#not for any deep character fleshing out reasons but because it would be funnie

[eggsploded]

i never posted this lol

#i wish we got just a little more time before kanaya met rose like she needed to go on a quest for love a soulsearch #not for any deep character fleshing out reasons but because it would be funnie #laying down the schmooves on rose Hey Girl “What?” Um #egg art #homestuck #kanaya maryam #sollux captor #karkat vantas #kanayas isnt really about. the abstract beauty and nuances with courting #but thats ok her peculiar woman swag will carry her to marriage in the future

[hastyprovocateur]

I have seen many calling Akemi an annoying brat for running away from her father's guardianship. And I laud their critical thinking abilities on this because really, why would a girl whose father is forcing her to marry a stranger openly known for being a sadist and killing his first wife over an unhappy marriage want to do anything but jump gleefully into the union, right? Especially when all Akemi's father has to say for her life-or-death situation is "Hey learn these sex positions and keep him happy like your dead mother kept me happy lol."

Akemi loved Taigen for a set of reasons. First and foremost, he was the path she chose and finally got her father to agree with in part for his honorable stature, aware that Taigen, though imperfect, isn't as cruel or selfish as men in said period typically were. You have to understand that women were rarely afforded the choice to love without having underlying motivations. They have to choose the lesser of evils. Which in this case, is Taigen. Akemi has far greater chances of survival with him than any other man she knew. Marriage wasn't a tic-tac-toe game for her, she was ensuring her survival. To ensure she wouldn't get violated or killed or tortured or forcefully impregnated for not falling into the narrow set of rules aristocratic women especially had to follow.

Come to Taigen and Mizu's duel following which he loses his honour and possibly his engagement. Akemi stayed undeterred because regardless of what Taigen felt about his honour, Akemi didn't have a backup option that she knew would ensure her security as much as being with Taigen would. She tells him that his chonmage being cut is no obstacle as he can style it to suit other noble men, that she will convince her father to maintain their engagement and that his honour was intact as Mizu hadn't officially challenged him. Her sexual advances are a calculated move, she narrates to him a version of events where he defeats Mizu to massage his bruised ego. And while Taigen is her singular route out of her imminent marriage to a stranger, Taigen, ignorant of the same, claims he'd rather commit seppuku and sets out to trail Mizu.

With Taigen gone, she is in deep water, and naturally, her father quickly sets her up with a fresh suitor from a family he chose for the sake of furtherance of his political expansion over any concern for his daughter's life. When she tries to escape, Seki sees it as another funny haha situation, making it a teachable moment where he profoundly tells Akemi, already fearful of her bodily autonomy and life: that a woman has 2 paths "to be an improper whore or a proper wife." To which Akemi very wisely responds that they are one and the same thing, only one is shrouded with aristocratic niceties and huge houses that women are an extension of. Regardless of her (father's) wealth, status, and relative comfort in life, no woman deserves to be put in a position of ownership under a man, vulnerable to assault, coercion, intimidation just because "at least she'll be assaulted on a nice bed."

Akemi wasn't enjoying her round trip searching for Taigen, selling herself out to flesh traders and getting betrayed by Seki, her confidante, for funsies. Seki had seen her plight and only given her the singular choice to be a proper wife to a stranger after Taigen had already left her to her own fate. She was still determined to do right by him because she wanted to live. Her seeking out Mizu was key to saving her marriage. Thereby trying to drug and bring Mizu to Taigen so she could restore his honor and go back on their engagement and live somewhat peacefully. Which we now know wasn't going to ever be because Daichi Tokunobu had already schemed to compromise the Shogunate by wagering his daughter as an alliance.

I am convinced that most people can't understand complex female characters outside of "ruthless. fighter" or "perfect victim." Akemi's fault, it seems, that through her process of running from a dangerous marriage, a callous father, getting brokered by Goro, joining Kaji's brothel, seducing her first client, trying to subdue Mizu is that she didn't get brutally violated in any of scenarios. Because I'm sure if she had, not half of y'all would be crying about her being annoying and bratty or "having it too easy." As for her trying to attack Mizu, what else was she supposed to do? Be told that this stranger robbed her fiance's honor, ruined their engagement, and killed him, and what? Pat him on the back? Or was she supposed to have a prophetic vision that Mizu is going to save them from Hamata's men?

And no she did not resort to name calling, abusing, threatening after she was tied down, she was far more benign in assessing Mizu's disposition as opposed to Mikio or Taigen who straight up called Mizu monster, dog, beggar, scavenger and what not. Mikio sold Mizu's favourite horse to get back at her, abandoned her for the bounty hunters to get her, killed her mama. Taigen was a bully who accused her of digging through his trash and near damn killed her with a rock with his friends. Yeah, him being a kid makes no difference to the one who was traumatised because that'll last Mizu a lifetime. In both cases Mizu posed no threat to them as opposed to Akemi who truly believed that Mizu had killed her fiancé.

Taigen continued to be a bully in the present time (growth in latter eps aside), calling Mizu a dog, monster boy, whore mother, scavenger of Kohama's gutters, reminding her of her house burning down. He stalked her, threatened her to duel, gave her consistent trauma reminders. Oh btw- Akemi called Mizu "nothing special" and "angry" and yall decide she has mentally abused this woman after knowing her for a good 3 hours. Yall fr just hate women.

She didn't know about Kinuyo either, or anything about Mizu's past. Despite only knowing her in the worst way, she largely softens towards Mizu knowing she's helping save Kaji's workers. She could've easily stayed tight and comfy in the cellar. She doesn't know a thing about fighting yet stands by Ringo and later saves him. Not for her sake because she says "Now they have to get through the both of us." She didn't fear death either, only being helpless. "I'm not brave" she said "I've been a captive my whole life. If I die today, I die free."

She didn't stop there "Mizu can't possibly hold them all off" and then goes up to save Mizu when the assassins attested that "The samurai has been cornered." And yes Mizu was unconscious from being choked until Akemi intervened. She just had to stay low like the others and not give a FUCK, especially not Mizu, someone who shittalked her as far as she knew, but she did because she saw the honour in Mizu's actions.

Unfortunately, Akemi didn't magically mind read Mizu's ptsd and all the flashbacks she's been getting about her past betrayals, what happened with Kinuyo and made the mistake of trusting Mizu, WHO SHE THINKS IS A MAN, to fight for her when the guards come. All but 3 men. This isn't about numbers because Mizu totaled an army and has the plot armour of Jesus, it's not about being innocent, because Mizu killed that clawed dude she spared initially, not to mention Kinuyo who was just a means to get to Fowker. And some people talked about Mizu not wanting Daichi's men coming after her... um... are you sure you're watching the same show because as far as I know Mizu doesn't give a flying FUCK about being careful or who comes after her because she's recklessly creating collateral all down her path of revenge. That's the wholeass point.

Akemi wasn't ordering Mizu around, cuz she asked "I'm not going anywhere, right Mizu?" She wanted her approval, her support in that moment. To fight for her because she doesn't have the agency to fight for herself. What did Mizu do in this crucial moment? She doomed Akemi to an arranged marriage and made her choice FOR her. Especially being someone who's always been shown to do exactly what she wants and then fight whatever consequences come her way.

Mizu "thought" Akemi's better off with being married to a stranger because "atleast the abuser is rich, not everyone gets a rich abuser." And yes she assumed hella things because Akemi's reasons for chasing Taigen are literally so she can live by an iota of her choice and not because she's "begging to eat trash." And Mizu didn't consider the reputation of the Shogun's son, regardless of if he's a horrible person, how is being forced to marry a stranger justified?? Another day, another man Akemi trusted, dooming her to a path with no cognizance of how much apprehension of death or joyless life she actually faces in that position.

Mizu was no different from Daichi, Seki, Taigen in that moment. Akemi had no one. Despite doing all in her power to turn her fate, she was unsuccessful because she wasn't able to physically fight for herself and no one chose to step up for her. She was about to solve her own problems by throwing herself off the balcony, evident in how much she didn't desire the marriage. Takayoshi not being an outright brute chauvinistic killer is no justification for "hey didn't turn out to be so bad, huh." Would you rather she have gotten brutalised? Been treated like absolute shit? Would you then believe how scary the marriage could have been for her? Kaji herself told Mizu that "if you killed every man I've seen who couldn't come till someone bled... you'd wear your blade to a stump."

Ringo was justified in criticising Mizu. While Mizu doesn't care about anyone in her path of revenge, Eiji, her own father figure struggles to teach her that she NEEDS people to fight. To strengthen her blade and resolve. Mizu did return to save Akemi as her conscience would have it, Seki also came around and Taigen was finally ready to pursue a life with her over his honor and greatness but it was too late. I don't blame Akemi for asserting twice to Mizu that "We're not friends which Mizu showed too in her actions prior. I don't see it as Akemi being ungrateful but asserting the truth before Mizu slams it in her face. Mizu doesn't want friends so she doesn't get any.

I also don't blame her for rejecting Taigen, I too wouldn't ever wish to be blindsided like that again. It's better to choose your own reality than rely on love or friendship only to get betrayed. As for Akemi's new venture, I laud her for taking Kaji's word and to fight with the agencies she has even though I feel that Kaji shared Mizu's tone deafness in terms of seeing Akemi's (father's and now husband's) wealth as a neutralizer to the abuse she could face which could've been much worse than it was shown to be.

I do agree that having free choice, even after Seki tells her to pursue her own path, is a tad too idealistic for the place and time. She basically just complied to the choices Seki, Taigen, Mizu's made for her. So I loved seeing Akemi make the best of the cards she was dealt, choosing to use her body and mind to seduce, manipulate and progress. To make her choices whether she is loved in the process or not. . To exploit her meek husband's position, to subdue her scheming (now hopefully crispy) father and be great.

#don't speak on my girl unless it's praise #bes akemi #akemi blue eye samurai #mizemi #mizu blue eye samurai #mizu x akemi #blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai mizu #taigen blue eye samurai #hasty loves bes

[junk-heart]

do you have any creepypasta headcanons for some of them? And are there any ideas for them or versions of the characters around the fandom that you like?

I have so many headcanons, it's not even funny:''')

Had so much time to get attached to these characters ( 10 years to be precise ಥ_ಥ ) , so I like multiple interpretations of them

Mainly 3 universes: found family of weirdos, "realistic" version and something in between

In this post I'll be talking about the headcanons connected to the versions I drew on this blog

I'll separate them by characters, and I won't talk about all of them or this post is gonna be so long:'''')

ALSO: feel free to comment your headcanons, I love hearing other people talk about these bozos

Jtk

he's emo for sure

has attempted giving himself piercings on multiple occasions, most of them failed and got infected

og story is an urban legend in his universe, the incident went down differently

his current look came about during a manic episode, he regrets what he has done to his body

he also regrets what he did to his family, although he doesn't remember much from that night

homeless, currently on the run, has been living like this since he was a teen

among other things, he's on the run because of the Operator, doesn't want to be under it's control again

16 during the case, currently 23

(I mean, I already have a post going in depth about my headcanons for him)

