#i’m sure on some level it’s probably true but all this is doing is further enabling me and my friend

[dreamertrilogys]

yeah sure i’ll incorporate that into my belief system

#.txt #i’m sure on some level it’s probably true but all this is doing is further enabling me and my friend #<- we want 4loko’s so bad. it’s so fucked up that they’re banned here

[dark-frosted-heart]

Book of Memories ~ Clavis, Jin, and Sariel ~

Card story

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this.

Clavis gets bullied

BOOM!

AAAAAHHHHHH!

(Ah...There goes two down a hole.)

Since coming to court, the sounds of explosions and screams have become apart of my daily life. Amazed by how adaptable people are, I stopped reading and headed toward the nose.

Jin: Are you two hurt?

The knights came out of the hole with the help of Jin. Besides them was Clavis, who was probably the one that dug the pit, and Sariel, whose brows were furrowed. Just an everyday sight.

Knight 1: Fortunately, the hole was filled with cushions so I'm fine. How about you?

Knight 2: Same. Thanks for your help.

Jin: I just lent a hand while you two were climbing out.

Clavis: You two must have cooled off now after falling down the hole. I'll see you two tomorrow.

Knights: Yes sir.

(Were the knights arguing?)

(An underhanded method to get them to make up, but it's expected from Clavis.)

Sariel: Prince Clavis will fill this hole up by himself. Everyone else can go about your own business.

Knights: Understood! Excuse us!

(Wow, they look so happy...)

I approach the three, as if replacing the knights that just hurried off.

Clavis: Emma, did you come to see who got caught in my trap? Unfortunately you're too late.

Emma: Actually, I thought I'd come help whoever fell in the pit.

Jin: Most people would stay away to avoid getting dragged in to trouble, but you're so sweet. I'll give you some candy for being a good girl. Here, give me your hand.

Emma: Thank you.

I hold my hand out and he gives me a lollipop. Sariel clears his throat and I’m pretty sure the increased tension’s not a part of my imagination.

Sariel: Prince Clavis, you already made a pit trap yesterday, didn’t you? Are you planning to unlevel this beautiful garden?

Clavis: It looks like our dear bureaucrat's vision is deteriorating so why don't I show you? Look at where I filled up a hole yesterday. It's as beautiful as it was before I dug it up. No unevenness here.

Emma: Wait, you're pointing at my feet. Did you dig a pit here yesterday?!

Jin: It's true that it's pretty level here. You're not just a master digger, but a master filler too.

Sariel: Prince Jin, please don't encourage him. He'll get carried away.

Jin: Getting carried away's a problem, but the hole's been nicely filled. Isn't that okay?

Clavis: Jin really is a wonderful older brother and partner in crime. I'll make some sweets for you next time.

Jin: I'll pass since Yves' making sweets. How about you make something as an apology to Sariel?

Sariel: If you'd like to know what it's like to step on thin ice, then by my guest. You don't feel sorry at all.

Clavis: Are you expecting me to?

Sariel: ...

Emma: S-Sariel, please don't be angry. If you furrow your brows any further, you won't be able to get rid of the wrinkles.

Jin: If he can't get rid of them, I'll teach him how to massage them out.

Sariel: We should deal with the source of the wrinkles first.

Jin: Think you can do it?

(I don't think so...)

Clavis returns the stares with a proud smile and Sariel quietly pinches his brows.

Sariel: Intelligence increases with age, but I wish that his ability with traps remained that of a child's. Seriously.

Emma: As expected, he wasn't as powerful as a kid.

Jin: If he was this powerful as a kid, the castle would've been repaired more than 10 times over.

Emma: The thought of it is terrifying.

Sariel: There's no charm in falling into a trap you set yourself.

Emma: Own trap?

Clavis: Oi, why'd you just say something like that to Emma? You did it on purpose, didn't you?

Sariel: Just some divine punishment.

Jin: That's quite a promotion from bureaucrat.

Clavis: Emma, forget what you heard. That's just a false memory of Sariel's.

Emma: Did you get caught in your own trap, Clavis?

Clavis: I've never seen you smile without any reservation or care like that before.

Jin: It was such a failure. I think it was his first time setting such a big trap.

Sariel: Yes, the trap suddenly malfunctioned and went off before it could be stopped.

Jin: The impact caused Clavis to slip, grab our clothes, and drag us into the pond together with a plop.

~~Flashback start~~

Sariel: You've done it now.

Jin: Hey, your glare's making Clavis cry.

Clavis: *sniff* I'm just pretending to cry. I'm just great at acting, okay! Damn it...Me, a genius, made this trap. I'm frustrated, but I'll definitely succeed next time. I'll keep going at it until I do!

Sariel: You caused so much trouble for others, yet you don't regret it at all?

Clavis: Eek

Jin: Hey, hey, don't actually make him cry. It's just child's play, isn't it?

Sariel: It's never too late to nip evil in the bud.

Jin: Clavis, run! Sariel's serious!

Clavis: Run away!

Sariel: Hold it!

~~Flashback end~~

(Wow, I can just imagine it.)

Jin: As you get older, you want to reminisce.

Clavis: About people's failures?

Jin: It's a precious memory for me. There was some commotion after that and I didn't have time to rest.

Emma: I'm sorry Clavis, but I'd love to hear about your lovely memories too.

Clavis: If my own shame can make someone else happy...It can't be helped. I'll allow it.

Sariel: Emma, would you like to hear about another memory?

Clavis: We're ending it there!

Jin: Your tolerance went away in an instant.

Sariel: Fufu, must be a dark past he wants to forget about.

(It's rare to see Clavis so flustered.)

Suddenly, a casual question out of curiosity springs up.

(Sariel was Clavis' teacher, wasn't he?)

(He's probably the one that got to see the evolution of traps up close.)

(Even if they've improved over time, I think they could've been prevented in the first place...)

Sariel: At any rate, this trap was a little crude, even for you.

(Hm...?)

Sariel: I think you were pressed for time because there was too much room for just two men.

Clavis: You got a good eye. To begin with, I didn't have enough time to prepare. It would've been better to string them up.

Jin: But you'd need a tree large enough to hold two knights. It'd be hard to lure them to the right place, wouldn't it? Then how about-

(This...I've never seen this before)

It was unheard of for Sariel to start evaluating traps while in the middle of a lecture. And after hearing Jin's suggestion, started adding on to the ideas for new traps. Apparently I was unaware of the fact that this was part of the trio's daily life.

(So, rather than Sariel failing to prevent traps, he's just not trying to.)

(Then why...)

One question's answered and another pops up in its place.

Clavis: ...

(Ah...)

For a moment, Clavis' eyes softened. That expression...

Clavis: Emma

Suddenly, our eyes meet when he calls my name and he pokes my cheek after closing the distance between us.

Clavis: You've got that smile on your face again. You've been thinking about me, haven't you?

Emma: Yes... I wanted to know more about your childhood memories, Clavis.

I unconsciously gave an answer different from what I had in mind, but it wasn't a lie. My reply made Sariel's smile widen and his shoulders shook slightly.

Sariel: How about I prepare for you the finest memories?

Jin: I won't lose to you.

Clavis: Those memories are all going to be related to my failures, aren't they.

Jin and Sariel: Of course.

Clavis: You two do nothing but harass me.

Jin: A big brother's love for his little brother.

Sariel: A teacher's love for his apprentice.

The looks of disapproval on Clavis' face makes us laugh out loud. There's no longer any traces of tension or lectures. Instead, a pleasant air seems to surround us.

(Jin and Sariel sound like they're joking, but they must be speaking the truth.)

(When I looked a Clavis just now, for the first time, I thought he was like a little brother.)

Clavis' relaxed expression showed me the happiness and trust that he couldn't hide.

(That's an expression you can only see when he's with the two of them.)

The relationship among the three revealed through traps warmed my heart.

#ikemen prince #ikepri #ikepri jp #ikepri summary #ikepri translations #clavis lelouch #ikepri clavis #jin grandet #ikepri Jin #sariel noir #ikepri sariel

[ametrictonofaudacity]

Okay so consider!!!

Yandere platonic Geralt!! Generally very cool!! Very nice!! But if you fuck up you have to deal with (what you have dubbed) the get along cuff. Which is literally him just making you sleep next to him and tying your leg to his with a bit of leather cord. It’s thin so he can easily snap it if there’s a danger, but he’ll wake up if you move it.

Also Jaskier being completely fine and okay with this would be hilarious, I would love to see you write a scenerio!! (Idk why but I picture a modern reader, like one who got dropped in the Witcher from the modern world)

I love this ask!! I also love the trope of a modern character in a medieval setting, I think it was all the ‘Modern Girl IN Middle Earth’ fanfics I read (an actual tag on ao3) so I have a weakness for it!! Also Jaskier just going ‘eh’ is so funny to me.

Warnings: forced proximity, captivity, kidnapping, some level of being infantalized, being tied to another person as a form of being restrained, future Stockholm syndrome. Jaskier is complicit, up to you whether he is also a yandere or not. Also the fact Geralt can smell emotions

“You know this could be like, an actual danger?”

You try and reason your way out of your situation, like reason has ever worked on Geralt before. He ignores you, mostly, concentrating on tying the knot around your wrist in a manner that you cannot undo the knot but it also didn’t cut off your circulation. He slips a finger under the cord, testing the knot and the cords strength, and you hear him make a satisfied rumble. You were still getting used to that, to the various sounds the Witcher made to express emotion.

“No it’s not. The cord’s thin, and if I have to fight I can snap it easily. Plus this area doesn’t normally have monsters, not this time of year.”

He stands, towering over you from you spot on the ground, near the fire, and you tilt your face up. The yellow light throws his features into a harsh countenance, makes his face all angles and scars, golden eyes reflecting the light the way a predators would as he glared down at you, scowling. You tighten your fingers in the wool cloak he had given you, so long ago, the fibers catching in your nails.

He must see something in your gaze, or maybe it’s the way you know you probably reek of anxiety right now, but his stance softens, the scowl melting away into something softer, not a smile because you knew he was still very, very upset with you, but not a harsh frown that made you feel small and stupid and like all the things he thought about you were true.

He crouches, making himself smaller next to you, and you feel your shoulders start to unwind. It was strange, being around someone who was so perceptive to your emotions, but seemingly had no clue how to address or handle them, beyond his own instincts as a Witcher and his limited interpersonal skills. His very limited interpersonal skills.

Seriously. You were pretty sure the guy only had two friends.

“You’re going to try and run again. Maybe not tonight, but I clearly can’t trust you to behave without me keeping my eye on you at all times. Since I can’t do that while I’m asleep, this is the solution.”

He motions to the thin leather cord, and you scowl, face twisting into something you know is ugly but doing it anyways. He wouldn’t be intimidated, you knew, he seemed to view you as some helpless kid, even though you were a fully grown adult who had been attending college.

“You wouldn’t have to watch me if you just let me go, Geralt. You can’t… you can’t just not let someone go home, that’s not right.”

You snap, fingers burying further into the cloak to stave off the chill that was only getting colder, creeping up your arms and legs to your torso and making you shiver. It had just gotten dark, the little fire Geralt built crackling away and too small to provide much warmth but rapidly gaining strength, and you shiver, leaning toward the fire and away from the Witcher.

“We’re not having this conversation again. You can’t survive out there on your own.”

Your face flushes, angry, and you bury your face further into the cloak. He had a point, to some extent. You weren’t used to the world of the Witcher, with its monsters and it’s hardships, weren’t used to the roughness of medieval life and all of its struggles. You were used to the modern world, where distances could be travelled by car, not horse, and you didn’t have to endure biting cold in the winter and blazing heat in the summer.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t at least try, Geralt. What kinda person would I be if I didn’t at least try to get home?” You protest, and there’s the sound of rustling, a muttered curse. Looks like Jaskier was back with wood.

“Ah. Seems I walked into a horribly tense situation.”

Jaskier remarks, but his voice is light, not taking your predicament seriously, even as his eyes land on the tether around your wrist and Geralt’s as he feeds wood into the fire, which licks up the logs and sticks eagerly, hungry for fuel. You scowl, face buried in the cloak to hide your sour mood as much as possible. Geralt didn’t care if you were pisses off or not, he cared when you were afraid not when you were mad, but Jaskier would do everything in his power to pull you out of your bad mood. From telling stories to playing little tavern songs, he would be relentless in making sure you cracked a smile at least once, and you didn’t feel like having to endure the bards attempts to cheer you up right now.

“Is tying them to you really necessary though, Geralt? They look like a kicked pup, can’t you be a bit more lenient?”

Jaskier wheedles, and wow, he might actually be your favorite person right now. You peek up from the fold of the cloak, and he’s got a hand on a hip, shifting his weight with a concerned frown. He looks entirely disapproving of the whole thing, which makes your heart soar. Maybe he would actually be able to get Geralt to listen to him.

“They’re lucky I don’t tie them on Roach all day.” Geralt grumbles, setting up the bed rolls. You could feel every small movement he made, the motion tugging gently on the thin tether.

“Oh you grump. Stop being so rude.” Jaskier huffs, sitting next to you, and you quietly despair how easily he gave in, how quickly he yielded to what Geralt wanted to do. You tuck your face back into the cloak, dejected.

“Hey now, it isn’t all bad. There are worse places to sleep. I can recall a few of them myself.”

