#whoops thats a whole story i think

[carli-meows]

i think Thinking_Computers Machintosh is different from One Cloud Gang Machintosh

in a sense that in the album Mac is mainly told from the perspective of how Sam and Yün know him; a calculated hustler who knows how to solve problems within making more, but is quicl to state that he's in control

which now that ive been pondering the rest of his story, that's not who he is

but Sam and Yün dont really keep tabs on him like that since cyborg folk tend to have objectives that span for decades

anyways

Mac falling in love with KangolLeen in 1990 is what drives him to buckle down more seriously, that happens before the album, since his disposition got more protective overall her and that's the side his friends often see

he's trying to hide this girl from his profession as much as possible to the point where they move away to the coast and live happily

until around 2004 where he is seized by apple for an update, where he's literally dragged away from KangolLeen and loses his claw and that's all she has left of him

during this time she stops dpeaking and moves back to her native planet and spends her days making music underground and moping around the many alleys of the Greay Scale

meanwhile Mac is fighting Apple directly with the help of Sam and Yün, who work on hurting business not knowing Mac is trying to assassinate his creator.

In 2014 he does take down Steve Jobs by his own hands, strangling him to death and tossing his corpse from a Apple office building.

He then spends 5 years in prison before being let out due to being pardoned by the Task Management Programmes, who's main goal is to replace Apple in the advertising world (they didnt need Mac, but they definitely needed to wipe any proof that Apple's poster boy went to prison)

the Programmes offer him to be freed and 30 million dollars, to which Mac asks for his own radio station and the rights to Daisy Bell which was previously owned by his distant cousin at the time.

he then spent the next 10 years working with radio djs and occult members to try to get the song to play far enough out of the universe hoping KangolLeen will hear the song they used to share together... one day

the year is 2029, one lonely night while listening for samples on her radio, KangolLeen hears it, Daisy Bell being played on the loud speakers outside her box

all the way down every alley on every radio, it's Daisy Bell being sang

she is shaken and tunes into the news to find out what is happening only to see that a wave of Humans have managed to make a portal on Ringling Row and by request are playing Daisy Bell everywhere.

there's reports of humans asking around for her, but the Jyezters fear they are hunting her, since she never seemed to bother anyone and the sudden invasion in the middle of the night is not exactly smiled upon in Cloune Towne

So a gang called the Pinz gather to keep her hidden and safe from the invaders, to which she constantly tries to investigate them all to piece together why would they use that song? why on every speaker?

after a month of asking around and getting shooed away, one of them knocks on her box's door after narrowly making it around her security

she opens the mail slot and sticks out a hand for her mail, only to be greeted by Macintosh, who asks "You seen a small Cloune with purple skin and white hair? she looks like this." as he's talking she opens the door with tears running down her face as she tries to say his name but her voice is gone.

they share their first hug in 25 years

the search stops and Mac sends the humans back to Urthe, finally leaving all of it behind and being with KangolLeen once more, and promising to stay with her for as long as he lives

the crying lessens as time goes by for Kangol, and everytime she does, Mac is there for her, she will never have to cry alone again

after a while, they begin to heal, somethings are irreversible but they stay determined to help eachother. Mac tries to help KangolLeen speak again or at least communicate in a understandable fashion and takes care of her

Kangol mends and fixes up Mac who has excessive wear and tear all over. eventually Mac changes his last name to Kangol's to fully cut ties with his past

now he and Kangol make music and live a simple married life between cyborg and clown

... that's too much writing

[hauntingofhouses]

i know I've mentioned my interpretation of mizu's gender a million times on here but i don't think i ever fully elaborated on it.

so on that note i just wanna ramble about that for a bit. basically, it's my reading of the show that mizu is nonbinary, so let me dig into that.

putting the rest under the cut because it ended up being pretty long lol. also here have a cute mizu pic of her being happy and most at ease with herself, symbolised by her letting her hair down. <3 ok let's proceed.

thus, when i refer to mizu as nonbinary, i am interpreting mizu as a woman, but not ONLY a woman. not strictly a woman. she is also a man. she is also neither of these things, she is something in between, while at the same time she is none of these at all. i've said as much many times, but i just don't want people to think that when i say nonbinary, it inherently means a "third androgynous gender" that essentially turns the gender binary into a gender trinary. not only is that going against what the term nonbinary was crafted for (to go against rigid boxes and categorisation of gender identities), but also, not all nonbinary people fall under that category or definition, and that's definitely not the way i interpret mizu.

okay before i go deeper i'd just like to address some important things. first of all, this post is an analysis of canon, and thus everything i am arguing for is about my own interpretation of the show, and not some baseless projected headcanon i am projecting onto the character. please remember there is a difference between an interpretation (subjective; interpretations will differ from viewer to viewer, but ultimately it is firmly rooted in evidence taken from the source material) VS a headcanon (unrelated and often even contrary to what is presented in canon; opinions wildly differ and they cannot be argued for because there is no canonical evidence to back it up).

ALSO please note that nonbinary is an umbrella term. this means that it applies to a vast range of gender identities. other identities that fall under the nonbinary umbrella include agender, bigender, genderfluid, and so on. however, it's my personal preference to use the term nonbinary as it is, simply because i'm not a fan of microlabels (more power to you if you do like them and find they suit you more though!).

also, before anyone fights me on this, let me clarify further that gender means something different to everyone. it's not your biological sex or physical characteristics. but at the same time, gender is not mere presentation. you can be a trans woman and still present masculine—either because you're closeted and forced to, or because you just want to—and either way, that doesn't take away from your identity as a woman. same goes for trans men. if you're a trans man but you wear skirts and don't bind or don't get top surgery, that doesn't make you any less of a man. because gender non-conformity exists, and does not only apply to cis people! some lesbians are nonbinary and prefer using he/him pronouns while dressing masculinely, but that doesn't mean they're a man, or that they're any less of a lesbian. neither does this mean that they're a cis woman.

the thing about queer identities in general is that, like i said, they mean something different to everyone, because how you identify—regardless of your biological attributes and fashion or pronouns—is an extremely personal experience. so a nonbinary person and a gnc cis woman's experiences might have plenty of overlap, but what distinguishes between the two is up to the individual. there's no set requirements to distinguish you as one or the other, but it's up to you to decide what you identify as, based on what you feel. either way, by simply identifying yourself as anything under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, you are already communicating to the world that you are not what a conservative, cisheteronormative society wants you to be.

which is why i find all this queer infighting on labels to be so ridiculous. because we're all fighting the same fight; the common enemy is a societal structure that divides us into set roles and expectations purely based on our biological parts. that's why biological essentialism in the queer community is a fucking disease. because by arguing that women are inherently weak and fragile and soft and gentle and must be protected from evil ugly men, while men are inherently strong and angry and violent and exploitative of women, these people are advocating for the same fucked up system that marginalises and abuses women as well as effeminate and/or gay men.

anyway. i'm going on a tangent. this was meant to be a blue eye samurai post. so yeah back to that— the point i'm trying to make is that there's no singular way to identify as anything, as everyone's views on gender, especially their own, is specific and personal to the individual.

so with that being said, yes you can definitely interpret mizu as a gnc cis woman and that's a totally valid reading of the text. however, interpreting her as nonbinary or transmasc also doesn't take away from her experiences with misogyny and female oppression, because nonbinary and transmasc folks also experience these things.

me, personally, i view her as nonbinary but not necessarily or not always transmasc because i still believe femininity and womanhood is a very inherent part of who mizu is. for example, from what we've seen, she does not like binding. it does not give her gender euphoria, but is instead very uncomfortable for her both physically and mentally, and represents her suppressing her true self. which is why when she "invites the whole" of herself, she stands completely bare in front of the fire, breasts unbound and hair untied. when she is on the ship heading to a new land in the ending scene, she is no longer hiding her neck and the lack of an adam's apple. we can thus infer that mizu does not have body dysmorphia. she is, in fact, comfortable in her body, and relies on it extremely, because her body is a weapon. instead, what mizu hates about herself is her face—her blue eyes. she hates herself for her hybridised racial identity, hates herself for being a racial Other. hates that she has no home in her homeland. thus it is important to note that these are not queer or feminist themes, but postcolonial ones.*

* and as a tiny aside on this subject, i really do wish more of the fandom discussion would talk about this more. it's just such an essential part to reading her character. like someone who's read homi k bhabha's location of culture and has watched this show, PLEASE talk to me so we can ramble all about how the show is all about home and alienation from community. please. okay anyway—

nevertheless, queer and feminist themes (which are not mutually exclusive by the way!) are still prevalent in her story, though they are not the main issue that she is struggling with. but she does struggle with it to some extent, and we see this especially during her marriage with mikio, where we see her struggle in women's domestic spaces.

on the other hand, though, she finds no trouble or discomfort in being a man or being around other men—even naked ones—and does not seem stifled by living as one, does not seem all that bothered or uncomfortable navigating through men's spaces. contrast this to something like disney's mulan (1998), where we do see mulan struggle in navigating through men's spaces, as she feels uncomfortable being around so many men, always feeling like she doesn't belong and that she's inherently different from them. mizu has no such experiences like this, as her very personality and approach to life is what can be categorised as typically "masculine". she is straightforward and blunt. her first meeting with mikio, she tells him straight to his face that he's old while frowning and raising a brow at him. she approaches problems with her muscles and fists (or swords), rather than with her words or mind. compare this with mulan, who, while well-trained by the end of the movie, still uses her sharp wits rather than brute strength. this is a typically "feminine" approach. it's also the approach akemi relies on throughout the show—through her intelligence and persuasive tongue, she navigates the brothel with ease. mizu, in contrast to someone like mulan and akemi, struggles with womanhood and femininity, and feels detached from it.