Ej

ex med student that got possessed by a Slavic deity (Chernobog)

he sees things in a way different way than us, something between echolocation or the way Toph sees in atla

is forced to eat people cause the deity he's possessed by finds his reaction amusing (it also prefers human flesh cause it sees people as most of us see farm animals whose products are meat and fear)

that's the reason why he lives away from any human contact, deep in the woods

when Chernobog takes control of their body, Jack is either forced to look at what happens, or he blacks out

he used to like cats, now is too scared to have any pets

after some time they start getting along (as much as a human and an eldritch horror can)

he isn't having a fun time in this version, sorry:'''/

21 during the incident, currently 25

Toby

mostly the same as in his original story personality wise

he was sheltered while growing up (homescooled until high school) and for the time he wasn't he was bullied, so he doesn't know how to interact with other people normally

malicious twards most people upon meeting them, took a long time to even start talking to Tim and Brian

once he warms up to someone, he's willing to die for them

often gets too close when talking, even when he isn't trying to intimidate people

second tallest proxy (I do count Tim and Brian in this story, yes I know they're from mh, but I grew up with them as crp so ssssh)

scrawny, built for running

big mood swings

has tics from time to time, they're more intense when he's exited, but they stop completely when he's under the Operator's influence

doesn't remember anything from his life prior to the giant fire "thanks" to the Operator

works in the interest of it cause that's all he knows, but he would disobey it if that meant helping people close to him

is interested in internet, but since he doesn't have a phone/computer he learns about it via stolen phones from people who have passed

arsonist

17 during the incident, currently 21 give or take

Brian/Hoody

Brian died in entry #86 of mh, but got revived (??) as a puppet to the Operator cause it likes tormenting Tim (idk how to explain, unlike characters who experience being influenced by it during the arg, he ends up being completely tied to it after death, even though he wasn't under it's control while alive)

so he's basically a zombie, but not really

the brains of the group

also the tallest

doesn't remember what happened during the duration of Marble Hornets, but does remember he was close friends with Tim

still, he feels uneasy around Tim, like he (Tim) has done something that can't be forgiven, but tries to brush it off

can cook, but doesn't

under his winning smile he's plotting everyone's demise

if you looked at him, you'd probably think that he's the one who's got everything under control, but that's not the case, he's just a tad bit fake

I'm basically trying to say that he's mostly a persona, and that he has no idea of who he really is or what his goals should be

very good at any ranged attacks and scouting (more like stalking)

the one who tied Toby down to a chair for a week until his brainscrambles got a bit more bearable

has a computer at one of their hideouts, doesn't let anyone near it

idk how old he is tbh, I guess his mid to late twenties

Tim/Masky

please give this man a rest already aksdhadklaj

watched all his friends die, and now works for the thing that caused that + tremendous amount of mental strain and horror

why you may ask? well it's very complicated, let's just say it promised to bring someone else back if he did what it wanted

shortest U_U

common sense of the group, and the leader

he's the only one that kept most of his memories (cause it's easier for the Operator to control him like that)

when Toby joined them as the new hire, he was the one to insist that they try and deal with him, cause he saw himself in Toby

has a hard time getting out of bed

only drinks coffee, has no idea what water is

very much old man energy

grumpy for most of the time

can(?) cook canned food (that's what they eat anyways, so it doesn't really matter)

wants to have a normal life so bad it's not even funny

really hates what he's stuck doing

again, no idea what age he is, but I'm guessing he's a year or so older than Brian

Lj

monochromatic clown who's trying to find his passion again

I don't like how the whole Isaac thing went down in the original, I think it could have been more scary, not just gore:///

he isn't connected to the whole Operator plotline so idk how to put him in the same place and time as other crp

to me he's off to the side with Candy Pop, Jason and other imaginary friends/fiends

who knows how old he is???

Jane

similar to Jeff, her story is mostly an urban legend

although she did suffer major burns and lost her family

she used to be obsessed with finding Jeff and making him suffer, but she's mostly over it now

found out about the Operator stuff and quickly noped out of there

probably attending group therapy with Liu and Nina/j

very much a goth

I think her and Clocky would be a great pair, and if not that, at least best friends

I can see her turning around in a spinning chair while petting a cat and saying something ominous

currently 23

Liu

survived his brother's frenzy

after all Jeff couldn't bring himself to finish him

no nurse, thanks

Sully developed after the event cause of the trauma, but he isn't a demon or whatever, he's just an alter that can't forgive his brother, and who's there in place to protect Liu

he actually saw the Operator that night, and again from the hospital bed, but by having Jeff run far away, it didn't stick to Liu properly

after years in therapy and meeting other people connected to the incident, he decided to try and find his brother, so he's currently following closely behind Jeff

like in the og story he's very kindhearted

he hasn't found Jeff in person yet cause every time Sully is in charge he tries to sabotage his plans

has a sweet tooth, and is always chewing on something

his current worry is that his brother hasn't eaten any fruits in years

14 during the case, currently 21

Nina

oh boy, this character has so much untapped potential

she was probably a true crime obsessed girl, and was very much into the Woods case

she thought he was just like her, and so she started to idolize him, or should I say, the version of him that was sensationalized

as the time went on she got more and more wrapped up in a fictional world she made in her head, to escape her everyday life, so she started plotting how to find and meet him

basically imagine a cyberstalker, but for someone living off grid

made and executed her plan (aka a copycat murder) right after she found his location

Nina is like 2-3 years younger than Jeff, and she was expecting an emo prince charming who will accept her as she is and whisk her away to a manor full of weird kids who live together

she just got an emaciated guy who hates everything he's done (and himself), and has literally 0 interest in her

you can just imagine how that conversation went down...

he was very brutal, laughed at her, told her she was an absolute idiot (was overly harsh cause of all the guilt of what he did in the past)

scene, even on her jtk e-blogs

used to get into heated arguments, cause drama and then block everyone involved

she was 13 when the Woods case happened, 15 when she met Jeff, and she's currently 21(?)

Don't feel like writing any more, sorry:'''')

I mean, this is already too long, and I haven't even explained all the characters in this universe

It's even funnier when I remember I have at least 3x as many different interpretations of these characters in my head, if anyone's interested feel free to ask me about them

Really sorry it took me so long to answer this, I didn't even know where to start

#creepypasta #creepypasta headcanon #jtk #jane the killer #liu woods #jeffery woods #ticcy toby #laughing jack #nina the killer #eyeless jack

[lyledebeast]

Social Mobility

Obviously, there are a lot of problems with The Patriot's representation of slavery, but the fact that so many discussions of this center on Benjamin Martin overlooks an interesting possibility concerning this character. That Martin not only hires free men to work his land instead of using slave labor but also does heavy farm work himself is often read through a Doylian lens of making the hero more sympathetic to a modern audience. But what if we consider this choice through a Watsonian lens? What would that say about Martin?

First, he clearly does not hire free men to help him out of any moral distaste for the practice of slavery . If he felt that way, it is unlikely he would have married into a slave-owning family once, let alone twice. In the one moment where he does seem to support racial equality, his insistence that Occam sign for himself could be more about assuring the loyalty of this lone Black man who will be fighting alongside White volunteers. Perhaps, for the moment, Martin is stepping outside the White fantasyland of The Patriot where Black people simply do not escape from their enslavers when the opportunity arises. And maybe this reality is also behind Martin's choice to use free laborers for his own farm. Notice that not only he but also his sons play a role in planting, as we see when he asks Nathan and Samuel about the progress on their chores at the start of the movie. Most often, people parent in the ways they were parented, which raises an interesting possibility. Martin chose not to have slaves because he does not come from an enslaver family and has been used to doing his own labor, but now he has more land than he can manage himself even with the aid of four work-aged sons.

How on earth did this occur?

Well, it could have something to do with his being a war hero. That could also explain how a man who farmed his own land was able to marry into a family wealthy enough to afford slaves in the first place. Perhaps his marriage to Elizabeth was as much a reward for his wartime service as his marriage to Charlotte many years later. Women did not buy slaves for themselves in the colonial South, so Charlotte's are likely part of her inheritance from either her father or late husband (mentioned in some versions of the film/script, but not all). It would have been very unlikely for a woman to marry above her class, but a man could do so if he chose the right means of advancing himself. Looked at in this light, Martin's actions at Fort Wilderness, that made him a "hero" and for which he claims to feel such deep regret, gave him not only the land he owns but also the mother of his children, the gift that kept on giving (and giving and giving and . . .)

"I advance myself only through victory." "The honor is found in the ends, not the means." If my reading holds merit, these words from the villain's mouth actually describe the hero's trajectory far more accurately than Colonel Tavington's. As despicable as Tavington's actions are, he is only seeking upward mobility through tried and true methods, as Martin's experience attests. I've always found it funny that Tavington insists he can never return to England with honor but expresses no concerns that having committed war-time atrocities against Americans could impede his thriving in America. People in London for whom Tavington's victims are merely a newspaper headline will be appalled, but their flesh-and-blood Loyalist neighbors ? They'll get it!

Tavington's claim to his second James Wilkins that their burning a church filled with Patriot civilians will be forgotten is dubious at best. Most likely he knows better and is only saying that to ease Wilkins' conscience. But the reason such an action would live in infamy is not because it was particularly brutal by colonial standards. It's because the victims were White. The British Empire was a deeply White supremacist institution, and as movies like The Patriot show, that is a holdover from imperialism that we have yet to part ways with.

#the patriot #benjamin martin #chattel slavery #william tavington #social mobility #tldr Martin can still be a terrible person without having owned slaves

[silentfcknhill]

Vincent Phantomhive Theories (That Butler, Nursing)

Ok this is kind of a tangent so bear with me, but because I really love Vincent Phantomhive as a character I've been thinking a lot about the little bits we do get to see of him, and that chapter about him and Ciel cooking with Diedrich in particular.

Heavy spoilers below.

So on the surface it seems like just an innocent slice-of-life chapter that also serves to give a little backstory on Ciel's home life and his connection to inheriting Rachel's asthma. But as we learned later, not everything was as it appeared in this chapter. Namely, for one, it wasn't even Our Ciel at all cooking with Vincent but his twin, which was foreshadowed by the mysterious line about not wanting 'fake brothers' at the end.

Knowing this and that everything in this series usually has a hidden meaning, I began to wonder what other little insights could be gleaned from those seemingly innocuous moments. Especially about Vincent in particular, because there are some other oddly important-seeming panels and dialogue that went unresolved as of yet just like the 'fake brothers' line did until the twin reveal.

And because I love to overanalyze, that one simple little moment of Diedrich telling him his food sucked actually opens up a whole lot of possibilities about both characters that go much deeper than Vincent being able to cook or not. It started off as a funny thought experiment of whether he sucked at cooking, but then the implications started popping up behind each hidden door of possibility.

Normally it could be said 'it's not that deep', but I think we've established with this manga that it very much usually is that deep. I haven't seen anyone suggest some of these things, namely the cricket-match conspiracy part, but if it's already been done I apologize.

I have seen people point out Vincent's potential shadiness before but it usually wasn't fully fleshed out in terms of his motives, and the posts were usually done by people who seem to be criticizing Vincent. My post is a bit different because I love him either way and this is more just a character analysis weighing the possibilities.

So in case anyone else is interested, here are some of my thoughts on what the different possibilities are for why Diedrich said Vincent's cooking was bad and what they could mean for the characters on a larger scale. In no particular order:

1) Vincent's cooking was not great but also not terrible and Diedrich overplayed how bad it was due to being a grump. Definitely possible, Vincent claims to have never cooked before and that is probably true because he grew up very wealthy with cooks, similar to Ciel who is shown to not even be able to tie his own shoes properly without Sebastian.

Then again, Ciel is also a child and his parents died before he could even be trained to do stuff like shoot a gun properly since Sebastian taught him all that stuff in the flashback to their first days of the contract. Vincent likely would've been much more independent than Ciel, even as a rich man.

That said, it is possible that Vincent is capable of doing things but chooses not to. Diedrich also comes from wealth but he admits to enjoying cooking himself, while Vincent is shown to be good at getting other people to do stuff for him such as getting Diedrich to make him food in school when he was sick (that instance was likely partially a troll tactic to demean Diedrich since he hammed it up and made Diedrich physically feed him too which was surely not necessary).

If he got used to making other people do stuff for him like cooking, then it stands to reason he had no practice and might not be great at it. Diedrich is also a negative nelly so chances are he would jump at any imperfection in a dish that he knows very well and is attached to from his homeland, and he is always looking for an opportunity to take Vincent down a peg. It matches their bickering banter in general.

2) His cooking was actually as good as, or even better than Diedrich's, but Diedrich couldn't and wouldn't admit it consciously. Possible since Vincent claimed to use the recipe precisely, and if that was true then it should have been at least just the same as Diedrich's quality, so whether the dish was objectively good or bad doesn't matter because what matters is that if Vincent did indeed follow the recipe and did not make mistakes then it would have tasted the same as Diedrich's, so it would be what Diedrich subjectively considered good.

