#which is really sad because it’s a very fun wiki

[superherotiger]

YO bestie gonna require you to ramble more about those kids and parents from the outsider pov fic thanks

AHHHH BESTIE YOU BETTER LOCK IN BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO GO FERAL-

If there's one element of the Outsider POV that owns my soul, it's the X-23 kids and everything surrounding them. Like look at this list- LOOK AT IT!

I've thought about them so much it's unhealthy 🤣

I tried to keep it as accurate to Logan (2017) as possible, using all the kids names I could find on the wiki and then added a couple extras to make it to the lucky number 23. The extras are shown with a green square and have some fun little references included! Alex is named after Riptide's actor Álex González, Theresa is Banshee's daughter in the comics, January is named after Emma Frost's actress January Jones, and I chose Ace for Gambit's kiddo because PUNS okay? I needed at least one hahah!

My memory is a little rusty but I believe the bolded names meant the parent was still alive, but that could change if I saw an opportunity to include more of the parents that never got to be.

Anyway, I'm about to ramble hard about the kids so I'll chuck it below the read more to spare some of you 🤣

Okay so straight off the bat, I wanted to explain why Laura is X-2 not X-23 she normally is. I knew from the start that I wanted Luna to be younger than Laura so that meant if Laura was X-23 and Luna was a later number, it wouldn't exactly be the X-23 program anymore. To get around this I thought the in-universe reason for it being called the X-23 program would be because they successfully cloned only 23 subjects using the limited amounts of DNA they had in store. Some DNA they had more of (hence Nature Girl having multiple clones) while others they only had small amounts to work with, which is a reason why the doctors were hesitant to get rid of Luna considering she was all that was left of Pietro (and as a result Magneto's) DNA. And that's how Luna became X-22 and Laura became X-2 (in a sort of half reference lol).

I love the idea of the older kids looking out for the younger ones. We see in the movie that they clearly had tight bonds despite their horrible treatment and I really wanted to play into that for the fic, showing how they really relied on each other to get through and were still normal kids at the heart of it all. The more I write about them though the more I wish some of them had survived because they're all so sweet and deserved so much better (yes I know I'm the one that wrote them dying, it was for the plot hush 🤣)

I’m not sure if I’ve explicitly mentioned it before but the Avalanche in this AU is based on an older version of Lance Alvers from X-Men: Evolution. As heartbreaking as it was, I loved writing Lance’s reaction to finding out that Rictor had died. I think he would’ve been so proud of his son for being such a strong leader for the other kids, and he’s very similar to Peter in that he doesn’t hesitate to consider Rictor his own child. It’s interesting because Peter and Lance are kind of parallels, with the main difference being that one of their kids survived and the other didn’t. We’ll get to see a bit more of Lance in the next chapter which I’m super hyped for!!

I touched a bit on Sabretooth’s feelings towards having a clone kid in my last ramble, but Gambit is also a really interesting one too. We’ll see it briefly in the next chapter, but I imagine there’s this deep sadness in Gambit that he prefers not to think about. While Sabretooth acts abrasive and dismissive, Gambit puts on a sort of “I wouldn’t have made a good father anyway” vibe so he doesn’t have to tackle just how much the situation hurts.

I’m really excited to show Storm and Jean’s reactions to learning about their kids and how they grieve in different ways. While Jean is desperate to know as much as possible about Joey even if it’s painful, Storm can’t bear the thought of all that Delilah went through and gets angry that they were so close to saving the kids but not fast enough.

This isn’t one we’ll touch on for a long time, but holy shit FABIEN FUCKING CORTEZ having a clone is one of my favourite details. Like bro, I haven’t even written the Fabian POV yet, but I think about it all the time. I don’t want to spoil too much, but the Fabian POV takes place years before anything else that’s been posted for the series and includes an event that changes Peter and Erik’s dynamic in a detrimental way. Like ongoing trauma kind of way. Changed the course of their lives kind of way. And I just imagine Erik seeing Fabian’s name as the DNA source for Jonah and being like “What the FUCK” whereas Peter is having war flashbacks like “cool cool that’s going in the vault 😀”. If I ever did touch on this plotline, I’d want it to be an older Luna trying to learn more about the other parents of the kids and realising oh fuck there’s actually beef between their family and the Cortez’ and how she reconciles that with the memory of her beloved friend.

I would talk more about Laura and Luna, but I don’t want to spoil all the fun things I have in store for their characters!!! So thank you for letting me ramble again, it’s been a blast and my brain has been going BRRR in the best way possible!! Love you dearest!

-Superherotiger

Send me an ask about the backstory of any of my fics and I’ll ramble!! ✨

[cliowo]

In this essay, i will explain the reasons why sky children of the light has become an increasingly unwelcoming game to new players and veterans alike-

Yeah yeah i usually only share my words here but tumblr feels like a really comfy place for me to share unfiltered thoughts and i needed somewhere to vent ig (skip if you have no idea what I'm talking about)

When I first started playing in prophecy, sky was a really fun game. We didn't have the request for a guide function then and I'm actually really grateful for it because the joy was in exploring each of the different realms and season areas on my own and randomly stumbling across spirits whose stories were waiting for me to discover. Maybe it was because I was a dumb moth - i didn't even know how to access seasonal spirits trees - but the pressure to cr just wasn't as intense as it is for moths today. The back to back seasons and "days of" events seem to have sucked the fun of exploring the world of sky for moths because they're so focused on grinding for candles/hearts/event currency that they just dont slow to smell the in-game roses anymore. And the thing is I get it because there's just so many new cosmetics as well as older ones from past seasons and events to farm for.

I mean sure you don't have to collect every cosmetic but 1 cape costs like 70 candles on average, same for a pair of pants iirc, a prop/acessory at 40-70 candles (70 if its an instrument??) , and hair at around 40-50 candles; and the best part is you can only earn 20-21 candles max in 1 reset 🤡 Add all of that plus the need to look for event currency in fear of facing such prices in the event rerun and you get stressed out moths facing existential crises every 2 weeks when ts arrives😀 Sorry moths, the economy is bad irl and just as bad in sky.

And what of the veterans? Yeah, well, we get no friends as everyone starts to quit the game and those that stay live off copium revisiting the places we once visited with friends- Or maybe that's just me

New friends, you say? *cue flashback to moths begging for help with cr* we exchanged like maybe 5 sentences max at chat benches🥲 i have nothing against helping out but it does make it difficult to form a bond when they disappear right after and you fade into their constellation of ubers

And then we have the seasons.

... Honestly the only season that made an impression with me after aurora was the recently concluded season of the 9 coloured deer, which was also another collab season💀

I actually had to check the sky wiki for this:

Remembrance - ironically very forgettable. What was the story again? Was it the one with the group of spirits living in one specific hole in vault like why- vault is bigger than that sad hole- OH THE PLUSHIES okay maybe this one was passable... im trying okay

Passage - ??? Havent finished this season's quests so uh- so far it seems like... a cult..? In isle...?

Moments - if they wanted a camera in-game, they could have just added it to like the days of sunlight event (the camping one) or smtg. They did not have to force a season for a camera💀 imho the camera was the only thing worth mentioning abt this season and i don't even take pictures

Revival - i suppose aviary is pretty and it's nice that the spirits have somewhere to stay now. Not particularly impressed. Don't really remember the story in this one.

...i heard rumours of a furniture season after the 9 coloured deer. Looking forward to hearing what they'll name this one lmao

The quality of "days of" events is still acceptable to me. Just maybe ignore the numerous iaps and the fact that we have multiple umbrellas but only 1 is f2p (don't understand whats up w that btw)

And also the recurring bugs💀 I've been playing for at least 3 years and I've faced these bugs/problems multiple times:

1. Unable to light frends constellations because the screen just yeets itself into oblivion or some random environment feature where i cant press the button

2. Game crashes (after every update istg-)

3. Splitting servers

4. Sky discrimination and gate keeping, aka refusing to let me open the game

5. Being unable to collect currency/dailies (it's not my internet i checked)

The lack of compensation is another matter entirely

I don't know man I'm tired. The only reason why I still have it installed is because it's my only link to the people I used to have fun and relax with. Not everyone has discord or insta or some other social media.