thus, in my opinion, mizu is not simply a man, nor is she simply a woman. she is both. man and woman. masculine and feminine. she has to accept both, rather than suppress one or the other. her name means water. fluid.

as a side note, while i do believe mizu is nonbinary, i also primarily use she/her pronouns for her, but this is a personal preference. i find it's easier to use in fanfic (singular they is confusing to write stories with, but again, that's just my feelings on it, and this is coming from someone who uses they/they pronouns). i also lean towards she/her because it's what the creators and all the official promotional copywriting of the show uses. and even though i am a "death to the author" enjoyer, i feel that when interpreting things that are left open-ended, it does help to look at the creators' take on things. also because, in general, being nonbinary simply doesn't necessitate the use of they/them pronouns. nonbinary is not just a third gender. it's about breaking the binary, in any which way, and that's exactly what mizu does, constantly.

also, i'd also like to mention that one of show's head of story even referred to her with the term "nonbinary", rather than simply "androgynous" (see pic below). and it's possible this could be a slip up on his part, in which he believes the terms are interchangeable (they're not btw), but regardless i find it a very interesting word choice, and one that supports my argument.

so anyway yeah that's my incredibly long rambling post.

TL;DR nonbinary mizu rights 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 congrats if you reached the end of this btw. also ily. unless you're a TERF in which case fuck off. ok i'm done.

[ambagel]

Wait hold on, in his anniversary video Barbatos mentions the mc being the brother's attendant?

But in the other videos, it's implied that they don't remember the mc leaving (which is actually something im very disappointed about and really hope isnt the case in the actual story)

In these two specifically, it seems like they aren't aware of the mc's presence in the past/alternate timeline/whatever it is. The only other person who seems like they know is Lucifer

Which also lines up with the end of lesson 40, where he's the only one who says welcome back? So like?? Do only him and Barbatos know? Did they not tell anyone?? Diavolo would probably know as well but I haven't seen anything to show that yet. Anyways I don't really like where this is going, I would really prefer they not make everyone forget the mc disappeared

[seeminglydark]

Not to be kinda depressing on main, but does Mickey have a favorite memory of his husband?

It’s ok, I’m about to be depressing on main in the next Chapter of Seemingly Dark, appropriately named The Haunted unless I think of something better in the next month haaa.

He does! Mickey lives in a house in the middle of the woods on the outskirts of Valleyridge. For those who may not know his whole story, he hails from Ciudad Juárez, moved to El Paso Texas and then to East Los Angeles with his mom and sisters. One of his dreams was to live in a peaceful place in the middle of the woods. He tells Reggie this when they first start chatting online, regarding it as a silly dream, but it’s easy to talk to a boy you can’t see.

He moves to Seattle to live near Reggie, and works as a Barista for several years, he’s not really been thinking of his little dream for a long time, he’s just trying to make ends meet and be happy in the situation he’s made for himself even if it is in another big noisy city.

One day Reggie comes bursting in his door saying LETS GO FOR A DRIVE, and he wants to take Micks car for some reason. So off they go on a little excursion to Valleyridge, the tiny town outside Olympia that Reggie and His dad came from. They make this trip often because Reggie’s little step sister Maddie runs a cafe there. Reggie is NOT an impulsive man, he’s the type to plan and plan and plan so much whatever it is he’s planning passes him by, but this time, he can barely contain his excitement and fear which is making Mickey increasingly nervous. Why would a trip to Valleyridge be nerve wrecking?

Because an older house went up for sale in the hills around Valleyridge, and impulsively without thinking, Reggie put a bid on it. And then realized MAYBE he should run that by Mick, MAYBE thats not a thing you just do, uproot your boyfriends entire life AGAIN and make him move somewhere new and start over.

Except this is Mick, the king of impulsive behavior. Mick, who dreams of a quiet life in the middle of nowhere. Mick who runs into the fixer uppers lawn whooping and hollering and lifts Reggie into the air because he ALSO realizes this means Reggie is ready to move in together, and make this little house their dream home.

He thinks of this often, so out of character for Reggie, so impulsive because he saw Micks dream might be in reach and he went for it fast before he lost it, for maybe the first time ever. He override his caution for the man he loved, and in that moment Mick knows he’s truly wanted and loved and has a home and family. Reggie’s smile that day, a real, true soul deep grin that was pretty rare for his beloved who battled with chronic depression, is something he pulls up in his mind on the regular.

And maybe, if we think about it this way, Reggie made a few other impulsive decisions in his life. Like adopting Rose.

And maybe, like staying.

[mohgreal]

I looked into a few spoilers and watched a fight with Radahn/Miquella and I gotta say that Mohg didn't deserved to be used as a husk for any of this

Like all of this doesn't make sense to me lore wise, story wise and the final fight itself looks like a reused asset...

I may be wrong of course, because there is not enough information about Miquella's plan fully, but for now I'm just extremely confused

Gonna go cope now by drawing Mohg's and Malenia's fanarts where everything is well and fine😔

Anyway sorry about the rambling, just wanted to talk about the dlc thing with someone and since we are mutuals I thought you wouldn't mind

U can ignore and delete this ask if you want, sorry for bothering, hope you have a good day!!

First of all, never apologise for yapping to me thats the entire point of my account sdiwbfjx

And yeah, the so called so called "plot twist" being a popular theory sucks. Like what did Mohg do ?? Have a cool outfit?? Honestly I would rather suffer through the "mohglester" and slander then this. It does make him more sympathetic, but also kinda boring.

The fight really does feel like it was made a day before, someone on reddit thats a game dev made a whole long ass reply of how theyre certain thats what happened.

Anyway I dont really have the *full* scoop of lore info since I havent played the DLC yet because my laptop broke, I do still think it's a shitty way to end both Miquella's arc, Mohg's arc, Radahn's arc that was supposed to be finished, and as well as a shitty way to end the dlc. I know fromsoftware simps will just tell me to cope but like, its so bad. Im not sorry because it makes zero sense, looks bad, and the fight feels reused and boring.

I do think we should all collectively cope, (mostly me and the pre dlc miquella enjoyers) which i plan to do by writing whatever. I want to play something else to get my mind off all the sote issues but im too hyperfixated and once again I don't have the laptop to play anything on whoops

conclusion always ramble to mohgreal

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Hello! I know you're one of the people who ship Moon and Solar (TSAMS) And y'all have gotten me into the ship as well! XD I'm not caught up on the lore of the show(s) So i haven't even seen Solar IN SHOW before (i am very behind to before Lunar was Sun and Moons brother :' D) But I have some ideas I'm debating writing for the ship buttt....I have no clue how Canon Solar acts??? Do you know if theres somewhere I could find a Summary on his personality? (and I suppose...new Moon?) I'll probably unintentionally make them OOC...never written for anything TSAMS related, but i'll try!

And is there a ship names thats...like used for them instead of Solar X Moon or is it just called that?

Anywho, I hope you have a good day/night!!! You make awesome stuff! (And I know theres been some people making drama over the ship, I hope you don't let them get to you too much tho!! <3 /P)

🦈Anon

AWESOME!

Heheheh. Thank you. I've been shipping these two since June 2023 so I'm glad I can share the brainrot and some people are more welcoming and cool then I expect. (mostly the ones who can't think critically are the youtube audience but that's expected. Since a lot of the youtube target audience are... like.. minors or really young adults who can't conceive the concept.)

I rewatch that Episode where Solar changes his name and rebuilds the Daycare in a week just for Moon constantly cause it's just... so much admiration and appreciation Moon has for Solar in that episode. I swear I don't know if it was a flub on the actor's part... but I swear Moon calls him 'sexy' as he's dragging him to charge. the stock sound effect of "OOOOH" doesn't help my APD and I've listened so many times and I have no possible idea what Moon could be saying to Solar other then 'come here you stupid, sexy-...." (trails off) sooo... idk. I might have misheard that severely but that's just what I'm hearing.

Like, in terms of New Lore of the show, it gets pretty complicated.

So complicated in fact, TSAMS themselves released a new video on the subject.... But it's NOT a very good guide, as it misses a lot of things. (and no I don't mean the stupid guest cameo stuff) this is more or less an abridged take on what happens with no emotional impact:

Like, this is a good starting point if you want the barest of bones, but it misses so much stuff. I think they don't even mention how Solar gets introduced into this family. lol. Just like "yeah Im here and I helped kill Eclipse" fheahehf. It's a super well made video though, and I don't mind the editing mistakes (clearly when the actors change the avatar on screen.... whoops. Happens a few times)

There is also the Fan Wiki, but as of now, it is incomplete, (@twinanimatronics is working tirelessly on updating the wiki and I wish they got more reconignition from the tsams community as a whole ) but it does give a decent look into Solar

There is also the huge TSAMS Lore Document, which Ceph(twinanimatronics) also worked on which contains a further detailed explanation of the story so far, for those who don't have time to watch 2 years worth of youtube content that aren't in a concrete playlist. (TSAMS. PLAYLIST YOUR STUFF PROPERLY. YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF LORE HERE)

Liike.... yeah... this is okay but like..

