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#i also played through the base game for the first time in technically years?? i remember struggling back in like 2020 lmao
mochiiniko · 26 days
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redrew some fanart from around 2021 under the cut bc the update snatched me </3
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THEME PARK HEADCANNONS WITH MIGUEL 💕 💕💕
Based off this post lol
Being completely self indulgent with this one lol. I also think it would be funny if they went to a 6 flags park cuz it’s DC property, lol anyway. Not proofread, no smut but slightly suggestive in one part.
Word count: 800
Masterlist
✭He remembered how once you made an off handed comment about loving roller coasters and flat rides when you two had first begun dating, and since summer was just around the corner he wanted to surprise you with two tickets to the nearest Six Flags in a state over, wanting to make a whole day out of it, because he’s just a sweet boyfriend like that.
✭He himself hadn’t gone to one since he was in high school before he had his late growth spurt, so he didn’t realize until it was already too late that he was too big for 99% of the rides.
✭It hadn’t occurred to you both right away, you were both waiting in line for a coaster, Batman the ride to be more specific. You both finally got to the front of line after about 40 minutes of waiting, Miguel hugging you from behind as you waited like a stereotypical couple. (When you were single, you despised those couples but here you are now) he wasn't even able to take two steps from the gate until an employee came up to you both. Saying that Miguel was too tall to sit comfortably in the seats and even if he was a few inches shorter, the over-the-shoulders restraints wouldn’t click because of how built his shoulders and chest were.
✭He was a bit upset, the day had barely started and he was already being turned away because of something he had technically no control over. But he didn’t want it to affect the date. So he just walked through the loading station and just waited there. You had initially told him that you weren’t going to get on it if he couldn’t, but he said that you should just ride without him.
✭“You had already waited the 40 minutes muñeca, just go, It’s fine.” He had told you, but he started to regret his words just a tad bit when the ride attendant had sat a group of three college guys next to you. He had to watch silently as the one next to you tried to make conversation. You were always too nice to not engage, and weren’t very good at reading signs when someone was flirting with you.
✭When you finally finish the ride, your face is all flushed , and you're all giggly from the adrenaline pumping in your veins. Miguel made sure that the guy next to you knew you were off limits, pulling you close by your waist and capturing your lips into a wet kiss as you giggled into it. Not noticing the way your boyfriend was glaring daggers at the guy who sat next to you.
✭You were a lot more optimistic than Mig was about being able to get to ride at least one thing with him. But the more times he got denied the more bitter he became, you had to take a break from the rides after one of the works we’re getting “too handsy” with you (he was checking your lap restraint) so as to make sure he didn’t throw it down with a 16 year old worker (it was almost funny how jealous he got at times).
✭If there was anything Miguel could do though, was to win you something at the games. Specifically , one of those gigantic teddy bears you have to hold with both arms.
✭You’ve never wanted to jump his bones more than when he was playing one of those water shooting games with a little boy, and had “accidentally “ missed during the first few seconds so the kid could win the last pikachu stuffy. Admitting to him when you both shared a funnel cake later that you’ve never wanted to make him a dad more than in that moment.
✭And he swears to himself that he’ll keep those words in mind next time you try to reach for the condoms in his dresser drawer.
✭Miguel was sure he wouldn’t be allowed on 99% of the rides, but there was, thankfully, a ride he could go on. The Farris wheel.
✭You both were able to get on just after the sky turned dark, and all the fun neon lights from some of the other rides lit up with perfect lighting as you boarded.
✭You were in awe at all the lights and the sights from atop of the wheel, taking a picture to post on your insta story with 3005 from childish Gambino later. Not even noticing Miguel’s starry-eyed look at you, matching the one you had.
✭Once you two stopped at the top, Miguel couldn’t help but seize the opportunity to be cheesy, and leaned in until his lips connected with yours.
Taglist: @famouscattale @strawberryjuice9 @loser-alert @maomaimao @franceseca-the-1st
@mcmiracles @mangoslushcrush @queerponcho @yournextbimbogf @tinybirdhideout
@reader-1290 @laysmt @migueloharasoulmate @fruityfucker @pigeonmama
@scaryplanetdestroyer @migueloharastruelove @genny1019 @maiyart @stressed-cherry
@haveclayeveryday @krentkova19
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sansundertale14x1 · 3 months
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why NauseAxe_404 loves your writing so much…
based on this silly tweet, I’m gonna use ‘Nick’ for this- for ease of writing (and for my poor poor hands.)
no pronouns but ‘you’- little post cuz I haven’t written in a while.- use of the in-game website: "Dumblr", no it's not a typo;-; Proshippers DNI
word count: 878
content warning: brief explanations of canon violence, creepy stalker-ish behavior (NOTHING SEXUAL ATTACHED), Nick being a weirdo honestly.
vvv that isn't my art, and this entire writing is a fanfic for a game " Monster x Mediator" made by HeadLocker! I really recommend playing the game or watching the gameplay, cuz it's really fantastic!
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Story under cut :3
Nick’s in love with your writing…(if you already couldn’t tell), but it’s difficult for you to understand why.
Usually, when you'd open up your laptop, it was after a tough shift at your crap job and you just wanted to do something to fill in the time after dinner and before bed. It was always on the shorter side, 100 words each, and was normally just a quick and crappy self-insert fic to satisfy your creative urges from doing a boring-ass job all day. You never really thought your tiny one-shots would attract any attention, but the man you've been staying with proves otherwise.
"NauseAxe_404" is what he called himself, but you've just been calling him 'Nick' for now. He had been reading your old Dumblr blog for who knows how long, and he's taken a major interest in your little shitposts...So much, so that he had taken the time to print out every single one of your posts and personal information pinned to his room's walls. It's extremely creepy...but also sort of charming?
For the last few days or so, you've been held in Nick's hotel room, practically glued to a desk with a typewriter...slowly making your way through a 100-paged fic that he specifically requested of you. Though you technically could stand up and leave...you'd really prefer for your skull to stay in one piece...and not have a bullet put through your temple.
Nick has been staring at you almost the entire time...which only certified in your mind that he is not human. Every time you turn to see if he's still there...like an unmoving fortress, he always is. It's been a solid 8+ hours of you sitting there and writing...and your stomach starts to emit loud sounds of hunger. You pray he didn't hear that, and continue to type away at the dated machine. However, to your dismay, his deep voice chimes in.
"...What page are you on...?"
Nick asks, seemingly trying to speak quietly for you, but his naturally booming voice isn't giving you any favors.
"...uhm..."
You take a moment to review what you have done...it doesn't look like much but it feels like it took AGES to write out...
"About...10? It's not a-"
"That's wonderful, Superstar!"
He cuts you off just as you begin to speak.
Of course, he's going to be ecstatic. You can't fathom why he seems to be so hopelessly in love with whatever you slap on the paper. You're curious..so you begin to speak.
"...uhm...Nick...why do you..take interest in my writing?"
You softly speak, trying to be careful with your words...you can't afford to overstimulate this man.
For a chatty guy...Nick was oddly silent at the ask of this question…or at least for a few seconds.
“I was trying to find a way to ease the boredom and loneliness of this fucking hotel, so…huff…I joined Dumblr and started to search for writing…that was…huff….purposeful…and that could fix me..”
No way in hell your crackfics could change this man...He must've come out of the womb like that. (or...however the hell he was made..)
"...I came across your first post years ago..huff...and fell in love with the way you wrote your love interest....huff...I knew you were talking about me when I wrote all those comments~"
You never looked at comments due to embarrassment...and you honestly didn't think anyone would even care to comment in the first place.
"....you weren't responding to me...huff...so I might've found everything about you in the meantime...huff...just so I could notice you in a crowd...I always will~"
Okay, now it's getting creepy. You hope that by just turning back around and continuing to write maybe he'd shut up...You guess it's sorta your fault for striking up a conversation with the creep.
"All the other writers don't know shit about writing...huff...1k word counts...huff...long and complicated stories that don't make any fucking sense..."
There goes the rambles. You stop typing for a moment to process what the hell he just said. He either is really balls-deep into this fantasy of you being a perfect human...or he's just trying to fluff you up so you'll continue writing for him. He's really delusional, that's it. It's seriously hard to believe your crap was life-changing for Nick.
“Simplicity is the most important part…huff…not describing some stupid walk sequence for 3 sentences…huff…it’s a waste of space..”
"....maybe you just like simpler writing...?"
You softly reply, yet again praying that you didn't accidentally strike a chord with this guy. He stares you down, and even if you aren't looking back at him, you can still feel the burning of his eyes on the back of your head.
"That's possible."
Oh, it's highly probable. He gets so emotional over the tiniest bit of anything, so...He just doesn't need too many words to evoke a reaction...It checks out because you also like to write a straight-to-the-point sorta piece.
"but don't let your mind wander for...huff...too long...my superstar...you've got at least 90+ pages to go~"
Shit, he was right...time to get back to work.
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cactikiki · 4 months
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Name your headcsnons about our boi Kieran (Apologies if you have done this already)
I HAVE SO MANY. this is probably a fraction of my headcanons honestly but I don't remember them all lmao. HERE WE GO!