Jaskier’s hand lands on your shoulder, and you glare, annoyed. You didn’t want company, or comfort, or any of it. You wanted one thing, and it was something that the both of them were denying you.

Jaskier, because he was Jaskier, seemingly didn’t notice. Which wasn’t the greatest.

“Yeah, sure, I guess. Never slept tied to somebody, though.” You say pointedly, and the annoyed rumble Geralt gives is almost worth it. Sharp gold eyes narrow at you slightly, before Geralt huffs, turning back to his task.

“I have! Well, it was more I had been knocked unconscious, but it still applies, I think! And those ropes were rather coarse, my wrists were aching for days!” Jaskier recalls. “Geralt had to rescue me, it was quite the adventure. I wrote a song about it, at some point, although I never published it. I really should rework that song, actually, come to think of it.”

He rambles, his voice filling the tense silence between you and Geralt, and you feel your shoulders start to relax. He was good at that, chattering to fill the silence that would drag on for hours between the two of you if it wasn’t for him. You sigh quietly, leaning into the warm hand clasped on your shoulders as the fire grows in strength, the bedrolls almost fully prepared.

“Alright. Jaskier, you take first watch, and I’ll take over in an hour or so.” There must not be many monsters around, you think, for Geralt to be so comfortable letting Jaskier take watch. Jaskier nods, slipping away your side as Geralt approaches.

“Not a problem! I was feeling wired tonight anyways, a few more hours though and I should be able to sleep well enough.” Jaskier agrees amicably. “Although I am a bit surprised, you normally insist on first watch.”

“Wanna get (Y/N) down.” Geralt huffs, and Jaskier nods.

“Fair enough, I suppose. They are criminally lacking in the sleep department, they’re beginning to get bags, poor thing.”

You scowl at Jaskier, annoyed.

“I’ve had these since middle school, first of all, not my fault I have insomnia.” You scowl, and jerk when Geralt all but drags you to the bed roll, barely waiting for you to finish talking.

“Hey!” You protests, annoyed, but he’s too busy ‘getting you settled’ as he liked to call it. Fussing over the blankets and the best roll, making sure your body was protected from the harsh winds that even the fire couldn’t stave off.

“Jaskier, stop keeping them up.” Geralt grumbles, sounding more tired than annoyed. He drags you closer, and it must be a Witcher thing to radiate heat like a furnace, because he was chasing off the cold without even trying, the same arm that you were tied to securing you against his chest.

“Pretty sure I can sleep on my own.”

You snark, and Geralt rolls his eyes.

“Not for the next week you aren’t, if that. Now go to bed.”

You scowl, glaring up at him. With the blanket over you, the fire, and the heat radiating off his body, you were tired, sure. But not tired enough not to say something, not when you were being treated like an idiot who couldn’t do anything for themselves.

“You can’t just- Geralt this isn’t right, and you know it. You can’t just- keep me here!”

You protest. Arguing with Geralt was much like arguing with a wall, honestly. Stubborn and just as likely to listen to you as the bricks that made up the walls of your old college.

But walls could come down. You just had to get through to him, make him realize that what was doing wasn’t going to work. You weren’t strong enough or fast enough to escape him, not without some clever plan or tricks up your sleeve, and you were pretty sure that an Olympic level athlete would still have issues trying to outpace him. So your only hope was getting him to listen.

It was a fragile hope, but it was the only hope you had.

“We’re not talking about this right now. Go to sleep.”

Geralt grumbles, and you open your mouth again. The warning rumble in his chest cuts you off, and you swallow.

The sound was exactly that. A warning. Geralt had never hurt you before, not really, but whenever he got mad things were miserable. Jaskier would be irritated with you for ‘putting Geralt in a mood’ as he put it, and you would be without the bard’s chattering to fill the heavy silent between you and Geralt. Not to mention the awkwardness of being forced to ride atop Roach with Geralt, the silence thick with tension between the two of you, or the way you would hope desperately for the day to end so you could go to sleep.

No, it was better to keep the Witcher happy. For all parties.

“Alright. Good night.” You finally mutter, and he sighs, the tension leaving his body. You feel his torso loosen, relaxing behind you, and you feel your hand shaking, just slightly. Or a little more than slightly. Your stomach twists, and Geralt sighs.

“I know you don’t understand. But you’ll realize this is what’s best for you.” He says it like it’s supposed to be an assurance, smoothing a hand over your hair like you’re a particularly fussy child, and you consider, for a second, twisting and biting that hand. Driving your teeth deep enough to draw blood and make him listen to you, for once.

You don’t, mainly because you know he would just move it fast enough your teeth would just snap at empty air.

You close your eyes. With the almost stifling heat behind you, and the too-heavy weight of the cord on your wrist that logically shouldn’t feel as heavy as it did, sleep does not come easy. Eventually, though, you feel your consciousness slip away into oblivion.

#yandere platonic Geralt of Rivia #yandere witcher #yandere platonic Geralt #platonic yandere x reader

[arogustus]

Splatband Analysis - Chirpy Chips

(Disclaimer: This analysis is based on what I get out of looking into the character descriptions we have of the splatband characters. If you disagree with what I say, that is fine, we are all beheld to our opinions. Just don't be a jerk about it.)

Splatband Analysis - Chirpy Chips

It’s the autism and ADHD squad! The chiptune chippers, Marie’s and Nintendo’s favorite band and the only one to survive Nine years together without drama (bar that one time), it’s the Chirpy Chips! Love these dudes.

Now, before we go into this, let’s address the Harmony in the room. Specifically that she has a room, in-game, where she exists in the polygonal flesh to interact with as a shopkeeper. Her autistic swag made her popular enough to be the first Splatband character to show up in the games, which means we actually know her and how she behaves. So, I’m gonna leave her for last and go about her like this: First, I’ll look into what we used to know before Splatoon 3 about her, and then we’ll compare that to her appearance in-game to see if it matches up. See if she was done right by the game. Now let’s meet these chips!

The Band

The Chirpy Chips debuted after Squid Squad all the way back in Splatoon 1, nine years ago (God). Dominating the charts thanks to their chiptune rock style, made with the help of multiple Nintendo machines (Gamers), this band has managed to outlast Squid Squad without disbanding all the way to Splatoon 3!.. Ok, actually that’s not true. According to a Famitsu Interview for Splatoon 2, the Chirpy Chips actually disbanded ever so briefly! No word as to why, but they reformed shortly after and wrote and performed Blitz It during the high of joining back. After that they’ve stuck together ever since, only really going on break because Harmony started working at Hotlantis. 

Don’t site that NoA post for Chirpy Chips Splat 3 that said there was drama by the way. The band was just on break, they are fine and NoA is just trying to stir up fake drama. It’s just like real life!

All of these guys are autistic. Like, that’s not a theory, but a fact. None of their descriptions make them sound neurotypical, that’s for sure. The band just seems to vibe perfectly with each other despite some of their issues, and they all go at their own pace. Turns out the secret to surviving in the music industry all along was to make neurodivergent friends. 

One of their performance tricks that they do is to glow in sync during songs. It’s a super cool visual to imagine, though probably done through artificial means, at least for Orion and Sid. As far as I know, there aren’t any bioluminescent crabs or flapjack octopi. Anemone and squid on the other hand do have glowing members, but it doesn’t confirm if they do it naturally or are using artificial means too. Either way these guys are a colorful bunch. And also none of them know how to dance, emphasizing further that these four are all dorks.

Noiji

Noiji is the hyperactive guitarist of the band, a stark contrast to the significantly less energetic rest of the band. He’s described as uncontrollable and bright, with a sunny disposition and an irresistible urge to run up and down slopes. He sounds overwhelming, and maybe impulsive if that slope running thing can be applied to other actions, but somehow he manages to get along well with the others. What is his secret? Also to keep with the neurodivergenceness, he has a special interest for vending machines. He would have loved them in Side Order, that’s for sure. Honestly I love vending machines too, they’re really cool, but just too expensive for someone of my income level (for now, anyway).

He used to be a part of a punk band called BariBari before he joined the Chirpy Chips.Surprising considering his colorfulness, but he seems to either formerly be, or still is, a punk. No word why he left the band though or what happened to it, but during that point he met and befriended Orion and formed the Chirpy Chips with them. They’re described to be on good terms with each other, which makes sense since, again, they knew each other before the rest joined up. 

Orion

The band's bassist and composer, a shy flapjack octopus. Yeah, despite being an octopus, they’re not an octoling, likely because of the fact the flapjack doesn’t naturally produce ink. They must be classified as something different to the inkfish, but what that is is something I don’t know. They’re an introvert, they don’t enjoy standing out or performing in front of crowds, and the compositions they upload independent of the band are done quietly. Makes one wonder how exactly someone like them made friends with Noiji. They’re an intellectual, geeky type, with a taste for outdated and strange subjects, as well as a preference for chiptune that they ensure the bands music keeps to. 

Surprising us all, Orion also got actual dialogue of sorts in the Splatoon 3 Chill Season 2023 update! Specifically in the form of Harmony reading a letter written by them. As Harmony herself describes, they talk the way they play the bass, EXTRA. Mostly in the form of excited statements and jokes about the band's lack of dancing ability. Kind of a stark difference from what we know of them, either because they’re doing this via text without having to face anyone, or because they’ve become more outgoing over the years. Either way an honor. Also canon they/them! Good for they.

Sid

The band's drummer, and the eldest among them. They’ve been drumming for a while, having performed for several other bands before joining the Chips, and they have a strong reputation in the community because of it. It seems that because of this, they’ve taken something of a silent mentor role to the others, supporting them in the background without ever taking the lead. Sort of a big brother style relationship going on. 

They’re described as easygoing, but with a hidden temper that only ever surfaces once a year, where they become way crabbier. To me it says that they don’t really express their frustrations often, just letting them simmer before they snap and vent it out. And even then they don’t draw a lot of attention that way. 

Harmony (and fish)

The anemone of the hour, the band’s vocalist and visual designer. As said above, I’ll first go over the info we knew of her before her appearance in Splatoon 3, and then compare it to what we’ve learned now to see if it was faithful to her character. 

She’s described as relaxed and going at her own pace, but to the point of being unmotivated. She’s frequently late for practice, and considering the state of her fish, who is “dying” of neglect (quote marks there cause the little guy is still alive somehow), it sounds a lot like executive dysfunction. I would know, I’m like her sometimes. Her singing voice is mentioned to also have been pretty flat and listless, but it seems years of performance has made it change to a much livelier tone in the intervening two years. She talks loosely and moves peculiarly, something the fans secretly enjoy. Why secretly? Is there a stigma against it? Her listless singing is mentioned to be a hot topic, so it might be the case.

We see in the bands’ album art for Splatoon 2 that she’s the one who mixes the chiptune music on nintendo consoles. Easy to say that she’s the pre-requisite in-universe Nintendo fan for this game. There’s one in pretty much every franchise. Skipping to “3” a bit, we can also assume she’s the one who edited the trailer, which shows off a lot of fun visuals and jokes, as well as her just goofing off like the dork that she is. For how reserved she comes off, she’s got an eccentric, goofy side hidden under there.

But now we’ve actually met her as Hotlantis’ shopkeeper! She’s a fan of the place, so despite the threat of having to work retail, she’s staying in the area in the actual manager’s place while he’s gone. She’s a fan of the store and all its useless knick knacks. As for herself as a person, it’s safe to say it all matches what we used to know of her. She’s pretty self-paced and blunt, commenting on your achievements out loud no matter how rude it sounds. She admits to it too if she beats you at tableturf, she doesn’t really know how else to talk. Her lack of motivation shows up anytime she needs to recite something Barry told her to do. She just plain doesn’t want to do any of it. She still does the work she’s willingly doing, she’s just going at her own pace. 

The fish is a fish, no telling what is up with them. Though according to some artbook information in “3” (correct me if I’m wrong), the reason they’re so sick is actually because Harmony’s hair isn’t protecting it very well. They’re still sticking around anyway, granted we’re not sure how clownfish do without an anemone, but it still seems like they’re staying of their own volition.

—

Harmony’s, and later Dedf1shes inclusion, gives us all hope we can see more of our favorite obscure characters in the games themselves. And looking at Harmony, we don’t have to worry too much about them being out of character, since she’s pretty accurate to the info we know.

I love these weird goobers. They should continue showing up. But now we are in the finale. Ω-3 is all that’s left now. See ya next time!

#splatoon #splatbands #splatband analysis #chirpy chips #noiji #orion #sid #harmony #my work #i love them your honor #they are so silly

[thebluestbluewords]

The Same Coin

I’m still having fun with the Valentine’s ficlets, so have some benlos! Set in no particular timeline, but there’s a nod to poly ot5 in the background.

+

“We don’t celebrate valentine’s day. On the Isle.” 

Ben tilts his head. His face is set into one of the middle levels of the Neutral Face of Acceptance, one of the ones that means he’s genuinely listening, not just trying not to look horrified while he thinks about other things. “Oh?” 

“It’s about feelings,” Carlos says slowly, trying to come up with a way to say the next part that won’t sound horrible. “And like, love, and stuff. And. We weren’t exactly. Allowed. To do that.” 

Ben cocks his head somehow further into the Neutral Acceptance Position. “What, to love people?” 

Nail, head. 

“Uh, yeah.” 