This is VRchat. Aka the lore. Which also includes when they play videogames in VRchat, which don't impact the story... Like Uno, Amongus and SCP stuff.....

And it doesn't divide the arcs. Something that TSAMS severely needs more then any other SB Show channel.

Also, in the early days, the gameplay videos USED to be part of the lore. As the concept of Eclipse itself, being a rouge evil ai that lived in Sun's head (as it was presented initially but we know the truth it was the killcode moon planted in Sun when they separated.)

These days, they kinda dropped the gameplay videos being directly connected to the over arching plot. Other then just saying that their vids are pre-recorded or "we're back" after an annual halloween takeover.

Not to mention... When Earth and Lunar got a show, they became intertwined with the Sun and Moon show. LAES is very much it's own thing, but it's the ONLY Security Breach Show that consists of two Original Characters spawned from the Sun and Moon show. A rarity. So their lore continues off from the Sun and moon show, giving more info on Lunar these days and Earth (their sister)

Then you have the Monty and Foxy show (which is my least favorite of the shows... Personal Preference. I try not to complain cus I know some people like it. But I do not like the plot points in that show, or the character writing and weird directions they take while being connected to the same universe.)

And Monty is a character voiced by Davis, who also voices Sun. So Monty started out as a prominent character on the Sun and Moon Show, and then got his OWN show... at a point in TSAMS history after Eclipse got the star and killed Lunar.

So yeah. I wish the playlists were better organized here. So we knew when each era starts.

(people say Matpat should get on this show lore... And noooooooo no thanks. Keep him away. We got you covered. Ceph honestly has enough info to make a video guide at this point.)

But long story short, Solar is a "Good Eclipse" from another dimension that the Old Moon introduced to Lunar, when Lunar was struggling with his trauma of leaving Eclipse. Good Eclipse and Lunar become friends.

Anyway, here are some key episodes that outline NewMoon and Solar's relationship, as Solar had never met the Old Moon.

Old Moon had never met Solar. It was New Moon who introduced himself to Solar to help defeating Eclipse once and for all. (and by this point lunar had died)

He was actually surprised that this Moon was a chill Moon and could be reasoned with and talked to, considering he was living a rather oppressive life from his own Moon.

There's also a whole episode saga of just these two bantering and talking while they work on the satellite together. I can't remember which specific episodes those are.

You can also see the difference between the Evil Eclipse and Good Eclipse here in one of my all time favorite episodes:

Moon saving Solar's life: (also the death of the bad Eclipse)

Everything is good and happy after Eclipse dies for awhile. (aside of Ruin and Bloodmoon wrecking shit) He goes back to his own dimension... and you get to see what his sad life is like:

From his Moon calling him "byproduct" and failure very often.

But... Something happens and Solar is forced to come to Moon's dimension

here's Solar at his poor little meow meow "I have nowhere to go" stage and just... thought to go to Moon immediately due to their history.

Moon's only question about Solar moving in, is that if he wanted him to blacklist his dimension once he heard what was going on with his Moon.

And immediately, Solar jumps in to help Moon with his problems.

Also during the halloween takeover part 2 electric boogaloo, Solar was the one to help get Sun and Moon back after being teleported to a different dimension with no hopes of returning

Also, after Ruin was cured and Bloodmon ran off, Solar rebuilt the ruined Daycare in a week. And Moon is so grateful for it. (i rewatch this episode a lot. It cemented the ship in my mind and built the commodity that they've been building up for months)

We also get what Solar's daily life is like so far... How out of place he feels, being someone from a different dimension, despite the Brothers (and sister's) insistence, he still doesn't really feel like he's part of the family. He feels like an outsider. (He also has less opportunities to hang out with Lunar. As he expressed interest in playing games with him like the good old days, and as of recently, they have not yet)

also a good example of the Celestial family changing minds on family dynamics because they are robots. Lunar flat out rejected Vegeta-Animatronic is his brother even if he technically is. Like, they're robots. They can change their relationships to each other based on their word. I like to see it more flexible then it is in reality with actual people/humans.

Moon also trying to make Solar feel comfortable and feel like he's adjusting well here. Expressing his concern for him doing so much for him and his family. And hoping to not pressure him into so much work.

As of recently, his Sun died, and he killed his Moon. And in his therapy session (on the Lunar and Earth Show) he expressed regret over "Leaving" them...

But he has not properly told anyone about this.

My reasoning is that he probably thinks that the family will jump on the chance to call him "Evil" .....They don't have good luck with Eclipses.... and every Eclipse they met other than him has been Evil. (that must weigh on you. Every version of yourself is deemed as evil across every dimension. You are the only good one. Maybe there is something wrong with you)

I'm already at the video limit, but on Lunar and Earth show, there is an interesting episode where Lunar goes into Solar's head, and his mindscape looks like the Willy Wonka TV room, because it was a movie he watched with his Sun before they separated and Sun died. Showing that he did care about his Sun a whole lot... Which is probably why he doesn't interact with our Sun that much alone.

He also compartmentalizes everything before he can feel emotions, playing his own memories in third person as if he's not experiencing them.

Not to mention, he organizes and separates his thoughts on NewMoon and HIS Moon, just so he won't associate the two.

I also missed what episode it was, but Solar is always the first to call Moon out when he's being angry, or irrational, and Sun admits in his therapy session, that Solar is the only person who can calm Moon down. (mainly cus he's used to it, but unlike his old moon, this moon listens)

Anyway...

I love Solar a lot, can you tell?

[ganondoodle]

okay more elden ring DLC spoilers below the read more

what fucks me up the most is ....... that we never actually get to meet the real actual Radahn, hes either a rotting zombie or some constructed meat puppet with a manipulated soul of his

the most we know is from the base game stuff, his men and everything, but we never get to meet him- and now ... it undermines the whole festival, i felt like it was sorrowful goodbye and attempt to grant him an honorable death- that made me fall for him in the end, the lore around that and the whole build up and vibe of it, it felt so genuine but now you cant feel that, bc you know .... either way he will be suffering, let him rot for all eternity being a threat to friend and foe alike, as this mindless monster chowing away at corpses like a beast when he used to be a powerful respected general

or kill him but instead of giving him the death he wanted his soul is instead grafted into a meat puppet by his half brother so he can be controlled and made to agree to marry him despite rejecting it in life (as far as i understood it, he definitely did reject it though bc otherwise malenia wouldnt have tried to assassinate him to get him delivered over)-

so theres no good answer and im left wondering, did his men know of that? im gonna guess no, bc the whole point of the festival was to bring him HONOR when there was nothing of his honor left, of him left, and theres no honor in being turned into a literal marionette for your half brothers sick play

you could call it tragic, and it is, but it feels so much more ..... like just wanting to violate him even in death, just because he hasnt suffered enough, lets make it even more horrible just for sufferings sake (like i get it, i like when my favs also get to suffer, what happened to him in the base game was a part of why i love him so much- but theres a limit to that imo) it takes away from so much of the festival and everything, you are not taking part in one last final battle so Radahn can die fighting, you are handing his soul over to his half brother that wants to use him like a puppet, LITERALLY, to make a mockery of his memory, make him do things he would never have if he was himself, i cant think of anything more horrible to do to him

and his people are utterly convinced they are doing right by him, when the rot was probably better than what miquella would do to him, as horrible as that was.. and if they WERE aware then wow ....... i guess miquella really had everyone on his side huh uwu, like that sucks even more, so none of them ever felt and cared about him or were all also brainwashed YIPPIIIE

(not to mention how much interesting miquella lore gets twisted into actually he was just a scheming little creep and everyone that followed him was quite literlally brainwashed- i know the whole bewitching thing is like, his thing, but MAN- it feels like whoops it was all a dream and it never actually happened when its done bad)

(and i know Radahn is a fictional character but people are gonna pin it on him i just know it, like espeically those that dont care about lore and are just there for the fights .... like its not his fault!!! and i felt like he was already hated enough, first by his too hard boss battle in base game and now in the DLC its a repeat of that even harder (though i find the complaints a lil >_> bc i have seen people just walk right over story bosses so just ... overlevel yourself if you want to do that too, you dont have to fight a boss for three days, explore and level up?) and it was already annoying how malenia defenders AND radahn defenders kept trying to make the other into some horrible asshat, when they are both not great and thats valid, but now its??? )

[bwobgames]

haii ive finished one ending of beebo ^_^ got ending 8 which was cool :000 honestly rlly like this one bc i think this was what i sorta expected during the comic :0 rlly rlly rlly loved everything througgout the ART GALLERY SECTION. was so cool. i was anticipatin it the whole time and WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED IT WAS SOOOOO COOLLLL AND THE. MINIGAMES !!!! I LOVED PUTTING TOGETHER THE DOTS . AND THE SMASHING ONE WITH ALL ITS GUI AND. it was all very very very fun.

these were the only typos i caught btw ! wasnt too sure abt the nadia one since he used what im assumin is her full name ? the line after that. but alas once again the eternal enemy of on/in

OO AND HERE R THE PHYSICAL NOTES I TOOK THE WHOLE TIME ^_^ i felt like the paintings would b important bc i remembered smth abt paintings from the comic n i was right :3 but also it was cool taking notes on them bc it made me pay more attention to just all the objects lookin 4 subtle differences :00 then there were a few notes of general story so i could try to put it together. and the map of the art gallery !!! wanted to see how long i could map it out 4 until it stopped being possible to map ^_^

was rlly SUCH a cool game i appreciate the special saves bigtime bc now i can go back much more easily:3 AND JUST the whole puzzleness of it was SO fun whenever games get me thinkin 2 the point im taking physical notes its a good sign SO YEA !!! AWESOME GAME VERYYY FUN GONNA GET OTHER ENDINGS ^_^ oOH OH AND AND. rlly rlly appreciate the guide walkthrough thing because i got a littlee stuck on round 3 bc i Forgot what i was doing and how to solve the box puzzle after coming back to it after a break SO THAT WAS HELPFUL !!!!