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Kieran
• he has anxiety, the tism™️ and BPD (twinning 🤝)
• stims include tapping his foot, rocking his hand to the side of him, bouncing his leg (or foot) when sat down. He also has vocal stims, which usually come from tunes or phrases he hears; wowzers is one of them!
• playing with his hair is a big stim. He ruffles it, pulls at it, twirls it, strokes it, runs his hands through it, etc. He likes how his hair feels and that's why so many of his stims involve it :]
• he often mutters to himself, whispering his inner thought processes
• his parents left years ago. He has no idea where they went, only knows that they didn't care about their kids. When he was young he was told they'd died, to 'protect' him. You'd think Carmine and the grandparents would've learned from that incident during teal mask, huh? (This is also the case for villain!Kieran, but normal Kieran would likely avoid ever meeting his parents)
• he is terrible at video games. Still, he likes playing them on occasion; definitely more of a 'cosy game' enjoyer with a biiiiit of threat. He'd play Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Terraria for example
• he's short right now– shortest of the friend group– but he'll eventually be pretty tall when he's 17. Shorter than Nemona and Arven at that age, but still tall enough that it shocks people at first
• chocolate wafer bars are his comfort food!
• his grandma taught him how to cook, while his grandpa taught him how to make tea and to knit.
• despite the above, he's not very good at cooking... he burns things. A lot.
• during his emoism™️ he would kick things, punch things, slam things etc and every time, he'd act cool about it until he was out of the room. Then he lets out a little owie or a hiss of pain </3
• started cursing more the moment his hair was tied up. He was convinced it made him sound more mature. Even after everything's said and done and he's doing better mentally + friends with Florian and co again, he can't quite shake the habit and curses every so often in conversation
• resting bitch face + talks in a 'moody' quiet voice a lot, leading people to think he's annoyed when he's actually feeling neutral or even happy
• if cat person vs dog person exists in the Pokémon universe, Kieran’s a cat person. I guess this means he likes Pokémon that are more like cats, whether they actually are cats or not
• he likes flowers a lot. That's it that's the headcanon. I think he'd like sketching them and studying them, maybe his original pokémon team and the open fields of Kitakami made him interested? And, funnily enough, his crush's name means blossoming, flourishing flower....
• he still stays up late and sometimes doesn't sleep at all, but this is much rarer now. Normally it's because he has a good(-ish) reason not to sleep– at least, that's what he says.
• applin was his first Pokémon!
• when he traded Florian an applin, Florian traded back a shiny applin. He actually started this search right after he left Kitakami, and found it a week before heading to Blueberry; he was prepared and wanted a good way to apologise. Of course, he didn't expect what'd happened with Kieran.
• Florian has a shiny furret. It was on his team when he fought Kieran and won; after Kieran boxed his own for being too weak. Ouch.... (based on the fact I had furret as one of my last pokemon when his ace went down </3) this is technically a Florian hc but!! It made Kieran rethink a little, later on. It was also extremely devastating at the time
• Kieran naturally gets really good at battling. He could 100% be part of the elite four or even the champion when he's older, even with him slowing down and doing battles just for fun
• Kieran doesn't always enjoy physical touch, but he's also pretty touch starved. He likes hugs and anything gentle, and usually only from people he knows well
Feel free to ask for more headcanons about him or candyapple etc in future, I love doing these posts!
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songoftrillium · 6 months
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Meet The (Updated) Writing Team
Hello Kinfolks! These last two months have been quiet for y'all in terms of updates, but BUSY in terms of the work being done by the sept of contributors to this project!
At the start of October I put out the call for help, saying that this project cannot succeed without the help and support of the Werewolf fandom. I'm happy to report that you as a fandom have responded phenomenally, and production on this series is now underway! These last few months have been dedicated to recruiting team members, and researching our book framework. We've about filled in the main core of the team, and have already gotten started writing Book 1: Cliath!
October through November has been dedicated entirely to research, both putting together a collection of citations we'll be using in this first book, and passing out initial writing assignments. This list is sure to grow in time, but for now we have plenty of work to do!
With that all said, I'd like to introduce you to the team that are showcasing the Gaians.
Amy Waller (she/her)
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Ms. Waller is a freelance writer and massage therapist based in not-quite Northern Virginia, and is a contributor to D.W.A.R.V.S. . Werewolf the Apocalypse was her first RPG, and she loves the themes of shapechanging as self-actualization and of trying to balance instinct and wisdom.
Amy has joined the team to depict the journals of Cryptobiologist Esme "Leaping Ghost".
Bek Andrew Evans (He/They)
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Mx. Evans is a freelance writer and illustrator from Jackson, Mississippi. He explores themes of mental illness, disability, abuse, poverty, queer themes and the intersection of these statuses. He uses body and psychological horror, meticulous attention to medical details, and deep character dives as some of his favorite methods to achieve those goals.
Bek has been indispensible in book research, and will be taking his experience with M20 Sorcerer and writing for the Hearthbound, and fictitious news article citations.
Evie Emerson Smith (She/It)
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Evie is a programmer and designer of video games living with her pack in Pittsburgh, PA. She uses primarily anthropomorphic characters to tell stories about identity, queerness, and the power of community.
She has joined the team as a technical writer, and contributor to the opening comic: Cracking The Bone
Excelgarou (She/Her)
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She's been described as a Werewolf: The Apocalypse academic, and wears this title proudly. She labors at all hours on resources for Werewolf fans - particularly as regards aggregating otherwise obscure information - such as the Build-a-Veteran tool or (especially) the Werewolf Index Project.
Excelgarou is our lead researcher, ensuring our book citations and narrative voices remain consistent through all editions. She has also been conscripted to write the introductory passage on the World of Darkness, and to redraft the Children of Gaia.
James E. Deeley (He/Him)
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Jim has been playing, running, and writing for tabletop roleplaying games since he was first introduced to them over twenty years ago. Jim has presented on the subject of writing for games since 2010, and has been contracted to write mechanics and to do character design by the likes of High Level Games, Lostlorn Games, and Renegade Game Studios, but is equally skilled at writing lore and narrative, skills honed over two decades of running roleplaying games and medieval studies, lending a deep historical context to his writings.
Jim will write the Western Concordat, showcasing the Silver Fangs, Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Glass Walkers.
J.F. Sambrano (They/He)
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J. F. Sambrano is an author of horror and (urban/dark/depressing?) fantasy and an advocate for indigenous rights. He lives in Washington (the state) and is originally from Los Angeles (the city); the differences are staggering but the ocean and the I-5 are the same. He is Chiricahua Apache (Ndeh) and Cora Indian (Náayarite). He may or may not be a believer/practitioner of real world magic. If he were, he would not be interested in your hippy-dippy, crystal swinging, dream-catcher slinging garbage.But magic is real, let’s not fuck around.
Beloved Indigenous World of Darkness author J.F. Sambrano is joining our team to depict the Bastet in the Dawn Tribes! A friend and frequent topic of discussion on this blog, we are honored to have him on the team to bring the Werewolf: the Apocalypse he's long-felt the world deserves to life!
LeeKat (She/Her)
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Lee is a freelance artist, writer, and English teacher based in Brazil. The bulk of her content is furry, homoerotic, and TTRPG-centric works. Her writing focuses on exploring the depths of emotion with tales of self-discovery, queerness, and finding hope in a desolate world.
A huge lover of Werewolf, themes of generational trauma and rediscovering oneself in a world of turmoil resonated deeply, as well as themes of spirituality and ancestry. Writing for this project, she hopes to bring others the same catharsis she felt through exploring the books and their many themes.
Mórag (it/its)
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Mòrag is a writer and botanist from Te Wai Pounamu. It writes both botanical articles and horror stories, the former to raise awareness of ecological issues and the latter to explore what it means to be human, represent trans and autistic experiences, and addiction. It's horror writing is best recognized for its use of visceral first-person perspectives, body horror, and the grotesque. It is influenced heavily by works such as the Hellraiser films and the philosophies of Georges Bataille.
It has joined our team to write the story portions of the Song of Trillium, showcasing the legend of Tawatuy.
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riddles-n-games · 4 months
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If anyone watched Liv and Maddie, do you remember the episode where the girls and their brothers have a competition of  who could eat the most disgusting leftovers found in the fridge aka Refrigerator Roulette? Well, anyways, I was thinking about it, given the fact that there’s four siblings who have  competitive streaks, I immediately was like, why does that sound familiar and who do I know like that? Well, who do we know ladies? That’s when it hit me; in TIG, we have the Hawthorne brothers who are notorious for their competitions because they were raised on games and pitted against each other constantly and conveniently, there’s four of them, too. So, here’s another childhood thing they did but when the kitchen was empty.
Like with Liv and Maddie and their brothers, they split into groups of two and the spin on this here is that the boys would go through a cycle of who they teamed up with; oldest vs youngest (Nash and Gray v. Jamie and Xander), middles vs youngest and oldest (Gray and Jamie v. Xander and Nash), and favorite sibling duo (Nash and Jamie v. Gray and Xander). Now, the ironic thing is that many times Grayson and Jameson got paired together but halfway through the competition they would start competing against each other to see who would last in the more disgusting leftover rounds. By then, Nash would be clutching the Bowl of Shame with clammy hands as he watched for signs of hurling to come from either (Gray would usually succumb first). 