If you made it this far thank you for coming to my ted talk. Feel free to leave your thoughts- just remember to be respectful

Tldr:

The sky economy is bad. For everyone. Moths (and maybe even vets) are stressed out and vets are losing friends. The seasons are increasingly dull and the long-lived bugs are frustrating.

[mintaikk]

YOOOO OKAY I HAVE THEORIES

Oops🤡

We know it's a Fizz based episode, and I'm SCARED. It can either be a fun "haha, oops! The cast has fun with some stuff on the side!" Or an "Oops! I fucked up and now have to deal with trauma and major cosnsequences!" But I think it's gonna show Fizz and Ozzie's relationship. Exposing it to the public, Fizz has a thing with Blitzø, they have to work together, something like that.

MAMMON'S MAGNIFICENT MUSICAL MID-SEASON SPECIAL (ft Fizzarolli)

Other than a musical, I have no idea what this could be about. It could be the introduction to Mammon, which is exciting. The idea of it being a musical is very fun to me. It could just be an episode to celebrate getting midway through the season, like how Episode 8 was.

The Full Moon🌕

Okaaay, I'm scared for this one. It's been hinted at in the show that Stolas is going to be giving Blitzø Asmodean crystals to end their deal, and this could be the episode.

Apology Tour🍻

I'M EVEN MORE SCARED FORT THIS ONE! It'll probably deal with the guilt that Blitzø and Stolas faced with their deal, and avoiding the apology (knowing them they won't apologize right away). Probably going to be drinking out of sadness, and the fact that there's 2 beer cups is freaking me out. I'd it gonna be together? Or separate? Idkf and I'm scared bit excited for the angst potential!

Ghostf*ckers 👻

I have no fucking clue. It could be a play on Ghost Busters, where the IMP gang is called to Earth to investigate a haunted house or something like that. Or it could have hints on what happens to sinners after they die (I think the wiki says that they posses the nearest object which is why so many things in hell have eyes). My biggest fear is that episode will just be them fucking ghost, and there might be one joke like that, but it probably isn't likely.

Oh! I just thought of this! Maybe it's the gang dealing with the ghosts of their past? Maybe separately, like mental stuff, or the enemies they've made coming back to them!

Mastermind🔥

I'm not fully sure on this one. It could be Crim coming back, since he's a Mafia boss and the name would fit. Or it could be Andrealpbus, because he seems like a mastermind (if you squint, I can't really explain my thought process). I like the idea of it being Crim better.

Sinsmas😈

Christmas special? Meeting all the sins? I'm not sure. Vivzie said there'll probably be only 2 episodes coming out this year, so if this is a Christmas special, hopefully it comes near Christmas and not the middle of summer or whatever. I don't have much to say, but since it's a season finally, I hope it's gonna be serious!

[bambiraptorx]

What is your opinion on the mystical magenta goat man? (Draxum)

Good dad? Deserved more screentime/emotional moments with the bois? (they gave us like 2 moments like that in the finale, and I'm sad that it's all we got)

owo

Ooh, I have so many thoughts about Draxum. Buckle up.

First of all, it's worst mentioning that when I started watching Rise, I knew ahead of time that he would get a redemption arc. (Reading the wiki and watching clips/analysis videos is what got me interested in the show, after all.) So admittedly, my view of how his redemption arc went was a little skewed just because I knew from the start that it would happen.

Personally, I wish more of it had been actually shown in the show. We get about ten seconds of him helpless in an alley then a hard cut to him in his apartment being bullied by Mikey, and I would love to see how that series of events played out. Also, his arc from mortal enemy to somewhat trusted by the turtles happened in one eleven minute episode, and I would have loved to see that tension be played with a little more. I do understand that the show was cut short, though, and I'm pretty happy with what we did get.

*looks at all my fics* honestly, I think part of the reason that they're all more or less about Draxum spending time with the turtles one way or another is because that dynamic was so underdeveloped and several things went unaddressed in order to give the show a decently cohesive finale.

For example, the roof incident. Leo is clearly very bitter about it and clearly mistrusts Draxum because of it, but the show just didn't have the opportunity to address it. Another issue that had to go unresolved was Draxum's relationship to Cassandra, because she seriously looked up to/trusted him in their episode together but he more or less threw her under the bus.

Not to mention all the little things that canon hints at but doesn't show. Like, somehow Donnie has Draxum's phone number, meaning they had at least one conversation off screen. How did that happen? Do they hang out or something? And really, the whole story of how Mikey got Draxum to move into an apartment and let him come over is so unexplored, at least within the show.

And speaking of things that canon doesn't show, I find Draxum's position among yokai to be absolutely fascinating, especially given that the only yokai he deals with in the show itself are antagonists to him (Big Mama, the Council of Heads, the cops) aside from the gargoyles.

There's a pretty big hole there about how he interacted with the rest of the Hidden CIty-- did he have friends? DId people know about his research and mutations? What did people think about him? And obviously the narrative doesn't address this because the story is about the turtles, not him. But still.

And why did he choose to create mutants in the first place? Its fascinating that the prophecy that motivates him is never actually shown in the show itself, just referenced. Why was mutating humans the best option to him? Did he try other things? When exactly did the Council tell him not to create warriors?

The timeline is pretty fuzzy, and frankly Draxum's motives aren't actually all that clear. That's probably why there's so many different interpretations of why he's doing what he's doing (and what, exactly, he's actually doing) throughout the fandom-- canon doesn't address it super deeply.

So yeah, his relationships with the turtles are really fun to think about and mess around with, but the gaps in the narrative (not a perfect phrase but the general idea) around him are fascinating to explore in their own right. And whether canon would have explored him more or not, I think its fun so I'm gonna do it lol. I have built so much lore about this man (almost none of which has showed up in my stories) because he's fun.

And he is genuinely a fun character, whether pre or post redemption. He's dramatic, he's arrogant, he makes bad quips (seriously, he has a line about "how very NOT NICE to see you" at one point, and that's how my sister used to talk before she figured out how to actually be sarcastic). He, the big bad of season one, ends up as a lunch lady at one point, which is frankly absurd and absolutely in tone for the kind of show that Rise is. He's a powerhouse at times and completely out of his element at others.

And once he's no longer actively fighting the turtles most of his screen time, there's a goofiness to the nature of his character, a powerful alchemist/warrior trying to live a normal life (mostly because a thirteen year old will yell at him otherwise) and not even trying that hard. Season 2 especially does a lot of fun things with his character, and I only wish that they're been able to do more.

TLDR: Draxum is probably my favorite character, and also I want to hit him with the hammer of 'forced to deal with teenagers'.

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

Amane T1 Cover - Positive Parade

Been a while, but we're back to covers! Time for the specialest girl ever, Amane and Positive Parade! I miss her sounding as happy as she does in this song, man. At least she seemed to be having fun in parts of Purge March too, but that was a different kinda fun. Anyways, let's go!

CW Cults and indoctrination, child abuse

Positive Parade is possibly the one covered song in Trial 1 with no explicit references to romance or sex, which in my eyes is a win for Amane, common best character w.

What also makes this song stand out is just how happy it is! It actually is an extremely optimistic and uplifting song, where the singer encourages someone else to follow their dreams and remain positive in the face of adversity.

Stuff your heart full with all your dearest dreams Go for broke on all the things you wanna do! “We can’t stop” Is this a good feeling? Or is it no good after all? On these never-ending nights, let's talk while dancing with the stars Even when times are tough, the light is always by our sides “We can’t stop” You’ll turn out okay! Because you'll find your smile fits you perfectly

(I'm using this translation because the translation in the Milgram wiki has very odd wording at times, so I think it kinda confuses the meaning a bit)

The 'never-ending nights' I believe represent the struggles of life, which at times feel endless. But the singer suggest to talk while 'dancing with the stars', while engaging with the light in the darkness. "Even when times are tough, the light [of the stars] is always by our sides." Optimism! Happiness!

There is the "is this a good feeling? or is it no good after all?" line which seems like it could imply some lurking horror, but there's a few ways to read that. I actually think the singer is asking if the person being sung to is happy with what they're doing, or if they should stop and move on to something else, which is similar to this line:

This isn’t enough, not yet I need to make sure I don’t mess up the words I want to say “I forbid you from pushing yourself too hard" "I’ll be right here” So you won't be discouraged by what comes tomorrow, if we could laugh together again... That's why you gotta stop those "what'll happen if"s!

