far end.

1:10 PM It's in the back of this shop! Gotta get through Old Navy! Gotta get past the...Mannequins. Why’d it have to be mannequins. I fully expect them to yep They’re moving.

1:11 PM They’re reaching for Donnie. Tiger Stripes, let’s teach them to keep their hands to themselves, shall we? HEEEYAH WHACK Stupid piece of plastic.

1:13 PM They’re coming back to life. HACK SLASH KAPOW KASLASH KAHACK There's flesh inside of them.

1:15 PM More are migrating over from other stores. Surrounding us. And more Camper are coming in to help us, but the mannequins are pushing furniture over to block the doors. Why the fuck do they have strategy? Do these ones not want to die?! "We want company…" EAAAH

a voice speaks to me... 1:20 PM the mannequins grabbed donnie and left me here I've got to go after them I can't fail again the musicians are watching me. not now, you fucking spectators. do you want to see?

1:26 PM they run fast for meat dressed up like fake people through the streets oh god don’t look up. it's so bright up there.

1:30 PM spidercats falling from the sky.

1:45 PM It’s getting dark awfully early. my fucking chest... so much running… where are all the camper?

1:53 PM to the park Twin Peaks what significance is there to this

2:05 PM This was one of the pieces of land carried wholesale by the Morphs. It's an entire mass of dirt and grass slapped on top of this part of the city. HEY, DONNIE WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE IS ANYBODY? I definitely saw them go here Didn't I?

2:06 PM It’s getting darker. Darker and darker. Can't see much more than ten feet in front of me. Noises. So many noises. Some of them so low I can feel them in my body… Rustling. Sounded like someone said "Hmm?" or a comfortable yawn. just walking. walking. walking into the dark MANNEQUIN, THERE YOU AREN’T HELLO YOU're... you're Ace Man. or, no, what was it. The Beacon. Wearing a shroud of white this time, a tall thin ghost with a featureless beak where the face should be. Silently standing there. Facing me. ..raising an arm to reach for me

(This page has gross stains on it.)

2:23 PM ..I've been.. throwing up… at his feet… Every time I think I'm done, I breathe in and smell vomit and more of it comes pouring out. thrusting out. forcing out. I think I even passed out after a while but I woke up to vomit more I need to.. I need to go... I need to stop.. I need to… god, it's. it's the beacon. he smells like. death. he smells like centuries of rot. he smells like

2:31 PM no I need to get up all my fault This sickness is all in my head. The Beacon wants me to give up. This is how he gets you.

2:35 PM god it’s so hard to want to get up

2:40 PM Legsteps pumping my head I can’t

2:43 PM the spell is broken because someone jumped the beacon someone grabbed its shrouded shoulders and brought it down to the ground someone in a combat suit with red hair Donnie!!! "GET HIM NOW!" OKAY TIGER STRIPES SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!! Smashed his beak mask. Let’s take this fucker off.

2:44 PM betty boop eyes dot for a mouth no nose okay you can have your mask back

3:20 PM a lot happened. we're in the rabbit hole now. let me.. tell it. After I gave the Beacon its mask back, to cover that swollen and deformed cartoon-in-real-life face (shudder!!!), I saw myself in a longgg rotten hallway, castle walls slimy and damp black brick. cold barred prison cells spaced unevenly apart on both sides, with unspeakable smells. they contained mannequins. I could not see all the way down the hallway due to a smoky hazy smoke collecting in the distance. But I had to do something, so I started.. walking down the hall. Someone was coughing past the haze. Where I was going. Then I was back in the park, in San Francisco. Donnie was standing over the empty robe of the Beacon as black smoke sizzled, from it, upwards into the sky. An unrecognized voice said "From the Mechro to the Flood you go." Donnie and I looked at each other. We didn't feel threatened by that voice, but we knew there was no time to ask questions. So we got the hell out of there. As we ran, we heard the Legsteps emit hideous metal screeches as the music progressed into atonal electronic noise, and the Morphs swirled hurricanes out of the clouds that sucked the tallest buildings from the city into the sky brick by brick. I don't know how long we ran for. I mean, evidently not much more than 30 minutes? God, my legs hate the apocalypse, but at least I'm getting a good workout every day. We found Salmacis's rabbit hole, with no resistance this time, no mannequin army. We ducked in.