They would have categories like lunch from last week, dinner frozen at the last second after staying out too long, Mrs. Laughlin’s insufferables, worst desserts from a gala etc. However, that also didn’t just involve leftovers but the extremes would be set based on what kind of food it was.  Oh, and even though technically I’m sure leftovers are very unlikely an occurrence at the Hawthorne House, usually Jameson or Xander purposefully saved them in a hidden part of the fridge for this exact game. 
Now, the way this became another household ritual for the boys is that Nash actually initiated this (sort of) when he was trying to get his younger brothers to finish their meals. Each one would have trouble eating something because they didn’t like a certain food; Jameson disliked peas, Xander hated most greens and advocated strongly against them, and Grayson (yes, even him) wasn’t the biggest fan of eggs (now he loves them and dines on them like he never disliked the classic all American breakfast). To get around this, Nash made a game where if they ate their remainders, they would get a prize (cookies) or they could forfeit and one of the others could finish for them and get two cookies instead. Of course, the boys took this as well as their competitive egos could take and it was going well,  working  for two straight years, surprising. But low and behold how quickly that backfired on him because Jameson and Grayson hated to lose to each other and so they got really competitive. Eventually, the game evolved into what it is now and every time, Jameson or Xander adds a new twist to it, especially if they’re playing Drink or Dare, that’s when things get real crazy.
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fainthedcherry · 1 month
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When I was a child in 2013, visiting Nickelodeon's site and finding a treasure-trove of Spongebob, Winx and TMNT flash games was like magic to me. BUT MAN. The TMNT flash games are one of the best ever to me I've played in my life. (on an aesthetic stand-point! Turtle Tactics and Dark Horizons are so awesome man, legendary flash games to me.)
Since I am utterly autistic about 4 green alien turtles and their rat dad...Here we are again. With me posting OC cringe 2016 me would've killed myself over :V (cry about it 11 yo/ me, afraid of cringe culture back then, it's DEAD NOW)
Gonna sneak-post my redo of that ancient drawing I did of Alex 2 years ago, for the base-post : D
2 years ago, I used flashpoint to replay it for the first time in years and I remember crying of glee LOL (I still play Dark Horizons and turtle tactis to this day btw). I played Dark Horizons and Turtle Tactics and also TMNT: Throw Back (NO I DID NOT NAME THIS LIKE A MEME THIS IS ITS NAME. I STILL BURST INTO LAUGHTER LIKE A CHILD OVER THE NAME AGING POORLY DUE TO INTERNET LINGO)
Those 2 flash games are just so...Technically advanced?? For its time?? LIKE A FULLY FLEDGED 3D FLASH GAME WITH UNITY ENGINE BASIS? DAMN. And then Dark Horizons? CHEF'S KISS I LOVE THAT GAME SO MUCH. AESTHETICALLY AND THE COMBAT FEELS RLLY NICE TO ME IMO, AND JUST...Everything about THAT flash game, god TIMELESS CLASSIC I COULD YAP ON FOR HOURS ABOUT THIS NO JOKE.
I am enthralled by the designs and art of Dark Horizons, it's why I made this drawing. The game just..Speaks to me on so many levels. IT'S JUST SO PLEASING TO SEE ALL THE ARTWORK I EXTRACTED. As far to my knowledge- it never got released, so I might make a post of just a few favourites I liked from the game. :D
I just wonder if I can post those in the first place, it's after all, not my artwork, from a flash game, and TMNT, so yeah, legal IP and stuff. I unfortunately don't know who the artist if of the flash games, but if I can find that out via googling or digging for credits in the game or the files, I'll see if I can credit them, so that posting will be fairly accredited!!
OH YEAH RIGHT ALSO QUICK BANTER ABT ART SORRY I AM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THOSE FLASH GAMES AS YOU CAN TELL,,,
I studied the in-game sprites for a good few hours back then, and did my best to replicate it to the best of my abilities!! I think Mushu maybe could've been done better looking back at it, but I think it was the best that I could do back then. :D Plus, I remember being really happy, excited and proud of this piece, as it reflected something, my childhood self always wanted: For Alex to like.."fake" being an official character LOL. I had sooo many dreams where Alex was hanging out with the turtles and Ninjago and throwing in Power Rangers for good measure, just...Everything I liked as a child, I somehow connected in my dreams via either "OH YEAH THE RAINBOW FAIRY!" or "OH YEAH SUDDENLY PORTAL AND MY MARY-SUES JUST BRAVE IT WHILST THE OFFICIAL CHARACTERS DRAMATICALLY TELL THEM NOT TO GO"
^I had vivid and....Creative dreams as a child to say the least, sometimes even Darth Vader and Eggman appeared as the bad guys, despite TMNT and Power Rangers and Ninjago w/ the snakes and lord Garmadon or however you spell him (I never checked + I'm German so ofc his name might be different in english)- I- do I have to go on about the dreams I FULLY remember I had, as a 6-9 yo/, until I told myself at 10 how embarassing my dreams are and stopped doing so? I DIGRESS. I..Need to be more professional in these, instead of such pure fandom trash oml, I feel bad for whoever actually has to read through my blatant autistic interests as a child and thinking "wtf is he on about" dfgklfdg
ANYWAY NEKST POST IS THE BASE. I SWEAR. SORRY I LOVE RAMBLING
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ordon-shield · 11 months
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Animated Zelda Adaptions
With recent discussion of an animated Zelda film to follow the Mario movie, I got to thinking about ways to adapt different Zelda games into animation. While a Zelda movie wouldn’t necessarily need to be an adaption of a specific game, with the variety of styles the series has gone through over the years, they’d need to pick one to go with — so here’s my thoughts.
Zelda 1/Adventure of Link/A Link to the Past/Link’s Awakening
I’m putting these four together because I think they could all be adapted into animation the same way — based of the original official art, in the style of an 80s cartoon (just with a bit more of a budget). Each game could be a season of a TV show, expanding on the somewhat limited plot by making it episodic and using the extra time to expand on the characters and world within that format.
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Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask
For these two, I think stopmotion in the style of Laika (known for Coraline & Kubo and the Two Strings) would work the best (or using 3D stylised to resemble stopmotion, like the Lego Movie). The OoT style doesn’t seem like one that would translate to 2D very well, and I think it would be fun to borrow some ideas from the Link’s Awakening remake for the Switch and have the character designs stylised so they look almost like action figures. While Ocarina of Time would have to be a movie, Majora’s Mask just wouldn’t work in that format, since the sidequests are so vital to the overall story, meaning a one season series would probably be the best way to adapt it.
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Oracle of Ages/Seasons
I’ve never played these two myself, but I think going more ‘anime’ with them would work well, although it would be fun to work in the pixel art of the original games somehow. Like the other Downfall Timeline games, these ones would would work best as a TV series — maybe three seasons, one for Ages, one for Seasons, and one for the linked games ending but adding in extra story where Link travels between Holodrum and Labrynna. For an animation studio, someone suggested Toei Animation, who apparently did the animation for the LA remake.
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Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks
Wind Waker, the one that got me thinking about animated Zelda in the first place! I think this is the only Zelda game that would work with Illumination due to its more cartoony style, although other studios like DreamWorks would also work. Although if it was done in 2D, based on the official art, Cartoon Saloon would definitely pull it off. Wind Waker would work pretty well as a movie with pretty minimal changes needed to the plot, and Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks could make up a Zelda trilogy.
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Minish Cap/Four Swords Adventures
Leaving out the original Four Swords due to its complete lack of story — I think these two would work with a similar style to the Wind Waker trilogy, although I’d definitely prefer them to be 2D over 3D. Minish Cap would definitely work as a movie, but I’m not sure about FSA, it probably depends on how much is pulled from the manga.
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Twilight Princess
Much like Ocarina of Time, I don’t think the Twilight Princess artstyle as it is would work in 2D. Based on their work like Wolfwalkers and Screecher’s Reach, I think Cartoon Saloon could definitely replicate the vibes of the original game in a more cartoony style. Alternatively, they could go full anime with this one — although it would definitely work better as something more inspired by 90s anime and its more realistic proportions.
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Skyward Sword
Initially I was leaning towards Ghibli and while it would definitely work, just doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe Toei again? I’m not too familiar with Japanese animation studios, but Skyward Sword is definitely a good fit for the typical ‘anime’ look. Also I don’t think 3D would work here.
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A Link Between Worlds
While technically a sequel/remake to A Link to the Past, the differences in art style make me feel that this one should have its own look — preferably 3D so the contrast with Link’s painting form is strengthened.
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Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom
These ones have got to be Ghibli, there’s no question about it there. The big question is do you make them each a series, or a movie with a number of timeskips? Either one has benefits and downsides.
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polwigle · 4 months
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hello and welcome to another episode of Shi Has Strong Opinions on Niche Canon with Citable Sources, this time focusing on something that technically isn't canon one way or the other — my preferred fan-transliterated name for Raven's hometown in Tales of Vesperia, which is never referred to by name in any officially translated material.
anyway it's spelled Pharihyde and in this essay I will die on this hill
Context
In case you clicked the read-more with no stake in this game just because you want to see me being pedantic, let me recap the relevant facts of the argument:
Raven's backstory is never fully explained in the base game, but it was elaborated on in official side materials. The same story, titled 虚空の仮面 (Kokuu no Kamen, commonly translated as Empty Mask), was released in multiple formats: light novel[1], manga[2], and drama CD[3]. None of these have ever been officially translated, but fans have made their own attempts at each over the years.