ENDING 8!! Thats a nice one, until you get the epilogue and its like oooooh yeah thats unresolved, whoops.

Also yes!! the special saves are specifically so people can get the endings easily, they have different degrees of happy/miserable

My walkthrough walked through!!!lets gooooooo. This reminded me when I first played undertale there were no guides or playthroughs or anything so I had to get the answer to a puzzle from some random forum comment. Seeing as no one is playing this game I didnt want the few people that are playing to get miserably stuck

Im surprised theres such a low amount of typos considering I barely looked at the dialogue files after I put it through a grammar checker

Oh! Also Also Also! Nadja is not a typo, he just forgot Nadia's name. Lmao.

[intotheelliwoods]

-> -> -> 2AL playlist drop!

Answered all the music related asks under the cut!

Question reference btw!

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@teainthesnow

4 - a lyric you like

"Triangles are my favorite shape" From Tessellate by Alt-J !! Do I know why? Nah. I just also like triangles :)

11 - a popular song you think is Good, Actually

On Time by The Disco Biscuits !! Its not popular more than it is mainstream? Its one of those songs you swear you have heard everywhere, because its very much played everywhere, but like its actually good! Either its played everywhere or it just gives me loads of nostalgia? Eh whatever, its still good and im bestowing it upon you.

13 - a playlist name without context

"To Enter The Beyond" Past Human City Soundtrack

18 - a song or lyric that reminds you of the asker

Oh this for sure belongs on your AMW playlist!! Gives some absolute Tea vibes!

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@dandywonderous

5 - ramble about a song

FORGIVENESS BY ALICE GLASS!!!!!!! OUGHOUGHOGH I LOVE THIS SONG WITH ALL MY HEART god something about it just vibrates my insides and tickles my eyes. I dont know how to describe it other than each time I hear this song I feel nothing but pure power and hopelessness at the same time. Drifting along in never ending darkness, and the only thing you have with you are the spirits and memories of those who have passed. The spirits call for freedom. You should listen to them. This song gets real for me alright?

7 - a song for which you like a cover more than the original

Not really a cover moreso than it is a remix!? But im counting it! Silk by Giselle, the original, somber and sweet but just sorta missing something you know? This remix by Favored Nations though? SLAPS. Its so upbeat and I am so here for it!

11 - a popular song you think is Good, Actually

Honestly literally anything by Electric Light Orchestra. Though to be more specific, Evil Woman!! Alright is also a good one, but less popular!

16 - do you sing or play any instruments?

No instruments here! I actually have one really nice/complex song memorized that I can do on the piano but unfortunately thats about it whoops~ As for singing apparently I actually sing good when I try!?

23 - a song you remember liking as a kid

You are going to laugh at this one. Actually. I still like it. But damn was I a weird kid. I once had a solid 150 digits of pi memorized because I would just play this stupid song on loop for like a whole ass hour every now and then???? I think I still have about 50 memorized thanks to this song.. whoopsies

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@thimbell

5 - ramble about a song

YESSSSS YESSSSS I GET TO RAMBLE ABOUT ANOTHER SONG The World Is Ending by Matt and Kim !!!!!!!!!!!!! good GOD this song is so dear to me. Not because of the song really, but because of what the song means to me? The connections I have too it?????? Longish story short, someone made a killer AMV using it? The AMV using clips from the show Final Space! No clue if you have seen the show but no matter. Final Space is definitely up there as one of my favorite shows, not only because its good but because it actually helped me get closer with my dad, we watched it together! In other words I associate this song with just so much joy. The AMV if you were curious btw!

14 - an unpopular music opinion

Glass Animals is overrated <3 <3 Dont get me wrong I love their music! It just gets so tiresome hearing them everywhere!??? Probably just a me problem though

24 - a song people often misinterpret

I dont think I have much an answer for this one, apologies! Mostly because its not too often I pay attention to lyrics, and even then I think its cool that everyone has their own interpretations of someones song!

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@wraenata

17 - a song that has made you cry

... honestly? Any song in a tv show that is played during a sad scene! A REALLY sad scene... one that comes to mind is Enter One by Sol Seppy (would recommend skipping to about 2:30), because it is played in the death scene of one of my all time favorite characters... alright im going to weep about that death scene more now because listening to this again is NOT helping pfft... oughh honestly now im tempted to add it to the 2AL playlist... maybe.

24 - a song people often misinterpret

Answered above!

30 - a song that makes you nostalgic

Divinity by Porter Robinson, listen this used to be my favorite song for the longest time... and it might even still be my favorite song?? Either way, I DARE not listen to it anymore for the sake of I fear for the day where this absolutely nostalgic gem gets tiresome for me...

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@unfortunate-songbird

17 - a song that has made you cry

Answered this one above! Though for a less serious answer, any of the finale songs in Centaurworld... oops.

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1 - which artist(s) have you listened to the most lately?

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour has been a fav in the past month! Heres a good song by them if you would like~

I am going to use this ask as a chance to also say how much I love Hugo Kant!! He makes great stuff to chill too when working! If I could log hours on youtube, my most listened to videos are so just listening to the guy live!

21 - favourite album

Not to pull out my inner cowboy, but Harlequin Dream by Boy & Bear. I fear for the day I get sick of this album its such a trip for me!

28 - rank the songs in an album

THATS IT IM RANKING ALL THE SONGS IN PAGANS IN VEGAS BY METRIC. I love this album.

#1 - Celebrate. This is the song that introduced me to the band and gives me SUCH a blast of nostalgia each listen, and it shows. Best song in the album by far. Its so weird though since I knew this song before I knew about the rest of the album, so when I finally discovered the whole album each time this song comes up its so out of place pfft! Still such a bop though!

#2 - Blind Valentine. This is just one of those songs I love singing too whenever it comes on alright!?????

#3 - Lie Lie Lie. This is the first song in the whole album, and honestly? What a knee slapping way to start an album too god damn!!!!

#4 - Cascades. I am begging you to skip to about 3:15 in this song, its a little on the plain end before that end, but THAT ENDING??????? SLAYS.

#5 - Too Bad, So Sad. ITS SO GRINDY I LOVE IT. I FEEL LIKE A PUNK IN A DESERTED WASTELAND

#6 - For Kicks. The beat is just so unique here!!!!!!???????

#7 - The Face Part |. Just some funky cool down beats at the end of the album that are very enjoyable!

#8 - Fortunes. A decent enough second song in the album, helps sets the tone for whats coming!

#9 - The Shade. Its actually a good song, just nothing special about it you know??

#10 - The Governess. vibes are there, the vibes are sure there

#11 - The Face Part ||. Just more cool off tunes to end the album with

#12 - Other Side. No. Why are you here. your ass does NOT fit with the rest of this god-tier album. goodbye.

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Edit: @kiaxet Thought I should add you to the masterpost here!!

5 - ramble about a song

Ok. Adventure Time by Yoann Turpin. I am usually not too big on 16 bit video game sort of vibes but this??? Is such a MASSIVE exception. Holy????? THE HEART THE GUY PUT INTO THIS SONG MAN. The beat is just so unique, its impossible to try and guess whats going to happen in the song next, you strait up feel like you are on an ADVENTURE. I am so here for this song, god and its so upbeat I am in LOVE.

By the way, I linked the whole ass album because the whole album overall is so nice to listen to to pump you up when doing dishes or something lmaooooo, the first song in the album is also an amazing trip!!

8 - an artist you think underrated

HUGO KANT!!! God!!! mentioned above as well, I love Hugo Kant with a passion! He makes such good stuff just to chill too, and him live is absolutely incredible!

With the ask above I linked a video from him preforming live, so this time around I bring you two favorite albums of mine!! Far From Home and Out Of Time

I get in SUCH a zone listening to his stuff!

9 - a song you think is underrated

Phleps by C418!!! C418, the producer of the original music behind minecraft, but the guy has so much underrated personal music that is SO underrated! This song in particular, is vastly different from his usually stuff and I love it for that. Definitely underrated for being overshadowed by his work on minecraft and his work that isnt minecraft but sounds like minecraft..

29 - what do you look for in a song or artist?

I always look for something where you can tell it has genuine love and heart put into it! That + something that just sounds truly unique in its own right!

[phlurrii]

just a name ask.

so, had a thought after re-reading and listening back to "EPIC; the musical" and the book and it made me think; "oh yeah didnt Phlurrii have characters named after these people" and then it hit me. Odyseus.. Circe..

Am i correct in assuming that you named the two after the greek characters? (as in from greek mythology)

if so thats hella cool and i love you *platonically* for it.

I… might… be a massivefanoftheodyssey…nottelling- that musical existing is just the biggest bonus ever.