“I’m…” Ben trails off into silence for a moment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think this would be so different for you four. Valentine’s day is so…” 

“So commercialized?” Carlos says, before he can think twice about how mean it sounds. He’s supposed to be having a meaningful moment where he gets to help the king reach some sort of shared cultural understanding with the poor sad Isle kids he’s so kindly pulled out of their pathetic former existence, and instead of being sincere, like an Auradon kid should be, he’s making fun of Ben’s beloved holiday. And like, family tradition. Probably. He should just stop thinking. “I mean, uh. Not that buying your girlfriend stuff is a bad thing. It’s fine. The more stuff you buy here, the more junk people have to donate to us, so. I’ll just. Uh.  Stop talking.” 

Ben smiles, but his expression had slipped into something more like a strained grimace, all tight and fake around the eyes.  “I was going to say ingrained in our culture.. We’re taught to value love, so I assumed that the same would hold true for you. I should have known better.” 

“Ouch.” 

Ben goes red. “Not that you four don’t feel love!” 

It’s easier to look at Ben now that they’ve both put their foot in it. “I feel rage,” Carlos offers, softly. “If that helps at all.” 

“It’s not quite the same thing.” 

“Two sides of the same feeling,” Carlos says, feeling the weight of the words as they leave his mouth. “My mom’s not a great example, but she told me that you can’t hate something if you don’t love it, at least a little bit. They come from the same place, y’know. When you feel so much that there’s nowhere else for the feelings to go. They either come out as love, I guess, or if there’s too much, or the love isn’t reflected back…” 

Ben nods, and reaches over to take his hand. “Rage?” 

“Hatred, anger, jealousy.” Carlos ticks the feelings off on the fingers of his free hand as he goes. He doesn’t exactly like holding hands, because there’s too many opportunities to get distracted and leave yourself open if you’re walking hand in hand with someone, but it’s okay right now because they’re not moving, so there’s no way for Ben to pull him down and make it look like an accident, and they’re alone enough that nobody’s going to shout at them for doing it, and it’s still light enough that they could see anyone coming and let go before they’d get in trouble. “They’re all the same feeling. If obsession is good you end up in love with the thing, and if it’s bad you end up hating it with the same enthusiasm.” 

“I don’t think I could ever hate you,” Ben says softly. He’s doing a distracting thing with his hand, a little squeeze that’s drawing all of Carlos’s attention to where they’re connected. “Do you ever think that maybe your mom was wrong?” 

“About dogs, and driving cars, and how much pepper should go on food, yeah.” Carlos says. “But not this.” 

“Oh.” 

“Not–”  Carlos stutters around the words. He’s not sure what he even wants to say, but he’s so sure of this one. He used to hate Mal, back home when she was the one pushing him into closets and lockers and stealing his inventions, and then it was like a switch got flipped and all the times he’d followed her around to make her day worse, to try and spit gum into her hair from rooftops, and drop salt into her coffee when she left it on her school desk all seemed petty and stupid in light of how much he was suddenly devoted to her. He’d hated Jay too, up until the moment when he looked over at the wrong time, and all the feelings switched over into confused-hungry-aching, and he couldn’t stand to look at him, until his feelings for Mal settled into place and he fell in love with the both of them. 

He’s never not loved Evie, but Evie’s special. 

“Not like that.” Carlos says, finally. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just that I don’t know how to have emotions like normal people do, and for me, they’re sort of the same thing.” 

The callouses on Ben’s writing finger slide against the rough skin on Carlos’s knuckles. The places where he’s split them open from hot water and abrasive chemicals don’t hurt anymore, but they catch, against the rough pieces of Ben. 

He’s wearing them down. Evie’s helping, with her potions and chemistry. They’re working on it together. 

“Okay,” Ben says, and he’s not looking at Carlos. “Is it okay if I say I love you anyway?” 

The horrible-wonderful feeling that’s somewhere between fear and anger and love bursts hot and painful in his chest. 

“Yeah,” Carlos whispers. His voice cracks anyway, because it’s stupid that way. “I can’t– I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to say it back. But I don’t hate you.” 

A squeeze. 

“I love you too.” 

#my fic #descendants #descendants fic #ben florian #carlos de vil #benlos #ship of my heart…. #I know I write for everything but benlos truly was the first ship I got deeply invested in for this movie #the good boy scene was deeply influential. To me.

[daitranscripts]

Hi! I really love the project and all the work you've been doing so far. <3 I wanted to ask if you knew what Leliana's HoF dialogue is if you defiled the ashes but she's still alive and if it changes at all if she's romanced with doing the same? I'm not sure if it's possible in-game but Keep allows that worldstate. I would assume it's the typical "trusted friend" and "my love", but I was curious.

Hello! This is actually my canon world-state, and it is possible in game. If Leliana is with you when you defile the Ashes, you can either kill her or intimidate her. Intimidation does not end the romance - it only lowers approval (that can be regained with gifts!). If she is not in the party at the Temple, when you return to camp she will either leave or be persuaded to stay (I think the Warden can lie to her? I'm hazy on the details).

The DA:I romance dialogue only requires the plot flag of "Leliana romanced" to be true, and "Leliana died" to be false. When you ask her about the Hero of Ferelden, she has 6 possible responses:

romanced, Warden died (and Leliana was not killed by the Warden) We were in love. Even in the midst of all the chaos, I was happy. Truly happy. And then [they]… I’m sorry, I’d rather not talk about this. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

romanced, Warden alive (and Leliana was not killed by the Warden) [They are] always in my thoughts, even when we’re far apart. My love is on a quest of [their] own. When the Inquisition has no further need of me, I will join [them]. For good, this time. I have lost enough. I will not lose [them] as well. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

killed by the Warden The “Hero of Ferelden.” (Laughs.) There are no heroes in real life, just people. And people can do terrible things. Like striking me down, for example. It’s hard not to bear a grudge. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

left the party due to low approval/crisis The Hero of Ferelden was not what I expected. We traveled together in the early days of the Blight, but joining was a mistake. We never got along. I was young and had silly ideas. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

any other approval level, Warden died I had the privilege of calling [them] “friend” before [they] died. The world seemed much duller after that. It still does. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

any other approval level, Warden alive I count her among my closest friends. She’s probably the only person I trust completely. I haven’t heard from her in some time. She just… disappeared. I try not to think of what might have happened. or I count him among my closest friends. I still write to him for advice when I can. He hasn’t replied to my letters in some time. I try not to worry about it. He can take care of himself.

Interestingly, the plot flag ID for "Leliana died" is not the same as "Leliana was killed at the Urn." Using the plot flag editor, there are two different flags for her death:

Did the Warden kill Leliana after destroying the Sacred Ashes? - Did the Warden kill Leliana after a crisis unrelated to the Urn of Sacred Ashes?

Both of these plot flags are found in in the DA:I files, but her conversations with the Herald/Inquisitor about dying at the Temple of Sacred Ashes use the flag for "Did the Warden kill Leliana after a crisis unrelated to the Urn of Sacred Ashes?", and not the one that is... actually about the Ashes. I don't actually know if it's possible to kill her in any other way in DA:O, honestly.

Hope this helps :)

Edit: Sorry looking back at the question, I never really answered. If you defile the Ashes and do not kill Leliana, the game will go based off the romance/approval flag - DA:I doesn't read the "Warden defiled the ashes" flag, only Leliana's fate.

#asks #leliana #hero of ferelden #dai transcripts #dragon age inquisition

[someabsolutenonsense]

Okay I’m sure someone else has made a similar post but I have thoughts I’m attempting to think about these resurrection beasts

The Houses

As far as I can tell we only really know for sure that the First House is Earth and the Ninth House is Pluto. My proposed lineup for the houses is as above. Fucking up the numbering so that earth can be first is very human, and John would do it. And it makes sense since it is quite literally the first home of humanity. If we go with this lineup then there are few things I can read into…

Venus as The 3rd:

The third house have an association with beauty, like the goddess the planet is named for. The individuals from the third that we know are also kind of…horrible terrible people (affectionate). Venus, much like Ianthe’s personality, is inhospitable.

Mars as The 4nd:

“But wait,” you say, “shouldn’t the second house be Mars since they’re the ones associated with the cohort and all that?” MAYBE. The fourth also works for Mars though, they too are extremely associated with war, we learn from Isaac and Jeanmarrie that 4th kids go to war very young.

Pluto as The 9th:

Death god, skeleton nuns, we all know.

So that’s one interpretation, but honestly I think that

1) Venus is likely to be the 7th, since Cytherea was both a name for the goddess Venus and the name of everyone’s favorite identity stealing lyctor from the 7th house.

2) The 3rd might be Jupiter? King of the gods, and the third is always described in terms of royalty?

3) The 2nd could be Mars, as discussed above.

4) The 6th kind of needs to be Mercury. Mercury/Hermes as a god was associated with doctors and the element used to be used in thermometers.

So really that brings us back to this which is so upsetting but without further analysis that’s what I’ve got for sure.

Resurrection Beasts

Similar to the true nature of the houses, we know very little for sure when it comes to the RBs. Alecto is Earth. Varun seems to be Neptune. That’s what we know. Which is why it’s particularly confusing that in Harrow the Ninth Augustine describes a different creature as being The First.

As described by the lyctors…

Number Two: “…spewed quicksilver and remade itself into hundred foot spikes.”

@dmmeeble pointed out that this was probably mercury since quicksilver is another name for the element mercury

Number Six: “…kept sucking us into enormous sphincters and spraying us with worms.”

I’ve got next to nothing for the sphincter worms beast tbh. My only idea is that this could be Jupiter because that sounds like some Zeus (Jupiter) punishment nonsense on the level of Prometheus and the liver pecking eagle.

Number Four: “…a humanoid creature with a beautiful face who held me under the water, and it spoke in a lovely voice but it only repeated, die, die…”

I imagine that this one has to be Venus since Mercy makes a point to say they were beautiful and Venus was a goddess of beauty. Also, water is mentioned and Venus was born from water and is therefore associated with it.

Number One: “…a great and incoherent machine…when I saw it I thought it had a great tail, and a thousand broken pillars on its back, but Cassiopeia saw it as a mechanical monster with swords for wings, and great horns of myelin, tessellated over with graves.”

This is the weirdest one. We already know Number One was Alecto, so this has to be something different. Right? RIGHT?! Cause the thing is I could see this one being earth. Mechanical monster because of all the mechanical detritus of the human species left after John’s apocalypse, the thousand broken columns also speaking to ancient ruins, swords for wings because of the legacy of violence left by the people of earth, the graves all the many graves dug in the surface of the earth over the years. This is a fairly human centric interpretation but having experienced Nona and Alecto, the soul of the earth is clearly very affected by humanity. In an entirely different direction, this could totally be Pluto. The graves, the swords (especially with our knowledge of the ninth), the lifelessness of the mechanical creature. Parts of the description is even reminiscent of some kind of automaton version of a harpy or a fury, with the wings and the general horrors of appearance. And while the furies are chthonic beings…this still brings us back to Alecto…

Number Eight: “…a giant head.” “Finned like a fish…it’s ribs were bloody bandages, and it’s teeth protruded through its own skull, tangled about its face like a nest. It was red, and it had a single eye of green that moved all about the body…”

There are multiple ways to go here. Red implies Mars of course. All of the images of injuries and bloody bandaging could also speak to Mars as war imagery, but the single eye implies Jupiter. Then of course there is the “finned like a fish” and the one eye implying a Cyclops and Cyclopes being associated with Neptune/Poseidon-but we’ve set aside Neptune for Varun. HOWEVER Cyclopes are also connected to Uranus as Uranus and Gaia had some cyclops children in Hesiod’s Theogony. Have I taken this too far yet?

So as you can see, I’ve connected the dots??????

#the locked tomb #resurrection beast #tlt houses #og lyctors #tlt #john gaius #alecto tlt #varun the eater #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth

[existential-labrador]

So, SO, this post has been a long time coming. It’s my post about Tedbecca and the finale and all of the fallout. It’s gonna be long. It’s gonna be rambly. It may not make sense. It may be a mess. There may be no order to my musings. And I will probably be changing my mind on things even as I write them cause this is word vomit at it's best. Also I know a lot of what I'm about to say has already been said, probably more articulately but I just have so many thoughts bubbling away and it’s finally time for them to come out. Oh and fair warning, this is gonna be LOOOOOOOOOOONG. If you make it through, I’ll be seriously impressed. And if you don’t, that’s okay, this is mostly for me anyway.

Where to begin? Well, I guess firstly I really want to talk about Brendan Hunt’s comments in the reddit Q&A. I want to preface this by saying I don’t want this to be a personal attack against Brendan, that’s not cool. But his comments did hurt me and a lot of others, I know this was unintentional but they did and I kinda wanna unpick them. I just want it to be clear that my doing so isn’t an attack against him, I appreciate that sometimes it’s lose-lose in these kind of interview/Q&A situations and that it’s very easy to say the wrong thing. But anyway, I need to talk about it. It’s how I process and I’m someone who likes to understand WHY. Especially when it comes to stories and writing.