The town in question here does not appear in the original game, due to having been obliterated during the prequel events. It's also never mentioned by name in the drama CD, leaving only two sources for a name: the light novel and the manga.
Officially, it is named ファリハイド (Farihaido).
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The first translation the English-speaking fandom ever saw of any Kokuu no Kamen material was when one fan (whose identity was regrettably lost to time) took a stab at summarizing the light novels, not long after they were first published back in 2010. This fan transliterated the town's name as Pharihyde.
Tumblr user dokidokimaster was commissioned to finally translate the manga in 2015. In this translation, the town was spelled Farryheid.
By the time the manga was being translated, the web page that hosted the light novel summary had tragically gone down. Luckily, I was active enough in the fandom at the time to have had the link to the light novel bookmarked, so I was able to find an archive via the blessed Wayback Machine, but I can't fault dokidokimaster for the inconsistencies.
tl;dr of section: OG town name is ファリハイド; LN calls it Pharihyde; manga calls it Farryheid. Rest of essay is about why me preferring the name that came first isn't just me being a cranky fandom elder I swear
It's About The World It's In
In the world of Terca Lumireis, on the continent of Ilyccia, somewhere far from the capital city, Zaphias, there was once a town called... Farryheid? No, Pharihyde. The latter fits better with the precedents set by the official names around it, and I will literally break it down letter by differing letter to prove it!
'Ph' vs 'F'
Among officially transliterated locations and other "made-up" names in Tales of Vesperia, there are 3 that include 'ph' to represent an 'f' sound (Zaphias, Zopheir, Phaeroh). Only a single name uses an actual 'f' for that sound (Ghasfarost), and it also still has an 'h' as the second letter in the word.
Single vs. Double 'R'
After a ctrl+F pass through the entire list of location names in this game[4], not a single one contains the substring 'rr'. Only one R at a time in Terca Lumireis!
Vowel Choice and Lexical Stress
So, English has this neat little feature where some syllables in a word get more emphasis than others! And that plays heavily into this section, because 'i' and 'y' can sound identical when using 'y' as a vowel, but the existing place names stress them differently.
Now, as the Drama CD doesn't give us a spoken example of ファリハイド to work from (and Japanese doesn't do stress the way English does anyway), where the stress goes in either "Pharihyde" or "Farryheid" is technically unconfirmed... But my default reading is with primary stress on the first syllable, and secondary stress on the last (FAR-ee-hide).
In the precedent-setting place names, based on the English dub of the 360 version*, a lone 'i' is seen unstressed in at least 16 distinct names, including the ones I referenced in my intro scene-setting sentence (ZA-phi-as, TER-ca LU-mi-reis). To my knowledge, lone 'i' is never pronounced with stress in dialogue (and potentially appears only once, in the plot-irrelevant Niffel Lake).
In contrast, whenever 'y' is used as any kind of vowel, it always gets at least secondary stress, as in Hypionia (high-pee-O-nee-ah) and Rhybgaro (RIB-ga-ro). Thus, "Pharihyde" using an 'i' for the middle vowel and a 'y' for the last one lines up with established precedent.
Also, the double vowel 'ei' is consistently and exclusively used to represent an 'ay' sound, as in "day", not as in "hide"! Deidon Hold, Keiv Moc, and again Zopheir and Terca Lumireis — none of these 'ei's sound the way "Farryheid" wants you to pronounce it!
Silent 'e'
I did say I'd break down every different letter between "Pharihyde" and "Farryheid", but this last one's not for flavour, it's just to get the 'y' to act as the right kind of vowel sound. Just a normal feature of English pronunciation rules here (though not entirely without precedent: Halure, Relewiese, Laulyse). Sorry to go out with a whimper ^^;;
Conclusion
The base content of Tales of Vesperia sets up some implied rules about how its made-up-for-the-game words function. "Farryheid" may be a perfectly reasonable transliteration of ファリハイド in a vacuum, but "Pharihyde" follows the rules of the setting, literally to the letter!
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
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*Footnote about the pronunciation thing: the new voice lines added in the Definitive Edition of the game pronounce some place names inconsistently. I can only assume that by the time they recorded the new lines, a decade after the original ones, they forgot how some pronunciations worked and didn't check their old work... :/
References
(bc it's not an essay without citations!)
[1] Light novel summary (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20110806003312/http://www.fancomic.com:80/vesperia/resources/raven/emptymask.htm [2] Manga translation: https://dokidokimaster.tumblr.com/tagged/kokuu+no+kamen/chrono [3] Drama CD translation, for completion's sake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHEDJ_D4tyI [4] List of in-game place names: https://hyouta.com/vesperia/?version=pc&locale=eng&compare=2&section=locations
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Species Highlight - Ternaki
It is time to talk about the technicolor space elves. The Ternaki aren't technically elves because elves don't exist. How dare you have fun. But boy do they come in a lot of different colors! They also happen to be immortal.
So here's the process behind making the Ternaki, and what their lore and history currently looks like.
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The Ternaki started with a pretty simple idea. "What would an immortal species actually do culturally?" The answer, of course, is not singular. But I wanted to see what interesting things I could come up with for a species that has nothing but time. How would they think and view the world? How would that worldview change as they got older? How differently would a 100 year old think from a million year old individual? Of course there are a million other questions that follow this same course of reasoning.
One of the first things I decided to include was war scrimmages. That probably sounds weird, but I will explain. War scrimmages are a sport for the Ternaki, treated the same way that one might treat paintball if it were as big as football or soccer. They have four innings that last 25 years each, with the victor declared at the end of the 100 year game by tallying points. Generally, taking towns gives you a decent amount of points. Battles are scheduled ahead of time, and for a town to be the site of one of these scrimmages is a time of celebration. Their war scrimmages are non-lethal, and their generals are some of the most prominent celebrities among the Ternaki; particularly if they consistently find creative ways to outwit their opponents.
The second thing I decided to include was a sacred view of life. The Ternaki generally believe that life should be preserved whenever possible, that the death of a Ternaki is a tragedy, and the death of someone who isn't immortal even more so because they had so little time to begin with.
From here, I set out to make the idea of life being sacred the core philosophy behind the rest of the culture. I also decided that I wanted Ternaki to be unfathomably old sometimes so I could play with some fun ideas about how those old Ternaki think. As a result, they did not evolve on the planet Patek, but rather, on Ternak. Ternak is another planet (and god) that was destroyed when Ternak's star went supernova over a billion years ago. This was such a significant event that their language has different tenses based on whether something predates the death of Ternak.
Ternak, unlike Patek, cared for the sapient creatures on his surface and saw them as his children. The first Ternaki prophets were simply Ternak's friends, who walked and talked with his avatar on the surface of the planet. Ternak did his best to teach them the sacredness of life, because he had seen much of it extinguished in the last age of the universe. He also gave the Ternaki the gift of immortality, saying "You will not fully know me until you see the last stars in the universe blink into nothingness as I have." Once the Ternaki were able to leave the planet, Ternak saw his duty to teach them as done and allowed them to leave the nest. He cut off communication with his children until the star he was taking care of was in its last days, billions of years later. The Ternaki, having at this point spread out through the galaxy, came back on their huge city-ships to witness the last moments of their god. The Ternak system filled with them, and Ternak sent out a message, simply saying "thank you." Legend tells that Ternak also sent an avatar to his closest friend during the congregation, though what he may have said to them is not known.
The Ternaki of Patek
A spaceship 20 kilometers long looms in the Patek system. Inside, a Ternaki woman calls over her colleague. "Look at this" she says, "seven sapient species are on this planet, all in the paleolithic."
"How unusual. My scans of the moon yielded similar results."
The two bring their findings to the ship's captain, presenting a data pad. The Ternaki woman expounds her findings with all the excitement of a consummate professional; "As you can see, based on our scans of the planet and its moon, both are teeming with life. There are also some very strange readings, the planet has multiple new sapient species. On top of that, we believe the moon was captured by the planet and seeded with life."
The captain looks over the data pad, seemingly unenthused. "Perhaps we have found one of Ternak's brethren. Continue your research."
This scene played out ten thousand years ago amongst Ternaki who were much more ancient than that. The Ternaki on that ship were looking for a place to settle down and play civilization for a while, and Patek fit the bill as a place interesting enough place to settle.
Starting with 200,000 people, they found a quiet subcontinent to start the first city to call home. They named the city Sifia, a traditional name for the first city on any planet that roughly means something about a place where new light springs forth. No one really kept track of the etymology.
In the current day, the Ternaki on Patek number close to 160 million. Throughout history, they have been a constant if sometimes enigmatic presence; changing the course of history through their interactions with other cultures. Most Ternaki born on Patek don't know of their extra-terrestrial origins per say, but are aware of the important things such as the story of Ternak preserved through poetry, and countless conversations which involve him recorded in the Ternak Ben'at.