Diedrich is a perfectionist so it's possible nothing would've been good enough to earn verbal praise, and he is also so tsundere that he is loath to give a compliment, especially to Vincent. If this option is true then it might have even annoyed him that Vincent cooked a perfect German meal because Vincent is not only not German but he was British, and the Germans considered them to have bad taste in food.

So not only was he annoyed that an Englishman showed him up at his own forte, but that it was fucking Vincent who was effortlessly perfect at everything once again, and he didn't want it to go to Vincent's head by admitting another of his natural talents, especially since Diedrich had probably worked hard and put effort to get good at cooking while Vincent was treating it flippantly.

This is supported by the fact that Diedrich blames Vincent being British for his shitty German cooking. It was true that there was a huge cultural difference due to food preferences of England being considered 'bland' by the rest of Europe, and those of Germany being considered more 'tart/flavorful' in England. Their differences in culture are brought up multiple times through complaints from Diedrich and teasing jokes by Vincent, as well as the tense behind-the-scenes frenemy rivalry between the two countries being a big part of the manga plot overall.

However, this cultural difference can't be the sole reason for Diedrich insulting the food because if Vincent actually used Diedrich's recipe and didn't make mistakes then it wouldn't matter if he was not German, it should have been just like the German version and Diedrich wouldn't have noticed any difference.

3) His cooking was terrible on purpose and he did it to troll Diedrich so he'd have to make it all himself. Seems to be within character for Vincent for sure when it comes to Diedrich because he likes to mess with Diedrich's head in general and make him do a lot of extra work. It wouldn't have been motivated by laziness though, because he spent just as much time making it himself the first time, so if it was intentional it was done as a power play to remind Diedrich he was still his 'fag' (assistant) and he could make him do anything at any time.

Plus, he seemed more motivated by playing house than actually making a good meal for Rachel himself anyways, as he seemed to steal credit for it when she asked so he clearly didn't care about needing to make it himself. With this option, he would've had to covincingly fake what seems like genuine shock when Diedrich told him the food was gross, but that is also not uncharacteristic of him as a master liar and manipulator by reputation. More evidence of/context for this theory is used to possibly debunk #4 below.

4) His cooking was terrible by accident because he thought he was following the recipe but messed it up. This is possible due to seeming legit shocked when Diedrich told him that it was bad, but his reaction may have been a little too shocked and coy to be real. Also, he is usually shown to be competent when actually trying and if he were that careless in his tasks and unable to pay attention to detail then he wouldn't have been 1) entrusted with such an important position by the Queen in the first place, and 2) able to carry out his duties with such skill and precision that it earned him a reputation for exactly that.

The potential debunking of this option is where we get into conspiracy territory. Depending on your interpretation of him as a character, it is not entirely clear the extent of which his symptom of being distractible is real versus just an act to manipulate people/get them to do what he wants and then claim ignorance later. Since his sister Francis claims he was always a bit irresponsible even in youth, it could possibly be both...though she is also not the best judge of responsibility since she's so strict that to her everyone is irresponsible. Still though, it's possible he might be a bit in his own world but his convenient cluelessness at certain moments could be exaggerated and used as an excuse, particularly with Diedrich.

Or the whole entire thing could be an act. In fact, the main example of his forgetfulness was the whole 'forgetting about the Prefect meeting back in school' thing, and that easily could've been an elaborate game to get the end result he himself said he wanted on the boat: Diedrich as his 'loyal German dog' aka slave. If he skipped a Prefect preparations meeting, he knew Diedrich would have to do all the work, which would make him angry and confront Vincent. He purposefully made it even worse by trolling Diedrich by pretending to nap during the school day and on the lawn no less, which they were not supposed to be laying on, and by breaking more school rules such as calling Diedrich by his first name. He knew all this would provoke the bet that he knew he'd win through cheating/outsmarting, like Ciel later does in the Public School arc.

This theory is given more weight when you consider that Vincent deliberately commented on how all Germans must be rude if Diedrich is, which he figures will provoke Diedrich into making a similar blanket claim about his dormitory which he can pretend to get offended by and have a justification for the bet. It would be hypocritical for him to get offended by Diedrich stereotyping a whole group otherwise, when he himself had just done the same thing first. I have seen people say he was just being a hypocritical jerk, but it seemed more deliberate and calculated to me. Like Ciel in the Blue Cult arc when he put on the whole concert as a misdirect to catch the group dumping bodies, and tbh in most arcs, the Phantomhives are known for their Xanatos gambits and misdirections to get what they want.

There was probably a reason for everything Vincent did in the flashback, because Vincent is usually shown to be very outwardlt kind and supportive to everyone but Diedrich. He is a gentle, passive father who cannot bear to discipline his children. He compliments people on their insecurities like Ann's red hair. He even was very polite to Baron Kelvin despite his friends being rude to Kelvin. So why would he act differently around Diedrich? Because if he wants to get control of a mean man, then he has to earn his respect first by speaking his language.

But why did he even want to gt control of Diedrich in the first place? Well, maybe he was tasked to. The whole plot being a request from the Queen makes sense considering Vincent is seen reading a mysterious letter with what looks like her insignia after the cricket match in the gazebo and right before Diedrich approached him about what his request is.

She is shown making power plays against Germany throught the franchise by setting up her German cousin Georg von Siemens to be unalived at Ciel's party to stop Germany from advancing their tech to match England's, and also in the whole Emerald Witch arc which takes place in Germany and involves the German military and their building 'cold war' with England and her interest in Sieglinde as a weapon for England's benefit.

Notably, Diedrich was forced to intervene against his own country in this arc due to the loyalty he owed to the Phantomhives, so it's very possible he was intended to be used for purposes like this and that is why the Queen wanted Vincent to set that pawn up for the future if needed. That might've been the reason he was at that school to begin with, he might have been undercover like Ciel was. This would have been only a couple years after his mother, the former Queen's Watchdog, died and so he was probably eager to live up to the expectations placed on him and would have done anything to succeed.

Diedrich even seems to be aware of being used for this purpose, which explains him being so depressed he developed a stress-eating addiction and why he seemed resentful of his friendship with Vincent, and Vincent's family in general who he still can't get free of.

Vincent asked Diedrich in the flashback to look after Ciel if he died, and Diedrich even asks if this was an order. It would seem weird for a friend to ask that unless they felt obligated/coerced. It would also make sense why he said he was almost glad Vincent was dead in the scene with Undertaker, the 'almost' meaning 'if only he didn't live on through his son and I was actually free of this debt'. That's why he always compares Ciel to his dead father in a negative way.

Not to say he and Vincent weren't actually friends on some level, if anything it seemed they had a lot of past sexual tension and possibly some unrequited feelings on Diedrich's part that he is still resentful over due to Vincent leading him on. But I do think his friendship with the Phantomhives was not balanced, as referenced by the 'Unbalanced Triangle' chapter title with him, Vincent and Ciel on the cover, and that he was most assuredly being used to some extent.

If this is the case and the whole school cricket thing was one of Vincent's chess games, then it's also why Vincent deliberately pretended not to know what he would make his request when they first made the bet, because he knew Diedrich would never agree to it but would have to honor his promise later if it was already made because Diedrich took rules and obligations so seriously.

If this all was true, then it seems that pretending to be bad at cooking would be just another ploy, as listed in theory #3 above, albeit with lower stakes.

5) Somehow he has a reverse Midas Touch with food and is so terrible at cooking that he was able to butcher the meal despite actually honestly trying and successfully following the recipe to a T without making any mistakes. This seems unlikely from a realistic standpoint but could be used in fiction for comedy purposes since fiction doesn't have to make sense entirely. It would seem a bit odd for Vincent though because this is never shown to be the case otherwise and he is not portrayed as a butt-monkey character but rather a frighteningly competent one through reputation and the tangible results of his actions that we see proof of.

6) Alternatively, the seemingly comedic moment could've been a red flag for something deeper, as most seemingly lighthearted jokes are in this series. Foreshadowing of what? This is where we get back into conspiracy town. Well, the bad meal could have been symbolic from when Vincent mentions the most important ingredient in a meal is love, and Diedrich questions his ability to love at all.

If Vincent is telling them that love is the main ingredient in a meal and yet can't cook it properly, he is basically confessing as much in his own words, hence the special attention Yana paid to show his smirk of acknowledgement after Diedrich questions his potential to love and how there is no protest from Vincent or any follow-up at all and it is left 'hanging' like Ciel's 'no fake brothers' line before the twin reveal. Nothing in this manga is left hanging forever, the clues are always there and there are no such things as coincidences in this series.

I don't think Vincent is incapable of love entirely, but I do think he was very repressed and emotionally isolated due to preparing his whole life for his role as the Queen's Watchdog, meaning he couldn't safely get attached to anyone lest anything happen to him or the other person. He also seems to have trauma around attachment from losing his mother when he was 15 and having to take up the very job that killed her, knowing at any time he could be next if he failed in his duties (and it's entirely possible this is exactly what happened and why he died).

Keep in mind the meal he was making was not only for Rachel, but to nurse her back to health while she was sick. Because his marriage to Rachel was arranged by her and Ann's father, while I do think he began to care for Rachel as a companion over time, it seemed more of a platonic co-parenting marriage of convenience type situation. Vincent makes comments indicating his infidelity at various points, such as offering to flirt with 'German beauties' with Chlaus.

This is why Diedrich commented on the lack of love in his marriage, because he knew Vincent personally from when they were kids and knew how hard of a time he had opening up to the vulnerability of such an emotion. The bad taste of the meal might have confirmed Diedrich's seemingly irrelevant comment earlier and it's possible that Vincent's bad meal was a manifestation of the lack of actual romance in his marriage and/or his fear to open himself up to love in general.

Aside from just the love and marriage aspect, since he is partially non-human and Undertaker is his direct ancestor (father or grandfather etc) then Vincent's soul is probably 'tainted' by darkness to some extent, so that could also explain why something so intrinsic to human life as food/eating would not come naturally to him. The Phantomhive line is constantly referred to as cursed and not supposed to exist, likely as a result of Undertaker breaking shinigami code by interfering with life through procreating.

While he is half-human, the bad cooking, if it was real, may be a nod to his connection with death through being half-shinigami and/or marked for death already by fate. So of course he can't put his 'heart and soul' into making a meal if his heart and soul are cursed with flaw. Any result of a 'soulful' endeavor on his part would naturally reflect his true genetic and spiritually tainted nature.

#vincent phantomhive #kuroshitsuji #black butler #diedrich kuroshitsuji #what is the true extent of his dubious nature? could it be a combo of these options? #he is a character shrouded in mystery since we only see him through other people's memories which can be altered by their own perceptions

[iiyarada]

Hi to the 3 Kurt Stachler fans that exist I wrote an extremely unprofessional “essay” (word-vomit) on him and his character and am finally posting it for all to see.

Read it HERE!!! Under the cut

Kurt Stachler is an extremely important yet extremely underutilized character in Kaze to Ki no Uta. His main purpose in the series is to be the comedic relief, as Kazeki is a very serious and heartbreaking manga. There's no harm in having a character used for comedic relief, but with Kurt's writing, and the importance he has in the series, having him solely be the "funny guy" causes him to fall short, as Keiko never expands upon him as a character and keeps him as comedy even after he plays one of the single most pivotal roles. The other minor characters, such as Carl, Pascale, Rosemarine and even Jules all get mini-arcs expanding upon their characters and motivations, the exceptions being Kurt and Nekka, and while both characters had their potential, I will be focusing on Kurt. Part of me believes that Kurt was boiled down to such a 1-dimensional is due to his size. Kurt is drawn to be a bit bigger than the other characters, who are all drawn in your typical thin anime body type. Even then, Kurt's body type fluctuates as the series goes on to make him look thinner than originally intended. The main reason I think this way is due to:

The Funny Fat Friend Trope.