Firstly, the comment about people taking things personally. Really not good, but I think it was probably just very poorly phrased. Or at least I hope so. It’s not lost on me, the irony of me taking a comment about taking things personally, personally. I also know us getting upset about it only fuels the fire for those people who think we’re ‘throwing tantrums’ and have ‘no media literacy’ (more on that later) and that it perhaps only strengthens the point Brendan was trying to make. And I hope that point was, that it surprised him that people took their writing decisions as a personal attack against them, like they’d been doing it to deliberately hurt us. I can see why that would be surprising, if that's how fan reactions came across. The trouble is, Brendan's comment and others he made came across poorly. Paired with some writing decisions, it showed a real misunderstanding of how invested we were as fans. From a Tedbecca standpoint for example, the kitchen fakeout at the beginning of the finale. They say it was supposed to be an affectionate nod, which now I know, I appreciate. It's nice to know they weren’t doing it just to wind us up. So I can see why they’d then be surprised that we were so upset. BUT, again, it showed a real misunderstanding.

What they didn’t think about, what they didn’t see, is us investing everything into every episode and building things up to the point of driving ourselves mad. Wishing, hoping, praying, questioning ourselves, defending ourselves, analysing and over analysing everything, clinging on til the very end, BELIEVING (!) and TRUSTING THE WRITERS. This was our mantra. This was our faith. So when that finale opened and we saw that scene, it was like all of our wildest dreams had come true, it was relief beyond comprehension, it was vindication, it was incandescent joy, it was the ultimate payoff…only for it to then be a joke… The fall from that was the most painful fucking thing. To be built up to that level and then to crash down like that. Soul destroying. And then to have the airport scene at the end as a further fakeout, again with all of that build up. Man. The disappointment was and remains, beyond words. It would have been so much easier on all of us to just not have those fakeouts, we would have been disappointed sure. But to seemingly be given everything we’d hoped for and then to have the rug pulled out from under us. Oof. Fucking brutal.

The same can be said of the matchbook, which is actually even worse because I still don't understand why? WHY? I'm not trying to be an arsehole here, I'm not 'kicking off because I didn't get my own way'. I genuinely would just love to chat to the writers and hear them explain why this and other details were put in. I can only imagine their answer would come back to the soulmates thing. Which is fine, totally support platonic soulmates, but they just made it so confusing. The matchbook was linked to Rebecca looking for love, wasn't it? I suppose it could have been linked to looking for meaning and happiness and you could say Ted was trying to do the same. And perhaps the 'it shows you what was right in front of you all along' was meant to indicate the club for Rebecca and going home for Ted? Look, that doesn't add up completely to me, but I'm trying to make sense of it. This is why I would do anything to have a proper discourse with the writers because without a full explanation, their execution of whatever story they were trying to tell with Ted and Rebecca just feels confused and unfulfilled.

And look, I know the writers don't owe me or any of us an explanation. I know they had their story and their vision and that's up to them and it made sense to them and what they saw, but I wish they would stop insinuating (or outright saying) that we saw what we wanted to and made this up in our heads. Because if you are gonna tell us that, please be clear in explaining your reasoning and writing decisions to us. Please be clear in your writing and the story. And really, would it kill you to just say, "Everyone interprets things differently and that's wonderful. This isn’t what we were aiming for, but we love that people enjoyed it that way.”

One of the things that frustrates me most now that we've heard they were firm in Tedbecca not happening from the beginning is the wasted potential of Ted and Rebecca's friendship. Platonic soulmates is a beautiful concept and we would have loved it! If it had been explored properly and given the proper ending it deserved. It also would have allowed us to move on and focus on the show. But the constant in between with the fakeouts, a total headfuck. And to have it be a headfuck right up until the final minutes, whyyyyyy.

It’s not that we can’t understand or appreciate platonic relationships. We love those too! They’re beautiful! And I absolutely agree that they're aren't enough of them represented. But this one didn’t land right. Maybe Brendan meant his socially conditioned comment as an explanation. Like, media socially conditions people so we wanted to challenge that because this show was all about subverting expectations. Maybe that's why they referenced When Harry Met Sally so much, to make the point, actually, men and women can be friends. I mean, obviously, we all know that! (I actually think WHMS knows it too although I see why people think it sends that message.) But again, in that case, why didn't we see more of this beautiful platonic relationship? Especially in season 3! I have wondered if Ted and Rebecca's lack of screen time in season 3 was a deliberate move to deter people from the ship but have also considered that the writers may well have just wanted to focus on other characters and stories with the cast expanding so much and that less screen time for these two was a natural consequence. I also have felt retrospectively that Ted taking a step back was deliberate to show that these characters could thrive without him once he left. But still, more friendship please!

Now look, I appreciate that we obsess HARD. I appreciate we get carried away sometimes. And I 100% think the writers should stay true to what they want and their vision (well for the most part, more on that later) so I’m not saying the writers should be thinking about what the fans want here. What I’m saying is, it was poor judgement. Moments that were supposed to be affectionate came across as cruel. And then to be bewildered that we took it personally…total misjudgement of how much this meant to us.

Now Tedbecca as a romantic pairing aside, there was also misjudgment of how much these characters and their happiness meant to us and also a misunderstanding of why we were upset. We weren’t just upset about the pairing. We were upset that these characters didn’t get the endings we felt they deserved. And that goes way beyond Ted and Rebecca but this post is about them so that's who I'll focus on. Ted going home, though I am mostly reconciled to this now, still felt so sad and unexplored. @melliemd did a wonderful post (https://www.tumblr.com/melliemd/719859828851408896/one-thing-that-would-have-helped-the-finale-leave) about it not being that Ted went home being the problem but that he seemingly then disappeared from the lives of people in Richmond? Bizarre. Rebecca deciding she could travel and do whatever she wanted with her life and get to know herself, only to then decide to stay at Richmond without a scene to bridge the gap of that decision. Bizarre! For the record, I think she does belong at Richmond. But I truly felt she deserved some 'Drink, Sleep, Fuck' adventures round the world first. And to be paired off with essentially some random dude last minute? The fuck? And to have the whole suggestion that she's a Mother to the club only to then make her an actual Mother to some random child, frustrating! I thought that message of her being a Mother in a different way was so beautiful. And look, I appreciate that when it comes to women having children or not having children, there's always criticism and I 100% think her character wanted children and deserved to find that happiness buuuttt it just felt confusing. These endings were not satisfying. And regardless of platonic or romantic, you cannot tell me Ted's lack of proper goodbye to Rebecca was okay, it was just bizarre. So yes, we took this personally, because we were (and are) deeply invested in these characters and their happiness and them having the ending they deserved.

Now back to the ship, I’ve been thinking a lot about Brendan’s answer about Tedbecca being considered but never with enthusiasm. The thing is, the question was, ‘was Tedbecca endgame’ considered. Now if we’re looking at the confines of the show and we know that they were always firm in Ted going back to Kansas, then perhaps it never made sense to them for these two to have a happy ending. Perhaps the fixed point of Ted leaving negated any possibility for these two to end up together. Or at least I was thinking along these lines before Hannah said Jason was adamant that they were mates in the platonic sense!

I think the problem came in the determination that it had to be one or the other. And I know that sounds silly, how can people be platonic if they ever have romance. But the thing is, relationships change. The possibility that their friendship could grow and evolve into something more doesn’t erase the beautiful friendship they had before it changed. Does that make sense? I’m thinking about other shows and representations here. For example, you guessed it, my old favourite, Ugly Betty. Betty and Daniel have a 100% platonic friendship for most of the show and it is BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the show, it’s fairly open ended, although strongly implied that it’s heading towards romance. Now firstly, the open ending works beautifully and is what Tedbecca should have got (more of that below) but also the idea of romance doesn’t change or diminish the beautiful friendship Daniel and Betty had. It just indicated that after years of being friends, in a gorgeous platonic representation, they had become the most important person in one another’s lives and that their relationship had a beautiful foundation of friendship that could grow into something more if they wanted. The romance wasn’t because they were a man and a woman and HAD to get together. It just made sense that they probably would by the end of it given the journey their characters had been on and how their relationship had grown. I've seen a lot of people mention Monica and Chandler as another great example. They were genuinely platonic friends who become more, but that was never a given. We don’t love the 'friends to lovers' trope because ‘man must end up with woman’, we love it because the idea of two people building something from a strong foundation and knowing each other better than anyone else and supporting and bringing out the best in one another through thick and thin is GORGEOUS.

And on that point, let’s talk more about Brendan’s comment about people being socially conditioned to think a man and a woman should end up together in response to a Tedbecca question. This one hurt the most and was the most poorly thought out IMO. Well actually I’m not sure it was thought out at all. I’ve already said it in another post but I’ll say it again now, I ship characters based on who they are, their chemistry and usually their suitability for each other, not based on their gender. It’s mad to suggest otherwise and came across as incredibly condescending. It also again, showed a complete misunderstanding of the fans. I’m not naive enough that I can’t see what he meant, obviously the large majority of media is unfortunately still heteronormative and unconscious bias does exist, I appreciate that. And obviously I say this having already admitted that I thought the show featured a romance between these two before I watched it (based on scenes I’d seen on tumblr.) So I know I went in with pre-conceived notions. But this wasn't based on man and woman. This was based on, two people with matching baggage, supporting each other, helping each other grow, becoming best friends and being soulmates. And if you’re gonna blame me following a trope before I watched the show, blame enemies to friends to lovers, don’t blame man and woman. It was never about that.

As I said before, I totally get where Tedpendent shippers were coming from, it wasn’t my ship of choice but I could see Ted and Trent had chemistry and could work and be very cute together. That wasn’t my ship of choice, but only because for me, the characters of Ted and Rebecca (tropes aside) matched as people, regardless of gender, given their baggage and the growth of their relationship. And when I say baggage I don’t even mean the cosmic, soulmate, 1991, matchbook etc. stuff, beautiful as it was. I mean the fact that they have both just been through divorce, they understand each other like no-one else can, challenge each other, help each other grow, make each other laugh, are there for each other, have seen each other at their worst, their best and everything in between, the list is endless. They would make each other so happy! @lauranthalasahlasah did an incredible post about this (https://www.tumblr.com/lauranthalasah/718039664194387968/i-dont-want-ted-and-rebecca-to-end-up-alone-i) that I keep thinking about that says it better than I could.

I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a writer on a show like this and to have fans dissatisfied no matter what. But you know what, being a fan isn’t easy either. We’re often told we’re delusional no matter who we ship. And we’re made to feel like it’s our fault for wanting two people who would make each other so happy to end up together. Like we’re ridiculous for thinking it. Again, would it have been that hard to say, “I can see why people wanted that, it’s not the direction we wanted but it’s nice that everyone interprets things differently.” And yes, I appreciate they must have been EXHAUSTED with those questions by the end, they had them constantly, but please PLEASE stop implying that we're mad for even suggesting it. (Especially when you constantly and heavily refer to romcoms!) Wanting two characters you deeply care about to be happy (with someone perfectly matched for them) doesn't come from social conditioning, it comes from love. (And as Hannah Waddingham said, hope.)

Again, I understand why they wanted it to be platonic. And again, I respect that the writers wanted to stay true to their vision BUT I don't think the vision for a story should come at the cost of something that would have made a lot of sense for the characters. What I mean by that is, when I've written in the past, I've found it hard to let go of things I was firm on keeping in the beginning, but if they suddenly don't fit in the story, or if the story evolves past them, they have to go. And I want to be clear, I'm not comparing myself to these guys, I'm an amateur, they are professionals and they are sensational. And I'm not even saying Tedbecca had to happen, but what I'm saying is, being so determined that Ted and Rebecca could never happen, that they could only ever be platonic, because you wanted the show to subvert expectations, is where it went wrong. Being so firm in this decision you made so early on before the show started and grew and developed, that you won't even acknowledge the POSSIBILITY that these two characters - with all of their baggage and the evolution of their characters and their relationship (and Jason and Hannah's chemistry!) - could grow into something more, that's a mistake. It didn't have to happen, but an open ending would have made so much sense! Or if not even that, then outside of the show, just acknowledging that this could happen, would that be so hard? Stop being so headstrong in the platonic message that you ignore everything else about these characters and their relationship and the potential they could have had if that platonic relationship had evolved.

And being so firm in the platonic message, decided from the beginning, that you pair one of your main characters off with some random dude, how is that better? I'm not saying Rebecca can never end up with anyone and doesn't deserve to be happy. I'm not even saying that she wouldn't be happy with Dutch guy. She absolutely deserved to find love and her character genuinely wanted that. What I'm trying to say, is that pairing her off just for the sake of it and in such a rushed way, just felt wrong. Her character deserved better. You know who I would have loved to see Rebecca see outside of the airport? Keeley and Higgins. Her found family! I'm not saying it''s not okay that she ended up with a guy, that doesn’t lessen what a boss ass bitch she is or anything, but I think throwing someone in last minute which made it feel like it was for the sake of it and then at the same time telling us we're socially conditioned, is just a little bit hard to get your head around! All of that being said, Hannah Waddingham did say in an interview recently that she loved that Dutch guy didn't know Rebecca, so she could be old Rebecca without any of the baggage and be with someone not already involved in her life and all of her messy past. I did like that perspective. But I still think being with someone who knows you better than anyone else and has supported you through your trauma and has loved and been there for you through thick and thin, and who also happens to be your cosmic soulmate, is better.