3:24 PM Sitting on a well-trodden dirt path surrounding a pit that a waterfall drains into. Smells like nature. No sound but rushing water. This world is peace. Donnie's hugging me while I write. She doesn't understand the last few hours. I can't say I do either, but it must have been a Fear free-for-all. Pick the bones of the city in its last moments before… God. It didn't deserve that. "Nobody deserved…" No. "This is all such senseless violence. Using people as fodder. Even when we're all against the apocalypse, even when we're trying, we can't... help each other. The things we saw... the things we were a part of… the things we couldn't stop…" >__< This is the end. This is the end of the world. Like, the end of the very real world that we call "human." Everything I thought I knew… "Judged, rejected, condemned without appeal." I think that made the Fears panic. I think we saw the Fears panic. "Oh god, we're all going to die." There's.. going to be more bloodshed before October, yeah. "You don't think we're all dead?" I don't know. I think San Francisco was always going to die. I think that was just... done, that was decided, even before we got there many days ago. I think... the blue sky did its job; it fooled everyone into letting the RAF fuck around, because the RAF were just people, and we're used to a world run by people. 'The rich.' Pah. It was the damn people. A world run by people. As we've been seeing, our world had a lot more in it than just people. We invited unrest on ourselves, not by using money, but by thinking that it was as simple as money, that money was as simple as 'money,' some thing we invented. But maybe we didn't invent money. Maybe we didn't invent the world. Maybe we forgot to shut up and listen to the world. "...you're on one of your rambles." Sorry. "No, I'm just realizing. You want someone who can keep up." Well. ...can't you?

..she's pondering. finger on her chin. "......if money wasn't something we invented, then are you suggesting inequality is innate?" No. I'm saying inequality is one of many results of us thinking we invented and control the world. The behavior of the rich was a problem in the world, exactly as big of a problem as people said it was, but it's not something that can be fixed by just killing all the rich people, or even by systematically killing those who make financial transactions. Because you'd have to be insanely powerful to be able to do any of that. "And then you'd be proving that there was something more fundamental, a power dichotomy, under it all. And you'd have just advertised that you're on the top of that." Exactly. Archie was able to manipulate masses of people using, what did he call it? Populism? He didn't need money to do that. He, in fact, needed.. not money. He, intentionally or not, exposed some of the deeper levers of power that made our old world work. Something about speech... something about community. "Community is important. We'd die without it." We're not born as groups of people, we're born alone. We don't dream together; my dreams are in my brain, as your dreams are in yours. My saying that shouldn't threaten the values of community, because I'm speaking literal universal truths, and what good is a community that is threatened by universal truths? Community needs to account for the individuals in us all. Everyone has an "I." And Everyone is, at the end of the day, a far larger community than any other group. The days where a lack of community would kill us are irrelevant. The world was already set up so that none of us could go without community, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how much we rejected it or it rejected us. But we talked like it was still a possibility, still a threat. We barked at the shadows forming on our comfortable walls. The truth is, community was killing us just the same as it was saving us. Just the same as money was killing us, and saving us. "So, if there's a line being drawn here, aren't you falling into a trap by claiming that community was the problem? Just like those who say money was the problem." If I went around trying to dismantle all instances of community just by virtue of them being communities, then yes. And there were people like that in the world. Plenty of them on the internet. It's what 4chan was known for. What I'm doing here is. Well, I'm rambling. But in particular, I'm outlining systems here. And I'm trying to process the shit we've been seeing, in my own way. "Archie led thousands to their death. And you're saying he preyed on our need for community, because the way we relied on community was innately flawed." Yes. Yes! "And. You don't think that's evidence that we're all going to die." I think he pulled the trigger too soon if he had wanted to kill all of us. I think he's just exposed the flaws for us, so we know what to watch out for now. "You think he helped us?" I don't think he meant to. He saw an opportunity for short-term gain and jumped to it. "Huh."