The singer wants the other to make sure not to push themselves too hard, and reassures them they can rely on the singer.

The important part there is that the singer wants to be relied on. Not in like a dangerous way necessarily, just a "I'm your friend and I want to help you when you're down" kinda way. At least that's the vibe I get.

Heeeey, aren't you straight up bawling your eyes out? It's not normal for you to pretend that everything's fine. Even though you've got things you want to say Where's that sadness you've been shouldering? Come on, one day it'll just overflow "I'm sorry, I can't do it anymore, please help me" You don't want to imagine it, You don't want to hear it, do you? So before it comes to that, rely on me!

You know, I've seen people say that some people think this song is about toxic positivity, but to me it doesn't really look like it. The singer's literally telling the other that if they hide their pain, it's gonna overflow and that's bad. That's, like, the opposite of toxic positivity. And "you" don't want to hear yourself saying "I can't do it anymore, please help me", right? Just rely on the singer now before it gets too bad!

I guess you could say that sounds like a savior complex, which is definitely a way to read the song:

If someone tells you you're wrong, Even when you're not wrong at all I won't support anything that denies you You can take the opportunity to hold me close and you can share the burden of your worries with me You say it's embarrasing, but I'm embarrased too, you know! Don't laugh and say this isn't like me, It's my answer to meeting you. Rely on me, rely on me, please

Yeah, the "rely on me, rely on me, please" certainly feels a bit too desperate.

However, I still feel it can be read more charitably. Listen, this song was written as a theme song for a collaboration with a theme park named Yomiuri Land (Source, it's in Japanese but Google translate gives you the idea). There doesn't need to be a hidden horror here. While again, it's perfectly fine if you read it as a savior complex or something else, I personally see it as completely innocent positivity.

The line about both of them being embarrased by what's going on is very sweet. No big meaning there, I just like it.

So the singer either does or doesn't have a savior complex; at least they find quite a bit of happiness in helping others. If you're wondering about Miku shedding a tear in the artwork, it's probably a tear of joy from "dancing with the stars." In my personal opinion, there is no hidden horror in this song, it's just a really nice optimism anthem! The only way this would be horrifying at all is if it were being sung by, like, an abused cult victim or something.

... Oh.

Yeah this is where we acknowledge that, even though the original song may not be hiding anything too horrifying, it's being covered by Amane fucking Momose. And nothing this girl does ever fails to make us sad.

So, Amane here has the same "I want to make other people happy" attitude that we see in Magic.

[Magic] Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile Forever, forever together would be a dream

She's even called something akin to "Happiness Support Sister" in the credits. Amane wants everyone to be happy, that's ultimately her goal in everything she does. The thing is that the concept of "happiness" has been so horrendously twisted by her cult that a lot of the time it shows in a very... uh... concerning way.

Timeline 23/01/17 Amane: Happy birthday.Mahiru-san. How is your body feeling? Mahiru: ……ah, Amane-chan. Thank you. Yeah, I’m fine. Now I can move around if I use a wheelchair…… It’s all thanks to Shidou-san looking after me…… Amane: I’ll give you one warning. The two of you are dabbling in something tabooed. If you continue to go against the way of nature like this, you’ll just bring an early death upon yourself. Think hard about this. Mahiru: Amane-chan……? Are you really Amane-chan……?

Like, technically speaking, Amane is trying to make sure Mahiru stays happy. As in, not dead. She does something similar with Fuuta. Notably, she's only shown herself really hostile towards Shidou, who she dislikes for reasons even beyond the whole medicine thing. Long story.

But since this is Trial 1, she's likely not really speaking to anyone in the prison. So, who is Amane talking to? The most straightforward answer is that she's talking to her abusers, more specifically her mother probably. Because they are the "everyone" she's talking about in Magic; Amane thinks that if she can make them happy, she'll stop being punished and thus she'll be happy too.

Of course, this paints the entire song in a horribly grim light. Because now the singer's pleas to be relied on are Amane asking her abusers what she needs to do to make them happy.

You can take the opportunity to hold me close and you can share the burden of your worries with me You say it's embarrasing, but I'm embarrased too, you know!

The "burden" here may very well be the things Amane does """wrong""", so Amane might be asking what she needs to change.

Heeeey, aren't you straight up bawling your eyes out? It's not normal for you to pretend that everything's fine. Even though you've got things you want to say Where's that sadness you've been shouldering? Come on, one day it'll just overflow "I'm sorry, I can't do it anymore, please help me" You don't want to imagine it, You don't want to hear it, do you? So before it comes to that, rely on me!

Question: What do you think happens when "it overflows"? When Amane's abusers are frustrated at something? Not Amane, just anything in general. How do you think that goes? In a lot of cases, chid abusers will find any excuse to """justify""" hurting their child when they're frustrated by literally anything. That means it's very possible Amane now tries to make sure her abusers are happy all the time, because it's the only way she can think of to avoid being hurt.

This isn’t enough, not yet I need to make sure I don’t mess up the words I want to say “I forbid you from pushing yourself too hard" "I’ll be right here” So you won't be discouraged by what comes tomorrow, if we could laugh together again... That's why you gotta stop those "what'll happen if"s!

"I need to make sure I don't mess up the words I want to say" sure reads a lot more sinisterly when "messing up the words" could end up with Amane being seriously hurt.

Yeah like that.

If someone tells you you're wrong, Even when you're not wrong at all I won't support anything that denies you

And this definitely reads like something she'd say about the cult. She won't support anything that denies the cult or their doctrines, you don't have to worry about that! Please don't hurt her.

Stuff your heart full with all your dearest dreams Go for broke on all the things you wanna do! “We can’t stop” Is this a good feeling? Or is it no good after all? On these never-ending nights, let's talk while dancing with the stars Even when times are tough, the light is always by our sides “We can’t stop” You’ll turn out okay! Because you'll find your smile fits you perfectly

The chorus is a bit strange with this reading, since what the "dearest dreams" are is very debatable. It's possible it's just general positivity without referring to anything in particular, but if it is something specific, my best guess would be "following the cult's doctrines and going to [heaven or equivalent]". Apart from that, again, the other stuff is kinda sinister under this reading. "Yeah, focus on the good stuff! Don't worry about the sad things! Please don't get mad! Please please please don't get mad and hurt me!"

But the thing about "chasing the dream" being following the cult's beliefs makes the "we can't stop" line really mortifying. Originally that's just "we shouldn't let our doubts stop us in our dreams!" but now it's "we can't stop following the doctrines because horrible horribe things will happen if we do!"

[The Purge March] If you become a bad girl, monsters will come out This is the magic that stops that from happening

And wanna know a """fun""" little detail? I haven't been paying much attention to differences between the og songs and the covers, but Amane gets special treatment.

I invite you to listen to the "we can't stop" line from around 2:18 - 2:19 minutes into the song both in the original and in Amane's cover. In the Miku version, that's sung pretty much the same as every other time. However, in the Amane cover, it's sung in a noticeably different way. It's hard to describe, because it sounds a mix of exhausted, resigned, depressed, something like that. Think of it like this: if the rest of the song sounds like Amane is singing with her Trial 1 sprite, this one line is sung like her Trial 2 sprite. So:

Stuff your heart full with all your dearest dreams! Go for broke on all the things you wanna do! “We can’t stop” Is this a good feeling? Or is it no good after all?

Or translated for Amane:

"Follow your dreams of being a great follower and going to heaven!"

"Do all the things God tells you you should want to do!"

"We can't stop, can we? Even if it hurts, even if we are unhappy, we have to keep following that dream. Because horrible things will happen if we don't. And even if we try to change, then what was it all for? What did you hurt me for? There has to be a reason. Please tell me my suffering isn't meaningless. God will save us in the end if we keep doing this, right? That's the only thing I have left to hope for. We can't stop"

"Ehem- Doesn't it feel good?"

Or maybe I just like Amane angst a bit too much.

Anyways, that's the main takeaway from Positive Parade in my opinion. There is another way to read it, though, which I think is equally interesting. Mainly, that she might be singing it to herself, right before killing her mother. The "dreams" would be killing the mom, with the one more sinister "we can't stop" being there because it's a somewhat sinister dream. The "light in the dark" is a future without abuse I guess? The whole "rely on me" thing does come off as a bit weird, unless you go the "council of Amane" route and/or read it with the idea Amane has DID and then it just sounds like an alter, which would be something. "I won't support anything that denies you" and her mom did deny her... the issue there is that Amane also denies herself a lot of "vulgar" pleasures because Gozake ordainment. I don't think it works perfectly because of things like "I forbid you from pushing yourself too hard", but it's still a valid way to read the cover!