But what do I know? I'm just a silly, socially conditioned, hysterical, media illiterate fan! 🤣

And on that final point, to all of those people out there who have deliberately been nasty or laughed at us or gone out of their way to tag Tedbecca in a shitpost - I feel sorry for you. If you feel the need to take time out of your day just to be nasty to people, that’s pretty sad. Especially in this fandom. You can laugh at us all you want but you know what? We didn’t get our ship, fine. But it’s still real to us, it’s not less because it didn’t play out how we wanted. And you know what else? We gained beautiful friendships through this ship. We formed a community full of hope and love and kindness. And nothing you say will change or spoil that. And for anyone upset, annoyed or offended by our posts because you were happy with the show, I am sorry...but you know what I do when I find continuous posts like that that I don’t like seeing? I unfollow the person. Simple as that. I don't go out of my way to personally have a go at them. Please try to do better people, it's genuinely pitiful in any fandom, but in a fandom for this show, about love and kindness, it's genuinely embarrassing.

P.S. my Tedbecca people, I fucking love you 💜

#ohhhh my this needs a contents page! #ted x rebecca #tedbecca

[mygwenchan]

Pete is the master manipulator of the show, not Vegas

I believe that Pete is the true master manipulator in this show, not Vegas. Vegas is good at lying and manipulating, mind you, but Pete is so much better at using some levels of truth and also using himself (body and mind) to manipulate others. Unlike Vegas, Pete always achieves his goals and none of the other characters even notice that they have been manipulated by him.

An example: The hallway scene in EP7 where Pete spies on Vegas

There are quite a number of levels of deception in this little scene alone:

Surface level: Pete got lost in the big mansion and couldn't find the way back to his room > LIE: He told Vegas this lie to get out of a risky situation. Vegas knew Pete was lying.

Middle level: Pete sucks at being a spy. He had lost track of Vegas and just stood at a random spot in the hallway while he reported back to Kinn. Pete got scared when Vegas suddenly showed up in front of him and came up with the surface level lie > LIE: Pete only pretended to be bad at spying and didn’t really get scared. In reality, Pete is not that stupid and clumsy. Here I'm not sure if Vegas could see through this lie or not. My current guess is that Vegas was too excited about the chance to interact with Pete to think any further, so he didn't catch up on the next level of deceit.

Ground level: Pete wanted to find the door to Vegas’ secret office. He already had a pretty good idea where that door had to be, so he positioned himself right across from it in the hallway. Then he took out his phone and reported back to Kinn, making noises and making sure that there would be a bright light shining right onto his face. Pete wanted to be heard and he wanted to be visible, he wanted to look like a spy who couldn’t do his job properly. For a split second however, Pete looked up. He looked right at the door that in this moment must’ve opened, he probably saw Vegas slip out of the door as well. Vegas rushed over to Pete, leaning against the wall and asked “Looking for something?” Pete only pretended to get scared. He wasn't scared at all, since he already knew that Vegas was there. Pete told his little lie about not being able to find his room and the both of them exit the hallway > TRUTH: Pete wanted to lure Vegas out, so he pretended to be bad at spying, knowing that Vegas wouldn’t be able to resist this opportunity to interact with him. Pete used the attraction Vegas felt towards him to achieve his goal, which was to find the location of the secret door. He manipulated Vegas and Vegas most likely didn’t catch up on it.

Hidden level: Pete saw this as a chance to meet Vegas. I’m pretty sure he could’ve found that secret door with another method, but he chose this one. It’s not the first time that Pete has baited Vegas and each time Vegas did exactly what Pete wanted him to > TRUTH: Despite working for two opposing parties, Pete and Vegas feel a certain attraction for one another. Pete is usually the one who initiates the contact (did Pete really have to shout so loudly when he saw the condoms in that car spying scene? Did Pete have to talk back to Vegas when Vegas wanted to have dinner with Porsche and the other bodyguards? Did he have to suck at spying again during the temple scene? Did he have to go back to the minor family manor to get information for Kinn and thus got caught by Vegas? No, Pete didn’t, he wanted to). Since the main and minor family are enemies, Pete sees no other option, but to use deception and manipulation to get close to Vegas. Vegas picks up on it to a certain degree, but it is debatable whether or not Vegas can see the true level of Pete’s manipulation.

#pete is my kind of man #it's always the cute quiet ones #also pete is someone i really wouldn't want to piss off #because he will end you on so many levels #he'll probably hunt you down in your next life #and he will make you fall in love with him and then break your heart #and then make you feel like you're the one who did wrong #vegas doesn't know what's coming for him #vegaspete #vegas x pete #kinnporsche #kp meta

[sequinsmile-x]

Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Twenty Six

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Hi friends!!

As always, thank you so much for the love on this fic! This chapter is much softer than the last couple, giving our favs a well earned break from what I am putting them through in this story!

Please let me know what you think, your reactions genuinely mean the world to me!

-x-

Words: 3.2k

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List and will be updated as we go along.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

“I remember when our girl's days started with shopping and then ended in a bar, not the McDonalds in the mall’s food court,” Penelope says, smiling as she pops a fry into her mouth.

Emily chuckles, “It’s in the rules that the pregnant woman gets to choose where we eat.” 

“That’s true,” JJ chimes in, having a sip of her soda, “I always got to pick when I was having Henry.”

“See,” Emily says turning back to Penelope, “If you want to pick you have to have a baby of your own.”

Penelope visibly shivers, shaking her head, “No thank you, I am more than happy being the cool Aunt to Henry and Nugget.”  

Emily frowns, scrunching up her nose as she smiles at JJ before turning back to Penelope, “Why are you calling my baby ‘Nugget?’”

“Well since you refuse to find out what you are having I’ve had to improvise,” Penelope replies, nodding towards the box of McNuggets in Emily’s hand, “Plus chicken nuggets seem to have become one of your main food groups lately.” 

Emily clears her throat, her cheeks red with embarrassment, “I’ve been craving them.” 

“All I ever wanted to eat when I was pregnant was this one particular taco from Taco Bell,” JJ says sympathetically, smiling wryly, “Poor Will went out to get it for me so many times in the middle of the night.” 

Emily laughs, “Aaron has half-filled our freezer with nuggets, Jack is always delighted when he comes over.” She knew that Aaron was, at best, a few weeks away from hiding vegetables in her food just like he did for his son.

“Did you get everything you needed, Em?” JJ asks, looking at the bags of clothes on the spare chair at their table.

Emily nods in response, “I got a new bra and a couple of pairs of pants,” she says, scrunching her nose up, “None of my actual clothes fit me properly anymore but I’m going to try to put off buying maternity clothes as long as I can.” 

“Just think, before we know it we’ll be throwing your baby shower,” Penelope says, her excitement clear, and Emily chuckles wryly, “Which reminds me, I’ll need your mother’s number so I can contact her about that. I tried looking for it but it’s listed as classified.” 

Not for the first time, she finds herself grateful for the way she was raised, the way she can hold herself together in moments like this. It had been just over a week since she had seen Elizabeth, and it still stung when she thought about it, about how everything had gone south so fast. She was grateful that her mother had, so far, stuck to what she had asked and not contacted her, but it also hurt. An unspoken confirmation from her that she had chosen alcohol over her daughter. Over her grandchild. Despite everything, she still didn’t want anyone else to know, her need to keep it private, even from the people she considered her extended family, overriding anything else. 

She supposed, on some level, it was probably a good thing she’d never seen her mother that often anyway. It would make things less suspicious, but she’s sure questions would come further down the line when the baby arrived. 

When she and Aaron decided to finally get married. 

She twists her engagement ring around her finger and smiles at her friend, “That’s not really her kind of thing,” she says before reaching for her drink and taking a sip before she expertly, switches the conversation “I’m only 17 weeks Pen, let's not wish the time away. There's a lot to do before then,” she finishes her fries and sighs, the salty food taking the edge off of her rising panic for everything she and Aaron needed to organise before the baby was born, “Like finding a place to live.” 

It was a discussion that she and Aaron had started having when they found out she was pregnant. She loved her apartment, it had been her home for longer than anywhere ever had been before, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough for their growing family. Whilst the baby would be sleeping with them for the first few months after they were born, she didn’t want to eventually force Jack to share a bedroom with his sibling when he was with them. 

She wanted a house, a home. Somewhere her kids could grow up and run around together. Somewhere they could get covered in mud in the backyard. Everything she’d watched in the movies when she was young and convinced herself she’d never have herself. Aaron, despite having moved into her apartment less than a year ago, agreed, and part of her wondered why they hadn’t just bought a house then. If she was honest with herself, she knew it was because a part, a very small part, had still wanted some kind of control of the situation. 

“Have you still not found something?” JJ asks, well aware of the difficulty, and stress, of finding somewhere to live when pregnant. 

Emily groans, shaking her head as she places her hand on her stomach, her almost constant indigestion bubbling away, “No. Aaron is insistent on splitting everything down the middle which is insane,” she exclaims, blowing out a breath, “I have all of this money just sitting in my trust fund.”

They’d been disagreeing about it almost as long as they’d been talking about buying a house. She wanted to use her money, to buy them somewhere they could live forever, but Aaron was hesitant. She could never quite figure out if it was incredibly misplaced machoism that made him feel like he had to be the provider, or if he was just uncomfortable with the amount of money she had, or if it was both. 

Either way, it was frustrating, and she knew this was something they would likely run into a lot over the years. 

“And you have how much in that trust fund?” Penelope inquiries, making both Emily and JJ laugh, the question a regular one on every girl's night since she’d first confirmed their suspicions that she had a trust fund at all.

“Pen, if you can’t get that information out of me when I’m drunk, you have no chance when I’m sober.” 

___

Emily sighs as she slumps back on the couch, rubbing her hands over her face as she takes a break from looking at real estate listings. 

“It can’t be that bad,” Aaron says as he sits next to her, handing over the ice cream she’d requested after dinner. She sits up, making Sergio who had been curled up in her lap, his head on her bump, jump up, meowing as he walks away. 

Emily grumbles as she takes the bowl from him, narrowing her eyes as she takes a bite, moaning at the taste of chocolate, “It is almost impossible to find a house that has everything we want within the budget we have.” 

Aaron sighs at the mention of it, familiar dread that what had so far only been a disagreement between them could easily transform into a full-blown argument, “Em-”

“I have the money, Aaron,” she says, placing her bowl of ice cream down on the table in front of them, her appetite for it gone.

“It’s your money, sweetheart.” 

She scoffs, shaking her head at him. “We’re having a kid. We’re going to get married. What happened to ‘what’s mine is yours?’” 

“I don’t know if that applies to literal millions of dollars,” he replies, remembering how he’d had to sit down when she originally told him how much money she had, a fearful glint in her eyes that it would change the way he viewed her. He sighs and places his hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently, “It’s just…I spoke to Dave and-”

“You listened to Dave about this?” She asks incredulously, cutting over him, “He’s been divorced four times, I don’t think he’s exactly the person to go to for relationship advice.”

“Three times,” Aaron corrects, a wry smile on his face, “And he’s the only other rich person I know.”

“I’m richer than him,” she grumbles under her breath as she crosses her arms over her chest. She looks at him and sees the flicker of amusement in his lips, the way his eyebrow arches, and she clears her throat, “Right, not helping,” she sighs, “Why are you so hesitant to do this my way? Is it some macho bullshit that you need to be the provider? Because if it is-”

“No,” he replies, squeezing her leg again, “I promise you it’s not that.” 

She stares at him for a moment, desperately trying to see if he’s lying to her, but she’s satisfied he isn’t and she places her hand over his on her leg, “Then what is it?” 

He doesn’t want to upset her, to make things harder on her than they had been since what small part of the relationship she had left with her mother had collapsed around her, but she deserved the truth. 

“I’ve been divorced once already, sweetheart,” he says carefully, hating himself as her eyes go slightly wider, “I need to be practical. If you buy us a house-”

“It will be our house,” she says, cutting over him, “Not mine. And if anything happened between us,” the thought of it alone makes her breath catch in her throat, “It would still be our house. We’ll have both of our names on the deeds. I wouldn’t just screw you over like that.” 

“I know,” he assures her, squeezing her hand, shaking his head at himself, “Why is this so important to you?”

She sighs, “That money in my trust fund came from my parents, and their parents, and the jobs they chose that meant we were never really a family,” she blows out a shaky breath, the wound from the conversation with her mother the week before still fresh, “And I always told myself that if I got married and had kids I’d use it to buy my family a home, to make something good out of the very thing that made my childhood miserable,” she places her hand on her bump, “For a long time I convinced myself I’d never have this and that I’d end up donating it all to a charity that would make mother furious, like a cat sanctuary or something, but now I do have you and Jack and Nugget.”

“I can’t believe the Nugget thing is catching on,” Aaron says, and she smiles at him, her eyes soft and full of love. She’d told him about their friend's nickname for their unborn child the moment she got home, and the confused look on his face had made her laugh so much she’d started to jokingly use it herself. 

“What can I say, Pen is persuasive,” she replies. She cups his neck, her thumb brushing over his jawline, “Please let me do this for us. If it makes you feel better you can pay all the bills when we do find somewhere, or we can keep this place and rent it out and that can go into an account for the kids, but…just let me do this.” 

He looks at her, and he isn’t sure he’s ever seen her so raw, so torn open. Her honesty a gateway that let him see the parts of her she still hid even from him sometimes. He picks up one of the more expensive listings she’d been looking at, far outside o the budget they’d tentatively agreed on and looks it over. 