The Fat Best Friend trope is a (annoying) common trope in media where the main character, in this case Serge, has a friend who is not conventionally skinny that only exists for the sole reason to be funny for the main character. They are a sidekick and oftentimes not fleshed out. Kurt 100% fits into this trope, but breaks away from it in certain scenes when he becomes relevant to the plot. However, when he is relevant, he is drawn thinner in certain scenes.

As I said before, there is nothing wrong with having a character written in to be comedic relief. Nor do I believe that the "fat funny friend" trope is bad in every piece of media , for example in certain medias that focus on satirical comedy where EVERY character is a stereotype can utilize this trope to where it doesn't come off as hurtful, the main difference there being that in these comedies - as mentioned before - EVERY character is based off something trope-y, no one is singled out. Kaze to Ki no Uta is NOT a comedy, and that's where the series falls short with handling Kurt. Having characters that are the comedic relief AND have issues is not impossible to write and having a funny person have issues doesn't make them less funny, but instead, makes them more human.

But what ARE some of Kurt's "issues" if any? He's impulsive and easily irritable, he struggles with jealousy (he is even called out for it at one point) and seemingly has some sort of issue with attachment and abandonment. There are all of these character points that are brushed off to the side or are treated as some sort of joke due to the fact Kurt HAS to be "the funny one." There's no chance for him to be explored on a deeper level because of the preconceived notion that the funny guys can't have struggles. Normally, this would not be a huge issue, as he IS a side character, but as mentioned before, Carl and Pascale are fleshed out and explored on a deeper level. Pascale is a wonderful example how a character can be funny and have deep-rooted flaws and issues, yet Kurt remains the one who "can't have issues."

Aside from his issues, Kurt has his personality strengths as well, which are ALSO under-explored due to the aforementioned FFF trope. Kurt is a very determined person when it comes to maintaining friendships, he's not one to leave someone alone. Even after he had his fight with Serge, he came back to check on him after learning he was hurt despite being upset with him. He's protective and is someone who doesn't go back on promises he's made (said by himself) Hell, being funny in times of struggle can ALSO be one of his strengths, IF it was balanced out with the rest of his writing.

In this section I will be expanding upon WHY Kurt plays an important role in the series and without him, some of the most important events could not have been possible.

In the beginning of the series Kurt holds disdain toward Gilbert but loves spending time with Serge, which is conflicting for him. His friend is important to him, but his homophobic ass does NOT like Gilbert, but as mentioned before, Kurt isn't the type of person to drop someone over him not liking someone else. He stays friends with Serge and in turn, begins warming up to Gilbert, and is even implied to have a small crush on him (see Kurt 119). BUT EVEN BEFORE THAT, even WITH his hatred of Gilbert, he was never one to go out of his way to attack Gilbert. During the scene where Jack (NOT Jack Dren, different Jack) is trying to force Gilbert to stick his hand in the fire, Kurt is one of the people who is AGAINST Jack bullying him. No, Kurt doesn't like Gilbert, but he doesn't want him to get hurt at the hands of others either. **Keep in mind that at this point in the series, Kurt had NO IDEA why Gilbert acted the way he did. He only knew that Gilbert seduced lots of people.

The ONE TIME where Kurt attacks Gilbert is during the Arles arc when Serge says he's going to leave to go back to Gilbert. Kurt gets upset and claim that Serge is "crazy about that dirty f-ggot!" Which results in the two physically fighting and Kurt walking off with Nekka out of anger.

THIS SCENE IS VERY INTERESTING!!!

In this time, nothing between Serge and Gilbert had been made official. Serge still wasn't even sure how he felt about Gilbert until AFTER Kurt suggested him being in love with Gilbert, which I assume was a joke made by Kurt (literally the 1880s equivalent of calling your friends gay as a joke). To Kurt, Serge is just simply friends with both him AND Gilbert. Serge had agreed to go to Arles with them, Gilbert was invited but declined. To Kurt, this was time to spend with a new friend and this wouldn't have changed much if Gilbert was there or not, either way, they were hanging out together. After Serge said he was going to leave Arles to find Gilbert, Kurt takes this as Serge playing favorites. Gilbert HAD the option to go with them, but he CHOSE not to, and now Serge was choosing Gilbert over the people he already agreed to spend time with. Kurt had already been established as a bit jealous, and this hurt him!!! The reason Kurt even called Gilbert a "dirty f-ggot" was him lashing out due to his own jealousy and hurt feelings, no it's not something to condone, but at the same time he's a 14 year old who believes that one of his friends just indirectly said Gilbert was more worth Serge's time, that hurts!! Kurt had NO IDEA Serge's feelings towards Gilbert, if Kurt was given the context and DID know about his feelings, I truly believe the Arles fight would not have happened at all.

After the fight in Arles there's a brief scene where Kurt and Serge glare at each other before walking away, where you can see that Kurt is eating one singular apple. Dude please eat something more, but other than that, this scene isn't relevant. I just want him to eat a Happy Meal or something.

At one point, during the time Kurt and Serge aren't talking, Serge ends up getting hurt and is bedridden for a bit. In this time, even while Kurt is supposedly mad at him, he takes his time Serge to make sure he's okay. He's NOT that petty and still sees Serge as a friend even after he was hurt.

After the Arles Fight, Kurt isn't relevant for a while, but he is shown to have warmed up to Gilbert. His disdain is shown less and less and he's seen more with the friend group where Gilbert IS included. He makes jokes and spends time with his friends and this time Gilbert is included in the antics. Gilbert isn't 100% sold on spending time with everyone, so these scenes are brief but it's important to note that Kurt and Gilbert's relationship is NOT as rocky as before, AND his relationship with Serge is back to normal. They're friends again!!

It's volume 11 where Kurt gains relevance again. Gilbert is beginning to spend more time with the group and the rest of the group is also trying to make him feel more included. Overall, their friendship goes from disdain to good friends very smoothly and naturally while also being something happy!! Which. Lord knows Gilbert needs some happiness.

BUT THEN THERE’S ADAM.

The entire deal with Adam in a nutshell is that he wants to hurt Serge, Gilbert uses his body to prevent this from happening. At first this entire ordeal is a secret, then somehow Serge learns the reality of the situation and want to do whatever he can to stop this. The plan is for the pair to run away somewhere away from Adam and Lacomblade for good. Adam hate club.

NO ONE is happy about Adam and in this arc. NO ONE. Though when Kurt learns that Serge wants his help with running away, he's hesitant because Gilbert is used to running away without being punished, but if Kurt was found out, he WOULD be punished, and he wasn't interested in that. That is, until, Serge explains WHY they want to run away and Kurt ends up changing his mind. He loves his friends and hates seeing them hurt, he wants this to escape even if it means he wasn't going to see them again.

THE FIRST PART OF THE PLAN, Kurt comes up with the idea that he'll take Serge's place during roll call in the morning so that Serge can go get phase 1 of the runaway complete (i forgot what it was, but oh well this is about kurt). According to Kurt and Serge, they have similar voices, he could say "here" for Serge behind the door so it appeared as if he was present, THIS ALSO MEANS Kurt was taking the fall at his own attendance expense. This SMALL detail is just another subtle way of showing how deeply Kurt cares for his friends and the lengths he's willing to go for them.

After phase 1, there's a break in the plan where we get MORE HAPPY CONTENT!!! A lot of the Kurt moments are very slice-of-lifey. He mentions missing Serge's stories and jokingly fights with Pascale. Everyone celebrates Gilbert's birthday and Kurt even gets him a frog as a gift since Gilbert mentioned liking animals. It's very cutesy and fun and is a nice way to show the friendship dynamic between the side characters.

Now, during the entire Escape Plan Arc, Kurt acts as a self proclaimed "bodyguard" to Serge and Gilbert whenever he's around. He makes it a point to stay with them as long as he can so that, if something happens, he'll be there. When Serge gets his arm hurt by Adam and is then subsequently insulted, Kurt is FUCKING PISSED and his first thought is to immediately to physically fight the guy (he doesn't but i digress). The Adam Arc is where Kazeki REALLY shows how much he loves his friends and how much he's willing to do to protect them, even if his protectiveness is shown in a comedic way (see Kurt 222). There's even a point where he's "put in charge" of Gilbert, bringing him to class, making sure he's okay, things like that.

THE SECOND PART OF THE PLAN. The actual escape plan route needs to be scoped out and Kurt volunteers to do this. He does this by literally going through the fucking sewer to find places that will be out of sight from the watchful eye of Rosemarine. Holy shit the dedication.

Remember how he was put in charge of Gilbert? Yeah. Well, he forgets his Bible in his room at one point and has to go back and get it, and in those moments where Kurt was gone, Adam got to Gilbert again. Which FIRST OF ALL, I'm killing Adam. BUT SECOND OF ALL, this shows how much of a threat this little shit was being. Adam was still willing to be gross with Serge around, but he never got close when Kurt was around. Kurt was ready to KILL.

Speaking of kill, he really IS willing to do so after he learns what happened with Adam while he was gone getting his Bible (see Kurt 237). He's absolutely PISSED OFF. I think this is a big moment as it shows just how much Kurts feelings have changed towards Gilbert. He went from someone who held disdain towards Gilbert but ultimately remained a disapproving bystander when he was being mistreated, to a friend who was willing to threaten anyone who hurt not just Gilbert, but ANY of his friends, even if that means putting himself at risk.

He's not JUST the guy willing to beat people up. He shows kindness through other ways, he makes tea, he continuously checks up on Serge and Gilbert, he plays games with them, he's both parts angry at what's happening while keeping a gentle composure around the victims of the situation.

THE THIRD PART OF THE PLAN. The carriage. Perhaps the single most important thing needed for Serge and Gilbert's escape, and who's behind it all? Kurt. He scopes out specific people that might have connections to carriage agencies and talks to them in secret, which is very risky. Any of these people he was talking to could rat Kurt out at any moment, and one of them actually DOES rat him out to Rosemarine, but LUCKILY AT THIS POINT, Rosemarine had HIS OWN change of heart and decided to keep the news for himself. That aside, they get the carriage delivered, Kurt fucking SUCCEEDED!!!!

And finally, THE FOURTH PART OF THE PLAN. The actual escape. During the escape, Rosemarine shows up to give Gilbert and Serge some money for Paris, of course, no one aside from Serge knows this. EVERYONE that was in on the plan assumes that the whole thing is a bust due to Rosemarine interfering. It's at this point Nekka pulls back on the plan and exits stage left, which upsets Kurt a lot since him and Nekka are good friends-in fact, this is the first time Nekka and Kurt willingly separated from one another-but he is also good friends with Serge and Gilbert. To Kurt, he thinks Nekka is being a coward, ESPECIALLY since he knew everything about Adam, but he let's Nekka go anyway. Pascale offers to take the fall, but Kurt refuses, saying he's not going anywhere and if Pascale is getting in trouble, he's getting in trouble too. They don't end up getting in trouble since Rosemarine was on their side, but on the chance that he wasn't, Kurt was still willing to stand firm in his position and actions in the escape plan.

This is the last we see of Kurt for the rest of the series aside from in Serge's flashbacks, and I think, while his last scene is a bit silly (See Kurt 262) it's impactful, and his last moment is him stating that he's not one to go back on promises he's made. His growth from a bystander to a good friend who's willing to risk his own safety for someone he used to call an enemy is something beautiful yet since it's Kurt, it's still treated as a joke. Every single event I described above was treated as a joke or something silly. Kurt is not allowed to be helpful in a meaningful way, that's Serge's job. He's not allowed to give advice in a serious manner, that's Pascale's job. He's not allowed to have conflicting emotions about not being able to see Serge ever again, that's Carl's job. He's not allowed to be upset about anything at all, because he's written as the comedic relief. Even when he supplied Serge and Gilbert with their sole means of transportation, it's treated as a joke, because above all, that's how Kurt is written. He is not written to be someone meaningful, he's written to be a one-dimensional joke.