Anyways, hope you're not crying too hard! Take care!

[aromanticannibal]

aro bakusquad! (besides katsuki & mina)

Kaminari: the cishet aro man everyone is afraid of. he's nice. he finds it really hard to believe he's aromantic because he's been told all his life that love and crushes are so important - since he was popular in middle school he had his fair share of romance drama, even a girlfriend who broke up with him because she realized he didn't actually love her. he is going to insist on trying to date and find his true love and he's going to fail and he's going to need all the help and support possible realizing that he can just vibe in fwb and bromance paradise forever. actual dating really isn't for him i fear. if isn't straight i think he and alloaro shinsou could be fwb it'd be fun and nice (until kaminari tries to make it romantic and shinsou is like No). All in all. internalized arophobia win (sad fist pump)

Sero: grayro maybe? the kind who doesn't really see the difference between romantic and platonic attraction and doesn't really care. he knows he's felt both occasionally but hehhhh? he gets that there's a difference and he understands romantic love, it's just that when it comes to him he really doesn't give a shit. Mina's nightmare really. also someone who would thrive in fwb situations. probably doesn't mind dating but he wouldn't act really different than if he were friends with the person.

Kirishima: Kirishima is the one guy I like to think of as romantic but by god I'll make him aro. after a trip on the aromantic wiki to remind myself of the rest of the spectrum, I think he'd be aroflux, and that would confuse him SO much. he'd spend so long without getting a crush or suddenly not like someone he liked before and then he'd be in love again and he'd just like. PICK A SIDE PLEASE (<- Kirishima crying shaking his fist at the sky). Once he figures it all out he'd be much chiller about it and the fact that his romantic attraction fluctuates so much would make him way more chill about sharing who he crushes on (in my mind katsuki, mina, deku <33). Which would probably endlessly fluster these people. I think he wouldn't be comfortable dating because he'd feel bad everytime he stopped being in love and then it'd be a whole mess, but if someone liked him back I think he'd try dating a little. And if he finds someone who's also aromantic the qpr is gonna be so strong ! !! !

Bonus Jirou: demiro ace. I think she always knew there was something and figured it out pretty early on, so she's like the one 15 y/o that's very visibly queer. also she's purple so she has to be ace (/j). I don't think she'd date someone who isn't ace too, but in general she wouldn't mind so much about dating or not.

[lady-of-ocs]

*Tries to think of a creative title. Cannot*

So I spent several hours with my best friend today to celebrate her birthday, and then I had to film with my scene partner for my acting class (both of which exhausted me), so I didn't watch many episodes today either. But! I watched two of them and I enjoyed both very much!

Became another long one so I'll put a cut

Honestly, it was really satisfying to watch Karasuno rip that first team apart. Asahi's first serve was killer and I'm so proud of him. LET'S GO, MY LOVE. RIP Yachi for not being allowed down on the court (is there a reason only one manager is allowed, or did they just do that so Yachi could be off with old Ukai while the match was going on?). Anyway, the match. You almost have to feel bad for the other team because they were trying and their captain inspired them to work hard in the second set, but they just couldn't manage against the crows. RIP team whose name I cannot remember. But I did like their little scene with their captain afterward. Little guy is honestly adorable with his silly little three hairs sticking out from the top of his head.

LOOK AT THESE BABIES. LOOK AT THEM.

I LOOKED AT THEM AND GOT CUTENESS AGGRESSION. I NEED TO SNUGGLE THEM. ITTY BITTY BABIES. CRYING OVER THEM. And the story that old Ukai was telling was also making me sad. They got used to the feeling of losing??? And then the focus was on Suga's sad little face?? Baby stop trying to hurt me. I'm already on the ground, stop kicking me. I don't have anymore words, I just love the third years but as babies so much. No, I'm not okay (I'm fucking exhausted).

OH THAT MAN IS 6'7. LIKE. I THOUGHT TSUKKI AND LEV WERE TALL BUT THIS GUY IS JUST VWOOM. THAT'S A BIG BOY. Do not blame poor Yachi for being intimidated by him. Men shorter than him have also succeeded at that, though. Pretty sure I went to high school with a guy who was like 6'7 also. But this ain't about him.

I was confident they'd win the second game, but considering the obstacle of the 6'7 guy, I was curious to see how they did it. And they did it by taking advantage of his inexperience (which made things significantly harder for next year's team but we don't get to see them, so that's a problem for another time) and also using their new skills! It was very fun to watch. LOVE HOW POWERFUL THAT NEW QUICK IS, HOLY SHIT. Hinata is so small but that makes his opponents underestimate him, which makes it so much fun when he shocks the hell out of them with his quick or his jumps (or something else)! AND HIM GETTING THE FINAL POINT BY USING THE SAME MOVE HE USED ON LEV AT THE TRAINING CAMP WAS REALLY GREAT. HINA I'M SO PROUD OF YOU SWEETIE.

I still don't know the names of the other two benched second years, but I find Ennoshita incredibly entertaining. I've never read the manga (if someone knows where I can read it, I would highly appreciate pointing me in that direction!), but I know that he becomes captain once Daichi graduates, and I can see why! Plus, he's just a funny little guy. Underrated king, actually. I love watching him pick on Tanaka and Nishinoya. And clearly, Yamaguchi agrees!

Alright listen. I am basing this off his looks alone. The captain guy that was trying to get Kiyoko's number? Certified hottie. I want him. I need him, I fear. He was already hot with his ears pierced and then he hit me with the tongue piercing and it was over. I am so excited to see him and his team play against Karasuno. I just want to watch him run around on my screen for a little. I'm ace, but baby do I have eyes. Does my attraction to him match my level of love for Asahi, Suga, or Kuroo? No, of course not. But OOOOOOH THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER UNDERSTOOD WHEN PEOPLE SAID THEY WANTED SOMEONE HOT TO STEP ON THEM (not that he could because according to the Haikyuu wiki, Sexy McTonguePiercing isn't even a full inch taller than I am).

HINATA PROTECTING KIYOKO WAS ADORABLE I LOVE MY SON. HE'S SUCH A SWEET BABY I WILL PROTECT HIM WITH MY LIFE. LEAVE HIM ALONE CAPTAIN HOTTIE MCHOTFACE. And Kiyoko's thank you was so genuine and sweet! That being said, did the team have to tease my son about his cute little lunch? Justice for Hinata lmao.

Anywho, I'm going to dream about Tongue Piercing guy and also get much needed rest (I may have stayed up until 4 AM last night oops). I'll be back tomorrow!

Also lmao sorry about the thirsting for the captain guy, I literally do not know what kind of spell he's put on me.

[sadistpet]

Meet the Writer

it's munday everybunny you know what that means

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

i love choosing muses that aren’t very. canonically fleshed out. it gives me a lot of opportunity to make them into my own ig :3

raikov is generally a pretty blank slate besides the little we know about him ( being violent / sadistic, being in love with volgin, u kno ) and i think he's potentially a really interesting character from what little we see of him. im personally not ascribed to the eva theory bc i think its kinda silly and robs him of a lot of his personal agency, but it is a common theory, so i kinda wanted to build up a characterisation that was more. faithful to canon rather than fanon u kno. plus sometimes my autism just latches onto specific random characters for no reason and in this case it was raikov JDSFHDFKJ my partner loves raiden and when we were scrolling his wiki page for the funnies obviously raikov's page comes up at the top as a "maybe you meant this" and i just kept coming back to him

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH i hate writing anything with like. eating?? which is ironic considering . raikov . but i just never know how to word it BUT aside from that i think combat is really the only thing ! just cause i feel like it relies heavily on input from both parties and i constantly feel like im overstepping kjshkfjhg

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

fluff angst smut grins. they just come a lot easier to me, especially angst because i always have a LOT to say about silly little internal thought processes and i love writing sadness and pain ^-^ it makes me very gleeful ironically jdkhfdjhg i get very emotionally invested in angst especially. smut is a little bit harder? kinda like with combat ironically it heavily relies on the input of both parties but i do feel for the most part its pretty open ended fun :3