But jokes aside, yea, they are absolutely named after the Greek mythos! Odysseus was because his whole thing is using his head and smarts to win his battles instead of brute strength. Master strategist and all that! While Circe is just so… fucking… awesome… her original purpose of existing was basically a dude writing a woman that was so cunning, so smart, and also drop dead gorgeous, as a WARNING to men that woman had to be subdued because they were too powerful otherwise. Like?? Like????

That’s right, fucking fear us XD

In recent years shes been more acknowledge as an early example of how kickass females/feme presenting are and men had to write to other men to warn them about it in ye olden days I believe. Despite in story Odysseus pulls through because plot armor and divine intervention, I’ve always loved that she just… whoops arse. No shits given, in this extremely brief and watered down explanation X3

So that core idea is why I named my Newtwo Circe ^^!! She is beauty, she is Grace, she will kick you in the face. And then some.

[teemingwindow]

This is a fan recap of the crown and bishop au

chapter 1

So it starts with Shamura being born then abandoned (very sad) shamura then gets brought to a sanctuary we’re they grow up and learn the art of random fucking symbols, It’s called the old faith alphabet

Then some time passes the sanctuary gets robbed, attacked, blown up if you will and Shamura is on the run all by their selfs, no family, friends, not even a moth. But they do have these weird funky hats called crowns. There’s a red one (edgy crown), the blue one (the no bitches crown), a yellow one (I’m going to kick your ass crown), a green one (I will eat everything in sight crown), and a purple one (the smarty pant’s crown). Of course Shamura being very smart picks the purple one.

Some more time passes and Shamura finds a (ugly) helpless squid, Shamura feels bad very bad for him so they take him in and calls him kallamar

More time passes and Shamura with kallamar finds a black cat, Shamura thinks umm this cat is probably a orphan because his family is not with him so Shamura scoops him up and welcomes him into the family, his name is narinder

Like a week later or mabye 2 seconds (we don’t exactly know) Shamura finds a tadpole beaten and bruised kinda like they just whooped some ass, so Shamura said in exact words “yoink”. Heket has joined the party

A couple more years into the future Shamuras is happy with their little family, everyone is growing up so fast, kallamar is like 10 and still ugly, narinder has easily became Shamuras favorite, and heket is not a tadpole anymore and has evolved into a full frog.

Shamura was content with their family, no more orphans, no more being lonely. Just happy thoug-.. what the hell is biting me? Shamura turned around and found a little earth worm biting them, at first narinder wanted to eat it because idk, but Shamura said naw and thought of something else, they said fuck it and let him into their family. +1 worm, his name is leshy.

Even more years later everyone was growing up, so Shamura gave everyone a crown

Chapter 2

Kallamar of course got the blue crown, heket got the yellow crown, leshy got the green one, and finally narinder got the red one.

Shamura was happy with there little fight force of orphans and then they traveled the lands, seeing sights and never fighting again, happy end-. Bitch you thought instead Shamura said fuck it again and with her orphan squad Concord the entire lands and made a whole religion where people worshiped them and kallamer still has no bitches imagine that getting a whole religion around you and still no hoes.

The lands changed forever, the lands worshiped Shamura and their orphan gang, but they thought that name sucked so they just got called bishops, and that’s where the story ends. Shamura is happy, they got a family, a religion, and whole alphabet, what more could you ask for. But not just the lands changed… something in narinder changed…

Narinder was become real edgy when he had the crown on, like *real* edgy. He thought “man I only get one fifth of this religion, nah thats wack I want the whole pot, I want it ALL!!”

So he made a plan to kill his siblings and take all of the power and glory and more power. So one day when the whole family was in one place he finalized his plan and attacked. First he gave Shamura a lobotomy, then bitch slapped kallamar to the ground and took his ears, he slit hekets throat and finally stabbed leshys eyes.

He had did it, he won the fight, until the other bishops said he was wack and then they attacked him, they used their crown powers to send narinder into a place I would call the death realm (or purgatory). They made sure narinder could never leave that place.

So after doing that they tended to their wounds, leshy is blind, heket can barely talk, kallamar can barely hear and still got no hoes, and lastly Shamura has short term memory lost. But then they drank some milk to get rid of the debuffs and everything was ok.. not really Shamura still can’t think that well.

chapter 3

There the story ends, narinder is stuck in purgatory, and the other bishops still rule the lands… until narinder said in EXACT words “man this place sucks, there’s not even an Xbox up here. Ah fuck it im going to give the next person who dies a deal to live once again but they most kill my siblings and revive me.” And he did just that

His first vessel was a raccoon named gaap, he liked to tinker with death and revive people. But he somehow failed narinder and was removed as a vessel, oh how did he fail? Idk jir still hasn’t told us come back in about a month:D

This went on for a while, Vessel after vessel, somehow dying to leshy who was basically the tutorial boss, I would name them but I like to keep my sanity so here’s some honorable mentions.

There was frog named Ayranor, a old ass deer named Margaret, a caring cat named pudding (clap here), a purple dog named jay and lastly a red panda named Elon mus-.. just Elon, he was a capitalist of course (boo here). Now Shamura felt bad for narinder because he sucks at picking vessels so Shamura gave narinder some kittens so he would stop trying to kill them and calm his ass down, he did not calm his ass down.

Now we get to a rat named ratau who has a brother named ratoo, he was a vessel for narinder but he quit because he did a bad, what bad? You should know what to expect (thanks jir). Now ratau might have or might not have found a little lamb and raised them (he called them lambert), but the bishops found the lamb and we’re going to execute them because they might be animalist

when the lamb died they went to where narinder, and narinder gave them a deal to kill their siblings for him. Without a button to say no lambert said yes and unlike the other vessels lambert actually played the binding of issac and killed all of the bishops, narinder was happy, he finally won. His siblings were dead and now he can rule the lands once more AND DO SO MUCH MO-…where’s my crown.. hey lamb can I have my crown back?

chapter 4

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN BY NO?!?!? Narinder was pissed, even more pissed than when he got trapped in purgatory, so he sends his minions, aym and Baal the same kittens that Shamura gave him forever ago there no way they would los-..and there dead…

Aw fuck it, if you want to do something you better do it yourself narinder said. After many years trapped, narinder is ready to fight for the red crown and take the power he deserves, he’s going to kick that lambs ass and win this figh-.. and he’s dead.

To recap lamb killed all the bishops, girl bossed narinder, and became the new god of death. But before lambert could celebrate they had to deal with narinder one more time, do they kill him and show no mercy or let him live and show mercy to one who would show no mercy…a though choice one would say, but lambert said in again exact words “fuck it” and spared him because tbh he kinda hot.

And that’s where the story ends for real this time, lambert is the new god of death and they can go back to their cult and live happily ever af-… why is there a giant gate where narinders gate used to be? Why is there a giant angel thing standing at said gate?? Lambert probably very confused talked to them, they said they were a higher being(or something). We will call them their true name, space soup. Space soup said to lambert“you fucked up lamb, the lands are uneven because you killed all the bishops, so you are going to revive them and make the lands whole again”

Again lambert with no, no button said fine and went off to do space soups biding. So off lambert went to do the thing………..

oh you want to know what happens next? well you can find out via jirs game she made, that’s right this whole thing was a ploy to make you play her game because I respect her time that she worked on it, thanks for reading and have a good day:b

Credits

Lore and au maker: jir

Recap maker: teem

Person paying for teems therapy from all the codes he had to solve: no one :(

[forgotteneilionora]

OOC | Stafford Swords & Heirs

ok so from [ this ] post's replies, and a bit of a follow up to [ this ], [ this ], and [ this ] post (amongst others!), as well...

forgottenarias @forgottenrian @thelongforgottenrealm whoops not me just washing dishes and having crazy thoughts— might Rian be the one who alerts Roderick to the fact he doesn’t have ‘correct’ heir sword? Or since we’ve kinda shifted the idea that the concept of being an heir isn’t necessarily as important to astaira as it is Roderick, does that even factor in anymore? I mean maybe he just wants ALLLL THE SWORDS and I guess maybe even Rian might be after them since he is an actual stafforrd TBC And those swords probably asp would have been going to him if domhall hadn’t dominated those trials hahaha 😆 forgottenrian @forgottenarias KATE!!!!! YOU GENIUS!!!!! i hadn't even thought abt the swords klsadjfkljsdf ommmggggg rian would 1000000% know those swords!!! he's never touched them but he's read everything about them and seen plenty of art and probs went over and had a boromir vs aragorn moment of gazing longing at the display of long lost family sword and awkward encounter w the person who is saying they have more rights to it etc etc etc when he challenged eilia for the throne!TBC @forgottenarias ok so idk if you saw but i was thinking the ~heir does maybe have more of a geopolitical role despite the trials in order to entice foreign alliances etc!! but also roderick is kinda baffled by the whole kingsmoot thing (rian's whole thing makes muchhh more sense to him!) and is basically like 'this is the royal house!' and it has symbolic swords so he wants them!! and rian 1000000% wants them!!!!! those are his and garbhan's by rights!!!! laskdjfkjs TBC @forgottenarias so yeah long story short im thinking that we can def keep the sword thing if we want to! and i love love love this idea!!!!!! also realizing that rian may have much more mixed feelings abt the bastardization of his cousins than i was originally thinking alksjdfkljdsf he deffff has lots of hang ups abt rights being stripped from those to whom they belong ++ it reflects poorly on his house in his mind so he hates it on those levels BUT also it puts him TBC that much closer to realizing his ~own just deserts (in his mind)! forgottenarias @forgottenrian yes!! I love all of this (especially Roderick just wanting all the swords 😅😅😅) but I didn’t even connect— it would probs be even more important for the heir to have some sort of ~thing~ with being an important figure in the ruling family’s geopolitical endeavors even w/ still having to compete for the throne asp!! Since Rian knows everything about Astaira (so he thinks!) he might also be like “well and then the mythical lost third sword…” for Roderick to be like WAIT WHAT? 😅 @forgottenrian but ALSO his conflict!! It makes sense! He’s got a lot to grapple with… so does he tell Roderick? Does he keep the secret for his family? (even though Aria will continue to hate him bc destruction of culture and lands she apparently will forgive a bit but NOT abandoning family!) forgottenrian @forgottenarias ngl...im realizing that rian has probs been taught to believe that the mythical lost sword is probs ~for him (idk if he believes its real or not but certainly that its at least symbolically his or wahtever yknow)...hmmmm...yknow maybe he ~doesn't tell? bc he's like THATS MINE!!!!! basically alksdjfkljdsf but i do think he resents roderick toting even the ~known ones around, big time bc that's ALSO ~his or at least garbhan's!!! lakjsdfkjdf yknow imma TBC do a post on the swords bc im realizing that, w the kingsmoot, that needs a lil reworking but, if the staffords were the og king(s) and established the thing, it might still work, as-is???? like maybe it was a king arthur kinda figure who united the various ~lordships (maybe the lords of astaira used to all be petty kings in their own right?) and then his two brothers were the next ones but the final one was like 'lets establish a vote' basically and yeah!!! maybe TBC the og king even established the crown in order to ~fight the gods~ back in the day or smth?????? we need to talk this out lkasdjfakljdsf