Kurt's potential as the comedic relief AND a meaningful friend was wasted, he had the chance to be a fleshed out character, just like Carl, Pascale, Rosemarine, or any of the other characters were, but because of the trope he fits into, that potential to be a great character disappears and he falls back into the box Keiko designed for him in the first place as the Funny Fat Friend.

AFTER THOUGHTS I COULDN’T FIT IN:

-The way the Arles fight scene parallels with the Nekka-Kurt separation is so. Head in hands.

Kurt chose to separate himself from Serge after he chose Gilbert over him

Nekka chose to separate from Kurt after he chose Gilbert over backing out with him. Im SICK!!!

-All Kurt’s mentioned that I put in parentheses will be posted in a reblogged version of this post when I have access to my Kurt Folder

#kaze to ki no uta #kazeki #風と木の詩 #kurt stachler #do you guys think i am acoustic

[storkmuffin]

Hi there! I really like your liveblog!!! And I love seeing your analysis of the characters, Silver especially.

Still, I agree with one of the other asks about the fact that, while I understand why you hate him, Silver is very complicated and messy, even if we’re never shown the root cause of his being like this.

We don’t know anything about his story, his family, his past (and I could argue that he doesn’t either, as he seems to be refusing to acknowledge any of it. He’s blocked it). But one of the things that Black Sails really tries to communicate (imo) is that every character, every person, always has reasons for their actions. And that these reasons are more often than not complex, and deep, and emotional, and trauma-related, and often unconscious.

And I kinda believe we would be doing Silver’s character a disservice by denying that he operates in the same way (as a messy, human, problematic person!), even if he hasn’t explicitly shown us his mind and memories. He’s much more interesting if we assume that he has reasons for his behaviour (even if buried and unknowable), instead of deciding that he’s simply a “low calibre human”, one incapable of feeling love or pain to a meaningful degree. That’s kinda simplistic (in my opinion) and takes away some of the depth and humanity of the writing.

ANYWAY, everybody interprets both stories and people differently and that’s great! Hope this ask wasn’t uncalled for; I’ll keep looking forward to your liveblogging! :)

I appreciate pro-Silver asks like this SO MUCH. I really do. I know it doesn't come through at all when I'm shooting off reactions to each provocation by the show but I genuinely WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE APPEAL OF JOHN SILVER even if I can’t fully buy into it. I really really do. He's weirdly designed to set off all my antipathies which is low-key upsetting bc I know there is so much great fanart and fanfiction and lore to be enjoyed in this fandom for which being at least able to tolerate John Silver is a base requirement! Unforrtunately, every time I am close to warming up to him, John Silver does the worst possible thing in my eyes and sets me right back to 0.

I am looking forward to the Silverflint fics giving him some of the nuance and color you're talking about, assuming I'm not blanket blocked by everyone who loved Silver enough to flesh him out.

Like - Charles Vane let Max get gang raped and sexually tortured and yet I eventually came to see him as someone to mourn! I keep HOPING to do this with Silver (which again isn't gonna come through on the off the cuff posts) and then get super pissy because he disappoints me.

p.s. This fandom is SO CIVIL. Which is so funny bc the show is so violent and merciless lol. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in such a kind way.

#black sails asks #storkmuffin liveblog

[beetle-the-boy]

Assuming I'm nowhere near done with Signalis, I'll give my mid game thoughts on it now

Cool Things

The level design is incredible. Even with the winding rooms and multiple floors, I was never lost. Especially in the area with no map. The landmarks in that area were amazing and I literally never got lost.

The atmosphere is incredible. The lo-fi ps1 aesthetic was absolutely nailed, the ambience is phenomenal (especially in the previously mentioned area with no map), and the sound design is absolutely God-tier

The puzzles are all incredibly unique and varied. Some of my favorites include anything that uses the radio module and doing literal electrical engineering work.

This ties into the aesthetics but I especially want to laud the cosmic horror aspect. Humanity digging too deep and finding some old god that manifests as mounds of red flesh is done to death but the execution of it in Signalis is incredible. Whether or not this is thanks to Elster being unphased by it I've yet to say. My favorite part is that it only affect Replikas (as far as I know), contorting them into zombies.

It makes me feel weird to listen to the threat music and think "I love this groove

Things I don't Like

Starting with the most pressing thing for me: the world building is all over the place to the point where it becomes distracting. Many things are described with German words and phrasing but then literally in the same hallway see Chinese-esque kanji. It would've been much better if only one language was used (preferably German because it really helps give Signalis's world it's own identity) or if a completely new language was made.

Most monsters really feel like they all do the same thing: hobble towards you and swing with just different speeds and models differentiating them. I wish there were more enemies like the Kolibri and Mynah. The Kolibri are probably my favorite in the game because it requires to use a tool that doesn't have limited uses. And speaking of which

The modules should really just be base upgrades and not separate items. Hell I'll concede and say the photo module should be a separate item but a flash light that's mounted on the shoulder? I feel like the scenarios would more dynamic if there were more enemies that required you to uses other tools than gun x, y, and z.

I'll probably get flack for this but the character design is so weak. This game has a terrible case I could barely tell the difference between a Eule, a Storch, an Ara, and a Kolibri. The only stand outs are Elster because she's the protagonist, Alder because he's male, and Mynah because she's actually different with her massive suit and tiny face. The worst part to me is that these were all previously humans, so at the very least their faces would be different but no it's still just spindly thin white woman with hooves. Me and my friends would literally say "the writers barely disguised fetish" whenever any propaganda picture would crop up.

A story can sometimes be too vague. I get that it looks spooky but flashing red text in multiple languages only confuses me, especially when some of it may be important to the plot. If these sequences where replaced with the first person sequences where you walk around

Some slight accessibility options would be nice like: being able to see if an item can be combined with another, highlight important details in text, instantly swap to frequencies with data on them, have all healing items heal instantly

The scene where Elster does maintenance and meets Alina should've been put at the start of the game because the only reason I cared about Alina at all was the fact that I knew before starting that they were a thing and it was funny to yell "HAVE YOU SEEN MY WIFE???" like Marlin searching for Nemo. I can understand merit in keeping Elster's motives unknown until after the first credits roll but there really isn't any other indication that Elster should keep going down other than her really liking jumping down holes she really shouldn't go down.

Signalis is one of the best horror experiences I've had and one of the best games I've played. While it may be too soon to say for sure, Signalis holds the title of 2nd best game with gay people brutalizing each other.

#Signalis #game review #i might make more of these for other games I play if people like it

[chacusha]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Prophecy and Change (2003) ed. Marco Palmieri

I bought this book because of @ysalamiri-queen's recommendation of its Quodo short story, which is indeed great. This is a collection of short stories published shortly after DS9 ended, all set within canon (missing scenes/episodes) except for the one by Andrew J. Robinson at the end which seems to be a post-canon follow-up to A Stitch in Time. Here are my thoughts on the stories (mild spoilers for the general content of the book/premises of the individual stories):

"Ha'mara" by Kevin G. Summers: This is a Sisko & Kira story set shortly after the events of "Emissary." I liked this one! It's a good opener to the book not just because it occurs so early in the timeline but because it touches on so many of the themes that DS9 will eventually be about: religion and faith, Sisko's odd role as the Emissary, post-colonial Bajor, Bajor's (non-)entrance into the Federation, etc. I thought it was both a good and odd fit into the timeline: Good because it fleshes out when exactly did people generally know Sisko was the Emissary -- this is a bit vague in DS9 season 1. We know Opaka and Sisko know but outside of that, we never really get how that was communicated to the wider Bajoran public and what the reaction was, so it was nice seeing that here (throughout season 1 I don't think anyone calls Sisko by the title of Emissary but over the course of the show it's obvious he's generally seen as filling that role). Anyway, that's a bit of canon I thought was missing and could be filled in. The story is also a bit of an odd fit because it does some serious relationship development between Sisko and Kira very early in season 1. I'm a bit torn whether I think that fits their dynamic in canon or jumps the gun a bit on their relationship development. In any case, though, I enjoyed this story and its themes. I liked getting to see more of Opaka, too, before she disappears.

"The Orb of Opportunity" by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels: Oh man, the main thing I remember from this story is that it seemed like it was written by a Kai Winn fanboy. Now, I love Kai Winn and Nog (who are the main characters of this story) and I love that someone wrote a story focusing on them, but in this story I felt they played up Winn's bravery, revolutionary spirit, and moral compass a bit too much in a way that she no longer felt like Winn. No doubt she is capable of having all of those characteristics and I appreciate getting to see the nobler side of Winn, but she is ultimately meant to be a total snake and I want to see Kai Winn being a total snake. Making Kai Winn instrumental to Nog's decision to join Starfleet is so funny to me but also just NO. Anyway, I liked the story here and appreciated the Nog and Winn focus and the bizarrely positive take on Winn was an experience in and of itself. I like it, but I don't think it's canon.

"Broken Oaths" by Keith R.A. DeCandido: This is a Bashir & O'Brien story that says it's set after "Our Man Bashir" but I think it's more accurately a coda for "Hippocratic Oath". Basically, the plot is "Bashir and O'Brien talk their anger/feelings out about O'Brien disobeying direct orders in order to destroy Bashir's ketracel white research to save his life." Which I suppose is a kind of thing that would put a damper on one's friendship, and generally I like fanfic of the form "Characters actually talk about all the fucked up stuff that happened in canon" but I guess I didn't particularly feel I needed these two to talk out this issue and it felt a bit "stating the obvious out loud" at points (like, "Maybe the reason I was so mad was because [self-analysis]!", you know?). I did appreciate the humor of the stereotypical plot of two characters' whole friend group scheming in order to get them to kiss and make up (with Dax, Worf, Garak, and Quark being the scheming friends here).

"...Loved I Not Honor More" by Christopher L. Bennett: This is the Quodo story featuring Grilka set sometime after her second appearance ("Looking for par'Mach..."), and it's great. I feel like the author had a really good handle on Quark and Odo's dynamic which is ostensibly antagonistic but actually very tender and intimate underneath, and not explicitly romantic but still with those ~vibes~. So like, if you want another story involving these two that's very close to/in line with canon, this does that really well. Also, we get another story involving Grilka and Klingon noble house drama, which is always great. Even though Quark and Odo's canonical love interests come up in this story, somehow it's about Odo telling Quark that he's a Ferengi and that's enough and he never has to be something he's not, and UGH THESE TWO. How do they manage to be so rom-com sappy when they're not even a couple? I'm dying.

"Three Sides to Every Story" by Terri Osborne: Oh man, I have a lot of thoughts on this one. This is a Jake/Ziyal (pre-ship) story, where Jake and Ziyal get to know each other during the Dominion occupation arc and then Jake has to deal with her death. I've heard of Jake/Ziyal as a relatively popular "Ziyal survives AU" pairing so I wasn't surprised to see it here, but I haven't actually read any fic for that pairing so I guess I'm not intrinsically interested in it. Reading this story made me wonder if Jake/Ziyal is actually a soft NOTP for me, or if I just really didn't like the way it was done in this story. I didn't find Jake and Ziyal's attraction to each other convincing (more tell than show), their characterization felt flat to me, and I felt the setup of the story made Ziyal's death more about the tragedy of Jake's connection to her, which is a tough sell as Jake's connection to her is only really established in this story, so the emotional resonance of the story is heavily reliant on having set that up well, which I already felt this story didn't. Anyway, I like the idea of looking at Ziyal's death through a different lens than in the show, and Jake as an artist who doesn't know Ziyal well could have been an excellent choice but I felt making that lens romantic (especially given all the weird forced-romantic stuff with Garak in the show which is thankfully not present here) kind of wasted the potential of Ziyal's character to have some meaning other than potential love interest and daughter, which is already there in the show. Even fleshing out an antagonistic relationship with Damar would have been more interesting IMO (Damar does interact with Ziyal but I also felt those interactions felt flat/didn't have a good grasp on Damar's character either). Anyway, sorry this is so negative -- it's one of those cases where I have a lot to say because I can actually see the reasoning/potential/good ideas here but just got a bit let down by the execution.