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

i just know. BUT NO SERIOUSLY sometimes it's just Vibes, sometimes it's through reading canon stuff and linking it back to my backstory for him, sometimes it's through interactions with others. there's a lot :3 i do put a lot of thought into my headcanons though, maybe like. too much lmao. but i enjoy it i really love doing a lot of analysis to get to my headcanons

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

a bit of both ! rn i'm writing in silence and i think last night i was mostly writing in silence on my phone and then listening to music while i finished stuff on pc. i think it depends ? sometimes i just get really distracted when listening to music and end up completely neglecting actually writing HDFJGHED so i think overall i prefer silence, or something in the background that i've already seen before so i don't need to pay much attention to it

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

i love winging it :3 i like the unpredictability of it but i think i tend to like. outline ? replies before i actually write them properly. ive never really plotted with anyone besides a vague kinda outline or premise, because i do really like the unpredictability :3 but im always open to plotting grins cutely.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

Yes. not just romantic shipping; sexual, enemies, rivals, whatever, idgaf I LOVE CONNECTIONS!!!!!!! i love being able to write relationships between characters. even if its like, familial relationships or whatever, i think it's SO FUN like ourgh. grins really big

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

frances ! it’s not my irl name but the one im most comfortable using online. i also go by rosalind, neo, and vanya :3 one of these is closest to my irl name but youll never guess

ᴀɢᴇ?

22, 23 this year somehow

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

september 17th !

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

pink. fairy tale pink. baby pink. any shade of pink

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

UM im not sure ?? of all time maybe dysph.oric reverie by [redacted] and the art of suicide by emilie autumn and valley of the dolls by marina atm though its a stranger i remain and holding out for a hero

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏ��ɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

the thing (1982) !! oh it was so fucking good i really really enjoyed it. theres a bunch of old classic horror films ive never seen so im glad i could tick one off the list :3 the effects in it were absolutely stunning my goodness

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

i think it was blue eye samurai ?? i gen dont remember

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

im so sorry for my crimes but it was the stains of time and then holding out for a hero

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

meat. and sweet things. i dont think i really have any favourites in particular besides liiiike caramel

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

spring ! all the other seasons make me depressed in some way somehow

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

i have avoidant personality disorder so im too scared to explicitly call anybody my friend in case they hate me so unfortunately i will not think of us as friends unless yuou tell me we are. but if i talk to you / interact with you regularly just know i consider u a friend ok. snf

[memorydragon]

Since I've now played through the remake eight times now (this is normal) I felt like I should say a few words on Trials of Mana, or Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret of Mana 2 as we called it back in the day.

First of all, let me say SD3 is one of my top two games of all time (the other being Tales of Phantasia). I have played this game an unholy number of times in my youth. I've had the Trials of Mana remake for a while now, tbh, but have held off on playing it because I didn't want Remake Disappointment. But coming off of three games in a row that ended on a downer (I'm looking at you, Kiseki) and a really rough semester, I finally decided to give it a go.

On the whole, I have to agree with the review that I read before diving in. Which is to say, it's a very faithful adaptation. It has everything that made the original fun and enjoyable. I do kinda wish they'd actually put a bit more effort into additional content (because there is so much they could have done and it would have been amazing), but overall very satisfying to play through.

I will say I am delighted that my fave was turned into a bisexual icon. He and Angela are both very bisexually color coded and my headcanon is that they are bi besties who wingman for each other and chat under the sacred bi tree about mutual crushes. ("He's hot." "He's not the smartest around." "Yeah, but you have to admit those muscles." "You're bringing me around to himbos." vs "Do you ever just look at Riese and think damn." "All the damned time. She could have her wicked way with me any day." "She's Riese, she's too kind for wicked." "I know. T_T" ) Like, if I could find the way to transfer photos from the ps4 without massive amounts of headache and digging, there's one screen cap for when I got an achievement of them in their dark classes still matching and it was like, yes, good.

Hawkeye is still my absolute fave, especially since they animated him with dancer warmups and very bisexually. He has soulful sad eyes. He hits fast. His beaming smile at friends is sweet. He's a treasure hunting thief. He was most definitely sleeping with Eagle He's out for revenge but ends up pitying Belladonna.

And honestly, let me just say that Fairy just kind of going 'oh, well. I don't have much choice, the MC is the only character around' as the way of picking the chosen of Mana still tickles me. Like, not even giving them a choice about things, just there's only one person here and now you're the chosen one.

I do like the voices, both english and japanese. Charlotte is still.... unfortunately translated, but the fact that their actor pool is all from New England is hysterical. Like, the Wiki says Angela has a valley girl accent and I'm over here like, um... I can see how you think that, but she's very definitely still a New Englander. No one says 'on' like that in California, I should know. That's where they put me in speech class.

Overall the game is easier, not just because they give all sorts of tips that I would have loved to know the first time I played. (The first time I played was... well. This is a game that very much needed the manual it no doubt came with, but I was emulating an english translation that didn't come with the manual. And I still persisted in playing.) The two main differences is that now the game lets you powerlevel your way through things and full screen class skills can be avoided. The former was Weird, because I played the original an unholy number of times and had every level and seed acquiring down to an art, and suddenly I'm several levels above where I should be, but it's keeping the skill points for later. That took a lot of adjusting to, but I managed, and now am usually past 38 even before I get to the first mana stone. XD Kinda makes me miss using the second class changes, but oh well. Full screen skills being avoidable is part of a 3d environment, which is honestly nice. It does make beastmen/swordsman and other monsters much, much easier though. It's no longer Kill Immediately and aggressively before they use their tech and shred your party.

The trap door monster in Laurant is much more of a bitch though. Fuck that thing, 3d made it so much worse.

The post game content is a bit monotonous, but not terrible. What I wish they'd done more with is the personal quests and at least a bit more interaction between certain party arrangements. Mainly along the shared quest lines. The all girl/all boy party was a fun touch, but I'd I wish they'd even done a bit more with that. Just more interaction with the characters, since that's half the charm of the game was who is and who isn't in your party. Writing didn't seem to be the remake crew's strong point though. Honestly, being faithful to the original is probably way more than enough. It's just wishful that we could have gotten a little bit more than just a little bit extra.

The new techs and new game plus does make replaying through faster, which is sometimes great when you just want to play with combinations. They also let you reset your class with specific items, which is a fantastic addition. I don't use it much, but being reminded why Riese's light/light class had the worst summon, it was nice to be able to switch her around. I also like that you can change the outfits regardless of class, which is great when Angela's dark/dark class was honestly clashing terribly on top of being a bikini armor. Now when I want to use Ancient, I just switch to her more reasonable outfits.

Kevin and Duran getting boob armor for their dark ultimate class was amazing though. Hawkeye not having revealing outfits also gives way to lots of gender headcanons. I also now have a lot of polycule headcanons, because they absolutely are. Except Charlotte. She can cuddle, but she needs to grow mentally 50 years. Then she can be the hot half elf who hits up her silver foxes/cougars, but she does not act her age in the slightest and looks about ten so she's waiting until she does some growing.

Being able to fight the black rabite on all paths rather than only available for Duran/Angela main is great too. I mean, it's still traumatic in a deeply unhinged way, but again, the game is easier in the remake. That includes superboss. Though I did not appreciate being asked twice each time I go to fight it if I'm sure I want to fight it. Like, fuck you game. I've already got the psychological trauma of the original.

(It does make me miss my irc heyday, when I had my bot named BlackRabite and would occasionally switch over just to make it bounce.)

Rabites are still the Most Monster of all time. I love them. Even when they're murdering me or I'm murdering them. You can't actually kill the black rabite. It just bounces away when it's done messing with you.