“You like this one?” He asks, and she nods, her lower lip in between her teeth as if she was trying to keep her hope contained. It was a beautiful home, a large colonial-style house with a brick facade, the interior was largely open plan on the first floor, with large archways separating the rooms, letting natural light filter throughout the house. The bedrooms and bathrooms were all a decent size, especially the master bedroom and its adjoining ensuite, and there was plenty of space in the backyard for Jack, the baby, and any other kids they may have to run around. 

He finds himself mostly drawn to the huge, immaculately decorated, kitchen and he can picture himself making pancakes on a Sunday morning in there for his family.

“It’s a beautiful house,” he says, smiling at her and raising his eyebrow, “5 bedrooms?” 

She rolls her eyes at the suggestive tone in his voice, hearing exactly what he hadn’t said, and pats his chest, “Easy there tiger, at least let me have this kid before you start thinking about filling up the spare rooms.” 

Aaron chuckles and pulls her in for a kiss, “Let’s go see it.” 

The way her eyes light up tells him he’s made the right call, that putting aside any deep-rooted concerns and misplaced fear about letting her do this for them, for their family, is exactly what he should have done weeks ago when she first brought this up. 

“Really?” She asks, her smile wide, any ability to hide her emotions well and truly lost in the first trimester of her pregnancy. 

“Really,” he confirms, kissing her again, “I can see our family growing up there.” 

She throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she kisses him, the action lost in her wide smile, “I love you so fucking much.”

He chuckles and wraps his arms around her, pulling her so she was straddling his waist, her knees on either side of his hips, “I love you too.” 

“I’ll call the agent in the morning.” 

He nods and pulls her in for another kiss, smiling at the feel of her bump pressed up against him. “We won’t be able to do this for much longer,” he says, moving to kiss her cheek and then her neck, “We won’t have room.” 

She pulls back and smiles at him, and she runs her fingers through his hair, “In that case,” she says, leaning in to kiss him again, “We’d better make the most of it before we’re regulated to just the bed.” 

___

Cases with children were always harder. 

The desperation to solve the case, to find the bad guy who was doing the worst of things possible to the most innocent, more intense. She’d always felt great empathy for the parents in these situations, but now she could put herself somewhat in their shoes, her love for Jack, for the baby in her belly, enough to make her feel sick at the mere thought of something happening to them. 

She watches Aaron from her desk, her focus on her paperwork limited at best as she keeps looking through the blinds in his office, desperate to go check on him. She knew he found cases like this harder too. 

There were survivors this time, a little girl and a teenage boy reunited with their parents, the recovery from all that they had endured only just beginning, and that was something they could cling on to. Evidence that they all needed sometimes to remind themselves of why they did this. That didn’t make it any easier, and she knew they’d all remember the wails of one of the victim's fathers when he realised his son had been alive only one day ago. 

She blows out a breath and looks back at her paperwork, determined to get a little more done before they headed home, when she is distracted once again, but this time it wasn’t out of concern for her fiancé. 

It feels like tiny bubbles. Bursting against the inside of her belly, as if tiny butterflies were floating around, their wings delicate. She places her hand on her stomach and gasps, choking on a laugh. 

“Are you ok, Em?” Derek asks and she turns to look at him, nodding as she laughs again. 

“Yeah. I…I think I just felt the baby move for the first time,” she says, her hand still on the bump as she continues to feel the movement on the inside, “It feels weird.”

Derek smiles at her, his eyes soft as he nods towards Aaron’s office, “Go tell Hotch, we all need something good after today.” 

She nods, not needing any other encouragement, and she stands, almost bounding up the stairs as she approaches his office. She knocks on his open door and waits for him to look up. He looks exhausted, the lines in his face deeper than usual, as if they’d been carved in. 

“Do you have a minute?” She asks, and he smiles at her, already standing up from his desk.

“For you, always.”

It makes her smile, and she knows it’s one of the things he’s learnt from his past mistakes with Haley. He always made time for her, and in turn, she knew that was because she understood the job, the work that could sometimes consume them both. It was yet another way that, if she believed in fate, would make her think they were made for each other. 

She takes a seat on the couch in his office and waits for him to sit next to her, his arm automatically around her shoulder. She knew they couldn’t be seen from the main bullpen here, only if someone was on the walkway, but she was sure no one would begrudge them this after the last few days. 

“I just felt the baby move,” she says, her throat closing up as she says it outloud, her hormones getting the better of her as she fights back tears. 

“What?” He asks, his voice full of wonder as he presses his hand into her bump, and it makes her laugh.

“It will be a while before you can feel anything from the outside honey,” she says, resting her head against his shoulder. She feels the movement again, and she smiles, placing her hand over his, “I wish you could feel it though it's amazing. And really fucking weird.” 

Aaron laughs and kisses her temple, keeping his lips against her skin, “Nugget is the size of a pomegranate this week.”

She snickers at his use of the baby’s newfound nickname and pulls back to look at him, “I know, I’m reading the same book as you,” she says softly, “Spencer told me today that the baby weights as much as a mozzarella ball,” she crinkles her brow, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food, “Which, strangely, really made me want Italian food.” 

Aaron kisses her, eternally grateful for her, for the life they were building, “Sweetheart, I’d go to Venice to get you pizza right now if you asked me.”

She chokes on a laugh, but it comes out as more of a sob, her happiness overwhelming in a way she didn’t know was possible. “That’s sweet, but I’m totally content with that place down the street from our apartment.” 

“Whatever you want, Em,” he says, kissing her again, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, “Whatever you want.” 

-x-

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[dailycharacteroption]

Races Among the Stars 7: Kitsune

And so we come to the end of this special with another species drawn from Golarion and also from real-world folklore. I present the kitsune.

Now, we already know plenty about kitsune thanks to Pathfinder and their presence in that system and setting. We know that generally the kitsune are a good-natured, if reclusive people whose presence has fueled stories of them being otherworldly yokai, about how they have long served as guardians of sacred wild places, but also as masters of trickery and mischief, to say nothing of their mastering of their own natural magics.

Indeed, the kitsune in folklore are tricksters to some, magical guides to others in the same way that kami and yokai are two sides of the same coin in Japanese culture, something I go into a bit further detail in my entry about kitsune in the Pathfinder system.

However… Because kitsune were introduced to Starfinder by way of the Alien Character Deck, we basically know nothing about how the kitsune are in the post-Golarion galaxy. Do they still revere nature and the kami? Are they still tricksters? How does their culture steeped in history and tradition mesh with not just a focus on technology and innovation, but also one where vast stores of knowledge have been damaged or destroyed?

The truth is we may never have those answers, since Starfinder is getting a new edition, one which will make the vast array of playable species harder to put out there given how PF2-style ancestries involve a lot more abilities you pick and choose as you level.

But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to expound, and we can probably infer a few things despite the lack of information. With how integral spirits are to kitsune culture, I severely doubt that the kitsune would have given that up post-Gap. Indeed, since kami are seen often in the parks, menageries, and other cultivated natural preserves on Absalom Station and other large space stations, I can imagine that the kitsune hold a close bond with those spaces even if they do not always live in them. In fact, that love of nature might mean that many kitsune are Xenowardens, or at least share values with them. Much like their past kin though, they have a knack for infiltrating and living alongside other humanoids, though others may join such communities openly. Like all species, it all comes down to personal choice.

 The kitsune in their true form resemble humanoid foxes, with pointed ears, thick fur in a variety of colors, and so on. Some more magically-inclined kitsune might grow more tails are a reflection of their mastery over their internal magics as well.

 Again, we can’t really know for sure what kitsune society is like without any sort of update, but we can infer they likely retain their matriarchal societal structure, and have a knack for integrating with other societies and perhaps incorporating elements of other societies into their own. The idea of kitsune social media influencers and idols in particular holds weight with me for whatever reason.

 Kitsune display natural grace and charm, but they are somewhat less inclined towards musculature.

They make up for this with a knack for agility and athleticism.

The fox folk also typically have a single humanoid form they can take on to disguise themselves, potentially living among them or simply using it as a cover.

They also sport innate magic which is tied to their tail or tails, though at it’s most base level it allows them to create floating lights and perform minor utility functions.

Their eyes are also quite keen, adjusted for low-light.

 Dexterity and Charisma is a good combination if you’re looking to create an envoy or operative character, roles that kitsune excel at. Ranged or finesse solarian is also a good choice as well. Consider also that both precog and witchwarper are natural fits here, and certainly can be flavored with the aesthetic of the kitsune mystic. Their reduced strength does mean that melee combat builds suffer slightly, making most soliders, vanguards, evolutionists, and so on ranged, but not without exception. Their lack of penalties also makes them decent biohackers, mechanics, technomancers, and mystics as well. Indeed, while they may not be the first pick for the front line, the kitsune can excel pretty much anywhere, even if they are sorely in need of expansion.

That does it for this week and this special, but I hope you enjoyed it, and if anyone else is attending GenCon in Indianapolis, I hope you’re having a good time, and perhaps I’ll see you around!

#starfinder #race #kitsune #Alien Character Deck

[revelry-in-severity]

Opening: Euphoric Echoes

“If you’re going to keep being this indecisive, the fans are going to notice! That’s one of the worst things to be in this industry.” Airi glares at her, but Shizuku has no words to give her. She would rather believe in rumors than Shizuku?

Shizuku never quite noticed how many cracks a heart could hold at once. 

“You can’t do that!” Airi continues. “If you leave before your big chance, then who are the fans going to look up to?”

Who indeed? But does it really have to be Shizuku? There’s plenty of idols better than her. She has to believe there are those better than her.

“Enough…” she croakes. Her arm hurts from the tips of her nails digging into her skin through the fabric of her uniform. 

“Hahh?”

“Enough!” Shizuku finds her voice through her pain. 

Airi cuts her off before she can say anything else, “So it’s true? The rumors of you planning to leave Cheerful*Days?”

“I’m not just leaving Cheerful*Days,” she admits after a breath, “I’m quitting the idol industry entirely.” Shizuku looks at Airi head on, for once, daring her to say anything back.

Airi dares. She always does and it’s always been an inspiration for Shizuku. “That’s not fair!” She would give anything to smooth her hand over Airi’s, wanting to bring the color back to her to her pale, clenched knuckles. She can’t though. Not now. “You're so good that anybody would be jealous! You're beautiful and you have an aura about you that makes people turn your way just by standing there!”

Oh, Shizuku realizes, this is what shattering sounds like.

Any fighting build up leaves her immediately. If any of her fans were to see her now, she wonders how they would take the slump in her shoulders as she nearly collapses at Airi’s words. Probably not very well. It’s not exactly cheerful now is it?

She clasps her hands together, close to her chest to prevent the pieces from spilling out. “I don’t even know if I like being an idol anymore.”

The looks. The whispers. Shizuku wasn’t sure how much she could handle.

“Huh?” Airi blinks up at her in shock. 

Usually, Shizuku would find her face to be adorable when her eyes were widened. It’s not fair Airi? But what about her? Is she not allowed this one selfish request?

Shizuku has so much to tell her, but– she pauses as she parts her mouth. No… Airi doesn’t need to hear all about the way she’s been treated. Clearly, on some level, she thinks the same as them. Dear, precious Airi who always pushed her more than anyone else. 

Dear, precious Airi who had not once mentioned the word ‘hope’ this entire conversation. 

She bows at the waist, spine held straight with brittle cowardice. ”My quitting will be permanent." She reaffirms to the ground, and it sure does look like a long fall even though the curls of her hair are halfway there. When she raises from her bow, she continues, “I’ll talk to you in class, okay Airi-chan?”

Shizuku leaves before they could break each other further.

===

“Oh Shi–”

Shiho’s door slides roughly with a slam.

“–chan…” Shizuku trails off in concern. 

Did she see Saki today? Tsukasa texted her sometime back about her being released, and while it had taken a bit for her to find the message, she had ultimately decided not to tell Shiho about it. Shiho had grown so distant…

Shizuku had maybe hoped the surprise of Saki would maybe help out. 

Guess not…

Today really isn’t Shizuku’s day. As she left the classroom, she could feel Air’s stare upon her back, but she never called out to help. Simply let her leave. 

What is she going to do now? With her cancellation of everything idol related, Shizuku’s schedule has never felt more bare. Well, not completely bare now is it. She still has to finish up those last few shoots and appointments they couldn’t cancel. A glance out the window tells her it's too late to want to go out right now. 

Shizuku sighs quietly. She eyes the needles in front of her, not feeling up to embroidery at the moment. A small bandage is wrapped around her finger, the mark of her inattention. 

She’s not feeling up to much of anything at the moment really. 

A flicker of light catches her attention when her phone pings with a notification.

Mafuyu: I saw the news. So you finally decided to go through with it. 

Shizuku smiles lightly at the message. Tsukasa and Ichika were probably busy with Saki… so it was nice to have someone check in with her. 

It drops when she realizes just how quickly news got out if Mafuyu had seen it already. 

She carefully unlocks her phone and finds the messaging app that all three of them had needed to teach her how to use.

Shizuku: y3s

She pouts at seeing the choppy word, having hoped she might have at least become better at texting her friends.

Mafuyu: That’s a good thing then right?