"The Devil You Know" by Heather Jarman: This is a Jadzia-centric story set in season 6 after the Romulans join the war against the Dominion and intersecting with the events of "Time's Orphan." This one is an old-fashioned moral dilemma of a wartime Federation where the character goes too far and has to deal with the fallout of that. It felt like a DS9 plot, but at the same time, I felt this took Jadzia's character in too dark a direction (it felt like it relied on emotional outbursts to show/justify why a character makes decisions that don't really line up with that character's values/normal way of functioning); also, it is just depressing but I kind of appreciated the depiction of helpless grief here. Also, Jadzia should totally get her own Romulan woman to have ridiculous chemistry with (Subcommander T'Rul in this case) following the Romulan entrance to the war, just like Kira does (with Kimara Cretak), so I approve. Overall a kind of depressing/bleak story especially for Jadzia (kinda seems out of line with her character) but I enjoyed the plot and thought it did interesting things with her character, even though I don't particularly think Jadzia would react to stress in quite this way.

"Foundlings" by Jeffrey Lang: This is an Odo & Thrax mystery set between season 6 and 7 when Cardassia is increasingly not flourishing under the Dominion. Thrax comes to Odo with a case of a shuttle accident that left all its passengers dead. I'm not sure I really dig the Thrax characterization here but hey, he's a very minor character so... free real estate! I appreciate the author bringing a one-episode character (he doesn't quite appear in one episode, even...) back. Fun mystery with nice Odo character work (and interesting stuff involving Odo vs. Thrax and Odo's relationship to the Dominion vs. Thrax's relationship to Cardassia). But I really could have done without all the Kirodo parts, ngl. 😂

"Chiaroscuro" by Geoffrey Thorne: An Ezri-centric story. This one was weird. Once it started getting into the Jadzia-designed, Dante's Inferno-themed labyrinth, I started wondering if the author already had a non-Star Trek sci-fi story that they had already written, which they quickly adapted here, because the aesthetic and themes seemed so off from Jadzia/Ezri/Trills/Star Trek in general, with a kind of weak rationale for why Jadzia a Trill would theme a maze around a human notion of hell and punishment... But at the same time, the story outside the maze itself does so much to tie in Ezri's previous lives and how Ezri differs from Jadzia that it had to be the case that at least a lot of this story was specifically written with Ezri/Star Trek in mind. But yeah, this one was pretty wild (even the premise of Jadzia wiping memory of the event seemed kind of designed to be like a concession that this story fits awkwardly in canon). I liked seeing Ezri and Jadzia's past work and past hosts get some fleshing out but not sure what I think about this story as a whole.

"Face Value" by Una McCormack: This is a story that fleshes out Kira & Damar & Garak's relationship when they are fomenting rebellion (and are stranded) on Cardassia. Not much happens plotwise in this story but there's a lot of character work, and I like the interactions between these characters and wish we'd gotten more than was in the show (so I appreciate getting more here), and I liked the writing.

"The Calling" by Andrew J. Robinson: This is set after A Stitch in Time and the stage play "The Dream Box" and features Garak struggling to unify a broken, fragmented Cardassia post-canon. As I still haven't read ASIT (it's very hard to get a copy of), I didn't get much out of this one. Like, there was an attempt to fill the reader on all the important terms, concepts, and characters but the whole story just didn't make sense without having that previous background and investment in what happens after the events of the previous stuff. I'll revisit this later once I've read the earlier works.

Overall, a really fun collection of stories. I liked the variety, getting to see the whole cast here, and getting to read stories pretty in line with canon. And yes, the Quodo one was my favorite, although there were a couple of other stories here where the writing was just as good and it told an interesting story.

#star trek: deep space nine #star trek novels #star trek books #book review #quodo #I'll copy this to Dreamwidth at some point

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.40 thoughts

[Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow]

NOT KASURI!!!

WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE TOSHUSAI OR YUGATA CUT THEIR HAIR TO BE OUR MEDAKA, BUT NOW KASURI GOT RID OF HER BANGS TO BECOME THE TSURUBAMI!!!

Oh, fun little coinkydink, though, much like in this week's Undead Unluck, we're getting a little lesson in character design here: the same way that UU's Rip has a mole under his eye to denote who he is when wearing full surgical gear, we can tell retroactively that Kasuri was designed with a choker specifically so we could identify her once she lost her bangs, as she is pretty much completely unrecognizable without them

Onto the chapter itself, as usual, I am a clown who doesn't voice the thoughts that are actually correct. My immediate thought last week when Iroha said there was someone he wanted to convince was Kasuri, as she was his first friend and she hadn't gotten to contribute much to the story the entire time, so it was weird to me that she wasn't going to be a part of this arc either

The reason I eliminated her as a possibility was because of how Iroha worded his statement, specifically implying he meant someone not in the room. This of course was a rookie mistake, as of course Nisio was going to turn it around like that. That's like the most Nisio Isin thing he's done this entire series, and this is the same chapter he had a girl cut her hair!!!

Funny to consider in retrospect though that Kasuri is not in fact the first girl to get a Nisio haircut; that honor technically goes to Yukako, who we learned about 15 chapters ago now used to have long hair, but that was off-screen, so we didn't count it

I do like this moment for Kasuri, as she made it pretty clear from the get that she had no ambition or self-worth, so her coming to understand that she does have value based on the fact that Iroha wants her around is a nice bit of development for her character, even if we haven't gotten to see how down on herself she really is aside from this scene and her introduction. I would have liked to have it fleshed out a bit more thoroughly, but with the ever-present threat of cancelation, I can't say I don't understand why her character specifically might be a little truncated

I also enjoy that Iroha actively wants Kasuri by his side above the rest of his classmates since she's literally the first friend he made here. Sure, he was on friendly terms with Kogoe first, but regardless of what his thoughts were going in, he definitely knows by now that she's not just backing him because she thinks he's a cool dude. Kasuri, though, was on nickname basis in basically no time at all. They clearly have a level of trust and familiarity that's completely incomparable to everyone else, even considering how shockingly thirsty he is for the other three CLP candidates, so I'm excited to get to see that explored more in the coming arc. Hopefully I'll get to go into more detail on their relationship myself soon, but we'll see

I'm not going to speculate on who the other four teammates are going to be since we don't have much of anything to go on and there's such a high chance of me being wrong, but I won't be surprised if it's basically all girls we haven't spent any time with before, nor will I be surprised if all of them turn out to basically be red-herring characters who were never meant to matter either. Since Kasuri seems to have some kind of sapphic obsession with Botayama, I'm kind of hoping she'll get to come along, but I'm starting to think she might be a gag character, so perhaps not

I'm also not going to speculate too deep into which choice Iroha will make about who he's going to meet with, since both make perfect sense for his character. He's either going to prioritize helping someone in immediate danger, justifying it as what his friend would do or something to that effect, or he's going to prioritize helping his friend, as he can't abandon a friend in need or something like that. In the end, he's undoubtedly going to get to have his cake and eat it too somehow, since these are both plot points that we'll need to address sooner or later, but these specific avenues to reaching those plot points may well be eliminated in the short-term depending on his choices now

Once he makes his choice, I'll probably have a lot more to say on the topic, either based on the explanation he gives or the lack thereof, but for now, it's not at all clear what path he's going to take, so we'll just have to wait and see

#cipher academy #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

[pearthery]

i have a gintama fic draft that i’ve been working on for a while (it was intended for gintoki day, but ahaha, i have not yet finished it, so it is for a very very belated gintoki day). it started out as a takagin zuragin joui war crackfic! it started out with kurokono tasuke as the primary POV character because i just thought it would be fun! now it is a fic where gintoki and kurokono discuss their favourite ultraman protags. it is a fic where kurokono does a beautiful ukiyo-e style drawing of gintoki as a catboy whose husband has recently passed away (this will make sense in context) (the context is that a catboy widow is zura’s ideal type)

choice excerpts:

1.  A couple months ago, some rumours started brewing at the bottom of the Generals' crusty rice-pot. No one knew who had started them, but everyone knew something about the source of them. The men in question weren't subtle, after all. They tried to be, yes, perhaps for the sake of their pride, probably because they didn't even know what was going on ( one of them in particular definitely didn't know what was going on), but their efforts weren't much compared to the constant current of tension that underpinned their every interaction. 

Tasuke could count on five hands how many times a new recruit had nudged his more experienced friend and stared with confusion. "What's up with those guys?" they would ask, befuddled. Sometimes it was Katsura-san they were looking at, ankle-deep in guts and cutting his eyes in disapproval as he complained about how hard it was to scrub Amanto blood out of white haoris. Other times it was Takasugi-san flying his hand to the hilt of his sword, or crossing his arms as he lashed his tongue, chest puffed up like a posturing schoolboy as Sakata-san all the while made faces at him and obnoxious sounds, increasingly ridiculous the more he was rebuffed. "Who the fuck knows?" their veteran friend would say. "But whatever's wrong with one of them probably goes for all of them."

The rumours started out small, likely. Tasuke hadn't heard them in their infancy but it was easy to suppose what they might have been like. Just quiet comments about how close they were, how few soldiers looked at each other like that, how it was perhaps unnecessary for General Katsura to so carefully take Sakata's head in his hands to tie his headband before every new battle, like, the guy can probably fend for himself, but isn't it kinda funny that he does it anyway, lol? This was because Sakamoto-san was capable of subtlety, and the sort of word he spread would never be so overblown at the start as they had eventually become.

"Huh? Rumours? Lies? Me?" said Sakamoto-san. "I would never! In fact, I have no idea what any of those things even are! What's a rumour?" he laughed, "What's a lie? What's a me? I don't even have a clue! Ahahaha, ahahaha!"

2.

If Takasugi pissed at a rate of 22 ml per second and Katsura pissed at a rate of 17 ml per second, but Takasugi's bladder capacity was only 300 ml compared to Katsura's 400 ml, and Takasugi's temper occasionally got the better of him and he became snappish and prickly, though Katsura wasn't known as the Rampaging Noble for no reason, and Tatsuma'd been at the receiving end of a scolding enough times to be wary of that guy's temper as well, and if both of them were competing to piss a heart shape on the shoreline as a love confession to a guy who's probably seen too many actual flesh-meat-body hearts in his lifetime to be ensnared by a piss heart or anything like that, then who among them would win? 

3.

"They're pretty even," said Koroka. "For everyone who thinks that Gintoki-san is repulsed by Takasugi-san's habit of smoking weed and gazing soberly out into the sky, there's someone who thinks that Gintoki-san is entranced by Takasugi-san's pensive and poetic nature the way a lonely yet kind-hearted boy is drawn to the rebellious yet intelligent troublemaker. He is apparently the ideal of a beautiful tortured warrior."

"They're all beautiful warriors, Koroka," said Tatsuma, not as bitter as he could be. "Beautiful warriors with ugly personalities. Underneath those youthful looks, the Shiroyasha is nothing but vomit, I tell you. Vomit and bad personality."

"It's Kurokono, Sakamoto-san," said Koroka. "Besides, I thought you were the one who threw up on Gintoki-san at your first meeting."

"Ahaha, Koroka-kun, where did you hear about that? I was only making sure his outsides matched his insides," said Tatsuma. "Wow. Our guys are really horrendous gossips, aren't they? I feel like I'm only starting to realise this."

"You aren't wrong," said Koroka, cocking his head. "But in your case… Well, you threw up in front of everyone. It was a big crowd. I think everyone who was there will never forget it."

"Huh," said Tatsuma.

"I'm glad most people overlook me," said Koroka, thoughtfully. "It means I''ll never experience what you did."

#pear #gintama fic #i must emphasis this fic is very silly

[setsugekka]

crawling out of my ten-foot deep hermit tunnel for this. hihi <3

okay first i’m rlly curious about ✄. also ★, but specifically retaining to the paradise lost rewrite. which scene were you most excited to revisit again? any parts you didn’t particularly want to rewrite?

and for ✹ i wanna know across all of the characters you’ve written, which one are you the proudest of (most fleshed out, complicated, etc.), which one you love the most (could be to write, or as a developed person), and which one you hated the most (once again, could be to write or one that just made your blood boil).