3:30 PM resting my head in donnie's lap. :3 "Do you think he's the god of death?" Well, he's. His name is Death. I think. And he has power over all the dead. "Do you think he's good at representing death?" Oh god. Are we allowed to form opinions on that? "We're in Xanadu. No birds are reading your journal. Word's not gonna get back to him. So, do you think he's scary enough to be the Grim Reaper? Or do you think he's full of it?" Honestly, I don't know. I never had the strongest opinions on death as it was? I never understood how I could. Death is the greatest mystery, Door to a world we can't come back from. No word has come back from there. We don't know how it works. So we don't even know if it's scary. But, for what it's worth, I think Archie is plenty scary. He's scary like a mafia boss. Or what I always assumed a mafia boss to be like. "What, you never watched The Godfather?" Nope. "I thought your parents were film buffs." They were. I wasn't! "It's so good. A little slow, but the best films always are. Shall I tell you about it?" Uh "So, it starts with this wedding party..."

11:00 PM edvard grieg morgenstimmung playing on a legstep who's walking past us on his way

11:01 PM I guess I fell asleep in donnie's lap. God I need a piss. Is it. Is it okay if I piss in that pool? "yeah.. I did it before we slept…" oh, you're awake. "just enjoying the rest, baby..."

11:02 PM I wonder where that Legstep's even going. "It was beautiful. One of those things playing a different genre?" Maybe it's. Based on their mood? "What if we followed it? Do you think it'll lead us to people?" Well, it raises the question of a Legstep without anyone to hear it, yes. "Or maybe it'll lead us to another world." Ooh! The wonders of Xanadu! Immaculate nature, a universe of sense! :D "You're in a good mood today." What can I say? I got to talk it out before we slept. I needed that. "Mm, and what we did after." >w< "C'mon. I'm up. You're up. The music's fading. Let's chase it."

11:05 PM Legstep walked into a Door made of feathers. o:

11:06 PM A city in the clouds! The buildings are stitched out of feathers. Little gingerbread men walk to and fro. Every one of them looks at us funny.

11:08 PM There's a giant muffin in the skies floating this way.

11:15 PM WE’RE RIDING IN THE GIANT MUFFIN! :D

11:20 PM The muffin travels back and forth between two cloud-islands. A sky-ferry! We rode it across and are taking a look at a local map. We’re outside the “Chocolate Geography Center.” o:

11:25 PM The planet below these clouds, as indicated by slides on the walls inside the windows of this Geography Center, slides pointed at with candy cane pointers by gingerbread men in suits, addressed to rooms full of more gingerbread men in suits, is made of chocolate. Donnie wonders if these clouds are actually cotton candy. This place is making me so hungry.

11:44 PM After more walking, down shortbread streets, past candy cigarette lightposts and lollipop street signs, watching the brownie cars drive by, greeting gingerbread families walking their gummi bear pets on leashes, we found a market serving free food. What do candy men eat?

11:45 PM Flesh cookies. Liver bread. Blood drinks, human crackling and fat rinds. Human eyeballs in bowls made of bone, and they eat the bone too (it's like rock candy to them). Everyone is still eyeing us. We’re just gonna… stroll on out of here inconspicuously. ^^;;

11:48 PM WHERE RABBIT HOLE

11:50 PM gingerbread people with almond harpoons and nougat nets are behind us. I think they're trying not to be noticed. we did not come this far to be hunted down by candy.

11:54 PM ONTO THE MUFFIN, QUICK! FIND THE CONTROLS GO GO GO DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE FLY TO THAT HUMONGOUS TOWER OF STRAWBERRY IT LOOKS IMPORTANT

(Attached: “Elon Musk in a sweet tan suit, hoarding blues from his old coot, bears witness to red fate, pairs fitness to dead weight. Tell me sell me tell me elm, he asks this to the trees: What's the birds say? Tweet tweet! Green fires in the sky, children shouting 'FATHER WHY,' it's a veritable unforgettable the likes of which you'll never see again, not in your lifetime, not on your number line, if you ask I'm fine, I'm verifiably veritable, absolutely administrable, preposterously prophetic, pathetic like the skyscraper. Nay, I am the skyscraper. That one's for you, now I'm for the birds.”)

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