Anyway, I've played through most of the classes now, though I think I'm still missing one of each for Riese/Duran/Charlotte. I actually did a no healer run this time, which was interesting. Way easier in this version, especially with certain shared techs, but it's nice to not have to plan a party on needing a healer. I'd probably have all the classes by now if I didn't like, use Hawkeye for everything, but hey. He's a fave. I did a Hawkeye-less run, of course, but still. He's going to be in my party the majority of the time, because I love my bisexual thief. (They made his ultimate class change item the Loyal sphere, which also hits mine and Riese's Loyality kink, just as she hits his kindness kink and yeah, I've got a lot of headcanons about Riese accepting her bisexual thief boyfriend and outside game canon incest is just going to happen. Sorry, square, you made that final scene of Eagle saying the memories they had together were his most precious treasure after you've made a prequel game I didn't play that made Hawkeye Flamekhan's grandson. I found this out through wikipedia (and will absolutely be checking out how to emulate gba now, because Hawkeye's mom sounds Badass) and only after you made me ship it, so now it's just Flamekhan who gets ulcers when he finds out with Jessica as a supportive sister-in-law because only he knows he disowned his badass daughter. He only has himself to blame, while Ignorance is gonna stay blissful. And while Jessica and Hawkeye are distancing themselves from the old man because they think he's being homophobic, Jessica takes over Nevarl. As she should. Queen of Thieves we all deserve.

(Falcon in the thereafter may have had a few ulcers herself, but then decided, fuck it. Her father was the one who said he didn't have a daughter first, so she doesn't have a father. She's got a cute son-in-law now instead of step brother and will have a cute amazon princess daughter-in-law soon, so her son is obviously doing well.)

I did warn you I have thought A Lot about this. XD

The one thing I kinda wish didn't carry over is the total play time, because I do really not need to know how many hours I spend on this game. But well, no one else needs to know. XD I also kind of wish the final class was more of a combination like it promised than just a few extra stats, but hey.

Anyway, in terms of a remake, I do highly recommend it. I enjoyed it greatly, and it's very New England english cast, which most people may or may not necessarily realize that all of them are from there, but those were the vowels of my people. Also, I'm more forgiving of Charlotte's manner of speaking now, because she's hilariously also strongly from New England.

Listen, when you're put in speech classes and told your accent is terrible as a child, it's only natural to turn to Spite. That's just how it is. XD

On a final note, they animated the merchants in the most unhinged manner possible, and I adore it. It's absolute madness. They went there and it's glorious.

[totaldramafan-lauri]

One year ago, it was time for Golden Cheese's long-awaited release into CRK after over two years of being a mystery character. Only having very small references to her from the other ancients, we knew almost NOTHING about her other than the bare minimum. The few things we did know about her came from an old artbook, and based on that info, fans speculated about her personality. From what I'd seen, the most common fan interpretation of Golden Cheese was kinda a second Hollyberry, or making her the "feral one" of the ancients. Basically, they saw her as a tomboy, because short hair equals tomboy apparently -___- (when again, Hollyberry is right there)

Meanwhile, I didn't like that fanon interpretation, and what I had more in mind was an antagonist. I legit thought she was gonna be a lot colder and meaner of a character cuz of the artbook (which has been retconned). So, that's what I expected to see...

A bit after the update went live, I tuned in to Hyrool's livestream (cuz, fun fact about me: I almost never turn my game on as soon as an update goes live, cuz I like waiting for any possible bugs to get fixed), JUST in time to see him play the tail end of episode 17.....as in, in the middle of her boss fight. As soon as it was over, my first impression of her was of her in her radiant goddess outfit, looking absolutely gorgeous, and with that confident smirk on her face.....and her voice....I already knew I liked her voice from the prologue, but....but...then, rather than try to banish the main characters, or get angry, she.....said....

"Shall we take a closer look~?"

THAT LINE RIGHT THERE is where it started. That image, that I was lucky enough to walk into....I-I remember thinking right there, "OH...."

After that, I started playing myself, and....I-I learned more and more about her over the course of a couple hours, rewatching episode 17 and seeing the way she acts....Her relationship with her subjects especially....Her being referred to as a goddess....Her dialogue, her demeanor, her cool powers, her voice....She was absolutely majestic to me....and I could TELL she believed she was a god, which....I-I love that trope so flipping much.....

I-I realized what kind of character she was, and...I-I was doomed. I have a type, and she just played riiiiight into it. VERY quickly, I was doomed......Later on, I read her bio on the wiki, and came across that line about her considering her subjects treasures worth collecting and how she's always looking for new ones to "call her own"...

And, well......sh-she still hasn't released me. -////////-

One year later, after finally completing my BEHEMOTH of a fanfic about her, I'm still down pretty bad.....D-despite the sad elements of her story, that doesn't distract from how fun it is to simp for her, cuz she's more than that.

So.....h-happy anniversary to her and to all her fans. I-it feels great to know I'm not alone!! Cuz, at the start, it really felt like I was.....Wh-while she was a hit, I didn't see any other people who liked her in the same way as me for a while.....U-until I started my fic.....>////////<

I've even called her "my F/O" a few times, even if it'd be different with her....I-I wouldn't be the only one.....Sh-she'd be happy to know we're all deep in the trenches for her....heheh.....I-I wouldn't have much to offer her, tho, but I wanna believe she'd still be flattered and even encourage me....X/////D

Happy anniversary, my queen <3

[oneefin]

i did island puzzle hunt with team huh?! look at us we're in the neighborhood (the pink house on the middle right)

this hunt instantly sniped all of my free time when it released out of nowhere on labor day. as soon as i saw it i pinged up huh? and got us registered. the speed of our response meant that we're one of the first teams to finish - not because we're better than everyone, but because lots of top solvers haven't started lol. it feels cozy!

the hunt is here, by the way, if you hadn't heard: https://islandpuzzlehunt.com/

anyway this will be me rambling about how cool all the puzzles were as usual. spoilers ahead!

so i won't talk about all of them but here's stuff i have real thoughts about

parking malarkey

this was the first puzzle i managed to bite into all the way. the tren logic was fun to solve although it's frankly a miracle that i managed to recover from a mistake i made in it part-way through - then the long cars idea and the extraction mechanic made a lot of sense afterward. smooth stuff! this hunt was full of nice smooth stuff

here's some fun spreadsheeting for your aesthetic enjoyment

ring around the rosary

i'm just sad this had nothing to do with the amen break, like, musically. but the mechanic made sense and was easily digestible. that's all really :)

making more

this was great! it was pretty obvious that the mechanic was going to involve combining the sounds of pairs of things to make a larger thing, but it was very tough to get the ball rolling. i saw WAIF + AIR + ER = wayfarer pretty much right away, but it took a bit to find more pairs that confirmed the mechanic - next in line was INK + WYE + ER and then COREY + AND + ER

there was some hella adventurous stuff in there too. shoutouts to RIPE + ERIE + ER = rhyperior, and MIR + CATMAN + ER = meerkat manor, and MACK + STALE + ER = max taylor

the doctor is in

shoutouts to rhythm doctor now that's a real one

this was one of a few puzzles in the hunt formatted as a set of subpuzzles. "the dining table" is the other one that i won't talk about here, but what this puzzle gets right that "the dining table" doesn't quite is that everything is a very consistent, believable difficulty throughout, including the minimeta after finding the subpuzzle answers

(well, okay, with the exception of the subpuzzle where you have to identify the characters, but that's not their fault the wikis i checked just didn't have screenshots)

the gallery

this was my favorite puzzle! and not because it was hard or anything, far from it - it's a collection of very simple nazo-like puzzles which i blew threw pretty quickly without getting stuck. but this led us to extract NEW YORK CITY I, a piet mondrian painting which was hung upside-down for years...

oh.....

OH........

...and we proceeded to solve everything again and were thoroughly amazed

my only wish coming out of it was for the puzzles to read bottom-to-top on the second go, but i recognize that some of the letter pairings would have been very difficult to get. this construction is quite incredible already

building the deck

and finally, the meta! so pure so demure i can't believe i just typed that

niv as usual had their insane moment figuring out all of the mechanics that the meta was hinting at

we grabbed the cards, made 2x4s, and even though we didn't have all the answers and we didn't correctly parse all of the clues in the flavortext and we didn't settle on the correct ordering, it wasn't hard for us to see what the pun was going to be based on the letters we were obtaining. we locked in an answer and secured our spot

overall

i like this hunt a lot! i felt like it really knew how to keep things simple and clean on multiple levels - from the puzzle design to the website design and then just like. the format of being non-competitive + asynchronous for a change. very enjoyable and chill

thanks to the puzzle islanders for setting this hunt! looking forward to if they write more, i will be on top of them asap all the same

[jvstheworld]

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E7 (part 2)

Lie to me

A vampire stealing a book? And one of Giles' at that. Nothing good will come of this.