CORYNN!!! 💗💗🥰🥰💗💗

me seeing this at the perfect time, i just woke up and sat down with a coffee and i get to think about this ask as i wake up enough to finally get to writing...kisses your forehead 😘

✄ what’s your editing process?

my editing process is honestly pretty trashed LMAO because if it was left up to me then it would take a very long time for fic to get out.

i'm an autopilot reader when it comes to my own stuff, which doesn't make for very thorough editing. i think to understand my editing (or lack thereof) you gotta understand my writing process a little which is i write chronologically and i do not go back and edit it until the entire thing is finished (per chapter/oneshot).

then, because i am very lucky and thankful, i ship it off to my best friend who does my beta'ing for me. SPAG and comfort word type stuff, redundancies that i might want to check out on a second read through. because if i go back in and read what i wrote in...less than a month? of writing it? my brain remembers too much of it i don't have critical enough of an eye to actually catch problems. SO. i have to put a lot of time between stuff if i'm gonna look it over again myself.

as for paradise lost thankfully i didn't really end up rewriting it much except for some smaller bits here or there that i think got lost in my attempt to write up meaningful prose 🤣 my favorite scene, however, is definitely the conversation that mc and hongjoong have at the bar in japan. people look over that scene a lot but it's the first time either of them really establish that they want to take the relationship to the next level, and he is the one that puts it on the table! my poor meow meow.

as for not wanting to redo...pretty much all of the smut LAMODJGFDK. there was a large part of me that was considering taking almost all of it out, or at least toning most of it down, but i got too lazy and fixing the SPAG/lapslock was already demanding enough with how hefty the chapters tended to be. you win this round, smutty little fic! [shakes fist]

✹ wildcard - i wanna know across all of the characters you’ve written, which one are you the proudest of (most fleshed out, complicated, etc.), which one you love the most (could be to write, or as a developed person), and which one you hated the most (once again, could be to write or one that just made your blood boil).

oh this is SOOOO fun! i think some of my answers are going to be very obvious though fdhgkfd.

proudest of: hmm, you might not like it but probably a tie between cots!minho and rk!seonghwa! 💀💀 they're quite different characters but they both stole the show of their fics a little bit i think, though for good reason i must admit.

i feel like cots!minho was a force to be reckoned with which is funny because he wasn't really intended to play such a massive role in the story when i had originally planned for him. the idea was effectively "can i redeem the irredeemable character" and that was...a shockingly easy task LMAO. but outside of that, i actually just wanted to write a character that was humorously bad, like your Loki's, for example. yeah he's evil (usually, sorta) but also he's just a silly lil guy.

rk!seonghwa is just a lot because like i've mentioned, when i decided to completely rewrite the second half of ruined king when i was already halfway into writing it, that meant a complete overhaul of seonghwa's character, including the shit that he had already said and done and fitting in the ways that that worked narratively. it was a challenge but a really fun one, and good job my brain because it actually wasn't even that hard to fit the pieces together between pre-rewrite and post. like he was meant to be a shitty lil psychosexually deranged freak the whole time 💗

love the most: oh my god rk!hongjoong BY A LONG SHOT PROBABLY!!! 💗💗💗i love him so, so much. i agonized on portraying him and how he was coming across to a reader with my best friend when i was writing him. i shit you not, there was a night where she and i took a trip to berlin together and one night we got drunk and just talked about ruined king LEGIT. for like five hours. i don't even know how, but i know a LOT of that was me crying and throwing up and dying on the floor about writing hongjoong in that fic because he was everything to me.

is he just a vague rewrite of an anime character i love from an anime i also love? yes. except he is far more fucked up and has way more issues and that makes me like him more 💗

hated the most: this will probably not come as a surprise to anyone but...paradise lost mc LMAO. i actually just hate her guts a lot and i don't think she's a kind or thoughtful person sowwy.

aside from her? probably like...every main character in atarashii is hateable, but i will admit i had fun writing that because of it. there's something to be said for writing a problematic infidelity-centered fic where every single character involved is kind of a shithead. quite literally welcome to the circus and enjoy the show lmao.

wow i just scrolled up to add a readmore cut to this and saw how long it is am so sorry. jesus christmas. thank you but now you know not to ever put me in a position where i can talk about ruined king because i obviously cannot act responsibly about it 💀

#☕️ ask #ask game 📝

[doverstar]

Based on the similarities between Eddie and your husband, do you see any of yourself in Chrissy? From the little we see of her character, do find help in characterizing her from yourself? I'm curious because I think its so funny how these two characters who have such little screen time have such a hold and impact on people(or maybe just my circle of the internet). For me personally, I think for the smidgeon of screen time these characters' have(particularly Chrissy because Eddie has a complete storyline) I wish we could have enjoyed more of them and see how their interactions and story may have unfolded together. What reasons do you find yourself drawn to Eddie/Chrissy?

Hi there!! This is such a deep question. Thank you so much for thinking to ask! I'll try to answer your questions/statements in order! Like you said, we don't get much of Chrissy's character in the show before she dies. All we know is what other characters say about her, and what her actress, Grace Van Dien, says about her. I am also an introvert, I am also somewhere around 5'3, and I would also giggle at a boy who behaved like Eddie did in the woods scene. Actually, I did. I have. I do. I'm married now. So I guess yes, I maybe see myself in Chrissy? I'm introverted, and insecure physically, and I have blue eyes. And I'm not strawberry blonde (oh, to be strawberry blonde) but I am blonde. But again, we don't know much else about Chrissy's personality! Jason describes her as "straight as an arrow", someone who would never try to buy drugs. I am that person. All the way. Chrissy's relationship with her mom is implied to be bad. I do not have an emotionally-abusive mother; my mother is great. However, of all my family members, my mother and I have the rockiest relationship. I can relate to having at least some strain in that department, but don't get me wrong - it's not an abusive relationship by any stretch.

When I'm writing from her perspective, I do use the things I relate to when it comes to Chrissy. Maybe that's lazy? Maybe that's not creative or original enough of me? Whatever. Write what you know, and I know how that stuff feels. I know how it feels to be insecure, introverted, perceived as "straight as an arrow", and have mom issues. But yeah, a character whose personality isn't really fleshed out that much before she's brutally murdered is an easy thing to project yourself onto. Maybe that's why so many people are crazy about Eddie/Chrissy? It's the Edward Cullen thing all over again. Some people must like it simply because the idea of Eddie in love with a timid girl like that is delightful and gives them butterflies imagining being in Chrissy's place. It has to be said. It's more likely than you think, guys. It makes sense that Eddie's character has such a hold on people; he was really done excellently by all involved in his creation. As for Chrissy's character, I think every single girl ever relates to body-image issues in some fashion, and what we got of her was a scared girl who just wanted help. What little time she was given onscreen was played and written in such a way that we couldn't not feel sympathy for her. If you've got a sympathetic character, you've got an audience. But them as a couple? It's all that scene in the woods. That's why people ship it. There was so much chemistry there. It was designed to make you like Eddie, whose first scene was so firework-y you didn't know what to think of him exactly until he was sweet to Chrissy. It was designed to show you Chrissy's really struggling, because in that scene, she gets to talk about what's happening with her. So we care when she dies. We care like Eddie ends up caring, which makes "Chrissy, this is for you" matter. That scene did its job. It made you like them both as characters. And they're obviously very cute at the same time, and cute together, so most brains immediately slid into ship mode. Who doesn't love the whole bad boy/popular girl trope? Or the rockstar/princess trope? Or the freaking "he's not actually a bad boy, he's a doll" trope or the "she's not actually a preppy jerk, she's precious" trope? Mash them together? Kryptonite. At the very least, you leave the first episode sorry she's dead and worried for Eddie's safety. It's a trope because it works. It's CUTE. As for the last question: I'm drawn to Eddie/Chrissy not just because of all the reasons I just said, but because, cornily - Eddie fell backward off that picnic table bench and I was transported into summer of 2019, where my would-be-husband was throwing himself off of a similar picnic table at a church camp to keep my attention, all long curly brown hair and lanky arms and legs, and I was a big nostalgic storm of butterflies.

I have literally had a guy who looked like that do that to me, and yes, he was doing it to make me laugh, he was flirting. Instantly I wanted them to get together. I was texting my sister in a frenzy about how cute Eddie suddenly seemed to me, and how I hoped they'd get together because that seemed like where it was going. I was wrong. Thanks, Duffers. Thanks, I hate it-

#asked #answered #this might be my favorite question so far! #doverstar answers #ask doverstar #doverstar #eddie #eddie munson #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #eddissy #hellcheer #chreddie #munningham #anon #anonymous #chrissy #chrissy cunningham #eddie my beloved #stranger things #stranger things 4 #netflix #st #st4

[crewelintentions-if]

I didn't knew we had partial-ro's???? I would love to know more about them, please Re! Partial because their romance is not as deep or because they count as flings only? Thank you so much for answering the spicy asks, wonderful work!

😊😊😊 Yes! I'll make an official post about all the ROs because much of their availability hinges on the Concurrent Story System and what I'd like to accomplish with regard to relationships! also, I❤️ answering the spicy asks, almost as much as I love world-building/lore questions! There is much character analysis in how we navigate sex and gender so!!! 😀

Anywho, yes I can spare a lil about the Partial-ROs now. Especially because I was trying to flesh them out a little more this morning!

When I say Partial, I mean in a manner of "I think it would be fun to sprinkle flirt options with these potential clients" & "I think it would be REALLY funny if skipper had a meeting with gilder and gilder was like 'do NOT fuck the client PLEASE.'". So they're more akin to flirt -> fling -> it's never going to happen because of x x and x reason -> aka they're Doomed Romances.

Then I got enticed by the nature of le Doomed and thought it would be fun to flesh out the politics of legacy & mystic families so I've been toying with something... intense in my notes. 😏

Here are a few common denominators between the two:

-> You'll formally meet them through Gilder's COSS plotline. This plotline can be triggered a little earlier by meeting with Gilder during Gilder's Home Route. I haven't written this scene yet, but she hands you dossiers for both Florin Zaibyr Ayizan and Ausar Dionbyr Irmak. You'll meet them during part 2!

-> I've been flip-flopping about their gender presentation, because they're both very minor characters and haven't been particularly loud in any direction. Originally, Florin was meant to be the same gender as Skipper while Ausar would be the opposite of Skipper's/same of Kieran's chosen gender presentation. However, currently, I am somewhat interested in making them the same gender as Skipper, because I am currently interested in having a few hard-set same-gender ROs. I also might go a neo-pronoun route while making them "same gender" as Skipper but I'm very particular about moving through the space of neo-pronouns rn. so... who knows honestly.

-> They've both been claimed by Elder Hand Titans with Major Patterns. This holds different meanings for both of them, which will be briefly explained later on in the post.

-> Ideally, you will have an opportunity to expand either of their romances into something more full and fleshed out, depending on what Legacy Mission you pick with Timor in Part 2. This allows you to make it official, to get a confession, and not just toy with implications. But I am potentially still going to end them with le Doomed. 😀 😃 🙂

Spoilers but Gilder is a bit more slow-paced than Kieran and Ilian, but also the one most prone to jealousy so I thought two Partial-ROs to fuel that would be fun for her route LMFAO. And Florin + Ausar will gladly amp that work drama up.

Now some quick facts below the cut:

Florin's family owns a prolific credit union, known as Medallion. They know Gilder personally, as the Ayizan family is a Mystic bloodline, similar to Gilder. The only difference is that Florin's family possesses notoriety and money while Gilder is the sole provider of what remains of their family. More on this during the dossier scene.