forgottenarias @forgottenrian YASS! Always ready to talk it out about LFR lore! 😅 I def think they’re something important and even if not entirely to the CROWN at least to the Stafford fam… and since they’ve ruled for so long it’s sort of one in the same at this point?!

ok so on the second post, here's words from our fearless leader, herself <3

thelongforgottenrealm I love all of this!!!...I’m also digging the idea that succession here isn’t done traditionally!! I do feel like maybe the firstborn of the king/queen is always treated as the future heir (and often is) but they still have to go through these trials and sometimes have other nobles who submit their names, too, so it isn’t always a given

sdfasdf ok so i think that's all the bg stuff i need <3 mostly i just wanted to pop this here to get us chatting, but i have some ideas i did wanna sort of throw out here!

HEIR IDEAS

perhaps on those occasions on which the ruler is also the person whose technically the ~lord of any given lands, the heir is largely in charge of running the lordly aspects w oversight from the ruler as a sort of training for bigger things type deal? (in our case here, i lowkey feel like rian's dad would've been the evenstar, since he was the firstborn son of stafford, but he gave it up to run away in his hissy fit abt his lil bro being king, so it fell to domhnall to do that ~too, and thus eilia and then aria, in turn, effectively took charge of the staffords lands, when they were old enough? but bc of the below, maybe siobhan did that after aria? or aria was doing it the whole time? your call kate <3)

when the consort is unable (pregnancy, illness, death, etc) the heir also often acts as ambassador to that nation/does all the many political duties of the consort

while generally anyone may insert their name into the lists for the ~kingsmoot, the heir is the only person ~required to do so, and indeed the kingsmoot must wait till the heir is old enough/able to do so w astaira being ruled by the elders/witan/council till that time

lbr the heir to the king does have some advantages over everyone else!!! they've been raised in this position, they're known to the ppl (tho that could be just as easily a detraction if they're not suited ig!! aksldjfkljdsf), they have all kinds of training etc, they have the backing of astaira's closest ally via the queen dowager

SWORD IDEAS

i def think rian's dad wanted to find the lost stafford sword in order to burst in on domhnall w it and thus proclaim himself rightful king!!!

since -- if we go w the idea of it having belonged to the og king of all astaira (who united it etc) -- its maybe seen as more than just a ~stafford sword but as a kingsword a la excalibur like that's king arthur's sword but its not a sword of the house of pendragon so much as its the rightful king's sword, based on their character not their bloodline etc, but at the same time it is def a pendragon sword too like thats who made it who wielded it etc...

and thus rian has been raised to believe that the lost sword is basically ~about him~ out there specifically to prove himself the rightful ruler etc as both stafford and the best dude for the job(tm)

RANDOM IDEA

ive always talked abt this but i just realized...idk if i ever ratified it above mere ~headcanon~ -- one of the things the ruler gives up is the right to marry by choice

they can only marry by the consent of the ppl (which is kinda what eilia is basing her protest on re: roderick and keeping him from forcing the matter bc the whole point of marrying her is to ~not tick off astaira!) w a kind of queensmoot situation (tho probs no trial just a general -- should this country/person be our closest ally/parent to the most likely ~future ruler! kinda thing) ++ might tie into eilia/aria/siobhan's parents' marital situation, as well?? (maybe he loved someone else but wed for duty or smth?)

ok i wanna hear ALLLLLL of your thoughts!!!!! <33333333

[ghost-in-the-stalls]

asking for holy blue because thats my jam (this being sagemoderocklee)

Oof okay this one's rough, but I'll do it for you <3

Down below, I gave an explanation and then a small snippet, because that's the most you'll get of this fic in likely a very long time. But it turned into a pretty big rant about my insecurities surrounding this fic as explanation for why it hasn't had any progress in literal years, whoops. Sorry this is so long!

Basically this was one of the first fics I planned out back in 2022 when I really started properly writing fic. The last fics I'd written had been DC comics fics back when I was like 12. I think I said this once or twice, but your stories specifically actually inspired me to be like "no I CAN write a long fic actually!! Those non-porn-oneshot ideas don't just have to stay ideas forever!! I do have it in me!" which led to me plotting this fic.

I then got wayyyy too overzealous, posted a prequel (that I'm not super happy with now and would like to make some changes to before I continue posting), and plotted out the first half of a two-part longform series before I was really ready. It's halted for a number of reasons. Partly because I'm struggling to figure out what I want to really have happen in the second half of the story. The half I have plotted could be a full story in its own right, but it's meant to be continued, so the ending would be depressing and frustrating in an unsatisfying way if it wasn't continued in a second story after that. I'm stuck on a resolution, though, and on turning the ideas I have for the second half into a proper story.

Also, I got overthinking and made myself super insecure about characterization (especially in regards to Lee), as well as how much of the story was very directly inspired by several other big, incredible fics in the fandom by several different authors I hold in really high regard. The stress of living up to that inspiration combined with the fear that the story wasn't original enough in the form I had planned kind of put the brakes on the whole thing. And then I got distracted by a bunch of other fics that I felt more confident in. Horror is my strong suit, I think, and this is not that at all haha

On top of all this, there's a major plot point that comes to light near the end of the first half. It's the type of thing that I've seen written so well in a couple different fics, and so poorly in so many others. It's something that I know is not everyone's cup of tea, even when it's well-written. And I've been torn about how much to be up-front with this plot point and how much to hide it. I want people to know the direction the story is heading in for the sake of their own enjoyment; so people who wouldn't be into it can just avoid it from the get-go instead of getting invested first. But I don't want to spoil things too much. But also, if knowing the outcome of a story ruins the whole thing, then it just wasn't very well written, right? Knowing what happens later SHOULDN'T completely ruin the story. If it does, that's on me for not writing it as well as I should have.

This is the overthinking I've been doing lol this is why there's been no progress on this story. It's funny, because I probably have a higher percentage of this fic written than most of my other WIPs.

Basically, if/when I finish and continue posting this story, it's going to come after a great deal of planning and work. And I'm not going to continue it until I really sit down and parse through exactly what stories inspired it and in what capacity. And after that, if I feel that it's original enough, I'd still want to give links to the stories that inspired it when I post it.

I don't want to say TOO much about the premise, because there's a lot that's meant to be *dramatically revealed* as the story goes on, but I can give a general teaser: It starts with Lee, along with the rest of Team Gai, spending a year in Suna. In that time, Lee and Gaara begin a bit of a secret, illicit affair. Obviously, Gaara's position as Kazekage complicates things, but Gaara intends to make it happen for them anyway. Lee, however, has some hidden commitments of his own that puts an even bigger wrench in those plans. Then, the year is up, things have snowballed, and no one is ready to handle the fallout of Gaara and Lee's rush into things.

You get two mediocre snippets to make up for the lengthy anxiety ramblings <3 featuring Sand Sibs Bantering (+Shikamaru) and a first second kiss between Gaara and Lee.

---

Temari grinned wickedly, a look rarely seen outside the company of the family.

“Alright. We’ll be stuck with them for the next year, so get any negative comments you have out of the way now.”

“If Neji’s still got a stick up his ass, I’m gonna have to be sick for a lot of meetings down the line.” Kankurou jumped in, ready to complain at any opportunity.

“He’s way more polite when he’s in diplomacy mode, trust me.” Shikamaru had finally - after years - adjusted to the siblings’ mean streaks. He took it in stride now. “Besides, he’s mellowed out recently now that Hinata is the acting head of the clan.”

“I don’t think Tenten likes me very much.” Gaara added, unwilling to speak too ill of allies, let alone friends.

Kankurou laughed at that, “She probably just doesn’t know what to do with you, man. You know how Konoha shinobi are, they wear everything on their sleeve. Sometimes Temari and I can’t even tell what you’re thinking."