And there goes her bettering mood already. The fact that Mafuyu has to confirm after they’ve spoken about it before…

“Is something wrong?” Mafuyu’s ponytail falls down her back as shetilts her head up to face her. 

“Oh!” Shizuku startles out of her thoughts from where she’s been standing with the bow in hand. “Asahina-san!”

Mafuyu smiles at her, the edges twinged with careful concern, “Is everything alright?”

“I believe so,” Shizuku turns to hang the bow on its proper stand. “Just thinking about some things.”

“Anything that you need help with? You seemed a little more distracted than usual.”

“Hmm,” she trails her fingers down the smooth wood, “I don’t know if this is something you might be able to help out in.”

“You could try anyway?”

When Shizku turns around, it’s a little too quick for Mafuyu to completely mask that familiar glint in her eyes. 

Mafuyu: Are you still there?

Shizuku: s0rr7!! Y3s w0uld w3 b3 able to meey up slmekme?

Mafuyu: Does tomorrow during lunch sound fine? I should be available for then.

Shizuku: s33 y08 then

Well, now that her emotions have been all over the place on this hectic day, she should start–

She blinks. 

A bright flash from her phone?

Did she break something again!?

She squints her eyes when the light becomes too bright for her.

Shizuku had thrown an arm over her face to protect herself from whatever it was that had happened. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she gasps in awe at not seeing her room in front of her. 

In front of her is a wall of flowers, in fact, as Shizuku turns around, she’s surrounded by them. When she takes a step, a soft sound rings out, being the only sound she could hear. So it wasn’t just the colors being all brown and dark. Everything about this place is quiet and muted. 

She feels like she’s stepped into one of those old television shows where everything is black and white. And the monochromatic fog covers her every move. There’s hardly any color here. 

“You appeared… here?”

Shizuku jolts at the voice behind her. She turns to see a gray haired girl her age staring back at her. What a lovely dress she’s wearing. How long did it take to stitch the numbers into the curves?

“Hello..?”

The girl tilts her head, “Hello.” There’s something very weird about her voice. Shizuku almost wants to check that the person in front of her isn’t some sort of hologram with the overlay. 

“Do you know where we are?” Shizuku ventures.

“You are in their Sekai. Another world.” Came the prompt answer. “Come.” The girl turns on the tip of her toes, almost like a ballerina with her green skirts twirling around her. “A seat?”

There’s a circular table in between them, and she’s distantly reminded of the story Tsukasa used to tell her about the knights who would sit at one. A gazebo of some sort? She wonders as she glances above her to see the ivory ceiling. 

It’s peaceful. And it’s the only reason Shizuku takes a step forward when the knight appears to pull a chair out for her.

“Thank you?” Her gratitude is filled with confusion as she watches him do the same for the other girl.

After the girl takes her seat, Shizuku has to bring up a hand up to her mouth stifle her excitement at the image in front of her. A pretty princess and her knight… If she weren’t so confused this would be the perfect time for some tea. 

How adorable.

Back on track Shizuku. There’s something more familiar about him than her. 

“Umm…” Shizuku blinks the image away. “So who are you?”

“Miku.” Miku turns her head to look up at the man beside her, “And this is Kaito.”

Does she mean Hatune Miku? Shizuku knew the character could have many designs, but the absence of the pigtails threw her off. This explains why Kaito felt more familiar. 

“I…” Miku leans forward, gesture serious for all that her expression remained blank. “I wanted to ask you for help.”

“Help?” Shizuku lowers her arm. “Help in what?”

Miku continues over her, “You know both of them already… such lonely souls. Do you think you could help them?” 

Kaito folds his arms across his chest. 

“I would love to help.” But can she? After being a useless idol that got nothing but anger from the people around her? “But I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Then I can count on you.” Miku nods decisively before Shizuku remembers no more. 

Shizuku wakes up to banging on her door.

“Onee-chan? Are you still asleep? It’s almost time for you to go.”

With a glance at the clock beside her, Shizuku shoots up from her bed, “Oh no! I’m awake, Shi-chan!” 

Shiho’s traveling footsteps are the only response she gets back. 

As Shizuku hurries to get ready, she tries to remember when she went to bed last night. 

She must’ve had quite the dream if she can’t remember.

#project sekai #prsk #unit shuffle au #euphoric echoes #hinomori shizuku #shizuku hinomori #hatsune miku #momoi airi #oh no #someone stop me #busted this out in little over an hour

[thatdesklamp]

WAIT OMG-

been reading intrinsic warmth for a WHILE and your writing is top tier!! i always wondered to myself every time i’d read a chapter why the writing just STICKS, yk? i’m a MAJOR book girlie, i read 24/7.

AND THEN IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I READ ONE OF YOUR TAGS THAT YOU PUT UP ON ONE OF YOUR POSTS WHERE YOU WERE ANSWERING A QUESTION FROM ANOTHER LOVELY READER AND I SEE THAT YOU TOOK AN ENGLISH A LEVEL?

first of all (not 100% sure on this) but i’m pretty sure only british ppl take gcses, a levels, etc. YOU’RE BRITISH?

i feel like i’ve met my other half rn over something so tiny but yeah. IT LITERALLY EXPLAINS WHY YOUR WRITING IS SO GOOD:

i could point out the NUMBER of times i’ve seen juxtaposition, symbolism, foreshadowing in your fic to someone if they’d asked me to point it out for them. at first i thought you might’ve done it unknowingly, and then i decided that nope, bc foreshadowing is such a BIG writing technique that it simply couldn’t have been by accident.

it’s one thing to know about a writing technique and another to actually be able to SUCCESSFULLY incorporate it into your writing. if it isn’t clear enough, i’m saying that you did it AMAZINGLY. you’ve got a natural talent and i’m envioussss (in a supporting way ofc 😭).

you should really look into making your own book, and i think you EXCEL at the supernatural aspect of plot in stories. your writing is so unique and different yet so warm, it reminds me of autumn (my favourite season).

idk how to end such a long message, ultimately i don’t have a reason for typing this up and shit. ik you have tons of people probably saying the same thing and it might just get repetitive for you, but i wouldn’t feel comfortable not being part of said bunch-of-ppl-probably-saying-the-same-thing.

oh! and take your SWEET TIME updating. it’s your story, your fic, your writing. the ONLY thing we readers can give you as a payback and thanks is time, patience, and understanding <3333

RAHHH BRITTANIA 💪💪💪💪

Agh. Yes—I’m British (English to be precise, sweet sweet caroline etc), hence the use of ‘u’s in words like ‘colour’ and ‘humour’, and also why everyone’s parents are their ‘father’ or ‘mother’ and not mum/dad. ‘Mom’ feels too American but ‘mum’ feels too rah engerland, yk? I’ve mentioned previously that I’m looking forward to writing fics where the characters are actually from England and where I’m actually allowed to write them the way I talk, mostly. Good lord am I excited.

And yes lol I took English for an A-Level. Bloody smashed it too, if I get to brag, mwahaha. Didn’t take it any further (I’ve also previously said that I’m a # woman in stem uni student, which is true), but I still write a killer essay imo. Give me 10 minutes to do a refresher on ‘Othello’ (it’s been a while okay) and I can talk for donkeys about his tragic fall and how much of a wanker he is. Which he is! I’m a Desdemona defender for life.

You say ‘natural talent’. PLS. No!! God no. Not at all. I wish—that would’ve made it a lot easier, but whatever I can do rn is down to bloody years of toiling away on my shitty little laptop, I promise. I’ve got another anon ask that asked about some writing tips so I’ll do the bulk of them there but my number 1 will always and forever be to practise. Whatever skill I have now has been earned over the many years. You don’t even want to see some of the stuff that will never grace my ao3 page (atla had me in a chokehold through covid and I have never been the same).

But you are genuinely so complimentary: this is so so lovely of you. Thank you?? It’s really weird being someone who writes and also someone who enjoys analysing literature; you’re right, half of the ‘techniques’ are intentional (the number of times I’ve flicked through some chapters’ drafts and thought, ‘fucks sake none of this makes sense, I need to add some decent foreshadowing or none of this will make sense in two chapters’), but also so much of my writing is just thinking, ‘hmm, this doesn’t really feel right. No no, I don’t like the vibe of this. I want this to feel more GRAAHHH and less lalalala. Lemme change this up a bit’. Whether that leads to the whole, short sentences->speeds up the pace of the reader when reading the section->increased tension, mimics actual fight encounter, etc etc (all the stuff you blag on about in eng lit), then maybe that counts as intentional? And maybe not.

Making my own book? That’s lovely of you to say but I also really don’t have any ideas for anything non-fanfic’y! Lol. I love a good bit of canon compliance, that’s my issue. That being said—hey, another eng a level reference—I’ve made multiple references here to being the world’s #1 ‘Atonement’ hater. Unfortunately, it also lives damn rent free in my head and I’ve got the bare bones of a WW2-era, perhaps epistolary, longform fic buzzing around. (Fandom: Marauders. I’m a disgrace but here we go). I’ve written nothing for it and maybe I never will, but that’s one of the only things I can see as being more standalone from original canon. Anyway: it’s the fanfic life for me. Ali Hazelwood’s life is but a distant dream.

But anyway! Thank you again for your lovely words. The next IW chapter will take a very long time, I have to be frank, so thank you for the reassurance that that’s not absolutely disgraceful lmao T_T Thanks again!! <3

#intrinsic warmth #I hope I have not accidentally hidden my englishness #the biggest event of this month isn’t Halloween or 1989tv — it’s the switch from bst to gmt babyy

[ughmyreality]

Thoughts on S3 E2

(SPOILERS ahead)

There might be positives, there will be negatives, so please be forewarned that I am not going to solely praise the show. Also, it needs not be mentioned, I am but a single negative person on the internet talking about a fictional story. We are all not going to agree. With that said, let’s move on.

Episode 2-

They really did their thing saying diamonds aren’t the only things that sparkle and then cutting to Eloise. 

How fake can a person get? Actively listening to your crush plan the downfall of your alter ego. Penelope girl.

This scene just further proves that Colin and Penelope were never that great of friends. Why would Colin ask to see how she acts out in public if they were already friends? He should already know that. I also don’t see why he’s acting as though he doesn’t already know how “awkward” she is, anybody can see it. Then again when is he ever home to see it?

“Not me. Them.” Penelope, dearest, I beg of you find a man who actually wants you. He yet again practically threw it in her face that he doesn’t want her. How much rejection can she take?

On another note, I love how they’re doing Penelope’s hair. At least she’s leveling up in one way or another.

I love the fact that lady Danbury is gossiping as usual.

Portia’s disappointment at the lack of an heir is enjoyable. Hopefully they’ll continue with this storyline.

I thought that Benedict was going to be the cliche “lady’s man” but it appears that Colin has his way with women as well. Not as if we could have possibly known this sooner because what have we learned of him up until this point.

I actually agree with what Colin is saying about societal expectations. With new people, you get the chance to rediscover yourself. Even just the jump from, let's say, high school to college, I think you may change because you’re free to reinvent yourself. However, if I’m thinking correctly, this is not his first adventure. Correct? So, what about this trip in particular made him so “different”.

Why did Penelope think she was so sly saying “before we are noticed”? For an area so enthralled with gossip, no one else is noticing that Colin and Penelope are spending more time together and walking side by side. We haven’t seen them in a public area holding even a fraction of a true friendly conversation but now that they are no one bats an eye.

Colin is finally interacting with his siblings but ditches them the moment someone else arrives.

How tone deaf can Colin get? Penelope all but proclaimed her love for him to the rooftops but his first idea is to have her “pretend” to flirt with him. Even worse, I don’t think he’s doing this with malice, but at the same time it’s sending me into a rage. 

Since when does Penelope Featherington say “nothing at all”? Yeah right.

Ugh, this clip! Your eyes are the most remarkable shade of blue… girl, she’s a writer. I’m sure they could have come up with something better for her to say than some chatgpt poetry line. The second hand embarrassment, and as usual Colin wasn’t for her advances.

Colin should have known better than to bring Penelope to the house. I know he claims that Eloise was out but it is their house after all. He apparently had no clue what time they’d be back and was just hoping for the best.

Give me strength! Why does Penelope keep on digging further into Colins business? She never likes what she finds. Her reading Colin’s writing is not only a breach of privacy to the man she claims to want but also only serves as yet another way to humiliate herself. How much longer can this go on? The man honestly doesn’t want her but she still subjects herself to such torment.

I literally started laughing out loud when Colin found her reading! Oh my gosh! The strife!

Another nitpick, I feel like there was way too much blood on Colin’s hand for that small piece of glass. Then that loose tie Penelope put around it probably wouldn’t stop the bleeding. But I’m sure no one else cares about that, so I won’t go any further. 

 Colin knows that Penelope and Eloise don’t want to see each other and that should really be enough. Him trying to act oblivious and say he doesn’t know what happened is irrelevant to the situation. Penelope didn’t want to stay in the house, Eloise doesn’t want her there so why is Colin trying to instigate.

He was quick to shut down Eloise at the mere thought of Penelope seeking him as a husband. At times I feel like Colin doesn’t like her at all much less as a romantic interest. When you’re friends with someone there are obviously certain things you like about them, maybe even things you would seek in a partner. However, Colin seems repulsed at the thought of Penelope. Even when he’s trying to “help her” he doesn’t seem that excited. He acts like they are but acquaintances. On another note, I feel like his voice is so monotone, but that's neither here nor there I suppose.