Florin was originally described as "affable and quiet, but incredibly greedy." I haven't written anything with them yet and have struggled to find their voice (spoilers but ya gorl René practices character voices for writing and gamemaster purposes! i suck at dialogue so i have to do this haha) but I've been drawn in by their greedy aspect. I'm going to heighten that big time me thinks. And turn their quietness into a soft-spokenness, not stoicism or shyness like originally intended. 😀

Florin might be a twin, I'm still working on that aspect. Point is you're gonna meet their sibling during their narrative and it's crucial to their journey. Especially because this sibling was made an Eidolon while Florin was not.

This morning I've decided to make Florin partially deaf (while also thinking I might make Kieran hard of hearing for Plot Reasons) and thus they're going to be using sign language, specifically of Fiendish origin vs the Standard in Plathis. I thought it'd be cute to call it Devil Shapes or Fiend Fingers. Maybe I should run a poll... 😆

Nsfw fact <3: Florin is definitely more visually motivated than most of the ROs. They'd really like sending and receiving pictures + are a big time sexter. I toyed with the idea of them doing sex work during their initial conception and decided to transform that to more of "Florin is a regular patron of sex works because of brief history in the sex industry" and would 🙃 lose their fucking mind if Skipper ran some kind of online situation of their own. the only time they would spend recklessly LOL

Ausar's family owns a necrotic security firm, known as Osiris Sentinel. They are (originally) not a local to Madras and were sent as a stand-in to do business on the behalf of their cousin. Somehow, my notes say Ausar is a Minister??? of Energy??? Which isn't a mistake, but it means it changes a lot for their narrative LOL.

Ausar was originally described as "blunt and friendly, and not at all interested in business matters." I intend to maintain these traits, but I'll likely apply a layer of anxiety to account for the lack of business acumen!

This morning I've decided that Ausar is the only Major Pattern holder in their family at this current time. Everyone else has a Minor Pattern while their (now deceased) father had a Lesser Pattern. That's a big deal for a Legacy family. And will likely tie into how they gained that Minister position. 😀

Boreal will know about Ausar and will mention during the sibling Brunch/Dinner! 😀 He'll bring up necromancy wards & how Ausar themselves is responsible for that one little tweak to make the ward's glyph function! Boreal wants to install them into his business LOL. fucked up for a funeral home to be guarded by skeletons though, huh?

nsfw fact: i'm still feeling them out, but Ausar feels like they should be more submissive now because they've hit more of a shy manner of speaking. I think I'd like to write a quiet but easily flustered Dom tho lmfaoo. I think that'd be complex and appealing! Either way, I think they'd be into Body Worship and general praise but I could see them wanting to try degradation kink stuff as the giver lol. I think their whole narrative is about leading towards boldness flexing what they can despite having a weaker constitution!

Annnnd that's the unofficial scoop on the Partial-ROs! Stay tune for the official RO post, which is likely coming before the end of September! :) Love you anon <3!

#answered asks #ch: florin #ch: ausar #CrIn Mechanics #CrIn Lore

[bythebonefire]

knowing your partner well can potentially make writing together a lot easier. repost, do not reblog!

name: Spacy

pronouns: she/her

preference of communication: Discord once we get into a flow of plotting, but IMs are fine too

name of muse(s): lol a bunch of ‘em now. W. D. Gaster (both Undertale verse and Mafiafell verse), Grillby, Ferno (Underfell Grillby), Flambeau (Underswap Grillby), Luciano (Mobtale Grillby), Orion (Outertale Grillby), and Papyrus specifically from Mafiafell.

rp experience / how long (months / years?): I first started RPing Sailor Moon OCs based on my gal pals when I was in 5th grade so uhhh coming up on 25 years?

platforms you’ve used: AIM, Livejournal, Discord, and eventually Tumblr

best experience: Meeting two of my best friends, @abracaxfuckxyou​ and @puzzlebones​, after joining the UT fandom, and doing a two-week road trip with them along Route 66 last summer. We got lost on spooky backroads! And stayed at kitschy motels! We visited the World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle! It was a highlight of my life frankly lmao

rp pet peeves / dealbreakers:  People not having any indication of their age anywhere on their blog. I don’t need to know your exact age, but at least whether you’re 18+. Other than that, let’s see... this doesn’t happen too often, but does happen occasionally writing a character like Ferno--I’ve written with some folks in the past who even before we directly interact, seem to go into it with the expectation of a ship because he is very flirtatious. I do love ships! I love Ferno ships! But just because a character is very charismatic and charming doesn’t mean a ship between my muse and someone else’s is going to work out. 

fluff, angst or smut: I enjoy a healthy, balanced diet of all three. 😌

plots or memes: I enjoy both! I’d love to do more extended plotlines, but I think memes are a great way to build dynamics that can be fleshed out in plots. Sort of like how good filler episodes in a series develop the relationships between the characters that enriches the story around it. 

long or short replies: Both are good! I tend towards medium to longer. 

best time to write: It really varies lol, my day-to-day schedule is a joke for a lot of reasons. But I would say usually right after waking up in the morning--during my recording days I’ll usually try and bang out a post or two while I’m hydrating and warming my voice up--and late at night. 

are you like your muse(s): In some ways. I’m not as neat and tidy as Grillby for sure, though I relate a lot to the anxious tendencies he’s developed over my time writing him. I also tend to bottle things up until I am a powder keg of stress, and it is definitely not good for either of us, lol.  What’s kind of interesting to me is the feedback loop that’s come out of writing my muses? Grillby’s love of music that gradually became a part of his character wasn’t like necessarily autobiographical--music is still really important to me, but I play it up with Grillbz past the point I’d take it partly because sometimes it’s really funny to see someone so put together be just really weird and excited about something? But also because I think it emphasizes one thing I love about my version of Grillby, which is that he gives the impression of a stoic, silent gentleman, but deep down inside is an overly passionate nerd who can get so swept up in something he adores that he struggles to keep that composed image. It shows his hand as a bit of a closet romantic and a dreamer, and it’s something that endears him to me. But also (to get to the original point of this tangent), I think writing that out through Grillby has given me a greater appreciation for music, and enhanced my own love of it as a medium of art and communication.  So I guess I do see a lot of myself in my muses sometimes, but I feel like writing my muses in some ways has altered the way I see the world and appreciate things too, and that’s just kinda neat. 

tagged by: Stole from @megalobonia​ 

tagging: Take it, nerd

#[ooc] spacy speaks

[proserpina-magnus]

☘️peter pettigrew

Hii! Like my other nsfw alphabets, this is a bit choppy and horribly edited. I hope you enjoy, mwah.

Peter Pettigrew Nsfw Alphabet

Reader: tried to make it nb as much as possible

Warning: pure smut and no editing.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Super sweet and gentle, definitely encourages you to take a nap and he'll bring you a snack or get you some water. He’ll rub your back and kiss your hot skin to cool you off. He definitely loves giving you praises and he’s spoil you rotten with his words.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He loves your hands, for some odd reason he just finds them so cute whenever you grip his hand for support as you climax or hold his cock.

His favourite body part on himself delphiers between days, but he’s usually very fond of his eyes. He’s very fortunate that he can look at you in such a lewd manner.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He usually always cums in a condom, but he loves cream pies. He, not so surprisingly, likes giving you oral for the exact reason he can taste you, he actually thinks he’s addicted to it.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He’s ashamed to admit, but once he was talking to James about a certain time when he fucked you in the library and James got a hard on. He swore he wouldn’t tell and it’ll be their secret, but he always felt guilty for sexualizing you like that.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He’s okay, he knew some of the terminology due to the other Marauders but with actual hands on experience; he had no idea. He felt a bit nervous during your first time but he didn’t need much help, he’d just pay attention to your reactions and get a clear view of what you’d like and focus on that.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

He likes when you ride him, he likes to hold your hips and just let you use him for your heart's desire. If he had to choose another, doggy would be his favourite.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Peter doesn’t know he’s being funny until you have to stop and laugh, he’ll be confused on what he’d say and get a goofy smile on his lips while watching you laugh. Sometimes just the first awkward start of sex and the small giggles feel better than the serious times, but Peter can be really gentle and intimate if he wanted to be.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He’s somewhat groomed, he doesn’t necessarily care for your hair down there or his own. It’s a bit darker than his head hair, but he trims it sometimes just to keep it neat.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Lots of neck kisses, he needs to constant “I love you’s” during sex even if it’s rough. He’s actually pretty gentle during some moments and cares about your pleasure over his.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He actually never liked it, he likes your mouth a lot more even if it was just for cock warming. He’d enjoy your hands better than his, but he also has a somewhat size kink and seeing your much smaller hands take his cock please him a lot more.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

There isn’t necessarily a set number of kinks, he’d love to try anything that isn’t too “weird” as he would call it. He never really likes to stick to one kink, more like spreading them out depending on his mood. One day he’d want to tie you up and the other he’d let you do whatever you wanted. He adores pillow prince(ss) though.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Anywhere, he’d fuck you in honey dukes, the three break sticks, closets, near the black lake, behind trees and bushes, his bed, your bed, his friends bed, shower, desks, professors desks, anywhere anytime.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Feminine clothing, something about it makes his head spin and he just loves fucking you in dresses. He also has a clothes kink, he’d love to fuck you in his clothes. Don’t even get him started on if you ever decide to wear sexual clothing, it’ll drive him crazy.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Major dom and sub roles (like day to day life style) feels him out, he can’t distribute or give out rules, he doesn’t like that type of control over someone or giving someone that control of him. He likes some parts of d/s and he’d definitely be comfortable with some aspects, but not full on life changing.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He prefers receiving oral sometimes, but he doesn’t expect it everytime. He loves giving, since he feels like it’s the only thing he’s good at. He’ll run his tongue and suck your sensitive flesh until he’s satisfied, giving you oral is more of a pleasure for himself.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Peter’s sex is soft yet rough, sometimes he just takes his time with dragging his cock deep inside of you and pulling it out. Others he just likes to bend you over and fuck you till your dumb. Sometimes he lacks compassion for how you’d take his cock, yet after he’s careful to check you over and soothe out any aches.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Only thing he looks forward to on school days. He’s already emotionally tired but getting a good fuck in a empty classroom or a bathroom stall always helps him get through the day, especially if you tell him you’d wait for him in his dorm later that night.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? Do they take risks? etc.)

It depends what the risk is, Peter likes to fuck you all over the place if he can. He definitely been given warnings by prefects way to many times.James and Sirius always say his animagi should be a bunny with all the fucking they catch you guys doing. Greatest risk he ever took was fucking you during a quidditch game behind the bleachers.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He can go for a couple of rounds, depending if it’s just oral or penetration. He can spend hours just focusing on you, exploring your body and roping out orgasm after orgasm.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He definitely likes using a vibrator, dildos aren’t really his thing. He does have a few anal plugs, but he doesn’t use them as much as he would like too. He usually uses them for your pleasure, but he wouldn’t be opposed to having a cock ring on.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He’s actually a huge tease, he likes to place his hand on your thigh during class and just mindlessly rub his thumb right near your goods. He gives a dumb look like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but his smirk whenever he catches your heavy breaths are apparent he knows exactly what he’s doing.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

The whimpers are the best part, he rarely moans, just mumble’s of “oh fuck” and heavy breaths. Especially the early morning sex, because his sensitivity is heightened and he’s just making gurgled whined and deep groans.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Honestly, he’d probably want to fuck you infront of his friends. Especially the days when they flirt or tease you, he’d just get this immediate thought to show them that he isn’t sharing you.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

I’d estimate a good 7-9 inches, the exact number isn’t known but all I can say is the girth is the best part.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

It’s in and out, most months it’s normal for a teenage boy but other months he can go days without it, sometimes even weeks. But on the months he’s active, sex is a pretty regular thing everyday to day.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Peter is nocturnal, so it rarely depends on what time of day you guys had sex. If it’s on the weekends during midday, he probably will take a nap until dinner. If it’s in the morning… I don’t even think he could stay awake long enough to finish. But late at night it’s a whole new thing, he would probably cuddle you for a few moments until he knew you were asleep and work on his assignments and homework.

--

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