“Besides," Temari interjected, with the slightest note of griping in her tone (which Gaara knew she would vehemently deny should she ever be accused of it; Temari did not gripe, according to herself and everyone in the world, save those who've known her their whole lives.) "I’m more worried about bowl cuts one and two. There’s only so much of that energy I can take before I want to pull my hair out.”

Gaara found himself responding before he even thought about it, “Lee is just… passionate.”

“Okay we’re supposed to be complaining about Team Gai here but I honestly gotta say–” Kankurou leaned on Gaara’s shoulder, “I really don’t get what it is with you and idolizing guys who beat your ass when you were twelve.”

“I’m not an arm rest.” Gaara’s sand pushed Kankurou away, “And it has nothing to do with that. He’s very dedicated to what he does. It’s respectable.”

“What you got a crush on the guy now?” Gaara’s almost choked on his own saliva, collecting himself when he realized his brother was just – once again – taking a joke further than it needed to be.

The last thing he needed was his siblings catching wind of his ridiculous train of thought as of late.

“That’s enough, you wasted your time with it.” Temari elbowed Kankurou until he straightened out his posture, motioning to the four who had just approached the chuunin on guard duty.

“Didn’t even get a good joke in about the jumpsuits…” She muttered.

---

Lee’s rambling was cut off as Gaara sighed, seemingly fed up with the circles they were going in.

“Did you enjoy it or not?” Gaara crossed his arms and shut his eyes as he asked, almost like he was waiting for a blow to come.

Of course Lee enjoyed it. That was the problem, not that he could reveal that to Gaara at the moment. He enjoyed it far too much, and if he was smart he would nip this in the bud before it continued any further. Unfortunately, that would require lying, which he was never very good at.

“Yes…” but- he tried to say. The word stuck in his throat.

He didn’t want there to be a but.

Gaara’s eyes opened at that and his posture seemed to relax a bit. His torso shifted slightly as he breathed in, like something flowed through him, bringing him to life.

He took a step closer to Lee. Lee leaned in unconsciously. Gaara had to tilt his head up to look directly into Lee’s eyes.

“Do you want to do it again?” His eyes flicked down to Lee’s mouth, his neck, his chest, before pulling back up to his eyes. There was something there on Gaara’s face – a challenge, almost.

Lee could never resist a challenge, even against his absolute best judgment.

If the question was that simple…

“Yes.”

The word had barely left his mouth before Gaara reached up and pulled their faces together.

This kiss was different from the first. Where the previous evening was all hesitance and sweetness, there was a desperation behind this one – a heat coming from them both, creeping down their necks and filling the room.

One kissed turned into two, three, four… And Lee found his tongue creeping out to meet Gaara’s halfway.

[bright-and-burning]

A driver placing 12th over 14th in a single race can mean millions of dollars difference to smaller teams like Williams. I think its worth it

to be clear here i am relatively new to f1 and also still in the emotional react zone lol. ALSO ALL OF THIS IS SAID WITH LOVE! i do really like both of them so much

first off why didn’t they have a spare chassis. is that normal. that feels… dumb. i’ve never worked in logistics but that feels Really Really dumb.

SECOND OFF I JUST REMEMBERED TEAM TORQUE. OH THE VIBES ARE GONNA BE HORRENDOUS

anyways. this is gonna sound stupid of me but i kind of forgot how it works in terms of tie breakers so i wasn’t… super thinking abt non-points positions (AGAIN! thinking emotionally!!)

this is long and rambling. please don’t destroy me for not knowing what i’m talking about bc i really really don’t. also i don’t necessarily have a conclusion of “is it worth it or not” i am just . side eyeing. very unsure about whether it will be or not in the end. it kinda boils down to “i think this is complicated math bc trying to quantify some of the effects of this is literally impossible and im worried about those unquantifiable effects”

my thinking here is kind of. is 12th instead of 14th worth it if it means you’ve wildly undermined a driver’s … idk trust? confidence in the team? and i don’t mean this in a vague “think abt the emotional impact!” way i mean this as. how is this going to affect how the rest of the season goes?

i mean, even just this race lol. birthday curse aside, alex has just got a whole lot more pressure on him, on a course he’s got a not-fantastic history with, as far as i can tell. it’s his job to handle pressure, obviously, but it’s certainly an… interesting position to put someone in

in terms of the rest of the season… for me mentality was/is such a massive part of success in sports. i deeply dislike the “didn’t want it enough” narratives in other sports (whole other story) but. you do have to believe in yourself. and if thats true for a sport where you’re running around in circles, or where you’re kicking a ball around, i imagine it’s doubly so for driving around tight corners at nearly 300kph or whatever. it’s not williams’/james vowles’ job, i guess, to foster an environment where that self-belief is maintained or built, but in that case, what was the point of all that talk?

you spend all this time being like we have confidence in you and your improvement, and then bam. i would be desolate lol. like circling back to 12th vs 14th… idk a part of me is like. if we could quantify the impacts of this on logan over the season, what if that bit of confidence is the difference between 15th and 17th. but like, in every race. obviously we don’t know how this season would go without this happening so this is like wild speculation. and i am PRAYING for spite to kick in and become a massive motivator here. like i get that williams isn’t responsible for logan’s headspace but. they do want to maximize their drivers’ performance, right? i personally am unsure that this is the way to do that

tldr a) why no spare chassis. that fuckin spreadsheet bruh. b) why talk all that talk to do this. like i can follow the logic of the decision! i really and truly can (especially remembering how non-points positions matter. whoops) but i don’t respect the going from oh we have full confidence to a blatant demonstration that they… don’t. c) i am sad

[alittlebitofloveliness]

3, 4, 7, 9 (outsiders asks)

EEEEE thanks for the ask anon!

3. Favourite character outside the main seven

Tim Shepard! I feel like Hinton threw mentions of him and Curly in there as a sort of foil to Darry and Ponyboy's dynamic but I have SOOOO many headcanons about him (and Curly and Angela too).

PS. The only reason I said Tim and not Angela is because she's not technically mentioned in the book. Angela is my favourite outsiders universe character ever and since theres not enough content for her I've decided I have to make my own lmao

4. Rank the main seven

OOF omg ok this was a hard one

First, Steve. Probably seems really random and unpopular but I feel like theres so much depth to his character that there just wasn't enough book to provide. We know he has a rough background and a soft spot for Sodapop and that Ponyboy's narration of him is biased since he thinks Steve doesn't like him. Tbh tho I think Steve really does care about Ponyboy in his own way, it's just hard for Ponyboy (and probably a lot of younger readers to see). My love of Steve was kind of an evolution but I can firmly say he's my favourite out of the gang atp.

Second, Darry. My man was a 20 y/o whose parent died who had to give up on his dreams to raise two younger brothers who he loved so much the feelings bled off the page. He NEVER should have hit ponyboy and it was such an out of character moment for him- AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE. I have a LOT of thoughts about him but as someone who has grown that I'm almost the same age as him I cant IMAGINE having gone through what he went through and dealt with it as well as he did. My man needs more recognition.

Third, Ponyboy. He's such a dumbass and a weirdo but so reltable and sarcastic and profound. He's a main character who never gets in the way of other main characters and he's so quintessentially 13 that reading his story when I was that age fundamentally altered my brain chemistry and I haven't been the same since.

Fourth, Johnny. He was the gangs favourite for a reason and such a good friend to Ponyboy. I feel like the fandom infantilizes him sometimes, which is partially due to Ponyboy's narration, but the book makes it clear he's a really tough kid who looks like trouble but isn't. He's such a prime example of how the lottery of birth can fuck up someone's life. He is so tragic to me because he never had a chance.

Fifth, Sodapop. I know he's a fan favourite and I'm not saying I don't like him, but he's just kind of...boring? imo. Like, not much there, and not as much depth as some of the other characters. maybe its because we see a lot more of him in Ponyboy's thoughts but I'm not curious about him the way I am about some of the others.

Sixth, Dally. He's not likeable- but he is, as johnny said, gallant. I know it was by design that he's mysterious but I wish we got more backstory for him. I've just never connected to him the way I connected to other characters.

Seventh, Two-Bit. Again, probably unpopular and I know he's a fandom favourite but to me his issues have always jumped out more than his redeeming qualities. His alcoholism is a hallmark of his character, and i think at one point Ponyboy mentions he's a dead weight on his family's finances. He also has a little sister that's Ponyboy's age thats mentioned like once? I just feel like he's kind of a deadbeat for his family if that makes sense.

7. Favourite non romantic relationships. i could (and probably should atp, whoops this got long) make a whole other post about this but:

darry and ponyboy's relationship

johnny and ponyboy's friendship

steve and sodapop's frienship

johnny and dally's relationship

9. Favourite scene/moment from the book?

When Ponyboy runs directly into Darry's arms as soon as he sees him at the hospital. Gets me right in the feels every time.

Bonus: the moment when that guy tells Ponyboy he shoudn't smoke and he's all confused, like why? theres not a no smoking sign? and the dude is just like uh? but youre a kid? it's just such a stark reminder that while Ponyboy has grown up sheltered in some ways he has absolutely not been in others and his background is really rough and agh it gets me every time its such a clever scene.