The Ternaki on Patek adhere to religious law, much of which consists of recorded arguments between their spiritual leaders and legal experts, the Ravoshi. The job of a governmental Ravoshi is often to argue in the public gathering place of a civic building with other Ravoshi to constantly hone and clarify religious law. Generally, two Ravoshi will talk about a topic from the Ternak Ben'at or other legal records. A third Ravoshi acts as a scribe and transcribes the argument. The Ravoshi will quote law at each other and give their interpretation of what it means. A third Ravoshi, or sometimes even a citizen, is allowed to interject their own opinion on a topic though this is rare. Ternaki legal battles are much the same, the only difference being the presence of a defendant and a judge.
Punishment for failure to adhere to religious law is not usually done. The only crimes which are punishable are those which involve things such as murder, theft, or sharing technology with other cultures that don't have it. Murder is punished by exile, theft is punished generally with community service, and sharing of technology is punished by exile until the bit of technology you shared becomes obsolete. The laws that apply to outsiders are generally more lenient, though they do lean more towards exile in those cases.
All in all, the Ternaki legal system is very complex. Clans of Ternaki also have their own Ravoshis that aren't hired by the government. They often act as leaders in their communities, solving disputes and taking care of religious rites when they are observed.
Ternaki Clans themselves are the closest thing to what they have to families. Some clans are rather small, and make up a village. Others have hundreds or even thousands of members. Some clans do farming, others are focused on spiritual and legal training; with young members expected to become Ravoshi. Trading clans tend to be the largest, and are the main conduit for import and export to and from the Ternaki subcontinent. Some clans don't have a particular focus, but as they age, individual Ternaki usually find a niche that captures their whole attention for hundreds or more years. Ternaki craftsmanship is some of the best on Patek because Ternaki have quite a lot of time to hone their craft and work on projects. Each sailing ship, building, and gun they make is a work of art made with care, sometimes over the course of a century.
Because of their view on how life should be lived, money isn't used often in many Ternaki communities, though there are places in large cities that use money on occasion. Some Ternaki establishments will deal in money, particularly when they sell luxury goods; but these prices are almost never final as Ternaki often like to haggle over price as a social game. In the case of food and restaurants money is usually optional, especially if someone hasn't eaten in a while. Some Ternaki do take money seriously, however, as they use it to trade in other cultures that take money seriously. The average Ternaki that isn't in a trading clan may carry very little or no money, and not understand why it's needed. A Ternaki in a trading clan or who otherwise often finds themselves away from home will see it as a tool to trade with others outside the Ternaki subcontinent, and have a much better grasp of what its purpose usually is.
I think that's where I'll stop, that's a lot of information and I think I've explained the Ternaki well enough for a blog post. I finally finished writing the combat mechanics, so next week will definitely be about that. If you read this far, thank you very much! Also, I have a website now with playtests you can download! Go make a character or something!
Also thanks @donutboxers for the artwork for this post!
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twistedtummies2 · 10 months
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Ranking Twisted Wonderland - Part 1
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In August of 2020, I joined Tumblr for the first time. That same year, I posted a very early version of a ranking/countdown of my favorite characters from Twisted Wonderland: a game that has basically come to define my page. I write about a lot of things on here, but Twisted Wonderland is my “flagship fandom,” as it were.
I have revisited this idea of ranking my favorites from the game’s main cast of twenty-two students from Night Raven College a couple times since…but I was never happy with any of those attempts. I decided that, to celebrate my 3rd year anniversary here on Tumblr, and just as many years in love with the game, to do something special and try to rectify this issue: a comprehensive, two-part countdown/ranking of ALL those twenty-two characters, listing them from my least favorite to my most favorite, and - furthermore - explaining WHY they had they place they did and what I loved about each character. That, dear readers, is what you are looking at now: the first part of that ranking. (The second part will be posted tomorrow.) Each half will cover eleven options; this first half will cover choices 22 through 12; tomorrow will follow the top eleven. I based my decisions on a number of things. One, obviously, is just personal bias, and that’s naturally something one simply has no control over: sometimes you’ll like certain characters more than others “just because,” and one just has to deal with that fact. The remaining factors, however, are slightly more technical: for example, how excited do I get when Cards featuring the characters come up? Are they ones I always go for, or ones I always skip? Also, in my writing, how much do I like playing with that character, or how much do I want to play with them? For those who know my page, I’m specifically talking non-kinks there…although I should add that I will be taking kinks into account. That sort of just gets lumped into “personal bias.” On one final note there, this is a list of my favorite CHARACTERS, not my favorite CRUSHES: for me, personally, there is a difference. This was not easy to make, and there are multiple characters here where I honestly wish I could rank them higher, or where it’s all a matter of my mood (like, some days I like them more than others, if that makes sense). The fact is that I genuinely and truthfully love ALL of these lads; there really are no bad characters in the entire bunch, at least in my humble opinion. Also, again, I’m specifically talking the 22 “Main Students,” so no side characters, no staff members, and certainly no Grim. With that said, let’s begin. Here is the start of my rankings of the central cast for Twisted Wonderland: From “Least Good” to Best!
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22. Cater Diamond.
Cater is a fun character with a lot of energy, who represents a common dichotomy that runs through most of the characters in this cast. At first, he seems like a typical social media junkie: obsessed with self-image, overly cheerful, practically speaking a language made up of hashtags, and seemingly ready to take a selfie with everyone and everything in breathing distance. However, underneath this, there are other sides to Cater he seems to try and keep hidden: he has a rather sneaky side to him, and there’s also hints of something terribly sad beneath his mask of smiling enthusiasm. At times I think that superficial side gets a bit annoying, which may or may not be the point…but it’s never enough to make me hate him. Unfortunately, it is enough to make him place at the bottom of the ranks.
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21. Silver.
Silver ranks low because he’s sort of a cypher to me. There’s a sort of mysterious quality to the character, perhaps unintentional, as I find him to be one of the hardest characters to fully get a grasp on in a lot of ways. It’s telling that he is the only major character in the cast (minus Grim) whose last name is never given; he’s simply known as “Silver.” However, again, this doesn’t make him a character I dislike: for one thing, I enjoy that sense of mystery, because it feels like - with what we DO know about the guy - there’s a lot of interesting things waiting to be discovered still. He’s also one of the more unique characters in the cast, since he’s one of only two who is based not on a Disney Villain, but on a Disney Hero: the character is inspired by Princess Aurora herself, with a dash of Prince Philip thrown in, which makes him all the more intriguing when you realize his master (and adoptive big brother, by all accounts), Malleus, is based on the nemesis of those characters. I’m curious to see how that fact plays into the story; at the moment, Chapter 7 is not available in English, and I’m trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can. I know that Silver gets a big boost as a character due to the events of that chapter, but since I haven’t seen it yet…right now, he gets lower points. I am 90% sure that, when I see that Chapter, this fact will change and he will be given much higher placement. As it stands…this is where he sits.
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20. Sebek Zigvolt.
Poor Sebek. I actually want to like this guy more than I do, but no matter how hard I try, I just don’t. Sebek definitely has his appealing qualities, and he’s probably one of the funniest characters in the game. It’s rare that scenes with Sebek don’t leave me snickering and rolling my eyes with amusement at his over-boisterous, Malleus-obsessed personality. His ego is a funny thing, and there’s a lot of humor that comes from seeing his pomposity punctured. However, at times those same qualities, much like with Cater, can be a bit grating. It was actually hard to choose between him and Silver, as far as which of the two I liked most. I ultimately decided to put Sebek over Silver simply because I think he’s a bit easier to understand and get into the head of.
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19. Trey Clover.
The great paradox with Trey is that what I like about him is also what lands him so low in the ranks. Trey is the single most level-headed character at NRC. He’s sort of an encouraging big brother figure, and his more mild-mannered, practical personality makes him a great contrast to Riddle, as well as many of the other characters in the game. While he’s ostensibly inspired by one of the Card Guards, he actually seems to be based largely on the King of Hearts: a humbler figure than his housewarden, but with his own sneaky side, a trait he shares with Cater. However, the problem with Trey’s generally more “normal” personality is that, by being a character who, by design, tends to fade into the background a bit…he does exactly that, especially when you consider all the wild and colorful characters who surround him. As a result, I can’t really rank him any higher than this.
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18. Rook Hunt.
Rook is one of the most oddball characters in the game…and as you can imagine, that’s saying quite a lot. He’s also probably one of the creepiest. He’s inspired by the Huntsman from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but you probably wouldn’t guess it at first glance. He arguably changes the most from his source material: Rook is a fashionable Frenchman with a flamboyant personality. He’s a poet and a seeker of things of beauty, with more romance in his heart than a dozen Harlequin novels. He’s also seemingly fearless, which is part of what makes him occasionally unsettling: you can snarl at him, threaten him with all sorts of horrible forms of destruction, show off muscles and claw and fangs…and he just reacts with some over-the-top variation of, “That’s magnificent! Show me more!” But perhaps the thing that makes Rook truly unnerving is that he seems to adhere to the logic of “The Most Dangerous Game.” Rook is OBSESSED with hunting; he uses it as an analogy for almost everything he does, and he seems to treat just about everyone he finds interesting like a hunter stalking their prey. He has many secrets, and a lot of them are to things we don’t WANT the answers to. He’s equal parts fun and frightening, and I’ve come to like him more over time (something that can be said for a lot of characters in the game), but he still ranks fairly low in my books. He’s just not a character I’m that interested in writing for.
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17. Ortho Shroud.