I feel like Penelope has had more positive chemistry with Lord Remington in this one scene than I have seen with her and Colin this entire time.

Why does Colin automatically assume Eloise told everyone about him “helping” Penelope. They weren’t exactly making it hard to see that they had been talking more than usual. I don’t know why he is blindly taking Penelope’s side. He has no idea what's going on and you’d think he’d hold some sort of solidarity with his sister. I feel absolutely no sympathy for Penelope, girl go ahead and cry. She should have ditched Colin, she knew this was a bad idea from the start. 

Although I like Eloise, Cressida lowkey told her what she needed to hear. Yet again a Bridgerton jumping to conclusions. Both Eloise and Penelope are hypocritical for commenting on Cressida’s tendency to gossip when it appears that’s all they do. 

…never before have I felt this close to being on the brink of insanity. PENELOPE! I wish she’d understand that you cannot simply do the same thing over and over. How many more ways can one profess their unrequited love before they move on? You know what her claiming she doesn’t want to die before being kissed gives me the vibes of? Exes that say if you leave me, I’ll die or I’ll harm myself. That is absolutely so manipulative. Time and time again Colin has shown no interest in her that she has had to resort to the possibility of hypothetical death. I’m surprised this hasn’t been more cause of contention. This kiss means absolutely nothing. If anything it is discrediting any sort of “cute friends to lovers” storyline that could have been. This is nothing more than a guilt trip.

#anti penelope featherington #anti polin #thoughts

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 7- Part 1

So, first and foremost, the thing I alluded to at the end of last time: looking over the new Field Notes app!

True to Florinia’s words, the only entry we’ve got right now is Electric Terrain. Out of curiosity, I decided to count and see just how many Field Effects there are, I was expecting around 18, maybe a little more, about one for each Pokémon type, right? But…no- I counted a whopping 37 Field Types??? Excuse me??? It’s terrain effects, why are there so many!?

So, assuming I counted right, that’s more like…two Field Types per Pokémon type, plus one extra somewhere. That kinda lines up with what we’ve seen so far, that machine-type terrain and Electric Terrain both having an association with the Electric-type. But how’s that gonna work with types like Normal or Fighting?

But as for the app itself…

Gotta say, I’m not sure if I’m a fan of this layout? It’s a lot of colored words and symbols and lines, some of which is self-explanatory (green is good and red is bad and all that), but others…not so much? And the way the lines are laid out, I dunno, looking at it just…doesn’t do my brain good.

But there’s one other thing- see how some lines have a gear symbol next to them? Well, if you click on those particular entries, you get extra information, like so:

So that’s a little better, but the context/meaning for some of these other entries is just kinda lost on me. But there’s another thing-

“Comatose”? Is that a separate, new status condition, or is that just this game’s name for Sleep? The latter is a bit dubious, given the “Sleep” icon is shown literally at the top of the page and it’s not edited or anything (only reddened), but at the same time there’s no separate “Comatose” icon that’s also reddened…geez, why didn’t they just call it Sleep? Why give it a fancy different name? Is it even the same as Sleep, or is it different? WHO KNOWS?

Let’s just close out of this and be on our way before my brain cells protest any further-

Oh hey, the world’s not yellow anymore!

So anyways, onto the meat of this session. Our current team is good, but for facing a Trainer like Julia and her Gym, it can certainly still use some improvements, and I’m not just talking about leveling up. We need some more Pokémon that are equipped to handle Electric-types and Electric Terrain.

And so, this is the part where I make a confession. Before starting this play session, I decided to do a bit of...research. I knew static encounter (or “event”) Pokémon were common in this game- I mean, that’s how we got members such as Echo and Rain, not to mention that elusive Teddiursa. And, well- I was wondering if there were any I missed, aside from the ones I could already discern (that Teddiursa, the guy who wanted a Bibarel, maybe something with that lady with the Igglybuff).

So, as much as I’ve been going through this game blindly, I decided to make an exception here and look up any other static encounter/event Pokémon pre-first Gym Badge that I may have missed, so I can be absolutely sure I’ve gotten all the tools possible for this upcoming battle. Never let it be said I’m not transparent with my actions!

So, that’s what this first part of the chapter is going to be about- catching those unobtained event Pokémon, then building our final team for Julia!

Let’s begin- this is probably going to be the most educational this Let’s Play will ever be (until the next time I go hunting for event Pokémon, anyways). Gosh, I hope no one’s using this as a guide or anything, this playthrough is scuffed enough as is. There are better, more legit guides out there-

Anyways, we’ll start with a quick one. You remember that Rose Incense Xera got after defeating that one lady, Marigold? The one I put on Summer specifically to boost his Grass-type moves? Well, we have to take that away from him for a little bit.

Now with the Rose Incense in the Bag, we go up to the northernmost part of Peridot Ward, where that big gate is, and…

Oh? What have we here? Is that a hecking-

-creature??

Yeah, so…that Budew up there will only appear if you have the Rose Incense in your Bag. And I do mean specifically in the Bag, the game doesn’t count it if you have the Rose Incense but it’s held by one of your party Pokémon, which is why we didn’t encounter this Budew earlier despite having Summer with the item. Which is…gosh. Programming. Love to see it, huh?

Well, no use complaining at this point. Let’s interact with it so it can perceive the smell of flowers-

See, I could make a joke here about how Xera probably hasn’t cleaned up after like three days of running around garbage-stained streets, exploding buildings, and toxic factories, but like- we know it’s referring to the Rose Incense, so it’s a bit of a moot point.

Okay, I didn’t get to screenshot it, but like- the Budew didn’t just hop off the ledge to be caught by Xera, no no. It flew straight up into the air, off-screen, then fell back down, also straight down, right onto Xera’s head. Conclusion: this Budew can fly, no other explanation.

Well, regardless- we’ve got a Budew now! Congratulations Summer, you have a brother now! (He’s also able to have the Rose Incense back.)

One down, several more to go. Let’s move on to one I was already planning on taking care of, and that starts with going back to Opal Ward and catching ourselves a Bidoof!

I don’t even think we need to lower its HP, right? Just put it to sleep with Sing and be on our merry way!

A shame Twig won’t be sticking with us for the long haul, but at the very least, we’ll be able to train her up for a little while to evolve her!

I decided to swap out Streak to make room for Twig.

Anyways, right now the goal is to get Twig to Lv. 15, which is when she’ll evolve. I could use the free battle Trainers in Grand Hall (and we’ll get back to those guys later, don’t you worry), but…I don’t know what the levels of their Pokémon are, so I don’t know if I want to use them to train up a tiny Pokémon like Twig specifically, at least not right away. I’ll just stick with the wild Pokémon, that should be safer. Well, here we go!

One grinding session la-

Oh hey, the line for Dr. Pharmacist is shorter, that’s interesting.

I wonder if the dialogue is also different? It’s gotta be, right? We can take a quick detour from training to check this out.

Mmm, seems sus to me, but I doubt it’ll really be anything. What’s this lady got to say?

Alright, not much there…but what about from Dr. Pharmacist himself? Now that we’ve blown up a Team Meteor base, now is Xera cool enough to learn his name?

Next

#pokemon reborn #pokemon reborn spoilers #pokemon fan game #pokemon reborn screenshot let's play

[thewertsearch]

Asks Compilation 18/07

I'm really enjoying Hivebent! It almost feels like a detour into a different story, like the Intermission - although the difference, of course, is that we know this one is plot-relevant. 

The tone is quite different too. Things are kind of ominous - and not just because we know the troll session(s) are doomed. We’re slowly zooming into the culture of a pretty terrible world, and I’m sure there’s a lot more to see.  

I've thought about this, but there are two main issues here:

I like to refer back to previous posts a lot when I’m liveblogging, both for further analysis and to illustrate points. Audio or video reactions are sort of hard to reference - I could do a transcript, but I don’t think it’d be very useful, because

I’m just not very good live, lmao. I’m a lot more comfortable in text, where I can format and edit posts to properly illustrate what I’m trying to say. Live, I tend to ramble - even my text posts have to be cut down a little from my initial reactions. You’re really not missing much; trust me on this.

If the flashes ever get really long - like, if we do a larger one of these, which I’m assuming is a walkaround - I’ll reconsider. I doubt it, though, I’d probably be more likely to split it into multiple posts. I’ll keep it under consideration, though!

Karkat and his friends and everyone they would ever meet thereafter would experience great misfortune on account of the curse unwittingly implemented through Sollux's esoteric MOBIUS DOUBLE REACHAROUND VIRUS.

I think either interpretation makes sense - this sentence is kind of ambiguous, now that I’m looking at it again. Although, if Sollux did know what the virus would do, why would he send it to his friend? 

He knows Karkat is an amateur programmer, which is the worst kind of person to send this too. Karkat can compile and run this code, but he can’t understand it. What the hell, Captor?

I absolutely hate to admit this, but I watched Morbius with my friend a couple of weeks ago. The experience was indescribable, and it’s stuck in my mind ever since.

But my favorite moment will be when John looks directly out of the panel, meeting my eye, and speaks thusly:

I'm wearing ‘cliffnotes-esque’ as a badge of honor from now on. I kind of want to make it my blog header.

Yeah, I try to attach any relevant context to the points I make, just to help me tie things together. As a bonus, it hopefully helps readers out, too!

Oh my god, does this mean Sburb is on a grub? Are all the actual troll computers just... full of insects?  

Was Karkat, like, really confused by the non-biological tape storage in the Veil, or was his Veil just wall-to-wall grubs?

That’s too funny. It’s second only to Kingdom Hearts in weird stream-crossing moments in video games. I’ve never actually played a dating game before, but I gotta give this one a go - I actually think I’ve seen that JaidenAnimations dating game video before, I’ve seen a lot of her stuff. 

It may not be true canon, but maybe this is the legendary semi-canon that I keep hearing about...

Oh I love Undertale - Deltarune too. There is just so much going on in those games, on every level. 

Toby, not to rush you, but you have no idea the things I’d do for Chapter 3 to drop today. 

I actually didn’t catch this! Not that I’ve studied any classics, or anything.

I guess my pronunciation isn’t quite right. I guess it’d be something like ‘saul-ucks cap-ter’?

So he is. I think it’s a pretty safe bet that mental health services on Alternia are somewhat lacking, even more so than on Earth. Do you think trolls even know what therapy is? 

Aw, the poor monsters. 

Shit, I hadn’t thought of this yet - what lusus will my trollsona have? I’m thinking of some sort of insect, but leave it with me. 

[https://4-panel-life.tumblr.com/post/63400990221/before-i-knew-what-homestuck-was-i-was-really this I think 😂 - Cat ] 

Love it. I’d honestly have probably spent the rest of my life confusing the two, if I hadn’t started this blog. As I said, I have no earthy clue what Homestar Runner is about, only that it was a beacon of internet culture in the era before I came online.

I don’t doubt that puns were in play when Hussie was initially naming these Aspects - and those puns may well tie into their symbolism. It’s a pretty good way to get some inspiration when you’re naming things.

But I’m sure there’s more too it - simply because people love these Titles. The system is presumably pretty deep, and the pun is but a single faucet of each Title.

Thank you! Hilariously, it’s actually hotter at home than it was abroad. 

Is anyone else dealing with the heatwave, right now? Holy shit, you guys, even normal summers make me drowsy. This one is something else. 

Always up for some Sylladex analysis. 

We’ve considered this interpretation before. It makes a lot of sense - and it gels with what we already know about Sburb - but I’m still on the fence about it, mostly because it raises the same question that the rest of Sburb’s predestination system does - namely, how it would account for alternate timelines. 

There are ways to handle it - like, maybe each iteration of each person gets their own, personal index - and I do think we’re on the right track with predestination, but I still don’t think we have the whole picture here. 

Everything, Everywhere was a lot of fun - and all the AU and alt-self stuff was very Homestuck. 

Does anyone else wish we'd seen more of the other timelines, though? I know the movie was intentionally centered on one specific iteration of the family, but I'd love to have seen more of what went down in, for example, the Prime Timeline.

Dis* is me when I try to use regexes.

I'm on the for you page? I've fucking made it. Catch me monetizing the shit out of this blog now.

thewertsearch, brought to you by Namco™ High!

[ omg. um.... here it is... humanimals.... drawn by Hussie, I believe a few years before HS...

https://mrcheeze.github.io/andrewhussie/comic.html?comic=humanimals

content warning for... I guess body horror, and weird... human animal people, I don’t even know what description I could give but it’s nightmare fuel xD

it’s not directly plot relevant to HS the way SBAHJ is, I leave it up to your judgement lol - C ]

........

I honestly don’t think I can post these on the blog. Why does the the fact that they’re office clerks make it worse, somehow? The juxtaposition of the casual mood with what we’re seeing is generating a feeling that’s adjacent to, but somehow more harrowing than, the uncanny valley. 

Incredible. I feel like my life has been enriched in a way I can neither understand nor describe.  

Oh right, yeah, the ‘secrets’ in the playable panels! Yeah, I’d actually forgotten about these, thanks for the reminder.

It's been a while since a playable flash, so I need to remember to find the key combination for each of them. if I miss one, remind me!

#asks #full liveblog #act 5 #classpect