ANYWAY this got longer than i meant it to, whoops. Thanks ever so much for the ask :)

[avemstella]

so that archon quest, huh. Would be absolutely thrilled to hear what u have to say about fontaine act V :] i love all your takes on furina & neuvillette & fontaine as a whole, and of course childe [pretty much an honorary fontanian with how he unintentionally got wrapped up in everything whoops]

Oh boy, I have so many thoughts. To start with some non-spoilerly stuff: I loved it so much. I'm not sure if I'll say it's my favorite Archon Quest yet (I think I would have to go through some of the older ones), but I think it's safe to say Fontaine overall as an arc is my favorite. Even its weakest part (the prison stuff, tbh it was a pacing issue) was still really solid and the ending, while not perfect, really landed. Genshin continued the trend from Sumeru of having the playable characters really take the stage and god there were some great standouts (Navia/Neuvi/Furina to name my favs, but I also loved my fatui and there really isn't anyone I've disliked). And well, the quest (and Furina's chara quest) made me cry like a baby, so that's a win.

Tbh, I think my biggest issue, wasn't even really an issue with the story but just a case of I had a very clear idea of what I wanted out of it (the woes of writing speculative fic pfft) and when it wasn't that I'm like "awww darn". Thats on me, and I genuinely really loved what we got, but it do be like that sometimes haha.

Spoilers below, oh boy (also my Furina fic spoilers too lol).

Eldritch abomination Furina I'll mourn u forever. I can't complain because Furina splitting herself in two to go fuck u to the heavens is such a boss ass move I can't haha. Okay, but I will say, even if I'm probably the only one, I do wish they brought some Remuria stuff up in the main quest. They had the perfect set up with Ajax being there with his Greek myth references and just ahhhh, one can hope they do something with it later. But yes, just know it's my silly headcanon that Focalors just lied about being an Oceanid to Neuvi and is one of King Remus's fucked up Primordial Sea experiments that maybe caused the Abyss rift at the fall of Remuria.

But yes, Furina, Furina, I'm crying. She really destroyed the girl failure accusations in the most glorious way possible. She literally didn't fail once (either of her), she plotted out a plan to trick the heavens, give back what was stolen, and save her people and she did it perfectly. As you're probably well aware, I'm a big fuck u Celestia gal, so it was just so satisfying to see her just obliterate the throne (even when I was crying haha). And honestly, super relevant to the state of the real world, but her giving back sovereignty to Neuvi in my mind is a very clear decolonization metaphor. Ages past descenders came to Teyvat, killed the dragons and created their own order, and now Focalors is returning that power back to said dragon (or well, the dragon's heir, it's a bit vague if Neuvi's literally the old dragon's soul reincarnated or just the body).

The entire scene between Neuvi and Focalors was great, though I will admit I have one issue with it (and even then I go back and forth on it haha). Neuvi in that scene doesn't have a big attachment to Focalors. What I mean is that ultimately Neuvi only ever knew Furina (which side note I'll get into this next, but I do view them as the same person, but still), and with Focalors' 'death' he's not technically losing anything, the person he's sad over will still be there. Like don't get me wrong, he's very empathetic and can be sad over this person who is dying for them, but I feel like it could have been even more heartbreaking if he had met Furina/Focalors before the split, or he had interacted with Focalors somehow in the past, and so in this moment he wasn't just watching Furina's sacrifice, but the sacrifice of someone he shares memories with. But that's me being picky haha and not really a critique on the writing.

But yes, Furina! Focalors! As I previewed before, I'm going to come out swinging with a possibly hot take. They are, and always were the same person. Yes, Focalors is the divinity, but as we see after Furina is allowed to rest her persona, Furina is also super mature and knowledgeable. In Neuvi's flashback quotes of Furina, it's her softly giving important advice about living with humanity, which is what Focalors was all about. And much like Furina, Focalors loves preforming, she loves humans, she gets all excited about Furina and her future, and is sad she won't get to experience it.

Not to remotely downplay Furina's suffering (because holy shit my poor girl), but Focalors too played her role. Unlike Furina who had Neuvillette and all her friends post this, Focalors was all alone in the Oratrice, waiting for the day she had to kill herself. Furina, has the promise of a future, despite all the suffering she endured to get there. She gets the reward of a happy life as a human surrounded by people who love her, and while it was touch a go for a bit, she was told one day her play would end. In contrast, while Focalors didn't have the same anxiety that Furina had, Focalors knew from the beginning she would never get to see her people saved. Technically she, like Furina, didn't even know if it would even happen. She put her faith in Neuvillette to follow through, and while she had the utmost faith in him, she could never know for certain. But much like her mirror Furina, Focalors weighed her suffering over the people of Fontaine's, and never once faltered. Furina was willing to possibly kill herself via primordial seawater in order to keep up her ruse, whose to say Focalors wasn't the same. Smiling at Neuvillette until the last moment because she couldn't risk him interfering, hiding away her anxieties and sorrow, so he wouldn't look so sad. Furina's performance ended, Focalors' never will.

Focalors was so certain she couldn't be human, but as we see from the Oceanids it was totally possible. And even more vitally, we see from the other Archons it's possible. They might fumble around a bit (some more than others, looking at u Ei), but they are learning and immersing themselves with their people. While not an Archon, it's the same with Neuvillette. Focalors should have had the same opportunities as Furina and the rest (mostly because she is Furina), but the world isn't kind, and that's why her sacrifice hurts.

If u can't tell I have a lot of feelings about Focalors/Furina and while I can appreciate a joke about Focalors giving Furina anxiety, I'm also like, they are literally the same person working together, she deserves the world (all of her).

But yes, I can go on and on about Furina, but for now I'll move onto our boy Childe. To get it out of the way, a little disappointed that we really got no answers about him. Poor guy didn't really have any lines. Also, not big on Skirk's design, mostly the outfit. Putting her next to Dain and uh, yeah (like don't get me wrong don't mind the color scheme and all, but could she not have gotten some kind of armor. Or look more like Foul Legacy or something idk).

But onto more happier notes, I'm so happy to see Childe finally getting to do well in a fight. I know it's a meme for him to get beaten up, but my dude is the Vanguard, let him win sometimes (he doesn't technically win here, but he was fighting an eldritch whale monster for ages and helped save Fontaine, I'm giving it to him). And Skirk, while her design is mostly less to be desired, I'm winning on guessing her hair and eye color haha. Also, while I'll always love my version, I'm liking her personality so far. Her yeeting Childe, while I admit took me out a bit (I thought she threw him farther into the Abyss and was like, "uh guys, yall worried about my poor boy here???" and then was a bit baffled at them saying he was fine) was so fucking funny. It's cool to learn "Foul Legacy" refers to a literal person, and I found the fact that Skirk's relationship with Foul is basically the same as her relationship with Childe very amusing. And it seems she's Khaenri'ahn, maybe? Also, I thought she was listing off her master's other names at first, so when she said Gold I got super hyped that I guessed correctly about the narwhal being Rhine's in my fic, but then they were like nope pfft. I'll take it as a win.

Sidenote, Alice and Rhine where are yoooouuuuuu.

Ultimately, while I enjoyed the Childe and Skirk stuff, it really just feels like a set-up for later stuff. Which isn't really a problem, but I was hoping we'd get something a bit more concrete. Like, I thought we were going to get answers about the "it" that Skirk saw in him, and it would have to do with the Narwhal, but now it seems those were mostly unrelated??? While I did find baby Ajax accidentally waking up a big world eating monster up kind of hilarious, it did feel a little incidental, if that makes any sense. Like, Fontaine's doom was an accident and not the result of anyone's choices. But that might just be a me thing. (and the quest needed more Arle, where was she??? my not really based on anything theory is that whenever we get Furina (or maybe Nevui's) 2nd character quest, Arle will be the boss fight. A reverse of the normal final Harb boss fight during the Archon quest)

Okay, because I really don't want to end on a downer (as I said uptop, I genuinely adored this quest haha), here are some minor spoilers from the Narzissenkreuz Ordo quest that have me by a chokehold.

I wasn't ready for a sudden Ajax. What does this mean??????

And this one just makes me laugh. Whichever Ordo member wrote this, I vehemently disagree with u and am on Khaenri'ah's side with this one. I'd much rather have bread then some higher power nonsense. In my fic I tend to write Khaenri'ah more akin to a modern nation than a fantasy one, and its nice to see me vindicated pfft.

Other random notes, enjoyed that the Fatui weren't just cartoonishly evil in both the main and world quests. I like some nuance. I saw that Sandrone hint, that was fun. Though it makes me wonder when we'll get Columbina lore (especially because if the theory about Harbinger boss fight order based on the Constellation circle is true, she should be showing up soon. Though also I half think that order will break because if it doesn't, it means Sandrone will probably be the final Harb boss which is an odd choice.) As revealed on Furina's weapon, Egeria being around during Remuria raises so many questions around the timeline of events. Genshin pls tell me when the Archon war takes place in all this pls (if they tell us in some lore I haven't read yet, whoops). (also on egeria, I mourn my version but hey, she exists in my heart and in my fics pfft. I can't wait to write her in smfwtwd and venti fic, though she's getting a new name for confusion and better symbolsism)

the contrast between Neuvi and Furina after the quest is so funny and sad. Neuvi "Furina is the best, I want her to be happy". Furina, "Everyone hates me, Neuvillette most of all, I can never face him again." And the other Archons, they are all like Furina, wow u are so cool (which just highlights Neuvi's utter disdain for them other than Nahida haha).

And most vitally, Furina and Venti should be best friends. Musically inclined performers who definitely aren't plotting to overthrow the heavens. I think they are neat (they also both have Latin names!).