It’s about this time in the ranking that I start to feel REALLY bad about placing some characters particularly low. As I said before, I love all of these lads, but I naturally like some more than others. Ortho is unique among the cast just due to the simple premise of his entire existence: he’s an android who has been programmed to behave like the little brother of Idia Shroud (the Hades character of the game). This means he’s not only the youngest character of the cast - an eternal child who presumably never grows any older (Peter Pan sympathizes) - but he’s also the only one of the crew who isn’t an organic being of any kind. Ortho is another example of the dichotomy of darkness and light that most of these characters have: on the one hand, he’s an adorable little sweetheart who just wants his big brother to be happy and have more friends to play with. He’s inquisitive, enthusiastic, and somehow manages to be innocent while literally being a walking Internet browser at the same time. On the other hand, Ortho is armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction and all kinds of crazy gizmos and gadgets, which can lead to some…alarming situations, since he doesn’t always emotionally process issues properly. He seriously sees no issue with blowing annoying people to smithereens. Equally split between scary and sweet, Ortho is the most adorable little murder machine you could ever meet.
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16. Lilia Vanrouge.
Much like Epel, Lilia is someone whose outer appearance - a seemingly youthful, self-admittedly adorable, and rather spritely young lad - is the polar opposite of who he really is deep down.The difference is in how that is expressed. Beneath his Puckish exterior, Lilia is a wise old man…who if you will pardon my French, gives nary the slightest of f#cks. He’s an ancient warrior, older than ANYONE at Night Raven, who comes to the school for purposes of his own. He’s forgotten more about history, human and fairy alike, than any textbook author will ever know. He’s practically a father figure to both Malleus and Silver, and - just like Epel - he knows how to use his appearance to his advantage. He lures people in with his slight looks and eccentric personality, or uses them to throw people off the scent, before promptly showing them just how wicked he can really be. He reminds me a lot of characters like Sans from “Undertale” or the Doctor from “Doctor Who”: to paraphrase the latter show, Lilia has the demeanor of a prattling jackanapes…but inside, it’s a whole other story. He’s one of Night Raven’s fascinating characters, as a result, but I simply enjoy others a lot more.
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15. Epel Felmier.
Speaking of characters who can be scary and sweet, Epel is the definition of that classic meme, “Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you.” Well…maybe not KILL, but certainly beat the tar out of your wagon. Epel, at first glance, is an effeminate, childlike lad with big baby eyes and a graceful physique. This is the total opposite of who he is inside: Epel is a country boy, born and bred, who’s used to rough labor and a rugged lifestyle. He has a thick Southern dialect, loves action and fast vehicles, and can whoop your arse in about three seconds flat if you let him. Epel’s whole story arc in the game, in fact, is learning how to balance his inner fire with the doll-like appearance of his face and form…sometimes a bit against his will. He wants so badly to be seen as a Manly Man of Manly Man Manness, but he’s always finding people who underestimate him based on his girlish demeanor, or who try to teach him to be more refined and reserved than he truly is under the surface. He’s the living embodiment of the Poison Apple: a tempting, beautiful, delicate-looking thing with a hard, thick, juicy, and downright dangerous undercurrent. The result is honestly pretty funny, as well as interesting.
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14. Idia Shroud.
Like I mentioned earlier, Idia is the character based on Hades in this game. This flame-haired computer genius is probably one of the most interesting twists on their respective source you’ll find in “Twisted Wonderland.” When people think of Disney’s Hades, they think of a confident, fast-talking, Mephistophelean figure with a smarmy attitude and a wry sense of humor, whose attempts to be smooth and slick are contrasted by a raging inferno of a temper. Idia is interesting in that he’s actually none of these things…or, at least, not at first glance. Idia is a reclusive, anti-social misfit who literally is afraid of people EXISTING anywhere NEAR him. He prefers to stay shut in his lair playing video games and watching anime or old horror movies than to be anywhere close to another living being, for fear that he’ll BREATHE wrong around them. (No, that is not an exaggeration.) Online, however, Idia actually shows another side to his personality, which is much closer to Hades, and he can be very passive-aggressive or downright mean-spirited when he feels he has some security to be. Idia appeals on two different levels, as a result: he’s one of the most sympathetic and at times downright cute characters in the game, but his nasty side - where his inspiration really shows - is just as entertaining, especially in the unique way it’s presented.
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13. Vil Schoenheit.
Vil is another case of a character I’ve come to enjoy and understand more as time has gone on. In fact, when I look back on older stories I wrote featuring Vil, I sort of cringe because I feel like, when I wrote those, he was one character I didn’t really understand well enough to properly handle. Nowadays, I think I’d do a few things differently…but I digress. Vil is based on the Evil Queen, and he lives up to his predecessor well. He is vain, without question, but it isn’t a vanity usually played up for comedy: just like the Queen, Vil is cold and authoritative, not easily fazed by fear or agitated worry. He keeps a stiff upper lip, presenting himself with poise and elegance that virtually no one at Night Raven can surpass. Even when he is overcome with emotion, he tries to rein it all in. All of this is a well-sculpted mask to hide his personal insecurities and professional stresses. Vil is one of the few major characters in the cast with a big job to do outside of the school: he’s a CELEBRITY, and a multi-talented one, at that. He’s a skilled actor, singer, dancer, model, photographer, costume and makeup designer, beautician, AND director of both film and theatre. Top it off with martial arts skills, a talent for poisons and potion making, and the fact he somehow juggles all of that ON TOP of trying to attend a prestigious college and keep his grades in the upper ranks…and I think it’s fair to say Vil is the definition of an absolute unit. But despite all his success and all his accomplishments, hiding under his painted lips and flowing robes, Vil has personal esteem issues he tries to keep tucked out of sight. He’s just as paradoxical and fascinating as his source material, and a wonderful reinvention of the Evil Queen in his own right.
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12. Ace Trappola.
It was difficult to decide who would rank higher/lower between Ace and Deuce. These two are the MC’s best friends in the game, and as such, they’re pretty prominent figures throughout the entire run. They have some part to play, to varying degrees of size, in every chapter of the Main Story, and they appear quite frequently in the various Events that branch off of the same. Because we spend so much time with them, we know more about them than a lot of other characters, and they often help to act as voices of advice (sometimes good, sometimes bad) for the player. Ace lost the battle, but do not misconstrue that to mean I dislike him. Ace is a cunning trickster who is skilled in sleight-of-hand magic tricks, and is an expert card player. In direct contrast, however, Ace is also a person who lacks what might be called a “shut up filter.” He always speaks his mind, without hesitation or holding back, very rarely trying to sugarcoat or hide anything. Even when he tries to be a bit more crafty and weasel his way through things, he usually gets caught. You might say that Ace is a person who starts fights, while Deuce is a person who simply chooses to try and finish them.
PART TWO: TBA
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elliepassmore · 3 months
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The Prisoner's Throne review
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5/5 stars Recommended if you like: scheming, court intrigue, faeries, morally gray characters
Stolen Heir review
First, I want to say I called it regarding Oak being exactly the kind of person you would think he would be after being raised by Madoc, Oriana, Jude, Cardan, and Taryn (and the Court of Shadows). How any of his family members were surprised by that I have no idea. I'm also happy to say that Taryn actually does seem to have gotten herself together and is much more tolerable in this book than in TFOTA (of course, that was also 8 years ago and Oak's POV is not Jude's, but still).
I enjoyed Stolen Heir but I think I like this one better. I did miss Wren's POV, though like with Oak's in book 1 having her narrate would obviously give some things away. The first book was quest-based and so we got to see a lot of new people and places, and much of the plot centered around the details of the quest. This one, on the other hand, is more along the lines of what we saw in TFOTA, where it is court against court and scheming abounds among those who want power. Questing plots are fun, but I do think I prefer this kind of intrigue.
I was so excited to see Jude and Cardan! I found it interesting to see them through someone else's eyes, since in previous books we've only ever seen them through their own, but Oak is Jude's younger beloved younger brother and Cardan's nephew and BIL, so he has a very different view of them than they do of themselves. That being said, they are more or less exactly as we remember and I enjoyed getting to see their interactions and reading their sass.
Oak is a trickster and a liar. He is, as mentioned, exactly the kind of person you would expect considering his family and the people he grew up around. He's good at scheming and seeing what people want, but he's also incredibly loyal and would do anything for his family. Unlike his father and sister, Oak still doesn't have ambitions for the throne. But that doesn't mean he isn't still involved in court intrigue, and this book shows us just how involved he is and the manipulations he's willing to use to protect the throne. It was interesting to get inside Oak's head since he's a child in TFOTA and Wren is technically a newcomer. Oak does feel like he needs to live up to what his family needs and the sacrifices they've made for him (though let's be honest, Jude's queenly ambitions only started with Oak, she sustained them on her own), and that creates an interesting dynamic. Related to this and to his scheming, Oak has so many layers and masks to portray the things he wants people to see that he also feels like people don't really know him, and it was interesting to see how that plays out.