Dru talking to a dead bird because she wants it to sing for her. Yeah, you're supposed to feed your pets, if you can't then get someone to do it for you. But it really just adds to her insanity.

Spike is jealous of Angel. We will understand later why because of the second half of this season and in the season 5 episode 'Destiny'.

Spike is very loving and gentle towards Dru. He might be harsh with her at times, but after seeing how he upset Dru, he immediately apologises and wanted to to make her feel better.

Then Ford shows up out of nowhere. You just can't get the staff these days Spike. Probably because you don't pay them.

Ford has seen too many movies. Cool it dude.

Politeness is always a win, even from Angel.

It is for Buffy to decide if she loves you and trusts you, Angel. You can't make the decision for her, that's not how relationships work. She needs to know the truth about Dru as she is just as much of a threat as Spike is.

Angel, back in his most evil days tormented Dru, stalked her, killed the people around her, her family, then after escaping to a convent and taking her vows, he turned her. He turned her insane. Because before she was turned and Angel began his campaign of terror against her, she was a normal person, and he destroyed her, for fun. Because he could. That is completely fucked up. And Drusilla is probably not the first person he has done this sort of thing to, she is just the one he kept along side him.

Do the people in the club just hang out there all the time? Do they not have homes, jobs, lives to go to?

Buffy works it out fairly quickly when she arrives in the club.

Ford's plan is a good one, it's just sad he has to offer up his former friend to escape his fate.

The Buffy Wiki page for this episode says that Ford has brain cancer. I understand why he wants to be a vampire. It's better than dying to a terminal disease at a young age that will ravage his body and mind, because there's something that can keep him young and make him immortal. I've seen first hand what cancer can do to someone and it was one of the most difficult periods in my life that I'm still dealing with years later. For Ford, it is better to be undead and live as a demon, which he isn't deluded about, unlike the others in the club. His greatest fear is being permanently dead at 17/18 years old, which is why he is willing to do all of this. He's supposed to have his whole life ahead of him, but that's been taken away from him and it makes him desperate to hold on to the world because he's not done with it.

Buffy, despite being traded to a vampire that wants to kill her, still feels sorry for him and what he having to go through. She can't understand his pain, but still feels for him. Buffy's ability to sympathise and empathise makes her not just a good hero, but a good person.

Oh shit, I forgot to add this point in to the part where it happened. So earlier in the episode Drusilla talks to Angel about being covered in Buffy because he is in love with her, and this is mirrored later in 'Fool for Love' with Spike when they are in South America, when they have the flashback showing how Dru leaves him for the Chaos Demon. My bad for not putting it in the first part for this episode, I had it in my notes around this point when re-watching the episode and forgot to add it to the beginning. Could I edit the first part to include this point, yes. Am I going to? No. Why? Because I show my fumbles and make myself laugh them when I realise it.

Dru in her weakened state is always going to be a liability to Spike's plan.

Even Drusilla looked pissed off at Ford for his audacity to ask for his reward after the cock up that just happened.

'For the body.' Damn that is cold from Buffy.

Again, vampires attending the Toph school of metal bending to get out of the bunker.

Spike was right, he didn't see him living forever.

Growing up sucks and navigating it and the world and your emotions is difficult. It doesn't get much easier as you get older. the best you can do is keep asking for help and to keep trying.

Buffy says the thing again ( the title of the episode, I mean).

Then Giles tells a grieving Buffy a fairy tail to console her.

One last point, this will not be the last time we see 'Chanterelle' our girly vampire wannabe. She appears in the season 3 opener with a new name, Lily, then she appears in Angel after taking Buffy's alias working at a homeless shelter, the same one Gunn goes to on his last day in the final episode of Angel.

That's it for this episode, tomorrow we delve in to Giles' dark history with a second appearance from Ethan Rayne.

[blackjackkent]

im so inspired and in lovvveee w u (as a fan!! no parasocial shenanigans here I swear 🫶)

When they said they weren't doing any more DLC for the game, I wasn't sad, actually. I noticed there's a big divide of peeps who like the game right? I realized this when I saw there were people who *always* play Durge and think it 100% hands down better than Tav, and seeing in the forum why people actually *liked* playing Tav over Durge, And it's like because Tav can be anyone with any story. Durge is really just a customizable pre-existing character (That's why they're under origin character, right?)

So that's what I realized the divide of people. There's always going to be certain people who prefer to play Something with a pre-existing story, people who don't enjoy the extra work of making your own character. But for people who do, the lack of DLC is disappointing but not a big deal. Because ask someone who has always enjoyed making her own characters, The end of a story is never really the end for me. And all that jibber jabber to say I see it in YOU too, and I looooooovvvve it! You're such a good writer and it's fabulous 🫶

though, as someone previously non-experienced with D&D, I do admit that makes imagining the future a little bit harder, despite, What really is probably one of the most Fanfiction-Friendly properties 😂

I did want to ask for advice on that if you have any to spare! Like, for example, I'd love to write about my own Tav and Karlach rolling around in Avernus, but I have no idea where to start even looking 😭

:O This was a fun message to receive! c: I appreciate so much that you like my writing and reached out. <3

You def make an interesting point about the Durge vs Tav experience. I think there's a lot of room for character headcanon even when you're playing Durge tbh (certainly I'm enjoying giving Rakha her own sense of personality and such), but you're right that it adds a bit more of a "built-in" framework for people who prefer that kind of experience and not having to think too much about the character details.

(It also, without giving too much away, is very representative of the character experience in BG1/2 - which was more of a Tav/Durge mix, really.)

But yeah, I also feel okay about the lack of DLC because there is lots of room to come up with the story I want outside of the events of the game. :)

As far as advice - I think you're asking specifically for advice on writing within the Forgotten Realms world and D&D sphere in general? Tbh I am not the hugest expert on the subject myself; there is a lot more FR lore than just what comes up in this series and I am by no means familiar with most of it.

My practical advice would be to point you towards the Forgotten Realms wiki, which is where I get most of my info that I can't get from the game's own dialogue. (Sadly it's a fandom.com wiki - if anyone else has other resources that particularly like for FR lore I would love your comments also!) There's lots of info in there that I've drawn from when needed for my fics.

On a more general level though - honestly I think my best advice is to get comfortable with the idea of getting lore wrong. We love to play in this sandbox but we're allowed to bring our own toys too. :D So if something feels like it'd make a better story by being a certain way, then fuckin go for it. :) Any reader who wants to make a stink about details being off isn't actually there to appreciate your story anyway. And the vast majority of readers are there in good faith to see what you're going to come up with and enjoy it. :)

(I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of writing "Open Your Eyes", because they're off to Calimport now and I have realized I know nothing about Calimport. XD So I've been studying the wiki a lot but I've also made an executive decision to not stress myself overly about it and focus on making the setting work for the story and not the other way around. I dont really mind if someone ends up letting me know (politely) that I missed the mark on something, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it if I'm pleased with the story regardless. :D )

I hope this is the sort of answer you were looking for! Sending very supportive vibes for your writing adventures also. c:

[the-monkey-ruler]

Dong Yue is such a troll because from the wiki I got this

At the end of the novel, the author lists twelve hypothetical questions that a reader might ask and answers them. Some of the answers are very similar in nature and, sometimes, contradictory.

The eighth asks how it's possible for Monkey to have a wife and children. He states that the book is simply a dream.

Since the Supplement is about Wukong’s desires, it would be funny if Wukong subconsciously thought Princess Iron Fan was pretty and that Demon Bull King didn’t deserve her (therefore uncle) and that she’d make a good mom for his 5 sons that he also apparently desired? Wukong desiring Tang to be a warlord though XD

Anyway bad timeline where everyone is OOC because it’s a fever dream sounds crazy awesome I wish I could read it.

Sometimes people are all about allegories, and nothing about substance! Which nothing wrong as long as it is entertaining. I do like how he anticipated the question because he knew himself, but he didn't explain them well enough. Also that Red Boy also doesn't exist in the book as it was said that these were Princess Iron Fan's first kids so its like Wukong willed Red Boy from ever existing as well! THAT IS FUNNY! He wanted a big family and no annoying nephew! Nooooo!

But you can read it actually it’s in English!

Here’s a link!

You are going to make a profile but still. Even comes with audio options if you want it out loud.