Oak and Wren spend a lot of time separated in this book, but it's clear Wren is trying to get a grasp on what's going on and what exactly she wants. There are enemies closing in on all sides, and she struggles to find a workaround for all the people demanding things from her, and who have the power to make those things happen. While I know it would probably spoil some of what she's planning, I would've liked to have Wren's POV in this book alongside Oak's. I feel like we are missing part of the story by not having it, and I'd like to know more of her thought processes and how she decided what was a strategic decision vs not. That being said, we do get to see how Wren behaves when she feels she's been betrayed, and we also get to see how far she'll go for those she's loyal to. She and Oak have that in common, and the two are seemingly willing to rend anything, including themselves, apart in order to save those they love.
I enjoyed following the schemes of this book and learning who the new enemies were. Bogdana is obviously a major player, but there are people in the background that get revealed as the book progresses. In TFOTA, the game is putting someone on the throne and keeping them there. In this book, it's about determining who is out for the throne and what (and who) they have on their side, all while trying to balance competing priorities.
I'm particularly interested in the setup at the end of the book that seems to promise at least one more book set in Elfhame/involving the Greenbriar-Duarte clan. Holly Black had an interview that basically said as much, so I'm super interested to see where that goes (here's hoping it's Jude and Cardan again!).
Overall I enjoyed this book and seeing how Wren and Oak's story ended. It was interesting being inside Oak's head, though I did miss Wren's POV as well. I'm looking forward to future books set in this world!
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renren85105 · 6 months
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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤
Thanks for asking me, Tee! 
This was a lot harder than I thought it would be and it took me a lot longer than I expected it to! These are not in any order after the first one, because I cannot rank them lol.
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Houseboat of Love
I’m weak for exes to lovers and second chance at love fics, so when the prompt came up in the 2022 BJYX Week, I knew I had to try my hand at writing one. And it’s turned out to me my favorite of my fics, or maybe my favorite of my favorites, and based on stats alone I think it’s most people’s favorite of mine. I wanted to start at the new beginning for them, have Xiao Zhan unwilling to see Yibo again because he was afraid of his own remaining feelings and for Yibo to have never stopped loving Xiao Zhan, but he hasn’t been allowed to for some years and how he’s had to get on with living and making space for this love that doesn’t have anywhere to go. I know this makes the fic sound really angsty, but starting at the new beginning I think keeps it in the background, a hum of angst that pushes the story but isn’t the point of the story. And I loved writing tattooed buff Yibo doing the bat crunches and Xiao Zhan being so obviously thirsty for his ex-husband, I let him get goofy with it and it was so much fun to write. The whole fic was a joy to write, honestly. And I’m glad Tash told me to bring back the bit of what happened between them, even though she then (lovingly) yelled at me for what happened between them, because I think it really did make the story more well-rounded. This one was partially inspired by the Sweet Home Alabama movie, where the main character finds out her ex never filed the divorce papers - but I couldn’t bear to have Xiao Zhan be with anyone else in my version so that part of the plot is all I adapted to this story. My sleepwalking/sexsomnia fic was technically my first exes to lovers fic (it came out over a year later) but I feel like this one was my first real “break them up and get them back together because they love each other still” fic. And I’m glad so many have loved it as I have.
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Love the Simulation I’m Dreaming In
I love this one because it is so much fun. It was so much fun to adapt this Golden Girls plot to Yizhan, I made several changes from the Love, Rose plot so it fit a) modern times and b) so Jackson & Yixing weren’t knowingly setting up Xiao Zhan to fall in love with their creation. In the GG episode, Rose finds her fake man in the phone book, and so I decided that a good update for that would be a hookup app. I loved making Xiao Zhan so damn dramatic (swanning around in a Shut Up robe and cooking stir fry for one despite the other two roommates being home, all because they weren’t there for his big announcement) and I made myself laugh with the ostrich feather conversation and so much of it. I’m just glad my humor comes across and other people find it funny too! Also Yibo is hot as fuck in this, if I do say so myself. And that’s always fun 😂
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You Can't Rush the River
This one was my first ever gift exchange fic, and it was for my dear friend Elisa. I had seen the first season of the Witcher and read a couple of chapters of the book, but I’m largely too squeamish with gore to have played/watched the video games. I knew I could write it though, so I did my research and rewatched a couple of episodes and watched my husband play through a bit of the third game. The prompt asked for rivals to lovers, and I love that it turned out as a one-sided Yibo thinks they’re rivals, hated rivals, while Xiao Zhan has been flirting the whole 50 years they’ve known each other. The emotions after what for one was a hate handjob and for the other was the culmination of *decades* of dancing around each other was very satisfying to write. This one is special to me because it was crafted for someone else, but I also learned a lot about what I can accomplish if I want to do it.
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Fireworks in the Stars
I’m extremely partial to this fic. Mostly because it’s a bit of an experiment with a world I’d like to write a full novel in (will that happen? I have no idea but it’s a goal!) So when the set of prompts from a server challenge fit the world I was playing with, I knew it was time to try to write something in it. I’m really happy with how that turned out, and it helped me figure out what worked in that world and what didn’t. I think it’s maybe my most sensuous story, with all the textures and the body paint. But I love the idea of breaking all the rules to find your love again, of meeting your special person in a situation where you're never supposed to see them again and how you can heal from that -- except the other person finds you before you can. Love it!
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You Belong in my Arms & ad astra:
This feels like cheating, and maybe it is but i suppose you’ve read this far and will be okay with it, haha! So I think everyone knows that I love tentacles, and tentacle stories, so it was finally time to write my own. And guess what, as of this writing, there are still no sexy tentacles, but these boys have found each other and have yet to learn that they are each other’s fantasy. I have outlines for one last chapter, though if it gets long in the writing it may become two. I’ll write it all before publishing; I love this fic a great deal (octopus!Yibo has my entire heart) but publishing it as a wip without it being completed or at least a couple of chapters ahead has hung over me in a way that I don’t like. Each fic teaches you something about yourself I think, and that’s what I learned from this one. For ad astra, it is a Star Trek AU, which like the Witcher, I knew enough to be dangerous but also because I’d written You Can’t Rush The River I knew I could write this one too. And it was a joy, I’m in love with it still and I think I’ve read it the most out of all of my published projects. 
So there we have it! Many, many days later you have my top stories I’ve written, though I do love them all and this was a bit like having to choose a favorite child. Do you have a favorite of mine? I’d love to know! Tell me about it here or on the awful site 💖
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phoenixfangs · 2 months
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tagged by @rizaposting HOLDING UR HAND AND PRESSING MY FOREHEAD AGAINST UR SHOULDER i never get tagged in these so this is fun huehue
are you named after anyone? not technically, ive asked my parents multiple times about How they came up with me and my siblings names, but they just. didnt think very hard about it. fjkdlsjfdlas. but in a way im named after my mom, because me and saturns given names start with the same letter as our moms; my younger siblings names start with the same letter as our dads. i guess me and saturn could also be named for one of my dads uncles?? our names mixed make that uncles name. but idk im not willing to believe my dad cares that much about Anyone in his family to honor their memory through our names lawl
when was the last time you cried? i think the other day watching atla, when zuko and iroh reunite before the final battle. zuko trying to stumble through an apology and thinking iroh must hate him, but iroh just without even saying anything grabbing zuko and pulling him into a tight and tearful hug... man ;_;
do you have kids? HELL NO!!!!! im barely halfway through my 20s i should be at the club. dont want kids, never wanted kids, will never want kids. i will tolerate being my nieces and nephews cool auncle when my siblings start having kids of their own, and No More, thanks
do you use sarcasm a lot? i guess so?? its hard to gauge. i feel like most of the time i speak sincerely, but i will also throw in the occasional sarcastic quip. shrugs
what sports do you play? i dont play any sports anymore, but up until high school i played softball. i was pretty good i think! pitcher and second base. also in middle/high school i was a baton twirler for band and i guess dance competitions (i have Never thought of it as 'dance' but i guess technically i was dancing... blegh), and im gonna count that as a sport. any activity with the possibility and probability of being hit on the head by a metal rod counts as a sport to me
what’s the first thing you notice about people? probably their height. most people are taller than me but i will make an immediate note of people who are Shorter than me
what’s your eye color? grrrreen gray? i spent a few minutes staring at my eyes trying to figure out the color but all i did was strain my eyes jfldks
scary movies or happy endings? hmmmmmm i love both. i like blood and gore and guts and evil, but i also like heartwarming fluff where everything works out. i cant decide!! it just depends on my mood hehe
any special talents? i hesitate to claim i have perfect pitch because it sounds self congratulatory, but im pretty sure i have perfect pitch lmao. i cant Identify notes by name but i can recreate pretty much any note i hear, as long as its in my range. im not a good singer though lawl i dont have the technique. in the same vein, i can recreate other noises i hear pretty well, like i taught myself how to do the perry the platypus clicking sound Thing he does just by listening to it
where were you born? texas born and raised! everyone i knew growing up was a redneck or a 'cowboy church' christian
what are your hobbies? drawing, writing fanfic oneshots or rps with friends, bideo games, rewatching the same handful of tv shows and letsplays and video essays over and over again
do you have any pets? my son, my sweet bubby, apollo :> my stupid little man, hes gonna be 3 this year i think! flame point siamese kitty, dumb as rocks, currently i think hes burrowed in the sheets on my bed taking a nappy
how tall are you? 5'2", but add a couple inches because i almost exclusively wear shoes that add height, like my Big Dyke Boots i wear every day hehe
favorite subject in school? any of my electives probably, like art and music/band. in college my favorite classes i ever took were film appreciation, screenwriting, and theatre directing (which i signed up for thinking it was film directing, but it was still so fun and interesting)
dream job? honestly?? i think anything on the set of a movie or tv show would be awesome. maybe creative consultant, so that i can interject my own ideas into other peoples projects. i tend to feel my most creative when im working Around other peoples ideas tbh. all that, or lead writer/director on my own tv show/movie/video game, if i ever feel like i can handle that pressure
GET TAGGED @applescabs @lizardyeast @cottagegay and anyone else that sees and wants to participate :>
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skaruresonic · 11 months
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I don't really think seniority matters as much as the willingness to research and play the games. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable calling myself a "veteran" fan, because while I technically have played a lot of Sonic games, my knowledge base doesn't feel comprehensive enough outside of the general range of the early Adventure games to warrant discussion. Can't talk about TSR or Riders, for instance, because racing games bore me and so I never finished them. Or '06, which I refuse to finish on the basis of it being an utter soul-suck of a game. I've been a Sonic fan since 2002, though sometimes I forget that fact because I go through "gap years" in which I feel distant from the series for some reason or another. Back in 2006-2010 it was the inability to play new releases because broke. In 2014, it was Boom, which everyone was sort of... weird... about. Nowadays it's the alienation I feel for the utter hype surrounding IDW, Prime, and Frontiers. This ride is for life, but it's not always a smooth one.