Have fun with the crazy fever dream!

While I will admit it is absolutely insane. I myself hope one day to have a script of how to make it into something of substance because I think there is a lot to work with. Time travel and inter-dimensional transportation aren't anything new but to know that this was one of the first 'time travel' books out there is pretty fun! It’s somewhere between a dream and a nightmare, where the dreams become so intense that they just go overboard. I feel like nowadays a lot could be played with, especially with how to look into what Wukong really wants and what he is willing to do to take it when in the middle of his journey. Like to measure himself mentally where he has changed from being willing to do anything in his power to get what he wants verse actually seeing the consequences of his desire affecting those around him that he has grown to care about and how their lives are ruined as well.

Sanzang becoming a general probably is too farfetched but the idea is that he becoming controlled by a Evil King because Wukong left and Sanzang lost his way. Now THAT can be interesting. Bajie tries to go back to Gao but as expected by rejected and thus he also joins the Evil Army. THAT is a cool take. Wujing being lost in all this and going back to hire hermit lifestyle, THAT IS SAD. BaiLong been forever, forgotten by his family and force the roam the Earth has a horse. THAT IS ALSO SO SAD. I don't know why people look any further for angst when if this story could be put in a more cohesive manner without the loose plot point or useless quests could be an interesting introspective of Wukong's desires have how they have changed from what he thought he wants versus what he wants now.

I do feel like a lot of the takes are more out of character but that is what makes it kind of scary and a bad timeline way. To think that because you (Wukong) can push people to new means. Maybe Wukong just wanted a big family before and missed his monkey, projecting that onto Princess Iron Fan who is deprived of both a son and husband and he understood that missing family. And maybe he feels responsible for both Bajie and Wujing on his journey to keep them together else they lose their ways and just go back to being forgotten criminals of heaven, nothing better than canon fodder. And his greatest fear of Sanzang losing his way... and becoming more like him. Choosing violence as the real answer to his problems, similar to Wukong. Any little desire he wished for Sanzang to be "more like him" taken to the extreme of him being a general sending out armies.

And it's that image of King Paramita, his desire for a family verse General Sanzang, his desire for Sanzang to be stronger (or rather just a little bit crueler to their enemies) being forced to confront each other in the climax!

Like I said there are a lot of wishy-washy side quests in the middle that really lead nowhere and are more of a commentary of the times and certain historical figures but there CAN be a lot of interesting plot points that could be SO MUCH FUN to play with! Wukong is always some of the first to say that he is a monk that left the family but maybe he still has that desire to be more than a grandpa to his monkeys and he a family man, but is that worth the cost of the friends he made along the way? I like to think that a lot of dreams are more his distorted desires which is what a lot of the book is. He even meets himself in a human form in the book which helps him out of his red strong of desire to help see reason.

It is only at the end when he sees the son he never knew kill Sanzang does he lose his mind, going into his giant form as he tries to destroy everything around him in a second.

But he can't.

Because he finally starts to wake up.

And when he sees that Fake Fish coming in as their "new" fellow disciples.

Man does NOT hesitate to snap his neck for messing with his dreams like that.

Have to admit that is definitely one way to end a story! But why anyone that is interested I definitely recommend it a read if anyone has the time!

[giuliano-fan-account]

happy pride mont

Well I guess I could share some drawings since usually I just dogpile everything I want to say into 1 post and don’t necessarily have room for the art which is sad.

So I decided for pride month I’ll just dogpile some of my art that I haven’t shown here relating to my favorites from hxh kind of being like those 60 color packs of crayons.

I draw kind of like a crazy guy and I have a fair bit of art so I’ll make a cut off line to not clog...

Btw so I dont jumpscare you the art is of Izunavi and Giuliano, Shalnark and Chrollo, & Muherr and hehe a not canon character (In that order)

Hehe i just have some portraits of Izu for fun here not necessarily ship or anything related but I just wanted to share them Since I made them a while ago and he looks very nice:

Ok but it gets a little gay here so urm: Happy pride moth:

I made this one because I wanted them to have a happy life that I knew they could never have!!!!!!

I made this one because THEY BOTH LOOKED SO GOOFY IN THAT ONE PANEL THAT I HAD TO REMAKE IT I COULDNT DO IT

just a funny little drawing for fun that I stayed up a little too late making 1 time because these guys just kind of carry me away..

On valentines day I was having a rlly bad time a really bad day and everything and then I made these guys and everything was better 

MS PAINT BRO

I made this one in ms paint and it makes me so happy man... I have it as my background screen on my computer rn i didn’t intend for this drawing to bang so hard but also I kind of drew it intending for it to be like the only house that’s not on fire yet because that’s a song that’s perfect for these guys hear me out

I made that one at like 2 am and yes it was to this song and to me it is objectively about these guys

I guess it could be a projection bc i just wanted to squeeze that guy bc hes just so funny and silly and I love these guys and giuliano is just like me for real so it’s fine 

I care about them a lot man I even made an article on the shipping wiki for them because I uhhh I uh help I urm

I have... another one that I ALSO made an article for... and it brings me extreme distress as well as extreme joy

we have our 2nd place to Shalkuro :100:

I have a lot of art for it I’ll make a post for it one day I swear and it will be insane in length because I really need help man ... If izugiuli is my comfort ship this is the REASON why I need comfort

proceeds to show harmless nice little drawings:

I saw that trend everywhere so this is a rlly recent drawing but I made them with the barbie and ken because I... well come on... its literally perfect okay

gooberish little drawing because i was bored

THIS WAS A REDRAW OF A GOOFY GARTIC PHONE DRAWING MY FRIEND MADE SO THATS WHY IT LOOKS KIND OF STRANGE I tried my best to replicate the essence

shalkuro as teens ig comfort (I relentlessly got called gay for this one Stop jules bullying 2023) 

Im a little crazy so maybe I did make another omori hxh au and a lot of it is Shalnark in the au or Shalnark and Chrollo

Redraw of the sticker because hehe

THIS IS BASED OFF OF AN UNFINISHED FIC I HAVE thats not necessarily ship related but also is but also you can interpret it any way you want and imo it’s so cute

I’ll finish it one day.

Another ms paint art but it’s inspired off of bad apple for actually no reason other than that I think it would look cool and I went through 5 stages of hell trying to draw this but I made it out fine

God I want to talk so much about Shalkuro since Shalnark is ALSO just like me for real and I actually haven’t before on this account and it’s kind of my soundboard for talking abt whatever relating to hxh but I really think I should save it for a post of it’s own..

Anyways onto the next one its a little funny thing

I shipped my self insert with Muherr as a joke ok but now its kinda funny and I like it and I actually rlly like these drawings i made for it

dont ask why he looks drunk its a long story

I had to make this it was honestly too funny for me not too and I love it so much EXCEPT for the fact that I realized that my self insert looks so much like pariston in here

Im supposed to have dark hair but I just didnt feel like coloring it in there bc the lineart looked good enough to me

but yeah muherr x jules otp forever /j

hapy pride month whoever or whatever you are whether your gay or not!!!!

dont forget to have fun and be a kind neighborly person like me 

[nono-bunny]

While looking up a character from a manga I'm currently reading (Gokusen), I accidentally found out through a few related wiki articles that Kimi ni Todoke, aka, probably the best anime (&manga, just haven't finished it yet) love story ever, is getting a live action j-drama series at the end of the month and I am!!!! Beyond psyched!!!

I've been very into jdramas lately, so it's truly miraculous to me to find out it's coming out so soon!! Also it looks fucking INCREDIBLE based on the trailer, like!! They included snippets of some of the BEST scenes, all the actors look on point, and it looks like a really fun time! It also seems like it might be pretty lengthy too, WHICH!!! HELL YEAH!! This story truly deserved more than the small amount of anime episodes it was given (even if it's actually like. A LOT considering the state of shoujo anime rn, like, it is very rare for romance shoujo to even get more than a single one cour season and I am very sad about that!!), and that also means it will feature Miura right off from the first season (if there??? Will be more than one??? A girl can hope!) which is awesome, it's so weird having to try to subtly explain to friends watching the anime for the first time how the friend group&main cast isn't actually like. Even complete during the first season because he only makes his awesome debut in the second season,,,

Anyway yooo I am so happy to find out about this, best news in a while for sure!!!! Really looking forward to its release now aaaa