In addition, real life needs attending to, my knowledge of the games tends to become hazy and vague after a while, and I don't necessarily have the time to play and refresh my memory. There are also details about the games that I've overlooked the first time around, such as the fact that Sonic and Shahra both call the antagonist "the" Erazor Djinn multiple times throughout SatSR, implying his name is a title, as opposed to fandom which simply refers to him as "Erazor Djinn," implying it is a name.
I've been in the privileged position of growing up with my preferred era of games. During my childhood, a new Sonic game would come out roughly every year. These days it's harder to access that era of games because some of them, like Shuffle or Battle, are abandonware.
While these roadblocks are real and valid, on the other hand... In this age of having practically any information you want to know available at your fingertips, it's no excuse to just Say Whatever you want about those games. There's the inability to access the game, and then there's the refusal to meet it halfway. Far too often you encounter the latter over the former.
Certainly, I won't pretend to know about every single Sonic game there is. That's why I don't talk about them. I talk instead about the handful of games I do know about. Hopefully, I might say something interesting about them every once in a while. hello yes can I gush about those semi-transparent reflections in SA2 DC I promise I'm normal about it
The other day @woodchipp and I were talking about how modern fandom seems to base their impressions of a game on "vibes" rather than playing the games for themselves. This is how you get wild takes divorced from reality, when folks value aesthetics over accuracy. In any case, my stance has always been that you don't necessarily have to know every single little detail about any given game; you just need to know what you're talking about in a general overarching sense. I'll know you haven't played the game when you neglect basic, unmissable plot points.
For example: "Tails found Emerl on the beach in Battle" tells me you haven't played Battle, because Sonic finding Emerl on the beach is what kickstarts the entire game. "SA2 never shows us where Shadow stole the Chaos Emerald from" tells me you haven't played SA2, because the game specifies that detail twice - once in recap, once during a cutscene - and you would have known that had you been paying attention.
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harmonyckrs · 6 months
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My Curious family headcanons + some more photos of them in Miitopia
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I believe that there are multiple universes and alternate realities in the Sims 2 and that their genders/sexualities would change in some of those alternate realities, but this is generally how I perceive them
Tycho, Nova and Lewis are also included here. Lewis isn't technically a Curious family member but I felt like including him anyway
Also this post is going to be really long. It's going to be divided into Lola/Chloe specific headcanons, then Curious Brother headcanons, followed by a timeline division based on whether the events of the PSP game occur
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Lola and Chloe are only around two years older than Jenny, and they use the Elixir of Life to maintain their youth
Lola and Chloe are the same height, and are both taller than Jenny. Chloe sometimes gives off the illusion that she's taller due to the way she and Lola style their hair
Chloe enjoys aerobics and dance, despite being a generally lazy person. Lola engages in aerobics sometimes but only when she's dragged into it by Chloe or Kristen
Lola and Chloe both resent Jenny and the Curious brothers as they believe that Glarn completely abandoned them in favor of his new family
Jenny is aware of Lola and Chloe's existences as Pollination Technician #9 told her about them, and keeps them a secret from her brothers as she was afraid that they would start pestering them with questions
Chloe is agnostic and dislikes astrology, and makes fun of Erin for believing in it. Lola is also agnostic but will humor Erin from time to time because she's not a jerk
Chloe, Lola and Ajay are close friends and Chloe and Ajay will occasionally act as each other's wingmen
Lola likes to buy something as a souvenir every time she visits a new place
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Vidcund is the tallest, followed by Lazlo and then Pascal. The height difference between them isn't that big though
Pascal was Glarn's favorite and Lazlo's was Kitty's favorite. Vidcund was the neglected middle child and Jenny was the rebellious older sister who mellowed out once she became an adult
Glarn would make constant comparisons between Pascal and his younger brothers, which caused Vidcund to resent Pascal. Although he tries to be subtle about it, Pascal knows about it and thinks that Lazlo secretly hates him too (he doesn't)
Pascal was one of those people who focused entirely on his studies when he was in school and got really good grades at the expense of having no social life, and Nervous was his first friend
Lazlo was able to get good grades without trying. Vidcund struggled a bit more compared to his brothers but was still able to perform decently well
Vidcund has a hard time making friends and usually makes them through Lazlo introducing him to people. Circe was the first friend that he made on his own
Pascal is sometimes envious of Vidcund and Lazlo being close to each other, and would develop strong feelings of loneliness from time to time
Crystal Vu was someone that Vidcund met through Lazlo. The three of them also smoke weed together
Pascal dislikes Crystal as he believes that she's leading Lazlo on and has ulterior motives for pursuing him (she is and she does). Crystal sees Pascal as Lazlo's overbearing brother who hates fun, and will often make passive aggressive remarks towards him while also making (failed) attempts to turn Lazlo against him
Nervous has listened to Pascal complain about Crystal so many times that he also developed a hatred for Crystal Vu before he even met her. They probably still would've hated each other though, as Crystal is also demeaning towards Nervous and secretly supports the Beakers' actions
Pascal enjoys playing the piano and uses it as a way to de-stress
Lazlo wanted to pursue the adventurer career and become a space pirate but was pressured into becoming a scientist by his parents
Vidcund also wanted to get into show business and become an actor, but chose science because it felt like a safer option
Sometime after Pascal was abducted, he manages to befriend Lazlo who helps him talk to Vidcund and sort our their family issues, helping Vidcund get over his resentment and Pascal with his feelings of loneliness
Pascal, Vidcund and Lazlo become close friends once Tycho is born. What happens to them afterwards depends on the timeline
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Good Ending (Tycho never gets kidnapped):
Pascal, Vidcund and Lazlo find out about Chloe and Lola while sorting through Glarn's old stuff, which included a diary. Lazlo attempts to reach out to them through Erin, but they reject him
Lola and Chloe are slightly more receptive to Vidcund, as the three bond over how bad of a father Glarn was to them which later causes them to open up to the rest of the famly. Chloe gets along more with Lazlo, while Lola gets along better with Pascal
Crystal ghosts Lazlo sometime after Nova was conceived. Lazlo later finds out about Nova's existence once Crystal flees Strangetown after her supervillain identity is exposed, and Nova is placed in Lazlo's care instead
Tycho and Nova are good friends, and all of the other children they have are also good friends with each other
Lewis is there too, but grows distant from Nova once she enters private school. Lewis got rejected and envies Nova for getting in, which is why he acts like a dick when they talk to each other again in college
Bad Ending (Vidcund gets mind controlled and kidnaps Tycho):
Chloe and Lola both leave Strangetown before the events of the PSP game, and never reconnect with the rest of their family. Jenny keeps the secret of their existence with her to the grave
Vidcund cuts off contact with Pascal and Lazlo out of guilt and briefly seeks comfort in Circe (nothing romantic, just them bonding over being mind controlled and having their relationships ruined over it) before leaving Strangetown and disappearing almost entirely
Lazlo tries to search for Vidcund but reconnects with Crystal instead and moves to Belladonna Cove with her. The two of them have Nova together before he discovers her secret identity as a supervillain, and leaves her while taking Nova with him
Pascal becomes paranoid and overprotective of Tycho. This causes some conflicts between them once Tycho becomes older, but they still have a decent relationship with each other
Nova and Tycho become pen pals sometime after Lazlo left Crystal. Nova was able to visit Tycho at one point when she was a child, which was also when she met Lewis. However, Nova and Lewis forgot to exchange contacts and don't meet again until college
Tycho and Nova are aware of Chloe, Lola and Vidcund, and sometimes make up stories about what might've happened to them and what they might've been like
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There is also a "neutral ending" where Tycho doesn't get kidnapped but Vidcund disappears anyway (he'll return eventually, don't worry). Some premades get a slightly worse fate than they do in the bad ending but it's a small price to pay for everyone else. This one kind of falls under fanfic territory and has a bunch of sim OCs though so I'll save that for another day
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